Exhortation to praise God PSALM XCVI.. for his greatness and goodness. the Jewish writers, as he observes, acknowledge that it belongs to the times of the Messiah; and the Syriac title in- a O SI A. M. 2959. SING unto the LORDа new song: B. C. 1045. 2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. B. C. 1045. due unto 3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his his name: bring an offering, and come into 4 For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: f but the LORD made the heavens. 6 Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. a1 Chron. xvi. 23-33; Psalm xxxiii. 3. b Psalm cxlv. 3. Psa. xviii. 3.-d Psa. xcv. 3. Jer. x. 11, 12. Psa. cxv. 15; Isa. xlii. 5.- Psa. xxix. 2.- h Psa. xxix. 1, 2. NOTES ON PSALM XCVI. Verses 7-9. Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of Verses 1-3. O sing unto the Lord a new song- the people-O ye people, from whatsoever family Upon this new and great occasion, not the removal of ye come, or, O ye nations of the world, Give unto the ark, wherein there was nothing new but an in- the Lord glory and strength-Ascribe to Jehovah considerable circumstance of place, but the coming that incomparable majesty, and supreme dominion of the Messiah, the confirming of the new covenant and authority, which you have been wont to give to by his blood, and the calling of the Gentiles; bless your imaginary gods. Give unto the Lord the glory and praise the name of the Lord, by singing a new, due unto his name-Renouncing all your idols, acthat is, an excellent song, the product of new affec- knowledge Jehovah alone to be the omnipotent king tions, clothed with new expressions. Show forth of all the world, and do him honour suitable to the his salvation from day to day-That great work of excellence of his majesty. Bring an offering, and the redemption and salvation of the world by the come into his courts-The courts of his house. Bring Messiah. Declare his glory among the heathen- || him an oblation, in token of your subjection to him; You who shall be appointed his messengers to the and humbly worship him in his temple. He speaks Gentile nations, and all you who shall be called out of the worship of the New Testament under the of those nations to the knowledge of God and of expressions of the Jewish worship, as the prophets Christ, publish this glorious and wonderful work to elsewhere do: see Mal. i. 11. O worship the Lord all the heathen among whom you live, or to whom -O come and cast yourselves down before the Lord, you may come. in the beauty of holiness-In his sanctuary, where he hath fixed his glorious residence among us; or, rather, being clothed with all those holy ornaments, those gifts and graces, which are necessary and required in God's worship. Fear before him, all the earth-Let all the people approach his presence with a holy fear and sacred reverence, standing in awe of, and dreading to offend, their sovereign Lord and King. Verses 4-6. For the Lord-Hebrew, Jehovah, is great-Infinite in his nature and attributes; and greatly to be praised-All our most exalted praises fall infinitely short of his greatness. He is to be feared above all gods-The gods of the heathen, as the next words expound it. For all the gods of the nations are idols-Or, nothing, as they are called 1 Cor. viii. 4, and x. 19; and, as D, elilim, here rendered idols, signifies; or, vain things, as others translate the word. The sense is, Though they have usurped the name and place of the Divine Majesty, yet they have nothing of his nature or power in them. Honour and majesty are before him-That is, in his presence, like beams shot from his face, who is the Sun of righteousness. There is an inconceivable glory and majesty in his countenance, and in the place of his presence. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary--Or, in his holy place; that is, where he records his name, and vouchsafes his presence, there are the manifestations of his power and grace, or goodness, and of all his per fections. Verse 10. Say among the heathen-You converted Gentiles, declare to those who yet remain in the darkness of heathenism; that the Lord reigneth-That God hath now fixed his throne, and set up his kingdom in the world. The world also shall be established, &c.-And, as that kingdom shall never be destroyed, but shall stand for ever, Dan. ii. 44, so the nations of the world shall, by the means of it, enjoy an established and lasting peace: see Psa. lxxii. 3, 7; Isa. ix. 6, 7, and lxvi. 12; Zech. ix. 10. He shall judge the people righteously-He shall not abuse his almighty power and established dominion to the oppression of his people, as other princes frequently do, but shall govern them by the God worthy A. M. 2959. n PSALM XCVII. B. C. 1045. of adoration. 11 m Let the heavens rejoice, and let | 13 Before the LORD; for he A. M. 2959. the earth be glad; let the sea roar, cometh, for he cometh to judge and the fulness thereof. the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice. m Psa. lxix. 34.- Psalm xcviii. 7, &c. rules of justice and equity, which is the only foundation of a true and solid peace: see Isa. xxxii. 17. • Psalm lxvii. 4; Rev. xix. 11. approach of their Lord and Maker. For he cometh to judge the earth-To take to himself that power and authority which belong to him, and to set up his throne and dominion above all the nations of the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness Verses 11, 12. Let the heavens rejoice, &c.These verses are a poetical description of the great causes of joy which this kingdom of Christ would bring to the world. The heavens, and earth, and He shall reform the earth, and govern mankind sea, and trees, and fields, are here put together by righteous and merciful laws; and the people with according to the Scripture style, to denote the whole || his truth-Or, in his faithfulness; that is, so as he world, which is here represented as being in a state has promised to do. He will certainly and abun of the greatest felicity, and as testifying its joy and dantly fulfil all his promises made to his people, and thankfulness in the most lively and striking manner faithfully keep his word with all those that observe possible. "Transported," says Dr. Horne, "with a his commandments. "The coming of Christ," says view of these grand events, and beholding in spirit the last-mentioned author, "is two-fold; first, he the advent of King Messiah, the psalmist exults in came to sanctify the creature, and he will come most jubilant and triumphant strains, calling the again to glorify it. Either of his kingdoms, that of whole creation to break forth into joy, and to cele- grace or that of glory, may be signified by his brate the glories of redemption. The heavens, with judging the world in righteousness and truth. If the innumerable orbs fixed in them, which, while creation be represented as rejoicing at the establishthey roll and shine, declare the glory of beatified ment of the former, how much greater will be the saints; the earth, which, made fertile by celestial in- joy at the approach of the latter, seeing that notfluences, showeth the work of grace on the hearts withstanding Christ be long since come in the flesh, of men here below; the field which, crowned with though he be ascended into heaven, and have sent a produce of a hundred-fold, displays an emblem of the Spirit from thence, yet the whole creation, as the fruit yielded by the seed of the Word in the the apostle speaks, Rom. viii. 22, groaneth and church; the trees of the wood, lofty, verdant, and travaileth in pain together until now, expecting to diffusive, apt representatives of holy persons, those be delivered from the bondage of corruption, &c., trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, yea, we ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of Isa. Ixi. 3, whose examples are eminent, fair, and the Spirit, groan within ourselves, waiting for the extensive; all these are, by the prophet, excited to redemption of the body; when, at the renovation join in a chorus of thanksgiving to the Maker and of all things, man, new made, shall return to the Redeemer of the world." days of his youth, to begin an immortal spring, and be for ever young." Verse 13. Before the Lord-At the presence and PSALM XCVII. The LXX. call this “ A Psalm of David after his land was restored to him;" that is, as Bishop Patrick explains it, after he was made master of all those countries which God anciently designed to be the inheritance of Israel: see 1 Chron. xviii. 1, 2. But, in its sublimer meaning, it belongs to the kingdom of Christ, who, as Henry observes, is the Alpha and Omega of this Psalm, as well as of the last. This appears from the 7th verse, which the apostle to the Hebrews quotes, and applies to Christ's royal power and authority over angels; and in this light the Hebrew rabbins themselves, as Kimchi confesses, view this Psalm. Agreeably to this, the title of the Psalm, in the Syriac version, says, "The psalmist foretels the coming of Christ." The attentive reader will observe a great similarity between this and the eighteenth Psalm; the poetical imagery of both is exceedingly lofty and grand; the thoughts and style of both so much alike, that it cannot be questioned whether they were both written by the same hand: see Dodd. Here the reign of Christ is celebrated, and the nations are called to rejoice on account of it, 1,2. He is described as taking vengeance on his enemies, overthrowing idolatry, and commanding the adoration of all crea. tures, 3–7. As inspiring gladness into the church, by subduing her enemies, 8. 9. The duties of holiness, thankfulness, and religious joy are inculcated, 10-12. 928 2 3 2⚫ Clouds and darkness are round about him: of the LORD, at the presence of the LORD of the h 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, 3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up and all the people see his glory. NOTES ON PSALM XCVII. Verse 1. The Lord reigneth-He that made the world, governs it; he that called the universe into existence, upholds and presides over it; and he rules, judges, and rewards, or punishes his intelligent, free, and immortal creatures, whether men or angels. The Lord Jesus reigns; the providential kingdom is interwoven with the mediatorial, and the administration of both is in the hand of Christ; who is therefore both head of the church, and head over all things to the church: see on Psa. xciii. 1, and xcvi. 10. Let the earth rejoice-The inhabitants of the world everywhere; for hereby they are honoured and benefited unspeakably: they are blessed with sure protection, a wise and equitable government, holy, just, and salutary laws, and an ample provision for the supply of all their wants. Let the multitude of isles be glad thereof-Not only let the people of Israel rejoice in him, as king of the Jews, and the daughter of Zion, as her king, but let all the earth rejoice in his exaltation; for the kingdoms of the world shall, sooner or later, become his kingdoms. There is enough in Christ for the multitude of isles to rejoice in; for, though millions have been made happy in him, yet still there is room. 7 i Confounded be all they that serve graven Exod. xix. 18; Psalm lxxvii. 18; civ. 32.- Judg. v. 5; Mic. i. 4; Nah. i. 5.- - Psalm xix. 1; 1. 6.- i Exod. xx. 4; Lev. xxvi. 1; Deut. v. 8; xxvii. 15. judgments of God, which were to be inflicted upon the Jews and others for their contempt and rejection of the Messiah, which was foretold in the Old Testament, and accomplished in the New. His lightnings enlightened the world-This phrase signifies, not so much illumination as terror and judgments, as appears, both from the following words, and from the constant use of the phrase in that sense. The hills melted-The strongest and loftiest parts of the earth, by which he may intend the great potentates of the world, who set themselves against the Messiah; at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth-Whose dominion shall not then be confined in Canaan, as now, in a manner, it is, but shall be enlarged over the whole earth. "The exaltation of Christ to the throne of his kingdom was followed by a dreadful display of that vengeance which broke in pieces the Jewish nation, and brought their civil and religious polity to an utter dissolution. In the history of their destruction the world of the ungodly may view a striking picture of the great and terrible day when the Lord Jesus shall render a recompense to all his enemies. He is then to descend in flaming fire; lightnings shall be his harbingers; the earth shall tremble, and the hills shall literally melt like wax at the presence of Jehovah."--Horne. Verse 2. Clouds and darkness are round about him-His dispensations are mysterious and altogether unaccountable; his ways in the sea, and his Verse 6. The heavens declare his righteousness path in the great waters. We are not aware what-It is as conspicuous and illustrious as the heavens his designs are, nor is it fit that we should be made acquainted with the secrets of his government. But, though there is a depth in his counsels which we must not pretend to fathom, still righteousness and judgment-That is, righteous judgment, or righteousness in judgment, are the habitation-Or, as Dr. Hammond renders the word 1, mechon, the basis, of his throne-That is, the foundation, or establishment of it; for the throne is established by righteousness, Prov. xvi. 12. All his laws, decrees, and administrations, are grounded upon and managed with justice and equity. Therefore his throne is for ever and ever, because his sceptre is a right sceptre, Psa. xlv. 6. Verses 3-5. A fire goeth before him, &c.-"The judgments of God, and their effects upon the world, are here set forth, under the usual similitude of lightning and fire from heaven, causing the earth to tremble, and the mountains to melt and dissolve away." And by these terrible appearances in the natural world are especially signified those dreadful themselves. Or the angels, yea, God himself gives testimony from heaven to the righteousness of Christ. And all the people see his glory-Both Jews and Gentiles shall partake of the glorious fruits and benefits of his coming. Dr. Horne, however, interprets this verse differently, thus: "The heavens, by the manifestation of vengeance from thence, reveal, declare, and proclaim the righteous judgments of Messiah; and all the people upon earth are witnesses of the glory of his victory over every thing that opposeth itself to the establishment of his kingdom." Verse 7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images-That is, the Gentile world, who did service to them who by nature were no gods, Gal. iv. 8. Let them be ashamed of their former folly herein, and be thereby brought to detest and forsake their idols. Thus interpreted, the words are a prayer for the conversion of the Gentiles, that those who had been so long serving dumb idols might be convinced of their error, ashamed of their folly, and Exhortation to trust and B. C. 1045. PSALM XCVII. B. C. 1045. be glad in the Lord. A. M. 2959. images, that boast themselves of idols; || preserveth the souls of his saints; A. M. 2959. k worship him, all ye gods. P he delivereth them out of the hand 8 Zion heard, and was glad; and the daugh- || of the wicked. ters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD. 9 For thou, LORD, art 1high above all the earth thou art exalted far above all gods. 10 Ye that love the LORD, a hate evil: he n Exod. xviii. 11; Psa. || Psa. xxvi. 14; xxxvii. 27; ci. 3; Amos® v. — Psa. xxxi. 23; xxxvii. 28; cxlv. 20; 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. joy and a kind of celestial gladness."-Eccl. Hist., book x. For thou art exalted above all gods-As thou always wast in truth exalted, so thou hast now proved and declared thyself to be so in the eyes of the whole world, by subduing them under thy feet. might be brought, by the power of Christ's gospel, to serve the only living and true God, and be as much ashamed of their idols as ever they were proud of them, Isa. ii. 20, 21. Or, they shall be confounded. || And so this is a prophecy, predicting the ruin of those that would not be reclaimed from their idola- | try; they shall be confounded by the destruction of Verse 10. Ye that love the Lord-O all you that paganism in the Roman empire, which was fulfilled love and worship the true God, and rejoice in the about three hundred years after Christ, so much to establishment of his kingdom; hate evil-Show the terror of idolaters that even the mighty men your love to him by hating all sin in temper, word, among them are represented, Rev. vi. 15, 16, as say- and work. Thus the psalmist, "having sung the ing to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the glory of the Redeemer, now delineates the duty of face of him that sitteth on the throne, &c. This the redeemed. They are characterized by their love prayer and prophecy are still in force against anti- of God; they are enjoined to hate evil; the hatred christian idolaters, who may here read their doom. of which indeed is a consequence and a sure proof Verses 8, 9. Zion heard―The people dwelling in of that love, when it is genuine and sincere. ReliZion, or Jerusalem and Judah, to whom Christ gion must be rooted in the heart and spring from came, and to whom the gospel was first preached. thence. A Christian must not only serve God outOr God's church and people, who, both in the Psalms wardly, but must inwardly love him; he must not and prophetical writings, are often called Zion; content himself with abstaining from overt acts of heard the fame of thy judgments, as the following sin, but must truly hate it. They who do so are the words declare; the ruin of idolatry, and the setting || saints of God, whose souls he preserveth from evil, up of the kingdom of the Messiah in the world. and will finally deliver from the evil one and his And was glad-Very glad to hear of the conversion associates, by a happy death and a glorious resurrecof some and the confusion of others, of the victory | tion."-Horne. of Christ over all opposing power, and of the over- Verses 11, 12. Light is sown for the righteousthrow of the kingdom of Satan among men. And Joy and felicity, as the word light often signifies, the daughters of Judah-Particular churches, or in- | are prepared or laid up for them, and shall in due dividual members of Christ's universal church, re- time be reaped by them, possibly in this life, but unjoiced-According to the exhortation of the prophet; doubtedly in the next; and therefore the followers Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, for behold thy of Christ, who are taught to expect tribulation in king cometh unto thee. Because of thy judgments, this world, may well bear their afflictions with paO Lord-Thy judgments on thine enemies, where- tience and cheerfulness, for, though they sow in by thou hast evinced thyself to be superior to the tears, they shall, without fail, reap in joy. Rejoice powers of the earth, and the gods of the nations.in the Lord, ye righteous-Let the streams of comNot that they take pleasure in the ruin of others, but fort which flow to you through the channel of because the execution of the divine judgments upon Christ's kingdom lead you to the fountain, and idols and idolaters, and other daring sinners, makes cause you to rejoice in God your Saviour; and give way for the advancement of God's glory, and the thanks in remembrance of his holiness-In considerenlargement and establishment of Christ's kingdom ation of his holy and righteous nature and governin the world. Thus, at the fall of Babylon it is said, ment, or of his faithfulness in fulfilling his promises, Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles in sending the Messiah into the world and establishand prophets, for God hath avenged you on her. ing his kingdom among men. Observe, reader, And Eusebius, speaking of the times under Constan- whatever is the matter of our rejoicing ought to be tine, says, "A bright and glorious day, no cloud the matter of our thanksgiving, and particularly the overshadowing it, did enlighten, with rays of hea- holiness of God. They that hate sin themselves are venly light, the churches of Christ over all the earth; glad that God hates it, in hopes that therefore he and among all Christians there was an inexpressible will not suffer it to have dominion over them. E 9. Jews and Gentiles called upon PSALM XCVIII. PSALM XCVIII. to praise the Lord. Although the Hebrew title only terms this A Psalm, yet the LXX. denominate it A Psalm of David. And, as it contains several expressions similar to those which occur in Psalm xcvi., it is probable it was made by him. Bishop Patrick thinks that it was probably written upon occasion of some remarkable deliverance which God had lately granted to Israel, as an earnest of future blessings; especially of that great blessing, the coming of the Lord Christ, to give complete salvation to his people. We have here, (1,) The glory of the Redeemer, 1-3. (2) The joy of the redeemed, 4–9. 2 The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he 1openly showed in the sight of the heathen. 3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. 7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. 8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together m 9 Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the 4 h Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all world, and the people with equity. a Psa. xxxiii. 3; xcvi. 1; Isa. xlii. 10.- b Exod. xv. 11; Psa. lxxvii. 14; lxxxvi. 10; cv. 5; cxxxvi. 4; cxxxix. 14.- Exod. xv. 6; Isa. lix. 16; lxiii. 5.- d Isaiah lii. 10; Luke ii. 30, 31. Isa. Ixii. 2; Rom. iii. 25, 26.- Or, revealed. NOTES ON PSALM XCVIII. Luke i. 54, 55, 72.- Isa. xlix. 6; lii. 10; Luke ii. 30, 31; iii. 6; Acts xiii. 47; xxviii. 28. h Psalm xcv. 1; c. 1. i Num. x. 10; 1 Chron. xv. 28; 2 Chron. xxix. 27.—— Psalm xcvi. 11.- Isa. lv. 12.- m Psa. xcvi. 10, 13. not in types and shadows, as under the law, but written as with a sun-beam, and exhibited openly, that he who runs may read it. Verse 1. O sing unto the Lord a new song-See on Psalm xcvi. 1. For he hath done marvellous things-The work of our redemption and salvation Verses 4-9. Make a joyful noise, &c.-Because by Christ is a work of wonder. If we take a view you all now partake of the same privileges with the of all the steps of it, from the contrivance of it be- Jews, join with them in worshipping and praising fore all time to the consummation of it, and its ever- God. Sing unto the Lord with a harp―Here again, lasting consequences when time shall be no more, as in Psalm xcii. 3, the worship of the New Testawe shall say, God has in it done marvellous things; ment is described in phrases taken from the rites of it is all his doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. the Old. "The psalmist, beholding in spirit the acHis right hand, &c., hath gotten him the victory-complishment of the promises, the advent of Christ, God, by his own only power, hath overcome all difficulties and enemies, and hath, in spite of all opposition, raised Christ from the dead, and set him upon his throne, and propagated his kingdom in the world. Verses 2, 3. The Lord hath made known his salvation-The redemption of the world by the Messiah; which was hitherto reserved as a secret among the Jews, yea, was not thoroughly known by most of the Jews themselves. His righteousness hath he openly showed-Either his faithfulness in accomplishing this great promise of sending the Messiah; or his goodness and mercy, often termed his righteousness, or God's method of justifying sinners, and making them righteous through faith in Christ, continually called the righteousness of God in the New Testament. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth-He hath now actually given that mercy which he had promised to the Israelites. All the ends of the earth-All its inhabitants, from one end to another; have seen the salvation of our God-It has been published, and plainly discovered to them, || and the glory of his kingdom, thinks it criminal in any creature to be silent: he bids the whole earth break forth into joy, and exult in God her Saviour, with every token of gratitude and thankfulness." He even calls upon "the inanimate parts of creation to bear their parts in the new song, and to fill up the universal chorus of praise." He bids the sea roar, as men in triumph make a loud and vehement noise, and the floods to clap their hands, as men do in token of delight and approbation, while the hills, in like manner, resound their joy. Before the Lord, for he cometh, &c.-Here we have "the subject of this general joy, as before in Psa. xcvi. 13, namely, the coming of the Messiah to reform the world, to execute judgment upon the wicked, and to establish a kingdom of righteousness upon the earth. We expect his second advent to restore all things, to judge the world, to condemn his enemies, and to begin his glorious reign. Then shall heaven and earth rejoice, and the joy of the redeemed shall be full."-Horne. |