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Notes on Scripture.

NOTES ON THE PSALMS.

PSALM CXXXV.

We have been descending the river, finding its banks very varied, and sometimes shade, sometimes sunshine on its waters, yet all along the incessant murmur of praise. The river is now nearer its ocean, and hence the utterance of praise becomes louder, fuller, more distinct and direct than ever. In this psalm and the next, we have two very lofty bursts of song, "Hallelujahs" from the lips of men on earth. The peculiar people, Israel, sing in the name of all God's people; and no doubt the Lord Jesus, when on earth, took up the song as chief musician. The first ground of praise is what the Lord is in himself.

Then, ver. 3

"Praise ye Jah (11),

Praise ye the name of Jehovah (1),

Praise ye, ye servants of Jehovah" (ver. 1.)

"Praise ye Jah (7),

For good is Jehovah (TT);

Hymn ye to his name,

For it is pleasant (DV)." (ver. 3.)

His name is pleasant, it is Dy; it has in it Dy (Ps. xxvii. 4 ; Ps. xc. 17.) It discovers to us the Lord's well-pleasedness; it shews us the awful frown of the Judge changed into the sweet smile of favour. Israel sees it thus-Israel, to whom the altar and all its significant accompaniments belong.

The next ground of praise is the Lord's sovereignty, ver. 4—6— choosing a people, shewing himself above all gods, doing as pleaseth him; and it is sweet for Israel to say as they sing, that this Jehovah is theirs, as they are his D, peculiar property, his valuable jewels.

"And our Lord is above all gods." (ver. 5.)

Then they praise him for creation-works, (ver. 7.) He does what he pleases.

"Bringing up vapours from the ends of earth;
Making lightnings for rain;

Bringing the wind from his treasure-chambers."

But chiefly is he praised for works of providence and redemption, (ver. 8–

12); smiting Egypt and great kings.* And all this contrasts so broadly with all other gods, that no name but Jehovah's shall be exalted, no one shall be named along with him; his "memorial," i. e., that by which he is known and remembered, shall be for ever singular and peculiar. See Exod. iii. 15.

"For Jehovah will act
fend their rights.

And will repent (i. e.,

that song of Moses.

speak not to give advice;

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the part of a judge to his people," i. e., de-
(Gen. xxx. 6; Jer. xxii. 16.)
change his procedure) toward his servants;"

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reminding us of Deut. xxxii. 26, the utterance of the Lord's name in But as for idols, they have a mouth," but eyes," but see not the circumstances nor yet the gifts of their devotees; ears," but hear neither their praise nor prayer; and as they have no "breath in their nostrils," they cannot inhale the sweet and fragrant incense offered to them. Their worshippers become equally helpless and vain. Oh then, Israel, bless thou Jehovah ! House of Israel, house of Aaron, house of Levi, fearers of Jehovah everywhere, bless ye Jehovah !

"From out of Zion let Jehovah be blessed (i. e., let the voice of praise to him be heard from Zion),

(Jehovah) who dwells at Jerusalem.

Hallelujah!"

We may easily suppose Christ thus exhorting his own in the days of his flesh, using this very psalm; ay, and at this closing verse, would he not feel peculiarly? for he was Jehovah, come to fulfil all types and shadows, being himself the Incarnate God inhabiting Jerusalem. And then he would look forward to the future, when his throne shall be as a canopy over Jerusalem, and when he shall in glory inhabit it as the city of the Great King, while out from Zion issues forth such praise as makes earth wonder-the joy of Jerusalem heard afar off. We, too, may sing it with such thoughts, joining Israel and Israel's King. It suits all the redeemed, inasmuch as it is

The peculiar people's praise because of the excellency of their sovereign

God.

PSALM CXXXVI.

The theme of last psalm is taken up again; but whereas the glory of Jehovah was chiefly dwelt upon there, now it is his love. The same

* The construction of ver. 11 is peculiar, the verb having had the accusative before, now employs a preposition?. So we find it in Job v. 2; 2 Sam. iii. 30; and then we find following it in Ps. lxxviii. 31; 2 Chron. xxviii. 9. It serms to admit of explanation thus: to bring destruction is the essential idea; and as we may say, either, he destroyed the army; or, he brought destruction upon the army; or, he brought destruction to the army; so in Hebrew, by that variety of construction.

acts display more than one illustrious perfection, and may therefore call forth variety of praise.

"God is love" is the pervading view; or, in other words, "God is good, and his mercy endureth for ever"—the fountain and the stream, the fountain sending forth its streams on our scorched and blighted world, its streams that shall never be withdrawn, and which are not like the brook Cedron, flowing only now and then, but are perennial and perpetual. We refer back to what was said on Psalm cvii. 1, in reference to this theme and this view of Jehovah being taught at the altar. For it was taught there most specially, and is still taught by the blood of Him who was the sacrifice. Indeed, we may say that it is only when standing by his side that we can truly sing this psalm. He raises the tune; he calls on us thus to sing

"Praise ye (TN) Jehovah ;"

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not as in Ps. cxxxv. 1, Hallelujah," ," but varying the words, "Be ye Judahs to the Lord!"

Praise him for what he is (ver. 1-3.)

Praise him for what he is able to do (ver. 4.)

Praise him for what he has done in creation (ver. 5-9.)

Praise him for what he did in redeeming Israel from bondage (ver. 10-15.)

Praise him for what he did in his providence toward them (ver. 16-22.)

Praise him for his grace in times of calamity (ver. 23, 24.)

Praise him for his grace to the world at large (ver. 25.)

Praise him at the remembrance that this God is the God of heaven (ver. 26.)

Is he "God of gods"? (ver. 2.) Well may we praise him, and be sure that the mercy which has issued forth from his throne, like the crystal river of the Apocalypse, shall flow on for ever; for there is none higher than himself; no rival to mar his plans, or interfere with his scheme. Yes, he is as Moses described in Deut. x. 17,-so infinitely higher than any creature that ever bore the name of "god," that they dare not be named in his presence.

Is he "Lord of lords"? (ver. 3) as Moses also said long ago (Deut. x. 17). Then, no principality in heaven, no power in hell, no assumed lordship in earth, can at all resist him his mercy shall be impeded by none. It is the mercy of the "God of gods and the Lord of lords!" What height, depth, length, breadth, in his mercy! And you may sing on the banks of this river that fertilises our desert world"I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. viii. 38, 39.)

Does he "alone" do great wonders? (ver. 4). That means, he by

himself, unaided, needing nothing from others, asking no help from his creatures. As the Nile from Nubia to the Mediterranean rolls on 1300 miles in solitary grandeur, receiving not one tributary, but itself alone dispensing fertility and fatness wherever it comes; so our God" alone" does wonders. (See Deut. xxxii. 12; Ps. lxxii. 18, &c.) No prompter, no helper; spontaneously he goes forth to work, and all he works is worthy of God. Then, we have no need of any other. dependent of all others, all our springs are in him.

We are in

Did he "make the heavens by his understanding"? (n) (ver. 5) -not only the firmament, but the third heavens, too, where all is felicity, where is the throne of glory? Then, I infer, that if the mercy which visits earth is from the same Jehovah who built that heaven and filled it with glory, there must be in this mercy something of the same "understanding," or wisdom. It is wise, prudent mercy; not rashly given forth; and it is the mercy of Him whose love has filled that heaven with bliss. The same architect-the same skill-the same love!

It is he who "spread the earth and the waters" (ver. 6), making a solid platform for man's abode. The Creator is he who sheweth mercy on us. He was preparing a theatre for the display of mercy, even then, and thinking thoughts of grace ere ever man appeared, so that his love has a deep source- 66 66 ere ever the world was;" before the foundation of the world."

Instead of causing

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It is he who "made the great lights" (ver. 7.) the light that was shot out on the three first days of creation, from his presence, to serve our earth, he kindly prepared the " great lights;' that our comfort might be fully attended to, two great orbs were so placed, or our earth so placed towards them, as that our habitation might thus be full of cheerful light. Was he not remembering man? O praise him! And think as you praise, "His mercy endures for

ever!"

He made "the sun to rule by day" (ver. 8.) Though he knew how our earth would abuse its mercies, and sinners employ the light in order to carry on schemes of wickedness, yet still he made it thus, and left it thus after the fall, to shine on the fields and dwellings even of the ungodly. Yea, and "the moon and stars by night" (ver. 9),*—the same that shone in Paradise and Eden. He has not withdrawn them. mercy endureth for ever!"

"His

But again; this is he who "smote Egypt's first-born" (ver. 10.) Remember his sovereign grace, when righteousness would shew itself upon the guilty. There was mercy then to Israel-drops of that mercy that for ever endureth-at the very time when judgment fell on others. Should

* In this verse the expression is

Gen. i. 16 there is the repetition of

in the plural; whereas in q. d., their jurisdictions

over night. The term seems properly to mean the post of a ruler, the office

he fills as a ruler,

not this give emphasis to our praises? The dark background makes the figures in the foreground more prominent.

He brought out Israel from among them" (ver. 11.) This was mercy, separating them from all the evil and all the misery there. Ay, and with " a strong hand" (ver. 12): for mercy prompted him to exercise power against the mighty. What a ground of encouragement in after ages to his own! That same "strong hand" ready at mercy's call to do such acts, and that mercy enduring for ever! "He divided the Red Sea into parts" (ver. 13). Obstacles are nothing to Him whose " mercy endureth for ever." The divided Red pawn of his purpose and power to deliver his Church" in He "made Israel pass through the midst of it" (ver. 14), making the very bed of the sea their highway of safety; as he has often done since then, when the very calamities of his own have become their blessings.

Sea is a all ages.

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Did he “shake off" (W) (ver. 15, as Exod.. xiv. 27) Pharaoh and his host, as he did the locusts, and this when they would have hung on Israel's rear, and clung to his skirts? This was mercy to his own, their foes overthrown; such mercy as shall awake hallelujahs when Antichrist is destroyed, in the last days (Rev. xix. 1, 2).

Did he "make his people walk in the wilderness"? (ver. 16.) Such a floor! such a pathway! Yet who has not heard of their safety and well-being there? Now, this mercy shall still act thus-for ever! All through the desert, and till it is done, his people shall be kept.

Ay, but enemies again appear: "He smote great kings" (ver. 17). Great as they were, it availed nothing; they lost their credit and prestige of greatness. And "noble kings," too (ver. 18), were shorn of their pomp when they touched his anointed. Such is his mercy-mercy that lasts still for us in these last days. Yea, "Sihon, king of Amorites" (ver. 19), like the goodly cedar, himself and his hosts (Amos ii. 9), the first that opposed their entrance into their land—he fell; an example to those who might afterwards dare to oppose the Lord's people. And when " Og, the king of Bashan" (ver. 20), took the field, a giant, a new and more terrific foe, he too fell. And the mercy that thus dealt with enemies so great, enemies so strong, one after another, "endureth for ever." When Antichrist raises up his host in the latter days, one after another-when the great, the famous, the mighty, the noble, the gigantic men, in succession assail the Church, they shall perish. "For his mercy endureth for ever."

But celebrate the Lord's praise again; for "he gave their land for an inheritance" (ver. 21). His mercy to his own soon comforted them for all their toils and conflicts, in a land flowing with milk and honey-a type of that inheritance awaiting his saints now, after conflict is over. It was (6 an inheritance to Israel, his servant" (ver. 22); to Israel who had served him, and who would yet serve him better. Mercy gave this reward; it was not merit that won it; and so it shall be to the end, even in the case of the Lord's servants who labour most for him. Israel and all the saints are debtors to mercy to the last.

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