Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary

on the Whole Bible

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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P S A L M S

PSALM CXLIX.

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The foregoing psalm was a hymn of praise to the Creator; this is a hymn

of praise to the Redeemer. It is a psalm of triumph in the God of

Israel, and over the enemies of Israel. Probably it was penned upon

occasion of some victory which Israel was blessed and honoured with.

Some conjecture that it was penned when David had taken the strong-hold

of Zion, and settled his government there. But it looks further, to the

kingdom of the Messiah, who, in the chariot of the everlasting gospel,

goes forth conquering and to conquer. To him, and his graces and

glories, we must have an eye, in singing this psalm, which proclaims,

I. Abundance of joy to all the people of God,

ver. 1-5.

II. Abundance of terror to the proudest of their enemies,

ver. 6-9.

Saints Admonished to Praise God.

     

1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his

praise in the congregation of saints.

  2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of

Zion be joyful in their King.

  3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises

unto him with the timbrel and harp.

  4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify

the meek with salvation.

  5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon

their beds.

     

We have here,

     

I. The calls given to God’s Israel to praise. All his works

were, in the foregoing psalm, excited to praise him; but here

his saints in a particular manner are required to bless him. Observe

then,

1. Who are called upon to praise God. Israel in general, the

body of the church

(v. 2),

the children of Zion particularly, the inhabitants of that holy

hill, who are nearer to God than other Israelites; those that have the

word and ordinances of God near to them, that are not required to

travel far to them, are justly expected to do more in praising God than

others. All true Christians may call themselves the children of

Zion, for in faith and hope we have come unto Mount Zion,
Heb. xii. 22.

The saints must praise God, saints in profession, saints in power, for

this is the intention of their sanctification; they are devoted to the

glory of God, and renewed by the grace of God, that they may be unto

him for a name and a praise.

2. What must be the principle of this praise, and that is holy joy in

God: Let Israel rejoice, and the children of Zion be

joyful, and the saints be joyful in glory. Our praises of

God should flow from a heart filled with delight and triumph in God’s

attributes, and our relation to him. Much of the power of godliness in

the heart consists in making God our chief joy and solacing ourselves

in him; and our faith in Christ is described by our rejoicing in him.

We then give honour to God when we take pleasure in him. We must be

joyful in glory, that is, in him as our glory, and in the interest

we have in him; and let us look upon it as our glory to be of those

that rejoice in God.

3. What must be the expressions of this praise. We must by all proper

ways show forth the praises of God: Sing to the Lord. We must

entertain ourselves, and proclaim his name, by singing praises to

him

(v. 3),

singing aloud

(v. 5),

for we should sing psalms with all our heart, as those that are not

only not ashamed of it, but are enlarged in it. We must sing a new

song, newly composed upon every special occasion, sing with new

affections, which make the song new, though the words have been used

before, and keep them from growing threadbare. Let God be praised in

the dance with timbrel and harp, according to the usage of the

Old-Testament church very early

(Exod. xv. 20),

where we find God praised with timbrels and dances. Those who

from this urge the use of music in religious worship must by the same

rule introduce dancing, for they went together, as in David’s dancing

before the ark, and

Judg. xxi. 21.

But, whereas many scriptures in the New Testament keep up singing as a

gospel-ordinance, none provide for the keeping up of music and dancing;

the gospel-canon for psalmody is to sing with the spirit and

with the understanding.

4. What opportunities must be taken for praising God, none must be let

slip, but particularly,

(1.) We must praise God in public, in the solemn assembly

(v. 1),

in the congregation of saints. The more the better; it is the

more like heaven. Thus God’s name must be owned before the world; thus

the service must have a solemnity put upon it, and we must mutually

excite one another to it. The principle, end, and design of our coming

together in religious assemblies is that we may join together in

praising God. Other parts of the service must be in order to this.

(2.) We must praise him in private. Let the saints be so

transported with their joy in God as to sing aloud upon their

beds, when they awake in the night, full of the praises of God, as

David,

Ps. cxix. 62.

When God’s Israel are brought to a quiet settlement, let them enjoy

that, with thankfulness to God; much more may true believers, that have

entered into God’s rest, and find repose in Jesus Christ, sing aloud

for joy of that. Upon their sick-beds, their death-beds, let them sing

the praises of their God.

     

II. The cause given to God’s Israel for praise. Consider,

1. God’s doings for them. They have reason to rejoice inn God, to

devote themselves to his honour and employ themselves in his service;

for it is he that made them. He gave us our being as men, and we have

reason to praise him for that, for it is a noble and excellent being.

He gave Israel their being as a people, as a church, made them what

they were, so very different from other nations. Let that people

therefore praise him, for he formed them for himself, on purpose that

they might show forth his praise,
Isa. xliii. 21.

Let Israel rejoice in his Makers (so it is in the original); for

God said, Let us make man; and in this, some think, is the

mystery of the Trinity.

2. God’s dominion over them. This follows upon the former: if he made

them, he is their King; he that gave being no doubt may give law; and

this ought to be the matter of our joy and praise that we are under the

conduct and protection of such a wise and powerful King. Rejoice

greatly, O daughter of Zion! for behold thy king comes, the king

Messiah, whom God has set upon his holy hill of Zion; let all

the children of Zion be joyful in him, and go forth to meet him

with their hosannas,

Zech. ix. 9.

3. God’s delight in them. He is a king that rules by love, and

therefore to be praised; for the Lord takes pleasure in his

people, in their services, in their prosperity, in communion with

them, and in the communications of his favour to them. He that is

infinitely happy in the enjoyment of himself, and to whose felicity no

accession can be made, yet graciously condescends to take pleasure

in his people,
Ps. cxlvii. 11.

4. God’s designs concerning them. Besides the present complacency he

has in them, he has prepared for their future glory: He will

beautify the meek, the humble, and lowly, and contrite in heart,

that tremble at his word and submit to it, that are patient under their

afflictions and show all meekness towards all men. These men

vilify and asperse, but God will justify them, and wipe off their

reproach; nay, he will beautify them; they shall appear not only clear,

but comely, before all the world, with the comeliness that he puts upon

them. He will beautify them with salvation, with temporal salvations

(when God works remarkable deliverances for his people those that had

been among the pots become as the wings of a dove covered with

silver,
Ps. lxviii. 13),

but especially with eternal salvation. The righteous shall be

beautified in that day when they shine forth as the sun. In the

hopes of this, let them now, in the darkest day, sing a new

song.

Israel Admonished to Praise God.

     

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a

twoedged sword in their hand;

  7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon

the people;

  8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with

fetters of iron;

  9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have

all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.

     

The Israel of God are here represented triumphing over their enemies,

which is both the matter of their praise (let them give to God the

glory of those triumphs) and the recompence of their praise; those that

are truly thankful to God for their tranquillity shall be blessed with

victory. Or it may be taken as a further expression of their praise

(v. 6):

let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and then, in a

holy zeal for his honour, let them take a two-edged sword in their

hand, to fight his battles against the enemies of his kingdom. Now

this may be applied,

1. To the many victories which God blessed his people Israel with over

the nations of Canaan and other nations that were devoted to

destruction. These began in Moses and Joshua, who, when they taught

Israel the high praises of the Lord, did withal put a

two-edged sword in their hand; David did so too, for, as he was the

sweet singer of Israel, so he was the captain of their hosts, and

taught the children of Judah the use of the bow

(2 Sam. i. 18),

taught their hands to war, as God had taught his. Thus he and they

went on victoriously, fighting the Lord’s battles, and avenging

Israel’s quarrels on those that had oppressed them; then they

executed vengeance upon the heathen (the Philistines, Moabites,

Ammonites, and others,

2 Sam. viii. 1,

&c.) and punishments upon the people, for all the wrong they had

done to God’s people,

v. 7.

Their kings and nobles were taken prisoners

(v. 8)

and on some of them the judgment written was executed, as by Joshua on

the kings of Canaan, by Gideon on the princes of Midian, by Samuel on

Agag. The honour of this redounded to all the Israel of God; and to him

who put it upon them they return it entirely in their hallelujahs.

Jehoshaphat’s army had at the same time the high praises of God in

their mouth and a two-edged sword in their hand, for they went

forth to war singing the praises of God, and then their sword did

execution,

2 Chron. xx. 23.

Some apply it to the time of the Maccabees, when the Jews sometimes

gained great advantages against their oppressors. And if it seem

strange that the meek should, notwithstanding that character, be thus

severe, and upon kings and nobles too, here is one word that justifies

them in it; it is the judgment written. They do not do it from

any personal malice and revenge, or any bloody politics that they

govern themselves by, but by commission from God, according to his

direction, and in obedience to his command; and Saul lost his kingdom

for disobeying a command of this nature. Thus the kings of the earth

that shall be employed in the destruction of the New-Testament Babylon

will but execute the judgment written,
Rev. xvii. 16, 17.

But, since now no such special commissions can be produced, this will

by no means justify the violence either of subjects against their

princes or of princes against their subjects, or both against their

neighbours, under pretence of religion; for Christ never intended that

his gospel should be propagated by fire and sword or his righteousness

wrought by the wrath of man. When the high praises of God are in our

mouth with them we should have an olive-branch of peace in our hands.

2. To Christ’s victories by the power of his gospel and grace over

spiritual enemies, in which all believers are more than conquerors. The

word of God is the two-edged sword

(Heb. iv. 12),

the sword of the Spirit

(Eph. vi. 17),

which it is not enough to have in our armoury, we must have it in our

hand also, as our Master had, when he said, It is written. Now,

(1.) With this two-edged sword the first preachers of the gospel

obtained a glorious victory over the powers of darkness; vengeance was

executed upon the gods of the heathen, by the conviction and conversion

of those that had been long their worshippers, and by the consternation

and confusion of those that would not repent

(Rev. vi. 15);

the strongholds of Satan were cast down

(2 Chron. x. 4, 5);

great men were made to tremble at the word, as Felix; Satan, the god of

this world, was cast out, according to the judgment given against him.

This is the honour of all Christians, that their holy religion

has been so victorious.

(2.) With this two-edged sword believers fight against their own

corruptions, and, through the grace of God, subdue and mortify them;

the sin that had dominion over them is crucified; self, that once sat

king, is bound with chains and brought into subjection to the yoke of

Christ; the tempter is foiled and bruised under their feet. This

honour have all the saints.

(3.) The complete accomplishment of this will be in the judgment of the

great day, when the Lord shall come with ten thousands of his

saints, to execute judgment upon all,
Jude 14, 15.

Vengeance shall then be executed upon the heathen

(Ps. ix. 17),

and punishments, everlasting punishments, upon the people.

Kings and nobles, that cast away the bands and cords of Christ’s

government

(Ps. ii. 3),

shall not be able to cast away the chains and fetters of his wrath and

justice. Then shall be executed the judgment written, for the

secrets of men shall be judged according to the gospel. This

honour shall all the saints have, that, as assessors with Christ, they

shall judge the world,
1 Cor. vi. 2.

In the prospect of that let them praise the Lord, and continue Christ’s

faithful servants and soldiers to the end of their lives.

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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