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Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
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Matthew Henry |
P S A L M S
PSALM CIV.
It is very probable that this psalm was penned by the same hand, and at
the same time, as the former; for as that ended this begins, with
“Bless the Lord, O my soul!” and concludes with it too. The style
indeed is somewhat different, because the matter is so: the scope of
the foregoing psalm was to celebrate the goodness of God and his tender
mercy and compassion, to which a soft and sweet style was most
agreeable; the scope of this is to celebrate his greatness, and
majesty, and sovereign dominion, which ought to be done in the most
stately lofty strains of poetry. David, in the former psalm, gave God
the glory of his covenant-mercy and love to his own people; in this he
gives him the glory of his works of creation and providence, his
dominion over, and his bounty to, all the creatures. God is there
praised as the God of grace, here as the God of nature. And this psalm
is wholly bestowed on that subject; not as
which begins with it, but passes from it to the consideration of the
divine law; nor as
which speaks of this but prophetically, and with an eye to Christ. This
noble poem is thought by very competent judges greatly to excel, not
only for piety and devotion (that is past dispute), but for flight of
fancy, brightness of ideas, surprising turns, and all the beauties and
ornaments of expression, the Greek and Latin poets upon any subject of
this nature. Many great things the psalmist here gives God the glory of
I. The splendour of his majesty in the upper world,
II. The creation of the sea and the dry land,
III. The provision he makes for the maintenance of all the creatures
according to their nature,
IV. The regular course of the sun and moon,
V. The furniture of the sea,
IV. God’s sovereign power over all the creatures,
And, lastly, he concludes with a pleasant and firm resolution to
continue praising God
(ver. 33-35),
with which we should heartily join in singing this psalm.
| The Divine Majesty. | |
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1 Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very
great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.
2 Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment: who
stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:
3 Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters: who
maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the
wind:
4 Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not
be removed for ever.
6 Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment: the
waters stood above the mountains.
7 At thy rebuke they fled; at the voice of thy thunder they
hasted away.
8 They go up by the mountains; they go down by the valleys unto
the place which thou hast founded for them.
9 Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over; that they
turn not again to cover the earth.
When we are addressing ourselves to any religious service we must
stir up ourselves to take hold on God in it
(Isa. lxiv. 7);
so David does here. “Come, my soul, where art thou? What art thou
thinking of? Here is work to be done, good work, angels’ work; set
about it in good earnest; let all the powers and faculties be engaged
and employed in it: Bless the Lord, O my soul!” In these
verses,
I. The psalmist looks up to the divine glory shining in the upper
world, of which, though it is one of the things not seen, faith is the
evidence. With what reverence and holy awe does he begin his meditation
with that acknowledgment: O Lord my God! thou art very great!
It is the joy of the saints that he who is their God is a great God.
The grandeur of the prince is the pride and pleasure of all his good
subjects. The majesty of God is here set forth by various instances,
alluding to the figure which great princes in their public appearances
covet to make. Their equipage, compared with his (even of the eastern
kings, who most affected pomp), is but as the light of a glow-worm
compared with that of the sun, when he goes forth in his strength.
Princes appear great,
1. In their robes; and what are God’s robes? Thou art clothed with
honour and majesty,
v. 1.
God is seen in his works, and these proclaim him infinitely wise and
good, and all that is great. Thou coverest thyself with light as
with a garment,
v. 2.
God is light
(1 John i. 5),
the Father of lights
(Jam. i. 17);
he dwells in light
he clothes himself with it. The residence of his glory is in the
highest heaven, that light which was created the first day,
Of all visible beings light comes nearest to the nature of a spirit,
and therefore with that God is pleased to cover himself, that is, to
reveal himself under that similitude, as men are seen in the clothes
with which they cover themselves; and so only, for his face cannot be
seen.
2. In their palaces or pavilions, when they take the field; and what is
God’s palace and his pavilion? He stretches out the heavens like a
curtain,
v. 2.
So he did at first, when he made the firmament, which in the Hebrew has
its name from its being expanded, or stretched out,
Gen. i. 7.
He made it to divide the waters as a curtain divides between two
apartments. So he does still: he now stretches out the heavens like
a curtain, keeps them upon the stretch, and they continue to
this day according to his ordinance. The regions of the air are
stretched out about the earth, like a curtain about a bed, to keep it
warm, and drawn between us and the upper world, to break its dazzling
light; for, though God covers himself with light, yet, in
compassion to us, he makes darkness his pavilion. Thick clouds are a
covering to him. The vastness of this pavilion may lead us to
consider how great, how very great, he is that fills heaven and
earth. He has his chambers, his upper rooms (so the
word signifies), the beams whereof he lays in the waters,
the waters that are above the firmament
(v. 3),
as he has founded the earth upon the seas and floods, the waters
beneath the firmament. Though air and water are fluid bodies, yet, by
the divine power, they are kept as tight and as firm in the place
assigned them as a chamber is with beams and rafters. How great a God
is he whose presence-chamber is thus reared, thus fixed!
3. In their coaches of state, with their stately horses, which add much
to the magnificence of their entries; but God makes the clouds his
chariots, in which he rides strongly, swiftly, and far above out of
the reach of opposition, when at any time he will act by uncommon
providences in the government of this world. He descended in a cloud,
as in a chariot, to Mount Sinai, to give the law, and to Mount Tabor,
to proclaim the gospel
and he walks (a gentle pace indeed, yet stately) upon the
wings of the wind. See
He commands the winds, directs them as he pleases, and serves his own
purposes by them.
4. In their retinue or train of attendants; and here also God is very
great, for
(v. 4)
he makes his angels spirits. This is quoted by the apostle
to prove the pre-eminence of Christ above the angels. The angels are
here said to be his angels and his ministers, for they
are under his dominion and at his disposal; they are winds, and
a flame of fire, that is, they appeared in wind and fire (so
some), or they are as swift as winds, and pure as flames; or he
makes them spirits, so the apostle quotes it. They are spiritual
beings; and, whatever vehicles they may have proper to their nature, it
is certain they have not bodies as we have. Being spirits, they are so
much the further removed from the encumbrances of the human nature and
so much the nearer allied to the glories of the divine nature. And they
are bright, and quick, and ascending, as fire, as a flame of
fire. In Ezekiel’s vision they ran and returned like a flash of
lightning,
Ezek. i. 14.
Thence they are called seraphim–burners. Whatever they are,
they are what God made them, what he still makes them; they derive
their being from him, having the being he gave them, are held in being
by him, and he makes what use he pleases of them.
II. He looks down, and looks about, to the power of God shining in this
lower world. He is not so taken up with the glories of his court as to
neglect even the remotest of his territories; no, not the sea and dry
land.
1. He has founded the earth,
v. 5.
Though he has hung it upon nothing
(Job xxvi. 2),
ponderibus librata suis–balanced by its own weight, yet it is
as immovable as if it had been laid upon the surest foundations. He has
built the earth upon her basis, so that though it has received a
dangerous shock by the sin of man, and the malice of hell strikes at
it, yet it shall not be removed for ever, that is, not till the
end of time, when it must give way to the new earth. Dr. Hammond’s
paraphrase of this is worth noting: “God has fixed so strange a place
for the earth, that, being a heavy body, one would think it should fall
every minute; and yet, which way soever we would imagine it to stir, it
must, contrary to the nature of such a body, fall upwards, and so can
have no possible ruin but by tumbling into heaven.”
2. He has set bounds to the sea; for that also is his.
(1.) He brought it within bounds in the creation. At first the earth,
which, being the more ponderous body, would subside of course, was
covered with the deep
(v. 6):
The waters were above the mountains; and so it was unfit to be,
as it was designed, a habitation for man; and therefore, on the third
day, God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered to one
place, and let the dry land appear,
Gen. i. 9.
This command of God is here called his rebuke, as if he gave it
because he was displeased that the earth was thus covered with water
and not fit for man to dwell on. Power went along with this word, and
therefore it is also called here the voice of his
thunder, which is a mighty voice and produces strange effects,
v. 7.
At thy rebuke, as if they were made sensible that they were out
of their place, they fled; they hasted away (they called, and
not in vain, to the rocks and mountains to cover them), as it is said
on another occasion
The waters saw thee, O God! the waters saw thee; they were
afraid. Even those fluid bodies received the impression of God’s
terror. But was the Lord displeased against the rivers? No; it
was for the salvation of his people,
Hab. iii. 8, 13.
So here; God rebuked the waters for man’s sake, to prepare room for
him; for men must not be made as the fishes of the sea
(Hab. i. 14);
they must have air to breathe in. Immediately therefore, with all
speed, the waters retired,
v. 8.
They go over hill and dale (as we say), go up by the
mountains and down by the valleys; they will neither stop at
the former nor lodge in the latter, but make the best of their way
to the place which thou hast founded for them, and there they
make their bed. Let the obsequiousness even of the unstable waters
teach us obedience to the word and will of God; for shall man alone of
all the creatures be obstinate? Let their retiring to and resting in
the place assigned them teach us to acquiesce in the disposals of that
wise providence which appoints us the bounds of our habitation.
(2.) He keeps it within bounds,
v. 9.
The waters are forbidden to pass over the limits set them; they may
not, and therefore they do not, turn again to cover the earth.
Once they did, in Noah’s flood, because God bade them, but never since,
because he forbids them, having promised not to drown the world again.
God himself glorifies in this instance of his power
&c.) and uses it as an argument with us to fear him,
This, if duly considered, would keep the world in awe of the Lord and
his goodness, That the waters of the sea would soon cover the earth if
God did not restrain them.
| The Divine Bounty. | |
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10 He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run among
the hills.
11 They give drink to every beast of the field: the wild asses
quench their thirst.
12 By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation,
which sing among the branches.
13 He watereth the hills from his chambers: the earth is
satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
14 He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for
the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the
earth;
15 And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to
make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man’s
heart.
16 The trees of the LORD are full of sap; the cedars of
Lebanon, which he hath planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the
fir trees are her house.
18 The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and the
rocks for the conies.
Having given glory to God as the powerful protector of this earth, in
saving it from being deluged, here he comes to acknowledge him as its
bountiful benefactor, who provides conveniences for all the
creatures.
I. He provides fresh water for their drink: He sends the springs
into the valleys,
v. 10.
There is water enough indeed in the sea, that is, enough to drown us,
but not one drop to refresh us, be we ever so thirsty–it is all so
salt; and therefore God has graciously provided water fit to drink.
Naturalists dispute about the origin of fountains; but, whatever are
their second causes, here is their first cause; it is God that sends
the springs into the brooks, which walk by easy steps
between the hills, and receive increase from the rain-water that
descends from them. These give drink, not only to man, and those
creatures that are immediately useful to him, but to every beast of
the field
(v. 11);
for where God has given life he provides a livelihood and takes care of
all the creatures. Even the wild asses, though untameable and
therefore of no use to man, are welcome to quench their thirst;
and we have no reason to grudge it them, for we are better provided
for, though born like the wild ass’s colt. We have reason to
thank God for the plenty of fair water with which he has provided the
habitable part of his earth, which otherwise would not be habitable.
That ought to be reckoned a great mercy the want of which would be a
great affliction; and the more common it is the greater mercy it is.
Usus communis aquarum–water is common for all.
II. He provides food convenient for them, both for man and beast:
The heavens drop fatness; they hear the earth, but God
hears them,
Hos. ii. 21.
He waters the hills from his chambers
(v. 13),
from those chambers spoken of
(v. 3),
the beams of which he lays in the waters, those
store-chambers, the clouds that distil fruitful showers. The hills that
are not watered by the rivers, as Egypt was by the Nile, are watered by
the rain from heaven, which is called the river of God
(Ps. lxv. 9),
as Canaan was,
Thus the earth is satisfied with the fruit of his works, either
with the rain it drinks in (the earth knows when it has enough; it is a
pity that any man should not) or with the products it brings forth. It
is a satisfaction to the earth to bear the fruit of God’s works for the
benefit of man, for thus it answers the end of its creation. The
food which God brings forth out of the earth
(v. 14)
is the fruit of his works, which the earth is satisfied
with. Observe how various and how valuable its products are.
1. For the cattle there is grass, and the beasts of prey, that live not
on grass, feed on those that do; for man there is herb, a better sort
of grass (and a dinner of herbs and roots is not to be despised); nay,
he is furnished with wine, and oil, and bread,
v. 15.
We may observe here, concerning our food, that which will help to make
us both humble and thankful.
(1.) To make us humble let us consider that we have a necessary
dependence upon God for all the supports of this life (we live upon
alms; we are at his finding, for our own hands are not sufficient for
us),–that our food comes all out of the earth, to remind us whence we
ourselves were taken and whither we must return,–and that therefore we
must not think to live by bread alone, for that will feed the
body only, but must look into the word of God for the meat that endures
to eternal life. Let us also consider that we are in this respect
fellow-commoners with the beasts; the same earth, the same spot of
ground, that brings grass for the cattle, brings corn for man.
(2.) To make us thankful let us consider,
[1.] That God not only provides for us, but for our servants. The
cattle that are of use to man are particularly taken care of; grass is
made to grow in great abundance for them, when the young lions,
that are not for the service of man, often lack and suffer
hunger.
[2.] That our food is nigh us, and ready to us. Having our habitation
on the earth, there we have our storehouse, and depend not on the
merchant-ships that bring food from afar,
Prov. xxxi. 14.
[3.] That we have even from the products of the earth, not only for
necessity, but for ornament and delight, so good a Master do we serve.
First, Does nature call for something to support it, and repair
its daily decays? Here is bread, which strengthens man’s heart,
and is therefore called the staff of life; let none who have
that complain of want. Secondly, Does nature go further, and
covet something pleasant? Here is wine, that makes glad the
heart, refreshes the spirits, and exhilarates them, when it is
soberly and moderately used, that we may not only go through our
business, but go through it cheerfully. It is a pity that that should
be abused to overcharge the heart, and unfit men for their duty, which
was given to revive their heart and quicken them in their duty.
Thirdly, Is nature yet more humoursome, and does it crave
something for ornament too? Here is that also out of the earth–oil
to make the face to shine, that the countenance may not only be
cheerful but beautiful, and we may be the more acceptable to one
another.
2. Nay, the divine providence not only furnishes animals with their
proper food, but vegetables also with theirs
(v. 16):
The trees of the Lord are full of sap, not only men’s trees,
which they take care of and have an eye to, in their orchards, and
parks, and other enclosures, but God’s trees, which grow in the
wildernesses, and are taken care of only by his providence; they are
full of sap and want no nourishment. Even the cedars of
Lebanon, an open forest, though they are high and bulky, and
require a great deal of sap to feed them, have enough from the earth;
they are trees which he has planted, and which therefore he will
protect and provide for. We may apply this to the trees of
righteousness, which are the planting of the Lord, planted in his
vineyard; these are full of sap, for what God plants he will
water, and those that are planted in the house of the Lord shall
flourish in the courts of our God,
Ps. xcii. 13.
III. He takes care that they shall have suitable habitations to dwell
in. To men God has given discretion to build for themselves and for the
cattle that are serviceable to them; but there are some creatures which
God more immediately provides a settlement for.
1. The birds. Some birds, by instinct, make their nests in the bushes
near rivers
(v. 12):
By the springs that run among the hills some of the
fowls of heaven have their habitation, which sing among the
branches. They sing, according to their capacity, to the honour of
their Creator and benefactor, and their singing may shame our silence.
Our heavenly Father feeds them
(Matt. vi. 26),
and therefore they are easy and cheerful, and take no thought for the
morrow. The birds being made to fly above the earth (as we find,
they make their nests on high, in the tops of trees
(v. 17);
it should seem as if nature had an eye to this in planting the
cedars of Lebanon, that they might be receptacles for the birds.
Those that fly heavenward shall not want resting-places. The
stork is particularly mentioned; the fir-trees, which are
very high, are her house, her castle.
2. The smaller sort of beasts
(v. 18):
The wild goats, having neither strength nor swiftness to secure
themselves, are guided by instinct to the high hills, which are
a refuge to them; and the rabbits, which are also helpless
animals, find shelter in the rocks, where they can set the
beasts of prey at defiance. Does God provide thus for the inferior
creatures; and will he not himself be a refuge and dwelling-place to
his own people?
| The Divine Bounty. | |
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19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going
down.
20 Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the
beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21 The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat
from God.
22 The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay
them down in their dens.
23 Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the
evening.
24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made
them all: the earth is full of thy riches.
25 So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things
creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts.
26 There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou
hast made to play therein.
27 These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their
meat in due season.
28 That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine
hand, they are filled with good.
29 Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away
their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
30 Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou
renewest the face of the earth.
We are here taught to praise and magnify God,
I. For the constant revolutions and succession of day and night, and
the dominion of sun and moon over them. The heathen were so affected
with the light and influence of the sun and moon, and their
serviceableness to the earth, that they worshipped them as deities; and
therefore the scripture takes all occasions to show that the gods they
worshipped are the creatures and servants of the true God
(v. 19):
He appointed the moon for seasons, for the measuring of the
months, the directing of the seasons for the business of the
husbandman, and the governing of the tides. The full and change, the
increase and decrease, of the moon, exactly observe the appointment of
the Creator; so does the sun, for he keeps as punctually to the time
and place of his going down as if he were an intellectual being and
knew what he did. God herein consults the comfort of man.
1. The shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night
(v. 20):
Thou makes darkness and it is night, which, though black,
contributes to the beauty of nature, and is as a foil to the light of
the day; and under the protection of the night all the beasts of the
forest creep forth to feed, which they are afraid to do in the day,
God having put the fear and dread of man upon every beast of
the earth
(Gen. ix. 2),
which contributes as much to man’s safety as to his honour. See how
nearly allied those are to the disposition of the wild beasts who
wait for the twilight
and have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; and compare
to this the danger of ignorance and melancholy, which are both as
darkness to the soul; when, in either of those ways, it is
night, then all the beasts of the forest creep forth.
Satan’s temptations then assault us and have advantage against us. Then
the young lions roar after their prey; and, as naturalists tell
us, their roaring terrifies the timorous beasts so that they have not
strength nor spirit to escape from them, which otherwise they might do,
and so they become an easy prey to them. They are said to seek their
meat from God, because it is not prepared for them by the care and
forecast of man, but more immediately by the providence of God. The
roaring of the young lions, like the crying of the young ravens, is
interpreted asking their meat of God. Does God put this
construction upon the language of mere nature, even in venomous
creatures? and shall he not much more interpret favourably the language
of grace in his own people, though it be weak and broken, groanings
which cannot be uttered?
2. The light of the morning befriends the business of the day
(v. 22, 23):
The sun arises (for, as he knows his going down, so,
thanks be to God, he knows his rising again), and then the wild beasts
betake themselves to their rest; even they have some society among
them, for they gather themselves together and lay down in
their dens, which is a great mercy to the children of men, that
while they are abroad, as becomes honest travellers, between sun and
sun, care is taken that they shall not be set upon by wild beasts, for
they are then drawn out of the field, and the sluggard shall have no
ground to excuse himself from the business of the day with this, That
there is a lion in the way. Therefore then man goes forth to
his work and to his labour. The beasts of prey creep forth with
fear; man goes forth with boldness, as one that has dominion. The
beasts creep forth to spoil and do mischief; man goes forth to work and
do good. There is the work of every day, which is to be done in its
day, which man must apply to every morning (for the lights are set up
for us to work by, not to play by) and which he must stick to till
evening; it will be time enough to rest when the night comes, in which
no man can work.
II. For the replenishing of the ocean
(v. 25, 26):
As the earth is full of God’s riches, well stocked with animals,
and those well provided for, so that it is seldom that any creature
dies merely for want of food, so is this great and wide sea
which seems a useless part of the globe, at least not to answer the
room it takes up; yet God has appointed it its place and made it
serviceable to man both for navigation (there go the ships, in
which goods are conveyed, to countries vastly distant, speedily and
much more cheaply than by land-carriage) and also to be his storehouse
for fish. God made not the sea in vain, any more than the earth; he
made it to be inherited, for there are things swimming
innumerable, both small and great animals, which serve for man’s
dainty food. The whale is particularly mentioned in the history of the
creation
and is here called the leviathan, as
He is made to play in the sea; he has nothing to do, as man has,
who goes forth to his work; he has nothing to fear, as the
beasts have, that lie down in their dens; and therefore he plays with
the waters. It is a pity that any of the children of men, who have
nobler powers and were made for nobler purposes, should live as if they
were sent into the world, like leviathan into the waters, to play
therein, spending all their time in pastime. The leviathan is said to
play in the waters, because he is so well armed against all
assaults that he sets them at defiance and laughs at the shaking of
a spear,
Job xli. 29.
III. For the seasonable and plentiful provision which is made for all
the creatures,
1. God is a bountiful benefactor to them: He gives them their
meat; he opens his hand and they are filled with good. He
supports the armies both of heaven and earth. Even the meanest
creatures are not below his cognizance. He is open-handed in the gifts
of his bounty, and is a great and good housekeeper that provides for so
large a family.
2. They are patient expectants from him: They all wait upon him.
They seek their food, according to the natural instinct God has put
into them and in the proper season for it, and affect not any other
food, or at any other time, than nature has ordained. They do their
part for the obtaining of it: what God gives them they gather,
and expect not that Providence should put it into their mouths; and
what they gather they are satisfied with–they are filled with
good. They desire no more than what God sees fit for them, which
may shame our murmurings, and discontent, and dissatisfaction with our
lot.
IV. For the absolute power and sovereign dominion which he has over all
the creatures, by which every species is still continued, though the
individuals of each are daily dying and dropping off. See here,
1. All the creatures perishing
(v. 29):
Thou hidest thy face, withdrawest thy supporting power, thy
supplying bounty, and they are troubled immediately. Every
creature has as necessary a dependence upon God’s favours as every
saint is sensible he has and therefore says with David
(Ps. xxx. 7),
Thou didst hide thy face and I was troubled. God’s displeasure
against this lower world for the sin of man is the cause of all the
vanity and burden which the whole creation groans under. Thou takest
away their breath, which is in thy hand, and then, and not till
then, they die and return to their dust, to their first
principles. The spirit of the beast, which goes downward, is at
God’s command, as well as the spirit of a man, which goes
upward. The death of cattle was one of the plagues of Egypt, and is
particularly taken notice of in the drowning of the world.
2. All preserved notwithstanding, in a succession
(v. 30):
Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created. The same spirit
(that is, the same divine will and power) by which they were all
created at first still preserves the several sorts of creatures in
their being, and place, and usefulness; so that, though one generation
of them passes away, another comes, and from time to time they are
created; new ones rise up instead of the old ones, and this is a
continual creation. Thus the face of the earth is renewed from
day to day by the light of the sun (which beautifies it anew every
morning), from year to year by the products of it, which enrich it anew
every spring and put quite another face upon it from what it had all
winter. The world is as full of creatures as if none died, for the
place of those that die is filled up. This (the Jews say) is to be
applied to the resurrection, which every spring is an emblem of, when a
new world rises out of the ashes of the old one.
In the midst of this discourse the psalmist breaks out into wonder at
the works of God
(v. 24):
O Lord! how manifold are thy works! They are numerous, they are
various, of many kinds, and many of every kind; and yet in wisdom
hast thou made them all. When men undertake many works, and of
different kinds, commonly some of them are neglected and not done with
due care; but God’s works, though many and of very different kinds, are
all made in wisdom and with the greatest exactness; there is not the
least flaw nor defect in them. The works of art, the more closely they
are looked upon with the help of microscopes, the more rough they
appear; the works of nature through these glasses appear more fine and
exact. They are all made in wisdom, for they are all made to answer the
end they were designed to serve, the good of the universe, in order to
the glory of the universal Monarch.
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31 The glory of the LORD shall endure for ever: the LORD shall
rejoice in his works.
32 He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the
hills, and they smoke.
33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing
praise to my God while I have my being.
34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the
LORD.
35 Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the
wicked be no more. Bless thou the LORD, O my soul. Praise ye the
LORD.
The psalmist concludes this meditation with speaking,
I. Praise to God, which is chiefly intended in the psalm.
1. He is to be praised,
(1.) As a great God, and a God of matchless perfection: The glory of
the Lord shall endure for ever,
v. 31.
It shall endure to the end of time in his works of creation and
providence; it shall endure to eternity in the felicity and adorations
of saints and angels. Man’s glory is fading; God’s glory is
everlasting. Creatures change, but with the Creator there is no
variableness.
(2.) As a gracious God: The Lord shall rejoice in his works. He
continues that complacency in the products of his own wisdom and
goodness which he had when he saw every thing that he had made, and
behold it was very good, and rested the seventh day. We
often do that which, upon the review, we cannot rejoice in, but are
displeased at, and wish undone again, blaming our own management. But
God always rejoices in his works, because they are all done in
wisdom. We regret our bounty and beneficence, but God never does; he
rejoices in the works of his grace: his gifts and callings are
without repentance.
(3.) As a God of almighty power
(v. 32):
He looks on the earth, and it trembles, as unable to bear his
frowns–trembles, as Sinai did, at the presence of the Lord. He
touches the hills, and they smoke. The volcanoes, or burning
mountains, such as Ætna, are emblems of the power of God’s wrath
fastening upon proud unhumbled sinners. If an angry look and a touch
have such effects, what will the weight of his heavy hand do and the
operations of his outstretched arm? Who knows the power of his
anger? Who then dares set it at defiance? God rejoices in his works
because they are all so observant of him; and he will in like manner
take pleasure in those that fear him and that tremble at his
word.
2. The psalmist will himself be much in praising him
(v. 33):
“I will sing unto the Lord, unto my God, will praise him as
Jehovah, the Creator, and as my God, a God in covenant with me,
and this not now only, but as long as I live, and while I
have my being.” Because we have our being from God, and depend upon
him for the support and continuance of it, as long as we live and have
our being we must continue to praise God; and when we have no life, no
being, on earth, we hope to have a better life and better being in a
better world and there to be doing this work in a better manner and in
better company.
II. Joy to himself
(v. 34):
My meditation of him shall be sweet; it shall be fixed and
close; it shall be affecting and influencing; and therefore it shall be
sweet. Thoughts of God will then be most pleasing, when they are
most powerful. Note, Divine meditation is a very sweet duty to all
that are sanctified: “I will be glad in the Lord; it shall be a
pleasure to me to praise him; I will be glad of all opportunities to
set forth his glory; and I will rejoice in the Lord always and
in him only.” All my joys shall centre in him, and in him they shall be
full.
III. Terror to the wicked
(v. 35):
Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth; and let the wicked be
no more.
1. Those that oppose the God of power, and fight against him, will
certainly be consumed; none can prosper that harden themselves against
the Almighty.
2. Those that rebel against the light of such convincing evidence of
God’s being, and refuse to serve him whom all the creatures serve, will
justly be consumed. Those that make that earth to groan under the
burden of their impieties which God thus fills with his riches deserve
to be consumed out of it, and that it should spue them out.
3. Those that heartily desire to praise God themselves cannot but have
a holy indignation at those that blaspheme and dishonour him, and a
holy satisfaction in the prospect of their destruction and the honour
that God will get to himself upon them. Even this ought to be the
matter of their praise: “While sinners are consumed out of
the earth, let my soul bless the Lord that I am not cast
away with the workers of iniquity, but distinguished from them by the
special grace of God. When the wicked are no more I hope
to be praising God world without end; and therefore, Praise you the
Lord; let all about me join with me in praising God.
Hallelujah; sing praise to Jehovah.” This is the first time that
we meet with Hallelujah; and it comes in here upon occasion of
the destruction of the wicked; and the last time we meet with it is
upon a similar occasion. When the New-Testament Babylon is consumed,
this is the burden of the song, Hallelujah,
Rev. xix. 1, 3, 4, 6.
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