BIBLES NET. COM
Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
on the Whole Bible
Back to Biblesnet.com Home Page
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
P S A L M S
PSALM CXV.
Many ancient translations join this psalm to that which goes next
before it, the Septuagint particularly, and the vulgar Latin; but it
is, in the Hebrew, a distinct psalm. In it we are taught to give glory,
I. To God, and not to ourselves,
II. To God, and not to idols,
We must give glory to God,
1. By trusting in him, and in his promise and blessing,
2. By blessing him,
Some think this psalm was penned upon occasion of some great distress
and trouble that the church of God was in, when the enemies were in
insolent and threatening, in which case the church does not so much
pour out her complaint to God as place her confidence in God, and
triumph in doing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this
psalm.
| The Absurdity of Idolatry. | |
|
|
|
1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he
hath pleased.
4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but
they see not:
6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they
smell not:
7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but
they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one
that trusteth in them.
Sufficient care is here taken to answer both the pretensions of self
and the reproaches of idolaters.
I. Boasting is here for ever excluded,
v. 1.
Let no opinion of our own merits have any room either in our prayers or
in our praises, but let both centre in God’s glory.
1. Have we received any mercy, gone through any service, or gained any
success? We must not assume the glory of it to ourselves, but ascribe
it wholly to God. We must not imagine that we do any thing for God by
our own strength, or deserve any thing from God by our own
righteousness; but all the good we do is done by the power of his
grace, and all the good we have is the gift of his mere mercy, and
therefore he must have all the praise. Say not, The power of my
hand has gotten me this wealth,
Deut. viii. 17.
Say not, For my righteousness the Lord has done these great and
kind things for me,
No; all our songs must be sung to this humble tune, Not unto us, O
Lord! and again, Not unto us, but to thy name, let all the
glory be given; for whatever good is wrought in us, or wrought for us,
it is for his mercy and his truth’s sake, because he will glorify his
mercy and fulfil his promise. All our crowns must be cast at the feet
of him that sits upon the throne, for that is the proper place
for them.
2. Are we in pursuit of any mercy and wrestling with God for it? We
must take our encouragement, in prayer, from God only, and have an eye
to his glory more than to our own benefit in it. “Lord, do so and so
for us, not that we may have the credit and comfort of it, but that thy
mercy and truth may have the glory of it.” This must be our highest and
ultimate end in our prayers, and therefore it is made the first
petition in the Lord’s prayer, as that which guides all the rest,
Hallowed be thy name; and, in order to that, Give us our
daily bread, &c. This also must satisfy us, if our prayers be not
answered in the letter of them. Whatever becomes of us, unto thy
name give glory. See
II. The reproach of the heathen is here for ever silenced and justly
retorted.
1. The psalmist complains of the reproach of the heathen
(v. 2):
Wherefore should they say, Where is now their God?
(1.) “Why do they say so? Do they not know that our God is every where
by his providence, and always nigh to us by his promise and grace?”
(2.) “Why does God permit them to say so? Nay, why is Israel brought so
low that they have some colour for saying so? Lord, appear for our
relief, that thou mayest vindicate thyself, and glorify thy own
name.”
2. He gives a direct answer to their question,
v. 3.
“Do they ask where is our God? We can tell where he is.”
(1.) “In the upper world is the presence of his glory: Our God is in
the heavens, where the gods of the heathen never were, in the
heavens, and therefore out of sight; but, though his majesty be
unapproachable, it does not therefore follow that his being is
questionable.”
(2.) “In the lower world are the products of his power: He has done
whatsoever he pleased, according to the counsel of his will; he has
a sovereign dominion and a universal uncontrollable influence. Do you
ask where he is? He is at the beginning and end of every thing, and
not far from any of us.“
3. He returns their question upon themselves. They asked, Where is the
God of Israel? because he is not seen. He does in effect ask, What are
the gods of the heathen? because they are seen.
(1.) He shows that their gods, though they are not shapeless things,
are senseless things. Idolaters, at first, worshipped the sun and moon
(Job xxxi. 26),
which was bad enough, but not so bad as that which they were now come
to (for evil men grow worse and worse), which was the worshipping of
images,
v. 4.
The matter of them was silver and gold, dug out of the earth
(man found them poor and dirty in a mine, Herbert), proper
things to make money of, but not to make gods of. The make of them was
from the artificer; they are creatures of men’s vain imaginations and
the works of men’s hands, and therefore can have no divinity in
them. If man is the work of God’s hands (as certainly he is, and it was
his honour that he was made in the image of God) it is absurd to
think that that can be God which is the work of men’s hands, or that it
can be any other than a dishonour to God to make him in the image of
man. The argument is irrefragable: The workmen made it, therefore it
is not God,
Hos. viii. 6.
These idols are represented here as the most ridiculous things, a mere
jest, that would seem to be something, but were really nothing, fitter
for a toy shop than a temple, for children to play with than for men to
pray to. The painter, the carver, the statuary, did their part well
enough; they made them with mouths and eyes, ears and
noses, hands and feet, but they could put no life into
them and therefore no sense. They had better have worshipped a dead
carcase (for that had life in it once) than a dead image, which neither
has life nor can have. They speak not, in answer to those that
consult them; the crafty priest must speak for them. In Baal’s image
there was no voice, neither any that answered. They see not the
prostrations of their worshippers before them, much less their burdens
and wants. They hear not their prayers, though ever so loud;
they smell not their incense, though ever so strong, ever so
sweet; they handle not the gifts presented to them, much less
have they any gifts to bestow on their worshippers; they cannot
stretch forth their hands to the needy. They walk not, they
cannot stir a step for the relief of those that apply to them. Nay,
they do not so much as breathe through their throat; they have
not the least sign of symptom of life, but are as dead, after the
priest has pretended to consecrate them and call a deity into them, as
they were before.
(2.) He thence infers the sottishness of their worshippers
(v. 8):
Those that make them images show their ingenuity, and doubtless
are sensible men; but those that make them gods show their
stupidity and folly, and are like unto them, as senseless
blockish things; they see not the invisible things of the true
and living God in the works of creation; they hear not the voice
of the day and the night, which in every speech and language declare
his glory,
By worshipping these foolish puppets, they make themselves more and
more foolish like them, and set themselves at a greater distance from
every thing that is spiritual, sinking themselves deeper into the mire
of sense; and withal they provoke God to give them up to a reprobate
mind, a mind void of judgment,
Rom. i. 28.
Those that trust in them act very absurdly and very
unreasonably, are senseless, helpless, useless, like them; and they
will find it so themselves, to their own confusion. We shall know where
our God is, and so shall they, to their cost, when their gods are gone,
&c.
| Confidence in God. | |
|
|
|
9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and
their shield.
10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and
their shield.
11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help
and their shield.
12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he
will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and
great.
14 The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your
children.
15 Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth.
16 The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD‘s: but the
earth hath he given to the children of men.
17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into
silence.
18 But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for
evermore. Praise the LORD.
In these verses,
I. We are earnestly exhorted, all of us, to repose our confidence in
God, and not suffer our confidence in him to be shaken by the heathens’
insulting over us upon the account of our present distresses. It is
folly to trust in dead images, but it is wisdom to trust in the living
God, for he is a help and a shield to those that do trust in
them, a help to furnish them with and forward them in that which is
good, and a shield to fortify them against and protect them from every
thing that is evil. Therefore,
1. Let Israel trust in the Lord; the body of the people, as to their
public interests, and every particular Israelite, as to his own private
concerns, let them leave it to God to dispose of all for them, and
believe it will dispose of all for the best and will be their help
and shield.
2. Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers, and all the families of the
house of Aaron, trust in the Lord,
(v. 10);
they are most maligned and struck at by the enemies and therefore of
them God takes particular care. They ought to be examples to others of
a cheerful confidence in God, and a faithful adherence to him in the
worst of times.
3. Let the proselytes, who are not of the seed of Israel, but fear
the Lord, who worship him and make conscience of their duty to him,
let them trust in him, for he will not fail nor forsake them,
Note, Wherever there is an awful fear of God, there may be a cheerful
faith in him: those that reverence his word may rely upon it.
II. We are greatly encouraged to trust in God, and good reason is given
us why we should stay ourselves upon him with an entire satisfaction.
Consider,
1. What we have experienced
(v. 12):
The Lord has been mindful of us, and never unmindful, has been
so constantly, has been so remarkably upon special occasions. He has
been mindful of our case, our wants and burdens, mindful of our prayers
to him, his promises to us, and the covenant-relation between him and
us. All our comforts are derived from God’s thoughts to us-ward;
he has been mindful of us, though we have forgotten him. Let
this engage us to trust in him, that we have found him faithful.
2. What we may expect. From what he has done for us we may infer, He
will bless us; he that has been our help and our shield will
be so; he that has remembered us in our low estate will not
forget us; for he is still the same, his power and goodness the same,
and his promise inviolable; so that we have reason to hope that he who
has delivered, and does, will yet deliver. Yet this is not all: He
will bless us; he has promised that he will; he has pronounced a
blessing upon all his people. God’s blessing us is not only speaking
good to us, but doing well for us; those whom he blesses are blessed
indeed. It is particularly promised that he will bless the house of
Israel, that is, he will bless the commonwealth, will bless his
people in their civil interests. He will bless the house of
Aaron, that is, the church, the ministry, will bless his people in
their religious concerns. The priests were to bless the people; it was
their office
(Num. vi. 23);
but God blessed them, and so blessed their blessings. Nay
(v. 13),
he will bless those that fear the Lord, though they be not of
the house of Israel or the house of Aaron; for it was a truth, before
Peter perceived it, That in every nation he that fears God is
accepted or him, and blessed,
He will bless them both small and great, both young and old. God
has blessings in store for those that are good betimes and for those
that are old disciples, both those that are poor in the world and those
that make a figure. The greatest need his blessing, and it shall not be
denied to the meanest that fear him. Both the weak in grace and the
strong shall be blessed of God, the lambs and the sheep of his flock.
It is promised
(v. 14),
The Lord shall increase you. Whom God blesses he increases; that
was one of the earliest and most ancient blessings, Be fruitful and
multiply. God’s blessing gives an increase–increase in number,
building up the family–increase in wealth, adding to the estate and
honour–especially an increase in spiritual blessings, with the
increasings of God. He will bless you with the increase of knowledge
and wisdom, of grace, holiness, and joy; those are blessed indeed whom
God thus increases, who are made wiser and better, and fitter for God
and heaven. It is promised that this shall be,
(1.) A constant continual increase: “He shall increase you more and
more; so that, as long as you live, you shall be still increasing,
till you come to perfection, as the shining light,”
(2.) An hereditary increase: “You and your children; you in your
children.” It is a comfort to parents to see their children increasing
in wisdom and strength. There is a blessing entailed upon the seed of
those that fear God even in their infancy. For
(v. 15),
You are blessed of the Lord, you and your children are so;
all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed
which the Lord has blessed,
Isa. lix. 9.
Those that are the blessed of the Lord have encouragement enough to
trust in the Lord, as their help and shield, for it is he
that made heaven and earth; therefore his blessings are free,
for he needs not any thing himself; and therefore they are rich, for he
has all things at command for us if we fear him and trust in him. He
that made heaven and earth can doubtless make those happy that
trust in him, and will do it.
III. We are stirred up to praise God by the psalmist’s example, who
concludes the psalm with a resolution to persevere in his praises.
1. God is to be praised,
He is greatly to be praised; for,
(1.) His glory is high. See how stately his palace is, and the throne
he has prepared in the heavens: The heaven, even the heavens are the
Lord’s; he is the rightful owner of all the treasures of light and
bliss in the upper and better world, and is in the full possession of
them, for he is himself infinitely bright and happy.
(2.) His goodness is large, for the earth he has given to the
children of men, having designed it, when he made it, for their
use, to find them with meat, drink, and lodging. Not but that still he
is proprietor in chief; the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness
thereof; but he has let out that vineyard to these unthankful
husbandmen, and from them he expects the rents and services; for,
though he has given them the earth, his eye is upon them, and he will
call them to render an account how they use it. Calvin complains that
profane wicked people, in his days, perverted this scripture, and made
a jest of it, which some in our days do, arguing, in banter, that God,
having given the earth to the children of men, will no more look after
it, nor after them upon it, but they may do what they will with it, and
make the best of it as their portion; it is as it were thrown like a
prey among them, Let him seize it that can. It is a pity that such an
instance as this gives of God’s bounty to man, and such a proof as
arises from it of man’s obligation to God, should be thus abused. From
the highest heavens, it is certain, God beholds all the children of
men; to them he has given the earth; but to the children of God heaven
is given.
2. The dead are not capable of praising him
(v. 17),
nor any that go into silence. The soul indeed lives in a state
of separation from the body and is capable of praising God; and the
souls of the faithful, after they are delivered from the burdens of the
flesh, do praise God, are still praising him; for they go up to the
land of perfect light and constant business. But the dead body cannot
praise God; death puts an end to our glorifying God in this world of
trial and conflict, to all our services in the field; the grave is a
land of darkness and silence, where there is no work or device. This
they plead with God for deliverance out of the hand of their enemies,
“Lord, if they prevail to cut us off, the idols will carry the day, and
there will be none to praise thee, to bear thy name, and to bear a
testimony against the worshippers of idols.” The dead praise not the
Lord, so as we do in the business and for the comforts of this
life. See
3. Therefore it concerns us to praise him
(v. 18):
“But we, we that are alive, will bless the Lord; we and
those that shall come after us, will do it, from this time forth and
for evermore, to the end of time; we and those we shall remove to,
from this time forth and to eternity. The dead praise not the
Lord, therefore we will do it the more diligently.”
(1.) Others are dead, and an end is thereby put to their service, and
therefore we will lay out ourselves to do so much the more for God,
that we may fill up the gap. Moses my servant is dead, now
therefore, Joshua, arise.
(2.) We ourselves must shortly go to the land of silence; but, while
we do live, we will bless the Lord, will improve our time and work
that work of him that sent us into the world to praise him before the
night comes, and because the night comes, wherein no man can work.
The Lord will bless us
(v. 12);
he will do well for us, and therefore we will bless him, we will
speak well of him. Poor returns for such receivings! Nay, we will not
only do it ourselves, but will engage others to do it. Praise the
Lord; praise him with us; praise him in your places, as we in ours;
praise him when we are gone, that he may be praised for evermore.
Hallelujah.
|
[Previous] [Next] |
Matthew Henry |
|
Back to Bibles Net . Com – Online Christian Library Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary – Free Download |
Copyright 2008. Bibles Net. Com. All Rights Reserved.