mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 111.xml

<div2 id="Ps.cxii" n="cxii" next="Ps.cxiii" prev="Ps.cxi" progress="60.60%" title="Chapter CXI">
<h2 id="Ps.cxii-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.cxii-p0.2">PSALM CXI.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.cxii-p1">This and divers of the psalms that follow it seem
to have been penned by David for the service of the church in their
solemn feasts, and not upon any particular occasion. This is a
psalm of praise. The title of it is "Hallelujah—Praise you the
Lord," intimating that we must address ourselves to the use of this
psalm with hearts disposed to praise God. It is composed
alphabetically, each sentence beginning with a several letter of
the Hebrew alphabet, in order exactly, two sentences to each verse,
and three a piece to the last two. The psalmist, exhorting to
praise God, I. Sets himself for an example, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.1" parsed="|Ps|111|1|0|0" passage="Ps 111:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. Furnishes us with matter for
praise from the works of God. 1. The greatness of his works and the
glory of them. 2. The righteousness of them. 3. The goodness of
them. 4. The power of them. 5. The conformity of them to his word
of promise. 6. The perpetuity of them. These observations are
intermixed, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.2-Ps.111.9" parsed="|Ps|111|2|111|9" passage="Ps 111:2-9">ver. 2-9</scripRef>.
III. He recommends the holy fear of God, and conscientious
obedience to his commands, as the most acceptable way of praising
God, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.10" parsed="|Ps|111|10|0|0" passage="Ps 111:10">ver. 10</scripRef>.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111" parsed="|Ps|111|0|0|0" passage="Ps 111" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.1-Ps.111.5" parsed="|Ps|111|1|111|5" passage="Ps 111:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.111.1-Ps.111.5">
<h4 id="Ps.cxii-p1.6">The Excellence of the Divine
Works.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxii-p2">1 Praise ye the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxii-p2.1">Lord</span>. I will praise the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxii-p2.2">Lord</span> with <i>my</i> whole heart, in the assembly
of the upright, and <i>in</i> the congregation.   2 The works
of the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxii-p2.3">Lord</span> <i>are</i> great, sought
out of all them that have pleasure therein.   3 His work
<i>is</i> honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth
for ever.   4 He hath made his wonderful works to be
remembered: the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxii-p2.4">Lord</span> <i>is</i>
gracious and full of compassion.   5 He hath given meat unto
them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p3">The title of the psalm being
<i>Hallelujah,</i> the psalmist (as every author ought to have) has
an eye to his title, and keeps to his text.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p4">I. He resolves to praise God himself,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.1" parsed="|Ps|111|1|0|0" passage="Ps 111:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. What duty we
call others to we must oblige and excite ourselves to; nay,
whatever others do, whether they will praise God or no, we and our
houses must determine to do it, we and our hearts; for such is the
psalmist's resolution here: <i>I will praise the Lord with my whole
heart.</i> My heart, my whole heart, being devoted to his honour,
shall be employed in this work; and this <i>in the assembly,</i> or
secret, <i>of the upright,</i> in the cabinet-council, <i>and in
the congregation</i> of Israelites. Note, We must praise God both
in private and in public, in less and greater assemblies, in our
own families and in the courts of the Lord's house; but in both it
is most comfortable to do it in concert with the upright, who will
heartily join in it. Private meetings for devotion should be kept
up as well as more public and promiscuous assemblies.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p5">II. He recommends to us the <i>works of the
Lord</i> as the proper subject of our meditations when we are
praising him—the dispensations of his providence towards the
world, towards the church, and towards particular persons. 1. God's
works are very magnificent, great like himself; there is nothing in
them that is mean or trifling: they are the products of infinite
wisdom and power, and we must say this upon the first view of them,
before we come to enquire more particularly into them, that the
<i>works of the Lord are great,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.2" parsed="|Ps|111|2|0|0" passage="Ps 111:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. There is something in them
surprising, and that strikes an awe upon us. All the <i>works of
the Lord</i> are spoken of as one (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.3" parsed="|Ps|111|3|0|0" passage="Ps 111:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>); it is <i>his work,</i> such is
the beauty and harmony of Providence and so admirably do all its
dispensations centre in one design; it was cried to <i>the wheels,
O wheel!</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.10.13" parsed="|Ezek|10|13|0|0" passage="Eze 10:13">Ezek. x. 13</scripRef>.
Take all together, and it is <i>honourable and glorious,</i> and
such as becomes him. 2. They are entertaining and exercising to the
inquisitive—<i>sought out of all those that have pleasure
therein.</i> Note, (1.) All that truly love God have pleasure in
his works, and reckon all well that he does; nor do their thoughts
dwell upon any subject with more delight than on the works of God,
which the more they are looked into the more they give us of a
pleasing surprise. (2.) Those that have pleasure in the works of
God will not take up with a superficial transient view of them, but
will diligently search into them and observe them. In studying both
natural and political history we should have this in our eye, to
discover the greatness and glory of God's works. (3.) These works
of God, that are humbly and diligently sought into, shall be
<i>sought out;</i> those that <i>seek shall find</i> (so some
read); <i>they are found of all those that have pleasure in
them,</i> or found in all their parts, designs, purposes, and
several concernments (so Dr. Hammond), for the <i>secret of the
Lord is with those that fear him,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.25.14" parsed="|Ps|25|14|0|0" passage="Ps 25:14">Ps. xxv. 14</scripRef>. 3. They are all justly and holy;
<i>His righteousness endures for ever.</i> Whatever he does, he
never did, nor ever will do, any wrong to any of his creatures; and
<i>therefore</i> his works <i>endure for ever</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Eccl.3.14" parsed="|Eccl|3|14|0|0" passage="Ec 3:14">Eccl. iii. 14</scripRef>) because the
righteousness of them endures. 4. They are admirable and memorable,
fit to be registered and kept on record. Much that we do is so
trifling that it is not fit to be spoken of or told again; the
greatest kindness is to forget it. But notice is to be taken of
God's works, and an account to be kept of them (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.4" parsed="|Ps|111|4|0|0" passage="Ps 111:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>). <i>He has made his wonderful
works to be remembered;</i> he has done that which is worthy to be
remembered, which cannot but be remembered, and he has instituted
ways and means for the keeping of some of them in remembrance, as
the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by the passover. <i>He has
made himself a memorial by his wonderful works</i> (so some read
it); see <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.63.10" parsed="|Isa|63|10|0|0" passage="Isa 63:10">Isa. lxiii. 10</scripRef>.
By that which God did with his <i>glorious arm he made himself an
everlasting name.</i> 5. They are very kind. In them the Lord shows
that he is <i>gracious and full of compassion.</i> As of the works
of creation, so of the works of providence, we must say, They are
not only all very great, but all very good. Dr. Hammond takes this
to be the name which God has made to himself by his wonderful
works, the same with that which he proclaimed to Moses, <i>The Lord
God is gracious and merciful,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.8" osisRef="Bible:Exod.24.6" parsed="|Exod|24|6|0|0" passage="Ex 24:6">Exod.
xxiv. 6</scripRef>. God's pardoning sin is the most wonderful of
all his works and which ought to be remembered to his glory. It is
a further instance of his grace and compassion that <i>he has given
meat to those that fear him,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.5" parsed="|Ps|111|5|0|0" passage="Ps 111:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. He gives them their daily bread,
food convenient for them; so he does to others by common
providence, but to those that fear him he gives it by covenant and
in pursuance of the promise, for it follows, <i>He will be ever
mindful of his covenant;</i> so that they can taste covenant-love
even in common mercies. Some refer this to the manna with which God
fed his people Israel in the wilderness, others to the spoil they
got from the Egyptians when they came out with great substance,
according to the promise, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.10" osisRef="Bible:Gen.15.14" parsed="|Gen|15|14|0|0" passage="Ge 15:14">Gen. xv.
14</scripRef>. When God <i>broke the heads of leviathan</i> he gave
him to be <i>meat to his people,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p5.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.74.14" parsed="|Ps|74|14|0|0" passage="Ps 74:14">Ps. lxxiv. 14</scripRef>. <i>He has given</i> prey <i>to
those that fear him</i> (so the margin has it), not only fed them,
but enriched them, and given their enemies to be a prey to them. 6.
They are earnests of what he will do, according to his promise:
<i>He will ever be mindful of his covenant,</i> for he has ever
been so; and, as he never did, so he never will, let one jot or
tittle of it fall to the ground. Though God's people have their
infirmities, and are often unmindful of his commands, yet he
<i>will ever be mindful of his covenant.</i></p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxii-p5.12" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.6-Ps.111.10" parsed="|Ps|111|6|111|10" passage="Ps 111:6-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.111.6-Ps.111.10">
<h4 id="Ps.cxii-p5.13">The Happiness of the
Righteous.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxii-p6">6 He hath showed his people the power of his
works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.   7
The works of his hands <i>are</i> verity and judgment; all his
commandments <i>are</i> sure.   8 They stand fast for ever and
ever, <i>and are</i> done in truth and uprightness.   9 He
sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for
ever: holy and reverend <i>is</i> his name.   10 The fear of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxii-p6.1">Lord</span> <i>is</i> the beginning of
wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do <i>his
commandments:</i> his praise endureth for ever.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p7">We are here taught to give glory to
God,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p8">I. For the great things he has done for his
people, for his people Israel, of old and of late: <i>He has shown
his people the power of his works</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.6" parsed="|Ps|111|6|0|0" passage="Ps 111:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), in what he has wrought for
them; many a time he has given proofs of his omnipotence, and shown
them what he can do, and that there is nothing too hard for him to
do. Two things are specified to show <i>the power of his
works:</i>—1. The possession God gave to Israel in the land of
Canaan, <i>that he might give them,</i> or in giving them, <i>the
heritage of the heathen.</i> This he did in Joshua's time, when the
seven nations were subdued, and in David's time, when the
neighbouring nations were many of them brought into subjection to
Israel and became tributaries to David. Herein God showed his
sovereignty, in disposing of kingdoms as he pleases, and his might,
in making good his disposals. If God will make the heritage of the
heathen to be the heritage of Israel, who can either arraign his
counsel or stay his hand? 2. The many deliverances which he wrought
for his people when by their iniquities they had sold themselves
into the hand of their enemies (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.9" parsed="|Ps|111|9|0|0" passage="Ps 111:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>): <i>He sent redemption unto his
people,</i> not only out of Egypt at first, but often afterwards;
and these redemptions were typical of the great redemption which in
the fulness of time was to be wrought out by the Lord Jesus, that
redemption in Jerusalem which so many waited for.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p9">II. For the stability both of his word and
of his works, which assure us of the great things he will do for
them. 1. What God has done shall never be undone. He will not undo
it himself, and men and devils cannot (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.7" parsed="|Ps|111|7|0|0" passage="Ps 111:7"><i>v.</i> 7</scripRef>): <i>The works of his hand are
verity and judgment</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.8" parsed="|Ps|111|8|0|0" passage="Ps 111:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>), that is, they <i>are done in truth and
uprightness;</i> all he does is consonant to the eternal rules and
reasons of equity, all according to the counsel of his wisdom and
the purpose of his will, all well done and therefore there is
nothing to be altered or amended, but his works are firm and
unchangeable. Upon the beginning of his works we may depend for the
perfecting of them; work that is done properly will last, will
neither go to decay nor sink under the stress that is laid upon it.
2. What God has said shall never be unsaid: <i>All his commandments
are sure,</i> all straight and therefore all steady. His purposes,
the rule of his actions, shall all have their accomplishment:
<i>Has he spoken, and will he not make it good?</i> No doubt he
will; whether he commands light or darkness, it is done as he
commands. His precepts, the rule of our actions, are unquestionably
just and good, and therefore unchangeable and not to be repealed;
his promises and threatenings are all sure, and will be made good;
nor shall the unbelief of man make either the one or the other of
no effect. They are established, and therefore <i>they stand fast
for ever and ever,</i> and the scripture cannot be broken. The wise
God is never put upon new counsels, nor obliged to take new
measures, either in his laws or in his providences. All is said, as
all is done, in truth and uprightness, and therefore it is
immutable. Men's folly and falsehood make them <i>unstable in all
their ways,</i> but infinite wisdom and truth for ever exclude
retraction and revocation: <i>He has commanded his covenant for
ever.</i> God's covenant is commanded, for he has made it as one
that has an incontestable authority to prescribe both what we must
do and what we must expect, and an unquestionable ability to
perform both what he has promised in the blessings of the covenant
and what he has threatened in the curses of it, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.105.8" parsed="|Ps|105|8|0|0" passage="Ps 105:8">Ps. cv. 8</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxii-p10">III. For the setting up and establishing of
religion among men. Because <i>holy and reverend is his name, and
the fear of</i> him <i>is the beginning of wisdom,</i> therefore
<i>his praise endureth for ever,</i> that is, he is to be
everlastingly praised. 1. Because the discoveries of religion tend
so much to his honour. Review what he has made known of himself in
his word and in his works, and you will see, and say, that God is
great and greatly to be feared; for his name is holy, his infinite
purity and rectitude appear in all that whereby he has made himself
known, and because it is holy therefore it is reverend, and to be
thought of and mentioned with a holy awe. Note, What is holy is
reverend; the angels have an eye to God's holiness when they cover
their faces before him, and nothing is more man's honour than his
sanctification. It is in his holy places that God appears most
terrible, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.68.35 Bible:Lev.10.3" parsed="|Ps|68|35|0|0;|Lev|10|3|0|0" passage="Ps 68:35,Le 10:3">Ps. lxviii. 35; Lev.
x. 3</scripRef>. 2. Because the dictates of religion tend so much
to man's happiness. We have reason to praise God that the matter is
so well contrived that our reverence of him and obedience to him
are as much our interest as they are our duty. (1.) Our reverence
of him is so: <i>The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.</i> It is not only reasonable that we should fear God,
because his name is reverend and his nature is holy, but it is
advantageous to us. It is wisdom; it will direct us to speak and
act as becomes us, in a consistency with ourselves, and for our own
benefit. It is the head of wisdom, that is (as we read it), it
<i>is the beginning of wisdom.</i> Men can never begin to be wise
till they begin to fear God; all true wisdom takes its rise from
true religion, and has its foundation in it. Or, as some understand
it, it is the chief wisdom, and the most excellent, the first in
dignity. It is the principal wisdom, and the principal of wisdom,
to worship God and give honour to him as our Father and Master.
Those manage well who always act under the government of his holy
fear. (2.) Our obedience to him is so: <i>A good understanding have
all those that do his commandments.</i> Where the fear of the Lord
rules in the heart there will be a constant conscientious care to
keep his commandments, not to talk of them, but to do them; and
such have a good understanding, that is, [1.] They are well
understood; their obedience is graciously accepted as a plain
indication of their mind that they do indeed fear God. Compare
<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Prov.3.4" parsed="|Prov|3|4|0|0" passage="Pr 3:4">Prov. iii. 4</scripRef>, <i>So shalt
thou find favour and good understanding.</i> God and man will look
upon those as meaning well, and approve of them, who make
conscience of their duty, though they have their mistakes. What is
honestly intended shall be well taken. [2.] They understand well.
<i>First,</i> It is a sign that they do understand well. The most
obedient are accepted as the most intelligent; those understand
themselves and their interest best that make God's law their rule
and are in every thing ruled by it. A great understanding those
have that know God's commandments and can discourse learnedly of
them, but a good understanding have those that do them and walk
according to them. <i>Secondly,</i> It is the way to understand
better: <i>A good understanding are they to all that do them;</i>
the fear of the Lord and the laws of that give men a good
understanding, and are able to make them <i>wise unto salvation. If
any man will do his will, he shall know</i> more and more clearly
of the doctrine of Christ, <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:John.7.17" parsed="|John|7|17|0|0" passage="Joh 7:17">John vii.
17</scripRef>. <i>Good success have all those that do them</i> (so
the margin), according to what was promised to Joshua if he would
observe to do according to the law. <scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Josh.1.8" parsed="|Josh|1|8|0|0" passage="Jos 1:8">Josh. i. 8</scripRef>, <i>Then thou shalt make thy way
prosperous and shalt have good success.</i> We have reason to
praise God, to praise him for ever, for putting man into such a
fair way to happiness. Some apply the last words rather to the good
man who fears the Lord than to the good God: <i>His praise endures
for ever.</i> It is <i>not of men</i> perhaps, <i>but</i> it is
<i>of God</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxii-p10.5" osisRef="Bible:Rom.2.29" parsed="|Rom|2|29|0|0" passage="Ro 2:29">Rom. ii. 29</scripRef>),
and that praise which is of God endures for ever when the praise of
men is withered and gone.</p>
</div></div2>