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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Psalms XCIX].</TITLE>
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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1710)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>P S A L M S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>PSALM XCIX.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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Still we are celebrating the glories of the kingdom of God among men,
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and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but
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those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied
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of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell
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more upon the Old-Testament dispensation and the manifestation of God's
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glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the
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Messiah's kingdom and the evangelical worship, to neglect the divine
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regimen they were then under, and the ordinances that were then given
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them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him
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according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come must
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not lessen our esteem of good things present. To Israel indeed
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pertained the promises, which they were bound to believe; but to them
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pertained also the giving of the law, and the service of God, which
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they were also bound dutifully and conscientiously to attend to,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ro+9:4">Rom. ix. 4</A>.
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And this they are called to do in this psalm, where yet there is much
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of Christ, for the government of the church was in the hands of the
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eternal Word before he was incarnate; and, besides, the ceremonial
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services were types and figures of evangelical worship. The people of
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Israel are here required to praise and exalt God, and to worship before
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him, in consideration of these two things:--
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I. The happy constitution of the government they were under, both in
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sacred and civil things,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:1-5">ver. 1-5</A>.
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II. Some instances of the happy administration of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:6-9">ver. 6-9</A>.
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In singing this psalm we must set ourselves to exalt the name of God,
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as it is made known to us in the gospel, which we have much more reason
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to do than those had who lived under the law.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ps99_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Dominion of God.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth
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<I>between</I> the cherubims; let the earth be moved.
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2 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> great in Zion; and he <I>is</I> high above all the
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people.
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3 Let them praise thy great and terrible name; <I>for</I> it <I>is</I>
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holy.
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4 The king's strength also loveth judgment; thou dost establish
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equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness in Jacob.
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5 Exalt ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, and worship at his footstool;
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<I>for</I> he <I>is</I> holy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The foundation of all religion is laid in this truth, That <I>the Lord
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reigns.</I> God governs the world by his providence, governs the church
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by his grace, and both by his Son. We are to believe not only that
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<I>the Lord lives,</I> but that <I>the Lord reigns.</I> This is the
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triumph of the Christian church, and here it was the triumph of the
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Jewish church, that Jehovah was their King; and hence it is inferred,
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<I>Let the people tremble,</I> that is,
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1. Let even the subjects of this kingdom tremble; for the Old-Testament
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dispensation had much of terror in it. At Mount Sinai Israel, and even
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Moses himself, did <I>exceedingly fear and quake;</I> and then God was
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<I>terrible in his holy places.</I> Even when he appeared in his
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people's behalf, he did terrible things. But we are not now come to
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<I>that mount that burned with fire,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:18">Heb. xii. 18</A>.
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Now that <I>the Lord reigns let the earth rejoice.</I> Then he ruled
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more by the power of holy fear; now he rules by the power of holy love.
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2. Much more let the enemies of this kingdom tremble; for he will
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either bring them into obedience to his golden sceptre or crush them
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with his iron rod. <I>The Lord reigns, though the people be stirred
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with indignation</I> at it; though they fret away all their spirits,
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their rage is all in vain. He will set his King upon his holy hill of
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Zion in spite of them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:1-6">Ps. ii. 1-6</A>);
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first, or last, he will make them <I>tremble,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+6:15">Rev. vi. 15</A>,
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&c. <I>The Lord reigns, let the
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earth be moved.</I> Those that submit to him shall be established, and
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not <I>moved</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+96:10">Ps. xcvi. 10</A>);
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but those that oppose him will be moved. Heaven and earth shall be
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shaken, and all nations; but the kingdom of Christ is what cannot be
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moved; the <I>things which cannot be shaken shall remain,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Heb+12:27">Heb. xii. 27</A>.
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<I>In these is continuance,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+64:5">Isa. lxiv. 5</A>.</P>
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<P>
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God's kingdom, set up in Israel, is here made the subject of the
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psalmist's praise.</P>
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<P>
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I. Two things the psalmist affirms:--
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1. God presided in the affairs of religion: <I>He sitteth between the
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cherubim</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>),
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as on his throne, to give law by the oracles thence delivered--as on
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the mercy-seat, to receive petitions. This was the honour of Israel,
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that they had among them the Shechinah, or special presence of God,
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attended by the holy angels; the temple was the royal palace, and the
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Holy of holies was the presence-chamber. <I>The Lord is great in
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Zion</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>);
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there he is known and praised
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:1,2">Ps. lxxvi. 1, 2</A>);
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there he is served as great, more than any where else. <I>He is
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high</I> there <I>above all people;</I> as that which is high is
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exposed to view, and looked up to, so in Zion the perfections of the
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divine nature appear more conspicuous and more illustrious than any
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where else. Therefore <I>let those</I> that dwell in Zion, and worship
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there, <I>praise thy great and terrible name,</I> and give thee the
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glory due unto it, <I>for it is holy.</I> The holiness of God's name
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makes it truly great to his friends and terrible to his enemies,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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This is that which those above adore--<I>Holy, holy, holy.</I>
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2. He was all in all in their civil government,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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As in Jerusalem was the testimony of Israel, whither the tribes went
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up, so <I>there were set thrones of judgment,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+122:4,5">Ps. cxxii. 4, 5</A>.
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Their government was a theocracy. God raised up David to rule over them
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(and some think this psalm was penned upon occasion of his quiet and
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happy settlement in the throne) and he is <I>the king</I> whose
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<I>strength loves judgment.</I> He is strong; all his strength he has
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from God; and <I>his strength</I> is not abused for the support of any
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wrong, as the power of great princes often is, but it <I>loves
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judgment.</I> He does justice with his power, and does it with delight;
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and herein he was a type of Christ, to whom God would give <I>the
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throne of his father David, to do judgment and justice.</I> He has
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power to crush, but his <I>strength loves judgment;</I> he does not
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rule with rigour, but with moderation, with wisdom, and with
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tenderness. The people of Israel had a good king; but they are here
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taught to look up to God as he by whom their king reigns: <I>Thou dost
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establish equity</I> (that is, God gave them those excellent laws by
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which they were governed), and <I>thou executest judgment and
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righteousness in Jacob;</I> he not only by his immediate providences
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often executed and enforced his own laws, but took care for the
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administration of justice among them by civil magistrates, who reigned
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by him and by him did decree justice. Their judges judged for God, and
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their judgment was his,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+19:6">2 Chron. xix. 6</A>.</P>
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<P>
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II. Putting these two things together, we see what was the happiness of
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Israel above any other people, as Moses had described it
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:7,8">Deut. iv. 7, 8</A>),
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that they had <I>God so night unto them,</I> sitting between the
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cherubim, and that they had <I>statutes and judgments so righteous,</I>
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by which equity was established, and God himself ruled in Jacob, from
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which he infers this command to that happy people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>):
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"<I>Exalt you the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool;</I> give
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him the glory of the good government you are under, as it is now
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established, both in church and state." Note,
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1. The greater the public mercies are which we have a share in the more
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we are obliged to bear a part in the public homage paid to God: the
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setting up of the kingdom of Christ, especially, ought to be the matter
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of our praise.
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2. When we draw night to God, to worship him, our hearts must be filled
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with high thoughts of him, and he must be exalted in our souls.
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3. The more we abase ourselves, and the more prostrate we are before
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God, the more we exalt him. We must <I>worship at his footstool,</I> at
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his ark, which was as the footstool to the mercy-seat between the
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cherubim; or we must cast ourselves down upon the pavement of his
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courts; and good reason we have to be thus reverent, <I>for he is
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holy,</I> and his holiness should strike an awe upon us, as it does on
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the angels themselves,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+6:2,3">Isa. vi. 2, 3</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Ps99_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ps99_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Divine Justice and Mercy.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1> <! -- Date --> </FONT></TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>6 Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among them that
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call upon his name; they called upon the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and he answered
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them.
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7 He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar: they kept his
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testimonies, and the ordinance <I>that</I> he gave them.
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8 Thou answeredst them, O L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God: thou wast a God that
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forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their
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inventions.
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9 Exalt the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God, and worship at his holy hill; for the
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L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> our God <I>is</I> holy.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The happiness of Israel in God's government is here further made out by
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some particular instances of his administration, especially with
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reference to those that were, in their day, the prime leaders and most
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active useful governors of that people--Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, in the
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two former of whom the theocracy or divine government began (for they
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were employed to form Israel into a people) and in the last of whom
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that form of government, in a great measure, ended; for when the people
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rejected Samuel, and urged him to resign, they are said to reject God
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himself, that he should not be so immediately their king as he had been
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+8:7">1 Sam. viii. 7</A>),
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for now they would have a king, like all the nations. Moses, as well
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as Aaron, is said to be <I>among his priests,</I> for he executed the
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priest's office till Aaron was settled in it and he consecrated Aaron
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and his sons; therefore the Jews call him the <I>priest of the
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priests.</I> Now concerning these three chief rulers observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The intimate communion they had with God, and the wonderful favour
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to which he admitted them. None of all the nations of the earth could
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produce three such men as these, that had such an intercourse with
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Heaven, and whom God <I>knew by name,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+33:17">Exod. xxxiii. 17</A>.
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Here is,
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1. Their gracious observance of God. No kingdom had men that honoured
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God as these three men of the kingdom of Israel did. They honoured him,
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(1.) By their prayers. Samuel, though not among his priests, yet was
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<I>among those that called on his name;</I> and for <I>this</I> they
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were all famous, <I>They called upon the Lord;</I> they relied not on
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their own wisdom or virtue, but in every emergency had recourse to God,
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towards him was their desire, and on him their dependence.
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(2.) By their obedience: <I>They kept his testimonies, and the
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ordinances that he gave them;</I> they made conscience of their duty,
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and in every thing made God's word and law their rule, as knowing that
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unless they did so they could not expect their prayers should be
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answered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+28:9">Prov. xxviii. 9</A>.
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Moses did all according to the pattern shown him; it is often repeated,
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<I>According to all that God commanded Moses, so did he.</I> Aaron and
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Samuel did likewise. Those were the greatest men and most honourable
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that were most eminent for keeping God's testimonies and conforming to
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the rule of his word.
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2. God's gracious acceptance of them: <I>He answered them,</I> and
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granted them the things which they called upon him for. They all
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wonderfully prevailed with God in prayer; miracles were wrought at
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their special instance and request; nay, he not only condescended to do
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that for them which they desired, as a prince for a petitioner, but he
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communed with them as one friend familiarly converses with another
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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<I>He spoke unto them in the cloudy pillar.</I> He often spoke to
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Samuel; from his childhood the word of the Lord came to him, and,
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probably, sometimes he spoke to him by a bright cloud overshadowing
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him: however, to Moses and Aaron he often spoke out of the famous
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<I>cloudy pillar,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ex+16:10,Nu+12:5">Exod. xvi. 10; Num. xii. 5</A>.
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Israel are now reminded of this, for the confirming of their faith,
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that though they had not every day such sensible tokens of God's
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presence as the cloudy pillar was, yet to those that were their first
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founders, and to him that was their great reformer, God was pleased
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thus to manifest himself.</P>
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<P>
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II. The good offices they did to Israel. They interceded for the
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people, and for them also they obtained many an answer of peace.
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<I>Moses stood in the gap,</I> and <I>Aaron between the living and the
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dead;</I> and, when Israel was in distress, Samuel cried unto the Lord
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for them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+7:9">1 Sam. vii. 9</A>.
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This is here referred to
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
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"<I>Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God!</I> and, at their prayer,
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<I>thou wast a God that forgavest</I> the people they prayed for; and,
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<I>though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions,</I> yet thou
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didst not cut them off from being a people, as their sin deserved."
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"<I>Thou wast a God that wast propitious for them</I> (so Dr. Hammond),
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for their sakes, and sparedst the people at their request, even when
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thou wast about to <I>take vengeance of their inventions,</I> that is,
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when thy wrath was so highly provoked against them that it was just
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ready to break in upon them, to their utter overthrow." These were some
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of the many remarkable instances of God's dominion in Israel, more than
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in any other nation, for which the people are again called upon to
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praise God
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+99:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>):
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"<I>Exalt the Lord our God,</I> on account of what he has done for us
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formerly, as well as of late, <I>and worship at his holy hill</I> of
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Zion, on which he has now set his temple and will shortly <I>set his
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King</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:6">Ps. ii. 6</A>),
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the former a type of the latter; there, as the centre of unity, let all
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God's Israel meet, with their adorations, <I>for the Lord our God is
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holy,</I> and appears so, not only in his holy law, but in his holy
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gospel."</P>
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