KI 4{The following original hymn is one of a selection now forming for children; and it is kindly communicated by the Editors of the selection. Its appearance in the Present Testimony will not be understood to affect its claim to be an original hymn in the collection referred to.
There's beauty above, in the bright blue sky,
On earth is the reapers' glee,
'Tis harvest-time in Jehovah's land,
And the corn by the breeze is gently fann'd
Like the waves of a golden sea.
But sorrow shall wait on the reapers' mirth,
The lord of those fields shall sigh,
One only boy
Is his father's joy,
This day that boy must die.
And the sun has look'd forth, in his morning pride
On the child, with a scorching ray:
"My head! my head!"
'Twas all he said,
'Twas all that the child could say.
And see, they are come, they have borne him home,
And he sits on his mother's knee,
But who can tell
How her countenance fell
Her alter'd boy to see?
He knows her not, with his dull fix'd eye,
On her bosom he pillows his head;
When the sun shines bright
From his noontide height
The boy on her knee is dead.
But faith within the mother's breast
Shall calm her agony,
"The God who gave
Is the God who shall save,
And give back my boy to me."
Though sad be her heart, the bright lamp of faith
Shall light up its innermost cell:
The son lies dead
On the prophet's bed,
But the mother can say "It is well!"
'Tis well with the mother, 'tis well with the boy!
His breath and his life are restored,
The child is awake
Let her hasten and take
To her arms this new gift from the Lord.
And I know it is well with the servants of God,
Naught them from their stronghold shall sever,
Whether Christ shall soon come,
Or they're laid in the tomb,
'Twill be well with His people forever.
They fear not the arrow that flieth by day,
Nor the plague that walks forth in the dark;
The sun shall not smite,
Nor the moon, by night,
One who 's hidden in Jesus, the ark.
They fear not to die, for the deep, dark grave,
Is a bed where their Savior has lain,
They sink not to Hell,
But with Him they shall dwell,
For Jesus can raise them again.
And can I too hope to arise from the dead,
And Christ as my Savior to see?
If I look to the Lord,
And believe in His word,
'Twill be well, then, forever with me.
Psalms.
I feel that the Book of Psalms contains so intimate an expression of the sentiments of the Spirit of God, that in speaking of it peculiar circumspection is required. Not that one part of the Word possesses more authority than another, or that the truth which it contains. is less the truth, or less worthy to be received with absolute subjection of mind. But, evidently, there is a part which expresses feelings rather than teaches truths, and which unfolds the workings of. a heart filled by the Spirit, rather than relates facts. Consequently, the appreciation of this portion requires a riper spiritual judgment, which, while giving all its force to the piety it contains, as being the same in all ages for every renewed soul, can yet recognize, at the same time, the particular position with respect to which the Spirit of God is speaking: a position which gives its form to this piety. Without this the true force of the Gospel of grace is lost, and the dealings of God are not perceived. This observation is most especially applicable to the Psalms, which, while full of those expressions of trust which have sustained the faith and piety of God's children at all times, contain, nevertheless, some sentiments which have been a stumbling-block to many Christians, sentiments which they have vainly sought to understand while considering this Book as a manual of devotion adapted to our present dispensation. But if the character of the book is rightly apprehended, these expressions offer no difficulty. We will examine the book as a whole, and some of its details. The most profitable manner of doing this will be-as I have attempted in the books we have already considered -to give the meaning and object of the Spirit of God, leaving the expression of the precious piety, which it contains, to the heart that alone is capable of estimating it, namely, one that feeds upon the grace of the Spirit of God.
The judgment which we have formed respecting the Psalms is sanctioned by the Apostle himself. " We know that what the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law" (Rom. 3). Several Psalms are quoted in the preceding verses. Thus the Psalms concern Israel and the position in which those who belong to Israel are found, whatever that position may be. This is the first general principle which the Word itself establishes for us. But in examining the Psalms themselves, we shall find other elements of this judgment, which are very clear and positive.
The Psalms distinguish -and even commence by distinguishing-the man who is faithful and godly, according to the law, from the rest of the nation. They treat then of the true believing remnant, of the righteous in Israel It is the portion and the hopes of Israel which form their subject. But it is the hopes of a remnant, whose portion is from the commencement distinguished in the most marked way from that of the wicked. Again, it is evident, that it is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of prophecy, that speaks. That is to say, it is the Spirit of Christ interesting Himself in the condition of the faithful remnant of Israel. This Spirit speaks of things to come as if they were present, as is always the case in the prophets. But this does not make it the less true that it is a Spirit of prophecy which speaks of the future, and which, in this respect, often resumes its natural character. But if the Spirit of Christ is interested in the remnant of Israel, Christ's own sufferings must be announced, which were the complete proof of that interest, and without which it would have been unavailing. And we find, in fact, the most touching expression of the sufferings of Christ, not historically, but just as He felt them, expressed by His own lips at the moment He endured them. It is always the Spirit of Christ that speaks, as taking part Himself in the affliction and grief of His people, whether it is by His Spirit in them, or Himself for them as the sole means, in presence of the just judgment of God, of delivering a beloved though guilty people. The Psalms, then, are the expression of the Spirit of Christ, either in the Jewish remnant, or in His own person as suffering for them, in view of the counsels of God with respect to His elect earthly people; and, since these counsels are to be accomplished more particularly in the latter days, it is the expression of the Spirit of Christ in this remnant, in the midst of the events which will take place in those days. The moral sufferings connected with those events have been more or less verified in the history of Christ on earth. And whether in His life, or yet more in His death, He is linked with the interests and with the fate of this remnant. In His history, at the time of His baptism by John, He had already identified Himself with those that formed this remnant; not with the impenitent multitude of Israel, but with this first movement of the Spirit of God in these " excellent of the earth," which led them to recognize the truth of God in the mouth of John, and to submit to it. Now it is in this remnant that the promises made to Israel will be accomplished; so that while being only a remnant, their affections and hopes are those of the nation. On the cross, Jesus remained the only true faithful one before God in Israel.
Having made these general observations which appeared to me necessary in order to understand the book, we will examine its details.
The First Book.
It is generally known that the Psalms are divided into five books, the first of which ends with Psa. 41, the second with Psa. 72, the third with Psa. 89, the fourth with Psa. 106, and the fifth with Psa. 150 I doubt not that each of these books is distinguished by an especial subject, or rather by an especial position of the remnant of Israel, or by its relation to others. But I prefer giving what I believe to be the special subject of each book, when we shall have the proofs before us in the examination of the books themselves. Other series of Psalms are comprised in these five books. We will point them out as we meet with them.
At the very opening of the book we find one of these series. We shall understand it better when we have examined the two first Psalms.
SA 1{The first Psalm shows us the condition of the righteous man under the government of the Lord, considering it according to the normal effect of this government when exercised in power to accomplish the purpose of God in righteousness. The existence of the wicked is assumed. The righteous man is described in his legal perfection, separating himself from the wicked and the scornful, and meditating in the law of the Lord. Constant blessing attends this man, in contrast with the wicked, who are like the chaff Which the wind driveth away, who shall not stand in the judgment, nor in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. We see at once here, in the first place, that we are on the ground of Israel and of God's government, under the law; and in the second place, that the righteous are distinguished from the wicked, for the Spirit does not speak of blessing for the whole people as such, but the portion of him who is righteous before God, in Israel. That is to say, He distinguishes the remnant. Even when this shall be verified at the end, in the judgment, and when, as the principle of life, the character of the blessed man shall be found again in the last days in the remnant, still there is none but Christ who perfectly answers to this character. He was the righteous man in Israel amidst the wicked: The first Psalm then describes the righteous and upright man in Israel, and that which shall be his portion from God in consequence. It is the judgment of that which is within, distinguishing the wicked from the just.
SA 2{The second Psalm reveals to us the counsels and purpose of God with respect to His anointed; He whom He has chosen in spite of the nations who oppose Him. We find the heathen and the people setting themselves against the Lord and against His anointed. God, however, is not in Zion. " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." He will manifest His wrath and fill them with terror. Afterward, He sets His king upon His holy hill of Zion. Christ must be made king in Zion. But the glory of His person must be known, and the extent of His dominion. He is the Son of God. This is not said here with respect to His eternal relationship to the Father, according to which His glory is fully revealed in the New Testament; but as begotten in time, as man on the earth, "born there," and owned as Son there: fully proved to be so by His resurrection. To this title is added the possession of all the heathen for an inheritance. He is not only king in Zion, but when He shall ask it of the Lord, the heathen shall be given to Him for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession, and He shall break them with a rod of iron.
The Son has not yet asked for this dominion over the heathen. He is now interceding for the Church (made the righteousness of God in Him), at the right hand of God, the Son of the Father, bringing His people into the enjoyment, by the Spirit, of His own position before God.
It is to Christ, proclaimed in this character of the Son begotten here below, anointed king in Zion, that the kings of the earth are summoned to submit, lest He be angry, They are called to serve the Lord, and to kiss the Son, submitting to His reign, as decreed of God. But, as we have seen, they rebel and take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. The wrath of the Son will be their portion.
Thus the first psalm has given us the result, according to the government of God, of man's righteousness; and the second, the result of God's counsels. But alas! with respect to Jesus, for a time, and the remnant in the latter days, all is very different. Affliction and rejection are their portion. And this is brought before us in the succeeding Psalms, which are the expression of faith in the hearts of the afflicted. From the 3rd Psalm to the end of the seventh this affliction is expressed. In the 8th, we have the grand result-Christ presented in another character, namely, that of his universal dominion as Son of Man. These eight Psalms form one of those series to which we have alluded.
SA 3-7{A few remarks on the Psa. 3 to 7 will suffice. It is the spirit of Christ who speaks in the righteous one, and that principally in his own person, but also in the remnant, and always in connection with the remnant. One can understand that it will be extremely sweet to this believing remnant in their state of imperfection, to find the need of their hearts expressed in perfection, and that He who is perfect should have placed himself in their circumstances, being afflicted in all their affliction; and having, in these afflictions, accomplished all that was necessary for their deliverance. The consciousness of this identification of Christ with the affliction of the remnant, and, as the victim, with their sin, is of the deepest import. Its whole effect will not be produced in the remnant until they shall see Christ; but His spirit in this remnant will make use of His identification with them, and that even in His death, as a wonderful testimony of sympathy and participation in their sorrows, and at the same time as a proof that the Lord thinks of the afflicted to deliver them. Thus in Psa. 3, we find that those who trouble the righteous are increased, they even say, that there is no help for him in God. But his entire confidence is in Jehovah: salvation is from Him, and His blessing is upon His people. We feel the contrast between this and the first and second Psalms, how far it is in principle true of Christ, and how far, according to numerous prophecies, it applies to the Jews in the latter days. The fourth Psalm applies still more directly to Christ, the Godly one whom the Lord had set apart for Himself; but it is to Christ as the Jewish man, chosen on earth, the Elect of God as he is called by the Holy Ghost. He enforces a faithful walk upon the Jews and amidst distress and discouragement, waits for the lifting up of the light of Jehovah's countenance upon them-their only hope. The fifth Psalm gives us an appeal to Jehovah with respect to ungodly enemies. The conscience and the heart of the righteous one are sensible that these cannot stand in Jehovah's sight, and He invokes blessing on all those who put their trust in Him. The godly man's knowledge of Jehovah's character, inspires him with full confidence, and with the language of his supplication, which closes with the expression of the certainty of blessing. The character of the wicked confirms the righteous in his confidence, for faith brings God into the scene and judges everything according to the effect of His presence.
Nevertheless, the remnant had truly deserved chastisement, and must necessarily see much more in their affliction than the oppression of the wicked. They saw the hand of God in it, but it was a God whom they knew. This is the sixth Psalm. Vexed, feeble, and overwhelmed, the remnant appeal to mercy, saying, "How long?" resting on what Jehovah was. For what profit would their death be? Could they give
Him thanks in the grave? We know well that the spirit of Christ went beyond this. But here He puts
Himself in connection with the remnant of Israel, and, as we have said, furnishes them with the perfect expression of His mind in their condition. For, Israel on earth, death put an end to all possibility of glorifying God. Christ, in sympathy, took His place there with the remnant.
The seventh Psalm goes farther. It pleads for the execution of judgment, and that God will awake, on behalf of the righteous, to the judgment that He has commanded; so that the congregation of the righteous shall compass Him about, because He takes cognizance of the integrity of the righteous and delivers them.
There are two principles which connect Christ and the remnant in the latter days. First, as to the nature
and principles of their life, the righteous have morally the sentiments of the Spirit of Christ, as He was upon earth among the Jews. In the Psalms, God grants to this remnant the expression of the claims of Christ in this position upon Himself, for He allows them the same claims, although they have not clear intelligence respecting this. It is a need and a desire, which the life that is in them legitimates to his heart, but the satisfaction of which appears impossible in their circumstances. Nevertheless, the knowledge of what the Lord is, and trust in Him, that is to say, faith, reckons upon it in spite of everything. These exercises give rise to a deeper discovery of sin. But the principles of God's government in Israel form a solid basis for the hopes of the remnant, for they are conscious of integrity before God. Perhaps the heart of my reader will say, "But the repentant Jew of those days, this remnant of whom you speak, would be presumptuous in assuming such a position, whatever their desires might be; and the effect of an awakened conscience ought to make them feel that they cannot be in it." I do not deny this, but there are two principles to be remembered. First, they cast themselves (according to principles divinely binding upon them) on the government of God, which recognizes the upright man. But there is another answer, which sets the difficulty entirely aside. The remnant does not assume to itself the position of Christ. It is grace, which, in these Psalms, supplies them with the divine expression of His feelings, or rather, with the manner in which Christ places Himself in their position, and attributes to them all the value of what He Himself was in that position. This is the most beautiful point in the character of these Psalms.
How often when we ourselves have been in a state of weakness, which, through discouragement, would have led us away from God, how often have we been sustained by these expressions in the word of perfect faith, which meeting the need of our inward life (a life weakened by the flesh) communicates this faith to us by bringing us into the position it represents. In short, this is the second principle of which I spoke above. Christ enters in, spirit into the weakness and anguish of the remnant, who are overwhelmed with distress. Our first principle was, that He brought the remnant into His own position before God as the faithful Israelite. Here, on the contrary, He associates Himself with the afflictions and ° sorrows of the remnant.
But if the righteous man has not prospered in the earth, if the Messiah has not been set up as King in
Zion, if He has been associated with the sufferings of the remnant of the people, it was in order to bring Him into a much more glorious position. This is set forth in the eighth Psalm. It is still the remnant-but now become the nation- who proclaim this glorious result. The name of their Lord, that is, of Jehovah, is become excellent in all the earth, and He has set His glory above the heavens. Here below, He has made use of the weakness which man despises, to magnify His glory. But His counsels with respect to the Son of Man, have caused all the wonders of His creation to grow pale before the glory of their accomplishment. When beholding the marvels of Creation, we may ask, "What is man?" But if we look at him in Christ, we see him exalted above all things, and having dominion over all the works of God's hand.
The glory of the Son of Man is that which explains and puts an end to the dishonor poured upon the
righteous man and the Messiah. By His means, Jehovah, the Lord of the Jews, becomes great in all the earth.
The quotation of this Psalm in Heb. 2, Eph. 1, 1 Cor. 15, manifests the force and import of its language, bringing in the Church also, not to the position of those who say "our Lord," but as united to Him who shall have all things in subjection under His feet. But the Psalm itself places Jehovah, the Lord of the Jews, in a glory which extends over the whole earth, and shows us the Son of Man crowned with glory and honor, having dominion over all that Jehovah has created. All this is an introduction, and gives us an idea of the Messiah's position and glory in the two following Psalms we are introduced with much more detail into the circumstances of the latter days.
SA 9{In Psa. 9, we find in prophetic anticipation, the celebration of the judgment, by which God has put an end to the power of the wicked, and rebuked the heathen, who are caught in their own net. Jehovah will now judge the world in righteousness. He dwells in Zion. The needy shall not always be forgotten. He vindicates the claims of the righteous, and maintains their cause. He remembers the humble, and forgets not their cry. He is known by the judgment which He executes.
SA 10{The tenth Psalm describes the character of the wicked, and the condition in which the meek find themselves during the dominion of the wicked. But the Lord has seen, and He has heard the cry of the humble. The Lord is King, and the heathen perish out of his land. This Psalm is remarkable, because it classes all the wicked together. The Jew who bears this character is not distinguished from the heathen. They are linked together. But it appears to me that the wicked Jews are especially pointed out here, and although at the beginning of the Psalm the word is used as characterizing a class, the verb being in the plural, yet it can scarcely be doubted that the Psalm contemplates some individual, who especially gathers up in his own person all the features of the wicked. Nevertheless, this Psalm describes the character of the wicked in general, and presents the cry of the humble remnant, and the certain judgment of God. These two Psalms describe in a very lively manner the state of the remnant during the latter-day troubles. The ninth gives rather the confidence of faith, and respects the outward oppression and the opposition of the heathen to the rights of the Jew, especially of the Messiah. The tenth, the inward oppression, and the character of the wicked. In the ninth Jehovah is King in Zion-He has prepared His throne for judgment. In the tenth He is King forever and ever. The heathen, it is said (to give the historical connection of events) are perished out of the land of Israel. Christ is seen here as elsewhere, speaking by His Spirit in the remnant of those days. See 9:1-4.
SA 11-15{After these general observations, the Psalms from 11 to 15, will not require any detailed remarks. The varied sentiments of the faithful, during the time of Israel's distress in the latter days, will be found in them. Sometimes it is the expression of trust in Jehovah-sometimes it is the sense of the depths in which they will then find themselves, but in which the compassions of the Lord are drawn out by the condition of the righteous in distress. Sometimes it is the heart complaining of the prolonged affliction. Finally, it is a picture of the folly of the atheist's heart-of that of the wicked; and then the character of him who shall peacefully ascend the hill of the Lord; a joy of which faith assures itself in spite of all difficulties. When Psa. 53 comes under consideration, I shall make some remarks on the difference between the latter and the fourteenth Psalm.
SA 16-17{The sixteenth and seventeenth Psalms require a little more explanation, as well as the eighteenth. They are of the highest interest, and deserve especial attention. They set before us with much detail the position of Christ, as connecting Himself with the interests of the people, and placing Himself by sympathy in their circumstances (those of the saints in Israel) while having personally a peculiar position, in that He assumed it voluntarily. The sixteenth marks out very clearly the position itself. Its first words are among those which the Apostle uses in the Epistle to the Heb. 2:13,13And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (Hebrews 2:13) to show that Christ has taken part with those who are sanctified, not being ashamed to call them brethren; having consequently become man, taking flesh and blood, because the children whom God had given Him partook of it. That is to say, He made Himself really man, but it was in order to identify Himself with the interests, and to secure the blessing of the saints, of the remnant, of the children whom God was bringing to glory, and who are distinguished from the mass of Israel, to whom they were to be a sign. Compare Isa. 8:18,18Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in mount Zion. (Isaiah 8:18) where the condition of this remnant and the expectation of better days, are considered more at length, leaving aside the Church, which the remnant became, in fact, in the interval. Other parts of the Word bear testimony to this latter truth. But the passage I have just quoted from Isaiah will help us much in understanding the manner in which the Spirit of God passes from Christ's personal connection with the saints in Israel, to the position and portion of these saints in the last days. In this passage, Christ in Spirit contemplates only His connection with the remnant of Israel, and so far with the nation, and thus passes over the whole history of the Church, to find Himself again in the same connection with the nation in the last days. If we do not thus abstract the Church, it is impossible to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. Read from Isa. 8:16, 17,16Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples. 17And I will wait upon the Lord, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. (Isaiah 8:16‑17) to the 7th verse of chap. 9 where this prophecy closes. The Church has her heavenly portion, but Christ can consider His relations with His earthly people separately.
We will return to our Psalm. Christ, as man, takes the place of dependence on God. He trusts in God, and says that Jehovah is His Lord. This is His self-renunciation and His perfection as man. He takes the place of a servant which should be that of man, and especially of Israel. He declares that in this position He does not put Himself on a level with God, His goodness does not extend to Him; and He makes known to the saints that are in the earth, the " excellent," that all His delight is in them. He publicly demonstrated this at John's baptism (comp. also Matt. 19:16,1716And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? 17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. (Matthew 19:16‑17)). The 4th verse shows us that this is in connection with Israel, who—as we learn from the Lord's prophecy (Matt. 12:43-45,43When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43‑45) and Isa. 65), will fall into idolatry in the latter days. Jehovah alone is acknowledged by the prophetic Spirit of Christ. Afterward, in all the latter verses, He rejoices in the portion which the Lord has given Him with the excellent of the earth, a portion which He will enjoy in the days to come; the certainty of this hope being connected with His resurrection, which is a necessary condition to its fulfillment, and which the favor of the Lord secures to His Anointed, in all the virtue of that power which will not suffer this Holy One to see corruption.
SA 17{In Psa. 17 He takes the path of faithfulness which the position we have spoken of implies, and declares how He maintains Himself in this faithfulness in the presence of mighty enemies, who had this world for their treasure and their end, and who prospered in it according to their desire, God giving them their portion in it. As for Him, who, in His humiliation, is the Lord's faithful servant, His object and His motive, the hope that gives Him peace under all circumstances, that which governs His heart in this world, is that He shall behold Jehovah's face in righteousness. He shall be satisfied when He awakes up in His likeness. Two things strike us here. In the first place, resurrection is strongly marked as necessary to the heart of the righteous man, circumstanced as He is; and morally so, because of the measure and character of perfection, which as a man of God his mind has conceived and laid hold of (comp. Phil. 3) And in the second place, although the Psalm completely changes the moral order with respect to Israel, for whom, as an earthly people, earthly blessing was a token of God's favor. This change is strikingly noted in the Gospels. It is specially the meaning of Luke 16 and of that which is said of the poor (compare Zech. 11) Moreover, the faithful had experienced it at all times. The first of these two points was evidently verified in Christ Himself. But it will be of use as a precious encouragement to the remnant subjected to the first persecution of the last days, while testimony still continues, for this is the case supposed here., Psa. 16, then, places Christ in connection with the excellent of the earth. Psa. 17 places Him with them in the presence of wicked men on the earth. The righteous man keeps himself by the words of the Lord. That Christ held this place and lived by every word that came out of the mouth of God, we well know. But the 11Th verse shows us the remnant in this position in the latter days. Resurrection is here still the hope of the faithful. The wicked continue in prosperity. The faithful, verse 7, put their trust always in the right hand of God; but they are in the midst of a wicked nation (Israel) who are an instrument in God's hand to chastise the remnant. The importance of the second point mentioned above is manifest for those who will be so circumstanced.
SA 18{Psa. 18 is one of the most remarkable in its structure, and one which the most clearly evidences the principle on which the Psalms are composed. We know that David wrote this Psalm; and its occasion is related in 2 Sam. 22. Yet it is most evident that the Spirit of God had a greater than David in view, even the Anointed. But we see, also, as it appears to me, that it is not David's distress alone, but that Christ is concerned in the affliction of His people at all times, and that His sufferings were the cause of God's caring for this people from the period of their captivity in Egypt (whence He called His Son). From this, the Spirit passes on to the oppression of the people at the end of their history, and recognizes the claims of Christ on account of His personal and practical righteousness, as manifested during His life in Israel; which, with respect to God's government is acknowledged in the remnant, being re-produced in them, inasmuch as they possess the life and the desires created by the Spirit of Christ; so that they share all the efficacy and all the consequences for Israel on the earth of its perfection in Him. Afterward, the consequences of His having relied, as the afflicted one, on the Lord, are manifested in the triumph of Christ. No enemy can stand before him. Delivered from the strivings, of the people, and made the head of the heathen, the strangers submit themselves unto Him; and even when it is with feigned obedience, they dare not resist. He is delivered from the violent man, and praises the Lord among the heathen. It is the history of Israel as participating in the care of God on account of the righteous One, and especially is it the history of the exaltation and triumph of this righteous One himself. Thus these three Psalms set the connection of Christ with Israel before us in a very striking manner.
There is another principle in the Psalms that we may point out here, which is found throughout, and which especially characterizes this Book, as well as Him whom it -reveals. He waits only upon the Lord, and refuses to seek help elsewhere. Thus, faith is thoroughly put to the test, and the heart responds entirely to the perfection of the ways of God. The patience of Him who is tried, however great the affliction, corresponds with the duration of God's forbearance. He has so laid hold of that which is in God, and trusts so perfectly in Him, that he has neither need nor desire to seek help elsewhere, or before He shall interpose. This was perfectly manifested in Christ.
SA 19-22{A fresh series of Psalms, possessing equal interest, commences here. But the Psalms that compose it will not require to be so much dwelt upon, because every one will more readily understand them. I refer to Psa. 19 and 22. They speak of God's testimonies. In Psa. 19, we have two of these testimonies, Creation and the Law. Paul makes use of them in the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans, to prove the whole world's inexcusable state of sin-whether Gentiles or Jews. Here, however, these testimonies are made known in their intrinsic excellence. The third testimony is the Messiah Himself. But in Psa. 20 He is seen in the day of His distress. The remnant is prophetically designated in the fact, that by faith they enter into His distress, being assured that the Lord will hear His Anointed,-having their trust in the Lord, and desiring that the king will hear them when they call. This is a new element in the character of the remnant. They are interested spectators of the sufferings, of the Anointed.
SA 21{In Psa. 21, the Anointed has been heard, and in answer to his prayer, according to the power of an endless life, exalted to glory on high. Thus, delivered from His enemies and owned of the Lord, the result of the former is judgment and destruction. The right hand of the King finds out all His enemies. They had imagined devices which they were not able to perform. He who had been oppressed by man and by the Jews, being now owned and heard by the Lord, and exalted gloriously, His enemies suffer the just consequences of their wicked hatred. But in Psa. 22, the sufferings of Christ are of a very different kind. His anguish is caused by His being forsaken of God. He alone could know this, He alone expresses it. Accordingly, it is not now the remnant who, beholding Him, utter the language of faith. This could not be done with respect to being forsaken of God. It could only be either unbelief, or a spiritual knowledge of Christ's substitution. The Spirit therefore puts these words into Christ's own mouth, and, in fact, he used these very words. A proof of the precise application of the Psalms. Already overwhelmed by sufferings inflicted by man, and His heart melted like wax, Christ calls upon God, the resource of every righteous man among the Lord's people. But He alone, of all the righteous, must undergo the being forsaken of God, and must proclaim that He is so (a terrible trial before his enemies, but He was altogether before God), as though He were "a worm and no man," even while perfectly glorifying God, and bearing testimony to Him even in this condition. His sufferings here were expiatory. This is the reason why, when once His prayer was heard from the horns of the unicorn, all is grace, a stream of grace, which first of all reaches the remnant, revealing God to them as a Savior, such as Jesus had known Him, in His perfect love for His beloved Son, delivering Him from the death in which He was for sin—grace which, gathering this remnant, chaunts this Savior God in the midst of the congregation thus formed-grace which then reaches the congregation of Israel, the great congregation, the whole family of Jacob, and afterward extends to all the ends of the world, accomplishing millennial blessing, and embracing the yet unborn generation, the millennial posterity, to whom it shall be declared that Christ hath this; as in former days they spoke of their deliverance from Egypt. Everything flows out for the remnant, for Israel, for the world, and for the generations to come, from the death and atonement of Christ. Observe, that in this Psalm nothing is said of judgment, Christ had drunk that cup to the dregs, and all is grace.
We may examine the next Psalms together as far as the end of Psa. 41; distinguishing, however, the two first, and also Psa. 40
SA 23{Psa. 23 and 24 go together, and speak of Christ in, His life of humiliation on the earth, and in the brightness of His glory, when He shall be manifested as the great King in Israel. At the same time we see the confidence of every godly man in Israel, and the character of those who will be associated with Christ, and owned by Him. There is an expression in Psa. 23, which might present a difficulty with respect to Christ, "He restoreth my soul," but in His case it must be after. His agony, and clearly not after sin. But He trod the path which His sheep should tread; and that, in its whole extent, sin excepted. Observe that this Psalm sets before us, in the first place, the joys which are natural to such a position; but it is not till after restorations, after passing through the valley of the shadow of death, after having experienced that strong assurance which is gained by finding God our safe-guard against the enemies who press us, and after having proved the faithfulness of God in all circumstances, that we are able to trust Him for time and for eternity, and that we can understand the whole extent of that goodness which has sealed us. This Psalm abounds with instruction, in this respect, for every heart.
SA 24{Psa. 24 speaks of the character of those who shall go up to the sanctuary, when God Himself shall take the government of the earth, which shall then be His; and at the same time reveals Him to us, whose. humiliation and faith formed the subject of the preceding Psalm, as being Himself Jehovah, the King of glory, mighty in battle, Jehovah of hosts.
The Psalms that follow, with the exception of the fortieth, contain the various sentiments of the faithful remnant, to which God Himself gives a voice, according to the perfection that He can give them, and which they would not have had in a purely human heart.
SA 25{Psa. 25 is a touching appeal to God, reminding Him of His mercy, with a full confession of sin. The meek put their trust in His name. It expresses very clearly the condition and the thoughts of the faithful remnant in, connection with their position in Israel, and as possessing feelings suited to the position and history of that people. The relations of the faithful man's heart to Jehovah, his sense of what his God is for him in his weakness, with the consequences that flow from this (verse 13), are unfolded in faith's most touching affections. It is a picture of the true faith of a godly person in Israel in the last days. But of faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel, not thinking yet of Him whom they had pierced; and even without having the wicked one immediately in view. Thus, in principle, it is the Spirit of the life of Christ also on the earth (sin excepted), which is spoken of in this Psalm, and the sentiments of which are given by His Spirit to the remnant, and in this sense he has partaken of part of it.
SA 26{Psa. 26 pleads the integrity of which the righteous man will be conscious in that day. Integrity, which, in its absolute sense, is real in Christ alone; but, as a principle of life, it is real in all saints. Confession of sin and conscious integrity of heart go together. In the latter case, it is the heart's desire that his soul may not be gathered with sinners. All this refers especially to Israel in the last days.
SA 27{Psa. 27 speaks of the confidence which flows from having taken Jehovah for light and for deliverance, desiring only one thing-to be near Him. In the time of trouble the Lord will hide him in His pavilion, and will lift up the head of the faithful man above all his enemies. This, again, is especially the faith of the remnant in the last days. The cry in the ninth verse is founded on a touching argument. The heart of God (as I understand it) had said to the righteous man, when thinking of Israel, " Seek my face." The righteous man says-" Thy face, Lord, will I seek; but since Thou hast commanded me to seek it, hide it not from me." It is to be remarked that in all these Psalms, from Psa. 22 and 23, we are on the ground of deliverance, in the land of the living, and in especial connection with Jehovah, the well-known God of Israel.
SA 28{Psa. 28 enters into the same desire not to be drawn away with the wicked. The remnant set themselves apart in Israel, entering into the mind of God- "there is no peace for the wicked." Isa. 48:22, 57:21, in which the same separation under the same circumstances, only there proclaimed by God. If the Israelites are wicked, God judges all things, as John the Baptist preached; for it was then that the separation of a remnant was formally marked out as a present thing. He preached this separation of a remnant. God no longer taking account of their being outwardly the children of Abraham, as Peter also (Acts 2:4040And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. (Acts 2:40)), and Paul (Rom. 11). The Lord receives them as His sheep (John 10). The consciousness of the strength of God being with His Anointed, and that He will lift up the people, is also expressed in this Psalm.
SA 29{Psa. 29 proclaims the power of the voice of the Lord; who will be the strength of His people, and will bless them with peace. After a long silence, the time will come when He will make His voice to be heard,
calling on all the great ones of the earth to submit themselves.
SA 30{There is no particular remark to make on Psa. 30, which expresses the joy of the remnant on their deliverance in the last days, except that it is deliverance from death; for they had, as it were, gone down to the mouth of the grave. We may observe, also (verses 6 and 7), the difference between confidence in the blessing and confidence in Him who blesses.
SA 31{I think I perceive a greater depth of thought, something more intimate, more habitual and uninterrupted in the relations with God of him who speaks in the Psalms which relate more immediately to Christ. His whole soul is more under the eye of God. Thus in Psa. 31, while making His request for the blessing of the people, and foreseeing with joy the treasures of goodness which are laid up for those that fear Jehovah, one sees that it is Christ himself in presence of the enemy, and whose heart is exercised by the circumstances around Him. It is not only His integrity of which He speaks; and the possibility of being confounded with the workers of iniquity is not supposed; on the contrary, whatever may be the anguish and burden of His heart on account of the sin of others, His own relationships with God (except as forsaken on the cross) are always fully realized in His soul. There was one moment in which He said He was forsaken, but His prayer was heard. The anguish is more intense and more inward than in those Psalms which express the sentiments of the remnant. It is the anguish of His own soul, but of a soul nearer to God; the sentiments of one who sees, judges, feels everything, according to that which he is morally within, in the communion of God. They are not sentiments produced by outward things in a soul in which, however, the Spirit of Christ is acting. All this is seen prophetically, and it is not always expressed in the historical order, but in moral development, in the way in which it would be gone over in spirit, in reviewing, or rather in foreseeing it. The things which pressed most, and faith with respect to these things, being spoken of first, and afterward the details which brought on the crisis. The word " haste," in verse 22, is rather alarm-anguish; the verse shows that the entire life of Christ unto the end is considered here. The 5th verse, which the Lord used when giving up His Spirit to His Father, proves it also. But it appears to me that it is not in the aspect of atonement that His sufferings are here viewed, but rather as His own personal sufferings, as taking part in the actual position of the remnant, being Himself this remnant in the perfection of the thoughts that became them; and, consequently, exposed to the attacks of the wicked, of the enemy, and at the same time acknowledging all this as the just result of Israel's ways, the penalty of which He was bearing in grace. His faithfulness brought hatred, isolation, and opprobrium upon Him; but His heart recognized the just hand of God in this state of things. I do not think verse 10 is expiatory, but as enduring, in fact, the consequences belonging to it, according to the just government of God. For if one is faithful where all the rest are unfaithful, he will feel so much the more, and in proportion to his faithfulness, all that is dreadful in this state of things. But God will be seen through it all. No one felt the thirty-eight years after Kadesh-barnea, like Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. For them it came from God. But they were sustained, because they saw God through everything. Now the Lord went into the very depths of this, seen as God sees it. Thus the hatred of all that was under the enemy's influence had reached its highest point, and He saw it, as He saw everything, as the con- sequence of the sin which overwhelmed His Heart, because He loved the people according to God. Nevertheless, being perfect, He sees through all this, what the faithfulness of God will do and bestow. He trusts perfectly in Jehovah, and He makes use of the effect of this trust for the encouragement of the faithful remnant. This was indeed what the Lord did. What words of comfort proceeded from the depths of His sufferings and of His sorrows, because His communion with God was perfect with respect to these very things; He drew from it the consolations, and the communications of love, and the consciousness of Jehovah's faithfulness, which He used for the restoration and the encouragement of those who entered but scarcely felt these afflictions, but whose weakness would have caused them to sink without His help. This is what He did for such during His life. He does it in the Psalms for the remnant in the latter days, and even for all those who have not seen His face, but who find in these Psalms His heart, His grace, His faithfulness, His sympathies, and the depth of His communications with the springs of blessing, in the midst of the miseries which surround us, and into which we are brought by our sins, by our sad inheritance of sin (see ver. 22-24; 34:4-6).
SA 32{But the remnant, as well as every quickened soul, needs something more than this, in order to walk with God, and endure the fight of faith. Forgiveness is needed. As we have seen the blessedness of the righteous man announced in Psa. 1, so here in Psa. 32, another kind of blessedness is declared. Pardon, and the sense of pardon, and that the Lord does not impute iniquity. He alone is free from guile who possesses this. Without it, he will either keep away from God, to hide from himself, or else he will seek to justify himself, to excuse himself, although his own mouth condemns him. But when pardon is once before his eyes, he has, courage to be truthful, and to confess everything. Who would not declare all his debts, when their discharge by another is the only thing in question? Who would not declare his malady, when it was for a certain cure? Thus brought to confess his transgression, the poor sinner finds that God has taken away all the burden of his sin. It is this principle that encourages the humble and godly man to draw near to God, and the floods of great waters do not come nigh unto him. God, then, guides him with his eye; he is encouraged to yield himself to this guidance, instead of having to be guided by the hand, without understanding the will of God. This blessing is spoken prophetically, announced as a truth; and it describes-not the condition of the remnant, but that which shall be their desire, a desire kindled by the very revelation of the blessing, which they will not realize till Christ shall appear. It is true, moreover, of any soul. The pardon set before him attracts him, encourages him, and leads him to confess his sin. Morally, this is a very instructive Psalm, and one also which very clearly reveals the relative position of the remnant, or rather the truths that will be set before them.
SA 33{Psa. 33, which is one of great beauty, does not require much explanation. It is the name of Jehovah celebrated as God the Creator. 'Blessed are the people whose God He is! It is the expression of entire confidence in Him, a confidence which He will not fail to answer, because He cannot be wanting to His name, nor to those who put their trust in it. The word of the Lord is right, and all His works are truth. There is great repose in this Psalm, because the eye is turned away from man and fixed upon God.
SA 34{In Psa. 34, we have the exhortation and the example of Christ to bless the Lord at all times, because our trust is in Him, and not in circumstances. That is to say, not only in the midst of blessing but when surrounded with difficulties and trials, and because he makes himself known in His faithful love in these trials. There are afflictions—but Jehovah is there, Christ himself is the proof of it. He cried, and the Lord heard Him; therefore He saith to others, "O taste and see that theLord is good; none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
The structure of this Psalm is interesting. As far as verse 4, we evidently see some one who serves for an example, or rather, who having himself experienced the way in which God answers the faith of one who calls upon Him in his distress, holds up as a pattern to others, the faithfulness of Jehovah towards himself. This is applied (verse 5) to others who had been in distress-applied historically to some (verse 6) who make use of the example set before them. The rest of the Psalm is an exhortation by the Spirit to trust thus in Jehovah, showing the contrast between His servants and the wicked. The touching application of all this to Christ and to the faithful in the latter days is evident.
But another thing comes before us in the use of the Psalm; i.e., that the remnant, after the death of Jesus, took the position of Christians; and although, in many respects, that altered their position, yet in the main-apart from those sufferings which are properly Christian -they were to enjoy the promises connected with Jehovah's faithfulness to the remnant of Israel, in the midst of the unbelieving mass; accordingly, Peter quotes this Psalm for the Christian Jews, in this sense. I doubt not that in principle, according to the government of God, this applies to the Gentiles, grafted into the good olive-tree. But the bringing in of the Church, and the thought of being risen with Christ-which we do not find in Peter's writings-sets aside all this category of ideas, because the Church, seen in Christ, is looked upon as sitting in Heaven..
SA 35{In Psa. 35, it seems evident to me that we again find Christ, but Christ looked at as uniting himself to the remnant of Israel, and whose deliverance will be the subject of praise and thanksgiving in the great congregation, that is to say, in the whole nation of Israel gathered together at the end. It applies, therefore, to all the faithful, who, going through the evil days, will form a part of it.
SA 36{Psa. 36 sets the painful truth before us, that in the circumstances which surround the meek in the midst of iniquity, there is no resource in the conscience of the wicked. The upright man who fears God, is often inclined to think that this fear must arrest others, even those who are not walking with the righteous. But this is not the case, and it is well to remember it. But on the other hand, there is a perfect and infinite resource in the mercy and faithfulness of Jehovah. How does the Spirit of Christ provide for everything, for all that could disturb the heart of the righteous man in the difficulties that surround him! At length, the wicked shall be cast down., And this is why, in Psa. 37„ he who hearkens to the word of Jehovah's servant (Isa. 1.) is exhorted to be still, and not to fret himself because of the wicked, to trust in the Lord, to delight himself in the Lord, to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, to cease from anger and in no wise to fret himself to do evil; for yet a little while and the wicked shall be cut off, but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. We may take notice here of that which is always found in the Psalms, and which gives them a very distinctive character., which gives the highest proof of their proper application to the Jewish remnant of the last days, and makes it clear that they do not apply to the position of the Church -except in some grand principles already pointed out. This characteristic of the Psalms then is, that deliverance is accomplished by the cutting off and destruction of the enemy by the judgment of God-a judgment consequently, that is desired and prayed for by the faithful. It is not so with the Church; she suffers, and she will be taken away from the evil. Whatever may be the moment of her deliverance, its mode will be, that she will go to meet the Lord in the air. She lives, moreover, by grace, and does not seek for the destruction of any.
SA 37{But judgment alone will be the deliverance of those who have not taken advantage of this fullness of grace. Oppressed and crushed by iniquity, their only hope is the cutting off of their oppressors. This deliverance is promised them. This difference, I repeat, gives a very decided and distinctive character to the Psalms. The inheritance of the earth is the peculiar subject of this Psalm (37). In general, it may also be observed, that in this Book it is the enemies within, the wicked, of whom the righteous complain, although the outward enemies are pointed out, as we have seen, particularly in Psa. 9 and 33, in order to show distinctly the position of the faithful remnant, as forming part of a faithless and guilty nation, who by their iniquity in those days, will bring on themselves desolation and the scourge; and that in the presence of enemies who are the rod of God on this rebellious people.
SA 38{In Psa. 38, therefore, the remnant or the individual who is a part of it, commits himself to God in the consciousness of his sin, that the enemy may not prevail against him, now that through grace his heart is upright. It is the perfect picture of one whose conscience being burdened by sin, knows that the enemy might take advantage of it, and pours out the anguish of his heart before God. The chastisement which the suppliant has deserved would be a just cause for fear, but at the same time he can say that all his desire is before the Lord. He has lost everything, all help, all human consolation, (for what is it worth in such a case?) that he may cast himself entirely upon God, his only help. It is thus that God purifies the heart. It is a terrible thing to be in conflict when the heart is burdened with a sense of sin. This is not the normal condition of a Christian, because with him God begins by giving him a perfect conscience (Heb. 10). Nevertheless, his foolishness may bring him sometimes into this position. But it will be the case of the Jewish remnant, because their conscience will not be purged till they have seen Jesus, and till-through that event-their conflict will be ended. The condition described in this Psalm, will make one who is in it thoroughly sensible that the salvation and deliverance of God is his only hope, in a word, grace his only resource. I repeat the remark already made; how, in these Psalms, does the perfect grace of Christ supply the remnant with all they need for every exercise of heart!
In Psa. 39 the faithful one becomes more calm, because he comes more into the presence of God. He restrains himself while the wicked are before him, until his heart overflows; not in addressing them, but in pouring itself out before God. He prays that God will keep his mind alive to his own nothingness-a sense of which deprives the malice of the enemy of half its power. For what can be done to one who is nothing even in his own eyes? Man is but vanity. But the righteous man waits upon Jehovah; he acknowledges that his afflictions come from God, and takes the place of a suppliant before Him, as having deserved them all. He is a stranger and a sojourner with the Lord, as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He waits, like them, for the fulfillment of the promises instead of looking upon the wicked. Christ indeed took this place, but here it is one of the faithful who is seen in it.
Psa. 40 requires particular attention, because we find Christ-in the eternal counsels of God-taking this place in the congregation of Israel; and suffering in grace at the same time, the consequences of the people's condition, waiting for deliverance from the Lord alone, renouncing everything, and even undergoing wrath rather than fail in fulfilling the will of God. This is the perfection which we always see in Christ, never turning away from perfect obedience, or accepting any other deliverance than that of God, when He should have accomplished the whole of God's will;-and seeking the full blessing and joy of the faithful remnant, whilst he Himself is poor and afflicted. He reminds God of the faithfulness with which He had preached His righteousness and salvation in the great congregation of Israel. He had not drawn back from this difficult task; and now, His testimony being finished (fruitless labor, with respect to the people; Isa. 49:44Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. (Isaiah 49:4)). His iniquities, i.e., those of His people, have taken hold of Him, and under this burden He cries to the Lord, being still in the presence of those that hate the righteous. It is very striking to see Christ, in the depth of His sufferings, thinking only of the joy of the poor remnant, and praying that they may ever have reason to praise God, whilst He is poor and needy. He experienced, and others might experience with Him, the affliction of the righteous in presence of the wicked; but in bearing iniquity He is alone, and only seeks the joy of His people. "Mine ears hast Thou opened," or "digged;" (translated, "a body hast Thou prepared me," in the New Testament which follows the Septuagint), is His incarnation, for it was then He took the form of a servant-ears in order to obey (see also Isa. 1). But in this last passage, it is the daily spirit of obedience, and not merely taking the place of obedience. Phil. 2, is a very plain commentary on this truth. In Ex. 21, again, it is a different thing, Christ having perfectly fulfilled His service here below, refused to go out free; and in His death He became a servant forever. He is so now (John 13) to wash our feet. He will be so, in this sense, during the Millennium (see Luke 12:3737Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. (Luke 12:37)); and indeed forever. (1 Cor. 15:2828And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:28)). This is a beautiful subject which I cannot now pursue. But the references I give will make it clear to the attentive reader. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. This is Isa. 50:4, 5, 64The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:4‑6). The word "opened" in this last passage, is not the same as in the Psalm.
SA 41{Psa. 41. I am scarcely inclined to apply this Psalm exclusively to Christ, although it undoubtedly applies to Him characteristically. He makes use of verse 9, in speaking of that which happened to Himself; but it appears to me that it is in a characteristic manner. Still, it is evident that its highest fulfillment is in Him:- in him who made Himself the poorest of all. In verse 4, it is clearly the Spirit of Christ speaking in the person of one of the remnant, who feels his sin as being one of the people. The consciousness of sin aggravates the difficulties of his position. But one may always be truthful before God. Christ has associated Himself in grace with this position.
It is this blending together of the condition of the remnant in whom the Spirit of Christ is acting, and Christ Himself; which forms the difficulty of the Psalms. Some of them, as Psa. 22 and others, maintain the revelation at the height of Christ, throughout the whole Psalm. But often it is the condition of the remnant-a condition that Christ in grace has shared, and many of the circumstances of which were more strikingly verified in Christ. This is the reason that we find in the same Psalm confessions of sin and declarations of perfect integrity. The latter being only in intention, except in Christ. But still it was sincere, inasmuch as His Spirit was acting. Accordingly, we have here, in verse 4, " I have sinned against Thee," and afterward, verse 12, " As for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face forever." The affliction of which this Psalm speaks, has never been accomplished as it was in Christ. Yet the Psalm could only be true of Him, as speaking at the same time in the name of the remnant with whom grace had connected Him. The remnant is characterized as the poor, the meek who shall inherit the earth. But Christ was pre-eminently this.
This Psalm closes the first Book, which is perhaps the most difficult to understand, as laying the foundation of the relations between Christ and the remnant. It speaks especially of their inward condition and the moral sentiments connected with it. It refers, therefore, historically, to the days in which Jesus Himself was among the Jews, and that to the end. With respect to the remnant, this book refers to that period of the last days during which they will be in the midst of the development of iniquity which will take place before they are driven out by the great tribulation. The remnant being still, as Christ was, in the midst of the people. Nevertheless, as will be needful for those who will be in these circumstances, the times are prophetically anticipated and foreseen, up to the end. But the condition actually existing, to which the sentiments apply, is the mingled condition. As far as the end of Psa. 24, the opposition between the righteous and the wicked is much more abstract, when the expression of feeling is in question. It is a much more absolute state of opposition, as it was in the case of Christ Himself, together with full confidence in the Lord. Afterward we perceive that mixture of feeling which is found in a soul, whose desires being really produced by the spirit of God cause it to look unto Him; and yet, who is not only in the presence of the enemy and the oppressor, but whose heart is burdened (because God is working in it) with the sense of sin. It is, therefore, divided between these two feelings; on one side, the need of pardon, to be at liberty with God on the other, need of help, to be delivered from the enemy. God being on the side of one who feels himself guilty, a thing difficult to believe; faith, however, is in exercise. Christ throws Himself into this condition, and gives, in these Psalms, the sentiments that are suitable to it. When thus circumstanced, it would be difficult to know what was the suitable feeling. Conscience says, God cannot receive the guilty, but the heart turns to God. What a relief to be supplied with inspired language for such a case! To find that the Messiah, whom they had rejected, has, in grace, taken this position, having been forsaken of God in His people's stead, what strong support! With reference to this last truth, the remnant will understand it rather as the extent of their Messiah's sympathy than as the pardon of their own sins. In the latter half of the book, we find the pardon that flows from what Christ has done, presented as a new character of blessing; desired by them, and so far understood as it could be by those who were not in possession of it. This pardon will not be known by the remnant till later. This forms the immense difference between our position and theirs. We have redemption through His blood, i.e., the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. That which is matter of study for us and often difficult for us to understand at present, because we are not in the condition to which it applies, will be very simple for the joy and consolation of those who are in it. Jesus having been on earth in connection with the Jewish remnant, realizing, through grace, their guilt as His own, and suffering all the consequences of the iniquity that surrounded him, and that had made the people of God a slave to their enemies-when those who will form this remnant shall turn to the Lord, the expression of the sympathies of Jesus will be as balm to their heart, wounded and crushed by evil, from which they cannot yet escape. It may have been observed, also, that in the first part of this book, in which, as has been said, faith is more simple and more pure, the contrast between the faithful and the wicked more absolute and distinct, resurrection is much more spoken of. This is remarkable; as in Psa. 16 and 17. The hope of the remnant, as such, will be for the earth. " The meek shall inherit the earth." But as it was with Christ Himself, so with the remnant in their circumstances; resurrection is their necessary hope, since the life of the faithful will be often in danger. In general, probably, this will be the case with the most advanced, those who will have learned this better hope (compare the beginning of Matt. 5:5-12,5Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:5‑12) and this last verse with 11, and Dan. 7:25,25And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25) and 11:35). Thus in the first part of the book, in which the separation is complete and faith distinct, resurrection is presented as the strength and encouragement of this faith.
The Second Book.
SA 42{Psa. 42 Commences the second book, which gives us more outward, more historical thoughts, while still maintaining, the expression of the sentiments of the Spirit of Christ, whether in the remnant or in Himself. But although these sentiments are expressed in this division of the Psalms, it is more characterized by the history of the Jewish remnant, in the latter days. The language of Psa. 1 in this book gives the date. The remnant is scattered', no longer going with the multitude that kept holyday. It is the heaviest part of the distress—the time that the wicked are in power-the great tribulation. In measure, Jesus took this place representatively (John 10:40,40And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. (John 10:40) or rather 11:54). As to the remnant, the effect of being thus scattered, and of the temporary triumphs of the wicked, is to make them feel a more urgent need of God himself. At the same time, they are cast down on account of the success of the wicked, and reproaches now addressed to them on that account; while they say unto them, "Where is now your God?" Still they have faith.
Psa. 42 expresses the feelings of the righteous at this cruel taunt, with respect to the heathen, the enemies who oppress them-Psalm, 43, with respect to the Jews. These two Psalms give the position which forms the basis of this book. The righteous man remembers God from the land of Jordan. All God's waves and billows are gone over him. But the help of Jehovah's countenance will yet be the subject of their praises, and the health of the countenance of the just, whose God He Himself will be. We come now to the details.
SA 44{In Psa. 44, the remnant call upon God, reminding Him of all that they had heard of His deliverances in former days; all that God had then done for his people. For, say they, it was not by their own sword they conquered, nor did their own arm save them, but because " Thou hadst a favor unto them." Now, the remnant had not forsaken the covenant, although they were " sore broken in the place of dragons." They cry to God, imploring Him to manifest Himself, and no longer to forget their affliction, but to arise and deliver them for His mercy's sake. Two points here characterize the remnant-their practical fidelity to God through faith, and their being triumphed over by the heathen for a time. It appears to me also, that the remnant being thus driven out, have a position here more thoroughly their own, more entirely with God, apart from the wicked, however painful the position may be.
SA 45{Psa. 45 introduces the Messiah in power. This Psalm, so easily understood, is very important with respect to the character of God's intervention on behalf of Israel. It is God; but it is Messiah as King. The prophets testify continually that it is Jehovah who will appear in power for the deliverance of His people. Compare Isa. 66, Zech. 9:1-8, 12-16; 10:3; 12:7, 8; 14:3, 41The burden of the word of the Lord in the land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord. 2And Hamath also shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise. 3And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets. 4Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire. 5Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited. 6And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines. 7And I will take away his blood out of his mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God, and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite. 8And I will encamp about mine house because of the army, because of him that passeth by, and because of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes. (Zechariah 9:1‑8)
12Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee; 13When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man. 14And the Lord shall be seen over them, and his arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall blow the trumpet, and shall go with whirlwinds of the south. 15The Lord of hosts shall defend them; and they shall devour, and subdue with sling stones; and they shall drink, and make a noise as through wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and as the corners of the altar. 16And the Lord their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people: for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land. (Zechariah 9:12‑16)
3Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I punished the goats: for the Lord of hosts hath visited his flock the house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle. (Zechariah 10:3)
7The Lord also shall save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem do not magnify themselves against Judah. 8In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them. (Zechariah 12:7‑8)
3Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. (Zechariah 14:3‑4). But Zech. 9:9,9Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zechariah 9:9) and even 14:4, with this Psalm, show us that if it is Jehovah, it is also the man Christ. Compare Dan. 7:22,22Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom. (Daniel 7:22) Mic. 5:1-51Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. 2But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. 3Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. 4And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. 5And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men. (Micah 5:1‑5). Compare also Titus 2:12,13,12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; (Titus 2:12‑13) for the Church.
We may also remark, that that which is celebrated here is not the repentance of Israel, but their deliverance, their outward deliverance by power, on the ground-established in Psa. 44-of the remnant's faithfulness to the covenant. It is very touching to see the divine glory of the Lord celebrated at the same time that-coming down to His faithfulness as man-the saints are acknowledged as His " fellows," when He is anointed with the oil of gladness as chief over them. But further remarks on this subject belong rather to the Epistle to the Hebrews. We will only quote the remarkable verse in Zechariah, the inverse of that referred to in the Psalm. When He is presented as the man smitten of Jehovah He is named His fellow. Celebrated as God, the saints are acknowledged His fellows in His divine joy as man. Smitten as man, He is Himself the fellow of Jehovah. Read Zech. 13:5,5But he shall say, I am no prophet, I am an husbandman; for man taught me to keep cattle from my youth. (Zechariah 13:5) " For man has possessed me (as a slave) from my youth; "-His relation with man; ver. 6, His relation with the Jews; ver. 7, with Jehovah.
We will return to our Psalm. The daughter, the queen in gold of Ophir, is, I doubt not, the earthly Jerusalem viewed as restored by grace. Those who accompany her are the other cities of Judah, according to the type in common use by the prophets. She has now children who are glorious enough to eclipse the memory of her fathers.
SA 46{Psa. 46 As the result of the introduction of the Messiah, the remnant acknowledge God, the God of Jacob, as their refuge and their salvation; and therefore, there is nothing to fear, though the earth be removed. The Lord re-establishes His relationship with His people. The city of God is owned. The river of God makes it glad. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved, the Lord uttered His voice, the earth melted. He is exalted in all the earth, He is the refuge of His people. The kind of deliverance is as in the preceding Psalm.
SA 47{Psa. 46 sung the intervention of God in favor of His people at the moment they are re-established. Psalm 47 celebrates, with a song of triumph, the effect of the Lord's presence in the midst of His people. It calls upon all the nations to rejoice because the throne of Jehovah is set up over all the earth-Jehovah, who has chosen an inheritance for His people (the remnant) and who subdues the nations under their feet. God is the King of all the earth, He reigns over the heathen, sitting on the throne of His holiness, and the princes of the people are gathered together to the people of the God of Abraham, for power belongeth unto Him.
SA 48{In Psa. 48 Jehovah is established in Zion, the mountain of His holiness, the joy of the whole earth; the city of the great King is there, on the sides of the north. The kings were assembled, but fear took hold upon them; and that which the remnant had heard (Psa. 44:11<<To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.>> We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. (Psalm 44:1)) with their ears, they now behold, with songs of triumph, in the city of their God. If when afar from the holy place (Psa. 42) they had sighed for the moment when they should appear before God, they now think of His loving kindness in the midst of His temple. God is their God forever. He is known in praise, according to the name which faith trusted Him in. We may remark that the thought of death remains, but only as the term to which hope extends. God will be their guide until then. The leading idea in this Psalm is Zion, the dwelling-place of the great King, and consequently, his unchangeable security. Compare Zech. 12, Isa. 31, Mic. 4:11-1311Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. 12But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. 13Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people: and I will consecrate their gain unto the Lord, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth. (Micah 4:11‑13). In Psa. 46 this is acknowledged by faith, and here the event accomplished is celebrated in peace in the temple. This last Psalm leads to the idea that Gog is the same as the Assyrian; a question which has long been a difficulty to me. The Psalms that we have now been considering, form one of those little books which, by their connection one with another, help much in understanding the Psalms, and which add also much to their beauty.
SA 49{Psa. 49 is a sort of moral reflection upon all this. All the glory of man without understanding is but vanity. Be appearances what they may, he is like the beasts that perish. They will die-for the redemption of the soul from the power of death is the question-and all this outward show will perish. But God redeems the souls. of those that trust in Him, and receives them., Men will praise Him who doeth well unto himself; he blesseth his soul, and lie will perish. Observe here, that it is no longer resurrection which is the desire of the righteous, but that God will deliver his life. He saves life.
SA 50{In Psa. 50 the public judgment of God when He appears in Zion is announced, especially the judgment of His people. But at the same time it will be a session of Jehovah, at which heavens and earth shall assist. He likewise gathers his saints together who have made a covenant with Him by sacrifice. These are still, I think, the earthly remnant. And now it is not merely the intervention of His Providence, which requires spirituality to discern. God Himself is Judge. The heavens, declare His righteousness. He comes Himself (ver. 3). The judgment of His people, from ver. 7, presents no difficulty, being announced prophetically (comp. ver. 3). There is an exhortation in ver. 22 to consider this. A part of the opening of the Psalm is more enigmatical. The earthly people are the object of the judgment; the saints, or the godly, gathered together (ver. 5) are those of this people. But the heavens being brought in,. the declaration of righteousness that proceeds from thence, must have a special character. It is not the judgment-that is carried on upon earth with respect to the conduct of the people. It appears to me, although the' Psalm only brings in the heavens, that it is the manifestation of Christ (who is in the heavens) which shows forth His righteousness. The Church herself will be there as a witness, for it will be seen in her that wherever there has been faith in God and in His Christ, blessing has not failed. If there was the appearance of His people being forgotten, the heavens will bear testimony that it was not His faithfulness that failed.
SA 51{Psa. 51 gives us the effect of Israel's consciousness of their position with respect to their rejection of Christ. This operation of the Spirit in the heart of the remnant sets them in the enjoyment of that peace which flows from the atoning sacrifice of the Messiah. It is the fulfillment of Zech. 11, and of the day of affliction, the tenth day of the seventh month. The judgment of sin is much deeper, more spiritual, and more real, in God's presence. His mercy more absolutely the source of all joy and of all hope. When the people are cleansed from the guilt of that precious blood which Israel shed (a sin which lies with all its weight upon the consciences of the remnant, when they behold Him who was pierced), then their prayer (verse 11) that the Spirit may not be taken from them is a cry of anguish from those who, being brought back to God, and enjoying by faith the assurance of God's faithfulness to deliver Israel according to the promise, are nevertheless alarmed lest the enormous guilt of the nation, in rejecting the Messiah, should destroy the possibility of blessing. We constantly find in the Scripture history and experience of Israel this difference between the faith that counts upon deliverance from the enemy and the oppressor, and that which realizes pardon and acceptance on God's part, leading to all the blessings that flow from His favor. Faith, which placed the Ark in Zion, had not yet built an altar on the threshing-floor of Oman. This is the reason that we find a prayer for blessing, even while acknowledging deliverance already accomplished. Indeed, the act of power that puts Christ in connection with the Jews at the destruction of Antichrist, has not yet established the rights of the Messiah, and of Israel with Him, over the earth, although it has laid the foundation for it.
SA 52{Psa. 52 applies particularly, I think, to the " mighty man" who will oppress the Jews in the last days-an enemy from within, rather than those from without. That is to say, the little horn, or head of the last empire. Unless it may be still more in connection with the. Jews, and apply to an Antichrist more immediately linked with them.
SA 53{Psa. 53 is, as we know, nearly a repetition of Psa. 14; but there is a difference. Psa. 14 gives the aspect of what Jehovah is for His people, at least for the righteous. Psa. 53 relates to that which He is against His enemies. This is the reason why the Spirit uses the name of Jehovah in Psa. 14, which is the name of relationship with Israel, and that of Elohim in Psa. 53 (compare verses 4 and 5 of the latter Psalm, with verses 5 and 6 of Psa. 14) Those who fear in Psa. 53:5,5There were they in great fear, where no fear was: for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee: thou hast put them to shame, because God hath despised them. (Psalm 53:5) appear to me to be the unfaithful Jews (see Isa. 33.14, and the following verses, and also 8:12, 10:24). In Psa. 14:5,6,5There were they in great fear: for God is in the generation of the righteous. 6Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is his refuge. (Psalm 14:5‑6) they oppress and despise the Jews, scoffing at them, because, in spite of everything, they put their trust in Jehovah.
SA 54{In Psa. 54 we have the two characters of the enemies of the righteous-strangers (unless, with the keri, we read "the proud") and oppressors. But the name of God is their refuge; they commit themselves unto God-Jehovah-and they see their desire upon their enemies.
SA 55{Psa. 55 gives a terrible description of the state of Jerusalem, where the power of death, and of Him who has the power of death (compare Rev. 12:13, 15, 1713And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. (Revelation 12:13)
15And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. (Revelation 12:15)
17And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17)), and of those who have made a covenant with Him, bears heavily on the righteous. Treachery is that which the righteous especially complain of in this Psalm; but it appears to me, that this reproach is more particularly addressed to the Jews who professed to walk with them, and not to Antichrist himself, although it is possible he may have acted in the same way. Judas, we know, was the especial means by which the Lord went through the same experience. The remnant had been driven out by the power of evil; they here express their feelings respecting it, for it is rather the language of those who have left the city, than of those (the remnant of the seed) who may be still more exposed to the persecution. It is the moment when the thorough treachery of those who join Antichrist is brought to light, and iniquity fully unveiled to the eyes, of the righteous. Meanwhile, Jehovah is a refuge. That which especially characterizes the Spirit of Christ in the Psalms is, that the name of Jehovah is His refuge-He will have none other, and therefore will wait for Him, whatever the result may be.
From Psa. 42 to 55, the Spirit gives either the history (prophetically) of the position and re-establishment of those who were driven out by the great tribulation, or the exercise of faith in general, with regard to this position. From Psa. 55 we have rather the painful sentiments which the position itself produces. Faith, however, is maintained at the same time.
SA 56{In Psa. 56, the enemy is ready to swallow up the righteous. God and His word are the ground of their confidence. God had delivered them from death, and they trust in. Him to preserve them, that they may walk before Him in the light of the living. It will be seen that from Psa. 1, the name of Jehovah is no longer used. It is God who is in question. The soul casts itself upon what God is in Himself as God, apart from the established relationship with Israel, amongst whom the enemy reigns in power. The righteous trust, in a more abstract and absolute manner, in that which God is in Himself. It is indeed Jehovah in verse 1, Psa. 1, but these cases have in view the future manifestation, as also in 51:15; 54:6; 55:16.
SA 57{In Psa. 57 the terrible condition, of the righteous during these calamities, is again presented to God. The thought of what He is, strengthens the heart. The Lord shall be praised among the peoples and the nations, for His mercy is great. His glory shall yet be manifested above the heavens and over all the earth. All hope is lost of help on earth, and faith would not even seek it there. For in whom could it be found? But this gives occasion for a higher faith. " He shall send from Heaven." Difficulties cause faith to seek God in the height, from whence they will be surmounted, and thus they make His glory to be appreciated.
SA 58{In Psa. 58, the iniquity of the Jews (whom, nevertheless, the Spirit addresses by a title which sets them before God, according to their nature and their responsibility) is presented in this aspect-that instruction and the calls of grace are useless, and that judgment must come. The triumph which this shall give to him will be a testimony that there is a God who judges in the earth, and a reward for the righteous. This very distinctly characterizes the bearing of the Psalms in general.
SA 59-60{In Psa. 59 the heathen prowl about Jerusalem, like dogs that are not satisfied. But Jehovah, the God of Israel, and none other, is the strength of His people. Nevertheless, the righteous here express their own confidence, rather than their sense of the iniquity around them. Christ in person speaks prophetically as king. We find the same confidence again in Psa. 60. The remnant speak as the people of God, but as rejected and scattered. The sense of being His people, makes them feel more keenly the hardship of their condition; but also enables them to refer it to God, and to reckon on His power. God has given a banner to those that honor Him, that the truth may be maintained. God thus executing His judgments in the world, His people cry for deliverance. God's answer asserts His rights, and points out Edom in particular as the strong city, with respect to which God will succor His people. Christ speaks here in person, it seems to me, as the head of Israel (verse 9). The fact of being driven out, gives much more distinctly and simply the consciousness of being God's people; and places them outwardly beyond the relationship of Israel, but inwardly more in the relations of faith. Thus, as being without, they are more entirely with God.
SA 61{Psa. 61 Christ here presents Himself again in person as king. He who was the first to be rejected, can show Himself again with the rejected people. It is a natural position in which to meet with them again (as in the case of the man who was born blind). Observe also how this connects the life of our precious Lord with the history of His people in the last days, when this poor remnant will also be rejected of man. Only here He enters into it in spirit, so that it is by faith that the remnant are to enjoy it. We feel this to be proper. But what a complete provision it is for faith! In this Psalm, then, Jesus enters in spirit into the condition of the remnant. He is naturally their Head. I have already remarked that in the Psalms in which He speaks more personally, there is more calmness, the intercourse is on surer ground with God, as founded on a well known relationship. We find it so here. But this does not prevent His entering in heart thoroughly into the most painful circumstances, or His feeling them; quite the contrary, He feels them all the more deeply. Who has ever felt our sins as Jesus felt them? I am not speaking of His having borne them on the Cross, but of His having felt them before God. But He enters into these circumstances with God. He cries unto Him from the ends of the earth. He feels what it is to be away from the enjoyment of His happy intercourse with God, which is found in His Temple. As man, He seeks for Himself and for His people, a rock higher than Himself. He walks in dependance, and His trust in God is not disappointed. He sees and celebrates the joy in which He shall dwell before God forever, and perform the vows He had made in this day of His distress. What a day will that be, in which the Lord shall do this-His heart being satisfied with God's answer in favor of His people. It is still God here, and not Jehovah, because the people are still without.
SA 62{In Psa. 62, we have the open profession of a principle which I have already pointed out. The righteous, verse 5, seek no other deliverance than that of God. The connection is very strongly marked here between the life of Christ on earth, and the position of the remnant with respect to the iniquity of the last days. Personally, it was during the life of Christ that verse 4 was fulfilled; and, for the time, His enemies succeeded outwardly-to their own ruin. But this generation will not pass away till all is fulfilled. The spirit of the wicked at the end will be exactly the same as that described in verse 4. They will absolutely reject the true Christ. In verse 8, the Messiah encourages the remnant, identifying Himself with them. Man is but vanity. Power belongeth unto God (see Matt. 17;24-27). Christ shows Himself to be God, in knowledge and in power; knowing all that takes place, and commanding Creation. Peter promptly replies that he is a good Jew, ready to pay the didrachma of the temple. Christ, who had just been displaying His glory on the Mount, shows by a comparison, not that He was free Himself, but that the children were free. "Nevertheless, He saith, lest we should offend them, go, etc.,... that take and give unto them, for me and thee." What grace, what relations with such a Savior, with such a heart!
SA 63{Psa. 63 rises a little higher. The principle and the position are the same. But the opposition here between the actual condition and the joy which the faithful derive from the presence of God, is more strongly marked by distance from the presence and glory of God. The dry and thirsty land is put in contrast with the enjoyment of God, but with this enjoyment in the manifestation of His power and glory in the Sanctuary. The consequence is, that the assurance afforded by this knowledge of God, makes the dry and thirsty land, which is like death to man, a place of blessing; because God's loving kindness is better than life. If this has been really tasted, it is never enjoyed so much as when there is nothing else.
We understand here, in what Sanctuary Christ had enjoyed the presence and the glory of God, and why in this dry and thirsty land, where no water is, His life was such, that (although it was a continual death) He could pray that His joy might be fulfilled in His disciples. Now this joy-the joy of the Son of Man who was in Heaven-is our own proper joy; only in Him it arose from what He was Himself; He, who had seen the glory of God, being in it. As to us, it is in Him that we have seen it, and it is in Him that we enjoy it. For the Jewish remnant it will doubtless be in another manner. Nevertheless, it will be the favor of God, and that is always better than life. There is joy in communion with His loving-kindness, and there is also His help. Observe that in both cases it is from having enjoyed it that the joy and confidence flow. The circumstances are the same. They sought the king's life to destroy it. The remnant will suffer under similar iniquity. But their enemies, who are the king's enemies, shall be judged. Confidence abounds here, but being in connection with Israel, it is expressed with reference to the judgment of their enemies.
In all these Psalms, the relations of the soul of the righteous are more immediately with God. This Psalm merits a detailed examination.
SA 64{Psa. 64 especially displays the rancor of the wicked against the righteous, seeking to injure them with bitter words and calumny—those counsels of iniquity, where the means are arrayed for casting discredit upon him who seeks to serve God. This is one peculiar form of trial of those who are faithful witnesses for the Lord, and especially were the trials of Jesus. Alas! it is not the Jews only who make diligent search for iniquity, in order to bring a reproach upon faithfulness, and make it even afraid to come forward in testimony. But God has His arrows if the enemy have theirs, and judgment is at hand. They must commit their case to God.
SA 65{Psa. 65 contains a touching appeal to God; He has only to intervene, praise waits for Him, and even unto Him shall all flesh come. This appeal is most beautiful, and shows thoroughly prepared hearts, the fruit of those exercises which the Psalms have laid before us. Nevertheless, there is the confession, that their sins were the hindrance. But God would take them away; they acknowledge it is grace. The elect shall enjoy the blessing. The happiness and the abundance of His house will satisfy the hearts of those whom He brings into it. They apply this blessing to themselves by faith. Christ is pre-eminently the Elect; but all the great moral principles of their being brought into favor, and into the enjoyment of blessing, are developed here. The terrible intervention of God in judgment is the means-of Him on whom the earth and the sea depend, and whose goodness fills the earth with blessing. For them He is the God of salvation, in answer to their cry. The great principles upon which the relations of Israel with. God are re-established, are here laid down in a remarkable manner, with their results.
SA 66{Psa. 66 rehearses very distinctly, and with thanksgivings, this intervention of God in favor of His people; alluding to their coming out of Egypt, to their sufferings at the end, and the deliverance wrought by Jehovah, as well as the worship rendered afterward, according to the vows which they made in their distress. They know that God could not accept iniquity, but that He had accepted the remnant. The faithful render thanks to God, who has heard their prayer.
SA 67{Psa. 67 goes farther, setting Israel as the center of blessing to all the earth, which shall be blessed when Israel is blessed.
SA 68{Psa. 68 furnishes a striking instance of Israel's re-establishment in the enjoyment of their former relations with God; but, at the same time, through means that secure it to them forever. Means which give their enjoyment of it a glory that nothing else could have imparted. The first verse recalls that manifestation of God's presence in the wilderness, which was their glory and their security. They are the same words that Moses uttered when the Ark set forward. Here they ask God that His enemies may be scattered, and that the righteous may rejoice before Him; for in the last days they are always distinguished from the rest. They acknowledge Him as riding upon the heavens by His name Jah, a God who is a Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows-who setteth the solitary in families-who giveth liberty to the captives, but judgeth the froward. This is what He is in the eyes of His people, now that the Spirit of Christ has given them understanding-what He will be to them in the last days. The Spirit recalls the glory of Sinai, the blessing of the hand of a God who blesses the poor. The congregation of Jehovah had dwelt there.
Nevertheless, this only introduces the power with which He works in these last days, scattering all that oppose Him, and establishing his throne above all, whatever their pretensions or their confidence may be. The host of heaven is His host. Having thus celebrated the power of Jehovah, this Psalm shows Him to us as the Christ, ascended up on high, to receive gifts for men, and even for the rebellious (i.e. Israel; consequently, the Apostle does not quote this part of the text), that the Lord God might dwell among them, thus again taking up His abode in the midst of Israel. This introduction of the Lord is very remarkable in connection with the blessing of Israel. The expression " for men," or " in the man," leaves it open for all men, and the Lord has brought every believer into this grace. But in this Psalm the subject is treated with respect to Israel's blessing, as the whole Psalm unquestionably proves. But God is here a God of salvation to Israel, and not of judgment and chastisement. The 30th verse refers to the powers whom God has humbled before Israel. The " beasts of the reeds" (margin) may, perhaps, be in allusion to the former character of Egypt; at any rate, it refers to some powerful enemy of Israel in the last days, of whom the crocodile or the hippopotamus might be a type. Verse 34 shows us the power and the glory hovering over Israel, and protecting them as the object of God's care on the earth.
SA 69{In Psa. 69, as is the case in all the books of the Psalms, we find the Lord entering into all the depth of the sufferings through which His people are to pass, and anticipating them, taking them up at their source. Nevertheless, this Psalm has not the same character as Psa. 22. Moreover, this remark is true with respect to each one of the Psalms that describe our precious Lord's sufferings. Each has its own peculiar character. The subject here is not His being forsaken of God, but the extremity to which He is reduced by the enmity of men, and especially of the Jews, God making Him no answer. But while acknowledging all the sins of the people, and this was His righteousness (it was thus He acted at the time of John's baptism), He is here, and He presents Himself here as the righteous man who has borne reproach for God's sake. Eaten up with zeal for the house of God, He had been exposed to all the hatred of those who profaned it, who, being regardless of God, were unwilling that any testimony should be given to bring out their iniquity. But He prays, according to His perfect faithfulness, that this may not be a stumbling-block to those who wait upon Jehovah (for blessed is every one who is not offended in Him), so that we have the faithful Savior here especially exposed to the fierce hatred of the people, and left to the full suffering of this position, not being sheltered from it by God. But He commits Himself to God. In all the details it will be found that the insults and the hard-heartedness of man are "the subject, and that amongst His own people; a terrible testimony. It is not (in addition to this) the being actually forsaken of God as something between Him and God; so that man's malice is but the occasion of that far deeper suffering. If He complains here that He has to wait for God, it is that He is left without alleviation to the pitiless malice of men, i.e. of the Jews. From verse 22 to 28, we have the judgment of the nation, on account of their conduct to Him. But He, the head, and model, and consoler of the little remnant, shall be set up on high-poor and sorrowful as He may now be-to praise the name of His God, and thus to be a source of consolation and joy to the humble and meek. For Jehovah heareth the poor: He calls the prisoners among His people His prisoners. The heavens and the earth shall praise Him when God delivers Zion, and causes His servants and those that love His name to dwell therein. Compare (for the remnant) Isa. 65;66, from verse 12 of 65. I have merely pointed out the principle of the Psalm. The reader cannot too much study its details, that he may learn Jesus for himself, and also the position that He took on behalf of the Jewish remnant. The 5th verse is the only one that presents any difficulty. It does not appear to me that bearing the sins of His people in expiation is the meaning here, but rather the manner in which-identifying Himself with the remnant- He confesses sin, as a righteous man in Israel ought to confess it. He did the same thing before at John's baptism. In how many and various aspects the Psalms set Christ before us I One understands the comfort it will be to the remnant to have been thus preceded by the Lord in this painful rejection by the people.
SA 70{Psa. 70 again presents the Messiah in rejection. But this rejection was the touchstone (verse 2, 3), and that which brought down judgment on those who were guilty of it. In verses 4, we have the intercession of Christ for all those who fear God in Israel. He does not here put Himself forward as the object of their thoughts, but Jehovah Himself. However wretched the state of Israel may be, He prays that all those who seek Jehovah may always have reason to praise Elohim. As to Himself, He is poor and needy, but He trusts in the Lord. His perfect faith could wait for God's appointed time although longing for, and deeply feeling the need of, deliverance. But at least, may those that fear the Lord rejoice and be glad in Him. Observe, here, with respect to the remnant, that although the intervention is that of the Messiah, and its efficacy is by virtue of His name, yet it is not for those who know His name that He intercedes, but for those that seek Jehovah. This makes us understand the position of the remnant. Grace towards them has the Messiah's work for its basis; but as yet they know neither its meaning nor its efficacy. They are delivered according to the relations of Israel with Jehovah.
SA 71{In Psa. 71 The remnant take the position of Israel, and acknowledging the faithfulness of God from the beginning, celebrate it as a spring of gladness that fills their heart, and, leaning on God alone, desire, now, to be witnesses for His faithfulness to the end of their history, counting upon the blessed and glorious results which their God will accomplish, He with whom none can be compared. The 12Th and 13th verses connect this Psalm with the preceding one. We may suppose that the rebellion of Absalom or of Adonijah was its occasion. Observe to what a degree the Spirit of God quickened the sensibility of David's soul, so as to make him understand the moral bearing of that which was going on in the heart of his enemies, and not merely certain outward actions; thus making him in spirit the vessel of Christ's sentiments • although, frequently, these sentiments are the rather called out by the state of the remnant in whom the Spirit of Christ produces them. But sometimes they rise to the height of Christ Himself.
SA 72{In Psa. 72, under the character of Solomon, we have the Millennial glory of the true Son of David. At the end of the Chronicles, we find this identification of the royalty of David and of Solomon, in whom this royalty had its glory strikingly presented. The Beloved and the Prince of Peace are its two essential characters. This Psalm concludes the second book.
The Third Book.
SA 73{The third book begins with Psa. 73. It does not follow the second chronologically. Besides some great general principles, the two first books give us, in connection with the work of the Spirit of Christ, sentiments suitable to the two periods of the troubles of the Jews. That is to say, before the full manifestation of the iniquity of the wicked one, or Antichrist, and afterward, during the three years and a half of his reign. During this latter period (that of the unequaled tribulation) which follows the setting up of the abomination of desolation in the holy place, the faithful are driven out of Jerusalem. The second book supplies the sentiments wrought by the Spirit of Christ in the remnant, during this second period, and the last Psalm in it gives a brief exposition of Millennial blessing. The third book, then, necessarily goes back again, and contemplates the same periods of time, but in a more general point of view. All Israel is before the eye (looked at only in the faithful ones); the people historically, and God's relations with them as such, the contrast between the heathen and the people, the havoc made by the heathen in the holy city, are constantly spoken of. In Psa. 73 we have in general the faithful Israelite's exercise of heart, with respect to the circumstances of the last days. Apparently, faithfulness was of no use; and he was ready to say with the wicked, that God was no longer mindful of the ways of men, and took no notice of them; for the ungodly prospered. But on going into the sanctuary of God, the, faithful perceived what the end of the ungodly would be. When the Lord awakes, all their glory shall vanish. The thought of offending against the generation of God's children, was the first check; for through grace there is always something that keeps the heart of the faithful, however ignorant he may be, if he is upright; afterward he saw the real truth of their case. No doubt the judgment to be executed at the end is in view here, and explains everything. But all the faithful go through a similar exercise. Meanwhile, God is their strength. Observe, it is Jehovah who had been the confidence of the faithful; His attributes, as God, inspired this confidence. The relationship was not yet formed, but to the heart of the faithful, it was Jehovah who was their God.
SA 74{Psa. 74 is the complaint of the faithful Israelite, with respect to the havoc made in the sanctuary; and with the thoughts of Jewish faith, he reminds God. of the congregation which He had redeemed, the Mount Zion wherein He had dwelt, the God who had been their king of old, and had manifested His power in their behalf. It is a touching appeal to God, uniting His cause to that of His people.
SA 75{In Psa. 75 faith has reached the point at which the people acknowledge that the name of the Lord is near unto His people, and in a certain sense, unto the world also, to act towards it in accordance with that name. To faith, His works declare it (not necessarily at the moment). In the 2nd verse, Christ replies, He is going to take the kingdom as the Messiah. It is a Psalm of thanksgiving by the remnant, celebrating the intentions of Messiah. Its form has particular force, in that the Messiah declares prophetically the counsels that He gives to the proud, with a view to the judgment. From the 2nd verse He speaks in His own person. This Psalm gives a, very distinct character to the connection between faith and God, who is very far from the thoughts of the proud, although faith sees Him ready to execute judgment. The exhortation that follows, to the worldly, is always the testimony of God, but is specially recalled to them by the Messiah before the execution of the judgment. This makes clear that which is said at the end of Psa. 2.
SA 76{In Psa. 76 God is known in Judah, and His name is great in Israel. He dwells in Zion, where He has broken the bow and the strength of the enemy. For He has arisen to judgment and to help all the meek of the earth.
SA 77{In Psa. 77 the remembrance of God in the day of distress had troubled the faithful, for God appeared entirely to have forgotten. Can the Lord cast off forever? No;-such a thought springs only from man's infirmity. Faith will remember what God has been unto His people. His way is in the sanctuary, always there, even when His path is through the deep waters, where man cannot trace his footsteps. In these Psalms the ways of God between Israel and God are maintained according to His former relations when He brought them up out of Egypt.
SA 78{Psa. 78 recapitulates all the dealings of God with them, proving the folly and unbelief of the people; and laying particular stress on their having limited the Holy One of Israel. The history of the people, and of their dealings, is traced as far as when in the days of Eli, God delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy's hand; thus forsaking Shiloh, where His altar and His tabernacle were placed. At this period, in fact, all Israel's hope was lost, if the people and their responsibility were alone considered. Their sin was so great that God allowed the ark of the covenant to fall into the hands of the Philistines; vindicating, however, there His own glory: But at the height of His people's distress, the Lord awakes and smites His enemies; for they were the enemies of God as well as of Israel. But He rejects the natural heir-that is to say, the one to whom the birthright, the goodly land, and the double portion, belonged. He 'chose (for it was now electing grace, since all was lost) the tribe of Judah; He chose Zion, He chose David, to maintain the blessing of His people. This bringing in of grace when all is lost, and God comes in to deliver for His own name's sake, and from love to His people, is all-important for the faith of the Israelites in the latter day, as well as for our instruction in His ways. The patience of God, even unto the. end, meeting with the unbelief and unfaithfulness of His people; and at length His intervention according to His purposes of grace, when, on the ground of responsibility, He had given up His people. We see the people pass from the extremity of distress to the all-powerful intervention of God in grace; failure on the ground of their responsibility, and even of judgment executed in consequence of their fall, to the results of God's election and sovereign grace.
SA 79{Psa. 79 rehearses' before God the capture of Jerusalem in the last days, and calls on God to interpose for His name's sake in behalf of His people, to compassionate them and their sufferings, and to pour out the cup of His wrath upon the heathen who had devoured Jacob. In all these Psalms, we find faith in the relationship between God and His. people in spite of all circumstances; and faith also in His intervention on their behalf, whatever their condition may be. It was Jehovah whom the heathen reproached when they said " Where is their God?" When there is faith in the relation that exists between Him and His people, distress and the power of the enemy are a prevailing plea with God.
SA 80{Psa. 80 takes up the same subject with respect to the people in general, building on the former relationship of God to them; faith drawing from thence its knowledge of God, and entreating the Shepherd of Israel, who led Joseph like a flock, and who dwelt between the cherubims, to shine forth as He had done in the wilderness. Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, were the three tribes nearest to the Ark and the Cloud, in the camp of Israel. Israel, now faithful, acknowledge the hand of God in their misery. Can God be deaf to their cry? It was He who had planted the people. Could He give them up to the boar out of the wood? A revelation of the deepest import is then given. The Spirit of God directs the faith of the people towards the Son of man, whom God had made strong for the accomplishment of all his purposes. Through Him, Israel would no more go back; being quickened, they would call upon His name. They cast themselves upon God. If He cause His face to shine, Israel shall be saved. These Psalms contain much instruction for every heart, with respect to trust in God in the deepest distress. But they can only be interpreted with reference to the circumstances of Israel in the last days.
SA 81{Psa. 81 is remarkable in this point of view. It speaks of the feast of the new moon, a sign of the renewal of God's favor towards Israel; their being recalled by God to the enjoyment of His blessing. The people appear again on the scene, although not yet in full blessing. But the doctrine taught here (giving an answer to the faith which pleaded the blessing formerly bestowed on the people, and their connection with the Lord) is that Israel had forfeited all this by their unfaithfulness. God had blessed them, assuring them, if they were obedient, of all kinds of blessing. But they would not hearken to His voice. If they would have hearkened to it, all their enemies should have been confounded, and the people should have enjoyed the best of earthly blessings. If all this failed it was their own fault.
SA 82{In Psa. 82 God is the judge among the authorities of the earth. Alas! the rulers of His people were wicked like all the rest (John 8). Although they were called elohim (gods) as was the case under the law, they should all die like men. God was to arise and judge the earth and inherit all nations. This is a very distinct revelation of the great fact, that God resumes the authority which He had committed to man in order to judge the unjust judges.
SA 83{Psa. 83 reveals to us the last confederacy of the nations (those which encompass the land of Canaan with Assyria) against Israel; and the judgment of God is invoked upon them, in order that the name of Jehovah may be known as the Most High, over all the earth. It appears by the prophecies, that the nations will capture and plunder Jerusalem. Afterward, at the end, it will be again attacked; and on this occasion the Lord will defend Zion and destroy His enemies. This Psalm apparently speaks of the latter event.
SA 84{Psa. 84 In this fine Psalm, the spirit of which applies with yet more precious force to our Christian career, we have the joy which the faithful Israelite feels in once more going up to Jerusalem to enjoy the ordinances of God (although we may see in it a moral sense for the Israelite also). The Israelite is not yet there; but the thought renewed in all its strength, of the blessings connected with it. The altar of his God is to him what its nest is to the swallow, and its house to the sparrow (this is the meaning, I doubt not), and if God has found a resting-place for the birds, there is as surely one for His people. A touching argument, which gives so much the more force to the remembrance of the Lord's position. In this Psalm, the name and the title of the Lord of hosts, the King and the God of Israel, reappears in all its significance. There are here two kinds of blessing for the faithful. He who dwells in the house of such a God as this has only to praise Him; but to find strength in God for the way that leads. to it, and to have this way in their heart, is also a blessing that characterizes the faithful, though they have not yet reached the house of God. The valley of tears; through which they are passing, becomes to them a springing well; rain from heaven fills it with water. They go from strength to I strength until they appear before God in Zion. The heart that is thus occupied with the way, is then filled by the Spirit with the joy of having to do with God, Jehovah of Hosts. But this is not all, for that which now inspires him with confidence and joy in the expression of his desires, is the thought that God looks upon the face of His anointed (of Christ, the Lord). The Jehovah of hosts is the God of Jacob. Blessed is the man that trusts in Him!
SA 85{In Psa. 85, we find a very distinct expression of the sentiments which faith produces when the people, although returned, are not yet enjoying the peace and blessing promised to Israel. The fact of the people's return is laid hold of by faith as the fulfillment of the ancient promises; such as, Lev. 26, Deut. 32, and many others; and this faith addresses itself to Jehovah- the covenant name, and not simply to God. But the people are not yet in the enjoyment of all the blessings which the Lord bestows upon His earthly people, and faith awaits His answer. Upon this, the great principles of God's dealings are announced. The reconciliation (through the intervention of sovereign grace) of mercy and truth, of righteousness and peace, which were. otherwise incompatible; for the rejection of Israel would have been righteousness. Truth springs out of the earth, for all the promises of God are accomplished, and " he who sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth;" and the righteousness of God can look down from heaven in blessing upon His people and upon His earth. For the Lord gives that which is good, and the earth is blessed (compare the end of Hosea Righteousness goes before Him, and directs the people in His ways. It is evidently the millennial state. In the Psalms that follow, to the end of this book, we have Christ connected in a peculiar manner with the circumstances and interests of the people, in order that they may enjoy this millennial blessing.
SA 86{In Psa. 86 we have the meek one who acknowledges Jehovah and all his rights, even over the nations, and who seeks to unite all his faculties in the praises of Jehovah. He knows God through faith in his goodness. Having gone down to the lowest parts of the earth, he makes use of the deliverance of his soul by Jehovah, to confirm his faith, in the presence of all the power of the enemies that assembled themselves against him. Jehovah, the God of mercy, would save the son of His handmaid. But it is Jehovah, the God of the Jews, who is here celebrated.
SA 87{Psa. 87 God has founded His city in the holy mountains. It is called "His foundation." Zion is then celebrated as the most glorious of the cities. She fears not comparison with Egypt or Babylon, her oppressors. She can speak of her great men. In writing up the people, Jehovah Himself numbers Christ, His son, among those who are born in Zion, the beloved city.
SA 88{In Psa. 88 we find the profound source of all these blessings; it is that Christ, according to His infinite grace, enters into the deepest miseries of His people. His soul passes through all that the people had deserved, and that as God sees it. Yet it is not exactly expiation here, and subjection to the wrath due to sin according to the nature of God, Jehovah. It appears to me to be rather his governmental wrath, to which Israel, as a people, were subject, under the weight of which they were lying, about which they troubled themselves little, and still trouble themselves little, although outwardly experiencing a portion of its bitterness. But the soul of Jesus entered into it according to the full power which this wrath of God would have on one who felt it as Jesus could feel it (see Deut. 32:20,2220And he said, I will hide my face from them, I will see what their end shall be: for they are a very froward generation, children in whom is no faith. (Deuteronomy 32:20)
22For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains. (Deuteronomy 32:22)). Lev. 26 gives rather the outward sufferings. Christ was pure from all those things which brought these sufferings upon them. He looked only to Jehovah, as we see in the Psalms. But He bore upon His heart all the misery and all the sorrows of the people.
SA 89{Psa. 89 is, up to a certain point, in contrast with the preceding Psalm; but, founded on the sure mercies of David, it celebrates all that Jehovah is in power, in righteousness, and in faithfulness. The people who know Him shall rejoice in His name. He is the glory of their strength. Now, David and his seed were the depositary of the promises, and the instrument of their fulfillment. His children should be chastised, if needful, but the blessing should never be taken away. The immutable faithfulness of God was concerned in this. Faith reckoned on this faithfulness, and found in the distress of the people and the ruin of David's family, an occasion to call upon God, who had given the promises, and had even sworn to accomplish them. He could not leave the crown of David in the dust. The humiliation of Christ, the meek one; His connection in the mind of God with Zion, the elect city; the sufferings which the soul of Christ went through in grace, bearing in his heart before God the burden of His people's sin; the sure promises of the Lord (perfect and glorious in all His ways, and whose people Israel were), which were given to the seed of David; such were the grounds upon which, by faith, the people's hopes were founded. That which the Lord Himself is, was the foundation. Since the celebration of His name, prophetically, in Psa. 83, it is the name of Jehovah that gives its force and its thoughts to faith. Christ, as we have seen in the four last Psalms, was the means by which this name could be manifested in blessing. Through Him, righteousness and peace were united, God was fully glorified, and this people, for whom Christ had stood before Jehovah, under the weight of their burden, could now he blessed. The connection between the 1St verse of this Psalm and the 19th, is striking with respect to Christ's being the depositary of all blessing. The word "mercies" (v. 1), is the same as "holy one" (v. 19). All these mercies center in this depositary of mercy.
This Psalm closes the third book.
The Fourth Book.
The fourth book of the Psalms treats essentially of the bringing in of the First-begotten into the world; and that, in connection with the authority of Jehovah, the true God, over the whole earth. But at the same time setting His throne in Zion in the midst of Israel, according to His promises.
This book commences with a Psalm, in which the Holy Ghost, speaking by the mouth of the remnant of Israel, reminds Jehovah of the way in which He had been the dwelling-place of His people in all generations. He, Jehovah, God, before the Creation, disposed of man according to His good pleasure. A thousand years in His sight were but a watch in the night, and Israel who were as grass (compare Isa. 40) are consumed by His anger. Nevertheless although their days were consumed in the wrath of God, faith was now at work in their hearts; they acknowledge that He who smote them was their God in all generations; and therefore, counting upon His faithfulness, they say " How long?" appealing to His mercy, for it is to that they look, that they may rejoice and be glad all their days. They pray that He will make them amends for their long affliction, by days of happiness flowing from his goodness, that His work and His glory may appear unto them, and His beauty be upon them. This evidently embraces the whole of Israel, as the family in whom Jehovah delighted; the heart of the people having a holy sense of what He was for them, in the midst of their distress. Consequently, it will be observed that the name of Jehovah, in this book, shines through everything, like the sun which arises to bring the true light into the darkness, shedding its rays on every side. It is this, together with the bringing in of the first-begotten, which characterizes this book: that is to say, the glory of the name of Jehovah, and the revelation of the various relations which this name involved, in its glory.
SA 91{Psa. 91, is the Messiah's identification with this people, taking Jehovah their God for His God. It is a very remarkable Psalm. It opens by putting-as it were-in their place, all the names by which God was known before He revealed Himself as Father. He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. These are the names revealed to Abraham. Almighty-for his daily faith; Most High-in the blessing of Melchizedec. Thus, he who trusted in the promises contained in this name of blessing, should enjoy the Almighty protection of the God of Abraham for the present time. Nebuchadnezzar, when brought to repentance, acknowledges God by this name of Most High. Where is this secret place of the Almighty? The Messiah declares that He will take Jehovah (the God of Israel) for His refuge, for His God, in Him will He trust. This indeed is where the true God, the Most High, is to be found. The Spirit declares, verse 3-8, the consequences of this. However it may be translated, verse 9 interrupts the sequence of the Psalm, and is addressed, I think, to the Messiah by the Spirit speaking by the mouth of Israel. In the preceding Psalm, Jehovah had been celebrated as the dwelling-place of Israel in all generations, so that here they naturally' speak of Him as their refuge; and the Spirit speaking through them, goes on to announce the glorious consequences of this-a position which is true for all, but especially that of the Messiah. In verse 14, the Lord Himself crowns the discourse, by declaring the results of the Messiah's faith in His Name. Thus Israel and the Messiah Himself place themselves under the wings of Jehovah. Observe here, that faith being in exercise, and the remnant looked at in this aspect, Jehovah is always the name that is used. It is He who is Elohim.
SA 92{In Psa. 92 This blessed union between Israel and the Messiah, of' interests and of position, and of the faith which sets forth the names of Jehovah, the Almighty, and the Most High, has for its natural consequence that the Messiah, the Head of the people, acknowledges in their name how good it is to give thanks unto Jehovah, and to sing praises unto the name of the Most High. His works are great, for He is what His Name is. His thoughts are very deep. The fool does not understand this. The wicked shall be destroyed. Jehovah shall he most high for evermore. " My horn shall be exalted," saith the Messiah, in the Spirit of prophecy; " Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies: the righteous shall be planted in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God, and shall bring forth fruit, to show that Jehovah is upright, and that there is no unrighteousness in Him." The meaning and the application of this Psalm are evident. These three Psalms form a very remarkable kind of introduction to this book.
SA 93-100{From Psa. 93 to Psa. 100, is one of the most striking series, displaying the whole progress of the events connected with the bringing in of the First-begotten (Heb. 1:66And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. (Hebrews 1:6)). The first is the thesis, or the state of things which is established as the result of all that is revealed in the Psalms that follow. Jehovah reigneth; the world is established by His power. The floods have lifted up their waves against this Rock of Ages, but He has been mightier than they. His testimonies are proved to be very sure. Holiness is the perpetual characteristic of His house. It is Jehovah; and His throne is like Himself.
SA 94{In Psa. 94 the remnant of Israel in the last days, entreat Jehovah to come forth in vengeance to deliver them, and to put an end to the triumph of the wicked. The object of affliction for God's elect is to preserve them, until the pit is digged for the wicked. Jehovah will defend those that trust in Him, and will cut off the wicked in their iniquity. In verse 20 we have a striking appeal to God, that for His own glory He will cut off the wicked, the Antichrist. The faithful ask if the throne of God shall be set up beside the throne of one whose very principle is wickedness? God must either renounce His throne of glory on earth, or cut off the throne of iniquity.
SA 95{In Psa. 95 is the last call upon the Jews to repent. While it is called to-day, before the Master of the house rises up. A call ever in season; but which the patience of God continues till the last moment.
SA 96{Psa. 96 calls on the Gentiles to submit themselves to forsake their idols, and to come and sing the new song, of millennial joy in the earth, which is blessed by Jehovah, under His reign and His scepter of righteous judgment.
SA 97{ In Psa. 97 He comes with clouds and darkness, with power and with all the brightness of His glory. All the heavenly powers are called to come and worship the First-begotten on His glorious presentation to the world. Idolatry is confounded; Zion is filled with joy on account of Jehovah's judgments which are being executed in the earth. It is the deliverance of the righteous.
SA 98{In Psa. 98 judgment has been executed. Jehovah has made known His salvation to Israel, and displayed His righteousness to the heathen. Their joy will break forth, and shall be, as it were, the herald of Jehovah who will judge the world in righteousness.
SA 99{In Psa. 99 He has taken His place on His throne in the earth. He sits between the cherubims. He is great in Zion, and high above all the people. The Spirit recalls His dealings with Israel in the beginning. It is the same Jehovah; and the remnant, now become the people, invite the peoples to the worship of the Holy One, the God of Israel.
SA 100{Psa. 100 is the invitation to all the ends of the earth to come and worship with joy, and gladness, and thanksgivings, that God who has indeed proved by His dealings with Israel that His mercy endureth forever. Israel is His people, the work of His hands. This remarkable series ends here.
SA 101{Psa. 101 gives the principles of the Messiah's kingdom on earth, when He takes the reigns of government into His own hands.
SA 102{Psa. 102 is of the highest interest, combining Christ's most complete humiliation with the testimony to His eternal Divinity. The occasion of the latter revelation is this:-After the touching expression of the isolation and deep abasement of the Lord (lifted up as man in His Messiah character, to be cast down the more thoroughly as despised and rejected by man, and. forsaken under God's wrath; and that in the presence of Jehovah's glorious eternal continuance), the Messiah in perfect confidence taking up this latter thought in the spirit of prophecy, declares that the time to favor and re-establish Zion is come, for the servants of Jehovah take pleasure in her stones. He has turned their hearts to favor the dust thereof. So the heathen shall be gathered to the name of Jehovah, and shall fear His name and His glory; for when Jehovah shall build up Zion He shall appear in His glory. Jehovah will hear the cry of the destitute, and the groaning of the prisoners. He will deliver those that are appointed to death, looking down from the height of heaven to declare His name at Jerusalem. And shall the Messiah alone be deprived of His portion in this joy, He who was cut off in the midst of His days? This is the touching question that brings out the Savior's divine glory. We know by the testimony of the Holy Ghost in the Epistle to the Hebrews, that verse 25 is the reply to this question, declaring the eternal divinity of the Messiah as Creator, " Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundations of the earth." The 28th verse establishes the perpetual blessing of His servants and of their seed.
SA 103-104{Psa. 103 and 104 go together in this sense, that the first celebrates what Jehovah is for Israel in His millennial manifestation, the second, that which He is for creation, as recognized by faith, in the full development of His character as Jehovah. These Psalms are spoken prophetically in anticipation, but it is in this character they celebrate Him. The case of the paralytic man, in Luke 4, was the manifestation of this power in the person of the Son of man. He healed disease in proof that He could pardon sin. But although He who could accomplish this deliverance was there, we know that Jerusalem knew not the time of her visitation (comp. Isa. 55:7,97Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)
9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)). The invitation to confidence in that; the accomplishment of which, is celebrated here.
SA 105-106{This book ends with two Psalms that establish two great principles of the ways of God, manifested in His government of Israel. Psa. 105 reminds Israel (on whose behalf God-remembered the covenant of His promises to fulfill them, verses 7, 9), of Jehovah's dealings in grace and power, and how God had guided, visited, and delivered them; how He had judged their enemies since the days of Abraham until He had brought them into Canaan, that they might observe His statutes and keep His laws. In a word, the whole history of this people is an expression of the power of God exercised in their favor, according to the promises made to Abraham.
SA 106{Psa. 106, on the contrary, declares all the constant rebellion of the people in the face of God's mercies, their ingratitude and unbelief; and yet that in spite of their repeated sins, God, full of compassion, heard them whenever they cried unto Him in their distress. He remembered His covenant and pitied them according to the multitude of His mercies. It is on this basis of the perfect goodness and unfailing faithfulness of God, that faith or the prophetic Spirit of Christ places itself; the mercy of Jehovah endureth forever. Who can utter His mighty acts? The righteous, those who walk (come what will) in integrity are blessed, and all the desire of the Humble One is to find Himself the object of what He knows Jehovah to be, and to see the prosperity of His people, and thus to glory with His inheritance. These two verses (4, 5) are extremely beautiful as the language of the Spirit of Christ. At the close of the Psalm the enduring and patient mercy of God is applied to the circumstances of the Jews at the end, in the desire of faith which rests upon their being gathered out from their dispersion among the heathen. This Psalm concludes the fourth book.
The Fifth Book.
SA 107{Psa. 107 celebrates the wished-for deliverance. But those who return have still many trials to pass through. This Psalm commences the fifth and last book, which is specially occupied with the feelings and thoughts of those who are brought back, with respect to the ways of God, to the circumstances of those who have been delivered, and to the spirit suitable to them, as distinguishing them from the wicked. The book ends with songs of praise. God is considered here, as well as in the latter part of the fourth book, under the three aspects of the God of Israel-the Creator, who governs creation in providence, and the refuge of the humble and the oppressed. That which God was for Israel in the beginning is recalled to mind. He is ever the same. What He then was, is His memorial forever. This is eminently the experience of the remnant in the last days. But when deliverance is at hand and partly accomplished, or fully celebrated. Christ speaks by His Spirit, and there are Psalms of which the full value is only realized in His person, and others which relate to Him. Psa. 110 is a direct prophecy of the place of glory and judgment procured for Him by Israel's rejection.
This first Psalm the 107, gives us a picture of God's dealings with men, judged because of their foolishness, yet finding their resource in God on turning towards Him. Dealings exemplified in Israel, redeemed and restored, but still under discipline in their land (according to Isa. 18) although finally brought into full blessing. We must observe, that it is when God shall have brought Israel back, that is to say, when the Jews shall, in His providence, have re-entered their land, that the dealings of God with them there, as a responsible people, re-commence. It is there that they will suffer the most, and will be, as a people, in conflict with the nations; and there that they will at length receive salvation and deliverance from Jehovah.
SA 108{In Psa. 108 faith seeks, in the exaltation of Jehovah, the deliverance of the people, according to God's own rights-rights which He vindicates by judging the nations who possess the land of Israel, Edom in particular. God asserting His rights over the land, and making use of Israel as His instrument with respect to the nations; after having delivered him as His beloved. These two Psalms give us the two parts of Israel's restoration; first, their return and subsequent oppression, and then their triumph (as the vessel of God's rights over the earth) when God alone is their refuge, and vain the help of man.
SA 109{Psa. 109 is the judgment of the wicked man, full of iniquity and pride; and in general that of the wicked Jews, who are apostate in Israel. We know that this was fulfilled in Judas, with respect to the person of Jesus; the character of the wicked Jews at the end, is seen in principle in Judas. But the poor shall be delivered.
SA 110{The application of Psa. 110 to the Lord is well known. On His rejection by Israel, exalted to the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, He awaits the moment ordained of God for the judgment of the earth. His scepter shall come out of Zion. He rules in the midst of His enemies, and His people are willing in this day of His power. It is the beginning of a new day, which gives its youth to surround the Lord the King in holy pomp. According to Jehovah's unchangeable oath, He is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedec, that is to say, according to the power of an endless life. Son of God, the anointed King in Zion, King of peace and King of righteousness, He especially possesses this character. Priest of the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth, to bless the Most High God on the part of the people of the seed of Abraham, and to bless the people on the part of God. How shall these things be accomplished? Adonai, the Lord, at the right hand of Jehovah, shall Himself strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the heathen. He shall fill the earth with the dead bodies. He shall wound the head over a great country. In a word, He shall execute judgment in the midst of the nations. Having undergone the humiliation appointed by God, having dwelt in this dry and thirsty land where no water is, to receive there such refreshings as might be granted Him by the way; therefore shall He be highly exalted above all. We have a principle here which is very important in studying the Psalms. It is this-although the spirit of prophecy sometimes throws itself entirely into the circumstances to which the Prophecy relates, so that we must also place ourselves in them, to be able to understand it; nevertheless, we must sometimes admit also its action upon the heart of the speaker. When in spirit he says, "My Lord," to shut out entirely that which passes in the heart of the prophet, would be to lose one element of interpretation. But still the Spirit in the heart of the prophet connects itself with the subject of the prophecy, whatever the occasion of it may have been. We may also remark that the Church is taken no notice of here. Christ, rejected of the Jews, and seated at the right hand of the glory of God, until His enemies are made His footstool, is the subject. Nothing is said of what He does for His friends. He is looked at as the Messiah-but instead of being the Messiah received by the Jews, He is the Messiah in this new position which brings out the glory of His person, i.e., at the right hand of the Majesty on high, and coming thence to set up His rightful throne in Zion, acting in power towards His enemies, and the rod of His strength issuing from Zion.
SA 111{Psa. 111 celebrates the effect of the deliverance which Jehovah has thus accomplished; or rather that which the Lord was shown to be in this deliverance.
SA 112{Psa. 112, on the contrary, celebrates the character of the righteous man, who fears and who waits for him; rehearsing the blessings that attend such a walk as this, even in the midst of these circumstances.
SA 113{Psa. 113 makes known that the glory of this God, the Savior of His people, who has stooped from heaven to behold the poor of His people and to raise them up, shall shine forth hereafter to the ends of the earth, even as it is already exalted above the heavens.
SA 114{Psa. 114 recalls the coming forth from Egypt, and apostrophizes the Red Sea and Jordan in a most striking manner, demanding of them what it was in the midst of Israel that terrified and drove them back. The object of this was to make it known that it was the same God who now manifested His presence on earth in the midst of His people.
SA 115{Psa. 115 answers to the exhortation in Joel 2 It is, in the main, the same appeal as that in Psa. 42 and 43, only that the chronological circumstances are more in view there. Faith here sets itself morally in the presence of God. It is not for their own glory that the people seek God's intervention; the name of Jehovah is at stake, since the enemy insults them by, daring to say, " Where is their God?" But He is in the heavens, and their idols are but vanity. From the 9th verse, Israel, the house of Aaron, those that fear Jehovah, are invited to put their trust in Him, because He is mindful of His people. He will bless and increase them. He has given the earth unto the children of men. Now, the dead could not praise Him; but we, say the faithful among the people, we will praise Jehovah. This is faith acknowledging what Jehovah is for His people, on the occasion of this cry, " Where is now their God?" a cry which brings out their faith in what He is.
SA 116{In Psa. 116, the faithful one (pre-eminently Christ) has been heard. The word which is translated " haste," signifies distress of soul. When He was " greatly afflicted." But generally in this Psalm it is the practical effect produced in the soul by the favor of having been heard in the depth of distress. He will pay his vows unto Jehovah in the courts of His house at Jerusalem, in the presence of all the people. The name of Jehovah had been his refuge, he knows what the Lord is; and his soul, delivered by Him, enters into rest. The fruit in a faithful heart, of being thus delivered, is not at the first moment to rejoice in the deliverance, but to bless the Lord who delivered him.
SA 117{In Psa. 117, the remnant call upon all the nations to praise Jehovah, because of the deliverance He has granted to His people. They acknowledge these two principles, the loving-kindness of the Lord and His unchangeable truth.
SA 118{Psa. 118 calls on Israel, as such, to praise Jehovah; Aaron, also, and all those that fear Jehovah-Israel, that is to say, the people, looked at again in their relations as a people. Those who fear the Lord (doubtless, those in Israel, first, of all, but the expression admits all those who do so), and that, because of Jehovah's faithfulness in hearing the prayer of the humble. We again find the solemn form of words, which expresses a deep sense of this faithfulness. It is the Spirit of prophecy in all the faithful of that day, but pre-eminently in Christ in Spirit. The faithful have found that it is better to trust in Jehovah than in princes. This characterizes them-all nations compassed them about; they are destroyed; the enemy, Satan, has done his worst (verse 13), but Jehovah was their help. Jehovah Himself has chastened, but He has not given them over unto death. The Lord is the strength and song of the faithful; He is become their salvation. It is Christ primarily who speaks in Spirit as the Head of His people in the last days. Faith, as it always does, sees first the instruments (verses 10, 11, 12), then the adversary (verse 13), and finally, the chastening of the Lord (verse 18). Compare job's case, in which all this is developed, and that of Christ Himself. In the Lord's case, there were the chiefs of Israel and Judas. It was Satan's hour, who came as the prince of this world. But Jesus received it all from the hand of His Father only, and in obedience. At length (verses 19, 20, 21), deliverance is complete, joy and gladness are in the tabernacles of the righteous. The righteous (Christ above all) enter into the gates of righteousness in Jerusalem-the gates of the Lord. Oppressed and exercised (Christ above all has this character), this place belongs to Him, the righteous Messiah and the righteous Jehovah, and by grace to the remnant with Messiah. There, in Israel, He praises Jehovah who has delivered Him, Now it is that the Stone, which the builders refused, is become the Head-stone of the corner. In verse 23, Israel speaks and acknowledges the Lord's hand, and the day which He has made for His glory. Hosanna resounds from other lips than those of little children, namely, from those whose hearts have been exercised before Jehovah; they bless Him who comes in the name of Jehovah. Their house shall be no longer desolate. Its gates are truly the gates of the Lord, into which the righteous have entered, and where He is known. (Compare Matt. 21:13,15,16,13And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. (Matthew 21:13)
15And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, 16And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? (Matthew 21:15‑16) then 22, the people judged; the Pharisees in verse 15; the Sadducees, verse 23; the lawyers, verse 35; the Pharisees being judged by that which regarded the rejection of His person, according to Psa. 110; finally, the rejection of His messengers, the Apostles, looked at as sent to the nation, and the judgment, chap. 23:37-39). The true God is Jehovah, who has revealed His light to Israel; and they worship Him as their God with sacrifices of thanksgiving, testifying by this Psalm to the truth-of which they are a hearty witness, and one that cannot be gainsaid-that His mercy endureth forever.
SA 119{Psa. 119 sets before us the law written in Israel's heart; and as many other Psalms have shown us either the circumstances they were in, or the effects of grace in Israel's heart with respect to the circumstances, this Psalni displays the effect of grace in writing the law upon their heart, making them sensible of their wanderings, and attaching them to it with ardent desires and affections. Humbled and cast down, they delight themselves in the law, even when it is scorned by the great ones of the earth.
SA 120{Psa. 120 commences the series of Psalms entitled Mahaloth, or songs of degrees. Psalms which recapitulate, by way of memorial, the various feelings which the faithful have experienced during the painful circumstances through which they have passed, and which have, at length, brought them to worship in the temple of God. In the first of these Psalms, the faithful Israelite calls to mind the distress of his soul when exposed to the spirit of lying, and in exile among those that hated peace. He cried unto Jehovah from thence, and He heard him.
SA 121{In Psa. 121, he reckons on the never-failing kindness of Jehovah to Israel, and proclaims that He who keeps Israel, will watch over and preserve the faithful (Christ above all) henceforth and for evermore.
SA 122{Psa. 122 describes the joy of the faithful heart, when it was proposed to go up.to the house of the Lord. This reminds' him of all the privileges of the beloved city, and all its joys in connection with the Lord who dwelt there; and Christ declares in Spirit that now He will seek the peace of Jerusalem, for His brethren's sake, and because of the house of the God of Israel; identifying himself with the people by saying, " Our God."
SA 123{Psa. 123 shows us the remnant waiting upon God as their only hope, whilst overwhelmed by the utter contempt of those who were at ease without God.
SA 124{Psa. 124 celebrates their deliverance by Jehovah. If he were not there overwhelmed by the torrent of the wicked who were ready to swallow them up, the remnant confess that they are like a bird escaped out of the snare of the fowler; and that, through the interposition of the mighty hand of Jehovah, the Creator of all things.
SA 125{In Psa. 125 the remnant tranquilly assure themselves of the portion of the faithful. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so does Jehovah from henceforth surround His people to protect them. The rod of the wicked shall not rest upon them. The upright in heart are the objects of Jehovah's favor. He will judge the wicked, even in Israel; but His peace shall be-upon Israel.
SA 126{Psa. 126 declares the joy of the remnant when deliverance by the hand of God had put an end to the captivity of Zion. It was like a dream to them. Jehovah had done great things for this poor remnant. The heathen were forced to acknowledge it. Nevertheless, they still prayed for the full re-establishment of Israel in peace; although they could even now say that those who sowed in tears should reap in joy.
SA 127{In Psa. 127 being still in these circumstances, the faithful have learned the vanity of all human effort and carefulness. It is Jehovah who must build the house, Jehovah must keep the city. In truth, the events which had occurred had thoroughly taught them this lesson.
The house which they had built for themselves, had been laid waste by the heathen; the city in which they had thought themselves secure had been taken. But God gives rest to His beloved, such rest as man with all his efforts cannot obtain. It is He who establishes His people in peace, and by whose blessing they shall be joyfully surrounded with children.
SA 128{In Psa. 128 this blessing shall rest upon every one of those that fear Jehovah and walk in His ways. Blessed and happy, each one shall enjoy it in his own house and family. His blessing shall come out of Zion, and he shall see the prosperity of the beloved city all the days of his life. He shall see his children's children and peace upon Israel. It is evident that all these Psalms apply to Israel, and to the temporal blessings assured to the faithful remnant in the last days. Blessings conditionally true at all times, they are now accomplished and assured to them for the future by the intervention and protection of Jehovah, in the day of Israel's distress.
SA 129{In Psa. 129 the faithful can review all Israel's afflictions from the beginning; but the Lord is righteous. He has cut asunder the cords of the wicked. The enemies of Zion shall be like the grass that withers on the house-top without blessing.
SA 130{Psa. 130. This Psalm changes the subject. As we have more than once seen, the first thing for Israel is deliverance through Jehovah's favor, upon their return to Him. But this deliverance is followed by a deep sense of sin as between themselves and Jehovah. And now it is not their enemies that are in question, but their God. It is between Israel and Jehovah. This is the subject of Psa. 130 The Faithful One, brought into God's presence, confesses his sin, as it is in the sight of God. But, through grace, He acknowledges also this precious truth, that there is forgiveness with God, that He may be feared-that man may draw near unto Him. While, therefore, the soul is cast down by a sense of sin, it can yet wait upon God and trust in His Word. The manifestation of the Lord's grace is more desired by him, than the dawn of day by those who are distressed in darkness, and watch for the morning which shall deliver and comfort them. Finally, there is an exhortation to Israel to trust in Jehovah.. With Him is mercy and plenteous redemption. He will redeem Israel from all their sins. This is more than delivering them from their enemies.
SA 131{In Psa. 131 The meekness, of which Christ was the perfect pattern, in an obedience that sought nothing beyond the will of God, and thus was perfect wisdom in man, and a submission in the midst of trouble, waiting upon God, is pointed out here as characterizing the faithful. The period of Israel's deliverance is also clearly marked.
SA 132{In Psa. 132 we have at length the triumph. The steps are ascended (for it is supposed that these songs of degrees were sung in going up the steps of the entrance into the temple), and they call to mind the time when Israel was ruined and judged-Shiloh forsaken of God-the Ark lost. God, in His sovereign grace, raised up David and put it into his heart to seek out an habitation for Jehovah, a dwelling-place for the mighty God or Jacob. The ardent desire that filled the heart of God's servant is touchingly depicted. One can understand the need felt by him who knew Jehovah, who had experienced His mercy and faithfulness, should desire to honor Him, and to re-establish His dwelling-place in the midst of Israel, where His foot-stool could be approached in worship. It was a more important, a more decisive moment, and one of deeper import, than that in which Moses set up the Tabernacle. The latter had been forsaken, for God's abiding in the Tabernacle depended on the faithfulness of the people: But although-until the Messiah -nothing could have any stability, yet that which David did, was, in principle, the re-establishment of blessing in grace, when man had entirely failed in keeping that blessing. Its re-establishment by promise and election, could not be forfeited. The energy of David-an imperfect type of the deliverance of Israel, and of the setting up of the Lord's glory in the midst of this people by Christ Himself-could not be satisfied until the Ark of God was established, not in the forsaken Tabernacle, but in the seat of royalty which God had chosen. It is this desire, with the Lord's reply to it, which this Psalm expresses. A reply which in every point goes beyond all that the Faithful One had desired. Observe that it is the rest of God which is here spoken of. His rest must be in the midst of His people. The Tabernacle did not admit of this. God, in His grace, journeyed with His people. But He would rest in the rest of His people. Accordingly, it is not said, " Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered"; nor " Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel," as was said in the wilderness (Num. 10:35, 3635And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 36And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel. (Numbers 10:35‑36)). But, "Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest; Thou and the Ark of Thy strength" (verse 8). This difference is very remarkable, and characterizes the moment and the position of which this Psalm speaks. As to the way in which God's reply exceeds the desire of His people, compare v. 8 with 13, 14; v. 9 with 16; and v. 10 with 17, 18. A precious testimony to our hearts. That which David did, according to the grace given to a man, shall be accomplished in the last days by His power, of whom David was but the type.
SA 133{In Psa. 133 we have the joy of Israel re-united under one Head (Hos. 1:11,11Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel. (Hosea 1:11) Ezek. 37:21,2221And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 22And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: (Ezekiel 37:21‑22)). But here it is the moral joy that flows from this union. It is in Zion that the Lord has commanded blessing and life for evermore.
SA 134{Psa. 134 The servants of the Lord established in order and in peace in the Temple, praise His name there; and by the Spirit of prophecy, pronounce blessing in the name of the Lord that made Heaven and earth, upon the faithful; and that, out of Zion, where He has taken up His abode in peace and in glory. This is the fullness of Israel's blessing, and with this the Psalms of Degrees conclude. It appears to me that in Psa. 134, it is the Messiah in Spirit who, having arranged the Priests and Levites in joy in the Temple, exhorts them to praise the Lord; and that verse 3 is addressed to Him, as man, in their midst on earth. A perfectly beautiful exordium of the account of all that has placed Israel in rest.
SA 135{In Psa. 135, Israel, now in full peace, occupy themselves according to the invitation of the preceding Psalm, with the praises of the Lord in His House, for His praise is " pleasant," because He had chosen Jacob, He who is great above all Gods; who does whatsoever He pleases in heaven and in earth, and in all places; who, as Creator, does what He will with all that He has created; who has interposed in behalf of His people by judging their adversaries, in order that Israel might possess their land. In verses 13 and 14, we find two passages united, which bring out in a very remarkable way the position to which these Psalms apply, and that Israel is looked upon according to the promises made of old, the power of God's redemption and His final intervention, after all the rebellion of this people, are the subject of the Psalms. Compare with verse 13, Ex. 3:1515And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3:15); the latter part of this verse is quoted. He who had given promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who was their God, who was come down to redeem His people, who had said that the name of Jehovah, the God of their fathers, was His name 'and His memorial forever, was now giving a proof of this, by the deliverance and everlasting blessing of His people who were the object of these promises. With verse 14, compare Deut. 32:3636For the Lord shall judge his people, and repent himself for his servants, when he seeth that their power is gone, and there is none shut up, or left. (Deuteronomy 32:36); in which God makes known that He will interpose on His people's behalf when, on account of their rebellion, they are overwhelmed by the power of their enemies. The God who had forsaken them for their iniquities, will deliver them for the glory of His name, when there is no other remedy. Only, grace does not recall either the iniquity or the distress. The Lord has Himself judged His people, and it is all over. The idols are but vanity; Deut. 32:37,3837And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted, 38Which did eat the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? let them rise up and help you, and be your protection. (Deuteronomy 32:37‑38). Finally, the prophetic Spirit calls on the people and those who draw nigh to God, in their several classes, to praise and bless Jehovah out of Zion, Jehovah which dwelleth. at Jerusalem.
SA 136{Psa. 136 While celebrating the praises of Jehovah as the Creator, Redeemer, and Protector, who chose His people as a precious jewel, who remembered them in their low estate and raised them up, this Psalm re-iterates the phrase-sacred at all times to faith since Israel's first ruin, and especially intended for the period here spoken of-" His mercy endureth forever."
SA 137-143{From Psa. 137 to Psa. 143, the principal subjects of distress to the faithful are recalled in their leading features until their deliverance. Through this deliverance, wrought by the Messiah, all is triumph. This series begins with Babylon, where it may be said that Israel has been in captivity since Nebuchadnezzar. For although the possessors of the imperial power have changed, it is still the times of the Gentiles-a period not yet fulfilled. One cannot doubt that this Psalm was written at the time of the Babylonish captivity; but until the restoration of Jerusalem by the Messiah, the harp of Israel, responsive to the Spirit of Christ, still hangs upon the willows that grow on the banks of the rivers which enrich the land of their captivity. At present, no doubt, the believing Jew enjoys the heavenly calling, and shares a better hope. But here we find the Jews on their own proper ground, remembering Zion and Jerusalem according to God. They wait for the execution of judgment. The relentless enmity of Edom in the last days is very clearly marked in the prophets. See Obadiah. Babylon is to be distinguished from the enemies that attack Jerusalem and the Jews. The Jew is a captive in this system of abominations, he had been given up into the hands of the Gentiles, to whom God had committed the empire; and there will he be found at the end. Other enemies will attack them, but alas! Caesar is their king. The heart, however, of the faithful is grieved at their captivity, instead of relying upon the strength of the wicked one.
SA 138{Psa. 138 celebrates the effect that Israel's deliverance produces in the heart of the kings of the earth. Babylon is to be entirely destroyed; but the kings of the earth shall hear the words of the Lord. The worshipper goes up to the temple in peace. The word of God has been fulfilled in such a manner, that it is • magnified above all His name. His power has been great, His righteousness has been displayed; but the poor Jew, who had trusted throughout in His word, experiences its entire accomplishment. Jehovah has heard his cry. The revelations of God will astonish all the kings of the earth. They shall praise the Lord and sing of His ways, for great shall be His glory. But, however highly he may be exalted, the Lord thinks of the humble and despises the proud. This is the confidence of the faithful in all their trouble. The Lord will leave nothing unfulfilled of all that He has spoken. His mercy endureth forever. He is a faithful Creator. This Psalm throws much light on that expression of the Apostle Peter, and shows us, too, the believer's position. The glory reflected upon the name of the Lord, even in the heart of the kings of the earth, through His faithfulness to His word, is brought out in full relief by this Psalm in a very remarkable manner.
SA 138{Psa. 139. The manner in which God penetrates all things in His creature is very strikingly depicted in this well-known Psalm. But from the eleventh verse, the place of the worshipper being now in grace and in peace, he can rest in God's perfect knowledge. A faithful Creator, as we have seen, He takes knowledge of the works of His hands. His thoughts, like His knowledge, are infinite. The moral import of this Psalm is very extensive. It contains the four elements of the soul's moral relations with God, which are developed in the history of Israel, and the fourth of which is realized exclusively in their favor at the end, but which apply to man in general; for after all, the history of Israel is but a specimen, in which, for our instruction, the Lord gives the history of man, and of His dealings with him. The first of these elements, is the way in which man, when taught by the Spirit of Christ, is conscious that God searches him even to his inmost thoughts. Everything is thoroughly laid bare before Him. A solemn, yet simple thought. Compare the end of Heb. 4. The second is, that taught by the same Spirit, we may rest in Him who thus knows us. Precious thought! How should he not know that which He has created! We were the object of God's creative will, and thus a part of His glory. The Spirit of Christ imparts this thought to faith. The third element is, that if God searches our thoughts, He gives us to know His own, by the spirit of Christ, v. 17, 18; they are infinitely precious to us. What a change! Now that grace is known, there is no seeking to escape from the mind and the eye of God, who searches us. It is ourselves who, in peace, search into and delight ourselves in His thoughts, knowing that we are the objects of the faithful Creator's care. One consequence of this, important in itself as well as to him who is thus instructed of the Lord, and which historically becomes necessary for his happiness, is (the fourth element), that God being what He is, having such thoughts, He will destroy the wicked. Considered morally, according to the nature of God, yet responsibly, the faithful man hates the wicked as though they were his own enemies; for here, it is the government of God on earth that is the question, and the relation of man as instructed in the mind of God, fashioned morally by his knowledge of the mind of God. Finally, after these four general elements, there is the desire of a soul in subjection to God and trusting entirely in Him, that nothing contrary to God should be allowed in his heart. He is conscious now that it is an immense privilege to be searched. by God, in order to attain a condition that is suitable to eternal relationship with God. God alone can do this. He is now no longer dreaded. It is the greatest favor to be fashioned for this eternal relationship. Such a desire implies a perfect grace and full confidence in that grace. I have said that, in this Psalm, it is man with God. But it supposes-as do all the Psalms-the energy of the Spirit of Christ in man, without which he cannot enter at all into these relations. The verses from 13 to 16, in type or mystery, apply to the body of Christ, the Church, which was its place of light and life in pure grace in the midst of this history of the relations of God with man as light, and light and life, and at last judge, of God, who searches in order to purify His people. The way everlasting is the hidden or eternal path, instead of that which is after the sight of the eyes and the desires of the heart, or according to human wisdom. It is that path according to the nature and precepts of God alone, which is, therefore, hidden from the heart of fallen man, but which, by its moral nature, is eternal. The same word in the original is used in Eccl. 3:1717I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work. (Ecclesiastes 3:17); but, it appears to me in a different sense (compare 8:17). Man sees things in detail, each in its season, but as a whole-as God sees them—they are beyond man's reach, although he has a heart that desires and seeks to know as he is known. But he has not the key to all this.
A few remarks will suffice for the four following Psalms. Not that they are devoid of interest, but because there is little difficulty in them to any one who has read and understood the preceding Psalms. We may observe that Psa. 140 speaks of the violent man and not of the deceitful man. It is an enemy with whom Israel is at open war. Doubtless these proud ones had laid snares; but their character is violence, whether in tongue or in act. This Psalm is an appeal to Jehovah, against the last proud enemies who fight against the faithful at the end.
SA 141{Psa. 141 is the ardent desire of the righteous man, still left in Israel, to be kept in the right path when overwhelmed by calamity and in the presence of the wicked. He distinguishes between the righteous and the wicked in Israel. The 6th verse proves the interest which the Lord again takes in blessing Israel. In verse 5, we see the spirit of intercession in the faithful one, and in fact the Lord's share in all these sentiments of the remnant, for in both verses it is the Spirit of Christ that speaks in the faithful one.
SA 142{Psa. 142 applies fully to Christ alone. Nevertheless, the righteous are in the same position. His consolation is that when there was no help for Him in man, and His soul was overwhelmed within Him, His path was known, i.e. acknowledged by God. This is a depth of consolation which, to be complete, supposes perfect faith, like that -of Christ; but which has power, in measure, over the hearts of the saints, who are in the same circumstances; that is to say, when rejected by all, with the consciousness that the path they walk in is owned of God..
SA 143{In Psa. 143 the faith of the believer is tested, and in extreme distress he seeks the face of the Lord, in order that he may distinguish the persecutions of the enemy from the judgments of God...A very interesting thought, and one of great importance to many souls. Faith learns how to do this, by drawing near to God. At first he feared this judgment, thus acknowledging that if. God entered into judgment it was all over with him, and with every living' man. He implores the Lord to manifest Himself unto Him, remembering His dealings in mercy and grace, and the days of blessing, for his trust is in God, and he takes refuge with Him; he seeks His will for guidance, he is the servant of the Lord; to see His face, to hear His voice, is all his desire. And observe, that there is no thought of assuring himself of his position by thinking of his conduct, if God should judge. e. If God enters into judgment, all is lost; the upright man who is taught of God, thinks of it only to condemn himself. His only hope is that God will be unto him that which He has revealed Himself to be. His distress is that which he presents to God. No doubt this applies literally to Israel. But Israel returns according to the grace that saves us, and in this respect the principle is the same for all. It is God who is celebrated, God who is sought; and the only plea is that the heart has none other to look to or to seek than God.
SA 144{Psa. 144, under the figure of David, it is the Messiah who asks for the execution of judgment, and who owns' that it is the Lord's strength that enables Him to obtain the victory over all His enemies, in order that full blessing may rest upon His people. Happy the people that is in such a case, whose God is Jehovah. There is a remarkable passage in this Psalm, which is thrice repeated in the word, " What is man?" It is found in Psa. 8 where it applies to the counsels of God fulfilled in the man Christ; and in Job 7:17,17What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him? (Job 7:17) where he complains that God visits him, and says in his vexation that man is too insignificant for God to take notice of him and of his ways. And again here, where the Messiah in the name of Israel demands judgment. Why should God, be His patience ever so great, pause before so insignificant a creature as man, and delay to execute judgment for the blessing of the people who put their trust in Him? It had been said, in Psa. 2 " Ask, and I will give thee the heathen; thou shalt _break them with a rod of iron." This was according to the spirit of prophecy. He now asks for it, that the blessing may come. In John 17 He leaves out the world entirely, in His petition; and only presents His own people in prayer to His Father.
SA 145{Psa. 145 reveals the intercourse between Messiah and the Jews, and finally all flesh, praising the Lord during the millennium. He is the Creator and the God of Providence, and at the same time He hears the cry of those that fear Him and delivers them. The three constant subjects here of praise-Israel, creation, and the deliverance of the oppressed who wait upon Him. The following Psalms are a series of hallelujahs.
SA 146{In Psa. 146, man, even princes, are but vanity. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, and whose hope is in Jehovah his God. And, again, He is the only Creator-faithful to His word, executing judgment for the oppressed, the deliverer of all the afflicted, overthrowing the wicked. He, the God of Zion, shall reign forever. The application of this Psalm to the circumstances and the deliverance of the Jews in the last days, is evident. The heart of the faithful is full of it; it is Christ Himself who leads these praises in...the great congregation (see Psa. 22:2525My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. (Psalm 22:25)). For His heart takes part in all that happens to Israel.
SA 147{In Psa. 147 the whole congregation is more seen here. It is " our God," and again, it is He who builds up Jerusalem, and gathers together the outcasts of Israel, the Comforter of the broken-hearted, the Sovereign Creator of heaven and earth, who yet takes pleasure in those that fear Him. It is He who blesses Jerusalem, and establishes it with strength; who does what He pleases in heaven and earth, but who has shown His word unto Jacob and His statutes unto Israel, which He has done to no other nation. They have not known His judgments. The immediate and distinctive application of all these Psalms to Israel, as the nation in whom Jehovah will unfold His ways, and make Himself known in the last days, is clear and unequivocal.
SA 148{Psa. 148 extends the sphere of praise, calling on all the heavenly beings to praise Jehovah; and then in verse 7, the earth and all its inhabitants, for His glory is above the earth and heaven. Verse 14 gives also the special relations of Israel with the Lord, in a peculiar manner. The intimacy of the Church is not found in these praises. It is not the Father, it is not the Bridegroom of our souls. It is Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth. It is the righteous government of the Most High, of the God of Israel, worthy of all praise and of all glory. But the affections of one who, being joined to the Lord, is but one Spirit, are quite another thing. Such a one recognizes the truth, the rightfulness of all this, its perfection in its place, but it is not his place.
SA 149{Psa. 149 takes up the joy and the praises of Israel in particular, and the judgment which it is given them to execute upon the enemy. This last part shows how unsuitable it is to put the Church in the position of those who offer up these praises. It is suitable to Israel, because it is through the destruction of their enemy that they have deliverance. The righteous judgment of God's government is the subject. The Church, belonging to heaven, having lived in grace on the earth, quits it to meet the Lord in the air, leaving her enemies down here. In the glory-even in the earthly and heavenly-this distinction continues. Of the earthly Jerusalem it is said "The nation and kingdom that will not serve thee, shall perish;" while in the heavenly Jerusalem the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. It is beautiful to see this distinctiveness of grace continuing even in glory.
SA 150{Psalm 150 is a kind of chorus, the force of which is evident; it is rather to be felt than explained. It will be observed that in the whole of this last book, it is always Jehovah. That is to say, the relation is acknowledged, and God is known in His relation to Israel, and by the name that is sacred to this relation. If we study the relationship which the Lord has entered into with Israel, in order to glorify this name, and which are set before us prophetically in the Psalms, we shall find that a fresh light is thrown upon the spiritual character of the Gospels' which enables us to understand the way in which the Jews, devoted as they were to their ceremonies and proud of their traditional privileges, must have been offended by the presence of One whose perfection judged their moral condition. Rejected by them-but according to the counsels of God, for the accomplishment of redemption, and the bringing in of the Church, united to Him in the glory He assumed in heaven-He will perform all the promises of God to Israel, His elect people on earth, when He shall return. There will be a prepared heart in a remnant of this people, in the midst of unparalleled distress; a distress which the Lord has personally anticipated, and in which He sympathizes with the remnant. The Psalms give a voice in their hearts to this sympathy, until, interposing in power, He displays all the glory of Jehovah's name, the Creator, the Governor of the earth, the Judge of the wicked, faithful to His promises, kind and compassionate to His people, condescending to the humble and meek. It is, therefore, always necessary to distinguish the Church, which is united to the Lord before His manifestation, while He is still hidden in God. Let us remark in conclusion, that this last book is not so much the connected historical order of the last days, as the expression of the various sentiments of the faithful remnant during that period. We always find in it the name of Jehovah, that is to say, the relations of Israel with Jehovah are recognized by faith, although not yet re-established in fact. And all the sentiments which this produces, whether of sorrow, of encouragement, or of joy, find their expression in this last book. It is a moral supplement to the historical contents of the preceding books, and always supposes the last days and the personal exercise of faith in that which Jehovah is unto this faith.
I feel how imperfect is this development of that which is contained in the Book of Psalms, so rich in precious sentiments. I only hope that some principles are set forth which will assist in understanding them, and some keys to their application in reading the Psalms themselves.