As the title of the following work conveys no very definite idea of its nature, while the portion of Scripture which it is meant to illustrate has been variously treated by expositors, according to the aspect under which they have severally regarded it, the Christian reader seems entitled to some explanation of the scope and objects of the book which he is here invited to peruse.
It is essentially a practical work. In its preparation I have had continually before my mind the twofold aim of ministering to the refreshment of those who already are established in the grace of God, and of affording assistance and encouragement to the inexperienced but godly inquirer after truth. With this desire an attempt has been made to present a faithful though general outline of the Book of Psalms, both as it respects the true prophetic intention of each Psalm, and also its immediate application to the Christian as a partaker of the heavenly calling.
That our knowledge is at present but "in part," is an admonition that has addressed itself forcibly (and not, I trust, without some salutary effect) to my remembrance, at every stage of my progress in the present work. How meager and imperfect the several articles must appear, to those whose happy privilege it may have been to search more wisely and more thoroughly the wealthy mine of blessing which the Spirit of Christ lays open to us in the Psalms, I felt at the original publication of this book; and the repeated and anxious revision which it has since undergone has done little to weaken that impression. But the favor which the Lord has given to my labor in the sight of some of those who love Him, and a knowledge that since these Notes have been out of print enquiries have many times been made for them, has encouraged me to venture on a new edition; for it is the comfort of the feeblest laborer in God's vineyard to remember that no honest exposition of sound doctrine is entirely in vain. Truth never palls upon the spiritual taste. The growing, ripening believer shares with the latest babe in Christ the Bread which is the life and only nourishment of the whole family of God.
As it respects the principles of prophetic interpretation which have been applied throughout this work, some explanation will be given in the Introduction. It is enough to say here, that the cramping effect of artificial system is too sincerely dreaded by the writer to be wittingly adopted as his guide.
God has a system of revelation which, like all His other works, is perfect, though the dimness of our spiritual sight may often fail to compass all the fair proportions of its unity of beauty and of truth. There is a symmetry in truth which, being of the Spirit, is discerned and appreciated only by the mind of Christ. Systematic theology, as it is commonly understood, is a very different thing. The latter is easily within the reach of a patient effort of the human understanding, and needs no faith for its attainment. But to the children of promise CHRIST is truth, and truth is Christ. To learn of God is to advance in the knowledge of Him in whom all fullness dwells. Because they have tasted that the Lord is gracious, the new-born children of the Father must desire the sincere milk of the word of grace, that they may grow thereby.
There is a rich variety of topic in the Psalms. In the following Notes, the leading features of each have been presented, in the order which the Spirit has observed in His dictation and arrangement of this portion of the word. The longest articles are devoted to those Psalms which relate immediately to the person and work of our blessed Lord, or in which some great doctrinal principles are affirmed. Psa. 22 and 32 are respectively examples in point. Those which illustrate the dispensational government of God have in general been treated more or less fully; e. g., Psa. 2, 8, 45, 72, 110, 118 and many others. All have been examined under the liveliest and most thankful consciousness of the thoroughly practical bearing of these varied utterances of the Spirit of Christ upon the experiences of His people in their day of wearying yet hopeful conflict.
The reader is recommended to peruse the Notes in their regular sequence. It is not, however, absolutely necessary that he should do so, since it has not been attempted to treat the Psalms as one unbroken and continuous revelation. Still, it is well to follow steadily, in our study of the word of God, the order which the Spirit has observed. With one earnest request I conclude these prefatory remarks: that no reader will content himself with a mere perusal of these Notes, but that he will in every instance give God's word its honor by keeping constantly before his eye the very truth which is the subject of the scanty exposition now submitted to his view. One word seems called for in explanation of the rather frequent quotation in the footnotes of untranslated foreign versions. The class of readers for whom they are intended will thank me for my forbearance, while the less critical student of these Notes will, I trust, accept my assurance that his ignorance of other languages involves him in no spiritual loss. All that is practically edifying is presented to him in his mother tongue.