Psalms 33 commentary

Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon the righteous. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy. Religious songs are proper expressions of thankful praise. Every endowment we possess, should be employed with all our skill and earnestness in God's service. His promises are all wise and good. His word is right, and therefore we are only in the right when we agree with it. His works are all done in truth. He is the righteous Lord, therefore loveth righteousness. What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of the proofs and instances of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises; and that of the multitudes who live upon his bounty, there are so few who live to his glory! What the Lord does, he does to purpose; it stands fast. He overrules all the counsels of men, and makes them serve his counsels; even that is fulfilled, which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God, nor can any thing prevent its coming to pass.

All the motions and operations of the souls of men, which no mortals know but themselves, God knows better than they do. Their hearts, as well as their times, are all in his hand; he formed the spirit of each man within him. All the powers of the creature depend upon him, and are of no account, of no avail at all, without him. If we make God's favour sure towards us, then we need not fear whatever is against us. We are to give to him the glory of his special grace. All human devices for the salvation of our souls are vain; but the Lord's watchful eye is over those whose conscientious fear of his name proceeds from a believing hope in his mercy. In difficulties they shall be helped; in dangers they shall not receive any real damage. Those that fear God and his wrath, must hope in God and his mercy; for there is no flying from him, but by flying to him. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us; let us always have the comfort and benefit, not according to our merits, but according to the promise which thou hast in thy word given to us, and according to the faith thou hast by thy Spirit and grace wrought in us.

PSALM 33.

David, or whoever was the author of this psalm, in order to excite believers to praise God, founds his argument upon the general providence of God, by which he sustains, protects, and governs the whole world. Afterwards he celebrates God’s paternal kindness towards his chosen people, showing at the same time how necessary it is that the godly should be cherished by his special care.

Psalm 33:1-4

1. Rejoice in Jehovah, ye righteous; praise is comely “Ou, digne d’estre aimee par les,” etc. — Fr. marg. “Or, is worthy of being loved by them.” for the upright. 2. Praise Jehovah upon the harp; sing unto him upon the viol, and an instrument of ten strings. 3. Sing a new song to him; sing loudly with joyfulness: 4. For the word of Jehovah is right; and all his works are in faithfulness. “Fideles, c’est, fermes et permanentes.” — Fr. marg. “Faithful, that is, firm and permanent.”

1. Rejoice in Jehovah, ye righteous. Here the inspired writer addresses believers or the righteous by name, because they alone are capable of proclaiming the glory of God. Unbelievers, who have never tasted his goodness, cannot praise him from the heart, and God has no pleasure in his name being pronounced by their unholy tongues. But the context shows more distinctly why this exhortation is suitable for believers only. Many, accordingly, expound the latter clause, Praise is comely for the upright, as meaning, that if the ungodly or hypocrites attempt this exercise, it will turn to the reproach and dishonor of God rather than to his praise; nay, more, that they only profane his holy name. It is, no doubt, very true, as I have already remarked, that God creates for himself a church in the world by gracious adoption, for the express purpose, that his name may be duly praised by witnesses suitable for such a work. But the real meaning of the clause, Praise is comely for the upright, is, that there is no exercise in which they can be better employed. And, assuredly, since God by his daily benefits furnishes them with such matter for celebrating his glory, and since his boundless goodness, as we have elsewhere seen, is laid up as a peculiar treasure for them, it were disgraceful and utterly unreasonable for them to be silent in the praises of God. The amount of the matter is, that the principal exercise in which it becomes the righteous to be employed is to publish among men the righteousness, goodness, and power of God, the knowledge of which is implanted in their minds. Following other interpreters, I have translated the clause, Praise is comely, but the word rendered comely may also be properly rendered desirable, if we view it as derived from the Hebrew word אוה, avah, which signifies to wish or desire. And certainly, when God allures believers so sweetly, it is proper that they employ themselves in celebrating his praises with their whole hearts. It is also to be observed, that when the prophet, after having in the first clause used the appellation, the righteous, immediately adds the words, the upright, which comprehend the inward integrity of the heart, he defines what true righteousness is, or in what it consists.

PSALM 33

Psa 33:1-22. A call to lively and joyous praise to God for His glorious attributes and works, as displayed in creation, and His general and special providence, in view of which, the Psalmist, for all the pious, professes trust and joy and invokes God's mercy.

1-3. The sentiment falls in with Psa 32:11 (compare 1Co 14:15). The instruments (Psa 92:3; 144:9) do not exclude the voice.

4-9. Reasons for praise: first, God's truth, faithfulness, and mercy, generally; then, His creative power which all must honor.

10-11. In God's providence He thwarts men's purposes and executes His own.

heathen--literally, "nations."

12-19. The inference from the foregoing in Psa 33:12 is illustrated by God's special providence, underlying which is His minute knowledge of all men.

20-22. waiteth--in earnest expectation.

Rejoice in the Lord - It is very likely that the last verse of the preceding Psalm was formerly the first verse of this. As this Psalm has no title, the verse was the more easily separated. In the preceding Psalm we have an account of the happiness of the justified man: in this, such are taught how to glorify God, and to praise him for the great things he had done for them.

Praise is comely for the upright - It is right they should give thanks to Him, who is the fountain whence they have received all the good they possess and thankfulness becomes the lips of the upright.

Praise the Lord with harp - כנור kinnor; probably something like our harp: but Calmet thinks it the ancient testudo, or lyre with three strings.

The psalter - נבל nebel. Our translation seems to make a third instrument in this place, by rendering עשור asor, an instrument of ten strings; whereas they should both be joined together, for נבל עשור nebel-asor signifies the nebal, or nabla, with ten strings, or holes. Calmet supposes this to have resembled our harp. In one of Kennicott's MSS., this Psalm begins with the second verse.

Sing unto him a new song - Do not wear out the old forms: fresh mercies call for new songs of praise and gratitude.

Play skilfully with a loud noise - Let sense and sound accompany each other; let the style of the music be suited to the words. This skill is possessed by few singers. They can make a loud noise, but they cannot adapt sound to sense.

The word of the Lord is right - He is infinitely wise, and can make no mistakes; and all his works are done in truth. All the words, laws, promises, and threatenings of God are perfectly true and just. The dispensations of his providence and mercy are equally so. When he rewards or punishes, it is according to truth and justice.

He loveth righteousness - What he delights in himself, he loves to see in his followers.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord - To hear its worthless inhabitants complain, one would think that God dispensed evil, not good. To examine the operation of his hand, every thing is marked with mercy and there is no place where his goodness does not appear. The overflowing kindness of God fills the earth. Even the iniquities of men are rarely a bar to his goodness: he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain upon the just and the unjust.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made - This is illustrated in the Psa 33:9 verse: "He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." This evidently refers to the account of the creation, as it stands in the first chapter of Genesis.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together - He separated the water from the earth and, while the latter was collected into continents, islands, mountains, hills, and valleys, the former was collected into one place, and called seas; and by his all-controlling power and providence the waters have been retained in their place, so that they have not returned to drown the earth: and he has so adapted the solar and sonar influence exerted on the waters, that the tides are only raised to certain heights, so that they cannot overflow the shores, nor become dissipated in the atmospheric regions. In this one economy there is a whole circle of science. The quantity of matter in the sun, moon, and in the earth, are all adjusted to each other in this astonishing provision: the course of the moon, and the diurnal and annual revolutions of the earth, are all concerned here; and so concerned, that it requires some of the nicest of the Newtonian calculations to ascertain the laws by which the whole is affected.

Let all the earth fear the Lord - He who has thus bound, can unloose; he who has created, can destroy. He has promised life and prosperity only to the godly; let the ungodly stand in awe of him.

The counsel of the heathen to naught - This appears to be similar to what is mentioned in the second Psalm; the useless attempts of the Gentiles to prevent the extension of the kingdom of Christ in the earth: and it may refer to similar attempts of ungodly nations or men to prevent the promulgation of the Gospel, and the universal dissemination of truth in the world.

The counsel of the Lord - What he has determined shall be done. He determined to make a world, and he made it; to create man, and he created him. He determined that at a certain period God should be manifested in the flesh, and it was so; that he should taste death for every man, and he did so; that his Gospel should be preached in all the world; and behold it has already nearly overrun the whole earth. All his other counsels and thoughts, which refer to the future, shall be accomplished in their times.

Blessed is the nation - O how happy is that nation which has יהוה Jehovah for its אלהים Elohim; the self-existent and eternal Lord for its covenant God; one who should unite himself to it by connections and ties the most powerful and endearing! The word אלהים Elohim, which we translate God, refers to that economy in which God is manifested in the flesh.

The people whom he hath chosen - The Jews, who were elected to be his heritage, whom he preserved as such for two thousand years, and whom he has reprobated because of their unbelief and rebellion, and elected the Gentiles in their place.

The Lord looketh from heaven - This and the following verse seem to refer to God's providence. He sees all that is done in the earth, and his eye is on all the children of men.

He fashioneth their hearts alike - He forms their hearts in unity; he has formed them alike; they are all the works of his hands: and he has formed them with the same powers, faculties, passions, etc.; body and spirit having the same essential properties in every human being.

There is no king saved by the multitude of a host - Even in the midst of the most powerful and numerous army, no king is in safety unless he have God's protection. A king is but a man, and may as easily lose his life as one of his common soldiers.

A mighty man is not delivered by much strength - There are times in which his might can be of no avail to him: and unless the mighty, the wise, the honorable, etc., have the protection of God, there is no time in which their might may not be turned into weakness, their wisdom into folly, and their dignity into disgrace.

A horse is a vain thing for safety - Even the horse, with all his fleetness, is no sure means of escape from danger: the lion or the tiger can overtake him or he may stumble, fall, and destroy his rider.

Behold, the eye of the Lord - Though all the above are unavailing, yet here is one thing that can never fail; "the eye of the Lord" - the watchful providence of the Most High, "is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy."

To deliver their soul from death - To watch over and protect them in all sudden dangers and emergencies, so that they shall not lose their Lives by any accident.

And to keep them alive in famine - Not only prevent sudden death by an instantaneous interposition of my power, but keep them from a lingering death, by extraordinary supplies granted them in an extraordinary manner; because I am all in all, and all everywhere.

Our soul waiteth - Our whole life is employed in this blessed work; we trust in nothing but him; neither in multitudes of armed men, nor in natural strength, nor in the fleetest animals, nor in any thing human: we trust in Him alone "who is our help and our shield."

For our heart shall rejoice in him - Here is the fruit of our confidence: our souls are always happy, because we have taken God for our portion.

Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us - We cannot abide in this state unless upheld by thee; and, as we disclaim all merit, we seek for a continuance of thy mercy, and this we cannot expect but in a continual dependence on thee. "Let thy mercy, O Lord be upon us, according as we hope in thee."

Harp, &c. - These instruments were used in the publick worship of God in the tabernacle.

A new song - Renewed or continued from day to day.

The word - All God's counsels and commands are wise, and just, and good. His works - All his works of providence agree with his word, and are the accomplishment of his promises or threatenings.

Goodness - He not only doth no man wrong, but he is kind and merciful to all men.

The word - God made this admirable structure of the heavens, and all its glorious stars; not with great pains and time, but with one single word. Host - The angels: or the stars.

Store - houses - Either in the clouds, or in the bowels of the earth.

The Lord - Thus he passes from the work of creation, to the works of providence, and from the instances of his power, in senseless and irrational creatures, to his power in over - ruling the thoughts and wills, and actions of men, whether single or united.

The Counsel - All his purposes and designs are always successful.

All men - Although he hath a relation to Israel, yet he hath a general care over all mankind, all whose hearts and ways he observes.

Fashioneth - Having said that God sees and observes all men, he now adds, that he rules and governs them; yea, even the hearts which are most unmanageable, he disposes and inclines according to the counsel of his will. Alike - Or, equally, one as well as another: whether they be Jews or Gentiles, princes or peasants; all are alike subject to his jurisdiction. Their works - Both outward and inward, all the workings of their minds and actions, and all their endeavours and actions.

No king - He instances in these, as the most uncontrollable persons in the world, and most confident of themselves. By which he strongly proves his general proposition, of God's powerful providence over all men. By an host - But only by God's providence, who disposes of victory and success, as he pleases, and that frequently to the weakest side.

An horse - Though he be strong and fit for battle, or for flight, if need requires. And so this is put for all warlike provisions. Vain things - Heb. a lie; because it promises that help and safety which it cannot give.

The eye - Whosoever therefore would have safety, must expect it only from the watchful eye, and almighty hand of God. That fear - These are the chief objects of his care and favour. Hope - That place their hope and trust, and happiness, not in any creature, but only in God, and in his mercy and blessings.

1. REjoyce in the LORD , O ye righteous, for praise is comely for the upright .

Let his Excellency discovered in his works, be the Matter of your joy and praise.

It well becomes them, to Exercise themselves in this work. of praising and blessing of God, Partly, because they have such singular and abundant Obligations, and Occasions to do so; and Partly, because they will praise God worthily and Heartily, and with due Reverence and Thankfulness, as God requires, and deserves to be praised, whereas ungodly men do indeed disparage, and [illegible: 1 word] the Holy Name of God, while they [illegible: 1 word] to pra[illegible: 1+ letters], and therefore God rejects their Pra[illegible: 1+ letters]s and Prayers. See [illegible: 1 word]. 5[illegible: 1+ letters]. 16. and 109. 7. Prov. 28. 9.

Marginal references: [illegible: 1+ letters]sal. 147. 1.

2. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery, and an instrument of ten strings .

He mentions these Instruments, because they were used in the publick Worship, and Praises of God, in the Tabernacle.

Marginal references: Psal 92. 3.

3. Sing unto him a new song , play skilfully with a loud noise.

Either, 1. Newly Composed. As God gives you [illegible: 1 word] occasions, so do not you content your selves with the ol[illegible: 1+ letters] Songs or Psalms, made by the holy Men of God, but make New ones suited to the occasions. But neither had all the Rig[illegible: 1+ letters] ous, to whom he speaks, v. 1. the Gift of Composing Songs, nor was it of any Necessity or Importance, that they should make new Songs to praise God, at least for the Works here mentioned, when there were so many made by David, and other Holy Prophets, for the use of God's Church and People, when they had any such occasion. Or, 2. Renewed, or repeated, or sung again; in which Sence Iob saith, his G[illegible: 1+ letters]y was N[illegible: 1+ letters]w, or fresh in him, I[illegible: 1+ letters]b 29 20. (i. e.) Renewed, or continued from Day to Day, and the Command of Love is called New, Iob. 13. 34. because it was renewed and re-inforced by Christ. So this Song is here called N[illegible: 1+ letters]w, not so much from the Matter, as from the singing of it; because it was sung afresh, or again.

Marginal references: Psal. 96. 1. & [illegible: 1 word]. 1. 149. 1. [illegible: 1 word]. [illegible: 1+ letters]2. 10.

4. For the word of the LORD is right : and all his works are done in truth .

All God's Counsels and Commands, either contained in the Scriptures, Or given forth in his Providence, for the Government of the World are wise and Just, and Good, without deceit or defect.

(i. e.) All his works of Providence agree with his Word, and are no other then the accomplishment of his Promises or Threatnings, or other Declarations of his Mind, and Will in his Word, although sometimes for a season, they may seem contrary to it.

5. He loveth righteousness and judgment : the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD .

(i. e.) Just judgment, by a Figure called Hendyadis, as Ier. 22. 3. Or, Iustice relates to the Sentence, and Iudgment to the Execution of it. He not onely doth Justice to all men, as was implied, v. 6. but, which is more, he Loves it, and Delights in it.

He not onely doth no man wrong, but he is very kind and merciful to all Men in the World, to whom he gives many Favours and Invitations, to his Love and Service. See Mat. 5. 45. Act. 14: 17. Rom. 1. 20, 21.

Marginal references: Psal. 4[illegible: 1+ letters]. 7.; Psal 119. 64.; Or, mercy.

6. By the word of the LORD , were the heavens made: and all the host of them , by the breath of his mouth .

Either, 1. By the Hypostatical word, Christ, who is oft called God's Word, even by the Chaldee Paraphrast, as also Iohn, 1. v. 1, 2, 3. where he is said to be that [illegible: 1+ letters]rd, by whom all things were made. So that which is here spoken more darkly and doubtedly, according to that state of the Church, is more clearly declared in the New Testament. Or, 2. By his Will or Command, as this very Phrase is here used, v. 4. and as it seems to be explained, v. 9. And so it hath a great Emphasis in it, that God made this admirable structure of the Heavens, and all its glorious Stars; not with great pains and time, and help of many Artists and Instruments, as men do far meaner Works, but with one single Word; which is much to the Glory of the Creator.

The Angels: Or the Stars. See on Gen. 2. 1.

Either, 1. By the Holy Ghost, so called, Iob 33. 4. And so here are all the Persons of the Trinity I[illegible: 1+ letters]hovah, the Father, and the Word, and the Spirit; to each of which this Work of Creation is elsewhere ascribed, as was noted on Gen. 1. 26. Or, 2. By his Word, as it was expressed in the last Clause, which is so called, Isa. 11. 4. 2. T[illegible: 1+ letters]s. 2. 8.

Marginal references: Gen. 1. 6, 7. Heb. 11. 3. 2. Pet. 3. 5.; Job 26. 13.

7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together, as an heap : he layeth up the depths in store houses .

Or, gathered; For he speaks of the first Creation, when this was done, Gen. 1.

Either in the Clouds, or in the Bowels of the Earth: Whence he can draw them forth, when he sees fit.

Either in the Clouds, or in the Bowels of the Earth: Whence he can draw them forth, when he sees fit.

n By which Expression he brings to our Minds this great work of God, that the Sea which is lighter and higher than Earth, is yet Confined within its Bounds, that it might not over[illegible: 1+ letters]ow the Earth.

Marginal references: Gen. 1. [illegible: 1+ letters]. [illegible: 1 word] 26. 1[illegible: 1+ letters] ▪ [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1+ letters]8. 8.; Psal. 78. 1[illegible: 1+ letters].

8. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world, stand in awe of him.

All the people of the Earth, as the next Clause expounds this; not only Iews, but Gentiles, who equally enjoy the Benefit of this great and glorious work of God.

9. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast r.

The work here mentioned, v. 6, 7. Or, stood forth, as a Servant at his Masters Command, Or, was, or did exist.

Marginal references: Psal. 148. 5.

10. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

Or, of the Nations; though Nations combine themselves and their Counsels together, yet he defeats them when he pleaseth Thus he passeth from the work of Creation, to the works of Providence, and from the Instances of his Power, in Sensless and unreasonable Creatures, to manifest his power in over-ruling the Thoughts and Wills, and Actions of all Men, whether single or united.

Marginal references: Isa. 19. 3.; Heb. [illegible: 1 word] [illegible: 1 word].

11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever , the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

All his Purposes and Designs, and especially those which concern his choseh people, of whom he speaks in the next Verse, are always successful and irresistible.

Marginal references: Prov. 19. 2[illegible: 1+ letters]. Isa. 46. 10.; Heb. to Generation and Generation.

12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD: and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance .

Seeing the Lord is so great and glorious in Wisdom, and Power, and Goodness, as hath been hitherto said, as they must needs be very miserable, who are Strangers or Enemies to him, so thrice Happy is that people of Israel, who, though they be despised by the Gentiles, are chosen by this Almighty God, to be his peculiar Portion, and Friends, and Servants.

Marginal references: Psal 65. 4. &c. 94. 14. & 144. 15.

13. The LORD looketh from heaven: he beholdeth all the sons of men .

Although he hath a special Relation to Israel, yet he hath a general Care and Inspection over all Mankind, all whose Hearts and Ways he discerns and observes.

Marginal references: 2 Chr. 16. 9. Job. 28. 24. Psal. 11. 4.

15. He fashioneth their hearts alike : he considereth all their works .

Or, fashioned, or made: Or, formeth. For this may relate Either, 1. To the work of Creation. So he proves what he said, v. 13, 14. that God beheld all men, because he made them; yea, even their Hearts, the most secret piece of them. Or, 2. To the works of his Providence. Having said that God sees and observes all Men, he now addes that he Rules and Governs them; yea, even their Hearts which are most Masterless and unmanageable, and yet he frameth and disposeth and inclineth them, this way or that according to the Counsel of his Will. See Exod. 34. 24. Psal. 105. 25.

Or, equally, one as well as another: Whether they be Iews or Gentiles, Bond or Free, Princes or Peasants: all are alike subject to his Jurisdiction.

Both outward and inward, all the workings of their Minds and Affections, and all their Indeavours and Actions.

16. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host : a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

He instanceth in these, as the most potent and uncontroll able persons in the World, and most Confident of themselves, and least sensible of their Dependence upon God. By which he strongly proves his general Proposition, of God's powerful Providence over all Men.

But only by God's Providence, who disposeth of Victory and Success, as he pleaseth, and that frequently to the weakest, and most foolish side, Eccles. 9. 11.

17. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

Though he be strong, Iob 39. 19. &c. and fit for Battel, Prov. 21. 31. Or, for flight, if need requires. And so this is put for all Warlike provisions; of which Horses were, and are a very Considerable part.

Heb. a Lye; because it promiseth, that help and safety, which it cannot give.

Marginal references: Psal. 147. 10. Prov. [illegible: 1+ letters]1. 31.; Heb. a Lye.

18. Behold the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him : upon them that hope in his mercy .

Whosoever therefore would have Safety and Deliverance, must seek and expect it only from the watchful Eye, and Almighty hand and mercy of God.

These are the chief Object of his Care and Favour.

That place their Hope and Trust, and Happiness not in any Creature, but only in God and in his Mercy, and Blessings. The Conjunction and Order of these two qualifications of the Person, whom God careth for is observable here, they must be such as fear God, and so make Conscience of keeping his Commands, Eccles. 12. 13. and then they may and must hope in, Or, relye upon his Mercy, for their Safety and Happiness.

Marginal references: Job 36. [illegible: 1+ letters]: Psal. 34. 15: 1, pet. 3. 12.

19. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famin.

(i. e.) Their Life, when he sees it to be expedient for them: sometimes it is better for them, to dye than to Live▪ as both good and bad Men have declared, and when it is so, it is known to God, but not to us. And therefore the constant Accomplishment of this and the like promises in a literal Sence, is not to be expected, nor simply desired, but with Submission to God's wise and gracious Will.

Marginal references: Job. 5. [illegible: 1+ letters]. Psa. 37. 19.

20. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

The help of us Israelites, to whom he hath made many Promises, and glorious Discoveries of his Goodness.

21. For our heart shall rejoyce in him: because we have trusted in his holy name.

Or, Therefore: for this seems to be an Inference, Either from the foregoing, or from the following Sentence.

Praise of the Ruler of the World as Being the Defender of His People

The Davidic Maskîl, Psa 32:1-11, is followed by an anonymous congregational song of a hymnic character, which begins just like the former closes. It owes its composition apparently to some deliverance of the nation from heathen oppression, which had resulted from God’s interposition and without war. Moreover it exhibits no trace of dependence upon earlier models, such as might compel us to assign a late date to it; the time of Jeremiah, for instance, which Hitzig adopts. The structure is symmetrical. Between the two hexastichs, Psa 33:1, Psa 33:20, the materia laudis is set forth in eight tetrastichs.

Psa 33:1-3

The call contained in this hexastich is addressed to the righteous and upright, who earnestly seek to live a godly and God-pleasing life, and the sole determining rule of whose conduct is the will and good pleasure of God. These alone know God, whose true nature finds in them a clear mirror; so on their part they are joyfully to confess what they possess in Him. For it is their duty, and at the same time their honour, to praise him, and make their boast in Him. נאוה is the feminine of the adjective נאוה (formed out of נאוי), as in Psa 147:1, cf. Pro 19:10. On כּנּור (lxx κιθάρα, κινύρα) and נבל (lxx ψαλτήριον, νάβλα, ναῦλα, etc.) vid., Introduction §II. נבל is the name given to the harp or lyre on account of its resemblance to a skin bottle or flash (root נב, to swell, to be distended), and נבל עשׂור, “harp of the decade,”' is the ten-stringed harp, which is also called absolutely עשׂור, and distinguished from the customary נבל, in Psa 92:4. By a comparison of the asyndeton expressions in Psa 35:14, Jer 11:19, Aben-Ezra understands by נבל עשור two instruments, contrary to the tenour of the words. Gecatilia, whom he controverts, is only so far in error as that he refers the ten to holes (נקבים) instead of to strings. The בּ is Beth instrum., just like the expression κιθαρίζειν ἐν κιθάραις, Rev 14:2. A “new song” is one which, in consequence of some new mighty deeds of God, comes from a new impulse of gratitude in the heart, Psa 40:4, and frequently in the Psalms, Isa 42:10, Judith 6:13, Rev 5:9. In היטיבוּ the notions of scite and strenue, suaviter and naviter, blend. With בּתרוּעה, referring back to רננו, the call to praise forms, as it were, a circle as it closes.

Psa 33:4-5

Now beings the body of the song. The summons to praise God is supported (1) by a setting forth of His praiseworthinessWe have adopted the word “praiseworthiness” for the sake of conciseness of expression, in order to avoid an awkward periphrasis, in the sense of being worthy to be praised. - Tr. (a) as the God of revelation in the kingdom of Grace. His word is ישׂר, upright in intention, and, without becoming in any way whatever untrue to itself, straightway fulfilling itself. His every act is an act in אמוּנה, truth, which verifies the truth of His word, and one which accomplishes itself. On אהב, equivalent to אהב הוּא, vid., Psa 7:10; Psa 22:29. צדקה is righteousness as conduct; משׁפּט is right as a rule of judgment and a state or condition. חסד is an accusative, as in Psa 119:64 : misericordia Domini plena est terra (the introit for Misercordias Sunday or the second Sunday after Easter).

Psa 33:6-9

God’s praiseworthiness (b) as the Creator of the world in the kingdom of Nature. Jahve’s דּבר is His almighty “Let there be;” and רוח פּיו (inasmuch as the breath is here regarded as the material of which the word is formed and the bearer of the word) is the command, or in general, the operation of His commanding omnipotence (Job 15:30, cf. Job 4:9; Isa 34:16, cf. Psa 11:4). The heavens above and the waters beneath stand side by side as miracles of creation. The display of His power in the waters of the sea consists in His having confined them within fixed bounds and keeping them within these. נד is a pile, i.e., a piled up heap (Arabic nadd), and more especially an inference to harvest: like such a heap do the convex waters of the sea, being firmly held together, rise above the level of the continents. The expression is like that in Jos 3:13, Jos 3:15, cf. Exo 15:8; although there the reference is to a miracle occurring in the course of history, and in this passage to a miracle of creation. כּנס refers to the heap itself, not to the walls of the storehouses as holding together. This latter figure is not introduced until Psa 33:7: the bed of the sea and those of the rivers are, as it were, אוצרות, treasuries or storehouses, in which God has deposited the deep, foaming waves or surging mass of waters. The inhabitants (ישׁבי, not יושׁבי) of the earth have cause to fear God who is thus omnipotent (מן, in the sense of falling back from in terror); for He need only speak the word and that which He wills comes into being out of nothing, as we see from the hexaëmeron or history of Creation, but which is also confirmed in human history (Lam 3:37). He need only command and it stands forth like an obedient servant, that appears in all haste at the call of his lord, Psa 119:91.

Psa 33:10-11

His praiseworthiness (c) as the irresistible Ruler in the history of men. Since in 2Sa 15:34; 2Sa 17:14, and frequently, הפר עצה is a common phrase, therefore heepiyr as in Psa 89:34, Eze 17:19, is equivalent to הפר (Ges. §67, rem. 9). The perfects are not used in the abstract, but of that which has been experienced most recently, since the “new song” presupposes new matter. With Psa 33:11 compare Pro 19:21. The עצת of God is the unity of the “thoughts of His heart,” i.e., of the ideas, which form the inmost part, the ultimate motives of everything that takes place. The whole history of the world is the uninterrupted carrying out of a divine plan of salvation, the primary object of which is His people, but in and with these are included humanity at large.

Psa 33:12-19

Hence the call to praise God is supported (2) by a setting forth of that which His people possess in Him. This portion of the song is like a paraphrase of the אשׁרי in Deu 33:29. The theme in Psa 33:12 is proved in Psa 33:13 by the fact, that Jahve is the omniscient Ruler, because He is the Creator of men, without whose knowledge nothing is undertaken either secretly or openly, and especially if against His people.  Then in Psa 33:16 it is supported by the fact, that His people have in Jahve a stronger defence than the greatest worldly power would be. Jahve is called the fashioner of all the hearts of men, as in Zec 12:1, cf. Pro 24:12, as being their Maker. As such He is also the observer of all the works of men; for His is acquainted with their origin in the laboratory of the heart, which He as Creator has formed. Hupfeld takes יחד as an equalisation (pariter ac) of the two appositions; but then it ought to be וּמבין (cf. Psa 49:3, Psa 49:11). The lxx correctly renders it καταμόνας, singillatim. It is also needless to translate it, as Hupfeld does: He who formed, qui finxit; for the hearts of men were not from the very first created all at one time, but the primeval impartation of spirit-life is continued at every birth in some mysterious way. God is the Father of spirits, Heb 12:9. For this very reason everything that exists, even to the most hidden thing, is encompassed by His omniscience and omnipotence. He exercises an omniscient control over all things, and makes all things subservient to the designs of His plan of the universe, which, so far as His people are concerned, is the plan of salvation. Without Him nothing comes to pass; but through Him everything takes place. The victory of the king, and the safety of the warrior, are not their own works. Their great military power and bodily strength can accomplish nothing without God, who can also be mighty in the feeble.  Even for purposes of victory (תּשׁוּעה, cf. ישׁוּעה, Psa 21:2) the war-horse is שׁקר, i.e., a thing that promises much, but can in reality do nothing; it is not its great strength, by which it enables the trooper to escape (ימלּט). “The horse,” says Solomon in Pro 21:31, “is equipped for the day of battle, but התּשׁוּעה לה, Jahve’s is the victory,” He giveth it to whomsoever He will. The ultimate ends of all things that come to pass are in His hands, and - as Psa 33:18. say, directing special attention to this important truth by הנּה - the eye of this God, that is to say the final aim of His government of the world, is directed towards them that fear Him, is pointed at them that hope in His mercy (למיחלים). In Psa 33:19, the object, לחסדּו, is expanded by way of example. From His mercy or loving-kindness, not from any acts of their own, conscious of their limited condition and feebleness, they look for protection in the midst of the greatest peril, and for the preservation of their life in famine. Psa 20:8 is very similar; but the one passage sounds as independent as the other.

Psa 33:20-22

Accordingly, in this closing hexastich, the church acknowledges Him as its help, its shield, and its source of joy. Besides the passage before us, חכּה occurs in only one other instance in the Psalter, viz., Psa 106:13. This word, which belongs to the group of words signifying hoping and waiting, is perhaps from the root חך (Arab. ḥk', ḥkâ, firmiter constringere sc. nodum), to be firm, compact, like קוּה from קוה, to pull tight or fast, cf. the German harren (to wait) and hart (hard, compact). In Psa 33:20 we still hear the echo of the primary passage Deu 33:29 (cf. Deu 33:26). The emphasis, as in Psa 115:9-11, rests upon הוּא, into which בּו, in Psa 33:21, puts this thought, viz., He is the unlimited sphere, the inexhaustible matter, the perennial spring of our joy. The second כּי confirms this subjectively. His holy Name is His church’s ground of faith, of love, and of hope; for from thence comes its salvation. It can boldly pray that the mercy of the Lord may be upon it, for it waits upon Him, and man’s waiting or hoping and God’s giving are reciprocally conditioned. This is the meaning of the כּאשׁר. God is true to His word. The Te Deum laudamus of Ambrose closes in the same way.

An Exhortation to Praise God.

1 Rejoice in the Lord , O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright. 2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. 3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. 4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. 5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord . 6 By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord : let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. 10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. 11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Four things the psalmist expresses in these verses:

I. The great desire he had that God might be praised. He did not think he did it so well himself, but that he wished others also might be employed in this work; the more the better, in this concert: it is the more like heaven. 1. Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon all good people (v. 1): Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; so the foregoing psalm concluded and so this begins; for all our religious exercises should both begin and end with a holy complacency and triumph in God as the best of being and best of friends. 2. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy; and that also is here required of us (v. 2): "Praise the Lord; speak well of him, and give him the glory due to his name." 3. Religious songs are the proper expressions of thankful praise; those are here required (v. 3): "Sing unto him a new song, the best you have, not that which by frequent use is worn, thread-bare, but that which, being new, is most likely to move the affections, a new song for new mercies and upon every new occasion, for those compassions which are new every morning." Music was then used, by the appointment of David, with the temple-songs, that they might be the better sung; and this also is here called for (v. 2): Sing unto him with the psaltery. Here is, (1.) A good rule for this duty: "Do it skilfully, and with a loud noise; let it have the best both of head and heart; let it be done intelligently and with a clear head, affectionately and with a warm heart." (2.) A good reason for this duty: For praise is comely for the upright. It is well pleasing to God (the garments of praise add much to the comeliness which God puts upon his people) and it is an excellent ornament to our profession. It becomes the upright, whom God has put so much honour upon, to give honour to him. The upright praise God in a comely manner, for they praise him with their hearts, that is praising him with their glory; whereas the praises of hypocrites are awkward and uncomely, like a parable in the mouth of fools, Prov. xxvi. 7.

II. The high thoughts he had of God, and of his infinite perfections, v. 4, 5. God makes himself known to us, 1. In his word, here put for all divine revelation, all that which God at sundry times and in divers manners spoke to the children of men, and that is all right, there is nothing amiss in it; his commands exactly agree with the rules of equity and the eternal reasons of good and evil. His promises are all wise and good and inviolably sure, and there is no iniquity in his threatenings, but even those are designed for our good, by deterring us from evil. God's word is right, and therefore all our deviations from it are wrong, and we are then in the right when we agree with it. 2. In his works, and those are all done in truth, all according to his counsels, which are called the scriptures of truth, Dan. x. 21. The copy in all God's works agrees exactly with the great original, the plan laid in the Eternal Mind, and varies not in the least jot. God has made it to appear in his works, (1.) That he is a God of inflexible justice: He loveth righteousness and judgment. There is nothing but righteousness in the sentence he passes and judgment in the execution of it. He never did nor can do wrong to any of his creatures, but is always ready to give redress to those that are wronged, and does it with delight. He takes pleasure in those that are righteous. He is himself the righteous Lord, and therefore loveth righteousness. (2.) That he is a God of inexhaustible bounty: The earth is full of his goodness, that is, of the proofs and instances of it. The benign influences which the earth receives from above, and the fruits it is thereby enabled to produce, the provision that is made both for man and beast, and the common blessings with which all the nations of the earth are blessed, plainly declare that the earth is full of his goodness—the darkest, the coldest, the hottest, and the most dry and desert part of it not excepted. What a pity is it that this earth, which is so full of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon his bounty there are so few that live to his glory!

III. The conviction he was under of the almighty power of God, evidenced in the creation of the world. We "believe in God," and therefore we praise him as "the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth," so we are here taught to praise him. Observe,

1. How God made the world, and brought all things into being. (1.) How easily: All things were made by the word of the Lord and by the breath of his mouth. Christ is the Word, the Spirit is the breath, so that God the Father made the world, as he rules it and redeems it, by his Son and Spirit. He spoke, and he commanded (v. 9), and that was enough; there needed no more. With men saying and doing are two things, but it is not so with God. By the Word and Spirit of God as the world was made, so was man, that little world. God said, Let us make man, and he breathed into him the breath of life. By the Word and Spirit the church is built, that new world, and grace wrought in the soul, that new man, that new creation. What cannot that power do which with a word made a world! (2.) How effectually it was done: And it stood fast. What God does he does to purpose; he does it and it stands fast. Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever, Eccl. iii. 14. It is by virtue of that command to stand fast that things continue to this day according to God's ordinance, Ps. cxix. 91.

2. What he made. He made all things, but notice is here taken, (1.) of the heavens, and the host of them, v. 6. The visible heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars, their hosts—(2.) Of the waters, and the treasures of them, v. 7. The earth was at first covered with the water, and, being heavier, must of course subside and sink under it; but, to show from the very first that the God of nature is not tied to the ordinary method of nature, and the usual operations of his powers, with a word's speaking he gathered the waters together on a heap, that the dry land might appear, yet left them not to continue on a heap, but laid up the depth in store-houses, not only in the flats where the seas make their beds, and in which they are locked up by the sand on the shore as in storehouses, but in secret subterraneous caverns, where they are hidden from the eyes of all living, but were reserved as in a store-house for that day when those fountains of the great deep were to be broken up; and they are still laid up there in store, for which use the great Master of the house knows best.

3. What use is to be made of this (v. 8): Let all the earth fear the Lord, and stand in awe of him; that is, let all the children of men worship him and give glory to him, Ps. xc. 5, 6. The everlasting gospel gives this as the reason why we must worship God, because he made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, Rev. xiv. 6, 7. Let us all fear him, that is, dread his wrath and displeasure, and be afraid of having him our enemy and of standing it out against him. Let us not dare to offend him who having this power no doubt has all power in his hand. It is dangerous being at war with him who has the host of heaven for his armies and the depths of the sea for his magazines, and therefore it is wisdom to desire conditions of peace, see Jer. v. 22.

IV. The satisfaction he had of God's sovereignty and dominion, v. 10, 11. He over-rules all the counsels of men, and makes them, contrary to their intention, serviceable to his counsels. Come and see with an eye of faith God in the throne, 1. Frustrating the devices of his enemies: He bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, so that what they imagine against him and his kingdom proves a vain thing (Ps. ii. 1); the counsel of Ahithophel is turned into foolishness; Haman's plot is baffled. Though the design be laid ever so deep, and the hopes raised upon it ever so high, yet, if God says it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass; it is all to no purpose. 2. Fulfilling his own decrees: The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. It is immutable in itself, for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? The execution of it may be opposed, but cannot in the least be obstructed by any created power. Through all the revolutions of time God never changed his measures, but in every event, even that which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God is fulfilled, nor can any thing prevent its being accomplished in its time. With what pleasure to ourselves may we in singing this give praise to God! How easy may this thought make us at all times, that God governs the world, that he did it in infinite wisdom before we were born, and will do it when we are silent in the dust!

God's Sovereign Power.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord ; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. 13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16 There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord : he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O Lord , be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

We are here taught to give to God the glory,

I. Of his common providence towards all the children of men. Though he has endued man with understanding and freedom of will, yet he reserves to himself the government of him, and even of those very faculties by which he is qualified to govern himself. 1. The children of men are all under his eye, even their hearts are so; and all the motions and operations of their souls, which none know but they themselves, he knows better than they themselves, v. 13, 14. Though the residence of God's glory is in the highest heavens, yet thence he not only has a prospect of all the earth, but a particular inspection of all the inhabitants of the earth. He not only beholds them, but he looks upon them; he looks narrowly upon them (so the word here used is sometimes rendered), so narrowly that not the least thought can escape his observation. Atheists think that, because he dwells above in heaven, he cannot, or will not, take notice of what is done here in this lower world; but thence, high as it is, he sees us all, and all persons and things are naked and open before him. 2. Their hearts, as well as their times, are all in his hand: He fashions their hearts. He made them at first, formed the spirit of each man within him, then when he brought him into being. Hence he is called the Father of spirits: and this is a good argument to prove that he perfectly knows them. The artist that made the clock, can account for the motions of every wheel. David uses this argument with application to himself, Ps. cxxxix. 1, 14. He still moulds the hearts of men, turns them as the rivers of water, which way soever he pleases, to serve his own purposes, darkens or enlightens men's understandings, stiffens or bows their wills, according as he is pleased to make use of them. He that fashions men's hearts fashions them alike. It is in hearts as in faces, though there is a great difference, and such a variety as that no two faces are exactly of the same features, nor any two hearts exactly of the same temper, yet there is such a similitude that, in some things, all faces and all hearts agree, as in water face answers to face, Prov. xxvii. 19. He fashions them together (so some read it); as the wheels of a watch, though of different shapes, sizes, and motions, are yet all put together, to serve one and the same purpose, so the hearts of men and their dispositions, however varying from each other and seeming to contradict one another, are yet all overruled to serve the divine purpose, which is one. 3. They, and all they do, are obnoxious to his judgment; for he considers all their works, not only knows them, but weighs them, that he may render to every man according to his works, in the day, in the world, of retribution, in the judgment, and to eternity. 4. All the powers of the creature have a dependence upon him, and are of no account, of no avail at all, without him, v. 16, 17. It is much for the honour of God that not only no force can prevail in opposition to him, but that no force can act but in dependence on him and by a power derived from him. (1.) The strength of a king is nothing without God. No king is sacred by his royal prerogatives, or the authority with which he is invested; for the powers that are, of that kind, are ordained of God, and are what he makes them, and no more. David was a king, and a man of war from his youth, and yet acknowledged God to be his only protector and Saviour. (2.) The strength of an army is nothing without God. The multitude of a host cannot secure those under whose command they act, unless God make them a security to them. A great army cannot be sure of victory; for, when God pleases, one shall chase a thousand. (3.) The strength of a giant is nothing without God. A mighty man, such as Goliath was, is not delivered by his much strength, when his day comes to fall. Neither the firmness and activity of his body nor the stoutness and resolution of his mind will stand him in any stead, any further than God is pleased to give him success. Let not the strong man then glory in his strength, but let us all strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God, go forth, and go on, in his strength. (4.) The strength of a horse is nothing without God (v. 17): A horse is a vain thing for safety. In war horses were then so highly accounted of, and so much depended on, that God forbade the kings of Israel to multiply horses (Deut. xvii. 16), lest they should be tempted to trust to them and their confidence should thereby be taken off from God. David houghed the horses of the Syrians (2 Sam. viii. 4); here he houghs all the horses in the world, by pronouncing a horse a vain thing for safety in the day of battle. If the war-horse be unruly and ill-managed, he may hurry his rider into danger instead of carrying him out of danger. If he be killed under him, he may be his death, instead of saving his life. It is therefore our interest to make sure God's favour towards us, and then we may be sure of his power engaged for us, and need not fear whatever is against us.

II. We are to give God the glory of his special grace. In the midst of his acknowledgments of God's providence he pronounces those blessed that have Jehovah for their God, who governs the world, and has wherewithal to help them in every time of need, while those were miserable who had this and the other Baal for their god, which was so far from being able to hear and help them that is was itself senseless and helpless (v. 12): Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, even Israel, who had the knowledge of the true God and were taken into covenant with him, and all others who own God for theirs and are owned by him; for they also, whatever nation they are of, are of the spiritual seed of Abraham. 1. It is their wisdom that they take the Lord for their God, that they direct their homage and adoration there where it is due and where the payment of it will not be in vain. 2. It is their happiness that they are the people whom God has chosen for his own inheritance, whom he is pleased with, and honoured in, and whom he protects and takes care of, whom he cultivates and improves as a man does his inheritance, Deut. xxxii. 9. Now let us observe here, to the honour of divine grace, (1.) The regard which God has to his people, v. 18, 19. God beholds all the sons of men with an eye of observation, but his eye of favour and complacency is upon those that fear him. He looks upon them with delight, as the father on his children, as the bridegroom on his spouse, Isa. lxii. 5. While those that depend on arms and armies, on chariots and horses, perish in the disappointment of their expectations, God's people, under his protection, are safe, for he shall deliver their soul from death when there seems to be but a step between them and it. If he do not deliver the body from temporal death, yet he will deliver the soul from spiritual and eternal death. Their souls, whatever happens, shall live and praise him, either in this world or in a better. From his bounty they shall be supplied with all necessaries. He shall keep them alive in famine; when others die for want, they shall live, which shall make it a distinguishing mercy. When visible means fail, God will find out some way or other to supply them. He does not say that he will give them abundance (they have no reason either to desire it or to expect it), but he will keep them alive; they shall not starve; and, when destroying judgments are abroad, it ought to be reckoned a great favour, for it is a very striking one, and lays us under peculiar obligations, to have our lives given us for a prey. Those that have the Lord for their God shall find him their help and their shield, v. 20. In their difficulties he will assist them; they shall be helped over them, helped through them. In their dangers he will secure them; they shall be helped over them, helped through them. In their dangers he will secure them, so that they shall not receive any real damage. (2.) The regard which God's people have to him and which we ought to have in consideration of this. [1.] We must wait for God. We must attend the motions of his providence, and accommodate ourselves to them, and patiently accommodate ourselves to them, and patiently expect the issue of them. Our souls must wait for him, v. 20. We must not only in word and tongue profess a believing regard to God, but it must be inward and sincere, a secret and silent attendance on him. [2.] We must rely on God, hope in his mercy, in the goodness of his nature, though we have not an express promise to depend upon. Those that fear God and his wrath must hope in God and his mercy; for there is no flying from God, but by flying to him. These pious dispositions will not only consist together, but befriend each other, a holy fear of God and yet at the same time a hope in his mercy. This is trusting in his holy name (v. 21), in all that whereby he has made known himself to us, for our encouragement to serve him. [3.] We must rejoice in God, v. 21. Those do not truly rest in God, or do not know the unspeakable advantage they have by so doing, who do not rejoice in him at all times; because those that hope in God hope for an eternal fulness of joy in his presence. [4.] We must seek to him for that mercy which we hope in, v. 22. Our expectations from God are not to supersede, but to quicken and encourage, our applications to him; he will be sought unto for that which he has promised, and therefore the psalm concludes with a short but comprehensive prayer, "Let thy mercy, O Lord! be upon us; let us always have the comfort and benefit of it, not according as we merit from thee, but according as we hope in thee, that is, according to the promise which thou hast in thy word given to us and according to the faith which thou hast by thy Spirit and grace wrought in us." If, in singing these verses, we put forth a dependence upon God, and let out our desires towards him, we make melody with our hearts to the Lord.

PSAL. XXXIII.

SHout joyfully ye just in Iehovah, praise becommeth the righteous. Confesse ye to Iehovah with harpe, with Psaltery with ten stringed instrument, sing Psalme unto him. Sing ye to him a new Song, doe well playing on the instrument, with triumphant noise. For righteous is the word of Iehovah, and all his worke in faith. He loveth justice and judgement, the earth is full of the mercie of Iehovah. By the word of Iehovah the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the spirit of his mouth. He gathereth together as an heape, the waters of the Sea; he giveth the deepes into treasuries. Let all the earth be in feare of Iehovan, let all the Inhabitants of the world shrinke with feare for him. For he said, and it was; he commanded, and it stood. Iehovah dissipateth the counsell of the Nations, he bringeth to nought the cogitations of the peoples. The counsell of Iehovah shall stand for ever, the cogitations of his heart to generation and generation. O blessed is the Nation whereof Iehovah is God, the people that he hath chosen for a possession to himselfe. From the heavens Iehovah doth behold, doth see all the sonnes of Adam. From the firme place of his dwelling he looketh forth unto all the inhabitants of the earth. He formeth altogether their heart, he discreetly attendeth unto all their works.

There is no King saved by multitude of a power; a mightie man shall not be delivered by multitude of able strength. A horse is falshood for salvation, and shall not deliver by multitude of his power. Loe the eie of Iehovah is unto them that feare him, to them that hopefully wait for his mercie. To rid free their soule from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soule earnestly waiteth for Iehovah, he is our helpe and our shield. For in him our heart shall rejoyce, for in the name of his holinesse doe we trust. Let thy mercie Iehovah be upon us, even as we hopefully wait for thee.

Annotations. BEcommeth] the word denoteth a faire and comely grace, for which a thing is to be liked and desired. So Psal. 93. 5. and 147. 1. The Apostle expresseth it in Greeke, by faire or beautifull, Rom. 10. 15. from Esa. 52. 7. Vers. 2. with harpe] or, with sitterne; in Hebrew, Kinnor: a musicall instrument invented by Iubal, Gen. 4. 21. used for mirth and joy, Psal. 137. 1, 2. Esa. 24. 8. Gen. 31. 27. and therefore is called the pleasant harpe, Psal. 81. 3. opposed unto mourning, Iob 30. 31. in skill on this instrument David excelled, 1 Sam. 16. 16. 23. and with this and other they used in Israel to celebrate the Lord with gladnesse, 1 Chron. 13. 8. and 15. 16. 28. and 25. 1. Nehem. 12. 27. So spiritually in the New Testament, Rev. 14. 2. with Psalterie] or Lute, or Uioll: In Hebrew Nebel; an instrument so called of the forme, which (as seemeth) was with a round hollow bulke, much like a bottle: (fo[illegible: 1 letter] Nebel is also a bottle or pitcher, 1 Sam. 10. 3. Lam. 4. 2.) and of this the Greeks and Latines had their instruments named Nablé, Naulon, Nablium. The Greeke here calleth it Psaltérion. ten stringed instrument] this differed from the Psalterie, Psal. 92. 4. therefore the word with is here supplied. Vers. 3. a new song] A thing is said to be new which is alwayes fresh, renewed upon new occasions, and so permanent; as Iob saith, my glorie was new with me. So Love is both an old and a new commandement, 1 Ioh. 2. 7, 8. Or these new songs (mentioned here, and Psal. 40. 4. and 96. 1. and 98. 1. and 144. 9. Esai. 42. 10.) may have reference to the state of things under the Gospell where there is a new covenant, Heb. 8. 8. 13. new heavens and new earth, Rev. 21. 1. a new man, Ephes. 2. 15. and 4. 24. a new Ierusalem, Revel. 21. 2. and all things new, 2 Cor. 5. 17. Rev. 21. 5. See also Rev. 5. 9. and 14. 3. doe well playing, &c.] that is, make good musicke, or melodie. So 1 Sam. 16. 17. 18. Esa. 23. 16. And this melodie we are now willed to make to the Lord in our hearts, Ephes. 5. 19. The Hebrew Nagan, (whereof commeth Neginoth, Psal. 4. 1.) properly is to play with the hand upon an instrument, 1 Sam. 19. 9. Vers. 4. in faith] that is, faithfull, true, and constant: for so this word is often used, as Exod. 17. 12. Moses hands were with faith, that is, steddy, firme, constant. Vers. 5. the earth is full] the like is said, Ps. 119. 64. For God doth good unto all, both just and unjust, Matth. 5. 45. and saveth man and beast, Psal. 36. 7. V. 6. the host of them] that is, the many creatures in them; as Angels, Suune, Moone, Starres, &c. Ps. 148. 1, 2, 3, 5. Gen. 2. 1. So mention is made of the powers or hosts of heaven, Matt. 24. 29. Spirit] or breath; thus Iehovah his Word and his Spirit are noted to be the maker of the world, as in Gen. 1. Vers. 7. giveth the deepes] that is, putteth or disposeth the deepe waters into treasuries, or in cellars & secret store-houses, hidden from the eye of man, called elsewhere the secret roome of the deepe, Iob 38. 16. So God is said to have treasuries or store-houses of winde, Psal. 135. 7. of snow and haile, Iob 38. 22. of darkenesse, Isa. 45. 3. and the like. The Chaldee translateth, he putteth (the waters) into the treasuries of the deeps. Vers. 9. it stood] that is, existed firme and stable, and so continued. So Psalm. 119. 91. Vers. 10. dissipateth] or maketh frustrate, undoeth, abrogateth; a word opposed to ratifying, confirming, stablishing, Isa. 8. 10. and 19. 3. bringeth to nought] annihilateth, and breaketh. Vers. 11. shall stand] that is, continue and have effect, whatsoever men purpose to the contrary. See Isa. 14. 24. 27. and 46. 10. Prov. 19. 21. Vers. 12. is God] to wit, by speciall covenant and favour, though all the earth be his, Gen. 17. 7. Exod. 19. 5. and this is by the new Covenant, Heb. 8. 10. So Psal. 144. 15. Vers. 15. altogether] or alone. The Hebrew jachad sometime signifieth alone without others, Iob 34. 29. Ezra 4. 3. (and so the Greeke Interpreters tooke it here, translating it kata monas, alone, or, by himselfe,) sometime it signifieth wholly, or every whit, Iob 10. 8. sometime together, or, in one, Ps. 2. 2. All these agree well here; for God onely and wholly formeth every mans heart and spirit, Zach. 12. 1. whereupon he is called the Father of spirits, Hebr. 12. 9. and the God of the spirits of all flesh, Num. 16. 22. Vers. 16. Of a power] that is, of an armie; so called, because there are strong, valiant, and active men, Psal. 136. 15. Vers. 17. A horse is falshood] that is, a false and deceitfull helpe cannot save a man, but faileth those that trust in him, Zach. 10. 5. Ps. 76. 6. The horse is here used for all warlike furniture; this being above other creatures, strong, fierce, and couragious, Iob 39. 22,—28. and therefore is prepared for the day of battell, but salvation is of the Lord, Pro. 21. 31. Vers. 18. The eye of Iehovah] that is, his care and providence for good, as the next verse sheweth, and as Ps 32. 8. Zach. 12 4. 1 Pet. 3. 12. Sometime the Lords eye is on men for evill, Amos 9. 4. 8. Vers. 20. for Iehovah] in Chaldee, for the redemption of the Lord. Vers. 21. in him] Chaldee, in his word.

PSAL. XXXIII.

Verſ. 1. Rejoyce in the Lord, O yee righteous] That is, O yee upright [illegible: 1 span], as it followeth here, and as Pſal. 32.11. For as there he ended, ſo here he begineth, calling upon the Saints to be cheerful; and indeed there is hardly any duty more preſſed in the Old and New Teſtamen, or leſs practiſed. To quicken them therefore to ſo necessary but [illegible: 2 letters]ch neglected a duty, this Pſalm [illegible: 1 word] to be added to the former, purposely to excite us by many Arguments, [illegible: 1 span] whole lives to the [illegible: 1 span] forth of Gods worthy praiſes. In which regard [illegible: 1 span] faith [illegible: 1 span] Pſalm; andif it were well practiſed we might have a very heaven here as becauſe it is not, we loſe very much of the comfort of our lives. Only that cautionating counſel of Berward would not be forgotten, Laeti ſ[illegible: 3 letters], non ſecuri; gaudentes in ſpiritu ſancte[illegible: 1 letter] ſed vera caventes a [illegible: 1 letter]ecidive; Let us be cheerful, but not ſecure; and rejoyce in the Holy Ghoſt, but take heed we let not fall the watch of the Lord. Crede mibi res ſev[illegible: 1 letter]ra eſt gaudium verum, Beleeve me, true joy is a ſevere matter, ſaid Seneca, Wee may better ſay ſo of Spiritual joy, which he never taſted of, neither doth any ſtranger meddle with. And if Plato could tell the Muſicians, Philoſophers could tell how to be merry without Muſick; much more may Gods people. Quid nobis cum Fabulis, cum riſu? ſaith Bernard, What have we to do with carnal mirth, and jollity, &c? we have Meat to eat, and Muſick to our Meat, that the World knoweth not of; let us make us merry with it.

For praiſe is comly for the upright] For them, and for none but them; High words are not fit for a fool, ſaith Solomon. Laudari ab illaudato, to be praiſed by a praiſeleſs perſon,Seneca. is no praiſe at all. That State in ſtory would not approve of good words from an evil mouth: no more doth God, Pſal. 50.15, 16. Chriſt would not ſuffer the Devil to confeſs him. Hypocriſie ſlurrieth all it toucheth. If a man ſhould ſing a good Song with his voyce, and play a bad one on his Inſtrument, it would make but a black ſanctis: Such is the praiſe of the unupright; who had better therefore be ſilent, unleſs themſelves were better, ſith they do not only loſe their labour, but commit ſin. Diſpleaſing ſervice is double diſhonour; and diſſembled ſanctity, double iniquity.

Verſ. 2. Praiſe the Lord with Harp] Or Cittern, Jubals invention, Gen. 4.21. much uſed by David, and others of old under the Jewiſh Pedagogy, as an help to devotion, as were alſo other Muſical Inſtruments, here, and elſewhere mentioned. Now it is otherwiſe: the beſt melody is to ſing Pſalms with grace in our hearts; and for other Muſick, when Aristotle was asked what he thought of it? he anſwered, Jouem nec canere neque cit haram pulſare, that Jupiter regarded it not.

Verſ. 3. Sing unto him a new Song] ſc. upon every new emergent occaſion. God reneweth his Mercies not only every morning, but every moment; ſo thould we out praiſes; every breath we draw ſhould praiſe the Lord, Pſal. 150. ult. Doth God give comforts? praiſe him, and they ſhall be continued. Doth hee ſend Croſſes? praiſe him, and they ſhall be removed, ſaith a Father; but in every thing [illegible: 1 word] thanks; and that not coldly and curſorily, but ardently, and with utmoſt affection; for which cauſe this duty is ſo reiterated here, and preſſed with ſuch forcible arguments in the following verſes, as might work upon the very ſtones almoſt; much more men, for whoſe ſakes all this fair Fabrick of the World was erected.

Play skilfully (or luſtily) with a loud noyfe] Make good Muſick, ſet all your skill and might a work to magnifie the Lord. It is not an eaſie matter to praiſe God aright; it muſt be done Corde, ore, oper[illegible: 1 letter], with the very beſt of the beſt. Benefacite canendo, cuns jubilatione.

Verſ 4. For the Word of the Lord is right.] Every Word of God is pure and precious, Prov. 30.5. his Commandement holy, and juſt, and good, Rom. 7.12. but by Word here we are to underſtand Gods Counſel, and Decree concerning the Creation and government of the World, which is unqueſtionably right, and agreeable to ſound reaſon, and therefore they are too blame that diſlike of his doings. If any evil befall them, the Saints confeſs Gods righteouſneſs and praiſe him as Iſa. 12.1. Pſa. 10.1. faith Kimchi here.

And all his works are done in truth [illegible: 1 word], In faith; that is in faithfullneſſe, without deceit or fickleneſſe. This is to be underſtood of the execution of Gods decree; all is done well, and equitable.

Verſ. 5. [illegible: 1 word] loveth righteouſneſs and judgement] q. d. How can he do otherwiſe than right whoſe nature is ſuch, that he loveth righteouſneſs and judgement, that is, [illegible: 1 span]

[illegible: 1 span]

Verſe. [illegible: 1 span] gave them a Being. Or, by his eſſentiall Word, Solo ipſius [illegible: 1 word] ſu & nutu. which is his Son the ſecond perſon in Trinity, Prov. 8.27. Joh. 1.3. Col. 1.16. Heb. 1.2.

And all the hoaſt of them] Theſe are firſt mentioned, becauſe the moſt glorious of all the works of God, ſo Pſal. 19.1.

By the breath of his mouth] By his word and command. Or rather, by his Holy Spirit, the third perſon in Trinity, inſeparable from the other two, as well in eſſence, as in operation. See Gen. 1.1, 2. with the Notes. It hath been elſe-where noted, that in Thebe, a Town of Aegypt, they worſhiped a God whom they acknowledged to be immortall. But how painted they him? In the likeneſſe of a man blowing an egge out of his mouth; to ſignify, tha hee made the round World by his Word, and by the breath of his mouth, as here. Va[illegible: 2 letters]o addeth, that in way of thank-fullneſſe,Plut. de Iſid[illegible: 1 letter] & Oſicid. Var. de re ruf[illegible: 1 letter] l. 2. cap. 1. they dedicated a ſheep to him, to be offered in Sacrifice. This Text was commonly urged by the Ancients for the Trinity of perſons in the Godhead; which Olymphus an Arrian Biſhop denying, was ſtruck with three thunderbolts and killed in a Bath.

Verſ. 7. Hee gathereth the waters of the Sea together] Confining them to their concave, to the pit he digged for them. Ecce altera miſericordia, ſaith kimchi here, Behold another mercy; without the which the earth would be inhabitable, unleſſeby fiſhes only; becauſe the waters would cover the earth.

As an heap] This ſheweth that the Sea is higher than the Earth. Saylers obſerve, that their ſhips flie faſter to the ſhore than from it, whereof what other reaſon can be given but the height of the waters above the land?

Hee layeth up the depth in ſtore-houſes] In his treaſuries; that is, he ſecretly hideth them, and limiteth then to a certain place (that they overwhelm not the earth) by his Almighty power, Jer. 5.22. Job 38.16. See there.

Verſ. 8. Let all the earth fear the Lord] viz. For theſe ſtupendious works of his, ſufficient to ſtrike an a we, into all creatures, of the divine Majeſty, Jer. 5.22. Tremble thou earth at the preſence of the Lord, at the preſence of the God of Jacob, Pſal. 114.7.

Verſ. 9. For he ſpake, and it was done] So true is that ſaying, Dei dicere eſt facere. And a great ſhame it is to men to diſobey the great Creatour; and not rather to follow the example of the unreaſonable and inſenſible creatures.

And it ſtood faſt] The whole order of nature remaineth, as he ſet it: firm, faſt, and unmoveable.

Verſ. 10. The Lord bringeth the counſel of the heathen to noughi] i. e. He counter-worketh the Devill and his imps, who would overturn and deſtroy the fair order of nature, mingle heaven and earth together as it were, and ſoon marre all. God fruſtrateth the counſells and attempts of ſuch tumultuating boutefeaus and trouble-States; and maugre their malice; preſerveth polities, lawes, judgements, and naturall equity; without which mankind could not long ſubſiſt. Who then would not fear thee, O King of Nations? for to thee doth it appertain, Jer. 10 7. Rev. 15.4.

Verſ. 11. The counſell of the Lord of ſtandeth for ever] That counſell of his, whereby he hath decreed to maintain government amongſt men, to relieve the oppreſſed, to puniſh the Wicked, to uphold the Church, is firm and inviolable. Divinum conſilium dum devitatur, impletur; humana ſapientia dum reluctatur, comprehenditur, ſaith Gregory. There is a councell in Heaven will daſh the mould of all contrary counfells upon earth.

Verſ. 12. Bleſſed is the Nation whoſe God is the Lord] viz. By ſpeciall favour and covenant. The preſervation of the Church (which hath ſo few friends on earth, and ſo many enemies in earth and hell) is juſtly brought as an evident argument of the divine providence, Chriſt ſtandeth upon Mount-Zion; and that mountain ſhall bee exalted above all mountaines. The Church, as it is higheſt in the favour of God, ſo it ſhall be ſet above all the World; and het enemies ſhall be in that place that is fitteſt for them the loweſt, the footſtool of Chriſt.

The people whom he hath choſen] Some read it, The people which hath choſen Hims for their inheritance. It cometh all to one. See Deut. 26.17, 18, 19.

Verſ. 13. The Lord looketh from Heaven] Ita r[illegible: 1 letter]ſpicit univerſos quaſi ſingulas, it [illegible: 1 span] ſ[illegible: 1 letter]l[illegible: 1 letter]s. And this Doctrin of Gods particular providence is, fides natinnum quarum Deus eſt Dominus, ſaith Kimchi, taught in the Church only.

Verſ. 14. From the place of his habitation he beholdeth] And this is a very great condeſcenſion, ſith he humbleth himſelf to behold things in Heaven, Pſal. 113.6, to look out of himſelf upon the Saints and Angels; how much more upon the inhabitants of the earth?

Verſ. 15.Unum pa[illegible: 2 letters]ter acaliud, Kimchi. He faſhioneth their hearts alike] i. e. Ones as well as anothers. The Arabick hath it, Format ſigillatim he faſhioneth them ſeverally one after another; and not all ſoules together, as the Origeniſts, and ſome Jew-doctors held.

Hee conſidereth all their works] Their hearts are not hid from him (ſith he made them, as is ſaid before) much leſſe their works. Theſe God conſidereth, and therefore men had need conſider them, and turn their feet to his Teſtimonies, Pſal. 119.59.

Verſ. 16. There is no King ſaved by the multitude of an hoaſt] Witneſſe Sennacherib, Xerxes, Bajazet. Away then with Creature-confidence; it will be the ruine of all that reſt in it; whether it be in men, or means that they truſt. See Pſal. 62.9, 10. with the Notes.

A mighty man] Or, A Giant, Goliah for inſtance. As the moſt skilfull ſwimmers are often drowned; So here.

Verſ. 17.Pauſan. An Horſe is a vain thing] And yet a warlike creature, full of terrour (See the Note on Pſal. 32.9.) and ſo ſwift in ſervice, that the Perſians dedicated him to the Sun. See Job 41.20. Prov. 21.31. With the Notes.

Verſ. 18. Behold the eye of the Lord is on them that fear him] Hee looketh upon ſuch with ſingular delight; not without ſweet intimations of his ſingular kindneſſe, and care of their good.

Upon them that hope in his mercy] Here we have a deſcription of that true Church which God will never forſake; ſc. It is a company of ſuch as truly ſerve God, and boaſt not of their merits; but poſſeſſing their ſoules in hope and ſilence, wait for his mercy.

Verſ. 19. To deliver their ſoul] Freedom from troubles He promiſeth not; but deliverance in due time he aſſureth them; and ſupport in the mean while, to keep them alive in famine.

Verſ. 20. Our ſoul waiteth for the Lord] i. e. Patiently tarrieth the Lords leisure. We can both wait and want for a need.

Verſ. 21. Our heart ſhall rejoyce in him] We ſhall be ſure of an happy iſſue and event; but yet ſo as that we pray for it, as in the next words.

Verſ. 22. Let thy mercy O Lord be upon us, according as we hope in thee] Not that we would have no more mercy than we have truſt; but we would ſhew that our truſt is bottomed upon thy promiſes, and that we humbly expect the full accompliſhment of the ſame, in due time.

Rejoice in the Lord. Joy is the soul of praise. To delight ourselves in God is most truly to extol him, even if we let no notes of song proceed from our lips. That God is, and that he is such a God, and our God, ours for ever and ever, should wake within us an unceasing and overflowing joy. To rejoice in temporal comforts is dangerous, to rejoice in self is foolish, to rejoice in sin is fatal, but to rejoice in God is heavenly. He who would have a double heaven must begin below to rejoice like those above. O ye righteous. This is peculiarly your duty, your obligations are greater, and your spiritual nature more adapted to the work, be ye then first in the glad service. Even the righteous are not always glad, and have need to be stirred up to enjoy their privileges. For praise is comely for the upright. God has an eye to things which are becoming. When saints wear their choral robes, they look fair in the Lord's sight. A harp suits a blood washed hand. No jewel more ornamental to a holy face than sacred praise. Praise is not comely from unpardoned professional singers; it is like a jewel of gold in a swine's snout. Crooked hearts make crooked music, but the upright are the Lord's delight. Praise is the dress of saints in heaven, it is meet that they should fit it on below.

Praise the Lord with harp. Men need all the help they can get to stir them up to praise. This is the lesson to be gathered from the use of musical instruments under the old dispensation. Israel was at school, and used childish things to help her to learn; but in these days, when Jesus gives us spiritual manhood, we can make melody without strings and pipes. We who do not believe these things to be expedient in worship, lest they should mar its simplicity, do not affirm them to be unlawful, and if any George Herbert or Martin Luther can worship God better by the aid of well tunes instruments, who shall gainsay their right? We do not need them, they would hinder than help our praise, but if others are otherwise minded, are they not living in gospel liberty? Sing unto him. This is the sweetest and best of music. No instrument like the human voice. As a help to singing the instrument is alone to be tolerated, for keys and strings do not praise the Lord. With the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. The Lord must have a full octave, for all notes are his, and all music belongs to him. Where several pieces of music are mentioned, we are taught to praise God with all the powers which we possess.

Sing unto him a new song. All songs of praise should be unto him. Singing for singing's sake is nothing worth; we must carry our tribute to the King, and not cast it to the winds. Do most worshippers mind this? Our faculties should be exercised when we are magnifying the Lord, so as not to run in an old groove without thought; we ought to make every hymn of praise a new song. To keep up the freshness of worship is a great thing, and in private it is indispensable. Let us not present old worn out praise, but put life, and soul, and heart, into every song, since we have new mercies every day, and see new beauties in the work and word of our Lord. Play skilfully. It is wretched to hear God praised in a slovenly manner. He deserves the best that we have. Every Christian should endeavour to sing according to the rules of the art, so that he may keep time and tune with the congregation. The sweetest tunes and the sweetest voices, with the sweetest words, are all too little for the Lord our God; let us not offer him limping rhymes, set to harsh tunes, and growled out by discordant voices. With a loud noise. Heartiness should be conspicuous in divine worship. Well bred whispers are disreputable here. It is not that the Lord cannot hear us, but that it is natural for great exultation to express itself in the loudest manner. Men shout at the sight of their kings: shall we offer no loud hosannahs to the Son of David?

For the word of the Lord is right. His ordinances both natural, moral, and spiritual, are right, and especially his incarnate Word, who is the Lord our righteousness. Whatever God has ordained must be good, and just, and excellent. There are no anomalies in God's universe, except what sin has made; his word of command made all things good. When we look at his word of promise, and remember its faithfulness, what reasons have we for joy and thankfulness! And all his works are done in truth. His work is the outflow of his word, and it is true to it. He neither doth nor saith anything ill; in deed and speech he agrees with himself and the purest truth. There is no lie in God's word, and no sham in his works; in creation, providence, and revelation, unalloyed truth abounds. To act truth as well as to utter it is divine. Let not children of God ever yield their principles in practice any more than in heart. What a God we serve! The more we know of him, the more our better natures approve his surpassing excellence; even his afflicting works are according to his truthful word.

"Why should I complain of want of distress,

Afflictions or pain? he told me no less;

The heirs of salvation, I know from his word,

Through much tribulation must follow their Lord."

God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, acts with a hand which never fails. Bless his name.

He loveth righteousness and judgment. The theory and practice of right he intensely loves. He doth not only approve the true and the just, but his inmost soul delights therein. The character of God is a sea, every drop of which should become a wellhead of praise for his people. The righteousness of Jesus is peculiarly dear to the Father, and for its sake he takes pleasure in those to whom it is imputed. Sin, on the other hand, is infinitely abhorrent to the Lord, and woe unto those who die in it; if he sees no righteousness in them, he will deal righteously with them, and judgment stern and final will be the result. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Come hither, astronomers, geologists, naturalists, botanists, chemists, miners, yea, all of you who study the works of God, for all your truthful stories confirm this declaration. From the midge in the sunbeam to leviathan in the ocean all creatures own the bounty of the Creator. Even the pathless desert blazes with some undiscovered mercy, and the caverns of ocean conceal the treasures of love. Earth might have been as full of terror as of grace, but instead thereof it teems and overflows with kindness. He who cannot see it, and yet lives in it as the fish lives in the water, deserves to die. If earth be full of mercy, what must heaven be where goodness concentrates its beams?

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. The angelic heavens, the sidereal heavens, and the firmament or terrestrial heavens, were all made to start into existence by a word; what if we say by the Word, "For without him was not anything made that is made." It is interesting to note the mention of the Spirit in the next clause, and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth; the breath is the same as is elsewhere rendered Spirit. Thus the three persons of the Godhead unite in creating all things. How easy for the Lord to make the most ponderous orbs, and the most glorious angels! A word, a breath could do it. It is as easy for God to create the universe as for a man to breathe, nay, far easier, for man breathes not independently, but borrows the breath in his nostrils from his Maker. It may be gathered from this verse that the constitution of all things is from the infinite wisdom, for his word may mean his appointment and determination. A wise and merciful Word has arranged, and a living Spirit sustains all the creation of Jehovah.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap. The waters were once scattered like corn strewn upon a threshing floor: they are now collected in one spot as an heap. Who else could have gathered them into one channel but their great Lord, at whose bidding the waters fled away? The miracle of the Red Sea is repeated in nature day by day, for the sea which now invades the shore under the impulse of sun and moon, would soon devour the land if bounds were not maintained by the divine decree. He layeth up the depth in storehouses. The depths of the main are God's great cellars and storerooms for the tempestuous element. Vast reservoirs of water are secreted in the bowels of the earth, from which issue our springs and wells of water. What a merciful provision for a pressing need? May not the text also refer to the clouds, and the magazines of hail, and snow, and rain, those treasures of merciful wealth for the fields of earth? These aqueous masses are not piled away as in lumber rooms, but in storehouses for future beneficial use. Abundant tenderness is seen in the foresight of our heavenly Joseph, whose granaries are already filled against earth's time of need. These stores might have been, as once they were, the ammunition of vengeance, they are now a part of the commissariat of mercy.

Let all the earth fear the Lord. Not only Jews, but Gentiles. The psalmist was not a man blinded by national prejudice, he did not desire to restrict the worship of Jehovah to the seed of Abraham. He looks for homage even to far off nations. If they are not well enough instructed to be able to praise, at least let them fear. There is an inferior kind of worship in the trembling which involuntarily admits the boundless power of the thundering God. A defiant blasphemer is out of place in a world covered with tokens of the divine power and Godhead: the whole earth cannot afford a spot congenial for the erection of a synagogue of Atheism, nor a man in whom it is becoming to profane the name of God. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Let them forsake their idols, and reverently regard the only living God. What is here placed as a wish may also be read as a prophecy: the adoration of God will yet be universal.

For he spake, and it was done. Creation was the fruit of a word. Jehovah said, "Light be, "and light was. The Lord's acts are sublime in their ease and instantaneousness. "What a word is this?" This was the wondering enquiry of old, and it may be ours to this day. He commanded, and it stood fast. Out of nothing creation stood forth, and was confirmed in existence. The same power which first uplifted, now makes the universe to abide; although we may not observe it, there is as great a display of sublime power in confirming as in creating. Happy is the man who has learned to lean his all upon the sure word of him who built the skies!

The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. While his own will is done, he takes care to anticipate the wilfulness of his enemies. Before they come to action he vanquishes them in the council chamber; and when, well armed with craft, they march to the assault, he frustrates their knaveries, and makes their promising plots to end in nothing. Not only the folly of the heathen, but their wisdom too, shall yield to the power of the cross of Jesus: what a comfort is this to those who have to labour where sophistry, and philosophy, falsely so called, are set in opposition to the truth as it is in Jesus. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. Their persecutions, slanders, falsehoods, are like puff balls flung against a granite wall —they produce no result at all; for the Lord overrules the evil, and brings good out of it. The cause of God is never in danger: infernal craft is outwitted by infinite wisdom, and Satanic malice held in check by boundless power.

The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. He changes not his purpose, his decree is not frustrated, his designs are accomplished. God has a predestination according to the counsel of his will, and none of the devices of his foes can thwart his decree for a moment. Men's purposes are blown to and from like the thread of the gossamer or the down of the thistle, but the eternal purposes are firmer than the earth. The thoughts of his heart to all generations. Men come and go, sons follow their sires to the grave, but the undisturbed mind of God moves on in unbroken serenity, producing ordained results with unerring certainty. No man can expect his will or plan to be carried out from age to age; the wisdom of one period is the folly of another, but the Lord's wisdom is always wise, and his designs run on from century to century. His power to fulfil his purposes is by no means diminished by the lapse of years. He who was absolute over Pharaoh in Egypt is not one whit the less today the King of kings and Lord of lords; still do his chariot wheels roll onward in imperial grandeur, none being for a moment able to resist his eternal will.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Israel was happy in the worship of the only true God. It was the blessedness of the chosen nation to have received a revelation from Jehovah. While others grovelled before their idols, the chosen people were elevated by a spiritual religion which introduced them to the invisible God, and led them to trust in him. All who confide in the Lord are blessed in the largest and deepest sense, and none can reverse the blessing. And the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. Election is at the bottom of it all. The divine choice rules the day; none take Jehovah to be their God till he takes them to be his people. What an ennobling choice this is! We are selected to no mean estate, and for no ignoble purpose: we are made the peculiar domain and delight of the Lord our God. Being so blessed, let us rejoice in our portion, and show the world by our lives that we serve a glorious Master.

The Lord looketh from heaven. The Lord is represented as dwelling above and looking down below; seeing all things, but peculiarly observing and caring for those who trust in him. It is one of our choicest privileges to be always under our Father's eye, to be never out of sight of our best Friend. He beholdeth all the sons of men. All Adam's sons are as well watched as was Adam himself, their lone progenitor in the garden. Ranging from the frozen pole to the scorching equator, dwelling in hills and valleys, in huts and palaces, alike doth the divine eye regard all the members of the family of man.

From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. Here the sentiment is repeated: it is worth repeating, and it needs repeating, for man is most prone to forget it. As great men sit at their windows and watch the crowd below, so doth the Lord; he gazes intently upon his responsible creatures, and forgets nothing of what he sees.

He fashioneth their hearts alike. By which is meant that all hearts are equally fashioned by the Lord, kings' hearts as well as the hearts of beggars. The text does not mean that all hearts are created originally alike by God, such a statement would scarcely be true, since there is the utmost variety in the constitutions and dispositions of men. All men equally owe the possession of life to the Creator, and have therefore no reason to boast themselves. What reason has the vessel to glorify itself in presence of the potter? He considereth all their words. Not in vain doth God see men's acts: he ponders and judges them. He reads the secret design in the outward behaviour, and resolves the apparent good into its real elements. This consideration foretokens a judgment when the results of the divine thoughts will be meted out in measures of happiness or woe. Consider thy ways, O man, for God considereth them!

There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. Mortal power is a fiction, and those who trust in it are dupes. Serried ranks of armed men have failed to maintain an empire, or even to save their monarch's life when a decree from the court of heaven has gone forth for the empire's overthrow. The all seeing God preserves the poorest of his people when they are alone and friendless, but ten thousand armed men cannot ensure safety to him whom God leaves to destruction. A mighty man is not delivered by much strength. So far from guarding others, the valiant veteran is not able to deliver himself. When his time comes to die, neither the force of his arms nor the speed of his legs can save him. The weakest believer dwells safely under the shadow of Jehovah's throne, while the most mighty sinner is in peril every hour. Why do we talk so much of our armies and our heroes? the Lord alone has strength, and let him alone have praise.

An horse is a vain thing for safety. Military strength among the Orientals lay much in horses and scythed chariots, but the psalmist calls them a lie, a deceitful confidence. Surely the knight upon his gallant steed may be safe, either by valour or by flight? Not so, his horse shall bear him into danger or crush him with its fall. Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Thus the strongest defences are less than nothing when most needed. God only is to be trusted and adored. Sennacherib with all his calvary is not a match for one angel of the Lord, Pharaoh's horses and chariots found it vain to pursue the Lord's anointed, and so shall all the leaguered might of earth and hell find themselves utterly defeated when they rise against the Lord and his chosen.

Behold. For this is a greater wonder than hosts and horses, a surer confidence than chariots or shields. The eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him. That eye of peculiar care is their glory and defence. None can take them at unawares, for the celestial watcher foresees the designs of their enemies, and provides against them. They who fear God need not fear anything else; let them fix their eye of faith on him, and his eye of love will always rest upon them. Upon them that hope in his mercy. This one would think to be a small evidence of grace, and yet it is a valid one. Humble hope shall have its share as well as courageous faith. Say, my soul, is not this an encouragement to thee? Dost thou not hope in the mercy of God in Christ Jesus? Then the Father's eye is as much upon thee as upon the elder born of the family. These gentle words, like soft bread, are meant for babes in grace, who need infant's food.

To deliver their soul from death. The Lord's hand goes with his eye; he sovereignly preserves those whom he graciously observes. Rescues and restorations hedge about the lives of the saints; death cannot touch them till the King signs his warrant and gives him leave, and even then his touch is not so much mortal as immortal; he doth not so much kill us as kill our mortality. And to keep them alive in famine. Gaunt famine knows its master. God has meal and oil for his Elijahs somewhere. "Verily thou shalt be fed" is a divine provision for the man of faith. The Preserver of men will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish. Power in human hands is outmatched by famine, but God is good at a pinch, and proves his bounty under the most straitened circumstances. Believer, wait upon thy God in temporals. His eye is upon thee, and his hand will not long delay.

Our soul waits for the Lord. Here the godly avow their reliance upon him whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet in expectation, patient in hope, single in confidence, is one of the bright attainments of a Christian. Our soul, our life, must hang upon God; we are not to trust him with a few gewgaws, but with all we have and are. He is our help and our shield. Our help in labour, our shield in danger. The Lord answereth all things to his people. He is their all in all. Note the three "ours" in the text. These holdfast words are precious. Personal possession makes the Christian man; all else is mere talk.

For our hearts shall rejoice in him. The duty commended and commanded in the first verse is here presented to the Lord. We, who trust, cannot but be of a glad heart, our inmost nature must triumph in our faithful God. Because we have trusted in his holy name. The root of faith in due time bears the flower of rejoicing. Doubts breed sorrow, confidence creates joy.

Here is a large and comprehensive prayer to close with. It is an appeal for mercy, which even joyful believers need; and it is sought for in a proportion which the Lord has sanctioned. "According to your faith be it unto you, "is the Master's word, and he will not fall short of the scale which he has himself selected. Yet, Master, do more than this when hope is faint, and bless us far above what we ask or even think.

Whole Psalm. A thanksgiving of the church triumphant in the latter ages, for her final deliverance, by the overthrow of Antichrist and his armies. Samuel Horsley.

Whole Psalm. Let us follow the holy man a moment in his meditation. His Psalm is not composed in scholastic form, in which the author confines himself to fixed rules; and, scrupulously following a philosophic method, lays down principals, and infers consequences. However, he establishes principles, the most proper to give us sublime ideas of the Creator; and he speaks with more precision of the works and attributes of God than the greatest philosophers have spoken of them.

How absurdly have the philosophers treated of the origin of the world! How few of them have reasoned conclusively on this important subject! Our prophet solves the important question by one single principle; and, what is more remarkable, this principle, which is nobly expressed, carries the clearest evidence with it. The principle is this: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth, "Ps 33:6. This is the most rational account that was ever given of the creation of the world. The world is the work of a self efficient will, and it is this principle alone that can account for its creation. The most simple appearances in nature are sufficient to lead us to this principle. Either my will is self efficient, or there is some other being whose will is self efficient. What I say of myself, I say of my parents; and what I affirm of my parents, I affirm of my more remote ancestors, and of all the finite creatures from whom they derive their existence. Most certainly either finite beings have a self efficient will, which it is impossible to suppose, for a finite creature with a self efficient will is a contradiction: either, I say, a finite creature has a self efficient will, or there is a First Cause who has a self efficient will; and that there is such a Being is the principle of the psalmist; "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."

If philosophers have reasoned inconclusively on the origin of the world, they have spoken of its government with equal uncertainty. The psalmist determines this question with a great facility, by a single principle, which results from the former, and which, like the former, carries its evidence with it. "The Lord looketh from heaven; he considereth all the works of all the inhabitants of the earth, " Ps 33:13-14. This is the doctrine of providence. And on what is the doctrine of providence founded? On this principle: God "fashioneth their hearts alike, "Ps 33:15. Attend a moment to the evidence of this reasoning, my brethren. The doctrine of providence expressed in these words, "God considereth the works of the inhabitants of the earth, "is a necessary consequence of his principle, "God fashioneth their hearts alike; "and this principle is a necessary consequence of that which the psalmist had before laid down to account for the origin of the world. Yes, from that doctrine of God the Creator of men, follows that of God the inspector, the director, rewarder, and the punisher of their actions. One of the most specious objections that has ever been opposed to the doctrine of providence, is a contrast between the grandeur of God and the meanness of men. How can such an insignificant creature as man be the object of the care and attention of such a magnificent being as God? No objection can be more specious, or, in appearance, more invincible. The distance between the meanest insect and the mightiest monarch, who treads and crushes reptiles to death without the least regard to them, is a very imperfect image of the distance between God and man. That which proves that it would be beneath the dignity of a monarch to observe the motions of ants, or worms, to interest himself in their actions, to punish, or to reward them, seems to demonstrate that God would degrade himself were he to observe, to direct, to punish, to reward mankind, who are infinitely inferior to him. But one fact is sufficient to answer this specious objection: that is, God has created mankind. Does God degrade himself more by governing than by creating mankind? Who can persuade himself that a wise Being has given to intelligent creatures faculties capable of obtaining knowledge and virtue, without willing that they should endeavour to acquire knowledge and virtue? Or who can imagine, that a wise Being, who wills that his intelligent creatures should acquire knowledge and virtue, will not punish them if they neglect those acquisitions; and will not show by the distribution of his benefits that he approves their endeavours to obtain them?

Unenlightened philosophers have treated of the attributes of God with as much abstruseness as they have written of his works. The moral attributes of God, as they are called in the schools, were mysteries which they could not unfold. These may be reduced to two classes; attributes of goodness, and attributes of justice. Philosophers, who had admitted these, have usually taken that for granted which they ought to have proved. They collected together in their minds all perfections; they reduced them all to one object which they denominated a perfect being: and supposing, without proving, that a perfect being existed, they attributed to him, without proof, everything that they considered as a perfection. The psalmist shows by a surer way that there is a God supremely just and supremely good. It is necessary, in order to convince a rational being of the justice and goodness of God, to follow such a method as that which we follow to prove his existence. When we would prove the existence of God, we say, there are creatures, therefore there is a Creator. In like manner, when we would prove that a creature is a just and a good being, we say, there are qualities of goodness and justice in creatures, therefore he, from whom these creatures derive their existence, is a being just and good. Now, this is the reasoning of the psalmist in this Psalm: "The Lord loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" Ps 33:5; that is to say, it is impossible to consider the work of the Creator, without receiving evidence of his goodness. And the works of nature which demonstrate the goodness of God, prove his justice also; for God has created us with such dispositions, that we cannot enjoy the gifts of his goodness without obeying the laws of his righteousness. The happiness of an individual who procures a pleasure by disobeying the laws of equity, is a violent happiness, which cannot be of long duration; and the prosperity of public bodies, when it is founded in iniquity, is an edifice which, with its basis, will be presently sunk and gone.

But what we would particularly remark is, that the excellent principle of the psalmist concerning God are not mere speculations; but truths from which he derives practical inferences; and he aims to extend their influence beyond private persons, even to legislators and conquerors. One would think, considering the conduct of mankind, that the consequences, which are drawn from the doctrines of which we have been speaking, belong to none but to the dregs of the people; that lawgivers and conquerors have a plan of morality peculiar to themselves, and are above the rules to which other men must submit. Our prophet had other notions. What are his maxims of policy? They are all included in these words: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance, "Ps 33:12. What are his military maxims? They are all included in these words: "There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength, "Ps 33:16-17. Who proposes these maxims? A hermit, who never appeared on the theatre of the world? or a man destitute of the talents necessary to shine there? No: one of the wisest of kings; one of the most bold and able generals: a man whom God has self elected to govern his chosen people, and to command those armies which fought the most obstinate battles, and gained the most complete victories. Were I to proceed in explaining the system of the psalmist, I might prove, that as he had a right to infer the doctrine of providence from the works of nature, and that of the moral attributes of God from the works of creation; so from the doctrines of the moral attributes of God, of providence, and of the works of creation, he had a right to conclude, that no conquerors or lawgivers could be truly happy but those who acted agreeably to the laws of the just and good Supreme. James Saurin.

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous. Exult, ye righteous, in Jehovah! The Hebrew verb, according to the etymologists, originally means to dance for joy, and is therefore a very strong expression for the liveliest exultation. J. A. Alexander.

Rejoice, O ye righteous: not in yourselves, for that is not safe, but in the Lord. Augustine.

Praise is comely for the upright. Praise is not comely for any but the godly. A profane man stuck with God's praise is like a dunghill stuck with flowers. Praise in the mouth of a sinner is like an oracle in the mouth of a fool: how uncomely is it for him to praise God, whose whole life is a dishonouring of God? It is as indecent for a wicked man to praise God, who goes on in sinful practices, as it is for an usurer to talk of living by faith, or for the devil to quote Scripture. The godly are only fit to be choristers in God's praise; it is called, "the garment of praise." Isa 61:3. This garment sits handsome only on a saint's back. Thomas Watson.

This Psalm is coupled with the foregoing one by the catchword with which it opens, which is a repetition of the exhortation with which the preceding ends, Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; "Shout for joy, all ye upright." Christopher Wordsworth.

He pleaseth God whom God pleaseth. Augustine.

Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Here we have the first mention of musical instruments in the Psalms. It is to be observed that the early fathers almost with one accord protest against their use in churches; as they are forbidden in the Eastern church to this day, where yet, by the consent of all, the singing is infinitely superior to anything that can be heard in the West. J. M. Neale.

Harp; Psaltery, etc. Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaise. Thomas Aquinas. It was only permitted to the Jews, as sacrifice was, for the heaviness and grossness of their souls. God condescended to their weakness, because they were lately drawn off from idols; but now instead of organs, we may use our own bodies to praise him withal. Chrysostom. The use of singing with instrumental music was not received in the Christian churches as it was among the Jews in their infant state, but only the use of plain song. Justin Martyr.

(last clause). It is said that David praised God upon an instrument of ten strings; and he would never have told how many strings there were, but that without doubt he made use of them all. God hath given all of us bodies, as it were, instruments of many strings; and can we think it music good enough to strike but one string, to call upon him with our tongues only? No, no; when the still sound of the heart by holy thoughts, and the shrill sound of the tongue by holy words, and the loud sound of the hands by pious works, do all join together, that is God's concert, and the only music wherewith he is affected. Sir Richard Baker.

Sing unto him. I. Singing is the music of nature. The Scriptures tell us the mountains sing Isa 55:12; the valleys sing Ps 65:13; the trees of the wood sing 1Ch 16:33; nay, the air is the birds' music room, they chant their musical notes. II. Singing is the music of ordinances. Augustine reports of himself, that when he came to Milan and heard the people sing, he wept for joy in the church to hear that pleasing melody. And Beza confesses that at his first entrance into the congregation, and hearing them sing the ninety-first Psalm, he felt himself exceedingly comforted, and did retain the sound of it afterwards upon his heart. The Rabbins tell us that the Jews, after the feast of the Passover was celebrated, sang the hundred and eleventh and five following Psalms; and our Saviour and his apostles sang a hymn immediately after the blessed Supper. Mt 26:30. III. Singing is the music of saints. (1.) They have performed this duty in their greatest numbers. Ps 149:1-2. (2.) In their greatest straits. Isa 26:19. (3.) In their greatest flight. Isa 42:10-11. (4.) In their greatest deliverances. (5.) In their greatest plenties. Isa 65:14. In all these changes singing hath been their stated duty and delight. And indeed it is meet that the saints and servants of God should sing forth their joys and praises to the Lord Almighty: every attribute of him can set both their song and their tune. IV. Singing is the music of angels. Job tells us "the morning stars sang together, "Job 38:7. Now these "morning stars, "as Pineda tells us, are the angels; to which the Chaldee paraphrase accords, naming these morning stars, aciem angelorum, an host of angels. Nay, when this heavenly host was sent to proclaim the birth of our dearest Jesus, they deliver their message in this raised way of duty. Lu 2:13. They were (ainountev), delivering their messages in a laudatory singing, the whole company of angels making a musical quire. Nay, in heaven there is the angels' joyous music; they there sing hallelujahs to the Most High, and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne, Re 5:11. V. Singing is the music of heaven; the glorious saints and angels accent their praises this way, and make one harmony in their state of blessedness; and this is the music of the Bride chamber. The saints who were tuning here their Psalms, are now singing their hallelujahs in a louder strain, and articulating their joys, which here they could not express to their perfect satisfaction; here they laboured with drowsy hearts, and faltering tongues; but in glory these impediments are removed, and nothing is left to jar their joyful celebration. John Wells, in "Morning Exercises."

A new song. That is to say, a new and recent composition on account of recent benefits; or constantly new songs, song succeeding song as daily new material for divine praise offers itself to the attentive student of the works of God. Or new, that is, always fresh and full of life, and renewed as new occasions offer themselves: as Job says, "My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand." Or new, i.e., not common but rare and exquisite; as the new name in Re 2:17; the new commandment; Joh 13:34. Or this respects the gospel state, wherein is a new covenant Heb 8:8, a new Jerusalem Re 21:2, a new man Eph 2:15, and all things new, 2Co 5:17. New, on account of its matter being unknown of men: as in Re 14:3, "They sung a new song, "and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. New may be used in opposition to old. The song of Moses is old, and of the Lamb is new. Martin Geir (1614-1681), in "Poli Synopsis Criticorum."

Sing unto him a new song. Put off oldness: ye know the new song. A new man, a New Testament, a new song. A new song belongeth not to men that are old; none learn that but new men, renewed through grace from oldness, and belonging now to the New Testament, which is the kingdom of heaven. Augustine.

A new song; namely, sung with such fervency of affections as novelties usually bring with them; or, always new, seeing God's graces never wax old; or, sung by the motion of this new spirit of grace, which doth not so much look after the old benefits of the creation as after the new benefit of the redemption in Christ, which renews all things. Ps 40:3 96:1 Re 5:9 14:3. John Diodati.

Sing unto him a new song. It is a melancholy proof of the decline of the church, when the exhortation to sing a new song is no longer attended to: in such a case, there is need of the greatest care to prevent the old ones falling into oblivion. E. W. Hengstenberg.

Play skilfully. It is not an easy matter to praise God aright; it must be done corde, ore, spere, with the very best of the best. John Trapp.

The word of the Lord is right. His word of promise given to the church. The divine revelation to all setting forth what is to be believed, hoped for, and done. The decrees of God and his penal judgments. The whole counsel and determination of God in the creation and government of the world. Is right, without defect or error. The word right is opposed to tortuous; it means true or certain. John de Pineda (1577-1637); D.H. Mollerus (1639), and others, in Synopsis.

All his works are done in truth.

Truth is in each flower

As well as in the most solemn things of God:

Truth is the voice of nature and of time —

Truth is the startling monitor within us —

Nought is without it, it comes from the stars,

The golden sun, and every breeze that blows —

Truth, it is God! and God is everywhere! —William Thomas Bacon.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. If we reflect on the prodigious number of human beings who constantly receive their food, raiment, and every pleasure they enjoy, from their mother earth, we shall be convinced of the great liberality with which nature dispenses her gifts; and not only human beings, but an innumerable quantity of living creatures besides —inhabitants of the air, the waters, and the earth —are daily indebted to nature for their support. Those animals which are under our care are still indebted to the earth for their subsistence; for the grass, which nature spontaneously produces, is their chief food. The whole race of fishes, except those which men feed for their amusement, subsist without any of their aid. The species of birds which is perhaps the most despised and most numerous, is the sparrow. What they require for their support is incredible, but nature takes care to feed them; they are however but the smallest part of her children. So great is the quantity of insects, that ages may pass before even their species and classes can be known. How many and how diversified the sorts of flies that play in the air! The blood taken from us by the gnat is very accidental food for them; and we may suppose that where there is one gnat that lives upon it, there are millions that have never tasted human blood, or that of any other animal. On what can all these creatures subsist? Perhaps every handful of earth contains living insects; they are discovered in every drop of water; their multiplying and means of support are incomprehensible. While nature is thus prolific in children, she is also fruitful in means for their subsistence; or, rather, it is the God of nature who has poured into her bosom this inexhaustible store of riches. He provides each creature with its food and dwelling. For them he causes the grass and other herbs to grow, leaving each to select its proper food. And, however mean many creatures may appear to us, he feeds and assists them all. O Almighty God, how manifest is thy greatness! Thou dost what the united efforts of all mankind would fail to accomplish. Thou hast given life, and breath, and being to all creatures that live in the air, the waters, or the earth. Surely thou wilt do for thy believing people what thou dost for animals and insects! When we are filled with doubts and fears, let us consider the ravens whom the Lord feeds when they cry. Let them and all creatures beside, which man takes no care of, teach us the art of contentment. The great Author of nature knows all our wants. Let us cast our every care on him, for he careth for us; and may we come boldly to the throne of grace in faith and sincerity, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help us in every time of need. Christopher Christian Sturm.

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. To hear its worthless inhabitants complain, one would think that God dispensed evil, not good. To examine the operation of his hand, everything is marked with mercy, and there is no place where his goodness does not appear. The overflowing kindness of God fills the earth. Even the iniquities of men are rarely a bar to his goodness: he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends his rain upon the just and the unjust. Adam Clarke.

The goodness of the Lord. In discoursing on the glorious perfections of God, his goodness must by no means be omitted; for though all his perfections are his glory, yet this is particularly so called, for when Moses, the man of God, earnestly desired to behold a grand display of the glory of Jehovah, the Lord said in answer to his petition, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee; "thus intimating that he himself accounted his goodness to be his glory Ex 33:19 34:7; and it includes that mercy, grace, longsuffering, and truth, which are afterwards mentioned. When it relieves the miserable, it is mercy; when it bestows favours on the worthless, it is grace; when it bears with provoking rebels, it is long suffering; when it confers promised blessings, it is truth; when it supplies indigent beings, it is bounty. The goodness of God is a very comprehensive term; it includes all the forms of his kindness shown to men; whether considered as creatures, as sinners, or as believers. George Burder, 1838

The goodness of the Lord. He might, if he had pleased, have made everything we tasted bitter, everything we saw loathsome, everything we touched a sting, every smell a stench, every sound a discord. William Paley, D.D., 1743-1805.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. That the (hwd) is not spirit, but breath, is evident from the words of his mouth (compare Isa 11:4), and from the parallelism with word. Simple word is simple breath; both together, they stand in contrast to that exercise of strength, that labour, that use of means and instruments without which feeble man can bring nothing to perfection. Then there are the parallel passages, "All the while my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils." Job 27:3. "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Job 33:4. "Thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust, thou sendest forth thy breath, they are created." Ps 104:29,30. On the other hand, however, the exposition which would interpret (wyp xwr), without reference to the Spirit of God, cannot be a correct one. In the history of the creation, to which the verse before us, as well as verses seven and nine, generally refer, the creation is described as the work of the SPIRIT of God, and his WORD. First, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, then God said. We may also suppose that the Spirit and the power of God are here represented by the figure of breath, because that in man is the first sign of life. E. W. Hengstenberg.

By the word of the Lord. May be understood of the hypostatic Word, as John teaches us. Joh 1:1. (John Cocceius), 1603-1669. This is an illustration of the old saying, that while Grotius finds Christ nowhere, Cocceius finds Christ everywhere. C. H. S.

Let any make a world, and he shall be a God, saith Augustine; hence is it that the church maketh it the very first article of her Creed to believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth. John Weemse.

It is all one with God to do as to say, to perform as to promise; it is as easy, he is as willing, as able, to do the one as the other. There is no such distance betwixt God's saying and doing, as amongst men. His saying is doing: He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. "The worlds were framed by the word of God." Heb 11:3. There is omnipotence in his word, both of command and promise; therefore called, "The word of his power." Heb 1:3. One word of his can do more in an instant than the united powers of heaven and earth can do in eternity. This consideration removes at once the chief discouragements that hinder the lively actings of faith; for what is it that weakens our confidence of the promises' performance, but because we look upon the accomplishment as uncertain or difficult, or future and afar off! Now from hence faith may conclude the performance is certain, easy, and present. David Clarkson.

It is all one with God to do as to say, to perform as to promise; it is as easy, he is as willing, as able, to do the one as the other. There is no such distance betwixt God's saying and doing, as amongst men. His saying is doing: He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made. "The worlds were framed by the word of God." Heb 11:3. There is omnipotence in his word, both of command and promise; therefore called, "The word of his power." Heb 1:3. One word of his can do more in an instant than the united powers of heaven and earth can do in eternity. This consideration removes at once the chief discouragements that hinder the lively actings of faith; for what is it that weakens our confidence of the promises' performance, but because we look upon the accomplishment as uncertain or difficult, or future and afar off! Now from hence faith may conclude the performance is certain, easy, and present. David Clarkson.

He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap, etc. "God called the gathering together of the waters, seas." Ge 1:10. This unstable element must, like all other elements, be put under law, and confined within bounds, that there might be a habitable earth for man and all the creatures around him. Thus the psalmist sings, He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. The boundary was such as to cause his servants to wonder. They looked from the shore, as we do, and under the influence of a well known law, the billows in their heaving swells, seemed as if they would, as if they did, touch the sky itself; and as if they were so much higher than the shore, that they were in danger of leaving their basin and stretching over the land. Just such an impression, we with all our science, popularly hold. The prophets thus looked as we do, and under the same kind of feeling. How wonderful, they thought, is all this! A low barrier of sand is made Jehovah's agent for bounding the deep. "The Lord hath placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it." Jer 5:22. John Duns, D.D., in "Science and Christian Thought, "1868.

The waters of the sea. Of all objects that I have ever seen, there is none which affect my imagination so much as the sea or ocean. I cannot see the heavings of this prodigious bulk of waters, even in a calm, without a very pleasing astonishment; but when it is worked up in a tempest, so that the horizon on every side is nothing but foaming billows and floating mountains, it is impossible to describe the agreeable horror that rises from such a prospect. A troubled ocean, to a man who sails upon it, is, I think, the biggest object that he can see in motion, and consequently gives his imagination one of the highest kinds of pleasure that can arise from greatness. I must confess it is impossible for me to survey this world of fluid matter without thinking on the hand that first poured it out, and made a proper channel for its reception. Such an object naturally raises in my thoughts the idea of an Almighty Being, and convinces me of his existence as much as a metaphysical demonstration. The imagination prompts the understanding, and by the greatness of the sensible object, produces in it the idea of a Being who is neither circumscribed by time nor space. Spectator.

As a heap. Dealing with fluids as if they were solids, with an obvious allusion to Ex 15:8. Depths, masses of water. The main point of the description is God's handling these vast liquid masses, as men handle solid substances of moderate dimensions, heaping the waves up, and storing them away, as men might do with stones or wheat. J. A. Alexander.

The vast masses of waters which had hitherto covered the entire surface of the globe, was on the third day of creation brought within narrower compass, and large tracts of the submerged earth reclaimed and rendered habitable ground...The waters were, for the most part, congregated together in one vast body, instead of being universally diffused over the face of the earth. This is the state of things which we now contemplate; the various great seas and oceans constituting in fact but one body of water called in different regions by different names, as the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Southern, etc., oceans. George Bush, on Ge 1:9.

Let all the earth. For who can doubt that God can do as he wills upon earth, since he so tamed the unconquerable nature of the sea? Hugo Grotius, 1583-1645.

Let all the earth fear the Lord, etc. Let them not fear another instead of him. Doth a wild beast rage? Fear God. Doth a serpent lie in wait? Fear God. Doth man hate thee? Fear God. Doth the devil fight against thee? Fear God. For the whole creation is under him whom thou art commanded to fear. Augustine.

He spake, and it was done. As we say in Latin, Dictum factum, SAID DONE, no delay having interposed. Hugo Grotius.

He spake, and it was done; so that the creatures were not emanations from the divine nature, but effects of the divine will, the fruits of intelligence, and design, and counsel. William Binnie, D.D.

The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, etc. The more the Pharisees of old, and their successors the prelates of late, opposed the truth, the more it prevailed. The Reformation in Germany was much furthered by the Papists' opposition; yea, when two kings (amongst many others), wrote against Luther, namely, Henry 8th of England, and Ludovicus of Hungary, this kingly title being entered into the controversy (making men more curious to examine the matter), stirred up a general inclination towards Luther's opinions. Richard Younge's Christian Library, 1655.

The counsel of the Lord. Note the contrast between the counsel of the heathen in the last verse, and the counsel of the Lord in this. C. H. S.

The thoughts. The same word as devices in the preceding verse. William de Burgh, D.D., in loc.

The wheels in a watch or a clock move contrary one to another, some one way, some another, yet all serve the intent of the workman, to show the time, or to make the clock strike. So in the world, the providence of God may seem to run cross to his promises; one man takes this way, another runs that way; good men go one way, wicked men another, yet all in conclusion accomplish the will, and centre in the purpose of God the great Creator of all things. Richard Sibbes.

(last clause). Think not, brethren, because he said, The thoughts of his heart, that God as it were sitteth down and thinketh what he should do, and taketh counsel to do anything, or not to do anything. To thee, O man, belongs such tardiness. Augustine.

Blessed —whom he hath chosen. A man may have his name set down in the chronicles, yet lost; wrought in durable marble, yet perish; set upon a monument equal to a Colossus, yet be ignominious; inscribed on the hospital gates, yet go to hell; written in the front of his own house, yet another come to possess it; all these are but writings in the dust, or upon the waters, where the characters perish so soon as they are made; they no more prove a man happy than the fool could prove Pontius Pilate because his name was written in the Creed. But the true comfort is this, when a man by assurance can conclude with his own soul that his name is written in those eternal leaves of heaven, in the book of God's election, which shall never be wrapped up in the cloudy sheets of darkness but remain legible to all eternity. Thomas Adams.

The people whom he hath chosen. Some read it, The people which hath chosen him for their inheritance. It cometh all to one. See De 26:17-19. John Trapp.

It's an happiness to have an interest in one greater than ourselves; an interest in a beggar is of no worth, because he is of no power; but interest in a prince all men seek, therefore it is said, Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Joseph Symonds.

Lest it should be thought that men obtain so great a good by their own efforts and industry, David teaches us expressly that it proceeds from the fountain of God's gracious electing love that we are accounted the people of God. John Calvin.

I have sometimes compared the great men of the world, and the good men of the world to the consonants and vowels in the alphabet. The consonants are the most and the biggest letters; they take up most room, and carry the greatest bulk; but, believe it, the vowels though they are the fewest and least of all the letters, yet they are most useful; they give the greatest sound of all; there is no pronunciation without vowels. O beloved, though the great men of the world take up room, and make a show above others, yet they are but consonants, a company of mute and dumb consonants for the most part; the good men they are the vowels that are of the greatest use and most concernment at every turn: a good man to help with his prayers; a good man to advise with his counsels; a good man to interpose with his authority; this is the loss we lament, we have lost a good man; death has blotted out a vowel; and I fear me there will be much silence where he is lacking; silence in the bed, and silence in the house, and silence in the shop, and silence in the church, and silence in the parish, for he was everywhere a vowel, a good man in every respect. John Kitchin, M.A., in a Funeral Sermon, 1660.

He fashioneth their hearts alike. As an illustration of the passage as it stands in our version, we append the following: —"Every circumstance concurs in proving that mankind are not composed of species essentially different from each other; that, on the contrary, there was originally but one species, which, after multiplying and spreading over the whole surface of the earth, has undergone various changes, from the influence of climate, food, mode of living, diseases, and mixture of dissimilar individuals; that at first these changes were not so conspicuous, and produced only individual varieties; that these varieties became afterward more specific, because they were rendered more general, more strongly marked, and more permanent, by the continual action of the same causes; and that they are transmitted from generation to generation." G. L. Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, 1707-1788.

The Creator of all things fashioneth their hearts alike; the word (dxy), which signifies together at once, intimating that the hearts of all men though separated from one another by never so vast a gulf of time or place, are as exactly alike in respect of their original inclinations, as if they had been all moulded at the same time. The worship of a God and then some kind of religion, is necessary to us, we cannot shift it off. William Pinke, 1631.

(last clause). Two men give to the poor, one seeketh his reward in heaven, the other the praise of men. Thou in two seest one thing, God understandeth two. For he understandeth what is within, and knoweth what is within; their ends he seeth, their base intentions he seeth. He understandeth all their works. Augustine.

There is no king saved by the multitude of an host. At the battle of Arbela, the Persian hosts numbered between five hundred thousand and a million men, but they were utterly put to the rout by Alexander's band of fifty thousand; and the once mighty Darius was soon vanquished. Napoleon led more than half a million of men into Russia:

"Not such the numbers, nor the host so dread,

By northern Bren, or Scythian Timour led."

But the terrible winter left the army a mere wreck, and their leader was soon a prisoner on the lone rock of St. Helena. All along the line of history this verse has been verified. The strongest battalions melt like snowflakes when God is against them. C. H. S.

A mighty man; or a giant; Goliath for instance. As the most skilful swimmers are often drowned, so here. John Trapp.

Verses 16-17.

Not the chief his serried lances,

Not his strength secures the brave;

All in vain the warhorse prances,

Weak his force his lord to save. —Richard Mant.

Verses 16-17. The weakness and insufficiency of all human power, however great, as before of all human intellect. J. J. Stewart Perowne.

Verses 16-17. As a passenger in a storm, that for shelter against the weather, steps out of the way, betakes him to a fair spread oak, stands under the boughs, with his back close to the body of it, and finds good relief thereby for the space of some time; till at length comes a sudden gust of wind, that tears down a main arm of it, which falling upon the poor passenger, either maims or mischieves him that resorted to it for succour. Thus falleth it out with not a few, meeting in the world with many troubles, and with manifold vexations, they step aside out of their own way, and too, too often out of God's, to get under the wing of some great one, and gain, it may be, some aid and shelter thereby for a season; but after awhile, that great one himself coming down headlong, and falling from his former height of favour, or honour, they are also called in question and to fall together with him, that might otherwise have stood long enough on their own legs, if they had not trusted to such an arm of flesh, such a broken staff that deceived them. Thomas Gataker.

An horse. If the strength of horses be of God, or be his gift Job 39:19, then trust not in the strength of horses: use the strength of horses, but do not trust the strength of horses. If you trust the strength which God hath given to horses, you make them your god. How often doth God forbid trusting in the strength of horses, as knowing that we are apt to trust in anything that is strong, though but a beast. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. As if God had said, you think a horse can save you, but know he is a vain thing. And when the psalmist saith, "A horse is a vain thing, "he doth not mean it of a weak horse, but of a horse of the greatest strength imaginable; such a horse is a vain thing to save a man, neither can he deliver any by his strength; and therefore the Lord, when he promised great deliverances to his people, lest they should expect it by the strength of horses, saith Ho 1:7, "I will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen; "as if he had told them, do not look after creature strength to be saved by; a horse will be a vain thing to save you, and I can save you effectually without horses, and I will. Joseph Caryl.

Verses 17-20. Man is sensible of his want of earthly blessings, and will never cease, with excessive care, diligence, and vexation, to hunt after them, till he come to know that God will provide for him. When one hath great friends which they are known to lean upon, we say of them, such need take no care, they know such and such will see to them. On the contrary, come to one who knows no end of toiling and caring, ask him, Why will you thus tire yourself out? He will answer, I must needs do it, I have none but myself to trust to. So Christ followeth his disciples' carefulness to this door, their unbelief, which did not let them consider our heavenly Father cared for them. No present estate, though never so great, can free the heart from distraction, because it is subject to decay and vanishing; we shall never cast the burden of care off our own shoulders, till we learn by faith to cast it upon the Lord, whose eye is over us for good. He will never renounce carnal supports who make not God the stay of his soul for outward things. He will trust in the abundance of his riches, wisdom, friends, or strength, that makes not God his strength. The heart of man, being aware of his inability to sustain himself if he be not underset, will seek out some prop, true or false, sound or rotten, to lean unto. They will go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very strong, who look not to the Holy One of Israel, and seek not the Lord. John Ball.

Behold, etc. Hitherto he had given a proof of God's providence towards all men, but now he descends to a particular proof of it, by his care over his church, which he wonderfully guides, defends, and protects in all dangers and assaults; and that notice may be taken of it, he begins with, "Behold!" Adam Clarke.

The eye of the Lord is upon. Look upon the sun, how it casts light and heat upon the whole world in its general course, how it shineth upon the good and the bad with an equal influence; but let its beams be but concentrated in a burning glass, then it sets fire on the object only, and passeth by all others: and thus God in the creation looketh upon all his works with a general love, erant omnia valde bona, they pleased him very well. Oh! but when he is pleased to cast the beams of his love, and cause them to shine upon his elect through Christ, then it is that their hearts burn within them, then it is that their affections are inflamed; whereas others are but as it were a little warmed, have a little shine of common graces cast upon them. Richard Holdsworth, 1651.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. This is a very encouraging character. They who cannot claim the higher distinctions of religion, may surely know that they "fear God, and hope in his mercy." Some may wonder at the combination; and suppose that the qualities are incompatible with each other. But the first Christians "walked in the fear of the Lord, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost." They may think that the fear will injure the hope, or the hope the fear. But these are even mutually helpful; and they are, not only never so beautiful, but never so influential as when they are blended. The fear promotes hope by the evidence it affords; and by keeping us from loose and careless walking, which must always affect our peace and pleasure. And hope no less befriends this fear. For never is God seen so glorious, so worthy of all our devotedness to him as when we hope in his mercy; and even the more assured we are of his regard, the more we shall enquire, Lord, what wilt thou have ne to do? The more we shall tremble at the thought of offending and grieving him, the more we shall continue upon our knees praying, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength and my Redeemer." It is called "a lively hope:" and Christians know, by experience, that upon all their principles and duties it has the same influence as Spring has upon the fields and the gardens. William Jay.

Who hope in his mercy. When thou canst not get assurance, make as much improvement of the grounds upon which thou mayest build hopes of salvation. The probable grounds thou hast, thou wouldst not part with for all the world. If thy heart is not full of joy through sense of God's love, yet thine eyes are full of tears, and thy soul full of sorrow, through the sense of thy sin: wouldst thou change thy condition with any hypocrite whatsoever, with the richest man that hath no grace? I would not have thee rest satisfied with a probability, but yet bless God for a probability of salvation. Is it nothing that one that hath deserved hell most certainly, should have a probability that he should escape it? Would not this be a little ease to the torments of the damned, if they had but a strong probability that they should be saved? but no hope makes it heavy. When thou art sick, thou enquirest of the physician, Sir, what do you think of me? Shall I live, or shall I die? If he reply it is not certain, but there is good hopes, it is probable you will live and do well; this is some support unto thee in thy sickness. Thomas Doolittle, M.A. (1630-1707), in "Morning Exercises."

The weakest believer, the least of saints, hath ground to hope. The gospel is so ordered, the covenant so methodised, God hath made such ample provision, that every one may "have good hope through grace" 1Th 2:16; and all that bear this character are allowed, encouraged, nay, commanded to hope: their hoping is as mighty a pleasure to God, as it is a comfort to themselves. Samuel Doolittle's "Righteous Man's Hope in Death, "1693.

Verses 18-19. During the siege of Rochelle, which was endured with unexampled bravery for nearly fifteenth months, the inhabitants were reduced by famine to the misery of being obliged to have recourse to the flesh of horses, asses, mules, dogs, cats, rats, and mice; and a single peck of corn is said to have been sold for a sum equivalent to about twenty-five pounds sterling of our money in the present day. There were numerous examples of great and liberal generosity among the inhabitants. Some dispensed their charity so secretly that their names were never discovered. Among the rest, the following example is narrated: —"The Sieur de la Goute, an honorary king's advocate, had a sister, the widow of a merchant named Prosni, who, being a very religious and benevolent woman, at the time when the famine became more severe than it had been, freely assisted the poor with her present surplus. Her sister-in-law, the wife of her brother, De la Goute, being differently inclined, reproved her for her conduct, asking her in anger, `What she would do when all should be expended?' Her reply was, `My sister, the Lord will provide for me.' The siege was continued, and the famine increased its fearful ravages; and poor widow Prosni, who had four children, found herself in a great strait —all her store of provisions being exhausted. She applied to her sister for relief, who, in the stead of comforting, reproached her for her improvidence; tauntingly adding that, as she had done mighty well to be so reduced under all her great faith and fine words, that `the Lord will provide for her.'so in good time he might provide for her. Wounded to the heart by these words, poor widow Prosni returned to her house in sad distress; resolving nevertheless to meet death patiently. On reaching her home, her children met her with gladdened hearts and joyous faces, and told her that a man, to them an entire stranger, had knocked at the door, it being late; and, on its being opened, he threw in a sack of about two bushels of wheat; and then, without saying a word, suddenly departed. The widow Prosni, scarcely able to believe her own eyes, with an overflowing, grateful heart towards her gracious benefactor, immediately ran to her sister-in-law as quickly as her famished condition would allow; and upon seeing her, exclaimed aloud, `My sister, the Lord HATH provided for me; 'and, saying no more, returned home again. By means of this unexpected relief, conveyed to her so opportunely, she was enabled to support herself and family until the end of the siege, and she never knew to whom she was instrumentally indebted for this timely and merciful assistance." The Biblical Treasury, Vol. 4

Our soul waiteth for the Lord. There is an emphasis on the word soul which should be attended to; for although this is a common mode of speech among the Hebrews, yet it expresses earnest affection; as if believers should say, We sincerely rely upon God with our whole heart, accounting him our shield and help. John Calvin.

Our soul. Not our souls, but our soul, as if they all had only one. And what is the language of God by the prophet? "I will give them one heart and one way." And thus the two disciples going to Emmaus exclaimed, upon their discovery and surprise, "Did not our heart burn within us?" And thus in the beginning of the gospel it was said, "The multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul." We have seen several drops of water on the table, by being brought to touch, running into one. If Christians were better acquainted with each other, they would easily unite. William Jay.

He is our help. Antigonus, king of Syria, being ready to give battle near the Isle of Andreos, sent out a squadron to watch the motions of his enemies, and to descry their strength: return was made that they had more ships, and better manned than he was. "How?" says Antigonus, "that cannot be; quam multis meipsum opponis (for how many dost thou reckon me?)" intimating that the dignity of a general weighed down many others, especially when poised with valour and experience. And where is valour, where is experience to be found, if not in God? He is the Lord of hosts; with him alone is strength and power to deliver Israel our of all her troubles. He may do it, he can do it, he will do it; he is wise in heart and mighty in strength; besides him there is no Saviour, no deliverer; he is a shield to the righteous, strength to the weak, a refuge to the oppressed. He is instar omnium (all in all), and who is like unto him in all the world? John Spencer.

There is an excellent story of a young man, that was at sea in a mighty raging tempest; and when all the passengers were at their wits' end for fear, he only was merry; and when he was asked the reason of his mirth, he answered, "That the pilot of the ship was his father, and he knew his father would have a care of him." The great and wise God, who is our Father, hath from all eternity decreed what shall be the issue of all wars, what the event of all troubles; he is our pilot, he sits at the stern; and though the ship of the church or state be in a sinking condition, yet be of good comfort, our Pilot will have a care of us. There is nothing done in the lower house of Parliament on earth, but what is first decreed in the higher house in heaven. All the lesser wheels are ordered and overruled by the upper. Are not five sparrows, saith Christ, sold for a farthing? One sparrow is not worth half a farthing. And there's no man shall have half a farthing's worth of harm more than God hath decreed from all eternity. Edmund Calamy.

According as we hope in thee; not according to any merits of theirs, but according to the measure of grace, of the grace of hope which God had bestowed on them, and encouraged them to exercise on him, in expectation of finding grace and mercy with him. John Gill.

Whole Psalm. This Psalm is eucharistic: the contents are:

1. An exhortation to praise God Ps 33:1-3.

2. The arguments to enforce the duty Ps 33:4-19.

3. The confidence of God's people in his name, their happiness, and petition Ps 33:20-22. —Adam Clarke.

Rejoicing —the soul of praise; the Lord —a wellspring of joy. Character —indispensable to true enjoyment.

(last clause). Praise comely. What? Vocal, meditative, habitual praise. Why? It is comely as wings to an angel, we mount with it; as flowers to a tree, it is our fruit; as a robe to a priest, it is our office; as long hair to a woman, it is our beauty; as a crown to a king, it is our highest honour. When? Evermore, but chiefly amid blasphemy, persecution, sickness, poverty, death. Whom? Not from the ungodly, hypocritical, or thoughtless. To be without praise is to miss our comeliest adornment.

Instrumental music. Is it lawful? Is it expedient? If so, its uses, limits, and laws. A sermon to improve congregational music.

(first clause). The duty of maintaining the freshness of our devotions. Freshness, skill, and heartiness, to be combined in our congregational psalmody.

God's word and works, their rightness, and agreement, and our view of both.

(first clause). The word doctrinal, preceptive, historical, prophetic, promissory, and experimental, always right, i.e., free from error or evil.

(second clause). God's work of creation, providence, and grace, always in conformity with truth. His hatred of everything like a sham.

Verses 4-5. A fourfold argument for praise, from the truth, the faithfulness the justice, and goodness of God:

1. For the word of the Lord is right. 2. All his works are done in truth. 3. He loveth righteousness and judgment. 4. The earth is full of his goodness. —Adam Clarke.

Justice and goodness equally conspicuous in the divine action.

(last clause). A matchless theme for an observant eye and an eloquent tongue.

The power of the Word and the Spirit in the old and new creations.

God's control of destructive and reconstructive agencies.

The storehouses of the Great Husbandman.

Reasons for universal worship, obstacles to it, future prospects of it, our duty in relation to it.

(last clause). Awe —the soul of worship.

The irresistible word of Jehovah in creation, in calling his people, in their comfort and deliverance, in their entrance to glory.

Educated and philosophical heathen within the reach of missions.

Verses 10-11. The opposing counsels.

The eternity, immutability, efficiency, and wisdom of the divine decrees. God's purposes, "the thoughts of his heart, " hence their wisdom, and yet more their love.

Two elections made by a blessed people and a gracious God, and their happy result. The happiness of the church of God. God's delight in his people, and their delight in him.

Omniscience and its lessons.

Verses 13-15. The doctrine of providence.

God's acquaintance with men hearts, and his estimate of their actions. The similarity of human nature.

Verses 16-18. The fallacy of human trust, and the security of faith in God.

Hoping in the mercy of God —false and true forms distinguished.

1. The eyes of God's knowledge are upon them.

2. The eyes of his affection are upon them.

3. The eyes of his providence are upon them. —William Jay.

Life in famine, natural and spiritual, especially a famine of inward hope and legal satisfaction.

Waiting for the Lord, includes:

1. Conviction —a persuasion that the Lord is the supreme good.

2. Desire —it is expressed by hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

3. Hope.

4. Patience —God is never slack concerning his promise. —William Jay.

(first clause). The believer's hourly position.

Joy, the outflow of faith.

A prayer for believers only.

Measure for measure, or mercy proportioned to faith.