04.09. Chapter 9
Psalms 71:1-24 FOR DECLINING YEARS. The writer and the occasion of this Psalm are unknown. It is obviously an old man’s psalm (Psalms 71:9, Psalms 71:17-18). The divisions fall naturally into prayer (Psalms 71:1-13), and the expression of confident hope (Psalms 71:14-24). The three first verses are a reproduction with slight variations of Psalms 31:1-3. One key-note is Great and Greatly (Psalms 71:19-21, Psalms 71:23). Another is All the day (Psalms 71:8, Psalms 71:15, Psalms 71:24).
Psalms 71:2. Incline Thine ear unto me.-If you are too weak to cry aloud, God will stoop to you.
Psalms 71:3. My strong habitation.-How approachable is God at all times! There is a door at St. Peter’s which is opened only once in a century; but God’s door stands always open.
Psalms 71:5. Thou art my hope.-Not only is our hope in God, but God is our hope. Not created things; the Creator alone can satisfy us. "Christ is in us, the Hope of Glory."
Psalms 71:6. My praise shall be continually of Thee.- Let us praise God for his mercy in his ordinary works, and have eyes for his daily miracles.
Psalms 71:9. Cast me not off in the time of old age.-Compare Joshua 14:10-14. Our weakness is a prevalent and irresistible plea.
Psalms 71:14. I will hope continually.-The strain changes from prayer to hope.
Psalms 71:15. My mouth shall praise.-How soon has the answer come to his petition! (Psalms 71:8).
Psalms 71:16. In the strength of the Lord God.-The Septuagint translates "I will enter into the powers (mightinesses) of the Lord," as into a sure citadel. But there is great force and beauty in our version.
Psalms 71:17. Thou hast taught me.-Be content to let God teach you just one step or lesson at a time. And declare what you are taught.
Psalms 71:21. Turn again and comfort me (R.V.).
Psalms 71:22. Thou Holy One of Israel.-This name for God occurs only in two other Psalms (Psalms 78:41, and Psalms 89:18). My God cast the dumb devil out of us, and set us talking on this theme, which can never become threadbare!
Psalms 72:1-20 THE COMING KING.
Critics insist that for in the inscription should be of; and that therefore this glorious Messianic Psalm was composed by Solomon. A conclusion which is not contradicted by Psalms 72:20, which was evidently appended (with the Doxology) by those who divided the Psalter into books, the second of which closes with this glowing description of the Lord’s Anointed and his reign. Behold the kingdom of heaven which is already set up, and shall come yet more and more!
Psalms 72:1. Give the King thy judgments.-This reminds us of 1 Kings 3:9-28. In all judging and advising we need to catch sight of that which is in God’s mind, and to reproduce it. This is what the Holy Spirit did for our Lord, and will do for us (Isaiah 11:2-4). How instantly this petition was answered! (see the next verse).
Psalms 72:3. Peace to the people.-Peace as the result of righteousness (Isaiah 32:17; Hebrews 7:2). It was, and still is, common in the East to announce great events from the tops of the mountains (Isaiah 40:9).
Psalms 72:4-5. He shall judge the poor.-Compassion for the poor makes the throne endure. But how infinitely true this is of our Lord, to whom so many of these expressions must apply! (Revelation 5:9).
Psalms 72:6. Like rain upon the mown grass.-The mown grass is that which is shorn. On the shorn blades, suffering still from the scythe, that gentle rain descends which heals and revives: emblem of the blessed work of the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 72:7. Till the moon be no more (R.V.).
Psalms 72:8. The river-the Euphrates (Exodus 23:31; Deuteronomy 11:24).
Psalms 72:10. The kings of Seba shall offer gifts.-Tarshish, on the far West, by the Straits of Gibraltar; Sheba and Seba, nations in South Arabia famed for their wealth. "The most uncivilized-the most distant-the most opulent-shall pay homage to Christ."
Psalms 72:11. All kings . . . shall serve Him.-Kings of wealth, and thought, and music, and art, have already acknowledged Him, and shall (Revelation 19:16).
Psalms 72:12. The needy ... when he crieth.-Our needs are arguments and reasons with Christ.
Psalms 72:15. Prayer for Him ... continually.-"Men shall pray for Him continually: they shall bless Him all the day long" (R.V.). "We pray for Christ," says Augustine, "when we pray for the Church of Christ; because it is his body." We pray for Him when we say, "Thy kingdom come!" Though Christ is King of the poor, He shall have abundance of gold.
Psalms 72:16. An handful of corn in the earth.-Though there be but a handful, yet such shall be the marvellous increase that the slopes of the mountains shall wave with corn as Lebanon with cedars. As there is abundant produce in the country, there shall be vast populations in the city, numerous as blades of grass.
Psalms 72:17. His name shall have issue (R.V., marg.).-It shall reproduce itself. The Gospel of the name of Jesus begets children in every nation enlightened by the sun. Well for us if we claim those blessings which are in Him for us (Ephesians 1:3).
Psalms 72:18-20. Blessed be the Lord God!-This doxology reminds us of Psalms 41:13, where the first book is closed. It is a sublime aspiration, in which we, who see the beginnings of this beneficent reign, may well unite.
Psalms 73:1-28 "SET IN SLIPPERY PLACES" This and the ten following psalms are ascribed to the family of Asaph, the eminent singer (1 Chronicles 16:7; 2 Chronicles 29:30). The author describes his conflict with a strong temptation to envy the wicked. Psalms 37:1-40, as well as Psalms 73:1-28, discusses this problem, which was the great stumbling-block of the saints of old.
We may divide the Psalm thus: How he came into the temptation (Psalms 73:1-14); how he got out of it (Psalms 73:15-20); how he profited by it (Psalms 73:21-28) .
Psalms 73:1. Truly God is good!-This is the great principle on which he stands, as on a slab of granite. "Only good is God" {R.V., marg.). Whatever appearances there may be to the contrary, there is no doubt as to His perfect beneficence. The Israel is not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (John 1:47; 1 Corinthians 10:18). If you are washed in the blood of Christ, believe that every wind which blows on your life comes from the quarter of God’s love.
Psalms 73:2. My feet were almost gone.-Almost, but not altogether.
Psalms 73:4. No bands in their death.- This might be rendered, "no pangs up to their death" (R.V., marg.), or it may mean, that their death is easier than that of the godly. Their life flows on in a softly flowing current. "Men may die like lambs; and yet have their place hereafter with the goats."
Psalms 73:6-9. They are corrupt.-What a picture! Their haughty bearing; their eyes and their speech; the imaginations of their evil heart overflowing (Psalms 73:7, R.V.). They blaspheme God in heaven, and wander through the earth in search of garbage.
Psalms 73:10-11. How doth God know?-Some think that these verses indicate that the perplexity of the saints, coupled with the baleful influence of the wicked make the Lord’s people apostatize; others, that we here told of the anguish caused them by the tyranny of the proud oppressor.
Psalms 73:13-14. Chastened every morning.-These verses might be paraphrased thus: "Surely godliness does not profit. I have lived up to all I knew to be right, keeping my conscience void of offence; and yet plagues and chastisement have been my daily lot. Is there a God, or is He other than good, that He so deals with his most faithful servants?" "Plagued" (contrast Psalms 73:5).
Psalms 73:15-16. Too painful for me.-It seems treacherous to breathe such thoughts about God; and yet it is an infinite pain to doubt God’s perfect integrity. Ah, the agony of a suspicion that God should not be perfectly wise and good!
Psalms 73:17-19. Until I went into the sanctuary.-Let us view things from God’s standpoint, and take in the whole course of his providence, weighing the future retribution of the wicked against their present estate (James 5:11).
Psalms 73:20. As a dream.-"The awaking of God is a metaphor for his ending a period of probation or indulgence by an act of judgment": and here it would seem that death, which separates a man from his prosperity, is specially referred to.
Psalms 73:21-22. So foolish was I.-When a man is nearest God, he is most full of self-loathing. God forgives him; but he cannot forgive himself.
Psalms 73:23-28. God is ... my portion forever.-In spite of all the follies and sins of the past and present we may have God’s constant presence; and in Him we can have all and more than all that the Godless find in their wealth. God in heaven; God in the pathway of daily life; God in the heart-this is blessedness.
Psalms 74:1-23 "WHY HAST THOU CAST US OFF?" This Psalm was composed when the Chaldeans destroyed the temple and city (compare Psalms 74:8 with Jeremiah 52:13-17). The Psalmist describes his people’s miseries (Psalms 74:1-11); recounts the reasons why they should still trust in God (Psalms 74:12-17); and concludes with urgent petitions for help (Psalms 74:18-23).
Psalms 74:3. Lift up thy feet, i.e., come not slowly, but quickly, to restore ruins which otherwise must be perpetual.
Psalms 74:4. Thine enemies roar.-The shout of the foe breaks in on the holy calm of congregations gathered for solemn worship; and heathen standards wave over the buildings consecrated to God.
Psalms 74:5. They seemed as men that lifted up axes upon a thicket of trees (R.V.).
Psalms 74:8. They have burned the synagogues.-As early as Samuel’s time there were meetings on fixed days for worship (1 Samuel 9:12; 1 Samuel 10:5). And these were probably maintained by the prophets (2 Kings 4:23), and anticipated the synagogues of later times.
Psalms 74:13-14. Dragons in the waters-Leviathan.-These monsters stand here for the Egyptian hosts.
Psalms 74:15. The fountain and the flood.-The Chaldaic adds to the Jordan, the Arnon, and the Jabbok (Numbers 21:13-15).
Psalms 74:16-17. The day is thine, the night also.-Our God is the God of nature. What can He not do? The night may be overshadowing your life; but it is as much his as the day: and there are treasures in darkness (Isaiah 45:3).
Psalms 74:18. Arise, 0 God!-It is blessed to feel that God’s glory and our deliverance are indentical (Psalms 74:22).
Psalms 74:19. Thy turtle dove.-What a striking similitude for the Church in its simplicity, weakness, and defencelessness!
Psalms 74:20. Have respect unto the covenant.-There is no stronger plea with God than this: for the "covenant" is ordered in all things and sure (2 Samuel 23:5). This Psalm may be recited by the saints in all times of the Church’s depression.
Psalms 75:1-10 "HE PUTTETH DOWN AND LIFTETH UP."
It is fitting that the wail of the previous Psalm should break forth into glad thanksgivings of this. This title resembles that of Psalms 57:1-11, Destroy not: and probably this triumphal ode was prepared to celebrate a deliverance of which faith was sure. Reference is probably made to Sennacherib’s invasion in the time of Hezekiah (Psalms 46:1-11; Psalms 76:1-12.). The north is therefore omitted, as one of the quarters from which help would come (Psalms 75:6); it was thence that the invader came.
Psalms 75:1. Thy name is near.-The believing soul gives thanks before the blessing of deliverance has come to hand. Its ear is quick to detect the pibroch of the relieving force, though the cannonade of the foe is fiercer than ever.
Psalms 75:2. I will judge uprightly.-This is the reply of Jehovah, while his people are yet speaking (Isaiah 65:24). "When I shall find the set time" (R.V.) i.e., when the set time has come.
Psalms 75:3. I bear up the pillars of the earth.-What a comfort it is to feel that amid the chaos and anarchy which sweep the surface, God is holding fast the solid foundations, on which we may build without fear!
Psalms 75:4-5. Lift not up the horn.-The Psalmist here becomes the speaker. The horn is the strength of certain beasts, and is the symbol of power (Deuteronomy 33:17; 1 Samuel 2:1-10); and often of the power of the ungodly (Daniel 7:7). The word occurs four times in this Psalm; and it appears in some other Psalms.
Psalms 75:6. Neither from east, west, nor south.-Promotion stands for deliverance-the lifting up of God’s help.
Psalms 75:7-8. A cup . . . the dregs thereof shall the wicked drink.-God’s judgments stupefy by their suddenness and terror (Revelation 16:18-21).
Psalms 75:10. The righteous shall be exalted.-The prophets are sometimes said to do things in which God is evidently the Agent (Jeremiah 1:10). This is emphatically the Psalm of the second Advent.
Psalms 76:1-12 "THOU ART TO BE FEARED."
If the former Psalm anticipated Sennacherib’s overthrow, this was written after it (Psalms 76:3, and Isaiah 37:1-38).
Psalms 76:2. In Salem is his tabernacle.-Salem was the ancient name of Jerusalem, and signifies Peace. God can only dwell where there is peace (Acts 2:1). The dwelling-place of God is among his people.
Psalms 76:3. The shield, the sword, and the battle.-God snaps the proudest instruments of war.
Psalms 76:4. More glorious than mountains.-The world-kingdoms are compared to mountains covered with spoils; but the city of God is fairer than the best.
Psalms 76:5-6. Cast into a deep sleep.-God did but speak a word, and the warriors of the king of Assyria slept their last sleep. The poet depicts the scene in the camp on the morning after the dread catastrophe: The eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and forever were still.
Psalms 76:9. God arose to judgment.-God sometimes seems to sit and allow matters to take their course: but He is waiting for the set moment to interpose; and when He arise, as He ever will, on the behalf of his people, the earth is still, as nature before a thunderstorm.
Psalms 76:10. The wrath of man shall praise Thee.-What is meant in malice is changed to blessing. And there is a limit beyond which the rage of the enemies of the righteous cannot pass (Job 1:12; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Psalms 76:11. Vow and pay (2 Chronicles 32:22-23).-See Note on Psalms 56:12.
Psalms 76:12. He shall cut off ... princes.-"Cut off" as a vinedresser would cut off shoots. The spirit, i.e., the life of princes (Revelation 6:15; Revelation 14:18-19). How terrible must be the wrath of the Lamb, to those who have defied and resisted his love!
Psalms 77:1-20 "THE WATERS SAW THEE" This Psalm is still ascribed to Asaph, but it is after the manner of Jeduthun (inscription, R.V.). There are resemblances to it in Habakkuk 3:8-15, so it was probably composed before the end of Josiah’s reign, in which Habakkuk lived. The carrying away of the ten tribes and the imminent captivity of Judah may have furnished the occasion of this sad lament.
We may divide at the Selahs.
Psalms 77:1-3. I cried with my voice EXPRESSES THE PSALMIST’S ANGUISH.-How often do we need the day of trouble to make us seek the Lord! The passage, "my sore," etc., is better rendered, "my hand was stretched out" (R.V.). This refusing to be comforted recalls Genesis 37:35 and Jeremiah 31:15. What excessive grief is here!
Psalms 77:4-9. I am so troubled that I cannot speak.-A CONTRAST BETWEEN PAST AND PRESENT.-In this scarcity of comfort, Trapp says that the Psalmist was glad to live upon his old stores, as bees in winter. Particularly he remembered his song in the night (Job 35:10), which is equivalent to that "glory in tribulation" of which the New Testament is full (Romans 5:3; 2 Corinthians 7:4). It is wholesome to compare the present with the past, so that we may repent if we are conscious of any backsliding; and that we may be led again to the feet of Christ.
After long days of gloom and anguish have darkened the soul, it begins to fear lest it may never emerge from the darksome forest into the open. Melancholy and depression are apt at putting questions; but faith has ever an answer ready.
"Will the Lord cast off?" No! (Romans 11:1.) "Will He be favorable no more?" His compassions fail not! (Lamentations 3:22.) "Is his mercy clean gone forever?" No! (Psalms 103:17) "Does his promise fail?" No! (Hebrews 6:18.) "Has God forgotten to be gracious?" No! (Exodus 34:6.) "Has He in anger shut up his mercies?" No! (Psalms 103:17.)
Psalms 77:10-15. I will remember.-FAITH RESTORED BY MEMORY.-The years of God’s past love are not likely to be all in vain. Has He loved from eternity, and will He forsake or forget in time? God’s way is in the sanctuary, i.e., it is holy (Psalms 77:13); but it is also in the sea, i.e., it is full of mystery (Psalms 77:19) "Some providences, like Hebrew words, must be read backwards."
Psalms 77:16-19. A POETICAL ACCOUNT OF THE PASSAGE OF THE RED SEA. -The thunderstorm here described is almost implied in Exodus 14:24. God does as He will: but no difficulties are obstacles to Him; and, what He has done, He can do. He still speaks to the waves (Mark 4:39).
Psalms 77:20. By the hand of Moses and Aaron.-"Great was the power of these two men; but neither was the shepherd of the sheep: each was a servant of the Great and Good Shepherd, who made use of their hands."
Psalms 78:1-72 GOD’S DEALINGS WITH ISRAEL. This Psalm specially refers to the children of Ephraim, as representing the northern kingdom of Israel (Psalms 78:9, Psalms 78:67); and is intended to show the cause of their rejection, and to warn them against incurring further judgments. It may date from 2 Chronicles 13:1-22. Is not Asaph a type of our Lord, who is ever thus pleading with his Church?
Divide thus: A call for attention (Psalms 78:1-8); the story of Israel’s many rebellious and providential deliverances in the wilderness (Psalms 78:9-39); the narrative is continued to their settlement in the land of Canaan (Psalms 78:40-55); the reason for and the fact of the transference of leadership from Ephraim to Judah (Psalms 78:56-72).
Psalms 78:9. Ephraim . . . turned back.-During the time of Ephraim’s headship, the nation failed at the gates of Canaan to go forward to take the land: hence the transference of leadership.
Psalms 78:12. In the land of Egypt.-Zoan, or Tanis, was a very ancient city on the Nile, the capital of a district (Psalms 78:43).
Psalms 78:20. Can He give bread also?-What faithless hearts are ours! God has filled heaven and earth with proofs of his love, and yet we distrust Him. "Oh, slow of heart!" (Mark 8:18.) Psalms 78:21-22. Because they believed not.-Nothing so grieves and angers God as unbelief.
Psalms 78:32-42. How oft did they provoke Him!-An epitome of the forty years’ wanderings.
Psalms 78:43-51. He wrought his signs in Egypt.-Several additional descriptive touches are here given to the account of the plagues.
Psalms 78:49. Evil angels.-Not evil spirits, but agents of suffering and pain.
Psalms 78:50. He made a path for his anger (R.V.), i.e., He did not restrain it.
Psalms 78:59-61. He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh (see 1 Samuel 4:11).
Psalms 78:66. He smote his adversaries backward (R.V.).
Psalms 78:72. So He fed them ... and guided them. Sincerity of purpose and tact in handling men are essential to a true ruler and guide.
Psalms 79:11-13 "WHERE IS THEIR GOD?" This Psalm, like Psalms 74:1-23., evidently dates from the Chaldean invasion. In Psalms 74:1-13. the destruction of the Temple was the prominent thought; here-its defilement is deplored. There are three stanzas; narrative (Psalms 79:1-4); prayer, especially because God’s name and glory are at stake (Psalms 79:5-12); promises of perpetual praise (Psalms 79:13).
Psalms 79:1. The heathen are come into Thine inheritance.-In other passages God Himself is described as the chief agent. Here we find specified the tools employed by Him (Ezekiel 5:11; Ezekiel 23:38).
Psalms 79:2-3. Blood . . . shed like water.-Fulfilled 2 Chronicles 36:17; Zechariah 14:1-21; see also Revelation 11:7. The words of these two verses are said to have been constantly on the lips of our countrymen in the days of the Indian Mutiny.
Psalms 79:5. Jealousy ... like fire.-Jealousy is the reverse side of love. Jehovah was a husband to his people; hence his severity (Amos 3:2). We should be very particular as to our walk, lest we cause bitter heart-pain to the Lover of souls (1 Corinthians 10:22).
Psalms 79:6. Pour out Thy wrath.-Pour out is the same word as is translated shed in ver 3. This verse is quoted by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:25).
Psalms 79:8. The iniquities of our forefathers (R.V. (Deuteronomy 5:9).-Let us ask God to remember, in his dealings with us, not the sins of our past, but the covenant which He made with our fathers.
Psalms 79:9. Help us, 0 God, for the glory of thy name.- We have an irresistible argument when we plead for God’s glory (John 14:13).
Psalms 79:10. Let the revenging of the blood of thy servants be known (R.V.)-Joel quotes the former clause (Joel 2:17).
Psalms 79:11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come before Thee!-The answer is anticipated in Psalms 102:19-20.
Psalms 79:13. We will give Thee thanks forever.-In pastures of never-failing bliss, we shall give Him perpetual praise (Revelation 7:17).
Psalms 80:1-19 "A VINE OUT OF EGYPT."
Under the figure of a vine injured by a wild beast (Psalms 80:8-13) the Psalmist laments the degradation of the ten tribes. The house of Joseph always represents Israel, as distinct from Judah (Obadiah 1:18; Amos 6:6). The mention of Benjamin (Psalms 80:2) does not militate against this view; for though the southern part of the tribe clung to the fortunes of Judah, it is probable that the bulk of the northern portion followed those of the ten tribes to whom they were bound by many ties (Genesis 43:29). These three tribes marched together (Numbers 10:22-24). The title of the Psalm reminds us of Psalms 45:1-17 and Psalms 69:1-36. "Lilies" are an emblem of what is lovely, and here of the lovely salvation of God. The division is clearly marked by the recurrence of the refrain (Turn), Psalms 80:3, Psalms 80:7, Psalms 80:14 (R.V.), and Psalms 80:19. The name of God being on an ascending scale: God (Psalms 80:3); God of Hosts (Psalms 80:7, Psalms 80:14); Jehovah, God of Hosts (Psalms 80:19).
Psalms 80:1. Shepherd of Israel.-In Jacob’s blessing of Joseph, this title is specially given to God (Genesis 49:24,). To sit enthroned upon the cherubim (see R.V.) is an emblem of omnipotence, for they represent all creatures. Thus the gentleness of a shepherd and the almighty power of God blend in this verse.
Psalms 80:2. Before Ephraim, and Benjamin, and Manasseh, i.e., at their head, as the pillar of cloud and fire led the wilderness march.
Psalms 80:3. Turn us again.-What a prayer for a backslider! (Jeremiah 31:18). When God restores us He puts us back into the very place which we occupied before we fell.
Psalms 80:4. How long wilt Thou be angry? (smoke, R.V.)-Not the fire of God consuming the sacrifice of God, but burning against the backslider (Psalms 74:1).
Psalms 80:5. Bread of tears.-Bread composed of tears (Psalms 42:3).
Psalms 80:8. A vine out of Egypt.-Another reference to Jacob’s prediction, "A fruitful bough" (Genesis 49:22). The point of the Psalmist’s reference to the past consists in this-that God cannot desert, or destroy, any work which He has once begun.
Psalms 80:10-11. The hills-those of the southern boundary of Canaan; the cedars represent Lebanon and the extreme north; the sea is the Mediterranean; the river, the Euphrates.
Psalms 80:12. All they ... do pluck her.-Pul; Tiglath-pileser; Sargon and others (2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chronicles 5:26; 2 Kings 18:11).
Psalms 80:15. The branch (lit. "the son," as Psalms 80:17) is another term for the spiritual vine; and in the allusion to the right hand (Psalms 80:15, Psalms 80:17), there is surely a reference to the name which Jacob gave to Benjamin, "Son of my right hand" (Genesis 35:18). The name was given by the father under Divine inspiration, and was a pledge of Divine love, not only to him, but to the whole nation whom he represented.
Psalms 80:17. The Son of Man.-Surely our Lord alone perfectly fulfils this description. He is that Son of Man, whom God has made strong for Himself. And God’s hand is pledged to maintain Him until the ravages of Satan are made good, and the vine of his church covers the land.
Psalms 80:18. So will we not go back.-We are redeemed, that we should not go back to our old sins, but show forth the praise of our Deliverer.