The First Book

It is generally known that the Psalms are divided into five books, the first of which ends with Psa. 41, the second with Psa. 72, the third with Psa. 89, the fourth with Psa. 106, and the fifth with Psa. 150 I doubt not that each of these books is distinguished by an especial subject, or rather by an especial position of the remnant of Israel, or by its relation to others. But I prefer giving what I believe to be the special subject of each book, when we shall have the proofs before us in the examination of the books themselves. Other series of Psalms are comprised in these five books. We will point them out as we meet with them.
At the very opening of the book we find one of these series. We shall understand it better when we have examined the two first Psalms.
The first Psalm shows us the condition of the righteous man under the government of the Lord, considering it according to the normal effect of this government when exercised in power to accomplish the purpose of God in righteousness. The existence of the wicked is assumed. The righteous man is described in his legal perfection, separating himself from the wicked and the scornful, and meditating in the law of the Lord. Constant blessing attends this man, in contrast with the wicked, who are like the chaff Which the wind driveth away, who shall not stand in the judgment, nor in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish. We see at once here, in the first place, that we are on the ground of Israel and of God's government, under the law; and in the second place, that the righteous are distinguished from the wicked, for the Spirit does not speak of blessing for the whole people as such, but the portion of him who is righteous before God, in Israel. That is to say, He distinguishes the remnant. Even when this shall be verified at the end, in the judgment, and when, as the principle of life, the character of the blessed man shall be found again in the last days in the remnant, still there is none but Christ who perfectly answers to this character. He was the righteous man in Israel amidst the wicked: The first Psalm then describes the righteous and upright man in Israel, and that which shall be his portion from God in consequence. It is the judgment of that which is within, distinguishing the wicked from the just.
The second Psalm reveals to us the counsels and purpose of God with respect to His anointed; He whom He has chosen in spite of the nations who oppose Him. We find the heathen and the people setting themselves against the Lord and against His anointed. God, however, is not in Zion. " He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall have them in derision." He will manifest His wrath and fill them with terror. Afterward, He sets His king upon His holy hill of Zion. Christ must be made king in Zion. But the glory of His person must be known, and the extent of His dominion. He is the Son of God. This is not said here with respect to His eternal relationship to the Father, according to which His glory is fully revealed in the New Testament; but as begotten in time, as man on the earth, "born there," and owned as Son there: fully proved to be so by His resurrection. To this title is added the possession of all the heathen for an inheritance. He is not only king in Zion, but when He shall ask it of the Lord, the heathen shall be given to Him for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for a possession, and He shall break them with a rod of iron.
The Son has not yet asked for this dominion over the heathen. He is now interceding for the Church (made the righteousness of God in Him), at the right hand of God, the Son of the Father, bringing His people into the enjoyment, by the Spirit, of His own position before God.
It is to Christ, proclaimed in this character of the Son begotten here below, anointed king in Zion, that the kings of the earth are summoned to submit, lest He be angry, They are called to serve the Lord, and to kiss the Son, submitting to His reign, as decreed of God. But, as we have seen, they rebel and take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed. The wrath of the Son will be their portion.
Thus the first psalm has given us the result, according to the government of God, of man's righteousness; and the second, the result of God's counsels. But alas! with respect to Jesus, for a time, and the remnant in the latter days, all is very different. Affliction and rejection are their portion. And this is brought before us in the succeeding Psalms, which are the expression of faith in the hearts of the afflicted. From the 3rd Psalm to the end of the seventh this affliction is expressed. In the 8th, we have the grand result-Christ presented in another character, namely, that of his universal dominion as Son of Man. These eight Psalms form one of those series to which we have alluded.
A few remarks on the Psa. 3 to 7 will suffice. It is the spirit of Christ who speaks in the righteous one, and that principally in his own person, but also in the remnant, and always in connection with the remnant. One can understand that it will be extremely sweet to this believing remnant in their state of imperfection, to find the need of their hearts expressed in perfection, and that He who is perfect should have placed himself in their circumstances, being afflicted in all their affliction; and having, in these afflictions, accomplished all that was necessary for their deliverance. The consciousness of this identification of Christ with the affliction of the remnant, and, as the victim, with their sin, is of the deepest import. Its whole effect will not be produced in the remnant until they shall see Christ; but His spirit in this remnant will make use of His identification with them, and that even in His death, as a wonderful testimony of sympathy and participation in their sorrows, and at the same time as a proof that the Lord thinks of the afflicted to deliver them. Thus in Psa. 3, we find that those who trouble the righteous are increased, they even say, that there is no help for him in God. But his entire confidence is in Jehovah: salvation is from Him, and His blessing is upon His people. We feel the contrast between this and the first and second Psalms, how far it is in principle true of Christ, and how far, according to numerous prophecies, it applies to the Jews in the latter days. The fourth Psalm applies still more directly to Christ, the Godly one whom the Lord had set apart for Himself; but it is to Christ as the Jewish man, chosen on earth, the Elect of God as he is called by the Holy Ghost. He enforces a faithful walk upon the Jews and amidst distress and discouragement, waits for the lifting up of the light of Jehovah's countenance upon them-their only hope. The fifth Psalm gives us an appeal to Jehovah with respect to ungodly enemies. The conscience and the heart of the righteous one are sensible that these cannot stand in Jehovah's sight, and He invokes blessing on all those who put their trust in Him. The godly man's knowledge of Jehovah's character, inspires him with full confidence, and with the language of his supplication, which closes with the expression of the certainty of blessing. The character of the wicked confirms the righteous in his confidence, for faith brings God into the scene and judges everything according to the effect of His presence.
Nevertheless, the remnant had truly deserved chastisement, and must necessarily see much more in their affliction than the oppression of the wicked. They saw the hand of God in it, but it was a God whom they knew. This is the sixth Psalm. Vexed, feeble, and overwhelmed, the remnant appeal to mercy, saying, "How long?" resting on what Jehovah was. For what profit would their death be? Could they give
Him thanks in the grave? We know well that the spirit of Christ went beyond this. But here He puts
Himself in connection with the remnant of Israel, and, as we have said, furnishes them with the perfect expression of His mind in their condition. For, Israel on earth, death put an end to all possibility of glorifying God. Christ, in sympathy, took His place there with the remnant.
The seventh Psalm goes farther. It pleads for the execution of judgment, and that God will awake, on behalf of the righteous, to the judgment that He has commanded; so that the congregation of the righteous shall compass Him about, because He takes cognizance of the integrity of the righteous and delivers them.
There are two principles which connect Christ and the remnant in the latter days. First, as to the nature
and principles of their life, the righteous have morally the sentiments of the Spirit of Christ, as He was upon earth among the Jews. In the Psalms, God grants to this remnant the expression of the claims of Christ in this position upon Himself, for He allows them the same claims, although they have not clear intelligence respecting this. It is a need and a desire, which the life that is in them legitimates to his heart, but the satisfaction of which appears impossible in their circumstances. Nevertheless, the knowledge of what the Lord is, and trust in Him, that is to say, faith, reckons upon it in spite of everything. These exercises give rise to a deeper discovery of sin. But the principles of God's government in Israel form a solid basis for the hopes of the remnant, for they are conscious of integrity before God. Perhaps the heart of my reader will say, "But the repentant Jew of those days, this remnant of whom you speak, would be presumptuous in assuming such a position, whatever their desires might be; and the effect of an awakened conscience ought to make them feel that they cannot be in it." I do not deny this, but there are two principles to be remembered. First, they cast themselves (according to principles divinely binding upon them) on the government of God, which recognizes the upright man. But there is another answer, which sets the difficulty entirely aside. The remnant does not assume to itself the position of Christ. It is grace, which, in these Psalms, supplies them with the divine expression of His feelings, or rather, with the manner in which Christ places Himself in their position, and attributes to them all the value of what He Himself was in that position. This is the most beautiful point in the character of these Psalms.
How often when we ourselves have been in a state of weakness, which, through discouragement, would have led us away from God, how often have we been sustained by these expressions in the word of perfect faith, which meeting the need of our inward life (a life weakened by the flesh) communicates this faith to us by bringing us into the position it represents. In short, this is the second principle of which I spoke above. Christ enters in, spirit into the weakness and anguish of the remnant, who are overwhelmed with distress. Our first principle was, that He brought the remnant into His own position before God as the faithful Israelite. Here, on the contrary, He associates Himself with the afflictions and ° sorrows of the remnant.
But if the righteous man has not prospered in the earth, if the Messiah has not been set up as King in
Zion, if He has been associated with the sufferings of the remnant of the people, it was in order to bring Him into a much more glorious position. This is set forth in the eighth Psalm. It is still the remnant-but now become the nation- who proclaim this glorious result. The name of their Lord, that is, of Jehovah, is become excellent in all the earth, and He has set His glory above the heavens. Here below, He has made use of the weakness which man despises, to magnify His glory. But His counsels with respect to the Son of Man, have caused all the wonders of His creation to grow pale before the glory of their accomplishment. When beholding the marvels of Creation, we may ask, "What is man?" But if we look at him in Christ, we see him exalted above all things, and having dominion over all the works of God's hand.
The glory of the Son of Man is that which explains and puts an end to the dishonor poured upon the
righteous man and the Messiah. By His means, Jehovah, the Lord of the Jews, becomes great in all the earth.
The quotation of this Psalm in Heb. 2, Eph. 1, 1 Cor. 15, manifests the force and import of its language, bringing in the Church also, not to the position of those who say "our Lord," but as united to Him who shall have all things in subjection under His feet. But the Psalm itself places Jehovah, the Lord of the Jews, in a glory which extends over the whole earth, and shows us the Son of Man crowned with glory and honor, having dominion over all that Jehovah has created. All this is an introduction, and gives us an idea of the Messiah's position and glory in the two following Psalms we are introduced with much more detail into the circumstances of the latter days.
In Psa. 9, we find in prophetic anticipation, the celebration of the judgment, by which God has put an end to the power of the wicked, and rebuked the heathen, who are caught in their own net. Jehovah will now judge the world in righteousness. He dwells in Zion. The needy shall not always be forgotten. He vindicates the claims of the righteous, and maintains their cause. He remembers the humble, and forgets not their cry. He is known by the judgment which He executes.
The tenth Psalm describes the character of the wicked, and the condition in which the meek find themselves during the dominion of the wicked. But the Lord has seen, and He has heard the cry of the humble. The Lord is King, and the heathen perish out of his land. This Psalm is remarkable, because it classes all the wicked together. The Jew who bears this character is not distinguished from the heathen. They are linked together. But it appears to me that the wicked Jews are especially pointed out here, and although at the beginning of the Psalm the word is used as characterizing a class, the verb being in the plural, yet it can scarcely be doubted that the Psalm contemplates some individual, who especially gathers up in his own person all the features of the wicked. Nevertheless, this Psalm describes the character of the wicked in general, and presents the cry of the humble remnant, and the certain judgment of God. These two Psalms describe in a very lively manner the state of the remnant during the latter-day troubles. The ninth gives rather the confidence of faith, and respects the outward oppression and the opposition of the heathen to the rights of the Jew, especially of the Messiah. The tenth, the inward oppression, and the character of the wicked. In the ninth Jehovah is King in Zion-He has prepared His throne for judgment. In the tenth He is King forever and ever. The heathen, it is said (to give the historical connection of events) are perished out of the land of Israel. Christ is seen here as elsewhere, speaking by His Spirit in the remnant of those days. See 9:1-4.
After these general observations, the Psalms from 11 to 15, will not require any detailed remarks. The varied sentiments of the faithful, during the time of Israel's distress in the latter days, will be found in them. Sometimes it is the expression of trust in Jehovah-sometimes it is the sense of the depths in which they will then find themselves, but in which the compassions of the Lord are drawn out by the condition of the righteous in distress. Sometimes it is the heart complaining of the prolonged affliction. Finally, it is a picture of the folly of the atheist's heart-of that of the wicked; and then the character of him who shall peacefully ascend the hill of the Lord; a joy of which faith assures itself in spite of all difficulties. When Psa. 53 comes under consideration, I shall make some remarks on the difference between the latter and the fourteenth Psalm.
The sixteenth and seventeenth Psalms require a little more explanation, as well as the eighteenth. They are of the highest interest, and deserve especial attention. They set before us with much detail the position of Christ, as connecting Himself with the interests of the people, and placing Himself by sympathy in their circumstances (those of the saints in Israel) while having personally a peculiar position, in that He assumed it voluntarily. The sixteenth marks out very clearly the position itself. Its first words are among those which the Apostle uses in the Epistle to the Heb. 2:13, to show that Christ has taken part with those who are sanctified, not being ashamed to call them brethren; having consequently become man, taking flesh and blood, because the children whom God had given Him partook of it. That is to say, He made Himself really man, but it was in order to identify Himself with the interests, and to secure the blessing of the saints, of the remnant, of the children whom God was bringing to glory, and who are distinguished from the mass of Israel, to whom they were to be a sign. Compare Isa. 8:18, where the condition of this remnant and the expectation of better days, are considered more at length, leaving aside the Church, which the remnant became, in fact, in the interval. Other parts of the Word bear testimony to this latter truth. But the passage I have just quoted from Isaiah will help us much in understanding the manner in which the Spirit of God passes from Christ's personal connection with the saints in Israel, to the position and portion of these saints in the last days. In this passage, Christ in Spirit contemplates only His connection with the remnant of Israel, and so far with the nation, and thus passes over the whole history of the Church, to find Himself again in the same connection with the nation in the last days. If we do not thus abstract the Church, it is impossible to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. Read from Isa. 8:16, 17, to the 7th verse of chap. 9 where this prophecy closes. The Church has her heavenly portion, but Christ can consider His relations with His earthly people separately.
We will return to our Psalm. Christ, as man, takes the place of dependence on God. He trusts in God, and says that Jehovah is His Lord. This is His self-renunciation and His perfection as man. He takes the place of a servant which should be that of man, and especially of Israel. He declares that in this position He does not put Himself on a level with God, His goodness does not extend to Him; and He makes known to the saints that are in the earth, the " excellent," that all His delight is in them. He publicly demonstrated this at John's baptism (comp. also Matt. 19:16,17). The 4th verse shows us that this is in connection with Israel, who--as we learn from the Lord's prophecy (Matt. 12:43-45, and Isa. 65), will fall into idolatry in the latter days. Jehovah alone is acknowledged by the prophetic Spirit of Christ. Afterward, in all the latter verses, He rejoices in the portion which the Lord has given Him with the excellent of the earth, a portion which He will enjoy in the days to come; the certainty of this hope being connected with His resurrection, which is a necessary condition to its fulfillment, and which the favor of the Lord secures to His Anointed, in all the virtue of that power which will not suffer this Holy One to see corruption.
In Psa. 17 He takes the path of faithfulness which the position we have spoken of implies, and declares how He maintains Himself in this faithfulness in the presence of mighty enemies, who had this world for their treasure and their end, and who prospered in it according to their desire, God giving them their portion in it. As for Him, who, in His humiliation, is the Lord's faithful servant, His object and His motive, the hope that gives Him peace under all circumstances, that which governs His heart in this world, is that He shall behold Jehovah's face in righteousness. He shall be satisfied when He awakes up in His likeness. Two things strike us here. In the first place, resurrection is strongly marked as necessary to the heart of the righteous man, circumstanced as He is; and morally so, because of the measure and character of perfection, which as a man of God his mind has conceived and laid hold of (comp. Phil. 3) And in the second place, although the Psalm completely changes the moral order with respect to Israel, for whom, as an earthly people, earthly blessing was a token of God's favor. This change is strikingly noted in the Gospels. It is specially the meaning of Luke 16 and of that which is said of the poor (compare Zech. 11) Moreover, the faithful had experienced it at all times. The first of these two points was evidently verified in Christ Himself. But it will be of use as a precious encouragement to the remnant subjected to the first persecution of the last days, while testimony still continues, for this is the case supposed here., Psa. 16, then, places Christ in connection with the excellent of the earth. Psa. 17 places Him with them in the presence of wicked men on the earth. The righteous man keeps himself by the words of the Lord. That Christ held this place and lived by every word that came out of the mouth of God, we well know. But the 11th verse shows us the remnant in this position in the latter days. Resurrection is here still the hope of the faithful. The wicked continue in prosperity. The faithful, verse 7, put their trust always in the right hand of God; but they are in the midst of a wicked nation (Israel) who are an instrument in God's hand to chastise the remnant. The importance of the second point mentioned above is manifest for those who will be so circumstanced.
Psa. 18 is one of the most remarkable in its structure, and one which the most clearly evidences the principle on which the Psalms are composed. We know that David wrote this Psalm; and its occasion is related in 2 Sam. 22. Yet it is most evident that the Spirit of God had a greater than David in view, even the Anointed. But we see, also, as it appears to me, that it is not David's distress alone, but that Christ is concerned in the affliction of His people at all times, and that His sufferings were the cause of God's caring for this people from the period of their captivity in Egypt (whence He called His Son). From this, the Spirit passes on to the oppression of the people at the end of their history, and recognizes the claims of Christ on account of His personal and practical righteousness, as manifested during His life in Israel; which, with respect to God's government is acknowledged in the remnant, being re-produced in them, inasmuch as they possess the life and the desires created by the Spirit of Christ; so that they share all the efficacy and all the consequences for Israel on the earth of its perfection in Him. Afterward, the consequences of His having relied, as the afflicted one, on the Lord, are manifested in the triumph of Christ. No enemy can stand before him. Delivered from the strivings, of the people, and made the head of the heathen, the strangers submit themselves unto Him; and even when it is with feigned obedience, they dare not resist. He is delivered from the violent man, and praises the Lord among the heathen. It is the history of Israel as participating in the care of God on account of the righteous One, and especially is it the history of the exaltation and triumph of this righteous One himself. Thus these three Psalms set the connection of Christ with Israel before us in a very striking manner.
There is another principle in the Psalms that we may point out here, which is found throughout, and which especially characterizes this Book, as well as Him whom it -reveals. He waits only upon the Lord, and refuses to seek help elsewhere. Thus, faith is thoroughly put to the test, and the heart responds entirely to the perfection of the ways of God. The patience of Him who is tried, however great the affliction, corresponds with the duration of God's forbearance. He has so laid hold of that which is in God, and trusts so perfectly in Him, that he has neither need nor desire to seek help elsewhere, or before He shall interpose. This was perfectly manifested in Christ.
A fresh series of Psalms, possessing equal interest, commences here. But the Psalms that compose it will not require to be so much dwelt upon, because every one will more readily understand them. I refer to Psa. 19 and 22. They speak of God's testimonies. In Psa. 19, we have two of these testimonies, Creation and the Law. Paul makes use of them in the beginning of the Epistle to the Romans, to prove the whole world's inexcusable state of sin-whether Gentiles or Jews. Here, however, these testimonies are made known in their intrinsic excellence. The third testimony is the Messiah Himself. But in Psa. 20 He is seen in the day of His distress. The remnant is prophetically designated in the fact, that by faith they enter into His distress, being assured that the Lord will hear His Anointed,-having their trust in the Lord, and desiring that the king will hear them when they call. This is a new element in the character of the remnant. They are interested spectators of the sufferings, of the Anointed.
In Psa. 21, the Anointed has been heard, and in answer to his prayer, according to the power of an endless life, exalted to glory on high. Thus, delivered from His enemies and owned of the Lord, the result of the former is judgment and destruction. The right hand of the King finds out all His enemies. They had imagined devices which they were not able to perform. He who had been oppressed by man and by the Jews, being now owned and heard by the Lord, and exalted gloriously, His enemies suffer the just consequences of their wicked hatred. But in Psa. 22, the sufferings of Christ are of a very different kind. His anguish is caused by His being forsaken of God. He alone could know this, He alone expresses it. Accordingly, it is not now the remnant who, beholding Him, utter the language of faith. This could not be done with respect to being forsaken of God. It could only be either unbelief, or a spiritual knowledge of Christ's substitution. The Spirit therefore puts these words into Christ's own mouth, and, in fact, he used these very words. A proof of the precise application of the Psalms. Already overwhelmed by sufferings inflicted by man, and His heart melted like wax, Christ calls upon God, the resource of every righteous man among the Lord's people. But He alone, of all the righteous, must undergo the being forsaken of God, and must proclaim that He is so (a terrible trial before his enemies, but He was altogether before God), as though He were "a worm and no man," even while perfectly glorifying God, and bearing testimony to Him even in this condition. His sufferings here were expiatory. This is the reason why, when once His prayer was heard from the horns of the unicorn, all is grace, a stream of grace, which first of all reaches the remnant, revealing God to them as a Savior, such as Jesus had known Him, in His perfect love for His beloved Son, delivering Him from the death in which He was for sin--grace which, gathering this remnant, chaunts this Savior God in the midst of the congregation thus formed-grace which then reaches the congregation of Israel, the great congregation, the whole family of Jacob, and afterward extends to all the ends of the world, accomplishing millennial blessing, and embracing the yet unborn generation, the millennial posterity, to whom it shall be declared that Christ hath this; as in former days they spoke of their deliverance from Egypt. Everything flows out for the remnant, for Israel, for the world, and for the generations to come, from the death and atonement of Christ. Observe, that in this Psalm nothing is said of judgment, Christ had drunk that cup to the dregs, and all is grace.
We may examine the next Psalms together as far as the end of Psa. 41; distinguishing, however, the two first, and also Psa. 40
Psa. 23 and 24 go together, and speak of Christ in, His life of humiliation on the earth, and in the brightness of His glory, when He shall be manifested as the great King in Israel. At the same time we see the confidence of every godly man in Israel, and the character of those who will be associated with Christ, and owned by Him. There is an expression in Psa. 23, which might present a difficulty with respect to Christ, "He restoreth my soul," but in His case it must be after. His agony, and clearly not after sin. But He trod the path which His sheep should tread; and that, in its whole extent, sin excepted. Observe that this Psalm sets before us, in the first place, the joys which are natural to such a position; but it is not till after restorations, after passing through the valley of the shadow of death, after having experienced that strong assurance which is gained by finding God our safe-guard against the enemies who press us, and after having proved the faithfulness of God in all circumstances, that we are able to trust Him for time and for eternity, and that we can understand the whole extent of that goodness which has sealed us. This Psalm abounds with instruction, in this respect, for every heart.
Psa. 24 speaks of the character of those who shall go up to the sanctuary, when God Himself shall take the government of the earth, which shall then be His; and at the same time reveals Him to us, whose. humiliation and faith formed the subject of the preceding Psalm, as being Himself Jehovah, the King of glory, mighty in battle, Jehovah of hosts.
The Psalms that follow, with the exception of the fortieth, contain the various sentiments of the faithful remnant, to which God Himself gives a voice, according to the perfection that He can give them, and which they would not have had in a purely human heart.
Psa. 25 is a touching appeal to God, reminding Him of His mercy, with a full confession of sin. The meek put their trust in His name. It expresses very clearly the condition and the thoughts of the faithful remnant in, connection with their position in Israel, and as possessing feelings suited to the position and history of that people. The relations of the faithful man's heart to Jehovah, his sense of what his God is for him in his weakness, with the consequences that flow from this (verse 13), are unfolded in faith's most touching affections. It is a picture of the true faith of a godly person in Israel in the last days. But of faith in Jehovah, the God of Israel, not thinking yet of Him whom they had pierced; and even without having the wicked one immediately in view. Thus, in principle, it is the Spirit of the life of Christ also on the earth (sin excepted), which is spoken of in this Psalm, and the sentiments of which are given by His Spirit to the remnant, and in this sense he has partaken of part of it.
Psa. 26 pleads the integrity of which the righteous man will be conscious in that day. Integrity, which, in its absolute sense, is real in Christ alone; but, as a principle of life, it is real in all saints. Confession of sin and conscious integrity of heart go together. In the latter case, it is the heart's desire that his soul may not be gathered with sinners. All this refers especially to Israel in the last days.
Psa. 27 speaks of the confidence which flows from having taken Jehovah for light and for deliverance, desiring only one thing-to be near Him. In the time of trouble the Lord will hide him in His pavilion, and will lift up the head of the faithful man above all his enemies. This, again, is especially the faith of the remnant in the last days. The cry in the ninth verse is founded on a touching argument. The heart of God (as I understand it) had said to the righteous man, when thinking of Israel, " Seek my face." The righteous man says-" Thy face, Lord, will I seek; but since Thou hast commanded me to seek it, hide it not from me." It is to be remarked that in all these Psalms, from Psa. 22 and 23, we are on the ground of deliverance, in the land of the living, and in especial connection with Jehovah, the well-known God of Israel.
Psa. 28 enters into the same desire not to be drawn away with the wicked. The remnant set themselves apart in Israel, entering into the mind of God- "there is no peace for the wicked." Isa. 48:22, 57:21, in which the same separation under the same circumstances, only there proclaimed by God. If the Israelites are wicked, God judges all things, as John the Baptist preached; for it was then that the separation of a remnant was formally marked out as a present thing. He preached this separation of a remnant. God no longer taking account of their being outwardly the children of Abraham, as Peter also (Acts 2:40), and Paul (Rom. 11). The Lord receives them as His sheep (John 10). The consciousness of the strength of God being with His Anointed, and that He will lift up the people, is also expressed in this Psalm.
Psa. 29 proclaims the power of the voice of the Lord; who will be the strength of His people, and will bless them with peace. After a long silence, the time will come when He will make His voice to be heard,
calling on all the great ones of the earth to submit themselves.
There is no particular remark to make on Psa. 30, which expresses the joy of the remnant on their deliverance in the last days, except that it is deliverance from death; for they had, as it were, gone down to the mouth of the grave. We may observe, also (verses 6 and 7), the difference between confidence in the blessing and confidence in Him who blesses.
I think I perceive a greater depth of thought, something more intimate, more habitual and uninterrupted in the relations with God of him who speaks in the Psalms which relate more immediately to Christ. His whole soul is more under the eye of God. Thus in Psa. 31, while making His request for the blessing of the people, and foreseeing with joy the treasures of goodness which are laid up for those that fear Jehovah, one sees that it is Christ himself in presence of the enemy, and whose heart is exercised by the circumstances around Him. It is not only His integrity of which He speaks; and the possibility of being confounded with the workers of iniquity is not supposed; on the contrary, whatever may be the anguish and burden of His heart on account of the sin of others, His own relationships with God (except as forsaken on the cross) are always fully realized in His soul. There was one moment in which He said He was forsaken, but His prayer was heard. The anguish is more intense and more inward than in those Psalms which express the sentiments of the remnant. It is the anguish of His own soul, but of a soul nearer to God; the sentiments of one who sees, judges, feels everything, according to that which he is morally within, in the communion of God. They are not sentiments produced by outward things in a soul in which, however, the Spirit of Christ is acting. All this is seen prophetically, and it is not always expressed in the historical order, but in moral development, in the way in which it would be gone over in spirit, in reviewing, or rather in foreseeing it. The things which pressed most, and faith with respect to these things, being spoken of first, and afterward the details which brought on the crisis. The word " haste," in verse 22, is rather alarm-anguish; the verse shows that the entire life of Christ unto the end is considered here. The 5th verse, which the Lord used when giving up His Spirit to His Father, proves it also. But it appears to me that it is not in the aspect of atonement that His sufferings are here viewed, but rather as His own personal sufferings, as taking part in the actual position of the remnant, being Himself this remnant in the perfection of the thoughts that became them; and, consequently, exposed to the attacks of the wicked, of the enemy, and at the same time acknowledging all this as the just result of Israel's ways, the penalty of which He was bearing in grace. His faithfulness brought hatred, isolation, and opprobrium upon Him; but His heart recognized the just hand of God in this state of things. I do not think verse 10 is expiatory, but as enduring, in fact, the consequences belonging to it, according to the just government of God. For if one is faithful where all the rest are unfaithful, he will feel so much the more, and in proportion to his faithfulness, all that is dreadful in this state of things. But God will be seen through it all. No one felt the thirty-eight years after Kadesh-barnea, like Moses, Joshua, and Caleb. For them it came from God. But they were sustained, because they saw God through everything. Now the Lord went into the very depths of this, seen as God sees it. Thus the hatred of all that was under the enemy's influence had reached its highest point, and He saw it, as He saw everything, as the con- sequence of the sin which overwhelmed His Heart, because He loved the people according to God. Nevertheless, being perfect, He sees through all this, what the faithfulness of God will do and bestow. He trusts perfectly in Jehovah, and He makes use of the effect of this trust for the encouragement of the faithful remnant. This was indeed what the Lord did. What words of comfort proceeded from the depths of His sufferings and of His sorrows, because His communion with God was perfect with respect to these very things; He drew from it the consolations, and the communications of love, and the consciousness of Jehovah's faithfulness, which He used for the restoration and the encouragement of those who entered but scarcely felt these afflictions, but whose weakness would have caused them to sink without His help. This is what He did for such during His life. He does it in the Psalms for the remnant in the latter days, and even for all those who have not seen His face, but who find in these Psalms His heart, His grace, His faithfulness, His sympathies, and the depth of His communications with the springs of blessing, in the midst of the miseries which surround us, and into which we are brought by our sins, by our sad inheritance of sin (see ver. 22-24; 34:4-6).
But the remnant, as well as every quickened soul, needs something more than this, in order to walk with God, and endure the fight of faith. Forgiveness is needed. As we have seen the blessedness of the righteous man announced in Psa. 1, so here in Psa. 32, another kind of blessedness is declared. Pardon, and the sense of pardon, and that the Lord does not impute iniquity. He alone is free from guile who possesses this. Without it, he will either keep away from God, to hide from himself, or else he will seek to justify himself, to excuse himself, although his own mouth condemns him. But when pardon is once before his eyes, he has, courage to be truthful, and to confess everything. Who would not declare all his debts, when their discharge by another is the only thing in question? Who would not declare his malady, when it was for a certain cure? Thus brought to confess his transgression, the poor sinner finds that God has taken away all the burden of his sin. It is this principle that encourages the humble and godly man to draw near to God, and the floods of great waters do not come nigh unto him. God, then, guides him with his eye; he is encouraged to yield himself to this guidance, instead of having to be guided by the hand, without understanding the will of God. This blessing is spoken prophetically, announced as a truth; and it describes-not the condition of the remnant, but that which shall be their desire, a desire kindled by the very revelation of the blessing, which they will not realize till Christ shall appear. It is true, moreover, of any soul. The pardon set before him attracts him, encourages him, and leads him to confess his sin. Morally, this is a very instructive Psalm, and one also which very clearly reveals the relative position of the remnant, or rather the truths that will be set before them.
Psa. 33, which is one of great beauty, does not require much explanation. It is the name of Jehovah celebrated as God the Creator. 'Blessed are the people whose God He is! It is the expression of entire confidence in Him, a confidence which He will not fail to answer, because He cannot be wanting to His name, nor to those who put their trust in it. The word of the Lord is right, and all His works are truth. There is great repose in this Psalm, because the eye is turned away from man and fixed upon God.
In Psa. 34, we have the exhortation and the example of Christ to bless the Lord at all times, because our trust is in Him, and not in circumstances. That is to say, not only in the midst of blessing but when surrounded with difficulties and trials, and because he makes himself known in His faithful love in these trials. There are afflictions - but Jehovah is there, Christ himself is the proof of it. He cried, and the Lord heard Him; therefore He saith to others, "O taste and see that theLord is good; none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."
The structure of this Psalm is interesting. As far as verse 4, we evidently see some one who serves for an example, or rather, who having himself experienced the way in which God answers the faith of one who calls upon Him in his distress, holds up as a pattern to others, the faithfulness of Jehovah towards himself. This is applied (verse 5) to others who had been in distress-applied historically to some (verse 6) who make use of the example set before them. The rest of the Psalm is an exhortation by the Spirit to trust thus in Jehovah, showing the contrast between His servants and the wicked. The touching application of all this to Christ and to the faithful in the latter days is evident.
But another thing comes before us in the use of the Psalm; i.e., that the remnant, after the death of Jesus, took the position of Christians; and although, in many respects, that altered their position, yet in the main-apart from those sufferings which are properly Christian -they were to enjoy the promises connected with Jehovah's faithfulness to the remnant of Israel, in the midst of the unbelieving mass; accordingly, Peter quotes this Psalm for the Christian Jews, in this sense. I doubt not that in principle, according to the government of God, this applies to the Gentiles, grafted into the good olive-tree. But the bringing in of the Church, and the thought of being risen with Christ-which we do not find in Peter's writings-sets aside all this category of ideas, because the Church, seen in Christ, is looked upon as sitting in Heaven..
In Psa. 35, it seems evident to me that we again find Christ, but Christ looked at as uniting himself to the remnant of Israel, and whose deliverance will be the subject of praise and thanksgiving in the great congregation, that is to say, in the whole nation of Israel gathered together at the end. It applies, therefore, to all the faithful, who, going through the evil days, will form a part of it.
Psa. 36 sets the painful truth before us, that in the circumstances which surround the meek in the midst of iniquity, there is no resource in the conscience of the wicked. The upright man who fears God, is often inclined to think that this fear must arrest others, even those who are not walking with the righteous. But this is not the case, and it is well to remember it. But on the other hand, there is a perfect and infinite resource in the mercy and faithfulness of Jehovah. How does the Spirit of Christ provide for everything, for all that could disturb the heart of the righteous man in the difficulties that surround him! At length, the wicked shall be cast down., And this is why, in Psa. 37„ he who hearkens to the word of Jehovah's servant (Isa. 1.) is exhorted to be still, and not to fret himself because of the wicked, to trust in the Lord, to delight himself in the Lord, to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him, to cease from anger and in no wise to fret himself to do evil; for yet a little while and the wicked shall be cut off, but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. We may take notice here of that which is always found in the Psalms, and which gives them a very distinctive character., which gives the highest proof of their proper application to the Jewish remnant of the last days, and makes it clear that they do not apply to the position of the Church -except in some grand principles already pointed out. This characteristic of the Psalms then is, that deliverance is accomplished by the cutting off and destruction of the enemy by the judgment of God-a judgment consequently, that is desired and prayed for by the faithful. It is not so with the Church; she suffers, and she will be taken away from the evil. Whatever may be the moment of her deliverance, its mode will be, that she will go to meet the Lord in the air. She lives, moreover, by grace, and does not seek for the destruction of any.
But judgment alone will be the deliverance of those who have not taken advantage of this fullness of grace. Oppressed and crushed by iniquity, their only hope is the cutting off of their oppressors. This deliverance is promised them. This difference, I repeat, gives a very decided and distinctive character to the Psalms. The inheritance of the earth is the peculiar subject of this Psalm (37). In general, it may also be observed, that in this Book it is the enemies within, the wicked, of whom the righteous complain, although the outward enemies are pointed out, as we have seen, particularly in Psa. 9 and 33, in order to show distinctly the position of the faithful remnant, as forming part of a faithless and guilty nation, who by their iniquity in those days, will bring on themselves desolation and the scourge; and that in the presence of enemies who are the rod of God on this rebellious people.
In Psa. 38, therefore, the remnant or the individual who is a part of it, commits himself to God in the consciousness of his sin, that the enemy may not prevail against him, now that through grace his heart is upright. It is the perfect picture of one whose conscience being burdened by sin, knows that the enemy might take advantage of it, and pours out the anguish of his heart before God. The chastisement which the suppliant has deserved would be a just cause for fear, but at the same time he can say that all his desire is before the Lord. He has lost everything, all help, all human consolation, (for what is it worth in such a case?) that he may cast himself entirely upon God, his only help. It is thus that God purifies the heart. It is a terrible thing to be in conflict when the heart is burdened with a sense of sin. This is not the normal condition of a Christian, because with him God begins by giving him a perfect conscience (Heb. 10). Nevertheless, his foolishness may bring him sometimes into this position. But it will be the case of the Jewish remnant, because their conscience will not be purged till they have seen Jesus, and till-through that event-their conflict will be ended. The condition described in this Psalm, will make one who is in it thoroughly sensible that the salvation and deliverance of God is his only hope, in a word, grace his only resource. I repeat the remark already made; how, in these Psalms, does the perfect grace of Christ supply the remnant with all they need for every exercise of heart!
In Psa. 39 the faithful one becomes more calm, because he comes more into the presence of God. He restrains himself while the wicked are before him, until his heart overflows; not in addressing them, but in pouring itself out before God. He prays that God will keep his mind alive to his own nothingness-a sense of which deprives the malice of the enemy of half its power. For what can be done to one who is nothing even in his own eyes? Man is but vanity. But the righteous man waits upon Jehovah; he acknowledges that his afflictions come from God, and takes the place of a suppliant before Him, as having deserved them all. He is a stranger and a sojourner with the Lord, as were Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He waits, like them, for the fulfillment of the promises instead of looking upon the wicked. Christ indeed took this place, but here it is one of the faithful who is seen in it.
Psa. 40 requires particular attention, because we find Christ-in the eternal counsels of God-taking this place in the congregation of Israel; and suffering in grace at the same time, the consequences of the people's condition, waiting for deliverance from the Lord alone, renouncing everything, and even undergoing wrath rather than fail in fulfilling the will of God. This is the perfection which we always see in Christ, never turning away from perfect obedience, or accepting any other deliverance than that of God, when He should have accomplished the whole of God's will;-and seeking the full blessing and joy of the faithful remnant, whilst he Himself is poor and afflicted. He reminds God of the faithfulness with which He had preached His righteousness and salvation in the great congregation of Israel. He had not drawn back from this difficult task; and now, His testimony being finished (fruitless labor, with respect to the people; Isa. 49:4). His iniquities, i.e., those of His people, have taken hold of Him, and under this burden He cries to the Lord, being still in the presence of those that hate the righteous. It is very striking to see Christ, in the depth of His sufferings, thinking only of the joy of the poor remnant, and praying that they may ever have reason to praise God, whilst He is poor and needy. He experienced, and others might experience with Him, the affliction of the righteous in presence of the wicked; but in bearing iniquity He is alone, and only seeks the joy of His people. "Mine ears hast Thou opened," or "digged;" (translated, "a body hast Thou prepared me," in the New Testament which follows the Septuagint), is His incarnation, for it was then He took the form of a servant-ears in order to obey (see also Isa. 1). But in this last passage, it is the daily spirit of obedience, and not merely taking the place of obedience. Phil. 2, is a very plain commentary on this truth. In Ex. 21, again, it is a different thing, Christ having perfectly fulfilled His service here below, refused to go out free; and in His death He became a servant forever. He is so now (John 13) to wash our feet. He will be so, in this sense, during the Millennium (see Luke 12:37); and indeed forever. (1 Cor. 15:28). This is a beautiful subject which I cannot now pursue. But the references I give will make it clear to the attentive reader. He learned obedience by the things which he suffered. This is Isa. 50:4, 5, 6. The word "opened" in this last passage, is not the same as in the Psalm.
Psa. 41. I am scarcely inclined to apply this Psalm exclusively to Christ, although it undoubtedly applies to Him characteristically. He makes use of verse 9, in speaking of that which happened to Himself; but it appears to me that it is in a characteristic manner. Still, it is evident that its highest fulfillment is in Him:- in him who made Himself the poorest of all. In verse 4, it is clearly the Spirit of Christ speaking in the person of one of the remnant, who feels his sin as being one of the people. The consciousness of sin aggravates the difficulties of his position. But one may always be truthful before God. Christ has associated Himself in grace with this position.
It is this blending together of the condition of the remnant in whom the Spirit of Christ is acting, and Christ Himself; which forms the difficulty of the Psalms. Some of them, as Psa. 22 and others, maintain the revelation at the height of Christ, throughout the whole Psalm. But often it is the condition of the remnant-a condition that Christ in grace has shared, and many of the circumstances of which were more strikingly verified in Christ. This is the reason that we find in the same Psalm confessions of sin and declarations of perfect integrity. The latter being only in intention, except in Christ. But still it was sincere, inasmuch as His Spirit was acting. Accordingly, we have here, in verse 4, " I have sinned against Thee," and afterward, verse 12, " As for me, Thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before Thy face forever." The affliction of which this Psalm speaks, has never been accomplished as it was in Christ. Yet the Psalm could only be true of Him, as speaking at the same time in the name of the remnant with whom grace had connected Him. The remnant is characterized as the poor, the meek who shall inherit the earth. But Christ was pre-eminently this.
This Psalm closes the first Book, which is perhaps the most difficult to understand, as laying the foundation of the relations between Christ and the remnant. It speaks especially of their inward condition and the moral sentiments connected with it. It refers, therefore, historically, to the days in which Jesus Himself was among the Jews, and that to the end. With respect to the remnant, this book refers to that period of the last days during which they will be in the midst of the development of iniquity which will take place before they are driven out by the great tribulation. The remnant being still, as Christ was, in the midst of the people. Nevertheless, as will be needful for those who will be in these circumstances, the times are prophetically anticipated and foreseen, up to the end. But the condition actually existing, to which the sentiments apply, is the mingled condition. As far as the end of Psa. 24, the opposition between the righteous and the wicked is much more abstract, when the expression of feeling is in question. It is a much more absolute state of opposition, as it was in the case of Christ Himself, together with full confidence in the Lord. Afterward we perceive that mixture of feeling which is found in a soul, whose desires being really produced by the spirit of God cause it to look unto Him; and yet, who is not only in the presence of the enemy and the oppressor, but whose heart is burdened (because God is working in it) with the sense of sin. It is, therefore, divided between these two feelings; on one side, the need of pardon, to be at liberty with God on the other, need of help, to be delivered from the enemy. God being on the side of one who feels himself guilty, a thing difficult to believe; faith, however, is in exercise. Christ throws Himself into this condition, and gives, in these Psalms, the sentiments that are suitable to it. When thus circumstanced, it would be difficult to know what was the suitable feeling. Conscience says, God cannot receive the guilty, but the heart turns to God. What a relief to be supplied with inspired language for such a case! To find that the Messiah, whom they had rejected, has, in grace, taken this position, having been forsaken of God in His people's stead, what strong support! With reference to this last truth, the remnant will understand it rather as the extent of their Messiah's sympathy than as the pardon of their own sins. In the latter half of the book, we find the pardon that flows from what Christ has done, presented as a new character of blessing; desired by them, and so far understood as it could be by those who were not in possession of it. This pardon will not be known by the remnant till later. This forms the immense difference between our position and theirs. We have redemption through His blood, i.e., the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace. That which is matter of study for us and often difficult for us to understand at present, because we are not in the condition to which it applies, will be very simple for the joy and consolation of those who are in it. Jesus having been on earth in connection with the Jewish remnant, realizing, through grace, their guilt as His own, and suffering all the consequences of the iniquity that surrounded him, and that had made the people of God a slave to their enemies-when those who will form this remnant shall turn to the Lord, the expression of the sympathies of Jesus will be as balm to their heart, wounded and crushed by evil, from which they cannot yet escape. It may have been observed, also, that in the first part of this book, in which, as has been said, faith is more simple and more pure, the contrast between the faithful and the wicked more absolute and distinct, resurrection is much more spoken of. This is remarkable; as in Psa. 16 and 17. The hope of the remnant, as such, will be for the earth. " The meek shall inherit the earth." But as it was with Christ Himself, so with the remnant in their circumstances; resurrection is their necessary hope, since the life of the faithful will be often in danger. In general, probably, this will be the case with the most advanced, those who will have learned this better hope (compare the beginning of Matt. 5:5-12, and this last verse with 11, and Dan. 7:25, and 11:35). Thus in the first part of the book, in which the separation is complete and faith distinct, resurrection is presented as the strength and encouragement of this faith.