04.10. Chapter 10
Psalms 81:1-16 "MY PEOPLE WOULD NOT HEARKEN"
Probably written by Asaph himself, in the days of David, this Psalm is a call to the people to keep the Passover, the annual feast commemorating the deliverance of Egypt.
Division-A call to celebrate the Passover (Psalms 81:1-3); the basis on which the Passover rests (Psalms 81:4-7); an appeal to Israel to come back from false gods to their allegiance (Psalms 81:8-12); with a promise of the blessings which may yet accrue to them (Psalms 81:13-16).
Psalms 81:1. Sing aloud unto God!-We can sing aloud unto Him when we realize the great blessings which He is prepared to confer on us, as the remaining verses of this Psalm disclose. Think much of God’s resources, all of which are yours in Christ; and then praise Him.
Psalms 81:3. The new moon or month may probably mean the first and chief month of the year, the Passover month, the month of Abib (Exodus 12:1-2; Deuteronomy 16:1). The time appointed is "the set time." Hengstenberg considers that the whole Psalm refers to the commemoration of the Passover: "our solemn feast day."
Psalms 81:5. This He ordained in Joseph.-Joseph is mentioned here as representing Israel, because his position in Egypt constituted him the leader amongst his people. We should never forget our deliverance from a more intolerable servitude; but commemorate it -specially in the Lord’s Supper. The change to the first pronoun indicates how closely the Divine Spirit was behind the Psalmist, so that most naturally, and with no break in the continuity of thought, he passes from one mode of address to another.
Psalms 81:6. I removed his shoulder from the burden.-"His hands were set free from the burdenbaskets." Such baskets were found in the sepulchral vaults of Thebes, and were doubtless used in carrying from one place to another the clay and manufactured bricks. Our Saviour has done more than this, relieving us from care and burden-bearing (Matthew 11:28; Psalms 55:22), admitting us into glorious liberty.
Psalms 81:7. In the secret place of thunder.-God was supposed specially to reside in the storm cloud. Thence He looked on the hosts of Pharaoh, and spoke from the brow of Sinai. We are reminded of that triplet of Lowell’s:- Behind the dim unknown Standeth God within the shadow, Keeping watch above his own.
Psalms 81:8-9. Hear, 0 My people!-What a peculiar claim God has on the whole-hearted allegiance and devotion of his own! Let us each time that we are tempted to desert Him, recall the cost at which He has redeemed us.
Psalms 81:10. Open thy mouth wide!-God wants our emptiness: He calls on us to open our mouth, even as the gaping beak of the young fledgling. There is nothing which we really need that He is unable or unwilling to supply. Let us ask Him to fill us with the Holy Ghost, and reckon that He does keep his word (Ephesians 5:18).
Psalms 81:12. They walked in their own counsels.-"With the froward Thou wilt show thyself froward" (2 Samuel 22:27; Psalms 18:26; see also Romans 1:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11.
Psalms 81:13. Oh that My people had hearkened!-Obedience is the condition of full deliverance. Note the stress laid upon "hearing" and "hearkening" (Psalms 81:8, Psalms 81:11, Psalms 81:13).
Psalms 81:14-15. The haters of the Lord.-Our enemies and God’s haters are indentical. What encouragement is here! Notice also the permanence of our standing: "for ever."
Psalms 81:16. With the finest of the wheat.-Strength and sweetness; necessaries and luxuries; complete satisfaction!
Psalms 82:1-8 "THE POOR AND NEEDY." The Psalm of the magistrate; perhaps composed on the appointment of judges by Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 19:5-7). There is an admonishment for past misconduct (Psalms 82:2-4); followed by a lamentation over their obduracy, and a declaration of their doom (Psalms 82:5-7). Luther says, "Every prince should get the whole Psalm painted upon the walls of his room; for here such will find what high, princely, noble virtue their situation demands, so that assuredly worldly supremacy, next to the office of the ministry, is the highest service of God and the most profitable duty upon earth." A very interesting and close parallel to this Psalm occurs in Isaiah 3:13-15.
Psalms 82:1. God judgeth among the gods.-Some think that the word "gods" refers to angels; but this will not suit the tenor of the Psalm. The word unquestionably stands for magistrates and judges. In Exodus 22:28, the people were taught to recognize in governors the reflections of the authority of God. Their judgment was said to be God’s (Deuteronomy 1:17); and whoever came before them, came before God (Exodus 21:6). There could be no doubt, then, that the Heavenly Judge would call them to his bar, if they grossly misrepresented Him.
Psalms 82:2. How long will ye judge unjustly?-Compare Leviticus 19:15.
Psalms 82:5. They walk on in darkness.-In spite of Divine protests, men will take their own way. With their back to the true light, they go on towards a darkness which grows denser at every step.
Psalms 82:6. Ye are gods.-It seems at first strange that men so wicked should be dignified by so high a title. But that appellation rather records God’s ideal of their sacred office, and calls them to fulfil it. Our Lord quotes this verse in arguing with the Jews (John 10:34); his point being that, if Scripture calls unjust judges "gods," because they filled the place and represented the majesty of God, surely his opponents had no right to accuse Him of blasphemy, because, as "the Sent of God," and engaged in doing his Father’s will, He also spoke of Himself as God.
Psalms 82:7. Like one of the princes.-If man is lifted to high office, he is but man still. His office, but not his nature, is God-like. And if he do wickedly, he must fall as other princes have fallen before him.
Psalms 82:8. Arise, a God!-This call to God to undertake the judgment of the world is like the cry of the Church to her absent Lord, that He would make haste to right the wrongs of time, and to bring in his glorious kingdom (Revelation 6:10) Psalms 83:1-18 "BE NOT STILL, 0 GOD!" This Psalm was composed on the occasion described in 2 Chronicles 22:1-12. In that chapter we are told distinctly that the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel, of the sons of Asaph (Psalms 83:14). Perhaps he was the author of this Psalm. This was a song of praise sung before the battle, in sure anticipation of victory. A short prayer for help (Psalms 83:1), is followed by a description of the agony of the people which drove them to take refuge in their Divine Deliverer; the doings (Psalms 83:2-4) and the numbers (Psalms 83:5-8) of their foes. And then, reminding God of what He had done in the days that were past, the singer entreats Him to do the same again, establishing his glory in an incontestable manner (Psalms 83:9-18).
Psalms 83:2. Thine enemies.-It is a great source of courage, when we can feel that those who attack us are also in conflict against God; and that God takes our side against our foes and sins.
Psalms 83:3. Hidden ones (1 Kings 19:18; Psalms 31:20; Matthew 23:37; Colossians 3:3).-If only we keep under the covert of God’s wings, how safe we are!
Psalms 83:4. Let us cut them off!-It is a daring attempt indeed, when men deliberately set themselves to annul God’s eternal purpose. "The stars in their courses" (Jude 1:5: Jude 1:20) fight against all such. There was great wisdom in Gamaliel’s counsel (Acts 5:39).
Psalms 83:5-8. Confederate against Thee.-A great confederacy with one fell purpose. Men who are naturally enemies to each other are allies when they can injure God’s people.
Psalms 83:9-12. Sisera, Oreb, Zalmunna.-Three deliverances of the past are quoted as specimens of the help which the land required (Jude 1:4-5, Jude 1:7-8).
Psalms 83:13. Like a wheel!-"The wheel" is rather "the whirl." And the whole is equivalent to "as the stubble," which is whirled round and carried away.
Psalms 83:14. As fire on the mountains.-The bracken or furze on the mountains is a ready fuel for the lightning spark which sets it ablaze.
Psalms 83:16-18. Let them be put to shame!-The disasters which are imprecated on the allied forces are intended to lead them to recognize the supremacy of God. But there is no need to attempt to show the consistency of these petitions with the spirit of Christ: they are evidently inspired by the spirit of that older dispensation, which our Lord so distinctly set aside, as the husk from which the grain has passed into new and more perfect development (Matthew 5:38-39).
Psalms 84:1-12 "A DAY IN THY COURTS."
One of the sweetest of the Psalms. The Gittith is said to have been a musical instrument on which some of the Psalms were played. The speaker is evidently the anointed king (Psalms 84:9), a title which clearly designates David, who constantly uses it of himself. The conception of this sacred poem must have been his during the exile caused by Absalom’s rebellion, even though its elaboration and ultimate form may have been due to the sons of Korah. Psalms 42:1-11 and Psalms 43:1-5 are inseparably connected with this in their plan and structure; in the coloring of their language; and in their rare and beautiful figures. See also Psalms 27:4. The first seven verses, divided into four and three (as is often the case in the Psalms), contain a meditation; the remaining five are a prayer. Note the three Blesseds (Psalms 84:4-5, Psalms 84:12).
Psalms 84:1. How amiable are thy tabernacles!- Amiable in the sense of beloved.
Psalms 84:2. For the living God!-The longing and fainting are closely joined with rejoicing-for so might crieth out be rendered (see R.V., marg.): and therefore they do not indicate the pain of unsatisfied desire, but of desire which is immediately satisfied, though it still craves for more. The soul which has enjoyed most of God’s grace longs most earnestly for it; and in proportion to its longing is its joy.
Psalms 84:3. The sparrow hath found an house.-This does not mean simply that he envies the birds which build In Zion; but that he himself is as a sparrow or swallow, which, after long wandering, has found a home and nest in God’s house. "My poor little soul, the terrified little bird, has now found its right house and nest, even thine altars. If I had not found this, I must have been as a lone bird on the house-top, or an owl in the desert." Notice that it is in the altar that rest is found, i.e., in the life of consecration and obedience. If you can say, "My King," you have found your nest.
Psalms 84:4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house.-Though not literally, yet spiritually, we may dwell in the Lord’s house all our days (Psalms 23:6; Psalms 27:4). As long as you are able to praise, you are there.
Psalms 84:5. Whose strength ... whose heart.-Two conditions of blessedness: to have God as your strength, and to have in your heart ways. Too many hearts are full of cliffs and precipices; but they need levelling, so that there should be a highway for God (Isaiah 40:3-4.).
Psalms 84:6. The valley of Baca is the valley of tears. Some speak of it as the valley of tear-shrubs. But there the righteous will find wells of salvation. If you are now in the valley of tears, be sure you are on the way to the city, and look out for the wells.
Psalms 84:10. A doorkeeper in God’s house.-Better be Lazarus at the threshold of God’s house, than Dives in his palace.
Psalms 84:11. A Sun and Shield.-A Sun in dark hours, and a Shade in scorching ones. Grace is the bud of glory; glory the flower of grace. If God has given the first, He will give the second. If He withholds aught on which you have set your heart, believe it is not really good; and still trust Him. We stand in grace and look for glory (Romans 5:1-2.).
Psalms 85:1-13 "MERCY AND TRUTH."
There is no clue to the historical associations of this Psalm. The description of the distress through which the nation had been passing is quite general. It will, therefore befit all times of anxiety and depression.
We have first a description in seven verses of the long-protracted misery of the people; and in the six remaining verses the strong expression of confidence of help and deliverance.
Psalms 85:1-3. Thou hast forgiven ... iniquity.-The Psalmist recounts a former instance of God’s gracious intervention; and in this he sets us an example which we may well follow. Our captivity may continue long; but it will be brought back. Iniquity may be aggravated; but it can be forgiven. And the forgiveness of God will cover sin, as the deluge the highest mountains. There is probably an allusion here (3) to Exodus 32:12: "turn from thy fierce wrath."
Psalms 85:5. Wilt Thou be angry forever?-God’s anger is short-lived where there is contrition ("For a moment" Psalms 30:5).
Psalms 85:6. Revive us again.-Spiritual revival is the indispensable condition of quickening and rejoicing.
Psalms 85:8. He will speak peace.-God ever "speaks peace" to his saints, though the world is in revolt (John 20:19-21). Note the recurring references to righteousness and peace (Hebrews 7:2).
Psalms 85:10. Mercy and truth are met.-Mercy and righteousness are on one side; truth and peace on the other. They seem going on different errands and in different directions. But they meet at the cross of Jesus. There we have "the bridal of the earth and sky" (Isaiah 45:8).
Psalms 85:12. The Lord shall give good.-God gives nought but good; and all good is from God (James 1:17).
Psalms 85:13. Righteousness shall go before Him.-Righteousness not only looked down from heaven; but, in the person of Jesus, it has trod our earth, leaving footprints for us to follow (1 Peter 2:21).
Psalms 86:1-17 "BOW DOWN THINE EAR!"
David is in straits, deprived of human aid, his life endangered by a band of proud and ungodly men. And he quotes the help given him by God in former days (Psalms 86:13). Obviously, then, this must refer to his sufferings at the hand of Absalom and his advisers. The Psalm is divided into two strophes. The first ten verses make up the first, and the remaining ones the second. Notice the refrain in Psalms 86:5, Psalms 86:10, Psalms 86:15, "Thou art good!" "Thou art great!" "Thou art God alone!" Thou art full of compassion!"
Psalms 86:1-2. I am poor and needy!-He founds his prayer on his misery, and on the fact of his being one of God’s chosen ones. "I am holy" might be rendered "I am godly" (R.V.). The Creator is the best Preserver. And He who has begotten passionate desires after Himself can best meet and satisfy them.
Psalms 86:4. Rejoice the soul of thy servant.-"We may expect comfort from God when we maintain communion with God. God’s goodness appears in two things, in giving and forgiving. We may expect that God will meet us with his mercies when we in our prayers send forth our souls to meet Him."
Psalms 86:11. Unite my heart to fear thy name.-Our thoughts are apt to wander and scatter. We therefore need so much that God would gather them up into a true unity (Php 3:13-14). The united heart, which has but one purpose and desire to live for God, is the heart which is most sure of God’s "way," and most full of praise (Psalms 86:12); and that experiences most fully His delivering care (Psalms 86:13).
Psalms 86:15. Full of compassion.-Who can fathom the fullness of God’s compassion? (Romans 11:33; Ephesians 3:19; Php 4:7).
Psalms 86:16. Give thy strength unto thy servant.-Well is it when we come to the end of our strength, and begin to appropriate God’s (Php 4:13).
Psalms 87:1-7 THE GATES OF ZION. This is a song of praise for some great deliverance; and from end to end it is full of triumphant joy. It seems to have dated from the times of Hezekiah, when Babylon was still second in power to Rahab (Egypt). Rahab means haughtiness or pride, and is used by Isaiah sarcastically (Isaiah 30:7, R.V.). "I have called her [Egypt] Rahab that sitteth still." "Rahab" (that is Pride or Arrogance) could only be applicable to Egypt before the battle of Carchemish (2 Chronicles 35:20-24), which humbled that nation’s pride. The appellation "Rahab" is also found in Psalms 89:10 and Isaiah 51:9. lt seems clear that this Psalm (Psalms 87:1-7) celebrates the security of Jerusalem after the discomfiture of Assyria by the angel of the Lord.
Psalms 87:1. His foundation is in the holy mountains.-The foundations of Zion were laid in the eternal choice and determination of God. And those of the Church rest on the chief Corner-stone, our blessed Lord (Isaiah 28:16). "Holy" surely means "set apart" from ordinary and common use. All is holy which is set apart for God.
Psalms 87:2. The gates of Zion.-Are you quite sure that you are safe inside through faith in Jesus?
Psalms 87:3. Glorious things are spoken of Thee.-What glorious things have been spoken of the people of God! They are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession (1 Peter 2:9); the body and bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:25). To be where Jesus is, at the right hand of God-this its destiny.
Psalms 87:4. I will mention Rahab and Babylon as among them that know Me (R.V.).-In those days, when the numbers of the chosen people were much reduced, the heart of the Psalmist yearned with peculiar eagerness for the ingathering of the nations, according to ancient promise. There is also here an anticipation of the new birth, which makes different nationalities one family in Jesus Christ.
Psalms 87:5-6. When He writeth up the people.-There is a reference here to citizen-rolls (Luke 2:3). Whole hosts of nations are even now tracing all that is best in them to the religion which emanated from Mount Zion; and the time is coming when the forces of the Gentiles shall literally return to that city, which is to be the metropolis of a redeemed and rejoicing world (Isaiah 60:11) .
Psalms 87:7. Singers and players on instruments. -The mention of singers and dancers (R.V.) summons to our thought the idea of a triumphal procession like that of Israel after the passage of the Red Sea. "All my fresh springs," as the Prayer-Book version has it (see also Psalms 84:6; Isaiah 12:3). Would that we were more content to be channels through which those springs might visit the world! (John 7:38).
Psalms 88:1-18 "INCLINE THINE EAR!" This and the following Psalm constitute a pair. They were probably written during the reign of Zedekiah, but before the Captivity. The nation stood on the brink of a precipice; but the city and temple had not as yet been destroyed. Mahalath Leannoth means "the distress of oppression." It is a Psalm to give instruction to all sufferers as how to bear the griefs which lie heavily upon them. Stier says of this Psalm: "It is the most mournful of all the plaintive Psalms; yea, so wholly plaintive, without any ground of hope, that nothing like it is found in the whole Scriptures." Hengstenberg says: "The fact is all the more striking, that the Psalm begins with the words, ’0 Lord God of my salvation,’ after which the darkness grows continually thicker to the close." Surely in its deepest meaning, this Psalm is applicable only to the Prince of Sufferers.
Psalms 88:1. 0 Lord God of my Salvation!-In the greatest griefs, it is much to be able to say "God of my salvation." Say it, if you do not feel it: you will come to feel it.
Psalms 88:2, Psalms 88:13. Unto Thee have I cried.-In this dark hour the writer still feels that there is hope in God (Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5): and that prayer is the true resource of the overburdened spirit.
Psalms 88:2. Full of troubles.-O troubled soul, others have trod your path. See the "blazed" trees along the track. You may be sure that this is the way to the reward.
Psalms 88:6. In the lowest pit.-If we are willing to lie in the grave with Christ, we shall share His resurrection (Php 3:10).
Psalms 88:8. Mine acquaintance far from me (John 8:16; John 16:32).
Psalms 88:9. I have called daily upon Thee.-There are times when prayer seems unavailing; yet must we keep on praying. So has it ever been (Matthew 15:25).
Psalms 88:14. Why hidest Thou thy face?-God does not give his reasons. What He does, we know not now, though we shall know (John 13:7).
Psalms 88:14. Lover and friend ... far from me.-All forsook the Man of Sorrows and fled. He knew what loneliness meant. But no ledge of rock along which He leads his own is too narrow for Him to go beside them (Isaiah 63:9).
Psalms 89:1-52 THE LORD’S MERCIES This is the other side of our experience, contrasted with that set forth in the previous Psalm. As the two sides of our earth, the one in darkness, the other illuminated. This Psalm especially records God’s faithfulness (Psalms 89:1, Psalms 89:2, Psalms 89:5, Psalms 89:8, Psalms 89:24, Psalms 89:33). And though there is a touch of the old melancholy, especially towards the close, yet on the whole the Psalm rings with a happier tone, and glistens with the sparkle of hope.
First, there is a remembrance of God’s promise which secured the perpetual existence of David’s kingdom (Psalms 89:1-37); then a complaint that the present condition of affairs is in sad contrast to all this (Psalms 89:38-45); last, a prayer that God would interpose (Psalms 89:46-51).
Psalms 89:2. Mercy shall be built up forever.-Mercy is a structure never done, layer on layer, storey on storey, tier on tier. God’s faithfulness is as sure as the heavens (see also Psalms 36:5; Psalms 57:10; Psalms 108:4).
Psalms 89:3-4. A covenant with my chosen.-Supply, "For Thou didst say" (2 Samuel 7:8-16). In troublous times we must cling to God’s promises.
Psalms 89:5-14. The heavens and the earth are thine (see also Psalms 19:1-2; Psalms 77:16).-Full of praises, from heaven and earth; from angels, men, and nature.
Psalms 89:15-18. The people that know the joyful sound.-The blessedness of the believer (see also Psalms 1:1-6; Psalms 32:2; Psalms 40:4; Psalms 112:1).
Psalms 89:19-37. Established forever, as the moon.-An exquisite description of the rise and development of David’s power, which was a shadow of Christ’s. As the sun and moon change not, but remain faithful to their posts in the heavens, so God’s covenant is unalterable, made with Christ and all who believe in Him.
Psalms 89:38-51. Remember, Lord!-In this plea for mercy we may well join, on the behalf not only of Israel, but of the Church; not only because of the insolence of our foes, but because of the dishonor done to the name of God. But even in the midst of all this sorrow, the Psalmist is able to grasp deliverance; and so the Third Book of the Psalms ends in the light of an ascription of praise (Psalms 89:52).
Psalms 90:1-17 "THREESCORE YEARS AND TEN."
There is every reason to accept the superscription of this Psalm as correct. It was written by Moses at the close of the forty years’ wanderings; and perhaps about the same time as his other two songs (Deuteronomy 32:1-52 and Deuteronomy 33:1-29). If so, it was old when Homer sang. The imagery is all borrowed from the desert march: the desert streams, which soon dry; the night-watch in the camp; the short-lived growth of the grass before it is blasted by the "khamsin," or desert wind (Psalms 90:5). The melancholy strain is due to the incessant funerals and the aimlessness of the desert marchings.
Psalms 90:1. Thou hast been our dwelling-place.-God is our Home. Let us live in Him. Satan cannot enter to drag us forth (1 John 4:16).
Psalms 90:2. From everlasting ... Thou art God.-Earth, our planet; World, the universe. God is above all change, because He lives in the eternal ages. There never was a period in which Jehovah was not. He is more permanent than the most changeless things.
Psalms 90:3. Thou turnest man to destruction.-In opposition to the eternity of God is the transitory life of men. It seems long to us when we compare it with our days; but how short, when compared with the eternity of Him who looks on a thousand years as a brief night-watch! (2 Peter 3:8).
Psalms 90:4. A thousand years . . . are but as yesterday.-"As to a very rich man a thousand sovereigns are as one penny; so, to the eternal God, a thousand years are as one day."-Bengel.
Psalms 90:7. By thy wrath are we troubled.-Moses now ascends from the melancholy fact of the brevity of life to the melancholy cause, that it is due to the wrath of God incured by our sins (compare Genesis 2:17; Romans 5:12).
Psalms 90:8. Our secret sins.-Does not this teach us that there are sins so secret that none but God detects them? But his eyes carry the light by which they see (Revelation 1:14). What a comfort to turn to the blood of Christ which cleanseth from all sin!
Psalms 90:9. As a tale that is told.-"As a sigh" (R.V., marg.). This description is true of the unsaved and rebellious: but of believers we have a gladder description (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Psalms 90:11. The power of thine anger.-God’s wrath, which abides (John 3:36) on those who refuse to believe, is worse than those who have feared it most have ever conceived of it.
Psalms 90:12. So teach us to number our days.- We should reckon our shortening days, and work harder, as the poor sempstress whose last candle is burning low (John 9:4).
Psalms 90:14. Satisfy us early!-"Early" in life, and each morning, too: "Oh, satisfy us in the morning with Thy mercy" (R.V.).
Psalms 90:16-17. Thy work; thy glory; thy beauty.-All these blend in Jesus. And, as we abide in Him-his deeds are done through us; his glory shines around us; his beauty adorns us (Psalms 27:4).