Psalms 147

1. PRAISE YE THE LORD. For it is good to sing praises unto our God ; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely.2 The LORD doth build up Jerusalem ; He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.3 He healeth the broken in heart, And bindeth up their wounds.4 He telleth the number of the stars ; He giveth them all their names.5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power ; His understanding is infinite.6 The LORD upholdeth the meek : He bringeth the wicked down to the ground.7 Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving ; Sing praises upon the harp unto our God :8 Who covereth the heaven with clouds, Who prepareth rain for the earth, Who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.9 He giveth to the beast his food, And to the young ravens which cry.10 He delighteth not in the strength of the horse : He taketh no pleasure in the legs of a man.11 The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him,

In those that hope in his mercy.

12. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem ; Praise thy God, O Zion.13 For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; He hath blessed thy children within thee.14 He maketh peace in thy borders ; He filleth thee with the finest of the wheat15 He sendeth out his commandment upon earth ; His word runneth very swiftly.16 He giveth snow like wool ; He scattereth the hoar frost like ashes17 He casteth forth his ice like morsels : Who can stand before his cold ?18 He sendeth out his word, and melteth them : He causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.19 He sheweth his word unto Jacob, His statutes and his judgments unto Israel.20 He hath not dealt so with any nation : And as for his judgments, they have not known them. PRAISE YE THE LORD !

Jehovah the Builder of Jerusalem.

It can scarcely be doubted that this Psalm has special reference to the restoration of Jerusalem after the captivity in Babylon, and it was probably used at the celebration of that joyful event recorded in Neh. 12 : 27-43. From beginning to end the poet connects God’s special goodness to Israel, as now manifested, with His infinite power, wisdom, and goodness in the natural world. De Witt.

The four remaining Psalms (147-150) are connected together and distinguished from what goes before by the Hallelujah with which they all begin and end ; by their joyous tone, unmixed with lamentation or complaint ; by their frequent allusions to some great deliverance recently experienced ; and by the peculiar way in which they bring together the exhibitions of God’s glory in the works of nature and in His dealings with the Church. A.

Like the last Psalm, and like those which follow it, this is evidently an anthem intended for the service of the second temple. It celebrates God’s almighty and gracious rule over His people and over the world of nature, but mingles with this a special commemoration of His goodness in bringing back His people from their captivity and rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. In the allusions to these events in vs. 2, 3, and vs. 13, 14, we shall probably be justified in seeing the occasion of the Psalm. It may have been written for the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, which, as we learn from Neh. 12 : 27, was kept “with gladness, both with thanksgivings and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps.” It is, indeed, not improbable, as Hengstenberg suggests, that not this Psalm only, but the rest of the Psalms to the end of the book, are all anthems originally composed for the same occasion. The wall had been built under circumstances of no ordinary difficulty and discouragement (Neh. 2 : 17-4 : 23) ; its completion was celebrated with no common joy and thankfulness ; “for God had made them rejoice with great joy ; the wives also and the children had rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off.” See Neh. 12: 27-43. P.

In the seventh year of Artachschasta (Artaxerxes I. Longimanus) Ezra the priest had entered Jerusalem after a journey of five months with about two thousand exiles, for the most part out of Levite families (458 B.C.). In the twentieth year of the same gracious king (445 B.C.) came Nehemiah, his cup-bearer, in the capacity of a governor (Tirschāta). While Ezra used every endeavor to introduce the Mosaic law once more into the consciousness and the general character of the people, Nehemiah furthered the building of the city, and more especially of the walls and gates. It is the mood of the restoration period of Ezra and Nehemiah that we hear expressed in this and the two following Psalms even more distinctly than in the closely kindred preceding one. In this Psalm God is thanked for the restoration of Jerusalem, which is now again a city with walls and gates; in Psalm 148 for the restoration of the national independence; and in Psalm 149 for the restoration of the capability of joyously and victoriously defending themselves to the people long rendered defenceless and ignominiously enslaved. D.

In this Psalm there is first a challenge to the worship of God, then an evoking of religious national sentiment, then a message of comfort and hope to the destitute and sorrowful, and last the interwoven theologic element in affirmation of the providence, power, and bounty of God. So throughout the devotional and poetic portions of the Hebrew Scriptures the theologic and emotional elements are so placed as to be counteractive in their influence upon the human spirit. Lest the devout affections should pass off into a feeble sentimentalism there is conjoined with the expression of emotion some reference to awe-inspiring attributes of the Divine nature; and again, lest the meditation of infinite power and purity should lead to pantheistic mysticism, the worshipper is reminded of his frailty, his dependence, and unworthiness. I. T.

1. This verse might perhaps be better rendered with the change of a single consonant: “Praise ye Jehovah, for He is good; sing unto our God, for He is lovely; comely is the hymn of praise.” P.—Praise is good and acceptable to God our Saviour, whose glory is the great end of man’s creation and redemption; and it is pleasant and comely for man, being the only return he can make for those and all other mercies; the offspring of gratitude, and the expression of love; the elevation of the soul, and the antepast of heaven; its own reward in this life and an introduction to the felicities of the next. Bishop Horne.

For it is good to sing praises unto our God. It is good because it is right, because it is acceptable with God, beneficial to ourselves, and stimulating to our fellows. Singing the Divine praises is the best possible use of speech; it speaks of God, for God, and to God, and it does this in a joyful and reverent manner. Jehovah is our God, our covenant God, therefore let Him have the homage of our praise; and He is so gracious and happy a God that our praise may best be expressed in joyful song. S.—That the joyful should sing is as natural as that the afflicted should pray—rather more natural. Song as the expression of cheerfulness is something universal in human nature; there were always, both in Israel and among all other nations, songs of joy. Hence it is constantly mentioned in the prophets, by whom joyous singing is used as a frequent figure, even as they threaten that God will take away the song of the bridegroom and the bride, and so forth. The singing of men is in itself good and noble. The same God who furnished the birds of heaven with the notes wherein they unconsciously praise their Creator gave to man the power to sing. As David in his day took care that there should be practised singers for the sanctuary, we also should make provision for the Church’s service of song, that God may have in all respects a perfect offering. How gracious and lovely is the congregation singing with the heart acceptable songs! Rudolf Stier.

God has been pleased that on every side the useful should blossom out into the beautiful, and so speech has music wedded to it like an ethereal bride. But there is a reason for song that lies deeper in man’s constitution still. It is found not in the ear and voice merely, but in the spirit. God has made the inner atmosphere of the soul’s emotions and affections susceptible of the thrilling pulsations of music, as He has made the atmosphere around us capable of receiving and transmitting the quivering vibrations of sound. There is a power of song that addresses itself as truly to the higher emotional nature of man, and that stirs it as deeply as the breathing thoughts and burning words of eloquence itself. Ker.

2,3. In v. 2 we might read, “Jehovah is the builder of Jerusalem;” this rebuilding, then fresh in their eyes, is the work of His hands. “He will gather the outcasts of Israel together;” His scattered captives He will restore to their native land and raise them again to a place of honor among the nations. The captives who sat by the rivers of Babylon and wept as they remembered Zion, the Lord has met in mercy, wiped their tears away, and bound up their heart-wounds. C.

3-5. It is a noble thing to study God’s universe. It is a nobler thing to be acquainted with Himelf. It is the noblest of all to unite these two; to feel the mercy of God’s heart, and see the majesty of His handiwork, and to accept them both as godlike, and both as ours; “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds; He telleth the number of the stars, He calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power; His understanding is infinite.” The conclusion of the whole matter is that he who feels that he has a soul will find his way into a spiritual world, and he who feels that he has sin will find a Divine fitness in the Gospel of Christ. And when he embraces it, he will come to see that “the stars in all their courses” fight for that Gospel. Both revelations are worthy of God, and each, rightly considered, contributes to the fulness of the other. But of the two, the Gospel is more needful to us. The “bright and morning star” is more to our soul’s firmament than all the constellations of the sky. It is needed even the more for that vastness of creation which, without its guiding light, would bewilder and blind us, for truly viewed, the Gospel, instead of requiring a defence against astronomy, stands justified by it as a grand moral and spiritual necessity. Ker.

4-6. The train of thought which now leads the poet to the stars is plain from the primary passage Isa. 40 : 26, 27. To be acquainted with human sorrow and to relieve it, is an easy and small matter to Him who has assigned a number to the stars, calls them all by names which are the expression of their true nature which is well known to Him, the Creator. What Isaiah says (40 : 26, 28) is expressed here in v. 5 : Great is our Lord and mighty in power, and of His understanding there is no number; i.e., in its depth and fulness it is definable by no number. What a comfort for the Church upon its often labyrinthine and entangled ways! Its Lord is the Allwise as well as the Almighty. Its history is, like the universe, a work of profound and rich Divine understanding. It is a mirror of gracious love and righteous anger. Meek afflicted ones He strengthens; malevolent sinners, on the other hand, He abases to the earth, hurling deep down to the ground those who exalt themselves to the skies. D.

4. Tellethe the number of the stars.

The number of the “stars,” of “man’s months,” of his “steps,” of the “hairs of his head,” is fixed by like decree. Nature declares that the same hand shapes and numbers alike the ponderous planet and the falling tear; and David responds, “He telleth the number of the stars.” “He healeth the broken in heart.” “Put Thou my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy Book?” The microscope reveals exquisite care in the adjustment of conditions for the tiny lives of the millions that tenant a raindrop. Paul says to his fellow-voyagers, leaning on the promise made to him in prayer, “There shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you.” Is the one conception of a minute Providence more extravagant than the other? J. B. Thomas.

He calleth them all by their names. Literally, “calleth names to all of them,” an expression marking not only God’s power in marshalling them all as a host (Isa. 40 : 26), but also the most intimate knowledge and watchful care, as that of a shepherd for his flock (John 10 : 3). P. The stars are innumerable, yet He counts them and knows the exact number of them, for they are all the work of His hands and the instruments of His providence; their bulk and power are very great, but He calleth them all by their names, which bespeaks His dominion over them to make what use of them He pleases. He musters them, He marshals them; they come and go at His bidding, and all their motions are under His direction. He mentions this as one instance of many to show that great is our Lord and of great power; He can do what He pleases, and of His understanding there is no computation, so that he can contrive everything for the best. Man’s knowledge is soon drained, and you have his utmost length; hitherto his wisdom can reach and no farther; but God’s knowledge is a depth that can never be fathomed. H.

6. The same Lord who with infinite power and unsearchable wisdom rules the stars in their courses rules also the world of man. The history of the world is a mirror both of His love and of His righteous anger. His rule and His order are a correction of man’s anarchy and disorder.

7-11. A fresh burst of praise because of God’s fatherly care, as shown in His provision for the wants of the cattle and the fowls of the air. And as He feeds the ravens, which have neither storehouse nor barn, but only cry to Him for their food, so among men His delight is not in those who trust in their own strength and swiftness, but in those who look to Him, fear Him, put their trust in His goodness. P.

8,9. One of the most prominent and striking features of this series of Psalms is the continual blending of God’s agencies in nature with His works in His providential government. In the former he gives the rain of heaven and the grass on the mountains; in the latter He builds Jerusalem, restores the exiles, visits retribution of good or evil upon saints and sinners as they deserve. It seems to be a special aim with the writer (and with the inditing Spirit) to impress the great truth that the same God doeth all these things. C.

To say that beauty, and order, and adaptation reign through all ranks of being is no more than to repeat an often-told tale. Observe first, the consummate beauty of God’s arrangements in regard to mute, unorganized matter, from the grand but simple law which retains the planets in their orbits to that which forms the hidden crystals in the depths of the mine, or the frostwork on the window-pane, which melts with the first sunbeam. All is full of subjects for wonder and admiration. Let us rise one step, and from unorganized matter come to organic life. Life, the special gift of God, is not the result of any combination of matter. Every portion of the frame in which it resides might be reproduced by art, but the beautiful model most wait for vitality till it is breathed down from the Creator Himself. There is no part of the earth but is full of animal life, no animal that is not a study inexhaustible in its proofs of creative wisdom and providing love. It has often struck me that the more we think of the utter incapability of the lower tribes of creation for increase of knowledge and skill, and compare it with their perfect knowledge and skill in that which is given them to do, the more do we see the present and acting power and love of God. They are so helpless, yet so full of needful resources; so unconscious of wisdom, yet so wise; so reckless of the future, yet so provident; so incapable of high motives, yet so self-devoted in their affections, that it appears to me that between these extremes in the same beings, so wonderful, so inexplicable, there must come in, living and moving, and present day by day, the will of that gracious Father, the love of that Divine Son, the working of that blessed Spirit of wisdom, whose strength is made perfect in weakness, who hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, whose tender mercies are over all His works. Alford.

8. Maketh grass to grow upon the mountains. Not only in their power of growing without cultivation, but also in the peculiarities of their structure, the mountain grasses proclaim the hand of God. Instead of producing flowers and seed as the grasses in the tranquil valleys do, the young plants spring from them perfectly formed. They cling round the stem and form a kind of blossom. In this state they remain until the parent stalk withers and falls prostrate on the ground, when they immediately strike root and form independent grasses. This is a remarkable adaptation to circumstances; for it is manifest that were seeds instead of living plants developed in the ears of the mountain grasses, they would be useless in the stormy regions where they grow. They would be blown away far from the places they were intended to clothe, to spots foreign to their nature and habits, and thus the species would speedily perish. The more we think of it, the more we are struck with the wise foresight which suggested the creative fiat, “Let the earth bring forth grass.” It is the most abundant and the most generally diffuse of all vegetation. It suits almost every soil and climate. Macmillan.

Gather a single blade of grass, and examine for a minute, quietly, its narrow, sword-shaped strip of fluted green. Nothing, as it seems there, of notable goodness or beauty. And yet, think of it well, and judge whether of all the gorgeous flowers that beam in summer air, and of all strong and goodly trees pleasant to the eyes or good for food—stately palm and pine, strong ash and oak, scented citron, burdened vine—there be any by man so deeply loved, by God so highly graced as that narrow point of feeble green. And well does it fulfil its mission. Consider what we owe to the meadow grass, to the covering of the dark ground by that glorious enamel, by the companies of those soft, countless, and peaceful spears of the field! Follow but for a little time the thought of all that we ought to recognize in those words. All spring and summer is in them; the walks by silent, scented paths, the rest in noonday heat, the joy of the herds and flocks, the power of all shepherd life and meditation; the life of the sunlight upon the world, falling in emerald streaks and soft blue shadows, when else it would have struck on the dark mould or scorching dust; pastures beside the pacing brooks, soft banks and knolls of lowly hills, thymy slopes of down overlooked by the blue line of lifted sea; crisp lawns all dim with early dew, or smooth in evening warmth of barred sunshine, dinted by happy feet, softening in their fall the sound of loving voices. All these are summed in the simple words; and these are not all. Go out in the springtime, among the meadows that slope from the shores of the Swiss lakes to the roots of their lower mountains. There, mingled with the taller gentians and the white narcissus, the grass grows deep and free; and as you follow the winding mountain paths beneath arching boughs all veiled and dim with blossom—paths that forever droop and rise over the green banks and mounds sweeping down in scented undulation, steep to the blue water, studded here and there with new-mown heaps, filling all the air with fainter sweetness—look up toward the higher hills, where the waves of everlasting green roll silently into their long inlets among the shadows of the pines; and we may, perhaps, at last know the meaning of those quiet words of the one hundred and forty-seventh Psalm, “He maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains.” Ruskin.

9. Young ravens which cry. No bird is more careful of its young ones than the raven. To its habit of flying restlessly about in search of food to satisfy its own appetite and that of its young ones may perhaps be traced the reason of its being selected by the sacred writers as an object of God’s especial care. W. Houghton.

10. The best explanation of this verse is that it was intended to describe horse and foot, or cavalry and infantry, as forming the military strength of armies. It is not to those who trust in these that God is disposed to extend favor, nor do these advantages at all attract Him. A.—It is not the strength of armies, but the strength of grace that God is pleased to own. H.

11. Pleased (is) Jehovah with those fearing Him, with those hoping for His mercy. A.—They that fear the Lord; i.e., they that, recognizing their own feebleness, feel themselves dependent upon His omnipotence—it is in these that He delights, in such as, renouncing all self-confident dependence upon their own efforts, wait for His grace. D.

Them that fear Him, those that hope in His mercy. A sincere Christian is known by both these—a fear of God, or a constant obedience to His commands, and an affiance, trust, and dependence upon His mercies. Sweetly are both these coupled, a uniform, sincere obedience to Him, and an unshaken constant reliance on His mercy and goodness! The whole perfection of the Christian life is comprised in these two, believing God and fearing Him, trusting in His mercy and fearing His name; the one maketh us careful in avoiding sin, the other dilligent to follow after righteousness; the one is a bridle from sin and temptations, the other a spur to our duties. Fear is our curb, and hope our motive and encouragement; the one respects our duty, and the other our comfort; the one allayeth the other. God is so to be feared as also to be trusted; so to be trusted as also to be feared. Such as both believe in God and fear to offend him are the only men who are acceptable to God and His people. God will take pleasure in them, and they take pleasure in one another. Manton.—His mercy is “great;” it is “plenteous;” it is “abundant;” it is “everlasting;” many times we are told that it “endureth forever;” it is “high as heaven;” nay, “above the heavens,” and the “earth is full” of it; God is “rich” in it; He “magnifies” it; He “delights in” it; while, as for the man who is its object, it “follows” him through life; it “compasses him about,” “crowns” him like a coronal. Dykes.

12. Again the Psalmist begins his hymn of praise, and now with a direct reference to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the bright prospect which seemed to dawn upon the nation after its restoration. P.

12-20. The summons is addressed to the Church again gathered round Jerusalem on the soil of the promised land. The holy city has again risen out of its ruins; now once more it has gates which can stand open in broad daylight, and which, as the darkness falls, can be closed and bolted for the security of the community that as yet was small in point of numbers (Neh. 7: 1-4). The blessing of God rests once more upon the children of the holy mother-city. Its territory, which has experienced all the horrors of war, and which formerly resounded with the din of arms and lamentation and destruction, God has now, from being a field of battle, made into peace; and seeing the land can now again be cultivated in peace, the ancient promise is fulfilled, that God would feed His people, if they would only obey Him, with the fat of wheat. The God of Israel is indeed the Almighty Ruler of the world of nature. It is He that sends His mandate earthward; the Word is His messenger; i.e., it runs as swiftly as possible in order to discharge the commission upon which it is sent. It is He that sends down snowflakes like flocks of wool, so that the fields are covered with snow as with a white woollen warm cloth. He scatters hoar-frost about like ashes, so that trees are crusted over with the fine frozen dew or mist, as if they were powdered with ashes which the wind has blown hither and thither. Another time He casts down His ice as hailstones. It comes to pass, further, that God sends forth His word and makes them (snow, hoar-frost, and ice) melt away; He makes His thawing wind blow, the waters flow; i.e., as soon as the one takes place the other also takes place forthwith. This God now, who rules all things by His Word and fashions them according to His will, is the God of the revelation made known in the history of redemption, the revelation which has come to Israel, and as the bearer of which Israel takes the place of honor among the nations. D.

14. The devout Hebrew loved to remember that God’s miracles were but the prelude to God’s providence. And among the special benefits for which thanksgiving was rendered was this, that it was a land at once removed from the world’s fields of strife and blessed with the world’s chiefest cereals. God’s grace was seen as much in their homes as in their history, and in their harvests as in their laws. Interior.—Peace and wheat! The two things are germane, joined together and inseparable. War is destruction and death. The fruits of the earth and all the best products of human industry wither before it; want and famine follow in its path. Peace is the essential condition of plenty, and of plenty, in all its forms, wheat is the appropriate symbol. Where the sower scatters the seed and the reaper gathers the harvest in safety; where children have abundance of bread; where the kneading trough and the pantry, the storehouse, the freight train, and the swift ships of commerce are all filled with the finest of the wheat—there all the arts that sustain and adorn human life must flourish, and there the Almighty Father blesses human industry with the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth. The wealth of nations and of individuals comes out of our mother earth. It does not consist in gold and silver; they are only its counters and the medium of exchange. It consists in that which will build our houses and keep us warm in winter, and furnish the means of transportation, and cover our nakedness and feed our hunger. And when we have more of these than we need, then with the surplus we can pay our debts and honestly increase our temporal comforts with the surplus industries and products of other lands. And this is just the process by which God has gradually turned the tide of prosperity to our shores, and fills every generous heart with devout thanksgiving. “He has made peace in our borders and filled us with the finest of wheat.” H. J. V.

Behind the snowy loaf is the mill-wheel; behind the mill the wheat-field; on the wheat-field falls the sunlight; above the sun is God. Russell.

16. Frosts are from God; with Him are the treasures of the snow and the hail (Job 38:22, 23), and out of these treasures He draws as He pleases. He giveth snow like wool; it is compared to wool for its whiteness (Isa. 1:18) and its softness; it falls silently and makes no more noise than the fall of a lock of wool; it covers the earth, and keeps it warm, like a fleece of wool, and so promotes its fruitfulness. See how God can work by contraries, and bring meat out of the eater, can warm the earth with cold snow. H.

“The snowflake,” as Professor Tyndall strikingly says, “leads back to the sun,” so intimately related are all things to each other in this wonderful universe. It leads further and higher still, even to Him who is our sun and shield, the light and heat of all creation. The whole vast realm of winter, with its strange phenomena, is but the breath of God. S.

In the range of inorganic nature, I doubt if any object can be found more perfectly beautiful than a fresh, deep snowdrift seen under warm light. Its curves are of inconceivable perfection and changefulness; its surface and transparency alike exquisite; its light and shade of inexhaustible variety and inimitable finish, the shadows sharp, pale and of heavenly color, the reflected lights intense and multitudinous, and mingled with the sweet occurrences of transmitted light. No mortal hand can approach the majesty or loveliness of it. Ruskin.

Look, first, at the beauty of the snow. It makes a spiritual world of this dull, dark earth of ours; and the fields that seemed fit only for the growth of man’s food and the tread of weary feet in the common labors of life, covered with its white, immaculate carpet, look like a celestial floor on which white-winged angels on lofty errands of mercy might alight from the kindred heavens. The snow-crystals are the blossoms of inorganic nature. Their beauty is not a chance endowment. It is God’s Hall-mark, attesting that the work is His. Such beauty is a reflection of the Divine image, not something that God does, but something that He is, really and suitably a part of Himself. It awakens that curiosity about God which is an essential element of worship. He who arranged the particles of snow into such exquisite shapes of beauty can bring order out of our confusion and change our vile bodies and spirits into the likeness of Christ’s. Look at the power of the snow. In a few hours God’s little army of snowflakes does a work which defies all the resources of man to undo it, and before which he has to pause baffled and defeated. Look, further, at the service of the snow. “He giveth snow like wool,” says the Psalmist. The comparison expressively indicates one of the most important purposes which the snow serves in the economy of nature. It covers the earth like a blanket during that period of winter sleep which is necessary to recruit its exhausted energies and prepare it for fresh efforts in spring. He who warms the tender latent life of the flowers by the snow, and moulds the quiet beauty of the summer landscape by the desolating glacier, makes the cold of adversity to cherish the life of the soul, and to round into spiritual loveliness the harshness and roughness of a carnal, selfish nature. Look at the Giver of the snow. The Psalmist had not the shadow of a doubt that God formed and sent the annual miracle of snow, as He had formed and sent the daily miracle of manna in the desert. It was a commonplace thing; it was a natural, ordinary occurrence; but it had the Divine sign upon it, and it showed forth the glory and goodness of God as strikingly as the most wonderful supernatural event in his nation’s history. Macmillan.

17. He casteth forth His ice like morsels. Or, shivers of bread. It is a worthy saying of one from this text: The ice is bread, the rain is drink, the snow is wool, the frost a fire to the earth, causing it inwardly to glow with heat; teaching us what to do for God’s poor. Trapp.—Who can stand before His cold? The beasts cannot; they retire into dens (Job 37: 8), they are easily conquered then. Men cannot, but are forced to take the benefit of fires or furs, or both, and all little enough where and when the cold is in extremity. We see not the causes when we feel the effects, and therefore we must call it His cold, it is of His sending, and therefore we must bear it patiently, and be thankful for warm houses and clothes and beds.

18. Thaws are from God; when He pleases He sendeth out His Word, and melteth them; the frost, the snow, the ice, are all dissolved quickly, in order to which He causes the wind, the south wind, to blow, and the waters which were frozen flow again as they did before. We are soon sensible of the change, but we see not the causes of it, but must resolve it into the will of the First Cause. And in it we must take notice not only of the power of God that He can so suddenly, so insensibly make such a great and universal alteration in the temper of the air and the face of the earth (what cannot He do that doeth this every winter, perhaps often every winter?), but also of the goodness of God; hard weather does not always continue—it would be sad if it should; He does not contend forever, but renews the face of the earth. H.

The grass and flowers and trees are provided for and preserved by the physiological laws of their own growth, and the animal kingdom has the added power of instinct supplementing the physiological function of organs; structure, function, and instinct all working together in effective concert prepare the endangered species for the wintry frost and storms, and for the work of another spring when the round of life is once more to begin. The old story ever new, newer and better as we learn more of it at every repetition. P. A. Chadbourne.

The soft gales from the south which bring a general thaw are from the Lord, as were those wintry blasts which bound the streams in icy bonds. Simple but effectual are the methods of Jehovah in the natural world; equally so are those which He employs in the spiritual kingdom; for the breath of His Holy Spirit breathes upon frozen hearts, and streams of penitence and love gush forth at once. Observe how in these two sentences the Word and the wind go together in nature. They attend each other in grace; the Gospel and the Holy Spirit co-operate in salvation. S.

19. When the Psalmist would praise God for the preservation of Israel and the restoration of Jerusalem, as he does in this Psalm, it is not to the wonderful miraculous events with which the history of Israel abounded that he directs attention, but to the common events of Providence and the ordinary appearances and processes of nature. He cannot think enough of the Omnipotent Creator and Ruler of the universe entering into familiar relations with His people and condescending to their humblest wants. It is the same God that “giveth snow like wool,” who “shows His Word unto Jacob, and His statutes and commandments unto Israel.” And the wonder of the peculiarity is enhanced by thoughts borrowed from the wonders of nature. Macmillan.

20. The ancient Israelites fed upon the dainties of the earth and the corn of heaven. Yet they were endowed with the richer blessings of being a light to enlighten the gentiles; they were a city set on a hill; they might have been philanthropists on the largest scale; they were the depositaries of knowledge inestimable. By their bright example all the surrounding tribes might have been won over to the true religion. In respect to their position, central, illuminating, furnished with attractive influ-

ences, God had dealt with them as He had with no other nation. B. B. E.