_An exhortation to praise God for his excellency,—for his mercy._
Praise ye the Lord. Praise, O ye servants of the LORD, praise the name
of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore.
From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD’S
name _is_ to be praised.
The LORD _is_ high above all nations, _and_ his glory above the
heavens.
Who _is_ like unto the LORD our God, who dwelleth on high,
Who humbleth _himself_ to behold _the things that are_ in heaven, and
in the earth!
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, _and_ lifteth the needy out of
the dunghill;
That he may set _him_ with princes, _even_ with the princes of his
people.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, _and to be_ a joyful mother
of children. Praise ye the LORD.
This is a most conspicuous and most blessed prophecy of the kingdom of
Christ, and of its extension from the rising unto the setting of the
sun throughout all the kingdoms of the earth: it calls upon all
nations to laud and magnify God, and to proclaim the riches of his
grace; that is, the remission of sins for Christ’s sake. For Christ is
the God of the humble, the God of the afflicted, and the God of those
that call upon him and that cry unto him; he is an altogether loving
and lovely Saviour and God, who sitteth at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, and loves and has respect unto the humble, the
afflicted, the oppressed, and the trembling and contrite in heart.
The peculiar and express office of Christ, and the work of the kingdom
of Christ is to bring down the proud, to put to shame the wise, and to
condemn hypocrites and false saints: and, on the other side, to raise
up and exalt the humble, to enlighten and instruct fools, to sanctify
unclean sinners, to make fruitful the barren, to comfort the
fatherless; that is, those who are in any way afflicted or distressed.