verse shows us what it was that raised the Psalmist to this admiration
of the goodness of God to man: “_When I consider thy heavens, the work
of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; Lord,
what is man?_” God in the work of creation made all these things
serviceable and instrumental for the good of man. What is man, that he
should have a sun, moon, and stars, planted in the firmament for him?
What creature is this? When great preparations are made in any place,
much provisions laid in, and the house adorned with richest furnitures,
we say, “_What is this man that comes to such a house?_” When such a
goodly fabric was raised up, the goodly house of the world adorned and
furnished, we have reason admiringly to say, What is this man that must
be the tenant or inhabitant of his house? There is yet a higher
exaltation of man in the creation; man was magnified with the stamp of
God’s image, one part whereof the Psalmist describes in the sixth verse,
“_Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou
hast put all things under his feet_,” etc. Thus man was magnified in
creation. What was man that he should have the rule of the world given
him? That he should be lord over the fish of the sea, and over the
beasts of the field, and over the fowls of the air? Again, man was
magnified in creation, in that God set him in the next degree to the
angels; “_Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels_;” there is
the first part of the answer to this question, man was magnified in
being made so excellent a creature, and in having so many excellent
creatures made for him. All which may be understood of man as created in
God’s image; but since the transgression it is peculiar to Christ, as
the apostle applies it (Heb. ii. 6), and if those who have their blood
and dignity restored by the work of redemption, which is the next part
of man’s exaltation.—_Joseph Caryl._
_Verses 5-8._—Augustine having allegorised much about the wine-presses
in the title of this Psalm, upon these words, “What is man, or the son
of man,” the one being called אֱנוֹשׁ, from _misery_, the other בֶן
אָדָם, the _Son of Adam_, or _man_, saith, that by the first is meant
man in the state of sin and corruption, by the other, man regenerated by
grace, yet called the son of man because made more excellent by the
change of his mind and life, from old corruption to newness, and from an
old to a new man; whereas he that is still carnal is miserable; and then
ascending from the body to the head, Christ, he extols his glory as
being set over all things, even the angels and heavens, and the whole
world as is elsewhere showed that he is. Eph. i. 21. And then leaving
the highest things he descended to “_sheep and oxen_;” whereby we may
understand _sanctified men_ and _preachers_, for to _sheep_ are the
_faithful_ often compared, and _preachers_ to _oxen_. 1 Cor. ix. “Thou
shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn.” “_The
beasts of the field_” set forth the _voluptuous_ that live at large,
going in the broad way: _the fowls of the air_, the _lifted up by
pride_: “_the fishes of the sea_,” such as through a covetous desire of
riches pierce into the lower parts of the earth, as the fishes dive to
the bottom of the sea. And because men pass the seas again and again for
riches, he addeth, “_that passeth through the way of the sea_,” and to
that of diving to the bottom of the waters may be applied (1 Tim. vi.
9), “They that will be rich, fall into many noisome lusts, that drown
the soul in perdition.” And hereby seem to be set forth the three things
of the world of which it is said, “they that love them, the love of the
Father is not in them.” “The lust of the heart” being sensuality; “the
lust of the eyes,” covetousness; to which is added, “the pride of life.”
Above all these Christ was set, because without all sin; neither could
any of the devil’s three temptations, which may be referred hereunto,
prevail with him. And all these, as well as “sheep and oxen,” are in the
church, for which it is said, that into the ark came all manner of
beasts, both clean and unclean, and fowls; and all manner of fishes,
good and bad, came into the net, as it is in the parable. All which I
have set down, as of which good use may be made by the discreet
reader.—_John Mayer._
_Verse 6.—“Thou hast put all things under his feet.”_ Hermodius, a
nobleman born, upbraided the valiant captain Iphicrates for that he was
but a shoemaker’s son. “My blood,” saith Iphicrates, “taketh beginning
at me; and thy blood, at thee now taketh her farewell;” intimating that
he, not honouring his house with the glory of his virtues, as the house
had honoured him with the title of nobility, was but as a wooden knife
put into an empty sheath to fill up the place; but for himself, he, by
his valorous achievements was now beginning to be the raiser of his
family. Thus, in the matter of spirituality, he is the best gentleman
that is the best Christian. The men of Berea, who received the word with
all readiness, were more noble than those of Thessalonica. The burgesses
of God’s city be not of base lineage, but truly noble; they boast not of
their generations, but their regeneration, which is far better; for, by
their second birth they are the sons of God, and the church is their
mother, and Christ their elder brother, the Holy Ghost their tutor,
angels their attendants, and all other creatures their subjects, the
whole world their inn, and heaven their home.—_John Spencer’s “Things
New and Old.”_
_Verse 6.—“Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy
hands,”_ etc. For thy help against wandering thoughts in prayer ...
labour to keep thy distance to the world, and that sovereignty which God
hath given thee over it in its profits and pleasures, or whatever else
may prove a snare to thee. While the father and master know their place,
and keep their distance, so long children and servants will keep theirs
by being dutiful and officious; but when they forget this, the father
grows fond of the one, and the master too familiar with the other, then
they begin to lose their authority, and the others to grow saucy and
under no command; bid them go, and it may be they will not stir; set
them a task, and they will bid you do it yourself. Truly, thus it fares
with the Christian; all the creatures are his servants, and so long as
he keeps his heart at a holy distance from them, and maintains his
lordship over them, not laying them in his bosom, which God hath put
“_under his feet_,” all is well; he marches to the duties of God’s
worship in a goodly order. He can be private with God, and these not be
bold to crowd in to disturb him.—_William Gurnall._
_Verses 7, 8._—He who rules over the material world, is Lord also of the
intellectual or spiritual creation represented thereby. The souls of the
faithful, lowly and harmless are the sheep of his pasture; those who,
like oxen, are strong to labour in the church, and who, by expounding
the Word of Life, tread out the corn for the nourishment of the people,
own him for their kind and beneficent Master; nay, tempers fierce and
untractable as the beasts of the desert, are yet subject to his will;
spirits of the angelic kind, that, like the birds of the air, traverse
freely the superior region, move at his command; and those evil ones
whose habitation is in the deep abyss, even to the great leviathan
himself, all are put under the feet of King Messiah.—_George Horne,
D.D._
_Verse 8._—Every dish of fish and fowl that comes to our table, is an
instance of this dominion man has over the works of God’s hands, and it
is a reason of our subjection to God our chief Lord, and to his dominion
over us.
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
_Verse 1.—“O Lord, our Lord.”_—Personal appropriation of the Lord as
ours. The privilege of holding such a portion.
“_How excellent_,” etc. The excellence of the name and nature of God in
all places, and under all circumstances.
Sermon or lecture upon the glory of God in creation and providence.
“_In all the earth._” The universal revelation of God in nature and its
excellency.
“_Thy glory above the heavens._” The incomprehensible and infinite glory
of God.
“_Above the heavens._” The glory of God outsoaring the intellect of
angels, and the splendour of heaven.
_Verse 2._—Infant piety, its possibility, potency, “strength,” and
influence, “that thou mightest still,” etc.
The strength of the gospel not the result of eloquence or wisdom in the
speaker.
Great results from small causes when the Lord ordains to work.
Great things which can be said and claimed by babes in grace.
The stilling of the powers of evil by the testimony of feeble believers.
The stilling of the Great Enemy by the conquests of grace.
_Verse 4._—Man’s insignificance. God’s mindfulness of man. Divine
visits. The question, “What is man?” Each of these themes may suffice
for a discourse, or they may be handled in one sermon.
_Verse 5._—Man’s relation to the angels.
The position which Jesus assumed for our sakes.
Manhood’s crown—the glory of our nature in the person of the Lord Jesus.
_Verses 5, 6, 7, 8._—The universal providential dominion of our Lord
Jesus.
_Verse 6._—Man’s rights and responsibilities towards the lower animals.
_Verse 6._—Man’s dominion over the lower animals, and how he should
exercise it.
_Verse 6 (second clause)._—The proper place for all worldly things,
“_under his feet_.”
_Verse 9._—The wanderer in many climes enjoying the sweetness of his
Lord’s name in every condition.
PSALM IX.
TITLE.—“To the Chief Musician upon Muth-labben, a Psalm of David.” _The
meaning of this title is very doubtful. It may refer to the tune to
which the Psalm was to be sung, so Wilcocks and others think; or it may
refer to a musical instrument now unknown, but common in those days; or
it may have a reference to Ben, who is mentioned in 1 Chron. xv. 18, as
one of the Levitical singers. If either of these conjectures should be
correct, the title of Muth-labben has no teaching for us, except it is
meant to show us how careful David was that in the worship of God all
things should be done according to due order. From a considerable
company of learned witnesses we gather that the title will bear a
meaning far more instructive, without being fancifully forced: it
signifies a Psalm concerning the death of the Son. The Chaldee has,
“concerning the death of the Champion who went out between the camps,”
referring to Goliath of Gath, or some other Philistine, on account of
whose death many suppose this Psalm to have been written in after years
by David. Believing that out of a thousand guesses this is at least as
consistent with the sense of the Psalm as any other, we prefer it; and
the more especially so because it enables us to refer it mystically to
the victory of the Son of God over the champion of evil, even the enemy
of souls (verse 6). We have here before us most evidently a triumphal
hymn; may it strengthen the faith of the militant believer, and
stimulate the courage of the timid saint, as he sees here_ THE
CONQUEROR, _on whose vesture and thigh is the name written, King of
kings and Lord of lords._
ORDER.—_Bonar remarks, “The position of the Psalms in their relations to
each other is often remarkable. It is questioned whether the present
arrangement of them was the order in which they were given forth to
Israel, or whether some later compiler, perhaps Ezra, was inspired to
attend to this matter, as well as to other points connected with the
canon. Without attempting to decide this point, it is enough to remark
that we have proof that the order of the Psalms is as ancient as the
completing of the canon, and if so, it seems obvious that the Holy
Spirit wished this book to come down to us in its present order. We make
these remarks, in order to invite attention to the fact, that as the
eighth caught up the last line of the seventh, this ninth Psalm opens
with an apparent reference to the eighth:—_
“I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in thee. (Comp. Song i. 4; Rev. xix. 7.)
I will sing to THY NAME, O thou Most High.” Verses 1, 2.
_As if_ “The Name,” _so highly praised in the former Psalm, were still
ringing in the ear of the sweet singer of Israel. And in verse 10, he
returns to it, celebrating their confidence who “know” that “name” as if
its fragrance still breathed in the atmosphere around._
DIVISION.—_The strain so continually changes, that it is difficult to
give an outline of it methodically arranged: we give the best we can
make. From verses 1 to 6 is a song of jubilant thanksgiving; from 7 to
12, there is a continual declaration of faith as to the future. Prayer
closes the first great division of the Psalm in verses 13 and 14. The
second portion of this triumphal ode, although much shorter, is parallel
in all its parts to the first portion, and is a sort of rehearsal of it.
Observe the song for past judgments, verses 15, 16; the declaration of
trust in future justice, 17, 18; and the closing prayer, 19, 20. Let us
celebrate the conquests of the Redeemer as we read this Psalm, and it
cannot but be a delightful task if the Holy Ghost be with us._
EXPOSITION.
I will praise _thee_, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth
all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy
name, O thou most High.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at
thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the
throne judging right.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked,
thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou
hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
1. With a holy resolution the songster begins his hymn; _I will praise
thee, O Lord_. It sometimes needs all our determination to face the foe
and bless the Lord in the teeth of his enemies; vowing that whoever else
may be silent _we_ will bless his name; here, however, the overthrow of
the foe is viewed as complete, and the song flows with sacred fulness of
delight. It is our duty to praise the Lord; let us perform it as a
privilege. Observe that David’s praise is all given to the Lord. Praise
is to be offered to God alone; we may be grateful to the intermediate
agent, but our thanks must have long wings and mount aloft to heaven.
_With my whole heart._ Half heart is no heart. _I will show forth._
There is true praise in the thankful telling forth to others of our
heavenly Father’s dealings with us; this is one of the themes upon which
the godly should speak often to one another, and it will not be casting
pearls before swine if we make even the ungodly hear of the
loving-kindness of the Lord to us. _All thy marvellous works._ Gratitude
for one mercy refreshes the memory as to thousands of others. One silver
link in the chain draws up a long series of tender remembrances. Here is
eternal work for us, for there can be no end to the showing forth of
_all_ his deeds of love. If we consider our own sinfulness and
nothingness, we must feel that every work of preservation, forgiveness,
conversion, deliverance, sanctification, &c., which the Lord has wrought
for us, or in us is a _marvellous_ work. Even in heaven, divine
loving-kindness will doubtless be as much a theme of surprise as of
rapture.
2. Gladness and joy are the appropriate spirit in which to praise the
goodness of the Lord. Birds extol the Creator in notes of overflowing
joy, the cattle low forth his praise with tumult of happiness, and the
fish leap up in his worship with excess of delight. Moloch may be
worshipped with shrieks of pain, and Juggernaut may be honoured by dying
groans and inhuman yells, but he whose name is Love is best pleased with
the holy mirth, and sanctified gladness of his people. Daily rejoicing
is an ornament to the Christian character, and a suitable robe for God’s
choristers to wear. God loveth a _cheerful_ giver, whether it be the
gold of his purse or the gold of his mouth which he presents upon his
altar. _I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High._ Songs are the
fitting expressions of inward thankfulness, and it were well if we
indulged ourselves and honoured our Lord with more of them. Mr. B. P.
Power has well said, “The sailors give a cheery cry as they weigh
anchor, the ploughman whistles in the morning as he drives his team; the
milkmaid sings her rustic song as she sets about her early task; when
soldiers are leaving friends behind them, they do not march out to the
tune of the Dead March in ‘Saul,’ but to the quick notes of some lively
air. A praising spirit would do for us all that their songs and music do
for them; and if only we could determine to praise the Lord, we should
surmount many a difficulty which our low spirits never would have been
equal to, and we should do double the work which can be done if the
heart be languid in its beating, if we be crushed and trodden down in
soul. As the evil spirit in Saul yielded in the olden time to the
influence of the harp of the son of Jesse, so would the spirit of
melancholy often take flight from us, if only we would take up the song
of praise.”
3. God’s presence is evermore sufficient to work the defeat of our most
furious foes, and their ruin is so complete when the Lord takes them in
hand, that even flight cannot save them, they fall to rise no more when
he pursues them. We must be careful, like David, to give all the glory
to him whose presence gives the victory. If we have here the exultings
of our conquering Captain, let us make the triumphs of the Redeemer the
triumphs of the redeemed, and rejoice with him at the total discomfiture
of all his foes.
4. One of our nobility has for his motto, “I will maintain it;” but the
Christian has a better and more humble one, “Thou hast maintained it.”
“God and my right,” are united by my faith: while God lives my right
shall never be taken from me. If we seek to maintain the cause and
honour of our Lord we may suffer reproach and misrepresentation, but it
is a rich comfort to remember that he who sits in the throne knows our
hearts, and will not leave us to the ignorant and ungenerous judgment of
erring man.
5. God rebukes before he destroys, but when he once comes to blows with
the wicked he ceases not until he has dashed them in pieces so small
that their very name is forgotten, and like a noisome snuff their
remembrance is put out for ever and ever. How often the word “thou”
occurs in this and the former verse, to show us that the grateful strain
mounts up directly to the Lord as doth the smoke from the altar when the
air is still. My soul send up all the music of all thy powers to him who
has been and is thy sure deliverance.
6. Here the Psalmist exults over the fallen foe. He bends as it were,
over his prostrate form, and insults his once vaunted strength. He
plucks the boaster’s song out of his mouth, and sings it for him in
derision. After this fashion doth our Glorious Redeemer ask of death,
“Where is thy sting?” and of the grave, “Where is thy victory?” The
spoiler is spoiled, and he who made captive is led into captivity
himself. Let the daughters of Jerusalem go forth to meet their King, and
praise him with timbrel and harp.
7 But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne
for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister
judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in
times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for
thou LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among
the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he
forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
In the light of the past the future is not doubtful. Since the same
Almighty God fills the throne of power, we can with unhesitating
confidence, exult in our security for all time to come.
7. The enduring existence and unchanging dominion of our Jehovah, are
the firm foundations of our joy. The enemy and his destructions shall
come to a perpetual end, but God and his throne shall _endure for ever_.
The eternity of divine sovereignty yields unfailing consolation. By the
throne being _prepared for judgment_, are we not to understand the
swiftness of divine justice. In heaven’s court suitors are not worn out
with long delays. Term-time lasts all the year round in the court of
King’s Bench above. Thousands may come at once to the throne of the
Judge of all the earth, but neither plaintiff nor defendant shall have
to complain that he is not prepared to give their cause a fair hearing.
8. Whatever earthly courts may do, heaven’s throne ministers judgment in
uprightness. Partiality and respect of persons are things unknown in the
dealings of the Holy One of Israel. How the prospect of appearing before
the impartial tribunal of the Great King should act as a check to us
when tempted to sin, and as a comfort when we are slandered or
oppressed.
9. He who gives no quarter to the wicked in the day of judgment, is the
defence and refuge of his saints in the day of trouble. There are many
forms of oppression; both from man and from Satan oppression come to us;
and for all its forms, a refuge is provided in the Lord Jehovah. There
were cities of refuge under the law, God is our refuge-city under the
gospel. As the ships when vexed with tempest make for harbour, so do the
oppressed hasten to the wings of a just and gracious God. He is a high
tower so impregnable, that the hosts of hell cannot carry it by storm,
and from its lofty heights faith looks down with scorn upon her enemies.
10. Ignorance is worst when it amounts to ignorance of God, and
knowledge is best when it exercises itself upon _the name_ of God. This
most excellent knowledge leads to the most excellent grace of faith. O,
to learn more of the attributes and character of God. Unbelief, that
hooting nightbird, cannot live in the light of divine knowledge, it
flies before the sun of God’s great and gracious name. If we read this
verse literally, there is, no doubt, a glorious fulness of assurance in
the names of God. We have recounted them in the “Hints for Preachers,”
and would direct the reader’s attention to them. By knowing his name is
also meant an experimental acquaintance with the attributes of God,
which are everyone of them anchors to hold the soul from drifting in
seasons of peril. The Lord may hide his face for a season from his
people, but he never has utterly, finally, really, or angrily, _forsaken
them that seek him_. Let the poor seekers draw comfort from this fact,
and let the finders rejoice yet more exceedingly, for what must be the
Lord’s faithfulness to those who find if he is so gracious to those who
seek.
“O hope of every contrite heart,
O joy of all the meek,
To those who fall how kind thou art,
How good to those who seek.
“But what to those who find, ah, this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus what it is,
None but his loved ones know.”
11. Being full of gratitude himself, our inspired author is eager to
excite others to join the strain, and praise God in the same manner as
he had himself vowed to do in the first and second verses. The heavenly
spirit of praise is gloriously contagious, and he that hath it is never
content unless he can excite all who surround him to unite in his sweet
employ. Singing and preaching, as means of glorifying God, are here
joined together, and it is remarkable that, connected with all revivals
of gospel ministry, there has been a sudden outburst of the spirit of
song. Luther’s Psalms and Hymns were in all men’s mouths, and in the
modern revival under Wesley and Whitfield, the strains of Charles
Wesley, Cennick, Berridge, Toplady, Hart, Newton, and many others, were
the outgrowth of restored piety. The singing of the birds of praise
fitly accompanies the return of the gracious spring of divine visitation
through the proclamation of the truth. Sing on brethren, and preach on,
and these shall both be a token that the Lord still dwelleth in Zion. It
will be well for us when coming up to Zion, to remember that the Lord
dwells among his saints, and is to be had in peculiar reverence of all
those that are about him.