1 א I will exalt Thee, my God, O King,
And I will bless Thy name for ever and aye.
2 ב Every day will I bless Thee,
And I will praise Thy name for ever and aye.
3 ג Great is Jehovah and much to be praised,
And of His greatness there is no searching.
4 ד Generation to generation shall loudly praise Thy works
And Thy mighty acts shall they declare.
5 ה The splendour of the glory of Thy majesty,
And the records of Thy wonders will I meditate.
6 ו And the might of Thy dread acts shall they speak,
And Thy greatness will I tell over.
7 ז The memory of Thy abundant goodness shall they well forth,
And Thy righteousness shall they shout aloud.
8 ח Gracious and full of compassion is Jehovah,
Slow to anger and great in loving-kindness.
9 ט Good is Jehovah to all,
And His compassions are upon all His works.
10 י All Thy works thank Thee, Jehovah,
And Thy favoured ones shall bless Thee.
11 כ The glory of Thy kingdom shall they speak,
And talk of Thy might;
12 ל To make known to the sons of men His mighty deeds
And the glory of the splendour of His kingdom.
13 מ Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
And Thy dominion [endures] through every generation after
generation.
14 ס Jehovah upholds all the falling,
And raises all the bowed down.
15 ע The eyes of all look expectantly to Thee,
And Thou givest them their food in its season.
16 פ Thou openest Thy hand,
And satisfiest every living thing [with] its desire.
17 צ Jehovah is righteous in all His ways,
And loving in all His works.
18 ק Jehovah is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth.
19 ר The desire of them that fear Him He will fulfil,
And their cry He will hear and will save them.
20 ש Jehovah keeps all who love Him,
And all the wicked will He destroy.
21 ת The praise of Jehovah my mouth shall speak,
And let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and aye.
This is an acrostic psalm. Like several others of that kind, it is
slightly irregular, one letter (Nun) being omitted. The omission is
supplied in the LXX. by an obviously spurious verse inserted in the
right place between vv. 13 and 14. Though the psalm has no strophical
divisions, it has distinct sequence of thought, and celebrates the
glories of Jehovah's character and deeds from a fourfold point of view.
It sings of His greatness (vv. 1-6), goodness (vv. 7-10), His kingdom
(vv. 11-13), and the universality of His beneficence (vv. 14-21). It is
largely coloured by other psalms, and is unmistakably of late origin.
The first group of verses has two salient characteristics--the
accumulation of epithets expressive of the more majestic aspects of
Jehovah's self-revelation, and the remarkable alternation of the
psalmist's solo of song and the mighty chorus, which takes up the
theme and sends a shout of praise echoing down the generations.
The psalmist begins with his own tribute of praise, which he vows
shall be perpetual. Ver. 1 recalls Psalms xxx. 1 and xxxiv. 1. We
"exalt" God, when we recognise that He is King, and worthily adore
Him as such. A heart suffused with joy in the thought of God would
fain have no other occupation than the loved one of ringing out His
name. The singer sets "for ever and aye" at the end of both ver. 1
and ver. 2, and while it is possible to give the expression a worthy
meaning as simply equivalent to _continually_, it is more in harmony
with the exalted strain of the psalm and the emphatic position of
the words to hear in them an expression of the assurance which such
delight in God and in the contemplation of Him naturally brings with
it, that over communion so deep and blessed, Death has no power.
"Every day will I bless Thee"--that is the happy vow of the devout
heart. "And I will praise Thy name for ever and ever"--that is the
triumphant confidence that springs from the vow. The experiences of
fellowship with God are prophets of their own immortality.
Ver. 3_a_ is from Psalm xlviii. 1, and _b_ is tinged by Isaiah
xl., but substitutes "greatness," the key-note of the first part of
this psalm, for "understanding." That note having been thus struck,
is taken up in vv. 4-6, which set forth various aspects of that
greatness, as manifested in works which are successively described as
"mighty"--_i.e._, instinct with conquering power such as a valiant
hero wields; as, taken together, constituting the "splendour of the
glory of Thy majesty," the flashing brightness with which, when
gathered, as it were, in a radiant mass, they shine out, like a
great globe of fire; as "wonders," not merely in the narrower sense
of miracles, but as being productive of lowly astonishment in the
thoughtful spectator; and as being "dread acts"--_i.e._, such as fill
the beholder with holy awe. In ver. 5_b_ the phrase rendered above
"records of His wonders" is literally "words of His wonders," which
some regard as being like the similar phrase in Psalm lxv. 3 (words
or matters of iniquities), a pleonasm, and others would take as they
do the like expression in Psalm cv. 27, as equivalent to "_deeds_
of the Divine wonders" (Delitzsch). But "words" may very well
here retain its ordinary sense, and the poet represent himself as
meditating on the records of God's acts in the past as well as gazing
on those spread before his eyes in the present.
His passing and repassing from his own praise in vv. 1, 2, to that of
successive generations in ver. 4, and once more to his own in ver.
5, and to that of others in ver. 6, is remarkable. Does he conceive
of himself as the chorus leader, teaching the ages his song? Or does
he simply rejoice in the less lofty consciousness that his voice is
not solitary? It is difficult to say, but this is clear, that the
Messianic hope of the world's being one day filled with the praises
which were occasioned by God's manifestation in Israel burned in this
singer's heart. He could not bear to sing alone, and his hymn would
lack its highest note, if he did not believe that the world was to
catch up the song.
But greatness, majesty, splendour, are not the Divinest parts of
the Divine nature, as this singer had learned. These are but the
fringes of the central glory. Therefore the song rises from greatness
to celebrate better things, the moral attributes of Jehovah (vv.
7-10). The psalmist has no more to say of himself, till the end of
his psalm. He gladly listens rather to the chorus of many voices
which proclaims Jehovah's widespread goodness. In ver. 7 the two
attributes which the whole Old Testament regards as inseparable are
the themes of the praise of men. Goodness and righteousness are
not antithetic, but complementary, as green and red rays blend in
white light. The exuberance of praise evoked by these attributes
is strikingly represented by the two strong words describing it;
of which the former, "well forth," compares its gush to the clear
waters of a spring bursting up into sunlight, dancing and flashing,
musical and living, and the other describes it as like the shrill
cries of joy raised by a crowd on some festival, or such as the women
trilled out when a bride was brought home. Ver. 8 rests upon Exod.
xxxiv. 6 (compare Psalm ciii. 8). It is difficult to de-synonymise
"gracious" and "full of compassion." Possibly the former is the
wider, and expresses love in exercise towards the lowly in its most
general aspect, while the latter specialises graciousness as it
reveals itself to those afflicted with any evil. As "slow to anger,"
Jehovah keeps back the wrath which is part of His perfection, and
only gives it free course after long waiting and wooing. The contrast
in ver. 8_b_ is not so much between anger and loving-kindness, which
to the psalmist are not opposed, as between the slowness with which
the one is launched against a few offenders and the plenitude of the
other. That thought of abundant loving-kindness is still further
widened, in ver. 9, to universality. God's goodness embraces all,
and His compassions hover over all His works, as the broad wing and
warm breast of the mother eagle protect her brood. Therefore the
psalmist hears a yet more multitudinous voice of praise from all
creatures; since their very existence, and still more their various
blessednesses, give witness to the all-gladdening Mercy which
encompasses them. But Creation's anthem is a song without words, and
needs to be made articulate by the conscious thanksgivings of those
who, being blessed by possession of Jehovah's loving-kindness, render
blessing to Him with heart and lip.
The Kingship of God was lightly touched in ver. 1. It now becomes
the psalmist's theme in vv. 11-13. It is for God's favoured ones to
_speak_, while Creation can but _be_. It is for men who can recognise
God's sovereign Will as their law, and know Him as Ruler, not only by
power, but by goodness, to proclaim that kingdom which psalmists knew
to be "righteousness, peace, and joy." The purpose for which God has
lavished His favour on Israel is that they might be the heralds of
His royalty to "the sons of men." The recipients of His grace should
be the messengers of His grace. The aspects of that kingdom which
fill the psalmist's thoughts in this part of his hymn, correspond
with that side of the Divine nature celebrated in vv. 1-6--namely,
the more majestic--while the graciousness magnified in vv. 7-10 is
again the theme in the last portion (vv. 14-20). An intentional
parallelism between the first and third parts is suggested by the
recurrence in ver. 12 of part of the same heaped-together phrase
which occurs in ver. 5. There we read of "the splendour of the
glory of Thy majesty"; here of "the glory of the splendour of Thy
kingdom,"--expressions substantially identical in meaning. The very
glory of the kingdom of Jehovah is a pledge that it is eternal. What
corruption or decay could touch so radiant and mighty a throne?
Israel's monarchy was a thing of the past; but as, "in the year that
King Uzziah died," Isaiah saw the true King of Israel throned in
the Temple, so the vanishing of the earthly head of the theocracy
seems to have revealed with new clearness to devout men in Israel
the perpetuity of the reign of Jehovah. Hence the psalms of the King
are mostly post-exilic. It is blessed when the shattering of earthly
goods or the withdrawal of human helpers and lovers makes more plain
the Unchanging Friend and His abiding power to succour and suffice.
The last portion of the psalm is marked by a frequent repetition of
"all," which occurs eleven times in these verses. The singer seems
to delight in the very sound of the word, which suggests to him
boundless visions of the wide sweep of God's universal mercy, and of
the numberless crowd of dependents who wait on and are satisfied by
Him. He passes far beyond national bounds.
Ver. 14 begins the grand catalogue of universal blessings by an
aspect of God's goodness which, at first sight, seems restricted,
but is only too wide, since there is no man who is not often ready
to fall and needing a strong hand to uphold him. The universality of
man's weakness is pathetically testified by this verse. Those who are
in the act of falling are upheld by Him; those who have fallen are
helped to regain their footing. Universal sustaining and restoring
grace are His. The psalmist says nothing of the conditions on which
that grace in its highest forms is exercised; but these are inherent
in the nature of the case, for, if the falling man will not lay
hold of the outstretched hand, down he must go. There would be no
place for restoring help, if sustaining aid worked as universally
as it is proffered. The word for "raises" in ver. 14_b_ occurs only
here and in Psalm cxlvi. 8. Probably the author of both Psalms is
one. In vv. 15, 16, the universality of Providence is set forth in
language partly taken from Psalm civ. 27, 28. The petitioners are all
creatures. They mutely appeal to God, with expectant eyes fixed on
Him, like a dog looking for a crust from its master. He has but to
"open His hand" and they are satisfied. The process is represented as
easy and effortless. Ver. 16_b_ has received different explanations.
The word rendered "desire" is often used for "favour"--_i.e._,
God's--and is by some taken in that meaning here. So Cheyne
translates "fillest everything that lives with goodwill." But seeing
that the same word recurs in ver. 19, in an obvious parallel with
this verse, and has there necessarily the meaning of _desire_, it is
more natural to give it the same signification here. The clause then
means that the opening of God's hand satisfies every creature, by
giving it that which it desires in full enjoyment.
These common blessings of Providence avail to interpret deeper
mysteries. Since the world is full of happy creatures nourished
by Him, it is a reasonable faith that His work is all of a piece,
and that in all His dealings the twin attributes of righteousness
and loving-kindness rule. There are enough plain tokens of God's
character in plain things to make us sure that mysterious and
apparently anomalous things have the same character regulating them.
In ver. 17_b_ the word rendered _loving_ is that usually employed
of the objects of loving-kindness, God's "favoured ones." It is
used of God only here and in Jer. iii. 12, and must be taken in an
active sense, as _One who exercises loving-kindness_. The underlying
principle of all His acts is Love, says the psalmist, and there is no
antagonism between that deepest motive and Righteousness. The singer
has indeed climbed to a sun-lit height, from which he sees far and
can look down into the deep of the Divine judgments and discern that
they are a clear-obscure.
He does not restrict this universal beneficence when he goes on to
lay down conditions on which the reception of its highest forms depend.
These conditions are not arbitrary; and within their limits, the same
universality is displayed. The lower creation makes its mute appeal to
God, but men have the prerogative and obligation of calling upon Him
with real desire and trust. Such suppliants will universally be blessed
with a nearness of God to them, better than His proximity through
power, knowledge, or the lower manifestations of His loving-kindness,
to inferior creatures. Just as the fact of life brought with it certain
wants, which God is bound to supply, since He gives it, so the fear and
love of Him bring deeper needs, which He is still more (if that were
possible) under pledge to satisfy. The creatures have their desires
met. Those who fear Him will certainly have theirs; and that, not only
in so far as they share physical life with worm and bee, whom their
heavenly Father feeds, but in so far as their devotion sets in motion
a new series of aspirations, longings, and needs, which will certainly
not be left unfulfilled. "Food" is all the boon that the creatures
crave, and they get it by an easy process. But man, especially man who
fears and loves God, has deeper needs, sadder in one aspect, since
they come from perils and ills from which he has to be saved, but more
blessed in another, since every need is a door by which God can enter
a soul. These sacreder necessities and more wistful longings are not
to be satisfied by simply opening God's hand. More has to be done
than that. For they can only be satisfied by the gift of Himself, and
men need much disciplining before they will to receive Him into their
hearts. They who love and fear Him will desire Him chiefly, and that
desire can never be balked. There is a region, and only one, in which
it is safe to set our hearts on unattained good. They who long for God
will always have as much of God as they long for and are capable of
receiving.
But notwithstanding the universality of the Divine loving-kindness,
mankind still parts into two sections, one capable of receiving the
highest gifts, one incapable, because not desiring them. And therefore
the One Light, in its universal shining, works two effects, being
lustre and life to such as welcome it, but darkness and death to those
who turn from it. It is man's awful prerogative that he can distil
poison out of the water of life, and can make it impossible for himself
to receive from tender, universal Goodness anything but destruction.
The singer closes his song with the reiterated vow that his songs
shall never close, and, as in the earlier part of the psalm, rejoices
in the confidence that his single voice shall, like that of the
herald angel at Bethlehem, be merged in the notes of "a multitude
praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest."