conceive; but we can all see that he is great in the deliverance of his
people, great in their esteem who are delivered, and great in the hearts
of those enemies whom he scatters by their own fears. Instead of the mad
cry of Ephesus, “Great is Diana,” we bear the reasonable, demonstrable,
self-evident testimony, “Great is Jehovah.” There is none great in the
church but the Lord. Jesus is “the _great_ Shepherd,” he is “a Saviour,
and a great one,” our great God and Saviour, our great High Priest; his
Father has divided him a portion with the great, and his name shall be
great unto the ends of the earth. “_And greatly to be praised._”
According to his nature should his worship be; it cannot be too
constant, too laudatory, too earnest, too reverential, too sublime.
There is none like the Lord, and there should be no praises like his
praises. “_In the city of our God._” He is great there, and should be
greatly praised there. If all the world beside renounced Jehovah’s
worship, the chosen people in his favoured city should continue to adore
him, for in their midst and on their behalf his glorious power has been
so manifestly revealed. In the church the Lord is to be extolled though
all the nations rage against him. Jerusalem was the peculiar abode of
the God of Israel, the seat of the theocratic government, and the centre
of prescribed worship, and even thus is the church the place of divine
manifestation. “_In the mountain of his holiness._” Where his holy
temple, his holy priests, and his holy sacrifices might continually be
seen. Zion was a mount, and as it was the most renowned part of the
city, it is mentioned as a synonym for the city itself. The church of
God is a mount for elevation and for conspicuousness, and it should be
adorned with holiness, her sons being partakers of the holiness of God.
Only by holy men can the Lord be fittingly praised, and they should be
incessantly occupied with his worship.
2. “_Beautiful for situation._” Jerusalem was so naturally, she was
styled the Queen of the East; the church is so spiritually, being placed
near God’s heart, within the mountains of his power, upon the hills of
his faithfulness, in the centre of providential operations. The
elevation of the church is her beauty. The more she is above the world
the fairer she is. “_The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion._”
Jerusalem was the world’s star; whatever light lingered on earth was
borrowed from the oracles preserved by Israel. An ardent Israelite would
esteem the holy city as the eye of the nations, the most precious pearl
of all lands. Certainly the church of God, though despised of men, is
the true joy and hope of the world. “_On the sides of the north, the
city of the great King._” Either meaning that Jerusalem was in the
northern extremity of Judah, or it may denote that part of the city
which lay to the north of Mount Zion. It was the glory of Jerusalem to
be God’s city, the place of his regal dwelling, and it is the joy of the
church that God is in her midst. The great God is the great King of the
church, and for her sake he rules all the nations. The people among whom
the Lord deigns to dwell are privileged above all others; the lines have
fallen unto them in pleasant places, and they have a goodly heritage. We
who dwell in Great Britain in the sides of the north, have this for our
chief glory, that the Lord is known in our land, and the abode of his
love is among us.
3. “_God is known in her palaces for a refuge._” We worship no unknown
god. We know him as our refuge in distress, we delight in him as such,
and run to him in every time of need. We know nothing else as our
refuge. Though we are made kings, and our houses are palaces, yet we
have no confidence in ourselves, but trust in the Lord Protector, whose
well-known power is our bulwark.
4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together.
5 They saw it, _and_ so they marvelled; they were troubled, _and_
hasted away.
6 Fear took hold upon them there, _and_ pain, as of a woman in
travail.
7 Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the LORD of
hosts, in the city of our God: God will establish it for ever.
Selah.
4. “_The kings were assembled, they passed by together._” They came and
they went. No sooner together than scattered. They came one way and fled
twenty ways. Boastful the gathering hosts with their royal leaders,
despairing the fugitive bands, with their astonished captains. They came
like foam on the angry sea, like foam they melted away. This was so
remarkable that the Psalmist puts in a note of exclamation, “_Lo!_”
What! have they so suddenly fled! Even thus shall the haters of the
church vanish from the field, Papists, Ritualists, Arians, Sceptics,
they shall each have their day, and shall pass on to the limbo of
forgetfulness.
5. “_They saw it, and so they marvelled._” They came, they saw, but they
did not conquer. There was no _veni, vidi, vici_ for them. No sooner did
they perceive that the Lord was in the Holy City, than they took to
their heels. Before the Lord came to blows with them, they were
faint-hearted, and beat a retreat. “_They were troubled and hasted
away._” The troublers were troubled. Their haste in coming was nothing
to their hurry in going. Panic seized them, horses were not fleet
enough; they would have borrowed the wings of the wind. They fled
ignominiously, like children in a fright. Glory be to God, it shall be
even thus with the foes of his church; when the Lord cometh to our help,
our enemies shall be as nothing. Could they foresee their ignominious
defeat, they would not advance to the attack.
6. “_Fear took hold upon them there._” They were in Giant Despair’s
grip. Where they hoped to triumph, there they quivered with dismay. They
did not take the city, but fear took hold on them. “_And pain, as of a
woman in travail._” They were as much overcome as a woman whose fright
causes premature delivery; or as full of pain as a poor mother in her
pangs—a strong expression, commonly employed by Orientals to set forth
the extremity of anguish. When the Lord arises for the help of his
church, the proudest of his foes shall be as trembling women, and their
dismay shall be but the beginning of eternal defeat.
7. “_Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind._” As easily
as vessels are driven to shipwreck, dost thou overturn the most powerful
adversaries; or it may mean the strength of some nations lies in their
ships, whose wooden walls are soon broken; but our strength is in our
God, and therefore, it fails not; or there may be another meaning,
though thou art our defence, yet thou takest vengeance on our
inventions, and while thou dost preserve us, yet our ships, our
comforts, our earthly ambitions, are taken from us that we may look
alone to thee. God is seen at sea, but he is equally present on land.
Speculative heresies, pretending to bring us wealth from afar, are
constantly assailing the church, but the breath of the Lord soon drives
them to destruction. The church too often relies on the wisdom of men,
and these human helps are soon shipwrecked; yet the church itself is
safe beneath the care of her God and King.
8. “_As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in the city of our God._” Our fathers’ stories are reproduced before our
very eyes. We heard the promise, and we have seen the fulfilment. The
records of Zion, wonderful as they are, are proved to be truthful,
because present facts are in perfect harmony therewith. Note how the
Lord is first spoken of as _Lord of hosts_, a name of power and
sovereignty, and then as _our God_, a name of covenant relation and
condescension. No wonder that since the Lord bears both titles, we find
him dealing with us after the precedents of his lovingkindness, and the
faithfulness of his promises. “_God will establish it for ever._” The
true church can never be disestablished. That which kings establish can
last for time only, that which God establishes endures to all eternity.
“_Selah._” Here is a fit place to pause, viewing the past with
admiration, and the future with confidence.
9 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy
temple.
10 According to thy name, O God, so _is_ thy praise unto the ends of
the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad,
because of thy judgments.
9. “_We have thought._” Holy men are thoughtful men; they do not suffer
God’s wonders to pass before their eyes and melt into forgetfulness, but
they meditate deeply upon them. “_Of thy lovingkindness, O God.”_ What a
delightful subject! Devout minds never tire of so divine a theme. It is
well to think of past lovingkindness in times of trial, and equally
profitable to remember it in seasons of prosperity. Grateful memories
sweeten sorrows and sober joys. “_In the midst of thy temple._” Fit
place for so devout a meditation. Where God is most seen he is best
loved. The assembled saints constitute a living temple, and our deepest
musings when so gathered together should have regard to the
lovingkindness of the Lord, exhibited in the varied experiences of each
of the living stones. Memories of mercy should be associated with
continuance of praise. Hard by the table of shew-bread commemorating his
bounty, should stand the altar of incense denoting our praise.
10. “_According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of
the earth._” Great fame is due to his great name. The glory of Jehovah’s
exploits overleaps the boundaries of earth; angels behold with wonder,
and from every star delighted intelligences proclaim his fame beyond the
ends of the earth. What if men are silent, yet the woods, and seas, and
mountains, with all their countless tribes, and all the unseen spirits
that walk them, are full of the divine praise. As in a shell we listen
to the murmurs of the sea, so in the convolutions of creation we hear
the praises of God. “_Thy right hand is full of righteousness._” Thy
sceptre and thy sword, thy government and thy vengeance, are altogether
just. Thy hand is never empty, but full of energy, of bounty, and of
equity. Neither saint nor sinner shall find the Lord to be an
empty-handed God; he will in both cases deal out righteousness to the
full: to the one, through Jesus, he will be just to forgive, to the
other just to condemn.
11. “_Let mount Zion rejoice._” As the first of the cities of Judah, and
the main object of the enemies’ attack, let her lead the song. “_Let the
daughters of Judah be glad_,” let the smaller towns join the chorus, for
they join in the common victory. Let the women, who fare worst in the
havoc of war, be among the gladdest of the glad, now that the spoilers
have fled. All the church, and each individual member, should rejoice in
the Lord, and magnify his name. “_Because of thy judgments._” The
righteous acts of the Lord are legitimate subjects for joyful praise.
However it may appear on earth, yet in heaven the eternal ruin of the
wicked will be the theme of adoring song. Rev. xix. 1, 3: “Alleluia;
salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God. For
true and righteous are his judgments; for he hath judged the great whore
which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the
blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia, and
her smoke rose up for ever and ever.” Justice which to our poor optics
now seems severe, will then be perceived to be perfectly consistent with
God’s name of love, and to be one of the brightest jewels of his crown.
12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof.
13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell
it to the generation following.
14 For this God _is_ our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide
_even_ unto death.
12. “_Walk about Zion_;” often beat her bounds, even as Israel marched
around Jericho. With leisurely and careful inspection survey her. “_And
go round about her._” Encircle her again and again with loving
perambulations. We cannot too frequently or too deeply consider the
origin, privileges, history, security, and glory of the church. Some
subjects deserve but a passing thought; this is worthy of the most
patient consideration. “_Tell the towers thereof._” See if any of them
have crumbled, or have been demolished. Is the church of God what she
was in doctrine, in strength and in beauty? Her foes counted her towers
in envy first, and then in terror, let us count them with sacred
exultation. The city of Lucerne, encircled by its ancient walls, adorned
with a succession of towers, is a visible illustration of this figure;
and as we have gone around it, and paused at each picturesque tower, we
have realised the loving, lingering inspection which the metaphor
implies.
13. “_Mark ye well her bulwarks._” Consider most attentively how strong
are her ramparts, how safely her inhabitants are entrenched behind
successive lines of defence. The security of the people of God is not a
doctrine to be kept in the background, it may be safely taught, and
frequently pondered; only to base hearts will that glorious truth prove
harmful; the sons of perdition make a stumbling stone even of the Lord
Jesus himself, it is little wonder, that they pervert the truth of God
concerning the final perseverance of the saints. We are not to turn away
from inspecting Zion’s ramparts, because idlers skulk behind them.
“_Consider her palaces._” Examine with care the fair dwellings of the
city. Let the royal promises which afford quiet resting places for
believers be attentively inspected. See how sound are the defences, and
how fair are the pleasaunces of “that ancient citie,” of which you are
citizens. A man should be best acquainted with his own home; and the
church is our dear and blest abode. Would to God professors were more
considerate of the condition of the church; so far from telling the
towers, some of them scarcely know what or where they are; they are too
busy counting their money, and considering their ledgers. Freehold and
copyhold, and leasehold, men measure to an inch, but heavenhold and
gracehold are too often taken at peradventure, and neglected in sheer
heedlessness. “_That ye may tell it to the generation following._” An
excellent reason for studious observation. We have received and we must
transmit. We must be students that we may be teachers. The debt we owe
to the past we must endeavour to repay by handing down the truth to the
future.
14. “_For this God is our God for ever and ever._” A good reason for
preserving a record of all that he has wrought. Israel will not change
her God so as to wish to forget, nor will the Lord change so as to make
the past mere history. He will be the covenant God of his people world
without end. There is no other God, we wish for no other, we would have
no other even if other there were. There are some who are so ready to
comfort the wicked, that for the sake of ending their punishment they
weaken the force of language, and make “_for ever and ever_,” mean but a
time; nevertheless, despite their interpretations we exult in the hope
of an eternity of bliss, and to us “everlasting,” and “for ever and
ever” mean what they say. “_He will be our guide even unto death._”
Throughout life, and to our dying couch, he will graciously conduct us,
and even after death he will lead us to the living fountains of waters.
We look to him for resurrection and eternal life. This consolation is
clearly derivable from what has gone before; hitherto our foes have been
scattered, and our bulwarks have defied attack, for God has been in our
midst, therefore all possible assaults in the future shall be equally
futile.
“The church has all her foes defied
And laughed to scorn their rage;
E’en thus for aye she shall abide
Secure from age to age.”
Farewell, fear. Come hither, gratitude and faith, and sing right
joyously.
EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.
_Title.—“A Song and Psalm.”_ Wherein both voice and instrument were
used; the voice began first and the instrument after: and where the
inscription is a Psalm and Song, there likely the instrument began and
the voice followed.—_John Richardson._
_Whole Psalm._—According to Dr. Lightfoot, the constant and ordinary
Psalm for the second day of the week was the forty-eighth.
_Verse 1.—“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of
our God,”_ etc. The prophet, being about to praise a certain edifice,
commences by praising the architect, and says that in the holy city the
wonderful skill and wisdom of God, who built it, is truly displayed.
“_Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised_;” and so he is, whether
we look at his essence, his power, his wisdom, his justice, or his
mercy, for all are infinite, everlasting, and incomprehensible; and
thus, so much is God _greatly to be praised_, that all the angels, all
men, even all his own works would not suffice thereto; but of all things
revealed, there is no one thing can give us a greater idea of his
greatness, or for which we should praise and thank him more, than the
establishment of his church; and, therefore, the prophet adds, “_in the
city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness_;” that is to say, “the
greatness of God, and for which he deserves so much praise, is
conspicuous in the foundation and construction of his church.”—_Robert
Bellarmine (Cardinal)._
_Verse 1.—“Great is the Lord.”_ Greater, Job xxxiii. 12. Greatest of
all, Psalm xcv. 3. Greatness itself, Psalm cxlv. 3. A degree he is above
the superlative.—_John Trapp._
_Verse 1.—“Mountain of his holiness.”_ The religion in it holy, the
people in it a holy people.—_William Nicholson._
_Verse 2.—“Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount
zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.”_ What is
there, or was there, about Zion to justify the high eulogium of David?
The situation is indeed eminently adapted to be the platform of a
magnificent citadel. Rising high above the deep valley of Gihon and
Hinnom, on the west and south, and the scarcely less deep one of the
Cheesemongers on the east, it could only be assailed from the
north-west; and then “_on the sides of the north_” it was magnificently
beautiful, and fortified by walls, towers, and bulwarks, the wonder and
terror of the nations: “_For the kings were assembled, they passed by
together. They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and
hasted away._” At the thought of it the royal Psalmist again bursts
forth in triumph: “_Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the
towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye
may tell it to the generation following._” Alas! her towers have long
since fallen to the ground, her bulwarks have been overthrown, her
palaces have crumbled to dust, and we who now walk about Zion can tell
no other story than this to the generation following.
There is another Zion, however, whose towers are still more glorious,
and shall never be overthrown. “_God is known in her palaces for a
refuge._” And “_this God is our God for ever and ever_.” How often is
this name synonymous with the church of the living God! and no other
spot but one can divide with it the affection of his people—no other
name but one can awaken such joyful hopes in the Christian’s heart. The
temporal Zion is now in the dust, but the true Zion is rising and
shaking herself from it, and putting on her beautiful garments to
welcome her King when he comes to reign over the whole earth.—_W. M.
Thomson, D.D._
_Verse 2._—When I stood that morning on the brow of Olivet, and looked
down on the city crowning those battlemented heights, encircled by those
deep and dark ravines, I involuntarily exclaimed, “_Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of
the north, the city of the great King._” And as I gazed, the red rays of
the rising sun shed a halo round the top of the castle of David; then
they tipped with gold each tapering minaret, and gilded each dome of
mosque and church, and at length, bathed in one flood of ruddy light the
terraced roofs of the city, and the grass and foliage, the cupolas,
pavements, and colossal walls of the Haram. No human being could be
disappointed who first saw Jerusalem from Olivet.—_J. L. Porter._
_Verse 2 (first clause)._—_Beautiful in climate_, that is, Mount Zion is
situated in a fair and lovely climate. This is the view taken by
Montanus and Ainsworth. Bate and Parkhurst read, “_Beautiful in
extension_, _i.e._, in the prospect which it extends to the
eye.”—_Editorial Note to Calvin_ _in loc._
_Verse 2.—“Beautiful for situation.”_ This earth is, by sin, covered
with deformity, and therefore justly might that spot of ground, which
was thus beautified with holiness, be called “_the joy of the whole
earth_,” _i.e._, what the whole earth had reason to rejoice in, because
God would thus in very deed dwell with man upon the earth.—_Matthew
Henry._
_Verse 2.—“Beautiful for situation.”_
—————— Fair Jerusalem
The holy city, lifted high her towers,
And higher yet the glorious temple rear’d
Her pile, far off appearing like a mount
Of alabaster, topt with golden spires.
_John Milton in “Paradise Regained.”_
_Verse 2.—“On the sides of the north.”_ Jerusalem, that is the upper and
best part of it, was built on the north side of Mount Zion.—_Hadrian
Reland, 1676—1718._
_Verse 2._—Jerusalem lay to the north of Sion, and this circumstance is
mentioned as a proof of Mount Zion’s greater security, for it was almost
inaccessible on any other side except the north, and there it was
defended by Jerusalem, which was very strong.—_Samuel Burder._
_Verse 2.—“The great King.”_ God is named the _great King_ in opposition
to the kings in verse 4.—_E. W. Hengstenberg._
_Verse 4._—They were many and powerful: kings and a plurality of them.
They were confederate kings. “_The kings were assembled._” Forces united
are the most powerful. But all the endeavours of these confederate kings
came to nothing. “_They passed by together_”—together they came, and
together they vanished.—_William Nicholson._
_Verses 5, 6._—The potentates of the world saw the miracles of the
apostles, the courage and constancy of the martyrs, and the daily
increase of the church, notwithstanding all their persecutions; they
beheld with astonishment the rapid progress of the faith through the
Roman empire; they called upon their gods, but their gods could not help
themselves; idolatry expired at the foot of the victorious
cross.—_George Horne._
_Verse 6.—“Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in
travail.”_ Nothing is more unaccountable than panic. No man, no body of
men can adequately guard against such terror. He who made the ears can
easily make them to tingle. He who holds the winds in his fist, can
easily make them whisper alarm, or roar dismay. This is especially to be
expected when men so act as to have their own conscience against them.
Job xv. 21. But God can at any time so forsake men as that they shall be
unmanned, and play the fool exceedingly. Lev. xxvi. 36. Men have fought
bravely several battles, and then played the coward.—_William S.
Plumer._
_Verse 7.—“Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.”_ It
is only by her Lord that the church gains “the true riches;” when she
enters into traffick with the world, she takes the means of the world
for her resources; and when she trusts in her wealth, in her political
power, in earthly cunning, to make merchandise, the instruments she
adopts come to nothing in her hands, and leave her helpless and
poor.—_From “A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms (The Prayer Book
Version), chiefly founded on the Fathers,” 1859._
_Verse 7.—“With an east wind,”_ which, in Judea, is a very violent and
destructive wind. Kennicot renders the verse thus, “_As the east wind
dasheth in pieces the ships of Tharshish_;” founding his conjecture upon
the similarity in form of two Hebrew letters, signifying the one _in_,
the other _as_.—_Daniel Cresswell._
_Verse 9.—“We have thought.”_ The Hebrew דּוּם and דָּבַם and דָּמְה
belong all to the same signification, of _quiet_, _rest_, _silence_,
_patient expecting_, _thinking_, _considering_, and must be determined
to any of these senses by the context. And here that of _expecting_ or
_patient waiting_, with _affiance_ in him, and without all _distrust_ or
_repining_ at his _delays_, seems to be most proper for it. For coming
to the sanctuary to pray for mercy, ’tis most agreeable to say _we wait
for it there_, as in the place where he hath promised to afford it, in
return to _prayers_.—_Henry Hammond._