Sion are those doctrines of the true faith, which are the strength and
glory of the church, which are to be maintained in their soundness and
stability against the assaults of heretical teachers, so that they may
be transmitted unimpaired to following generations.—_Origen and
Theodoret, quoted by Wordsworth._
_Verse 13.—“Mark ye well her bulwarks.”_ Margin as in the Hebrew, “_Set
your heart to her bulwarks._” That is, pay close attention to them; make
the investigation with care, not as one does whose heart is not in the
thing, and who does it negligently. The word rendered “_bulwarks_,”
חַיִל, _khail_—means properly, a host or army, and then a fortification
or entrenchment, especially the _ditch_ or _trench_, with the low wall
or breastwork which surrounds it. 2 Sam. xx. 15; Isaiah xxvi. 1.
(Gesenius, _Lex._)—_Albert Barnes._
_Verse 13.—“Mark ye well:”_ _set your heart_, mind earnestly, set your
affections on.—_Henry Ainsworth._
_Verse 13.—“Her bulwarks.”_ I. The designation and constitution of Jesus
Christ to be King of the church, King of Zion, is the great bulwark of
Zion. II. The second bulwark of Zion is the promises of God, which are
innumerable. III. The watchful providence of God over the church. IV.
Another bulwark is God’s special presence. God is in an especial manner
present in his church. V. The last bulwark unto which all others may be
reduced, is the covenant of God: “For this God is our God.”—_John Owen._
_Verse 14.—“This God is our God for ever and ever.”_ What a portion then
is that of the believer! The landlord cannot say of his fields, these
are mine, for ever and ever. The king cannot say of his crown, this is
mine for ever and ever. These possessions shall soon change masters;
these possessors shall soon mingle with the dust, and even the graves
they shall occupy may not long be theirs; but it is the singular, the
supreme happiness of every Christian to say, or to have a right to say,
“This glorious God with all his divine perfections is my God, for ever
and ever, and even death itself shall not separate me from his
love.”—_George Burder._
_Verse 14.—“This God is our God.”_ The people of God are sometime
represented as so taken with this apprehension of their peculiar
relation to God, that they cannot be content to know, but they proclaim
it; nor was it enough the present age should know, but they must have it
told the following generation: “Let Mount Zion rejoice,” etc. Mark,
“That ye may tell the generation following,” “_For this is our God._”
See their ostentation of him! This God; _q.d._, Behold what a God have
we! view him well, and take notice how glorious a God he is. And as they
glory in the greatness of the God to whom they were related, so they do
in the eternity of the relation. “This God is our God _for ever and
ever_.”—_John Howe._
_Verse 14._—God is not only a satisfying portion, filling every crevice
of thy soul with the light of joy and comfort; and a sanctifying
portion, elevating thy soul to its primitive and original perfection;
and a universal portion; not health, or wealth, or friends, or honours,
or liberty, or life, or house, or wife, or child, or pardon, or peace,
or grace, or glory, or earth, or heaven, but all these, and infinitely
more, but also he is an eternal portion. This God would be thy God “_for
ever and ever_.” Oh, sweet word _ever_! thou art the crown of the
saints’ crown, and the glory of their glory. Their portion is so full
that they desire no more; they enjoy variety and plenty of delights
above what they are able to ask or think, and want nothing but to have
it fixed. May they but possess it in peace without interruption or
cessation they will trample all kingdoms of the earth as dirt under
their feet; and lo! thou art the welcome dove to bring this olive branch
in thy mouth. “_This God is our God for ever and ever._” All the
arithmetical figures of days, and months, and years, and ages, are
nothing to this infinite cipher _ever_, which, though it stand for
nothing in the vulgar account, yet contains all our millions; yea, our
millions and millions of millions are less than drops to this ocean
_ever_.—_George Swinnock._
_Verse 14._—Some expositors have strangely found a difficulty in the
last verse, deeming such a profession of personal faith an inappropriate
termination for a national song. Even Dr. Delitzsch, a wise and devout
interpreter, shares in this notion; going, indeed, so far as to throw
out the surmise, that some word must have been lost from the Hebrew
text. To me it seems that the verse, as it stands, is admirably in
harmony with the song, and is its crowning beauty. When the Lord does
great things for church or nation, he means that all the faithful,
however humble their station, should take courage from it, should repose
in him fresh confidence, and cling to him with a firmer hope, and say,
“_This God shall be our God for ever; he will guide us even unto
death_.”—_William Binnie._
_Verse 14.—“Unto death,”_ or as some explain it, _at death_, _i.e._, he
will save us from it; others, _over death_, beyond it. But the most
obvious explanation, and the one most agreeable to usage, is that which
makes the phrase mean even to the end of life, or as long as we live.
The idea of a future state, though not expressed, is not excluded.—_J.
A. Alexander._
_Verse 14 (last clause)._—The last clause is much misunderstood. It is
not, “Our guide _unto_ death,” for the words are יְנַהֲגֵנוּ עַל־מוּת,
“shall lead us _over_ death.” Surely it means, “It is he who leads over
_death_ to _resurrection_”—over Jordan to Canaan. The עַל is used in
Levit. xv. 25, for “_beyond_,” in regard to time, and is not this the
sense here? “_Beyond_ the time of death”? Till death is to us over? Till
we have _stood upon the grave of death_? Yes; he it is who leads us on
to this last victory; he swallows up death in victory, and leads us to
_trample on death_. And so viewed, we easily discern the beautiful link
of thought that joins this Psalm to that which follows. Such is the
celebration of _The Mighty One become the glory of Jerusalem_.—_Andrew
A. Bonar._
HINTS TO PREACHERS.
[_All the suggestions under this Psalm, except those otherwise
designated, are by our beloved friend, Rev. George Rogers, Tutor of The
Pastor’s College._]
_Verse 1._—I. _What the church is to God._ 1. His “_city_:” not a
lawless rabble, but a well organised community. 2. A mountain of
holiness, for the display of justifying righteousness, of sanctifying
grace. II. _What God is to the church._ 1. Its inhabitant. It is _his_
city, his mountain. There he is great. There was no room for the whole
of God in Paradise, there is no room for him in his law, no room for him
in the heaven of angels: in the church only is there room for all his
perfections, for a triune Jehovah. Great everywhere, he is peculiarly
great here. 2. The object of its praises. As he is greatest here, so are
his praises, and through the universe on this account.
_Verse 2._—I. _Was the ancient Zion beautiful for situation?_ So is the
New Testament church founded upon a rock, upon eternal purpose and
grace. II. _Was it the joy of the whole earth?_ So the New Testament
church will become. III. _Was it the special joy of the tribes of
Israel_ that were almost entirely to the north of Jerusalem? So the
church is to the saints. IV. _Was it a royal as well as holy city?_ So
is the church. “Yet have I set,” etc.
_Verse 3._—I. God is a refuge in his church. The church is a city of
refuge, but the refuge is not in its church, but its God. 1. For sinners
from wrath. 2. For saints from trials and fears. II. God is there known
as such, known to thousands, not known as such elsewhere. “They that
know thy name,” etc.
_Verses 4-7._—I. The opposition of worldly powers to the church. “The
kings,” etc. II. The manner in which they are subdued—by their own
fears; conscience has persecuted those who have persecuted the church of
God. They who have seized the ark of God have been glad to return it
with an offering. III. The completeness of their overthrow. As a fleet
of ships of Tarshish, dispersed, broken and engulfed by the east wind.
_Verse 8._—I. God has ever been to his people what he now is; the same
“_heard_” as “_seen_.” II. He is now what he ever has been: the same
“_seen_” as “_heard_.” III. He will ever be what he now is. “Will
establish it for ever.”
_Verse 9._—I. What are the lovingkindnesses of God? Pity to the wretched
pardon to the penitent, help to the prayerful, comfort to the afflicted,
etc. II. Where are they to be found? “In the midst of,” etc. 1. Here
they are revealed. 2. Here they are dispensed. 3. Here they are sought.
4. Here they are enjoyed.
_Verse 10._—As the name of God, so his praises are—I. Supreme. II.
Unqualified. III. Universal. IV. Everlasting.
_Verse 10._—“_Thy right hand_,” etc. I. The justice of omnipotence. II.
Omnipotence controlled by justice. III. The omnipotence of justice.
_Verse 11._—I. The subjects of his peoples’ joy. Not mercies merely, but
judgments. II. Reasons: 1. Because they are holy—needful to the purity
of moral government. 2. Just—needful to vindicate law. 3. Good—needful
for the greatest amount of good.
_Verse 12._—I. What is to be understood by the preservation and
protection of the church? II. What is meant by searching into, and
considering of, these causes and means of the church’s preservation?
III. What are those causes and means of the church’s preservation, those
towers and bulwarks which will not fail? IV. What reason is there why we
should thus search into and consider these causes of the church’s
preservation and protection? V. What is the testimony which we have to
give concerning this matter to the ensuing generation?—_John Owen’s
Sermon._
_Verse 14 (first clause)._—This is the language of a _proprietary_ in
God: 1. Of an _assured_ proprietary—“This God is _our_ God.” 2. Of a
_permanent_ proprietary—“_for ever and ever_.” 3. Of an _exulting_
proprietary.—_W. Jay._
_Verse 14._—I. The language of discrimination. _This_ God. _This_ God in
Christ, in the church. II. The language of Faith—_our_ God. III. Of
Hope—“_For ever and ever._” IV. Of Resignation—“_He will be our guide_,”
etc.
PSALM XLIX.
TITLE.—To the chief Musician, a Psalm for the sons of Korah. _This is
precisely the same as on former occasions, and no remark is needed._
DIVISION.—_The poet musician sings, to the accompaniment of his harp,
the despicable character of those who trust in their wealth, and so he
consoles the oppressed believer. The first four verses are a preface;
from 5 to 12 all fear of great oppressors is removed by the remembrance
of their end and their folly; 13 contains an expression of wonder at the
perpetuity of folly; 14 and 15 contrast the ungodly and the righteous in
their future; and from 16 to 20 the lesson from the whole is given in an
admonitory form. Note the chorus in verses 12 and 20, and also the two
Selahs._
EXPOSITION.
Hear this, all _ye_ people; give ear, all _ye_ inhabitants of the
world:
2 Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
3 My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart
_shall be_ of understanding.
4 I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying
upon the harp.
In these four verses the poet-prophet calls universal humanity to listen
to his didactic hymn.
1. “_Hear this, all ye people._” All men are concerned in the subject,
it is _of_ them, and therefore _to_ them that the Psalmist would speak.
It is not a topic which men delight to consider, and therefore he who
would instruct them must press them to give ear. Where, as in this case,
the theme claims to be wisdom and understanding, attention is very
properly demanded; and when the style combines the sententiousness of
the proverb with the sweetness of poesy, interest is readily excited.
“_Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world._” “He that hath ears to
hear let him hear.” Men dwelling in all climes are equally concerned in
the subject, for the laws of providence are the same in all lands. It is
wise for each one to feel I am a man, and therefore everything which
concerns mortals has a personal interest to me. We must all appear
before the judgment-seat, and therefore we all should give earnest heed
to holy admonition which may help us to prepare for that dread event. He
who refuses to receive instruction by the ear, will not be able to
escape receiving destruction by it when the Judge shall say, “Depart, ye
cursed.”
2. “_Both low and high, rich and poor, together._” Sons of great men,
and children of mean men, men of large estate, and ye who pine in
poverty, ye are all bidden to hear the inspired minstrel as he touches
his harp to a mournful but instructive lay. The low will be encouraged,
the high will be warned, the rich will be sobered, the poor consoled,
there will be a useful lesson for each if they are willing to learn it.
Our preaching ought to have a voice for all classes, and all should have
an ear for it. To suit our word to the rich alone is wicked sycophancy,
and to aim only at pleasing the poor is to act the part of a demagogue.
Truth may be so spoken as to command the ear of all, and wise men seek
to learn that acceptable style. Rich and poor must soon meet together in
the grave, they may well be content to meet together now. In the
congregation of the dead all differences of rank will be obliterated,
they ought not now to be obstructions to united instructions.
3. “_My mouth shall speak of wisdom._” Inspired and therefore lifted
beyond himself, the prophet is not praising his own attainments, but
extolling the divine Spirit which spoke in him. He knew that the Spirit
of truth and wisdom spoke through him. He who is not sure that his
matter is good has no right to ask a hearing. “_And the meditation of my
heart shall be of understanding._” The same Spirit who made the ancient
seers eloquent, also made them thoughtful. The help of the Holy Ghost
was never meant to supersede the use of our own mental powers. The Holy
Spirit does not make us speak as Balaam’s ass, which merely uttered
sounds, but never meditated; but he first leads us to consider and
reflect, and then he gives us the tongue of fire to speak with power.
4. “_I will incline mine ear to a parable._” He who would have others
hear, begins by hearing himself. As the minstrel leans his ear to his
harp, so must the preacher give his whole soul to his ministry. The
truth came to the Psalmist as a parable, and he endeavoured to unriddle
it for popular use; he would not leave the truth in obscurity, but he
listened to its voice till he so well understood it as to be able to
interpret and translate it into the common language of the multitude.
Still of necessity it would remain a problem, and a dark saying to the
unenlightened many, but this would not be the songster’s fault, for,
saith he, “_I will open my dark saying upon the harp._” The writer was
no mystic, delighting in deep and cloudy things, yet he was not afraid
of the most profound topics; he tried to open the treasures of darkness,
and to uplift pearls from the deep. To win attention he cast his
proverbial philosophy into the form of song, and tuned his harp to the
solemn tone of his subject. Let us gather round the minstrel of the King
of kings, and hear the Psalm which erst was led by the chief musician,
as the chorus of the sons of Korah lifted up their voices in the temple.
5 Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, _when_ the iniquity
of my heels shall compass me about?
6 They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the
multitude of their riches;
7 None _of them_ can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to
God a ransom for him:
8 (For the redemption of their soul _is_ precious, and it ceaseth
for ever:)
9 That he should still live for ever, _and_ not see corruption.
10 For he seeth _that_ wise men die, likewise the fool and the
brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought _is_, _that_ their houses _shall continue_
for ever, _and_ their dwelling places to all generations; they call
_their_ lands after their own names.
12 Nevertheless man _being_ in honour abideth not: he is like the
beasts _that_ perish.
5. “_Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the iniquity of
my heels shall compass me about?_” The man of God looks calmly forward
to dark times when those evils which have dogged his heels shall gain a
temporary advantage over him. Iniquitous men, here called in the
abstract _iniquity_, lie in wait for the righteous, as serpents that aim
at the heels of travellers: the iniquity of our heels is that evil which
aims to trip us up or impede us. It was an old prophecy that the serpent
should wound the heel of the woman’s seed, and the enemy of our souls is
diligent to fulfil that premonition. In some dreary part of our road it
may be that evil will wax stronger and bolder, and gaining upon us will
openly assail us; those who followed at our heels like a pack of wolves,
may perhaps overtake us, and compass us about. What then? Shall we yield
to cowardice? Shall we be a prey to their teeth? God forbid. Nay, we
will not even fear, for what are these foes? What indeed, but mortal men
who shall perish and pass away? There can be no real ground of alarm to
the faithful. Their enemies are too insignificant to be worthy of one
thrill of fear. Doth not the Lord say to us, “I, even I, am he that
comforteth thee: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man
that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass?”
Scholars have given other renderings of this verse, but we prefer to
keep to the authorised version when we can, and in this case we find in
it precisely the same meaning which those would give to it who translate
“_my heels_,” by the words, “_my supplanters_.”
6. What if the good man’s foes be among the great ones of the earth! yet
he need not fear them. “_They that trust in their wealth._” Poor fools,
to be content with such a rotten confidence. When we set our rock in
contrast with theirs, it would be folly to be afraid of them. Even
though they are loud in their brags, we can afford to smile. What if
they glory “_and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches_”?
yet while we glory in our God we are not dismayed by their proud
threatenings. Great strength, position, and estate, make wicked men very
lofty in their own esteem, and tyrannical towards others; but the heir
of heaven is not overawed by their dignity, nor cowed by their
haughtiness. He sees the small value of riches, and the helplessness of
their owners in the hour of death, and therefore he is not so mean as to
be afraid of an ephemera, a moth, a bubble.
7. “_None of them can by any means redeem his brother._” With all their
riches, the whole of them put together could not rescue a comrade from
the chill grasp of death. They boast of what they will do with us, let
them see to themselves. Let them weigh their gold in the scales of
death, and see how much they can buy therewith from the worm and the
grave. The poor are their equals in this respect; let them love their
friend ever so dearly, they cannot “_give to God a reason for him_.” A
king’s ransom would be of no avail, a Monte Rosa of rubies, an America
of silver, a world of gold, a sun of diamonds, would all be utterly
contemned. O ye boasters, think not to terrify us with your worthless
wealth, go ye and intimidate death before ye threaten men in whom is
immortality and life.
8. “_For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for
ever._” Too great is the price, the purchase is hopeless. For ever must
the attempt to redeem a soul with money remain a failure. Death comes
and wealth cannot bribe him; hell follows, and no golden key can unlock
its dungeons. Vain, then, are your threatenings, ye possessors of the
yellow clay; your childish toys are despised by men who estimate the
value of possessions by the shekel of the sanctuary.
9. No price could secure for any man “_That he should still live for
ever, and not see corruption_.” Mad are men now after gold, what would
they be if it could buy the elixir of immortality? Gold is lavished out
of the bag to cheat the worm of the poor body by embalming it, or
enshrining it in a coffin of lead, but it is a miserable business, a
very burlesque and comedy. As for the soul, it is too subtle a thing to
be detained when it hears the divine command to soar through tracks
unknown. Never, therefore, will we fear, those base nibblers at our
heels, whose boasted treasure proves to be so powerless to save.
10. “_For he seeth that wise men die._” Every one sees this. The proud,
persecuting rich man cannot help seeing it. He cannot shut his eyes to
the fact that wiser men than he are dying, and that he also, with all
his craft, must die. “_Likewise the fool and the brutish person
perish._” Folly has no immunity from death. Off goes the jester’s cap,
as well as the student’s gown. Jollity cannot laugh off the dying hour;
death who visits the university, does not spare the tavern.
Thoughtlessness and brutishness meet their end as surely as much care
and wasting study. In fact, while the truly wise, so far as this world
is concerned, _die_, the fool has a worse lot, for he _perishes_, is
blotted out of remembrance, bewailed by none, remembered no more. “_And
leave their wealth to others._” Not a farthing can they carry with them.
Whether heirs male of their own body, lawfully begotten, inherit their
estates, or they remain unclaimed, it matters not, their hoardings are
no longer theirs; friends may quarrel over their property, or strangers
divide it as spoil, they cannot interfere. Ye boasters, hold ye your
own, before ye dream of despoiling the sons of the living God. Keep
shoes to your own feet in death’s dark pilgrimage, ere ye seek to bite
our heels.
11. “_Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for
ever, and their dwelling places to all generations._” He is very foolish
who is more a fool in his inmost thought than he dare be in his speech.
Such rotten fruit, rotten at the core, are worldlings. Down deep in
their hearts, though they dare not say so, they fancy that earthly goods
are real and enduring. Foolish dreamers! The frequent dilapidations of
their castles and manor-houses should teach them better, but still they
cherish the delusion. They cannot tell the mirage from the true streams
of water; they fancy rainbows to be stable, and clouds to be the
everlasting hills. “_They call their lands after their own names._”
Common enough is this practice. His grounds are made to bear the
groundling’s name, he might as well write it on the water. Men have even
called countries by their own names, but what are they better for the
idle compliment, even if men perpetuate their nomenclature?
12. “_Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not._” He is but a lodger
for the hour, and does not stay a night: even when he dwells in marble
halls his notice to quit is written out. Eminence is evermore in
imminence of peril. The hero of the hour lasts but for an hour. Sceptres
fall from the paralysed hands which once grasped them, and coronets slip
away from skulls when the life is departed. “_He is like the beasts that
perish._” He is not like the sheep which are preserved of the Great
Shepherd, but like the hunted beast which is doomed to die. He lives a
brutish life and dies a brutish death. Wallowing in riches, surfeited
with pleasure, he is fatted for the slaughter, and dies like the ox in
the shambles. Alas! that so noble a creature should use his life so
unworthily, and end it so disgracefully. So far as this world is
concerned, wherein does the death of many men differ from the death of a
dog? They go down—
“To the vile dust from whence they sprung,
Unwept, unhonour’d, and unsung.”
What room is there, then, for fear to the godly when such natural brute
beasts assail them? Should they not in patience possess their souls?
We make a break here, because this stanza appears to be the refrain of
the song, and as such is repeated in the twentieth verse.
13 This their way _is_ their folly: yet their posterity approve
their sayings. Selah.