OF THE MESSIAH AND HIS KINGDOM. Maschil, a didactic poem, of Ethan, the Ezrahite, a descendant of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:6; 1 Kings 4:31. He belonged to a great family, or guild, of singers, some of whom, at least, seem to have been trained in the schools of prophets. The psal... [ Continue Reading ]
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever, the poet immediately launching forth into his subject, the theme of his song, the merciful kindnesses of Jehovah; WITH MY MOUTH WILL I MAKE KNOWN THY FAITHFULNESS TO ALL GENERATIONS, since it is this attribute, this manifestation of the divine essence,... [ Continue Reading ]
For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever, firmly founded and erected in a structure which would never be overthrown; THY FAITHFULNESS SHALT THOU ESTABLISH IN THE VERY HEAVENS, never to be moved, these two manifestations of the Lord, merciful kindness and faithfulness, grace and truth, being... [ Continue Reading ]
I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn unto David, My servant, the Lord Himself assuring Him with a solemn oath,... [ Continue Reading ]
Thy Seed will I establish forever, namely, in his dynasty, in the rulers out of his line, AND BUILD UP THY THRONE TO ALL GENERATIONS. SELAH. If this had been spoken of an earthly, temporal rule only, then this prophecy would have fallen to the ground, for in no kingdom of this world is there at the... [ Continue Reading ]
And the heavens shall praise Thy wonders, O Lord, the miracles of love which he performed for the salvation of mankind; THY FAITHFULNESS ALSO, by which He would fulfill, and has fulfilled, His promises, IN THE CONGREGATION OF THE SAINTS, all the angels rejoicing over the fact that God, in His infini... [ Continue Reading ]
For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord, in the immeasurable greatness of this miracle of His grace in providing a Savior for mankind? WHO AMONG THE SONS OF THE MIGHTY, the greatest of His creatures, the mightiest rulers of the earth, CAN BE LIKENED UNTO THE LORD? They cannot stand as Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
God is greatly to be feared, very awesome, IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE SAINTS, in the midst of His congregation, AND TO BE HAD IN REVERENCE OF ALL THEM THAT ARE ABOUT HIM, the very angels trembling with awe in His presence. All believers regard Him, not with the fear of slaves, but with the trusting reve... [ Continue Reading ]
O Lord God of hosts, the mighty Ruler of the armies of heaven, WHO IS A STRONG LORD LIKE UNTO THEE, He alone possessing and wielding omnipotent power, OR TO THY FAITHFULNESS ROUND ABOUT THEE? For it is by virtue of this manifestation of His essence that the believers rely upon His Word with absolute... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou rulest the raging of the sea, when it tries to rise against His laws in insolent defiance; WHEN THE WAVES THEREOF ARISE, THOU STILLEST THEM, causing them to sink back in powerless rage. Before this almighty power, moreover, the proud arrogance of men is equally helpless.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, crushed and wounded mighty Egypt at the time of Israel's deliverance from its slavery, AS ONE THAT IS SLAIN; THOU HAST SCATTERED THINE ENEMIES WITH THY STRONG ARM. All the enemies of the Lord and of His Church are mortally wounded and overthrown by the strength of H... [ Continue Reading ]
The heavens are Thine, under His absolute power and control, the earth also is Thine; AS FOR THE WORLD AND THE FULLNESS THEREOF, all the creatures which it contains, THOU HAST FOUNDED THEM, establishing and maintaining them by the Word of His power.... [ Continue Reading ]
The north and the south, the entire expanse of the earth, THOU HAST CREATED THEM; TABOR, on the west side of Jordan, between the Sea of Galilee and the plain of Jezreel, AND HERMON, in the extreme northeastern part of Palestine, SHALL REJOICE IN THY NAME, even the inanimate creation showing its depe... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast a mighty arm, the singer here summarizing his description of God's majestic power; STRONG IS THY HAND, AND HIGH IS THY RIGHT HAND, the emblem of His irresistible power is exalted. The poet now turns to the manifestation of God's attributes as they chiefly appear in the work of redemption a... [ Continue Reading ]
Justice, that is, righteousness, AND JUDGMENT ARE THE HABITATION OF THY THRONE, the attributes upon which His kingdom is established; MERCY AND TRUTH SHALL GO BEFORE THY FACE. The work of the redemption of the world is a revelation of God's righteousness and judgment. Because He cannot ignore and co... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound, all men who receive the Gospel-news of their salvation with a joyful sound of acceptance are truly blessed; THEY SHALL WALK, O LORD, IN THE LIGHT OF THY COUNTENANCE, as His grace shines forth upon them and warms them with the blessed assurance of the... [ Continue Reading ]
In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day, they have no righteousness and merit of their own to boast of, but they glory in the manifestation of God's love and mercy, AND IN THY RIGHTEOUSNESS SHALL THEY BE EXALTED, that is, by virtue of the righteousness imputed to them by Jehovah, by means of fait... [ Continue Reading ]
For Thou art the glory of their strength, that alone being the basis of their boasting before men, 2 Corinthians 12:9; AND IN THY FAVOR, by the good pleasure of Jehovah shown them in the Messiah, OUR HORN SHALL BE EXALTED, they would receive the strength needed for the battle of life, against the fo... [ Continue Reading ]
For the Lord is our Defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our King. The confidence of the believers in the ultimate victory of their cause is so great because the Lord is on their side, both as their Shield in warding off the attacks of the enemies and as their peerless, undefiled Leader going on b... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Thou spakest in vision to Thy holy one, to His saint and servant, namely, the prophet Nathan, who acted as God's representative in dealing with David, 2 Samuel 7, AND SAIDST, I HAVE LAID HELP UPON ONE THAT IS MIGHTY, upon a great champion; I HAVE EXALTED ONE CHOSEN OUT OF THE PEOPLE, the immedi... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RULE OF THE MESSIAH... [ Continue Reading ]
I have found David, My Servant; with My holy oil have I anointed Him.... [ Continue Reading ]
with whom My hand shall be established; Mine arm also shall strengthen Him. The Messiah, anointed with the oil of holiness, with the Holy Ghost, with the fullness of God's divinity, would be sustained throughout His ministry in His state of humiliation by the almighty power of God communicated to Hi... [ Continue Reading ]
The enemy shall not exact upon Him, gaining power over Him, NOR THE SON OF WICKEDNESS AFFLICT HIM; although the son of iniquity, Satan, with his host, would attack the Messiah, he would not succeed in humbling Him, in gaining the victory over Him.... [ Continue Reading ]
And I will beat down His foes before His face and plague, strike down, THEM THAT HATE HIM; all those who take the part of the arch-enemy of Christ and show lasting signs of hatred against the atonement of the Messiah would share the fate of their champion, of the murderer and liar from the beginning... [ Continue Reading ]
But My faithfulness, in fulfillment of all the promises of old, AND MY MERCY, the merciful kindness by which the redemption of mankind would be effected, SHALL BE WITH HIM; AND IN MY NAME SHALL HIS HORN, emblem of aggressive strength, BE EXALTED, as the Father would lay all His enemies at His footst... [ Continue Reading ]
I will set His hand also in the sea, in the almighty power of the Deity communicated to His human nature, AND HIS RIGHT HAND IN THE RIVERS, imparting to Him the unlimited authority of divine power. Jesus Christ, even in the state of His humiliation, was the almighty God, the Creator and Preserver of... [ Continue Reading ]
He shall cry unto Me, the Messiah expressly calling God by this name, THOU ART MY FATHER, MY GOD, AND THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION, His Father by virtue of His eternal generation out of the essence of God, His God by virtue of His true humanity, and in this capacity also the Rock of His salvation, to wh... [ Continue Reading ]
Also I will make Him My First-born, God's only-begotten Son, Psalms 2:7, HIGHER THAN THE KINGS OF THE EARTH; for the Messiah, as the almighty Ruler of the universe, is above them all.... [ Continue Reading ]
My mercy will I keep for Him forevermore, preserving it for the Messiah as a treasure which He should enjoy in due time, with the completion of His work, AND MY COVENANT SHALL STAND FAST WITH HIM, firm and unshakable.... [ Continue Reading ]
His seed also, His spiritual offspring, those born again by faith in His atonement, WILL I MAKE TO ENDURE FOREVER AND HIS THRONE AS THE DAYS OF HEAVEN, the kingdom of His mercy and glory lasting through eternity. In the next section the close parallelism between this psalm and 2 Samuel 7:12 is again... [ Continue Reading ]
If His children forsake My Law, if the Messiah's spiritual offspring, those who have once accepted Jesus as their Savior, will then again reject His Word. AND WALK NOT IN MY JUDGMENTS, in refusing to lead a life in conformity with the rules of sanctification established by Him;... [ Continue Reading ]
if they break, profane, MY STATUTES, the precepts of His covenant, AND KEEP NOT MY COMMANDMENTS, the general obligations laid upon all men;... [ Continue Reading ]
then will I visit their transgression with the rod, with a severe punishment for their defection, AND THEIR INIQUITY WITH STRIPES, His intention being to bring them to a realization of their sins. But this apostasy on the part of some believers will not change the counsel of God's love.... [ Continue Reading ]
Nevertheless My loving-kindness, His merciful favor, WILL I NOT UTTERLY TAKE FROM HIM, NOR SUFFER MY FAITHFULNESS TO FAIL, the truth of His promises concerning the imparting of the blessings to all who believe in the Messiah would stand secure.... [ Continue Reading ]
My covenant will I not break, that contained even in the first proclamation of the Gospel in the Garden of Eden and repeated so often since, NOR ALTER THE THING THAT IS GONE OUT OF MY LIPS, in setting forth before men the salvation in the Messiah.... [ Continue Reading ]
Once have I sworn by My holiness, in a solemn oath by the essential purity of His essence, THAT I WILL NOT LIE UNTO DAVID, to whom this great Messianic promise had been given,... [ Continue Reading ]
His seed, in the person of the Messiah, SHALL ENDURE FOREVER, AND HIS THRONE AS THE SUN BEFORE ME, that is, throughout eternity.... [ Continue Reading ]
It shall be established forever as the moon and as a faithful witness in heaven, for steadfast testimony. SELAH. This is a glorious assurance of the unchangeable nature of God's covenant with men, that He will never alter His Gospel promises.... [ Continue Reading ]
But Thou hast cast off and abhorred, rejected, THOU HAST BEEN WROTH WITH THINE ANOINTED. The vicarious nature of the Redeemer's work is here stressed. So completely does He become the Substitute of man in the work of atonement that He can say He was rejected of God, that God was wroth with His Messi... [ Continue Reading ]
LAMENT AND COMFORT... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast made void the covenant of Thy Servant, apparently spurning it in His anger; THOU HAST PROFANED HIS CROWN BY CASTING IT TO THE GROUND, He Himself being bowed down to the dust in the extreme misery of His Passion.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast broken down all His hedges, the fences which kept the enemies from assailing Him; THOU HAST BROUGHT HIS STRONGHOLDS TO RUIN, the Proxy of mankind having all His fortifications taken from Him and reduced to ruins, thus giving all His adversaries an opportunity to work their will, as it seem... [ Continue Reading ]
All that pass by the way spoil Him, He became the butt of the despoilers and detractors; HE IS A REPROACH TO HIS NEIGHBORS, evidently a reference to the mockery attending the Lord's trials and His crucifixion.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast set up the right hand of His adversaries, apparently giving them the power to work their will against the Christ; THOU HAST MADE ALL HIS ENEMIES TO REJOICE, gladdened their hearts at the seeming success of their murderous plans.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast also turned the edge of His sword, apparently dulled the weapons with which He was battling, AND HAST NOT MADE HIM TO STAND IN THE BATTLE; it seemed that He wall destined to lose in the tremendous conflict in which He was engaged for the benefit of mankind.... [ Continue Reading ]
Thou hast made His glory to cease and cast His throne down to the ground.... [ Continue Reading ]
The days of His youth hast Thou shortened, by the tremendous pressure of the burden of men's iniquity; THOU HAST COVERED HIM WITH SHAME, wrapping Him up in disgrace before men. SELAH. Such was the Messiah's condition as He entered upon His great work of the redemption of mankind. The iniquities and... [ Continue Reading ]
How long, Lord? Wilt Thou hide Thyself forever? Shall Thy wrath burn like fire? Note that these words are practically a parallel to the Messiah's unexampled cry of distress and desolation, Psalms 22:2. When He reached the climax of Hill suffering, it seemed to the great Sufferer that the Lord had de... [ Continue Reading ]
Remember how short My time is; wherefore hast Thou made all men in vain? We have here only disjointed cries: "Remember I what the age? For what ;vanity hast Thou created the sons of man?... [ Continue Reading ]
What man is he that liveth and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave, from the realm of death? SELAH. As the Representative of mankind, the Messiah was condemned to death, He must go down into the land of death, He must suffer even the pangs of eternal death. And... [ Continue Reading ]
Lord, where are Thy former loving-kindnesses which Thou swarest to David in Thy truth? He places His confidence in the merciful kindnesses of the Lord, as contained in the Lord's faithful promises, sure to come upon Him in whom Jehovah, the heavenly Father, is well pleased.... [ Continue Reading ]
Remember, Lord, the reproach of Thy servants, for He was bearing the reproach which should have struck others; HOW I DO BEAR IN MY BOSOM THE REPROACH OF ALL THE MIGHTY PEOPLE, literally, "all many peoples," as the Substitute of all mankind,... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherewith Thine enemies have reproached, O Lord, trying to heap disgrace upon Him, WHEREWITH THEY HAVE REPROACHED THE FOOTSTEPS OF THINE ANOINTED, of the Lord's Messiah. Knowing that the Lord would be His Refuge in spite of all enemies and their mockery and would glorify Him by the pathway of the cr... [ Continue Reading ]
Blessed be the Lord forevermore. Amen, and Amen. That was the end of the Messiah's vicarious work, blessing and honor and glory, of which all believers are partakers, here in time and hereafter in eternity.... [ Continue Reading ]