_The king shall Joy in Thy strength, O Lord; and in Thy salvation how
greatly shall he rejoice._
THE FEELINGS OF THE GOOD IN RELATION TO THE SUBJUGATION OF EVIL
Take the literal view of this Psalm as a type of the moral one against
error and sin, and we have--
I. Thanksgiving for victory. Verses... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou hast given him his heart’s desire._
THE DESIRE GRANTED
In this Psalm the joy bells of praise and thanksgiving are rung, and
“Te Deum laudamus” sung, as after a great victory. It follows
close on Psalms 20:1, celebrating the fulfilment of the petitions
there offered.
1. We are reminded of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness._
GOD GOING BEFORE US
The word “prevent” is now generally used to represent the idea of
hindrance. “Thou preventest him” would mean commonly, “Thou
hinderest him.” But here the word “prevent” means, to go before.
Thou goest before him with the... [ Continue Reading ]
_He asked life of Thee, and Thou gavest him a long life, even forever
and ever._
RELIGION A LIFE
In Christ these words are true of all who love our Lord Jesus Christ,
as they are supremely true of Him who is the fountain of life. “He
asked life of Thee.” Is thin true of us? That depends upon what
m... [ Continue Reading ]
_His glory is great in Thy salvation._
THE GLORY OF GOD
In this Psalm the poet is giving thanks for victory. The soldiers are
returning from war, and are met by a chorus of maidens shouting praise
to the delivering God. The poetry is not equal to the moral enthusiasm
of the occasion. We are called... [ Continue Reading ]
_For Thou hast made him most blessed forever: Thou hast made him
exceeding glad with Thy countenance._
EXCEEDING GLADNESS
You have heard a great many sermons upon the Man of Sorrows, you
cannot have heard too many; but probably you have never listened to a
discourse upon the Man of Joys! I venture... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thine hand shall find out all Thine enemies._
THE EXPOSURE AND PUNISHMENT OF SIN
I. The exposure of sin is inevitable. Iniquity delights in cunning,
and is itself a masterpiece of cunning. It may succeed in deluding its
victims, and for a time escape detection. But there is One to whom
every detai... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of Thine anger._
THE DELUGE OF FIRE
How, then, shall it fare with sinners when, after all, shall come that
general fire so often foretold, which shall either fall from heaven or
ascend out of hell, or (according to Albertus Magnus) proceed from
both... [ Continue Reading ]
_For they intended evil against Thee. .. which they are not able to
perform._
A MEMORABLE INSTANCE OF INTENDED EVIL THAT THE WICKED WERE NOT ABLE TO
PERFORM
At Rome the news of this great blow (given by the massacre on St.
Bartholomew’s Day) was hailed with extravagant manifestations of
joy; the Po... [ Continue Reading ]