Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, [and] for thy truth's sake. Ver. 1. _Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us_] This is the godly man's motto, and his daily practice. See Genesis 41:16 Acts 3:12; Acts 3:16 1 Corinthians 15:10 Luke 19:16. Not we, but thy talent... [ Continue Reading ]
Wherefore should the heathen say, Where [is] now their God? Ver. 2. _Wherefore should the heathen say_] Why should they thus be suffered or occasioned to blaspheme thee, and twit us with our religion? Hence some conceive that this psalm was made in the time of the Babylonish captivity by Daniel (sa... [ Continue Reading ]
But our God [is] in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Ver. 3. _But our God is in the heavens_] Where your _terricula_ country, your fearful idols never were; like as one, being asked by a Papist, Where was your religion before Luther? answered, In the Bible, where your religion... [ Continue Reading ]
Their idols [are] silver and gold, the work of men's hands. Ver. 4. _Their idols are silver and gold_] Take them at the best, they are no better; and what is silver and gold but the guts and garbage of the earth? But some of them might say, as Priapus in Horace, _ Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inuti... [ Continue Reading ]
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: Ver. 5. _They have mouths, but speak not_] Unless the devil haply speak in them, and by them, as at Delphos; or the false priests, as here, in times of Popery. _ Eyes have they, but they see not_] And yet with wires and other... [ Continue Reading ]
They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: Ver. 6. _They have ears, but they hear not_] But are as deaf as door nails to the prayers of their suppliants. The Cretans pictured their Jupiter without ears; so little hearing or help they hoped for from him. Socrates, in con... [ Continue Reading ]
They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. Ver. 7. _They have hands, but they handle not_] Curious and artificial (for art is Nature's ape), but useless, and for show only. If Esculapius, or the lady of Loretto, restore the lame... [ Continue Reading ]
They that make them are like unto them; [so is] every one that trusteth in them. Ver. 8. _They that make them are like unto them_] Blind and blockish, _Vervecum in patria crassoque sub aere nati; _ given up by a just God to a judiciary stupidity. See Isaiah 44:9,11, &c.; Revelation 9:20, Their fool... [ Continue Reading ]
O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he [is] their help and their shield. Ver. 9. _O Israel, trust thou in the Lord_] Whatever others do, Joshua 24:15, and the rather because others do not, Psalms 119:42; the worse they are, the better be ye. _ He is their help and their shield_] God is engaged in po... [ Continue Reading ]
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he [is] their help and their shield. _Ver. 10 O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord_] Ministers must be patterns to others of depending upon God, and living by faith; as did Mr Bradshaw, Mr Lancaster, and many other famous preachers of latter times, whom God inure... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he [is] their help and their shield. Ver. 11. _Ye that fear the Lord_] _Peregrini ex omni populo,_ saith Aben Ezra, devout persons out of every nation dwelling among the Jews, though not absolute proselytes, Acts 2:5; Acts 10:2; Acts 13:16. Such also, feari... [ Continue Reading ]
The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless [us]; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron. Ver. 12. The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us] God hath, God will, is an ordinary Scripture medium, as hath been above noted. _ He will bless the house of lsrael... [ Continue Reading ]
He will bless them that fear the LORD, [both] small and great. Ver. 13. _He will bless_] Such shall abound with blessings, Proverbs 28:20 . _ Both small and great_] Whether in age or degree, Acts 10:34,35 .... [ Continue Reading ]
The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ver. 14. _The Lord shall increase you_] Or, the Lord increase you (_detach tephilla,_ prayer wise), as the Rabbis read it. _ You and your children_] The care of whose welfare prevaileth far with religious parents, and sitteth close... [ Continue Reading ]
Ye [are] blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. Ver. 15. _Ye are blessed of the Lord, &c._] And therefore shall be blessed, as Isaac said of his son Jacob, Genesis 27:33 . _ Which made heaven and earth_] And will rather unmake both again than you shall want help and comfort.... [ Continue Reading ]
The heaven, [even] the heavens, [are] the LORD'S: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. Ver. 16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's] As the special place of his delight and dwelling; yet not so as if he were there cooped up and concluded; for God is immense and omnipresent,... [ Continue Reading ]
The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. Ver. 17. _The dead praise not_] Therefore be active for God while we are upon earth; where for this he giveth us life and livelihood. See Psalms 6:6 .... [ Continue Reading ]
But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD. Ver. 18. _But we will bless the Lord_] For if he lose his praise in us, he will lose it altogether; and so all things will come to nothing; _quod absit._... [ Continue Reading ]