Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Ver. 1. _Praise ye the Lord_] See Psalms 148:1 . _ Praise God in his sanctuary_] It is probable, saith Beza, that _hoc Psalmo mirifici ardoris plano,_ by this psalm, which is so full of wonderful ardour, the... [ Continue Reading ]
Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. Ver. 2. _Praise him for his mighty acts_] Those wonderful effects of his creative and providential omnipotence. _ Praise him according to his excellent greatness_] Or, Greatness of greatness; which yet can never be do... [ Continue Reading ]
Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. Ver. 3. _Praise him with the sound of the trumpet_] With all your might and members, with utmost joy and jollity in the Lord. Lord, I am a musical instrument, saith Nazianzen, for thee to touch, that I may sound forth... [ Continue Reading ]
Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. Ver. 4. _Praise him with the timbrel and dance_] Or, pipe. But these are ancient things (as it is said in another case, 1Ch 4:22), and now out of date. When the use of these musical instruments crept into the Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. Ver. 5. _Praise him upon the loud cymbals_] These were, saith Cicero (in Pison.), _instrumenta aerea, concava, tinnula, in matris Deorum sacris usurpata; _ bells, some render it. The apostle speaketh of a tinkling cymbal;... [ Continue Reading ]
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD. Ver. 6. _Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord_] Or, Let every breath praise the Lord. _Tam Dei meminisse opus est quam respirare,_ saith Chrysostom. We have all as much reason to praise God as we have need to draw bre... [ Continue Reading ]