_A.M. 2987. B.C. 1017._
It is probable this Psalm was composed after some terrible storm of
thunder, lightning, and rain; whereby God had discomfited David's
enemies, and put them into such disorder that he easily got the
victory over them, 2 Samuel 8. Hence he takes occasion to admonish
them, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_Give unto the Lord, ye mighty_ Hebrew, בני אלים, _benee eelim,
ye sons of the mighty_, or _of gods:_ ye potentates and rulers of the
earth. To these he addresses his speech, 1st, Because they are very
apt to forget and contemn God, and insolently to assume a kind of
deity to themselves: and, 2d, Be... [ Continue Reading ]
_The voice of the Lord_ That is, thunder, frequently so called; _is
upon the waters_ Upon the seas, where its noise spreads far and wide,
and is very terrible; or rather above the clouds, which are sometimes
called _waters_, as Genesis 1:7; Psalms 18:11, because they are of a
watery substance, and f... [ Continue Reading ]
_The voice of the Lord is full of majesty_ Is a very awful and evident
proof of God's glorious majesty. _Breaketh the cedars_ By lightning,
vulgarly called thunderbolts; which have torn asunder and destroyed
trees and towers. _The cedars of Lebanon_ A place famous for strong
and lofty cedars. _He ma... [ Continue Reading ]
_Divideth the flames of fire_ That is, casteth out many flashes of
lightning. The Hebrew, חצב, _chatzeb_, signifies _hews_, or _cuts
up_, _divides_, or _distributes._ “So the thunder, or voice of the
Lord, is said to send forth the lightning; which is, indeed, the
precursor of the thunder; the cause... [ Continue Reading ]
_Maketh the hinds to calve_ Through the terror which it causeth, which
hastens parturition in these and some other creatures. But he names
_hinds_, because they usually bring forth their young with difficulty.
See note on Job 39:1. _And discovereth the forests_ Hebrew יחשׂ
Š, _jechesoph, maketh bare... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord sitteth upon the flood_ He moderates and rules the most
abundant and violent effusions of waters which are sometimes poured
from the clouds, and fall upon the earth, where they cause inundations
which would do much mischief if God did not prevent it. And this may
be mentioned as another re... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord will give strength unto his people_ To support and preserve
them in the most dreadful storms and commotions, whether of the earth
or its inhabitants; and, consequently, in all other dangers, and
against all their enemies. He will strengthen and fortify them against
every evil work, and fur... [ Continue Reading ]