This
psalm is part of that which was delivered into the hand of Asaph and his
brethren (1 Chron. xvi. 7), by which it appears both that David was the
penman of it and that it has reference to the bringing up of the ark to the
city of David; whether that long psalm was made first, and this afterwards
taken out of it, or this made first and afterwards borrowed to make up that,
is not certain. But this is certain, that, though it was sung at the
translation of the ark, it looks further, to the kingdom
of Christ, and is designed to celebrate the glories of
that kingdom, especially the accession of the Gentiles to it. Here is, I. A
call given to all people to praise God, to worship him, and give glory to
him, as a great and glorious God, ver. 1-9. II. Notice given to all people
of God's universal government and judgment, which ought to be the matter of
universal joy, ver. 10-13. In singing this psalm we ought to have our hearts
filled with great and high thoughts of the glory of God and the grace of the
gospel, and with an entire satisfaction in Christ's sovereign dominion and
in the expectation of the judgment to come.
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An
Invitation to Praise and Honour God; A Call to Glorify God.
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1 O sing unto the LORD
a new song: sing unto the LORD,
all the earth. 2 Sing unto the LORD,
bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. 3
Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people.
4 For the LORD
is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above
all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols:
but the LORD
made the heavens. 6 Honour and majesty are before him:
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Give unto the
LORD,
O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD
glory and strength. 8 Give unto the LORD
the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his
courts. 9 O worship the LORD
in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
These verses will be best expounded by pious and devout affections working
in our souls towards God, with a high veneration for his majesty and
transcendent excellency. The call here given us to praise God is very
lively, the expressions are raised and repeated, to all which the echo of a
thankful heart should make agreeable returns.
I. We are here required to honour God,
1. With songs, v. 1, 2. Three times we are here called to sing
unto the Lord; sing to the Father, to the Son, to the Holy Ghost, as it
was in the beginning, when the morning stars sang together, is
now, in the church militant, and ever shall be, in the church
triumphant. We have reason to do it often, and we have need to be often
reminded of it, and stirred up to it. Sing unto the Lord, that is,
"Bless his name, speak well of him, that you may bring others to
think well of him." (1.) Sing a new song, an excellent song, the
product of new affections, clothed with new expressions. We speak of nothing
more despicable than "an old song," but the newness of a song
recommends it; for there we expect something surprising. A new song is a
song for new favours, for those compassions which are new every morning. A
new song is New-Testament song, a song of praise for the new covenant and
the precious privileges of that covenant. A new song is a song that shall be
ever new, and shall never wax old nor vanish away; it is an everlasting
song, that shall never be antiquated or out of date. (2.) Let all the earth
sing this song, not the Jews only, to whom hitherto the service of God had
been appropriated, who could not sing the Lord's song in (would not
sing it to) a strange land; but let all the earth, all that
are redeemed from the earth, learn and sing this new song,
Rev. xiv. 3. This is a prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles; all the
earth shall have this new song put into their mouths, shall have both
cause and call to sing it. (3.) Let the subject-matter of this song be his
salvation, the great salvation which was to be wrought out by the Lord
Jesus; that must be shown forth as the cause of this joy and praise. (4.)
Let this song be sung constantly, not only in the times appointed for the
solemn feasts, but from day to day; it is a subject that can never be
exhausted. Let day unto day utter this speech, that, under the influence of
gospel devotions, we may daily exemplify a gospel conversation.
2. With sermons (v. 3): Declare his glory among the heathen,
even his wonders among all people. (1.) Salvation by Christ is here
spoken of as a work of wonder, and that in which the glory of God shines
very brightly; in showing forth that salvation we declare God's glory as it
shines in the face of Christ. (2.) This salvation was, in the Old-Testament
times, as heaven's happiness is now, a glory to be revealed; but in
the fulness of time it was declared, and a full discovery made of that, even
to babes, which prophets and kings desired and wished to see and might not.
(3.) What was then discovered was declared only among the Jews, but it is
now declared among the heathen, among all people; the nations which
long sat in darkness now see this great light. The apostles' commission to
preach the gospel to every creature is copied from this: Declare his
glory among the heathen.
3. With religious services, v. 7-9. Hitherto, though in every nation
those that feared God and wrought righteousness were accepted of him, yet
instituted ordinances were the peculiarities of the Jewish religion; but, in
gospel-times, the kindreds of the people shall be invited and admitted into
the service of God and be as welcome as ever the Jews were. The court of the
Gentiles shall no longer be an outward court, but shall be laid in common
with the court of Israel. All the earth is here summoned to fear before the
Lord, to worship him according to his appointment. In every place incense
shall be offered to his name, Mal. i. 11; Zech. xiv. 17; Isa. lxvi. 23.
This indeed spoke mortification to the Jews, but, withal, it gave a prospect
of that which would redound very much to the glory of God and to the
happiness of mankind. Now observe how the acts of devotion to God are here
described. (1.) We must give unto the Lord; not as if God needed any
thing, or could receive any thing, from us or any creature, which was not
his own before, much less be benefited by it; but we must in our best
affections, adorations, and services, return to him what we have received
from him, and do it freely, as what we give; for God loves a cheerful
giver. It is debt, it is rent, it is tribute, it is what must be paid,
and, if not, will be recovered, and yet, if it come from holy love, God is
pleased to accept it as a gift. (2.) We must acknowledge God to be the
sovereign Lord and pay homage to him accordingly (v. 7): Give unto
the Lord glory and strength, glory and empire, or dominion, so
some. As a king, he is clothed with robes of glory and girt with the girdle
of power, and we must subscribe to both. Thine is the kingdom, and
therefore thine is the power and the glory. "Give the glory to
God; do not take it to yourselves, nor give it to any creature." (3.)
We must give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name, that is, to
the discovery he has been pleased to make of himself to the children of men.
In all the acts of religious worship this is that which we must aim at, to
honour God, to pay him some of that reverence which we owe him as the best
of beings and the fountain of our being. (4.) We must bring an offering
in to his courts. We must bring ourselves, in the first place, the offering
up of the Gentiles, Rom. xv. 16. We must offer up the sacrifices of
praise continually (Heb. xiii. 15), must often appear before God in
public worship and never appear before him empty. (5.) We must worship
him in the beauty of holiness, in the solemn assembly where divine
institutions are religiously observed, the beauty of which is their
holiness, that is, their conformity to the rule. We must worship him with
holy hearts, sanctified by the grace of God, devoted to the glory of God,
and purified from the pollutions of sin. (6.) We must fear before him;
all the acts of worship must be performed from a principle of the fear of
God and with a holy awe and reverence.
II. In the midst of these calls to praise God and give glory to him glorious
things are here said of him, both as motives to praise and matter of praise:
The Lord is great, and therefore greatly to be praised (v.
4) and to be feared, great and honourable to his attendants, great
and terrible to his adversaries. Even the new song proclaims God great as
well as good; for his goodness is his glory; and, when the everlasting
gospel is preached, it is this, Fear God, and give glory to him, Rev.
xiv. 6, 7. 1. He is great in his sovereignty over all that pretend to be
deities; none dare vie with him: He is to be feared above all gods--all
princes, who were often deified after their deaths, and even while they
lived were adored as petty gods--or rather all idols, the gods of the
nations v. 5. All the earth being called to sing the new song,
they must be convinced that the Lord Jehovah, to whose honour they must sing
it, is the one only living and true God, infinitely above all rivals and
pretenders; he is great, and they are little; he is all, and they are nothing;
so the word used for idols signifies, for we know that an idol is nothing
in the world, 1 Cor. viii. 4. 2. He is great in his right, even to the
noblest part of the creation; for it is his own work and derives its being
from him: The Lord made the heavens and all their hosts; they are
the work of his fingers (Ps. viii. 3), so nicely, so curiously, are they
made. The gods of the nations were all made--gods, the creatures of men's
fancies; but our God is the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars, those
lights of heaven, which they imagined to be gods and worshipped as such. 3.
He is great in the manifestation of his glory both in the upper and lower
world, among his angels in heaven and his saints on earth (v. 6): Splendour
and majesty are before him, in his immediate presence above, where the
angels cover their faces, as unable to bear the dazzling lustre of his
glory. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary, both that above and
this below. In God there is every thing that is awful and yet every thing
that is amiable. If we attend him in his sanctuary, we shall behold his
beauty, for God is love, and experience his strength, for he is
our rock. Let us therefore go forth in his strength, enamoured with his
beauty.
10 Say among the heathen that the LORD
reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: he
shall judge the people righteously. 11 Let the heavens rejoice,
and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all
the trees of the wood rejoice 13 Before the LORD:
for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world
with righteousness, and the people with his truth.
We have here instructions given to those who were to preach the gospel to
the nations what to preach, or to those who had themselves received the
gospel what account to give of it to their neighbours, what to say among
the heathen; and it is an illustrious prophecy of the setting up of the
kingdom of Christ upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom, which began
immediately after his ascension and will continue in the doing till the
mystery of God be finished.
I. Let it be told that the Lord reigns, the Lord Christ reigns, that
King whom God determined to set upon his holy hill of Zion. See how this was
first said among the heathen by Peter, Acts x. 42. Some of the
ancients added a gloss to this, which by degrees crept into the text, The
Lord reigneth from the tree (so Justin Martyr, Austin, and others, quote
it), meaning the cross, when he had this title written over him, The King
of the Jews. It was because he became obedient to death, even the death
of the cross, that God exalted him, and gave him a name above every name, a
throne above every throne. Some of the heathen came betimes to enquire after
him that was born King of the Jews, Matt. ii. 2. Now let them know
that he has come and his kingdom is set up.
II. Let it be told that Christ's government will be the world's happy
settlement. The world also shall be established, that it shall not be
moved. The natural world shall be established. The standing of the
world, and its stability, are owing to the mediation of Christ. Sin had
given it a shock, and still threatens it; but Christ, as Redeemer, upholds
all things, and preserves the course of nature. The world of mankind shall
be established, shall be preserved, till all that belong to the election of
grace are called in, though a guilty provoking world. The Christian
religion, as far as it is embraced, shall establish states and kingdoms, and
preserve good order among men. The church in the world shall be established
(so some), that it cannot be moved; for it is built upon a rock, and the
gates of hell shall never prevail against it; it is a kingdom that
cannot be shaken.
III. Let them be told that Christ's government will be incontestably just
and righteous: He shall judge the people righteously (v. 10), judge
the world with righteousness, and with his truth, v. 13. Judging
is here put for ruling; and though this may be extended to the general
judgment of the world at the last day, which will be in righteousness
(Acts xvii. 31), yet it refers more immediately to Christ's first coming,
and the setting up of his kingdom in the world by the gospel. He says
himself, For judgment have I come into this world (John ix. 39; xii.
31), and declares that all judgment was committed to him, John v. 22,
27. His ruling and judging with righteousness and truth signify, 1. That all
the laws and ordinances of his kingdom shall be consonant to the rules and
principles of eternal truth and equity, that is, to the rectitude and purity
of the divine nature and will. 2. That all his administrations of government
shall be just and faithful, and according to what he has said. 3. That he
shall rule in the hearts and consciences of men by the commanding power of
truth and the Spirit of righteousness and sanctification. When Pilate asked
our Saviour, Art thou a king? he answered, For this cause came I
into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth (John xviii.
37); for he rules by truth, commands men's wills by informing their
judgments aright.
IV. Let them be told that his coming draws nigh, that this King, this Judge,
standeth before the door; for he cometh, for he cometh. Enoch, the
seventh from Adam, said so. Behold, the Lord cometh, Jude 14. Between
this and his first coming the revolutions of many ages intervened, and yet
he came at the set time, and so sure will his second coming be; though it is
now long since it was said, Behold, he comes in the clouds (Rev. i.
7) and he has not yet come. See 2 Pet. iii. 4, &c.
V. Let them be called upon to rejoice in this honour that is put upon the
Messiah, and this great trust that is to be lodged in his hand (v.
11, 12): Let heaven and earth rejoice, the sea, the field, and all
the trees of the wood. The dialect here is poetical; the meaning is, 1.
That the days of the Messiah will be joyful days, and, as far as his grace
and government are submitted to, will bring joy along with them. We have
reason to give that place, that soul, joy into which Christ is admitted. See
an instance of both, Acts viii. When Samaria received the gospel there
was great joy in that city (v. 8), and, when the eunuch was
baptized, he went on his way rejoicing, v. 39. 2. That it is
the duty of every one of us to bid Christ and his kingdom welcome; for,
though he comes conquering and to conquer, yet he comes peaceably. Hosanna,
Blessed is he that cometh; and again, Hosanna, Blessed be the kingdom
of our father David (Mark xi. 9, 10); not only let the daughter of
Zion rejoice that her King comes (Zech. ix. 9), but let all rejoice. 3.
That the whole creation will have reason to rejoice in the setting up of
Christ's kingdom, even the sea and the field; for, as by the
sin of the first Adam the whole creation was made subject to vanity,
so by the grace of the second Adam it shall, some way or other, first or
last, be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God, Rom. viii. 20, 21. 4. That there will,
in the first place, be joy in heaven, joy in the presence of the angels
of God; for, when the First-begotten was brought into the world, they
sang their anthems to his praise, Luke ii. 14. 5. That God will graciously
accept the holy joy and praises of all the hearty well-wishers to the
kingdom of Christ, be their capacity ever so mean. The sea can but roar,
and how the trees of the wood can show that they rejoice I
know not; but he that searches the heart knows what is the mind of the
Spirit, and understands the language, the broken language, of the
weakest.
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