Psalms 92:1 «A Psalm [or] Song for the sabbath day. » [It is a] good [thing] to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: _A Psalm or Song for the sabbath day_] The sabbath in the Hebrew hath its name from resting (שׁבת), and is near allied to two other words, the fi... [ Continue Reading ]
To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night, Ver. 2. _To show forth thy lovingkindness in the morning_] Every morning, that God may have the firstfruits of the day, but especially on the sabbath morning, when we awake and rise, _ad quietem et ad delicias animi... [ Continue Reading ]
Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound. Ver. 3. _Upon an instrument of ten strings, &c._] This was part of the Jewish pedagogy; and teacheth us to use all lawful means to enforce ourselves to that, whereunto we are so dull and backward.... [ Continue Reading ]
For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. Ver. 4. _For thou, Lord, hast made me glad, &c._] And I will improve this cheerfulness to thankfulness, James 5:13. On the sabbath we ought _solummodo spiritualibus gaudiis repleri,_ to be filled with spir... [ Continue Reading ]
O LORD, how great are thy works! [and] thy thoughts are very deep. Ver. 5. _O Lord, how great are thy works!_] Surely so great that I cannot utter them, and must, therefore, thus vent myself by an exclamation. _ Expleri mentem nequeo, ardescoque tuendo_ (Virgil.) _And thy thoughts are very deep_... [ Continue Reading ]
A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. Ver. 6. _A brutish man knoweth not_] A sottish sensualist, who hath his soul for salt only, to keep his body from putrefying (as we say of swine); he takes no knowledge of God's great works, but grunts and goes his ways, contenting him... [ Continue Reading ]
When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; [it is] that they shall be destroyed for ever: Ver. 7. _When the wicked spring as the grass, &c._] This the fool admireth, calling the proud happy, &c., Malachi 3:15, and not considering that that proud grass sha... [ Continue Reading ]
But thou, LORD, [art most] high for evermore. Ver. 8. _But thou, Lord, art most high, &c._] _q.d._ Flourish the wicked never so much, shoot they up never so high, thou art higher, and in the thing wherein they deal proudly thou art above them, Exodus 18:11 .... [ Continue Reading ]
For, lo, thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered. Ver. 9. _For, lo, thine enemies, &c._] The psalmist, by this demonstrative particle "lo," points to it as it were with the finger, as a thing most evident and undoubted. _ Shall be... [ Continue Reading ]
But my horn shalt thou exalt like [the horn of] an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil. Ver. 10. _Like the horn of an unicorn_] Which is very fair, hard, and well lifted up. See Numbers 23:26. I am in good plight. _ I shall be anointed_] It is well for the present, and it will be better he... [ Continue Reading ]
Mine eye also shall see [my desire] on mine enemies, [and] mine ears shall hear [my desire] of the wicked that rise up against me. Ver. 11. _Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies_] Or, on mine observers, who watch for my halting.... [ Continue Reading ]
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Ver. 12. _The righteous shall flourish like the palm_] A tree that groweth not in these cold climates, but where it doth is noted for tall, constantly green, long lived, sweet, firm, straight, &c., εμπεδοφυλλος... [ Continue Reading ]
Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Ver. 13. _Those that be planted_] Having taken deep root there. Hypocrites are only thrust in, as a stake, into the earth. Mnason was an old disciple, Andronicus and Junia were in Christ before Paul, and therefo... [ Continue Reading ]
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; Ver. 14. _They shall still bring forth fruit in old age_] _Quantumvis veteres, non veterascent,_ though old, yet shall they retain their former vigour and verdure, and be like that Persian tree in Theophrastus, that a... [ Continue Reading ]
To shew that the LORD [is] upright: [he is] my rock, and [there is] no unrighteousness in him. Ver. 15. _To show that, &c._] This is one of their principal fruits, to give God a testimonial, such as good old Moses doth, Deuteronomy 32:4 .... [ Continue Reading ]