1._O God! give thy judgments to the king. _(124) While David, to whom the promise had been made, at his death affectionately recommended to God his son, who was to succeed him in his kingdom, he doubtless endited to the Church a common form of prayer, that the faithful, convinced of the impossibilit... [ Continue Reading ]
2._He shall judge thy people in righteousness. _Some read this in the form of a wish — _O that he may judge, etc. _Others retain the future tense; and thus it is a prophecy. But we will come nearer the correct interpretation by understanding something intermediate, as implied. All that is afterwards... [ Continue Reading ]
4._He shall judge the poor of the people. _The poet continues his description of the end and fruit of a righteous government, and unfolds at greater length what he had briefly touched upon concerning the afflicted among the people. But it is a truth which ought to be borne in mind, that kings can ke... [ Continue Reading ]
5._They shall fear thee with the sun _If this is read as an apostrophe, or change of person, it may be properly and without violence understood of the king; implying, that the ornaments or distinctions which chiefly secure to a sovereign reverence from his subjects are his impartially securing to ev... [ Continue Reading ]
6._He shall descend as the rain upon the mown grass. _This comparison may seem at first sight to be somewhat harsh; but it elegantly and appositely expresses the great advantage which is derived by all from the good and equitable constitution of a kingdom. Meadows, we know, are cut in the beginning... [ Continue Reading ]
7._In his days shall the righteous flourish _It is unnecessary for me frequently to repeat what I have once stated, that all these sentences depend upon the first verse. David, therefore, prayed that the king might be adorned with righteousness and judgment, that the just might flourish and the peop... [ Continue Reading ]
8_He shall have dominion from sea to sea. _As the Lord, when he promised his people the land of Canaan for an inheritance, assigned to it these four boundaries, (Genesis 15:18,) David intimates, that so long as the kingdom shall continue to exist, the possession of the promised land will be entire,... [ Continue Reading ]
10._The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents. _The Psalmist still continues, as in the preceding verse, to speak of the extent of the kingdom. The Hebrews apply the appellation of _Tarshish _to the whole coast, which looks towards Cilicia. By _the isles, _therefore, is denoted the... [ Continue Reading ]
11._And all kings shall prostrate themselves before him. _This verse contains a more distinct statement of the truth, That the whole world will be brought in subjection to the authority of Christ. The kingdom of Judah was unquestionably never more flourishing than under the reign of Solomon; but eve... [ Continue Reading ]
12._For he will deliver the poor when he crieth to him. _The Psalmist again affirms that the kingdom which he magnifies so greatly will not be tyrannical or cruel. The majority of kings, neglecting the well-being of the community, have their minds wholly engrossed with their own private interests. T... [ Continue Reading ]
15._And he shall live. _To refer the word _live _to the poor, as some do, seems forced. What David affirms is, that this king shall be rewarded with long life, which is not the least of God’s earthly blessings. The words which follow are to be read indefinitely, that is to say, without determining a... [ Continue Reading ]
16._A handful of corn shall be _(142) _in the earth upon the top of the mountains. _The opinion of those who take _a handful _(143) for a small portion appears to be well founded. They think that by the two circumstances here referred to, a rare and uncommon fertility is indicated. Only a very small... [ Continue Reading ]
17._His name shall endure for ever _The inspired writer again repeats what he had previously affirmed concerning the perpetual duration of this kingdom. And he doubtless intended carefully to distinguish it from earthly kingdoms, which either suddenly vanish away, or at length, oppressed with their... [ Continue Reading ]
18._Blessed be Jehovah God! the God of Israel. _(147) David, after having prayed for prosperity to his successors, breaks forth in praising God, because he was assured by the divine oracle that his prayers would not be in vain. Had he not with the eyes of faith beheld those things which we have seen... [ Continue Reading ]
20._The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended. _We have before observed that this was not without cause added by Solomon, (if we may suppose him to have put the matter of this psalm into the form of poetical compositions) not only that he might avoid defrauding his father of the praise which w... [ Continue Reading ]