_A.M. 2984. B.C. 1020._ The latter part of this excellent Psalm, or song of praise, renders it probable that it was composed after some great drought, which had brought, or threatened to bring, a dearth upon the land; and some think it relates to the three years' famine which took place after the r... [ Continue Reading ]
_Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion_ Waits in expectation of the mercy desired; waits till it arrives, that it may be received with thankfulness at its first approach. For, when God is coming toward us with his favours, we must go forth to meet him with our praises. Praise waits with an entire... [ Continue Reading ]
_O thou that hearest prayer_ That usest and delightest to hear and answer the prayers of thy people in Zion; which he justly mentions as one of the chiefest of God's favours vouchsafed to his church; _unto thee shall all flesh come_ Men of all sorts and nations, who were allured by this and other si... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessed is the man_ The particular person, how poor and mean soever; _whom thou choosest_ To be one of thy peculiar people; _and causest_ That is, permittest and commandest; and by the disposal of thy providence, and the influence of thy grace, inclinest and enablest, _to approach unto thee_ To dra... [ Continue Reading ]
_By terrible things_, &c. Or, _in a terrible manner;_ that is, so as to strike thy people with a holy awe and reverence of thee, and of thy judgments, and thine enemies with dread and horror. The Chaldee renders the word, נוראת, _noraoth_, here used, _in a wonderful manner._ This may be understood o... [ Continue Reading ]
_Which setteth fast the mountains_ That they are not overthrown by floods, or earthquakes, or other natural causes; which stability they have only from God's preserving providence, which alone sustains all persons and things; _being girded with power_ Being able to do it, and that with infinite ease... [ Continue Reading ]
_They also that dwell in the uttermost parts_ Namely, of the earth; _are afraid at thy tokens_ Hebrew, מאותתיךְ, _meothotheicha, at thy signs_, at the great and terrible judgments which thou inflictest upon wicked men, and particularly on the enemies of thy people. Or rather, at such occurrences as... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou visitest_ In _mercy_, or with thy favour, _the earth, and waterest it_ The whole earth, which is full of thy bounty. So understood, he continues to speak of the general providence of God over all people. Or, he may mean, _Thou visitest the land_ Namely, the land of Israel; and so he proceeds,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Thou crownest the year with thy goodness_ Thou, by thy powerful goodness, dost enrich and adorn all the seasons of the year with their proper fruits and blessings. _And thy paths_ Either, 1st, _Thy clouds_, (as the word מעגליךְ, is rendered in the Liturgy version,) upon which God is frequently said... [ Continue Reading ]
_The pastures_ Which were bare before; _are clothed with flocks _ As they are with grass. They are so well stocked that they seem covered over with sheep and cattle, feeding or resting in them; _the valleys also are covered with corn_ So that the face of the earth cannot be seen for the abundance of... [ Continue Reading ]