Psalm 150

Notes

Ver. 1. The first verse marks the place where the Lord is to be praised—the sanctuary on earth, the firmament above. C.

Ver. 2. The second verse assigns reasons for praise—God's mighty acts, and the multitude of his acts. C.

Ver. 3-6. The remaining portion of the psalm calls first upon instruments of every construction, and finally upon everything that breathes, to praise the Lord. C.

Reflections.—Happy are they who dwell in God's house above—they are always praising him on the highest key! And happy are they who are on the way to it—they have always matter, and often a heart, for praise.

Concluding Remarks on the Book of Psalms.

The Hebrew title of the Book of Psalms is 'Praises;' because the praise of God as Creator, Upholder, and Governor—as Father, Redeemer, and Sanctifier—constitutes their principal subject. The Greek title, whence our English name, 'Psalms,' is derived from the Septuagint, and describes these sacred compositions as accompanied by musical instruments. And this accompaniment was in accordance with the law of Moses, Le. 23. 24, &c., and the ritual appointed by divine revelation in the days of David and Solomon, 1 Ch. xvi.

But while praise is justly due to God as Creator, Upholder, and Governor of the world, much more is it due to him as Father, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. And as God the Father is made known and glorified by the Son—and as the Spirit glorifies both Father and Son, by taking 'the things of Christ and showing them' to believers—so it was to be expected that Christ, the beloved Son of God, the Messiah, the Saviour of sinners, would furnish the chief subject of praise in the heart and the songs of the church. Accordingly we have seen that the Psalms are full of Christ—the church on earth strictly imitating the church in heaven, in asserting that 'worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing;' and in ascribing 'blessing, and honour, and glory, and power unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.'

The Psalms constitute the great storehouse of prayer in every mood and condition of the spirit. 'Is any merry—let him sing psalms.' Is any sad—they will teach him to cry from the depths of affliction. Is any persecuted—they will furnish him with petitions for a refuge and deliverance. Is any in want—they will lead him to the Friend of the poor and needy. Is any in sickness—they will lead him the way to the true Physician. Is any dying and in misery—they will show him the path of life, ending in fulness of joy at the right hand of the Eternal. And all this they do, because they are the spiritual revelations of the 'supplications, strong crying, and tears' of Jesus in the days of his flesh; and therefore furnish to his disciples the model and the material of their prayers of faith.

The writers of some of the Psalms are known, and the Jews enumerate ten. But this is of little importance—for that the author of all was the Spirit of God, we have the fullest evidence. Thus, independently of that heavenly character which bears witness of their heavenly origin—we have, in the New Testament, more frequent attestations of their divine origin, than for any other book of the whole Scripture collection. They are at least fifty times quoted by our Lord or his apostles. And besides furnishing to our Lord the most powerful of his arguments against the unbelieving Jews, they also furnished him the words in which, upon the cross, he both prayed and expired.

According to the Masoretic copies and the Syriac version, the Psalms are divided into five books: the first extending from Ps. i.-xl.—the second from Ps. xli.-lxxii.—the third from Ps. lxxiii.-lxxxix.—the fourth from Ps. xc.-cvi.—and the fifth from Ps. cvii.-cl. The first four of these end with 'Amen and Amen;' the last with 'Hallelujah.' This division was very ancient, as it evidently existed before the Septuagint translation.

Most of the Psalms have titles prefixed, which by some, as ancient traditionary expositions of the contents, are held in high esteem, and considered as endued with a kind of canonical authority. But some of the highest authorities amongst the ancient Christian writers—as Augustine and Theodoret—have freely admitted that these titles have often no relation to the body of the psalm, and seldom contribute anything to the discovery of the meaning. In their great obscurity all are agreed; and conjectural meanings are so various that they cease to be of value. These titles have accordingly been retained, partly out of respect to those that, in any degree, value them; and partly as mere relics of antiquity, esteemed not for any intrinsic worth, but as samples and memorials of the works of other times.

That the Psalms are occasionally prophetical of Christ no Christian can overlook or deny. That but few, however, are thus prophetical of him, has been an opinion extensively circulated and received—the number of such specially prophetic psalms being ordinarily confined to Ps. ii. xvi. xxii. xl. xlv. lxviii. lxxii. lxxxvii. cx. and cxviii. But were the correctness of this meagre enumeration admitted, still the real relation of the Psalms to Christ remains unsettled. For the real question is, not how many psalms are prophetical, but how many are descriptive of Christ, and proved to be descriptive of him, because they apply accurately to him, and however they may be strained by the efforts of 'accommodation,' still utterly refuse to become applicable to any other. Could we conclude with Origen, Chrysostom, Theodoret, Augustine, Ambrose, Euthymius, and others of the ancient Christian writers, that David was the author of all the Psalms—or admitting, as is commonly believed, that other inspired authors wrote a part of the collection—yet could we accurately ascertain how many were composed by David—and it is upon all hands admitted that he composed a large portion—we would then be able, upon David's own authority, or rather upon that of the Spirit speaking by him, greatly to extend, if not to universalize, the prophetic boundaries of the Psalms. For that the psalms written by David himself were prophetic we have David's own authority, which, as Horsley observes, may be allowed to overpower a host of modern expositors. For thus king David at the close of his life describes himself and his sacred songs: 'David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel said, The Spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and his word was my tongue,' 2 Sa. 23. 1, 2. It was the word, therefore, of Jehovah's Spirit which was uttered by David's tongue. But it should seem the Spirit of Jehovah would not be wanting to enable a mere man to make complaint of his own enemies, to describe his own sufferings just as he felt them, and his own escapes just as they happened. But the Spirit of Jehovah described, by David's utterance, what was known to that Spirit only, and that Spirit only could describe. So that if David be allowed to have had any knowledge of the true subject of his own compositions, it was nothing in his own life, but something put into his mind by the Holy Spirit of God; and the misapplication of the Psalms to the literal David has done more mischief than the misapplication of any other parts of the Scriptures among those who profess the belief of the Christian religion. (See Horsley on the Psalms, vol. i. p. 14.) Nor do we hesitate to express our firm conviction, that a right interpretation of the Psalms, whereby Christ is so clearly discovered in his person, his offices, his passion, his victories, his glories, and his judgment, will bring a light, a comfort, and a joy to the heart of the believer, unknown while darkness lay upon this blessed portion of the Sacred Volume. C.