7 The Lord is good, a strong place in the day of trouble; and he has knowledge of those who take him for their safe cover.
But God's strong base is unchanging, having this sign, The Lord has knowledge of those who are his: and, Let everyone by whom the name of the Lord is named be turned away from evil.
Happy sounds, the voice of joy, the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who say, Give praise to the Lord of armies, for the Lord is good, for his mercy is unchanging for ever: the voices of those who go with praise into the house of the Lord. For I will let the land come back to its first condition, says the Lord.
Because the Lord sees the way of the upright, but the end of the sinner is destruction.
I am the good keeper; I have knowledge of my sheep, and they have knowledge of me,
Good and upright is the Lord: so he will be the teacher of sinners in the way.
O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
<To the chief music-maker. Of the servant of the Lord, of David, who said the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord made him free from the hand of all his haters, and from the hand of Saul; and he said,> I will give you my love, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my Rock, my walled town, and my saviour; my God, my Rock, in him will I put my faith; my breastplate, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
For the Lord is good, and his mercy is never-ending; his faith is unchanging through all generations.
For you have been a strong place for the poor and the crushed in their trouble, a safe place from the storm, a shade from the heat, when the wrath of the cruel ones is like a winter storm.
And a man will be as a safe place from the wind, and a cover from the storm; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shade of a great rock in a waste land.
He who has no love has no knowledge of God, because God is love. And the love of God was made clear to us when he sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. And this is love, not that we had love for God, but that he had love for us, and sent his Son to be an offering for our sins.
He put his faith in God; let God be his saviour now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.
And then will I say to them, I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil.
Nebuchadnezzar made answer and said, Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent his angel and kept his servants safe who had faith in him, and who put the king's word on one side and gave up their bodies to the fire, so that they might not be servants or worshippers of any other god but their God.
A blessing is on the man who puts his faith in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he will be like a tree planted by the waters, pushing out its roots by the stream; he will have no fear when the heat comes, but his leaf will be green; in a dry year he will have no care, and will go on giving fruit.
And they said to him, Hezekiah says, This day is a day of trouble and punishment and shame: for the children are ready to come to birth, but there is no strength to give birth to them. It may be that the Lord your God will give ear to the words of the Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria, his master, has sent to say evil things against the living God, and will make his words come to nothing: so make your prayer for the rest of the people.
Be my strong Rock, the strong place of my salvation; for you are my Rock, and my safe place.
Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a very great army, with war-carriages and horsemen more than might be numbered? but because your faith was in the Lord, he gave them up into your hands. For the eyes of the Lord go this way and that, through all the earth, letting it be seen that he is the strong support of those whose hearts are true to him. In this you have done foolishly, for from now you will have wars.
Is it not Hezekiah who has got you to do it, causing your death from need of food and water, by saying, The Lord our God will give us salvation out of the hands of the king of Assyria?
And the Lord sent an angel who put to death all the men of war and the chiefs and the captains in the army of the king of Assyria. So he went back to his country in shame. And when he came into the house of his god, his sons, the offspring of his body, put him to death there with the sword.
And they gave praise to the Lord, answering one another in their songs and saying, For he is good, for his mercy to Israel is eternal. And all the people gave a great cry of joy, when they gave praise to the Lord, because the base of the Lord's house was put in place.
<To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David.> May the Lord give ear to you in the day of trouble; may you be placed on high by the name of the God of Jacob;
For in the time of trouble he will keep me safe in his tent: in the secret place of his tent he will keep me from men's eyes; high on a rock he will put me.
But I will make songs of your power; yes, I will give cries of joy for your mercy in the morning; because you have been my strength and my high tower in the day of my trouble.
He only is my Rock and my salvation; he is my high tower; I will not be greatly moved. In God is my salvation, and my glory; the Rock of my strength, and my safe place. Have faith in him at all times, you people; let your hearts go flowing out before him: God is our safe place. (Selah.)
The Lord God is our sun and our strength: the Lord will give grace and glory: he will not keep back any good thing from those whose ways are upright. O Lord of armies, happy is the man whose hope is in you.
In the day of my trouble I send up my cry to you; for you will give me an answer.
When his cry comes up to me, I will give him an answer: I will be with him in trouble; I will make him free from danger and give him honour.
O give praise to the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the God of gods: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the Lord of lords: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who only does great wonders: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him by whom the earth was stretched out over the waters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made great lights: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The sun to have rule by day: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. The moon and the stars to have rule by night: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who put to death the first-fruits of Egypt: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And took out Israel from among them: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: With a strong hand and an outstretched arm: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who made a way through the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And let Israel go through it: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: By him Pharaoh and his army were overturned in the Red Sea: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who took his people through the waste land: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. To him who overcame great kings: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And put noble kings to death: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: Sihon, king of the Amorites: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And Og, king of Bashan: for his mercy is unchanging for ever: And gave their land to his people for a heritage: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Even a heritage for his servant Israel: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who kept us in mind when we were in trouble: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. And has taken us out of the hands of our haters: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. Who gives food to all flesh: for his mercy is unchanging for ever. O give praise to the God of heaven: for his mercy is unchanging for ever.
<A Psalm. Of David.> Praise be to the God of my strength, teaching my hands the use of the sword, and my fingers the art of fighting: He is my strength, and my Rock; my high tower, and my saviour; my keeper and my hope: he gives me authority over my people.
Men will be talking of the power and fear of your acts; I will give word of your glory. Their sayings will be full of the memory of all your mercy, and they will make songs of your righteousness. The Lord is full of grace and pity; not quickly angry, but great in mercy. The Lord is good to all men; and his mercies are over all his works. All the works of your hands give praise to you, O Lord; and your saints give you blessing.
The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the upright man running into it is safe.
In that day will this song be made in the land of Judah: We have a strong town; he will make salvation our walls and towers. Let the doors be open, so that the upright nation which keeps faith may come in. The man whose heart is unmoved you will keep in peace, because his hope is in you. Let your hope be in the Lord for ever: for the Lord Jah is an unchanging Rock.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Nahum 1
Commentary on Nahum 1 Matthew Henry Commentary
An Exposition, With Practical Observations, of
The Prophecy of Nahum
Chapter 1
In this chapter we have,
Nah 1:1
This title directs us to consider,
Nah 1:2-8
Nineveh knows not God, that God that contends with her, and therefore is here told what a God he is; and it is good for us all to mix faith with that which is here said concerning him, which speaks a great deal of terror to the wicked and comfort to good people; for this glorious description of the Sovereign of the world, like the pillar of cloud and fire, has a bright side towards Israel and a dark side towards the Egyptians. Let each take his portion from it; let sinners read it and tremble; let saints read it and triumph. The wrath of God is here revealed from heaven against his enemies, his favour and mercy are here assured to his faithful loyal subjects, and his almighty power in both, making his wrath very terrible and his favour very desirable.
Nah 1:9-15
These verses seem to point at the destruction of the army of the Assyrians under Sennacherib, which may well be reckoned a part of the burden of Nineveh, the head city of the Assyrian empire, and a pledge of the destruction of Nineveh itself about 100 years after; and this was an event which Isaiah, with whom probably this prophet was contemporary, spoke much of. Now observe here,