2 The works of the Lord are great, searched out by all those who have delight in them.
I keep in mind the early days of the past, giving thought to all your acts, even to the work of your hands.
O Lord, how great is the number of your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of the things you have made.
I will give you praise, for I am strangely and delicately formed; your works are great wonders, and of this my soul is fully conscious.
In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?
For the prophets who gave the news of the grace which would come to you, made search with all care for knowledge of this salvation; Attempting to see what sort of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them was pointing to, when it gave witness to the pains which Christ would undergo and the glories which would come after them. And it was made clear to those prophets that they were God's servants not for themselves but for you, to give you word of the things which have now come to your ears from the preachers of the good news through the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven; things which even angels have a desire to see.
That in the time to come he might make clear the full wealth of his grace in his mercy to us in Christ Jesus: Because by grace you have salvation through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is given by God: Not by works, so that no man may take glory to himself. For by his act we were given existence in Christ Jesus to do those good works which God before made ready for us so that we might do them.
For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:
And because they had not the mind to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them up to an evil mind, to do those things which are not right;
Ah Lord God! see, you have made the heaven and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm, and there is nothing you are not able to do: You have mercy on thousands, and send punishment for the evil-doing of the fathers on their children after them: the great, the strong God, the Lord of armies is his name: Great in wisdom and strong in act: whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone the reward of his ways and the fruit of his doings:
Who does great things outside our knowledge, wonders without number:
He who keeps himself separate for his private purpose goes against all good sense. A foolish man has no pleasure in good sense, but only to let what is in his heart come to light.
How will money in the hand of the foolish get him wisdom, seeing that he has no sense?
Let my thoughts be sweet to him: I will be glad in the Lord.
For you, O Lord, have made me glad through your work; I will have joy in the works of your hands. O Lord, how great are your works! and your thoughts are very deep.
He is so cruel that no one is ready to go against him. Who then is able to keep his place before me? Who ever went against me, and got the better of me? There is no one under heaven! I will not keep quiet about the parts of his body, or about his power, and the strength of his frame. Who has ever taken off his outer skin? who may come inside his inner coat of iron? Who has made open the doors of his face? Fear is round about his teeth. His back is made of lines of plates, joined tight together, one against the other, like a stamp. One is so near to the other that no air may come between them. They take a grip of one another; they are joined together, so that they may not be parted. His sneezings give out flames, and his eyes are like the eyes of the dawn. Out of his mouth go burning lights, and flames of fire are jumping up. Smoke comes out of his nose, like a pot boiling on the fire. His breath puts fire to coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth. Strength is in his neck, and fear goes dancing before him. The plates of his flesh are joined together, fixed, and not to be moved. His heart is as strong as a stone, hard as the lower crushing-stone. When he gets ready for the fight, the strong are overcome with fear. The sword may come near him but is not able to go through him; the spear, or the arrow, or the sharp-pointed iron. Iron is to him as dry grass, and brass as soft wood. The arrow is not able to put him to flight: stones are no more to him than dry stems. A thick stick is no better than a leaf of grass, and he makes sport of the onrush of the spear. Under him are sharp edges of broken pots: as if he was pulling a grain-crushing instrument over the wet earth. The deep is boiling like a pot of spices, and the sea like a perfume-vessel. After him his way is shining, so that the deep seems white. On earth there is not another like him, who is made without fear. Everything which is high goes in fear of him; he is king over all the sons of pride.
And the Lord made answer to Job out of the storm-wind, and said, Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge? Get your strength together like a man of war; I will put questions to you, and you will give me the answers. Where were you when I put the earth on its base? Say, if you have knowledge. By whom were its measures fixed? Say, if you have wisdom; or by whom was the line stretched out over it? On what were its pillars based, or who put down its angle-stone, When the morning stars made songs together, and all the sons of the gods gave cries of joy? Or where were you when the sea came to birth, pushing out from its secret place; When I made the cloud its robe, and put thick clouds as bands round it, Ordering a fixed limit for it, with locks and doors; And said, So far you may come, and no farther; and here the pride of your waves will be stopped? Have you, from your earliest days, given orders to the morning, or made the dawn conscious of its place; So that it might take a grip of the skirts of the earth, shaking all the evil-doers out of it? It is changed like wet earth under a stamp, and is coloured like a robe; And from the evil-doers their light is kept back, and the arm of pride is broken. Have you come into the springs of the sea, walking in the secret places of the deep? Have the doors of death been open to you, or have the door-keepers of the dark ever seen you? Have you taken note of the wide limits of the earth? Say, if you have knowledge of it all. Which is the way to the resting-place of the light, and where is the store-house of the dark; So that you might take it to its limit, guiding it to its house? No doubt you have knowledge of it, for then you had come to birth, and the number of your days is great. Have you come into the secret place of snow, or have you seen the store-houses of the ice-drops, Which I have kept for the time of trouble, for the day of war and fighting? Which is the way to the place where the wind is measured out, and the east wind sent out over the earth? By whom has the way been cut for the flowing of the rain, and the flaming of the thunder; Causing rain to come on a land where no man is living, on the waste land which has no people; To give water to the land where there is waste and destruction, and to make the dry land green with young grass? Has the rain a father? or who gave birth to the drops of night mist? Out of whose body came the ice? and who gave birth to the cold mist of heaven? The waters are joined together, hard as a stone, and the face of the deep is covered. Are the bands of the Pleiades fixed by you, or are the cords of Orion made loose? Do you make Mazzaroth come out in its right time, or are the Bear and its children guided by you? Have you knowledge of the laws of the heavens? did you give them rule over the earth? Is your voice sent up to the cloud, so that you may be covered by the weight of waters? Do you send out the thunder-flames, so that they may go, and say to you, Here we are? Who has put wisdom in the high clouds, or given knowledge to the lights of the north? By whose wisdom are the clouds numbered, or the water-skins of the heavens turned to the earth, When the earth becomes hard as metal, and is joined together in masses?
By his power the sea was made quiet; and by his wisdom Rahab was wounded. By his wind the heavens become bright: by his hand the quickly moving snake was cut through. See, these are only the outskirts of his ways; and how small is that which comes to our ears about him! But the thunder of his acts of power is outside all knowledge.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on Psalms 111
Commentary on Psalms 111 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO Psalm 111
This psalm, though without a name, is thought to be penned by David; it is composed in an artificial manner, in an alphabetical order, each clause or sentence beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet in course, till the whole is finished; this perhaps was done to recommend the psalm, to make it more observed, and to help the memory; the general design of it is to excite to praise the Lord, from the consideration of his great and wonderful works.
Praise ye the Lord,.... Or "hallelujah"; this is the title of the psalm, and is expressive of the subject matter of it; and so it stands in the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic versions; as it should, as appears from the psalm being alphabetical; for the first letter of this word is the fifth and not the first of the alphabet; it is wanting in the Syriac version, which gives the title in this manner, without a name, concerning the glorious virtues of
"the works of God; but it exhorts us to give thanks to Christ; and it is said in the person of the apostles.'
I will praise the Lord with my whole heart; the psalmist excites to praise God by his own example; the object of his praise is Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the author of his Being, and in whom all men live and move, and have their being; the God of their mercies, temporal and spiritual, and therefore should praise him, even Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; especially Jehovah the Messiah may be here intended, whose work of redemption is particularly attended to: the manner in which he determines to perform this service is, "with his whole heart": which ought to be engaged in every religious exercise, even the whole of it, all the powers and faculties of the soul, without being divided between other objects, and distracted or drawn off from the Lord by them; the phrase is not expressive of perfection, which is not to be expected in any duty, but of sincerity and cordial affection. The place where follows,
in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation: which may signify one and the same; even the place where upright persons assemble and gather together for divine worship, the tabernacle in David's time, and the temple afterwards; and may point at any place of worship in Gospel times, and the people that meet there; who being for the most part upright persons, or in a judgment of charity so accounted, though every individual among them may not be such, are thus called; and that because they have the uprightness, righteousness, and holiness of Christ imputed to them; and have right spirits renewed in them, and so are upright in heart; and, in consequence of this, walk uprightly according to the rules of the Gospel. It may be rendered, as it is by the Targum,
"in the secretF5בסוד "in secreto", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator; so Ainsworth. of the upright, and the congregation;'
because here the secret of the Lord is made known to his people; the mysteries of his grace are revealed; and his ordinances, which are his counsel, are administered: or it may design some particular friends and acquaintance of the psalmist's, who privately met and took sweet counsel together, and communicated their secrets to one another, as the other word "congregation" may intend the public assembly of the people; and then the sense is, that he would sincerely praise the Lord both in private and public, and that because of his works; as follows.
The works of the Lord are great,.... His works of creation are great, being made out of nothing, are the effects of great power, and the produce of great wisdom, and which greatly display the glory of their Maker; the works of providence are great, which are daily wrought, especially such as concern the church and people of God, for whom he does great things, whereof they have reason to be glad and praise his name; the miracles of Christ he wrought here on earth were surprisingly great, some of them such as had not keen known from the creation of the world; and yet greater things were shown him, and done by him, particularly the work of redemption, a work which angels and men were unequal to, a work which none but the great God and our Saviour could effect, and is truly called the great salvation; the work of grace upon the heart is a great work, and requires the exceeding greatness of the divine power, and which is exerted in the beginning, carrying on, and finishing that work; and for all which the Lord is to be praised: and the rather since they are such as are
sought out of all them that have pleasure therein; or "sought out because of all the pleasures of them, or that are in them"F6לכל חפציהם "ob omnes amabilitates eorum", Cocceius; "secundum omnia desideria eorum", Gejerus. , which comes to much the same sense: there is a pleasure in the contemplation of the works of nature and providence; to behold the power, wisdom, and goodness of God in them, and his care over all his creatures; and particularly how he makes all things to work together for the good of his people; and especially it is delightful to observe the works of grace, how the glory of all the divine perfections is displayed in them; angels themselves take pleasure in looking into them: now these are sought and found out by those who delight in them; the works of creation are to be sought and found in the book of nature, the works of providence in the book of experience, and the works of grace in the book of God; and indeed all of them are recorded there, which are searched with pleasure by those that are inquisitive after them.
His work is honourable and glorious,.... Or "honour and glory"F7הוד והדר "gloria et decor", Pagninus, Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; "gloria et splendor", Musculus; "majestas et magnificentia", Piscator. itself; there is nothing mean and trifling done by him; nothing unworthy of him in nature, providence, and grace; every work of his serves to display his glory, and set off the greatness of his majesty; the heavens and the earth are full of his glory; and he does all things well and wisely in the government of the world; and whatever he does in a way of grace is for the glory of it, and tends to make his people honourable and glorious, as well as manifests his own glory, and makes for the honour of his own name.
And his righteousness endureth for ever; his justice and holiness, which appear in all his ways and works; for there is no unrighteousness in anything done by him, just and true are all his ways; there is a constant tenor of righteousness in them all; his faithfulness in fulfilling every word of promise, in making his words good by his works, is to be seen in all generations; and true evangelical righteousness, the righteousness of Christ, which is so considerable a branch of the work of redemption and salvation, is an everlasting one; it can never be abolished, it will answer for the saints in a time to come.
He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered,.... All his works are marvellous ones; his works of creation, that they should rise out of nothing at a word of command; his works of providence, which have such a depth of wisdom and knowledge in them, are unsearchable and past finding out; and his works of redemption and grace; and these are so wrought by him, and such methods taken to continue the memory of them, that they cannot well be forgotten: all things in nature are as they were from the beginning; the sun, moon, and stars, keep their course and station; cold and heat, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest, are as they always were; remarkable providences have been carefully recorded, and memorials of them handed down to posterity. The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt was annually remembered in the passover; the feeding of them with manna in the wilderness was caused to be remembered by a pot of manna preserved in the tabernacle and temple; and the great work of our redemption by Christ is brought to remembrance in the ordinance of the Lord's supper, appointed for that purpose.
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion; so he was in eternity, and is in time; this appears in all his works, and especially in our salvation by Jesus Christ; see Psalm 86:5.
He hath given meat to them that fear him,.... Or a "prey"F8טרף "praedam", Montanus, Vatablus, Musculus; so Ainsworth. , alluding to the spoil of the Egyptians; or to the manna; corporeal food, daily bread, which they that fear him shall not want, Psalm 34:9 spiritual meat, such that endures for ever; the flesh of Christ, which is meat indeed; the word and ordinances, in which are milk for babes, and meat for strong men; savoury meat does God give his people, such as their souls love, and the world knows nothing of; all is given, and freely given, and in plenty.
He will ever be mindful of his covenant; made with Abraham, and that at Sinai; and especially which he made with his people in Christ before the world was; and which is the ground and foundation of all his works of grace and redemption, and the reason why he gives food unto them; he never forgets that, his promises in it, nor the blessings of it, nor the people for whom they are made and provided, nor his love unto them; he is a covenant keeping God.
He hath showed his people the power of his works,.... Or his works of power, his mighty works, in which his great power was shown; as to the people of Israel in Egypt, at the Red sea, in the wilderness, and in bringing them to and settling them in the land of Canaan; these he showed to them in fact, they saw them with their eyes; and he showed or declared them to them in prophecy, before they came to pass, as Kimchi observes, that it might not be said they came by chance. So he hath showed his works of power to his people in Gospel times, as the miracles of Christ, his resurrection from the dead, redemption by him, and the work of grace on the hearts of men in all ages.
That he may give them the heritage of the Heathen; the Lord did the above works of his power for the people of Israel, that he might put them into the possession of the land of Canaan, inherited by Heathens; that it might become their inheritance, and they might enjoy their houses, vineyards, and fields; and he wrought powerfully through the ministration of the Gospel, by his Spirit and grace, upon the hearts of men in the Gentile world; that the Christian church might possess the dominions of it, as it did in the times of Constantine and of others, and as it will more largely in the latter day; see Psalm 2:8.
The works of his hands are verity and judgment,.... His works of providence are just and true, particularly these which respected the driving the Canaanites out of their land, and settling the Israelites in it; these were done according to the truth of the divine promises and prophecies, and so were "verity" or "truth"; and for the sins of the Heathen, and by him who has a right to dispose of the earth and the fulness of it to whom he pleases, and so are "judgment" or righteous; and this holds good of his work of grace upon the heart, which is the work of his hands, and is "truth in the inward parts": and is created in righteousness and true holiness; and of all his acts of grace in election, redemption, &c. which are according to the truth of the divine nature and its perfections, and in which there is no unrighteousness. Some interpret this of the two tables of stone, which were the work, writing, and engraving of God, and on which were inscribed the judgments of the Lord; and are "true and righteous altogether". Aben Ezra understands it of the law implanted in the hearts of men.
All his commandments are sure: firm, and to be believed and complied with, either to destroy the nations, or to possess their land; or rather the commands of the moral law, which are firm and sure, one jot or tittle of which shall never pass away; all have been fulfilled by Christ, and remain with him a rule of walk and conversation; or the word which the Lord has commanded to a thousand generations, Psalm 105:8 the covenant which is ordered in all things and sure; the promises of which are yea and amen in Christ; and the blessings of it, the sure mercies of David; and even the doctrines of the Gospel are the commandments and testimony of the Lord, which are sure, Psalm 19:8 and to be believed, being the word of truth, the Gospel of our salvation, and coming from God, who cannot lie.
They stand fast for ever and ever,.... Not only the covenant and its promises do, but both law and Gospel, the commandments of the one and the doctrines of the other; the law is an eternal law, as to the matter of it, and is not made void by faith, but established; and the Gospel is an everlasting Gospel, which lives and abides for ever, being established upon the word of God, which cannot be broken; and is continued in the church, the pillar and ground of truth, from whence it can never be removed.
And are done in truth and uprightness; either made by the Lord according to the truth of things, the moral perfections of his nature and will, and the rectitude of it; or observed by men that truly fear the Lord with great truth and sincerity.
He sent redemption unto his people,.... Or one to redeem them, who effected it; Moses to redeem Israel out of Egypt, and Christ to redeem his people from sin, Satan, and the law, and who has done it; and having obtained eternal redemption, he sent his ministers to publish it in the world, and his Spirit to apply it, and to show his people their interest in it; and make it over to them, and the blessings of it, that they may enjoy it, and all the comforts and advantages arising from it; temporal redemption, as typical of the spiritual and eternal one, is here meant.
He hath commanded his covenant for ever; which cannot be the covenant of circumcision, or that at Sinai, neither of which were for ever; but the covenant of grace made with Christ, and which stands fast with him for ever; it is everlasting, sure, and can never be removed; its blessings and promises are for ever; and it is so made and framed, and so kept and observed, as that it shall always continue, which is meant by its being "commanded": as well as it may denote the decree and resolution of God never to break and alter it; see Psalm 89:3.
Holy and reverend is his name; the name of God is "holy"; it is his nature, and appears in all his works; and in which he is glorious, and so is reverend; he is to be feared and reverenced by all his creatures, and among his saints, as he is by the angels in heaven.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,.... The fear of the Lord, whose name is revered, is not a fear of his judgments here or hereafter, but of his goodness and grace; it is a reverential affection for him, a fiducial fear of him, a fear of offending so good a Being as he is; and it includes all religious worship of him, inward and outward, private and public; and at this true wisdom begins; a man begins to be wise when he fears the Lord, and not till then; this is his highest wisdom, and this is, as it may be rendered, "the chief of wisdom"F9ראשית חכמה "caput sapientiae", Junius & Tremellius; "vel praecipuum", Cocceius; "summa", Michaelis. , the principal part of it; see Proverbs 9:10.
A good understanding have all they that do his commandments; or "that do them"F11עשיהם "facientibus ea", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremelilius, &c. ; the fear of the Lord and wisdom; that exercise them, that do as they oblige and direct to; so R. Moses in Aben Ezra connects the words; such have a good understanding of the Lord, know him as the object of their fear and reverence, and of their duty to him, and of their own interest, it being their wisdom to fear him; since by attending to their duty, to the word and ordinances of God, such arrive to a greater degree of knowledge and understanding of divine things. Some render it "good successF12שכל טוב "successus optimus", Junius & Tremellius; so Ainsworth. " or "prosperity", as Kimchi; such usually have prosperity in soul and body, in things temporal and spiritual; see Joshua 1:8.
His praise endureth for ever; or "its praise"F13תהלתו "quorum laus", Tigurine version; i.e. "uniuscujusque facientium", Gejerus, Michaelis. ; the praise of the fear of the Lord, of divine wisdom, and of a good understanding; just as of circumcision in the heart, Romans 2:29 or the praise of him that does the above things, that does the commandments of God, or acts under the fear of God, and as a wise man, 1 Corinthians 4:5 or rather the praise of God, which shall be given him by angels and men now and for evermore, as it ought to be; and to stir up to which is the design of the psalm throughout; and which men are encouraged to from the works and word of God, from his name, nature, and covenant, and from his blessings and acts of grace and goodness.