6 He hath shewn his people the power of his works, to give them the heritage of the nations.
Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt; thou didst cast out the nations, and plant it:
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man on the earth, and from one end of the heavens to the other end of the heavens, whether there hath been anything as this great thing is, or if anything hath been heard like it? Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live? Or hath God essayed to come to take him a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a powerful hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Jehovah your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? Unto thee it was shewn, that thou mightest know that Jehovah, he is God -- there is none other besides him. From the heavens he made thee hear his voice, that he might instruct thee; and on the earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words from the midst of the fire. And because he loved thy fathers, and chose their seed after them, he brought thee out with his countenance, with his great power, out of Egypt, to dispossess nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
And it came to pass when the people removed from their tents, to pass over the Jordan, that the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were before the people; and when they that bore the ark were come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (and the Jordan is full over all its banks throughout the days of harvest), the waters which flowed down from above stood [and] rose up in a heap, very far, by Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan; and those that flowed down towards the sea of the plain, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people went over opposite to Jericho. And the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel went over on dry ground, until all the nation had completely gone over the Jordan.
And the people shouted, and they blew with the trumpets. And it came to pass when the people heard the sound of the trumpets, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat; and the people went up into the city, each one straight before him, and they took the city.
And the sun stood still, and the moon remained where it was, until the nation had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? And the sun remained standing in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a full day. And there was no day like that before it or after it, that Jehovah hearkened to the voice of a man; for Jehovah fought for Israel.
Thou, by thy hand, didst dispossess the nations, but them thou didst plant; thou didst afflict the peoples, but them didst thou cause to spread out.
In the sight of their fathers had he done wonders, in the land of Egypt, the field of Zoan. He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through; and made the waters to stand as a heap; And he led them with a cloud in the daytime, and all the night with the light of fire. He clave rocks in the wilderness, and gave [them] drink as out of the depths, abundantly; And he brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers. Yet they still went on sinning against him, provoking the Most High in the desert; And they tempted ùGod in their heart, by asking meat for their lust; And they spoke against God: they said, Is ùGod able to prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, and waters gushed out, and streams overflowed; is he able to give bread also, or provide flesh for his people? Therefore Jehovah heard, and was wroth; and fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also went up against Israel: Because they believed not in God, and confided not in his salvation; Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and had opened the doors of the heavens, And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the corn of the heavens. Man did eat the bread of the mighty; he sent them provision to the full. He caused the east wind to rise in the heavens, and by his strength he brought the south wind; And he rained flesh upon them as dust, and feathered fowl as the sand of the seas, And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round about their habitations: And they did eat, and were well filled; for that they lusted after, he brought to them. They were not alienated from their lust, their meat was yet in their mouths, When the anger of God went up against them; and he slew the fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel. For all this, they sinned still, and believed not in his marvellous works; And he consumed their days in vanity, and their years in terror. When he slew them, then they sought him, and returned and sought early after ùGod; And they remembered that God was their rock, and ùGod, the Most High, their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongue; For their heart was not firm toward him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. But he was merciful: he forgave the iniquity, and destroyed [them] not; but many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his fury: And he remembered that they were flesh, a breath that passeth away and cometh not again. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! And they turned again and tempted ùGod, and grieved the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, the day when he delivered them from the oppressor, How he set his signs in Egypt, and his miracles in the field of Zoan; And turned their rivers into blood, and their streams, that they could not drink; He sent dog-flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them; And he gave their increase unto the caterpillar, and their labour unto the locust; He killed their vines with hail, and their sycamore trees with hail-stones; And he delivered up their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath, and indignation, and distress, -- a mission of angels of woes. He made a way for his anger; he spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; And he smote all the firstborn in Egypt, the first-fruits of their vigour in the tents of Ham. And he made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock; And he led them safely, so that they were without fear; and the sea covered their enemies. And he brought them to his holy border, this mountain, which his right hand purchased; And he drove out the nations before them, and allotted them for an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. But they tempted and provoked God, the Most High, and kept not his testimonies, And they drew back and dealt treacherously like their fathers: they turned like a deceitful bow. And they provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images. God heard, and was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel: And he forsook the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent where he had dwelt among men, And gave his strength into captivity, and his glory into the hand of the oppressor; And delivered up his people unto the sword, and was very wroth with his inheritance: The fire consumed their young men, and their maidens were not praised in [nuptial] song; Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation. Then the Lord awoke as one out of sleep, like a mighty man that shouteth aloud by reason of wine; And he smote his adversaries in the hinder part, and put them to everlasting reproach. And he rejected the tent of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved; And he built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which he hath founded for ever. And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. And he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and led them by the skilfulness of his hands.
They set his signs among them, and miracles in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word. He turned their waters into blood, and caused their fish to die. Their land swarmed with frogs, -- in the chambers of their kings. He spoke, and there came dog-flies, [and] gnats in all their borders. He gave them hail for rain, [and] flaming fire in their land; And he smote their vines and their fig-trees, and broke the trees of their borders. He spoke, and the locust came, and the cankerworm, even without number; And they devoured every herb in their land, and ate up the fruit of their ground. And he smote every firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigour. And he brought them forth with silver and gold; and there was not one feeble among their tribes. Egypt rejoiced at their departure; for the fear of them had fallen upon them. He spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light in the night. They asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock, and waters gushed forth; they ran in the dry places [like] a river. For he remembered his holy word, [and] Abraham his servant; And he brought forth his people with gladness, his chosen with rejoicing; And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the labour of the peoples: That they might keep his statutes, and observe his laws. Hallelujah!
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 111
Commentary on Psalms 111 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 111
This and divers of the psalms that follow it seem to have been penned by David for the service of the church in their solemn feasts, and not upon any particular occasion. This is a psalm of praise. The title of it is "Hallelujah-Praise you the Lord,' intimating that we must address ourselves to the use of this psalm with hearts disposed to praise God. It is composed alphabetically, each sentence beginning with a several letter of the Hebrew alphabet, in order exactly, two sentences to each verse, and three a piece to the last two. The psalmist, exhorting to praise God,
Psa 111:1-5
The title of the psalm being Hallelujah, the psalmist (as every author ought to have) has an eye to his title, and keeps to his text.
Psa 111:6-10
We are here taught to give glory to God,