2. Every day will I give thanks unto thee: and praise thy Name for ever and ever.

3. Great is the (r) Lord and marvellous, worthy to be praised: there is no end of his great

ness.

4. One generation shall praise thy works unto another and declare thy power.

5. As for me, I will be talking of thy worship: thy glory, thy praise, and wondrous works;

6. So that men shall speak of the might of thy marvellous acts: and I will also tell of thy great

ness.

7. The memorial (s) of thine abundant kindness shall be shewed: and men shall sing (t) of thy righteousness.

8. The Lord is gracious, and merciful: long-suffering, and of great goodness.

9. The Lord is loving unto

" should constantly have it so strong upon " his mind, as always to act up to the im" pressions it is calculated to make, and "never to act against them." It is one of the proper Psalms for Whitsunday, and perhaps refers throughout to the Messiah, and addresses him in verse 1. by the appellations of " God" and " King." So Cocc. "it doubtless belongs to the " kingdom of Christ." From the changes of person, sometimes speaking of God, or the Messiah, and sometimes to him, it was probably sung by alternate sets of singers.

(r) v. 3. 8, 9, 10. 14. 17, 18. 20, 21. "Lord," Hebr. "Jehovah." Gr. Κύριος. (s) v. 7. "Memorial," i. e. " marks," " what impresses it upon the memory."

(t) " Sing," or "sing heartily:" with all their powers; with a force and impetuosity nothing can oppose.

(u) v. 10. "Praise thee," i. e. " furnish " grounds for praising thee." See note on Ps. cxlviii. 3.

(x) v. 13. “ Everlasting, &c." So that it has the same characters as that of the

every man : and his mercy is over all his works.

10. All thy works praise thee (u), O Lord: and thy saints give thanks unto thee.

11. They shew the glory of thy kingdom: and talk of thy power;

12. That thy power, thy glory, and mightiness of thy kingdom : might be known unto men.

13. Thy kingdom is an everlasting (r) kingdom: and thy dominion endureth throughout all ages. (y)

14. The Lord upholdeth all such as fall: and lifteth up all those that are down.

15. The eyes of all (z) wait upon thee, O Lord: and thou givest them their meat in due

season.

16. Thou openest thine hand: and fillest all things living with plenteousness.

Messiah, described Dan. vii. 14. " His " dominion is an everlasting dominion, "which shall not pass away, and his king"dom that which shall not be destroyed." See also Ps. lxxii. 8.

"The

(y) The Sept. here adds, "Lord is faithful in all his words, and " holy in all his works;" (nearly similar to verse 17.) without which there is no verse beginning with N.

(z) v. 15. " All." So Ps. civ. 21. "the " lions roaring after their prey, do seek " their meat from God;" and Ps. civ. 27. after speaking of the creatures of the sea, "these wait all upon thee, that "thou mayest give them meat in due sea"son;" and see Psalm cxlvii. 9. So in that magnificent description of God's providence and power, Job xxxviii, the question is put to Job, verse 39, 40. "wilt "thou hunt the prey for the lion? or fill "the appetites of the young lions, when "they couch in their dens, and abide in "the covert to lie in wait?" implying the impotence of man in this respect, the power and providence of God.

(a) A spirited exhortation to trust in God, and not in man; noticing God's power, beneficence, and care. It probably looks forward to the Messiah. See note on verse 5. Dean Prideaux says, "This and the two following Psalms "seem to have been sung at the dedication " of the second temple;" and he gives us his reason, that in the Sept., though not in the Hebrew, they are styled the Psalms of Haggai and Zechariah, as if they had been composed by them for that occasion. 1. Prid. Conn. 191.

(b) v. 2. So Ps. cxviii. 8, 9. and the folly of fearing man and disregarding God, is finely expressed, Isaish li. 12, 13. "Who art thou, that thou shouldest be "afraid of a man that shall die, and the " son of man, that shall be made as grass; "and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that "hath stretched forth the heavens, and "laid the foundations of the earth ?" So Isaiah ii. 22. "Cease ye from man, "whose breath is in his nostrils," (that is, whose life depends upon so many accidents); for wherein is he to be "accounted of?"

66

(c) v. 3. "Goeth forth," i. e. " ceaseth," when he dies.

(d) "Thoughts," i. e. " earthly plans " and devices: whatever he had been con"triving:" not that he will not hereafter have thoughts and other operations of the mind, but that whatever in this world he had been setting his mind upon, would be lost to him for ever. Is he then one

Psalm cxlvi. (a)

PRAISE the Lord, O my soul; while I live, will I praise the Lord: yea, as long as I have any being, I will sing praises unto my God.

2. O (b) put not your trust in princes, nor in any child of man : for there is no help in them.

3. For when the breath of man goeth forth (c), he shall turn again to his earth: and then all his thoughts (d) perish.

4. Blessed is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help: and whose hope is in the Lord his God;

5. Who (e) made heaven and on whom permanent confidence, confidence for futurity, is to be placed?

(e) v. 5. " Who, &c." These characteristics agree accurately with what were foretold of the Messiah, or are ascribed to Christ. If the person here spoken of made heaven and earth, the sea and all that therein is, it is said expressly of Christ, (John i. 3.) " all things were made by him, "and without him was not any thing made "that was made;" and Col. i. 15, 16. " by " him were all things created that are in "heaven, and that are in earth: all "things were created by him and for "him;" and Heb. i. 10, 11. ascribes to him the passage in Ps. cii. 25. “Thou " Lord in the beginning hast laid the "foundation of the earth, and the heavens " are the work of thy hands." If part of the character here be " to help them to "right that suffer wrong," what elsewhere are foretold as characteristics of the Messiah? According to Ps. lxxii. 24. "He was to keep the simple folk by their "right, defend the children of the poor, " and punish the wrong doer;" and, according to Isaiah, "with righteousness " was he to judge the poor, and to reprove "with equity for the meek of the earth, "Isaiah xi. 4.;" nor was he "to fail or be "discouraged, till he had set (or established) "judgment in the earth, Isaiah xlii. 4.;" see also Ps. lxxii. 12, 13, 14. If the person here referred to was to loose men out of prison, and to give sight to the blind, what was to be part of the office of the Messiah ?

earth, the sea, and all that therein is: who keepeth his promise for

ever;

6. Who (g) helpeth them to right that suffer wrong : who feedeth the hungry.

7. The Lord looseth men out of prison: the Lord (h) giveth sight to the blind.

8. The Lord helpeth them that

" to open the blind eyes, to bring out the " prisoners from the prison, and them that " sit in darkness out of the prison house, " Isaiah xlii, 7.;" " to bind up the broken "hearted, to proclaim liberty to the cap"tives, and the opening of the prison to "them that are bound, Isaiah lxi. 1." Lastly, if this person was to be king for evermore, and throughout all generations, what is predicted in this respect as to Christ's kingdom ? "His seat endureth " for ever; the sceptre of his kingdom " is a right sceptre, Ps. xlv. 5." "He "shall be feared as long as the sun and " moon endureth; from one generation to

are fallen: the Lord careth for the righteous.

9. The Lord careth for the strangers; he defendeth the fatherless and widow : as for the way of the ungodly, he turneth it upside down.

10. The Lord thy God, O Sion, shall be King for evermore: and throughout all generations.

"another, Ps. lxxii. 5." "Of the increase " of his government and peace there " shall be no end, upon the throne of "David and upon his kingdom, to order " it and to establish it with judgment and "with justice from henceforth, even for "ever, Isaiah ix. 7." "His kingdom is "that which shall never be destroyed, "Dan. ii. 44. - Dan. vii. 14.;" and in the language of the seventh angel, Rev. xi. 15. " He shall reign for ever and ever." See 4. Hamm. 399.

(g) v. 6. Isaiah xxxv. 4.

(h) v. 7. Isaiah xxxv. 5. - Isaiah xlii. 7.

Acts i. (10)

Even. Tobit vi.

1 Cor. xv. (7)

Phil. iv. (9)

December 30.

Morn. Isa. Ixiii. (11)

(6) ante, 228.

(7) ante, 202. post,

(11) ante, 106.

EVENING PRAYER.

Psalm cxlvii. (i)

8. Who covereth (n) the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth : and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men.

3. He healeth those that are broken in heart : and giveth medicine to heal their sickness.

4. He telleth (m) the number of the stars: and calleth them all by their names.

5. Great is our Lord, and great is his power: yea, and his wisdom is infinite.

6. The Lord setteth up the meek: and bringeth the ungodly down to the ground.

7. O sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving: sing praises upon the harp unto our God,

(i) An invocation to the praise of God, for his peculiar favour to the Jews in bringing them back from the Babylonish captivity, and re-establishing them in Jerusalem; calling to mind the general wisdom, extent, and kindness of his providence, and his distinguishing attention to the people of Israel, by giving them particular statutes and ordinances in preference to all other nations.

(k) υ. 2. "The Lord doth, &c." i. e. "it is the Lord that doth it; it is his " work."

(1) "Gather, &c." The same expression as Is. lvi. 8. "The Lord God, which "gathereth the outcasts of Israel;" and see Isaiah xliii. 5, 6.

(m) v. 4. "Telleth, &c." And he who had such knowledge would have no difficulty in knowing where every Jew was, and bringing every one back.

(n) "Who covereth, &c." The Psalm here passes for a time to the consideration of God's general providence. See Psalm Ixv. 9, 10, 11. - Psalm civ. 6 to 15.

(0) v. 9. "Fodder, &c." or "to the beast his " food, B. T." Perhaps the wild beasts are

him.

10. He hath no pleasure in the strength (q) of a horse : neither delighteth he in any man's (q) legs.

11. But the Lord's delight is in them that fear him: and put their trust in his mercy.

12. Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem: praise thy God, O Sion.

13. For he hath made fast (r) the bars of thy gates: and hath blessed thy children within thee.

14. He maketh peace in thy borders: and filleth thee with the

flour of wheat.

15. (s) He sendeth forth his

here intended, which are not provided for by man, and would therefore starve, if not provided for by God. Hamm. in loco.

(p) " Young ravens." It is with peculiar propriety they are mentioned, for the old ones are supposed to desert them as soon as they are hatched. Hamm. in loco. In the spirited and magnificent description of God's providence and power, Job xxxviii. the young ravens are described as crying unto God for sustenance, verse 41. "Who provides for the " raven his food? When his young ones "cry unto God, they wander for lack " of meat." The passage in Job might suggest this in the Psalm.

(q) v. 10." Strength of a horse," and " legs," i. e. " " bodily powers," " strength, "and swiftness;" in contradistinction to what is mentioned in verse 11. " the fearing " him, and trusting in his mercy;" the tribute of the mind; the homage of the understanding.

(r) v. 13. "Made fast, &c." to protect thee from foreign enemies.

(s) v. 15. The meaning perhaps is, "he " commands, and the thing is instantly