with the pre 5 The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of 8 To-day if ye will hear his voice! harden not your heart, as in the provocation, And as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. 10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, And said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: 11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest. The connection "HOLY joy in God, not discord nor dejection, appear in the ceding Psalm. old covenant as the fundamental sentiment of adoration.” Thus truly spoke Tholuck in regard to the gladsome calls that begin so many of these Psalms. The contents. The King and Kingdom, the Judge and the Judge's vengeance, are within sight, hastening on, almost at the door.* With these solemn prospects influencing them, the flock and the shepherd are now heard inviting men to enter the fold while it is the day of grace. Augustine felt this connexion when he wrote "Venturus est! præveniamus faciem ejus in confessione.” “O come, let us sing cheerfully to Jehovah (Deut xxviii. 47), He is great, and he is Sovereign over all (ver. 3); the deeps "To-day, O that ye would hear his voice!” * Horsley connects Psa. xcv., xcvi., xevii., xcviii., xcix., c., as an entire prophetic poem, and calls it, "The introduction of the First-begotten into the world." ON, like Exod. xxxii. 32, This is the force of verse 7, "And now, O that thou wouldst forgive their sin!” and like Luke xix. 42, "O that thou hadst known!" It is an intensely earnest call on those addressed to hearken to that voice, viz., to the call of God; while verse 8, in the same breath, entreats them not to be as Israel at Meribah and Massah—“ like Meribah, like the day of Massah in the wilderness." Only let us not fail to notice, that while it is the flock who speak in verses 1-7, it is the Shepherd who takes up their expostulat- The voice of ing words, and urges them home himself at verse 8 to the end, using the argument which by the Holy Ghost is addressed to us also in Hebrews iii. There is something very powerful in this expostulation, when connected with the circumstances that give rise to it. In themselves, the burst of adoring love, and the full outpouring of affection in verses 1-7 are irresistibly persuasive; but when the voice of the Lord himself is heard (such a voice, using terms of vehement entreaty !) we cannot imagine expostulation carried further. Unbelief alone could resist this voice; blind, malignant unbelief alone could repel The flock and the Shepherd together inviting men now to enter the fold. Christ. PSALM XCVI. 10 SING unto the Lord a new song! Sing unto the Lord, all the earth! 2 Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day. 3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4 For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the Lord made the heavens. 6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7 Give unto the Lord, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. 8 Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9 O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth. of the Psalm. 10 Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth: The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: He shall judge the people righteously. 11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. 12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: 13 Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord: For He cometh! for He cometh to judge the earth! He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. The position SOME say that wherever "new song" occurs, it is a song to Messiah directly, At any rate, He is always prominent, for the manifestation of Godhead is in all such Psalms a prominent theme. Its origin. The theme. The call of last Psalm came at a critical moment, namely, in the interval between the cry for vengeance in Psa. xciv., and the answer to that cry in Psa. xcvi. For it is with the Kingdom and the Coming King just at hand, that Psa. xcvi. is sung. + The first draught of this song appears in 1 Chron. xvi. That scene was a type. There was joy because of rest to the land, and rest to the ark of God in the midst of the land. And " If creation (says Horne) be represented as rejoicing at the establishment of the kingdom of grace, how much greater will be the joy at the approach of the kingdom of glory, when, at the resurrection of all things, man, new-made, shall return to the days of his youth, to begin an immortal spring, and be for ever young." It is in harmony with Rev. xiv. 7, and xix. 1–11. Creation i's first birth had its joyful songs from the morning stars, the sons of God (Job xxxviii. 7); shall not creation renewed have its songs (Isa. lxii. 10)? and shall not Earth itself sing its own bliss? It is not angels that are invited to sing, though no doubt they will join; it is a redeemed world-and the men of that redeemed world are to be telling of the salvation not for a few moments only, but from "day to day." In telling the salvation, they are to tell chiefly the glory of Him who has wrought it out (ver. 1-10)--his wonderful doings, his greatness, his praise-worthiness, his fear, the nullity of all other gods, the creator-skill of our God who made the heavens Glory and majesty are his inseparable attendants : (Not mere transient displays, such as Esther i. 4 records.) "Power and splendour are in his sanctuary.” (Ver. 6.) (The originals of all kingly magnificence are in his palace.) "Give unto Jehovah, ye families of the nations; Give unto Jehovah glory and power. Give unto Jehovah the glory of his name! Bring a present,* and come into his courts! Worship Jehovah in (real sanctuary splendour) the beauty Tremble at his presence, all earth! Tell among the nations, Jehovah is king! As a consequence, there is the reverse of Psa. lxxxiii. 5. Yes, tell this also to men, "The world stands firm; it totters no more! lle judges the people with uprightness !" On this announcement, there is a shout that makes the welkin ring-a shout like that at Corinth, when "Soter, Soter!" rang through the air, and astonished birds as they flew, reeled, and dropt their wings. It is earth rejoicing (Rev. xix. 5) that now what was foretold in Rom. viii. 19-21 about the deliverance of the whole creation is at last accomplished "For He cometh! for He cometh ! To judge the earth!" That is, to put earth in order,† to be its Gideon and Samson, to be its ruler, to fulfil all that the Book of Judges delineates of a judge's office. It is, as Hengstenberg says, "a gracious judging," not a time of mere adjudication of causes or pronouncing sentences-it is a day of jubilee. It is the happiest day our world has ever seen, Who would not long for it? Who is there that does not pray for it? It is the day of the Judge's glory, as well as of our world's freedom-the day when * See 1 Sam. ix. 7, 1 Kings xiv. 3. Allusion is made to the customary forms of approach to the great. The Septuagint has given this title to this Psalm-“ óre ò oixos wxodoμειτο μετα την αιχμαλωσίαν.” We may suppose they meant their title to be figurative. T "the judgment of this world" (John xii. 31, and.xvi. 11), The time referred to. PSALM XCVII. 1 THE Lord reigneth; let the earth rejoice; 2 Clouds and darkness are round about him: Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. 3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. 4 His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. 6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory. 7 Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols. Worship him, all ye gods! 8 Zion heard, and was glad; And the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord. 9 For thou, Lord, art high above all the earth: Thou art exalted far above all gods. 10 Ye that love the Lord, hate evil : He preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivercth them out of the hand 11 Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. WE advance a step further. In this Psalm, Messiah has come in glory-he is not merely expected and anticipated. And here the effects of his Coming, in the ruin of his foes and their idols, are sung of. In Heb. i. 6 there is a quotation of verse 7, Worship Him all ye " gods, or angels, as in Psalm viii. 5. In making that quotation, the sacred writer prefaces it with a definite mark of time-" When he bringeth his firstbegotten again into the world"—the time of his Second Ad vent |