Reading The Psalms Daily

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MHCC

The desolations of the sanctuary. (1-11)

 
  1-11 This psalm appears to describe the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Chaldeans. The deplorable case of the people of God, at the time, is spread before the Lord, and left with him. They plead the great things God had done for them. If the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt was encouragement to hope that he would not cast them off, much more reason have we to believe, that God will not cast off any whom Christ has redeemed with his own blood. Infidels and persecutors may silence faithful ministers, and shut up places of worship, and say they will destroy the people of God and their religion together. For a long time they may prosper in these attempts, and God's oppressed servants may see no prospect of deliverance; but there is a remnant of believers, the seed of a future harvest, and the despised church has survived those who once triumphed over her. When the power of enemies is most threatening, it is comfortable to flee to the power of God by earnest prayer.

Pleas for encouraging faith. (12-17)

12-17 The church silences her own complaints. What God had done for his people, as their King of old, encouraged them to depend on him. It was the Lord's doing, none besides could do it. This providence was food to faith and hope, to support and encourage in difficulties. The God of Israel is the God of nature. He that is faithful to his covenant about the day and the night, will never cast off those whom he has chosen. We have as much reason to expect affliction, as to expect night and winter. But we have no more reason to despair of the return of comfort, than to despair of day and summer. And in the world above we shall have no more changes.

Petitions for deliverances. (18-23)

18-23 The psalmist begs that God would appear for the church against their enemies. The folly of such as revile his gospel and his servants will be plain to all. Let us call upon our God to enlighten the dark nations of the earth; and to rescue his people, that the poor and needy may praise his name. Blessed Saviour, thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. Make thy people more than conquerors. Be thou, Lord, all in all to them in every situation and circumstances; for then thy poor and needy people will praise thy name.

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Ps 75:1 To the Chief Musician. Do not destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. To You, O God, we have given thanks, to You we have given thanks; for Your name is near, Your wonderful works declared.

Ps 75:2 When I take the appointed time, I will judge uprightly.

Ps 75:3 The earth and all its people are melting away; I hold up its pillars. Selah.

Ps 75:4 I said to the proud, Do not boast; and to the wicked, Do not lift up the horn;

Ps 75:5 do not lift up your horn on high; nor speak with a stiff neck.

Ps 75:6 For lifting up comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south.

Ps 75:7 But God is the judge; He puts down one and sets up another.

Ps 75:8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is fully mixed; and He pours out from it; but the dregs of it, all the wicked of the earth shall drain its dregs and drink.

Ps 75:9 But I will declare forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

Ps 75:10 Also I will cut off all the horns of the wicked; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Commentary on following page

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MHCC

The psalmist declares his resolution of executing judgment. (1-5)

 1-5 We often pray for mercy, when in pursuit of it; and shall we only once or twice give thanks, when we obtain it? God shows that he is nigh to us in what we call upon him for. Public trusts are to be managed uprightly. This may well be applied to Christ and his government. Man's sin threatened to destroy the whole creation; but Christ saved the world from utter ruin. He who is made of God to us wisdom, bids us be wise. To the proud, daring sinners he says, Boast not of your power, persist not in contempt. All the present hopes and future happiness of the human race spring from the Son of God.

He rebukes the wicked, and concludes with resolutions to praise God. (6-10)

6-10 No second causes will raise men to preferment without the First Cause. It comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. He mentions not the north; the same word that signifies the north, signifies the secret place; and from the secret of God's counsel it does come. From God alone all must receive their doom. There are mixtures of mercy and grace in the cup of affliction, when it is put into the hands of God's people; mixtures of the curse, when it is put into the hands of the wicked. God's people have their share in common calamities, but the dregs of the cup are for the wicked. The exaltation of the Son of David will be the subject of the saints' everlasting praises. Then let sinners submit to the King of righteousness, and let believers rejoice in and obey him.

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Ps 76:1 To the Chief Musician. For stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. God is known in Judah, His name is great in Israel.

Ps 76:2 And His abode is in Salem; and His dwelling-place in Zion.

Ps 76:3 There He broke the fiery arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle. Selah.

Ps 76:4 You are more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.

Ps 76:5 The stouthearted have been stripped; they slept their sleep; and none of the men of might have found their hands.

Ps 76:6 By Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the horse and the chariot have sunk into a sleep.

Ps 76:7 You, even You, are terrifying, and who can stand when once You are angry?

Ps 76:8 You cause judgment to be heard from Heaven; the earth feared and was still,

Ps 76:9 when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.

Ps 76:10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise You; the wrath that is left, You shall bind up.

Ps 76:11 Vow, and pay to the LORD your God; let all that are around Him bring presents to the Fearful One.

Ps 76:12 He shall cut off the spirit in princes; He is feared by the kings of the earth.

MHCC

The psalmist speaks of God's power. (1-6)

  1-6 Happy people are those who have their land filled with the knowledge of God! happy persons that have their hearts filled with that knowledge! It is the glory and happiness of a people to have God among them by his ordinances. Wherein the enemies of the church deal proudly, it will appear that God is above them. See the power of God's rebukes. With pleasure may Christians apply this to the advantages bestowed by the Redeemer.

All have to fear and to trust in him. (7-12)

 
7-12 God's people are the meek of the earth, the quiet in the land, that suffer wrong, but do none. The righteous God seems to keep silence long, yet, sooner or later, he will make judgment to be heard. We live in an angry, provoking world; we often feel much, and are apt to fear more, from the wrath of man. What will not turn to his praise, shall not be suffered to break out. He can set bounds to the wrath of man, as he does to the raging sea; hitherto it shall come, and no further. Let all submit to God. Our prayers and praises, and especially our hearts, are the presents we should bring to the Lord. His name is glorious, and he is the proper object of our fear. He shall cut off the spirit of princes; he shall slip it off easily, as we slip off a flower from the stalk, or a bunch of grapes from the vine; so the word signifies. He can dispirit the most daring: since there is no contending with God, it is our wisdom, as it is our duty, to submit to him. Let us seek his favour as our portion, and commit all our concerns to him.

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Ps 77:1 ¶ <<To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.>> I cried out to God with my voice-To God with my voice; And He gave ear to me.

Ps 77:2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing; My soul refused to be comforted.

Ps 77:3 I remembered God, and was troubled; I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah

Ps 77:4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

Ps 77:5 I have considered the days of old, The years of ancient times.

Ps 77:6 I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.

Ps 77:7 Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more?

Ps 77:8 Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore?

Ps 77:9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah

Ps 77:10 And I said, "This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High."

Ps 77:11 ¶ I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

Ps 77:12 I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds.

Ps 77:13 Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God?

Ps 77:14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.

Ps 77:15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

Ps 77:16 The waters saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were afraid; The depths also trembled.

Ps 77:17 The clouds poured out water; The skies sent out a sound; Your arrows also flashed about.

Ps 77:18 The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings lit up the world; The earth trembled and shook.

Ps 77:19 Your way was in the sea, Your path in the great waters, And Your footsteps were not known.

Ps 77:20 You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron.



Commentary on following page

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MHCC

The psalmist's troubles and temptation. (1-10)

1-10 Days of trouble must be days of prayer; when God seems to have withdrawn from us, we must seek him till we find him. In the day of his trouble the psalmist did not seek for the diversion of business or amusement, but he sought God, and his favour and grace. Those that are under trouble of mind, must pray it away. He pored upon the trouble; the methods that should have relieved him did but increase his grief. When he remembered God, it was only the Divine justice and wrath. His spirit was overwhelmed, and sank under the load. But let not the remembrance of the comforts we have lost, make us unthankful for those that are left. Particularly he called to remembrance the comforts with which he supported himself in former sorrows. Here is the language of a sorrowful, deserted soul, walking in darkness; a common case even among those that fear the Lord, Isa 50:10. Nothing wounds and pierces like the thought of God's being angry. God's own people, in a cloudy and dark day, may be tempted to make wrong conclusions about their spiritual state, and that of God's kingdom in the world. But we must not give way to such fears. Let faith answer them from the Scripture. The troubled fountain will work itself clear again; and the recollection of former times of joyful experience often raises a hope, tending to relief. Doubts and fears proceed from the want and weakness of faith. Despondency and distrust under affliction, are too often the infirmities of believers, and, as such, are to be thought upon by us with sorrow and shame. When, unbelief is working in us, we must thus suppress its risings.

He encourages himself by the remembrance of God's help of his people. (11-20)

11-20 The remembrance of the works of God, will be a powerful remedy against distrust of his promise and goodness; for he is God, and changes not. God's way is in the sanctuary. We are sure that God is holy in all his works. God's ways are like the deep waters, which cannot be fathomed; like the way of a ship, which cannot be tracked. God brought Israel out of Egypt. This was typical of the great redemption to be wrought out in the fulness of time, both by price and power. If we have harboured doubtful thoughts, we should, without delay, turn our minds to meditate on that God, who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, that with him, he might freely give us all things.

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Ps 78:1 ¶ <<A Contemplation of Asaph.>> Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

 2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,

 3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.

 4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.

 5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;

 6 That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,

 7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;

 8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.

 9 ¶ The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.

 10 They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,

 11 And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.

 12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

 13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.

 14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.

 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.

 16 He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.

 17 But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.

 18 And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.

 19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?

 20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?"

 21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,

 22 Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.

 23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,

 24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

 25 Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.

 26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.

 27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;

 28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.

 29 So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.

 30 They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,

 31 The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.

 32 In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.

 33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.

 34 When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.

 35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.

 36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;

 37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.

 38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;

 39 For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.

 40 ¶ How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!

 41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.

 42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

 43 When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;

 44 Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.

 45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.

 46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.

 47 He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.

 48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.

 49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them

 50 He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,

 51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.

 52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;

 53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

 54 And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
 55 He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

 56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies,

 57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.

 58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.

 59 When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,

 60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,

 61 And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy's hand.

 62 He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance.

 63 The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.

 64 Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.

 65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.

 66 And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach.

 67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

 68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.

 69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.

 70 He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;

 71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.

 72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
(NKJV)

Commentary onf following page

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MHCC

Attention called for. (1-8)

1-8 These are called dark and deep sayings, because they are carefully to be looked into. The law of God was given with a particular charge to teach it diligently to their children, that the church may abide for ever. Also, that the providences of God, both in mercy and in judgment, might encourage them to conform to the will of God. The works of God much strengthen our resolution to keep his commandments. Hypocrisy is the high road to apostasy; those that do not set their hearts right, will not be stedfast with God. Many parents, by negligence and wickedness, become murderers of their children. But young persons, though they are bound to submit in all things lawful, must not obey sinful orders, or copy sinful examples.

The history of Israel. (9-39)

9-39 Sin dispirits men, and takes away the heart. Forgetfulness of God's works is the cause of disobedience to his laws. This narrative relates a struggle between God's goodness and man's badness. The Lord hears all our murmurings and distrusts, and is much displeased. Those that will not believe the power of God's mercy, shall feel the fire of his indignation. Those cannot be said to trust in God's salvation as their happiness at last, who can not trust his providence in the way to it. To all that by faith and prayer, ask, seek, and knock, these doors of heaven shall at any time be opened; and our distrust of God is a great aggravation of our sins. He expressed his resentment of their provocation; not in denying what they sinfully lusted after, but in granting it to them. Lust is contented with nothing. Those that indulge their lust, will never be estranged from it. Those hearts are hard indeed, that will neither be melted by the mercies of the Lord, nor broken by his judgments. Those that sin still, must expect to be in trouble still. And the reason why we live with so little comfort, and to so little purpose, is, because we do not live by faith. Under these rebukes they professed repentance, but they were not sincere, for they were not constant. In Israel's history we have a picture of our own hearts and lives. God's patience, and warnings, and mercies, embolden them to harden their hearts against his word. And the history of kingdoms is much the same. Judgments and mercies have been little attended to, until the measure of their sins has been full. And higher advantages have not kept churches from declining from the commandments of God. Even true believers recollect, that for many a year they abused the kindness of Providence. When they come to heaven, how will they admire the Lord's patience and mercy in bringing them to his kingdom!

Their settlement in Canaan. (40-55)

40-55 Let not those that receive mercy from God, be thereby made bold to sin, for the mercies they receive will hasten its punishment; yet let not those who are under Divine rebukes for sin, be discouraged from repentance. The Holy One of Israel will do what is most for his own glory, and what is most for their good. Their forgetting former favours, led them to limit God for the future. God made his own people to go forth like sheep; and guided them in the wilderness, as a shepherd his flock, with all care and tenderness. Thus the true Joshua, even Jesus, brings his church out of the wilderness; but no earthly Canaan, no worldly advantages, should make us forget that the church is in the wilderness while in this world, and that there remaineth a far more glorious rest for the people of God.

Continued

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The mercies of God to Israel contrasted with their ingratitude. (56-72)

56-72 After the Israelites were settled in Canaan, the children were like their fathers. God gave them his testimonies, but they turned back. Presumptuous sins render even Israelites hateful to God's holiness, and exposed to his justice. Those whom the Lord forsakes become an easy prey to the destroyer. And sooner or later, God will disgrace his enemies. He set a good government over his people; a monarch after his own heart. With good reason does the psalmist make this finishing, crowning instance of God's favour to Israel; for David was a type of Christ, the great and good Shepherd, who was humbled first, and then exalted; and of whom it was foretold, that he should be filled with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. On the uprightness of his heart, and the skilfulness of his hands, all his subjects may rely; and of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end. Every trial of human nature hitherto, confirms the testimony of Scripture, that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, and nothing but being created anew by the Holy Ghost can cure the ungodliness of any.

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Ps 79:1 <<A Psalm of Asaph.>> O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; Thy holy temple have they defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps.

Ps 79:2 The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be food unto the birds of the heavens, The flesh of thy saints unto the beasts of the earth.

Ps 79:3 Their blood have they shed like water round about Jerusalem; And there was none to bury them.

Ps 79:4 We are become a reproach to our neighbors, A scoffing and derision to them that are round about us.

Ps 79:5 How long, O Jehovah? wilt thou be angry for ever? Shall thy jealousy burn like fire?

Ps 79:6 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, And upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name.

Ps 79:7 For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his habitation.

Ps 79:8 Remember not against us the iniquities of our forefathers: Let thy tender mercies speedily meet us; For we are brought very low.

Ps 79:9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name; And deliver us, and  forgive our sins, for thy name's sake.

Ps 79:10 Wherefore should the nations say, Where is their God? Let the avenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed Be known among the nations in our sight.

Ps 79:11 Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee: According to the greatness  of thy power preserve thou  those that are appointed to death;

Ps 79:12 And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

Ps 79:13 So we thy people and sheep of thy pasture Will give thee thanks for ever: We will show forth thy praise to all generations.

commentary on following page

[airIam2worship]

MHCC

The deplorable condition of the people of God. (1-5)


  1-5 God is complained to: whither should children go but to a Father able and willing to help them? See what a change sin made in the holy city, when the heathen were suffered to pour in upon them. God's own people defiled it by their sins, therefore he suffered their enemies to defile it by their insolence. They desired that God would be reconciled. Those who desire God's favour as better than life, cannot but dread his wrath as worse than death. In every affliction we should first beseech the Lord to cleanse away the guilt of our sins; then he will visit us with his tender mercies.

A petition for relief. (6-13)

 
6-13 Those who persist in ignorance of God, and neglect of prayer, are the ungodly. How unrighteous soever men were, the Lord was righteous in permitting them to do what they did. Deliverances from trouble are mercies indeed, when grounded upon the pardon of sin; we should therefore be more earnest in prayer for the removal of our sins than for the removal of afflictions. They had no hopes but from God's mercies, his tender mercies. They plead no merit, they pretend to none, but, Help us for the glory of thy name; pardon us for thy name's sake. The Christian forgets not that he is often bound in the chain of his sins. The world to him is a prison; sentence of death is passed upon him, and he knows not how soon it may be executed. How fervently should he at all times pray, O let the sighing of a prisoner come before thee, according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die! How glorious will the day be, when, triumphant over sin and sorrow, the church beholds the adversary disarmed for ever! while that church shall, from age to age, sing the praises of her great Shepherd and Bishop, her King and her God.

[airIam2worship]

Ps 80:1 <<For the Chief Musician, set to aShoshanim Eduth.. A Psalm of Asaph.>> Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; Thou that  sittest above the cherubim, shine forth.

Ps 80:2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up thy might, And come to save us.

Ps 80:3 Turn us again, O God; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Ps 80:4 O Jehovah God of hosts, How long  wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?

Ps 80:5 Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, And given them tears to drink in large measure.

Ps 80:6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbors; And our enemies laugh among themselves.

Ps 80:7 Turn us again, O God of hosts; And cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Ps 80:8 Thou broughtest a vine out of Egypt: Thou didst drive out the nations, and plantedst it.

Ps 80:9 Thou preparedst room before it, And it took deep root, and filled the land.

Ps 80:10 The mountains were covered with the shadow of it, And  the boughs thereof were like  cedars of God.

Ps 80:11 It sent out its branches unto the sea, And its shoots unto the River.

Ps 80:12 Why hast thou broken down its walls, So that all they that pass by the way do pluck it?

Ps 80:13 The boar out of the wood doth ravage it, And the wild beasts of the field feed on it.

Ps 80:14 Turn again, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine,

Ps 80:15 And  the stock which thy right hand planted, And the  branch that thou madest strong for thyself.

Ps 80:16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down: They perish at the rebuke of thy countenance.

Ps 80:17 Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, Upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.

Ps 80:18 So shall we not go back from thee: Quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name.

Ps 80:19 Turn us again, O Jehovah God of hosts; Cause thy face to shine, and we shall be saved.

Commentary on following page

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MHCC

The psalmist complains of the miseries of the church. (1-7)

1-7 He that dwelleth upon the mercy-seat, is the good Shepherd of his people. But we can neither expect the comfort of his love, nor the protection of his arm, unless we partake of his converting grace. If he is really angry at the prayers of his people, it is because, although they pray, their ends are not right, or there is some secret sin indulged in them, or he will try their patience and perseverance in prayer. When God is displeased with his people, we must expect to see them in tears, and their enemies in triumph. There is no salvation but from God's favour; there is no conversion to God but by his own grace.

 Its former prosperity and present desolation. (8-16)

 
8-16 The church is represented as a vine and a vineyard. The root of this vine is Christ, the branches are believers. The church is like a vine, needing support, but spreading and fruitful. If a vine do not bring forth fruit, no tree is so worthless. And are not we planted as in a well-cultivated garden, with every means of being fruitful in works of righteousness? But the useless leaves of profession, and the empty boughs of notions and forms, abound far more than real piety. It was wasted and ruined. There was a good reason for this change in God's way toward them. And it is well or ill with us, according as we are under God's smiles or frowns. When we consider the state of the purest part of the visible church, we cannot wonder that it is visited with sharp corrections. They request that God would help the vine. Lord, it is formed by thyself, and for thyself, therefore it may, with humble confidence, be committed to thyself.


A prayer for mercy. (17-19)

7-19 The Messiah, the Protector and Saviour of the church, is the Man of God's right hand; he is the Arm of the Lord, for all power is given to him. In him is our strength, by which we are enabled to persevere to the end. The vine, therefore, cannot be ruined, nor can any fruitful branch perish; but the unfruitful will be cut off and cast into the fire. The end of our redemption is, that we should serve Him who hath redeemed us, and not go back to our old sins.

[airIam2worship]

Ps 81:1 <<For the Chief Musician; set to the Gittith. A Psalm of Asaph.>> Sing aloud unto God our strength: Make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Ps 81:2 Raise a song, and  bring hither the timbrel, The pleasant harp with the psaltery.

Ps 81:3 Blow the trumpet at the new moon, At the full moon, on our feast-day.

Ps 81:4 For it is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

Ps 81:5 He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, When he went out  over the land of Egypt, Where I heard  a language that I knew not.

Ps 81:6 I removed his shoulder from the burden: His hands were freed from the basket.

Ps 81:7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder; I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah

Ps 81:8 Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto me!

Ps 81:9 There shall no strange god be in thee; Neither shalt thou worship any foreign god.

Ps 81:10 I am Jehovah thy God, Who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt: Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Ps 81:11 But my people hearkened not to my voice; And Israel would none of me.

Ps 81:12 So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart, That they might walk in their own counsels.

Ps 81:13 Oh that my people would hearken unto me, That Israel would walk in my ways!

Ps 81:14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn my hand against their adversaries.

Ps 81:15 The haters of Jehovah should  submit themselves unto him: But their time should endure for ever.

Ps 81:16 He would feed them also with the  finest of the wheat; And with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee.

Commentary on following page

[airIam2worship]

MHCC

God is praised for what he has done for his people. (1-7)

  1-7 All the worship we can render to the Lord is beneath his excellences, and our obligations to him, especially in our redemption from sin and wrath. What God had done on Israel's behalf, was kept in remembrance by public solemnities. To make a deliverance appear more gracious, more glorious, it is good to observe all that makes the trouble we are delivered from appear more grievous. We ought never to forget the base and ruinous drudgery to which satan, our oppressor, brought us. But when, in distress of conscience, we are led to cry for deliverance, the Lord answers our prayers, and sets us at liberty. Convictions of sin, and trials by affliction, prove his regard to his people. If the Jews, on their solemn feast-days, were thus to call to mind their redemption out of Egypt, much more ought we, on the Christian sabbath, to call to mind a more glorious redemption, wrought out for us by our Lord Jesus Christ, from worse bondage.

 Their obligations to him. (8-16)

 
8-16 We cannot look for too little from the creature, nor too much from the Creator. We may have enough from God, if we pray for it in faith. All the wickedness of the world is owing to man's wilfulness. People are not religious, because they will not be so. God is not the Author of their sin, he leaves them to the lusts of their own hearts, and the counsels of their own heads; if they do not well, the blame must be upon themselves. The Lord is unwilling that any should perish. What enemies sinners are to themselves! It is sin that makes our troubles long, and our salvation slow. Upon the same conditions of faith and obedience, do Christians hold those spiritual and eternal good things, which the pleasant fields and fertile hills of Canaan showed forth. Christ is the Bread of life; he is the Rock of salvation, and his promises are as honey to pious minds. But those who reject him as their Lord and Master, must also lose him as their Saviour and their reward.