Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord, Praise ye] Praise, praise, praise. When duties are thus inculcated it noteth the necessity and excellence thereof; together with our dulness and backwardness thereunto. O ye servants of the Lord] See Psalms 134:1.
Ver. 2. Ye that stand in the house] See Psalms 134:1. In the courts] Where the people also had a place, 2 Chronicles 4:9, and are required to bear a part in this heavenly Hallelujah.
Ver. 3. Praise the Lord; for the Lord is good] sc. Originally, transcendently, effectively; he is good and doeth good, Psalms 119:68, and is therefore to be praised with mind, mouth, and practice. For it is pleasant] An angelical exercise, and, to the spiritually minded man, very delicious. To others, indeed, who have no true notion of God but as of an enemy, it is but as music at funerals, or as the trumpet before a judge, no comfort to the mourning wife, or guilty prisoner.
Ver. 4. For the Lord hath chosen] God’s distinguishing grace should make his elect lift up many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to him. And Israel for his peculiar treasure] Such as he maketh more reckoning of than of all the world besides. The Hebrew word here rendered peculiar treasure, seemeth to signify a jewel made up of three precious stones, in the form of a triangle, Segullah inde dici Segol, grammatici volunt. The saints are God’s jewels, Malachi 3:17, his ornament, yea, the beauty of his ornament, and that set in majesty, Ezekiel 7:20, his royal diadem, Isaiah 62:3.
Ver. 5. For I know that the Lord is great] As well as good, Psalms 135:3. This I believe and know, (John 6:69) saith the psalmist; and do therefore make it my practice to praise him. And that our Lord is above all gods] Whether they be so deputed, as magistrates, or reputed, as idols.
Ver. 6. Whatsoever the Lord pleased] This the heathens did never seriously affirm of any their dunghill deities; sure it is that none of them could say, I know it to be so. De diis utrum sint, non ausim affirmare, said one of their wise men.
Ver. 7. He causeth the vapours] Not Jupiter, but Jehovah. [See Jeremiah 10:13] He is the right Nubicoga, maker of the meteors, whether fiery, airy, or watery, Job 26:8,9 28:26,27 37:11,15,16 38:9. See the notes there. He maketh lightnings for the rain] Or, with the rain, which is very strange, viz. that fire and water should mingle, and hard stones come out of the midst of thin vapours. He bringeth the wind out of his treasuries] Or, coffers, storehouses, where he holdeth them close prisoners during his pleasure. This the philosopher knew not, and thence it is that they are of so diverse in their opinions about the winds. See Job 36:27,28 37:11,15,16 throughout.
Ver. 8. Who smote the firstborn of Egypt] And thereby roused up that sturdy rebel Pharaoh, who began now to open his eyes, as they say the blind mole doth when the pangs of death are upon him; and to stretch out himself, as the crooked serpent doth when deadly wounded.
Ver. 9. Who sent tokens and wonders] Vocal wonders, Exodus 4:8, to be as so many warning pieces.
Ver. 10. Who smote great nations] Who, by their great sins, had greatly polluted their land; and filled it with filth from one end to another, Ezra 9:11. And slew mighty kings] Heb. bony, big, massive fellows, quasi ossatos, sive torosos, as the word signifieth.
Ver. 11. Sihon king of the Amorites] A giant like Cyclops. And Og king of Bashan] Of whom the Jews fable, that, being one of the antediluvian giants, he escaped the flood, by riding astride upon the ark.
Ver. 12. And gave their land for an heritage] Which he might well do, as being the true proprietary and paramount.
Ver. 13. Thy name, O Lord, &c.] Else, O nos ingratos!
Ver. 14. For the Lord will judge his people] Iudicabit, id est vindicabit, he will preserve them, and provide for their welfare. And he will repent himself] This is mutatio rei non Dei, effectus non affectus. Some render it, He will be propitious; others, He will take comfort in his servants. See Judges 10:16.
Ver. 15. The idols of the heathen] See Psalms 115:4-6, &c.
Ver. 16. The idols of the heathen] See Psalms 115:4-6, &c.
Ver. 17. Neither is there any breath in their mouths] If they utter oracles, it was the devil in them, and by them. As for those statues of Daedalus which are said to have moved, spoken, and run away if they were not tied to a place, &c., it is either a fiction, or else to be attributed to causes external and artificial, as quicksilver, &c. (Aristot.; Diod.; Sic.; Plato).
Ver. 18. They that make them, &c.] See Psalms 115:8.
Ver. 19. Bless the Lord] And not an idol, Isaiah 66:3, as the Philistines did their Dagon; and as Papists still do their male and female saints.
Ver. 20. Ye that fear the Lord] Ye devout Proselytes.
Ver. 21. Blessed be the Lord out of Zion] Therehence he blesseth, Psalms 134:3, and there he is to be blessed. Which dwelleth at Jerusalem] That was the seat of his royal residence, per inhabitationis gratiam, saith Austin, by the presence of his grace; who, by his essence and power, is everywhere. Enter, prmsenter, Deus hic et ubique potenter.