HENRY_FULL · whole chapter
Num. iii. 6 , &c. Some of them did by night stand in the house of the Lord, to guard the holy things of the temple, that they might not be profaned, and the rich things of the temple, that they might not be plundered. While the ark was in curtains there was the more need of guards upon it. They attended likewise to see that neither the fire on the altar nor the lamps in the candlestick went out. Probably it was usual for some devout and pious Israelites to sit up with them; we read of one that departed not from the temple night or day, Luke ii. 37 . Now these are here called upon to bless the Lord. Thus they must keep themselves awake by keeping themselves employed. Thus they must redeem time for holy exercises; and how can we spend our time better than in praising God? It would be an excellent piece of husbandry to fill up the vacancies of time with pious meditations and ejaculations; and surely it is a very modest and reasonable to converse with God when we have nothing else to do. Those who stood in the house of the Lord must remember where they were, and that holiness and holy work became that house. Let them therefore bless the Lord; let them all do it in concert, or each by himself; let them lift up their hands in the doing of it, in token of the lifting up of their hearts. Let them lift up their hands in holiness (so Dr. Hammond reads it) or in sanctification, as it is fit when they lift them up in the sanctuary; and let them remember that when they were appointed to wash before they went in to minister they were thereby taught to lift up holy hands in prayer and praise. 2. It is a call to us to do it, who, as Christians, are made priests to our God, and Levites, Isa. lxvi. 21 . We are the servants of the Lord; we have a place and a name in his house, in his sanctuary; we stand before him to minister to him. Even by night we are under his eye and have access to him. Let us therefore bless the Lord, and again bless him; think and speak of his glory and goodness. Let us lift up our hands in prayer, in praise, in vows; let us do our work with diligence and cheerfulness, and an elevation of mind. This exhortation is ushered in with Behold! a note commanding attention. Look about you, Sirs, when you are in God's presence, and conduct yourselves accordingly. II. God's blessing us, and that is doing well for us, which we are here taught to desire, v. 3 . Whether it is the watchmen's blessing their captain, or the Levites' blessing the high priest, or whoever was their chief (as many take it, because it is in the singular number, The Lord bless thee ), or whether the blessing is pronounced by one upon many (" The Lord bless thee, each of you in particular, thee and thee; you that are blessing God, the Lord bless you"), is not material. We may learn, 1. That we need desire no more to make us happy than to be blessed of the Lord, for those whom he blesses are blessed indeed. 2. That blessings out of Zion, spiritual blessings, the blessings of the covenant, and of communion with God, are the best blessings, which we should be most earnest for. 3. It is a great encouragement to us, when we come to God for a blessing, that it is he who made heaven and earth, and therefore has all the blessings of both at his disposal, the upper and nether springs. 4. We ought to beg these blessings, not only for ourselves, but for others also; not only, The Lord bless me, but, The Lord bless thee, thus testifying our belief of the fulness of divine blessings, that there is enough for others as well as for us, and our good-will also to others. We must pray for those that exhort us. Though the less is blessed of the greater ( Heb. vii. 7 ), yet the greater must be prayed for by the less. This is one of the Hallelujah-psalms; that is the title of it, and that is the Amen of it, both its Alpha and its Omega. I. It begins with a call to praise God, particularly a call to the "servants of the Lord" to praise him, as in the foregoing psalm, ver. 1-3 . II. It goes on to furnish us with matter for praise. God is to be praised, 1. As the God of Jacob, ver. 4 . 2. As the God of gods, ver. 5 . 3. As the God of the whole world, ver. 6, 7 . 4. As a terrible God to the enemies of Israel, ver. 8-11 . 5. As a gracious God to Israel, both in what he had done for them and what he would do, ver. 12-14 . 6. As the only living God, all other gods being vanity and a lie, ver. 15-18 . III. I
CLARKE · whole chapter
21 Blessed be the Lord out of Zion - Who has once more restored our temple and city, and now condescends to dwell with us in Jerusalem. Introduction An exhortation to give thanks to God for various mercies granted to all men, Psa 136:1-9 ; particularly to the Israelites in Egypt, Psa 136:10-12 ; at the Red Sea, Psa 136:13-15 ; in the wilderness, Psa 136:16-20 ; and in the promised land, Psa 136:21 , Psa 136:22 ; for the redemption of the captives from Babylon Psa 136:23 , Psa 136:24 ; and for his providential mercies to all, Psa 136:25 , Psa 136:26 . This Psalm is little else than a repetition of the preceding, with the burden, כי לעולם חסדו ki leolam chasdo, "because his mercy endureth for ever," at the end of every verse. See below. It seems to have been a responsive song: the first part of the verse sung by the Levites, the burden by the people. It has no title in the Hebrew, nor in any of the Versions. It was doubtless written after the captivity. The author is unknown. Verse 1 O give thanks unto the Lord: for he is good - This sentiment often occurs: the goodness of the Divine nature, both as a ground of confidence and of thanksgiving. For his mercy endureth for ever - These words, which are the burden of every verse, כי לעולם חסדו ki leolam chasdo, might be translated: "For his tender mercy is to the coming age:" meaning, probably, if the Psalm be prophetic, that peculiar display of his compassion, the redemption of the world by the Lord Jesus. These very words were prescribed by David as an acknowledgment, to be used continually in the Divine worship, see 1Chr 16:41 : also by Solomon, 2Chr 7:3 , 2Chr 7:6 , and observed by Jehoshaphat, 2Chr 20:21 ; all acknowledging that, however rich in mercy God was to them, the most extensive displays of his goodness were reserved for the age to come;