A Brief Explication of the Last Fifty Psalms, Psalm 150
PSALME. CL.
IN this Psalme the Spirit of the Lord doth call upon us thirteen times to praise the Lord: Each exhortation pointeth forth God to be the only object of pra…se. The first and the last exhortation is to all, to praise God absolutely, without giving any motive more then his very Name importeth, which indeed is a sufficient reason: for seeing the Lord is God, who hath his being of himself: and all the creatures have their being of him, and dependance on him, it followeth of necessity, that he is praise worthy in himself, and deserveth to be praised by all his creatures. The second, third, fourth and fifth exhortations, have reasons and motives annexed unto them, as the matter of his praise, v. 1, 2. The sixth, seventh, eighth, nineth, tenth, eleventh, do teach the manner of his praise, under the termes of the Levitical service, v. 3, 4, 5. and the twelfth pointeth at the persons or special party, which must yield the praise unto God, with a reason insinuated, moving thereunto, v. 6.
Ver. 1. PRaise ye the LORD: Praise God in his Sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power.
2. Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatnesse.
From these exhortations which have motives annexed to them; Learn, 1. The holinesse of God, (which is the unstained clearness and untainted glory of all his attributes, such as are his wisdom, power, justice, mercy, and all the rest of his properties mentioned in Scripture) is the subject of the Saints praising of God in the Church, and of Spirits praising of him in heaven; for the word in the Original doth bear, Praise the Lord in his holinesse, in hls Sanctuary, in heaven his holy place. 2. The holinesse of God should be mainly looked unto by all men, who are about to praise him, that our hearts and mouthes may be rightly framed for so high a service, and we may beware to take his Name in vain: for he will be sanctified of all that draw near unto him, especially in the work of praise: Praise God in his holinesse. 3. Matter of praise is furnished to us, in the wisdom and power of God, which is to be seen in the creatures, and particularly in the frame of the stories of heaven; in the first whereof, his power supports the huge weight of waters in the clouds; in the second, the stars and planets move, and make their circles constantly; and in the third, Heavens, Angels, and Spirits of just men made perfect do praise God; Praise him in the firmament of his power. 4. Matter of praising God is furnished by his manifold mighty acts, to be seen in the powerful sustaining, ruling and employing of all his creatures, as he seeth fittest for his own glory, for the building of his Church, delivering of her from dangers, and overthrowing of her enemies; Praise the Lord for his mighty acts. 5. Matter of praising God is furnished in his wonderful greatnesse, and in the rayes of excellency, shining in all his dispensations, and manner of governing the world, sustaining some individual creatures, which are still the same, from the Creation, and multiplying others in their kinde, to the astonishment of a serious beholder; Praise him according to his excellent greatnesse.
Vers. 3. Praise him with the sound of the Trumpet: praise him with the Psaltery and Harpe.
4. Praise him with the Timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instrumrnts and Organs.
5. Praise him upon the lond Cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding Cymbals.
Here are other six exhorrations, teaching the manner of praising God under the shadow of typical musick, appointed in the Ceremonial Law. Whence learn, 1▪ Albeit the typical Ceremonies of musical instruments in Gods publick worship, belonging to the paedagogie of the Church, in her minority before Christ, be now abolished with the rest of the Ceremonies: yet the moral duties shadowed forth by them, are still to be studied, because this duty of praising God, and praising him with all our minde, strength and soule is moral, whereunto we are perpetually obliged. 2. The variety of musical instruments, some of them made use of in the Campe, as trumpets; some of them more suitable to a peaceable condition, as Psalteries and Harps; some of them sounding by blowing winde in them; some of them sounding by lighter touching of them, as stringed instruments; some of them by beating on them more sharply, as Tabrets▪ Drums and Cymbals; some of them sounding, by touching and blowing also, as Organs: all of them giving some certain sound, some more quiet, and some making more noise: some of them having a harmonie by themselves; some of them making a Consort with other instruments, or with the motions of the body in dancings, some of them serving for one use, some of them serving for another, and all of them serving to set forth Gods glory, and to shadow forth the duty of worshippers, and the priviledges of the Saints: The plurality and variety, (I say) of these instruments, were fit to represent divers conditions of the spiritual man, and of the greatnesse of the joy to be found in God, and to teach what stirring up should be of the affections and powers of our soul, and one of another, unto Gods worship; what harmonie should be among worshippers of God, what melodie each should make in himself, singing to God with grace in his heart, and to shew the excellency of Gods praise, which no meanes nor instrument, nor any expression of the body joyned thereto, could sufficiently set forth: and thus much is figured forth in these exhortations to praise God with Trumpet, Psaltery, Harp; Timbrel, Dance, stringed instruments; and Organs, loud and high sounding Cymbals.
Ver. 6. Let every thing that hath breath, praise the LORD: Praise ye the LORD.
In the twelfth exhortation, pointing at the party called upon to praise God; Learn, 1. Living creatures, which draw breath and give unto, and take from God their life afresh every moment in their breathing, do above all visible creatures speak most to the praise of Gods wisdom & power in framing and preserving of them: Let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord. 2. Of all living creatures, men are most bound to praise God, as they in whom God in the Creation, and in their several generations, from age to age, did and doth breath the Spirit of life, and of all men those are most bound to praise God, on whom he hath bestowed his holy Spirit: and howsoever the Lords works in all men shall speak to his praise, how wicked soever men shall be, yet only renewed souls, in whom God hath breathed his Spirit, as the word breath in the Original may bear, shall voluntarily and sincerely praise God: Let every thing that hath breath, praise the Lord. 3. The Spirit of the Lord, when he gave the Psalmes to the Church of the Jewes, had an eye toward the rest of the world, of whom he was in his appointed time to exact this Song of praise: and so we who are Gentiles, brought unto the society of the Church, are bound to joyne in the work with them; and when we are joyned, and when all who are to be converted are joyned, yet are we all too few, to bear up this Song of Gods praise; and therefore to shew this, it is said, Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. 4. When we have said all we are able to say for Gods praise, we are but to begin again anew; for this are we taught by the renewing of the exhortation, in the close of sundry Psalmes, and here also, at the end of all the Psalms: Praise ye the Lord. And after us must all the creatures come in their own kinde and order, to offer up praise also, as we are taught, Rev. 5. v. 12. where after that elect Angels and Saints, whose number was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, had sung their Song, saying, With a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb, that was slaine, to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Then it followeth, v. 13. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, Honour, Glory and Power, be unto him that sitteth upon the Throne, and to the Lambe for ever and ever.
FINIS.
BOOKS newly printed by RALPH SMITH.
Master HVTCHESONS Exposition of Obadiah, Ionah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah.
A Practical Discourse of Prayer, shewing the Duty, Necessity, and the several sorts of Prayer, by Mr. THOMAS COBBET.
The CHRISTIANS CHARTER, shewing the Priviledge of Believers: the third Edition, very much inlarged, by Mr. WATSON, Minister of Stephens Walbrook —
Also Mr. WATSONS Treatise of CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT, the second Edition.
End of the text · David Dickson, A Brief Explication of the Last Fifty Psalms (1654)