You are resplendent with light, more majestic than mountains filled with game. Sermons
The actual triumph over the Assyrian army is poetically presented in the sudden exclamation of ver. 3, "There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle." In ver. 4 God is regarded as returning to Zion with the spoils of the camp. The precise figure is difficult to trace. Some render, "Bright art thou and glorious from the mountains of spoil;" and understand the mountains to be referred to on which the hostile army had encamped. The Prayer book Version has, "Thou art of more honour and might than the hills of the robbers." Others read, "Enlightened art thou, and glorious, coming down from the mountains of prey;" and this seems to give the most simple and suggestive explanation. Having the lion figure still in mind, the psalmist sees the lion returning from his prey, with the pride of his triumph on him; and this suggests the glory of God the Conqueror and Deliverer. Compare the songs the women sang when Saul and David returned from the conquest of the Philistines; or Moses' song at the Red Sea; or Deborah's song at the defeat of Sisera; or the cry of Isaiah, "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" Our joy in the returning Conqueror, our glory in his triumph for us, may be said to depend on three things. I. THE GREATNESS OF THE DISTRESS FROM WHICH WE ARE DELIVERED. Illustrate from the hopeless condition of Hezekiah at this time. He had no force effective to combat Assyria; and internal conflict broke up and weakened the little force he had. It was a time of uttermost distress; the very independence, the very existence, of the nation was imperilled. Then contrast the state of things when the hostile army became dead men. Imagine the relief, and the joy of the relief. Such feeling is thus expressed elsewhere: "When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing." Lead on to show what that deliverance must be which God wrought, in Christ Jesus, for those whose hopeless distress is described in Romans 3:10-19. II. OUR SENSE OF THE POWER SHOWN IN OUR DELIVERANCE. The agency used for the destruction of the Assyrian army cannot be certainly known. But we feel this - that destruction was a unique and amazing display of Divine power. There had been nothing like it before. God had lifted up a mighty hand, and stretched forth a strong arm. Show that, in Christ's dealings with the sin foe, the same impression is made on us. See the doxologies in the Book of Revelation. III. OUR APPREHENSION OF THE FULNESS AND COMPLETENESS OF THE DELIVERANCE WROUGHT. Compare the results of God's intervention with the consequences of a mere victory on an ordinary battlefield; God wrought a perfect triumph. So Christ "leads captivity captive," and "saves to the uttermost." - R.T. But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. : — The praise resolved upon here is worthy of our imitation, inasmuch as it — I. LOSES SIGHT OF SELF IN DEVOUT ADMIRATION OF THE CHARACTER AND DOINGS OF GOD. 1. He will praise God for His doings.(1) Undeserved by us. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."(2) Unsought by us. We did not seek God, but He sought us by Jesus Christ.(3) Freely and heartily given by God out of His own sovereign love. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." 2. He will praise God for His faithfulness. With Him there is "no variableness, neither shadow of turning." 3. He will praise God "for ever." "Let not thy praises be transient — a fit of music, and then the instrument hung by the wall till another gaudy day of some remarkable providence makes thee take it down. God comes not guest-wise to His saints' house, but to dwell with them. David took this up for a life-work: 'As long as I live, I will praise Thee.'" II. EVINCES ITS REALITY BY RESOLVING TO IMITATE HIM. Our praise of the excellences of others is a very hollow affair unless we also cultivate those excellences. We praise God for His "unspeakable gift"; are we imitating His pure generosity? We praise Jesus Christ for His great self-sacrifice for us; are we denying ourselves in His spirit that others might be benefited? We bless God for the Gospel; are we exemplifying the spirit of the Gospel? A certain Dr. Whitaker, on reading the fifth chapter of Matthew, brake out, saying, "Either this is not the Gospel, or we are not of the Gospel." And is it not to be feared that the spirit of the Gospel for which men praise God, and the spirit of their lives, are often widely different? Let us evince the sincerity of our praise to God by imitating Him in our spirit and life. Let us admire Him, commune with Him, adore Him, until we are transformed into the same image. (). In Judah is God known: His name is great in Israel. I. AS THE GLORIOUS RESIDENT IN THE MIDST OF HIS PEOPLE (vers. 1, 2). God is everywhere; but is in an especial sense present with holy souls. They are represented as His "temple," which implies — 1. Special connection with Him. 2. Special consecration to Him. 3. Special manifestation of Him. II. As the triumphant conqueror of his enemies. He does His work — 1. Thoroughly (vers. 3-5). 2. Easily (ver. 6). His word is the fire that will burn up corruption, the hammer that will break the rocky heart, the sword that will slay moral evil. 3. Judicially (vers. 8, 9). God is infinitely just in crushing all evil. Satan is a usurper, and all his hosts are rebels. As a just God, He will put all-enemies under His feel. In a moral sense, God is a "God of battles." He is eternally warring against wrong. III. AS THE ABSOLUTE MASTER OF MALIGN PASSIONS (ver. 10). 1. He subordinates human wrath. As the mariner makes the gale his servant to bear his vessel to the port, so God makes the malign passions of men and devils to bear on His great purposes to their complete fulfilment. 2. He restrains it. He allows the wrath of His creatures to go no further than He chooses. As He has set a boundary to the ocean, He has also to the human passions. "So far shalt thou go, and no further." IV. AS THE SUPREME OBJECT OF HUMAN WORSHIP (ver. 11). This implies two things. 1. Devout resolutions. "Vow and pay unto the Lord your God." In this clause we have the fundamental God, and do right, and we shall get on as much as He thinks good for us. () People Asaph, Jacob, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Bright, Eternal, Everlasting, Excellent, Full, Game, Glorious, Glory, Hills, Honourable, Majestic, Mountains, Prey, Resplendent, Rich, ShiningOutline 1. A declaration of God's majesty in the church
11. An exhortation to serve him reverently.
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 76:4 4835 light, spiritual
8608 prayer, and worship Library Letter Xlviii to Magister Walter De Chaumont.
To Magister [75] Walter de Chaumont. He exhorts him to flee from the world, advising him to prefer the cause and the interests of his soul to those of parents. MY DEAR WALTER, I often grieve my heart about you whenever the most pleasant remembrance of you comes back to me, seeing how you consume in vain occupations the flower of your youth, the sharpness of your intellect, the store of your learning and skill, and also, what is more excellent in a Christian than all of these gifts, the pure and innocent …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of ClairvauxEpistle cxxii. To Rechared, King of the visigoths .
To Rechared, King of the Visigoths [82] . Gregory to Rechared, &c. I cannot express in words, most excellent son, how much I am delighted with thy work and thy life. For on hearing of the power of a new miracle in our days, to wit that the whole nation of the Goths has through thy Excellency been brought over from the error of Arian heresy to the firmness of a right faith, one is disposed to exclaim with the prophet, This is the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High (Ps. lxxvi. 11 [83] …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Concerning Jonathan, one of the Sicarii, that Stirred up a Sedition in Cyrene, and was a False Accuser [Of the Innocent].
1. And now did the madness of the Sicarii, like a disease, reach as far as the cities of Cyrene; for one Jonathan, a vile person, and by trade a weaver, came thither and prevailed with no small number of the poorer sort to give ear to him; he also led them into the desert, upon promising them that he would show them signs and apparitions. And as for the other Jews of Cyrene, he concealed his knavery from them, and put tricks upon them; but those of the greatest dignity among them informed Catullus, …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem Jerusalem
The first name of this city was Shalem, Genesis 14:18, Psalm 76:2, and it is still retained in the writing, however it is read Jerushalaim. "The name of that place is Jehovah-jireh. Abraham called the place Jireh; Shem called it Shalem. Saith God, If I shall call it Jireh, it will displease Shem the Just; if I shall call it Shalem, it will displease Abraham the Just. I will therefore put that name upon it which was put upon it by both, Jireh, Shalem,--Jerusalem."--"We do not, therefore, put Jod between …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Beginning at Jerusalem
The whole verse runs thus: "And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." The words were spoken by Christ, after he rose from the dead, and they are here rehearsed after an historical manner, but do contain in them a formal commission, with a special clause therein. The commission is, as you see, for the preaching of the gospel, and is very distinctly inserted in the holy record by Matthew and Mark. "Go teach all nations," …
John Bunyan—Jerusalem Sinner Saved The Jerusalem Sinner Saved;
OR, GOOD NEWS FOR THE VILEST OF MEN; BEING A HELP FOR DESPAIRING SOULS, SHOWING THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD HAVE MERCY IN THE FIRST PLACE OFFERED TO THE BIGGEST SINNERS. THE THIRD EDITION, IN WHICH IS ADDED, AN ANSWER TO THOSE GRAND OBJECTIONS THAT LIE IN THE WAY OF THE THEM THAT WOULD BELIEVE: FOR THE COMFORT OF THEM THAT FEAR THEY HAVE SINNED AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST. BY JOHN BUNYAN, OF BEDFORD. London: Printed for Elizabeth Smith, at the Hand and Bible, on London Bridge, 1691. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Question Lxxxii of Devotion
I. Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Meaning of the Term "Devotion" S. Augustine, Confessions, XIII. viii. 2 II. Is Devotion an Act of the Virtue of Religion? III. Is Contemplation, that is Meditation, the Cause of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Causes of Devotion " " On the Devotion of Women IV. Is Joy an Effect of Devotion? Cardinal Cajetan, On Melancholy S. Augustine, Confessions, II. x. I Is Devotion a Special Kind of Act? It is by our acts that we merit. But …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life The Harbinger
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD , make straight in the desert a high-way for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. T he general style of the prophecies is poetical. The inimitable simplicity which characterizes every …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 King of Kings and Lord of Lords
And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, K ING OF K INGS AND L ORD OF L ORDS T he description of the administration and glory of the Redeemer's Kingdom, in defiance of all opposition, concludes the second part of Messiah Oratorio. Three different passages from the book of Revelation are selected to form a grand chorus, of which Handel's title in this verse is the close --a title which has been sometimes vainly usurped by proud worms of this earth. Eastern monarchs, in particular, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Question Lxxxi of the virtue of Religion
I. Does the Virtue of Religion Direct a Man To God Alone? S. Augustine, sermon, cccxxxiv. 3 " on Psalm lxxvi. 32 sermon, cccxi. 14-15 II. Is Religion a Virtue? III. Is Religion One Virtue? IV. Is Religion a Special Virtue Distinct From Others? V. Is Religion One of the Theological Virtues? VI. Is Religion To Be Preferred To the Other Moral Virtues? VII. Has Religion, Or Latria, Any External Acts? S. Augustine, of Care for the Dead, V. VIII. Is Religion the Same As Sanctity? Cardinal Cajetan, …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux Covenanting Confers Obligation.
As it has been shown that all duty, and that alone, ought to be vowed to God in covenant, it is manifest that what is lawfully engaged to in swearing by the name of God is enjoined in the moral law, and, because of the authority of that law, ought to be performed as a duty. But it is now to be proved that what is promised to God by vow or oath, ought to be performed also because of the act of Covenanting. The performance of that exercise is commanded, and the same law which enjoins that the duties …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Power of God
The next attribute is God's power. Job 9:19. If I speak of strength, lo, he is strong.' In this chapter is a magnificent description of God's power. Lo, he is strong.' The Hebrew word for strong signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. He is strong.' The superlative degree is intended here; viz., He is most strong. He is called El-shaddai, God almighty. Gen 17:7. His almightiness lies in this, that he can do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish between authority and power. God has both. …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 76:4 NIV
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