Page:An Exposition of the Old and New Testament (1828) vol 3.djvu/255

Rh extent bespeaks his immensity; their height his transcendency and sovereignty; their influence upon this earth, his dominion and providence, and universal beneficence: and all declare his almighty power, by which they were at first made, and continue to this day, according to the ordinances that were then settled.

II. What are some of those things which notify this?

1. The heavens and the firmament: the vast expanse of air and ether, and the spheres of the planets, and fixed stars. Man has this advantage above the beasts, in the structure of his body, that, whereas they are made to look downward, as their spirits must go, he is made erect, to look upward, because upward his spirit must shortly go, and his thoughts should now rise.

2. The constant and regular succession of day and night; (v. 2.) Day unto day, and night unto night, speak the glory of that God who first divided between the light and the darkness, and has, from the beginning to this day, preserved that established order without variation, according to God's covenant with Noah, (Gen. viii. 22.) that, while the earth remains, day and night shall not cease; to which covenant of providence, the covenant of grace is compared for its stability, Jer. xxxiii. 20.—xxxi. 35. The counterchanging of day and night, in so exact a method, is a great instance of the power of God, and calls us to observe, that, as in the kingdom of nature, so in that of providence, he forms the light, and creates the darkness, (Isa. xlv. 7.) and sets the one over-against the other. It is likewise an instance of his goodness to man; for he makes the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice, lxv. 8. He not only glorifies himself, but gratifies us, by this constant revolution; for, as the light of the morning befriends the business of the day, so the shadows of the evening befriend the repose of the night; every day and every night speak the goodness of God, and when they have finished their testimony, leave it to the next day, to the next night, to say the same.

3. The light and influence of the sun, do, in a special manner, declare the glory of God; for, of all the heavenly bodies, that is the most conspicuous in itself, and most useful to this lower world, which would be all dungeon, and all desert, without it. It is not an improbable conjecture, that David penned this psalm when he had the rising sun in view, and from the brightness of it took occasion to declare the glory of God. Concerning the sun, observe here, (1.) The place appointed him: in the heavens God has set a tabernacle for the sun. The heavenly bodies are called hosts of heaven, and therefore are fitly said to dwell in tents, as soldiers in their encampments: the sun is said to have a tabernacle set him, not only because he is in continual motion, and never has a fixed residence, but because the mansion he has will, at the end of time, be taken down like a tent, when the heavens shall be rolled together like a scroll, and the sun shall be turned into darkness. (2.) The course assigned him: that glorious creature was not made to be idle, but his going forth (at least, as it appears to our eye) is from one point of the heavens, and his circuit thence to the opposite point, and thence (to complete his diurnal revolution) to the same point again; and this with such steadiness and constancy, that we can certainly foretell the hour and the minute at which the sun will rise at such a place, any day to come. (3.) The brightness wherein he appears: he is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, richly dressed up and adorned, as fine as hands can make him, looking pleasantly himself, and making all about him pleasant; for the friend of the bridegroom rejoices greatly to hear the bridegroom's voice, John iii. 29. (4.) The cheerfulness wherewith he makes his tour: though it seems a vast round which he has to walk, and he has not a moment's rest, yet, in obedience to the law of his creation, and for the service of man, he not only does it, but does it with a great deal of pleasure, and rejoices as a strong man to run a race. With such satisfaction did Christ, the Sun of righteousness, finish the work that was given him to do. (5.) His universal influence on this earth: there is nothing hid from the heat thereof, no not metals in the bowels of the earth, which the sun has an influence upon.

III. To whom this declaration is made of the glory of God; it is made to all parts of the world; (v. 3, 4.) There is no speech nor language, (no nation, for the nations were divided after their tongues, Gen. x. 31, 32.) where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone through all the earth, (the equinoctial line suppose,) and with it, their words to the end of the world, proclaiming the eternal power of the God of nature, v. 4. The apostle uses this as a reason why the Jews should not be angry with him and others for preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, because God had already made himself known to the Gentile world by the works of creation, and left not himself without witness among them, (Rom. x. 18.) so that they were without excuse, if they were idolaters, Rom. i. 20, 21. And those were without blame, who, by preaching the gospel to them, endeavoured to turn them from their idolatry. If God used these means to prevent their apostasy, and they proved ineffectual, the apostles did well to use other means to recover them from it. They have no speech or language, (so some read it,) and yet their voice is heard. All people may hear these natural immortal preachers speak to them, in their own tongue, the wonderful works of God.

In singing these verses, we must give God the glory of all the comfort and benefit we have by the lights of heaven, still looking above and beyond them to the Sun of righteousness.

7. The law of the is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the is sure, making wise the simple: 8. The statutes of the are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the  is pure, enlightening the eyes: 9. The fear of the is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the  are true and righteous altogether. 10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. 12. Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. 13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. 14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,, my strength and my redeemer.

God's glory, that is, his goodness to man, appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our