Bible Commentaries

Concluding Hymn of Praise.

The last Hallelujah Psalm is a fitting doxology for the whole Book of Psalms, proclaiming the place, theme, mode, and extent of God's praise.

v. 1. Praise ye the Lord! Praise God in His Sanctuary, in the places set aside for His worship here on earth, no matter where they may be; praise Him in the firmament of His power, which was considered the foundation of the heavens. Earthly and heavenly places of dwelling and worship are mentioned together to indicate the universal extent of God's worship.

v. 2. Praise Him for His mighty acts, the miraculous exhibitions of His creative power; praise Him according to His excellent greatness, or "abundance of greatness," the absolute and limitless manifestation of His attributes.

v. 3. Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet, or cornet, as used by the Jews to announce religious assemblies, Num 10:1-10; praise Him with the psaltery, a kind of lute, and harp, or zither.

v. 4. Praise Him with the timbrel, a form of tambourine, and dance, rather, the pipe; praise Him with stringed instruments and organs, the latter being a series of graduated pipes used by shepherds.

v. 5. Praise Him upon the loud cymbals, or castanets; praise Him upon the high-sounding cymbals, the larger form, with deeper and fuller tones. Musical instruments of every kind, wood instruments, string instruments, and instruments of percussion—a full orchestra is needed if one would even attempt adequately to sing the praises of Jehovah.

v. 6. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord, all living beings joining with their voices to proclaim the glory of His name. Praise ye the Lord! "There is nothing in the Psalter more majestic or more beautiful than this brief, but most significant finale, in which solemnity of tone predominates, without, however, in the least disturbing the exhilaration which the close of the Psalter intended to produce, as if in emblematical allusion to the triumph which awaits the Church and all its members when, through much tribulation, they shall enter into rest. "

The Proverbs

Introduction

The third poetical book of the Old Testament is that of the Proverbs of Solomon, not a collection of popular sayings or a product of human speculation and observation, but a book setting forth the principles of true wisdom and making the divine truths the object of believing contemplation. The scope of the wise sayings in this book is to direct all men, but especially the believers, so to order their life and conduct as to please God and promote their welfare here on earth. And there is one outstanding feature in this book, namely, the revelation of the true Source and Fountain of wisdom, the Son of God. He who knows and accepts the Son of God, Jesus Christ, by faith, will bring his entire conduct in life in agreement with the true reverence and fear of the Lord over against the foolishness and blindness of such as despise this true wisdom, the sum of all instruction in the Word of God.

The entire book is ascribed to Solomon, although the last Proverbs, which were added to the collection at a later time, have as their authors Agur, the son of Jakeh, and King Lemuel. Of Solomon it is stated that he spoke three thousand proverbs, 1Ki 4:32. Some of these Solomonic proverbs were gathered together in our book, as the superscriptions of the various sections show: "The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David," Pro 1:1; "The proverbs of Solomon," Pro 10:1; "These are the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, copied out," Pro 25:1.

The three superscriptions also indicate the divisions of the book. The first section, 1 to 9, inclusive, contains a description and recommendation of true wisdom, directed especially to young people. The second section, 10 to 24, is more loosely constructed, the pearls of wisdom following one another in a most telling manner. The third section 25 to 29, contains such proverbs as were selected by a committee of prophets at the time of Hezekiah. The book closes with three additions, Pro 30:1-33; Pro 31:1-31.

The practical wisdom contained in the Book of Proverbs is intended by the Lord for the instruction of all men of all times and should be heeded in this sense also by the Christians of the New Testament. It is the Lord Himself who speaks to men in these sayings, and therefore they are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that a man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished 'into every good work', 2Ti 3:15-17.