I Will Bless The Lord
Bless The Lord
1. Even in distress, which excites supplication, there is always matter for praising and thanking God (compare Eph 5:20; Php 4:6).
2. make her boast—“glory” (Ps 105:3; compare Ga 6:14).
humble—“the pious,” as in Ps 9:12; 25:9.
3. magnify the Lord—ascribe greatness to Him, an act of praise.
together—“alike” (Ps 33:15), or, equally, without exception.
O magnify (v. 3)
If we magnify something we make it larger or greater. The psalmist desired to make the Lord greater to all those around him. To exalt is to lift up. The psalmist desired to lift up the name of God, to place it, as it were, on a pedestal so all around might easily see it. These are glorious tasks, and the psalmist invites others to join him in them.
O taste (v. 8)
We associate taste with pleasure and satisfaction. The psalmist here calls for his readers to taste the goodness of God. Matthew Henry says: ‘Let God’s goodness be rolled under the tongue as a sweet morsel.’
O fear (vv. 9–10)
To fear God means to live in reverential awe of who he is and to dread his displeasure. Charles Spurgeon says fearing God means: ‘Pay to him humble childlike reverence, walk in his laws, have respect to his will, tremble to offend him, hasten to serve him.’
As an incentive the psalmist promises ‘no want to those who fear him’ (v. 9). He points out that the young lions, the strongest beasts of prey who are most capable of providing for themselves, sometimes suffer want (v. 10). But those who fear God suffer no such lack.
This is one of those verses that seem to be patently false. It is easy for us to think of all kinds of instances in which the people of God seemed to have lacked some good thing.
We have, however, a tendency to think we know what constitutes our good. God’s definition of our good is different from our own. It is for us to be conformed to the image of his Son, and all that he does in our lives or allows to happen may safely be assumed to promote that great good.
3. But who is it that blesseth the Lord at all times, except the humble in heart. For very humility taught our Lord in His Own Body and Blood: because when He commendeth His Own Body and Blood, He commendeth His Humility, in that which is written in this history, in that seeming madness of David, which we have passed by, “And his spittle ran down over his beard.” When the Apostle was read,3 Ye heard the same spittle, but running down over the beard. One saith perhaps, What spittle have we heard? Was it not read but now, where the Apostle saith, “The Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom?” But now it was read, “But we preach,” saith he, “Christ crucified” (for then He drummed), “unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God, and the Wisdom of God. Because the Foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the Weakness of God is stronger than men.” For spittle signifieth foolishness; spittle signifieth weakness. But if the Foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the Weakness of God is stronger than men; let not the spittle as it were offend thee, but observe that it runneth down over the beard: for as by the spittle, weakness; so by the beard, strength is signified. He covered then His Strength by the body of His Weakness, and that which without was weak, appeared as it were in spittle; but within His Divine Strength was covered as a beard. Therefore humility is commended unto us. Be humble if thou wouldest bless the Lord at all times, and that His praise should be ever in thy mouth.…
4. But wherefore doth man bless the Lord at all times? Because he is humble. What is it to be humble? To take not praise unto himself. Who would himself be praised, is proud: who is not proud, is humble
The plight of the “afflicted” (NIV, RSV) is introduced, with a variety of words repeated later. Humble, holy ones, brokenhearted, crushed in spirit, righteous, and his servants describe those who cry out for help. Humble describes those completely dependent upon the LORD, the afflicted delivered from oppression. In the call to worship, the psalmist proclaims that all is of God and invites the hearers to share his newfound joy.
Ver. 1. I will bless the Lord at all times, &c.] That is, ascribe blessing, give honour, praise, and glory to him, both as the God of nature and providence, for every temporal mercy; and that every day, and at all times in the day; since these are renewed every morning, and continue all the day long: and as the God of grace, for all spiritual blessings; and that continually, because these last always; they are irreversible, unchangeable, and without repentance; yea, saints have reason to bless God in times of adversity as well as prosperity, since it might have been worse with them than it is; they have a mixture of mercy in all, and all things work together for their good. His praise shall continually be in my mouth; not the praise of which God is the author, but of which he is the object; which is due unto him, and is given him on account of the perfections of his nature, and the works of his hands, and the blessings of his providence and grace; this, the psalmist says, should be in his mouth: his meaning is, that he should not only retain in his heart a grateful sense of the divine favours, but should express it with his lips; should both make melody in his heart to the Lord, and vocally sing his praise; and that continually, as long as he lived, or had any being, Psal. 146:2.
Ver. 2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord, &c.] Not in men, nor in any outward enjoyment, nor in any works of righteousness, but in the Lord; in the Word of the Lord, as the Targum; in the Lord Jesus Christ; in his wisdom, strength, riches, righteousness, redemption, and salvation; in interest in him, and communion with him: and this is not tongue but soul boasting; and not flashy and selfish, but solid, spiritual, and hearty; and with all the powers and faculties of the soul; see 1 Cor. 1:29, 30, 31. The humble shall hear thereof; either of the deliverance the psalmist had out of the hands of his enemies; or of his blessing and praising the Lord for the same, and making his boast in him as the God of his salvation; or of both: of these humble ones, see the note on Psal. 10:12. And be glad; for such rejoice with them that rejoice, and are glad at heart that others share in the goodness and grace of God; and also because by such an instance of the divine power and kindness they are encouraged to hope that he will, in his own time, deliver them out of their afflictions and distresses also.
Ver. 3. O magnify the Lord with me, &c.] The psalmist invites the humble ones, who he knew would rejoice at the goodness of God to him, to join with him in ascribing greatness to the Lord, which is meant by magnifying him; for he cannot be made great by men, only declared how great he is, and that can only be done in an imperfect manner. And let us exalt his name together: by proclaiming him to be the most High; by making mention of his glorious perfections and works, that he be exalted; and by praising him in the highest strains; or by having the high praises of him in their mouths; and there is more pleasure as well as more glory brought to God by doing this in a social way, or by a number of saints joining together in such service.
I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips (v. 1). As part of his thanksgiving the psalmist pledges himself to bless the LORD always, and to have his praise constantly on his lips. This is a vow that he is making, and he does so to the covenant LORD of Israel. The constant repetition of the name of the LORD is a striking feature throughout the psalm (see vv. 1–4, 6–11, 15–19, 22). So great has been the LORD’S mercy to him that he pledges himself to praise him repeatedly. The word ‘always’ (tâmîd) has the idea of constancy, and it is used in other similar expressions (cf. ‘my praise shall be continually of you’, Ps. 71:6 NKJV).
My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice (v. 2). The experience of joy that David had was one that he wanted others to know as well. He wanted his fellow afflicted ones to listen to this call and also to rejoice in the LORD. Some have thought that he is referring to those who have come to worship at the sanctuary, but this seems too restrictive. Elsewhere the psalmist says that all who swear by God’s name will rejoice (Ps. 63:11).
Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together (v. 3). Human praise can never make God any greater than he is, but he desires praise that calls others to magnify his name in public acknowledgment of him. Most probably ‘his name’ is to be understood as the object of the verb ‘glorify’, for the Hebrew has, ‘glorify for the LORD with me’. It is common in Hebrew poetry not to repeat the same phrase in both parts of a verse. What is sought is a united song of praise to the LORD.
The passage.—The occasion for this psalm is described in the superscription. David planned to escape from the Philistines by pretending to be insane (1 Sam. 21:10–15). The plan worked and David composed this psalm to thank God for his deliverance (vv. 4–6). David then invites the people to “taste and see” for themselves that the Lord is good (v. 8).
3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
1. “I will bless the Lord at all times.”—He is resolved and fixed, “I will;” he is personally and for himself determined, let others do as they may; he is intelligent in head and inflamed in heart—he knows to whom the praise is due, and what is due, and for what and when. To Jehovah, and not to second causes our gratitude is to be rendered. The Lord hath by right a monopoly in his creatures’ praise. Even when a mercy may remind us of our sin with regard to it, as in this case David’s deliverance from the Philistine monarch was sure to do, we are not to rob God of his meed of honour because our conscience justly awards a censure to our share in the transaction. Though the hook was rusty, yet God sent the fish, and we thank him for it. “At all times,” in every situation, under every circumstance, before, in and after trials, in bright days of glee, and dark nights of fear. He would never have done praising, because never satisfied that he had done enough; always feeling that he fell short of the Lord’s deservings. Happy is he whose fingers are wedded to his harp. He who praises God for mercies shall never want a mercy for which to praise. To bless the Lord is never unseasonable. “His praise shall continually be in my mouth,” not in my heart merely, but in my mouth too. Our thankfulness is not to be a dumb thing; it should be one of the daughters of music. Our tongue is our glory, and it ought to reveal the glory of God. What a blessed mouthful is God’s praise! How sweet, how purifying, how perfuming! If men’s mouths were always thus filled, there would be no repining against God, or slander of neighbours. If we continually rolled this dainty morsel under our tongue, the bitterness of daily affliction would be swallowed up in joy. God deserves blessing with the heart, and extolling with the mouth—good thoughts in the closet, and good words in the world.
2. “My soul shall make her boast in the Lord.” Boasting is a very natural propensity, and if it were used as in this case, the more it were indulged the better. The exultation of this verse is no mere tongue bragging, “the soul” is in it, the boasting is meant and felt before it is expressed. What scope there is for holy boasting in Jehovah! His person, attributes, covenant, promises, works, and a thousand things besides, are all incomparable, unparalleled, matchless; we may cry them up as we please, but we shall never be convicted of vain and empty speech in so doing. Truly he who writes these words of comment has nothing of his own to boast of, but much to lament over, and yet none shall stop him of his boast in God so long as he lives. “The humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.” They are usually grieved to hear boastings; they turn aside from vauntings and lofty speeches, but boasting in the Lord is quite another matter; by this the most lowly are consoled and encouraged. The confident expressions of tried believers are a rich solace to their brethren of less experience. We ought to talk of the Lord’s goodness on purpose that others may be confirmed in their trust in a faithful God.
3. “O magnify the Lord with me.” Is this request addressed to the humble? If so it is most fitting. Who can make God great but those who feel themselves to be little? He bids them help him to make the Lord’s fame greater among the sons of men. Jehovah is infinite, and therefore cannot really be made greater, but his name grows in manifested glory as he is made known to his creatures, and thus he is said to be magnified. It is well when the soul feels its own inability adequately to glorify the Lord, and therefore stirs up others to the gracious work; this is good both for the man himself and for his companions. No praise can excel that which lays us prostrate under a sense of our own nothingness, while divine grace like some topless Alp rises before our eyes, and sinks us lower and lower in holy awe. “Let us exalt his name together.” Social, congregated worship is the outgrowth of one of the natural instincts of the new life. In heaven it is enjoyed to the full, and earth is likest heaven where it abounds.