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Expanded Comments |
God's Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm. A Song of David. |
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1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion;
And unto thee shall the vow be performed.
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In Sion – The heavenly phase of the Kingdom. A295; T33; R2737:4
The vow – The vows of sacrifice. R2737:5
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2 O thou that hearest prayer,
Unto thee shall all flesh come.
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3 Iniquities prevail against me:
As for our transgressions, thou wilt forgive them.
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4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee,
That he may dwell in thy courts:
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
The Holy of thy temple.
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Whom thou choosest – Not many great and rich are chosen because their riches usually make them too self-confident and not sufficiently humble and reliant upon the Lord. R5605:2
Of thy holy temple – The Christ. R2508:2; T70; R2737:5
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5 By awesome things thou wilt answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of them that are afar off upon the sea:
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6 Who by his strength setteth fast the mountains,
Being girded about with might;
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7 Who stilleth the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
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Noise of the seas – The restless, ungovernable masses. A323; C229; D46, D551
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8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens:
Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
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9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it,
Thou greatly enrichest it;
The river of God is full of water:
Thou providest them grain, when thou hast so prepared the earth.
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Visitest the earth – The new social order. R3113:6
The river of God – The river of the water of life, flowing from the city of God in the Millennial age. R2508:5
Is full of water – Truth. R2508:3; C65
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10 Thou waterest its furrows abundantly;
Thou settlest the ridges thereof:
Thou makest it soft with showers;
Thou blessest the springing thereof.
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Waterest the ridges – The ground of Israel is no more chapped, for there are now rains in the land. The favor of Jehovah is causing the city of Jerusalem to revive R1297:5*
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11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
And thy paths drop fatness.
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Crownest the year – The Lord's people should continually keep track of the mercies and blessings they enjoy and, at the close of a year, take a comparative view of their experiences. R2737:1
With thy goodness – Recalling life's storms as well as its sunshine, its sorrows as well as its joys, its tears as well as its smiles. R2737:3
Our Lord Jesus was the great channel of this divine goodness, through whom it reaches his followers. They, in turn, can become channels for dispensing divine goodness ultimately to Israel and all the world. R4100:6
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12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness;
And the hills are girded with joy.
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13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered over with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing. |
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