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Expanded Comments |
The Victorious Power of the God of Jacob.
For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song |
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1 In Judah is God known:
His name is great in Israel.
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2 In Salem also is his tabernacle,
And his dwelling-place in Zion,
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Salem – The most ancient name of Jerusalem. R1296:3*
In Zion – The spiritual phase of the Kingdom of God. A295; T33
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3 There he brake the arrows of the bow;
The shield, and the sword, and the battle. {Selah
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4 Glorious art thou and excellent,
From the mountains of prey.
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5 The stout-hearted are made a spoil,
They have slept their sleep;
And none of the men of might have found their hands.
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6 At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep.
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Both the chariot – Symbol of worldly organizations. C316
And horse – Symbol of doctrine. C316
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7 Thou, even thou, art to be feared;
And who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?
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8 Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven;
The earth feared, and was still,
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From heaven – From the new powers of spiritual control. A318; D618
The earth – The present organizations of society. C229; D46
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9 When God arose to judgment,
To save all the meek of the earth. {Selah
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10 Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee:
The residue of wrath shalt thou gird upon thee.
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The wrath of man – The Lord has even used the devil as his agent. R5527:1
In far-seeing wisdom, God has permitted all present disorders. R1408:5
The Adversary may have had to do with the movement toward communism, socialism and anarchism. Q579:4
Shall praise thee – Unintentionally, by working out thy plans. E448; Q23:6; R5205:4, R799:1
This would imply that the affairs of the world may be safely left with the world, under the Lord's supervision. R3853:3
Some agencies, not in themselves good, will be made use of in destroying present evil governments, thus accomplishing the Lord's purpose. R592:5, R5061:4
The wrath of men and devils, while not in any sense of God, shall be operated or controlled by God's providence. R1778:4
The remainder of wrath – That which would work no good, serve no purpose, or teach no lesson, but which would be subversive to the divine arrangements. R3179:5; A250; R5257:5, R4843:1*, R2973:6
Shalt thou restrain – Not permit to interfere with his plan. R1270:1
God's actions, where he has interfered at all, have been toward the restraining of sin. R1779:1, R1270:4
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11 Vow, and pay unto Jehovah your God:
Let all that are round about him bring presents unto him that ought to be feared.
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Vow and pay – Taking a vow, let us keep it in letter and spirit. R4267:4
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12 He will cut off the spirit of princes:
He is awesome to the kings of the earth. |
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