| Scripture |
Expanded Comments |
| To the chief Musician, Altaschith, A Psalm or Song of Asaph. |
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| 1 Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do we give thanks: for that thy name is near thy wondrous works declare. |
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| 2 When I shall receive the congregation I will judge uprightly. |
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| 3 The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved: I bear up the pillars of it. Selah. |
The earth – Not the literal, physical earth, but the symbolic earth, society as at present organized. R1813:6
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| 4 I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not up the horn: |
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| 5 Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
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| 6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. |
Promotion – All prominence, all promotion, and all control of the Church, is in the hands of the Lord. R5711:1
Cometh – The Church is on the way to a promotion, a prominence, greater than that of all others. R5710:6
Neither – Throughout the Scriptures, the North seems to be closely associated with Jehovah's government of earth. R5710:3[R5710:9]
The members of the Church do not promote their own selfish interests, but lay down their lives in carrying out God's great purpose and plan. R5711:1
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| 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. |
God is the judge – The great eminence which Lucifer in his pride sought to grasp, that he might "sit on the sides of the north," will be granted as a reward to The Christ. (Isa. 14:13; Psa. 48:2) R5711:2
All things are of the Father and by the Son. In this work of judging the world, Christ will be the Judge, and the Church will be the associate judges. R5710:6
He – "God hath set the members, every one of them, in the body as it has pleased him." (1 Cor. 12:18) R5711:2
Putteth down – Therefore a brother, losing the office of elder or deacon, should accept the decision as from the Lord. R5305:6, R5711:3
The Lord will put down the attempt of the great usurper, Satan, to rule the world. R5710:5, R5305:5
Setteth up another – God sets up elders and deacons through the voice of the church. R5305:5
As he set up Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold and raised up Pharaoh. (Ex. 9:16; Rom. 9:17) R5305:2
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| 8 For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them. |
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| 9 But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. |
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| 10 All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. |
All the horns – Horns are symbols of power. T42
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