In this psalm, as indeed in the rest, there are most suggestive verses, which might be elaborated into useful discourses. But in this division of the Commentary we refrain from dealing with isolated texts. We desire rather to show how the whole psalm may be used by the expositor of Scripture as the basis of a national sermon in a time of impending war. No doubt, as Mr. Spurgeon remarks, it has been used by court preachers and pressed into the service of unctuous and fulsome flattery. There is, however, another kind of abuse to which it has been subjected, even that of an extreme spiritualizing, in which the words are made to convey a meaning which there is no indication that they were ever intended to bear. No commentator seems to have set forth the bearing of the psalm more clearly and accurately than that prince of expositors, John Calvin. We have no clue, indeed, to the precise occasion on which the psalm was written; but we can scarcely be wrong in regarding it as a prayer to be said or sung in the sanctuary on behalf of the king when he was called forth to defend himself in battle against his enemies. And inasmuch as the kingship of David was a type of that of the Lord Jesus Christ, the psalm may doubtless be regarded as the prayer of the Church of God for the triumph of the Saviour over all his foes. It is said, "Prayer also shall be made for him continually," and those words are being fulfilled in the ceaseless offering of the petition, "Thy kingdom come." At the same time, there is such deep and rich significance in the psalm when set on the strictly historical basis, that to develop it from that point of view will occupy all the space at our command. The scenes here brought before us are these: Israel's king is summoned to go forth to war; sanctuary service is being held on his behalf; a prayer is composed, is set to music, and delivered to the precentor, to be said or sung on the occasion; after sacrifices have been offered, and the signs of Divine acceptance have been vouchsafed, the Levites, the singers, and the congregation join in these words of supplication. Obviously, there is here assumed a Divine revelations; the aid of Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel, is invoked; he is called, "Jehovah our God." The disclosures of God's grace in the wondrous history of their father Jacob are brought to mind. They, as a people, have been raised above reliance on chariots and horses alone. The Name of their God has lifted them up on high, "as in a fortress where no enemy can do harm, or on a rock at the foot of which the waves fret and dash themselves in impotent fury." They know of two sanctuaries - one in Zion (ver. 2), the other "the heaven of God's holiness" (ver. 6); they know that God hears from the latter, when his people gather in the former. Hence the prayer is sent up from the sanctuary below to that above. We, as Christians, have all Israel's knowledge, and more. The revelation the Hebrews had through Moses is surpassed by that in Christ. And although, as a "geographical expression," no nation now has the pre-eminence over any other as before God, yet any praying people can get as near to God now as ever Israel did. All devout souls have boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. Hence, when any trouble-especially that of war - befalls them, they may betake themselves to their God, and plead with him on behalf of their emperor, their king, their president, their state. And the psalm before us is truly a grand one for preachers to use at such emergencies, that they may cheer a people's heart, quicken the people's prayers. The abuse of the psalm by some courtiers, who feared man rather than God, is no reason why the preachers of any day should leave such a psalm unused, still less is it a reason why they should refuse to preach national sermons at all. For a long time, Nonconformists were so treated, that some of their preachers almost lost the national esprit de corps. But it is to be hoped that that is passing away; for on the basis of a psalm like this, some lines of thought may be so expounded and applied from the pulpit as to cause times of national peril and anxiety to be most fruitful in spiritual elevation and power.

I. IT IS AN ANXIOUS TIME FOR ANY PEOPLE WHEN THE HEAD OF THEIR STATE IS CALLED FORTH TO BATTLE. (See 2 Chronicles 20:1-3.) The interests at stake in the conflict itself, and for the promotion of which it is entered upon, must press heavily on the nation's heart. The fearful bloodshed and unspeakable suffering and distress in private life, which any battle involves, must bring anguish to many mothers, wives, and children; many a home will be darkened, and many a heart crushed, through the war, however large the success in which it may ultimately result.

II. WHEN WARS ARE ENTERED UPON PERFORCE, FOR A RIGHT OBJECT, THE PEOPLE MAY LAY BEFORE THEIR GOD THE BURDEN THAT IS ON THEIR HEARTS. (2 Chronicles 20:5-15.) There is a God. He is our God. He has a heart, tender as a father's, and a hand gentle as a mother's; while, with all such pitying love, he has a strength that can speed worlds in their course. Nothing is too large for him to control; nought too minute for him to observe. And never can one be more sure of a gracious response than when, with large interests at stake, a people are united as one in spreading before the throne of God their case with all its care. If "the very hairs of our head" are all numbered, how much more the petitions of the heart!

III. AT SUCH TIMES THE INTENSEST SYMPATHIES OF THE PEOPLE GATHER BOUND THEIR ARMY AND THEIR THRONE. (Ver. 5.) "We will rejoice in thy deliverance," etc. Whatever may have been the sentiment in bygone times, we now know that the king is for the people, not the people for the king. Hence his victory or defeat is theirs. The soldiers, too, who go forth loyally and obediently to the struggle, with their lives in their hands, leaving at home their dear ones weeping as they leave them lest they should see the loved face no more, how can it but be that a nation's warmest, strongest sympathies should gather round them as they go to the war?

IV. THE NAME OF GOD IS A STRONGER DEFENCE TO SUCH A PEOPLE THAN ALL MATERIAL FORCES CAN COMMAND. (Vers. 6, 7.) This is so in many senses.

1. God himself can so order events as to ensure the victory to a praying people, however strong and numerous the foes.

2. An army sent out with a people's prayers, knowing that it is so sustained, will fight the more bravely.

3. To the generals in command, God can give, in answer to prayer, a wisdom that secures a triumphant issue.

4. All chariots and horsemen are at his absolute disposal, and he can cause them all to vanish in an hour. The army of Sennacherib, The Spanish Armada. History is laden with illustrations of Divine interposition (Psalm 107:43).

V. WHEN THE PEOPLE TRUSTINGLY LAY THE WHOLE MATTER BEFORE GOD, THEY MAY PEACEFULLY LEAVE IT TO HIM AND CALMLY AWAIT THE RESULT. (cf. ver. 8.) When once their affairs are rolled over on God, they are on his heart, and will be controlled by his hand on their behalf. Hence the wonderfully timely word of Jahaziel (2 Chronicles 20:15), "The battle is not yours, but God's." Such a thought may well inspire the people with the calmness of a holy courage, and may well lead them patiently to wait and see "the end of the Lord." Note: By such devotional use of national crises, they may become to a nation a holy and blessed means of grace; whereby the people at large may learn more of the value and power of prayer than in many a year of calm, and may be drawn more closely together for ever through a fellowship in trouble and in prayer. - C.

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me?" There are people who will say that we can give nothing to God, who giveth all. These are the selfish folk, who really mean, even if they do not say so, "Get all you can from God, God wants no return." Now, the Bible says just the opposite. The Bible says "Present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. The people who talk about "the finished Work of Christ," and who say that He has done all, and that therefore there is nothing for us to do, forget that there are two parts in the scheme of salvation. Jesus has indeed done His part, but He bids us do certain things also. We have nothing to pay. But would it not be base ingratitude if someone had been good and kind to you in trouble, and you had not tried to make some return, however small? Well then, "how much owest thou unto my Lord?" Do you remember what the Lord Jesus paid for us? Have we nothing to pay or to give to Him? You will answer that you have nothing good enough to give to Him. But you have; you can give Him what He asks for, your heart, your love. How, then, can we show our love to God, what offerings can we present to Him? In a word, one of the holiest offerings we can present to God is worship. And to do this should be our chief motive for attending church. How various and how unworthy — some of them — are the motives which govern us in this. The common notion about church going springs from mere selfishness. The question is, how can I best honour Him who has done all for me? Above all, we offer an holy offering of praise in the highest act of worship, in the celebration of the blessed sacrament. In the service of the Holy Communion we take part with the saints and angels in heaven in worshipping God. Is there, then, nothing to pay? Oh, yes! a life of devotion, a life of thanksgiving; there is everything to pay, even the best we have. "I will pay my vows now in the presence of all His people," says holy David; and yet there are some who tell us "there is nothing to pay." Thus far we have seen that we can show our love to God by giving Him the offering of a holy worship. Again, we can make an offering to God by giving alms to His Church. God gives us all we have, our money, and our means of making money; and we are bound to dedicate, to consecrate a part of what we have to Him. Again, this false teaching goes on to tell us that there is nothing to do, and nothing to tear. You know that it is written, "without holiness no man can see the Lord." Now, do you think that you have nothing to do? Do you find it very easy to lead good lives; to keep yourselves pure, and gentle, and patient, and forgiving? Do you find nothing to do in resisting temptation, in keeping under your temper, in checking bad thoughts? But, as said a saint of old, "God, who made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves." Jesus has done His part, but He nowhere tells you that you have nothing to do. Often when people say, "I belong to Jesus, I am safe," they are simply deceiving themselves. Some of the most atrocious criminals have talked in this way. "By their fruits ye shall know them." If you do really love the Lord Jesus you will try to obey Him: There is yet another offering which we can give to God, the sacrifice of self. Every act of self-denial, every pleasure abandoned for the sake of others, will be accepted by Him who gave up all for us.

(H. J. Wilmot Buxton, M. A.)