*H The firmament on high is his beauty, the beauty of heaven with its glorious shew.
Ver. 1. Shew. We cannot behold these things without admiration of God.
*H The sun when he appeareth shewing forth at his rising, an admirable instrument, the work of the most High.
Ver. 2. High. The sun is the most excellent of all irrational creatures, affording light (W.) and heat for the production of things; (H.) whence Aristotle (de Anima ii.) styles it "father of men and of gods." Yet it is inferior to man, being devoid of reason. All creatures manifest God's majesty; the little as well as the great. W.
*H Great is the Lord that made him, and at his words he hath hastened his course.
Ver. 5. Hastened. Some Gr. copies read "slackened," alluding to Jos. x. 13.
*H And the moon in all in her season, is for a declaration of times and a sign of the world.
Ver. 6. In all. Gr. Comp. "to stand guard." Other copies agree with the Vulg. though embarrassed. — World. To mark out the seasons. Gen. i. 14. Ps. ciii. 19.
*H From the moon is the sign of the festival day, a light that decreaseth in her perfection.
Ver. 7. Day. The lunar system prevailed only after the captivity. The Passover was celebrated on the 14th of the moon of Nisan.
*H The month is called after her name, increasing wonderfully in her perfection.
Ver. 8. Name. Meni is used for the moon, (Jer. lxv. 11.) which resembles the Gr. mén, "month." This is also derived from méné, "the moon." We know not what Heb. words were used. C. vi. 23. The two former may both come from manah, "to divide."
*H Being an instrument of the armies on high, shining gloriously in the firmament of heaven.
Ver. 9. Armies. The stars, &c. are compared to a camp or army.
*H By the words of the holy one they stand in judgment, and shall never fall in their watches.
Ver. 11. Judgment. The angels are not pure before God; (Job iv. 18. and xv. 15.) or rather the stars obey his orders. Bar. iii. 34. Judg. v. 20. Ps. cxviii. 91. C.
*H Look upon the rainbow, and bless him that made it: it is very beautiful in its brightness.
Ver. 12. Brightness. Mille trahit varios adverso sole colores. Æn. 5.
* Footnote * Genesis 9 : 13
I will set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be the sign of a covenant between me and between the earth.*H By his commandment he maketh the snow to fall apace, and sendeth forth swiftly the lightnings of his judgment.
Ver. 14. Judgment, to punish the wicked. Ex. xiv. 24. Is. xxxvii. 36. C.
*H Through this are the treasures opened, and the clouds fly out like birds.
Ver. 15. Birds, sent to give information by letters, as the Egyptians still do. Bochart i. 2. Is. lx. 8. — Tempests execute God's judgments. Job xxxviii. 22.
*H By his greatness he hath fixed the clouds, and the hailstones are broken.
Ver. 16. Broken, as from huge mountains. Job xxxviii. 39. C.
*H The noise of his thunder shall strike the earth, so doth the northern storm, and the whirlwind:
Ver. 18. Strike. Gr. "upbraid, (Drus.) or make the earth fall in labour," ωδινησεν . Grabe. H.
*H And as the birds lighting upon the earth, he scattereth snow, and the falling thereof, is as the coming down of locusts.
Ver. 19. Lightning. Gr. "flying, he." H. — Locusts. "They cover the cornfields with a destructive cloud." Pliny xi. 29.
*H The eye admireth at the beauty of the whiteness thereof, and the heart is astonished at the shower thereof.
Ver. 20. Shower, as if God were about to drown the world. The melting of snow occasions dreadful inundations. C. — Its whiteness sometimes deprives people of their sight. Xenoph. Anab. iv.
*H He shall pour frost as salt upon the earth: and when it freezeth, it shall become like the tops of thistles.
Ver. 21. Thistles. Gr. "stakes," pointed as it were with steel. M.
*H The cold north wind bloweth, and the water is congealed into crystal; upon every gathering together of waters it shall rest, and shall clothe the waters as a breastplate.
Ver. 22. Crystal, or ice. C.
*H And it shall devour the mountains, and burn the wilderness, and consume all that is green as with fire.
Ver. 23. Burn. Cold destroys verdure no less than fire. Gen. xxxi. 40.
*H A present remedy of all is the speedy coming of a cloud, and a dew that meeteth it, by the heat that cometh, shall overpower it.
Ver. 24. Overpower it. Gr. "give joy; (25) with," &c. H. — Warmth and rain restore beauty to the earth, after the horrors of winter.
*H At his word the wind is still, and with his thought he appeaseth the deep, and the Lord hath planted islands therein.
Ver. 25. Still. Lit. "silent." Matt. viii. 26. — Lord. Gr. Rom. "Jesus planted it;" which is a mistake for νησους, islands. C. — "He planted islands in it." Grabe thus corrects the Alex. copy, though it agree with the Rom. and Aldine editions. H.
*H Let them that sail on the sea, tell the dangers thereof: and when we hear with our ears, we shall admire.
Ver. 26. Thereof. Ps. cvi. 23. "He who has not sailed has seen nothing evil." Possidip.
*H There are great and wonderful works: a variety of beasts, and of all living things, and the monstrous creatures of whales.
Ver. 27. Monstrous. Gr. "creation of whales." H.
*H Through him is established the end of their journey, and by his word all things are regulated.
Ver. 28. Is. Gr. "his angel gives a prosperous journey." — Regulated. Gr. "blended." H. — If God be angry, all will go to the bottom. Grot.
*H We shall say much, and yet shall want words: but the sum of our words is, He is all.
Ver. 29. All. Lit. "in all." Every thing obeys God. C. xlii. 15. Eccle. xii. 13.
*H What shall we be able to do to glorify him? for the Almighty himself is above all his works.
Ver. 30. Him. So the Gr. reads. Vulg. seems to say, "boasting in all, what shall we be able to do?" What is man, fighting against the Lord! C.
*H Glorify the Lord as much as ever you can, for he will yet far exceed, and his magnificence is wonderful.
Ver. 32. His. Gr. "exalting the Lord, exert your power; and labour, for you will not come up to him: (35.) who," &c. H. — He is above all praise. Ps. cxliv. 3. C.
*H Who shall see him, and declare him? and who shall magnify him as he is from the beginning?
Ver. 35. From. Gr. "many hidden things are," &c. H. — The angels, and many secrets of nature, have not been mentioned. C.