7 And of the angels he gels spirits, and his ministers saith, Who maketh his an- a flame of fire. a the angels; and of course that he was superior to them. It proves also more. Whom would God require the angels to adore? A creature? A man? A fellow-angel? To ask these questions is to answer them. He could require them to worship none but God, and the passage proves that the Son of God is divine. original intention of the passage to show that the angels were the mere servants of God, rapid, quick, and prompt to do his will-like the winds. The Chaldee Paraphrase renders the passage in the Psalm, 'Who makes his messengers swift as the wind; his ministers strong Eike a flame of fire.' Prof. Stuart maintains that 7. And of the angels he saith, Who the passage in the Psalms cannot maketh his angels spirits. He gives mean who makes the winds his to them an inferior name, and assigns messengers,' but that the intention of to them a more humble office. They the Psalmist is to describe the inare mere ministers, and have not visible as well as the visible majesty ascribed to them the name of Son. of God, and that he refers to the anThey have a name which implies gels as a part of the retinue which a more humble rank and officegoes to make up his glory. This the name 66 spirit," ," and the appella- does not seem to me to be perfectly tion of a "flame of fire." They certain; but still it cannot be demon obey his will as the winds and the strated that Paul has made an im lightnings do. The object of the proper use of the passage. It is to apostle in this passage is to show be presumed that he, who had been that the angels serve God in a min- trained in the knowledge of the He. isterial capacity-as the winds do; brew language, would have had a while the Son is Lord of all. The better opportunity of knowing its fair one serves him passively, as being construction than we can; and it is wholly under his control; the other morally certain that he would employ acts as a Sovereign, as Lord over all, the passage in an argument as it was and is addressed and regarded as the commonly understood by those to equal with God. This quotation is whom he wrote-that is, to those made from Ps. civ. 4. The passage who were familiar with the Hebrew might be translated, 'Who maketh language and literature. If he has so his angels winds, and his ministers a used the passage; if he has- -as no flame of fire; that is, 'who makes one can disprove-put the fair conhis angels like the winds, or as swift struction on it, then it is just in point. as the winds, and his ministers as It proves that the angels are the rapid, as terrible, and as resistless attendant servants of God; employed as the lightning.' So Doddridge to grace his train, to do his will, to renders it; and so did the late Rev. accompany him as the clouds and Dr. J. P. Wilson. MS. Notes. The winds and lightnings do, and to ocpassage in the Psalm is susceptible, cupy a subordinate rank in his creaI think, of another interpretation, tion. T Flame of fire. This probably and might be regarded as meaning, refers to lightning-which is often the 'who makes the winds his messen- meaning of the phrase. The word gers, and the flaming fire his minis-ministers' here, means the same as ters; and perhaps this is the sense which would most naturally occur to a reader of the Hebrew. The Hebrew, however, will admit of the construction here put upon it, and it annot be proved that it was the angels, and the sense of the whole is, that the attending retinue of God, when he manifests himself with great power and glory, is like the winds and the lightning. His angels are like them. They are prompt to do 8 But unto the Son he saith, his will-rapid, quick, obedient in his service; they are in all respects subordinate to him, and occupy, as the winds and the lightnings do, the place of servants. They are not addressed in language like that which is applied to the Son of God, and they must all be far inferior to him. nificence in his personal reign; too great beauty of moral character; or too great an extent of dominion That which would be regarded by them as a magnificent description of a monarch, they freely applied to him; and this is evidently the case in this Psalm. That the description 8. But unto the Son he saith. In may have been in part derived from Psalm xlv. 6, 7. The fact that the the view of Solomon in the magnifiwriter of this epistle makes this ap- cence of his court, is possible, but no plication of the Psalm to the Messiah, more probable than that it was deproves that it was so applied in his rived from the general view of the time, or that it would be readily ad- splendour of any Oriental monarch, mitted to be applicable to him. It or than that it might have been the has been generally admitted, by both description of a monarch which was Jewish and Christian interpreters, to the pure creation of inspired poetry. have such a reference. Even those Indeed, I see not why this Psalm who have doubted its primary appli- should ever have been supposed to be cability to the Messiah, have regarded applicable to Solomon. His name is it as referring to him in a secondary not mentioned. It has no peculiar Bense. Many have supposed that it applicability to him. There is noreferred to Solomon in the primary thing that would apply to him which sense, and that it has a secondary would not also apply to many an reference to the Messiah. To me it Oriental prince. There are some seems most probable that it had an things in it which are much less aporiginal and exclusive reference to plicable to him than to many others. the Messiah. It is to be remembered The king here described is a conquerthat the hope of the Messiah was the or. He girds his sword on his thigh, peculiar hope of the Jewish people. and his arrows are sharp in the hearts The coming of the future king, so of his foes, and the people are subearly promised, was the great event dued under him. This was not true to which they all looked forward of Solomon. His was a reign of with the deepest interest. That hope peace and tranquillity, nor was ho inspired their prophets and their ever distinguished for war. On the bards, and cheered the hearts of the whole, it seems clear to me, that this nation in the time of despondency. Psalm is designed to be a beautiful The Messiah, if I may so express it, poetic description of the Messiah as was the hero of the Old Testament-king. The images are drawn from more so than Achilles is of the Iliad, the usual characteristics of an Orien. and Eneas of the Eniad. The tal prince, and there are many things sacred poets were accustomed to in the poem -as there are in paraemploy all their most magnificent bles-for the sake of keeping, or veriimagery in describing him, and to similitude, and which are not, in the present him in every form that was interpretation, to be cut to the quick. beautiful in their conception, and that The writer imagined to himself a would be gratifying to the pride and magnificent and beautiful prince ;—a hopes of the nation. Every thing prince riding prosperously in his that is gorgeous and splendid in de-conquests; swaying a permanent and scription is lavished on him, and they wide dominion; clothed in rich and were never under any apprehension splendid vestments; eminently up. of attributing to him too great mag- right and pure; and scattering ble and ever: a sceptre of right-eousness' is the sceptre of thy 1 rightness, or straitness. ings everywhere-and that prince was the Messiah. The Psalm, therefore, I regard as relating originally and exclusively to Christ; and though in the interpretation, the circumstances should not be unduly pressed, nor an attempt be made to spiritualize them, yet the whole is a glowing and most beautiful description of Christ | as a King. The same principles of interpretation should be applied to it which are applied to parables, and the same allowance be made for the introduction of circumstances for the sake of keeping, or for finishing the story. If this be the correct view, then Paul has quoted the Psalm in conformity exactly with its original intention, as he undoubtedly quoted it as it was understood in his time. Thy throne. A throne is the seat on which a monarch sits, and is here the symbol of dorninion, because kings when acting as rulers sit on thrones. Thus a throne becomes the emblem of authority or empire. Here it means, that his rule or dominion would be perpetual-"for ever and ever"— which assuredly could not be applied to Solomon. O God. This certainly could not be applied to Solomon; but applied to the Messiah it proves what the apostle is aiming to prove-that he is above the angels. The argument is, that a name is given to him which is never given to them. They are not called God in any strict and proper sense. The argument here requires us to understand this word as, used in a sense more exalted than any name which is ever given to angels, and though it may be maintained that the name D, Elohim, is given to magistrates or to angels, yet here the argument requires us to understand it as used in a sense superior to what it ever is when applied to an angel or of course to any creature, since it was the express design of the arguent to prove that the Messiah was ::: kingdom: superior to the angels. The word Still, 9. Thou hast loved righteousness. Thou hast been obedient to the law of God, or holy and upright. Nothing can be more truly adapted to express the character of any one than this is to describe the Lord Jesus, who was "holy, harmless, undefiled," who 'did no sin, and in whose mouth no guile was found;' but it is with diffi culty that this can be applied to Solomon. Assuredly, for a considerable part of his life, this declaration could not well be appropriate to him; and it seems to me that it is not to be regarded as descriptive of him at all. It is language prompted by the warm and pious imagination of the Psalm. ist describing the future Messiahand, as applied to him, is true to the letter. 9 Thou hast loved righteous- |ness, and hated iniquity; thereCor. xv. 24. 28-see Notes on these here is, that the Messiah would be a verses), but his reign over his people king, and that the authority which will be perpetual. There never will he would wield would be equitable come a time when they shall not and just. He would not be governed obey and serve him, though the pe- as monarchs often are, by mere ca. culiar form of his kingdom, as con- price, or by the wishes of courtiers nected with the work of mediation, and flatterers; he would not be con will be changed. The form of the trolled by mere will and the love of organized church, for example, will arbitrary power; but the execution be changed, for there shall be no ne- of his laws would be in accordance cessity for it in heaven, but the essen- with the principles of equity and tial dominion and power of the Son of justice.-How well this accords with God will not cease. He shall have the the character of the Lord Jesus we same dominion which he had before need not pause to show. Comp he entered on the work of mediation; Notes on Isa. xi. 2—5. and that will be eternal. It is also true that, compared with earthly monarchs, his kingdom shall be perpetual. They soon die. Dynasties pass away. But his empire extends from age to age, and is properly a perpetual dominion. The fair and obvious interpretation of this passage would satisfy me, were there nothing else, that this Psalm had no reference to Solomon, but was designed originally as a description of the Messiah as the expected King and Prince of his people. TA sceptre of righteousness. That is, a right or just sceptre. The phrase is a Hebraism. The former expression described the perpetuity of his kingdom; this describes its equable nature. It would be just and equal. See Notes on Isa. xi. 5. A sceptre is a staff or wand usually made of wood, five or six feet long, and commonly overlaid with gold, or ornamented with golden rings. Sometimes, however, the sceptre was made of ivory, or wholly of gold. It was borne in the hands of kings as an emblem of authority and power. Probably it had its origin in the staff or crook of the shepherd-as kings were at first regarded as the shepherds of their Deople. Thus Agamemnon is commonly called by Homer the shepherd of the people. The sceptre thus becomes the emblem of kingly office and power-as when we speak of swaying a sceptre; -- and the idea Therefore God, even thy God. The word even inserted here by the translators, weakens the force of the expression. This might be translated, O God, thy God hath anointed thee.' So it is rendered by Doddridge, Clarke, Stuart, and others. The Greek will bear this construction, as well the Hebrew in Ps. xlv. 7. In the margin in the Psalm it is rendered "O God." This is the most natural construction, as it accords with what is just said before. Thy throne, O God, is for ever. Thou art just and holy, therefore, O God, thy God hath anointed thee,' &c. It is not material, however, which construction is adopted. ¶ Hath anointed thee. Anciently kings and priests fore God, even thy God, hath | anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. were consecrated to their office by pouring oil on their heads. See Lev. viii. 12; Num. iii. 3; I. Sam. x. 1; II. Sam. ii. 7; Ps. ii. 6; Isa. lxi. 1; Acts iv. 27; x. 38; Note Matt. i. 1. The expression to anoint,' therefore, comes to mean to consecrate to office, or to set apart to some public work. This is evidently the meaning in the Psalm, where the whole language refers to the appointment of the personage there referred to to the kingly office. The oil of gladness. This probably means the perfumed oil that was poured on the head, attended with many expressions of joy and rejoicing. The inauguration of the Messiah as king would be an occasion of rejoicing and triumph. Thousands would exult at it-as in the coronation of a king; and thousands would be made glad by such a consecration to the office of Messiah. Above thy fellows. Above thine associates; that is, above all who sustain the kingly office. He would be more exalted than all other kings. Doddridge supposes that it refers to angels, who might have been associated with the Messiah in the government of the world. But the more natural construction is, to suppose that it refers to kings, and to mean that he was the most exalted of all. 10. And. That is, 'To add another instance; or, to the Son he saith in another place, or in the following language.' This is connected with ver. 8. Unto the Son he saith (ver. 8), thy throne, &c.—and (ver. 10) he also saith, Thou Lord,' &c. That this is the meaning is apparent, because (1) the object of the whole quotation is to show the exalted character of the Son of God, and (2) an address here to JEHOVAH would be wholly irrelevant. Why, in an argument designed to prove that the Son of God was superior to the angels, should the writer break out in an address to JEHOVAH in view of the fact that he had laid the foundations of the world, and that he himself would continue to live when the hea vens should be rolled up and pass away? Such is not the manner of Paul or of any other good writer, and it is clear that the writer here designed to adduce this as applicable to the Messiah. Whatever difficulties there may be about the principles on which it is done, and the reason why this passage was selected for the purpose, there can be no doubt about the design of the writer. He meant to be understood as applying it to the Messiah beyond all question, or the quotation is wholly irrelevant, and it is inconceivable why it should have been made. T Thou Lord. This is taken from Ps. cii. 25-27. The quotation is made from the Septua gint with only a slight variation, and is an accurate translation of the Hebrew. In the Psalm, there can be no doubt that JEHOVAH is intended. This is apparent on the face of the Psalm, and particularly because the name JEHOVAH is introduced in vs. 1. 12, and because he is addressed as the Creator of all things, and as immutable. No one, on reading the Psalm, ever would doubt that it referred to God, and if the apostle meant to apply it to the Lord Jesus it proves most conclusively that he is divine. In regard to the difficult inquiry why he applied this to the Messiah, or on what principle such an application can be vindicated, we may perhaps throw some light by the following remarks. It must be ad.. mitted that probably few persons, if any, on reading the Psalm, would suppose that it referred to the Messiah; but (1.) the fact that the apostle thus employs it, proves that it was understood in his time to have such a reference, or at least that those tu whom he wrote would admit that had such a reference. On no other principle would he have used it in ar |