Of the Messiah and His Kingdom
V. 11. The heavens are Thine, under His absolute power and control, the earth also is Thine; as for the world and the fullness thereof, all the creatures which it contains, Thou hast founded them, establishing and maintaining them by the Word of His power.
V. 12. The north and the south, the entire expanse of the earth, Thou hast created them; Tabor, on the west side of Jordan, between the Sea of Galilee and the plain of Jezreel, and Hermon, in the extreme northeastern part of Palestine, shall rejoice in Thy name, even the inanimate creation showing its dependence upon Him by shouting for joy in His honor.
V. 13. Thou hast a mighty arm, the singer here summarizing his description of God’s majestic power; strong is Thy hand, and high is Thy right hand, the emblem of His irresistible power is exalted. The poet now turns to the manifestation of God’s attributes as they chiefly appear in the work of redemption and in the relation of God to His children on earth.
V. 14. Justice, that is, righteousness, and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne, the attributes upon which His kingdom is established; mercy and truth shall go before Thy face.
The work of the redemption of the world is a revelation of God’s righteousness and judgment. Because He cannot ignore and condone the sin of mankind, He caused the Messiah to take the burden of all men’s iniquity upon Himself, and not only to bear it, but to take it away by a full vicarious expiation. Thus was His righteousness, the foundation of His throne, established. But at the same time the Lord keeps before His face, and manifests continually, His merciful kindness, in giving His only-begotten Son for the salvation of the world, and His faithfulness or truth, in fulfilling the promises made to the patriarchs and all the believers of the Old Testament.
V. 15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound, all men who receive the Gospel-news of their salvation with a joyful sound of acceptance are truly blessed; they shall walk, O Lord, in the light of Thy countenance, as His grace shines forth upon them and warms them with the blessed assurance of their redemption in the Messiah.
V. 16. In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day, they have no righteousness and merit of their own to boast of, but they glory in the manifestation of God’s love and mercy, and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted, that is, by virtue of the righteousness imputed to them by Yahweh, by means of faith kindled in their hearts.
V. 17. For Thou art the glory of their strength, that alone being the basis of their boasting before men, 2 Cor. 12, 9.10; and in Thy favor, by the good pleasure of Jehovah shown them in the Messiah, our horn shall be exalted, they would receive the strength needed for the battle of life, against the forces of Satan and his allies.
V. 18. For the Lord is our Defense, and the Holy One of Israel is our King. The confidence of the believers in the ultimate victory of their cause is so great because the Lord is on their side, both as their Shield in warding off the attacks of the enemies and as their peerless, undefiled Leader going on before them to victory.