Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
The verse stands in a prayer of weary sorrow rolling like deep waters into the soul, of reproach and bitter shame with none bearing a brother's part, and of sinking in deep sorrow and trembling in fear while weeping is reproached and mocked. It pleads for God in lovingkindness and mercy to turn and bid darkness flee. It holds confidence that the Lord will save the sorrowing poor, revive the fainting, restore the sinking soul and bid the contrite live, while praying that enemies not rejoice but have the pathway of their choice darkened and all their joy turned to grief. In that place heaven and earth are called to praise him, with the seas and every living thing that moves in them joining the call. This universal praise approves the justice of his judgment. It is due to Christ's glory, which has triumphed in heaven and will triumph on earth in human life.
The psalm belongs with Psalms 109 and 137 among the cursing psalms, which are predictive and typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church. They declare the retributive providence and justice of the sin-hating God against sinners, not a spirit of vindictive personal revenge. The psalm is prophetic of Christ's experience when the sins of the world rested upon him for humanity's sake. It is connected with his betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, with Matthew 27:34 as its exact fulfillment, and its prophecies are to be read with reference to Christ.
The psalm relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ. Portions such as verses 9 and 21 are quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ, but not every verse applies to Christ, since verse 5 cannot apply to him without making him a sinner. It has a literal application to Christ, yet not every part can be applied to him in the same literal sense, since a rigidly literal application of the whole would prove him a sinner. A prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately present and partly to what is remote, so accommodated use of one text does not make the whole accommodated, nor does literal application of one part make the whole literal. Words of the psalm, such as zeal for the Lord's house eating one up and bearing the reproaches of those that reproach God, may be taken up by Christians whose history runs parallel to David's. Such use is an appropriated quotation, different in sense from the fulfillment of a prediction, though both may be called fulfillment of Scripture.
By contrast it is also taught that the psalm is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. On that teaching it applies no more to Jesus than to anyone else in the present day who is hated without a cause and whose history touches David's at certain points.
The verse stands in a prayer of weary sorrow rolling like deep waters into the soul, of reproach and bitter shame with none bearing a brother's part, and of sinking in deep sorrow and trembling in fear while weeping is reproached and mocked. It pleads for God in lovingkindness and mercy to turn and bid darkness flee. It holds confidence that the Lord will save the sorrowing poor, revive the fainting, restore the sinking soul and bid the contrite live, while praying that enemies not rejoice but have the pathway of their choice darkened and all their joy turned to grief. In that place heaven and earth are called to praise him, with the seas and every living thing that moves in them joining the call. This universal praise approves the justice of his judgment. It is due to Christ's glory, which has triumphed in heaven and will triumph on earth in human life.
The psalm belongs with Psalms 109 and 137 among the cursing psalms, which are predictive and typical of tribulation upon the enemies of the church. They declare the retributive providence and justice of the sin-hating God against sinners, not a spirit of vindictive personal revenge. The psalm is prophetic of Christ's experience when the sins of the world rested upon him for humanity's sake. It is connected with his betrayal, condemnation, and crucifixion, with Matthew 27:34 as its exact fulfillment, and its prophecies are to be read with reference to Christ.
The psalm relates primarily to David and finally and antitypically to Christ. Portions such as verses 9 and 21 are quoted in the New Testament as fulfilled in Christ, but not every verse applies to Christ, since verse 5 cannot apply to him without making him a sinner. It has a literal application to Christ, yet not every part can be applied to him in the same literal sense, since a rigidly literal application of the whole would prove him a sinner. A prophecy may apply partly to what is immediately present and partly to what is remote, so accommodated use of one text does not make the whole accommodated, nor does literal application of one part make the whole literal. Words of the psalm, such as zeal for the Lord's house eating one up and bearing the reproaches of those that reproach God, may be taken up by Christians whose history runs parallel to David's. Such use is an appropriated quotation, different in sense from the fulfillment of a prediction, though both may be called fulfillment of Scripture.
By contrast it is also taught that the psalm is not a prediction but a simple record of David's experience. On that teaching it applies no more to Jesus than to anyone else in the present day who is hated without a cause and whose history touches David's at certain points.