1 Jehovah hath reigned, peoples tremble, The Inhabitant of the cherubs, the earth shaketh.
Utterly broken down hath been the land, Utterly broken hath been the land, Utterly moved hath been the land. Stagger greatly doth the land as a drunkard, And it hath been moved as a lodge, And heavy on it hath been its transgression, And it hath fallen, and addeth not to rise.
And I look, and lo, on the expanse that `is' above the head of the cherubs, as a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne, He hath been seen over them. And He speaketh unto the man clothed with linen, and saith, `Go in unto the midst of the wheel, unto the place of the cherub, and fill thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubs, and scatter over the city.' And he goeth in before mine eyes. And the cherubs are standing on the right side of the house, at the going in of the man, and the cloud hath filled the inner court, and become high doth the honour of Jehovah above the cherub, over the threshold of the house, and the house is filled with the cloud, and the court hath been filled with the brightness of the honour of Jehovah. And a noise of the wings of the cherubs hath been heard unto the outer court, as the voice of God -- the Mighty One -- in His speaking. And it cometh to pass, in His commanding the man clothed with linen, saying, `Take fire from between the wheel, from between the cherubs,' and he goeth in and standeth near the wheel, that the `one' cherub putteth forth his hand from between the cherubs unto the fire that `is' between the cherubs, and lifteth up, and giveth into the hands of him who is clothed with linen, and he receiveth, and cometh forth. And there appeareth in the cherubs the form of a hand of man under their wings, and I look, and lo, four wheels near the cherubs, one wheel near the one cherub, and another wheel near the other cherub, and the appearance of the wheels `is' as the colour of a beryl stone. As to their appearances, one likeness `is' to them four, as it were the wheel in the midst of the wheel. In their going, on their four sides they go; they turn not round in their going, for to the place whither the head turneth, after it they go, they turn not round in their going. And all their flesh, and their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, are full of eyes round about; to them four `are' their wheels. To the wheels -- to them is one calling in mine ears, `O wheel!' And four faces `are' to each; the face of the one `is' the face of the cherub, and the face of the second the face of man, and of the third the face of a lion, and of the fourth the face of an eagle. And the cherubs are lifted up, it `is' the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar. And in the going of the cherubs, the wheels go beside them; and in the cherubs lifting up their wings to be high above the earth, the wheels turn not round, even they, from being beside them. In their standing they stand, and in their exaltation they are exalted with them: for the living spirit `is' in them. And go forth doth the honour of Jehovah from off the threshold of the house, and standeth over the cherubs, and the cherubs lift up their wings, and are lifted up from the earth before mine eyes; in their going forth, the wheels also `are' over-against them, and he standeth at the opening of the east gate of the house of Jehovah, and the honour of the God of Israel `is' over them from above. It `is' the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I know that they are cherubs. Four faces `are' to each, and four wings to each, and the likeness of the hands of man `is' under their wings. As to the likeness of their faces, they `are' the faces that I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; each straight forward they go.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 99
Commentary on Psalms 99 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 99
Still we are celebrating the glories of the kingdom of God among men, and are called upon to praise him, as in the foregoing psalms; but those psalms looked forward to the times of the gospel, and prophesied of the graces and comforts of those times; this psalm seems to dwell more upon the Old-Testament dispensation and the manifestation of God's glory and grace in that. The Jews were not, in expectation of the Messiah's kingdom and the evangelical worship, to neglect the divine regimen they were then under, and the ordinances that were then given them, but in them to see God reigning, and to worship before him according to the law of Moses. Prophecies of good things to come must not lessen our esteem of good things present. To Israel indeed pertained the promises, which they were bound to believe; but to them pertained also the giving of the law, and the service of God, which they were also bound dutifully and conscientiously to attend to, Rom. 9:4. And this they are called to do in this psalm, where yet there is much of Christ, for the government of the church was in the hands of the eternal Word before he was incarnate; and, besides, the ceremonial services were types and figures of evangelical worship. The people of Israel are here required to praise and exalt God, and to worship before him, in consideration of these two things:-
In singing this psalm we must set ourselves to exalt the name of God, as it is made known to us in the gospel, which we have much more reason to do than those had who lived under the law.
Psa 99:1-5
The foundation of all religion is laid in this truth, That the Lord reigns. God governs the world by his providence, governs the church by his grace, and both by his Son. We are to believe not only that the Lord lives, but that the Lord reigns. This is the triumph of the Christian church, and here it was the triumph of the Jewish church, that Jehovah was their King; and hence it is inferred, Let the people tremble, that is,
God's kingdom, set up in Israel, is here made the subject of the psalmist's praise.
Psa 99:6-9
The happiness of Israel in God's government is here further made out by some particular instances of his administration, especially with reference to those that were, in their day, the prime leaders and most active useful governors of that people-Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, in the two former of whom the theocracy or divine government began (for they were employed to form Israel into a people) and in the last of whom that form of government, in a great measure, ended; for when the people rejected Samuel, and urged him to resign, they are said to reject God himself, that he should not be so immediately their king as he had been (1 Sa. 8:7), for now they would have a king, like all the nations. Moses, as well as Aaron, is said to be among his priests, for he executed the priest's office till Aaron was settled in it and he consecrated Aaron and his sons; therefore the Jews call him the priest of the priests. Now concerning these three chief rulers observe,