John Gill Commentary Psalms 75

To you, O God, do we give thanks
Either David and his men, when he was delivered from Saul, and raised to the kingdom, or the Jews upon their return from the Babylonish captivity; or rather the churches of Christ under the Gospel dispensation, for the coming of Christ and the blessings of grace through him, and in the view of the sure and certain destruction of antichrist and all the wicked of the earth;

yea, Christ himself may be considered as at the head of his people, joining with them in thanksgiving, to whom this action is sometimes ascribed, (Matthew 11:25Matthew 11:26) (26:27) and the rather since he is continued all along speaking to the end of the psalm:

to you do we give thanks ;
which is repeated to show the constancy, fervency, and sincerity with which this was performed: it may be rendered, "to you do we confess" ^F12 ; sins committed against God, unworthiness to receive favours from him, and his grace and goodness in bestowing them:

for your name is near ;
and so the words are a reason of the above thanksgiving; for they belong not so much to what follows after as to what goes before, since the accent "athnach" is upon (Kmv) , "your name"; and are to be understood of God himself, for his name is himself; who is near to his people, both in relation, being their Father, and as to presence, communion, and fellowship, which are matter of praise and thanksgiving;

or his works and word, by which he is known and made manifest; his works which are throughout the earth, and so near at hand, and his word which is nigh, being in the mouths and in the hearts of his people; or rather his Son, in whom his name is, his nature and divine perfections. He was at a distance in promise and prophecy, and only seen afar off. After the Babylonish captivity, at which time some think this psalm was written, he was near; the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, speak of him as just coming; and when he was made flesh, and dwelt among men, he was near indeed, so as to be found of them, seen, heard, and handled by them; on which account there was and is reason to give thanks to God:

your wondrous works declare ;
meaning either the miracles of Christ, which were proofs and evidences of his being come, and of his being the true Messiah; see (Matthew 11:3–5). Or the wonderful works done by him, which to do were the principal end of his coming; as the work of righteousness, the business of reconciliation, and in general the affair of redemption and salvation; all which were amazing instances of his power, grace, and goodness, and which are declared in the everlasting Gospel by the ministers of it; for the words, I think, may be better rendered, "they declare your wondrous works" ^F14 , or impersonally, "your wondrous works are declared".

FOOTNOTES:

• F12: (wnydwh) "confessi sumus", Montanus; "confitemur", Cocceius, Michaelis.
• F13: (bwrqw) "nam propiuquum", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.
• F14: (Kytwalpn wrpo) "narrant mirabilia tua", Montanus; "enarrant", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.

When I shall receive the congregation Some render it, from the Arabic signification of the word, "the promise" ^F15 ; the Spirit promised, the gifts of the Spirit, which Christ received for men, and gave to men, whereby he executes the judgment or government of the church committed to him: others the time, so the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Arabic versions, to which agrees the Targum, the word signifying a set appointed time, (Psalms 102:14) , and so may respect the time appointed for the judgment of the world, which when come, Christ will execute in a most righteous manner, as follows; see (Acts 17:31) , but whereas the people of Israel met at the door of the tabernacle, which from thence was called "Ohel Moed", the tabernacle of the congregation; hence the word is used for a congregation, and here designs the general assembly and church of the firstborn written in heaven, even all the elect of God; these were received by Christ of his Father in eternity, when he espoused them to himself, and undertook the care of them; and they are received by him, one by one, in effectual calling; and in like manner are they received by him into glory at death; but when they are all gathered in, and are prepared for him as a bride for her husband, then will he receive them all in a body, and present them to himself a glorious church during the thousand years' reign; upon which will proceed the judgment of the wicked; see (Revelation 20:5Revelation 20:12) ,

I will judge uprightly ; in equity, in strict justice, in the most righteous manner, rendering to every man according to his works; hence the future judgment is called a righteous one, and so is the Judge; no injustice will be done to men, but the strictest integrity, uprightness, and impartiality, will be observed in pronouncing the several sentences on the righteous and on the wicked, and in adjudging them to their several places and states.

FOOTNOTES:

• F15: (dewm) "promissa", Schultens animadv. p. 174. "festi dona", Gusset. p. 334.

The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved
Or "melted" ^F16 ; the inhabitants, through fear and dread of the righteous Judge, appearing in the clouds of heaven, and of the wrath that is coming on they are deserving of; and the earth, through fire, when the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth and the works therein shall be burnt up, (2 Peter 3:10–12) .

I bear up the pillars of it. So that it shall not utterly perish; for though by the fire, at the general conflagration, the heavens and the earth will be so melted and dissolved as to lose their present form, and shall be purged and purified from all noxious qualities, the effects of sin; yet the substance will remain, out of which will be formed new heavens and a new earth, and this through the power of Christ sustaining it, and preserving it from entire destruction or annihilation.

R. Obadiah by "pillars" understands in a figurative sense the righteous, for whose sake the world is continued in its being; these at the general conflagration will be borne up and preserved by Christ, whom they shall meet in the air, even the church, who is the pillar and ground of truth; and not only the ministers of the Gospel, who are pillars in Christ's house, but also every believer, who is a pillar there, that shall never go out, (1 Timothy 3:15) (Galatians 2:9) (Revelation 3:12) . Aben Ezra and Kimchi interpret the pillars of the mountains.

Selah. (See Gill on Psalms 3:2).

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: (Mygmn) "liquefacti", Montanus; "liquefiet", Musculus.

I said to the fools
To the vain gloriosos, proud boasters, mockers, and scoffers at the day of judgment, and burning of the world:

deal not foolishly ;
by glorying in themselves, boasting of their riches, and trusting in them; singing a requiem to themselves on account of their abundance, and by putting away the evil day far from them:

and to the wicked, lift not up the horn ;
of power, grandeur, and wealth, and use it to the injury of others; or be so elated with it as to look with disdain on others; or imagine they shall always continue in this exalted state, as antichrist the horned beast does, (Revelation 18:7) , the allusion is to horned beasts, particularly harts, which lift up their heads and horns in great pride ^F16 : the phrase signifies to behave proudly and haughtily.

FOOTNOTES:

• F16: See "Suidam in voce" (ekepoutiav) .

Lift not up your horn on high
Or "against the most High" {q}; as the little horn, or the beast with ten horns, antichrist, does, whose look is more stout than his fellows, and opens his mouth in blasphemy against God, his name, his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven, (Daniel 7:8Daniel 7:20) (Revelation 18:1Revelation 18:6) ,

speak [not with] a stiff neck ;
arrogantly, proudly, and haughtily: or "hard things with a neck" ^F18 ; hard speeches against Christ and his people with an outstretched neck, in an imperious and insolent manner; for the righteous Judge will convince such of their hard speeches, and condemn them for them; (Jude 1:14Jude 1:15) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F18: (qte rawub) "collo durum", Michaelis.