Psalms 111:9

Psa 111:9 He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend [is] his name.

Ver. 9. He sent redemption unto his people] Once out of Egypt, ever out of Satan’s thraldom.

He hath commanded his covenant for ever] Sic cum populo suo pactus est ut de ipsius paeti observatione certis edictis caverit, as he covenanted, so he looketh his commandments should be respected, which are as binding to us as his covenant is to him; and, through grace, his covenant is as binding to him as those are to us.

Holy and reverend is his name] Which, therefore, we should not presume in a sudden unmannerliness to blurt out. The Jews would not pronounce it. The Grecians (as Suidas observeth), when they would swear by their Jupiter, forbare to mention him. This is cheek to the profaneness common among us. Let those that would have their name reverend labour to be holy as God is holy.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Psa_111:9

He sent redemption unto His people.

Redemption and atonement

Theology has frequently confused redemption and the atonement. The atonement for sin offered by Christ on Calvary was universal, but redemption is limited to those that accept the conditions as specified in the Scriptures. Christ died for all, but, as a fact, only they that believe are saved. The atonement is Gods provision for the salvation of the world, redemption of the sinner is the object God has in view. There could be no redemption without the atonement, but if redemption is not appropriated the atonement still remains. The work of atonement was the act of one person, but redemption involves several agencies. Christ, by suffering the death of the cross, made the atonement; in effecting redemption, the subject works, the teacher works in presenting Gods truth, the Holy Spirit works and applies the Gospel with power to the heart. By this threefold agency redemption is effected. The atonement came without the worlds request; but redemption never comes without the earnest seeking of the individual. The atonement was an event that took place once for all, at one period, on Calvary, two thousand years ago; redemption is constantly taking place in all parts of the world, and in all periods of human history. This is the correct Biblical distinction between the two theological terms as used in the Scriptures. (R. Venting.)

Holy and reverend is His name.--

Scriptural piety

I. What it is. We take the term reverence to denote respect; and with this latter term we associate generally a more definite meaning. In the case, indeed, of God, respect must be of the very highest description, to rise to the character of reverence.

II. Its foundation. Let the mind be informed, not only that God has given a conscience to rebuke, but that God has met the rebuke of conscience, to redeem the party rebuked from despair by holding out His own Son as the vindication of His holiness. The foundation, therefore, you perceive, of Scriptural piety, is the knowledge of the Divine character.

III. The means of its cultivation. Shall we pray that God would enlighten us, while we refuse to come to the means, by which He has Himself told us we are to be enlightened? Shall we seek that He would give us of the Spirit, whilst we neglect the fruits of the inspiration of that Spirit, as those fruits are laid down in the testimony of Divine truth?

IV. Its fruits. Piety is not a faculty of the mind; it is an influence, pervading all the faculties. Piety is not some particular mental power; it is an energy, that tells on the whole man. If such be the fruits of Scriptural piety upon the mind itself, what must be its fruits upon society generally? Even the ungodly and unthinking world, when they discover that piety is thus enlightened by the word of truth, and that in the Church of God there is not a greater degree of warmth than there is of light, will be compelled to confess that God is in us of a truth. (John Burnet)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. (Psa 111:9) Redemption he has sent to his people; he has ordained to eternity his, covenant; holy and fearful is his name. That this verse was intended to consist of three clauses, is clear from the fact that it contains three letters of the alphabet in regular succession. The same thing is true of the remaining verse. The first clause relates mainly, not exclusively, to the deliverance from Egypt. As in Psa 111:5, the second clause affirms a general truth, attested and exemplified by the particular fact mentioned in the first. Fearful, not merely to his foes but to his people, who can never cease to worship him with holy awe.

Joseph Addison Alexander, The Psalms Translated and Explained (1850) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

111:9 The people of the Exodus generation went free because of God’s grace.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 9. He sent redemption] He sent Moses to redeem them out of Egypt; various judges to deliver them out of the hands of their oppressors; Ezra, Nehemiah, and Zerubbabel, to deliver them from Babylon; and the Lord Jesus to redeem a whole lost world from sin, misery, and death.

Holy and reverend is his name.] The word reverend comes to us from the Latins, reverendus, and is compounded of re, intensive, and vereor, to be feared; and most or right reverend, reverendissimus, signifies to be greatly feared. These terms are now only titles of ecclesiastical respect, especially in the Protestant ministry; but there was a time in which these were no empty titles. Such was the power of the clergy, that, when they walked not in the fear of the Lord, they caused the people to fear, and they themselves were to be feared; but, when the secular power was added to the spiritual, they were then truly reverendi and reverendissimi, to be feared and greatly to be feared. But reverend is not applied to God in this way; nor does the word nora bear this signification; it rather means terrible: Holy and terrible, or holy and tremendous, is his name. This title belongs not to man; nor does any minister, in assuming the title reverend, assume this. Indeed, the word reverend, as now used, gives us a very imperfect conception of the original term. Holy and tremendous is God's name. He is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, both in the way of judgment and in the way of mercy.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9 He sent redemption to his people What he had already stated is here repeated in different words. And as the deliverance of his people was the commencement of their salvation, it is first introduced; next is subjoined its confirmation in the law, by reason of which it comes to pass that God’s adoption could never fail. For though, long prior to this, God had established his covenant with Abraham, which also was the occasion of the redemption of the people; yet what is here mentioned refers exclusively to the law, by which the covenant was ratified, never to be disannulled. The amount is, that, in the deliverance of the people, God did not act the part of a beneficial father, merely for a day, but that, in the promulgation of the law, he also establishedhis grace, that the hope of eternal life might continue for ever in the Church. Moreover, you must attend carefully to what I have elsewhere cautioned you against, and to which I shall advert more at length on Psalm 119, where the law is spoken of, That the commandments must not be taken always abstractly, for the Holy Spirit, in an especial manner, refers to the promises which are in Christ, by which God, in gathering his chosen people to himself, hath begotten them again to eternal life.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

9. He hath sent redemption] The primary reference is to the deliverance from Egypt (Deu_7:8 and often), and the ratification of the covenant at Sinai: but the restoration from exile in Babylon had been a second and scarcely less notable act of redemption. By it Jehovah had given proof of His faithfulness to His covenant, which in the dark days of the Exile might have seemed abrogated for ever (Jer_33:20 ff.; Isa_49:14).

holy and reverend is his name] To be feared (Psa_96:4); elsewhere rendered fearful (Deu_28:58) or terrible (Psa_99:3). By these deliverances and acts of grace Jehovah has revealed Himself as a God Who is holy and must be feared (Exo_15:11; Isa_29:23; Isa_8:13).

9, 10. A final summary of God’s love and man’s duty.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He sent redemption unto his people,.... Or one to redeem them, who effected it; Moses to redeem Israel out of Egypt, and Christ to redeem his people from sin, Satan, and the law, and who has done it; and having obtained eternal redemption, he sent his ministers to publish it in the world, and his Spirit to apply it, and to show his people their interest in it; and make it over to them, and the blessings of it, that they may enjoy it, and all the comforts and advantages arising from it; temporal redemption, as typical of the spiritual and eternal one, is here meant.

He hath commanded his covenant for ever; which cannot be the covenant of circumcision, or that at Sinai, neither of which were for ever; but the covenant of grace made with Christ, and which stands fast with him for ever; it is everlasting, sure, and can never be removed; its blessings and promises are for ever; and it is so made and framed, and so kept and observed, as that it shall always continue, which is meant by its being "commanded": as well as it may denote the decree and resolution of God never to break and alter it; see Psa 89:3.

Holy and reverend is his name; the name of God is "holy"; it is his nature, and appears in all his works; and in which he is glorious, and so is reverend; he is to be feared and reverenced by all his creatures, and among his saints, as he is by the angels in heaven.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

He sent redemption unto his people - In their deliverance from Egypt. He has now sent it in a higher sense under the great Deliverer, the Saviour.

He hath commanded his covenant for ever - He has ordained or appointed it. The covenant is here represented as if it were obedient to the will of God, or under his control. The covenant refers to his arrangements with his people; his assurances of favor, with the terms on which that favor will be shown.

Holy and reverend is his name - Holy and to be venerated; literally, “to be feared.” That is, he has shown in all this that he is holy, and that he is a Being who is to be had in reverence.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Redemption; that deliverance out of Egypt, which was a type and pledge of that greater and higher redemption by Christ.

Commanded, i.e. appointed or established firmly by his power and authority. And so this word is oft used, as Psa 33:9; 42:8; 105:31,34. See Poole "Psa 111:7", the ground of which signification may be taken from hence, that the command of a sufficient authority concerning any thing doth commonly establish and effect it. For ever; through all successive generations of his people to the end of the world; for the covenant is the same for substance in all, and differed only in circumstances.

Holy and reverend; terrible to his enemies, and venerable in his people’s eyes, and holy in all his dealings with all men.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Ver. 9. He sent redemption unto his people. When they were in Egypt he sent not only a deliverer, but an actual deliverance; not only a redeemer, but complete redemption. He has done the like spiritually for all his people, having first by blood purchased them out of the hand of the enemy, and then by power rescued them from the bondage of their sins. Redemption we can sing of as an accomplished act: it has been wrought for us, sent to us, and enjoyed by us, and we are in very deed the Lord's redeemed.

He hath commanded his covenant for ever. His divine decree has made the covenant of his grace a settled and eternal institution: redemption by blood proves that the covenant cannot be altered, for it ratifies and establishes it beyond all recall. This, too, is reason for the loudest praise. Redemption is a fit theme for the heartiest music, and when it is seen to be connected with gracious engagements from which the Lord's truth cannot swerve, it becomes a subject fitted to arouse the soul to an ecstasy of gratitude. Redemption and the covenant are enough to make the tongue of the dumb sing.

Holy and reverend is his name. Well may he say this. The whole name or character of God is worthy of profoundest awe, for it is perfect and complete, whole or holy. It ought not to be spoken without solemn thought, and never heard without profound homage. His name is to be trembled at, it is something terrible; even those who know him best rejoice with trembling before him. How good men can endure to be called "reverend" we know not. Being unable to discover any reason why our fellow men should reverence us, we half suspect that in other men there is not very much which can entitle them to be called reverend, very reverend, right reverend, and so on. It may seem a trifling matter, but for that very reason we would urge that the foolish custom should be allowed to fall into disuse.

Ver. 9. He sent redemption to his people. Once out of Egypt, ever out of Satan's thraldom. John Trapp.

Ver. 9. Sent redemption...commanded his covenant. The deliverance was the more thankworthy, as being upon a covenant account: for thus every mercy is a token of the Lord's favour to his favourite: it is this which makes common mercies to become special mercies. Carnal men, so that they enjoy mercies, they mind not which way they come in, so as they can but have them; but a child of God knows that everything that comes through the Redeemer's hands and by his covenant is the better for it, and tastes the sweeter by far. William Cooper, in the Morning Exercises.

Ver. 9. Redemption. Praise our Triune Jehovah for his redemption. Write it down where you may read it. Affix it where you may see it. Engrave it on your heart that you may understand it. It is a word big with importance. In it is enfolded your destinies and those of the Church, to all future ages. There are heights in it you never can have scaled, and depths you never can have fathomed. You have never taken the wings of the morning, and gained the utmost parts of earth, to measure the length and breadth of it. Wear it as a seal on your arm, as a signet on your right hand, for Jesus is the author of it. O! prize it as a precious stone, more precious than rubies...Let it express your best hopes while living, and dwell on your trembling lips in the moment of dissolution; for it shall form the chorus of the song of the redeemed throughout eternity. Isaac Saunders, 1818.

Ver. 9. He hath commanded his covenant for ever. As he covenanted, so he looketh that his covenants should be respected, which are as binding to us, as his covenant is to him; and, through grace, his covenant is as binding to him, as those are to us. John Trapp.

Ver. 9. Holy and reverend, or, terrible, is his name. "Holy is his name, "and therefore "terrible" to those who, under all the means of grace, continue unholy. George Horne.

Ver. 9. Holy and reverend is his name. Which therefore we should not presume on a sudden to blurt out. The Jews would not pronounce it. The Grecians (as Suidas observeth), when they would swear by their Jupiter, forbare to mention him. This should act as a check to the profaneness common amongst us. Let those that would have their name reverend, labour to be holy as God is holy. John Trapp.

Ver. 9. Redemption. Conceived, arranged, executed, and applied by God. By price and by power. From sin and death. That we may be free, the Lord's own, the Lord's glory.

Ver. 9. Redemption.

1. Its author: "He sent."

2. Its objects: "Unto his people."

3. The pledge it gives us: "He hath commanded his covenant, "etc.

4. The praise it creates in us.

Ver. 9. Holy and reverend.

1. The holiness of God the object of our reverence.

2. Such reverence has much useful influence over us.

3. It should always accompany our faith in redemption and covenant. See preceding clauses of verse.

Psalms 111:10*

Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9. He sent redemption—It is better to understand this of a recent “redemption,” as that from Babylon, rather than that of Israel from Egypt.

He hath commanded his covenant—That is, he hath established, made firm, his covenant, which he made first with Abraham, and again with the body of the Israelites at Sinai.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He sent redemption unto his people. The "redemption" from Egypt (Exo_6:6) is perhaps especially in the writer"s mind, but he may be thinking also of other deliverances. He hath commanded his covenant forever. (comp. Gen_9:12 Gen_17:13 Exo_31:16, etc.) Holy and reverend is his Name. Intrinsically "holy," and therefore "reverend," or to be reverenced.

Reverence for the Name.

"Holy and reverend is his Name." "Reverend" here means "worthy of reverence." Horace Bushnell has a striking sentence: "This age is at the point of apogee from all the robuster notions of Deity." And therefore this age is an irreverent age. Even in the shaping of religious beliefs there are signs of undue familiarity with God. And that undue familiarity explains much of the weakness of Christian living, and lightness of Christian worship. The nineteenth century lacks awe of God.

I JEWISH REVERENCE FOR THE NAME. Explain that in older times a name was supposed to gather up, and suggestively express, the attributes of a person. Moses asked for a name which would express God stand for God to the people. And though the word given him was, properly, a declaration of fact rather than a name, it came to be treated as God"s Name, and such a superstitious reverence for it grew up, that the Jewish people persisted in altering the vowels of it, so that never, by any accident, should they pronounce the hallowed Name. There was at least the danger of their coming to reverence the Name, rather than the Divine Being who was represented by the Name. If they did, their honoring of God was but a helpless and degrading formalism. A proper reverence for the sacred Name was enjoined in the third commandment; (Exo_20:7) and such reverence was characteristic of all loyal and saintly souls. See Abraham; (Gen_18:22-23) Jacob; (Gen_32:29) Moses; (Exo_3:13, Exo_3:14) Joshua; (Jos_7:9) and also the psalmists and prophets. It may be said that reverence for the sacred Name was the key-note of the Jewish system. Of nothing were they more jealous. And if in this they were sometimes wrong, they were mostly right; for holy and reverend is his Name.

II CHRISTIAN REVERENCE FOR THE NAME. The Name of God revealed in Christianity is not the same as that revealed in Judaism. To the Jewish Church God is the one Existence, unique, spiritual; absolute Being. To the Christian Church God exists in relations, and only the highest and dearest of human relations is fitting to represent him. He is our Father. But that is the most reverend of all names. And the filial feeling ought to triumph over the superstitious. Show the reverence that is due from us in all our relations with the heavenly Father, the holy Father, the righteous Father. The Father-Name must never be "taken in vain. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Redemption - The deliverance out of Egypt, which was a type of that higher redemption by Christ. Commanded - Appointed, or established firmly by his power and authority. For ever - Through all successive generations of his people to the end of the world. Reverend - Terrible to his enemies, venerable in his peoples eyes, and holy in all his dealings with all men.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

redemption

(See Scofield "Isa 59:20"). See Scofield "Exo 14:30".

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.