Psalms 135:4

Psa 135:4 For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, [and] Israel for his peculiar treasure.

Ver. 4. For the Lord hath chosen] God’s distinguishing grace should make his elect lift up many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to him.

And Israel for his peculiar treasure] Such as he maketh more reckoning of than of all the world besides. The Hebrew word here rendered peculiar treasure, seemeth to signify a jewel made up of three precious stones, in the form of a triangle, Segullah inde dici Segol, grammatici volunt. The saints are God’s jewels, Mal 3:17, his ornament, yea, the beauty of his ornament, and that set in majesty, Eze 7:20, his royal diadem, Isa 62:3.

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_135:4

The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto Himself.

A strange yet gracious choice

This is a psalm of praise all through. It is to be sung to the highsounding cymbals. There is not a low note anywhere; it is all robust, exhilarating, joyful. It is Hallelujah! from beginning to end; and it did not seem possible to the psalmist that he could omit from it the high jubilant note of election; for if there is anything that makes believers hearts sing unto the Lord, it is the recollection that He has chosen them, and fixed His love upon them.

I. The choice.

1. Divine.

2. Sovereign--irrespective of character.

3. Most gracious.

4. Very wonderful.

When you have told me why He chose Jacob, I shall then try to find out why He chose me; and if I should find that out, probably you will at the same time discover why He chose you. God never acts unreasonably; yet He does not find His reasons for acting in men, but within Himself, in His compassion, in the eternal counsels of His own will.

II. The reason or result of Gods choice.

1. That we might know Him.

2. That we might keep His truth alive in the world.

3. To keep up His worship.

4. That He might commune with us.

III. The separation which grows out of this choice. He led Israel out into the wilderness that there He might speak to their hearts. He drew them away from men; He made them live solitary and alone, like eagles on the rock, that they might dwell there with Him, and have no strange god among them. Blessed are the people who enjoy this separation; but unhappy are the men and women who talk about election, and yet have never known the separation which stamps their election as being a matter of fact.

IV. Their elevation. His peculiar treasure. Gods people are everything to Him; there is nothing that you have, that you account rich or rare, that is anything to you in value in comparison with what Gods people are to Him. His delight is in them: the pleasure which God has in His people is truly wonderful. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

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

Psa 135:4-5. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob, &c. — Here we have a third reason why the Israelites should praise the Lord, namely, “the circumstance of their having been selected from among the nations to be his church, to receive the law and the promises, to have his presence residing in the midst of them, and to be the guardians of the true faith and worship.” For I know that the Lord is great, &c. — Here he assigns a fourth reason for their praising God, “his superiority over the gods of the heathen, and, consequently, over those who worshipped them; from whence followed this comfortable inference, that he was able to protect and to defend his people against every enemy.” — Horne.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. (Psa 135:4) For Jacob did Jah choose for himself, Israel for his own possession. They are particularly bound to praise him, as his chosen and peculiar people. The last word in Hebrew means a possession of peculiar value, set apart and distinguished from all others. See Exo 19:5, Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 26:18.

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

135:4 The synonyms Jacob and Israel include all twelve tribes. The Lord cherishes his chosen people. They are his treasure out of all the kingdoms of the world (Exod 19:5-6).

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

That is, hath freely loved the posterity of Abraham.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob] This is a third reason. He has taken the Israelites for his peculiar people, סגלתו segullatho, his peculiar treasure; and now has brought them home to himself from their captivity and wanderings.

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

4. For God hath chosen Jacob Other reasons are given afterwards why they should praise God, drawn from his government of the world. But as it was only the children of Abraham who were favored with the knowledge of God at that time, and were capable of praising him, the Psalmist directs them to the fact of their having been chosen by God to be his peculiar people, as affording matter for thanksgiving. The mercy was surely one of incomparable value, and which might well stir them up to fervent gratitude and praise, adopted as they were into favor with God, while the whole Gentile world was passed by. The praise of their election is given by the Psalmist to God — a clear proof that they owed the distinction not to any excellency of their own, but to the free mercy of God the Father which had been extended to them. He has laid all without exception under obligation to his service, for

“he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good.” (Matthew 5:45.)

But he bound the posterity of Abraham to him by a closer tie, such as that by which he now adopts men generally into his Church, and unites them with the body of his only-begotten Son. “Comme c’est aujourd’huy de tous ceux qu’il adopte en sa bergerie, et ente au corps de son fils unique.” — Fr.

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.

(4) Peculiar treasure.—A special covenant-name for Israel (Exo_19:5; Deu_7:6, &c.), and of private property (1Ch_29:3; Ecc_2:8).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4. the Lord] Heb. Jah. The verse is based upon Deu_7:6; cp. Exo_19:5.

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.

For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself,.... To be his own special people, and not another's; for his own service, and for his glory; and to be an habitation for himself, and to be for ever with him. This is not to be understood personally of Jacob, though a chosen vessel of mercy; nor of his natural posterity as such, though chosen as a nation to outward favours; for not all they, only some of them, were chosen to special grace and glory, a remnant according to the election of grace: but mystical and spiritual Jacob and Israel are meant, even the whole church and people of God, whether Jews or Gentiles; these God has chosen, of his own free grace and good will, to all the blessings of grace and glory, and that from all eternity; which choice will remain firm and immutable, in time and for ever; and therefore is worthy of praise and thanksgiving, now, and to all eternity;

and Israel for his peculiar treasure; by whom they are accounted as such; even as the peculiar treasure of kings, as silver, gold, jewels, and precious stones; as his inheritance, his portion, and peculiar people; see Exo 19:5.

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

For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself - The descendants of Jacob. He has selected them from among all the inhabitants of the earth to be his special people.

And Israel for his peculiar treasure - The word here rendered treasure, means that which is acquired; property; wealth. They were what God possessed, owned, or claimed among all the people of the earth as especially his own. He had chosen them; he had redeemed them; he had made them his own, and he regarded them with the interest with which anyone looks on his own property, the fruit of his own toil. See Exo 19:5; Deu 7:6; Deu 32:9; 1Ki 8:53.

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

Ver. 4. For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself. Jehovah hath chosen Jacob. Should not the sons of Jacob praise him who has so singularly favoured them Election is one of the most forcible arguments for adoring love. Chosen! chosen unto himself! who can be grateful enough for being concerned in this privilege "Jacob have I loved", said Jehovah, and he gave no reason for his love except that he chose to love. Jacob had then done neither good nor evil, yet thus the Lord determined, and thus he spake. If it be said that the choice was made upon foresight of Jacob's character, it is, perhaps, even more remarkable; for there was little enough about Jacob that could deserve special choice. By nature Jacob was by no means the most lovable of men. No, it was sovereign grace which dictated the choice. But, mark, it was not a choice whose main result was the personal welfare of Jacob's seed: the nation was chosen by God unto himself, to answer the divine ends and purposes in blessing all mankind. Jacob's race was chosen to be the Lord's own, to be the trustees of his truth, the maintainers of his worship, the mirrors of his mercy. Chosen they were; but mainly for this end, that they might be a peculiar people, set apart unto the service of the true God.

And Israel for his peculiar treasure. God's choice exalts; for here the name is changed from Jacob, the supplanter, to Israel, the prince. The love of God gives a new name and imparts a new value; for the comparison to a royal treasure is a most honourable one. As kings have a special regalia, and a selection of the rarest jewels, so the Lord deigns to reckon his chosen nation as his wealth, his delight, his glory. What an honour to the spiritual Israel that they are all this to the Lord their God! We are a people near and dear unto him; precious and honourable in his sight. How can we refuse our loudest, heartiest, sweetest music? If we did not extol him, the stones in the street would cry out against us.

Ver. 4. For the LORD hath chosen, etc. God's distinguishing grace should make his elect lift up many a humble, joyful, and thankful heart to him. John Trapp.

Ver. 4. Jacob, Israel. Praise the Lord for enroling you in this company. To quicken you in this work of praise, consider what you were; you were not a people, God raised you up from the very dunghill to this preferment; remember your past estate. Look, as old Jacob considered what he had been when God preferred him (Ge 32:10); "With my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands; "so do you say, I am a worthless creature, it is God that hath taken me into his grace, praised be the Lord that hath chosen me. Then consider how many are left to perish in the wide world. Some live out of the church's pale that never heard of Christ, and many others have only a loose general form of Christianity. Oh! blessed be God that hath chosen me to be of the number of his peculiar people. It is said (Zec 13:8), "And it shall come to pass in all the land, saith the Lord, that two parts shall be cut off and die, but the third shall be left therein." We pass through many bolters before we come to be God's peculiar people, as the corn is ground, bolted, searched before it comes to be fine flour. Many have not the knowledge of God, and others live in the church but are carnal; and for me to be one of his peculiar people, a member of Christ's mystical body, oh! what a privilege is this! And then what moved him to all this? Nothing but his own free grace. Therefore praise the Lord. Thomas Manton.

Ver. 4. His peculiar treasure. The Hebrew word scgullah signifieth God's special jewels, God's proper ones, or God's secret ones, that he keeps in store for himself, and for his own special service and use. Princes lock up with their own hands in secret their most precious and costly jewels; and so doth God his: "For the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure", or for his secret gain. Thomas Brooks.

Ver. 4. His peculiar treasure. Will not a man that is not defective in his prudentials secure his jewels? "They shall be mine in that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a father his son that serveth him:" Mal 3:17. If a house be on fire, the owner of it will first take care of his wife and children, then of his jewels, and last of all, of his lumber and rubbish. Christ secures first his people, for they are his jewels; the world is but lumber and rubbish. Richard Mayhew.

Ver. 4. It is a song of praise, and therefore election is mentioned because it is a motive for song.

1. The Choice "The Lord hath chosen." Divine. Sovereign. Gracious. Immutable.

2. The Consecration "Chosen Jacob to himself." To know him. To preserve his truth. To maintain his worship. To manifest his grace. To keep alive the hope of the Coming One.

3. The Separation implied in the special choice. By being taken into covenant: Abraham and his seed. By receiving the covenant inheritance: Canaan. By redemption. By power and by blood out of Egypt. Wilderness separation. Settled establishment in their own land.

4. The Elevation. In namefrom Jacob to Israel. In valuefrom worthless to precious. In purpose and use crown jewels. In preservation kept as treasures. In delightGod rejoices in his people as his heritage.

Psalms 135:5*

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

4. Chosen Jacob—Copied from Deu_7:6.

Peculiar treasure—See Mal_3:17, where the same word is rendered “jewels.” In these four verses Jehovah occurs four times; Jah, three times; and Elohim, once.

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

For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself. This is the first reason why Israel should praise God. Israel is his people, his chosen people, selected by him out of all the nations of the earth to be his own, his inheritance. (Deu_4:20 Deu_7:6 Deu_14:2, Deu_14:21, etc.) And Israel for his peculiar treasure. (see Exo_19:5)

The selection of Israel.

"Peculiar treasure" is a special covenant-name for Israel. (Exo_19:5 Deu_7:6) As used in the Scripture, "election" is not a theological term. It is not what it has been made, a doctrinal term, on which a sectarian system can be based. It stands for a fact or method of Divine dealing. It does not apply exclusively to any one thing, or any one people. God is always working in this way, electing, or selecting, the best agencies for carrying out his various purposes, now of wisdom and mercy, now of judgment and destruction. It is a poetic setting, and a comfortable self-glorifying, for the psalmist to speak of Jehovah as having "chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his peculiar treasure." The sober fact is that this particular nation was selected to carry out a particular Divine mission in the world; and it would have done better if it had thought more of its responsibility, and less of its privilege. Dr. T. Arnold wrote of Rome, Athens, and Jerusalem as representing the three people of God"s election two for things temporal, and one for things eternal. Since his time we have learned to extend his thought, and to see in every nation a distinct Divine election to some ministry for the blessing of the whole of humanity. To us the election of Israel is no more than a representative and suggestive election.

I IF WE TAKE THE TERM "ELECTION," WE THINK OF A PRIVILEGE. The old Jews did this, regarding themselves as a petted nation, standing in the favor of God in an altogether unique manner. Consequently, they presumed on their privilege, and let it encourage self-pleasing. Those do it in modern times who make the sovereignty of their election the foundation of their religious hope. Antinomian presumptions always attend on the conception of God"s election as privilege. Frail man easily turns privilege into favoritism.

II IF WE TAKE THE TERM "SELECTION," WE THINK OF DUTY AND RESPONSIBILITY. And this is in every way healthier for us. God wants co-workers, agents in the sense-spheres, the human spheres; and he is always looking for such, always selecting such, always separating such. It is indeed an honor unspeakable to be selected; but if we think of ourselves as such, we almost forget the honor and the privilege, because we are so fully urged to noble endeavor by the burden of our responsibility. 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.