Psalms 48:14

Psa 48:14 For this God [is] our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide [even] unto death.

Ver. 14. For this God is our God] To draw them up to this consideration it was, that the prophet so calls upon people to view Zion, &c., and to take notice that she might well have written upon her gates (as that city Hippocrates writeth of had) Intacta manet, the daughter of Zion is a maid still, through the prowess of her champion.

Even unto death] And after too; for this is not to be taken exclusive. He will never leave us, nor forsake us.

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_48:14

This God is our God for ever and ever.

Our God

He is so. Nothing else is so as He is. Our time, wealth, children, bodies, souls are not, strictly speaking, our own. But God is. And we may know and claim this. David was ever making such claim. Oh Lord, he says, my strength, my rock, my fortress, etc. And this relationship is not of our making but of His. We choose and give ourselves to Him, but it is by His grace. And the relationship is permanent--for ever and ever. Every other relation breaks up; but this, never. And the soul exults in this relationship. (W. Jay.)

God with all His perfections, the Christians God

It is the unspeakable privilege of believers that God in Christ is their own God, and will be so for ever. In the Old Testament it was the joy of the devout Jew that God was his God. And the believer in Christ has the like joy. But only through Christ, who is called Immanuel, that is, God with us. Eminent believers are represented as having a special interest in God. The patriarchs; Moses; the psalmists; David. And we may well rejoice in our relation to God, for He is almighty, wise, holy, just, omnipresent, patient, sovereign, good, merciful, love, faithful. Then, can we say, This God is our God? (G. Burder.)

Trinity Sunday

Great and awful is the subject which this Sunday brings before us--the greatest and most awful of any. It is not a simple historical fact, like those which we commemorate on other great days of our Church; like the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas Day, or His death on Good Friday, or His resurrection on Easter Day, or the descent of the Holy Ghost on Whit-Sunday, that we have to do with now. It is the revealed truth respecting God Himself; the unfolding to us, as far as we can receive it, of the name and nature of the Almighty. But this mystery has its practical side. Take--

I. The name of father. What word could more truly convey the love of God to us?

II. The name of the son. What a revelation this is; how it brings heaven very near to us and clears the way for sinners to draw nigh to the holy God.

III. The name of the Holy Ghost. He it is who makes us holy, raises us from the death of sin to the life of righteousness and so fits us for the eternal inheritance. He is our Instructor; the Spirit of counsel, of knowledge and true godliness; the Spirit of Gods holy fear. (R. D. B. Rawnsley, M. A.)

Bold yet unanswerable

There are three ideas in the text.

1. In the words This God, we have a bold and unanswerable assertion.

2. In the statement that This God is our God we have a personal possession.

3. As He is our God for ever and ever we have an eternal joy. (W. Birch.)

Our God

The English word God is an Anglo-Saxon word, which gave not only the name, but told the character of God. For it means also good. God did not show the glory of His face to Moses, but He blessed him with a revelation of His name. In the name Jehovah there are eleven different meanings, each of which describes the character of our God. Let me mention them in their order. The ever-existing Being whose nature and disposition are eternally the same; the strong God who can do all things; the merciful Being who is full of tenderness and compassion; the gracious One whose heart is goodness, humility and love; the long-suffering Friend who is never irritated with His people, and who suffers long and is kind even unto the unthankful and the evil; the bountiful Provider who overflows with beneficence; the true One who never deceives nor can be deceived, and who is the fountain of truth ever pouring wisdom and knowledge unto men; the Keeper of compassion for the suffering, the erring, and the penitent to all generations; the unselfish Being who himself bears the pain of iniquity, and who pardons transgression and washes away sin; the impartial Ruler who acts rightly to every creature; and the faithful Judge whose wise laws pour blessings on the righteous and inflict punishment on the wicked, and from whose just sentence the impenitent sinner cannot escape. Let this God be our God for ever and ever.

I. Our God is a consuming fire. I was taught as a child to dread God. He was said to love me only when I was obedient, and to make a place for me in hell when I was not a good child. Feeling conscious that I was more bad than good, I dreaded God; and had a great fear of going to sleep lest I should die and see Him before morning. It was teaching as unwise as it was untrue. What a revelation when I read in the New Testament that Jesus was God! And when I felt He loved me, and listened to my prayer, and smiled upon me, I went forth to tell a little playmate who, like me, had lost his mother, that Jesus would be a gentle mother to him.

II. Our God is also a practical God. He teaches men the science of self-government. His intention is that His people shall be conformed to His likeness; and in order that they may copy Him, He gives the Divine nature to all who ask. God would have us run willingly in the path of His commandments. Some parents never let their children out of their sight, and so protect them from evil; but it would be better to teach them the fear of the Lord, so that they may be able to resist temptation and practise goodness. It is good to be saved from sin by any means, but it is best when our own principle holds us back from it. And so God does not hold us from temptation by outward force, but by the inbreathing of His Spirit; He would have us obedient children who love to do His will. God also deals practically with nations as with individuals. He is teaching nations the art of self-government, and is training men to see that war is not only a blunder, but a crime.

III. I should like to have shown that our God is a personal God. He knows you, He loves you, and He is now present with you! Speak to Him in prayer; He hears you. Seek His Holy Spirit; He gives it to you. Trust Him. (W. Birch.)

This God is our God

The revelation of the Deity to mankind may be represented as a twofold revelation. It has pleased God to disclose Himself to us in His works; that is, in the facts and the phenomena of the material and the intellectual universe. And it has pleased God furthermore to disclose Himself in His Word; that is, in the writings of holy men of old, who spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. To each of these communications it becomes us to give reverent and earnest heed. We have, then, two sources of information concerning God. We have--let us call it so, according to the ordinary phraseology--natural religion; and we have revealed religion. Not contradictory, remember, at any point; not contradictory in any measure whatever, No, they are not at variance with each other; they are not independent of each other; they are not indifferent to each other. Truth cannot be opposed to truth. I have been led to say this in consequence of the particular cast and the phraseology of my text--This God is our God. The question comes immediately, what God? what God is your God? All nature comes and proffers its answer, and all Scripture comes and proffers its answer. They do not contradict one another, but they beautifully combine to give us an answer in which we may all rejoice. Who is your God? you may say to the good man in the hour of his rejoicing, who is your God? He that treated the heavens and the earth, and who loved the world so as to give His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This God is our God for ever and ever, and He will be our guide even unto death. Now, my business is to speak of the blessedness of the man who is able to appreciate this great truth, and my hope is that I may prevail upon many of you to ask whether that privilege may not become your own. It may, if you will. Do you, as I go on from point to point affirming that this God is our God, do you say, May He be mine too? This God. What God? Think--

I. Of his infinite power. In creation, by a word; the earth and man, his body and soul. What power is here. This is my God, this God that has done all things that can be conceived of, whether in heaven above, in the earth beneath, or in the waters under the earth. Comes there before you now dangers, jeopardy, adversaries? Comes there before you now something that you are anticipating, of which you stand in dread? and you feel, would to God I had defence and protection for ever? Say to Him, Who is our God? Thou art my portion saith my soul. Before you say it, He will answer. Who is our God? He it is who created the heavens and the earth by His mere commandment, and who could unmake them all to-morrow by a similar commandment, again upholding all things by the word of His power. He is our Father, and we are His sons and daughters, according to His promise.

II. The infinite wisdom of God. Do you not know what marks of consummate sagacity are meeting us at every step? There is that great and wide sea of which I spoke; possessed of an ingredient that maintains it in its purity, and yet getting discharged of that ingredient naturally and advantageously day after day! The great wide seal The source of the fertilizing shower, the great receptacle to which those fertilizing showers return! Mark the wisdom there! There is the sun placed just in the position necessary for the beautiful diffusion of its light and heat; and here is our earth in its relation to the sun, so revolving as to obtain the benefit of its sunshine and of its warmth, and so related to it as to give us all the seasons in their turn. Wisdom again!

III. The unspeakable mercy of God. For this see how righteousness and love, justice and mercy were harmonized.

IV. His unchangeableness. And He waits to be yours. To reject Him is to perish. (W. Brock.)

The right God

It is all important that we should worship the right God now, in our text the psalmist made--

I. A blessed selection. This God, amongst all other gods, shall be our God. For there were many gods of different name and nature. Some for one country and others for another. But in our day all Christian nations profess, whatever be their sect or denomination, to worship the same God. There are many Churches. Roman Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Mormon and others. Now, which is the true Church, and what God is the right God? And we must each one make our choice. It is a responsibility that we cannot transfer. It is said that every man makes his own god. And it is true that a man will of necessity ascribe to God those faculties and attributes which he himself possesses and values most highly. To the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful. Every rightly educated man in a Christian country must, after studying the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, believe in God our Father. If he be a man of balanced judgment, that is, if his mind be formed mentally on the square, in my opinion, he must admit that the highest ideal, the noblest character, the most beautiful disposition that can possibly be described in human language is that of the Divine Being, our heavenly Father, as revealed by Jesus Christ. What a beautiful name is that of Father! And He is the Father of our spirits which, though the body may perish, are indestructible. And God is revealed as a pardoning God, freely forgiving our sins.

II. The blessed decision. This God is our God. Believe in Gods power and willingness to save us. Trust Him utterly, and through Jesus Christ He will save us. (W. Birch.)

The eternal Guide

It was an old Athenian custom to celebrate at the public expense the funeral of those citizens who had honourably fallen in war. At the close of the first year of the war between Athens and Sparta, Pericles was chosen to deliver the funeral oration. His eloquent words have been preserved for us in the pages of a Greek historian. He calls upon his fellow-citizens to fix their eyes on the present greatness of their city, and he continues, When you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this Empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty, and had the courage to do it. The sacrifice which they made was repaid to them; for they received, each one for himself, a praise which grows not old, and the noblest of all sepulchres. Make them your examples. Congratulate yourselves that you have been happy during the greater part of your days; remember that your life of sorrow will net last long, and be comforted by the glory of those who are gone; for the love of honour alone is ever young, and not riches but honour is the delight of men when they are old and useless. How striking is the contrast of this utterance with our psalm. This, too, has a national character. It records the defeat of the enemy, and, like the speech of the Athenian, points to the unimpaired glory of the national centre. Zion stands unharmed. No hostile army lies at her gates. Behold her in her beauty! Thy lovingkindness, O God, is in the midst of Thy temple. Our future is in Thy hands. This God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our Guide even unto death. The contrast is instructive. There can be no question as to which member of it appeals to us--it is the Hebrew net the Greek standpoint that is ours. Not great statesmen, generals or scholars do we regard as the ground of our hope, whether national or individual, but God. If we have cause for congratulation, the cause is the Lord.

I. The psalmist makes the past throw light on the future. He notes how God has interposed for His people, and upon such facts he bases his assurances for the future. Such is God--so mighty and so careful for His people. Our God, who has made our cause His own; for ever, for He is always the same. And as He has been, so He will be even unto death. And certainly, if the psalmist had been the most learned of historians, if he could have anticipated the large and minute knowledge and the elaborate philosophies of history which mark the present, he could not have reached a wiser conclusion. For if, in our studies, we leave God out of history or of personal experience, these give us no ground of hope for successful guidance in the future. If any one is satisfied to believe that he has reached his present success, or that the world has attained its present point of progress through human wisdom alone, I wish him joy of his conclusion, and should be interested to know how he reconciles it with the facts. The administration of the world has clearly proved itself to be altogether too large a thing for either the individual or the collective wisdom of mankind.

II. And God is our God. He is not merely an abstract fact, but a personal possession. This God is our God. This permission to appropriate God is one of the most precious revelations of Scripture. God gives Himself to us. Gods giving Himself in Christ is no new gift. He had done that long before Christ came. The psalmist had said, Thou art my God, O God. That little word my represents the eternal relation of God to His people. And if God is ours, then, whatever is in God is available for us, is ours. A good many of you do not practically believe that. If you did, you would not worry and fret as you do. You will not accept Gods large meaning. If a rich and wise man in whom you have perfect trust should come to you this morning and say, For the rest of your life you shall absolutely command my purse, ray knowledge, my experience, you would appreciate that, and would believe it, and would get substantial help and comfort from it. And yet God says to you nothing less than this. I am your God. All that you can receive as a man I put at your disposal. That is your new-years gift if you will believe it. Some things God will net give you because they would hurt you. Other things He will not give you because you could not use them if you had them. In giving you Himself God gives you more than all His gifts combined.

III. This possession is for ever and ever. More than this years future is assured. No king, no capitalist can say what you can. They cannot say of their crown, their gold, This is mine for ever. The head that wears the crown must be laid low, and the rich mans gold pass into other hands. But God is ours for ever and ever.

IV. The thought is made specific--God is our God as our guide. This idea of guidance is frequent in the Scriptures. See Israel in the wilderness. And our Lord, in the beautiful figure of the good shepherd--He goeth before them. And in heaven, the Lamb shall lead them to fountains of living waters. Such is God, our God, our Guide, an approved Guide. The history of His guidance, the map of the tracks by which He has led His people, is before us. The first instance has yet to be shown of one who has fared other than well by following God as a guide. Do you cite me the great army of the sorrowing, the persecuted, the martyrs? They have not fared ill if their own testimony is worth anything. They have had their choice. They could have forsaken God if they would, but they chose to follow Him through suffering to death. On their own testimony they fared better with God and with tribulation than with the world and without God. And our Guide has unerring wisdom (Psa_73:1-28.). Thou shelf guide me with Thy counsel. Is it not worth trying? Suppose that for this year you literally accept it as the law of your life, to let God take care of you. Keep your hand in Gods, your eye upon His face; do what He tells you; do your best, and believe with all your heart that God will do the best for you. I care not how many troubles and disappointments you shall meet--if you do not say at the close of the year that it has been the happiest, or rather the most blessed, year of your life, come to me and tell me I have misread Gods promises. And what is this blessed promise but that which we find in Christs words, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. (M. R. Vincent, D. D.)

He will be our guide even unto death,--

Our Guide

How perfectly qualified God is for this office. In a journey it is unnecessary for the traveller to know the road; but the guide ought to know it; and when he is well acquainted with it and we have full confidence in him, we shall feel satisfaction notwithstanding our ignorance. Abraham went out not knowing whither he went; but he knew with whom. And so Job, amid all his perplexities, comforts himself with the thought, He knoweth the way that I take. And our Guide indulges us with constant intercourse, and is equal to all our exigencies. He defends us, and is patient under all our provocations. And He continues with us all the way, even unto death, yea, and through it, through the valley of the shadow of death. (W. Jay.)

God our Guide

1. If we were going to ascend Mont Blanc, we should seek for a guide in whom we could feel confidence; he must be a man of experience, one who had travelled that way many times, who knew every danger and how to avoid them; he must be a strong man, and one who would be able to render aid in case of accident, one who would not desert us in the hour of need, but stand by us even unto death; and many a guide has lost his life in these perilous ascents in the effort to save the traveller in his care. The guide would expect us to follow him, and to obey him, and no one would neglect to do this. So in our journey through life, One has offered to be our Guide and lead us safely to the heavenly Jerusalem. There are many dangers by the way, many pitfalls for the unwary and ignorant, and those who insist on going alone are sure to get lost; let us choose this Guide, for He has experience, He has travelled this way before, and He knows every step. He is a guide we can have such confidence in, we need never doubt Him for a moment, but He must be obeyed, we must follow Him just as He tells us.

2. Into what paths will He guide us? He led the children of Israel through the desert, but into a land flowing with milk and honey. And sometimes He leads His people through darkness, but the way leads up to light, through sorrow up to joy, through tears up to happiness; separations will end in reunions, weakness in strength, sickness in health. He will lead us into that land where shall be no more hunger nor thirst, where the sun shall not light on us, nor any heat. For He shall lead us unto fountains of living water, and God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes; and there shall be no night there. What a glorious Guide and Leader! (L. Shorey.)

Psa_49:1-20

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

Psa 48:14. This God, &c. — Who hath done this great work for us; is our God — Who alone can protect us, and will be our defender, if we depend upon him, for ever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death — While we have a being. He will not content himself with having delivered and preserved us once; but will be our conductor, and will exercise a most tender care over us, such as a shepherd doth over his sheep, all the days of our life. Birth and life, and the several ages of life and death, are often ascribed to churches and commonwealths, both in the Scriptures and in other authors. This promise was made to the old and earthly Jerusalem, upon condition of their obedience, in which, as they grossly failed, they lost the benefit of it; but it is absolutely made good to the new and heavenly Jerusalem, the church of Christ, and all the true members thereof. Observe, reader, if Jehovah be our God, he will be our guide, our faithful, constant guide, to show us our way to true happiness here and hereafter, and to lead us in it; he will be so even unto death, which will be the period of our way, and will bring us to our rest. He will conduct us safe to felicity and immortality on the other side of death, to a life most blessed, in which there shall be no more death nor suffering. If we take the Lord for our God, he will convey us safe to death, through death, and beyond death; down to death, and up again to glory.

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

15. (Psa 48:14). For this God (is) our God for ever and ever; he will guide us unto death. The for assigns a reason for representing this event as one to be remembered, namely, because it is an instance of the favour of Jehovah, who is our perpetual defender. The whole may be thrown into a single sentence, without supplying is in the first clause. For this God, our God, for ever and ever, he will guide, etc. Or still more in accordance with the usual construction of the pronoun, this is our God for ever and ever, i e. he who has done this is and is to be our God. According to the other and more usual construction, this God means the God who has performed these wonders. For ever and ever, literally eternity and perpetuity. See, above, on Psa 9:6 (5), Psa 10:16; Psa 21:5 (4), Psa 45:7 (6). Unto death, or as some explain it, at death, i.e. he will save us from it; others, over death, beyond it. But the most obvious explanation, and the one most agreeable to usage, is that which makes the phrase mean even to the end of life, or as lono, as we live. The idea of a future state, though not expressed, is not excluded. See above, on Psa 17:15.

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

48:14 No one is like God (35:10; 71:19; 86:8; 89:6, 8; 113:5; see Isa 40:18, 25). He is the shepherd King (Ps 95:7) who will guide (see 5:8; 23:2) the sheep of his flock (77:20).

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

Verse 14. For this God] Who did all these wonderful things, -

Is our God] He is our portion, and he has taken us for his people.

He will be our guide] Through all the snares and difficulties of life, -

Even unto death] He will never leave us; and we, by his grace, will never abandon him. He is just such a God as we need; infinite in mercy, goodness, and truth. He is our Father, and we are the sons and daughters of God Almighty. Even unto and in death, he will be our portion.

ANALYSIS OF THE FORTY-EIGHTH PSALM

Under the type of Jerusalem is set down the happiness of the Church, which is always protected by the Divine favour. There are three parts in this Psalm: -

I. The excellences and privileges of the city of God, Ps 48:1-3.

II. A narration of a miraculous deliverance she obtained, and the terror that fell upon her enemies, Ps 48:4-8.

III. An exhortation to consider it, and to praise God, Ps 48:9-14.

I. The psalmist begins with a maxim: "Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised." Great in himself; and greatly to be praised for all things, in all places; but especially in the city of our God, in the mountain of holiness.

Then he descends to set forth the excellences and ornaments of the Church.

1. It is "the city of God," built and governed by him, and in it he resides.

2. "It is a holy mountain:" The religion in it is holy; the people, a holy people.

3. "It is beautiful for situation:" God has put his beauty upon it.

4. "The joy of the whole earth is Mount Zion:" The joy and ornament of all the land of Judea then, and afterwards of the whole world, because the law was to come out of Zion.

5. "It is the city of the great King," i.e., God. He founded, and rules in it.

6. "God is known in her palaces:" In her is the knowledge of God; yea, and by an experimental knowledge, he is found to be an asylum, a sure refuge.

II. And it is well that it is so; for Jerusalem, i.e., the Church, has many and great enemies, which (Ps 48:5) the prophet begins to describe; and desires that notice may be taken of them, for he points them out with "Lo! or Behold!"

1. They are many and powerful. They were "kings," a plurality of them.

2. Confederate kings: "The kings were assembled." United power is the more effectual.

But all the endeavours of those kings, those confederate kings, came to nothing.

1. "They passed by together:" together they came, together they vanished.

2. "They saw - they marvelled:" They saw the strength of this city, and wondered how it could be so strangely delivered out of their hands.

3. On this they were troubled, they trembled, and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them; which the prophet illustrates by a double similitude: 1. By a travailing woman; "Fear took hold upon them, and pain, as of a woman in travail." 2. By the fear of mariners at sea, when euroclydon threatens to destroy their ship; their amazement was such "as when thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind."

III. In this third part of the Psalm there are two especial points: -

A grateful acknowledgment of God's protection of his Church: "As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of our God." We have heard that he will protect this city, and we see that he hath done it; and persuaded we are that he will always do it: "God will establish it for ever."

2. And this shall never be forgotten by us: "We have thought of thy loving-kindness in the midst of thy temple."

3. And so thought of it as to praise thee for it: "According to thy name so is thy praise; thy right hand is full of righteousness." All the earth shall know that thou dost help with thy powerful hand thy afflicted and oppressed people. Thou wilt punish their adversaries, "for thy right hand is full of righteousness - and justice."

The second point of this third part is an exhortation to God's people.

1. That they exult and rejoice for what God does for them: "Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments," in defending thy Church, and punishing their enemies.

2. That they take especial notice of his miraculous deliverance of Jerusalem; that, notwithstanding the army was great that lay against it, yet no harm was done: "Walk about Zion, tell the towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks, and her palaces." See whether they be not all standing and entire.

3. And do it for this end: "That you may tell it to the generation following." Leave it on record how miraculously God hath delivered you.

4. For this there are two strong reasons: 1. "For this God," who protects and defends us, "is our God for ever." 2. "He will be our guide unto death." He will not leave us when all the world leaves us. In the time in which we need him most, we shall find him most powerfully present to help us. Therefore, exult, rejoice, mark it; and make it known to the generations to come.

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

14. For this God is our God for ever and ever From these words it appears still more clearly, that when the prophet spake of the palaces of Jerusalem, it was not that the godly should keep their eyes fixed upon them, but that by the aid of these outward things they should elevate their minds to the contemplation of the glory of God. God would have them to behold, as it were, the marks of his grace engraven wherever they turned themselves, or rather, to recognize him as present in these marks. From this we conclude, that whatever dignity or excellence shines forth in the Church, we are not to consider it otherwise than as the means of presenting God to our view, that we may magnify and praise him in his gifts. The demonstrative pronoun זה, zeh, this, is not superfluous; it is put to distinguish the only true God, of whose existence and character the faithful were fully persuaded, from all the false gods which men have set themselves to invent. The unbelieving may boldly speak of the name of God, and prate about religion; but however much they may do this, when they are more closely questioned, it will be found that they have nothing certain or settled on the subject. Yea, the vain imaginations and inventions of those who are not grounded in the true faith must necessarily come to nothing. It is, then, the property of faith to set before us not a confused but a distinct knowledge of God, and such as may not leave us wavering, as superstition leaves its votaries, which, we know, is always introducing some new counterfeit deities and in countless numbers. We ought, therefore, so much the more to mark the emphatic demonstrative pronoun this, which is here used. We meet with an almost similar passage in the prophecies of Isaiah,

“Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation:”— Isaiah 25:9

as if the faithful had protested and declared, We have not an uncertain God, or a God of whom we have only a confused and an indistinct apprehension, but one of whom we have a true and solid knowledge. When the faithful here declare that God will continue unchangeably steadfast to his purpose in maintaining his Church, their object is to encourage and strengthen themselves to persevere in a continued course of faith. What follows immediately after, He will be our guide even unto death, seems to be added by way of exposition. In making this statement, the people of God assure themselves that he will be their guide and keeper for ever. They are not to be understood as meaning that they will be safe under the government and conduct of God in this life only, and that he will abandon them in the midst of death; but they express generally, and according to the common people’s way of speaking, what I have stated, that God will take care of all who rely upon him even to the end. What we translate, Even unto death, consists of two words in the Hebrew text, אל מות, al muth; but some read in one word, אלמות, almuth, and take it for age or eternity The sense, however, will be the same whether we read the one way or the other. Others translate it childhood, in this sense, As God has from the beginning carefully preserved and maintained his Church, even as a father brings up his children from their infancy, so he will continue to act in the same manner. The first sense, however, in my opinion, is the more appropriate. Others translate it in secret or hidden, which seems equally remote from the meaning of the prophet; unless, perhaps, we should understand him as intending expressly to say, that God’s way of exercising his government is hidden, that we may not measure or judge of it by carnal reason, but by faith.

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.

(14) Unto death.—The words (‘al mûth) are proved by the ancient versions and various readings to be really a musical direction, either placed at the end instead of the beginning, as in Hab_3:19, or shifted back from the title of the next psalm. See Psalms 9 title, ‘alamôth.

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

14. For this God &c.] For such is God [Jehovah] our God for ever and ever. Jehovah is a God who has proved Himself the defender of His city and people, and will continue to be the same for ever.

he will be our guide even unto death] Beautiful as is the thought, He (emphatic—He and no other) will be our guide unto death (or, in death, or, over death), it cannot be legitimately extracted from the present text, nor would such an expression of personal faith form a natural conclusion to this wholly national Psalm. Possibly the words ‘al mûth (rendered unto death) should be read as one, with different vowels, ‘ôlâmôth, ‘for ever.’ So the LXX and Symmachus. Possibly the words are the remains of a musical direction like that of Psalms 9, ‘al muth labbçn, meaning ‘set to the tune of mûth,’ or that of Psalms 46, ‘set to ‘Alâmôth,’ which has been placed at the end of the Ps. (as in Hab_3:19) instead of at the beginning, as is the rule in the Psalter, or which has been accidentally transferred from the beginning of Psalms 49. In this case the clause he will guide us seems incomplete, (though he will save us in Isa_33:22 offers an exact parallel), and we must either with Delitzsch suppose that the concluding words are lost; or, with Bickell, Cheyne, and others, transpose words from the first line to the second, and read For (or, That) such is God [Jehovah] our God: He will guide us for ever and ever. Cp. Isa_25:9.

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 this God is our God forever and ever - The God who has thus made his abode in the city, and who has manifested himself as its prorector. It is our comfort to reflect that such a God is “our” God; that he has manifested himself as our friend; that we may habitually feel that he is our own. And he is not only our God now, but he will be such for ever and ever. A feeling that the true God is “our” God - that he is ours and that we are his - always carries with it the idea that this is to be “forever;” that what is true now in this respect, will be true to all eternity. He is not a God for the present only, but for all time to come; not merely for this world, but for that unending duration which awaits us beyond the tomb.

He will be our guide even unto death - The Septuagint and the Vulgate render this “he will rule or govern ποιμανεῖ poimanei - reget) forever.” The more correct rendering, however, is that in our version, which is a literal translation of the Hebrew. Some have translated it upon death, על־מות ‛al-mûth; others, beyond death; but the true idea is that he will be our guide, or will conduct us all along through life; that he will never forsake us until the close has come; that he will accompany us faithfully to the end. The thought does not, of course, “exclude” the idea that he will be our guide - our protector - our friend - beyond death; but it is simply that as long as we live on the earth, we may have the assurance that he will lead and guide us. This he will do in behalf of those who put their trust in him

(a) by the counsels of His word;

(b) by the influences of His Spirit;

(c) by His providential interpositions;

(d) by special help in special trials;

(e) by shedding light upon our path when in perplexity and doubt; and

(f) by support and direction when we tread that dark and to us unknown way which conducts to the grave.

Man needs nothing more for this life than the confident assurance that he has the Eternal God for his guide, and that he will never be left or forsaken by Him in any possible situation in which he may be placed. If God, by His own hand, will conduct me through this world, and lead me safely through the dark valley - that valley which lies at the end of every traveler’s path - I have nothing to fear beyond.

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

This God; who hath done this great work.

Even unto death, i.e. whilst we have a being. Birth and life, and the several ages of life and death, are oft ascribed to churches and commonwealths, both in Scripture and in other authors. This promise was made to the old and earthly Jerusalem, upon condition of their obedience, wherein they failing so grossly, lost the benefit of it, but it is absolutely made good to the new and heavenly Jerusalem, the church of Christ.

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

Ver. 14. For this God is our God for ever and ever. A good reason for preserving a record of all that he has wrought. Israel will not change her God so as to wish to forget, nor will the Lord change so as to make the past mere history. He will be the covenant God of his people world without end. There is no other God, we wish for no other, we would have no other even if there were. There are some who are so ready to comfort the wicked, that for the sake of ending their punishment they weaken the force of language, and make for ever and ever mean but a time; nevertheless, despite their interpretations we exult in the hope of an eternity of bliss, and to us "everlasting, " and "for ever and ever" mean what they say. He will be our guide even unto death. Throughout life, and to our dying couch, he will graciously conduct us, and even after death he will lead us to the living fountains of waters. We look to him for resurrection and eternal life. This consolation is clearly derivable from what has gone before; hitherto our foes have been scattered, and our bulwarks have defied attack, for God has been in our midst, therefore all possible assaults in the future shall be equally futile.

"The church has all her foes defied

And laughed to scorn their rage;

Even thus for aye she shall abide

Secure from age to age."

Farewell, fear. Come hither, gratitude and faith, and sing right joyously.

Ver. 14. This God is our God for ever and ever. What a portion then is that of the believer! The landlord cannot say of his fields, these are mine for ever and ever. The king cannot say of his crown, this is mine for ever and ever. These possessions shall soon change masters; these possessors shall soon mingle with the dust, and even the graves they shall occupy may not long be theirs; but it is the singular, the supreme happiness of every Christian to say, or have a right to say, "This glorious God with all his divine perfections is my God, for ever and ever, and even death itself shall not separate me from his love." George Burder.

Ver. 14. This God is our God. The people of God are sometime represented as so taken with this apprehension of their peculiar relation to God, that they cannot be content to know, but they proclaim it; nor was it enough the present age should know, but they must have it told the following generation: "Let Mount Zion rejoice, " etc. Mark, "That ye may tell the generation following, "For this is our God. See their ostentation of him! This God; q.d., Behold what a God have we! view him well, and take notice how glorious a God he is. And as they glory in the greatness of the God to whom they were related, so they do in the eternity of the relation. "This God is our God for ever and ever." John Howe.

Ver. 14. God is not only a satisfying portion, filling every crevice of thy soul with the light of joy and comfort; and a sanctifying portion, elevating thy soul to its primitive and original perfection; and a universal portion; not health, or wealth, or friends, or honours, or liberty, or life, or house, or wife, or child, or pardon, or peace, or grace, or glory, or earth, or heaven, but all these, and infinitely more, but also he is an eternal portion. This God would be thy God for ever and ever. Oh, sweet word ever! thou art the crown of the saints' crown, and the glory of their glory. Their portion is so full that they desire no more; they enjoy variety and plenty of delights above what they are able to ask or think, and want nothing but to have it fixed. May they but possess it in peace without interruption or cessation, they will trample all kingdoms of the earth as dirt under their feet; and lo! thou art the welcome dove to bring this olive branch in thy mouth. This God is our God for ever and ever. All the arithmetical figures of days, and months, and years, and ages, are nothing to this infinite cipher ever, which, though it stand for nothing in the vulgar account, yet contains all our millions; yea, our millions and millions of millions are less than drops in this ocean ever. George Swinnock.

Ver. 14. Some expositors have strangely found a difficulty in the last verse, deeming such a profession of personal faith as inappropriate termination for a national song. Even Dr. Delitzch, a wise and devout interpreter, shares in this notion; going, indeed, so far as to throw out the surmise, that some word must have been lost from the Hebrew text. To me it seems that the verse, as it stands, is admirably in harmony with the song, and is its crowning beauty. When the Lord does great things for church or nation, he means that all the faithful, however humble their station, should take courage from it, should repose in him fresh confidence, and cling to him with a firmer hope, and say, This God shall be our God for ever; he will guide us even unto death. William Binnie.

Ver. 14. Unto death, or as some explain it, at death, i.e., he will save us from it; others, over death, beyond it. But the most obvious explanation, and the one most agreeable to usage, is that which makes the phrase mean even to the end of life, or as long as we live. The idea of a future state, though not expressed, is not excluded. J. A. Alexander.

Ver. 14. (last clause). The last clause is much misunderstood. It is not, "Our guide unto death, "for the words are, (twm-le wnghny), "shall lead us over death." Surely it means, "It is he who leads over death to resurrection" over Jordan to Canaan. The (Heb.) is used in Le 15:25, for "beyond, "in regard to time, and is not this the sense here? "Beyond the time of death"? Till death is to us over? Till we have stood upon the grace of death? Yes; he it is who leads us on to this last victory; he swallows up death in victory, and leads us to trample on death. And so viewed, we easily discern the beautiful link of thought that joins this Psalm to that which follows. Such is the celebration of The Mighty One become the glory of Jerusalem. Andrew A. Bonar.

Ver. 14. (first clause). This is the language of a proprietary in God: 1. Of an assured proprietary"This God is our God." 2. Of a permanent proprietaryfor ever and ever. 3. Of an exulting proprietary. W. Jay.

Ver. 14.

1. The language of discrimination. This God. This God in Christ, in the church.

2. The language of Faithour God.

3. Of HopeFor ever and ever.

4. Of ResignationHe will be our guide, etc.

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

14. For this God is our God—Glorious confession! to which the astonished people are led by their inspection and circuit of the city walls.

For ever and ever—Two of the strongest Hebrew words for endless duration.

Even unto death—This certainly cannot be the idea of the original, for besides that it is a great falling off from the previous sentence, it is against the connexion. The point of the argument is to show the Church or Zion indestructible. We must either drop the Makkeph, and change the vowel points so as to read עלמות, (to eternity,) instead of על מות, (unto death,) (and so the Septuagint, εις τους αιωνας, for evermore, Vulgate, in soecula, which agree with the context and scope;) or, accepting the Masoretic or common text, take the preposition על, (‘al,) not in the sense of unto, as in the common Version, but of after, through, over, against, and read, “he will be our guide after, through, over, or against death.” Either of these renderings would be entirely according to the usage of the proposition, and would sustain the sense and harmonize with the connexion, which assumes that God will never resign the leadership of his people. Death is not a goal to be reached, as unto would imply, but an enemy or terror now vanquished, surmounted, or removed, so as to offer no impediment. The outlook is not upon an earthly future, but an immortality. The stability and endless prosperity belong not to the material Zion, but to the mystic, the Church in her spiritual and evangelical inheritance. “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Psa_68:20; Mat_16:18.

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

For this God (i.e. the God who has now delivered us) is our God for ever and ever; i.e. he will always remain faithful to us, as we will to him. He will be our Guide even unto death. Dr. Kay translates "even over death," and understands that God"s loving protection is promised to the faithful even in the land beyond the grave. But he stands alone in this interpretation. Host moderns question whether the words tWmAl are any part of the psalm, and, comparing them with the Bl tWmAl of the title to Ps 9, suggest that they are a mere musical notation. But the psalm would end abruptly without the words, and the meaning, "he will be our Guide unto death," is quite satisfactory (so Hengstenberg and the Revised Version).

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

he will be our guide

The word "guide" can be translated as a verb. AT: "he will guide us" (See: Abstract Nouns)

to death

Possible meanings are 1) "until we die" or 2) "forever."

translationWords

eternity

die

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

to its walls Heb. לחילה, to its walls, as (Lam. 2:8): “rampart (חיל) and wall.”

raise its palaces Heb. פסגו, raise its palaces, as (Deut. 3:17): “beneath the rapids of the elevation,” which is translated רָמָתָא, the high place.

in order that you may tell its height and its beauty to the generation after you.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.