The Lord sitteth upon the flood— The Lord sat upon the deluge. "The Lord sat, and shall for ever sit, king over all this tremendous scene of desolation; directing it as he pleases, to the good of his people, and the confusion of their enemies." See Mudge and Houbigant. Bishop Hare, supposing the verse to refer to the deluge, has this gloss upon it: "This is the same God, who in Noah's flood sat as judge, and sent that destruction upon the earth." The verse seems more naturally to allude to the thunder-storm and shower here described.
REFLECTIONS.—The Psalm opens,
1. With a solemn admonition to all living, to render unto the Lord the glory due to his name. Let mighty angels bow in heaven, and mighty kings on earth fall prostrate at his feet, ascribing to him infinite power and eternal majesty, and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: either the tabernacle, where his magnificent and holy worship was paid, or with that holiness of heart and temper which is the beauty of all worship. Note; (1.) The greatest are not too high to bow at God's footstool; kings should set their subjects the good example. (2.) Repeated calls show our backwardness, and the need we have to be urged to the service and worship of the blessed God. (3.) It is not the formal ceremony of words, but the beauty of holiness in the heart, which in our worship God especially regards.
2. He gives a reason why they should worship this glorious God: his name is Jehovah, which is eighteen times repeated in these few verses, and intimates his self-existent and eternal excellence, which renders him the object of universal worship and praise; and his works declare his majesty, power, and greatness; his voice speaks in mighty thunderings, while dark clouds of the sky are spread under him; the forked lightnings glare around, the earth trembles at the terrible shock; and mountains, as affrighted, leap from their wide-spread bases; the cedars of Lebanon are shivered as the brittle reed, the beasts that lodge under their branches, affrighted, cast their burdens; and gloomy forests, before the resistless storm, stripped of their verdure, admit the flashing beam; while He, the mighty God, with majesty composed, sitteth upon the flood, and, as the eternal King, issues his mandate as in the deluge, saying, hitherto shalt thou come, and no further; and every element hears, and instantly obeys. Note; when God's thunder is near, and his floods of rain, mingled with fire, descend, let us think of this dread majesty, and bow before him; how glorious to have him our friend, how terrible to meet him as our enemy!
The whole may also be well applied to Christ; his voice, loud as these thunders, speaks to many people, kindreds, and nations, powerful to awaken, convince, and convert the soul: the proudest sinners, though like cedars of Lebanon, are broken before it; and, though fast rooted in sin as the mountain's base, yet by Christ's glorious word their bands are loosed; piercing and strong as the glaring beams of lightning, his gospel in the midst of darkness pours a flood of day upon the soul, and kindles up a fire of love in the heart, which many waters cannot quench: the wilderness of the Gentile world was shaken before it, and saving discoveries made to them of the glory of God; pangs came upon them at first, as sorrows of a woman in travail; but they were succeeded by the joys of Christ formed in them; he sitteth now as king over our hearts, and over the hearts of his faithful people for ever; and in the temple of his church on earth, and his more magnificent sanctuary in heaven, his majesty and glory shall be the theme of everlasting praise.
3. The Psalmist concludes with a comfortable prospect for God's faithful people. He will give them strength against every danger; and bless them with his peace, which passeth all understanding; internal peace, from a present sense of God's favour in Christ; and eternal peace, when the floods of wrath and the deluge of fire shall sweep away the ungodly for ever.