The majesty of God in the church: his order to gather saints. The pleasure of God is not in ceremonies, but in sincerity of obedience.
A Psalm of Asaph.
Title. ףּלאס מזמור mizmor leasaph. A psalm of Asaph— For Asaph. Or, according to the Chaldee paraphrast, "A psalm by the hand of Asaph;" who is supposed to have conveyed it to the tabernacle by the order of David, who probably wrote it, and appointed this Asaph, a Levite, to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and thank and praise the Lord God of Israel. This psalm is an illustrious prophesy, concerning the abrogation of the Jewish religion, the calling of the Gentiles, and the establishment of the true evangelical worship throughout the world. It is delivered with great pomp and sublimity: The first six verses are a previous solemnity to the great trial; in which the Almighty is represented, as calling his people to account before heaven and earth, that they may be witnesses to his justice. He tells them, they must not think to atone for a wicked life by sacrifice: it was not the slain beast, but the homage of the heart which he would accept. For a fine critique upon this exquisite ode, we refer the reader to the beginning of Bishop Lowth's 27th Prelection.