Psalms 22:30-31(v18)Posterity shall serve him. Future generations shall be told about the Lord. They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people…
Psalms 79:11(v20)Let the sighing of the prisoner come before you. According to the greatness of your power, preserve those who are sentenced to death.
Romans 15:4(v18)For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the…
Psalms 146:7(v20)who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. Yahweh frees the prisoners.
Deuteronomy 26:15(v19)Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our…
Show all 60 cross-references
Isaiah 43:21(v18)the people which I formed for myself, that they might declare my praise.
Exodus 3:7(v20)Yahweh said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I…
Psalms 78:4-6(v18)We will not hide them from their children, telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh, his strength, and his wondrous deeds…
Isaiah 61:1-3(v20)The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me, because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken…
2 Kings 13:22-23(v20)Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But Yahweh was gracious to them, and had compassion on them, and had…
2 Chronicles 33:11-13(v20)Therefore Yahweh brought on them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh in chains, bound him with fetters, and…
Psalms 14:2(v19)Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, who sought after God.
Isaiah 14:17(v20)who made the world like a wilderness, and overthrew its cities, who didn’t release his prisoners to their home?”
Zechariah 9:9-12(v20)Rejoice greatly, daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation;…
Ephesians 2:2-3(v20)in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works…
1 Peter 2:9-10(v18)But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
Exodus 2:23-25(v20)In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and…
2 Kings 13:4(v20)Jehoahaz begged Yahweh, and Yahweh listened to him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.
Psalms 22:22(v21)I will declare your name to my brothers. Among the assembly, I will praise you.
Acts 12:6-11(v20)The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of…
Ephesians 2:10(v18)For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
2 Peter 1:15(v18)Yes, I will make every effort that you may always be able to remember these things even after my departure.
Deuteronomy 31:19-30(v18)“Now therefore write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a…
Jeremiah 51:32-35(v20)So the passages are seized. They have burned the reeds with fire. The men of war are frightened.” For Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel…
Zechariah 8:20-23(v22)Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another,…
1 Corinthians 10:11(v18)Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18(v18)Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But all things…
1 Kings 8:39(v19)then hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and forgive, and act, and give to every man according to all his ways, whose heart you know (for…
1 Kings 8:43(v19)hear in heaven, your dwelling place, and do according to all that the foreigner calls to you for; that all the peoples of the earth may…
2 Chronicles 16:9(v19)For Yahweh’s eyes run back and forth throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward…
Job 19:23-24(v18)“Oh that my words were now written! Oh that they were inscribed in a book! That with an iron pen and lead they were engraved in the rock…
Job 22:12(v19)“Isn’t God in the heights of heaven? See the height of the stars, how high they are!
Job 24:12(v20)From out of the populous city, men groan. The soul of the wounded cries out, yet God doesn’t regard the folly.
Psalms 33:13-14(v19)Yahweh looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
Psalms 45:16-17(v18)Your sons will take the place of your fathers. You shall make them princes in all the earth. I will make your name to be remembered in all…
Psalms 48:13(v18)Notice her bulwarks. Consider her palaces, that you may tell it to the next generation.
Psalms 71:18(v18)Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don’t forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to…
Psalms 72:8-11(v22)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before…
Isaiah 43:7(v18)everyone who is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory, whom I have formed, yes, whom I have made.’ ”
Isaiah 49:22-23(v22)The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and lift up my banner to the peoples. They shall bring your sons in…
Isaiah 65:17-19(v18)“For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be glad and…
Daniel 9:2(v18)in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah the…
Matthew 24:14(v22)This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
John 20:31(v18)but these are written, that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.
2 Timothy 3:16-17(v18)Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that each…
Hebrews 8:1-2(v19)Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of…
Hebrews 9:23-24(v19)It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves…
Genesis 49:10(v22)The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the…
Exodus 17:14(v18)Yahweh said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: that I will utterly blot out the memory…
Psalms 9:13-14(v21)Have mercy on me, Yahweh. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death, that I may show all of your…
Psalms 22:27(v22)All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
Psalms 51:14-15(v21)Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. Lord, open my…
Psalms 79:13(v21)So we, your people and sheep of your pasture, will give you thanks forever. We will praise you forever, to all generations.
Isaiah 51:11(v21)Those ransomed by Yahweh will return, and come with singing to Zion. Everlasting joy shall be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and…
Isaiah 60:3-22(v22)Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. “Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather…
Hosea 1:9-11(v22)He said, “Call his name Lo-Ammi; for you are not my people, and I will not be yours. Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as…
Romans 15:19(v22)in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully…
Ephesians 3:21(v21)to him be the glory in the assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 2:9(v21)But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
Ephesians 2:4-7(v21)But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (17 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
John Calvin1540 · Public DomainOn vv18–2118. This shall be registered for the generation that…
18. This shall be registered for the generation that is to come The Psalmist magnifies still more the fruit of the deliverance of his people, for the purpose of encouraging himself and others in the hope of obtaining the object of their prayers. He intimates, that this will be a memorable work of God, the praise of which shall be handed down to succeeding ages. Many things are worthy of praise, which are soon forgotten; but the prophet distinguishes between the salvation of the Church, for which he makes supplication, and common benefits. By the word register, he means that the history of this would be worthy of having a place in the public records, that the remembrance of it might be transmitted to future generations. There is in the words a beautiful contrast between the new creation of the people and the present destruction; of which interpreters improperly omit to take any notice. When the people were expelled from their country, the Church was in a manner extinguished. Her very name might seem to be dead, when the Jews were mingled among the heathen nations, and no longer constituted a distinct and united body. Their return was accordingly as it were a second birth. Accordingly, the prophet with propriety expects a new creation. Although the Church had perished, he was persuaded that God, by his wonderful power, would make her rise again from death to renovated life. This is a remarkable passage, showing that the Church is not always so preserved, as to continue to outward appearance to survive, but that when she seems to be dead, she is suddenly created anew, whenever it so pleases God. Let no desolation, therefore, which befalls the Church, deprive us of the hope, that as God once created the world out of nothing, so it is his proper work to bring forth the Church from the darkness of death.
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.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv18, 20, 22The deliverance of the Church is a most excellent…
The deliverance of the Church is a most excellent benefit, and therefore he compareth it to a new creation: for in their banishment the body of the Church seemed to have been dead, which by deliverance was as it were created anew.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv18–22Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation…
Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come] This, that the poor shrub hath sped so well in prayer, together with all other the particulars of this psalm, and indeed the whole Scripture, Rom 15:4. So little truth is there in that assertion of the Jesuits, that the epistles of the apostles were intended only for the use of those Churches or persons to whom they were first written.
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And the people which shall be created] "Created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph 2:10, his regenerated people; for God planteth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, that he may "say to Zion, Thou art my people," Isa 51:16.
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.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv18–22This shall be written; this wonderful deliverance shall not…
This shall be written; this wonderful deliverance shall not be lost nor forgotten, but carefully recorded by thy people. For the generation to come; for the instruction and encouragement of all succeeding generations. The singular number put for the plural, as is ordinary.
The people which shall be created; which may be understood, either,
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1. Of the Jews which should be restored, who were in a manner dead and buried in the grave, and mere dry bones, Isa 26:19; Eze 37; and therefore their restoration might well be called a creation; or, as it is elsewhere, a resurrection. Or,
2. Of the Gentiles who should be converted, whose conversion is frequently, and might very justly, be called a second creation. See Isa 43:1,7,15; 65:18; Eph 2:10,15.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv18–22For he hath looked down from the height of…
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary,.... From heaven, as it is explained in the next clause, which is the Lord's sanctuary, or holy place, where he dwells, even in the height of it; it is both high and holy, as he himself is; yet he condescends to look down from thence on sinful mortals:
from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; the inhabitants of it, good and bad: it designs the general notice he takes of men and things in a providential way; he beholds the world, that lies in wickedness, and all the wickedness committed in it; and will one day call to an account, and punish for it; he beholds good men, not only with an eye of providence, to take care of them, protect and defend, but with an eye of love, grace, and mercy; he has a special and distinct knowledge of them, and it may here particularly regard the notice he takes of his people, under antichristian tyranny; he sees all the barbarity and cruelty exercised upon them, and will requite it, ere long, to their adversaries, and free them from it, as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv18–22This - This wonderful deliverance shall be carefully recorded…
This - This wonderful deliverance shall be carefully recorded by thy people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv18–22Verse 18. The people which shall be created] "The…
Verse 18. The people which shall be created] "The Gentiles, who shall be brought to the knowledge of salvation by Christ," as the Syriac states in its inscription to this Psalm: how often the conversion of the soul to God is represented as a new creation, no reader of the New Testament need be told. See Eph 2:10; Eph 4:24; 2Co 5:17; Ga 6:15. Even the publication of the Gospel, and its influence among men, is represented under the notion of "creating a new heaven and a new earth," Isa 65:17-18.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn v19Psa 102:19-22. For he hath looked down — Namely,…
Psa 102:19-22. For he hath looked down — Namely, upon us, and not as an idle spectator, but with an eye of pity and relief; from the height of his sanctuary — From his higher or upper sanctuary, namely, heaven, as the next clause explains it, which is called, God’s high and holy place, Isa 57:15. To loose those that are appointed to death — To release his poor captives out of Babylon, and, which is more, to deliver mankind from the chains and fetters of sin and Satan, and from eternal destruction. To declare the name of the Lord, &c. — That they, being delivered, might publish and celebrate the name and praises of God in his church. When the people are gathered together, &c. — When the Gentiles shall gather themselves to the Jews, and join with them in the praise and worship of the true God, and of the Messiah. This verse seems to be added to intimate, that although the psalmist, in this Psalm, referred to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, yet he had a further design, and a principal respect unto that great and more general deliverance of his church and people by Christ.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv18–22This shall be written for the generation to come…
This shall be written for the generation to come - It shall be recorded for the instruction and encouragement of future ages. The fact that God has heard the prayer of his people in a time of trial shall be so recorded and remembered that it may be referred to in similar circumstances in all time to come, for he is an unchanging God. What he has done now, he will always be willing to do hereafter.
And the people which shall be created - Future generations. Each successive generation is in fact a new “creation;” each individual is also; for the essential idea in creation is that of bringing something into existence where there was nothing before. There is a “beginning” of existence in every human being. Man is not in any proper sense a “development” from former being, nor is his life merely a “continuance” of something which existed before.
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Shall praise the Lord - Shall praise the Lord for what he has now done; shall learn, from the great principles now illustrated in regard to his administration, to praise him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv18–2218. This shall be written— “The only place in…
18. This shall be written— “The only place in the psalms where the memory of great events is said to be preserved in writing.”—Perowne. Elsewhere left to oral transmission. Psa_44:1; Psa_48:13; Psa_78:2.
The people which shall be created—That is, the Jewish nation, which should be resuscitated by the restoration. Calvin: “Their return was as a second birth—a new creation.” Same as “a people that shall be born,” Psa_22:31
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv18–2218. The good news of Jehovah’s mercy shall be…
18. The good news of Jehovah’s mercy shall be recorded as the theme for the grateful praises of future generations. Cp. Jer_30:2. The restoration of Israel will be nothing less than a new creation. Cp. Isa_43:7; Isa_43:21; Psa_22:31.
shall praise the Lord] Heb. Jah. Here first in the Psalter we have the combination of words which forms the characteristic call to worship in the post-exilic Psalms, Hallelujah, ‘Praise ye Jah.’
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv18, 20(18) Written.—This is interesting as being the only place…
(18) Written.—This is interesting as being the only place in the Psalms where the memory of great events is said to be preserved in writing. Oral tradition is mentioned in Psa_22:30; Psa_44:1; Psa_78:2.
Shall be created.—See Psa_22:31, “a people that shall be born”—the coming generation (as the parallelism shows) for whom the world will be regenerated.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv18–22This shall be written for the generation to come;…
This shall be written for the generation to come; or, let it be written; grafhtw auth , LXX The mercy of God in restoring his people to their own land and city must be recorded in writing, as his past mercies have been, (Exo_17:14 Deu_31:19) for the edification of future generations. The record was made by Ezra and Nehemiah. And the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. Restored Israel is spoken of as a new creation. (comp. Psa_22:31 Isa_43:7, Isa_43:21) It was, indeed, a sort of resurrection from the dead. (see Eze_37:1-10) (For the "praise" immediately rendered, see Ezr_3:10, 11 6:16-22 Neh_12:27-43)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon1885 · Public DomainOn vv18–22Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation…
Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come. A note shall be made of it, for there will be destitute ones in future generations, "the poor shall never cease out of the land, "and it will make glad their eyes to read the story of the Lord's mercy to the needy in former times. Registers of divine kindness ought to be made and preserved; we write dcwn in history the calamities of nations, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes are recorded; how much rather then should we set up memorials of the Lord's lovingkindness! Those who have in their own souls endured spiritual destitution, and have been delivered out of it, cannot forget it; they are bound to tell others of it, and especially to instruct their children in the goodness of the Lord.
And the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. The Psalmist here intends to say that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be a fact in history for which the Lord would be praised from age to age. Revivals of religion not only cause great joy to those who are immediately concerned in them, but they give encouragement and delight to the people of God long after, and are indeed perpetual incentives to adoration throughout the church of God. This verse teaches us that we ought to have an eye to posterity, and especially should we endeavour to perpetuate the memory of God's love to his church and to his poor people, so that young people as they grow up may know that the Lord God of their fathers is good and full of compassion. Sad as the Psalmist was when he wrote the dreary portions of this complaint, he was not so absorbed in his own sorrow, or so distracted by the national calamity, as to forget the claims of coming generations; this, indeed, is a clear proof that he was not without hope for his people, for he who is making arrangements for the good of a future generation has not yet despaired of his nation. The praise of God should be the great object of all that we do, and to secure him a revenue of glory both from the present and the future is the noblest aim of intelligent beings.
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Ver. 18. Shall praise the LORD. The people whom God in mercy brings from a low and mean condition, are the people from whom God promises to receive praise and glory. Indeed, such is the selfishness of our corrupt nature, that if we are anything, or do anything, we are prone to forget God, and sacrifice to our own nets, and burn incense to our own yarn; inasmuch, that whenever God finds a people who shall either trust in him, or praise him, it must be "an afflicted and poor people, "(Zep 3:11-13; Ps 22:22-25), or a people brought from such an estate: free grace is even most valued by such a people. And if you look all the Scripture over, you will find that all the praises and songs of deliverance that have been made to God have proceeded from a people that have thus judged of themselves, as those that were brought to nothing; but God in mercy had brought them back again from the gates of death, and usually until they had such apprehensions of themselves they never gave unto God the glory due unto his name. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 18. Expositors observe upon this text, that this redeemed Church takes no thought concerning themselves, about their own ease, pleasure, wealth, gain, or anything else which might accrue unto themselves by this deliverance, to make their own life easy or sweet; but their thoughts and studies are wholly laid out, how the present and succeeding generations should give all glory to God for it...
There are three special reasons why this should be the great work of the Lord's saved and rescued people, and why indeed they can do no other than study thus to exalt him. I. One is, because they well know that the Lord hath reserved nothing to himself but only his glory; the benefits he gives to them; all the sweetness and honey that can be found in them he gives them leave to suck out; but his glory and his praise is his own, and that which he hath wholly reserved; of that he is jealous, lest it should either be denied, eclipsed, diminished, or any the least violation offered to it in any kind. All God's people know this of him, and therefore they cannot but endeavour to preserve it for him.
II. Secondly, besides, they know, as God is jealous in that point, so it is all the work that he hath appointed them to do; he hath therefore separated them to himself out of all nations of the world, to be his peculiar ones for this very end, that they might give him all the glory and praise of his mercy. "I have( said God) created him, formed, and made him for my glory." Isa 43:7. This is the law of his new creation, which is as powerful in them as the law of nature, or the first creation, is in the rest of his works. And therefore with a holy and spiritual naturalness (if I may so call it) the hearts of all the saints are carried to give God the glory, as really as the stones are carried to the centre, or the fire to fly upwards: this is fixed in their hearts, the work of grace hath moulded them to it, that they can do no other but endeavour to exalt God, it being the very end why their spiritual life and all their other privileges are conferred upon them.
III. Yea, thirdly, they know their own interests are much concerned in God's glory, they never are losers by it: if in any work of God he want his praise, they will want their comfort; but if God be a gainer, they shall certainly be no losers. Whatever is poured upon the head of Christwhat ointment soever of praise or glory, it will in a due proportion fall down to the skirts of his garments; nor is there any other way to have any sweetness, comfort, praise, or glory to be derived unto themselves, but by giving all unto him to whom alone it belongeth, and then although he will never give away his glorythe glory of being the fountain, the first, supreme, original giver of all good; yet they shall have the glory of instruments, and of fellow workers with him, which is a glory and praise sufficient. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 18 (first clause). Calvin translates thus, This shall be registered for the generations to come; and observes, "The Psalmist intimates, that this will be a memorable work of God, the praise of which shall be handed down to succeeding ages. Many things are worthy of praise, which are soon forgotten; but the prophet distinguishes between the salvation of the Church, for which he makes supplication, and common benefits. By the word register he means that the history of this would be worthy of having a place in the public records, that the remembrance of it might be transmitted to future generations."
Ver. 18. This shall be written. Nothing is more tenacious than man's, memory when he suffers an injury; nothing more lax if a benefit is conferred. For this reason God desires lest his gifts should fall out of mind, to have them committed to writing. Le Blanc.
Ver. 18.
1. A memorial.
2. A magnificat. W. Durban.
Verses 18-21.
1. Misery in extremis.
2. Divinity observant.
3. Deity actively assisting.
4. Glory consequently published.
Psalms 102:19*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn v18This shall he written for the generation to come.
Psa_102:18
This shall he written for the generation to come.
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Our responsibility towards the young
The antecedent to the word this are the truths contained in Psa_102:1-13 :--
1. That the Lord will have mercy upon Zion.
2. That the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord.
3. That He will build up Zion.
4. That He will regard the prayer of the destitute.
These were the promises that were to be written for the generations to come. Why written? That they might be preserved and handed down. Tradition is uncertain, imperfect, often fails wholly, cannot command credence. The New Testament declares that these things were written for our instruction.
I. What has been written?
1. Observe the nature of this knowledge of God which was written. It concerns Gods faithfulness and ability in the performance of all He has promised. He who makes a promise comes under obligation. In this God differs from man. He was under no obligation to come under obligation. Having promised, He has come under obligation, and Christians everywhere bear testimony to His faithfulness and His ability to perform fully all He has freely promised.
2. What God has promised. The great thing is the reconciliation of Himself to man; the salvation worked out through atonement; the establishment of a Church--a family that bears the name of Jesus. Salvation can be wrought only through this atonement. It is loose thinking that makes men imagine that education, culture, political economy, philosophy can lift up the world. The fear of the Lord lifts up man.
II. Our duty.
1. Let us be faithful to our own children. We want more men and women to tell to the generation coming of Gods promises and faithfulness.
2. We want to take care of the children grown up into youth. The most critical period in the life of man is when he is breaking away from home. How many of the children at this age become vagrants among the Churches, wandering here and there, receiving but little benefit and giving none. The class most largely reached are the children of believing parents.
3. Then we have a great work to do among the children near us, those who are to be our fellow-citizens. A great work is there to be done. God knows there is enough of ignorance and criminality around us. These evils must be restrained by knowledge, by virtue. Ignorance and crime must be restrained, or social ruin is inevitable.
4. We must do all possible for the children of the entire country. If we would have the nation Christian, we must work and bear the burdens. We have the opportunity. (John Hall, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv19, 21For he has looked down from the holy heights;…
For he has looked down from the holy heights; from heaven Yahweh has viewed
These two phrases have similar meaning and are used together for emphasize how God looks down from heaven. (See: Parallelism)
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the holy heights
"his holy place high above the earth"
those who were condemned to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "those whom the authorities had sentenced to die" (See: Active or Passive)
GEBible — Godless Engineer's Bible App
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv18–21 18. This shall be registered for the generation that…
18. This shall be registered for the generation that is to come The Psalmist magnifies still more the fruit of the deliverance of his people, for the purpose of encouraging himself and others in the hope of obtaining the object of their prayers. He intimates, that this will be a memorable work of God, the praise of which shall be handed down to succeeding ages. Many things are worthy of praise, which are soon forgotten; but the prophet distinguishes between the salvation of the Church, for which he makes supplication, and common benefits. By the word register, he means that the history of this would be worthy of having a place in the public records, that the remembrance of it might be transmitted to future generations. There is in the words a beautiful contrast between the new creation of the people and the present destruction; of which interpreters improperly omit to take any notice. When the people were expelled from their country, the Church was in a manner extinguished. Her very name might seem to be dead, when the Jews were mingled among the heathen nations, and no longer constituted a distinct and united body. Their return was accordingly as it were a second birth. Accordingly, the prophet with propriety expects a new creation. Although the Church had perished, he was persuaded that God, by his wonderful power, would make her rise again from death to renovated life. This is a remarkable passage, showing that the Church is not always so preserved, as to continue to outward appearance to survive, but that when she seems to be dead, she is suddenly created anew, whenever it so pleases God. Let no desolation, therefore, which befalls the Church, deprive us of the hope, that as God once created the world out of nothing, so it is his proper work to bring forth the Church from the darkness of death.
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.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv18, 20, 22 The deliverance of the Church is a most excellent…
The deliverance of the Church is a most excellent benefit, and therefore he compareth it to a new creation: for in their banishment the body of the Church seemed to have been dead, which by deliverance was as it were created anew.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv18–22 Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation…
Psa 102:18 This shall be written for the generation to come: and the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD.
Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come] This, that the poor shrub hath sped so well in prayer, together with all other the particulars of this psalm, and indeed the whole Scripture, Rom 15:4. So little truth is there in that assertion of the Jesuits, that the epistles of the apostles were intended only for the use of those Churches or persons to whom they were first written.
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And the people which shall be created] "Created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph 2:10, his regenerated people; for God planteth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, that he may "say to Zion, Thou art my people," Isa 51:16.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv18–22 This shall be written; this wonderful deliverance shall not…
This shall be written; this wonderful deliverance shall not be lost nor forgotten, but carefully recorded by thy people. For the generation to come; for the instruction and encouragement of all succeeding generations. The singular number put for the plural, as is ordinary.
The people which shall be created; which may be understood, either,
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1. Of the Jews which should be restored, who were in a manner dead and buried in the grave, and mere dry bones, Isa 26:19; Eze 37; and therefore their restoration might well be called a creation; or, as it is elsewhere, a resurrection. Or,
2. Of the Gentiles who should be converted, whose conversion is frequently, and might very justly, be called a second creation. See Isa 43:1,7,15; 65:18; Eph 2:10,15.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv18–22 For he hath looked down from the height of…
For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary,.... From heaven, as it is explained in the next clause, which is the Lord's sanctuary, or holy place, where he dwells, even in the height of it; it is both high and holy, as he himself is; yet he condescends to look down from thence on sinful mortals:
from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; the inhabitants of it, good and bad: it designs the general notice he takes of men and things in a providential way; he beholds the world, that lies in wickedness, and all the wickedness committed in it; and will one day call to an account, and punish for it; he beholds good men, not only with an eye of providence, to take care of them, protect and defend, but with an eye of love, grace, and mercy; he has a special and distinct knowledge of them, and it may here particularly regard the notice he takes of his people, under antichristian tyranny; he sees all the barbarity and cruelty exercised upon them, and will requite it, ere long, to their adversaries, and free them from it, as follows.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv18–22 This - This wonderful deliverance shall be carefully recorded…
This - This wonderful deliverance shall be carefully recorded by thy people.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv18–22 Verse 18. The people which shall be created] "The…
Verse 18. The people which shall be created] "The Gentiles, who shall be brought to the knowledge of salvation by Christ," as the Syriac states in its inscription to this Psalm: how often the conversion of the soul to God is represented as a new creation, no reader of the New Testament need be told. See Eph 2:10; Eph 4:24; 2Co 5:17; Ga 6:15. Even the publication of the Gospel, and its influence among men, is represented under the notion of "creating a new heaven and a new earth," Isa 65:17-18.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On v19 Psa 102:19-22. For he hath looked down — Namely,…
Psa 102:19-22. For he hath looked down — Namely, upon us, and not as an idle spectator, but with an eye of pity and relief; from the height of his sanctuary — From his higher or upper sanctuary, namely, heaven, as the next clause explains it, which is called, God’s high and holy place, Isa 57:15. To loose those that are appointed to death — To release his poor captives out of Babylon, and, which is more, to deliver mankind from the chains and fetters of sin and Satan, and from eternal destruction. To declare the name of the Lord, &c. — That they, being delivered, might publish and celebrate the name and praises of God in his church. When the people are gathered together, &c. — When the Gentiles shall gather themselves to the Jews, and join with them in the praise and worship of the true God, and of the Messiah. This verse seems to be added to intimate, that although the psalmist, in this Psalm, referred to the deliverance of the Jews out of Babylon, yet he had a further design, and a principal respect unto that great and more general deliverance of his church and people by Christ.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv18–22 This shall be written for the generation to come…
This shall be written for the generation to come - It shall be recorded for the instruction and encouragement of future ages. The fact that God has heard the prayer of his people in a time of trial shall be so recorded and remembered that it may be referred to in similar circumstances in all time to come, for he is an unchanging God. What he has done now, he will always be willing to do hereafter.
And the people which shall be created - Future generations. Each successive generation is in fact a new “creation;” each individual is also; for the essential idea in creation is that of bringing something into existence where there was nothing before. There is a “beginning” of existence in every human being. Man is not in any proper sense a “development” from former being, nor is his life merely a “continuance” of something which existed before.
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Shall praise the Lord - Shall praise the Lord for what he has now done; shall learn, from the great principles now illustrated in regard to his administration, to praise him.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv18–22 18. This shall be written— “The only place in…
18. This shall be written— “The only place in the psalms where the memory of great events is said to be preserved in writing.”—Perowne. Elsewhere left to oral transmission. Psa_44:1; Psa_48:13; Psa_78:2.
The people which shall be created—That is, the Jewish nation, which should be resuscitated by the restoration. Calvin: “Their return was as a second birth—a new creation.” Same as “a people that shall be born,” Psa_22:31
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv18–22 18. The good news of Jehovah’s mercy shall be…
18. The good news of Jehovah’s mercy shall be recorded as the theme for the grateful praises of future generations. Cp. Jer_30:2. The restoration of Israel will be nothing less than a new creation. Cp. Isa_43:7; Isa_43:21; Psa_22:31.
shall praise the Lord] Heb. Jah. Here first in the Psalter we have the combination of words which forms the characteristic call to worship in the post-exilic Psalms, Hallelujah, ‘Praise ye Jah.’
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.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv18, 20 (18) Written.—This is interesting as being the only place…
(18) Written.—This is interesting as being the only place in the Psalms where the memory of great events is said to be preserved in writing. Oral tradition is mentioned in Psa_22:30; Psa_44:1; Psa_78:2.
Shall be created.—See Psa_22:31, “a people that shall be born”—the coming generation (as the parallelism shows) for whom the world will be regenerated.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv18–22 This shall be written for the generation to come;…
This shall be written for the generation to come; or, let it be written; grafhtw auth , LXX The mercy of God in restoring his people to their own land and city must be recorded in writing, as his past mercies have been, (Exo_17:14 Deu_31:19) for the edification of future generations. The record was made by Ezra and Nehemiah. And the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. Restored Israel is spoken of as a new creation. (comp. Psa_22:31 Isa_43:7, Isa_43:21) It was, indeed, a sort of resurrection from the dead. (see Eze_37:1-10) (For the "praise" immediately rendered, see Ezr_3:10, 11 6:16-22 Neh_12:27-43)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain On vv18–22 Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation…
Ver. 18. This shall be written for the generation to come. A note shall be made of it, for there will be destitute ones in future generations, "the poor shall never cease out of the land, "and it will make glad their eyes to read the story of the Lord's mercy to the needy in former times. Registers of divine kindness ought to be made and preserved; we write dcwn in history the calamities of nations, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes are recorded; how much rather then should we set up memorials of the Lord's lovingkindness! Those who have in their own souls endured spiritual destitution, and have been delivered out of it, cannot forget it; they are bound to tell others of it, and especially to instruct their children in the goodness of the Lord.
And the people which shall be created shall praise the LORD. The Psalmist here intends to say that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would be a fact in history for which the Lord would be praised from age to age. Revivals of religion not only cause great joy to those who are immediately concerned in them, but they give encouragement and delight to the people of God long after, and are indeed perpetual incentives to adoration throughout the church of God. This verse teaches us that we ought to have an eye to posterity, and especially should we endeavour to perpetuate the memory of God's love to his church and to his poor people, so that young people as they grow up may know that the Lord God of their fathers is good and full of compassion. Sad as the Psalmist was when he wrote the dreary portions of this complaint, he was not so absorbed in his own sorrow, or so distracted by the national calamity, as to forget the claims of coming generations; this, indeed, is a clear proof that he was not without hope for his people, for he who is making arrangements for the good of a future generation has not yet despaired of his nation. The praise of God should be the great object of all that we do, and to secure him a revenue of glory both from the present and the future is the noblest aim of intelligent beings.
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Ver. 18. Shall praise the LORD. The people whom God in mercy brings from a low and mean condition, are the people from whom God promises to receive praise and glory. Indeed, such is the selfishness of our corrupt nature, that if we are anything, or do anything, we are prone to forget God, and sacrifice to our own nets, and burn incense to our own yarn; inasmuch, that whenever God finds a people who shall either trust in him, or praise him, it must be "an afflicted and poor people, "(Zep 3:11-13; Ps 22:22-25), or a people brought from such an estate: free grace is even most valued by such a people. And if you look all the Scripture over, you will find that all the praises and songs of deliverance that have been made to God have proceeded from a people that have thus judged of themselves, as those that were brought to nothing; but God in mercy had brought them back again from the gates of death, and usually until they had such apprehensions of themselves they never gave unto God the glory due unto his name. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 18. Expositors observe upon this text, that this redeemed Church takes no thought concerning themselves, about their own ease, pleasure, wealth, gain, or anything else which might accrue unto themselves by this deliverance, to make their own life easy or sweet; but their thoughts and studies are wholly laid out, how the present and succeeding generations should give all glory to God for it...
There are three special reasons why this should be the great work of the Lord's saved and rescued people, and why indeed they can do no other than study thus to exalt him. I. One is, because they well know that the Lord hath reserved nothing to himself but only his glory; the benefits he gives to them; all the sweetness and honey that can be found in them he gives them leave to suck out; but his glory and his praise is his own, and that which he hath wholly reserved; of that he is jealous, lest it should either be denied, eclipsed, diminished, or any the least violation offered to it in any kind. All God's people know this of him, and therefore they cannot but endeavour to preserve it for him.
II. Secondly, besides, they know, as God is jealous in that point, so it is all the work that he hath appointed them to do; he hath therefore separated them to himself out of all nations of the world, to be his peculiar ones for this very end, that they might give him all the glory and praise of his mercy. "I have( said God) created him, formed, and made him for my glory." Isa 43:7. This is the law of his new creation, which is as powerful in them as the law of nature, or the first creation, is in the rest of his works. And therefore with a holy and spiritual naturalness (if I may so call it) the hearts of all the saints are carried to give God the glory, as really as the stones are carried to the centre, or the fire to fly upwards: this is fixed in their hearts, the work of grace hath moulded them to it, that they can do no other but endeavour to exalt God, it being the very end why their spiritual life and all their other privileges are conferred upon them.
III. Yea, thirdly, they know their own interests are much concerned in God's glory, they never are losers by it: if in any work of God he want his praise, they will want their comfort; but if God be a gainer, they shall certainly be no losers. Whatever is poured upon the head of Christwhat ointment soever of praise or glory, it will in a due proportion fall down to the skirts of his garments; nor is there any other way to have any sweetness, comfort, praise, or glory to be derived unto themselves, but by giving all unto him to whom alone it belongeth, and then although he will never give away his glorythe glory of being the fountain, the first, supreme, original giver of all good; yet they shall have the glory of instruments, and of fellow workers with him, which is a glory and praise sufficient. Stephen Marshall.
Ver. 18 (first clause). Calvin translates thus, This shall be registered for the generations to come; and observes, "The Psalmist intimates, that this will be a memorable work of God, the praise of which shall be handed down to succeeding ages. Many things are worthy of praise, which are soon forgotten; but the prophet distinguishes between the salvation of the Church, for which he makes supplication, and common benefits. By the word register he means that the history of this would be worthy of having a place in the public records, that the remembrance of it might be transmitted to future generations."
Ver. 18. This shall be written. Nothing is more tenacious than man's, memory when he suffers an injury; nothing more lax if a benefit is conferred. For this reason God desires lest his gifts should fall out of mind, to have them committed to writing. Le Blanc.
Ver. 18.
1. A memorial.
2. A magnificat. W. Durban.
Verses 18-21.
1. Misery in extremis.
2. Divinity observant.
3. Deity actively assisting.
4. Glory consequently published.
Psalms 102:19*
Charles H. Spurgeon's The Treasury of David (1869–1885) — public domain. Psalms only. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On v18 This shall he written for the generation to come.
Psa_102:18
This shall he written for the generation to come.
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Our responsibility towards the young
The antecedent to the word this are the truths contained in Psa_102:1-13 :--
1. That the Lord will have mercy upon Zion.
2. That the heathen shall fear the name of the Lord.
3. That He will build up Zion.
4. That He will regard the prayer of the destitute.
These were the promises that were to be written for the generations to come. Why written? That they might be preserved and handed down. Tradition is uncertain, imperfect, often fails wholly, cannot command credence. The New Testament declares that these things were written for our instruction.
I. What has been written?
1. Observe the nature of this knowledge of God which was written. It concerns Gods faithfulness and ability in the performance of all He has promised. He who makes a promise comes under obligation. In this God differs from man. He was under no obligation to come under obligation. Having promised, He has come under obligation, and Christians everywhere bear testimony to His faithfulness and His ability to perform fully all He has freely promised.
2. What God has promised. The great thing is the reconciliation of Himself to man; the salvation worked out through atonement; the establishment of a Church--a family that bears the name of Jesus. Salvation can be wrought only through this atonement. It is loose thinking that makes men imagine that education, culture, political economy, philosophy can lift up the world. The fear of the Lord lifts up man.
II. Our duty.
1. Let us be faithful to our own children. We want more men and women to tell to the generation coming of Gods promises and faithfulness.
2. We want to take care of the children grown up into youth. The most critical period in the life of man is when he is breaking away from home. How many of the children at this age become vagrants among the Churches, wandering here and there, receiving but little benefit and giving none. The class most largely reached are the children of believing parents.
3. Then we have a great work to do among the children near us, those who are to be our fellow-citizens. A great work is there to be done. God knows there is enough of ignorance and criminality around us. These evils must be restrained by knowledge, by virtue. Ignorance and crime must be restrained, or social ruin is inevitable.
4. We must do all possible for the children of the entire country. If we would have the nation Christian, we must work and bear the burdens. We have the opportunity. (John Hall, D.D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv19, 21 For he has looked down from the holy heights;…
For he has looked down from the holy heights; from heaven Yahweh has viewed
These two phrases have similar meaning and are used together for emphasize how God looks down from heaven. (See: Parallelism)
Read full note →
the holy heights
"his holy place high above the earth"
those who were condemned to death
This can be stated in active form. AT: "those whom the authorities had sentenced to die" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
holy
heaven
prison
condemn
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.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv18, 19, 22 102:18-22 The Lord will have mercy; Jews and Gentiles…
102:18-22 The Lord will have mercy; Jews and Gentiles alike will worship him.
102:18 Let this be recorded: The written record stands as a memorial to the Lord’s goodness.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.