Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
Parallel Translations
-
Yahweh is God, and he has given us light. Bind the sacrifice with cords, even to the horns of the altar.
-
God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
-
The LORD is God, and hath given us light; order the festival procession with boughs, even unto the horns of the altar.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Psalms 118:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 18:28 For you will light my lamp, Yahweh. My God will light up my darkness.
- John 8:12 Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- 1 Peter 2:9 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 him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
- Esther 8:16 The Jews had light, gladness, joy, and honor.
- Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. The light has shined on those who lived in the land of the shadow of death.
- Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you.
- 1 Kings 18:39 When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces. They said, “Yahweh, he is God! Yahweh, he is God!”
- Psalms 37:6 he will make your righteousness shine out like light, and your justice as the noon day sun.
- 1 Kings 8:63-64 Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered to Yahweh, twenty two thousand head of cattle, and one hundred twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated Yahweh’s house. The same day the king made the middle of the court holy that was before Yahweh’s house; for there he offered the burnt offering, and the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before Yahweh was too little to receive the burnt offering, the meal offering, and the fat of the peace offerings.
- Malachi 4:2 But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall.
- Exodus 38:2 He made its horns on its four corners. Its horns were of one piece with it, and he overlaid it with bronze.
- 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah came near to all the people, and said, “How long will you waver between the two sides? If Yahweh is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” The people didn’t say a word.
- Psalms 51:18-19 Do well in your good pleasure to Zion. Build the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, in burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings. Then they will offer bulls on your altar.
- Exodus 27:2 You shall make its horns on its four corners. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. You shall overlay it with bronze.
- 1 Chronicles 29:21 They sacrificed sacrifices to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings to Yahweh, on the next day after that day, even one thousand bulls, one thousand rams, and one thousand lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel,
- Hebrews 13:15 Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name.
- Micah 7:9 I will bear the indignation of Yahweh, because I have sinned against him, until he pleads my case, and executes judgment for me. He will bring me out to the light. I will see his righteousness.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 27. Jehovah is God Here the prophet establishes what…
27. Jehovah is God Here the prophet establishes what he said formerly, that God, out of compassion to his Church, dissipated the darkness, and introduced the light of his grace, when David mounted the throne, for that was the harbinger of the redemption which was anticipated to be effected in due time by Christ. He also asserts that God was the author of that deliverance, so wonderful and unlooked for, and he declares that, by the result, he plainly showed himself to be truly God. These words, Jehovah himself is a strong God, because he has restored the light of life to us, are tacitly emphatical. For as the faithful, in consequence of the confused state of the Church, were reduced almost to the brink of despair; the ungodly imagined that all this had happened regarding the children of Abraham, by reason of God himself having, as it were, forsaken them. Wherefore he returns to offer up anew his thankful acknowledgments for the divine grace. He commands the faithful to bind the victim to the horns of the altar, because, according to the legal institute, they could not render solemn thanks unto God without sacrifices. As David was a strict observer of the Law, he would not omit the ceremonial observances which God had enjoined. He would, however, always keep his attention steadily fixed on their grand design, and would have recourse to them only as helps to assist him in presenting a spiritual service unto God. Now that the shadowy dispensation has passed away, it remains that we offer unto God our thanksgivings through Christ, who sanctifies them by his own immaculate offering, lest we should be debarred from this exercise of godliness, by the corruptions of our flesh. And that David turned his attention to the praises of God, is abundantly manifest from the following verse, in which he promises that he would celebrate the name of God, because he was his God, and he knew it; that is, he felt from experience that from his hand he might calculate on receiving sure and immediate assistance.
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 Because he hath restored us from darkness to light,…
Because he hath restored us from darkness to light, we will offer sacrifices and praises unto him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 118:27 God [is] the LORD, which hath shewed…
Psa 118:27 God [is] the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, [even] unto the horns of the altar.
Ver. 27. God is the Lord who hath showed us light] By giving us "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ," 2Co 4:6, he "hath brought us out of darkness into his marvellous light," 1Pe 2:9.
Read full note →
Bind the sacrifice with cords] Make them fast there, till the priests shall have time to offer them. Spare for no cost in showing your thankfulness for Christ and his benefits. Some render it, Obligate solennitates in frondosis; Austin hath it, in confrequentationibus.
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 God is the Lord; God hath proved himself to…
God is the Lord; God hath proved himself to be the Lord Jehovah by the accomplishment of his promises. See Poole "Exo 6:3". Or, the Lord or Jehovah is God, as it was said upon another solemn occasion and appearance of God, 1Ki 18:39; or, is the mighty God, as this name of God signifies, and as he showed himself to be by this his mighty and wonderful work. Which hath showed us light; who hath caused light to shine out of darkness; who hath scattered our thick and dark clouds, and put us into a state of peace, and comfort, and safety, and happiness; all which are frequently signified by light in the Holy Scripture. Or, who hath discovered, and will in due time send, the Messias, who is called the light of the Gentiles, or of the world, or of men, Isa 42:6; Joh 1:4; 8:12; 12:35,46, and by whom he will more clearly and fully reveal his whole mind and will to us, and tell us all things, as the Jews expected, Joh 4:25, who also will enlighten our dark minds by his Spirit.
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar: these words, as well as those which go before them in this verse, and those which follow after them, Psa 118:28, may be the words of David unto the priests, who had now blessed him in God’s name, Psa 118:26. And this blessing of God which you wish me, God hath already given me; and therefore in way of gratitude I will offer sacrifices to him, which do you, O ye priests, according to your office, bind to the hems of the altar; of which see Exo 27:2; which horns are supposed by divers learned men to be made for this very use, that the beasts should be bound and killed there. And this may seem probable from Exo 29:11,12; Le 4:7, &c., where we read that the beasts were to be killed by the door of the tabernacle, which was very near the altar of burnt-offerings, and then immediately part of their blood was to be put upon the horns of the altar, and the rest poured out at the bottom of it. Although these words may be thus rendered, Bind and bring (one pregnant word being put for two, as above, Psa 118:5, and in many other places of Scripture) the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altar, that it may be killed beside it, and its blood put upon the horns, after the manner. So they may be David’s words to his servants to go and bring one of his beasts to be offered to God in his name.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The Lord - Or, The mighty God, as this…
The Lord - Or, The mighty God, as this name of God signifies, and as he shewed himself to be by this, his wonderful work. Who - Who hath scattered our dark clouds, and put us into a state of peace, and safety, and happiness. The horns - These are supposed to be made for this very use, that the beasts should be bound and killed there. These three last verses are David's words.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. God is the Lord] Rather אל יהוה…
Verse 27. God is the Lord] Rather אל יהוה El Yehovah, the strong God Jehovah.
Which hath showed us light] ויאר לנו vaiyaer lanu, "And he will illuminate us." Perhaps at this time a Divine splendour shone upon the whole procession; a proof of God's approbation.
Read full note →
Bind the sacrifice with cords] The Chaldee paraphrases this verse thus: "Samuel the prophet said, Bind the little one with chains for a solemn sacrifice, until ye have sacrificed him and sprinkled his blood on the horns of the altar." It is supposed that the words refer to the feast of tabernacles, and חג chag here means the festival victim. Several translate the original "keep the festival with thick boughs of the horns of the altar." In this sense the Vulgate and Septuagint understood the passage. David in this entry into the temple was a type of our blessed Lord, who made a similar entry, as related Mt 21:8-10.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Psa 118:27. God is the Lord — God hath…
Psa 118:27. God is the Lord — God hath proved himself to be the Lord Jehovah, by the accomplishment of his promises: see the notes on Exo 6:2-3. Or, as it is in the margin, the Lord, or Jehovah, is God, as was said upon another solemn occasion, 1Ki 18:39. Or, is the mighty God, as this name of God, אל, eel, signifies, and as he showed himself to be, by this his mighty and wonderful work. Which hath showed us light — Who hath scattered our dark clouds, and put us into a state of peace, safety, and happiness, which things are frequently signified by light in the Holy Scriptures. Or, who hath discovered, and will in due time send the Messiah, to be the light of the world, by whom he will more clearly and fully reveal his whole mind and will to us. Bind the sacrifice with cords unto the horns of the altar — Which horns are supposed, by divers learned men, to have been made for this very use, that the beasts should be bound to them, and killed there; and this seems probable, from Exo 29:11-12, and Leviticus 47., where we read, that the beasts were to be killed at the door of the tabernacle, which was very near the altar of burnt-offerings, and then immediately part of their blood was to be put upon the horns of the altar, and the rest poured out at the bottom of it. The words, however, may be interpreted thus: “Bind the sacrifice with cords, and bring it, so bound, unto the horns of the altar; which, after it is killed, are to be sprinkled with the blood of it.” “Perhaps,” says Henry, “the expression may have a peculiar significancy here; the sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves; not to be slain upon the altar, but a living sacrifice to be bound to the altar. Our sacrifices are also to be those of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be engaged and fixed, as the sacrifice was bound with cords to the horns of the altar, not to start back.”
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 God is the Lord - Still the language of…
God is the Lord - Still the language of the priests in their official capacity. The meaning here seems to be “God is Yahweh;” or, Jehovah is the true God. It is an utterance of the priesthood in regard to the great truth which they were appointed specifically to maintain - that Yahweh is the true God, and that he only is to be worshipped. This truth it was appropriate to enunciate on all occasions; and it was especially appropriate to be enunciated when a prince, who had been rescued from danger and death, came, as the restored leader of the people of God, to acknowledge his gracious intervention. On such an occasion - in view of the rank and character of him who came - and in view of what God had done for him - it was proper for the ministers of religion to announce in the most solemn manner, that Yahweh was the only true and living God.
Which hath showed us light - Who has given us light in the days of our darkness and adversity; who has restored us to prosperity, and bestowed on us the blessings of safety and of peace.
Read full note →
Bind the sacrifice with cords - Come freely with the sacrificial victim; with the offering which is to be presented to God in sacrifice. The word - חג châg - commonly means a festival or feast, Exo 10:9; Exo 12:14; and then it means a festival-sacrifice, a victim, Exo 23:18; Mal 2:3. The Septuagint and Vulgate render it, “Prepare a solemn feast.” Our translation probably expresses the true sense. The word rendered cords, means properly anything interwoven or interlaced. Then it means a cord, a braid, a wreath; and then a branch with thick foliage. Different interpretations have been given of the passage here, but probably the word is correctly rendered cords.
Unto the horns of the altar - altars were often made with projections or “horns” on the four corners. Exo 27:2; Exo 30:2; Exo 37:25; 1Ki 2:28. Whether the animal was actually bound to the altar when it was slain, is not certain; but there would seem to be an allusion to such a custom here. Lead up the victim; make it ready; bind it even to the altar, preparatory to the sacrifice. The language is that of welcome addressed to him who led up the victim - meaning that his sacrifice would be acceptable.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. God is the Lord—El is Jehovah; that is,…
27. God is the Lord—El is Jehovah; that is, The Mighty One is Jehovah; or, transposing the order, Jehovah is God, as in 1Ki_18:19. El, (אל,) was the general Semitic name of God, and also of heathen gods. But the Hebrews distinguished their El by qualifying words: “El of Israel,” the “almighty El,” the “everlasting El,” the “living El,” the “El eloheem Jehovah,” the God of gods is Jehovah,” (Jos_22:22,) while the idols of the heathen were called “strange gods,” “no gods,” “nothings,” “vanities.” The idea of the text is, that the God who had saved them was no other than Jehovah, the only true God, and to him alone the praise was due. In an idolatrous world this distinction must be for ever guarded.
Showed us light—Caused prosperity and cheer. Light is the emblem of knowledge, favour, prosperity. Est_8:16; Psa_97:11; Psa_112:4.
Read full note →
Bind the sacrifice—The animals led into the sacred enclosure for sacrifice were thus secured.
Even unto the horns of the altar—A much disputed clause. Ainsworth thinks it “intends many sacrifices,” as if the animals were to be “bound all over the court until you come ‘even unto the horns of the altar.’” So also Delitzsch, supposing the allusion to be to Ezr_6:17. Thrupp would make (עד, (adh), unto, depend on the verb shine, in the first hemistich, which, in Hiphil, means to make light, to kindle, (Mal_1:10,) and translates: “And hath kindled for us the flame even unto the horns of the altar,” leaving “bind the sacrifice with cords” as parenthetical. But this, besides making bad syntax, fails to make sense. Stanley, followed by Hengstenberg, simply considers the allusion to be to tying the animal to the horns of the altar preparatory to sacrifice, and this is the natural, easy sense. The altar was four square, built of shittim wood, overlaid with brass, and the interior space filled with stones and earth, on which the sacrifice was burned. At each corner was an upward projection called a “horn.” Exo_27:1-2; Exodus 24:25. The binding the animal to the “horns” of the altar was a token and pledge that he was surely devoted, and was an accepted victim, ready to be offered.
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 27. Jehovah is God, and hath given us light]…
27. Jehovah is God, and hath given us light] He has proved Himself to be El, the God of might, as of old at the Exodus (Exo_15:2): He has once more banished the darkness of the night of calamity and shewn us the light of His favour. There may be an allusion to the pillar of fire (Exo_13:21; cp. Neh_9:12; Neh_9:19); and to the priestly blessing (Num_6:25).
bind &c.] Evidently an exhortation to some act of thanksgiving for God’s mercy. But the meaning is uncertain. It is doubtful whether chag, properly a pilgrimage festival, can mean a festival sacrifice: the horns were the most sacred part of the altar, on which the blood of the sin-offering was sprinkled (Lev_4:7; 1Ki_1:50), and it seems improbable that the victims would ever have been bound to them: the preposition ‘ad, ‘up to,’ can hardly be used with the verb bind in the simple sense of ‘to.’ Various explanations have been proposed. (1) ‘Bind the victim with cords (and lead it) up to the horns of the altar,’ or, ‘till it is sacrificed and its blood sprinkled on the horns of the altar’: or, ‘so as to fill all the space right up to the altar,’ with reference to the number of beasts to be sacrificed. But these explanations, beside giving a doubtful meaning to chag, require much to be read into the sentence. (2) The LXX (συστήσασθε ἑορτὴν ἐν τοῖς πυκάζουσιν), Symm. (συνδήσατε ἐν πανηγύρει πυκάσματα) and Jerome (frequentate sollemnitatem in fronduosis) explain the word rendered ‘cords’ above to mean ‘thick boughs’ (cp. Eze_19:11, and the use of the cognate adj. in Lev_23:40, ‘boughs of thick trees’) with reference either to the boughs of which the booths were made, or to the bundles of branches, known in later times as Lulab, which the worshippers at the Feast of Tabernacles carried. Hence Cheyne, ‘Bind the procession with branches, (step on) to the altar-horns’: Baethgen, ‘Link the dance with boughs, up to the altar-horns.’ It is supposed that one of the ceremonies of the festival was a procession or sacred dance round the altar, in which the worshippers carried the Lulab, and waved them so as to touch the horns of the altar. These interpretations are equally questionable, and it is possible that the text is corrupt.
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 (27) Shewed us light . . .—Whether this is…
(27) Shewed us light . . .—Whether this is literal or figurative is difficult to decide. If literal, it may be a repetition of Psa_118:24; or if there is a particular reference in this psalm to the Feast of Tabernacles, Mr. Burgess’s suggestion, which connects the light with the pillar of cloud and fire, of which that feast was very probably specially commemorative, is most worthy of notice. Figuratively the words would, of course, mean “the light of salvation and hope,” as so frequently in the Psalms. It is also possible there may be allusion to the priestly benediction (Num_6:25), where the verb is the same.
Bind the sacrifice . . .—This cannot well be, “tie the victim to the horns of the altar,” for the Hebrew is “as far as to,” and no satisfactory explanation is possible of binding animals as far as the altar, unless we are to translate “bind and lead.” But the Hebrew word rendered victim might by derivation (“to go round”) easily mean a circlet or crown, and by supplying the verb go we get bind on a crown, go with garlands even to the horns of the altar. The ancient versions, LXX., Vulg., Aquila, Symmachus, all point to this rendering.
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 God is the Lord, which hath showed us light.…
God is the Lord, which hath showed us light. Having received the priestly benediction, the processionists resume their strain. They have entered within the courts; they are approaching the altar of sacrifice; they have brought their offering. "Jehovah," they say, "is God, and hath given us light" (see the Revised Version). That is, he has enlightened our spirits to see and acknowledge his mercies; or, perhaps, he has led us, as he did the people, by a pillar of fire in the wilderness; and now we stand before the altar with our offeringreceive it at our hands, ye priests-and bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. So shalt the act of thanksgiving be complete, and the solemn service ended. The fanciful exposition of Luther, lately revived by Professor Cheyne, will scarcely approve itself to critics generally.
Vers. 27, 28. The song of the saved soul.
Read full note →
Thus also may this psalm be regarded. It is falsehood when sung by the godless and unsaved; but if we are Christ"s by willing consent, then this song is ours.
I GOD SHOWS US LIGHT. As at the Creation the Holy Spirit"s first work was the giving of the light, so is it in the new creation of the soul.
1. Light as to its real condition lost, helpless, guilty, condemned.
2. Revealing the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior of the lost.
3. And as our Keeper and Upholder when saved, by the power of his Holy Spirit.
4. Light as to his will-forces, and our capacity for and obligation to serve him. Has God thus showed us light?
II THE SOUL PRESENTS ITSELF IN SACRIFICE. This is ever so. Christ is not our sacrifice, unless we are his. If his is for us, ours is unto him. The instinctive utterance of the soul is, "What shall I render unto the Lord?
III BUT THIS SACRIFICE. WHICH WE BRING NEEDS TO BE BOUND TO THE ALTAR. It used to be said by the Jews that no animals were so restive as those which were brought for sacrifice to the altar. Certainly our sacrifice needs to be bound with cords to the altar. Do we not find how our hearts would go off to the world again? What tendency to turn from Christ there is! The down-drag of the world, the flesh and the devil are terrible indeed. Do we not find this in our prayers? How our minds wander! how difficult to fix our attention! Satan is ever busy with suggestions and temptations to make us take back our sacrifice.
IV BUT THERE ARE CORDS, TRUSTY AND STRONG, WITH WHICH WE MAY BIND THE SACRIFICE TO THE ALTAR. AS it was with our Lord to whom this whole psalm is for ever pointing us there were cords which bound him, and the same will bind us.
1. The cord of love. This was his motive, and must be ours. Not fear, not the goadings of conscience, not mere sense of duty, but love. "The love of Christ constraineth me," said St. Paul. This is one chief cord.
2. Faith. Not mere creed, but trust, reliance. This was one of Christ"s cords. His enemies mocked him on the cross, "He trusted in God, that he would deliver him!" They were right; he did ever trust in God. He was sure that his Father"s will was right, and that the path ordained for him was the right one. And so must it be with us. We have to walk by faith, not by sight. If we let go our trust, we shall certainly take back the sacrifice we have brought. But trust keeps it on the altar of consecration.
3. Obedience. This was the habit of our Lord"s life. He did always that which pleased God. And so with us. Let us form the habit of obedience, and we shall find that the very idea of a contrary course becomes alien to the mind. To do God"s will becomes almost instinctive with us.
4. Delight, not mere duty. (Cf. our Lord"s words, Psa_40:8) It is good to do God"s will, even when we feel no delight; but how much happier and more effectual is our service when we do! And if we persistently serve the Lord, we shall find delight in his service. These are the cords which held our Lord to his sacrifice, and will hold us to ours. S.C.
Sacrifice as a sign of devotion.
"Bind the sacrifice with cords, yea, even up to the horns of the altar." The various interpretations of this difficult passage arc given elsewhere in this work. There is a various rendering, "up to the altar," instead of "unto;" and a various reading, "with willows," instead of "with cords," which arc very suggestive. From Lev_23:40 we learn that tree branches and willows were used as decorations for the Feast of Tabernacles, and therefore "willows" may stand for decorations as expressions of rejoicing. We have then to picture the procession, representing the nation, advancing to dedicate the new temple, and join in the first public service of thanksgiving. It is certain that they would have with them, in the procession, the representative national sacrifice, the bullock which was to be the burnt offering for the nation, and, in the most solemn way, carry the full consecration of the nation to God. When the procession has reached the court near the great altar, and the leader has spoken his words of humble and reverent rejoicing and thanksgiving, what is more natural than that he should call out to bring forward the burnt offering? "Deck it gaily; cover it with boughs; bring it on; lead it right through the crowd; bring it right up to the altar; fasten it to the very horns." In this light the difficult passage becomes simple and natural, and suggests the following:
I GENUINE DEVOTION WANTS TO GIVE SOMETHING. Pious and devout minds never can content themselves with words of trust, thankfulness, or worship. There is a kind of inward suspicion that words are not enough, and may cost little, and be insincere. Let a man be really thankful, and he will want to make some outward and visible sign of his feeling.
II GENUINE DEVOTION SEEKS A GIFT THAT CAN FITTINGLY REPRESENT ITSELF. And so it always takes form as sacrifice, a gift that costs something, some self-denial. If devotion is at its fullest, it is a whole consecration of ourselves to God; and just this is the thing represented by the "burnt offering" of Mosaism. But when full devotion seeks to represent itself in its gift, it counts it essential to the worthiness of the gift that it should be offered willingly and cheerfully. It always wants to give its burnt offering gaily decked with flowers and willows as beautiful as it is complete. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Charles H. Spurgeon 1885 · Public Domain Ver. 27. God is the LORD, which hath shewed…
Ver. 27. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light, or "God is Jehovah, "the only living and true God. There is none other God but he. The words may also be rendered, "Mighty is Jehovah." Only the power of God could have brought us such light and joy as spring from the work of our Champion and King. We have received light, by which we have known the rejected stone to be the head of the corner, and this light has led us to enlist beneath the banner of the once despised Nazarene, who is now the Prince of the kings of the earth. With the light of knowledge has come the light of joy; for we are delivered from the powers of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Our knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ came not by the light of nature, nor by reason, nor did it arise from the sparks which we ourselves had kindled, nor did we receive it of men; but the mighty God alone hath showed it to us. He made a day on purpose that he might shine upon us like the sun, and he made our faces to shine in the light of that day, according to the declaration of the twenty-fourth verse. Therefore, unto him be all the honour of our enlightenment. Let us do our best to magnify the great Father of lights from whom our present blessedness has descended.
"Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar. Some think that by this we are taught that the king offered so many sacrifices that the whole area of the court was filled, and the sacrifices were bound even up to the altar; but we are inclined to keep to our own version, and to believe that sometimes restive bullocks were bound to the altar before they were slain, in which case Mant's verse is correct":
Read full note →
"He, Jehovah, is our Lord:
He, our God, on us hath shined:
Bind the sacrifice with cord,
To the horned altar bind."
The word rendered "cords" carries with it the idea of wreaths and boughs, so that it was not a cord of hard, rough rope, but a decorated band; even as in our case, though we are bound to the altar of God, it is with the cords of love and the bands of a man, and not by a compulsion which destroys the freedom of the will. The sacrifice which we would present in honour of the victories of our Lord Jesus Christ is the living sacrifice of our spirit, soul, and body. We bring ourselves to his altar, and desire to offer him all that we have and are. There remains a tendency in our nature to start aside from this; it is not fond of the sacrificial knife. In the warmth of our love we come willingly to the altar, but we need constraining power to keep us there in the entirety of our being throughout the whole of life. Happily there is a cord which, twisted around the atonement, or, better still, around the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our only Altar, can hold us, and does hold us: "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all died; and that he died for all, that they that live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." We are bound to the doctrine of atonement; we are bound to Christ himself, who is both altar and sacrifice; we desire to be more bound to him than ever, our soul finds her liberty in being tethered fast to the altar of the Lord. The American Board of Missions has for its seal an ox, with an altar on one side and a plough on the other, and the motto "Ready for either, "ready to live and labour, or ready to suffer and die. We would gladly spend ourselves for the Lord actively, or be spent by him passively, whichever may be his will; but since we know the rebellion of our corrupt nature we earnestly pray that we may be kept in this consecrated mind, and that we may never, under discouragements, or through the temptations of the world, be permitted to leave the altar, to which it is our intense desire to be for ever fastened. Such consecration as this, and such desires for its perpetuity, well beseem that day of gladness which the Lord hath made so bright by the glorious triumph of his Son, our covenant head, our well beloved.
Ver. 27. God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light. The Psalmist was clearly possessed of light, for he says, "God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light." He was evidently, then, possessed of light; and this light was in him as "the light of life." This light had shone into his heart; the rays and beams of divine truth had penetrated into his conscience. He carried about with him a light which had come from God; in this light he saw light, and in this light he discerned everything which the light manifested. Thus by this internal light he knew what was good and what was evil, what was Sweet and what was bitter, what was true and what was false, what was spiritual and what was natural. He did not say, This light came from creature exertion, this light was the produce of my own wisdom, this light was nature transmuted some action of my own will, and thus gradually rose into existence from long time and assiduous cultivation. But he ascribes the whole of that light which he possessed unto God the Lord, as the sole author and the only giver of it. Now, if God the Lord has ever showed you and me the same light which he showed his servant of old, we carry about with us more or less of a solemn conviction that we have received this light from him. There will, indeed, be many clouds of darkness to cover it; there will often be doubts and fears, hovering like mists and fogs over our souls, whether the light which we have received be from God or not. But in solemn moments when the Lord is pleased a little to revive his work; at times and seasons when he condescends to draw forth the affections of our hearts unto himself, to bring us into his presence, to hide us in some measure in the hollow of his hand, and give us access unto himself, at such moments and seasons we carry about with us, in spite of all our unbelief, in spite of all the suggestions of the enemy, in spite of all doubts and fears and suspicions that rise from the depths of the carnal mind, in spite of all these counter workings and undermining, we carry about with us at these times a solemn conviction that we have light, and that this light we have received from God. And why so? Because we can look back to a time when we walked in no such light, when we felt no such light, when everything spiritual and heavenly was dark to us, and we were dark to them.
Those things which the Spirit of God enables a man to do, are in Scripture sometimes called sacrifices. "That we may offer, "we read, "spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ." The apostle speaks of "receiving of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from the brethren at Philippi; an odour of a sweet smell; a sacrifice acceptable and well pleasing to God." Php 4:18. So he says to the Hebrew church: "But to do good and to communicate (that is, to the wants of God's people), forget not; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." Heb 13:16. Well, then, these spiritual sacrifices which a man offers unto God are bound also to the horns of the altar. They are not well pleasing in the sight of God, except they are bound to the horns of the altar, so as to derive all their acceptance from the altar. Our prayers are only acceptable to God as they are offered through the cross of Jesus. Our praises and thanksgivings are only acceptable to God as they are connected with the cross of Christ, and ascend to the Father through the propitiation of his dear Son. The ordinances of God's house are only acceptable to God as spiritual sacrifices, when they are bound to the horns of the altar. Both the ordinances of the New Testamentbaptism and the Lord's supperhave been bound by the hands of God himself to the horns of the altar; and no one either rightly went through the one, or rightly received the other, who had not been first spiritually bound by the same hand to the horns of the altar. Every act of liberality, every cup of cold water given in the name of a disciple, every feeling of sympathy and affection, every kind word, every compassionate action, shown to a brother; all and each are only acceptable to God as they ascend to him through the mediation of his dear Son. And, therefore, every sacrifice of our own comfort, or of our own advantage, of our own time, or of our own money, for the profit of God's children, is only a spiritual and acceptable sacrifice so far as it is bound to the horns of the altar, linked on to the cross of Jesus, and deriving all its fragrance and odour from its connection with the incense there offered by the Lord of life and glory. J. C. Philpot.
Verse 27. How comfortable is the light! It is so comfortable that light and comfort are often put for the same thing: God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light, that is, the light of counsel what to do, and the light of comfort in what we do, or after all our sufferings. Light is not only a candle held to us, to do our work by, but it comforts and cheereth us in our work. Ec 11:7. Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 27. Shewed us light: bind the sacrifice. Here is somewhat received; somewhat to be returned. God hath blessed us, and we must bless God. His grace, and our gratitude, are the two lines my discourse must run upon. They are met in my text; let them as happily meet in your hearts, and they shall not leave you till they bring you to heaven. Thomas Adams.
Ver. 27. Bind the sacrifice with cords, etc. The sacrifice we are to offer to God, in gratitude for redeeming love, is ourselves, not to be slain upon the altar, but "living sacrifices" (Ro 12:1) to be bound to the altar; spiritual sacrifices of prayer and praise, in which our hearts must be fixed and engaged, as the sacrifice was bound "with cords to the horns of the altar." Matthew Henry.
Ver. 27. Bind the sacrifice, etc. It is a saying among the Hebrews, that the beasts that were offered in sacrifice, they were the most struggling beasts of all the rest; such is the nature of us unthankful beasts, when we should love God again, we are readier to run away from him; we must be tied to the altar with cords, to draw from us love or fear. Abraham Wright.
Ver. 27. With cords. This word is sometimes used for thick twisted cords, Jud 15:13; sometimes for thick branches of trees, used at some feasts, Eze 19:11 Le 23:40. Hereupon this sentence may two ways be read; bind the feast with thick branches, or, bind the sacrifice with cords;both mean one thing, that men should keep the festivity with joy and thanks to God, as Israel did at their solemnities. Henry Ainsworth.
Ver. 27. Even unto the horns of the altar. Before these words must be understood, lead it: for the victims were bound to rings fixed in the floor. "The horns" were architectural ornaments, a kind of capitals, made of iron or of brass, somewhat in the form of the curved horns of an animal, projecting from the four angles of the altar. The officiating priest, when he prayed, placed his hands on them, and sometimes sprinkled them with the blood of the sacrifice: compare Ex 30:3 Le 4:7, 18. At the end of this verse the word saying must be supplied. Daniel Cresswell.
Ver. 27. Unto the horns. That is, all the court over, until you come even to the horns of the altar, intending hereby many sacrifices or boughs. Henry Ainsworth.
Ver. 27. Bind the sacrifice, etc. Devotion is the mother, and she hath four daughters.
1. Constancy: "Bind the sacrifice".
2. Fervency: Bind it "with cords".
3. Wisdom: Bind it "to the altar".
4. Confidence: Even to the "horns" of the altar. Thomas Adams.
Ver. 27. Bind the sacrifice with cords, etc.
1. What is the sacrifice? Our whole selves, every talent, all our time, property, position, mind, heart, temper, life to the last.
2. Why does it need binding? It is naturally restive. Long delay, temptations, wealth, rank, discouragement, scepticism, all tend to drive it from the altar.
3. To what is it bound? To the doctrine of atonement. To Jesus and his work. To Jesus and out work.
4. What are the cords? Our own vows. The need of souls. Our joy in the work. The great reward. The love of Christ working upon us by the Holy Spirit.
Psalms 118:28*
Now comes the closing song of the champion, and of each one of his admirers.
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 God is the Lord, which hath showed us light.
Psa_118:27
God is the Lord, which hath showed us light.
Read full note →
--
The light from God
I propose to consider how the words of my text may be used in an improper manner, and how, as I think, we may use them aright.
1. If in saying God is the Lord who hath showed us light we imply that we in any way have authority to dictate to our follow-men what they should believe, we are making a most pernicious use of them. Men like ourselves found by prayer and by the right exercise of their reason some precious belief which for all practical purposes may be called for them the truth. It was, we, will say, some great advance on the beliefs prevailing around them; it was the clear detection and straightforward repudiation of palpable error; it was as the lifting of a dark mist which had clouded their souls. In so far it was true; and native piety would make each pioneer and reformer in turn lift up his heart in gratitude and say, God is the Lord who hath showed us light. But whatever truth was thus discovered we may be very sure was only partial. At its best and brightest it was but a streak of dawn, only one ray of that everlasting sun of the truth of God which no man can look upon and live. This was not all. The truth, whatever it was, had to be proclaimed. It must take shape in words; and from that moment it was liable to be misstated or misunderstood.
2. I turn now to consider in what way we may use the words of my text aright. It is especially good for us to keep ever before our minds the source of any light that shines in our hearts. There is no more wholesome state to be in than in one of perpetual thankfulness, both as a safeguard against conceit and vainglory, and as an incentive to fresh effort in the pursuit of truth. We have to thank God and not ourselves for every step in our victorious march. He it was who gave the first impulse to our search for purer truth, who made us restless under the bondage of tradition and filled us with longings to know more of Himself, He it was who in answer to our cry poured upon us His blessed Spirit, enlightening our understandings, quickening our consciences and warming our hearts by His love. I believe it to be a fact that we cannot ask God for too much light. The more we ask, the more we receive; and although the sanctities of the soul are far too sacred to be exposed to public scrutiny, many a prayerful heart can bear witness to the ever ready hell? of our Father in heaven when His children lift up their cry for His strength and guidance. Many are the perplexities of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of all. Still we must never forget that all this is between ourselves and God, and must never be used as a means of illegitimate influence, much less as a plea for authority over the souls of others. God has never promised to work a miracle to keep a man from error, must less to give him spiritual authority over his fellow-men It is enough that each uplifted seat is conscious of Divine illumination exactly in proportion to its own needs and for its own use alone. We know it does not render us incapable of error; we know how far it must fall short of all the truth which God has in store. But we, also know that in answer to one cry, God gives quite as much light as He sees fit, as much as He knows our souls can receive, and--most important of all--as much as we can make good use of in our service of our brethren. (C. Voysey, B. A.)
The use to make of the light
1. Rejoice in this light. Not as children, that come abroad to play in the sunshine, and make no more account of it. Nor as a people that never saw the sun, step out of their doors to gaze upon it, and then turn their backs on it. But rejoice with a solid joy, as they whom God hath brought out of darkness into His marvellous light.
2. Walk worthy of this light (Eph_4:1). Be children of the light. As the light shines on thee, let it shine in thee. Thou hast small comfort to be in the light unless the light be in thee. Saith the prophet to the Church (Isa_60:1). As God hatch showed His light to you, so let your light shine before men, etc.
3. Take heed of sore eyes. Pleasures, lusts, and vanities make the eyes sore that are dotingly fastened on them. The usurer with telling his gold; the haughty with contemplating his greatness; the drunkard with looking at the wine laughing in the cup; the lustful with gazing on his painted damnations, make their eyes so sore, that they cannot look up and behold this light.
4. Take benefit of this light while it shines. Either this light may be set to thee, or thou be set to it. That to thee, by removing the candlestick; thou to that, by the hand of death, which shall send thee to the land of forgetful darkness. Our Saviour taught us this, not only in precept, but in practice (Joh_9:4). Let us not do like some courtiers, that having light allowed them, play it out at cards, and go to bed darkling.
5. Lastly, help to maintain this light, that it go not out. If you would have the lamps of the sanctuary shine, pour in your oil. Grudge not a little cost to keep this light clear. Repine not you then at a little charge for the everlasting lamp of the Gospel. (T. Adams.)
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.--
Binding the sacrifice
Bishop Wordsworth gives the most probable explanation of this difficult passage. The Hebrew word chug, translated sacrifice, literally means a feast-day. Probably the word is adopted here, because the expression is a figurative one. We do not hear that the sacrifices were literally bound to the horns of the altar, on which the blood was sprinkled (Exo_29:16; Lev_4:7; Lev_8:15; Lev_9:9). Nor does it appear to have been possible that the immense number of victims offered on the day of dedication (Ezr_6:17) could have been so bound. The Targum, indeed, explains the words as meaning, Bring the sacrifice bound until it arrives at the horns of the altar. But the sense seems to be, bind the festival of dedication to the altar of God--that is, let the joys of all Israelites be concentrated as the joys of one man in a great national act of thankful communion and self-consecration to God. Let the people of God be no more separated from one another by schism, as they were by the severance of Israel from Judah; let them no more be scattered, as they were in the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity; but let them all be bound to one centre of unity--the altar of God. In view of this explanation of the expression as a figurative one, there is no need for inquiries concerning ancient customs of binding sacrifices to altars, or for the assumption that any new practice was enjoined. The passage is best treated as a poetical figure.
Psa_119:1-176
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.