Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”
Parallel Translations
-
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “Yahweh has done great things for them.”
-
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
-
Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing; then said they among the nations: 'The LORD hath done great things with these.'
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Psalms 126:2 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 8:21 He will still fill your mouth with laughter, your lips with shouting.
- Isaiah 35:10 Then Yahweh’s ransomed ones will return, and come with singing to Zion; and everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
- Zechariah 8:22-23 Yes, many peoples and strong nations will come to seek Yahweh of Armies in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Yahweh.” Yahweh of Armies says: “In those days, ten men will take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they will take hold of the skirt of him who is a Jew, saying, ‘We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”
- Psalms 71:19 Your righteousness also, God, reaches to the heavens; you have done great things. God, who is like you?
- Psalms 106:47-48 Save us, Yahweh, our God, gather us from among the nations, to give thanks to your holy name, to triumph in your praise! Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, from everlasting even to everlasting! Let all the people say, “Amen.” Praise Yah!
- Nehemiah 6:16 When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that were around us were afraid, and they lost their confidence; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
- Psalms 53:6 Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God brings back his people from captivity, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
- Jeremiah 33:11 the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, ‘Give thanks to Yahweh of Armies, for Yahweh is good, for his loving kindness endures forever;’ who bring thanksgiving into Yahweh’s house. For I will cause the captivity of the land to be reversed as at the first,” says Yahweh.
- Joshua 2:9-11 She said to the men, “I know that Yahweh has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, and there wasn’t any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Yahweh your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
- Jeremiah 31:12-13 They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of Yahweh, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all. Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance; the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
- Revelation 11:15-17 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” The twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God’s throne, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was; because you have taken your great power and reigned.
- Numbers 23:23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, ‘What has God done!’
- Joshua 9:9-10 They said to him, “Your servants have come from a very far country because of the name of Yahweh your God; for we have heard of his fame, all that he did in Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og king of Bashan, who was at Ashtaroth.
- Ezra 3:11 They sang to one another in praising and giving thanks to Yahweh, “For he is good, for his loving kindness endures forever toward Israel.” All the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised Yahweh, because the foundation of Yahweh’s house had been laid.
- Psalms 14:7 Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
- Romans 11:15 For if the rejection of them is the reconciling of the world, what would their acceptance be, but life from the dead?
- Psalms 51:14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation. My tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
- Isaiah 49:9-13 saying to those who are bound, ‘Come out!’; to those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves!’ “They shall feed along the paths, and their pasture shall be on all treeless heights. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun strike them: for he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water. I will make all my mountains a road, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from afar, and behold, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.” Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains, for Yahweh has comforted his people, and will have compassion on his afflicted.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 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 2. Now shall our mouth be filled with laughter.…
2. Now shall our mouth be filled with laughter. The adverb of time, אז, az, is commonly translated then; but as the verbs are in the future tense, I have thought that it might not be improper to translate tires — grow shall our mouth be filled, and now shall they say. If, however, we admit what some Hebrew Doctors affirm, that the force of this particle is to change the future tense into the past, the adverb then will be the appropriate word. The design of the Prophet is not at all obscure. He would have the people so to rejoice on account of their return, as not to bury in forgetfulness the grace of God. He therefore describes no ordinary rejoicing, but such as so fills their minds as to constrain them to break forth into extravagance of gesture and of voice. At the same time he intimates that there was good ground for this joy, in which it became the children of God to indulge, on account of their return to their own land. As there was at that period nothing more wretched than for them to live in captivity, in which they were in a manner dispossessed of the inheritance God had promised them; so there was nothing which ought to have been more desirable to them than to be restored. Their restoration to their own country having been therefore a proof of their renewed adoption by God, it is not surprising to find the Prophet asserting that their mouth was filled with laughter, and their tongue with exultation. With a similar joy does it become us at the present day to exult when God gathers together his Church and it is an undoubted evidence that we are steel-hearted, if her miserable dispersion does not produce in our minds grief and lamentation. The Prophet proceeds farther, declaring that this miracle was seen even by the blind; for in that age of the world, as is well known, the heathen were wandering in darkness like blind men, no knowledge of God having shone upon them; and yet God’s power and operation were so conspicuous in that event, that they burst forth into the open acknowledgment that God had done great things for his people. So much the more shame-fill then was the indifference of the Jews to be accounted, if they did not freely and loudly celebrate God’s grace, which had acquired so much renown among the unbelieving. The form of speech employed is also to be marked, which forcibly expresses the idea intended to be conveyed, that the mighty power of God in this deliverance was known by the Gentiles. In the following verse the Prophet repeats in his own person, and in that of the Church, the words uttered by the heathen in the last member of the preceding verse. Let us at least, as if he had said, put forth a confession corresponding to that which God has extorted from the unbelieving Gentiles. When he adds that they were glad, there is an implied antithesis between this fresh joy and the long continued sorrow with which they were afflicted in their captivity, he expressly declares that joy was restored to them, to enable them the better to estimate the dismal condition from which they had been extricated.
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 He showeth how the godly ought to rejoice when…
He showeth how the godly ought to rejoice when God gathereth his Church or delivereth it.
If the infidels confess God’s wonderful work, the faithful can never show themselves sufficiently thankful.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,…
Psa 126:2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The LORD hath done great things for them.
Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter] We laughed amain, and shrilled or shouted aloud, when we found that it was υπαρ non οναρ, as Plato speaketh, not a dream, but a done thing, which (before) we held optabile potius quam opinabile, incredible altogether.
Read full note →
Then said they among the heathen] They who were wont to jeer us, Psa 137:3. God can soon alter the case of his afflicted people. See Est 8:17, {See Trapp on "Est 8:17"}
The Lord hath done great things] Magnifica :so, Vere magnus est Deus Christianorum, the God of the Christians is a great God indeed, said Calocerius, a heathen, observing his works done for his people.
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 They did and well might wonder at it, that…
They did and well might wonder at it, that a heathen emperor should of his own mere motion show so much kindness to so hateful and despicable a people as the Jews were.
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 Then was our mouth filled with laughter,.... Who before…
Then was our mouth filled with laughter,.... Who before mourned, and hung their harps on the willows, and could not sing the Lord's song in a strange land; but now, as their hearts were filled, with joy, this was externally and visibly seen in their countenances, and expressed with their mouths and by outward gestures; it was so great, they could not contain it, to which respect is had, Isa 35:10. It may be rendered, "then shall our mouth be filled with laughter" (q); that is, when we awake, says Arama; or rather when the captivity is returned, either in a literal or in a spiritual sense, both being matter of great joy: the Midrash says, this will be in the world to come, and not in this;
and our tongue with singing; the praises of God, and the songs of Zion;
Read full note →
then said they among the Heathen, the Lord hath done great things for them; it was taken notice of by the Chaldeans, among whom they had been captives, and by all the nations round about: and it was wonderful to them, that Cyrus, an Heathen prince, of his own motion and will, should at once, and without any price or reward, let them go, and send them into their own country to rebuild their temple; and with them the vessels of the Lord's house, that had been taken away by the king of Babylon; and order men to help them, with gold and silver, and goods and cattle, Ezr 1:1. Likewise the conversion of the Jews, and the restoration of them to their own and in the latter day, will be observed by the Gentiles with wonder, and as the work of God, Eze 36:35.
(q) "replebitur", Musculus, Gejerus; "implebitur", Schmidt; so the Targum, Syr. Arab.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter]…
Verse 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter] The same effect as was produced on the poor liberated Grecians mentioned above.
Then said they among the heathen] The liberty now granted was brought about in so extraordinary a way, that the very heathens saw that the hand of the great Jehovah must have been in it.
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 126:2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter…
Psa 126:2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter — We thought ourselves in a new world, and the surprise of it put us into such an ecstasy and transport of joy, that we could scarcely contain ourselves within the bounds of decency in the expressions of it; and our mouth with singing — We gave vent to our joy, by singing hymns and songs of praise to God, and thus gave notice to all about us, what wonders God had wrought for us. Then said they among the heathen — Who had observed our calamity and triumphed in it, Jer 22:8-9; Psa 137:7. The Lord Jehovah, the God of Israel, hath done great things for them — This truly is Jehovah’s work, who hath magnified his power in the strange deliverance of this nation. Well might they wonder, that a heathen emperor should, of his own mere motion, show so much kindness to a people so hated and despised as the Jews were.
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 Then was our mouth filled with laughter - Then…
Then was our mouth filled with laughter - Then were we happy; completely happy. See Job 8:21.
And our tongue with singing - We expressed our joy in songs - the natural expression of joy. Young converts - those “turned” from sin to God - sing. Their feelings find expression in the songs of Zion. This is natural; this is proper; this will occur when sinners are converted. An assemblage of young converts is always a happy assemblage; a place where there is a “revival” of religion is always a happy place - full of songs and singing.
Read full note →
Then said they among the heathen - The nations; the people among whom they dwelt.
The Lord hath done great things for them - In causing their return to their own land; in ordering the arrangements for it; in bringing their captivity to an end; in securing such interposition from the civil rulers as to facilitate their return. This would indicate that the surrounding people had not an unfriendly feeling toward them, but that they pitied them in exile, and were disposed to acknowledge the hand of God in what was done. Their deliverance, in the circumstances, was such as evidently to have been the work of God. This will agree well with the account of the return of the exiles from Babylon, and with all that had been done for them by Cyrus. Compare Ezr 1:1-4.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 2. Said they among the heathen—So astonishing was the…
2. Said they among the heathen—So astonishing was the decree of Cyrus, (Ezr_1:1-4,) that the Gentile nations spoke of it as an act above the level of humanity, and ascribed it directly to Jehovah, the Hebrews’ God, which, in the next verse, they repeat and accept with gladness, as true. The allusion to the common remark upon the event by “the heathen,” implies a friendliness and good will on their part toward the Jews at the time of their departure. This was a fact in the reign of Cyrus, with whom they were in honour; and afterward in the reign of Darius Hystaspes; and the same of the Egyptians toward Israel at the time of the exodus.
Exo_11:3; Exo_12:36
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 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter] Cp.…
2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter] Cp. Job_8:21.
singing] Or, shouts of joy, a word characteristic of the second Isaiah (Isa_44:23; Isa_48:20; Isa_49:13; Isa_51:11; Isa_54:1; Isa_55:12). The Psalms of the Return (93–100) were the expression of this joy.
Read full note →
then said they among the nations] Even heathen nations recognised the marvel of Israel’s deliverance. Cf. Isa_52:10; Psa_98:2, &c.
hath done great things for them] Cp. Joe_2:21, and with the preceding line cp. Joe_2:17.
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 (2) Singing.—As frequently of the restoration in Isaiah—42:11, 44:23,…
(2) Singing.—As frequently of the restoration in Isaiah—42:11, 44:23, 54:1, &c.
Hath done.—See margin, and comp. Joe_2:21.
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 Then was our mouth filled with laughter. The Orientals…
Then was our mouth filled with laughter. The Orientals weep when they are disappointed, and, when they are pleased, laugh (Gen_21:6 Job_8:21) and shout for joy (Herod., 8:99). And our tongue with singing; rather, with a cry of joy. Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them; literally, hath magnified to do with them. The heathen, among whom the Israelites had dwelt, marveled at their deliverance. It was an event without a parallel.
Signs of joy.
Read full note →
Polybius, in describing the joy of the Greeks when unexpectedly rescued from the Macedonians, says, "Most of the men could scarcely believe the news, but imagined themselves in a dream as they listened to what was said, so extraordinary and miraculous it seemed to them.
I JOY AND GLADNESS MAY BE FITTING RESPONSE TO CIRCUMSTANCES. There is a natural and proper response to every set of conditions in which we are placed. We need never restrain those responses. Religion tones them, but does not arrest or crush them. Joy and gladness were befitting to the restored captives. Laughter is the expression of joy; and "Is any merry, let him sing psalms." Some phases of Christian life are too decorous, too restrained, too cold. True religion only flourishes in a warm atmosphere of feeling. And we should find abundant cause for joy and song, if we did but read our lives aright, and recognize the loving-kindness of the Lord. "The redeemed shall come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads.
II JOY AND GLADNESS MAY BE EXAGGERATED, AND BECOME A PERIL. There was a degree of extravagance in the joy of these returned exiles. They were over-excited. In their excitement they imagined a future which could never be realized; and were tempted to play with their new-found liberty as with a toy, instead of being solemnized by its obligations, and urged thereby to high and noble endeavor.
1. Times of overjoy make the prosaic work of everyday life very trying and hard. The beginnings of religious life are often a skipping and dancing and singing of the soul, and it is almost overwhelming to discover that it must pass into a persistent, humdrum walking the pilgrim-path of righteousness. We cannot be always in ecstasy and song, either here or in heaven. Israel found the actual life in restored Palestine soon changed excited song for the quiet strain of daily service.
2. Times of over-excitement are followed by times of undue depression. Israel bravely sang on the shores of the Red Sea, and murmured, ere three days were passed, at what redemption involved. Overstrain of religious feeling in times of revivals and missions, is oftentimes a most serious peril to young souls, because it suggests a false idea of Christian life. And, to some dispositions, it is no less than absolute ruin. R.T.
Vers. 2, 3. Our joy in God a witness for God.
"Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them." The estimate which surrounding nations would form of them and of their circumstances was always a matter of interest and importance to Israel. From the first it was understood that the honor of Jehovah was bound up with the prosperity of this people. It is possible to fix our thoughts too entirely on the exclusiveness and the isolation of Israel, and on its mission as the treasury, for the world, of the primary truths of revealed religion. Its second mission was its witness to Jehovah, by its trust in him; devotion to his service; and safety and enrichment through his presence and blessing. Israel was, as it were, locked up in that little central land, away from the nations; but it was so isolated that it might make its testimony, and be a beacon-light for God. We try to see what witness it rendered by one of its moods.
I ISRAEL"S JOY IN GOD WITNESSED TO THE DIVINE PITY. We are dealing now with the joy of the restored exiles. They were largely the immediate descendants of men who had provoked Jehovah by their iniquity and rebellion, and had for years been enduring his righteous judgments. Looking at, and thinking only of their calamity, other nations might easily come to think of their God as one who never forgives. But, in view of the joy of their restoration, such an idea could not be enter-mined. It is proved now that God pities even while he punishes; and is glad when his pity is free to work its gracious, restoring work.
II ISRAEL"S JOY IN GOD WITNESSED TO THE DIVINE PERSERVATION. It declared that the "good hand" had been on the nation all through its time of captivity. It bad been in the purifying fires, but the silver had been kept safe through all the testings. And the brightness and joy of a Christian life always makes this witness for God. It says"I have been upheld till now; Who could hold me up but thou?
III ISRAEL"S JOY IN GOD WITNESSED TO THE DIVINE PURPOSES. God restored Israel because he had something for Israel yet to do in the world. And Israel"s joy seemed to say, "It is plain that God needs me." God"s goodness always unveils God"s purpose. 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. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter,…
Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. So full were they of joy that they could not contain themselves. They must express their joy and yet they could not find expression for it. Irrepressible mirth could do no other than laugh, for speech was far too dull a thing for it. The mercy was so unexpected, so amazing, so singular that they could not do less than laugh; and they laughed much, so that their mouths were full of it, and that because their hearts were full too. When at last the tongue could move articulately, it could not be content simply to talk, but it must needs sing; and sing heartily too, for it was full of singing. Doubtless the former pain added to the zest of the pleasure; the captivity threw a brighter colour into the emancipation. The people remembered this joy flood for years after, and here is the record of it turned into a song. Note the when and the then. God's when is our then. At the moment when he turns our captivity, the heart turns from its sorrow; when he fills us with grace we are filled with gratitude. We were made to be as them that dream, but we both laughed and sang in our sleep. We are wide awake now, and though we can scarcely realize the blessing, yet we rejoice in it exceedingly.
Then said they among the heathen, the Load hath done great things for them. The heathen heard the songs of Israel, and the better sort among them soon guessed the cause of their joy. Jehovah was known to be their God, and to him the other nations ascribed the emancipation of his people, reckoning it to be no small thing which the Lord had thus done; for those who carried away the nations had never in any other instance restored a people to their ancient dwelling place. These foreigners were no dreamers; though they were only lookers on, and not partakers in the surprising mercy, they plainly saw what had been done, and rightly ascribed it to the great Giver of all good. It is a blessed thing when saints set sinners talking about the lovingkindness of the Lord: and it is equally blessed when the saints who are hidden away in the world hear of what the Lord has done for his church, and themselves resolve to come out from their captivity and unite with the Lord's people. Ah, dear reader, Jehovah has indeed done marvellous things for his chosen, and these "great things" shall be themes for eternal praise among all intelligent creatures.
Read full note →
Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, etc. We must earnestly endeavour to learn this practice, or at the least to attain to some knowledge thereof; and we must raise up ourselves with this considerationthat the gospel is nothing else but laughter and joy. This joy properly pertaineth to captives, that is, to those that feel the captivity of sin and death; to the fleshy and tender hearts, terrified with the feeling of the wrath and judgment of God. These are the disciples in whose hearts should be planted laughter and joy, and that by the authority of the Holy Ghost, which this verse setteth forth. This people was in Zion, and, after the outward show of the kingdom and priesthood, did mightily flourish; but if a man consider them according to the spirit, he shall see them to be in miserable captivity, and that their tongue is full of heaviness and mourning, because their heart is terrified with the sense of sin and death. This is Moses' tongue or Moses' mouth, full of wormwood and of the bitterness of death; wherewith he designs to kill none but those which are too lively and full of security. But they who feel their captivity shall have their mouths filled with laughter and joy: that is, redemption and deliverance from sin and death shall be preached unto them. This is the sense and meaning of the Holy Ghost, that the mouth of such shall be filled with laughter, that is, their mouth shall show forth nothing else but great gladness through the inestimable consolations of the gospel, with voices of triumph and victory by Christ, overcoming Satan, destroying death, and taking away sins. This was first spoken unto the Jews; for this laughter was first offered to that people, then having the promises. Now he turneth to the Gentiles, whom he calleth to the partaking of this laughter. Martin Luther.
Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, etc. It was thus in the valley of Elah, where Goliath fell, and Philistia fled. It was thus at Baal Perazim. It was thus when one morning, after many nights of gloom, Jerusalem arose at dawn of day, and found Sennacherib's thousands a camp of the dead. And it has all along been the manner of our God.
"The Lord has wrought mightily
In what he has done for us;
And we have been made glad."
Ever do this till conflict is over! Just as thou dost with the streams of the south, year by year, so do with uswith all, with each. And we are confident thou wilt; we are sure that we make no vain boast when we sing this psalm as descriptive of the experience of all thy pilgrims and worshippers. Andrew A. Bonar, in "Christ and his Church in the Book of Psalms", 1859.
Ver. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter. They that were laughed at, now laugh, and a new song is put into their mouths. It was a laughter of joy in God, not scorn of their enemies. Matthew Henry.
Ver. 2. Mouth, tongue. Lorinus, the Jesuit, hath observed that the Psalmist nominates the mouth and tongue in the singular, not mouths and tongues in the plural; because all the faithful and the whole congregation of the Jews univoce, with one voice, with one consent, and, as it were, with one mouth, did praise and glorify the Lord. John Hume.
Ver. 2. And our tongue with singing. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks; and if the heart be glad the tongue is glib. Joy cannot be suppressed in the heart, but it must be expressed with the tongue. John Hume.
Ver. 2. Then said they among the heathen. And what is it they said? It is to the purpose. In this (as in many others) the heathens' saying cannot be mended. This they say: 1. That they were no quotidian, or common things; but "great". 2. Then, these great things they ascribe not to chance;that they happened not, but were "done". 3. Then, "done" by God himself:they see God in them. 4. Then, not done by God at random, without any particular aim; but purposely done for them. 5. And yet, there is more in magnificavit facere (if we look well). For, magna fecit would have served all this; but in saying "magnificavit facere", they say magnifecit illos, ut magna faceret pro illis. He magnified them, or set greatly by them, tor whom he would bring to pass so great a work. This said they among the "heathen."
And it is pity the "heathen" said it, and that the Jew's themselves spake not these words first. But now, finding the "heathen" so saying; and finding it was all true that they said, they must needs find themselves bound to say at least as much; and more they could not say; for more cannot be said. So much then, and no less than they. And this addeth a degree to the dicebant, that the sound of it was so great among the heathen that it made an echo even in Jewry itself. Lancelot Andrews.
Ver. 2. The Lord hath done great things. He multiplied to do great things;so the Chaldee, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; and the history of this deliverance makes it good. Thomas Hodges, in a Sermon entitled "Sion's Hallelujah", 1660.
Ver. 2-3. There is this great difference between the praise which the heathen are forced to give to God, and that which the Lord's people heartily offer unto him: the one doth speak as having no interest nor share in the mercy; the other do speak as they to whom the mercy is intended, and wherein they have their portion with others: He hath done great things for them, say the heathen: but, he hath done great things for us, say the Lord's people. David Dickson, 1583-1662.
Ver. 2. Saintly laughter. What creates it, and how it is justified.
Ver. 2. Recipe for holy laughter.
1. Lie in prison a few weeks.
2. Hear the Lord turning the key.
3. Follow him into the high road.
4. Your sky will burst with sunshine, and your heart with song and laughter.
5. If this recipe is thought too expensive, try keeping in the high road. W. B. H.
Ver. 2-3.
1. Reports of God's doings.
2. Experience of God's doings.
Ver. 2-3.
1. The Lord does great things for his people.
2. These great things command the attention of the world.
3. They inspire the joyful devotion of the saints. W. H. J. P.
Psalms 126:3*
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 Then was our mouth filled with laughter.
Psa_126:2
Then was our mouth filled with laughter.
Read full note →
The rapture of deliverance
I. The joy of the returning Jew.
1. Bewildering.
(1) The suddenness of it.
(2) The instrument of it. Cyrus--a heathen.
2. Rapturous.
(1) Babylon left behind.
(2) The exiles nearing home.
3. Reasonable.
II. The joy of a returning sinner.
1. Look at him before return.
(1) A wanderer from his home.
(2) In bondage.
2. Look at his Deliverer.
3. Look at the deliverance.
III. To the experienced Christian.
1. Is your piety joyful?
2. Ought it not to be so? (F. Tucker, B. A.)
The laughter of the ransomed
Gods glorious deliverance always seems too wonderful to be real. Even the apostle who finds his fetters dropped off and his dungeon door swung open, is like unto them that dream: he wist not that it was true, but thought he saw a vision. So in modern times, when Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, the abolitionist, heard that the long fight was at last finished and every slave on British soil was a free man, he broke out instinctively into the joyful verse: Then was our mouth filled with laughter and our tongue with singing. (T. H. Darlow.)
Then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.--
Heathen and Christian witnesses for God
I. God had done many things for His ancient people. Their exile was a punishment for their great national sin, and their return meant a revocation of that punishment. But greater blessings are possessed by Gods Church in these days. In place of mere ceremonialism we have truth itself--naked, transparent truth. Nor should we lose sight of our individuality. The Church is a congregation of individuals, and it may be said of these not only in their corporate condition as a Church, but separately and individually, The Lord hath done great things for us.
II. These great things are observed and acknowledged by others. The heathen recognized the blessings bestowed on the chosen people, while to the released captives their return to their old and beloved city seemed too good to be true. Our spiritual blessings are not so easily recognized by others as the return of Gods people was by the heathen. But in looking at Christian countries the heathen could not but be struck with the benefits that civilization, liberty and Christianity afforded. It ought also to appear to the ungodly neighbours of Church members, that even in a temporal sense God had done great things for His Church, and that conversion had been followed with blessed consequences of a temporal kind, though they could not see the gift bestowed upon the inner life. But whether outsiders recognized these facts or not, it is your duty to be Gods witnesses, and to tell relatives and friends and fellow-townsmen what great things God had done for us.
III. These great things demanded a special recognition, both from observers and recipients of blessings. There was danger lest the blessings were recognized and the Giver forgotten. Perhaps one of the tendencies of modern times is the exclusion of God from almost everything outside the Church--from education, from legislation, from civil and political and national affairs, from commerce, and from many other things besides. There ought to be a recognition of God not only within, but outside the Church. I am thankful that there is a recognition of God in this country. The motto on the Royal arms--Dieu et mon droit--shows a recognition of God in the highest place in the State. I am thankful that the Imperial Parliament does not sit on Sundays. What is that but a recognition of the Divine law and of Him who said, Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. Every time I pass the Royal Exchange in London I cannot help noticing the inscription, The earth is the Lords and the fulness thereof. What a reminder is that place to the merchants, to the Bank of England, and to the Mansion House, the seat of the greatest of municipalities just opposite, that there is a Diviner God than Mammon. One of the most startling statements I ever heard of was that made by a learned scientist, that an examination of nature did not lead him up to God. Just think of some one shying that St. Pauls Cathedral, with its architecture and traditions, did not lead to a recognition of the great architect, Sir Christopher Wren. What are your acknowledgments to God? (T. McCullagh.)
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 our mouths were filled with laughter
our mouths were filled with laughter
Laughing is spoken of as if their mouths were a container and their laughter was in it. It can be made clear that this laughter was a response to their joy. AT: "we laughed for joy" (See: Metaphor and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Read full note →
our tongues with singing
The verbs "were filled" can be stated clearly. Singing is spoken of as if their tongues were containers and singing was in them. AT: "our tongues were filled with singing" or "we sang songs of joy" (See: Ellipsis and Metaphor)
they said among the nations
"the people of the nations said among themselves." The pronoun is used before introducing what it references. This is very unusual.
Yahweh did great things for us; how glad we were!
"How glad we were, because Yahweh did these great things for us!"
translationWords
nation
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.