You answered them, Yahweh our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings.
Parallel Translations
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You answered them, Yahweh our God. You are a God who forgave them, although you took vengeance for their doings.
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Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
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O LORD our God, Thou didst answer them; a forgiving God wast Thou unto them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their misdeeds.
Cross-references (7)
Passages linked to Psalms 99:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Numbers 20:12 Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
- Psalms 89:33 But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail.
- Jeremiah 46:28 Don’t be afraid, O Jacob my servant,” says Yahweh; “for I am with you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
- Ecclesiastes 7:29 Behold, I have only found this: that God made man upright; but they search for many schemes.”
- Numbers 14:20-34 Yahweh said, “I have pardoned according to your word; but in very deed—as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with Yahweh’s glory— because all those men who have seen my glory, and my signs, which I worked in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have tempted me these ten times, and have not listened to my voice; surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, neither shall any of those who despised me see it. But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and has followed me fully, him I will bring into the land into which he went. His offspring shall possess it. Since the Amalekite and the Canaanite dwell in the valley, tomorrow turn and go into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation that complain against me? I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel, which they complain against me. Tell them, ‘As I live, says Yahweh, surely as you have spoken in my ears, so I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness; and all who were counted of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have complained against me, surely you shall not come into the land concerning which I swore that I would make you dwell therein, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. But I will bring your little ones that you said should be captured or killed in, and they shall know the land which you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. Your children shall be wanderers in the wilderness forty years, and shall bear your prostitution, until your dead bodies are consumed in the wilderness. After the number of the days in which you spied out the land, even forty days, for every day a year, you will bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you will know my alienation.’
- Numbers 20:24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
- Deuteronomy 9:19-20 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which Yahweh was angry against you to destroy you. But Yahweh listened to me that time also. Yahweh was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 8. O Jehovah our God The prophet here reminds…
8. O Jehovah our God The prophet here reminds them that God had heard their prayers because his grace and their piety harmonized. Consequently, encouraged by their exemplary success in prayer, their posterity ought to call upon God, not merely pronouncing his name with their lips, but keeping his covenant with all their heart. He farther reminds us that if God does not display his glory so bountifully, and so profusely in every age, the fault is with men themselves, whose posterity have either utterly forsaken, or greatly declined from the faith of the fathers. It is not to be wondered at that God should withdraw his hand, or at least not stretch it forth in any remarkable way, when he beholds piety waxing cold on the earth.
O God, thou hast been propitious to them. From these words it is quite obvious that what the Psalmist had formerly said concerning Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, refers to the whole people; for surely they did not officiate as priests merely for their own benefit, but for the common benefit of all the Israelites. Hence the transition is more natural which he makes from these three to the remaining body of the people. For I neither restrict the relative, to these three persons, nor do I interpret them exclusively of the same, but I rather think that the state of the whole Church is pointed out; namely, that while God, at the prayers of the priests, was propitious to the Jews, he, at the same time, sharply punished them for their sins. For on the one hand, the prophet magnifies the grace of God in that he had treated the people so kindly, and had so mercifully forgiven their iniquity; on the other hand, he specifies those awful examples of punishment by which he punished them for their ingratitude, that their descendants might learn to submit themselves dutifully to him. For it must not be forgotten, that by how much God deals graciously with us, by so much will he the less easily endure that we should treat his liberality with scorn.
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 For the more liberally that God dealeth with his…
For the more liberally that God dealeth with his people, the more doth he punish them that abuse his benefits.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Psa 99:8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God:…
Psa 99:8 Thou answeredst them, O LORD our God: thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
Ver. 8. Thou wast a God, &c.] A sin pardoning God, Neh 9:17. So thou wast to them under the law, so thou wilt be to those under the gospel.
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Though thou tookest, &c.] Though Moses might not enter for his unbelief, and Samuel smarted for indulging his sons.
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 Answeredst them; the intercessors before mentioned. Forgavest them; either,
Answeredst them; the intercessors before mentioned. Forgavest them; either,
1. Moses and Aaron, who did sin, and whose sins God did pardon, yet so that he did punish them with exclusion from the land of Canaan; of which see Num 20:12; Deu 32:50,51. Or rather,
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2. The people for whom they prayed; which, though not expressed, may be easily understood from the following words, and from the histories to which these words relate. For this forgiving was evidently the effect of God’s answering the prayers of the persons above mentioned. And therefore as their prayers recorded in Scripture were not for the pardon of their own sins, but for the pardon of the people’s sins; so this forgiveness granted was for the sins of the people. And whereas the people are not here mentioned, it must be remembered that in Scripture the relative is frequently put without the antecedent, as it is Num 7:89; Psa 114:2; Pro 14:26.
Though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions: this clause limits and explains the former. Thou didst forgive the sins of the people, not absolutely and universally, for thou didst punish them severely, but so far as not to inflict that total and final destruction upon them which they deserved, and thou hadst threatened. See Exo 32:10,14,34.
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 Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God,.... This is…
Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God,.... This is repeated to show the certainty of it, and to encourage the people of God, in all ages, to pray unto him:
thou wast a God that forgavest them; even Moses, Aaron, and Samuel; for, though they were great and good men, they did not live without sin, and stood in need of pardoning grace and mercy, which they had; or rather the people for whom they prayed: so the Targum,
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"O God, thou wast forgiving thy people for them;''
that is, through their prayers; see Num 14:19,
though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions; their sins, which are the inventions of men, Ecc 7:29. Kimchi and others interpret this of the inventions, designs, and practices of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, against Moses and Aaron, Num 16:32 but though God took vengeance on them, it does not appear that he forgave their iniquities; wherefore it is best to understand this either of the sins of Moses and Aaron themselves, which, though pardoned, God took vengeance of, and showed his displeasure at, by not suffering them to go into the land of Canaan, Num 20:10, or else of the sins of the Israelites, who murmured upon the report of the spies; and though they were pardoned at the intercession of Moses, yet so far vengeance was taken upon them, that none of them were suffered to enter the land of Canaan; but their carcasses fell in the wilderness, Num 14:19, and thus, though God forgives the iniquities of his people, for the sake of his Son, yet he takes vengeance of them on him, their surety; on whom they have been laid and borne, and who has not been spared in the least; but has bore the whole wrath and vengeance of God due to sin; and besides, though he pardons his people, yet he chastises them for their sins, and shows his fatherly displeasure at them.
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 Them - The intercessors before mentioned. Forgavest - The…
Them - The intercessors before mentioned. Forgavest - The people for whom they prayed, so far as not to inflict that total destruction upon them which they deserved;
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. Thou - forgavest them] When the people…
Verse 8. Thou - forgavest them] When the people had sinned, and wrath was about to descend on them, Moses and Aaron interceded for them, and they were not destroyed.
Tookest vengeance of their inventions.] God spared them, but showed his displeasure at their misdoings. He chastised, but did not consume them. This is amply proved in the history of this people.
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 99:8. Thou answeredst them, O Lord — Namely,…
Psa 99:8. Thou answeredst them, O Lord — Namely, the intercessors before mentioned. Thou forgavest them — Either, 1st, Moses and Aaron, who sinned, and whose sins God pardoned, yet so that he punished them with exclusion from the land of Canaan. Or rather, 2d, The people, for whom they prayed; for this forgiving was evidently the effect of God’s answering the prayers of the persons above mentioned; and, therefore, as their prayers, recorded in Scripture, were not for the pardon of their own, but for the pardon of the people’s sins, so this forgiveness granted was for the sins of the people. Though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions — This clause limits and explains the former. Thou didst forgive the sins of the people, not absolutely and universally, for thou didst punish them severely, but so far as not to inflict that total and final destruction upon them which they deserved, and thou hadst threatened: see Exo 32:10; Exo 32:14; Exo 32:34.
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 Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God - The…
Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God - The reference here is to God as “our” God; that is, the language used by those who now worship him is designed to give encouragement in approaching his throne. The God that “we” worship is the same that “they” worshipped; and as he answered them, we may feel assured that he will answer us.
Thou wast a God that forgavest them - They were not perfect; they were sinners; they often offended thee, and yet thou didst answer them, and show them mercy.
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Though thou tookest vengeance - Though thou didst manifest thy displeasure at their misconduct; though thou in thy judgments didst show that thou wast displeased with them; nevertheless thou didst answer them. Sinners as they were, and often as thou didst show thy displeasure at their conduct, yet thou didst hear their prayers and bless them.
Of their inventions - The Hebrew word denotes work, deed, doing, conduct. It means here what they did - their sins. There is no allusion to any special art or “cunning” in what they did - as if they had “invented” or found out some new form of sin.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 8. Thou answeredst them—That is, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.
8. Thou answeredst them—That is, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel.
Forgavest them—The people.
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Their inventions—The pronoun again refers to the people. “Inventions” means works, doings, and here evil doings. Thus, forgiveness and vengeance, mercy and judgment, tempered the divine discipline. 2Sa_7:14. “God punished their transgressions, but his method was lenient; he had not removed his favour from them, but forgave them for their intercessor’s sake.”—Tholuck.
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 8. Jehovah our God, THOU hast answered them:
8. Jehovah our God, THOU hast answered them:
A pardoning God hast thou proved thyself unto them,
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But an avenger of their doings withal.
Before the captivity Jehovah had said (Jer_15:1), “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people.” But now He has relented. Intercessors like those of old have been found among His faithful servants: He has still continued to reveal Himself to Israel as He did of old in the wilderness. And now he has answered their prayers by the deliverance of His people from Babylon. They have been forgiven, though they have had to bear the punishment of their sins.
The general purport of the verses is the same, whichever view is adopted; but the second interpretation appears to be preferable, as bringing them into a closer relation to the occasion of the Psalm.
The notion that Moses Aaron and Samuel are spoken of as still interceding in heaven, like Onias and Jeremiah in 2Ma_15:12 ff., is wholly improbable.
8. A pardoning God &c.] The reference here must be to the whole nation. This is the lesson which its history has taught it concerning God’s character. If He pardons in answer to prayer, He must still vindicate His holiness by chastisement, lest men should imagine that He makes light of sin. See Exo_34:7; Num_14:20 ff.; and the prophet’s touching identification of himself with the guilty people in Mic_7:9 ff.
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 (8) Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions (or, works).—This…
(8) Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions (or, works).—This does not refer to the personages just mentioned but to the people at large. The train of thought is as follows:—“There are great saints among us, as in olden time, but, as then, their prayers, while often procuring forgiveness, could not altogether avert punishment for sin; so the present community must expect retribution when sinful, in spite of the mediation of the better part of the nation.” The Hebrew style did not favour similes, and hence the poet omits the signs of comparison, and leaves his inference to be drawn by his readers.
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 Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God (comp. ver.…
Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God (comp. ver. 6, ad fin. ). Thou wast a God that forgavest them; literally, a forgiving God wast thou to them. Both Moses and Aaron "angered God at the waters of strife". (Psa_106:32 Num_20:12, Num_20:13) Aaron angered him still more by sanctioning the idolatry of the golden calf. (Exo_32:1-24) God pardoned both of them these and other sins, but not without inflicting punishment for the sins. Though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. God"s "severity" extended even to these blessed saints, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel. The former two were expressly excluded from the land of promise for their conduct at Meribah; (Num_20:12) and Samuel"s judgeship seems to have been brought to an end through his undue leniency towards his sons Joel and Abiah. (1Sa_8:1-5)
Forgiveness consistent with vengeance.
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This is a strange statement, but it is what this verse and numerous others and many facts beside clearly declare. Therefore, that we may the better understand this apparent contradiction, consider
I THE MEANING OF THE TERMS EMPLOYED. There are three:
1. Thou answeredst them." That is, answered their prayers for forgiveness of the people. Moses, Aaron, Samuel, had each this in common that once and again they were intercessors with God on behalf of Israel who had sinned. (Num_14:13, etc.; Num_16:47 1Sa_12:19, etc.) And their intercession was effectual. Nevertheless, vengeance followed.
2. Thou forgavest them. " What is God"s forgiveness? It is not the mere letting off of punishment. That may be done, often is done, but there is no forgiveness. And it is distinctly said here that God did forgive, though he did not forego punishment. It is true that the word "though" in this verse should rather be rendered "and;" but this alteration does not really alter the sense, the two seemingly incompatible ideas of forgiveness and vengeance are linked together all the same. But they are not incompatible ideas if we consider what God"s forgiveness really is. What is a father"s forgiveness of his child? "Let us remember our own childhood, our children, if we have any, and how we do with them. What makes the little face fall, and the tears come to the eyes? Is it your taking down the rod from behind the door, or the grave disapprobation in your face, and the trouble and rebuke in your eyes? It is not only the buffet from the father"s hand that makes the punishment, but still more the disturbance and the displeasure of the father"s heart that makes the child"s punishment. And forgiveness is not complete when the father says, "Well, go away; I will not hurt you," but when he says, "Well, come, I am not angry with you; I love you still." The taking the child to the father"s heart is the forgiveness" (Maclaren). And such is God"s forgiveness the taking back of his sinful child to his heart again. If that were not done, no mere remission of penalty could ever make the soul blessed. The soul of man is so constituted that it would say over and over again, "Never mind the penalty; I can bear that if only I have the love." Forgiveness, therefore, is the putting away of anger from the heart of God towards the sinner.
3. "Vengeance." This does not mean revenge. The punishment of a criminal by the state is not an act of revenge, but the due maintenance of righteous law a maintenance necessary for the preservation of society, and oftentimes for the reformation of the criminal himself. And so when God allows and, indeed, causes the consequences of the sinner"s crime to dog his footsteps, and darken his life, and cause him sore sorrow, he may, he does, do that for reasons altogether consistent with the love which has already led him to forgive the sin and to receive the sinner back into his heart"s love again.
II THE TRUTH THE TEXT DECLARES. That prayers may be answered and forgiveness bestowed, and yet vengeance taken.
1. This is so. See ease of Moses and Aaron; they were forgiven men, beloved of the Lord, yet their penalty exclusion from Canaan was never removed. David (2Sa_12:10) was forgiven, but the penalty was exacted. All his afterlife testified to the truth here declared. Israel: they were forgiven, but for their unbelief none of them entered into their rest. And it is so still. How many a forgiven child of God is yet bearing in weakened health, in tarnished reputation, in stern poverty, in enfeebled will, in recurring fierce temptation, in shortened and saddened life, the consequences of former sin! But there is no doubt Shut they are forgiven and true children of God; and yet And it probably will be so. Until the ends and purposes for which these penalties are exacted are fulfilled, how can they come to an end? They are inflicted in love, not wrath, and love must hold us down to the endurance of them until that which is desired is attained. Hence:
2. Such retribution is consistent with forgiveness. For though the outward penalty be continued, its character is changed. It is now not a token of anger, but a means of blessing. For such sufferings deepen our hatred of sin, drive us to God in prayer, keep us lowly before God and man in humility, make us ever watchful and compassionate to other tempted ones, enable us to glorify God amid all, maintain the truth of God"s holy law of retribution. If along with forgiveness there came at once remission of all penalty, we should think that God did not care much for sin, and certainly we should not. But they will cease when their purpose is accomplished.
III THE LESSONS IT TEACHES.
1. Hate sin.
2. Rob it of its sting by turning to Christ in repentance, by submission to his will, by careful obedience in the future, and by daily, hourly trust in his grace.
3. Fight against it in others.
4. Exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, who makes us more than conquerors over it. S.C.
The Answerer of the worshipful.
"Thou answeredst them, O Lord our God." It is prayer as worship which is here more especially dealt with. God responds to man"s homage. The context brings the following points before us.
I GOD MADE KNOWN HIS CLAIM TO HOMAGE AND WORSHIP. See ver. 7, "He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar." The cloudy pillar being regarded as the emblem of God"s miraculous interpositions and various revelations, God declared himself to be their God, and demanded their entire reverence and obedience. He gave them his testimonies, and set his ordinances plainly before them. So we must feel that, the full revelations of God having come to us, we know distinctly what our service should be.
II THEY RESPONDED TO GOD"S CLAIM BY WORSHIPFUL OBEDIENCE. Observe the blending of two things: "They kept the testimonies, or laws, and the ordinances, or religious regulations, that he gave them." Note that of this obedience and worship Moses and Aaron are made types in one age, and Samuel in another; but the response of the people Israel is assumed as represented by the types. It is not enough that we know God"s testimonies and ordinances; our proper response is the fixed habit of worshipful obedience.
III GOD RECOGNIZES AND REWARDS SUCH OBEDIENT RESPONSE. That is the "answering" which is here referred to.
1. We may always be sure of the Divine recognition of sincere worship, let its form be prayer or praise.
2. We may have good hope of its acceptance.
3. We are sure of a first answer in the blessing that worship brings to our own hearts.
4. We may even think our loyalty brings the blessing to others of an inspiring example.
5. And beyond all our imagination, God is wont to give direct answers to prayer, and gracious, comforting acknowledgments and rewards to worshipping souls. R.T.
The limitations of Divine forgiveness.
The "inventions" here are simply "doings;" but the word seems to imply "self-willed doings." So we read, "God made man upright; but he has sought out many inventions." There is no allusion to "scientific discoveries." When we read the passages in which Divine forgiveness seems so absolutely assured, it is necessary that we bear in mind how the Divine forgiveness may be absolute in the Divine purpose, yet must be limited in Divine application. We can at once think of two limitations.
1. The exigencies of God"s universal rule.
2. The moral condition of those whom God would forgive.
I FORGIVENESS LIMITED BY THE EXIGENCIES OF GOD"S UNIVERSAL RULE. That demands the, recognition, and the adequate punishment, of all acts of wilful sin. God has ordered the relation of things in nature so that suffering certainly attends sin, and calls attention to the character of sin. In the interests of the race, that relation must be maintained; it must never for one moment even seem to be doubtful. Even in God"s chosen people wilful wrong doing must be duly punished; and so even when God forgives the wilfulness, he does not interfere with the punishments. Of this Moses and Aaron present striking instances. They sadly failed in the matter of the smitten rock. They were forgiven, but the penalty of their sin came on them. They died on this side Jordan, with their life hope unrealized.
II FORGIVENESS LIMITED BY THE MORAL CONDITION OF THOSE WHOM GOD WOULD FORGAVE. We do not sufficiently realize that God would have his forgiveness prove the best possible moral blessing to those whom he forgives. Forgiveness only blesses those who are in a mood to receive forgiveness. And so we see that punishment, along with forgiveness, may be necessary in order to get the forgiven into proper soul moods. Christ taught that his disciples could not be forgiven unless they were forgiving. They must be in right mood to receive. So there are holy limitations even to the Divine free forgiveness. 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. 8. Thou answeredst them, 0 LORD our God.…
Ver. 8. Thou answeredst them, 0 LORD our God. A sweet title and a cheering fact. Our covenant God in a very special manner heard his three servants when they pleaded for the people.
Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. He forgave the sinners, but he slew their sins. Some apply this verse to Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, and remind us that each of these fell into a fault and received chastisement. Of Samuel they assert that, for having set up his sons as his successors, he was compelled to submit to the anointing of Saul as king, which was a great grief to him: this is to our mind a very doubtful statement, and leads us to abandon the interpretation altogether. We believe that the passage refers to the nation which was spared through the intercession of these three holy men, but yet was severely chastened for its transgressions. In answer to the cry of Moses the tribes lived on, but the then existing generation could not enter Canaan: Aaron's golden calf was broken, though the fire of the Lord did not consume the people; and Israel smarted under the harsh government of Saul, though at Samuel's request its murmurings against the theocratic rule of their fathers' God was not visited with pestilence or famine. So to forgive sin as at the same time to express abhorrence of it, is the peculiar glory of God, and is best seen in the atonement of our Lord Jesus. Reader, are you a believer? Then your sin is forgiven you; but so surely as you are a child of God the rod of paternal discipline will be laid upon you if your walk be not close with God. "You only have I known of all the nations of the earth, therefore I will punish you for your iniquities."
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Ver. 8. The construction of the verse seems to be this: "O Lord our God, thou didst hear or answer them, "that is, the aforementioned typical mediators, Moses, Aaron, and Samuel: "thou becamest a forbearing God for them, "or, at their intercession; and that "even when punishing, "or, when thou hadst begun to punish "the wicked deeds of them, "that is, not of Moses, Aaron, and Samuel, but of the people, who had transgressed, and for whom they interceded. This was the case when Moses interceded for the idolaters, Ex 22:32, Aaron for the schismatics, Nu 16:47, and Samuel for the whole nation, 1Sa 7:9. George Horne.
Ver. 8. Thou answeredst them... forgavest them. Oh, the blessed assurance that nothing can disturb our standing in the covenant. Answer and forgiveness are certain, though vengeance is taken of our inventions. How every word and expression here seems to go right to our hearts! The very designation of our sins and punishments is so true. Yet, withal, we are not shut out from God. We are able to speak to, and to hear him; we receive what we need, and much more; and, above all, we have the sweet, abiding sense of forgiveness, notwithstanding "our inventions." When we smart under chastisements or disappointments, we know that it is the fire which burns up the hay, wood, and stubblea Father's dealings in compassion and mercy. We willingly, we gladly take these chastisements, which now are to us fresh pledges of our safety. For safe, eternally safe, remains the foundation, and unclosed the way of access. O surely with all our heart do we accord: "Exalt Jehovah our God, and worship at his holy hill; for Jehovah our God is holy." Alfred Ederaheim.
Ver. 8. The words of this verse have in them three remarkable particulars.
I. The behaviour of the men it speaks of, which is partly good, and partly evil. The former verse saith, "They kept God's testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them; "this insinuates (what was also expressed, Ps 99:6) that they used to call upon God; all this was very good. But withal they did sometimes some things amiss, they had some inventions, by-paths, and steps awry, which, as they needed pardon, so they occasionally incensed him so much against them that he would not let them escape altogether, without taking some vengeance for such untowardness.
II. God's graciousness in a double respect: 1, in answering them, granting their suits and supplications ordinarily. 2. In forgiving them, pardoning their failings and faults evermore; never dealing with them altogether according to their sins, but in the midst of any offence of theirs, or judgment of his, remembering mercy.
III. His holy justice, notwithstanding, taking vengeance on their inventions; chastening them for some faults sometimes, and not letting them always go unpunished, how faithful soever they were generally, or how gracious soever he was eternally. Herbert Palmer (1601-1647), in a Sermon entitled "The Glass of God's Providence." 1644.
Ver. 8. Thou wast a God that forgavest them, literally "for them; "on account of their intercessions. God did not destroy those for whom his devoted servants pleaded, in the day of threatened vengeance. Their sins, indeed, he visited with the rod of divine chastisement; but thcir forfeited lives he spared in answer to prayer. John Morison.
Ver. 8. Thou... forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance of their inventions. Because he loves the person, and hates only the sin; therefore he preserves the one, destroys only the other. This is all the fruit, to take away his sin. The covenant that is made with us in Christ is not a covenant made with works, but with persons; and therefore, though the works be often hateful, yet he goes on to love the persons; and that he may continue to love them, destroys out of them what he hates, but cutteth not them off. A member that is leprous or ulcerous, a man loves it as it is "his own flesh, "Eph 5:29, though he loathes the corruption and putrefaction that is in it; and therefore he doth not presently cut it off, but purgeth it daily, lays plasters to it to eat the corruption out: whereas a wart or even a wen that grows to a man's body, a man gets it cut off, for he doth not reckon it as his flesh. Thomas Goodwin.
Ver. 8. Thou tookest veageance of their inventions. It is not a light punishment, but a "vengeance, ""he takes on their inventions; "to manifest that he hates sin as sin, and not because the worst persons commit it. Perhaps, had a profane man touched the ark, the hand of God had not so suddenly reached him. But when Uzzah, a man zealous for him, as may be supposed by his care for the support of the tottering ark, would step out of his place, he strikes him down for his disobedient action, by the side of the ark, which he would indirectly (as not being a Levite) sustain, 2Sa 6:7. Nor did our Saviour so sharply reprove the Pharisees, and turn so short from them as he did from Peter, when he gave a carnal advice, and contrary to that wherein was to be the greatest manifestation of God's holiness, viz, the death of Christ, Mt 16:23. He calls him Satan, a name sharper than the title of the devil's children, wherewith he marked the Pharisees, and given (besides him) to none but Judas, who made a profession of love to him, and was outwardly ranked in the number of his disciples. A gardener hates a weed the more for being in the bed with the most precious flowers. Stephen Charnock.
Ver. 8. Thou tookest vengeance. Sometimes the sins of a people may be such, that God will not pardon them as to temporal punishments; nay, not the godly themselves. Even they may have been partakers with others in their sins, or may have so provoked God themselves, and sinned in such a way as to cause his name to be blasphemed; so that he is concerned in honour to bring some exemplary punishment upon them. So it was with David (2Sa 12:10-14.): though he pardoned him as to the guilt of eternal death, saved his soul, and spared his life, which was forfeited to divine justice for the murder of Uriah; yet the prophet announced that sharp afflictions must come on him, the sword must never "depart front his house, "and the child begotten in adultery must die, and his wives must be given to his neighbours. So, in Ps 99:8, it seems to be spoken of Moses himself, and other godly among the Israelites who died in the wilderness, and were not permitted to come into the land of promise, that "God forgave them, "yet "took vengeance of their inventions, " John Collins (1687) in the Morning Exercises.
Ver. 8. Vengeance of their inventions. It is remarkable, that in the preceding verses mention is made of Moses, and Aaron, and Samuel in a way which seems to imply that they were upon the psalmist's mind when he uttered the declaration of the text. These three persons, all eminent for their piety, were also conspicuous for having suffered the Divine displeasure on account of their failings. Moses angered the Lord at the waters of strife, and he is not suffered to enter the promised land; Aaron provoked the Divine anger by making the golden calf, and would have been destroyed, had not Moses by fervent intercession turned away the anger of the Lord lest he should destroy him; so Samuel placed his sons over Israel, who walked not in his ways, and therefore God gave Israel a king, whose crimes caused the prophet to go down with sorrow to the grave. Stephen Bridge, 1852.
Ver. 8. Mercy and judgment, or the sea of glass mingled with fire. C. D.
Ver. 8. Observe,
1. That God's vengeance for sin does not prevent his forgiveness of sin; and,
2. That God's forgiveness of sin does not prevent his taking vengeance. Stephen Bridge
Psalms 99:9*
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 Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou…
Psa_99:8
Thou wast a God that forgavest them, though Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.
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Pardon with punishment
A very great and grave mistake about the whole relations of forgiveness and retribution, and about the whole character of that Divine nature from which they both flow is implied in that word though; what the psalm really says is, Thou wast a God who forgavest them, and Thou tookest vengeance, etc. No antagonism between pardon and retribution; both are regarded as parts of one great whole, and as flowing from the holy love of God.
I. Forgiveness is, at bottom, the undisturbed communication of the love of God to sinful men. We are far too apt to think that God pardons men in the fashion in which the sovereign pardons a culprit who has been sentenced to be hanged. Such pardon implies nothing as to the feelings of either the criminal or the monarch. The forgiveness of God is over and over again set forth in Scripture as being a fathers forgiveness. Indeed, I do not remember that we ever read of the pardon of our Judge or of our King, but we read Your heavenly Father will forgive you your trespasses. Let us keep fast by that. And then, let us remember our own childhood. What makes the little face fall, and the tears come to the eyes? Is it your taking down the rod from behind the door, or the grave disapprobation in your face, and the rebuke in your eyes? It is not only the buffet from the fathers hand that makes the punishment, but still more the displeasure of the fathers heart that makes the childs punishment. And forgiveness is not complete when the father says, Well, go away, I will not hurt you, but when he says, Well, come, I am not angry with you, and I love you still. Not putting up the rod, but taking your child to your heart is your forgiveness.
II. Such pardon does necessarily sweep away the one true penalty of sin. What is the penalty of sin? The wages of sin is death. What is death? The wrenching away of a dependent soul from God. How is that penalty ended? When the soul is united to God in the threefold bond of trust, love, and obedience. The two statements that forgiveness is the communication of the love of God unhindered by mans sin, and that forgiveness is the removal of the punishment of sin, are really but two ways of saying the same thing.
III. The pardoning mercy of God leaves many penalties unremoved. If you waste your youth, no repentance will send the shadow back upon the dial, or recover the ground lost by idleness, or restore the constitution shattered by dissipation, or give again the resources wasted upon vice, or bring back the fleeting opportunities. If you forget God and live without Him in the world, fancying that it is time enough to become religious when you have had your fling--even were you to come back at last--and remember how few do--you could not obliterate the remembrance of misused years, nor the deep marks which they had left upon imagination and thought, and taste, and habit. The wounds can all be healed indeed; for the Good Physician, blessed be His name, has lancets and bandages, and balm and anodynes for the deadliest, but scars remain even when the gash is closed.
IV. Pardoning love so modifies the punishment that it becomes an occasion for solemn thankfulness. The outward act remaining the same, its whole aspect to us, the object of it, is changed, when we think of it as flowing from the same love which pardons. It is no harsh--no, nor even only a righteous Judge, who deals with us. We are not crushed between the insensate wheels of a dead machine, nor smitten by the blow of an inflexible fate, but we are chastened by a Fathers hand, who loves us too well to do by us that which He forbids us to do by one another,--suffer sin upon our brother. When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned. The stroke of condemnation will never fall upon our pardoned hearts. That it may not, the loving strokes of His discipline must needs accompany the embrace of His forgiveness. And so the pains change their character, and become things to be desired, to be humbly welcomed, to be patiently borne and used, and even to be woven into our hymns of praise. (A. Maclaren, D.D.)
Believers pardoned, yet chastened
Here we see, as in a glass, how God deals with His people. Toward their persons He acts in grace, answering their prayers and forgiving their trespasses--towards their sins, in justice, taking vengeance on their inventions. The allusion is to Moses, who must die in the wilderness because he sanctified not the Lord at the waters of strife; to Aaron, who joined with Miriam in murmuring; and to Samuel, who was partial to his sons whom he appointed judges over Israel.
I. The most faithful to God have committed some sins which need His pardon. These may be--
1. Concerning His worship. This was Aarons sin (Deu_9:20). Uzziah only puts forth his hand to steady the ark, and he dies. Gods order of worship must be observed. Holy acts require holy frames. The fear of the Lord ever attends on the comforts of the Holy Ghost (Act_9:31).
2. Neglecting to give God glory before men (Num_20:10). Gods glory is very dear to Him, it is the end of all His purposes and dispensations (Mal_1:16). It is very great attainment to say continually, Let God be magnified.
3. Want of humiliation because of our and others sins. We are more proud of our graces than ashamed of our sins. Jeshurun (Deu_32:15), Uzziah (2Ch_26:16), David prays (Psa_25:5), Job complains (13:26).The sins of youth, if not confessed, will be the sufferings of age. A believer has his sweetest joys with his deepest wounds, his greatest exaltation when most truly humbled. In all our sufferings and joys, sin and grace should never be forgotten. Samuel was faithful to God, but too favourable to his sons (1Sa_8:3). what a commendation it was to Levi (Deu_33:9).
II. Why does God take vengeance on their inventions, while He pardons their sins?
1. To prevent the abuse of His mercy. Samson profaned Gods ordinance and fell into the hands of his enemies; Peter, etc. If Christians, like the men of Bethshemesh, pry unwarrantably into the ark, they must like them suffer (Jer_2:19).
2. To manifest the holiness of God and His law. Our sins are known, our repentings and pardon unknown, therefore God publicly vindicates His holy name by a public reproof. He pardoned David, yet the child died.
3. To secure our watchfulness. A believers very life lies in heart holiness, and when he is chastened for sin, he prays, Cleanse me from secret faults, searches out earnestly his besetting sin, and walks more closely with God.
4. To warn the impenitent. If the son be scourged, surely the servant more.
III. Why does God answer and forgive while He chastens His saints?
1. From the relation He sustains to them. The covenant remains firm, while its dispensations vary. Though He hide His face, yet not his heart.
2. Because of the ransom which the surety has paid. Christ has more to say for us than our sins can say against us.
3. It is one of His titles. Thou are a God of pardons, a just God, yet a Saviour.
4. If He will not pardon, then we must all perish. The Canaanite is left in the land to prove, not to destroy us. Grace and mercy are for a time of need. (Homiletic Review.)
Suffering after forgiveness
I. Why suffering to one forgiven.
1. Discipline (Joh_15:2).
2. Warning. For the security of society and morality; to restrain men (Heb_11:36-38; 1Pe_4:17-18).
3. To teach the distinction between forgiveness and escaping the consequences of sin. Whoever seeks only the latter deserves not the former.
II. Repentance and forgiveness remove a large share of evil consequences.
1. Evil habits are stopped which otherwise would grow continueally worse.
2. The penitent secures peace.
3. He secures Gods help to overcome evil and improve.
4. He avoids death, and secures life eternal.
5. He hastens towards the home where suffering ceases.
III. Observations.
1. True penitence seeks chiefly Gods love, not escape from punishment.
2. Think not God has not forgiven because you still suffer. (Homiletic Review.)
.
Psa_100:1-5
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain
Psalms
FORGIVENESS AND RETRIBUTION
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Psa 99:8.
When the prophet Isaiah saw the great vision which called him to service, he heard from the lips of the seraphim around the Throne the threefold ascription of praise: ‘Holy! holy! holy! Lord God of hosts.’ This psalm seems to be an echo of that heavenly chorus, for it is divided into three sections, each of which closes with the refrain, ‘He is holy,’ and each of which sets forth some one aspect or outcome of that divine holiness. In the first part the holiness of His universal dominion is celebrated; in the second, the holiness of His revelations and providences to Israel, His inheritance; in the third, the holiness of His dealings with them that call upon His name, both when He forgives their sins and when He scourges for the sins that He has forgiven.
Two remarks of an expository character will prepare the way for what I have further to say. The first is that the word ‘though’ in my text, which holds together the two statements that it contains, is commentary rather than translation. For the original has the simple ‘and,’ and the difference between the two renderings is this, that ‘though’ implies some real or apparent contrariety between forgiveness and taking vengeance, which makes their co-existence remarkable, whereas ‘and’ lays the two things down side by side. The Psalmist simply declares that they are both there, and puts in no such fine distinction as is represented by the words ‘though,’ or ‘but,’ or ‘yet.’ To me it seems a great deal more eloquent in its simplicity and reticence that he should say, ‘Thou forgavest them and tookest vengeance,’ than that he should say ‘Thou forgavest them though Thou tookest vengeance.’
Then there is another point to be noted, viz. we must not import into that word ‘vengeance,’ when it is applied to divine actions, the notions which cluster round it when it is applied to ours. For in its ordinary use it means retaliation, inflicted at the bidding of personal enmity or passion. But there are no turbid elements of that sort in God. His retribution is a great deal more analogous to the unimpassioned, impersonal action of public law than it is to the ‘wild justice of revenge.’ When we speak of His ‘vengeance’ we simply mean-unless we have dropped into a degrading superstition-the just recompense of reward which divinely dogs all sin. There is one saying in Scripture which puts the whole matter in its true light, ‘Vengeance is Mine; I will repay,’ saith the Lord; the last clause of which interprets the first. So, then, with these elucidations, we may perhaps see a little more clearly the sequence of the Psalmist’s thought here-God’s forgiveness, and co-existing with that, God’s scourging of the sin which He forgives; and both His forgiveness and the scourging, the efflux and the manifestation of the divine holiness. Now just let us look at these thoughts. Here we have-
I. The adoring contemplation of the divine forgiveness.
I suppose that is almost exclusively a thought due to the historical revelation, through the ages, to Israel, crowned, as well as deepened, by the culmination and perfecting of the eternal revelation of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. I suppose the conception of a forgiving God is the product of the Old and of the New Testament. But familiar as the word is to us, and although the thing that it means is embodied in the creed of Christendom, ‘I believe . . . in the forgiveness of sins,’ I think that a great many of us would be somewhat put to it, if we were called upon to tell definitely and clearly what we mean when we speak of the forgiveness of sins. Many of us, prior to thinking about the matter, would answer ‘the non-infliction or remission of penalty.’ And I am far from denying that that is an element in forgiveness, although it is the lowest and the most external, in both the Old Testament and the New Testament conception of it. But we must rise a great deal higher than that. We are entitled, by our Lord’s teaching, to parallel God’s forgiveness and man’s forgiveness; and so perhaps the best way to understand the perfect type of forgiveness is to look at the imperfect types which we see round us. What, then, do we mean by human forgiveness? It is seen in multitudes of cases where there is no question at all of penalty. Two men get alienated from one another. One of them does something which the other thinks is a sin against friendship or loyalty, and he who is sinned against says, ‘I forgive you.’ That does not mean that he does not inflict a penalty, because there is no penalty in question. Forgiveness is not a matter of conduct, then, primarily, but it is a matter of disposition, of attitude, or, to put it into a shorter word, it is a matter of the heart; and even on the lower level of the human type, we see that remission of penalty may be a part, sometimes is and sometimes is not, but is always the smallest part of it, and a derivative and secondary result of something that went before. An unconscious recognition of this attitude of mind and heart, as being the essential thing in forgiveness, brings about an instance of the process by which two words that originally mean substantially the same thing come to acquire each its special shade of meaning. What I refer to is this-when a judicial sentence on a criminal is remitted, we never hear any one speak about the criminal being ‘forgiven.’ We keep the word ‘pardon,’ in our daily conventional intercourse, for slight offences or for the judicial remission of a sentence. The king pardons a criminal; you never hear about the king ‘forgiving’ a criminal. And that, as I take it, is just because people have been groping after the thought that I am trying to bring out, viz. that the remission of penalty is one thing, and purging the heart of all alienation and hatred is another; and that the latter is forgiveness, whilst the former has to be content with being pardon.
The highest type of forgiveness is the paternal. Every one of us who remembers our childhood, and every one of us who has had children of his own, knows what paternal forgiveness is. It is not when you put away the rod that the little face brightens again and the tears cease to flow, but it is when your face clears, and the child knows that there is no cloud between it and the father, or still more the mother, that forgiveness is realised. The immediate effect of our transgressions is that we, as it were, thereby drop a great, black rock into the stream of the divine love, and the channel is barred by our action; and God’s forgiveness is when, as was the case in another fashion in the Deluge, the floods rise above the tops of the highest hills; and as the good old hymn that has gone out of fashion nowadays, says, over sins:
‘Like the mountains for their size,
The seas of sovereign grace arise.’
When the love of God flows over the black rock, as the incoming tide does over some jagged reef, then, and not merely when the rod is put on the shelf, is forgiveness bestowed and received.
But, as I have said, the remission of penalty is an element in forgiveness. Some people say: ‘It is a very dangerous thing, in the interests of Christian truth, to treat that relation of a loving Father as if it expressed all that God is to men.’ Quite so; God is King as well as Father. There are analogies, both in paternal and regal government, which help us to understand the divine dealings with us; though, of course, in regard to both we must always remember that the analogies are remote and not to be pressed too far. But even in recognising the fact that an integral part of forgiveness is remission of penalty, we come back, by another path, to the same point, that the essence of forgiveness is the uninterrupted flow of love. Remission of penalty;-yes, by all means. But then the question comes, what is the penalty of sin? And I suppose that the deepest answer to that is, separation from God. But if the true New Testament conception of the penalty of sin is the eternal death which is the result of the rending of a man away from the Source of life, then the remission of the penalty is precisely identical with the uninterrupted flow of the divine love. The mists of autumnal mornings drape the sky in gloom, and turn the blessed sun itself into a lurid ball of fire. Sweep away the mists, and its rays again pour out beneficence. The man who sins, piles up, as it were, a cloud-bank between himself and God, and forgiveness, which is the remission of the penalty, is the sweeping away of the cloud-bank, and the pouring out of sunshine upon a darkened heart. So, brethren! the essence of forgiveness is that God shall love me all the same, though I sin against Him.
But now turn, in the next place, to
II. God’s scourging of the sin which He forgives.
Look at the instances in our psalm, ‘Moses and Aaron among His priests. . . . They called upon the Lord and He answered them. Thou wast a God that forgavest them, and Thou tookest vengeance of their doings.’ Moses dies on Pisgah, Aaron is stripped of his priestly robes by his brother’s hand and left alone amongst the clouds and the eagles, on the solitary summit of the mountain, and yet Moses and Aaron knew themselves forgiven the sins for which they died those lonely deaths. And these are but instances of what is universally true, that the sin which is pardoned is also ‘avenged’ in the sense of having retribution dealt out to it.
I need not dwell upon this at any length, but let me just remind you how there are two provinces of human experience in which this is abundantly true: one, that of outward consequences, and another that of inward consequences. Take, for instance, two men, boon companions, who together have wasted their substance in riotous living. One of them is converted, as we call it, becomes a Christian, knows himself forgiven. The other one is not. Is the one less certain to have a corrugated liver than the other? Will the disease, the pauperism, the ruined position in life, the loss of reputation be any different in the cases of him who is pardoned and of him who is not? No; the two will suffer in a similar fashion, and the different attitude that the one has to the divine love from that which the other has, will not make a hair of difference as to the results that follow. The consequences are none the less divine retribution because they are the result of natural laws, and none the less penal because they are automatically inflicted.
There is another department in which we see the same law working, and that is the inward consequences. A man does change his attitude to his former sins, when he knows that he is pardoned; but the results of these sins will follow all the same, whether he is forgiven or not. Memory will be tarnished, habits will be formed and chain a man, capacities will be forfeited, weaknesses will ensue. The wounds may be healed, but the scars will remain, and when we consider how certainly, and as I said, divinely, such issues dog all manner of transgression, we can understand what the Psalmist meant when, not thinking about a future retribution, but about the present life’s experiences, he said, ‘Thou wast a God that forgavest them, and Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions.’ ‘The sluggard will not plough by reason of the cold, therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing,’ and that will be his case whether he is forgiven, or not forgiven, by the divine love.
So, dear friends! do not let us confound the two things which are so widely separated, the flow of the divine love to us irrespective of our sins, which is the true forgiveness, and the remission of the penalty, the infliction of which may itself be a part of forgiveness. ‘Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,’ and he will reap it whether he has sown darnel and tares and poisonous seeds, of which he is now ashamed, and for which he has received forgiveness, or whether he has not asked nor received it.
Only remember that if we humbly realise the great fact that God has forgiven us, we can, as they say, ‘take our punishment’ in an altogether different spirit and temper, and it comes to be, not judicial penalty, but paternal chastisement, the token of love, and of which we can say that ‘We are judged of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.’
Lastly, my text leads us to think of-
III. Forgiveness and scourging as both issues of holy love.
Some people, in their narrow and altogether superficial view of Christianity, would divide between the two, and say forgiveness comes from God’s love, and scourging comes from His holiness. But this psalm puts the two together, just as we must put together as inseparable from each other the two conceptions of holiness and of love. Now our modern notions of what is meant by the love of God are a great deal too sentimental and gushing and limp. Love is degraded unless there be holiness in it. It becomes immoral good nature, much more than anything that deserves the name of love. A God who is all love, so much so that it makes no difference to Him whether a man is a saint or a sinner, is not a God to be worshipped, and scarcely a God to be admired. He is lower than we, not higher. But His holy love is like a sea of glass mingled with fire; the love being shot all through, as it were, with streams of flame.
This holy love underlies the forgiveness of sins. To forgive may sometimes be profoundly right; it may sometimes be profoundly immoral. A general gaol delivery simply sets the scoundrels free; a universal amnesty is a failure of justice, and a very doubtful benefit. But the forgiveness, which is the issue of holy love, is a means to an end, and the end which it has in view is that, drawn by answering love to a pardoning God, we may be drawn from the sins which alienate us from Him. There is no such sure way of making a man forsake his sins as to give him the assurance that God has forgiven them. ‘Thou shalt be ashamed and confounded, and never open thy mouth any more, because of thy sins, when’-I smite? no-’I am pacified towards thee for all that thou hast done.’ ‘Thou wast a God that forgavest them,’ and in the very act of forgiving, didst draw them from their sins.
That holy love, in like manner, underlies retribution. I have been speaking of retribution mainly as it is seen in the working of natural law. It is none the less God’s act, because it is the operation of the laws which He impressed upon His creation at the beginning. You have weaving machines in your mills that whenever a thread breaks, stop dead. Is it the machine or the maker that is to get the credit of that? God has set us in an order of things wherein, and has given us a nature whereby, automatically, every sin, as it were, stops the loom, and ‘every transgression and disobedience receives its just recompense of reward.’ But men sometimes say ‘that is Nature; that is not God.’ God lies at the back of Nature, and works through Nature. Although Nature is not God, God is Nature. Therefore it is ‘Thou’ that ‘takest vengeance of their inventions.’ Let us, then, remember that retribution is a token of love, meant to drive us from our sins, just as forgiveness is meant to draw us from them. Our Psalmist had come the length of putting these two things together, forgiveness and retribution. We have reached further, and here is the New Testament enlargement and deepening and explanation of the Old Testament thought: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,’ and in the very act, ‘to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ ‘If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 You answered them
You answered them
"You answered your people"
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his holy hill
"Mount Zion"
translationWords
forgive
punish
sin
works
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.