1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion. Though
Babylon adores Antichrist, Zion remains faithful to her King; to him, and to
him only, she brings her perpetual oblation of worship. Those who have seen in
Zion the blood of sprinkling, and know themselves to belong to the church of
the firstborn, can never think of her without presenting humble praise to
Zion’s God; his mercies are too numerous and precious to be forgotten. The
praises of the saints wait for a signal from the divine Lord, and when he shows
his face they burst forth at once. Like a company of musicians gathered to
welcome and honor a prince, who wait till he makes his appearance, so do we
reserve our best praises till the Lord reveals himself in the assembly of his
saints. Praise attends the Lord’s pleasure, and continues to bless him, whether
he shows tokens of present favor or no. The passage may be rendered, “praise is silent for thee”; it is
calm, peaceful, and ready to adore thee in quietness. Or, it may mean, our
praise is but silence compared with thy deservings, O God. Or, in solemn
silence we worship thee, because our praise cannot be uttered; accept,
therefore, our silence as praise. Or, we are so engrossed in thy praise, that
to all other things we are dumb; we have no tongue for anything but thee. When
the soul is most filled with adoring awe, she is least content with her own
expressions, and feels most deeply how inadequate are all mortal songs to
proclaim the divine goodness. A church, bowed into silent adoration by a
profound sense of divine mercy, would certainly offer more real praise than the
sweetest voices aided by pipes and strings; yet, vocal music is not to be
neglected, for this sacred hymn was meant to be sung. It is well before singing
to have the soul placed in a waiting attitude, and to be humbly conscious that
our best praise is but silence compared with Jehovah’s glory.
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