(_Cf._ v. 6 (29) with
ix. 5 in both versions; also Esther xiv. 6, 7.)
The God of their fathers is He alone to whom prayers and praises are to
be addressed. He is regarded as the Lord of all creation, both as a
whole and in its specific parts. He is looked up to to make good the old
promises (13), being full of mercy (19), as well as of power and glory
(20, 22, 68). He is a king (33), just (4), and gracious (67), with an
ear open to the addresses of his people. The righteousness of even His
heavy judgements is acknowledged in the prayer; and the hymn throughout
shews that the gratitude of man is plainly deemed acceptable to Him.
As to the question of praise being called for from inanimate things or
irrational beings, we must remember that though unfitted, so far as we
understand them, for conscious praise, their creation, maintenance, and
usefulness give evidence of God's greatness and goodness. As Cornelius ?
Lapide notes on v. 35 (57) "Inanimes creatur?¦ benedicunt Deum creatorem
suum, non ore sed opere, ait S.
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