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THE   BOOK    OF   PSALMS. 
 
THE 
 
 BOOK  OF   PSALMS 
 
 A  NEW  TRANSLATION. 
 
 EXPLANATORY    NOTES 
 
 FOR  ENGLISH  READERS. 
 
 J.  J.  STEWART  PEROWNE,  D.D, 
 
 HOLSEAN   PROFESSOR   OF   DIVINITY    AT   CAMBRIDGF,,    AND    CANON   OF   M.AND/.I-V 
 
 THIRD  EDITION,  REVISED. 
 
 LONDON:    GEORGE   BELL   AND    SONS. 
 
 CAMBRIDGE  :    DEIGHTON,  BELL,  AND  CO. 
 
 1880. 
 
 {All  Rights  Reserved.] 
 
LONUoS 
 R.    Cr.AY.    SONS.    AND   TAVLOR, 
 HKKAD  STREET    HIT  I, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In  deference  to  the  suggestions  which  he  has  received 
 from  many  quarters,  the  Author  has  consented  to  the 
 publication  of  a  popular  Edition  of  his  work  on  the 
 Psalms.  The  great  bulk  of  the  critical  matter  contained 
 in  the  original  work  has  been  omitted  in  this  ;  but  in 
 other  respects  little  change  has  been  made  either  in  the 
 text  or  in  the  notes.  It  is  hoped  that  in  its  present 
 form  the  book  may  be  more  accessible  to  many  English 
 readers,  and  that  it  will  help  to  the  more  accurate 
 understanding  of  this  most  important  portion  of  Holy 
 Scripture. 
 
 A.  M.  P. 
 
 Cambridge,  December  5, 1876. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAGF 
 
 POETRY   OF  THE   HEBREWS   .^ I — 4 
 
 THE  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  THE   PSALMS 5— g 
 
 THE  PSALMS. 
 BOOK  I. 
 
 PSALMS  I.— XLI J 13—159 
 
 BOOK  II. 
 
 PSALMS  XLIL — LXXII .  1 63— 323 
 
 BOOK  III. 
 
 PSALMS  LXXIIL — LXXXIX 327— 441 
 
 BOOK  IV. 
 
 PSALMS  XC— CVI .      ,      .  445—524 
 
 BOOK  V. 
 
 PSALMS  CVII.— CL 527—687 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 POETRY  OF  THE  HEBREWS. 
 
 The  Poetry  of  the  Hebrews  is  mainly  of  two  kinds,  lyrical  and 
 didactic.  They  have  no  epic,  and  no  drama.  Dramatic  elements 
 are  to  be  found  in  many  of  their  odes,  and  the  book  of  Job  and 
 the  Song  of  Songs  have  sometimes  been  called  divine  dramas  ; 
 but  dramatic  poetry,  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  term,  was 
 altogether  unknown  to  the  Israelites.  The  remains  of  their  lyric 
 poetry  which  have  been  preserved — with  one  marked  exception, 
 the  lament  of  David  over  Saul  and  Jonathan — are  almost  entirely 
 of  a  religious  character,  and  were  designed  chiefly  to  be  set  to 
 music,  and  to  be  sung  in  the  public  services  of  the  sanctuary. 
 The  earliest  specimen  of  purely  lyrical  poetry  which  we  possess,  is 
 the  Song  of  Moses  on  the  overthrow  of  Pharaoh  in  the  Red  Sea. 
 It  is  the  worthy  expression  of  a  nation's  joy  at  being  delivered,  by 
 the  outstretched  arm  of  Jehovah,  from  the  hand  of  their  oppres- 
 sors. It  is. the  grandest  ode  to  liberty  which  was  ever  sung:  and 
 it  is  this,  because  its  homage  is  rendered,  not  to  some  ideal  spirit 
 of  liberty  deified  by  a  people  in  the  moment  of  that  passionate 
 and  frantic  joy  which  follows  the  successful  assertion  of  their 
 independence,  but  because  it  is  a  thanksgiving  to  Him  who  is 
 the  one  only  Giver  of  victory  and  of  freedom.     Both  in  form  and 
 
 B 
 
2  INTRODUCTION, 
 
 spirit  it  possesses  the  same  characteristics  which  stamp  all  the 
 later  Hebrew  poetry.  Although  without  any  regular  strophical 
 division,  it,  has  the  chorus,  "Sing  ye  to  Jehovah,  for  He  hath 
 triumphed  gloriously,"  <S:c.  It  was  sung  evidently  in  antiphonal 
 measure,  chorus  answering  to  chorus  and  voice  to  voice  ;  it  was 
 sung  accompanied  by  dancing,  and  to  the  music  of  the  maidens 
 playing  upon  the  timbrels.  Such  is  its  form.  In  its  spirit,  it  is 
 like  all  the  national  songs  of  the  people,  a  hymn  sung  to  the  glory 
 of  Jehovah.  No  word  celebrates  the  prowess  of  the  armies  of 
 Israel  or  of  their  leaders.  "  Thy  right  hand,  O  Jehovah,  is 
 become  glorious  in  power;  Thy  right  hand,  O  Jehovah,  hath 
 dashed  in  pieces  the  enemy."  Thus  it  commemorates  that 
 wonderful  victory,  and  thus  it  became  the  pattern  after  which 
 all  later  odes  of  victory  were  written.  The  people  from  whom 
 such  poetry  could  spring,  at  so  early  a  period  of  their  history, 
 could  not  have  been  the  rude  ignorant  horde  which  some  writers 
 delight  to  represent  them ;  they  must  have  made  large  use  of 
 Egyptian  culture,  and  in  these  respects,  in  poetry  and  music, 
 must  have  far  surpassed  their  Egyptian  masters. 
 
 Some  fragments  of  poetry  belong  to  the  narrative  of 'the 
 wanderings  in  the  wilderness  (see  Numbers  vi.  24,  26,  and  xxi. 
 17,  18).  One  grand  relic  of  that  tim'e  has  been  preserved  to  us. 
 The  90th  Psalm  is  "the  Prayer  of  Moses,  the  man  of  God," 
 written  evidently  towards  the  close  of  the  forty  years'  wandering 
 in  the  desert.  As  we  might  expect,  the  stormy  period  which 
 followed  the  first  occupation  of  Canaan  was  not  favourable  to 
 poetry  :  but  there  is  one  song,  of  that  time  which  breathes  all 
 the  glow  of  fervent  patriotism  and  genuine  poetic  inspiration — 
 the  stirring  Ode  of  the  prophetess  Deborah. 
 
 But  the  great  era  of  lyric  poetry  begins  with  David.  Gifted 
 with  the  highest  inspiration  of  a  poet,  and  finely  skilled  in 
 the  minstrel's  art,  he  stands  foremost  in  the  goodly  company 
 of  Hebrew  bards.  His  solitary  life  in  early  youth,  tending 
 his   father's   flock   amidst   the    picturesque    scenery    and   lonely 
 
rOETRY  OF  THE  HEBREWS.  3 
 
 mountains  of  Judea,  fostered  his  natural  taste,  whilst  constant  and 
 loving  intercourse  with  his  God  elevated  and  ennobled  it.  We 
 may  see  in  his  early  poems,  in  all  its  freshness  and  originality, 
 that  intense  love  of  nature  and  nature's  God  which' in  after  years, 
 amid  all  the  trying  vicissitudes  of  his  life,  ripened  into  the  strong 
 love,  of  the  man  for. all  that  is  true  and  pure,  and  hatred  of 
 all  deceit  and  impurity,  combined  with  an  almost  childlike 
 simplicity  of  faith  and  trust  in  God. 
 
 As  we  might  expect,  so  great  a  poet  had  many  imitators.  His 
 chief  musicians,  fired  with  their  royal  master's  poetic  fervour, 
 composed  psalms  almost  equal  to  those  of  David  himself. 
 
 Under  Solomon,  religious  poetry  does  not  seemi  to  have 
 flourished.  The  age  of  poetry  yielded  to  the  wisdom  of  the 
 Mashal,  the  proverb  or  parable.  Solomon  is  said  to  have  written 
 a  thousand  and  five  songs  (i  Kings  iv.  32),  but  only  two  psalms, 
 th3  72nd  and  127th,  bear  his  name  in  the  Hebrew  titles,  and  it 
 is  doubtful  whether  he  was  the  writer  of  either  of  them.  Two 
 other  of  the  poetical  books  are  ascribed  to  him,  the  Song  of 
 Songs  and  Ecclesiastes.  The  first  of  these  is  a  graceful  and 
 highly-finished  idyll,  but  Ecclesiastes  is  not  a  poem  ;  it  is  the 
 record  of  a  long  struggle  with  the  perplexities,  the  doubts,  the 
 misgivings  which  must  beset  a  man  of  large  experience  and 
 large  wisdom,  who  tries  to  read  the  riddle  of  the  world  before 
 his  heart  has  been  chastened  by  submission,  and  his  spirit 
 elevated  by  trust  in  God. 
 
 From  the  days  of  Solomon  till  the  Captivity,  the  cultivation 
 of  lyric  poetry  languished  amongst  the  Hebrews,  with  two 
 memorable  exceptions.  These  were  in  the  reigns  of  Jehoshaphat 
 and  Hezekiah.  Hezekiah,  who  has  been  termed  the  Pisistratus 
 of  the  Hebrew  history,  established  a  society  of  learned  men 
 (Prov.  XXV.  i),  whose  duty  it  was  to  provide  for  the  collection  and 
 preservation  of  all  the  scattered  remains  of  the  earlier  literature. 
 The  arrangement  of  some  portion  at  least  of  the  present  Psalter, 
 it   may    reasonably   be   supposed,    was    completed    under    their 
 
 B  2 
 
4  IN-TR  OD  UCTION. 
 
 superintendence.  Smaller  separate  collections  were  combined 
 into  one  ;  and  this  was  enriched  partly  by  the  discovery  of  older 
 hymns  and  songs,  and  partly  by  the  addition  of  new. 
 
 Hezekiah  himself  encouraged  the  taste  for  this  kind  of  poetry 
 by  his  own  example.  One  plaintive  strain  of  his,  written  on  his 
 recovery  from  sickness,  has  been  preserved  in  the  Book  of  the 
 Prophet  Isaiah  (chap,  xxxviii,).  In  his  reign  were  written  a 
 number  of  beautiful  poems  by  the  Korahite  singers  (see  Psalms 
 xlii.  to  xlix.).  From  this  time  till  the  return  from  the  Captivity, 
 comparatively  few  Psalms  were  written,  though  in  one  sense 
 we  may  call  the  prophets  psalmists.  Jonah  (chap,  ii.),  Isaiah 
 (chap,  xii.),  Habakkuk  (chap,  iii.),  were  all  lyric  poets.  Two 
 Psalms  (xxxi.,  Ixxi.)  have  been  supposed  by  eminent  critics  to 
 have  been  written  by  Jeremiah.  Some  Psalms  were  written  even 
 in  Babylon  itself  (see  Psalms  Ixxiv.,  Ixxix.,  cii.),  and  many  more 
 after  the  return  from  the  Exile.  We  may  therefore  pronounce 
 that  the  Psalms  belong  as  a  whole,  not  to  many,  but  chiefly 
 to  two  or  three  periods  of  Jewish  history — to  the  age  of  David, 
 to  that  of  Hezekiah,  to  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  Captivity. 
 One  portion  of  the  Psalms  belonging  to  the  latter  period  (cxiii. — 
 cxviii.),  the  "  Hallel,"  was  sung  at  the  great  festivals  in  the 
 Second  Temple,  at  the  Passover,  at  Pentecost,  at  the  Feast  of 
 Tabernacles,  and  also  at  the  Feast  of  Dedication  and  at  the  New 
 Moons.  This  was,  doubtless,  "  the  hymn  "  which  our  Lord  and 
 His  apostles  are  said  to  have  sung  at  His  last  solemn  Passover 
 before  He  suffered.  One  more  question  remains.  Are  any  of 
 the  Psalms  later  than  the  time  of  Ezra  or  Nehemiah?  There 
 is  no  certain  ground  for  concluding  that  the  Psalter  was  closed 
 under  Nehemiah,  and  there  is  no  reason,  so  far  as  the  history  of 
 the  Canon  is  concerned,  why  we  s'hould  refuse  to  admit  the 
 existence  of  Maccabean  Psalms,  but  there  are  not  more  than 
 two  or  three  Psalms  which  can  with  any  plausibility  be  brought 
 down  to  so  late  a  period  :  (see  Introductions  to  Psalms  xliv., 
 ixxiv.,  Ixxix.). 
 
INSCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PSALMS. 
 
 THE    INSCRIPTIONS    OF   THE   PSALMS. 
 
 The  Inscriptions  of  the  Psalms  are  chiefly  of  three  kinds  : — 
 
 I.  Those  which  mark  their  musical  or  liturgical  character. 
 II.  Those  which  assign  them  to  particular  authors. 
 III.  Those  which  connect  them  with  certain  historical  events. 
 
 Any  of  these  may  occur  separately,  ur  be  combined  to  form 
 one  title. 
 
 I.  We  distinguish  here  between  what  may  be  called  the 
 Liturgical  and  the  musical  notices. 
 
 i.  "  For  the  Precentor/'  or  leader  of  the  Temple  choir.  E.V. 
 "  To  the  Chief  Musician." 
 
 The  title  occurs  fifty-five  times  in  the  Inscriptions.  It  probably 
 means  the  leader  of  the  band,  or  of  the  singers ;  or,  in  modern 
 phrase,  "  The  Choir-master." 
 
 In  three  Psalms  (xxxix.,  Ixii.,  Ixxvii.)  the  name  of  Jeduthun 
 (or  Ethan)  is  added,  who  '.ve  know  was  one  of  David's  choir- 
 masters. 
 
 "For  teaching,"  Ps.  Ix.  This  may  perhaps  intimate  that  the 
 Psalm  was  intended  to  be  taught  publicly  by  the  Levites  to  the 
 people,  but  it  may  also  mean  that  it  was  to  be  taught  to  the 
 Levites  themselves. 
 
 "  To  bring  to  remembrance,"  Ps.  xxxviii.  and  Ixx.  In  i  Chron. 
 xvi.  4  it  is  joined  with  "  To  give  thanks  and  praise,"  as  a  part  of 
 the  special  duties  of  the  Levites,  who  were  set  by  David  before 
 
6  INTR  on  UCTION. 
 
 the  Ark,  and  there  it  would  seem  to  mean  "  to  call  to  memory;' 
 so  as  to  praise  and  celebrate  the  goodness  of  Jehovah.  The 
 expression  may  mean  "  A  prayer  to  remind  God  of  man." 
 
 ii.  Notices  of  a  musical  kind. 
 
 "  A  Song  "  {Slur,  Mizmo?-).  A  Psalm  properly  as  sung  with 
 instrumental  accompaniment. 
 
 "  Michtam."  Perhaps  a  "  Golden  Poem  ; "  or  it  may  be 
 connected  with  the  Arabic  verb  "to  hide,"  and  so  "a  mystery," 
 a  song  of  deep  import. 
 
 "  Maschil."     A  "finely,  skilfully  constructed  ode." 
 
 "  Shiggaion."  An  "  irregular  or  dithyrambic  ode,"  from  a 
 Hebrew  verb  meaning  "  to  wander."     See  Hab.  iii. 
 
 "  A  Song  of  Loves,"  Ps.  xlv. — a  song,  that  is,  the  subject  of 
 v/hich  is  love. 
 
 "  Song  of  the  Ascents."  E.V.  "  Song  of  Degrees,"  Pss.  cxx., 
 cxxxiv.  Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  this  title,  but 
 the  most  probable  explanation  is,  that  they  were  songs  composed 
 for  the  "  goings-up  "  to  the  yearly  festivals  at  Jerusalem.  Hence 
 the  title  "  Song  of  the  Goings-up  "  =  "  A  Pilgrim's  Song."  That 
 the  caravans  "  went  up  "  with  singing  is  evident  from  Is.  xxx, 
 29.  The  allusions  to  the  Exile  are  readily  explained  by  the  fact 
 that  these  Psalms,  or  some  of  them,  were  composed  for  the 
 pilgrimages  to  the  Second  Temple. 
 
 Some  of  the  titles  refer  to  the  instruments  by  which  the  Psalm 
 was  to  be  accompanied — '•'  to  the  flutes,"  "  with  stringed  instru- 
 ments," or  "  2iJ)07t  a  stringed  instrument."  Others,  again,  refer 
 to  the  measure,  as  "  After  the  manner  of  maidens  "  (Alamoth), 
 Ps.  xlvi.;  "Upon  the  octave  (below)"  (Sheminith),  Pss.  vi.,  xii.; 
 see  I  Chron.  xv.  20,  21.  "Upon  the  Gittith,"  or  as  the  form 
 of  the  word  seems  to  imply,  "after  the  Gittith  manner,"  or 
 "manner  of  Gath,"  some  particular  measure  or  style  of  music 
 which  had  been  borrowed  from  the  Philistines,  and  named  after 
 one  of  their  chief  cidcs. 
 
INSCRTPTIOlYS  OF  THE  FSALMS.  .    7 
 
 *'  Upon,  i.e.  after  the  manner  of  Jeduthun,"  one  of  the  famous 
 singers  of  David.     Others  of  like  import. 
 
 Melodies  denoted  by  Titles. — Ps.  xxii.,  "  After  the  Song  beginning 
 Hind  of  the  Dawn  ;  "  Ps.  Ivi.,  "  The  Silent  Dove  in  far-off  Lands," 
 or  perhaps,  "  The  Dove  of  the  distant  Terebinths ; "  "  Destroy 
 not,"  Pss.  Ivii.,  lix.,  Ixxv.:  these  being  probably  the  first  words  of 
 some  well-known  song.  *' After  IJHes,  the  testimony,"  Ixxx.,  or 
 "  After  the  lily  of  the  testimony,"  Ix.;  some  would  explain  this 
 of  a  lily-shaped  instrument.  ''  Death  of  the  son,"  Ps.  ix.,  may 
 denote  that  the  Psalm  was  to  be  sung  to  an  air  beginning  with 
 the  words  "  Death  of  the  son." 
 
 Selah. — It  may  be  well  to  discuss  this  here,  though  it  is  not 
 an  inscription,  but  merely  a  musical  sign.  It  is  almost  hopeless 
 to  attempt  to  give  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  this  word  "  Selah." 
 By  the  Targums,  the  Talmud,  and  Aquila  it  has  been  rendered 
 "  eternity/'  because  in  Pss.  Ixi.  5  and  Ixxxix.  38  it  seemed  to 
 stand  parallel  with  "for  ever;"  by  Ab.  Ezra,  "Amen;"  by 
 Gesenius,  "pause,  stillness,  rest."  Others,  again,  would  explain 
 it  in  the  sense  of  "  elevation,"  "  lifting  up,"  whether  of  the  voice 
 or  of  the  music.  As,  however,  it  is  most  frequently  introduced 
 at  the  end  of  a  strophe,  it  would  seem  more  probably  to  imply 
 the  intervention  at  the  particular  place  of  a  musical  symphony. 
 This  musical  sign  is  clearly  very  ancient,  inasmuch  as  it  is  found 
 in  all  the  old  versions,  and  inasmuch  as  even  then  its  meaning 
 was  matter  of  debate  and  uncertainty.  (See  Mr.  Wright's  article 
 in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  where  the  various  hypotheses 
 are  discussed.) 
 
 II.  Inscriptions  which  give  us  the  name  of  the  author. 
 
 I.  David. — His  name  is  prefixed  to  all  the  Psalms  in  the 
 First  Book  with  few  exceptions,  and  to  most  of  the  Psalms 
 in  the  second  half  of  the  Second  Book.  After  this  his  name 
 appears  once  in  the  Third  Book,  twice  in  the  Fourth,  and  fifteen 
 times  in  the  Fifth.     In  all,  therefore,  he  is  said  to  have  written 
 
8  rXTRODUCTIOiSf. 
 
 seventy-three  Psalms.     In  two  Psalms  of  the  First  Collection,  the 
 high  title  of  "  Servant  of  Jehovah  "  is  added  to  his  name. 
 
 2.  David's  Singers. — These  appear  in  the  Second  and  Third 
 Books. 
 
 {a)  The  Sons  of  KoraJi. — Eleven  Psalms  are  ascribed  to  them. 
 They  were  one  of  the  oldest  Levitical  families,  long  before  the 
 time  of  David,  and  related  to  the  still  more  ancient  family  of 
 Kohath,  the  son  of  Levi.  In  the  time  of  David,  Heman  the 
 son  of  Joel,  a  member  of  this  family,  became  famed  for  his  skill 
 in  music  and  song,  and  hence  apparently  the  Korahites  obtained 
 the  name  of  "singers"  (2  Citron,  xx.  19).  Hence  it  is  that  in 
 the  Inscription  of  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  we  have  first  the  general  title 
 assigning  it  to  "the  sons  of  Korah,"  and  then  the  special 
 assigning  it  to  Heman. 
 
 ifi)  Asaph. — He  is  said  to  have  written  twelve  Psalms.  He 
 is  one  of  the  three  famous  singers  of  David,  and  holds  amongst 
 them,  indeed,  the  foremost  place.  In  later  times  he  alone  ranks 
 with  David. 
 
 {c)  Ethan  the  Ezrahite. — He  is  named  only  as  the  author  of 
 one  Psalm,  the  Eighty-ninth.  He  is  the  third  of  David's  great 
 singers. 
 
 Besides  the  seventy-three  Psalms  of  David,  and  twenty-three 
 of  his  singers,  we  have,  according  to  the  Hebrew  Inscriptions, 
 two  of  Solomon's.  One  Psalm,  the  90th,  is  attributed  to  Moses, 
 "  the  man  of  Gocl."    About  a  third  of  the  Psalms  are  anonymous. 
 
 III.  The  third  class  of  notices  is  that  which  purports  to  give 
 an  account  of  the  particular  occasion  for  which  a  Psalm  was 
 composed. 
 
 We  must  not,  in  all  cases,  rely  implicitly  on  the  accuracy  ot 
 these  inscriptions ;  for  we  find  them  only  prefixed  to  the  Psalms 
 of  David,  and  then  they  mostly  refer  to  events  in  David's  life, 
 as  recorded  in  the  historical  books.  (Compare  Inscription  of 
 Psalm  xxxiv.  with  i  Sam,  xxi.   14;  that  of  Ps.  lii.  with  i  Sam. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS  OF  THE  PSAIMS,  9 
 
 xxil.  9;  that  of  Ps.  liv.  with  i  Sam.  xxiii.  19;  that  of  Ps.  Ivi. 
 with  I  Sam.  xxi.  11 — 15.) 
 
 Some  of  these  historical  notices  are,  beyond  all  reasonable 
 doubt,  ancient  and  trustworthy;  but  of  the  majority  of  them  we 
 may  conclude  that  they  were  added  from  time  to  time  by  different 
 coUectors.  Some  have  evidently  been  derived  from  words  or 
 allusions  in  the  Psalms ;  others  from  tradition,  ascribing  a 
 particular  Psalm  to  a  particular  author. 
 
 The  conclusion,  then,  at  which  we  arrive  here  is  the  same  as 
 in  the  case  of  the  alleged  authorship  of  certain  Psalms.  The 
 Inscriptions  cannot  always  be  relied  on.  They  are  sometimes 
 genuine,  and  really  represent  the  most  ancient  tradition.  At 
 other  times  they  are  due  to  the  caprice  of  later  editors  and 
 collectors,  the  fruits  of  conjecture,  or  of  dimmer  and  more 
 uncertain  traditions.  In  short,  the  Inscriptions  of  the  Psalms 
 are  like  the  Subsciiptions  to  the  Epistles  of  the  New  Testament. 
 They  are  not  of  any  necessary  authority,  and  their  value  must 
 be  weighed  and  tested  by  the  usual  critical  processes. 
 
THE    PSALMS, 
 
 BOOK  I. 
 
 PSALMS  L— XLI. 
 
J 
 
 ^. 
 
 0 GIGA  I 
 
 PSALM  I. 
 
 This  Psalm  seems  to  have  been  placed  first  in  the  collection, 
 because,  from  its  general  character  and  subject,  it  formed  a  suitable 
 introduction  to  the  rest.  The  absence  of  any  inscription,  which  is  rare 
 in  the  First  Book,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  Psalm  was  from  the  first 
 regarded  in  the  hght  merely  of  an  introduction  originally  to  some 
 older  and  smaller  collection.  In  some  MSS.  it  is  not  numbered  at  all, 
 being  treated  simply  as  a  preface.  This  must  have  been  an  early 
 arrangement,  as  our  present  Second  Psalm  is  quoted  as  the  First 
 (according  to  the  best  Greek  MSS.)  in  Acts  xiii.  33.  In  other  MSS. 
 again,  the  two  Psalms  appear  as  one.  Tradition  is  silent  as  to  date 
 and  authorship,  but  many  considerations  make  it  probable  that  it  was 
 written  by  Solomon  as  a  preface  to  a  collection  of  his  father's  poetry. 
 It  is  worth  notice  that  the  word  "  mockers,"  "  scorners,"  ver.  i.,  occurs 
 nowhere  else  in  the  whole  Psalter,  but  is  frequently  applied  in  the 
 earlier  chapters  of  the  Proverbs  to  those  who  set  themselves  to  despise 
 and  scoff  at  religion. 
 
 I  Blessed   is  the  man  who  hath   not  walked   in    the 
 counsel  of  the  wicked, 
 Nor  stood  in  the  way  of  sinners, 
 Nor  sat  in  the  seat  of  scorners  ; 
 
 I.  The  structm-e  of  the  verse  is  very  as  the  active  habitual  doers  of  ini- 
 exact,  the  parallelism  in  each  member  quity  ;  "the mockers"  (Prov.  xxi.  24), 
 being  carefully  preserved  :  a  kind  of  who  make  an  open  scoff,  and  bias- 
 climax  has  also  been  noticed  in  the  pheme  :  lastly,  three  degrees  of  open- 
 choice  of  expressions.  Thus  we  have,  ness  in  the  evil  doing,  the  ''  counsel  " 
 first,  three  degrees  of  habit  in  the  verbs  referring,  apparently,  to  hidden  de- 
 "  walked,"  "  stood,"  "  sat ;  " — next,  signs  (cf.  Job  xxi.  16,  xxii.  18  ;  Jer.  vii. 
 three  degrees  of  evil  in  the  character  :  24)  ;  "  the  way  "  to  public  life  ;  "  the 
 the  "wicked,"  described  as  the  pas-  seat"  (so  the  LXX.,  as  in  i  Sam.  xx. 
 sionate,  or  restless  (cf.  Is.  Ivii,  20,  18,25),  or  perhaps  "assembly"  (as 
 Job  iii.  17);  or  perhaps,  simply,  as  the  cvii.  32,  Jer.  xv.  17),  cousesms,  to  a 
 unrighteous,  the  false  ;  "  the  sinners,"  deliberate  confederacy  in  wickedness. 
 
14 
 
 PSALM  I. 
 
 2  But  in  the  Law  of  Jehovah  is  his  deh'ght, 
 
 And  in  His  Law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night, 
 
 3  So  is  he  hke  a  tree  planted  by  streams  of  water, 
 
 That  bringeth  forth  its  fruit  in  its  season, 
 And  whose  leaf  also  doth  not  wither : 
 And  all  that  he  doeth  he  maketh  to  prosper. 
 
 4  Not  so  are  the  wicked  ; 
 
 But  (they  are)  like  the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth 
 away. 
 
 5  Therefore  the  wicked  shall  not  stand  in  the  judgement. 
 Nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of  the  righteous. 
 
 6  For  Jehovah  knoweth  the  way  of  the  righteous, 
 
 And  the  way  of  the  wicked  shall  perish. 
 
 2.  The  Law,  i.e.  the  Book  of  the 
 Law,  as  is  plain  from  the  manifest 
 allusion  to  Josh.  i.  8.  See  also  Deut. 
 v.3i,xi.  1 8 — 20,  xvii.  19  ;  Ps.  xl.  7,  8. 
 
 Doth  meditate.  The  verb  an- 
 swers more  nearly  to  the  Latin  me- 
 ditor  than  any  other  word.  Strictly, 
 it  means  to  utter  any  dull,  confused 
 sound  :  and  hence  it  is  employed  of 
 inward  utterance,  of  the  words  a  man 
 speaks  to  himself ;  and  also  of  giving 
 open  and  loud  expression  to  the 
 thoughts. 
 
 3.  Like  a  tree,  &c.  The  figure 
 would  be  much  more  expressive  in  an 
 Eastern  country  than  amongst  our- 
 selves. The  same  figure  is  used  of 
 outward  prosperity,  Job  viii.  16,  17, 
 Ezek.  xix.  10,  and  also  of  the  confidence 
 and  strength  of  the  righteous,  Ps.  lit. 
 8,  xcii.  12,  Is.  xliv.  4,  Jer.  xvii.  8, 
 Ezek.  xlvii.  12. 
 
 And  all,  &c.  A  transition  from 
 the  figure  of  the  tree  to  the  person 
 who  is  compared  to  the  tree.  But, 
 apparently,  the  verbs  are  chosen  so 
 as  to  carry  on  the  metaphor  ;  for  both 
 of  them  would  reier  to  the  tree  as  well 
 as  to  the  man. 
 
 4.  Not  so.  A  simple  but  em- 
 phatic contrast.  The  wicked  perish 
 even  more  utterly  than  the  dry  and 
 withered  tree.  They  are  as  "the 
 chaff."  Again,  far  more  striking  as 
 an  Eastern  image  than  among  our- 
 selves. In  Is.  xvii.  13,  "  chaff  of 
 the  mountains  ;  "  because  the  thresh- 
 ing-floors were  usually  on  high,  ex- 
 posed spots,  where  the  wind  would 
 sweep  over  them  the  more  freely, 
 (See  the  same  figure,  Ps.  xxxv.  5,  Job 
 xxi.  18,  Is.  xxix.  5,  xli.  2  ;  Hos.  xiii. 
 3.     Cf.  Matt.  iii.  12. 
 
 5.  In  the  judgement.  Primarily 
 no  doubt  referring  to  the  general  course 
 of  God's  righteous  judgements,  with 
 an  allusion  to  the  fonns  of  a  human 
 tribunal : — but  reaching  further  to  the 
 final  judgement. 
 
 Congregation  of  the  right- 
 eous, i.e.  the  true  Israelites  who 
 are  separated  from  the  ■  congregation 
 of  the   evil   doers.     (Cf.    Ezek.    xiii. 
 
 9-) 
 
 6.  Knoweth,  i.e.  regards  with 
 watchful  care  and  love  (xxxi.  7,  cxliv, 
 3,  Job  xxiii.  10). 
 
PSALM  71.  ^^ 
 
 PSALM  11. 
 
 The  older  interpreters  (esLciaTlv   h/r      "'.f  ^'""^^  its  being  written. 
 
 the  attacks  ma'de  upofh  ^.^bf,  t  p^™^  jf^^  '  '°  f  ^"'''  ^"^ 
 again,  suppose  Solomon  to  be  the  kln^  t^o,!!„^%^^"7i-  0">ers, 
 written  at  the  time  of  his  accession    v2nThe  ?/'■'       *"'  "  ""= 
 
 and  probably  other  heathen  tr'e^^^^^e  medifatinTf '"'  Y'^""'' 
 rection.     It  would  be  hptf^,-  i,„  meditatmg  a  general  msur- 
 
 ovents  mentionedl  .  Sam  X    7^,7'  '  «  'T'''  '""  ^^^'^  -'*  ''- 
 
 Ammonttes,  and  others!Tho%a^dt  :e^t"Lrs:Mtdrs'^'^"^' 
 3,  12),  and  who  were  now  makincr  a  Ii.t  eL  ff  '"""«''  (2  Sam.  vii,. 
 The  Psalm  may  refer  to  th  struct  t'd  there  '"'^T^"*""' 
 ailusion   to  the  promise  which  was   shortiv   hlf  ^^  ^''°  ^'  ='" 
 
 3  Sam.  vii.  14).     Such  mav  he  7hl\.-,  "  ^'™"   '°   ^^^^id 
 
 but  we  must  look  be^nd  4,s  The  I  tTtt  "T"^  °'  "^'^  P--' 
 earliest  interpretation  of  tUs  plll^  'hemselves  admit  that  the 
 "anointed"  i  "  K^n^i^J^'^Z^^nrtk^:^  ^^\  ^^ 
 reference  to  the  banding  tosrether  of  Herod       T  1^  prophetic 
 
 Christ  (Acts  iv.  25-27)  Bu  it  mav^e  .  .  f""""'  ^"""^  ^S^'"^' 
 fulfilment  in  the  history  o7  God'?  K    !,  '°  ''"'  ""  ^^'^  "-^P^^ed 
 
 all  ages  the  polers  of  the  worM  a  ^"^7  "P°"  '"''''  ^^"^-^  "^  '" 
 
 withthesame^isastro  s  r  sX toThorwhTh"^*  '''  ^"</"  ^"  ^^"^^ 
 Lord,  and  against  His  Anointed  "  ""'  ""="  ^S^'""  ^l"* 
 
 .i^:ri?to':u;ts^Stiet:- p^:::s^  r"  -  '^ 
 
 four  strophes  :—  P^^*^*     ^^  consists  of 
 
 =.nd^hei^I;re:r:;:^r:fca^o"rt 
 
 Anointed.     Ver.  1-3  "  ^^^  ^""^^  ""^  J^^^^^h  and  His 
 
 coiitrmt:;rHr:r.  -'w^rtrr-^^'^^  "^^'^  '>"'»-'  »'■ 
 
i6 
 
 PSALM  11. 
 
 III.  The  anointed  ^^^S  f^^^^^^^^l^' ^^t^^^^^  oJ boundless 
 rules,  which  assures  him  of  victory  m  the  slru..    , 
 
 dominion.     Ver.  7—9-  ,  ^  1^^  l,as  seen,  counsels   the 
 
 IV.  The  poet,  in  consequence  of^  what  he  ^^  ^^^.^  ^^^^,^^, 
 
 rebellious  monarchs  to  submit  themselves 
 
 sovereign. 
 
 Ver.  I' 
 
 WHY  have  nations  raged  tum^'tuousty 
 And  (why  do)  peoples  meditate  a  vain  tlim, 
 Kin-s  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 
 S"d  ^rfnces  have  taken  counsel  together 
 A<Tainst  Jehovah  and  against  His  Anouuea 
 ^  "  Let  us  break  their  bo"ds  asunde 
 
 And  cast  away  their  cords  from  us 
 He  thtt  is  throned  in  the  Heaven  laughs  . 
 
 ,  Why— a  question  at  once  of 
 wonder  and  horror  Why  this  attempt 
 to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  true  king  ? 
 It  is  not  a  tyrant  against  whom  they 
 are  leagued'  It  is  Jehovah  himself 
 ^vho  is  assailed  in  the  person  of  the 
 
 King  whom  He  has  set  on  the  throne. 
 
 Such  an  enterprise  cannot   but    lail. 
 
 In  its  very  nature  it  is  "  a  vam  thing. 
 
 federacy  having  preceded  the  muster- 
 incr  of  their  hosts  to  the  battie. 
 
 After  the  double  parallelism  with 
 which  the  Psalm  opens,  there  comes 
 The  single  line  which,  in  its  majestic 
 simphdty,  at  once  reveals  the  design, 
 Td' ^'hopelessness  of  the  des.gn 
 "Acrainst  Jehovah  and  against  His 
 Anointed.''  There  is  a  very  remark- 
 able  comment  on  these  words  m  the 
 
 rU.rU;d,  says  Luther,  is  cc^  ^^JT^^^^"^^  'f 
 prised  the  argument  of  "^^^^^  ^^^^^  meon  ( i  f-  9°'  ^  ^ch.  p.  227): 
 whole  Psalm.     How  can  they  succeed       meom    ^u.    _    V  .  ^_„^;_o.^ 
 
 wnoie  rsaiiii.  xj.>"  -"•- — j 
 who  set  themselves  against  Jehovah 
 and  against  His  Christ?  1  he  abrupt 
 question  is  in  the  true  spirit  of  lync 
 noetry.  So  Horace,  gazing  with 
 horror  on  the  spectacle  of  civil  strife 
 breaks  forth:  "  Quo,  quo  scelesti 
 ruitis?  autcurdexteris,  Aptantur  enses 
 conditi?  " 
 
 Meditate,  as  in  i-  2. 
 2  Set  themselves— of  assuming 
 deliberately  a  hostile  attitude  as  ot 
 Goliath,  I  Sam.xvii.  16  ;  of  the  angel 
 who  meets  Balaam,  Num.  xxu.  22. 
 This  verb  is  in  the  prtsent ;  for  he 
 singer  sees,  as  it  were,  their  hosti  e 
 arrty  before  his  eyes,  ^l^e  next  is 
 again  in  the  />ast,  "  they  have  handed 
 themselves,"  the  conspiracy  and  con- 
 
 ' '  Like  a  robber  who  was  standmg  and 
 expressing  his  contempt  behind  the 
 mlace  of  the  King,  and  saying,  it  1 
 ^nd  the  Son  of  the^King,  I  will  seize 
 him,  and  kill  him,  and  crucify  him,  and 
 put  him  to  a  terrible  death;  but  the 
 Holy  Spirit  mocks  at  it,  and  saith 
 He    that    dwelleth  in  the    heavens 
 
 lau""hs. " 
 
 ^  Let  us  bp.eak  their  bonds 
 asunder  [i.e.  those  of  Jehovah  and 
 His  Christ).  The  metaphor  is  bor- 
 rowed from  restive  aniijials  which 
 break  the  cords,  and  throw  off  the 
 voke.  Cf.  Is.  X.  27,  Iviu.  6.  Ihe 
 phrase  occurs  again,  cvu.  H,  and 
 often  in  Jeremiah. 
 
 4—6.   And  now  from  all  this  wild 
 
PSALM  II. 
 
 17 
 
 The  Lord  hath  them  in  derision  : 
 Then  shall  He  speak  unto  them  in  His  wrath, 
 And  in  His  sore  displeasure  terrify  thern  : 
 — "  But  /  have  set  My  King 
 
 On  Zion,  My  holy  mountain." 
 
 I  will  tell  of  a  decree  ; 
 
 Jehovah  said  unto  me  :  "  Thou  art  my  son, 
 /  have  this  day  begotten  thee  : 
 
 tempest  of  confusion  upon  earth,  from 
 the  tramphng  of  gathering  armies, 
 and  the  pride  of  kingly  captains,  and 
 their  words  of  haughty  menace,  the 
 poet  turns  his  eyes  to  heaven.  There, 
 on  His  everlasting  throne,  sits  the 
 Almighty  King,  in  whose  sight  all 
 nations  and  kings  are  but  as  a  drop  of 
 the  bucket. 
 
 5.  The  change  in  the  rhythm  of  the 
 original  is  worthy  of  notice  ;  it  be- 
 comes full  and  sonorous,  "  donner- 
 artig  "  as  Delitzsch  calls  it,  rolling  like 
 the  thunder,  and  is  rendered  the  more 
 effective  by  its  contrast  with  the  quiet 
 manner  of  ver.  4. 
 
 6,  As  the  first  strophe  closed  with 
 the  words  of  the  rebels,  so  this  with 
 the  words  of  Jehovah. 
 
 And  in  the  words  But  I  we  have 
 the  central  truth  of  the  Psalm.  The 
 '•but'"'  is  to  be  explained  as  referring 
 to  an  unexpressed  "ye  may  plot,"  or 
 some  thought  of  the  kind,  in  the  mind 
 of  the  speaker.  It  is  God's  own 
 answer  to  them  that  oppose  Him.  I 
 (the  pronoun  is  emphatic  in  the  Heb. ), 
 the  King  of  heaven  and  earth,  have 
 set  my  own  King,  my  Son,  and  my 
 vicegerent,  upon  the  throne.  (Cf.  I 
 Sam,  xvi.  I.) 
 
 On  Zion,  not  the  place  where  the 
 King  was  anointed,  for  that  would 
 hold  neither  of  type  (whether  David 
 or  Solomon)  nor  of  antitype  :  but  as 
 the  seat  of  dominion,  the  centre  from 
 which  His  law  goes  forth,  &c.     Cf. 
 
 ex.  2  ;  and  in  the  fact  that  His  throne 
 is  on  "the  holy  mountain,"  there  is  a 
 kind  of  anticipative  hint  of  the  great 
 truth  which  is  first  distinctly  taught  in 
 the  iioth  Psalm,  that  the  Anointed 
 King  should  also  be  the  Anointed 
 Priest. 
 
 7.  A  sudden  change  of  speakers 
 takes  place.  The  Son,  the  Anointed 
 King,  appears,  and  proclaims  the 
 Father's  counsel  concerning  Him.  He 
 has  received  of  Jehovah  a  decree— 
 the  new  law  of  His  kingdom.  Pie 
 reigns  not  by  the  will  of  man,  but 
 by  the  grace  of  God  ;  not  by  right 
 only  as  the  Son  of  Jehovah,  but 
 by  covenant  and  promise  likewise. 
 (See  the  stress  laid  on  this  Divine 
 calling  as  fulfilled  in  Christ  in  Heb. 
 
 V.  5-) 
 
 The  expression,  "I  this  day  have 
 begotten  thee,"  can  only  mean,  This 
 day  have  I  declared  and  manifested 
 thee  to  be  my  Son,  by  investing  thee 
 with  thy  kingly  dignity,  and  placing 
 thee  on  thy  throne.  St.  Paul  teaches 
 us  to  see  i\\e.fuljiimeut  of  these  words 
 in  Christ's  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
 It  was  by  thai  that  He  was  declared 
 to  be  (marked  out  as,  in  a  distinct  and 
 peculiar  sense,  opiaQivros)  the  Son  of 
 God.  (Rom.  i.  4;  cf.  Acts  xiii.  33.) 
 The  day  of  Christ's  coronation  was 
 the  day  of  His  resurrection.  From 
 henceforth  He  sits  at  the  right  hand 
 of  the  Father,  waiting  till  His  enemies 
 be  made  His  footstool. 
 
if. 
 
 fr/Vv. 
 
 1 8  PSALM  II. 
 
 8  Ask  of  Me,  and  I   will  give  thee  the  nations  for 
 
 thine  inheritance, 
 And  for  thy  possession  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
 
 9  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron  : 
 
 Like   a   potter's   vessel   shalt   thou    dash   them    in 
 pieces." 
 
 10  And  now — ye  kings,  learn  wisdom  ! 
 Receive  instruction,  ye  judges  of  the  earth  ! 
 
 11  Serve  Jehovah  with  fear, 
 And  exult  with  trembling  ! 
 
 12  Kiss  the  Son  lest  He  be  angry. 
 
 And  ye  perish  in  (your)  way  ; 
 For  soon  is  His  wrath  kindled  : 
 
 Blessed  are  all  they  that  find  refuge  in  Him  ! 
 
 8.  Ask  of  Me,  and  I  will  give 
 THEE.  A  poetical  figiii-e,  by  which  is 
 represented  God's  wiUingness  to  give 
 to  His  Anointed  the  kingdoms  of  the 
 world. 
 
 lo.  And  now,  drawing  a  conclu- 
 sion from  what  precedes  (Prov.  v.  7, 
 Is.   xxviii.  22.) 
 
 Judges  of  the  earth,  as  in  ver. 
 2,  "kings  of  the  earth,"  who  had 
 placed  themselves  at  the  head  of  the 
 insui  rection. 
 
 Learn  wisdom  !  Receive  in- 
 struction. Submit  yourselves  ;  not 
 only  in  a  political  sense,  but  also 
 in  a  religious  sense,  become  His  true 
 worshippers. 
 
 12.  Kiss  the  Son.  The  verb  has 
 been  taken  in  two  senses:  (i)  "to 
 cleave,  adhere  to,  lay  hold  of,"  &c. — 
 a  sense  which  is  not  supported  by 
 usage  ;  and  (2)  "to  kiss,"  i.e.  accord- 
 ing to  the  Eastern  custom,  to  proffer 
 homage  and  service.  (Cf.  i  Sam.  x. 
 I.)  Gen.  xli.  40  is  probably  to  be  ex- 
 plained in  the  same  way  :  "thy  mouth 
 shall  all  my  people  kiss,"*  not  as  in 
 E.V.  "according  unto  thy  word  shall," 
 
 &c.  The  word  is  also  used  of  the 
 worship  paid  to  idols,  i  Kings  xix,  18. 
 Hos.  xiii.  2.  We  must  therefore  either 
 render  (with  the  Syr.)  "Do  homage 
 to  the  Son,"  or  (with  Jerome)  "proffer 
 pure  homage,  worship  in  purity."  Both 
 translations  are  admissible.  Nor  does 
 it  seem  very  important  which  we 
 adopt,  though  the  interpretation  of  this 
 clause  has  sometimes  been  debated 
 as  if  it  affected  the  Messianic  character 
 of  the  Psalm.  But  that  must  be  de- 
 termined by  the  general  scope  of  the 
 Psalm,  not  by  a  single  phrase  ;  not  to 
 mention  that  ver.  6,  7,  are  quite  as 
 emphatic  as  ver.  12. 
 
 It  should  be  observed  that  two  of 
 the  names  given  by  the  Jews-  them- 
 selves to  the  Hope  of  Israel  were 
 taken  from  this  Psal-m  (and  Dan.  ix. 
 25),  the  Messiah,  ver.  2,  and  the  Son  of 
 God,  ver.  7.  Nathanael  says  to  Jesus, 
 "  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of  God," 
 John  i.  49,  and  both  names  are  joined 
 together  by  the  High  Priest,  Mutt. 
 xxvi.  63.  In  like  manner  the  name 
 "  Son  of  Man  "  is  taken  from  Ps.  viii. 
 4,  and  Dan.  vii.  13. 
 
 See  Marginal  Note  in  Bible. 
 
PSALM  III-  19 
 
 PSALM  III. 
 
 This  and  the  following  Psalm  have  several  links  of  connection^  are 
 in  the  same  strain  of  thought  and  feeling,  and  were  probably  com- 
 posed under  the  same  circumstances.  From  the  inscription  of  this 
 Psalm  we  learn  what  those  circumstances  were.  It  Avas  written  by- 
 David  when  he  fled  from  his  son  Absalom.  Both  Psalms,  it  has 
 been  conjectured,  were  composed  on  the  same  day  ;  the  one  in  the 
 morning,  the  other  in  the  evening  of  the  day  following  that  on  which 
 the  king  quitted  Jerusalem. 
 
 From  ver.  5  we  gather  that  the  Psalm  is,  as  has  been  said,  a  morning 
 hymn.  With  returning  day  there  comes  back  on  the  monarch's  heart 
 the  recollection  of  the  enemies  who  threaten  him, — a  nation  up  in 
 arms  against  him,  his  own  son  heading  the  rebellion,  his  wisest  and 
 most  trusted  counsellor  in  the  ranks  of  his  foes  (2  Sam.  xv. — xvii.). 
 Never,  not  even  when  hunted  by  Saul,  had  he  found  his  position  one 
 of  greater  danger.  The  odds  were  overwhelmingly  against  him. 
 This  is  a  fact  which  he  does  not  attempt  to  hide  ftom  himself: 
 "How  many  are  mine  enemies;"  '^Ma?iy  rise  up  against  me;"  ''^ Many 
 say  to  my  soul ; "  "  Ten  thousands  of  the  people  have  set  themselves 
 against  me."  But  sustained  by  Jehovah,  he  had  laid  him  down 
 and  slept  in  safety  ;  trusting  in  the  same  mighty  protection,  he  would 
 lie  down  again  to  rest.  Enemies  might  taunt  (iii.  2)  and  friends  might 
 fail  him,  but  the  victory  was  Jehovah's,  and  He  could  break  the  teeth 
 of  the  ungodly  (iii.  7,  8). 
 
 The  Psalm  may  be  divided  into  four  strophes : — 
 
 I.  The  present  danger  and  distress.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 II.  The  recollection  of  mercy  and  help  in  times  past.     Ver.  3,  4. 
 
 III.  As  arising  from  this,  the  sense  of  peace  and  security  even  in 
 the  midst  of  the  present  danger.'     Ver.  5,  6. 
 
 IV.  The  prayer  for  help  against  enemies,  and  for  blessings  upon 
 Israel.     Ver.  7,  8. 
 
 C   2 
 
20 
 
 PSALM  IIL 
 
 [a    psalm   OB'   DAVID,  WHEN   HE   FLED    FROM  THE   FACE  OF   HIS   SON 
 
 ABSALOM.] 
 
 1  Jehovah,  how  many  are  mine  adversaries, 
 Many  are  they  that  rise  up  against  me ! 
 
 2  Many  there  be  that  say  to  my  soul  : 
 
 ''There  is  no  help  for  him  in  God." — [Selah.] 
 
 3  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  art  a  shield  about  me ; 
 
 My  Glory  and  the  Lifter-up  of  my  head. 
 
 4  With  my  voice  to  Jehovah  do  I  cry, 
 
 And  He  answereth  me  from  His  holy  mountain. — 
 [Selah.] 
 
 5  I  laid  me  down,  and  slept ; 
 
 I  awaked,  for  Jehovah  sustaineth  me. 
 
 6  I  will  not  be  afraid  of  ten  thousands  of  the  people 
 
 Which  have  set  (themselves)  against  me  round  about. 
 
 1.  How  MANY,  &c.  ;  nearly  all 
 Israel.  Compare  2  Sam.  xvi.  15, 
 xvii.  I,  II — 13,  with  XV.  18. 
 
 That  rise  up  against  me.  The 
 very  expression  used  twice  by  the 
 Cushite  who  brings  tidings  to  David  of 
 the  death  of  Absalom,  and  the  defeat 
 of  <^he  rebels.     (2  Sam.  xviii.  31,  32.) 
 
 2.  To  MY  SOUL,  rather  than  **0F 
 my  soul,"  though  this  is  implied  ;  but 
 they  aim  at,  and  strike  to,  his  soul. 
 He  feds  it,  and  feels  how  deadly  the 
 aim  is. 
 
 No  HELP  FOR  IIIM.  David  was 
 thinking  perhaps  of  what  Shimei  had 
 said  :  '"The  Lord  hath  returned  upon 
 thee  all  the  blood  of  the  house  of  Saul, 
 in  whose  stead  thou  hast  reigned ;  and 
 tiie  Lord  hath  delivered  the  kingdoin 
 into  the  hand  of  Absalom  thy  son  "  (2 
 Sam.  xvi.  8). 
 
 3.  A  SHIELD.  Such  God  had  declared 
 Himself  to  be  to  Abraham  in  Gen.  xv. 
 I,  and  that,  it  should  be  remembered, 
 just  after  Abraham  had  returned  from 
 the  battle  with  the  kings.  We  cannot 
 wonder  that  such  a  name  of  God  should 
 have  had  a  peculiar  preciousness  for 
 
 David.  No  man  was  ever  harder 
 pressed  by  enemies,  and  no  man  had 
 ever  more  cause  to  rejoice  in  the 
 thought  that  God  was  his  shield. 
 
 4.  Expresses  not  a  single  act,  but 
 the  habit  of  a  life.  Whenever  I  cry, 
 God  hears  me  from  His  holy  hill,  i.e. 
 Zion,  where  was  the  ark  of  the 
 covenant. 
 
 The  Priests  and  Levites,  when  he 
 left  Jerusalem,  would  have  carried  the 
 ark  after  hhn.  But  with  that  faith 
 which  can  alone  teach  true  resignation, 
 he  says,  "  Carry  back  the  ark  of  God 
 into  the  city  :  if  I  shall  find  favour  in 
 the  eyes  of  Jehovah,  He  will  bring  me 
 again,  and  show  me  both  it  and  His 
 habitation."  To  David  the  ark  was 
 rio  mere  talisman.  The  presence  and 
 favour  of  Jehovah  were  not  bound  to 
 the  local  symbol  of  His  presence.  'In 
 the  heart,  not  in  the  hands,'  was 
 David's  feeling.  It  was  the  very 
 opposite  of  that  superstitious  impulse 
 which  led  the  Israelites  to  take  the 
 ark  with  them  into  battle,  I  Sam.  iv. 
 3—6.      (2  San).  5:v.  25.) 
 
 5.  I  LAID  ME  DOWN.     The  pron. 
 
PSALM  IV.  2  1 
 
 7  Arise,  O  Jehovah  !     Help  me,  O  my  God ! 
 
 For  Thou   hast  smitten  all   mine   enemies   on   the 
 
 cheek-bone  ; 
 Thou  hast  broken  the  teeth  of  the  ungodly. 
 
 8  To  Jehovah  belongeth  the  victory. 
 
 Let  Thy  blessing  be  upon  Thy  people. — [Selah.] 
 
 is  emphatic,  as  if  he  would  say,  "I, 
 my  very  self,  hunted  and  cursed  by 
 my  enemies,  have  tasted  the  good- 
 ness of  the  Lord  even  in  the  night 
 that  is  past." 
 
 7.  Either  an  appeal  to  the  past :  O 
 Thou  that  didst  save  me  from  the 
 teeth  of  the  lion  and  of  the  bear,  and 
 didst  destroy  mine  enemies  on  every 
 side,  rise  up  now  for  me  against  them 
 that  rise  up  against  me.  Or  perhaps, 
 as  in  many  other  instances,  the  perfects 
 may  anticipate  the  result,  they  express 
 the  sure  confidence  that  God  %vill 
 crash  his  enemies,  which  he  speaks  of 
 as  an  already  accomplished  fact. 
 
 It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  how 
 appropriate,  again,  this  metaphor, — 
 smiting  on  the  cheek-bone,  breaking 
 the  teeth,  &c. — is  in  David's  mouth. 
 
 As  he  himself  had  smitten  the  bear 
 and  the  lion  when  they  came  against 
 him,  so  should  God  smite  his  enemies. 
 
 8.  Victory,  or,  "the  help." 
 Such  is  his  confident,  courageous 
 answer  to  the  timorous  whispers  of 
 friends,  and  the  mocking  exultation 
 of  enemies.  They  said,  "There  is 
 no  help  for  him  in  God."  He  replies. 
 To  Jehovah  belongeth  help,  help  not 
 in  this  strait  only,  but  in  all  times 
 and  places. 
 
 Finally,  how  noble  the  prayer  of 
 the  royal  exile,  asking  not  for  himself 
 alone,  but  for  his  poor,  misguided 
 subjects — "Let  Thy  blessing  be  upon 
 Thy  people."  What  a  glimpse  this 
 gives  us  of  the  greatness  and  generosity 
 of  that  kingly  heart ! 
 
 PSALM  IV. 
 
 David  had  said  in  the  previous  Psalm,  "  I  laid  me  down  and 
 slept : "  he  says  in  this,  "  I  will  lay  me  down  in  peace  and  sleep." 
 These  words  evidently  connect  the  Psalms  together.  That  was  a 
 morning,  this  is  an  evening  hymn.  That  was  written  with  a  deep 
 sense  of  thankfulness  for  the  undisturbed  rest  which  had  followed  the 
 most  anxious,  in  some  respects  the  dreariest,  day  of  his  life  ;  this  was 
 written  with  a  calm  confidence,  flowing  directly  from  the  previous 
 experience.  The  interval  between  the  two  Psalms  may  only  have 
 been  the  interval  between  the  morning  and  evening  of  the  same  day. 
 The  thoughts  and  turns  of  expression  in  the  one  are  not  unlike  those 
 iu  the  other.     As  in  the  former  he  heard  many  saying  to  his  soul. 
 
2  2  PSALM  IV. 
 
 "There  is  no  help  for  him  in  God"  (ver.  i)^  so  in  this  he  hears  many 
 saying,  '•  Who  will  show  us  any  good  ?  "  (ver.  6).  As  in  that  he  knew 
 that,  though  at  a  distance  from  the  Tabernacle,  he  was  not  at  a 
 distance  from  God,  but  would  receive  an  answer  to  his  prayer  from 
 the  "holy  mountain"  \ytx.  4),  so  in  this,  though  the  Priests  have 
 returned  with  the  Ark  to  Jerusalem,  he  can  look  for  "the  light  of 
 Jehovah's  countenance,"  which  is  better  than  the  Urim  and  Thummim 
 of  the  priestly  ephod. 
 
 It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  David  does  not  cry  to  God  for  vengeance 
 on  his  enemies,  but  earnestly  seeks  to  bring  them  to  a  better  mind. 
 The  strong  feeling  of  injured  innocence  prompts  no  thought  of 
 revenge,  but  only  the  noble  desire  to  teach  those  who  have  done  the 
 wrong  a  more  excellent  way.  The  monarch  does  not  forget  that  he 
 is  a  monarch  ;  and  with  a  monarch's  heart,  lifted  here  at  least  above 
 the  littleness  of  personal  resentment,  he  tries  to  win  over  the  subjects 
 who  have  rebelled  against  him. 
 
 The  Psalm  may  be  said  to  fall  into  three  unequal  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  The  cry  directed  to  God.     Ver.  i. 
 
 II.  The  earnest  warning  addressed  to  his  enemies,  in  two  parts. 
 Ver.  2 — 5. 
 
 III.  The  calm  expression  on  the  part  of  David  of  his  peace  and 
 confidence  in  God.     Ver.  6—8. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    with  stringed  instruments,    a  psalm 
 
 OF  DAVID.] 
 
 1  V^^HEN  I  cry,  answer  me,  O  God  of  my  righteousness ! 
 
 Thou  that  in  straitness  hast  made  room  for  me  : 
 Be  gracious  unto  me,  and  hear  my  prayer. 
 
 2  Ye  sons  of  men  !  how  long  shall  my  glory  be  (turned) 
 
 to  shame  ? 
 
 I.  God   of   my  righteousness,  2.  Sons  of  men.    Generally  "men 
 
 i.e.   Thou  who  maintainest  my  right  of  high  degree,"  nobles,  &c.,' as  op- 
 
 and   my  cause,   asserting   my  righte-  posed  to  "men  of  low  degree,"  xlix. 
 
 ousness   against   the   slanders   of  my  2,  Ixii.  9. 
 
 enemies.     (Cf.  lix.    10.)     But  not  to  My  GLORY,   i.e.   personal  honour, 
 
 be  confined  to  this  :  it  also  means  who  character,  as  in  Ixii.   7,  Job  xix.   9  ; 
 
 knowest   tlie   righteousness,    the   sin-  here,  perhaps,  my  state  and  dignity 
 
 cerity  of  my  heart  and  life.  as    king,    though     it    is    frequently 
 
PSALM  IV. 
 
 23 
 
 (How   long)  win   ye  love   emptiness,  will   ye  seek 
 after  lies  ? — [Selah.] 
 
 3  Know  then,  that  Jehovah  hath  separated  for  Himself 
 
 one  whom  He  loves. 
 Jehovah  hearkeneth  when  I  cry  unto  Him. 
 
 4  Tremble  and  sin  not : 
 
 Commune  with  your  heart,  on  your  bed,  and  be 
 still.— [Selah.] 
 
 5  Offer  sacrifices  of  righteousness. 
 
 And  trust  in  Jehovah. 
 
 6  There  be  many  that  say :  "  Who  will  show  us  (any) 
 
 good  ? " 
 Lift  Thou    upon    us   the   light  of  Thy  countenance, 
 O  Jehovah ! 
 
 used    in    a    more    extended 
 
 signi 
 
 fi- 
 
 cation. 
 
 3.  Separated,  or  ^^marvellously 
 chosen." 
 
 4.  He  passes  on  to  wise  and  loving 
 counsels.  Tremble,  i.e.  before  God, 
 not  before  me,  and  sin  not  against 
 Him.  The  LXX.  "  Be  ye  angry  and 
 sin  not,"  certainly  a  possible  render- 
 ing of  the  words,  viz.  "do  not  suffer 
 yourselves  to  sin  in  your  anger,"  but 
 not  suitable  here.  St.  Paul  (Eph.  iv. 
 26)  uses  the  words  as  they  stand  in 
 the  Greek  version,  not,  however,  in 
 the  way  of  direct  citation. 
 
 Commune  with,  Ht.  say  {it)  in 
 your  heart,  i.e.  reflect,  meditate  on 
 the  truth  I  have  already  declared,  ver. 
 3.  Let  the  still  hours  of  the  night 
 bring  calmer  and  wiser  thoughts  with 
 them. 
 
 5.  Offer  sacrifices  of  righte- 
 ousness, or  RIGHTEOUS  SACRIFICES, 
 as  in  li.  19.  The  phrase  occurs  first 
 in  Deut.  xxxiii.  19,  and  denotes  either 
 {a)  sacrifices  that  God  will  accept, 
 because  they  are  olTered  with  clean 
 hands  and  pure  hearts  ;  or,  {b)  fitting 
 sacrifices,   such  as  your  past   sin  re- 
 
 quires, in  order  to  put  it  away.  But 
 the  two  come  to  the  same  thing,  as  it 
 is  of  course  not  merely  outward  offer- 
 ings which  the  Psalmist  bids  them 
 bring,  (Cf.  li.  19,  Is.  xxix.  13.) 
 Thus,  "  draw  nigh  to  God,  and  Pie 
 will  draw  nigh  to  you. " 
 
 6.  There  be  many  that  say. 
 Not  the  enemies  addressed  before. 
 The  reference  may  be  to  the  friends 
 and  companions  of  David,  whose  heart 
 failed  them  in  the  day  of  trouble  ;  or 
 more  widely,  to  the  general  proneness 
 of  men  to  walk  by  sight  rather  than 
 by  faith. 
 
 But  David  has  learnt  a  better  lore. 
 Though  far  from  "the  holy  mountain," 
 there  still  dwells  m  his  heart  the  bless- 
 ing wherewith  the  Priests  of  Jehovah 
 had  there  blessed  His  people.  "Jeho- 
 vah make  His  face  shine  upon  thee.  .  . 
 Jehovah  lift  up  His  countenance  upon 
 thee,  and  give  thee  peace  "  (see  Num. 
 vi.  24).  To  that  remembered  blessing 
 his  heart  now  gives  the  echo  in  the 
 prayer,  "Jehovah,  lift  Thou  up  the 
 light  of  Thy  countenance  upon  as.  .  , 
 In  peace  I  will  lay  me  down,"  &c. 
 
24 
 
 PSALM  V, 
 
 7  Thou  hast  put  a  gladness  in  my  heart, 
 
 More  than  when  their  corn  and  their  wine  abound. 
 
 8  In  peace,  at  once  will  I  lay  me  down  and  sleep.; 
 
 For  Thou,  Jehovah,  alone  maJ^est  me  to  dwell  in 
 safety. 
 
 7.  Their  corn  and  tkeir  wine. 
 To  -whom  does  the  pronoun  refer? 
 Hengstenberg  and  others  have  sup- 
 posed the  allusion  to  be  to  Ziba 
 (2  Sam.  xvi. ),  and  the  supply  which 
 he  brought  for  David  and  his  band. 
 Others  think  the  pronoun  is  used  in- 
 definitely, as  \\\  Ixv.  9,  "Thou  prepar- 
 est  their  corn,"  i.e.  the  corn  of  men  in 
 general.  Perhaps,  however,  the  refer- 
 ence of  the  pronoun  is  to  the  "many" 
 of  the  previous  verse.  They  in  their 
 worldly-mind edness  look  for  their 
 happiness  in  the  abundance  of  their 
 earthly  things.  Hence  when  adversity 
 threatens  they  begin  to  despond. 
 David,  on  the  other  hand,  has  a  source 
 of  joy,  deeper  and  more  unfailing  be- 
 cause it  flows  from  above. 
 
 For  the  comparison  with  the  joy  of 
 harvest  and  vintage  as  the  great  occa- 
 sions of  festive  mirth,  see  Is.  ix.  3, 
 Jer.  xlviii.  33. 
 
 Some  have  seen  in  this  verse  an 
 answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  previous 
 verse.  David  prays  for  the  light  of 
 God's  countenance  ;  the  answer  is 
 given  in  this  gladness  of  heart.  But 
 it  is  better  to  take  the  words,  "Thou 
 hast  put,"  &c.,  as  the  record  of  a  past 
 as  well  as  present  experience,  though 
 it  still  remains  true  that  the  "light" 
 is  the  source  of  the  "  gladness." 
 
 8.  At  once,  sc.  as  soon  as  I  lie 
 down  I  sleep,  not  harassed  by  dis- 
 turbing and  anxious  thoughts.  For 
 this  meaning  of  the  adverb,  see  Is. 
 xlii.  14. 
 
 PSALM  V. 
 
 Like  Psalm  III.  this  is  a  morning  prayer.  But  the  circumstancei' 
 of  the  singer  are  different.  He  is  not  now  fleeing  from  open  enemies, 
 but  he  is  in  peril  from  the  machinations  of  those  who  are  secretly 
 lying  in  wait  for  him  (ver.  9,  10).  He  is  not  now  an  exile,  but  can 
 still  enter  the  house  of  the  Lord  and  bow  himself  towards  His  holy 
 dwelling-place  (ver.  7). 
 
 Throughout  the  Psalm  there  breathes  a  strong  feehng  that  God  is 
 pledged,  by  His  very  character  as  a  righteous  God,  to  defend  and 
 bless  the  righteous.  And  David  (if  the  Psalm  be  his)  speaks  as  if  in 
 the  full  consciousness  of  his  own  uprightness.  Yet  the  words  are  not 
 the  words  of  a  self-righteous  boaster ;  for  though  no  hypocrite  or  evil- 
 doer, he  confesses  that  it  is  only  in  the  loving-kindness  of  God  that 
 he  can  enter  His  holy  temple. 
 
PSALM  V.  25 
 
 This'  last  expression,  "  holy  temple,"  it  has  been  thought  could  not 
 have  been  used  by  David  ;  in  whose  time  the  Tabernacle  was  yet 
 standing.  But  for  the  discussion  of  this  question,  see  the  Note  on 
 ver.  7 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  parts  :— 
 
 1.  An  earnest  entreaty  that  God  would  hearken  to  the  sigh  of  his 
 heart  and  the  voice  of  his  lips.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  Strophe  A.  The  confidence  of  the  righteous  man  in  going  to 
 God  as  a  God  who  hates  iniquity.     Ver.  4 — 7. 
 
 III.  Strophe  B.  The  prayer  grounded  on  this  confidence,  (i)  for 
 guidance  for  himself:  (2)  for  the  destruction  of  his  enemies  :  (3)  for- 
 the  protection  and  blessing  of  all  those  who,  like  himself,  love  the 
 Lord.     Ver.  8 — 12. 
 
 A  kind  of  parallelism  may  be  traced  in  the  structure  of  the  two 
 strophes.  Thus  ver.  4  answers  to  ver.  9  :  ver.  4 — 6  (the  character  of 
 God)  to  ver.  10,  where  the  Psalmist  prays  Him  to  manifest  that 
 character  in  righteous  vengeance  :  ver.  7  (the  individual  believer) 
 to  ver.  II,  12  (the  collective  body). 
 
 [for  the  precentor,     with  flute  accompaniment,    a  psalm 
 
 OF   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Give  ear  to  my  words,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 Consider  my  meditation. 
 
 2  Hearken  unto  the  voice  of  my  cry,  my  King  and  my  God, 
 
 For  unto  Thee  do  I  pray. 
 
 3  Jehovah,  in  the  morning  shalt  Thou  hear  my  voice, 
 
 In  the  morning  will  I  set  in  order  for  Thee  (my  prayer) 
 and  will  watch. 
 
 2.  My  King.  The  title  is  given  to  the  more  emphatically,  if  the  Psalm 
 God,  not  merely  in  a  general  sense  as  was  written  by  David,  by  one  who 
 Ruler  of  the  world — as  the  Canaanites  was  himself  a  king.  See  the  Notes  on 
 and   others   call    their  gods,   Moloch  xliv.  4,  Ixxiv.  12. 
 
 and  Milcom,  or  the  Greeks  addressed  Unto   Thee^   i.e.    not   to  man  or 
 
 Zeus,  as  aVa|  and  fia(n\(:vs — but  with  angel ;  to   T/iee,  for  Thou  wilt  hear. 
 
 the  distinct  recognition  of  His  theo-  (Cf.  xvii.  6.) 
 
 cratic  relation  to  the  people  of  Israel.  3.  In  the  MORNING.     Emphatic. 
 
 The  King  of  the  nation  is  here  also  I  WILL  set  (or  "lay")  IN  order 
 
 claimed  by  the  individual  as  his  king,  (viz.  my  prayer).     The  word  is  uie<I 
 
PSALM  V. 
 
 For  Thou  art  not  a  God  that  hath  pleasure  in  wickedness, 
 
 Evil  cannot  sojourn  with  Thee. 
 Fools  cannot  stand  in  Thy  sight  ; 
 
 Thou  hatest  all  workers  of  iniquity ; 
 Thou  destroyest  them  that  speak  lies ; 
 
 The   bloodthirsty   and   deceitful   man    doth   Jehovah 
 abhor. 
 But  as  for  me — In  the  multitude  of  Thy  loving-kindness 
 will  I  enter  Thy  house  ; 
 
 of  laying  in  order  the  wood  (Lev.  i.  7) 
 and  the  victim  (Lev.  i.  8,  vi.  12)  for 
 the  sacrifices.  One  of  the  first  duties 
 of  the  priest,  as  soon  as  day  dawned, 
 was  to  lay  the  wood  in  order  for  the 
 morning  sacrifice  (Lev.  vi.  12,  Numb. 
 xxviii.  4).  So  the  Psalmist  brings  his 
 offering,  prepares  himself  as  a  spiritual 
 sacrifice,  and  lays  before  God  the  fruit 
 of  his  lips,  (The  idea  is  expressed  at 
 length  in  Ps.  cxli.  2,  "and  the  lifting 
 up  of  my  hands  as  the  evening  sacri- 
 fice.") And  then  he  "watches," 
 "looks  out"  (the  same  verb  as  in 
 Hab.  ii.  i),  for  an  answer  to  his 
 petition,  as  the  priest  might  look  (or 
 as  Elijah  looked  on  Carmel)  for  the 
 fire  from  heaven  to  descend  and  con- 
 sume the  victim. 
 
 4.  The  Psalmi-t  expects  to  be 
 heard,  for  only  the  righteous  can 
 approach  a  righteous  God.  "  Ratio- 
 cinatui-,"  says  Calvin,  "ab  ipsius  Dei 
 natura." 
 
 "  Evil  (personified)  cannot  be  a 
 guest  or  friend  of  Thine  ;  .  cannot 
 tarry  in  Thy  house,"  as  xv.  I  ;  not 
 merely  however  with  a  reference  to 
 the  Temple,  but  to  that  spiritual 
 abiding  in  the  presence  of  God,  and 
 in  the  light  of  His  countenance,  which 
 is  the  joy  only  of  them  that  are  true 
 of  heart.  To  the  wicked  the  light 
 of  God's  countenance  is  a  consuming 
 fire. 
 
 5.  Cannot  stand,  lit.  "set  them- 
 selves,"  the  same  word  as  in  ii.  2. 
 The  allusion  may  be  (i)  to  the  judge- 
 
 ment, "cannot  stand  before  God's 
 holiness  and  power  as  armed  against 
 them,"  as  in  Deut.  vii.  24,  ix.-2,  &c. ; 
 or  (2)  to  the  privilege  of  nobles  and 
 others  who  stand  in  the  presence  of 
 the  King,  cf.  Prov.  xxii.  29.  So  the 
 angels  are  said  to  stand  before  God 
 (Job  i.  6i  ii.  i). 
 
 Workers  of  iniquity  occurs  fre- 
 quently in  Job  and  the  Psalms  as  a 
 description  of  the  wicked,  and  has 
 been  adopted  by  our  Lord  in  the 
 N.T.,  Matt.  vii.  23. 
 
 7.  As  the  Psalm  is  a  morning  hymn, 
 the  futures  may  be  taken  strictly, 
 "  I  ivill  enter,"  &c.  But  there  is  also 
 something  of  the  potential  meaning 
 about  them :  sc.  the  wicked  cannoi 
 enter,  but  I  f;iay  (and  will)  enter 
 Thine  house.  The  mention  of  the 
 house  and  the  temple  has  sometimes 
 been  regaided  as  a  proof  that  the 
 Psalm  could  not  have  been  written 
 by  David.  But  the  latter  word  means 
 properly  a  large  building,  "a  palace," 
 and  is  used  of  the  sanctuary  at  Shiloh, 
 I  Sam.  i.  9,  iii.  3,  which  seems  to 
 have  been  not  a  tabernacle,  but  a 
 building  of  a  more  substantial  kind. 
 We  read  at  any  rate  of  posts  and 
 folding-doors  (i  Sam.  i.  9,  iii.  15); 
 whereas  in  the  time  of  David,  "the 
 ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  re- 
 mained under  curtains"  (i  Chron. 
 xvii.  [).  And  there  is  certainly  no 
 proof  that  the  word  is  ever  used  of 
 this  temporary  structure.  Still  it  is 
 possible    that  the  word   which    had 
 
PSALM  V. 
 
 27 
 
 I  will  bow  myself  towards  Thy  holy  temple  in  Thy 
 fear. 
 
 8  O  Jehovah,  lead  me  in  Thy  righteousness,' because  of 
 
 them  that  lie  in  wait  for  me. 
 Make  Thy  way  plain  before  my  face  ; 
 
 9  For  there  is  no  faithfulness  in  their  mouth  ; 
 
 Their  inward  part  is  a  yawning  gulf ; 
 
 already  been  employed  when  speak- 
 ing of  the  house  in  Shiloh  continued 
 to  be  employed  when  only  a  tent  was 
 pitched  for  the  ark  (i  Chron.  xv.  i). 
 It  might  still  be  called  a  temple  or 
 palace  because  of  its  solemn  dedi- 
 cation as  the  house  of  God,  the  palace 
 of  the  Great  King. 
 
 In  the  multitude  of  Thy 
 LOVING-KINDNESS.  The  Psalmist 
 has  access  to  God  not  only  because 
 ]:e  is  of  a  different  character  from 
 those  mentioned  in  ver.  6,  but  be- 
 cause the  King  of  kings,  of  His  grace 
 and  goodness,  pei-mits  him  to  draw 
 near. 
 
 8 — ID.  In  the  former  part  of  the 
 Psalm,  David  has  placed  himself  in 
 sharp  contrast  with  "the  workers  of 
 iniquity,"  with  "them  that  speak 
 lies,"-&c.,  and  on  this  ground  has 
 claimed  the  protection  and  favour  of 
 Jehovah.  Now  he  entreats  more 
 directly  guidance  for  himself  and  the 
 destruction  of  his  enemies,  as  false ' 
 and  treacherous  men,  like  those  whom 
 he  has  already  described  and  whom 
 "Jehovah  abhors." 
 
 8,  Lead  me  (strictly,  as  a  shep- 
 herd, cf.  xxiii.  2,  3,  xxxi.  3),  used 
 almost  exclusively  of  Divine  guidance, 
 whether  of  the  nation  or  of  indi- 
 viduals. 
 
 In  Thy  righteousness.  This 
 maybe  understood  (i)  of  God's  own 
 character.  His  righteousness  itself 
 is  pledged  to  succour  those  who  wor- 
 ship Him  and  seek  His  guidance  ;  cf. 
 cxliii,  I.  Or  (2)  it  may  mean  "  the 
 it'ay  of  God's  righteousness  "  (cf.  for 
 
 instance,  Prov.  viii.  20,  xii.  28),  called 
 GocVs  righteousness,  not  only  as  pleas- 
 ing to  Him,  but  as  coming  from  Him 
 as  its  source,  and  as  that  which  He 
 has  appointed  for  men  to  walk  in. 
 So  "the  righteousness  of  God  "  in  the 
 N.T.  means  both  God's  own  attribute 
 of  righteousness  (as  in  Rom.  iii.  5), 
 and  also  the  righteousness  which 
 He  requires  of  men,  and  gives  to  men, 
 Rom.  i.  17,  iii.  21,  22.  Both  senses 
 seem  to  be  blended  in  Rom.  iii.  25, 
 26. 
 
 Make  Thy  way.  The  way  in 
 which  Thou  wouldst  have  me  to  go, 
 not  any  self-devised  way  of  my 
 own. 
 
 Plain  or  straight,  lit.  "level," 
 lest  1  stumble  and  fall  into  the  hand 
 of  my  adversaries.  The  "straight 
 way '"'  may  be  either  (morally)  the 
 path  of  purity,  uprightness,  &c.  ;  or 
 (physically)  the  path  of  safety,  pros- 
 perity ;  or  rather,  both  ideas  are  com- 
 bined. 
 
 9.  For.  This  gives  the  reason  for 
 the  prayer,  "  Lead  me  because  of 
 them  that  lie  in  wait  for  me  :"  for 
 their  malice  is  such  that  I  need  Thy 
 care  and  guidance.  With  them, 
 mouth,  heart,  throat,  and  tongue  are 
 all  instruments  of  evil. 
 
 No  faithfulness,  lit.  "nothing 
 firm,  settled." 
 
 The  expressions  point  not  to  foreign 
 oppressors,  but  evidently  to  ungodly 
 men  in  the  nation  itself  who  had 
 recourse  to  slander  and  treachery 
 when  they  dared  not  use  open  vio- 
 lence.    It  is  the  opposition  and  the 
 
28 
 
 PSALM   V. 
 
 Their  throat  is  an  open  sepulchre, 
 
 (While)  they  make  smooth  their  tongue. 
 
 10  Punish  Thou  them,  O  God  : — 
 
 Let  them  fall  through  their  own  counsels  : 
 In  the  multitude  of  their  transgressions  thrust  them 
 away ; 
 For  they  have  rebelled  against  Thee. 
 
 11  And  all  who  find  refuge  in  Thee  shall  rejoice ; 
 For  ever  shall  they  shout  for  joy  ; 
 
 And  Thou  wilt  defend  them : 
 And  they  who  love  Thy  Name  shall  exult  in  Thee. 
 
 12  For  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  dost  bless  the  righteous. 
 With  favour  dost  Thou  compass  him  as  with  a  shield. 
 
 contest  ever  repeated  between  the 
 Church  and  the  world.  Cf.  Gal. 
 iv.  29. 
 
 10.  Against  Thee.  The  enemies 
 of  David  are  the  enemies  of  David's 
 God.  "  Whoso  toucheth  you,  toucheth 
 the  apple  of  Mine  eye, "  "  Saul,  Saul, 
 why  persecutest  thou  Me  ?  " 
 
 11.  And  all  ....  shall,  or, 
 So  LiHALL  ALL.  For  the  cause 
 of  .David  is  the  cause  of  all  who 
 have  David's  heart  and  fear  David's 
 God.  The  overthrow  of  his  ene- 
 mies is  the  overthrow  of  the  ene- 
 mies of  the  Church.  If  one  member 
 suffer,  all  suffer  ;  if  one  triumph,  all 
 will  be  partakers  in  the  triumph. 
 
 And  Thou  wilt  defend  them. 
 Or  if  we  take  the  preceding  verbs  as 
 futures:  "And  Thou  defendest  (or 
 wilt  defend)  them :"  the  clauses  being 
 thus   simply  linked   together  as   fre- 
 
 quently in  Hebrew,  instead  of  saying, 
 "  (^6r(2«j'£'Thou,"  &c.  The  verb  means 
 strictly  to  cover,  and  the  figure  is  either 
 taken  from  the  cherubim  with  out- 
 stretched wings  covering  the  mercy- 
 seat  (hence  of  God,  xci.  4) ;  or  from 
 the  booth  or  tabernacle  used  figuratively 
 of  God's  house  as  a  place  of  shelter 
 and  refuge  from  the  world.  See  the 
 expansion  of  the  figure,  Is.  iv.  5,  6. 
 
 Thy  Name.  God's  name  is  that 
 whereby  He  makes  Himself  known  : 
 His  revelation  of  Himself  as  a  God 
 of  Love  and  Grace  to  His  people. 
 
 12.  Shield.  The  word  denotes 
 properly  the  large  shield  which 
 covered  the  whole  body ;  used  of 
 the  shield  of  Goliath,  i  Sam.  xvii. 
 7.  For  the  difference  between  this 
 and  the  other  word  used  in  iii.  3, 
 see  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  Art. 
 Arms. 
 
PSALM  VI.  29 
 
 PSALM    VI. 
 
 The  first  of  the  seven  Penitential  Psalms. 
 
 In  great  peril  from  his  enemies,  and  in  great  anguish  of  heart, 
 David  cries  to  God  for  mercy.  In  the  malice  of  his  enemies  he  sees 
 the  rod  of  God's  chastisement ;  and  therefore  he  makes  his  prayer  to 
 God  for  deliverance.  The  struggle  has  lasted  so  long,  the  grief  is  so 
 bitter,  that  his  health  has  given  way,  and  he  has  been  brought  to  the 
 gates  of  the  grave.  But  even  whilst  thus  pouring  out  the  anguish 
 of  his  spirit,  light  and  peace  visit  him,  and  he  breaks  forth  into  the 
 joy  of  thanksgiving. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  said  to  be  a  Psalm  of  David,  and  there  is  no  reason 
 to  question  this,  although  at  the  same  time  there  is  nothing  in  it  to 
 guide  us  to  any  peculiar  circumstances  of  his  life. 
 
 The  Psalm  falls  into  three  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  (ver.  I — 3)  and  II.  (ver.  4 — 7)  a-re  both  the  outpourings  of  the 
 heart  in  a  cry  for  mercy,  and  in  both  it  springs  from  the  deep  misery 
 of  the  sufferer.  But  in  II.  this  is  dwelt  upon  more  at  length  as  a 
 motive  for  deliverance. 
 
 III.  The  joyful  assurance  that  already  his  prayer  has  been  heard, 
 and  that  all  his  enemies  shall  perish.     Ver.  8 — 10. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    with  accompaniment  of  stringed 
 instruments.    upon  .the  octave.-^    a  psalm  of  david.] 
 
 I   Jehovah,  in  Thine  anger  rebuke  me  not; 
 Neither  in  Thy  hot  displeasure  correct  me. 
 
 I.   Anger displeasure.  based  upon  this  passage,  Heb.  xii.  3 — 
 
 The  prayer  occurs  again,  in  almost  the  1 1.     Indeed  the  whole  Book  of  Job 
 
 same    words,  xxxviii.    I.     All    God's  is  intended  to  correct  the  error  that 
 
 chastisements  are  not  in  anger.   There  "  chastisement  always  proceeds  from 
 
 is  a  fatherly  correction  of  love.      "As  a  principle  of  anger."  And  the  suffer- 
 
 many  as  I  love  I  rebuke  and  chasten,"  ings  of   Christ  are  a  witness   to  the 
 
 Rev.  iii.    19.     See  also  Ps.  xciv.    12,  contrary;  for  that  "the  Father  loveth 
 
 cxviii.  17,  18;  Pro  v.  iii.  ii,  12;  and  the  Son "  is  eternally  tme.     Does  the 
 
 *  We  may  suppose  the  octave  to  mean  that  it  was  to  be  sung  by  men's  voices- 
 
PSALM  VI. 
 
 2  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  Jehovah,  for  I  languish  : 
 
 Heal  me,  O  Jehovah,  for  my  bones  are  vexed. 
 
 3  My  soul  also  is  sore  vexed  ; 
 
 But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  how  long  ? 
 
 4  Return,  O  Jehovah,  deliver  my  soul : 
 
 Oh  save  me  for  Thy  loving-kindness'  sake. 
 
 5  For  in  death  there  is  no  remembrance  of  Thee : 
 
 In  the  unseen  world  who  shall  give  Thee  thanks .'' 
 
 Psalmist  then  pray  that  God  would 
 chasten  him  indeed,  but  in  love,  not 
 in  anger  ?  This  is  Luther's  interpre- 
 tation :  "This  he  regards  not,  nay- 
 will  readily  suffer  that  he  be  punished 
 and  chastened  :  but  he  begs  that  it  may 
 be  done  in  mercy  and  goodness, 
 not  in  anger  and  fury  ...  he  teaches 
 us  tlierefore  that  there  are  two  rods  of 
 God  ;  one  of  mercy  and  goodness, 
 another  of  anger  and  fury.  Hence 
 Jeremiah  prays,  chap,  x.  24,  'O  Lord, 
 correct  me,  but  with  judgement ;  not 
 in  Thine  anger,  lest  Thou  bring  me  to 
 nothing.' "  But  though  there  is  nothing 
 against  this  view  considered  in  itself, 
 yet  it  does  not  harmonize  with  the 
 context ;  for  the  Psalmist  prays  that 
 the  rod  may  altogether  be  removed, 
 and  that  because  body  and  mind  are 
 alike  giving  way.  The  chastisement 
 has  been  so  heavy,  and  has  endured 
 so  long,  and  his  own  sense  of  sin  is  so 
 grievous,  that  he  begins  to  fear  lest 
 God  should  shut  up  His  tender  mercies 
 in  displeasure,  and  should  consume 
 him  in  His  wrath. 
 
 The  meaning,  says  Calvin,  is  :  "I 
 indeed  confess  that  I  deserve  nothing 
 but  destruction  :  but  because  I  could 
 not  endure  the  severity  of  Thy  judge- 
 ment, deal  not  with  me  after  my 
 deserts  ;  yea  rather,  forgive  the  sins 
 whereby  I  have  provoked  Thine  anger 
 against  me." 
 
 3.  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  how 
 LONG?  Deep  and  troubled  emotion 
 suffers  him  not  to  complete  the  sen- 
 
 tence. Perhaps  we  may  supply,  "  How 
 long  wilt  Thou  delay  to  have  mercy 
 upon  me?"  Cf.  xc.  13.  "Domine  quo- 
 usque?"  was  Calvin's  motto.  The  most 
 intense  grief  in  trouble,  it  is  said,  could 
 never  extort  from  him  another  word. 
 
 4.  The  beginning  of  this  strophe  is 
 closely  linked  to  the  end  of  the  last. 
 
 Return  ;  for  it  seems  to  the  suf- 
 ferer as  if  God  had  been  absent  during 
 his  affliction.  And  there  is  no  hope 
 for  him  but  in  God.  Therefore  the 
 repeated  prayer.  Do  Thou  be  gracious 
 unto  me  : — how  long  wilt  Thou  be 
 absent?  Return  'I'hou,  &c.  And 
 observe,  not  only  "be  gracious,  yj??-  / 
 languish,'^  but  "deliver  me  for  Thy 
 loving-kindness^  sake. "  Any  man  may 
 use  the  first  argument :  only  one  who 
 has  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious 
 can  use  the  last. 
 
 5.  The  argument  here  employed  is 
 no  doubt  characteristic  of  the  Old 
 Dispensation.  They  who  then  feared 
 and  loved  God,  nevertheless  walked 
 in  shadows,  and  their  hope  was  not 
 yet  full  of  immortality.  Hence  their 
 earnest  clinging  to  life,  so  different 
 from  St.  Paul's  "desire  to  depart,"  to 
 which  there  is  nothing  parallel  in  the 
 Old  Testament.  It  was  not  that  they 
 dreaded  annihilation,  but  rather  a  kind 
 of  disembodied  existence  apart  from 
 the  Light  of  God's  Presence.  But  we 
 should  observe  that  premature  death 
 seems  to  have  been  deprecated,  as  if 
 it  were  a  token  of  God's  displeasure, 
 "I  said,  O  my  God,  take  me  not  away 
 
PSALM   VII. 
 
 31 
 
 6  I  am  weary  with  my  groaning : 
 
 Every  night  make  I  my  bed  to  swim, 
 I  water  my  couch  with  my  tears. 
 
 7  Mine  eye  wasteth  away  because  of  grief, 
 
 It  waxeth  old  because  of  all  mine  adversaries. 
 
 8  Depart  from  me,  all  ye  workers  of  iniquity, 
 
 For  Jehovah  hath  heard  the  voice  of  my  weeping  ; 
 
 9  Jehovah  hath  heard  my  supplication, 
 
 Jehovah  will  receive  my  prayer. 
 10  All  mine  enemies  shall  be  ashamed  and  sore  vexed  ; 
 They  shall  turn  backward,  they  shall  be  ashamed 
 suddenly. 
 
 Ill  the  midst  of  my  days,"  Ps.  cii.  24. 
 So  also  Hezekiah  prays,  "Mine  age  is 
 departed  and  is  removed  from  me  as  a 
 shepherd's  tent :  I  have  cut  off  like  a 
 weaver  my  life,"  Is.  xxxviii.  12.  The 
 Old  Testament  saint  pleaded  with 
 God  for  life,  in  order  that  that  life 
 might  be  consecrated  to  His  service. 
 And  it  is  very  touching  to  see  how, 
 with  the  weakness  of  man's  heart 
 trembling  at  dissolution,  there  mingles 
 the  child-like  confidence  which  fears 
 not  to  advance  the  plea  that  God's 
 glory  is  concerned  in  granting  its 
 request. 
 
 8 — 10.  Mark  the  sudden  change,  as 
 of  sunrise  upon  night.  Already  the 
 prayer  and  the  weeping  have  been 
 heard.  Already  Faith  has  triumphed. 
 Already  he  can  defy  the  enemies  who 
 have  been  maliciously  anticipating  his 
 end,  and  tell  them  they  shall  be  disap- 
 pointed with  a  suddenness  which  only 
 makes  the  disappointment  more  bitter. 
 
 9.  Hath  heard — will  receive. 
 The  last  is  a  consequence  of  the  first. 
 He  will  grant,  for  He  has  heard.  The 
 verb  RECEIVE  is  used  here  in  the 
 sense  of  favourably  accepting,  as  gifts, 
 offerings,  iS:c. 
 
 PSALM     VII. 
 
 "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right  1"  might  stand  as 
 the  motto  of  this  Psalm.  In  full  reliance  on  God's  righteousness, 
 David  appeals  to  Him  to  judge  his  cause.  The  righteous  God 
 cannot  but  save  the  righteous,  and  punish  the  wicked.  This  David 
 believes  to  be  the  law  of  His  moral  government :  and  he  applies 
 it  to  his  own  case.     His  heart  bears  him  witness  that  he  has  done 
 
3  2  PSALM  VII. 
 
 n-o  wrong  to  any  man  (ver.  3,  4),  whereas  his  enemies  have  plotted 
 unceasingly  to  take  away  his  life.  He  therefore  confidently  antici- 
 pates his  own  deliverance  and  their  overthrow  (ver.  17,  18),  as  the 
 manifestation  of  the  righteous  judgement  of  God. 
 
 There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  David  was  (as  is  stated  in  the 
 Inscription)  the  author  of  this  Psalm.  Even  Ewald,  who  in  so 
 many  other  cases  overthrows  the  authority  of  the  inscriptions,  admits 
 that  here  it  is  probably  correct.  Who  Cush  was  we  do  not  know. 
 Some  have  supposed  that  Cush  was  a  sort  of  nickname  or  term  of 
 reproach  ("the  Moor")  applied  to  Saul,  because  of  the  blackness, 
 not  of  his  face,  but  of  his  heart.  But  this  is  extremely  improbable. 
 Others  again  have  thought  that  it  was  intended  to  designate  Shimei. 
 But  it  is  more  likely  that  Cush  the  Benjamite  was  one  of  Saul's 
 adherents,  of  whom  some  tradition  had  been  preserved  as  one  of 
 those  who  took  an  active  part  against  David. 
 
 The  circumstances  narrated  in  i  Sam.  xxiv.  and  xxvi.  might  have 
 occasioned  this  Psalm.  Twice  did  David  spare  the  life  of  his  enemy 
 when  it  was  in  his  power  to  take  it ;  and  Saul  himself  acknowledged, 
 "Thou  art  more  righteous  than  I."  It  was  thus  that  David,  "hunted 
 like  a  partridge  of  the  mountains,"  by  his  enemies,  and  at  the  same 
 time  feeling  conscious  how  little  he  desei-ved  such  persecution  at  the 
 hands  of  Saul,  appealed  to  God  as  the  Searcher  of  hearts  to  vindicate 
 his  innocence  and  maintain  his  cause. 
 
 We  have  the  following  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  An  Introduction,  consisting  (i)  of  an  expression  of  confidence 
 in  God  ;  and  (2)  of  a  prayer  for  deliverance  from  enemies.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 II.  A  solemn  protestation  of  his  innocence  before  God.     Ver.  3 — 5. 
 
 III.  An  appeal  to  God  as  the  righteous  Judge  of  all  the  earth,  to 
 manifest  in  the  most  public  manner  (ver.  6,  7)  His  righteousness  in 
 pronouncing  sentence  both  upon  himself  (ver.  8)  and  upon  his 
 enemies  (ver.  9),  with  a  confident  assertion  (ver.  10)  as  to  the  result. 
 Ver.  6 — 10. 
 
 IV.  A  description  of  God's  dealing  with  the  wicked,  (i)  in  the 
 way  of  direct  punishments,  and  (2)  as  leaving  the  wicked  to  be 
 snared  in  his  own  devices.     Ver.  11 — 16. 
 
 V.  A  short  thanksgiving  on  review  of  the  righteous  judgement  of 
 God.     Ver.  17. 
 
PSALM  VII,  33 
 
 [SHIGGAION*  OF    DAVID,  WHICH   HE    SANG  UNTO  THE  LORD, 
 CONCERNING  THE   WORDS   OF   CUSH   THE   BENJAMITE.] 
 
 1  Jehovah,  my  God,  in  Thee  have  I  found  refuge, 
 
 Save  me  from  all  my  pursuers,  and  deliver  me  ! 
 
 2  Lest  he  tear  my  soul,  like  a  lion. 
 
 Rending  in  pieces,  while  there  is  none  to  deliver. 
 
 3  Jehovah,  my  God,  if  I  have  done  this ; 
 
 If  there  be  iniquity  in  my  hands, 
 
 4  If  I  have  rewarded  evil  unto  him  that  was   at  peace 
 
 with  me ; — 
 Yea  rather  I  have  rescued  him  that  without  cause  is 
 mine  adversary  : — 
 
 5  Let  the  enemy  pursue  after  my  soul  and  overtake  (it)  ; 
 
 Yea,  let  him  tread  down  my  life  upon  the  earth, 
 And  make  my  glory  abide  in  the  dust. — [Selah.] 
 
 6  Arise,  O  Jehovah,  in  thine  anger  I 
 
 I.   With  that  word  of  Faith,  Hope,  8,  Gen.  xhx.   6,   ^' the  soul,"  as  that 
 
 and    Love,    "  in   Tliee  have  I  found  which  is  noblest  in  man,  that  which 
 
 refuge,"    David    begins    his    prayer.  most  distinctly  severs  him  from  other 
 
 Cf.  xi.  I,  xvi.  I,  xxxi.  I,  Ixxi.  i.  creatures  and  links  him  to   God, — a 
 
 4.  Him  THAT  WAS  AT  PEACE  WITH  sense  which  here  accords  with  the 
 ME,  cf.  xli.  10,  Jer.  xxxviii.  22.  parallelism  in  the  two  previous  mem- 
 
 Yea  rather,    &c.      The  allusion  bers    of   the   verse, — and    then   the 
 
 may  perhaps  be  to  what  is  recorded  I  dust    must    mean    "the  grave,"    or 
 
 Sam.  xxiv.  4 — 7.  "death,"   as   in   xxii.    15,  29.      The 
 
 5.  The  ex]jressions  may  imply  either  phrases  "to  tread  down,"  "lay  in 
 the  depth  of  humiliation  and  degrada-  the  dust,"  may,  however,  still  refer 
 tion,  or  absolute  destruction.  to  a  death  of  ignominy. 
 
 INlY  GLORY  may  either  mean  {a)  as  6—8.  The  rapid  utterance  of  feel- 
 in  iv.  2,  Job  xix.  9,  ' '  character,  ing  has  here  somewhat  broken  the 
 good  name,  honour,  position,"  &c.,  poet's  words.  Hitherto  he  has  pro- 
 and  then  to  lay  this  in  the  dust  will  tested  his  innocence  ;  now  in  the  full 
 mean  of  course  to  degrade  and  to  dis-  consciousness  of  that  innocence  he 
 honour  (as  in  many  similar  phrases,  comes  before  the  very  judgement-seat 
 e.g.  Ixxiv.  7,  Ixxxrx.  39,  Job  xvi.  15,  of  God,  and  demands  the  fullest  and 
 xl.  13)  ;  or  (^)  asinxvi.  9,  XXX.  12,  Ivii.  most   public   vindication.      Then  he 
 
 Introduction,  p   6. 
 
 D 
 
PSALM  VIL 
 
 Lift   up  Thyself  against  the  fierce  wrath  of  mine 
 
 adversaries, 
 Yea  awake  for  me! — Thou  hast  commanded  judge- 
 ment— 
 And  let  the  congregation  of  the  people  come  about  Thee, 
 
 And  over  it  do  Thou  return  on  high. 
 Jehovah  ministereth  justice  to  the  peoples  : 
 
 Judge  me,  O  Jehovah,  according  to  my  righteousness, 
 And  according  to  my  integrity  be  it  done  to  me. 
 O  let  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  come  to  an  end. 
 
 And  establish  Thou  the  righteous  ! 
 For    Thou    that   triest    the    hearts    and    reins    art    a 
 
 righteous  God. 
 My  shield  is  upon  God, 
 
 sees  as  it  were  in  a  vision  the  judge- 
 ment set  :  "  Thou  hast  commanded 
 judgement."  Next,  that  sentence  may 
 be  pronounced  with  due  solem.nity,  he 
 calls  upon  God  to  gather  the  nations 
 round  Him,  and  to  seat  Himself  upon 
 His  judgement-throne.  Lastly,  he 
 prays  God,  as  the  Judge  of  all  nations, 
 to  judge  himself. 
 
 6.  Lift  up  Thyself,  i.e.  manifest 
 Thyself  in  all  Thy  glory  of  God  ; 
 spoken  as  Judge,  cf,  xciv.  2,  Is. 
 xxxiii.   lo. 
 
 7.  I  have  ventured  to  follow  Men- 
 delssohn in  his  translation  : 
 
 **  Versammle  Volker  urn  deiu  Rich- 
 
 terthron, 
 
 Und  wende  dich  gen  Himmel  liber 
 ■    jj 
 sie. 
 
 This,  though  not  quite  literal,  is  less 
 harsh  and  bald  than  the  literal  ren- 
 dering, *'  And  let  the  congregation  of 
 the  people  compass  Thee  about,"  i.e. 
 let  there  be  a  solemn,  deliberate, 
 and  public  vindication  of  my  inno- 
 cence. 
 
 Over  it,  &e.  God  is  represented 
 as  coming  down  to  visit  the  earth,  and 
 to  gather  the  nations  before  Him,  and 
 
 then  as  returning   and    sitting   down 
 above  them  on  the  judgement-seat. 
 
 The  clause  cannot  mean  that  when 
 God  has  delivered  His  judicial  sen- 
 tence. He  is  to  return  to  His  heavenly 
 throne  (Wordsworth).  According  to 
 this  explanation,  the  words  "over  it," 
 i.e.  the  congregation  of  the  people,  are 
 pointless,  and,  moreover,  the  whole 
 verse  evidently  describes  the  act  of 
 judgement,  the  crowd  assembled  to 
 hear  the  sentence,  and  then  the  de- 
 livery of  the  sentence.  The  verb 
 RETURN  may  mark  that  God  has 
 resumed  the  office  of  judge,  which  for 
 a  time  He  had  seemed  to  abandon  ; 
 or  it  may  be  explained  as  above. 
 
 8,  We  may  paraphrase  ' '  O  Thou 
 who  art  the  Judge  of  all  the  world, 
 judge  ine.'^ 
 
 9.  Wickedness  of  the  wicked. 
 Comp.  I  Sam.  xxiv.  13,  to  which  there 
 may  possibly  be  an  allusion.  The 
 second  clause  of  the  vei"se  does  in 
 fact  (though  not  in  form)  give  the 
 reason  for  the  prayer  contained  in  the 
 first  clause.  God  "  knoweth  the 
 hearts,"  and  being  a  God  of  know- 
 ledge is  also  a  God  of  justice.  He 
 therefore  both  can  and  xuill  requite 
 each  one  accoixlinc:  to  his  deserts. 
 
PSALM  VIII.  35 
 
 Who  saveth  them  that  are  upright  of  heart. 
 
 11  God  is  a  righteous  Judge, 
 
 And  a  God  who  is  angry  every  day. , 
 
 12  If  (a  man)  will  not  turn,  He  whetteth  His  sword  ; 
 
 He  hath  bent  His  bow,  and  made  it  ready. 
 
 13  Yea  for  that  man  He  hath  made  ready  the  weapons  of 
 
 death  ; 
 His  arrows  He  maketh  fiery  (arrows). 
 
 14  Lo,  he  travaileth  with  iniquity  : — 
 
 He    hath  both   conceived  mischief  and  brought   forth 
 falsehood. 
 
 1 5  He  hath  digged  a  pit  and  hollowed  it  out ; 
 And  falleth  into  the  pitfall  of  his  making. 
 
 16  His  mischief  shall  return  upon  his  own  head  ; 
 
 And    his   violent   dealing    shall  come    down   upon  his 
 own  pate. 
 
 17  O,   let  me   give  thanks  to  Jehovah    according  to   His 
 
 righteousness  : 
 And  let  me  sing  praise   to   the   Name  of  Jehovah 
 Most  High. 
 
 II — 16.  God's  dealing  with  the  un-  will  again  whet  His  sword. "     And  the 
 
 righteous  vividly  portrayed.  first  member  of  verse  13  will  then  be 
 
 11.  Angry,  the  same  word  as  Nah.  rendered:    "He  hath  also   prepared 
 i.  2,  6.  for  Himself  the   weapons  of  death," 
 
 12.  God  is  long-suffering,  but  if  a  &c. 
 
 man  (if  the  wicked)  will  not  turn,  He  13.   Yea   FOR    {i.e.   against)  that 
 
 will   punish   him  in  his   wickedness.  MAN  (the  pron.  is  placed  first  as  em- 
 
 Hewhktteth  His  SWORD  (cf,  Deut.  phatic)  He  hath  (already)  aimed  the 
 
 xxxii.  41).     The  first  member  of  this  instruments  of  death. 
 
 verse  might  however  be  rendered,  in  14.   Not   only  the  justice   of  God 
 
 accordance    with  a  well-known    He-  punishes,  but  the  wickedness  of  the 
 
 brew  idiom,  "Surely  He  {i.e.  Jehovah)  wicked  effects  his  own  destruction. 
 
 PSALM  VHI. 
 
 A  Psalm  of  David — Avritten  by  him  perhaps,  when,  yet  a  youth, 
 he  kept  his  father's  flock  on  the  hills  of  Bethlehem.  Or  if  composed 
 in  later  years,  not  composed  surely  without  many  a  thought  of  those 
 happier  days,  when  the  heavens  by  night  first  spake  to  him  of  the 
 
 D   2 
 
2,6  PSALM  VIII. 
 
 glory  of  God.  We  seem  to  see  him  in  his  lonely  watchings,  now 
 casting  a  vigilant  glance  around  him  lest  any  beast  of  prey  threaten 
 "those  few  sleep  in  the  wilderness,"  and  now  lifting  a  loving  and 
 observant  eye  to  heaven  ;  and  as  the  bright  stars  come  out  one  after 
 another  in  that  Eastern  sky,  with  a  brilhancy  and  splendour  almost 
 unimaginable  to  us,  his  heart  fills  with  the  thought  that  it  is  Jehovah 
 the  God  of  Israel  who  has  set  His  glory  there,  to  be  seen  of  all  eyes 
 and  to  be  praised  even  by  the  tongues  of  children. 
 
 But  from  heaven  his  thoughts  turn  again  to  earth,  from  the  glory 
 of  God  to  man  formed  to  acknowledge  that  glory.  And  his  first 
 thought  is,  as  it  must  be  in  any  case,  an  humbling  one.  What  is  man, 
 man  in  his  frailty,  his  littleness,  his  sin  ?  What  is  man  in  His  sight 
 who  made  yon  heavens  and  planted  in  them  those  glittering  orbs  ? 
 And  then  there  comes  a  correcting  thought,  the  thought  of  man's 
 greatness  and  dignity,  as  made  in  the  image  of  God,  and  appointed 
 by  Him  to  have  dominion  over  all  the  creatures  of  the  earth  :  "  Thou 
 hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet-" 
 
 It  is  evident  from  his  words  that  the  story  of  creation  as  given  in 
 Gen.  i.  was  before  his  mind.  The  pious  shepherd  boy  had  treasured 
 and  pondered  in  his  heart  of  hearts  that  record  so  sublime  in  its  sim- 
 plicity ;  the  royal  singer  had  often  read  it  when  his  eyes  prevented 
 the  night  watches  that  they  might  be  occupied  in  God's  word. 
 
 The  Messianic  import  of  the  Psalm  is  not  of  a  direct  kind.  It  is, 
 however,  necessarily  implied  in  that  mysterious  relation  of  man  to 
 God  and  that  kingship  over  the  inferior  creatures  of  which  the  Psalm 
 speaks,  for  this  rests  upon  the  Incarnation.  Man  is  what  he  is, 
 because  the  Son  of  God  has  taken  upon  Kim.  man's  nature.  Man  is 
 very  near  to  God,  higher  than  the  angels,  because  the  Christ  is  both 
 God  and  Man.  This  is  the  profound  truth  on  which  the  Messianic 
 character  of  the  Psalm  depends.  This  truth  is  the  key  to  its 
 interpretation. 
 
 But  it  does  not  follow  that  David  saw  this  distinctly.  He  takes 
 what  must  in  any  case  be  the  religious  view  of  Creation,  and  of  man's 
 relation  to  God  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the  inferior  animals  on  the 
 other.  Some  interpreters  indeed  have  thought  that  Uavid  is  de- 
 scribing, not  man's  actual  position  marred  and  broken  by  the  Fall, 
 but  his  original  condition  as  created  in  the  image  of  God,  It  is  the 
 ideal,  it  is  the  design  and  purpose  of  God,  which  for  the  moment 
 hides  from  his  sight  the  havoc  and  confusion  which  have  been 
 wrought  by  sin,  the  broken  sceptre  and  the  discrowned  king.     Otheri, 
 
PSALM  VII I.  37 
 
 r.gain,  think  that  the  whole  Psahn  is  prophetic,  or  rather  predictive. 
 They  conceive  that  it  tells  us  what  man  shall  be  hereafter,  redeemed 
 and  restored  in'the  Second  Adam  to  his  rightful  supremacy. 
 
 But  the  language  of  the  Psalm,  taken  in  its  obvious  sense,  favours 
 neither  of  these  interpretations.  David  is  manifestly  speaking  of  the 
 present.  He  sees  the  heavens  witnessing  for  God  ;  he  sees  man 
 placed  by  God  as  ruler  upon  earth  ;  he  feels  how  high  an  honour  has 
 been  put  upon  man  ;  he  marvels  at  God's  grace  and  condescension. 
 Man  is  king,  however  his  authority  may  be  questioned  or  defied. 
 
 When  we  turn  to  the  New  Testament  where  verses  of  this  Psalm 
 are  twice  applied  to  Christ  (besides  our  Lord's  own  quotation  of 
 ver.  2,  St.  Matt.  xxi.  i6)  we  see  at  once  the  principle  on  Avhich  the 
 quotations  rest.  It  is  precisely  that  which  I  have  already  laid  down. 
 The  Incarnation  explains  it.  In  i  Cor.  xv.  27,  St.  Paul  quotes  with  a 
 slight  change,  using  the  third  person  instead  of  the  second,  the  words 
 of  ver.  6,  "  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet,"  as  describing 
 accurately  the  complete  subjection  of  the  universe  to  Christ.  The 
 words  may  be  true  of  man,  but  they  are  in  their  highest  sense  only 
 true  of  Christ  as  the  Great  Head  of  mankind,  and  of  man  only  in  Him. 
 Similarly  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (ii.  6—9)  argues  that 
 the  words  "  Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet "  have  not  yet  been 
 literally  fulfilled  of  man,  and  declares  that  their  proper  fulfilment  is 
 to  be  seen  only  in  Jesus,  whom  God  had  made  "  a  little  lower  than 
 the  angels,"  and  had  "  crowned  with  glory  and  honour." 
 
 [For  the  precentor,    upon  the  gittith.*    a  psalm  of  david.] 
 
 I   Jehovah  our  Lord,  how  excellent  is  Thy  name  in  all 
 the  earth, 
 Who  hast  set  Thy  glory  above  the  heavens ! 
 
 I.   Our  Lord.     For  the  first  time  appears  is,  in  fact,  the  thought  which 
 
 in  the  Book  of  Psalms  the   personal  is  the  key  to  the  Book  of  Genesis,  and 
 
 feeling  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  national.  indeed  to  the  whole  history  of  the  Old 
 
 Jehovah  is  not  the  God  of  David  only,  Testament.       The    God    who   makes 
 
 but  of  Israel :    fitting   iTelude   to   a  Himself  known  to  Israel  by  His  Name 
 
 Psalm  which  forgets  the  individual  in  Jehovah,    as   their  Redeemer,   is  the 
 
 the  contemplation  of  God's  glory  in  God  who  created  the  heavens  and  laid 
 
 theuniverse.     The  thought  which  here  the  foundations  of  the  earth. 
 
 *  The  tame  as  in  Pss.  Ixxxi. —  xxxiv. — either  an  instriuneiit  which  took  its  name  from  the 
 city  of  Gath,  as  there  was  an  Egyptian  flute,  and  a  Doric  lyre  ;  or  a  kind  of  measure  or 
 melody  (as  the  Greeks  had  Lydian,  Dorian,  &c. ). 
 
38  •  PSALM  VIII. 
 
 2  Out  of  the  mouth  of  children  and  sucklings  Thou  hast 
 
 founded  strength, 
 Because  of  Thine  adversaries, 
 That  Thou  mightest  still  the  enemy  and  the  avengei. 
 
 3  When  I  see  Thy  heavens,  the  work  of  Thy  fingers, 
 
 The  moon  and  the  stars  which  Thou  hast  ordained  ; — 
 
 4  What  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him, 
 
 And  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ? 
 
 2.  Children,  not  **  babes,"  as  the 
 E.  V.  ;  they  are  more  advanced  in  age 
 than  the  sucklings  ;  so  that  there  is 
 a  kind  of  cHinax,  "  not  children  only 
 but  sucklings."  As  Hebrew  mothers 
 did  not  wean  their  children  till  they 
 were  three  years  old,  this  is  no  mere 
 figure  of  speech. 
 
 When  expositors  introduce  here  the 
 teaching  of  I  Cor.  i.  26 — 28,  they 
 depart  from  the  simple  language  of 
 the  Psalm.  David  speaks  literally  of 
 children.  And  so  our  Lord  Himself 
 applies  the  words,  MaU.  xxi.  16. 
 Even  the  faith  of  a  little  child  is 
 bulwark  enough  against  the  folly  of 
 men  of  corrupt  heart  and  perverted 
 intellect.  The  stars  above,  and  the 
 lips  of  infants  below,  show  forth  His 
 praise. 
 
 The  enemy  and  the  avenger 
 occurs  again,  xliv.  16.  "Avenger" 
 in  modern  English  hardly  conveys  the 
 sense  of  the  Hebrew  word  ;  it  denotes 
 "  one  who  thirsts  for  or  breathes  re- 
 venge, one  who  is  swift  to  avenge  his 
 own  quarrel." 
 
 3.  David  has  spoken  generally  of 
 the  glory  of  Jehovah,  as  seen  in  the 
 earth  and  the  heavens,  and  which  is 
 so  conspicuous  that  even  children  can 
 discern  and  acknowledge  it  ;  he  now 
 passes  to  a  particular  instance  of  its 
 manifestation,  and  one  of  the  most 
 impressive,  and  draws  thence  the 
 lesson  of  God's  marvellous  condescen- 
 sion. 
 
 4.  What  is  man.  The  first  feeling 
 
 is  an  overpowering  sense  of  man's 
 insignificance  in  presence  of  the  vas"t- 
 ness  and  splendour,  the  mysterious 
 depth,  and  the  exceeding  glory  of  the 
 heavens,  as  seen  at  night.  ' '  The 
 vault  of  the  sky  arched  at  a  vast  and 
 unknown  distance  over  our  heads  ;  the 
 stars  apparently  infinite  in  number, 
 each  keeping  its  appointed  place  and 
 course,  and  seeming  to  belong  to  a 
 wide  system  of  things  which  has  no 
 relation  to  the  earth  ;  while  man  is 
 but  one  among  many  millions  of  the 
 earth's  inhabitants  ; — all  this  makes 
 the  contemplative  spectator  feel  how 
 exceedingly  small  a  portion  of  the 
 universe  he  is  ;  how  little  he  must  be 
 in  the  eyes  of  an  Intelligence  which 
 can  embrace  the  v/hole."  Add  to 
 this  revelation  of  darkness  the  revela- 
 tion of  silence  :  the  man  is  alone  ;  the 
 stir  and  noise  of  his  own  works,  which 
 in  the  light  of  day  filled  and  absorbed 
 him,  are  hushed  and  buried  in  dark- 
 ness; his  importance  is  gone; — and 
 "every  person  in  every  age  and 
 country  will  recognize  as  irresistibly 
 natural  the  train  of  thought  expressed 
 by  the  Hebrew  Psalmist."  It  is  need- 
 less to  remark,  if  this  be  the  feeling  of 
 the  untaught  mind,  how  infinitely  the 
 impressioa  must  be  deepened  in  one 
 who  looks  upon  the  universe  v/ith  the 
 aid  of  astronomical  discovery  and 
 theory.  Such  a  person  may  well  feel 
 "  lost,  confounded,  overwhelmed,  with 
 the  vastness  of  the  spectacle"  .  .  . 
 "  the  distance  between  him  and  the 
 
PSALM  VIIT. 
 
 39 
 
 Yea,  Thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower  than  God, 
 
 And  Thou  crownest  him  with  glory  and  honour. 
 Thou   makest  him  to  have  dominion  over  the  works  of 
 Thy  hands  ; 
 
 Thou  hast  put  all  things  under  his  feet ; 
 Sheep  and  oxen,  all  of  them, 
 
 Yea,  and  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
 The  fowls  of  heaven  and  the  fishes  of  the  sea, 
 
 (And  whatsoever)  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  seas. 
 Jehovah  our  Lord, 
 
 How  excellent  is  Thy  Name  in  all  the  earth  ! 
 
 Creator  appears  to  he  increased  be- 
 yond measure  by  this  disclosure.  It 
 seems  as  if  a  single  individual  could  have 
 no  chance  and  no  claim  for  the  regard 
 of  the  Ruler  of  the  whole. "  (Whew- 
 ell,  Astrono77iy,  &c.  Book  iii.  chap,  iii.) 
 Man.  The  Hebrew  word  denotes 
 man  in  his  weakness  and  frailty  (see 
 ix.  19,  20),  as  in  the  next  member 
 SON  OF  MAN  {son  of  Adam)  refers  also 
 to  his  earthly  nature  as  formed  out  of 
 the  ground. 
 
 5.  But  through  God's  marvellous 
 condescension  how  great  is  man,  little 
 less  than  Divine  in  nature,  and  lord  of 
 all  creation. 
 
 A  LITTLE  LOWER,  lit.  ''  And  Thou 
 hast  made  him  to  v>'ant  but  little  (or, 
 to  come  short  but  little)  of  God." 
 
 Glory  and  honour,  a  common 
 expression  for  the  Divine  majesty,  and 
 thence  for  the  kingly  as  a  reflection 
 of  the  Divine.  The  former  word 
 etymologically  means  dignity,  as  that 
 which  is  weighty  ;  the  latter  represents 
 the  external  show  and  splendour. 
 
 6.  Man  is  a  king.  God  has  put  a 
 crown  upon  his  head,  and  not  only  so, 
 but  has  given  him  a  territory  and 
 subjects.  "  All  things  under  his  feet," 
 with  evident  reference  to  the  ' '  let  them 
 have  dominion,"  of  Gen.  i.  26.  What 
 David  means  by  all  "  things"  is  then 
 explained — beasts,  birds,  and  fishes, 
 which  are  in  the  same  manner  enume- 
 
 rated in  Gen.  i.  St.  Paul,  however,  ex- 
 tends the  meaning  of  the  "all  things" 
 far  beyond  this.  Jesus,  as  the  true 
 Lord  of  all,  shall  have  a  universal 
 dominion.  He  must  reign  till  He  have 
 put  all  enemies  under  His  feet.  But 
 as  yet  we  see  not  all  things  put  under 
 Him.  Sin,  and  death,  and  hell  are 
 up  in  arms  against  Him,  and  these 
 are  yet  to  be  subdued.  Death,  says 
 the  Apostle,  is  the  last  enemy  which 
 shall  be  destroyed.  It  is  evident, 
 then,  that  David's  "  all  things  "  and 
 Paul's  "all  things"  are  not  the  same. 
 The  one  is  thinking  of  the  visible 
 world,  the  other  of  the  invisible.  The 
 one  is  praising  God  for  His  goodness 
 to  man  in  making  him  lord  over  beasts, 
 and  birds,  and  fishes  ;  the  other  is 
 thinking  of  a  conflict  with  princi- 
 palities and  powers,  which  Christ 
 conquers  and  which  man  can  only 
 conquer  in  Christ.  The  one  speaks 
 of  that  which  is,  the  other  of  that 
 which  is  to  come. 
 
 9.  The  Psalm  closes  with  the  same 
 expression  of  loving  admiration  with 
 which  it  opened,  but  with  added  em- 
 phasis after  the  singer  has  told  the 
 tale  of  God's  goodness  to  man  :  just 
 as  the  repetition  of  a  passage  in  music 
 falls  more  sensibly  on  the  ear,  and 
 touches  the  heart  with  quicker  emo- 
 tions, than  the  same  passage  when  it 
 first  occurs. 
 
40  PSALM  IX. 
 
 A  thousand  years  later  other  shepherds  were  keeping  watch  over 
 their  flocks  by  night  on  the  same  hills  of  Bethlehem,  while  the  same 
 stars  looked  down  upon  them  from  heaven.  But  a  brighter  glory  than 
 the  glory  of  the  stars  shone  round  about  them  ;  and  they  knew  better 
 than  David  himself  the  meaning  of  David's  v/ords,  "  Lord,  what  is 
 man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  "  For  to  them  it  was  said  by  the 
 angel,  "  Unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city  of  David,  a  Saviour, 
 which  is  Christ  the  Lord."' 
 
 PSALM  IX. 
 
 A  THANKSGIVING  to  God,  the  righteous  Judge,  who  punishes  the 
 wicked  and  defends  the  cause  of  the  oppressed.  Throughout,  with  the 
 exception  of  verses  13,  14  (see  note  there),  the  Psalm  is  one  continued 
 'Strain  of  triumph.  Hence,  by  many  it  has  been  regarded  as  a  song 
 of  victory,  composed  perhaps  by  David  at  the  conclusion  of  the  Syro- 
 Aramonite  war,  or  after  one  of  his  victories  over  the  Philistines. 
 
 From  the  times  of  the  LXX.  this  Psalm  has  often  been  considered 
 as  forming  one  poem  with  the  Psalm  immediately  following.  This 
 has  arisen  probably  from  the  fact  that  the  Tenth  Psalm  has  no  super- 
 scription, an  uncommon  thing  in  the  First  Book,  as  well  as  from 
 the  alphabetical  arrangement,  partially  at  least  discernible  in  both 
 Psalms,  and  certain  phrases  and  turns  of  expression  found  in 
 both,  and  not  found  elsewhere.  But  this  last  circumstance  only 
 proves  that  the  two  Psalms  are  to  be  referred  to  the  same 
 author,  not  that  they  originally  constituted  one  Poem.  And  the 
 alphabetical  arrangement  is  exceedingly  imperfect,  especially  in  the 
 Tenth  Psalm  ;  nor  does  it  properly  complete  the  defective  portion 
 of  Psalm  ix.  Whereas,  if  we  look  to  the  general  character  of  the 
 two, — the  first,  all  triumph  and  hope  ;  the  last,  all  prayer  against 
 the  deeds  of  violence  and  blood,  which  the  poet  mourns  over, — the 
 Hebrew  division  must  certainly  be  allowed  to  have  much  in  its  favour. 
 
 The  strophical  arrangement  is  as  follows  : — 
 
 I.  (Aleph)  Resolve  to  praise  Jehovah.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 II.  (Beth,  Gimel,  He)  Reason  for  this  :  viz.  His  righteousness  as 
 manifested  (^)  personally.     Ver.  3,  4.     (^)  generally.     Ver.  5,  6. 
 
PSALM  IX.  41 
 
 III.  (Vau)  Moreover,  Jehovah  is  the  only  true  and  everlasting 
 Judge  (ver.  7,  8),  and  therefore  not  only  the  destroyer  of  the  wicked, 
 but  the  fortress  of  those  that  trust  in  Him.     Ver.  9,,  10. 
 
 IV.  (Zain)  An  exhortation  to  praise  Jehovah  because  of  this  His 
 righteousness.     Ver.  11,  12. 
 
 V.  (Cheth)  Prayer  that  this  righteousness  may  be  manifested  to  the 
 singer  himself  personally.     Ver.  13,  14. 
 
 VI.  (Teth)  The  destruction  of  the  nations,  by  being  taken  in  their 
 own  devices,  a  witness  to  God's  righteousness.     Ver.  15,  16. 
 
 VII.  (Yod)  Further  amplification  of  this  destruction  as  contrasted 
 with  the  hope  of  the  poor.     Ver.  17,  18. 
 
 VIII.  (Koph)  A  prayer  that  God  would  yet  again  declare  the 
 majesty  of  His  righteousness,  as  He  had  already  done  in  times  past. 
 Ver.  19,  20. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    to  the  tune  "death  of  the  son." 
 a  psalm  of  david.] 
 
 (Aleph)     I    I  WILL   give  thanks    unto   Jehovah  with  my 
 whole  heart, 
 I  will  tell  of  all  Thy  wonderful  works  ; 
 2  I  will  be  glad  and  exult  in  Thee, 
 
 I  will  sing  to  Thy  Name,  O  Thou  Most  High; 
 (Beth)       3  Because  mine  enemies  are  turned  backward, 
 
 (Because)    they  stumble    and  perish  at  Thy 
 presence. 
 4  For  Thou  hast  maintained   my  right  and   my 
 cause, 
 Thou   hast   sat    down    on    (the)    throne,    a 
 righteous  Judge. 
 
 (Gimel)    5  Thou    hast    rebuked    (the)   nations,  Thou   hast 
 destroyed  the  wicked  ; 
 Their  name  Thou  hast  blotted  out  for  ever 
 and  ever. 
 
 1,2.     Tn  this  first  strophe  each  line  The  verb  is  from  the  same  root  as  the 
 
 begins   with   the   first   letter    cf    the  noun  ?;//sw^;',  "  a  psalm,"  and  means 
 
 alphabet  (Aleph).  both  "to  sing,"  and  "  to  play." 
 
 2,   Sing,  rendered  in  our  P.  B.  V.  4.  Maintained    my    right,    lit. 
 
 "sing  psalms"  (E.V.  "sing praises").  "executed  my  judgement." 
 
42  PSALM  IX. 
 
 (He)       6  The  enemy  is  cut  off, — they  are  perpetual  ruins  ; 
 
 And  cities  which  Thou  hast  rooted  out, — the 
 very  memorial  of  them  is  perished. 
 (Vau)     7  And  Jehovah  sitteth  (as  King)  for  ever, 
 
 He  hath  prepared  His  throne  for  judgement : 
 
 8  And  He  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness, 
 
 He  will  minister  justice  to  the  peoples  in  up- 
 rightness, 
 
 9  That  so  Jehovah  may  be  a  high  tower  to  them 
 
 that  are  crushed, 
 A  fortress  in  times  of  trouble. 
 10  And  they  who  know  Thy   Name  shall  trust  in 
 Thee, 
 Because  Thou  hast  not  forsaken  them  that  seek 
 Thee,  O  Jehovah. 
 
 fZain)  1 1   Sing  ye  to  Jehovah,  who  dvvelleth  in  Zion, 
 Declare  among  the  peoples  His  doings  ; 
 12  For  He  who  requireth  blood  remembereth  them, 
 He  hath  not  forgotten  the  cry  of  the  afflicted. 
 
 8.  He  (emphatically)  and  not  any  quisition  for  blood  "  (E.V.),  i.e.  "  de- 
 human  judge  ;  the  Avorld  shall  yet  see  mandeth  satisfaction  for  bloodshed." 
 a  rule  of  righteousness.  This  is  God's  character,  as  opposed  to 
 
 9.  That  so,  i.e.  by  virtue  of  His  the  scoff  of  the  wicked,  "  He  reqnir- 
 righteous  exercise  of  judgement.  May  eth  not,"  x.  4,  13  (where  the  same 
 BE,  or  rather  May  become,  i.e.  verb  is  used).  Like  the  Goel,  the 
 "  prove  Himself  to  be  "  a  place  of  next  of  kin,  who  was  bound  to  avenge 
 refuge  and  security.  the  murder  of  his  kinsman,    so  God 
 
 10.  Them  that  seek  Thee,  net  call<!  the  murderer  to  account,  requires 
 to  be  paraphrased  coldly,  that  honour  satisfaction  at  his  hand,  Gen.  ix.  5, 
 Thee,  worship  Thee,  &c.  They  who  Deut.  xviii.  19,  and  in  a  spiritual  sense, 
 seek  God  seek  Hu7i  for  Himself ;  not  Ezek.  xxxiii.  6,  8,  xxxiv.  10. 
 
 like  the  worshipers  of  heathen  deities.  Them,  i.e.    "  the  afflicted,"  in  the 
 
 who  ask  for  other  things  of  their  gods  next  clause,  the  pronoun  being  placed 
 
 — wealth,  honour,  power,  &c.  first  emphatically. 
 
 11.  Jehovah  dwells  in  Zion.  There  The  afflicted.  This  seems  at 
 is  the  visible  seat  of  His  dominion —  least  the  primaiy  notion  of  the  word 
 but  that  dominion  extends  to  the  and  its  kindred  form,  though  they  ac- 
 whole  earth, — therefore  "publish  quire  also  a  moral  signification,  "  the 
 among  the  nations  His  doings."  Je-  meek,  the  humble."  i:\iQ  apJicted\x\. 
 liovah  is  "  the  Dweller  in  Zion  "  since  the  first  instance  would  be  the  faithful 
 the  ark  was  brought  thither,  Ixxvi.  2.  part  of  the  nation  persecut-ed  and  op- 
 
 12.  Requireth,   or,  "makethin-  pressed  by  the  ungodly  and  the  power- 
 
PSALM  IX.  4.3 
 
 (Cheth)  13  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 See  mine  affliction  (which  I  suffer)  from  them 
 
 that  hate  me, 
 O  Thou  that  liftest  me  up  from  the  gates  of 
 Death, 
 14  That  so  I  may  tell  all  Th}^  praise  in  the  gates 
 of  the  daughter  of  Zion, 
 That  I  may  exult  in  Thy  saving  help. 
 
 (Teth)     15   The  nations  have  sunk  down  in   the  pit  that 
 they  made, 
 In  the  net  which   they  hid  is  their  own  foot 
 taken. 
 16  Jehovah   hath   made  Himself  known,  He  hath 
 executed  judgement  ; 
 In  the  work  of  His  own  hands  doth  He  snare 
 the  wicked.  [Higgaion — Selah.] 
 
 (Yod)      17  The  wicked  must  return  to  the  unseen  world, 
 (Even)  all  the  nations  that  forget  God. 
 
 ful,  and  (2)  the  nation  itself,  trodden  thought  of  God  as  the  avenger  of  all 
 
 down  by  foreign  tyrants.      In  either  the    oppressed,   naturally  drew   forth 
 
 case  it  is  they  who  through  this  very  the  prayer  that  He  would  look  gra- 
 
 discipline  learn  meekness,  submission,  ciously  upon  the  Psalmist  himself, 
 resignation,  who  "  in  patience  possess  14.   In  the  gates,   &c.       As  the 
 
 their  souls."     In  scarcely  any  instance  most  public  place  of  concourse,    this 
 
 is  the  primary  meaning  altogether  in  being  in  the  East  what  the  dyopa  was 
 
 abeyance.     In  Num.  xii.  3,  where  our  to  the  Greeks,  and  the  forum  to  the 
 
 Version  has  "Now   the  man  Moses  Romans. 
 
 was  very  7;;^r/',"  &c.  the  other  render-  17.  Must     return.        Not     ^^  be 
 
 ing,  afflicted,  is  certainly  more  in  har-  turned,"  as  E.  V.     The  Biblical  idea 
 
 mony  with  the   context.       (See   also  is    that    of    a    returning  to  the  dust, 
 
 Num.  xi.  II  — 15,  Deut.  i.  12.)     And  taken   from    the   original   passage   in 
 
 so  Luther:  "Der  Mann  wdiX  geplagi  Gen,   iii.    19.     Cf  Job  xxx.  23,  of  a 
 
 vor  alien  Menschen."  return  to  Sheol  {i.e.  Hades,  the  unseen 
 
 13,    14.     These  two  verses,  accord-  world),  as  here  and  Ps.  xc.  3  :  "  Thou 
 
 ing  to  Delitzsch,  contain  the  cry  of  the  makest  man    return    to  destruction," 
 
 afflicted.      If  we  take   them   as   the  expressions  only  to  be  explained   by 
 
 prayer  of  the  singer  him.self,  they  dis-  the  dimness  which  then  hung  over  the 
 
 turb,    he    thinks,    the    unity   of    the  grave  and  the  life   beyond    it.     The 
 
 Psalm,  and  interfere  awkwardly  with  meaning  is,  that  even  now,  before  the 
 
 its  general  strain    of   triumph.      But  eyes  of  men,  God's  righteousness  shall 
 
 this  sudden  change  of  feeling  is  not  be   seen   in   cutting   off    the   wicked 
 
 uncommon  in  the    Psalms ;   and   the  by   a    sudden    and    premature   end, 
 
4  4  PSALM  X 
 
 (Caph)   1 8  For  not  fcr  ever  shall  the  poor  be  forgotten ; 
 
 The  hope   of   the  afflicted   shall    not  perish 
 eternally. 
 (Koph)   19  Arise,  O  Jehovah,  let  not  mortal  man  be  strong. 
 Let  the  nations  be  judged  in  Thy  sight. 
 20  Put  them  in  fear,  O  Jehovah  ; 
 
 Let    the    nations    know  that    they    are    but 
 mortal  men.  [Selah.] 
 
 and   helping  and   exalting  the  right-  He  is,— the  Judge   of  the  earth,  with 
 
 eous.  .  reference  perhaps  to  Num.  X.  35.     Cf. 
 
 19.  Arise.      A  solemn  appeal  to  Ps.  iii.  7,  vii.  6. 
 God  to  show  Himself  to  be  that  which 
 
 PSALM  X. 
 
 The  Psalmist  calls  upon  God  to  chastise  the  unbridled  insolence 
 and  scorn  of  the  wicked.  These  have  reached  such  a  pitch,  that  it 
 seems  as  if  God  winked  at  evil  Men  are  not  only  doing  wickedness, 
 but  boasting  of  their  wickedness,  and,  finding  that  justice  does  not 
 overtake  them,  are  acting  as  if  in  the  conviction  that  there  is  no  God. 
 The  prosperity  (ver.  5),  security  (ver.  6),  insolence  (ver.  4,  11),  deceit 
 (ver.  7),  and  violence  (ver.  8—10)  of  these  despisers  of  God  is  vividly 
 portrayed.  The  Psalm  concludes  with  the  triumphant  assertion  of 
 faith,  that  despite  all  seeming  disorders,  Jehovah  is  King,  and  that 
 He  does  hear  and  answer  the  cry  of  the  oppressed. 
 
 It  is  impossible  to  say  to  what  period  of  Jewish  history  the  Psalm 
 is  to  be  referred.  The  state  of  society  which  it  supposes  is  peculiar. 
 The  violent  oppressors  belonged  apparently  to  heathen  nations,  who 
 had  not  yet  been  finally  driven  out  of  the  land,  but  whose  speedy 
 destruction  the  poet  £.nticipates  (ver.  76).  Compare  Psalm  ix.  15,  16. 
 In  that  Psalm,  too,  in  a  still  more  marked  manner  than  in  this, 
 "  the  wicked  "  and  "  the  (heathen)  nations  "  are  identified.  See  ver. 
 5,  17,  19,  20,  The  only  limit  of  time  is  that  furnished  by  Psalm  ix. 
 II,  14,  from  which  it  is  certain  that  the  Ark  had  already  been  placed 
 on  Mount  Zion. 
 
 On  the  connection  between  these  two  Psalms  see  the  Introduction 
 to  Psalm  ix. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : 
 
PSALM  X.  ^5 
 
 I.  The  first  contains  a  forcible  description  of  the  wicked  in  the 
 full  maturity  both  of  his  impiety  and  of  his  power,  together  with  a 
 complaint  to  God  against  him.     Ver.  i — ii. 
 
 II.  The  second  is  an  appeal  to  God  to  arise  and  show  Himself  the 
 avenger  of  the  oppressed  and  the  destroyer  of  the  proud.  Ver.  12 
 —18. 
 
 1.  I  Why,  O  Jehovah,  standest  Thou  afar  off? 
 
 (Why)    hidest  Thou    (Thine    eyes)    in    times    of 
 trouble  .'' 
 
 2  Through    the    pride   of    the    wicked    the    afflicted    is 
 
 hotly  vexed  ; 
 They  are  taken  in  the  devices  they  have  imagined. 
 
 3  For  the  wicked  boasteth  of  his  soul's  desire, 
 
 And  he  blesseth  the  robber  ;  he  despiseth  Jehovah. 
 
 4  The   wicked,   such    is    his    scornfulness,   (saith)    "  He 
 
 requireth  not." 
 "  There  is  no  God,"  is  the  sum  of  his  devices. 
 
 5  His  ways  are  sure  at  all  times  : 
 
 Thy  judgem.ents  are  far  above  out  of  his  sight  : 
 As  for  all  his  adversaries,  he  puffeth  at  them. 
 
 1.  Standest  .  .  .  afar  off,  i.e.  the  words  of  the  evil-doer,  accords 
 like  an  idle  passive  spectator,  uu-  better  with  the  clause  following,  and 
 concerned  at  the  misery  which. he  sees  also  with  the  similar  expression,  ver. 
 but  refuses  to  relieve.  Seexxii.  I,  11 —  13,  "  He  hath  said  in  his  heart,  Thou 
 19  ;  XXXV.  22  ;  xxxviii.  11 — 21.  wilt  not  require." 
 
 Hidest,  viz,   "Thine    eyes."     So  There  is  no  God  :  net  that  he  is 
 
 the  ellipse  is  to  be  supplied.     See  Is.  literally  an  atheist,  but  that  the  whole 
 
 i.   15.     The   same  phrase  is  used   of  of  his  conduct,  all  his   purposes  and 
 
 men  who  leave  wickedness  unpunished  schemes,  are  carried  on   as    if   there 
 
 (Lev.  XX.  4  ;  i  Sam.  xii.  3),   or  who  were  no  God, — in  a/r^ir/Zca/denialof 
 
 disregard  the  misery  of  others  (Prov.  His  existence.     See   xiv.   i.     Others 
 
 xxviii.  27).  render:   "  All  his ///cz/o-/^/j- ai-e,  There 
 
 2.  The  afflicted  or  "humble."  is  no  God;"  but  the  noun  properly 
 See  on  ix.  12.  means  schemes,  devices,    rather    than 
 
 4.   All   the  older  versions    render,  thoughts. 
 
 "  the  wicked  in  (or,  according  to)  his  5.    Far  above.     The  expression  is 
 
 pride  (lit.  height  of  his  nostril)  will  just  the  opposite  to  xviii.  22,  "  all  His 
 
 not  inquire,"   viz.    after   God — never  judgements  are  before  me;  "whereas 
 
 troubles  himself,  that  is,  whether  God  they  are  so  far  out  of  the  sight  of  the 
 
 approves  his  conduct  or  not.     Bat  the  wicked,  that  he  acts  as  if  they  could 
 
 other  interpretation,  which  makes  the  never  reach  him.     See  Job  xxii.   12, 
 
 words  "  He  {i.e.  God)  will  not  require"  <S:c. 
 
46  PSALM  X. 
 
 6  He  saith  in  his  heart :  "  I  cannot  be  moved  ; 
 
 From  one  generation  to  another  I  shall  have  no 
 misfortune." 
 
 7  Of  cursing  is  his  mouth  full,  of  deceit  and  oppression. 
 
 Under  his  tongue  is  mischief  and  iniquity. 
 
 8  He  sitteth  in  the  lurking-places  of  the  villages, 
 
 In  secret  corners  doth  he  slay  the  innocent  ; 
 His  eyes  are  privily  set  against  the  helpless. 
 
 9  He  lurketh  in  his  hiding-place,  as  a  lion  in  his  lair  ; 
 
 He  lurketh  to  catch  the  afflicted  ; 
 
 He  doth  catch  the  afflicted,  drawing  him  in  his  net. 
 
 10  So  he  is  crushed,  sinks  (down  and  falls  ; 
 
 The  helpless  (perish)  by  means  of  his  strength. 
 
 11  He  saith  in  his  heart  :  "God  hath  forgotten  ; 
 
 He  hath  hidden  His  faee ;  He  will  never  see  it." 
 
 H.  (Koph)   12  Arise,  O  Jehovah!     O  God,  lift  up  Thine 
 hand ! 
 Forget  not  the  afflicted. 
 13  Wherefore  should  the  wicked  despise  God  1 
 
 7.  Cursing  ;  apparently,  from  villages  are  meant  the  haunts  of  the 
 what  follows,  "perjury  "  (though  the  robbers  themselves,  the  places /ww/zzV/j 
 vi^ord  does  not  of  itself  mean  this),  they  lurked,  not  against  which  they 
 reckless  false  swearing  in  order  to  formed  their  designs ;  nomad  .en- 
 etfect  his  evil  purposes.  See  lix.  campments  of  predatory  Bedouins 
 12,  and  Hos.  iv.  2,  in  both  which  who  thence  fell  upon  helpless  tra- 
 passages  the  same  words  "swearing  vellers.  This  last  seems  more  pro- 
 and   lying"    occur  together,  as   here  bable.     Compare  Gen.  xxv.  16. 
 
 "  swearing  and  deceit."  9.  There  is  some  confusion  in  the 
 
 Under  his  tongue, — not   to  be  metaphors  employed.     The  wicked  is 
 
 explained  by  a  reference  to  the  poison-  compared  first  to  the  lion  watching 
 
 bag   of  serpents,   because    the   same  for  his  prey,  and  then  to  the  hunter 
 
 phrase  occurs  also   in  a  good  sense,  taking  wild  animals  in  his  net.   Where- 
 
 Ixvi.   17,   Cant.  iv.    11.     Just   in   the  as,  again  in  ver.  10  we  seem  to  have 
 
 same  sense,   '''■  iipott  the  tongue,"  xv.  the  image  of  the  wild  beast  crushing 
 
 3,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  2.  his  prey. 
 
 8.  Villages.  The  word  is  ex-  12 — 18.  Second  principal  division 
 plained,  Lev.  xxv.  31,  to  mean  a  coll ec-  of  the  Psalm,  in  which  the  poet  (i) 
 tion  of  houses  not  inclosed  within  a  cries  earnestly  to  God  for  help  and  ven- 
 wall.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  thevil-  geance  upon  his  enemies  (12 — 15);  and 
 lages  are  mentioned  because,  from  their  then  (2)  expresses  his  confillence  that 
 defenceless  state,  it  was  easier  there  to  his  prayer  has  been  heard  (16 — 18}. 
 plunder  and  kill;  or  whether  by  these  13.   The   argument   is    that   God's 
 
PSALM  X,  47 
 
 (Wherefore  should  he)  say  in  his  heart,   "  Thou 
 wilt  not  require  (it)  "  ? 
 (Resh)  14  Thou  hast  seen  (it)  ;  for  Thou  considerest  mis- 
 chief and  vexation, 
 That  (men)  may  put(the  matter)  into  Thy  hand. 
 The  helpless  leaveth  (it)  to  Thee  : 
 
 Thou  hast  been  the  helper  of  the  orphan. 
 (Shin)   15   Break  Thou  the  arm  of  the  wicked;  and  as  for 
 the  evil  man, 
 When  his  wickedness  is  sought  for,  let  it  no 
 more  be  found. 
 16  Jehovah  is  King  for  ever  and  ever  : 
 The  nations  have  perished  out  of  His  land. 
 
 honour  is  concerned  in  the  reproach 
 which  is  brought  against  it  by  the 
 success  of  tlie  wicked. 
 
 Wherefore  should,  &c.  lit. 
 **  Wherefore  hath  the  wicked  despised 
 God?" 
 
 14.  Thou  hast  seen  (it).  An 
 emphatic  energetic  protest  against  the 
 words  immediately  preceding,  and 
 also  with  a  reference  to  the  "  He 
 will  never  see,"  ver.  1 1,  throwing 
 back  the  word  in  the  mouth  of  the 
 wicked.  (Cf.  xxxv.  22.)  There  is 
 a  time  coming,  he  feels  assured,  when 
 all  this  disorder  will  be  set  right. 
 God  is  not  the  passive  spectator  of 
 human  affairs  which  these  men  deem 
 Him.  He  "considers"  (i.e.  regards 
 with  interest  and  sympathy)  what  is 
 going  on.  See  the  same  word,  xxxiii. 
 13,  Ixxx.  14,  Hab.  i.  3,  13,  and  in 
 many  other  passages.  The  helpless, 
 therefore,  may  leave  all  to  God  ; — 
 and  with  the  more  confidence,  because 
 God  /ms  been  the  helper  of  those  who, 
 like  the  orphan,  are  deprived  of  human 
 protectors.  This  appeal  to  past  ex- 
 periences is  always  a  ground  of  con- 
 fidence. The  road  we  are  now  travel- 
 ling may  be  very  dark,  but  let  us  look 
 back,  and  on  some  spot  which  we  have 
 passed  we  shall  see  the  light  shining. 
 
 15.  When  his  wickedness,  &c. 
 Ordinarily  such  an  expression  might 
 seem  to  denote  a  wish  that  his  wicked- 
 ness should  be  forgiven  on  repentance, 
 but  that  clearly  is  not  the  sense  here. 
 The  meaning  must  be,  "  Let  the 
 wicked  and  his  wickedness  disappear, 
 so  that  even  when  sought  for  it  cannot 
 be  found."  "  To  seek  and  not  find'' 
 is  a  proverbial  expression,  signifying 
 that  an  object  has  utterly  perished  or 
 disappeared,  so  as  to  leave  no  trace  of 
 its  existence.  See  xxxvii.  36,  Is.  xli. 
 12. 
 
 16.  The  triumph  of  faith,  which, 
 knowing  that  Jehovah  is  King,  already 
 sees  by  anticipation  His  righteous 
 judgement  executed.  The  bold 
 plunderers  who  have  so  long  infested 
 the  land  are  already  swept  away,  says 
 the  singer,  so  sure  is  he  of  the  issue. 
 The  land,  which  is  Jehovah's  land, 
 must  "be  purged  of  all  evil-doers," 
 as  once  of  the  Canaanites,  who  were 
 driven  out.  Israel  may  be  "  mightily 
 oppressed,"  as  by  Sisera  of  old,  but 
 God  Will  hear  his  cry,  and  give 
 strength  to  his  trembling  heart  (ver. 
 17),  and  so  manifest  His  power  that 
 these  tyrants  who,  with  all  their  boast- 
 ing, are  but  weak  mortal  men  (ver.  18), 
 shall  no  longer  oppress  ilis  people. 
 
48  PSALM  XL 
 
 (Tau)   17  The  desire  of  the  afflicted  hast  Thou  heard,  O 
 Jehovah  ; 
 Thou  estabUshest  their  heart  ; 
 Thine  ear  hearkeneth  (unto  them), 
 1 8  That  Thou  mayest  judge  (the  cause  of)  the  orphan 
 and  the  oppressed, 
 So  that   mortal  man  of  the  earth  may  no  more 
 terrify. 
 
 PSALM  XI. 
 
 The  singer  is  in  danger  of  his  hfe  ;  and  timorous  and  faint-hearted 
 counsellors  would  fain  persuade  him  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  But, 
 full  of  unshaken  faith  in  God,  he  rejects  their  counsel,  believing 
 that  Jehovah  the  righteous  King,  though  He  tries  His  servants,  does 
 not  forsake  them.  Not  the  righteous,  but  the  wicked  have  need  to 
 fear.  The  Psalm  is  so  short  and  so  general  in  its  character,  that  it 
 is  not  easy  to  say  to  what  circumstances  in  David's  life  it  should 
 be  referred.  The  choice  seems,  however,  to  lie  between  his  perse- 
 cution by  Saul  and  the  rebellion  of  his  son  Absalom.  Delitzsoh 
 decides  for  the  last,  and  thinks  the  counsel  (ver.  i),  "flee  to  your 
 mountain,"  comes  from  the  mouth  of  friends  who  were  anxious  to 
 persuade  the  king  to  betake  himself,  as  he  had  before  done  when 
 hunted  by  Saul,  to  "the  rocks  of  the  wild  goats"  (i  Sam.  xxiv.  2). 
 It  is  in  favour,  to  some  extent,  of  this  view  that  the  expression  in 
 ver.  3,  "when  the  foundations  are  destroyed,"  points  to  a  time  when 
 lawful  authority  was  subverted. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  strophes,  which  may  be  briefly  charac- 
 terised : — 
 
 I.  The  timid  counsels  of  the  faint-hearted.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  answer  of  faith.     Ver.  4 — 7. 
 
 The  first  strophe,  however,  it  should  be  observed,  opens  with  the 
 calm  assertion  of  confident  trust,  before  we  hear  a  word  of  expostu- 
 lation with  those  whose  advice  the  Psalmist  rejects. 
 
PSALM  XL 
 
 49 
 
 [for    the   precentor,      (a   psalm)   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  In  Jehovah  have  I  found  refuge : 
 
 How  say  ye  to  my  soul : 
 
 "  Flee  ye  to  your  mountain,  (like)  a  bird  ; 
 
 2  For  lo  !  the  wicked  bend  the  bow, 
 
 They  have  aimed  their  arrow  upon  the  string, 
 
 To  shoot  in  the  dark  at  them  that  are  upright  in  heart. 
 
 3  When  the  foundations  are  destroyed, 
 
 What  can  the  righteous  do  1 " 
 
 4  Jehovah  is  in  His  holy  temple  ; 
 
 Jehovah, — His  throne  is  in  heaven: 
 
 I.  In  Jehovah — under  the  shadow 
 of  His  wings  (xxxvi.  7) — have  I 
 FOUND  REFUGE  ;  I  need  no  other 
 refuge  :  how  can  ye  say  to  me,  &c. ;  my 
 feet  are  on  the  true  Rock,  why  should 
 I  look  elsewhere  for  safety  ?  This  is 
 the  full  force  of  the  expression.  There 
 is  moreover  a  force  in  the  perfect,  ' '  I 
 have  found."  It  is  an  exclamaiton  of 
 joyful  confidence  in  the  thought  that 
 he  has  such  a  refuge,  it  is  not  yet  to 
 seek.  The  advice  here  given  and 
 which  he  repels  is  that  of  timid  and 
 desponding  friends,  who  would  per- 
 suade him  that  all  is  lost,  and  that  the 
 highest  wisdom  is  to  yield  to  circum- 
 stances, and  to  seek  safety  not  in 
 resistance  but  ia  flight.  But  in  fact 
 the  voice  which  thus  speaks  is  the 
 voice  of  the  natural  heart,  of  the  selfish 
 and  therefore  shortsighted  and  cow- 
 ardly instinct,  which  always  asks  first, 
 rot  What  is  right  ?  but,  What  is  safe  ? 
 The  advice  may  be  well  meant,  but  it 
 is  unworthy.  (Cf.  iii.  3,  iv.  8.)  This 
 is  the  victory  that  overcometh  the 
 world,  even  our  faith.  But  it  is  often 
 a  soi-er  trial  for  faith  to  have  to  with- 
 stand the  pleadings  of  well-meaning 
 friends  than  to  arm  itself  against 
 open  enemies. 
 
 To  YOUR  MOUNTAIN.  This  partly 
 perhaps  follows  the  icuage  of  the  bird, 
 
 "which,  when  hunted  on  the  pJain, 
 betakes  itself  to  the  woods  and  moun- 
 tains "  (De  Wette) ;  but  the  mountains, 
 caves,  and  fastnesses  of  Palestine 
 would  be  the  natural  hiding-place  of, 
 persons  in  danger,  (Cf.  Judg.  vi.  2, 
 I  Sam.  xiii.  6,  I  Mace.  ii.  28,  Matt. 
 xxiv.  16.) 
 
 2.  Observe  the  change  of  ten«^e : 
 "  they  are  bending  ;  nay,  they  have 
 already  aimed. "  The  image  here  used 
 of  the  bird  pursued  by  the  hunters 
 reminds  us  of  what  David  says  to 
 Saul,  I  Sam.  xxvi.  20,  "  The  king 
 hath  come  to  seek  me,  as  when  one 
 hunteth  a  partridge  in  the  mountains  " 
 
 4 — 7.  The  answer  of  Faith,  the 
 glance  directed  from  earth  to  heaven, 
 the  full  trust  in  the  righteous  and  all- 
 seeing  Lord,  the  confidence  that  what- 
 ever the  apparent  confusion  and  dis- 
 order of  the  lower  world,  there  is  an 
 Eye  that  sees  and  a  Hand  that  directs 
 all,  that  even  the  suffering  of  the 
 righteous  is  part  of  a  Divine  purpose 
 of  love. 
 
 Holy  temple,  used  not  only  of 
 the  Temple  or  Tabernacle  in  Jeru- 
 salem (see  on  v.  7),  but  also  of  the 
 heavenly  temple,  xviii.  6,  xxix.  9,  Is. 
 vi.,  Hab.  ii.  20,  Mic.  i.  2.  Here  the 
 parallelism  would  rather  favour  the 
 latter. 
 
50 
 
 PSALM  XIL 
 
 His  eyes  behold,  His  eyelids  try  the  children  of  men. 
 
 5  Jehovah  trieth  the  righteous, 
 
 But  the  wicked   and  him  that  loveth  violence  doth 
 His  soul  abhor. 
 
 6  May  He  rain  upon  the  wicked  snares, 
 
 Fire  and  brimstone,  and  a  burning  wind,  as  the  por- 
 tion of  their  cup. 
 
 7  For  righteous  is  Jehovah,  He  loveth  righteousness  ; 
 
 They  that  are  upright  shall  behold  His  face. 
 
 5,  Trieth.  The  same  verb  as  in 
 the  previous  verse,  but  used  here  in  a 
 more  definite  sense  with  reference  to 
 the  result  of  the  trial  :  puts  them  into 
 the  furnace  (the  word  is  used  of  the 
 testing  of  metals),  that  they  may  come 
 forth  as  pure  gold.  Cf.  xvii.  3,  Job 
 xxiii.    10. 
 
 6.  The  figures  in  this  verse  are 
 borrowed  from  the  destruction  of 
 Sodom  and  Gomorrah. 
 
 Snares.  The  word  presents  some 
 diihcalty.  It  seems  a  harsh  metaphor 
 to  speak  of  raining  snares,  especially 
 in  immediate  juxtaposition  with  fire 
 and  brimstone.  Still  we  must  recollect 
 that  the  Hebrew  poets  were  not  always 
 careful  to  avoid  incongruity  of  meta- 
 phor. We  have  immediately  follow- 
 ing a  metaphor  of  an  entirely  different 
 kind,  "  the  portion  of  their  cup." 
 
 7.  Thus  Faith  kindles  into  Hope. 
 Not  only  does  David  make  Jehovah 
 his  refuge  in  calamity,  but  he  can 
 rejoice  in  the  thought  that  he  shall 
 behold  the  face  of  God, — behold  now 
 the  light  of  His  countenance  even  in 
 the  midst  of  gloom  and  darkness. 
 (Cf,  iv.  8,  xxi.  7.)  Did  his  hope 
 reach  beyond  this,  and  are  we 
 to  suppose  that  here  he  looks  for- 
 ward to  seeing  God  in  the  resurrec- 
 tion ?  We  cannot  tell.  But  see  xvi. 
 II,  xvii.  15.  To  us,  however,  .his 
 words  may  be  the  expression  of 
 a  "hope  full  of  immortality." 
 ■'  We  know  that  our  light  affliction 
 worketh  out  for  us  a  far  more  ex- 
 ceeding and  eternal  weight  of  glorv." 
 We  know  that  "  when  He  shall 
 appear  .  .  .  we  shall  see  Him 
 as  He  is." 
 
 PSALM   XH. 
 
 This,  according  to  the  title,  is  one  of  David's  Psalms  ;  but  there 
 is  nothing  in  the  circumstances,  so  far  as  we  know  them,  of  his 
 history,  which  can  lead  us  to  associate  the  Psalm  with  any  particular 
 period.      Tholuck   thinks  it   is   aimed  at   persons  by  whom    David 
 
PSALM  XTI.  51 
 
 was  surrounded  in  the  court  of  Saul.  Others  suppose  that  it  was 
 occasioned  by  the  treachery  of  the  Ziphites,  i  Sam.  xxiii.  19,  and 
 xxvi.  I,  or  the  treachery  of  Ahithophel  in  Absalom's  rebellion,  2  Sam. 
 xvii.  I.  But  it  is  not  one  or  two  prominent  individuals  whose  conduct 
 forms  the  burden  of  the  Psalmist's  complaint.  He  is  evidently 
 smarting  from  the  falseness  and  hypocrisy  of  the  time.  The  defection 
 which  he  deplores  is  a  national  defection.  Like  Elijah  in  the  deserts, 
 he  feels  himself  alone.  "  There  is  not  one  godly  man  left  :  the 
 true-hearted  are  cut  off."  A  taint  has  spread  through  society  (to  use 
 the  modern  expression,  for  which  the  Hebrew  poet  says,  "this 
 generation").  Falsehood  is  everywhere  :  truth  nowhere.  The  heart 
 of  men  is  double  ;  their  lips  are  flattering  hps  (ver.  3).  And  whilst 
 they  utter  slander,  hypocrisy,  and  lies,  they  boast  of  their  power  ;  and 
 not  only  give  their  tongues  Hcence,  but  justify  the  licence  :  *'  Our 
 lips  are  our  own  ;  who  is  lord  over  us  ? " 
 
 Now  this  utter  hollowness  and  insincerity  are  very  hard  to  bear. 
 The  few  who,  in  the  midst  of  the  general  corruption,  still  retain  their 
 integrity  are  persecuted,  and  sigh  for  deliverance.  This  dehverance 
 is  promised  them  in  the  form  of  a  Divine  interposition.  The  singer, 
 filled  with  the  Spirit  of  prophecy,  consoles  himself,  and  those  afflicted 
 like  himself,  not  in  his  own  words,  but  in  the  words  of  God  (ver.  6). 
 And  then  remembering  how  pure  those  words  are,  how  unalterably 
 true — not  like  the  words  of  men  A^hich  seem  so  fair,  but  are  false — he 
 feels  that  there  he  can  rest,  calm  in  the  conviction  that,  though  the 
 wicked  walk  on  every  side,  Jehovah  will  save  them  that  love  Him 
 from  all  their  machinations  (ver.  8). 
 
 Both  the  circumstances  of  the  Psalmist  and  his  prayer  are  very 
 similar  to  what  we  find  in  the  two  immediately  preceding  Psalms. 
 The  belief  here  expressed  as  to  the  overthrow  of  the  wicked  (ver.  5 — 
 8)  may  be  compared  with  xi.  5—  7.  In  the  latter  passage  that  belief 
 is  based  upon  God's  character  as  a  righteous  God.  In  this  Psalm  it 
 rests  apparently  upon  a  special /r^;;z/j-^,  but  in  fact  upon  God's  word. 
 But  God's  word  teaches  us  what  God's  character  is.  The  difference 
 therefore  is  formal,  not  real. 
 
 The  Psalm  then  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  A  complaint.     Ver.  i — 4. 
 II,  The  answer  to  that  complaint.     Ver.  5 — 7. 
 
 These  two  principal  sections  may  be  further  subdivided  as  follow  : — 
 
 E  2 
 
52  PSALM  XII 
 
 I.  (i)  The  cry  for  help  because 
 
 (a)  good  men  are  nowhere  to  be  found  ;  and 
 {b)  hes,  and  flattery,  and  insincerity  prevail.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 (2)  The  prayer  that  flatterers  and  liars  may  be  destroyed.      Ver, 
 3,4. 
 
 II.  (3)  God's  promise  of  help  in  answer  to  the  cry  for  help  :  and 
 the  Psalmist's  Amen.     Ver.  5,  6. 
 
 (4)  The  assurance  and  hope  built  upon  the  promise.     Ver.  7,  8. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  upon  the  octave*  (a  psalm)  of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  Save,  Jehovah,  for  the  good  man  ceaseth, 
 
 For  the  faithful  fail  from  among  the  children  of  men. 
 
 2  They  speak  vanity,  every  one  with  his  neighbour ; 
 
 With  flattering  lips  and  a  double  heart  do  they  speak. 
 
 3  May  Jehovah  cut  off  all  flattering  lips, 
 
 (And)  the  tongue  that  speaketh  great  things, 
 
 4  Which  say  :  ''  With  our  tongue  we  are  strong, 
 
 Our  lips  are  our  own :  who  is  lord  over  us  ?  " 
 
 5  "  For  the  desolation  of  the  afRicted, 
 
 For  the  deep  sighing  of  the  poor, 
 
 1.  THE  GOOD  .  .  .  THE  FAITHFUL.  be  a  contradiction  in  speaking  of 
 Amenfolk  according  to  Luther,  i.e.  flattering  lips,  and  a  tongue  that 
 those  whose  heart  towards  God  and  speaketh ^rm^,  i.e.  proud  words.  But 
 their  neighbours  is  true  and  earnest,  only  at  first  thought.  The  men  here 
 like  the  Amen  of  a  prayer.  described  are  evidently  men  occupy- 
 
 2.  They  speak  vanity,  i.e.  empti-  ing  a  high  position,  smooth  and  supple 
 ness,  untruth  (as  xli.  6  ;  cxliv.  8,   11).  courtiers,    perfect   in  the  art  of  dis- 
 
 EVERY  ONE  WITH  HIS  NEIGHBOUR.  sembling,  yet  glorying  too  in  their 
 See  the  exact  opposite  of  this  en-  power  ot  saying  what  they  list,  how- 
 joined,  Eph.  iv.  25,  and  the  duty  ever  at.rocious  the  falsehood  or  the 
 grounded   on   the   fact   that   we    are  calumny. 
 
 members   one   of  another.     But    the  5.   A   remarkable   instance   of  the 
 
 word  "neighbour"  must  not  be  pressed.  close  affinity  between  the   Poet  and 
 
 "  Neighbour  "and  "brother"  are  used  the    Prophet    among    the    Hebrews. 
 
 in   Hebrew  without  thinking  of  the  Each,  though  in  different  ways,   was 
 
 exact  relation  implied  in  the  words,  the  teacher  of  that  Eternal  Truth  which 
 
 where  weshouldsimplysay"  another."  he  received  from  God.     And  this,  by 
 
 3.  4.   At  first  thought  tho^re  seems  to  the  way,  suggests  to  us  what  every 
 
 See  note  on  inscription  of  Psalm  VI. 
 
PSALM  xri. 
 
 53 
 
 Now  will  I  arise,"  saith  Jehovah, 
 
 "  I  will  set  him  in  the  safety  for  which  he  longeth." 
 
 6  The  words  of  Jehovah  are  pure  words,    • 
 
 (Like)  silver  fined  in  a  furnace  in  the  earth,  purified 
 seven  times. 
 
 7  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  wilt  keep  them, 
 
 Thou  wilt  preserve  us  from  this  generation  for  ever. 
 
 8  The  wicked  walk  to  and  fro  on  every  side, 
 
 When  a  rabble  lifts  itself  up  over  the  children  of  men. 
 
 true  Poet  should  be.  Broadly  speak- 
 ing, the  difference  lay  here,  that  the 
 Poet  gave  utterance  to  the  longings, 
 aspirations,  fears,  doubts,  anxieties  of 
 tnan's  heart  ;  whereas  the  Prophet 
 was  commissioned  to  address  himself 
 directly  to  the  people,  as  conveying  to 
 them  the  message  of  God.  The  one 
 represented,  so  to  speak,  the  human 
 side  of  the  truth — what  man  feels  and 
 is  ;  the  other  the  Divine — what  God 
 is  and  requires.  The  one  speaks  for 
 man  to  God  ;  the  other  for  God  to 
 man.  Here,  however,  David,  instead 
 of  expressing  his  own  feeling  of  con- 
 fidence that  God  will  answer  him, 
 seems  as  it  were  to  hear  God  himself 
 speaking  ("Deum  ipsum  inducit  lo- 
 quentem,"  Calvin).  See  the  prophetic 
 counterpart  of  this,  Is.  xxxiii.  lo. 
 
 6.  The  poet  dwells  on  the  purity 
 and  perfect  truth  of  God's  promises, 
 not  only  as  opposed  to  all  lying  lips 
 of  men  (though  that,  I  believe,  was  in 
 his  mind),  but  also  that  he  may  thus 
 more  deeply  print  upon  the  heart  of 
 
 the  afflicted  the  certain  fulfilment  of 
 the  promise.  This  emphatic  assertion 
 was  rendered  necessary  by  the  vidde- 
 spread  and  apparently  long-prevailing 
 corruption.  For  those  who  were 
 weak  in  faith  might  begin  to  doubt 
 whether  the  truth  of  God  itself  had 
 not  failed. 
 
 7.  The.  faith  and  hope  which  rest 
 upon  the  fact  just  before  stated,  thac 
 the  words  of  Jehovah  are  pure  words. 
 
 Them,  i.e.  "the  afflicted  and 
 poor,"  in  ver.  5.  In  the  second 
 clause,  the  pronoun  in  the  He- 
 brew is  in  the  singular  used  distri- 
 butively,  "him,"  i.e.  each  one  of 
 them. 
 
 This  generation,  spoken  of  those 
 who  not  only  live  in  the  same  age, 
 but  are  pei-vaded  by  the  spirit  of  that 
 age.  So  Is.  liii.  8,  Here,  the  world 
 as  opposed  to  the  Church. 
 
 8.  This  verse  is  no  doubt  perplex- 
 ing ;  this  return  to  gloom  and  doubt  is, 
 I  believe,  without  parallel  at  the  con- 
 clusion of  a  Psalm. 
 
54  PSALM  XIIL 
 
 PSALM  XIII. 
 
 In  this  Psalm  we  see  a  servant  of  God  long  and  sorely  tried  by 
 the  persecutions  of  unrelenting  enemies,  and,  as  it  seems  to  himself, 
 forgotten  and  forsaken  of  God,  pouring  out  the  agony  of  his  soul  in 
 prayer.  It  is  a  long  and  weary  struggle,  it  is  a  daily  and  hourly 
 martyrdom  ;  and  wresthng  with  his  despair,  he  can  but  cry  (like  the 
 souls  under  the  altar.  Rev.  vi.  lo),  How  long  ?  And  then  calmer 
 words  of  prayer  rise  to  his  lips,  ver.  3,  4.  And  at  last  faith  asserts 
 her  perfect  victory  (ver.  5).  The  rapid  transition  of  feeUng,  from  a 
 depth  of  misery  bordering  on  despair,  to  hope,  and  even  joy,  is  very 
 remarkable. 
 
 We  have  three  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  The  first  is  "the  deep  sighing"  of  a  heart  overwhelmed  with  the 
 agony  of  its  despair.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 II.  The  calmer  suppHcation  succeeds,  as  if  the  very  utterance  of 
 its  grief  had  made  the  burden  less.     Ver.  3,  4. 
 
 III.  Prayer  kindles  into  hope,  lighted  up  with  something  even  of 
 joy.     Ver.  5. 
 
 [for  the   precentor.      a    psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  How  long,  O  Jehovah,  wilt  Thou  forget  me  for  ever } 
 
 How  long  wilt  Thou  hide  Thy  face  from  me  t 
 
 2  How  long  must  I  take  counsel  in  my  soul, 
 
 I.  It  is  quite  unnecessary  to  point  ever ; "  and  then  its  hopele-sness  is 
 
 thus:    "How  long  wilt  Thou  forget  changed  to  expostulation,  "  How  long 
 
 me  ?  for  ever  ?  "  as  if  there  v/ere  two  wilt  Thou  forget  me  ?  "  We  may,  it 
 
 distinct    questions.     (wSee    the    same  we  choose  it,  paraphrase,    "  How  long 
 
 double  question,  Ixxix.  5  ;  Ixxxix.  46. )  wilt  Thou  make  as  if  Thou  wouldst 
 
 It  is  natural  to  a  perturbed  and  doubt-  forget  me  for  ever  ?  " 
 ing  heart  thus  to  express  itself,   in  a  2.   The    "how   long"    four    times 
 
 confused     and    almost    contradictory  repeated  ;  for  the  long  duration  of  the 
 
 manner.  In  its  despair  it  thinks  "God  conflict  is  here  the  sting  of  the  Poet's 
 
 hath  forgotten  me  :  "  and  yet  out  of  grief. 
 
 the  very  midst  of  its  despair  there  rises  How  long  must  I  take  counsel? 
 
 up   the   conviction, — "No,    not    for  Lit.  "  put  counsels  or  deliberations  in 
 
PSALM  XIII. 
 
 55 
 
 (Having)  sorrow  in  my  heart  daily  ? 
 How  long  shall  mine  enemy  lift  up  himself  against  me  ? 
 
 3  Consider, —  answer  me,  O  Jehovah  my  God, 
 
 Lighten  mine  eyes,  lest  I  sleep  the  (sleep  of)  death. 
 
 4  Lest  mine  enemy  say  :  "  I  have  prevailed  against  him  ;  " 
 
 (Lest)  mine  adversaries  exult  because  I  am  moved. 
 
 5  But  as  for  me — in  Thy  loving-kindness  have  I  trusted  ; 
 Let  my  heart  exult  in  Thy  salvation  : 
 
 Let  me  sing  to  Jehovah,  because  He  hath  dealt  bounti- 
 fully with  me. 
 
 my  soul."  This  strikingly  describes 
 the  helpless  embarrassment  of  the 
 sufferer.  Plan  after  plan  suggests 
 itself,  is  resolved  upon,  and  then 
 abandoned  in  despondenc}'^  as  utterly 
 unavailing.  Wei]  must  David  have 
 understood  what  this  was,  when, 
 hunted  by  Saul,  he  knew  not  where 
 to  betake  himself,  at  one  time  seeking 
 refuge  among  the  Moabites,  at  another 
 in  the  wilderness  of  Ziph  ;  now  an 
 outlaw  hiding  himself  in  the  cave  of 
 Adullam,  and  anon  a  captain  in  the 
 service  of  the  King  of  the  Philistines  ; 
 and  amid  all  his  projects,  haunted  by 
 the  moiu-nful  conviction,  "  I  shall  now 
 one  day  perish  by  the  hand  of  Saul." 
 
 Sorrow  in  my  heart.  Not 
 only  parallel  to,  but  flowing  from 
 "  counsels  in  my  soul,"  the  burden  of 
 a  heart  saddened  by  its  own  thought- 
 fulness. 
 
 3.  The  lamentation  now  passes  into 
 prayer  ;  and  to  the  fourfold  complaint 
 of  the  first  strophe  answers  the  fourfold 
 petition  of  the  second,  though  the 
 several  members  of  the  one  do  not 
 exactly  correspond  to  the  several  mem- 
 bers of  the  other. 
 
 Consider  ;  "  look  upon  me,"  op- 
 posed to  the  hiding  of  the  face,   i  b. 
 
 Answer  me,  opposed  to  the  forget- 
 ting, I  a.  First,  look  ;  then,  hear  and 
 succour.  "Thus,"  says  Calvin,  "does 
 the  Holy  Ghost  purposely  accommo- 
 date the  forms  of  prayer  to  our  feel- 
 ings." First,  we  must  have  the  con- 
 viction that  God  sees  us,  and  then  we 
 can  cry  to  Him  ;  first  the  assurance 
 that  He  it,  and  then  that  He  is  the 
 Rewarder  of  them  that  diligently  seek 
 Him.  ^       ^ 
 
 Lighten  mine  eyes,*  said  not  of 
 spiritual  but  of  physical  support,  as  is 
 clear  from  what  follows,  "  lest  I  sleep 
 the  sleep  of  death  ;  "  and  also  from 
 the  other  passages  where  the  same 
 idiom  occurs,  i  Sam.  xiv,  27  and  29 
 (where  the  eyes  of  Jonathan  are  said 
 to  be  enlightened,  when,  after  being 
 reduced  to  the  extremity  of  faintness, 
 he  partakes  of  food). 
 
 5.  Supplication  passes  into  the  ex- 
 pression of  ajoyful  confidence.  Faith, 
 strengthened  by  prayer,  rises  above 
 the  present  with  its  sorrows,  and  sees 
 what  is  not  as  though  it  were  :  and. 
 hopes  yet  to  praise  God  with  a  song 
 because  of  His  goodness. 
 
 In  Thy  loving-kindness,  not  in 
 personal  merit,  nor  in  the  justice  of 
 my  cause. 
 
 *  It  is  related  that  a  child  scarcely  four  years  old  (Princess  Anne,  daughter  of  Charles   I.) 
 died  with  these  words  on  her  lips,  "Lighten  mine  eyes,  O  Lord  God  !  and  let  me  not  sloep  the 
 
 sleep  of  death." 
 
56  PSALM  XIV. 
 
 PSALM  XIV. 
 
 The  feeling  expressed  in  this  Psalm  i-s  in  some  measure  the  same 
 which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  must  have  given  occasion  to  the 
 Twelfth  Psalm,  The  singer,  keenly  alive  to  the  evils  of  his  time,  sees 
 everything  in  the  blackest  colours.  The  apostasy  is  so  wide-spread 
 that  all  are  involved  in  it,  except  the  small  remnant  (implied  in 
 ver.  4) ;  and  the  world  seems  aga-i-n  ripe  for  judgement  as  in  the  days 
 of  Noah  (ver.  2). 
 
 Both  in  this  Psalm  and  in  Psalm  xii.  the  complaint  is  made  that  the 
 wicked  oppress  and  devour  the  righteous.  In  both,  corruption  has 
 risen  to  its  most  gigantic  height,  but  here  the  doings  of  bad  men,  there 
 their  wo?'ds^  form  the  chief  subject  of  complaint. 
 
 There  is  nothing  in  the  Psalm  which  can  lead  us  to  fix  its  date  or 
 authorship  precisely.  The  feeling  is  common  enough  at  all  times  in 
 men  of  earnest  mind.  Filled  with  a  holy  jealousy  for  God,  no  age 
 seems  to  them  so  corrupt  as  their  own,  because  they  are  engaged  in 
 perpetual  and,  as  they  are  apt  to  think,  hopeless  encounter  with  its 
 evils.  Indeed,  despair  would  be  the  result,  did  not  the  promise  of  the 
 future  lift  them  above  the  present  (ver.  7). 
 
 This  Psalm  appears  again  with  some  variations,  especially  in  ver. 
 5,  6,  as  Psalm  liii.  It  is  not  certain  which  of  the  two  may  claim  the 
 merit  of  being  the  original  poem.  Its  place  in  the  collection  may 
 incline  us  to  give  this  the  preference.  And  the  change  in  the  Fifty- 
 third  might  very  well  have  been  introduced  to  adapt  it  to  the  peculiar 
 circumstances  of  the  time. 
 
 The  Psalm  cannot  be  broken  up  into  strophes  ;  but  the  first  verse 
 answers  to  the  third,  and  the  second  to  the  fourth. 
 
 [for   the   precentor.      (a   psalm)   of   DAVID.] 
 
 I  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  There  is  no  God. 
 
 I.  The  fool.     Thus  the  Bible  ever  fessing  themselves  to  be  wise,  become 
 
 speaks  of  those  who  have  cast  off  the  fools.      Such  men,  who  make  a  boast 
 
 fear  of  God.     Thev  are  those  whose  of  their  reason  and  would  fain  walk 
 
 understanding  is  darkened  ;  who,  pro-  by  the  light  of  their  reason,  prove  how 
 
PSALAf  XIV.  57 
 
 Corrupt,  abominable  are  they  in  their  doing  ; 
 There  is  none  that  doeth  good. 
 
 2  Jehovah   hath    looked    down    from    heaven    upon    the 
 
 children  of  men, 
 To  see  if  there  be  any  that  hath  understanding, 
 That  seeketh  after  God. 
 
 3  They  are  all  turned  away,  together  they  have  become 
 
 corrupt : 
 There  is  none  that  doeth  good  ;  no,  not  one. 
 
 4  "  Have  they  no  knowledge,  all  the  workers  of  iniquity, 
 
 'Who  eat  my  people,  (as)  they  eat  bread, 
 (And)  call  not  on  Jehovah  }  " 
 
 little  their  reason  is  worth.  The  epithet 
 is  the  more  cutting,  because  persons  of 
 this  kind  generally  lay  claim  to  more 
 than  orduiary  discernment. 
 
 In  his  heart.  Rather  a  practical 
 than  a  theoretical  atheism ;  not  so 
 much  a  denial  of  the  being  of  a  God 
 as  a  denial  of  His  moral  governjiient 
 of  the  world  (cf.  x.  5)  ;  and  this  evinced 
 in  their  actions  rather  than  in  their 
 words.  Their  lives  show  what  the 
 thought  of  their  hearts  is  (as  indeed 
 immediately  follows).  ""  The  fool  "  is 
 not  the  philosophic  atheist  with  his 
 arguments  ;  but  the  man  who  by  the 
 practice  of  wickedness  so  stifles  and 
 corrapts  within  him  the  knowledge  of 
 God  that  he  virtually  acknowledges 
 no  God. 
 
 2,  3.  God  appears  as  "Witness  and 
 Judge  of  what  is  done  upon  earth. 
 
 Looked  down.  The  word  used 
 strictly  of  looking  out  of  a  window,  2 
 Kings  ix.  30  ;  and  again  of  God  look- 
 iiogupon  theeaith,  cii.  19.  As  "they 
 have  corrupted,"  remmds  us  of  the 
 Flood  ("all  flesh  hath  corrupted  his 
 way  on  the  earth,"  Gen.  vi.  12),  so 
 this  "looking  down"  reminds  us  of 
 the  Tower  of  Babel,  Gen.  xi.  5. 
 
 3.  No,  not  one.  "See,"  says 
 Luther,   ' '  how  many  words   he  uses 
 
 that  he  may  comprehend  all,  excluding 
 none.  First  he  says  all,  'then  together, 
 and  then  no,  not  one^  This  and  the 
 two  previous  verses  are  quoted  freely 
 by  St.  Paul  (he  does  not  adhere  even 
 to  the  LXX.)  in  Rom.  iii.  10,  &c.,  in 
 proof  of  his  position,  that  Jews  as  well 
 as  Gentiles  are  under  sin.  As  his 
 argument  is  at  this  point  addressed 
 particularly  to  the  Jew,  he  reasons, 
 not  from  the  sense  of  sin  or  the  voice 
 of  conscience,  but  from  the  Scriptures, 
 M'hose  authority  the  Jew  acknow- 
 ledged. The  Jew  would,  of  course, 
 admit  the  inference  as  to  the  state  of 
 the  Gentile  world. 
 
 4.  God  Himself  is  introduced  as 
 speaking. 
 
 No  KNOWLEDGE,  used  absolutely 
 as  in  Is.  i.  3.  "Israel  doth  not 
 know,"  is  stupid  like  the  brutes. 
 
 Who  eat,  lit.  "who,  eating  my 
 people,  eat  bread  ; "  who  so  far  from 
 being  conscious  of  their  guilt,  devour 
 the  righteous  with  the  same  uncon- 
 sciousness with  which  they  would  take 
 their  accustomed  meal.  See  the  figure 
 still  further  carried  out,  Mic.  iii.  I — 3. 
 Cf.  also  for  similar  expressions,  Jer. 
 X.  21,  Hos.  vii.  7,  in  both  of  which 
 passages  the  evil-doers  are  descri'  ed 
 (as  here)  as  men  who  do  not  pray, 
 
58  PSALM  XV. 
 
 5  There  were  they  in  great  fear  ; 
 
 For  God  is  in  the  generation  of  the  righteous. 
 
 6  Though  ye  shame  the  counsel  of  the  afQicted, 
 
 Yet  Jehovah  is  his  refuge. 
 
 7  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Zion ! 
 When    Jehovah   bringeth  back   the    captivity   of    His 
 
 people, 
 Then  may  Jacob  exult,  then  may  Israel  be  glad. 
 
 *'  they  call  not  upon  Jehovah  ; "  there-  The  counsel  of  the  afflicted, 
 
 fore   are   they   so   brutish.      But   see  /.^.  all  that  is  done  by  those  who  bear 
 
 further  on  liii.  4.  the   reproach   of  Christ   to    advance 
 
 6.    Though  ye   shame,   or    ''ye  God's  glory  upon  earth.     The  children 
 
 may  put  to  shame"   (yet  ye  shall  not  of  the  world  cannot  bring  all  this  to 
 
 succeed),  for  God,  &c.      The  A.V.  is  nought,    for   in    fighting   against   the 
 
 clearly  wrong  in  rendering,  "  Ye  have  righteous  they  fight  against  God,  who 
 
 shamed,"  as  if  the  verb  were  in  the  is  in  the  midst  of  them, 
 past  tense. 
 
 PSALM  XV. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  commonly  supposed  to  have  been  written  on  the 
 occasion  of  the  removal  of  the  Ark  to  Zion,  and  the  consecration  of 
 the  Tabernacle  there,  2  Sam.  vi.  12—19.  (Cf.  i  Chron.  xv.  16.)  The 
 subject  of  the  Psalm,  and  the  occurrence  of  a  similar  question  and 
 answer  in  xxiv.  which  was  certainly  composed  for  that  occasion,  might 
 indeed  dispose  us  to  adopt  this  view. 
 
 On  the  other  hand,  the  name  "holy  mountain"  (ver.  i),  as  applied 
 to  Zion,  would  rather  suggest  a  later  date.  It  was  the  removal  of  the 
 Ark  thither  which  made  the  mountain  holy. 
 
 The  form  of  the  Psalm  is  very  simple.  Properly  speaking,  it  has  no 
 strophes  or  divisions.  It  is  a  question  (ver.  i),  and  an  answer  to  the 
 question  (ver.  2 — 5).  It  teaches  simply  what  is  the  condition  of  man's 
 approach  to  God  with  acceptance.  There  is  implied  in  it,  no  doubt, 
 that  all  merely  outward  service  is  vain  ;  but  the  Psalm  can  scarcely 
 be  said  to  be  specially  directed  (like  Psalm  1.)  against  lip  service  and 
 hypocritical  worship.  It  describes  rather  the  perfect  character,  the 
 man  who  can  draw  near  to  God  and  live  in  His  presence. 
 
PSALM  XV. 
 
 59 
 
 [a    (psalm)   of   DAVID.] 
 
 Jehovah,  who  may  sojourn  in  Thy  tabernacle  ? 
 
 Who  may  dwell  on  Thy  holy  mountain  ? 
 He  that  walketh  perfectly,  and  worketh  righteousness, 
 
 And  speaketh  truth  in  his  heart ; 
 (That)  hath  not  slandered  with  his  tongue, 
 
 Hath  done  no  evil  to  his  friend, 
 
 Nor  taken  up  a  reproach  against  his  neighbour ; 
 In  whose  eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned, 
 
 But  he  honoureth  them  that  fear  Jehovah  ; 
 (Who)  sweareth  to  (his  own)  hurt,  and  changeth  not  ; 
 
 ] .  That  this  Psahii  is  no  mirror  for 
 tlie  srlf-righteous  to  see  themselves  in, 
 is  evident  from  its  first  word,  Jehovah. 
 It  is  in  the  presence  of  God  and  in  the 
 light  of  God  that  the  singer  draws  his 
 portrait  of  the  godly  man.  In  His 
 sight  neither  the  hypocrite  nor  the 
 formalist  can  stand.  And  on  this 
 accomit,  and  not  as  a  mere  matter  of 
 form,  does  David  direct  his  question 
 to  God.  The  answer  is  not  to  be  con- 
 sidered as  if  coming  from  the  heavenly 
 oracle,  but  the  Poet  himself  gives  it, 
 speaking  by  the  light  of  the  Spirit  of 
 God,  as  cast  upon  his  own  heart,  upon 
 the  word  of  God,  and  upon  the  world, 
 about  him.  So  the  Anglo-Saxon 
 Version  paraphrases:  "Then  the 
 Lord  answered  the  prophet  through 
 inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
 the  prophet  said  :  I  know,  yet  I  ask, 
 who  dwells  there  ?  "  &c. 
 
 Tabernacle  ....  holy  moun- 
 tain. These  words  must  not  be 
 explained  away  as  mere  figures  of 
 speech.  Tabernacle  does  not  mean 
 merely  "  dwelling,"  as  when  it  is  said, 
 "The  tabernacle  of  God  shall  be  with 
 men,"  nor  can  we  with  Venema  in- 
 terpret the  holy  mountain  as  merely 
 equivalent  to  a  safe  and  indestructible 
 abode.  It  always  mtans  Zion,  and 
 nothing  else. 
 
 2,  3.  The  man  with  whom  God 
 will  hold  communion  is  now  described, 
 first  as  to  what  he  is  (ver.  2),  and  then 
 as  to  what  he  is  not  (ver.  3). 
 
 {a)  He  is  a  man  (i)  of  whole  heart 
 and  life  ;  (2)  who  does  the  will  ot 
 God  ;  and  (3)  speaks  the  truth  because 
 he  loves  it :  it  dwells  in  his  heart,  and 
 he  speaks  it  there  first,  before  he 
 speaks  it  with  his  tongue.  "  It  is  a 
 beautiful  order, "  says  Luther,  ' '  First 
 the  person  must  be  acceptable  by 
 cleanness  (alluding  to  the  Vulg.  trans- 
 lation, qui  ingreditur  sine  macula)  ; 
 then  the  work  by  righteousness  ;  then 
 the  word  by  truth.  So  God  has  re- 
 gard to  Abel  (himself)  first,  and  then 
 to  his  gifts." 
 
 {b)  He  is  not  one  who  injures 
 others  either  (i)  by  word  ;  or  (2)  by 
 deed  ;  or  (3)  by  listening  to  and  pro- 
 pagating slander.  This  is,  I  think, 
 the  meaning  of  this  last  clause. 
 
 4,  5.  Again,  his  character  is  further 
 described  by  affirmations  and  nega- 
 tions. 
 
 {a)  He  is  one  who  turns  away  from 
 the  evil  and  honours  the  good,  who 
 regards  as  inviolable  the  sanctity  of 
 an  oath  (not  a  casuist  who  sets  himself 
 to  find  a  pretext  for  breaking  his 
 word,  when  it  is  inconvenient  to  keep 
 it). 
 
6o 
 
 PSALM  XVI. 
 
 5  Who  hath  not  put  out  his  money  to  usury, 
 Nor  taken  a  reward  against  the  innocent. 
 He  that  doeth  these  things  shall  never  be  moved. 
 
 '  {JS)  He  is  not  one  who  loves  usury 
 or  takes  bribes.  Tlie  taking  of  usury- 
 is  strictly  forbidden  ia  the  Law  (Exod. 
 xxii.  25;  Lev.  xxv,  36,  &c.),  and 
 denounced  by  the  Prophets  (Is.  xxxiii. 
 15,  "gain  of  oppressions;"  Ezek. 
 xviii.  8,  13,  xxii.  12,  &c.). 
 
 Thus,  in  heart,  in  tongue,  in  actions, 
 in  his  conduct,  as  a  member  of  society, 
 he  is  alike  free  from  reproach. 
 
 Such  is  the  figure  of  stainless  honour 
 drawn  by  the  pen  of  a  Jewish  poet. 
 Christian  chivalry  has  not  dreamed  of 
 a  brighter.  We  have  need  often  and 
 seriously  to  ponder  it.  For  it  shows 
 us  that  faith  in  God  and  spotless 
 integrity  may  not  be  sundered  ;  that 
 religion  does  not  veil  or  excuse  petty 
 dishonesties  ;  that  love  to  God  is  only 
 
 then  worthy  the  name  when  it  is  the 
 life  and  bond  of  every  social  virtue. 
 Each  line  is,  as  it  were,  a  touchstone 
 to  which  we  should  bring  ourselves. 
 To  speak  truth  in  the  heart — to  take 
 up  no  reproach  against  a  neighbour — 
 would  not  the  Christian  man  be  per- 
 fect of  whom  this  could  be  said  ? 
 And  that  other  trait  in  this  divine 
 character,  "  who  honoureth  them  that 
 fear  the  Lord  " — is  there  a  surer  test 
 of  our  spiritual  condition  than  this, 
 that  we  love  and  honour  men  because 
 they  love  Christ  ? 
 
 The  Epistle  of  St.  James  is  the 
 New  Testament  expansion  of,  and 
 comment  upon,  this  Psalm.  For 
 another  treatment  of  the  same  subject 
 in  the  Old,  see  Is.  xxxiii.  13 — 16. 
 
 PSALM    XVL 
 
 Some  have  supposed  that  this  Psalm  was  written  by  David  in  time 
 of  peril,  both  because  of  the  prayer  v^ith  which  it  opens,  "  Keep  me," 
 &c7,  and  because  of  the  conviction  expressed  in  ver.  10.  But  if  so, 
 the  thought  of  peril  is  quite  swallowed  up  in  the  consciousness  of 
 God's  presence  and  love.  The  Psalm  is  bright  with  the  utterance  of 
 a  happiness  which  nothing  earthly  can  touch.  It  expresses  the 
 conviction  of  a  life  rather  than  of  any  sudden  emergency.  The 
 living  God  himself  is  David's  portion  and  inheritance  (ver.  5,  6) — 
 stands  at  his  right  hand  (ver.  8) — is  the  joy  of  his  heart  now  (ver.  9) 
 — and  will  fill  him  with  joy  and  gladness  for  evermore. 
 
 A  comparison  of  the  Psalm  with  i  Sam.  xxvi.  19  might  suggest  that 
 it  was  written  by  David  when  he  was  in  the  wilderness  of  Ziph. 
 "  They  have  driven  me  out  this  day,"  he  says,  "  from  the  inheritance 
 of  Jehovah,  saying,  Go,  serve  other  gods." 
 
PSALM  XVL  6r 
 
 But  a  few  words  on  the  prophecy  contained  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
 Psalm.  That  we  have  here  a  prediction,  and  moreover  a  cojiscioiis 
 prediction  on  the  part  of  David,  is  distinctly  affirmed  by  St.  Peter, 
 speaking  under  the  immediate  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost  (Acts  ii. 
 30,  31).  The  language  which  he  uses  is  very  remarkable.  Alleging 
 ver.  8 — II  in  proojf  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  he  tells  us  that  David 
 here  spoke  as  aprophet ;  that  he  kiiew  that  his  great  descendant 
 would  be  the  Messiah,  and  that  God  would  place  Him  on  his  throne  ; 
 and  that  he  Joresaw  and  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  It  is 
 plain  from  all  this  that,  according  to  St.  Peter's  view,  David  not  only 
 uttered  words  which  might  be  applied  to  Christ,  but  that  he  used 
 prophetic,  that  is,  inspired  language,  and  knew  himself  that  he  was 
 prophesying.  But  we  may  still  allow  a  primary  _and^low£r  reference 
 of  the  words  to  David  himself,  without  lessening  their  prophetic 
 import ;  in  some  parts  even  an  exclusive  reference,  for  it  is  not 
 necessary  (and  indeed  seems  scarcely  possible)  to  refer  the  whole 
 Psalm  to  Christ  because  a  part  of  it  points  to  Him. 
 
 [a   MICHTAM^  of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Keep  me,  O  God  ;  for  I  have  found  refuge  in  Thee. 
 
 2  I  said  to  Jehovah,  "  Thou  art  my  Lord  : 
 
 I  have  no  good  beyond  Thee, — 
 
 3  Of  the  saints  who  are  in  the  land, 
 
 And  the  excellent  in  whom  is  ail  my  delight. 
 
 4  Their  sorrows  shall  be  many  who  take  another  (god) 
 
 instead  (of  Jehovah) — 
 
 3.  The  saints.  In  God's  land  The  excellent,  properly  "the 
 there  are  others  who,  like  David  him-  outwardly  illustrious  :  "  the  root- 
 self,  cleave  to  God,  and  with  these  he  meaning  is  that  of  "glitter,  splen- 
 claims  fellowship.  "The  saints"  are  dour,'"  &c.  But  the  same  adj.  is  ap- 
 all  Israel,  set  apart  as  a  nation,  and  plied  to  the  name  of  God  in  viii.  I, 
 severed  from  the  surrounding  heathen.  and  hence  may  contain  the  idea  of  a 
 See  the  original  designation  of  Israel  moral  as  well  as  of  a  merely  outward 
 to   be   "a kingdom  of  priests  and  a  glory. 
 
 holy  nation,"  Exod.  xix.  6.     See  also  4.  Who  take,  z>.  in  exchange.  The 
 
 Deut.  vii.  6.  word  is  properly  used  of  obtaining  a 
 
 *  This  word  occurs  in  the  inscription  of  five  other  Psalms,  Ivi. — Ix,  The  meaning  has  been 
 much  questioned,  and  can,  after  all,  be  but  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Many  commentators 
 connect  it  with  the  word  "gold."     ''  A  golden,  or  precious  psaim." 
 
62 
 
 PSALM  XVI 
 
 I  will  not  pour  out  their  drink-offerings  of  blood  ; 
 Neither  will  I  take  their  names  upon  my  lips. 
 
 5  Jehovah  is  the  portion  of  my  territory  and  of  my  cup. 
 
 Thou  maintainest  my  lot. 
 
 6  The  lines  have  fallen  unto  me  in  pleasant  places, 
 
 Yea,  I  have  a  fair  heritage. 
 
 7  I  will  bless  Jehovah  who  hath  given  me  counsel : 
 
 Yea  in  the  night-seasons  have  my  reins  admonished  me. 
 
 wife   by   the   payment   of  a    do\\ry, 
 Exod.  xxii.  1 6. 
 
 Another,  i.e.  a  false  god,  or  that 
 which  is  not  God  (Is.  xlii.  8,  xlviii. 
 II),  but  purposely,  perhaps,  put  in 
 this  mdefinite  form  to  signify  "all 
 besides  God  and  against  God  that  a 
 man  can  make  an  idol  of. " 
 
 With  such  persons  David  will  have 
 nothing  to  do.  He  is  joined  to  the 
 saints,  and  he  holds  fast  on  Jehovah. 
 With  the  utmost  strength  of  abhor- 
 rence, he  repudiates  the  worship, 
 horrid  and  foul,  of  the  surrounding 
 idolaters. 
 
 Their  drink  -  offerings  of 
 BLOOD  :— not  literally  consi-ting  of 
 blood,  but  as  associated  with  bloody 
 rites  ;  or  offered  with  hands  stained 
 with  innocent  blood  ;  or  loathsome  as 
 iflhey  were  .of  blood. 
 
 So  deep  is  David's  loathingof  idolatry 
 that  he  "will  not  even  pollute  his  lips 
 by  mentioning  the  names  of  false  gods, 
 in  accordance  with  the  command  in 
 Exod.  xxiii.  13,  "  The  name  of  other 
 gods  ye  shall  not  mention  ;  it  shall 
 not  be  heard  in  my  mouth. " 
 
 5.  And  of  MY  CUP.  This  also  de- 
 pends on  the  word  "portion."  bee 
 the  same  expression,  ' '  portion  of  the 
 cup,"  xi.  6,  but  there  used  in  niala7)i 
 partem.  The  "  cup  "  seems  to  be  put 
 by  synecdoche  for  the  v/hole  meal. 
 He  thus  speaks  of  God  as  the  daily 
 food  by  which  he  lives.  See  our 
 Lord's  words  in  John  vi.,  and  connect 
 this  with  the  expression  of  trust  with 
 which  the  Psalm  opens. 
 
 Thou  maintainest  my  lot. 
 Therefore  no  creature  can  rob  me  of 
 it.  Nor  is  the  third  comparison 
 unnecessary,"  says  Calvin,  "for  it 
 often  happens  that  the  rightful  owners 
 are  thrust  out  from  their  own  posses- 
 sion, because  there  is  none  to  defend 
 them.  But  God  hath  given  Elimself 
 to  us  as  our  inheritance  in  such  wise, 
 that  by  His  aid  we  are  ever  maintained 
 in  the  enjoyment  thereof," 
 
 6,  The  lines  have  fallen.  In 
 allusion  to  the  ancient  custom  of 
 marking  out  plots  of  land  by  measur- 
 ing lines.  See  the  same  phrase.  Josh, 
 xvii.  5.  The  line  was  said  to  "fall  " 
 as  being  "thrown"  by  lot.  See 
 Micah  ii.  5, 
 
 7.  In  the  joyful  remembrance  that 
 he  has  such  a  possession,  he  breaks 
 forth  into  a  strain  of  thanksgiving. 
 
 Who  hath  given  me  counsel, 
 i.e.  through  whose  grace  I  have  been 
 enabled  to  choose  Him  for  my  portion 
 (ver.  5,  6),  David  confesses  that  he 
 owes  hi'^  blessedness  to  God,  This  is 
 the  Divine  part  :  the  next  clause  gives 
 us  the  human. 
 
 My  reins,  hereapp.  =  "myheart," 
 (See  Job.  xix.'  27,  "my  reins  in  my 
 bosom."),  God  has  led  me  to  find  my 
 joy  in  Him,  and  now  in  the  night- 
 seasons,  as  the  time  most  favourable 
 to  quiet  thought,  I  meditate  thereon. 
 The  heart  itself  is  said  to  adinonish, 
 because  it  anxiously  listens  to  the  voice 
 of  God,  and  seeks  to  conform  itself 
 thereto. 
 
PSALM  XVI. 
 
 63 
 
 8  I  have  set  Jehovah  before  me  always  ; 
 
 Because  He  is  at  my  right  hand,  I  shall  not  be  moved. 
 
 9  Therefore    hath    my   heart    rejoiced,    and    my   glory 
 
 exulted  ; 
 Yea  my  flesh  shall  dwell  in  safety  ; 
 
 10  For  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  to  the  unseen  world  ; 
 
 Thou  wilt  not  suffer  Thy  Beloved  to  see  the  pit. 
 
 11  Thou  wilt  make  me  know  the  path  of  life; 
 
 8.  God  in  David's  eyes   is  no  ab- 
 straction,  but  a  person,  real,  living, . 
 walking  at  his  side. 
 
 9.  My  heart  .  .  .  MY  GLORY  {i.e. 
 soul)  .  .  .  MY  FLESH  ;  in  other  words, 
 the  whole  man.  In  like  manner  "  soul,  " 
 "heart,"  and  "  flesh,"  Ixxxiv.  2  ;  and 
 ' '  soul "  and  ' '  flesh, "  Ixiii.  i  ;  "  heart" 
 and  "flesh,"  Ixxiii.  26.  "Spirit,  soul, 
 and  body,"  I  Thess.  v.  23.  P'lesh, 
 here  as  always,  the  living  body :  it  never 
 means  t/ie  corpse.     So  also  the  phrase 
 
 SHALL   DWELL   IN    SAFETY    must    be 
 
 understood  of  this  life.  (See  Deut. 
 xxxiii.  28  ;  Ps.  iv.  8,  xxv.  13.)  Hence 
 these  words  as  they  stand  in  the 
 Hebrew  cannot  be  regarded  as  a  pro- 
 phecy that  Christ's  body  should  rest 
 safely  in  the  tomb.  They  are  the  ex- 
 pression of  David's  confidence  that 
 God  would  watch  over  his  life,  and 
 preserve  him  from  death.  In  this 
 sense,  of  course,  they  are  also  applic- 
 able to  our  Lord. 
 
 10.    To  THE  UNSEEN  WORLD.    Not 
 
 as  in  our  Version,  and  in  that  of  Luther 
 and  others,  "  in  hell."  David  says 
 nothing  about  what  shall  happen  to 
 him  ajte)'  death,  but  is  expressing  his 
 conviction  that  God  will  not  leave  him 
 to  perish,  will  not  give  him  up  to  be 
 the  prey  of  the  grave,  nor  suffer  him 
 {as  follows  in  the  next  clause)  to  see 
 the  pit.  See  Acts  ii.  27.  This  was  still 
 more  strikingly  true  of  Christ  ;  for 
 though  He  died,  God  did  not  leave 
 Him  to  Hades,  did  not  suffer  His  soul 
 to  re77iain  there,  or  His  body  to  rest 
 in  the  grave. 
 
 Thy  Beloved.  I  have  ventured 
 thus  to  render  the  word,  because  it 
 may  just  as  well  mean  "  one  who  has 
 obtained  favour  of  the  Lord,"  as  one 
 who  shoios  love  to  God  and  love  to 
 men 
 
 II.  The  path  of  life.  Not 
 merely,  that  is,  the  life  of  the  body. 
 This  is  shown  by  the  pleasure  and  the 
 joy  spoken  of  afterwards,  which  are  to 
 be  found  in  God's  Presence,  and  in 
 communion  with  Him.  Life,  in  the 
 only  true  sense,  is  union  with  God  ; 
 and  from  that  springs,  of  necessity,  the 
 idea  of  immortality.  It  seems  im- 
 possible to  suppose  that  David,  who 
 here  expresses  such  a  fulness  of  con- 
 fidence in  God,  such  a  living  personal 
 relationship  to  Him,  could  have  ever 
 dreamed  that  such  a  relationship  would 
 end  with  death.  In  this  Psalm,  and 
 in  the  next,  there  shines  forth  the 
 bright  hope  of  everlasting  life. 
 
 At  the  same  time,  in  the  utterance 
 of  this  confident  persuasion  and  hope, 
 David  was  carried  beyond  himself. 
 He  spake  as  a  prophet  knowing  that 
 God  had  promised  of  the  fruit  of  his 
 body  to  raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his 
 thione.  The  hope  of  his  own  im- 
 mortality was  based  upon,  and  bound 
 up  in,  the  Life  of  Him  who  was  at 
 once  his  Son  and  his  Lord.  What 
 was  true  of  David  in  the  lower  sense, 
 was  true  in  the  fullest  and  highest 
 sense  of  Christ ;  was  only  true  of 
 David,  because  it  was  true  of  Christ  ; 
 and  is  only  true  of  any  of  us  in  and 
 through  Him,  according  to  His  own 
 
64  PSALM  XVIT. 
 
 Fulness  of  joy  in  Thy  Presence, 
 
 Pleasures  are  at  Thy  right  hand  for  evermore. 
 
 words,  "  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  phecy  of  Christ  they  meaa  all  that  is 
 
 also."     Briefly,  then,  it  must  be  said  drawn  from  them  by  St.  Peter  and  St. 
 
 that  ver.  9 — 11,  so  far  as  they  refer  to  Paul,  Acts  xiii.     In  Christ's  deliver- 
 
 David,  express  his  confidence  in  God's  ance  from  the  grave  and  His  Resurrec- 
 
 protecting  care  in   this   life   and   his  tion,  the  whole  fulness  of  their  meaning 
 
 hope  of  a  life  to  come.    But  as  a  pro-  is  exhausted. 
 
 PSALM  XVII. 
 
 In  this  Psalm,  a  servant  of  God,  conscious  of  his  own  uprightness, 
 and  surrounded  by  enemies,  prays  to  be  kept  from  the  evil  world, 
 and  from  evil  men  who  persecute  him  :  and  then  from  the  dark 
 present  looks  forward  with  joy  to  the  bright  future. 
 
 Every  tried  and  tempted  servant  of  God  may  find  in  it  the 
 touchstone  whereby  to  prove  himself;  the  sure  refuge  whither  to 
 betake  himself ;  the  hope  which  is  the  anchor  of  the  soul,  and  which 
 entereth  within  the  veil.  The  Psalm  may  be,  as  the  inscription  states, 
 a  Psalm  of  David  ;  and  if  so,  we  may  probably  attribute  its 
 composition  to  the  time  of  Saul's  persecution. 
 
 It  may  be  divided  into  three  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  The  Psalmist's  confidence  in  his  appeal  to  God.     Ver.  i — 5. 
 
 {a)  This  is  based  upon  the  righteousness  of  his  cause,  and  the 
 absence  of  all  hypocrisy  in  his  prayer.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 {J))  The  consciousness  of  this  integrity  further  declared,  and  that 
 even  on  the  closest  scrutiny.  Both  heart  (ver.  3)  and  life  (ver.  4,  5) 
 are  free  from  reproach,  notwithstanding  the  evil  by  which  he  is 
 surrounded. 
 
 II.  Prayer  to  be  kept  in  the  evil  world.    Ver.  6 — 12. 
 
 {a)  The  appeal  now  lies  to  God's  marvellous  loving-kindness  and 
 tender  affection,  that  he  may  be  protected  against  his  enemies. 
 
 {b)  The  description  of  their  bitterness  (ver.  9),  their  pride  (ver.  10), 
 and  their  relentless  persecution  (ver.  n,  12)  is  then  given. 
 
PSALM  XVI r. 
 
 65 
 
 III.  The  spirit  of  the  world,  and  the  spirit  which  is  of  God, 
 Ver.  13—15. 
 
 {a)  Prayer  that  the  sword  of  Jehovah  may  overtake  his  enemies. 
 
 {b)  And  then  the  broad  contrast,  not  without  its  consolation  :  their 
 portion,  at  the  best,  is  for  this  life,  and  then  perishes  ;  rhine  is  in  the 
 Presence  and  the  Vision  of  God,  and  therefore  cannot  be  taken 
 from  me. 
 
 [a   prayer   of   DAVID.] 
 
 I.   I    Hear,  O  Jehovah,  righteousness; 
 Hearken  to  my  cry  ; 
 Give  ear  to  my  prayer 
 
 Which  (is  uttered)  by  no  deceitful  lips. 
 
 2  From  Thy  presence  let  my  judgement  go  forth  ; 
 
 Thine  eyes  behold  uprightness. 
 
 3  Thou  hast  proved  my  heart ; 
 
 Thou  hast  visited  (me)  by  night ; 
 Thou  hast  tried  me  (and)  findest  no  evil  thought  In  me, 
 Neither  doth  my  mouth  transgress. 
 
 4  As  for  the  doings  of  men — by  the  word  of  Thy  lips 
 
 I.  Not  only  a  righteovts  cause,  but 
 a  righteous  prayer,  offered  in  all 
 sincerity,  with  no  hypocritical  reserve 
 or  pretence,  are  urged  as  motives  why 
 God  should  hear  him. 
 
 3.  This  has  given  offence  to  some 
 as  an  over-bold  assertion  of  innocence. 
 Hence  the  Jewish  interpreters  sup- 
 posed it  to  have  been  written  by 
 I  )avid  before  his  fall.  But  it  is  not 
 absolute  innocence  which  the  Psalmist 
 here  asserts  :  he  is  not  indulging  in 
 self-righteous  boasting,  but  appealing 
 to  God  as  knowing  bis  uprightness  of 
 heart  and  honesty  of  purpose. 
 
 Hast  proved— hast  tried— both 
 words  use-d  of  the  testing  of  metals, 
 and  especially  the  latter,  which  means 
 
 properly  to  melt  in  the  fire,  so  as  to 
 separate  the  dross  from  the  ore. 
 
 By  night,  as  the  season  of  quie«- 
 thought  and  self-examination.  Comp . 
 iv.  4,  xvi.  7. 
 
 4.  The  doings  of  men,  i.e.  the 
 common  course  of  action  of  worldly 
 men.  "Men"  =  the  great  mass  ot 
 men  (opposed  to  the  "doings  of 
 Jehovah,"  xxviii.  5),  and  here  con- 
 trasted with  "the  word  of  God." 
 Comp.  the  expression  * '  after  the 
 manner  of  men  "  (Hos.  vi.  7,  Job  xxxi. 
 34).  Whatever  men  in  general  may 
 do  or  say,  I  have  but  one  guide  and 
 rule  of  action,  viz.  Thy  word.  Thii' 
 is  the  first  mention  of  the  opposition 
 to  which  he  was  exposed  and  of  that 
 F 
 
66 
 
 PSALM  XVII. 
 
 I  have  kept  (me  from)  the  ways  of  the  destroyer  : 
 5    Holding  fast  with  my  goings  in  Thy  paths, 
 My  footsteps  have  not  been  moved. 
 
 11    6  As    for   me— I    have    called    upon    Thee,   for    Thou 
 answerest  me,  O  God  : 
 Incline  Thine  ear  unto  me  ;  hear  my  speech. 
 
 7  Show    Thy     marvellous     loving-kindness    O    Thou 
 
 that  savest  those  who  find  refuge  (in  Thee) 
 From  them  that  lift  themselves    up    against  Thy 
 right  hand. 
 
 8  Keep  me  as  the  apple — as  the  pupil — of  an  eye, 
 
 Hide  me  under  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings, 
 
 9  Because  of  the  wicked  who  would  destroy  me, 
 
 (Because  of)  mine  enemies  who  eagerly  compass  me 
 about. 
 lO  They  are  enclosed  in  their  own  fat, 
 
 With  their  mouth  they  speak  proudly. 
 
 contrast  which  comes  out  more  clearly 
 ia  the  next  strophe,  and  which  is  com- 
 pleted in  the  last. 
 
 I   HAVE  KEPT    (ME   FROM),  lit.    "  I 
 
 have  watched,  observed,"  but  here 
 evidently  with  the  further  notion  of 
 watching  so  as  to  avoid. 
 
 5,   See  Job  xxiii.   1 1,  Ps.  xli.  12. 
 
 6 — 12.  The  prayer  to  be  kept  in  the 
 evil  world.  The  earnest,  affectionate 
 cleaving  to  God,  the  prayer  to  be 
 hidden  under  the  shadow  of  His  wings, 
 is  proof  enough  that  the  former  part  of 
 the  Psalm  is  no  merely  self-righteous 
 boast. 
 
 7.  Show,  &c.,  lit.  '''  make  won- 
 derful," i.e.  exhibit  in  a  marked 
 manner  Thy  loving-kindness,  which 
 looks  at  first  sight  as  if  David  expected 
 a  special  miracle  to  be  wrought  in  his 
 favour.  But  the  notion  contained  in 
 the  verb  only  expresses  the  general 
 well-kKmon  cliaracter  of  God's  loving- 
 kindness,  which  is  always  wonder*^ul, 
 
 and  this  David  desires  to  experience 
 as  others  have  experienced  it  before 
 him,  as  follows. 
 
 8.  Both  the  images  in  this  verse, 
 alike  expressive  of  the  affection  of  the 
 Psalmist,  and  ofhisdeep  senseof  God's 
 tender  care  and  love  to  him,  are  bor- 
 rowed from  the  beautiful  passage  in 
 Deut.  xxxii.  10,  11.  For  the  former, 
 see  also  Zeeh.  ii.  8.  The  latter  occurs 
 frequently.  In  the  New  Testament 
 our  Lord  uses  the  still  more  render 
 image  of  tlie  hen  gathering  her  brood 
 under  her  wings  (Matt,  xxiii.  37). 
 
 9.  E.VGEY<LY,  lit.  "  with  the  soul," 
 i.e.  wiih  the  longing  desire  to  destroy 
 me. 
 
 10.  They  are  enclosed,  &c,  lit. 
 "  Their  fat  have  they  shut  up. "  This 
 may  refer  both  to  the  outward  condition 
 and  the  state  of  heart.  These  men 
 led  a  luxurious  and  selfish  lite  (as  is 
 further  said,  ver.  14),  in  consequence 
 of  which  they  had  become  proud  and 
 
rSALM  XVII. 
 
 ^7 
 
 1 1  Withersoever  we  go,  have  they  now  surrounded  us  ; 
 
 Their  eyes  do  they  set  to  cast  (us)  down  to  the 
 earth, 
 
 12  Like  as  a  Hon  that  is  greedy  to  ravin, 
 
 And  as  a  young  Hon  lurking  in  (his)  lair. 
 
 III.  13  Arise,  O  Jehovah,  go. forth  to  meet  him,  cast  him 
 
 down  ; 
 
 Deliver  my  soul  from  the  wicked,  by  Thy  sword. 
 
 14  From  men,  O  Jehovah,  by  Thy  hand — from  men 
 
 of  the  world. 
 
 Whose   portion   is  in   (this)   life,  and   whose  belly 
 
 Thou  fillest  with  Thy  treasures, 
 Who  are  satisfied  with  sons,  and  leave  their  sub 
 stance  to  their  children. 
 
 unfeeling.  For  this  double  meaning 
 of  "fatness,"  comp.  on  the  one  hand 
 Deut.  xxxii.  15,  Job  xv.  27,  and  on  the 
 other,  Ps.  cxix.  70,  Isa.  vi.  10. 
 
 13.  If  the  enemy  be  thus  fierce  and 
 powerful,  the  more  need  for  a  powerful 
 protector.  The  image  is  a  common 
 one  in  the  Psalms,  but  may  have 
 been  suggested  in  the  first  instance  by 
 David's  personal  experience.  See  note 
 on  iii.  7. 
 
 •  Go   FORTH   TO   MEET   HIM,  just   as 
 
 David  himself  went  forth,  to  meet  first 
 the  lion  and  then  the  bear,  and  aiter- 
 wards  the  champion  of  Gath. 
 
 By  Thy  sword,  andinver.  14,  by 
 Thy  hand.  Not  as  in  E.  V.  "the 
 wicked  which  is  Thy  sword,"  and  in 
 nextverse, "  men  which  are  Thy  hand." 
 David  does  not  here  regard  the  wicked 
 as  the  sword  of  God,  as  Isaiah  (x.  5) 
 does  the  Assyrian  as  the  rod  of  His 
 anger — a  thought  which  would  be 
 quite  at  variance  with  the  whole  scope 
 of  the  Psalm— but  calls  upon  God  to 
 destroy  them. 
 
 14.  Men  OF  THE  WORLD.  The 
 word  here  used  for  "  world  "  denotes 
 the  transitory  nature  of  the  world  as  a 
 
 thing  of  time.  Men  of  the  world  are 
 those  who  have  made  it  their  home, 
 and  who,  together  with  the  world  and 
 the  lust  thereof,  are  passing  a\vay. 
 (Comp.  "men  of  the  earth,"  Ps.  x.  18.) 
 In  the  New  Te-tament  they  are  the 
 "  world  "  of  St.  John,  and  the  "child- 
 ren of  the  world,"  Luke  xvi.  8.  Being 
 thus  worldly  minded,  they  have  their 
 portion  in  life,  i.e.  in  the  brief  years  of 
 their  existence  upon  earth.  Then  this 
 love  of  the  world  is  opposed  to  the 
 love  of  the  Father,  not  the  present  to 
 the  future,  so  much  as  the  temporal 
 to  the  eternal,  the  world  to  God. 
 The  contrast  to  "  their  portion  in 
 this  life"  is  to  be  found  in  xvi.  5, 
 "Jehovah  is  my  portion;"  and  in 
 ver.  15  of  this  Psalm.  On  the  one 
 side,  the  Outward,  the  Transitory, 
 the  Unreal :  on  the  other  the  Inward, 
 the  Abiding,  the  True.  We  have 
 here  a  view  of  the  -world  and  of  life 
 very  remarkable  for  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment— a  kind  of  anticipation  of  the 
 contrast  between  the  flesh  and  the 
 spirit  which  St.  Paul  gives  us,  or  the 
 love  of  the  world  and  of  God,  of 
 which  St.  John  speaks. 
 
 F    2 
 
68 
 
 PSALM  XVIII. 
 
 15  As  for  me- 
 
 -111  rie 
 
 hteousness  let  me  behold  Thy  face ; 
 
 Let  me  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  Thine  image. 
 
 15.  Worldly  men  have  their  satis- 
 faction in  this  life,  in  treasures,  in 
 children  ;  David  hopes  to  be  satisfied 
 with  the  likeness,  or  rather  real,  mani- 
 fest bodily  form  of  God.  See  Num. 
 xii.  8. 
 
 Wpien  I  AWAKE.  How  are  we  to 
 understand  these  words?  (i)  Certainly 
 not  "when  I  wake  up  from  sleep,"  as 
 if  there  were  a  reference  to  the  night 
 in  ver.  3.  Why  should  David  exi^ect 
 a  clear  vision  of  God,  and  especially  of 
 His  form,  on  the  following  morning, 
 or  on  the  morning  of  any  day,  more 
 than  at  any  other  time?  (2)  Nor  again 
 does  he  mean  by  "  waking,"  a  de- 
 liverance from  the  present  night  of 
 sorrow  and  suffering,  as  though  he 
 would  say,  This  my  sorrow  shall  pass 
 
 away,  and  then  I  shall  see  God  as 
 my  Deliverer  (which  may  perhaps 
 be  the  meaning  of  the  hope  which 
 Job  expresses,  chap.  xix. ).  The 
 night  might  be  used  as  a  figure  of 
 suffering,  but  the  sufferer  would 
 scarcely  be  said  to  sleep  in  his  suffer- 
 ing, and  then  to  awake  out  of  it. 
 I  cannot  doubt  that  the  reference, 
 is  to  "  the  wakin:;r  from  the  sleep 
 of  death,"  and  therefore  to  a  re- 
 surrection. "  Waking  "  from  death 
 occurs  in  2  Kings  iv.  31,  Death  is 
 spoken  of  as  a  sleep  from  which  there 
 is  no  awaking,  Job  xiv.  12,  Jer.  li.  39. 
 Next,  Is.  xxvi.  19,  "Awake — ye  that 
 sleep  in  the  dust,"  plainly  refers  to  the 
 resurrection.  See  also  Ezeldel  xxxvii. 
 I — 14,  and  Daniel  xii.  2. 
 
 PSALM  XVHL 
 
 In  this  magnificent  hymn  the  Royal  Poet  sketches  in  a  few  grand 
 outlines  the  tale  of  his  life — the  record  of  his  marvellous  deliverances 
 ind  of  the  victories  which  Jehovah  had  given  him — the  record,  too, 
 of  his  own  heart,  the  truth  of  its  affection  towards  God,  and  the 
 integrity  of  purpose  by  which  it  had  ever  been  influenced.  Through- 
 out that  singularly  chequered  life,  hunted  as  he  had  been  by  Saul 
 before  he  came  to  the  throne,  and  harassed  perpetually  after  he 
 became  king  by  rivals  who  disputed  his  authority,  and  endeavoured  to 
 steal  away  the  hearts  of  his  people— compelled  to  fly  for  his  life  before 
 his  own  son,  and  engaged  afterwards  in  long  and  fierce  wars  with 
 foreign  nations — one  thing  had  never  forsaken  him,  the  love  and  the 
 presence  of  Jehovah.     By  His  help  he  had  subdued  every  enemy,  and 
 
PSALM  XVIIL  69 
 
 now,  in  his  old  age,  lools:ing  back  with  devout  thankfuhiess  on  the 
 past,  he  sings  this  great  song  of  praise  to  the  God  of  his  hfe.  With  a 
 heart  full  of  love  he  will  tell  how  Jehovah  delivereid  him,  and  then 
 there  rises  before  the  eye  of  his  mind  the  whole  force  and  magnitude 
 of  the  peril  from  which  he  has  escaped.  So  much  the  more  wonderful 
 appears  the  deliverance,  which  accordingly  he  represents  in  a  bold 
 poetical  figure,  as  a  stooping  of  the  Most  High  from  heaven  to  save 
 him — who  comes,  as  He  came  of  old  to  Sinai,  with  all  the  terror  and 
 gloom  of  earthquake,  and  tempest,  and  thick  darkness.  But  God 
 delivers  those  only  who  trust  in  Him,  and  who  are  like  Him.  There 
 must  be  an  inner  life  of  communion  with  God,  if  man  will  know  His 
 mercy.  Hence  David  passes  on  to  that  covenant  relationship  in 
 which  He  had  stood  to  God.  He  had  ever  been  a  true  Israelite,  and 
 therefore  God,  the  true  God  of  Israel,  had  dealt  with  him  accordingly. 
 And  thus  it  is  at  the  last  that  the  servant  of  Jehovah  finds  his  reward. 
 Jehovah,  to  whom  he  had  ever  looked,  did  not  forsake  him,  but  girded 
 him  with  strength  to  the  battle,  and  made  even  distant  nations  the 
 vassals  of  his  sway. 
 
 The  hymn  concludes  as  it  had  opened,  with  a  joyful  thanksgiving  to 
 Jehovah,  who  had  done  so  great  things  for  him. 
 
 The  inscription,  which  informs  us  that  this  hymn  was  composed 
 towards  the  end  of  David's  life,  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  we  have 
 the  same  account  given  of  its  composition  in  2  Sam.  xxii.,  where  this 
 hymn  is  also  found,  though  with  a  number  of  variations. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  principal  divisions  or  strophes,  together 
 with  an  introduction  and  conclusion  : — 
 
 I.  Introduction,  setting  forth  all  that  Jehovah  is  to  the  Psalmist. 
 Ver.  1—3. 
 
 II.  Strophe  I.  The  record  of  David's  sufferings  and  peril,  and  the 
 mighty  deliveraixe  by  which  he  was  rescued.     Ver.  4 — 19. 
 
 III.  Strophe  II.  The  reason  for  this  deliverance  as  based  upon 
 tlie  character  of  God  and  the  prmciples  of  His  moral  government. 
 Ver.  20—30. 
 
 IV.  Strophe  III.  The  blessings  which  he  had  received  in  his  life  ; 
 his  own  perservation  and  that  of  his  race  (ver,  28)  ;  help  and  strength 
 in  battle,  rule  over  all  enemies.     Ver.  31 — 45. 
 
 V.  Conclusion,  consisting  of  a  joyful  thanksgiving  and  acknow- 
 ledgement of  all  God's  mercies.     Ver.  46 — 50, 
 
70 
 
 PSALM  XVIIT. 
 
 [for  the   preceptor.        (a     psalm)     of   DAVID,   THE     SERVANT    OF 
 
 Jehovah,  who  spake  unto  Jehovah  the  words  of  this  song, 
 
 IN  THE  day  that  JEHOVAH  DELIVERED  HIM  OUT  OF  THE  HAND 
 OF  ALL  HIS  ENEMIES,  AND  OUT  OF  THE  HAND  OF  SAUL:  AND 
 HE  SAID  :] 
 
 I.  I   Fervently  do  I  love  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  my  strength. 
 
 2  Jehovah  is  my  stronghold   and   my  fortress  and  my 
 
 Deliverer. 
 My  God  is  my  rock  wherein  I  find  refuge, 
 My  shield  and  horn  of  my  salvation,  my  high  tower. 
 
 3  I  will  call  upon  Jehovah  who  is  worthy  to  be  praised, 
 
 So  shall  I  be  saved  from  mine  enemies. 
 
 II.  4  The  bands  of  death  compassed  me, 
 
 And  the  floods  of  uneodhness  made  me  afraid. 
 
 Servant  of  Jehovah.  Also  in 
 the  iv.scr.  of  Ps.  xxxvi.,  and,  in  the 
 n-iOUth  of  God,  "  my  servant,"  Ixxxix. 
 3,  20,  as  2  Sam.  iii.  i8,  vii.  5.  David 
 is  so  called  in  a  special  sense  as  one 
 put  in  office,  and  commissioned  by- 
 God.  The  same  title  is  applied  also 
 to  Moses,  Joshua,  the  Prophets,  the 
 Angels,  &c.,  as  sent  by  God  to  do 
 His  work.  It  is  strictly  an  official 
 designation,  but  is  never  applied  by 
 any  person  to  himself.  In  this  it 
 differs  from  the  word  "servant"  of 
 the  New  Testament.  (Philip,  i.  I  ; 
 Tit.  i.  I.) 
 
 I — 3,  Loolcirg'  back  upon  his 
 eventful  dfe,  a  life  full  of  peril  and 
 full  of  mercy,  David  pours  out  his 
 heart,  first  in  the  expression  of  strong 
 and  tender  love  to  his  God  ;  and  then 
 in  the  attempt  to  set  forth  in  some 
 measure,  by  employing  one  figure  after 
 another,  all  thatCiod  had  been  to  him 
 during  the  days  of  his  pilgrimage. 
 
 The  images,  which  are  most  of  them 
 of  a  martial  character,  are  bor'owed 
 from  the  experience  of  David's  life, 
 and  the  perpetual  strui'gles  in  which 
 he  was  engiged.    Some  of  them  were 
 
 suf:gested  by  the  natural  configurntion 
 of  Palestine.  Amid  the  "  rocks,"  and 
 "  fastnesses  "  of  his  native  land,  and 
 the  "high  tower"  perched  on  some 
 inaccessible  crag,  he,  with  his  band 
 of  outlaws,  had  often  found  a  safe 
 hiding-place  from  the  wrath  ef  Saul. 
 
 The  "  shield"  and  the  "horn"  seem 
 to  stand  respectively  for  all  weapons 
 of  defence  and  offence.  The  shield,  as 
 covering  the  body  ;  the  horn,  as  a 
 symbol  of  strength  in  attack  (itself  an 
 image,  borrowed  from  animals  wh'> 
 push  with  their  horns).  Comp.  i 
 Kings  xxii.  II.  The  image  is  very 
 c^jmmon  in  the  Psalter.  For  a  like 
 crowding  together  of  metaphors  in 
 addresses  to  God,  see  the  opening  of 
 Pss.  xxxi.  Ixxi. 
 
 4.  The  bands  of  death  (cf. 
 Acts  ii.  24),  "the  pains  or  pangs  of 
 Death  ;  "  a  possible  meaning,  but  not 
 so  suitable  here  to  the  context,  where 
 Death  is  represented,  as  in  the  next 
 verse,  as  a  hunter  (cf.  xci.  3).  But  in 
 Sam.  the  word  employed  means  "bil- 
 lows," or  lit.  "breakers,"  instead  of 
 "  bands." 
 
PSALM  XVIII. 
 
 n 
 
 5  The  bands  of  hell  surrounded  me, 
 
 The  snares  of  death  came  upon  me. 
 
 6  In  my  distress  I  called  upon  Jehovah, 
 
 And  unto  my  God  did  I  cry  : 
 He  heard  my  voice  out  of  His  temple, 
 
 And  my  cry  before  Him  came  unto  His  ears. 
 
 7  Then  the  earth  was  moved  and  did  quake, 
 
 And    the   foundations    of   the    mountains 
 
 tremble, 
 And  were  moved  to  and  fro  because  He  was  wroth. 
 
 8  There  went  up  a  smoke  in  His  nostrils, 
 
 And  a  fire  out  of  His  mouth  devoured. 
 Coals  were  kindled  by  it. 
 
 began 
 
 to 
 
 5.  Hf.ll,  lit.  "Sheol,"  "the unseen 
 world,"  or  here  =  "the  grave.'' 
 
 6.  Temple,  i.e.  not  the  temple,  or 
 tabernacle  (see  v.  7),  on  Mount  Zion, 
 hut  the  temple  in  heaven,  wherein 
 God  especially  manifests  His  glory, 
 and  where  He  is  worshipt  by  the 
 heavenly  hosts — a  place  which  is  both 
 temple  and  palace.      See  xi.  4,  xxix.  9. 
 
 7—19.  A  grand  description  of  God's 
 appearance  in  person  as  Deliverer. 
 He  conies  to  rescue  His  servant  as 
 He  came  of  old  to  Sinai,  and  all 
 nature  is  moved  at  His  coming. 
 Similar  descriptions  of  the  Divine 
 manifestation,  and  of  the  effects  pro- 
 duced by  it,  occur  Ixviii.  7,  8,  Ixxvii. 
 14 — 20,  Ex.  xix.,  Judg.  V.  4,  Am.  ix. 
 5,  Micah  i.4  ,  Hab.  iii. ;  but  the  image 
 is  noM^here  so  fully  carried  out  as  here. 
 David's  deliverance  was,  of  course, 
 not  really  accompanied  by  such  con- 
 vulsions of  nature,  by  earthquake,  and 
 fire,  and  tempest,  but  his  deliverance, 
 or  rather  his  manifold  deliverances, 
 gathered  into  one,  as  he  thinks  of  them, 
 appear  to  him  as  marvellous  a  proof 
 of  the  Divine  Power,  as  verily  effected 
 by  the  immediate  presence  and  finger 
 of  God,  as  if  He  had  come  down  in 
 visible  form  to  accomplish  them. 
 
 The   image   is   carefully   sustained 
 
 throughout.  First,  we  have  the  earth- 
 quake, and  then,  as  preluding  the 
 storm,  and  as  herald  of  God's  wrath, 
 the  blaze  of  the  lightning  (ver.  7,  8). 
 Next,  the  thick  gatjiering  of  clouds, 
 which  seem  to  touch  and  envelope  the 
 earth  ;  the  wind,  and  the  darkness, 
 which  shrouds  Jehovah  riding  on  the 
 cherubim  (9 — 11).  Lastly,  the  full 
 outburst  of  the  storm,  the  clouds  part- 
 ing before  the  pi-esence  and  glory  of 
 Jehovah,  and  pouring  upon  the  earth 
 the  burden  with  which  they  were 
 heavy — the  thunder  and  the  lightning 
 and  the  hail, — the  weapons  of  Jehovah 
 by  which,  on  the  one  hand.  He  dis- 
 comfits His  enemies,  and,  on  the  other, 
 lays  bare  the  depths  of  the  sea,  and 
 the  very  foundations  of  the  world, 
 that  He  may  save  His  servant  who 
 trusts  in  Him  (12 — 16). 
 
 The  image  with  which  the  descrip- 
 tion opened  in  ver.  4,  of  a  sinking, 
 drowning  man,  is  resumed  in  ver.  16, 
 and  thus  completes  the  whole.  In 
 ver.  17 — 19  the  figure  is  dropped,  and 
 the  language  falls  into  a  lower  key. 
 
 8.  The  swift  approach  of  the  storm 
 is  vividly  described.  The  smoke  and 
 the  fire  are  symbols  of  the  Divine 
 wrath  before  which  all  creation  must 
 tremble  (see  ver.   7)  :    here   they  are 
 
72 
 
 PSALM  XVIIL 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 And  He  bowed  the  heavens,  and  came  down, 
 
 And  thick  darkness  was  under  His  feet. 
 And  He  rode  upon  a  cherub  and  did  fly, 
 
 And  came  flying  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind. 
 He    made    darkness     His   secret    place,   His    paviHon 
 round  about  Him, 
 
 Dark  gloom  of  waters,  thick  clouds  of  the  skies. 
 At    the    brightness    that    was    before    Him,  His  thick 
 clouds  passed, — 
 
 Hail-stones  and  coals  of  Are. 
 Jehovah  also  thundered  in  the  heavens, ' 
 
 And  the  Highest  gave  His  voice, 
 
 Hail-stones  and  coals  of  fire. 
 And  He  sent  forth  His  arrows  and  scattered  them, 
 
 And  lightnings  innumerable,  and  discomfited  them. 
 Then  the  channels  of  water  were  seen. 
 
 And  the  foundations  of  the  world  were  discovered. 
 
 At  Thy  rebuke,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 the .  clouds  and  the  lightning  of  the 
 storm,  probably  as  seen  about  the 
 mountain  summits  and  in  the  dis- 
 tance. 
 
 9.  He  bowed  the  heavens, 
 which,  with  their  dark  masses  of  low 
 hanging  clouds,  seemed  almost  to 
 touch  the  earth.  Comp.  cxliv.  5,  and 
 Is.  xlv.  8. 
 
 10.  Upon  a  cherub  ;  or,  perhaps, 
 rather  a  collective  noun,  and  so  used 
 for  a  plural.  The  cherubim  are,  as  it 
 were,  the  living  chariot  of  Jehovah, 
 and  in  their  form,  being  compounded 
 of  a  man,  a  bull,  a  lion,  and  an  eai^le 
 (see  Ezek,  i.  and  x.),  seem  to  symbo- 
 lize the  powers  of  nature.  As  to  the 
 etymology  of  the  word  "cherub,"  we 
 are  still  quite  in  the  d,ark.  It  remains 
 what  Bahr  calls  it,  a  crux  interpretuiii. 
 But  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the 
 cherubim — the  living  creatures  of 
 Ezekiel — were  emphatically  the  repre- 
 sentatives of  the  life  of  the  creature, 
 and  that  in  its  most  perfect  form.  The 
 
 four  animals  of  which  the  cherub  is 
 composed  belong  to  the  highest  class 
 of  organized  beings,  so  that  the  old 
 Jewish  proverb  says:  "  Four  things 
 are  chiefest  in  the  world.  The  lion 
 among  beasts,  the  bull  among  cattle, 
 the  eagle  among  birds,  and  man  among 
 all  (creatures)  ;  but  God  is  the  Most 
 High  over  all."  There  is  evidently  a 
 connection  between  this  and  the  hea- 
 then symbols,  such,  for  instance,  as 
 they  appear  on  the  Assyrian  monu- 
 ments. 
 
 12.  At  the  brightness,  &c.,  i.e. 
 the  reflection  of  His  glory,  which 
 seems  to  pierce  and  part  the  clouds, 
 which  then  discharge  the  hail,  the 
 lightning,  and  the  thunder.  The 
 repetition  of  the  words,  "  hail-stones 
 and  coals  of  fire,"  adds  much  to  the 
 force  of  the  description :  "  Hail  is 
 rare  in  Palestine,  but  often  the  more 
 terrible  and  destructive  when  it  does 
 fall.  Comp.  Job  xxxviii.  22,  Josh.  x. 
 1 1 ." — Ewald. 
 
PSALM  XVIII, 
 
 73 
 
 At  the  blasting  of  the  breath  of  Thy  nostrils. 
 
 1 6  He  sent  from  above  ;  He  took  me, 
 
 He  drew  me  out  of  many  waters, 
 
 17  He  delivered  me  from  my  strong  enemy, 
 
 And  from    them  that  hated  me  ;  for  they  were  too 
 strong  for  me. 
 
 18  They  came  upon  me  in  the  day  of  my  calamity. 
 
 But  Jehovah  was  my  stay. 
 And  He  brought  me  forth  into  a  large  place, 
 
 19 
 
 He  delivered  me,  because  He  delighted  in  me. 
 
 HI.  20  Jehovah  rewarded  me  according  to  my  righteousness, 
 According   to    the  cleanness   of    my  hands  did  He 
 recompense  me. 
 
 21  For  I  have  kept  the  ways  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  have  not  wickedly  departed  from  my  God. 
 
 22  For  all  His  judgements  are  before  me, 
 
 And  His  s.tatutes  I  do  not  put  away  from  me. 
 
 23  I  have  also  been  perfect  with  Him, 
 
 And  have  kept  myself  from  iniquity. 
 
 24  Therefore  Jehovah   recompensed   me  according  to   my 
 
 righteousness  ; 
 According  to  the  cleanness  of  my  hands  in  His  eye- 
 siirht. 
 
 20 — 30.  Next  follows  the  reason 
 for  this  deliverance — the  first  hint  of 
 which  had  already  been  given  in  the 
 jjreceding  verse  in  the  words,  "  because 
 He  delighted  in  me."  God  deals 
 with  men  according  as  He  sees  their 
 heart  to  be  towards  Him.  Those  who 
 walk  before  Him  in  simplicity  and 
 uprightness  of  heart  may  expect  His 
 succour.  And  David  here,  as  in  the 
 last  Psalm,  asserts  not  his  freedom 
 from  sin,  but  the  consciousness  of  his 
 own  integrity.  Some,  indeed,  have 
 seen  in  the  language  a  too  boastful 
 spirit,  and  therefore  would  refer  this 
 Psalm,  as  well  as  the  last,  to  the  time 
 before  David's  fall.     But  the  general 
 
 tenour  of  the  Psalm  everywhere 
 breathes  a  spirit  of  confidence  and  trust 
 in  God,  as  far  removed  as  possible 
 from  the  spirit  of  self-righteousness. 
 The  words  are,  in  truth,  words  of 
 childlike,  open-hearted  simphcity,  not 
 of  arrogant  boastfulness.  .  Some  allow- 
 ance, too,  must  perhaps  be  made  for 
 the  fact  that  under  the  Old  Covenant 
 the  knowledge  of  sin  M'asmore  super- 
 ficial than  it  is  under  the  New.  Yet 
 St.  Paul  does  not  hesitate  to  say  :  **  I 
 have  lived  in  all  good  conscience 
 before  God  unto  this  day ; "  and  a 
 man  may  call  himself  a  miserable  sin- 
 ner, and  yet  be  more  of  a  Pharisee  than 
 one  who  asserts  his  own  righteousneos. 
 
74  PSALM  XVIIL 
 
 25  With  the  good  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself  good, 
 
 With  the  perfect   man  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself 
 perfect. 
 
 26  With  the  pure  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself  pure, 
 
 And  with  the  perverse  Thou  wilt  show  Thyself 
 froward. 
 
 27  For  Thou  savest  the  afflicted  people, 
 
 And  bringest  down  high  looks. 
 
 28  For  Thou  givest  light  to  my  lamp, 
 
 Jehovah  my  God  maketh  my  darkness  to  be  bright. 
 
 29  For  by  Thee  I  can  rush  against  a  troop  ; 
 
 And  by  my  God  I  can  leap  over  a  wall. 
 
 30  As  for  God — His  way  is  perfect  ; 
 
 The  word  of  Jehovah  is  tried  ; 
 
 He  is  a  shield  to  all  who  hud  refuge  in  Him. 
 
 IV.   31  For  who  is  God  but  Jehovah, 
 
 And  who  is  a  rock  save  our  God  .'* 
 
 32  The  God  who  girdeth  me  with  strength, 
 
 And  maketh  my  way  perfect ; 
 
 33  Who  maketh  my  feet  like  hinds'  feet, 
 
 And  setteth  me  on  my  high  places  ; 
 
 34  W^ho  traineth  my  hands  for  war, 
 
 26.   Thou  wilt    show    thyself  and  <;i?«//«;/(7«r(^  of  life  and  happiness. 
 
 FROWARD.       The   expression    seems  See   cxxxii.  17,   and  of  the  house  of 
 
 rough   and   harsh,    but    is    no  doubt  David,  l  Kings  xi.  36,  xv.  4  ;  2  Kings 
 
 designedly  employed  in  contrast  with  viii.  19.     So,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
 
 what  goes  before.     The  meaning  is —  extinction   of  the  royal  race  is  com- 
 
 him  who  is  perverse  God  gives  up  to  pared  to  the  quenching  of  the  lamp,  2 
 
 follow  his  own  perverse  way,  till  it  Sam.  xxi.  17. 
 
 brings  him  to  destruction.     (Seelxxxi.  30.   Tried,  i.e.  like  metal  purified 
 
 12,  and  Rom.  i.   28).     It  is  also,   of  in  the   fire  ;  in  God's  promise   there 
 
 course,  true,  that  to  the  perverse  heart  is  no  admixture  of  alloy  :  see  xii.  6. 
 
 God  Himself  appears  perverse.     The  31.   The  reference  is  to  Deut.  xxxii. 
 
 wicked  man  thinks  that  God  is  "alto-  4,  15,  18,  &c. 
 
 gether  such  an  one  as  himself;  "but  33.   On   my  high  places,  i.e.  the 
 
 this  idea  is  not  so  prominent  here  as  mountain  strongholds   which  I   have 
 
 the  other.  seized  (as  in  taking  the  stronghold  of 
 
 28.   My  lamp.     Still  more  forcibly  Zion  itself).       On  the  occupation  of 
 
 in  2  Sam.  xxii.29.    "Thou,  O Jehovah,  these  military  positions  would  depend 
 
 art  my  lamp. "  The  lamp  lighted  in  the  the  possession  of  the  whole  country, 
 
 house-is  the  image  at  once  of /r^^/nv'/y  34.   In    the    preceding    verse    the 
 
PSALM  XVI IL  75 
 
 So  that  mine  arms  can  bend  a  bow  of  brass. 
 
 35  And  Thou  hast  given  me  the  shield  of  Thy  salvation, 
 
 And  Thy  right  hand  hath  holden  me  up, 
 And  Thy  graciousness  hath  made  m.e  great. 
 
 36  Thou  hast  made  room  for  my  footsteps  under  me, 
 
 That  mine  ankles  have  not  slipped. 
 '^J  I  pursued  mine  enemies  and  overtook  them, 
 
 Neither  did  I  turn  again,  until  they  were  consumed. 
 1,'^   I  have  smitten  them,  that  they  were  not  able  to  rise, 
 
 They  are  fallen  under  my  feet. 
 
 39  For  Thou  hast  girded  me  with  strength  to  the  battle  ; 
 
 Thou  hast  bowed  down  under   me  those  that  rose  up 
 against  me. 
 
 40  Mine  enemies  also  Thou  hast  made  to  turn  their  backs 
 
 before  me, 
 So  that  I  destroyed  them  that  hate  me, 
 
 41  They  cried, — but  there  was  none  to  save  them, — 
 
 Even  unto  Jehovah,  but  He  answered  them  not. 
 
 42  And  I  beat  them  small  as  the  dust  before  the  wind, 
 
 Like  the  mire  of  the  streets  I  emptied  them  out. 
 
 43  Thou    hast    delivered    me   from    the   strivings   of    the 
 
 people ; 
 Thou  hast  made  me  Head  over  the  nations : 
 A  people  that  I  know  not,  serve  me. 
 
 comppa-ison    with   the    hind   denoted  Jehovah's  wonderful  condescension  (liy 
 
 the    extraordina-ry    swiftness,     which,  which,  he  wns  taken  from  the  shee]5- 
 
 whether    for   attack    or    escape,  was  folds   to   be   king)   made  him  great ; 
 
 considered   a  great  excellence  in  the  Jehovah  made  room  for  him  to  stand, 
 
 warriors  of  ancient  times.     Here,  the  and  subdued  those  that  rose  up  against 
 
 bending    of    a    bow    of     brass     (or  him. 
 
 l,ronze,  rathei-,  which  seems  to  have  Thy  gR;4CTOTtsness.  lit.  '"meek- 
 been  tempered  and  rendered  pliable  ness,"  "  lowliness,"  a  very  reiiiarkable 
 like  steel  with  us)  indicates  his  great  word  as  applied  to  God,  and  just  one 
 strength  (comp.  Job  xx.  24).  In  of  those  links  connecting  the  Divine 
 Homer,  Ulysses  leaves  behind  him  at  with  the  human,  which  in  the  Old 
 Ithaca  a  bow  which  no  one  but  himself  Testament  so  strikingly  foreshadow  an 
 could  bend.  incarnation. 
 
 35.   Yet  it  is  not  the  bow  of  brass  41.   The  cry  extorted  in  terror,   and 
 
 which   has   been    David's  protection,  not  coming   from     an    upright    heart 
 
 but   Jehovah's   shield   covered   him  ;  (ver.  24,  &c.),  is  not  heard.     Seethe 
 
 Jehovah's  right  hand  held   him  up  ;  opposite,  ver.  6. 
 
76  PSALM  XVI  11. 
 
 44  AMhe  hearing  of  the  ear,  they  obeyed  me, 
 
 The  sons  of  the  ahen  came  crouching  unto  me. 
 
 45  The  sons  of  the  ahen  faded  away, 
 
 They  came  trembhng  out  of  their  strongholds. 
 
 V.  46.  Jehovah  Hveth,  and  blessed  is  my  Rock, 
 And  exalted  the  God  of  my  salvation  ; 
 
 47  Even  the  God  who  giveth  me  vengeance, 
 
 And  subdued  peoples  under  me. 
 
 48  Thou  art  He  that  deliverest  me  from  mine  enemies  ; 
 
 Yea,   Thou   liftest  me  up    above  those  that   rise 
 against  me  ; 
 Thou  hast  delivered  me  from  men  of  violence. 
 
 49  Therefore  will  I  give  thanks  unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 among  the  nations  ; 
 And  to  Thy  Name  will  I  sing  praises: 
 
 50  Who  giveth  great  deliverance  to  His  King; 
 
 And  showeth  loving-kindness  to  His  Anointed, 
 To  David  and  his  seed  for  evermore. 
 
 44.  Atthe  HEARING  OF  THE  EAR,  his  seed.  And  as  Jehovah  has  not 
 i.e.  even  at  a  distance,  without  seeing  only  placed  him  on  the  thi-one  of 
 me,  as  soon  as  they  heard  my  com-  Jerusalem,  but  has  given  him  dominion 
 mand.     (Seejobxlii,  5.)  over  foreii^n  nations,  he  will  proclaim 
 
 Came  cro,uching,  lit.  "  lied  imto  amongst  these  also  the  Name  and  the 
 
 me,"    so   descriptive    of    the    abject,  praises  of  his  God.     Here  we  have  the 
 
 crouching,  fawning  submission  of  the  first    utterance    of   a  hope,    which   in 
 
 Oriental.   Cf.  Ixvi.  3  (where  see  note),  later  times  became  clear  and  disti'  ct, 
 
 Ixxxi,  15,  "  feigned  submission."  that  the  heathen  should  le^rn  to  fear 
 
 45.  Faded  away,  i.e.  before  the  and  worship  Jehovah. 
 
 victorious  might  of  David,  like  plants  49.   St.  Paul  quotes  this  verse  Rom. 
 
 scorched  and  shrivelled  before  the  hot  xv.  9,  as  well  as  Deut.  xxxii.  43  and 
 
 blast  of  the  simoom  (Is.  xl.  7).  Ps.  cxvii,  i,  as  proof  that  the  salvation 
 
 Came'  trembling   (lit.    trembled  of  Christ  belonged,  in  the  purpose  of 
 
 out  of,    &c.),  i.e  in  order  to  give  in  God,   to   the  Gentiles  as  well  as  the 
 
 their  submission  and  to  implore  the  Jews.       The   Psalm    therefore    looks 
 
 clemency  and  protection  of  the  con-  beyond   David.     David  and  David's 
 
 queror  (Micah  vii    17).  rule  over  the  nations  are  shut  a  type 
 
 46 — 50.  The  hymn  now  concludes  and   image   of    Christ,    and    of   that 
 
 witli  the  praise  of  Jehovah,  who  had  spiritual  kingdom  which  He  came  to 
 
 done  so  great  things  for  David  and  for  establish. 
 
rSALM  XIX.  77 
 
 PSALM  XIX. 
 
 This  Psalm  consists  of  two  distinct  parts,  in  which  are  contrasted 
 God's  Revelation  of  Himself  in  Nature,  and  His  Revelation  of  Him- 
 self in  His  Word.  It  speaks  first  of  His  glory  as  seen  in  the  Heavens, 
 and  then  of  His  glory  as  manifested  in  His  Law. 
 
 It  may  have  been  written  perhaps  in  the  first  flush  of  an  Eastern 
 sunrise,  when  the  sun  was  seen  "going  forth  as  a  bridegroom  out  of 
 his  chamber,  and  rejoicing  as  a  mighty  man  to  run  his  course."  The 
 song  breathes  all  the  life  and  freshness,  all  the  gladness  and  glory  of 
 the  morning. 
 
 This  is  one  of  the  Psalms  appointed  by  the  Church  to  be  read  in 
 her  service  on  the  Festival  of  the  Nativity.  But  the  selection  surely 
 does  not  rest  on  any  of  those  merely  external  and  superficial  points  of 
 connection  which  are  commonly  supposed  to  have  guided  it.  Thus, 
 for  instance,  it  has  been  said  that  the  Psalm  speaks  of  the  glory  of  the 
 natural  sun  as  seen  in  the  heavens,  and  the  Church  celebrates  on  that 
 day  the  rising  of  "  the  Sun  of  righteousness  "  upon  the  earth.  Or 
 again,  St.  Paul  illustrates  the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel  throughout  the 
 world  bywords  borrowed  from  the  Psalm  (Rom.  x.  i8),  and  hence  it 
 may  be  naturally  associated  with  the  Incarnation  which  led  to  that 
 diffusion.  But  it  is  obvious  that,  if  this  quotation  influenced  the 
 selection,  the  Psalm  would  far  more  appropriately  have  been  appointed 
 for  Ascension  Day  or  Whitsunday."^ 
 
 No,  it  is  with  a  far  profounder  wisdom  that  the  Church  puts  this 
 Psalm  into  our  lips  on  Christmas  Day.  What  is  the  great  truth  which 
 the  Church  brings  before  us  so  prominently  on  that  day.?  Not  onl> 
 the  Incarnation,  but  the  truth  that  in  the  Incarnate  Jesus  we  have  the 
 perfect  Revelation  of  God.  It  is  the  Word  who  was  with  God  and 
 was  God,  who  being  in  the  bosom  of  the  Father  declared  the  Father, 
 who  as  on  that  day  became  flesh.  And  what  does  the  Psalm  speak  of, 
 but  two  other  imperfect  and  partial  and  preparatory  Revelations  ot 
 God,  His  Revelation  in  Nature   and  His  Revelation  in  His  written 
 
 *  "In  the  Latin  Church  this  Psalm  is  appointed  for  use  also  nn  the  festivals  of  the  As- 
 cension and  of  Trinity  Sunday;  so  likewise  it  was  in  the  Sarum  Use;  and  in  the  Gregorian 
 Use  it  is  appointed  for  the  Annunciation." — Wordsworth. 
 
7S  PSALM  XIX. 
 
 word  ?  Thus  we  are  led  step  by  step  from  the  first  and  lowest  Reve- 
 lation in  the  natural  world,  to  the  Revelation  in  the  written  word, 
 and  then  beyond  and  above  these  to  the  one  great,  perfect,  all- 
 embracino-,  all-completing  Revelation  in  His  Son.  The  Gospel  and 
 Epistle  for  the  Day  give  the  true  explanation  of  the  choice  of  this 
 Psalm,    It  begins,  and  they  finish,  the  cycle  of  Divine  Revelation  to  man. 
 
 The  strophical  arrangement  of  the  Psalm  is  as  follows  :— 
 
 I.  The  Glory  of  God  in  Creation.     Ver.  i — 6. 
 
 (i)  The  witness  of  the  heavens  to  God  as  their  Creator  (ver.  i). 
 
 (2)  The  nature  of  the  witness  as  continuous  (ver.  2),  though  not 
 audible  (ver.  3) ;  and  universal  (ver.  4  a,  b). 
 
 (3)  The  witness  especially  of  the  sun,  who,  as  the  most  glorious  of 
 the  heavenly  bodies,  is  chiefest  herald  of  God's  praise  (ver.  4  c — 6). 
 
 II.  The  Glory  of  God  in  His  Word.     Ver.  7 — 14. 
 
 (i)  The  excellence  and  power  (ver.  7 — 9),  and  the  exceeding 
 preciousness  (ver.  10,  11),  of  the  Law  of  Jehovah. 
 
 (2)  The  prayer  of  the  servant  of  Jehovah  in  the  light  of  that  Law, 
 to  be  kept  from  unconscious  errors,  as  well  as  from  open  trans, 
 gressions  (ver.  12,  13),  from  sins  of  the  lip  and  sins  of  the  heart 
 (ver.  14). 
 
 [for   the   precentor.      (a   psalm)    of   DAVID.] 
 
 I.   I   The  heavens  are  telling  the  glory  of  God  ; 
 
 And   the  work   of   His  hands  doth  the   firmament 
 
 declare. 
 
 I.  The  Psalm  opens  with  the  im-  lasting  order  by  which  Day  and  Night 
 
 pression  produced  on  the  Poet's  mind  follow   in    sweet   vicissitude  —  these 
 
 by  the  magnificence  and  the  order  of  things  are  not  the  offspring  of  Chance ; 
 
 Creation.     Of  the  two  clauses  of  this  they  are  not  the  evohation  of  some 
 
 verse,  the  first  states  the  fact  that  the  blind  spirit  enchained  within  the  mass 
 
 heavens    publish    God's   glory  ;    the  which  it  vivifies  ;  much  less  are  they 
 
 second  explains  ho7o  this  is  done,  viz.  the  work  of  some  evil  power  whose 
 
 by  testifying  that  He  has  made  them.  kingdom  and  whose  triumph  are  to  be 
 
 Comp.  viii.  i,  Rom.   i.  20,  Acts  xiv.  seen  in   the  material  universe,      God 
 
 17.     This  is  the  true  meaning  of  the  created  them,  and  they  show  forth //?> 
 
 heavens  and  their  pomp,     Thatsplen-  glory.     His   fingeis  fashioned   them, 
 
 dour  whicli  fills  their  arch,  that  beauty  He  clothed  them  with  light  as  with  a 
 
 which  so  attracts  the  eye,  that  ever-  garment,    and    put    the    sun    in    the 
 
FSALM  XIX. 
 
 •79 
 
 II. 
 
 like  a  bridegroom  that  goeth  forth  out 
 
 2  Day  unto  day  poureth  forth  speech  . 
 
 And  night  unto  night  revealeth  knowledge. 
 
 3  There  is  no  speech,  and  there  are  no  words, 
 
 Their  voice  is  not  heard  : 
 
 4  Through  the  whole  earth  hath  their  line  gone  forth 
 
 And  their  words  unto  the  ends  of  the  world. 
 For  the  sun  hath  He  set  a  tabernacle  in  them  ; 
 
 5  And  he  is 
 
 of  his  chamber ; 
 He  rejoiceth  as  a  mighty  man  to  run  his  course. 
 
 6  From  (one)  end  of  the  heaven  is  his  going  forth, 
 And  his  circuit  as  far  as  the  (other)  ends  thereof, 
 
 Neither  is  anything  hid  from  his  heat. 
 
 7  The  law  of  Jehovah  is  perfect,  restoring  the  soul ; 
 
 The  testimony  of   Jehovah   is  sure,  making  wise 
 the  simple. 
 
 midst   of    them    to    show   forth    His 
 praise. 
 
 2.  This  verse  expresses  not  so 
 much  the  progressive  character,  as 
 the  never-faihng  continuance  of  the 
 testimony.  There  is  no  pause,  no 
 change  in  the  stalely  procession  ;  none 
 of  them  thrusts  or  breaks  his  ranks  ; 
 for  ever  they  abide  the  same. 
 
 3.  Their  voice  is  not  heard, 
 ht.  "is  inaudible."  This  seems  to  be 
 a  kind  of  correction  or  explanation  of 
 the  bold  figure  which  had  ascribed 
 language  to  the  heavens.  The  sense 
 is  very  well  expressed  in  the  well-known 
 ]-iaraphrase  of  Addison  : — 
 
 "  What  though  in  solemn  silence  all 
 Move  round  this  dark  terrestrial  ball. 
 
 In  reason's  ear  they  all  rejoice, 
 And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice," 
 &c. 
 
 4.  St.  Paul,  Rom.  x.  18,  quotes  the 
 former  part  of  this  verse  in  illustration 
 of  the  progress  of  the  Gospel.  "Faith, " 
 he  says,    ' '  cometh  by  hearing, "  and 
 
 then  asks,  "Have  they  {i.e.  the 
 nations  at  large)  not  heard?"  Yea, 
 rather,  so  widely  has  the  Gospel  been 
 ]:>reached,  that  its  progress  may  be 
 described  in  the  words  in  which  the 
 Psalmist  tells  of  God's  R.evelation  of 
 Himself  in  Nature. 
 
 In  them,  i.e.  in  the  heavens,  hath 
 God  set  a  tent  or  pavilion,  &c.  In 
 like  manner  a  tabernacle  or  pavilion 
 is  ascribed  to  the  sun,  Hab.  iii.  11. 
 
 7,  But  the  singer  turns  from  God's 
 Revelation  of  Himself  in  Nature,  to 
 His  Revelation  of  Himself  in  His 
 Avritten  word.  He  turns  from  that 
 which  was  the  common  property  of 
 all,  to  that  which  was  the  special 
 privilege  of  the  Jew.  In  accordance 
 with  this  change  of  subject  is  the  differ- 
 ence in  the  use  of  the  Divine  Names. 
 The  transition  to  this  new  sub- 
 ject is  no  doubt  somewhat  abrupt, 
 but  this  only  renders  the  con- 
 trast the  more  forcibly  striking. 
 There  is  a  quick  rebound  of  the  heart 
 a;  it  were  from  the  M^orld  of  Nature, 
 beautiful  and  glorious  as  it  i?,  to  that 
 
8o 
 
 PSALM  XIX. 
 
 8  The  precepts  of  Jehovah  are  right,  rejoicing  the  heart ; 
 The  commandment  of  Jehovah  is  pure,  enhghtening 
 the  eyes. 
 
 wVsich  is  far  more  beautiful  and  more 
 glorious,  the  word  of  Revelaiion.  But 
 despite  the  seeming  abruptness,  there 
 is  a  point  of  connexion  between  the 
 two  portions  of  the  Psalm.  What  the 
 Sun  is  in  the  natural  world,  that  the 
 Law  is  in  the  spiritual  :  the  one  quick- 
 ens and  cherishes  all  animal  life  — 
 nothing  behig  hid  from  his  heat  ;  the 
 other  quickens  and  cherishes  the  life 
 •  of  the  soul. 
 
 7 — lo.  It  would  be  difficult  ^o  find 
 a  more  perfect  example  of  Hebrew 
 parallelism.  In  ver.  7,  8,  we  have  in 
 each  member  of  each  verse  the  Law 
 of  Jehovah  described,  firs^,  by  means 
 of  a  simple  attribute  setting  forth  its 
 inherent  character ;  and  then  sub- 
 joined, without  a  copula,  what  it  is  in 
 its  effects  upon  the  heart  and  spirit  of 
 men.  The  second  division,  too,  of 
 each  member  is  constructed  in  .both 
 verses  exactly  on  the  same  principle. 
 Thus  to  "perfect"  in  one  clause, 
 answers  "sure"  in  the  next:  to 
 *' restoring  the  soul,"  "making  wise 
 the  simple,''  and  so  on.  In  ver.  9  the 
 parallelism  is  no  less  strictlv  observed, 
 but  it  is  thi-own  imo  a  different  form, 
 the  latter  half  of  each  member  being 
 now  a  further  predicate  of  the  7iaiure  of 
 the  Law  considered  in  itself,  not  in  its 
 effects.  In  ver.  10  we  have  not  the 
 effects  of  the  Law,  as  before,  but  its 
 preciousness  and  sweetness  set  forth  ; 
 and  here  again  there  is  the  most  exact 
 parallelism  between  the  two  members 
 of  the  verse. 
 
 7.  The  law  ....  the  testi- 
 ^fONY.  These  are  the  collective 
 terms  embracing  the  whole  body  of 
 '•statutes,"  "judgements,"  &c.  after- 
 wards mentioned.  This  revelation  has 
 the  name  of  "testimony,"  as  te-tifying, 
 bearing  witness   of,    God's  character 
 
 both  in  His  good  will  towards  those 
 who  obey  Him,  and  in  His  displeasure 
 against  transgressors,  especially  in  the 
 latter  sense.  It  is,  as  Plarless  says, 
 "  the  word  of  God,  testifying  of  Him- 
 self, and  affirming  what  He  is,  in 
 opposition  to  the  apostasy  of  man." 
 See  Deut.  xxxi.  26,  27.  Hence  the 
 force  of  its  connexion  with  the  ark 
 and  the  mercy-seat,  Exod.  xxv.  16, 
 xxvi.  34,  Lev.  xvi.  13  ;  the  symbol  of 
 God's  righteous  severity  against  sin 
 being  hidden  beneath  the  symbol  of 
 His  grace  and  mercy. 
 
 Next  we  have  its  marvellous  effects 
 declared. 
 
 Restoring  the  soul,  i.e.  it  calls 
 it  back  from  its  wanderings  by  re- 
 minding it  of  its  ingratitude,  by  setting 
 before  it  its  high  destiny,  by  bringing 
 it  to  its  true  Shepherd  and  Guardian. 
 Making  wise  the  simple  It 
 gives  to  each  one  who  studies  it  with 
 open,  unprejudiced,  candid  mind,  that 
 divine  wisdom  whereby  he  attains  to 
 salvation.  Comp.  2  Tim.  iii.  15,  "the 
 holy  scriptures  which  are  able  to 
 make  thee  wise  unto  salvation." 
 The  purposes  for  which  scripture  is 
 there  said  to  be  profitable  should  be 
 compared  with  what  is  said  here. 
 
 The  simple,  lit.  "the  open,"  not 
 here,  "the  foolish,"  as  often  in  Pro- 
 verbs, but  he  who  is  ready  to  become 
 a  fool  that  he  may  be  wise,  who  has 
 the  true  child-like  spirit  (Matt.  xi.  25, 
 I  Cor.  i.  27). 
 
 8.  Right,  i.e.  straight,  as  opposed 
 to  the  crooked  ways  of  men. 
 
 Enlightening  the  eyes.  Ac- 
 cording to  the  expressive  Hebrew 
 idiom,  it  is  to  the  soul  what  food  is  to 
 the  worn  and  fainting  body.  It  is 
 what  the  honey  which  he  found  in 
 the  wood  was  to  Jonathan,  when  he 
 
PSALM  XIX.  8t 
 
 9  The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  clean,  standing  fast  for  ever  ; 
 The    judgements    of    Jehovah    are    truth,    they    are 
 righteous  altogether. 
 
 10  More  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold,  yea  than  much 
 
 fine  gold  ; 
 Sweeter  also  than  honey  and  the  dropping  of  the 
 honeycomb. 
 
 1 1  Moreover  Thy  servant  is  enlightened  by  them, 
 
 In  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward. 
 
 12  As  for  errors, — who  can  discern  (them)  1 
 
 From  secret  (faults)  do  Thou  pronounce  me  innocent. 
 
 13  Also  from  presumptuous  (sins)  keep  Thy  servant  back  • 
 
 Let  them  not  have  dominion  over  me  : 
 Then  shall  I  be  perfect. 
 
 And  innocent  from  great  transgression. 
 
 14  Let  the  words  of  my  mouth    and    the    meditation  of 
 
 my  heart  be  acceptable  before  Thee, 
 
 returned  wearied  and  exhausted  from 
 the  pursuit  of  his  enemies.  Cf  cxix. 
 18,  Acts  xxvi.  18,  Eph.  i.  18. 
 
 9.  The  fear  of  Jehovah.  An- 
 other name  for  the  Law,  but  as  con- 
 templated not  so  much  in  its  outward 
 aspect,  as  in  its  working  on  the  heart, 
 
 11.  Personal  experience  of  the  bless- 
 edness of  obeying  God's  Law,  inas- 
 much as  it  brings  with  \\.\iQ\}a.enlightcn- 
 vient  and  reward. 
 
 12.  But  with  all  this  affection  for 
 God's -word,  there  is  mingled  awe  and 
 reverence.  That  word  lays  a  man  bare 
 to  himself  It  judges  him  :  it  shows 
 him  what  is  in  him,  convinces  him 
 how  much  there  is  that  needs  to  be 
 purged,  how  far  even  one  who  loves 
 it  is  from  a  perfect  obedience.  It  is 
 at  once  a  copy  of  the  will  of  God,  and 
 a  mirror  of  the  heart  of  man.  Hence 
 if  calls  forth  the  penitent  confession, 
 "As  for  errors,  who  can  understand 
 them  ? "  and  the   prayer   both  to  be 
 
 absolved — *'  pronounce  m^  free  " — and 
 to  be  kept  from  sin  ;  first  for  pardon, 
 and  then  for  sanctitication. 
 
 Errors,  only  here  sins  both  of 
 ignorance  and  infirmity,  those  which 
 are  done  unintentionally  and  un- 
 consciously. 
 
 Secret(faults),  lit. things  hidden, 
 i.e.  not  only  from  others,  but  from 
 our  own  hearts,  through  inobservance, 
 through  a  too  ready  forgetfulness  of 
 them  when  observed,  through  the 
 habit  of  self-deception,  01  even  through 
 their  being  wilfully  cherished, 
 
 13.  Presumptuous  (sins).  These 
 are  sins  done  with  a  high  hand  ;  see 
 Num,  XV,  27 — 31,  Against  these  he 
 pmys  that  they  may  not  get  the  full 
 mastery  over  him.  This  completes 
 the  climax,  which  begins  with  in- 
 voluntary, and  advances  in  hidden, 
 presumptuous,  and  at  length  ruling  sins 
 which  leave  a  man  theT  hopeless  slavj. 
 
 14.  be     ACCEPTA.BLE,     the     usual 
 
 G 
 
32  PSALM  XX. 
 
 O  Jehovah,  my  Rock  and  my  Redeemer  ! 
 
 formula  appliedto  God's  acceptance  of  the  seventh  time.     The  epithets  "  my 
 
 sacrifices  offered  to  Him  (Lev.  i.  3,  4,  Rock,"  "my  Redeemer,"  have  here  a 
 
 &c. ).     Prayer  to  God  is  the  sacrifice  peculiar  force.    For  He  is  my  strength 
 
 of  the  heart  and  of  the  lips.     Comp.  in  keeping  the  Law  ;  my  Redeemer  is 
 
 Hos.   xiv.   2,   "So  will  we  oifer  our  delivering  me  from  the  guilt  and  the 
 
 lips  as  calves."  power  of  sin. 
 The  name  Jehovah  is  repeated  for 
 
 PSALM  XX. 
 
 This  is  evidently  a  liturgical  Psalm,  and  was  intended  originally,  it 
 would  seem,  to  be  sung  on  behalf  of  a  king  who  was  about  to  go  forth 
 to  war  against  his  enemies.  The  structure  of  the  Psalm,  and  the 
 change  from  the  plural  to  the  singular,  render  it  probable  that  it  was 
 chanted  in  alternate  measure_by-,the  congregation  and  the  Priest  or 
 Levit£_\dia~led  thexhoir.  As  the  king  stands  within  the  sanctuary 
 offering  his  sacrifice,  the  whole  assembled  crowd  of  worshipers  in  the 
 spacious  courts  lift  up  their  voices  in  the.  prayer,  that  Jehovah  would 
 graciously  accept  those  sacrifices,  and  send  him  help  and  victory  in 
 the  battle. 
 
 For  what  special  occasion  the  Psalm  was  first  composed,  it  is  of 
 course  now  quite  impossible  to  say.  Some,  following  the  Syriac 
 translator,  would  refer  it  to  the  time  of  David's  war  with  the  Syrians 
 and  Ammonites  (2  Sam.  x.) ;  but  obviously  it  would  apply  to  other 
 circumstances  equally  well. 
 
 The  Psalm  has  no  doubt  a  prophetical  aspect,  from  the  fact  that  the 
 Jewish  king  was,  by  virtue  of  his  office,  a  type  of  Christ.  Luther, 
 indeed,  observes  :  "  This  Ps^lm  almost  all  expound  of  Christ.  But 
 such  an  exposition  appears  to  me  to  be  too  far-fetched  to  be  called 
 literal.  Accordingly,  in  its  more  simple  and  evident  meaning,  I  think 
 it  to  be  a  kind  of  general  litany  for  magistrates  and  those  who  are 
 placed  in  high  office,  for  whom  the  Apostle  also  (i  Tim.  il.  2)  bids 
 us  first  of  all  pray,  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceful  life." 
 
PSALM  XX.  8 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  pares  : — 
 
 I.  The  prayer  of  the  congregation.  This  was  probably  chanted  by 
 the  Levites,  whilst  the  smoke  of  the  sacrifices  ascended  towards 
 heaven.     Ver.  i — 5. 
 
 II.  Either  the  king  himself,  strengthened  and  encouraged  by  the 
 prayer  of  the  congregation,  or  more  probably  one  of  the  Levites,  now 
 takes  up  the  strain,  gives  utterance  to  his  faith  in  Qp^df  and  already 
 in  spirit  sees  his  enemies,  great  an cl' powerfurS!s  they  were,  broken  and 
 overthrown.     Ver.  6 — 8. 
 
 III.  The  congregation  once  more  respond,  and  taking  up  the  words 
 of  the  king  or  the  Levite  (ver.  6),  change  them  into  a  prayer  for  the 
 king,  adding  also  a  petition  that  their  prayer  may  be  heard.     Ver.  9. 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      a   psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 The  congregation  led  by  the  Levites. 
 
 1  Jehovah  answer  thee  in  the  day  of  distress, 
 
 The  Name  of  the  God  of  Jacob  defend  thee. 
 
 2  Send  thee  help  from  the  sanctuary, 
 
 And  uphold  thee  out  of  Zion  ! 
 
 3  Remember  all  thine  offerings  ; 
 
 And  graciously  accept  thy  burnt  sacrifice.        [Selah.] 
 
 4  Give  thee  according  to  thy  heart's  desire, 
 
 And  fulfil  all  thy  counsel  1 
 
 5  So  will  we  shout  for  joy  because  of  thy  salvation. 
 
 And  in  the  Name  of  our  God  will  we  wave  our  banners. 
 Jehovah  fulfil  all  thy  petitions. 
 
 Ver,    I — 4.       The    futures   are   all  incense.     To  this  last  the  verb  "rc-- 
 
 optative,  the   prayers    and  wishes    of  member "  is  peculiarly  applicable.   For 
 
 the  people  accompanying  the  offering  the  priest  was  to  take  a  handful  of  it, 
 
 of  the  sacrifice.  and  burn  it   as    a    '■^  memoriaV^    (cf. 
 
 I.  Defend  THEE,  lit.  "set  thee  up  Acts  x.   4)  upon  the  altar,  to  be  an 
 
 on  high,"  i.e.  as  in  a  fortress  where  no  offering  made  by  fire  of  a  sweet  savour 
 
 enemy  can  do  thee  harm,  or  on  a  rock  unto  the  Lord,  Lev.  ii.  2. 
 
 at  the  foot  of  which  the  waves  fret  Graciously  accept,   ht.   **make 
 
 and  dash  themselves  in  impotent  fury.  fat,"  but  here  in  a  declarative  senst^, 
 
 3.  The  king   offers,  as  was  usual,  "  regard  as  fat,"  and  so  "receive  as  fat, " 
 
 before  going  into  battle  (i  Sam,  xiii.  i.e.  as  worthy  to  be  offered,  the  fattest 
 
 9,    &c, ),    his   whole    burnt-sacrifices,  of  the  flock  being  chosen  for  sacrifice, 
 
 together  with  the  bloodless  offering  of  4,  Thv    pe'ITTIONS,    i.e.    all   thy 
 
 fine  flour,  mixed  with  oil  and  frank-  plans  and  measures  in  the  war. 
 
 G    2 
 
84 
 
 PSALM  XXI. 
 
 The  King  or  a  Levite. 
 
 6  Now  know  I  that  Jehovah  saveth  His  Anointed  ; 
 
 He  will  answer  him  from  His  holy  heaven 
 With  the  strength  of  the  salvation  of  His  right  hand. 
 
 7  Some  of  chariots  and  some  of  horses, 
 
 But  ive  wijl  make  mention  of  the  Name  of  Jehovah 
 our  God. 
 
 8  TJiey  have  bowed  down  and  fallen, 
 
 But  zve  have  risen  and  stood  upright. 
 
 The  people  and  Levites. 
 
 9  O  Jehovah,  save  the  king  ! 
 
 May  He  answer  us  when  we  cry  (unto  Him) ! 
 
 6,  The  second  division  of  the  Psalm. 
 The  offering  of  the  sacrifices  had,  we 
 may  suppose,  been  conchided ;  and 
 now,  after  a  pause  of  some  duration,  a 
 single  voice  (probably  of  one  of  the 
 Levites)  is  heard,  declaring  that  the 
 sacrifice  has  been  graciously  received, 
 and  thence  drawing  an  augury  of 
 success. 
 
 The  prayer  had  been  (ver.  I,  2) 
 that  God  would  hear  and  send  help 
 from  the  earthly  sanctuary  or  Zion. 
 Now  the  answtr  is  said  to  come  from 
 His  holy  heaven. 
 
 7.  According  to  the  Law,  Israel 
 was  forbidden  to  maintain  a  standing 
 
 army.  See  the  directions  concerning 
 the  king,  Deut.  xvii.  16. 
 
 With  the  sentiment  here  expressed, 
 comp.  David's  words  to  Goliath, 
 I  Sam.  xvii.  45,  and  Ps.  xxxiii.  16,  &c. 
 Similar  language  is  common  in  the 
 Prophets.  The  basis  of  it  all  is  to  be 
 found  in  the  Law,  Deut.  xx.  2 — 4, 
 xxxii.  30. 
 
 9.  After  the  solo,  the  Chorus  again 
 take  up  the  strain. 
 
 O  Jehovah,  save  the  king,  5:c. 
 Such  is  the  rendering  of  the  LXX., 
 which  is  also  followed  by  the  Vulg., 
 Domine  salvnmfac  regem,  whence  our 
 "  God  save  the  King." 
 
 PSALM  XXI. 
 
 The  last  Psalm  was  a  litany  before  the  king  went  forth  to  battle. 
 This  is  apparently  a  Te  Deum  on  his  return.  In  that  the  people 
 cried,  "  Jehovah  give  thee  according  to  thy  heart's  desire  : "  in  this 
 they  thank  God  who  has  heard  their  prayer,  "  The  wish  of  his  heart 
 hast  Thou  granted  him." 
 
PSALM  XXL  85 
 
 The  Psalm  was  evidently  sung  in  the  Temple,  either  by  the  whole 
 congregation,  or  by  a  choir  of  Levites.  Like  the  last,  it  is  Messianic, 
 and  in  the  same  sense.  Each  Jewish  monarch  was  but  a  feeble  type 
 of  Israel's  true  King :  and  all  the  hopes  and  aspirations  ot  pious 
 hearts,  however  they  might  have  for  their  immediate  object  the  then 
 reigning  monarch,  whether  David  himself  or  one  of  David's  children, 
 still  looked  beyond  these  to  Him  who  should  be  David's  Lord  as 
 well  as  his  Son. 
 
 It  falls  into  two  strophes  :— 
 
 L  A  Prayer  to  Jehovah  on  behalf  of  the  king.  Here  we  have 
 the  gladness  of  the  king  ascribed  (i)  to  what  Jehovah  has  done,  is 
 doing,  and  will  do  in  his  behalf;  and  (2)  to  the  fact  that  the  king 
 triisteth  in  Jehovah.     Ver.  i — 7. 
 
 n.  Good  wishes  and  words  of  happy  augury  addressed  to  the 
 king  himself,  who  is  assured  of  victory  over  all  his  enemies.  Ver, 
 8-12. 
 
 [for   the    precentor.      a   psalm    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Jehovah,  in  Thy  strength  shall  the  king-  be  glad, 
 
 And  in  Thy  salvation  how  greatly  shall  he  exult  ! 
 
 2  The  wish  of  his  heart  hast  Thou  granted  him  ; 
 
 And   the  desire  of  his  lips  hast  Thou  not  refused. 
 [Selah.] 
 
 3  For  Thou  comest  to  meet  him  with  blessings  of  prosperity, 
 
 Thou  puttest  a  crown  of  fine  gold  upon  his  head. 
 
 4  He  asked  life  of  Thee  : — Thou  gavest  (it)  him, 
 
 Length  of  days,  for  ever  and  ever. 
 
 I,    2.     Introduction.    Jehovah  has  A  crown  of  fine  gold.      Some 
 
 answered  the  prayer  of  the  king,  and  .see  a  reference  either  to  David's  first 
 
 so  filled  him  with  joy.  coronation,  or  to  his  taking  the  crown 
 
 I.   Strength  .  ,  .  salvation  (or,  of  the  king  of  Rabbah,  2  Sam.  xii.  30. 
 
 SAVING  HELP),  words  used  especidlly  But  "Thou  puttest  a  crown  of  fine 
 
 of  strength  and  succour  vouchsafed  in  gold  upon  his  head  "  may  only  mean, 
 
 battle.  "  Thou  givest  him  kingly  dignity  and 
 
 Ver.   3 — 6.     The  manner  in  which  presence." 
 
 the  king's  prayer  has  been  answered.  4.    For  ever  and  ever.     There 
 
 3.   Blessings  of  prosperity,  i.e.  is  no  difficulty  in  this  expression  even 
 
 blessings  which  bring  and  consist  in  as  applied  to  David.     It  was  usual  to 
 
 prosperity  ;  cf.  Prov.  xxiv.  25.  pr.ay  that  the  king  might  live  for  ever 
 
86  PSALM  XXI. 
 
 5   Great  is  his  glory  through  Thy  salvation  ; 
 
 Honour  and  majesty  dost  Thou  lay  upon  him. 
 6,  For  Thou  makest  him  (full  of)  blessings  for  ever; 
 
 Thou  dost  gladden  him  with  joy  in  Thy  presence. 
 7  For  the  king  trusteth  in  Jehovah, 
 
 And  through  the  mercy  of  the  Most  High  he  shall 
 not  be  moved. 
 
 ( To  the  King. ) 
 
 S  Thy  hand  shall  find  all  thine  enemies, 
 
 Thy  right  hand  shall  find  out  them  that  hate  thee. 
 9  Thou  shalt  make  them  as  a  furnace  of  fire  in  the  time 
 of  thy  wrathful  n ess  : 
 Jehovah  in  His  anger  shall  consume  them  ;  and  a  fire 
 shall  devour  them. 
 
 10  Their  fruit  shalt  thou  destroy  from  the  earth, 
 
 And  their  seed  from  among  the  children  of  men. 
 
 1 1  For  they  intended  evil  against  thee ; 
 
 They  imagined    a    mischievous    device — which    they 
 cannot  perform. 
 
 12  For  thou  shalt  make  them  turn  their  back : 
 
 On  thy  strings  thou  shalt  make  ready  (thine  arrows) 
 against  the  face  of  them. 
 
 & 
 
 (i  Kings  i.  31,  Neh.   ii.   3,  &c.),   rind  furnace,"  or  by  a  metonymy  the  fur- 
 
 a  like  anticipation  of  an  endless  life  nace  may  be  put  for  the  fuel  which  it 
 
 occurs  in   other   Psalms  (xxiii.  6,  Ixi.  consumes  (as  Ixxxiii,    14,  "  Thou  wilt 
 
 6,  xci.  16).     But  it  applies  most  truly  make  them  ....   as  the  fire  which 
 
 to  Christ.  consumeth  the  wood,'"  instead  of  "as 
 
 5.  Salvation,  see  on  ver.  i,  the  wood  which  the  fire  consumes;  " 
 
 6.  Lit.  "  Thou  viakcst  hivi  bless-  see  also  Zech.  xii.  6).  (2)  The  king 
 ings,"  i.e.  blessed  himself  and  the  himself  may  be  compared  to  a  furnace, 
 bearer  of  blessing  toothers.  Comp.  "Thou  shalt  do  with  them,  as  a 
 Gen.  xii.  2,  Is.  xix.  24,  Ezek.  xxxiv.  furnace  would,  viz.  consume  them." 
 26.  For  the  expression,  joy  in  Thy  There  is  a  similar  ambiguity  in  the 
 TRESENCE,  comp.  xvi.  II.  reference  of  the  image  in  xxxix.  IT. 
 
 9.  Thou  shalt  make  them  as  a  10.  Their  fruit  =  children,  pos- 
 
 FURNACE  OF  FIRE.     This  is  capable  terity,  &c,  Lam,  ii.  20,  Hosea  ix.  16  ; 
 
 of  two  interpretations  :  (i)  it  may  be  more    fully     "fruit   of    the   womb," 
 
 equivalent  to  "as  if  they  were  in  a  cxxvii.  3,  cxxxii.  ii 
 
PSALM  XXI r.  87 
 
 13  Be  Thou  exalted,  Jehovah,  in  Thy  strength  ; 
 So  will  we  hymn  and  praise  Thy  might. 
 
 13.   The   singer  has  done  with  his  Himself  in  all  his  power  and  glory, 
 
 good  wishes  and  prophecies   for   the  that  His   people    may  ever   acknow- 
 
 king.     Now  he  turns  to  the  Giver  of  ledge  Him  as  the  only  source  of  their 
 
 victory,  and  prays  Him  to   manifest  strength. 
 
 PSALM  XXIl. 
 
 According  to  the  Inscription,  this  is  one  of  David's  Psalms.  We 
 know,  however,  of  no  circumstances  in  his  life  to  which  it  can  possibly 
 be  referred.  In  none  of  his  persecutions  by  Saul  was  he  ever  reduced 
 to  such  straits  as  those  here  described.  And  yet  there  is  a  distinctness 
 in  the  enumeration  of  circumstances,  as  in  ver.  18,  19,  which  connects 
 the  Psalm  evidently  with  some  particular  occasion. 
 
 It  is  more  probable  that  the  Psalm  was  composed  by  one  of  the 
 exiles  during  the  Babylonish  captivity.  And  though  the  feelings  and 
 expressions  are  clearly  individual,  not  national,  yet  they  are  the 
 feelings  and  expressions  of  one  who  suffers  not  merely  as  an  in- 
 dividual, but  so  to  speak  in  a  representative  character. 
 
 Hence  we  may  regard  him  in  his  sufferings  as  a  type  of  Christ ;  and 
 surely  it  was  most  fitting  that  at  the  very  time  when  the  nation  itself 
 was  shown  how,  through  its  own  sufferings  in  exile,  the  heathen  were  to 
 be  claimed  for  Jehovah,  it  should  also  learn  by  means  of  this  typical 
 instance,  how,  through  the  sufferings  of  the  Great  Deliverer,  all  its 
 hopes  would  be  fulfilled.  Thus  the  history  of  Israel  was  fashioned  to 
 be  typical  of  the  history  of  Redemption,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
 i.idividual  Israelite  to  be  typical  of  Christ. 
 
 The  references  in  the  New  Testament  to  this  Psalm,  as  fulfilled  in 
 Christ,  are  many.  The  first  words  of  it  were  uttered  by  Jesus  on  the 
 cross.  Matt,  xxvii.  46.  The  scorn  of  the  passers-by,  and  the  shaking 
 of  the  head,  in  ver.  7,  have  their  counterpart  in  the  story  of  the 
 crucifixion,  Matt,  xxvii.  39.     The  words  of  ver.  8  are  found  in  M^tt 
 
u 
 
 83  PSALM  XXII. 
 
 xxvii.  43;  the  intense  thirst,  "my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my  ja\vs/'  of 
 ver.  15,  in  John  xix.  28;  the  parting  of  the  garments,  &c.  ver.  18,  in 
 John  xix.  23  ;  the  piercing  (if  that  is  a  correct  rendering ;  see  note  on 
 the  ver.)  of  the  hands  and  feet  in  ver.  16,  in  the  naihng  to  the  cross. 
 SimiJariy  we  are  justified  in  interpreting  the  latter  part  of  the  Psalm 
 of  the  fruit  of  Christ's  Passion  and  Resurrection  by  the  way  in  which 
 ver.  22  is  quoted,  Heb.  ii.  12,  &c. 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts  : — 
 
 I.  Complaint  and  Prayer.     Ver.  i — 21. 
 II.  Vows  and  Hopes.     Ver.  22 — 31. 
 
 Each  of  these  principal  divisions  admits  of  its  subdivision.  For 
 we  have — 
 
 I.  First,  the  pouring  out  of  the  heart's  sorrow,  with  one  of  the 
 tenderest  appeals  to  God's  compassionate  Love  that  ever  trembled 
 on  hum.an  lips  (ver.  2 — 11)  ;  and  next,  the  earnest  entreaty  for  help, 
 because  of  the  greatness  and  nearness  of  the  peril  (ver.  12—22). 
 The  peril  so  near,  and  God  so  far  off— this  is  the  thought  which 
 colours  all,  both  complaint  and  prayer. 
 
 II.  In  the  second  part,  again,  we  have,  first,  the  vows  of  thanks- 
 giving for  deliverance,  and  the  praising  of  God's  Name  in  the  "midst 
 of  the  congregation"  (ver.  23 — 27).  Next,  the  confident  hope  that 
 God's  kingdom  shall  be  set  up  in  all  the  earth,  and  that  all,  great  and 
 low,  shall  submit  themselves  to  Him  (ver.  28 — 32). 
 
 According  to  a  different  and  more  general  arrangement,  the  Psalm 
 consists  of  three  parts  : — 
 
 I.  Complaint.     Ver.  i  — 10. 
 
 II.  Prayer.     Ver.  11 — 21. 
 
 III.  Expression  of  Hope.     Ver.  22 — 31. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    to  the  melody  "the  hind  of  the 
 dawn."*    a  psalm  of  david.] 
 
 I.   I   My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  me  } 
 
 I.  Why  ?  What  these  words  were  in  mentintliat  last  agony  the  Perfect  Man 
 the  lips  of  the  Holy  One  of  God,  heart  was  alone,  alone  with  the  sin  of  the 
 of  man  may  not  conceive.     For  a  mo-       world.     But  it  is  going  beyond  Scrip- 
 
 ^^  *  Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  this  title,  but  the  most  natural  seems  to  be  that 
 "thehmd  of  the  dawn"  are  the  first  words  of  some  othersong,  to  the  music  of  which  this 
 was  to  be  sung. 
 
PSALM  XXII. 
 
 89 
 
 me,  (and  from)  the 
 
 (Why  art  Thou)  far  from  helpin 
 words  of  my  roaring  ? 
 
 2  O  my  God,  I  cry  in  the  day-time,  but  Thou  answerest 
 
 not. 
 And  in  the  night  season,  and  keep  not  silence  : 
 
 3  And  Thou  art  Holy,  throned  above  the  praises  of  Israel. 
 
 4  In  Thee  our  fathers  tru-sted  ; 
 
 They  trusted,  and  Thou  didst  rescue  them  : 
 
 5  Unto  Thee  did  they  cry  and  were  delivered, 
 
 In  Thee  they  trusted  and  were  not  ashamed. 
 
 6  But  as  for  me — I  am  a  worm,  not  a  man, 
 
 A  reproach  of  men,  and  despised  of  the  people. 
 
 7  All  they  that  see  me,  laugh  me  to  scorn, 
 
 They  shoot  out  the  lip,  they  shake  the  head,  (saying,) 
 
 8  "  Cast  (thyself)  upon  Jehovah — let  Him  rescue  him, 
 
 •    ''  Let  Him  deliver  him,  seeing  He  delighteth  in  him." 
 Q  For  Thou  art  He  that  took  me  out  of  the  womb. 
 
 ture  to  say  that  a  sense  of  God's  wrath 
 extorted  that  cry.  For  to  the  last 
 breath  He  was  the  well-beloved  of 
 the  Father,  and  the  repeated  "  My 
 God,"  "My  God,"  is  a  witness  even 
 then  to  His  confidence  in  the  Father's 
 Love. 
 
 2.  Again  *' w_y  God."  And  this 
 verse  further  explains  the  "why"  of 
 the  first  verse.  It  is  as  if  he  said  "  I 
 cannot  understand  this  darkness.  It 
 is  not  that  I  have  forgotten  Thee. 
 Day  and  night  I  cry— tome  there  is 
 no  silence." 
 
 3.  And  there  is  Another,  reason, 
 Thou  art  Holy  ;  God's  holiness  is 
 but  another  asptct  of  His  faithfulness 
 and  mercy. 
 
 Throned  above  the*''"praises, 
 &c.,  or  inhabiting  the  praises,  appa- 
 rently with  allusion  to  the  phrase 
 *' dwelling  between  the  chert\bim,"  I 
 Sam.  iv.  4  ;  2  Sam.  v-i.  2  ;  cf.  Ixxx.  I, 
 xcix.  I.  , 
 
 The  praises  (plur. )  with""  reference 
 to  the  many  acts  of,  deliverance  and 
 
 redemption  which  had  from  time  to 
 time  called  forth  a  thankful  remem- 
 brance. There  is  perhaps  an  allusion 
 to  Exod.  XV.  II,  12. 
 
 4,  5.  Thrice  "they  trusted,"  and 
 only  once  "  they  cried." 
 
 6.  Every  word  of  this  verse  finds  its 
 echo  in  Isaiah.  There  Israel  is  "a 
 worm,"  xlt.  14.  And  there  "the 
 servant  of  Jehovah "  is  one  whose 
 "visage  is  so  marred  that  he  is  not 
 like  a  man,"  lii.  14.       See,   also,  Is. 
 
 ■   lii 
 forms  of  expression. 
 
 7.  St.  Luke,  in  his  account  of  our 
 Lord's  crucifixion  (xxiii.  35),  has  used 
 the  verb  employed  by  the  LXX. 
 in  this  passage. 
 
 Shoot  out  teie  lip.  Cf.  xxxv. 
 21,  Job  xvi.  10. 
 
 Shake  the  head— clearly  not  as 
 an  expression  of  compassion,  but  of 
 malicious  joy.  Cf.  cix.25,  xliv.  14, 
 Ixiv.  8,  where  see  Note.  See  ako 
 Matt,  xxvii.  39. 
 
Qo  PSALM  XXII. 
 
 Thou  didst  make  me  trust,  (when  I  was)  on  my 
 mother's  breasts. 
 10  On  Thee  was  I  cast  from  the  womb, 
 
 From  my  mother's  belly  Thou  art  my  God. 
 
 II.  II   Be  not  far  from  me  ;  for  trouble  is  hard  at  hand, 
 For  there  is  none  to  help  me. 
 
 12  Many  bulls  have  come  about  me  ; 
 
 Bashan's  strong  ones  have  beset  me  round. 
 
 1 3  They  have  gaped  upon  me  with  their  mouth, 
 
 (As)  a  ravening  and  a  roaring  lion. 
 
 14  Like  water  am  I  poured  out, 
 
 And  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint  ; 
 My  heart  has  become  like  wax, 
 
 It  melteth  in  the  midst  of  my  body. 
 
 15  My  strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd. 
 And  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my  jaws  ; 
 
 And  Thou  wilt  lay  me  in  the  dust  of  death. 
 
 16  For  dogs  have  come  about  me, 
 
 The  assembly  of  evil-doers  have  enclosed  me. 
 Piercing  my  hands  and  my  feet. 
 
 17  I  can  tell  all  my  bones  : 
 
 They  stare,  they  look  upon  me. 
 
 11.  Be  not  far  (with  reference  to  me.     The  enemies  are  still  compared 
 ver.  i),  for  trouble  is  7iear.  to  savage  animals,  but  the   figure  is 
 
 12.  Bashan's  STRONG  ONES.  The  somewhat  different  :  '•'dogs"  not  only 
 land  of  Bashan  was  celebrated  for  its  as  fierce,  but  as  unclean.  Almost  the 
 fat  pastures  (cf.  Deut.  xxxii.  14,  and  only  trait  of  bitterness  in  the  P.-alm. 
 Amos  iv.  i;  Ezek.  xxxix.  18),  extend-  We  must  remember  that  these  dogs 
 ing  from  Jabbok  to  Mount  Hermon,  are  the  savage  wild  dogs  of  the  East, 
 and  eastward  to  the  extreme  boundary  I  Kings  xiv.  11  ;  Ps.  lix.  6,  14,  15. 
 of  Palestine.  Piercing    my    hands    and    my 
 
 14.   My  bones  are  out  of  joint.  feet.     The  present  Hebrew  text,  if 
 
 Lit.  "have  separated  themselves,"  as  adhered  to,  would  require  the  render- 
 
 of  a  man  stretched  upon  the  rack.  ing,   "Like  a  lion,  (coming  about)  my 
 
 We  are  reminded  of  Peter's  words,  hands  and  my  feet."     But  the  sense 
 
 "  Him,  being  delivered  according  to  is  poor,    and   the   weight   of  critical 
 
 the    determinate    counsel    and    fore-  authority  is  against  it. 
 knowledge  of  God,  ye  have  taken  and  17.   I    can  tell.       Before:    *'all 
 
 with  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  my  bones  are  out  of  joint."     Hence  it 
 
 slain  :  "  Acts  ii.  23.  would  seem  that  the  body  was  racked 
 
 16.  For  dogs  have  come  about  by  some  violent  torture  ;  not  merely 
 
PSALM  XXI J.  91 
 
 lo  They  part  my  garments  among  them, 
 
 And  upon  my  vesture  do  they  cast  lots. 
 
 19  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  be  not  far  (from  me)  ; 
 
 O  my  Strength,  haste  Thee  to  help  me. 
 
 20  Deliver  my  soul  from  the  sword, 
 
 My  only  one  from  the  power  of  the  dog. 
 
 21  Save  me  from  the  lion's  mouth, 
 
 And  from  the  horns  of  the  wild  oxen — Thou  hast 
 answered  me. 
 
 III.  22  So  will  I  tell  Thy  name  to  my  brethren. 
 
 In   the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  praise 
 Thee  :  (saying,) 
 
 23  "Ye  that  fear  Jehovah,  praise  Him  ; 
 
 All  ye  the  seed  of  Jacob,  glorify  Him  ; 
 
 And  stand  in  awe  of  Him,  all  ye  the  seed  of  Israel ! 
 
 24  For  He  hath  not  despised  nor  abhorred  the  affliction 
 
 of  the  afflicted, 
 Neither  hath  He  hid  His  face  from  him  ; 
 And  when  he  cried  unto  Him,  He  heard." 
 
 emaciated  hy  starvation  and  suffering.  The  life  vs,  so  called  either  because  man 
 
 And  thus  in  his  utter  misery  he  is  a  has  but  C7ie  life,  or  because  it  is  the 
 
 gazing-stock  to  them  that  hate  him  :  most  precious  of  all  things, 
 
 "they    look    upon   me,"     i.e.    with  From  THE  rowER  (Heb.  hand)  of 
 
 malicious  satisfaction  at  my  sufferings.  the  dog.     Similarly  "  from  the  hand 
 
 18.   And  now  follows  the  last  aft  of  of  the  lion  and  the  bear,"  I  Sam.  xvii. 
 
 indignity,  perpetrated  as    it  were    in  37;   "from  the  hand  of  the  flame," 
 
 sight  ot  his  death  :    his  very  clothes  Is.  xlvii.  14. 
 
 are  stript  from  him,  and  are  shared  as  21.   WiLD    OXEN.        "From    the 
 
 plunder  among  his  foes.     This  passage  horns  of  the  wild  oxen  (still  found  in 
 
 clearly  cannot  apply  to  David.     But  herds  on  the  east  of  Jordan)— Thou 
 
 some  Jew  in    exile  may  have   really  hast  heard  and  delivered  me  "  (opp. 
 
 suffered  such  things,  and  so  have  pre-  to   ver.    3,    "Thou    hearest    not''), 
 
 figured    in    history  the    sufferings    of  Before  it  had  been  "Thou  answerest 
 
 Christ.     All  this  was  fulfilled  to  the  not,'" — now  at  the  most  critical  moment 
 
 letterin  Christ.     See  John  xix.  23,  &c.  Faith  asserts  her  victory,  "Thou  hast 
 
 20.   My  only  one,  or,   as  English  answered."      See    the   same   sudden 
 
 Version,  my  darling.     From  the  par-  transition,  the  same  quick   assurance 
 
 allelism  —  my  soul,  my  life.    In  similar  that  prayer  has  been  heard,  vi.  9,  xx. 
 
 connexion,  xxxv.   17.      It  occurs  be-  6,  xxviii.  6,  xxxi.  22.     The  vows  and 
 
 sides,    Judges  xi,    34,    of  Jephthah's  tlianksgivings  which  follow  are  a  con> 
 
 daughter  (see  Gen.  xxii.  2,  Prov.  iv.  3).  sequence  of  this  assurance. 
 
92  PSALM  XXII. 
 
 25  Of  Thee  is  my  praise  in  the  great  congregation  ; 
 
 My  vows  will  I  pay  before  them  that  fear  Him. 
 
 26  The  afflicted  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied, 
 
 They  shall  praise  Jehovah  that  seek  Him  : 
 May  your  heart  live  for  ever  ! 
 
 27  All  the  ends  of  the  earth  shall  remember  and  turn  unto 
 
 Jehovah, 
 And  all  the  families  of  the  nations  shall  worship  before 
 Thee. 
 
 28  For  Jehovah's  is  the  kingdom  ; 
 
 And  He  ruleth  among  the  nations. 
 
 29  All  the  fat  ones  of  the  earth  have  eaten  and  worshipt, 
 Before  Him  shall   all  they  that  go  down  into  the  dust 
 
 bend  the  knee, 
 And  whosoever  cannot  keep  his  soul  alive. 
 
 30  A  seed  shall  serve  Him  ; 
 
 It  shall  be  told  to  the  generation  (to  come)  concerning 
 the  Lord. 
 
 31  They  shall  come,  they  shall  declare  his  righteousness 
 
 25.  My  vows,  thank-offerings  hopes  fulfilled.  Hence  he  speaks  of 
 vowed  in  his  trouble.  The  flesh  of  Avhat  is  to  be  as  if  it  already  zvci-e.  All 
 the  sacrifice  in  such  cases  was  to  be  "the  fat  ones  of  the  earth  "  (the  rich 
 eaten  (Lev.  vii.  16) :  hence  the  account  and  mighty)  as  well  as  the  poor,  "  who 
 of  the  banquet  whicli  follows,  "they  cannot  keep  his  soul  alive,"  i.e.  who 
 shall  eat  and  be  satisfied."  is  so  poor  that    he  has  not  the  bare 
 
 26.  May  your  heart  live  {i.e.  meaqs  of  subsistence,  shall  sit  down 
 be  full  of  all  joy  and  blessedness).  together  at  that  banquet  in  the 
 This  would  have  soi;nded  more  natural  kingdom  of  heaven.  (^The  same  bvan- 
 to  our  ears  if  it  had  been,  "Their  quet  which  is  spoken  of  Is.  xxv,  6.) 
 heart  shall  live  for  ever."  This  ab-  ^  They  that  go  down  into  the 
 rupt  transition,  however,  from  narra-  DUST.  Here  not  literally '*  the  dead, " 
 tion  in  the  third  person  to  address  in  as  in  the  expression  "they  that  go 
 the  second,  is  not  unusual  in  Hebrew.  down  into  the  pit,"  &c.,  bat  rather 
 See  the  next  verse,  and  Zech.  xiv.  5,  they  who  are  ''^  ready  to  go  down," 
 "  The  Lord  my  God  shall  come,  and  ■  whose  misery  is  so  great  that  they  are 
 all  the  saints  with   Thee,'"  instead  of  at  the  point  to  die. 
 
 "with  Hi'n."  31.   They,  i.e.  this  new  generation, 
 
 29.   The  poet  again  returns  to  the  this    church    which     the    Lord    has 
 
 figure  of  the  banquet,   and  uses  here  planted. 
 
 the  past  tenses  instead  of  the  future.  His  righteousness,  not  only  as 
 
 ^?  is  veiy  usual  with  the  Prophets,  he-  manifested  in  the  deliverance  of  His 
 
 cause  in  lision  he  already  beheld  his  righteous  servant,  but    as  manifested 
 
PSALM  XX ni: 
 
 To  a  people  that  shall  be  born,  that  He  hath  done  (it). 
 
 in  all  His  great  work  of  salvation, 
 both  in  the  suffering  and  in  the  exalta- 
 tion of  Christ,  and  also  in  providing  the 
 feast  for  all  who  will  partake  thereof. 
 First  he  will  praise  God  in  the  con- 
 gregation of  Israel,  and  make  known 
 His  name  to  his  brethi-en.  Then,  all 
 nations  shall  c-ome  and  sit  down  at  the 
 Itanquet  of  fat  things,  and  worship  be- 
 fore the  Lord,  Lastly,  to  future  ages 
 also  shall  God's  righteousness  be 
 declared.  This  hope  of  the  conversion 
 of  other  nations  to  the  faith  of  God's 
 elect,  was  in  an  especial  manner 
 characteristic  of  the  period  of  the 
 return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 The  prophecies  of  Zechariah  are  full 
 of  it ;  and  so  are  many  of  the  Psalms 
 
 which   probably  date  from    that  pe- 
 riod. 
 
 It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  how  far 
 such  hopes  must  have  extended  be- 
 yond the  personal  fortunes  of  the 
 singer,  or  any  results  that  he  could 
 possibly  have  anticipated  from  his 
 own  sufferings.  If  even  in  those 
 sufferings  he  was  but  a  feeble  type  of 
 the  Great  Sufferer  who  should  give 
 His  life  for  the  world,  certainly  in  the 
 thanksgiving  for  his  deliverance,  and 
 the  results  of  that  deliverance,  there 
 must  have  been  but  a  very  faint  fore- 
 shadowing of  the  joy  set  before  Him 
 who  endured  the  Cross,  and  who  saw 
 of  the  travail  of  His  soul  and  was 
 satisfied. 
 
 PSALM  XXIII. 
 
 It  is  unnecessary  to  refer  this  Psalm  to  any  particular  period  of 
 David's  history.  As  the  outpouring  of  a  heart  which  has  found  per- 
 fect rest  in  God,  it  was  most  probably  written  in  advanced  years,  after 
 a  long  experience  of  God's  goodness.  Its  language  is  coloured  by  the 
 reminiscences  of  his  past  life.  His  own  shepherd  experience  no  doubt 
 suggested  the  image  of  the  former  part  :  and  in  the  latter  we  may  per- 
 haps trace  a  recollection,  more  or  less  distinct,  of  the  circumstances 
 mentioned  2  Sam.  xvii.  27  —  29,  when,  on  David's  coming  to  Maha- 
 naim,  during  Absalom's  rebellion,  he  and  his  party  were  succoured 
 and  refreshed  in  their  faintness  and  weariness,  through  the  kindness 
 of  Barzillai  and  other  friends  who  supplied  their  wants. 
 
 [a    psalm  of   DAVID.] 
 
 I   Jehovah  is  my  shepherd,  I  shall  not  want. 
 
 I.  My  Shepherd.      The    image, 
 natural  amongst  a  nation  of  shepherds, 
 
 is  first  employed  by  Jacob,  Gen.  xlviii. 
 15,   "The  God  which   fed  me,"   lit. 
 
94 
 
 PSALM  XXI  11. 
 
 2  In  grassy  pastures  He  maketh  me  to  lie  down  ; 
 
 Beside  waters  of  rest  doth  He  guide  me. 
 
 3  He  restoreth  my  soul ; 
 
 He  leadeth  me  in  paths  of  righteousness, 
 For  His  Name's  sake. 
 
 4  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
 
 death, 
 I  will  fear  no  evil,  for  Thou  art  w^tli  me : 
 
 "my  Shepherd;"  xlix.  24.  There, 
 as  here,  God  is  the  Shepherd  of  the 
 individual,  cf.  Ps.  cxix.  176,  still  more 
 frequently  of  His  people ;  Ixxviii.  52, 
 Ixxx.  I  ;  Micah  vii.  14;  Is.  Ixiii.  ir, 
 and  especially  Ezek.  xxxiv.  :  most 
 beautifully  and  touchingly  in  Is.  xl.  11. 
 So  in  the  New  Testament  of  Christ, 
 John  X.  I — 16,  xxi.  15 — 17  ;  Heb.  xiii. 
 20 ;  I  Pet.  ii.  25,  v.  4. 
 
 On  our  Lord's  appropriation  of  the 
 figure  to  Himself,  F.  W.  Robertson  says 
 with  much  force  and  beauty  :  "  '  I  am 
 the  Good  Shepherd.'  In  the  dry  and 
 merciless  logic  of  a  commentary,  trying 
 laboriously  to  find  out  minute  points 
 of  ingenious  resemblance  in  which 
 Christ  is  like  a  shepherd,  the  glory 
 and  the  tenderness  of  this  sentence  are 
 dried  up.  But  try  to  feel,  by  imagin- 
 ing what  the  lonely  Syrian  shepherd 
 must  feel  towards  the  helpless  things 
 which  are  the  companions  of  his  daily 
 life,  for  whose  safety  he  stands  in 
 jeopardy  every  hour,  and  whose  value 
 is  measurable  to  him,  not  by  price, 
 but  by  his  own  jeopardy,  and  then  we 
 have  reached  some  notion  of  the  love 
 which  Jesus  meant  to  represent,  that 
 Eternal  Tenderness  which  bends  over 
 us — infinitely  lower  though  we  be  in 
 nature — and  knows  the  name  of  each 
 and  the  trials  of  each,  and  thinks  for 
 each  with  a  separate  solicitude,  and 
 gave  Himself  for  each  with  a  Sacrifice 
 as  special,  and  a  Love  as  personal,  as 
 if  in  the  whole  world's  wilderness  were 
 none  other  but  that  one."  [Sermons, 
 2d  Series,  pp.  286,  &c.) 
 
 I  SHALL  NOT  WANT,  or,  perhaps, 
 *'I  cannot  want,"'  as  describing  not 
 only  the  present  experience,  but  as 
 expressing  confidence  for  all  time  to 
 come.  Observe  the  absolute,  /  shall 
 not  want,  stronger  than  in  xxxiv.  10  ? 
 or  Deut.  ii.  6,  or  viii.  9.  These  words 
 are  the  key-note  of  the  Psalm.  David 
 speak§  them  out  of  the  fulness  of  his 
 own  experience.  As  he  had  watched 
 over,  and  provided  for,  and  tended  his 
 flock,  leading  them  to  the  greenest 
 pastures,  and  finding  for  them  the 
 water  which  in  that  country  was  so 
 scarce,  and  guarding  them  by  night 
 from  beasts  of  prey,  so  he  felt  his  God 
 would  pr-ovide  for  and  watch  over  him, 
 
 2.  Waters  of  rest  or  "refresh- 
 ment." (Not  "still  waters,"  as  in 
 the  very  different  phrase,  Is.  viii.  6. ) 
 
 3.  Paths  of  righteousness. 
 Not  merely  straight  paths  as  opposed 
 to  crooked,  or  level  ground  as  opposed 
 to  hills  and  valleys.  This  is  rather 
 the  blending  of  the  natural  image  with 
 its  spiritual  counterpart.  The  God  of 
 providence  is  the  God  of  grace,  and 
 who  can  tell  where  the  one  ends  and 
 the  other  begins?  Providence  runs 
 up  into  grace,  and  grace  loses  itself 
 in  providence. 
 
 For  His  Name's  sake — not  for 
 my  deserving,  but  out  of  His  own 
 goodness,  for  the  manifestation  oi 
 His  own  glory,  and  the  furtherance  of 
 His  kingdom  upon  earth. 
 
 4.  This  consciousness  of  Divine 
 protection  is  his  support,  not  only  in 
 quiet  times,  but  even  when   dangers 
 
PSALM  XXIV. 
 
 95 
 
 Thy  rod  and  thy  staff — they  comfort  me. 
 Thou  preparest  a  table  before  me, 
 
 In  the  presence  of  mine  enemies  : 
 Thou  hast  anointed  my  head  with  oil, 
 
 My  cup  runneth  over. 
 Surely  goodness  and  loving-kindness  shall  follow  me  all 
 the  days  of  my  life, 
 And  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of  Jehovah  for  length  of 
 days. 
 
 threaten.  "  Even  though  I  should  be 
 called  upon  to  walk,"  &c. 
 
 They, — emphatic,  because  they  are 
 Thy  rod  and  lyiy  staff. 
 
 5,  6.  A  guest  at  a  royal  banquet. 
 God  is  even  more  than  a  shepherd 
 who  provides  for  the  wants  of  his 
 sheep.  He  is  a  king  who  lavishes  his 
 bounty  in  rich  provision  fo-r  his  guests. 
 Tliis  is  an  image  also  adopted  by  our 
 Lord  in  His  parables.  (Matt,  xxii, 
 I,  &c.) 
 
 5.  Prepare  a  table,  the  common 
 formula  for  furnishing  a  meal,  Prov. 
 ix.  2;  Is.  xxi.  5;  Ezek.  xxiii,  41. 
 
 Tn  the  presence  of  mine  ene- 
 mies, i.e.  who  look  on,  but  cannot 
 harm  me.  The  addition  of  this  re- 
 mark would  intimate  that  we  have 
 more  here  than  merely  a  figure. 
 Some  recollection  cf  the  past  seems 
 to  break  out  which  probably  sug- 
 gested it. 
 
 On  the  anointing  the  head,  which 
 was  customary  at  banquets,  comp. 
 xcii.  10, 
 
 6.    I   WILL   DWELL   IN  THE  HOUSE 
 
 OF  Jehovah  for  length  of  days. 
 What  did  the  Psalmist  mean  by  this? 
 The  house  of  Jehovah  might  refer 
 primarily  to  the  tabernacle,  as  later  to 
 the  temple.  And  if  so,  that  to  whicli 
 he  looked  forward  was  access  to  God 
 in  His  sanctuary,  and  the  blessedness 
 of  communion  with  Him  there.  But 
 is  there  no  more  than  this?  no  anti- 
 cipation of  a  more  perfect  and  abiding 
 blessedness  in  the  everlasting  sanctuary 
 above?  To  us  the  language  seems  to 
 bear  such  a  meaning.  It  may  not 
 have  done  so  to  David.  To  him  it 
 was  enough  that  he  was  the  sheep  or 
 whom  the  Divine  Shepherd  cared,  the 
 guest  fur  whom  the  Divine  Host  pro- 
 vided. He  was  thinking,  perhaps,  of 
 this  life  more  than  of  the  next. 
 
 PSALM  XXIV. 
 
 This  grand  choral  Hymn  was  in  all  probability  composed  and  sung 
 on  the  occasion  of  the  removal  of  the  Ark  from  the  house  of  Obecl- 
 Edom,  to  the  city  of  David  on  Mount  Zion  (2  Sam.  vi.).     It  was  a  day 
 
96        *  PSALM  XXIV. 
 
 of  solemn  gladness  and  triumph.  From  henceforth  this  mountain- 
 ci-ty  was  to  be  the  seat  of  the  royal  residence,  and  the  centre  of 
 religious  worship  ;  and  hither  David  determined  to  bring  the  Ark, 
 which  had  been  left  for  nearly  fifty  years  neglected  at  Kirjath- 
 Jearim. 
 
 It  seems  quite  evident  that  the  Psalm  was  intended  to  be  sung 
 in  antiphonal  measure,  voice  answering  to  voice,  and  chorus  to 
 chorus.  Seven  choirs  of  singers  and  musicians,  so  Josephus  tells 
 us,  preceded  the  Ark  on  this  occasion,  as  the  king  commanded,  he 
 himself  playing  upon  the  harp,  and  dancing  before  Jehovah  with 
 all  his  might. 
 
 We  may  suppose  the  whole  congregation,  as  they  wound  in  festal 
 procession  up  the  sacred  hill,  to  have  begun  the  solemn  strain  : 
 "Jehovah's  is  the  earth,  and  the  fulness  thereof,"  <&:c.  (ver.  i,  2). 
 Then  one  choir,  or  it  may  have  been  only  a  single  voice,  asked  the 
 question  in  ver.  3.  "  Who  shall  ascend  into  the  hill  of  Jehovah  ? "  &c., 
 and  was  answered  by  another  choir,  or  another  voice,  in  ver,  4,  "  He 
 that  is  clean  of  hands,"  &c.;  whilst  both  finally  united  in  ver.  5,  6, 
 "  He  shall  receive  a  blessing,"  &c.  After  this  prelude,  the  singing 
 ceased  for  a  time  (as  the  Selah  seems  to  indicate),  and  the  musical 
 instruments  only  were  heard.  In  the  second  part,  a  band  of  Priests 
 and  Levites  heading  the  procession  have  already  passed  within  the 
 gates,  as  representatives  of  the  holy  nation.  And  whilst  the  re^t  of 
 the  vast  assembly,  as  it  still  ascends,  bursts  forth  with  the  magnificent 
 choral  hymn,  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates,"  &c.,  the  company 
 from  within  reply,  "  Who  is  the  King  of  Glory?"  who  thus  demands 
 admittance  ;  and  again  the  answer  peals  back  from  the  choir  without, 
 as  with  a  voice  of  many  waters,  "Jehovah  of  Hosts,  He  is  the  King 
 of  Glory." 
 
 The  Psalm,  then,  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  preparation  for  the  entry  6f  Jehovah  into  His  holy  moun- 
 tain.    Ver.  I — 6. 
 
 II.  The  entry  itself.     Ver.  7 — 10. 
 
 [a  psalm  of  david.J 
 
 I.   1  Jehovah's  is  the  earth,  and  the  fulness  thereof; 
 The  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein : 
 
PSALM  XXIV. 
 
 97 
 
 I.    7 
 
 For  He  hath  founded  it  upon  (the)  seas, 
 
 And  upon  (the)  streams  doth  He  make  it  fast. 
 
 "  Who  shall  ascend  into  the  mountain  of*  Jehovah  ? 
 And  who  shall  stand  in  His  holy  place  ? " 
 
 "  He  that  is  clean  of  hands  and  pure  of  heart, 
 Who  hath  not  lifted  up  his  soul  unto  vanity, 
 And  hath  not  sworn  deceitfully." — 
 
 "  He  shall  receive  a  blessing  from  Jehovah, 
 
 And  righteousness  from  the  God  of  his  salvation. 
 
 This  is  the  generation  of  them  that  seek  after  Him, 
 That  seek  Thy  face,  [O  God  of]  Jacob  !  "   [Selah.] 
 
 "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates ; 
 
 And  be  ye  lift  up,  ye  everlasting  doors, 
 That  the  King  of  Glory  may  come  in." 
 
 2.  Seas — streams.  The  reference 
 is  no  doubt  to  the  account  of  the 
 creation,  in  Genesis,  the  dry  land 
 having  emerged  from  the  water,  and 
 seeming  to  rest  upon  it.  (Comp. 
 cxxxvi.  6,  Prov.  viii.  29.) 
 
 It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  curiosity 
 of  Romish  interpretation,  that  the 
 Vulgate  super mai'ia,  "upon  the  seas," 
 was  converted  into  J'Z/i/ifr/l/rtr/ia:,  "  upon 
 (the  Virgin)  Mary." 
 
 4.  Unto  vanity,  i.e.  either  (i)  the 
 perishing  things  of  earth.  Job  xv.  31  ; 
 or  (2)  falsehood,  Job  xxxi.  5,  which 
 signification  passes  over  into  a  wider 
 one  of  moral  evil  in  general,  cxix.  37  ; 
 or  (3)  false  gods,  idols,  xxxi.  6.  It 
 may  be  taken  here  in  the  widest  sense 
 of  all  that  the  human  heart  puts  in  the 
 place  of  God, 
 
 5.  We  are  here  told  in  other  words 
 (as  at  the  close  of  Ps.  xv. )  who  is  thus 
 worthy  to  enter  the  holy  place. 
 
 A  BLESSING,  such  as  Abraham's 
 seed  might  look  for  (Gen.  xv.  6). 
 
 Righteousness,  not  in  the  New 
 Testament  sense  of*  justification,  but 
 in  the  Old  Testament  acceptation  of 
 
 inward  and-outward  holiness  ;  but  still 
 even  this  regarded  as  a  gift  from  the 
 God  of  his  salvation.  For  this  con- 
 nection between  salvation  and  righteous- 
 ness, see  the  note  on  Ixxi.  15,  and  cf. 
 cxxxii.  9,  16,  and  especially  the  pro- 
 phecy of  Isaiah,  xlv.  22,  24,  xlvi.  13, 
 IL  5,  Ivi.  I. 
 
 6.  Such  are  they,  lit.  "Thisis 
 the  generation  of  them, "  &c. 
 
 7 — 10.  The  entry  of  Jehovah  as  the 
 King  of  Glory  into  His  sanctuary. 
 The  festal  procession  has  now  reached 
 the  gates  c>f  the  city  of  Zion.  "  The 
 singers  go  before,  the  minstrels  follow 
 after,"  and  in  the  midst  of  these  is  the 
 Ark,  "whose  name  is  called  by  the 
 name  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  that  dwell- 
 eth  between  the  cherubim  "  (2  Sam. 
 vi.  2)  ;  so  that  the  entry  of  the  Ark  is 
 the  entry  of  Jehovah  Himself  into  Zion 
 (Num.  X.  35).  By  a  sublime  figure 
 the  poet  bids  "the  everlasting  gates  " 
 of'  that  grey  old  fortress  be  lifted  up  ; 
 for  the  greatest  and  most  glorious  of 
 all  kings  is  He  who  now  enters  in,  to 
 claim  it  for  Himself.  David  had  taken 
 the  stronghold  from  the  hands  of  the 
 H 
 
gS  PSALM  XXV. 
 
 8  "  Who,  then,  is  the  King  of  Glory  ? " 
 
 "  Jehovah,  strong  and  mighty  ; 
 Jehovah,  mighty  in  battle." 
 
 9  "  Lift  up  your  heads,  O  ye  gates. 
 
 Yea  lift  them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors. 
 That  the  King  of  Glory  may  come  in  ! " 
 
 lO  "Who,  then,  is  that  King  of  Glory  ?  " 
 
 "  Jehovah  of  Hosts, 
 He  is  the  King  of  Glory."         [Selah.] 
 
 Jebusites.  But  not  David,  but  Jehovah,  and  most  fitly,  in  its  Christian  applica- 
 
 is  the  true  King  of  Zion.     The  gates  tion,  celebrates  the  return  of  Christ  as 
 
 are  termed  "gates  of  old,"  or  "ever-  the  King  of  Glory  to    His  heavenly 
 
 lasting,"  as  being  of  a  hoar  antiquity,  throne,  and  the  inauguration  of  that 
 
 possibly  also  with  the   hopeful   anti-  dominion  which  He  thence  exercises 
 
 cipation  that   they   would   abide   for  in  the  world.     It  will  be  fully  accom- 
 
 ever.                                     '  plished  when  the  doors  of  all  hearts, 
 
 This  Psalm  is  no  doubt  prophetic,  all  temples,  and  all  kingdoms,  shall  be 
 
 or  rather  typical  in  its  character.     It  thrown  wide  before  Him  ;  when  He 
 
 has  been  appointed  by  the  Church  as  shall  be  acknowledged  upon  earth  as 
 
 one  of  the  Psalms  for  Ascension  Day ;  He  is  acknowledged  in  heaven. 
 
 PSALM  XXV. 
 
 This  is  an  acrostic  or  alphabetical  Psalm,  the  first  verse  beginning 
 with  the  first  letter  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet,  and  the  other  letters 
 following  in  order  at  the  beginning  of  each  successive  verse.  The 
 order  indeed  is  not  perfectly  observed,  as  we  find  also  in  another 
 alphabetical  Psalm,  the  34th.  Indeed,  the  last  verse  of  these  two 
 Psalms  not  only  begins  with  the  same  letter,  but  with  the  same  wot'd^ 
 "redeem."  Here  the  prayer  is  that  God  would  redeevi  Israel;  there 
 it  is  said  that  He  redeems  the  soul  of  His  servants.  This  looks  like 
 design.  It  would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  same  person  was  author 
 of  both  poems,  and  that  the  condition  of  the  people  was  the  same  at 
 the  time  they  were  written.    We  have  no  means  of  fixing  what  that 
 
PSALM  XXV.  99 
 
 time  was,  but  they  probably  both  belong  to  the  later  period  of  the 
 history — perhaps  to  the  time  of  the  Exile.  Other  Psalms  which  are 
 constructed  on  a  similar  principle  are  the  37th,  the  iiith,  ii2tli, 
 119th,  and  145th. 
 
 The  Psalm  hardly  admits  of  formal  division.  It  is  a  prayer  for 
 instruction  and  forgiveness. 
 
 The  recurrence  of  certain  expressions,  such  as  "waiting"  and 
 "being  ashamed"  (ver.  2,  3,  5,  20,  21)  ;  "affliction"  and  "afflicted" 
 (ver.  9  bis,  16,  18);  the  prayer  for  "instruction"  (ver.  4,  5,  8,  9, 
 12,  14),  together  with  earnest  entreaty  for  "forgiveness"  (ver.  7,  11, 
 18),  gives  a  peculiar  character  to  the  Psalm.  Its  prevailing  thought 
 is  that  God  is  the  teacher  of  the  afflicted,  and  the  guide  of  the  erring  ; 
 and  this  is  constantly  repeated  either  in  the  way  of  statement  or  of 
 prayer. 
 
 [(a   psalm)    of    DAVID.] 
 
 I.  I  (Aleph)  Unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  do  I  hft  up  my  soul. 
 
 2  (Aleph)       O  my  God,  in  Thee  have  I  trusted  ; 
 
 Let  me  not  be  ashamed. 
 
 Let  not  mine  enemies  triumph  over  me. 
 
 3  (Gimel)  Yea,  none  that  wait  on  Thee  shall  be  ashamed  ; 
 
 They  shall  be  ashamed  who  are  faithless 
 without  cause. 
 
 4  (Daleth)  Thy  ways,  O  Jehovah,  make  me  to  know ; 
 
 Teach  me  Thy  paths  : 
 
 5  (He)       Guide  me  in  Thy  truth,  and  teach  me ; 
 
 For  Thou  art  the  God  of  my  salvation : 
 On  Thee  do  I  wait  all  the  day. 
 
 6  (Zaln)     Remember  Thy  tender  mercies,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 and  Thy  loving-kindnesses, 
 For  they  have  been  ever  of  old. 
 
 I.   Unto  Thee,  emphatic,  not  to  experience   of  it,  that  I  may  not  be 
 
 any  false  god,  or  to  any  human  deli-  like  the  faithless  ones  who  are  put  to 
 
 verer.     Similarly  ver.  2,  5.  shame. 
 
 5.  Lead  ME  IN  Thy  TRUTH,  more  6.   Comp,  Gen.  viii.  i,  ix.  15,  xix. 
 
 lit.  *'  Cause  me  to  walk  in  Thy  faith-  29,  &c.     An  appeal  to  the  unchange- 
 
 fulness,"  i.e.  let  me  ever  live  in  the  ableness  of  God's  nature,  as  well  as  a 
 
 H    2 
 
loo  PSALM  XX F. 
 
 7   (Cheth)  The  sins  of  my  youth  and  my  transgressions 
 remember  not  ; 
 According    to    Thy    loving-kindness     re- 
 member Thou  me, 
 For  Thy  goodness'  sake,  O  Jehovah. 
 
 II.  8  (Teth)     Good  and  upright  is  Jehovah, 
 
 Therefore  doth  He  teach  sinners  in  the  way. 
 9  (Yod)     He  guideth  the  afflicted  in  judgement. 
 And  teacheth  the  afflicted  His  way  ! 
 
 10  (Caph)  All  the  paths  of  Jehovah  are  loving-kindness 
 
 and  truth, 
 To  them  that  keep  His  covenant  and  His 
 testimonies. 
 
 1 1  (Lamed)  For  Thy  Name's  sake,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 Pardon  mine  iniquity,  for  it  is  great. 
 
 12  (Mem)    What  man  is  he  that  feareth  Jehovah  ? 
 
 Him  doth  He  teach  the  way  that  he  should 
 choose. 
 
 13  (Nun)     His  soul  shall  dwell  at  ease. 
 
 And  his  seed  shall  inherit  the  land. 
 
 calling  to  mind  of  past  mercies.     But  10)  suggests  the  thought  of  manifold 
 
 sin  is  that  which  shuts  out  God's  mercy,  failure,  and  the  consequent   need    of 
 
 and  hence  the  prayer  for  forgiveness  pardon, 
 
 in  the  next  verse.*  12.  What  man  is  he?  or  simply, 
 
 8.  Sinners,  here  apparently  vi^ith  "  Whosoever  he  is  that  feareth,"  &c.  ; 
 reference  to  the  etymology  of  the  word,  see  xxxiv.  1 2. 
 
 those  that "  have  erred  and  strayed"  13.   Shall  dwell,  lit.  "pass  the 
 
 from  the  way.  night,"  but  used  in  the  more  extended 
 
 9.  The  afflicted,  see  on  ix.  12.  sense,  as  in  xlix.    12,    xci.    i,    Prov. 
 
 10.  Loving-kindness    (or  grace)  xix.  23. 
 
 AND  TRUTH.     See  John  i.  17.  At  EASE,  lit.  *' in  prosperity." 
 
 11.  Again  a  prayer  for  forgiveness,  Shall  inherit  the  land.  Cf. 
 that  the  grace  and  truth  (ver.  10)  may  Exod.  xx.  12,  Lev.  xxvi.  4,  Deut.  iv. 
 be  manifested  to  his  soul.  The  mention  I,  &c. 
 
 of  the  keeping  of  the  covenant  (ver. 
 
 r-v"  -"^^t  Autobiography   of   Petrarch  closes  with  a  quotation  from  this  verse  :  "  I  pray  to 
 Christ  that  He  may  have  mercy  upon  me,  and  may  pardon  and  forget  my  youthful  offences, 
 and   m    this  my  soHtude,  no  words  sound  sweeter  upon  my  Hps  than  those  of  the  Psalm, 
 Remember  ixot  the  sins  of  my  youth  nor  my  transgressions.'  " 
 
PSALM  XXVL  101 
 
 14  (Samech)  The    secret    of    Jehovah   is   for   them   that 
 
 fear  Him, 
 And  His  covenant  doth    He'  make  them 
 know. 
 
 15  (Ayin)       Mine  eyes  are  ever  towards  Jehovah, 
 
 For  He  shall  pluck  my  feet  out  of  the  net. 
 
 16  (Pe)  Turn  Thee  to  me,  and  be  gracious  unto  me. 
 
 For  I  am  desolate  and  afflicted. 
 
 17  (Tsaddi)   My  heart  is    (full  of)   troubles:    O   set  it   at 
 
 liberty, 
 And  bring  me  out  of  my  distresses, 
 
 18  (Resh)      Look  upon  my  affliction  and  my  toil, 
 
 And  forgive  all  my  sins. 
 
 19  (Resh)      Look  upon  mine  enemies  ;  for  they  are  many. 
 
 And  they  hate  me  with  cruel  hatred. 
 
 20  (Shin)       O  keep  my  soul,  and  deliver  me. 
 
 Let  me  not  be  ashamed;  for  I  trust  In  Thee. 
 
 21  (Tau)        Let  perfectness  and  uprightness  preserve  me; 
 
 For  I  wait  on  Thee. 
 
 22  (Pe)  Redeem  Israel,  O  God. 
 
 Out  of  all  his  troubles. 
 
 14.   Secret.     As  God  said,  Gen.  14,  Prov.  iii.  21,  Job  xxix.  4.     God 
 
 xviii.  1 7,  "  Shall  I  hide  from  Abraham  alone  possesses  the  truth,  for  He  is 
 
 that  thing  which  I  do  ?  "     Or  the  word  the  truth,  and  therefore  He  alone  can 
 
 rather   means    ''close    and   intimate  impart  it,  and  He  imparts  it  only  to 
 
 communion,"    in   which   God   makes  them  that  fear  Him. 
 Himself  known  to  the  soul.     See  Iv. 
 
 PSALM  XXVT. 
 
 This  Psalm  has  some  points  of  resemblance,  both  in  thought  and 
 expression,  to  the  last.  Both  open  with  the  same  declaration  of  trust- 
 in  God  (xxv.  2,  xxvi.  i)  ;  in  both  there  is  the  same  prayer  that  God 
 v.'ould  redeem  (xxv.  22,  and  xxvi.  11)  and  be  gracious  (xxv.  16,  xxvi. 
 11)  to  His  servants.  Other  points  of  contact  may  be  found  in  xxv. 
 21,  xxvi.   II,  and  xxv.    5,  xxvi.  3.      There  is,  however,  this  marked 
 
102  PSALM  XXVI. 
 
 difference  between  the  two,  that  there  are  wanting,  in  this  Psahn, 
 those  touching  confessions  of  sinfulness  and  pleadings  for  forgiveness 
 which  in  the  other  aje  thrice  repeated.  Here  is  only  the  avowal  of 
 conscious  uprightness,  an  avowal  solemnly  made  as  in  the  sight  of  the 
 Searcher  of  hearts,  and  deriving,  no  doubt,  much  of  its  intensity  and 
 almost  impassioned  force,  from  the  desire,  on  the  part  of  the  singer,  to 
 declare  his  entire  separation  from,  and  aversion  to,  the  vain  and  evil 
 men  by  whom  he  is  surrounded. 
 
 The  Psalm  furnishes  no  direct  evidence  as  to  its  date,  but  it  may 
 have  been  composed  during  Absalom's  rebellion.  His  partisans  may 
 especially  be  hinted  at  in  the  "  vain  men  "  and  "  dissemblers  "  of  ver. 
 4,  who  had  recently  been  unmasked  ;  for  Absalom,  it  is  said,  "  had 
 stolen  the  hearts  of  the  men  of  Israel." 
 
 [(a   psalm)   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Judge  me,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 For  I  have  walked  in  my  integrity, 
 
 And  in  Jehovah  have  I  trusted  without  wavering. 
 
 2  Prove  me,  O  Jehovah,  and  try  me, 
 
 Purify  my  reins  and  my  heart : 
 
 3  For  Thy  loving-kindness  is  before  mine  eyes, 
 
 And  my  conversation  hath  been  in  Thy  truth. 
 
 1.  Judge  me,  i.e.  vindicate  my  He  thus  desires  to  keep  nothing  back ; 
 cause,  so  that  my  innocency  may  be  he  will  submit  himself  to  the  search- 
 made  manifest : — do  me  justice  (as  vii.  ing  flame  of  the  Great  Refiner.,  that 
 8,  XXXV.  24).  all    dross    of    self-deception    may    be 
 
 Integrity,  not  moral   perfection,  purged  away, 
 
 but    uprightness    of  heart,   conscious  3.  This  verse  gives  the  reason  for 
 
 sincerity  of   intention,  is   meant  (see  the  foregoing  prayer. 
 
 Gen.  XX.   5,  i  Kings  ix.  4;  and  this,  Loving-kindness  ....   truth, 
 
 as  resting  on   that   unwavering  trust  See  above  on  xxv.  10. 
 
 in  God  which  follows.  We  have  here  again   those    strong 
 
 2.  Prove  ....  purify.  Words  assertions  of  conscious  innocence, 
 used  of  the  testing  of  metals,  the  last  united  even  with  an  appeal  to  the 
 especially  of  trying  and  refining  them  searching  scrutiny  of  God  Himself, 
 by  means  of  smelting,,  xii.  6,  Ixvi.  10.  which  we  have  n6ticed  in  other  Psalms, 
 The  reins,  as  the  seat  of  the  lo\ver  (See  xvii.  3,  xviii.  20 — 24.)  The  ex- 
 animal  passions  ;  the  heart,  as  com-  planations  given  on  those  passages 
 prising  not  only  the  higher  affections,  will  apply  here.  It  is  clear,  on  the  one 
 but  also  the  will  and  the  conscience.  hand,  that  this  is  no  Pharisaic  boast. 
 
PSALM  XXVI.  1C3 
 
 4  I  have  not  sat  with  vain  persons, 
 
 Neither  do  I  go  in  with  dissemblers  ; 
 
 5  I  hate  the  congregation  of  evil-doers, 
 
 And  with  the  wicked  do  I  not  sit. 
 
 6  I  wash  my  hands  in  innocency, 
 
 That  so  I  may  compass  Thine  altar,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 7  To  make  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  to  be  heard, 
 
 And  to  tell  of  all  Thy  wondrous  works. 
 
 8  Jehovah,  I  love  the  habitation  of  Thine  house. 
 
 And  the  place  where  Thy  glory  dwelleth. 
 
 9  Gather  not  my  soul  with  sinners. 
 
 Nor  my  life  with  bloody  men; 
 
 10  In  whose  hand  are  evil  designs, 
 
 And  whose  right  hand  is  full  of  bribes  ; — 
 
 1 1  Whilst  as  for  me,  in  mine  integrity  do  I  walk : 
 
 Redeem  me  and  be  gracious  unto  me. 
 
 12  My  foot  standeth  upon  even  ground  : 
 
 Among  the  congregations  will  I  bless  Jehovah. 
 
 The  trust  in  God,  the  eye  fixed  on  His  bolical  (Deut.  xxi.  6,  Matt,  xxvii.  24), 
 
 loving-kindness,    the    prayer    to     be  after  the  fashion  of  the  East,  where  it 
 
 proved  and  tried,  could  not  proceed  is  common  to  address  the  eye  as  well 
 
 from  a  Pharisee.     On  the  other  hand,  as  the  ear.     The  figure  is   borrowed 
 
 it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  that  apparently  from  Exod.  xxx.    17 — 21, 
 
 the  full  depth  and  miquity  of  sin  was  where  Aaron   and  his  sons  are  com- 
 
 not  disclosed  to  the  saints  of  the  Old  manded  to  wash  their  hands  and  feet 
 
 Test.     Sin  could   only  appear  to  be  before  they  approach  to  do  service  at 
 
 sin  in  all  its  blackness  and  malignity  the  altar. 
 
 when  it  was  brought  into  the  full  light  That  so  I  may  compass.      This 
 
 of  the  Cross  of  Christ.     And  it  is  only  compassing,  or  going  round  the  altar, 
 
 as  any  man  grasps  that  cross,  that  »he  Avas,  it  would  seem  from  this  passage, 
 
 can   bear  to  look  into  the  pollution  a  part  of  the  ritual  of  Divine  worship, 
 
 which  cleaves  to  his  nature.  and  was  performed  with  the   accom- 
 
 4_.  Vain    persons,   or,    "men   of  paniment  of  music  and  singing,  as  may 
 
 vanity,"  as  Job  xi.  11.     On  this  word  be  gathered  from  the  next  verse. 
 ' 'vanity  "see  note  on  xxiv.  4.   Itsigni-     -       8.   I  love,   &c.,    the  antithesis    to 
 
 fies  all  the  emptiness  of  the  creature  ver.   5,   "I   hate  the  congregation  of 
 
 apart  from  God.  evil-doers." 
 
 6.   I  WASH  MY  HANDS.     Here   of  9.  Thus  he  would  have  God  judge 
 
 course  only    a   figurative   expression,  him  (ver.  i),  i.e.   declare  what  he  is, 
 
 though  the  action  itself  was  often  sym-  by  separating  him  from  the  wicked. 
 
I04  PSALM  XXVI L 
 
 PSALM  XXVII. 
 
 This  Psalm,  like  the  last,  and  the  one  which  follows,  may  very 
 probably  be  referred  to  the  time  of  Absalom's  rebeUion.  All  alike  are 
 characterized  by  the  affectionate  remembrance  of  God's  sanctuary,  as 
 of  one  who  was  debarred  from  the  privilege  of  constant  and  uninter- 
 rupted access  to  it. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts.  The  first  (ver.  i — 6)  is  an  ex- 
 pression of  the  most  assured  confidence  in  Jehovah,  whatever  enemies 
 may  threaten.  The  second  (ver.  7 — 14)  is  an  earnest  cry  for  help  and 
 comfort  in  present  need,  out  of  which  the  soul  rises  again  to  hopeful 
 trust  in  God. 
 
 [a    psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 I.  I  Jehovah  is  my  Light  and  my  Salvation : 
 Whom  shall  I  fear  } 
 Jehovah  is  the  defence  of  my  life : 
 Of  whom  shall  I  be  afraid  t 
 
 2  When  the  evil-doers  came  near  unto  me 
 
 To  eat  up  my  flesh — 
 My  adversaries  and  mine  enemies  to  (do)  vie  (harm), 
 TJiey  themselves  stumbled' and  fell. 
 
 3  Though  a  host  should  encamp  against  me, 
 
 My  heart  will  not  be  afraid : 
 Though  there  rise  up  war  against  me, 
 
 I.  My  Light  and  my  Salvation  in  the  Old  Test.     But  see  xviii.  28, 
 
 ...  THE  DEFENCE  (or bulwark)  OF  MY  xxxvi.'Q,  Ixxxiv.  II,  and  Deut.  xxx. 
 
 LIFE..    This,  says  Calvi-n,  is  the  triple  20,  "He  is  thy  Life." 
 
 shield  which  he   opposes   to   all   the  2.  To  eat  up  my  flesh,  an  image 
 
 different  terrors  which  threaten  him.  taken   from    wild    beasts ;     see    Job 
 
 My  Light — the  only  instance  of  the  xix.  22. 
 
 direct  application  of  this  name  to  God  3.  A  host.     Lit.  "  though  a  camp 
 
PSALM  XXVII. 
 
 1^5 
 
 For  all  this  do  I  trust. 
 
 4  One  thing  have  I  asked  of  Jehovah, 
 
 That  will  I  seek  after  : 
 That  I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of  Jehovah 
 
 All  the  days  of  my  life  ; 
 To  behold  the  beauty  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  to  look  with  pleasure  upon  His  temple. 
 
 5  For  He  shall  keep  me  privily  in  His  tabernacle  in  the 
 
 day  of  evil. 
 He  shall  hide  me  in  the  hiding-place  of  His  tent  ; 
 On  a  rock  shall  He  set  me  up  on  high. 
 
 6  And  now  shall  my  head  be  set  up  above  mine  enemies 
 
 round  about  m.e : 
 So  will  I  offer  in  His  tent  sacrifices  of  shouting, 
 So    will    I    sing,    yea  I    will    make    melody    unto 
 
 Jehovah. 
 
 n.  7  Hear,  O  Jehovah,  when  I  cry  with  my  voice, 
 Be  gracious  also  unto  me  and  answer  me. 
 8  To  Thee  hath  my  heart  said :  ''Seek  ye  My  face — " 
 
 sliould  encamp  against  me,"  but  the 
 English  idiom  would  hardly  admit  of 
 such  a  rendering. 
 
 4.  The  supreme  blessedness  of  a 
 life  entirely  devoted,  like  that  of  the 
 priests,  to  the  service  of  God,  seems 
 often  to  have  forced  itself  upon  the 
 minds  of  the  holy  Psalmists  (see  xv., 
 xxiii.,  Ixv.,  Ixxxiv.,  &c.,  and  note  on 
 xxvi.  8),  and  upon  none  more  than 
 upon  that  of  David,  who  was  compelled 
 so  often  to  wander  at  a  distance  from 
 the  sanctuary.  There  is  the  same 
 feeling  here  of  the  perfect  security  and 
 abounding  happiness  of  such  a  dwell- 
 ing-place as  in  Psalm  xxhi.  6.  Indeed 
 the  two  Psalms  have  much  in  common. 
 
 Temple,  here,  as  is  evident  from 
 what  follows,  applied  to  the  taber- 
 nacle. (See  note  on  Ps.  v.  7.)  But 
 I  have  retained  the  word,  as  it  is 
 employed  by  our  translators,  m  I  Sam. 
 iii.  3,  to  denote  the  building  at  Shiioh. 
 
 5.  The  tent  or  tabernacle  here 
 spoken  of,  was  not  the  Mosaic  taber- 
 nacle of  the  congregation — for  that 
 remained  at  Gibeon  till  Solomon  re- 
 moved it  to  the  Temple  (see  2  Chron. 
 i.  3,  4) — but  the  tent  which  David 
 erected  for  the  Ark,  when  he  removed 
 it  to  Zion  (2  Sam.  vi.  17). 
 
 6.  Sacrifices  of  shouting  :  a 
 stronger  form  of  expression  than  the 
 usual  "sacrifices  of  thanksgiving," 
 and  equivalent  to  "sacrifices  accom- 
 panied with  the  loud  and  glad  expres- 
 sion of  thankfulness,"  with  perhaps 
 an  allusion  to  Num.  x.  10. 
 
 7.  The  triumphant  strain  of  con- 
 fidence now  gives  way  to  one  of  satl 
 and  earnest  entreaty. 
 
 8.  The  words  seek  ye  My  face 
 are  the  words  of  God,  which  the 
 servant  of  God  here,  as  it  were,  takes 
 from  His  mouth,  that  so  laying  them 
 before  God,  he  may  make  his  appeal 
 
io6  PSALM  XXVTL 
 
 "Thy  face,  Jehovah,  will  I  seek." 
 9  Hide  not  Thy  face  from  me  ; 
 
 Put  not  Thy  servant  away  in  anger : 
 Thou  hast  been  my  help  ;  cast  me  not  away, 
 Neither  forsake  me,  O  God  of  my  salvation. 
 
 10  For  my  father  and  my  mother  (may)  have  forsaken  me; 
 
 But  Jehovah  taketh  me  up. 
 
 1 1  Teach  me,  O  Jehovah,  Thy  way, 
 
 And  lead  me  in  an  even  path. 
 Because  of  mine  adversaries. 
 
 12  Give  me  not  over  into  the  will  of  mine  adversaries ; 
 
 For  false  witnesses  have  risen  up  against  me, 
 And  they  that  breathe  out  violence. 
 
 1 3  Oh  did  I  not  believe  to  see  the  goodness  of  Jehovah 
 
 In  the  land  of  the  living  1 — 
 
 14  Wait  on  Jehovah, 
 
 Be  strong,  and  let  thine  heart  be  of  good  courage  ; 
 Wait,  I  say,  on  Jehovah. 
 
 the  more  irresistible.   Thou  hast  said,  Saul's  persecution,  when  David  was 
 
 "  Seek  ye  My  face  ;  "  my  heart  makes  compelled  to  separate  from  his  parents, 
 
 those  words  its  own,  and  builds  upon  and  leave  them  under  the  protection 
 
 them  its  resolve.     It  takes  them   up  of  the  king  of  Moab,  i  Sam.  xxii.   3. 
 
 and  repeats  them,  "Seek  ye  My  face."  But,    as   Delitzsch    observes,   he   left 
 
 It  first  claims  thus  Thine  own  gracious  them,    not  they   him.       It   is   better 
 
 words,  O  Lord,  and  then  its  echo  to  therefore  to  understand  the  expression 
 
 those  words  is,  "  Thy  face.  Lord,  will  hypothetically  :  "  (Though)  my  father 
 
 I  seek."     Such  is  the  soul's  dialogue  and  my  mother  may   have   forsaken 
 
 with   itself,    when   it  would  comfort  me,"  ?>.  though  my  condition  be  help- 
 
 itself  in  God.     We  are  reminded  of  less  and  friendless  as  that  of  a  child 
 
 that  touching  scene  in  the  Gospel  his-  deserted  of  his  parents,  there  is  One 
 
 tory,     where    another,    a   woman    of  who   watches  over  me  and  will  take 
 
 Canaan,    in   like   manner   overcomes  me  to  His  bosom.     See  Is.  Ixiii.  16, 
 
 the  Saviour   with    His    own  words  :  xlix.  15. 
 
 "  Yea,  Lord,  yet  the  dogs  eat  of  the  Taketh  me   up.      "  Receives  me 
 
 crumbs,"  &c.     Mark  vn.  28.  under  His   care  and  protection,"   or 
 
 10.   Some  have  supposed  that  the  perhaps,    as   Stier  suggests,   "  adopts 
 
 allusion  in  ihis  verse  is  to  the  time  of  me  as  ilis  child  j  "  see  xxii.  10. 
 
PSALM  XXVllL  lo; 
 
 PSALM  XXVIII. 
 
 After  earnestly  beseeching  God  to  hear  him  (ver.  i,  2),  the 
 Psahnist  prays  that  he  may  not  be  involved  in  the  evil  doings  of 
 the  wicked  (ver.  3) ;  and  that  they  may  receive  righteous  punishment 
 (ver.  4,  5).  He  thanks  God  that  He  has  heard  his  prayer  (ver.  6,  7), 
 and,  acknowledging  Him  as  the  Saviour  both  of  king  and  people 
 (ver.  8),  entreats  Him  to  help  and  bless,  and  feed  His  heritage  for 
 ever  (ver.  9). 
 
 There  is  no  valid  reason  why  we  should  reject  the  traditional  title 
 which  gives  the  Psalm  to  David.  Like  the  two  preceding  Psalms,  it 
 might  very  well  have  been  composed  at  the  time  of  Absalom's  re- 
 bellion.    Verses  .2  and  3  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  Ps.  xxvi.  8,  9. 
 
 [a   psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  To  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  do  I  cry  ; 
 
 0  my  Rock,  hold  not  Thy  peace  towards  me  ! 
 Lest,  if  Thou  be  silent  from  me, 
 
 1  become  like  them  that  go  down  into  the  pit. 
 
 2  Hear  the  voice  of  my  supplications  when  I  cry  to  Thee, 
 
 When  I  lift  up  my  hands  toward  the  innermost  place 
 of  Thy  sanctuary. 
 
 3  Draw  me  not  away  with  the  wicked. 
 
 And  with  the  workers  of  iniquity; 
 
 I,  2.   The  earnestness  of  the  cry  is  me   in  silence."     The   expression    is 
 
 to  be  measured  not  only  by  the  great-  often  applied  to  God,  with  reference 
 
 ness  of  the  peril  which  threatened,  to   prayer   which    seems    to    remain 
 
 but  by  the  faith  which  cleaves  to  God,  unanswered  :  see  xxxv.  22,  xxxix.  12, 
 
 knowing  that  in   Him  only  is  there  Ixxxiii.    i,   cix.   I,  &c.,   and  compare 
 
 help.     Hold  not  Thy  peace  to-  Ixii.  i,   5,  Ixv.   i. 
 
 WARDS  ME  :  /.(?."  Turn  not  away  from  3.  Draw  me  not  away,   viz.    to 
 
loS 
 
 PSALM  XXV II I. 
 
 Who  speak  peace  with  their  neighbours, 
 
 But  wickedness  is  in  their  hearts. 
 Give  them  according  to  their  work, 
 
 And  according  to  the  wickedness  of  their  doings  ; 
 According  to  the  operation  of  their  hands  give  them, 
 
 Requite  them  that  they  have  deserved  ; 
 For  they  have  no  regard  to  the  works  of  Jehovah, 
 
 Nor  to  the  operation  of  His  hands  : 
 (Therefore)  shall   He  break  them  down,  and  not  build 
 
 them  up. 
 Blessed  be  Jehovah, 
 
 For  He  hath  heard  the  voice  of  my  supplications. 
 Jehovah  is  my  Strength  and  my  Shield ; 
 
 In  Him  hath  my  heart  trusted,  and  I  am  helped  ; 
 Therefore  my  heart  leapeth  for  joy, 
 
 And  with  my  song  will  I  praise  Him. 
 Jehovah  is  their  strength. 
 
 And  He  is  the  saving  defence  of  His  Anointed. 
 
 destruction  with  them,  as  in  Ezek. 
 xxxii.  20.  See  also  Job  xxiv.  22. 
 The  same  sentiment  above,  xxvi.  9. 
 
 Who  speak  peace,  &c.  "Perhaps 
 the  same  as  the  "dissemblers,"  in 
 xxvi.  4.  Vv'e  might  ahnost  suppose 
 .a  reference  to  the  arts  by  which 
 Absalom  secretly  undermined  Da- 
 vid's authority,  and  "  stole  away  the 
 hearts  "  of  the  people,  before  he  loroke 
 out  into  open  rebellion.  But  the 
 prayer  which  follows  in  the  next  verse 
 David  would  not  have  offered  against 
 Absalom.  The  aiders  and  abettors 
 of  the  rebellion  may,  however,  have 
 been  in  his  mind. 
 
 4.  Give  1  HEM:  of  a  judicial  act,  Hos. 
 iy.  14.  With  the  language  of  this  and 
 the  next  verse,  comp.  Is.  i.  15,  i6,iii.  8 
 — II,  V.  19.  I  have  spoken  else- 
 where of  these  prayers  for  vengeance 
 upon  the  wicked,  which  sometimes 
 meet  us  in  the  Psalms.  (See  note  at 
 the  end  of  Psalm  xxxv.)  In  this 
 instance  certainly  there  is  no  trace  of 
 
 the  expression  of  personal  animosity 
 and  the  mere  desire  of  revenge.  It  is 
 rather  an  appeal  to  God's  justice  to 
 deal  with  the  righteous  and  the  wicked 
 according  to  their  deserts. 
 
 5.  The  reason  why  God's  judgement 
 should  overtake  the  wicked,  not  their 
 malice  against  the  Psalmist,  but  their 
 disregard  of  the  Most  High.  See  x. 
 4,  and  Is.  V.  12,  19.  The  works  of 
 Jehovah  and  the  operation  of  His 
 hands  are  in  manifest  opposition  to 
 those  of  the  wicked  in  ver,  4. 
 
 6.  In  his  own  heart  he  has  already 
 received  the  answer  to  his  prayer.  He 
 knows  that  God  will  fulfil  his  peti- 
 tions, and  therefore  breaks  out  in  the 
 glad  certainty  of  faith,  ' '  Blessed  be 
 Jehovah,"  &c.  The  certainty  that 
 prayer  is  heard  anticipates  its  visible 
 fulfilment. 
 
 7.  With  my  song,  lit.  out  of  my 
 song  ;  the  sorg  being,  as  it  were,  the 
 source  from  which  the  praise  flowed. 
 
 8.  Their  strength  :   the    pion. 
 
PSALM  XXIX.  109 
 
 9  O  save  Thy  people  and  bless  Thine  inheritance  : 
 Feed  them  also,  and  bear  them  up  for  ever. 
 
 thus  emphatically   mentioned   before  with  God.     It  is  impossible  not  to  see 
 
 the  word  "people"  to  which  it  refers  in  these  tender,  loving  words,  "  feed 
 
 in  the  last  verse.     See  a  similar  in-  them  and   bear  them,"  the  heart  of 
 
 stance  in  ix,  12,  Ixxxvii.  I.  the  shepherd-king.       Feed  them,    O 
 
 First  the  people,  then  himself  their  Thou  true  Shepherd  of  Israel  (Ixxx. 
 
 monarch,  but  not  David  the  man,  but  i)  :  bear  them,   carry  them  in  Thine 
 
 David  the  king  as  anointed  of  God,  arms  (Is.   Ixiii.   9,   xl.  ii).     Perhaps 
 
 and  chosen  to  feed  His  people.  the  reference  may  be  to  Deut.  i.  31  ; 
 
 9.    Thy   PEOPLE,    Thine  inherit-  xxxii.    12,       Compare  with   this   the 
 
 ANCE.     In  those  words  are  his  plea  conclusion  of  Ps.  iii. 
 
 PSALM  XXIX. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  magnificent  description  of  a  thunder-storm.  Its 
 mighty  march  from  north  to  south,  the  desolation  and  terror  which  it 
 causes,  the  peal  of  the  thunder,  the  flash  of  the  lightning,  even  the 
 gathering  fury  and  lull  of  the  elements,  are  vividly  depicted. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  five  parts  ;  a  prelude,  the  body  of  the  poem 
 in  three  divisions,  and  a  conclusion.  The  structure  of  the  whole  is 
 highly  artificial,  and  elaborated  with  a  symmetry  of  which  no  more 
 perfect  specimen  exists  in  Hebrew.  But  this  evidently  artificial  mode 
 of  composition  is  no  check  to  the  force  and  fire  of  the  Poet's  genius, 
 which  kindles,  and  glows,  and  sweeps  along  with  all  the  freedom  and 
 majesty  of  the  storm  ;  the  whole  Psalm  being  one  continued  strain  of 
 triumphant  exultation. 
 
 I.  In  the  prelude,  the  singer  lifts  our  thoughts  at  once  from  earth 
 to  heaven,  by  calling  on  the  angels  who  stand  around  the  throne  of 
 God  to  praise  Him  who  manifests  His  glory  in  the  thunder  and 
 lightning  which  He  sends  upon  the  earth.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 II.  Then  follows  the  description  of  the  storm  in  the  three  strophes 
 which  constitute  the  main  body  of  the  Poem.  These  are  so  con- 
 structed, that  the  first  (ver.  3,  4)  gives  us  the  beginning  of  the  storm, 
 the  low,  faint,  muttering  thunder  in  the  distant  heavens  ;  the  next 
 
no  PSALM  XXIX. 
 
 (ver.  5—7)  describes  the  storm  at  its  height,  when  it  crashes  the 
 cedars,  and  shakes  the  mountains  ;  the  last  (ver.  8,  9)  tells  how  it 
 passes  on  over  the  plain  country  to  the  forest  of  Kadesh  in  the  south, 
 where  it  dies  away. 
 
 But  not  only  the  arrangement  of  the  three  strophes,  but  the  struc- 
 ture of  each  separate  strophe,  contributes  in  a  very  striking  degree  to 
 the  whole  effect  of  the  Poem.  Each  consists  of  five  members,  and 
 each  begins  with  a  fresh  burst  and  closes  with  a  lull  in  the  tempest. 
 
 i.  Thus,  in  the  first  strophe,  we  hear  the  first  yet  distant  sound  of 
 the  thunder  in  the  words,  "  The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  upon  the  v«'aters.''' 
 In  the  next  two  clauses,  "  The  God  of  glory  thundereth  ;  Jehovah  is 
 upon  many  waters,"  the  long  loud  peal  grows  more  distinct,  whilst 
 ver.  4  again  is  pitched  in  a  lower  key,  as  if  telling  us  of  a  pause  in 
 the  storm. 
 
 i\.  In  the  next  strophe  we  have  again,  {a)  first,  the  renewed  fury  of 
 the  tempest,  as,  coming  nearer  yet,  it  falls  on  the  glory  of  Lebanon, 
 and  breaks  her  cedars  in  its  might  :  "  The  voice  of  Jehovah  breaketh 
 the  cedars,"  &c.  {b)  Next,  gathering  with  a  wilder  intensity  of  wrath, 
 it  bursts  upon  the  mountain  peaks,  roaring  amid  their  rocks  and 
 shattering  them,  and  making  the  everlasting  hills  themselves  to 
 tremble  as  with  the  throes  of  an  earthquake,  so  that  "  Lebanon  and 
 Sirion  skip  like  the  young  of  the  wild  ox."  {c)  Lastly,  we  hear  it 
 sinking  down  in  the  line  which  describes  the  flashing  of  the  forked 
 lightning:  "The  voice  of  Jehovah  cleaveth  the  flames  of  fire." 
 Ver.  5—7. 
 
 iii.  Again  the  same  structure  is  observable.  One  long  peal  after 
 another  has  rolled  and  reverberated  along  the  sky,  and  now  the 
 storm,  in  its  jubilant  strength,  sweeps  the  whole  land  from  north  to 
 south,  {a)  Again  it  is  up  in  its  majesty  :  "  The  voice  of  Jehovah 
 maketh  the  wilderness  to  tremble."  {b)  Again  its  last  fury  is  poured 
 out  upon  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh.  The  very  hinds  bow  themselves 
 in  travail-pangs,  and  the  forest  is  torn  open  and  laid  bare,  as  the 
 hurricane  drives  through  it  in  its  path.  {c)  And  again  the  tempest  is 
 stilled,  but  this  time  its  voice  is  hushed  and  lost  for  ever  in  the  music 
 and  songs  of  the  heavenly  host :  "  In  His  temple  all  that  are  therein 
 cry,  Glory."    Ver.  8,  9. 
 
 111.  The  conclusion  consists,  like  the  prelude,  of  two  verses,  each 
 of  two  members.  And  here  we  are  beautifully  reminded  that 
 Jehovah,  whom  the  angels  praise,  and  who  both  rules  and  stills  the 
 
PSALM  XXIX,  1 1 ! 
 
 elements  in  their  wildest  uproar,   is   the   same   Jehovah    who   gives 
 strength  ^md peace  to  His  people.     Ver.  lo,  ii. 
 
 In  the  modern  synagogue,  this  Psalm  stands  in  the  Jewish  liturgy 
 to  be  used  on  the  first  day  of  Pentecost  (Shebuoth). 
 
 [a    psalm    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Give  unto  Jehovah,  O  yQ  sons  of  God, 
 
 Give  unto  Jehovah  glory  and  strength. 
 
 2  Give  unto  Jehovah  the  glory  due  to  His  Name. 
 
 Worship  Jehovah  in  holy  attire. 
 
 3  The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  upon  the  waters, 
 
 The  God  of  glory  thundereth  ; 
 Jehovah  is  upon  many  waters  ; 
 
 4  The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  in  might, 
 The  voice  of  Jehovah  is  in  majesty. 
 
 5  The  voice  of  Jehovah  breaketh  the  cedars, 
 
 Yea  Jehovah  breaketh  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  ; 
 
 6  And  He  maketh  them  to  skip  like  a  calf, 
 
 Lebanon  and  Sirion  like  the  young  of  the  wild  ox  : 
 
 7  The  voice  of  Jehovah  cleaveth  the  flames  of  fire. 
 
 1.  Sons  OF  God,  "the  angels,"  as       masses  of   the    storm-cloud   charged 
 in  Job  ii,  I.  with  water.    Probably  the  latter.    See 
 
 2.  In     holy     attire,     heaven       xviii.  ii. 
 
 being  thought  of  as 'one  great  temple,  4.   In  might.  ..  IN  majesty.    The 
 
 and   all   the    worshipers    therein    as  attributes  of  God  as  displayed  in  the 
 
 clothed    in    priestly    garments,     and  storm. 
 
 doing    perpetual     service.       In    the  6.   SiRiON,  i.e.  Anti-Lebanon,  ace. 
 
 earthly  temple,  in  like  manner,  Priests  to  Deut.  iii.  9,  the  Sidonian  name  of 
 
 and    Levites   arrayed   themselves   on  Hermon. 
 
 occasions  of  solemn  pomp.    Cf  2  Chr.  7.   With  every  thunder-peal  comes 
 
 XX.    21,   where  E.V.  has  "beauty  of  the  terrible  forked  lightning,  so  strik- 
 
 holiness,"  Ps.  ex.  3,  where  see  note,  ing   in   tropical  and    Eastern    lancL-;. 
 
 3.  The  WATERS,     This  may  either  Its  vivid,  zigzag,  serpent-like  flash  is 
 refer  to  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  from  given  in  a  few  words. 
 
 which  the  storm  comes  up  (as  J.  D,  Cleaveth  the  flames  of  fire, 
 
 Michaelis),  or  to  "the   waters  above       i.e.   parts   the  blaze  of  the  lighlniiii;, 
 the   firmament,"   the  dense  lowering       so  as  to  give  it  the  forked  appearance. 
 
31 
 
 PSALM  XXIX. 
 
 8  The  voice  of  Jehovah  maketh  the  wilderness  to  tremble. 
 
 Jehovah  inaketh  the  wilderness  of  Kadesh  to  tremble. 
 
 9  The  voice  of  Jehovah  maketh  the  hinds  to  calve, 
 
 And  layeth  the  forests  bare  :— 
 And  in  His  temple  all  that  is  therein  uttereth,  "  Glory." 
 
 10  Jehovah  sat  throned  above  the  Flood  : 
 
 Yea  Jehovah  sitteth  throned  a  King  for  ever. 
 
 11  Jehovah  giveth  strength  to  His  people  ; 
 
 Jehovah  blesseth  His  people  with  peace. 
 
 8.  Kadesh.  in  the  south  of  Pa- 
 lestine, thus  indicating  the  course 
 taken  by  the  storm.  It  sweeps  the 
 land  from  north  to  south.  "The 
 geographical  notices  of  its  situation," 
 says  Stanley,  of  Kadesh,  "are  unfor- 
 tunately too  slight  to  be  of  much 
 service.  Yet  thus  much  they  fix,  that 
 it  was  '  in  the  wilderness  of  Zin, '  that 
 it  was  '  on  the  edge  of  the  border  of 
 Edom,'  that  it  was  near  Mount  Hor, 
 that  it  was  at  the  southern  point  to 
 which  the  territory  of  Judah  after- 
 wards reached, "  He  then  gives  rea- 
 sons for  identifying  Kadesh  with 
 Petra.  TraveUing  in  the  direction  it 
 did,  the  storm  would  first  reach  the 
 'Arabah,  and  then  pass  on  to  the 
 acacias,  and  palms,  and  vegetation 
 which  clothe  the  rocks  of  sandstone 
 in  the  neighbourhood  of  Petra.  See 
 Stanley's  interesting  account  of  his 
 journey  in  the  opposite  direction,  from 
 Petra  to  Palestine  through  the  'Ara- 
 bah. {Sinai  and  Falestitie,  p.  94, 
 &c.) 
 
 9.  Maketh  the  hinds  to  calve. 
 This  is  a  phenomenon  which  is  also 
 noticed  and  recorded  as  a  fact  by 
 Arabian  poets. 
 
 10.  Flood,  i.e.  the  Deluge.  The 
 word  here  employed  occurs  nowhere 
 else,  except  in  the  story  of  the  Flood 
 (Gen.  vi. — xi.),  and  therefore  refers, 
 I  cannot  help  thinking,  to  that  great 
 act  of  judgement,  and  not  merely  to  a 
 recent  inundation  caused  by  the  storm, 
 
 the  mountain-torrents  having  been 
 swollen  by  the  rain,  and  having  ilooded 
 the  country.  This  might  have  hap- 
 pened. But  the  selection  of  so  pe- 
 culiar a  word  "  flood,"  as  well  as  the 
 fact  that  the  verb  is  in  the  past  tense, 
 "  j-fl'^  throned,"  ma'kes  the  other  "more 
 probable. 
 
 Veiy  beautiful  is  the  conclusion  of 
 the  Psalm.  If,  in  His  heavenly  tem.ple 
 above,  all  that  are  therein  ascribe 
 "  s'ory  "  to  God,  upon  earth  too  He 
 has  manifested  that  glory.  He  sat  as 
 King  when  He  sent  the  flood  of  water 
 to  destroy  the  earth.  He  sits  now, 
 and  for  ever  w\\\  sit,  as  King.  As 
 then  He  saved  the  righteous  man 
 from  death,  so  now  He  watches  over 
 Plis  people  :  for  Jehovah  is  the  Gad 
 of  Israel.  It  was  He  who  when  the 
 storm  waxed  strong  gave  it  its  strengih  : 
 it  v/as  He  who,  when  it  was  hushed, 
 spread  over  earth,  and  sea  and  sky, 
 the  sweet  sabbath  stillness  of  peace. 
 And  Pie  whose  almighty  power  was 
 seen  in  the  march  of  the  tempest, 
 whose  voice  was  heard  in  its  wildest 
 uproar,  and  whose  word  stilled  its 
 fiercest  war,  shall  He  not  give  both 
 strength  and  peace  ?  Yea,  Jehovah, 
 who  is  strong  and  mighty,  will  give 
 His  own  strength  to  His  people.  And 
 He  who  is  the  Prince  of  Peace  will 
 bless  His  people  with  peace.  Thus 
 the  Psalm  begins,  as  Delitisch  says, 
 with  a  Gloria  in  excelsis,  and  ends 
 with  a  Pax  ir  teri-is. 
 
PSALM  XXX.  113 
 
 PSALM  XXX. 
 
 This  Psalm  was  composed  after  recovery  from  a  sickness  which 
 had  very  nearly  proved  fatal.  The  singer  begins  with  an  ascription 
 of  praise  to  God  for  His  great  goodness,  and  calls  upon  all  who,  like 
 himself,  had  known  the  loving-kindness  of  Jehovah,  to  join  him  in 
 his  thanksgiving.  Thence  he  passes  (ver.  6)  to  a  recital  of  his  own 
 experience,  his  pleading  with  God  in  his  affliction,  and  God's  answer 
 to  his  prayer. 
 
 According  to  the  Inscription,  the  Psalm  was  composed  "  at  the 
 dedication  of  the  house."  But  what  house  ?  Some  would  understand 
 the  dedication  of  the  spot  on  which  the  Temple  afterwards  stood,  and 
 which  David  purchased  of  Araunah  (2  Sam.  xxiv,,  i  Chron.  xxi.). 
 This  spot,  it  is  true,  together  with  the  altar  erected  there,  might  be 
 called  "the  house  of  Jehovah"  (as  it  is  i  Chron.  xxii.  i),  or  absolutely 
 "  the  house,"  even  before  the  Temple  was  built.  But  if  the  Psalm 
 were  written  for  this  occasion,  it  could  not  have  been  written  by 
 David,  as  he  himself  did  not  fall  sick  in  the  time  of  the  pestilence 
 (2  Sam.  xxiv.  17). 
 
 But  perhaps,  if  the  Inscription  is  trustworthy,  it  refers  to  the  house 
 which  David  built  in  his  new  city  of  Zion,  and  the  building  of  which 
 he  seems  to  have  regarded  as  a  pledge  of  the  security  and  prosperity 
 of  his  kingdom  (2  Sam.  v.  11,  12).  We  must,  however,  still  suppose 
 that  he  had  suffered  just  before  from  a  sickness  about  which  the 
 history  is  silent. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  A  thanksgiving  on  recovery.     Ver.  i — 5. 
 
 (i)  An  ascription  of  praise.  Ver.  i.  The  reason,  viz.  that  God 
 had  brought  him  back  to  life  from  the  gates  of  death.     Ver.  2,  3. 
 
 (2)  An  exhortation  to  others  to  unite  with  him  in  praise.  The 
 reason,  because  God  keepeth  not  His  anger  for  ever.     Ver.  4,  5. 
 
 II.  A  recital  of  the  Psalmist's  experience  during  his  sickness. 
 Ver.  6 — 12. 
 
 I 
 
114  PSALM  XXX. 
 
 (i)  The  sudden  change  by  which  he  had  been  brought  low.     Ver. 
 6,7- 
 
 (2)  His  prayer  in  his  sickness.     Ver.  8 — 10. 
 
 (3)  The   answer  to  his  prayer  and  thanksgiving  thereupon.     Ver. 
 II,  12. 
 
 [a   psalm  of   DAVID.      A  SONG  AT   THE   DEDICATION  OF  THE  HOUSE.] 
 
 I.  I   I  WILL  extol  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  for  Thou  hast  lifted 
 me  up, 
 And  hast  not  made  mine  enemies  to  rejoice  over  me. 
 
 2  O  Jehovah,  my  God, 
 
 I  cried  unto  Thee,  and  Thou  hast  healed  me. 
 
 3  O  Jehovah,  Thou  hast  brought  up   my  soul  from   the 
 
 grave : 
 Thou  hast  restored  me  to  life,  that  I  should  not  be  of 
 them  that  go  down  into  the  pit. 
 
 4  Sing  praises  unto  Jehovah,  O  ye  beloved  of  His, 
 
 And  give  thanks  to  His  holy  name  : 
 
 5  For  His  anger  is  but  for  a  moment, 
 
 His  favour  for  a  life  long  : 
 At  even,  weeping  may  come  in  for  a  night, 
 But  with  the  morning  is  a  shout  of  joy. 
 
 I.  Thou  HAST  LIFTED  ME  UP,  lit.  Wisdom,    Power,    Holiness,    Truth, 
 
 "Thou  hast  drawn  me  up"  [i.e.    as  Righteousness.      God's    memorial    is 
 
 a  bucket  is  drawn  up  out  of  a  well).  that  great  history  of  redemption  which 
 
 It  has  been  inferred  from  this  expres-  was,  so  to  speak,  the  setting  up  of  a 
 
 sion,  that  the  Psalm  was  written  by  monument  to  His  glory,  on  which  all 
 
 Jeremiah  when  he  was  taken  up  out  these  attributes  were  inscribed, 
 of  the  dungeon.     But  this  is  turning  5.   A  reason  why  God's  saints  should 
 
 poetry  into  prose.   The  word  is  clearly  praise    Him,    because    He   manifests 
 
 metaphorical.  Himself  to  them  in  love,  not  in  wrath, 
 
 4.  His  HOLY  NAME,  lit.  "His  holy  or   if  in   wrath,   but   for  a  moment, 
 
 memorial,"  with  reference,  no  doubt,  Love  rules  over  all.     The  literal  ren- 
 
 lo  the  passage,  Exod.  iii.  15,  "This is  dering  of  the  verse  is  :  "  For  in  His 
 
 my  name  for  ever,  and  this  is  my  me-  anger  is  (but)  a  moment,  in  His  favour 
 
 mortal   to    all   generations."      God's  a   life  :  in  the  evening  weeping  may 
 
 Name  is  His  revelation  of  Himself,  in  come  in  to  pass  the  night  ;  but  with 
 
 all  His  various  attributes  of    Love,  the  morning  (there  is)  a  shout  of  joy." 
 
PSALM  XXX. 
 
 "5 
 
 II.  6  And  as  for  me — I  have  said,  in  my  prosperity, 
 "  I  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever." 
 
 7  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  by  Thy  favour  hadst  made  my 
 
 mountain  to  stand  strong: 
 Thou  didst  hide  Thy  face  : — I  was  troubled. 
 
 8  (Then)  to  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  did  I  begin  to  cry, 
 
 V^ea  to  Jehovah  I  made  supplication  :  (saying,) 
 
 9  "What  profit  is  there  in  my  blood,  when  I  go  down 
 
 to  the  pit .'' 
 Shall  the  dust  give  thanks  to  Thee  .''  shall  it  declare 
 
 Thy  truth  ? 
 Hear,  O  Jehovah,  and  be  gracious  unto  me  ; 
 
 O  Jehovah,  be  Thou  my  helper." 
 (And)  Thou  didst  turn  for   me  my  mourning  into 
 dancing ; 
 Thou  didst  put  off  my  sackcloth,  and  didst  gird 
 me  with  joy ; 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 The  parallelism  is  carefully  preserved 
 in  each  member  :  "  anger — favour  ;  " 
 "a  moment — a  life;"  "evening — 
 morning  ;"  "  vv^eeping — joy." 
 
 We  must  not  repeat  the  verb  "  pass 
 the  night,"  with  the  second  clause. 
 Weeping  is  described  in  the  first  under 
 the  image  of  a  wayfarer  who  comes  in 
 at  the  evening  to  lodge  for  the  night. 
 The  suddenness  and  surprise  of  glad- 
 ness, on  the  other  hand,  in  the  morning 
 are  beautifully  represented  by  the 
 simple  "  at  dawn  a  shout  of  joy," 
 without  a  verb.  Just  as  the  sun  in 
 Eastern  lands,  without  any  long  pre- 
 lude of  twilight  to  announce  his  coming, 
 leaps  as  it  were  in  a  moment  above  the 
 horizon,  so  does  the  light  of  God's  love 
 dispel  in  a  moment  the  long  night  and 
 darkness  of  sorrow.  See  the  beautiful 
 parallel.  Is.  liv.  7,  8. 
 
 7.  Hadst  made  strong,  lit. 
 "  Thou  didst  make  strength  to  stand 
 to  my  mountain  :  "  or  perhaps  "Thou 
 didst  place  a  fortress  upon  my  moun- 
 tain."    The  language  is  clearly  figu- 
 
 rative, though  the  emblem  no  doubt  is 
 borrowed  from  the  stronghold  of  Zion. 
 
 9.   He  now  gives  us  the  words  of 
 his  prayer. 
 
 What  profit.  The  earnest  prayer 
 for  life,  so  frequent  with  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment saints,  who  walked  in  shadows, 
 and  who  only  now  and  then  caught 
 a  glimpse  of  the  world  beyond  the 
 grave.  Their  faith  and  hope  were  in 
 God,  and  therefore  could  not  be 
 bounded  by  things  temporal  ;  but  we 
 must  remember  that  the  promises 
 made  to  them  were  mostly  of  a  tem- 
 poral character,  and  that  life  and  im- 
 mortality were  not  yet  brought  to 
 light.  In  seasons  of  despondency, 
 therefore,  the  abode  of  the  dead 
 (Sheol)  seemed  dark  and  cheerless  : 
 and  there  was  not  only  a  natural  but 
 even  a  religious  recoil  from  death, 
 because  in  this  life  only  could  men 
 praise  God.  In  the  land  of  forget- 
 fulness  no  Psalms  could  be  sung. 
 Hezekiah's  thanksgiving,  Is.  xxxviii. 
 and  many  expressions  in  the  Book  of 
 I    2 
 
[i6 
 
 PSALM  XXXL 
 
 1 2  To  the  end  that  (my)  glory  should  sing  praise  to  Thee, 
 and  not  be  silent. 
 O  Jehovah,  my  God,  I   will  give  thanks  unto  Thee 
 for  ever. 
 
 Job,  which  last  seems  to  have  been 
 in  the  Psalmist's  mind,  are  in  the 
 same  strain.  The  truth  seems  to  be, 
 that  whilst  the  Faith  of  the  Old  Tes- 
 tament saints  in  God  was  strong  and 
 childlike,  their   Hope  of  Immortality 
 
 was  at  best  but  dim  and  wavering, 
 brightening  perhaps  for  a  moment, 
 when  the  heart  was  rejoicing  in  God 
 as  its  portion,  and  then  again  almost 
 dying  away. 
 
 PSALM   XXXI. 
 
 A  Psalm  in  which  earnest  prayer  for  deliverance  from  trouble  is 
 kindled  and  animated  throughout  by  a  lively  trust  and  hope  in  God. 
 (Compare  Psalms  ix.,  xxvii.) 
 
 It  consists  of  three  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  singer  prays  God  to  be  gracious  to  him  in  his  trouble,  ex- 
 pressing at  the  same  time  his  trust  in  Him,  who  in  times  past  had 
 been  his  deliverer.     Ver.  i — 8. 
 
 II.  He  pours  out  before  God  the  story  of  his  sufferings  and  his 
 sorrows,  beseeching  Him  again  to  lift  upon  him  the  light  of  His 
 countenance,  and  to  put  his  enemies  to  shame.     Ver.  9 — 18. 
 
 III.  He  concludes  with  praise  and  thanksgiving  to  God  for  His 
 goodness  to  all  who  trust  in  Him,  and  particularly  to  himself,  and 
 calls  upon  all  the  righteous  to  love  the  Lord.     Ver.  19 — 24. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  written  by  Jeremiah, 
 and  in  many  of  its  expressions  there  is  a  resemblance  to  the  Prophet's 
 writings.     Compare  Lament,  iii.,  and  Jer.  xx.  10. 
 
 The  phrase,  "Fear  on  every  side,"  ver.  13,  occurs  no  less  than  six 
 times  in  Jeremiah. 
 
PSALM  XXXL  117 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      a  psalm   of  DAVID.] 
 
 [.  I   In  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  have  I  made  my  refuge, 
 Let  me  not  be  ashamed  for  ever ; 
 In  Thy  righteousness  set  me  at  Hberty. 
 
 2  Incline  Thine  ear  unto  me, 
 
 Make  haste  to  deliver  me  : 
 Be  Thou  to  me  a  strong  rock, 
 A  house  of  fortresses  to  save  me. 
 
 3  For  Thou  art  my  rock  and  my  fortress, 
 
 And  for  Thy  Nanie's   sake  Thou  wilt  lead  me  and 
 guide  me  ; 
 
 4  Thou  wilt  pluck  me   out  of  the   net  they  have  laid 
 
 privily  for  me, 
 For  Thou  art  my  stronghold. 
 
 5  Into  Thy  hand  I  commend  my  spirit : 
 
 Ver.   I — 3    are   found    v/ith   slight  least,    foreshadowed    His   sufferings : 
 
 variation  in  Ixxi.  I — 3.  whereas,  this  is  not  in  the  same  way 
 
 1.  In  Thy  righteousness.     See  predictive.     But    the   Holy   One    ot 
 iv.  I,  V.  8.  God,    in   that   last    hour    of    mortal 
 
 2.  The  figures  here  employed  are  agony,   chose  these  words  of  one  of 
 the  same  as  in  xviii.  His  servants,  to   express   the  solemn 
 
 Strong    rock,    lit.  **  a    rock    of  surrender   of   His   life.      And    in  so 
 
 4ronghold,"    i.e.  not   a  rock  Avith  a  doing,  He  gave  them  a  new  interpre- 
 
 castle  upon  it,  but  "a  rock  which  is  tation.     The  Jewish  singer  only  meant 
 
 itself  a  stronghold,"  by  them  that  he  put  himself  and  all 
 
 A  HOUSE  OF  FORTRESSES  :  a  poet-  his   hopes    into  the    hand   of    God. 
 
 ical  expression — a  fortified  place.  Jesus  meant  by  them,  that  by  His  ozun 
 
 5.   I    COMMEND,    i.e.     place    as    a  act,  of  His  own  free  will.  He  gave  up 
 
 de- osit,  entrust.  His  spirit",  and  therewith  His  life,  to 
 
 With  these  words  our  Lord  breathed  the  Father.     And  they  who  have  died 
 
 out  His  life,  St.  Luke  xxiii.  46,  as  He  with  their  Lord,    have  died  Avith  the 
 
 had  before  u-^ed  words  from  another  same  words  on  their  lips.   These  were 
 
 ]\salm   in   His   agony   on   the   cro-s.  the  last  words   of  Polycarp,  of  Ber- 
 
 The  first  words   were  from  a   Psalm  nard,  of  Huss,*  of  Jerome  of  Prague, 
 
 (  the     22nd  )    which,     typically     at  of   Luther,  Melanchthon,  and  many 
 
 *  When  the  sentence  of  degradation  from  the  priesthood  was  being  executed  upon  John 
 Huss,  the  last  act  of  the  Bishop  who  performed  the  cerem.ny  was  to  pronounce  the  ^horrible 
 "/ords  "  and  now  we  commit  thy  soul  to  the  devil."  To  this  Huss  calmly  replied,  ''  I  com- 
 mend my  spirit  into  Thy  hands,  O  Lord  Jc^us  Christ;*  unto  Thee  I  commend  my  spirit,  which 
 Thou  hast  redeemed."  Then  he  was  carried  to  the  place  of  public  execution  and  burned  to 
 death. 
 
ii8  PSALM  XXXI. 
 
 Thou  hast  redeemed  me,  Jehovah,  Thou  God   of 
 Truth. 
 
 6  I  hate  them  that  observe  lying  vanities  ; 
 
 As  for  me — in  Jehovah  do  I  trust. 
 
 7  I  will  exult  and  rejoice  in  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 
 That  Thou  hast  seen  my  affliction, 
 
 (That  Thou)  hast  known  my  soul  in  adversities, 
 
 8  And  hast  not  shut  me  up  into  the  hand  of  the  enemy, 
 
 (But)  hast  set  my  feet  in  a  large  room. 
 
 II.    9  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  Jehovah,  for  I  am  in  trouble  : 
 Mine  eye  is  consumed    with  vexation, — my  soul 
 and  my  body. 
 
 10  For  my  life  is  spent  with  sorrow, 
 
 And  my  years  with  sighing  : 
 My  strength  hath  failed,  because  of  mine  iniquity, 
 And  my  bones  are  consumed,  because  of  all  my 
 adversaries. 
 
 11  I  have  become  a  reproach   to   my   neighbours   ex- 
 
 ceedingly. 
 And  a  terror  to  mine  acquaintance  : 
 They  that  did  see  me  in  the  streets  fled  from  me. 
 
 12  I  have  been  forgotten  as  a  dead  man  out  of  mind  ; 
 
 I  am  become  like  a  broken  vessel. 
 
 1 3  For  I  have  heard  the  slander  of  many, 
 
 Fear  on  every  side  ; 
 Whilst  they  took  their  counsel  together  against  me, 
 They  devised  to  take  away  my  life. 
 
 14  But  as  for  me,  I  have  trusted  in  Thee,  O  Jehovah  ; 
 
 I  have  said,  "  Thou  art  my  God." 
 
 others.      "Blessed    are    they,"   says  7.   Hast    known.     See   note   on 
 
 Luther,  "who  die  not  only  y^r  the  i.  6. 
 
 Lord,    as  martyrs;  not  only   in   the  12.   Out    of    mind,    lit.    "out  of 
 
 Lord,   as  all  believers;  but  likewise  heart;"  s-im.    "out  of   the  mouth," 
 
 ivith  the  Lord,  as  breathing  forth  their  Deut.  xxxi.  21. 
 
 lives  in  the  words,  '  Lito  Thy  hand  I  13.   The  first  two   members   of  the 
 
 commend  my  spirit.'  "  verse  occur  again,  word  for  word,  Jer. 
 
 Thou  hast  redeemed  me.     This  xx.  10,  and  the  phrase,  "terror  round 
 
 gives  the  reason  why  he  entrusts  his  about,"  Jer.  vi.  25,   xx.  3,  4,  xlvi.  5, 
 
 spirit  to  God.  xlix.  29 ;  Lam.  ii.  22. 
 
PSALM  XXXI.  iT(> 
 
 15   My  times  are  in  Thy  hand  : 
 
 Deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  mine  enemies,  and 
 from  them  that  persecute  me. 
 i6  Make  Thy  face  to  shine  upon  Thy  servant  ; 
 
 O  save  me  in  Thy  loving-kindness  ! 
 
 17  O  Jehovah,  let  me  not  be  ashamed,  for  I  have  called 
 
 upon  Thee  : 
 Let  the  wicked   be  ashamed,  let  them  be  put  to 
 silence  in  the  grave  ; 
 
 18  Let  the  lying  lips  be  dumb, 
 
 Which  speak  haughtily  against  the  righteous, 
 With  pride  and  contempt. 
 
 IIL   19  Oh,  how  great  is  Thy  goodness. 
 
 Which  Thou  hast  laid  up  for  them  that  fear  Thee, 
 Which  Thou  hast  wrought  for  them  that  find  their 
 refuge  in  Thee, 
 In  the  presence  of  the  sons  of  men. 
 
 20  Thou   hidest  them  privily  in   the   hiding-place   of 
 
 Thy  presence  from  the  conspiracies  of  men  ; 
 Thou  keepest  them  in  a  tabernacle  from  the  strife  of 
 tongues. 
 
 21  Blessed  be  Jehovah, 
 
 That  He  hath  showed  me  His  marvellous  loving- 
 kindness  in  a  fenced  city  : 
 
 22  As  for  me — I  have  said  in  my  confusion, 
 
 "  I  am  cut  off  from  the  sight  of  Thine  eyes." 
 Yet  surely  Thou  didst  hear  the  voice  of  my  sup- 
 plications 
 
 iG.   The    High     Priest's    blessing,  striking  figure  of  all  :  to  be  hidden  in 
 
 Num.  vi.  25.     Comp.  Ps.  iv.  6.  the  light  of  God's  face,  hidden  in  that 
 
 19.   Thou  hast  laid  up,  lit.  "  hid-  splendour  where  His  power  is  hidden 
 
 den  ;  "  comp.  "  the  hidden  manna,"  (Hab.  iii,  4) ;  what  an  image  at  once 
 
 Rev.  ii.  17,  of  safety   and   blessedness  !    Milton's 
 
 20.    The  hiding-place  of   Thy  striking  expression,    "Dark  with  ex- 
 
 PRESENCE,  or  "of  Thy  countenance  ;"  cess   of  bright,"  explains  how    it   is 
 
 elsewhere,  of  God's  tabernacle,  xxvii.  possible  to  be  hidden  in  light. 
 
 5  ;  or  of  His  wings,  Ixi.  4,  or  of  Plis  21.   David    now   turns  to  his  own 
 
 shadow,  xci.  i.     But  this  is  the  most  experience.     But  what  is  the  lenced  or 
 
I20  PSALM  XXXI L 
 
 When  I  cried  unto  Thee. 
 
 23  O  love  Jehovah,  all  ye  beloved  of  His  ! 
 
 Jehovah  preserveth  the  faithful, 
 
 And  plentifully  rewardeth  the  proud  doer. 
 
 24  Be  of  good  courage,  and  let  your  heart  be  strong, 
 
 All  ye  that  wait  upon  Jehovah. 
 
 fortified  city?     I  incline  to  think  there  Thee  I  am  aj  z/"  I  were  in  a  fortified 
 
 is  an  historical  reference  in  the  words.  place. 
 
 Possibly  Ziklag  may  be  meant.   Mo-,t,  24.    All   ye    that    wait.       The 
 
 however,  understand  it  metaph  =  with  Psalm  ends  as  Psalm  xxvii. 
 
 PSALM  XXXII. 
 
 This  is  the  second  of  the  Seven  Penitential  Psalms,  as  they  are 
 called,  "  which,"  says  Selnecker,  "  St.  Augustine  used  often  to  read 
 with  weeping  heart  and  eyes,  and  which,  before  his  death,  he  had 
 written  on  the  wall  over  against  his  sick-bed,  that  he  might  exercise 
 himself  therein,  and  find  comfort  therein  in  his  sickness."  St.  Augus- 
 tine's own  words,  "  intelligentia  prima  est  ut  te  noris  peccatorem," 
 might  standi  as  its  motto. 
 
 There  can  be  little  doubt,  I  think,  that  this  Psalm  was  composed 
 after  Nathan  came  to  David.  Psalm  li.  was  the  confession  of  his 
 great  sin  and  the  prayer  for  forgiveness.  This  Psalm  is  the  record  of 
 the  confession  made  and  the  forgiveness  obtained,  and  the  conscious 
 blessedness  of  his  position  as  a  son  restored  to  his  Father's  house. 
 There  was  a  shelter  for  him  there  now — "  Thou  art  my  hiding-place." 
 There  was  joy  and  gladness  on  his  return — "  Thou  shalt  compass  me 
 about  with  songs  of  deliverance."  And  here  he  carries  out  the  resolve 
 of  Psalm  li.,  "  Then  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  w^ay,  and  sinners 
 shall  be  converted  unto  Thee." 
 
 The  instruction  of  the  Psalm  may  be  summed  up  in  the  words  of 
 Prov.  xxviii.  13,  or  in  those  of  i  John  i.  8,  9. 
 
PSALM  XXXIL 
 
 121 
 
 [a   MASKIL   of   DAVID.] 
 
 is   taken   away, 
 Jehovah   reckoneth   not 
 
 1  Blessed  is  he  whose 
 
 whose  sin  is  covered  : 
 
 2  Blessed  is  the  man  to  whom 
 
 iniquity, 
 And  in  whose  spirit  there  is  no  guile. 
 
 3  For  (while)  I  kept  silence,  my  bones  waxed  old 
 
 Through  my  roaring  all  the  day  long. 
 
 4  For  day  and  night  Thy  hand  was  heavy  upon  me; 
 
 My  moisture  was  turned  into  the  drought  of  summer 
 [Selah.] 
 
 1,  2.  Sin  is  here  (as  in  Ex.  xxxiv. 
 7)  spoken  of  under  three  appellations, 
 so  as  to  include  the  whole  idea  of  sin 
 in  all  its  manifestations :  First,  as 
 '  •  transgression "  or  departure  from 
 God,  and  open  defection  from  His 
 covenant.  Secondly,  as  "a  coming 
 short  of  the  mark,"  a  deflection  from 
 an  aim,  a  not  doing  of  our  duty. 
 Thirdly,  as  including  in  the  idea  of 
 MTong  doing,  the  guilt,  and  also  the 
 punishment.  And  there  is  a  threefold 
 blessedness.  The  man  is  one  who 
 lias  his  transgression  taken  away  (lit. 
 who  is  lightened  of  the  burden  of  sin), 
 comp.  Exod.  xxxiv.  7,  St.  John  i.  29; 
 who  has  his  sin  covered,  so  that  he  is 
 in  God's  sight  as  one  vmo  has  not 
 done  the  sm,  cf.  Ixxxv.  2,  and  Is. 
 xxxviii.  17,  xliii.  25,  xliv.  22.  He  is 
 also  one — 
 
 2.  To  WHOM  JEHOVAH  RECKON- 
 ETH NOT  INIQUITY,  which  according 
 to  St.  Paul's  interpretation,  Rom.  iv. 
 6—9,  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  he 
 is  one  whose  faith  is  reckoned  for 
 righteousness.  The  non-reckoning  of 
 iniquity,  and  the  reckoning  of  righ- 
 teousness, are  convertible  terms  :  and 
 the  righteousness  so  reckoned  is  faith, 
 or  a  righteousness  without  works. 
 But  God  only  thus  forgives  and  justi- 
 
 fies one  who,  with  all  truth  and  sin- 
 cerity of  heart,  confesses  his  sin, 
 making  no  reservation,  no  excuses,  no 
 attem[)ts  still  to-  .hold  fast  and  hide 
 some  darling  lust. 
 
 No  Guile  :  no  falseness,  that  is, 
 either  to  himself  or  to  God.  Of  this 
 guiltlessness  Leighton  remarks, 
 "Nothing  is  more  pleasing  to  God, 
 who  ;  seeth  the  heart,  nothing  more 
 like  to  God  ;  and  therefore  is  it  most 
 pleasing  to  Him,  because  it  is  most 
 like  Him." — Meditat.  Ethico-Crit.  in 
 Psalm  xxxii, 
 
 3.  My  bones  ;  see  vi.  2,  and  cf. 
 Job  xiii.  28. 
 
 Through  my  roaring,  i.e.  the 
 cry  extorted  from  the  anguish  of  his 
 spirit  so  long  as  he  kept  silence,  i.e. 
 refused  to  confess  his  sin.  "Sin  is  a 
 serpent,  and  he  that  covers  sin  does 
 but  keep  it  warm,  that  it  may  sting 
 the  more  fiercely,  and  disperse  the 
 venom  and  malignity  thereof  the 
 more  effectually," — Donne. 
 
 4,  For  (this  gives  the  reason  of  his 
 roai-ing)  God's  hand  was  heavy  upon 
 him  (cf.  I  Samuel  v.  6,  1 1  ;  Job  xxiii. 
 2  ;  Ps.  xxxviii.  2),  and  that  hand  is 
 "  premens  gravissima,  sublevans  sua- 
 vissima  et  potentissima." 
 
122 
 
 PSALM  XXXTL 
 
 5   I  said,  I  will  acknowledge  my  sin  unto  Thee, 
 And  mine  iniquity  did  I  not  cover. 
 I    said,    "  I    will    confess    my    transgressions    unto 
 Jehovah." 
 And  Thou  tookest  away  the  iniquity  of  my  sin. 
 [Selah.] 
 
 11.  6  For  this  cause  let  every  gcdly  man  pray  to  Thee 
 In  a  time  when  Thou  mayest  be  found  ; 
 (So)  surely  when  the  great  waters  overflow^, 
 They  shall  not  reach  unto  him. 
 7  Thou  art  my  hiding-place  ; 
 
 Thou  wilt  preserve  me  from  trouble  ; 
 Thou  wilt  compass   me    about  with    songs    of    de- 
 liverance.    [Selah.] 
 
 III.  8  I  will  instruct  thee  and 
 shouldest  go. 
 
 teach  thee  in  the  way  thou 
 
 5.  The  '  end  of  the  struggle — con- 
 fession, and  so  forgiveness  and  peace. 
 God  covers  sin,  but  man  must  not 
 cover  his  sin  before  God.  "  If  we 
 confess  our  sin.  He  is  faithful  and  just 
 to  forgive  us  our  sins. "  ( i  John  i.  9. ) 
 The  former  part  of  this  verse  contains 
 the  resolve,  "  I  would  acknowledge," 
 &G.  ;  the  second,  the  expression  of  the 
 resolve,  "I  said,"  &c. 
 
 And  Thou.  The  pronoun  is  em- 
 phatic :  it  was  God's  doing.  To  Him 
 he  made  his  confession  :  He  forgave. 
 The  same  words  are  used  here  of  sin 
 and  its  forgiveness  as  in  ver.  I.  The 
 confession  and  the  taking  away  are 
 described  as  simultaneous.  "  Vox 
 nondum  est  in  ore,"  says  Augustine, 
 "  et  vulnus  sanatur  in  corde. " 
 
 6.  And  now  because  of  the  grace 
 thus  vouchsafed  to  every  repentant 
 sinner,  David  would  encourage  all  the 
 godly  to  seek  Him  who  deals  so 
 graciously  with  sinners. 
 
 In  a  time  when  Thou  mayest 
 BE  FOUND,  lit.  "in  a  time  of  finding," 
 
 no  object  being  expressed.  The 
 object  may  either  be  Jehovah  Himself 
 (as  Is.  Iv.  6  ;  comp.  Deut.  iv.  29,  Jer. 
 xxix.  13),  or  more  generally  "grace 
 and  forgiveness,"  as  in  the  common 
 phrase  "to  find  grace."  See  also 
 Ixix.  13  ;  Is.  xlix.  8. 
 
 7.  David's  own  joyful  experience 
 of  this  safety,  of  which  he  is  speaking 
 to  others.  Scarcely  has  he  held  out 
 the  hope  to  others,  when  he  turns  with 
 a  happy  trustfulness  to  God — 
 
 Thou  art  my  hiding-i'Lace.  He 
 would  be  hidden  in  God.  St.  Paul 
 could  scarcely  say  more,  "Our  life  is 
 hid  with  Christ  in  God. " 
 
 Compass  me  about,  i.e.  give  me 
 abundant  cause,  turn  where  I  may,  to 
 praise  Thee.  God  will  do  this,  and 
 so  be  the  author  as  well  as  the  object 
 of  his  praise. 
 
 8.  Out  of  his  past  and  present  ex- 
 perience he  will  now  counsel  others, 
 and  especially  those  who  are  still  im- 
 penitent ;  and  the  tt.nour  of  his  counsel 
 is,  that  they  should  not,  like  brutes, 
 
PSALM  XXXni.  123 
 
 I  will  watch  over  thee  with  mine  eye. 
 9  Be  ye  not  as  horse,  (or)  as  mule  without  understanding, 
 Whose  trapping  is  with  bit  and  bridle  to  ,hold  them, 
 Or  else  they  will  not  come  nigh  unto  thee. 
 
 10  Many  sorrows  are  to  the  wicked < 
 
 But  whoso  trusteth  in  Jehovah,  loving-kindness  com- 
 passeth  him  about. 
 
 1 1  Rejoice  in  Jehovah,  and  exult,  O  ye  righteous, 
 
 And  shout  for  joy,  all  ye  that  are  upright  in  heart. 
 
 resist  and  refuse  submission  till  they  guidance    with   the    eye   is   a   gentle 
 
 are  forced  into  it,  but  that  they  should  guidance.     A  look  is  enough,  as  op- 
 
 willingly  come   with   repentance  and  posed    to  that  bit  and  bridle  which 
 confe--.sion  to  God.                                        '  the  mulish  nature  requires. 
 
 The   transition    here  to  the  direct  10.  The  usual  contrast  between  the 
 
 form  of  address  in  the  first  person  is  lot   of   the  ungodly  and  that  of  the 
 
 certainly  abrupt.  Some  have  supposed  righteous,  as  the  sum  of  all  that  has 
 
 that  these  are  the  words  of  God  ;  but  been    said,    and   as   a  great  religious 
 
 perhaps   David  himself    speaks  with  axiom, 
 something  of  a  father's  warning.    The 
 
 PSALM  XXXIII. 
 
 God  is  the  God  of  Creation,  of  Providence,  of  Grace.  This  is,  in 
 a  few  words,  the  Psalmist's  theme.  Jehovah  created  the  world  (ver. 
 6,  ff.).  Jehovah  governs  the  world  (ver.  10,  ff.)  ;  and  all  nations  and 
 kings,  whether  they  acknowledge  Him  or  not,  are  but  instruments  in 
 His  hand.  Jehovah  especially  reveals  Himself  in  mercy  and  love  to 
 His  own  chosen  people  (ver,  18,  ff.).  The  key-note  of  this  last 
 sentiment  is  already  struck  in  ver.  12. 
 
 This  is  one  of  the  few  Psalms  in  the  First  Book  which  in  the 
 Hebrew  is  without  an  inscription. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  the  following  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  An   introduction,  in  which  the  singer  calls  on  the  righteous  to 
 praise  Jehovah,  with  all  manner  of  music.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 Then  follow  the  reasons  why  He  is  w^orthy  to  be  praised. 
 
124  PSALM  XXXI I  I. 
 
 II.  (i)  First,  because  He  is  Good  and  Faithful  (ver.  4,  5);  and 
 next  (2),  because  by  His  word  all  things  were  created.     Ver.  4—9. 
 
 III.  Because  He  is  the  All-wise  (ver.  10,  11),  All-seeing  (ver.  13— 
 15),  and  Almighty  (ver.  16,  17)  Ruler  of  nations.     Ver.  10 — 17. 
 
 IV.  Lastly,  because  He  watches  over  (ver.  18),  preserves  (ver.  19), 
 and  protects  (ver.  20)  all  those  that  fear  Him  and  trust  in  His  Holy 
 Name.     Ver.  18 — 21. 
 
 The  Psalm  concludes  with  a  short  petition,  that  it  may  be  done 
 unto  Israel  according  to  his  hope. 
 
 1  Shout  for  joy,  O  ye  righteous,  in  Jehovah  ; 
 
 For  the  upright,  praise  is  comely. 
 
 2  Give  thanks  to  Jehovah  with  a  harp, 
 
 Upon  a  ten-stringed  lute  play  unto  Him. 
 
 3  Sing  unto  Him  a  new  song, 
 
 Play  skilfully  on  the  strings  with  a  loud  noise. 
 
 4  For  the  word  of  Jehovah  is  upright ; 
 
 And  all  that  he  doeth  is  faithfulness, 
 
 5  He  loveth  righteousness  and  judgement  : 
 
 The  earth  is  full  of  the  loving-kindness  of  Jehovah. 
 
 6  By  the  word  of  Jehovah  were  the  heavens  made ; 
 
 And  all  their  host  by  the  breath  of  His  mouth. 
 
 7  He  gathereth  the  waters  of  the  sea  together  as  an  heap  ; 
 
 He  layeth  up  the  depths  in  storehouses. 
 
 3.  A  NEW  SONG,  not  here  one  6.  Bythe  word,  explained  further 
 which  has  new  marvels  of  God's  ver.  9,  the  creative  fiat  as  in  Gen.  i. 
 Power  and  Grace  for  its  theme,  as  in  The  breath  of  His  mouth,  ap- 
 xl.  3  ;  xcviii.  I  (comp.  Rev,  xiv.  3),  parently  almost  the  same  thing  as 
 but  rather  one  which  springs  freshly  "the  word"  before.  So  in  Is.  xi. 
 from  a  thankful  and  rejoicing  heart;  4,  "the  breath  of  His  lips,"  is  used 
 one  which  seeks  to  put  an  old  theme  of  the  sentence  of  judgement  which 
 in  a  new  light.  thence  issues, 
 
 4,  5.  First  the  moral  attributes  of  7,  The  heaven  and  the  sea  are 
 God  are  mentioned  as  a  reason  why  mentioned  as  the  theatre  of  God's 
 the  righteous  should  praise  Him.  ahnighty  power,  as  the  earth  before 
 See  the  same  attributes  enumerated  of  His  loving-kindness  ;  and  thus  the 
 in  xxxvi.  5,  6,  with  the  same  reference  Universe  is  summed  up. 
 
 to   God's    providential    care  of    His  As  AN  heap,  a  figure  I  think  mani- 
 
 creatures.     Comp.  kxxix.  14.  festly  suggested  by  the  appearance  of 
 
PSALM  XXX HI,  125 
 
 8  Let  all  the  earth  fear  before  Jehovah  ; 
 
 Let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  world  stand  in  awe  of 
 Him. 
 
 9  For  he  said,  and  it  was  : 
 
 He  commanded,  and  it  stood  fast. 
 
 10  Jehovah   hath    brought  to   naught  the  counsel  of  the 
 
 nations  ; 
 He  hath  made  the  thoughts  of  the   people  of  none 
 effect. 
 
 1 1  The  counsel  of  Jehovah  stand eth  fast  for  ever, 
 
 The  thoughts  of  His  heart  to  all  generations. 
 
 12  Blessed  is  the  nation  whose  God  is  Jehovah, 
 
 The   people  whom    He   hath   chosen    for    His   own 
 inheritance. 
 
 1 3  From  heaven  hath  Jehovah  looked. 
 
 He  hath  seen  all  the  children  of  men. 
 
 14  From  the  place  of  His  dwelling  he  hath  looked  down 
 
 Upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth, 
 
 15  (Even)    He    who    fashioneth    the    heart   of    each    of 
 
 them, 
 Who  considereth  all  their  works. 
 
 16  A  king  doth  not  triumph  by  a  great  host, 
 
 A  mighty  man  is  not  delivered  by  great  strength. 
 
 17  A  horse  is  a  vain  thing  for  victory. 
 
 Neither  can  he  deliver  any  by  his  great  power. 
 
 the  waves  of  the  sea.     The  expression  people,  as  often :  see  Ps.  xxiv.  i.     It 
 
 may  have  been  borrowed  from  Josh.  is,    however,   immediately   connected 
 
 iii.  13 — 16,  and  Exod.  xv.  8.  with  the  preceding  verse  ;  for  the  fact 
 
 9.  A  manifest  reference  to  Gen.  i.  that  Jehovah's  counsels  stand  fast  for 
 3  :  "and  God  said,  let  Light  be,  and  ever  is  a  matter  of  consolation  for  the 
 Light  was."  people  whose  God  He  is  (cxlvii.  19, 
 
 10,  II.  After  speaking  of  God's  20),  and  whom  He  hath  chosen  for 
 power  in  creation,  the  Psalmist  goes  His  own  inheritance  (xlvii.  4). 
 
 on   to  speak   of    His  providence   as  13 — 15.    The    Omnipresence     and 
 
 ordering  the  world.  Omniscience  of  God.      He  not  only 
 
 12.  I'liis   verse   already  anticipates  observes  man's    doings,    but    knows 
 
 what  is  said  more  fully  verses  18 — 20,  their  hearts  as  having  created  them, 
 
 and   here   we   have   the   doctrine    of  This  is  implied  in  ver.  15. 
 God's  universal  Providence  looked  at  16,   17.     The   weakness  and  insuf- 
 
 in  its  special  application  to  the  chosen  ficiency  of  all  human  power,  however 
 
126 
 
 PSA  LAI  XXXIV. 
 
 1 8  Behold,  the  eye  of  Jehovah  is  upon  them  that  fear  Him, 
 
 Upon  them  that  hope  in  His  loving-kindness. 
 
 19  To  deliver  their  soul  from  death, 
 
 And  to  keep  them  alive  in  famine. 
 
 20  Our  soul  hath  tarried  for  Jehovah  ; 
 
 He  is  our  Help  and  our  Shield. 
 
 21  For  in  Him  our  heart  rejoiceth. 
 
 Because  we  have  trusted  in  His  Holy  Name. 
 
 22  Let  Thy  loving-kindness,  O  Jehovah,  be  upon  us. 
 
 According  as  we  have  hoped  in  Thee. 
 
 great,  as  before  of  all  human  intellect. 
 "  King,  and  mighty  man,  and  horse  " 
 {i.e.  war-horse,  as  elsewhere,  "chariot 
 and  horse"),  are  selected  as  types  of 
 earthly  power  in  all  its  greatness. 
 
 18.  Upon:  more  hterally,  "to- 
 wards." 
 
 18—22.  Hope — tarry — trust — 
 HOPE.  This  attitude  of  hope  and 
 trust  is  the  attitude  of  the  Church  in 
 all   ages,    for   she   is   not    yet    made 
 
 perfect  ;  but  the  Jewish  Church  was 
 in  a  special  sense  the  Church  of  the 
 Future,  and  therefore  also  in  a  special 
 m.anner  a  waiting  and  hoping  Church. 
 The  whole  history  of  Israel  may, 
 indeed,  be  summed  up  in  Jacob's 
 dying  words  :  "  I  have  waited  for  Thy 
 salvation,  O  Lord."  The  Hebrew 
 language  has  acc'  a'dingly  several  words 
 wliich  express  this  hoping,  forward- 
 lookinitj  attitude. 
 
 PSALM  XXXIV. 
 
 This  is,  like  the  last,  a  Psalm  in  which  God's  providence  and 
 moral  government  of  the  world  are  the  subject  of  grateful  acknow- 
 ledgement. His  guardian  care  of  the  righteous  is  more  especially 
 celebrated  and  applied  to  the  individual  circumstances  of  the 
 Psalmist. 
 
 This  is  one  of  the  alphabetical  Psalms,  on  which  see  the  Introduc- 
 tion to  Psalm  XXV.  The  order  of  the  Hebrew  alphabet  is  preserved, 
 except  that  there  is  no  verse  beginning  with  the  letter  Vau.  The 
 number  of  verses,  however,  is  made  to  correspond  with  the  number 
 of  letters  in  the  alphabet,  notwithstanding  this  omission,  by  means  of 
 
PSALM  XXXIV.  127 
 
 a  verse  added  at  the  end,  which  begins  (as  is  also  the  case  in  Psalm 
 XXV.)  with  the  word  ''redeem." 
 
 No  value  can  be  attached  to  the  superscription  with  its  his- 
 torical reference,  because,  while  it  is  borrowed  from  i  Sam.  xxi.  14, 
 Abimelech  is  substituted  for  Achish,  which  looks  like  a  confusion 
 with  the  narrative  in  Gen.  xx.  xxi,  ;  and  further,  the  contents  of  the 
 Psalm  do  not  very  readily,  or  naturally,  harmonize  with  the  supposed 
 circumstances. 
 
 The  contents  of  the  Psalm  may  generally  be  distributed  into  pairs 
 of  verses.  But  the  alphabetical  order  of  course  precludes  anything 
 like  very  close  connection.  The  principal  thought  of  the  Psalm  is 
 God's  care  of  the  afflicted,  and  this  appears  repeated  in  different 
 forms. 
 
 The  closest  connection  is  between  ver.  12 — ij,  which  contain  one 
 consecutive  piece  of  instruction.* 
 
 [(a  psalm)  of  DAVID,  WHEN   HE   CHANGED   HIS   BEHAVIOUR   BEFORE 
 ABIMELECH  ;   AND   HE  WAS   DRIVEN    AWAY,  AND    HE   DEPARTED.] 
 
 (Aleph)    I   I  WILL  bless  Jehovah  at  all  times, 
 
 Continually   shall    His    praise    be    in    my 
 mouth. 
 (Beth)       2   In  Jehovah  shall  my  soul  make  her  boast  : 
 
 The  afflicted  shall  hear  thereof  and  be  glad. 
 (Gimel)    3   O  magnify  Jehovah  w^ith  me, 
 
 And  let  us  exalt  His  name  together. 
 (Daleth)  4  I  sought  Jehovah,  and  He  answered  me, 
 
 And  He  delivered  me  out  of  all  my  terrors. 
 (He)         5  They  looked  unto  Him,  and  were  lightened  ; 
 
 5.  They  looked,  viz.  "the  af-  may  only  mean  generally  "men 
 flicted,"    mentioned  in  ver.   2  ;  or  it       looked  ;  "  others,  i.e.  besides  myself, 
 
 *  "  May  2sik,  1603. — After  a  victory  at  sea,  in  which  the  Spanish  commander  Spinola  was 
 killed,  the  Dutch  admiral,  '  bald-headed  weather-beaten  Joost  de  Moor,'  farther  pursuit  being 
 impossible,  piped  all  hands  on  deck,  and  officers  and  men  fell  on  their  knees,  shouting  in  pious 
 
 triumph  the  34th  Psalm,  '  I  will  bless  the  Lord  at  all  times O  magnify  the  Lord  with 
 
 me,  and  let  us  exalt  His  name  together.'  So  rang  forth  the  notes  of  humble  thanksgiving 
 across  the  placid  sea,  and  assuredly  those  hardy  mariners,  having  gained  a  victory  with 
 their  little  vessels  over  twelve  ships  and  3,000  men — a  numerical  force  of  at  least  ten  timss 
 their  number — such  as  few  but  Dutchmen  could  have  achieved,  had  a  right  to  give  thanks 
 to  Him  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." — Motley,  United  Netherlands,  vol.  iv. 
 
128 
 
 PSALM  XXXIV, 
 
 And  may  their  faces  not  be  ashamed. 
 (Zain)  6  This  afflicted  man  called,  and  Jehovah  heard, 
 
 And  saved  him  out  of  all  his  troubles. 
 (Cheth)        7  The  Angel  of  Jehovah  encampeth  round  about 
 them  that  fear  Him, 
 
 And  delivereth  them. 
 (Teth)         8  O  taste  and  see  that  Jehovah  is  good  ! 
 
 Blessed  is  the  man  that  taketh  refuge   in 
 Him. 
 (Yod)  9  O  fear  Jehovah,  ye  His  saints  ! 
 
 For  there  is  no  want  to  them  that  fear  Hirri.* 
 (Kaph)       10  Young  lions  have  lacked  and  suffered  hunger, 
 
 But  they  that  seek  Jehovah  shall  not  want 
 any  (good  thing). 
 (Lamed)     1 1   Come,  ye  children,  hearken  unto  me, 
 
 I  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  Jehovah : 
 (Mem)         12  What  man  is  he  that  desireth  life, 
 
 That  loveth  (many)  days  that  he  may  see 
 good  } 
 (Nun)  13  Keep  thy  tongue  from  evil, 
 
 And  thy  lips  from  speaking  guile ; 
 (Samech)    14  Depart  from  evil  and  do  good, 
 
 Seek  peace,  and  pursue  it. 
 (Ayin)         1 5   The  eyes  of  Jehovah  are  towards  the  righteous, 
 
 And  His  ears  (are  open)  unto  their  cry. 
 
 have  in  like  manner  experienced  God's 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 Were  lightened,  i.e.  were  bright 
 with  gladness  because  He  heard  them, 
 reflecting  as  it  were  the  Light  of  His 
 countenance. 
 
 7.  The  angel.  Not  apparently 
 here  used  of  any  particular  angel,  as 
 "The  Angel  of  the  Covenant,"  or  "  the 
 Captain  of  the  Lord's  host,"  but 
 rather  in  a  collective  sense,  "troops 
 of  angels." 
 
 8.  O  taste  and  see.  Comp. 
 Heb.  vi.  5,  I  Pet.  ii.  3. 
 
 II.  A  form  of  address  common  in 
 the  Proverbs.  See  chapters  i. — ix. 
 Similar  is  the  use  of  T^Kva  by  St. 
 John  in  his  Epistles. 
 
 13.  On  this  taming  of  the  tongue 
 — of  which  so  much  is  said  in  the 
 proverbs  of  all  nations — see  xv.  2,  3, 
 xxxix.  I — 3,  cxli.  3  ;  Prov.  iv.  24, 
 xiii.  3,  xxi.  23  ;  St.  James  iii.  2  ff. 
 
 *  "  There  is  no  want  to  them  that  fear  Him."  This  was  St.  Columba's  last  verse  as  he 
 transcribed  the  Scriptures.  These  brought  him  to  the  foot  of  the  page.  "  Here,"  said  he, 
 "1  must  stop;  Eaithune,  write  out  the  rest "     a.d.  597. 
 
PSALM  XXXV.  129 
 
 (Pe)  16  The  face  of  Jehovah  is  against  the  evil-doers, 
 
 To  cut  off  the  remembrance  of  them  from 
 the  earth. 
 (Tsaddi)    17  They  cried,  and  Jehovah  heard, 
 
 And    delivered    them    out     of    all    their 
 troubles. 
 (Koph)       18  Jehovah   is   nigh    unto    them  that  are  of   a 
 broken  heart, 
 And  saveth  such  as  be  of  a  contrite  spirit. 
 (Resh)        19  Many  are  the  sufferings  of  the  righteous, 
 
 But    out    of   all    of   them    doth    Jehovah 
 deliver  him. 
 (Shin)         20  He  preserveth  all  his  bones ; 
 
 Not  one  of  them  is  broken. 
 (Tau)         21   Evil  shall  slay  the  wicked, 
 
 And  they  that  hate  the  righteous  shall  be 
 punished. 
 (Pe)  22  Jehovah  redeemeth  the  soul  of  His  servants, 
 
 And  all  they  that  trust  in  Him  shall  not 
 be  punished. 
 
 17.  They,  i.e.  the  righteous,  men-  are   inseparable.      The    reward   and 
 
 tioned  ver.  15,  and  again  ver.  19.  the  punishment  partake  of  the  nature 
 
 22.  Be  punished.     The   Hebrew  of  the  things  (or  persons)  rewarded 
 
 verb  means  to  incur  guilt,  and  then,  and  punished ;  hence  the  same  word 
 
 by  a   natural  transition,   to  suffer  as  means    both   guilt    and    punishment, 
 
 guilty.     Hence   in   the    Hebrew,  sin  Akin  to  this  is  the  well-known  use  of 
 
 and  chastisement,  righteousness   and  the  word  sin,  for  sin-offering. 
 the  manifestation  of  that  righteousness, 
 
 PSALM   XXXV. 
 
 This  Psalm,  if  it  be,  as  the  inscription  tells  us,  a  Psalm  of  David, 
 must  have  been  composed  either  during  his  persecution  by  Saul,  or 
 during  the  revolt  of  Absalom.  It  is  usual  to  connect  it  with  his 
 words  in  i  Sam.  xxiv.  15,  "Jehovah  therefore  be  judge,  and  judge 
 between  me  and  thee,  and  see,  and  plead  my  cause  (the  same  ex- 
 pression as  in  ver.  i  of  the  Psalm),  and  deliver  me  by  His  judgement 
 
 K 
 
ISO  PSALM  XXX F. 
 
 out  of  thine  hand."  Its  pecuhar  feature  is  that  the  enemies  on  whom 
 the  Poet  imprecates  the  righteous  judgements  of  God,  are  men  who 
 had  formerly  been  his  friends,  men  for  whom  he  had  prayed  in  their 
 sorrow  "  with  a  brother's  heart,"  and  who  now  requited  his  love  with 
 ungrateful  hatred.  Such  an  enemy  Saul  may  have  been  ;  but  we 
 never  find  any  trace  of  bitterness  in  David's  feelings  towards  Saul. 
 The  generous  enemy  whose  heart  smote  him  because  he  had  cut  off 
 Saul's  skirt,  and  who  always  recognized  in  Saul  the  Lord's  Anointed, 
 would  never  have  called  down  the  judgements  of  God  upon  his  head. 
 It  seems  to  me,  therefore,  more  probable  that  the  aiders  and  abettors 
 of  Absalom's  conspiracy,  men  like  Ahithophel  and  his  associates,  are 
 aimed  at  in  the  Poet's  burning  words.  But  all  this,  and  even  the 
 authorship  itself,  must  be  matter  of  mere  conjecture. 
 
 The  Psalm  falls  into  three  principal  divisions  ;  each  of  which  closes 
 with  a  thanksgiving. 
 
 1.  Ver.  I — lo.  I.  Cry  to  God  to  come  forth  as  a  champion  armed 
 for  his  defence  (i — 3). 
 
 2.  Prayer  for  the  confusion  and  destruction  of  his  enemies  (4 — 8). 
 
 3.  Thankful  acknowledgement  of  God's  deliverance  (9,  10). 
 
 II.  Ver.  II — 18.  I.  Contrast  between  the  love  and  good-will  which 
 he  had  shown  to  his  enemies,  and  the  bitter  hatred  with  which  they 
 had  requited  him  (11 — 16). 
 
 2.   Appeal  to  God  against  them,  with  vows  of  thanksgiving  (17,  18). 
 
 III.  Ver.  19—28.  I.  Prayer  that  they  may  not  triumph,  with 
 description  of  their  craft  and  wickedness  (19 — 21). 
 
 2.  Again  a  prayer  that  God  would  appear  to  vindicate  his  cause 
 and  put  them  to  confusion  (22 — 26). 
 
 3.  The  joy  of  all  the  righteous  and  of  the  si-nger,  because  God 
 executeth  judgement  upon  the  ungodly  (27,  28). 
 
 [(a  psalm)   of  DAVID,] 
 
 I.  I   Contend,  O  Jehovah,  with  the-m  that  eontend  with  me  ; 
 Fight  Thou  against  them  that  fight  against  me. 
 2  Lay  hold  of  shield  and  buckler, 
 
 2.   An   amplification  of  the  figure  able.     It  shows  the  earnest  desire  in 
 
 occurring  already  in  the  Pei-itateuch,  the   Poet's   mind   to   realize  the  fact 
 
 w'liere  God  is  spoken  of  as  a  man  of  that  God  not  only  taught  his  fingers 
 
 war,   Exod,   xv.   3,    Deut.  xxxii.   41.  to   fight,    but   mixed   in   the    battle, 
 
 '1  he   bold  anthropomorphic  working  fighting  as   it  were  by  his  side,  and 
 
 out  of  the  figure  is,  however,  remark-  assuring  him  of  victory. 
 
PSALM  XXXV.  131 
 
 And  arise  as  my  helper. 
 
 3  Draw  out  also  the  spear  and  battle-axe 
 
 Against  them  that  pursue  me  ; 
 Say  unto  my  soul,  '■  I  am  thy  salvation." 
 
 4  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  confounded  that  seek  aftei 
 
 my  soul : 
 Let  them  be  turned  back  and  brought  to  confusion 
 that  devise  my  hurt. 
 
 5  Let  them  be  as  the  chaff  before  the  wind, 
 
 And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  scattering  (them). 
 
 6  Let  their  way  be  darkness  and  exceeding  slipperiness, 
 
 And  the  angel  of  Jehovah  pursuing  them. 
 
 7  For  without  cause  have  they  hid  for  me  a  pit   with 
 
 their  net ; 
 Without  cause  have  they  digged  a  pit  for  my  soul. 
 
 8  Let  destruction  come  upon  him  at  unawares, 
 
 And  let  his  net  that  he  hath  hid  catch  himself ; 
 Into  that  very  destruction  let  him  fall. 
 
 9  So  shall  my  soul  exult  in  Jehovah, 
 
 It  shall  be  joyful  in  His  salvation. 
 io  All  my  bones  shall  say, 
 
 "  Jehovah,  who  is  like  unto  Thee  "^ 
 Who  dehverest  the    afflicted    from   him    that    is  too 
 strong  for  him, 
 Yea  the  afflicted  and    the    poor    from    him    that 
 spoileth  him." 
 
 II.  II  Violent  witnesses  rise  up. 
 
 They  ask  of  me  things  that  I  know  not, 
 
 4.  Let  them  be  turned  back.  to  be  meant,  "  who  took  off  Pharaoh's 
 Very  similar  words  occur  ver.  26.  Cf.  chariot  wheels,  so  that  they  drave 
 also  xl.  14,  and  Ixx.  2,  3.  them  heavily." 
 
 5.  As  the  chaff.  See  i.  4,  and  7.  A  common  metaphor  borrowed 
 comp,  xviii.  42,  Ixxxiii.  13.  from  the  artifices  employed  for  taking 
 
 The   angel    of   Jehovah  :  here       wild  beasts, 
 perhaps,  as  in  the  last  Psalm,  not  to  1 1.     Violent,    i.e.     unscrupulous 
 
 be  understood  of  any  particular  angel.       witnesses. 
 
 r^elitzsch  supposes  the  Angel  of  Israel 
 
 K    2 
 
PSALM  XXXV. 
 
 12  They  reward  me  evil  for  good  : 
 
 My  soul  is  bereaved. 
 
 13  But  as  for  me,  when  they  were  sick,  my   clothing 
 
 was  sackcloth  ; 
 I  humbled  my  soul  with  fasting. 
 And  my  prayer — may  it  return  into  my  own  bosom. 
 
 14  As  though  it  had  been  my  friend,  my  brother,  so 
 
 did  I  behave  myself; 
 As   one  who  sorroweth   for  a  mother,    I   bowed 
 down  mourning. 
 
 15  But   when    I    halted,   they  rejoiced    and    gathered 
 
 themselves  together, 
 They  gathered  themselves  together,  smiting  (me) 
 when  I  knew  it  not. 
 They  did  tear  (me)  and  ceased  not ; 
 
 16  With  them  that  are    profane  in    their    outlandish 
 
 mouthings, 
 Gnashing  upon  me  with  their  teeth. 
 
 17  O  Lord,  how  long  wilt  Thou  see  (this)  t 
 
 Bring  back  my  soul  from  their  destructions, 
 My  only  one  from  the  lions. 
 
 18  1  will  give  Thee  thanks  in  the  great  congregation, 
 
 I  will  praise  Thee  among  much  people. 
 
 13.  And  my  prayer,    &c.     The  14.  Mourning,    i.e.  with  all  the 
 
 prayer  I  offered  for  them  is  a  prayer  outward  signs  of  sorrow,    especially 
 
 I  might  have  offered  for  myself.     So  the  garments  (as  the  word  particularly 
 
 true  a  prayer  was  it,  so  full  of  love,  denotes),  perhaps  also  the  untrimmed 
 
 that  I  could  wish  nothing  more  than  beard,    unwashed    face,    &c.,    which 
 
 that  the  blessings  I  asked  for  them  were   tokens  of   Oriental   mourning, 
 
 should  be  vouchsafed  to  me.      This  Comp.  xxxviii.    6,  Job  i.   20,   v.    11, 
 
 agrees,  too,  with  what  follows,  "  As  (!^:c. 
 
 though  for  my  friend  cr  my  brother,"  15,    16,   The  cruel  requital  of  all 
 
 &c.      It  may  perhaps  be  illustrated  by  this  affection  and  sympathy, 
 
 reference  to  Matt.  x.   13,  Luke  x.  6;  17.   My  only  one.     See  note  on 
 
 or  the  rendering  may  be  as  in  the  E.  V. ,  xxii.  20. 
 
 "My  prayer   returned  into  my  own  18.    Congregation,    or   "assem- 
 
 bosom,"  which  is  supposed  to  denote  bly,"  or  "church,"  the  Greek  equi- 
 
 the  posture  of  prayer,  the  head  being  valent  being  eKKArjaria. 
 bowed  on  the  breast. 
 
PSALM  XXXV. 
 
 133 
 
 III.   19  Let  not  them  that  are  mine  enemies  falsely  rejoice 
 over  me, 
 Neither  let  them  that  hate  me  without  a  cause 
 wink  with  the  eye. 
 
 20  For  not  peace  do  they  speak, 
 
 But  against  them  that  are  quiet  in  the  land  they 
 devise  words  of  deceit. 
 
 21  Yea,  they  opened  their  mouth  wide  against  me  ; 
 
 They  said,  Aha,  aha,  our  eye  hath  seen  (it). 
 
 22  Thou  hast  seen,  O  Jehovah  :  keep  not  silence  ; 
 
 O  Lord,  be  not  far  from  me. 
 
 23  Arouse  Thyself  and  awake  to  my  judgement, 
 
 My  God  and  my  Lord,  to  my  cause. 
 
 24  Judge    me    according    to    Thy    righteousness,    O 
 
 Jehovah  my  God, 
 And  let  them  not  rejoice  over  me. 
 
 25  Let  them  not  say  in  their  heart,  *  Aha,  so  would 
 
 we  have  it ;' 
 Let  them  not  say,  '  We  have  swallowed  him  up.' 
 
 22.  Thou  hast  seen,  with  refer- 
 ence to  the  "  our  eye  hath  seen  " 
 in  the  preceding  verse. 
 
 This  latter  part  of  the  Psalm  is  on 
 the  whole  calmer  than  the  former,  as 
 if  the  spirit  had  found  rest  in  pouring 
 out  its  complaints.  Though  the  singer 
 again  calls  for  confusion  on  his  ene- 
 mies, the  expressions  are  not  so  ap- 
 parently vindictive  as  at  the  beginning 
 of  the  Psalm.  Comp.  ver.  25,  26, 
 with  ver.  4 — 6. 
 
 But  how  are  we  to  account  for  such 
 prayers  for  vengeance  at  all?  We 
 find  them  chiefly  in  four  Psalms,  the 
 7th,  35  th,  69th,  and  109th,  and  the 
 imprecations  in  these  form  a  terrible 
 chmax.  In  the  last,  no  less  than 
 thirty  anathemas  have  been  counted. 
 Are  these  the  mere  outbursts  of  pas- 
 sionate and  unsanctified  feeling,  or 
 are  ihcy  the  legitimate  expression  of 
 
 a  righteous  indignation  ?  Are  they  to 
 be  excused  as  being  animated  by  the 
 "spirit  of  Elias,"  a  spirit  not  unholy 
 indeed,  but  far  removed  from  the 
 meekness  and  gentleness  of  Christ ; 
 or  are  they  stereotyped  forms  in  which 
 the  spirit  of  Christian  devotion  may 
 utter  itself?  Are  they  Jewish  only, 
 or  may  they  be  Christian  also  ?  An 
 uninstructed  fastidiousness,  it  is  well 
 known,  has  made  many  persons  recoil 
 from  reading  these  Psalms  at  all. 
 Many  have  found  their  lips  falter 
 when  they  have  been  called  to  join  in 
 using  them  in  the  congregation,  and 
 have  either  uttered  them  with  bated 
 breath  and  doubting  heart,  or  have 
 interpreted  them  in  a  sense  widely  at 
 variance  with  the  letter.  Some  have 
 tried  to  reconcile  them  with  a  more 
 enlightened  conscience,  by  regarding 
 such  words  not  as  the  expression  of  a 
 
134 
 
 PSALM  XXXV. 
 
 26  Let  them   be  ashamed  and  brought  to   confusion 
 
 together, 
 That  rejoice  at  my  hurt ; 
 Let  them  be  clothed  with  shame  and  dishonour 
 That  magnify  themselves  against  me. 
 
 27  Let  them  shout  for  joy  and  be  glad 
 
 Who  have  pleasure  in  my  righteousness, 
 And  let  them  say  alway,  Jehovah  be  magnified, 
 Who   hath  pleasure    in    the   prosperity  of    His 
 servants. 
 
 wish,  but  as  the  utterance  of  a  predic- 
 tion ;  but  the  Hebrew  optative,  which 
 is  distinct  enough  from  the  simple 
 future,  absolutely  forbids  this  expe- 
 dient. Others  again  would  see  in 
 them  expressions  which  may  lawfully 
 be  used  in  the  soul's  wrestling  against 
 spiritual  enemies.  And  finally,  some 
 would  defend  them  as  utterances  of 
 righteous  zeal  for  God's  honour,  and 
 remind  us  'that  if  we  do  not  sympa- 
 thise with  such  zeal,  it  may  be  not 
 because  our  religion  is  more  pure,  but 
 because  our  hearts  are  colder. 
 
 Now  the  real  source  of  the  difificulty 
 lies  in  our  not  observing  and  bearing 
 in  mind  the  essential  difference  be- 
 tween the  Old  Testament  and  the 
 New.  The  older  dispensation  was  in 
 every  sense  a  sterner  one  than  the 
 new.  The  spirit  of  Elias,  though  not 
 an  evil  spirit,  was  not  the  spirit  of 
 Christ.  (Luke  ix.  55.)  "The  Son  of 
 Man  cariie  not  to  destroy  men's  lives, 
 but  to  save  them,"  And  through  Him 
 His  disciples  are  made  partakers  of 
 the  same  spirit.  But  this  was  not  the 
 spirit  of  the  older  economy.  The 
 Jewish  nation  had  been  trained  in  a 
 sterner  school.  It  had  been  steeled 
 and  hardened  by  the  discipline  which 
 had  pledged  it  to  a  war  of  extermina- 
 tion with  idolaters,  and,  however  ne- 
 cessary such  a  discipline  might  be,  it 
 would  not  tend  to  foster  the  gentler 
 virtues ;  it  is  conceivable  how  even  a 
 
 righteous  man,  under  it,  feeling  it  to 
 be  his  bounden  duty  to  root  out  evil 
 wherever  he  saw  it,  and  identifying, 
 as  he  did,  his  own  enemies  with  the 
 enemies  of  Jeh-ovah,  might  use  lan- 
 guage which  to  us  appears  unneces- 
 sarily vindictive.  To  men  so  trained 
 and  taught,  what  we  call  "  religious 
 toleration  "  was  a  thing  not  only  wrong 
 but  absolutely  inconceivable. 
 
 It  may  be  quite  true  that  we  find 
 revenge  forbidden  as  directly  in  the 
 Old  Testam.ent  as  in  the  New,  as,  for 
 instance,  in  Lev.  xix.  18,  "  Thou 
 shalt  not  avenge,"  &c.,  though  even 
 there  there  is  a  limitation,  "  against 
 the  children  of  thy  people."  And  it 
 may  be  no  less  true  that  we  find  in- 
 stances of  imprecation  in  the  New,  as 
 when  St.  Paul  says  (2  Tim.  iv.  14), 
 "  Alexander  the  coppersmith  did  me 
 much  evil  :  the  Lord  reward  him 
 according  to  his  works  ;  "  or  when  he 
 exclaims,  Acts  xxiii.  3,  "God  shall 
 smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall,"  or,  "If 
 any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
 Christ,  let  him  be  anathema"  (i 
 Cor.  xvi,  22).  But  even  these  expres- 
 sions are  very  different  from  the  va- 
 ried, deliberate,  carefully  constructed, 
 detailed  anathemas  of  the  Psalms. 
 And  our  Lord's  denunciations,  to 
 which  Hengstenberg  refers,  are  in  no 
 way  parallel.  They  are  not  curses 
 upon  individuals,  but  in  fact  solemn 
 utterances  of  the  great  truth,  "  Except 
 
PSALM  XXX  VL 
 
 135 
 
 28  So  shall  my  tongue  talk  of  Thy  righteousness, 
 Of  Thy  praise  all  the  day  long. 
 
 ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish. " 
 But  after  all,  whatever  may  be  said 
 of  particular  passages,  the  general 
 tone  which  runs  through  the  tvvo 
 covenants  is  unquestionably  differ- 
 ent. To  deny  this  is  not  to  honour 
 IMoses,  but  to  dishonour  Christ.  (St. 
 Matt.  V.  43,  xix,  8.)  On  the  other 
 hand,  we  must  not  forget  that  these 
 imprecations  are  not  the  passionate 
 longmg  for  personal  revenge.  The 
 singer  undoubtedly  sees  in  his  ene- 
 mies the  enemies  of  God  and  His 
 Church.  They  that  are  not  with 
 him  are  against  God.  And  be- 
 cause the  zeal  of  God's  house  even 
 consumes  him,  he  prays  that  all  the 
 doers  of  iniquity  may  be  rooted  out. 
 The  indignation  therefore  is  righteous, 
 though  it  may  appear  to  us  wrongly 
 directed,  or  excessive  in  its  utterance. 
 Once  more,  the  very  fact  that  a 
 dark  cloud  hid  God's  judgement  in 
 the  world  to  come  from  the  view  of 
 the  Old   Testament   saints,   may   be 
 
 alleged  in  excuse  of  this  their  desire 
 to  see  Him  take  vengeance  on  His 
 enemies  here.  How  deeply  the  pro- 
 blem of  God's  righteousness  exercised 
 their  minds,  is  abundantly  evident 
 from  numerous  places  in  the  Psalms. 
 They  longed  to  see  that  righteousness 
 manifested.  It  could  be  manifested, 
 they  thought,  only  in  the  evident 
 exaltation  of  the  righteous,  and  the 
 evident  destruction  of  the  wicked  here. 
 Hence,  with  their  eye  always  fixed  on 
 temporal  recompense,  they  could  even 
 wish  and  pray  for  the  destruction  of 
 the  ungodly.  The  awful  things  of 
 the  world  to  come  were  to  a  great 
 extent  hid  from  their  eyes.  Could 
 they  have  seen  these,  then  surely  their 
 prayer  would  have  been,  not  "  Let 
 the  angel  of  the  Lord  persecute  them," 
 *'  Blot  them  out  of  Thy  book  ;  "  but 
 rather  with  Him  who  hung  on  the 
 cross  :  *'  Father,  forgive  them  ;  for 
 they  know  not  what  they  do. " 
 
 PSALM  XXXVI. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  not  so  distinct  in  its  features  that  we  can  assign  it  to 
 any  particular  occasion  in  the  life  of  David,  or  associate  it  with  any 
 definite  period  of  Jewish  history. 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  with  a  striking  picture  of  what  a  wicked  man  is 
 who  abandons  himself,  without  check  or  remorse,  to  the  inspirations 
 of  his  own  evil  heart.     Ver.  i — 4. 
 
 Next,  as  if  oppressed  and  terrified  with  the  picture  which  he  has 
 
136  PSALM  XXXVI. 
 
 drawn  of  secure  and  thoughtful  wickedness,  the  holy  Psalmist  turns 
 with  a  quick  revulsion  of  feeling  to  Him  whose  Love  and  Truth  are 
 at  all  times  a  sure  defence.  Here  he  pours  out  all  the  fulness  of  his 
 heart.  Words  seem  to  fail  him  as  there  rise  before  him,  in  all 
 their  length  and  breadth,  the  loving-kindness,  the  faithfulness,  the 
 righteousness  of  Jehovah.     Ver.  5 — 9. 
 
 Lastly,  with  his  heart  full  of  what  God  is,  he  prays  that  God  would 
 show  His  loving-kindness  and  His  righteousness  to  those  who,  like 
 himself,  were  upright  in  heart,  and  defeat  the  designs  of  the  wdcked. 
 He  concludes  with  the  confident  acknowledgement  that  his  prayer 
 has  been  heard.     Ver.  10 — 12. 
 
 [for     the   precentor.        (a   psalm)   of    DAVID,   THE   SERVANT   OF 
 JEHOV^AH.] 
 
 1  The  wicked  hath  an  oracle  of  transgression  in  his  heart, 
 
 There  is  no  fear  of  God  before  his  eyes. 
 
 2  For  he  flattereth  him  in  his  eyes. 
 
 To  find  out  his  iniquity,  (and)  to  hate  (it). 
 
 3  The  words  of  his  mouth  are  wickedness  and  deceit ; 
 
 He  hath  left  off  to  behave  wisely  (and)  to  do  good. 
 
 4  Wickedness  doth  he  devise  upon  his  bed, 
 
 He  setteth  himself  in  a  way  that  is  not  good, 
 He  abhorreth  not  evil. 
 
 I.    Oracle.      Properly    a   divine  of  his  hands,  the  evil  schemes  which 
 
 utterance  here  used  in  the  opposite  he  devises  and  executes  (ver.  4). 
 
 sense  of  the  source  and  fountain  of  As  there  is  a  climax  in  the  whole 
 
 evil  in  a  wicked  man's  heart,  inspiring  description  of  the  evil  man,  so  espe- 
 
 and  prompting  him  to  do  evil,  cially  is  there  a  progress  from  bad  to 
 
 In  his  heart.     This  is  in  accord-  worse  in  ver.  3,  4.     (i)  He  hath  left 
 
 ance  with  the  reading  of  the  Septua-  off  to  do  good  ;  (2)   on   his  bed  he 
 
 gint.     The  Hebrew  text  has  "  in  my  meditates  evil  (iv.  4,  Micah  ii.  i)  ;  (3) 
 
 heart : "  if  we  keep  this,  we  must  ex-  he  resolutely  sets  himself  to  do  evil  ; 
 
 plain,  **  that  which  transgression  says  (4)  his  very  conscience  is  hardened,  so 
 
 to  the  wicked  is  in  my  heart,"  i.e.  is  that  he  does  evil  without  repugnance 
 
 the  subject  of  my  thoughts.  or  misgiving. 
 
 Ver.    I — 4    describe  generally  the  4.   He  abhorreth  not,  i.e.  is  far 
 
 character  of  the  ungodly:  first,   the  enough  from  rejecting  any  instrument, 
 
 sin  of  his  heart  (ver.  i,  2)  ;  then  the  however    sinful,     for     attaining    his 
 
 sin  of  his  lips  (ver.  3) ;  lastly,  the  sin  purposes. 
 
PSALM  XXXVL 
 
 137 
 
 O  Jehovah,  as  the  heavens  is  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 
 Thy  faithfulness  (reacheth)  unto  the  clouds  : 
 Thy  righteousness  is  like  the  mountains  of  God, 
 Thy  judgements  are  a  great  deep. 
 
 Man  and  beast  dost  Thou  preserve,  O  Jehovah. 
 How  precious  is  Thy  loving-kindness,  O  God  ! 
 And  the  children  of  men  in  the  shadow  of  Thy 
 wings  find  refuge  : 
 
 5 — 9.  The  transition  from  this  de- 
 scription of  the  wicked  to  the  praise 
 of  God's  goodness  and  faithfulness,  is 
 certainly  very  abrupt  ;  yet  may  we 
 not  account  for  the  abruptness  here  by 
 a  very  natural  recoil  of  feelnig  ?  No 
 good  man  can  ever  delight  to  pourtray 
 the  workings  of  a  heart  alienated  from 
 God.  If  the  evil  he  sees  around  him 
 force  him  for  a  time  to  trace  it  to  its 
 hidden  source,  or  watch  its  outward 
 development,  with  the  more  joy 
 and  thankfulness  will  he  find  refuge 
 (see  ver.  7)  from  its  hideous  shadow 
 in  the  faithfulness  and  goodness  of 
 God. 
 
 5,  He  seems  as  if  words  failed  him. 
 when  he  would  speak  of  the  loving- 
 kindness,  the  faithfulness,  the  right- 
 eousness of  God.  (See  the  same 
 attributes  associated  in  like  manner  in 
 xxxiii.  4,  5,  and  there  also  in  connec- 
 tion with  God's  providential  care  of 
 His  creatures.)  The  universe  itself  is 
 too  little  to  set  forth  their  greatness. 
 (Comp.  ciii.  ii  ;  Eph.  iii.  18.) 
 
 6.  Mountains  of  God  (so  "ce- 
 dars of  God,"lxxx.  10)  .  .  .  A  GREAT 
 DEEP  (cf.  Rom.  xi.  33) : — the  mightiest 
 things  in  creation,  whether  in  the 
 height  above,  or  in  the  depth  beneath. 
 Not,  however,  are  "mountains  of 
 God"  to  be  considered  as  only  = 
 *' highest  mountains  :"  but,  like  "the 
 trees  of  Jehovah,"  civ.  16,  which  are 
 explained  as  "  the  cedars  of  Lebanon 
 which  he  hath  planted"  (comp.  Numb. 
 
 xxiv.  6) ;  and  "the  river  of  God,"  Ixv. 
 9,  i.e.  the  rain  which  He  sends  down 
 upon  earth  ;  so  here  the  mountains 
 are  spoken  of  as  the  work  of  His  hand. 
 So  too  in  Gen.  xiii.  10,  "  the  garden 
 of  Jehovah  "  is  not  merely  "  a  very 
 fair  garden,"  but  the  garden  of  Eden 
 which  He  Himself  planted. 
 
 7.  The  remembrance  of  God's  good- 
 ness, faithfulness,  and  righteousness, 
 and  His  care  both  of  man  and  beast, 
 makes  the  singer  to  burst  forth  in  holy 
 ecstasy  :  "How  precious  is  Thy  loving- 
 kindness,  O  God  ! "  This  precious- 
 ness  (comp.  cxxxix.  17)  is  then  further 
 enlarged  upon.  God  is  viewed  as 
 the  gracious  Host  who  provides  for 
 all  who  come  to  His  house  and  His 
 table.  See  the  same  figure,  xxiii.  5, 
 xxxiv.  9.  Here  the  loving-kindness  of 
 God  is  the  great  subject  of  praise,  be- 
 cause in  this  His  faithfulness  (in  ful- 
 filling His  promises)  and  His  right- 
 eousness manifested  in  rewarding  the 
 righteous  (as  well  as  in  the  punish- 
 ment of  the  wicked)  maybe  included. 
 In  the  same  way  when  St.  John  says, 
 "  God  is  Love,"  it  is  because  Love 
 in  fact  embraces  and  implies  all 
 other  of  the  Divine  attributes. 
 
 Children  of  men,  pm-posely  the 
 most  general  expression  that  could  be 
 employed,  every  one  who  feels  his 
 weakness  and  his  sinfulness,  and  with 
 that  feeling  seeks  refuge  in  God. 
 
 Shadow  of  Thy  wings.  See  on 
 xvii.  S. 
 
^3^ 
 
 PSALM  XXXVI I. 
 
 8  They  are  abundantly  satisfied  with  the  fatness  of  Thy 
 
 house, 
 And  Thou  makest  them  drink  of  the  brook  of  Thy 
 pleasures ; 
 
 9  For  with  Thee  is  the  Fountain  of  Life : 
 
 In  Thy  Light  do  we  see  Light. 
 
 10  O  continue  Thy  loving-kindness  to    them   that  know 
 
 Thee, 
 And  Thy  righteousness  to  the  upright  in  heart. 
 
 11  Let  not  the  foot  of  pride  come  against  me, 
 
 Neither  let  the  hand  of  the  wicked  drive  me  away. 
 
 12  There  have  the  workers  of  iniquity  fallen  ; 
 
 They  are  thrust  down,  and  are  not  able  to  rise. 
 
 8.  Fatness  of  Thy  house,  i.e. 
 generally  the  rich  provision  made 
 (comp.  Job.  xxxvi,  i6,  and  Ps.  xxiii.  5). 
 
 9.  These  are  some  of  the  most 
 wonderful  words  in  the  Old  Testament. 
 Their  fulness  of  meaning  no  commen- 
 tary can  ever  exhaust.  They  are,  in 
 fact,  the  kernel  and  the  anticipation 
 of  much  of  the  profoundest  teaching 
 of  St.  John. 
 
 The  Fountain  of  Life,  i.e.  of 
 all  life,  both  animal  and  spiritual. 
 God  only  has  Life  in  Himself,  Life 
 underived,  as  our  Lord  says,  John 
 V.  26. 
 
 In  Thy  Light.  Comp.  Dan.  ii. 
 22,  "  The  light  dwelleth  with  Him  ;" 
 and  I  John  i.  5—7.     Out  of  God  all 
 
 is  darkness.  The  creature  is  darkness, 
 our  own  hearts  and  consciences  are 
 darkness,  our  duties  are  darkness,  our 
 deeds  are  darkness  (John  iii.  19,  20)  ; 
 the  very  order  and  constitution  of  the 
 world,  yea  the  word  of  God  itself, 
 except  as  seen  in  His  Light,  is 
 darkness. 
 
 ID.  Loving-kindness.  For  the 
 third  time  he  dwells  on  this  attribute 
 of  God,  and  again  associates  it,  as  in 
 ver.  5,  6,  with  the  "  righteousness"  of 
 God. 
 
 12.  There,  pointing  as  it  were  to 
 the  scene.  The  field  on  which  God's 
 righteous  judgement  has  been  mani- 
 fested in  the  overthrow  of  the  wicked 
 is  before  his  eyes. 
 
 PSALM  xxxvn. 
 
 A  Psalm  wherein  the  righteousness  of  God's  providence  is  vindi- 
 cated in  His  administration  of  the  world.  The  Psalmist's  own  heart 
 had  no  doubt  at  one  time  been  shaken  by  the  apparent  successes  and 
 
PSALM  XXX  VII.  1 3 9 
 
 triumphs  of  the  ungodly,  for  it  is  a  common  temptation  to  distrust 
 God  when  we  see  "  the  ungodly  in  great  prosperity."  The  advice 
 which  the  Psalmist  gives  is  "  to  wait,"  "  to  trust  in  the  Lord,"  to  look 
 at  the  end,  and  to  observe  how  even  in  this  life  God -manifests  His 
 righteousness,  in  rewarding  the  godly  and  punishing  the  wicked. 
 This  sentiment  is  repeated  in  various  forms,  and  with  much  beauty  of 
 expression.  The  Psalm  has  something  of  a  proverbial  character 
 about  it,  owing  no  doubt  in  some  measure  to  the  fact  that  the  writer 
 chose  to  fetter  himself  by  an  acrostical  arrangement  :  for  this  is  one 
 of  the  Alphabetical  Psalms,  like  Psalms  xxv.  and  xxxiv. 
 
 [a  (psalm)  of   DAVID.] 
 
 (Aleph)    I   Fret  not  thyself  because  of  the  evil-doers, 
 
 Be  not  envious  because  of   the  workers   of 
 iniquity. 
 2  For  they  shall  soon  be  cut  down  like  the  grass, 
 And  as  the  green  herb  shall  they  wither. 
 (Beth)       3  Trust  thou  in  Jehovah,  and  do  good  ; 
 Dwell  in  the  land,  and  enjoy  safety. 
 4  Delight  thyself  also  in  Jehovah, 
 
 And  He  shall  give  thee  the  petitions  of  thy 
 heart. 
 (Gimel)    5   Cast  thy  way  on  Jehovah, 
 
 And  trust  in  Him  ;  and  He  shall  bring  (it) 
 to  pass. 
 6  Yea  He  will  bring  forth  thy  righteousness  as 
 the  light. 
 And  thy  judgement  as  the  noon-day. 
 (Daleth)  7  Rest  in  Jehovah,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him  ; 
 
 I.  The  whole  verse  is  to  be  found  4.    Delight    thyself   in    Him, 
 
 almost  word  for  word,  Prov.  xxiv.  19  ;  and  so  thou  wilt  choose  and  love  that 
 
 the  latter  part  of  it  also,  Prov.  iii.  31,  which  He  chooses  and  loves ;  therefore 
 
 xxiii.  17,  xxiv.  I.     Comp.  Ixxiu.  3.  He  will  give  thee  thy  heart's  desires. 
 
 3.  Trust  in  God  is  the  true  antidote  5.    Cast  THY  way.      Cf.  xxii.  8. 
 
 for  the  fretfulness  and  envy  which  are  I  Peter,  v.  7. 
 
 before  forbidden.  6.   He  will  bring  forth,  sc.  like 
 
 Dwell    in    the   land — for    the  the  sun  going  fordi  in  the  morning, 
 
 promises  to  Israel,  and  Israel's  glory  Cf.  Jer.  li.  10. 
 
 as  a  nation,  were  bound  up  with  the  7.  Rest  in  Jehovah,  lit.  Be  silent, 
 
 Land.  be  still  for   Him  ;  a  word  expressive 
 
I40  PSALM  XXXV I  I. 
 
 Fret     not     thyself    because    of    him     who 
 
 prospereth  in  his  way, 
 Because   of  the  man  who  bringeth  wicked 
 devices  to  pass. 
 (He)         8  Cease  from  anger,  and  let  go  wrath  ; 
 Fret  not  thyself,  only  to  do  evil. 
 9  For  evil  doers  shall  be  cut  off; 
 
 But  those  that  hope  for  Jehovah,  tJiey  shall 
 inherit  the  land. 
 (Vau)      10  Yea,  yet  but  a  little  while  and  the  wicked  is  not, 
 And  thou  shalt  diligently  consider  his  place 
 and  he  is  no  more. 
 1 1  But  the  meek  shall  inherit  the  land, 
 
 And  shall  delight  themselves  in  the  abund- 
 ance of  peace. 
 (Zain)     12  The  wicked  deviseth  evil  against  the  righteous, 
 And  gnasheth  upon  him  with  his  teeth. 
 13  The  Lord  laugheth  at  him, 
 
 For  He  hath  seen  that  his  day  is  coming. 
 (Cheth)  14  The  wicked  have  drawn  the  sword, 
 They  have  also  bent  their  bow, 
 That  they  may  cast  down  the  afflicted  and  the 
 poor, 
 That  they  may  slay  them  that  are  upright  in 
 the  way. 
 15  Their  sword  shall  enter  into  their  own  heart, 
 And  their  bows  shall  be  broken. 
 
 of  that  calm  resignation  which  leaves  inward   impulses,  but   on   Him  who 
 
 itself  absolutely  in  the  hands  of  God.  worketh  in  us  both  to  will  and  to  do 
 
 Perhaps  the  Prayer-book  Vers,  comes  of  His  own  good  pleasure. 
 
 nearer,  '■'■  Hold  thee  siiU'va.  the  Lord."  8.   Only  to  do  evil,  z>.  nothing 
 
 This  hushed,  bowed  temper  of  spirit  but  evil  can  come  of  it. 
 
 best  befits  us.     Here  is  the  best  cure  ii.  The  meek.     See  on  ix.  12. 
 
 for  dissatisfaction  with   the    present  The  land.   Cf.  xxv.  13,  and  Matt. 
 
 and  for  anxiety  about  the  future,  that  v.  5,   where,   however,    the  range  is 
 
 we  leave  both  in  the  hands  of  God.  wider,  "shall  inherit //zt' mr//^." 
 
 Here  is  our  highest  wisdom  even  for  13.   Laugheth,  cf.  ii.  4. 
 
 the  life  of  our    spirits,  that  we  stay  His  DAY,  cf.  cxxxvii.  7  ;  Job  xviii. 
 
 ourselves   not  upon  outv.ard  acts  or  20  ;  Jer.  1.  27,  31  ;  Obad.  iz. 
 
PSALM  XXX  VI I.  1 4 1 
 
 (Teth)    1 6  Better  is  a  little  that  the  righteous  man  hath, 
 Than  the  riches  of  many  wicked. 
 17  For  the  arms  of  the  wicked  shall  be  broken, 
 But  Jehovah  upholdeth  the  righteous. 
 (Yod)     18  Jehovah  knoweth  the  days  of  the  perfect, 
 And  their  inheritance  shall  be  for  ever. 
 19  They  shall  not  be  ashamed  in  the  evil  time, 
 
 And  in   the    days  of  famine  they  shall    be 
 satisfied. 
 (Kaph)  20  But  the  wicked  shall  perish, 
 
 And  the  enemies  of  Jehovah  be  as  the  glory 
 of  the  pastures  : 
 They  consume — in  smoke  they  consume  away. 
 (Lamed)  2 1  The  wicked  borroweth,  and  payeth  not  again  ; 
 But  the  righteous  is  bountiful,  and  giveth. 
 22  For  they  that  are  blessed  of  Him  shall  inherit 
 the  land  ; 
 And  they  that  are  cursed  of  Him  shall  be 
 cut  off. 
 (Mem)   23  From  Jehovah   (is  it)   that  a  man's  steps  are 
 established, 
 So  that  He  hath  pleasure  in  his  way. 
 24  Though  he  fall,  he  shall  not  be  utterly  cast 
 down, 
 For  Jehovah  upholdeth  his  hand. 
 (Nun)     25   I  have  been  young,  and  (now)  am  old  ; 
 
 Yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken, 
 
 16.   See  a  similar  sentiment,  Prov.  he  is  compelled  to  borrow,   and  can- 
 
 XV.  16.      .  not  pay;  whereas  the  rigliteous  hath 
 
 18.    Knoweth    the    days,     i.e.  even  abmidance  not  only  for  his  own 
 
 watcheth   over,     careth  for,   lovingly  wants,  but  for  the  wants  of  others.   It 
 
 orders  all  that  befalls  them.  is  the  promise,  Deut.  xv.  6,  xxviii.  12, 
 
 20.  The  glory  of  the  pastures,  44,  turned  into  a  proverb. 
 
 or   MEADOWS  {not  of  the  flocks,   cf.  23.   He  that  would  walk  securely, 
 
 Ixv.  13,  Is.  XXX.  23),  i.e.  the  grass  and  and  so  as  to  please  the  Lord,  must 
 
 flowers.  ,  trust  in  the  Lord  to  guide  him.     (Cf. 
 
 21,  22.  The  blessing  and  the  curse  Prov.  xx.  24,  and  xvi.  9.)  The  sen- 
 of  God,  as  seen  in  the  different  lots  of  timent  is  put  in  a  general  form,  but 
 the  righteous  and  the  wicked.  The  tlie  righteous  man,  as  he  appears  in 
 wicked,  through  God's  curse  resting  the  Psalm,  is  meant,  as  is  clear  from 
 on  him,  is  reduced  to  poverty,  so  that  the  next  verse. 
 
142 
 
 PSALM  XXXVII. 
 
 26 
 
 (Samech^ 
 
 127 
 
 28 
 
 (Ayin) 
 
 29 
 
 (Pe) 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 (Tsaddi) 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 (Koph) 
 
 34 
 
 (Resh) 
 
 35 
 
 of 
 
 Nor  his  seed  begging  bread. 
 
 All  the  day  long  is  he  gracious  and  lendeth, 
 
 And  his  seed  is  blessed. 
 Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good  ; 
 
 And  (so  shalt  thou)  dwell  for  evermore. 
 For  Jehovah  loveth  judgement. 
 
 And  forsaketh  not  His  beloved. 
 For  ever  they  are  preserved  ; 
 
 But  the  seed  of  the  wicked  is  cut  off. 
 The  righteous  shall  inherit  the  land, 
 
 And  dwell  therein  for  ever. 
 The    mouth    of    the    righteous    talketh 
 wisdom, 
 
 And  his  tongue  speaketh  judgement. 
 The  Law  of  his  God  is  in  his  heart : 
 
 None  of  his  steps  shall  slide. 
 The  wicked  lieth  in  wait  for  the  righteous, 
 
 And  seeketh  (occasion)  to  slay  him. 
 Jehovah  will  not  leave  him  in  his  hand. 
 
 Nor  condemn  him  when  he  is  judged. 
 Wait  on  Jehovah,  and  keep  His  way, 
 So  shall  He  exalt  thee  to  inherit  the  land : 
 
 When  the  wicked   are  cut  off,  thou  shalt 
 see  (it). 
 I  have  seen  a  wicked  man  full  of  violence, 
 
 And  spreading  himself  like  a  green  tree  in 
 its  native  soil  ; 
 
 26.  See  above,  ver.  21,  and  comp. 
 cxii.  5.  The  promise  in  Deut.,  qaoted 
 on  ver.  21.  no  doubt  it  was  whrch 
 made  this  characteristic  of  lending  so 
 prominent. 
 
 31.  The  Law  within  is  the  guiding 
 principle  which  directs  his  steps. 
 
 33.  Men  may  condemn,  but  God 
 acquits.  Here,  as  in  I  Cor.  iv.  3,  the 
 rig^liteous  judgement  of  the  Great  Judge 
 is  opposed  to  the  avo-Kpiv^tv  of  human 
 judgement  (T/^uepo), 
 
 34.  Wait    on   Jehovah.     Keep 
 
 thine  eye  fixed  on  Him  (cf.  a-Ko^Ki-Ktiiv, 
 Heb.  xii.  2)  despite  the  prosperity  of 
 the  wicked,  and  the  persecutions 
 which  tliou  sufferest. 
 
 Thou  shalt  see  it,  or  thou  shalt 
 look  upon  it  with  satisfaction. 
 
 35.    A   TREE    IN    ITS  NATIVE  SOIL, 
 
 (one  word  in  Hebrew),  or  "  a  tree 
 growing  in  its  native  soil,"  one  that 
 has  never  been  transplanted  or  dis- 
 turbed, that  has  therefore  struck  its 
 roots  deep,  and  shot  out  with  luxuriant 
 streucTth. 
 
PSALM  XXX  FIJI.  1 43 
 
 36  Yet  he  passed  away,  and  lo  he  was  not : 
 
 Yea,   when  I   sought  him  he   could  net   be 
 found. 
 (Shin)    37  Observe  the  perfect  (man),  see  the  upright. 
 That  the  man  of  peace  hath  a  posterity  ; 
 38  But  the  transgressors  are  destroyed  together ; 
 The  posterity  of  the  wicked  is  cut  off. 
 (Tau)     39  The  salvation  of  the  righteous  is  of  Jehovah, 
 Their  fortress  in  the  time  of  trouble. 
 40  Yea,  Jehovah  helpeth  them  and  rescueth  them, 
 He   rescueth    them   from    the    wicked,    and 
 
 saveth  them. 
 Because  they  have  found  refuge  in  Him. 
 
 37.  Hath  a  posterity.     As  op-  the  word  may  mean  "  the  future,"  the 
 
 posed  to  the  wicked  in  the  next  clause  end  that  yet  awaits  him. 
 
 whose  posterity  is  cut   off.     Then  it  40.   He  delivereth   them  :    because 
 
 would    be  ="  Thou    shalt    see     thy  they /r?^^/ in  Him.     The  whole  lesson 
 
 children's   children   and   peace  upon  of  the  Psalm  lies  in  these  words. 
 Israel."     Or  instead  of  "posterity" 
 
 PSALM  XXXVHI. 
 
 This  Psalm  tells  the  story  of  a  bitter  suffering.  The  suffering  is 
 both  in  body  and  in  mind.  The  body  is  wasted  by  a  cruel  and 
 loathsome  disease,  and  the  mind  is  full  of  anguish,  arising  partly 
 from  a  deep  sense  of  sin,  and  partly  from  the  fear  of  relentless  and 
 now  rejoicing  enemies.  Body  and  mind,  in  such  circumstances,  act 
 and  react  upon  one  another.  Mental  anguish  impairs  the  strength  of 
 the  body  ;  and  bodily  suffering  and  weakness  make  us  less  able  to 
 face  with  steady  and  resolute  courage  the  horrors  which  crowd  upon 
 the  mind. 
 
 Deserted  even  of  his  friends,  consumed  by  a  burning  fever,  with 
 beating  heart  and  failing  eyes,  the  sufferer  describes  himself  as 
 "  benumbed  and  sore  broken  "  with  his  misery.  Suffering  seems  here 
 to  have  reached  its  height.     But  out  of  the  very  midst  of  the  furnace 
 
144  PSALM  XXX  VII L 
 
 the  sufferer  can  say,  "  Lord,  before  Thee  is  all  my  desire — in  Thee,  O 
 Jehovah,  have  I  hoped  ; "  can  cry  with  all  the  earnestness  of  a  faith 
 purified  by  affliction,  "  Leave  me  not,  be  not  far  from  me,  O  Lord, 
 my  Salvation." 
 
 The  Psalm  may  be  said  to  consist  of  three  principal  parts,  each  of 
 which  opens  with  an  address  to  God.  Each  of  these  contains  an 
 appeal  to  God's  mercy — each  rests  it  on  different  grounds. 
 
 The  first  of  these  is  based  on  the  greatness  of  the  suffering.  Ver. 
 1—8. 
 
 The  second  on  the  patience  of  the  sufferer,  as  well  as  on  the 
 suffering.     Ver.  9 — 14. 
 
 The  third  on  \ki^fear  lest,  through  his  fate,  wicked  men  should  have 
 an  occasion  of  triumph.     Ver.  15 — 22. 
 
 [a   psalm    of    DAVID.       TO    BRING   TO    REMEMBRANCE.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  in  Thy  wrath  rebuke  me  not, 
 
 Neither  in  Thy  hot  displeasure  chasten  me. 
 
 2  For  Thine  arrows  stick  fast  in  me. 
 
 And  Thy  hand  presseth  me  sore. 
 
 3  There  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh  because  of  Thine 
 
 indignation  ; 
 There  is  no  health  in  my  bones  because  of  my  sin, 
 
 4  For  mine  iniquities  have  passed  over  my  head  ; 
 
 Like  a  heavy  burden,  they  are  too  heavy  for  me. 
 
 1.  See  note  on  vi.  i,  where  very  but  as  an  appeal  to  the  mercy  of  God, 
 nearly  the  same  words  occur.  Most  that  he  tells  all  his  woe.  There  is  a 
 of  what  has  been  said  on  that  Psalm  yet  further  appeal  in  the  recognition 
 is  applicable  here,  and  need  not  be  of  God's  hand.  "  Ty^zw^- arrows .  .  . 
 repeated.  77y/ hand."     It  is  this  conviction  that 
 
 2.  There  is  here,  and  in  what  fol-  God  has  inflicted  the  chastisement, 
 lows,  as  Calvin  observes,  a  tacit  appeal  that  leads  him  to  seek  the  remedy  from 
 to  God's  promises.     Why  is  it  that  the  same  source. 
 
 the  saint  of  God  thus  sets  forth  all  his  3.  No  soundness.   Comp.  Is.  i.  6, 
 
 sufferings,  but  because  he  knows  that  4.   Have  passed.      A   metaphor, 
 
 his  God  will  not  lay  on  him  a  punish-  as  often,    from    waves    passing   over 
 
 ment  heavier  than  he  can  bear?     It  is  the  head,     Comp.  xviii.   16,  Ixix.   2, 
 
 not  therefore  merely  as  a  complaint,  15. 
 
PSALM  XXXVIIL  145 
 
 5  My  wounds  stink,  they  are  corrupt, 
 
 Because  of  my  foolishness, 
 
 6  I  am  bent,  I  am  bowed  down  sore. 
 
 All  the  day  long  have  I  gone  mourning  ; 
 
 7  For  my  loins  are  full  of  burning, 
 
 And  thei*e  is  no  soundness  in  my  flesh. 
 
 8  I  am  benumbed  and  sore  broken, 
 
 I  have  roared  by  reason  of  the  unrest  of  my  heart. 
 
 9  Lord,  before  Thee  is  all  my  desire, 
 
 And  my  sighing  is  not  hid  from  Thee. 
 
 10  My  heart  pulseth  quickly,  my  strength  hath  failed  me. 
 
 And  the  light  of  mine  eyes — even  that  is  gone  from  me. 
 
 1 1  My  friends   and  my  companions  stand  aloof  from  my 
 
 punishment. 
 And  my  kinsmen  have  stood  afar  off. 
 
 1 2  They  also  lay  snares,  that  seek  after  my  soul, 
 
 And  they  that  strive  to  do  me  evil  speak  mischievous 
 things, 
 And  meditate  deceits  all  the  day  long. 
 
 5.  Foolishness.  His  sin,  as  seen  verses,  without  this  verse,  to  see  hov.' 
 now  in  its  true  hght,  showing  itself  to  much  blacker  the  night  of  suffering 
 be  folly,  for  all  sin  is  self-destruction.       grows. 
 
 This  confession  of  his  sin  is,   in  fact,  11.   Up  to  this  point  he  has  spoken 
 
 at  the  same  time,  a  confession  of  the  of  his  suffering  as  arising  from  his  own 
 
 justice  of  his  punishment.  state  both  of  body  and  mind.    He  de- 
 
 6.  I  AM  BENT,  properly,  as  writhing  scribes  now  its  aggravation  from  the 
 with  pain,  as  Is.  xxi.  3.  conduct  of  others  ;  first  of  fiiends  who 
 
 Mourning.     See  on  xxxv,  14.  deserted   him,    and  next  of  enemies 
 
 8.  I  AM  BENUMBED,  lit.  I  have  be-  who  plotted  against  him.  And  this 
 come  deadly  cold,  cold  as  a  corpse  ;  aggravation  of  his  misery  is  again  a 
 possibly  with  reference  to  the  burning  fresh  argument  with  God, — an  argu- 
 inflammation  in  the  previous  verse  ;  as  ment  borrowed,  as  Calvin  reminds  us, 
 marking  the  alternations  in  the  fever-  from  the  word  of  God,  and  one  in- 
 fit,  tended  for  our  use. 
 
 9.  The  one  gleam  of  comfort  and  My  PUNISHMENT,  lit.  "my blow," 
 refreshment  in  his  misery  ;  the  one  a  word  always  used  of  punishment  as 
 bright  ray  which  lights  up  the  dark-  inflicted  by  God. 
 
 ness  ;  the  one  thought  which  sustains  12.  Mischievous  things,  lit.  "a 
 
 him,  that  he  may  "  unburden  himself  yawning     gulf     of    destruction,"    as 
 
 of  all  his  griefs  in  the  bosom  of  God."  though  they  would  swallow  me  up. 
 We  have  but  to  read  the  first  fourteen 
 
14-6 
 
 PSALM  xxxviir. 
 
 13  But  as  for  me,  as  a  deaf  man,  I  could  not  hear, 
 
 And  (I  was)  as  a  dumb  man  that  openeth   not  his 
 mouth. 
 
 14  Yea,  I  became  as  a  man  that  heareth  not, 
 
 And  (as  one)  in  whose  mouth  are  no  replies. 
 
 15  For  in  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  have  I  hoped  ; 
 
 Thou  wilt  answer  (for  me),  O  Lord  my  God. 
 
 16  For  I  said, — Lest  they  rejoice  over  me, 
 
 (Lest)  when  my  foot  is  moved,  they  magnify  them- 
 selves against  me ; 
 
 17  For  as  for  me,  I  am  ready  to  halt. 
 And  my  smart  is  ever  before  me  ; 
 
 For  I  must  confess  my  iniquity, 
 
 I  must  be  sorry  for  my  sin  ; 
 And  mine  enemies  are  vigorous  (and)  strong, 
 
 And  they  are  many  that  hate  me  without  cause  ; 
 20  And  requiting  evil  for  good. 
 
 They  withstand  me  for  my  following  that  which  is 
 good. 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 14.  No  REPLIES,  not  here  "re- 
 proofs" or  "rebukes,"  but  answers, 
 in  self- vindication,  to  the  calumnies 
 of  his  enemies. 
 
 Calvin  sees  two  reasons  for  this 
 comparison  of  himself  to  a  dumb 
 man  :  first,  that  he  was  compelled  by 
 the  injustice  of  his  enemies  to  be 
 silent ;  they  would  not  suffer  him  to 
 speak  :  and  next,  his  own  patient 
 submission  to  the  will  of  God.  But 
 I  ihink  the  last  only  is  prominent 
 here.  It  was  not  that  David  could 
 not,  but  that  he  would  not,  answer. 
 Comp.  Rom.  xii.  19.  In  this,  he  was 
 the  type  of  a  greater  Sufferer  in  a 
 more  august  agony  (Is.  liii.  7  j  I  Pet, 
 ii.  23). 
 
 16.   I  SAID,  i.e.  within  myself. 
 
 Lest,  with  the  usual  ellipsis  of 
 some  verb,  such  as  "I  fear,"  but 
 again  addressed  as  an  argument  to 
 God  ;  the  argument  being,  that  His 
 honour    is    concerned    in    upholding 
 
 His  servant,  lest  the  wicked  should 
 triumph.  Therefore,  too,  he  leaves  it 
 to  God  to  answer,  lest  by  answering 
 himself  he  should  give  occasion  to  the 
 enemy  to  blaspheme. 
 
 18.  For.  The  conjunction  recurs 
 here  for  the  fourth  time  in  verses 
 15 — 18.  In  ver,  15  David  made  no 
 reply  to  his  enemies,  for  God,  he  felt, 
 would  answer  for  him.  Ver.  16,  he 
 would  have  God  to  answer  for  him, 
 for  he  feared  his  enemies  might  have 
 occasion  to  triumph  "  when  his  foot  is 
 moved,"  In  ver,  17  the  y9r  gives  a 
 further  reason  why  this  is  probable — 
 viz,  his  own  weakness  ;  and  in  ver. 
 18,  with  another /(S-r,  he  confesses  his 
 sin,  which  is  the  reason  of  his  weak- 
 ness, whilst  his  enemies  are  "vigorous 
 and  strong," 
 
 21,  22.  With  this  conclusion  of  the 
 Psalm  compare  the  similar  expres- 
 sions, xxii,  II,  19,  XXXV.  22,  xl,  I";, 
 &c. 
 
PSALM  XXXIX.  147 
 
 21  Leave  me  not,  O  Jehovah  ; 
 
 My  God,  be  not  far  from  me. 
 
 22  Haste  (Thee)  to  help  me, 
 
 O  Lord,  my  Salvation. 
 
 PSALM  XXXIX. 
 
 "  The  most  beautiful,"  says  Ewald,  "  of  all  elegies  in  the  Psalter." 
 It  is  the  sorrowful  complaint  of  a  heart,  not  yet  subdued  to  a  perfect 
 resignation,  but  jealous  with  a  godly  jealousy,  lest  it  should  bring 
 dishonour  upon  its  God,  and  longing  for  light  from  Heaven  to  scatter 
 its  doubts.  The  holy  singer  had  long  pent  up  his  feelings  ;  and 
 though  busy  thoughts  were  stirring  within  him,  he  would  not  give 
 them  utterance.  He  could  not  bare  his  bosom  to  the  rude  gaze  of 
 an  unsympathizing  world.  And  he  feared  lest,  while  telling  his  per- 
 plexities, some  word  might  drop  from  his  lips  which  would  give  the 
 wicked  an  occasion  to  speak  evil  against  his  God.  (This  feeling  is 
 one  the  expression  of  which  we  have  already  had  in  the  preceding 
 Psalm.)  And  when  at  last,  unable  to  repress  his  strong  emotion,  he 
 speaks,  it  is  to  God  and  not  to  man.  It  is  as  one  who  feels  hov/ 
 hopeless  the  problem  of  life  is,  except  as  seen  in  the  light  of  God.  It 
 is  with  the  deep  conviction  of  personal  frailty  (ver.  6)  and  sinfulness 
 (ver.  9),  as  well  as  of  the  frailty  and  sinfulness  of  all  men.  It  is  with 
 the  touching  sadness  of  one  who  cannot  be  comforted.  And  yet  the 
 weeping  eye  is  raised  to  heaven,  and  amidst  all  his  grief  and  per- 
 plexity, notwithstanding  all  that  is  so  dark  and  cheerless  in  the  world, 
 pilgrim  and  stranger  as  he  is,  the  Psalmist  can  still  say,  "  My  hope  is 
 in  Thee"  (ver.  7). 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  properly  of  two  parts  : — 
 
 I.  A  preface  descriptive  of  the  circumstances  under  which  it  was 
 composed.     Ver.  1—3. 
 
 II.  The  expression  of  the  Psalmist's  feelings  at  the  time.  Ver 
 4--I3- 
 
 L   2 
 
148  PSALM  XXXIX. 
 
 This  latter  part,  however,  may  be  again  subdivided  into  three 
 sections,  the  first  two  of  which  close  with  the  refrain  and  the  Selah. 
 
 (i)  A  prayer  to  be  taught  rightly  concerning  the  vanity  of  life. 
 Ver.  4,  5. 
 
 (2)  A  confession  of  that  vanity — a  cleaving  to  God,  and  an  ac- 
 knowledgement that  sin  deserves  chastisement.     Ver.  6— 11. 
 
 (3)  A  further  prayer  that  God  would  hear  him,  and  that  because  he 
 is  but  a  stranger,  and  his  days  few  upon  earth.     Ver.  12,  13. 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      for  JEDUTHUN.*   a  psalm  of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  I  SAID,  Let  me  take  heed  to  my  ways, 
 
 That  I  sin  not  with  my  tongue : 
 Let  me  keep  a  bridle  on  my  mouth, 
 While  the  wicked  is  yet  before  me. 
 
 2  I  remained  dumb  in  silence  ; 
 
 I  held  my  peace,  and  had  no  comfort, 
 And  my  sorrow  was  stirred. 
 
 3  My  heart  was  hot  within  me  ;  ^^  ^  ,.\  ^ 
 While  I  was  musing  a  fire  burned  :  o^ 
 
 (Then)  spake  I  with  my  tongue  : 
 
 4  Make  me  know,  O  Jehovah,  mine  end, 
 
 And  the  measure  of  my  days  what  it  is. 
 That  I  may  know  how  frail  I  am. 
 
 I.   I  SAID,  i.e.  I  thought,  I  formed  the  end  of  the  Psalm.     The  introduc- 
 
 this  resolution.     (Comp.  xxxviii.   16.)  tion   is   the   record    of    that    inward 
 
 And  tlie  resolution   was   not   to   sin  struggle  out  of  which  the  Psalm  itself 
 
 with  his  tongue.       He  feared  lest  his  arose.     And  the  words  that  he  does 
 
 complaint  should  be  misinterpreted  as  speak  are  directed  to  God  in  prayer 
 
 murmuring  against  God.      But  the  sad-  for    teaching,    not   to    man   in   com- 
 
 ness  of  his  heart  prevails  against  his  plaints, 
 
 resolution  ;  the  more  the  feeling  was  But  in  what  i-elation  does  the  prayer 
 
 checked,    the  more   hotly   it   burned  which  follows  stand  to  the  perplexity 
 
 (comp,  Jer,  xx,  9),  till  at  last  it  could  which  gave  birth  to  it  ?  Why  does  he 
 
 be  restrained  no  longer.  ask,   make  me   know  mine   end  ? 
 
 4.   The  words  that  he  *'  spake  with  The  train  of  thought  seems  to  be  this  : 
 
 his  tongue  "  are  those  which  follow  to  "  Make  me  rightly  to  know  and  esti- 
 
 "^  See  also   inscriptions  to   Ps.  Ixii.  and  Ixxvii. ;  the  name  of  one   of  David's  three  choir- 
 masters. He  is  probably  the  same  ;»ersonas  Eihan,  i  Chron,  xv.  19.     See  General  Introd.  p.  8. 
 
 I 
 
PSALM  XXXI. 
 
 149 
 
 5  Behold,  Thou  hast  made  my  days  as  haiid-breadths, 
 And  my  life-time  is  as  nothing  before  Thee  : 
 
 Surely  every  man,  at  his  best  estate,  is  nothing  but  a 
 breath.     [Selah.] 
 
 6  Surely  in  a  shadow  doth  a  man  walk  to  and  fro ; 
 Surely  for  a  breath  are  they  disquieted  : 
 
 He  heapeth  up  (treasures),  and  knoweth  not  who  shall 
 gather  them. 
 
 7  And  now  what  have  I  waited  for,  O  Lord  } 
 
 My  hope  is  in  Thee. 
 
 8  From  all  my  transgressions  deliver  me ; 
 
 Make  me  not  a  reproach  of  the  fool. 
 
 9  I  was  dumb, — I  could  not  open  my  mouth  ; 
 
 Because  Thou  didst  it. 
 
 mate  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of 
 human  hfe,  that  so,  instead  of  suffer- 
 ing myself  to  be  perplexed  with  all 
 that  I  see  around  me,  I  may  cast  my- 
 self the  more  entirely  upon  Thee,"  as 
 indeed  follows,  "And  now,  Lord, 
 w  hat  wait  I  for  ?  "  The  prayer  in  xc. 
 12  is  somewhat  similar,  though  it 
 stands  there  in  a  different  connection. 
 
 5.  Athisbestestate,  lit.  "stand- 
 ing fast,"  i.e.  however  firmly  esta- 
 blished he  may  be. 
 
 A  BREATH.  Such  is  the  literal 
 meaning  of  the  word.  In  xc.  9,  a 
 different  word  is  used  ;  see  note  there. 
 
 6.  With  this  verse,  as  is  evident 
 both  from  the  refrain  at  the  end  of  the 
 last,  and  the  Selah,  a  new  strophe  or 
 division  of  the  Psalm  begins. 
 
 Are  they  disquieted,  lit.  "  do 
 they  make  a  noise,  or  commotion." 
 All  the  fret  and  stir,  all  the  eager 
 clamour  and  rivalry  of  men,  as  they 
 elbow  and  jostle  one  another  to  ob- 
 tain wealth  and  rank,  and  the  enjoy- 
 ments of  life,  are  but  a  breath.  (Comp. 
 James  iv.  13,  14,  where,  after  describ- 
 ing the  busy  scene,  the  buyers  and 
 sellers  thronging  the  market-place, 
 and  full  of  the  thought  of  their  trade 
 and  of  their  speculations  for  the  year, 
 
 he  solemnly  asks,  * '  For  what  is  your 
 life?  For  it  is  a  vapour  {aT/xis),  which 
 appeareth  for  a  little  while,  and  then 
 vanisheth  away. ") 
 
 7.  And  now  :  turning  away,  as  it 
 were,  with  a  sense  of  relief  from  the 
 sad  contemplation  of  man's  fleeting, 
 transitory  life,  to  fix  the  e3'e  of  his 
 heart  on  Him  who  abideth  ever.  We 
 seem  almost  to  hear  the  deep  sigh 
 with  which  the  words  are  uttered.  It 
 is  ren-iarkable  that  even  here  it  is  on 
 God  Himself,  not  on  a  life  to  come, 
 that  his  hope  sustains  itself. 
 
 8.  From  all  my  transgressions. 
 He  now  strikes  at  once  at  the  root  of  all 
 his  sufferings  and  all  his  perplexities. 
 
 JMake  me  not  a  reproach  — 
 said,  it  would  seem,  with  reference 
 to  the  temptation  which  had  assailed 
 him  before,  to  give  utterance  to  his 
 disquietude  even  in  the  presence  of 
 the  ungodly.  But  the  connection  is 
 difficult,  and  it  may  only  mean,  "  Do 
 not  so  chasten  me  that  fools  may 
 rejoice  at  my  suffering." 
 
 Q.  I  WAS  DUMB.  This  clearly 
 refers  to  the  resolve  and  conduct 
 described  in  ver.  I,- 2.  It  does  not 
 introduce  the  expression  of  a  fresh 
 resolve,  as  many  have  supposed. 
 
l^O 
 
 FSALM  XXXIX. 
 
 J  o  Turn  aside  from  me  Thy  stroke. 
 
 I  am  (even)  consumed  by  the  blow  of  Thine  hand. 
 
 1 1  (When)  with  rebukes  for  iniquity  Thou  hast  chastened 
 
 a  man, 
 Thou  makest  his  beauty  melt  away  like  the  moth. 
 Surely  every  man  (is  but)  a  breath.     [Selah.] 
 
 12  Hear  m.y  prayer,  O  Jehovah, 
 And  give  ear  unto  my  cry  ; 
 
 At  my  weeping  be  not  silent : 
 For  I  am  a  stranger  with  Thee, 
 A  sojourner,  as  all  my  fathers  (were). 
 
 13  Look  away  from  me,  that  I  may  recover  strength. 
 
 Before  I  go  hence,  and  be  no  more. 
 
 I  COULD  NOT  OPEN  ;  or  simply  as 
 n.  subordinate  clause  to  the  preceding, 
 "without  opening  my  mouth."  He 
 thus  reiterates  before  God  how  careful 
 he  had  been  to  avoid  giving  offence 
 by  any  hasty  word  ;  alleges  the  reason 
 for  this,  because  he  felt  that  his  suffer- 
 ing was  God's  doing  ;  and  urges  it  as 
 a  motive  Avith  God  in  the  entreaty 
 which  follows. 
 
 10.  Blow,  lit.  "  attack  ;  "  t'ne 
 word  only  occurs  here — parallel  with 
 STROKE,  which  precedes.  For  this 
 rirst  word,  see  on  xxxviii.  ii.  The 
 pron.  "  I  "  expressed  is  emphatic,  and 
 implies  a  tacit  contrast  between  his 
 own  weakness  and  the  poxA  er  of  God, 
 whose  hand  was  laid  u]>on  him. 
 
 11.  This  verse  contains  a  further 
 reason  why  God  should  take  away 
 His  stroke. 
 
 Like  the  moth,  i.e.  his  beauty 
 is  frail  and  perishing.  The  P.B.V. 
 ''like  the  moth  fretting  a  garmen'-," 
 compares  the  action  of  God  in  de- 
 stroying man's  beauty  to  the  action  of 
 the  moth  upon  the  garment,  but  the 
 comparison  does  not  seem  so  appro- 
 priate. See  also  i  Pet.  ii.  ii  and 
 Gen.  xxiii.  4 
 
 12.  The  Psalm  closes  with  a  still 
 more  earnest  appeal  to  God's  pitying 
 
 mercy,  based  still  on  that  very  transi- 
 toriness  of  life  which  is  the  burden  oi 
 the  whole. 
 
 A   stranger  ...    a   SOJOURNER. 
 
 Comp.  the  confession  of  David, 
 I  Ghron.  xxix.  15,  "For  we  are 
 strangers  with  Thee,  and  sojourn- 
 ers, as  all  our  fathers  (were).  As  a 
 shadow  are  our  days  upon  the  earth, 
 and  there  is  no  hope  (here)."  A 
 STRANGER,  "  one  who  is  but  a  passing 
 guest:"  A  SOJOURNER,  "one  who 
 settles  for  a  time  in  a  country,  but  is 
 not  a  native  of  it." 
 
 As  ALL  MY  FATHERS  :  as  the  patri- 
 archs had  been  in  the  land  which  was 
 theirs  only  ]:)y  promise.  He  himself, 
 he  felt,  and  all  men  were  on  the  eartl\ 
 what  Abraham  was  in  the  land  of 
 promise  :  he  could  not  call  one  foot 
 of  it  his  own.  Comp.  also  Lev. 
 XXV.  23. 
 
 13.  The  last  verse  is  borrowed  from 
 Job  vii.  19,  X.  20,  21.  See  also  Job 
 vii.  8,  ix.  25,  xiv.  5. 
 
 Look  away,  i.e.  keep  not  Thine 
 eye  fixed  upon  me  in  anget  :  it  an- 
 swers to  "Turn  aside  Thy  stroke," 
 in  ver.  10. 
 
 That  I  may  recover  strength, 
 prop.  a|')plied  to  the  countenance, 
 "That  I  may  become  cheerful." 
 
PSALM  XL.  151 
 
 PSALM  XL. 
 
 This  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts.  The  first  (ver.  i — 10)  tells  the 
 story  of  God's  mercies  in  a  former  time  of  trouble  ;  the  second  (ver. 
 II — 17)  is  a  cry  for  the  like  help  and  deliverance,  now  that  fresh 
 calamities  are  come.  The  writer,  looking  back  to  the  past,  tells  how 
 he  had  been  brought  into  the  deepest  abyss  of  misery  ;  he  had  been 
 like  one  falling  into  a  pit,  or  sinking  in  a  deep  morass,  where  there 
 was  no  resting-place  for  his  feet ;  but  God  of  His  great  mercy  had  heard 
 him  when  he  cried,  had  delivered  him  from  his  trouble,  had  set  his 
 feet  on  a  rock,  and  established  his  goings  (ver.  2)  :  and  not  only  had 
 He  done  this,  but  He  had  also  given  him  a  heart  and  a  tongue  to 
 praise  Him  (ver.  3).  Then  follows  the  expression  of  his  feehngs  at 
 the  time.  Here,  after  speaking  of  the  blessedness  of  trusting  in 
 Jehovah,  and  of  the  wonders  of  His  goodness,  not  only  to  the  singer 
 himself,  but  to  all  Israel  (comp.  Ixxiii.  i),  he  further  declares  what  had 
 been  the  great  lesson  of  his  affliction, — how  he  had  learnt  that  there 
 was  a  better  sacrifice  than  that  of  bulls  and  goats,  even  the  sacrifice 
 of  an  obedient  will ;  and  how,  moreover,  he  had  found  that  this  truth 
 v^^hich  God  had  opened  his  ears  to  receive  (ver.  6)  was  in  most  perfect 
 harmony  with  the  truth  taught  in  the  written  law  (ver.  7)  ;  and  lastly, 
 how,  constrained  by  a  sense  of  gratitude,  he  had  published  to  "  the 
 great  congregation  ''  the  loving-kindness  and  truth  of  the  Lord. 
 
 In  the  second  division  of  the  Psalm,  he  pleads  the  past,  and  his 
 own  conduct  in  the  past,  as  a  ground  for  renewed  mercies  being 
 vouchsafed  to  him,  now  that  he  is  in  fresh  trouble,  bowed  down  by  the 
 burden  of  his  sins  (ver.  9),  and  cruelly  pursued  by  his  enemies  (ver. 
 14).  Thrice  he  prays  earnestly  for  himself  (ver.  11,  13,  17)  ;  the  last 
 time,  faith  having  vanquished  in  the  struggle,  there  mingles  with  the 
 cry  for  help  the  touching  expression  of  confidence  in  God  :  "  But  as 
 for  me,  miserable  and  helpless  though  I  be,  the  Lord  thinketh  upon 
 mc."  With  these  personal  petitions  are  joined  others  against  the 
 malice  of  his  enemies  (14,  15),  and  intercession  on  behalf  of  all  those 
 who,  like  himself,  love  and  seek  Jehovah. 
 
 This  second  part,  or  rather  the  portion  of  it  from  ver.  13  to  ver.  17, 
 
1 5 -'J  P SAL  AT  XL. 
 
 appears  again,  in  an  independent  form,  as  Psalm  Ixx.  But  it  is,  I 
 think,  almost  certain,  that  the  Psalm  in  its  present  form  is  the  original, 
 and  the  latter  verses  were  subsequently  detached  and  slightly  altered, 
 in  order  to  form  a  distinct  poem. 
 
 Whether  David  was  the  author  of  this  Psalm  is  a  question  which 
 we  can  hardly  hope  now  to  decide.  There  are  expressions  in  it  not 
 unlike  those  which  we  find  in  Psalms  unquestionably  his:  but  we 
 cannot  pretend  to  point  to  any  circumstances  in  his  life  to  which  it 
 undoubtedly  refers. 
 
 With  regard  to  the  predictive  character  of  the  Psalm,  and  the 
 reference  of  one  portion  of  it  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  to  Christ, 
 something  will  be  found  on  that  subject  in  the  note:  on  ver.  6.  The 
 great  principle  of  a  typical  predictiveness  in  all  Jewish  history  is  the 
 most  satisfactory  principle  of  interpretation  in  this  and  in  all  similar 
 cases. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,      a  psalm   of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  Truly  I  had  waited  upon  Jehovah, 
 
 And  He  inclined  unto  me,  and  heard  my  cry ; 
 
 2  And  He  brought  me  up  out  of  a  pit  of  destruction, 
 
 Out  of  a  miry  swamp, 
 And  set  my  feet  upon  a  rock, 
 (And)  made  my  footsteps  firm  ; 
 
 I,   2.     rie  tells  how  Jehovah  had  would  often  have  a  damp  and    miry 
 
 rewarded  his  trust  by  answering  his  bottom, 
 
 prayer,  and  how  He  had  rescued  him  Miry  swamp,  lit.  "mire  of  mud," 
 
 from  imminent  destruction.  an     almost     pleonastic     expression  ; 
 
 1.  Truly  I  had  waited,  or  "I  comp.  Ixix.  2.  The  expressions  are 
 did  indeed  wait,"  as  implying  there  clearly  metaphorical.  This  I  men- 
 was  such  a  tiling  as  an  opposite  tion,  because  some  exposrtors  have 
 temper  of  mind,  and  that  this  had  maintained  that  llie  Psalm  was 
 been  carefully  avoided.  written   by  Jeremiah,    and   that    the 
 
 2.  The  deliverance.  The  meta-  reference  is  to  the  literal  pit,  or  dun- 
 phor  of  the  pit  may  be  used  either  geon,  into  which  he  was  cast.  If  so, 
 with  reference  to  a  pitfall  for  wild  where,  asks  Maui-er,  was  the  rock  on 
 beasts,  as  vii.  15,  or  a  dungeon,  such  which  his  feet  were  placed? 
 
 as    that    into    which    Jeremiah    was  Made  my   footsteps   firm,    i.e. 
 
 cast    ( Jer.    xxxviii.    6),    and    which       did  not  merely  bring  me  into  a  place 
 
''SALM  XL. 
 
 153 
 
 3  And  He  put  a  new  song-  in  my  mouth, 
 
 (Even)  praise  unto  our  God : — 
 Many  shall  see  (it)  and  fear, 
 
 And  shall  put  their  trust  in  Jehovah  :- — 
 
 4  Blessed  is  the  man  who  hath  made  Jehovah  his  trust, 
 
 And  hath  not  turned  to  the  proud,  and  to  such  as  go 
 aside  falsely. 
 
 5  Thou  hast  greatly  multiplied,  O  Jehovah  my  God, 
 
 Thy  wonders  and  Thy  thoughts  towards  us  :— 
 They  cannot  be  set  in  order  unto  Thee : — 
 Would  1  declare  them,  and  speak  of  them. 
 They  are  more  than  I  can  tell. 
 
 6  In  sacrifice  and  offering  Thou  hast  no  delight, 
 
 — Mine  ears  hast  Thou  opened, — 
 
 Ikirnt-offering  and   sin-offering    hast    Thou     not 
 -required. 
 
 of  safety  and  there  leave  me,  but  pro- 
 vided for  my  future  security. 
 
 3.  A  NEW  SONG,  i.e.  one  cele- 
 brating vi^itli  all  tlie  power  of  a  recent 
 gratitude  a  new  and  signal  act  of  de- 
 liverance. Tlie  old  forms,  the  cus- 
 tomary expressions,  the  well-known 
 hymns  were  not  enough.  See  on 
 xxxiii.  3. 
 
 4.  liis  TRUST,  i.e.  object  of  trust, 
 as  Ixv.  5,  Is.  XX.  5,  and  elsewhere. 
 This  obviously  is  a  continuation  of 
 the  last  clause  of  the  preceding  verse. 
 "  Many  shall  trust  in  Jehovah,  and 
 blessed  are  they  who  do  so."  The 
 next  verse  again  gives  the  reason  for 
 this  trust,  the  manifold  and  marvel- 
 lous deliverances  which  God  had 
 ever  vouchsafed  to  Israel. 
 
 Hath  mot  turned,  a  word  used 
 especially  of  apostasy  from  the  true 
 God  to  idols,  as  Lev.  xix,  4,  Ueut. 
 xxix.  18,  lios.  iii.  i,  and  often. 
 
 5.  TilOU    HAST    GREATLY    MUI/IT- 
 
 ri.iED,  &c.  :  lit.    "many  hast  Thou 
 made  Thy  wonders,"  6>;c. 
 
 6.  He  proceeds  now  to  declare  the 
 
 great  truth  which  God  had  taught 
 him,  and  which  it  would  seem  he 
 had  learnt  in  his  affliction,  that  God 
 desires  the  sacrifice  of  the  will  rather 
 than  the  sacrifice  of  slain  beasts. 
 
 ^Ve  may  perhaps  i^araphrase  vcr. 
 5—8  as  follows  :  My  heart  is  full  to 
 overflowing  v/ith  the  thouglit  of  Thy 
 goodness.  How  can  I  express,  how 
 can  I  acknowledge  it .''  Once  I 
 sliould  liave  thouglit  sacrifices  and 
 offerings  a  proj^er  and  sufficient  ac- 
 knowledgement. Kow  I  feel  how 
 inadequate  tliese  are  ;  for  Thou  hast 
 taught  me  the  truth  ;  my  deaf  un- 
 villing  cars  didst  Thou  open,  that 
 I  might  understand  that  a  willing 
 heart  was  tlie  best  offering  I  could 
 render.  Then,  ])eing  thus  taui^ht 
 of  Tliee,  I  said,  Lo,  1  come,  jneseiU- 
 ing  myself  before  Thee,  not  with 
 a  dead  and  formal  service,  but  wiih 
 myself  as  a  living  sacrifice.  The 
 truth  here  inculcated  is  staled  fully 
 in  Ps.  1.,  and  is  often  insisted  on 
 by  the  Trophets.  Comp.  I  Sam.  xv. 
 22;  I's.  li.    16,    Ixix.   30,    31;  Is.  i. 
 
^54 
 
 PSALM  XL.  ]  ^  -^   S' 
 
 7  Then  said  I,  ''  Lo,  I  come  ; 
 
 — In  the  roll  of  the  Book  It  is  prescribed  to  me, — 
 
 8  To  do  Thy  pleasure,  O  my  God,  I  delight, 
 
 Yea,  Thy  Law  is  in  my  inmost  heart." 
 
 9  I  have  published  righteousness  in  (the)  great  congre- 
 
 gation : 
 Lo,  my  lips  I  would  not  refrain, 
 O  Jehovah,  Thou  knowest. 
 
 -T 
 
 /T  ;  jer.  vii.  £I,  &c.  ;  IIos,  vi.  6; 
 Mic.  vi.  6-8. 
 
 Sacrifice,  properly  of  slain 
 beasts.  Offering,  i.e.  the  blood- 
 less offering  of  fine  flour,  &c.  Burnt- 
 offering,  the  object  of  which  was 
 to  obtain  the  Divine  favour ;  whereas 
 tl/at  of  the  sin-offering  was  to 
 ^make  propitiation.  But  the  four  are 
 'here  mentioned  only  with  a  view  to 
 express  in  the  largest  way  all  manner 
 of  sacrifices. 
 
 Mine  ears  iiast  Thou  opened, 
 lit.  "  Ears  hast  thou  dug  (or  pierced) 
 for  me;"  "given  me  open  ears." 
 There  is  certainly  no  allusion  to 
 the  custom  of  nailing  the  ear  of  the 
 slave  to  the  door-post  as  a  symbol 
 of  perpetual  servitude  and  obedience 
 {Exod.  xxi.  6).  For  this  a  different 
 Hebrew  word  is  used  ;  only  one  ear 
 was  thus  pierced  ;  and  the  allusion 
 would  be  far-fetched  and  quite  out  of 
 place  here. 
 
 7.  Lo,  I  COME,  i.e.  to  appear  be- 
 fore Thee  ;  a  phrase  used  to  indi- 
 cate the  coming  of  an  inferior  into 
 the  presence  of  a  superior,  or  of  a 
 slave  before  his  master.  Numb.  xxii. 
 38,  2  Sam.  xix.  20  :  as  in  the  simi- 
 lar expression  "behold  here  I  am," 
 — generally  expressive  of  willing- 
 ness. 
 
 In  the  roll  of  the  Book. 
 Another  parenthetical  clause,  cor- 
 responding to  the  former,  "Mine 
 ears  hast  Thou  opened,"  that  which 
 Thou  hast  taught  me  is  that  which 
 
 is  contained  in  Thy  law ;  I  find 
 there  the  same  truth  which  Thy 
 Spirit  hath  already  written  on  my 
 heart.  The  Book  is  the  Book  of 
 the  Law  of  Moses.  The  roll  shows 
 that  it  was  written  upon  parchment  ; 
 this  is  a  word  common  enough  in 
 Jer.  and  Ezek. 
 
 It  is  prescribed  to  me,  or  laid 
 upon  me  as  a  duty,  exactly  in  the 
 same  sense  as  the  words  occur  2 
 Kings  xxii.  13,  where  on  the  dis- 
 covery of  the  Book  of  the  Law,  it 
 is  said,  "Great  is  the  wrath  of  Je- 
 hovah— because  our  fathers  heark- 
 ened not  to  the  words  of  this  Book, 
 to  do  according  to  all  which  is  pre- 
 scribed to  us:"  not  as  in  E.  V., 
 "v/hich  is  written  cojicerning  us," 
 just  as  in  this  passage  it  has  "it 
 is  written  of  me,"  in  this  follow- 
 ing the  interpretation  of  the  LXX., 
 Trepl  kfxov  ;  an  interpretation  which 
 is  adopted  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews. 
 
 8.  To  DO  Thy  pleasure  (or  will). 
 These  words  would  seem  naturally  to 
 depend  on  the  foregoing,  "  Lo,  I 
 come,"  and  so  they  are  twice  cited  in 
 Heb.  X.  7,  9.  Instead  of  that,  how- 
 ever, a  new  verb  is  supplied,  "I  de- 
 light." 
 
 In  my  inmost  heart  (lit.  *'  in  the 
 midst  of  my  bowels,"  as  the  seat  of 
 the  affections),  written  there  on  its 
 "fleshy  tables,"  and  not  merely  in 
 the  Book.  Comp.  xxxvii.  31,  Deut. 
 vi.  6,  and  see  the  prophetic  promises 
 
PSALM  XL. 
 
 155 
 
 10  I  have  not  hid  Thy  righteousness  within  my  heart; 
 
 Thy  faithfulness  and  Thy  salvation  have  I  uttered  : 
 I  have  not  concealed  Thy  loving-kindness  and  Thy  truth 
 From  (the)  great  congregation. 
 
 1 1  Thou,   O  Jehovah,  wilt   not  refrain   Thy  tender  com- 
 
 passions from  me  ; 
 Let   Thy   loving-kindness    and    Thy   truth     always 
 defend  me. 
 
 12  For  evils  have  come  about  me  without  number; 
 
 My   iniquities    have    taken    hold    upon    me    that    I 
 cannot  see  : 
 They  are  more  than  the  hairs  of  my  head. 
 And  my  heart  hath  failed  me. 
 
 13  Be  pleased,  O  Jehovah,  to  deliver  me; 
 
 O  Jehovah,  to  help  me,  make  haste  ! 
 
 that  so  it  should  be  with  the  whole 
 nation  (Jer.  xxxi.  33,  Is.  li.  7). 
 
 9.  But  not  obedience  o-nly,  but 
 thanksgiving  also  shall  form  a  part 
 cf  his  grateful  acknowledgement  of 
 God's  goodness  ;  he  will  both  do  the 
 will  and  speak  the  praises  of  Jehovah. 
 This  last,  too,  is  better  than  sacrifice, 
 1-  14,  15,  23 
 
 On  the  enumeration  of  the  various  at- 
 tributesofGod,  see  above,  xxxvi.  5 — 7. 
 
 9,  10.  I  HAVE  PUBLISHED  ...  I 
 WOULD  NOT  REFRAIN  ...  I  HAVE 
 NOT  HID  .  .  .  I  HAVE  UTTERED  .  .  . 
 
 I  HAVE  NOT  CONCEALED  :  words  are 
 lieaped  upon  words  to  express  the 
 eager  forwardness  of  a  heart  burning 
 to  show  forth  its  gratitude.  No 
 elaborate  description  could  so  well 
 have  given  us  the  likeness  of  one 
 whose  "  life  was  a  thanksgiving." 
 
 II.  The  Psalmist  turns  to  earnest 
 entreaty.  Apparently,  therefore,  lie 
 has  recalled  a  former  deliverance,  in 
 order  to  comfort  himself  therewith  in 
 his  present  sorrow,  and  pleads  his 
 conduct  in  the  past  as  a  ground  for 
 fresh  mercies.  Thou  wilt  not  re- 
 frain, with  evident  reference  to  the 
 
 I  WOULD  NOT  refrain,  ver.  9. 
 Again,  Thy  loving  kindness  and 
 Thy  truth,  with  like  reference  to 
 the  preceding  verse,  "As  I  have 
 not  concealed  them  from  others,  so 
 let  them  ever  defend  me." 
 
 12.  My  iniquities.  This  verse 
 is  quite  decisive  as  to  the  question 
 which  has  been  raised  respecting  the 
 Messianic  interjMetation  of  the  Psalm. 
 It  is  quite  impossible  to  refer  such 
 words  as  these  to  Christ ;  and  when 
 expositors  choose  to  say  that  "my 
 iniquities"  mean  "  tlie  iniquities  laid 
 upon  me,"  they  are  doing  violence 
 most  unjustifiably  to  the  plain  words 
 of  the  text.  Such  interpreters  can 
 hardly  find  fault  with  Romanists  for 
 adding  to  the  Word  of  God. 
 
 13.  From  this  verse  to  the  end  ap- 
 pears in  a  separate  form  as  Ps.  Ixx., 
 where  consult  the  notes  for  the  varia- 
 tions, &c. 
 
 Be  pleased  (omitted  in  Ps,  Ixx.), 
 here  used  apparently  with  reference  to 
 ^'' 'Thy  pleasure,^'  ver.  8. 
 
 The  whole  of  the  conclusion  of  this 
 Psalm  reminds  us  of  the  conclusion  ot 
 Ps.  xxxv. 
 
156  FSALM  XLT. 
 
 14  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  confounded  together 
 
 That  seek  after  my  Hfe  to  destroy  it ! 
 Let  them  be  turned  backward,  and  put  to  shame, 
 That  wish  me  evil ! 
 
 15  Let  them  be  struck  dumb  as  a  reward  of  their  shame, 
 
 That  say  to  me,  Aha,  Aha  ! 
 
 16  Let  all  those  that  seek  Thee  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  Thee  ! 
 Let  such  as  love  Thy  salvation  say  alway, 
 
 "  Jehovah  be  magnified." 
 
 17  And  as  for  me, — afflicted  and  poor,  the  Lord  thinketh 
 
 upon  me. 
 Thou  art  my  Help  and  my  Deliverer: 
 O  my  God,  make  no  long  tarrying. 
 
 PSALM  XLI. 
 
 This  Psalm  seems  to  have  been  written  in  a  season  of  recover}'- 
 from  sickness,  and  under  a  deep  sense  of  the  hypocrisy  and  ingrati- 
 tude of  false  friends,  who  came  to  the  Psalmist  pretending  to  condole 
 with  him  in  his  sickness,  whilst  in  reality  they  hated  him  in  their 
 hearts  and  wished  for  his  death.  In  this  respect  the  Psalm  has  some 
 res3mblance  to  Ps.  xxxviii.,  except  that  there  the  sufferer  is  deserted 
 by  his  friends,  and  has  to  complain  of  their  coldness  rather*  than  of 
 their  treachery. 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  with  a  eulogy  pronounced  on  those  who  know  how 
 to  feel  for  and  show  compassion  to  the  miserable  and  the  suffering. 
 This  is  evidently  designed  in  order  to  condemn  more  forcibly,  by 
 way  of  contrast,  the  opposite  line  of  conduct  which  is  the  subject  of 
 complaint.  The  Psalmist's  own  experience  of  the  baseness  and 
 hollowness  of  the  men  who  surrounded  him  made  him  only  appreciate 
 more  sensibly  the  great  value  of  faithful  sympathizing  friends  in  a 
 season  of  affliction. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  parts  : — ■ 
 
 i.  A  blessing  on  those  who  with  watchful  love  and  compassion  are 
 
PSALM  XLL  157 
 
 ever  ready  to  succour  the  needy  and  the  distressed.  Such  men  shall 
 themselves  experience  the  favour  and  loving-kindness  of  Jehovah 
 when  they  are  laid  on  a  bed  of  sickness.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  Psalmist  himself  had  found  no  sympathy.  On  the  con- 
 trary, although  (as  I  think  is  implied  in  the  former  part  of  the  Psalm) 
 he  had  ever  been  ready  to  sympathize  with  others,  he  found,  nov/ 
 that  he  was  himself  in  pain  and  suffering,  the  utter  hollowness  of 
 those  who  in  brighter  hours  had  called  themselves  his  friends.  (And 
 one  is  reminded  of  the  complaint  of  Job,  chaps,  xxix.  xxx.)  Even  the 
 most  trusted  counsellor,  the  most  honoured  guest,  had  treacherously 
 turned  against  him.     Ver.  4 — 9. 
 
 III.  A  prayer  that,  being  restored  to  health,  of  God's  mercy,  he 
 may  be  permitted  to  chastise  his  enemies  ;  and  an  expression  of  his 
 confidence  that  God  will  not  suffer  his  enemies  to  triumph,  but  will, 
 as  in  times  past,  so  now  also  deliver  him.     Ver.  10 — 12. 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      a  psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Blessed  is  he  that  consldereth  the  miserable  : 
 
 In  the  day  of  evil  Jehovah  will  deliver  him, 
 
 2  Jehovah  will  keep  him.,  and  save  him  alive ; 
 
 He  shall  be  blessed  in  the  land : 
 
 And  give  Thou  not  him  over  to  the  will  of  his  enemies  : 
 
 3  Jehovah  will  support  him  on  the  couch  of  languishing  : 
 
 All  his  bed  hast  Thou  changed  in  his  sickness. 
 
 1.  The  miserable,  or  "the  suf-  shall  still  survive,  and  that  not  with- 
 fering  : "  the  word  is  one  of  wide  out  manifest  tokens  of  God's  grace  : 
 meaning,  and  is  used  of  the  poor  (as  — words  which  by  no  means  exchide 
 in  Exod,  xxx.  15),  of  the  lean  and  the  hope  of  a  better  life."  The  ex- 
 weak  in  body  (as  Gen.  xli.  19),  of  the  pression  is,  of  course,  due  to  that 
 sick  in  mind  (as  2  Sam.  xiii.  2).  prominence  given  to  temporal  reward 
 
 2.  In  the  land.  On  this  Calvin  which  was  characteristic  of  the  Old 
 remarks  :  "  It  might  indeed    appear  Testament. 
 
 absurd,    that   he  promises  himself  a  3.   Hls  bed.     The  word  above  ren- 
 
 happy  life  in  the  world,   for  our  con-  dered  "couch"  means  more  strictly 
 
 dition  were  hard  indeed  if   a  belter  the  bed  itself,    whereas  this  denotes 
 
 lot  did  not  await  us  elsewhere  :  but  rather   the  keeping   the  bed  in  sick- 
 
 because  many  bad   despaired   of  his  ness. 
 
 recovery,    he   expressly  says  that   he  Thou    HAST    changed.      Many 
 
153 
 
 PSALM  XLL 
 
 As  for  me — I  said  :  "  Jehovah,  be  gracious  unto  me  ; 
 
 Heal  my  soul,  for  I  have  sinned  against  Thee." 
 Mine  enemies  say  evil  of  me  : 
 
 "  When  will  he  die  and  his  name  have  perished  ?  " 
 And  if  he  come  to  see  (me),  he  speaketh  vanity, 
 
 His  heart  gathereth  iniquity  to  itself; 
 
 (When)  he  goeth  abroad,  he  speaketh  (it). 
 Together  against  me  do  all  that  hate  me  whisper; 
 
 Against  me  do  they  devise  evil  for  me  : 
 "  Some  shocking  thing  (they  say)  is  poured  out  upon  him. 
 
 And  (now)  that  he  lieth,  he  shall  rise  up  no  more." 
 Yea  mine  own  familiar  friend,  whom  I  trusted, 
 
 Who  did  eat  of  my  bread, 
 
 Hath  lifted  up  his  heel  against  me. 
 
 understand  this  of  the  refreshment 
 and  ease  given  to  the  sufferer  by  the 
 smoothing  of  the  pillow,  &c.  ;  and 
 hence  the  E.  V.,  "  Thou  wilt  make 
 all  his  bed,"  &c.  But  the  meaning 
 rather  is  :  "  It  is  no  longer  a  sick  bed, 
 for  Thou  hast  healed  him  of  his 
 disease." 
 
 4 — g.  The  hypocrisy  of  his  pre- 
 tended friends  described.  Their  con- 
 duct is  precisely  the  opposite  of  that 
 which  he  has  just  before  commended. 
 They  come  to  visit  him  indeed,  but 
 not  from  motives  of  compassion,  but 
 with  the  secret  hope  that  they  may 
 see  him  perish. 
 
 4.  As  FOR  ME — I  SAID.  The 
 pronoun  is  emphatic,  and  marks  both 
 the  transition  from  the  previous  eulogy 
 of  the  compassionate  man  to  the 
 Poet's  personal  feelings  and  desires, 
 and  also  the  opposition  to  the 
 "enemies  "  in  the  next  verse. 
 
 For  I  HAVE  SINNED,  i.e.  It  is 
 my  sin  which  has  brought  this  suf- 
 fering on  me  :  but  obs,  the  prayer  is, 
 "Pardon  my  sin,"  not  "take  away 
 my  suffering."  These  woixls  abso- 
 lutely forbid  an  application  of  the 
 whole  Psalm  to  Christ. 
 
 8.  Some  shocking  thing,  lit. 
 "thing  of  Beiial,"  which  may  mean 
 either  physical  or  moral  evil.  See 
 xviii.  4.  But  the  latter  signification 
 is  the  more  common.  Plere  the  same 
 form  of  expression  occurs  as  in  ci.  3, 
 Deut.  XV.  9,  in  both  of  which  pas- 
 sages ino7-al  evil  is  meant.  Perhaps, 
 however,  "a  thing  of  Belial  "  is  a 
 punishment  which  coems  for  evil- 
 doing. 
 
 9.  Who  did  eat  of  my  bread. 
 The  Oriental  feeling  as  to  the  sacred- 
 ness  of  hospital-ity  would  stamp  such 
 conduct  with  peculiar  blackness.  If 
 David  wrote  the  Psalm,  the  ingrati- 
 tude ^^■as  the  worse,  because  of  the 
 honour  conferred  on  one  who  was  ad- 
 mitted to  the  king's  table  (2  Sam. 
 ix.  10  ff.  ;  I  Kings  xviii,  19). 
 
 Part  of  this  verse  is  quoted  by  our 
 Lord  in  John  xiii.  18  as  applicable  to 
 the  treacherous  conduct  of  Judas,  but 
 with  the  significant  omission  of  the 
 words  "mine  own  familiar  friend 
 li-'horii  I  tnisted ;  "  for  our  Lord  knew 
 what  was  in  Judas  from  the  begin- 
 ning, and  therefore  did  not  trust  him. 
 Nothing  can  be  more  decisive  both 
 as  to   the   way   in    which  quotations 
 
PSALM  XL  I. 
 
 159 
 
 10  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  be  gracious  unto  me, 
 And  raise  me  up,  that  I  may  requite  them : 
 By  this  I  know  that  Thou  hast  delight  in  rne, 
 
 That  mine  enemy  doth  not  shout  over  me. 
 And  as  for  me, — in  mine  integrity  Thou  hast  upheld  me, 
 
 And  settest  me  before  Thy  face  for  ever. 
 Blessed  be  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel, 
 From  everlasting  and  to  everlasting, 
 Amen,  and  Amen ! 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 n 
 
 were  made,  and  also  as  to  the  proper 
 interpretation  of  the  apparently  strong 
 plirase  'iva  r\  ypacpil  TrArjpwOj},  with 
 which  the  quotation  is  introduced. 
 First,  it  is  plain  that  partiailar  ex- 
 pressions in  a  Psalm  may  be  appli- 
 cable to  events  which  befel  our  Lord, 
 whilst  the  whole  Psalm  is  not  in  like 
 manner  applicable.  And  next  it  is 
 evident  that  "the  Scripture  is  ful- 
 filled "  not  merely  when  a  prediction 
 receives  its  accomplishment,  but  when 
 words  descriptive  of  certain  circum- 
 stances in  the  life  of  the  O.  T.  saints 
 find  a  still  fuller  and  truer  realization 
 —  one  not  foreseen  by  the  Psalmist, 
 yet  one  no  less  designed  of  God — in 
 the     circumstances     of    our    Lord's 
 
 earthly  life.  This  will  be  peculiarly 
 the  case  here  if  Ahithophel  be  meant  ; 
 for  as  David  was  in  much  of  his  life  a 
 type  of  Christ,  so  the  treachery  of  his 
 trusted  counsellor  would  be  a  fore- 
 shadowing of  the  treachery  of  Judas. 
 
 10.  That  I  may  requite  them. 
 Such  a  wish  cannot  be  reconciled 
 with  our  better  Christian  conscience. 
 We  find  a  purer  and  nobler  tone  of 
 feeling  in  vii.  4. 
 
 13  This  last  verse  is  no  part  of  the 
 original  Psalm,  but  is  merely  a  later 
 doxology  appended  here  when  the 
 Psalms  were  collected  in  order  to 
 mark  the  conclusion  of  the.  First 
 Book.  vSimilar  doxologies  occur  at  the 
 end  of  the  three  following  Books. 
 
THE     PSALMS. 
 
 BOOK  II. 
 
 PSALMS  XLIL— LXXn. 
 
 M 
 
The  Second  Book  of  the  Psalms  differs  from  the  First  by  one  dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic,— its  use  of  the  Divine  name.  In  the  First 
 God  is  spoken  of  and  addressed  as  Jehovah  ;  in  the  Second,  as 
 Elohim,  the  latter  name  being  that  which,  in  our  Version,  is  rendered 
 "  God."  According  to  the  computation  given  by  Delitzsch,  Jehovah 
 occurs  272  times  in  the  First  Book,  and  Elohim  but  15  times  ;  whereas 
 in  the  Second,  Elohim  occurs  164  times,  and  Jehovah  only  30  times. 
 There  is  also  another  observable  difference  between  the  two  Books. 
 In  the  First,  alJ  those  Psalms  which  have  any  inscription  at  all, 
 are  expressly  assigned  to  David  as  their  author  ;  whereas  in  the 
 Second,  we  find  a  whole  series  attributed  to  some  of  the  Levitical 
 singers.  These  inscriptions  will  be  found  noticed  in  their  place. 
 With  regard  to  the  meaning  of  the  Divine  Names,  and  their  peculiar 
 and  characteristic  occurrence,  it  may  suffice  to  refer  to  the  articles 
 Jehovah,  Genesis,  and  Pentateuch  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  the 
 Bible. 
 
PSALM  XLII. 
 
 This  Psalm,  though  its  date  and  authorship  are  uncertain,  leaves 
 us  in  no  doubt  as  to  the  locality  in  which  it  was  written.  The  Sacred 
 Poet  was  in  the  land  beyond  the  Jordan,  near  the  mountain  ridges  of 
 Hermon  (ver.  6),  in  that  land  which  was  "emphatically  the  land  of 
 exile — the  refuge  of  exiles."  Many  expositors  are  of  opinion  that  the 
 Psalm  was  written  by  David  on  the  occasion  of  his  flight  from  his 
 son  Absalom,  when,  as  we  read  2  Sam.  xvii.  24,  &c.,  having  crossed 
 the  fords  of  the  Jordan  near  Jericho,  he  ascended  the  eastern  height 
 and  took  refuge  at  Mahanaim.  It  was  at  this  spot,  consecrated  in 
 patjriarchal  times  by  the  vision  of  the  Hosts  of  God  to  Jacob, — this 
 "  sanctuary  of  the  trans-Jordanic  region," — that  the  exiled  monarch 
 stationed  himself,  whilst  the  people  that  were  with  him  spread  them- 
 selves in  the  neighbouring  wilderness.  The  words  of  the  Psalm  are 
 supposed  to  describe  his  sense  of  the  greatness  of  his  loss  as  debarred 
 from  all  access  to  the  sanctuary  of  God  in  Zion.  But  there  are 
 expressions  in  it  which  are  clearly  not  applicable  to  David's  circum- 
 stances at  the  time.  David  was  not  amongst  enemies  who  would 
 mock  him  for  his  trust  in  Jehovah  (xlii.  3,  10) ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
 was  surrounded  by  friends  who  were  full  of  devotedness  to  his  person, 
 and  who  possessed  the  same  religious  faith  with  himself  (2  Sam.  xvii. 
 27 — 29).  David  could  hardly  say  at  such  a  time,  "  I  go  mourning  all 
 the  day  because  of  the  oppression  of  the  enemy  "  (xHi.  9,  xliii.  2), 
 however  bitterly  he  might  feel  the  unnatural  conduct  of  his  son  and 
 the  alienation  of  his  subjects. 
 
 It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  Psalm  is  the  lamentation  of 
 an  exile,  or  one  who  was  being  carried  into  captivity  ;  but  the  general 
 tone  of  the  Psalm  is  rather  that  of  one  looking  for  a  speedy  restoration 
 to  his  native  land„ 
 
 There  are  good  grounds  for  concluding  that  this  Psalm  and  the 
 next  constituted  originally  but  one  Poem,  though  there  can  be  no 
 doubt  that  each  Psalm  is  complete  in  itself ;  and  it  is  conceivable 
 that;  though  originally  existing  as  one  Poem,  the  present  arrangement 
 might  have  been  adopted,  the  better  to  suit   the  purposes   either  of 
 
 Vi   2 
 
1 64  PSALM  XLIL 
 
 personal  or  liturgical  use.  The  language  of  the  43d,  Psalm,  it  is 
 obvious,  might  be  used  by  those  who  were  not  in  the  circumstances 
 indicated  in  the  42d.  We  have  traces  of  a  similar  separation  in 
 Ps.  xl.,  the  latter  part  of  which  appears  in  a  detached  form  as  Ps.  Ixx., 
 and  probably  for  the  same  reason. 
 
 Assuming,  then,  that  the  two  Psalms  are  in  fact  one,  the  whole 
 may  be  divided'  into  three  strophes,  each  consisting  of  five  verses, 
 and  each  closing  with  the  same  words. 
 
 I.  The  first  expresses  the  longing  of  the  soul  after  God  and  the 
 service  of  His  sanctuary  (xlii.  1,2);  the  deep  sorrow  occasioned  by 
 the  taunts  of  scoffing  enemies  (ver.  3)  ;  the  attempt  to  find  comfort  in 
 the  recollection  of  past  occasions  of  spiritual  blessing  ('ver.  4).  The 
 expostulation  at  the  close  forms  a  refrain  with  which  the  two  following 
 strophes  are  also  concluded  (ver.  5). 
 
 II.  The  sense  of  distance  from  God  and  of  the  loss  of  His 
 Presence  oppresses  the  soul  yet  more  (ver.  6,  7)  ;  yet  still  there  is  the 
 effort  to  rise  out  of  this  despondency  (ver.  8)  ;  but  again  the  enemies 
 who  reproach  and  who  triumph  occupy  the  foreground,  while  God 
 seems  to  have  forgotten,  and  his  help  to  be  far  off  (ver.  9).  The 
 expostulatory  refrain  recurs  as  at  the  end  of  the  first  strophe. 
 
 III.  The  tone  here  is  throughout  more  hopeful.  First  there  is  the 
 appeal  to  God's  justice  (xliii.  i)  ;  then  the  ground  of  that  appeal  (ver. 
 2  a)  ;  then  a  further  expostulation  (ver  2  d,  c)  ;  then  the  prayer  for 
 Divine  light  and  truth  (ver.  3)  ;  and  lastly,  the  confident  hope  of 
 restoration  to  the  land,  and  of  being  permitted  again  to  join  in  the 
 services  of  the  sanctuary  (ver.  4).     The  refrain  as  before  (ver.  5). 
 
 [to  the  precentor,    a  maskil,  of  the  sons  of  korah.] 
 
 I.  I   As  a  hart  which  panteth  after  the  water-brooks. 
 So  panteth  my  soul  after  Thee,  O  God. 
 2  My  soul  is  athirst  for  God,  for  the  Living  God  ; 
 
 ?.    My    soul  is    athirst.       The  in  the  human  heart  best  described  as 
 
 fis^ire  occurs  again  Ixiii.    i.     Comp,  the   cravings  of  infinitude.     We  are    1 
 
 xxxvi.   8,  9,  and  Is.  xli.    17,  Iv.    i  ;  so  made  that  nothing  which  has  limits  ^ 
 
 Jer.  ii.  13.     Of  this  thirst  Robertson  satisfies.  .  .   .   Man's  destiny  is  to  be 
 
 beautifully  says  :  "There  is  a  desire  not  dissatisfied,  but  forever  unsatis- 
 
\ 
 
 PSALM  XLir. 
 
 '65 
 
 When  shall  I  come,  and  appear  before  God  ? 
 
 3  My  tears  have  been  my  food  day  and  night, 
 
 While  they  say  unto  me  continually,    "Where  Is  thy 
 God  ? " 
 
 4  These  things  would  I  remember,  and  pour  out  my  soul 
 
 in  me, — 
 How  I  passed  with  the  (festal)  throng, 
 How  I  led  them  in  procession  to  the  house  of  God, 
 With  the  voice  of  loud  song  and  thanksgiving, — a  multi- 
 tude keeping  holy-day. 
 
 fied.  .  .  .  Infinite  goodness — a  beauty 
 beyond  what  eye  hath  seen  or  heart 
 imagined,  a  justice  which  shall  have 
 no  Haw  and  a  righteousness  which 
 sliall  have  no  blemish — to  crave  lor 
 that,  is  to  be  '  athirst  for  God.'  "  (^t";- 
 mofis,  2d  Series,  pp.  120,  121.) 
 
 The  Living  God.  Comp.  Ixxxiv. 
 2,  not  only  as  opposed  to  the  godi 
 of  the  heathen,  but  in  opposition  to 
 all  dead  abstractions,  all  vague  head- 
 notions,  as  the  Living  Person,  the 
 Source  and  Fountain  of  all  life,  loving 
 and  loved  in  return,  as  xxxvi.  9. 
 
 When  shall  L  .  .  appear  be- 
 fore God  ?  This  is  a  phrase  com- 
 monly used  of  going  to  the  sanctuaiy 
 or  temple  :  Ixxxiv.  7  ;  Ex.  xxiii.  1 7  ; 
 Deut.  xvi.  16,  xxxi.  11  ;  I  Sam.  i.  22. 
 But  the  longing  for  the  sanctuary  M^as 
 l)ecause  God's  Presence  was  there 
 peculiarly  manifested. 
 
 3.  My  TEARS  have  been,  &c.,  i.e. 
 they  have  been  my  daily  portion,  like 
 my  daily  meal.  See  Ixxx.  5,  cii.  9, 
 and  Job  iii.  24. 
 
 Where  is  thy  God  ?  The  bitter- 
 est of*  all  taunts,  see  ixxix.  10,  cxv. 
 2  ;  Joel  ii.  17  ;  Micah  vii.  lo,  ami 
 •  comp.  xxii.  8,  with  Matt,  xxvii.  43. 
 ' '  This  is  ever  the  way  in  religious 
 perplexity  :  the  unsympathizing  world 
 taunts  or  misunderstands.  In  spiritual 
 grief  they  ask,  Why  is  he  not  like 
 others  ?  In  bereavements  they  call 
 yuur  deep  sorrow  unbelief.     In  mis- 
 
 fortune they  comfort  you,  like  Job's 
 friends,  by  calling  it  a  visitation  .  .  . 
 they  call  you  an  infidel,  though  your 
 soul  be  crying  after  God.  Specially 
 in  that  dark  and  awful  hour,  '  Eloi, 
 Eloi,'  He  called  on  God  :  they  said 
 '  Let  be,  let  us  see  whether  Eliaa  will 
 come  to  save  Him.'  " — Robertson. 
 
 4.  These  things  would  1  re- 
 member, or,  '  let  me  remember," 
 "  fain  would  I  remember."  In  such 
 a  recollection  there  would  be  mingled 
 feelings  of  bitterness  and  consolation. 
 No  doubt  the  thought  of  those  happy 
 days  in  which  he  had  travelled  m  ith 
 the  festal  caravan  to  the  holy  city, 
 would  make  him  feel  more  intensely 
 his  present  lonelinesss,  but  it  would 
 also  be  a  kind  of  solace  in  his  sorrow, 
 or,  as  Delitzsch  terms  it,  *'a  bitter- 
 sweet remembrance." 
 
 These  things,  viz.  what  follows, 
 how  1  once  led  the  rejoicing  multi- 
 ludes  in  procession  to  the  house  of 
 God. 
 
 With  the  voice  of  loud  song, 
 &c.  These  pilgrim  caravans  went  up 
 lo  Jerusalem  with  all  the  accompani- 
 ments of  music  and  song  (see  2  Sam. 
 vi.  5,  and  the  beautiful  little  collection 
 of  pilgrim  songs  preserved  in  Psalms 
 cxx. — cxxxiv. ,  which  were  inspired 
 by  and  adapted  to  such  occasions), 
 
 A  MULTITUDE  (a  word  occurring 
 with  the  same  reference,  2  Sam.  vi. 
 19),  in  apposition  with  the  thko.ng 
 
i66 
 
 PSALM  XLIL 
 
 5  Why  art  thou  bowed  down,  O  my  soul, 
 And  (why)  art  thou  disquieted  in  me  ? 
 Hope  in  God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  give  Him  thanks, 
 
 (Who  is)  the  health  of  my  countenance  and  my  God. 
 
 n.  6  [My  God,]  my  soul  is  bowed  down  in  me : 
 
 mentioned  above  :  keeping  holy- 
 day,  01"  festival  ;  tlie  word  is  used 
 absolutely,  as  in  Exod.  xxiii.  14. 
 
 5.  Why  art  thou  bowed  down  ? 
 lit.  "Why  bowest  thou  thyself  down?" 
 "  David  here  presents  himself  to  us," 
 says  Calvin,  "divided into  two  parts." 
 It  .is  the  struggle  between  the  spirit 
 of  faith  and  the  spirit  of  dejection, 
 between  the  higher  nature  and  the 
 lower,  between  the  spirit  and  the  flesh. 
 The  true  I  speaks  ;  the  faith  which 
 is  born  of  God  rebukes  the  depression 
 and  gloom  of  his  natural  infirmity. 
 
 Disquieted,  a  word  used  else- 
 where of  the  raging  and  roaring  of 
 the  sea  (as  xlvi.  3)  :  His  soul  is  tossed 
 and  agitated  like  an  angry  sea. 
 
 In  God.  "  This  hope  was  in  6'(?<^. 
 The  mistake  we  make,"  says  Robert- 
 son, "is  to  look  for  a  source  of  com- 
 fort in  ourselves  :  self-contemplation 
 instead  of  gazing  upon  God  ;  "  and 
 then,  after  showing  that  it  is  impos- 
 sible to  derive  consolation  from  our 
 o\vnfeeH7tgs,  because  they  are  so  vari- 
 able, or  from  our  own  acts,  because 
 in  a  low  state  no  man  can  judge  of 
 these  ariglit,  and  warning  us  that 
 besides,  whilst  engaged  in  this  self- 
 inspection,  we  lose  time  in  i-emorse, 
 he  continues,  "  When  we  gaze  on 
 God,  then  first  the  chance  of  consola- 
 tion dawns.  He  is  not  affected  by 
 our  mutability  :  our  changes  do  not 
 alter  Him.  When  we  are  restless.  He 
 remains  serene  and  calm  :  when  we 
 are  low,  selfish,  mean,  or  dispirited, 
 He  is  still  the  unalterable  I  am,  the 
 same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever, 
 in  whom  is  no   variableness,  neither 
 
 shadow  of  turning.  What  God  is  in 
 Himself,  not  what  we  may  chance  to 
 feel  Him  in  this  or  that  moment  to 
 be,  that  is  our  hope.  '  My  soul,  hope 
 thou  IN  God.'  " 
 
 I  SHALL   yet   give  HiM  THANKS, 
 
 i.  e.  I  shall  do  again  as  I  have  done 
 before.  Once  I  went  .  .  .  with  the 
 voice  of  song  and  thanksgiving,  ver. 
 4,  .  .  .  and  again  I  shall  give  Him 
 thanks. 
 
 6.  The  first  division  of  the  Psalm 
 ends  with  the  expostulation  addressed 
 to  the  soul  in  its  despondency,  "  Why 
 art  thou  cast  down  ? "  and  with  an 
 effort  to  rise  into  a  brighter  region  of 
 hope.  But  the  gloom  is  too  deep  to 
 be  so  soon  dispersed.  Therefore  this 
 second  strophe  opens  with  the  com- 
 plaint, "  jNIy  soul  is  bowed  down." 
 
 Throughout  this  second  portion  of 
 the  Psahn,  the  constant  fluctuations, 
 the  alternations  of  despondency  and'^ 
 hope,  are  very  remarkable.  "My 
 soul  is  cast  down, — therefore  will  I 
 remember  Thee.  All  thy  waves  and 
 Thy  billows  are  gone  over  me, — ^Je- 
 hovah will  command  His  loving-kind- 
 ness. I  will  pray  unto  God, — though 
 my  prayer  be  nothing  but  the  out- 
 pouring of  my  complaint.  God  is  my 
 Rock, — even  whilst  I  say,  Why  hast 
 Thou  forgotten  me  ?  " 
 
 My  soul  is  bowed  down.  The 
 rendering  of  the  LXX.  here,  77  ij/fX'?' 
 jjLov  irapdxBV}  and  that  in  the  previous 
 verse,  of  the  words,  Why  art  thou 
 cast  down,  &c,,  rl  TreplhvTros  ei^r;  ^vxv 
 piov,  are  both  appropriated  by  our 
 Lord  ;  the  former  injohii  xii.  27,  the 
 latter  in  Matt.  xxvi.  38. 
 
PSALM  X LI  I. 
 
 167 
 
 Therefore  do   I  remember  Thee   from  the   land   of 
 
 Jordan. 
 And  (from)  the  Hermons,  from  the  mountain  of  Mizar. 
 
 7  Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at  the  voice  of  Thy  cataracts ; 
 
 All  Thy  breakers  and  Thy  billows  have  passed  over  me. 
 
 8  (Yet)  in  the  day-time  will  Jehovah  command  His  loving- 
 
 kindness  ; 
 And  in  the  night  His  song  (shall  be)  with  me, 
 A  prayer  unto  the  God  of  my  life. 
 
 9  (So)  will  I  say  unto  God  my  Rock,  "  Why  hast  Thou 
 
 forgotten  me  ? 
 
 Therefore  do  I  remember,  in 
 that  strange  land  so  much  the  more. 
 Comp.  the  prayer  of  Jonah,  ii.  4. 
 
 The  land  of  Jordan,  i.e.  the 
 country  east  of  the  Jordan,  which  had 
 this  special  designation. 
 
 The  Hermons,  or  the  peaks  or 
 ridges  of  Hermon,  the  plural  being 
 used  either  because  of  the  tivo  pealo 
 of  the  mountain  (\Vi  son.  Land  of  the 
 Bible,  ii.  i6i),  or  perhaps  of  the  whole 
 range  of  its  snowy  heights. 
 
 MiZAR,  apparently  the  name  of 
 ■  some  one  of  the  lesser  peaks  of  the 
 same  mountain  range,  though  the 
 particular  peak  cannot  now  be  identi- 
 fied. The  older  translators  generally 
 supposed  the  word  to  be  used  merely 
 as  an  appellative,  in  its  literal  sense, 
 of  "  littleness  "  or  "  contempt,"  as  if 
 the  Sacred  Poet  were  anxious  to  ex- 
 press how  Jittle  in  his  eyes  seemed  even 
 that  giant  range.  Math  all  its  snows 
 and  forests,  compared  with  the  true 
 greatness  and  dignity  of  the  holy  hill 
 of  Zion.  But  the  objection  to  such 
 an  interpretation  is,  that  the  Hebrew 
 Poets  do  not  seek  to  depreciate  the 
 greater  mountains  of  Hern-ion  and 
 Bashan,  in  comparison  with  Zion,  but 
 rather  to  raise  Zion  to  a  level,  or  to 
 exalt  it  above  these.  Plengstenberg 
 supposes  that  the  name  of  "con- 
 tempt "  designates  not  the  particular 
 
 mountain,    but   the  whole  trans-Jor- 
 danic  territory. 
 
 7.  Deep  calleth  unto  deep. 
 One  vast  body  of  water  seems  to 
 summon  another,  as  if  on  purpose  to 
 swallow  him  up. 
 
 At  the  voice  of,  i.  e.  accompanied 
 by  the  sound  of,  &c.  Thy  cata- 
 racts, or  waterfalls  ;  such  seems  to 
 be  the  meaning  here. 
 
 Breakers  .  .  .  billows,  The 
 first,  fron=i  a  Hebrew  verb  meaning 
 "shiver,  break,"  with  the  same  idea 
 in  Hebrew  as  in  English,  of  the 
 waves  breaking  en  the  shore  ;  the  last 
 of  the  waves  as  rolli7?g. 
 
 8.  Will  command.  A  bright  ra? 
 of  hope  which  gleams  upon  the  singer 
 in  the  midst  of  his  present  despond- 
 ency. God  will  command, — send, 
 that  is,  like  a  divine  Iris,  or  heavenly 
 messenger.  His  loving-kindness.  So 
 xliii.  3,  "Send  Thy  Light  and  Thy 
 Truth,"  &c. 
 
 In  the  night,  not  to  be  empha- 
 sized, as  if  intended  in  opposition  to 
 IN  THE  day,  but  day  and  night  are 
 used  poetically  to  describe  the  con- 
 tinuance of  the  action. 
 
 His  song,  comp.  Job  xxxv.  10. 
 
 9.  (So)  WILL  I  say.  The  resolve 
 which  follows,  based  on  this  his  hope 
 in  the  goodness  of  God. 
 
1 68  PSALM  XLIIL 
 
 Why  go  I  mourning  because  of  the  oppression 
 of  the  enemy  ?  " 
 
 10  As    though    they    would  break   my    bones,    mine 
 
 enemies  reproach  me, 
 While  they  say  unto  me  all  day  long,  "  Where 
 is  thy  God  ?  " 
 
 1 1  Why  art  thou  bowed  down,  O  my  soul, 
 
 And  (why)  art  thou  disquieted  in  me  ? 
 Hope  in  God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him, 
 
 (Who  is)  the   health  of  my  countenance,  and 
 my  God. 
 
 XLHI. 
 
 ni.   I  Judge  me,  O  God, 
 
 And  plead  my  cause  against  an  ungodly  nation  ; 
 From  the  man  of  deceit  and  wrong  rescue  me  ! 
 
 2  For  Thou  art  the  God  of  my  strength  : 
 
 Why  hast  Thou  cast  me  off. 
 
 Why  go   I  to  and  fro  mourning  because   of  the 
 oppression  of  the  enemy  ; 
 
 3  O  send  forth  Thy  Light  and  Thy  truth ;  let  thmi 
 
 lead  me, 
 
 1.  Judge  me,  i.e.  "  show  the  jus-  3.  The  one  object  of  his  heart's 
 tice  of  my  cause,"  ''pronounce  sen-  desire  is  to  be  restored  to  the  house 
 tence   for  me,"   as    often    elsewhere.        of  God. 
 
 Against,  lit.  "from."     A  brief  form  Light  and  truth  (instead  of  the 
 
 of  expression  for  the  fuller,    "Plead  more     usual     Loving-kindness     and 
 
 my  cause,  so  as  to  deliver  me  from."  Truth) — these  shall  be  to  him,  so  he 
 
 Ungodly,    lit.    "not   godly,"    or  hopes,  as   angels  of  God,  who  sha  1 
 
 perhaps  "not-good,"  if  the  adjective  lead  him  by  the  hand,  till  thf.y  bring 
 
 be  taken  here  as  in  xii.  l,  in  its  active  him    to    the    holy    mountain,    to    the 
 
 sense  ;  hence  "cruel,"  "unmerciful."  tabernacle,  and  to  the  altar,  there  to 
 
 2.  The  question  is  repeated  from  offer  his  thank-offerings.  Or  possibly 
 xhi.  9,  but  in  a  stronger  form.  Not  there  may  be  an  allusion  to  the  Urim 
 "Why  hast  Thou  lorgottea?"  but  and  Thummim,  as  the  symbol  of 
 "  Why  hast  Thou  cast  off  ?  "  Light  and    Truth.       See   the   article 
 
PSALM  XLIV.  169 
 
 Let  them  bring  me  to  Thy  holy  mountain,  and  to  Thy 
 tabernacles. 
 
 4  So  will  I  come  unto  the  altar  of  God, 
 
 Unto  God  my  exceeding  joy : 
 Yea,  upon  the  harp  will  I  praise  Thee,  O  God,  my  God. 
 
 5  Why  art  thou  bowed  down,  O  my  soul, 
 
 And  why  art  thou  disquieted  in  me  .? 
 Hope  in  God  ;  for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him, 
 
 (Who  is)  the  health  of  my  countenance,  and  my  God. 
 
 "  Urim  and  Thummim,"  by  the  Rev.  denote  the  several  parts  of  the  build- 
 
 E.  H.  Plumptre,  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  ing,  but  see  on  Ixxxiv.  i. 
 
 the  Bible.  4.    God  my  exceeding   joy,  lit. 
 
 Tabernacles.     The    plural   may  "  God  the  joy  of  my  exultation." 
 
 PSALM  XLIV. 
 
 There  is  scarcely  any  Psalm  which  seems  at  first  sight  to  furnish 
 a  more  decided  clue  to  the  probable  date  of  its  composition  than  this, 
 and  yet  leaves  us,  after  all,  in  so  much  uncertainty.  The  notes  of 
 lime  are  apparently  three. 
 
 1.  The  conquest  of  Palestine  was  looked  back  upon  as  distant, 
 "  the  times  of  old." 
 
 2.  The  period  was  a  period  of  great  national  distress  ;  the  people 
 were  hard  pressed  by  enemies. 
 
 3.  All  this  had  come  on  them  not  as  a  judgment  for  national  sin  : 
 hence  the  age  must  have  been  one  when  the  nation  was  holding  fast 
 to  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  eschewing  idolatry. 
 
 This  last  circumstance  is  so  peculiar,  that  we  might  expect  it  to 
 decide  the  question. 
 
 Now  we  know  of  no  period  of  Jewish  history  previous  to  the  Exile, 
 when  the  assertion  would  be  true  that  the  people  had  not  forgotten 
 God    nor  "stretched  out  their  hands  to  any  strange  god."     Hence 
 
I70  PSALM  XLIV. 
 
 many  interpreters  refer  the  Psalm  to  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  and 
 the  persecution  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  Others  again  refer  the 
 Psalm  to  the  time  immediately  preceding  the  Exile  ;  others  suppose  it 
 to  have  been  written  in  the  time  of  David. 
 
 Calvin  says  with  perfect  truth  that,  if  anything  is  clear,  it  is  that 
 the  Psalm  was  written  by  anyone  rather  than  by  David.  The  com- 
 plaints which  it  contains,  he  observes,  are  most  suitable  to  the 
 wretched  and  calamitous  time  when  the  cruel  tyranny  of  Antiochus 
 was  exercised  without  check  ;  or  we  may  extend  it  more  widely^ 
 inasmuch  as  almost  any  time  after  the  return  from  the  Exile  was  a 
 time  of  trouble  and  rebuke. 
 
 This  Psalm,  if  not  composed  in  the  time  of  the  Maccabees,  was,  we 
 are  told,  used  daily  in  the  liturgy  of  that  time.  Each  day  the  Levites 
 ascended  the  pulpit  and  cried  aloud,  "  Awake,  why  sleepest  Thou,  O 
 Jehovah.'*"  These  Levitical  Muezzin  were  termed  "wakers."  John 
 Hyrcanus  piU  an  end  to  this  custom,  saying,  "  Doth  God  sleep  ?  Hath 
 not  the  Scripture  said,  'The  Keeper  of  Israel  slumbereth  not,  nor 
 sleepeth.'  It  was  only  in  reference  to  a  time  when  Israel  was  in 
 trouble,  and  the  nations  in  rest  and  prosperity,  that  it  was  said^ 
 'Awake,  why  sleepest  thou,  O  Jehovah  ?'." 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  four  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  Sacred  Poet  calls  to  mind  the  great  deeds  which  God  had 
 wrought  for  His  people  in  the  days  of  old.  God  alone,  he  confesses, 
 had  given  them  possession  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  had  driven  out 
 their  enemies  before  them.  Remembering  this,  they  had  ever  made 
 their  boast  in  His  Name,  and  would  still  continue  to  praise  Him. 
 Ver.  1—8. 
 
 II.  Most  painful  is  the  contrast  of  the  present  with  the  past.  God 
 has  forgotten  His  people.  He  has  given  them  over  into  the  hand  of 
 enemies,  who  hate,  and  insult,  and  slay  them.  God  goes  not  forth 
 now  with  their  armies,  as  He  had  done  when  He  brought  them  into 
 Canaan  :  they  are  scattered  among  the  heathen  and  sold  for  nought. 
 Ver.  9 — 1 6. 
 
 III.  And  yet  this  cannot  be  a  chastisement  for  their  transgres- 
 sions ;  for  they  have  not  forgotten  God,  but,  on  the  contrary,  die  the 
 death  of  martyrs  for  HLis  truth.     Ver.  17—22. 
 
 IV.  Therefore  he  prays  that  God  the  Saviour  of  His  people,  and 
 the  Giver  of  Victory,  would  again  be  faA^ourable  unto  them,  as  of  old, 
 and  redeem  them  from  their  enemies.     Ver.  23 — 26. 
 
PSALM  XLIV. 
 
 171 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    of  the  sons  of  korah.    a  maskil.] 
 
 I.  I   O  God,  with  our  own  ears  we  have  heard,  • 
 Our  fathers  have  told  us, 
 A  work  Thou  didst  work  in  their  days, 
 In  the  days  of  old. 
 
 2  Thou,    with   Thine  own  hand,  didst  dispossess    (the) 
 
 nations. 
 And  didst  plant  tJicin  in  : 
 Thou  didst  afflict  (the)  peoples. 
 And  cause  tJiein  to  spread  abroad. 
 
 3  For  hot  by  their  own   sword    gat  they   the    land    in 
 
 possession, 
 Neither  did  their  own  arm  give  them  the  victory ; 
 
 I.  The  Psalm  opens  with  a  glance 
 at  the  past  history  of  the  imtion,  and 
 the  acknowledgement  that  from  the 
 first  every  victory  which  they  had 
 won,  had  been  ivon,  not  by  their  own 
 strength,  but  by  the  immediate  hand 
 of  God.  This  was,  it  might  be  said, 
 the  perpetnal  lesson  of  their  history. 
 They  did  not  rise  upon  their  Egyptian 
 masters,  but  God  bowed  the  heart  of 
 the  monarch  and  the  people  by  His 
 signs  and  wonders,  till  they  thrust 
 them  out  in  haste.  At  the  Red  Sea 
 they  did  not  turn  to  fight  with  the 
 chariots  and  the  horsemen  of  Pharaoh  : 
 they  were  but  to  stand  still,  and  see- 
 the victory  of  Jehovah.  "When  they 
 came  to  Canaan,  their  first  exploit 
 was  not  a  feat  of  arms  ;  for  Jericho 
 fell  by  a  miracle.  The  Roman  army, 
 by  the  lake  Regillus,  attributed  its 
 victory  to  the  two  mysterious  horse- 
 men who,  on  their  wliite  horses,  led 
 the  charge.  The  Jewish  host  with  a 
 better  faith  believed  that  in  every 
 battle  an  invisible  Captain  led  them, 
 and  knew  that,  whenever  they  con- 
 quered their  enemies,  it  was  because 
 an  invisible  arm  gave  them  the  victory. 
 
 Our  fathers  have  told  us,  in 
 
 accordance  with  the  duty  so  often 
 impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
 people,  to  perpetuate  from  generation 
 to  generation  "the  mighty  acts"  of 
 Jehovah,  on  their  behalf.  See  Exod. 
 X.  2,  and  comp.  xii.  26,  &c.,  xiii.  8, 
 14  ;  Deut.  vi.  20  ;  Judges  vi.  13. 
 
 2.  Didst  plant  them  in  .  . .  didst 
 
 CAUSE      THEM       TO       SPREAD       them 
 
 ABROAD.  In  each  case  the  pronoun 
 refers  to  "our  fathers,"  w^ho  are 
 thus  emphatically  contrasted  with 
 the  "nations  "and  "  peoples  "  who 
 were  dispossessed.  The  figure  is 
 taken  from  the  planting  and  growth 
 of  a  vine,  and  is  carried  out  in  Ps. 
 Ixxx.  It  first  occurs  in  Exod,  xv.  17, 
 "Thou  wilt plattt  them  in  the  moun- 
 •  tain  of  Thine  inheritance.''  Comp. 
 2  Sam.  vii.  lo,^  and  Ps.  Ixxx.  8,  For 
 the  other  verb,  "  Thou  didst  spread 
 them  abroad "  (like  the  roots  and 
 branches  of  a  tree),  comp.  Ixxx.  1 1, 
 Jer.  xvii.  8,  Ezek.  xvii.  6. 
 
 3,  For,  a  more  emphatic  insisting 
 upon  the  truth  that  God's  power 
 alone  had  achieved  all. 
 
 Give  them  the  victory.  Such 
 seems  here,  and  generally  in  this 
 Psalm,    to  be  the  force  of  the  word 
 
172  PSALM  XLIV. 
 
 But  Thy  right  hand,  and  Thine  arm,  and  the  Light 
 
 of  Thy  countenance, 
 Because  Thou  hadst  a  favour  unto  them. 
 
 4  Thou,  even  Thou  Ihyself,  art  my  King,  O  God : 
 
 Command  the  victories  of  Jacob. 
 
 5  Through  Thee  shall  we  push  dov/n  our  adversaries  ; 
 
 In  Thy  Name  shall  we  tread,  them  under  that  rise 
 up  against  us. 
 
 6  For  not  in  my  bow  do  I  trust, 
 
 And  my  soul  cannot  give  me  the  victory : 
 
 7  But  Thou  hast  given  us  the  victory  over  our  adver- 
 
 saries, 
 And  hast  put  to  shame  them  that  hate  us. 
 
 8  In  God  have  we  made  our  boast  all  the  day  long, 
 
 And  to  Thy  name  will  we  for  ever  give  thanks. 
 
 [Selah.] 
 
 II.  9  But  Thou  hast  cast  (us)  off,  and  put  us  to  confusion, 
 And  goest  not  forth  with  our  hosts. 
 lO  Thou  makest  us  to  turn  back  from  (the)  adversary, 
 
 usually   rendered     "save,"     "help."  the  pastures  of  Bashan.     See   Deut. 
 
 See  above,  xxxiii.  17.  xxxiii.  17.     Comp.   also  Ps.  Ixxv.  4, 
 
 The   RIGHT  HAND  and   the  ARM,  10  ;  Ezek.  xxxiv.   21  ;  Dan.  viii.   4  ; 
 
 as  emblems  of  power  :  the  light  of  i  Kings  xxii.  1 1. 
 
 Thy    countenance,    as   the  mani-  6.  The  same  contrast  here  and  m 
 
 festation     of    God's  grace ;    the   last  the  next  verse  as  before  in  ver.  3. 
 
 further  explained  by,  "  because  Thou  8.  The   past   experience   of    God's 
 
 hadst  a  favour,"   ^:c.     Comp.   Deut.  saving  might  is  the  reason  that  they 
 
 iv.  37.  praise  and  thank  Him. 
 
 4 — 8.  Application  of  this  acknow-  9 — 16.   The  painful  contrast  in  th^ 
 
 ledgei  truth  to  the  present  and  to  the  experience  of  the  present,  to  all  the 
 
 future.  warrant  of  the  past,  and  all  the  hopes 
 
 4.  My  King,    apparently  with  a.  which  had  sprung  from  the  past, 
 personal   application   to  himself,   the  9.   GoEST  NOT  forth,  z>.  as  leader 
 l^oet   individually    claiming    his    own  of  the  army  {see  Judg.  iv.  14  ;  2  Sam. 
 place  in  the  covenant  between  God  v.  24),  as  once  visibly  with  the  pillar 
 raid  His  people.  of  a  cloud,  and  the  pillar  of  fire  be- 
 
 CoMMAND,  in  Thy  royal  majesty,  fure   the   host   in   the   desert.      Thi'; 
 
 as  an  act  of  sovereign  authority.  verse  occurs  almost  word  for  word  in 
 
 5.  Push  down,  an  image  taken  Ps.  Ix.,  Avith  which,  and  Ixxxix.,  this 
 from  horned  cattle,  and  of  common  Psalm  has  many  points  of  resem- 
 occurrence   in    the    Old    Testament,  blance, 
 
 borrowed,    in    the   first    instance,    it  10.   For  themselves.     '*  At  their 
 
 would  seem,  from  the  fat  buffaloes  hi       own  will." 
 
PSALM   XLIV. 
 
 173 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 And  they  which  hate  us  have  spoiled  for  themselves ; 
 Thou  makest  us  Hke  sheep  (appointed  for)  food, 
 
 And  Thou  hast  scattered  us  among  the  nations. 
 Thou  sellest  Thy  people  for  nought, 
 
 And  hast  not  increased  (Thy  wealth)  by  their  price. 
 
 13  Thou  makest  us  a  reproach  to  our  neighbours, 
 
 A   scorn    and   a    derision    to    them    that    are   round 
 about  us. 
 
 14  Thou  makest  us  a  proverb  among  the  nations, 
 
 A  shaking  of  the  head  among  the  peoples. 
 
 15  All  the  day  is  my  confusion  before  me, 
 
 And  shame  hath  covered  my  face, 
 
 16  Because  of  the  voice  of  him  that  reproacheth  and  blas- 
 
 phemeth, 
 
 11.  Hast  scattered.  This  may 
 perhaps  refer  to  the  Babylonish  cap- 
 tivity. De  Wette,  however,  who  in 
 the  first  edition  of  his  Commentary 
 tliought  this  and  the  next  verse  most 
 appHcaVjle  to  the  time  of  Antiochus 
 Epiphanes,  quotes  2  Mace.  v.  11 — 23, 
 where  we  are  informed  that  Antiochus 
 Epiphanes,  on  his  return  from  Egypt, 
 carried  Jerusalem  by  storm,  slew  in 
 three  days  40,000  Jews,  and  had  as 
 many  more  sold  as  captives.  Hence, 
 according  to  him,  the  allusion  in  the 
 following  verse. 
 
 12.  Thou  sellest.  This  need 
 not  be  explained  literally  of  an  his- 
 torical fact  (see  note  on  last  verse)  : 
 it  is  a  figure  expressive  of  God's  giving 
 up  His  people  into  slavery  to  their 
 enemies,  just  as,  on  the  other  hand, 
 their  deliverance  is  described  as  re- 
 demption, ransoming. 
 
 For  nought,  lit.  "for  not-riches," 
 i.e.  for  that  which  is  the  very  opposite 
 of  riches,  a  mere  nothing. 
 
 Hast  not  increased,  i.e.  hast 
 gained  nothing.  This  verse  is  almost 
 an  expostulation  M'ith  God.  An 
 earthly  ruler  might  sell  men  like  cattle 
 to  increase  his  own  wealth,  but  God 
 
 cannot  be  richer  by  such  merchandise. 
 Calvin's  remark,  however,  is  of  im- 
 portance, as  bearing  on  all  this  attri- 
 buting of  their  calamities  to  God  : 
 ' '  We  must  observe,  however,  that 
 God  is  represented  as  the  author  of 
 these  calamides,  not  by  w^ay  of  re- 
 proaching Him,  but  that  the  faithful 
 may  with  the  more  confidence  seek 
 the  remedy  from  the  Hand  which 
 hath  smitten  and  wounded." 
 
 13.  Them  that  are  round 
 ABOUT  us  (lit.  "our  surroundings," 
 Ixxix,  4,  comp,  Ixxx.  6),  i.e.  nations 
 like  the  Philistines,  Edomites,  Moab- 
 ites,  and  Ammonites,  the  bitterest 
 enemies  of  the  Jews,  Avhose  insulting 
 mockery  in  the  day  of  their  triumph 
 is  often  the  subject  of  complaint  in 
 the  later  Prophets. 
 
 14.  A  PROVERB  [mds/idi]  or  *'  by- 
 word," often  used  of  words  uttered  in 
 mockery.  Comp.  Ixix.  12  ;  Is.  xiv. 
 4,  possibly  also  the  verb,  Numb.  xxi. 
 27  ("they  that  speak  in  proverbs," 
 E.  V. ),  where  the  taunting  Amorite 
 song  is  quoted. 
 
 Shaking  of  the  head.  See  on 
 xxii.  7. 
 
 16.  The  avenger.   See  on  viii.  2. 
 
174  PSALM  XLIV. 
 
 Because  of  the  enemy  and  the  avenger. 
 
 III.   17  All  this  Is  come  upon  us,  and  (yet)  we  have  not 
 forgotten  Thee, 
 Neither  have  we  dealt  falsely  in  Thy  covenant ; 
 Our  heart  is  not  turned  back, 
 
 Neither  has  our  step  declined  from  Thy  path, — 
 For  Thou  hast  crushed  us  in  the  place  of  jackals, 
 
 And  covered  us  with  the  shadow  of  death : — 
 If  we  had  forgotten  the  Name  of  our  God, 
 
 And  stretched  out  our  hands  to  any  strange  god, 
 Would  not  God  search  this  out  .-* 
 
 For  He  knoweth  the  secrets  of  the  heart. 
 22  But  for  thy  sake  are  we  slain  all  the  day  long ; 
 We  are  counted  as  sheep  for  the  slaughter. 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 17 — 22.  A  complaint  that  all  these 
 calamities  have  come  upon  them 
 without  any  fault  or  demerit  on  the 
 part  of  the  nation.  Such  a  complaint 
 is  doubly  remarkable.  First,  because 
 as  an  assertion  of  national  innocence 
 and  faithfulness  to  God's  covenant,  it 
 is  without  parallel  in  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, and  next,  because  it  wears  the 
 air  of  a  reproach  cast  upon  the  righte- 
 ousness of  God,  in  permitting  the 
 chastisement. 
 
 It  is  on  the  ground  of  this  national 
 adherence  to  the  covenant,  that  the 
 Psalmist  expostulates  with  God,  who 
 has  given  them  over  into  the  hand  of 
 their  enemies.  Such  chastisement 
 appears  to  him  unmerited.  There  is 
 nothing  apparently  in  the  conduct  of 
 the  nation  at  large  to  call  for  it.  God 
 seems  pledged  by  His  very  faithful- 
 ness to  take  away  the  rod.  Such  an 
 expostulation,  however,  it  is  clear, 
 can  only  be  defended  as  coming  from 
 a  saint  under  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
 pensation. No  nation,  no  Church 
 now  could,  in  the  eyes  of  any  of  its 
 members,  be  so  pure,  that  chastise- 
 
 ment laid  upon  it  would  seem  unde- 
 served or  unneeded.  The  work  of 
 the  Spirit  has  given  a  deeper  view  of 
 sin,  has  shown  how  much  hidden 
 corruption  may  consist  with  the  open 
 profession  of  godliness,  and  has 
 taught  us  to  confess  national  guilt  in 
 every  national  punishment. 
 
 18.  The  negative  must  be  repeated 
 with  the  second  clause  of  the  verse 
 from  the  first. 
 
 19.  Place  of  jackals,  a  dreary, 
 waste,  howling  wilderness,  commonly 
 described  by  the  Prophets  as  in- 
 habited by  such  creatures.  See  the 
 similar  expression  "a  dwelling  of 
 jackals,"  used  with  a  like  figurative 
 meaning,  Jer.  ix.  II,  x.  22,  &c. 
 
 20.  Stretched  out  our  hands, 
 i.e.  in  prayer.  Comp.  cxliii.  6,  and 
 see  xxviii.  2. 
 
 21.  This  solemn  ay)peal  to  God's 
 omniscience  shows  the  honest  con- 
 viction of  the  national  integrity,  while 
 it  is  an  indication  at  the  same  time 
 that  the  sense  of  sin  was  compara- 
 tively superficial. 
 
 22    For  Thy  sake.     This  passage 
 
PSALM    XLV.  175 
 
 IV.  23  Awake,  why  sleepest  Thou,  O  Lord  ? 
 Arise,  cast  not  off  for  ever. 
 
 24  Wherefore  hidest  Thou  Thy  face  ? 
 
 Why   forgettest  Thou  our    affliction  (and)    our 
 oppression  ? 
 
 25  For  our  soul  is  bowed  down  to  the  dust ; 
 
 Our  body  cleaveth  to  the  earth. 
 
 26  Do  Thou  arise,  to  be  a  help  unto  us  ! 
 
 And  redeem  us,  for  Thy  loving-kindness'  sake. 
 
 is  cited  by  St.   Paul,  Rom.  viii.   36,  out  cause  upon  his  people  :  the  latter 
 
 apparently  from   the  LXX.,  in  illus-  can  rejoice  in  persecutions  also,  and 
 
 tration  of  the  fact,   that  the  Church  exclaim,  "  Nay  in  all  these  things  we 
 
 of  God  has  in  all  ages  been  a  perse-  are   more   than   conquerors,    through 
 
 cuted  Church.     But  there  is  this  re-  Him  that  loved  us." 
 
 niarkable  difference  between  the  tone  25.   Is  bowed  down,     Cf.  xlii.   5. 
 
 of  the   Psalmist  and  the  tone  of  the  Cleaveth  to  the  earth,  alluding 
 
 Apostle.     The  former  cannot  under-  to  the    custom    of   mourners    sitting 
 
 stand  the  chastening,  complains  that  down  in  dust  and  ashes.     See  xxxv. 
 
 God's  heavy  hand  has  been  laid  with-  14. 
 
 PSALM  XLV. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  evidently  a  Marriage-song  composed  for  some  day 
 of  royal  espousals.  It  celebrates  the  nuptials  of  a  Jewish  king  with 
 a  princess,  apparently  of  foreign  extraction  :  but  in  honour  of  what 
 particular  king  it  was  written,  is  matter  of  conjecture.  The  older 
 and  perhaps  the  more  common  interpretation  refers  it  to  Solomon's 
 nuptials  with  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh,  king  of  Egypt. 
 
 On  the  whole,  the  general  character  of  the  Psalm,  describing  as  it 
 does  the  majesty  and  persuasive  eloquence  of  the  king,  the  splendour 
 of  his  appearance  and  of  his  palace,  and  the  hopes  which  he  raised 
 for  the  future,  is  such  as  to  make  it  more  justly  applicable  to  Solomon 
 than  to  any  other  of  the  Jewish  monarchs,  so  far  as  we  are  acquainted 
 with  their  fortunes.     Nor  is  it  necessarily  an  objection  to  this  view,  that 
 
176  PSALM  XLV. 
 
 the  monarch  m  the  Psalm  is  spoken  of  as  a  warrior,  whilst  Solomon 
 was  peculiarly  "  a  man  of  peace."  Something  must  be  allowed  to 
 poetry.  An  extended  dominion  would  naturally  be  associated  with 
 ideas  of  conquest.  And  with  the  recollection  of  the  father's  exploits 
 fresh  in  his  mind,  the  Poet  could  not  but  regard  warlike  virtues  as 
 essential  to  the  glory  of  the  son.  Besides,  Solomon  himself  does  not 
 seem  to  have  been  deficient  in  military  spirit.  Either  in  person  or  by 
 his  captains  he  carried  his  arms  far  to  the  east,  and  conquered  the 
 district  Hamath  Zobah,  lying  near  the  Euphrates.  He  took  pains  to 
 strengthen  the  fortifications  of  various  towns  in  his  dominions,  as 
 well  as  the  "  Millo  "  or  citadel  of  Jerusalem,  and  added  largely  to  the 
 army  which  he  already  possessed,  by  the  introduction  of  a  new  kind 
 of  force,  consisting  of  chariots  and  horses,  and  amounting,  we  are 
 told,  to  1,400  chariots,  and  12,000  horsemen.  Why  should  not  the 
 Poet  say,  addressing  such  a  king,  "  Gird  thee  with  the  sword  upon  thy 
 thigh — in  thy  majesty  ride  forth  and  prosper"  ? 
 
 But  "a  greater  than  Solomon  is  here."  Evident  as  it  is  that  much 
 of  the  language  of  the  Poem  is  only  properly  applicable  to  the  cir- 
 cumstances of  the  royal  nuptials  which  occasioned  it,  it  is  no  less 
 evident  that  much  of  it  greatly  transcends  them.  The  outward  glory 
 of  Solomon  was  but  a  type  and  foreshadowing  of  a  better  glory  to 
 be  revealed.  Israel's  true  king  was  not  David  or  Solomon,  but  One 
 of  whom  they,  at  the  best,  were  only  faint  and  transient  images.  A 
 righteous  One  was  yet  to  come  who  should  indeed  rule  in  truth  and 
 equity,  who  should  fulfil  all  the  hopes  which  one  human  monarch 
 after  another,  however  fair  the  promise  of  his  reign,  had  disappointed, 
 and  whose  kingdom,  because  it  was  a  righteous  kingdom,  should 
 endure  for  ever.  Such  a  ruler  would  indeed  be  the  vicegerent  of 
 God.  In  such  an  one,  and  by  such  an  one,  God  would  reign.  He 
 v/ould  be  of  the  seed  of  David,  and  yet  more  glorious  than  all  his 
 fellows  ;  human,  and  yet  above  men.  It  was  because  of  this  wonder- 
 fully close  and  real  relation  between  God  and  Man — a  relation  which 
 the  true  king  would  visibly  symbolize — that  the  Psalmist  could  address 
 him  as  God.  In  him  God  and  Man  would  in  some  mysterious  manner 
 meet.  This  perhaps  he  did  see  ;  more  than  this  he  could  not  see. 
 The  mystery  of  the  Incarnation  was  not  yet  revealed.  But  David 
 knew  that  God  had  made  man  to  be  but  little  short  of  divine 
 (Ps.  viii.  5).  And  he  and  others,  full  of  hopes,  the  very  greatness 
 of  which  made  them  indistinct,  uttered  them  in  words  that  went 
 far  beyond  themselves. 
 
PSALM  XL  V.  177 
 
 The  mistake  so  commoniy  made  in  interpreting  this  Psalm  and  the 
 Song  of  Solomon,  is  to  suppose  that  we  have  in  them  allcgoj'ies^  every 
 part  of  which  is  to  find  its  appropriate  spiritual  interpretation.  The 
 earthly  fact  has,  as  a  whole,  its  spiritual  counterpart.  For  Christ 
 speaks  of  Himself  as  "  the  Bridegroom,"  and  of  the  Church  as  His 
 "bride,"  and  of  the  kingdom  of  God  under  the  figure  of  a  marriage- 
 feast.  (Matt.  xxii.  i,  &c.,  xxv.  and  ix.  15,  See  also  Ephes.  v.  32, 
 2  Cor.  xi.  2,  and  Rev.  xix.  7,  xxi.  2.)  The  same  figure  also  occurs  in 
 the  Old  Testament.  God  speaks  of  Himself  as  the  bridegroom  of  the 
 Jewish /.?^//^  (Is.  liv.  5,  Ixii.  5,  Jer.  iii.  i,  Ezek.  xvi.  8,  Hos.  1.  ii.),  not, 
 however,  observe,  of  any  individual,  as  the  Mystics  are  wont  to  speak. 
 But  this  Psalm  is  not  an  allegory.  It  is  the  actual  celebration  of  a 
 circumstance  in  Jewish  history,  and  deriving  its  higher  meaning  from 
 the  fact  that  all  Jewish  history  is  typical. 
 
 The  Messianic  interpretation  of  the  Psalm  is  the  most  ancient. 
 The  Chaldee  paraphrast  on  ver.  2,  writes  :  "  Thy  beauty,  O  King 
 Messiah,  is  greater  than  that  of  the  sons  of  men."  And  even  the 
 later  Jews  take  the  same  view.  Aben-Ezra  says  :  "  This  Psalm  treats  of 
 David,  or  rather  of  His  Son  Messiah,  for  that  is  His  name,  Ezek. 
 xxxiv.  24,  '  And  David  My  servant  shall  be  their  prince  for  ever.' " 
 
 In  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (i.  8,  9)  the  writer  rests  upon  this 
 Psalm,  among  others,  his  argument  for  the  Divine  Nature  of  Christ. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions,  and  a  brief  conclusion 
 in  the  shape  of  auguries  for  the  future. 
 
 I.  The  praise  of  the  royal  bridegroom.  His  more  than  human 
 beauty,  his  persuasive  eloquence,  his  might  and  prowess  in  war,  his 
 divine  majesty,  and  the  righteousness  of  his  sway,  are  extolled. 
 Ver.  I — 9. 
 
 II.  The  description  of  the  royal  bride,  her  gold-inwoven  garments, 
 the  virgins  who  follow  in  her  train,  the  music  and  songs  of  the  brida] 
 procession.     Ver.  10 — 15. 
 
 III.  Anticipations  and  hopes  expressed  for  the  children  by  the 
 marriage,  who  shall  perpetuate  the  dynasty  of  the  monarch,  so  that  his 
 name  shall  be  famous  for  ever.     Ver.  16,  17. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 PSALM  XL  V. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    "on  the  lilies.""^    of  the  sons  of 
 korah.    a  maskil.    a  song  of  love.] 
 
 1  My  heart  is  overflowing  with  a  goodly  matter  : 
 
 I  am  speaking  ; — my  work  is  for  a  King : 
 My  tongue  is  the  pen  of  a  ready  writer. 
 
 2  Beautiful  art  Thou  beyond  the  children  of  men  ; 
 
 Grace  is  shed  upon  Thy  lips  : 
 Therefore  hath  God  blessed  Thee  for  ever. 
 
 3  Gird  Thy  sword  upon  (the)  thigh,  O  mighty  One, 
 
 (Gird  on)  Thy  glory  and  Thy  majesty. 
 
 1.  This  verse  is  a  kind  of  preface  of 
 a  very  unusual  kind  of  Hebrew  poetry, 
 in  which  the  singer  tells  how  great 
 his  subject,  and  how  full  his  heart  is 
 of  it. 
 
 Is  OVERFLOWING,  lit.  boils  or 
 bubbles  up,  his  heart  being  stirred 
 within  him  by  the  greatness  of  his 
 subject.  The  metaphor  may  be  taken 
 either  from  boiling  water,  or  from  a 
 fountain  bubbling  up  from  its  source. 
 And  that  which  inspires  him  is  A 
 GOODLY  MATTER  {dn  feiries  Lied, 
 Luther),  a  subject  worthy  of  his 
 highest   efforts    (cf.   Is.   Hi.    7,   Zech. 
 
 I  AM  SPEAKING — SC.  it  IS  thuS   that 
 
 I  begin.  My  work,  i.e.  my  poem, 
 the  work  or  creation  of  my  imagi- 
 nation, is  for  a  king,  is  dedicated  to 
 and  inspired  by  him. 
 
 For  a  King.  I  see  no  reason  to 
 supply  the  article  which  is  wanting 
 in  the  Hebrew,  though  interpreters, 
 ancient  and  modern,  with  one  consent 
 render  "^/?(?King."  The  absence  of 
 the  article  only  makes  it  more  em- 
 phatic. It  is  a  King — not  a  meaner 
 person — who  is  the  object  of  my  song. 
 
 2.  The  beauty  of  the  monarch  first 
 
 calls  forth  the  Poet's  praise  (cf.  Is. 
 xxxiii.  17),  and  then  his  persuasive 
 eloquence  (Eccl  x.  12).  Calvin  ob- 
 serves, it  were  more  kingly  for  kings 
 to  win  their  subjects'  hearts  by  gra- 
 cious words,  than  to  rule  them  by 
 brute  force.  So,  too,  of  the  Great 
 Antitype,  the  true  king,  we  read  that 
 men  wondered  at  the  gracious  words 
 (the  xSyoi  ttjs  -^dpiTos,  Luke  iv.  22) 
 that  proceeded  out  of  His  lips  :  for  the 
 Lord  hath  given  Him  the  tongue  of 
 the  learned,  that  He  might  know  how 
 to  speak  a  word  in  season  to  them 
 that  were  weary  (Is.  1.  4). 
 
 Therefore,  i.e.  beholding  this 
 beauty  and  this  grace,  do  J  conclude 
 that  God  hath  blessed  thee  for  ever. 
 Such  gifts  are  the  proof  of  God's 
 good-will  towards  thee. 
 
 3..  But  the  king  is  not  only  fair  to 
 look  at,  and  gracious  of  speech,  but 
 he  is  mighty  in  battle.  The  nations 
 shall  fall  under  him.  Nevertheless, 
 "  in  righteo-usness  doth  he  make  war," 
 to  uphold  truth,  and  to  avenge  the 
 oppressed.  Instead,  however,  of  di- 
 rectly celebrating  his  prowess,  the 
 singer  calls  on  the  king  to  go  forth  to 
 battle,  and  predicts  his  victory. 
 
 *  See  the  same  inscription  Pss.  Ixix.  and  Ixxx.,  and  a  similar  one  Ps.  Ix.  It  may  have 
 reference  to  an  instrument,  shaped  like  a  lily,  or  it  may  refer  to  the  measure  according  to 
 which  the  psalm  was  to  be  sung. 
 
rSALM  XL  F. 
 
 79 
 
 4  Yea  (in)  Thy  majesty  ride  on  prosperously 
 
 On  behalf  of  truth  and  righteous  meekness ; 
 And  let  Thy  right  hand  teach  Thee  terrible  things. 
 
 5  Thine  arrows  are  sharp, — (while)  people  fall  under  Thee  ; 
 
 (They  are  sharp)  in  the  heart  of  the  King's  enemies. 
 
 6  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever  ; 
 
 A   sceptre   of    uprightness    is    the    sceptre    of  Thy 
 kingdom. 
 
 4.  Yea  (in)  Thy  majesty:  repeated 
 apparently  for  the  sake  of  emphasis. 
 
 Ride  ON  prosperously,  lit.  "make 
 thy  way,  ride  on,"  the  first  verb  being 
 used  adverbially,  to  add  force  to  the 
 other  "make  thy  way,"  z.e.  either 
 Jit.  "pass  through"  the  ranks  of  the 
 enemy,  and  overcome  all  obstacles, 
 or  metaph.  "be  successful:"  RIDE, 
 either  in  the  war-chariot  (i  Kings 
 xxii.  32),  or  on  the  war-horse,  as  in  the 
 Apocalyptic  vision,  xix.  1 1. 
 
 On  behalf  of,  i.e.  in  order  to 
 assert  and  uphold,  &c.  Luth.  der 
 Wahrheit  zii  gut.  This  is  the  very 
 loftiest  conception  of  kingly  might. 
 The  wars  which  such  a  king  wages 
 are  not  to  acquire  territory  or  renown. 
 
 6.  Thy  throne,  O  God.  I  have 
 retained  the  vocative,  which  is  the 
 rendering  of  all  the  Ancient  Versions ; 
 and  so  the  passage  is  quoted  in  Heb. 
 i.  8.  This  rendering  seems  indeed  at 
 first  sight  to  be  at  variance  with  the 
 first  and  historical  application  of  the 
 Psalm.  Can  Solomon,  or  any  Jewish 
 king,  be  thus  directly  addressed  as 
 God  ?  We  find  the  title  given  to  rulers, 
 kings,  or  judges,  Ixxxii.  6,  7,  "I  said, 
 ye  2ccQ.gods  "  (see  our  Lord's  comment, 
 John  X.  35)  ;  Exod.  xx-i,  6,  where 
 E.V,  has  "judges,"  Heb.  "gods." 
 Calvin,  indeed,  objects  that  Elohim 
 is  only  thus  used  when  more  than  one 
 person  is  meant,  or  with  some  restric- 
 tion, as  when  Moses  is  said  to  be 
 made  a  God  {Elohim)  unto  Pharaoh 
 (Exod.  vii.  i).  But  the  word  is 
 evidently   used   of  one   person   in    I 
 
 Sam.  xxviii.  13,  as  is  plain  from 
 Saul's  question,  "  What  form  is  he 
 of?"  though  our  Version  renders, 
 "I  saw  gods  ascending."  Calvin, 
 however,  admits  the  first  application 
 to  Solomon,  only  observing,  that 
 "though  he  is  called  God,  because 
 God  hath  stamped  some  mark  of  His 
 glory  upon  kings,  yet  so  high  a  title 
 must  go  beyond  any  mere  man."  It 
 is  one  of  the  indications,  as  he  rightly 
 remarks,  that  the  Poet  is  thinking  of 
 a  greater  King,  and  a  more  illustrious 
 kingdom  ("  canticum  hoc  altius  quam 
 ad  umbratile  regnum  spectare  ").  The 
 difficulty  is  to  understand  how  far  the 
 writer  himself  saw  the  purport  of  his 
 OMai  words.  That  they  have  a  mean- 
 ing which  is  only  fully  realized  in 
 Christ,  and  that  God  designed  this 
 fulfilment,  I,  for  one,  most  unhesita- 
 tingly admit.  But  on  the  other  hand, 
 it  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  the 
 mystery  of  the  Incarnation  was  dis- 
 tinctly revealed,  and  clearly  under- 
 stood, under  the  Old  Testament  dis- 
 pensation. God  does  not  thus  make 
 haste  with  men.  I  conclude,  there- 
 fore, that  in  the  use  of  such  language 
 the  Psalmist  was  carried  beyond  him- 
 self, and  that  he  was  led  to  employ  it 
 by  a  tv/ofold  conviction  in  his  mind, 
 the  conviction  that  God  was  the  King 
 of  Israel,  combined  with  the  convic- 
 tion that  the  Messiah,  the  true  King, 
 who  was  to  be  in  reality  what  others 
 were  but  in  figure,  was  the  son  of 
 David. 
 A  sceftre  of  uprightness,  and 
 N   2 
 
i8o 
 
 PSALM  XL  V. 
 
 7  Thou  hast  loved  righteousness  and  hated  wickedness, 
 
 Therefore  God,  (even)  Thy  God,  hath  anointed  Thee 
 With  the  oil  of  gladness  above  Thy  fellows. 
 
 8  Myrrh  and  aloes  (and)  cassia  are  all  Thy  garments ; 
 
 Out  of  ivory  palaces  music  hath  made  Thee  glad. 
 
 9  Kings'  daughters  are  among  Thy  beloved, 
 
 The  queen-consort  stands  at  Thy  right  hand  In  gold 
 of  Ophir. 
 
 10  Hearken,  O  daughter,  and  see  and  Incline  thine  ear: 
 
 in  the  next  verse,  "Thou  hast  loved 
 righteousness. "  Not  only  is  righteous- 
 ness the  kingliest  of  all  virtues,  but  it 
 is  the  necessary  basis  of  a  throne  and  a 
 kingdom  which  are  to  endure  for  ever. 
 
 7.  But  this  divine  King  is  never- 
 theless a  distinct  person  from  God 
 Himself.  God,  even  Thy  God, 
 peculiar  to  this  Book  of  the  Psalms, 
 instead  of  ''^Jehovah  Thy  God." 
 See  xliii.  4,  1.  7,  Ixvii.  6.  It  is 
 contrary  to  all  usage  to  render  the 
 first  noun  as  a  vocative,  ' '  O  God, 
 Thy  God  hath,"  &c. 
 
 With  the  oil  of  gladness. 
 Scarcely  therefore  is  this  the  act  of 
 coronation,  the  anointing  to  His 
 office  (cf.  Ixxxix.  20,  with  Acts  x. 
 38),  but  rather  the  meaning  is,  that 
 this  king  is,  as  it  were,  the  very 
 personification  of  gladness,  beyond  all 
 the  kings  upon  earth. 
 
 Fellows  may  either  mean  "other 
 kings,"  or  the  friends  who  escorLed 
 him  at  his  marriage. 
 
 8.  The  song  of  love  here  reaches 
 its  culminating  point  in  the  descrip- 
 tion of  the  king.  It  has  pourtrayed 
 the  king  as  man,  as  warrior,  as  god- 
 like ruler ;  now  it  pictures  him  as 
 bridegroom  on  the  day  of  his  es- 
 pousals. (Compare  with  this  the 
 vision  of  the  Apocalypse,  where  the 
 "King  of  kings"  goes  forth  to  war, 
 followed  by  the  armies  in  heaven, 
 after  which  there  follows  "the  mar- 
 
 riage of  the  Lamb."  Rev.  xix.  7, 
 &c.) 
 
 Myrrh  and  aloes  (and)  cas- 
 SL\.  (Cf.  Prov.  vii.  17.)  The  royal 
 garments  ai'e  so  filled  with  perfumes, 
 that  they  seem  to  be  nothing  but 
 perfumes. 
 
 And  the  marriage  procession  is 
 accompanied  by  music. 
 
 9.  Kings'daughters;  other  wives 
 and  concubines  of  the  monarch.  Such, 
 as  Calvin  observes,  is  the  evident 
 meaning  of  the  vvords,  although,  as 
 polygamy  had  only  the  permission, 
 not  the  sanction,  of  God,  it  may  seem 
 strange  that  this  should  be  mentioned 
 as  a  feature  in  the  splendour  of  the 
 monarch.  But  polygamy  was  practised 
 even  by  the  best  of  kings,  and  the 
 Psalmist  is  describing  the  magnificence 
 of  an  Oriental  court,  such  as  it 
 actually  existed  before  his  eyes,  not 
 drawing  a  picture  of  what  ought  to 
 be  in  a  perfect  state  of  things. 
 
 The  queen-consort,  the  distin- 
 guished title  of  the  newly-married 
 princess. 
 
 At  Thy  right  hand,  as  the  place 
 of  honour  ;  so  Bathsheba,  as  queen- 
 mother,  sits  on  the  right  hand  of 
 Solomon,  i  Kings  ii.  19. 
 
 10.  The  sacred  Poet  now  turns  to 
 address  the  Bride.  He  bids  her 
 forget  her  father's  house,  and  devote 
 herself  in  reverent  affection  to  her 
 new  lord,  promising  her  at  the  same 
 
PSALM  XLV. 
 
 rSi 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 Forget  also  thine  own  people  and  Thy  father's  house, 
 That  the  King  may  desire  thy  beauty, 
 
 For  He  is  thy  lord,  and  do  thou  bow  -thyself  down 
 before  Him. 
 And  the  daughter  of  Tyre  (shall  come)  with  a  gift : 
 
 The  rich  among  the  people  shall  intreat  thy  favour. 
 
 13  All  glorious  is  the  King's  daughter  in  the  inner  palace, 
 
 Of  thread  of  gold  is  her  clothing. 
 
 14  On  embroidered  carpets  of  d  vers  colours  is  she  led  forth 
 
 unto  the  King : 
 The  virgins  in  her  train,  (that  be)  her  companions, 
 Are  brought  unto  Thee. 
 
 15  They  are  conducted  with  rejoicings  and  exultation  ; 
 
 They  enter  into  the  King's  palace. 
 
 16  Instead  of  Thy  fathers,  shall  be  Thy  children, 
 
 Whom  Thou  shalt  set  as  princes  in  all  the  earth. 
 
 time   that  rich  gifts  shall  be  poured 
 out  at  her  feet. 
 
 O  DAUGHTER  (like  "my  son,"  in 
 the  Book  of  Proverbs),  a  common 
 Oriental  style  of  address,  when  the 
 person  who  employed  it,  either  from 
 an;e  or  authority,  or  as  divinely  com- 
 missioned, had  a  right  to  give  in- 
 struction, such  as  a  faiher  might  give 
 to  his  child. 
 
 11.  Thy  LORD.  Cf.  Gen.  xviii.  12. 
 
 12.  The  "  daughter  of  Tyre  "  is  a 
 mere  personification  of  the  people  of 
 Tyre,  according  to  the  well-known 
 Hebrew  idiom,  "daughter  of  Zion," 
 &c. 
 
 1 3.  A  description  of  the  magnificent 
 appearance  presented  by  the  queen, 
 as  she  standi,  or  perhaps  sits,  beside 
 the  king  oa  the  throne,  arrayed  in 
 her  royal  and  bridal  apparel  tn  the 
 inner  apartments  of  the  palace — the 
 presence-chamber  where  the  throne 
 was  placed.  Her  arrival  there  is  an- 
 ticipated in  this  verse,  as  the  bridal 
 .procession  is  subsequently  described  ; 
 unless,  as  Maurer  suggests,  this  Avas 
 not  the  king's  palace,  but  some  other, 
 
 where  the  bride  was  first  lodged,  and 
 whence  she  was  conducted  to  the 
 king. 
 
 In  the  inner  palace  (not  "  with- 
 in," as  E.  v.,  whence  have  come  the 
 common  interpretations,  that  the  bride, 
 the  Church,  must  be  pure  within). 
 eV  TO??  kvoi-niois,  the  further  wall  of  the 
 house,  which  was  over  against  the 
 principal  entrance,  and  where  the 
 throne  stood. 
 
 14,  15.  The  bridal  procession  de- 
 scril^ed.  The  bride  walks  in  Oriental 
 fashion  on  the  riclily  woven  carpets 
 spread  for  her  feet,  accompanied  by 
 her  maidens,  and  a  festive  band  with 
 music,  dancing,  &c. 
 
 15.  Rejoicings,  lit.  "joys,"  the 
 plural  denoting  fulness  and  manifold- 
 ness. 
 
 16  After  having  thus  dwelt  on  the 
 personal  graces  of  the  royal  pair,  the 
 magnificence  of  their  attire,  and  the 
 splendour  of  their  retinue,  the  Poet 
 again  addresses  the  King,  and  con- 
 cludes with  congratulations  and  hopes 
 exjiressed  as  to  the  issue  of  the  mar- 
 riage.    The  monarch  cannot  trace  his 
 
I82 
 
 PSALM  XLVL 
 
 17  Let  me  (then)  make  Thy  name  known  through  all  gene- 
 rations ; 
 Therefore  shall  the  peoples  give  Thee  thanks  for  ever 
 and  ever. 
 
 descent  from  a  long  line  of  kings,  but 
 his  children  shall  be  better  to  him 
 than  royal  ancestry.  They  shall  be 
 made  princes  in  all  the  earth — or 
 perhaps  in  all  the  land.  Comp 
 Solomon's  princes,  I  Kings  iv.  2, 
 and  Rehoboam's  sons,   2   Chron.  xi. 
 
 23. 
 
 This  verse  and  those  immediately 
 preceding  are,  to  my  mind,  evidence 
 sufficient  that  th  s  Psalm  cannot,  as  a 
 whole,  be  regarded  as  prophetical  of 
 the  Messiah.  It  is  only  by  doing 
 violence  to  language  that  the  spiritual 
 sense  is  extracted  ;  and  it  seems  to 
 me  far  wiser  to  acknowledge  at  once 
 
 the  mixed  character  of  such  Psalms 
 as  this.  It  does  speak,  no  doubt,  of 
 One  who  is  higher  than  the  kings 
 of  earth,  but  it  does  so  under  earthly 
 images.  It  is  typical,  partially,  yej 
 not  altogether.  The  Sacred  Poet 
 sees  the  earthly  king  and  the  human 
 marriage  before  his  eyes,  but  whilst 
 he  strikes  his  harp  to  celebrate  these, 
 a  vision  of  a  higher  glory  streaans  in 
 upon  him.  Thus  the  earthly  and  the 
 heavenly  mingle.  The  Divme  pene- 
 trates, hallows,  goes  beyond  tlie  hu- 
 man ;  but  the  human  is  there.  See 
 farther  in  Introduction  and  Notes  to 
 Ps.  ex. 
 
 PSALM  XLVL 
 
 This  and  the  two  following  Psalms  are  hymns  of  triumph,  com- 
 posed on  the  occasion  of  some  great  deliverance.  I  am  inclined  to 
 think  that  they  all  celebrate  the  same  event,  the  sudden  and  miracu- 
 lous destruction  of  the  army  of  Sennacherib  under  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
 salem. That  proud  host  had  swept  the  land.  City  after  city  had 
 fallen  into  the  power  of  the  conqueror.  The  career  of  Sennacherib 
 and  his. captains  had  been  one  uninterrupted  success.  The  capital 
 itself  alone  held  out,  and  even  there  the  enfeebled  garrison  seemed 
 little  likely  to  make  a  successful  resistance.  The  swollen  river  had, 
 in  the  language  of  the  prophet,  overflowed  all  its  channels,  and  risen 
 even  to  the  neck.  It  was  at  this  crisis  that  deliverance  came.  When 
 there  were  no  succours  to  be  expected,  when  neither  king  nor  army 
 could  help  the  city,  God  helped  her.     He,  the  Lord  of  Hosts,  was 
 
rSALM  XLVL  183 
 
 in  the  midst  of  her,  keeping  watch  over  her  walls  and  defending  her 
 towers.  His  Angel  went  forth  at  dead  of  night  and  smote  the  host 
 of  the  Assyriajis,  and  when  men  awoke  in  the  morning,  there  reigned 
 in  that  vast  camp  the  silence  and  the  stillness  of  'death.  Such  a 
 deliverance  must  have  filled  the  whole  nation  with  wonder  and  joy. 
 The  old  days  of  Moses  and  David  would  seem  to  have  returned. 
 The  hopes  of  Prophets,  so  great  and  so  glowing,  yet  so  often  appa- 
 rently defeated,  seemed  now  nearer  to  their  accomphshment.  The 
 times  were  at  hand  when  Jerusalem  should  be  indeed  the  joy  of  the 
 whole  earth,  when  all  nations  should  acknowledge  Jehovah  as.  their 
 King.  Her  towers,  her  palaces,  the  temple  of  her  God,  stood  in  all 
 their  beauty,  saved  by  a  miracle  from  the  spoiler's  hand.  God  had 
 made  Himself  known  there  as  a  sure  refuge,  and  henceforth  His 
 Name  would  be  acknowledged  in  the  earth. 
 
 We  should  expect  to  find  such  a  deliverance  celebrated  by  songs 
 of  thanksgiving  and  triumph.  We  should  expect  to  find  in  these 
 songs  some  indications  of  the  particular  events  which  they  were 
 intended  to  commemorate.  Accordingly  we  do  find,  especially  in  this 
 Psalm  and  in  the  48th,  certain  expressions  which  are  most  natural  and 
 most  intelligible,  on  the  supposition  that  they  were  written  at  this  time. 
 In  this  Psalm  there  occur,  moreover,  very  remarkable  coincidences^ 
 both  in  thought  and  expression,  with  those  prophecies  of  Isaiah  which 
 were  uttered  in  prospect  of  the  Assyrian  invasion.  The  Prophet  had 
 compared  the  Assyrian  army  about  to  come  to  a  mighty  river,  the 
 Nile  or  the  Euphrates,  overflowing  its  banks,  carrying  desolation  far 
 and  wide,  rising  till  it  had  submerged  all  but  the  most  prominent 
 objects.  The  Psalmist  employs  a  like  image  when  he  compares  the 
 enemies*  of  his  country  to  an  angry  sea,  its  waves  roaring,  and  the 
 mountains  trembling  at  the  swelling  thereof.  Isaiah  had  described 
 the  peace  and  safety  of  Jerusalem,  weak  and  defenceless  as  she 
 seemed  to  all  eyes  but  the  eye  of  Faith,  under  the  emblem  of  her 
 own  gently-flowing  stream  of  Siloam  (viii.  6).  The  Poet  also  sings 
 the  praises  of  that  stream,  whose  channels  make  glad  the  city  of 
 God.  Thus  each  has  recourse  to  similar  metaphors,  and  each 
 heightens  their  effect  by  contrast.  Again  the  Prophet  had  assured 
 the  house  of  David  that  it  had  a  better  defence  tlian  that  of  chariots 
 and  horses  ;  and  laughed  to  scorn  the  power  of  the  enemy,  saying, 
 "  Associate  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  broken  in  pieces  .  .  .  take 
 counsel  together,  and  ye  shall  come  to  nought  ....  for  God  IS 
 WITH   \]S''{IjJuna)iu'El) ;  and  had  symbohzed  the  promised  deliver- 
 
ig4  PSALM  XLVL 
 
 ance  by  the  birth  of  the  child,  hnmanuel.  The  ever-recurring  thought 
 of  the  Psalm  is,  "  God  is  our  refuge  and  defence  ; "  "  God  is  in  the 
 midst"  of  the  Holy  City;  Jehovah  (God")  of  Hosts  IS  WITH  US 
 {hnmaiiu).  The  burden  alike  of  Prophecy  and  Psalm  is  I:\imanuel, 
 God  with  us. 
 
 Luther's  noble  hymn,  "  Ein'  feste  Burg  ist  unser  Gott,"  is  based 
 upon  this  Psalm. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  strophes,  the  conclusion  of  each  being 
 marked  by  the  Selah,  and  that  of  the  last  two  by  the  refrain. 
 
 I.  In  the  first,  God  is  magnified  as  the  one  sure  defence  at  all 
 times.  Those  with  whom  God  dwells  can  never  fear,  whatever  perils 
 may  threaten.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  peace  of  Zion  is  secured  by  the  abiding  presence  of  God 
 in  her  ;  and  the  discomfiture  of  all  her  foes  is  certain.     Ver.  4 — 7. 
 
 III.  God  has  manifested  but  even  now  His  saving  might,  in  the 
 great  deliverance  which  He  has  wrought.  His  arm  has  been  made  bare, 
 His  voice  has  been  heard,  He  is  exalted  in  the  earth.     Ver.  8 — 11. 
 
 [for  THE  PRECENTOR.   OF  THE  SONS  OF  KORAH.   UPOX  ALAMOTH.-* 
 
 A  SONG.] 
 
 I.   I   God  is  our  refuge  and  strength, 
 A  very  present  help  in  trouble. 
 
 2  Therefore  do  we  not  fear,  though  (the)  earth  be  changed. 
 
 And  though  (the)  mountains  be  moved  into  the  heart 
 of  (the)  seas  ; 
 
 3  Though  the  waters  thereof  roar,  though  they  be  troubled, 
 
 I — 3.  First  strophe.  The  safety  of  the  seas,  &c.  See  below,  ver.  6, 
 and  security  of  the  people  of  God,  where  the  figure  is  dropt. 
 even  when  the  earth  itself  and  the  2.  Though  the  mountains,  &c. 
 strong  foundations  of  the  earth  are  The  strongest  figure  that  could  be  em- 
 shaken.  The  revolutions  and  com-  ployed,  the  mountains  being  regarded 
 motions  of  the  political  world  are  as  the  great  pillars  of  the  earth.  See 
 /  here  described  by  Tmages  boiTowed  xviii.  7,  Ixxv.  3,  Ixxxii.  5  ;  Job  ix.  6. 
 Irom  the  convulsions  of  the  natural  3,  4.  See  another  striking  contrast, 
 world— the  eaffEquake  which  rnakes  Is.  x,  '^3,  34  ;  xi.  i. 
 the  mountains  to  tremble,  the  roaring 
 
 *  Tu  be  sung  C7i  soJ>ra;io,     See  Introd.  p.  6. 
 
PSALM  XL  VL 
 
 185 
 
 Though  the   mountains   quake  with  the  swelling 
 thereof.     [Selah.] 
 
 II.  4  A  stream  (there  is)  whose  channels  make  glad  the 
 city  of  God. 
 The  holy  place  of  the  dwellings  of  the  Most  High. 
 
 5  God    is    in    the    midst    of   her ;    she    shall    not    be 
 
 moved  ; 
 God  shall  help  her,  when  the  morning  dawns. 
 
 6  Nadons  roared  ;  kingdoms  were  moved  ; 
 
 He  uttered  His  voice, — the  earth  melteth. 
 
 7  Jehovah  (God  of)  Hosts  is  with  us  ; 
 
 A   high   tower   unto    us    is    the   God   of    Jacob. 
 [Selah.] 
 
 4 — 7.  The  peace  and  tranquillity  of 
 the  city  of  God,  whilst  all  is  uproar 
 and  confusion  without  her  walls. 
 
 4.  A  STREiiM.  The  one  never- 
 failing  stream  of  water  with  which 
 Jerusalem  was  supplied,  and  which, 
 in  its  gentle,  undisturbed,  refreshing 
 flow,  was  an  image  of  the  peace  and 
 blessing  which  the  Holy  City  enjoyed 
 under  the  protection  of  her  God. 
 (See  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  p. 
 181.)  The  probable  allusion  to  Is. 
 viji._  6  has  been  already  remarked  on, 
 and  the  metaphor  may  have  been 
 borrowed  designedly,  as  Calvin  sug- 
 gests, "that  the  faithful  might  learn 
 tiiat,  without  any  aid  from  the  world, 
 the  grace  of  God  alone  was  sufficient 
 for  them.  .  .  ,  Therefore,  though  the 
 help  of  God  may  but  trickle  to  us,  as 
 it  were,  in  slender  streams,  we  should 
 enjoy  a  deeper  tranquillity  than  if  all 
 the  power  of  the  world  were  heaped 
 up  all  at  once  for  our  help." 
 
 5.  She  shall  not  be  moved. 
 The  antithesis  to  this  follows  in  the 
 next  verse,  "Kingdoms  were  moved." 
 
 6.  There  is  a  manifest  reference  to 
 verses  2,  3,  though  the  figure  there 
 employed  is  now  dropt,  except  so  far 
 
 as  we  are  reminded  of  it  by  the  use  of 
 the  same  verbs,  "roared,  "were 
 moved,"  words  which  are  employed 
 in  other  passages,  both  of  natural  and 
 political  convulsions. 
 
 Uttered  His  voice,  i.e.  in  thun- 
 der, on  which  the  melting  of  the  earth 
 is  described  as  following  immediately. 
 The  thunder  (called  also  in  xxix. 
 "the  voice  of  Jehovah")  is  the 
 symbol  of  the  Divine  judgement. 
 Comp.  xviii.  13,  and  especially  as  ex- 
 plaining this  passage,  Ixxvi.  S-. 
 
 7.  Jehovah  (God  of)  Hosts. 
 The  name  first  occurs  in  the  mouth  of 
 Hannah,  i  Sam.  i.  ii,  and  is  app'ied 
 to  God  as  the  Great  King  whom  ail 
 created  powers,  the  armies  both  in 
 heaven  and  in  earth,  obey.  To  this 
 Name  the  Psalmist  immediately  sub- 
 joins another,  "the  God  of  Jacob," 
 the  covenant  God  of  His  people. 
 Thus  we  are  reminded,  as  Calvin 
 remarks,  of  the  double  prop  on  which 
 our  faith  rests ;  the  infinite  power 
 whereby  He  can  subdue  the  universe 
 unto  Himself,  and  the  fatherly  We 
 MMiich  He  has  revealed  in  His  word. 
 Where  these  two  are  joined  together, 
 oui-  faith  may  trample  on  all  enemies. 
 
f86 
 
 PSALM  XL  VI L. 
 
 III.  8  Come,  behold  the  deeds  of  Jehovah, 
 
 Who  hath  done  terrible  things  in  the  earth  ; 
 9  (Who)  stilleth  wars  to  the  end  of  the  earth, 
 
 Who  breaketh  (the)  bow  and  cutteth  (the)  spear  in 
 
 sunder, 
 (And)  bvu-neth  (the)  chariots  in  the  fire. 
 
 10  Cease  ye,  and  know  that  I  am  God, 
 
 I  am  exalted  among  the  nations,  I  am  exalted 
 upon  the  earth. 
 
 1 1  Jehovah  (God  of)  Hosts  is  with  us  ; 
 
 A  high  tower  unto  us  is  the  God  of  Jacob.     [Selah.] 
 
 8 — II.  The  application  of  the 
 general  truth  of  God's  Presence  and 
 help  to  the  particular  circumstances 
 of  the  nation  at  the  present  crisis. 
 Hence  "Come,  behold.'"'  Comp. 
 Ixvi.  5. 
 
 9.  Stilleth.  The  participle  ex- 
 presses the  continuance  of  the  action. 
 Who  not  only  does  so  now,  but  will 
 do  so  evermore,  till  His  kingdom  of 
 peace  bhall  be  set  up  in  all  the  earth. 
 This  hope,  however,  is  not  prominent 
 here,  as  it  is  in  Mic.  iv.  3,  Is.  ii.  4, 
 and  ix.  5.  '*  For  every  greave  of  the 
 greaved  (warrior)  in  the  battle- 
 tumult,  and  the  (soldier's)  cloak  rolled 
 in  blood,  shall  be  for  burning,  and 
 fuel  of  fire  "  (where  our  Version  has 
 
 most  unhappily  marred  the  sense, 
 by  inserting  "but  this"),  on  which 
 follows  the  reign  of  peace  of  the 
 Messiah. 
 
 10.  Cease  ye.  The  verb  is  used 
 absolutely  here,  as  in  i  Sam.  xv.  16, 
 but,  strictly  speaking,  the  expression 
 is  elliptical.  Lit.  "Let  your  hand 
 sink  down,"  i.e.  cease  your  efforts. 
 
 God  Himself  here  "utters  His 
 voice,"  as  sole  Judge  and  Arbiter  of 
 the  world.  (So  the  A.  S.  paraphrase 
 supphes  "Then  God  answered  and 
 said  by  the  Prophet.")  What  are  all 
 the  fret  and  stir  of  armies,  and  cap- 
 tains of  armies,  and  kings  and  king- 
 doms, in  His  sight,  who  is  the  Ruler 
 and  the  Judge  of  all ! 
 
 PSALM  XLVII. 
 
 A  Hyimn  of  triumph,  in  which  the  singer  calls  upon  all  the  nations 
 of  the  earth  to  praise  Jehovah  as  their  King,  and  joyfully  anticipates 
 the  time  when  they  shall  all  become  one  body  with  the  people  of 
 the  God  of  Abraham.  In  this  sense  the  Psalm  may  be  called 
 Messianic,  a  prophecy  of  the  ilnal  triumph  of  God's  kingdom  upon 
 
PSALM  XLVIL  1S7 
 
 earth.  The  older  expositors,  for  the  most  part,  suppose  it  to  have 
 been  written,  hke  Psalm  xxiv.,  on  the  occasion  of  the  removal  of 
 the  Ark  to  Mount  Zion  (2  Sam.  vi.),  and  to  be  a  prophecy  of  the 
 Ascension  of  Christ,  and  of  His  kingly  rule,  as  sitting  at  the  right 
 hand  of  the  Father.  The  Rabbinical  interpreters  regard  the  Psalm 
 as  Messianic. 
 
 I  think  it  probable  that  the  Psalm  vv^as  composed,  like  the  46th  and 
 48th,  after  the  defeat  of  Sennacherib  ;  and  Hupfeld  is,  I  think,  right 
 in  calling  it  "a  lyrical  expansion  of  the  idea  prominent  in  xlvi.  10, 
 that  Jehovah  is  highly  exalted  above  the  nations,  and  the  Great  King 
 over  all  the  earth," 
 
 We  have  two  strophes,  the  end  of  the  first  being  marked  by  the 
 Selah  ;  but  the  subject  of  both  is  in  fact  the  same,  the  second,  ver. 
 5 — 9,  being  only  a  lyrical  variation  of  the  first,  ver.  i — 4.  The 
 chief  difference  is,  that  what  is  expressed  as  a  wish  or  hope  in  the 
 first  part  (ver.  3,  4),  viz.  that  God  would  make  the  nations  the  in- 
 heritance of  Israel,  is  in  the  second  (ver.  8,  9)  regarded  as  already 
 accomplished. 
 
 Very  probably  this  Psalm,  like  the  24th,  was  sung  in  choral  anti- 
 phonies,  one  company  of  Levites  beginning  with  the  words  "  O  clap 
 your  hands,"  &c.  (ver.  i,  2),  and  another  answering  "  He  subdueth," 
 &c.  (ven  3,  4).  Then  again  the  first  company  would  take  up  the 
 words,  "  God  is  gone  up,"  &c.  and  would  sing  ver.  5,  6.  The  anti- 
 choir  would  respond  in  ver.  7  and  8  ;  and  finally  both  would  unite  in 
 ver.  9. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    of  the  sons  of  korah.    a  psalm.] 
 
 1  O  ALL  ye  peoples,  clap  (the)  hand  ; 
 
 O  shout  unto  God  with  the  voice  of  singing  ! 
 
 2  For  Jehovah,  Most  High,  is  terrible, 
 
 I,  2,   The  nations    called  upon   to  nier  at  the  coronation  of  a  new  king, 
 
 do    homage    to    Jehovah.      Cf.    Ps.  2    Kings   xi.    12,    and    so    here    the 
 
 Ixvi.  I.  nations  are  to  rejoice  before  then-  new 
 
 I.   Clap  (the)  hand  .  .  ,  shout,  monarch.    See  also  i  Sam.  x.  24,  and 
 
 as  demonstrations  of  joy,  in  solemn,  comp.  Num.  xxiii.  21,  "the  shout  Oa 
 
 festal  procession.     We  have  the  for-  a  king." 
 
i88 
 
 PSALM  XL  VIL 
 
 A  great  King  over  all  the  earth. 
 
 3  He  subdued  peoples  under  us, 
 
 And  nations  under  our  feet  ! 
 
 4  He  chooseth  for  us  our  inheritance, 
 
 The  pride  of  Jacob  whom  He  ioveth  !     [Selah.] 
 
 5  God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout, 
 
 Jehovah  with  the  voice  of  a  trumpet. 
 
 6  Sing  psalms  to  God,  sing  psalais; 
 
 Sing  psalms  to  our  King,  sing  psalms  ! 
 
 7  For  God  (is)  King  of  all  the  earth  ; 
 
 Sing  psalms  in  skilful  strains. 
 
 8  God  is  King  over  (the)  nations  ; 
 
 God  sitteth  upon  His  holy  throne. 
 
 9  The  princes  of  (the)  peoples  are  gathered  together, 
 
 (To  be)  a  people  of  the  God  of  Abraham  : 
 
 3,  4.  There  is  considerable  diffi- 
 culty in  satisfactorily  explaining  these 
 verses.  They  seem,  at  first  sight,  to 
 refer  to  the  past — to  the  destruction  of 
 the  Canaanites,  and  the  establishment 
 of  Israel  in  the  promised  inheritance. 
 But  I  incline  to  take  the  verbs  as  in  the 
 present  tense  and  paraphrase  thus^ 
 "  God  is  ever  choosing  Israel's  inhe- 
 ritance anew,  inasmuch  as  He  shows 
 Himself  to  be  the  true  and  mighty 
 Protector  thereof."  'Y\iQ present  may 
 be  used,  as  in  civ.  2,  where  the  act  of 
 creation  is  spoken  of  as  present,  be- 
 cause its  results  are  present.  Comp. 
 Is.  xiv.  I,  where  Israel's  restoration  is 
 described  as  another  choosing. 
 
 4,  The  pride  of  Jacob.  Appa- 
 rently the  Holy  Land  is  so  styled 
 here ;  probably  also  the  Excellency  of 
 Jacob  in  Amos  vi.  8,  and  perhaps  in 
 viii.  7,  though  not  apparently  in 
 Nahum  ii.  2.  The  Holy  Land  is  so 
 called,  as  the  glorious  possession 
 wlierein  Jacob  prides  himself,  because 
 it  is  the  gift  of  (lod's  love  and  favour. 
 
 5.  God  is  gone  up.  An  exj-'res- 
 sion  taken  from  the  entry  of  the  Ark 
 into  the  City  of  David,  2  Sam.  vi.  15. 
 Here  God  is  said  to  ascend  His  royal 
 Throne  either  in  heaven,  or  in  Zion, 
 as  manifesting  and  exercising  His 
 sovereignty.  Cf.  Ixviii.  18,  and  ix.  4, 
 vii.  6. 
 
 With  a  shout  (A.-S  "with  win- 
 some song").     See  note  on  ver.  i. 
 
 6.  Sing  psalms.  The  word  means 
 both  to  sin^  and  to  plav. 
 
 7.  This  verse  contains  the  great 
 subject  of  the  Psalm,  the  reason  why 
 all  naiions  are  called  to  unite  in  this 
 festal  joy. 
 
 In  SKILFUL  STRAINS,  lit.  "a  skilful 
 song,"  a  song  either  fine  in  its  struc- 
 ture, or  beautiful  in  its  melody. 
 
 8.  Is  King,  lit.  "hath  become 
 King,"  has  asserted  and  is  exercising 
 His  sovereignty. 
 
 9.  The  prayer  is  answered,  the  hope 
 is  accomplished.  The  prmces  of  the 
 nations  are  gathered  together,  are 
 come  in  one  body,  as  it  were,  on  a 
 
FSALM  XLVJIL  189 
 
 10  For  to  God  (belong)  the  shields  of  the  earth  ; 
 Very  high  is  He  exalted. 
 
 day    of   solemn    coronation,    to    do  10.  Shields  of  the  earih,  i.e. 
 
 homage  as  vassals  to  their  liege  Lord       Princes  as  the  defenders    and  cham- 
 and  King,  cii.  22,  Is.  Ixvi.  18.  pions  of  their  people. 
 
 PSALM  XLVIII. 
 
 This  Psalm,  there  is  every  reason  to  suppose,  was  composed  on 
 the  same  occasion  as  the  two  preceding.  It  celebrates  God's  pro- 
 tecting care  of  Jerusalem,  and  especially  the  deliverance  of  the  city 
 from  the  army  of  Sennacherib  (2  Kings  xviii.  xix.,  Is.  xxxvi.  &c.),  as 
 may  be  inferred  from  the  many  verbal  coincidences  which  present 
 themselves,  on  a  comparison  of  the  Psalm  with  the  prophecies  of 
 Isaiah  relating  to  the  Assyrian  invasion  (chaps,  viii.  xxviii.,  xxix.  i — 7, 
 xxxiii.).     See  the  Introduction  to  Psalm  xlvi. 
 
 From  ver.  9  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  Psalm  was  intended  to  be 
 sung  in  the  Temple-service.  The  Rabbinical  commentators  refer 
 this,  like  the  preceding  Psalms,  to  the  times  of  the  Messiah,  and  the 
 struggle  with  Gog  and  Magog,  which  was  to  issue  in  the  everlasting 
 glory  of  Jerusalem. 
 
 It  consists  of  three  parts  or  strophes. 
 
 I.  An  Introduction,  which,  after  an  ascription  of  praise  to  God, 
 describes  the  glory  (ver.  2)  and  the  security  (ver.  3)  of  Zion,  as  the 
 city  in  which  God  hath  made  Himself  known.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  defeat  of  the  enemy.  Because  God  thus  dwells  in  Zion, 
 and  loves  Zion,  she  has  been  saved  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Assyrian. 
 That  mighty  host,  led  by  its  kingly  captains,  did  but  look  upon  the 
 city,  and  were  confounded,  as  in  a  moment,  broken  as  with  the  east 
 wind,  v/hich  breaks  the  ships  of  Tarshish,  melting  away,  "  like  snow 
 in  the  glance  of  the  Lord."    Ver.  4 — 8. 
 
190 
 
 PSALM  XLVIII. 
 
 III.  Thanksgiving  to  God,  whose  praise  is  not  only  in  Zion,  but  in 
 all  the  earth,  and  whose  great  deliverance  the  Poet  would  have 
 remembered  in  all  time  to  come.     Ver.  9 — 14. 
 
 [a  song,    a  psalm,    of  the  sons  of  korah.] 
 
 Great  is  Jehovah,  and  greatly  to  be  praised, 
 In  the  city  of  our  God,  (in)  His  holy  mountain. 
 
 Beautiful  in  elevation,  a  joy  of  the  whole  earth, 
 Is  the  mountain  of  Zion,  the  sides  of  the  north, 
 The  city  of  (the)  great  King. 
 
 I — 3.  It  is  because  Zion  is  the  city 
 of  God,  that  she  so  far  surpasses  all 
 ether  cities  in  beauty  and  renown.  It 
 is  the  Glory  of  His  Presence  which 
 makes  her  glorious  :  the  strength  of 
 His  Presence  which  makes  her  safe. 
 
 1.  Greatly  to  be  praised. 
 Comp.  xcvi.  4,  cxlv.  3. 
 
 The  city  of  our  God,  as  again 
 in  ver.  8.     Comp.  xlvi.  4. 
 
 2.  Beautiful  in  elevation,  or 
 "rising  aloft  in  beauty."  This  is 
 precisely  one  of  the  most  striking 
 features  in  the  topography  of  Jeru- 
 salem. "  Its  elevation,"  says  Stanley, 
 "is  remarkable,  occasioned  not  from 
 its  being  on  the  summit  of  one  of  the 
 numerous  hills  of  Judaea,  like  most  of 
 the  towns  and  villages,  but  because  it 
 is  on  the  edge  of  one  of  the  highest 
 table-lands  in  the  country.  Hebron, 
 indeed,  is  higher  still,  by  some  hun- 
 dred feet ;  and  from  the  south,  accor- 
 dingly, the  approach  to  Jerusalem  is 
 by  a  slight  descent.  But  from  every 
 other  side  the  ascent  is  perpetual  ; 
 and  to  the  traveller  approaching  Jeru- 
 salem from  the  west  or  east,  it  must 
 have  always  presented  the  appearance, 
 beyond  any  other  capital  of  the  then 
 known  world — we  may  add,  beyond 
 any  important  city  that  has  ever  ex- 
 isted on  the  earth — of  a  mountain 
 city  ;  breathing,  as  compared  with  the 
 
 sultry  plains  of  the  Jordan  or  of  the 
 coast,  a  mountain  air  ;  enthroned,  as 
 compared  with  Jericho  or  Damascus, 
 Gaza  or  Tyre,  on  a  mountain  fastness." 
 — Sinai  and  Palestine,  pp.  170,  171. 
 A    JOY    OF    THE    WHOLE    EARTH. 
 
 Most  recent  interpreters  render,  "  a 
 joy  of  the  whole  land,''''  a  rendering 
 which  I  am  satisfied  does  not  do  jus- 
 tice to  the  largeness  of  the  sacred 
 Poet's  conceptions.  In  a  Psalm  where 
 the  range  of  anticipation  is  so  wide, 
 and  in  which  God's  name  is  declared 
 to  be  known  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
 we  must  understand  the  language  em- 
 ployed, in  its  broadest,  not  in  its  nar- 
 rowest sense.  Comp.  Lam.  ii.  15. 
 "  Is  not  this  the  city  which  they  called 
 the  crown  of  beauty,  a  joy  of  the  whole 
 earth?"  and  Is.  Ix.  15,  "a  joy  of 
 many  generations." 
 
 The  sides  of  the  north.  It  is 
 not  very  clear  what  is  meant  by  this 
 expression  here.  In  other  passages 
 it  denotes  "  the  furthest  north,"  "the 
 extremest  regions  of  the  north,"  as  in 
 Ezek.  xxxviii.  6,  15,  xxxix.  2,  where 
 it  is  used  of  the  land  of  Gog.  In  Is. 
 xiv.  13  (the  only  place,  besides  those 
 mentioned,  where  it  occurs),  it  seems 
 to  describe  the  locality  of  the  Assyrian 
 Olympus,  or  mount  of  the  gods  ;  but 
 here,  it  must  be  remembered,  the  case 
 is  widely  different,  as  the  expression  is 
 
PSALM  XLVIIL 
 
 19; 
 
 3  God  in  her  palaces 
 
 Hath  made  Himself  known  as  a  high  tower. 
 
 4  For  lo  !  the  kings  were  assembled, 
 
 They  passed  by  together  : 
 
 5  They  saw  (it),  they  were  amazed  ; 
 
 put  into  the  mouth  of  the  King  of 
 Assyria  himself.  But  for  a  Jew  to 
 speak  of  Zion,  the  holy  mountain,  as 
 if  it  were  no  more  than  some  mountain 
 of  heathen  fable,  would  have  been 
 nothing  short  of  profanity. 
 
 One  thing  is  clear,  that  by  "the 
 sides  of  the  north"  is  indicated,   in 
 some  sense  or  other,  the  topography 
 of  the  Holy  City,     The  question  is, 
 to  what  particular  part  of  it  the  words 
 refer,     (i)  Now  Jerusalem  itself  did 
 not  lie  on  the  north,  but  on  the  south 
 side  of  the  elevated  table-land  men- 
 tioned in  a  preceding  note.     But  the 
 Temple  did  lie  north,  i.e.  north-east  of 
 the  city  ;  and  as  the  Temple  was,  in 
 a  peculiar  sense,  the  dwelling-place  of 
 God,  the  Psalmist  may  have  intended 
 to  designate  this,  when  he  spoke  of 
 "  the  sides  of  the  north,"  the  expres- 
 sion being  sufficiently  accurate  for  the 
 purposes  of  poetry.     Hence  we  have 
 the   Holy  City  regarded   from  three 
 different   points   of  view,   viz.    "the 
 mount   Zion "    (the   city   of   David), 
 "the   sides   of   the   north"    (Mount 
 Moriah  and  the  Temple),  "the  City  of 
 the  Great  King"  (Jerusalem  proper, 
 comp.  Matt.  v.  35).     (2)  If,  however, 
 Zion  be  the  peak  now  leveled  on  the 
 north  of  the  Temple  Mount,  as  Fer- 
 gusson  {Essay,  p.  55  ff.)  and  Thrupp 
 {Ancient ydrjisae7n,^.  lyfif.)  suppose, 
 "  the  mount  Zion  (on)  the  sides  of  the 
 north"    may    be    the    true    rendering 
 here.       And   this,    too,    might    pecu- 
 liarly be  called  "beautiful  for  eleva- 
 tion," as  it  was  the  highest  point  of 
 the   whole   plateau,  and   that  which 
 would  most   readily  strike   the   eye. 
 (3)  Another  reason  may  be  suggested 
 
 why  the  north  should  be  especially 
 mentioned,  because  an  enemy  ap- 
 proaching like  the  Assyrians,  would 
 obtain  their  first  view  of  the  city  on 
 that  side. 
 
 3.  Hath  made  Himself  known 
 especially  by  the  great  act  of  deliver- 
 ance recently  accomplished,  a  descrip- 
 tion of  which  immediately  follows. 
 
 4.  There  follows,  in  a  few  lines,  a 
 striking  picture  of  the  advance  of  the 
 hostile  army,  and  of  its  sudden  de- 
 struction. Compare  with  this  the 
 wonderfully  graphic  description  of  the 
 same  march  in  Is.  x.  28 — 34. 
 
 The  kings.  The  mention  of 
 "kings  "  in  the  plural  does  not  prove 
 that  the  Psalm  cannot  be  referred  to 
 the  Assyrian  invasion.  They  were 
 perhaps  satraps,  or  petty  kings  (comp. 
 Judges  V.  3,  19),  dependent  upon 
 Sennacherib.  In  his  Annals,  as  lately 
 deciphered,  he  speaks  of  setting  up 
 tributary  kings  or  viceroys  in  Chaldasa, 
 Phoenicia,  and  Philistia,  after  con- 
 quering those  countries. 
 
 Were  assembled.  The  word  is 
 used  of  a  former  confederation,  as  of 
 the  Canaanite  kings.  Josh.  xi.  5. 
 
 They  passed  by  together  : 
 spoken  of  the  marching  of  an  army  in 
 battle  array.  Comp.  Is.  x.  29,  (Sic. 
 But  it  might  also  be  rendered,  "They 
 vanished,  disappeared  at  once,  or  al- 
 together." For  this  meaning  of  the 
 verb  see  xxxvii.  36.  If  so,  this  verr;e 
 expresses  in  its  two  clauses,  briefly, 
 the  gathering  and  the  destiiiction  of 
 the  host,  and  then  these  two  ideas 
 are  expanded  in  what  follows. 
 
 5.  They,  saw  (it),  viz.  the  Holy 
 City.      The    force    of    the    descrip- 
 
ig2 
 
 PSALM  XLVIIL 
 
 They  were  terrified,  they  hasted  away. 
 
 6  Trembling  took  hold  upon  them  there, 
 
 Pangs  as  upon  a  woman  in  travail  : 
 
 7  (They  were  broken  as)  with  the  east  wind 
 
 Which  breaketh  the  ships  of  Tarshish. 
 
 8  As  we  have  heard,  so  have  we  seen 
 
 In  the   city   of   Jehovah   of    Hosts,   in    the    city    of 
 
 our  God  ; 
 God  will  establish  it  for  ever.     [Selah.] 
 
 9  We  have  thought,  O  God,  on  Thy  loving-kindness 
 
 In  the  midst  of  Thy  temple. 
 
 tion  in  this  verse,  as  in  the  last,  is 
 much  increased  by  the  way  in  which 
 the  verbs  follow  one  another  without 
 a  copula.  Calvin  well  illustrates  it  by 
 Caesar's  veni,  vidi,  vici.  A  succession 
 of  scenes  is  thus  flashed  upon  the  eye. 
 Each  word  is  a  picture.  First,  we 
 have  the  mustering  of  the  hosts  ;  then 
 their  march  ;  then  their  first  sight  of 
 the  city ;  then  their  astonishment, 
 their  dismay,  their  wild  panic  and  flight. 
 
 6,  7.  This  confusion  and  terror  are 
 now  further  pourtrayed  under  two 
 images  :  the  first,  that  of  a  travailing 
 woman,  a  common  one  in  the  Old 
 Testament,  and  found  also  in  the 
 New  ;  and  the  second,  in  which  the 
 defeat  of  Sennacherib's  army  is  com- 
 pared to  the  wreck  and  dispersion  of 
 a  navy  in  a  storm.  The  image  in  this 
 case  is  presented  with  lyric  vividness, 
 as  if  the  sacred  Poet  were  himself 
 looking  on  the  scene.  It  is  a  com- 
 parison, without  any  particle  of  com- 
 parison to  introduce  it. 
 
 For  the  image,  as  descriptive  of  the 
 irresistible  power  of  God,  compare  Is. 
 xxvii.  8,  Amos,  iv,  9,  Jonah  iv.  8,  Jer. 
 xviii,  17,  and  see  i  Kings  x.  22,  where 
 ships  of  Tarshish  denote  the  strongest 
 and  largest  ships.  Comp.  the  "afflavit 
 
 Deus,  et  dissipantur"  of  our  ov/n 
 history.  In  Is.  xxxiii.  the  Assyrian 
 power  is  also  compared  to  a  gallant 
 ship. 
 
 8.  This  marvellous  deliverance  is 
 but  a  fresh  proof,  in  our  own  expe- 
 rience, of  that  wonder-working  Love 
 which  in  the  days  of  old  has  so  often 
 manifested  itself  in  Israel.  The  things 
 which  our  fathers  have  told  us,  we 
 have  now  witnessed  with  our  own  eyes. 
 (Comp.  xliv.  I.)  And  therefore,  also, 
 the  present  is  regarded  as  a  pledge  for 
 the  future  :  "  God  will  establish  it — 
 make  it  stand  firm — for  ever,"  as 
 Ixxxvii.  5. 
 
 9 — 14.  The  next  portion  of  the 
 Psalm  consists  of  the  grateful  cele- 
 bration of  that  which  God  had  done 
 for  Zion. 
 
 9.  We  have  thought,  i.e.  pon- 
 dered, considered  in  that  deep,  still, 
 heartfelt  gratitude,  whence  issue  the 
 loud  praises  of  the  tongue.  In  Thy 
 Temple,  either  as  the  place  in  which 
 the  congregation  met  to  acknowledge 
 God's  loving-kindness,  or  as  the  place 
 in  which  He  had  manifested  His 
 loving-kindness.  Calvin  :  "locum  ubi 
 invocaretur  sedem  virtutis  et  glorias 
 suce  fore." 
 
FSALM  XL  VII L 
 
 '93 
 
 lO 
 
 II 
 
 As  is  Thy  Name,  O  God,  so  is  Tliy  praise  to  the  ends 
 of  the  earth  ! 
 Full  of  righteousness  is  Thy  right  hand.- 
 Let  the  mountain  of  Zion  be  glad, 
 Let  the  daughters  of  Judah  rejoice, 
 Because  of  Thy  judgements. 
 
 12  Compass  Zion,  and  go  round  about  her; 
 
 Tell  the  towers  thereof, 
 
 1 3  Consider  her  bulwarks,  m^ark  well  her  palaces, 
 
 That  ye  may  tell  it  to  the  generations  following. 
 
 14  For  such  is  God,  our  God,  for  ever  and  ever ; 
 
 10.  As  IS  Thy  Name,  so  is,  or, 
 as  others,  "  So  let  Thy  praise  be," 
 i.e.  Mayest  Thou  be  praised  accord- 
 ing to  the  greatness  of  Thy  Name, 
 God's  Name  being  here  that  Name 
 which  He  had  got  Hmiself  in  Israel, 
 by  His  manifold  mighty  acts  on  their 
 behalf. 
 
 11.  The  verbs  may  either  be  taken 
 as  optatives,  as  above,  or  as  simple 
 presents.  "The  momitain  of  Zion 
 rejoices"  &c.     Comp.  xcvii.  8. 
 
 The  daughters  of  Judah,  not 
 here  literally  "  the  maidens  of  Judah," 
 though  it  was  usual  for  these  to  take 
 a  prominent  part  in  the  celebration  of 
 every  victory,  with  songs  and  dances  ; 
 but,  as  the  parallelism  with  "the 
 mountain  of  Zion  "  would  indicate,  the 
 various  cities  and  villages  of  Judah 
 which  had  suffered  from  the  invasion. 
 The  metaphor  is  common  in  prose  as 
 well  as  in  poetry. 
 
 12.  The  glad  sense  of  freedom,  the 
 shout  of  deliverance,  are  no  less  no- 
 ticeable in  this  verse  than  the  strong 
 patriotic  feeling  which  breathes  in  it. 
 
 The  horrors  of  the  siege  are  at  an 
 end.  No  hostile  army  lies  before  the 
 .vails,  and  shuts  the  besieged  within 
 the  gates.  Therefore  it  is  that  the 
 sacred  Poet,  kindling  with  emotion,  as 
 he  looks  with  all  the  pride  and  all  the 
 
 deep  affection  of  a  true  patriot  on  the 
 towers  of  Zion,  which  still  stand  in 
 their  beauty,  unscathed  by  the  spoiler's 
 hand,  calls  upon  all  her  inhabitants  to 
 go  forth,  now  that  they  can  do  so 
 freely,  to  look  upon  her  beauty,  to 
 gaze  with  affection  upon  her  bulwarks, 
 to  consider  one  by  one  her  palaces. 
 
 13.  Consider,  The  word  occurs 
 only  here,  lit.  "divide,"  i.e.  mark 
 them  one  by  one,  in  a  poetical  and 
 a  figurative  sense,  answering  to  the 
 "  tell  her  towers  "  before. 
 
 Still,  in  thus  calling  on  them  to 
 admire  the  material  glory  of  their  city, 
 the  Poet  would  not  have  them  do  so 
 only  that  they  may  take  pride  in  her 
 strength  and  her  stateliness,  but  that 
 they  may  tell  to  generations  to  come 
 who  that  God  is  whose  Hand  has 
 saved  her. 
 
 14.  For  such  is  God,  or,  "for 
 this  is,"  &c. 
 
 It  is  interesting  to  compare  M'ith 
 these  words  of  the  Jewish  Poet  a 
 similar  burst  of  patriotic  sentiment 
 from  the  lips  of  a  Grecian  orator: 
 Kai  oi8e  jxiv,  says  Pericles,  roioiSe 
 iyeuoj-To'  rovs  Se  Xonrovs  %/")  dcrcpa- 
 \€(TT€pav  ixkv  ei/'xeo-Saf,  aToXixonpav 
 Se  fJ.TjShu  d^iovv  riji'  is  toijs  iroX^/xiovs 
 Siavoiau  e'xeii',    aKOivovvTas     fxii    7.6y(f 
 
 o 
 
194 
 
 PSALM  XLIX. 
 He  will  be  our  Guide  unto  death. 
 
 ipycf  Oicouerovs  Koi  epatrras  yiyvojxe- 
 vovs  avTTJs,  K.T.X.  It  is  needless  to 
 observe  how  exactly  these  last  words 
 correspond  to  those  of  the  Psalmist  : 
 "Consider  her  bulwarks,"  &c.  In- 
 deed, Arnold,  in  his  note  on  the 
 passage  in  Thucydides  (ii.  43),  M^ell 
 obsei-ves,  that  "the  words  6/370)  0ew- 
 (xhovs  might  furnish  matter  for  an 
 oration  or  a  poem.  They  mean, 
 '  Look  at  our  temples  and  the  statues 
 which  embellish  them  ;  go  down  to 
 Piraeus,  observe  the  long  walls,  visit 
 the  arsenals,  and  the  docks  of  our 
 three  hundred  ships  ;  frequent  our 
 theatres,  and  appreciate  the  surpassing 
 excellence  of  our  poets,  and  the  taste 
 and  splendour  of  our  scenic  repre- 
 sentations ;  walk  through  the  markets, 
 
 observe  them  filled  with  the  produc- 
 tions of  every  part  of  the  world  ;  and 
 listen  to  the  soiinds  of  so  many  dialects 
 and  foreign  languages,  which  strike 
 your  ears  in  the  streets  of  our  city,i 
 the  resort  of  the  whole  world. ' "  But 
 with  the  strong  love  of  country,  witli 
 the  same  enthu-siastic  admiration  of 
 her  present  grandeur,  the  same  fond 
 recollection  of  her  glory  in  times  past, 
 there  is  a  very  striking  difference  of 
 spirit.  The  Greek  thinks  only  of  the 
 men  who  achieved  that  glory,  and  who 
 embellished  the  city  of  their  birth, 
 and  whose  right  hand  gave  them  the 
 victory  ;  the  Jew  traces  all  the  glory 
 of  his  land,  and  all  the  success  of  her 
 children,  immediately  to  God.  With 
 the  one  all  is  of  man,  with  the  other 
 all  is  of  God. 
 
 PSALM   XLIX. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  not  inaptly  described  in  the  ancient  Latin  Version 
 of  the  Psalms  (published  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  Paraphrase  by  Thorpe) 
 as,  Vox  EcdesicB  super  Lazaro  et  divite  ptirpurato.  It  is  designed  as  a 
 vindication  of  the  ways  of  God  in  sight  of  the  different  fortunes  of 
 the  righteous  and  the  wicked  in  this  world.  It  is  no  mere  common- 
 place on  the  shortness  of  life  and  the  uncertainty  of  riches.  It  is  no. 
 philosophical  dissertation,  which  bids  us  bear  up  bravely  in  our  perils 
 and  sufferings,  telling  us  that  virtue  is  its  own  reward.  It  goes  at 
 once  to  the  root  of  the  matter.  It  shows  us  not  only  the  vanity  of 
 riches,  but  the  end  of  those  who  "  boast  themselves  in  their  riches." 
 It  comforts  the  righteous  in  their  oppression  and  affliction,  not  merely 
 by  the  assurance  that  they  shall  finally  triumph  over  the  wicked,  but 
 by  the  more  glorious  hope  of  life  everlasting  with  God.     Here  is  the 
 
PSALM  XLIX.  195 
 
 true  ground  of  consolation,  that  God  will  not  only  not  forsake  those 
 who  trust  in  Him  in  this  life,  but  that  He  will  take  them  to  Himself. 
 It  is  this  doctrine  specially  enunciated,  which  gives  •  the  Psalm  its 
 distinctive  character,  and  which  leads  the  Psalmist  himself  to  claim 
 for  it  so  attentive  a  hearing. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  parts  : — 
 
 I.  First  :  An  Introduction,  in  which  the  whole  world  is  called  upon 
 to  listen  to  the  words  of  the  Poet,  and  in  which  he  further  declares 
 that  he  speaks  by  Divine  inspiration.     Ver.  i — 4. 
 
 Then  follows  the  main  body  of  the  Poem,  in  two  principal 
 divisions,  marked  by  the  refrain,  which  closes  each.  Ver.  5 — 12, 
 and  ver.  13—20. 
 
 II.  The  former  of  these  contains,  generally,  a  description  of  men 
 prosperous  and  rich,  whose  riches  puff  them  up  with  pride,  and  with 
 the  foolish  imagination  that  they  can  secure  for  themselves  an  im- 
 mortality upon  earth  ;  but  who  are  so  far  from  being  able  to  save 
 themselves  or  others  from  death  by  their  riches,  that  they  are  no 
 better  th?n  the  beasts  that  perish.     Ver.  5 — 12. 
 
 III.  The  remainder  of  the  Psalm  deals  chiefly  with  the  consolation 
 to  be  derived  from  the  end  of  the  righteous,  as  contrasted  with  the 
 end  of  the  worldly.     Ver.  13 — 20. 
 
 Others  divide  the  Psalm  differently,  and  consider  ver.  5 — 15  to 
 contain  one  consecutive  piece  of  instruction  as  to  the  several  lots  of 
 the  worldly  and  the  faithful  ;  and  ver.  16 — 20,  the  application  of  the 
 instruction,  by  way  of  consolation,  to  those  who  are  in  suffering  and 
 poverty,  and  to  whom  the  prosperity  of  these  men  is  a  stumbling- 
 block. 
 
 It  should  be  remarked,  that  the  rich  men  of  the  Psalm  are  not 
 described  as  "  the  wicked,"  "  the  ungodly,"  "  the  violent,"  &c.,  as  in 
 other  Psalms.  Only  one  hint  is  given  in  the  word  "  iniquity  "  (ver. 
 5),  that  they  are  evil  men.  But  this  seems  to  be  designed,  as  in  our 
 Lord's  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus,  to  show  that  the  selfish, 
 proud,  boastful  use  of  riches,  the  mere  luxuriousness  of  wealth,  apart 
 from  violence  or  unscrupulousness  of  conduct,  is  evil,  and  finds  its 
 end  in  the  outer  darkness. 
 
 O    2 
 
196 
 
 PSALM  XLIX. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    of  the  sons  of  korah.*    a  psalm.] 
 
 1  Hear  ye  this,  all  ye  peoples, 
 
 Give  ear,  all  ye  inhabitants  of  the  world, 
 
 2  Both  low  and  high, 
 
 Rich  and  poor  together  ! 
 
 3  My  mouth  shall  speak  wisdom, 
 
 And  the  meditation  of   my  heart  shall  be  under- 
 standing ; 
 
 4  I  will  incline  mine  ear  to  a  parable, 
 
 I  will  open  my  dark  saying  upon  the  harp. 
 
 I — 4.  Introduction  and  announce- 
 ment of  the  Psalmist's  purpose. 
 
 The  opening  is  solemn  and  formal, 
 like  that  of  the  Prophets.  Comp. 
 Micah  i.  2,  I  Kings  xxii.  28,  with 
 Deut.  xxxii.  i,  Is.  i.  2,  Fs.  1.  i. 
 
 1.  The  world  ;  the  term  here 
 used  is  that  which  indicates  its  tem- 
 porary, fleeting  character :  seexvii.  14, 
 note.  Two  things  are  implied  in  this 
 verse  ;  first,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
 Psalm  concei-ns  all  ;  and  next,  that  it 
 is  one  which  men  are  apt  to  neglect, 
 and  to  the  consideration  of  which, 
 therefore,  they  need  to  be  roused. 
 
 2.  Low    AND     HIGH,     lit.     SOnS    of 
 
 (common)  men,  and  sons  of  (great) 
 men.  Rich  and  poor,  between 
 whom  the  instruction  of  the  Psalm  is 
 divided,  its  lessons  being  a  warning 
 to  the  one,  and  a  consolation  to  the 
 other. 
 
 4.    I    WILL   INCLINE    MINE    EAR,  aS 
 
 one  who  listens  patiently  for  the  Divine 
 revelation.  The  inspiration  of  the 
 Poet,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Prophet, 
 is  from  above.  He  cannot  speak  of 
 his  own  heart  ;  he  must  hear  what 
 God  the  Lord  ^ill  say.  The  mclin- 
 iug  of  the  ear  is  the  act  significant  of 
 ready  obedience  on  the  part  of  man  ; 
 
 the  revealing  or  uncovering  the  ear  (as 
 it  were,  by  drawing  away  the  long  hair 
 which  hung  over  it)  denotes  the  im- 
 parting of  supernatural  knowledge, 
 heavenly  wisdom,  and  the  like,  on  the 
 part  of  God,  Is.  1.  5.  Similarly, 
 Wordsworth,  speaking  of  a  maiden 
 whose  soul  is  filled,  and  whose  very 
 features  are  moulded  by  the  inspiration 
 caught  from  the  world  of  Nature  : 
 
 "...  she  shall  lean  her  ear 
 In  many  a  secret  place. 
 Where  rivulets  dance  their  wayward 
 
 round, 
 And  beauty  born  of  murmuring  sound 
 Shall  pass  into  her  face." 
 
 Diodati  supposes  that  the  metaphoi  is 
 borrowed  from  musicians,  who  incline 
 the  ear  when  they  tune  their  instru- 
 ments, in  order  to  ascertain  that  each 
 note  is  true.  It  is  because  he  has 
 thus  listened  to  receive  a  message 
 from  above,  that  the  Poet  can  call 
 upon  all  nations  to  hear  him.  He 
 who  would  be  a  true  teacher  of  the 
 things  of  God  must  first  incline  his 
 ear  to  hear,  before  he  can  open  his 
 lips  to  speak. 
 
 A     PARABLE,    a  truth    cast    in    a 
 
 See  note  on  the  Inscription  of  Psalm  lxx.\iv. 
 
PSALM  XLIX. 
 
 197 
 
 5  Why  should  I  fear  in  the  days  of  evil, 
 
 When  iniquity  at  my  heels  compasseth  me  about  ? 
 
 6  They  that  trust  in  their  wealth, 
 
 And    in    the   greatness    of  their   riches    make   their 
 boast, 
 
 7  None  (of  them)  can  by  any  means  redeem  another, 
 
 Nor  give  to  God  a  ransom  for  him, — 
 
 8  And  precious  is  the  redemption  of  their  soul, 
 
 And  it  must  be  let  alone  for  ever, — 
 
 9  That  he  should  still  live  continually. 
 
 That  he  should  not  see  the  grave. 
 10  For  he  must  see  it : 
 
 Wise  men  must  die ; 
 
 weighty,  sententious  form  ;  as  a  rid- 
 dle is  one  clothed  in  metaphor,  &c. 
 Comp.  Ixxviii.  2,  Prov.  i.  6.  Both 
 words,  however,  are  used  of  profound 
 and  important  truths.  The  very  ex- 
 pression, *'  I  will  open,"  shows  that 
 it  is  not  the  design  of  the  Poet  to 
 express  himself  in  a  dark,  obscure 
 manner. 
 
 5.  Why  should  I  fear.  The 
 consolatory  result  at  which  he  has 
 arrived,  after  looking  at  the  world, 
 and  weighing  in  the  balance  those 
 whose  fortune  seems  fair  and  prospe- 
 rous, is  placed  first,  before  he  tells  the 
 tale,  as  in  xxxvii.  I,   Ixxiii.  I. 
 
 The  days  of  evil,  not  merely  a 
 time  of  misfortune,  as  the  parallelism 
 shows,  but  the  time  in  which  evil  men 
 bear  sway. 
 
 When  iniquity,  &c.  lit.  "  when 
 the  iniquity  of  my  heels  compasseth 
 me  about."  Comp.  xliv.  15,  "the 
 shame  of  my  face  covereth  m-e,"  in- 
 stead of  "  shame  covereth  my  face." 
 
 Or,  perhaps,  Iniquity  is  supposed 
 to  be  lying,  like  a  serpent  in  his  path, 
 ready  to  fasten  on  the  heel,  as  the 
 most  exposed  and  vulnerable  part. 
 
 7.  Another,  lit.  "  a  brother, "  the 
 word,  however,  being  employed  in  the 
 widest  sense,  as  in  Lev.  xxv.  48,  and 
 
 often.  The  sentiment  is  expressed  in 
 its  most  general  form,  but  with  a 
 tacit  opposition.  Man  cannot  redeem 
 man  from  death  :  God  only  can  do 
 this. 
 
 8.  Soul,  i.e.  as  is  evident  from  the 
 whole  scope  of  the  context  here,  "life." 
 It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that  super- 
 ficial readers  of  the  Psalm  so  often 
 give  a  totally  false  meaning  to  this  and 
 the  preceding  verse.  The  passage  has 
 been  alleged  to  prove  that  our  Lord, 
 as  the  Redeemer  of  man,  must  be  God 
 as  well  as  man.  The  doctrine  is  most 
 true,  but  it  is  not  in  the  Psalm,  nor  is 
 there  the  remotest  allusion  to  it.  All 
 that  is  here  taught  is,  that  no  wealth 
 can  save  a  man  from  death,  because 
 the  life  of  men  is  not  in  their  own 
 hands,  or  in  that  of  their  fellows,  but 
 only  in  the  hand  of  God,  who  cannot 
 be  bribed.  There  is  a  kind  of  solemn 
 irony  in  the  idea  of  the  richest  of  men 
 offering  all  his  riches  to  God,  to  es- 
 cape death. 
 
 9.  That  he  should  live.  This 
 is  dependent  on  the  last  clause  of  ver. 
 7,  "  Nor  give  to  God  a  ransom  for 
 him,  that  he  should  live,"  &c.,  verse 
 8  being  parenthetical. 
 
 10.  Wise  men,  not  simply  mean- 
 ing   that   their  wisdom    cannot   save 
 
198 
 
 PSALM  XLIX. 
 
 Together  the  fool  and  the  brutish  person  must  perish, 
 And  leave  their  wealth  for  others. 
 
 11  Their  inward  thought  is  that  their  houses  shall  be  for 
 
 ever, 
 Their  dwelling-places  to  many  generations  : 
 They  call  (their)  lands  after  their  own  names. 
 
 12  But  man,  being  in  honour,  abideth  net, 
 
 He  is  Hke  to  the  beasts  that  are  destroyed. 
 
 13  This  their  way  is  their  folly, 
 
 And  after  them  men  approve  their  sayings.     [Selah.] 
 
 14  Like  sheep  they  are  gathered  to  the  unseen  world  ; 
 
 Death  is  their  shepherd  : 
 
 them,  but  that  their  utmost  wisdom 
 will  not  lead  them  to  make  so  proht- 
 able  a  use  of  their  wealth,  as  thereby 
 to  escape  the  grave.  Die  .... 
 PERISH  :  the  words  seem  purposely 
 chosen  to  denote  the  end  respectively 
 of  the  wise  and  the  brutish. 
 
 11.  After  their  own  names. 
 Thus  hopmg  to  build  for  themselves 
 an  immortality  upon  earth. 
 
 12.  In  HONOUR.  These  words  be- 
 long to  the  subject  "  man,"  not  to  the 
 verb  following.  Man  (being)  in  hon- 
 our, notwithstanding  all  the  magnifi- 
 cence of  his  position  and  his  wealth, 
 abideth  not, — lit.  does  not  pass  the 
 night,  is  not  so  secure  in  his  position 
 even  as  a  wayfarer,  who  turns  in  for  a 
 night's  lodging  at  the  inn. 
 
 Are  destroyed,  lit.  "are reduced 
 to  silence,"  the  eternal  silence  of 
 death. 
 
 13.  This  verse  is  evidently  closely 
 connected  with  ver.  11,  and  hence 
 Hupfeld  would  transpose  it  with  ver. 
 12.  It  is,  as  he  says,  naturally  con- 
 nected by  the  train  of  thought  with 
 ver.  II,  and  indeed  carries  on  and 
 completes  the  picture,  by  showing 
 how  these  rich  men  have  their  example 
 followed  even  after  their  death.  The 
 very  expression,  "  Thi3  their  way," 
 &c.,  is  a  summing  up  of  what  had 
 been  just  said.     And  the  Sdah,  stand- 
 
 ing as  it  now  does,  at  the  end  of  ver. 
 13,  instead  of  standing,  as  it  naturally 
 would,  after  the  refrain,  ver.  12,  seerns 
 to  intimate  that  there  has  been  some 
 disarrangement. 
 
 This  their  way.  Both  the  mean- 
 ing and  the  construction  of  this  clause 
 are  doubtful.  It  may  mean  (i)  "  This 
 their  way  {i.e.  manner  of  life,  course 
 of  conduct)  is  their  folly  :  "  or  (2) 
 "This  their  prosperous  condition  is 
 (or  becomes)  their  infatuation  (blind 
 confidence)." 
 
 Approvetheir  sayings, lit.  "find 
 pleasure  in  their  mouth."  Their  ex- 
 ample and  their  words  survive  them. 
 Their  maxims  are  the  maxims  which 
 find  favour  and  currency  in  the  world. 
 Ewald  carries  on  the  construction 
 from  the  previous  verse  : 
 
 "  This  is  the  way  of  those  who  have 
 folly, 
 And  of  those  after  them  who  delight 
 to  speak  in  like  manner." 
 
 14.  A  further  description  of  the  end 
 of  these  rich  fools.  They  perish  like 
 cattle  (ver.  12)  :  they  are  laid  in  the 
 grave  ;  they  descend  to  Hades  (S/ieoi, 
 the  world  of  spirits),  and  there  they 
 are  like  a  flock  of  sheep,  with  Death 
 for  their  shepherd,  their  beauty  and 
 their  glory  gone. 
 
 Is    their    shepherd,    i.e.    feeds 
 
PSALM  XLIX. 
 
 199 
 
 — And  the  upright  have  dominion   over  them   in  the 
 morning, — 
 And  their  beauty  shall  the  unseen  world  consume, 
 That  it  have  no  more  dwelling-place. 
 15   But  God  will  redeem  my  soul  from  the  power  of  the 
 unseen  world  : 
 For  He  shall  take  me.     [Selah.] 
 
 them  (not  feeds  on  them,  as  the 
 t.  v.),  tends  them.  They  have  been 
 like  a  flock  fed  to  the  full  in  fat  pas- 
 tures during  the  day  :  they  are  now 
 like  a  flock  which  the  shepherd,  when 
 night  comes,  puts  into  the  fold. 
 
 Have  dominion,  or,  have  tram- 
 pled upon  them,  putting  their  feet,  as 
 it  were,  upon  the  neck  of  prostrate 
 foes.  Stated  as  a  past  fact,  because 
 the  destruction  of  the  wicked  is  also 
 regarded  as  already  accomplished. 
 
 In  the  morning.  Apparently  the 
 morning  of  deliverance  is  meant,  after 
 the  night  of  misery  and  suffering  which 
 they  have  experienced  at  the  hand 
 of  their  oppressors.  Some  expositors 
 understand  it  of  the  morning  of  the 
 resurrection,  and  the  kingdom  and 
 dominion  which  the  saints  shall  then 
 share  with  Christ.   But  see  on  ver.  15. 
 
 15.  The  lot  of  the  nghteous  is  now 
 contrasted  with  that  of  the  wicked, 
 but  with  a  personal  ajiplication  to  the 
 Psalmist  himself,  ' '  God  shall  redeem 
 my  soul." 
 
 But,  or,  "only,"  as  an  exception 
 to  the  general  lot  of  men,  such  as 
 those  before  described. 
 
 From  the  power  of  the  unseen 
 WORLD,  lit.  "  from  the  hand  of  She5l," 
 i.e.  the  grave  and  Hades. 
 
 For  He  shall  take  me.  This 
 short  half-verse  is  the  more  weighty, 
 from  its  very  shortness. 
 
 We  have,  then,  in  this  passage 
 again  (comp.  xvi.  11,  xvii.  15),  the 
 strong  hope  of  eternal  life  witli  God, 
 if  not  the  hope  of  a  resurrection.  In 
 the  preceding  verse,  in  the  very  midst 
 of  the  gloomy  picture  which  he  draws 
 
 of  the  end  of  theupgodly,  there  breaks 
 forth  one  morning-rjy  of  light,  the 
 bright  anticipation  ot  the  final  triumph 
 of  the  good  over  the  evil.  This  is  the 
 inextinguishable  hope  which  animates 
 the  Church  of  the  Old  Testament,  as 
 well  as  that  of  the  New.  Righteous- 
 ness shall  eventually,  must  in  its  very 
 nature,  reign  upon  the  earth.  The 
 wicked  shall  find  their  end  in  Sheol 
 (see  ix.  17),  and  the  righteous  sh.U 
 tr^mple  on  their  graves.  This,  and 
 not  more  than  this,  seems  to  have 
 been  the  meaning  originally  of  the 
 Psalmist,  in  the  words,  ' '  And  the 
 righteous  have  dominion  over  them  in 
 the  morning."  But  now  that  becomes 
 t  >  speak  of  himself,  and  his  own  per- 
 sonal relation  to  God,  he  rises  into  a 
 higher  strain.  He  v/ho  knows  and 
 loves  God  has  the  life  of  God,  and  can 
 never  perish.  That  life  must  survive 
 even  the  shock  of  death.  "God," 
 says  the  Psalmist,  "shall  redeem  my 
 soul  from  the  hand  of  Hades,  for  He 
 shall  take  me,"  as  He  took  Enoch, 
 and  as  He  took  Elijah  to  Himself. 
 We  are  not,  of  course,  to  suppose  that 
 the  Sacred  Poet  himself  expected  to 
 be  taken  up  alive  to  heaven ;  but  those 
 great  facts  of  former  ages  were  God's 
 witnesses  to  man  of  his  immortality, 
 and  of  the  reality  of  a  life  with  Him 
 beyond  this  world.  It  is  a  hope  based 
 on  facts  like  these  which  here  shn.es 
 forth.  It  is  a  hope,  not  a  revealed 
 certainty.  It  rests  on  no  distinct 
 promise  :  it  has  not  assumed  the 
 definite  form  of  a  doctrine.  But  it 
 was  enough  to  raise,  to  chec;r,  to  en- 
 courage   those  who  saw   ungodliness 
 
200 
 
 PSALM  L. 
 
 1 6  Be  not  thou  afraid  when  a  man  grovveth  rich^ 
 
 When  the  glory  of  his  house  is  increased  : 
 
 17  For  when  he  diethhecan  take  nothing  (away  with  him), 
 
 His  glory  cannot  descend  after  him  : 
 
 18  For  though  he  blesseth  his  soul  while  he  liveth, 
 
 —  And   men   praise  thee  when   thou   doest  good  to 
 thyself — 
 
 19  He  shall  go  to  the  generation  of  his  fathers, 
 
 Who  nevermore  see  the  light. 
 
 20  Man,  being  in  honour,  and  having  no  understanding, 
 
 Is  like  to  the  beasts  that  are  destroyed. 
 
 prospering  in  this  world.  The  end  of 
 the  wicked,  after  all,  was  a  thick  dark- 
 ness which  had  never  been  penetrated  ; 
 the  end  of  the  righteous,  life  with  God. 
 (See  the  same  contrast  in  xvii.  15,  and 
 note  there.) 
 
 16.  Having  encouraged  himself 
 with  this  hope,  he  now  turns  to  en- 
 courage others. 
 
 18.  Blesseth  his  soul,  i.e.  pro- 
 nounces himself  a  happy  man.  Comp. 
 Deut.  xxix.  19,  "blesseth  himself  m 
 his  heart,"  and  the  address  of  the  rich 
 man  to  his  soul,  Luke  xii.  19,  "Soul, 
 ihou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for 
 many  years." 
 
 19.  'He  shall  go.  According  to 
 the  prestnt  text,  "  zV  shall  go,"  z.^. 
 the  soul  (ver.  18),  which  is  the  only 
 subject,  if  the  verb  here  is  in  the  3d 
 pers.  fem.    Some  expositors,  however. 
 
 alleging  that  such  an  expression  is 
 not  used  of  the  soul,  vvouid  take  the 
 verb  here  as  2d  pers.  masc,  "thou 
 slialt  go,"  as  if  the  rich  man  Avere 
 addressed  :  but  this  involves  the  ex- 
 ceeding harshness  of  a  return,  imme- 
 diately after,  to  the  3d  pers.,  "  T/1071 
 shalt  go  to  the  generation  of  his 
 fathers." 
 
 20.  The  Psalm  concludes  with  the 
 refrain,  as  at  ver.  12,  but  with  the 
 alteration  of  one  word.  Instead  of 
 "abideth  not,"  we  have  now,  "and 
 hath  no  undertanding,"  or  rather  as  a 
 sort  of  adverbial  clause,  "and  with- 
 out understanding."  There  is  conse- 
 quently a  fresh  idea  here.  There  the 
 statement  is,  that  men  in  general  are 
 like  dumb  cattle  ;  here,  that  only  if 
 they  possess  not  the  true  wisdom,  they 
 perish  like  the  brutes. 
 
 PSALM  L. 
 
 This  Psalm  furnishes  us  with  no  evidence  as  to  the  time  of  its 
 composition,  but  in  elegunce  and  sublimity  of  language,  in  force  and 
 dignity,  it  is  worthy  of   the  best  days  of    Hebrew  poetry.     It  is  a 
 
PSALM  L.  20 1 
 
 magnificent  exposition  of  the  true  nature  of  that  service  and  worship 
 which  God  requires  from  man.  It  rebukes  the  folly  which  thmks 
 that  religion  is  a  matter  of  sacrifices  and  gifts,  anfl  declares  that 
 obedience  and  thanksgiving  are  the  true  fulfilling  of  the  Law.  It 
 condemns  alike  a  prevalent  formalism  and  a  prevalent  hypocrisy. 
 How  needful  it  was  to  insist  upon  such  truths  we  learn  from  the 
 whole  history  of  Israel,  and  the  perpetual  and  indignant  remon- 
 strances of  the  Prophets.  The  tendency  to  substitute  the  outward 
 act  for  the  inward,  the  sacrifices  of  bulls  and  goats  for  the  sacrifice 
 of  thanksgiving,  was  deeply  ingrained  in  the  nation,  till  at  last  it 
 ossified  in  Pharisaism,  and  wore  its  most  hideous  aspect  on  that  day 
 of  solemn  Passover,  when  the  sacrifices  of  the  Law  were  offered  by 
 those  whose  hands  were  stained  with  the  greatest  crime  which  the 
 world  has  seen. 
 
 The  Psalm  thus  inculcates  at  length  the  same  doctrine  which  we 
 find  in  briefer  lines  in  Psalms  xl.  6—8,  li.  17,  Ixix.  30,  &c.,  and  which 
 is  implied  in  xv.  and  xxiv.  i — 6.  In  its  general  tone  and  character  it 
 is  essentially  prophetic.     It  consists  of  three  principal  parts  : — 
 
 I.  A  magnificent  exordium,  in  which  the  whole  scene  of  judgement 
 is  described.  As  formerly,  at  the  giving  of  the  Law  on  Sinai,  so  now 
 God  is  represented  as  appearing  in  Zion  for  the  explajiation  of  it,  and 
 for  judgement  against  its  transgressors.     Ver.  i — 6. 
 
 II.  From  His  judgement-seat  God  solemnly  rebukes  the  errors 
 and  delusions  which  prevailed  as  to  the  nature  of  His  service.  He 
 reminds  His  people  of  the  peculiar  relation  in  which  they  stand  to 
 Him,  and  asks  if  they  can  believe  that  sacrifices,  merely  as  sacri- 
 fices, can  be  of  any  value  to  Him  who  has  all  creatures  at  His 
 command.  Thanksgiving  and  prayer  are  the  sacrifices  in  which 
 He  delights,  and  these  will  best  avail  in  the  day  of  trouble,  Ver. 
 7-T5- 
 
 III.  But  there  were  those  in  Israel  who  not  only  exalted  the  out- 
 ward service  unduly,  but  who  made  its  punctual  observance  a  cloke 
 for,  and  a  makeweight  against,  their  iniquity.  The  first  evil,  indeed, 
 of  superstitious  formalism,  naturally  engendered  this  still  deadlier 
 evil  of  conscious  hypocrisy.  Against  this,  sentence  is  now  pro- 
 nounced ;  and  again  the  truth,  already  enunciated,  is  repeated,  that 
 the  love  of  a  grateful  heart  is  the  sacrifice  which  is  truly  pleasing  to 
 God.     Ver.  16—23. 
 
202  PSALM  L. 
 
 [a  psalm  of  ASAPH."^] 
 
 I.   I   The  God  of  gods,  Jehovah,  hath  spoken, 
 
 And  called  the  earth,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to 
 the  setting  thereof. 
 
 2  Out  of  Zion,  the  perfection  of  beauty, 
 
 God  hath  shined. 
 
 3  Our  God  cometh,  and  surely  will  not  keep  silence  ! 
 
 A  fire  devoureth  before  Him, 
 
 And  round  about  Him  a  tempest  rages : 
 
 I — 6.  The  Psalm  opens  with  a 
 description  of  God's  coming  to  judge 
 His  people.  He  comes  now  to  Zion, 
 as  once  He  came  to  Sinai.  He 
 comes  with  all  the  gloom  and  terrors 
 of  thunder,  and  lightning,  and  storm. 
 He  summons  before  His  judgement- 
 seAt  th.se  whom  He  has  taken  into 
 covenant  with  Himself ;  and  at  the 
 same  time  as  exercising  universal 
 dominion,  He  calls  heaven  and  earth 
 to  be  His  witnesses  against  them. 
 
 I.  The  God  of  gods.  This  is, 
 there  can  be  no  doubt,  the  proper 
 rendering  of  the  words,  El  Elohim. 
 These  three  names  of  God  occur  in 
 the  same  way  in  Josh.  xxii.  22,  where 
 tliey  are  twice  repeated.  This  is  the 
 only  use  of  the  name  Jehovah  in  the 
 Psalm,  which  is  in  accordance  with 
 the  general  Elohistic  character  of  the 
 second  Book  ;  but  the  adjunct,  "God 
 of    gods,"   is   certainly    remarkable. 
 
 The  peculiar  use  of  the  Divine  Names 
 in  the  Psalms,  and  in  the  historicril 
 Books,  is  however  too  large  a  ques- 
 tion to  be  satisfactorily  discussed  in  a 
 note. 
 
 The  earth,  as  afterwards  **the 
 heaven  and  the  earth,"  are  summoned 
 as  witnesses  of  the  solemn  act  of 
 judgement,  and  as  lending  grandeur 
 to  the  whole  awful  scene— borrowed, 
 as  Is.  i.  2,  from  Deut.  xxxii.  i. 
 
 2.  The  perfection  of  beauty. 
 Comp.  xlviii  2.  The  same  expression 
 is  applied  to  Zion  also  in  Lament,  ii. 
 15.  Zion  would  be  so  called,  as  pos- 
 sessing the  Sanctuary,  whether  Taber- 
 nacle or  Temple. 
 
 Hath  shined.  Comp.  Ixxx.  i, 
 Deut.  xxxiii.  2. 
 
 3.  God  is  seen  coming,  the  devour- 
 ing fire  and  the  migh-ty  tempest  being 
 the  accompaniments  of  His  Presence, 
 and   the   symbols   of  the  judgement 
 
 *  This  is  the  first  Psahn,  and  the  only  one  in  this  Book,  ascribed  to  Asaph.  In  the  Third 
 Book  of  the  Psalter,  eleven  Psalms,  Ixxiii. — Ixxxiii.,  have  his  name  prefixed  to  them.  Hewas 
 one  of  the  three  choir-leaders  or  chief  singers  appointed  under  the  direction  of  David  to 
 preside  over  his  great  choral  company  of  Levites,  the  other  two  being  Heman  and  Ethan  (or 
 Jeduthun).  Comp.  i  Chron.  xv.  16  &c.  with  xxv.i,&c.  Their  special  instruments  of  music 
 were  cymbals  of  brass,  i  Chron.  xv.  19,  with  which,  and  with  harps  and  psalteries,  they  were 
 said  to  prophesy,  xxv.  i.  On  the  occasion  of  bringing  up  the  Ark  to  Jerusalem,  David 
 delivered  "To  Asaph  and  his  brethren  'the  Psalm  which  had  been  composed  to  celebrate  that 
 event,  i  Chron.  xvi.  7  ;  and  in  the  division  of  the  Levitical  services  which  became  necessary, 
 as  the  tabernacle  still  remained  at  Gibeon,  Asaph  and  his  company  were  selected  "to 
 minister  before  the  Ark  of  Jehovah,  and  to  record,  and  to  thank  and  praise  Jeh  -vah  the 
 God  of  Israel,"  i  Chron.  xvi  4,  5.  In  later  times,  Asaph  was  ranked  with  David  as  one 
 gf  the  famous  singers  of  Israel.     Comp.  Neh.  xii.  46,  with  2  Chron.  x.kIx.  30. 
 
PSALM  L. 
 
 203 
 
 11.  7 
 
 He  calls  to  the  heavens  from  above, 
 
 And  to  the  earth  that  He  may  judge  His  people.  . 
 "  Gather  My  beloved  together  unto  Me; 
 
 They  that  have   made  a   covenant  with   Me   by 
 sacrifice." 
 And  the  heavens  have  declared  His  righteousness, 
 
 For  God  is  Judge  Himself.     [Selah.] 
 
 "  Hear,  O  my  people,  and  I  will  speak  ; 
 O  Israel,  and  I  will  testify  unto  thee  ; 
 God,  (even)  thy  God,  (am)  I. 
 Not  because  of  thy  sacrifices  do  I  reprove  thee. 
 Yea,  thy  burnt-offerings  (have  been)  always  before  Me. 
 
 which  He  will  execute.  See  the  more 
 elaborate  working  out  of  the  same 
 im-fge  in  xviii.  7 — 15.  Comp.  xcvii. 
 2—6. 
 
 A  TEMPEST  RAGES,  lit.  "it  is  tcm- 
 pestuous  exceedingly." 
 
 5.  All  nature  having  been  sum- 
 moned as  witness  to  the  awful  scene, 
 God  now  speaks. 
 
 Gather,  &c.  To  whom  are  these 
 words  addressed  ?  Many  suppose,  to 
 the  angels,  as  the  ministers  of  God's 
 w  ill.  But  it  is  unnecessary  to  make 
 the  expression  more  definite  than  it  is 
 in  the  Psalm. 
 
 My  beloved,  not  "my  saints,''''  as 
 E.V.,  but  "those  who  have  obtained 
 favour,  grace,  in  My  sight,"  or  as  is 
 explained  in  the  parallel,  "those 
 whom  I  have  taken  into  covenant 
 with  Myself."  See  note  on  xvi.  10. 
 God  has  made  Himself  known  to 
 Israel  :  He  has  given  them  His  Law 
 and  His  Covenant :  and  He  comes 
 now  to  judge  them,  to  see  whether 
 they  have  Icept  His  Law,  whether 
 they  have  been  faithful  to  His  Cove- 
 nant. 
 
 By  sacrifice,  lit.  "upon  sacrifice," 
 as  that  by  means  of  which  the  cove- 
 nant was  sealed,  Exod.  xxiv.  8. 
 
 6.  For  God  is  Judge.  God  is 
 now  about  to  act  as  Judge  Himself. 
 
 7.  Then  judgement  opens.  The 
 whole  nation  is  called  before  the  bar 
 of  its  Judge,  who  is  "  God  "  (the  God 
 of  the  world),  and  '■'thy  God"  (the 
 God  of  Israel). 
 
 And  I  WILL  speak,  or,  ^'- that  I 
 may  speak,"  and  in  the  next  clause 
 "  that  I  may  testify." 
 
 Testify  against  thee,  or  per- 
 haps "  conjure  thee,"  "solemnly  warn 
 thee." 
 
 God,  (even)  thy  God,  in  an 
 Elohistic  Psalm,  instead  of  "Jeho- 
 vah, thy  God,"  (see  xlv.  7,  with  refer- 
 ence probably  to  the  Mosaic  formula, 
 as  at  the  beginning  of  the  Decalogue, 
 Exod.  XX.  2).  Compare  the  shorter 
 formula,  "  I  am  Jehovah,"  Ex.  vi.  2, 
 6 — 8,  which  is  so  often  repeated  in 
 the  solemn  enactment  of  different 
 laws  in  the  Book  of  Leviticus.  It  is 
 the  utterance  both  of  the  Lawgiver 
 and  of  the  Judge. 
 
 8.  The  reason  for  this  act  of  judge- 
 ment is  given.  First,  negatively.  It  is 
 not  because  the  people  had  neglected 
 the  externals  of  the  Law,  or  had  for- 
 gotten to  offer  the  sacrifices  appointed 
 by  the  Law.  They  had  brought 
 them  ;  but  they  had  brought  them  as 
 if  the  act  were  everything,  and  as  if 
 the  meaning  of  the  act,  and  the  spirit 
 in  which  it  was  done,  were  nothing. 
 
204 
 
 PSALM  Z. 
 
 9  I  would  not  take  out  of  thine  house  a  bullock, 
 Nor  he-goats  out  of  thy  folds  ; 
 
 10  For  Mine  is  every  beast  of  the  forest, 
 
 (And)  the  cattle  upon  the  mountains  by  thousands. 
 
 1 1  I  know  every  bird  of  the  mountains, 
 
 And  that  which  moveth  in  the  field  rs  with  Me. 
 
 12  If  I  were  hungry,  I  would  not  tell  thee  ; 
 
 For  Mine  is  the  world  and  the  fulness  thereof. 
 
 13  Should  I  eat  the  flesh  of  bulls, 
 
 Or  drink  the  blood  of  he-goats  .? 
 
 14  Sacrifice  unto  God  thanksgiving, 
 
 And  pay  thy  vows  to  the  Most  High  ; 
 
 15  And  call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble, 
 
 I  will  deliver  thee,  and  thou  shalt  glorify  Me." 
 
 But  God  demands  no  service  for  its 
 own  sake,  but  only  as  the  expression 
 of  an  obedient  will.  A  thankful 
 heart  is  more  than  all  burnt- offerings. 
 The  Prophets  are  full  of  the  like 
 sentiments.  Thus,  in  Isaiah,  God 
 expostulates,  "To  what  purpose  is 
 the  multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto 
 Me?  I  am  full  of  the  burnt-ofterings 
 of  rams,"  &c.  (i.  12  ;  compare  also 
 Iviii.  andlxvi.  3).  Micah  asks,  "Will 
 Jehovah  be  pleased  with  thousands  of 
 rams?"&c.  (vi.  6 — 8).  Hosea  testi- 
 fies, "I  will  have  mercy  and  not 
 sacrifice."  And  so  deep-rooted  was 
 this  tendency  in  the  people  to  exag- 
 gerate the  importance  of  the  dead 
 work,  to  bting  the  sacrifice  of  the 
 dumb  animal  instead  of  the  sacrifice 
 of  the  heart,  that  Jeremiah  carries  the 
 opposition  between  sacrifice  and  obe- 
 dience even  to  the  extreme  of  a 
 paradox,  "  For  I  spake  not  unto 
 your  fathers,  and  I  commanded  them 
 not,  in  the  day  that  I  brought  them 
 up  out  of  the  land  of  Egyjpt,  concern- 
 ing burnt-offering  and  sacrifice  ;  but 
 this  thmg  I  commanded  them,  saying. 
 Hear  My  voice,"  &c.  ^vii.  22,  23^ 
 
 Sacrificks,  i.e.  peace-offerings, 
 often  joined  with  burnt-offerings, 
 as  li.  16.  See  also  xl.  6,  the  two 
 being  mentioned  probably  as  repre- 
 senting and  including  all  manner  of 
 L<acrifices. 
 
 The  following  verses,  9- — 13,  are  in 
 a  strain  of  lofty  irony,  in  which  tlie 
 gross  stupidity  which  could  suppose 
 that  the  flesh  and  blood  of  the  victims 
 were  of  themselves  acceptable  to  God, 
 is  finely  exposed. 
 
 10.  Cattle.  The  word  is  most 
 commonly  used  of  tame  animals,  but 
 litre  generally  of  large  herds  of 
 grazing  cattle. 
 
 By  thousands,  lit.  "  on  the  moun- 
 tains of  a  thousand,"  i.e.  where  a 
 thousand  are ;  or,  where  they  are  by 
 thousands. 
 
 14.  There  follows  now,  positively, 
 what  God  requires.  The  sacrifices 
 which  He  would  have  are  thanksgiving, 
 and  the  prayer  of  faith  in  the  time  of 
 trouble.      Comp.  li.   17. 
 
 Under  the  name  of  thanksgiving 
 and  prayer  all  the  rest  of  religion 
 is  comprehended. 
 
 Thy  vows.     Comp.  cxvi.  13. 
 
PSALM  Z. 
 
 205 
 
 III.   16  But  unto  the  wicked  saith  God  : 
 
 "  What  hast  thou  to  do  to  tell  My  statutes, 
 And  that  thou  hast  taken  My  covenant  into  thy 
 mouth  ? 
 
 17  Whereas  for  thee — thou  hatest  instruction, 
 
 And  hast  cast  My  words  behind  thee  ; 
 
 18  When  thou  sawest  a  thief — thou  foundest  pleasure 
 
 in  him, 
 And  with  adulterers  (has  been)  thy  portion ; 
 
 19  Thy  mouth  thou  hast  let  loose  in  wickedness, 
 
 And  thy  tongue  frameth  deceit  ; 
 
 20  Thou  sittest  (and)  speakest  against  thy  brother, 
 
 Against  thy  mother's  son  thou  utterest  slander. 
 
 21  These  things  thou  hast  done,  and  (because)  I  kept 
 
 silence 
 
 16.  The  former  part  of  the  Divine 
 sentence  was  directed  against  those 
 who  attached  undue  importance  to 
 the  external  acts  of  rehgion.  What 
 follows  is  directed  against  those  who 
 make  use  of  the  outward  observances 
 of  religion  as  a  mask  and  cloke  under 
 which  they  may  hide  their  iniquities. 
 First,  formalists,  and  next,  hypocrites 
 are  condemned.  With  this  and  the 
 following  verses,  comp.  Rom.  ii.  17 
 —24. 
 
 To  TELL,  I.e.  "to  number,  "to 
 count  up,"  as  if  with  a  view  to  their 
 more  punctual  observance. 
 
 17.  Wheeeas  for  thee.  The 
 pronoun  is  emphatic,  and  is  thus 
 placed,  to  mark  the  strong  contrast 
 between  such  a  character  and  the 
 Law  which  he  professes  to  understand. 
 Comp,  Is.  i.  15. 
 
 18.  Foundest  pleasure  in  him, 
 i.e.  in  his  society  ;  in  intercourse  with 
 him,  &c.  Comp.  Job  xxxiv.  9.  The 
 transgression  of  three  commandments 
 of  the  Decalogue  is  specified,  in  the 
 same  way  as  in  Rom.  ii.  17,  &c.  by 
 way  of  example. 
 
 19.  Frameth,  lit.  "  weaveth." 
 
 20.  Thou  sittest,  i.e.  in  company 
 with  others  who  slander  and  speak 
 evil,     (See  i.  I.) 
 
 Thy  mother's  son,  stronger  than 
 "  thy  brother,"  and  intended  to  mark 
 the  unnatural  blackness  of  such  con- 
 duct 
 
 Utterest  slander.  (The  noun 
 occurs  only  here),  the  LXX.  render 
 "  puttest  a  stumbling-block,"  but 
 the  other  sense  suits  the  parallelism 
 better. 
 
 21.  And  because  the  sinner  is  al- 
 lowed to  go  on  long  unpunished,  he 
 waxes  confident  by  his  impunity,  and 
 imagines  that  God  is  like  himself,  and 
 that  good  and  evil  are  things  indiffer- 
 ent ;  not  that  he  says  so  in  words,  but 
 his  conduct  shows  his  ignorance  both 
 of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  and 
 of  the  truth  and  righteousness  of 
 God. 
 
 Kept  silence,  i.e.  did  not  mani- 
 fest My  abhorrence  of  sin  by  signal 
 vengeance  on  the  ungodly. 
 
 But  the  long-suffering  of  God  cannot 
 always  be  abused.  The  time  comes 
 when  the  sinner  is  made  to  feel  that 
 God  is  a  righteous  Judge. 
 
2o6 
 
 PSALM  L. 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 
 Thou  thoughtest  I  was  altogether  such  an  one  like 
 thyself ; 
 (But)  I  will  reprove  thee,   and  set  all  (the  matter)  in 
 
 order  before  thine  eyes." 
 Consider,  now,  this,  O  ye  that  forget  God, 
 
 Lest  I  tear  (you),  and  there  be  none  to  deliver. 
 Whoso  sacrihceth  thanksgiving  glorifieth  me, 
 And  whoso  prepareth  (his)  way, 
 I  will  show  him  the  salvation  of  God. 
 
 I  WILL  SET  IN  ORDER — the  whoIe 
 sin  in  all  its  evil  course,  its  poisonous 
 root,  and  its  deadly  branches,  shall  be 
 put  before  the  man.  The  sin  that  he 
 did  and  would  not  look  at,  God  shall 
 make  him  look  upon.  The  sin  which 
 he  thought  he  could  hide  from  God, 
 or  which,  with  strange  infatuation, 
 he  supposed  God  took  no  notice  of, 
 shall  be  proclaimed  upon  the  house- 
 tops. 
 
 23.  This  third  great  division  of  the 
 Psalm  concludes  with  the  assertion  of 
 the  same  truth  as  the  second.  The 
 lesson  of  the  Psalm  for  all  who  per- 
 vert the  Law  of  God,  whether  to  pur- 
 poses of  superstition  or  hypocrisy,  is 
 the  same  :  God  desires  the  heart  and 
 the  will  of  man  as  the  true  saciifice. 
 
 Sacrificeth  thanksgiving,  as 
 above,  ver.  14.  The  verb  is  design- 
 edly employed,  in  order  to  mark  the 
 nature  of  the  sacrifice  which  God  will 
 have  :  slay  not  victims,  bring  not 
 animals,  but  bring  thanksgiving  as 
 sacrifices.  The  E.V.  with  its  render- 
 ing, "  Offereth  praise,"  loses  sight  of 
 the  distinct  reference  to  the  Mosaic 
 sacrifices,  which  are  not  indeed  abso- 
 lutely superseded — the  time  had  not 
 yet  come  for  this — but  are  put  in  their 
 true  place.  The  very  great  promi- 
 nence again  given  to  thanksgiving  is 
 worthy  of  our  careful  notice.  There 
 is  no  duty  so  commonly  forgotten. 
 God  showers  down  His  benefits  upon 
 us  with  both  hands,  large  and  free, 
 and  we  receive  them  as  a  matter  of 
 
 course,  and  never  consider  Whose 
 Love  has  bestowed  them  :  and  thus, 
 in  our  unthankful ness,  we  rob  God 
 of  His  honour. 
 
 Further,  as  thanksgiving  is  thus 
 dwelt  upon  because  it  is  so  commonly 
 forgotten,  so  it  is  also  put  as  the  sum 
 of  religion  because  it,  in  fact,  includes 
 all  else.  Faith,  and  prayer,  and  self- 
 denial,  and  the  endurance  of  the  cross, 
 and  all  holy  exercises,  are,  as  Calvin 
 observes,  comprised  in  this  one  grace. 
 For  it  is  by  faith  only  that  we  aie 
 sensible  of  God's  goodness  ;  therefore 
 he  who  is  truly  of  a  thankful  spirit 
 has  faith  ;  he  who  is  thankful  triumphs 
 over  his  earthly  trials:  he  who  is  thank- 
 ful is  accomplishing  man's  highest 
 end,  inasmuch  as  in  all  things  he 
 gives  glory  to  God. 
 
 The  instruction  of  the  Psalm  abides: 
 it  has  not  lost  its  force.  The  sacra- 
 ments and  ordinances  of  the  Chris  ian 
 Church  may  become  to  us,  what  sacri- 
 fice and  offering  were  to  the  Jews,  a 
 mere  outward  form  ;  a  man  may 
 give  all  his  goods  to  feed  the  poor, 
 and  yet  have  no  love  ;  a  man  may  be 
 punctual  in  his  attendance  at  all  holy 
 ordinances,  and  yet  cherish  iniquity 
 in  his  heart,  and,  upon  occasion, 
 secretly  practise  it.  Hence  the  Psalm 
 is  truly  prophetical  ;  that  is,  universal 
 in  its  character.  It  deals  with  "  the 
 sinners  and  the  hypocrites  in  Zion," 
 but  it  reaches  to  all  men,  in  all  places 
 to  the  end  of  time. 
 
FSALAI  LL  207 
 
 PSALM    LI. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  the  expression  of  a  deep  and  unfeigned  repentance. 
 It  is  a  prayer,  first,  for  forgiveness,  with  a  humble  confession  of  sinful 
 deeds  springing  from  a  sinful  nature  as  their  bitter  root  ;  and  then  for 
 renewal  and  sanctification  through  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  together  with 
 vows  of  thankfulness  for  God's  mercy  to  the  sinner,  and  holy  reso- 
 lutions for  the  future. 
 
 It  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  Psalms,  li.— Ixv.,  which,  in  the  Second 
 Book  of  the  Psalter,  are  ascribed  to  David  ;  and,  according  to  the 
 title,  was  written  by  him  after  his  great  sin,  when  the  words  of  the 
 Prophet  Nathan  roused  his  conscience  from  its  uneasy  slumber. 
 Before  that,  we  cannot  doubt,  remorse  had  been  busy  with  him. 
 Before  that,  he  had  felt  his  misery,  had  fought  against  it,  but  had 
 refused  to  confess  his  sin.  But  the  home-thrust,  "  Thou  art  the  man," 
 pierced  him  to  the  heart,  and  this  Psalm  is  but  the  fuller  record  of  the 
 confession,  "  I  have  sinned,"  which  the  history  mentions  so  briefly. 
 
 So  profound  a  conviction  of  sin,  so  deep  and  unfeigned  a  penitence, 
 so  true  a  confession,  a  heart  so  tender,  so  contrite,  a  desire  so  fervent 
 for  renewal,  a  trust  so  humble,  so  filial  in  the  forgiving  love  of  God, 
 are  what  we  find  nowhere  else  in  the  Old  Testament,  but  what  we 
 might  surely  expect  from  "  the  man  after  God's  own  heart."  This 
 Psalm,  indeed,  and  the  32nd,  justify  the  title  thus  given  him.  In 
 them  we  see  the  true  man.  Great  as  had  been  his  sin,  it  was  not  the 
 sin  of  a  hardened  nature,  of  the  merely  selfish  sensualist,  of  the 
 despot  to  whom  all  men  were  but  as  tools  to  minister  to  his  pleasures 
 and  his  crimes.  And  therefore,  when  the  Prophet  comes  to  him,  he 
 turns  to  God  with  a  real  sorrow,  and  God  meets  him,  as  the  father  in 
 the  parable  meets  his  erring  son,  with  a  free  forgiveness. 
 
 I  see  no  ground  for  departing  from  the  constant  and  reasonable 
 belief  of  the  Church,  that  the  Psalm  was  written  by  David  under  the 
 circumstances  indicated  in  the  title. 
 
 It.  consists  of  three  principal  divisions  : — 
 I.  The  prayer  for  forgiveness.     Ver.  i — 8. 
 
208 
 
 PSALM  LL 
 
 II.  The  prayer  for  renewal.     Ver.  9 — 12. 
 
 III.  The  holy  resolutions  of  one  who  has  experienced  the  forgiving 
 love  and  the  sanctifying  grace  of  God.     Ver.  13 — 19. 
 
 The  Psalm  concludes  with  a  prayer  for  Zion  and  the  utterance  of 
 a  hope  that  the  time  will  come  when  God  will  be  honoured  with 
 "  sacrifices  of  righteousness."  "^ 
 
 [for  the  precentor.  a  psalm  of  DAVID,  WHEN  NATHAN  THE 
 PROPHET  CAME  TO  HIM  AFTER  HE  HAD  COME  IN  UNTO 
 BATHSHEBA.] 
 
 I.    I   Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  God,  according  to  Thy  loving- 
 kindness, 
 According  to  the  greatness  of  Thy  tender  mercies 
 blot  out  my  transgressions  : 
 
 I,  2.   The  prayer  for  forgiveness. 
 
 I.  According  to  Thy  loving- 
 kindness.  In  all  godly  sorrow  there 
 is  hope.  Sorrow  without  hope  may 
 be  remorse  or  despair,  but  it  is  not 
 repentance.  Hence  the  true  penitent 
 always  looks  to  the  loving-kindness  of 
 God,  even  at  the  very  time  when  he 
 feels  most  deeply  how  he  has  sinned 
 against  it.  The  cry  on  his  lips  is  "  My 
 Father,'^  even  when  he  confesses.  "I 
 am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  Thy 
 son." 
 
 The  greatness,  &c.  It  is  in  this 
 that  David  seeks  the  ground  of  for- 
 giveness, not  in  himself.  Comp.  xxv. 
 6,  7.  The  deep  sense  of  the  i,-'r^«/7/^j-j- 
 of  his  own  sin  makes  him  feel  the 
 need  of  a  great  mercy. 
 
 Blot  out.  The  forgiveness  of  sins 
 is  expressed  by  the  use  of  two  figures. 
 The  first,  th.^!  o{  blotting  otii,  "making 
 that  which  is  done  as  if.  it  had  not 
 been  done,"  is  capable  of  two  ex- 
 planations :    either    (i)    it   refers    to 
 
 erasing  from  a  book  or  tablet  what 
 has  been  written  therein,  as  Ex.  xxxii. 
 32,  Num.  V.  23,  comp.  Ps.  Ixix.  28,  in 
 which  case  sin  must  here  be  regarded  as 
 a  debt  entered  against  the  debtor,  and 
 so  cancelled  by  being  blotted  out  ; 
 or  (2)  it  may  mean,  in  a  more  general 
 sense,  the  wiping  away  of  a  thing,  and 
 so  its  entire  removal,  as  in  2  Kings 
 xxi.  13,  it  is  said,  "  I  will  7vipe  (die 
 same  word  as  here)  Jerusalem  as  a 
 man  wipeth  a  dish. "  And  in  Is.  xliv. 
 22,  "  I  will  blot  out  as  a  cloud  thy 
 sins,"  i.e.  take  them  away  as  a  cloud 
 is  swept  away  by  the  wind  from  the 
 face  of  heaven. 
 
 My  transgressions.  The  use  of 
 the  plural  has  been  variously  ex- 
 plained. Some  suppose  that  the 
 several  sins  of  adultery  and  murder  are 
 thus  denoted.  But  this  is  too  super- 
 ficial a  view.  No  sin  ever  stands 
 alone  :  each  single  tran.sgression  is 
 the  mother  of  many  transgressions  : 
 each  is  a  root  of  bitterness   whence 
 
 *  It  is  mentioned  in  the  Life  of  Bishop  Blomfield  that  he  used  this  Psalm  every  night  in 
 addition  to  his  other  devotions. 
 
rSALM  LI. 
 
 Wash  me  thoroughly  from  mine  iniquity, 
 
 And  cleanse  me  from  my  sin. 
 For  I  know  my  transgressions, 
 
 And  my  sin  is  ever  before  me. 
 Against  Thee — against  Thee  only  have  I  sinned^ 
 
 209 
 
 spring  many  bitter  branche?,  so  that 
 we  cannot  confess  one  sin  without 
 confessing  many. 
 
 On  the  various  words  used  here 
 and  in  the  next  verse,  transgres- 
 sions .  .  .  INIQUITY  .  .  .  SIN,  see 
 note  on  xxxii.  I. 
 
 2.  Wash  me.  This  is  the  second 
 figure  employed  to  denote  the  work- 
 ing of  God's  forgiveness  for  which 
 David  prays.  How  is  it  to  be  under- 
 stood ?  Does  it  refer  only,  like  the 
 first  (the  blotting  out  of  sin),  to  the 
 act  of  forgivene'^s,  or  does  it  denote 
 the  cleansing  and  purifying  of  the 
 sinner's  soul,  the  sanctification  of  the 
 spirit? 
 
 So  far  as  the  figure  itself  is  con- 
 cerned, it  migiit  certainly  be  symboli- 
 cal, as  all  outward  washing  was,  of 
 inward  purification.  On  the  other 
 hand,  the  prayer  here  is  for  forgiveness 
 of  sins — that  the  burden  of  guilt  may 
 be  taken  away,  and  afterwards,  in 
 ver.  10  ff.,  comes  the  prayer  for 
 renew-al  and  sanctification.  The  verb 
 in  the  next  clause  also,  "  cleanse  me," 
 though  a  word  of  more  general  use, 
 is  specially  applied  to  the  priest  who 
 ^^ pronounces  clean"  the  leper,  a  de- 
 clarative act.  Comp.  Lev.  xiii.  6, 
 34.  But  we  must  not  expect  in  the 
 O.  T.,  and  least  of  all  in  prayer, 
 sharply  defined  and  accurate  state- 
 ments of  doctrine.  Stier,  who  under- 
 stands the  "  washing"  here  of  sancti- 
 fication, says,  with  perfect  truth,  that 
 justification  and  sanctification,  though 
 distinct,  are  always  closely  connected 
 in  Scripture.  God  does  not  declare 
 righteous  without  making  x\^\\.&ox[.%. 
 
 3.  For.     This   particle   expres'^es, 
 
 not  the  reason  why  God  should  for- 
 give him,  but  the  reason  why  he  asks 
 for  forgiveness ;  namely,  his  own 
 sense  and  acknowledgement  of  his 
 sin.  Those,  however,  who  adopt  the 
 first  sense,  regard  the  confession  of 
 sin  not  as  the  meritorious  cause  of 
 forgiveness,  but  rather  as  an  indis- 
 pensable condition  (comp.  xxxii.  5, 
 Prov.  xxviii.  13). 
 
 1  KNOW.  There  is  no  need  to 
 render  with  the  E.  V.  "I  acknow- 
 ledge," though  no  doubt  the  confession 
 of  sin  is  implied.  That  however  is 
 not  here  prominent,  but  rather  that 
 discernment  of  sin  and  of  its  true 
 nature  which  leads  to  a  confession  of 
 it.  In  xxxii.  5,  "  I  will  confess  unto 
 Thee"  is  lit.  "I  will  make  Thee 
 know." 
 
 Is  EVER  BEFORE  ME.  Comp.  XXxii, 
 3,  4.  Luther  says  :  "That  is,  my 
 sin  plagues  me,  gives  me  no  res'",  no 
 peace  ;  whether  I  eat  or  drink,  sleep 
 or  wake,  I  am  always  in  terror  of 
 God's  wrath  and  judgemeiit."  But 
 surely  here,  not  the  terror  of  God's 
 wrath  and  judgement,  but  the  deep 
 sorrow  for  despite  done  to  God's  love 
 and  goodness,  is  the  feeling  upper- 
 most. David  dreads  not  punishment, 
 but  separation  from  God. 
 
 4.  Then  follows  an  acknowledge- 
 ment of  the  double  evil  of  sin  :  first, 
 in  its  aim,  and  next  in  its  source; 
 first,  as  done  against  God,  and  then 
 as  springing  from  a  corrupt  nature. 
 
 Against  Thee  only.  How  could 
 this  language  come  from  the  mouth 
 of  David,  who  had  been  guilty  of  sins 
 which  were  so  directly  against  men  a? 
 well  as  against  God?  The  sin  against 
 P 
 
2IO 
 
 PSALM  LI. 
 
 And  that  which  is  evil  in  Thine  eyes  have  I  done : 
 That  Thou  mayest  be  just  when  Thou  speakest, 
 
 Bathsheba  whom  he  had  tempted,  the 
 sin  against  Uriah  whom  he  had  slain 
 by  the  sword  of  another,  the  sin 
 against  his  own  family  which  he  had 
 polluted,  and  against  his  kingdom 
 which  he  had  weakened, — were  not 
 rdl  these  sins  against  men  ?  They 
 were.  And  yet  he  says,  Against  Thee 
 only  have  I  sinned.  How  are  we  to 
 understand  thi'.  ? 
 
 Firs^,  the  words  are  to  be  explained 
 by  David's  deep  comdction  of  sin  as  sin. 
 For  the  moment  all  else  is  swallowed 
 up  in  that.  Face  to  face  with  God, 
 he  sees  nothing  else,  can  think  of 
 nothing  else,  but  His  presence  for- 
 :,^()tten,  His  holiness  outraged,  His 
 love  scorned.  Therefore  he  must 
 confess  and  be  forgiven  by  God  before 
 he  could  even  think  of  the  wrong 
 done  to  his  neighbour. 
 
 But  secondly,  this  deep  feeling  of 
 the  penitent  heart,  of  the  heart  which 
 loves  God  above  all  things,  has  its  root 
 in  the  very  relation  in  which  God 
 stands  to  his  creatures.  All  sin,  as 
 sill,  is  and  must  be  against  God.  All 
 wrong  done  to  our  neighbour  is  wrong 
 done  to  one  created  in  the  image  of 
 God '/all  tempting  of  our  neighbour 
 to  evil  is  taking  the  part  of  Satan 
 against  God,  and,  so  far  as  in  us  lie=;, 
 defeating  God's  good  purpose  of  grace 
 towards  him.  All  wounding  of  another, 
 whether  in  person  or  property,  in  body 
 or  soul,  is  a  sin  aq^ainst  the  goodness 
 of  God.  Hence  the  Apostle  says  (i 
 Cor.  viii.  12),  "But  when  ye  sin  so 
 against  the  b-ethren,  and  wound  their 
 weak  conscience,  ye  sin  against  Christ." 
 In  like  manner,  all  love  to  our  neigh- 
 bour is  love  to  God  whom  we  love  in 
 him.  On  this  pruiciple  we  shall  be 
 judged  :  *'  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
 it  to  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done 
 it    unto    Me."     It    is   not    therefore 
 
 enough  to  explain  these  words  of 
 David,  "Against  Thee  only,"  by  say- 
 ing that  they  are  the  expression  of  his 
 oivn  deep  sejise  of  his  guilt  and  the 
 dishonour  done  to  God.  That  feeling 
 rested  upon  the  eternal  truth  of  which 
 it  was  the  expression,  a  truth  on  which, 
 as  Hengstenberg  observes,  the  Deca- 
 logue itself  is  based:  "Thou  must 
 honour  and  love  God  in  Himself,  in 
 those  who  represent  Him  on  earth 
 (Deut.  V.  16),  in  all  who  bear  His 
 image.  The  love  of  God  appears 
 constantly  in  Deuteronomy,  as  the  one 
 thing  which  of  necessity  carries  along 
 with  it  the  fulfilment  of  the  whole 
 Law  ;  as  for  instance  in  chaps,  xi.  xii. 
 Earlier  still,  in  Gen.  ix.  6,  the  punish- 
 ment of  murder  is  grounded  on  this, 
 that  man  bears  God's  image."  "How 
 must  David  have  trembled,"  says  the 
 same  commenta*^or,  "how  must  he 
 have  been  seized  vA\h  shame  and 
 grief,  when  he  refeiTcd  everything  to 
 God,  when  in  Ur'ah  he  saw  only  the 
 image  of  God,  the  Holy  One,  who 
 deeply  resented  that  injury,  —  the 
 gracious  and  compassionate  One,  to 
 whom  he  owed  such  infinitely  rich 
 t.enefits,  who  had  lifted  him  up  from 
 the  du>t  of  humiliation,  had  so  often 
 delivered  him,  and  had  also  given 
 him  the  promise  of  so  glorious  a 
 furure  !" 
 
 That  Thou  mayest.  Strictly 
 speaking,  "in  order  that,"  which 
 would  imply  that  the  sin  was  done  in 
 order  that  God's  justice  might  shine 
 the  more  conspicuously  thereby ;  and 
 this  would  seem  of  course  to  make 
 God  the  author  of  sin. 
 
 But  St.  Paul,  arguing  upon  this 
 very  passage  in  Rom.  iii.  4,  5,  refutes 
 the  possible  perversion  that  men  are 
 at  liberty  to  sin  because  thereby  God's 
 righteousness  is  commended.     On  the 
 
 Defaced  the  image  of  the  dear  Redeemer."— Shrikespeare.  Richard  III 
 
rSALM  LJ.  2: 
 
 (That)  Thou  mightest  be  pure  when  Thou  judgest. 
 Behold,  in  iniquity  I  was  brought  forth, 
 
 And  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me. 
 Behold,  Thou  delightest  in  truth  in  the  inward  parts, 
 
 one  hand  it  is  clear  that  all,  even  sin 
 itself,  maybe  regarded  as  contemplated 
 and  comprised  in  the  design  of  God  ; 
 and  yet  on  the  other,  man  is  free,  and 
 sin  is  man's  misdoing,  and  not  God's 
 doing.  But,  after  all,  there  is  perhaps 
 no  need  to  press  the  exact  significa- 
 tion of  the  particle  here. 
 
 When  Thou  speakest,  i.e.  as  is 
 evident  from  the  parallelism,  "  when 
 Thou  givest  sentence." 
 
 When  Thou  judgest.  This  is 
 the  exact  rendering  of  the  Hebrew. 
 St.  Paul,  Rom.  iii.  4,  does  not  quote 
 from  the  Hebrew,  but  from  the  LXX. 
 *'  When  Thou  art  judged,"  i.e.  when 
 the  justice  of  Thy  dealings  is  called 
 in  question. 
 
 5,  Sin  is  now  regarded  in  its  source. 
 From  my  very  earliest  b?ing,  from 
 the  hour  when  I  was  conceived,  sin 
 has  been  with  me.  Sinfulness  con- 
 sists not  merely  in  so  many  several 
 sinful  acts,  but  in  a  sinful  and  corrupt 
 nature.  The  depth  of  the  abyss  of 
 sin  is  here  opened  before  the  eyes  of 
 the  penitent  with  a  distinctness  of 
 which  the  instances  are  comparatively 
 few  in  the  O.  T.  (Comp.,  however, 
 Job  xiv.  4,  Gen.  viii.  21.)  Manifestly 
 not  in  extenuation,  but  in  aggravation 
 of  his  sin  does  David  thus  speak  ("ad 
 amplificandam  maloruni  suornm  gra- 
 vitatem  a  peccato  originali  ducit  ex- 
 ordium," Calvin),  "  He  lays  on 
 himself  the  blame  of  a  tainted  nature, 
 instead  of  that  of  a  single  fault  ;  not 
 a  murder  only,  but  of  a  murderous 
 nature.  'Conceived  in  sin.'  From 
 first  moments  up  till  then,  he  saw  sia 
 — sin — sin  :  nothing  but  sin." — Robert- 
 son. Luther  says:  "  If  a  man  will 
 speak  and  teach  aright  of  sin,  he  must 
 
 consider  it  in  its  depth,  and  show 
 from  what  root  it  and  all  that  is  god- 
 less springs,  and  not  apply  the  term 
 merely  to  sins  that  have  been  com- 
 mitted. For  from  this  error,  that 
 men  know  not  and  understand  not 
 what  sin  is,  arises  the  other  error  that 
 they  know  not  nor  understand  what 
 grace  is,  .  .  .  Accordi  ig  to  this  Ps  dm 
 then,  we  must  say  that  all  is  sin  which 
 is  born  of  father  and  mother,  and 
 from  so  evil  a  root  nothing  good  can 
 grow  before  God,"  And  Calvin  : 
 "  Here  at  length  he  confesses  himsel; 
 guilty,  not  of  one  sin  only  or  of  many, 
 hut  he  rises  to  the  fountain-head,  (ac- 
 knowledging) that  from  his  mother's 
 womb  he  has  brought  nothing  with 
 him  but  sin,  and  that  by  nature  he  is 
 altogether  corrupt  and  as  it  were 
 smeared  over  with  vices,  .  ,  .  And 
 of  a  truth  we  do  not  thoroughly  ac- 
 knowledge our  sins  unless  we  con- 
 demn our  whole  nature  as  corrupt." 
 
 Bh-HOLD,  The  word  is  used  to 
 indicate  the  attainment  of  a  new  and 
 higher  knowledge  (comp.  Job  iv.  18, 
 XV.  15,  XXV.  5),  as  if  it  had  come  witli 
 something  of  surprise  on  the  mind,  or 
 were  seen  with  a  new  brightness. 
 The  repetition  of  the  word  at  the 
 beginning  of  the  next  verse  marks 
 the  connection  and  correlation  of  the 
 two.  On  the  one  hand,  lo  !  I  have 
 seen  sin  as  I  never  saw  it  before.  On 
 the  other,  lo  !  I  have  learnt  that  truth 
 is  what  Thou  dcsirest  in  the  secret 
 heart, 
 
 6.  Truth,  Uprightness  of  heart: 
 that  very  uprightness  and  integrity 
 which  David  and  other  of  the  O.  T. 
 saints  assert  elsewhere,  lut  in  which, 
 now  under  deep  conviction  of  his 
 P   2 
 
212 
 
 FSALM  LL 
 
 And  in  the  hidden  part  Thou  shalt  make  me  to  know 
 wisdom. 
 
 7  ThoLi  shalt  purge  me  with  hyssop,  and  I  shall  be  clean  : 
 
 Thou  shalt  wash  me,  and  I  shall  be  w^hiter  than  snow. 
 
 8  Thou  shalt  make  me  to  hear  joy  and  gladness, 
 
 (That)  the  bones  which  Thou  hast  crushed  may  exult. 
 
 sinfulness,  he  feels  himself  to  be  so 
 deficient. 
 
 7.  Thou  shalt  purge  me.  The 
 use  of  the  future  here,  as  well  as  the 
 meaning-  of  the  verb,  has  been  most 
 happily  explained  by  Donne  in  his 
 Sermon  on  this  verse  (Sermon  Ixii. )  : 
 "How  soon  and  to  what  a  height 
 came  David  here  ?  He  makes  his 
 ]:ietition,  his  first  petition,  with  that 
 confidence,  as  that  it  hath  scarce  the 
 nature  of  a  petition  :  for  it  is  in  the 
 original  :  Thou  zvilt  ptirge  me,  TJioii 
 wilt  wash  vie,  Thou  hadst  a  gracious 
 will  and  purpose  to  do  it,  before  Thou 
 didst  infuse  the  will  and  the  desire  in 
 me  to  petition  it.  Nay,  this  word 
 may  well  be  translated  not  only  Thou 
 xoilt,  but  by  the  other  denotation  of 
 the  future,  Thoic  shalt,  Thou  shall 
 purge  me.  Thou  shalt  xvash  me;  Lord, 
 I  do  but  remember  Thee  of  Thy  debt, 
 of  that  which  Thy  gracious  promise 
 hath  made  l"hy  debt,  to  show  mercy 
 to  every  penitent  sinner.  And  then, 
 as  the  word  implies  confidence  and 
 acceleration,  infallibility  and  expedi- 
 tion too,  that  as  soon  as  I  can  ask  I 
 am  sure  to  be  heard ;  so  does  it  imply 
 a  totality,  an  entireness,  a  fulness  in 
 the  work  ;  for  the  root  of  the  word  is 
 peccare,  to  sin,  for  purging  is  a  purg- 
 ing of  peccant  humours  ;  but  in  this 
 conjugation  [the  Piel]  ...  it  hath  a 
 privative  signification  ;  .  .  .  and  if 
 in  our  language  that  were  a  word  in 
 use,  it  might  be  translated.  Thou 
 shalt  un-sin  me."  I  am  sorry  that 
 want  of  space  prevents  my  quoting 
 the  beautiful  passage  in  the  same 
 sermon,   in  which  Donne  dwells   on 
 
 the  truth  that  God  Himself  alone  can 
 thus  purge  the  sinner,  Domine  Tu. 
 It  will  be  found  in  vol.  iii.  p.  91  of 
 Alford's  edition  of  the  Works. 
 
 With  hyssop.  In  allusion  to  the 
 purification  enjoined  by  the  Mosaic 
 ritual  of  the  leper  (Lev.  xiv.  4  ff.)  and 
 those  who  had  defiled  themselves  by 
 contact  with  a  dead  body  (Num.  xix. 
 6  fif.  18  ff. ),  the  hyssop  being  dipped 
 in  the  blood  of  the  bird  which  had 
 been  killed,  and  so  used  to  sprinkle 
 the  person  who  was  to  be  cleansed. 
 This  is  certainly  a  remarkable  instance 
 of  the  manner  in  which  the  symbolism 
 of  the  Mosaic  Law  was  understood 
 by  a  pious  Jew.  David  evidently 
 sees  that  the  outward  purification  is  a 
 sign  of  a  better  cleansing ;  another 
 proof  of  that  profound  spiritual  in- 
 sight which  throughout  the  Psalm  is 
 so  sti-iking,  and  which  almost  justifies 
 St.  Augustine's  saying,  Sunt  quibus 
 expedit  cadere. 
 
 Thou  shalt  wash  me.  Again 
 in  allusion  to  a  further  ceremony  of 
 purification  enjoined  by  the  Law,  the 
 washing,  namely,  of  the  clothes,  and 
 the  bathing  of  the  body  of  the  defiled 
 person.  Whiter  than  snow. 
 Comp.  Is.  i.  18. 
 
 8.  Thou  SHALT  MAKE  me  to  hear: 
 not  said  with  reference  to  God's  a^n- 
 nouncement  of  forgiveness  by  the 
 Prophet  Nathan,  or  as  made  in  His 
 word,  but  rather  with  reference  to 
 those  public  festivals  in  which  the 
 whole  congregation  would  unite  in 
 pi-aising  God,  and  in  which  David 
 hoped  now,  as  a  forgiven  sinner,  to 
 take  his  own  part.      He  would  be  one 
 
PSALM  LL 
 
 -2*3 
 
 11.  9  Hide  Thy  face  from  my  sins, 
 
 And  blot  out  all  my  iniquities. 
 
 Create  for  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God, 
 And  renew  a  steadfast  spirit  within  me. 
 
 Cast  me  not  away  from  Thy  presence, 
 And  take  not  Thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me. 
 
 10 
 
 ri 
 
 of  those  who,  with  a  heart  full  of 
 thankfulness,  would  openly  testify- 
 that  thankfulness. 
 
 The  bones  :  not  merely,  as  Hup- 
 feld  says,  instead  of  the  heart,  but  as 
 constituting  the  strength  and  frame- 
 work of  the  body,  the  crushing  of  the 
 bones  being  a  very  strong  figure, 
 denoting  the  most  complete  prostra- 
 tion mental  and  bodily  :  see  vi.  2. 
 
 9.  The  second  division  of  the 
 Psalm  begins  here  with  the  renewed 
 prayer  for  forgiveness.  From  the 
 confident  assurance  of  the  last  two 
 verses,  that  God  v/ould  do  that  which 
 he  asked,  David  now  passes  to  earnest 
 pleading  with  God.  This  is  surely 
 what  is  to  be  found  in  all  true  prayer ; 
 it  will  be  marked  by  flu(;tuations  of 
 feeling  ;  its  order  will  be  the  order  of 
 need,  not  the  order  of  the  intellect. 
 Again,  David  asks  for  forgiveness 
 first,  and  then  for  renewal. 
 
 Hide  Thy  face,  i.e..  Thy  face  of 
 wrath  ;  do  not  look  upon  them  in 
 anger,  or  so  as  to  bring  me  into  judge- 
 ment. In  the  more  common  use  of 
 the  phrase,  God  is  said  to  "hide  His 
 face"  in  displeasure,  the  face  of  God 
 generally  signifying  His  favour. 
 
 10.  After  the  prayer  for  forgiveness 
 there  follows  now  the  prayer  for  re- 
 newal and  sanctification, 
 
 A  CLEAN  HEART,  as  the  necessary 
 condition  of  communion  with  God. 
 Comp.  xxiv.  4  and  Matt.  v.  8, 
 
 Create.  A  word  always  used 
 strictly  of  the  creative  power  of  God. 
 The  whoie  spiritual  being  of  the  man 
 had,  as  it  were,  fallen  into  a  chaos. 
 The   pure    heart    and    the    childlike 
 
 feeling  of  confidence  could  only  return 
 as  a  new  creation.  Comp.  Ephes.  ii. 
 10,  iv.  24.  With  this  prayer  compare 
 the  promise  in  Jer.  xxiv.  7  ;  Ezek.  xi. 
 
 19,  xxxvi.  26. 
 
 A  STEADFAST  SPIRIT ;  one,  that 
 is,  firm  in  faith,  not  easily  swayed 
 hither  and  thither  through  its  own 
 weakness  or  by  blasts  of  temptation, 
 and  therefore  also  firm  and  constant 
 in  obedience. 
 
 II.  Cast  me  not  away.  Sticr 
 sees  an  allusion  partly  to  the  exclu- 
 sion of  the  leper  from  the  congrega- 
 tion (Lev.  xiii.  46),  and  partly  to  the 
 rejection  of  Saul  (i  Sam.  xvi.  13,  14)  ; 
 but  the  expressions  employed  in  both 
 cases  are  different.  The  phrase,  as  it 
 occurs  2  Kings  xiii.  23,  xvii.  20,  xxiv. 
 
 20,  Jer.  vii.  15,  refers  to  the  rejection 
 of  the  nation  of  Israel  from  the  favour 
 of  God. 
 
 Take  not  Thy  Holy  Spirit 
 FROM  ME.  Calvin  infers  from  this 
 that  the  Spirit  had  not  been  altogether 
 taken  away  from  David,  and  hence 
 draws  the  consolatory  conclusion, 
 that  the  faith  of  the  elect  cannot 
 finally  fail.  The  Lutherans,  on  the 
 other  hand,  supposing  a  total  loss, 
 and  deeming  a  total  renewal  nece^- 
 sary,  insert  the  word  "again," — 
 "Take  not  (again)  Thy  Holy  Spirit 
 from  me."  But  the  words  do  not 
 justify  either  interpretation.  T!ie 
 petition  expresses  rather  the  holy 
 fear  of  the  man  who  has  his  eyes 
 open  to  the  depth  and  iniquity  of  sin, 
 lest  at  any  moment  he  should  be  left 
 without  the  succour  of  thit  Divine 
 Spirit,   who   was   the  only  source    in 
 
214 
 
 rSALM  LL 
 
 III. 
 
 12  Restore  unto  me  the  gladness  of  Thy  salvation, 
 
 And  uphold  me  (with)  a  willing  spirit. 
 
 13  So  will  I  teach  transgressors  Thy  ways, 
 
 And  sinners  shall  return  unto  Thee. 
 
 him  of  eveiy  good  thought,  of  every 
 earnest  desire,  of  every  constant  reso- 
 kition.  It  is  the  cry  of  one  who 
 knows,  as  he  never  knew  before,  the 
 weakness  of  his  own  nature,  and  the 
 strength  of  temptation,  and  tlie  need 
 of  Divine  hel^  ;  and  to  whom  there- 
 fore nothhig  seems  so  dreadful  2s  that 
 God  should  withdraw  His  Spirit.  At 
 the  same  time  we  need  not  hesitate 
 to  admit,  that  such  a  prayer  in  the 
 lips  of  David  could  n^t  mean  all  that 
 it  means  now  to  a  Christian.  David 
 could  hardly  have  understood  by  the 
 Holy  Spirit  a  Divine  Person,  nor 
 could  he  have  been  made  partaker  of 
 the  Spirit  in  the  same  sense  that 
 Christians  are  :  for  net  till  Jesus  was 
 glorified  was  the  Spirit  given  in  all 
 His  light  and  power,  in  all  His 
 quickening,  sanc.ifying  grace.  But 
 we  see  in  such  prayers  how  marvel- 
 lously the  words  of  Sciipture  are 
 adapted  to  our  necessities ;  how, 
 used  at  first  as  it  were  by  children, 
 they  still  express  the  maturest  feelings 
 of  our  Christian  manhood,  and,  as 
 \w  this  instance,  have  even  become 
 permanently  fixed  in  our  Christian 
 liturgies. 
 
 12.  The  first  clause  of  the  verse 
 again  puts,  as  a  petition,  that  which 
 in  ver.  8  is  the  utterance  of  a  con- 
 fident hope  and  trust. 
 
 With  a  willing  spirit,  or,  "a 
 free  spirit."  Comp.  Ex.  xxxv.  5,  22, 
 "willing  of  heart."  The  word  mean- 
 ing "noble,"  in  Hebrew,  and  the  use 
 of  the  word  as  a  subst.  "a  prince," 
 are  apparently  derived  from  this. 
 The  LXX.  render  "with  a  princely 
 spirit."  The  expression  here,  as  well 
 as  the  similar  expression  in  ver.    10, 
 
 "a  steadfast  spirit,"  refers  ij?i}jiedi- 
 ately  to  the  spirit  of  man,  but  to  that 
 spirit  as  influenced  and  guided  by  the 
 Spirit  of  God.  So  the  passage  is 
 paraphrased  in  the  "  Christian  Year" 
 (6th  Sunday  after  Trinity)  : 
 
 "With  that  free  Spirit  blest, 
 Who  to  the  contrite  can  dispense 
 The  prhrcely  heart  of  innocence." 
 
 Luther  somewhere  strikingly  illus- 
 trate-^ this  close  and  intimate  union  of 
 the  Spirit  of  God  with  the  spirit  of 
 man,  by  saying  that  the  latter,  under 
 the  influence  of  the  former,  is  like 
 water  heated  by  fire. 
 
 13,  With  a  conscience  set  free  from 
 guilt,  with  a  heart  renewed  by  the 
 Spirit  of  God,  and  full  of  thankful- 
 ness for  God's  great  mercy,  he  cannot 
 keep  silent,  but  will  seek  to  turn  other 
 sinners  to  God.  The  32d  Psalm, 
 which  was  probably  written  after 
 this  (see  Introduction  to  that  Psalm), 
 shows  us  how  this  lesc  lutio:i  was  kept. 
 
 So  WILL  I  TEACH,  or,  "  So  let  me 
 teach."  Ihe  form  is  optative,  and 
 expresses  that  which  he  desires  to  do, 
 as  an  evidence  of  his  gratitude,  and 
 as  knowing  how  greatly  his  sin  must 
 have  been  a  stumblingblock  toothers. 
 Terrible  had  been  the  fruit  of  his  sin, 
 not  only  in  the  wasting  of  his  own 
 soul,  but  in  the  injury  done  to  others. 
 Terrible  was  his  punishment  in  wit- 
 nessing this  ;  and  therefore  the  more 
 anxious  is  he,  though  he  cannot  untio 
 his  own  sin,  to  heal  the  breach,  and 
 repair  the  evil  of  sin  in  other  souls. 
 
 Thy  ways,  i.e.  the  ways  of  God's 
 commandments,  in  which  He  would 
 have  men  v.alk.     Comp.  xviii.  21. 
 
PS/iLM  LI. 
 
 5 
 
 14  Deliver  me  from  blood-guiltiness,  O  God,  thou  God  of 
 
 my  salvation  ; 
 My  tongue  shall  sing  aloud  of  Thy  righteousness. 
 
 15  O  Lord,  open  Thou  my  lips, 
 
 And  my  mouth  shall  show  forth  Thy  praise. 
 
 16  For  Thou  delightest  not  in  sacrifice,  else  would  I  give  it ; 
 
 (In)  burnt-offering  Thou  hast  no  pleasure  : 
 
 17  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit, 
 
 A  broken  and  contrite  heart,  O  God,  Thou  wilt  not 
 despise. 
 
 18  Do  good  in  Thy  good  pleasure  unto  Zion  ; 
 
 14.  Blood-guiltiness  ;  literally, 
 "bloods,"  the  plural  of  this  word 
 being  used  to  denote  blood  shed,  mur- 
 der. Comp.  Gen.  iv.  10,  "The  voice 
 of  thy  brother's  blood,"  &c.  Here, 
 too,  the  blood  of  Uriah,  whom  he  had 
 slain,  seems  to  cry  against  David  for 
 punishment.     See  2  Sam.  xi.  15. 
 
 Thy  righteousness.  Why  is 
 this  attribute  of  God  especially  men- 
 tioned as  the  subject  of  praise  ?  Be- 
 cause the  righteousness  of  God  is  that 
 attribute  according  to  which  He  gives 
 to  every  one  his  own,  to  those  who 
 with  repentance  and  faith  turn  to 
 Him,  the  forgiveness  which  they  ask, 
 and  which  He  ^2.%  promised  to  bestOM'. 
 Hence  St.  John  says,  "  If  we  confess 
 our  sins,  He  is  faithful  and  just  (or 
 righteous)  to  forgive  us  our  sins." 
 
 15.  Open  my  lips.  His  lips  had 
 been  sealed  by  sin,  but  God,  by  His 
 free  forgiveness,  would  give  him  fresh 
 cause  of  rejoicing,  and  so  would  open 
 them.  Calvin  comp.  xl.  3,  where 
 the  Psalmist  says  that  God  had  put  a 
 new  song  in  his  mouth.  David  thus 
 prays  God  to  be  gracious,  that  he 
 may  be  the  loud  herald  of  that  grace 
 to  others,  "  My  mouth  shall  declare," 
 &c. 
 
 16.  For,  as  expressing  the  reason 
 why  he  will  offer  to  God  the  spiritual 
 offering  of  thanksgiving,  a  grateful 
 htart  and  grateful  lips. 
 
 Sacrifice  ....  burnt-offer- 
 ing. In  what  sense  God  is  said  to 
 reject  them  is  clear  from  xl.  6,  1.  8, 
 where  see  notes.  The  Rabbmical 
 interpreters  suppose  sin-offerings  to 
 be  meant,  and  think  that  these  are 
 here  set  aside  because  for  a  sin  like 
 David's,  done  with  a  high  hand,  no 
 sacrifice,  but  only  repentance,  could 
 avail.  But  the  words  here  employed 
 in  reference  lo  sacrifices  are  never 
 used  of  sin-offerings,  but  always  of 
 thank-offerings,  and  this  sense  is 
 plainly  required  by  the  context. 
 
 17.  The  sacrifices  of  God,  i.e. 
 those  in  which  Pie  really  has  pleasure, 
 are  A  broken  heart.  Another  evi- 
 dence of  a  deep  sense  of  sin,  and  cf  a 
 tender  conscience.  When  speaking 
 of  thankfulness,  we  might  have  ex- 
 pected him  to  say,  "  a  joyful  heart, 
 or  a  thankful  heart ; "  but  instead  of 
 that  he  says,  "  a  contrite  heart."  For 
 the  joy  of  forgiveness  does  not  banish 
 sorrow  and  contrition  for  sin :  this 
 will  stiil  continue.  And  the  deeper 
 the  sense  of  sin,  and  the  truer  the 
 sorrow^  for  it,  the  more  heartfelt  also 
 will  be  the  thankfulness  for  pardon 
 and  reconciliation.  The  tender, 
 humble,  broken  heart,  is  therefore 
 the  best  thank-offering. 
 
 18,  19.  The  Psalm  concludes  with 
 a  prayer  (not  as  before  for  the  in- 
 dividual) for  the  nation  at  large. 
 
2l6 
 
 FSALM  LIT. 
 
 Build  Thou  the  walls  of  Jerusalem. 
 19  Then  Thou  shalt  delight  in  sacrifices  of  righteousness, 
 In  burnt-offering  and  whole  burnt-offering  ; 
 Then  shall  they  offer  up  bullocks  upon  Thine  altar. 
 
 It  seems  probable  that  the  two 
 conckiding  verses  were  added  shortly- 
 after  the  return  from  exile,  a  time 
 when  evei"y  effort  was  rnade  to  rouse 
 the  people  whose  heart  had  grown 
 cold  to  a  sense  of  the  value  of  the 
 Temple  services,  and  the  appointed 
 worship  of  Jehovah.  On  this  point  I 
 have  said    more  in  a  article  on  the 
 
 Prophet  Zechariah,  in  Smith's  Diet. 
 0/  the-  Bible. 
 
 19.  Sacrifices  of  righteous- 
 ness, i.e.  such  as  God  would  accept, 
 because  offered  in  righteousness,  from 
 a  heart  right  with  God,  and  not  merely 
 in  external  compliance  with  the  Law. 
 See  note  on  iv.  5. 
 
 PSALM  LII. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  not  a  prayer  or  complaint  addressed  to  God  against 
 the  oppression  of  the  wicked  ;  it  is  a  stern  upbraiding  addressed  to 
 the  man  who,  unscrupulous  in  the  exercise  of  his  power,  and  proud 
 of  his  wealth  (ver.  7,)  finds  his  delight  in  all  the  arts  of  the  practised 
 liar.  It  is  a  lofty  challenge,  a  defiance  conceived  in  the  spirit  of 
 David  when  he  went  forth  to  meet  the  champion  of  Gath.  The 
 calm  courage  of  faith  breathes  in  every  word.  There  is  no  fear,  no 
 trembling,  no  doubt,  as  to  the  end  which  will  come  upon  the  tyrant. 
 How  vain  is  his  boast  in  presence  of  the  loving-kindness  of  God, 
 which  protects  His  people  ;  in  presence  of  the  power  of  God,  which 
 uproots  the  oppressor  !  Such  is  briefly  the  purport  of  the  Psalm. 
 Whether  it  was  really  composed  by  David  on  the  occasion  to  which 
 the  title  refers  it,  may  be  a  matter  of  doubt.  We  know  too  little  o: 
 Doeg  to  be  able  to  say  if  the  description  in  verses  i — 4  applies  tr 
 him  or  not.  Nor,  in  fact,  does  the  title  intimate  that  he  is  the  sub- 
 ject of  the  Psalm.     It  only  points  out   the   occasion  on  which  the 
 
PSALM  LII.  217 
 
 Psalm  was  written,  and  Saul's  name  is  mentioned  in  it  as  well  as 
 Doeg's. 
 
 Whilst,,  therefore,  the  faith  and  courage  which  breathe  in  this  Psalm 
 are  such  as  to  incline  me  to  think  that  it  was  written  by  David,  and 
 whilst  there  may  even  be  an  allusion,  in  ver.  8,  to  the  sanctuary  at 
 Nob,  I  see  little  reason  on  other  grounds  for  maintaining  the  accuracy 
 of  the  inscription. 
 
 The  Psalm  scarcely  admits  of  any  formal  strophical  division,  but 
 the  arrangement  is  clear  and  natural. 
 
 The  first  verse  states  briefly  the  subject  of  the  whole  :  the  folly, 
 namely,  of  boasting  in  wickedness  when  God's  loving-kindness  is  the 
 sure  and  abiding  defence  of  those  against  whom  that  wickedness  is 
 directed.     Then  follow  : — 
 
 First,  a  description  of  the  evil-doer,  who,  in  this  instance,  is  pour- 
 trayed  as  an  habitual  and  practised  liar.     Ver.  2 — 4. 
 
 Next,  a  denouncing  of  God's  judgement  against  him.     Ver.  5. 
 
 Then  the  exultation  of  the  righteous  at  his  overthrow.     Ver.  6,  7. 
 And  lastly,  the  confidence  and  security  of  the  Sacred  Poet  himself, 
 and  his  thankfulness  to  God  for  His  goodness  to  him.     Ver.  8,  9. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  a  MASKIL  of  DAVID,  WHEN  DOEG  THE 
 EDOMITE  CAME  AND  TOLD  SAUL,  AND  SAID  TO  HIM,  DAVID  CAME 
 INTO  THE  HOUSE  OF  AHIMELECH.] 
 
 I   Why  boasteth  thou  thyself  In  wickedness,  O  mighty 
 man  .'* — 
 The  loving-kindness  of  God  (endureth)  continually. 
 
 I.  O  MIGHTY  MAN.     So  the  E.V.,  this    "boasting"    (see  x.    3)   of  the 
 
 whilst  the  Prayer-book  Version  has,  mighty  man  there  is  then  put  in  brief 
 
 more  pointedly,  "O  tyrant,"  and  the  but    forcible    contrast    the    "loving 
 
 LXX.  6  IvvoLTos  dvo/jiav.     The  word  kindness  of  God,"  as  that  in  whic^ 
 
 evidently  occurs  here  in  a  bad  sense;  the    Psalmist  himself  found  his  hope 
 
 though   this  is   the   only  instance   of  and   confidence,   and   that  which  _in- 
 
 such  usage.     Elsewhere  it  is  used  of  deed  rendered  all  such  boasting  vain.^^ 
 a  hero,  of  one  who  shows  his  prowess  Continually,  lit.  "all  the  day, 
 
 and   his   valour    in   war,    &c.     With  as  xHi.  3,  xliv.  8. 
 
2l8 
 
 PSALM  LI  I. 
 
 2  Destruction  doth  thy  tongue  devise, 
 
 Like  a  sharp  razor,  working  guile. 
 
 3  Thou  lovest  evil  rather  than  good, 
 
 Falsehood  rather  than  to  speak  righteousness.  [Selah.] 
 
 4  Thou  lovest  all  devouring  words, 
 
 O  thou  deceitful  tongue  ! 
 
 5  God  also  shall  break  thee  down  for  ever, 
 
 He    shall  seize  thee,   and  pluck   thee   out   of    (thy) 
 tent, 
 And  root  thee  out  of  the  land  of  the  living.    [Selah.] 
 
 6  And  (the)  righteous  shall  see  (it)  and  fear, 
 
 And  over  him  shall  they  laugh  (saying) : 
 
 2 — 4.  It  is  remarkable  that  there 
 follows,  i:iot  the  description  of  the 
 bold  bad  man,  ruling  all  around  him 
 by  brute  force,  and  crushing  others 
 into  submission  at  his  will,  but  that 
 of  one  who  gains  his  evil  end  by 
 means  chiefly  of  unblushing,  de- 
 liberate falsehood. 
 
 2.  Destruction  :  properly,  "  a 
 yawning  gulf,"  as  in  v.  9,  the  plural 
 form,  of  which  the  singular  occurs  in 
 ver.  7,  in  a  different  significacion, 
 "  evil  desii-e." 
 
 Like  a  sharp  razor.  Similarly, 
 in  other  passages,  the  tongue  is  com- 
 pared to  a  sharp  sword,  spears  and 
 arrows,  &c. 
 
 3.  Righteousness,  here  opposed 
 to  falsehood,  because  by  this,  not 
 only  speaking  tlie  lie,  but  false  conduct 
 is  meant,  the  opposite  of  which,  there- 
 fore, is  not  tnith  merely,  but  7-iglitC' 
 ousness. 
 
 4.  Devouring  words  :  literally, 
 "words  of  swallowing  up,"  which 
 accords  exactly  with  the  figures  em- 
 ployed in  V.  9,  '*  their  mouth  is  a 
 yawning  gulf,"  &c. 
 
 5.  Now  comes,  in  short  and  power- 
 ful contrast  to  the  unscrupulous  vio- 
 lence, deceit,  and  falsehood  of  the 
 proud  oppressor,  the  righteous  judge- 
 ment   of    God.     The    most    forcible 
 
 expressions  are  employed  to  describe 
 his  utter  overthrow  and  uprooting. 
 
 Also,  i.e.  "in  like  manner,"  "as 
 thou  hast  done,  so  shall  it  be  done  to 
 thee."  The  law  of  the  Divine  deal- 
 ings is  the  law  of  retribution. 
 
 Break  thee  down,  i.e.  as  a 
 house  is  broken  to  pieces  and  laid  in 
 ruins. 
 
 Seize  thee  :  properly,  as  coals  are 
 taken  with  the  tongs  or  the  shovel. 
 
 Out  of  (thy)  tent.  Some  sup- 
 pose the  herdsman's  tent  of  Doeg  to 
 be  meant  :  others,  the  Tabernacle  ; 
 as  if  the  phrase,  "  to  pluck  or  tear 
 away  from  the  Tabernacle,"  were 
 equivalent  to  ' '  destroying  from  the 
 congregation,"  <S:c. 
 
 6.  Shall  see  (it)  and  fear. 
 They  shall  witness  it  with  that  solemn 
 awe  which  must  be  felt  by  all  who 
 understand  aright  the  judgements  of 
 God.  But  mingled  with  this  fear 
 there  will  be  joy,  —  joy  that  the 
 wicked  one  is  overthrown,  joy  thac 
 God  has  executed  His  righteous  judge- 
 ment. 
 
 Over  him,  over  the  wicked  m.an 
 thus  cast  down,  they  shall  laugh. 
 Such  exultation,  to  our  modern  sen- 
 sibilities, seems  shocking,  because  we 
 can  hardly  conceive  of  it,  apart  from 
 the  gratification  of  personal  vindictive- 
 
PSALM  LIT. 
 
 219 
 
 Behold  the  man,  who  maketh  not  God  his  stronghold, 
 But  hath  trusted  in  the  greatness  of  his  riches, 
 (And)  is  strong  in  his  evil  desire. 
 But  as  for  me, — (I  am)  like  a  green  olive-tree,  i^  the 
 house  of  God  ; 
 I  have  trusted  in  the  loving-kindness  of  God,  (and 
 will  do  so)  for  ever  and  ever. 
 I  will  give  Thee  thanks  for  ever,  for  Thou  hast  done  (it). 
 
 ness.  But  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 
 righteous  hatred,  as  a  righteous  .'■■corn. 
 There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  shout  of 
 righteous  joy  at  the  downfall  of  the 
 tyrant  and  the  oppressor,  at  the 
 triumph  of  righteousness  and  truth 
 over  wrong  and  falsehood.  This  is 
 very  different  from  imprecating  the 
 judgement  of  God  on  the  heads'of  tlie 
 ungodly.  No  such  imprecation  occurs 
 in  this  Psalm,  xvvx  is  there  in  it  any 
 trace  of  personal  animosity.  The  ex- 
 planation, iherefore,  which  has  been 
 given  in  the  notes  on  xxxv.  22,  xli. 
 10,  does  not  apply  here.  Indeed, 
 even  in  the  New  Testament,  we 
 find  exultation  at  the  overthrow  of 
 proud  and  luxurious  wickedness. 
 "  Rejoice  over  her,"  it  is  said,  at  the 
 fall  of  Babylon,  as  seen  in  the  Apo- 
 calypse, "  thou  heaven,  and  ye  holy 
 apostles  and  prophets  ;  for  God  hath 
 avenged  you  on  her,"  Rev.  xviii.  20. 
 See  also  xix.  I — 3,  where  the  same 
 strain  of  holy  triumph  is  repealed. 
 
 There  is  a  manife-t  difference  be- 
 tween such  a  strain  of  sentiment,  and 
 the  expression  of  a  merely  pci serial 
 hatred.  A  malicious  joy  over  a  pros- 
 trate foe  is  condemned  in  direct  terms 
 in  the  Old  Testament.  See  Prov. 
 xxiv.  17,  Job  xxxi.  29,  and  compare 
 2  Sam.  i.  19  ff. 
 
 7.  The  words  in  which  the  righ- 
 teous express  their  trumih,  pointing, 
 as  it  were,  to  the  fallen  oppressor, 
 and  the  lesson  to  be  learnt  from  his 
 overthrow.       His    trust   vvas    in   his 
 
 riches  (comp.  xlix.  6,  Prov.  x.  15, 
 xviii.  1 1 ),  and  his  strength  and  his  evil 
 desire  (see  note  on  ver.  2),  not  in  God. 
 8.  In  strong  contrast  to  such  a  irian 
 is  the  character  and  the  hope  of  the 
 Psalmist  himself.  The  tyrant  shall 
 be  like  a  tree  rooted  up  (ver.  5)  ;  I, 
 he  says,  shall  be  like  a  tree  ever  green 
 and  ever  flourishing.  Both  images 
 are  common  in  the  Psalms.  Comp. 
 i.  3,  xxxvii.  35,  xliv.  2,  cxxviii.  3, 
 and  especially  xcii.  12,  13.  The  olive- 
 tree  is  here  specially  selected  as  a 
 type  of  gladness  and  fruitfulness  ; 
 comp.  Jer.  xi.  16.  Hupfeld  finds 
 the  figure  perplexing,  because  he  says 
 no  trees  grew  ev^en  in  the  courts  of 
 the  Temple.  But  not  to  mention 
 that  trees  may  have  been  planted  i:i 
 the  Temple  area  (see  on  xcii.  13), 
 there  is  no  need,  surely,  to  put  sucli 
 an  interpretation  upon  the  words. 
 The  olive  is  not  said  to  be  in  the  home 
 of  God,  any  more  than  in  the  use  of  a 
 similar  figure  in  cxxviii,  3,  the  olive - 
 plants  are  supposed  to  be  round  about 
 the  table.  Just  as  there  it  is  said, 
 '•Thy  childien  about  thy  table  are 
 like  olive-plants,"  so  here:  *'I,  in 
 the  house  of  God,  am  like  an  olive," 
 i.e.  whilst  permitted  daily  access  to 
 His  sanctuary  and  presence,  I  may 
 compare  myself  to  that  tree  which,  in 
 its  greenne^:S  and  fruitfulne>s,  is  an 
 apt  emblem  of  joy.  This  is  obviously 
 the  form  of  the  comparison,  as  in  fact 
 is  indicated  by  the  accents. 
 
 9.  Tnou  HAST  DONE.  .Absolutely, 
 
2  20  PSALM  LI  I L 
 
 And  I  will  wait  on  Thy  name,  for  it  is  good, 
 In  the  presence  of  Thy  beloved. 
 
 as  in  xxii.    31,    xxxvii.    5  ',  the  past  Thy  beloved.     See  xvi.  10,  and 
 
 tense,  expressing  the  r(?;zwVi'/^;?  of  faith  note   there;   and   for   the   vow   of  a 
 
 that    his    prayer    has    akeady    been  ptiblic  thanksgiving,  xxii.  25. 
 answered. 
 
 PSALM  LI  1 1. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  only  another  version  of  the  Fourteenth  Psalm,  from 
 which  it  differs  in  two  particulars.  First,  in  its  use  of  the  Name  of 
 God,  which  here  is  Elohim  instead  of  Jehovah,  a  peculiarity  which  is 
 characteristic  of  all  the  Psalms  in  the  Second  Book.  Next,  in  the 
 remarkable  deviation,  ver  5,  from  the  language  of  the  parallel  pas- 
 sage, ver.  5,  6,  of  Psalm  xiv.  This  deviation  is  remarkable,  because 
 whilst  there  is  a  material  difference  in  the  sense  of  the  two  passages, 
 very  many  of  the  same  or  similar  letters  occur  in  both.  It  appears  to 
 me  almost  certain  that  Ps.  xiv.  is  the  original,  and  that  probably  a 
 later  poet  may  have,  by  making  slight  alterations,  adapted  it  to  the 
 circumstances  of  his  own  time. 
 
 The  introduction  and  notes  to  Psalm  xiv.  may  be  consulted  here. 
 In  some  few  instances  only,  where  it  seemed  desirable,  additional 
 notes  have  been  introduced,  and  especially  where  this  text  differs 
 from  the  other. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,      upon  MACHALATH.*     a  MASKIL  of  DAVID.] 
 
 I   The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart,  The.re  is  no  God. 
 
 *  The  meaning  of  this  word  is  uncertain  (see  title  also  of  Psalm  Ixxxvlii.).  From  the 
 addition  of  a  word  in  this  latter  Psalm  signifying  "to  sing,"  and  from  the  meaning  of  the 
 word  Machalavii  itself,  we  may  presume  that  the  two  Psalms  were  to  be  sung  in  a  sad, 
 mournful  tone. 
 
PSALM  LTIL 
 
 221 
 
 Corrupt  and  abominable  are  they  in  (their)  iniquity. 
 
 There  is  none  that  doeth  good. 
 God  hath  looked  down  from  heaven  upon  the  children 
 of  men, 
 
 To  see  if  there  is  any  that  hath  understanding, 
 
 That  seeketh  after  God. 
 Every  one  of  them  is  gone  back,  together  they  have 
 become  corrupt, 
 
 There  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no  not  one. 
 "  Have  the  workers  of  iniquity  no  knowledge, 
 
 (Who)  eat  my  people  (as  though)  they  ate  bread, 
 
 (And)  call  not  upon  God  .? " 
 There  were  they  in  great  terror,  (where)  no  terror  was, 
 
 I.  Corrupt,  &c.  Lit.  "They 
 have  corrupted  and  made  abomin- 
 able." 
 
 3.  They  have  become  corrupt, 
 A  different  verb  from  that  employed 
 in  ver.  I,  and  one  therefore  for  which 
 a  different  equivalent  should  be  found 
 in  our  language  ;  perhaps  "  tainted  " 
 would  convey  the  idea.  It  is  used 
 strictly  of  physical  corruption  (the 
 Arabic  cognate  being  used  of  milk 
 which  turns  sour\  but  here,  as  in 
 Job  XV.  16,  transferred  to  moral  cor- 
 ruption. 
 
 4.  Who  eat,  &c.  These  words 
 are  very  difficult,  and  are  again  capa- 
 ble of  a  different  interpretation  from 
 that  given  in  the  note  on  xiv.  As  is 
 there  said,  the  literal  rendering  is, 
 "Eating  my  people,  they  have  eaten 
 bread,  they  have  not  called  on  Je- 
 hovah." This  may  be  explained, 
 "  Whilst  they  devour  my  people 
 (comp.  Jer.  x.  25,  I>am.  ii.  16),  they 
 have  eaten  bread,  &c.,  i.e.  in  the  midst 
 of  their  crael  destruction  of  Israel, 
 they  have  gone  on  in  their  brutal 
 security,  eating  and  drinking,  quite 
 regardless  of  God,  or  of  any  reverence 
 for  His  name." 
 
 I    am    now  inclined,    however,    to 
 
 refer  the  words,  "Who  eatmy  people," 
 to  the  first  member  of  the  verse  : 
 "Have  the  workers  of  iniquity,  who 
 devour  my  people,  no  knowledge  ? 
 They  eat  bread  (they  live  their  care- 
 less life  of  self-enjoyment),  they  call 
 not  upon  Jehovah  (do  not  acknow- 
 ledge or  fear  Him)." 
 
 5.  There,  as  if  pointing  to  the 
 scene  ;  see  on  Ixvi.  6. 
 
 Where  no  terror  was.  These 
 words  are  not  in  Ps.  xiv.  and  are 
 somewhat  difficult  to  explain.  Do 
 they  mean,  No  terror  within^  or  no. 
 terror  without?  Taken  with  Vv'hat 
 follows,  and  suppo,-ing  the  Psalm  to 
 have  been  adapted  to  some  such  occa- 
 sion as  the  destruction  of  Senna- 
 cherib's army,  they  might  mean, 
 "suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  their 
 proud  security,  when  they  zuere  free 
 from  all  apprehension,  they  were 
 smitten  with  terror."  Others  under- 
 stand it  of  external  occasion  of  terror. 
 They  were  seized  with  a  sudden 
 panic,  where  there  was  really  «<?  object 
 to  occasion  alarm.  The  words  may 
 perhaps  be  a  later  gloss.  As  we  do 
 not  know  for  what  occasion  the  altera- 
 tion ^^'as  made  in  the  text,  their  inter- 
 pretation must  remain  obscure. 
 
222  PSALM  LIV. 
 
 For   God   hath    scattered    the   bones   of    him   that 
 
 encampeth  (against)  thee. 
 Thou  hast  put  (them)  to  shame;  for  God  hath  rejected 
 
 them. 
 6  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Zion  ! 
 When  God  bringeth  back  the  captivity  of  His  people, 
 (Then)  shall  Jacob  exult,  (then)  may  Israel  be  glad. 
 
 Hath  SCATTERED, /.(?.  on  the  field  rain  (comp,  ,;cxli. '7,  Ezek.  vi._,  5, 
 of  battle,  or  around  the  walls  of  the  Jer.  viii. .  2),  instead  of  being  ia- 
 city,   there  to  whiten  in  the  sun  and       teiTcd, 
 
 PSALM  LIV. 
 
 This  Psalm,  like  several  others  of  the  Psalms  ascribed  to  David 
 in  the  Second  Book,  refers,  according  to  the  title,  to  the  time  of  his 
 persecution  by  Saul.  The  particular  occasion  was  this.  David  had 
 taken  refuge  with  six  hundred  men  in  the  fastness  of  Keilah  ;  but, 
 warned  by  Abiathar,  the  son  of  Ahimelech,  that  the  men  of  Keilah 
 were  not  to  be  trusted,  he  escaped  into  the  wilderness  of  Ziph.  Here, 
 however,  he  was  very  near  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Ziphites, 
 v/ho  would  have  betrayed  him  to  Saul,  when  happily  an  irruption  of 
 the  Philistines  into  the  country  compelled  the  king  to  desist  from 
 his  pursuit,  and  to  turn  his  arms  in  another  direction.  See  i  Sam. 
 xxiii.  19,  and  the  additional  particulars  furnished  by  the  later  annalist 
 I  Sam.  xxvi.  i,  from  which  sources  the  title  is  borrowed. 
 
 The  language  of  the  Psalm  is,  however,  of  so  general  a  character, 
 that  it  might  have  been  composed  under  almost  any  circumstances 
 of  peril.  Even  the  epithet  "strangers"  applied  to  the  Psalmist's 
 enemies,  ver  3,  does  not  necessarily  refer  to  foreign  enemies,  as 
 De  Wette  supposes.     See  note  on  the  verse. 
 
PSALM  LIV,  223 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  A  prayer  to  God  to  hear  and  to  judge  the  cause  of  His  servant 
 together  with  the  reason  for  this  prayer  in  the  violen'ce  and  unscru- 
 pulousness  of  the  enemies  who  beset  him.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  confident  assurance  that  God  will  hear  his  prayer,  and  the 
 promise  and  vow  of  thanksgiving  for  God's  goodness  which  is  thus 
 anticipated.     Ver.  4 — 7. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  with  stringed  instruments,  a  maskil 
 of  david  ;  when  the  ziphites  came  and  said  to  saul, 
 doth  not  david  hide  himself  with  us  .?] 
 
 1  O  God,  by  Thy  Name  save  me, 
 
 And  in  Thy  miglit  judge  my  cause. 
 
 2  O  God,  hear  my  prayer ; 
 
 Give  ear  to  the  words  of  my  mouth. 
 
 3  For  Strangers  have  risen  up  against  me, 
 And  violent  men  have  sought  after  my  soul  ; 
 
 They  have  not  set  God  before  them.     [Selah.] 
 
 4  Behold,  God  is  my  Helper, 
 
 I.   By  Thy  Name.     See  above  on  could  never  have  doubted  on  which 
 
 V.  II.  side  lay  justice  and  right :  but  because 
 
 3.  Strangers.  .  .  .  violent  they  were  wicked  men,  "  who  did  not 
 MEN.  Supposing  the  inscription  of  set  God  before  them,"  they  took 
 the  Psalm  to  be  correct,  the  enemies  pleasure  in  hunting  down  one  whose 
 thus  spoken  of  would  be  the  Ziphites.  only  fault  was  that  he  was  the  king's 
 As  they  belonged  to  Judah,  the  word  enemy.  The  word  "  strangers"  may 
 strangers  seems  to  be  used  with  mean  only  enemies,  the  idea  of  a 
 special  bitterness.  But  the  epithet  foreigner,  one  of  another  country,  pass- 
 would  seem  still  more  applicable  to  ing  over  readily  into  the  idea  of  an 
 the  men  of  KeUah,  whom  David  had  enemy,  just  as  in  Latin  hostis  meant 
 rescued  from  th'e"  Philistines,  and  who  originally  nothing  more  than  hospes. 
 so  basely  requited  his  generous  assist-  Here,  however,  the  epithet  may  lie 
 ance.  employed   to  denote   the   savageness 
 
 Their  hostility  to  David  probably  and  cruelty  of  these  men. 
 
 was    the    result   rather   of   a    selfish  4.   But   though  men   were   against 
 
 regard  to  their  own  interests  than  of  him,  David  knew  that  God  was  with 
 
 any  affection  or  loyalty  to  Saul.   They  him. 
 
224 
 
 PSALM  LV. 
 
 The  Lord  is  the  UpJiolder  of  my  soul. 
 
 5  He  will  requite  the  evil  to  mine  adversaries: 
 
 Destroy  Thou  them  in  Thy  truth. 
 
 6  With  free  will  will  I  sacrifice  to  Thee, 
 
 I  will  give  thanks  to  Thy  Name,  O  Jehovah,  for  it  is 
 good. 
 
 7  For  out  of  all  distress  hath  He  delivered  me, 
 
 And  mine  eye  hath  seen  (its  desire)  upon  mine  enemies. 
 
 The  Upholder  of  my  soul. 
 Not  as  in  E.V.,  "with  them  that 
 uphold  my  soul."  For  God  is  not 
 to  him  one  out  of  many  helpers,  but 
 the  only  true  helper. 
 
 6.  With  freewill,  or,  with  glad 
 willing  heart,  as  the  expression  occurs 
 in  Numb.  xv.  3,  and  (without  the  pre- 
 position) in  Hosea  xiv.  4.  This  ex- 
 plains the  motive  of  the  sacrifice.  The 
 offering  would  be  a  literal  offering,  as 
 appointed  by  the  law,  but  it  would 
 be  brought  with  all  the  cheerfulness 
 and  love  of  a  thankful  heart,  not 
 under  the  compulsion  of  a  vow,  or  in 
 mere  slavish  compliance  to  an  esta- 
 blished ritual. 
 
 Thy  Name  .  .  .  for  it  is  good. 
 With  reference  to  ver.  i,  "By  Thy 
 Naine  save  me." 
 
 It  is  possible  that  in  the  next  verse 
 the  Name  of  God  is  the  subject  of 
 the  verb,  so  that  we  may  render 
 "It  hath  delivered  me."  If  so, 
 this  passage  (and  Is.  xxx.  27)  would 
 come  very  near  the  later  Rabbinic 
 usage,  according  to  which  "the 
 Name "  is  constantly  put  for  God 
 Himself  The  original  passage  is 
 Lev.  xxiv.  II. 
 
 7.  The  perfects  in  this  verse  de- 
 note not  that  the  deliverance  is  already 
 accomplished,  but  the  confidence  of 
 faith  that  it  will  be,  and  give  the 
 reason  for  the  thanksgiving  of  the 
 precedmg  verse. 
 
 Mine  eye  hath  seen.  See  note 
 on  xli.  10. 
 
 PSALM  LV. 
 
 As  this  Psalm  is,  in  the  title,  ascribed  to  David,  and  as  it  contains 
 a  bitter  complaint  of  the  faithlessness  of  a  trusted  friend,  it  has  been 
 commonly  supposed  to  refer  to  the  desertion  and  treachery  of 
 Ahithophel  in  Absalom's  rebellion.  We  know  too  little  of  Ahithophel 
 to  be  able  to  say  whether  he  was  the  close  personal  friend  of  the 
 
PSALM  LV.  22 s 
 
 king,  as  well  as  his  councillor  of  state.  But  the  prayer  of  David, 
 2  Sam.  XV.  31,  v^^hen  he  was  told  that  Ahithophel  was  among  the 
 conspirators,  "O  Lord,  I  pray  Thee  turn  the  counsel' of  Ahithophel 
 into  foolishness,"  is  very  different  from  the  general  tone  of  this  Psalm. 
 Here  throughout,  there  is  a  sense  of  personal  wrong  ;  the  treachery 
 is  without  excuse.  But  if  Blunt  is  right  in  supposing  that  Bathsheba 
 was  the  granddaughter  of  Ahithophel  {Undesigned Coincideiices,  p.  147), 
 and  that  he,  in  revenge  for  the  insult  to  his  family,  had  espoused 
 the  cause  of  Absalom,  David  could  hardly  complain  of  his  deser- 
 tion. His  own  conscience  must  have  told  him  how  well-merited  it 
 was.  He  could  scarcely  upbraid  the  man  whom  he  had  so  wronged 
 with  treachery  to  himself,  though  he  might  pray  that  his  counsel 
 should  not  prosper.  There  is  another  objection  to  the  view  that 
 Ahithophel  is  aimed  at  in  the  Psalm,  The  writer  of  the  Psalm  is 
 evidently  i7i  the  city  (no  doubt  Jerusalem  is  meant,  comp.  ver.  14), 
 surrounded  by  evil  men,  but  especially  cognisant  of  the  perfidy  of 
 his  trusted  friend.  If  David,  therefore,  wrote  the  Psalm,  he  must 
 have  written  it  before  he  left  Jerusalem,  and  the  treachery  of  Ahitho- 
 phel must  have  been  already  unmasked.  But,  according  to  2  Sam. 
 XV.  30,  it  was  not  till  David  had  begun  his  flight  that  he  was  told 
 that  Ahithophel  had  joined  the  conspirators.  The  Psalm  seems 
 therefore,  to  have  been  composed  under  other  circumstances,  and  to 
 be  directed  at  some  person  of  whom  we  know  nothing  beyond  what 
 the  Psalm  itself  tells  us.  Conjectures,  after  all,  are  of  little  value. 
 One  thing  only  is  certain,  and  that  is,  that  whoever  the  hollow  friend 
 may  have  been,  who  knew  so  well  to  cloke  his  treacherous  designs, — 
 who,  with  war  in  his  heart,  could  use  words  smoother  than  oil, — his 
 perfidy  was  very  deeply  felt,  and  very  bitterly  resented  by  the  man 
 who  here  records  it.  At  one  moment  sadness,  at  another  indignation 
 prevails.  In  his  sadness  the  Psalmist  would  flee  away,  and  so  escape 
 the  suffering  and  the  recollection  of  his  wrong.  In  his  burning  indig- 
 nation at  the  black  perfidy  of  which  he  had  been  made  the  victim,  he 
 would  have  the  earth  open  her  mouth  and  swallow  up  the  faithless 
 friend,  together  with  all  his  accomplices. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  first  contains  the  earnest  appeal  to  God  against  his  ene- 
 mies, the  expression  of  his  suffering,  and  the  horror  of  mind  which 
 has   come   upon  him  together  with  the  longing  to  escape  from  the 
 
 Q 
 
226  PSALM  LV. 
 
 hostility  to  which  he  was  exposed,  and  the  evil  he  was  compelled  to 
 witness.     Ver.  i — 8. 
 
 II.  In  the  next  his  tone  changes.  The  portentous  wickedness 
 which  has  filled  the  whole  city,  and  worse  even  than  this,  the  perfidy 
 of  the  man  he  had  trusted,  rouse  his  indignation,  and  he  prays  that  all 
 the  counsels  of  the  wicked  may  be  brought  to  naught,  and  that  they 
 themselves  may  go  down  alive  into  the  grave.     Ver.  9 — 15. 
 
 III.  The  last  strophe  is  altogether  in  a  calmer  strain.  It  opens 
 and  closes  with  the  confession  of  trust  in  God,  and  though  the  figure 
 of  the  traitor  again  comes  prominently  into  view,  it  does  not  provoke 
 the  same  burning  imprecation  as  before.  Instead  of  this,  the  Psalmist 
 rests  calmly  confident  that  the  righteous  shall  never  be  moved,  and 
 that  the  bloodthirsty  and  deceitful  man  shall  speedily  be  cut  off. 
 Ver.  16 — 23. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    on  stringed  instruments,    a  maskil 
 
 OF  DAVID.] 
 
 I.  I   Give  ear,  O  God,  to  my  prayer, 
 
 And  hide  not  Thyself  from  my  supplication. 
 
 2  Hearken  unto  me,  and  answer  me  ; 
 
 I  am  tossed  to  and  fro  in  my  complaint,  and  must 
 groan, 
 
 3  Because  of  the  voice  of  the  enemy, 
 
 Because  of  the  oppression  of  the  wicked  ; 
 For  they  cast  iniquity  upon  me, 
 
 And  in  anger  do  they  persecute  me. 
 
 4  My  heart  is  sore  pained  within  me, 
 
 And  terrors  of  death  have  fallen  upon  me : 
 
 5  Fear  and  trembling  come  upon  me, 
 
 And  horror  hath  overwhelmed  me. 
 
 5.   Horror,     The  Hebrew   word       three  other  places :    Job  xxi.    6,  Is. 
 so  rendered  is  of  comparatively  rare       xxi.  4,  Ezek.  vii.  1 8. 
 occurrence.     It  is  to  be  found  only  in 
 
PSALM  L  V. 
 
 227 
 
 And  I  said  :  Oh  that  I  had  wings  hke  the  dove. 
 Then  would  I  fly  (away)  and  be  at  rest ; 
 
 Lo,  then  would  I  flee  afar  off, 
 
 I  would  lodge  in  the  wilderness  :     [Selah.] 
 
 Quickly  would  I  haste  me  to  a  place  of  shelter 
 From  stormy  wind  (and)  from  tempest. 
 
 11.  9 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 Confound,  O  Lord,  divide  their  tongues ; 
 
 For  I  have  seen  violence  and  strife  in  the  city : 
 Day  and   night,    they  go  about   it    upon  the  walls 
 thereof; 
 
 Iniquity  also  and  mischief  are  in  the  midst  of  it. 
 Destruction  is  in  the  midst  of  it ; 
 
 Fraud  and  deceit  depart  not  from  the  market-place 
 thereof 
 For  It  is  not  an  enemy  that  reproacheth  me ; 
 
 Then  I  might  bear  it : 
 
 6.  Beat  rest,  lit.  "dwell,  abide," 
 i.f.  have  some  fixed  and  settled  place 
 of  abode,  where  I  should  be  free  from 
 persecution,  instead  of  leading  a 
 wandering  life,  exposed  to  peril,  and 
 at  the  mercy  of  my  enemies. 
 
 9.  The  tone  of  sadness  and  melan- 
 choly now  gives  way  to  one  of  hot 
 and  passionate  indignation.  He  would 
 have  escaped  if  he  could  from  that 
 city  of  sinners,  who  vexed  his  righ- 
 teous soul  from  day  to  day  with  their 
 ungodly  deeds  ;  but  as  he  could  not 
 do  this,  he  would  gladly  see  God's 
 judgements  executed  upon  them.  The 
 sudden  outburst  of  these  fervent,  im- 
 petuous feelings,  gives  an  irregularity 
 to  the  whole  Poem.  But  this  is 
 ■  natural  ;  and  there  is  no  need  to 
 suppose  that  its  parts  have  been  dis- 
 arranged, and  that  the  order  should 
 l^e  restored  by  placing  verses  12 — 14, 
 and  20,  21,  immediately  after  verse  5. 
 
 Confound,  or,  "frustrate"  (as  in 
 Is.  xix.  3,  "  I  will  frustrate,  or,  bring 
 
 to  naught,  its  counsel  ") ;  lit.  "swallow 
 up." 
 
 Divide.  Comp.  Gen.  x.  25,  xi. 
 I — 9,  to  which  there  may  possibly  be 
 an  allusion. 
 
 10.  They  go  about,  i.e.  most 
 probably  "the  wicked,"  mentioned 
 ver.  3.  The  figure  may  perhaps  be 
 borrowed  from  sentinels  keeping  their 
 watch  upon  the  walls  ;  others  think, 
 from  besiegers  watching  the  walls  in 
 order  to  find  some  weak  point.  In 
 the  former  case  we  must  render ' '  upon, ' ' 
 in  the  latter  ^^ rotcndabotit  the  walls." 
 But  neither  figure  need  be  pressed. 
 The  walls  in  this  clause  of  the  verse 
 are  parallel  to  the  interior  of  the  city 
 in  the  next  clause,  so  that  the  whole 
 city-may  be  represented  in  all  its  parts 
 to  be  full  of  wickedness. 
 
 11.  Market,  or  "broad  place;" 
 the  square  or  market-place  near  tlie 
 gates,  where  was  the  general  place  of 
 concourse.     See  on  ix.  14. 
 
 12.  For  gives  a  special  reason  for 
 
 -Q  2 
 
228  PSALM  LV. 
 
 Neither  is  it  one  who  hateth  me,  that  hath  magnified 
 himself  against  me  ; 
 Then  I  would  hide  myself  from  him. 
 
 13  But  thou  art  a  man,  mine  equal, 
 
 My  companion,  and  my  well-known  friend  ; 
 
 14  We  were  wont  to  take  sweet  counsel  together, 
 
 To  walk  to  the  house  of  God  among  the  thronging 
 crowd. 
 
 15  Let  death  come  suddenly  upon  them  ; 
 
 Let  them  go  down  to  the  unseen  world  alive ; 
 For  wickedness  is  in  their  dwelling,  in  the  midst 
 of  them. 
 
 III.  16  As  for  me — unto  God  will  I  cry, 
 And  Jehovah  will  save  me : 
 17  Evening,  and  morning,  and  at  noon  will  I  complain 
 and  groan, 
 And  He  shall  hear  my  voice. 
 
 the  prayer  in  ver.    !>,  'His  eye  falling  To  have  tiiisted,  and  to  find  his  trust 
 
 upon   one   in   particular  among    the  betrayed  ;    to  have  been  one  with  a 
 
 crowd  of  enemies  and  evil-doers.  man  in  public  and  in  private,  bound 
 
 13.  Mine  EQUAL,  lit.  "According  to  him  by  personal  ties,  and  by  the 
 to  my  estimation,"  i.e.  the  estima-  ties  of  religion,  and  then  to  find  hon- 
 tion  or  worth  which  I  put  upon  him.  our,  faith,  affection,  all  east  to  the 
 But  such  a  sense  does  not  apply  here.  winds — this  it  was  that  seemed  so 
 It  must  rather  mean  "of  the  same  terrible,  this  it  was  that  called  for  the 
 rank  and  position  as  myself."  withering   curse.       Thus  the   second 
 
 14.  We  were  wont,  &c.  The  strophe  ends  as  it  began,  ver.  9,  with 
 verb  is  in  the  imperfect  (or  future,  as  imprecations  upon  the  wicked  ;  the 
 it  is  commonly  called).  Lit.  "we  intervening  stanzas,  in  describing  the 
 were  wont  to  make  (our)  counsel,  or  faithlessness  of  the  trusted  friend, 
 confidential  intercourse,  sweet."  The  giving  the  reason  for  this  anathema, 
 v.'ord  which  is  here  rendered  "counsel,"  Let  THEM  GO  DOWN.  Comp.  ix, 
 is  rendered  "secret"  in  xxv.  14,  17.  Alive,  as  Pi'ov.  i.  12.  There 
 where  see  note.  In  both  passages  the  may  possibly  be  an  allusion  to  the 
 meaning  "  close  intimate  intercourse "  fate  of  Korah  and  his  company, 
 would  be  suitable.  Numb.  xvi.  30,  (S:c. 
 
 The  CROWD,  here  the  festal  cara-  16.  As    for    me.     The    pronoun 
 
 van  ;  comp.  xlii.  4.  emphatic,  in  opposition  to  the  con- 
 
 15.  Again  indignation  at  the  black-  duct  of  his  enemies. 
 
 ness  of  this  treacliery,  so  far  worse  to  17.   Evening  and  morning,  &c. 
 
 be   endured   than   any  open  enmity.  The  three  principal  parts  of  the  day 
 
PSALM  LV. 
 
 229 
 
 18  He  hath  redeemed  my  soul,  in  peace,  that  they  should 
 
 not  war  upon  me, 
 For  many  were  against  me. 
 
 19  God  shall  hear  (me)  and  humble  them, 
 
 —And  He  sitteth  (as  King)  of  old— [Selah.] 
 The   men   who   have  no   changes,  and   who    fear   not 
 God. 
 
 20  He  hath  put  forth  his  nands  against  them  that  were  at 
 
 peace  with  him  : 
 He  hath  profaned  his  covenant  (that  he  made). 
 
 21  Smooth  as  butter  itself  is  his  mouth  ; 
 
 But  his  heart  is  war : 
 Softer  are  his  words  than  oil ; 
 Yet  are  they  drawn  swords. 
 
 are  mentioned,  either  as  marking 
 special  times  set  apart  for  prayer,  or 
 as  a  poetical  expression  for  "the 
 whole  day,"  "at  all  times,"  "with- 
 out ceasing."  Comp.  v.  3  ;  Ixxxviii. 
 I,  13  ;  xcii.  2. 
 
 Complain  and  groan,  the  same 
 words  as  in  ver.  2, 
 
 18.  In  peace,  as  denoting  the  end 
 of  the  redemption,  the  condition  in 
 which  he  was  placed  thereby. 
 
 Many.  Perhaps  more  literally, 
 With  many  (or,  in  great  numbers) 
 were  they  against  me.  But  the  prep, 
 serves  here,  as  elsewhere,  to  introduce 
 the  predicate.     Comp,  liv.  3. 
 
 19.  An  obscure  verse.  Who  are 
 they  who  have  no  changes  ?  Appa- 
 rently, those  whom  God  is  said  to 
 humble  or  chastise.  And  what  is  the 
 meaning  of  the  word  "  changes,"  as 
 here  used  ?  Many  understand  it  of 
 '<.'.  moral  change ;  ' '  who  are  without 
 change  of  heart  or  reformation."  But 
 the  word  never  occurs  in  this  sense. 
 It  me\ns,  properly,  "a  change,"  in 
 the  sense  of  succession ;    as  of  gar- 
 
 ments, of  troops  relieving  guard, 
 servants  leaving  work,  and  the  like. 
 Hence  it  would  rather  mean  in  a 
 moral  sense  :  "  They  who  have  no 
 cessation  in  their  course  (by  being 
 relieved  guard,  for  instance),  who 
 always  continue  and  persevere  in 
 their  evil  life, " 
 
 20,  The  individual  traitor  (who 
 had  once  been  the  trusted  friend)  is 
 again  prominent. 
 
 His  covenant.  Apparently  not 
 a  particular  covenant  solemnly  made, 
 as  that  between  David  and  Jonathan, 
 but  figuratively  the  covenant  implied 
 in  a  close  friendship,  of  itself  a  holy 
 bond,  the  breaking  of  which  is  a 
 profanity, 
 
 21,  Smooth,  &c.  Lit.  "smooth 
 are  the  butterinesses  of  his  mouth,"  or 
 as  Ewald  well  renders,  "  Glatt  sind 
 die  Butterlippen  semes  Mundes."  His 
 words  drop  from  his  lips  like  cream, 
 or  butter. 
 
 Yet  they.  The  pronoun  is  em- 
 phatic. They,  those  very  words  so 
 smooth  and  so  fair. 
 
2 so  PSALM  LVL 
 
 22  Cast  thy  burden  upon  Jehovah, 
 And  He  shall  sustain  thee  : 
 He  shall  never  suffer  the  righteous  to  be  moved. 
 2^  But  Thou,  O  God,  shall  bring  them  down  into  the  pit 
 of  destruction  : 
 Bloodthirsty  and  deceitful  men  shall  not  live  out  half 
 their  days ; 
 But  as  for  me — I  trust  in  Thee. 
 
 22.     Thy    burden.       The    word  the  rendenng   of   the   LXX.    in   his 
 
 occurs    only    here.       But   there  are  mind. 
 
 similar  expressions  in  xxxvii.  5,  "thy  23.   Them,   i.e.    "the  bloodthirsty 
 
 way;"     and    Prov.    xvi.     3,     "thy  and  deceitful  men "  in  the  next  clause, 
 
 works."     See  also  Ps.  xxii.    10. — St.  the  pronoun  being  placed  first  as  in 
 
 Peter,   in  i  Pet.  v.   7,   evidently  has  many  other  instances.     Seeonix.  12. 
 
 PSALM  LVI. 
 
 The  complaint  of  one  who,  though  hard  pressed  by  enemies, 
 nevertheless  trusts  in  God,  rests  in*  His  promises,  flees  to  Him  for 
 succour,  and  renders  thanks  for  His  mercy.  Throughout,  his  con- 
 fidence never  forsakes  him.  Indeed  we  see  here  the  victory  rather 
 than  the  struggle  of  Faith.  Hence  the  refrain,  with  which  the  tirst 
 and  second  parts  conclude,  "  In  God  will  I  praise  His  word.  .  .  , 
 What  can  flesh  (man)  do  unto  me  ? " 
 
 According  to  the  inscription,  it  was  composed  when  David  was 
 detained  in  Gath  by  the  Philistines.  But  on  neither  occasion  when 
 he  visited  Gath  does  the  history  inform  us  of  any  such  detention- 
 (i  Sam.  xxi.  11 — 16,  and  xxvii. — xxix.)  Hengstenberg,  indeed,  and 
 Dehtzsch  suppose  that  some  seizure  or  imprisonment  is  impHed  in  the 
 words  he  "  feigned  himself  mad  in  their  hands;  "  and  the  expression 
 at  the  beginning  of  chap,  xxii.,  "  David  therefore  departed  thence,  and 
 
PSALM  LVL  231 
 
 escaped  to  the  cave  of:  Adullam,"  may  imply  that  he  had  been  sub- 
 jected to  some  confinement.  Hupfeld  concludes  from  the  absence 
 of  anything  in  the  history  corresponding  to  the  title  of  the  Psalm, 
 that  the  title  is  not  to  be  trusted.  Yet  it  is  perhaps  more  likely  on 
 this  very  account  that  it  rests  upon  some  ancient  tradition.  A 
 modern  compiler  would  have  endeavoured  to  make  the  title  square 
 better  with  the  history. 
 
 The  Psalm  falls  naturally  into  three  divisions  : — 
 
 The  first  and  second  scarcely  differ  in  their  subject-matter.  They 
 each  contain  a  cry  for  help  against  enemies,  and  an  expression  of 
 confidence  in  God  ;  the  second,  however,  being  somewhat  more 
 emphatic  than  the  first.  The  first  consists  of  ver.  1—4  ;  the  second 
 of  ver.  5— II.  The  Psalm  then  concludes  (ver.  12,  13)  with  words  of 
 devout  thankfulness. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  to  the  tune  of  "  THE  SILENT  DOVE  IN 
 FAR-OFF  LANDS."*  A  MICHTAM  OF  DAVID,  WHEN  THE  PHILIS- 
 TINES LAID  HOLD  ON  HIM  IN  OATH.] 
 
 1  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  God,  for  man  would  swallow 
 
 me  up  : 
 All  the  day  long  he,  fighting,  oppresseth  me. 
 
 2  Mine  adversaries  would  swallow  (me)  up  all  the  day  long; 
 
 For  many  are  they  that  fight  proudly  against  me. 
 
 3  In  the  day  that  I  am  afraid,  in  Thee  do  I  put  my  trust. 
 
 1.  Man.  The  word  used  denotes  verse,  but  without  any  object  ex- 
 man  in  his  weakness   and   frailty   as       pressed. 
 
 contrasted   with   God   in  His  power  3.   In    the    day,    &c.       Hupfeld 
 
 and  majesty.  thinks  it  a  manifest  contradiction  to 
 
 2.  Would  swallow  me  up,  lit.  say,  "  In  theday  that  I/twrl /;v/j-^;  " 
 Hath  panted  after  me,  with  open  but  there  is  no  contradiction  except 
 mouth  ready  to  devour  me,  Hke  a  to  the  narrow  understanding  exeicis- 
 wikl  beast,  thirsting  for  my  blood.  ing  its  narrowest  facuUy  of  vision. 
 The   verb  is    repeated   in    the    next  It  is  not  even  necessary  to  explam  : 
 
 Sec  IiuroJuction,  p.  ?• 
 
232 
 
 PSALM  LVI. 
 
 4  In  God  do  I  praise  His  Word : 
 
 In  God  have  I  put  my  trust ;  I  will  not  fear; 
 What  can  flesh  do  unto  me  ? 
 
 5  All  the  day  long  they  wrest  my  words  : 
 
 All  their  thoughts  are  against  me  for  evil. 
 
 "  In  the  day  when  I  have  reason  to 
 fear,  or  when  terror  assails  me,"  &c. 
 Fear  and  trust  may  co-exist.  Faith 
 may  vanquish  the  rising  fear,  or, 
 with  Peter  sinking  in  the  sea  through 
 fear  of  the  winds  and  the  waves,  may 
 only  have  strength  to  cry.  Lord, 
 save  me,  I  perish.  Trust  in  God 
 does  not  make  us  cease  to  be  men 
 and  to  have  the  feelings  of  men  ;  but 
 it  gives  a  better  than  any  stoical 
 calmness  :  it  lifts  the  man  who  is 
 trembling  in  himself  above  the  fear 
 which  assails  him  ;  in  the  very  midst 
 of  fear  it  listens  to  the  voice  which 
 says.  Fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee. 
 "Assuredly,"  savs  Calvin:  "this  is 
 the  true  test  and  proof  of  our  faith  ; 
 when  fears  harass  us,  so  far  as  our 
 fleshy  nature  is  concerned  (pro  sensu 
 carnis),  but  do  not  overthrow  and 
 imsettle  our  minds.  It  seems,  in- 
 deed, as  '\i  fear  and  hope  were  feel- 
 ings too  contrary  the  one  to  the  other 
 to  dv/ell  in  the  same  heart ;  but 
 experience  shows  that  Hope  there  in 
 fact  really  reigns  where  som.e  poi-- 
 tion  of  the  heart  is  possessed  by  Fear. 
 For  when  the  mind  is  calm  and  tran- 
 quil, Hope  is  not  exercised,  yea 
 rather  is  as  it  were  hushed  to  sleep  ; 
 but  then,  and  not  till  then,  does  she 
 put  forth  all  her  strength,  when  the 
 mind  has  been  cast  down  by  cares 
 and  she  lifts  it  up,  when  it  has  been 
 saddened  and  disturbed  and  she  calms 
 it,  when  it  has  been  smitten  with  fear 
 and  she  sustains  and  props  it." 
 
 4.  In  God,  or  perhaps  ^^ through 
 Cod  "  (comp,  Ix,  12),  i.e.  by  His  help, 
 trusting  in  Him,  do  I  praise. 
 
 His  Word,  i.e.  His  promise. 
 God  Himself  gives  me  to  know  ev.er 
 anew  the  truth  of  His  promise,  and 
 therefore  I  make  my  boast  of  it. 
 The  promise  of  God,  true  and  pre- 
 cious as  it  is,  is  nothing  in  itself,  but 
 only  in  God,  who  makes  it  tnie  and 
 precious  to  our  souls. 
 
 I  WILL  NOT  FEAR,  or  "I  cannot 
 fear  ;  "  for  such  may  be  the  force  of 
 the  tense.  "  But  how  can  David 
 thus  all  at  once  have  put  off  all  weak- 
 ness, so  that  he  who  but  a  moment 
 before  was  in  dread  of  death,  now 
 courageousl}'-  tramples  upon  his  ene- 
 mies ?  I  answer  that  this  confidence 
 is  no  proof  that  he  was  rid  of  all 
 fear,  as  if  he  were  like  a  man  placed 
 beyond  the  reach  of  every  weapon 
 (extra  telorum  jactum  positus),  and 
 could  quietly  smile  at  all  perils  ;  but 
 because  he  was  so  far  from  yielding  to 
 lear  that  he  rose  victoriously  above 
 it,  and  by  holding  up  the  shield  of 
 hope  and  so  driving  back  all  appre- 
 hensions was  defended  by  a  sure 
 and  certain  salvation  (munitus  esset 
 certa  salute),  he  might  well  break 
 forth  Math  the  holy  boast,  Because 
 I  hope  in  God  I  will  not  fear.'''' — 
 Calvin. 
 
 5.  The  second  strophe  contains  a 
 fuller  description  of  the  attacks  and 
 evil  designs  of  his  enemies,  and  a 
 cry  to  God  to  take  vengeance  upon 
 them. 
 
 They  wrest  my  words,  i.e.  they 
 twist  and  pervert  them,  give  them  a 
 ■wrong  meaning,  falsely  misrepresent 
 me.  The  expression,  however,  niay 
 perhaps   be  taken  in  a  wider  sense. 
 
PSALM  LVL 
 
 233 
 
 They  gather  together,  they  hide  themselves,  they,  even 
 they,  watch  my  steps, 
 
 As  they  have  hoped  (to  take  away)  my  Hfe. 
 Shall  they  escape  because  of  iniquity  ? 
 
 In  anger  bring  down  the  peoples,  O  God. 
 Thou  tellest  my  wandering  ; 
 
 O  put  Thou  my  tears  into  Thy  bottle  ; 
 
 Are  they  not  in  Thy  book  ? 
 
 "  My  words"  may  be  =  **my  circum- 
 stances :  "  all  that  concerns  me,  all 
 that  I  say  and  do,  they  twist,  turn  it 
 into  an  occasion  of  bitterness  and 
 sorrcnu  to  me. 
 
 6.  They,  even  they.  The 
 pronoun  stands  here  emphatically. 
 
 My  steps,  lit.  "my  heels,"  the 
 heels  being  the  part  exposed  to  any 
 person  coming  from  behind,  or  to  an 
 enemy  lying  like  a  serpent  in  the 
 path.  See  on  xlix.  5.  Comp.  Ixxxix. 
 51  ;  Job  xviii.  9. 
 
 7.  This  verse  gives  vent  to  the 
 stronger  feelings  of  the  heart,  in  the 
 prayer  that  those  who  have  banded 
 themselves  in  a  treacherous  con- 
 spiracy against  the  peace  and  life  of 
 the  Psalmist  may  be  overthrown. 
 
 The  people.  Instead  of  saying 
 "  mine  enemies,"  his  eye  takes  a 
 ■wider  range.  These  men  are  only  a 
 few  out  of  many  ungodly,  and  there- 
 fore he  appeals  to  God  as  the  Judge 
 of  the  world  to  root  out  all  ungodli- 
 ness everywhere.  Comp.  lix.  5,  8, 
 and  see  on  vii.  7. 
 
 8.  As  in  the  last  Psalm  we  noticed 
 the  sudden  transition  from  sadness  to 
 anger,  from  a  tone  of  weariness  and 
 despondency  to  one  of  stern  indigna- 
 tion, so  here  we  have  the  contrary. 
 For  a  moment  the  Psalmist  prays  for 
 destruction  upon  his  adversaries  ;  then 
 he  turns,  with  words  of  touching 
 entreaty,  to  God. 
 
 My   wandering,    perhaps    "my 
 
 flight,  or  exile.'*  Others  understand, 
 "my  (inward)  restlessness."  The 
 word,  however,  may  mean  "com- 
 plaint," "lamentation,"  &c.  The 
 word  is  in  the  singular  number, 
 perhaps,  as  Calvin  suggests,  in  order 
 to  express  "  his  old  wandering  life, 
 as  though  he  would  term  it  one  con- 
 tinuous exile." 
 
 The  tone  here  is  changed.  The 
 Sacred  Poet  turns  from  man  to  God 
 with  that  tender  personal  affection 
 which  is  so  striking  both  in  this 
 Psalm  and  in  the  next,  and  which 
 makes  one  willing  to  believe  that 
 these  are,  as  the  titles  tell  us.  Psalm 
 of  David.  lie  knows  that  each  day 
 of  his  wandering,  each  nook  in  which 
 he  has  found  shelter,  each  step  that 
 he  has  taken,  every  artifice  by  which 
 he  has  baffled  his  foes, — all  have 
 been  numbered  by  his  Heavenly 
 Keeper.  Yea,  no  tear  that  he  has 
 shed,  when  his  eye  has  been  raised  to 
 heaven  in  prayer,  has  fallen  to  the 
 ground.  God  he  prays  to  gather  them 
 all  in  His  bottle,  and  trusts  that  He 
 will  note  them  in  His  book.  Comp. 
 cxxxix.  16,  Ixix.  28,  Exod.  xxxii.  32, 
 Mai.  iii.  16,  in  which  the  figure  of 
 the  book  occurs. 
 
 The  bottle  is  the  skin-bottle 
 which  in  Eastern  lands  is  used  for 
 keeping  water,  milk,  wine,  &c.  In 
 this  he  prays  God  by  a  bold  figure 
 to  treasure  his  tears.  The  prayer  is, 
 no  doubt,  abrupt,  coming  as  it  does 
 
234 
 
 PSALM  LVr, 
 
 9  Then  shall  mine  enemies  be  turned  backward,  when  I 
 call  (upon  Thee)  : 
 This  I  know,  that  God  is  for  me. 
 
 10  In  Gcd  do  I  praise  (His)  word  : 
 
 In  Jehovah  do  I  praise  (His)  word. 
 
 1 1  In  God  have  I  put  my  trust ;  I  am  not  afraid  : 
 
 What  can  man  do  unto  me  ? 
 
 12  Upon  me,  O  God,  are  Thy  vows: 
 
 I  will  pay  thanksgivings  unto  Thee. 
 
 13  For  Thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  Death: 
 
 Hast  Thou  notfdelivered  also)  my  feet  from  stumbling, 
 
 between  ^he  double  expression  of 
 confidence  :  "Thou  hast  numbered," 
 tkz.  "Are  they  not,"  &c.  But 
 there  is  no  reason  on  this  account  to 
 render,  "  My  tears  are  put,'"  &c. 
 Such  a  turn  of  the  sentence  may  seem 
 less  harsh  ;  but  I  confess  I  cannot 
 understand  that  kind  of  criticism 
 which  will  allow  no  play  to  the  emo- 
 tions of  the  heart,  and  which  would 
 bind  the  spirit  of  prayer  in  the  withes 
 of  the  rhetoricians  This  verse  has 
 been  beautifully  iiiiitated  in  P.  Ger- 
 hardt's  Hymn  (quoted  by  Hupfeld)  : 
 
 "Du  zahlst  wie  oft  ein  Christe  wein', 
 Und  was  sein  Rummer  sei  ; 
 
 Kein  stilles  Thriinlein  ist  so  klein, 
 Du  hebst  und  legst  es  bei." 
 
 10.  The  refrain  is  varied  from  ver. 
 4,  by  the  emphatic  repetition  or  the 
 first  clause,  with  the  substitution  how- 
 ever in  its  repeated  form  of  Jehovah 
 for  Elohivi.  Calvin  thus  explains  the 
 repetition  :  "  Though  to-day  God  may 
 have  seemed  to  depart  from  me, 
 because  He  has  withdrawn  His  aid, 
 still  I  will  rest  in  His  word.     Should 
 
 the  same  thing  happen  to-morrow,  or 
 the  next  day,  I  will  persist  in  the 
 same  praise  of  it."  He  goes  on  to 
 urge  the  importance  of  learning  to 
 be  thus  content  with  the  bare  word 
 (nudo  verbo  contenti)  in  all  our 
 •trials.  "  For  though  God  ever  fur- 
 nishes believers  with  maiiifold  sub- 
 jects of  praise  and  boasting  in  the 
 benefits  He  bestows,  still  they  can 
 scarcely  take  three  steps  unless  they 
 have  learned  to  lean  only  on  the 
 word." 
 
 12.  Thy  vows.  ?.^.  the  vows  which 
 I  have  vowed  to  Thee.  Are  upon 
 ME,  i.e.  it  is  incumbent  upon  me  to 
 pay  them,  because  the  condition  of 
 deliverance  upon  which  I  vowed  has 
 been  fulfilled.     Cf  Prov.  vii.  14. 
 
 13.  The  verb  from  the  first  clause 
 of  this  verse  must  be  repeated  with 
 the  second,  where  the  change  to  the 
 question  ("Hast  Thou  not,"  &c.)  is 
 characteristic  of  the  writer.  See 
 ver.  8. 
 
 From  stumbling,  I't.  "from  a 
 thrust  or  blow." 
 
 That  I  may  walk,  lit.  "walk  to 
 and  fro,  as  expressive  of  the  gene- 
 ral habit  of  the  life. 
 
PSALM  LVIT.  235 
 
 That  I  may  walk  before  God  in  the  Light  of  Life  ? 
 
 In  the  Light  of  Life,  or  "in  Comp.  xxvii.  13,  and  the  parallel 
 the  light  of  the  living,"  i.e.  as  a  passage  cxvi.  8,  9,  where,  however, 
 living  man  (as    in    Job   xxxiii.    30).       it  is  "  land  of  the  living. " 
 
 PSALM  LVIL 
 
 This  Psalm  is  in  many  respects  like  the  last,  and,  like  that,  was 
 probably  written  by  David. 
 
 Both  Psalms  open  with  the  same  cry  to  God  for  mercy ;  both  are 
 Avritten  in  circumstances  of  no  common  peril  (Ivi.  i,  2,  5,  6,  Ivii. 
 4,  6)  ;  both  are  full  of  the  same  lofty  trust  in  God,  and  courage  in 
 the  midst  of  danger  (Ivi.  3,  4,  9 — 11,  Ivii.  i — 3,  7),  and  of  the  same 
 joy  and  thankfulness  in  the  assurance  of  deliverance  (Ivi.  12,  13,  Ivii. 
 7 — 9).  Both  have  even  the  same  pecuhar  and  characteristic  expression 
 by  which  the  enemy  is  described  as  one  ready  to  swallow  up  the 
 Psalmist  (Ivi.  i,  2,  and  Ivii.  3),  and  both  have  a  double  refrain  at  the 
 conclusion  of  the  two  principal  divisions  of  the  Psalm.  But  this 
 Psalm  is  written  in  a  still  more  triumphant  strain  of  holy  confidence 
 than  the  last,  and  closes  with  a  shout  of  exultation. 
 
 According  to  the  title,  it  was  written  by  David  "  when  he  fled  from 
 Saul  in  the  cave  ; "  or  as  the  LXX.  render  it,  "  into  the  cave."  The 
 history  tells  us  of  two  occasions  on  which  David  found  refuge  in  a 
 cave.  The  one  cave  was  that  of  Adullam,  situate  in  the  face  of  the 
 cliffs  which  skirt  the  low  valley  of  the  Philistines,  i  Sam.  xxii. ;  the 
 other  was  that  of  En-jyedi,  one  of  the  numerous  caves  in  the  limestone 
 rock,  among  the  "alps  "  or  high  pastures  of  the  district  on  the  western 
 bank  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Hengstenberg  thinks  the  former  is  meant, 
 because  the  connection  between  this  and  the  preceding  Psalm  is  so 
 close,  and  because,  being  alike  in  character  and  form,  and  following 
 one  another  in  the  Psalter,  they  may  reasonably  be  referred  to  the 
 same  time.     Nov/  Psalm.  Ivi.  was  written,  according  to  the  inscription, 
 
236  FSALM  L  VII. 
 
 in  Gath,  and  therefore  this  was  probably  composed  immediately 
 afterwards  when  David  hid  himself  in  the  cave  of  Adullam.  Tholuck, 
 on  the  other  hand,  decides  for  En-gedi.  But  this  is  a  question  which 
 must  be  left.  There  is  nothing  in  the  Psalm  either  for  or  against  the 
 title. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts,  the  conclusion  of  each  being 
 marked  by  the  refrain  : — 
 
 I.  The  first  contains  a  cry  to  God  for  mercy,  together  with  an 
 expression  of  confidence  in  Him  in  the  midst  of  enemies  and  dangers. 
 Ver.  1—5. 
 
 II.  The  second  repeats  briefly  the  story  of  his  persecutions,  and 
 then  concludes  with  a  triumphant  acknowledgement  of  God's  good- 
 ness.    Ver.  6 — II. 
 
 [for  THE  IRECENTOR.       "DESTROY    NOT."*      A   MICHTAM  OF  DAVID 
 WHEN   HE   FLED   FROM    SAUL,    IN  THE   CAVE.] 
 
 I.   I  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  God,  be  gracious  unto  me, 
 For  in  Thee  hath  my  soul  found  refuge ; 
 And  in  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  will  I  find  refuge, 
 Until  the  destruction  be  overpast. 
 
 2  I  will  call  upon  God  Most  High, 
 
 Upon  the  God  who  conferreth  benefits  upon  me. 
 
 3  He  shall  send  from  Heaven  and  save  me. 
 
 Ver.     r — 5.     The    cleaving  of  the  more  remarkable  in  the  Psahiis  than 
 
 soul  to  God,    and   the   trust    in  His  this   ever-recurring   expression    of   a 
 
 power  and  mercy  despite  all  perils.  tender  personal  affection  on  the  part 
 
 I.  In  thp:  shadow  of  Thy  wings.  of  the  sacred   Poet  to   God.     There 
 
 This  exceedingly  striking  image  may  is   no   parallel  to  this  in  the  whole 
 
 have  been  suggested  by  Deut.  xxxii.  range  of  heathen  literature.   Monsters 
 
 II.     See  above  on  Ps.  xvii.  8,     Still  to  be  feared  and  propitiated  were  the 
 
 more  tender  is  the  N.  T.  figure,  Matt.  deities  of  paganism,  but  what  heathen 
 
 xxiii.    37.     Perhaps  there  is  nothing  ever  loved  his  god  ? 
 
 See  Introduction,  p.  7. 
 
PSALM  LVIL  '  237 
 
 — (Though)   he  that  would  swallow  me  up  hath 
 reproached,       [Selah] — 
 God  shall  send  His  loving-kindness  and  .truth. 
 
 4  As  for  my  life — in  the  midst  of  lions  must  I  lie, 
 
 (Among)  those  who  are  ready  to  devour,  even  the 
 children  of  men, 
 Whose  teeth  are  spears  and  arrows. 
 And  their  tongue  a  sharp  sword. 
 
 5  Be  Thou  exalted  above  the  heavens,  O  God, 
 
 (And)  Thy  glory  above  all  the  earth. 
 
 II.  6  They  prepared  a  net  for  my  steps ; 
 My  soul  was  bowed  down. 
 They  digged  before  me  a  pit ; 
 
 They  fell  into  the  midst  thereof  (themselves). 
 
 [Selah.] 
 
 7  My  heart  is  steadfast,  O  God,  my  heart  is  steadfast ; 
 
 I  will  sing  and  play  (upon  the  harp). 
 
 8  Awake  up,  my  glory  ;  awake  harp,  and  lute  ; 
 
 I  will  wake  the  morning-dawn. 
 
 9  I  will  praise  Thee  among  the  peoples,  O  LORD, 
 
 I  will  play  unto  Thee  among  the  nations. 
 10  For  great  unto  the  heavens  is  Thy  loving-kindness. 
 And  unto  the  clouds  Thy  truth. 
 
 He  that   would    swallow  me  only  ^at   the  righteous,    but  at  God 
 
 UP.     The  same  word  which  occurs  in  Himself  in  them.     The  prayer,  there- 
 
 Ivi.  I,  2,   and  one  of  the  links  con-  fore,    for  God's  exaltation   is  at  the 
 
 necting  the  two  Psalms.  same  lime  a  prayer  for  his  own  de- 
 
 4.  A  SHARP  SWORD.  Cf.  Iv.  21,  liverance,  but  it  is— may  we  not  say? 
 lix.  7,  Ixiv.  3,  Prov.  xxx.  14.  — a  less  selfish  and  a  nobler  prayer. 
 
 5.  Be  Thou  exalted,  i.e.  ?/:am-  7.  My  heart  is  steadfast.  If. 
 fest  Thy  glory  and  Thy  majesty  in  the  in  the  confidence  of  faith.  The  ad- 
 exercise    of    Thy  universal   dominion  jective  is  the  same  as  in  li.  10, 
 
 both  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  For  8.  I  will  wake  the  morning- 
 this  manifestation  David  prays  ;  that  dawn.  The  figure  is  at  once  bold 
 i.his  will  be,  he  rests  assured,  and  and  beautiful.  My  song  shall  itself 
 ihis  is  his  comfort  when  enemies  awake  the  morning,  Hengst.  corn- 
 assail.  God's  deliverance  of  those  pares  Ovid,  Met.  xi.  597  :  "  Non 
 who  trust  in  Him  is  bound  up  with  vigil  ales  ibi  cristati  cautibus  oris 
 His  glory  ;  for  the  wicked  strike  not  Evocat  auroram." 
 
2^2,  '  PSALM  L  VIII. 
 
 1 1   Be  Thou  exalted  above  the  heavens,  O  God, 
 (And)  Thy  glory  above  all  the  earth. 
 
 II.    "  Greater  words  of  prayer  than  is  in  the  sunrise  of  the  Divine  glory 
 
 ■these,"    says    Dehtzsch   most    truly,  over  both." 
 
 *'  never     came     from     human     lips.  The   latter  part  of    this   Psalm   is 
 
 Heaven    and    earth    have,     as    they  repeated  at  the   beginning  of  cviii., 
 
 imply,  a  mutually  interwoven  histoiy,  where  see  notes. 
 and  the  blessed,  glorious  end  of  this 
 
 PSALM  LVIII. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  bold  protest  against  unrighteous  judges.  It 
 opens  with  an  indignant  expostulation  on  their  deliberate  perversion 
 of  justice,  whilst  they  pretend  to  uphold  it.  It  lays  bare  their 
 character  and  that  of  those  whom  they  favour,  as  men  thoroughly, 
 habitually,  by  their  very  nature,  corrupt.  And  finally,  because  they 
 are  thus  beyond  all  hope  of  correction  or  amendment,  it  calls  upon 
 God  to  rob  them  of  their  power,  and  to  bring  all  their  counsels  to 
 naught. 
 
 The  Psalm  abounds  in  bold  and  striking  images,  and  is  remarkable 
 for  a  nei-vous  force  of  expression.  The  title  ascribes  it  to  David, 
 but  without  assigning  it  to  any  particular  occasion  in  his  life.  Various 
 guesses  have  been  made  as  to  the  time  of  its  composition,  but  the 
 Psalm  furnishes  us  with  no  data  for  any  certain  or  even  probable 
 conclusion. 
 
 It  consists  of  three  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  forcible  picture  of  unrighteousness  in  the  seat  of  judge- 
 ment.    Ver.  I — 5. 
 
 II.  The  swift  punishment  which  is  about  to  overtake  these  unjust 
 judges,  and  for  which  the  Psalmist  prays.     Ver.  6 — 9. 
 
 III.  Lastly,  the  joy  of  those  who  shall  behold  their  overthrow, 
 and  who  shall  acknowledge  that,  however  the  name  oi  justice  may 
 
PSALM  LVIIL 
 
 239 
 
 have  been  profaned  by  human  judges  who  abuse  their  office,  there  isj 
 nevertheless,  a  righteous  Judge  in  the- earth.     Ver.  10,  11. 
 
 [for  THE  PRECENTOR.      "  DESTROY  NOT,"*      A   MICHTAM   OF   DAVID.] 
 
 I.  I   Do  ye  of  a  truth  in  silence  speak  righteousness  ? 
 
 Do  ye  with  uprightness  judge  the  children  of  men? 
 
 2  Nay,  rather,  in  heart  ye  work  iniquities  ; 
 
 In  the  earth  ye  weigh  out  the  violence  of  your  hands, 
 
 3  The  wicked  are  estranged  from  the  womb, 
 
 They  go  astray  from  their  birth,  speaking  Hes. 
 
 4  Their  poison  is  hke  the  poison  of  a  serpent : 
 
 They  are  hke  a  deaf  adder  which  stoppeth  her  ear, 
 c;  Which  hearkened  not  to  the  voice  of  enchanters, 
 
 1.  In  silence.  They  are  diunb 
 when  they  ought  to  speak,  as  after- 
 wards they  are  said  to  be  deaf  when 
 they  ought  to  hear. 
 
 2.  In  the  earth,  i.e.  openly,  in 
 your  public  administration  ;  opposed 
 to  the  "  in  heart,"  before. 
 
 Ye  weigh  OUT  ;  said  sarcastically. 
 Ye  pretend  indeed  to  hold  the  balance 
 of  justice,  and  nicely  to  weigh  out  to 
 each  his  just  award,  but  violence  i? 
 the  weight  with  which  ye  adjust  the 
 scales. 
 
 3.  Those  to  whom  the  indignant 
 question  has  been  put  cannot  answer, 
 being  condemned  by  their  own  con- 
 sciences, and  therefore  the  Poet  goes 
 on  at  once,  abandoning  the  form  of 
 address,  to  give  a  further  description 
 of  their  character  in  the  third  person. 
 Or  possibly  the  description  may  apply, 
 not  to  the  unrighteous  judges,  but  to 
 the  evil-doers  whom  they  countenance 
 and  support. 
 
 From  their  birth,  lit.  "from 
 the  belly."  See  on  li.  5.  The  object 
 however,  here,  is  clearly  not  to  insist 
 upon  the  general  truth  of  an  innate 
 
 depravity,  but  rather  to  mark  the 
 special  character  of  these  wicked  men 
 as  men  whose  whole  life  has  been 
 one  continuous  unchecked  career  of 
 wickedness — bold,  habitual,  hardened 
 transgressors,  whose  maturity  in  vice 
 is  what  might  be  expected  from  their 
 early  depravity. 
 
 4,  5.  Their  wickedness  is  despe- 
 rate, for  they  are  like  the  adder, 
 which  the  subtlest  charmer  cannot 
 tame.  The  adder  is  mentioned  as 
 peculiarly  dangerous.  (Comp.  xci. 
 13  ;  Job  XX.  14,  16  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  33  ; 
 Is.  xi.  8.)  The  serpent-charmers,  a 
 class  of  men  so  well  known  in  the 
 East,  are  spoken  of  also  Jer.  viii.  17, 
 Eccles.  X.  II.  For  instances  of  the 
 exercise  of  this  art,  which  is  still  in 
 vogue,  see  Lane's  Modern  Egyptians, 
 vol.  ii.  chap.  20  ;  Hengst.  Egypt  atid 
 the  Books  of  Moses,  p.  99  (Transl. ), 
 and  especially  the  very  full  account, 
 with  references  to  authorities,  both 
 ancient  and  modern,  given  by  Kno- 
 bel,  on  Exod.  vii.  11,  pp.  60,  61. 
 
 5,  Of  enchanters,  properly 
 **  whisperers.*'     The  allusion  is  proh- 
 
 See  Introduction,  p.  7. 
 
240  PSALM  L  VI IT, 
 
 To  a  charmer,  charming  never  so  wisely. 
 
 II.  6  O  God,  break  their  teeth  in  their  mouths, 
 
 The  jaw-teeth  of  the  young  Hons  wrench  out,  O 
 Jehovah. 
 
 7  Let  them  melt  away,  as  water  which  runneth  apace ; 
 
 When    they  shoot    their    arrows,  let   them   be  as 
 though  cut  off. 
 
 8  (Let    them  be)    as  a  snail,  w^hich  melteth  away   as 
 
 it  goeth, 
 (Like)  the  untimely  birth  of  a  woman,  (as  those 
 who)  have  not  beheld  the  sun. 
 
 9  Before  your  pots  can  feel  the  (fire  of)  thorns, 
 
 Both  green  and  burning,  they  shall  be  whirled  away. 
 
 ably  to  the  hissing  sound  by  which 
 tlie  enchanters  endeavoured  to  draw- 
 cut  the  serpents  from  their  retreats. 
 
 A  CHARMER,  &c.  lit.  "one  charm- 
 ing (with)  charms,"  &c.  (Deut.  xviii. 
 II). 
 
 Never  so  wisely,  lit.  "  (though) 
 he  be  made  wise,  i.e.  w^ell  versed  in 
 his  art."  (Comp.  Is.  iii.  3.)  For  a 
 like  use  of  the  participle,  comp, 
 xxxix.  5,  "at  his  best  estate,"  lit. 
 "  though  standing  never  so  fast." 
 
 6.  There  is  an  abrupt  change  in 
 the  image  employed.  As  these  men 
 are  incorrigible  in  their  wickedness, 
 as  they  cannot  be  tamed,  the  Psalmist 
 prays  God  to  destroy  their  power 
 for  mischief ;  but  instead  of  continu- 
 ing the  figure  of  the  serpent-charmer, 
 who  robs  the  serpent  of  his  poison,  he 
 suddenly  represents  them  as  young 
 lions,  whose  teeth  he  would  see  bro- 
 ken that  they  may  no  longer  devour, 
 (Comp.  iii,  7.) 
 
 7.  Then  in  a  series  of  bold  figures 
 he  draws  further  the  picture  of  the 
 des'ruction  wdiich  he  would  fain  see 
 come  upon  them. 
 
 The  first  is  taken  from  water  run- 
 
 ning away,  and  so  wasted  and  lost 
 (comp.  2  Sam.  xiv.  14)  :  the  next 
 from  arrows  shot,  but  with  their 
 points  broken  off  and  blunted,  so 
 that  they  fail  to  inflict  a  wound. 
 
 8.  (Which)  melteth  away  (as) 
 IT  goeth,  lit.  "  which  goeth  in  melt- 
 ing" (or  slime),  the  noun  being  in 
 the  accus.  as  describing  the  nature  of 
 the  action,  and  the  allusion  being  to 
 the  slimy  trail  wdiich  the  snail  leaves 
 behind  it,  so  that  it  seems  to  w^aste 
 away.  Evidently  this  is  nothing  more 
 than  a  poetical  figure,  and  need  not 
 be  explained  therefore  as  a  popular 
 error  or  a  mistake  in  natural  history. 
 
 Have  not  beheld  the  sun. 
 Comp,  Job  iii.  16, 
 
 9.  The  general  sense  of  this  difii- 
 cult  verse  s-eems  to  be  this  :  As  a 
 sudden  whirlwind  in  the  desert  sweeps 
 away  the  thorns  which  have  been 
 gathered  for  cooking,  almost  as  soon 
 as  they  have  been  set  on  fire,  and 
 before  the  cauldron  has  grown  hot 
 (comp.  Eccles.  vii,  6),  so  shall  the 
 wicked,  and  all  their  yet  incomplete 
 designs,  be  swept  away  by  the  wrath 
 of  God. 
 
PSALM  LIX.  241 
 
 III.   10  The  righteous  shall  rejoice  that  he  hath  beheld  (the) 
 vengeance, 
 He  shall  wash  his  footsteps  in  the -blood  of  the 
 wicked  ; 
 1 1    So  that  man  shall  say,  Surely  there  is  a  reward  for 
 the  righteous, 
 Surely  there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in  the  earth. 
 
 10.   On   the   satisfaction   here    ex-  11.  A  reward,  lit.  "fruit."  Comp. 
 
 pressed  in  the  prospect  of  vengeance  Is.  iii.  10  ;  Prov.  i.  31. 
 
 on  the  ungodly,  see  on  Iii.  6.      Comp.  There  is    a    God,    or,    perhaps, 
 
 Ixviii.  23  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  42,  43.     This  "  there  is  a  Deity,"  the  word  Elohim 
 
 terrible   vengeance  was  such  as  was  not   used   so    much   in   the   personal 
 
 not  uncommonly  practised  in  the  wars  sense,    as   in  contrast   to  those  false 
 
 of  those  times.  judges  who  call  themselves  "gods" 
 
 but  are  not. 
 
 PSALM    LIX. 
 
 This  Psalm,  which  in  tone,  colouring,  and  expression,  has  much 
 in  common  with  the  four  preceding  Psalms,  is  said  in  the  title  to 
 have  been  composed  by  David  when  Saul's  emissaries  watched  him 
 m  his  own  house.  The  history  is  given  in  i  Sam.  xix.  11 — 18. 
 Saul  commanded  the  men  whom  he  sent  to  surround  the  house,  and 
 to  kill  David  if  he  attempted  to  leave  it.  They  were  baffled  by 
 Michal's  artifice,  but  from  that  hour  Saul's  hatred  of  him  never 
 slumbered,  and  he  never  ceased  to  persecute  him  and  to  hunt  him 
 down  like  a  wild  beast.  It  is  quite  consistent  with  David's  character 
 that  he  should  commemorate  in  his  songs  such  a  crisis  in  his  life. 
 But  the  internal  evidence  lends  little  confirmation  to  the  accuracy 
 of  the  title.  The  allusions  in  verses  6  and  14  are  obviously  not 
 peculiarly  applicable  to  Saul's  emissaries,  as  Hengstenberg  admits  ; 
 and  all  that  seems  certain  is,  that  the  Psalm  was  called  forth  by  some 
 attack  upon  the  life  of  its  author. 
 
 R 
 
242  PSALM  LIX. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions,  ver.  i — 9,  and  ver. 
 10—17.  Each  of  these  again  falls  into  two  lesser  strophes  ;  the 
 first,  in  each  case,  closing  with  Selah,  and  the  last,  in  each  case, 
 opening  with  a  similar  verse,  and  closing  with  the  refrain., 
 
 I.  (i)  A  cry  to  God  for  help  against  enemies  ;  a  description 
 of  their  persevering  malice ;  an  assertion  of  the  Psalmist's  own 
 innocence,  and  the  confiding  of  his  cause  to  God  as  the  Judge. 
 Ver.  I — 5. 
 
 (2)  A  further  account  of  the  machinations  of  the  wicked  ;  the 
 confident  assurance  of  their  discomfiture,  and  an  expression  of  trust 
 in  God.     Ver.  6—9. 
 
 II.  (i)  This  part  opens  with  a  renewed  expression  of  trust  in 
 God,  especially  with  reference  to  the  issue  of  the  struggle  with  his 
 enemies  ;  repeats  the  story  of  their  malice,  and  also  the  prayer  for 
 their  punishment,  in  such  wise  that  God  may  be  acknowledged  as 
 the  Judge  of  the  earth.     Ver.  10 — 13. 
 
 (2)  It  closes  with  the  curse  upon  the  wicked,  and  with  joyful 
 acknowledgement  of  God's  goodness  to  the  Psalmist.     Ver.  14 — 17. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  "destroy  not."  a  MICHTAM  of  DAVID, 
 WHEN  SAUL  SENT,  AND  THEY  WATCHED  THE  HOUSE  TO  PUT  HIM 
 TO   DEATH.] 
 
 I.  {i)   I   Deliver  me  from  mine  enemies,  O  my  God  ! 
 
 Set  me  on  high  from  them  that  rise  up  against 
 me. 
 
 2  DeHver  me  frojn  the  workers  of  iniquity, 
 
 And  save  me  from  bloodthirsty  men. 
 
 3  For  lo,  they  have  woven  plots  for  my  soul, 
 
 They  gather  themselves  together  against  me  in 
 their  strength, 
 Not   for  my  transgression,  and   not  for  any   sin 
 of  mine,  O  Jehovah  ! 
 
 3.  They  HAVE  WOVEN'.     The  fer-       result  is  expressed  by  the  verb  in  the 
 feet  as   describing   the   past   plotting      present  i&nse,  "  They  gather,"  &c. 
 and  deliberation,   whilst  the  present  Nor    for    my     transgression, 
 
PSALM  LIX. 
 
 243 
 
 Without   guilt    (of    mine)    do    they    run    and    set 
 themselves. 
 Awake,  then,  to  meet  me,  and  see  !• 
 Yea,  do  Thou,  O  Jehovah  God  (of)  hosts,  God  of 
 Israel, 
 Rouse  Thyself  to  visit  all  the  nations  ! 
 Spare  not  all  them    that    are  faithless  in  (their) 
 iniquity.     [Selah.] 
 
 &c.,  lit.  "Without  my  transgression 
 and  without  my  sin." 
 
 4.  Run  and  set  themselves. 
 The  words  are  military  terms  :  for  the 
 first,  see  xviii.  29  (according  to  one 
 interpretation),  Job  xv.  26,  xvi,  14  ; 
 the  other  denotes  the  marshalling  in 
 order,  the  array  of  troops,  with  a  view 
 to  the  execution  of  a  determined  plan. 
 Or,  as  Hengstenberg  explains,  a 
 metaphor  borrowed  from  an  attack- 
 ing host,  which,  getting  a  firm  foot- 
 ing on  the  walls  of  a  beleaguered  city, 
 is  ready  to  rush  in  over  them,  or 
 through  them  has  already  broken,  into 
 the  city. 
 
 To  MEET  ME,  i.e.  to  help  me ; 
 comp.  ver.  lo,  and  see  vii.  6.  The 
 phrase  is  elsewhere  used  in  the  oppo- 
 site sense,  xxxv.  2. 
 
 5  Thou.  The  pronoun  is  em- 
 phatic, the  heart  turning  to  God  as 
 the  sure  defence  against  its  fierce  and 
 cruel  enemies. 
 
 Jehovah  God,  or  "Jehovah 
 Elohim,"  the  name  of  God,  which  is 
 characteristic  of  the  section.  Gen.  ii. 
 4 — iii.  23.  Joined,  as  here,  with 
 Sabaoth  (hosts),  it  occurs  besides 
 Ixxx.  4,  19,  Ixxxiv.  8.  In  calling 
 Jehovah  thi  God  of  hosts,  the  Psalmist 
 sets  forth,  as  Calvin  observes,  His 
 boundless  power ;  in  adding  the  God 
 of  Israel,  the  peculiar  regard  which 
 He  has  for  His  own  children  and  the 
 Church. 
 
 All  THE  NATIONS,  i.e.  heathen 
 nations,  but  it  is  difficult  to  determine 
 why  they  are  particularly  mentioned 
 here.   Some  suppose  that  the  Psalmist 
 
 was  living  among  heathens  ;  others, 
 that  the  term  "nations"  is  here  im- 
 properly applied  to  those  Israelites 
 who,  in  their  godlessness,  were  no 
 better  than  heathen.  But  the  ex- 
 pression, "«// nations, "  is  against  the 
 first  view,  and  the  second  is  Avholly 
 unsupported  by  usage.  It  is  more 
 probable  that  the  language  is  intended 
 to  denote  that  God  is  the  universal 
 Judge.  "The  nations,"  to  an  Israel- 
 ite, would  be  the  embodiment  of  all 
 that  opposed  itself  to  God  ;  and  in 
 appealing  to  God  to  punish  them,  he 
 would,  in  fact,  be  appealing  to  Him 
 to  punish  all  evil  wherever  manifested. 
 The  special  judgement  would  follow 
 from  the  universal,  and  be  an  in- 
 stance of  it.  Even  for  the  vindication 
 of  'his  personal  innocence,  we  find 
 one  Psalmist  (vii.  6 — 8)  calling  upon 
 God  to  assemble  all  nations  to  His 
 judgement-seat. 
 
 Such  expressions  seem  to  us  ex- 
 aggerated, partly  because  of  the  com- 
 parative coldness  of  the  Western 
 mind,  and  partly  because  it  is  very 
 difficult  for  us  to  conceive  of  the  feel- 
 ings of  a  true  Israelite,  to  whom  the 
 whole  outer  heathen  world  was  a 
 world  lying  under  the  heavy  wrath  of 
 God,  and  to  whom  the  greater  part 
 even  of  Israel  itself  seemed  corrupt 
 and  apostate.  An  intens'ty  both  of 
 privilege  and  also  of  suffering  thus 
 attached  to  the  "small  remnant," 
 which  it  is  necessary  to  remember  if 
 we  would  understand  the  strong  lan- 
 guage of  Psalmists  and  Prophets. 
 
 Faithless  in  (their)  iniquity 
 R   2 
 
244 
 
 PSALM  LIX. 
 
 (2)     6  They  return  at  evening,  they  howl  Hke  the  dog, 
 And  make  their  round  about  the  city. 
 
 7  Lo,  they  belch  out  with  their  rnouth, 
 
 Swords  are  in  their  lips  ; 
 
 For  who  (they  think)  doth  hear  ? 
 
 8  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  dost  laugh  at  them, 
 
 Thou  mockest  at  all  (the)  nations. 
 
 9  O  my  strength,  for  Thee  let  me  wait, 
 
 For  God  is  my  high  tower. 
 
 II.  (i)    10  My  God  with  His  loving-kindness  shall  come  to 
 meet  me. 
 
 or,  iniquitous  traitors.  Evvald  ren- 
 ders :  alle  siindiche  Rdnber,  "all 
 sinful  robhers,^^  taking  the  other 
 meaning  of  the  participle. 
 
 6.  He  compares  his  enemies  to  the 
 gaunt,  hungry,  half-starved,  half-wild 
 dogs  which  to  this  day,  in  the  East, 
 prowl  in  troops  about  the  cities  and 
 villages,  without  a  master,  lookmg 
 for  the  offal  and  carrion  which  are 
 their  food,  wherever  they  can  find  it. 
 Comp.  xxii.  16  ;  I  Kings  xiv.  ii  ;  2 
 Kings  ix.  36. 
 
 At  evening,  i.e.  every  evening, 
 the  evening  being  the  time  when 
 these  animals  usually  assemble  :  or 
 denoting,  as  Calvin  thinks,  their 
 insatiable  cruelty,  "for  he  says  that 
 they  return  at  evening,  not  because 
 they  rest  at  other  times,  but  because 
 they  are  never  tired  in  their  wicked- 
 aess.  If  all  day  long  they  get  no- 
 thing, the  evening  will  find  them  still 
 running  about  the  city."  Comp.  Iv. 
 10,  Cant.  iii.  2. 
 
 7.  They  belch  out.  Such  seems 
 here  to  be  the  force  of  the  word  as 
 given  by  the  E.  V.  Properly  it  means 
 "to  gush  out,"  as  M'ater ;  see  the 
 same  word  in  xix.  2,  '*  Day  unto  day 
 poureth  forth  speech."  Comp.  xciv. 
 4  ;  Prov.  XV.  2,  28. 
 
 8.  But  Thou.  These  men  with 
 their  murderous  thoughts,  whose  very 
 words  are  swords  (comp.  Iii.  2,  Iv.  21, 
 Ivii.  4),  and  who  feel  so  secure  in 
 their  bloodthirsty  designs  that  they 
 think  God  hearkens  not  and  will  not 
 punish,  shall  learn  their  mistake. 
 Thou,  O  God,  Thou  whom  they  for- 
 get, wilt  laugh  them  to  scoi'n,  as 
 Thou  dost  all  throughout  the  world 
 who  oppose  Thee.     Hence  he  says. 
 
 All  nations,  taking  the  widest 
 view,  and  therefore  including  those 
 who  are  here  the  prominent  enemies. 
 See  above  on  ver.  5  ;  or,  as  Calvin 
 explains,  though  t-hey  should  in  num- 
 bers equal  the  whole  world,  yet  they 
 and  their  power  would  all  be  mocked. 
 Comp.  ii.  4,  xxxvii.  13. 
 
 9.  "  David  here  ascends  the  watch- 
 tower  of  faith,  whence  he  can  look 
 down  calmly  on  the  violent  assaults 
 of  his  foes,  fully  assured  that  they  can 
 do  nothing  but  by  the  permission  of 
 God," —  Calvm . 
 
 10.  The  prayer  that  follows  is  a 
 very  fearful  one.  The  Psalmist  would 
 not  have  his  enemies  crushed  in  a 
 moment  by  the  heavy  hand  of  God, 
 but  he  would  see  them  come  to  a 
 lingering  end ;  he  would  have  God 
 take  them,  as  it  were,  in  their  own 
 
PSALM  LIX. 
 
 24S 
 
 God  shall  make  me  see  (my  desire)  upon  them 
 that  lie  in  wait  for  me. 
 
 1 1  Slay  them  not,  lest  my  people  forget  (it), 
 
 Make  them  reel  by  Thy  power,  and  cast  them 
 down,  O  Lord,  our  shield  ! 
 
 12  Their  mouth  sinneth  through  every  word  of  their 
 
 lips. 
 And  so  let  them  be  taken  in  their  pride  ; 
 
 And  because  of  (their)   cursing  and  of  lying 
 which  they  speak. 
 
 13  Consume   (them)  in   wrath,  consume  (them),  that 
 
 they  be  no  more, 
 That  men  may  know  that  God  ruleth  in  Jacob 
 Unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.     [Selah.] 
 
 (2)    14  And  they  shall  return  at  evening,  they  shall  howl 
 like  the  dog, 
 
 infatuation  ;  he  would  see  them  reel 
 and  stagger  in  the  intoxication  of  their 
 own  pride,  and  under  the  strong  buf- 
 feting of  God's  hand,  a  spectacle  and 
 a  warning  to  all,  before  they  are 
 finally  cast  down  ;  he  would  watch 
 their  course  as  they  are  carried,  blind 
 with  passion,  to  the  summit,  thence 
 to  be  hurled  headlong  over  the  pre- 
 cipice. Comp.  with  this  curse,  2  Sam. 
 iii.  29,  and  i  Sam.  ii.  36. 
 
 11.  Make  them  reel,  lit.  "  make 
 them  wander,"  which  many  take 
 lilerally  and  not  metaphorically.  So 
 llengst,  who  compares  the  curse  on 
 Cain,  Gen.  iv.  12,  and  Numb,  xxxii. 
 13,  Ps.  cix.  10. 
 
 Our  shield,  as  in  iii.  3,  xviii.  2, 
 xxviii.  7. 
 
 12.  Their  mouth  sinneth,  &c.; 
 lit.  "  The  word  of  their  lips  (is)  the 
 sin  of  their  mouth,"  i.e.  every  word 
 of  their  mouth  is  sin. 
 
 13.  Consume  them.  This  does 
 not  contradict  the  previous  impre- 
 cation,    lie  would  have  his  enemies 
 
 destroyed  at  last,  but  only  after  they 
 had  been,  by  a  protracted  miserable 
 existence,  a  warning  to  men  of  God's 
 righteous  severity. 
 
 God,  and  not  Saul  (if  the  allusion 
 be  to  him),  or  any  other  whatsoever. 
 
 Unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
 This  may  mean  that  God,  sitting  in 
 Jacob,  having  there  His  Throne,  ex-. 
 ercises  thence  a  universal  dominion. 
 But,  according  to  the  accent,  these 
 words  should  rather  be  connected  with 
 the  M'ords  "that  men  may  know." 
 So  Calvin:  "David  indicates  a  sin- 
 gular kind  of  punishment,  one  the  fame 
 of  which  would  reach  even  the  most 
 distant  nations."  And  so  Hengst., 
 who  refers  to  David's  words  to  Go- 
 liath, I  Sam.  xvii.  46,  "That  all  the 
 earth  may  know  that  there  is  a  God 
 in  Israel." 
 
 14.  This  verse  repeats  what  Avas 
 said  in  ver.  6,  but  the  language  of 
 ver.  15  shows  plainly  that  a  different 
 turn  is  given  here  to  the  expression. 
 There,  the  conduct  of  his  enemies  i> 
 
246 
 
 PSALM  LX. 
 
 And  make  their  round  about  the  city  ; 
 
 1 5  As  for  them,  they  shall  wander  about  for  food, 
 
 Without  being  satisfied  must  they  pass  the  night. 
 
 16  But  as  for  me,  I  will  sing  of  Thy  strength, 
 
 Yea  I  will  shout  aloud,  in  the  morning,  of  Thy 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 17  For  thou  hast  been  a  high  tower  for  me, 
 
 And  a  refuge  in  the  day  when  I  was  in  distress. 
 
 18  O  my  strength,  unto  Thee  let  me  sing, 
 
 For  God  is  my  high  tower  (and)  the  God  of  my 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 described ;  here,  their  punishment. 
 They  came  about  him  like  dogs  ;  like 
 dogs  shall  they  be  treated.  Their  sin 
 becomes  its  own  curse.  They  come 
 with  their  mouth  wide  open,  ready 
 to  devour,  but  they  shall  find  nothing 
 to  satisfy  their  hunger ;  they  shall 
 remain,  lean,  hungry,  savage,  as  they 
 came.  So  Calvin :  "  There  is  an 
 allusion  to  what  he  had  before  said 
 concerning  their  ravenous  hunger. 
 For  he  does  not  now  repeat  the 
 words  in  the  same  sense  in  which  he 
 had  employed  them  before,  but  ironi- 
 cally says  that  they  shall  be  hungry 
 
 in  another  way.  Before,  he  com- 
 plained that  they  barked  like  dogs 
 because  they  were  urged  by  an  in- 
 satiable desire  to  do  mischief;  but 
 now  he  mocks  at  their  wicked  at- 
 tempts, and  says  that,  after  they  have 
 wearied  themselves  all  day  long,  they 
 shall  fail  of  their  object." 
 
 16  In  the  morning,  here  ap- 
 parently =  "every  fresh  morning," 
 parallel  to  "in  the  evening,"  ver.  6, 
 14. 
 
 17.  The  refrain  occurs  as  at  the 
 end  of  the  second  strophe,  ver.  9, 
 but  with  slight  variations. 
 
 PSALM    LX 
 
 According  to  the  title,  this  Psalm  was  composed  in,.inemory  of 
 Joab's  victory  over  the  Edomites  in  the  Valley  of  Salt.  Nothing  is 
 said  in  the  scanty  record  in  2  Sam.  viii.  of  the  circumstances  which 
 led  to  this  war  ;  but  it  is  probable  that  whilst  Da\id  was  engaged  in 
 
PSALM  LX.  247 
 
 his  first  Syrian  campaign,  the  Edomites  turned  the  opportunity  to 
 good  account,  and  threatened,  if  they  did  not  actually  invade, 
 Palestine.  The  king,  therefore,  was  compelled  hastily  to  detach 
 Joab  and  some  part  of  his  forces  to  meet  these'  new  enemies. 
 Whether  they  had  not  yet  crossed  the  frontier,  or  whether  they  were 
 on  their  way  back  from  a  successful  raid  into  Hebrew  territory,  as 
 has  been  conjectured,  we  do  not  know ;  but  a  severe  battle  was 
 fought  in  the  Valley  of  Salt,  near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Dead 
 Sea,  in  which  the  Edomites  were  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 
 This  battle  decided  the  fate  of  the  Edomites  :  they  never  rallied 
 after  it,  and  Joab  overran  the  whole  country.  After  the  fashion  of 
 Eastern  conquerors,  he  almost  exterminated  the  male  population, 
 garrisoned  the  principal  cities  with  Hebrew  troops,  and  reduced 
 the  people  to  a  state  of  vassalage.  It  was  in  the  interval  between 
 the  first  great  battle  and  the  final  subjugation  of  the  country  that 
 this  Psalm,  as  Hengstenberg  and  others  suppose,  was  written.  It 
 seems  to  acknowledge  a  partial  success,  and  to  anticipate  a  greater  : 
 *'  Who  will  conduct  me  to  the  fortified  city  (or  cities)  ?  Who  hath 
 led  me  unto  Edom?"  Further,  the  Psalm  speaks  of  the  Moabites 
 and  Phihstines  as  recently  vanquished  enemies,  and  from  2  Sam.  viii. 
 we  know  that  they  had  been  completely  subdued  by  David  shortly 
 before  his  Syrian  campaign.  Lastly,  it  supposes  the  unity  of  the 
 kingdom  ;  Judah  being  the  ruling  tribe,  and  Ephraim  at  the  same 
 time  maintaining  a  high  and  honourable  position,  without  dissension 
 and  without  rivalry  ;  and  this  was  the  case  only  during  the  reigns 
 of  David  and  Solomon. 
 
 So  far,  no  doubt,  the  contents  of  the  Psalm  agree  very  well  with 
 the  statement  made  in  the  title  as  to  the  date  of  its  composition. 
 On  the  other  hand,  it  opens  with  a  wail  of  lamentation,  which  implies 
 that  the  arms  of  Israel  had  met  with  some  terrible  reverses,  or  that 
 the  state  had  been  shaken  by  intestine  disorders.  But  we  have  no 
 record  in  the  history  of  any  such  catastrophe  at  the  time.  On  the 
 contrary,  David  seems  to  have  been  at  the  very  height  of  his  glory, 
 and  to  have  been  everywhere  victorious. 
 
 To  say  the  least,  therefore,  it  is  not  certain  that  the  Psalm  belongs 
 to  the  age  of  David.  In  its  lamentation  over  past  disasters,  it  bears 
 considerable  resemblance  to  Psalm  xliv.,  but  it  is  so  different  from 
 it  in  style,  that  it  cannot  have  been  written  by  the  same  author,  nor 
 does  it  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  period.  Psalm  xliv.  is  clearly 
 the  later  Psalm,  and  may  have  been  partly  based  upon  this. 
 
24^  PSALM  LX. 
 
 Ewald  thinks  that  the  Psalm  in  its  present  form  is  to  be  referred 
 to  a  time  after  the  Captivity,  but  that  "the  words  from  ver.  6 
 as  far  as  the  first  words  of  ver.  lo,  'Hast  not  Thou,  O  God?' 
 are  borrowed  from  an  older,  and  no  doubt  Davidic  song.  .  .  .  The 
 dissimilarity  strikes  the  eye  at  the  first  glance."  The  old  passage, 
 according  to  him,  was  composed  by  David  in  the  latter  pnrt  of  his 
 life,  when  he  was  threatened  by  the  Philistines  (comp.  2  Sam.  v.  17, 
 &c.,  xxiii.  13,  &c.)  :  he  had  besought  counsel  and  strength  from 
 Jehovah  in  the  sanctuary,  and  he  here  records  the  cheering  answer 
 which  he  received.  The  later  poet,  Evvald  says,  feeling  how  suitable 
 such  an  oracle  was  to  his  own  times,  though  the  enemies  which  he  had 
 to  fear  were  not  Philistines,  but  other  heathen  nations,  adopted  it 
 without  alteration,  merely  adding  a  new  introduction  and  a  new 
 conclusion  in  his  own  words,  to  make  the  whole  more  suitable  to 
 the  times  in  which  he  lived. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  A  lamentation  over  past  disasters,  with  a  cry  for  help.  Ver.  i — 5. 
 
 II.  The  appeal  to  God's  word  and  promise  as  the  sufficient  pledge 
 that  the  prayer  which  precedes  will  be  answered.     Ver.  6 — 8. 
 
 III.  The  triumphant  hope  and  anticipation  of  victory  as  springing 
 out  of  and  resting  upon  the  Divine  oracles.     Ver.  9 — 12. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    upon  "the  lily  of  the  testimony."* 
 
 A  M.ICHTAM  of  DAVID.  FOR  TEACHING.  WHEN  WE  FOUGHT 
 WITH  ARAM  OF  THE  TWO  RIVERS  (MESOPOTAMIA)  AND  ARAM 
 ZOBAH  ;  AND  JOAB  RETURNED  AND  SMOTE  EDOM  IN  THE 
 VALLEY  OF  SALT  (TO  THE  NUMBER  OF)  TWELVE  THOUSAND 
 MEN.] 
 
 I.      I.   O  God,  Thou  hast  cast  us  off.  Thou  hast  broken  us  ; 
 
 I  Thou  hast  cast  us  off.     The  Thou   hast    broken    us.      The 
 
 .same  word  as  in  xliv.  9.     It  is  also       \vorcl  is  employed    of   the   defeat   of 
 used  of  an  individual  in  xllii.   2,  an    army   whose    ranks    have    been 
 
 *  In  the  great  darkness  which  envelopeh  this  and  oiher  inscriptions,  it  is  impossilile  to 
 explain  the  words  satisfactorily,  but  tliey  most  probably  denote  the  mea.sure  or  melody  lo 
 wliich  the  Psalm  was  to  be  set.     For  IMichtam,  see  Ps.  xvi.  page  62. 
 
PSALM  LX. 
 
 249 
 
 Thou  hast  been  angry  ;  restore  us  again. 
 
 2  Thou    hast    made  the   land  to  tremble,  Thou   hast 
 
 cleaved  it  ; 
 Heal  the  breaches  thereof,  for  it  hath  tottered. 
 
 3  Thou  hast  showed  Thy  people  a  hard  thing, 
 
 Thou  hast  made  us  drink  infatuation  as  wine. 
 
 4  Thou  hast  given  to  them  that  fear  Thee  a  banner. 
 
 broken,  2  Sam.  v.  20,  where  the 
 comparison  is  made  of  water  break- 
 ing through  a  dam.  In  Judges  xxi. 
 15,  it  is  said  of  the  destruction  of 
 the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  that  "Jeho- 
 vah had  made  a  breach  {Perez)  in  the 
 tribes  of  Israel,"  a  great  gap  being 
 left  as  it  were  in  the  goodly  phalanx 
 which  the  twelve  tribes  presented. 
 
 2.  The  metaphor  is  borrowed  ap- 
 parently from  the  action  of  an  earth- 
 quake, which  had  split  asunder  the 
 ground,  and  torn  it  into  rifts  and 
 chasms.  In  like  manner  there  has 
 been  a  violent  disorganization  of  the 
 body  politic.  Hupfeld  infers  from 
 the  words  "  Heal  the  breaches  there- 
 of," that  the  image  (as  in  the  pre- 
 vious verse)  is  that  of  a  building  or 
 wall  broken  down,  an  image  fre- 
 quently employed  in  the  O.T.,  and 
 one  which  in  Is.  xxx.  13  is  applied 
 to  the  overthrow  of  the  nation.  But 
 both  figures  may  have  been  in  the 
 Psalmist's  mind;  the  ''trembling  of 
 the  land  "  denoting  the  earthquake, 
 and  the  second  member  of  the  verse 
 referring  to  its  effects  in  broken  build- 
 ings and  tottering  walls.  Whether 
 the  "  cleaving"  here  spoken  of  is  to 
 be  understood  of  the  actual  disruption 
 of  the  kingdom  and  the  separation  of 
 the  tribes  is  not  certain.  In  any  case, 
 however,  verses  2  and  3  are  more 
 readily  understood  of  internal  poli- 
 tical disorganization  than  of  the  terror 
 produced  by  hostile  invasion. 
 
 3.  TliOU      HAST      SHOWED,      lit. 
 
 "made  to  see,"  i.e.  made  to  feel  or 
 
 experience,  the  verb  of  sight  being 
 used,  as  in  Greek,  of  the  senses 
 generally.  A  HARD  THING,  a  heavy 
 fate  ;  the  same  word  as  in  I  Sam. 
 XX.  10,  I  Kings  xii.  13. 
 
 Infatuation,  or  "bewilderment," 
 lit.  "reeling,  staggering,"  as  the 
 effects  of  intoxication.  This  infatua- 
 tion is  the  wine  which  God  has  made 
 them  drink,  the  two  words  being 
 in  apposition  with  one  another  :  the 
 rendering  of  the  E.V.,  "  the  wine  of 
 astonishment,"  is  grammatically  im- 
 possible. The  saine  figure  occurs 
 Ixxv.  8,  Is,  li.  17,  22,  Jer.  xiii.  13, 
 XXV.  15,  xlix.  12,  and  in  many  other 
 passages.  It  denotes  not  merely  a 
 Divine  punishment,  but  that  kind  of 
 punishment  which  comes  of  men's  own 
 desperate  indulgence  of  their  pride, 
 folly,  and  passion.  When  men  rvill 
 drink  presumptuously  of  the  cup  of 
 their  own  wickedness,  God  forces  it 
 as  it  were  info  their  hands,  till  they 
 have  drained  the  very  dregs  as  the 
 cup  of  His  wrath.  Thus  God  pun- 
 ishes evil  with  greater  evil,  pride  with 
 presumptuous  pride,  folly  with  more 
 desperate  folly.  As  is  usual  in  the 
 O.  T.  this,  though  sin  as  well  as 
 curse,  is  ascribed  directly  to  God,  as 
 is  the  hardening  of  Pharaoh's  heart, 
 the  sending  of  the  evil  spirit  into 
 Saul,  and  of  a  lying  spirit  into  the 
 false  prophets,      bee  note  on  li.  4. 
 
 4.  A  bannkr.  The  standard  was 
 raised  as  a  signal  for  war,  round 
 which  they  were  to  rally.  (Comp. 
 Is.  v.  26,  xiii,  2. )     The  fact  that  God 
 
250 
 
 PSALM  ZX. 
 
 That  they  may  muster   (around  it)  from   before 
 the  bow,  [Selnh.] 
 5   That  Thy  beloved  may  be  dehvered  ; 
 
 Save  (with)  Thy  right  hand,  and  answer  us. 
 
 II.  6  God  hath  spoken  in  His  hoHness ; 
 
 Let  me  exult,  let  me  portion  out  Shechem, 
 And  the  valley  of  Succoth  let  me  measure. 
 
 had  given  them  such  a  banner,  that 
 He  had  Himself  reared  it  in  the 
 midst  of  them,  was  a  ground  of  hope 
 and  also  of  prayer,  "  Save  Thy  right 
 hand,"  &c. 
 
 5.  Thy  beloved,  the  same  word 
 as  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  12,  and  in  the 
 name  Jedidiah  given  to  Solomon. 
 
 6.  Having  thus  encouraged  him- 
 self and  his  people  with  the  assur- 
 ance of  God's  favour  and  the  hope 
 of  deliverance,  he  now  turns  to  the 
 promises  on  which  those  hopes  rested. 
 "  Namutcunque  Deus  innumeris  gra- 
 tis suae  exemplis  nos  obruat,  nulla 
 tamen  vigebit  eorum  notitia,  nisi 
 prsefulgente  verbo."' — Calvin. 
 
 God  hath  spoken  in  His  holi- 
 ness, almost  equivalent  to  "  hath 
 promised  by  His  holiness."  Comp. 
 Ixxxix.  35,  "  One  thing  have  I  sworn 
 by  My  holiness,"  Amos  iv.  2.  The 
 LXX.  have  kv  tw  dyica  avTov.  Jerome, 
 In  sanctiiario SHO,  and  so  Luther,  "In 
 His  sanctuary,"  as  if  the  allusion 
 were  to  an  oracle  shortly  before  re- 
 ceived ;  and  Delitzsch  suggests  that 
 in  the  war  with  Edom,  David  may 
 have  received  an  oracle  from  the 
 High  Priest  by  means  of  the  Urim 
 and  Thummim,  which  assured  him 
 of  the  safety  of  the  Holy  Land,  and 
 of  his  victory  over  the  bordering 
 tribes.  But,  as  he  admits,  the  pro- 
 mise in  2  Sam.  vii.  9  is  quite  sufficient 
 to  meet  the  occasion.  Ilengst.  thinks 
 that  Gen.  xlix.,   Numb,   xxiv.,  Deut. 
 
 xxxiii.  may  also  have  been  in  the 
 Psalmist's  mind. 
 
 In  the  words  that  follow,  *'  Let  me 
 exult,"  &c.,  to  the  end  of  ver.  8,  there 
 is  some  doubt  who  is  the  speaker. 
 According  to  some  interpreters,  it  is 
 God.  Ewald  is  of  the  same  opinion, 
 except  that  he  takes  the  first  words, 
 "  Let  me  exult,"  as  the  words  of  the 
 Psalmist  himself,  parenthetically — 
 which  is  favoured  by  the  accent — and 
 the  rest  as  the  utterance  of  the 
 Divine  oracle.  The  most  probable 
 view  seems  to  me  to  be  that  the 
 king  is  the  speaker,  though  it  is  pos- 
 sible that  by  a  bold  figure  God  Him- 
 self may  be  supposed  to  speak  as  an 
 earthly  warrior,  and  as  the  leader  of 
 the  hosts  of  His  people  through 
 whom  they  achieve  the  victory  Pie, 
 as  their  true  King  and  Captain, 
 identifies  Himself  with  them,  and 
 hence  speaks  not  only  of  their  suc- 
 cess, but  of  their  joy,  as  His  own. 
 
 Portion  out  .  .  .  measure,  in 
 allusion  to  the  assigning  the  different 
 portions  of  the  conquered  territory, 
 as  by  Joshua,  on  the  conquest  of 
 Canaan.  Here,  however,  the  figure 
 is  borrowed  from  the  original  conquest 
 of  the  country  and  applied  to  its  re- 
 constitution,  not  by  means  of  a  redis- 
 tribution of  territory,  but  by  a  fresh 
 political  organization,  which  should 
 give  new  life  to  the  whole  country, 
 and  be  as  it  were  the  beginning  of  a 
 new  state. 
 
rSALM  LX, 
 
 25^ 
 
 7  Mine  Is  Gilead,  and  mine  Manasseh, 
 
 Ephraim  also  is  the  defence  of  my  head 
 Judah  is  my  sceptre. 
 
 8  Moab  is  my  wash-pot ; 
 
 Shechem    and  Succoth  are  pro- 
 bably  selected  as   famous   names   in 
 ancient  times  ;  some  think  they  are 
 intended   to  mark,   the   one  the  cis- 
 Jordanic,    and   the   other   the   trans- 
 Jordanic  region,   and  so  to  embrace 
 the  whole  land  which  Israel  claimed 
 on   both   sides    the   river   as   his   in- 
 heritance.    Succoth  was  the  first  place 
 at  which  Jacob  halted  when,   on  his 
 return    from    Mesopotamia,    he    de- 
 scended from  the  mountains  of  Gilead, 
 and   it   received  its   name   from   the 
 "booths"  or  "huts"  which  he  then 
 built  there.      (Comp.  Gen.  xxxiii.  16, 
 18,  with  Judg.  viii.  5 — 17,  whence  it 
 appears    that    Succoth   lay   between 
 Peniel,  near  the  ford  of  the  Jabbok, 
 and  Shechem.)  Shechem  in  the  heart 
 of  Palestine  was  his  next  station,  and 
 there  he  found  a  permanent  home  :  it 
 became  afterwards  the  chief   city    of 
 the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  and  for  a  time 
 the  capital  of  the  northern  kingdom. 
 But  it  seems  doubtful  whether  Suc- 
 coth was  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan. 
 Jerome,  indeed  [Qucest.  in  Gen.  xxxiii. 
 16),  places  it  there,  and  the  fact  that 
 it   was  allotted  to  the  tribe  of  Gad 
 (Josh.  xiii.  27)  renders  this  probable. 
 On  the  other  hand,  Robinson  {B.  R. 
 iii.  309,  &c.)  and  Van  de  Velde  {Syi'. 
 and  Pal.   ii.    343)   identify  it  with  a 
 place  called   Sdkiit,    on   the   western 
 bank     of    the     river.      "Until     the 
 position   of  Succoth  is  more  exactly 
 ascertained,    it   is   impossible   to  say 
 what   was    the   valley   of    Succoth." 
 (See  Mr.    Grove's  article  Succoth, 
 ill  the  Diet,  of  the  Bible.)     Why  this 
 valley  should  be  mentioned  at  all,  it 
 is  hard  to  say,  except  it  be  from  its 
 old  association  with  Shechem  in  the 
 history  of  Jacob,  Gen.  xxxiii. 
 
 7.  This  verse  has  reference  both  to 
 the  geographical  and  to  the  political 
 division  of  the  Holy  Land.  Geo- 
 graphically, Gilead  and  Manasseh  de- 
 note the  Israelitish  territory  east  of 
 the  Jordan,  as  Ephraim  and  Judah 
 represent  Western  Palestine.  Poli- 
 tically, these  two  tribes  were  the  mo.-t 
 important,  the  one  in  the  north,  and 
 the  other  in  the  south  ;  and  thus  the 
 whole  land  and  nation  are  in  fact 
 summed  up. 
 
 The  defence  of  my  head,  the 
 strong  and  warlike  tribe  of  Ephraim 
 being  to  the  state  what  the  helmet  is 
 to  the  warriors  in  battle  ;  or  perhaps, 
 "  the  strength  of  my  head,"  the  allu- 
 sion being  to  Deut.  xxxiii.  17,  "His 
 horns  are  as  the  horns  of  a  buffalo  : 
 with  them  he  shall  push  the  nations." 
 My  sceptre,  or  "  baton  of  com- 
 mand." The  reference  is  to  Gen. 
 xlix.  10,  where,  as  well  as  in  Numb. 
 xxi.  18,  the  parallelism  seems  to  re- 
 quire this  meaning.  But  the  other 
 rendering,  "My  Lawgiver,"  may  be 
 defended  by  Deut.  xxxiii.  21,  Ls. 
 xxxiii.  22,  and  has  the  support  of  the 
 Ancient  Versions. 
 
 8.  But  the  Psalmist  anticipates  not 
 the  constitution  only  of  the  kingdom 
 in  its  integrity  and  its  firm  consolida- 
 tion by  the  union  of  the  various 
 tribes,  but  the  extension  of  the  khig- 
 dom  also  by  the  subjugation  of  neigh- 
 bouring nations.  Those  nations  are 
 chiefly  mentioned  which  had  been 
 from  the  earliest  times  the  enemies, 
 and  the  bitterest  enemies,  of  Israel. 
 The  order  in  which  they  are  men- 
 tioned is  from  the  east,  and  thence 
 along  the  south  to  the  west.  None 
 of  them  was  ever  completely  subju- 
 gated, though  David  greatly  redact  d 
 
2c;2 
 
 PSALM  LX. 
 
 Upon  Edom  will  I  cast  my  shoe. 
 Because  of  me,  O  Philistia,  cry  aloud. 
 
 III.     9  Who  will  conduct  me  into  the  fenced  city  ? 
 Who  hath  led  me  unto  Edom } 
 
 10  Hast  not  Tl-rou,  O  God,  cast  us  off  .^ 
 
 And  dost  not  Thou,  O  God,  go  forth  with  our 
 hosts  .'* 
 
 1 1  O  give  us  help  from  the  adversary, 
 
 For  vain  is  the  salvation  of  man. 
 
 them  and  humbled  their  power,  2 
 Sam.  viii.  ;  but  triumph  over  them 
 forms  part  of  the  promise  of  later 
 Prophets.  See  especially  Is.  xi.  14, 
 where  it  is  promised  in  connection 
 with  the  union  of  Ephraim  and 
 Judah. 
 
 The  expressions  which  follow,  indi- 
 cating the  subjui:^ation  of  Moab  and 
 Edom,  are  decidedly  contemptuous. 
 
 My  WASH-roT,  expressive  of  the 
 state  of  ignominious  bondage  to  which 
 the  Moabites  would  be  reduced.  The 
 vessel  used  for  washing  the  feet  is 
 meant  as  a  dishonourable  vessel. 
 (Comp.  Herod,  ii.  172.)  This  mean- 
 ing is  perhaps  intended  to  be  con- 
 veyed by  the  rendering  of  one  of  the 
 Greek  translators,    K^Kivq  ttjs  /cara- 
 
 Will  I  cast  my  shoe.  Edom 
 is  regarded  as  the  slave  to  whom 
 the  master  throws  his  shoes  to  be 
 taken  away  or  to  be  cleaned.  Comp. 
 Matt.  iii.  11.  The  expression  is  not 
 used  of  taking  possession  of  property, 
 for  in  Ruth  iv.  7  the  kinsman  does 
 not  throw  his  shoe,  but  takes  it  off 
 and  gives  it ;  and  so  far  from  the 
 action  being  symbolical  of  taking  pos- 
 session, it  is  symbolical  of  giving  up 
 one's  right.  There  is  thus  a  connec- 
 tion between  the  two  figures  ;  INIoab 
 is  the  vessel  in  which  he  washes  his 
 feet,  Edom  the  slave  to  whom  he  casts 
 his  shoe  which  he  has  just  drawn  off. 
 
 Cry  aloud.  I  have  left  the  word 
 in  its  ambiguity.  As  it  is  elsewhere 
 used  of  a  shout  of  rejoicing  and 
 triumph,  it  has  been  explained  either 
 (l)  ironically,  as  by  Kimchi,  "Tri- 
 umph if  thou  canst,  it  is  rather  for 
 me  to  triumph  now  ;  "  or  (2)  of  the 
 forced  homage,  the  shout  of  welcome 
 and  gratulation  extorted  by  the  victor 
 from  the  vanquished.  (Comp.  ii.  12, 
 xviii.  44.)  Ewald  and  others  under- 
 stand it  of  the  cry  of  fear  and  sorrow. 
 In  the  parallel  passage  in  cviii.  9 
 we  have  the  eao.ier  reading,  "Over 
 Philistia  will  I  shout  aloud,"  i.e.  m 
 triumph,  which  Hupfeld  would  adopt 
 here. 
 
 9.  The  application  of  these  Divine 
 promises  to  the  present  condition  of 
 the  nation. 
 
 Who  will  conduct  me,  as  the 
 expression  of  a  wish  apparently  = 
 "  Oh  for  one  to  conduct  me  !  " 
 
 The  fenced  city.  Comp.  xxxi. 
 21.  Although  the  article  is  want- 
 ing, still  some  particular  city  may 
 be  meant,  the  absence  of  the  article 
 being  not  uncommon  in  poetry.  Heng- 
 stenberg  thinks  that  "  the  wonderful 
 rock-built  city  of  Petra "  (comp.  2 
 Kings  xiv.  7),  others  that  Rabbath 
 Ammon  or  Rabbath  Moab,  is  meant ; 
 Calvin,  that  the  noun  is  used  col- 
 lectively of  fortified  ciries  generally. 
 
 10.  Hast  not  Thou,  &c.  This 
 might  also  be  rendered  "  (Wilt)  not 
 
PSALM  LXI.  25.3 
 
 12  Through  God  sliall  we  do  vahantly  ; 
 
 And    it  is      He    who    shall    tread     down    our 
 adversaries. 
 
 Thou,  O  God,  {wJjo)  hast  cast  us  off,  without  the  pronoun  TJiou,  and  con- 
 
 and  goest  not  forth,"  &c.,  there  being  sequently  the  relative  who  cannot  be 
 
 an    ellipse   of  the   relative   after   the  understood.     See  also  xliv.  9. 
 
 personal  pronoun.     But  in  cviii.  ii,  12.   Do  valiantly.    Comp.  cxviii. 
 
 where  the  passage  is  repeated,    it  is  16,  and  Numb.  xxiv.  18. 
 
 PSALM    LXI. 
 
 The  title  of  this  Psalm  ascribes  it  to  David,  but  does  not  say  under 
 what  circumstances  it  was  composed  (though  according  to  the  Syriac 
 Version  it  was  when  Jonathan  revealed  to  him  Saul's  design  to  slay 
 him).  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  David  was  the  author,  and 
 the  language  of  ver.  2  renders  it  probable  that  it  was  written  when  he 
 was  shut  out  from  the  sanctuary,  and  therefore  either  during  his  per- 
 secution by  Saul,  or  during  the  rebellion  of  Absalom.  Verse  4  makes 
 the  latter  the  more  probable  occasion.  At  a  time  when  the  Tabernacle 
 had  itself  no  settled  resting-place,  the  wish  to  dwell  and  abide  in  it, 
 as  Delitzsch  has  rightly  remarked,  is  not  so  natural  as  afterwards, 
 when  the  Ark  was  fixed  on  Mount  Zion. 
 
 Again,  if,  as  is  most  probable,  the  king  spoken  of  in  ver.  6  is 
 David — then  it  is  clear  that  the  Psalm  must  have  been  written  after 
 he  was  king,  and  therefore  in  his  flight  from  Absalom  and  on  the 
 other  side  of  the  Jordan.  Or  if  it  be  thought  that  David  would  not 
 thus  speak  of  himself  in  the  third  person,  the  Psalm  may  still  have 
 been  composed  under  the  same  circumstances,  by  one  of  the  friends 
 who  accompanied  him. 
 
 It  consists  of  two  principal  divisions,  ver.  i — 5  and  ver.  6 — 8.  But 
 these  again  admit  of  sub-divisions  : — 
 
 I.  First,  we  have  the  usual  introduction.     Ver.  i. 
 
254 
 
 PSALM  LXL 
 
 Then,  the  prayer,  and  the  ground  on  which  it  rests.     Ver.  2,  3. 
 Then,  the  ardent  wish  to  dwell  in  the  sanctuary  of   God,   accom- 
 panied by  the  reason  for  such  a  wish.     Ver.  4,  5. 
 
 II.  Hopes  expressed  concerning  the  king.     Ver.  6,  7. 
 Finally,  the  usual  conclusion,  the  vow  of  grateful  praise. 
 
 Ver. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    on  a  stringed  instrument    (a  psalm) 
 
 OF   DAVID.] 
 
 I.   I.  Hear  my  cry,  O  God  ; 
 
 Attend  unto  my  prayer. 
 
 2  From  the  end  of  the  earth  unto  Thee  do  I  call  when 
 
 my  heart  is  overwhelmed  : 
 To  a  rock  which  is  too  high  for  me,  Thou  wilt  lead 
 me. 
 
 3  For  Thou  hast  been  a  refuge  for  me, 
 
 A  strong  tower  from  the  face  of  the  enemy       • 
 
 4  Let  me  sojourn  in  Thy  tabernacle  for  ever, 
 
 Let  me  find  refuge  in  the  hiding-place  of  Thy  wings. 
 [Selah.] 
 
 2.  From  the  end  of  the  earth, 
 A  strong  hyperbolical  expression  by 
 which  the  sacred  Poet  would  describe 
 his  own  sense  of  his  distance  from  the 
 sanctuary,  or  from  the  Holy  Land. 
 Comp.  Is.  V.  26.  The  feeling  is  that 
 which  is  expressed  in  xlii.  6,  and 
 other  Psalms. 
 
 Is  overwhelmed,  or  "fainteth." 
 The  verb  means  literally  "  to  cover," 
 as  in  Ixxiii.  6  ;  hence  "  to  cover  one's 
 iace  in  sorrow,"  and  then  as  here, 
 "to  be  overwhelmed  with  distress." 
 
 To  A  ROCK,  lit.  "  Upon  a  rock," 
 the  full  construction  being  "Thou 
 wilt  lead  me  to  and  place  me  upon," 
 &c.  I'he  rock  is  a  place  of  security 
 (comp.  xl.  2),  but  it  is  one  which  he 
 cannot  reach  by  his  own  unaided 
 effort. 
 
 Thou  WILT  LEAD  ME.  The  words 
 may  be  either  thus  rendered  as  an 
 expression  of  confidence  (future),  or 
 
 as  a  prayer   (imperative).     There   is 
 the  same  ambiguity  in  ver.  6. 
 
 3.  This  appeal  to  God  is  now 
 based,  as  commonly  in  the  Psalms, 
 on  the  past  experience  of  His  mercy. 
 
 A  STRONG  TOWER,  as  in  Judg.  ix. 
 51,  Prov.  xviii.  10,  "The  name  of 
 Jehovah  is  a  strong  tower." 
 
 4.  Let  ME  SOJOURN.  See  notes 
 on  XV.  I,  xxvii.  4. 
 
 In  Thy  tabernacle,  or  "tent." 
 The  expression  is  figui-ative,  no  doubt, 
 but  would  hardly  have  been  employed 
 after  the  Temple  was  built,  and  hence 
 it  is  almost  certain  that  the  Psalm 
 belongs  to  the  time  of  David. 
 
 For  ever,  lit.  "  (for)  ages."  The 
 plur.  only  occurs  again  cxlv.  13. 
 
 Thy  wings.  The  figure  is  bor- 
 rowed, as  the  parallelism  shows,  from 
 the  outstretched  wings  of  the  Che- 
 rubim over  the  Mercy-seat.  See 
 Ivii.  I. 
 
PSALM  LXIL 
 
 255 
 
 5   For  Thou,  O  God,  hast  hearkened  to  my  vows, 
 
 Thou  hast  given  (me)  the  possession  of  them  that 
 fear  Thy  Name. 
 
 II.  6  Thou  wilt  prolong-  the  King's  days, 
 
 His  years  shall  be  as  many  generations. 
 
 7  He  shall  sit  (on  his  throne)  for  ever  before  God  ; 
 
 Loving-kindness  and   truth  do   Thou    appoint    to 
 preserve  him. 
 
 8  So  let  me  sing  of  Thy  Name  for  ever. 
 
 That  I  may  pay  m.y  vows  day  by  day. 
 
 5.  The  possession.  Primarily 
 this  would  be  the  Land  of  Canaan, 
 and  then  it  would  include  all  bless- 
 ings, temporal  and  spiritual,  which 
 were  in  fact  implied  and  comprised 
 in  the  possession  of  the  land. 
 
 6.  Thou  wilt  prolong,  &c.  lit. 
 "  Days  to  the  King's  days  wilt  Thou 
 add."  The  king,  according  to  the 
 Targum,  is  the  king  Messiah.  The 
 eternal  duration  of  the  kingdom  here 
 anticipated,  no  doubt  led  to  this  inter- 
 pretation. But  in  the  original  sense 
 of  the   passage,    not   merely   an   in- 
 
 dividual monarch,  but  the  dynasty, 
 the  whole  royal  house  cf  David,  may 
 be  meant.     I3ut  see  note  on  xxi.  4. 
 
 The  king  is  spoken  of  in  the  tliird 
 person,  but  the  Psalm  may  neverthe- 
 less have  been  written  by  David 
 himself. 
 
 7.  He  shall  sit.  The  verb  may 
 only  signify  "  He  shall  abide,  dwell,''^ 
 but  when  spoken  of  kings  and  judges 
 it  is  commonly  employed  in  the  more 
 formal  and  solemn  sense  of  sitting 
 on  the  throne,  the  judgement-seat, 
 &c. 
 
 PSALM   LXII. 
 
 Thls  Psalm  and  the  39th  are  Psalms  which,  though  very  different 
 in  their  subject,  yet  are  so  similar  in  the  phraseology  which  they 
 employ,  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  were  written  by  the 
 same  author.  Ewald  supposes,  froin  the  nth  verse  of  this  Psalm, 
 that  he  was  a  Prophet,  and  one  of  the  great  supporters  of  true  religion 
 in  the  struggle  with  the  coiTupt  men  of  his  time.     We  see  him  here, 
 
256  PSALM  LXII. 
 
 he  says,  "  contending  with  men,  his  fellow-citizens,  who,  upheld  and 
 favoured  by  a  worldly  power  which  was  just  starting  into  fresh  life, 
 endeavoured  for  this  very  reason  to  drag  him  down  into  the  dust, 
 because  they  could  not  endure  his  spiritual  greatness  and  superiority. 
 Long  had  they  attacked  him  ;  now  they  felt  sure  of  his  overthrow. 
 But,  strong  in  his  trust  in  God,  though  assailed  and  threatened  afresh, 
 the  divine  Poet  places  himself  in  calm  resignation  in  the  hands  of  the 
 one  true  Redeemer,  and  not  only  finds  in  Him  rest,  refreshment,  strength 
 for  himself,  but  is  also  enabled  to  encourage,  enlighten,  and  comfort 
 others." 
 
 Scarcely  anywhere  do  we  find  faith  in  God  more  nobly  asserted, 
 more  victoriously  triumphant ;  the  vanity  of  man,  of  human  strength 
 and  riches,  more  clearly  confessed,  courage  in  the  midst  of  peril 
 more  calm  and  more  unshaken,  than  in  this  Psalm,  which  is  as 
 forcible  in  its  conception  and  its  language  as  it  is  remarkable  for  the 
 vigorous  and  cheerful  piety  w^hich  it  breathes. 
 
 Donne,  in  his  sermon  on  ver.  9,  says  that  Athanasius  "  observes  in 
 the  Psalm  a  summary  abridgement  of  all  :  for  of  this  Psalm  he  says 
 in  general,  Adversus  insidiantes,  Against  all  attempts  upon  thy  body, 
 thy  state,  thy  soul,  thy  fame,  temptations,  tribulations,  machinations, 
 defamations,  says  this  Psalm  ....  not  that  therein  David  puts  himself 
 to  weigh  particular  temptations  and  tribulations,  but  that  he  puts 
 every  man,  in  every  trial,  to  put  himself  wholly  upon  God,  and  to 
 know,  that  if  man  cannot  help  him  in  this  world,  nothing  can  ;  and 
 for  man.  Surely  men  of  low  degree  are  vanity,  and  men  of  high  des;ree 
 are  a  lie  ;  to  be  laid  in  the  balaiice,  they  are  altogether  lighter  than 
 vanity r — Sermon  Ixv. ;   Works,  vol.  iii.  p.  137,  Alford's  Edition. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  strophes  of  four  verses  each.  The  first 
 two  express  the  blessedness  and  security  of  trust  in  God  when 
 enemies  assail,  ver.  i — 4  and  ver.  5  —  8.  The  last  places  in  forcible 
 contrast  with  this  the  folly  of  rehance  on  man,  ver.  9—12. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    after  the  manner   of  jeduthun.*    a 
 psalm  of  david.] 
 
 I.     I   Only  upon  God  my  soul  (waiteth  In)  silence. 
 
 I.  Only.  The  particle  may  be  so  affirmative.  It  occurs  no  less  than 
 rendered  as  restrictive,  or,  surely,  as       six  times  in   the   Psalm.     In  xxxix. 
 
 *  Perhaps  a  musical  instrument  called  after  the  name  of  Jeduthun. 
 
PSALM  LXIL 
 
 257 
 
 From  Him  cometh  my  salvation. 
 Only  He  is  my  rock  and  my  salvation, 
 
 My  high  tower,  so  that  I  cannot  be  greatly  moved. 
 How  long  will  ye  set  upon  a  man  t 
 Will  ye  all  of  you  break  (him)  down, 
 As  (though  he  were)  a  bowing  wall,  a  tottering  fence  t 
 Only    from    his    dignity    have   they   taken    counsel   to 
 thrust  him  down, 
 They  who  have  pleasure  in  lie?, 
 
 5,  6,  it  is  repeated  three  times  in 
 three  successive  hnes,  one  of  the  in- 
 dications that  the  two  Psalms  are 
 by  the  same  author.  Our  translators 
 have  rendered  it  differently  in  dif- 
 ferent verses  of  this  Psalm  :  in  ver.  i, 
 tTuly ;  in  vers.  2,  4,  5,  6,  ojily ;  in 
 ver.  9,  surely :  but  it  is  better  to  keep 
 the  same  word  throughout,  at  least 
 in  the  same  Psalm.  If  we  render 
 on/y,  the  meaning  will  be  here  that 
 God  exclusively  is  the  object  of  trust ; 
 if  surely,  that  this  truth,  that  God  is 
 his  salvation,  has  come  home  to  him 
 with  a  more  lively  conviction,  with 
 a  more  blessed  certainty,  than  ever. 
 Hupfeld  thinks  that  in  ver,  4  the  ren- 
 dering surely  is  necessary,  and  there- 
 fore that  this  is  to  be  preferred  through- 
 out ;  on  the  other  hand,  in  ver.  5, 
 only  is  certainly  more  suitable. 
 
 The  first  line  of  the  verse  rendered 
 literally  is,  "  Only  unto  God  my  soul 
 is  silence,"  i.e.  is  hushed  into  perfect 
 resignation  before  Him,  simply  trust- 
 ing in  His  Love,  and  leavincr  all  that 
 concerns  me  to  the  disposal  of  Plis 
 fatherly  will.  "It  is,"  says  Calvin, 
 "  that  settled  submission,  Avhen  the 
 faithful  rest  in  the  promises  of  God, 
 give  place  to  His  word,  obey  His 
 rule,  and  keep  down  eveiy  murmur 
 of  passion  in  their  hearts."  But  this, 
 as  he  also  remarks  most  truly,  is  the 
 result,  not  of  one  only,  but  of  many 
 struggles  with  the  temptations  of 
 Satan. 
 
 2.  ]My  salvation.  The  repeti- 
 tion of  the  word  is  not  without 
 meaning.  Not  only  does  his  salva- 
 tion come  frojH  God,  but  God  is  his 
 salvation.  The  Being  on  whom  he 
 waits,  the  loving  Person  in  whom 
 he  trusts,  the  God  whose  arms  com- 
 pass him  about,  is  to  him  all  that 
 is  comprehended  in  that  great  word 
 Salvation.  He  heaps  these  epithets 
 upon  God,  says  Calvin,  that  he  may 
 use  them  as  so  many  shields  against 
 the  assaults  of  Satan. 
 
 3.  Plaving  thus  strengthened  him- 
 self in  his  God,  the  Psalmist  turns  to 
 address  his  enemies.  The  form  of 
 the  address  is  very  similar  to  that  in 
 iv.  2.  There,  they  are  men  who 
 would  turn  his  glory  [i.e.  his  kingly 
 dicnity)  into  shame,  as  here  they 
 would  thrust  him  down  from  his 
 high  place.  There  too,  as  here,  they 
 have  pleasure  in  lies.  But  here  the 
 circums'ance  "that  they  bless  with 
 their  mouth,  but  curse  inwardly," 
 pomts  to  men  who  had  worn  the 
 courtier's  mask  of  a  smooth  hypocrisy, 
 in  order  to  conceal  the  better  their 
 designs  against  his  life  and  honour, 
 but  who  had  thrown  it  off,  as  soon 
 as  they  found  that  they  could  do  so 
 with  safety.  When  he  was  in  peril, 
 when  he  seemed  to  be  already  totter- 
 ing to  his  fall,  like  a  wall  shaking 
 and  giving  way,  then  they  were  ready 
 to  finish  the  work  by  thrusting  him 
 down  altogether. 
 
 S 
 
258 
 
 PSALM  LXIL 
 
 Who  bless  (each  one)  with  his  mouth,  and  curse 
 inwardly.     [Selah.] 
 
 II.  5  Only  upon  God  wait  in  silence,  O  my  soul, 
 For  from  Him  is  my  hope. 
 
 6  Only  He  is  my  rock  and  my  salvation. 
 
 My  high  toAver,  so  that  I  cannot  be  moved. 
 
 7  Upon  God  (resteth)  my  salvation  and  my  glory  ; 
 
 5.  Wait  in  silence.  The  first 
 strophe  opens  with  the  expression 
 of  iiis  resignation ;  this,  with  the 
 exhortation  to  resignation.  But  this 
 is  no  contradiction.  Tlie  Hfe  of  man's 
 spirit  cannot  always  preserve  the 
 same  even  tenour.  The  heart  of 
 man  is  like  the  sea  ;  however  calm 
 and  smooth  it  may  seem,  a  light 
 air  will  ruffle  its  surface.  The  resig- 
 nation, the  trust  in  God,  the  peace, 
 the  rest,  which  have  come  after  long 
 struggle  and  much  prayer,  may  too 
 easily  be  broken.  And  hence,  when 
 these  have  been  attained,  we  need  to 
 exhort  ourselves  to  them  in  renewed 
 measure. 
 
 For  from  Him  is  my  hope. 
 "He  never  disappoints  the  patient 
 abiding  of  His  children.  There  is 
 laid  up,  he  says,  a  sure  reward  for 
 my  silence,  and  therefore  will  I  re- 
 strain myself,  lest  my  haste  should 
 hinder  the  course  of  my  salvation." 
 — Calvin. 
 
 6,  7.  Still  further  he  strengthens 
 himself  in  God,  and  again  heaps  up  one 
 expression  upon  another,  that  he  may, 
 as  it  were,  feel  how  safe  and  sure 
 the  ground  is  under  him,  how  little 
 reason  he  has  to  be  disquieted,  what- 
 ever man  may  do  unto  him.  (See 
 note  on  ver.  2).  Then  having  thus 
 encouraged  himself,  he  turns  to  en- 
 courage others. 
 
 On  these  reiterated  names  of  God, 
 Donne  beautifully    observes,    in  the 
 
 Sermon  before  quoted  :  *'  Twice  in 
 til  is  Psalm  hath  he  repeated  this,  in 
 the  second  and  in  the  sixth  verse, 
 I/e  is  my  rock,  a7idmy  salvation,  and 
 my  defence,  and  (as  it  is  enlarged  in 
 the  seventh  verse)  my  refuge  and  my 
 glory.  If  my  refuge,  what  enemy  can 
 pursue  me?  If  my  defence,'yAi'3X  temp- 
 tation shall  wound  me  ?  If  my  rock, 
 what  storm  shall  shake  me  ?  If  my  sal- 
 vation, what  melancholy  shall  deject 
 me  ?  If  my  glory,  what  calumny  shall 
 defame  me  ?  .  .  .  Let  him  that  is 
 pursued  with  any  particular  tempta- 
 tion, invest  God,  as  God  is  a  refuge, 
 a  sanctuary.  Let  him  that  is  buffeted 
 with  the  messengers  of  Satan,  bat- 
 tered wdth  his  own  concupiscence, 
 receive  God,  as  God  is  his  defence 
 and  target.  Let  him  that  is  shaked 
 with  perplexities  in  his  understand- 
 ing, or  scruples  in  his  conscience, 
 lay  hold  upon  God,  as  God  is  his 
 rock  and  his  anchor.  Let  him  that 
 hath  any  diffident  jealousy  or  suspi- 
 cion of  the  free  and  full  mercy  of 
 God,  apprehend  God,  as  God  is  his 
 salvation  ;  and  him  that  walks  in  the 
 ingloriousness  and  contempt  of  the 
 world,  contemplate  God  as  his  glory. 
 Any  of  these  notions  is  enough  to 
 any  man,  but  God  is  all  these,  and 
 all  else  that  all  souls  can  think,  to 
 every  man." — Works,  vol.  iii.  pp.  I54> 
 
 155- 
 
 7,  Upon  God,    Comp.     vii.    10. 
 *'  My  shield  is  upon  God.'* 
 
PSALM  LXIL 
 
 '59 
 
 The  rock  of  my  strength,  my  refuge,  Is  in  God. 
 8  Trust  in  Him,  at  all  times,  O  people  ; 
 Pour  out  your  hearts  before  Him. 
 God  is  a  refuge  for  us.     [Selah.] 
 
 n.  9  Men  of  low  degree  are  a  breath,  men  of  high  degree 
 a  lie  ; 
 In  the  balances  they  will  kick  the  beam,  lighter 
 than  a  breath  altogether. 
 
 10  Trust  not  in  oppression,  and  in  robbery  be  not  vain  ; 
 
 When  wealth  increaseth,  set  not    (your)  heart 
 (thereon). 
 
 1 1  Once  hath  God  spoken  ;  twice  have  I  heard  this  ; 
 
 That  power  belongeth  unto  God. 
 
 12  And  to  Thee,  O  Lord,  belongeth  loving-kindness, 
 
 For  Thou  rewardest  every  man  according  to  his 
 work. 
 
 8.  O  PEOPLE.  This  may  either 
 mean,  men  generally,  or  the  people 
 of  Israel  in  particular ;  or  if  the 
 Psalm  be  David's,  it  may  refer  to 
 his  immediate  followers.  The  word 
 is  used  in  this  sense  of  retaine?-s, 
 followers,  &c.,  Judg.  iii.  i8,  i  Kings 
 xix.  21.  These  he  exhorts  to  faith 
 and  prayer,  that,  like  himself,  they 
 may  learn  the  lesson  of  patience  ; 
 and  as  in  ver.  7  he  had  claimed  God 
 as  his  own  refuge,  now  he  assures 
 them  that  He  is  their  refuge  as  well 
 - — God  is  a  refuge  for  us. 
 
 9.  In  vivid  contrast  to  that  sure 
 help  and  refuge  which  are  to  be 
 found  in  God,  the  Psalmist  now 
 places  the  weakness  and  worthless- 
 ness  of  man's  strength  and  man's 
 resources. 
 
 Men  of  low  degree,  &c.  lit. 
 "sons  of  (common)  men,  sons  of 
 (great)  men."     Comp.  xlix.  2. 
 
 A  BREATH.  Symm.  dr/xis.  Comp. 
 with  this  and  the  next  verse,  note 
 on  xxxix.  5,  6,  and  the  passage  there 
 quoted  from  St.  James. 
 
 10.  Be   not  vain,    i.e.  put  not  a 
 
 foolish  trust  in.  The  verb  is  a  very 
 expressive  one,  from  the  same  root  as 
 the  word  rendered  "breath"  above. 
 Comp.  Jer.  ii.  5. 
 
 II.  In  conclusion,  the  sacred  Poet 
 solemnly  confirms  his  previous  ex- 
 hortation by  an  appeal  to  God's  re- 
 velation. 
 
 Once  .  .  .  twice,  i.e.  many  times. 
 Comp.  Job  xxxiii.  14,  xl.  5.  And 
 this  is  t?ie  substance  of  the  revela- 
 tion, that  God  is  both  a  God  of 
 power,  and  a  God  of  love.  If  we 
 need  strength,  let  us  find  it  not  in 
 man,  who  is  but  as  a  fleeting  vapour, 
 but  in  God,  who  is  Almighty.  If  we 
 covet  a  reward,  let  us  seek  it  not  in 
 robbery  or  in  riches,  but  from  the 
 loving  hand  of  Him  who  rewardeth 
 every  man  according  to  his  work. 
 (Comp.  Rom.  ii.  6.)  This  is  the 
 only  truly  worthy  representation  of 
 God.  Power  without  Love  is  bru- 
 tality, and  Love  without  Power 
 is  weakness.  Power  is  the  strong 
 foundation  of  Love,  and  Love 
 is  the  beauty  and  the  crown  of 
 Power. 
 
 S  2 
 
26o  PSALM  LXIII. 
 
 PSALM  LXIII. 
 
 This  is  unquestionably  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  touching 
 Psalms  in  the  whole  Psalter.  Donne  says  of  it :  "As  the  whole 
 book  of  Psalms  is  oleum  effiiszim  (as  the  Spouse  speaks  of  the 
 name  of  Christ),  an  ointment  poured  out  upon  all  sorts  of  sores, 
 a  cerecloth  that  supplies  all  bruises,  a  balm  that  searches  all 
 wounds  ;  so  are  there  some  certain  Psalms  that  are  imperial  Psalms, 
 that  command  over  all  affections,  and  spread  themselves  over  all 
 occasions, — catholic,  universal  Psalms,  that  apply  themselves  to  all 
 necessities.  This  is  one  of  those  ;  for  of  those  constitutions  which 
 are  called  Apostolical,  one  is,  that  the  Church  should  meet  every 
 day  to  sing  this  Psalm.  And,  accordingly,  St.  Chrysostom  testifies, 
 '  That  it  was  decreed  and  ordained  by  the  primitive  fathers,  that 
 no  day  should  pass  without  the  public  singing  of  this  Psalm.' "  And 
 again  he  observes,  that  "  the  spirit  and  soul  of  the  whole  Book  of 
 Psalms  is  contracted  into  this  Psalm." — Sermo?i  Ixvi. ;  Works,  vol.  iii. 
 pp.  156,  157. 
 
 In  many  respects  the  Psalm  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
 Ps.  Ixi.,  and  both  Ewald  and  Maurer  observe  that  the  two  must 
 clearly  be  referred  to  the  same  circumstances  and  the  same  author. 
 That  the  author  was  David  I  see  no  reason  to  doubt.  Characterized 
 as  it  is  by  an  exquisite  tenderness  and  a  deep  personal  affection 
 towards  God,  and  yet  not  wanting,  withal,  in  energy  and  even  a 
 certain  abruptness  of  expression,  it  bears  all  the  marks  of  his  poetry. 
 According  to  the  inscription,  it  was  written  in  the  wilderness  of 
 Judah,  which  would  seem  to  intimate  that  it  was  written  during  his 
 persecution  by  Saul  (comp.  i  Sam.  xxii.  5),  to  which  occasion  the 
 Syriac  Version  expressly  ascribes  it ;  see  also  xxiii.  14,  15,  24,  25, 
 xxiv.  2.  But  against  this  is  ver.  11,  where  David,  as  in  Ixi.,  speaks 
 of  himself  in  the  third  person,  and  speaks  of  himself  as  king.  Hence 
 it  is  more  probable  that  the  Psalm  was  composed  when  he  was  on 
 the  other  side  of  the  Jordan,  in  his  flight  from  Absalom.  The  very 
 tenderness  and  depth    of  feeling    which    characterize  it,  and   which 
 
PSALM  LXIIL 
 
 261 
 
 it  has  in  common  with  xhi.,  are  what  might  be  looked  for  in  a  heart 
 sorely  wounded  and  tried  in  its  natural  affections,  and  therefore 
 cleaving  with  the  more  intense,  devoted  love  to  Him,  of  whom  it 
 could  say,  "Thou  hast  been  my  help,  therefore  in  the  shadow  of 
 Thy  wings  will  I  shout  for  joy." 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 I.  The  longing  of  the  heart  for  God,  and  the  joy  of  the  heart  in 
 communion  with  Him.     Ver.  1 — 8. 
 
 II.  The    anticipated    destruction    of    his    enemies,    and    his    own 
 triumph  in  consequence.     Ver.  9 — 11. 
 
 [a  psalm   of  DAVID. 
 
 WHEN   HE  WAS   IN   THE  WILDERNESS    OF 
 JUDAH.] 
 
 I    O  God,  Thou  art  my  God,  earnestly  do  I  seek  Thee 
 My  soul  thirsteth  for  Thee,  my  flesh  pineth  for  Thee, 
 In  a  dry  and  weary  land  where  no  water  is. 
 
 I.  I  SEEK  Thee,  not  as  the  E.V. 
 '•  Early  will  I  seek  Thee."  The 
 noun  which  signifies  "  the  dawn, 
 the  early  morning,"  and  the  verb 
 "to  seek,"  are  both  from  the  same 
 root,  and  are  both  to  be  referred  to 
 the  same  primitive  idea.  The  mean- 
 ing of  the  root  is  to  break  in,  and 
 hence  this  in  the  verb  passes  into 
 the  signification  of  j-^^/^m^ (earnestly), 
 and  in  the  noun  the  dawn  is  so 
 called  as  that  which  breaks  in  upon 
 the  darkness. 
 
 My  FLESH,  i.e.  "  my  body,"  an- 
 swering to  "  my  soul  "  in  the  paralL, 
 and  so  describing  the  whole  man. 
 Comp.  xvi.  9.  So  again,  Ixxxiv.  2, 
 "  My  heart  and  my  flesh  cry  out  lor 
 the  living  God."  In  that  intense 
 worship  in  which  every  thought, 
 feeling,  desire,  affection  are  centred 
 in  the  One  true  Object  of  Love, 
 body  and  soul  both  take  their  part. 
 
 It  is  as  a  living  man,  every  pulse 
 of  his  being  filled  with  the  love  of 
 God,  that  he  responds  to  that  love. 
 And  when  he  cries  out,  "  O  God, 
 Thou  art  my  God,"  this  is  not  merely 
 an  appropriation  of  God  as  the  God 
 of  his  worship  and  trust  :  it  is  the 
 keart  of  flesh  stretching  out  its  hu- 
 man afl'ections  towards  Him  who  has 
 a  personal  affection  for  His  creature, 
 and  whose  loving-kindness  it  knows 
 to  be  better  than  life. 
 
 In     a     dry     AND     WEARY    LAND. 
 
 Some  understand  this  literally,  as 
 describing  the  wilderness  of  Judah 
 in  which  David  was,  according  to 
 the  title  of  the  Psalm.  Others  sup- 
 pose that  the  language  is  figurative, 
 and  expresses  the  spiritual  thirst  and 
 weariness  of  one  who  is  shut  out 
 from  God's  Presence  in  the  Sanc- 
 tuary. There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
 the   last   is   the   true     interpretation. 
 
262 
 
 PSALM  LXIII. 
 
 So  have  I  gazed  upon  Thee  in  the  sanctuary, 
 
 To  see  Thy  power  and  Thy  glory  ; 
 For  thy  loving-kindness  is  better  than  life; 
 
 My  lips  shall  praise  Thee. 
 So  will  I  bless  Thee,  while  I  live, 
 
 In  Thy  Name  will  I  lift  up  my  hands. 
 As  with  marrow  and  fatness  shall  my  soul  be  satisfied, 
 
 And  with  hps  of   joyful    shouting  my  mouth  shall 
 praise  (Thee). 
 When  I  have  remembered  Thee  upon  my  bed, 
 
 Nevertheless,  the  figure  may  perhaps 
 have  been  suggested  by  the  natural 
 objects  which  immediately  surrounded 
 the  Psalmist,  as  afterwards  the  allu- 
 sion to  the  jackals,  ver.  10. 
 
 2.  So  :  that  is,  with  the  same 
 ardent  desire,  or  such  views  have  I 
 had  in  past  time  of  Thy  glory,  &c. 
 
 Thy  power  and  Thy  glory. 
 The  special  manifestation  of  these 
 attributes  was  in  the  Holy  Place. 
 Comp.  Ixxviii.  61,  where  God  is 
 said  to  have  given  His  power  and 
 His  beauty  (  =  glory  here)  into  the 
 adversary's  hand,  when  the  Ark  was 
 taken  :  see  also  I  Sam.  iv.  21,  where 
 the  glory  of  God  in  like  manner  is 
 identified  with  the  Ark. 
 
 3.  Life,  in  all  the  fulness  of  its 
 earthly  moaning.  Life,  and  all  the 
 blessings  of  life,  as  they  are  com- 
 monly enjoyed.  Comp.  xvii.  14 ; 
 Jer.  viii.  3. 
 
 4.  So,  i.e.  either  with  the  same 
 yearning  affection,  with  the  same 
 lieart  of  love  and  thanksgiving  ;  or, 
 accordingly^  consequently  (because  of 
 Thy  loving-kindness),  as  in  Ixi.  8. 
 There  is  no  reason  to  take  the  So  in 
 this  verse  as  answering  to  the  So  in 
 ver.  2.  The  connection  between  the 
 first  four  verses  is  not  very  exact,  but 
 may  be  traced  as  follows  :  My  soul 
 longeth  for  Thee  (ver.  i).  With  the 
 same  longing  with  which  I   now  de- 
 
 sire to  see  Thee,  I  once  did  see  Thee 
 in  Thy  sanctuary  (ver.  2).  This  long- 
 ing is  because  of  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 wliich  is  more  precious  than  all  else 
 (ver.  3).  Accordingly  I  will  praise 
 Thee  all  my  life  long  (ver  4). 
 
 While  1  live,  lit.  "in,  during, 
 my  life." 
 
 In  Thy  Name,  see  xx.  i,  5,  liv.  i. 
 On  the  lifting  up  of  the  hands,  as 
 the  gesture  of  prayer,  see  xxviii. 
 2. 
 
 5.  As  with  marrow  and  fat- 
 ness, an  image  borrowed  from  a  rich 
 and  splendid  banquet.  Comp.  xxii. 
 26,  29,  xxiii.  5,  6.  Hupfeld,  follow- 
 ing J.  H.  Mich.,  thinks  that  the 
 reference  is  immediately  to  the  saci-i- 
 ficial  meal  which  accompanied  the 
 thank-offering,  here  used  as  an  image 
 of  thanksgiving  (comp.  1.  13,  liv.  6, 
 &c.),  and  that  the  comparison  is 
 between  his  delight  in  rendering 
 thanksgiving  to  God,  and  the  en- 
 joyment of  the  fat  of  the  sacrifices. 
 But  the  simpler  explanation  is  the 
 more  probable.  Comp.  Deut.  xxxii. 
 14,  Is.  XXV.  6,  Jer.  xxxi.  14. 
 
 Lips  of  joyful  shouting,  or 
 lips  of  jubilee. 
 
 6.  When  I  have  remembered 
 ...  I  meditate.  The  heart  having 
 begun  to  occupy  itself  with  the 
 thought  of  God  and  His  goodness, 
 recalling   all  His  loving-kindness  in 
 
PSALM  LXIJI. 
 
 263 
 
 II. 
 
 In  the  night-watches,  when  I  meditate  upon  Thee. 
 
 7  For  Thou  hast  been  a  help  unto  me, 
 
 And  in  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings  willl  shout  for  joy. 
 
 8  My  soul  hath  followed  hard  after  Thee, 
 
 Thy  right  hand  hath  upholden  me. 
 
 9  But  they  to  (their  own)  destruction  seek  my  soul  ; 
 
 They  shall  (jo  into  the  lower  parts  of  the  earth, 
 
 past  times,   continues  to  dwell  upon 
 it  through  the  hours  of  the  night. 
 
 In  the  night-watches,  i.e.  the 
 whole  night  through.  According  to 
 the  O.  T.  division,  there  were  three 
 watches.  (Comp.  Lament,  ii.  19,  Jud. 
 vii.  19,  Ex.  xiv.  24.)  According  to 
 the  Roman  reckoning,  which  we  find 
 in  the  N.T.,  four. 
 
 7.  On  this  verse  Donne  remarks: 
 "Now  as  the  spirit  and  soul  of  the 
 whole  Book  of  Psalms  is  contracted 
 into  this  Psalm,  so  is  the  spirit  and 
 soul  of  the  whole  Psalm  contracted 
 into  this  verse." — Sei-mon  Ixvi.  vol. 
 iii.  p.  157.  It  embraces,  as  he  ob- 
 serves, the  "  whole  compass  of  time, 
 past,  present,  and  future  ;  "  David, 
 in  the  present  distress,  finding  sup- 
 port in  the  past,  and  from  that  sure 
 ground  looking  forward  with  con- 
 fidence and  joy  to  the  future. 
 
 In  the  shadow  of  Thy  wings, 
 Comp.  xvii.  8,  xxxvi.  7,  Ivii.  i,lxi.  4. 
 That  which  David  "  promises  him- 
 self, is  not  an  immunity  from  all 
 powerful  enemies,  nor  a  sword  of 
 revenge  upon  those  enemier,  [but 
 see  ver.  10] ;  it  is  not  that  he  shall 
 have  no  adversary,  nor  that  the  ad- 
 versary shall  be  able  to  do  him  no 
 harm,  but  that  he  should  have  a  re- 
 freshing, a  respiration,  in  velatnento 
 alarum,  under  the  shadow  of  God's 
 wings." — Donne,  p.  170. 
 
 8.  The  verse  describes  the  mutual 
 relation  of  the  soul  and  God.  The 
 soul  follows  after  God  and  cleaves  to 
 
 Him  (the  expression  in  the  Hebrew 
 is  literally,  "  my  soul  hath  cleaved 
 after  Thee,"  so  that  the  tv/o  ideas 
 of  following  and  cleaving  are  min- 
 gled) ;  and  God,  on  the  other  hand, 
 stays  and  upholds  the  soul  with  His 
 right  hand.  Out  of  that  Hand  of 
 Power  and  Love  neither  man  nor 
 devil  can  pluck  it. 
 
 9.  Upon  our  modern  feelings  and 
 thoughts  this  and  the  next  verse 
 seem,  perhaps,  somewhat  to  jar. 
 We  pass  all  at  once  into  a  different 
 atmosphere.  We  have  come  down, 
 as  it  were,  from  the  mount  of  holy 
 aspirations,  into  the  com.mon  every- 
 day world,  where  human  enemies  are 
 struggling,  and  human  passions  are 
 strong.  Yet  this  very  transition,  harsh 
 as  it  is,  gives  us  a  wonderful  sense  of 
 reality.  In  some  respects,  it  brings 
 the  Psalm  nearer  to  our  own  level. 
 The  man  who  has  been  pouring  out 
 the  fervent  affection  of  his  heart  to- 
 wards God  is  no  mystic  or  recluse, 
 lost  in  ecstatic  contemplation,  but 
 one  who  is  fighting  a  battle  with  foes 
 of  flesh  and  blood,  and  who  hopes  to 
 see  their  mahce  defeated,  their  power 
 crushed,  and  their  carcases  left  to  be 
 the  prey  of  jackals  in  the  wilder- 
 ness. What  may  be  called  the  human 
 force  of  character  remains  even  amid 
 thoughts  whose  impassioned  earnest- 
 ness is  not  of  thi?  world,  and  whose 
 strain  of  intensely  exalted  spiritual 
 fervour  is  such  as  but  very  few  oan 
 reach. 
 
264 
 
 PSALM  LXIV. 
 
 10  They  shall  be  given  over  to  the  power  of  the  sword, 
 
 They  shall  become  a  portion  for  jackals. 
 
 1 1  But  the  king  shall  rejoice  in  God  : 
 
 Every  one  that  sweareth  by   Him  shall  boast  him- 
 self; 
 For   the    mouth    of  them    that    speak    lies    shall    be 
 stopped. 
 
 But  they.  The  pronoun  used 
 emphatically,  as  placing  his  enemies 
 in  sharp  contrast  with  himself. 
 
 Into  the  lower  parts  of  the 
 EARTH.  The  expression  seems  here 
 to  denote  Sheol  or  Hades.  The 
 sentiment  is  the  same  as  in  ix.  17, 
 Iv.  15.  In  cxxxix.  15  it  denotes  merely 
 "darkness,  obscurity."  In  Is.  xliv. 
 23  it  seems  to  mean  little  more  than 
 ihe  earth,  as  opposed  to  the  heavens. 
 Comp.  Eph    iv.  9. 
 
 II.  The  KING.  See  Introduction 
 to  the  Psalm,  and  comp.  Ixi.  6. 
 
 Every  one  that  sweareth  by 
 Him,  i.e.  every  one  to  whom  God  is 
 the  object  of  religious  fear,  and  trust, 
 and  worship  (comp,  Deut.  vi.  13, 
 Is.  xix.  18,  xlv.  23,  Ixv.  16,  Amos  viii. 
 14),  the  Psalmist  himself,  and  his 
 friends  and  companions.  Those  on 
 the  other  hand  who,  because  they 
 have  no  fear  of  God,  seek  to  prevail 
 by  lies,  shall  be  confounded. 
 
 PSALM  LXIV. 
 
 This  Psalm  contains  a  stirring  and  vigorous  picture  of  the  plotting 
 by  which  evil  men  were  aiming  at  the  Psalmist's  life.  It  opens,  as 
 is  usual  in  such  Psalms,  with  a  cry  to  God  against  their  machina- 
 tions ;  it  describes  at  length  the  methods  they  take  to  accomphsh 
 their  purposes  ;  and  it  concludes  with  a  confident  prediction  of  their 
 sudden  and  utter  overthrow.  We  have  already  observed  a  similar 
 strain  of  feeling  in  other  Psalms,  such  as  the  52d,  57th,  58th,  and 
 59th.  \x\  all  these  we  find  allusions  to  the  mischief  done  by  the  tongue 
 of  the  wicked  :  in  the  last  three  the  same  figures  are  employed,  the 
 tongue  and  its  words  being  compared  to  arrows  and  swords.  Comp. 
 Ixiv.  3,  4,  with  Ivii.  4,  Iviii.  7,  lix.  7.    , 
 
PSALM  LXIV,  265 
 
 The  Psalm  is  said  to  be  David's,  and  the  reasons  that  have  been 
 alleged  to  the  contrary  are  of  little  weight. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  regular  in  its  structure,  but  scarcely  admits  of 
 strophical  division.  We  have,  however,  after  the  introductory  peti- 
 tion in  ver.  i,  2, 
 
 I.  The  description  of  the  wicked  and  their  devices.     Ver.  3 — 6. 
 
 II.  The  destruction  which  shall  assuredly  come  upon  them,  and 
 which  shall  fill  the  righteous  with  joy.     Ver.  7 — 10. 
 
 [for   the   precentor.       a   psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 • 
 
 1  Hear  my  voice,  O  God,  in  my  complaint, 
 
 From  terror  of  the  enemy  preserve  my  life. 
 
 2  Hide  me  from  the  conspiracy  of  evil-doers, 
 
 From  the  throng  of  the  workers  of  iniquity  ; 
 
 3  Who  have  whet  their  tongue,  like  a  sword, 
 
 V^ho  have  aimed  their  arrow,  (even)  a  bitter  word, 
 
 4  That  they  may  shoot  in  (their)  lurking-places  at  the 
 
 perfect  ; 
 Suddenly  do  they  shoot  at  him  and  fear  not. 
 
 5  They  strengthen  themselves  in  an  evil  purpose ; 
 
 They  reckon  how  they  may  lay  snares  privily ; 
 They  say,  Who  shall  observe  them  .'' 
 
 2.  Conspiracy.  This  word  de-  5,  6.  These  verses  carry  on  the 
 notes  any  kind  of  familiar  inter-  picture  of  the  plots  of  these  evil  men, 
 course,  but  generally  secret  converse,  and  especially  describe  their  resolute 
 plotting,  &c.  ;  whereas  the  word  persistence  in  their  schemes,  their 
 THRONG,  in  the  parallelism,  means  confidence  of  success,  and  the  depth 
 properly,  a  noisy,  tumultuous  assem-  and  subtlety  of  their  designs, 
 ijlage.     Comp.  Iv.  14.  5.  They     strengthen     them- 
 
 3.  Have  aimed.  The  verb  is  selves,  or  they  harden  themselves, 
 used  commonly  of  bending  the  bow,  lit.  "They  strengthen  for  themselves 
 but  is  transferred  also  to  the  aiming  an  evil  thing  (woi'd),"  i.e.  they  take 
 of  the  arrow  ;  see  Iviii.  7.  For  the  every  means  to  secure  their  object, 
 figures  employed,  comp.  lii.  2.  follow  it  up  resolutely,  &c. 
 
 4.  And  fear  not,  i.e.  God,  who  They  reckon  ;  each  part  of  their 
 takes  vengeance  on  the  wicked  (comp.  evil  plot  being,  as  it  were,  carefu.ly 
 Iv.  19).  gone  over  and  enumerated. 
 
2()(i 
 
 PSALM  LXIV. 
 
 6  They  search  out  iniquities  : 
 
 They  have  perfected  (the)  device  devised  (by  them)  ; 
 And  the  inward  part  of  each  (of  them)  and  the  heart 
 is  deep. 
 
 7  But  God  hath  shot  at  them  with  an  arrow  ; 
 
 Suddenly  have  their  wounds  come. 
 
 8  And  He  hath    made   them    stumble,  with  their   own 
 
 tongue  against  them  ; 
 All  that  look  upon  them  shake  the  head. 
 
 9  And  all  men  have  feared, 
 
 And  they  have  declared  God's  doing, 
 And  His  work  have  they  considered, 
 lo  The  righteous  rejoiceth  in  Jehovah,  and  hath   found 
 refuge  in  Him  ; 
 And  all  the  upright  in  heart  boast  themselves. 
 
 They  say,  i.e.  within  themselves^ 
 they  think,  as  the  word  is  often  used 
 in  such  phrases ;  for  the  fuller  ex- 
 pression see  X.  6. 
 
 Who  shall  observe  them  ? 
 The  question  is  an  indirect  one,  for 
 which  the  Syr.  substitutes  the  direct, 
 "  Who  shall  observe  r^s?"  The  pron. 
 t/ie/n  refers  to  the  speakers,  not  to 
 the  snares.  The  prep,  with  the  pro- 
 noun is  not  merely  instead  of  the 
 accus.,  but  marks  more  distinctly 
 the  aim  of  the  verb.  Lit.  "Who 
 shall  see  (look)  at  them,"  as  i  Sam. 
 xvi.  7. 
 
 6.  And  the  inward  part,  &c. 
 This  last  clause  is  added  loosely,  as 
 a  further  explanation  of  the  character 
 of  the  men.  Tholuck,  who  supposes 
 the  Psalm  to  have  been  written  by 
 David  at  the  court  of  Saul,  when  he 
 became  aware  of  the  plots  by  which 
 
 others  were  seeking  to  injure  him 
 and  traduce  him  to  the  king,  sees  in 
 this  clause  the  expression  of  amaze- 
 ment which  fills  the  mind  of  the 
 upright,  honest  youth,  when  he  first 
 becomes  aware  of  the  deep  duplicity 
 and  treachery  of  the  aspirants  to 
 royal  favour,  by  whom  he  was  sur- 
 rounded. 
 
 7.  The  Divine  judgement  is  now 
 painted  as  if  actually  fulfilling  itself 
 before  the  very  eyes  of  the  Psalmist. 
 Hence  the  verbs  are  in  the  past  tense, 
 by  which  a  certain  dramatic  effect  is 
 produced,  which  is  lost  when  they 
 are  rendered  in  the  future.  So  vividly 
 is  the  Divine  judgement  anticipated, 
 that  it  is  as  if  already  accomplished. 
 
 8.  Shake  the  head.  For  the 
 gesture,  as  one  of  malicious  triumph 
 in  looking  upon  suffering,  &c.,  see 
 xxii.  7. 
 
JPSALM  LXV.  267 
 
 PSALM  LXV. 
 
 We  can  hardly  doubt  that  this  Psahn  was  composed  on  the 
 occasion  of  an  abundant  harvest,  and  was  intended  to  be  sung  as  a 
 hymn  of  thanksgiving  by  the  whole  congregation  gathered  before 
 God  in  Zion.  From  the  allusions  in  verses  7,  8,  it  would  seem  that 
 the  time  was  one  of  great  political  convulsions,  of  a  shaking  of 
 nations  and  kingdoms,  in  the  midst  of  which  God  had  manifested 
 His  goodness  to  His  people.  The  Psalm  connects  together  these 
 two  great  concurrent  instances  of  God's  protecting  care  and  love. 
 He  had  given  peace  to  Zion  when  her  enemies  were  raging  around 
 her.  ,  He  had  crowned  her  with  the  year  of  His  goodness  when 
 drought -and  famine  seemed  to  threaten.  The  "Hearer  of  prayer" 
 had  heard  the  petitions  of  His  people,  when  they  met  to  confess 
 their  sins  and  to  make  known  their  need  before  Him  ;  and  now  it 
 was  but  fitting  that  they  should  gather  again  within  His  courts,  there 
 to  thank  Him  for  His  mercy,  and  to  show  forth  all  His  praise. 
 
 This  twofold  character  of  the  Psalm  is  best  explained  by  referring 
 it  to  the  time  immediately  subsequent  to  the  destruction  of  the 
 Assyrian  army  before  Jerusalem.  An  abundant  harvest,  it  had  been 
 promised.  Is.  xxxvii,  30,  should  follow  that  event ;  and  the  fields  so 
 lately  trampled  beneath  the  feet  of  the  invader  seemed  now,  with 
 their  waving  crops,  to  sing  and  shout  for  joy. 
 
 The  title  of  the  Psalm  assigns  it  to  David,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
 read  it  and  not  to  feel  that  it  bears  every  evidence  of  a  later  date.  It 
 has  been  suggested,  and  with  some  appearance  of  probability,  that  the 
 Psalm  was  written  about  the  time  of  Sennacherib's  overthrow  {i.e. 
 about  712  B.C.). 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  strophes  : — 
 
 I.  The  opening  is  an  expression  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  with 
 which  the  congregation  may  fitly  approach  God,  now  that  they  come 
 to  thank  Him  for  His  goodness.     Ver.  1—4. 
 
208  PSALM  LXV. 
 
 II.  Then  follows  the  celebration  of  the  mighty  acts  of  Jehovah, 
 both  in  the  world  of  nature  and  also  among  the  nations,  so  that 
 His  name  is  known  and  acknowledged  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
 Ver.  5—8. 
 
 III.  Lastly,  the  special  thanksgiving  which  is  called  forth  by  the 
 refreshing  rain  which  God  has  sent,  and  the  rich  and  glorious  harvest 
 which  is  already  waving  and  ripening  before  their  eyes.     Ver.  9 — 13. 
 
 The  difference  between  the  first  and  last  strophe  in  the  mode  of 
 expression  is  striking.  In  the  first,  there  is  a  certain  abruptness. 
 The  thoughts  follow  one  another,  not  indeed  altogether  without 
 order,  but  without  anything  like  formal  cohesion.  In  the  last,  on 
 the  other  hand,  the  language  flows  with  the  thoughts.  The  bright 
 han^est-scene  is  before  the  eyes  of  the  inspired  singer.  He  stands 
 looking  on  the  fields  white  already  to  the  harvest,  and  his  soul 
 Avithin  him  rejoices  in  their  glorious  promise.  The  Poet  and  the 
 world  without  him  are  at  one  accord.  THe  fulness  of  joy  in  his 
 heart,  as  he  sees  how  his  God  has  poured  blessing  upon  the  land, 
 passes  as  it  were  by  a  contagion  of  sunny  gladness  into  the  inanimate 
 creation,  and  the  very  cornfields  seem  to  him  to  shout  together,  yea 
 to  sing  for  joy. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,      a  psalm   of  DAVID.      A   SONG.] 
 
 I.     I   Praise  waiteth  for  Thee,  O  God,  in  Zion  : 
 And  unto  Thee  is  (the)  vow  paid. 
 
 I — 4.   In   these  verses,   whilst   the  One.     But  He  Himself,  in  the  pleni- 
 
 meaning  of  the  separate  sentences  is  tude  of  His  merey,  covers  those  ini- 
 
 ciear,  it  is  not  equally  easy  to  trace  quities,  will  not  look  upon  them,  and 
 
 the  line  of  thought.     I  believe  it  to  so  suffers  sinners  to  approach  Him. 
 
 be  this  :  In  Zion  God  is  known,  there  And    how    blessed    are    they  who, 
 
 He  is  praised  and  worshipt.     He  is  reconciled   and    pardoned,    are    thus 
 
 the  hearer  of  prayer  ;  that  is  His  very  suffered    to    draw    nigh  !      Of    that 
 
 character,    and    therefore    all    flesh  lilessedness    may    we    ourselves    be 
 
 comes  to  Him.     All  who  feel  their  partakers,  may  we  be  filled  and  satis- 
 
 weakness,    all    who   need    help    and  lied  therewith. 
 
 grace,  seek  it  at  His  hand.     It  is  true  i.   Waiteth,  lit.   "  is  silent,"  the 
 
 that  they  who  thus  come,  come  with  word  being    used    apparently   mela- 
 
 the  burden  of  sin  upon  them  :   their  phorically,  in  the  sense  of  resting  and 
 
 iniquities  rise  up  in  all  their  strength  so  of  waiting.     So  Diodati,    "laude 
 
 and   might,   and   would  thrust   them  t'  aspetta  in  Sion."     The  meaning  is, 
 
 away  from  the  presence  of  the  Holy  as  Calvin  observes,   that  God   is   so 
 
PSALM  LXF. 
 
 269 
 
 2  O  Thou  that  hearest  prayer, 
 
 Unto  Thee  doth  all  flesh  come. 
 
 3  Iniquities  have  prevailed  against  me  ; 
 
 (But)  as  for  our  transgressions,  Thou  coverest  them. 
 
 4  Blessed  is  he  whom  thou  choosest, 
 
 And  bringest  near  that  he  may  dwell  in  Thy  courts ! 
 So  shall  we  be    satisfied  with  the  blessing  of    Thine 
 house, 
 
 gracious  to  His  people  that  he  snp- 
 pUes  them  every  day  with  fresh  sub- 
 ject for  praise.  Others,  however, 
 explain  it  of  the  silence  of  the  heart 
 in  devotion. 
 
 2.  O  Thou  that  hearest 
 PRAYER.  This  is  the  very  character 
 of  God,  "He  describes  not  what 
 has  once  happened,  but  clothes  God 
 with  this  everlasting  attribute  [pei'- 
 pctiio  ornatu),  as  though  he  said,  God 
 can  no  more  be  deaf  to  the  prayers  of 
 His  people  than  He  can  deny  Him- 
 self."—  Calvin. 
 
 Unto  Thee  doth  all  flesh 
 COME,  ^y  fiesh  is  meant  man  in  his 
 weakness  and  need,  but  the  word 
 scarcely  includes  here  other  animals. 
 It  is  clear,  however,  that  the  privilege 
 of  access  to  God  is  not  intended  to  be 
 confined  merely  to  the  Israelites,  or 
 so  general  an  expression  would  not 
 have  been  chosen.  It  is  again,  as  in 
 the  last  verses,  the  statement  of  a  fact, 
 true  generally,  true  so  far  as  men 
 pray  at  all. 
 
 Calvin  and  others,  who  render  the 
 verbs  in  the  future,  see  here  a  pro- 
 phecy of  Christ's  kingdom,  and  of  the 
 conversion  of  the  heathen,  as  in  Is. 
 xlv.  23,  24.  But  the  general  tenour 
 of  the  Psalm  does  not  support  this 
 view. 
 
 '  3.  Iniquities,  lit.  "things  (or 
 words)  of  iniquities." 
 
 Have  prevailed,  ht.  "have  been 
 too  strong  for  me."  Comp.  xl.  12. 
 It  is  the  remembrance  of  this  which 
 
 brings  up  before  the  mind  the  one 
 great  obstacle  to  approach  to  God  ; 
 the  next  line  telling  us  how  that 
 obstacle  is  removed.  Calvin  well 
 explains:  "Although  our  iniquities, 
 as  they  deserve  repulse,  would  cast 
 us  far  from  Thy  sight,  yet  because 
 Thou  showest  Thyself  ready  to  be 
 reconciled,  they  will  not  prevent  the 
 course  of  our  prayers."  Comp.  Is. 
 hx.  I,  2. 
 
 Against  me.  The  pronoun  of  the 
 first  pers.  sing,  comes  in  somewhat 
 abruptly.  Del.  thinks  that  the  whole 
 congregation  here  speak  as  one  man. 
 It  is  more  probable  that  the  Psalmist 
 makes  a  personal  application  to  him- 
 self of  that  which  was  true  of  all, 
 putting  his  own  guilt  however  in  the 
 first  place,  as  Daniel  also  confessed 
 his  own  sins  first  (Dan.  ix.  20),  and 
 then  those  of  the  people. 
 
 Thou  coverest.  Seeonxxxii.  i. 
 The  pronoun  is  emphatic,  as  though 
 to  express  the  conviction  that  God, 
 and  God  alone,  could  do  this. 
 
 4.  Blessed.  See  notes  on  xv.  i, 
 xxvii.  4.  This  blessedness  is  here 
 felt  especially  as  vouchsafed  to  God's 
 chosen,  as  the  privilege  of  Israel  rather 
 than  of  other  nations  ("Blessed  is 
 he  whom  Thou  choosest "),  and  also 
 as  flowing  from  the  forgiving  love  of 
 God,  who  covers  the  transgressions 
 which  else  would  separate  from  Him 
 even  His  chosen. 
 
 So  shall  we  be  satisfied.  "For 
 all  that  God's  grace  offers  us  we  can 
 
270 
 
 PSALM  LX  V. 
 The  holy  place  of  Thy  temple. 
 
 II.  5  With   terrible    things    in    righteousness    dost    Thou 
 answer  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation, 
 Thou  that  art  the  trust  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
 and  of  the  sea  afar  off: 
 6  Who  setteth  fast  the  mountains  by  His  strength. 
 
 give  no  better  thanks  than  that  we 
 hunger  and  thirst  after  it,  and  that 
 the  poor  empty  soul  be  satisfied  there- 
 ^\■ith. " — Delltzsch. 
 
 The  holy  place  of  Thy  temple, 
 or  perhaps,  "  with  the  holiness  of  Thy 
 temple." 
 
 5.  The  Psalmist  now  approaches 
 more  nearly  to  his  main  subject  :  and 
 first,  he  declares  God's  wonders  on 
 behalf  of  His  people,  wonders  so 
 great  and  so  signal,  that  all  the  earth 
 has  been  made  to  know  that  there  is 
 a  God  in  Israel. 
 
 Terrible  things  (as  elsewhere, 
 "great  things,"  "wondrous  things"'), 
 commonly  used  of  God's  great  acts 
 wrought  in  behalf  of  Israel,  especially 
 in  their  deliverance  out  of  Egypt. 
 (Ueut.  X.  21  ;  2  Sam.  vii.  23  ;  Ps. 
 cvi.  22,  cxlv.  6,  &c.) 
 
 Dost  Thou  answer  us,  (not  fut. 
 "Thou  7vilt  answer  us,"  but)  now,  as 
 at  all  times,  when  our  need  is  sore  ; 
 IN  righteousness  (comp.  Is.  xlii. 
 6),  that  being  the  very  foundation  of 
 God's  moral  government  of  the  world, 
 and  that  righteousness  being  mani- 
 fested in  the  salvation  of  His  people 
 as  in  the  overthrow  of  their  enemies  ; 
 a  cloud  and  darkness  to  these,  but  a 
 light  and  defence  to  those. 
 
 Trust.  "The  meaning  is, 
 Venema,  "  that  God  is  the 
 certain  help  and  defence  of 
 whether  He  be  acknowledged  by  them 
 and  trusted  in  or  not."  Tholuck 
 thinks  that  the  congregation,  "lifting 
 
 says 
 most 
 men, 
 
 up  their  hearts  to  the  survey  of  God's 
 wondrous  works,  declare  the  convic- 
 tion that  whatever  of  blessing  and  of 
 consolation  all  the  nations  of  the 
 earth  receive,  issues  from  this  source 
 only,  wherein  is  involved  the  con- 
 fession, that  all  prayers  of  the  heathen 
 also,  however  perverted  their  ideas  of 
 the  Deity  may  be,  still  in  reality  mount 
 to  the  throne  of  the  God  of  Israel." 
 He  then  refers  to  the  testimony  of 
 the  Prophet  Amos  (ix.  7),  that  the 
 same  fatherly  Hand  which  led  Israel 
 out  of  Egypt  had  also  guided  and 
 blessed  heathen  nations.  But  here, 
 as  in  ver  2,  it  is  the  claim  of  God  to 
 be  thus  recognised  and  trusted  in, 
 which  is  asserted.  God  is  the  Hearer 
 of  the  prayers  of  all.  He  is  the  only 
 object  of  trust,  even  though  all  do  not 
 pray  to  Him  or  trust  in  Him.  As 
 Luther  well  says:  "One  may  run 
 over  the  wide  world,  even  to  its  utmost 
 extremity,  yet  Thou  art  the  only  foun- 
 dation on  which  the  trust  of  a  man's 
 heart  can  rest."  At  the  same  time, 
 there  is  an  anticipation  of  a  universal 
 recognition  and  worship,  such  as 
 could  not  but  spring  up  in  the  hearts  of 
 those  who  were  met  together  on  such 
 an  occasion  as  this,  to  record  God's 
 wonderful  works.  In  Ps.  Ixvii.  this 
 anticipation  becomes  more  nearly  pre- 
 dictive. 
 
 6,  7.  Mountains  and  seas  are  not 
 to  be  understood  figuratively,  but 
 literally,  the  statement  being  that  the 
 same  God  who  stills  the  earthquake 
 
PSALM  LXV. 
 
 271 
 
 Being  girded  about  with  might  ; 
 
 7  Who  stilleth  the  roaring  of  the  seas, 
 
 The  roaring  of  their  waves, 
 And  the  tumult  of  the  nations. 
 
 8  Therefore  they  that  dwell  in  the  ends  (of  the  earth) 
 
 are  afraid  at  Thy  signs  ; 
 Thou    makest  the  outgoings    of  the  morning  and 
 evening  to  sing  for  joy. 
 
 III.  9  Thou  hast  visited  the  earth,  and  made  it  overflow. 
 Thou  greatly  enrichest  it  with  the  brook  of  God, 
 which  is  full  of  water  ; 
 
 and  hushes  the  storm  gives  peace  also 
 to  contending  kingdoms  and  nations. 
 Both  in  the  natural  and  the  political 
 world  He  rules.  The  sea  and  the 
 nations  are  mentioned  together,  the 
 one  being  so  often  used  as  an  image 
 of  the  other.     See  xlvi. 
 
 8.  Therefore,  ht.  **  and  (ac- 
 cordingly) they  have  feared." 
 
 Signs.  In  like  manner  crrj^ueTo*'  is 
 used  in  the  N.  T.  of  miracles  as 
 "  tokens  and  indications  of  the  near 
 presence  and  w^orking  of  God." 
 
 Outgoings,  or  rather  the  places 
 where  morning  and  evening  have  their 
 birth  ("les  lieux  d'oii  surgissent 
 I'aube  et  le  crepuscule,"  Perret- 
 Gentil  ;  "portals,"  Kay),  the  East 
 and  West ;  the  meaning  being,  that 
 all  things,  the  inanimate  as  well  as 
 the  animate  creatures,  from  the  rising 
 to  the  setting  of  the  sun,  break  forth 
 into  songs  of  joy  before  God. 
 
 Briefly,  ver.  5 — 8  may  be  summed 
 up  thus  :  the  whole  wide  world,  its 
 mountains  and  its  seas,  and  all  the 
 dwellers  in  the  world  from  one  end  of 
 it  to  the  other,  are  in  the  hand  of 
 God,  wait  upon  Him,  and  He  makes 
 all  to  rejoice. 
 
 9.  With    this     verse    begins    the 
 
 special  subject  of  thanksgiving,  tha 
 thanksgiving  for  the  harvest.  It  is 
 manifest,  from  the  use  of  the  perfect 
 tenses  in  ver.  9,  1 1,  13,  that  this  is  not 
 merely  a  general  acknowledgement  of 
 God's  goodness  in  bringing  the  fruits 
 of  the  earth  to  maturity,  but  has 
 reference  to  a  particular  season. 
 
 Thou  hast  visited  the  earth, 
 "or  perhaps  "  the  land."  For  this  sense 
 of  the  word  ' '  visit  "  Comp.  Jer.  xxvii. 
 22.  On  this  Arnd.  says  :  "  The  Holy 
 Spirit  makes  use  of  a  homely  word 
 when,  in  describing  the  fertilizing 
 genial  rain,  he  terms  it  a  visiting  of  the 
 earth.  When  a  visit  is  made  by  rich 
 and  affectionate  friends,  they  do  not 
 come  empty,  but  bring  with  them  a 
 blessing  or  good  gift  to  testify  their 
 favour  and  love.  Thus,  although 
 God  is  over  all,  and  fills  heaven  and 
 earth,  He  does  not  at  all  times  leave 
 traces  or  marks  of  His  presence. 
 But  when  in  time  of  drought  He 
 gives  a  gracious  fertilizing  shower,  it 
 is  as  if  He  paid  us  a  visit,  and 
 brought  along  with  Him  a  great 
 blessing,  that  we  might  mark  His 
 love  and  goodness." 
 
 The  brook  of  God,  not  as  the 
 Chald.   and  others  "the  clouds,"  but 
 
272 
 
 PSALM  LX  K 
 
 Thou  preparest  their  corn, 
 
 For  so  dost  Thou  prepare  it  {i  e.  the  earth). 
 
 10  Thou  waterest  the  furrows  thereof  abundantly, 
 
 Thou  settlest  the  ridges  thereof ; 
 With  showers  of  rain  Thou  makest  it  soft ; 
 Thou  blessest  the  increase  of  it. 
 
 1 1  Thou  hast  crowned  the  year  with  Thy  goodness, 
 
 And  Thy  tracks  drop  fatness  ; 
 
 12  The  pastures  of  the  wilderness  drop  (therewith), 
 
 And  with  exulting  the  hills  gird  themselves. 
 
 13  The  meadows  are  clothed  with  flocks, 
 
 The  valleys  also  are  covered  over  with  corn  : 
 They  shout  together,  yea  they  sing. 
 
 rather  "  the  rain. "  The  Arabs  have 
 the  same  expi-ession.  Schultens  quotes 
 from  Hist.  Tamerl.,  p.  82,  the  Arabic 
 proverb:  "When  the  river  of  God 
 comes,  the  river  Isa  (in  Bagdad) 
 ceases."  It  is  the  heavenly  stream 
 as  opposed  to  earthly  streams;  called 
 a  brook  or  channel  (see  on  i.  3)  with* 
 reference  to  the  irrigation  of  the  land 
 by  means  of  such.  It  is  full  of 
 water,  whereas  the  wells  which  men 
 dig,  the  channels  which  they  cut,  dry 
 up  and  cease  to  flow. 
 
 The  repetition  of  the  verb  pi-epare 
 seems  designed  to  mark  that  all  is 
 God's  doing.  He  prepares  the  earth, 
 and  so  prepares  the  corn. 
 
 So,  i.e.  by  sending  the  rain.  The 
 present  tenses  are  employed  here  to 
 express  that  this  God  does  not  in  one 
 year  only,  but  every  year. 
 
 10.  Settlest,  lit.  "pressest 
 down,"  describing  vividly  the  effect 
 of  a  rich  and  abundant  rain.  The 
 same  word  is  used  of  bending  a  bow 
 in  xviii.  34,  where  see  note.  The 
 ridges  are  the  lines  of  earth  thrown 
 up  by  the  action  of  the  plough  be- 
 tween W\(^  furrows. 
 
 11.  With  Thy  goodness.  An- 
 other rendering,  "  Thou  hast  crowned 
 the  year  of  Thy  goodness,"  gives  no 
 bad  sense.  The  year  of  God's  good- 
 ness would  mean  the  year  in  which 
 it  had  been  emphatically  displayed 
 (comp.  Is.  Ixi.  2)  ;  and  this  might  be 
 said  to  be  crowned  with  the  harvest. 
 
 Thy  tracks,  prop,  marks  of  the 
 chariot-iohecls,  Comp.  xviii.  lO,  Deut. 
 xxxiii.  26,  Is.  Ixvi.  15. 
 
 12.  The  pastures  of  the  wil- 
 derness. Comp.  Job  xxxviii.  26, 
 27.  But  the  wilderness  does  not 
 mean  a  bare  desert,  as  the  word 
 "  pastures  "  shows  ;  it  is  merely  con- 
 trasted with  the  cultivated  arable 
 land. 
 
 13.  The  meadows.  See  note  on 
 xxxvii.  20. 
 
 They  shout  together,  striving, 
 as  it  were,  and  vying  with  one 
 another  in  their  gladness  ;  as  the  re- 
 flexive form  of  the  verb  denotes. 
 Nothing  can  be  more  beautiful,  or 
 more  truly  poetical,  than  the  figure 
 by  which  the  valleys  waving  with 
 corn  are  said  themselves  to  shout  and 
 
PSALM  LXVL  273 
 
 PSALM  LXVL 
 
 The  Poet  celebrates  God's  great  deeds  on  behalf  of  His  people, 
 and  calls  upon  all  nations  to  join  in  thanksgiving  to  Him.  From  the 
 language  of  verses  8 — 12,  the  Psalm  would  seem  to  have  been  com- 
 posed on  the  occasion  of  some  special  deliverance,  but  the  expressions 
 used  are  too  general  to  lead  to  any  certain  conclusion  as  to  the  time 
 when  it  was  written.  Rut  it  has  been  supposed,  with  some  probability, 
 that  the  allusion  is  to  the  defeat  of  the  Assyrians  under  Sennacherib. 
 Others  refer  it  to  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  Captivity ;  others, 
 again,  to  the  times  of  the  Maccabees. 
 
 In  ver.  13,  there  is  a  sudden  and  remarkable  change  from  the  use 
 of  the  plural  to  the  use  of  the  singular..  Some  would  explain  this  on 
 the  principle  that  the  people  are  personified,  and  therefore  speak  in  the 
 singular.  This,  however,  is  very  unnatural  ;  no  probable  reason  can 
 be  given  for  such  a  personification.  It  is  far  more  likely  that  the' 
 Sacred  Poet,  after  having  spoken  for  the  whole  congregation,  speaks 
 for  himself  as  one  of  that  congregation,  declaring  with  thanksgiving 
 God's  goodness  to  himself,  felt  and  acknowledged  by  himself,  as  well 
 as  to  all  Israel.  In  fact,  as  the  Psalm  was  clearly  intended  for 
 the  public  worship  of  the  Temple,  the  former  part  was  probably 
 designed  to  be  sung  by  the  whole  choir  of  Levites  and  the  latter  by  a 
 single  voice. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  five  strophes,  three  of  them  being  dis- 
 tinguished by  the  Selah  at  the  close  : — 
 
 I.  The  exhortation  addressed  to  the  whole  world  to  give  glory  to 
 God.     Ver.  i — 4. 
 
 II.  The  recounting  of  God's  great  acts  on  behalf  of  His  people  in 
 times  past.     Ver.  5 — 7. 
 
 III.  The  wonderful  deliverance  recently  vouchsafed.     Ver.  8 — 12. 
 
 IV.  The  Psalmist  himself  promises  to  bring  large  offerings  to  God 
 in  grateful  acknowledgement  of  His  goodness.     Ver.  13 — 15. 
 
 V.  He  calls  upon  all  to  hear  the  story  of  God's  mercy  to  himself, 
 and  especially  of  His  answer  to  his  prayer.     Ver.  16—20. 
 
 T 
 
27- 
 
 PSALM  LXVI. 
 
 Tfor  the  precentor,    a  song,    a  psalm. "^j 
 
 1  Shout  unto  God,  all  the  earth  ! 
 
 2  Sing  the  glory  of  His  Name, 
 
 Ascribe  to  Him  glory,  in  His  praise. 
 
 3  Say  unto  God,  ''  How  terrible  is  Thy  work ! 
 
 Because  of  the  greatness  of  Thy  strength  do  Thine 
 enemies  feign  allegiance  unto  Thee. 
 
 4  In  all  the  earth  they  bow  down  unto  Thee  and  sing 
 
 to  Thee  ; 
 They  sing  Thy  Name."     [Selah.] 
 
 H.  5   Come  and  see  the  acts  of  God  : 
 
 Terrible    (He    is    in)    His    doing 
 children  of  men. 
 
 the 
 
 2.  Ascribe,  &c.,  lit.  "Make glory 
 Ilis  praise,"  i.e.  in  giving  Him  praise 
 ascribe  to  Him  that  glory  which  is 
 His.  The  two  nouns  are  in  appo- 
 sition with  one  another.  Comp, 
 Joshua  vii.  19,  Is.  xlii.  12. 
 
 3.  Say  unto  God.  He  now  gives 
 the  reason  why  God  should  be  praised, 
 and  he  would  have  this  acknowledge- 
 ment addressed  directly  to  God,  in  order 
 1  o  stir  and  rouse  the  hearts  of  those  who 
 uttered  it  the  more  effectually:  "for 
 nothing  so  compels  us  to  a  due  rever- 
 ence towards  God,  as  when  we  place 
 ourselves  before  His  face." — Calvin. 
 
 How  TERRIBLE.  Comp.  the  song 
 of  the  heavenly  harpers,  Rev.  xv.  3. 
 
 P'eign  allegiance,  i.e.  do  so  in  a 
 forced  and  reluctant  manner,  though 
 they  would  willingly  withdraw  their 
 necks  from  the  yoke  if  they  could. 
 Lit.  "//>  unto  Thee,"  whence  the 
 P.  B.  V.  "shall  be  found   liars  unto 
 
 Thee."  The  E.V.  has  here,  and  in 
 xviii.  44,  where  the  same  word 
 occurs,  "  shall  submit  themselves," 
 and  in  the  margin  in  both  places 
 "yield  feigned  obedience,"  which  is 
 doubtless  the  true  rendering. 
 
 There  is  perhaps  a  tacit  comparison 
 implied.  If  even  His  enemies  must 
 render  a  forced  and  tardy  and  hypo- 
 critical submission,  what  should  they 
 do  to  v/hom  He  has  manifested  Him- 
 self in  love  ? 
 
 4.  Bow  DOWN.  It  is  unnecessary 
 to  render  the  verbs  as  futures  of 
 prediction.  Faith  boldly  brings  the 
 future  into  the  present,  and  sees  that 
 as  already  accomplished  which  is  so 
 in  the  purpose  and  will  of  God.  Not 
 Zion  only,  but  the  whole  earth  is  the 
 temple  of  God,  wherein  His  praises 
 are  sung. 
 
 5.  Come  and  see.  Comp,  xlvi. 
 8.     The  dull  hearts  of  men  must  be 
 
 ■•  A  Psalm.     The  addition  of  the  word  Psalm  In  the  Hebrew  would   probably  denote  a 
 ajcomi^auiment  of  instrumental  music 
 
PSALM  LXVL 
 
 275 
 
 6  He  turned  the  sea  into  dry  land, 
 
 They  passed  through  the  river  on  foot  : — ^ 
 There  let  us  rejoice  in  Him  ! 
 
 7  Ruling  in  His  might  for  ever, 
 
 His  eyes  keep  watch  upon  the  nations  ; 
 As    for   the   rebellious — let  them  not    exalt   them- 
 selves.    [Selah.] 
 
 HI.  8  Bless  our  God,  O  ye  peoples, 
 
 And  make  the  voice  of  His  praise  to  be  heard. 
 9  Who  putteth  our  soul  in  life, 
 
 And  hath  not  suffered  our  foot  to  be  moved. 
 
 10  For  Thou  didst  prove  us,  O  God, 
 
 Thou  didst  fine  us,  as  silver  is  fined. 
 
 1 1  Thou  broughtest  us  into  the  net, 
 
 Thou  didst  put  a  heavy  burden  on  our  loins. 
 
 roused,  their  attention  excited ;  the 
 exhortation  implying  also  that  fresh 
 acts  of  God's  power  and  grace  are  to 
 be  beheld. 
 
 6.  Faith  makes  the  past  as  well  as 
 the  future  her  own.  The  God  wlio 
 has  now  wrought  wonders  for  His 
 people  is  the  same  who  once  led 
 them  dryshod  through  fhe  Red  Sea 
 and  through  the  Jordan.  Those 
 miracles  of  the  past  recur  in  the 
 present.  '  That  ancient  story  is  not 
 the  record  merely  of  a  bygone  age, 
 but  is  daily  new,  daily  repeats  itself 
 to  those  who  have  eyes  open  to  see 
 and  hearts  open  to  perceive.  Hence 
 the  Psalmist  says  : 
 
 There  let  us  rejoice  in  Him  ! 
 There,  pointing  as  it  were  to  the  field 
 in  which  God  had  made  bare  His 
 arm,  and  where  the  past  history  had. 
 been  repeated  in  the  present,  there 
 let  us  rejoice  in  Him. 
 
 ■7.  Keep  watch  or  "spy  out." 
 All  the  attempts  of  the  nations 
 against    Israel    are    not    unobserved 
 
 of   God  :    heuce  the  warning  which 
 follows. 
 
 The  rebellious,  i.e.  the  heathen 
 nations  who  threaten  Israel,  and  so 
 lift  themselves  up  against  God. 
 
 8.  Agam  he  calls  upon  all  nations 
 to  bless  God  for  His  wonderful  de- 
 liverance vouchsafed  to  His  people. 
 Then  he  describes  their  oppression. 
 
 9.  Who  putteth  our  soul  in 
 life.  The  expression  denotes  the 
 beirg  rescued  from  imminent  peril, 
 like  .the  phrase  "bringmg  up  from 
 the  gates  of  death,"  &c. 
 
 10.  The  suffering  of  Israel  is  now 
 described  by  a  series  of  figures,  the 
 first  of  which  marks  God's  purpose  in 
 the  affliction. 
 
 Thou  didst  prove,  <S:c.  Comp. 
 xii.  6,  xvii.  3. 
 
 11.  The  NET.  Probably  here  and 
 in,  Ezek.  xii.  13,  this  is  the  meaning 
 of  the  word.  It  occurs,  however, 
 often  in  the  sense  of  a  hold,  or  stroi\g, 
 fortified  place,  as  in  I   Sam.   xxii.'  5, 
 
 xxiv.   22,   t&c.     Hence  many  take  it 
 
 T    2 
 
2  76  PSALM  LXVL 
 
 12  Thou  madest  men  to  ride  over  our  head  ; 
 We  came  into  fire  and  into  water : — 
 But  Thou  broughtest  us  out  to  abundance. 
 
 IV.    13  I  will  come  into  Thy  house  with  burnt-offerings, 
 I  will  pay  Thee  my  vows, 
 
 14  Which  my  lips  openly  uttered, 
 
 And  mV  mouth  spake  when  I  was  in  distress. 
 
 15  Burnt-offerings  of  fatlings  will  I  offer  to  Thee 
 
 With  the  incense  of  rams  ; 
 I  will  sacrifice  bullocks  with  goats.     [Selah.] 
 
 V.   1 6  Come,  hear,  and  let  me  tell,  all  ye  that  fear  God, 
 What  He  hath  done  for  my  soul. 
 
 17  I  called  unto  Him  with  my  mouth, 
 
 And  he  was  extolled  with  my  tongue. 
 
 18  If  I  had  regarded  iniquity  in  my  heart, 
 
 The  Lord  would  not  hear  me. 
 
 here  to  mean  prison,  siege,  &c.  Simi- 
 larly, Luther  and  Ilupfeld.  They 
 nad  been  Hke  wild  animals  taken  by 
 the  hunter  in  the  toils,  or  like  beasts 
 of  burden  on  whose  loins  a  heavy 
 load  was  laid  (an  image  of  servitude)  ; 
 thev  had  been,  as  it  were,  cast  down 
 and  trampled  upon  by  the  horse 
 hoofs  and  chariot  wheels  of  their 
 triumphant  and  savage  enemies. 
 
 13.  We  have  now  ihe  personal 
 acknowledj^ement  of  God's  '  mercy, 
 first  in  ihe  announcement  on  the 
 part  of  the  Psalmist  of  the  offerings 
 which  he  is  about  to  bring,  and 
 which,  he  had  vowed  in  his  tnmble  ; 
 and  then,  in  the  record  of  God's 
 dealing  with  his  soul,  which  had 
 called  forth  his  thankfulness. 
 
 14.  Oi'KNi.Y  UTTKRKi),  literally 
 "opened,"  used  in  like  manner  of 
 vows.  Judges  xi.  35. 
 
 15.  Inckn'sic,  ie.  evidently  the 
 steam   ai.d   smoke   of   the  burnt   sa- 
 
 crifices ascending  in  a  cloud,  the 
 word  being  used  in  its  root-meaning. 
 The  enumeration  of  the  various  kinds 
 of  offerings  may  be  an  expression 
 of  his  zeal  and  devotion,  or  as  de- 
 noting that  he  considered  no  offerings 
 too  large  or  too  cost'y. 
 
 17.  He  was  extolled,  lit.  "ex- 
 tolling was  under  my  tongue." 
 
 18.  If  I  HAD  SEEN,  /.<'.' probably, 
 if  I  had  been  conscious  of  iniquity 
 in  my  heart,  the  assertion  being  that 
 of  freedom  from  anything  like  pur- 
 posed deceit,  as  in  xvii.  I,  xxxii.  2  ; 
 or  the  phrase  may  mean,  as  the  Eng- 
 lish Version  takes  it,  "If  I  had 
 regarded  iniquity,"  i.e.  looked  upon 
 it    with    pleasure    and    satisfaction. 
 
 •  P'or  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
 passage,  comp.  Job  xxviL  8,  9  ; 
 Is.  i.  15.  lix.  2,  3  ;  John  ix.  31  ; 
 I  John  iii.  21.  See  South's  Seimon 
 on  this  verse,  vol.  iv.  p.  118. 
 
PSALM  LXVII.  277 
 
 19  But  surely  God  hath  heard, 
 
 He  hath  attended  to  the  voice  of  my  prayer. 
 
 20  Blessed    be    God,     who    hath   not    turned    away    my 
 
 prayer 
 Nor  His  loving  kindness  from  me. 
 
 PSALM  LXVII. 
 
 This  Psalm,  which,  like  the  last,  is  anonymous,  is  evidently  much 
 later  than  the  age  of  David,  though  it  might  have  been  composed  either 
 in  the  time  of  Hezekiah,  when  great  hopes  began  to  be  entertained 
 of  God's  purposes  towards  the  nation,  or  at  a  time  subsequent  to  the 
 return  from  the  Exile,  when  those  hopes  were  so  signally  revived. 
 The  Psalm  is  not,  properly  speaking,  a  prophecy,  if  by  that  be  under- 
 stood a  prediction  :  it  is  rather  the  fervent  expression  of  a  well- 
 grounded  hope.  It  is  the  joyful  outpouring  of  a  heart  which  longs 
 to  see  the  God  and  King  of  Israel  acknowledged  and  worshipt  as 
 the  God  and  King  of  the  world. 
 
 The  Psalm,  which  was  clearly  designed  for  liturgical  use,  and  may 
 have  been  written,  like  the  6$th,  at  the  time  of  the  gathering  in  of 
 the  harvest  (see  ver.  6),  opens  with  words  borrowed  from  the  blessing 
 of  the  High  Priest  in  Numb.  vi.  24—26.  That  this  is  not  a7i  expan- 
 sion of  the  words  of  the  Psalm,  and  that  the  Psalmist  cMiedes  to 
 the  blessing  of  the  High  Priest,  is  c^uite  evident.  That  a  Psalm 
 designed  for  the  Temple  service  should  be  built  upon  the  solemn 
 Priestly  Blessing  so  often  heard  in  the  Temple,  a  Blessing  thrice 
 repeated  (comp.  ver.  i,  6,  7),  is  natural  and  easily  explicable.  That 
 the  Psalm  should  have  suggested  the  formula  of  the  Blessing  is 
 extremely  improbable.  Besides,  in  three  other  Psalms  we  have 
 allusions  to  the  same  formula,  iv.  6,  xxxi.  16,  and  the  thrice-repeated 
 refrain  in  Ixxx.  Who  can  believe  that  the  Blessing  was  composed 
 out  of  these  passages  .?  Psalm  Ixxx.  was  written  long  after  David's 
 time,  and  it  is  evident   that  all  the  expressions  in  the  Psalms   are 
 
278 
 
 PSALM  LXVII. 
 
 borrowed  from  the  one  original  in  Numbers.  The  only  conclusion 
 is  that  a  later  writer  uses  deliberately  the  name  Elohim  instead  of 
 the  name  Jehovah.  The  Psalm  is  marked  by  the  refrain,  ver.  3  and 
 5,  but  has  no  strophical  division  properly  so  called. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    on  stringed  instruments,    a  psalm. 
 
 A    SONG.] 
 
 1  God  be  gracious  unto  us  and  bless  us, 
 
 And  make  his  face  to  shine  among  us.     [Selah.] 
 
 2  That  Thy  way  may  be  known  upon  earth. 
 
 Thy  salvation  among  all  the  heathen. 
 
 3  Let  the  peoples  give  thanks  to  Thee,  O  God, 
 
 Let  all  the  peoples  give  thanks  unto  Thee. 
 
 4  Oh,  let  the  nations  be  glad  and  sing  for  joy. 
 
 For  Thou  judgest  the  peoples  with  equity. 
 
 And  Thou  guidest  the  nations  upon  earth.     [Selah.] 
 
 1.  Borrowed,  as  has  already  been 
 ol)served,  from  the  High  Priest's 
 blessing,  Numb.  vi.  24 — 26,  but  with 
 some  variations,  and  with  the  Divine 
 Name  Elohim  instead  of  Jehovah. 
 
 Among  us,  lit.  ^^ with  us,"  as 
 accompanying  and  guiding  us,  in- 
 stead of  "upon  us,"  as  in  Numb. 
 vi. 
 
 2.  That  Thy  way  may  be 
 KNOWN.  The  infin.  is  used  im- 
 l)ersonally.  Lit.  "to  know,"  i.e. 
 that  men  may  know.  God's  good- 
 ness manifested  in  Israel  would  lead 
 to  a  recognition  of  Him  among  the 
 heathen  as  the  Lord  of  all.  Comp. 
 ix.  II.  Godls  ivay  is  His  purpose 
 of  grace,  His  salvation  as  vouch- 
 safed first  to  Israel  and  afterwards 
 to  the  world. 
 
 The  hkathen.  I  have  so  ren- 
 dered here  the  word  elsewhere  ren- 
 dered nations,  in  order  to  represent 
 
 the  three  different  Hebrew  words 
 employed  in  this  and  the  next  two 
 verses  ;   heathen.,  peoples,  nations. 
 
 3 — 5.  The  only  real  difficulty  in 
 interpreting  this  Psalm  is  in  deter- 
 mining how  the  tenses  are  used.  In 
 ver.  I  all  are  agreed  that  there  is  the 
 expression  of  a  wish,  and  that  the 
 verbs  there  are  consequently  opta- 
 tives. But  from  ver.  3  onwards, 
 interpretations  vary.  Some  render 
 these  verbs  as  optatives,  others  as 
 presents,  others  again  as  futures. 
 But  in  so  short  a  Psalm,  opening 
 with  a  wish,  and,  as  the  majority 
 of  critics  are  agreed,  concluding  with 
 a  wish,  it  seems  to  me  most  probable 
 that  we  have  the  expression  of  a 
 wish  throughout. 
 
 3.  Let  all,  &c.,  lit.  "Let  the 
 peoples,  all  of  them,"  and  so  again 
 m  ver.  5. 
 
 4.  Thou  guidest.     The  verb  is 
 
PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 5  Let  the  peoples  give  thanks  to  Thee,  O  God, 
 
 Let  all  (the)  people  give  thanks  to  Thee ! 
 
 6  The  land  hath  given  her  increase  : 
 
 May  God,  (even)  our  own  God,  bless  us ! 
 
 7  May  God  bless  us, 
 
 And  all  the  ends  of  the  earth  fear  Him ! 
 
 279 
 
 the  same  as  in  xxiii.    3,    God  being 
 the  great  Shepherd  of  all  nations. 
 
 6.  Hath  given.  The  verb  is  in 
 the  past  tense,  and  would  seem  to 
 refer  to  a  recent  harvest,  or  to  a 
 year  of  plenty.  Many,  however  (as 
 ihe  E.  v.),  understand  this  as  the 
 prophetic  past,   which   is  often  used 
 
 instead  of  a  future.  Others  again, 
 as  Ewald  and  Zunz,  render  it  as  a 
 present.  Tiie  expression  occurs  again 
 in  Ixxxv.  12,  ni  Lev.  xxvi.  4,  and  in 
 Ezek,  xxxiv.  27. 
 
 7.  The  Psalm  closes  with  the  same 
 hope  and  longing  for  the  blessing  of 
 God  with  which  it  opened. 
 
 PSALM  LXVTII. 
 
 The  subject  of  this  grand  hymn  is  the  entry  of  God  into  His 
 sanctuary  on  Zion.  This  is  described  under  figures  borrowed  from 
 the  triumph  of  an  earthly  conqueror,  who,  after  having  vanquished 
 his  enemies,  and  taken  possession  of  their  country,  marches  in 
 solemn  procession  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  to  occupy  the  city  which 
 he  has  selected  as  his  capital  and  the  seat  of  empire.  God  is  repre- 
 sented, first  as  advancing  at  the  head  of  the  Israelites  through  the 
 desert ;  then  as  leading  them  victoriously  into  Canaan  ;  and  finally  as 
 fixing  His  royal  abode  on  Zion,  whence  He  reigns  in  the  majesty  of 
 universal  dominion,  acknowledged  and  feared  by  all  the  nations  of  the 
 earth.     Such  is,  briefly,  an  outline  of  the  Psalm. 
 
 The  methods  of  interpreting  it,  however,  are  various. 
 
 I.  The  Fathers,  a,nd  most  of  the  older  theologians,  hold  the  Psalm 
 to  be  Messianic.  Christ  and  the  great  facts  of  His  history,  especially 
 His  resurrection  and  ascension,  and  dominion  at  the  right  hand  of 
 the  Father,  and  the  victory  of  the  Church  over  the  world,  are  by  them 
 
28o  PSALM  LXVIII. 
 
 supposed  to  be  here  foreshadowed,  in  accordance  with  St.  Paul's 
 citation  of  the  Psahn  in  Ephes.  iv.  8— ii. 
 
 i.  By  many  of  them,  indeed,  the  Psalm  is  regarded  as  a  direct 
 prophecy  of  Christ  and  His  Kingdom,  and  devoid  altogether  of  any 
 reference  to  events  occurring  at  the  time  it  was  written.  Thus  they 
 explain  its  several  portions  as  describing  the  advent  of  Christ  (ver. 
 1—6)  ;.His  doctrine  (ver.  7 — 16)  ;  His  triumphant  ascent  into  heaven 
 (ver.  17,  18)  ;  and  His  dominion  and  kingdom  (ver.  19—35)- 
 
 ii.  Others  more  reasonably  maintain  a  first  reference  to  the  his- 
 torical circumstances  of  the  time,  and  then  apply  the  Psalm,  either 
 in  whole  or  in  part,  typically  to  Christ. 
 
 II.  But  even  those  who  contend  that  the  Psalm  is  to  be  explained, 
 in  the  first  instance,  by  a  reference  to  the  circumstances  under  which 
 it  was  composed,  are  very  much  divided  in  their  opinions. 
 
 i.  The  majority  of  interpreters  suppose  it  to  have  been  written  at 
 the  time  when  the  Ark  was  removed  from  the  house  of  Obed-Edom 
 to  Mount  Zion,  2  Sam.  vi. 
 
 ii.  Others  again,  from  the  martial  character  of  the  Psalm,  conceive 
 that  it  was  Avritten  at  the  successful  termination  of  some  war,  when 
 the  Ark,  which  had  accompanied  the  army  to  battle,  was  brought 
 back  to  the  holy  mountain, 
 
 iii.  Still  the  question  remains,  luliat  victory  is  here  commemorated  ? 
 Of  those  who  refer  the  Psalm  to  David's  time,  some  think  that  it  was 
 composed  after  David's  victory  over  the  Syrians  and  Edomites, 
 2  Sam.  viii.  Others,  after  that  over  the  Syrians  and  Ammonites. 
 2  Sam.  xi.  xii. 
 
 iv.  Another  class  of  commentators  hold  that  later  victories  are  here 
 alluded  to,  because  of  the  mention  of  the  Temple  (ver.  29) ;  either  that 
 of  Jehoshaphat  and  Jehoram  over  Moab  and  Edom,  2  Kings  iii.  (so 
 Hitzig)  ;  or  that  of  Hezekiah  over  the  Assyrians  (so  Kimchi)  ;  or 
 finally,  even  those  of  the  Maccabees,  after  the  consecration  of  the 
 Temple,  i  Mace.  v. 
 
 V.  Others  find  in  the  Psalm  not  so  much  the  celebration  of  a  par- 
 ticular historical  event,  as  the  expression  of  a  general  idea,  clothed  in 
 a  lyrical  form. 
 
 vi.  Gesenius,  Ewald,  and  Hupfeld,  all  refer  the  Psalm  to  the 
 return  from  the  Babylonish  Captivity.  Ewald  expressly  connects 
 it  with  the  dedication  of  the  Second  Temple,  for  which  he  thinks 
 it  was  written,  and  when  it  was  probably  sung.     Both  he  and  Hupfeld 
 
PSALM  LXVIII.  281 
 
 consider  that  the  second  occupation  of  Canaan  is  described  under 
 figures  borrowed  from  the  first.  But  the  latter  sees  in  the  language 
 of  the  Psalm  rather  the  promise  than  the  accomplishment  of  the 
 return  from  Babylon.  The  march  of  God  with  His  people  through 
 the  Arabian  wilderness  is,  he  says,  made  use  of  by  the  Poet  as  a 
 type  and  pledge  of  their  speedy  deliverance  and  restoration  to  theii 
 own  land. 
 
 It  will  be  seen  from  this  bare  enumeration  that  there  is  the  greatest 
 difference  of  opinion  both  as  to  the  occasion  for  which,  and  the 
 period  at  which,  the  Psalm  was  written  :  some  regarding  it  as  one  of 
 the  later,  or  even  of  the  very  latest  of  Hebrew  poems  ;  and  others 
 classing  it  with  the  very  earliest.  One  set  of  critics  sees  in  it  every 
 evidence  of  antiquity  and  originality  ;  another  sees  in  it  every  mark 
 of  a  late  age,  and  a  great  absence  of  originality.  All,  however, 
 combine  in  praising  its  vigour,  its  life,  its  splendour ;  all  recognise  in 
 it  the  work  of  a  poet  of  no  ordinary  genius. 
 
 III.  It  remains  for  us  to  consider  how  far  the  allusions  in  the 
 Psalm  itself  may  help  us  to  determine  its  age,  and  the  occasion  for 
 which  it  was  composed. 
 
 First,  then,  it  is  clear  that  the  great  central  idea  of  the  Psalm  is 
 the  choice  of  Zion  as  the  dwelling-place  of  Jehovah.  To  this  all 
 leads  ;  from  this  all  flows. 
 
 Secondly,  this  fact  of  itself  would  lead  us  to  fix  upon  the  age 
 of  David  as  the  most  probable  time  for  the  composition  of  the 
 Psalm,  and  the  removal  of  the  Ark  to  Zion  as  the  most  probable 
 occasion.  Nor  is  this  set  aside  by  the  reference  to  the  "Temple" 
 in  ver.  28,  inasmuch  as  the  word  here  usually  rendered  Temple 
 is  a  word  also  applied  to  the  Tabernacle  (see  note  on  Psalm  v.  7) 
 at  Shiloh. 
 
 Thirdly,  the  mention  of  the  four  tribes,  Benjamin,  Judah,  Zabulun, 
 and  Naphtali,  as  representatives  of  the  Southern  and  Northern  king- 
 doms respectively,  seems  more  natural  then  than  at  any  later  period. 
 There  does  not  appear  to  be  in  ver.  27  any  prophetic  anticipation  of 
 a  restoration  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  reunion  of  the  tribes  as  of  old, 
 such  as  Hupfeld  is  obliged  to  assume.  "After  the  Captivity,"  says 
 Hengstenberg,  "there  could  be  no  £uch  thing  as  the  distinct  tribes  of 
 Zabulun  and  Naphtali^  with  their  princes." 
 
 Fourthly,  the  peculiar  manner  in  which  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  is 
 introduced,  as  "  little  Benjamin  their  ruler,"  does  not  seem  suitable 
 
282  PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 to  post-Exile  times,  but  is  very  naturally  to  be  explained  at  a  time 
 shortly  subsequent  to  the  death  of  Saul.  The  tribe  which  had  been 
 the  royal  tribe,  and  had  so  lately  enjoyed  the  pre-eminence  in  Israel, 
 might  still  be  honoured  with  the  title  of  "  ruler." 
 
 Fifthly,  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  are  mentioned  evidently  as  the  great 
 nations  of  the  world,'  then  occupying  the  most  prominent  position. 
 It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  Psalm  must  have  been  written  before 
 the  great  Asiatic  monarchies,  the  Assyrian  especially,  had  become 
 formidable. 
 
 So  far  then  as  the  historical  allusions  of  the  Psalm  are  concerned, 
 the  evidence  is,  on  the  whole,  in  favour  of  the  age  of  David  rather 
 than  of  a  much  later  period. 
 
 The  general  structure  of  the  Psalm,  notwithstanding  all  the 
 difficulties  which  beset  many  portions  of  it,  is  clear  and  well  defined. 
 It  consists  of  the  following  divisions  (which  rest  on  the  common 
 principle  of  pairs  of  verses)  : — 
 
 I.  An  introduction  which,  with  true  lyric  animation,  sets  before  us 
 the  victorious  march  of  God,  the  dehverances  He  has  accomplished 
 for  His  people,  and  the  loud  exultation  to  which  they  are  called  in 
 consequence.     Ver.  i — 6. 
 
 II.  Then  follows  a  glance  at  the  former  history — the  journey  of 
 Israel  through  the  wilderness,  under  the  immediate  guidance  and 
 care  of  God.     Ver.  7 — 10. 
 
 III.  The  triumphant  occupation  of  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  the 
 flight  of  the  hostile  kings.     Ver.  11— 14. 
 
 IV.  The  choice  of  Zion  as  the  abode  of  God,  and  His  solemn  entry 
 into  it.     Ver.  15—18. 
 
 V.  The  Psalmist  contemplating  the  glorious  results  of  this  abode 
 of  God  in  Zion,  calls  upon  all  Israel  to  praise  Him,  chiefly  because 
 He  will  punish  all  the  enemies  of  His  people.     Ver.  19 — 23. 
 
 VI.  The  next  strophe  reverts  to  a  description  of  the  triumphant 
 procession.     Ver.  24 — 27. 
 
 VII.  The  hope  is  expressed  that  all  the  nations  of  the  world  shall 
 acknowledge  and  submit  themselves  to  Jehovah  who  dwelleth  in 
 Zion.     Ver.  28 — 31. 
 
 VIII.  The  Psalm  closes  with  a  summons  to  all  the  kingdoms  of 
 the  earth  to  praise  God.     Ver.  32 — 35. 
 
PSALM  LXVIIL  283 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      a   psalm   of  DAVID.      A  SONG.J 
 
 I.   I   Let  God  arise,  let  His  enemies  be  scattered, 
 
 And  let  them  that  hate  Him  flee  before  His  face. 
 
 2  As  smoke  is  driven  away,  do  Thou  drive  them  away  ; 
 
 As  wax  melteth  before  the  fire. 
 
 So  let  the  wicked  perish  from   before  the  face  of 
 God. 
 
 3  But  let  the  righteous  rejoice,  let  them  exult  before  God, 
 
 And  let  them  be  glad  with  joy. 
 
 4  Sing  unto  God,  play  (on  the  harp)  to  His  Name, 
 
 Cast  up  a  highway  for  Him  who  rideth  through  the 
 deserts  : 
 Whose  name  is  J  ah,  and  exult  before  Him. 
 
 1.  As  the  last  Psalm  opened  with 
 a  reference  to  the  High  Priest's  bless- 
 ing, Numb,  vi.  24,  so  this  opens  with 
 a  reference  to  the  watchword.  Numb. 
 X,  35,  with  which  the  Ark  was  wont 
 to  set  forward  during  the  journeys  in 
 the  wilderness.  "  Rise  up,  O  Je- 
 hovah, and  let  Thine  enemies  be 
 scattered ;  and  let  them  that  hate 
 Thee  flee  before  Thy  face." 
 
 "1  cannot  doubt,"  says  Calvin, 
 "that  Moses  dictated  this  form  of 
 prayer  for  all  ages,  in  order  that  the 
 faiiiiful,  relying  on  the  Ark  of  the 
 covenant  as  the  visible  symbol  of 
 God's  presence,  might  rest  sure  that 
 they  would  be  safe." 
 
 2.  The  figures  here  employed  occur 
 elsewhere ;'  comp.  xxxvii.  20,  xcvii. 
 5,  Hosea  xiii.  3,  and  Micah  i.  4, 
 They  describe  forcibly  the  real  weak- 
 ness, the  easy  and  instantaneous  over- 
 throw, of  the  strongest  earthly  power 
 when  arrayed  against  God. 
 
 In  the  last  member  of  this  verse, 
 and  the  first  of  the  next,  Hengsten- 
 berg  sees  a  reference  to  the  conclusion 
 of  the  song  of  Deborah  :  "So  let  all 
 Thine  enemies  perish,  O  Lord,  but 
 
 let  them  that  love  Him  be  as  the  sun 
 when  he  goeth  forth  in  his  might." 
 
 3,  The  righteous.  Here,  Israel 
 as  a  nation  regarded  in  its  ideal 
 character,  and  as  placed  in  contrast 
 with  its  heathen  oppressors,  "the 
 wicked."     Comp.  Habak.  ii.  4. 
 
 4.  The  first  part  of  the  Introduc- 
 tion ends  with  the  last  verse,  and 
 perhaps  a  second  chorus  here  takes 
 up  the  strain. 
 
 Cast  up  a  highway  ;  the  figure 
 being  borrowed  from  the  custom  of 
 Eastern  monarchs,  who  sent  lieralds 
 and  pioneers  before  them  to  make  all 
 the  necessary  preparations — to  remove 
 obstructions,  &c.  along  the  route 
 which  they  intended  to  follow.  Great 
 military  roads  were  mostly  the  work 
 of  the  Romans,  and  were  almost  un- 
 known before  the  Persian  and  Grecian 
 periods.  Comp.  Is.  xl.  3,  Ivii.  14, 
 Ixii.  10,  where  the  same  verb,  or  the 
 noun  formed  from  it,  occurs. 
 
 Who  rideth,  said  perhaps  with 
 allusion  to  the  cherubim  on  which 
 Jehovah  w\as  borne  (xviii.  10),  God 
 Himself  being  the  Leader  and  Cap- 
 tain of  His  people,  riding  as  it  were 
 
284 
 
 PSALM  LXVIII. 
 
 5  A  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  a  judge  of  the  widows. 
 
 Is  God  in  His  holy  habitation. 
 
 6  God  maketh  the  solitary  to  keep  house  ; 
 
 He  bringeth  forth  the  prisoners  into  prosperity  : 
 Only  the  rebellious  abide  in  a  land  of  drought. 
 
 at  their  head,  as  an  earthly  captain 
 might  lead  his  army,  riding  on  a  war- 
 horse. 
 
 The  deserts,  or  "  sandy  steppes  " 
 (as  in  Is.  xl.  3),  such  as  those  on  both 
 sides  of  the  Jordan  over  against 
 Jericho,  and  the  Arabian  deserts  to 
 the  south  and  east.  The  allusion  is, 
 in  the  first  instance,  to  the  journey 
 of  the  Israelites  through  the  wilder- 
 ness, or  Arabah,  though,  supposing 
 the  Psalm  to  be  post-Exile,  there 
 would  be  a  further  reference  to  the 
 deserts  lying  between  Babylon  and 
 Palestine.  The  word  caimot  mea:n 
 heavens,  as  the  Targ.  and  Talmud 
 (led  astray,  probably,  by  the  similar 
 figure  in  Deut.  xxxiii.  26)  ;  nor  the 
 West,  as  the  LXX.  and  the  Vulg. 
 render  it.  The  former  is  found  in 
 our  P. B.V.,  "magnify  Him  that 
 rideth  upon  the  heavens,  as  it  were 
 upon  a  horse,"  which  is  the  more 
 remarkable,  as  that  Version  usually 
 follows  the  Vulg.  and  the  German. 
 Here  it  departs  from  both.  The 
 words  "as  it  were  upon  a  horse," 
 were  added,  I  presume,  as  a  further 
 explanation  of  the  verb  "rideth."  I 
 can  discover  nc^thing  answering  to 
 th^m  in  any  of  the  Ancient  Ver- 
 sions. 
 
 5.  The  cliaracter  and  attributes  of 
 God,  and  His  gracious  dealings  with 
 His  people,  ar«  now  alleged  as  the 
 reason  why  He  should  be  praised. 
 The  "  fatherless  "  and  the  "widows  " 
 are  mentioned  as  examples  of  those 
 who  most  need  succour  and  protec- 
 tion. As  Arndtsays:  "The meaning 
 of  the  Holy  Gh<^st  is,  that  God  the 
 Lord  ie  a  gracious,  friendly  God  and 
 
 King,  whose  first,  highest,  and  prin- 
 cipal work  it  is  to  give  most  attention 
 to  the  juiserahiles  persoiuv,  that  is,  to 
 those  persons  who  ought  to  be  most 
 pitied,  because  they  are  helpless  and 
 comfortless.  Great  potentates  in  the 
 world  do  not  act  thus  ;  they  respect 
 the  noblest  and  richest  in  the  land, 
 the  men  who  may  adorn  tlieir  court 
 and  strengthen  their  power  and  au- 
 thority. But  the  highest  glory  of 
 God  is  to  compassionate  the  miser- 
 able." God  is  both  the  loving  Father 
 and  the  righteous  Judoe :  and  the 
 several  classes  of  the  lonely,  the  des- 
 titute, the  oppressed,  the  captives, 
 are  mentioned  as  so  many  instances 
 of  those  who  have  experienced  both 
 His  care  and  His  righteousness,  in 
 order  that  from  these  the  conclusion 
 may  be  drawn  in  all  similar  cases. 
 Hengstenberg  compares  Hos.  xiv.  3, 
 "  With  Thee  the  fatherless  findeth 
 mercy ;  "  and  therefore  all  who  need 
 mercy. 
 
 In  His  holy  habitation,  i.e. 
 heaven,  not  the  earthly  sanctuary 
 (comp.  xi.  4),  "  in  opposition  to  the 
 earth,  as  the  seat  of  unrighteousness 
 and  coldness  of  heart."     (Hengst.) 
 
 6.  The  solitary  . .  .  the  prison- 
 ers. Those  who  hold  thafthe  Psalm 
 was  written  subsequently  to  the 
 Babylonish  Captivity,  see  in  these 
 words  an  allusion  to  the  actual  cir- 
 cumstances of  Israel  during  the  Exile. 
 But  it  is  more  natural  to  suppose 
 that  these  are  mentioned  as  other 
 particular  examples,  like  the  orphui 
 and  the  widow,  of  God's  fatherly 
 care. 
 
 Only,  here  almost  =  l>ut.     It  may 
 
PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 285 
 
 II.  7  O  God,  when  Thou  wentest  forth  before  Thy  people, 
 When    Thou    marchedst    through    the  wilderness 
 [Selah] 
 
 8  The  earth  shook,  the  heavens  also  dropped  before  God, 
 
 Yon  Sinai  before  God,  the  God  of  Israel. 
 
 9  With    a    bountiful  rain    Thou    didst    sprinkle  Thine 
 
 inheritance,  O  God, 
 And  when  it  was  weary,  Tkou  didst  refresh  it ; 
 10  Thy  creatures  dwelt  therein  ; 
 
 Thou  preparest   in  Thy  goodness  for  the  afflicted, 
 
 O  God. 
 
 be  explained,  "it  is  not  otherwise 
 than  thus."  Comp.  Iviii.  1 1.  The 
 REBELLIOUS  ;  all  enemies  of  God, 
 whelher  heathen,  or  those  who  in 
 Israel  itself  were  disobedient. 
 
 7.  The  proper  theme  of  the  Psalm 
 now  opens  with  allusions  to  the  great 
 tr'umphal  march  of  God  at  the  head 
 of  His  people  through  the  wilderness, 
 and  in  their  occupation  of  the  land  of 
 Canaan. 
 
 The  words  of  this  and  the  next 
 verse  are  borrowed,  with  some  vari- 
 ations, from  the  song  of  Deborah, 
 Judges  V.  4,  5,  and  this  again  rests 
 on  passages  such  as  Deut.  xxxiii.  2, 
 and  Ex.  xix.  16,  &c.  Comp.  Habak. 
 iii.  3.  The  reference  is  first  to  the 
 terrors  of  the  Theophany  on  Sinai, 
 and  the  glorious  Majesty  of  God  as 
 there  seen. 
 
 Wentest  eorth  . .  .  marchedst, 
 words  used  especially  of  going  forth 
 to  battle,  God  being  regarded  as  the 
 Captain  of  His  people.  Comp.  xliv. 
 9,  Ixxxi.  5  ;  Numb,  xxvii,  17,  21  ; 
 Habak.  lii.  13  ;  Zech.  xiv.  3. 
 
 The  wilderness  (or  "waste"),  as 
 Ixxviii.  40,  cvi.  14.  Comp.  Deut. 
 xxxii.  10  ;   Is.  xliii.  19,  20. 
 
 Throughout  their  whole  march 
 God'.s  Presence  and  Glory  were  mani- 
 fested, but  never  so  awfully  as  when 
 He  came  down  on  Smai,  to  give  His 
 Law  to  His  people.     Then  all  nature 
 
 was  moved  at  His  coming  ;  then',  *'  so 
 terrible  M^as  the  sight,  that  Moses 
 said,  I  exceeding  fear  and  quake " 
 (Heb.  xii.  21).  Hence  it  is  that  the 
 great  prominence  is  given  to  this 
 manifestation  of  God.  And  hence 
 He  is  here  called  "  the  God  of 
 Israel,"  because  from  Sinai  dates 
 God's  covenant  relation  to  Israel,  as 
 Delitzsch  observes. 
 
 8.  Yon  Sinai  (the  demonstrative 
 pron.  prefixed,  as  in  xlviii.  14).  Some 
 verb  must  be  supplied,  "shook,"  "was 
 moved,"  from  the  first  member  of 
 the  verse.  The  original  passage, 
 Judges  V.  5,  contains  the  full  ex- 
 pression. 
 
 9.  A  BOUNTIFUL  RAIN,  lit.  either 
 "a  rain  of  free-willingness,"  which 
 has  hence  been  interpreted  to  mean 
 rain  as  a  gift  of  free  grace  (so  Calv.), 
 or    "a   rain  of    liberality,"  i.e.   as  a 
 
 iberal,  bountiful  gift.  There  have 
 been  various  interpretations  given, 
 some  understanding  this  rain  spirit- 
 ually, and  others  literally  ;  but  to  me 
 its  seems  certain  that  the  expression  is 
 used  figuratively  of  refreshment  and 
 blessing  ;  this  appears,  indeed,  to  be 
 required  by  the  following  clause  : 
 "  And  when  it  was  weary,"  &c. 
 
 Refresh;  literally,  "conhrm/' 
 **  strengthen." 
 
 10.  Thy  creatures.  I  have  left 
 the    word   in   the  ambiguity  of    the 
 
2S6 
 
 PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 111. 
 
 1 1  The  Lord  giveth  the  word  : 
 
 The women  who  publish  the   tidings    are 
 
 great  host. 
 
 12   "  Kings  of  hosts  do  flee,  do  flee, 
 
 And  she  that  tarrieth   at  home  divideth 
 spoil. 
 
 the 
 
 original.      Three    different    interpre- 
 tations have  been  given  of  it. 
 
 (i)\(rthe  rain  spoken  of  in  ver. 
 9  be  the  manna,  then  the  creatures 
 here  spoken  of  may  be  the  quails ; 
 "Thy  living  oreatures  settled  there- 
 in "  {i.e.  in  Thine  inheritance,  among 
 Thy  people,  comp.  Ixxviii.  28,  "in 
 the -midst  of  the  camp") ;  with  which 
 the  irest  of  the  verse  corresponds, 
 "Thou  preparedst  (them,  as  food, 
 see. the  same  verb,  Ixv.  9,  Ixxviii.  20) 
 for  the  afflicted"  {i.e.  Thy  people  in 
 their  distress). 
 
 (2)  Others  take  the  word  here  in 
 the  meaning  "  host,"  or  troop,  (as  in 
 2  Sam.  xxiii.  1 1,  13,  where  it  is  used 
 of  an  arfny)y  i.e.  the  congregation,  or 
 people  of  Israel. 
 
 (3)  But  it  may  also  mean  Israel 
 in  another  sense,  viz.  as  compared  to 
 a  flock,  a  favourite  image  in  the 
 Psalms:  "Thy  afflicted  creatures," 
 which,  however,  might  be  rendered 
 in  accordance  with  (2),  "the  congre- 
 gation of  Thy  afflicted  ones." 
 
 Thou  preparest.  The  word  may 
 be  used  here  absolutely,  =  "Thou 
 preparest  a  table,"  as  in  I  Chron.  xii. 
 39,  and  it  need  not  be  rendered  as  a 
 past,  as  referring  to  the  provision  in 
 the  wilderiiess  ;  rather,  that  is  one  of 
 many  repeated  instances  of  God's  care  ; 
 and  we  :have  consequently  the  state- 
 ment of  a  general  truth. 
 
 II.  The  Sacred  Poet  now  passes 
 to  the  actual  occupation  of  the  Holy 
 Land. 
 
 The  Lord  (Adonai)  giveth 
 (THE)  WORD.  The  noun  "word" 
 (which  is  found  only  in  poetry)  is 
 used  in  Ixxvii.  8,  of  the  "  word  of  i>ro- 
 
 inise ;  "  in  Habak.  iii.  9,  apparently 
 of  the  "word  oi  powej%"  or  "word 
 of  victory."  Perhaps  both  meanings 
 may  be  cc«nbined  here.  It  is  in  vir- 
 tue of  God's  word  of  prom.ise  that 
 Israel  takes  possession  of  Canaan  ; 
 it  is  by  His  word  of  power  that 
 the  enemies'  of  Israel  are  discomfited. 
 "God  speaks — and  the  victory  is 
 won."  Others  render  "song  of  Adc- 
 tory, "  God  Himself  putting  this  into 
 the  mouths  of  the  women,  who  came 
 forth  with  timbrels  and  dances  to 
 meet  the  victorious  army  on  its 
 return. 
 
 The  WOMEN.  The  participle  is 
 in  the  feminine,  and  the  allusion  is  to 
 the  custom  above  mentioned.  The 
 deliverance  of  Israel  from  Pharaoh's 
 host,  the  overthrow  of  Sisera,  and 
 David's  victory  over  Goliath,  were 
 all  thus  celebrated.  Comp.  Exod. 
 XV.  20 ;  Judges  v.  I,  12 ;  I  Sam. 
 xviii.  6  ;  2  Sam.  i.  20. 
 
 12.  This  and  the  next  two  verses 
 wear  the  air  of  being  a  tragment  of 
 one  of  those  ancient  battle- songs  sung 
 by  the  women  after  the  defeat  of  the 
 foe.  The  fact  that  they  have  thus 
 been  torn  from  their  original  context 
 accounts  for  the  great  obscurity  which 
 hangs  over  them.  It  is  indeed  almost 
 hopeless  now  to  understand  the  allu- 
 sions. 
 
 Kings  of  hosts,  not  those  de- 
 feated by  Moses,  as  the  kings  of  the 
 Amorites,  but,  as  the  reference  to 
 the  song  of  Deborah  clearly  shows, 
 the  Canaanitish  kings,  Judg.  v.  19, 
 and  vii.  25. 
 
 She  that  tarrieth  at  home  .; 
 the   mistress    of    the    household,    so 
 
PSALM  LXVIII. 
 
 287 
 
 13  Will  ye  lie  among  the  sheep-folds, 
 
 As  the  wings  of  a  dove  that  is  covered  with  silver, 
 And  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold  ? — 
 
 called  as  keeping  house,  whilst  her 
 husband  goes  forth  to  battle.  An 
 expression  peculiarly  in  conformity 
 with  Eastern  customs.  Similar  is 
 the  phrase  "women  in  the  tent," 
 Judges  V.  24. 
 
 DiviDETH  THE  SPOIL,  not  merely 
 "  receives  her  portion  of  the  spoil," 
 but  rather  "distributes  among  her 
 daughters  and  handmaidens,  &c. 
 the  share  of  the  spoil "  which  her 
 husband  has  brought  home.  Hence 
 the  mother  of  Sisera  is  represented 
 as  anticipating  the  share  of  the 
 spoil  which  would  fall  to  her  lot, 
 Judg.  V.  30,  "one  coloured  garment, 
 two  pieces  of  embroidery  as  spoil  for 
 my  neck  "  (so,  with  a  very  slight  cor- 
 rection, the  passage  should  probably 
 be  rendered). 
 
 13,  14.  Scarcely  two  commentators 
 will  be  found  to  agree  as  to  the 
 interpretation  of  these  verses.  The 
 only  point  on  which  there  can  be 
 said  to  be  anything  like  a  concensus 
 is  in  the  explanation  of  the  figure 
 in  ver.  13.  Nearly  all  see,  in  the 
 dove  and  the  glittering  of  her  wings 
 in  the  sunshine,  an  emblem  of  pros- 
 perity and  peace,  though  some  sup- 
 pose that  the  allusion  is  to  the  bright 
 armour  of  the  wamors,  glittering  in 
 the  sunshine.  Cf.  the  same  figure 
 in  Soph.  Antig.  1 14,  AeuKTjs  x'^i'os 
 TTTepvyi  (TTeyapos. 
 
 According  to  Hengstenberg,  the 
 Israelites,  to  whom  the  address  is 
 directed,  are  described  figuratively  as 
 the  wings  of  the  doves,  &c.,  or  they 
 are  like  doves  whose  wings  glitter 
 with  silver  and  gold.  The  allusion  is 
 to  the  play  of  colours  on  the  wings 
 of  the  dove  in  sunshine.  This  de- 
 notes the  peaceful,  and,  at  the  same 
 time,  splendid  condition  enjoyed   by 
 
 Israel,  in  the  lap  of  prosperity.     The 
 same  idea  is  carried  out  in  the  second 
 figure,  that  of  the  snotv,  an  image  of 
 the   bright   gleam   of    heaven   which 
 fell  on  the  darkened  land  on  the  pros- 
 perous   termination    of    the    war ; — 
 when  the   Lord    scatters   kings,    the 
 light     of    prosperity    illuminates    the 
 darkness   of   the   land,   just  as   dark 
 Zalmon  becomes  white  when  coA^ered 
 with   snow.     He  observes  that  snow 
 is    generally  used    as    an    image    of 
 brightness  and  purity.       Com  p.  li.  7. 
 Is.  i.  18,  Mark  ix.  3  (with  Matt.  xvii. 
 2),  Rev.  i.  14.     Zalmon  is  a  hill  men- 
 tioned in  Judges   ix.   48,   siruated  in 
 the  neighbourhood   of  Shechem,   and 
 covered  with  a  thick  wood,  so  that, 
 as  Luther  says,    "it  might  be  called 
 in   German   a  Sc/iwartzvuild,  or  dark 
 forest,  the  dark  or  black  mountain." 
 This    interpretation,    amongst    many 
 that    have    been    given,    is,    on    the 
 whole,     preferable    to     any    of     the 
 others.     It  has  the  merit  of  simplicity, 
 and  it  yields  a  fairly  satisfactory  sense. 
 I  would  venture,  however,  to  suggest 
 another  explanation  of  ver.    14.     It 
 seems  to  me,  as  Ewald  has  remarked, 
 that  this  verse  is  rather  in  opposition 
 to  the  preceding,  than  a  continuation 
 of  the  same  idea.     The  first  describes 
 the  sunshine   of  peace;    the   second 
 the  storm  of  war.      M  ay  not  then  the 
 comparison  of  the  snow   refer  to  the 
 scattering  of    the    kings  ?      May  not 
 those  kings  and  their  armies,  broken 
 and  scattered  far  and  wide  over  the 
 land,  be  aptly  compared  to  the  white 
 patches    of    snow,    lying    in    broken 
 masses    over    the     dark     boughs    on 
 the    forest?      "When   the    Almighty 
 scattered    kings    in   the    land,   it   was 
 like  a  fall  of  snow  on  (darkly-wooded) 
 Zalmon."     The  comparison   becomes 
 
288 
 
 IV. 
 
 PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 14  When  the  Almighty  scatters  kings  therein, 
 
 /hen  the  Almighty  scatters  kmg; 
 (It  is  as  when)  it  snoweth  in  Za] 
 
 mon. 
 
 15  A  mountain  of  God  is  the  mountain  of  Bashan, 
 
 A  mountain  of  many  summits  is  the  mountain 
 of  Bashan. 
 
 16  Why  look  ye  enviously,  ye  many-peaked  mountains, 
 
 Upon  the  mountain  which  God  hath  desired  to 
 
 dwell  in  ? 
 Yea,  Jehovah  will  abide  therein  for  ever. 
 
 17  The  chariots  of  God  are  twice  ten  thousand,  are 
 
 thousands  upon  thousands. 
 
 still  more  strikingly  apt  ^\'hen  we  re- 
 member how  the  arms  and  armour,  and 
 rich  spoil,  dashed  here  and  there  m 
 the  wild  disorder  of  the  flight,  would 
 glitter  like  snow  in  the  sunshine. 
 
 14.  Therein,  i.e.  in  the  land,  im- 
 plied, though  not  expressed,  in  what 
 goes  before. 
 
 Zalmon,  or  "the  dark  mountain," 
 probably,  as  already  remarked,  the 
 hill  mentioned  in  Judges  ix,  48,  the 
 only  other  passage  where  the  word 
 occurs. 
 
 15.  The  end  of  all  this  manifesta- 
 tion of  God's  power  on  behalf  of  His 
 chosen,  of  all  these  splendid  victories, 
 is  the  occupation  of  the  Holy  Land. 
 He  has  given  it  to  His  people  that 
 He  may  abide  and  reign  in  the  midst 
 of  them.  He  has  chosen,  not  the 
 lofty  range  of  Bashan,  but  the  more 
 lowly  Zion  for  His  seat  :  and  to  this 
 new  Sanctuary  He  comes  from  Sinai, 
 attended  by  "an  innumerable  com- 
 pany of  angels." 
 
 A  MOUNTAIN  OF  GoD  (not  merely 
 "a  high  mountain,"  see  on  xxxvi.  6). 
 The  huge  range  of  Bashan,  with  its 
 sharp  pillars  and  sharp  pinnacles  (its 
 *'  many  peaks  "),  is  so  termed,  as  if 
 bearing  witness  in  a  special  manner, 
 by  its  strong  massive  formation,  to 
 the  power  of  Him  who  created  it. 
 (The   basalt,  or  basanites  of  the  an- 
 
 cients, has  bfen  supposed  to  take  its 
 name  from  Bashan,  where  it  is  found). 
 This  stood  in  the  most  striking  con- 
 trast to  the  limestone  fornjation  and 
 unimposing  character  of  the  hills  of 
 Central  Palestine.  These  bold  moun- 
 tain masses,  rising  in  dark  majesty, 
 and  producing  the  impression  of  ever- 
 lasting strength,  stand  on  one  side, 
 while  on  the  other  is  placed  the 
 small  and  apparently  insignificant 
 Zion,  having  no  greatness  or  strength 
 in  itself,  but  great  and  strong  never- 
 theless in  the  immediate  and  glorious 
 Presence  of  God  ;  and  hence  the 
 former  seem  to  look  with  envy  upon 
 the  latter  at  seeing  it  thus  elevated  to 
 a  height  to  which  it  had  no  natural 
 claim.  Comp.  xlviii.  2,  Is.  ii.  2. 
 Others,  again,  suppose  that  Bashan 
 is  styled  "  a  mountain  of  God  "  as  an 
 ancient  seat  of  religious  worship. 
 
 17.  In  solemn  triumph,  at  the  head 
 of  armies  of  angels,  and  like  a  victor 
 who  leads  trains  of  captives  and  spoils 
 in  long  array,  God  enters  His  sanc- 
 tuary in  Zion. 
 
 Chariots  (the  sing,  used  collec- 
 tively), i.e.  war-chariots  (comp.  XX.  7); 
 carrying  out  the  image,  as  in  Habak. 
 iii.  8,  15,  The  angelic  hosts  are 
 evidently  meant.  Comp.  2  Kings 
 vi.  17. 
 
 Twice  ten  thousand,  lit.  "  two 
 
PSALM  LXVIII. 
 
 289 
 
 The  Lord  among  them  (hath  come  from)  Sinai  into 
 His  sanctuary. 
 18  Thou  hast  ascended  up  on  high, 
 Thou  hast  led  captives  captive, 
 Thou  hast  taken  (^if  ts  amongst  men  : 
 
 Yea,     with     the     rebeUious    also,     shall    Jah    God 
 abide. 
 
 myriads."  Comp.  Deut.  xxxiii.  2 
 (where  the  angels  are  spoken  of  as 
 "holy  myriads");  Dan.  vii.  10. 
 These  angels  may  be  meant  also  in 
 Numb.  X.  36  (the  passage  borrowed 
 in  ver.  i,  and  perhaps  alluded  to 
 here),  "Return,  O  Jehovah,  with  the 
 myriads  of  the  thousands  of  Israel." 
 
 Thousands  upon  thousands, 
 lit.  "  thousands  of  repetition." 
 
 18.  Thou  hast  ascended.  Comp. 
 xlvii.  5.  Whither?  Not,  I  think, 
 as  many  interpreters  explain,  into 
 heaven  ;  for  though  that  is  the  mean- 
 ing of  the  passage  in  its  N.  T.  appli- 
 cation (see  below),  it  is  not,  appa- 
 rently, the  primary  meaning.  Here, 
 as  we  have  seen,  the  triumphant  pro- 
 cession winds  its  way  up  the  sacred 
 hill  of  Zion.  The  ascent,  therefore, 
 can  be  none  other  than  the  ascent  of 
 the  Ark  into  the  tabernacle,  or  temple 
 there. 
 
 On  high.  See  for  this,  as  applied 
 to  Zion,  Jer.  xxxi.  12,  Ezek.  xvii.  23, 
 XX.  40. 
 
 Captives,  lit.  a  captivity,  i.e.  a 
 number  of  captives  ;  the  image  being 
 still  carefully  preserved  of  the  victor, 
 with  his  long  train  of  captives  follow- 
 ing him  in  the  triumph.  The  ren- 
 dering of  the  E.  v.,  "  Thou  hast  led 
 captivity  captive,"  is  ambiguous,  as  it 
 might  mean,  "Thou  hast  led  captive 
 those  who  have  led  others  capti"€," 
 which,  however,  is  not  the  meaning 
 of  the  Heb.  phrase  (comp.  Judges 
 V.  12). 
 
 Gifts,  i.e.  tribute  from  the  van- 
 quished ;  or  rather,  perhaps,  from  all 
 those  who  submit  themselves  to  His 
 sway. 
 
 Amongst  men.  This  is  the  literal 
 rendering  (not  "■for  men,"  t.e.  to  let 
 them  go  free,  nor  of  men,  they  them- 
 selves being  the  gifts,  for  the  history 
 of  David  knows  nothing  of  "  prisoners 
 who  were  sent  as  gifts  to  the  sanc- 
 tuary," nor  of  "proselytes,  who,  as 
 it  were,  gave  themselves  as  gifts  to 
 God  "  )  ;  and,  in  the  context  in  which 
 it  stands,  is,  of  course,  nearly  the  same 
 as  ^'■from  men." 
 
 The  rebellious.  This  completes 
 the  picture  of  the  triumph.  ^//— even 
 those  nations  which  hold  out  the 
 longest  in  their  stubborn  resistance, 
 and  refuse  to  submit  themselves  to 
 thegreat  Victor— must  finally  acknow- 
 ledge His  sway.  All  shall  be  united 
 in  one  kingdom,  and  God  the  Lord 
 shall  reign  in  the  midst  of  them.  This 
 is  the  great  prophetic  idea  which 
 recurs  so  often  in  the  writings  of 
 Psalmists  and  Prophets.  God  is  the 
 King  of  all  the  earth  ;  and,  in  spite 
 of  all  opposition,  His  kingdom  shall  be 
 set  up,  and  on  the  throne  of  that 
 kingdom,  His  Son,  His  Anointed 
 (the  Messiah,  the  Christ),  shall  reign. 
 Hence  it  is  that  St.  Paul  (Eph.  iv,"  8) 
 applies  this  verse  to  the  Resun-ection 
 and  triumphant  ascension  of  Christ. 
 It  is  true  that  in  so  doing  he  has  de- 
 parted from  the  Heb.  and  from  the 
 LXX.  The  latter  have  :  6.va^b.s  fh 
 U 
 
290 
 
 V. 
 
 PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 19  Blessed  be  the  Lord 
 
 Who  day  by  day  beareth  our  burden, 
 
 Even  the  God  who  is  our  salvation.     [Selah.] 
 
 20  The  God  who  is  unto  us  a  God  of  deliverances, 
 
 5J/o$  ■r\x\J^^'^'^'^^^"°-^  al(fj.a\ci}fr'cv,  eXa- 
 ^is  Sofxara  eV  avQpw-ncp,  Kai  yay  aTret- 
 dovPTes  rod  KaracTKrivwcrai.  The  first 
 clause  of  this— the  onlypart  of  itwhich 
 is  intelhgible  —  the  Apostle  retains, 
 except  that  he  substitutes  the  3d  pers. 
 pXAi«'^wTei/(rfv,  for  the  2d  ;  but  for  the 
 second  clause  he  has  :  koL  edwKs 
 SSiuara  toIs  dvQpwTtois,  "  and  gave  gifts 
 unto  men."  Hence  he  is  giving,  not 
 a  translation,  but  an  interpretation  of 
 the  Hebrew.  For  the  Hebrew  verb 
 •'to  take"  never  means  "to  give." 
 We  cannot,  therefore,  argue  from  the 
 meaning  of  the  word,  but  we  may 
 from  the  scope  of  the  passage.  The 
 truth  is,  that  the  Apostle  sees  in  the 
 literal  O.  T.  fact  a  higher  spiritual 
 significance.  The  ascent  of  the  Ark, 
 in  which  God  was  present,  into  Zion, 
 prefigured  the  ascent  of  Christ  into 
 heaven.  As  God  came  down  to  fight 
 for  His  people,  so  Christ  had  de- 
 scended to  this  earth  for  the  salvation 
 of  men.  As,  on  the  return  of  the 
 Ark,  the  captives  and  the  spoil  ap- 
 peared in  the  procession,  so  on  the 
 return  of  Christ  in  triumph  to  heaven 
 (Col.  ii.  15)  He  led  captive  sin  and 
 death  and  hell  and  all  the  evil  powers. 
 As  God  \\2i(\.  (akc7i  tribute  among  men, 
 which  He,  however,  as  the  victorious 
 monarch  of  Israel,  had  given  to  Israel, 
 so  Christ  also  had  taken  gifts  among 
 men  (in  His  human  nature  and  through 
 His  work  on  earth)  which  He  now, 
 as  ascended  Lord,  gave  to  men.  The 
 Apostle  sees  that  when  a  King  takes, 
 he  takes  to  give,  and  therefore  sub- 
 stitutes the  one  word  for  the  other, 
 ivithout  at  3JI  putting  the  one  word  as 
 tlie  translaiio)i  of  the  other.  He  seizes 
 the  idea  and  represents  it  in  its  true 
 fuihlnient.     Calvin  has  some  excellent 
 
 remarks  on  the  principle  of  interpre- 
 tation to  be  followed  here. 
 
 19.  The  description  of  the  great 
 triumphal  procession  is  here  suddenly 
 broken  off  with  an  ascription  of  praise 
 to  God  as  the  Protector  and  Avenger 
 of  His  people,  and  is  not  again  re- 
 sumed til]  ver.  24. 
 
 Beareth  our  burden.  The  ma- 
 jesty of  God  and  the  tenderness  of 
 God  are  thus  ever  associated  in  Holy 
 Scripture.  The  same  God  who  came 
 once  in  awful  glory  to  Sinai,  and  who 
 now,  accompanied  by  myriads  of  an- 
 gels, enters  into  His  sanctuary  in  Zion, 
 is  the  God  who  bears  the  burden 
 which  is  too  heavy  for  us  (or,  per- 
 haps, "  who  bears  us,^''  i.e.  carries  us, 
 as  a  shepherd  when  he  finds  the  lost 
 sheep  lays  it  upon  his  shoulder). 
 
 20.  Means  of  escape  from 
 death,  lit.  "for  death,"  or  "with 
 reference  to  death."  As  Calvin  ob- 
 serves, "With  God  are  wonderful 
 and  various  and  secret  methods, 
 whereby  He  raises  His  children  from 
 death  to  life.  .  .  .  Even  when 
 He  has  suffered  them  to  be  in  a 
 manner  swallowed  up.  He  certainly 
 furnishes  marvellous  means  of  es- 
 cape," &c. 
 
 21.  The  reverse  of  the  previous 
 truth  :  God  will  take  terrible  ven- 
 geance on  His  enemies. 
 
 The  hairy  scalp,  personified, 
 i.e.  the  proud,  bold,  wilful,  secure 
 siimer,  the  thick  head  of  hair  being 
 an  image  of  youthful  vigour  and  pride 
 (as  in  the  case  of  Samson,  and  Ab- 
 salom). Similarly  in  Greek,  KOjuai', 
 to  wear  long  hair,  is  used  metaphori- 
 cally, in  the  signification  to  plutne 
 oneself,  to  be  proud^  &c.  Comp.  Is. 
 xxii.  12. 
 
PSALM  LXVIIJ. 
 
 291 
 
 And   to   Jehovah   the    Lord    belong    means   of 
 escape  from  death. 
 
 21  But  God  will  smite  the  head  of  His'  enemies, 
 
 The   hairy   scalp    which   goeth    on    still    in    his 
 trespasses. 
 
 22  The  Lord  hath  said  :  "  From  Bashan  will  I  bring 
 
 again, 
 I  will  bring  them  again  from  the  depths  of  the  sea, 
 
 23  That  thou  mayest  wash  thy  foot  in  blood. 
 
 That   the    tongue    of    thy    dogs    may    have    its 
 portion  from  the  enemy." 
 
 VI.   24  They  have  seen  Thy  goings,  O  God, 
 
 The    goings   of    my    God,    my   King,    into    the 
 sanctuary  : 
 
 25  The  singers  went  before,  the  minstrels  followed, 
 
 In  the  midst  of  the  damsels  playing  on  the  timbrels : 
 
 26  "  In  the  congregations  bless  ye  God, 
 
 22.    I    WILL     BRING    AGAIN.        No 
 
 object  is  supplied,  but  it  is  evident 
 from  the  context  that  not  Israel,  as 
 the  older  commentators  generally- 
 supposed,  but  the  enemies  of  Israel 
 are  meant.  God  will  bring  these 
 back,  wherever  they  may  have  fled  in 
 the  hope  of  safety,  and  give  them  up 
 to  the  vengeance  of  Israel.  From 
 Eashan  in  the  east,  and  from  the  sea 
 in  the  west,  from  the  heights  of  the 
 mountains,  and  from  the  depths  of 
 the  sea  (one  or  both  of  these  anti- 
 theses may  be  designed),  they  shall 
 be  brought  back.  The  passage  which 
 really  throws  light  upon  this  is  the 
 similar  passage  in  Amos  ix.  i — 3  : 
 "He  that  escapeth  of  them  shall  not  be 
 delivered.  Though  they  dig  intoSheol, 
 thence  shall  my  hand  take  them  ; 
 though  they  climb  up  into  heaven, 
 thence  will  I  -bring  them  down.  And 
 though  they  hide  themselves  in  the 
 top  of  Carmel,  I  will  search  and  take 
 them  out  thence  ;  and  though  they  be 
 hid   from  My  sight  in  the  bottom  of 
 
 the   sea,    thence   will   I    command," 
 &c. 
 
 24.  The  picture  of  the  triumphal 
 procession  to  the  sanctuary  is  now 
 resumed. 
 
 They  have  seen,  i.e.  men  in 
 general  have  seen  (hence  equivalent 
 to  a  passive,  "  Thy  goings  have  been 
 seen,"  as  the  LXX.  lQi(apy]dT](rav). 
 Hupfeld,  however,  supplies  "the  na- 
 tions," i.e.  the  hostile  nations,  as  the 
 subject,  and  explains  the  "goings  of 
 God "  of  the  various  acts  already 
 celebrated  in  the  Psalm. 
 
 Thy  goings,  here  not  the  march 
 of  God  against  His  enemies,  as  in  Ixxvii. 
 13,  Hab.  iii.  6,  but,  as  is  plain  from  the 
 context,  His  solemn  entry  into  the 
 sanctuary.  Here  we  have  the  visible, 
 as  before,  ver.  17,  the  invisible  part  of 
 the  spectacle. 
 
 25.  Playing  on  the  timbrels,  or 
 "beating  the  tambourine."  Comp. 
 Exod.  XV.  20,  Judges  xi.  34. 
 
 26.  The  words  of  this  verse  may  be 
 a  sudden  outburst  of  feeling  on  the 
 
 U   2 
 
292 
 
 PSALM  LXVIII. 
 
 (Bless)  the  Lord,  (ye  that  are)  of  the  fountain 
 
 of  Israel." 
 27  There  was  little  Benjamin  their  ruler, 
 The  princes  of  Judah,  their  company, 
 The  princes  of   Zebulun,   (and)    the    princes  of 
 
 Naphtali. 
 
 VII.  28  Thy  God  hath  commanded  thy  strength  : 
 
 Strengthen,     O    God,    that    which    Thou 
 wrought  for  us  from  Thy  temple. 
 
 hast 
 
 part  of  the  Poet  himself  (comp.  Judg. 
 V.  9),  or,  perhaps,  the  words  sung 
 by  the  chorus  of  maidens. 
 
 The  fountain  of  Israel.  The 
 Patriarch,  Israel,  is  the  fountain  from 
 which  the  whole  nation  has  issued  as  a 
 stream.     Comp.  Is.  xlviii.  i,  li.  I. 
 
 27.  Four  of  the  tribes  are  mentioned 
 by  name  as  taking  part  in  the  pro- 
 cession, these  four  being  representa- 
 tives of  the  rest,  Benjamin  and  Judah 
 of  the  Southern  kingdorn,  and  Zebulun 
 and  Naphtali  of  the  Northern.  The 
 last  two  are  especially  named  with 
 reference  to  the  part  which  they 
 played  in  the  war  against  Sisera, 
 and  the  position  they  occupy  in  the 
 song  of  Deborah  (Judges  v.  18). 
 The  ancient  commentators  strangely 
 enough  see  in  the  mention  of  these 
 tribes  an  allusion  to,  or  rather  a 
 prophecy  of,  the  birthplace  of  the 
 Apostles,  and  in  Benjamin  of  the 
 Apostle  Paul,  whom  Tertullian,  in 
 reference  to  this  Psalm,  styles  par- 
 vus Benjamin. 
 
 Little  Benjamin.  So  called, 
 either  because  their  ancestor  was  the 
 youngest  son  of  Jacob,  or  because  it 
 was  in  reality  the  smallest  tribe, 
 I  Sam.  ix.  21.  It  is  called  their 
 Ruler,  because  from  that  tribe  came 
 Israel's  first  king. 
 
 Their  company,  or  crowd,  Judah 
 being  the  largest  and  most  numerous 
 of  the  tribes. 
 
 28.  The  Psalmist  now  turns  in 
 prayer  to  that  God  who  has  ascended 
 into  His  holy  habitation,  beseeching 
 Him  thence  to  manifest  His  power  in 
 the  subjugation  of  all  enemies  ;  he 
 beholds  the  nation  bringing  tribute  to 
 Him  as  to  their  sovereign  ;  and  finally 
 calls  upon  them  to  join  in  loud  praise 
 and  worship  of  Him  who  rules  in 
 heaven,  and  who  is  the  God  of  Israel. 
 
 Thy  God.  According  to  the  pre- 
 sent text,  there  is  here  an  abrupt  ad- 
 dress to  Israel.  But  we  should  pro- 
 bably read  (with  many  of  the  ancient 
 Versions),  "O  God,  command  Thy 
 strength." 
 
 From  Thy  temple  (or,  perhaps 
 tabernacle,  see  note  on  Ps.  v.  7).  This 
 should,  probably,  be  detached  from 
 the  next  verse. 
 
 30.  In  ver.  29  the  voluntary  sub- 
 mission of  foreign  powers  is  described. 
 Here  the  prayer  is  that  God  would 
 compel  to  submission  those  who  op- 
 pose themselves. 
 
 Rebuke,  as  in  ix.  5. 
 
 The  beast  of  the  reed,  evi- 
 dently a  symbolical  description  of 
 Egypt.  Either  the  crocodile  (called, 
 elsewhere  Leviathan,  Ixxiv.  14,  comp. 
 Job  xli.  I,  and  tannin,  Ixxiv.  13,  Is.  li. 
 9,  parall.  with  Rahab,  ie.  Egypt)  is 
 meant  ;  or  the  hippopotamus,  in  Job 
 xl.  15  called  behemoth,  and  said  there 
 (ver  21)  to  be  "among the  lotus,  in  the 
 covert  of  the  reeds  ;"  (the  reeds  of  the 
 
PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 293 
 
 29  Up  to  Jerusalem  shall  kings  bring  presents  unto 
 
 Thee. 
 
 30  Rebuke  the  beast  of  the  reed, 
 
 The  herd  of  bulls,  with  the  calves  of  the  peoples, 
 Trampling  under  foot  those  that  have  pleasure  in 
 silver: 
 Disperse  Thou  the  peoples  that  delight  in  wars. 
 
 3 1  The  rich  ones  shall  come  out  of  Egypt ; 
 
 Cush  shall   haste  to   stretch  forth  her  hands 
 unto  God. 
 
 VIII.    32  O  ye  kingdoms  of  the  earth,  sing  unto  God, 
 Play  (on  the  harp)  to  the  Lord.     [Selah.] 
 33  To    Him    who    rideth    through    the    heaven   of 
 heavens  which  are  of  old  : — 
 
 Nile  are  ni^xilioned  also  in  Is.  xix.  6, 
 XXXV.  7.)  Probably  the  former,  as 
 the  latter  does  not  occur  as  a  symbol 
 of  Egypt.  Gesen.  (on  Is.  xxvii,  i) 
 suyjposes  the  beast  of  the  reed,  i.e. 
 "the  dragon,  the  crocodile,"  to  be  a 
 symbol  ot  Babylon.  Lowth  {PrcEl.) 
 and  Schnurrer  think  that  the  lion  is 
 meant  as  a  symbol  of  Syria,  lions 
 making  their  haunts  in  the  thick  reeds 
 by  the  rivers  of  Mesopotamia,  and 
 also  by  the  Jordan,  Jer.  xlix.  19. 
 Ewald  also  says,  "The  lion,  or  the 
 tiger,  i.e.  the  great  king."  Egypt  is 
 selected  as  an  example  of  the  nations 
 of  the  world,  being  at  this  time,  no 
 doubt,  the  leading  power. 
 
 Bulls,  lit.  "strong  ones."  See 
 on  xxii.  12.  These  are  the  leaders 
 of  the  nations,  kings  and  captains, 
 whereas  the  calves  are  explained  Ijy 
 the  addition  of  the  peoples,  as  the 
 nations  themselves. 
 
 Trampling  under  foot.  The 
 participle  refers  to  God,  not  to  the 
 calves.  Hence  some  would  change 
 it  into  the  imperative,  "  Trample 
 under  foot."  Accordnig  to  the  re- 
 ceived text,  this  would  stand  :  "  (Re- 
 buke) those  that  prostrate  themselves 
 uith  pieces  (ur  bars)  of  silver,"  or. 
 
 "  so  that  they  prostrate  themselves 
 with  pieces  of  silver."  The  Psalmist 
 anticipates  the  entire  subjection  of  all 
 the  princes  and  nations  of  the  earth 
 to  the  God  who  has  now  seated  Him- 
 self on  His  throne  in  Zion. 
 
 31.  Egypt  and  Ethiopia  are  men- 
 tioned as  examples  (as  Tyre,  xlv.  12, 
 see  note  there)  of  the  most  wealthy 
 and  powerful  nations,  who  will  bring 
 their  treasures  and  pour  out  their  gifts 
 before  God.  Comp.  Is.  xliii.  3,  xlv. 
 14,  Ix.  5,  &c. 
 
 Shall  haste  to  stretch  forth, 
 lit.  "shall  make  to  run."  The  allu- 
 sion is  to  stretching  out  the  hands, 
 not  in  prayer,  but  in  the  offering  of 
 gifts. 
 
 32.  The  remaining  verses  of  the 
 Psalm  are,  in  fact,  prophetic.  Stand- 
 ing in  the  midst  of  that  future  glory, 
 which  he  anticipates  so  vividly  that 
 it  seems  already  to  be  present,  the 
 Psalmist  calls  upon  all  the  kingdoms 
 of  the  world  to  praise  God  whose 
 glory  is  in  heaven,  but  who  has  also 
 chosen  Zion,  there  to  dwell,  and  to 
 manifest  His  glory,  as  He  manifests 
 it  in  heaven. 
 
 33.  The  heaven  of  heavens, 
 i.e.  the  highest  heavens  (comp.   Deut. 
 
294 
 
 PSALM  LXVIIL 
 
 Lo,  he  uttereth  His  voice,  a  voice  of  strength. 
 
 34  Ascribe  ye  strength  unto  God, 
 
 Whose  majesty  is  over  Israel  and  whose  strength  is 
 in  the  clouds. 
 
 35  Terrible  art  Thou,  O  God,  from  Thy  sanctuaries,  Thou 
 
 God  of  Israel ; 
 He  giveth  strength  and  much  power  unto  the  people. 
 Blessed  be  God. 
 
 X.  14.  I  Kings  viii.  27),  said  to  be 
 "of  old"  with  reference  to  their 
 creation  (comp.  cii.  25)  :  and  on  tliis 
 throning  of  God  in  the  heavens,  whilst 
 at  the  same  time  He  appears  as  the 
 Redeemer  and  Protector  of  His  people 
 upon  earth,  see  Deut.  xxxiii.  25. 
 
 His  voice.  Comp.  xlvi.  6,  and 
 xxix.  3,  &c.,  where  the  thunder  is 
 so  called  ;  God's  thunder  being  the 
 utterance  of  His  power. 
 
 35.  From  Thy  SANCTUARIES.  So 
 ex.  2,  "Jehovah  shall  send  the  rod  of 
 
 Thy  strength,  out  of  Zion,"  as  the 
 seat  of  Gua  s  dominion,  as  the  centre 
 from  -cuhick  He  exercises  His  power. 
 The  plural,  as  Ixxiii.  17,  Jer.  li.  51, 
 Ezek.  xxi.  2  (comp.  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  I, 
 cxxxii.  5,  7),  as  expressing  the  z'cJT/i/z/j 
 parts  of  the  one  sanctuary. 
 
 He  giveth  strength.  Comp. 
 xxix.  II,  Is.  xl.  29. 
 
 Much  power.  I  have  so  rendered 
 in  order  to  express  the  plural  noun  : 
 lit.  "powers."  It  occurs  nowhere 
 else. 
 
PSALM  LXIX.  295 
 
 PSALM   LXIX. 
 
 When  and  by  whom  this  Psahii  was  written,  we  have  no  very 
 certain  clue  to  guide  us  ;  unless,  indeed,  we  are  disposed  to  accept 
 the  authority  of  the  inscription,  which  tells  us  it  was  written  by 
 David.  All  that  is  certain  from  the  general  tenour  of  the  Psalm  is, 
 that  it  was  written  under  circumstances  of  great  and  unmerited 
 suffering  by  one  who  was  persecuted  for  righteousness'  sake.  The 
 zeal  which  he  had  shown  for  the  service  and  honour  of  God  had 
 provoked  the  hostility  of  bad  men  against  him,  and  made  him  the 
 object  of  their  unholy  mockery.  In  the  former  part  of  the  Psalm  we 
 have  the  fact  of  this  persecution  detailed,  in  the  form  of  a  humble  com- 
 plaint to  God,  together  with  an  earnest  prayer  for  deliverance.  In 
 the  latter  part  there  is  a  marked  change  of  feeling.  The  sad,  humble, 
 subdued,  entreating  tone  in  which  he  had  spoken,  turns  suddenly 
 into  a  strong  outburst  of  indignant  execration.  One  curse  is  heaped 
 upon  another,  till  the  whole  terrible  series  is  completed  in  the  prayer 
 that  those  who  have  persecuted  and  mocked  God's  afflicted  servant 
 may  have  their  names  blotted  out  from  His  Book  of  Life. 
 
 In  some  of  its  features  this  Psalm  bears  much  resemblance  to 
 Psalms  XXXV.  and  cix.  In  all  three  Psalms  there  is  the  same  deep 
 sense  of  grievous  wrong,  of  innocence  unjustly  persecuted,  and  in  all 
 alike  the  same  burning  indignation  is  poured  in  a  hot  lava-stream 
 of  anathemas  upon  the  persecutors.     (See  note  on  xxxv.  22.) 
 
 In  other  respects  there  are  points  of  coincidence  between  this  and 
 the  Fortieth  Psalm,  which  seem  to  justify  the  conclusion  that  the  two 
 were  written  by  the  same  person.  In  each  the  Sacred  Poet  describes 
 his  affliction  as  a  sinking  in  the  deep  mire  (xl.  2,  Ixix.  2)  ;  in  the  one 
 we  have  "  They  that  hate  me  without  a  cause  are  more  than  the  hairs 
 of  my  head,"  Ixix.  4  ;  in  the  other,  "  Mine  iniquities  ....  are  more 
 than  the  hairs  of  my  head,"  xl.  12  ;  in  both  there  is  the  same  hope 
 that  the  triumphant  issue  of  the  suffering  endured  will  be  a  subject 
 of  joy  to  the  righteous,  and  the  strengthening  of  their  faith,  xl.  3,  16, 
 
296  PSALM  LXIX, 
 
 Ixix.  32.  This  last  passage,  again,  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to 
 xxii.  26,  so  that  Hitzig  considers  it  certain  that  the  Twenty-second 
 Psalm  must  also  be  ascribed  to  the  same  author.  That  author  he 
 supposes  to  be  Jeremiah.  Seiler,  and  others  before  him,  had  thrown 
 out  the  same  suggestion  with  regard  to  Psalms  xl.  and  Ixix.  The 
 grounds  on  which  this  view  rests  are:  (i)  the  character  of  the 
 suffering,  which  was  occasioned  by  zeal  for  God's  house,  the  humility 
 of  the  sufferer,  and  the  scorn  with  which  he  was  treated,  all  of  which 
 correspond  with  what  we  read  Jer.  xv.  15 — 18  ;  (2)  the  murderous  hate 
 of  the  men  of  Anathoth  towards  Jeremiah,  xi.  18 — 23,  which  may  be 
 compared  with  the  complaint  of  the  Psalmist,  ver.  8  ;  (3)  the  close  of 
 the  Psalm,  ver.  34 — 36,  which  is,  as  it  were,  a  summaiy  of  what  Jeremiah 
 foretold  in  his  Book  of  Restoration,  xxx. — xxxiii. ;  (4)  the  peculiar 
 nature  of  Jeremiah's  suffering,  who  was  cast  by  the  princes  into  the 
 dungeon  or  cistern  of  Malchiah,  where  he  sank  down  in  the  mire. 
 To  this  the  Prophet  is  supposed  to  allude  in  Lam.  iii.  53—58,  and, 
 according  to  Hitzig,  this  Psalm  was  his  prayer  whilst  he  lay  in  the 
 cistern  or  pit  (comp.  ver.  15). 
 
 If  any  inference  can  be  drawn  from  style  and  language,  if  criticism 
 have  any  testing  power,  it  would  hardly  be  too  much  to  say  that  this 
 Psalm  could  not  have  been  written  by  David. 
 
 This  has  usually  been  regarded  as  a  Messianic  Psalm.  No  portion 
 of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  is  more  frequently  quoted  in  the 
 New,  with  the  exception  of  Psalm  xxii.  When  Jesus  drives  the 
 buyers  and  sellers  from  the  Temple,  John  ii.  17,  His  disciples  are 
 reminded  of  the  words  of  ver.  9.  When  it  is  said,  John  xv.  25,  that 
 the  enemies  of  Jesus  hated  Him  without  a  cause,  and  this  is  looked 
 upon  as  a  fulfilment  of  Scripture,  the  reference  is  probably  to  ver.  4 
 (though  it  may  be  also  to  xxxv.  19).  To  Him,  and  the  reproach 
 which  He  endured  for  the  sake  of  God,  St.  Paul  (Rom.  xv.  3)  refers 
 the  words  of  this  Psalm,  ver  9,  "  The  reproaches  of  them  that 
 reproached  Thee  are  fallen  upon  me."  In  ver.  12  we  have  a 
 foreshadowing  of  the  mockery  of  our  Lord  by  the  soldiers  in  the 
 praitorium,  Matt,  xxvii.  27 — 30;  in  ver.  21,  the  giving  of  the  vinegar 
 and  the  gall  found  their  counterpart  in  the  scenes  of  the  Crucifixion, 
 Matt,  xxvii.  34.  In  John  xix.  28  there  is  an  allusion,  probably* 
 to  ver.  21  of  this  Psalm  (and  to  xxii.  15).  The  imprecation  in  ver.  25 
 is  said,  in  Acts  i.  20,  to  have  been  fulfilled  in  the  case  of  Judas 
 Iscariot,  though,  as  the  words  of  the  Psalm  are  plural,  the  citation  is 
 evidently  made   with  some  freedom.     According  to    Rom.    xi.  9,  10 
 
PSALM  LXIX.  297 
 
 the  rejection  of  Israel  may  be  best  described  in   the  words  of  ver. 
 22,  23. 
 
 It  will  be  observed  that  many  of  these  quotations  are  made 
 generally,  by  way  of  illustration  and  application,  rather  than  as  pro- 
 phecies which  have  received  fulfilment.  Enough,  however,  remains 
 to  justify  the  Messianic  sens^  of  the  Psalm,  provided  our  interpre- 
 tation be  fair  and  sober.  The  broad  principle  laid  down  in  the 
 Introduction  to  the  Twenty-second  Psalm  applies  here.  The  history 
 of  Prophets  and  holy  men  of  old  is  a  typical  history.  They  were, 
 it  may  be  said,  representative  men,  suffering  and  hoping,  not  for 
 tliemselves  only,  but  for  the  nation  whom  they  represented.  In  their 
 sufferings,  they  were  feeble  and  transient  images  of  the  Great  Sufferer 
 who  by  His  sufferings  accomplished  man's  Redemption  :  their  hopes 
 could  never  be  fully  realized  but  in  the  issue  of  His  work,  nor  their 
 aspirations  be  truly  uttered  save  by  His  mouth.  But  confessions  of 
 sinfulness  and  imprecations  of  vengeance,  mingling  with  these  better 
 hopes  and  aspirations,*are  a  beacon  to  guide  us  in  our  interpretation. 
 They  teach  us  that  the  Psalm  is  not  a  prediction  ;  that  the  Psalmist 
 does  not  put  hiinself  in  the  place  of  the  Messiah  to  come.  They  show  us 
 that  here,  as  indeed  in  all  Scripture,  two  streams,  the  human  and  the 
 Divine,  flow  on  in  the  same  channel.  They  seemed  designed  to  remind 
 us  that  if  Prophets  and  Minstrels  of  old  w^ere  types  of  the  Great 
 Teacher  of  the  Church,  yet  that  they  were  so  only  in  some  respects, 
 and  not  altogether.  They  bear  witness  to  the  imperfection  of  those 
 by  whom  God  spake  in  time  past  unto  the  fathers,  in  many  portions 
 and  in  many  ways,  even  whilst  they  point  to  Him  who  is  the  Living 
 Word,  the  perfect  Revelation  of  the  Father. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions,  each  of  eighteen 
 verses.     These,  however,  again  admit  of  subdivision  as  follows  : — 
 
 I.  (i)  The  lamentation,  which  declares  the  miserable  condition 
 of  the  Psalmist.     Ver.  i — 4. 
 
 (2)  The  fuller   account   of    his    persecutions,   especial   prominence 
 being  given  to  the  fact  that  his  sufferings  are  fo7'  the  sake  of  God  and 
 of  His  house,  and  the  reproach  to  which  he  is  exposed  in  consequence 
 Ver.  5 — 12. 
 
 (3)  The  prayer  to  God  for  deliverance,  urged  both  upon  the  ground 
 of  His  great  misery,  and  of  God's  great  mercy.    Ver.  13 — 18. 
 
 II.  (i)  He  turns  back,  and  again  dwells  upon  the  malice  and 
 cruelty  of  his  enemies.     Ver.  19 — 21. 
 
298  PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 (2)  And  then,  roused  by  the  recollection  of  his  wrongs,  conscious 
 that  he  is  on  the  side  of  God  and  of  truth,  and  that  he  has  been 
 treated  with  shameful  injustice,  he  calls  for  God's  worst  vengeance 
 upon  his  enemies.     Ver.  22—28. 
 
 (3)  Lastly,  we  have  the  threefold  expression  of  joy  :  first,  as  regards 
 God's  deliverance  of  himself,  and  his  own  acknowledgement  of  that 
 mercy  (ver.  29—31)  ;  then,  as  regards  the  encouragement  hereby  given 
 to  all  the  righteous  (ver.  32,  33)  ;  and,  finally,  in  prospect  that  God 
 will  save  Zion,  and  build  up  the  cities  of  Judah  (ver.  34—36). 
 
 [for   the   precentor,      "upon    lilies."      (a   psalm)    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Save  me,  O  God, 
 
 For  the  waters  have  come  in  unto  my  soul. 
 
 2  I  have  sunk  in,  the  mud  of  the  abyss,  where  there  Is  no 
 
 standing-place. 
 I  have  come  into  the  depths  of  the  waters, 
 And  a  flood  hath  overwhelmed  m^e. 
 
 3  I  am  weary  with  my  calling,  my  throat  is  parched, 
 
 Mine  eyes  have  failed,  whilst  I  wait  for  my  God. 
 
 4  More  than  the  hairs  of  my  head  are  they  that  hate  me 
 
 without  cause, 
 
 Ver.  1 — 4.     These  contain  the  cry  3.   Is    parched,    or   ** dried    up," 
 
 for  help,   and  the  description  of  the  lit.  "  is  made  hot,"  "burned,"  as  in 
 
 Psalmist's  miserable  condition.  cii.    3,   where  it  is  said  of  the  bones 
 
 I.   The  waters,  frequently  occur-  (comp.  Job  xxx.  30).      See  xxii.  15. 
 
 ring  as  an  image  of  extreme  danger,  Whilst  I   wait.     It  was  an  ex- 
 
 as  in  xviii.  4  and  i6,  xxxii.  6,  xlii.  7,  ample,    says  Calvin,    of    a  rare   and 
 
 and  often.  wonderful  patience,  to  wait  upon  God 
 
 Unto    my   soul,   expressive  of  a  in    so    deplorable    a   condition,    and 
 
 peril  threatening  the  life,   as   in  Jer.  adds,   "  When  he  speaks  of  his  throat 
 
 iv.  10.     Calvin,  however,  thinks  that  being  parched,   this  is  not  as  though 
 
 soul  is  put  for  heart,  and  that  the  ex-  he   had   left   off  praying,   but  rathei 
 
 pression  denotes  that  the  waters  had  intimates,     that    though    his    bodily 
 
 not  only  covered  hun,  but  had  forced  strength    failed,    the    power    of    his 
 
 their  waydov/n  his  throat.  faith  did  not  give  way." 
 
 Flood,     The  Vs^^rd  flood  in  these  4.  More  than  the  hairs.  Comp. 
 
 two  verses  is  the  well-known    Shib-  xl.  12. 
 
 boleth  which  the  Ephraimites  were  Without  CAUSE,  as  in  xxxv.  19, 
 unable  to  pronounce,  Judg.  xii.  6.  It  xxxviii,  19.  To  this  passage,  pro- 
 occurs  again,  Is.  xxvii,  12,  "flood  of  bably,  allusion  is  made  by  our  Lord, 
 the  river."  John  xv.    25:    "bn   iy.iTri(rdv    (LXX. 
 
PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 299 
 
 Strong  are  they  that  are  my  destroyers,  mine  enemies 
 without  reason  : — 
 That  which  I  did  not  rob,  then  must  I.  restore. 
 O  God,  Thou  knowest  my  foohshness, 
 
 And  my  guiltinesses  have  not  been  hid  from  Thee. 
 Let  not  them  that  wait  on  Thee  be  ashamed  through 
 me, 
 O  Lord,  Jehovah  (of)  hosts. 
 Let  not  them  be  confounded,  through  me,  that  seek  Thee, 
 
 O  God  of  Israel. 
 For  for  Thy  sake  I  have  borne  reproach, 
 
 oi  ixiGoi'VT^s)  [j.e  Scvpsdp,  words  which 
 He  introduces  with  ha  irXripaGfi  6 
 Aoyos  6  y^ypaixfj-ivos  eu  rw  v6jxw  avTcau. 
 The  mannner  of  citation  plainly  shows 
 liow  we  are  to  understand  tVa  ■jrAr^pwC'^  ; 
 what  was  true,  in  some  sense,  even  of 
 the  suffering  IsraeHte  under  the  hiw, 
 was  still  more  true  of  Him  in  whom 
 was  no  sin,  and  whom,  therefore, 
 His  enemies  did  indeed  hate  without 
 cause. 
 
 That  which  I  did  not  rob,  &c. 
 The  expression  seems  to  be  pro- 
 verbial. It  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
 "I  am  treated  as  guilty  though  I 
 am  innocent."  Comp.,  Jer.  xv.  10, 
 and    the    similar    complaint    in    Ps. 
 
 XXXV.    II. 
 
 Then  must  I  restore.  The 
 P.  B.  V.  gives  the  sense  very  well : 
 "  I  paid  them  the  things  that  I  never 
 took." 
 
 5.  Then  follows  the  appeal  to  God 
 from  the  unrighteousness  of  men. 
 The  manner  in  which  this  appeal  is 
 made  is,  however,  unusual.  Gene- 
 rally speaking,  under  such  circum- 
 stances, we  find  a  strong  assertion  of 
 the  integrity  and  innocence  of  the 
 sufferer,  and  a  complaint  that  he 
 suffers  unjustly  :  here,  on  the  con- 
 trary, we  find  him  appealing  to  God's 
 knowledge  of  his  foolishness  and  his 
 t)  ansgressions.     The  passage  presents 
 
 a  great  difficulty  to  Augustine  in  his 
 attempt  to  explain  the  whole  Psalm 
 as  a  prophecy  of  Christ  ;  and  he 
 escapes  from  the  difficulty  by  saying 
 that  the  words  apply  to  the  members 
 of  Christ,  and  not  to  the  Head.  Some 
 would  explain  this  :  Thou  knowest 
 exactly  what  the  extent  of  my  foolish- 
 ness is,  and  that  I  am  not  so  guilty 
 as  others  would  represent  me,  ' '  Thou 
 knowest  w//«/ my  foolishness,  &c.,  is." 
 We  have  here,  as  in  xl.  12,  a  con- 
 fession of  sinfulness,  a  confession  that 
 that  sinfulness  has  brought  upon  him 
 the  punishment  from  which  he  now 
 suffers.  With  this  confession  he  turns 
 to  God,  who  knows  him  far  better 
 than  he  knows  himself.  "  God,  Thou 
 knowest."  He  does  not  attempt  to 
 assert  that  he  is  innocent,  but  only 
 that  his  enemies  are  unjust  and  mali- 
 cious in  their  attacks.  And  then  he 
 urges  his  appeal  for  mercy  on  the 
 ground  that  others  who  trust  in  God 
 will  be  put  to  shame  if  His  servant 
 is  left  to  perish. 
 
 7.  For  Thy  sake.  Another  rea- 
 son urged  why  God  should  rescue 
 him  from  his  enemies.  It  is  true  he 
 is  a  sinner,  it  is  true  he  suffers  for  his 
 sin  ;  nevertheless  the  men  who  have 
 injured  him  have  injured  him  un- 
 justly. It  is  Jehovah  himself,  and 
 the  people  of  Jehovah  (see  la»t  verae), 
 
300 
 
 PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 Confusion  hath  covered  my  face. 
 
 8  I  have  become  estranged  from  my  brethren, 
 
 And  an  ahen  to  my  mother's  sons. 
 
 9  For  zeal  for  Thine  house  hath  consumed  me, 
 
 And  the  reproaches  of  them  that  reproach  Thee  are 
 fallen  upon  me. 
 0  And  I  wept  (and)  my  soul  fasted, 
 
 And  it  became  (a  subject  of)  reproaches  for  me. 
 
 who  are  reproached  in  him  :  it  is 
 Jehovah's  honour,  and  the  honour  of 
 His  house  and  worship  which  are  at 
 stake.     See  note  on  xliv.  17 — 22. 
 
 The  complaint  is  very  similar  to 
 the  one  made  in  xliv.  13,  &c.  Com- 
 pare particularly  the  expressions, 
 "for  Thy  sake,"  "confusion  hath 
 covered  my  face,"  "  I  became  a  pro- 
 verb," the  only  difference  being  that 
 there  they  are  spoken  of  the  nation, 
 here  of  the  individual.  An  exact 
 parallel  is  to  be  found  in  Jer.  xv.  15, 
 "know  that  for  Thy  sake  I  have 
 suffered  rebuke." 
 
 8.  Even  his  own  nearest  of  kin  are 
 estranged  from  him  on  this  account. 
 Comp.  the  similar  complaints,  xxvii. 
 10,  xxxi.   II,  xxxviii.    1 1. 
 
 9.  Zeal  for  Thine  house.  Per- 
 haps for  the  state  of  neglect  in  which 
 it  was,  or  for  the  profanation  of  the 
 sanctuary,  thougli  the  phrase  may 
 only  mean  zeal  for  God's  service  and 
 worship.  Still,  I  think,  this  expres- 
 sion is  only  to  be  accounted  for  on 
 the  supposition  that  tlie  Temple  was 
 standing. 
 
 Hath  consumed,  lit.  "eaten." 
 Comp.  cxix.  139.  Similar  expres- 
 sions with  respect  to  the  Prophets 
 will  be  found,  Jer.  vi.  11,  xv.  17, 
 XX.  9,  xxiii.  9,  Ezek.  iii.  14.  This, 
 which  was  true  in  various  imperfect 
 degrees  of  these  servants  of  God  cf 
 old,  was  in  a  far  higher  sense  true  of 
 the   Oi)ly-begolten    Son,    who   cou'd 
 
 say,  I  seek  not  mine  own  glory. 
 Hence,  when  He  purged  the  Temple, 
 the  disciples  could  not  help  thinking 
 ofthe.se  words  of  the  Psalm,  as  find- 
 ing their  best  application  in  Him. 
 (Johnii.  17.) 
 
 Upon  me,  as  upon  all  God's  true 
 prophets  (comp.  Jer.  i.  6—8,  Ezek. 
 ii.  6,  7),  and  above  all  upon  the  Great 
 Prophet  of  the  Church,  as  St.  Paul 
 reminds  us,  quoting  these  words, 
 Rom.  XV.  3. 
 
 10.  Fasting  and  sackcloth  are  as 
 usual  the  symbols  of  deep  sorrow, 
 and  of  repentance.  Comp.  xxxv.  13. 
 But  it  has  been  disputed  whether 
 they  denote,  (i)  humiliation  for  h's 
 own  sin,  and  outward  tokens  of  his 
 suffering  ;  or  "(a)  sorrow  for  the  des- 
 pite done  to  God's  honour  and  house  ; 
 or  (3)  whether  the  Psalmist  appears 
 here  in  a  representative  character, 
 sorrowing  for  the  sins  of  his  people, 
 shedding  tears  for  those  who  had  no 
 tears  to  shed  for  themselves,  fasting 
 for  those  who  were  living  in  pleasure 
 in  the  earth  and  were  wanton,  putting 
 sackcloth  on  his  loins  for  those  who 
 saw  not  the  judgements  of  God.  It 
 is  most  probable,  I  think,  that  a 
 public  expression  of  sorrow  is  meant, 
 and  that  this  was  called  forth  by  the 
 general  neglect  of  religion  (ver.  9)  : 
 and  then  this  public  protest  against 
 ungodliness  was  turned  into  ridicule 
 by  those  against  whom  it  was  di- 
 rected (ver.  II,  12). 
 
PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 301 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 III  made  sackcloth  also  my  clothing-, 
 
 And  I  became  a  proverb  unto  them  ; 
 They  that  sit  in  the  gate  talk  of  me, 
 
 And  the  songs  of  them  that  drink  strong  drink  (are 
 concerning  me). 
 But  as  for  me — my  prayer  is  unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah  ! 
 In  an  acceptable  time,  O  God,  in  the  greatness  of  Thy 
 
 loving-kindness  : 
 Answer  me  with  the  truth  of  Thy  salvation. 
 
 14  Deliver  me  from  the  mire,  that  I  sink  not; 
 
 Let  me  be  rescued  from  my   haters,  and   from   the 
 depths  of  the  waters. 
 
 15  Let  not  a  flood  of  waters  overwhelm  me, 
 
 Neither  let  the  abyss  swallow  me  up, 
 
 And  let  not  the  pit  shut  her  mouth  upon  me. 
 
 16  Answer  me,  O    Jehovah,    for   Thy    loving-kindness    is 
 
 good; 
 
 12.  In  the  gate,  as  the  pLace  of 
 public  resort.     See  note  on  ix.  14. 
 
 Talk  of  me.  The  verb  is  used  in 
 poetry,  and  may  mean  here  either  to 
 converse  generally,  or  to  sing  songs,  as 
 in  cv.  2,  cxlv.  5. 
 
 And  the  songs,  &c.  .  .  .  are 
 CONCERNING  ME,  lit.  "  And  I  am 
 (the  subject  of  the)  songs,  &c."  In 
 every  boisterous  company  of  drunk- 
 ards he  is  the  butt  of  their  unholy 
 merriment. 
 
 13.  But  as  for  me.  The  pro- 
 noun, as  visual,  emphatic  ;  in  order 
 to  mark  the  contrast  between  his  own 
 conduct  and  that  of  such  men  ;  and 
 a  nom.  absol.  as  in  xxxv.  13,  Gen. 
 xvii.  4. 
 
 In  an  acceptable  time,  lit.  "in 
 a  time  of  good  pleasure. "  The  same 
 expression  occurs  in  Is.  xlix.  8.  Comp. 
 Ps.  xxxii.  6. 
 
 14.  This  and  the  next  verse  answer 
 to  verses  i,  2,  almost  the  same  ex- 
 pressions  being   employed,    there   in 
 
 describing  the  lamentable  condition 
 of  the  Psalmist,  here  in  pleading  for 
 deliverance  from  that  condition. 
 
 15.  The  PIT.  The  Hebrew  word 
 is  commonly  rendered  in  the  E.V. 
 "well,"  but  here  and  Iv.  23,  and 
 Prov.  xxiii.  27,  rightly,  "pit."  It 
 means  properly,  (see  App.  to  Stan- 
 ley's Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  512,) 
 "  a  dug  pit,  usually  with  water  at  the 
 bottom"  (except  Gen.  xiv.  10,  where 
 it  IS  used  of  the  natural  pits  of  bitu- 
 men). These  wells,  as  is  evident 
 from  numerous  vestiges  of  them  still 
 remainmg,  had  "a  broad  margin  of 
 masonry  round  the  mouth,  and  often 
 a  stone  filling  up  the  orifice."  This 
 explains  the  prayer,  "Let  not  the 
 pit  shut  her  month  upon  me."  Such 
 a  person  would  have  been  buried 
 alive. 
 
 16.  Good,  i.e.  either  sweet,  com- 
 forting,   as    in   Ixiii.    3,    or  gracious, 
 
 XPVO'Tos.  Comp.  cix.  21.  This  ap- 
 peal to  God's  tender  mercy,  remarks 
 
302 
 
 PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 Accorrlin^^  to  the  greatness  of  Thy  tender  mercies, 
 turn  unto  me  ; 
 
 17  And  hide  not  Thy  face  from  Thy  servant, 
 
 For  I  am  in  distress ;  answer  me  speedily. 
 
 18  Draw  nigh  unto  my  soul,  ransom  it  ; 
 
 Redeem  me,  because  of  mine  enemies. 
 
 19  Thou  knowest  my  reproach,  and  my  shame,  and   my 
 
 confusion  ; 
 Before  Thee  are  all  my  adversaries. 
 
 20  Reproach   hath    broken    my  heart,    and    I    am   full  of 
 
 heaviness, 
 And  I  waited  for  sympathy,  and  there  was  none  ; 
 And  for  comforters,  and  have  not  found  (them). 
 
 21  And  they  gave  me  gall  for  my  food, 
 
 Calvin,  "  shows  how  great  was  the 
 strait  of  the  holy  Prophet  .  .  .  and 
 of  a  truth  it  is  a  very  difficult  matter 
 to  be  sure  that  God  is  gracious  while 
 He  is  angry,  and  near  while  He  is 
 far  off. 
 
 19.  The  second  principal  division 
 of  the  Psalm  opens  with  a  renewed 
 appeal  to  God.  Comp.  ver.  5  and 
 ver.  13,  There  is  a  repetition  of  what 
 had  been  said  already,  ver.  4,  7,  9, 
 &c.,  together  with  the  additional 
 aggravation  mentioned  in  ver.  21. 
 
 Thou  knowest.  In  the  certainty 
 that  all  his  sorrows,  fears,  sicknesses, 
 reproach,  sufferings,  are  known  to 
 God,  the  Psalmist  again  finds  his  con- 
 solation. 
 
 20.  Full  OF  heaviness,  or  "sick," 
 or  "  faint."  Perhaps  here  used  in  re- 
 ference to  themind  ratherthan  the  body. 
 
 Sympathy.  This  is  the  only  place 
 in  the  Psalter  where  the  word  is 
 found.  Properly  speaking,  it  is  not  a 
 noun,  but  a  verb  in  the  infin.  Hence 
 the  periphrasis  in  the  E.  V.  "I 
 looked  for  some  to  take  pity,"  or,  as 
 in  the  marg.,  "to  lament  with."  The 
 
 word  sympathy  has  nowhere  been 
 employed  by  our  translators,  but  it 
 exactly  conveys  the  force  of  the 
 Hebrew  word,  inasmuch  as  it  is  used 
 of  sympathy  in  joy  as  well  as  in 
 sorrow;  see  Job  xlii.  11,  where  our 
 version  renders  "  and  they  bemoaned 
 him  :  "  "  and  they  sympathised  with 
 him"  would  have  been  better.  They 
 would  not  bcjuomi  him  on  his  restora- 
 tion to  health  and  prosperity.  This 
 word  also  is  used  several  times  by 
 Jeremiah,  xv.  5,   xvi.    5,  xlviii.    17. 
 
 21.  Gall.  What  is  the  exact  mean- 
 ing of  the  word  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
 According  to  Hosea  x.  4,  it  is  a  plant 
 "  growing  in  the  furrows  of  the  field," 
 and  there  the  E.  V.  renders  it  by 
 "hemlock."  In  Deut.  xxix.  18,  Lam. 
 iii.  19,  it  is  joined  with  "wonnwood."' 
 Gesen.  referring  to  Deut.  xxxii.  32, 
 supposes  some  berry-bearing  plant  to 
 be  meant,  and  conjectures  that  it  may 
 be  "  the  poppy."  And  this  Mr. 
 Houghton  (Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible, 
 App.  Gall)  thinks  most  probable, 
 where  all  is  uncertain.  Plengstenberg 
 suggests  it  may  mean  only    "seme- 
 
PSALM  LXTX. 
 
 Z^Z 
 
 And  when  I  was  thirsty  they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink. 
 22  Let  their  table  before  them  become  a  snare. 
 
 thing  very  bitter,"  and  not  of  necessity 
 any  particular  root  or  plant. 
 
 When  I  was  thirsty,  lit.  "for 
 my  thirst." 
 
 Vinegar  or  "sour  wine;"  the 
 Greek  translators,  o^os,  and  the  I>atin, 
 acetiim.  St.  Matthew,  who  never  for- 
 gets the  foreshadowings  of  the  O.  T., 
 alludes,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  to 
 this  verse  of  the  Psalm,  when  he 
 mentions,  in  his  narrative  of  the  Cru- 
 cifixion (xxvii.  34),  that  the  Roman 
 soldiers  offered  our  Lord  "vinegar 
 mingled  with  gall "  ^i,os,  \oivQv\  ^uerd 
 Xo^'Ts  ix.^ixL-y\xivov),  just  before  He 
 was  nailed  to  the  cross.  St.  Mark, 
 on  the  other  band,  in  his  nan-ative 
 (xv.  23)  speaks  of  "  wine  mingled  with 
 myrrh"  [olyos  ia/j-vpi/icrfx^uos).  Dean 
 Alford,  in  his  note  on  the  former 
 passage,  seems  to  think  that  the  two 
 potions  could  not  be  the  same,  though 
 he  admits  that  ohos  might  mean  the 
 same  as  o^os,  sour  zuine.  But  Mr. 
 Houghton  lias  observed  (in  the  article 
 before  referred  to)  that  "  the  wine 
 mingled  with  myrrh"  "was  probably 
 a  mere  ordinary  beverage  of  the 
 Romans,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
 seasoning  their  various  wines,  which, 
 as  they  contained  little  alcohol,  soon 
 turned  sour,  with  various  spices, 
 drugs,  &c.  ;  "  and  if  so,  then  the  sa/iie 
 potion  may  be  described  by  St.  Mat- 
 thew, and  the  words  "with  gall" 
 may  either  denote  generally  the  bitter 
 nature  of  the  draught,  or  some  bitter 
 substance  may  have  been  purposel)' 
 added  by  way  of  mockery.  It  has 
 been  usually  asnimed  that  this  drink 
 was  given  to  criminals  to  stupefy,  and 
 deaden  pain  ;  but  it  does  not  seem  that 
 myrrh  has  any  of  the  properties  of  an 
 anodyne. 
 
 If/  however,   St.  Matthew  and  St. 
 
 Mark  admit  of  such  reconciliation 
 (though  were  no  reconciliation  pos- 
 sible it  need  not  startle  us),  the 
 allusion  to  this  Psalm  in  St.  John 
 presents  another  difficulty.  This 
 Evangelist  (xix.  28)  tells  us  that 
 Jesus,  in  order  that  the  Scripture 
 might  be  accomplished,  said,  "I 
 thirst."  But  this  was  not  before  our 
 Lord  was  crucified,  but  at  the  last, 
 only  just  before  He  gave  up  the 
 ghost.  It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  he 
 and  St.  Matthew,  though  both  ac- 
 knowledging the  fulfdment  of  the 
 Psalm  in  our  Lord's  crucifixion,  as- 
 sociate that  fulfilment  with  two  differ- 
 ent circumstances.  But  we  are  not, 
 therefore,  compelled  to  conclude,  as 
 Hupfeld  does,  that  there  is  no  fultil- 
 ment  at  all.  The  Psalm  is  truly 
 typical,  and  its  whole  meaning  is  ex- 
 hausted  not  in  the  one  circumstance 
 only,  but  in  both. 
 
 22.  The  imprecations  which  fol- 
 low can  only  be  perplexing  to  those 
 who,  having  adopted  a  hard  mechani- 
 cal theory  of  prophecy,  feel  them- 
 selves compelled  to  understand  every 
 part  of  the  Psalm  as  equally  pre- 
 dictive of  our  Lord  ;  or  to  those  who 
 persistently  refuse  to  acknowledge  the 
 difference  between  the  Old  Testament 
 and  the  New.  If  we  go  on  the  broad 
 ground  of  a  typical  foreshadowing  of 
 Christ  in  the  person  of  some  saint  of 
 old,  then  we  shall  not  be  obliged  to 
 assume  that  all  his  words  are  words 
 such  as  our  Lord  could  use.  And  if 
 we  remember  M'hat  our  Lord  himself 
 has  taught  us,  that  the  spirit  of  Elijah 
 — the  greatest  of  the  O.  T.  Prophets 
 — is  very  different  from  the  spirit  ot 
 Christ,  then  we  shall  not  be  offended 
 at  language  in  the  mouth  of  a  saint 
 under  the  old  dispensation  which  we 
 
3^4 
 
 PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 And  when  they  are  in  peace  (let  it  be)  a  trap. 
 Let  their  eyes  be  darkened  that  they  see  not, 
 
 And  make  their  loins  constantly  to  shake. 
 Pour  out  upon  them  Thine  indignation, 
 
 And  let  the  fierceness  of  Thine  anger  overtake  them. 
 Let  their  encampment  be  desolate, 
 
 In  their  tents  let  there  be  none  to  dwell. 
 26  For  him  whom  Thou  hast  smitten  have  they  persecuted, 
 
 24 
 
 ^^ 
 
 do  not  find  sanctioned  under  the  new. 
 See  more  on  this  subject  in  the  note 
 on  XXXV.  22. 
 
 Their  table,  said  with  reference 
 to  ver.  21.  They  had  given  liim  gall 
 and  vinegar  for  his  food  :  let  their 
 food,  their  table,  with  all  its  sump- 
 tuousness  and  all  its  luxury,  become 
 a  snare  to  take  them.  It  has  been 
 spread  for  their  enjoyment  ;  let  it 
 turn  to  their  destruction.  Comp. 
 xxiii.  5.  Or  perhaps  the  meaning 
 may  be  ;  Let  them  be  like  persons 
 who  while  sitting  at  their  meals  "  in 
 peace,"  in  security,  unarmed,  and  un- 
 suspecting, are  siiddenly  surprised  by 
 their  enemies.  Their  ' '  table  becomes 
 a  snare,"  as  exposing  them  to  certain 
 destruction. 
 
 When  they  are  in  peace,  lit. 
 "to  (them)  in  peace,  or  in  security." 
 It  denotes  that  kind  of  security  which 
 is  the  very  gate  of  destruction.  Comp. 
 I  Thess.  V,  3.  The  Apostle,  citing 
 this  passage  in  Rom.  xi.  9  (ejs  7ra7iSa, 
 KoX  els  6T)pav,  Ka\  els  (TKdvSa\ov,  Koi  els 
 dvT air uSojxa  avTo7<;),  follows  neither 
 the  Hebrew  nor  the  LXX.,  but  either 
 quotes  from  memory  or  gives  a  free 
 rendering  of  his  own.  His  appli- 
 cation of  the  words  is  also  remarkable, 
 for  he  quotes  them  in  illustration  of 
 his  position  that  a  judicial  blindness 
 has  fallen  upon  the  nation  of  Israel  at 
 large,  from  which  only  "the  elect" 
 had  been  exempted.  To  discuss  the 
 principle  of  this  illustration,  would  be 
 
 to  discuss  the  whole  question  of  cita- 
 tions in  the  New  Testament  from  the 
 Old — a  subject  much  too  large  to  be 
 satisfactorily  investigated  in  a  note, 
 
 23.  The  darkening  of  the  eyes 
 denotes  weakness  and  perplexity,  as 
 the  enlightening  of  the  eyes  (see  on 
 xix.  8)  denotes  renewed  vigour  and 
 strength.  Similarly,  the  shaking  of 
 the  loins  is  expressive  of  terror  and 
 dismay  and  feebleness.  (Nah.  ii.  10, 
 Dan,  V.  6.)  Or  the  first  may  mean 
 the  depriving  of  reason  and  under- 
 standing ;  the  second,  the  taking 
 away  of  all  strength  for  action. 
 
 25.  Their  encampment.  Prop, 
 "the  moveable  village  of  nomadic 
 tribes,"  who  usually  pitch  their  tents 
 in  a  circle.  The  expression  is  of 
 course  used  here  figuratively,  in  ac- 
 cordance with  "tents"  in  the  paral- 
 leHsm. 
 
 26.  The  reason  for  the  imprecation 
 is  given,  because  of  the  unpitying 
 cruelty  which  delighted  in  adding  to 
 the  pain  and  affliction  of  one  whom 
 God  had  already  brought  low.  His 
 very  suffering  might  have  moved  them 
 to  compassion.  Comp.  Job  xix.  21, 
 22.  The  plural  in  the  second  clause 
 of  the  verse,  Thy  wounded  ones 
 (comp.  Is.  Ixvi.  16,  Jer.  xxv.  33), 
 passes  from  the  individual  instance 
 to  the  general  conduct  of  these  men, 
 but  implies  at  the  same  time  that 
 there  are  some  few  others  exposed  to 
 the  like  treatment  with  himself. 
 
PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 And  of  the  pain  of  Thy  wounded  ones  do  they 
 
 27  Add  iniquity  unto  their  iniquity, 
 
 And  let  them  not  come  into  Thy  righteousness. 
 
 28  Let  them  be  blotted  out  from  the  book  of  life, 
 
 And  with  the  righteous  let  them  not  be  written. 
 
 29  But  as  for  me — I  am  afflicted  and  in  pain  : 
 
 Thy  salvation,  O  God,  shall  set  me  up  on  high. 
 
 30  I  will  praise  the  Name  of  God  with  a  song. 
 
 And  magnify  it  with  thanksgiving. 
 
 305 
 tell. 
 
 Do  THEY  TELL,  as  if  they  counted 
 one  by  one  every  blow  that  fell  upon 
 him,  every  cry  that  he  had  uttered, 
 only  to  turn  it  into  mockery  (comp. 
 lix,  12,  Ixiv.  5). 
 
 27.  Add  iniquity,  &c.  i.e.  let  it 
 all  stand  against  them  in  Thy  Book  ; 
 one  sin  after  another,  as  committed, 
 not  being  blotted  out,  but  only  swell- 
 ing the  fearful  reckoning.  Comp. 
 Jer.  xviii.  23.  This  swelling  of  the 
 catalogue  of  guilt  is  in  fact  swelling 
 the  punishment. 
 
 Come  into,  i.e.  "be  partakers  of " 
 (as  Ezek.  xvi.  7). 
 
 Thy  righteousness,  that  right- 
 eousness which  God  gives  and  which 
 alone  is  accepted  in  His  sight. 
 
 28.  Book  of  life,  or  "of  the 
 living"  (as  the  LXX.,  Luth.,  Calv., 
 the  E.  v.),  called  in  Exod.  xxxii.  32 
 •'the  book  of  God."  Comp.  Is.  iv. 
 3 ;  Dan.  xii.  I.  See  also  Luke  x. 
 20  ;  Phil.  iv.  3  ;  Rev.  iii.  5,  xiii.  8. 
 The  figure  is  borrowed  from  the  civil 
 lists  or  register  in  which  the  names  of 
 citizens  were  enrolled  (Jer.  xxii.  30, 
 Ezek.  xiii.  9),  To  be  blotted  out  of 
 this  denotes  exclusion  from  all  the 
 blessings  and  privileges  of  the  theo- 
 cracy, and  therefore  from  all  hope  of 
 salvation,  as  is  evident  from  the  next 
 clause  :  "let  them  not  be  written 
 with  the  righteous ; "  the  rigliteous 
 being  the  true  Israelites,  as  in  Habak. 
 ii.  4.     Thid  is  the  most  terrible  impre- 
 
 cation of  all,  though  but  the  neces- 
 sary consequence  of  that  obstinate 
 impenitence  before  supposed,  Cal- 
 vin, who  supposes  God's  eternal 
 counsel  of  salvation  to  be  meant  by 
 the  book  of  life,  is  obliged  to  explain 
 away  the  obvious  meaning  of  the 
 words,  and  argues  that,  inasmuch  as 
 God's  purpose  cannot  be  changed,  the 
 expression  is  mei-ely  adapted  to  human 
 notions.  They,  he  says,  who  have 
 once  been  written  in  that  book  cannot 
 be  really  blotted  out ;  but  because 
 God's  counsel  is  secret  to  us,  those 
 may  be  said  to  be  "blotted  out  of 
 His  book  "  whom  he  openly  exchides 
 from  His  Church.  It  is  this  open 
 rejection  therefore  which  is  here 
 meant,  and  the  expression  is  equiva- 
 lent to  saying  :  "Do  not  reckon  them 
 in  the  number  of  Thy  people,  neither 
 let  them  be  gathered  with  Thy 
 Church. "  To  such  straits  is  the  ablest 
 of  commentators  driven,  when  he  has 
 resigned  himself  to  the  fetters  of  an 
 inexorable  logic. 
 
 29.  The  Psalm  closes  with  joyful 
 hopes  and  vows  of  thanksgiving  for 
 God's  mercy,  in  this  respect  resem- 
 bling Psalm  x.xii.  In  this  joy  and 
 thanksgiving  all  other  righteous  suf- 
 ferers shall  share.  And  finally  Ziou 
 and  the  cities  of  Judah  shall  be  re- 
 built, amid  the  universal  jubilee  of 
 all  creation. 
 
 Put  as   for  me,  placmg  hiuibdf 
 
 X 
 
3o6 
 
 PSALM  LXIX. 
 
 31  And  it  shall  please  Jehovah  better  than  an  ox, 
 
 A  bullock  with  horns  and  hoofs. 
 
 32  The  afflicted  have  seen  it  and  rejoice : 
 
 Ye  that  seek  God,— let  your  heart  live. 
 
 33  For  Jehovah  hearkeneth  to  the  poor, 
 
 And  His  prisoners  He  hath  not  despised. 
 
 34  Let  heaven  and  earth  praise  Him, 
 
 The  seas  and  all  that  swarmeth  therein. 
 
 35  For  God  will  save  Zion,  and  build  the  cities  of  Judah, 
 
 And  (men)  shall  dwell  there,  and  possess  it, 
 
 36  And  the  seed  of  His  servants  shall  inherit  it, 
 
 And  they  that  love  His  Name  shall  abide  therein. 
 
 emphatically  in  contrast  to  those  who 
 had  been  the  object  of  his  impre- 
 cation. 
 
 31.  With  horns  and  hoofs, 
 lit.  "  showing  horns,  showing  hoofs. " 
 The  first  \is  mentioned  in  order  to 
 mark  that  ,thj  animal  was  not  under 
 three  years  old,  and  therefore  of  the 
 proper  age  according  to  the  Law ; 
 the  last  as  intimating  that  it  belonged 
 to  the  class  of  clean  four-footed 
 animals,  parting  the  hoof,  Lev.  xi.  ; 
 and  the  meaning  is,  that  the  most 
 perfect  and  valuable  of  the  sacrifices 
 ordained  by  the  Law  was  not  to  be 
 compared  to  the  sacrifice  of  a  grate- 
 ful heart.     See  notes  on  1.,  li. 
 
 32.  Let  YOUR  HEART  LIVE.  Comp. 
 the  same  expression  xxii.  26. 
 
 33.  This  joyful  certainty  of  his  own 
 'Jeliverance,  this  joyful  hope  that 
 others  aftlicted  like  himself  will  re- 
 joice together  with  him,  rests  upon 
 the  known   character  of  God,   upon 
 
 the  universal  experience  of  His  good- 
 ness. 
 
 His  prisoners,  i.e.  those  of  His 
 people  who  have  been  led  into  cap- 
 tivity in  Babylon. 
 
 34.  In  remembrance  of  this  he 
 calls  upon  the  universe  to  praise  God. 
 
 35.  The  conclusion  of  the  Psalm 
 is  not  unlike  Is.  Ixv.  9.  If  the 
 Psalm  was  written,  as  seeins  not  im- 
 probable, by  Jeremiah,  there  is  no 
 reason  why  these  verses  may  not 
 have  foi-med  part  of  the  original 
 text.  Indeed,  there  is  but  little  pre- 
 tence for  regarding  them  as  a  later 
 1  turgical  addition,  made  at  the  time 
 of  the  Exile.  They  are  not  so  easily 
 separable  from  the  context  as  the 
 close  of  Ps.  xiv.  for  instance,  or  that 
 of  li.  Yet  for  those  who  maintain 
 that  David  was  the  author  this  is 
 the  only  tenable  ground.  Such  words 
 could  have  no  meaning  in  David's 
 mouth. 
 
PSALM  LXX.  307 
 
 PSALM  LXX. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  repetition,  with  some  variations,  of  the  last  five 
 verses  of  Psalm  xl.  I  see  no  reason  to  abandon  the  opinion  which 
 I  have  expressed  in  the  introduction  to  Psalm  xl.,  that  this  Psalm 
 formed  originally  a  part  of  that  Psalm  and  was  subsequently  detached 
 and  altered  for  a  special  occasion. 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      (a   psalm)    of   DAVID.      TO   BRING  TO 
 REMEMBRANCE.]* 
 
 1  O  God,  (make  haste)  to  deliver  me ; 
 
 O  Jehovah,  to  help  me  make  haste. 
 
 2  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  put  to  the  blush 
 
 That  seek  after  my  soul  ; 
 Let  them  be  turned  backward  and  put  to  confusion 
 That  wish  me  evil. 
 
 3  Let  them  be  turned  back  as  a  reward  of  their  shame 
 
 Who  say,  Aha  !  Aha  ! 
 
 1.  O  God,  instead  of  O  Jehovah,  should  have  been  so  rendered  in 
 xl.    13,    and   the   verb    BE    pleased,  xl.  14. 
 
 omitted    here,     which     is    expressed  That   wish  me  EVIL,  lit.    "that 
 
 there.  delight  in   my  evil,  i.e.    my  misfor- 
 
 To  HELP  me,  lit.  "to  my  help."  tune." 
 
 2.  Put  to  the  blush  :  in  xl.  14,  3.  Let  them  be  turned.  In  xl. 
 there  is  added  together,  and  at  the  I5,wehave  the  far  stronger  expression, 
 end  of  the  next  member  of  the  verse  let  them  be  struck  dumb,  i.e. 
 TO  destroy  it.  with  amazement. 
 
 Put  to   confus-ion.     The  word  As  a  reward  of  their  shame, 
 
 ♦  The  same  title  occurs  Ps.  xxxviii.   "To  bring  to  remembrance,"  ?'./-.  eiiherasa  meinoriul 
 of  surienng  and  deliverance,  or  "  to  bring  me  into  remembrance  with  Cod." 
 
 X    2 
 
3o8  PSALM  LXXL 
 
 4  Let   all  those  that  seek   Thee  be  glad  and   rejoice  in 
 
 Thee, 
 And  let  them  that  love  Thy  salvation  say  alway, 
 "  God  be  magnified." 
 
 5  And  as  for  me,  afflicted  and  poor, 
 
 O  God,  make  haste  unto  me  ! 
 My  Help  and  my  Deliverer  art  Thou  ; 
 O  Jehovah,  make  no  long  tarrying  !  * 
 
 lit.  "upon  the  heel  of  their  shame,"  5.  O  God,  make  haste  unto  me. 
 
 and   hence    "as   a  consequence,   re-  For   this,  we   have  in  xl.    17,    "the 
 
 tribution,"  &c.,  and  as  a  prep,  simply  Lord   thinketh    upon    me"    {Adonai 
 
 "on  account  of."  instead    oi  Elohini);    and    afterwards 
 
 4.  God   {Elohim)\   in  xl.    16,  Je-  "O  my  God,"  instead  of  "O  Jeho- 
 
 hovah.  vah." 
 
 PSALM  LXXL 
 
 This  Psalm  is  without  any  Inscription  in  the  Hebrew.  In  the 
 LXX.  its  title  is  "  (A  Psalm)  of  David,  of  the  sons  of  Jonadab,  and 
 of  those  who  were  first  led  captive,"  a  curiously  composite  title, 
 which  contains  a  contradiction  in  itself.  It  may,  however,  have  been 
 intended  to  denote  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  translators,  the  Psalm 
 was  Davidic  in  origin,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  record  the  tradition 
 
 •  "  On  the  26th  of  September,  1660,  St.  Vincent  d.e  Paul  being  now  near  his  end,  desired  the 
 Holy  Communion,  and  passed  the  night  in  almost  unceasing  prayer.  He  requested  that  the 
 70th  Psalm  might  be  read  to  him  several  times,  and  repeated  as  often  as  his  strength  would 
 allow  the  words  'Haste  thee  to  help  me— make  no  long  tarrying,  O  my  God.'  On  the  27th 
 a  priest  who  was  very  dear  to  him  came  to  his  bedside  to  ask  his  blessing.  The  dj'ing  man 
 began  to  speak  in  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  '  I  am  persuaded  that  He  who  has  begun  a  good 
 
 work  in  you  will '     Here  his  uplifted  hand  sank  down,  ard  he  fell  asleep  as  gently  as  the 
 
 sun  sinks  to  rest  on  a  summer  eve." — Stories  of  Success.     (S.P.C.K.) 
 
PSALM  LXXJ.  309 
 
 that  it  was  a  favourite  Psalm  with  the  Rcchabites  and  the  earlier 
 exiles. 
 
 On  two  points,  only,  do  we  gather  any  certain  information  from  the 
 Psalm  itself.  First,  it  is  evident  that  it  was  written  by  one  already 
 past  the  meridian  of  life,  and  verging  upon  old  age.  And,  secondly, 
 it  borrows  so  largely  from  other  Psalms,  the  22d,  31st,  35th,  and  40th, 
 some  of  them,  probably,  Psalms  written  long  after  the  time  of  David, 
 that  it  must  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  later  specimens  of  Hebrew 
 poetry. 
 
 Other  evidence  of  an  internal  kind  renders  it  not  improbable  that 
 the  Psalm  was  written  by  Jeremiah.  It  would  apply  obviously  to  his 
 circumstances.  His  hfe  had  been  a  life  of  extraordinary  perils  and 
 extraordinary  deliverances.  He  had  been  consecrated  from  his  birth, 
 and  even  before  his  birth,  to  his  office,  (Jer.  i.  5,  compared  with  ver. 
 6  of  the  Psalm).  He  had  discharged  that  office  for  more  than  thirty 
 years,  and  might,  therefore,  be  verging  on  old  age  in  the  reign  of 
 Zedekiah.  The  prominent  position  which  he  occupied  for  so  long  a 
 period  before  princes  and  people  harmonizes  well  with  the  language 
 of  the  Psalm  in  verses  7  and  21.  Finally,  the  style  and  general 
 character  of  the  poetry  are  not  unlike  those  of  Jeremiah.  There  is 
 the  same  plaintive  elegiac  strain  which  we  find  in  his  writings,  and 
 the  same  disposition  to  borrow  from  earlier  poets. 
 
 All  this  falls  in  very  well  with  the  tradition  which  has  been  pre- 
 served by  the  LXX.  A.  Psalm  written  by  Jeremiah  would  very 
 naturally  have  a  peculiar  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  Rechabites  whom 
 the  Prophet  mentions  so  honourably,  and  in  the  eyes  of  the  first  exiles 
 who  had  so  often  hstened  to  the  words  of  his  lips. 
 
 The  Psalm  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  any  regular  strophical  form. 
 
 It  has  first  an  Introduction.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 Then  follow  two  main  divisions.  The  first  of  these  tells  the  story 
 of  the  past,  recounts  God's  goodness  and  the  Psalmist's  trust,  and 
 concludes   with    a   prayer   for   the    overthrow   of  his  enemies.     Ver. 
 
 The   next   looks    forward   to   the  future,   anticipates    deliverance,  • 
 promises  thanksgiving,  and  sees  the  prayer  for  the  overthrow  of  his 
 enemies  answered.     Ver.  14 — 24. 
 
 Verses  13  and  24  correspond  to  one  another  almost  in  the  manner 
 of  a  refrain. 
 
310  PSALM  LXXL 
 
 1  In  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  have  I  found  refuge, 
 
 Let  me  not  be  ashamed  for  ever. 
 
 2  In  Thy  righteousness  dehver  me  and  rescue  me  ; 
 
 Indine  thine  ear  unto  me,  and  save  me. 
 
 3  Be  Thou  to  me  a  rock  of  habitation  to  which  I  may 
 
 ahvay  resort ; 
 Thou  hast  given  commandment  to  save  me  ; 
 For  Thou  art  my  rock  and  my  fortress. 
 
 I.  4  O  my  God,  rescue  me  from  the  hand  of  the  wicked, 
 From  the  grasp  of  the  evil-doer  and  the  violent. 
 
 5  For  Thou,  O  Lord,  Jehovah  !  art  my  hope, 
 
 Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth  up. 
 
 6  Upon  Thee  have  I  been  holden  up  from  the  womb. 
 
 From    my    mother's   bowels    Thou    art    my    bene- 
 factor, 
 
 I — 3.  The  opening  of  the  Psalm  is 
 borrowed,  with  slight  verbal  altera- 
 tions, from  the  opening  of  xxxi. 
 
 3.    To      WHICH      I      MAY      ALWAY 
 
 RESORT,  i.e.  where  I  may  ahvays  find 
 safety  when  danger  threatens. 
 
 Thou  hast  given  command- 
 ment. It  is  not  necessary  to  sup- 
 pose .hat  the  command  is  given  to 
 the  Angels  ;  for,  as  Calvin  long  ago 
 observed,  God  has  innumerable  means 
 of  imparting  lielp  and  protection,  and 
 He  ;nay  be  said  to  command  deli- 
 verance wlien  He  shows  it  in  some 
 open  and  signal  manner.  Comp. 
 xliv.  4,  Ixviii.  28. 
 
 .  5.  My  hope.  Comp.  Jer.  xvii.  13, 
 1.  7,  where 'God  is  called  "the  Hope 
 of  Israel."  So  in  the  New  Test.  Christ 
 is  called  "our  Hope,"  iTim.  i.  i;  "the 
 Hope  of  glory,"  Col.  i.  27. 
 
 6.  Have  I  been  hoi.den  up  (in 
 the  passage  which  has  here  been 
 imitated,  xxii.  10,  "I  have  been 
 cast"),  an  expression  wonderfully 
 descriptive  of  what  faith  is,  and  of 
 what  God    is    to   those  who  trust  in 
 
 Him.  He  is  a  father  who  bears  them 
 in  His  arms  and  carries  them  in  His 
 bosom ;  they  are  as  children  who 
 lean  all  their  weight  upon  Him, 
 and  find  their  sweetest  rest  in  His 
 supporting  hand.  This  is  the  very 
 idea  of  faith,  according  to  its  Hebrew 
 signification.  When  it  is  said  in  Gen. 
 XV.  6,  that  "  Abraham  believed  God," 
 it  means  literally  ^^  he  leaned  upon 
 God''''  (though  the  root  there  is  dif- 
 ferent, it  is  the  same  which  means 
 to  bear  or  carry  a  child.  Numb.  xi. 
 12,  and  in  Is.  xlix.  23  is  used  of  a 
 nursijig  father).  But  the  Psalmist 
 speaks  here,  not  mainly  of  his  own 
 trust  in  God,  but  rather  of  his  ex- 
 perience of  God's  loving  care  and 
 protection. 
 
 My  benefactor.  In  the  mouth 
 of  Jeremiah,  if,  as  we  have  conjec- 
 tured, the  Psalm  was  written  by  him, 
 such  words  have  a  peculiar  interest, 
 for  they  refer,  no  doubt,  to  that  word 
 of  Jehovah  which  came  unto  him, 
 saying,  "Before  I  formed  thee  in  the 
 belly  I  knew  thee  ;    and  before  thou 
 
PSALM  LXXL 
 
 3^J 
 
 Of  Thee  is  my  praise  alway, 
 
 7  I  have  become  as  a  wonder  unto  many, 
 
 But  thou  art  my  strong  refu^^e. 
 
 8  My  mouth  shall  be  filled  with  Thy  praise, 
 
 (And)  with  Thine  honour  all  the  day  long. 
 
 9  Cast  me  not  away  in  the  time  of  old  age, 
 
 When  my  strength  faileth  forsake  me  not. 
 For  mine  enemies  have  said  of  me — 
 
 And  they  that  watch  for  my  soul  have  taken  counsel 
 together, 
 Saying  : — God  hath  forsaken  him, 
 
 Pursue  and  seize  him,  for  there  is  none  to  deliver. 
 O  God,  be  not  far  from  me ; 
 
 O  my  God,  haste  Thee  to  help  me  ! 
 13  Let  them  be  ashamed,  let  them  be  consumed, 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 earnest  forth  from  the  womb  I  sancti- 
 fied thee."     (Jer.  i.  5. ) 
 
 Of  Thee,  lit,  "w  Thee,"  God 
 being  the  great  object  of  his  praise, 
 and  the  construction  being  the 
 same  as  that  witli  the  verb  in 
 xliv.   8. 
 
 7.  A  WONDER.  Commentators  are 
 divided  in  their  interpretation  of  the 
 word.  Some  understand  it  in  a  good 
 sense,  *'  a  marvel  of  God's  protecting 
 care  and  love,  which  had  been  voucli- 
 safed  to  him  even  in  the  cxtremest 
 perils."  Others  suppose  him  to  mean, 
 that  because  of  the  greatness  of  the 
 sufferings  and  calamities  which  had 
 befallen  him,  he  had  been,  as  it  were, 
 a  portent,  «,  prodigy.  But  perhaps 
 it  is  better  to  understand  it  as  ap- 
 plying to  his  whole  wonderful  life 
 of  trials  and  blessings,  of  perils  and 
 deliverances,  such  as  did  not  ordi- 
 narily fall  to  the  lot  of  man.  It  is 
 implied,  at  the  same  time,  that  his 
 life  was  a  public  life,  such  as  that  of 
 a  Prophet,  or  leading  man  amongst 
 his  people,  or  it  would  not  have  at- 
 
 tracted  the   notice    and    excited   the 
 wonder  of  "many." 
 
 8.  Filled.  It  is,  I  think,  best 
 to  take  the  verb  here  as  a  present, 
 describing  the  immediate  and  natural 
 consequence  of  all  that  care  and  love 
 which  in  the  previous  verses  he  had 
 celebrated. 
 
 9.  This  review  of  the  past  leads 
 him  to  look  forward  to  the  future, 
 and  especially  to  the  season  of  old 
 age,  which  already,  it  would  seem, 
 was  creeping  upon  him. 
 
 10.  Have  said  of  me.  The  pre- 
 position may  be  so  rendered  :  "with 
 respect  to  me  ;  "  or  simply  ^' to  me  ;  " 
 as,  "/f  my  soul,"  iii.  2,  where  see 
 note.  What  they  say  is  given  in 
 ver.  II,  the  intervening  words  being 
 parenthetical. 
 
 Have  taken  counsel  toge- 
 ther, as  Ixxxiii.  3,  5.   Comp.  ii.  2. 
 
 12.  This  and  the  next  verse  arc 
 composed  of  phrases  borrowed  fronc 
 other  Psalms,  xxii.  11,  19,  xxxviiu 
 21,  22,  xl.  13. 
 
31 
 
 PSALM  LXXL 
 
 That  withstand  my  soul  ; 
 Let  them  be  covered  with  reproach  and  confusion 
 That  seek  to  do  me  evil. 
 
 II.   14  But  as  for  me — I  will  ahvay  hope, 
 
 And  will  praise  Thee  more  and  more. 
 
 15  My  mouth  shall  tell  of  Thy  righteousness 
 
 (And)  of  Thy  salvation  all  the  day ; 
 For  I  know  no  numbers  (thereof). 
 
 16  I  will  come  with  the    mighty  deeds   of   the  Lord 
 
 Jehovah ; 
 I  will  make  mention  of  Thy  righteousness,  (even) 
 of  Thine  only. 
 
 17  O  God,  Thou  hast  taught  me  from  my  youth  ; 
 
 •    And  hitherto  do  I  declare  Thy  wondrous  works. 
 
 18  Yea  also  to  old  age  and  grey  hairs,  O  God,  forsake 
 
 me  not, 
 Till  I  declare  Thine  arm  to  (the  next)  generation, 
 Thy  might  unto  all  that  are  to  come. 
 
 14.  And  will  yet  praise,  &c., 
 lit.  "And  will  add  to  all  Tliy 
 praise  ;  "  but  I  liave  preferred  adopt- 
 ing the  more  idiomatic  rendering  of 
 the  E.V. 
 
 15.  Righteousness.  The  Hebrew 
 word  has,  most  unfortunately,  been 
 rendered  here  and  in  the  next  verse, 
 by  French  and  Skinner,  "mercy,"  to 
 the  grievous  marring  of  the  whole 
 passage.  It  never  means  anything 
 but  rightcousniss,  least  of  all  when 
 spoken  of  God.  God's  salvation 
 stands  to  his  righteousness  in  the 
 relation  of  effect  to  cause.  God  has 
 jiledged  Himself  to  save  those  who 
 put  their  trust  in  Ilim,  and  as  a 
 righteous  God  He  cannot  deny  Him- 
 self. This  seems  to  be  the  counec- 
 iion  between  the  two  words  in  this 
 I'salm.     In  Isaiah,  ri^htcoi(sn:ss\%  re- 
 
 garded, not  merely  as  an  attribute  of 
 God,  but  as  imparted  to  ma.n  (almost 
 in  the  sense  of  justification),  and  so, 
 in  fact,  constituting  his  true  salva- 
 tion. 
 
 No  NUMBERS  (the  Hebrew  word 
 occurs  only  here).  God's  righteous- 
 ness and  God's  salvation  are  in- 
 finitely beyond  all  man's  power  to 
 calculate  or  to  repeat.  Comp.  xl.  5, 
 cxxxix.  18. 
 
 16.    I    WILL    COME   WITH,    &C.    i.e. 
 
 **  I  will  come  (into  the  Temple,  pro- 
 bably, comp.  Ixvi.  13)  with  all  the 
 great  and  mighty  deeds  which  God 
 has  done  on  my  behalf  as  my  subject 
 of  grateful  praise."  That  this  is  the 
 meaning  is  plain  from  the  parallelism 
 in  the  next  clause. 
 
 Of  Thine  only,  lit.  "of  Thee 
 alone." 
 
PSALM  LXXL 
 
 z-^z 
 
 IQ  And  Thy  righteousness,  O  God,  which  is  very  high, 
 Thou  who  hast  done  great  things  : 
 O  God,  who  is  hke  unto  Thee ! 
 
 20  (Thou)    who    hast    showed    us    distresses    many    and 
 
 sore, 
 Thou  wilt  quicken  us  again, 
 And  from  the  depths  of  the  earth  Thou  wilt  lift   us 
 
 up  again. 
 
 21  Do  Thou  increase  m}^  greatness, 
 
 And  turn  (Thyself  and)  comfort  me. 
 
 22  Also  /will  give  thanks  unto   Thee  with  a  lute,  (even) 
 
 Thy  truth,  O  my  God  ; 
 I  will  play  to  Thee  upon  a  harp,  O  Thou   Holy  One 
 of  Israel. 
 
 23  My  lips  shall  shout  for  joy,  for  I  will  play  unto  Thee, 
 
 And  my  so-ul  which  Thou  hast  redeemed  : 
 
 18.  Thine  arm.  Comp.  Is.  lii. 
 10,  liii.  I  ;  Ezek.  iv.  7. 
 
 To    THE    NEXT    GENERATION,    lit. 
 
 "to  a  generation,"  but  here  used  ab- 
 solutely for  the  following  generation, 
 as  in  xxii.  30. 
 
 19.  And  Thy  righteousness. 
 The  construction  is  continued  from 
 ver.  18,  Delitzsch,  indeed,  carries 
 it  still  further,  and  makes  verses  19, 
 20,  21,  all  depend  on  the  verb  "  I  de- 
 clare "  in  verse  18:  "Till  I  declare 
 ....  Thy  might  and  Thy  righteous- 
 ness, &c.  .  .  .  that  Thou  hast  done 
 great  things,  &c.  That  Thou  hast 
 showed,  &c," 
 
 20.  Thou  hast  showed,  see 
 Ix.  3- 
 
 The  depths  of  the  earth.  A 
 figurative  expression,  like  "the  gates 
 of  death,"  denoting  the  extremest 
 peril.  Comp.  Ixix.  2,  14.  The 
 word  "depths"  is  the  same  word  as 
 in  xxxiii.  7,  "  He  layeth  up  the  depths 
 in  storehouses  "  (it  is  the  plur.  of  the 
 word  which  occurs  in  Gen.  i.  2),  and 
 
 means  the  vast  collection  of  waters  in 
 the  seas,  God  is  said  to  bring  back 
 His  people  to  life,  who  had  been,  as 
 it  were,  drowned  in  the  depths  of  the 
 waters. 
 
 21.  Do  Thou  increase,  or, 
 "mayest  Thou  increase." 
 
 My  greatness.  An  unusual  ex- 
 pression. The  word  is  used  of  the 
 majesty  of  God,  cxlv,  3,  6  ;  of  kings, 
 Esther  i.  4  ;  and  of  princes,  vi,  3, 
 X.  2  ;  and  its  use  here,  therefore, 
 would  seem  to  imply  that  the  Poet 
 was  a  person  of  considerable  position 
 and  influence. 
 
 22.  W^iTH  A  LUTE,  lit.  "with  an 
 instrument  of  a  lute,  or  nabla^ 
 
 Holy  One  of  Israel,  This  name 
 of  God  occurs  in  the  Psalms  only  in 
 two  other  places,  Ixxviii,  41,  Ixxxix. 
 18,  these  last  two  being,  according 
 ta  Delitzsch,  older  Psalms  than  this. 
 In  Isaiah  this  Name  of  God  occurs 
 thirty  times,  in  Habakkuk  once,  in 
 Jeremiah  (who  may  have  adopted  it 
 from  Isaiah)  twice,  1,  29,  li.  5. 
 
314  PSALM  LXXIl. 
 
 24  Also  my  tongue  shall  talk  of  Thy  righteousness  all  the 
 day, 
 For   they   are    ashamed,    for    they    are   brought    to 
 confusion,  that  seek  m.y  hurt. 
 
 PSALM  LXXIL 
 
 Two  Psalms  only  in  the  entire  compass  of  the  Psalter,  this  and  the 
 127th,  bear  the  name  of  Solomon.  Apart  from  the  question  whether 
 these  particular  Psalms  are  rightly  attributed  to  him  or  not,  the  fact 
 is  worthy  of  notice,  as  it  shows  us  that  tradition,  which  has  shed  so 
 many  glories  round  the  name  of  Solomon,  did  not  suppose  him  to 
 have  inherited  his  father's  taste  for  religious  poetry  and  music,  or  it 
 would  not  have  failed  to  add  this  to  his  many  other  accomplishments. 
 
 Calvin,  indeed,  and  others  have  conjectured  that  the  inscription 
 even  here  does  not  denote  that  Solomon  was  the  author.  They 
 appeal  to  ver.  20,  which  tells  us  that  this  was  the  last  prayer  of 
 David,  and  they  urge  that  accordingly  the  title  must  signify  "  T^^r 
 Solomon,"  not  "t?/  Solomon."  Calvin  observes:  "After  carefully' 
 weighing  all,  I  incline  to  the  view  that  David  uttered  this  prayer  as 
 he  was  dying,  and  that  it  was  put  into  the  form  of  a  Psalm  by  his 
 son,  that  the  memory  thereof  might  never  perish.  .  .  .  But  as  Solomon 
 took  the  argument  from  his  father,  and  only  clothed  it  in  the  garb 
 of  poetry,  we  may  regard  David  as  the  principal  author." 
 
 But  ver.  20,  taken  to  the  letter,  would  rather  imply  that  all  the 
 Psalms  in  this  Book  were  written  by  David,  whereas  the  inscriptions 
 themselves  contradict  this,  not  to  mention  that  the  verse  itself  is  a 
 manifestly  later  addition.  And  in  all  other  instances  where  the 
 name  of  an  author  is  prefixed  to  a  Psalm,  it  is  prefixed  with  the  same 
 preposition  which  is  here  employed.  The  inscription,  beyond  all 
 doubt,  means  to  say  that  the  Psalm  is  Solomon's.  Nor  do  I  see  any 
 reason  for  rejecting  the  tradition  thus  conveyed  to  us. 
 
PSALM  LXXIL  315 
 
 There  have  been  many  different  conjectures  as  to  the  time  wlien 
 this  Psalm  was  written,  but  all  the  soundest  expositors  admit  that  the 
 hopes  and  aspirations  here  expressed — so  grand  and,  so  far-reaching, 
 that  they  are  httle  less  than  prophecies — find  their  fulfilment  in  One 
 greater  than  Solomon.  "These  promises  were  reahzed  in  Solomon, 
 but  only  typically.  They  expect,  therefore,  after  Solomon  their  final 
 realization,  and  that,  in  that  Son  of  David  whom  the  Prophets  of  the 
 later  kingdom  foretell." 
 
 Solomon,  then,  may  have  uttered  such  a  prayer,  may  have  uttered 
 it  for  himself^  and  yet  may  have  felt  how  far  he  was,  how  far  any 
 human  monarch  must  be,  from  approaching  to  the  great  ideal  which 
 rose,  in  all  its  majesty,  before  his  mind.  Whether  he  uttered  it 
 at  the  beginning  of  his  reign,  is  more  doubtful.  The  allusions  to 
 Sheba  and  Tarshish  would  seem  to  imply  a  somewhat  later  date. 
 But  be  this  as  it  may,  we  have  here  another  instance  of  the  way 
 in  which  prophecy  rooted  itself  in  the  Jewish  soil,  how  it  looked 
 first  to  the  Present  and  then  to  the  Future,  first  to  the  Type  and 
 then  to  the  Antitype.  Calvin  observes  most  justly,  and  the  obser- 
 vation bears  upon  the  interpretation  of  all  the  Messianic  Psalms  : 
 "  They  who  will  have  this  to  be  simply  a  prediction  of  the  kingdom 
 of  Christ  seem  to  twist  the  words  very  violently.  And  besides,  we 
 should  always  take  care  not  to  give  the  Jews  good  reason  for  re- 
 proaching us,  as  if  we  were  determined  by  mere  force  of  sophistry 
 to  apply  to  Christ  what  does  not  directly  refiir  to  Him." 
 
 The  Targum,  however,  paraphrases  the  first  verse  of  the  Psalm 
 thus  :  "  O  God,  give  the  knowledge  of  Thy  judgements  to  the  King 
 Messiah,  and  Thy  justice  to  the  Son  of  King  David." 
 
 And  the  Midrash  Tehillim  says  of  the  king  here  mentioned  : 
 "  This  is  the  King  Messiah,  for  it  is  said.  And  a  stem  'shall  go 
 forth  from  the  root  of  Jesse."  Saadiah,  on  Daniel  vii,  13,  takes  the 
 same  view. 
 
 The  Psalm  is,  like  the  second,  the  twentieth,  twenty-first,  and 
 forty-fifth,  a  Royal  Psalm. 
 
 It  has  no  regular  strophical  division,  but  consists  of  the  following 
 parts  : — 
 
 I.  The  prayer  that  the  reign  of  the  king  may  be  a  reign  of 
 righteousness,  peace,  and  prosperity,  and  that  it  may  endure  for 
 ever.     Ver.  i — 7. 
 
3^6 
 
 PSALM  LXXIl. 
 
 II.  That  his  dominion  may  know  no  bounds,  save  those  of  the 
 world  itself.     Ver.  8— ii. 
 
 III.  Then  follows  the  reason  why  such  a  dominion  should  be 
 granted  him.  He  is  worthy  to  receive  riches,  and  honour,  and 
 glory,  and  might,  for  he  is  the  righteous  saviour  of  the  poor  and 
 the  afflicted.     Ver.  12— 15. 
 
 IV.  Lastly,  the  prayer  is  repeated  both  for  prosperity  and  for  an 
 everlasting  and  a  universal  dominion.     Ver.  16,  17. 
 
 [(A   psalm)  of   SOLOMON.] 
 
 I   O  God,  give  Thy  judgements  unto  the  king, 
 And  Thy  righteousness  unto  the  king's  son. 
 
 1.  The  prayer  is  that  God  would 
 give  His  righteousness  to  the  king, 
 that  so  he  may  rule  and  judge  right- 
 eously and  his  righteous  government 
 produce  righteousness,  and  therefore 
 peace,  among  the  people. 
 
 The  difference  between  the  JUDGE- 
 MENTS of  God  in  the  first  clause, 
 and  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
 the  second,  is  this  :  the  former  refers 
 to  the  srjeral  decisions  which  the  king 
 may  be  called  upon  to  pronounce, 
 and  the  prayer  is  that  the^^e  may  be 
 so  in  accordance  with  the  will  of 
 God  that  they  may  be  as  if  uttered 
 by  His  mouth  ;  the  second  refers 
 to  the  inner  mind  and  spirit,  the 
 wisdom  and  the  discernment,  which 
 should  be  the  reflex  of  the  Divine 
 mind. 
 
 This  is  the  very  idea  of  justice, 
 when  the  decisions  of  the  earthly 
 judge  are  in  perfect  accordance 
 with  those  of  the  heavenly :  but 
 this  can  only  be  when  there  rests 
 upon  the  former  "the  Spirit  of  the 
 Lord,  the  spirit  of  wisdom  and  under- 
 Standing,    the    spirit    of  knowledge, 
 
 and  of  the  fear  of  the  Lord."  To 
 One  only  was  this  Spirit  given  with- 
 out measure.  In  One  only  was  this 
 idea  realized.  Solomon,  it  is  true, 
 prayed  (i  Kings  iii.  9)  that  God 
 would  give  him  an  understanding,  or 
 rather  obedient  heart,  that  he  might 
 judge  his  people ;  and  of  him  we 
 read  (i  Kings  iii.  28),  "And  all 
 Israel  heard  of  the  judgement  which 
 the  king  had  judged,  and  they  feared 
 before  the  king,  for  they  saw  that  the 
 wisdom  of  God  was  with  him  t»  do 
 judgement  ;  "  and  to  him  the  Queen 
 of  Sheba  said  (i  Kings  x.  9),  "Be- 
 cause Jehovah  loved  Israel  for  ever, 
 therefore  made  He  thee  king  to  do 
 judgement  and  righteousness."  But 
 Solomon  did  not  fulfil  the  hope  of 
 this  prayer.  The  righteous  judge 
 became  the  oppressor  of  his  people  ; 
 the  wise  king  the  weak,  foolish,  des- 
 picable voluptuaiy :  God  brake  in 
 pieces  before  the  eyes  of  His  people 
 the  frail  earthly  type,  that  He  might 
 lead  them  to  wait  for  Him  who  was 
 "  higlier  than  the  kings  of  the  earth," 
 and  who  would  "  not  judge  after  the 
 
PSALM  LXXII. 
 
 317 
 
 2  Then  shall   he  decide  the  cause  of  Thy  people  with 
 
 righteousness, 
 And  of  Thine  afflicted  with  judgement. . 
 
 3  May  the  mountains  bring  forth  peace  to  the  people, 
 
 And  the  hills  in  righteousness  ! 
 
 4  May  he  judge  the  afflicted  of  the  people, 
 
 Save  the  sons  of  the  poor, 
 And  crush  the  oppressor  ! 
 
 5  So  that  they  fear  Thee  while  the  sun  endureth, 
 
 sight  of  His  eyes,  neither  decide  after 
 the  hearing  of  His  ears,  but  would 
 judge  with  rigliteousness  the  weak, 
 and  decide  with  uprightness  for  tlie 
 afflicted  of  the  earth." 
 
 The  Talmudic  saying  is  very  strik- 
 ing, and  wortli  quoting  liere  :  "  Every 
 judge  who  judgeth  a  judgement  of 
 truth  truly,  maketh  the  Divine  Glory 
 (the  Shechinah)  to  dwell  in  Israel." 
 — Sank.  fol.  T,  I. 
 
 The  king's  son.  The  stress  laid 
 upon  this  is  in  accordance  with  Ori- 
 ental usage.  That  the  king  was  of 
 royal  ancestry  was  mentioned  on  coins, 
 public  monuments,  and  the  like.  See 
 Is.  xix.  II. 
 
 3.  The  mountains  and  hills  are 
 mentioned  as  being  the  great  cha- 
 racteristic features  of  a  country  like 
 Palestine.  Comp.  Joel  iii.  18:  "The 
 mountains  shall  drop  down  new  wine, 
 and  the  hills  shall  flow  with  milk." 
 See  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  art. 
 "  Palestine,"  §  26. 
 
 '  Peace.  This  is  ever  represented  in 
 Scripture  as  the  fruit  of  righteous- 
 ness, and  as  the  great  blessing  of  the 
 times  of  the  Messiah.  The  king  of 
 righteousness  is  also  king  of  peace. 
 Comp.  Is.  ii.  4,  ix.  5,  6,  xi.  9,  Ixv. 
 25  ;  Micah  iv.  3  ;  Zech.  ix.  10. 
 
 In  RIGHTEOUSNESS.  For  the  third 
 tmie  this  is  mentioned  as  that  attribute 
 which,  beyond  all  others,  stamps  the 
 king  and  hib  rule  over  his  people. 
 
 4.  Sons  of  the  poor,  i.e.  merely 
 "poor  persons,"  in  accordance  with 
 the  usual  Hebrew  idiom. 
 
 5.  So  that  they  fear  Thee. 
 It  is  doubtful  whether  the  address 
 is  to  God,  or  to  the  king.  The  change 
 from  the  third  person  to  the  second, 
 and  vice  ve7'sd,  is  so  common  in 
 Hebrew  (see  on  xxii.  26),  that  the 
 person  addressed,  so  far  as  the  con- 
 struction is  concerned,  may  certainly 
 be  the  king.  Nor  is  the  extended 
 duration  of  his  reign  implied  in  the 
 words  "as  long  as  the  sun,"  <S:c., 
 against  this  view,  even  if  we  suppose 
 the  words  to  be  addressed  originally 
 to  a  human  monarch.  For  the  J  ewish 
 monarch  was  ruler  in  a  theocratic 
 kingdom,  which  by  its  very  nature 
 was  destined  to  endure  for  ever. 
 Comp.  ver.  7,  17,  and  Ixxxix.  4,  28, 
 &c.,  36,  &c.  ;  and  if  in  those  passages 
 the  throne  and  the  race  of  the  monarch 
 are  the  object  of  hope,  whereas  here 
 the  hopes  of  the  Psalmist  centre  in 
 his  person,  still  this  also  finds  its 
 parallel  in  xxi.  4,  "  He  asked  life 
 of  Thee  :  Thou  gavest  (it)  him,  Length 
 of  days  for  ever  and  ever"  (see  note 
 there).  Still  I  think,  considering  that 
 the  Psalm  opens  with  a  prayer  ad- 
 dressed to  God,  it  is  better  to  suppose 
 that  God  is  also  addressed  here  ;  and 
 then  the  clause  will  be  conjunctive, 
 and  mark  the  consequence  of  the 
 kind's  righteous  rule. 
 
5i8  PSALM  LXXIL 
 
 And  as  long  as  the  moon  unto  all  generations 
 
 6  Let  him  be  as  rain  coming  down  upon  the  mown  grass, 
 
 As  showers  that  water  the  earth. 
 
 7  Let  the  righteous  flourish  in  his  days, 
 
 And  abundance  of  peace,  till  there  be  no  more  moon. 
 
 The  SUN  and  the  moon  are  men- 
 tioned here,  and  again  ver.  7,  and  in 
 Ixxxix.  37,  as  witnesses  to  an  ever- 
 lasting order,  and  as  it  were  figures 
 of  eternity,  tilings  fixed  and  unchange- 
 able compared  with  the  fleeting, 
 dying  generations  of  men,  as  Jer. 
 xxxi.  35,  xxxiii.  20  ;  though,  as  com- 
 pared with  God,  themselves  subject 
 to  decay  and  destruction,  cii.  26,  &c., 
 Is.  li.  6,  comp.  Job  xiv.  18. 
 
 As   LONG   AS   THE   SUN,  lit.    '■' zvith 
 
 tlie  sun."  Comp.  Dan.  iv.  3,  '■'' with 
 generation  and  generation." 
 
 Before  the  moon,  or,  "i-n  the 
 presence  of  the  moon,"  i.e.  as  long  as 
 the  moon  shines,  "so  long  as  she 
 turns  her  face  to  the  earth."  In  Job 
 viii.  16  the  use  of  the  preposition  is 
 similar :  "He  is  green  before  the  sun," 
 though  the  phrase  means  there  not 
 "as  long  as  the  sun  shines,"  but 
 rather  "in  the  sunshine,"  "under  the 
 influence  of  the  warmth  and  light  of 
 the  sun." 
 
 6.  Let  him  be,  &c.,  lit.  "let  him 
 come  down  as  rain,"  the  verb  which 
 belongs  strictly  to  the  figure  being 
 apjilied  improperly  to  the  subject. 
 
 The  gracious  influence  of  the 
 monarch,  and  of  his  righteous  sway, 
 is  strikingly  comjjared  to  the  bountiful 
 shower  which  freshens  the  withered 
 herbage,  and  changes  the  brown, 
 ])are,  parched,  dusty  surface,  as  by  a 
 touch  of  magic,  into  one  mass  of 
 verdure  and  bhjom.  We  have  the 
 same  figure  in  Deut.  xxxii.  2,  Job 
 xxix.  22,  23,  and  Prov.  xvi.  15.  But 
 the  most  striking  parallel  is  in  the 
 last  words  of  David,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  4, 
 where  it   is  said  of  one  who  ruleth 
 
 righteously  and  in  the  fear  of  God 
 among  men,  that  he  is 
 
 Like  the  light  of  the  morning  when 
 
 the  sun  ariseth, 
 A  morning  without  clouds  ; — 
 From    the    sunshine,  from    the   rain, 
 
 the   green   grass   (sprouts)    from 
 
 the  earth. 
 
 The  mown  grass,  lit.  "that  which 
 is  shorn,"  whether  fleece  or  7neadouK 
 In  the  former  sense  it  occurs  Judg.  vi. 
 37,  and  so  the  older  translators  all  take 
 it,  probably  with  the  idea  that  the 
 reign  of  the  monarch  would  be  ac- 
 companied by  signal  tokens  of  the 
 Divine  favour  and  blessing,  like  the 
 dew  upon  Gideon's  fleece  :  in  the 
 latter  sense,  the  word  is  found  Amos 
 vii.  I  (where  the  E.  V.  has  "mow- 
 ings"); and  this  is  indisputably  its 
 meaning  here,  as  the  parallelism 
 shows.  The  moivn  meadow  is  par- 
 ticularly mentioned,  because  the  roots 
 of  the  grass  would  be  most  exposed 
 to  the  summer  heat,  after  the  crop 
 had  been  gathered  in,  and  the  effect 
 would  be  most  striking  in  tlie  shoot- 
 ing of  the  young  green  blade  after 
 the  shower.  "Striking  image,"  says 
 Dr.  Pusey,  *'of  a  world,  in  all  ap- 
 pearance, hopelessly  dead,  but  with  a 
 hidden  capacity  for  receiving  life ! 
 ver.  7." — Daniel,  p.  480,  note. 
 
 7.  Flourish,  lit.  "shoot,"  "bud 
 forth,"  &c.,  the  figure  which  describes 
 the  effects  of  the  rain  being  thus 
 carried  on.  Comp.  xcii.  7,  12.  All 
 these  sentences,  Calvin  observes,  de- 
 pend on  the  first  verse.  "  Therefore 
 that  the  righteous  may  flourish,  and 
 the  people  be  prosperous,  David  prays 
 
PSALM  LXXIL 
 
 319 
 
 8  And  let  him  have  dominion  from  sea  to  sea, 
 
 And  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
 
 9  Before    him    let    the    inhabitants    of     the    wilderness 
 
 bow, 
 And  let  his  enemies  lick  the  dust. 
 10  Let  the  kings  of  Tarshish  and  the  isles  render  gifts, 
 
 that  the  king  may  be  clothed  with 
 rigliteousness  and  judgement.  It  was 
 Solomon's  office,  indeed,  to  defend 
 the  righteous  ;  but  it  is  Christ's  work 
 to  make  men  righteous,  because  He 
 not  only  gives  to  each  one  his  right, 
 but  by  His  Spirit  fashions  anew  their 
 minds.  And  thus  He  brings  back 
 again  righteousness,  which  else  would 
 be  banished  from  the  world." 
 
 Till  there  be  no  more  moon. 
 See  the  same  expression  in  Job  xiv. 
 12. 
 
 8.  In  -verses  5 — 7  the  prayer  and 
 the  hope  are  that  this  kingdom  shoukl 
 endure  for  ever  :  in  verses  8 — il  that 
 it  should  know  no  limits  but  those  of 
 tiie  earth  itself. 
 
 From  sea  to  sea.  "  P>om  the 
 Mediterranean,  their  Western  bound- 
 ary, to  the  encircling  sea  beyond 
 Asia's  utmost  verge  ;  and  from  their 
 Eastern  boundary,  the  river,  the  Eu- 
 phrates, u7ito  the  ends  of  the  earth. " 
 (Pusey,  Daniel,  p.  480.)  But  perhaps 
 we  have  only  a  poetical  expression, 
 not  to  be  construed  into  the  prose  of 
 geography,  or  to  be  explained  (as  by 
 Rashi  and  others)  as  indicating  the 
 extent  of  territory  laid  down  in 
 Exod.  xxiii.  31  :  "I  will  set  thy 
 bounds  from  the  Red  Sea  even  unto 
 the  sea  of  the  Philistines,  and  from 
 the  desert  unto  the  river."  There 
 may  be  an  allusion  to  that  passage 
 icomp.  Gen.  xv.  18),  but  if  so,  it  is 
 expanded  and  idealized,  as  the  ex- 
 pression "  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth  " 
 (as  in  ii.    8)  shows.     The  river  is, 
 
 doubtless,  the  Euphrates,  and  it  seems 
 probable,  therefore,  that  the  Poet  had 
 in  his  eye  the  actual  extent  of  the 
 kingdom  to  which  Solomon  succeeded, 
 who  reigned  "  overall  kingdoms  from 
 the  river  Euphrate  s  to  the  border 
 of  Egypt,"  and  that  he  thus  antici- 
 pated a  dominion  co-extensive  with 
 the  world. 
 
 10.  Tarshish,  in  all  probability  the 
 same  as  the  Greek  Tapsrr](Ta6s,  a  great 
 naval  mart,  and,  according  to  Arrian, 
 a  colony  of  the  Phoenicians,  in  the 
 south  of  Spain.  It  traded  with  Tyre  in 
 silver,  iron,  tin,  and  lead  (Ezek.  xxvii. 
 I?).  Tarshish  and  the  isles,  "the 
 empires  on  the  shores  of  the  Medi- 
 terranean," are  here  mentioned  as 
 representatives  of  all  the  great  mari- 
 time and  commercial  countries  of  the 
 world. 
 
 Render  gifts,  or  "tribute." 
 Sheba,  the  great  South  Arabian 
 kingdom,  so  called  after  Sheba,  one 
 of  the  sons  of  Joktan,  Gen.  x.  28. 
 The  mention  of  this,  as  well  as  of 
 Tarshish  above,  harmonizes  very  well 
 with  the  opinion  that  this  Psahn  was 
 composed  either  by  or  for  Solomon. 
 The  Queen  of  Sheba,  who  came  to 
 visit  Solomon  (l  Kings  x.  l),  was 
 queen  of  Sheba  in  Aral)ia,  and  not  of 
 Seba,  the  Cushite  kingdom  of  Ethi- 
 opia, as  Josephus  and  some  of  the 
 Rabbinical  writers  would  make  out. 
 The  kingdom  of  Sheba  embraced  the 
 greater  part  of  the  Yemen,  or  Arabia 
 Felix.  See  Mr.  R.  S.  Poole's  article 
 in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  ii.  1231. 
 
PSALM  LXXIL 
 
 Let  the  kings  of  Sheba  and  Saba  offer  presents. 
 Yea,  let  all  kings  bow  themselves  down  before  him, 
 
 Let  all  nations  serve  him. 
 For  he  delivereth  the  poor  when  he  crieth, 
 
 And  the  afflicted,  who  hath  no  helper; 
 He  hath  pity  on  the  weak  and  poor, 
 
 And  the  souls  of  the  poor  he  saveth  ; 
 
 14  From  oppression  and  from  violence  he  ransometh  their 
 
 soul, 
 And  precious  is  their  blood  in  his  ^yo.?,, 
 
 15  So  that  they  live,  and  give  him  of  the  gold  of  Sheba, 
 
 And  pray  for  him  alway, 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 Saba,  in  E.  V.  **  Seba,"  first  men- 
 tioned as  among  the  sons  of  Cush, 
 Gen.  X.  7,  and  joined  with  Egypt  and 
 Cush  (E.  V.  Ethiopia)  in  Is.  xliii.  3, 
 "  a  nation  of  Africa,  bordering  on  or 
 included  in  Cush,  and  in  Solomon's 
 time  independent,  and  of  political  im- 
 portance." According  to  Josephus, 
 Seba  was  the  ancient  name  of  the 
 Ethiopian  island  and  city  of  Meroe 
 {A.  J.  ii.  10,  §  2),  and  this  must  at 
 least  have  formed  part  of  any  ancient 
 Ethiopian  kingdom.  See  Mr.  Poole 
 as  above,  ii.  1 189. 
 
 Presents.  The  word,  like  the 
 preceding  "gifts,"  is  a  singular  noun 
 collective  :  it  only  occurs  once  again, 
 Ezek.  xxvii.  15. 
 
 The  whole  verse  is  in  accordance 
 with  what  we  read  of  Solomon,  i 
 Kings  V.  I,  X.  10,  25. 
 
 12.  For  he  delivereth.  The 
 reason  is  given  why  all  kings  and 
 nations  should  thus  do  homage  to  him 
 who  sits  on  David's  throne.  lie  has 
 merited  such  submission  by  the 
 exercise  of  every  royal  virtue,  by  the 
 justice  and  the  mercy  of  his  sway,  by 
 his  deep  sympathy  with,  and  com- 
 passion for,  the  poor,  by  the  protection 
 which  he  extends  to  them  against  the 
 mmistcrs  of  fraud  and  violence.  It  is 
 nut  that  he  merely  covci-s  with  the 
 
 shadow  of  his  throne  all  neighbouring 
 nations,  and  is  acknowledged  as  their 
 political  head,  but  that  the  bright 
 example  which  he  sets,  the  Majesty 
 of  Righteousness  enthroned  in  his 
 pei-son,  compels  all  to  bow  before 
 him. 
 
 The  verse  occurs  almost  word  for 
 word  in  Job  xxix.  1-2,  whence  it  is 
 perhaps  borrowed. 
 
 14.  Precious  is  their  blood. 
 He  will  not  see  it  spilt  on  the  ground, 
 without  avenging  it.  Comp.  cxvi.  15, 
 I  Sam.  xxvi.  21,  2  Kings  i.  13. 
 
 15.  Besides  the  Divine  reward 
 which  he  has  merited,  Ihe  king  shall 
 receive  also  the  grateful  acknowledge- 
 ment of  those  whom  he  has  protected 
 and  saved  from  death. 
 
 Gold  of  Sheba,  the  offerer  be- 
 ing, it  is  supposed,  a  native  of  Sheba. 
 See  on  ver.  10. 
 
 And  pray  for  him.  Then  ren- 
 dering of  the  P.B.V.,  "prayer  shall 
 be  made  ever  tctito  him,"  is  quite 
 indefensible.  The  preposition  never 
 occurs  in  this  sense.  But  the  exclu- 
 sive Messianic  interpretation  seemed 
 to  require  it.  Augustine,  however, 
 who  here,  as  in  Ps.  Ixix. ,  supposes 
 not  Christ  only,  but  Christ  and  the 
 Church  to  be  spoken  of,  explains  the 
 prayer  as  made,   nol  for  Christ  him- 
 
PSALM  LXXII. 
 
 321 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 (And)  bless  him  all  the  day. 
 Let  there  be  abundance  of  corn  in  the  land, 
 
 So    that    on    the   top    of    the    mountains    the    fruit 
 thereof  rustles  like  Lebanon, 
 And  let  men  spring  forth   from  the  city  like  the 
 herbs  of  the  earth. 
 Let  His  Name  be  for  ever ! 
 
 Before  the  sun  let  His  Name  be  continued, 
 And  let  men  bless  themselves  in  him  ; 
 
 self,  but  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ  : 
 "  When  we  pray  for  Hhn,  we  pray 
 for  the  Church,  which  is  His  body  :" — 
 a  mode  of  exposition  which  is  most 
 arbitrary,  and  only  leads  to  endless 
 confusion  and  perplexity.  Dr.  Pusey, 
 on  the  other  hand,  renders,  "And  He 
 (the  king)  shall  pray  for  him  (the  poor) 
 continually."  "The  words,"  he  says, 
 "anticipate  the  revelation  by  St.  Paul, 
 '  He  ever  liveth  to  make  intercession 
 for  them.'  (Heb.  vii.  25,  and  Rom. 
 viii.  34. )  The  words  cannot  be  ren- 
 dered as  in  the  P.  B.  V. ,  '  prayer  shall 
 be  made  ever  unto  Him : '  on  the 
 other  hand,  the  idiom  is  used  exclu- 
 sively of  the  intercession  of  one  nearer 
 to  God  for  one  less  near."  He  then 
 gives  the  instances  of  Abraham  inter- 
 ceding for  Abimelech,  Gen.  xx.  7  ; 
 Moses  for  Aaron,  after  the  sin  of  the 
 calf,  Deut.  ix.  20  ;  Samuel  for  the 
 people,  I  Sam.  vii.  5,  xii.  19 — 23  ; 
 the  prophet  for  Jeroboam,  i  Kings 
 xiii.  6  ;  of  Jeremiah,  at  Zedekiah's 
 request,  Jer.  xxxvii.  3  (comp.  also 
 Jer.  xlii.  2,  20,  vii.  16,  xi,  14,  xiv.  1 1, 
 xxix,  7)  ;  of  Job  for  his  friends.  Job 
 xlii.  10.  "These  are  all  the  cases 
 in  which  the  Concordances,  at  least, 
 give  the  idiom.  The  verb  occurs  with 
 other  prepositions.  Job  xlii.  8,  and 
 I  Sam.  ii.  25." 
 
 16.  On  the  top  of  the  moun- 
 tains :  not  mentioned  (as  something 
 extraordinary)  because  the  mountains 
 were  usually  the  least  fruitful  parts  of 
 
 the  land,  but  because  they  were  the  most 
 prominent  (see  ver.  3).  The  idea  is  that 
 the  whole  country  should  be  one  bright 
 sunny  picture  of  gladness  and  fertility, 
 the  corn-fields  being  seen  not  only  in 
 the  valleys,  but  rising,  terrace  above 
 terrace,  along  the  mountain-sides,  till 
 they  reach  their  summits.  The  rustling 
 of  the  corn-fields  in  the  wind  is  com- 
 pared to  the  rustling  of  the  cedars  of 
 Lebanon,  so  thick  shall  the  corn  stand, 
 so  rich  shall  be  the  harvest. 
 
 The  common  division  of  the  verse 
 is  :  Let  there  be  abundance  of  corn 
 in  the  land  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
 tains :  Let  the  fruit  thereof  rustle, 
 &c.  But,  thus,  the  point  is  lost,  or 
 at  least  obscured.  This  would  seem 
 to  imply  that  there  was  to  be  no  corn 
 anywhere  but  on  the  mountains, 
 whereas  the  object  is  to  make  the 
 corn-fields  on  the  mountains  a  prin- 
 cipal feature  ;  and  there  especially 
 would  they  be  exposed  to  the  action 
 of  the  wind,  and  be  compared  to 
 Lebanon. 
 
 Let  men  spring  forth.  Comp. 
 xcii.  7,  Job  V.  25,  Is.  xxvii.  6,  From 
 the  city,  as  the  dwelling-place  of 
 men.     Comp.  Numb.  xxiv.  19. 
 
 17.  Be  continued,  lit.  "be  pro- 
 pagated," continued  in  his  offspring 
 (comp.  xlv,  16),  i.e.  taking  the  verb  as 
 a  passive;  or  if  it  be  active,  "ever 
 make  fresh  shoots." 
 
 Bless  themselves  in  him.  The 
 same  reflective  form  of  the  Hebrew 
 
322 
 
 PSALM  LXXIT. 
 Let  all.  nations  call  him  happy  ! 
 
 verb  occurs  in  Gen.  xxii.  1 8,  xxvi.  4, 
 whereas  in  xviii.  18  the  passive  is  em- 
 ployed, "and  in  him  all  the  nations 
 of  the  earth  shall  be  blessed."  The 
 meaning  seems  to  be,  that  the  king 
 shall  be  to  them  the  very  type  and 
 living  image  of  all  blessing,  so  that 
 ihey  can  wish  for  nothing  higher  or 
 more  glorious  than  that  his  blessed- 
 ness should  flow  forth  upon  them. 
 There  is  so  much  truth  in  the  note  with 
 which  Delitzsch  concludes  his  com- 
 mentary on  this  Psalm,  that,  though  it 
 is  rather  long,  I  will  quote  it :  "Solo- 
 mon," he  says,  "was  in  truth  a  righ- 
 teous, gracious,  God-fearing  prince  : 
 he  established  and  even  extended  the 
 kin;:fdom,  he  ruled  over  innumerable 
 people,  exalted  in  wisdom  and  riches 
 above  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  ;  his 
 time  was  the  most  happy,  the  richest 
 in  -.peace  and  joy,  which  Israel  ever 
 knew.  The  words  of  the  Psalm  were 
 all  fulfilled  in  him,  even  to  the  mere 
 particular  of  the  universal  dominion 
 which  is  wished  for  him.  But  the 
 end  of  his  reign  was  not  like  the 
 beginning  and  the  middle  of  it.  The 
 fair,  the  glorious,  the  pure  image  of 
 the  Messiah  which  he  had  exhibited 
 waxed  pale.  In  the  time  of  David 
 and  Solomon,  the  hope  of  believers, 
 which  was  attached  to  the  kingdom 
 of  David,  had  not  yet  fully  broken 
 with  the  present.  That  time,  with 
 few  exceptions,  knew  as  yet  no  other 
 Messiah  than  the  Anointed  of  God, 
 who  was  David  or  Solomon  himself. 
 When,  however,  the  kingdom,  in  the 
 person  of  tliese  its  two  most  glorious 
 representatives,  had  proved  itself  un- 
 able to  bring  to  perfection  the  idea 
 of  the  -'Messiah  or  the  Anointed  of 
 (iod;  and  when  the  line  of  kings  who 
 followed  thoroughly  disapj)ointed  the 
 hope  whicli  clung  to  the  kingdom  of 
 the  present ;  and  when,  though  here 
 and   there,  as   under  Hezckiah,  that 
 
 hope  blazed  up  for  a  moment,  it  was 
 finally  extinguished,  and  men  were 
 driven  from  the  present  to  look  to  the 
 future, — then,  and  not  till  then,  did 
 there  come  a  decisive  break  between 
 the  Messianic  hope  and  the  existing 
 state  of  things  :  the  image  of  the 
 Messiah  was  now  painted  on  the  pure 
 sky  of  the  Future  (though  of  the 
 immediate  Future),  in  colours  fur- 
 nished by  the  unfulfilment  of  the  older 
 prophec)^  and  the  contradiction  be- 
 tween the  existing  kingdom  and  its 
 idea  ;  it  became  more  and  more,  so 
 to  speak,  something  super-earthly, 
 superhuman,  extended  into  the  future, 
 the  invisible  refuge  and  the  invisible 
 aim  of  a  faith  despairing  of  the  pre- 
 sent, and  thereby  rendered  more 
 spiritual  and  more  heavenly  (comp. 
 the  Messianic  image  as  descril)ed  in 
 colours  borrowed  from  our  Psalm, 
 Is.  xi.,  Mic.  V.  4,  7,  Zech.  ix.  9,  10). 
 Rightly  to  understand  this,  we  must 
 free  ourselves  from  the  prejudice  that 
 the  centre  of  the  Old  Testament 
 gospel  (Heils-Verkiindigung)  lay  in  the 
 prophecy  of  the  Messiah.  Where  is  the 
 Messiah  set  forth  as  the  Redeemer  of 
 the  world  ?  The  Redeemer  of  the 
 world  is  Jehovah.  The  coming  [Pa- 
 rti sia)  of  Jehovah  is  the  centre  of  the 
 Old  Testament  gospel.  How  this 
 unfolded  itself  may  be  made  clear  by 
 means  of  a  comparison.  The  Old 
 Testament,  in  relation  to  the  Day  of 
 the  New  Testament,  is  Night.  In 
 this  Night,  there  rise  in  opposite 
 directions  two  stars  of  Promise.  The 
 one  describes  its  path  from  above 
 downwards :  it  is  the  promise  of 
 Jehovah,  who  is  about  to  come.  The 
 other  describes  its  path  from  below 
 upwards  :  it  is  the  hope  which  rests 
 on  the  seed  of  David,  the  prophecy 
 of  the  Son  of" David,  which  at  first 
 ran  a  course  wholly  human,  and  only 
 earthly.      These   two   stars   meet  a. 
 
PSALM  LXXIL 
 
 i8 
 
 10 
 
 Blessed  be  Jehovah  God,  the  God  of  Israel, 
 
 Who  alone  doeth  wondrous  things  ! 
 And  blessed  be  His  glorious  Name  for  ever, 
 And  let  all  the  ear^th  be  filled  with  His  glory . 
 
 Amen  and  Amen. 
 20  Ended  are  the  Prayers  of 
 David  the  Son  of  Jesse. 
 
 last,  they  mingle  sb  as  to  form  but 
 one  ;  the  Night  vanishes,  and  it  is 
 Day,  This  one  star  is  Jesus  Christ, 
 Jehovah  and  David's  Son  in  one  per- 
 son, the  King  of  Israel  and  at  the 
 same  time  the  Redeemer  of  the 
 world ;  in  a  word,  the  God- Man, 
 blessed  be  Me  !  " 
 
 1 8,  19.  These  verses  are  a  later 
 doxology,  apjDended  here  to  mark 
 the  close  of  the  Second  Book  of 
 the  Psalter.  Similar  doxologies  occur 
 at  the  end  of  all  the  other  books  (see 
 at  the  end  of  Ps.  xh. ).  This  ap- 
 proaches the  nearest  to  the  regular 
 liturgical  Berachah,  or  blessing  ;  for  it 
 contains  what  is  required  in  that,  the 
 A^<7/;/^  of  Jehovah,  the  Ajiien,  and  the 
 mention  of  the  kins^dojn,  though  this 
 last  is  only  implied  in  "  the  Name  of 
 His  Glory,''''  and  it  is  not  expressly 
 said  "  the  Name  of  the  Glory  of  His 
 kingdom,"  as  it  is,  for  instance,  in 
 the  Berachah,  at  the  pronouncing  of 
 which,  on  the  Day  of  Atonement, 
 the  people  fell  on  their  faces,  so  often 
 as  the  Name  of  Jehovah  passed  over 
 the  lips  of  the  Pligh  Priest. 
 
 18.  Jehovah  God,  see  on  lix,  5. 
 Who  alone   doeth  wondrous 
 
 THINGS.  Comp.  cxxxvi.  4,  and  Job 
 ix.  8. 
 
 19.  His  glorious  Name,  or 
 "the  Name  of  His  Glory."  Comp. 
 Neh,  ix.  5  ;  and  with  the  concluding 
 words  of  the  verse,  Numb.  xiv.  21, 
 
 The  repeated  Amen,  with  the  con- 
 junction, is  in  the  Old  Test,  peculiar 
 to  those  doxologies  in  the  Psalter. 
 
 The    characteristic    difference    be- 
 
 tween the  two  Books  of  the  Psalter, 
 and  the  use  of  the  Divine  Names,  is 
 preserved  even  in  their  concluding 
 doxologies.  In  the  first,  God  is 
 spoken  of  as  "■  Jehoz'ah,  the  God  of 
 Israel  ;  "  here  as  ''Jehovah  Elohim, 
 the  God  of  Israel." 
 
 20,  This  verse,  again  (with  which 
 may  be  compared  Job  xxxi.  40),  does 
 not  belong  originally  either  to  the 
 Psalm  or  to  the  Doxology,  though 
 perhaps  older  than  the  last.  It 
 is  remarkable  that  the  elder  Kimchi 
 treated  the  words  as  an  integral 
 portion  of  the  Psalter.  He  says  : 
 ' '  When  all  shall  have  been  ful- 
 filled, so  that  Israel,  brought  back 
 from  exile,  shall  have  been  restored 
 to  their  land,  and  the  Messiah,  the 
 son  of  David,  rules  over  them,  then 
 will  they  need  no  more  atonement, 
 and  deliverance,  and  blessing,  for 
 they  will  possess  all,  and  then  will 
 be  ended  the  prayers  of  David  the 
 son  of  Jesse  "  (quoted  by  Delitzsch). 
 As  several  Psalms  bearing  the 
 name  of  David  occur  in  the  later 
 Books  of  the  Psalter,  it  is  evident 
 that  this  notice,  "  ended  are  the 
 Prayers  of  David,"  &c.,  roust  have 
 been  placed  originally  at  the  end  of 
 a  smaller  collection  of  Psahns,  which 
 was  supposed  to  comprise  those  only 
 which  were  known  as  his,  or  which 
 at  the  least  belonged  to  his  time.  It 
 does  not  prove  that  all  the  Psalms 
 of  the  first  two  Books  were  regarded 
 as  David's,  or  that  he  wrote  none  of 
 those  which  in  the  later  Books  go  by 
 his  name. 
 
 Y    2 
 
THE     P  S  A  L  M  S. 
 
 BOOK  III. 
 
 PSAX.MS  LXXIII.— l.XXXIX. 
 
PSALM  LXXIIT. 
 
 There  are  some  questions  which  never  lose  their  interest,  some 
 problems  of  which  it  may  be  said,  that  they  are  ever  old  and  yet 
 ever  new.  Not  the  least  anxious  of  such  questions  are  those  which 
 deal  with  God's  moral  government  of  the  world.  They  lie  close  to 
 man's  heart,  and  are  ever  asking  and  pressing  for  solution.  They 
 may  differ  in  different  times,  they  may  assume  various  forms,  but 
 perhaps  no  man  ever  looked  thoughtfully  on  the  world  as  it  is 
 without  seeing  much  that  was  hard  to  reconcile  with  a  belief  in  the 
 love  and  wisdom  of  God. 
 
 One  form  of  this  moral  difficulty  pressed  heavily  upon  the  pious 
 Jew  under  the  Old  Dispensation.  It  was  this  :  Why  should  good 
 men  suffer,  and  bad  men  prosper  ?  This  difficulty  was  aggravated, 
 we  must  remember,  by  what  seemed  to  be  the  manifest  contradiction 
 between  the  express  teaching  of  his  Law  and  the  observed  facts  of 
 human  experience.  The  Law  told  him  that  God  was  a  righteous 
 Judge,  meting  out  to  men  in  this  world  the  due  recompense  of  their 
 deeds.  The  course  of  the  world,  where  those  who  had  cast  off  the 
 fear  of  God  were  rich  and  powerful,  made  him  ready  to  question 
 this  truth,  and  was  a  serious  stumbling-block  to  his  faith.  And 
 further,  the  Hebrew  mind  had  never  risen  to  the  conception  of 
 universal  law,  but  was  accustomed  to  regard  all  visible  phenomena  as 
 the  immediate  result  of  a  free  Sovereign  Will.  Direct  interposition, 
 even  arbitrary  interference,  was  no  difficulty  to  the  Jew,  to  whom 
 Jehovah  was  the  absolute  Sovereign  of  the  \^orld,  not  acting,  so  far 
 as  he  could  see,  according  to  any  estabhshed  order.  Hence  it 
 seemed  to  him  inexplicable  that  the  world  of  life  should  not  reflect 
 perfectly,  as  in  a  mirror,  the  righteousness  of  God, 
 
 This  is  the  perplexity  which  appears  in  this  Psalm,  as  it  does  in 
 the  37th,  and  also  in  the  Book  of  Job.  Substantially  it  is  the  same 
 problem  :  but  it  is  met  differently.  In  the  37th  Psalm  the  advice 
 given  is  to  wait,  to  trust  in  Jehovah,  and  to  rest  assured  that  in  the 
 end  the  seeming  disorder  will  be  set  right  even  m  this  world.     The 
 
328  PSALM  LXXITI. 
 
 wicked  will  perish,  the  enemies  of  Jehovah  will  be  cut  off,  and  the 
 righteous  will  be  preserved  from  evil  and  inherit  the  land.  Thus 
 God  suffers  wickedness  for  a  time,  only  the  more  signally  to  manifest 
 His  righteousness  in  overthrowing  it.  That  is  the  first,  the  simplest, 
 the  most  obvious  solution  of  the  difficulty.  In  the  Book  of  Job,  where 
 the  sorrow  and  the  perplexity  are  the  darkest,  where  the  question 
 lies  upon  the  heart  "heavy  as  lead,  and  deep  almost  as  life,"  the 
 sufferer  finds  no  such  consolation.  As  a  Gentile,  he  has  no  need 
 to  reconcile  his  experience  with  the  sanctions  of  the  Pentateuch. 
 But  he  has  to  do  that  which  is  not  less  hard,  he  has  to  reconcile 
 it  with  a  life's  knowledge  of  God,  and  a  life's  love  of  God.  He 
 searches  his  heart,  he  lays  bare  his  life,  he  is  conscious  of  no 
 transgression,  and  he  cannot  understand  why  chastisement  should 
 be  laid  upon  him,  whilst  the  most  daring  offenders  against  the 
 Majesty  of  God  escape  with  impunity.  Sometimes  with  a  bitterness 
 that  cannot  be  repressed,  sometimes  with  a  sorrow  hushing  itself  into 
 resignation,  he  still  turns  to  God  ;  he  would  fain  stand  before  His 
 judgement-seat,  plead  with  Him  his  cause,  and  receive  a  righteous 
 sentence.  But  Job  does  not  find  the  solution  of  the  Psalmist. 
 He  is  driven  to  find  that  all  is  a  mystery.  God  will  not  give  an 
 account  of  any  of  His  matters.  "  I  go  forward,  but  He  is  not 
 there;  and  backward,  but  I  cannot  perceive  Him"  (Job  xxiii.).  And 
 when  Jehovah  appears  at  the  end  of  the  book,  it  is  to  show  the 
 folly  of  man,  who  would  presume  to  think  that,  short-sighted  and 
 ignorant  as  he  is,  he  can  fathom  the  cotfticils  of  the  Most  High. 
 He  appears,  not  to  lift  the  veil  of  mystery,  but  to  teach  the  need  of 
 humiliation  and  the  blessedness  or  faith.* 
 
 In  this  Psalm,  again,  a  different  conclusion  is  arrived  at.  In  part 
 it  is  the  same  as  that  which  has  already  met  us  in  Psalm  xxxvii.,  in 
 part  it  is  far  higher.  The  Psalmist  here  is  not  content  merely  with 
 visible  retribution  in  this  world.  He  sees  it  indeed  in  the  case  of  the 
 ungodly.  When  he  was  tempted  to  envy  their  lot,  when  he  had  all  but 
 yielded  to  the  sophistry  of  those  who  would  have  persuaded  him  to  be 
 even  as  they,  the  temptation  was  subdued  by  the  reflection  that  such 
 
 *  There  is  a  difficulty,  no  doubt,  in  reconciling  this  solution,  or  rather  non-solution  of  the 
 5.roblcm,  with  that  which  is  .i^iven  subsequently  in  the  historical  conclusion  of  the  Books. 
 1  here  we  find  Job  recompensed  in  this  life  for  all  his  suftie.rings.  If  the  historical  parts  of 
 the  Kook  are  by  the  same  author  as  the  dialogue,  then  we  must  suppose  that  when  Job  is 
 brought  to  confess  his  own  v.lencss  and  his  own  ignorance  and  presumption,  then,  and  not 
 111   then,  docs  God  reward  hiOL  with  leniporal  prosperity. 
 
PSALM  LXXIII.  329 
 
 prosperity  came  to  an  end  as  sudden  as  it  was  terrible.  But  he  does 
 not  place  over  against  this,  on  the  other  side,  an  earthly  portion  of 
 honour  and  happiness  for  the  just.  Their  portion  is  -in  God.  He  is 
 the  stay  and  the  satisfaction  of  their  hearts  now.  He  will  take  them 
 to  Himself  and  to  glory  hereafter.  This  conviction  it  is  which  finally 
 chases  away  the  shadows  of  doubt,  and  brings  light  and  peace  into 
 his  soul.  And  this  conviction  is  the  more  remarkable,  because  it  is 
 reached  in  spite  of  the  distinct  promise  made  of  temporal  recompense 
 to  piety,  and  in  the  absence  of  a  full  and  definite  Revelation  with 
 regard  to  the  life  to  come.  •  In  the  clear  light  of  another  world  and  its 
 certain  recompenses,  such  perplexities  either  vanish  or  lose  much  of 
 their  sharpness.  *  When  we  confess  that  God's  righteousness  has  a 
 larger  theatre  for  its  display  than  this  world  and  the  years  of  man,  we 
 need  not  draw  hasty  conclusions  from  the  "slight  whisper"  of  His 
 ways  which  reaches  us  here. 
 
 It  is  an  interesting  question  suggested  by  this  Psalm,  but  one  which 
 can  only  be  touched  on  here,  how  far  there  is  anything  in  common 
 between  doubts,  such  as  those  which  perplexed  the  ancient  Hebrews, 
 and  those  by  which  modern  thinkers  are  harassed.*  There  are  some 
 persons,  who  now,  as  of  old,  are  troubled  by  the  moral  aspect  of  the 
 world.  To  some,  this  perplexity  is  even  aggravated  by  the  disclosures 
 of  Revelation.  And  men  of  pious  minds  have  been  shaken  to  their 
 inmost  centre  by  the  appalling  prospect  of  the  everlasting  punish- 
 ment of  the  wicked.  But  the  difficulties,  which  are,  properly  speaking, 
 modern  difficulties,  are  of  another  kind.  They  are,  at  least  in  their 
 source,  speculative  rather  than  moral.  The  observed  uniformity  of 
 nature,  the  indissoluble  chain  of  cause  and  effect,  the  absolute 
 certainty  of  the  laws  by  which  all  visible  phenomena  are  governed, 
 these  are  now  the  stumbling-blocks  even  to  devout  minds.  How, 
 it  is  asked,  can  we  reconcile  these  things  with  the  belief  in  a  Personal 
 God,  or  at  least  with  an  ever-active  Personal  Will .''  Had  the  world 
 ever  a  Maker  ?  or,  if  it  had,  does  He  still  control  and  guide  it  1 
 Knowing  as  we  do  that  the  order  of  cause  and  effect  is  ever  the 
 same,  how  can  we  accept  miracles  or  Divine  interpositions  of  any 
 kind  ?  What  avails  prayer,  when  every  event  that  happens  has  been 
 ordained  from  eternity  ?  How  can  any  words  of  man  interrupt  the 
 march   of   the    Universe  ?      Ships    are    wrecked,   and    harvests    are 
 
 *  See  Dr.  A.  S-  Farrar's  "■  Brunpton  Lectures  :  "  Lecture  i.  p.  7,  note. 
 
530  PSALM   LXXIIT. 
 
 blighted,  and  famine  and  pestilence  walk  the  earth,  not  because  men 
 have  forgotten  to  pray,  but  in  accordance  with  the  unerring  laws 
 which  storm,  and  blight,  and  disease  obey.  Such  are  some  of  the 
 thoughts— the  birth,  it  may  be  said,  of  modern  science — which  haunt 
 and  vex  men  now. 
 
 Difficulties  like  these  are  not  touched  upon  in  Scripture.  But  the 
 spirit  in  which  all  difficulties,  all  doubts,  should  be  met,  is  the  same. 
 If  the  answer  lies  in  a  region  above  and  beyond  us,  our  true  wisdom 
 is  to  wait  in  humble  dependence  upon  God,  in  active  fulfilment  of 
 what  we  can  see  to  be  our  duty,  till  the  day  dawn  and  the  shadows 
 flee  away.  And  it  is  this  which  Scripture  teaches  us  in  this  Psalm, 
 in  Job,  and  in  that  other  Book,  which  is  such  a  wonderful  record  of 
 a  doubting  self-tormenting  spirit,  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes.  It  has  been 
 said  that  the  Book  of  Job  and  the  73rd  Psalm  "  crush  free  thought,"* 
 It  would  have  been  truer  to  say  that  they  teach  us  that  there  are 
 heights  which  we  cannot  reach,  depths  which  the  intellect  of  man 
 cannot  fathom  ;  that  God's  ways  are  past  finding  out ;  that  difficulties, 
 perplexities,  sorrows,  are  best  healed  and  forgotten  in  the  Light  which 
 streams  from  His  throne,  in  the  Love  which  by  His  Spirit  is  shed 
 abroad  in  the  heart. 
 
 But  the  Psalm  teaches  us  also  a  lesson  of  forbearance  towards 
 the  doubter.  It  is  a  lesson  perhaps  just  now  peculiarly  needed. 
 Christian  sympathy  is  felt,  Christian  charity  is  extended,  towards 
 every  form  of  misery,  whether  mental  or  bodily,  except  toward  that 
 which  is  often  the  acutest  of  all,  the  anguish  of  doubt.  Here  it  seems 
 as  if  coldness,  suspicion,  even  denunciation,  were  justifiable.  And 
 yet  doubt,  even  to  the  verge  of  scepticism,  as  is  plain  from  this  Psalm, 
 may  be  no  proof  of  a  bad  and  corrupt  heart  ;  it  may  rather  be 
 the  evidence  of  an  honest  one.  Doubt  may  spring  from  the  very 
 depth  and  earnestness  of  a  man's  faith.  In  the  case  of  the  Psalmist, 
 as  in  the  case  of  Job,  that  which  lay  at  the  bottom  of  the  doubt,  that 
 which  made  it  a  thing  so  full  of  anguish,  was  the  deep-rooted  con- 
 viction of  the  righteousness  of  God.  Unbelief  does  not  doubt,  faith 
 doubts,  t  And  God  permits  the  doubt  in  His  truest  and  noblest 
 servants,  as  our  Lord  did  in  the  case  of  Thomas,  that  He  may 
 thereby  plant  their  feet  the  more  firmly  on  the  rock  of  His  own 
 everlasting  truth.     There  is  perhaps  no  Psalm  in  which  Faith  asserts 
 
 *  (juiiict,  CEuTrcs   t.  i.  c.  5,  §  4. 
 
 t  See  Archbishop  Whaiely,  AuuoUitionson  Baton's  Essays,  pp.  358,  359. 
 
PSALM  LXXIJL  331 
 
 itself  so  triumphantly,  cleaves  to  God  with  such  words  of  lofty  hope 
 and  affection,  and  that  precisely  because  in  no  other  instance  has  the 
 fire  been  so  searching,  the  test  of  faith  so  severe.  It  may  be  well  to 
 remember  this  when  we  see  a  noble  soul  compassed  about  with  dark- 
 ness, yet  struggling  to  the  light,  lest  we  "  vex  one  whom  God  has 
 smitten,  and  tell  of  the  pain  of  His  wounded  ones"  (Ps.  Ixix.  26). 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  tw^o  parts  : — 
 
 I.  The  Psalmist  tells  the  story  of  the  doubts  which  had  assailed 
 him,  the  temptation  to  which  he  had  nearly  succumbed.     Ver.  i — 14, 
 
 II.  He  confesses  the  sinfuless  of  these  doubts,  and  explains  how 
 he  had  been  enabled  to  overcome  them.     Ver.  15 — 28. 
 
 These  principal  portions  have  their  further  'subdivisions. 
 
 I.  a.  First  we  have,  by  way  of  introduction,  the  conviction  to  which 
 his  struggle  with  doubt  brought  him,  ver.  i  ;  then  the  general  state- 
 ment of  his  offence,  ver.  2,  3. 
 
 b.  The  reason  of  which  is  more  fully  explained  to  be  the  prosperity 
 of  the  wicked,  ver.  4,  5  ;  and  their  insolence  and  pride  in  consec^uence, 
 ver.  6 — II. 
 
 c.  The  comfortless  conclusion  which  he  had  thence  drawn,  ver. 
 12—14. 
 
 II.  a.  By  way  of  transition,  he  tells  how  he  had  been  led  to 
 acknowledge  the  impiety  of  this  conclusion,  and  how,  seeking  for 
 a  deeper,  truer  view,  he  had  come  to  the  sanctuary  of  God,  ver.  15 — 17, 
 where  he  had  seen  the  sudden  and  fearftil  end  of  the  wicked,  ver. 
 18 — 20,  and  so  had  learned  the  folly  of  his  own  speculation. 
 
 d.  Thus  recovering  from  the  almost  fatal  shock  which  his  faith  had 
 received,  he  returns  to  a  sense  of  his  true  position.  God  holds  him 
 by  his  right  hand,  God  guides  him  for  the  present,  and  will  bring  him 
 to  a  glorious  end,  ver.  23,  24  ;  hence  he  rejoices  in  the  thought  that 
 God  is  his  great  and  only  possession,  ver.  25,  26. 
 
 c.  The  general  conclusion  that  departure  from  God  is  death  and 
 destruction;  that  in  His  presence  and  in  nearness  to  Him  are  to  be 
 found  joy  and  safety,  ver.  27,  28. 
 
332 
 
 PSALM  LXXIIL 
 
 [a  psalm  of  ASAPH."^] 
 
 1  Surely  God  is  good  to  Israel, 
 
 (Even)  to  such  as  are  of  a  pure  heart, 
 
 2  But  as  for  me,  my  feet  were  almost  gone, 
 
 My  steps  had  well  nigh  slipt. 
 
 3  For  I  was  envious  at  the  arrogant, 
 
 I.  Surely,  This  particle,  which 
 occurs  twice  again  in  this  Psalm,  is 
 rendered  differently  in  each  case  by 
 the  E.  V.  ;  here  truly,  in  ver,  13 
 verily,  in  ver.  18  surely  :  but  one  ren- 
 dering should  be  kept  throughout. 
 Here  it  is  used  affirmatively,  and  ex- 
 presses the  satisfaction  with  which  the 
 conclusion  has  been  arrived  at,  after 
 all  the  anxious  questionings  and  de- 
 batings  through  which  the  Psalmist 
 has  passed.  "Yes,  it  is  so  ;  after  all, 
 (jod  is  good,  notwithstanding  all  my 
 doubts."  It  thus  implies  at  the  same 
 time  a  tacit  opposition  to  a  different 
 view  of  the  case,  such  as  that  which 
 is  described  afterwards.  **  Fresh  from 
 the  conflict,  he  somewhat  abruptly 
 opens  the  Psalm  with  the  confident 
 cnunciaiion  of  the  truth,  of  which 
 victory  over  doubt  had  now  made  hiin 
 more,  and  more  intelligently,  sure 
 than  ever,  that  God  is  good  to  Israel, 
 even  to  such  as  are  of  a  clean  heart." 
 — Essential  Coherence  of  the  Old  and 
 New  Testa7}ient,  by  my  brother,  the 
 Rev.  T.  T.  Perowne,  p.  85,  to  which 
 I  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to  refer 
 for  a  clear  and  satisfactory  view  of 
 the  whole  Psalm. 
 
 It  is  of  importance  to  remark  that 
 the  result  of  the  conflict  is  stated 
 before  the  conflict  itself  is  described. 
 'J'here  is  no  parade  of  doubt  merely 
 a^  doubt.     He  states  yf^j/,  and  in  the 
 
 most  natural  way,  \^\s.  final  conviction 
 of  his  heart. 
 
 Israel.  The  next  clause  limits 
 this,  and  reminds  us  that  '*'  they  are 
 not  all  Israel,  which  are  of  Israel." 
 To  the  true  Israel  God  is  Love  :  to 
 them  "all  things  work  together  for 
 good." 
 
 Of  a  pure  heart.  Comp.  Matt, 
 v.  8. 
 
 2.  But  as  for  me.  The  pro- 
 noun is  emphatic.  He  places  him- 
 self, with  shame  and  sorrow,  almost 
 in  opposition  to  that  Israel  of  God 
 of  which  he  had  just  spoken.  He 
 has  in  view  the  happiness  of  those 
 who  had  fek  no  doubt.  Calvin  some- 
 what differently  explains  :  Even  I, 
 with  all  my  knowledge  and  advan- 
 tages, I,  who  ought  to  have  known 
 better. 
 
 Gone,  lit.  "inclined," not  so  much 
 in  the  sense  of  being  bent  under  him, 
 as  rather  of  being  turned  aside,  out 
 of  the  way,  as  in  Numb.  xx.  17,  2 
 Sam.  ii.  19,  21,  &c.  The  verb  in 
 the  next  clause  expresses  the  giving 
 way  from  weakness,  fear,  &c.,  had 
 .  .  .  SLIPT,  lit.  "were  poured  out" 
 like  water. 
 
 3.  Envious,  as  in  xxxvii.  i,  Prov. 
 xxiii.  17,  wishing  that  his  lot  were 
 like  theirs  who  seemed  to  be  the 
 favourites  of  Heaven.  Calvin  quotes 
 the  story  of  Dionysius  the  Less,  who, 
 
 *  See  note  on  Psalm  1.  p.  202. 
 
PSALM  LXXIH. 
 
 ZIZ 
 
 When  I  saw  the  prosperity  of  the  wicked. 
 For  they  have  no  bands  in  their  death, 
 
 And  their  strength  (continues)  firm. 
 Into  the  same  trouble  as  (other)  men  they  come  not 
 
 Neither  are  they  plagued  like  (other)  folk. 
 Therefore  pride  is  as  a  chain  about  their  neck  ; 
 
 Violence  covereth  them  as  a  garment. 
 
 having  sacrilegiously  plundered  a 
 temple,  and  having  sailed  safely 
 home,  said  :  "Do  you  see  that  the 
 gods  smile  upon  sacrilege  ? "  The 
 prosperity  and  impunity  of  the  wicked 
 invite  others  to  follow  their  example. 
 
 The  arrogant.  The  word  de- 
 notes those  whose  pride  and  infatua- 
 tion amount  almost  to  madness.  It 
 is  difficult  to  find  an  exact  equivalent 
 in  English.  It  occurs  in  v.  5,  and 
 again  in  Ixxv.  4. 
 
 4.  Bands.  This  word  "bands," 
 or  "tight  cords/' or  "  fetters,"  occurs 
 only  once  besides,  Is.  Iviii.  6,  This 
 is  the  simplest  and  most  straight- 
 forward rendering  of  the  words, 
 "They  have  no  bands  in  their  death  " 
 (lit.  at  or  for  their  death,  i.e.  when 
 they  die).  The  objection  brought 
 against  it,  that  such  a  meaning  is 
 at  variance  with  the  general  scope 
 of  the  Psalm,  the  object  of  which 
 is  not  to  represent  the  end  of  the 
 ungodly  as  happy  (the  very  reverse 
 is  asserted,  ver.  17,  &c.),  but  to  de- 
 scribe the  general  prosperity  of  their 
 lives,  is  of  no  great  force.  For 
 we  must  remember  that  the  Psalmist 
 is  describing  here  not  the  fact, 
 but  ivhat  seemed  to  him  to  be  the 
 fact,  in  a  state  of  mind  which  he 
 confesses  to  have  been  unhealthy. 
 Comp.  Job  xxi.  13,  and  see  the  note 
 on  ver.  18  of  this  Psalm.  Other- 
 wise it  would  be  possible  to  render, 
 "  For  no  bands  (of  suffering) 
 (bring  them)    to   their  death."      iNo 
 
 fetters  are  so  to  speak  laid  upon 
 their  limbs,  so  that  they  should  be 
 delivered  over  bound  to  their  great 
 enemy.  They  are  not  beset  with 
 sorrows,  sufferings,  miseries,  which 
 by  impairing  health  and  strength 
 bring  them  to  death.  This  sense  has 
 been  very  well  given  in  the  P.  B.  V., 
 which  follows  Luther  : — 
 ' '  For  they  are  in  no  peril  of  death, 
 But  are  lusty  and  strong," 
 
 5.  The  literal  rendering  of  this 
 verse  would  be  : — 
 
 "  In  the  trouble  of  man  they  are  not, 
 And  with  mankind  they  are  not 
 plagued." 
 The  first  word  used  to  express  man 
 is  that  which  denotes  man  in  his 
 frailty  and  weakness.  The  other  is 
 the  most  general  term,  Adam,  man 
 as  made  of  the  dust  of  the  earth. 
 These  men  seem  exempt  not  only 
 from  the  frailties  and  infirmities  cf 
 men,  but  even  from  the  common  lot 
 of  men.  They  appear  almost  to  be 
 tempered  and  moulded  of  a  finer  clay 
 than  ordinary  human  nature. 
 
 Plagued,  lit.  "smitten,"  i.e.  of 
 God  ;  a  word  used  especially  of 
 Divine  chastisement.  Comp.  Is. 
 liii.  4. 
 
 6.  Is    AS   A   CHAIN    ABOUT    THEIR 
 
 NECK,  or,  "hath  encircled  their  neck." 
 See  for  the  same  figure,  Prov.  i.  9, 
 iii.  22.  The  neck  is  regarded  as  the 
 seat  of  pride  :  comp.  Ixxv.  5,  Is. 
 iii.  16. 
 
334 
 
 PSALM  LXXIIL 
 
 7  Their  eye  goeth  forth  from  fatness  ; 
 
 The  imaginations  of  (their)  heart  overflow. 
 
 8  They  scoff  and  speak  wickedly, 
 
 Of  oppression  loftily  do  they  speak. 
 
 9  They  have  set  in  the  heavens  their  mouth, 
 
 And  their  tongue  walketh  through  the  earth. 
 10  Therefore  turn  his  people  after  them, 
 
 Overflow. 
 from   a    swollen 
 above  its  banks. 
 absolutely,  as  in 
 
 7.  From  FATNESS,  i.e.  from  a  sleek 
 countenance,  conveying  in  itself  the 
 impression  of  worldly  ease  and  en- 
 joyment. The  whole  figure  is  highly 
 expressive.  It  is  a  picture  of  that 
 proud  satisfaction  which  so  often 
 shines  in  the  eyes  of  well-to-do  men 
 of  the  world. 
 
 The  metaphor  is 
 river  which  rises 
 The  verb   is  used 
 
 Hab.  i.  II,  "Then 
 (his)  spirit  swells  and  overflows," 
 where  the  same  figure  is  employed  in 
 describing  the  pride  and  insolence  of 
 the  Chaldaeans.  See  also  Is.  viii.  8. 
 This  is  better  than,  with  the  E.V., 
 to  take  the  verb  as  transitive,  "They 
 have  more  than  heart  could  wish  " 
 (lit.  they  have  exceeded  the  im.agi- 
 nations  of  the  heart)  :  the  two  clauses 
 of  the  verse  correspond,  the  proud 
 look  being  an  index  of  the  proud 
 heart  ;  these  being  followed,  in  the 
 next  verse,  by  the  proud  spirit. 
 
 8.  According  to  the  Masoretic 
 punctuation,  the  verse  would  be  ar- 
 ranged thus  : — 
 
 '■They  scoff  and  speak  wickedly   of 
 oppression. 
 Loftily  do  they  speak." 
 
 Loftily,  or  "  from  on  high,"  not 
 "against  the  Most  Pligh,"'  as  the 
 P.   B.   V. 
 
 9.  In  the  heavens,  not  "against 
 the  heavens."  The  stature  of  these 
 men  seems  to  swell  till  it  reaches 
 heaven.       Thence    they    issue    their 
 
 proud  commands,  the  whole  earth 
 being  the  theatre  of  their  action. 
 
 10.  Therefore.  This isco-ordinate 
 with  the  "  therefore  "  in  ver.  6.  Both 
 depend  on  the  statement  in  ver.  4,  5. 
 Because  the  wicked  have  no  bands, 
 &c.,  therefore  pride  compasseth  them, 
 &c.,  and  therefore  others  are  induced 
 to  follow  their  example. 
 
 His  people,  instead  of  ^^ their 
 people."  Either  (i),  in  accordance 
 with  a  common  Hebrev/  idiom,  there 
 is  an  abrupt  transition  from  the  plu- 
 ral to  the  singular,  an  individual 
 being  now  substituted  for  the  mass. 
 " //z>  people,"  in  this  sense,  are  the 
 crowd  who  attach  themselves  to  one 
 and  another  of  these  prosperous  sin- 
 ners, that  they  may  sliare  his  pro- 
 sperity. Or  (2),  the  pronoun  refers 
 to  God.  Even  His  people,  forsaking 
 Him,  are  led  away  by  the  evil  ex- 
 ample, just  as  the  Psalmist  confesses 
 he  himself  was. 
 
 After  them,  lit.  "thither,"  i.e. 
 to  the  persons  before  described,  and, 
 as  is  implied,  away  from  God.  The 
 next  clause  of  the  verse  is  more 
 difficult  of  explanation.  The  E.  V. 
 by  its  rendering,  "And  waters  of  a 
 full  (cup)  are  wi'ung  out  to  them," 
 probably  means  us  to  understand  that 
 the  people  of  God,  when  they  turn 
 hither,  i.e.  to  the  consideration  of 
 the  prosperity  of  the  wicked,  are 
 filled  with  sorrow,  drink  as  it  Avere 
 the  cup  of  tears  ;  the  image  being 
 the  same  as  in  Ixxx.  5.  The  P.  B.  V. 
 comes  nearer  to  the  mark  : — 
 
PSALM  LXXIH, 
 
 3.35 
 
 And  at  the  full  stream  would  slake  their  thirst : 
 T I   And  they  say  :  "  How  doth  God  know  ? 
 
 And  is  their  knowledge  in  the  Most  High  ?  " 
 
 1 2  Lo,  these  are  the  wicked, 
 
 And    (these   men),  ever   prosperous,    have    increased 
 (their)  wealth. 
 
 13  Surely  in  vain  have  I  cleansed  my  heart, 
 
 And  washed  my  hands  in  innocency, 
 
 14  And  have  been  plagued  all  the  day, 
 
 And  chastened  ever}^  morning. 
 
 "Therefore     fall     the     people    unto 
 tliem, 
 And  thereout  suck  they  no  small 
 advantage," — 
 
 only  that  apparently  in  the  second 
 clause  the  pronoun  they  refers,  not 
 to  the  people,  but  tc  the  wicked 
 mentioned  before.  "Whereas  it  is  the 
 people,  the  crowd  of  hangers-on,  who 
 gather  like  sheep  to  the  water-trough, 
 who  suck  this  advantage,  such  as  it 
 is,  as  the  reward  of  their  apoj^tasy. 
 
 And  at  the  full  stream,  &c. 
 lit.  "and  fulness  of  water  is  drained 
 by  them;"  i.e.  broad  and  deep  are 
 the  waters  of  sinful  pleasures,  which 
 they,  in  their  infatuation,  drink. 
 
 II.  And  they  say.  The  refer- 
 ence  of  the  pronoun  has  again  been 
 disputed.  Mostly  it  is  referred  to 
 those  just  spoken  of,  who  have  been 
 led  astray  by  the  prosperity  of  the 
 wicked  to  follow  them.  liupfeld 
 thinks  it  is  the  wicked  themselves  (of 
 ■\'er.  3)  who  thus  speak  ;  and  cer- 
 tainly the  boldness  of  the  language 
 employed,  which  questions  the  very 
 being  of  a  God,  is  more  natural  in 
 the  mouth  of  those  whose  long  pro- 
 sperity and  long  security  have  made 
 them  unmindful  of  His  providence. 
 
 But  much  depends  on  the  view  we 
 take  of  the  next  three  verses.  Do 
 these  continue  the  speech,  or  are  they 
 
 the  reflection  of  the  Poet  himself? 
 In  this  case  the  words  •  must  be 
 throughout  the  words  of  those  who 
 have  been  tempted  and  led  astray 
 by  the  untroubled  happiness  of  the 
 wicked.  They  adopt  their  practi- 
 cally atheistical  principles  ;  they  ask, 
 "  How  doth  God  know  ?  "  &c.  ;  they 
 point,  with  a  triumph  not  unmingled 
 with  bitterness,  at  their  success  :  Lo, 
 these  are  the  ungodly,  whose  sudden 
 and  utter  overthrow  we  have  been 
 taught  to  expect  ;  they  come  to  tl:ie 
 conclusion  that  the  fear  of  God  is  in 
 vain,  for  it  does  not  save  a  man  from 
 suffering  and  disappointment,  and 
 thus  they  justify  their  choice.  It  is 
 certainly  in  favour  of  this  view  that 
 ver.  15  seems  naturally  to  introduce 
 the  reflections  of  the  Psalmist  him- 
 self, who  had  almost  been  carried 
 away  by  the  same  sophistry.  On  the 
 other  hand,  Hengstenberg  and  liup- 
 feld suppose  the  reflections  of  the 
 Psalmist  to  begin  at  ver.  12.  Verses 
 13,  14  will  then  describe  the  temp- 
 tation which  pressed  upon  him,  the 
 thoughts  which  forced  themselves  into 
 his  mind,  and  which,  as  verses  15, 
 16  show,  he  only  with  difficulty  re- 
 pressed. He  did  utter  his  disap- 
 pointment, he  was  gliding  on  to 
 something  worse,  to  the  atheistic 
 language  of  ver.  11,  when  he  checks 
 himself  as  in  ver.    15.     In  favour  of 
 
33^ 
 
 PSALM  LXXIIL 
 
 1 5  If  I  had  said,  "  Let  me  utter  (words)  like  these." 
 
 Lo,  I  should  have  been  faithless  to  the  generation  of 
 Thy  children. 
 
 1 6  And  when  I  pondered  that  I  might  know  this, 
 
 It  was  a  trouble  in  mine  eyes  ; 
 
 17  Until  I  went  into  the  sanctuary  of  God, 
 
 (Until)  I  considered  their  latter  end. 
 
 18  Surely  in  slippery  places  dost  Thou  set  them, 
 
 this  interpretation  it  may  be  urged 
 that  the  LXX.  have  introduced  a 
 Kixi  elira  at  the  beginning  of  ver.   13. 
 
 15.  If  I  HAD  SA.ID  :  if  I  had 
 given  way  to  the  temptation  to 
 utter  thoughts  and  misgivings  like 
 these.  "The  Hebrew  Psahnist,"  it 
 has  been  well  said,  "  instead  of  telling 
 his  painful  misgivings,  harboured 
 them  in  God's  presence  till  he  found 
 the  solution.  The  delicacy  exhibited 
 in  forbearing  unnecessarily  to  shake 
 the  faith  of  others  is  a  measure  of  the 
 disinterestedness  of  the  doubter." — 
 Farrar,  Bampton  Lectures,  p.  27. 
 
 The  generation  of  Thy 
 CHILDREN.  As  in  xiv.  5,  "  the 
 generation  of  the  righteous."  So 
 the  people  at  large  are  called,  Deut. 
 xiv.  I.  Here,  however,  the  true 
 Israel,  "the  pure  of  heart,"  are 
 meant.  But  the  individual  is  not 
 called  a  son  of  God  under  the  Old 
 Testament,  except  officially,  as  in 
 ii.   7. 
 
 16.  I  pondered.  See  the  same 
 use  of  the  verb  in  Ixxvii.  5,  "  the  days 
 of  old  ;  "  Prov.  xvi.  9,  "one's  way," 
 That  I  might  know,  i.e.  recon- 
 cile all  that  I  saw  with  the  great  fact 
 of  God's  moral  government. 
 
 A  TROUBLE,  or  a  weariness,  as  of 
 a  great  burden  laid  upon  me  (comp. 
 Eccles.  viii.  17).  Thought  could  not 
 solve  the  prol)lem.  The  brain  grew 
 wearier,  and  the  heart  heavier.  Light 
 and  pcaCC  come  to  us,  not  by  thinking, 
 
 but  by  faith.  "In  Thy  Light  we 
 shall  see  Light."  God  Himself  was 
 the  Teacher. 
 
 17.  The  sanctuary  is  the  place 
 of  His  teachmg  ;  not  heaven,  but  the 
 Temple,  as  the  place  of  His  special 
 manifestation,  not  only  by  Urim  and 
 Thummim,  but  in  direct  answer  to 
 prayer.  There,  in  some  hour  of 
 fervent,  secret  prayer,  like  that  of 
 Hannah  (i  Sam.  i.  13  :  comp,  Luke 
 xviii.  10),  or  perhaps  in  some  solemn 
 service — it  may  have  been  (who  can 
 tell?)  through  the  words  of  some  in- 
 spired Psalm — a  conviction  of  the 
 truth  broke  upon  him. 
 
 18.  The  conclusion  is  remarkable. 
 That  which  dispels  the  Psalmist's 
 doubts,  and  restores  his  faith,  is  the 
 end  of  the  ungqdly  in  this  world, — 
 their  sudden  reverses,  their  terrible 
 overthrow  in  the  very  bosom  of  their 
 prosperity.  Hitherto  he  has  not 
 taken  notice  of  this  fact  as  he  ought :  ( 
 he  has  been  so  dazzled  with  the  pro-  \  ' 
 speiity  of  the  wicked,  that  he  has  for- 
 gotten by  what  appalling  judgements 
 God  vindicates  His  righteousness.  He 
 does  not  follow  them  into  the  next 
 world.      Plis  eye  cannot  see  beyond 
 
 the  grave.  Even  the  great  horror  of 
 an  evil  conscience  is  scarcely,  in  his 
 view,  a  part  of  their  punishment, 
 unless  the  expression  "because  of 
 terrors,"  in  ver.  19,  may  be  supposed 
 to  point  that  way  ;  which,  however, 
 is  very  doubtful. 
 
PSALM  LXXni. 
 
 337 
 
 Thou  hast  cast  them  down  to  ruin. 
 
 19  How  are  they  brought  to  desolation  as  in  a  moment, 
 
 They  have  come  to  an  end,  they  are  cut  off  because 
 of  terrors. 
 
 20  As  a  dream,  when  one  awaketh. 
 
 So,  O   Lord,    when    Thou    stirrest  up  Thyself,  dost 
 Thou  despise  their  image. 
 
 It  is  singular  that  in  Job  xxi.  13 
 (comp.  ix.  23)  it  is  reckoned  as  an 
 element  in  the  good  fortune  of  the 
 wicked,  that  they  die  not  by  a  linger- 
 ing disease,  but  suddenly  ;  but  it  may 
 be  that  Job,  perplexed  and  eager  to 
 make  everything  tell  on  his  side 
 which  his  friends  would  urge  against 
 him,  is  determined  not  to  admit  their 
 inference  from  the  facts  of  Divine 
 Providence.  Otherwise  this  passage 
 of  Job  supports  the  obvious  rendering 
 of  ver.  4,  "  They  do  not  die  by  linger- 
 ing diseases,  but  easily,"  this  being 
 the  mistaken  view  afterwards  cor- 
 rected. 
 
 "We  come  to  the  conclusion,"  it 
 has  been  well  said,  ' '  that  in  the  case 
 of  the  wicked  this  Psalm  does  not 
 plainly  and  undeniably  teach  that 
 punishment  awaits  them  after  death  ; 
 but  only  that  in  estimating  their  con- 
 dition it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  vin- 
 dicate the  justice  of  God,  to  take  in 
 their  whole  career,  and  set  over 
 against  their  great  prosperity  the 
 sudden  and  fearful  reverses  and  de- 
 struction which  they  not  unfrequently 
 encounter.  But  in  turning  to  the 
 other  side  of  the  comparison,  the  case 
 of  the  righteous,  we  are  not  met  by 
 the  thought,  that  as  the  prosperity  of 
 the  wicked  is  but  the  preparation  for 
 their  ruin,  so  the  adversity  of  the 
 godly  is  but  an  introduction  to  worldly 
 wealth  and  honour^  That  thought 
 is  not  foreign  to  the  Old  Testament 
 writers    (see    Psalm    xxxvii.    9 — 11). 
 
 But  it  is  not  so  much  as  hinted  at  here. 
 The  daily  chastening  may  continue, 
 flesh  and  heart  may  fail,  but  God  is 
 good  to  Israel  notwithstanding.  He 
 is  their  portion,  their  guide,  their 
 help,  while  they  live,  and  He  will 
 take  them  to  His  glorious  presence 
 when  they  die.  '  Nevertheless  I  am 
 continually  with  Thee,' &c.  The  New 
 Testament  has  nothing  higher  or  more 
 spiritual  than  this, " — Essential  Cohe- 
 rence, &c.,  pp.  86,  87. 
 
 19.  This  verse,  taken  in  connection 
 with  ver.  27,  seems  almost  to  point, 
 as  Ewald  has  remarked,  to  some 
 particular  instance  of  the  Divine 
 judgement  which  had  recently  been 
 witnessed. 
 
 20.  As  A  DREAM,  the  unreality  of 
 which  is  only  seen  when  a  man 
 awakes.     Comp.  xc.  5  ;  Job  xx.  8. 
 
 When  thou  stirrest  ur  Thy- 
 self. The  verb  in  Hebrew  is  a  dif- 
 ferent one  from  that  in  the  previous 
 clause,  although  in  the  E.  V.  both 
 are  in  this  passage  rendered  by  the 
 same  word.  In  xxxv.  23,  where  the 
 two  verbs  also  occur  together,  our 
 translators  have  employed  two  dif- 
 ferent words  to  express  them,  and  I 
 have  thought  it  best  to  do  so  here. 
 The  figure  is  carried  on.  When  God 
 thus  awakes  to  judgement,  the  image, 
 the  shadow  of  the  wicked  passes  from 
 Him,  as  a  dream  from  the  mind  of  a 
 sleeper.  He  "  despises  "  it,  as  a  man 
 in  his  waking  moments  thinks  lightly 
 of  some  horrible  dream. 
 
PSALM  LXXIIL 
 
 2 1  For  my  heart  grew  bitter, 
 
 And  I  was  pricked  in  my  reins, 
 
 22  So  brutish  was  I  myself  and  ignorant, 
 
 I  became  a  very  beast  before  Thee. 
 
 23  And  yet,  as  for  me, — I  am  always  with  Thee, 
 
 Thou  hast  holden  my  right  hand  ; 
 
 24  Thou  wilt  guide  me  in  Thy  counsel, 
 
 21.  For.  There  is  no  reason  to 
 depart  from  thi<,  the  common  mean- 
 ing of  the  particle.  It  explains  the 
 whole  of  the  previous  struggle.  I  wns 
 tempted  to  think  thus,  for  I  brooded 
 over  these  difficulties  till  I  became  no 
 better  than  the  dumb  cattle.  So  it 
 ever  is.  I\Ian  does  not  show  wisdom 
 when  he  wearies  himself  to  no  pur- 
 pose with  the  moral  and  speculative 
 problems  which  beset  him.  His  high- 
 est wisdom  is  to  stay  himself  upon 
 God. 
 
 22.  So  BRUTISH,  lit.  "And  I  my- 
 self (the  pronoun  is  emphatic)  was 
 brutish."     Comp.  Prov.  xxx.  2,  3. 
 
 A  VERY  BEAST.  The  noun  is  in 
 the  plural,  which  is  here  used  in  a 
 superlative  or  emphatic  sense,  so  that 
 we  need  not  render  "  like  the  beasts,'"' 
 still  less  "  like  Behemoth,'"  as  though 
 some  particular  beast  were  meant. 
 
 23.  The  words  that  follow,  in  their 
 exquisite  beauty,  need  not  comment 
 or  interpretation,  but  a  heart  in  unison 
 with  them.  They  lift  us  up  above 
 the  wgrld,  above  doubts,  and  fears, 
 and  perplexities,  into  a  higher  and 
 holier  atm.osphere :  we  breathe  the 
 air  of  heaven.  The  man  who  can 
 truly  use  these  words  is  not  one  who 
 has  "  crushed  free  thought,"  but  one 
 who  lias  seen  all  his  doubts  swallowed 
 up  in  the  full  light  of  God's  love. 
 "^Though  all  else  in  heaven  and  earth 
 should  fail,  the  one  true  everlasting 
 Friend  abides."— /iw^/^/. 
 
 It  strangely  mars  the  force  of  such 
 a  passage  to  limit  its  application  to 
 
 this  life.  To  render  the  words  of 
 ver.  24  as  Grotius  and  others  do, 
 "  Thou  shalt  receive  me  with  honour," 
 (in  allusion  to  David  as  placed  on  the 
 throne),  or  "bring  me  to  honour," 
 i.e.  in  this  world,  is  to  rob  the  whole 
 passage  of  its  divine  significance.  The 
 verb  "Thou  shalt  take  me  "is  the 
 same  as  that  employed  in  xlix.  15, 
 and  Geti.  v.  24,  to  which  last  passage 
 there  is  doubtless  an  allusion  in  both 
 places  in  the  Psalms.  But  this  Psalm 
 is  an  advance  on  Ps.  xlix. 
 
 The  gi-eat  difference,  though  with 
 essential  points  of  contact,  between 
 the  hope  of  the  life  to  come,  as  pour- 
 trayed  even  in  such  a  passage  as  this, 
 and  what  we  read  in  the  New  Testa- 
 ment, will  best  be  understood  by 
 comparing  the  language  here  witla 
 St.  Paul's  language  in  the  4th  and  5th 
 chapters  of  the  Second  Epistle  to  the 
 Corinthians,  and  the  1st  chapter  of 
 the  Epistle  to  the  PhiHppians.  _  ■ 
 
 Thou  hast  holden  ;  either  im- 
 plying that  thus  he  had  been  saved 
 from  falling  altogether,  when  his  feet 
 were  almost  gone  (ver.  2),  or  perhaps 
 rather  as  stating  more  broadly  the 
 ground  of  his  abiding  communion 
 with  God,  at  all  times  and  under  all 
 circumstances.     Comp.  Ixiii.  8. 
 
 24.  Thou  wilt  guide  me.  ""With 
 confidence  he  commits  himself  to  the 
 Divine  guidance,  though  he  does  not 
 see  clearly  the  mystery  of  the  Divine 
 purpose  (counsel)  in  that  guidance."  — 
 Delitzsch.  It  is  because  he  has  for- 
 gotten to  look  to  that  counsel,  and  to 
 
PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 339 
 
 And  afterward  Thou  wilt  take  me  to  glory. 
 
 25  Whom  have  I  in  heaven  but  Thee  ? 
 
 And  beside  Thee  there  is  none  upon  earth  in  whom  I 
 delight. 
 
 26  Though  my  flesh  and  my  heart  fail, 
 
 Yet  God  is  the  rock  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  for 
 ever. 
 
 27  For  behold  they  that  are  far  from  Thee  must  perish  ; 
 
 Thou  hast  destroyed  every  one  that  goeth  a  whoring 
 from  Thee. 
 
 28  But  as  for  me — to  draw  near  to  God  is  good  for  me  ; 
 
 I  have  made  in  the  Lord  Jehovah  my  refuge, 
 That  I  may  tell  of  all  Thy  works. 
 
 trust  in  that  counsel,  that  his  faith  has 
 received  so  startling  a  shock. 
 
 25.  But  Thee,  or  "beside  Thee," 
 lit.  "  TwV/z  Thee."  These  words  are 
 to  be  supplied  from  the  next  clause, 
 a  word  or  a  phrase  belonging  to  two 
 clauses  being  commonly  in  Hebrew 
 expressed  only  in  one, 
 
 (There  is)  none,  &c.,  lit.  "I 
 have  no  delight  (in  any)  upon  the 
 earth." 
 
 26.  Fail,  lit.  "have  failed,"  i.e. 
 *'  may  have  failed." 
 
 27.  The  figure  is  very  common. 
 Israel  is  the  spouse  of  God,  and 
 idolatry  is  a  breaking  of  the  marriage 
 vow.  But  here  it  seems  to  be  used, 
 not  merely  of  idolatry,  but  of  de- 
 parture from  God  such  as  that 
 described  in  ver.  10. 
 
 2&.  At  the  end  of  this  verse  the 
 LXX.  add,  "in  the  gates  of  the 
 daughter  of  Zion,"  whence  it  has 
 passed  though  the  Vulgate  into  our 
 Prayer-book  Version. 
 
 PSALM  LXXIV 
 
 This  Psalm  and  the  Seventy-ninth  both  refer  to  the  same  calamity, 
 and  were,  it  may  reasonably  be  conjectured,  written  by  the  same 
 author.  Both  Psalms  deplore  the  rejection  of  the  nation,  the  occu- 
 pation  of  Jerusalem  by  a  foreign  army,  and  the  profanation  of  the 
 
 Z   2 
 
340  PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 Sanctuary  :  but  the  Seventy-fourth  dwells  chiefly  on  the  destruction 
 of  the  Temple;  the  Seventy-ninth  on  the  terrible  slaughter  of  the 
 inhabitants  of  Jerusalem.  Assuming  that  both  Psalms  refer  to  the 
 same  event,  we  have  to  choose  between  two  periods  of  Jewish  history, 
 and  only  two,  to  which  the  language  of  the  Sacred  Poet  could  reason- 
 ably refer.  The  description  might  apply  either  to  the  invasion  of 
 Nebuchadnezzar,  or  to  the  insolent  oppression  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes  ; 
 and  with  one  as  the  other  of  these  two  occasions  it  has  been  usually 
 connected. 
 
 There  are  in  this  Psalm  some  expressions  which  are  most  readily 
 explained  on  the  supposition  that  it  was  composed  in  the  time  of  the 
 Maccabees. 
 
 {a)  One  of  these  is  the  complaint  (ver.  9),  "There  is  no  Prophet 
 any  more."  It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  such  a  complaint  could 
 have  been  uttered  when  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  were  both  living ;  or 
 with  what  truth  it  could  be  added,  "Neither  is  there  any  among  us 
 who  knoweth  how  long,"  when  Jeremiah  had  distinctly  foretold  that 
 the  duration  of  the  Captivity  should  be  seventy  years  (Jer.  xxv.  11, 
 xxix.  10).*  On  the  other  hand,  such  words  are  perfectly  natural  in 
 the  mouth  of  a  poet  of  the  Maccabean  age.  For  250  years,  from  the 
 death  of  Malachi,  the  voice  of  Prophecy  had  been  silent.  Dui-ing 
 that  long  interval,  no  inspired  messenger  had  appeared  to  declare 
 and  to  interpret  the  will  of  God  to  His  people.  And  how  keenly 
 sensible  they  were  of  the  greatness  of  their  loss  in  this  respect  we 
 learn  from  the  frequent  allusions  to  it  in  the  First  Book  of  Maccabees 
 (iv.  46,  ix.  27,  xiv.  41).  The  language  of  this  Psalm,  then,  is  but  the 
 expression  of  what  we  know  to  have  been  the  national  feeling  at 
 that  time. 
 
 ip)  Another  feature  of  this  Psalm  is  the  description  of  the  profan- 
 ation of  the  Sanctuary,  and  the  erection  there  of  the  signs  (ver.  4), 
 the  military  standards  or  religious  emblems,  of  the  heathen. 
 The  Book  of  Maccabees  presents  the  same  picture.  There  we  read 
 that  Antiochus,  on  his  return  from  the  second  Egyptian  campaign, 
 "entered  proudly  into  the  sanctuary,  and  took  away  the  golden 
 altar,  and  the  candlestick  of  light,  and  all  the  vessels  thereof" 
 (i.  21).     Two  years  later,  the  king  sent  a  division  of  his  army  against 
 
 *  It  has  been  suggested  to  me  by  a  friend,  that  this  complaint  would  not  be  unsuitable  to 
 the  tim<-  of  Esarhaddon's  invasion  (2  Chron.  xxxiii.  11).  That  period  was  singularly  barren 
 m  prophets. 
 
PSALM  LXXIV.  341 
 
 Jerusalem,  which  fell  upon  the  city,  and  having  made  a  great  slaughter 
 of  the  inhabitants,  plundered  it,  set  it  on  fire,  pulled  down  the  houses 
 and  walls,  and  carried  away  women  and  children  and  cattle.  A  strong 
 garrison  was  placed  in  the  city  of  David,  the  sanctuary  was  polluted, 
 and  the  sabbaths  and  festival  days  profaned.  The  abomination  of 
 desolation  was  set  up  on  the  altar,  and  sacrifice  offered  "  on  the  idol 
 altar,  which  was  upon  the  altar  of  God"  (i  Mace.  i.  30—59.  See  also 
 ii.  8 — 12,  iii.  48—51). 
 
 On  the  other  hand  it  has  been  urged,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
 language  of  the  Psalm  inconsistent  with  the  supposition  that  it  refers 
 to  the  Chaldean  invasion. 
 
 Further,  both  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  it  has  been  observed,  indulge 
 in  a  similar  strain.  Thus  the  former  sings  :  "  Her  gates  are  sunk 
 into  the  ground  ;  He  hath  destroyed  and  broken  her- bars  :  her  king 
 and  her  princes  are  among  the  Gentiles  :  the  Law  is  no  more  ;  her 
 prophets  also  fi?id  no  vision  from  Jehovah  "  (Lam.  ii.  9).  And  the 
 latter  threatens  :  "  Then  shall  they  seek  a  vision  of  the  prophet  :  but 
 the  law  shall  perish  from  the  priest,  and  counsel  from  the  ancients  " 
 (Ezek.  vii.  26).  Neither  of  these  passages,  however,  so  absolutely 
 denies  the  existence  of  a  prophet  as  that  in  the  Psalm.  One  other 
 expression  in  the  Psalm,  ver.  3,  "  Lift  up  Thy  feet  to  the  everlasting 
 ruins,"  seems,  it  must  be  confessed,  most  suitable  in  the  mouth  of  an 
 exile  during  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 
 The  relation  both  of  this  Psalm  and  the  Seventy-ninth  to  the 
 writings  of  Jeremiah  presents  another  difficulty.  Jeremiah  x.  25  is 
 almost  word  for  word  the  same  as  Ps.  Ixxix.  6,  7.  Again,  Lam.  ii.  2 
 resembles  Ixxiv.  7,  and  Lam.  ii.  7  is  very  similar  to  Ixxiv.  4 ;  and,  as 
 we  have  already  seen,  there  is  at  least  a  point  of  connection  between 
 Ixxiv.  9  and  Lam.  ii.  9  ;  besides  these,  other  minor  similarities  may  be 
 observed,  on  a  comparison  of  the  Psalmist  with  the  Prophet.  Now 
 we  know  that  it  is  the  habit  of  Jeremiah  to  quote  largely  and  frequently 
 from  other  writers,  from  the  Psalms  and  the  Prophets.  But  on  either 
 of  the  hypotheses  above  mentioned,  as  to  the  date  of  our  two  Psalms, 
 the  writer  of  these  must  have  imitated  the  language  of  Jeremiah. 
 This  is,  of  course,  quite  possible.  A  similar  problem,  and  a  very 
 interesting  one,  arises  out  of  the  relation  of  Jeremiah  to  the  later 
 chapters  of  Isaiah,  xl. — Ixvi.  That  one  of  the  two  writers  was  familiar 
 with  the  other  is  beyond  a  doubt. 
 
 On  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  this  Psalm  may  be  most 
 naturally  explained  by  events  that  took   place   in  the   time   of    the 
 
342  PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 Maccabees.  If,  in  any  particular,  the  language  seems  too  strong  as 
 applied  to  that  time— as,  for  instance,  the  description  of  the  burning 
 of  the  Temple— this  may  be  as  readily  explained  by  poetic  exaggera- 
 tion, as  ver.  9  is  so  explained  by  those  who  hold  the  opposite  view. 
 Or,  perhaps,  as  Calvin  suggests,  the  writer,  overcome  by  the  mournful 
 spectacle  before  his  eyes,  could  not  but  carry  back  his  thoughts  to 
 the  earlier  catastrophe,  and  thence  borrowed  some  images,  blending 
 in  his  imagination  the  two  calamities  in  one. 
 
 The  Psalm  does  not  consist  of  any  regular  system  of  strophes. 
 
 It  opens  with  a  cry  of  complaint,  and  a  prayer  that  God  would 
 remember  His  people  in  their  desolation.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 It  then  pictures  the  triumph  of  the  enemy,  the  destruction  of  the 
 sanctuary,  and  the  loss  of  Divine  counsel  in  the  day  of  peril.     Ver. 
 
 4-9. 
 
 Then  again  there  is  an  appeal  to  God  for  help  (ver.  10,  11),  and 
 a  calling  to  mind  of  God's  past  wonders  on  behalf  of  His  people, 
 and  of  His  Almighty  power  as  seen  in  the  world  of  Nature.  Ver. 
 12 — 17. 
 
 And  finally,  based  upon  this,  a  prayer  that  God  would  not  suffer 
 reproach  to  be  brought  upon  His  own  Name,  by  the  triumph  of  the 
 heathen  over  His  people.     Ver.  22,  23. 
 
 [a  MASCHIL  of  ASAPH.*] 
 
 1  Why,  O  God,  hast  Thou  cast  us  off  for  ever, 
 
 Why  doth  Thine  anger  smoke  against  the  sheep  of 
 Thy  pasture  1 
 
 2  Remember     Thy      congregation    which     Thou     hast 
 
 purchased  of  old, 
 
 I.  Hast  Tiiou  CAST  OFF.  Tlieob-  Sheep  of  Thy  pasture;  a   fa- 
 
 ject  liere  may  l^e  supplied  from  the  next  vourite  figure  in  those  Psalms  which 
 
 clause,  viz.  "the  sheep  of  Thy  pasture."  are  ascribed  to  Asaph.     It  is  found 
 
 Why  DOiH  Thine  ANGER  SMOKE.  also    in    Jer.    xxiii.     i.     The    name 
 
 For  the  figure,  compare  xviii.  8,  where  contains   in    itself  an  appeal   to   the 
 
 see  note.     There  is  a  change  in  the  compassion  and   tender   care   of  the 
 
 tenses,  the  preterite  in  the  first  clause  shepherd.      Can    the    shepherd    slay 
 
 being  used  to  denote  the  act  of  casting  his  sheep  ? 
 
 off,  the  future  (present)  here  to  denote  2.   Thou   hast  purchased  .  .    . 
 
 the  continuance  of  the  same.  Thou  hast  ransomed.     Both  verbs 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  1.  p.  202. 
 
PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 343 
 
 Which  Thou  hast  ransomed  to  be  the  tribe  of  Tliine 
 
 inheritance, 
 (And)  the  mount  Zion  wherein  Thou  hast  dwelt. 
 Lift  up  Thy  feet  unto  the  everlasting  ruins ! 
 
 The  enemy  hath  laid  waste  all  in  the  sanctuar}-^ ; 
 
 contain  in  themselves  a  i-eason  why- 
 God  should  remember  His  people. 
 The  first  verb  may  mean  only  to  get, 
 to  acquire,  the  idea  of  a  price  paid 
 for  tlie  acquisition  being  not  neces- 
 sarily contained  in  the  word.  So 
 Gen.  iv.  I,  "I  have  gotten  a  man 
 with  (the  help  of)  Jehovah:"  Gen. 
 xiv.  22,  "the  most  Hii^h  God,  pos- 
 sessor of  heaven  and  earth  ;  "  Prov. 
 viii.  22,  "Jehovah  possessed  me  in 
 the  beginning  of  His  way."  See 
 Acts  XX.  28.  "The  church  of  God, 
 which  He  purchased  (acquired)  with 
 His  own  blood."  I  Tim.  iii.  13  : 
 "Purchase  (acquu-e)  to  themselves  a 
 good  degree."  Comp.  Eph.  i.  14,  and 
 I  Thess.  V.  9,  where  see  Vaughan's 
 note.  The  second  verb  ^gd-al,  to 
 ransom,  whence  go'el),  from  a  root 
 meaning  to  loosen,  is  the  technical 
 word  for  every  kind  of  redemption 
 under  the  Law,  whether  of  fields 
 (Lev.  XXV.  25),  tithes  (Lev.  xxvii. 
 Z^i  33)>  o^  slaves  (Lev.  xxv.  48, 
 49).  The  next  of  kin  was  called 
 Ooel,  because  on  him  devolved  the 
 duty  of  redeeming,  land  which  his 
 poor  relation  had  been  compelled  to 
 sell  (Lev.  xxv.  25),  and  also  because 
 on  him  fell  the  obligation  of  redeem- 
 ing, demanding  satisfaction  for,  the 
 murder  of  a  kinsman  (Num.  xxxv. 
 12,  19,  and  often). 
 
 Of  old,  as  in  xliv.  2,  with  refer- 
 ence, doubtless,  to  the  deliverance 
 from  Egyptian  bondage. 
 
 The  tribe.  Such  is,  apparently, 
 the  meaning  of  the  word  here,  the 
 whole  nation  being  regarded,  not 
 as  many  tribes,  but  as  one  tribe, 
 probably  in  reference  to  other  nations. 
 
 The  same  expression  occurs  besides 
 only  in  Jeremiah  x.  16,  and  li.  19, 
 whereas  in  Isaiah  Ixiii.  17  we  have 
 the  plural  form,  ^'' the  tribes  of  Thine 
 inheritance."  The  E.  V.  has  here 
 ^'■rod  of  Thine  inheritance,"  and  so 
 Luther,  Calvin,  and  others,  and  the 
 word  frequently  means  ' '  rod,  staff, 
 (as  in  xxiii.  4),  sceptre  (as  xlv.  6),  &c. 
 
 The  congregation  represents  the 
 people  in  their  religious  aspect,  the 
 TRIBE  in  their  national  and  political 
 aspect.  The  two  great  facts,  the  re- 
 demption from  Egypt  and  God's 
 dwelhng  in  the  midst  of  them,  the 
 one  of  which  was  preparatory  to  the 
 other,  here,  as  in  the  Sixty-eighth 
 Psalm,  seem  to  sum  up  all  their 
 history. 
 
 3.  Lift  up  Thy  feet  (lit.  foot- 
 steps, the  word  l^eing  a  poetical  one), 
 i.e.  Come  speedily  to  visit  those 
 ruins  which  seem  as  though  they 
 would  never  be  repaired.  A  similar 
 phrase  (though  the  words  in  the 
 original  are  different)  occurs  in  Gen. 
 xxix.  I,  where  it  is  said  of  Jacob, 
 that  after  his  vision  "  he  lifted  up  his 
 feet,"  a  phrase  "which  in  Eastern 
 language  still  signifies  to  walk  quick- 
 ly, to  reach  out,  to  be  in  good  earnest, 
 not  to  hesitate." — KiTTO,  Bible  Illus- 
 trations, i.  305. 
 
 Everlasting,  the  same  word  as 
 in  ver.  I,  "for  ever,"  i.e.  which  seem 
 to  human  impatience,  looking  foriuard, 
 as  if  they  would  never  be  built  again. 
 
 In  the  sanctuary.  TJiis  is  his 
 greatest  grief.  His  country  has  been 
 laid  waste  with  fire  and  swoid,  his 
 friends  slain  or  carried  into  captivity, 
 but  tliere  is  no  thought  so  full  of  paui 
 
344 
 
 PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 roared   in   the  midst  of  Thine 
 
 Thine  adversaries  have 
 assembly ; 
 
 They  have  set  up  their  signs  as  signs. 
 It  seems  as  though  one  hfted  up  on  high 
 
 Axes  against  the  thickets  of  the  wood  : 
 
 as  this,  that  the  holy  and  beautiful 
 house  wherein  his  fathers  worshipt 
 has  been  plundered  and  desecrated  by 
 a  heathen  soldiery.  Instead  of  the 
 psalms,  and  hymns,  and  sacred  an- 
 thems which  once  echoed  within  those 
 walls,  has  been  heard  the  brutal  shout 
 of  the  fierce  invaders,  roaring  like 
 lions  (such  is  the  meaning  of  the 
 word  in  the  next  verse)  over  their 
 prey.  Heathen  emblems,  military 
 and  religious,  have  displaced  the  em- 
 blems of  Jehovah.  The  magnificent 
 carved  work  of  the  Temple,  such  as 
 the  cherubim,  and  the  palms,  and  the 
 pillars,  with  pomegranates  and  lily- 
 work  (i  Kings  vi.  15,  &c.  if  the  allu- 
 sion be  to  the  First  Temple),  Avhich 
 adorned  it,  have  been  hewed  down 
 as  remorselessly  as  a  man  would  cut 
 down  so  much  wood  in  the  forest. 
 And  then  that  splendid  pile,  so  full 
 of  sacred  memories,  so  dear  to  the 
 heart  of  every  true  Israelite,  has  been 
 set  on  fire,  and  left  to  perish  in  the 
 flames.  Such  is  the  scene  as  it  passes 
 again  before  the  eyes  of  his  mind. 
 
 4.  Thine  assembly,  i.e.  here  evi- 
 dently "  place  of  assembly,"  a  word 
 originally  applied  to  the  Mosiac  taber- 
 nacle, and  afterwards  to  the  great 
 national  festivals.  Here  it  would 
 seeni  the  Temple  is  meant.  Comp. 
 Lam.  ii.  6,  where  the  word  occurs  in 
 both  senses.  "  He  hath  destroyed 
 His  assanbly  (or  temple ;  E.  V.  His 
 places  of  assembly)  ...  He  hath 
 caused  to  be  forgotten  sole  tun  J  east 
 and  sabbath,"  &c. 
 
 Their  signs.  An  emphasis  lies 
 on  the  pronoun  ;  comp.  ver.  9.  I 
 have   retained   the   literal   renderinn-. 
 
 together  with  the  ambiguity  of  the 
 original.  These  were  either  military 
 ensigns,  standards,  trophies,  and  the 
 like  (as  in  Num.  ii.  2  ff. ),  the  Temple 
 having  been  turned  into  a  barrack, 
 or  religious  emblems,  heathen  rites 
 and  ceremonies,  perhaps  even  idols, 
 by  which  the  temple  and  altar  of 
 Jehovah  were  profaned.  (In  this 
 last  sense  the  words  would  aptly  de- 
 scribe the  state  of  things  under  Anti- 
 ochus  Epiphanes.  Comp.  I  Mace.  i. 
 54  and  59,  "  Now  the  five-and-twen- 
 tieth  day  of  the  month  they  did  sac- 
 rifice upon  the  idol  altar,  which  was 
 upon  the  altar  of  God."  Again  in 
 chap.  iii.  48,  it  is  said  that  "the 
 heathen  had  sought  to  paint  the  like- 
 ness of  their  images  "  in  the  book  of 
 the  Law.)  This  last  sense  is  further 
 confirmed  by  the  use  of  the  word  in 
 ver.  9.  But  both  meanings  may  be 
 combined,  the  word  sign  being  here 
 used  in  its  most  general  sense  of  all 
 symbols  of  a  foreign  power  of  what- 
 ever kind. 
 
 5.  This  verse  has  been  completely 
 misunderstood  by  our  translators,  who 
 have  here  followed  Calvin,  as  w^ell  as 
 by  nearly  all  the  older  interpreters.  It 
 does  not  describe  the  preparation 
 once  made  for  building  the  Temple, 
 by  hewing  down  cedars  in  the  forest 
 of  Lebanon,  but  it  compares  the 
 scene  of  ruin  in  the  interior,  the  de- 
 struction of  the  carved  work,  &c.  to 
 the  wide  gap  made  in  some  stately 
 forest  by  the  blows  of  the  woodman's 
 axe.  See  the  use  of  the  same  figure, 
 Jer.  xlvi.  22. 
 
 It  seems,  lit.  "it  is  known, 
 makes    itself  knowTi,    appears,"    &c. 
 
PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 345 
 
 lO 
 
 And  now  the  carved  work  thereof  altogether 
 
 With  hatchet  and  hammers  they  break  down. 
 They  have  set  Thy  sanctuary  on  fire, 
 
 They  have  profaned  the  dweUing-place  of  Thy  name 
 (even)  unto  the  earth, 
 They  have  said  in  their  heart :  "  Let  us  make  havoc  of 
 them  altogether." 
 They  have  burnt  up   all  the  houses  of  God  in  the 
 land. 
 Our  signs  we  see  not ;  there  is  no  Prophet  any  more, 
 
 Neither  is  there  with  us  any  who  knoweth  how  long. 
 How  long,  O  God,  shall  the  adversary  reproach  .'* 
 And  shall  the  enemy  despise  Thy  name  for  ever  } 
 
 Or  possibly,  "  he,  i.e.  the  enemy, 
 makes  himself  known  as  one  who 
 lifts  up,"  &c, 
 
 7.  They  have  set  on  fire,  lit. 
 "  They  have  cast  into  the  fire."  Hup- 
 feld  compares  the  German,  "in  Brand 
 legen,  stecken,"  and  the  French, 
 '*'  mettre  a  feu." 
 
 They  have  PROFANED  .  .  .  unto 
 THE  EARTH,  i.e.  "by  casting  it  to 
 the  earth,"  as  the  expression  is  filled 
 up  in  the  E.V.,  but  in  the  P.B.V.  the 
 English  idiom  is  made  to  adapt  itself 
 to  the  Hebrew,  and  this  I  have  fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 8.  All  the  houses  of  God  in 
 THE  LAND,  lit.  "all  the  assemblies," 
 which  must  here  mean  "places  of 
 assembly,"  as  in  ver,  4  and  Lam.  ii. 
 6.  The  work  of  devastation  does 
 not  stop  short  with  the  Temple.  The 
 plain  meaning  of  the  word  is,  that 
 there  were  many  other  places  for 
 religious  worship  in  the  land  besides 
 the  Temple,  and  that  these,  as  well  as 
 the  Temple,  were  destroyed.  Our 
 translators  would  seem,  by  their  ren- 
 dering "synagogues,"  to  have  re- 
 garded this  as  a  Maccabean  Psalm. 
 
 Before  the  time  of  the  Chaldean 
 invasion,  synagogues  are  not  men- 
 tioned,   but    it   is    scarcely   credible 
 
 that  even  before  the  Exile  there  were 
 no  houses  of  God,  no  place  for  reli- 
 gious >vorship  except  the  Temple,  in 
 Jerusalem.  We  read  in  the  book  of 
 Kings  that  in  Elijah's  time,  and  pro- 
 bably much  earlier,  there  was  an  altar 
 of  Jehovah  on  Mount  Carmel,  besides 
 the  sacred  places  consecrated  by  the 
 Patriarchs  and  others  such  as  Ramah, 
 Bethel,  Gilgal,  Shiloh,  and  the  "  high 
 places."     See  2  Chron.  xxxiii.  17. 
 
 9.  Our  signs,  i.e.  the  signs  of 
 God's  dominion  and  presence  in  the 
 midst  of  us.  Taken  in  connection 
 with  what  immediately  follows, 
 "There  is  no  Prophet,"  &c.,  these 
 may  mean  miraculous  signs,  in  which 
 sense  the  word  frequently  occurs. 
 Or  it  may  only  denote  here  religious 
 emblems,  which  were  displaced  to 
 make  room  for  the  signs  of  the 
 heathen.     See  ver.  4. 
 
 No  Prophet,  Such  a  complaint 
 seems  most  suitable  to  the  time  of  the 
 Maccabees,  when,  in  fact,  the  com- 
 plaint was  frequent.  See  Introduc- 
 tion to  the  Psalm. 
 
 10.  Taking  up  that  word.  How 
 long  ?  the  Psalmist  turns  with  it  to 
 God,  beseeching  Him  not  to  suffer  this 
 reproach  to  be  cast  upon  His  Name. 
 Thrice  the  same  appeal  is  made  :  see 
 
346 
 
 PSALM  LXXIV. 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 Why  withd  rawest  Thou  Thy  hand,  even  Thy  right  hand  ? 
 
 (Pluck  it  out)  from  the  midst  of  Thy  bosom,  consume 
 (them) ! 
 Surely  God  is  my  King  of  old, 
 
 Working  deliverances  in  the  midst  of  the  earth  ; 
 
 13  Thou  didst  divide  the  sea  through  Thy  strength, 
 
 Thou  breakest  the  heads  of  the  monsters  upon  the 
 waters. 
 
 14  Thou  didst  crush  the  heads  of  Leviathan, 
 
 (That)  Thou  mightest  give  him  as  food  to  the  people 
 inhabiting  the  wilderness. 
 
 verses  18  and  22.  This  holy  jealousy 
 for  the  honour  of  God,  as  bound  up 
 with  His  people's  deliverance,  is 
 characteristic  of  the  Old  Testament. 
 The  feeling  is  strikingly  exemplified 
 in  the  prayers  of  Moses,  Ex.  xxxii. 
 12,  13  ;  Num.  xiv.  13 — 16  ;  Deut. 
 ix.  28,  comp.  xxxii.  21. 
 
 11.  Why  withdrawest  Thou, 
 lit.  Why  makest  Thou  to  return, 
 i.e.  into  Thy  bosom.  See  Ex.  iv.  7, 
 where  the  full  expression  occurs  :  it 
 denotes,  of  course,  a  state  of  in- 
 activity, the  hand  being  enveloped  in 
 the  ample  folds  of  the  Eastern  robes. 
 
 Pluck  it  out.  It  seems  ne- 
 cessary here  to  supply  the  ellipse  in 
 this  way.  The  construction  is  a 
 pregnant  one,  similar  to  what  we 
 have  already  had  in  ver.  7.  For  the 
 absolute  use  of  the  verb  consume, 
 comp.  lix.  13. 
 
 12,  Surely,  or,  "and  yet,"  in 
 spite  of  this  seeming  inactivity.  The 
 appeal  rests,  first,  on  the  fact  that 
 God  has  already  manifested  His 
 power  in  signal  instances  on  behalf 
 of  His  people,  and  next,  on  the 
 dominion  of  Ciod  as  Creator  and  ab- 
 solute Ruler  of  the  universe. 
 
 My  King,  expressive  of  the  strong 
 personal  feeling  of  the  Psalmist.  See 
 note  on  xliv.  4,  and  comp.  Hab.  i. 
 12,  where  in  like  manner  the  Prophet 
 claims  his  own  covenant  relation  to 
 
 God,  whilst  speaking  as  the  represen- 
 tative of  the  people.  *'  Art  Thou 
 not  from  everlasting,  O  Jehovah 
 my  God,  my  Holy  One  ? — we  shall 
 not  die." 
 
 13 — 15.  Special  instances  of  God's 
 wonder-working  power  in  the  passage 
 of  the  Red  Sea,  in  bringing  water 
 from  the  rock,  and  in  the  passage  of 
 the  Jordan. 
 
 13.  The  monsters.  A  sym- 
 bolical description  of  the  Egyptians. 
 Comp.  Is.  li.  9,  and  Ezek.  xxix.  3, 
 where  Pharaoh  is  called  the  "mon- 
 ster which  is  the  sea."  The  E.V.  has 
 in  all  these  places  "dragon"  as  the 
 equivalent  word.  The  same  Hebrew 
 word,  tannin,  is  employed  again 
 cxlviii.  7,  and  also  Gen.  i.  21  (where 
 it  is  rendered  whales),  to  denote  huge 
 sea  monsters,  lit.  creatures  extended, 
 stretched  out,  hence  serpents,  cro- 
 codiles, &c.  Perhaps  the  crocodile 
 (as  in  the  next  verse  Leviathan)  is 
 meant  here  as  emblematic  of  Egypt. 
 The  head  of  the  monster  has  been 
 smitten,  and  the  huge  unwieldy  car- 
 case lies  floating  on  the  waters. 
 
 The  plural  heads  has  been  sup- 
 posed to  refer  to  Pharaoh  and  his 
 princes,  but  it  may  be  only  poetic 
 amplification. 
 
 14.  Leviathan,  i.e.  the  crocodile, 
 as  in  Job  xli.  i.  In  what  sense  is  this 
 said  to  be  given  as  food  to  the  people 
 
PSALM  LXXIV, 
 
 347 
 
 15  Thou  didst  cleave  fountain  and  brook  ; 
 
 Thou  driedst  up  ever-flowing  rivers. 
 
 16  Thine  is  the  day,  Thine  also  is  the  night,    , 
 
 Thou  hast  established  the  light  and  the  sun. 
 
 17  Thou  hast  set  all  the  borders  of  the  earth  : 
 
 Thou  hast  formed  summer  and  winter. 
 
 18  Remember  this,  how  the  enemy  hath  reproached  Jehovah, 
 
 inhabiting  the  wilderness  ?  Bochart, 
 who  is  followed  by  Hengstenberg 
 and  others,  supposes  that  the  allusion 
 is  to  the  Ichthyophagi,  \w\\o,  accord- 
 ing to  Agatherides,  fed  on  the  sea- 
 monsters  which  were  thrown  up  on 
 their  shores.  Comp.  Herod,  ii.  69. 
 Others,  again,  think  that  by  the 
 people  inhabiting  the  wilderness  are 
 meant  the  Israelites,  to  whom  the 
 Egyptians  ai-e  said,  figuratively,  to  be 
 given  as  food,  i.e.  as  plunder.  But 
 by  far  the  simplest  way  is  to  under- 
 stand the  passage  as  meaning  that  the 
 corpses  of  the  Egyptians  were  cast 
 upon  the  shore,  and  so  became  the 
 prey  of  the  wild  beast,  which  are 
 here  called  a  people  inhabiting  the 
 wilderness  ;  as  in  Pro  v.  xxx.  25,  26, 
 the  ants  and  the  conies  are  called 
 "a  people."  Comp.  also  Joel  i.  6  ; 
 Zeph,  ii.  14. 
 
 15.  Thou  didst  cleave  foun- 
 tain, &c.  Another  instance  of  a 
 pregnant  construction  :  for  "  Thou 
 didst  cleave  the  rock,  whence  foun- 
 tain and  brook  issued  forth."  Comp. 
 Ixxviii.  15,  and  Hab.  iii.  9.  The 
 reference  is,  no  doubt,  to  Exodus 
 xvii.  6. 
 
 Ever-flowing  rivers,  literally 
 "streams  of  constant  flow."  Here 
 the  Jordan  is  meant,  the  plural  being 
 used,  not  to  denote  the  several 
 streams  by  which  it  is  fed,  but  merely 
 by  way  of  poetic  amplification. 
 
 16.  From  the  wonders  wrought  by 
 God  on  behalf  of  His  people  in  their 
 history,   the  Poet  rises  to   the  wider 
 
 view  of  His  ever-continued,  ever  dis- 
 played power  and  majesty  in  the 
 world  of  nature.  The  'miracle  does 
 not  lead  him  to  forget  God's  power 
 and  goodness  in  that  which  is  not 
 miraculous.  The  one  is  rather  a  v«'it- 
 ness  to,  and  an  instance  of,  the  other. 
 
 (The)  light,  or  rather  "lumi- 
 nary." It  is  the  same  word  which 
 occurs  in  Gen.  i.  14,  16,  and  is  there 
 rendered  "lights."  The  singular  is 
 used  collectively  for  the  plural,  all 
 the  heavenly  bodies  being  meant,  and 
 of  these  the  sun  is  named  the  chief. 
 In  the  same  way  we  have,  as  Hupfeld 
 remarks,  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
 Ephraim  and  Samaria,  and  so  the 
 Greeks  say,  "EAAr/fe's  t€  kcCi  A9r]i^a7oi, 
 and  the  like. 
 
 17.  The  borders  of  the 
 EARTH,  i.e.  not  those  merely  by 
 which  the  land  is  divided  from  the 
 sea  (Gen.  i.  9,  comp.  .Prov.  viii.  29  ; 
 Job.  xxxviii.  8,  &c.),  but  all  the  boun- 
 dary lines  by  which  order  is  pre- 
 served, as  those  of  the  seasons,  those 
 of  the  nations,  Deut.  xxxii.  8  ;  Acts 
 xvii.  26,  &c. 
 
 Summer  and  winter,  as  before, 
 DAY  and  night,  as  marking  the  ever- 
 lasting order  of  the  world,  and  per- 
 haps with  reference  to  Gen.  viii.  22. 
 This  verb  is  used  of  the  fashioning  of 
 man  and  the  animals,  Gen.  ii.  7,  19 
 from  the  dust,  and  here  it  is  applied 
 to  the  seasons,  as  in  Is.  xlv.  7,  to 
 "the  light  and  the  darkness,"  as 
 creatures  of  God's  hand. 
 
 18.  Remember.     The  petition  re- 
 
348 
 
 PSALM  LXXrV. 
 
 And  how  a  foolish  people  have  despised  Thy  Name. 
 
 19  Give  not  to  the  wild  beast  the  soul  of  Thy  turtle-dove, 
 
 Forget  not  the  life  of  Thine  afflicted  for  ever. 
 
 20  Look  upon  the  covenant, 
 
 For   the    dark   places   of  the   land    are  full    of    the 
 habitations  of  violence. 
 
 21  O  let  not  the  oppressed  turn  back  confounded, 
 
 Let  the  afflicted  and  the  poor  praise  Thy  Name  1 
 Arise,  O  God,  plead  Thine  own  cause. 
 
 Remember  how  the  foolish  man  reproacheth  Thee  all 
 the  day  long,  v 
 Forget  not  the  voice  of  Thine  adversaries, 
 
 The   tumult  of  them  that  rise  against  Thee  which 
 goeth  up  for  ever. 
 
 22 
 
 2^ 
 
 curs  (comp.  ver.  2)  with  renewed 
 force  after  the  Psahnist  has  comforted 
 himself  with  the  recollection  of  God's 
 almighty  power,  as  both  ruling  the 
 history  of  Israel,  and  giving  laws  to 
 the  material  universe. 
 
 A  FOOLISH  PEOPLE,  i.e.  the  hea- 
 then oppressors  of  Israel,  whether 
 Chaldean  or  Syrian.  In  ver.  22, 
 again,  we  have  the  same  word,  "  the 
 foolish  (man)."  There  the  Targum 
 has  "a  foolish  king,"  which  has 
 been  supposed  to  mean  Antiochus 
 Epiphanes,  though  it  might  of  course 
 refer  to  Nebuchadnezzar. 
 
 20.  Look  upon  the  covenant. 
 The  aj^peal  lies  to  that,  not  to  any- 
 thing in  the  Psalmist  himself,  or  in 
 his  people.  "  This,"  says  Tholuck 
 "  is  the  everlasting  refuge  of  the 
 saints  of  God,  even  in  the  greatest 
 dangers.  And  even  if  they  have 
 broken  it,  can  the  unbelief  of  men 
 make  the  truth  of  God  of  none 
 effect  "  ?  The  covenant  is  that  made 
 first  with  Abraham,  and  then  renewed 
 with  him  and  with  the  fathers. 
 Comp.  Ixxviii,  lo. 
 
 The  dark  places,  cr,  *'  dark- 
 nesses."    The  word  occurs  elsewhere 
 
 of  the  darkness  of  the  grave,  Ixxxviii. 
 6,  cxliii.  3  ;  Lam.  iii.  6,  and  hence  it 
 may  be  used  here  in  a  figurative  sense, 
 merely  as  expressing,  generally, 
 misery,  gloo??i,  &c.,  or  as  Delitzsch 
 explains  (who  understands  the  Psalm 
 of  the  Chaldean  invasion),  "  Turn 
 where  we  may,  the  darkened  land  is 
 full  of  abodes  of  tyranny  and  oppres- 
 sion." It  seems  most  probable,  how- 
 ever, that  those  spots  are  meant  which 
 were  the  best  fitted  for  scenes  of 
 violence  and  murder — the  haunts  of 
 robbers,  who  there  lay  in  wait  for 
 their  victims.  The  banditti  Vv^ould 
 speedily  become  numerous  in  a 
 country  where  law  and  order  were 
 at  an  end.     Comp.  x.  8. 
 
 21.  The  oppressed,  lit.  "the 
 crushed  :  "  turn  back,  as  in  vi.  10, 
 or,  perhaps,  simply  "return"  (the 
 usual  meaning  of  the  verb),  i.e.  from 
 his  approach  and  entreaty  to  Thee. 
 
 22.  Remember  how,  &c.  :  lit. 
 "  Remember  Thy  reproach  from  a 
 foolish  (man)  all  the  day."  See  note 
 on  ver.  i8. 
 
 23.  Goeth  up,  i.e.  which  ascends 
 to  heaven,  crying  aloud  for  ven- 
 geance. 
 
FSALM  LXXV,  349 
 
 PSALM  LXXV. 
 
 The  Psalm  celebrates  in  prophetic  strain  the  righteous  judgement 
 of  God.  The  voice  of  God  Himself  from  heaven  declares  His 
 righteousness,  announces  to  the  world  that  He  is  not,  as  human 
 impatience  has  ever  been  wont  to  deem,  regardless  of  wrong  and 
 suffering,  but  that  He  only  waits  for  the  moment  which  to  His  infinite 
 wisdom  seems  best,  that  He  may  chastise  the  insolence  of  evil-doers. 
 
 There  are  no  clearly  marked  historical  allusions  in  the  Psalm.  It 
 seems  however  not  improbable,  as  has  been  conjectured  by  many 
 commentators,  that  it  may  refer  to  the  time  of  the  Assyrian  invasion, 
 either  as  celebrating,  or  immediately  anticipating,  the  defeat  of 
 Sennacherib.  Like  Ps.  xlvi.,  it  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
 prophecies  of  Isaiah  uttered  at  that  time.  But  there  is,  as  Ewald 
 has  observed,  a  difference  in  the  manner  in  which  the  Prophet  and 
 the  Psalmist  treats  his  subject.  The  Prophet  adds  thought  to  thought 
 and  scene  to  scene  ;  he  expands,  enlarges  upon,  diversifies  his  theme 
 He  sees  in  this  one  act  of  righteous  judgement  the  prelude  to  many 
 others.  He  threatens  not  the  Assyrian  only,  but  other  nations  who 
 lift  themselves  up.  The  Poet,  on  the  other  hand,  seizes  upon  the 
 one  truth,  the  single  thought  of  God's  judgement  as  manifested  in 
 this  instance,  and  strives  to  present  it  to  others  with  the  same  force 
 and  vividness  with  which  it  has  filled  his  own  mind.  He  too  is  a 
 Prophet,  a  Prophet  who  has  heard  the  words  of  God  (ver.  2,  &c.)  and 
 seen  the  vision  of  the  Most  High,  but  a  Prophet^  as  it  were,  under 
 narrower  conditions  and  for  a  more  limited  purpose. 
 
 The  close  resemblance  between  many  of  the  expressions  in  this 
 Psalm  and  parts  of  the  song  of  Hannah  in  i  Sam.  ii.  is  very  noticeable. 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  with  the  ascription  of  praise  which  God's 
 wonders  now  and  in  all  past  time  have  called  forth.     Ver.  i. 
 
 It  passes  then  to  the  prophetic  announcement  of  the  truth  Avhich 
 has  been  uttered  from  heaven  and  echoed  with  triumph  upon  earth, 
 of  God's  righteous  judgement.     Ver.  2 — 8. 
 
350 
 
 PSALM  LXXV. 
 
 Finally,  it  concludes  with  a  determination  to  publish  the  praise  of 
 Jehovah  for  ever,  whilst  the  same  prophetic  strain  of  triumph  is 
 heard,  as  in  one  last  echo,  repeating  itself.     Ver.  9,  10 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    (to  the  melody)  "destroy  not."* 
 
 A  PSALM   of  ASAPH,  A  SONG.] 
 
 1  We  give  thanks  to  Thee,  O  God,  we  give  thanks  ; 
 
 And  that  Thy  Name  is  near  Thy  wonders  have  told. 
 
 2  "  When  the  set  time  is  come, 
 
 Ver.  I,  2.  The  connection  between 
 these  verses  is  not,  at  first  sight,  very 
 obvious.  It  may,  perhaps,  be  traced 
 as  follows.  First  the  Psalmist  blends 
 in  one  the  past  and  the  present.  God 
 has  been,  and  is  now,  the  object  of 
 Israel's  praise  ;  as  He  has  both  in  the 
 past  and  in  the  present  displayed  His 
 wonders  on  their  behalf.  (Hence  the 
 use  of  the  perfect  tense,  lit.  "  We 
 have  given  thanks,"  &c.)  Then  he 
 abruptly  cites  the  words  of  God, 
 words  whose  fulfilment  he  had  just 
 witnessed,  or  whose  approaching  ful- 
 filment he  saw  in  the  spirit  of 
 prophecy  ;  words  that  were  them- 
 selves an  exemplification  of  the  truth 
 that  God  is  near,  despite  the  madness 
 of  men  and  the  disorders  of  the  world. 
 
 I.  And  that  Thy  Name  is 
 NEAR.  The  construction  of  this 
 member  of  the  verse  is  doubtful.  It 
 may  be  rendered  in  two  separate 
 clauses  :  "And  Thy  Name  is  near  : 
 they  {i.e.  men,  or  our  fathers,  as  in 
 xliv.  I,  Ixxviii.  3)  have  told  of  Thy 
 wonders."  But  it  is,  perhaps,  better 
 to  connect  the  two  clauses,  as  our 
 translators  have  done.  Luther  and 
 Mendelssohn,  and,  more  recently, 
 Ilupfeld  and  Bunsen,  have  taken  the 
 same  view. 
 
 Thy  Name  is  near,  not  "near  in 
 
 our  mouth,"  i.e.  as  the  great  object  of 
 praise,  but  near  in  presence,  near  in 
 self-manifestation,  near  in  love  and 
 power,  near  in  succour  and  blessing. 
 So  in  Deut.  iv.  7,  ' '  What  nation  is 
 there  that  hatlr  God  so  near  unto 
 them?"  Comp.  xlviii.,  1.,  Ixxvi., 
 "His  Name  is  known,"  and  see. 
 xxxiv.  18,  cxlv.  18. 
 
 2.  God  is  abruptly  introduced  as 
 the  speaker,  as  in  xlvi.  10.  The 
 oracle  is  thus  given  as  from  the  mouth 
 of  God  Himself,  to  those  who  may 
 be  in  doubt  or  perplexity  because 
 their  lot  is  cast  in  troublous  times. 
 
 When  the  set  time  is  com£,  lit. 
 "  When  I  shall  have  taken  (reached) 
 the  set  time,"  i.e.  the  time  appointed 
 in  the  Divine  counsels.  The  thread 
 of  time  is  ever  running,  as  it  were, 
 from  the  spindle,  but  at  the  critical 
 moment  God's  hand  arrests  it.  God 
 is  ever  the  righteous  judge,  but  He 
 executes  his  sentence,  not  according 
 to  man's  impatient  expectations,  but 
 at  the  exact  instant  which  He  has 
 Himself  chosen.  The  words  are  an 
 answer  to  all  such  misgivings  as  those 
 in  Ixxiii.  3,  as  well  as  a  rebuke  to  all 
 hasty  and  over-zealous  reformers,  who 
 would  pull  up  the  tares  with  the 
 wheat  rather  than  wait  for  the  harvest. 
 
 Set  time.  The  Hebrew  v/ord  has 
 
 *  See  note  on  the  inscriptions  of  Ps.  1.  and  Ps.  Ivii. 
 
PSALM  LXXV. 
 
 351 
 
 I,  even  1,  will  judge  uprightly. 
 
 3  Though  the  earth  and  ail  the   inhabitants   thereof  are 
 
 melting, 
 I  myself  have  set  up  the  pillars  of  it.     [Selah.] 
 
 4  I  said  unto  the  fools,  Deal  not  foolishly. 
 
 And  to  the  wicked,  Lift  not  up  the  horn ; 
 
 5  Lift  not  up  your  horn  on  high, 
 
 Speak  not  with  a  stiff  neck. 
 
 6  For  not  from  the  East,  and  not  from  the  West, 
 
 And  not  from  the  wilderness  cometh  lifting  up. 
 
 also  the  signification  assembly,  con- 
 gregation, which  our  translators  have 
 adopted  here,  and  which  is  common 
 in  the  phrase  "  tabernacle  of  the  co7t- 
 gregation,^  &c.  Comp.  cii.  13  (where 
 .the  E.  V.  has  correctly  "set  time" 
 instead  of  "  congregation,"  as  here) ; 
 Hab.  ii.  3,  "the  appointed  time,"  i.e. 
 for  the  accomplishment  of  the  vision. 
 And  so  also  Dan,  viii.  19,  xi.  27,  35. 
 I,  EVEN  I.  The  pronoun  is  em- 
 phatic. 
 
 3.  Such  a  ci-itical  moment  is  the 
 present.  The  world  itself  seems 
 "  utterly  broken  down  and  clean  dis- 
 solved" (Is.  xxiv.  19,  20),  but  He 
 who  once  built  it  up  like  a  stately 
 palace  still  stays  its  pillars  with  His 
 hand.  The  natural  framework  and 
 the  moral  framework  are  here  identi- 
 fied. To  the  poet's  eye,  the  world  of 
 nature  and  the  world  of  man  are  not 
 two,  but  one.  The  words  of  Han- 
 nah's song  (i  Sam.  ii.  8)  furnish  an 
 exact  parallel.  "For  the  pillars 
 of  the  earth  are  Jehovah's,  and  He 
 hath  set  the  world  upon  them,"— 
 language  which,  as  the  context  shows, 
 has  a  moral  application. 
 
 4.  I  SAID.  Ewald  and  others  sup- 
 pose the  Divine  utterance  to  end  with 
 the  previous  verse.  This  is  possible  ; 
 for  the  Poet,  speaking  as  a  Prophet, 
 may  thus  triumph  in  the  revelation 
 
 which  has  just  been  made,  and  turn 
 it  into  a  defiance  of  the  proud.  At 
 the  same  time,  as  there  is  no  indica- 
 tion of  any  change  of  speaker,  it  is 
 better  to  regard  this  and  the  next 
 verse  as  a  continuation  of  the  Divine 
 oracle. 
 
 Unto  the  fools,  &c.,  or,  "  Unto 
 the  madmen.  Deal  not  madly," — the 
 same  words  as  in  Ixxiii.  3,  where  see 
 references. 
 
 5.  With  a  stiff  neck.  Here, 
 again,  there  is  evidently  an  allusion 
 to  the  words  of  Hannah's  song, 
 I  Sam.  ii.  3. 
 
 6.  For.  The  Poet  himself  speaks, 
 taking  up  and  applying  to  himself 
 and  to  others  the  Divine  sentence 
 which  he  had  just  been  commissioned 
 to  deliver.  Glory  and  power  come 
 not  from  any  earthly  source,  though  a 
 man  should  seek  it  in  every  quarter 
 of  the  globe,  but  only  from  God,  who 
 lifteth  up  and  casteth  down  according 
 to  His  own  righteous  sentence.  Again 
 an  allusion  to  I  Sam.  ii.  6. 
 
 From  the  wilderness,  i.e.  the 
 South,  the  great  wilderness  lying  in 
 that  direction.  Thus  three  quarters 
 are  mentioned,  the  North  only  being 
 omitted.  This  may  be  accounted  for, 
 supposing  the  Psalm  to  refer  to  Sen- 
 nacherib, by  the  fact  that  the  Assy- 
 rian army  approached  from  the  North  j 
 
352 
 
 PSALM  LXXV. 
 
 7  No,  God  is  Judge, 
 
 He  putteth  down  one,  and  lifteth  up  another. 
 
 8  For  there  is  a  cup  in  the  hand  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  the  wine  foameth,  it  is  full  of  mixture  ; 
 And  He  poureth  out  of  the  same  : 
 Surely  the  dregs  thereof,  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth 
 Shall  drain  them  out  and  drink  them. 
 
 9  But  as  for  me,  I  will  declare  for  ever, 
 
 I  will  sing  praises  to  the  God  of  Jacob. 
 10  And  all  the  horns  of  the  wicked  will  I  cut  off, 
 
 (But)  the  horns  of  the  righteous  shall  be  lifted  up. 
 
 and  therefore  it  would  be  natural  to 
 look  in  all  directions  but  that,  for 
 assistance  to  repel  the  invader. 
 
 Lifting  up.  The  word  is  evi- 
 dently an  emphatic  word  in  the  Psalm; 
 it  is  the  same  M'hich  occurs  in  ver.  4 
 and  5,  and  again  in  ver.  7  and  ver.  10. 
 I  have,  therefore,  given  the  same 
 rendering  of  it  throughout.  The 
 rendering  of  the  E.  V.  "promotion," 
 besides  losing  sight  of  the  manifestly 
 designed  repetition  of  the  same  word, 
 is  peculiarly  unfortunate  in  conveying 
 a  v/rong  idea.  "Lifting  up,"  in  its 
 Hebrew  sense,  does  not  mean  "pro- 
 motion." as  we  commonly  understand 
 it,  but  deliverance  from  trouble,  safety, 
 victory.  The  image,  in  particular, 
 of  lifting  up  the  head  or  the  horn 
 (the  last,  borrowed  from  wild  beasts, 
 such  as  buffaloes,  &c.,  in  which  the 
 horn  is  the  symbol  of  strength), 
 denotes  courage,  strength,  victory 
 over  enemies.  See  iii.  3,  xviii.  2, 
 xxvii.  6. 
 
 8.  The  solemn  act  of  judgement. 
 God  puts  the  cup  of  His  M'rath  to 
 the  lips  of  the  wicked,  and  holds  it 
 there  till  they  have  drained  it  to  the 
 uttermost.  It  is  the  same  figure 
 which  we  have  already  had  in  Ix.  3. 
 In  the  Prophets,  it  occurs  frequently  ; 
 
 Is.  li.  17 — 23  (comp.  xix.  14)  ;  Hab. 
 ii.  15,  16;  Ezek.  xxiii.  32,  &c. ; 
 Jerem.  xxv.  27  ;  xlviii.  26  ;  xlix.  12  ; 
 and,  in  the  form  of  a  symbolical 
 action,  xxv.  15,  &c. 
 
 Foameth,  i.e.  as  it  is  poured  into 
 the  cup  from  the  wine-jar,  as  is  ex- 
 pressed in  the  next  member  of  the 
 verse. 
 
 Mixture,  i.e.  the  aromatic  herbs, 
 &c.,  which  were  put  into  the  wine  to 
 make  it  more  intoxicating.  See  the 
 article  Wine  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the 
 Bible. 
 
 Poureth  out,  i.e.  from  the  wine- 
 jar  into  the  cup. 
 
 Of  the  same,  the  wine ;  the 
 DREGS  THEREOF  are  the  dregs  of  the 
 cup. 
 
 9.  But  as  for  me -placing  him- 
 self and  the  congregation  of  Israel  in 
 opposition  to  the  proud  oppressors— 
 I  will  be  the  everlasting  herald  of 
 this  great  and  memorable  act. 
 
 10.  Triumphantly  in  this  last  verse 
 he  claims,  for  himself  and  for  the 
 Church,  a  share  in  the  signal  act  of 
 deliverance.  That  which  God  threat- 
 ens (ver.  4,  5),  He  accomplishes  by 
 the  hand  of  His  servants.  Every  horn 
 of  worldly  power  must  fall  before 
 Hnn.     Comp.  Rev.  ii.  26,  27. 
 
PSALM  LXXVI.  353 
 
 PSALM  LXXVI. 
 
 This  is  one  of  several  Psalms  which,  as  has  been  remarked  in  the 
 Introduction  to  Psalm  xlvi.,  were  composed  in  celebration  of  the 
 miraculous  overthrow  of  Sennacherib's  army.  From  the  days  of 
 Israel's  first  occupation  of  the  land,  when  God  went  forth  with  their 
 hosts,  giving  the  victory  by  signs  and  wonders  from  heaven,  no 
 deliverance  so  signal  had  been  witnessed.  Hence  it  roused  in  an 
 extraordinary  degree  the  religious  fervour  of  the  nation,  and  called 
 forth  loud  songs  of  thanksgiving.  Like  Psalms  xlvi. — xlviii.,  this 
 is  an  ode  of  victory  over  the  Assyrians.  It  tells  of  Zion's  glory  and 
 Zion's  safety  (to  which  there  may  be  an  allusion  in  the  name  Salem), 
 because  God  has  chosen  it  for  His  dwelling-place.  It  tells  of  the 
 discomfiture  of  that  proud  army,  whose  might  was  weakness  itself 
 when  arrayed  against  the  might  of  Jehovah.  It  tells  how  the  warriors 
 sank  into  their  last  sleep  before  the  walls  of  the  city,  not  beaten 
 down  before  a  human  enemy,  not  slain  by  any  earthly  arm,  but  at 
 the  rebuke  of  the  God  of  Jacob.  And  then  the  Poet  looks  beyond 
 the  immediate  scene.  He  beholds  in  this  great  deliverance,  not  the 
 power  only,  but  the  righteousness  of  God.  It  is  God's  solemn  act 
 of  judgement.  It  is  His  voice  speaking  from  heaven  and  filling  the 
 earth.  And  the  lesson  which  this  act  of  judgement  teaches  is, 
 the  folly  of  man  who  would  measure  his  impotent  wrath  against  the 
 Majesty  of  God  ;  and  the  wisdom  of  submission  to  Him  who  is 
 the  only  worthy  object  of  fear. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  four  strophes,  each  of  which  is  comprised 
 in  three  verses. 
 
 I.  The  first  celebrates  Jerusalem  and  Zion  as  the  abode  of  God, 
 and  the  place  where  He  has  manifested  His  power.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  The  second  describes  in  a  forcible  and  animated  manner  the 
 sudden  destruction  of  the  beleaguering  army.     Ver.  4 — 6. 
 
 III.  The  third  dwells  on  that  event  as  a  solemn,  far-reaching  act 
 of  judgement,  conveying  its  lesson  to  the  world.     Ver.  7 — 9. 
 
 A  A 
 
35  + 
 
 PSALM  LXXVI. 
 
 IV.  The  last  tells  what  that  lesson  is,  counselling  submission  to 
 Him  whose  power  and  whose  righteousness  have  so  wonderfully 
 made  themselves  known.     Ver.  lo — 12. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,  with  stringed  instruments,    a  psalm 
 
 OF  ASAPH.*     A  SONG.] 
 
 1  In  Judah  Is  God  known, 
 
 His  name  is  great  in  Israel. 
 
 2  In  Salem  also  hath  been  His  tabernacle, 
 
 And  His  dwelling-place  in  Zion. 
 
 I — 3.  The  whole  emphasis  of  this 
 first  strophe  consists  in  the  prominence 
 given  to  the  particular  locality  where 
 God  has  manifested  His  power.  It  is 
 on  the  same  field  where  He  has  so 
 often  gotten  to  Himself  glory.  It  is  in 
 Judah,  in  Salem,  in  Zion.  It  is  there 
 (ver.  3,  the  word  is  peculiarly  em- 
 phatic) tliat  He  hath  dashed  in  pieces 
 the  might  of  the  foe, 
 
 I.  Is  KNOWN,  or  perhaps  more 
 exactly,  "maketh  Himself  known," 
 as  in  xlviii.  3,  i.e.  by  the  present  de- 
 liverance which  He  has  wrought. 
 
 In  Israel.  According  to  Hupfeld, 
 Israel  is  here  mentioned  in  the  paral- 
 lelism merely  for  the  sake  of  the 
 poetry,  although  Judah  only  is  meant. 
 He  accounts  for  such  usage  by  saying 
 that  "Judah  and  Israel"  was  a  com- 
 mon pln-ase  to  denote  the  whole  na- 
 tion. But  if  the  date  assigned  to  the 
 Psalm  be  correct,  there  may  be  a 
 special  reason  for  the  mention  of 
 Israel.  Ilezekiah  was  the  first  monarch 
 who  made  any  attempt  to  restore  the 
 ancient  unity  of  the  tribes.  After  the 
 fall  of  Samaria,  and  tlie  deportation 
 of  the  inhabitants  of  the  northern 
 kingdom  by  Esarhaddon,  Israel,  i.e. 
 the  ten  tribes,  had  no  longer  a  national 
 
 existence.  And  yet  we  read  that 
 Hezekiah,  on  his  accession,  after 
 purifying  the  Temple,  and  restoring 
 the  worship  of  God,  "sent  to  all  Is- 
 rael and  yudah,  and  wrote  letters 
 also  to  Ephraim  and  Manasseh,  that 
 they  should  come  to  the  house  of  the 
 Lord  at  Jerusalem,  to  keep  the  pass- 
 over  unto  the  Lord  God  of  Israel.''^ 
 (2  Chron.  xxx.  i.)  A  study  of  the 
 whole  chapter  will  show  what  im- 
 portance was  attached  to  this  union 
 of  Israel  with  Judah,  at  the  time, 
 and  will  explain,  as  it  seems  to  me, 
 the  mention  of  both  together  in  the 
 Psalm. 
 
 2,  Salem.  The  LXX,  render  eV 
 elpviuri,  and  the  Vulg.  in  pace:  but 
 the  word  is  evidently  a  proper  name. 
 "  It  seems  to  be  agreed  on  all  hands," 
 says  Mr.  Grove,  "  that  Salem  is  here 
 employed  for  Jerusalem  ;  but  whether 
 as  a  mere  abbreviation,  to  suit  some 
 exigency  of  the  poetry,  and  point  the 
 allusion  to  the  peace  which  the  city 
 enjoyed  through  the  protection  of  God, 
 or  whether,  after  a  well-known  habit 
 of  poets,  it  is  an  antique  name  pre- 
 ferred to  the  more  modern  and  familiar 
 one,  is  a  question  not  yet  decided.'' 
 
 His  Tabernacle,  Ut.  "booth," as 
 
 See  inscription,  Ps. 
 
PSALM  LXXVL 
 
 355 
 
 3  There  brake  He  the  arrows  of  the  bow, 
 
 Shield,  and  sword,  and  battle.     [Selah.j 
 
 4  Glorious  art  Thou,  (and)  excellent  ' 
 
 From  the  mountains  of  prey. 
 
 made  of  irtterivoven  or  interlacing 
 boughs  of  trees,  &c.  (vSo  the  feast  of 
 tabernacles  is  the  feast  of  booths,  or 
 huts.)  The  name  may  have  been 
 used  of  any  temporary  structure,  and 
 so  of  the  Tabernacle,  and  then,  as 
 here,  of  the  Temple.  Comp.  xxvil,  5, 
 and  Lam.  ii.  6. 
 
 But  I  am  inclined  to  prefer  another 
 meaning  here,  and  one  more  in  accor- 
 dance with  the  context.  The  word 
 may  signify  a  dense  thicket,  the  lair 
 of  wild  beasts.  (It  occurs  in  this 
 sense  in  x.  9,  "  like  a  lion  in  his 
 lairj^)  In  ver.  4  it  is  said,  "Thou 
 art  glorious  from  the  mountains  of 
 prey."  May  not  God  be  here  likened 
 to  a  lion  couching  in  his  lair,  and 
 going  forth  from  those  mountains  to 
 destroy  ?  This  seems  almost  certain, 
 when  we  find  that  the  word  in  the 
 parallel,  "His  dwelling,"  is  also  used 
 in  civ.  22  of  the  den  of  lions;  "  the 
 lions  roaring  after  ih.c\i-  prey,  &c.  .  .  . 
 lay  them  down  in  their  dens."  The 
 same  word  occurs  in  the  same  sense 
 in  Am.  iii.  4.  Then  we  should  ren- 
 der :  "  In  Salem  is  His  covert,  and 
 His  lair  in  Zion."  Dean  Stanley, 
 I  find,  takes  the  same  view,  Sinai 
 and  Pal.  p.  177,  note  2.  As  regards 
 the  figure  itself,  Jehovah  is  said  in 
 two  other  passages  to  roar  (as  a  lion), 
 Joel  iii.  16.  He  is  here,  as  it  were, 
 identified  with  "the  lion  of  the  tribe 
 of  Judah." 
 
 3.  There.  Emphatically  pointing 
 to  the  spot  where  the  great  deliver- 
 ance had  been  accomplished.  Comp. 
 for  the  general  sense  of  the  verse 
 xlvi.  9 : — 
 
 **  Who  stilleth  wars  to  the  end  of  the 
 earth, 
 
 Who  breaketh  the  bow  and  cutteth 
 the  spear  in  sunder, 
 And  burneth   the   chariots  in  the 
 fire." 
 
 Arrows  of  the  bow,  lit.  "fiery 
 gleams,  or  lightnings  of  the  bow," 
 the  arrows  being  so  called,  from  their 
 rapid  fiight,  and  their  glittering  in 
 the  air  ;  or  possibly  with  an  allusion 
 to  the  burning  arrows  employed  in 
 ancient  warfare. 
 
 4.  There  is  no  comparison,  as  in 
 the  E.  v.,  "w^;v  glorious  tfia^i  the 
 mountains  of  prey,"  though  the  He- 
 brew would  admit  of  such  a  rendering, 
 and  it  has  been  adopted  by  many 
 commentators.  They  suppose  that  the 
 Assyrian  power  is  tacitly  compared 
 either  to  a  lion  going  forth  to  ravin 
 (comp.  the  fuller  picture  in  Nah.  ii. 
 II — 13),  or  to  robbers  issuing  from 
 their  strongholds  in  the  mountains. 
 And  thus  the  power  of  God  is  said 
 to  be  "more  excellent"  than  the 
 power  of  Assyria,  whether  regarded 
 as  that  of  a  lion,  or  as  that  of  armed 
 banditti.  But  such  a  comparison  is 
 flat  and  tame,  and  the  rendering  given 
 in  the  text  is  far  preferable.  See  note 
 on  ver.  2.  God  goes  forth  victoriously 
 from  Zion  to  crush  His  foes. 
 
 "  The  promise,"  Tholucksays,  "is 
 fulfilled  :— 
 
 'I   will  break   the   Assyrian   in   my 
 
 land, 
 And  upon  my  mountains  tread  him 
 
 under  foot.'     (Is.  xiv.  25.) 
 
 Yea,  upon  the  mountains  of  Jerusalem 
 they  themselves  must  become  a  prey, 
 who  had  hoped  there  to  gather  the 
 prey."  The  plural,  MOUNTAINS, 
 either  used  in  the  wider  sense,  as  in 
 A   A    2 
 
35^ 
 
 PSALM  LXXVL 
 
 5  The  stout-hearted  have  been  spoiled, 
 
 They  have  sunk  into  their  sleep, 
 And  none  of  the  men  of  valour  have  found  their  hands. 
 
 6  At  Thy  rebuke,  O  God  of  Jacob, 
 
 Both  chariot  and  horse  are  cast  into  a  dead  sleep. 
 
 7  Thou,  even  Thou,  art  to  be  feared. 
 
 And  who  can  stand  before  Thee  when  once  Thou  art 
 angry  ? 
 
 8  From  heaven  didst  Thou  cause  judgement  to  be  heard, 
 
 the  passage  just  quoted  from  Isaiah, 
 or  possibly  of  Zicn  only,  as  in 
 Ixxxvii.  I,  cxxxiii.  3.  The  gi'eat  pro- 
 minence always  given  to  the  inoun- 
 tabis  of  their  native  land,  both  by 
 Psalmists  and  Prophets,  is  a  further 
 confirmation  of  the  view  that  the 
 mountains  of  Palestine,  not  those  of 
 Assyria,  are  here  meant.  See  Mr. 
 Grove's  admirable  article,  Pales- 
 tine, §  26,  Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible. 
 
 5.  They  have  sunk  into  their 
 SLEEP.  (Comp,  2  Kings  xix.  35.) 
 The  verb  (which  is  of  a  different  root 
 from  the  noun  "sleep")  expresses 
 the  languor  and  lassitude  by  Avhich 
 a  man  is  overpowered,  and  so  falls 
 asleep.  In  all  other  passages  where 
 it  occurs,  the  E.  V.  renders  it  by 
 slumber.  See,  for  instance,  cxxi. 
 3,  4 ;  Is.  v.  27,  &c.,  and  comp.  Nah. 
 iii.  18,  "Thy  shepherds  slumber,  O 
 King  of  Assyria,"  where  the  word  is 
 used,  as  here,  of  the  sleep  of  death. 
 A  third  word  is  employed  in  the  next 
 verse. 
 
 Have  found  their  hands  finely 
 expresses  the  helplessness  and  bewil- 
 derment of  those  proud  warriors  who 
 but  a  short  while  before  had  raised 
 their  hands  in  scornful  defiance  against 
 Jenisalem  (see  Is.  x.  32).  The  idiom 
 is  apparently  similar  to  our  common 
 expression  *^ losing  heart."  (Comp. 
 2  Sam.  vii.  27,  to  "_/f«t/ heart.") 
 
 6.  Are  cast  into  a  dead  sleep. 
 In  the  Heb.  this  is  but  one  word 
 (a  participle),  denoting  present  con- 
 dition. It  is  used  of  a  profound 
 slumber,  either  (i)  natural,  or  (2) 
 supernatural,  the  sleep  into  which 
 God  casts  men.  Comp.  Jud.  iv.  21  ; 
 Dan.  x.  9,  and  the  noun  from  the 
 same  root,  Gen.  ii,  21  ;  I  Sam. 
 xxvi.   12. 
 
 Chariot  and  horse,  i.e.  of  course 
 the  riders  in  chariots  and  on  horses. 
 
 Byron's  animated  lines  on  the  de- 
 struction of  Sennacherib,  which  may 
 have  been  partly  suggested  by  this 
 Psalm,  will  occur  to  every  reader  : — 
 
 "And  there  lay  the  steed  with  his 
 nostril  all  wide. 
 
 But  through  it  there  rolled  not  the 
 breath  of  his  pride  : 
 
 And  the  foam  of  his  gasping  lay  white 
 on  the  turf, 
 
 And  cold  as  the  spray  of  the  rock- 
 beating  surf. 
 
 And  there  lay  the  rider  distorted  and 
 pale. 
 
 With  the  dew  on  his  brow,  and  the 
 rust  on  his  m.ail." 
 
 7.  When  once  Thou  art  angry, 
 lit.    "  from  the  time  of  Thine  anger." 
 
 8.  As  in  the  last  Psalm,  God  is 
 spoken  of  as  the  Judge  (this  is  a 
 peculiar  feature  in  the  Psalms  ascribed 
 to  Asaph)  ;  and,  as  in  that,  He  speaks 
 
PSALM  LXXVL 
 
 357 
 
 The  earth  feared  and  was  still ; 
 9  When  God  arose  to  judgement, 
 
 To  save  all  the  afflicted  of  the  earth.     [Selah.j 
 
 10  For  the  wrath  of  man  must  praise  Thee, 
 
 With  the  remainder  of  wrath  Thou  girdest  Thyself. 
 
 1 1  Vow  and  pay  unto  Jehovah  your  God  ; 
 
 Let  all  that  are  round  about  Him  bring  presents  unto 
 Him  who  ought  to  be  feared  ! 
 
 12  He  cutteth  off  the  spirit  of  princes  : 
 
 He  is  to  be  feared  by  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
 
 from  heaven,  terrifying  His  enemies 
 with  the  thunder  of  His  word.  Comp. 
 ixxv.  2,  3,  7,  8.  The  train  of  thought 
 in  the  two  Psahiis  has  certainly  suffi- 
 cient in  common  to  justify  us  in  as- 
 signing both  to  the  same  period. 
 
 lo.  With  the  remainder  of 
 WRATH,  «S:c.  The  meaning  is  not 
 very  clear.  Whose  wrath  is  here 
 meant  ?  that  of  man,  or  that  of  God  ? 
 Some  undersand  the  latter,  and  ex- 
 plain the  verse  thus  :  All  the  wrath 
 of  men,  every  attempt  that  they  make 
 to  defeat  the  will  of  God,  does  but 
 turn  to  their  own  discomfiture,  and 
 His  glory  ;  and  after  all  their  efforts. 
 He  has  a  store,  a  residue,  of  wrath  to 
 pour  out  upon  them  as  punishment. 
 But  the  objection  to  this  is,  that  in 
 the  previous  clause  the  wrath  spoken 
 of  is  that  of  man  :  and  it  is  better  to 
 retain  the  same  subject  in  both  clauses. 
 Then  we  have  : — 
 
 (a)  Man's  wrath  doth  but  praise 
 God. 
 
 {b)  With  the  remainder  of  man's 
 wrath,  his  last  impotent  efforts  to  as- 
 sert his  own  power,  God  girds  Him- 
 self, puts  it  on,  so  to  speak,  as  an 
 ornament — clothes  Himself  therewith 
 to  His  own  glory. 
 
 Thus  the  parallelism  of  the  two 
 clauses  is  strictly  preserved. 
 
 The  word  WRATH  is  in  the  plural, 
 
 denoting  either  wrath  of  every  kind, 
 or  wrath  in  its  intensity. 
 
 II.  This  is  the  end.  God  has 
 wrought  His  terrible  act  of  judgement 
 — but  the  first  of  a  long  series  of 
 judgements  to  be  executed  on  the 
 nations,  unless  by  timely  submission 
 they  acknowledge  Him  as  their  king. 
 See  the  similar  exhortation  in  ii.  ii. 
 
 Vow  AND  PAY.     See  on  xxii.  25. 
 
 Bring  presents,  comp.  Ixviii.  29. 
 
 All  that  are  round  about, 
 i.e.  the  heathen  nations,  who  are  to 
 bring  presents  ni  token  of  homage,  as 
 in  ixviii.  30. 
 
 Unto  Him  who  ought  to  be 
 feared,  lit.  "to  the  Fear,"  z>.  the 
 proper  object  of  fear.  See  the  same 
 use  of  the  word  in  Is.  viii.  12.  In 
 like  manner  God  is  called  "the  Fear  of 
 Isaac  "  in  Gen.  xxxi.  42,  53  (though 
 there  the  word  is  different). 
 
 12.  This  verse,  or  at  least  the  first 
 clause  of  it,  reminds  us  of  the  last 
 verse  of  the  preceding  Psalm,  which 
 closes  in  a  similar  strain. 
 
 He  cutteth  off,  like  a  vine- 
 dresser, who  prunes  away  the  rank 
 boughs,  or  cuts  off  the  ripe  clusters  of 
 the  vine.  Comp.  Is.  xviii.  5,  where  the 
 same  image  is  employed  by  the  Pro- 
 phet at  the  same  time,  Jud.  viii,  2, 
 XX.  45  ;  Jer.  vi.  9,  Ii.  33  ;  Joel  iii.  13  ; 
 Rev.  xiv.  15. 
 
35S  FSALM  LXXVIL 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIL 
 
 This  Psalm  is  the  record,  first,  of  a  sorrow  long  and  painfully 
 questioning  with  itself,  full  of  doubts  and  fears,  trying  in  vain  to  find 
 in  itself,  or  in  the  past,  a  light  for  the  present  ;  and  then  of  the 
 triumph  over  that  sorrow  by  the  recollection  of  God's  love  and 
 power,  as  manifested  in  the  early  history  of  Israel.  By  whom  the 
 Psalm  was  written,  or  to  what  period  of  the  history  it  is  to  be  referred, 
 it  is  now  impossible  to  say.  The  manner  in  which,  towards  the 
 close,  the  passage^  of  the  Red  Sea  is  dwelt  upon,  has  led  many  to 
 conclude  that  it  was  written  by  one  of  the  exiles  during  the  Baby- 
 lonish captivity.  Those  two  memorable  events,  the  deliverance  from 
 Babylon  and  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  were  always  associated  in 
 the  minds  of  the  Jews,  the  one  being  regarded,  in  fact,  as  the  pledge 
 of  the  other.  This,  however,  in  itself,  is  not  decisive.  At  any  time 
 of  great  national  depression,  the  thoughts  of  the  true-hearted  in 
 Israel  would  naturally  revert  to  God's  first  great  act  of  redeeming 
 love  :  and  other  Psalms  (the  78th,  the  80th,  the  8ist),  evidently 
 not  written  during  the  Exile,  look  back  to  the  Exodus,  and  the 
 wonders  of  God's  Hand  displayed  then,  and  in  the  journey  through 
 the  wilderness.  Besides,  an  inference  of  a  positive  kind,  in  favour 
 of  an  earlier  date,  has  been  drawn  from  the  relation  of  this  Psalm 
 to  the  prophecy  of  Habakkuk.  Delitzsch,  in  his  Commentary  on 
 the  Prophet,  has  traced  carefully  the  coincidences  in  thought  and 
 expression  between  Hab.  iii.  10—15,  and  verses  16 — 20  of  the  Psalm. 
 Among  the  various  arguments  by  which  he  endeavours  to  establish 
 the  priority  of  the  Psalm,  two  seem  to  be  of  weight  :  first,  that  the 
 Prophet  throughout  his  ode  is  in  the  habit  of  quoting  from  the 
 Psalms  ;  and  secondly,  that  with  his  eye  on  the  future,  he  arrays  all 
 the  images  of  terror  and  magnificence  which  are  suggested  by  the 
 past,  in  order  to  describe  with  more  imposing  pomp  the  approaching 
 advent  of  Jehovah  ;  whereas  the  Psalmist  is  not  looking  to  the  future, 
 but  dwelling  on  the  past  :  hence  it  is  far  more  probable  that  the 
 Prophet  imitates  the  Psalmist,  than  that  the  Psalmist  borrows  from 
 
PSALM  LXXVIL  359 
 
 the  Prophet.  Supposing  this  to  be  satisfactorily  established,  we  might 
 reasonably  infer  that  this  Psalm  was  not  written  later  than  the  reign 
 of  Josiah.  But  on  the  other  hand,  as  Hupfeld  has  pointed  out,  the 
 mode  of  expression  in  Habakkuk,  as  compared  with  that  here  em- 
 ployed, would  lead  us  to  an  exactly  opposite  conclusion,  (i)  The 
 figure  in  Hab.  iii.  10,  "  The  moimtains  saw  Thee,  they  were  afraid 
 (ht.  in  pangs  or  throes),"  is  more  natural  and  correct  than  the  use  of 
 the  same  figure  as  applied  in  the  Psalm  to  the  waters  (ver.  16). 
 (2)  The  phrase,  "  the  overflowing  of  the  waters,"  in  Hab.  iii.  10,  is 
 more  simple  and  natural  than  the  corresponding  phrase  in  ver.  17  of 
 the  Psalm.  Hence  it  is  most  likely  that  the  latter  was  a  designed 
 alteration  in  copying  from  the  former.  (3)  That  the  lightning  should 
 be  termed  the  "arrows"  of  God  in  Habakkuk  is  quite  in  keeping  with 
 the  martial  character  and  figures  of  the  whole  passage.  In  the  Psalm, 
 on  the  other  hand,  the  figure  seems  more  out  of  place. 
 
 But  whenever,  and  by  whomsoever,  the  Psalm  may  have  been 
 written,  it  clearly  is  individual,  not  national.  It  utterly  destroys  all 
 the  beauty,  all  the  tenderness  and  depth  of  feeling  in  the  opening 
 portion,  if  v/e  suppose  that  the  people  are  introduced  speaking  in 
 the  first  person.  The  allusions  to  the  national  history  may  indeed 
 show  that  the  season  was  a  season  of  national  distress,  and  that  the 
 sweet  singer  was  himself  bowed  down  by  the  burden  of  the  time, 
 and  oppressed  by  woes  which  he  had  no  power  to  alleviate  ;  but  it 
 is  his  own  sorrow,  not  the  sorrow  of  others,  under  which  he  sighs,  and 
 of  which  he  has  left  the  pathetic  record. 
 
 The  Psalm  falls  naturally  into  two  principal  parts  :  the  first,  verses 
 I — 9,  containing  the  expressions  of  the  Psalmist's  sorrow  and  disquie- 
 tude ;  the  second,  verses  10 — 20,  teUing  how  he  rose  above  them. 
 
 Of  these,  again,  the  former  half  consists  of  strophes  of  three  verses, 
 I — 3,  4—6,  7—9,  the  end  of  the  first  and  third  being  marked  by  the 
 Selah.  The  latter  may  also  be  divided  into  three  strophes,  the  first 
 two  only  being  of  three  verses  each,  10 — 12,  13 — 15  (the  second  having 
 the  Selah),  and  the  last  consisting  of  five.  16 — 20. 
 
360 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIL 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    after  the  manner  of  jeduthun.*    a 
 psalm  of  asaph.] 
 
 1  With  my  voice  unto  God  let  me  cry, 
 
 With  my  voice  unto  God,  and  may  He  give  ear  unto 
 me. 
 
 2  In  the  day  of  my  distress  have  I  sought  the  Lord  ; 
 
 My  hand  in  the  night  hath  been  stretched  out  and 
 failed  not, 
 My  soul  refused  to  be  comforted. 
 
 3  I  would  remember  God,  and  must  sigh, 
 
 I  would  commune  (with  myself),  and  my  spirit  is 
 overwhelmed.     [Selah.] 
 
 1.  And  may  He  give  ear,  or 
 more  literally,  in  the  form  of  an  ad- 
 dress to  God,  *'And  do  Thou  give 
 ear,"  The  constant  interchange  of 
 tenses  in  the  first  six  verses  lends 
 vividness  to  the  expression  of  the 
 Psalmist's  feelings.  And  thus  are 
 marked  the  fluctuating  emotions  of 
 the  mind,  ever  passing  from  the  mere 
 statement  of  fact  to  the  utterance  of 
 feelings  and  desires. 
 
 2,  3.  These  verses  show  both  the 
 reality  and  earnestness  of  the  prayer, 
 and  the  strong  faith  of  the  Psalmist. 
 It  is  no  occasional  petition  hastily  put 
 up,  but  a  struggle,  like  that  of  Jacob, 
 through  the  livelong  night.  It  is  even 
 a  sorer  conflict,  for  he  has  not  found 
 the  blessing  as  Jacob  did.  He  can- 
 not be  comforted.  He  would  think 
 of  God,  but  even  that  thought  brings 
 him  no  strength ;  he  looks  within, 
 and  his  sorrow  deepens, 
 
 2.  Hath  been  stretched  out, 
 lit.  "poured  out"  like  water,  2  Sam. 
 .xiv.  14  :  or  as  the  eye  is  said  to  be 
 poured  out  or  dissolved  in  tears.  Lam. 
 iii.  49  ;  here  apparently  applied  to 
 the  hand  stretched  out  in  prayer. 
 ■'The  stretched-out,  weak,  and 
 powerless  hand,"  says  Hengstenberg, 
 •'  conveys  the  picture  of  a  relaxation 
 
 of  the  whole  body."  Or,  there  may 
 be  a  confusion  of  metaphor,  that 
 being  said  of  the  hand  which  could 
 only  properly  be  said  of  the  eye 
 (hence  the  Targum  substitutes  the 
 latter  for  the  former).  The  Rabbi- 
 nical writers  understood  my  hand  to 
 mean  the  hand,  or  blow,  laid  upon 
 me,  and  hence  came  the  singular 
 rendering  of  the  E.  V.  my  sore  ran, 
 &c. 
 
 And  Failed  not  (or  it  may  be 
 rendered  as  an  adverbial  clause,  ivitk- 
 oiit  intermission),  lit.  "  and  grew  not 
 cold,"  like  a  corpse;  "became  not 
 weary,"  used,  like  the  last  verb,  of 
 tears.  Comp.  Lam.  ii.  18,  "Let 
 tears  run  down  like  a  river  day  and 
 night  :  give  thyself  no  rest ;  "  and  i-ii. 
 49,  "Mine  eye  trickled  down  (the 
 word  rendered  above  has  been  stretched 
 out),  and  ceaseth  not,  without  any 
 intermission.^^  The  words  rest  and 
 interjnission  are  derivatives  from  the 
 verb  here  employed,  and  are  applied 
 to  tears,  perhaps  as  f^-oz^n  at  their 
 source. 
 
 Hath  refused.  Comp.  Gen. 
 xxxvii,  35,  where  the  same  is  said  of 
 Jacob  when  he  received  the  tidings  of 
 Joseph's  death. 
 
 3.  Must  sigh.     See  Rom.  viii.  26 
 
 "  See  note  on  inscription  of  Ps 
 
PSALM  LXXVII. 
 
 361 
 
 4  Thou  hast  held  mine  eyes  waking  ; 
 
 I  am  (so)  troubled  that  I  cannot  speak. 
 
 5  I  have  considered  the  days  of  old, 
 
 The  years  of  ages  (past)  ; 
 
 6  I  would  call  to  remembrance  my  song  in  the  night, 
 
 I   would  commune  with    my   heart, — and  my  spirit 
 hath  made  diligent  search  : 
 
 7  "  Will  the  Lord  cast  off  for  ever  ? 
 
 And  will  He  be  favourable  no  more  ? 
 
 8  Hath  His  loving-kindness  come  to  an  end  for  ever 
 
 Hath  (His)  promise  failed  to  all  generations  ? 
 
 9  Hath  God  forgotten  to  be  gracious  ? 
 
 Hath   He  shut  up  in  anger  His  tender  mercies  ? " 
 [Selah.] 
 
 10  Then  I  said  :  This  is  my  sorrow, 
 
 That  the  right  hand  of  the  Highest  hath  changed. 
 
 ((TT6i/a-y^o?s  dAa?k7jT0is).  "St,  Paul 
 leaches  us  that  it  is  the  Holy  Ghost 
 who  in  such  sighs  makes  intercession 
 for  believers  with  God." — Tholuck. 
 
 4.  I  CANNOT  SPEAK.  Silence  and 
 thought  succeed  to  the  uttered  prayer. 
 But  the  heart  still  prays  on  in  secret, 
 though  the  mouth  is  silent. 
 
 My  song,  properly,  a  song  sung 
 to  a  stringed  instrument,  as  the  harp. 
 He  would  console  himself  with  the 
 recollection  of  a  happier  past.  Such 
 recollections,  as  Tholuck  remarks, 
 may  hush  the  storm  of  the  soul,  may 
 give  a  man  courage  to  say  to  himself. 
 Thou  art  His,  He  cannot  forsake  thee. 
 But  such  recollections  may  also  be 
 made  the  very  instruments  of  Satan's 
 temptations,  when  the  soul  asks.  Why 
 is  it  not  always  thus?  and  so  falls 
 into  the  sad  and  desponding  thoughts 
 which  follow  in  the  next  verses. 
 
 In  the  night.  This  repeated 
 mention  of  the  night  (see  ver.  2) 
 shows  that  he  was  one  who  loved  the 
 stillness  and  the  solitude  of  night  for 
 
 meditation  and  prayer.      (Comp.  xvi. 
 7,  xvi-i.   3.) 
 
 8.  God's  loving-kindness  and  God's 
 promise  (or,  zvord,  as  in  Ixviii.  ii, 
 and  Hab.  iii.  9)  are  the  two  props  of 
 his  faith. 
 
 9.  In  anger  His  tender  mer- 
 cies. The  Avords  are  evidently 
 placed  with  design  in  juxtaposition, 
 in  order  to  heighten  the  contrast. 
 Comp.  Hab.  iii.  2,  "In  wrath  re- 
 member mercy,"  where  there  is  the 
 same  juxtaposition  in  the  Hebrew. 
 
 ID.  All  this  that  I  have  been  asking 
 myself,  and  saddening  myself  with 
 asking,  seems  impossible,  and  yet  it  is 
 this  very  change  which  perplexes  me. 
 
 My  sorrow,  or  perhaps  "my 
 sickness,"  i.e.,  as  Calvin  explains,  a 
 disease  which  is  only  for  a  time,  and 
 to  which,  therefore,  I  should  patiently 
 submit.  Comp.  Jer.  x.  19.  Others, 
 "  my  infirmity,"  i.e.  the  weakness  of 
 my  own  spirit,  which  leads  me  to 
 take  this  gloomy  view,  and  which  1 
 must  resist. 
 
362 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIL 
 
 1 1  (But)  I  will  celebrate  the  deeds  of  Jah, 
 
 For  I  will  call  to  mind  Thy  wonders  of  old  ; 
 
 12  And  I  will  meditate  on  all  Thy  work, 
 
 And  commune  with  myself  of  Thy  doings. 
 
 1 3  O  God,  Thy  way  is  holy  ! 
 
 Who  is  a  great  God  as  (our)  God  ? 
 
 14  Thou,  even  Thou,  art  the  God  that  doest  wonders, 
 
 Thou   hast   made   known   Thy  strength  among 
 peoples. 
 
 1 5  Thou  hast  with  (Thine)  arm  redeemed  Thy  people 
 
 The  sons  of  Jacob  and  Joseph.     [Selah.] 
 
 the 
 
 That  THE  RIGHT  HAND,  &c.,  lit. 
 "the  changing  of  the  right  hand." 
 This  fact,  that  it  is  no  more  with  him 
 as  in  days  past,  it  is  which  fills  him 
 with  grief.  And  then  in  the  next  verse 
 he  recovers  himself,  and  passes  from 
 self-contemplation  to  record  God's 
 wonders  for  His  people  But  another 
 rendering  is  possible.  The  word 
 changing  may  mean  years:  "The 
 years  of  the  right  hand,"  &c.,  and 
 the  whole  verse  might  be  understood 
 thus  : — 
 
 "Then  I  thought  :  This  is  my  sad- 
 ness,— 
 The  years  of  the  right  hand  of 
 the  Most  High." 
 
 i.e.  the  very  recollection  of  those 
 years,  and  of  God's  help  vouchsafed 
 in  times  past,  does  but  increase  my 
 present  gloom. 
 
 1 1.  With  this  verse  the  change  of 
 feeling  begins.  Hitherto  he  has 
 looked  too  much  within,  has  sought 
 too  much  to  read  the  mystery  of  God's 
 dealings  by  the  light  of  his  own  ex- 
 perience merely.  Hence  the  despon- 
 dency, when  he  contrasts  the  gloomy 
 present  with  the  far  brighter  and 
 iiappier  past.  He  cannot  believe  that 
 God  has  indeed  forgotten  to  be  gra- 
 cious, that  He  has  indeed  changed 
 His  very  nature ;  but  that  he  may  be 
 
 re-assured  and  satisfied  on  this  point 
 his  eye  must  take  a  wider  range  than 
 that  of  his  own  narrow  experience. 
 There  lies  before  him  the  great  history 
 of  his  people.  There  recurs  especially 
 the  one  great  deliverance  never  to  be 
 forgotten,  the  type  and  the  pledge  of 
 all  deliverances,  whether  of  the  nation, 
 or  of  the  individual.  On  this  he  lays 
 hold,  by  this  he  sustains  his  sinking 
 faith. 
 
 Thv  wonders.  The  word  is  in 
 the  singular  here,  and  also  in  ver.  14. 
 So  also  in  the  next  verse  Thy  work, 
 because  the  one  great  wonder,  the 
 one  great  work  in  which  all  others 
 were  included,  is  before  his  thoughts. 
 Comp.    Hab.    iii.    2,    "  Revive   Thy 
 
 13.  Is  HOLY,  lit.  "is  in  holiness," 
 not  as  others,  "  in  the  sanctuary  ;  " 
 for  the  Psalmist,  though  speaking 
 generally  of  God's  redeeming  love 
 and  power,  is  evidently  thinking 
 chiefly  of  the  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
 on  which  he  afterwards  dwells.  In 
 this  and  the  next  verse  there  is  an 
 allusion  to  Exod.  xv.  1 1,  "Who  is 
 like  unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  among 
 the  gods  ?  W^ho  is  like  Thee,  glori- 
 ous in  holiness,  fearful  in  praises, 
 doing  wonders  ?  " 
 
 15.  Thou  hast  redeemed,  a 
 word  especially  applied  to  the  deliver- 
 
PSALM  LXXVn.  , 
 
 1 6  The  waters  saw  Thee,  O  God,  the  waters  saw  Thee,  th 
 
 were  troubled  ; 
 Yea,  the  depths  also  trembled  ; 
 
 17  The  clouds  poured  out  water  ;  the  skies  thundered  : 
 
 Yea,  Thine  arrows  went  abroad  ; 
 
 18  The  voice  of  Thy  thunders  rolled  along. 
 
 The  lightnings  gave  shine  unto  the  world  : 
 The  earth  trembled  and  shook. 
 
 .63 
 
 ;y 
 
 ance  from  Egyptian  bondage.  See 
 note  on  Ixxiv.  2.  "  The  word  'Re- 
 demption,' which  has  now  a  sense  far 
 holier  and  higher,"  says  Dean  Stanley, 
 "iirst  entered  into  the  circle  of  re- 
 ligious ideas  at  the  time  when  God 
 '  1-cdeemed  His  people  from  the  house 
 of  bondage.'  " — yewish  Church,  Lect. 
 V.  p.  127, 
 
 Joseph,  mentioned  here  apparently 
 as  the  father  of  Ephraim  (comp, 
 Ixxviii.  67),  and  so  as  representing 
 the  kingdom  of  Israel  (as  Ixxx.  I, 
 Ixxxi.  5  ;  pei-haps  this  special  mention 
 of  Joseph  may  indicate  that  the 
 Psalmist  himself  belonged  to  the 
 northern  kingdom. 
 
 16 — 20.  There  follows  now  a  de- 
 scription of  the  manner  in  which  the 
 redemption  (ver.  15)  was  accomplished 
 in  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea.  In 
 verses  17  and  18,  the  rain,  the  thunder 
 and  lightning,  and  the  earthquake, 
 are  features  of  the  scene  not  men- 
 tioned in  the  history  in  Exodus, 
 though  Tholuck  sees  an  allusion  to  a 
 storm  in  Exod.  xiv.  24.  Both  Philo 
 {V.  M.  i.  32)  and  Josephus  {Ant.  ii. 
 16,  §  3)  add  this  circumstance  in  their 
 narratives  of  the  event.  "The  Pas- 
 sage, as  thus  described,"  says  Dean 
 Stanley,  "was  effected,  not  in  the 
 calmness  and  clearness  of  daylight, 
 but  in  the  depth  of  midnight,  amidst 
 the  roar  of  the  hurricane,  which  caused 
 the  sea  to  go  back — amidst  a  darkness 
 lit  up  only  by  the  broad  glare  of  the 
 
 lightning,  as  '  the  Lord  looked  out ' 
 Irom  the  thick  darkness  of  the  cloud." 
 rie  then  quotes  these  verses  of  the 
 Psalm.  {Jciuish  Chtcrch,  pp.  127-8.) 
 This  is  one  of  those  instances  in  which 
 we  obtain  valuable  incidental  ad- 
 ditions, by  means  of  the  Psalmists 
 and  Prophets,  to  the  earlier  narratives. 
 See  Mr.  Grove's  Article  on  Oreb,  in 
 Smith's  Diet,  of  the  B.b'e. 
 
 16.  Saw  Thee.  Comp.  cxiv.  3, 
 where  both  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
 Jordan  are  mentioned,  a  passage  which 
 Hupfeld  thinks  is  tlie  original  from 
 which  both  this  and  Hab.iii.  10  are 
 copied. 
 
 Were  troubled,  lit.  "were  in 
 pain,"  as  of  travail.  The  same  ex- 
 pression is  used  of  the  mountains  in 
 Hab.  iii.  10  :  "The  mountains  saw 
 Thee,  they  were  in  pain ;  "  wdiere  the 
 verb  seems  more  aptly  to  describe  the 
 ihroes  of  the  earthquake,  by  which 
 the  mountains  are  shaken. 
 
 17.  The  way  is  made  by  means  of 
 tempest  and  hurricane. 
 
 Poured  out.  Comp.  Hab.  iii. 
 10,  '■''  the  overfloxving  of  the  waters." 
 (E.V.)  In  the  same  way  the  light- 
 ning is  spoken  of  as  "the  arrows  "  of 
 God,  in  Hab.  iii.  1 1. 
 
 18.  Rolled  along,  lit.  "was  in 
 the  rolling,"  with  allusion  to  God's 
 chariot;  or  perhaps  "in  the  whirl- 
 wind." 
 
 Gave  shine.  I  have  adopted 
 here  the  Prayer-Book  Version  of  the 
 
3^4 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 19  Thy  way  was  in  the  sea, 
 
 And  Thy  paths  in  (the)  mighty  waters, 
 And  Thy  footsteps  were  not  known. 
 
 20  Thou  leddest  Thy  people  hke  sheep 
 
 By  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron. 
 
 same  words  in  xcvii.  4  (its  rendering 
 in  tliis  place  is  less  correct),  in  prefer- 
 ence to  that  of  the  E.  V.,  "  the  light- 
 nings lightened,''''  (i)  because  the  verb 
 and  the  noun  are  from  entirely  diiTer- 
 ent  roots;  (2)  because  the  idiomatic 
 ^^ gave  shine"  is  an  exact  equivalent 
 of  the  Hebrew, 
 
 19.  Thy  footsteps  were  not 
 KNOWN.  "  We  know  not,  they  knew 
 not,  by  what  precise  nteans  the  de- 
 liverance was  wrought  :  we  know  not 
 by  what  precise  track  through  the 
 gulf  the  passage  was  effected.  We 
 know  not,  and  we  need  not  know  ; 
 the  obscurity,  the  mystery  here,  as 
 elsewhere,  was  part  of  the  lesson. 
 .  .  .  All  that  we  see  distinctly  is, 
 that  through  this  dark  and  terrible 
 night,  with  the  enemy  pressing  close 
 behind,  and  the  driving  sea  on  either 
 side,  He  led  His  people  like  sheep 
 by  the  hand  of  Moses  and  Aaron." 
 —Stanley,  yrmsh  Church,  p.  128. 
 
 20.  This  verse  stands  in  beautiful 
 and  touching  contrast  with  the  last. 
 In  that  we  have  pourtrayed  the  ma- 
 jesty, the  power,  the  unsearchable 
 mystery  of  God's  ways  ;  in  this.  His 
 tender  and  loving  care  for  His  people, 
 as  that  of  a  shepherd  for  His  flock. 
 See  for  a  like  contrast,  Is.  li.  15,  16, 
 xl.  10 — 12,  Ivii.  15. 
 
 So  ends  the  Psalm.  Nor  can  I  see 
 in  such  a  close  that  abruptness  which 
 has  led  some  commentators  to  suppose 
 that  the  Psalm  was  never  finished. 
 The  one  great  example  is  given,  and 
 that  is  enough.  All  is  included  in 
 that  ;  and  the  troubled,  desponding 
 spirit  has  found  peace  and  rest  in  the 
 view  of  God's  redemption.  "He 
 loses  himself,  as  it  were,  in  the  joyful 
 recollection "  (De  Wette).  So"  may 
 every  sorrowful  spirit  now  find  peace 
 and  rest  in  looking,  not  to  itself,  not 
 even  to  God's  dealings  with  itself,  but 
 to  the  cross  of  Christ. 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIII.-^ 
 
 In  this,  the  longest  of  the  historical  Psalms,  the  history  of  Israel 
 is  brietly  recapitulated,  from  the  time  of  the  Exodus  to  the  final  union 
 
 •  On  this  Psalm  see  Isaac  Taylor,  Spirit  of  the  Hebrew  Poetry,  p.  154. 
 
PSALM  LXX  VIII.  365 
 
 of  the  tribes  under  David,  and  the  estabhshment  of  the  kingdom  in 
 his  family.  This  appeal  to  the  past  is  made  evidently  with  a  puipose. 
 The  Psalmist  comes  forward  as  a  prophet  to  rebuke, the  sin,  the  in- 
 gratitude, the  rebellion  of  his  people.  This  he  does  by  showing  them 
 the  present  in  the  light  of  the  past.  God  had  wrought  wonders  in 
 behalf  of  their  fathers  of  old  ;  God  had  redeemed  them  from  Egypt, 
 led  them  through  the  wilderness,  brought  them  to  His  holy  mountain. 
 But  the  history  of  their  nation  had  been  at  once  a  history  of  wonders, 
 and  a  history  of  rebellions.  Miracle  had  followed  on  miracle  to  win 
 them  ;  chastisement  had  succeeded  to  chastisement  to  deter  them  ;  but 
 the  miracle  was  forgotten,  the  chastisement  produced  but  a  temporary 
 reformation.  They  had  ever  been  "  a  faithless  and  stubborn  genera- 
 tion." It  is  evident,  from  his  opening  words,  that  the  Psalmist  was 
 anxious  to  bring  out  sharply  and  clearly  the  lessons  with  which  the 
 past  teemed.  He  saw  that  his  people  were  in  danger  of  forgetting 
 those  lessons.  He  saw  in  that  history,  instruction,  warning,  reproof 
 for  the  age  in  which  he  lived. 
 
 It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  another  and  more  special  purpose 
 appears  in  the  Psalm.  If  the  whole  nation  is  rebuked,  the  rebuke 
 falls  heaviest  upon  Ephraim.  Ephraim  is  singled  out  as  the  leader 
 in  the  earher  apostasy  of  the  people,  as  the  very  type  of  a  faithless 
 and  recreant  spirit  (ver.  12).  The  rejection  of  Ephraim  and  the  choice 
 of  Judah  are  dwelt  upon  at  the  close  in  a  tone  of  satisfaction  and 
 triumph,  as  the  fulfilment  of  the  purpose  of  God.  It  is  scarcely 
 possible,  therefore,  to  resist  the  conclusion,  that  the  Psalm  was  written 
 after  the  defection  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  and  that  it  was  designed  either 
 to  curb  the  pride  of  the  northern  kingdom,  or  to  address  a  warning  to 
 Judah,  based  on  the  example  of  Ephraim. 
 
 Various  conjectures  have  been  hazarded  as  to  the  time  when  the 
 Psalm  was  written,  which  we  have  not  space  to  discuss  here. 
 
 The  Psalm  itself  furnishes  us  with  the  following  data  for  a  con- 
 clusion. 
 
 (i)  It  is  clear  from  the  concluding  verses  that  it  was  written  after 
 David  was  established  on  the  throne ;  from  ver.  69  it  might  even  be 
 inferred  after  the  Temple  had  been  built.  (2)  The  manner  in  which 
 these  events  are  spoken  of  leads  naturally  to  the  inference  that  they 
 were  of  no  very  recent  occurrence  ;  men  do  not  so  speak  of  events 
 within  their  own  memory.  (3)  The  sharp  contrast  between  Ephraim 
 and  Judah,  the  rejection  of  Shiloh  and  the  choice  of  Zion,  are  an 
 
366  PSALM  LXX VIIL 
 
 indication,  not  of  a  smouldering  animosity,  but  of  an  open  and  long- 
 existing  separation. 
 
 But  at  this  point  two  hypotheses  become  possible. 
 
 {a)  On  the  one  hand,  the  Psalmist's  object  may  have  been,  by  hold- 
 ing up  the  example  of  Ephraim,  to  warn  Judah  against  a  like  falling 
 away,  not  from  the  house  of  David,  but  from  the  God  of  their  fathers. 
 In  this  case  we  must  suppose  that  a  particular  prominence  is  given  to 
 the  conduct  of  Ephraim,  in  the  past  history,  though  the  whole  nation 
 was  guilty,  in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  what  is  said  of  Ephraim's 
 subsequent  rejection  (see  note  on  ver.  9).  Such  a  warning  might  be 
 compared  to  that  of  Jeremiah  at  the  time  of  the  Chaldean  invasion 
 (chap.  vii.). 
 
 {b)  On  the  other  hand,  the  Psalmist's  design  may  have  been  not 
 so  much  to  warn  Judah  as  to  rebuke  Ephraim.  Hence  it  is,  that 
 whilst  speaking  of  the  past  history  of  all  Israel  he  mentions  only 
 Ephraim  by  name.  Though  all  the  burden  of  guilt  in  that  mournful 
 past  did  not  rest  exclusively  upon  them,  yet  it  is  with  them  only  that 
 he  is  concerned.  Hence  it  is,  too,  that  he  dwells  with  so  much  pride 
 and  satisfaction  on  the  transference  of  the  sanctuary  from  Shiloh  to 
 Zion.  That  haughty  tribe,  strong  in  numbers  and  in  power,  might 
 boast  that  it  had  recovered  its  ancient  ascendency.  Ten  out  of  the 
 twelve  tribes  might  be  lost  to  David's  house.  But  God's  presence 
 and  favour  were  not  with  the  ten,  but  with  the  two.  His  sanctuary  was 
 not  in  Shiloh,  but  in  Zion.  He  had  chosen  to  be  the  ruler  of  his 
 people,  no  scion  of  the  thousands  of  Ephraim,  but  the  shepherd- 
 stripling  of  the  tribe  of  Judah. 
 
 On  the  whole,  I  confess  that  the  tone  of  triumph  wath  which  the 
 Psalm  concludes  seems  to  me  to  favour  the  last  hypothesis,  though  1 
 fear  I  must  also  add  that  I  am  unsupported  in  this  view  by  other 
 commentators. 
 
 [a   MASCHIL   of   ASAPH.-'] 
 
 I   Give  car,  O  my  people,  to  my  law, 
 
 Incline  your  ear  to  the  words  of  my  mouth. 
 
 1—4.  Tlie  Introduction,  announc-  recall  the  past,  that  it  may  act  as  a 
 ing  the  Psalmist's  purpose.     He  will       warning    for  the   present,    and    that 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  1. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 367 
 
 2  I  would  open  my  mouth  in  a  parable, 
 
 I  would  utter  dark  sayings  of  old. 
 
 3  (The  things)  which  we  have  heard  and  known, 
 
 And  our  fathers  have  told  us, 
 
 4  We  will  not  hide  from  their  children  ; 
 
 Telling    to  the    generation   to    come   the   praise   of 
 Jehovah, 
 And  His  might  and  His  wonderful  works  that  He 
 hath  done. 
 
 5  For  He  established  a  testimony  in  Jacob, 
 
 And  appointed  a  law  in  Israel, 
 
 the  wholesome  lessons  which  it 
 teaches  may  be  perpetuated  in  the 
 future.  In  the  following  four  verses 
 he  declares  that  such  commemoration 
 of  God's  wonders  is  the  very  destiny  of 
 Israel.  For  this  end  did  He  give 
 them  His  Law,  and  the  lively  oracles 
 of  His  mouth. 
 
 1.  My  people.  This  does  not 
 imply  that  God  or  the  Messiah  is  the 
 speaker.  The  Prophet,  speaking  in 
 the  name  and  by  the  authority  of 
 God,  as  His  inspired  messenger,  thus 
 addresses  the  nation.  The  opening 
 of  the  Psalm  is  similar  to  that  of 
 Ps.  xlix.  See  also  Deut.  xxxii.  I  ; 
 Is.  i.  2. 
 
 My  law,  here  evidently  used  in 
 its  wider  sense  of  insiruction  generally, 
 as  often  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs.  It 
 is  the  teaching  of  a  Prophet  (Matt, 
 xiii.  35),  and  in  that  sense  a  law,  a 
 law  of  life  to  those  who  hear  it. 
 
 2.  I  WOULD  OPEN.  The  form  of 
 the  tense  expresses  the  wish,  resolve, 
 &c.  The  sentence  is  very  similar  to 
 that  in  xlix.  4.  The  two  words 
 PARABLE  and  DARK  SAYINGS  are  the 
 same  which  occur  in  that  passage, 
 where  see  note. 
 
 How  are  we  to  understand  the 
 quotation  made  by  St.  Matthew  of 
 this  passage,  who  sees  a  fulfilment  of 
 it  in  the  parables  spoken  by  our  Lord 
 
 (Matt.  xiii.  34,  35)?  It  cannot  be 
 supposed  for  a  moment  that  these 
 words  were  a  prediction  of  our  Lord's 
 mode  of  teaching,  or  that  He  Him- 
 self is  here  the  speaker.  Put  here, 
 as  elsewhere,  th^t  which  the  Old 
 Testament  Prophet  says  of  himself, 
 finds  its  fittest  expression,  its  highest 
 realization,  in  the  Great  Prophet  of 
 the  kingdom  of  Heaven.  "  Citatur 
 hie  locus  a  Matthcco,  et  accommcdatur 
 ad  Christi  personam.  ...  In  hac 
 igitur,  parte  quum  similis  Prophetas 
 fuerit,  quia  de  sublimibus  mysterlis 
 concionatus  est  in  altiore  dicendi 
 forma,  apposite  tran.^fertur  ad  ejus 
 personam  quod  Propheta.  de  se 
 affirmat." — Calvin.  St.  Matthew's 
 quotation  runs,  orrcvsTTAripcveijiuTo  prjdeu 
 dia  Tov  TrpoprjTov  XeyouTOs,  'Avol^w  Iv 
 TrapafioXals  to  crro/jLa  fxov,  ipev^o/jiai 
 KeKpv/x/Lieya  airo  Kara^oX-fis  {k6(T/j.ov.) 
 The  LXX.  have  in  the  latter  clause  : 
 (pdey^oj-iai  irpoB\r]/j.ara  dir'  dpx^s. 
 
 4.  We  will  NOT  HIDE.  Comp. 
 Job.  XV.  18,  where  it  used  in  like 
 manner  of  the  faithful  transmission  of 
 truths  received.  All  truth  known  is 
 a  sacred  trust,  given  to  us,  not  for 
 ourselves  alone,  but  tliat  we  may  hand 
 on  the.torch  to  otliers. 
 
 5.  The  very  object  with  which  God 
 gave  His  law  and  His  testimony 
 
 (see  on  these  words,  note  on  xix.   7) 
 
3GS 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIIl. 
 
 Which  He  commanded  our  fathers 
 To  make  known  unto  their  children  ; 
 
 6  In  order  that  the  generation  to  come  might  know  (them), 
 
 (Even)  the  childi-en  which  should  be  born, 
 
 (Who)  should  rise  up,   and  tell  (them)   to    their 
 children  ; 
 
 7  That  they  might  place  their  confidence  in  God. 
 
 And  not  forget  the  doings  of  God, 
 But  keep  His  commandments  ; 
 
 8  And  not  be  as  their  fathers, 
 
 A  stubborn  and  rebellious  generation, 
 A  generation  that  was  not  steadfast  in  heart, 
 And  whose  spirit  was  not  faithful  towards  God, 
 
 9  The  children  of  Ephraim,  being  equipped  as  archers, 
 
 was,  that  they  might  be  preserved, 
 not  in  writing  only,  but  by  oral  com- 
 munication and  transmission,  that 
 they  might  be  a  living  power  in  the 
 people.  See  the  commands  in  Ex. 
 X.  2,  xii.  26,  27,  xiii.  8 — 10,  14,  15  ; 
 Deut.  iv.  9,  vi.  20,  &c. 
 
 8.  That  was  not  steadfast  in 
 HEART,  lit.  "that  did  not  estabhsh 
 its  heart,"  was  ever  wavering  in  its 
 allegiance. 
 
 9.  The  children  of  Ephraim. 
 An  exarmple  of  that  "stubborn 
 and  perverse  generation  "  mentioned 
 ver.  8.  But  why  are  the  "  children  of 
 Ephraim  "  mentioned,  and  what  par- 
 ticular sin  of  theirs  is  here  alluded  to  ? 
 (i)  We  must  not  be  led  astray  by  the 
 expression  "equipped  as  archers," 
 &c.  to  look  for  some  defeats  of  the 
 tribe  in  battle,  for  it  is  not  a  chastise- 
 ment,  but  a  sin  -which  is  spoken  of. 
 Hence  the  description  of  their  car- 
 rying bows  and  turning  back  must  be 
 a  figure  employed  in  the  same  sense 
 as  that  of  "  deceitful  bow,'"'  ver.  57. 
 (2)  'i'he  allusion  cannot  be  to  the 
 separation  of  Ephraim  and  the  other 
 tribes  from  Judah,  because  it  is  the 
 earlier  history  of    the  nation  in   the 
 
 v.nlderness  which  is  here  before  the 
 Poet's  eyes.  (3)  Nothing  is  gained 
 by  introducing  the  particle  of  com- 
 parison as  in  the  P.V.B.,  '■^  like  as 
 the  children  of  Eph."  &c.,  for  sucli 
 a  comparison  rests  upon  nothing. 
 (4)  Nor  can  "the  children  of  Eph- 
 raim "  here  stand  merely  for  the 
 whole  nation,  as  has  sometimes  been 
 maintained  by  referring  to  Ixxx.  2 
 and  Ixxxi.  5,  for  in  ver.  67  the  dis- 
 tinction between  Ephraim  and  Judah 
 is  marked.  (5)  It  would  seem,  then, 
 that  their  treacherous  conduct  is  here 
 specially  stigmatized,  in  order,  as  it 
 were,  to  sound  the  note  of  that  re- 
 jection on  which  the  Psalmist  after- 
 wards dwells,  ver.  67.  Ephraim  had 
 been,  aftej-  the  settlement  in  Caanan, 
 the  most  numerous  and  the  most 
 powerful  of  the  tribes.  Shiloh,  the 
 religous  capital  of  the  nation,  and 
 Shecliem,  the  gathering  place  of  the 
 tribes  (Josh.  xxiv.  l  ;  Jud.  ix.  2  ; 
 I  Kings  xii.  i),  were  both  within  its 
 borders.  During  the  time  of  the 
 Judges  it  seems  to  have  asserted  a 
 kind  of  supremacy  over  the  rest.  Pos- 
 sibly the  Psalmist  is  thinking  of  this. 
 Plaving  their  rejection   in   view,    he 
 
PSALM  LX XVIII, 
 
 369 
 
 Turned  back  in  the  day  of  battle. 
 10  They  kept  not  the  covenant  of  God, 
 And  refused  to  walk  in  His  Law ; 
 And  they  forgat  His  doings, 
 
 And  His  wonderful  works  which  He  had  shown  them. 
 In  the  sight  of  their  fathers  He  did  wonders, 
 In  the  land  of  Egypt,  (in)  the  field  of  Zoan. 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 remembers  their  ancient  position,  and 
 regards  them  as  leaders  of  the  people, 
 and  morally,  leaders  in  their  sin.  It 
 is  true  this  could  only  apply  to  their 
 history  in  the  land  of  Canaan.  Dur- 
 ing the  wanderings  in  the  wdderness, 
 with  which  a  large  part  of  the  Psalm 
 is  occupied,  the  tribe  of  Ephraim,  so 
 far  from  holding  a  leading  position, 
 was  the  smallest  of  all,  except  Simeon. 
 It  may  be,  however,  that  the  Psalm- 
 ist forgets  or  neglects  this  circum- 
 stance, and  only  thinks  of  the  tribe  as 
 the  rival  of  Judah  in  later  times,  and 
 the  leader  in  the  revolt.  But  see  the 
 remarks  in  the  Introduction  to  the 
 Psalm. 
 
 EQUirPED  AS  ARCHERS.  This  and 
 the  next  clause  are  designed  ap- 
 parently to  express,  in  a  figure,  the 
 faithlessness  of  the  Ephraimites. 
 They  are  like  archers  who,  fully 
 equipped  for  war,  at  the  critical 
 moment  when  they  should  use  their 
 weapons,  afraid  to  meet  the  shock 
 of  battle,  wheel  round  and  fly  in 
 disorder. 
 
 Turned  back.  Comp.  Judg.  xx. 
 39,  41.  Panic-struck,  when  they 
 were  expected  to  be  of  service ;  hardly 
 pretending  flight,  like  the  Thra- 
 cian  archers,  in  order  to  take  the 
 enemy  at  greater  advantage.  In  any 
 case,  the  image  is  one  of  faithlessness. 
 The  next  verse  is  an  explanation  of 
 the  figure. 
 
 The  following  paraphrase  is  given 
 in    the    Catena    Aurea    (from    Aug. 
 
 Cassiod.  and  the  Glossa  Ord.)  :  *'  The 
 children  of  Ephraim  taking  aim 
 and  shooting  with  the  bow, — that  is, 
 promising  to  keep  the  law, — and 
 openly  saying,  All  that  the  Lord 
 hath  said  unto  us  we  will  do  and 
 hear,  turned  back  in  the  day  of 
 battle,  when  they  said  unto  Aaron, 
 Make  us  gods  to  worship.  They 
 failed  in  the  day  of  battle, — that  is, 
 in  the  day  of  temptation;  for  the 
 prophet  Plosea  saith  :  Ephraim  is 
 as  a  silly  dove  that  hath  no  heart. 
 For  it  is  not  hearing,  but  temptation, 
 that  puts  to  the  proof  the  promise 
 of  obedience." 
 
 12.  Zoan.  Its  Greek  name  was 
 Tanis.  It  lay  "near  the  eastern 
 border  of  Lower  Egypt  .  .  .  .  on  the 
 east  bank  of  the  canal  which  was 
 formerly  the  Tanitic  branch  "  (of  the 
 Nile).  "Zoan  is  mentioned  in  con- 
 nection with  the  plagues  in  such  a 
 manner  as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  it  is 
 the  city  spoken  of  in  the  narrative  in 
 Exodus,  as  that  where  Pharaoh  dwelt. 
 The  wonders  were  wrought  '  in  the 
 field  of  Zoan,'  which  may  either  de- 
 note the  territory  immediately  round 
 the  city,  or  its  nome,  or  even  a  king- 
 dom. This  would  accord  best  with 
 the  shepherd-period. "  See  the  article 
 Zoan,  in  the  DicL  of  the  Bible,  by 
 Mr.  R.  S.  Poole. 
 
 It  is  remarkable  that  after  begin- 
 ning in  this  verse  to  speak  of  the 
 wonders  in  Egypt,  the  Psalmist  drcps 
 ail  mention  of  them  till  ver.  43  (which 
 B  B 
 
3/0 
 
 H 
 
 15 
 
 PSALM  LXXVin 
 
 He  clave  (the)  sea,  and  caused  them  to  pass  through, 
 
 And  made  (the)  v/aters  to  stand  as  an  heap. 
 And  He  led  them  with  the  cloud  in  the  day-time, 
 
 And  all  the  night  (through)  with  a  light  of  fire. 
 He  clave  rocks  in  the  wilderness. 
 
 And  gave  them  drink  as  (from  the)  great  deep. 
 He  brought  forth  streams  also  out  of  (the)  cliff, 
 
 And  caused  waters  to  run  down  like  the  rivers. 
 
 17  Yet  they  went  on  to  sin  yet  more  against  Him, 
 
 (And)  to  provoke  the  Most  High  in  the  desert, 
 
 18  And  they  tempted  God  in  their  heart. 
 
 To  ask  food  for  their  lust ; 
 
 19  Yea,  they  spake  against  God,  they  said, 
 
 is  a  resumption  of  this  verse),  and 
 turns  aside  to  dwell  on  the  wonders  in 
 the  wilderness  (see  Introduction). 
 
 13,  Now  follows  the  exemplifica- 
 tion, in  certain  detailed  instances,  of 
 the  faithlessness,  and  disobedience,  and 
 forgetfulness  of  their  fathers  in  the  wil- 
 derness. First,  inver.  13 — 16,  some  of 
 God's  wonders  wrought  on  their  be- 
 half are  mentioned,  and  then,  ver. 
 17 — 20,  the  thankless  and  perverse 
 spirit  in  which  these  wonders  were 
 regarded. 
 
 As  AN  HEAP  ;  borrowed  from  Ex. 
 XV.  8.     See  note  on  xxxiii.  7. 
 
 15.  Rocks,  The  word  to^r  shows 
 that  the  Psalmist  is  thinking  in  this 
 verse  of  the  miracle  at  Horeb,  re- 
 corded in  Exod.  xvii.  (See  note  on 
 ver.  16.) 
 
 As  (from  the)  great  deep,  lit. 
 "  and  gave  them,  as  it  were,  the  great 
 deep  to  drink"  (or,  "as  (from)  the 
 depths  in  abundance ").  De  Wette 
 calls  this  a  "gigantic"  comparison. 
 But  "  the  deep "  here  may  mean, 
 perhaps,  not  the  sea,  but  the  great 
 subterranean  reservoir  of  waters  from 
 which  all  fountains  and  streams  were 
 supposed  to  be  supplied,  as  Deut.  viii, 
 7.     Comp.  xlii,  7. 
 
 16.  The  word  here  used  {Sela)  "  is 
 especially  applied  to  the  cliff  at  Ka- 
 desh,  from  which  Moses  brought 
 water,  as  Tsur  is  for  that  struck  in 
 Ex.  xvii," — Stanley,  Sinai  and 
 Falestine,  App.  §  29. 
 
 17.  Yet  they  went  on  to  sin. 
 In  the  verses  immediately  preceding 
 no  special  instance  of  transgression  is 
 recorded,  though  such  is  implied  in 
 the  mention  of  the  miracle  of  the 
 water,  when  they  murmured  against 
 God.  Hence  the  murmuring  for  flesh 
 is  described  as  a  further  and  fi-esh  in- 
 stance of  sin,  Hupfeld  thinks  it  may 
 be  only  a  phrase  borrowed  from  the 
 Book  of  Judges,  where  it  is  commonly 
 prefixed  to  each  fresh  act  of  disobe- 
 dience (as  in  iii.  12,  &c,) ;  but  there 
 the  formula  is  quite  in  place,  as  it 
 follows  the  narration  of  previous 
 transgressions. 
 
 1 8.  They  tempted  God,  i.e.  de- 
 manded, in  their  unbelief,  signs  and 
 wonders,  to  put  His  power  to  the 
 proof,  instead  of  waiting  in  faith  and 
 prayer  for  its  exercise  (repeated  ver. 
 41,  56,  as  a  kind  of  refrain,  see  also 
 cvi.  14).  The  original  is  Ex.  x\di. 
 3,  7,  where  also  the  name  Massah, 
 "  tempting,"  is  given  to  the  spot. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 371 
 
 "  Can  God  prepare  a  table  in  the  wilderness  ? 
 
 20  Lo,  He  smote  (the)  rock,  that  waters  gushed  out, 
 
 And  torrents  rushed  along  : 
 Can  He  give  bread  also  ? 
 
 Or  can  He  provide  flesh  for  His  people  ?  " 
 
 21  Therefore,  (when)  Jehovah  heard  (that),  He  was  wroth, 
 
 And  a  fire  was  kindled  in  Jacob, 
 
 And  anger  also  went  up  against  Israel ; 
 
 22  Because  they  believed  not  in  God, 
 
 And  put  not  their  trust  in  His  salvation. 
 21  Then  He  commanded  the  clouds  above. 
 And  opened  the  doors  of  heaven : 
 
 24  And  He  rained  upon  them  manna  to  eat, 
 
 And  gave  them  the  corn  of  heaven  ; 
 
 25  Bread  of  the  mighty  did  they  eat  every  one. 
 
 19,  20.  The  words  here  put  into 
 the  mouth  of  the  people  are  only  a 
 poetical  representation  of  what  they 
 said,  not  differing  materially  from  the 
 historical  narrative,  Ex.  xvi.  3,  &c., 
 xvii.  2,  3,  7  ;  Num.  xi.  4,  &c.,  xx.3,  &c. 
 
 19.  Prepare  a  table,  ht.  "set 
 out  in  order,"  the  same  phrase  as  in 
 xxiii.  5. 
 
 20.  Waters  gushed  out  occurs 
 also  cv.  41  ;  Is.  xlviii.  21. 
 
 Flesh  :  the  word  is  a  poetical  one. 
 "Bread  and  flesh"  are  used  in  the 
 same  way  of  the  manna  and  the  quails 
 in  Ex.  xvi. 
 
 21 — 29.  The  awful  punishment  of 
 their  sin.  He  gives  the  bread  which 
 they  ask  (ver.  21 — 25),  and  then  the 
 flesh  (ver.  26 — 29),  but  His  granting 
 of  fheir  desire  is  in  itself  the  most 
 teiTible  of  chastisements.  The  repre- 
 sentation is  freely  borrowed  from  the 
 two  accounts  in  Ex.  xvi.  ;  Numb.  xi. ; 
 more  particularly  the  last. 
 
 21  A  FIRE,  with  allusion  to  the 
 "  fire  of  Jehovah  "  in  Numb.  xi.  i, 
 whence  the  name  of  the  place    was 
 
 called  Tab'erah,  "  burning  "),  where 
 also  occurs  the  similar  expression, 
 "And  when  Jehovah  heard  (it),  His 
 anger  was  kindled." 
 
 Also.  This  does  not  mark  that 
 the  fire  of  God's  wrath  was  added  to 
 the  natural  fire  ;  for  the  last  was  but 
 the  expression  of  the  first.  But  the 
 particle  belongs,  logically,  to  the  verb 
 WENT  UP,  and  denotes  the  retributive 
 character  of  this. fiery  scourge. 
 
 22.  His  salvation,  as  already 
 shown  in  the  deliverance  from  Egypt. 
 
 24.  Rained.  Hence  the  expres- 
 sion in  the  preceding  verse,  "opened 
 the  doors,"  &c.,  as  m  Gen.  vii.  11  ; 
 2  Kings  vii.  2  ;  Mai.  iii.  10.  In  the 
 same  way  the  manna  is  said  to  be 
 "rained"  from  heaven  in  Ex.  xvi.  4. 
 (Every  expression  used  shows  plainly 
 that  it  was  a  miraculous  gift,  and  not 
 a  product  of  nature. )  Hence,  too,  it 
 is  called  corn  of  heaven,  for  which 
 we  have  "  bread  of  heaven  "  in  cv. 
 40;  Ex.  xvi.  4;  John  vi.  31.  So 
 again — 
 
 25.  Bread  of  the  mighty  (see 
 
 B    B    2 
 
PSALM  LXXVIII. 
 
 He  sent  them  meat  to  the  full. 
 
 26  He  caused  an  east  wind  to  blow  in  the  heaven, 
 
 And  by  His  power  He  guided  the  south  wind, 
 
 27  And  He  rained  flesh  upon  them  as  the  dust, 
 
 And  winged  fowls  like  as  the  sand  of  the  seas ; 
 
 28  And  He  let  it  fall  in  the  midst  of  their  camp, 
 
 Round  about  their  habitations. 
 
 29  So  they  did  eat  and  were  well  filled, 
 
 Seeing  that  He  gave  them  their  own  desire. 
 
 the  marginal  rendering  of  the  A.  V.) 
 probably  means  "  Angels'  bread,"  not 
 as  if  angels  were  nourished  by  it,  or 
 as  if  it  were  food  worthy  of  angels, 
 but  as  coming  from  heaven,  where 
 angels  dwell.  The  word  mighty  is 
 nowhere  else  used  of  the  angels, 
 though  they  are  said  in  ciii.  20  to  be 
 "mighty  in  strength."  Hence  many 
 would  render  here  "bread  of  nobles 
 or  princes"  (such  is  the  use  of  this 
 word  in  Job  xxiv.  22,  xxxiv.  20), 
 i.e.  the  finest,  the  most  delicate 
 bread. 
 
 26.  Caused  to  blow,  lit.  "made 
 to  journey,  or  go  forth." 
 
 Guided  (like  a  flock).  The  two 
 verbs  occur  below,  ver.  52,  where 
 they  are  used  of  God's  conduct  of 
 His  people.  The  usage  here  is  bor- 
 rowed from  the  Pentateuch,  where 
 both  verbs  are  said  of  the  wind,  the 
 first  in  Numb.  xi.  31,  the  second  in 
 Exod.  X.  13.  The  winds  are  thus 
 conceived  of  as  God's  flock,  which 
 He  leads  forth  and  directs  at  His 
 pleasure. 
 
 E.\ST   WIND  ....    SOUTH   WIND. 
 
 These  mav  be  mentioned  poetically, 
 without  being  intended  to  describe 
 exactly  the  quarter  from  which  the 
 quails  came.  In  Numb.  xi.  31,  it  is 
 merely  said  that  "  there  went  forth 
 a  wind  from  Jehovah,  and  brought 
 quails  from  the  sea,"  which  Hupfeld 
 too  hastily  asserts  must  be  the  Red 
 
 Sea  {i.e.  as  he  evidently  means,  the 
 Gulf  of  Suez)  ;  and  that  consequently 
 the  quails  must  have  been  brought  by 
 a  west  wind.  But  Kibroth-hattaavah 
 was  probably  not  far  from  the  western 
 edge  of  the  Gulf  of  Akabah.  And 
 the  quails  at  the  time  of  this  event 
 were,  as  Mr.  Houghton  has  remarked 
 (see  Quails,  in  Bid.  of  the  Bible), 
 on  their  spring  journey  of  migration 
 northwards.  "The  flight  which  fed 
 the  multitude  at  Kibroth-hattaavah 
 might  have  started  from  So'uthern 
 Egypt,  and  crossed  the  Red  Sea  near 
 Ras  Mohammed,  and  so  up  the  Gulf 
 of  Akabah  into  Arabia  Petraea."  In 
 this  case,  the  wind  blowing  from  the 
 south  first,  and  then  from  the  e?^t, 
 would  bring  the  quails. 
 
 27.  Rained  flesh  :  as  before 
 "rained  manna,"  from  Exod.  xvi.  4, 
 8,  13- 
 
 28.  Let  it  fall.  The  word  aptly 
 describes  the  settling  of  these  birds, 
 unfitted  for  a  long  flight,  and  wearied 
 by  their  passage  across  the  gulf. 
 Pliny,  Nat.  Hist,  x,  33,  says  that 
 quails  settle  on  the  sails  of  ships  by 
 night,  so  as  to  sink  sometimes  the 
 ships  in  the  neighbouring  seas.  The 
 verse  follows  Exod.  xvi.  13  ;  Numb. 
 xi.  31. 
 
 29.  Were  well  filled,  i.e.  even 
 to  loathing,  as  follows,  ver.  30  (see 
 Numb.  xi.  18—20).  So  in  ver.  25, 
 "to  the  full,"  from  Exod.  xvi.  3,  12. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 373 
 
 30  They  were  not  estranged  from  their  desire  ; — 
 
 Whilst  their  food  was  yet  in  their  mouths, 
 
 31  The  anger  of  God  went  up  against  them,   . 
 
 And  slew  the  fattest  of  them. 
 And  smote  down  the  young  men  of  Israel. 
 
 32  For  all  this,  they  sinned  yet  more, 
 
 And  believed  not  His  wondrous  works, 
 
 33  Therefore  did  He  make  their  days  vanish  in  a  breath, 
 
 And  their  years  in  terror. 
 
 34  When  He  slew  them,  then  they  inquired  after  Him, 
 
 Yea,  they  turned  again  and  sought  God  ; 
 
 35  And  they  remembered  that  God  was  their  Rock, 
 
 And  the 
 
 ^ost  High  God  their  Redeemer. 
 
 Their  desire,  the  satisfaction  of 
 tlieii-  fleshly  appetite.  The  word 
 (taavah)  no  doubt  aHudes  to  Kib- 
 xo'Csx-hattaavah,  "the  graves  of  desire, 
 or  fleshly  api>etite."  Mumb.  xi.  4,  34. 
 
 30.  They  were  not  estranged, 
 or,  as  it  might  be  rendered,  "  (Whilst) 
 they  M^ere  not  (yet)  estranged,"  i.e. 
 whilst  they  still  found  satisfaction 
 and  enjoyment  in  this  kind  of  food, 
 whilst  it  was  yet  in  their  mouths,  the 
 anger  of  God  went  up,  &c.  The 
 passage  is  manifestly  borrowed  from 
 Numb.  xi.  33,  "And  while  the  flesh 
 was  yet  between  their  teeth,  ere  it 
 was  chev/ed,  the  wrath  of  Jehovah 
 was  kindled  against  the  people,  and 
 Jehovah  smote  the  people  with  a 
 very  great  plague ;"  and  so  closely 
 borrowed  as  to  be  evidence  that  this 
 portion  of  the  Pentateuch  already 
 existed  in  writing.  But,  unfortu- 
 nately, we  cannot  draw  hence  any 
 argument  for  the  age  of  the  whole 
 Pentateuch  in  its  present  form. 
 
 31.  Went  up.  See  above,  ver.  21, 
 and  xviii.  8. 
 
 Til?:  fattest  :  it  may  mean  either 
 the  strongest,  or  the  noblest.     Comp. 
 
 xxii.  29.  On  these  and  the  young 
 men,  the  flower  of  the  people,  the 
 judgement  especially  falls. 
 
 32.  The  allusion  seems  to  be  to 
 Numb,  xiv.  11,  "  How  long  will  it  be 
 ere  they  believe  Me,  for  all  the  signs 
 which  I  have  showed  among  them  ?" 
 the  words  of  God  to  Moses  after  the 
 return  of  the  spies.  And  this  is  the 
 moi"e  likely,  because  the  next  verse 
 alludes  to  that  cutting  short  of  the  life 
 of  the  people,  which  was  the  conse- 
 quence of  their  rebellion  at  that  time. 
 (Numb.  xiv.  28 — 34.) 
 
 33.  In  a  breath.  See  xxxix,  5,6, 
 and  the  complaint  of  Moses,  xc.  9, 
 though  the  word  there  used  is  dif- 
 ferent. 
 
 34.  The  passage  that  follows,  to 
 the  end  of  ver.  39,  is  a  most  striking 
 and  affecting  picture  of  man's  heart, 
 and  God's  gracious  forbearance,  in 
 all  ages  : — man's  sin  calling  for  chas- 
 tisement, the  chastisement  producing 
 only  temporary  amendment,  God's 
 goodness  forgotten,  and  yet  God's 
 great  love  never  wearied,  and  God's 
 infinite  compassion  ever  moved  afresh 
 by  man's  wealcness  and  misery. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIII. 
 
 36  But  they  did  but  flatter  Him  with  their  mouth, 
 And  they  hed  unto  Him  with  their  tongue  ; 
 IJ  And  their  heart  w^as  not  steadfast  wath  Him, 
 Neither  were  they  faithful  in  His  covenant. 
 But   He,  in  His  tender  mercy,  covereth   iniquity, 
 destroyeth  not  ; 
 And  many  a  time  turned  He  His  anger  away, 
 And  stirred  not  up  all  His  fury. 
 And  He  remembered  that  they  were  (butl  flesh, 
 A  wind  that  goeth  and  cometh  not  again. 
 
 38 
 
 39 
 
 and 
 
 40  How  often  did  they  provoke  Him  in  the  wilderness, 
 Did  they  grieve  Him  in  the  desert  : 
 
 36.  Did  but  flatter.  Comp, 
 Is.  xxix.  13,  Ivii.  II,  lix.  13.  "This 
 returning  to  God,  at  least  so  far  as 
 tlie  majority  were  concerned,  was  not 
 from  any  love  of  righteousness,  but 
 only  from  the  fear  of  punishment." — 
 Lyra. 
 
 37.  Their  heart  was  not 
 STEADFAST,  &c.  This  is  the  ever- 
 repeated  complaint ;  see  ver.  8,  22. 
 There  is  no  permanence,  no  stability 
 in  the  reformation  which  has  been 
 produced.     Comp.  Hos.  vi.  4. 
 
 38.  The  verbs  in  the  first  clause 
 are  present,  and  should  be  so  ren- 
 dered. It  destroys  the  whole  beauty 
 of  the  passage  to  render,  "  But  he 
 •was  so  merciful,"  &c.,  as  if  the  re- 
 ference were  only  to  a  particular  occa- 
 sion. CJod's  mercy  is  like  Himself, 
 everlasting,  and  ever  the  same. 
 
 P)UT  He,  The  words  are  em- 
 phatic, and  the  allusion  is  to  Ex. 
 xxxiv.  6  ;  Numb.  xiv.  18,  20. 
 
 39.  Comp.  Gen.  vi.  3,  viii.  21  ; 
 Job  vii.  7,  9,  X,  21  ;  Ps.  ciii.  14 — 16; 
 andfor  the  word  "goeth,"  or  "  pass- 
 eth  away,"  of  the  wind,   Hos.   vi.   4, 
 
 40.  After  thus  celebratinjr  God's 
 tender  compassion,  in  striking  con- 
 trast wiih  the  perpetual  rebellion  and 
 ingratitude  of  the  people,  the  Psalmist 
 resumes  the  sad  tale  afresh.  But  in- 
 stead of  mentioning  other  instances 
 of  rebellion  in  the  wilderness  (ver,  40) 
 he  passes  from  that  topic  to  dwell  on 
 the  wonders  wrought  in  Egypt,  the 
 lively  recollection  of  which  ought  to 
 have  kept  the  people  from  these  re- 
 peated provocations.  Thus  he  takes 
 up  again  the  thread  dropped  at  ver.  12. 
 
 The  second  principal  portion  01 
 the  Psalm  begins  with  this  verse. 
 It  is  occupied,  first,  with  the  narra- 
 tive of  the  plagues  in  Egypt,  the 
 Exodus,  and  Israel's  entrance  into 
 the  Promised  Land,  ver.  40—55. 
 It  then  touches  briefly  on  the  history 
 under  the  Judges,  the  Philistine  in- 
 vasion in  the  time  of  Eli,  which  was 
 God's  chastisement  for  transgression, 
 the  disaster  at  Shiloh,  whereby  Eph- 
 raim  was  robbed  of  his  ancient  hon- 
 ours, and  which  led  to  the  choice  of 
 Zion,  the  ascendency  of  the  tribe  or 
 Judah,  and  the  union  of  the  kingdom 
 under  David,  ver.  56 — 72. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 375 
 
 41  Yea,  again  and  again  they  tempted  God, 
 
 And  dishonoured  the  Holy  One  of  Israel. 
 
 42  They  remembered  not  His  hand, 
 
 Nor  the  day  when  He  redeemed  them  from  the 
 adversary. 
 
 43  How  He  had  set  His  signs  in  Egypt, 
 
 And  His  wonders  in  the  field  of  Zoan, 
 
 44  And  turned  their  rivers  into  blood, 
 
 So  that  they  could  not  drink  of  their  streams. 
 
 45  He  sent  among  them  flies  which  devoured  them, 
 
 And  frogs  which  destroyed  them. 
 
 46  He  gave  also  their  increase  unto  the  caterpiller, 
 
 (And)  their  labour  unto  the  locust. 
 
 47  He  smote  their  vines  with  hail, 
 
 43.  In  the  enumeration  of  the 
 plagues,  the  Psahnist  does  not  follow 
 the -order  of  the  history,  except  as  re- 
 gards the  first  and  the  last,  and  omits 
 all  mention  of  the  third  (the  lice),  the 
 fifth  (murrain  of  cattle),  the  sixth 
 (boils  and  blains  on  man  and  beast), 
 and  the  ninth  (darkness), 
 
 44.  The  first  plague.  Comp.  Ex. 
 vii.    17,   &c. 
 
 45.  The  fourth  plague  (Ex.  viii. 
 20.  &c. ),  and  the  second  plague  (Ex. 
 viii.  I,  &c.). 
 
 Flies.  The  rendering  of  the  E.V., 
 "  divers  sorts  of  flies,"  comes  from  a 
 wrong  derivation  of  the  word  from 
 a  root  signifying  to  7nix. 
 
 46.  Caterpiller,  or  possibly  the 
 word  means  some  particular  species 
 of  locust,  or  the  locust  in  its  larva 
 state.  (See  Did.  of  the  Bible,  III. 
 App.  xxxix.)  This  word  is  not  used 
 in  the  Pentateuch,  but  in  Joel  i.  4  it 
 is  joined  with  the  locust,  as  here. 
 
 47.  48.  The  seventh  plague,  that 
 of  the  hail  mingled  with  fire  (Ex.  ix. 
 13),  with  its  effects,  both  on  the  pro- 
 duce of  the  land  and  on  the  cattle. 
 As    belonging   to   the   former,    vin^-s 
 
 and  .  sycomores  are  here  mentioned, 
 as  vines  and  fig-trees  in  cv.  33.  De 
 Wette  and  Hupfeld  assert  that  the 
 \vriter,  as  a  native  of  Canaan,  ascribes 
 too  much  prominence  to  tlie  vine,  the 
 cultivation  of  which  was  but  little  at  - 
 tended  to  in  Egypt,  and  which  is  not 
 said  in  the  Pentateuch  to  have  suf- 
 fered. But  this  is  an  unfounded  as- 
 sertion. Mr.  R.  S.  Poole,  in  his 
 learned  article  on  Egypt,  in  the 
 Diet,  of  the  Bible,  says  :  *'  Vines 
 were  extensively  cultivated,  and  there 
 were  several  different  kinds  of  wine, 
 one  of  which,  the  Mareotic,  was  fa- 
 mous among  the  Romans."  (Vol.  i. 
 p.  497. )  Pharaoh's  chief  butler  dreams 
 of  the  vine.  Gen.  xl.  9— ii  ;  and  the 
 vines  of  Egypt,  as  well  as  the  figs 
 and  pomegranates,  are  thought  of 
 with  regret  by  the  Israelites  in  the 
 wilderness  (Num.  xx.  5).  The  mural 
 paintings  at  Thebes,  at  Beni-Hassan, 
 and  in  the  Pyramids,  contain  repre- 
 sentations of  vineyards.  Boys  are 
 seen  frightening  away  the  birds  from 
 the  ripe  clusters,  men  gather  them 
 and  deposit  them  in  baskets,  and 
 carry  them  to  the  wine-press,  v'ic. 
 
37^ 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIIL 
 
 And  their  sycomore-trees  with  frost: 
 
 48  He  gave  up  their  cattle  also  to  the  hail, 
 
 And  their  flocks  to  hot  thunderbolts. 
 
 49  He  let  loose  upon  them  the  burning  of  His  anger, 
 
 Wrath  and  indignation  and  distress, 
 Letting  loose  evil  angels  (among  them)^ 
 
 50  He  made  a  free  path  for  His  anger  ; 
 
 He  spared  not  their  soul  from  death, 
 But  gave  their  life  over  to  the  pestilence  ; 
 
 5 1  And  smote  all  the  first-born  in  Egypt, 
 
 The  firstlings  of  (their)  strength  in  the  tents  of  Ham. 
 
 52  But  He  made  His  own  people  to  go  forth  like  sheep, 
 
 And  guided  them  in  the  wilderness  like  a  flock. 
 
 47.  Frost,  or,  as  this  is  unknown 
 in  Egypt,  perhaps,  rather,  ' '  huge 
 hailstones,"  but  the  word  occurs  no- 
 where else,  and  its  meaning  is  un- 
 certain. 
 
 48.  HoTTHUNDERBOLTS,  or  "light- 
 nings ; "  the  same  word  as  in  Ixxvi.  3, 
 '■'■  lightttings  of  the  bow,"  where  see 
 note,  the  allusion  being  to  the  fire 
 which  ran  along  the  ground,  Ex.  ix. 
 23.      Comp.  cv.  32. 
 
 49.  This  verse  expresses  generally 
 the  whole  work  of  devastation  wrought 
 by  the  Divine  ministers  of  evil  in  the 
 land  of  Egypt,  and  so  strikingly  in- 
 troduces the  final  act  of  judgement, 
 the  destruction  of  the  first-born,  which 
 follows  in  ver.  50,  51. 
 
 Letting  loose,  lit.  "a  letting 
 loose  of,"  &c.,  tliis  being  a  noun,  in 
 apposition  with  the  preceding  nouns, 
 and  further,  describing  the  action 
 of  the  verb,  "He  let  loose."*  The 
 Poet  lifts  the  veil  and  shows  us  the 
 wrath  of  God  as  the  source,  and 
 angel*  as  the  ministers  of  the  destruc- 
 tion. 
 
 Evil  ANGELS.  Others  render, 
 "  angels,  or  messengers  (the  word 
 may  mean  either,  as  uyy^Kos,  in 
 Greek)  of  evil,  '  i.e.  who  work  evil. 
 
 So  Hengstenberg  and  Delitzsch,  who 
 adopt  the  view  of  Ode,  in  his  work 
 .De  Angclis,  that  God  makes  use  ot 
 good  angels  to  punish  l^ad  men,  and  ot 
 evil  angels  to  buffet  and  chasten  good 
 men.  But  this  cannot  be  mainiained  : 
 see  I  Sam  xvi.  14  ;  l  Kings  xxii.  21, 
 &c.  However,  whichever  rendering 
 is  preferred,  it  comes  to  the  same 
 thing,  for  "evil  angels"  would  not 
 mean  here  what  was  commonly  un- 
 derstood by  evil  spirits,  but  angels 
 sent  upon  an  evil  mission — a  mission 
 of  destruction.  There  can  be  no 
 doubt  of  this,  because  the  expression 
 must  have  been  suggested  by  "the 
 destroyer"  in  Ex.  xii,   13,  23. 
 
 50.  Made  a  free  path,  lit. 
 "levelled  a  path,"  as  Prov.  iv.  26, 
 V.  6. 
 
 51.  Firstlings  of  (their) 
 strength,  lit.  "beginning  of 
 strengths,"  the  plural  being  used 
 poetically  for  the  singular  which  is 
 found  in  the  same  phrase.  Gen. 
 xlix.  3  ;  Deut.  xxi.  17. 
 
 Tents  of  Ham.  So  "land  of 
 Ham,"  in  cv.  23,  27,  cvi.  22.  Comp. 
 Gen.  x.-  6. 
 
 52.  See  on  ver.  26,  and  comp. 
 Ixxvii.  20. 
 
PSALM  LXXVIII. 
 
 177 
 
 53  And  He  led  them  safely  so  that  they  did  not  fear ; 
 
 And  as  for  their  enemies,  the  sea  covered  (them). 
 
 54  And  He  brought  them  to  His  holy  border; 
 
 To  yon  mountain  which  His  right  hand  had  purchased. 
 
 55  He  drove  out  also  the  nations  before  them, 
 
 And  allotted  them  as  an  inheritance  by  line, 
 And  made  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  dwell  in  their  tents. 
 
 56  But  they  tempted  and  provoked  the  Most  High  God, 
 
 And  kept  not  His  testimonies  ; 
 
 57  But  turned  back  and  dealt  faithlessly,  like  their  fathers  : 
 
 They  were  turned  aside  like  a  deceitful  bow ; 
 
 58  And  they  angered  Him  with  their  high  places, 
 
 And    moved    Him    to    jealousy    with    their    graven 
 images. 
 
 59  When  God  heard  (this).  He  was  wroth, 
 
 And  greatly  abhorred  Israel  ; 
 
 60  So  that  He  rejected  the  tabernacle  in  Shiloh, 
 
 54.  Yon  mountain,  i.e.  Zion, 
 the  building  of  the  Temple  there 
 being  represented,  as  in  Ixviii.  16,  as 
 the  great  crowning  act  to  -which  all 
 else  pointed  ;  unless  the  noun  is  used 
 here  collectively  =  "these  moun- 
 tains," i.e.  this  mountain-land  of 
 Palestine,  as  in  Ex.  xv.  17,  "the 
 mountain  of  Thine  inheritance." 
 Comp.  Is.  xi.  9.  This  last,  it  may  be 
 said,  is  favoured  by  the  parallelism. 
 
 55.  And  allotted  them,  lit. 
 "  made  them  fall,"  in  allusion  to  the 
 thrcnving  of  the  lot.  The  pronoun 
 "  them  "  is  used  somewhat  incorrectly 
 (the  nations  having  been  just  spoken 
 of  as  driven  cut),  instead  of  "their 
 land."  Comp.  Josh,  xxiii.  4,  "See, 
 T  Have  allotted  {viade  to  fall)  unto  you 
 these  nations,"  &c.  ;  Numb,  xxxiv.  2,  ♦ 
 "  the  land  which  falleth  to  you  as  an 
 inheritance," 
 
 By  line.     See  note  on  xvi.  6. 
 56 — 58.   The  renewed  disobedience 
 of  the   nation,    after  their  settlement 
 
 in  the  land,  during  the  time   of  the 
 Judges. 
 
 56.  Tempted  and  provoked,  re- 
 peated from  ver.  17,  18,  and  41  ; 
 here  the  special  act  of  provocation 
 being  the  worship  of  idols  in  the  high 
 places.     Comp.  judg.  ii.    11,  &c. 
 
 57.  A  deceitful  bow,  i.e.  one 
 which  disappoints  the  archer,  by  not 
 sending  the  arrow  straight  to  the  mark 
 (not  "a  slack  bow,"  as  some  would 
 explam,  referring  to  Prov.  x.  4,  "a 
 slack  hand  "). 
 
 60.  The  Tabernacle  was  at  Shiloh 
 during  the  whole  period  of  the 
 Judges  (Josh,  xviii.  10  ;  Judg.  xviii. 
 31  ;  I  Sam.  iv.  3).  God  rejected 
 and  forsook  it  when  the  Ark  was 
 given  into  the  harids  of  the  Philis- 
 tines, I  Sam.  iv.  The  Ark  was  never 
 brought  back  thither,  and  the  Tab'ir- 
 nacle  itself  was  removed  first  to 
 Nob  (i  Sam.  xxi.),  and  subsequently 
 to  Gibeon  (l  Kingsiii.  4).  Jeremiah; 
 when  warning  the  nation  against  the 
 
378 
 
 PSALM  LXXVIir. 
 
 The  tent  which  He  pitched  among  men. 
 
 6 1  And  He  gave  His  strength  into  captivity, 
 
 And  His  beauty  into  the  adversary's  hand. 
 
 62  Yea,  He  gave  over  His  people  to  the  sword, 
 
 And  was  wroth  with  His  inheritance. 
 61  Their  young  men  the  fire  devoured, 
 
 And  their  maidens  were  not  praised  in  the  marriage- 
 song. 
 64  Their  priests  fell  by  the  sword, 
 
 And  their  widows  made  no  lamentation. 
 
 6^  Then  the  Lord  awaked,  as  one  out  of  sleep, 
 
 Like  a  mighty  man  that  shouteth  by  reason  of  v/ine 
 
 66  And  He  smote  His  adversaries  backward, 
 He  put  them  to  a  perpetual  reproach. 
 
 6j  And  He  abhorred  the  tent  of  Joseph, 
 And  chose  not  the  tribe  of  Ephraim  ; 
 
 6Z  But  chose  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
 
 superstitious  notion  that  the  Temple 
 would  be  a  defence,  reminds  them 
 how  God  had  forsaken  and  rejected 
 the  place  of  the  first  Tabernacle  : 
 ' '  For  go  now  to  my  place  which  was 
 in  Shiloh,  where  I  made  My  name 
 to  dwell  at  the  first,  and  see  what  I 
 have',  done  to  it,  because  of  the 
 wickedness  of  ]\Iy  people  Israel," 
 (Jer.  vii.  12.  See  also  ver.  14,  and 
 chap.  xxvi.  6.)  These  passages  do 
 not,  perhaps,  necessarily  imply  a 
 destruction  of  Shiloh  by  enemies, — 
 certainly  nothing  of  the  kind  meets 
 us  in  the  history,  — but  a  desolatwn 
 which  followed  on  the  removal  of  the 
 sanctuary.  Calvin  observes;  "^'The 
 mode  of  expression  is  very  emphatic  : 
 that  God  was  so  offended  with  the 
 sins  of  His  people,  that  Me  was  forced, 
 to  forsake  the  one  place  in  the  whole 
 world  which  He  had  chosen." 
 
 Pitched,  lit.   "caused  to  dwell." 
 Comp.  Josh,  xviii.    i,  xxii.  19. 
 
 61.     His  strength  ....   His 
 
 BEAUTY.  The  Ark  is  so  called  be- 
 cause there  God  manifested  His 
 power  and  glory.  Comp.  i  Sam.  iv. 
 3,  21,  and  Ps.  cxxxii.  8. 
 
 63,  64.  The  utter  desolation  of  the 
 land  strikingly  pictured  by  its  silence. 
 Neither  the  joyous  strains  of  the 
 marriage-song  nor  the  sad  wail  of  the 
 funeral  chant  fall  upon  the  ear.  It 
 was  a  land  of  silence,  a  land  of  the 
 dead.  Comp,  Jer.  xxii.  18  ;  Ezek. 
 xxiv.  23  J  Job  xxvii.  15.  There  is, 
 perhaps,  an  allusion  in  ver.  64  to  the 
 death  of  Hophni  and  Phinehas. 
 
 65.,  66.     God   punishes   and    then 
 
 delivers.     The 
 
 reference 
 
 is    to 
 
 the 
 
 long     series    of 
 
 victories 
 
 over 
 
 the 
 
 Philistines,  under  Samuel, 
 
 ,  Saul, 
 
 and 
 
 David. 
 
 65.   As   ONE 
 
 OUT    OF    ; 
 
 SLEEP, 
 
 lit, 
 
 "as  a  sleeper." 
 
 Comp.  vii,  6, 
 
 xliv. 
 
 Like  a  mighty  man  : 
 
 cojnp. 
 
 ,   Is. 
 
 xlii.  13. 
 
 68.    The     tribe     of     Judah, 
 
PSALM  LXXIX,  379 
 
 The  mount  Zion  which  He  loved. 
 
 69  And  He  built  His  sanctuary  like  high  places, 
 
 Like  the  earth  which  He  hath  founded  for  ever. 
 
 70  He  chose  David  also,  His  servant, 
 
 And  took  him  from  the  sheep-folds  ; 
 
 71  As  he  was  following  the  ewes  giving  suck,  He  brought 
 
 him 
 To  feed  Jacob  His  people, 
 And  Israel  His  inheritance. 
 
 72  So  he  fed  them  according  to  the  integrity  of  his  heart. 
 
 And  led  them  with  the  skilfulness  of  his  hands. 
 
 though   the   sanctuary   was    planted,  BLUNT,  Undersigned  Coincidences,  &c. 
 
 not  "in  Judah  only,  oi"  in  Benjamin  p.  181. 
 
 only,    but   on   the   confines   of    both  69.    Like  high  places,  &c.,  or, 
 
 (comp.  Josh.  XV.  63with  Judg.  i.  21);  as  we  might  say,    "high  as  heaven, 
 
 so  that  whilst  the  altars  and  the  holy  «  and  sure  as  the  solid  earth." 
 place  were  to  stand  within  the  bor-  70 — 72.   The   faithful   shepherd   of 
 
 ders   of   the  one  tribe,  the  courts  of  the  flock  became  the  faithful  shepherd 
 
 the  Temple  were  to  extend  into  the  of  the  nation  ;    just  as  the  obedient 
 
 borders  of  the  other  tribe,  and  thus  fisheraaen   in  the  Gospel  history  be- 
 
 the  two  were  to  be  riveted  together,  came  the  successful  fishers  of  men. 
 as    it  were  by   a   cramp,    bound   by  On  the  figure  here  employed,  see 
 
 a   sacred   and    everlasting    bond." —  Ixxvii.  20. 
 
 PSALM  LXXIX. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  lamentation  over  the  same  great  national  calamity 
 which,  as  we  have  already  seen,  is  bewailed  in  terms  so  pathetic  in 
 the  Seventy-fourth.  The  two  Psalms  have,  indeed,  some  points  of 
 difference  as  well  as  of  resemblance.  The  great  features  in  the  scene 
 of  misery  are  presented  in  the  two  with  a  different  degree  of  pro- 
 minence. In  the  one,  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  occupies  the 
 fore-ground  ;  in  the  other,  the  terrible   carnage  which  had  made  the 
 
3  So  PSALM  LXXIX, 
 
 streets  of  Jemsalem  run  with  blood  is  the  chief  subject  of  lamenta- 
 tion. In  the  former,  the  hope  of  deliverance  and  triumph  breaks 
 out  strongly  in  the  very  midst  of  the  sorrow  and  the  wailing  (Ixxiv. 
 12,  &c.).  In  the  latter,  the  tone  of  sadness  prevails  throughout,  with 
 the  exception  of  the  short  verse  with  which  the  Psalm  concludes. 
 There  is  also  a  marked  difference  in  style.  The  Seventy-fourth 
 Psalm  is  abrupt,  and  sometimes  obscure  :  the  Seventy-ninth,  on  the 
 contrary,  flows  smoothly  and  easily  throughout. 
 
 But  these  differences  are  balanced  by  resemblances  not  less  obser- 
 vable. Thus,  for  instance,  we  may  compare  Ixxix.  5,  "how  long  for 
 ever,"  with  Ixxiv.  i,  10  ;  Ixxix.  i,  the  desecration  of  the  Temple,  with 
 Ixxiv.  3,  7 ;  Ixxix.  2,  the  giving  up  to  the  wild  beast,  wath  Ixxiv.  19  ; 
 Ixxix.  12,  the  reproach  of  the  God  of  Israel,  with  Ixxiv.  10,  18,  22  ; 
 Ixxix.  13,  the  comparison  of  Israel  to  a  flock,  with  Ixxiv.  i.  There  is 
 the  same  deep  pathos  in  both  Psalms  ;  in  both,  the  same  picturesque 
 force  of  description  ;  both  the  one  and  the  other  may  be  called,  with- 
 out exaggeration,  the  funeral  anthem  of  a  nation. 
 
 There  can,  therefore,  be  little  (fbubt  that  both  Psalms,  even  if  not 
 written  by  the  same  poet,  yet  bewail  the  same  calamity.  It  is  equally 
 certain  that  there  are  but  two  periods  of  the  national  history  to  which 
 the  language  of  either  could  properly  apply.  But  in  attempting  to 
 draw  our  inference  from  this  Psalm,  the  same  difficulties  meet  us 
 whi'ch  have  already  met  us  in  our  attempts  to  determine  the  date  of 
 Psalm  Ixxiv.  Does  the  Psalm  deplore  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
 by  Nebuchadnezzar,  or  is  it  a  dirge  over  the  sack  of  the  city  by 
 Antiochus  Epiphanes  ? 
 
 As  there  is  no  shadow  of  proof  that  the  Canon  was  closed  before 
 the  Maccabean  era,  we  are  at  liberty  to  form  our  opinion  as  to  the 
 probable  date  of  the  Psalm  purely  on  internal  evidence.  There  is 
 one  expression  in  the  Psalm,  and  one  only,  which  may  seem  to 
 favour  the  Babylonish  exile.  "  Let  the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  come 
 before  Thee"  (ver.  11).  But  even  this  might  be  used  equally  well 
 of  the  captives  who  were  carried  away  by  the  army  of  Antiochus 
 (i  Mace.  i.  32). 
 
 We  no\if  come  to  difficulties  of  a  more  formidable  kind.  Two 
 passages  in  the  Psalm  are  found  elsewhere  ;  the  one  in  Jeremiah, 
 the  other  in  the  First  Book  of  Maccabees. 
 
 Verses  6  and  7  stand  almost  word  for^  word  in  Jer.  x  25.  Does  the 
 Prophet  quote  from  the  Psalmist,  or  the  Psalmist  from  the  Prophet  ? 
 
 In  favour  of  the  former  supposition  it  may  be  said  :  (i)  that  it  is 
 
PSALM  LXXIX.  381 
 
 Jeremiah's  habit  to  quote  largely  from  other  writers,  especially  from 
 Job  and  the  Psahns  ;  (2)  that  in  his  prophecy  the  verse  imme- 
 diately preceding,  the  24th  verse  of  the  chapter,  is  a  quotation 
 from  the  Sixth  Psalm;  (3)  that  the  words  occupy  a  more  natural 
 position  in  the  Psalm  than  they  do  in  the  Prophecy,  inasmuch 
 as  the  prayer  that  God  would  punish  the  heathen  follows  imme- 
 diately on  the  complaint  that  His  wrath  burns  like  fire  against 
 Israel ;  and  also  inasmuch  as  the  word  "  pour  out "  seems  to  have 
 been  employed  designedly  with  reference  to  the  use  of  the  same 
 verb  in  ver.  3,  "they  have  poured  out"  (E.  V.  "they  have  shed"); 
 (4)  that  the  difficult  singular,  ver.  7,  is  changed  in  Jeremiah  into 
 the  plural,  and  the  passage  further  altered  and  expanded  by  the 
 addition,  "  and  they  have  devoured  him  and  consumed  him,"  which 
 is  quite  in  the  style  of  Jeremiah,  who  rarely  quotes  without  some 
 alteration  of  the  kind. 
 
 The  first  and  the  last  of  these  reasons  are  certainly  not  without 
 force. 
 
 It  has  not,  I  believe,  been  noticed,  and  yet  it  appears  to  me  almost 
 certain,  that  the  prayer  of  Daniel  (ix.  16)  contains  allusions  to  the 
 language  of  this  Psalm  :  "  for  our  sins  and  for  the  iniquities  of  our 
 fathers  (comp.  ver.  8  of  the  Psalm,  where,  though  the  word  'forefathers' 
 is  different,  the  thought  is  the  same),  Jerusalem  and  Thy  people  are 
 become  a  reproach  to  all  that  are  about  us"  (comp.  ver.  4  of  the 
 Psalm). 
 
 Still  the  question  must  remain  an  open  one  whether  the  passage 
 in  Jeremiah  or  that  in  the  Psalm  is  the  original.  Unless  this  question 
 can  be  positively  setded,  we  have  no  clue  to  guide  us  as  to  the  age  of 
 the  Psalm.  Its  language  would  apply  almost  equally  well  either  to 
 the  time  of  Nebuchadnezzar  or  to  that  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes, 
 This  seems  to  have  been  felt  by  some  of  the  earlier  commentators, 
 who,  without  venturing  to  bring  it  down  in  point  of  actual  composition 
 so  low  as  the  latter  period,  have  supposed  it  to  be  a  prophecy,  of  that 
 calamitous  time. 
 
 The  Psalm  can  hardly  be  said  to  have  any  regular  strophical 
 divisions. 
 
 It  consists,  first,  of  a  complaint  (ver.  i — 4)  ;  and  then  of  a  prayer 
 that  God  would  visit  His  people  again  in  mercy,  and  pour  out  His 
 vengeance  upon  their  enemies  (ver.  5 — 12);  whilst  a  closing  verse 
 announces  the  gratitude  with  which  God's  mercy  will  be  acknowledged 
 (ver.  13). 
 
382 
 
 PSALM  LXXIX. 
 
 [a   psalm   of    ASAPH.] 
 
 1  O  God,  the  heathen  have  come  into  Thine  inheritance  ; 
 
 They  have  defiled  Thy  holy  temple  ; 
 
 They  have  made  Jerusalem  a  heap  of  stones. 
 
 2  They  have  given  the  dead  bodies  of  Thy  servants 
 
 To  be  meat  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven, 
 
 The  flesh  of  Thy  beloved  unto  the  beasts  of  the 
 earth. 
 
 I — 4.  Lament  over  the  terrible 
 calamities  which  have  befallen  the 
 nation. 
 
 I.  Heathen,  This  word  I  have 
 elsewhere  translated  "nations,"  but 
 the  enemies  of  Jenisalem  are  here 
 so  designated  not  merely  as  consist- 
 ing of  dilTerent  nations  (though  the 
 Chaldean  army  was  thus  composed), 
 but  as  profane  intruders  upon  the 
 sacred  soil.  A  religious  idea  is 
 evidently  associated  with  the  use  of 
 the  word.  Hence  I  have  followed 
 the  rendering  of  the  E.  V. 
 
 Thine  inheritance,  the  holy 
 land  and  the  holy  people  (comp. 
 Ixxiv.  2,  Ixxviii.  62,  71),  holy  as  the 
 abode  of  God  (as  Exod,  xv.  17), 
 itself  a  sanctuary.  The  same  idea 
 of  profanation,  as  connected  with 
 foreign  conquest,  occurs  frequently 
 in  the  Prophets  (see  Joel  iii.  17  ; 
 Nah.  i.  15  ;  Is.  xxxv.  8,  Iii.  i  ;  and 
 especially  as  parallel  with  this  pas- 
 sage, Lam.  i.  10). 
 
 Defiled.  Although  to  a  pious 
 Jew  this  defilement  would  be  a  thing 
 of  not  less  horror  than  the  destruc- 
 tion of  the  holy  house,  still  it  is 
 remarkable  that  if  the  Chaldean  in- 
 vasion be  meant,  the  profanation 
 only,  and  not  the  destruction  of  the 
 Temple  (as  in  Ixxiv.),  should  be  la- 
 mented. 
 
 A  HEAP  OF  STONES,  or  rather, 
 plur.  "heaps  of  stones,"  "ruins." 
 Thus   was   the    prophecy  of    Micah 
 
 fulfilled,  wdiich  he  uttered  in  the 
 time  of  Hezekiah  (iii.  12).  See  also 
 Jer.  xxvi.  18,  where  the  prophecy  is 
 quoted.  In  both  passages  the  same 
 word  is  used,  and  in  the  A.  V.  ren- 
 dered "heaps."  It  occurs  also  in 
 the  sing.,  Mic,  i.  6,  "  I  will  make 
 Samaria  a  heap  of  the  field." 
 
 2.  That  which  the  Psalmist  here 
 laments  was  threatened  by  Jere- 
 miah, vii.  33,  "  And  the  carcases  of 
 this  people  shall  be  meat  for  the 
 fowls  of  the  heaven  and  for  the 
 beasts  of  the  earth,"  &c.  See  also 
 viii.  2  ;  ix.  22  ;  xv.  3  ;  xvi.  4  ;  xix. 
 7  ;  the  original  passage  being  Deut. 
 xxviii.  26. 
 
 Thy  beloved,  or,  "Thy  pious 
 ones."  See  on  xvi.  10.  Vaihinger 
 argues  that  such  a  designation  of 
 the  people  is  a  proof  that  the  Psalm 
 cannot  belong  to  the  Chaldean  in- 
 vasion ;  for  then  the  nation  was 
 utterly  evil  and  corrupt.  But  in  1. 
 5,  the  same  title  is  given  to  the  Avhole 
 nation  as  in  the  covenant  with  God, 
 at  the  very  time  when  they  are 
 charged  with  breaking  that  covenant. 
 So  Habakkuk,  after  complaining 
 of  the  corruption  of  his  people,  and 
 seeing  that  their  sins  will  bring 
 God's  judgement  upon  them,  still 
 speaks  of  them  as  ' '  righteous, "  in 
 contrast  with  the  Chaldeans,  who  are 
 "wicked"  (Hab.  i.  13).  So  it  may 
 be  here  ;  unless,  indeed,  the  Psalmist 
 is   thinking   rather  of   "  the  faithful 
 
PSALM  LXXIX. 
 
 383 
 
 3  They  have  shed  their  blood  Hke  water  round  about  Jeru- 
 
 salem ; 
 And  there  was  none  to  bury  (them). 
 
 4  We  are  become  a  reproach  to  our  neighbours, 
 
 A  scorn  and  derision  to  them  that  are  round  about  us. 
 
 5  How  long,  O  Jehovah  ;  wilt  Thou  be  angry  for  ever  .'' 
 
 Shall  Thy  jealousy  burn  like  fire  .'' 
 
 6  Pour  out  Thy  fury  on  the  heathen  which  know  Thee  not, 
 
 And  upon  (the)  kingdoms  which  have  not  called  upon 
 Thy  name. 
 
 few,"  "the  holy  seed,"  than  of  the 
 many  whose  sins  had  called  for 
 chastisement. 
 
 3.  They  have  shed.  It  might  be 
 better,  though  less  idiomatic,  to  ren- 
 der "they  have  poured  out,"  and  so 
 again  in  ver.  10,  "which  is  poured, 
 out."  For  it  is  the  same  word  which 
 occurs  also  in  ver,  6,  '■''Four  out  Thy 
 fury,"  &c. ;  and  there  may  perhaps  be 
 a  designed  antithesis  in  the  repeti- 
 tion of  the  word.  "As  they  have 
 poured  out  our  blood,  so  do  Thou 
 pour  out  upon  them  Thy  fury." 
 
 None  to  bury,  this  being,  accord- 
 ing to  the  deep-rooted  feeling  of  all 
 ancient  nations,  a  great  aggravation  of 
 the  calamity.  Comp.  Jer.  xiv.  16, 
 xxii.  18,  19. 
 
 4.  With  the  exception  of  the  first 
 word,  this  is  an  exact  repetition  of 
 xliv.  13,  where  see  note.  (That 
 Psalm,  as  we  have  seen,  may  perhaps 
 be  of  the  Maccabean  age.)  Comp. 
 also  Ixxx.  6. 
 
 Neighbours.  Such  as  the  Edo- 
 mites,  for  instance  (see  cxxxvii.  7, 
 Lam.  iv.  21,  22),  if  the  earlier  date 
 be  preferred. 
 
 5 — 7.  God  may  make  use  of  the 
 heathen  as  "the  rod  of  His  anger," 
 wherewith  to  chasten  His  people,  but 
 nevertheless,    when    His   purpose   is 
 
 accomplished,  then  His  wrath  is  turned 
 against  the  oppressor.  It  is  in  this 
 conviction  that  the  Psalmist  prays, 
 ver.  6,  "  Pour  out,"  &c.  The  ground 
 of  hi.s  prayer  is  not  only  that  they  have 
 not  called  upon  God's  name,  but  they 
 have  devoured  Jacob.  Hence  he  asks 
 for  a  righteous  retribution.  Precisely 
 in  the  same  spirit  Habakkuk  long  be- 
 fore had  said  of  the  Chaldeans  :  "O 
 Jehovah,  for  judgement  Thou  hast  or- 
 dained them,  and,  O  Thou  Rock,  for 
 correction  Thou  hast  appointed  them  " 
 (i.  12)  ;  and  then,  after  pourtraying 
 the  work  of  judgement  wrought  by 
 that  "bitter  and  hasty  nation,"  he 
 tells  of  "the  parable"  and  "taunt- 
 ing proverb  "  which  shall  greet  their 
 utter  overthrow  (ii.  6,  &c.).  The 
 same  law  of  righteous  retribution  is 
 frequently  recognised  by  the  Prophets. 
 See  for  instance  Is.  x.  12,  24 — 26,  and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 5.  For  ever.  On  this,  as  joined 
 wiih  the  question,  see  on  xiii. -I. 
 
 Like  fire.  Comp.  Ixxviii.  21,  and 
 the  original  passage,  Deut.  xxxii.  22. 
 
 6.  This  verse  and  the-  next  are 
 repeated  with  slight  variation  in  Jer. 
 X.  25.  As  to  the  question  whether 
 the  Psalmist  borrowed  from  the  Pro- 
 phet, or  the  Prophet  from  the  Psalmist, 
 see  Introduction. 
 
3^4 
 
 PSALM  LXXIX. 
 
 7  For  they  have  devoured  Jacob, 
 
 And  laid  waste  his  pasture. 
 
 8  Oh  remember  not  against  us  the  iniquities  of  (our)  fore- 
 
 fathers ; 
 Let  Thy  tender  mercies  speedily  come  to  meet  us, 
 For  we  are  brought  very  low. 
 
 Pasture.  Such  is  the  proper 
 meaning  of  the  word  (not  sandtiary, 
 as  the  Chald. — but  see  2  Sam.  xv. 
 25).  Comp.  Ixxxiii.  12  ;  Ex.  xv.  13 
 (where  "His  holy  pasture"  may 
 =  "  His  holy  border,"  Ixxviii.  54) ; 
 Jer.  XXV.  30,  The  figure  is  thus  sug- 
 gested, which  is  afterwards  more  fully 
 expressed  in  ver.  13,  where,  however, 
 the  word  rendered  "pasture"  is  a 
 different  one  in  Hebrew.  It  is  a 
 favourite  image  in  all  this  group  of 
 Psalms. 
 
 8,  Against  us,  lit.  "with  respect 
 to  us,'"'  i.e.  so  that  we  should  thereby 
 suffer.  Daniel  ix.  16  combines  in 
 some  measure  the  language  of  this 
 verse  and  ver.  4.  The  Prophet  con- 
 fesses that  Jerusalem  and  his  people 
 have  become  "a  reproach  unto  all 
 that  are  round  about,"  not  only  be- 
 cause of  their  own  sins,  but  for  '■^  the 
 iniquities  of  their  fathers.''''  This 
 heritage  of  sin  and  its  curse  is  indeed 
 fully  recognised  in  Holy  Scripture. 
 God  Himself  publishes  it  in  the  Law 
 (Ex.  XX.  5,  comp.  xxxiv.  7).  See 
 also  Lam.  v.  7,  and  2  Kings  xxiii.  26. 
 Henghtenberg,  Delitzsch,  and  Hup- 
 feld  are  all  at  pains  to  argue  that  the 
 iniquities  of  the  fathers  are  not  visited 
 upon  the  children,  except  when  the 
 children  themselves  are  guilty.  In 
 proof,  they  appeal  to  Deut.  xxiv.  16, 
 2  Kings  xiv.  6,  Ezek.  xviii.  20.  But 
 only  the  last  of  these  passages  is  in 
 point ;  the  other  two,  the  latter  of 
 which  is  merely  a  quotation  from 
 the  former,   only  lay  dov/n  the  rule 
 
 by  which  human  tribunals  are  to  be 
 bound.  Fully  to  discuss  this  question 
 in  a  note  would  be  quite  impossible  ; 
 it  would  require  a  volume.  I  will 
 only  remark,  (i)  Th.it,  as  a  simple 
 matter  of  fact,  the  innocent  do  suffer 
 for  the  guilty.  Children  receive  from 
 their  parents  their  moral  and  physical 
 constitution,  and  both  the  taint  and 
 the  chastisement  of  sin  are  transmitted. 
 To  this  Scripture  and  expenence  ahke 
 bear  witness.  (2)  That  there  is  a 
 mysterious  oneness  of  being,  a  kind  of 
 perpetual  existence,  which  manifests 
 itself  in  every  family  and  every  nation. 
 Each  generation  is  what  all  previous 
 generations  have  been  tending  to  make 
 it.  The  stream  of  evil  gathers  and 
 bears  along  an  ever-increasing  mass 
 of  corruption  ;  so  that  upon  the  last 
 generation  comes  the  accumulated  load 
 of  all  that  went  before  (Matt,  xxiii. 
 35).  But  (3)  Scripture  nowhere 
 teaches  that  a  man  is  guilty  in  the 
 sight  of  God  for  any  sins  but  his  own. 
 Sinning  himself,  he  allows  the  deeds 
 of  his  fathers  ;  he  is  a  partaker  of 
 their  iniquities  ;  he  helps  to  swell  the 
 fearful  catalogue  of  guilt  which  at  last 
 brings  down  God's  judgement ;  but  his 
 condemnation,  if  he  be  condemned,  is 
 for  his  own  transgression,  not  for  those 
 of  his  fathers. 
 
 Come  to  meet.  E.V,  "prevent." 
 God's  mercy  must  anticipate,  come  to 
 meet,  man's  necessity. 
 
 9.  Twice  the  appeal  is  made  "for 
 Thy  Name's  sake  ; "  that  revelation 
 of  God  which  he  had  made  of  Him- 
 
PSALM  LXXIX. 
 
 38s 
 
 9  Help  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation,  for  the  glory  of  Thy 
 Name, 
 Yea,  deliver  us,  and  cover  our  sins  for  Thy  Name's 
 sake. 
 
 10  Wherefore  should  the  heathen  say,  Where  is  their  God  ? 
 
 Let  there  be  made  known  among  the  heathen  in  our 
 sight 
 The  revenging  of  the  blood  of  Thy  servants  which 
 is  shed. 
 
 1 1  Let  the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  come  before  Thee, 
 
 According  to  the  greatness  of  Thy  power  spare  Thou 
 those  th-at  are  appointed  unto  death. 
 
 12  And  render  unto  our  neighbours  sevenfold  into  their 
 
 bosom 
 Their  reproach  wherewith  they  have  reproached  Thee, 
 O  Lord. 
 
 13  So  we  Thy  people  and  the  sheep  of  Thy  pasture  will 
 
 give  thanks  to  Thee  for  ever. 
 To  all  generations  we  will  tell  forth  Thy  praise. 
 
 self  to  Moses,  when  He  passed  by  and 
 proclaimed  the  Name  of  Jehovah. 
 (Ex.  xxxiv.  6,  7,)  Comp.  Ps.  xx,  I, 
 xxiii.  3,  xxix.  2. 
 
 Cover  our  sins,  and  so  "for- 
 give "  them,  as  the  vi^ord  is  commonly 
 rendered.  See  xxxii.  I.  They  have 
 provoked  God's  wrath,  and  from  that 
 wrath  He  only  can  hide  them. 
 
 10.  The  first  clause  of  the  verse  is 
 borrowed  nearly  word  for  word  from 
 Joel  ii.  17,  and  this,  Hengstenberg 
 thinks,  rests  on  Ex.  xxxii.  12,  Numb. 
 xiv.  15,  i6;Deut.  ix.  28.  It  is  re- 
 peated in  cxv.  2. 
 
 In  our  sight,  lit.  "before  our 
 eyes."  The  expression  suggests  a 
 feeling  of  joy  and  satisfaction  in  be- 
 holding the  rrghteous  judgement  of 
 God.      Comp.  lii.  6,  and  note  there. 
 
 The  revenging  of  the  blood, 
 &c.  :  comp.  Deut.  xxxii.  43. 
 
 11.  The  sighing  of  the  pri- 
 soner  and  those  that  are  ai'- 
 pointed  unto  death  (Heb.  "the 
 sons  of  death  ")  are  expressions  found 
 again  in  cii.  20,  a  Psalm  written,  there 
 can  be  no  doubt,  during  the  Exile. 
 By  "the  prisoner"  must  be  meant,  if 
 this  Psalm  refers  to  the  same  time, 
 the  whole  nation,  whose  captivity  in 
 Babylon,  as  well  as  their  bondage  in 
 Egypt,  is  regarded  as  an  imprison- 
 ment. If,  on  the  other  hand,  tlie 
 Psalm  is  Maccabean,  the  allusion  will 
 be  to  those  who  were  carried  captive 
 by  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 
 
 12.  Unto  our  neighbours.  Be- 
 cause their  scorn  was  more  intolerable, 
 and  also  more  inexcusable,  than  the 
 oppression  of  distant  enemies.  Comp. 
 ver.  4.  Sevenfold,  as  in  Gen.  iv. 
 15,  24.  Into  their  bosom  :  comp. 
 Is,  Ixv.  7,  Jer.  xxxii.  18. 
 
 c  c 
 
3S6  PSALM  LXXX, 
 
 PSALM  LXXX. 
 
 As  in  the  case  of  most  of  the  historical  Psahiis,  so  in  the  case  of 
 this,  it  is  impossible  to  say  with  certainty  at  what  period  it  was  written. 
 The  allusions  are  never  sufficiently  definite  to  lead  to  any  positive 
 conclusion.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  even  the  mention  of 
 the  tribes  in  verse  2,  so  far  from  being  a  help,  has  rather  been  a 
 hindran(^e  to  interpretation.  The  prayer  which  recurs  so  often, 
 ver.  3,  7,  14,  19,  would  seem  to  imply  that  the  people  were  in  exile  : 
 but  it  may  be  a  prayer,  not  for  restoration  to  their  land,  but  only  for 
 a  restoration  to  prosperity,  the  verb  "  turn  us  again  "  being  capable  of 
 either  explanation.  All  that  is  certain  is,  that  the  time  was  a  time  of 
 great  disaster,  that  the  nation  was  trampled  down  under  the  foot  of 
 foreign  invaders.  The  Poet  turns  to  God  with  the  earnest  and 
 repeated  prayer  for  deliverance,  and  bases  his  appeal  on  the  past. 
 God  had  brought  a  vine  out  of  Egypt  and  planted  it  in  Canaan. 
 How  could  He  give  up  that  vine  to  be  devastated  by  the  wild  beasts  1 
 Will  He  not  appear  at  the  head  of  the  armies  of  Israel,  as  once  He 
 went  before  her  sons  in  the  desert  with  a  pillar  of  fire  .?  Will  He  not, 
 as  of  old,  lift  up  the  light  of  His  countenance  upon  them  ? 
 
 The  mention  of  the  three  tribes,  "  Ephraim,  Benjamin,  and 
 Manasseh,"  may  perhaps  denote  that  this  is  a  Psalm  for  the 
 northern  kingdom.  Some  have  supposed  it  to  have  been  a  prayer 
 of  the  Ten  Tribes  in  their  captivity  in  Assyria,  and  it  has  been 
 conjectured  that  the  Inscription  of  the  LXX.,  vTrlp  roO  'Ao-avplov, 
 is  to  be  taken  in  this  sense.  Calvin,  on  the  other  hand,  thinks 
 that  it  is  a  prayer  /or  the  Ten  Tribes,  by  a  poet  of  the  southern 
 kingdonk. 
 
 In  the  journey  through  the  wilderness  the  three  tribes  of  Ephraim, 
 P>eniamin,  and  Manasseh  were  ranged  side  by  side,  and  in  the  order 
 of  march  followed  immediately  behind  the  Ark  (Numb.  ii.  17 — 24). 
 This  explains  their  mention  in  the  Psalm.  The  prayer  of  the 
 Psalmist  is,  that  God  would  again  lead  His  people,  again  go  forth  at 
 
PSALM  LXXX.  387 
 
 the  head  of  their  armies  as  He  did  of  old.  Everything  favours  this 
 interpretation.  God  is  addressed  as  the  Shepherd  of,  Israel  who  led 
 Joseph  "  like  a  flock,"  with  manifest  reference  to  the  journeys  through 
 the  wilderness  (see  Ixxvii.  20).  The  petition  is,  that  He  who  "  is 
 throned  above  the  Cherubim  would  shine  forth."  Here  the  allusion 
 is  to  the  Ark,  and  the  manifestation  of  the  Divine  glory.  Then 
 naturally  comes  the  mention  of  those  tribes  whose  position  was 
 directly  behind  the  Ark.  Hence  the  whole  prayer  may  be  regarded 
 as  a  prayer  for  national  restoration,  and  for  the  same  Divine  suc- 
 cour which  had  been  so  signally  vouchsafed  to  their  fathers  in  the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Still,  whilst  on  this  ground  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that  the  whole 
 nation  is  the  object  of  the  Psalmist's  hopes  and  prayer,  I  am  also 
 inclined  to  think  that  the  prominence  given  to  Joseph  and  Benjamin 
 may  best  be  accounted  for  by  supposing  that  the  Psalmist  was  either 
 a  native  of  the  northern  kingdom,  or  that  he  had  some  strong  sym- 
 pathy with  his  brethren  in  Israel.  In  the  77th,  78th,  and  8ist  Psalms, 
 w-e  meet  with  a  similar  peculiarity  in  the  form  of  the  national  desig- 
 nation, and  in  all  it  may  indicate  some  special  relation  on  the  part  of 
 the  writer  to  the  kingdom  of  Israel. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    according  to  "  THE  LILIES— A  TESTIMONY."* 
 A   PSALM   OF  ASAPH.] 
 
 I   O  Thou  Shepherd  of  Israel,  give  ear, 
 Thou  that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock  ; 
 Thou  that  sittest  (throned  above)  the  Cherubim,  shine 
 forth. 
 
 I.  Shepherd  OF  Israel.     On  the  (Throned  above)   the  Cheru- 
 
 figure  as  common   to   this   group   of  BIM  :  as  in  xcix.   I.     Comp,  xxii.  3, 
 
 Psalms,  bearing  the  name  of  Asaph,  "throned  above  the  praises  of  Israel," 
 
 see  on  Ixxvii.   20.     There  is  an  allu-  wliere  see  note.     The  expression  de- 
 
 sion  to   Gen.    xlviii.    15,    "the    God  notes   the   dwelling   of   God   in    His 
 
 who  was  my  Shepherd"  [E.V.  "who  temple,  and  the  manifestation  of  His 
 
 fed   me "].    and   xlix.    24.       In    hotli  presence  there,  as  is  evident  from  the 
 
 passages  Jacob  blesses  Joseph  and  his  verb  following. 
 
 sons.     So   here   it   follows:    "Thou  Shine  forth,  appear  in  all  Thy 
 
 that  leadest  Joseph  like  a  flock."  Glory  and  Majesty  for  our  help.     See 
 
 See  aoie  on  Ps.  xlv.  p.  178. 
 
 C  C   2 
 
3S8 
 
 PSALM  LXXX. 
 
 2  Before  Ephraim,  and  Benjamin,  and  Manasseh, 
 
 Stir  up  Thy  strength  and  come  to  save  us. 
 
 3  O  God,  do  Thou  turn  us  again. 
 
 And  show  the  Hght  of  Thy  countenance,  that  we  may 
 be  saved. 
 
 4  O  Jehovah,  God  (of)  hosts, 
 
 How  long  wilt  Thou  be  angry  with  Thy  people  that 
 prayeth  1 
 
 1.  2,  where  the  same  word  is  used  of 
 God's  coming  forth  from  His  Sanc- 
 tuary in  Zion  to  execute  judgement. 
 
 2.  To  SAVE  us.  Heb.  "  for  our 
 salvation. " 
 
 Before  Ephraim,  &c.  The  three 
 tribes  are  mentioned  together  with 
 reference  to  the  position  which  they 
 occupied  in  the  march  through  the 
 wilderness,  where  they  followed  in 
 the  order  of  procession  immediately 
 behind  the  Ark.  (See  Numb.  ii.  17 — 
 24.)  This  falls  in  with  the  language 
 of  the  previous  verse,  "  Thou  that 
 sittest  enthroned  above  the  Cherubim, 
 shine  forth."  It  is  strange  how  com- 
 pletely this  fact,  which  is  the  obvious 
 explanation  of  the  mention  of  these 
 three  tribes  together,  has  been  over- 
 looked by  nearly  all  the  recent  Ger- 
 man interpreters.  Bear  this  in  mind, 
 and  it  becomes  evident  that,  what- 
 ever the  national  disaster  here  de- 
 plored, the  prayer  is  that  these  tribes 
 may  be  restored  to  their  ancient 
 position,  united  as  of  old,  and  as  of 
 old  led  by  God  Himself,  with  the 
 visible  symbols  of  His  Presence. 
 
 3.  Turn  us  again,  either  from 
 the  Exile,  supposing  the  Psalm  to 
 have  been  written  after  the  captivity 
 of  the  Ten  Tribes  ;  or  in  the  more 
 general  sense  of  recovery  from  dis- 
 aster, as  in  Ix.  i. 
 
 Show  the  light  of  Thy  coun- 
 tenance. Again  an  allusion  to  the 
 history  of  the  peoj  le  in  the  wilder- 
 
 ness, Numb.  vi.  25.  See  on  Ixvii.  I, 
 iv,  6. 
 
 4.  God  (of)  hosts,  see  on  lix.  5. 
 On  this  repetition  of  the  Divine 
 Names  Hengstenberg  remarks  :  "In 
 prayer  all  depends  upon  God,  in  the 
 full  glory  of  Plis  being,  walking  before 
 the  soul.  It  is  only  into  the  bosom 
 of  such  a  God  that  it  is  worth  while 
 to  pour  out  lamentations  and  prayer. 
 '  Jehovah, '  corresponding  to  the '  Shep- 
 herd of  Israel,'  ver.  i,  points  to  the 
 fulness  of  the  love  of  God  towards  His 
 people;  and  'God,  (God  of)  hosts,' 
 corresponding  to  '  throned  above  the 
 Chenibim,'  to  His  infinite  power  to 
 help  them." 
 
 How  long  wilt  Thou  be  angry, 
 &c.  ;  lit.  **  How  long  hast  Thou 
 smoked^  The  preterite  after  the  in- 
 terrogative in  this  sense  is  unusual. 
 But  the  full  form  of  expression  would 
 be,  "  How  long  hast  Thou  been  .  .  . 
 and  wilt  continue  to  be  .  .  .  angiy. " 
 Comp.  Ex.  x.  3,  xvi.  28.  The  use  of 
 the  verb  "to  smoke,'^  said  of  a  per- 
 son, is  also  without  parallel.  The 
 Ubual  phrase  would  be,  "will  Thine 
 anger  smoke."  Comp.  Ixxiv.  i  ;xviii. 
 8  (where  see  note)  ;  Deut.  xxix.  20. 
 But  the  figure  is  bolder  here  than  in 
 the  other  passages,  as  it  is  applied 
 immediately  to  God  Himself.  God, 
 who  is  Light  and  Love,  is  also  "  a 
 consuming  fire." 
 
 With  Thy  people  that  pray- 
 eth, lit.   *'z«  {i.e.  during)  the  prayer 
 
PSALM  LXXX. 
 
 3^9 
 
 great 
 
 5  Thou  hast  fed  them  with  tears  as  bread, 
 
 And   hast   made  them   to   drink   of  tears   in 
 measure. 
 
 6  Thou  makest  us  a  strife  unto  our  neighbours, 
 
 And  OLir  enemies  mock  (us)  at  their  pleasure. 
 
 7  O  God  (of)  hosts,  turn  us  again, 
 
 And  show  the  Hglit  of  Thy  countenance,  that  we  may 
 be  saved. 
 
 S  Thou  broughtest  a  vine  out  of  Egypt, 
 
 Thou  didst  drive  out  the  heathen,  and  plant  it  ; 
 
 9  Thou  madest  room  before  it. 
 
 And  when  it  had  taken  root,  it  filled  the  land  : 
 
 10  The  mountains  were  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it, 
 
 And  the  boughs  thereof  were  like  the  cedars  of  God. 
 
 1 1  She  sent  out  her  branches  unto  the  sea, 
 
 And  her  young  shoots  unto  the  river. 
 
 of  Thy  people."  That  which  seems 
 so  mysterious,  that  which  calls  for 
 the  expostulation  and  the  entreaty  is, 
 that  even  whilst  they  pray,  in  spite  of 
 that  prayer,  God's  wrath  is  hot  against 
 them. 
 
 6.  A  STRIFE,  i.e.  not  an  object  of 
 contention  amongst  themselves,  but 
 rather  an  object  which  they  vied  with 
 one  another  in  assailing. 
 
 Unto  our  neighbours,  not  the 
 great  powers,  such  as  the  Assyrians, 
 Chaldeans,  and  Egyptians,  but  the 
 petty  states  which  bordered  on  Judaea, 
 who  were  always  ready  to  exult  over 
 every  misfortune  that  befel  the  Israel- 
 ites.    Comp.  Ixxix.   12. 
 
 At  their  pleasure,  lit.  *'for 
 themselves,"  i.e.  for  their  own  satis- 
 faction. 
 
 8.  Thou  broughtest  out,  or 
 "  transplantedst."  Delitzsch  quotes 
 from  Shemoth  Rabba,  c.  44.  "When 
 cultivators  wish  to  improve  a  vine, 
 what  do  they  do?  They  root  it  up 
 out  of  its  place,  and  transplant  it  to 
 another." 
 
 A  vine.  The  same  comparison 
 is  found  in  other  passages  :  Is.  v.  I — 
 7,  xxvii.  2—6  ;  Jer.  ii.  21,  xii.  lo  ; 
 Ezek.  xvii.  5 — 10.  In  some  of  these 
 passages  the  figure  of  a  vineyard  is 
 mixed  with  that  of  the  vine,  and 
 such  is  partly  the  case  here  :  see  ver. 
 12.  That  there  is  a  reference  to  the 
 blessing  of  Joseph  (see  above  on  ver. 
 1}  can  hardly  be  doubted.  Observe 
 especially  the  word  "son,"  ver.  15 
 (E.  V.  "bough"),  compared  with 
 Gen.  xlix.  22,  "  Joseph  is  a  fruitful 
 son  "  (E.  V.  "  a  fruitful  bough  "). 
 
 Thou  didst  drive  out,  &c. 
 Comp.  xliv.  2. 
 
 9.  Madest  room,  by  destroying 
 the  Canaanites,  as  the  soil  is  prepared 
 for  planting,  by  "  gathering  out  the 
 stones,"  &c.     Comp.  Is.  v.  2. 
 
 10.  Cedars  of  God.  See  on 
 xxxvi.  6. 
 
 11.  Sea  .  .  .  RIVER,  i.e.  from 
 Gaza  on  the  Mediterranean  to  Eu- 
 phrates. Comp.  Ixxii.  8.  The  allusion 
 is  to  the  time  of  Solomon,  of  whom  it 
 is  said,   that  "he  had  dominion  over 
 
39° 
 
 PSALM  LXXX. 
 
 12  Why  hast  Thou  broken  down  her  hedges, 
 
 So  that  all  they  which  pass   by  the  way  do  pluck 
 her? 
 
 13  The  boar  out  of  the  wood  doth  root  it  up, 
 
 And  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  devour  it. 
 
 14  O  God  (of)  hosts,  turn,  we  beseech  Thee, 
 
 Look  down  from  heaven,  and  see, 
 And  visit  this  vine  ; 
 
 1 5  And  protect  that  which  Thy  right  hand  hath  planted, 
 
 And  the  son  whom  Thou  madest  strong  for  Thyself. 
 
 16  It  is  burnt  with  fire,  it  is  cut  down ; 
 
 They  perish  at  the  rebuke  of  Thy  countenance. 
 
 17  Let  Thy  hand  be  over  the  man  of  Thy  right  hand, 
 
 all  the  region  on  this  side  the  river, 
 from  Tiphsah  {i.e.  Thapsacus,  on  the 
 western  bank  of  the  Euphrates)  even 
 to  Azzah  (or  Gaza),"  I  Kings  iv.  24. 
 Comp.  Deut.  xi.  24,  "Every  place 
 Avhich  the  soles  of  your  feet  shall 
 tread  upon  shall  be  yours  ;  from  the 
 wilderness  and  Lebanon,  from  the 
 river,  the  x-iver  Euphrates,  even  unto 
 the  west  sea  shall  be  your  boundaries." 
 See  also  Gen.  xxviii.  14  ;  Josh.  i.  4. 
 
 12.  Portions  of  this  verse  are  re- 
 peated in  Ixxxix.  40,  41.  Comp. 
 also  Is.  V.  5. 
 
 13.  The  boar  out  of  the  wood, 
 as  in  Jer.  v.  6,  "  the  lion  out  of  the 
 wood."  It  has  been  supposed  that 
 some  particular  enemy  is  meant,  such 
 as  the  Assyrian  monarch  or  Nebuchad- 
 nezzar, but  this  is  negatived  by  the 
 indefinite  expression  in  the  parallel 
 clause,  "the  wild  beasts  of  the  field," 
 or  more  literally,  "  that  which  moveth 
 in  the  field." 
 
 15.  The  son.  Ewald  and  others 
 render  "the  branch,"  or  "shoot," 
 referring  to  Gen.  xlix.  22,  where  the 
 word  no  douljt  occurs  in  this  sense 
 (see  above  on  ver.  8),  a  sense  which 
 would  be   very    suitable    here    with 
 
 reference  to  the  figure  of  the  vine. 
 But  the  expressions  in  ver.  17,  "son 
 of  man,"  "  man  of  Thy  right  hand," 
 seem  rather  to  indicate  that  here, 
 too,  the  figure  is  dropt.  The  am- 
 biguous word  may,  however,  have 
 been  chosen  designedly,  the  more 
 readily  to  connect  the  figure  with 
 what  follows.  The  son  evidently 
 means  the  nation  of  Israel,  as  in 
 Ex.  iv.  22  ;  Hos.  xi.  I. 
 
 Thou  madest  strong,  i.e.  whom 
 Thou  didst  carefully  rear  till  it 
 reached  maturity.  Comp,  Is.  xliv. 
 14,  where  the  same  word  is  used  of 
 a  tree.  See  also  Ixxxix.  21,  and 
 similar  expressions  in  Is.  i.  2,  xxiii.  4. 
 
 16.  It  is  cut  down.  The  word 
 occurs  also  in  Is.  xxxiii.  12,  of  thorns 
 cut  down  that  they  may  be  burned. 
 In  this  verse  the  lamentation  over 
 the  present  condition  of  the  nation 
 is  resumed.  In  the  first  clause  the 
 figin-e  of  the  vine  reappears  ;  in  the 
 second  there  is  an  abrupt  transition 
 to  the  nation  of  whom  the  \ine  is 
 the  figure. 
 
 \%  Man  of  Thy  right  hand. 
 This  has  been  explained  (i)  "one 
 whom     Thy    right    hand    protects," 
 
PSALM  LXXXL 
 
 391 
 
 Over  the  son  of  man  whom  Thou  madest  strong  for 
 Thyself : 
 
 18  So  will  we  not  go  back  from  Thee  : — 
 
 Do  Thou  quicken  us,  and  we  will  call  upon  Thy  Name. 
 
 19  O  Jehovah,  God  (of)  hosts,  turn  us  again, 
 
 Show  the  light  of  Thy  countenance,  that  we  may  be 
 saved. 
 
 one  who  is  the  object  of  Thy  special 
 care  and  love;  or  (2)  "one  whom 
 Thou  hast  won  for  Thyself  by  Thy 
 right  hand"  (in  allusion  to  God's  put- 
 ting forth  His  power  on  behalf  of 
 Israel)  ;  or  (3)  with  reference  to  ver. 
 15,  one  whom  God's  right  hand 
 planted.  This  last  is  perhaps  best,  as 
 thus  the  tv/o  clauses  of  ver.  1 7  answer 
 to  the  two  of  ver.  15.  Israel  has 
 been  both  planted  and  tnade  strong 
 by  God,  and  on  both   grounds   asks 
 
 God's  protecting  care.  Some  see 
 in  this  title,  together  with  that  of 
 "son  of  man"  in  the  next  clause, 
 a  designation  of  the  Messiah,  who 
 in  the  same  sense  is  said,  in  ex.  i, 
 5,  to  sit  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 
 But  the  obvious  relation  of  this 
 verse  to  ver.  17  rather  leads  to  the 
 conclusion  that  the  nation  of  Israel, 
 the  vine  spoken  of  before,  is  meant. 
 
 18.  Quicken  us,  i.e.  restore  us  to 
 a  nczh  life.      Comp.  Ixxi.  20  ;  Ixxxv.  6. 
 
 PSALM  LXXXL 
 
 This  Psalm  was  apparently  intended  to  be  sung  at  one  or  more  of 
 the  great  national  Festivals.  There  has,  however,  been  much  differ- 
 ence of  opinion  as  to  the  particular  Festival  or  Festivals  for  which 
 it  was  originally  composed. 
 
 The  view  which  is  maintained  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  critics 
 supposes  that  the  exhortation  of  the  Psalm  refers  both  to  the  Feast 
 of  Trumpets  on  the  first  of  the  month,  and  to  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
 nacles, which  lasted  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  twenty-first  or  twenty- 
 second.  This  would  explain  the  mention  both  of  "  the  new  moon " 
 and  of  "the  full  moon,"  both  marking  important  Festivals,  and 
 Festivals  occurring  in  the  same  month.  Both  would  be  kept  with 
 loud  expressions  of  joy.  The  blowing  of  cornets,  and  the  apparatus 
 of  musical  instruments,  by  which  the  first  is  to  be  announced,  were 
 
392 
 
 PSALM  LXXXI. 
 
 certainly  not  usua  at  the  Passover,  whereas  they  would  be  perfectly 
 in  keeping  with  so  joyous  an  occasion  as  the  Feast  of  JXaberna'cles. 
 The  music  in  Hezekiah's  celebration  of  the  Passover  (2  Chron.  xxx. 
 21,  &c),  to  which  Hengstenberg  refers,  was  probably  exceptional. 
 The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  the  Feast  was  then  kept, 
 and  the  great  joy  which  it  called  forth,  would  sufficiently  account  for 
 this  mode  of  celebration,  but  there  is  no  hint  given  that  musical 
 instruments  were  ever  employed,  as  the  Passover  was  originally 
 observed  ;  and  the  general  character  of  the  Feast  is  against  such  a 
 supposition.*  It  is  a  further  evidence  that  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles 
 is  meant,  that  it  is  styled  so  emphatically  "  our  feast."  See  note  on 
 ver.  3,. 
 
 On  the  relation  of  the  iivo  Festivals  which,  on  this  supposition,  are 
 combined,  more  will  be  found  in  the  note  on  that  verse. 
 
 Properly  speaking,  there  are  no  strophical  divisions.  The  Psalm 
 consists  of  two  parts  : — 
 
 I,  In  the  first  the  Psalmist  summons  his  nation  to  the  Festival, 
 bidding  them  keep  it  with  loud  music  and  song,  and  every  utterance 
 of  joy,  because  it  was  ordained  of  God,  and  instituted  under  circum- 
 stances worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance.     Ver.  i — 5. 
 
 II.  In  the  next  he  abruptly  drops  his  own  words.  What  those 
 circumstances  we^re,  what  the  meaning  of  God's  revelation  then  given, 
 the  people  had  forgotten  ;  and  it  is  for  him,  in  his  character  of 
 Prophet  as  well  as  Poet,  to  declare.  It  is  for  him  to  show  how  that 
 voice  from  the  past  had  its  lesson  also  for  the  present ;  how  every 
 festival  was  God's  witness  to  Himself ;  how  it  repeated  afresh,  as  it 
 were,  in  clear  and  audible  accents,  the  great  facts  of  that  history, 
 the  moral  of  which  was  ever  old  and  yet  ever  new.  But  the  Psalmist 
 conveys  this  instruction  with  the  more  imposing  solemnity,  when, 
 suddenly  breaking  off  his  exhortation,  he  leaves  God  Himself  to 
 speak. 
 
 I  is  no  more  the  ambassador,  it  is  the  Sovereign  who  appears  in 
 the  midst  of  His  people,  to  remind  them  of  past  benefits,  to  claim 
 their  obedience  on  the  ground  of  those  benefits,  and  to  promise  the 
 utmost  bounties  of  grace,  on  the  condition  of  obedience,  for  the 
 future.     Ver.  6 — 16. 
 
 There  could  be  no  grander  conception  of  the  true  significance  of 
 
 *  Hence  Tholuck  conjectures  that  this  Psalm  was  composed  for  Hezekiah's  celebration. 
 
PSALM  LXXXL  393 
 
 the  religious  feasts  of  the  nation  than  this.  There  are  so  many 
 memorials  of  God's  love  and  power,  so  many  monuments  set  up  to 
 testify  at  once  of  His  goodness,  and  of  Israel's  ingratitude  and  per- 
 verseness,  so  many  solemn  occasions  on  which  He  comes  as  King 
 and  Father  to  visit  them,  to  rekindle  anew  their  loyalty  and  their 
 affection,  and  to  scatter  amongst  them  the  treasures  of  His  bounty. 
 To  give  this  interpretation  to  the  Festivals,  to  put  in  its  true  light 
 the  national  joy  at  their  celebration,  appears  to  have  been  the  object 
 of  the  Psalmist.  If  so,  it  is  a  matter  of  secondary  importance  what 
 particular  Festival  or  Festivals  were  chiefly  before  his  eye. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,     upon  the  GITTITH.*    (a  psalm)  of  ASAPH.] 
 
 1  Sing  joyfully  unto  God  our  strength, 
 
 Shout  aloud  unto  the  God  of  Jacob. 
 
 2  Raise  a  song,  and  bring  hither  the  timbrel, 
 
 The  pleasant  harp  with  the  lute. 
 
 3  Blow  (the)  cornet  in  the  new  moon, 
 
 Ver.    i^ — 5.     The  Festivals  are  to  the  only   Hebrew   instrument   which 
 
 be  kept  with  the  loudest  expressions  has   been   preserved   to   the    present 
 
 of  joy   and  thanksgiving,  as  Israel's  day  in  the   religious   services   of  the 
 
 special     privilege,    as    instituted    by  Jews.     It  is  still  blown,    as   in  time 
 
 God    Himself,    and  as   a   great    me-  of  old,    at    the    Jewish    new    year's 
 
 morial  of  His  redemption.  festival,    according   to  the   command 
 
 1.  Shout  ALOUD.  There  may  be  of  Moses  (Numb.  xxix.  i)."  (Engel, 
 an  allusion  in  this  verb  to  the  ex-  Hist,  of  Mtisic,  p.  292.)  These  in- 
 pression  in  Numb.  xxix.  I,  where  the  struments  are  commonly  made  of 
 noun  employed  is  from  the  same  root  cows'  or  rams'  horns  ;  they  differ 
 (rendered  in  the  E.V.,  "it  is  a  day  somewhat  in  shape,  some  being 
 of  blcnuing  the  trumpets''^).  On  the  much  more  curved  than  others,  and 
 first  day  of  the  seventh  month  (Tisri)  the  tube  of  some  not  being  round 
 two  silver  trumpets  (at  a  later  period  but  flattened.  Engel  mentions  one 
 120,  see  2  Chron.  v.  12)  were  to  be  in  the  Great  Synagogue  in  London, 
 blown.  which   has   this   verse   of  the  Psalm 
 
 2.  Raise  a  song  &c.  or,  ^^  take  inscribed  on  it.  He  also  quotes 
 viusick "  (the  noun  is  used  both  of  David  Levi  {Kites  and  Ceremonies 
 the  human  voice  and  of  instru-  of  the  Jews),  as  saying  that  the 
 mental  music),  "and  strike  the  trumpet  is  made  of  a  ram's  horn, 
 timbrel."  in  remembrance  of  Abraham's  sacri- 
 
 3.  The  cornet,  **  The  shophar  fice  (Gen.  xxii.  12,  13),  which,  accord- 
 is   especially    remarkable     as     being  ing  to  the  Jewish  tradition,    was   on 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  viii.  p.  37- 
 
394 
 
 PSALM  LXXXL 
 
 At  the  full  moon,  on  our  (solemn)  feast. 
 For  it  is  a  statute  for  Israel, 
 
 An  ordinance  of  the  God  of  Jacob : 
 He  appointed  it  as  a  testimony  in  Joseph, 
 
 the  new  year's  day,  "and  therefore 
 we  make  use  of  a  ram's  horn,  be- 
 seeching the  Ahnighty  to  be  propitious 
 to  us  in  remembrance  and  through 
 the  merits  of  that  great  event." 
 
 In  the  new  moon.  Strictly 
 speaking,  this  might  be  any  new 
 moon  ;  for  in  the  beginnings  of  their 
 months  they  were  to  blow  with  trum- 
 pets over  their  burnt-offerings,  (S:c., 
 Numb.  X.  ID  ;  but  perhaps  the  new 
 moon  of  the  seventh  month,  the  new 
 year's  day,  is  especially  meant.  (See 
 Xumb.  xxix.  I.)  And  so  the  Chald. 
 paraphrases,  ' '  in  the  month  of 
 Tisri." 
 
 At  the  full  moon.  Such  'is 
 apparently  the  meaning  of  the  word 
 here,  and  of  the  similar  Aramaic 
 form  in  Prov.  vii.  20  (though  the 
 E.V.  has  in  both  passages  "the 
 appointed  time  ").  If,  then,  the  new 
 moon  is  that  of  the  seventh  month, 
 "the  full  moon"  must  denote  the 
 Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which  began 
 on  the  15th  of  the  same  month. 
 Accordingly  there  follows — 
 
 On  our  (solemn)  feast,  i.e. 
 the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  which 
 was  also  called  pre-eminently  "the 
 Feast,''  I  Kings  viii.  2,  65  (where 
 the  E.V.  has  "a  feast,"  wrongly), 
 xii.  32  ;  Ezek.  xlv.  25  ;  Neh.  viii. 
 14  ;  2  Chron.  v.  3,  vii.  8. 
 
 But  are  we  to  understand  that 
 both  P^estivals,  that  at  the  new 
 moon  and  that  at  the  full,  were  to 
 be  ushered  in  with  the  blowing  of 
 cornets  ?  Such  seems  to  be  the 
 meaning.  Delitzsch  thus  explains, 
 1  think  rightly,  the  reference  to  the 
 two.  Between  the  Feast  of  Trum- 
 pets on  the  ist  of  Tisri,  and  the  Feast 
 
 of  Tabernacles,  which  lasted  from  the 
 15th  to  the  2 1st  or  22nd,  lay  the 
 Great  Day  of  Atonement  on  the  lOth 
 of  the  month.  This  circumstance 
 gave  a  peculiar  significance  to  the 
 Feast  of  Tabernacles — made  it,  in 
 fact,  the  chief  of  all  the  Feasts,  inas- 
 much as  it  was  the  expression  of 
 the  joy  of  forgiveness  and  reconcilia- 
 tion declared  by  the  High  Priest  to 
 the  nation  on  that  solemn  day.  Hence 
 it  was  kept  with  more  than  ordinary 
 rejoicing.  And  hence  the  Psalmist 
 would  have  the  gladness  of  the  new 
 moon  repeated  "at  the  full  moon, 
 on  the  day  of  our  solemn  feast." 
 The  first  was  but  a  prelude  to  the 
 last ;  the  one  looked  forward  to  the 
 other ;  and  therefore  the  loud  music 
 of  the  one  was  to  usher  in  the  other 
 also. 
 
 4.  For.  The  festivals  are  thus 
 joyfully  to  be  kept  because  they  are 
 of  Divine  appointment,  and  a  spe- 
 cial and  distinguishing  privilege  of 
 the  nation.  The  same  preposition 
 before  "Israel"  marks  them  as  the 
 recipients,  before  "God"  denotes 
 that  He  is  the  Author  and  Giver  of 
 the  law. 
 
 5.  Testimony,  used  of  a  single  law, 
 or  not,  as  usually,  of  the  whole  body 
 of  laws.  See  note  on  xix.  7.  It  was 
 a  great  witness  and  memorial  set  up 
 of  God's  power  and  love. 
 
 Joseph.  Hupfeld  remarks  that  it 
 is  used  after  "  Israel  "  and  "Jacob  " 
 in  the  preceding  verse,  merely  as 
 another  designation  of  the  whole 
 nation,  as  Ixxx.  r.  Hengstenberg 
 says,  "  Joseph  occupies  the  place  of 
 Israel  here,  because  during  the  whole 
 period  of  their  residence  in  the  land 
 
PSALM  LXXXL 
 
 395 
 
 When  He  went  forth  against  the  land  of  Ya 
 Where  I  heard  a  language  that  I  knew  not : 
 
 :ypt, 
 
 of  Egypt  the  nation  owed  everything 
 to  Joseph,  'the  crowned  among  his 
 brethren,'  Gen.  xlix.  26.  Their 
 oppression  began  with  the  king  who 
 knew  not  Joseph,  and  this  name 
 could  only  belong  to  them  with  re- 
 ference to  that  time."  And  similarly 
 Calvin.  But  it  is  far  more  natural, 
 surely,  to  see  in  the  use  of  this  name 
 here,  as  in  Psalm  Ixxx. ,  an  indication 
 that  the  writer  belonged  to  the 
 northern  kingdom. 
 
 Against  the  land  of  Egypt, 
 wrongly  rendered  by  the  Ancient 
 Yerss.  '■'from  the  land  of  Egypt," 
 because  they  supposed  that  "the going 
 forth "  could  only  be  that  of  Israel 
 out  of  Egypt.  But  it  is  simpler  to 
 retain  the  usual  meaning  of  the  pre- 
 position, and  to  refer  the  pronominal 
 suffix,  not  to  Israel,  but  to  God  : 
 "  When  He  ((iod)  went  forth  against 
 the  land  of  Egypt,"  as  in  the  slaying 
 of  the  first-born  (Exod.  xi.  4,  "I 
 will  go  forth  through  the  midst  of 
 Egypt  "),  and*  in  all  that  He  did  for 
 the  deliverance  of  His  people. 
 
 As  this  verse  connects  the  institu- 
 tion of  the  Feast  with  a  particular 
 event,  namely,  the  departure  from 
 Egypt,  it  does  unquestionably  furnish 
 a  strong  argument  to  those  who  be- 
 lieve that  the  allusion  is  to  the  Pass- 
 over. For  no  other  Feast  was  then 
 instituted.  This  difficulty  is  usually 
 got  rid  of  by  saying  that  the  note  of 
 time  is  not  to  be  pressed,  and  that 
 the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  did  belong 
 to  the  earlier  legislation,  Exod.  xxiii. 
 16  ;  xxxiv.  22.  But  I  confess  this  is, 
 to  my  mind,  not  quite  satisfactory. 
 On  the  other  hand,  both  the  Jewish 
 tradition  and  the  manner  of  celebra- 
 tion as  here  described  are  against  the 
 Passover.  I  incline,  therefore,  to 
 think    that    the    "new    mcon''    and 
 
 "full  moon"  are  put  for  any  feasts 
 that  were  held  at  those  times  respec- 
 tively, all  of  •U'hich,  beginning  ivith 
 the  Passover,  might  thus  be  spoken 
 of  as  dating  from  the  Exodus. 
 
 I  HEARD.  The  first  person  is  used 
 because  the  Psalmist  speaks  in  the 
 name  of  his  people,  identifying  liim- 
 self  with  them, 
 
 A  LANGUAGE  THAT   I  KNEW  NOT. 
 
 What  was  this  unknown  tongue? 
 Two  interpretations  have  been  given. 
 It  has  been  explained  (i)  Of  the  lan- 
 guage of  the  Egyptians,  which  was  a 
 foreign  tongue  to  the  Hebrews,  who 
 were  "strangers  in  the  land  of 
 Egypt  "  Comp.  cxiv.  I,  "  the  people 
 of  strange  language,"  with  Deut. 
 xxviii.  49  ;  Is.  xxxiii.  19;  Jer.  v.  15. 
 Accordingly,  this  fact  is  mentioned  as 
 one  of  the  aggravations  of  their  con- 
 dition in  Egypt,  like  the  toiling  with 
 "the  burden"  and  "  the  basket." 
 (2)  Of  the  voice  of  God,  a  voice  which 
 the  people  had  heard  as  uttered  in 
 His  judgements  upon  the  Egyptians, 
 and  in  His  covenant  made  with  them- 
 selves, but  had  not  understood  (comp. 
 Acts  vii.  25).  This  language  is  tht-n 
 given  in  substance  in  a  poetical  form 
 by  the  Psalmist,  who  seems  suddenly 
 to  hear  it,  and  to  become  the  inter- 
 preter to  his  people  of  the  Divine 
 voice.  He  here  places  in  a  fresh 
 light,  gives  a  new  application  to,  the 
 earlier  revelation,  the  meaning  and 
 purpose  of  which  \^■ere  not  then 
 understood. 
 
 Hupfeld  supposes  it  to  be  called  an 
 "unknown"  language  merely  be- 
 cause it  is  Divine,  unlike  the  every- 
 day known  language  of  men.  Ab. 
 Ezra  sees  a  reference  to  the  words 
 of  God  uttered  on  Sinai.  So  also 
 Delitzsch,  who  would  explain  the 
 expression  by  re.''ereace  to  Exod.  vi.  2, 
 
39^ 
 
 PSALM  LXXXI, 
 
 "  I  removed  his  shoulder  from  the  burden, 
 
 His  hands  ceased  from  (toihng  with)  the  basket. 
 
 In  thy  distress  thou  calledst,  and  I  dehvered  thee, 
 I  answered  thee  in  the  secret  place  of  thunder, 
 
 I  proved  thee  by  the  waters  of  Meribah  :      [Selah.] 
 
 *  Hear,  O  my  people,  and  let  Me  testify  unto  thee  ; 
 O  Israel,  if  thou  wouldest  hearken  unto  Me, 
 
 &c.  ''It  was  the  language  of  a 
 known,  and  yet  unknown  God,  which 
 Israel  heard  from  Sinai.  God,  in 
 lact,  now  revealed  Himself  to  Israel 
 in  a  new  character,  not  only  as  the 
 Redeemer  and  Saviour  of  His  people 
 from  their  Egyptian  bondage,  but  also 
 fs  their  King,  giving  them  a  law 
 which  bound  them  together  as  a 
 I^eople,  and  was  the  basis  of  their 
 national  existence. " 
 
 The  latter  interpretation,  which 
 regards  the  language  here  spoken  of 
 as  the  voice  of  God,  and  as  virtually 
 given  in  the  following  verses,  is  now 
 that  most  commonly  adopted. 
 
 6.  The  words  of  God  follow  with- 
 out any  indication  of  a  change  of 
 speakers.  The  Prophet  identifies 
 himself  with,  and  becomes  the  organ 
 of,  the  Divine  voice.  He  reminds 
 Israel  of  that  fact  in  connection  with 
 which  the  Festival  was  instituted. 
 
 It  is  as  though,  amidst  all  the  glad- 
 ness of  the  feast,  and  all  the  music 
 and  the  pomp  of  its  celebration,  other 
 thoughts  arose,  not  to  check,  but  to 
 I'uide  the  current  of  a  holy  exultation. 
 The  sound  of  trumpet  and  timbrel 
 and  sacred  song  must  be  hushed, 
 while  Jehovah  speaks  to  tell  His  for- 
 gettul  people  the  lesson  of  their  past 
 history  associated  with  that  festival, 
 the  warning  and  the  expostulation 
 suggested  by  their  own  perverseness. 
 If  they  would  praise  Him  aright,  it 
 must  be  with  hearts  mindful  of  His 
 goodness,  and  sensible  of  their  own 
 unworthiness  and   ingratitude.      For 
 
 the  spirit  in  which  all  festivals  should 
 be  kept,  see  on  the  offering  of  the 
 first-fruits,  Deut.  xxvi.  I — li. 
 
 Burden,  in  allusion  to  Ex.  i,  ii  ; 
 V.  4,  5  ;  vi.  6  ;  where  the  same  word 
 occurs  in  the  plural. 
 
 The  basket.  This  word  is  not 
 found  in  Exod.,  and  its  meaning  is 
 doubtful.  It  may  either  mean  (i)  a 
 bisket,  in  which  heavy  burdens  were 
 carried,  such  as  are  now  seen  pour- 
 trayed  on  the  monuments  at  Thebes ; 
 or  (2)  ail  earthen  pot,  with  reference 
 to  the  work  in  clay  which  the  Israel- 
 ites were  compelled  to  perform. 
 Hence  the  E.V.  renders  "his  hands 
 were  delivered  from  making ///t'/t'/j." 
 
 7.  The  secret  place  of  thun- 
 der is  the  dark  mass  of  the  thunder- 
 cloud in  which  God  shrouds  His 
 Majesty.  (Comp.  xviii.  11  ;  Hab. 
 iii.  4.)  Here  there  is  probably  a 
 special  reference  to  the  cloud  from 
 which  Jehovah  looked  forth  in  the 
 passage  through  the  Red  Sea,  Exod. 
 xiv.  (comp.  the  note  on  Ixxvii.  16)  ; 
 as  there  follows  the  mention  of  the 
 second  great  miracle,  the  giving  the 
 water  from  the  rock. 
 
 I  PROVED  thee,  (Deut.  xxxiii.  8,) 
 The  mention  of  Israel's  sin  here, 
 which  did  not  of  itself  belong  to  an 
 account  of  the  institution  of  the  feast, 
 prepares  the  way  for  the  exhortation 
 which  follows, 
 
 8 — 10,  This  is  a  discourse  within  a 
 discourse.  It  is  the  language  which 
 God  held  with  His  people  when  He 
 proved  them. 
 
PSALM  LXXXr. 
 
 397 
 
 9  That  there  should  be  in  thee  no  strange  god, 
 
 And  that  thou  shouldest  not  bow  down  unto  the  god 
 of  the  stranger  ! 
 
 10  — I  am  Jehovah  thy  God, 
 
 Who  brought  thee  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
 Open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  I  will  fill  it/ 
 
 1 1  But  My  people  hearkened  not  unto  My  voice. 
 
 And  Israel  was  not  willing  to  obey  Me. 
 
 12  So  I   gave   them    up  unto   the  stubbornness   of  their 
 
 heart. 
 That  they  should  walk  after  their  own  counsels. 
 
 13  Oh  that  My  people  would  hearken  unto  Me, 
 
 That  Israel  would  walk  in  My  way  ! 
 
 14  I  would  soon  put  down  their  enemies, 
 
 And  turn  My  hand  against  their  adversaries. 
 
 15  The  haters  of  Jehovah  should  crouch  before  Him 
 
 And  their  time  should  be  for  ever. 
 
 16  He  would  feed  thee  also  with  the  fat  of  wheat. 
 
 8.  Comp.  Deut.  vi.  4,  and  see  the 
 note,  Ps.  1.  7. 
 
 10.  Comp.  Deut.  v.  I,  6,  &c. 
 
 11.  Luther  remarks  :  "It  is  some- 
 thing dreadful  and  terrible  that  He 
 says  My  people.  If  it  had  been  a 
 stranger,  to  whom  I  had  shown  no 
 particular  kindness,  &c." 
 
 12.  So    I    GAVE   THEM    UP.         The 
 
 word  is  used  of  the  lettuig  go  of 
 captives,  slaves,  &c.  ;  of  giving  over 
 to  sin.  Job  viii,  4.  This  is  the  great- 
 est and  most  fearful  of  all  God's 
 punishments.      Comp.  Ixxviii.  29. 
 
 Stubbornness.  The  word  occurs 
 once  in  the  Pentateuch,  Deut.  xxix. 
 19,  and  several  times  in  Jeremiah. 
 The  E.V.  renders  it  here,  "lusts," 
 and  in  all  the  other  passages  "  imagi- 
 nation," but  wrongly. 
 
 13.  A  transition  is  here  made  from 
 the  Israel  of  the  past  to  the  Israel  of 
 the   present,   because  the   history   of 
 
 the  former  is  repeated  m  the  history 
 ol  the  latter. 
 
 14.  And  TURN  My  HAND.  There 
 is  no  need  to  supply  any  ellipse  or 
 explain  the  phrase  as  meaning  "  agai/i. 
 turn."  It  IS  used  as  in  Is.  i.  25  ; 
 Amos  i.  8. 
 
 15.  To  Him,  i.e.  Israel  (for  "the 
 haters  of  Jehovah "  are  the  enemies 
 of  Israel)  ;  and  hence  with  the  usual 
 change  from  the  collective  sing,  to 
 the  plural,  "//^t'zrtime"  in  the  next 
 clause  is  "the  time  of  Israel." 
 
 Time,  in  the  general  sense  of  du- 
 ration merely,  and  not  implying  pro- 
 sperity. Indeed  the  word  may  be 
 used  of  times  of  adversity  as  well  as 
 prosperity  (see  xxxi.  15). 
 
 16.  The  form  of  the  promise  is 
 borrowed  from  Deut.  xxxii.  13,  &c. 
 Comp.  Ezek.  xvi.  19. 
 
 He  would  feed  thee.  The  3rd 
 person  instead  of  the  1st,  which  recurs 
 
39S  PSALM  LXXXIL 
 
 And  with  honey  out  of  the  rock  should  I  satisfy  thee. 
 
 again  in  the  next  clause.  These 
 nbrupt  interchanges  of  persons  are  by 
 no  means  uncommon  in  Heb.  poetry. 
 Comp.  xxii.  26. 
 
 Fat  OF  WHEAT,  ascxlvii,  14,  Deut. 
 xxxii.  14  ;  comp.  Gen.  xlix.  20.  So 
 **fat  of  the  land,"  Gen.  xlv.  18  ;  of 
 
 fruits.  Numb,  xviii.  12,  29,  as  denoting 
 the  best  of  the  kind. 
 
 Honey  out  of  the  rock  :  another 
 image  of  the  abundance  and  fertility 
 which  would  have  been  the  reward  of 
 obedience. 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIL 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  solemn  rebuke,  addressed  in  prophetic  strain,  to 
 those  who,  pledged  by  their  office  to  uphold  the  Law,  had  trampled 
 upon  it  for  their  own  selfish  ends.  It  is  a  "Vision  of  Judgement,"  in 
 which  no  common  offenders  are  arraigned,  as  it  is  no  earthly  tribunal 
 before  which  they  are  summoned. 
 
 God  Himself  appears,  so  it  seems  to  the  prophet,  taking  His  stand 
 in  the  midst  of  that  nation  whoin  He  had  ordained  to  be  the  wit- 
 nesses of  His  righteousness,  amongst  the  rulers  and  judges  of  the 
 nation  who  were  destined  to  reflect,  and  as  it  were  to  embody  in  visible 
 form,  the  majesty  of  that  righteousness.  He  appears  now  not,  as  in 
 the  50th  Psalm,  to  judge  His  people,  but  to  judge  the  judges  of  that 
 people  ;  not  to  reprove  the  congregation  at  large  for  their  formality 
 and  hypocrisy,  but  to  reprove  the  rulers  and  magistrates  for  their  open 
 and  shameful  perversion  of  justice. 
 
 As  in  the  presence  of  God,  the  Psalmist  takes  up  his  parable  against 
 these  unjust  judges  :  "  How  long  will  ye  judge  a  judgement  which  is 
 iniquity"  (such  is  the  exact  force  of  the  original),  "and  accept  the 
 persons  of  the  ungodly  ? "  These  men  had  scandalously  desecrated 
 their  office.  They  had  been  placed  in  the  loftiest  position  to  which 
 any  man  could  aspire.  They  were  sons  of  the  Highest,  called  by  His 
 name,  bearing  His  image,  exercising  His  authority,  charged  to  execute 
 His  will,  and  they  ought  to  have  been  in  their  measure  His  living 
 
PSALM  LXXXII.  399 
 
 representatives;  the  very  pattern  and  likeness  of  His  righteousness  and 
 wisdom.  But  instead  of  righteousness  they  had  loved  unrighteousness. 
 They  had  shown  favour  to  the  wicked  who  were  powerful  and  Aveakhy. 
 They  had  crushed  the  poor,  the  defenceless,  the  fatherless,  whose  only 
 protection  lay  in  the  unsulHed  uprightness  and  incorruptibility  of  the 
 judge,  and  whom  God  Himself  had  made  their  charge. 
 
 A  witness  of  these  wrongs,  the  Psalmist  appeals  to  them  to  dis- 
 charge their  duty  faithfully  and  uprightly  :  "Judge  the  miserable  and 
 fatherless,"  &:c.  (ver.  3,  4).  But  the  appeal  is  in  vain.  They  have 
 neither  feeling  nor  conscience.  Morally  and  intellectually,  intellec- 
 tually because  morally,  they  are  corrupt.  The  light  that  is  in  them 
 is  darkness.  And  thus,  venal,  unscrupulous,  base,  hard-hearted,  the 
 judges  and  magistrates  have  loosened  the  bonds  of  law,  and  the  con- 
 sequence is  that  the  foundations  of  social  order  are  shaken,  and  the 
 whole  fabric  threatened  with  dissolution.  Such  is  the  terrible  picture 
 of  a  disorganized  society,  the  very  fountains  of  justice  defiled  and 
 poisoned,  suggested  to  us  by  the  words  in  which  the  Psalmist  here 
 addresses  the  judges  of  Israel.  He  himself  had  thought,  he  tells  us, 
 that  their  high  dignity,  and  the  representative  character  of  their 
 office,  placed  them  so  far  above  other  men  that  they  were  like  beings 
 of  a  different  race ;  but  he  warns  them  that  the  tyrannous  exercise  of 
 their  power  will  not  last  for  ever,  that,  as  in  the  case  of  other  rulers  of 
 the  world,  it  may  only  accelerate  their  fall.  And  then,  finally,  he 
 turns  to  God,  and  appeals  to  Him  who  is  the  Judge,  not  of  Israel 
 only,  but  of  the  world,  to  arise  and  execute  judgement  in  the  earth, 
 which  they  who  bore  His  name  had  perverted. 
 
 The  passages  which  approach  most  nearly  to  the  Psalm  in  their 
 general  character  are  (i)  the  following  verses  from  Isaiah  (iii. 
 13—15):  "Jehovah  standeth  up  to  plead,  and  standeth  to  judge 
 the  people.  Jehovah  will  enter  into  judgement  with  the  ancients 
 of  His  people  and  the  provinces  thereof:  for  ye  have  eaten  up  the 
 vineyard,  the  spoil  of  the  poor  is  in  your  houses.  '  What  mean  ye 
 that  ye  beat  My  people  to  pieces,  and  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor  .? ' 
 saith  the  Lord,  Jehovah  of  hosts  :  "—and  (2)  Jehoshaphat's  charge 
 to  his  judges,  which  "  he  set  in  the  land,  throughout  all  the  fenced 
 cities  of  Judah,  city  by  city"  (2  Chron.  xix.  5—7):  "Take  heed 
 what  ye  do  ;  for  ye  judge  not  for  man  but  for  Jehovah,  ivho  is  with 
 you  in  the  judgeme?it.  Wherefore  now  let  the  fear  of  Jehovah  be 
 upon  you ;  take  heed  and  do  it :  for  there  is  no  iniquity  with 
 Jehovah  our  God,  nor  respect  of  persons,  nor  taking  of  gifts." 
 
400 
 
 PSALM  LXXXn, 
 
 It  IS  a  peculiarity  of  the  Psalms  of  Asaph  that  God  is  for  the  most 
 part  spoken  of  as  Judge  ;  as  exercising  that  judgement  for  His  own 
 glor>',  both  in  Israel  and  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  See  Psalms 
 1.,  Ixxv.,  Ixxvi. 
 
 [a   psalm   of  ASAPH.] 
 
 I   God  standeth  in  the  congregation  of  God  : 
 In  the  midst  of  (the)  gods  doth  He  judge. 
 
 I.  Earthly  rulers  and  judges  are 
 not,  as  they  are  too  ready  to  think, 
 supreme,  independent,  irresponsible. 
 There  is  One  higher  than  the  highest. 
 As  Jehoshaphat  reminds  the  judges  of 
 Israel,  God  is  with  them  in  the  judge- 
 ment. Calvin  quotes,  to  the  like 
 effect,  the  words  of  Horace  : 
 
 "  Regum    timendorum    in    proprios 
 
 greges, 
 Reges  in  ipsos  imperium  est  Jovis,' 
 
 &c. 
 
 Men  cannot  see  God  Math  their  bodily 
 eyes,  but  He  is  present  with  the  king 
 on  his  throne  (hence  Solomon's 
 throne  is  called  the  throne  of  Jeho- 
 vah, I  Chron.  xxix.  23),  with  the 
 judge  on  the  judgement-seat,  with  all 
 who  hold  an  authority  delegated  to 
 them  by  Him. 
 
 Standeth  ;  more  literally,  "  taketh 
 His  stand." 
 
 In   the  CaNGRKGATION    OF   GOD, 
 
 i.e.  in  the  midst  of  Israel  itself  (called 
 in  Numb,  xxvii.  17,  xxxi.  16,  Josh. 
 xxii.  16,  17,  "the  congregation  of 
 Jehovah"),  and  not  only  in  the  midst 
 of  the  people  who  are  the  witnesses 
 of  His  righteousness,  but  amidst  the 
 judges  of  the  people  who  are  the  re- 
 presentatives of  His  righteousness. 
 They  are  called 
 
 Gods,  not  merely  as  having  their 
 authority  from  God,  but  as  His  vice- 
 geren's,  as  embodying  in  themselves 
 the  Majesty  of  Law,  as  those  in  whom 
 
 men  look  to  find  the  most  perfect 
 earthly  pattern  of  Di-vine  attributes, 
 of  truth  and  justice,  and  mercy  and 
 impartiality.  This  name  "gods"  is 
 applied  to  the  judges  of  Israel  in  the 
 Pentateuch.  (See  Exod.  xxi.  6,  xxii. 
 8,  28.)  There,  I  think,  Elohim  does 
 not  mean  God,  in  whose  name  jitdge- 
 ment  is  pronounced,  but  the  judges 
 themselves  acting  in  His  name  and 
 by  His  authority.  If  in  Exod.  xxii.  28, 
 we  must  render,  "thou  shalt  not 
 revile  God,  nor  curse  the  ruler  of  thy 
 people,"  rather  than  "thou  shalt  not 
 revile  the  judges,^''  &c.,  still  it  is  im- 
 plied that  the  ruler  bears  the  image  of 
 God,  and  that  every  insult  offered  to 
 such  a  representative  of  God  in  His 
 kingdom  is  an  insult  against  God. 
 The  use  of  the  name  "gods"  may 
 have  been  intended  to  remind  the 
 M'orld  how  near  man,  created  in  God's 
 image,  is  to  God  Himself.  So  in  the 
 8ih  Psalm  it  is  said,  "  Thou  hast  made 
 him  a  little  lower  than  God."  (See 
 nute  there  on  ver.  5. )  This  would  hold 
 especially  of  those  high  in  office. 
 Thus  God  says  to  Moses  in  reference 
 to  Aaron,  "Thou  shalt  be  to  him  in- 
 stead of  God  "  (Exod.  iv.  16).  And 
 again  :  "  See  I  have  made  thee  a  god 
 to  Pharaoh"  (vii.  i).  In  i  Sam. 
 xxviii.  13,  the  witch  of  Endor  says  of 
 Samuel,  "  I  saw  a  god  ascending  out 
 of  the  earth "  (in  allusion  either  to 
 his  majestic  appearance  or  possibly  to 
 his  office  as  judge).     In  Ps.  xlv.  6,  the 
 
PSALM  LXXXIT. 
 
 401 
 
 2  How  long  will  ye  give  wrong  judgement, 
 
 And  accept  the  persons  of  the  wicked  ?     [Selah.] 
 
 3  Judge  the  miserable  and  fatherless, 
 
 Do  justice  to  the  afflicted  and  needy. 
 
 4  Rescue  the  miserable  and  poor, 
 
 Deliver  them  from  the  hand  of  the  wicked. 
 
 5  They  know  not,  and  they  understand  not. 
 
 king  is  called  God  (see  note  there). 
 But  it  was  in  connection  with  the 
 office  of  judge  that  the  stamp  of  divi- 
 nity was  most  conspicuous.  "The 
 judgement  is  God's,"  Deut.  i.  17  ; 
 whoever  comes  before  it  comes  before 
 God.  So,  again,  Moses  uses  the 
 phrase,  "When  ye  come  to  me,  to 
 inquire  of  God,''''  Exod,  xviii.  15. 
 The  same  idea  is  found  in  heathen 
 writers.  Seneca  {de  dementia,  i.  i) 
 makes  Nero  say  :  *'  Electus  sum  qui 
 in  terris  Deorum  vice  fungerer  :  ego 
 vitje  necisque  gentibus  arbiter,  qualem 
 quisque  sortem  statumque  habeat  in 
 manu  mea  positum  est." 
 
 2.  It  is  usual  to  consider  what  fol- 
 lows, to  the  end  of  ver,  6,  as  the  words 
 of  God,  as  He  appears,  in  vision, 
 pleading  with  the  judges  of  His 
 people.  To  me  it  seems  preferable  to 
 regard  the  passage  as  a  rebuke  ad- 
 dressed, in  the  true  prophetic  strain, 
 by  the  Poet  himself,  to  those  whose 
 iniquity  called  for  the  protest  (some- 
 what in  the  same  strain  as  in  Iviii.  i, 
 2)  ;  ver.  6,  in  particular,  is  thus  more 
 forcible,  and  the  address  to  God,  in 
 ver.  7,  less  abrupt. 
 
 How  LONG,  like  Cicero's  "  Quous- 
 que  tandem  ;  "  the  abuse  having  be- 
 come intolerable,  because  of  its  long 
 standing. 
 
 Glv^E     WRONG     JUDGEMENT,       lit. 
 
 "judge  iniquity;"  "give  a  judge- 
 ment which  is  iniquity  itself  :  "  (the 
 opposite  being  "judging  upright- 
 ness," Iviii.  I),     Comp.  Lev.  xix.  15. 
 
 Accept  the  persons.  Such, 
 there  can  be  no  doubt,  is  the  meaning 
 of  the  phrase  here,  and  so  it  is  under- 
 stood by  the  LXX.  Comp.  Prov. 
 xviii.  5  ;  Lev.  xix.  15.  Jehoshaphat 
 in  his  address  to  the  judges  (2  Chron. 
 xix.  7)  reminds  them  that  "with  the 
 Lord  our  God  is  no  respect  of  persons, 
 nor  taking  of  gifts." 
 
 3.  Miserable.  See  note  on  xli.  i. 
 Needy  :  it  is  persons  such  as  these 
 who  most  of  all  need  the  protection 
 of  the  judge.  Their  very  existence 
 depends  an  his  integrity.  The  orphan 
 who  has  lost  his  natural  protectors, 
 the  humble  who  have  no  powerful 
 friends,  the  poor  who  can  purchase  no 
 countenance,  to  whom  shall  they  look 
 but  to  God's  vicegerent?  And  if  he 
 violates  his  trust,  God  who  is  the 
 "  God  of  the  widow  and  the  father- 
 less "  (Ixviii.  5),  and  who  in  the  Law 
 declares,  "Cursed  be  he  who  per- 
 vert eth  the  cause  of  the  stranger,  the 
 fatherless,  and  the  widow "  (Dent. 
 xxvii.  19),  will  not  leave  him  un- 
 punished. 
 
 Do  justice  to,  lit.  "justify,"  i.e. 
 give  them  their  due. 
 
 5.  Those  expositors  who  consider 
 verses  2 — 6  to  contain  the  words  of 
 God,  suppose  that  here,  either  the 
 Psalmist  introduces  his  own  reflec- 
 tions, or  that  a  pause  takes  place  after 
 ver.  4,  during  which  God  waits  to  see 
 whether  those  whom  He  rebukes  wdl 
 listen  to  His  rebuke.  But  the  transi- 
 tion from  the  2nd  person  to  the  3rd  is 
 D  D 
 
4p2 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIL 
 
 In  darkness  they  walk  to  and  fro  : 
 All  the  foundations  of  the  earth  are  out  of  course. 
 
 6  I  myself  have  said,  Ye  are  gods, 
 
 And  ye  are  all  sons  of  the  Most  High. 
 Yet  surely  like  (other)  men  shall  ye  die, 
 And  fall  like  one  of  the  princes. 
 
 so  common  as  to  render  either  expo- 
 sition minecessary.  It  is  one  strain 
 continued,  only  that  now  the  infatua- 
 tion, as  before  the  moral  perversion,  of 
 the  judges  is  described. 
 
 The  expostulation  falls  dead  without 
 an  echo.  Ttie  men  are  infatuated  by 
 their  position,  and  blinded  by  theu- 
 own  pride. 
 
 They  know  not,  absolutely,  as 
 in  liii.  4  ;  Ixxiii.  22.  Comp.  Is  i.  3. 
 Moral  blindness  is  the  cause  of  all 
 sin. 
 
 In  DARKNESS:  Prov,  ii.  13. 
 
 They  walk  to  and  fro  :  denot- 
 ing generally  the  conversation,  manner 
 of  life,  &c. 
 
 All  the  foundations,  &c. 
 Comp.  Ixxv.  3.  The  dissolution  of 
 society  is  the  inevitable  result  of  cor- 
 ruption in  high  places. 
 
 6.  I  HAVE  SAID.  The  pronoun  is 
 emphatic.  If  these  are  the  words  of 
 (}od,  as  most  interpreters  suppose, 
 then  in  pronouncing  judgement  upon 
 the  judges,  He  declares  that  it  was 
 He  Himself  who  called  them  to  their 
 office,  and  gave  them  the  name,  to- 
 gether with  the  dignity  which  they 
 enjoy.  (This  interpretation  falls  in 
 readily  with  our  Lord's  words  in  John 
 X.  34.)  If,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
 Psalmist  speaks,  he  expresses  his  own 
 feelings  and  convictions.  "There 
 was  a  time  when  I  myself  thought 
 that  your  office  and  dignity  clothed 
 you  with  something  of  a  superhuman 
 character,  but  you  have  degraded  it, 
 nnd  degraded  yourselves  :  you  are  but 
 laorl.U   men.  your  tenure  of  ulfice   is 
 
 but  for  a  little  Mobile."  He  does  not 
 add,  what  naturallysuggests  itself  to  us, 
 and  what  Calvin  inserts  here,  that  they 
 must  shortly  give  an  account  before 
 the  bar  of  God.  If  this  is  implied  in 
 ver.  7,  it  is  not  after  death. 
 
 Our  Lord  appeals  to  this  verse  in 
 His  argument  with  the  Jews  when 
 they  charged  Him  with  blasphemy, 
 "because  He,  being  a  man,  made 
 Himself  God."  (John  x.  34—38.) 
 His  words  are  :  "  Is  it  not  written  in 
 your  Law,  I  said  ye  are  gods  ?  If 
 it  called  them  gods  to  whom  the  word 
 of  God  came — and  the  Scripture  can- 
 not be  broken — say  ye  of  Him  whom 
 the  Father  sanctified,  and  sent  into  the 
 world,  Thou  blasphfmest,  because  I 
 said  I  am  the  Son  of  God?"  The 
 argimient  is  one  a  ininori  ad  inajiis. 
 How  could  they  charge  Him  with 
 blasphemy  in  claiming  to  be  tJie  Son 
 0/ God  when  their  own  judges  had  in 
 their  own  scriptures  been  styled  gods  ? 
 They  moreover  were  imrlghteous 
 judges  (the  worthy  ancestors,  it  is 
 implied,  of  the  unrighteous  Pharisees 
 and  members  of  the  Sanhedrim,  who 
 were  our  Lord's  bitterest  opponents), 
 whereas  He  was  One  whom  the 
 Father  had  sanrtifit'd,  and  sent  into  the 
 woild,  and  whose  life  and  works  were 
 a  witness  to  His  righteousness.  By 
 nature,  and  irrespective  of  their  office, 
 they  had  no  right  to  the  name  of 
 Elohim,  "gods,"  nor  had  they  proved 
 themselves  worthy  of  it  by  their  cha- 
 racter. He  was  in  character  as  in 
 nature  Divine.  To  xhtvix.the  word  of 
 God  had  cjiiic.   whellier  the  word  of 
 
FSALM  LXXXIIL 
 
 4-^3 
 
 7  Arise,  O  God,  judge  Thou  the  earth, 
 
 For  Thou  hast  all  the  nations  for  Thine  inheritance. 
 
 God's  revelation,  or  the  woi-d  by 
 which  they  had  been  appointed  to 
 their  office.  He  was  Himself  the  Word 
 of  the  Father.  Their  office  was  but 
 for  a  time  ;  they  were  mortal  men, 
 yet  wearing,  by  Divine  permission,  a 
 Divine  name.  He  had  been  with  the 
 Father  before  He  came  into  the  world, 
 was  by  Him  sealed  and  set  apart,  and 
 sent  to  be  not  a  judge  but  the  Christ, 
 not  one  of  many  sons,  but  emphati- 
 cally the  Son  of  God,  the  King  of  an 
 everlasting   Idngdom.     Both   in    His 
 
 ofQce  and  in  His  person  He  has  far 
 more  right  to  the  title  *'  Son  of  G(jd  '' 
 than  they  have  to  that  of  "gods." 
 There  is  moreover  further  implied  in 
 this  argument  that  the  Old  Testament 
 does  contain  hints,  more  or  less  ob- 
 scure, preludes  and  foreshadowing:;, 
 which  might  have  arrested  the 
 thoughtful  reader,  as  mysteriously 
 prefiguring  that  close  and  real  union 
 between  God  and  man  which  was 
 afterwards  fully  exhibited  in  the  In- 
 carnation. 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIIL 
 
 We  know  of  no  period  in  the  history  of  Israel  when  all  the  various 
 tribes  here  enumerated  were  united  together  for  the  extermination  of 
 their  enemy.  The  annals  have  preserved  no  record  of  a  confederacy 
 so  extensive.  Hence  it  has  been  assumed  that  the  enumeration  in 
 the  Psalm  is  merely  designed  to  subserve  the  purposes  of  poetry,  to 
 heighten  the  colouring,  to  represent  the  danger  as  even  greater  and 
 more  formidable  than'  it  really  vv^as.  It  may  have  been  so.  Divine 
 inspiration  does  not  change  the  laws  of  the  imagination,  though  it 
 may  control  them  for  certain  ends.  Or  it  may  have  been  that  the 
 confederacy  as  originally  formed,  and  as  threatening  Israel,  was 
 larger  than  that  which  actually  ad\^anced  to  the  struggle.  The  wider 
 the  alliance,  and  the  more  heterogeneous  its  elements,  the  more  pro- 
 bable it  is  that  some  would  drop  off,  through  dissensions,  or  jealousies, 
 or  the  working  of  timid  counsels.  But  as  this  Psalm  helps  us  to  com- 
 plete the  narrative  in  Judges  of  the  defeat  of  the  Midianites  (see  note 
 
 D   D    2 
 
404  PSALM  LXXXITL 
 
 on  ver.  1 1),  so  it  may  itself  supplement  the  narrative  of  the  particular 
 event  which  called  it  forth.  It  may  describe  some  event  which  we 
 read  in  the  history,  but  which  there  assumes  less  formidable  propor- 
 tions, and  in  so  doing  it  may  help  us  to  complete  the  picture.  If  so, 
 there  can  be  very  little  doubt  with  what  portion  of  the  history  it  best 
 synchronizes.  The  confederacy  must  be  that  ,which  threatened  Judah 
 in  the  reign  of  Jehoshaphat,  the  account  of  which  is  given  in  2  Chron. 
 XX.  There,  as  in  the  Psalm,  Moab  and  Ammon,  "the  children  of 
 Lot,"  are  the  leading  powers  ;  and  though  there  is  some  doubt  about 
 the  reading  "other  beside  the  Ammonites,"  in  ver.  i,  the  Edomites 
 are  mentioned  as  forming  a  part  of  the  invading  army.  These  might 
 naturally  include  bordering  Arabian  tribes,  mentioned  more  in  detail 
 in  the  Psalm. 
 
 One  expression  in  Jehoshaphat's  prayer  bears  a  close  resemblance 
 to  the  language  of  the  Psalm  in  ver.  12,  when  he  prays,  "Behold, 
 I  say,  how  they  reward  us  to  come  to  cast  us  out  of  Thy  possession 
 which  Thou  hast  given  us  to  inherit."  (2  Chron.  xx.  11.)  The 
 remark  with  which  the  narrative  ends  :  "  And  the  fear  of  God  was 
 on  all  the  kingdoms  of  those  countries  when  they  had  heard  tnat  the 
 Lord  fought  against  the  enemies  of  Israel,"  is  almost  like  a  recorded 
 answer  to  the  prayer  with  which  the  Psalm  closes. 
 
 It  has  been  conjectured,  as  the  Psalm  is  said  to  be  "a  Psalm  of  Asaph," 
 that  it  may  have  been  composed  by  Jahaziel,  the  "  Levite  of  the  sons 
 of  Asaph,"  who  encouraged  Jehoshaphat's  army  before  it  went  out 
 to  battle  ;  and  that  the  Psalm  itself  may  have  been  chanted  by  the 
 band  of  singers  whom  the  king  appointed  to  precede  the  army  on 
 its  march  (Ibid,  ver.  21.)  But  no  argument  can  be  built  upon  the 
 title.  One  thing,  however,  is  clear,  the  confederacy  of  which  the  Psalm 
 speaks  was  formed  before  Assyria  became  a  leading  power.  Moab 
 and  Ammon  hold  the  foremost  place,  while  Asshur  joins  them  only 
 as  an  ally  :  "  they  are  an  arm  to  the  children  of  Lot."  The  Poet  is  fully 
 alive  to  the  danger  which  threatens  his  nation.  Look  where  he  may, 
 the  horizon  is  black  with  gathering  clouds.  Judah  is  alone,  and  his 
 enemies  are  compassing  him  about.  The  hosts  of  invaders  are  setthng 
 like  swarms  of  locusts  on  the  skirts  of  the  land.  East,  south,  and 
 west,  they  are  mustering  to  the  battle.  The  kindred  but  ever  hostile 
 tribe  of  Edom  on  the  border,  issuing  from  their  mountain  fastnesses  ; 
 the  Arab  tribes  of  the  desert  ;  the  old  hereditary  foes  of  Israel, 
 iVIoab  and  Ammon  ;  the  Philistines,  long  smce  humbled  and  driven 
 back  to  their  narrow  strip  of  territory  by  the  sea,  yet  still  apparently 
 
PSALM  LXXXIIL  405 
 
 formidable,— all  are  on  the  march  ;  all,  like  hunters,  are  hemming  in 
 the  lion  who  holds  them  at  bay. 
 
 It  is  against  this  formidable  confederacy  that  the -Psalmist  prays. 
 He  prays  that  it  may  be  with  them  as  with  the  other  enemies  of  Israel, 
 with  Jabin  and  Sisera,  in  days  of  old.  But  he  prays  for  more  than 
 deliverance  or  victory.  •  He  prays  that  the  Name  of  Jehovah  may  be 
 magnified,  and  that  all  may  seek  that  Name.  Two  expressions,  in 
 fact,  give  the  key  to  the  Psalm — show  us  the  attitude  of  the  Poet 
 in  presence  of  the  danger  :  ver.  5,  "  They  are  confederate  against 
 TJiee  '/'  ver.  18,  "Let  them  know  that  Thou  art  most  high  over  all 
 the  earth." 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  : — 
 
 L  The  first  describes  the  magnitude  of  the  danger,  and  enumerates 
 the  foes  who  are  gathering  on  all  sides,  hemming  in  Judah,  and 
 intending  by  mere  force  of  numbers  utterly  to  crush  and  destroy  it. 
 Ver.  1-8. 
 
 II.  The  next  contains  the  prayer  for  their  complete  overthrow,  with 
 an  appeal  to  God's  former  mighty  acts  on  behalf  of  His  people  when 
 threatened  by  their  enemies.     Ver.  9 — 18. 
 
 [a   song,      a   psalm   of  ASAPH.*] 
 
 1  O  God,  keep  Thou  not  silence, 
 
 Hold  not  Thy  peace,  and  be  not  still,  O  God. 
 
 2  For  lo.  Thine  enemies  make  a  tumult. 
 
 And  they  that  hate  Thee  have  lifted  up  (their)  head. 
 
 3  Against  Thy  people  they  plot  craftily. 
 
 And  take  counsel  together  against  Thy  hidden  ones. 
 
 1.  Keep  not  silence,  lit.  "Let  Have  lifted  up  (their)  head. 
 (there)  not  (be)  silence  to  Thee,"  as  Comp.  iii.  3  ;  xxvii.  6 ;  and  Judg. 
 in  Is.  Ixii.   7,     On  the  general  sense       viii.  28. 
 
 of  this  verse  see  note  on  xxviii.  I.  3.  Plot    craftily,    li^.     "make 
 
 2.  Thine  enemies,  in  itself  a  crafty  (their)  plot,  or  secret  consul- 
 ground  of  appeal  and  of  consolation.  tation." 
 
 Make  a  tumult,  lit.  "roar  Hke  Thy  hidden  ones:  those  whom 
 
 the  waves  of  the  sea."  God    holds    hi    the    hollow    of    His 
 
 Se    Note  on  Ps.  1.  p.  202. 
 
o6 
 
 FSALM  LXXXIiL 
 
 4  They  say,  "  Come,  let  us  cut  them  off  that  they  be  no 
 
 more  a  nation, 
 And  that  the  name  of  Israel  be  no  more  in  remem- 
 brance." 
 
 5  For  they  have  taken  counsel  with  (one)  heart  together, 
 
 Against  Thee  they  are  confederate  : — 
 
 6  The  tents  of  Edom  and  the  Ishmaeiites, 
 
 Moab  and  the  Hagarenes  ; 
 
 7  Gebal  and  Amnion,  and  Amalek, 
 
 Philistia,  with  them  that  dwell  at  Tyre. 
 
 8  Asshur  also  is  joined  with  them, 
 
 Hi-nd  ;  those  to  whom  He  is  a  wall 
 of  fire  round  about  them,  that  none 
 may  do  them  hurt ;  those  of  whom 
 He  says,  he  that  toucheth  you 
 toucheth  the  apple  of  Mine  eye. 
 Comp.  xvii.  8  ;  xxvii.  5  ;  xxxi.  20. 
 
 4,  That  they  be  no  more  a 
 NATION.  Comp.  Jer.  xlviii.  2 ;  Is. 
 vii.  8  ;  and  similar  phrases  in  xvii. 
 I.  XXV  2.  They  would  in  their  fury 
 blot  out  Israel  from  the  map  of  the 
 world,  or,  as  Calvin  says,  "it  is 
 as  if  they  had  formed  the  design  of 
 subverting  the  counsel  of  God  on 
 which  the  continued  existence  of  the 
 Church  hath  been  founded." 
 
 5.  With  (one)  HEART  together. 
 perhaps  it  would  be  simpler  and  more 
 certain  to  render  :  "They  have  taken 
 counsel  in  their  heart  together" 
 (Jerome,  corde  pariter),  the  heart 
 being  the  source  of  their  machina- 
 tions. Comp.  v.  9  ;  Ixiv.  6  :  I  Chron. 
 xii.  58. 
 
 Against  Thee,  as  in  ver.  3, 
 "  against  Thy  people."  God  and 
 His  people  are  one.  So  our  Lord 
 yavs  to  Saul,  "  \Vliy  persecutest 
 thou  Me  ?  " 
 
 6—8.  The  enumeration  of  the  con- 
 federate tribes.  First,  those  on  the 
 S'^uth  and  east.  Then,  those  on  the 
 west,  Philistia  and  Tyre.  Lastly,  the 
 Assyrians  in  the  north,   not  yet  re- 
 
 garded as  a  formidable  poAver,  but 
 merely  as  allies  of  Moab  and  Am- 
 mon. 
 
 6.  The  tents,  as  properly  descrip- 
 tive of  the  nomad  Arabian  tribes. 
 
 The  Ishmaelites,  according  to 
 Gen.  XXV.  18,  were  spread  over  the 
 whole  tract  of  country  south  of  Pales- 
 tine, lying  between  Egypt  and  the 
 Persian  Gulf.  Part  of  this  territory 
 is  occupied  by  Amalekites  in  i  Sam. 
 XV.  7. 
 
 The  Hagarenes  dwelt  to  the 
 east  of  Palestine,  in  the  land  of 
 Gilead.  They  were  driven  out  by 
 the  tribe  of  Reuben  in  the  time  of 
 Saul  (i  Chron.  v.  10,  18 — 20). 
 
 7.  Gebal,  usually  supposed  to  de- 
 note the  mountainous  country  south 
 of  the  Dead  Sea,  in  the  neighbour- 
 hood of  Peti-a  (Arab.   Dgcbel). 
 
 8.  Asshur.  If  the  Psalm  was 
 written  in  Jehoshaphat's  reign,  this 
 is  the  first  mention  of  the  Assyrians 
 since  the  days  of  Nimrod,  and  here 
 evidently  they  hold  a  subordinate 
 place.  We  do  not  hear  of  the  Assy- 
 rian kingdom  as  a  great  power  for- 
 midable to  Israel  till  the  time  of 
 Menahem,  who  "  was  reduced  to  the 
 necessity  of  buying  off  an  invasion  of 
 the  Assyrians  (the  first  incursion  ot 
 that  people)  under  Pul,"  (2  Kings 
 XV.  19.) 
 
PSALM  LXXXIIL  407 
 
 They  have  been  an  arm  to  the  children  of  Lot. 
 
 9  Do  Thou  to  them  as  unto  Midian, 
 
 As   unto   Sisera,    as    unto    Jabin    at    the    torrent    of 
 Kishon, 
 
 10  Who  were  destroyed  at  En-dor, 
 
 Who  became  dung  for  the  land. 
 
 11  Make  them,   (make)   their  nobles,  like  'Oreb  and  like 
 
 Zeeb  ; 
 Yea,  all  their  princes,  like  Zebah  and  like  Zalmunna, 
 
 They  have  been  an  arm. 
 Comp.  xliv.  3,  Ixxi.  i8  ;  Is.  xxxiii,  2. 
 This  agrees  with  the  statement  in 
 Chronicles  that  Moab  and  Amnion 
 were  the  leaders  of  the  confederacy. 
 
 9.  Midian,  mentioned  by  antici- 
 pation with  reference,  not  to  the 
 example  which  immediately  follows, 
 but  to  that  in  ver.  1 1.  The  victory 
 of  Gideon  over  the  Midianites  was 
 one  of  the  most  glorious  in  the 
 rational  history,  one  the  memory  of 
 M'hich  was  fondly  cherished.  When 
 Isaiah  would  describe  the  victories 
 which  are  to  precede  the  peaceful 
 reign  of  the  Messiah,  he  can  compare 
 the  overthrow  of  the  enemy  to  no- 
 thing so  well  as  to  that  on  "the  day 
 "of  Midian."  The  allusion  to  it  here 
 may  also  have  been  suggested  by 
 the  fact,  that  many  of  the  enemies 
 now  arrayed  against  Isi-ael  were  the 
 same  as  on  that  occasion;  for  with 
 the  Midianites  were  the  "  Amalekites 
 and  all  the  children  of  the  East." 
 (Judg.  vi.  33.  See  Is.  ix.  4,  x.  26  ; 
 Hab.  iii.  7.) 
 
 Sisera  .  .  .  Jabin.  See  the 
 history  in  Judg.  iv.  v. 
 
 The  torrent  of  Kishon,  which 
 swept  away  the  corpses  of  the  enemy, 
 Judg.  V.  21.  Others,  "the  valley 
 or  Wadi  of  Kishon  : " — the  Hebrew 
 word  means  both. 
 
 ID.  En-dor  is  not  mentioned  in 
 Judges,  but  the  Psalm  shows  us  that 
 
 tradition  associated  with  that  spot 
 the  death  of  the  two  chiefs.  It  is  a 
 considerable  but  now  deserted  vil- 
 lage, four  miles  south  of  Tabor.  The 
 name  occurs  besides,  Josh.  xvii.  11  ; 
 I  Sam.  xxviii.  7. 
 
 II.  'Oreb  and  Zeeb,  the  two 
 "princes,"  or  probably  "generals  of 
 the  army,"  whilst  Zebah  and  Zal- 
 munna have  the  title  of  "kings." 
 (Judg,  vii.  25  ;  viii.  5).  The  allusions 
 here  and  in  Is.  x.  26,  help  us  to 
 complete  the  narrative  in  Judges. 
 Isaiah  implies  that  the  slaughter  must 
 have  been  awful  beyond  anything 
 that  the  history  records,  for  "  he 
 places  it  in  the  same  rank  with  the 
 two  most  tremendous  disasters  re- 
 corded in  the  whole  of  the  history 
 of  Israel — the  destruction  of  the 
 Egyptians  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  of 
 the  army  of  Sennacherib."  Here 
 the  discomfiture  and  flight  of  the 
 Midianites  is  prominent.  "  In  ima- 
 gery both  obvious  and  vivid  to  every 
 native  of  the  gusty  hills  and  plains 
 of  Palestine,  though  to  us  conii^ara- 
 tively  unintelligible,  the  Psalmist 
 describes  them  as  driven  over  the 
 uplands  of  Gilead  like  the  clouds  of 
 chaff  blown  from  the  threshinglloors  ; 
 chased  away  like  the  spherical  masses 
 of  dry  weeds  which  cour.-e  over  the 
 plains  of  Esdraelon  and  Philistia — 
 ilying  with  the  dreadful  hurry  and 
 confusion  of  <iie  flames,  that  rush  and 
 
4o8 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIII. 
 
 12  Who  said  :  "  Let  us  take  to  ourselves 
 
 The  pastures  of  God  in  possession.'* 
 
 13  O  my  God,  make  them  as  the  whirhng  dust, 
 
 As  stubble  before  the  wind. 
 
 14  As  a  fire  that  burneth  a  forest, 
 
 And  as  a  flame  that  setteth  the  mountains  in  a  blaze, 
 
 15  So  pursue  them  with  Thy  tempest, 
 
 And  with  Thy  hurricane  make  them  afraid. 
 
 16  Fill  their  faces  with  confusion. 
 
 That  they  may  seek  Thy  Name,  O  Jehovah. 
 
 leap  from  tree  to  tree  and  liill  to  hill 
 when  the  wooded  mountains  of  a 
 tropical  country  are  by  chance  ig- 
 nited." See  the  article  Oreb,  in 
 Smith's  Did.  of  the  Bible. 
 
 12.  Pastures.  Others,  "  habita- 
 tions." But  there  is  no  reason  to 
 depart  from  the  usual  signification. 
 See  on  Ixxix.  7.  Comp,  xxiii.  2. 
 Israel  is  God's  flock  lying  down  in 
 Jlis  pastures.  The  figure  accords 
 with  the  usage  of  Psalms  ascribed  to 
 Asaph. 
 
 13.  As      THE      WHIRLING      DUST. 
 
 The  same  word  is  rendered  by  the 
 E.  V.  in  the  parallel  passage,  Is. 
 xvii,  13  :  a  rolling  thing. 
 
 "And  (they)  shall  be  chased  as  the 
 chaff  of  the  mountauis  befoie 
 the   wind, 
 
 And  like  a  rolling  thing  before  the 
 whirlwind." 
 
 Here  both  the  A.  V.  and  P.  B.  V. 
 have  "as  a  wheel,"  and  so  all  the 
 ancient  versions.  But  the  parallel 
 rather  suggests  "spherical  masses 
 of  weeds"  (as  Mr.  Grove  renders), 
 chaff,  dust,  anything  driven  in  rolling 
 masses  l)y  the  wind. 
 
 14.  The  image  in  this  verse  is  also 
 found  in  Isaiah.  See  chap.  ix.  18, 
 X.  17,  18;  and  comp.  Zech.  xii.  6. 
 
 Ilupfeld   connects    this    with    the 
 
 preceding  verse,  and  so  supposes  a 
 confusion  in  the  figure  (such  as  he 
 finds  also  in  xxi.  9),  the  sense  being, 
 "  O  my  God,  make  them  as  a  forest 
 which  is  burned  with  fire,"  But  it  is 
 far  better  to  take  ver.  14  and  ver.  15 
 as  the  two  members  of  the  com- 
 parison, and  then  there  is  no  need  to 
 resort  to  such  metonymy.  Both 
 images  are  as  consistent  as  they  are 
 grand.  In  both  there  is  the  same 
 thought  of  the  rushing  wind—  in  the 
 first  sweeping  all  before  it,  in  the 
 second  spreading  the  terrible  confla- 
 gration ;  in  the  two  combined,  the 
 swift  breathless  pursuit  and  the  un- 
 sparing slaughter. 
 
 15.  With  this  verse  and  what  fol- 
 lows comp.  XXXV.  4 — 6. 
 
 16.  The  object  with  which  the 
 Psalmist  prays  for  the  Divine  judge- 
 ment upon  the  foes  who  are  gather- 
 ing to  swallow  up  his  people  is  re- 
 markable. It  is  "  that  they  may  seek 
 the  Name  of  Jehovah,  that  they  may 
 know  (ver.  18)  that  He  is  most  high 
 over  all  the  earth."  This  is  the 
 nobler  aspiration  w-hich  mingles  with 
 the  prayer  for  vengeance.  The  man 
 in  danger,  feeling  his  own  and  his 
 country's  peril,  desires  to  see  his 
 enemies  destroyed  wdth  a  slaughter 
 as  terrible,  a  discomfiture  as  com- 
 plete, as  that  on  the  "  <lay  of  Midian," 
 The  man  who  loves  and  fears  Jehovah 
 
PSALM  LXXXIV. 
 
 409 
 
 17  Let  them  be  ashamed,  and  made  afraid  evermore, 
 
 Yea,  let  them  be  confounded  and  perish, 
 
 18  And  let   them   know   that   Thou,    (even)  •  Thy    Name 
 
 Jehovah  alone, 
 Art  most  high  over  all  the  earth. 
 
 desires  to  see  others,  even  his  ene- 
 mies, love  and  fear  Him  too.  A  pious 
 Englishman  in  Lucknow,  or  Delhi, 
 or  Cawnpore,  during  the  Indian  Mu- 
 tiny, might  have  understood  how 
 possible  it  was  to  reconcile  ihe  two 
 parts  of  ihe'  prayer. 
 
 The  prayer  in  ver.  18  might  indeed 
 only  mean  tliat  by  their  overthrow  they 
 sliould  be  forced  to  acknowledge  the 
 power  and  greatness  of  Jehovah,  an 
 external  subjection  as  in  xxxi.  17, 
 but  the  prayer  that  they  should  seek 
 JJis  Na7)ie  must  mean  more  than  this. 
 
 The  end  of  all  God's  judgements,  as 
 of  all  history,  is  the  same,  that  all 
 should  confess  that  Jehovah  is  One, 
 and  His  Name  One,  Zech.  xiv.  9. 
 
 18.  Thou,  Thy  Name,  i.e.  Thou 
 who  dost  reveal  Thyself  as  Jehovah. 
 Calvin  observes  that  the  pronoun  is 
 emphatic,  because  there  is  implied 
 a  comparison  between  the  true  God, 
 the  God  of  Israel,  and  all  false  gods, 
 "as  though  the  prophet  had  said. 
 Lord,  make  them  feel  that  their  idols 
 which  they  have  made  for  themselves 
 are  nothiu";. " 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIV. 
 
 In  its  general  character  this  Psalm  very  nearly  resembles  Psalm 
 xlii. — xliii.  Like  that,  it  is  the  ardent  outpouring  of  a  man  of  no 
 common  depth  and  tenderness  of  feeling,  the  expression  of  a  devoted 
 love  for  the  house  and  worship  of  Jehovah.  Like  that,  it  is  v^ritten 
 under  circumstances  of  suffering  and  depression,  at  a  time  when  the 
 Psalmist  was  in  exile,  or  at  a  distance  from  the  Sanctuary.  Like  that, 
 it  touches,  and  even  more  fully,  on  the  celebration  of  the  national 
 feast,  and  pictures  the  crowd  of  pilgrims  on  their  way  to  the  Holy 
 City.  In  both  Psalms  there  is  the  same  deep  pathos,  the  same  ''ex- 
 quisite delicacy  and  tenderness  of  thought,"  in  both  the  same  strain 
 of  remem-brance  and  of  anticipation,  half  sad,  half  joyful.  Certain 
 turns  of  expression  are  the  same  in  both.     Compare  ver.  2  here  with 
 
4 TO  PSALM  LXXXIV. 
 
 xlii.  I,  2  ;  ver.  4  here.  "  they  will  still  (or  yet)  praise  Thee,"  with 
 xlii.  5,  "  for  I  shall  yet  praise  Him;"  the  name  of  God  as  "the 
 living  God,"  ver.  2  here,  and  xlii.  2  (occurring  nowhere  else  in  the 
 Psalter)  ;  the  phrase,  "  appear  before  God,"  ver.  7  here,  and  xlii.  2  ; 
 "  Thy  dwellings  "  or  "  tabernacles,"  ver.  i  here,  and  xhii.  3.  But  with 
 all  these  resemblances,  there  is  this  difference,  that  here  nothing  is 
 said  to  define  exactly  the  locality  in  which  the  Psalm  was  written  ; 
 nor  is  there  any  allusion  to  the  taunts  of  enemies,  to  "  men  of  deceit 
 and  wrong,"  such  as  meet  us  in  xlii. — xliii. 
 
 From  the  general  likeness  in  structure,  and  sentiment,  and  colour- 
 ing of  language,  and  yet  perfect  distinctness  and  originality,  of  the 
 two  Poems,  Ewald  is  doubtless  right  in  concluding  that  both  are  by 
 the  same  author. 
 
 The  former  part  of  this  Psalm  may  also  be  compared  with  Psalm 
 Ixiii.,  and  there  are  expressions  which  connect  it  with  Psalms  xxvii. 
 and  Ixv. 
 
 Mr.  Plumptre,  who  gives  reasons  for  concluding  that  all  the  Korahite 
 Psalms  were  written  during  the  reign  of  Hezekiah,  by  members  of 
 that  Levitical  family,  considers  the  Psalm  to  have  been  written  on  the 
 same  occasion  as  Psalm  xlii.,  and  supposes  that  "  a  devout  Levite  or 
 company  of  Levites  was  hindered  by  the  presence  of  Sennacherib's 
 army  from  going  up  at  the  appointed  seasons  to  take  their  turn  in  the 
 niinistratioiis  of  the  Temple."  He  draws  attention  to  "  the  touch  which 
 indicates  the  closest  possible  familiarity  with  the  Temple  precincts. 
 The  Levite  minstrel  remembers  'the  sparrow  and  the  swallow'  that 
 fluttered  about  the  courts  of  the  Sanctuary  there,  and  built  their 
 nests  upon  its  eaves,  as  they  now  love  to  haunt  the  enclosures  of  the 
 Mosque  of  Omar."  He  observes  what  new  force  the  Psalmist's 
 words  acquire,  "  I  had  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my 
 God,"  &c.,  if  we  regard  them  not  as  the  vague  indeterminate  wish  of 
 any  devout  worshiper,  but  remember  that  they  fell  from  the  lips  of 
 one  of  those  sons  of  Korah  "whose  special  function  it  was  to  be 
 ^keepers  of  the  gate  of  the  tabernacle'  in  the  time  of  David  (i  Chron. 
 ix.  19),  and  sure  to  be  appointed  therefore  to  an  analogous  service  in 
 the  Temple."  And  he  concludes  that  "  this  Psalm,  hke  Psalm  xlii., 
 was  written  by  some  Levite  detained  against  his  will  '  in  the  land  of 
 Jordan '  and  '  on  the  slopes  of  Hermon,'  somewhere,  i.e.  in  the  upland 
 Gilead  country,  and  that  when  the  recollection  of  past  journeys  to 
 Jerusalem  would  bring  back  the  scenes  of  travel  through  the  valley 
 of  the  Jordan,  which,  with  its  deep  depression  and  tropical  climate. 
 
PSALM  LXXXrV.  4 x  t 
 
 had  from  the  earhest  date  been  famous  for  its  balsam-weepincr  trees. 
 Some  parched  rock-ravine  on  the  way  would  be  that  whi*^h  the 
 Psalmist  would  think  of  as  having  been  watered  by  the  tears  of 
 pilgrims."     {Biblical  Studies,  pp.  163—166.) 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  principal  divisions  :  the  first  of  which 
 dwells  on  the  blessedness  of  God's  service  in  His  house,  the  supreme 
 happiness  of  those  who  are  permitted  to  take  their  part  in  it,  vcr. 
 I — 7  ;  the  second  consists  of  a  prayer  that  the  Psalmist  himself, 
 though  shut  out  from  access  to  the  Sanctuary,  may  nevertheless  find 
 God  to  be  his  sun  and  shield,  ver.  8 — 12. 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    upon  the  gittith.^    a  psalm  of  the 
 
 SONS    OF   KORAH.t] 
 
 1  Hov/  lovely  are  Thy  dwellings,  O  Jehovah  (of)  Hosts  ! 
 
 2  My  soul  longeth,  yea  even   fainteth,  for  the  courts  of 
 
 Jehovah  ; 
 
 I.   Thy  dwellings.     The  plural  And  the  same  may   be  said  of   the 
 
 may   either   be   used   to    denote    the  plural  "  courts,"  in  the  next  verse. 
 several  parts   of    the    sanctuary   (see  2.   By    the    courts,    that   part   of 
 
 on    Ixviii.     35),     or    perhaps    rather  the  building  is  meant  which  was  for 
 
 poetically,    instead    of    the    singular.  the  people  at  large.     (So  in  Is.  i.  12, 
 
 Comp.  xliii.   3,  xlvi.  4,   cxxxii.   5,  7.  "Who    hath    required    this   at  your 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  viii.  p.  37. 
 
 t  These  words  are  first  found  in  the  inscriptions  of  Pss.  xlii.,  xlvii.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
 inscription  should  assume  this  anonymous  character,  mentioning  not  the  individual  singer,  l>ut 
 only  the  family  to  which  he  beloncjed  ;  especially  when  we  have  in  the  inscriptions  of  other 
 Psalms  (as,  for  instance,  Ixxiii. — Ixxxiii.)  the  individual,  instead  of  the  family,  or  the  like. 
 This  may  be  owing  to  some  circumstance  with  which  we  are  unacquainted.  These  Levitical 
 singers  may  have  been  like  the  Bardic  families  or  colleges  in  other  nations,  especially  those 
 living  in  the  mountain  regions.  All  may  have  made  poetry  and  music  their  profession,  and 
 only  fn  rare  cases  did  an  individual,  perhaps,  like  Asaph,  acquire  great  personal  reputation. 
 The  "  Korah  "  whose  "  sons  "  are  here  spoken  of,  is  the  Levite  who  headed  the  insurrection 
 against  Moses  and  Aaron  in  the  wilderness  (Nurab.  xvi.).  We  find  his  descendants  existing 
 as  a  powerful  Levitical  family  in  the  time  of  David,  at  least  if  they  are  to  be  identified,  as  is 
 probable,  with  the  Korahites  mentioned  in  i  Chron.  xii.  6,  who,  like  our  own  warlike  bishops 
 of  former  times,  seem  to  have  known  how  to  doff  the  priestly  vestment  for  the  soldier's  armour, 
 and  whose  hand  could  wield  the  sword  as  well  as  strike  the  harp.  These  Korahites  were  a 
 part  of  the  band  who  acknowledged  David  as  their  chief  at  Ziklag ;  warriors  "whose  faces, 
 it  is  said,  were  like  the  faces  of  lions,  and  who  were  (for  speed)  like  gazelles  upon  the 
 mountains."  According  to  i  Chron.  ix  _  19,  the  Korahites  were,  in  David's  time,  keepers  of 
 the  threshold  of  the  Tabernacle  ;  and  still  earlier,  in  the  time  of  Moses,  watchmen  at  the 
 entrance  of  the  camp  of  the  I  evites.  In  i  Chron.  xxvi.  i — 19,  we  find  two  branches  of  this 
 family  associated  with  that  of  Merari,  as  guardians  of  the  doors  of  the  Temple.  There  is 
 probably  an  allusion  tc  this  their  office,  in  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  im  But  the  Korahites  were  also 
 celebrated  musicians  and  singers,  i  Chron.  vi.  16 — 33,  where  Heiiian,  one  of  the  three  famous 
 musicians  of  the  tmie,  is  said  to  be  a  Korahite  (comp.  i  .Chron.  xxv.).  The  musical  reputation 
 of  the  family  continued  in  the  time  of  Jehoshaphat,  2  Chron.  xx.  19. 
 
412 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIV. 
 
 My  heart  and  my  flesh  cry  aloud  to  the  living  God. 
 Yea  the  sparrow  hath  found  a  house, 
 
 And  the  swallow  a  nest  for  herself  where  she  hath 
 laid  her  young, 
 (Even)  Thine  altars,  O  Jehovah  (of)  Hosts, 
 My  King  and  my  God  ! 
 Blessed  are  they  that  dwell  in  Thy  house  ! 
 
 hand   to   tread   my  courts."     Comp. 
 lx.v.  4,  cxvu  19.) 
 
 On  this  intense  expression  of  per- 
 sonal affection  to  God  and  His  wor- 
 sliip,  see  note  on  Ixiii.  i. 
 
 Soul  .  .  .  heart  .  .  .  flesh. 
 Even  more  strongly  than  there  (where 
 "heart"  is  omitted)  maiking  the 
 whole  man,  with  every  faculty  and 
 affection.  The  verbs  are  also  very 
 expressive.  The  first,  longeth, 
 means  literally,  "hath  grown  pale," 
 as  with  the  intensity  of  the  feeling  ; 
 the  second,  fainteth,  is  more  ex- 
 actly, "  faileth,"  or  "is  consumed," 
 (Job  xix.  27). 
 
 Cry  aloud.  The  verb  in  this 
 conjugation  is  used  elsewhere  of  a 
 joyful  utterance,  and  some  would 
 retain  this  meaning  here,  as  if,  even 
 amidst  the  sadness  of  exile,  there 
 mingled  with  his  longing  a  joy  as  he 
 remembers,  and  anticipates,  in  spite 
 of  all  that  is  adverse,  communion 
 with  God  in  Zion. 
 
 Living  God.  See  note  on  xlii. 
 2,  the  only  other  place  in  the  Psalms 
 where  God  is  so  named.  This  par- 
 ticular form  of  expression,  ^ El  Chay, 
 occurs  but  twice  beside  in  the  O.  T., 
 Josh.  iii.  ID,  Hos.  i.  10.  In  the 
 New  Testament  the  name  ' '  Living 
 God "  is  found  in  St.  Matthew's 
 and  St.  John's  Gospels,  in  the  speech 
 of  Paul  and  Barnabas  in  the  Acts 
 (xiv.  15),  in  several  of  St.  Paul's 
 Epistles,  four  times  in  the  Epistle 
 to  the  Hebrews,  and  once  in  the 
 K.evelation. 
 
 X.  My  KIx\g  and  my  God.     Thus 
 
 joined  also  in  v.  2.  The  Psalmist,  at 
 a  distance  from  Zion,  envies  the  biids 
 w4io  are  free  to  build  their  nests  in 
 the  immediate  precincts  of  the  Tem- 
 ple. They  have  a  happiness  which 
 he  cannot  enjoy.  They  are  nearer  to 
 God,  so  it  seems  to  him  in  his  de- 
 spondency, than  he  is.  This  is  all 
 tnat  is  meant.  Nor  can  I  see  any- 
 thing "trivial"  in  such  a  thought. 
 "  Thine  altars"  is  a  poetical  way  of 
 saying  "Thy  house."  It  is  mani- 
 festly a  special  term  instead  of  a 
 general.  Yet  it  has  been  seriously 
 argued,  that  no  birds  could  or  wouM 
 ever  be  suffered  to  build  their  nests 
 on  the  altar.  Surely  this  s<jrt  of  ex- 
 pression, which  is  hardly  a  figure,  is 
 common  enough.  A  parte  pot  tori  Jit 
 denoviinatio.  We  say,  * '  There  goes 
 a  sail."  What  should  we  thmk  of  a 
 man  who  should  argue  that  a  sail 
 cannot  go.  The  altars  mean  the 
 Temple.     There  was 
 
 "No  jutty  frieze, 
 Buttress,  nor  coigne  of  vantage,  but 
 
 these  birds 
 Had  made  their  pendant  bed," 
 
 not  to  mention  that  trees  grew  within 
 the  sacred  enclosure,  where  birds 
 might  have  built  their  nests.  The 
 comparison  between  the  lot  of  the 
 birds,  happy  in  their  nearness  to  the 
 house  of  God,  and  the  Psalmist  far 
 removed  and  in  exile,  is  suggested 
 rather  than  developed ;  but  it  is  suf- 
 ficiently obvious. 
 
 4,   Even   tlie  birds  are  happy,  who 
 find  shelter  beneath  the  sacred  roof; 
 
PSALM  LXXXTV. 
 
 4r3 
 
 They  will  be  still  praising  Thee.     [Selah.] 
 
 5  Blessed  are  the  men  whose  strength  is  in  Thee, 
 
 In  whose  hearts  are  (those)  ways, 
 
 6  Who  passing  through  the  Vale  of  Weeping,  make  it  a 
 
 place  of  springs ; 
 
 far  more  happy — truly  blessed  are 
 they  who  dwell  there,  rendering  the 
 reasonable  service  of  a  thankful  heart. 
 The  blessedness  of  God's  house  is 
 that  there  men  praise  Him.  This  it 
 was  that  made  that  house  so  precious 
 to  the  Psalmist.  And  what  Christian 
 man  can  climb  higher  than  this, — to 
 find  in  the  praise  of  God  the  greatest 
 joy  of  his  life  ? 
 
 They  will  be  still  PRAihiiNG 
 Thee,  i.e.  "always,  continually." 
 
 5 — 7.  But  not  only  blessed  are 
 they  who  dwell  in  the  holy  place  in 
 God's  city,  and  near  to  His  house  ; 
 blessed  are  they  who  can  visit  it,  with 
 the  caravan  of  pilgrims,  at  the  great 
 national  festivals.  They  cherish  the 
 remembrance  of  such  seasons.  Every 
 spot  of  the  familiar  road,  every  sta- 
 tion at  which  they  have  rested,  lives 
 in  their  heart.  The  path  may  be  dry 
 and  duiity,  through  a  lonely  and  sor- 
 rowful valley,  but  nevertheless  they 
 love  it.  The  pilgrim  band,  rich  in 
 hope,  forgets  the  trials  and  difficulties 
 of  the  way  :  hope  changes  the  rugged 
 and  stony  waste  into  living  fountains. 
 The  vale  blossoms  as  if  the  sweet  rain 
 of  heaven  had  covered  it  with  bless- 
 ings. Hope  sustains  them  at  every 
 step  ;  froni  station  to  station  they 
 renew  their  strength  as  they  draw 
 nearer  to  the  end  of  their  journey, 
 tdl  at  last  they  appear  before  God, 
 present  themselves  as  His  worshipers, 
 in  His  sanctuary  in  Zion. 
 
 Such  appears  to  be  the  general 
 scope  of  the  passage,  though  the 
 meaning  of  the  second  clause,  "In 
 whose  heart  are  the  ways,"  has  been 
 much  questioned. 
 
 There  have  been  various  interpre- 
 tations of  the  word  "  wa)'s,"  but  they 
 do  not  fall  in  with  the  general  strain 
 and  tenour  of  verses  5 — 7.  The  ways 
 (lit.  "highways  ")  are  those  traversed 
 by  the  caravans  of  pilgrims — the  ways 
 to  the  sanctuary.  No  wonder  that 
 in  all  ages  men  have  rejoiced  to  find 
 in  this  beautiful  picture  an  image  of 
 the  Christian  life.  To  what  can  that 
 so  aptly  be  compared  as  to  a  pilgrim- 
 age in  a  vale  of  tears  ?  Is  it  not  by 
 the  hope  of  appearing  before  God  in 
 the  heavenly  Jerusalem  that  the  Chris- 
 tian is  sustained?  Does  he  not  find 
 fountains  of  refreshment  in  the  wil- 
 derness of  the  world  ?  Does  not 
 God's  grace  visit  him  like  the  sweet 
 refreshing  shower  from  heaven  ?  Does 
 he  not  advance  from  strength  to 
 strength,  from  grace  to  grace,  from 
 glory  to  glory,  till  he  reaches  his 
 journey's  end? 
 
 6.  The  Vale  of  Weeping.  The 
 meaning  of  the  word  "  Baca "  is 
 doubtful,  but  all  the  ancient  versions 
 render  it  by  "weeping,"  and  the 
 Masora  remarks  that  it  is  the  same 
 as  "  Bacah,"  w^^;;^/«^.  Comp.  xxiii. 
 4,  "valley  of  the  shadow  of  death." 
 Burckhardt  tells  us  that  he  found  a 
 valley  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Sinai, 
 VA'hich  bore  the  name  of  "the  valley 
 of  weeping." 
 
 Others  take  Baca  to  be  the  name 
 of  a  tree,  as  it  is  in  2  Sam.  v.  24, 
 I  Chron.  xiv.  14  ;  and  either  (as  the 
 E.  V.  there  renders)  "a  mulberry- 
 tree,"  or  more  probai^ly  some  species 
 of  balsam-tree,  dropping  \\.i  tears  of 
 balm,  and  so  taking  its  name  from 
 the     Hebrew    root     which     signifies 
 
414 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIV. 
 
 Yea,  the  early  rain  covereth  (it)  with  blessings. 
 
 7  They  go  from  strength  to  strength, 
 
 (Every  one  of  them)  appeareth  before  God  in  Zion. 
 
 8  O  Jehovah,  God  (of)  Hosts,  hear  my  prayer. 
 
 Give  ear,  O  God  of  Jacob.     [Selah.] 
 
 9  See,  0  God  our  shield, 
 
 And  look  upon  the  face  of  Thine  anointed ; 
 10  For   a   day   in  Thy    courts   is  better  than  a  thousand 
 (elsewhere)  ; 
 I  had  rather  be  a  door-keeper  in  the  house  of  my  God, 
 Than  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness. 
 1 1"   For  Jehovah  God  is  a  sun  and  a  shield. 
 
 "weeping."  In  this  case  some  sandy 
 valley  is  meant,  where  the  trees  grew, 
 and  which  took  its  name  from  them. 
 '-'  With  the  love  for  detecting  allusive 
 and,  as  it  were,  ominous  meanings  in 
 proper  liames,  which  was  character- 
 istic of  Hebrew  thought  at  all  times, 
 .  .  .  the  Psalmist  plays  upon  its  ety- 
 mological significance." — Plumptre, 
 B'Mical  Stiuiies,  p.  165. 
 
 The  meaning  of  the  verse  is,  that 
 the  faith  and  hope  and  joy  of  the 
 pilgrims  make  the  sandy  waste  a 
 place  of  fountains,  and  then  (this  is 
 the  Divine  side  of  the  picture)  God 
 from  heaven  sends  down  the  rain  of 
 His  grace.  The  word  denotes  the 
 soft,  gentle,  autumnal  rain  (Joel  ii.  23) 
 which  fell  after  the  crops  were  sown. 
 Tluis  the  Vale  of  Weeping  becomes 
 a  Vale  of  Joy. 
 
 A  PLACE  OF  SPRINGS.  This  is  the 
 strict  meaning  of  the  word,  rather 
 than  "a  spring"  or  "fountain." 
 Comp.  cvii.  35. 
 
 7.  From  strength  to  strength, 
 ever  renewing  it,  in  spite  of  the  toils 
 of  the  way,  and  in  view  of  the  jour- 
 ney's end,  as  Is.  xl.  31.  Comp.  John 
 i.  16,  and  2  Cor.  iii.  18. 
 
 Appearetji.     See  note  on  xlii.  2. 
 
 Comp.     especially    Exod.    xxiii.    17, 
 xxxiv.  23, 
 
 8.  The  Psalmist  has  pictured  to 
 himself  the  blessedness  of  those  who 
 dwell  in  the  holy  city,  in  immediate 
 proximity  to  God's  house,  the  blessed- 
 ness of  those  who  can  join  the  pilgrim 
 caravans.  Now  he  pours  out  a  prayer 
 for  himself  that  he,  though  distant, 
 may  share  the  same  blessing, 
 
 9.  Our  shield,  and  again  ver. 
 II  ;  so  God  is  called  in  iii.  3,  where 
 see  note,  xxviii.  7,  &c. 
 
 Look  upon  the  face  of  Thine 
 anointed.  This  following  imme- 
 diately upon  the  words  in  ver.  8, 
 "hear  my  prayer,"  favours  the  sup- 
 position that  the  Psalm  was  written 
 by  the  king.  So  also  does  the  use 
 of  the  pronoun  of  the  first  person  in 
 ver.  10,  introduced  by  the  conjunc- 
 tion "for."  Another  might,  how- 
 ever, offer  the  prayer  on  his  behalf. 
 See  XX.,  xxi.,  Ixi.  6. 
 
 10.  Be  a  door-keeper,  lit.  "lie 
 on  the  threshold,"  or  "busy  oneself 
 on  the  threshold  ; "  the  lowest  place, 
 the  meanest  office  in  God's  house  i.s 
 a  happiness  and  an  honour  beyond 
 all  that  the  world  has  to  offer. 
 
 11.  Jehovah  GuD  (Eloliim).    Tliis 
 
PSALM  LXXXV. 
 
 415 
 
 Jehovah  giveth  grace  and  glory, 
 
 No  good  thing  doth  He  withhold  from  them  that 
 walk  uprightly. 
 12  O  Jehovah  (of)  Hosts, 
 
 Blessed  is  the  man  that  trusteth  in  Thee  I 
 
 form  of  the  Divine  Name  is  charac- 
 teristic, as  is  well  known,  of  the  sec- 
 tion, Gen.  ii.  4 — iii.  24,  where  it  first 
 occurs.  This  is  the  only  passage  in 
 the  Psalter  where  it  is  employed. 
 
 A  SUN.  This  is  the  only  place 
 where  God  is  directly  so  called.  In 
 other  passages  we  have  the  more 
 general  name  of  "Light,"  as  in 
 xxvii.  I.     Comp.  however,  Is.  Ix,  19, 
 
 20  ;    Rev. 
 
 and  the  expres- 
 
 sion    "  Sun    of    Righteousness,"    as 
 applied  to  the  Messiah,  Mai   iv.  2. 
 Upkightly,  lit.  "in  perfectness  ;" 
 
 see  XV.  2.  To  such  pei-sons  God  will 
 show  His  salvation,  all  that  is  com- 
 prised in  those  two  great  words 
 "grace"  and  "gJory,"  whether  they 
 can  enter  His  eartlily  house  or  not. 
 
 And  the  Psalmist  rises  at  last  to 
 the  joyful  conviction,  not  only  that 
 they  are  blessed  who  dwell  in  God's 
 house  (ver.  4),  or  they  who  swell  the 
 festal  throng  on  their  way  to  that 
 house  (ver.  5),  but  they  who,  whether 
 tiiey  worship  in  it  or  not,  are  one 
 v/ith  Him  by  faith  :  "Blessed  is  the 
 man  who  trusteth  in  Thee." 
 
 PSALM  LXXXV. 
 
 There  seems  every  reason  to  conclude  that  this  Psalm  was  written 
 after  the  return  of  the  exiles  from  the  Babylonish  captivity.  It  opens 
 with  an  acknowledgement  of  God's  goodness  and  mercy  in  the 
 national  restoration,  in  terms  which  could  hardly  apply  to  any  other 
 event.  But  it  passes  immediately  to  earnest  entreaty  for  deliverance 
 from  the  pressure  of  existing  evils,  in  language  which  almost  con- 
 tradicts the  previous  acknowledgement.  First  we  hear  the  grateful 
 confession,  "  Thou  hast  turned  the  captivity  of  Jacob  ;  "  and  then  we 
 have  the  prayer,  "Turn  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation."  If  the  third 
 verse  contains  the  joyful  announcement,  "Thou  hast  withdrawn  all 
 Thy  wrath,"  &c.,  the  fifth  pleads  as  if  no  such   assurance  had  been 
 
4i6  PSALM  LXXXV, 
 
 given  :  "  Wilt  Thou  for  ever  be  angry  with  us  ?  Wilt  Thou  draw  out 
 Thine  anger  to  all  generations  ? " 
 
 The  most  probable  way  of  explaining  this  conflict  of  opposing 
 feelings  is  by  referring  the  Psalm  to  the  circumstances  mentioned  by 
 Nehemiah  (chap.  i.  3).  The  exiles  on  their  return,  he  learnt,  were 
 *'  in  great  affliction  and  reproach."  And  when  he  obtained  leave  to  go 
 to  Jerusalem  himself,  it  was  only  in  the  midst  of  perpetual  opposition 
 and  discouragement  (chap  iv.)  that  he  was  able  to  carry  on  his  work 
 of  restoration.  The  bright  prospect  which  was  opening  before  them 
 had  been  quickly  dashed.  They  had  returned  indeed,  but  it  was  to 
 a  desolate  land  and  a  forsaken  city,  whose  walls  were  cast  down,  and 
 her  gates  burned  with  fire  ;  whilst  jealous  and  hostile  tribes  were 
 ever  on  the  watch  to  assail  and  vex  them.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
 entreaty  for  mercy  follows  so  hard  upon  the  acknowledgement  that 
 mercy  has  been  vouchsafed.  The  126th  Psalm  is  conceived  in  a  some- 
 what similar  strain.  In  the  latter  portion  of  this  Psalm  (from  ver.  8) 
 the  present  misery  is  forgotten  in  the  dawning  of  a  glorious  future. 
 The  prayer  has  been  utter.ed  ;  the  storm  of  the  soul  is  hushed  ;  in 
 quietness  and  resignation  the  Psalmist  sets  himself  to  hear  what  God 
 will  say,  and  the  Divine  answer  is  given,  not  in  form,  but  in 
 substance,  in  ver.  9 — 12.  It  is  a  glowing  prophecy  of  Messianic 
 times,  most  naturally  connecting  itself  with  the  hopes  which  the 
 return  from  Babylon  had  kindled  afresh,  and  well  fitted  to  enable 
 those  who  heard  it  to  triumph  over  the  gloom  and  despondency  of 
 the  present. 
 
 It  is  not  surprising,  considering  the  bright  picture  which  the  latter 
 verses  contain,  that  this  Psalm  should  have  been  appointed  by  the 
 Church  for  the  services  of  Christmas  Day. 
 
 According  to  Hupfeld,  the  Psalm  falls  into  two  nearly  equal 
 portions  : — 
 
 (i)  The  Prayer  of  the  people,  or  for  the  people,  ver.  i — 7  ;  (2)  the 
 Divine  promise,  ver.  8 — 13.  Ewald  and  Olshausen  suppose  that 
 the  first  was  intended  to  be  sung  by  the  congregation,  the  second 
 by  the  Priest,  who  afLer  prayer  seeks  and  receives  the  Divine  answer. 
 
PSALM  LXXXV. 
 
 417 
 
 [for  the  precentor,    a  psalm  of  the  sons  of  korah.*] 
 
 1  Thou  hast  become  favourable,  O  Jehovah',  unto  Thy 
 
 land, 
 Thou  hast  brought  back  the  captivity  of  Jacob. 
 
 2  Thou  hast  taken  away  the  iniquity  of  Thy  people, 
 
 Thou  hast  covered  all  their  sin.     [Selah.] 
 
 3  Thou  hast  withdrawn  all  Thy  wrath, 
 
 Thou     hast    turned    from    the    fierceness    of   Thine 
 
 4  Turn  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation. 
 
 And  cause  Thine  indignation  towards  us  to  cease. 
 
 5  Wilt  Thou  for  ever  be  angry  with  us  ? 
 
 Wilt  Thou  draw  out  Thine  anger  to  all  generations  ? 
 
 6  Wilt  not  Thou  quicken  us  again. 
 
 That  Thy  people  may  rejoice  in  Thee  ? 
 
 7  Show  us  Thy  loving-kindness,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  grant  us  Thy  salvation. 
 
 8  I  would  hear  what  God  Jehovah  will  speak, 
 
 I — 3.  The  acknowledgement  of 
 God's  goodness  to  His  people  in  their 
 restoration  from  the  Babylonish  cap- 
 tivity. 
 
 1.  Thou  hast  brought  back, 
 &c.     See  on  Ixviii.  18. 
 
 2.  Taken  away  .  .  .  covered. 
 Both  words  are  used  in  xxxiL  I,  where 
 see  notes. 
 
 5.  Forever.  The  emphatic  word 
 placed  first,  because  there  seemed  to 
 tie  no  end  to  their  calamities.  Even 
 ihe  return  to  their  own  land  had 
 brought  them  apparently  no  rest,  no 
 consolation,  no  hope  for  the  future. 
 
 6.  Thou.  The  pronoun  is  em- 
 phatic ;  for  God  alone  can  thus  revive 
 the  sad  hearts  and  broken  hopes  of 
 His  people. 
 
 Quicken,  &c.  Comp.  Ixxi.  20, 
 Ixxx.   18. 
 
 In  Thee.  Not  in  any  earthly 
 blessings,  even  when  they  are  vouch- 
 safed ;  not  in  corn,  or  wine,  or  oil ; 
 not  in  the  fatness  of  the  earth  or  the 
 dew  of  heaven ;  but  in  Him  who 
 giveth  all  these  things,  who  giveth 
 more  than  all  these,  Himself. 
 
 8.  I  WOULD  hear,  or,  "let  me 
 hear."  Having  uttered  his  sorrows 
 and  his  prayer  for  better  days,  he 
 would  now  place  himself  in  the  atti- 
 tude of  calm  and  quiet  expectation. 
 Like  Habakkuk,  he  will  betake  him 
 to  his  watch-tower,  and  wait  to  hear 
 what  the  Lord  will  speak.  "He 
 might  have  said,"  Calvin  observes, 
 "what  the   Lord  will  do ;   but  since 
 
 See  note  on  Ps.  Ixxxiv.,  p.  411. 
 
 E   E 
 
4iS 
 
 PSALM  LXXXV. 
 
 For    He  will   speak  peace  to  His  people  and  His  be- 
 loved, 
 Only  let  them  not  turn  again  to  folly. 
 9  Surely  His  salvation  is  nigh  them  that  fear  Him, 
 That  glory  may  dwell  in  our  land. 
 
 10  Loving-kindness  and  truth  have  met  together  ; 
 
 Righteousness  and  peace  have  kissed  (each  other).. 
 
 1 1  Truth  springeth  out  of  the  earth, 
 
 And  righteousness  hath  looked  down  out  of  heaven. 
 
 12  Jehovah  will  give  that  which  is  good, 
 
 And  our  land  will  give  her  increase. 
 
 God's  benefits  to  His  Church  flow 
 from  His  promises,  the  Psahnist  men- 
 tions His  mouth  rather  than  His 
 hand,  and  at  rhe  same  time  teaches 
 lis  that  patience  depends  on  the  cahn 
 listening  ear  of  faith." 
 
 Peace  :  that  is  God's  great  word, 
 which  in  fact  sums  up  and  comprises 
 all  else,  peace  with  Him  declared  to 
 all  who  are  His  beloved,  the  objects 
 of  His  loving-kindness  (see  on  xvi. 
 lo)  having  the  privileges  of  their  cove- 
 nant relation  to  Him. 
 
 Folly  :  so  the  infatuation  of  sin  is 
 spoken  of.  Comp.  xiv.  i,  xlix.  13. 
 ()r,  perhaps  idolatry  may  be  meant, 
 and  especially  if  the  reference  is  to 
 the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 
 9.  Glory,  i.e.  the  manifested 
 Presence  of  God  tabernacling  visibly 
 amongst  them,  as  of  old.  This  hope 
 was  destined  to  have  its  fulfilment, 
 but  in  a  better  and  a  higher  sense, 
 when  He  who  was  the  brightness  of 
 the  Father's  glory  tabernacled  in  hu- 
 man flesh,  and  men  "beheld  His 
 glory,  the  glory  as  of  the  only-be- 
 gotten of  the  P'ather." 
 
 10.  The  four  virtues  here  men- 
 tioned are,  as  Calvin  remarks,  the 
 four  cardinal  virtues  of  Christ's  king- 
 dom. Where  these  reign  amongst 
 men,  there  must  be  true  and  perfect 
 felicity.  He  adds,  however,  "if  any 
 one   prefers    to    understand,    by   the 
 
 loving-kindness  and  truth  here  men- 
 tioned, attributes  of  God,  I  have  no 
 objection  to  such  a  view."  But  the 
 truth  is,  the  last  are  the  basis  and 
 source  of  the  first. 
 
 11.  The  earth  brings  forth  truth  as 
 she  brings  forth  the  natural  fruits,  and 
 righteousness  looks  down  from  heaven 
 like  some  approving  angel  on  the 
 renewed  and  purified  earth. 
 
 The  figures  are  designed  in  both 
 verses  to  show  that  these  virtues  are 
 not  regarded  merely  in  their  separate 
 aspect,  but  as  meeting,  answering  one 
 another,  conspiring  in  perfect  har- 
 mony to  one  glorious  end.  For  this 
 mutual  blessing  from  the  heaven 
 above  and  the  earth  beneath,  comp. 
 Is.  xlv.  8,  Hos.  ii.  21 — 23. 
 
 12.  The  Psalmist  passes  from 
 spiritual  to  temporal  blessings,  "If 
 anyone  objects  to  this  mixing  of  the 
 two,  the  answer  is  easy  :  there  is 
 nothing  to  shock  us,  if  God,  whilst 
 He  blesses  the  faithful  with  spiritual 
 blessings,  should  vouchsafe  to  them 
 also  some  taste  of  His  fatherly  love 
 in  the  good  things  of  this  world  ;  for 
 St.  Paul  assures  us  that  godliness 
 hath  the  promise  of  this  life  as  well 
 as  that  which  is  to  come." — Calvin. 
 He  adds  an  important  remark  :  "  This 
 verse,  moreover,  shows  us  that  the 
 power  of  fruitfulness  was  not  once  for 
 all  bestowed  on  the  earth  (as  men  of 
 
PSALM  LXXXVI.  '  419 
 
 13  Righteousness  shall  go  before  Him, 
 
 And  follow  His  footsteps  in  the  way. 
 
 no   religion  choose   to   imagine,   that  but  that  every  year  it  is  fertilized  by 
 God   at   the    creation    gave    to    the  the  secret  virtue  of  God,  according  as 
 several   parts  of   His    universe    their  He  sees  fit  to  testify  to  us  His  good- 
 several    office,    and    then    left    them  ness. 
 alone   to   pursue  their  own   course), 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVI. 
 
 This  Psalm,  which  is  inserted  amongst  a  series  of  Korahite  Psalms, 
 is  the  only  one  in  the  Third  Book  ascribed  to  David.  That  it  was 
 written  by  him  we  can  hardly  suppose.  Many  of  the  expressions  are, 
 no  doubt,  such  as  we  meet  with  in  his  Psalms,  but  there  are  also  many 
 which  are  borrowed  from  other  passages  of  Scripture.  Indeed,  the 
 numerous  adaptations  of  phrases  employed  by  other  writers  may 
 reasonably  be  taken  as  evidence  of  a  much  later  date.  Further,  the 
 style  is,  as  Delitzsch  remarks,  liturgical  rather  than  poetical,  and  is 
 wholly  wanting  in^  that  force,  animation,  and  originality  for  which 
 David's  poems  are  remarkable.  The  Psalm  is  stamped  by  the  use 
 of  the  Divine  Name,  Adonai,  which  occurs  in  it  seven  times. 
 
 There  is  no  regular  strophical  division,  nor  is  it  always  easy  to  trace 
 clearly  the  connection  between  the  several  parts  of  the  Psalm.  Hup- 
 feld  denies  that  there  is  any.  Tholuck  has  traced  it  far  more  carefully 
 than  any  commentator  I  am  acquainted  with,  and  in  the  notes  I  have 
 given  the  substance  of  his  remarks. 
 
 The  introductory  portion  (ver.  i — 5)  consists  of  a  number  of  earnest 
 petitions,  based  on  several  distinct  pleas — the  suffering  (ver.  i),  the 
 faith  (ver.  2),  the  continued  and  earnest  supplication  (ver.  3,  4)  of  the 
 Psalmist,  and  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  God  (ver.  5). 
 
 In  the  next  part  (ver.  6 — 13)  he  resumes  his  petition:  expresses 
 his  confidence  that  God  will  hear  him,  comforting  himself  with  the 
 majesty  and  greatness  of   God,  who  is  able  to  do  all  that  he  asks 
 
 E  E  2 
 
420  PSALM  LXXX VI. 
 
 (ver.  8 — lo  ;  prays  for  guidance  and  a  united  heart,  mixing  with  his 
 prayer  resolves  as  to  his  conduct,  and  thanksgiving  for  deliverance 
 (ver.  II — 13). 
 
 Finally  (ver.  14 — 17)  he  speaks  of  the  peril  by  which  he  has  been 
 threatened,  turns  to  God  with  affection-ate  confidence  as  to  a  gracious 
 God,  and  casts  himself  fearlessly  upon  His  mercy. 
 
 [a  psalm   of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  Bow  down  Thine  ear,  O  Jehovah,  answer  me  1 
 
 For  I  am  afflicted  and  poor. 
 
 2  Keep  my  soul,  for  I  am  one  whom  Thou  lovest ; 
 
 Do  Thou,  O  my  God,  save  Thy  servant. 
 Who  putteth  his  trust  in  Thee. 
 
 3  Be  gracious  unto  me,  O  Lord, 
 
 For  unto  Thee  do  I  cry  all  the  day. 
 
 4  Rejoice  the  soul  of  Thy  servant, 
 
 For  unto  Thee,  O  Lord,  do  I  lift  up  my  soul. 
 
 5  For  Thou,  Lord,  art  good,  and  ready  to  forgive. 
 
 And   plenteous  in  loving-kindness  to  all  them  that 
 call  upon  Thee. 
 
 1.  Bow  DOWN,  &c.  Comp.  Iv.  I,  The  appeal  is  not  to  anything  in  him- 
 2.  self,  but  to  God's  goodness.     This  is 
 
 Afflicted  and  poor:  alleged  in  clear  from  ver.  ^.  At  the  same  time 
 the  same  way  as  a  reason,  xl.  17.  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  what  the 
 This  is  not  the  highest  ground  which  attitude  of  his  heart  is  towards  God, 
 can  be  taken  in  pressing  for  an  answer  and  to  urge  his  simple  absolute  con- 
 to  our  prayer,  but  it  is  a  ground  which  fidence  in  God,  as  well  as  his  unceas- 
 God  suffers  us  to  take,  both  because  ing  earnest  prayer,  as  reasons  why  he 
 He  declares  Himself  to  be  the  helper  should  be  heard.  This  is  the  language 
 of  the  needy  (comp.  xii.  5),  and  be-  of  honest,  straightforward  simplicity, 
 cause  it  is  the  sense  of  their  need  and  not  of  self-righteousness, 
 misery  which  drives  men  to  God,  4.  I  lift  UP  my  SOUL,  as  in  xxv.  I. 
 Comp.  for  the  same  epithets  xxxv.  5.  Ready  to  forgive.  The  ad- 
 10,  xxxvii.  14,  Ixxiv.  21.  jective   occurs    nowhere    else.       The 
 
 2,  One  whom  Thou  lovest.  general  sentiment  of  the  verse  (re- 
 The  first  plea  was  his  need  ;  now  he  peated  in  15)  is  borrowed  from  such 
 pleads  his  own  covenant  relation  to  passages  as  Exod.  xx.  6,  xxxiv.  6,  9 ; 
 God.     It  is  unfortunate  that  the  E.V.  Numb,  xiv.  18,  19.. 
 
 renders  :    "  for    I    am    holy."      (The  It  is  on  the  broad  ground  of  God's 
 
 margin     gives    the    true    rendering.)       irercy,  and   of   that   mercy  as  freely 
 
PSALM  LXXXVL 
 
 421 
 
 gods, 
 
 O 
 
 6  Give  ear,  O  Jehovah,  to  my  prayer, 
 
 And  hearken  to  the  voice  of  my  suppHcations. 
 
 7  In  the  day  of  my  distress,  I  will  call  upon  Thee, 
 
 For  Thou  wilt  answer  me. 
 
 8  There   is    none   like  unto   Thee    among   the 
 
 Lord, 
 Neither  (are  there  any  works)  like  unto  Thy  works. 
 
 9  All  nations  whom  Thou  hast  made 
 
 Shall  come  and  bow  themselves  down  before  Thee, 
 O  Lord, 
 And  shall  give  glory  to  Thy  name. 
 
 10  For  great  art  Thou,  and  doest  wondrous  things  : 
 
 Thou  art  God  alone. 
 
 1 1  Teach  me,  O  Jehovah,  Thy  way, 
 
 I  will  walk  in  Thy  truth  ; 
 
 bestowed  on  all  who  seek  it,  that  he 
 rests.  He  applies  the  general  truth 
 (ver.  5)  to  his  own  case  (ver.  6).  In 
 ver.  7  he  pleads  aj^ain  the  need,  under 
 the  pressure  of  which  he  cries  to  God : 
 it  is  no  unmanly,  petulant,  peevish 
 complaint  that  he  utters.  The  ca- 
 lamity is  real,  and  there  is  but  one 
 who  has  power  to  deliver  him, 
 
 6.  Comp.  V.  I  ;  xxviii.  2  ;  cxxx.  2. 
 
 7.  Comp.  XX.  I  ;  1.  15  ;  Ixxvii.  2  ; 
 xvii.  6. 
 
 8 — 10.  There  are  two  kinds  of 
 doubt  which  are  wont  in  the  hour  of 
 temptation  .to  assail  the  soul ;  the 
 doubt  as  to  God's  willingness,  and  the 
 doubt  as  to  God's  power  to  succour. 
 The  first  of  these  the  Psalmist  has 
 already  put  from  him  :  he  now  shows 
 that  he  has  overcome  the  second. 
 God  is  able  as  well  as  willing  to  help, 
 and  every  being  on  the  face  of  the 
 earth  who  receives  help,  receives  it 
 from  the  hand  of  Him  who  is  the 
 only  God,  and  who  shall  one  day 
 be  recognised  (so  speaks  the  strong 
 prophetic  hope  within  him,  ver.  9) 
 as  the  only  God.  This  hope  rests  on 
 the  fact  that  God  has  created  all  men 
 
 ("all  nations  whom77/^«  hast  made''), 
 and  nothing  can  be  imagined  more 
 self-contradictory  than  that  the  spirit 
 which  has  come  from  God  should  re- 
 main for  ever  unmindful  of  its  source. 
 In  ver.  8  it  might  seem  as  if  God  were 
 merely  compared  with  the  gods  of  the 
 nations.  In  ver.  10  they  are  plainly 
 said  to  be  "no  gods,"  though  they 
 "be  called  gods."  There  is  but  one 
 God  :  "  Thou  art  God  alone." 
 
 8.  The  first  half  of  the  verse  is 
 borrowed  from  Exod.  XV.  ii.  Comp. 
 Ixxxix.  8,  Ixxi.  19,  &c.  With  the 
 second  half  comp.  Deut.  iii.  24. 
 
 9.  Nearly  as  in  xxii.  27.  Comp. 
 Ixvi.  4  ;  Is.  Ixvi.  18,  23  ;  Zech.  xiv, 
 9,  16. 
 
 10.  Comp.  Ixxvii.  13, 
 XV.  II.  See  also  Ixxxiii, 
 xix.  15,  19  ;  Neh.  ix.  6. 
 
 11.  The  first  clause  is  word  for 
 word  as  in  xxvii.  11.     Comp.  xxv.  4. 
 
 Walk  in  Thy  truth,  xxvi.  3. 
 
 Although  in  a  great  strait,  and  in 
 fear  of  his  enemies,  the  Psalmist,  like 
 all  who  pray  aright,  offers  first  the 
 petition,  "  Hallowed  be  Thy  Name," 
 before  he  asks,  "  Give  us  this  day  our 
 
 14,  with  Ex. 
 [8  ;  2  Kings 
 
422 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVL 
 
 Unite  my  heart  to  fear  Thy  Name  ; 
 
 12  I  will  give  thanks  to  Thee,  O  Lord  my  God,  with  my 
 
 whole  heart, 
 And  I  will  glorify  Thy  Name  for  ever. 
 
 13  For  Thy  loving-kindness  is  great  toward  me, 
 
 And  Thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  the  unseen 
 world  beneath. 
 
 14  O  God,  the  proud  are  risen  against  me. 
 
 And  an  assembly  of  violent  men   have  sought  after 
 my  soul. 
 And  have  not  set  Thee  before  them. 
 
 daily  bread,"  and  "deliver  us  from 
 evil."  He  confesses  that  his  spiritual 
 eye  is  not  yet  perfectly  enlightened 
 his  heart  not  yet  perfect  with  God. 
 And  while  he  rejects  every  other  way, 
 every  other  rule  of  life,  but  the  eternal 
 rule  of  God's  truth,  he  prays  first  that 
 he  may  more  clearly  di.cernthat  way, 
 and  then  that  all  the  various  desires, 
 interests,  passions,  that  agitate  the 
 human  heart,  may  have  no  hold  upon 
 him,  compared  with  the  one  thing 
 needful — "  to  fear  God's  name." 
 Unite  my  heart — suffer  itnolonger 
 to  scatter  itself  upon  a  multiplicity  of 
 objects,  to  be  drawn  hither  and  thither 
 by  a  thousand  different  aims,  but  turn 
 all  its  powers,  all  its  affections  in  one 
 direction,  collect  them  in  one  focus, 
 make  them  ail  one  in  Thee.  The 
 prayer  derives  a  special  force  from  the 
 resolution  immediately  preceding:  "I 
 will  walk  in  Thy  truth."  The  same 
 integrity  of  heart  which  made  the 
 resolve  could  alone  utter  the  prayer. 
 The  nearest  Old  Testament  parallels 
 are  :  the  "one  heart,"  Jer.  xxxii.  39  ; 
 "  And  I  will  give  them  one  heait  and 
 one  way,  that  they  may  fear  me  for 
 ever:"  and  the  "whole  heart"  of 
 love  to  God,  Deut.  vi.  5,  x.  12.  Our 
 Lord  teaches  us  how  needful  the 
 prayer  of  this  verse  is.  Comp.  what 
 He  says  of  "  the  single  eye,"  the 
 impossibility  of  serving  two  masters, 
 
 the  folly  and  the  wearisomeness  of 
 those  anxious  cares  by  which  men 
 suffer  themselves  to  be  hampered  and 
 distracted,  and  in  contrast  with  all 
 this  the  exhortation,  "  Seek  ye  fir^t 
 the  kingdom  of  God,"  &c.  (Matt.  vi. 
 19 — 34.)  See  also  the  history  of 
 Martha  and  Mary,  Luke  x.  38 — 42. 
 
 12.  Why  does  he  offer  this  prayer 
 for  a  "  united  heart  "  ?  That  he  may 
 then  with  his  "  whole  heart "  give 
 thanks  to  God  for  all  His  infinite 
 loving-kindness.  God's  mercies  are 
 a  motive  to  greater  thankfulness,  and 
 to  a  more  whole-hearted  undivided 
 service.  Briefly,  the  connection  in 
 ver.  II,  12,  is  this:  "Teach  me  Thy 
 way,  (and  then)  1  will  walk,  &c. 
 Unite  my  heart,  (and  then)  I  will 
 give  thanks." 
 
 13.  Comp.  Ivii.  10  ;  Ivi.  13  ;  cxvi. 
 8. 
 
 The  unseen  world  beneath, 
 i.e.  under  the  earth.  Comp.  Exod. 
 XX.  4,  with  Phil.  ii.  10.  For  similar 
 phrases  see  Ezek.  xxxi.  14,  16,  l8*; 
 Ps.  Ixiii.  9,  cxxxix.  15  ;  Ezek.  xxvi. 
 20,  xxxii.  18,  24;  Is.  xliv.  23,  and 
 Ps.  Ixxxviii.  6 ;  Lam.  iii,  54. 
 
 14.  Now  at  last  he  comes  to  the 
 peril,  and  now  (ver.  15)  his  appeal 
 lies  even  more  fully  than  in  ver.  5  to 
 God's  glorious  Name  by  which  He 
 made  Himself  known  to  Moses,  Exod. 
 xxxiv.    6.     This  verse  explains  what 
 
PSALM  LXXXVIl.  4:3 
 
 15  But  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  a  God  full  of  compassion  and 
 
 gracious, 
 Long-suffering  and  plenteous  in  loving-kindness  and 
 truth. 
 
 16  O  turn  unto  me,  and  be  gracious  to  me, 
 
 Give  Thy  strength  unto  Thy  servant, 
 And  save  the  son  of  Thy  handmaid. 
 
 17  Show  me  a  sign  for  good, 
 
 That  they  who  hate  me  may  see  and  be  ashamed, 
 Because  Thou,  Jehovah,  hast  holpen  me,  and  com- 
 forted me. 
 
 the  peril  was,  and  what  he  means  by  17.   A  SIGN,  i.e.  not  a  miraculous 
 
 the   deliverance   from    Hades.       The  sign,   but   an   evident  proof  of    Tliy 
 
 words   are   borrowed,  with    a  slight  good-will  towards  me,  such  as  shall 
 
 variation  ("proud  men"    instead   of  force  even  my  haters  to  acknowledge 
 
 "strangers"),  from  liv.  3.  that  Thou  art  on  my  side. 
 
 16.   Son  of  Thy  handmaid,    as  For  good.     Comp.    Neh.   v.    19, 
 
 in  cxvi. 
 
 16.  xiii.  31..  and  often  in  Jerem;ah. 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVIl. 
 
 This  Psalm  presents  us  with  one  of  those  starthng  contrasts  to  the 
 general  tone  of  Jewish  sentiment  and  belief  which  meet  us  in  various 
 passages  of  the  Prophetical  writings.  The  Jewish  nation  was,  even 
 by  its  original  constitution,  and  still  more  by  the  provisions  of  the 
 Law  of  Moses,  an  isolated  nation.  Shut  in  by  the  mountains,  the 
 sea,  the  desert,  it  was  to  a  great  extent  cut  off  from  the  world.  And 
 the  narrowness  of  its  spirit  corresponded  to  the  narrowness  of  its 
 geographical  position.  It  was  pervaded  by  a  jealous  exclusiveness 
 which  was  remarkable  even  among  the  nations  of  antiquity,  and 
 which  derived  its  force  and  sanction  from  the  precepts  of  its  religion. 
 The  Jews  were  constantly  reminded  that  they  were  a  separate  people, 
 distinct,  and  intended  to  be  distinct,  from  all  others.  Their  land 
 was  given  them  as  a  special  gift  from  Heaven.     Both  they  and  their 
 
424  PSALM  LXXXVII. 
 
 country  belonged  to  God,  in  a  sense  in  which  no  other  people  and 
 country  belonged  to  Him.  It  was  a  holy  Ark  which  no  profane 
 hands  might  dare  to  touch  ;  or  if  they  did,  they  must  perish  in  the 
 attempt.  As  a  natural  consequence  of  this  belief,  the  Jewish  people, 
 for  the  most  part,  regarded  their  neighbours  as  enemies.  Judaism 
 held  out  no  hope  of  a  brotherhood  of  nations.  The  Jewish  Church 
 was  not  a  missionary  church.  So  far  as  the  Jews  looked  upon  the 
 world  around  them,  it  was  with  feelings  of  antipathy,  and  with  the 
 hope,  which  was  never  quenched  in  the  midst  of  the  most  terrible 
 reverses,  that  finally  they,  as  the  chosen  race,  should  subdue  their 
 enemies  far  and  wide,  and  that,  by  the  grace  of  Heaven,  one  sitting 
 on  David's  throne  would  be  king  of  the  world.  Psalmists  and 
 Prophets  shared  the  feeling.  They  exulted  in  the  thought  that  the 
 king  who  ruled  from  Zion  would  dash  the  nations  in  pieces  like  a 
 potter's  vessel,  fill  the  places  with  dead  bodies,  and  lead  rival  kings 
 in  the  long  array  of  his  triumph. 
 
 But  mingling  with  these  anticipations,  and  correcting  them,  there 
 were  others  of  a  nobler  kind.  The  Prophets  speak  not  only  of  vic- 
 tories, but  of  voluntary  submission.  The  vision  which  rises  before 
 them  is  not  only  of  a  forced  unity  of  nations,  such  as  that  which 
 was  achieved  by  the  iron  hand  of  Roman  dominion,  but  of  a  unity 
 of  faith  and  love.  They  see  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's  house  exalted 
 above  the  hills,  and  all  nations,  not  led  thither  in  the  conqueror's 
 train,  but  flowing  to  it  with  one  impulse,  attracted  by  its  glory,  longing 
 to  taste  its  peace  (Is.  Ix.  2 — 4).  They  see  Gentiles  coming  to  the 
 light  of  Jerusalem,  and  kings  to  the  brightness  of  her  rising.  They 
 foretell  a  time  when  all  wars  and  all  national  antipathies  shall  cease, 
 when  "the  root  of  Jesse"  shall  be  as  a  standard  round  which  all 
 nations  shall  flock,  and  the  temple  of  Jehovah  the  centre  of  a  common 
 faith  and  worship. 
 
 It  is  this  last  hope  which  expresses  itself  in  this  Psalm,  but  which 
 expresses  itself  in  a  form  that  has  no  exact  parallel  in  other  passages. 
 Foreign  nations  are  here  described,  not  as  captives  or  tributaries, 
 not  even  as  doing  voluntary  homage  to  the  greatness  and  glory  of 
 Zion,  but  as  actually  incorporated  and  enrolled,  by  a  new  birth, 
 among  her  sons.  Even  the  worst  enemies  of  their  race,  the  tyrants 
 and  oppressors  of  the  Jews,  Egypt  and  Babylon,  are  threatened  with 
 no  curse  ;  no  shout  of  joy  is  raised  in  the  prospect  of  their  overthrow, 
 but  the  privileges  of  citizenship  are  extended  to  them,  and  they  are 
 welcomed  as  brothers.     Nay,  more,  God  Himself  receives  each  one  as 
 
PSALM  LXXXVIL  ^25 
 
 a  child  newly-born  into  His  family,  acknowledges  each  as  His  son, 
 and  enrols  him  with  His  own  hand  in  the  sacred  register  of  His 
 children. 
 
 It  is  this  mode  of  anticipating  a  future  union  and  brotherhood  of 
 all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  not  by  conquest,  but  by  incorporation 
 into  one  state,  and  by  a  birthright  so  acquired,  which  is  so  remark- 
 able. In  some  of  the  Prophets,  more  especially  in  Isaiah,  we  observe 
 the  same  liberal,  conciliatory,  comprehensive  language  toward  foreign 
 states,  as  Tyre  and  Ethiopia,  and  still  more  strikingly  toward  Egypt 
 and  Assyria  (chap.  xix.  22 — 25).  But  the  Psalm  stands  alone  amongst 
 the  writings  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  representing  this  union  of  nations 
 as  a  new  birth  into  the  city  of  God, 
 
 This  idea  gives  it  a  singular  interest,  and  clearly  stamps'  it  as 
 Messianic.  It  is  the  Old  Testament  expression  of  the  truth  which 
 St.  Paul  declares,  when  he  tcHs  us  that  in  Jesus  Christ  "there  is 
 neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free ; "  or  when 
 he  wTites  to  the  Gentile  Church  at  Ephesus,  "  Now  therefore  ye  are 
 no  more  strangers  and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints, 
 and  of  the  household  of  God." 
 
 It  is  the  first  announcement  of  that  great  amity  of  nations,  or  rather 
 of  that  universal  common  citizenship  of  which  heathen  philosophers 
 dreamt,  which  was  "  in  the  mind  of  Socrates  when  he  called  himself 
 a  citizen  of  the  world,"  which  had  "become  a  commonplace  of  the 
 Stoic  philosophy,  which  Judaism  tried  finally  to  realize  by  the  admis- 
 sion of  proselytes,  through  baptism,  into  the  Jewish  community  ;  which 
 Rome  accomplished,  so  far  as  the  external  semblance  went,  first  by 
 subduing  the  nations,  and  then  by  admitting  them  to  the  rights  of 
 Roman  citizenship.  But  the  true  fulfilment  o^  this  hope  is  to  be 
 found  only  in  that  kingdom  which  Christ  has  set  up.  He  has  gathered 
 into  His  commonwealth  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth.  He  has  made 
 men  one,  members  of  the  same  family,  by  teaching  them  to  feel  that 
 they  are  all  children  of  the  same  Father.  He  has  made  it  e\  ident  that 
 the  hope  of  the  Jewish  singer  is  no  false  hope  ;  that  there  is  a  Father 
 in  heaven  who  cares  for  all,  whatever  name  they  bear.  Thus  the 
 Psalm  has  received  a  better  and  higher  fulfilment  than  that  which 
 lies  on  the  surface  of  its  words.     It  is  fulfilled  in  Christ. 
 
 There  are  two  principal  epochs  to  which  the  Psaim  may  be 
 referred  : — 
 
 I.  Its  tone,  as  has  been  already  observed,  falls  in  with  that  of  some 
 
426  PSALM  LXXXVir. 
 
 of  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah.  Hence  it  has  been  referred,  not  without 
 reason,  to  the  reign  of  Hezekiah.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  was 
 a  song  of  triumph,  written,  hke  Psahns  xlvi.— xlviii.,  after  the  defeat 
 of  Sennacherib  ;  others,  more  probably,  that  it  was  a  hymn  composed 
 for  some  solemn  reception  of  proselytes  into  the  Church,  "  the  Psalmist 
 and  his  brother  Levites  exulting  in  this  admission  of  converts  as  they 
 would  do  in  a  national  victory." 
 
 II.  Calvin  and  others  refer  the  Psalm  to  a  time  subsequent  to  the 
 return  from  the  Captivity.  It  was  designed,  as  Calvin  thinks,  to 
 console  the  exiles,  whose  hearts  must  have  died  down  within  them 
 as  they  thought  of  the  present  enfeebled,  impoverished,  defenceless 
 state  of  their  city  ;  who  sighed  as  they  looked  at  their  temple,  so  far 
 inferio-r  in  beauty  and  stateliness,  as  well  as  in  the  imposing  splendour 
 of  its  worship,  to  the  house  which  their  fathers  remembered  ;  and  who, 
 dispirited  and  girt  by  enemies,  needed  every  encouragement  for  the 
 future.  A  study  of  the  earlier  chapters  of  Zechariah,  and  the  later 
 chapters  of  Isaiah,  in  connection  with  this  Psalm,  may  lead  us  to 
 adopt  this  view.  But  our  conclusion  must  depend,  to  a  great  extent, 
 on  the  date  which  we  are  disposed  to  assign  to  the  later  chapters  of 
 Isaiah  (xl. — Ixvi.). 
 
 The  outline  of  the  Psalm  is  as  follows  : — 
 
 It  opens  with  an  outburst  of  intensely  national  feeling,  celebrating 
 the  glory  of-^ion  as  the  city  of  God.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 But  the  patriotic  sentiment  is  too  large  and  too  grand  to  suffer  any 
 narrow  jealousy  to  interfere  with  it,  and  therefore  all  nations  are  said 
 to  be  gathered  to  her  as  children  to  one  mother.  It  lends  more  force 
 and  dignity  to  this  idea,  that  God  Himself  appears  as  the  speaker, 
 declaring  of  one  and  another,  foreign  and  hostile  nations,  that  their 
 true  birthplace  is  there,  in  Zion.  Finally,  one  brief,  obscure  verse 
 tells  of  the  joy  and  happiness  of  the  holy  city,  welcoming  new  children 
 on  all  sides,  and  making  them  partakers  in  her  joy.     Ver.  7. 
 
 [of  the  sons  of  korah.*    a  psalm,    a  song.] 
 
 I    His  foundation  upon  the  holy  mountains  doth  Jehovah 
 love, 
 
 I — 3.  The  same  deep  affection  expressed  here  which  are  expressed 
 and  admiration  for  the  holy  city  are       in  Psalm  xlviii.     But  there  is  nothing 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  Ixxxiv.,  p.  411. 
 
PSALM  LXXXVIL 
 
 427 
 
 2  (He  loveth)  the  gates  of  Zion  more  than  all  the  dwell- 
 
 ings of  Jacob. 
 
 3  Glorious  things  are  spoken  of  thee, 
 
 O  city  of  God  !     [Selah.] 
 
 4  "  I  will  mention  Rahab  and  Babylon  among  them  that 
 
 know  Me  ; 
 
 in  the  language  employed  to  lead  us 
 to  suppose  that  the  city  has  just  es- 
 caped from  the  horrors  of  war.  The 
 "gates"  are  mentioned,  not  as  part 
 of  the  fortifications,  but  as  one  of  the 
 most  prominent  features  of  the  city — 
 the  place  of  concourse,  of  judgement, 
 &c. 
 
 Eveiy  word  is  emphatic.  His 
 FOUNDATION,  the  city  and  the  temple 
 which    lie,   Jehovah    Himself,    hath 
 
 built  ;    UPON  THE  HOLY  MOUNTAINS, 
 
 consecrated  by  His  immediate  and 
 manifested  Presence  :  which  Jehovah 
 LOVETH,  and  with  a  special  and  dis- 
 tinguishing affection,  as  compared  not 
 only  with  other  nations,  but  even  with 
 other  parts  of  the  Holy  Land  itself. 
 
 Upon  the  holy  mountains.  The 
 plural  is  used  with  reference  to  the 
 mountainous  character  of  the  v/hole 
 country.  "Jerusalem  was  on  the 
 ridge,  the  broadest  and  most  strongly 
 marked  ridge  of  the  backbone  of 
 the  complicated  hills  which  extend 
 through  the  whole  country  from  the 
 Desert  to  the  plain  of  Esdraelon." — 
 Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  chap, 
 iii.  p.  176.  He  compares  its  position 
 in  this  respect  to  that  of  Rome,  that 
 "each  was  situated  on  its  own  cluster 
 of  steep  hills"  (p.  175), 
 
 3.  Glorious  things  :  not  earthly 
 splendour  or  victories,  but  such  a 
 gathering  of  nations  into  her  bosom 
 as  follows  in  the  next  verse. 
 
 4.  I  \vn.L  MENTION.  The  words 
 are  the  words  of  God.  We  have 
 the  same  abrupt  introduction  of 
 liie  Divine  Speaker  in  other  Psalms. 
 
 Comp,  xiv.  4;  perhaps  xxxii.  8;  Ixxv. 
 2  ;  Ixxxi.  6  ;  and  (according  to  some 
 expositors)  Ixxxii.  2. 
 
 Rahab.  Originally  the  word  de- 
 notes pride,  ferocity.  So  in  Job  ix. 
 13,  "The  helpers  of  pride  {Rahab) 
 do  stoop  under  him."  Possibly  even 
 there,  and  certainly  in  Job  xxvi.  12, 
 it  is  the  name  of  some  fierce  monster 
 of  the  deep,  probably  the  crocodile  : 
 "  He  divideih  the  sea  by  His  power. 
 And  by  His  understanding  He  .smiteth 
 the  proud  monster  [Rahab)."  In  Ps. 
 Ixxxix.  10,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 
 the  reference  to  Egypt :  "Thou  hast 
 broken  Rahab  in  pieces,"  the  croco- 
 dile of  the  Nile  being  there  taken  as 
 the  symbol  of  that  kingdom.  So  too 
 in  Is.  li.  9,  "  Art  thou  not  it  that 
 hath  cut  Rahab  [i.e.  smiiten  Egypt) 
 and  wounded  the  dragofi  ?  "  and  xxx. 
 7,    "The    Egyptians    shall   help   in 
 
 vain,    &c They   are    Rahab 
 
 (proud,  mighty,  &c.)."  The  name, 
 then,  is  applied  to  Egypt  as  a  vast 
 and  formidable  power,  of  which  the 
 crocodile  might  naturally  be  regarded 
 as  a  symbol. 
 
 Among  them  that  know  Me, 
 lit.  "  as  belongini^  to  (the  number  of) 
 them  that  know  Me."  The  verb  to 
 k)unv  is  here  used  in  that  deeper  and 
 wider  sense  in  which  it  frequently 
 occurs  in  Scripture,  both  of  God  and 
 of  man.  Comp.  i.  6  (where  see  note), 
 and  xxxvi.  10;  John  x.  14,  15.  It 
 is  the  knowledge  of  friendship,  the 
 knowledge  which  springs  of  intimate 
 acquaintance,  the  kiiowledge  of  parent 
 and  child. 
 
128 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVIL 
 
 LoThilistia  and  Tyre,  with  Ethiopia: 
 
 *  This  one  is  born  there.' 
 
 5  And  to  Zion  it  is  said  : 
 
 *  One  after  another  is  born  in  her, 
 
 And  the  Most  High  Himself  shall  stablish  her/ 
 
 6  Jehovah  shall  reckon  when  He  writeth  the  nations, 
 
 '  This  one  is  born  there.'  "     [Selah.] 
 
 PiiiLisTi^,  Tyre,  Ethiopia.  Of 
 all  these  nations  it  shall  be  said  that 
 one  and  another  of  them  ("this  one," 
 as  if  pointing  to  them)  has  become 
 a  worshiper  of  Jehovah,  and  an 
 adopted  citizen  of  Zion,  "bom 
 there."  With  regard  to  these  nations, 
 see  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  quoted 
 in  the  Introduction,  and  comp.  Ixviii. 
 31.  There,  so  Zion  is  designated 
 even  before  she  is  named. 
 
 5,  And  to  Zion,  or  "^Zion,"  it 
 is  said,  one  after  another,  lit. 
 "man  and  man,"  i.e.  vast  multitudes 
 are  born  in  her,  as  the  nations  one 
 after  another  become  mcorporated  as 
 her  children.  The  LXX.  here  render, 
 not,  "it  shall  be  said  to  Zion,"  but 
 "  Mother  Zion  shall  say,"  and  Zion  is 
 spoken  of  as  a  mother  Is.  Ixvi.  7,  liv. 
 I — 3,  Ix.  4,  5  ;  but  the  sense  here  is 
 different.  It  is  remarkable  that  the 
 figure  of  a  new  birth  is  used  to  ex- 
 press the  admission  of  the  different 
 nations  to  the  rights  of  citizenship  in 
 Zion. 
 
 "  Clearly  Zion  stands  in  opposition 
 to  the  countries  mentioned  before,  the 
 one  city  to  the  whole  of  the  different 
 countries,  the  one  city  of  God  to  all 
 the  kingdoms  of  the  world." — 
 I^dilzsck.  These  kingdoms  one 
 after  another  lose  their  population, 
 cease  to  be  kingdoms,  whilst  their 
 inhabitants  all  contribute  to  swell  the 
 population  of  that  city  which  God's 
 own  right  hand  establishes  and  makes 
 glorious. 
 
 6.  \Yhen  Jehovah  writeth,  i.e. 
 takes  a  census  of  the  nations  (comp. 
 the  figure  Ezek.  xiii.  9,  Is.  iv.  3,  and 
 see  note  on  Ps.  Ixtx.  28),  the  most 
 glorious  thing  that  He  can  say  of  each 
 of  them,  the  crown  of  all  their  history, 
 shall  be  this,  not  the  record  of  their 
 separate  national  existence  or  policy 
 or  dominion,  but  the  fact  that  they 
 have  become  members  by  adoption  of 
 the  city  of  God.  Zion  shall  be  the 
 metropolis  of  the  world. 
 
 This  one  is  born  there.  The 
 words  are  repeated,  as  by  God 
 Himself,  as  He  enters  one  after 
 another  in  the  register  of  His 
 city. 
 
 7.  The  compressed  bre\aty  of  this 
 verse  makes  it  extremely  obscure. 
 There  are  various  interpretations.  It" 
 may  be  rendered  : — 
 
 "  Both  they  that  sing  and  they  that 
 dance.  All  my  fountains  (of  delight), 
 are  in  thee  ; "  meaning  that  every 
 source  of  pleasure,  music,  singing,  &c., 
 was  to  be  found  in  Zion. 
 
 The  verse  might  be  arranged 
 thus  :— 
 
 In  thee  are  they  that  sing  and  they 
 that  dance. 
 In  thee  are  all  my  living  springs. 
 
 This   is   abrupt,    but    still   a   natural 
 touch  of  genuine  poetic  feeling. 
 
 Milton,  in  his  paraphrase,  gives  a 
 similar  interpretation  : — 
 
PSA  LM  LXXX  V2II.  4  2  9 
 
 7  Both  they  that  sing  and  they  that  dance, 
 All  my  fountains,  are  in  thee. 
 
 "Both  they  who  sing  and  they  who  In  thee  fresh  brooks  and  soft  streams 
 
 dance  glance, 
 
 With  sacred  songs  are  there  ;  And  all  my  fountains  clear." 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVIII. 
 
 This  is  the  darkest,  saddest  Psalm  in  all  the  Psalter.  It  is  one 
 wail  of  sorrow  from  beginning  to  end.  It  is  the  only  Psalm  in  which 
 the  expression  of  feeling,  the  pouring  out  of  the  burdened  heart 
 before  God,  fails  to  bring  relief  and  consolation.  In  every  other 
 instance,  however  heavy  the  gloom,  however  oppressed  and  dejected 
 the  spirit  of  the  sufferer,  prayer  and  supplication  are  mingled  with 
 thanksgiving,  the  accents  of  lamentation  are  changed  into  the  notes 
 of  triumph,  the  darkness  of  midnight  .gives  way  to  the  brightness  of 
 faith's  morning-dawn.  The  deeper  the  sorrow  at  the  opening,  the 
 greater  the  joy  at  the  close.  But  here  the  darkness  continues  to  the 
 end.  There  is  no  confidence  expressed  that  prayer  will  be  heard, 
 no-  hope  uttered,  much  less  any  triumph.  The  Psalm  ends  with 
 complaint,  as  it  began.  Its  last  word  is  "  darkness."  One  ray  of 
 light  only  struggles  through  the  gloom,  one  star  pierces  that  thick 
 midnight  blackness  ;  it  is  the  name  by  which  the  Psalmist  addresses 
 God  :  "  O  God  of  viy  salvatioJiJ'^  That  he  can  addiess  God  by  that 
 name  is  a  proof  that  faith  and  hope  are  not  dead  within  him  ;  it  is 
 the  pledge  of  his  deliverance,  though  he  cannot  yet  taste  its  comfort. 
 There  is  but  one  such  Psalm,  as  if  to  teach  us  that  our  Father's  will 
 concerning  us  is  not  to  leave  us  in  our  dejection,  but,  in  answer  to  the 
 prayer  of  faith,  to  lift  us  out  of  it  ;  there  is  one,  that  we  may  remember 
 that  even  His  truest  servants  may  be  called  upon  "  to  walk  in  darkness 
 
 *  Adolph  Monod,  in  "  Les  Adieux,"  says  of  this  Psalm,  "  Le  seul  Psaume  qui  soil  tout 
 entier  dans  la  douleur."  But  in  ver.  i,  "  O  Lord  God  of  my  salvation,"  he  sees  "le  germe 
 d'esperance." 
 
430  PSALM  LXXX  VIIL 
 
 and  have  no  light,"  that  thus  they  may  be  the  better  trained,  like  a 
 child  holding  his  father's  hand  in  the  dark,  to  trust  in  the  name  of 
 the  Lord,  to  stay  themselves  upon  their  God." 
 
 The  older  expositors  commonly  interpreted  the  Psalm  of  Christ  and 
 His  Passion,  either  in  Gethsemane  or  on  the  Cross,  And  our  Church 
 has,  in  a  measure,  sanctioned  this  application  by  appointing,  this  as 
 one  of  the  Psalms  for  Good  Friday. 
 
 As  to  the  author,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  the  Psalm 
 was  written,  various  conjectures  have  been  made,  but  they  are  really 
 worth  nothing.  One  thing  only  is  clear,  that  it  is  not  a  national 
 Psalm,  and  that  it  does  not  deplore  the  Babylonish  captivity,  or  any 
 other  national  calamity.  It  is,  throughout,  personal  and  individual. 
 Uzziah  when  smitten  with  leprosy,  Jeremiah  in  the  dungeon,  Hezekiah 
 in  his  sickness.  Job  in  his  sufferings — to  all  these  in  turn  has  the 
 authorship  of  the  Psalm  been  assigned.  But  neither  the  thoughts  nor 
 the  expression  of  the  thoughts  favours  one  of  these  hypotheses  more 
 than  another,  excepting  that,  in  one  or  two  instances,  the  language 
 has  some  affinity  with  that  of  the  Book  of  Job,  whereas  the  language 
 of  ver.  15,  "  I  am  afflicted  from  my  youth  up,"  is,  to  say  the  least  of  it, 
 very  exaggerated  language  in  the  mouth  of  any  of  these  persons,  and 
 hardly  to  be  justified  by  any  pressure  of  sorrow. 
 
 Delitzsch  goes  so  far  as  to  draw  hence  the  inference,  that  Heman 
 the  Ezrahite  was  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Job  ;  but  the  words  which 
 he  quotes  as  common  to  this  Psalm  and  Job  are  to  be  found  in  other 
 places  of  Scripture  :  they  cannot  be  called  characteristic  words,  and 
 therefore  the  argument  built  upon  them  falls  to  the  ground. 
 
 [a  song,    a  psalm  of  the  sons  of  korah.    for  the  precentor, 
 ''after  machalath  l'annoth."*    a  maschil  of  heman  the 
 
 EZRAHITE.  f] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  God  of  my  salvation, 
 
 I  have  cried  day  and  night  before  Thee. 
 
 2  Let  my  prayer  come  before  Thee, 
 
 Incline  Thine  ear  to  my  cry. 
 
 *  To  be  sung:  in  a  sad,  mournful  tone. 
 
 t  Heman  the  Ezrahite,  celebrated  together  with  Ethan  (to  whom  the  next  Psalm  is  ascribed) 
 fjf  his  wisdom,  i  Kings  iv.  31      In  i  Chron.  vi.  33,  42,  both  are  mentioned  as  Levitical  singers. 
 
'SALM  LX XX  VIII. 
 
 431 
 
 3  For  my  soul  is  full  of  troubles, 
 
 And  my  life  draweth  nigh  to  the  unseen  world. 
 
 4  I  am  counted  with  them  that  go  down  into  the  pit, 
 
 I  am  become  as  a  man  that  hath  no  strength, 
 
 5  Among  the  dead,  cast  away, 
 
 Like  the  slain,  lying  in  the  grave, 
 Whom  Thou  rememberest  no  more, 
 But  they  are  cut  off  from  Thy  hand. 
 
 6  Thou  hast  laid  me  in  the  lowest  pit. 
 
 In  darkness,  in  the  deeps. 
 
 7  Upon  me  Thy  fury  lieth  hard, 
 
 And  Thou  hast  afflicted  (me)  with  all  Thy  waves. 
 
 [Selah. 
 
 8  Thou  hast  removed  my  familiar  friends  far  from  me, 
 
 3.  The  greatness  of  his  afidiction, 
 which  has  brought  him  to  the  very 
 edge  of  the  grave,  is  urged  as  a  reason 
 why  God  should  hear  him.  Comp.  vi, 
 4,  5  ;  XXX.  3  ;  Is.  xxxviii.  10,  II. 
 
 Is     FULL    OF    TROUBLES,     lit,     "is 
 
 satiated   with   evils."     Comp.    cxxiii. 
 4;  Lam.  iii.  15,  30. 
 
 4.  That  hath  no  strength,  i.e. 
 not  merely  as  worn  out  with  pain  and 
 suffering,  which  would  be  an  anti- 
 climax, but,  as  the  parallelism  shows, 
 like  the  unsubstantial  shadowy  phan- 
 toms which  people  the  unseen  world. 
 
 5.  Cast  away,  or  as  the  E.  V. 
 "free,"  i.e.  left  alone,  with  none  to 
 care  for  me,  in  that  unseen  world 
 whence  even  God's  Presence  seemed 
 to  be  withdrawn. 
 
 But  it  is  the  same  strain  of  feeling 
 which  we  have  already  had  in  vi.  5,  xxx. 
 9,  where  see  notes.  His  eye  is  looking 
 down  into  the  darkness  ;  he  sees  him- 
 self already  numbered  with  the  dead. 
 But  what  are  tlie  dead  ?  Beings  who 
 "know  not  anything,"  "clean  for- 
 gotten, out  of  mind,"  beings  whom 
 God  Himself  remembers  not.      "The 
 
 living,  the  living,  he  sha^l  praise 
 Thee  :  "  this  was  the  feeling,  not  of 
 Hezekiah  only,  but  of  all  the  Old 
 Testament  siints,  in  seasons  of  gloom 
 and  despondency.  It  could  not  be 
 otherwise  till  the  bright  light  of 
 Christ's  resurrection  was  cast  upon 
 the  grave  and  the  world  beyond. 
 
 6.  In  the  lowest  pit.  See  on 
 Ixiii.  9,  Ixxxvi.  13.  Comp.  Lam.  iii. 
 55,  and  Ezek.  xxvi.  20. 
 
 In  the  deeps,  usually  said  of  the 
 sea,  as  in  IxviiL  22  ;  Exod.  xv.  5  ; 
 here  of  Hades. 
 
 8.  Thou  hast  reatoved,  as  be- 
 fore, ''Thou  hast  laid,"  &c.,  thus 
 directly  tracing  all  to  God's  will  and 
 fatherly  hand. 
 
 My  familtar  friends.  The  word 
 expresses  close  intimate  friendship, 
 more  than  the  mere  "  acquainiance  " 
 of  the  E.V.  He  is  like  one  shut 
 up  in  a  prison — these  cannot  come 
 in  to  him,  nor  he  go  forth  to  them. 
 Delitzsch  thinks  that,  accord  ng  to 
 Levit.  xiii.,  this  sounds  like  the  com- 
 plaint of  a  leper,  the  leprosy  more- 
 over  being  just    that    death    in  life 
 
432 
 
 PSALM  LXXXVIII. 
 
 Thou  hast  made  me  an  abomination  unto  them  ; 
 I  am  shut  up,  (so  that)  I  cannot  ^o  forth. 
 9  Mine  eye  wasteth  away  because  of  affliction  ; 
 
 I  have  called  upon  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  every  day, 
 I  have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  Thee. 
 
 10  Wilt  Thou  show  wonders  unto  the  dead  ? 
 
 Shall  the  shades  below  arise  and  give  Thee  thanks  ? 
 
 [Selah.] 
 
 1 1  Shall  Thy  loving-kindness  be  told  in  the  grave, 
 
 (Or)  Thy  faithfulness  in  destruction  } 
 
 12  Shall  Thy  wonders  be  known  in  the  dark  "i 
 
 'And  Thy  righteousness  in.  the  land  of  forgetfulness  ? 
 
 13  But  as  for  me — unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  have  I  cried, 
 
 And  in  the  morning   my    prayer  cometh   to   meet 
 Thee. 
 
 14  Why,  O  Jehovah,  castest  Thou  off  my  soul  ? 
 
 (Why)  hidest  Thou  Thy  face  from  me  1 
 
 (Numb.  xii.  12)  which  is  so  patheti- 
 cally described  as  the  Psalmist's  con- 
 dition. 
 
 The  cry  here  is  repeated  in  ver.  18. 
 
 An  abomination,  ht.  "abomi- 
 nations," the  plural  intensifying  and 
 enlarging  the  idea.  Comp.  note  on 
 Ixviii.  35. 
 
 10.  Arise,  i.e.  "  rise  up,"  not 
 "rise  again  from  the  dead"  (comp. 
 Ixxxviii.  5).  The  language  refers  to 
 what  takes  place  in  the  unseen  world, 
 not  at  the  resurrection.  Comp.  Is. 
 xiv.  9. 
 
 The  expostulation  is  like  that  of 
 Job:  "If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live 
 again  ?  "  There  is  no  question  of  the 
 general  resurrection,  but  only  the  im- 
 probability that  God  should  restore 
 to  life  one  who  was  already  dead. 
 Calvin  observes  that  "  this  state  of 
 feeling  cannot  be  excused,  inasmuch 
 as  it  is  not  for  us  to  prescribe  to  God 
 v/hen  He  shall  give  us  succour  ;  for 
 
 we  wrong  His  power,  if  we  are  not 
 assured  that  it  is  as  easy  for  Him  to 
 restore  life  to  the  dead  as  to  prevent 
 and  avert  the  last  extremity.  And 
 of  a  truth  the  constancy  of  the  saints 
 has  ever  shown  some  traces  of  the 
 weakness  of  the  flesh,  so  that  God's 
 fatherly  indulgence  has  had  to  make 
 allowance  for  the  defects  which  are 
 mingled  even  with  their  very  vir- 
 tues." 
 
 13.  But  as  for  me,  emphatic  ; 
 though  thus  at  the  very  edge  of  death, 
 though  bowed  down  with  the  heavy 
 load  of  affliction,  still  I  look  to  Thee. 
 This  unwearied  "continuing  instant 
 in  prayer  "  is  the  victory  of  faith  in 
 the. midst  of  trials  v.-hich,  but  for  this, 
 would  end  in  despair.  It  had  been 
 one  lifelong  suffering  yrt'?^  his  youth 
 up,  yet  still  his  earnest  pleading  had 
 never  ceased.  .Such  prayers  are  those 
 "unutterable  groanings "  of  which 
 St.  Paul  speaks. 
 
PSAL  M  LXXXIX.  4  3  3 
 
 15  I  am  afflicted,  and  ready  to  die  :  from  my  youth  up, 
 
 I  have  suffered  Thy  terrors  (till)  I  am  distracted. 
 
 16  Over  me  Thy  fierce  wrath  hath  passed  ; 
 
 Thy  horrors  have  cut  me  off. 
 
 17  They  have  compassed  me  like  waters  all  the  day, 
 
 They  have  come  round  about  me  together. 
 
 18  Thou  hast  removed  lover  and  friend  far  from  mo, 
 
 My  familiar  friends  are — darkness. 
 
 16.  Thy  HORRORS  :  a  frequent  ex-  to  the  grave,    Thou   art  my  father," 
 
 pression  in  the  Book  of  Job,  vi.  4;  &c.      "The  Psalm  ends  with  anene- 
 
 ix.  34  ;  xiii.  21,  &c.  getic  expression  of  its  main  thought — 
 
 18.  Darkness,  lit.    "  the  place  of  the  immediate  vicinity  of  death.    The 
 
 darkness,"  the  dark  kingdom  of  the  darkness  is  thickest  at  the  end,  just 
 
 dead,   is  now  all  I  have  to  look  to,  as  it  is   in   the   morning   before    the 
 
 instead  of  friends,    or,   as  we  might  rising     of    the    sun." — Jlengstenbcrg. 
 
 say,  The  grave  is  now  my  only  friend.  But  here,   at  least,   the  sun  does  not 
 
 Similar  expressions  occur  in  Prov.  vii.  rise. 
 4,  and  in  Job  xvii.  14  :  "I  have  said 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  Psalm  was  written  in  the 
 latter  days  of  the  Jewish  monarchy,  when  the  throne  of  David  had 
 fallen,  or  was  already  tottering  to  its  fall,  and  when  the  prospect  for 
 the  future  was  so  dark  that  it  seemed  as  if  God  had  forgotten  His 
 covenant  and  His  promise.  Tholuck's  conjecture  is  not  improbable, 
 that  the  king  of  whom  the  Psalm  speaks  (ver.  45)  is  the  youthful 
 Jehoiachin,  who  after  a  reign  of  three  months  was  deposed  and 
 imprisoned  by  Nebuchadnezzar,  and  of  whom  it  was  said,  that  no 
 man  of  his  seed  should  "  prosper,  sitting  on  the  throne  of  David." 
 The  lamentation  over  him  in  Jeremiah  xxii.  24 — 29,  may  be  taken 
 as  evidence  that  he  was  beloved  by  his  subjects,  and  the  Prophet 
 and  the  Psalmist  indulge  in  a  similar  strain  as  they  behold  the  last 
 hope  of  David's  house  perish. 
 
 ir   IT 
 
434  PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 There  is  no  reason  to  conclude  from  ver.  47,  that  the  king  himself 
 is  the  author  of  the  Psalm  (see  note  there)  ;  and  from  ver.  18,  indeed, 
 the  contrary  may  perhaps  be  inferred. 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  by  a  reference  to  the  Promise  given  to  David, 
 2  Sam.  vii.  8,  &c.  This  Promise,  and  the  attributes  of  God  on 
 which  the  Promise  rests,  and  which  are  the  great  pledge  of  its  ful- 
 filment, form  the  subject  of  the  poet's  grateful  acknowledgement, 
 before  he  passes  to  the  mournful  contrast  presented  by  the  ruin  of 
 the  house  of  David,  and  the  blighting  of  his  people's  hopes.  He 
 turns  to  the  glorious  past,  that  by  its  aid  he  may  rise  out  of  the  grief 
 and  discouragement  of  the  present.  Ke  takes  the  Promise,  and 
 turns  it  into  a  song.  He  dwells  upon  it,  and  lingers  over  it.  He 
 dwells  ■  on  that  which  is  the  ground  and  pillar  of  the  Promise — the 
 faithfulness  of  God — and  then  he  first  lifts  his  loud  lament  over  the 
 disasters  which  have  befallen  his  king  and  people,  speaking  out  his 
 disappointment,  till  his  words  sound  like  a  reproach  ;  and  next  pleads 
 earnestly  with  God  that  He  would  not  suffer  His  enemies  to  triumph. 
 
 Certain  words  and  thoughts  run  through  the  Psalm,  and  give  it  a 
 marked  character.  Such  are,  especially,  the  constant  reference  to 
 the  "  faithfulness  of  God,"  in  confirming  His  covenant  and  promise, 
 ver.  I,  2,  5,  8,  14,  24,  33,  49  (comp.  also  the  use  of  the  participle 
 "faithful," ver.  28,  37)  ;  the  phrase  "  I  will  not  lie,"  ver.  33,  35  ;  "  I  have 
 sworn,"  ver.  3,  35,  49  ;  and  the  "  covenant,'^  ver.  3,  28,  34,  39. 
 
 [a  MASCHIL   of   ETHAN   THE   EZRAHITE.*] 
 
 I   I  WILL  for  ever  sing  of  the  loving-kindnesses  of  Jehovah, 
 I  will  make  known  Thy  faithfulness  with  my  mouth 
 to  all  generations. 
 
 I,  2.  The  loving-kindness  and  the  is  not  speaking  in  his  own  name,  but 
 
 faithfulness  of  Jehovah  are  the  source  in    the  name   of  the   Church   which 
 
 of  the  Promise.     We  are  led  to  the  abideth  "ever."     But  they  may  refer 
 
 Sf.urce,  that  thence  we  may  track  the  to  the  everlasting  continuance  of  God's 
 
 stream.  love  and  faithfulness,    as  pledged  to 
 
 1.   For   ever.       The   position    of  David  and  his  seed. 
 these  words  before  the  verb  has  been  Loving-kindnesses,  plural,  as  in 
 
 supposed  to  indicate  that  the  Psalmist  Is.  Iv.  3,   "the  sure  mercies  [faithful 
 
 *  See  note  on  Ps.  Ixxxviii, 
 
PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 435 
 
 2  For  I  have  said,  For  ever  shall  loving-kindness  be  built  up, 
 
 In  the  heavens  shalt  Thou  establish  Thy  faithfulness. 
 
 3  "  I  have  made  a  covenant  with  My  chosen, 
 
 I  have  sworn  unto  David  My  servant ; 
 
 4  For  ever  will  I  establish  thy  seed, 
 
 And  build  up  thy  throne  to  all  generations."     [Selah.j 
 
 5  And  the    heavens  shall    praise  Thy  wondrousness,  O 
 
 Jehovah, 
 Thy  faithfulness  also,  in  the  assembly  of  the  holy  ones. 
 
 6  For  who  in  the  sky  can  be  compared  with  Jehovah, 
 
 (Who)  is  like  unto  Jehovah  among  the  sons  of    the 
 mighty } 
 
 7  A  God  very  terrible  in  the  council  of  the  holy  ones. 
 
 loving-kindnesses]  of  David."  For  the 
 same  union  of  these  two  attributes  of 
 God,  see  xxxvi.  5. 
 
 2.  For  I  HAVE  SAID,  i.e.  this  is 
 the  conviction  whence  springs  the 
 resolve  in  ver.  I. 
 
 Be  built  up,  like  some  stately- 
 palace,  rising  even  greater  and  fairer, 
 stone  by  stone,  before  the  wondering 
 eyes  of  men,  knowing  no  decay,  never 
 destined  to  fall  into  ruin. 
 
 In  the  heavens,  lit.  "  As  for  the 
 heavens,  Thou  shalt  establish  Thy 
 faithfulness  in  them."  The  heavens 
 are  the  type  of  unchangeableness  and 
 perpetuity,  as  compared  with  the  rest- 
 less vicissitudes,  the  ever-shifting 
 shows  of  earth.     Comp.  cxix.  89. 
 
 3,  4.  These  are  the  words  of  God, 
 the  sum  of  His  promise  as  given  in 
 2  Sam.  vii.  They  are  introduced  with 
 remarkable  abruptness,  standing  alone 
 in  their  forcible  brevity,  whilst  the 
 Psalmist  passes  on  to  celebrate  at 
 length  the  might  and  faithfulness  of 
 the  Promiser,  In  the  19th  verse  he 
 returns  to  the  promise,  and  then  ex- 
 pands and  dwells  upon  it. 
 
 Most  of  the  expressions,  "  David 
 My  servant,"  "  establish,"  "  forever," 
 "build,"  the  parallelism  of  "seed" 
 and    "throne,"      "  My  chosen,"  are 
 
 taken,  either  du-ectly  or  indirectly, 
 from  the  original  passage  in  2  Sam. 
 
 5.  At  first  sight  the  passage  which 
 follows  to  ver.  18  appears  to  break 
 the  train  of  thought.  But  the  object 
 of  the  Psalmist  is  to  place  in  the 
 strongest  light  those  attributes  of 
 God  on  which  the  Julfilnient  of  His 
 Promise  depends.  For  "  in  a  promise 
 everything  depends  upon  the  person 
 who  promises.  The  question  there- 
 fore occurs.  Has  he  the  will  and  the 
 power  to  fulfil  the  promise  ?  " — Heng- 
 stenberg.  Hence  the  Psalmist  dwells 
 first  upon  God's  power  as  exhibited 
 and  confessed  in  creation,  then  upon 
 His  righteousness,  goodness,  and  truth, 
 as  manifested  especially  to  His  people, 
 of  whom  and  of  whose  king  He  is 
 the  protector. 
 
 Thy  wondrousness  (lit.  wonder)  : 
 not  "  Thy  wondrous  works,"  but 
 "Thy  wonderful  mysterious  nature 
 and  being,"  as  separate  and  distinct 
 from  that  of  all  created  beings.  The 
 word  occurs  in  Is.  ix.  6,  as  one  of  the 
 names  of  Messiah  (comp.  also  Judg. 
 xiii.  18). 
 
 Assembly  of  the  holy  ones, 
 
 i.e.  the  angels,  to  which  corresponds 
 
 in  the  next  verse,    * '  the  sons  of  the 
 
 mighty  ; "  comp.  xxix.  I.     They  are 
 
 F  F   2 
 
43^ 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 And  to  be  feared  above  all   them   that   are   round 
 about  Him  ? 
 
 8  O  Jehovah,  God  of  Hosts, 
 
 Who  is  mighty  as  Thou,  O  Jah  ! 
 And  Thy  faithfulness  is  round  about  Thee. 
 
 9  Thou  rulest  the  pride  of  the  sea  ; 
 
 When  the  waves  thereof  arise,  Thou  stillest  them. 
 
 10  Thou  hast  crushed  Rahab,  as  one  that  is  slain  ; 
 
 With  Thy  mighty   arm  Thou  hast  scattered  Thine 
 enemies. 
 
 1 1  Thine  are  (the)  heavens,  Thine  also  is  the  earth  ; 
 
 Thou  hast  founded  the  world  and  the  fulness  thereof. 
 
 1 2  Thou  hast  created  the  north  and  the  south, 
 
 Tabor  and  Hermon  shout  for  joy  in  Thy  Name. 
 
 called  an  "assembly,"  or  "congre- 
 gation," as  the  church  above,  which, 
 like  the  church  below,  worships  and 
 praises  God.  In  this  second  clause 
 the  verb  must  be  repeated  from  the 
 first  :  "  Thy  faithfulness  also  is 
 praised,"  &c. 
 
 8.  And  Thy  faithfulness.  Or 
 as  Ewald  :  "  And  what  faithfulness  is 
 like  Thy  faithfulness,"  &c. 
 
 Round  about  Thee,  God's  attri- 
 butes being  personified,  as  in  ver. 
 14  and  Ixxxv.  13.  Then  follow  proofs 
 and  instances,  first,  of  God's  might, 
 ver.  9—13,  and  then  of  His  faithful- 
 ness, ver.  14 — 18. 
 
 10.  Rahab  ;  here  probably,  as  in 
 Ixxxvii.  4  (where  see  note)  a  name 
 of  Egypt.  God's  power  as  niling  the 
 sea  would  naturally  be  connected  in 
 the  Psalmist's  mind  with  that  great 
 manifestation  of  His  power  in  the 
 deliverance  from  Egypt.  Compare 
 the  same  association  of  ideas  in  Ixxiv. 
 13 — 17.  Others  take  the  word  in  the 
 more  general  sense  oi  pride  {i.e.  our 
 proud  foes),  as  in  Job  ix.  13,  xxvi. 
 12.  In  the  context  of  both  passages 
 in  Job,  God's  power  over  the  sea  is 
 magnified,  but  the  Book  is  too  far 
 removed  from  the  circle  of  Israelitish 
 
 history  to  allow  of  our  seeing  any 
 reference  there  to  the  passage  of  the 
 Red  Sea. 
 
 As  ONE  that  is  slain.  The 
 particle  of  comparison  must  not  be 
 pressed.  The  sense  is  :  "  Thou  hast 
 crushed  Egypt,  so  that  it  lies  fallen, 
 like  one  who  has  received  a  deadly 
 wound." 
 
 11.  Thou  hast  founded,  &c.  : 
 lit.  "  As  for  the  world  and  the  fulness 
 thereof.  Thou  hast  founded  them." 
 And  so  in  the  next  verse:  "The 
 north  and  the  south,  Thou  hast  cre- 
 ated them." 
 
 12.  Tabor  and  Hermon  do  not 
 denote  merely  the  West  and  East, 
 as  most  interpreters  explain.  They 
 are  mentioned  rather  as  conspicuous 
 mountains  in  a  mountain  land.  Ta- 
 bor, "  remarkable  for  the  verdure, 
 which  climbs — a  rare  sight  in  Eastern 
 scenery — to  its  very  summit"  (Stan- 
 ley, Sinai  and  Palestine,  p.  350)  ; 
 Hermon,  as  its  name  imports,  "the 
 lofty  prominent  peak,"  crowned  with 
 snow,  the  most  striking  of  all  the 
 mountains  of  Palestine,  are  fit  repre- 
 sentatives of  the  whole  country  ;  open, 
 as  it  were,  the  loud  hymn  of  praise. 
 See  Ixxii.  3  ;  xcviii.  8. 
 
PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 13  Thine  is  an  arm  (clothed)  with  might, 
 
 Strong  is  Thy  hand,  high  is  Thy  right  hand. 
 
 14  Righteousness  and  judgement    are  the  pillars 
 
 throne. 
 
 437 
 
 of   T 
 
 iiy 
 
 Loving-kindness  and  Truth  go  to  meet  Thy  face. 
 
 15  Blessed  are  the  people  that  know  the  joyful  sound, 
 
 That  walk,  OJehovah,  in  the  light  of  Thy  countenance. 
 
 16  In  Thy  name  do  they  exult  all  the  day, 
 
 And  in  Thy  righteousness  are  they  exalted. 
 
 17  For  Thou  art  the  glory  of  their  might, 
 
 And  in  Thy  favour  our  horn  is  exalted  ; 
 
 1 8  For  to  Jehovah  belongeth  our  shield, 
 
 And  to  the  Holy  One  of  Israel  our  king. 
 
 19  Then  Thou  spakest  in  vision  to  Thy  beloved  and  saidst, 
 
 "  I  have  laid  help  upon  a  mighty  man, 
 
 14.  Pillars,  or  perhaps  as  others, 
 "basis,  foundation." 
 
 15 — 18.  Such  is  the  God,  so  full 
 of  majesty  and  power,  who  has  given 
 the  promise.  Blessed,  therefore,  are 
 the  people  who  have  Jehovah  for 
 their  God.  They  may  well  rejoice  in 
 their  privilege. 
 
 15,  The  joyful  sound,  i.e.  the 
 loud  music  of  trumpets,  &c.,  in  the 
 festivals,  especially  on  the  New  Year's 
 Day,  Lev.  xxiii.  24,  or  on  extra- 
 ordinary occasions.  Numb.  x.  I — 10, 
 xxiii.  21  ;  Josh.  vi.  5,  20,  &c.  See 
 on  xxvii.  6  ;  Ixxxi,  i.  This  Israel 
 only  knows,  because  Israel  only  is  the 
 jDeople  of  God.  They  are  blessed, 
 because  they,  and  they  only,  of  all 
 nations,  can  keep  these  solemn  feasts 
 to  His  praise. 
 
 18..  Our  shield,  i.e.  as  is  evi- 
 dent from  the  parallelism,  the  king. 
 Comp.  xlvii.  10.  The  rendering, 
 "Jehovah  is  our  shield,"  is  against 
 grammar. 
 
 19.  The  mention  of  the  king  in  the 
 ])receding  verse  leads  now  to  the  re- 
 feumption  and  expansion  of  the  pro- 
 
 mise given  to  David.  The  two  aspects 
 of  God's  relation  to  David  and  his 
 house  and  kingdom  are  herein  pre- 
 sented to  us,  an  outward  and  an  in- 
 ward, corresponding  to  the  two  great 
 attributes  of  God  which  are  praised 
 in  ver.  I — 18  ;  His  omnipotence  and 
 His  faithfulne-s.  To  the  first  of  these 
 belong  :  {a)  David's  exaltation  to  the 
 throne,  ver.  19 ;  (/;)  God's  constant 
 aid,  and  hence  his  victory  over  his 
 foes,  ver.  21 — 23,  and  extended 
 dominion,  ver.  24,  25.  To  the  second, 
 which  is  the  most  prominent,  God's 
 fatherly  relation  to  David's  seed, 
 which  is  shown  in  {a)  the  exaltation 
 to  the  dignity  of  a  son,  who  is  also 
 the  first-born,  and  therefore  holds  the 
 pre  eminence  above  all  kings,  ver.  26, 
 27  ;  accordingly  {b)  an  cve7-lasting 
 covenant  made  with  him  and  his 
 seed,  and  an  everlasting  kingdom, 
 ver.  28,  29  ;  hence,  too,  {c)  the  trans- 
 gressions of  his  sons  are  visited,  in- 
 deed, with  a  fatherly  chastisement, 
 ver.  30 — 32,  but  cannot  make  the 
 covenant  void,  ver.  33,  34  ;  {d)  and 
 the  assurance  is  finally  repeated,  that 
 
43^  PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 I  have  exalted  one  chosen  out  of  the  people. 
 
 20  I  have  found  David  My  servant, 
 
 With  My  holy  oil  have  I  anointed  him  ; 
 
 2 1  With  whom  My  hand  shall  be  established  ; 
 
 Mine  arm  also  shall  strengthen  him. 
 
 22  No  enemy  shall  exact  upon  him, 
 
 No  son  of  wickedness  shall  afflict  him. 
 2T,  And  I  will  beat  down  his  adversaries  before  his  face, 
 And  plague  them  that  hate  him  ; 
 
 24  And  My  faithfulness  and  My  loving-kindness  shall  be 
 
 with  him, 
 And  in  My  Name  shall  his  horn  be  exalted  ; 
 
 25  And  I  will  set  his  hand  on  the  sea, 
 
 And  his  right  hand  on  the  rivers. 
 
 26  He  shall  call  Me  '  Thou  art  my  Father, 
 
 My  God,  and  the  Rock  of  my  salvation.' 
 
 27  Also  I  will  make  him  My  first-born, 
 
 Highest  of  the  kings  of  the  earth. 
 
 28  For  ever  will  I  keep  for  him  My  loving-kindness, 
 
 And  My  covenant  is  faithful  with  him. 
 
 29  And  I  will  make  his  seed  (to  endure)  for  ever, 
 
 And  his  throne  as  the  days  of  heaven. 
 
 30  If  his  children  forsake  My  law, 
 
 And  walk  not  in  My  judgements, 
 
 this   covenant   which   God  has  once  25.  The   sea  .  .   .    the   rivers, 
 
 confirmed  by  an  oath,  cannot  he,  and  i.e.   the  Mediterranean  Sea  and   the 
 
 tliat  therefore  the  seed  as  well  as  the  Euphrates,  with  reference,  no  doubt, 
 
 throne  of  David  must  endure  as  the  to  the  extent  of  Solomon's  dominion, 
 
 very  heavens.  See  above  on  Ixxx.  ii.     Or  the  range 
 
 Then,   referring  to  the  time  when  of  hope  may  be  wider,  as  in  Ixxii.  8. 
 
 the  promise  was  given.  The  plural   "  rivers"  is  in  accordance 
 
 Thy  beloved.      On  this  word  see  with  poetic  usage,   and   need  not  be 
 
 note  on  xvi.  10.      David  is  evidently  explained    of  the   Euphrates   and  its 
 
 meant,    though    the    revelation    was  separate  channels,   or  the  Euphrates 
 
 made  in  vision,    not  to  him,  but  to  and  Tigris,  &c. 
 
 Nathan  (2  Sam.  vii.  4,  17).  27.   My  first-born.      As  he  calls 
 
 A  mighty  man.     Comp.   2  Sam.  Me  "  Father,"  so  I  not  only  acknow- 
 
 xvii.  10.  ledge  him  as  My  son,  but  as  My  first- 
 
 22.   Son    of   wickedness.      Th's  born,    and   therefore   My    heir.     (So 
 
 clause   is   taken   verbatim    from    the  Israel  is  called  the  first- bom,  Exod. 
 
 words  of  the  promise  in  2  Sam.  vii.  iv.  22,  and  Ephraim,  Jer.  xxxi.  9.) 
 
 10.  30.  There  follows  a  paraphrase  of 
 
PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 439 
 
 31    If  they  profane  My  statutes, 
 
 And  keep  not  My  commandments, 
 Then  will  I  visit  their  transgression  with  the  rod, 
 
 And  their  iniquity  with  stripes. 
 But  My  loving-kindness  will  I  not  break  off  from  him, 
 
 Nor  suffer  My  faithfulness  to  fail. 
 34  I  will  not  profane  My  covenant, 
 
 Nor  alter  the  thing  that  is  gone  out  of  My  lips ; 
 Once  have  I  sworn  by  My  holiness, 
 
 I  will  not  lie  unto  David. 
 His  seed  shall  be  for  ever. 
 
 And  his  throne  as  the  sun  before  Me. 
 He  shall  be  established  for  ever  as  the  moon, 
 
 And  as  the  faithful  witness  in  heaven." 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 35 
 
 37 
 
 18  But  Thou  hast  cut  off,  and  rejected, 
 
 Thou  hast  been  wroth  with  Thine  anointed. 
 
 2  Sam.  vii.  14.  The  chastisement 
 is  a  necessary  part  of  the  paternal 
 relationship,  Heb.  xii.  The  sins  of 
 individuals  will  be  pmiished  by  God's 
 fatherly  correction,  but  the  covenant 
 cannot  cease,  the  promises  made  to 
 the  seed  as  a  whole  cannot  be  with- 
 drawn. Their  unfaithfulness  cannot 
 make  the  faithfulness  of  God  of  none 
 effect  (Rom,  iii,  3).  But  see,  as  pre- 
 senting a  different  view,   i  Kings  viii. 
 
 25- 
 
 32.  The  rod  .  .  .  stripes.  In 
 2  Sam.  vii.  qualifying  expressions  are 
 added:  "rod  of  men,"  "stripes  of 
 the  children  of  men  : "  not  meaning 
 "such  punishments  as  all  men,  be- 
 cause all  are  sinners,  are  exposed 
 to  ; "  but  either  (i)  chastisements  such 
 as  men  (comp.  for  similar  phraseology 
 Hos.  vi.  7,  Job  xxxi.  33),  human 
 fathers,  employ  for  the  correction, 
 not  the  destruction  of  their  children  ; 
 "  for  what  son  is  there  whom  the 
 father  chasteneth  not  ?  "  or  (2)  chas- 
 tisement fitted  to  the  measure  of  man's 
 endurance  (comp.  i  Cor,  x.  13). 
 
 35.  Once,  ?>.   "  once  for  all. " 
 IJY   My  holiness,   as    in    Amos 
 iv.  2, 
 
 37.  The  faithful  witness. 
 This,  according  to  the  parallelism, 
 must  be  "the  moon."  Luther  and 
 others  have  supposed  the  rainbow  to 
 be  meant.  Others,  again,  think  that 
 the  witness  is  God  himself,  and  ren- 
 der, "And  a  faithful  witness  is  in 
 heaven."  But  the  moon  is  more  for 
 certain  seasons  than  any  other  orb  : 
 in  all  countries  she  has  been  the  arbiter 
 of  festivals. 
 
 38.  But  now  comes  the  mournful 
 contrast.  This  covenant,  made  by  the 
 almighty  and  all-faithful  God,  con- 
 firmed and  ratified  by  an  oath,  eternal 
 as  the  heavens  are  eternal,  sure  as  the 
 order  of  the  Universe  is  sure — what 
 has  become  of  it  ?  Has  it  not  failed, 
 or  is  it  not  in  danger  of  failing? 
 Appearances  are  against  its  perpetuity, 
 against  the  trutii  of  God.  The  ex- 
 postulation of  the  Psalmist  is  nothing 
 Jess  than  a  reproach.  God  has  with 
 His  own  hand  cast  down  the  throne 
 
4  10 
 
 PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 39  Thou  hast  made  void  the  covenant  of  Thy  servant, 
 
 Thou  hast  profaned  his  crown  (by  casting  it)  to  the 
 ground. 
 
 40  Thou  hast  broken  down  all  his  hedges, 
 
 Thou  hast  made  his  strongholds  a  ruin. 
 
 41  All  they  that  pass  by  the  way  have  spoiled  him, 
 
 He  is  become  a  reproach  to  his  neighbours. 
 
 42  Thou  hast  exalted  the  right  hand  of  his  adversaries. 
 
 Thou  hast  made  all  his  enemies  to  rejoice. 
 
 43  Also  Thou  turnest  the  edge  of  his  sword, 
 
 And  hast  not  made  him  to  stand  in  the  battle, 
 
 44  Thou  hast  made  his  glory  to  cease. 
 
 And  hast  cast  his  throne  down  to.  the  ground  ; 
 
 45  Thou  hast  shortened  the  days  of  his  youth, 
 
 Thou  hast  covered  him  wath  shame.     [Selah.] 
 
 46 
 
 How   long,  O   Jehovah,  wilt   Thou   hide    Thyself,  for 
 
 ever  .'' 
 
 Shall  Thy  fury  burn  like  fire 
 
 of  David,  and  annulled  the  covenant  : 
 so  it  seems  to  one  who  measures  pro- 
 mise and  performance  by  a  human 
 standard. 
 
 The  boldness  of  the  expostulation 
 has  scandalized  the  Jewish  interpre- 
 ters. Aben  Ezra  tells  the  story  of  a 
 wise  and  pious  Jew  in  Spain,  who 
 would  never  read  nor  listen  to  this 
 Psalm,  and  he  and  others  would  get 
 rid  of  the  offence  by  taking  ver.  38 — 
 45  as  expressing  the  scoff  of  enemies, 
 not  the  reproach  of  the  Psalmist.  But 
 see  the  exactly  similar  language  in 
 xliv.  9—22,  and  notes  there. 
 
 40.  PIis  HEDGES.  The  pronouns 
 in  this  and  the  next  verse  refer  gram- 
 matically to  the  king,  but  in  sense  to 
 the  people,  who  are  regarded  as  one 
 with  their  monarch.  The  expressions 
 are  borrowed  from  Ixxx.   12. 
 
 44  Glory,  lit.  "  purity,"  and  thus 
 "splendour,"  "majesty,"  and  the 
 like. 
 
 45.  Thou  hast  shortened,  &c. 
 This  has  been  explained  b>  Grotius 
 and  others  of  the  short  reigns  of  the 
 later  sovereigns  of  Judea.  But  if 
 spoken  of  an  individual  monarch,  the 
 expression  would  naturally  mean  that 
 he  had  grown  old  before  his  time  ; 
 comp.  Hos.  vii.  9  :  if  of  the  family  of 
 David,  it  would  be  a  figure  denoting 
 its  failing  strength  before  it  attained 
 to  the  glory  and  dominion  promised. 
 
 46.  The  transition  from  expostula- 
 tion to  pleading  ;  which  of  itself  shows 
 how  the  expostulation  is  to  be  under- 
 stood. It  is  human  weakness  dis- 
 covering to  God  its  inmost  heart. 
 There  is  a  sense  of  wrong,  and  the 
 true  man  says  that  he  feels  it,  speaks 
 it  out,  and  asks  God  to  set  it  right. 
 It  is  an  example  of  the  perpetual  clash 
 between  convictions  and  facts.  See 
 Hab.  i.  2,  3. 
 
 The  pleading  consists  of  two  parts. 
 each  comprised  in  three  verses.     The 
 
PSALM  LXXXIX. 
 
 44T 
 
 47 
 
 O  remember  how  short  a  time  I  have  to  Hve  ! 
 
 For  what  vanity  hast  Thou  created  all    the  sons  of 
 men  ! 
 
 48  What  man  is  he  that  liveth  and  shall  not  see  death, 
 
 That    can    deliver   his    soul  from    the   hand    of     the 
 unseen  world  ?     [Selah.] 
 
 49  Lord,  where  are  Thy  former  loving-kindnesses, 
 
 Which    Thou    swarest  unto  David  in    Thy    faithful- 
 ness ? 
 
 50  Remember,  Lord,  the  reproach  of  Thy  servants, 
 
 How    I  bear  in  my  bosom  [the   reproach  of]  many 
 peoples, 
 
 51  Wherewith   Thine  enemies    have  reproached  Thee,  O 
 
 Jehovah, 
 W^herewith  they  have   reproached   the   footsteps    of 
 Thine  anointed. 
 
 52  Blessed  be  Jehovah  for  evermore.     Amen,  and  Amen. 
 
 argument  of  the  first  is  the  shortness 
 of  human  life  ;  that  of  the  second, 
 the  dishonour  cast  upon  God  by  the 
 triumph  of  His  enemies. 
 
 How  LONG  .  .  .  FOR  EVER.  See 
 note  on  xiii.  I,  and  comp.  Ixxix.  5. 
 
 47.  How  SHORT  A  TIME  :  a  fre- 
 quent ground  of  appeal  to  God's  for- 
 bearing mercy,  xxxix.  5  ;  Job  vii,  6, 
 xiv.  I,  &c. 
 
 For  the  sentiment  in  this  and  the 
 two  following  verses,  see  note  on 
 Ixxxviii.  10.  The  occurrence  of  the 
 ]ironoun  of  the  first  person  singular 
 can  only  be  explained  by  its  being  in- 
 tended to  describe  a  fact  of  common 
 experience,  for  in  ver.  17,  18  the 
 people  speak  in  the  first  person  plural^ 
 and  the  Anointed  is  always  spoken  of 
 in  the  third  person.  The  "  I  "  is  the 
 expression  of  personal  feeling,  mea- 
 suring others  by  itself.  Or  ver,  47  —49 
 may  mean,  "  Let  me,  even  7ne,  see 
 Thy  restoring  love." 
 
 49.  Former  LOVING-KINDNESSES  ; 
 noc  the  promise  itself,  but  the  mani- 
 
 fold  proof  of  its   fulfilment   in   past 
 times. 
 
 50.  I  bear  in  my  BOSOM.  The 
 phrase  elsewhere  signifies  "cherish- 
 ing with  tender  care  and  affection." 
 It  is  here  rather  the  expression  of  an 
 intense  sympathy  with  the  Anointed 
 as  the  representative  of  Jehovah,  and 
 is  urged  as  a  plea  why  God's  faith- 
 fulness should  be  vindicated. 
 
 51.  Footsteps,  i.e.  as  we  might 
 say,  "  every  step  he  takes."  Comp. 
 xvii.  II  ;  xxii.  16  ;  xlix.  5-  The 
 Targum  interprets  this  as  a  reproach, 
 because  of  the  tarrying  of  the  foot- 
 steps of  the  Messiah.  And  so  Kimchi  : 
 "  He  delays  so  long  in  coming,  that 
 they  say  he  will  never  come."  Thus 
 ends  the  Third  Book  of  the  Psalter, 
 like  the  First  and  Second,  with  a  Mes- 
 sianic Psalm. 
 
 52.  The  Doxology  is  no  part  of  the 
 original  Psalm,  but  was  added  sub- 
 sequently, to  mark  the  close  of  the 
 booiv. 
 
THE    PSALMS 
 
 BOOK  IV. 
 PSALMS  XC.—CVl. 
 
PSALM  XC. 
 
 "  The  90th  Psalm,"  says  Isaac  Taylor,  "  might  be  cited  as  perhaps 
 the  most  sublime  of  human  compositions,  the  deepest  in  feehng,  the 
 loftiest  in  theologic  conception,  the  most  magnificent  in  its  imagery. 
 True  is  it  in  its  report  of  human  life  as  troubled,  transitory,  and  sinful. 
 True  in  its  conception  of  the  Eternal, — the  Sovereign  and  the  Judge, 
 and  yet  the  refuge  and  the  hope  of  men,  who,  notwithstanding  the 
 most  severe  trials  of  their  faith,  lose  not  their  confidence  in  Him  ; 
 but  who,  in  the  firmness  of  faith,  pray  for,  as  if  they  were  predicting, 
 a  near-at-hand  season  of  refreshment.  Wrapped,  one  might  say,  in 
 mystery,  until  the  distant  day  of  revelation  should  come,  there  is  here 
 conveyed  the  doctrine  of  Immortality  :  for  in  this  very  plaint  of  the 
 brevity  of  the  life  of  man,  and  of  the  sadness  of  these  his  few  years  of 
 trouble,  and  their  brevity  and  their  gloom,  there  is  brought  into  con- 
 trast the  Divine  immutability ;  and  yet  it  is  in  terms  of  a  submissive 
 piety  :  the  thought  of  a  life  eternal  is  here  in  embryo.  No  taint 
 is  there  in  this  Psalm  of  the  pride  and  petulance,  the  half-uttered 
 blasphemy,  the  malign  disputing  or  arraignment  of  the  justice  or 
 goodness  of  God,  which  have  so  often  shed  a  venomous  colour  upon 
 the  language  of  those  who  have  writhed  in  anguish,  personal  or  relative. 
 There  are  few,  probably,  among  those  who  have  passed  through  times 
 of  bitter  and  distracting  woe,  or  who  have  stood  the  helpless  spec- 
 tators of  the  miseries  of  others,  that  have  not  fallen  into  moods  of 
 mind  violently  in  contrast  with  the  devout  and  hopeful  melancholy 
 which  breathes  throughout  this  Ode.  Rightly  attributed  to  the  Hebrew 
 Lawgiver  or  not,  it  bespeaks  its  remote  antiquity,  not  merely  by  the 
 majestic  simplicity  of  its  style,  but  negatively  by  the  entire  avoidance 
 of  those  sophisticated  turns  of  thought  which  belong  to  a  late — a 
 lost  age,  in  a  people's  intellectual  and  moral  history.  This  Psalni, 
 undoubtedly,  is  centuries  older  than  the  moralizing  of  that  time, 
 when  the  Jewish  mind  had  listened  to  what  it  could  never  bring  into 
 a  true  assimilation  with  its  own  mind — the  abstractions  of  the  Greek 
 Philosophy."— vS)^/;7/  of  the  Hebrew  Poetry^  pp.  16 1-3. 
 
446  PSALM  XC. 
 
 "  There  are  important  intertial  reasons,"  says  Hengstenberg,  "  which 
 maybe  urged  in  favour  of  the  composition  of  the  Psalm  by  Moses,  as 
 announced  in  the  title.  The  poem  bears  throughout  the  stamp  of 
 high  antiquity ;  *  there  is  no  other  Psalm  which  so  decidedly  conveys 
 the  impression  of  being  the  original  expression  of  the  feelings  to 
 which  it  gives  utterance.  There  is,  moreover,  no  other  Psalm  which 
 stands  so  much  by  itself,  and  for  which  parallel  passages  furnish  so 
 little  kindred  matter  in  its  characteristic  peculiarities.  On  the  other 
 hand,  there  occurs  a  series  of  striking  allusions  to  the  Pentateuch, 
 especially  to  the  poetical  passages,  and  above  all  others  to  Deut. 
 xxxii.,  allusions  which  are  of  a  different  kind  from  those  which  occur 
 in  other  passages  in  the  Psalms,  and  which  do  not  appear,  like  them, 
 to  be  borrowed.  Luther  remarks  in  the  Psalm  another  peculiarity  : 
 *Just  as  Moses  acts  in  teaching  the  law,  so  does  he  in  this  prayer. 
 For  he  preaches  death,  sin,  and  condemnation,  in  order  that  he  may 
 alarm  the  proud  who  are  secure  in  their  sins,  and  that  he  may  set 
 before  their  eyes  their  sin  and  evil,  concealing,  hiding  nothing.'  The 
 strong  prominence  given  to  the  doctrine  of  death  as  the  wages  of  sin 
 is  characteristic  of  the  Psalm,  a  doctrine  of  not  frequent  occurrence 
 in  Holy  Scripture,  and  especially  not  in  the  Psalms,  and  which  is 
 proclaimed  as  distinctly  and  impressively  as  it  is  here  only  in  the 
 Pentateuch,  Gen.  ii.,  iii.,  and  in  those  ordinances  of  the  ceremonial 
 lav/  which  threaten  death." 
 
 The  points  of  resemblance  between  the  language  of  the  Psalm  and 
 expressions  occurring  in  parts  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  more  particularly 
 in  Deuteronomy,  will  be  found  mentioned  in  the  notes.  To  those  who 
 believe,  as  I  do,  that  Deuteronomy  was  written  by  Moses,  they  furnish 
 an  argument  for  the  Mosaic  authorship  of  the  Psalm. 
 
 "  This  Psalm,  then,  is  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  inspired  utterances. 
 It  is  the  prayer  which  is  read  over  the  mortal  dust  of  some  hundreds 
 of  the  children  of  men,  every  week,  in  London  alone.  And  so  used, 
 none  of  us  finds  it  antiquated.  The  lapse  of  3,000  years  has  not 
 made  it  necessary  to  discard  this  clause  and  that.  Words  that 
 described  the  relation  of  the  children  of  Israel  to  the  eternal  God, 
 serve  still  to  express  the  devotion  of  English  hearts  turning  to  God 
 in  their  sorrow.  As  these  grand  words  are  uttered,  the  curtain  that 
 hangs  round  our  life  seems  to  draw  back,  and  we  see,  beyond,  depths 
 that  we  dreamt  not  of.     From  time  and  the  slow  succession  of  events, 
 
 *  So  Herder  calls  it  "  that  ancient  Psalm,  that  hymn  of  eternity." 
 
PSALM  XC.  447 
 
 from  the  minutes  and  the  hours  that  scera  so  long  and  so  many,  we 
 turn  to  God,  whose  eternal  nature  was  as  it  now  is  even  when  the 
 world  was  formed,  and  to  whom  a  thousand  years  are  no  more  than 
 the  middle  watch  of  the  night  is  to  a  sound  slecpef.  Nations  that 
 seem  established  for  ever  are  carried  off  down  the  roaring  cataract  of 
 time  ;  men  full  of  pride,  and  glory,  and  power,  grow  and  perish  like 
 grass  ;  and  God  alone  remains  unchangeable — the  same  yesterday, 
 and  to-day,  and  for  ever." — Archbishop  of  York's  Sermons  preached 
 at  Lincoln^ s  Inn,  p.  2. 
 
 The  Psalm  has  no  strophical  division,  nor  even  any  regular  rhyth- 
 mical arrangement.     It  consists  of  two  principal  parts  : — 
 
 I.  The  first  is  a  meditation  on  the  Eternity  of  God,  as  it  stands  in 
 contrast  with  the  weakness  and  transitoriness  of  man  (ver.  i — 12)  ; 
 and  here  we  have,  first,  the  contrast  stated  (ver.  i — 6),  and  then  the 
 reason  of  this  transitoriness,  viz.  man's  sin,  and  God's  wrath  as 
 following  thereon,  together  with  the  prayer  for  wisdom  to  turn  to 
 a  practical  account  these  facts  of  human  life  (ver,  7 — 12). 
 
 II.  The  second  (ver.  13 — 17)  is  a  prayer  that  God — who,  notwith- 
 standing Israel's  sin,  and  notwithstanding  the  chastisement  that  sin 
 has  provoked,  is  still  Israel's  Home  and  Refuge — would  now  at  last 
 have  compassion  upon  His  people,  give  them  joy  for  sorrow  (ver. 
 13 — 15),  and  crown  all  their  labours  with  success  (ver  16,  17). 
 
 [a  prayer  of  MOSES,  THE  MAN  OF  GOD.] 
 
 I   Lord,  Thou  hast  been  our  dwelling-place 
 In  all  generations. 
 
 Ver.    I — 6.     The  eternity  and  un-  pilgrims,"  of  what  He  had  been  both 
 
 changeableness  of  God  contrasted  with  to  their  fathers  and  to  themselves, 
 the  transitoriness  of  man.  Our    dwelling-place,     or    "a 
 
 I.    Thou    hast  been,   or    "hast  place  of  refuge  for  us,"     The  word, 
 
 provedThyself  to  be."  It  is  the  record  which  occurs  Deut.  xxxiii,  27,  com- 
 
 of  a  past  experience,  not  merely  the  bines   both   ideas,    and   would    have 
 
 statement  of  what  God  is  in  His  own  a  peculiar   force   of  meaning  for  the 
 
 nature.     It  is  the  acknowledgement  of  Israelites    in    the   wilderness.       For 
 
 what  God  has  been  to  Abraham,  to  Israel   was   without    a    country  and 
 
 Isaac,  and  to  Jacob,   when  they  had  without   a    home,    finding    here  and 
 
 no   fixed   dwelling-place,   but   "  con-  there  only  a  brief  resting-place  beside 
 
 fessed  that  they   were  strangers  and  the  well  and  under  the  palms  of  the 
 
448 
 
 PSALM  XC. 
 
 Before  the  mountains  were  brought  forth, 
 
 Or  ever  Thou  gavest  birth  to  the  earth  and  the  world, 
 
 Yea  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  Thou  (art)  God. 
 Thou  turnest  frail  man  to  dust, 
 
 And  sayest :  Return,  ye  children  of  men. 
 For  a  thousand  years  in  Thy  sight 
 
 Are  (but)  as  yesterday,  when  it  passeth, 
 
 And  (as)  a  watch  in  the  night. 
 
 desert.  And  Israel  was  without  a 
 refuge,  exposed  to  enemies  and  a 
 thousand  perils. 
 
 In  all  generations,  lit.  "  in 
 generation  and  generation,"  a  phrase 
 which  occurs  Deut.  xxxii.  7- 
 
 2.  Thou  gavest  birth  to.  "  Or 
 ever  the  earth  and  the  world  were 
 formed." 
 
 Earth  .  .  .  world.  The  former 
 is  the  more  common  and  general 
 word  ;  the  latter,  which  is  exclu- 
 sively used  in  poetry,  denotes,  ac- 
 cording to  its  etymology,  the  fruit- 
 ful earth  (comp.  Prov.  viii.  31  ; 
 Job  xxxvii.  12). 
 
 3.  To  DUST  :  lit.  "to  the  state  of 
 one  who  is  crushed,  reduced  to 
 dust,"  with  allusion,  no  doubt,  to 
 Gen.  iii.  19. 
 
 Return.  As  men  perish  by  the 
 breath  of  God,  so  by  His  word  He 
 calls  others  into  being  :  "  one  gene- 
 ration goeth,  and  another  cometh." 
 Such  is  probably  the  meaning. 
 Some  suppose  the  second  clause  of 
 the  verse  to  be  merely  a  repetition  of 
 the  first : 
 
 "  Thou  turnest  men  to  destruction, 
 And  sayest,   Turn  {i.e.  to  destruc- 
 tion), ye  children  of  men." 
 But   if  an   emphatic  repetition   were 
 designed,    the   form   of  the   sentence 
 would  rather  have  been  : 
 "  rhou  sayest,  Turn  to  destruction, 
 ye  children  of  men. 
 And  they  are  turned." 
 
 4.    Yesterday.      To   a  Jew,  the 
 new  day  began  in  the  evening 
 
 A      WATCH      IN     THE     NIGHT.      The 
 
 night  was  anciently  divided  into 
 three,  later  into  four  watches. 
 There  is  a  climax  ;  for  the  past 
 day,  short  as  it  seems,  was,  whilst 
 it  was  passing,  capable  of  measure- 
 ment :  it  had  its  hours  and  its 
 mmutes,  its  thoughts  and  its  acts, 
 and  its  memories.  But  the  night- 
 watch  "  is  for  us  as  though  it  were 
 not ;  we  sleep  through  the  watch 
 of  the  night,  living  but  observing 
 nothing."  '*  In  those  words,  'a 
 thousand  years  in  Thy  sight  are 
 but  as  yesterday,'  &c.,  the  Psalmist 
 has  thrown  a  light  upon  the  nature 
 of  God  such  as  a  volume  of  reason- 
 ing could  not  have  kindled.  With 
 God  there  are  no  measures  of  time. 
 With  us  time  is  the  name  we  give 
 to  the  duration  of  a  certain  succes- 
 sion of  thoughts  and  efforts,  each 
 of  which  for  a  moment  held  full 
 possession  of  us,  each  of  which  cost 
 us  a  certain  pain,  and  contributed 
 a  little  to  that  weariness  which  at 
 last  took  shelter  in  repose.  The 
 Most  High  does  not  and  cannot  so 
 govern  the  world.  He  does  not 
 look  away  from  the  earth  to  add  fuel 
 to  the  sun  ;  He  does  not  leave  one 
 nation  of  the  earth  neglected  whilst 
 He  works  mighty  social  changes  in 
 another.  .  .  .  All  that  we  mean  by 
 time  must  now  be  left  out  of  the 
 account.  ...  It  would  be  a  longer 
 
PSALM  XC. 
 
 449 
 
 5  Thou  sweepest  them  away  (as  with  a  flood) ;  they  are 
 
 (as)  a  sleep  : 
 In  the  morning  they  are  as  grass  which  springeth  afresh. 
 
 6  In  the  morning  it  flourisheth  and  springeth  afresh, 
 
 In  the  evening  it  is  cut  down  and  withereth. 
 
 7  For  we  have  been  consumed  by  Thine  anger, 
 
 And  by  Thy  fury  have  we  been  terrified ; 
 
 8  Thou  hast  set  our  iniquities  before  Thee, 
 
 Our  secret  (sins)  in  the  hght  of  Thy  countenance. 
 
 9  For  all  our  days  have  passed  away  in  Thy  wrath, 
 
 We  have  spent  our  years  as  a  thought  : 
 
 and  more  tedious  task,  if  a  man  were 
 the  worker,  to  build  a  world  than  to 
 guide  a  wayward  nation  through  its 
 fortunes  :  but  what  means  longer  or 
 shorter,  where  there  is  no  labour,  nor 
 waiting,  nor  weai-iness,  but  only  the 
 streaming  forth  of  an  omnipotent  will  ? 
 Dare  we  say  that  it  cost  more  to 
 construct  the  universe  than  to  guide 
 the  footsteps  of  one  man  during  the 
 short  year  that  has  just  closed  ! " — 
 Archbishop  of  York's  Sermons, 
 pp.  6—8. 
 
 The  sentiment  of  the  verse  is  re- 
 peated by  St.  Peter,  who  gives  also 
 the  converse,  2  Pet.  iii,  8. 
 
 5.  Thou  sweepest,  &c.  Or  the 
 two  clauses  may  be  dependent  upon 
 one  another,  as  in  the  P.B.V.  :  '*  As 
 soon  as  Thou  hast  swept  them  away, 
 they  are  (or,  become)  as  a  sleep." 
 
 In  the  morning.  This  can 
 hardly  mean  "in  early  youth,"  as 
 some  of  the  Rabbis  explain.  The 
 words,  strictly  speaking,  are  a  part 
 of  the  ccwiiparison  ("they  are  as 
 grass  which  springeth  afresh  in  the 
 morning"),  and  are  only  thus  placed 
 first  to  give  emphasis  to  the  figure. 
 In  the  East,  one  night's  rain  works 
 a  change  as  if  by  magic.  The  field 
 at  evening  was  brown,  parched,  arid 
 as  a  desert  :  in  the  morning  it  is  green 
 with  the  blades  of  grass.     The  scorch- 
 
 ing hot  wind  (James  i.  ii)  blows  upon 
 it,  and  again  before  evening  it  is 
 withered. 
 
 6.  It  is  cut  down.  Others  render  : 
 "It  is  dried  up."  The  P.B.V.  gives 
 both  meanings  :  "  it  is  cut  down ^  dried 
 7tp,  and  withered." 
 
 8.  Our  secret  (sins),  or,  "our 
 secret  (heart)  ; "  for  the  word  is 
 singular.  Tlie  whole  inner  being, 
 that  which  is  in  man  (John  ii.  25), 
 the  pollution  and  sinfulness  of  which 
 is  hidden  from  a  man  himself,  till 
 it  is  set  in  the  light  of  God's  counte- 
 nance . 
 
 Light,  or  more  properly,  "lumi- 
 nary." The  light  of  God's  counte- 
 nance is  everywhere  else  spoken  of  as 
 a  light  of  love  and  approbation. 
 (Hence,  the  Syriac  renders  the  second 
 clause  "make  us  grow  young  again 
 in  the  light  of  Thy  countenance." 
 Here  it  is  a  revealing  light.  The 
 "light"  or  rather  "sun"  of  God's 
 countenance  shines  down  into  the 
 dark  abysses  of  the  human  heart, 
 bringing  out  its  hidden  evils  into 
 strong  and  painful  relief.  The  nearest 
 parallel  expression  occurs  in  Prov. 
 XV.  30,  where  the  same  word  is  used, 
 rendered  in  the  E.V.  "the  light  of 
 the  eyes."  It  means  "that  which 
 contains  and  gives  the  light,  as  the 
 sun,  a  lamp,  &c." 
 
 G  G 
 
4?o 
 
 PSALM  XC. 
 
 10  The  days  of  our  years  are  threescore  years  and  ten, 
 
 Or   (perchance)    by    reason    of    strength,   fourscore 
 years  ; 
 And  their  pride  is  (but)  labour  and  vanity, 
 
 For  it  hath  past  swiftly,  and  we  have  fled  away. 
 
 1 1  Who  knoweth  the  might  of  Thine  anger. 
 
 And  Thy  wrath,  according  to  the  fear  that  is    due 
 unto  Thee  ? 
 
 12  So  teach  us  to  number  our  days. 
 
 That  we  may  gain  a  heart  of  wisdom. 
 
 13  Return,  O  Jehovah  ! — how  long  ? — 
 
 And  let  it  repent  Thee  concerning  Thy  servants. 
 
 9.  As  A  THOUGHT.  The  Same 
 comparison  is  found  in  Homer,  as  an 
 emblem  of  speed  :  ukj^X  Trrepbu  Tje 
 KoTjwa. 
 
 10.  The  days  of  our  years  (a 
 common  expression  in  Genesis).  The 
 \'.teral  rendering  of  this  clause  is,  "  as 
 for  t\\z  days  of  our  years  in  them  are 
 seventy  yturs." 
 
 Or  (PERChA.NCE).  More  literally, 
 "or  if  they  (the  years)  be  with  ful- 
 ness of  strength." 
 
 Their  pride  (the  vvord  occurs 
 only  here),  i.e.  the  pride  of  tlie  years, 
 meaning  all  in  which  men  make  their 
 boast,  as  health,  strength,  honour, 
 riches,  &c. 
 
 For  it  hath  past,  &c.  Word-> 
 which  conie  with  double  force  from 
 the  lips  of  one  now  standing  himself 
 on  the  extreme  verge  of  life,  and 
 looking  back  on  the  past.  Comp. 
 the  language  of  St.  John,  "The 
 world  passeth  away  and  the  lust 
 thereof,"  &c. 
 
 11.  WiiqKXOWETH,  i.e.  "regard- 
 eth,  considereth  ariglit." 
 
 12.  Teach  us,  lit.  "To  number 
 our  days,  so  teach  us,'*  i.e.  in  this 
 niamtcr  teach  us,  give  us  this  kind 
 of  instruction.  The  position  of  the 
 wouls   and   the   accents  justify    this 
 
 interpretation.  Others  take  so  in 
 the  sense  of  accoj'dingly.  And  others 
 again  connect  it  with  what  goes  be- 
 fore :  "  So,  i.  e.  according  to  the  fear 
 due  unto  Thee." 
 
 That  we  may  gain,  gather, 
 bring  in  as  a  harvest,  the  fruit  of  the 
 earth,  &c.  :  a  heart  of  wisdom,  a 
 wise  heart  is  the  fruit  which  we  are  to 
 gather  from  the  Divine  instruction. 
 
 13.  The  prayer  which  follows 
 springs  from  the  deep  source  of  the 
 preceding  meditation.  God  is  ever- 
 lasting, man  transitory  and  sinful. 
 Man  does  not  consider  his  sin  aright, 
 even  when  God  lays  His  hand  upon 
 him.  He  needs  Divine  instruction 
 that  he  may  take  to  heart  the  lesson 
 both  of  his  sinfulness  and  his  transi- 
 toriness.  But  Moses  does  not  forget 
 that,  in  spite  of  all,  God  has  been 
 arid  still  is  the  home  of  His  people. 
 He  is  a  compassionate  God,  as  well 
 as  a  God  that  punisheth  transgression. 
 And  therefore  he  asks  not  only  that 
 he  and  his  people  may  learn  the 
 lesson  of  Divine  v/isdom,  but  that 
 the  God  who  had  chastened  them 
 would  visit  them  with  His  loving- 
 kindness,  that  the  night  of  sorrow 
 may  flee  away,  and  the  morning  of 
 gladness   ,dawn.     God's   love,    God's 
 
PSALM  XC. 
 
 45^ 
 
 14  O  satisfy  us  In  the  morning  with  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 
 That  we  may  sing  for  joy  and  be  glad  all  our  days. 
 
 15  Make    us  glad  according  to  the  days    in  which  Thou 
 
 hast  afflicted  us, 
 The  years  wherein  we  have  seen  evil. 
 
 16  Let  Thy  work  appear  unto  Thy  servants, 
 
 And  Thy  majesty  upon  their  children. 
 
 17  And  let  the  graciousness  of  Jehovah  ou'  God  be  upon 
 
 us  ; 
 And  the  work  of  our  hands  do  Thou  establish  upon 
 us ; 
 Yea,  the  work  of  our  hands  establish  Thou  it. 
 
 personal  manifestation  of  Himself, 
 His  blessing  descending  upon  them 
 as  they  enter  upon  their  new  life  in 
 the  promised  inheritance, — for  this, 
 and  not  for  anything  less,  he  prays. 
 "  And  the  prayer  is  a  presage  of  the 
 end  of  their  pilgrimage,  and  of  their 
 forgiveness,  and  their  settlement  in 
 the  land  that  God  had  given  them." 
 
 Return.  This  may  mean,  as  in 
 Exod.  xxxii.  12,  "Turn  from  Thine 
 anger,"  or,  as  in  Ps.  vi.  4,  "  Turn  to 
 Thy  people." 
 
 How  LONG.     See  notes  on  vi.  3,  4. 
 
 Let  it  repent  thee,  or,  "show 
 compassion  towards."  The  fuller  ex- 
 pression is  found  in  Ex.  xxxii.  12, 
 "  Let  it  repent  Thee  of  the  evil,"  &c. 
 The  phrase  occurs  frequently  in  the 
 Prophets. 
 
 14,  In  the  morning,  when  the 
 night  of  sorrow  is  spent.  Comp. 
 xlvi.  5,  cxliii.  8. 
 
 15,  Afflicted  us,  or  "humbled 
 us,"  the  same  word  which  is  used  iu 
 
 Deut.  viii.  2,  where  this  "humbling" 
 is  said  to  have  been  God's  purpose  in 
 those  forty  years'  wandering. 
 
 16.  Thy  work.  The  word  is 
 used  both  of  God's  judgements  and  of 
 His  acts  of  grace.  Comp.  Ixxvii.  12, 
 xcii.  4,  xcv  .9,  and  Ilab.  iii.  2,  Here 
 the  bringing  of  Israel  into  his  inherit- 
 ance is  meant. 
 
 Upon,  as  coming  down  out  of 
 heaven,  and  so  descending  tipoji. 
 
 17.  Graciousness.  This  is  pro- 
 bably a  better  rendering  than 
 "beauty,"  which  I  have  retained  in 
 xxvii.  4. 
 
 ~  The  work  of  our  hands,  an- 
 other expression  which  runs  all 
 through  Deuteronomy. 
 
 The  order  deserves  notice.  God's 
 work  is  first  to  appear.  His  majesty 
 to  be  revealed  ;  then  mail's  work, 
 which  is  God's  work  carried  out  by 
 human  instruments,  may  look  for  His 
 blessing. 
 
 G  (;  2 
 
452  FSALM  XCL 
 
 PSALM  XCL 
 
 This  Psalm,  which  in  the  Hebrew  has  no  inscription,  is  by  the 
 LXX.,  apparently  without  sufficient  reason,  ascribed  to  David.  It 
 celebrates,  with  considerable  variety  and  beauty  of  expression,  God's 
 loving  and  watchful  care,  and  the  perfect  peace  and  security  of  those 
 who  make  Him  their  refuge. 
 
 There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Psalm  was  written  during 
 the  prevalence  of  a  pestilence  (such  for  instance  as  that  mentioned 
 in  2  Sam.  xxiv.  i^)^,  for  the  variety  of  figures  employed  shows  that 
 the  Psalmist  is  thinking  of  peril  of  every  kind,  coming  from  whatever 
 source,  and  that  he  paints  all  dangers  and  fears  vividly  to  the  eye  of  his 
 mind,  in  order  to  express  the  more  joyfully  his  confidence  that  none 
 of  these  things  can  move  him,  that  over  all  he  is  more  than  conqueror. 
 It  is  St.  Paul's  fervid  exclamation,  "  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be 
 against  us  t "  expressed  in  rich  and  varied  poetry. 
 
 1  He  that  sitteth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High, 
 
 That  resteth  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty, 
 
 2  Saith  of  Jehovah,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress, 
 
 My  God,  in  whom  I  trust. 
 
 3  For  He  shall  deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the  hunter, 
 
 From  the  devouring  pestilence. 
 
 4  With  His  feathers  shall  He  cover  Thee, 
 
 I.  Resteth  (lit.  "  lodgeth,  passeth  God  of  covenant  and  grace,  who  has 
 
 the  night  ").  revealed  Himself  to  His  people  ;  and 
 
 In  eacli  clause  of  verses  I,  -2,  God  it  is  of  such  a  God  that  the  Psalmist 
 
 is  spoken  of  by  a  different  name.  says  in  holy  confidence,   He  is  "  my 
 
 God  is   "  Most    High,"  far  above  God,"  in  whom  I  trust, 
 
 all  the  rage  and  malice  of  enemies;  3.   Snare  OF  THE  hunter.  Comp. 
 
 "  Almighty,"  so  that  none  can  stand  xviii.  5,  cxxiv.  7,  Hos.  ix.  8. 
 
 before  His  power;  "Jehovah,"  the  4.   With  His  feathers.     Seethe 
 
 •  .^tior  mentions  that  some  years  ago  an  eminent  physician  in  St.  Petersburg  recommended 
 thi*  Psalm  as  the  best  preservative  against  the  cholera. 
 
PSALM  XCL 
 
 And  under  His  wings  shalt  thou  find  refuge, 
 His  truth  shall  be  (a)  shield  and  buckler. 
 
 5  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  any  terror,  by  night, 
 
 (Nor)  for  the  arrow  that  flieth  by  day, 
 
 6  Nor  for  the  pestilence  that  walketh  in  darkness, 
 
 (Nor)  for  the  sickness  that  wasteth  at  noon-day. 
 
 7  A  thousand  shall  fall  at  thy  side, 
 
 And  ten  thousand  at  thy  right  hand, 
 (But)  it  shall  not  come  nigh  thee. 
 
 8  Only  with  thine  eyes  shalt  thou  behold 
 
 And  see  the  reward  of  the  wicked. 
 
 9  For  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  art  my  refuge : — 
 
 Thou  hast  made  the  Most  High  thy  habitation  ; 
 
 10  (Therefore)  there  shall  no  evil  befall  thee, 
 
 Neither  shall  any  plague  come  nigh  thy  tent  ; 
 
 1 1  For  He  will  give  His  angels  charge  over  thee, 
 
 To  keep  thee  in  all  thy  ways. 
 
 453 
 
 beautiful  passage,  Deut  xxxii.  ii, 
 and  note  on  Ps.  xvii.  8,  Ixiii.  7. 
 
 5.  Terror  by  night  (comp.  Song 
 of  Sol.  iii.  8,  Prov.  iii.  23 — 26),  in 
 allusion,  probably,  to  night  attacks 
 like  those  of  Gideon  (Judg.  vii.),  a 
 favourite  artifice  of  Oriental  warfare  ; 
 or  perhaps  to  a  destruction  like  that 
 of  Sennacherib. 
 
 7.  It  shall  not  come  nigh 
 THEE.  The  singular  refers  to  any 
 and  every  one  of  the  evils  mentioned 
 in  ver.  5,  6.  "As  the  general  who 
 carries  with  him  the  conviction  that 
 he  is  called  to  a  great  work,  whilst 
 the  bullets  fall  thick  as  hail  about 
 him,  stands  with  calm  eye  and  firm 
 foot,  and  says,  I  know  that  the  bullet 
 is  not  yet  cast  which  can  strike  me, 
 so  stands  the  man  of  prophetic  faith 
 in  the  hour  of  danger,  with  the  con- 
 viction that  the  thunderbolt  will  turn 
 aside  from  his  head,  and  the  torrent 
 di-y  up  at  his  feet,  and  the  arrow  fall 
 
 blunted  from  his  breast,   because  the 
 Lord  wills  it." — Tholuck. 
 
 10.  Tent.  An  instance  of  the 
 way  in  which  the  Patriarchal  life 
 became  stereotyped,  so  to  speak,  in 
 the  langusge.  There  is  an  allusion, 
 perhaps,  to  Israel's  exemption  from 
 the  plagues  of  Egypt,  Exod.  xii.  23. 
 
 11.  Angels;  not  as  "guardian 
 angels,"  but  as  God's  ministers  in 
 the  government  of  the  world,  and 
 especially  as  "sent  forth  to  minister 
 for  them  that  shall  be  heirs  of  sal- 
 vation." (Comp.  xxxiv.  7.)  By  the 
 "lion  and  adder''  there  is  no  need 
 to  understand  exclusively,  or  chiefly, 
 the  powers  of  darkness,  the  evil 
 spirits.  As  by  "a  stone"  all  hin- 
 drances, so  by  "the  lion  and  dragon  " 
 all  hostile  powers,  are  denoted,  more 
 particularly  in  the  natural  world. 
 This  may  be  illustrated  from  histories 
 like  those  of  Samson,  David,  Daniel, 
 &c.,  and  especially  by  Matt.  iv.  6. 
 
454 
 
 rSALM  XCTL 
 
 1 2  On  (their)  hands  they  shall  bear  thee  (up), 
 
 Lest  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone. 
 
 13  Upon  the  lion  and  adder  shalt  thou  tread, 
 
 Thou  shalt  trample  the  young  lion  and  serpent  under 
 thy  feet. 
 
 14  "  Because  he  hath  set  his  love  upon  Me, 
 
 Therefore  will  I  deliver  him  ; 
 I  will  set  him  on  high,  because  he  knoweth  My  Name. 
 !  5  When  he  calleth  upon  Me,  I  will  answer  him, 
 I  (will  be)  with  him  in  trouble, 
 
 I  will  deliver  him  and  honour  him  ; 
 16  With  long  life  will  I  satisfy  him, 
 And  show  him  My  salvation." 
 
 What  a  prophecy  of  the  victory  of 
 /aith  over  the  material  as  well  as  over 
 tiie  spiritual  world,  and  that  not  only 
 hy  miraculous  but  by  non-miraculous 
 means!  Comp.  Mark  xvi.  18;  Luke 
 X.  19  ;  John  xiv.  12.  The  quotation 
 both  in  Matt.  iv.  6,  and  Luke  iv.  to, 
 II,  is  made  from  the  LXX.,  but  the 
 former  omits  the  whole  of  the  clause 
 "  to  keep  thee,"  &c.,  and  the  latter 
 the  words  "  in  all  thy  ways,"  so  that 
 it  would  seem  that  the  omission  of 
 this  last  was  designed  in  the  mouth  of 
 the  tempter.  The  "ways"  spoken 
 of  in  the  Psalm  are  the  "ways"  of 
 obedience  and  duty,  not  the  "ways" 
 of  presumption  or  self-seeking. 
 
 14 — 16.  God's  answer  to  the  soul 
 which  trusts  in  Him.  "  God  himself 
 comes  forward  to  establish  the  faith 
 
 of  His  servant,  writes  deeper  in  the 
 soul  so  gi-eat  a  consolation,  and  con- 
 firms the  testimony  to  His  servant. 
 '  He  hath  set  his  love  upon  Me — he 
 knoweth  My  Name — he  calleth  upon 
 Me'— these  are  the  marks  of  a  true 
 servant  of  God.  God  draws  nigh  to 
 one  who  so  draws  nigh  to  Him." 
 Compare  with  this  passage  1.  15,  23. 
 The  special  promise  of  long  life  at 
 the  close,  as  a  temporal  blessing,  is  in 
 accordance  with  the  general  character 
 of  the  Old  Testament.  Still  it  is  pos- 
 sible that  men  like  the  Psalmist,  full 
 of  faith  in  God,  attached  a  deeper  and 
 more  spiritual  meaning  to  promises 
 and  hopes  like  these,  than  was  at- 
 tached to  them  by  the  majority  of  their 
 countrymen. 
 
 PSALM  XCII. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  called  a  Psalm  for  the  Sabbath-day,  and,  as  we  learn 
 from  the  Talmud,  was  appointed  to  be  used  in  the  Temple  service  on 
 
PSALM  XCIT.  4  55 
 
 that  day.  It  was  sung  in  the  morning  when,  on  the  offering  of  the 
 first  lamb,  the  wine  was  poured  out  as  a  drink-offering  unto  the  Lord 
 (Numb,  xxviii.  9).  At  the  evening  sacrifice  one  of  the  three  passages, 
 Exod.  XV.  I — 10,  II — 19,  Numb.  xxi.  17—20,  was  sung;  The  Talmudic 
 treatise  above  referred  to  gives  tlie  following  as  the  selection  of  Psalms 
 for  the  service,  each  day  of  the  week,  in  the  second  Temple.  On  the 
 first  day,  Ps.  xxiv.  ;  on  the  second,  Ps.  xlviii.  ;  on  the  third,  Ps.  Ixxxii.  ; 
 on  the  fourth,  Ps.  xciv. ;  on  the  fifth,  Ps.  Ixxxi.  ;  on  the  sixth,  Ps.  xciii.  ; 
 on  the  seventh,  "  A  Psalm  o?'-  song  for  the  Sabbath-day,  i.e.  A  Psalm 
 or  song  for  the  future  age  (the  age  of  the  Messiali),  all  of  which  will 
 be  sabbath." 
 
 It  celebrates  in  joyful  strain  the  greatness  of  God's  works,  and 
 especially  His  righteous  government  of  the  world,  as  manifested  in 
 the  overthrow  of  the  wicked,  and  the  prosperity  and  final  triumph  of 
 the  righteous.  The  apparent  success  of  the  ungodly  for  a  time  is 
 admitted,  but  this  is  a  mystery  which  worldly  men,  whose  under- 
 standing has  become  darkened,  cannot  penetrate  (ver.  6).  The  Psalm 
 therefore  touches  upon  the  same  great  principles  of  the  Divine  govern- 
 ment which  are  laid  down  in  such  Psalms  as  the  first,  the  thirty- 
 seventh,  the  forty-ninth,  and  the  seventy-third.  But  here  there  is  no 
 struggle  with  doubt  and  perplexity,  as  in  the  seventy-third  ;  the  Poet 
 is  beyond  all  doubt,  above  all  perplexity  ;  he  has  not  fallen  down  to 
 the  low  level  of  the  brutish  man  (comp.  Ixxiii.  22  with  ver.  6  of  this 
 Psalm)  ;  he  is  rejoicing  in  the  full  and  perfect  conviction  of  the 
 righteousness  of  God. 
 
 [a  psalm,    a  song  for  the  sabbath  day.] 
 
 1  It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  to  Jehovah, 
 
 And  to  sing  psalms  to  Thy  Name,  O  Most  High, 
 
 2  To  declare  Thy  loving-kindness  in  the  morning, 
 
 And  Thy  faithfulness  every  night, 
 
 3  Upon  a  ten-stringed  instrument  and  upon  the  lute, 
 
 With  sound  or  music  upon  the  harp. 
 
 I.  It   is   a   good   thing,    i.e.    a       able  to  God,  but  a  real  joy  to  the 
 delightful  thing,   not  merely  accept-       heart. 
 
455  PSALM  XCIL 
 
 4  For  Thou  hast  made  me  glad,  O  Jehovah,  through  that 
 
 Thou  hast  done, 
 I  will  sing  aloud  because  of  the  works  of  Thy  hands. 
 
 5  How  great,  O  Jehovah,  are  Thy  works  1 
 
 Very  deep  are  Thy  thoughts. 
 
 6  A  brutish  man  knoweth  not, 
 
 And  a  fool  doth  not  consider  this. 
 
 7  When  the  wicked  spring  as  the  green  herb. 
 
 And  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  do  flourish, 
 It  is  that  they  may  be  destroyed  for  ever. 
 
 8  And  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  art  (throned)  on  high  for  ever- 
 
 more. 
 
 9  For  lo.  Thine  enemies,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 For  lo,  Thine  enemies  shall  perish, 
 
 And  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  shall  melt  away. 
 10  But  Thou  hast  exalted  my  horn  like  (the  horn  of)  a 
 wild  ox  ; 
 I  am  anointed  with  fresh  oil. 
 
 4.  The  great  reason  of  all  this  joy.  6.  A  fool  ;  in  the  same  sense  as  in 
 The  Psalmist  has  witnessed  the  mani-  xiv.  I. 
 
 Testation  and  the  triumph  of  the  eter-  8.  This  verse,  consisting  of  but  one 
 
 nal  righteousness  of  God.  line,  expresses  the  great  central  fact 
 
 That  Thou  hast  done,  or  "  Thy  on  which  all  the  doctrine  of  the  Psalm 
 
 doing  ; "   not   here   God's   power  in  rests.      This  is  the  great  pillar  of  the 
 
 Creation    (a  misunderstanding  which  universe  and  of  our  faith, 
 
 may  have   led   to   this  Psalm  being  On  high.      The  word  occurs  only 
 
 associated  with  the  Sabbatical  rest  of  here   as   a   predicate   of  God.      Lit. 
 
 creation),    but   God's  moral   govern-  "height,"  or  "  in  the  height  "  (accu- 
 
 ment  of  the  world.      So  also  in  the  sative).     Elsewhere  God  is  said   "to 
 
 next  clause,   the   works   of    Thy  inhabit  the  height,"  Is.  Ivii.  15  ;  to  be 
 
 HANDS,  as  in  cxliii.  5.  "glorious   in   the   height,"  xciii.  4; 
 
 5.  liow  GREAT;  not  as  in  Ixxiii.,  and  in  Mic.  vi.  6  we  have  "God  of 
 "it  was  a  trouble  in  mine  eyes."  height,"  z>.  "  God  on  high,"  or  "God 
 Faith   wonders   and   adores.      Men's  in  heaven." 
 
 thoughts  on  such  subjects  are  but  9.  Shall  melt  away,  lit.  "shall 
 f:)lly.  It  is  as  though  they  considered  separate  themselves,  disperse,"  break- 
 not  (ver.  6).  Faith  is  the  true  inter-  ing  up  as  it  were  without  the  applioa- 
 preter  of  the  world  (ver.  7).  tion  of  any  external  force. 
 
 Very  deep.     Comp.  xxxvi.  6  ;  xl.  10.  Fresh  oil,  or  "green oil, "as in 
 
 5  ;  cxxxix.  17;  Rom.  xi.  33.  Latin,  ^/c':/;;z  tvVvV/,?,  said  of  the  best  oil. 
 
PSALM  XCII. 
 
 457 
 ie 
 
 1 1   Mine  eye  also  hath  seen  (its  desire)  upon  them  that  1 
 in  wait  for  me, 
 And  mine  ear   hath   heard  (its   desire)  of    the    evil 
 doers  that  rise  up  against  me. 
 
 12  The  righteous  shall  spring  as  the  palm, 
 
 He  shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon. 
 
 13  They  that  are  planted  in  the  house  of  Jehovah 
 
 Shall  spring  in  the  courts  of  our  God  ; 
 
 14  They  shall  still  bear  fruit  in  old  age, 
 
 They  shall  be  full  of  sap  and  green, 
 
 15  To  declare  that  Jehovah  is  upright, 
 
 My  rock  in  whom  there  is  no  unrighteousness. 
 
 II.  Them  that  lie  in  wait  for 
 ME  ;  the  same  whom  in  ver.  9.  he 
 calls  "  77/;z'«^  enemies. "  Sure  of  the 
 triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  he  is 
 sure  also  of  his  own  triumph. 
 
 12 — 15.  What  is  true  of  the 
 Psalmist  is  true  of  all  who  are 
 partakers  of  the  same  faith.  The 
 date-palm  and  the  cedar  are  se- 
 lected as  the  loveliest  images  of 
 verdure,  fruitfulness,  undecaying 
 vigour  and  perpetuity.  "Throughout 
 the  year,  ia  the  winter's  cold  as  in 
 the  summer's  heat,  the  palm  continues 
 green  :  not  by  years  but  by  centuric-s  is 
 the  cedar's  age  reckoned." — Tholnck. 
 There  is  also  a  contrast :  "  The  wicked 
 spring  as  the  green  herb,  or  grass" 
 (ver.  7),  which  soon  withers  away  ; 
 "  The  righteous  spring  as  the  palm," 
 which  is  ever  green  and  ever  fruitful. 
 
 Besides  this,  there  are  only  two 
 passages  in  the  Old  Testament  where 
 the  palm  is  used  in  comparison — 
 Song  of  Sol  vii.  7,  where  it  is  said  of 
 the  bride,  "Thy  stature  is  like  to  a 
 palm-tree  ;  "  Jer.  x.  5,  where  the  idols 
 are  said  to  be  "  upright  as  a  palm- 
 tree  :  "  and  one  in  the  Apocrypha, 
 Ecclus.  xxiv.     14,     "I    was   exalted 
 
 like  a  palm-tree  in  Engaddi."  This, 
 as  Dr.  Howson  has  noticed,  is  re- 
 markable, considering  the  beauty  of 
 the  tree,  and  its  frequent  recurrence 
 in  the  scenery  of  Palestine. 
 
 13.  The  figure  need  not  be  so  far 
 pressed  as  to  imply  that  such  trees 
 actually  grew  in  the  Temple-court 
 (see  on  lii.  8).  Still  it  is  by  no  means 
 improbable  that  the  precincts  of  the 
 Temple  contained  trees. 
 
 14.  Theyshallstillbearfru'it, 
 in  allusion  probably  to  the  great  fruit- 
 fulness  of  the  date-palm,  which,  when 
 it  reaches  maturity,  produces  three  or 
 four  hundred  pounds'  weight  of  fruit, 
 and  has  been  known  even  to  produce 
 six  hundred  pounds'  weight. 
 
 15.  To  DECLARE,  (Sec.  Tlius  in  the 
 end,  God's  righteous  government  of 
 the  world  will  be  manifested.  The 
 flourishing  of  the  workers  of  iniquity 
 has  been  but  for  a  moment  (ver.  7, 
 9,  11)  ;  the  joy  and  prosperity  of  the 
 righteous  is  for  ever.  This  is  the 
 signal  proof  of  God's  righteousness  : 
 this  is  the  justification  of  the  Psalmist's 
 confidence  resting  ever  on  that  un- 
 shaken "Rock." 
 
458  FSALM  XCIII. 
 
 PSALM  XCIII. 
 
 The  sum  and  substance  of  this  Psalm  is  contained,  as  Hitzig  has 
 remarked,  in  the  eighth  verse  of  the  preceding  Psalm.  It  celebrates 
 the  majesty  of  Jehovah  as  Ruler  of  the  Universe.  He  is  Creator 
 of  the  world.  He  has  been  its  King  from  everlasting  ;  it  rests  upon 
 Him,  and  is  stayed  by  His  might.  All  the  powers  of  nature  obey 
 Him,  however  lawless  they  may  seem,  as  all  the  swelling  and  rage 
 of  men  of  which  those  are  but  a  figure,  must  obey  Him.  But  His 
 majesty  and  His  glory  are  seen,  not  only  in  controlling  the  powers  of 
 nature,  and  whatsoever  exalteth  and  opposeth  itself  against  Him,  but 
 in  the  faithfulness  of  His  word,  and  in  the  holiness  of  His  house. 
 
 As  the  Psalm  speaks  of  a  particular  manifestation  of  Jehovah's 
 kingly  rule,  of  a  time  when  He  has  taken  to  Himself  His  great  power 
 and  reigned  (see  note  on  ver.  i),  it  may  in  this  sense  be  termed  Mes- 
 sianic. For,  as  Delitzsch  has  pointed  out,  the  Old  Testament  pro- 
 phecy concerning  the  kingdom  of  God  consists  of  two  series  of  predic- 
 tions, the  one  of  which  speaks  of  the  reign  of  the  anointed  of  Jehovah 
 out  of  Zion,  the  other  of  the  reign  of  Jehovah  Himself  as  the  great 
 King  over  all  the  earth.  These  two  lines  of  prophecy  converge  in  the 
 Old  Testament,  but  never  meet.  Only  here  and  there  do  we  discern 
 an  intimation  (as  in  xlv.  7)  that  the  two  are  one. 
 
 I  Jehovah    is    King,    He  hath  clothed    Himself     with 
 majesty ; 
 Jehovah  hath  clothed  Himself,  He  hath  girded  Him- 
 self with  strength. 
 
 I,    Is  King.     INIore  exactly,  "hath  His  majesty  fully  displayed  and  ac- 
 
 become   King,"   as   if  by   a    solemn  knowledgecl ;  as  it  is  said  in  the  Apo- 
 
 coronation   (comp.    the  same  expres-  calypse   of    the    final    manifestation, 
 
 sion  of  a  new  monarch  ascending  the  "  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  be- 
 
 throne,  2  Sam.  xv.  10;  i  Kings  i.  11  ;  come  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and 
 
 2  Kings  ix.  13).       He  has  been  King  of  His  Christ." 
 
 from  everlasting,  but  now  His  king-  Hath  clothed  Himself.   Comp. 
 
 dom  is  visibly  set  up,  His  power  and  civ.  i,  2  ;  Is.  li.  9  ;  Job  xl.  10. 
 
PSALM  XCIIL 
 
 459 
 
 Yea,  the  world  is  established  that  it  cannot  be  moved. 
 
 2  Thy  throne  is  established  of  old  ; 
 
 Thou  art  from  everlasting. 
 
 3  The  floods  have  lifted  up,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 The  floods  have  lifted  up  their  voice, 
 The  floods  lift  up  their  roaring. 
 
 4  More  than  the  voices  of  many  mighty  waters, 
 
 (Even  than)  the  breakers  of  the  sea, 
 Jehovah  on  high  is  mighty. 
 
 5  Thy  testimonies  are  very  faithful : 
 
 Holiness  becometh  Thy  house,  O  Jehovah,  for  ever. 
 
 Yea,  the  world,  &c.  The  effect 
 of  the  Divine  rule  and  power,  as  in 
 xcvi.  lo.  The  reference  is  apparently 
 not  merely  to  the  creation  of  the 
 world  and  its  providential  administra- 
 ti-on,  but  to  these  as  representing  in 
 a  figure  the  moral  government  of  God. 
 For  the  throne  of  God  in  ver.  2  de- 
 notes, as  Calvin  says.  His  righteous 
 sw^ay  and  government,  and  the  lan- 
 guage of  ver.  3  is  to  be  understood 
 figuratively  as  well  as  literally. 
 
 Hupfeld  infers  from  the  use  of  the 
 word  "floods"  (comp.  Hab.  iii.  8), 
 the  epithet  of  "  mighty  "  in  next  verse, 
 which  is  used  of  waters  besides  only 
 in  Exod.  XV.  lo,  and  the  "lifting  up 
 the  voice,"  as  in  Hab.  iii.  lo  (comp. 
 Ixxvii.  17,  18),  that  there  is  an  allusion 
 to  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea. 
 
 Their  ROARING,  Ht.  "their blow," 
 or  "beating,"  said  of  the  dashing  of 
 the  surf  in  thunders  UDon  the  shore. 
 
 The  word  occurs  only  here  ;  in  the 
 next  verse  the  plural  "voices"  is 
 irsed  here  only  of  the  sea,  elsewhere 
 always  of  the  thunder. 
 
 4  Jehovah  on  high.  Comp. 
 xcii.  8,  xxix.  10. 
 
 5.  The  transition  is  abrupt,  from 
 the  majesty  of  God  as  seen  in  His 
 dominion  of  the  world  of  nature,  to 
 His  revelation  of  Himself  in  His 
 word.  At  the  same  time  there  is  a 
 connection  between  the  two,  as  in 
 xix.  God  who  rules  the  world,  He 
 whose  are  the  kingdom,  and  the 
 power,  and  the  glory  for  ever,  has 
 given  His  testimonies  to  His  people, 
 a  sure  and  faithful  word,  and  has 
 Himself  come  to  dwell  among  them, 
 making  His  house  and  His  people 
 holy. 
 
 For  ever,  lit.  "  for  length  of 
 days,"   as  in  xxiii.  6. 
 
46o  PSALM  XCIi 
 
 PSALM  XCIV. 
 
 By  the  LXX.  this  is  called  "  A  lyric  Psalm  of  David,  for  the  fourth 
 day  of  the  week."  It  is  probably  not  a  Psalm  of  David,  but  the  latter 
 part  of  the  Inscription  accords  with  the  Talmudic  tradition  (see  In- 
 troduction to  Ps.  xcii.). 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  with  an  appeal  to  God  to  execute  righteous 
 vengeance  on  wicked  rulers,  judges  who  oppress  and  crush  the  help- 
 less, whilst  in  their  folly  they  dream  that  His  long-suffering  is  but 
 the  supineness  of  indifference.  It  concludes  with  the  expression  of  a 
 calm  confidence  that  God's  righteousness  will  be  finally  manifested. 
 The  righteous,  taught  by  God's  fatherly  discipline,  and  upheld  by 
 Him,  can  wait  for  the  end,  when  the  wicked  shall  reap  the  reward  of 
 their  wickedness,  and  shall  be  utterly  destroyed. 
 
 The  conviction  thus  expressed  of  the  righteousness  of  God's  govern- 
 ment is  similar  to  that  in  Ps.  xcii.,  except  that  here  this  conviction  is 
 grounded  more  directly  on  personal  experience. 
 
 The  Psalm  may  be  thus  divided  : — • 
 
 1.  An  Introduction,  consisting  of  an  appeal  to  God.     Ver.  i,  2. 
 
 2.  The  reason  for  this  appeal,  namely,  the  insolence  and  oppression 
 of  the  wicked.     Ver.  3 — 7. 
 
 3.  The  blindness  and  folly  of  such  conduct,  as  a  virtual  contempt 
 of  God.     Ver.  8— II. 
 
 4.  In  contrast  with  this  the  blessedness  of  those  who  are  taught  of 
 God,  and  who  can  therefore  in  their  confidence  possess  their  souls. 
 Ver.  12—15. 
 
 5.  The  strong  personal  conviction  of  Jehovah's  righteousness,  based 
 upon  past  experience.     Ver.  16 — 19. 
 
 6.  A  conviction  which  extends  also  to  the  future,  and  by  virtue  of 
 which  the  Psalmist  sees  righteous  retribution  already  accomplished 
 upon  the  wicked.     Ver.  20 — 23. 
 
PSALM  XCIV.  461 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  Thou  God  to  whom  vengeance  belongcth, 
 
 Thou  God  to  whom  vengeance  belongeth,  shine  foi  Ih. 
 
 2  Lift  up  Thyself,  Thou  judge  of  the  earth,, 
 
 Render  a  reward  to  the  proud. 
 
 3  How  long  shall  the  wicked,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 How  long  shall  the  wicked  triumph  ? 
 
 4  They  pour  forth,  they  speak  hard  things, 
 
 AH  the  workers  of  iniquity  carry  themselves  proudly. 
 
 5  Thy  people,  O  Jehovah,  they  crush, 
 
 And  Thine  inheritance  do  they  afflict. 
 
 6  The  widow  and  the  stranger  they  slay. 
 
 And  they  murder  the  fatherless ; 
 
 7  And  say  :   "  Jah  seeth  not, 
 
 Neither  doth  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  (it)." 
 
 8  Consider,  O  ye  brutish  among  the  people  ! 
 
 And,  ye  fools,  when  will  ye  be  wise  .'' 
 
 9  He  who  planteth  the  ear,  shall  He  not  hear } 
 
 Or  He  that  formeth  the  eye,  shall  not  He  see  } 
 10   He  that  instructeth  the  nations,  shall  not  He  reprove, 
 
 I.  God  TO  WHOM,  &c.  :  lit.    **God  8.  The  utter  folly  of  this  denial  of 
 
 of  vengeances."     Comp.  ix.   12,  Jer.  a  Divine  providence,  because  judge- 
 
 11.  56.  ment  is  not  executed  speedily.     The 
 
 5.  Crush  :  Vxow  xxii.  22  ;  Is.  iii.  argument  which  follows  is  from  the 
 15.  perfections  of   the  creature  to  those 
 
 6.  The  LXX.  have  transposed  the  of  the  Creator.  The  very  nature  of 
 words  "fatherless"  and  "stranger,"  God  and  of  man  convicts  these  fools 
 and  rendered  the  last  "proselyte."  of  their  folly.  "  Can  anything,"  says 
 The  widow  and  the  fatherless  are  Herder,  "  more  to  the  point  be  urged, 
 mentioned  often,  as  particular  in-  even  in  our  time,  against  the  tribe  of 
 stances  of  those  whose  misery  ought  philosophers  who  deny  a  purpose  and 
 to  excite  compassion,  but  whose  de-  design  in  Nature  ?  All  that  they  allege 
 fencelessness  makes  them  the  easy  of  the  dead  abstraction  which  they 
 prey  of  the  wicked.  term    'nature,'    the   heathen    ascribe 
 
 7.  "  Jah  seeth  not."  Comp.  x.  to  their  gods  :  and  what  the  Prophets 
 II,  lix.  7.  Not  that  they  deliberately  say  against  the  one  holds  against  the 
 utter  such  blasphemy,  but  their  con-  other," 
 
 duct  amounts  to  this,  it  is  a  practical  10.    In  the   English  Bible  this   is 
 
 atheism.     See  on  xiv.  i.  broken   up  into   two   questions,  and 
 
462 
 
 PSALM  XCIV 
 
 (Even)  He  that  teacheth  man  knowledge  ? 
 
 11  Jehovah  knoweth  the  thoughts  of  man, 
 
 That  they  (^are  but)  vanity. 
 
 12  Blessed  is  the  man  whom  Thou  instructest,  O  Jah, 
 
 And  teachest  out  of  Thy  law, 
 
 13  To  give  him  rest  from  the  days  of  evil, 
 
 Till  the  pit  be  digged  for  the  wicked. 
 
 a  clause  is  supplied  in  the  second 
 member,  which  does  not  exist  in  the 
 Hebrew,  "Shall  not  He  know?" 
 But  this  is  incorrect.  There  is  a 
 change  in  the  argument.  Before 
 it  was  from  tire  physical  constitution 
 of  man  ;  now,  it  is  from  the  moral 
 government  of  the  world.  He  who 
 is  the  great  Educator  of  the  race 
 ("who  nurtureth  the  heathen," 
 P.  B.  v.),  who  gives  them  all  the 
 knowledge  they  possess,  has  He 
 not  the  right,  which  even  human 
 teachers  exercise,  of  chastening,  cor- 
 recting, reproving  ?  He  may  not 
 always  exercise  the  right,  but  it  is 
 His.  This,  which  I  believe  to  be 
 the  true  interpretation  of  the  verse, 
 is  that  of  the  LXX.  :  '  O  TraiSevo);/ 
 tQvr\,  ol-)(i  eAe7|ei  ;  6  SiSct'cr/ca'z/  dudpco- 
 TTov  yvwffii/.  Hengstenberg  remarks 
 that  the  doctrine  of  an  influence 
 exercised  by  God  upon  the  con- 
 sciences of  the  heathen  is  of  com- 
 paratively rare  occurrence  in  the 
 Old  Testament,  a  fact  to  be  explained 
 by  the  very  depraved  condition  of 
 such  of  the  heathen  as  were  the 
 near  neighbours  of  the  Israelites,  and 
 among  whom  few  traces  of  such  an 
 influence  could  be  seen.  On  this 
 Divine  education  see  Rom.  i.  20,  ii. 
 
 14,  15- 
 
 II.  So  far  from  "not  seeing," 
 "not  regarding,"  as  these  "brutish  " 
 persons  fondly  imagine,  Jehovah 
 reads     their     inmost     thoughts    and 
 
 devices,  as  He  reads  the  hearts  of 
 all  men,  even  though  for  a  time 
 they  are  unpunished.  The  verse  is 
 quoted  in  l  Cor.  iii.  20,  6  Kvpios 
 yiuwcTKei  T0^9  Sia\oyi(riA.oi/s  tHou  cro'pcou 
 '6ti  elalu  fioLTaioi,  which  only  deviates 
 from  the  version  of  the  LXX.  in 
 the  substitution  of  the  special  (TO(i>wv, 
 as  more  suitable  to  the  Apostle's 
 argument,    for  the  general  auQpunroov. 
 
 Vanity,  Ut.  "a  breath,"  as  in 
 xxxix.  5,  6. 
 
 Probably  the  best  rendering  of  this 
 clause  would  be,  "For  they  {i.e. 
 men)  are  but  a  breath  ;"  this  vanity, 
 weakness,  and  emptiness  of  men 
 being  alleged  as  a  reason  why  God 
 sees  and  understands  their  thoughts  : 
 they  are  finite,  whereas  He  is  in- 
 finite. 
 
 12.  The  Psalmist  turns  to  comfort 
 the  individual  sufferer.  God,  who 
 educates  the  heathen  (ver.  10),  edu- 
 cates also  the  Israelite,  giving  him 
 a  better  instruction  (comp.  Deut. 
 viii.  5  ;  Job  v.  17),  inasmuch  as  it  is 
 that  of  a  direct  Revelation, 
 
 14.    To    GIVE   HIM    REST.       Tllis   is 
 
 the  end  of  God's  teaching,  that  His 
 servant  may  wait  in  patience,  un- 
 m.oved  by,  safe  from  the  days 
 OF  EVIL  (comp.  xlix.  5),  seeing  the 
 evil  all  around  him  lifting  itself  up, 
 but  seeing  also  the  secret,  mysterious 
 retribution,  slowly  but  surely  accom- 
 plishing itself.  In  this  sense  the 
 "rest"  is  the   rest  of  a  calm,  self- 
 
PSALM  XCIV.  463 
 
 14  For  Jehovah  will  not  thrust  away  His  people, 
 
 Neither  will  He  forsake  His  inheritance. 
 
 15  For  judgement  must  turn  unto  righteousness, 
 
 And  all  the  upright  in  heart  shall  follow  it. 
 
 16  Who  will  rise  up  for  me  against  the  evil  doers? 
 
 Who  will  set  himself  up  for  me  against  the  workers 
 of  iniquity  ? 
 
 17  Unless  Jehovah  had  been  my  help, 
 
 My  soul  had  soon  dwelt  in  silence. 
 
 18  (But)  when  I  said,  My  foot  hath  slipt, 
 
 Thy  loving-kindness,  O  Jehovah,  held  me  up. 
 
 19  In  the  multitude  of  my  anxious  thoughts  within  me. 
 
 Thy  comforts  refreshed  my  soul. 
 
 20  Can  the  throne  of  iniquity  have  fellowship 
 Which  frameth  mischief  by  statute  ? 
 
 ith  Thee. 
 
 possessed  spirit,  as  Is.  vii.  4,  xxx.  15, 
 xxxii.  17,  Ivii,  20,  and  "to  give 
 him"  =  "that  Thou  mayest  give 
 him."  Others  interpret  the  "rest" 
 of  external  rest,  deHverance  from 
 sufferings  (comp.  Job  iii.  13,  17)  ; 
 then  "to  give"  would  be  =  "so  as 
 to  give,"  &c. 
 
 14.  For.  God  M^ill  give  peace  to 
 the  man  whom  He  teaches,  for  he  is 
 a  partaker  of  the  covenant,  one  of 
 that  PEOPLE  and  that  inheritance 
 which  He  cannot  forsake,  and  He 
 cannot  forsake  them  till  righteousness 
 ceases  to  be  righteousness. 
 
 15.  For  judgement,  &c.  Judge- 
 ment cannot  always  be  perverted, 
 cannot  always  fail.  It  must  appear 
 in  its  true  character  at  last  as  very 
 righteousness.  This,  no  doubt,  was 
 what  Luther  meant  by  his  forcible 
 rendering  : — • 
 
 "  Denn     Recht     muss    doch    Recht 
 bleiben." 
 
 Shall  follow  it,-  lit.  "(shall 
 be)   after  it,"  i.e.   shall  give   in  their 
 
 adhesion  to  it,  openly  avow  their  at- 
 tachment to  it.  For  fhe  phrase, 
 see  I  Sam  xii.  14  ;  2  Sam.  ii.  10  ; 
 I  Kings  xiv.  8. 
 
 16 — 19.  Application  to  himself,  and 
 record  of  his  own  experience. 
 
 17.  Silence,  i.e.  of  the  grave,  or 
 the  unseen  world,  as  i-n  xxxi.  18, 
 cxv.  17. 
 
 20—23.  This  strophe,  like  the  last, 
 applies  the  general  doctrine  of  the 
 Psalm  to  the  individual  case,  the 
 personal  security  of  the  Psalmist,  and 
 the  righteous  retribution  visited  upon 
 the  evil-doers.  But  for  "Jehovah  viy 
 God,"  in  ver.  22,  we  have,  in  ver.  23, 
 "Jehovah  our  God,"  as  if  to  remind 
 us  that  his  personal  welfare  does  ru)t 
 stand  apart  from,  but  is  bound  up 
 with,  that  of  the  nation.  Comp. 
 ver.  14. 
 
 20.  The  throne  or  "judgement- 
 seat."  The  word  is  purposely  em- 
 ployed, as  Calvin  observes,  to  show 
 that  he  is  inveighing,  not  against  com- 
 mon assassins  or  thieves,  but  against 
 tyrants  who,  under  a  false  pretext  of 
 
464  PSALM  XCr. 
 
 2 1  They  gather  themselves  in  troops  against  the  soul  of 
 
 the  righteous, 
 And  condemn  the  innocent  blood. 
 
 22  But  Jehovah  hath  been  a  high  tower  for  me, 
 
 And  my  God  the  rock  of  my  refuge. 
 
 23  And  He  hath  requited  them  their  own  iniquity, 
 
 And  shall   destroy  them  through  their  own  wicked- 
 ness ; 
 Jehovah  our  God  shall  destroy  them. 
 
 justice,  oppressed  the  Church,     The  blood,  i.e.  "  condemn  the  innocent 
 
 throne  of  the  king,   the  seatl  of  the  to  death  ;  "  comp.  Matt,  xxvii.  4. 
 
 iudge,  which  is  consecrated  to  God,  23.   Hath  requited,   lit.    "hath 
 
 "they    stain    and     defile     with     their  caused  to  return,"  as  vii.    16,    liv.   5, 
 
 crimes.  The   preterites  here  express,   not   so 
 
 By   statute.     They  claim  to  be  much  what  has  already  taken  place, 
 
 acting  according  to  law,   seeking  to  as  the  confidence  of  faith  which  looks 
 
 hide  their  unrighteousness  by  a  holy  upon  that  which  shall  be  as  if  already 
 
 name.  accomplished.   Hence  the  interchange 
 
 21.  Condemn     the     innocent  with  the  futures  which  follow. 
 
 PSALM  XCV. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  one  of  a  series,  as  has  been  already  observed, 
 intended  for  the  Temple  worship,  and  possibly  composed  for  some 
 festal  occasion.  Both  the  joyfulness  of  its  opening  verses,  and  its 
 general  character,  in  which  it  resembles  the  8ist  Psalm,  would  render 
 it  suitable  for  some  of  the  great  national  feasts. 
 
 As  to  the  date  of  its  composition  nothing  certain  can  be  said. 
 The  LXX.  call  it  a  Psalm  of  David  ;  and  the  writer  of  the  Epistle  to 
 the  Hebrews,  in  making  a  quotation  from  the  Psalm,  uses  the  expres- 
 sion ''  in  David,"  but  this  is  evidently  only  equivalent  to  saying  "  in 
 the  Psalms."     In  the  Hebrew  it  has  no  Inscription, 
 
 In  Christian  liturgies  the  Psalm  has  commonly  been  termed  the 
 
PSALM  XCV. 
 
 4'J5 
 
 Invitatory  Psalm.  We  are  all  familiar  with  it,  as  used  in  the  Morning 
 Service  of  our  Church  ;  and  it  has  been  sung  in  the  Western  Churches 
 from  a  very  remote  period  before  the  Psahns  of  the  Nocturn  or 
 Matins.     (Pal-mer,  Orig,  Liturg.  i.  221.) 
 
 It  consists  of  two  very  distinct  parts  : — 
 
 I.  The  first  is  an  invitation  to  a  joyful  public  acknowledgement  of 
 God's  mercies.     Ver,  i — 7. 
 
 II.  The  second  (beginning  with  the  last  member  of  ver.  7  to  the 
 end)  is  a  warning  to  the  people  against  the  unbelief  and  disobedience 
 through  which  their  fathers  had  perished  in  the  wilderness. 
 
 O  Come,  let  us  sing  (joyfully)  unto  Jehovah, 
 
 Let  us  shout  aloud  to  the  Rock  of  our  salvation  ; 
 
 Let  us  go  to  meet  His  face  with  thanksgiving. 
 With  psalms  let  us  shout  aloud  unto  Him. 
 
 For  a  great  God  is  Jehovah, 
 
 Yea,  a  great  King  above  all  gods. 
 
 (Even  He)  in  Whose  hand  are  the  deep  places  of  the 
 earth  : 
 
 I — 7.  The  character  of  the  invita- 
 tion here  given,  to  -worship  God,  not 
 with  penitence  and  brokenness  of 
 heart,  but  with  loud  thanksgiving,  is 
 the  more  remarkable,  when  we  recol- 
 lect in  what  a  strain  the  latter  part  of 
 the  Psalm  is  written. 
 
 I.  Unto  Jehovah.  Augustine 
 lays  stress  on  this  :  "He  invites  to 
 a  great  feast  of  joy,  of  joy  not  unto 
 the  world,  but  unto  the  Lord."  And 
 in  the  next  clause,  where  the  Latin 
 \\SAJub.ilemits,  he  explains  it  of  a  joy 
 which  runs  beyond  all  words. 
 
 Rock  of  our  salvation,  as  in 
 Ixxxix.  26.  Comp.  "rock  of  my 
 refuge,"  xciv.  22. 
 
 3.  A  threefold  reason  is  given  why 
 this  worship  should  be  oiTered  with 
 glad  liearts  and  loud  thanksgivings — 
 that  Jehovah  is  a  King  more  glorious 
 
 than  all  "  who  are  called  gods,  and 
 who  are  worshipt,"  that  He  is  the 
 Creator  of  the  world,  that  He  is  the 
 watchful  shepherd  of  His  own  chosen 
 people. 
 
 Above  all  gods  :  not  the  angels, 
 but  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen. 
 Comp.  Exod.  xviii.  ii,  xv.  ii,  <S;c. 
 It  cannot  be  inferred  from  this  lan- 
 guage diat  the  Psalmist  supposed  the 
 beaUien  deities  to  have  any  real 
 power,  or  real  existence  (comp.  xcvi. 
 5).  He  is  merely  conlrasUng  heathen 
 objects  of  worship,  clothed  in  the 
 imagination  of  their  worshipers  with 
 certain  attributes,  and  the  One  true 
 supreme  object  of  worship,  who 
 is  really  all,  and  more  than  all, 
 which  the  heathen  think  their  gods 
 to  be.  See  more  in  the  note  on 
 xcvii.  7. 
 
 II    II 
 
466  PSALM  XCV. 
 
 And  the  heights  of  the  mountains  are  His. 
 
 5  Whose  is  the  sea, — and  He  made  it, 
 
 And  His  hands  formed  the  dry  land. 
 
 6  O  come  let  us  worship  and  bow  down, 
 
 Let  us  kneel  before  Jehovah  our  Maker. 
 
 7  For  He  is  our  God, 
 
 And  we  are  the  people  of  His  pasture  and  the  sheep 
 of  His  hand. 
 
 To-day  oh  that  ye  would  hear  His  voice  : 
 
 8  "  Harden  not  your  heart  as  at  Meribah, 
 
 As  in  the  day  of  Massah  [trial]  in  the  wilderness, 
 
 6.  O  Come.  Again  the  invitation 
 to  lowliest  adoration  and  worship, 
 called  forth  afresh  by  the  remem- 
 brance of  God's  revelation  to,  and 
 covenant  with  Israel. 
 
 Our  Maker,  and  ver.  7,  Our 
 God,  thus  asserting  the  personal 
 covenant  relationship  of  God  to  His 
 people  (so  Moses  speaks  of  "the 
 Rock  who  begat  thee,  the  God  who 
 made  thee,"  Deut.  xxxii.  18)  ;  and 
 here,  as  so  often  elsewhere,  God's 
 majesty  as  seen  in  Creation  is  linked 
 with  His  love  as  seen  in  Redemption. 
 See  on  xix.  7. 
 
 7.  People  of  His  pasture. 
 There  is  here  the  same  solemn  strain 
 of  warning  and  expostulation  break- 
 ing in  upon  the  very  joy  and  glad- 
 ness of  the  Temple  worship,  as  we 
 have  already  observed  in  Ixxxi.  6. 
 Psalms  like  these  seem  to  have  had 
 a  double  4)urpose.  They  were  not 
 only  designed  to  be  the  expression  of 
 public  devotion,  the  utterance  of  a 
 nation's  supplications  and  thanks- 
 givings, but  they  were  intended  also 
 to  teach,  to  warn,  to  exhort.  They 
 were  sermons  as  well  as  liturgies. 
 Hence,  too,  the  prophetic  character 
 which  marks  them.  The  Psalmist, 
 like  every  true  preacher,  comes  as  an 
 ambassador  from  above,  speaking  not 
 
 his  own  words,  but  the  words  Avhich 
 God  has  given  him,  the  words  which 
 God  Himself  has  uttered. 
 
 The  warning  here  rests,  as  in 
 Ixxviii.,  Ixxxi.,  &c.,  on  the  example 
 of  their  fathers  in  the  desert. 
 
 To-day,  the  present  moment,  as 
 critical  and  decisive,  the  day  of 
 grace  which  may  be  lost ;  or  the 
 reference  may  be  to  some  special 
 circumstances  under  which  the  Psalm 
 was  composed.  "To-day"  refers 
 not  only  to  a  particular  historical 
 crisis,  but  to  every  occasion  on  which 
 the  Psalm  was  used  in  public  wor- 
 ship. "  Often  as  they  w^ere  faithle-s, 
 the  'to-day  '  sounded  ever  anew  ;  for 
 the  'gifts  and  calling  of  God  are 
 Avithout  repentance.'  " — Tholuck. 
 
 8.  Harden  not.  Bleek  asserts 
 that  this  is  the  only  place  where  to 
 "harden  the  heart"  is  spoken  of  as 
 7nan!s  act,  elsewhere  it  is  said  to  be 
 God's  act ;  but  this  is  not  correct. 
 Man  is  said  to  harden  his  own  heart, 
 Exod.  ix.  34  ;  i  Sam.vi.  6;  Prov.  xxviii. 
 14 ;  Deut.  XV.  7  ;  2  Chron,  xxxvi.  13. 
 
 Meribah,  "striving"  or  "pro- 
 vocation." Massah,  "temptation" 
 or  "trial."  From  Exod.  xvii.  I — 7, 
 it  would  appear  that  both  names  were 
 given  to  the  same  locality.  But, 
 according  to  Numb.  xx.    I — 13,   the 
 
PSALM  XCV. 
 
 467 
 
 9  When  your  fathers  tried  Me, 
 
 Proved  Me,  yea  saw  My  work. 
 
 10  Forty  years  (long)  was  I  grieved  with  (th^^t)  generation, 
 
 (saying) 
 '  It  is  a  people  that  do  err  in  (their)  heart, 
 And  they  do  not  know  My  ways  ; ' 
 
 1 1  So  that  I  sware  in  My  wrath, 
 
 They  shall  not  enter  into  My  rest." 
 
 names  were  given  to  two  different 
 places  on  different  occasions.  Comp. 
 also  Deut.  xxxiii.  8,  "Thy  Holy  One 
 whom  thou  didst  prove  at  Massah, 
 and  with  whom  thou  didst  strive  at 
 the  waters  of  Meribah." 
 
 In  the  wilderness  of  Zin,  near 
 Kadesh,  where  the  second  murmur- 
 ing against  Moses  and  Aaron  for 
 want  of  water  took  place  (Num. 
 XX.   i). 
 
 9.  Tried  Me.  In  allusion  to 
 Massah,    ''trial,"  in  ver.  8. 
 
 My  work.  Whether  miracles  of 
 deliverance  or  acts  of  judgement,  all 
 that  I  did. 
 
 9.  Forty  years.  These  words 
 in  the  quotation  in  Heb.  iii.  9  are 
 joined,  as  in  the  Syriac,  with  the 
 preceding  verse,  and  the  word 
 **  wherefore"  is  inserted  after  them. 
 This  departs  both  from  the  Hebrew 
 and  the  LXX.  The  alteration  is 
 evidently  intentional,  because  the 
 passage  is  afterwards  quoted  iii.  17 
 as  it  stands  in  the  Psalm. 
 
 Was  I  GRIEVED.  The  word  is  a 
 strong  word,  expressive  of  loathing 
 and  disgust. 
 
 A  PEOPLE  THAT  DO  ERR,  lit.  "a 
 people  of  wanderers  in  heart."  There 
 may  be,  as  Hupfeld  suggests,  an 
 allusion  to  the  outward  wandering  in 
 the  wilderness  as  the  punishment  of 
 this  inner  wandering.  The  same 
 word  is  used  of  the  former,  cvii.  4. 
 
 And  they  do  not,  &c.  This  is 
 almost  equivalent  to  ^^ for  they  do 
 not,"    &c.      Their   ignorance   of  the 
 
 straight  way  of  God,  * '  the  king's  high- 
 way "  (as  Bunsen  calls  it),  is  the 
 reason  that  they  wander  in  crooked 
 by-paths. 
 
 1 1.  I  SWARE.  The  reference  is  to 
 Num.  xiv.  21,  &c.,  28,  &c. 
 
 My  rest  :  strictly  "place  of  settle- 
 ment," as  the  abode  of  God  (comp. 
 cxxxii.  8,  14),  but  used  also  of  the 
 land  of  promise  (Deut.  xii.  9),  as  a 
 place  of  rest  after  the  wandering  in 
 the  wilderness. 
 
 The  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews  (iv.  6 — 9)  argues,  from  the 
 use  of  the  word  "to-day"  in  ver.  7, 
 that  the  language  of  the  Psalm  is 
 applicable  not  merely  to  the  times  of 
 the  Law,  but  also  to  the  Gospel  dis- 
 pensation ;  and  from  the  reference  to 
 God's  rest  here,  "  in  David"  {i.e.  in 
 the  Book  of  Psalms),  that  Canaan 
 was  not  the  true  rest.  Joshua  did 
 not  bring  the  people  unto  God's  rest, 
 he  says, otherwise  we  should  not  find, 
 in  a  Psalm  written  so  long  after  the 
 settlement  of  the  people  in  Canaan,  a 
 warning  addressed  to  them  not  to  sin 
 as  their  fathers,  lest  they  also  through 
 unbelief  should  fail  of  God's  i-est. 
 Hence,  he  argues,  the  rest  must  be  still 
 future  67roAei7reTat  6.pa  (Tal30aTiap.6s. 
 This,  however,  is  not  clear  on  the 
 face  of  the  Psalm,  as  the  words  "they 
 shall  not  enter  into  My  rest "  seem  to 
 refer  to  the  past,  not  the  present,  his- 
 tory of  Israel.  Hence  Calvin  remarks 
 on  the  quotation  in  the  Epistle  to  the 
 Hebrews  :  Subtilius  disputat  quara 
 ferant  proohetre  verba." 
 
 H    H    2 
 
468  PSALM  XCVI. 
 
 PSALM    XCVI. 
 
 This  grand  prophetic  Psalm  looks  forward  with  joyful  certainty  to 
 the  setting  up  of  a  Divine  kingdom  upon  earth.  But  it  is  only 
 indirectly  Messianic.  It  connects  the  future  blessings,  not  with  the 
 appearance  of  the  Son  of  David,  but  with  the  coming  of  Jehovah. 
 And  it  has  already  been  pointed  out  (in  a  note  on  Psalm  Ixxii.  17) 
 that  there  are  in  the  Old  Testament  two  distinct  lines  of  prophecy, 
 culminating  in  these  two  advents.  Their  convergence  and  ultimate 
 unity  are  only  seen  in  the  light  of  New  Testament  fulfilment.  The 
 same  hopes,  however,  gather  about  both,  as  may  be  seen,  for  instance, 
 by  a  comparison  of  this  Psalm  with  such  a  passage  as  Isaiah  xi.  i — 9, 
 Calvin,  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Psalm,  observes  that  it  is  "an 
 exhortation  to  praise  *God,  addressed  not  to  the  Jews  only,  but  to 
 all  nations.  Whence"  (he  adds)  "we  infer  that  the  Psalm  refers 
 to  the  kingdom  of  Christ ;  for  till  He  was  revealed  to  the  world, 
 His  name  could  not  be  called  upon  anywhere  but  in  Judaea." 
 
 The  LXX.  have  a  double  Inscription  : — 
 
 (i)  "When  the  House  was  built  after  the  Captivity,"  which  is 
 probably  correct,  as  indicating  that  the  Psalm  was  composed  after  the 
 Exile,  and  for  the  service  of  the  second  Temple. 
 
 (2)  "  An  Ode  of  David,"  which  seems  to  contradict  the  other,  but 
 was  no  doubt  occasioned  by  the  circumstances  that  this  Psalm, 
 together  with  portions  of  Psalms  cv.  and  cvi.,  is  given  with  some 
 variations  (which  will  be  found  in  the  Notes)  by  the  author  of  the 
 Book  of  Chronicles,  as  the  Psalm  which  was  sung  when  the  Ark 
 was  brought  into  the  sanctuary  in  Zion. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  four  strophes  (of  which  the  first  three  are 
 perfectly  regular,  consisting  of  six  lines  each)  : — 
 
 I.  Jehovah  is  to  be  praised  in  all  the  world  and  at  all  times. 
 A^er.  1—3. 
 
 II.  He  alone  is  worthy  to  be  praised,  for  all  other  objects  of 
 v/orship  are  nothing.     Ver.  4 — 6. 
 
PSALM  XCVL  469 
 
 III.  Let  all  the  heathen  confess  this,  and  give  Him  the  honour  due 
 to  His  Name.     Ver.  7 — 9. 
 
 IV.  Let  all  the  world  hear  the  glad  tidings  that  Jehovah  is  King  ; 
 and  even  things  without  life  share  the  common  joy.     Ver.  10 — 13. 
 
 1  O  Sing  unto  Jehovah  a  new  song-, 
 
 Sing  unto  Jehovah,  all  the  earth. 
 
 2  Sing  unto  Jehovah,  bless  His  name, 
 
 Publish  His  salvation  from  day  to  day. 
 
 3  Declare  His  glory  among  the  nations, 
 
 His  wonders  among  all  the  peoples. 
 
 4  For  great  is  Jehovah,  and  greatly  to  be  praised, 
 
 He  is  to  be  feared  above  all  gods ; 
 
 5  For  all  the  gods  of  the  peoples  are  idols, 
 
 But  Jehovah  made  the  heavens. 
 
 6  Honour  and  majesty  are  before  Him, 
 
 Strength  and  beauty  are  in  His  sanctuary. 
 
 7  Give  unto  Jehovah,  O  families  of  peoples, 
 
 Give  unto  Jehovah  glory  and  strength  ; 
 
 1.  A  NEW  SONG.  See  on  xxxiii.  for  idols,  but  occurring  also  as  early 
 3.  The  new  song  is  not  the  Psalm  as  Lev.  xix.  4,  xxvi.  i.  See  the 
 itself,  but  one  which  shall  be  the  fit  strong  assertions  of  their  absolute 
 expression   of  all   the   thoughts    and  nothingness  in  Is.  xli.  xliv. 
 
 hopes  and  triumphs  of  the  new  and  5.  Jehovah  made  the  heavens. 
 
 glorious  age  which  is  about  to  dawn.  So  has  He  manifested  His  power  and 
 
 It  is  the  glad  welcome  given  to  the  majesty  as  the  Creator  in  the  eyes  of 
 
 King  when  He  enters  His  kingdom.  all   the  world ;  but  the   chief  mani- 
 
 Comp.    with  this  verse    Is.  xlii.    10,  festation  of  His  glory  is  in  Israel,  "in 
 
 Ix.    6,    Ixvi.    19.  His  sanctuary."     Compare  the  same 
 
 2.  Publish,  i.e.    "proclaim  good  strain  in  xcv.  3 — 7. 
 
 tidings."  7 — 9.   The  families  of  the  nations 
 
 4.   The     manifestation     of     God's  themselves  are  called  upon  to  take  up 
 
 glory.     Comp.  cxlv.  3,  xlviii.  I.  the  song  in  which  Israel  has  made 
 
 Above   all  gods  (as  in  xcv.   3  ;  known    to    them    the    salvation    of 
 
 see  note  on  xcvii.    7.)     Here,    as   is  Jehovah.     Comp.  Zcph.  iii.  9. 
 
 plain  from  what  follows,   the  heathen  These  three  verses  are  taken  partly 
 
 deities,   which  are   idols,    lit.    "no-  from  xxix.  i,  2. 
 
 things,"    a  favourite   word  in   Isaiah 
 
470  PSALM  XCVI. 
 
 8  Give  unto  Jehovah  the  glory  due  unto  His  name, 
 
 Bring  presents,  and  come  into  His  courts. 
 
 9  Bow  yourselves  before  Jehovah  in  holy  vestments, 
 
 Tremble  before  Him,  all  the  earth. 
 
 10  Say  ye  among  the  nations  :  Jehovah  is  King, — 
 
 Yea  the  world  is    established   that   it  cannot  be 
 
 moved, — 
 He  shall  judge  the  peoples  uprightly. 
 
 1 1  Let  the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the  earth  exult. 
 
 Let  the  sea  thunder,  and  the  fulness  thereof ; 
 
 12  Let  the  field  be  joyful,  and  all  that  is  therein. 
 
 Then  shall  all  the  trees  of  the  wood  sing  for  joy 
 
 13  Before  Jehovah  ; — For  he  cometh  ; 
 
 For  he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth ; 
 He  shall  judge  the  world  in  righteousness, 
 And  the  peoples  in  His  faithfulness. 
 
 8.  Presents,  in  allusion  to  the 
 Oriental  custom  which  required  gifts 
 to  be  brought  by  all  who  would  be 
 admitted  ta  the  presence  of  a  king. 
 Comp.  xlv.  12,  Ixviii.  29,  Ixxii.    lo. 
 
 10.  The  glad  tidings  which  the 
 world  is  to  hear.  The  world's  largest 
 hopes  are  to  be  fulfilled.  A  new  era 
 is  to  begin,  a  reign  of  righteousness 
 and  peace,  a  time  so  blessed  that  even 
 the  inanimate  creation  must  be  par- 
 takers of  the  joy.  Comp.  Is.  xxxv.  1, 
 xlii.  10,  xliv.  23,  xlv.  8,  xlix.  13,  Iv. 
 12.  With  the  coming  of  Jehovah  and 
 the  setting  up  of  His  kingdom  all  the 
 broken  harmonies  of  creation  shall  be 
 restored.  Not  "the  sons  of  God" 
 only,  but  the  whole  creation  is  still 
 lijcjking  forward  to  this  great  consum- 
 mation.     (Rom.  viii.  21.) 
 
 Jehovah  is  King,  lit.  "hath  be- 
 come King  ; "  hath  taken  to  Himself 
 His  great  power  and  reigned.  See 
 xciii.  I  ;  Rev.  xi.   17. 
 
 Yea  the  world,  &c.  This  clause 
 is  introduced  somewhat  abruptly,  and 
 quasi-parenthelically,  from  \ciii.  I.   It 
 
 may  be  owing  to  the  abraptness  of 
 this  clause  that  the  Chronicler  has 
 transposed  some  of  the  clauses  in  his 
 adaptation  of  the  Psalm.  His  arrange- 
 ment (i  Chr.  xvi.  30 — 33)  is  as  fol- 
 lows :  "Tremble  before  Him  all  the 
 earth,  yea  the  world  is  established 
 (that)  it  cannot  be  moved.  Let  the 
 heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the  earth 
 exult,  and  let  them  say  among  the 
 nations,  Jehovah  is  King.  Let  the 
 sea  thunder,  and  the  fulness  thereof. 
 Let  the  field  exult,  and  all  that  is 
 therein.  Then  shall  the  trees  of  the 
 wood  shout  for  joy  before  Jehovah, 
 For  He  cometh  to  judge  the  earth." 
 
 13.  He  COMETH,  The  repetition 
 is  full  of  force  and  animation.  The 
 participle  is  used  to  express  more 
 vividly  the  coming  of  Jehovah,  as  if 
 actually  taking  place  before  the  eyes 
 of  the  Psalmist.  It  is  a  coming  to 
 judgement,  but  a  judgement  which  is 
 to  issue  in  salvation.  This  judgement 
 in  righteousness  and  faithfulness,  and 
 the  peace  which  follows  thereon,  are 
 beautifully  pourtrayed  in  Is.  xi.  I — 9. 
 
FSALM  XCVII.  471 
 
 PSALM  XCVII. 
 
 The  advent  of  Jehovah,  and  His  righteous  rule  over  the  whole 
 earth,  is  the  subject  of  this  Psalm,  as  of  the  last.  Here,  however,  it 
 would  seem  as  if  some  great  display  of  God's  righteousness,  some 
 signal  deliverance  of  His  people,  had  kindled  afresh  the  hope  that 
 the  day  was  at  hand,  yea  had  already  dawned,  when  He  would  take  to 
 Himself  His  great  power  and  reign. 
 
 "Jehovah  is  King."  Such  is  the  glad  assurance  with  which  the 
 Psalm  opens.  He  has  come  to  take  possession  of  His  throne  with  all 
 the  awful  majesty  with  which  He  appeared  on  Sinai.  All  nature  is 
 moved  at  His  presence.  The  heavens  have  uttered  their  message, 
 telling  of  His  righteousness,  and  all  the  nations  of  the  world  have  seen 
 His  glory.  His  empire  must  be  universal.  Already  the  idols  and  the 
 worshipers  of  idols  are  ashamed  :  and  Zion  rejoices  in  the  coming  of 
 her  King.  He  is  near,  very  near.  The  first  flush  of  the  morning  is 
 already  brightening  the  sky.  They  who  love  His  appearing  may 
 look  for  Him,  in  holy  abhorrence  of  evil  and  in  faithfulness  of  heart, 
 waiting  till  they  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  Lord.  Such  is  briefly  the 
 purport  of  the  Psalm. 
 
 The  structure  of  the  Psalm,  like  the  last,  consists  of  strophes  of 
 three  verses. 
 
 I.  In  the  first,  the  coming  of  Jehovah  is  pourtrayed  as  if  actually 
 present.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 II.  In  the  second,  its  effects  are  described  on  nature,  and  its  purpose 
 with  reference  to  the  world  at  large.     Ver.  4 — 6. 
 
 III.  The  third  speaks  of  the  different  impression  produced  on  the 
 heathen  and  on  Israel,  and  the  exaltation  of  God  above  all  earthly 
 power  as  the  final  result.     Ver.  7—9. 
 
 IV.  The  fourth  is  an  exhortation  to  the  righteous,  and  also  a 
 promise  full  of  consolation.     Ver.  10—12. 
 
47: 
 
 PSALM  XCVII. 
 
 1  Jehovah  is  King  :  let  the  earth  exult, 
 
 Let  the  multitude  of  the  isles  be  glad  (thereof). 
 
 2  Cloud  and  darkness  are  round  about  Him, 
 
 Righteousness  and  judgement  are  the  pillars  of  His 
 throne. 
 
 3  A  fire  goeth  before  Him, 
 
 And  devoureth  His  adversaries  round  about  Him. 
 
 4  His  lightnings  gave  shine  unto  the  world, 
 
 The  earth  saw,  and  trembled. 
 
 5  The   mountains   melted   like   wax   at   the  presence  of 
 
 Jehovah, 
 At  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth. 
 
 6  The  Heavens  have  declared  His  righteousness, 
 
 And  all  the  peoples  have  seen  His  glory. 
 
 1.  The  strain  of  the  preceding 
 Psalm,  xcvi.  lo,  ii,  is  here  resumed. 
 Comp.  also  Is.  xlii.  lo — 12,  li.  5. 
 
 Multitude  of  the  isles,  lit. 
 "  the  many  isles,"  or  "many  as  they 
 arc."  (Comp.  Is.  Hi.  15.)  The  word 
 rendered  "isles"  is  used  strictly  of 
 the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  Mediter- 
 ranean Sea  (as  in  Ixxii,  10)  ;  but  per- 
 haps here,  as  in  the  later  chapters  of 
 Isaiah,  in  a  wider  sense,  of  heathen 
 countries  at  large. 
 
 2.  The  coming  of  God  is  thus  fre- 
 quently described  by  later  prophets 
 and  psalmists  in  images  borrowed 
 from  the  manifestation  of  God  on  Sinai 
 (Exod.  xix.  9,  16,  XX.  21  ;  Dent.  iv. 
 II,  V,  23)  ;  as  in  xviii.  9. 
 
 The  pillars,  or  "foundation." 
 The  word  is  singular,  and  means 
 strictly  "support."  Comp.  Ixxxix. 
 14. 
 
 3.  A  fire,  as  in  1.  3.  Comp.  also 
 Hab.  iii.  5,  and  the  whole  description 
 in  that  chapter,  so  solemn  and  so 
 majestic,  of  God's  coming  judgement. 
 
 4.  Gave  shine   unto.      See   on 
 
 Ixxvii.  18,  whence  the  first  member  of 
 this  verse  is  taken  :  with  the  second 
 compare  Ixxvii.   16. 
 
 5.  The  MOUNTAINS  melted  :  com- 
 pai'e  Micah  i.  4,  and  Ps.  Ixviii.  2. 
 
 The  Lord  of  the  whole  eartil 
 This  name  of  God  occurs  first  in  Joshua 
 iii.  II,  13,  where  the  Ark  (at  the 
 passage  of  the  Jordan)  is  called  "  the 
 ark  of  Jehovah  the  Lord  of  the  whole 
 earth,"  as  if  emphatically  ;  then  when 
 the  people  were  about  to  occupy  their 
 own  land,  to  distin^ish  Jehovah  their 
 God  from  the  merely  local  and  na- 
 tional gods  of  the  heathen.  The  name 
 is  found  again  in  Micah  iv.  13  ;  Zech. 
 iv.  14,  vi.  5. 
 
 6.  Have  declared  His  right- 
 eousness. This  is  the  end  and  pur- 
 pose of  God's  coming  (as  in  1.  6). 
 He  comes  to  judge,  and  the  act  of 
 judgement  is  one  which  the  whole 
 world  shall  witness,  as  in  Ixxvii.  I,  4, 
 Ixxix.  10,  xcviii.  3.  Comp.  the  lan- 
 guage used  of  the  great  deliverance 
 from  Babylon,  Is.  xxxv.  2,  xl.  5,  Iii. 
 10,  Ixvi.  1 8. 
 
PSALM  XCVII. 
 
 473 
 
 Ashamed  ar^  all  they  tliat  serve  graven  images, 
 That  boast  themselves  in  idols  : — 
 Bow  down  before  Him,  all  ye  gods. 
 Zion  heard  and  was  glad, 
 
 And  the  daughters  of  Judah  exulted, 
 Because  of  Thy  judgements,  O  Jehovah. 
 For  Thou,  Jehovah,  art  most  high  above  all  the  earth, 
 Thou  art  greatly  exalted  above  all  gods. 
 
 7.  This  and  the  next  verse  describe 
 the  twofold  result  of  the  Divine 
 judgement — the  impression  produced 
 on  the  heathen  and  on  Israel,  the 
 confusion  of  all  worshipers  of  idols, 
 and  the  joy  and  exultation  of  the 
 prople  of  God. 
 
 Ashamed,  a  word  frequently  em- 
 ployed with  the  same  reference  by 
 the  prophet  Isaiah.  It  is  a  shame 
 arising  from  the  discovery  of  the  titter 
 vanity  and  nothingness  of  the  objects 
 of  their  trust. 
 
 All  ye  gods.  The  LXX.  and 
 the  Syr.  both  understand  these  to 
 be  angels.  But  the  word  Elohim 
 (God)  nowhere  cccurs  in  the  sense 
 of  angels.  The  Chald.  paraphrases  : 
 "all  WHO  woi'ship  idols."  But  doubt- 
 less heathen  deities  are  meant.  As 
 all  the  worshipers  are  confounded, 
 so  must  all  the  objects  of  their  wor- 
 ship be  overthrown,  as  Dagon  was 
 before  the  Ark  of  the  Lord  :  all  must 
 yield  before  Him  who  is  the  Lord 
 of  the  whole  earth.  If  this  be  the 
 meaning,  the  line  may  be  taken  as  a 
 sarcastic,  contemptuous  challenge  to 
 the  idols  of  the  heathen.  If  so,  we  need 
 not  enter  into  the  question  whether 
 angels  or  spiritual  beings  were  the 
 real  objects  of  worship,  idols  being 
 only  their  representatives.  Augustine 
 supposes  a  heathen  excusing  himself 
 when  charged  with  idol-worship  by 
 saying  that  he  does  not  worship  the 
 image  but   "  the  invisible  deity  which 
 
 presides  over  the  image,"  and  argiics 
 that  this  is  a  plain  proof  that  the 
 heathen  worship  not  idols  but  demons, 
 which  is  worse.  He  quotes  in  sup- 
 port of  this  view  the  language  of  St. 
 Paul  in  I  Cor.  x.  19,  20,  viii.  4.  But 
 he  continues,  if  the  pagans  say  \vc 
 worship  good  angels,  not  evil  spirits, 
 then  the  angels  themselves  forbid  such 
 worship  :  "Let  them  imitate  the  an- 
 gels and  worship  Him  who  is  worshii  t 
 by  the  angels  ;  "  and  then  he  cites  the 
 passage  in  theLatin  version,  Adorate 
 enfH,  omnes  angeli  ejus.  Calvin  here, 
 as  in  the  two  preceding  Psalms,  xcv. 
 3,  xcvi.  5,  understands  by  "gods" 
 both  angels  and  also  those  creatures 
 of  the  human  imagination,  the  pro- 
 jected images  of  their  own  lusts 
 and  fears,  which  men  fall  down  and 
 worship. 
 
 3,  Heard  and  was  glad  :  bor- 
 rowed from  xlviii.  11,  where  see  note, 
 and  ihe  opposite  to  "the  earth  saw 
 and  trembled,"  ver.  4.  Although  the 
 coming  of  Jehovah  has  been  pour- 
 trayed  in  images  full  of  awe  and  terror, 
 yet  here,  as  in  the  two  preceding 
 Psalms,  it  is  described  as  a  coming  to 
 be  welcomed  with  jubilant  gladness 
 by  His  Church.  In  the  same  spirit 
 our  Lord,  when  speaking  of  the  signs 
 of  fear  which  shall  be  tlie  precursors 
 of  His  second  coming,  says,  "  When 
 ye  shall  see  these  things  begin  to  come 
 to  pass,  then  lift  up  your  heads  :  for 
 your  redemption  drawclh  nigh." 
 
474 
 
 PSALM  XCVIIL 
 
 10  O  ye  that  love  Jehovah,  hate  evil  ; 
 
 He  keepeth  the  souls  of  His  beloved, 
 
 He  rescueth  them  from  the  hand  of  the  wicked. 
 Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous, 
 
 And  gladness  for  the  upright  in  heart. 
 Be  glad  in  Jehovah,  O  ye  righteous, 
 And  give  thanks  to  His  holy  Name. 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 10.  The  Psalm  closes  with  a  prac- 
 tical application,  because  the  King 
 and  Judge  is  drawing  near,  a  warning 
 against  the  evil  which  is  in  the  world, 
 and  an  assurance  of  Divine  protection 
 and  blessing  to  those  who  ' '  hate 
 evil."     Comp.  xxxiv  14 — 22. 
 
 11.  Light  is  sown.  The  figure 
 has  been  understood  to  mean  that  the 
 prosperity  of  the  righteous  is  future, 
 just  as  seed  is  cast  into  the  earth,  and 
 
 only  after  a  time  springs  up  and  bears 
 fruit.  But  it  is  far  simpler  to  take 
 the  verb  "sown"  in  the  sense  of 
 "  scattered,"   "  diffused." 
 
 Milton  uses  the  same  figure  of  the 
 dew  : 
 
 "  Now   Morn   her  rosy  steps  in  th' 
 Eastern  clime 
 Advancing,   sow'd   the   earth   with 
 Orient  pearl." 
 
 PSALM  XCVHI. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  little  more  than  an  echo  of  Psalm  xcvi.  Its  subject 
 is  "the  last  great  revelation,  the  final  victory  of  God,  when  His 
 salvation  and  His  righteousness,  the  revelation  of  which  He  has  pro- 
 mised to  the  house  of  Israel,  shall  be  manifested  both  to  His  own 
 people  a-nd  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth." 
 
 The  Inscription  of  the  Psalm  in  the  Hebrew  is  only  the  single  word 
 Mizmor,  "  Psalm."  In  the  Syriac  the  Inscription  runs,  "  Of  the 
 Redemption  of  the  people  from  Egypt."  Both  the  beginning  and  end 
 of  the  Psalm  are  taken  from  Psalm  xcvi.  The  rest  of  it  is  drawn 
 chiefly  from  the  latter  portion  of  Isaiah. 
 
 This  Psalm  follows  the  reading  of  the  First  Lesson  in  our  Evening 
 Service.  It  was  first  inserted  there  in  1552,  though  it  had  not  been 
 sung  among  the  Psalms  of  Vecpers  or  Compline. 
 
PSALM  XCVIII.  475 
 
 [a  psalm.] 
 
 Sing  unto  Jehovah  a  new  song, 
 
 For  He  hath  done  marvellous  things  ; 
 His  right  hand  and    His  holy  arm   hath  gotten  Him 
 
 salvation. 
 Jehovah  hath  made  known  His  salvation, 
 
 Before  the  eyes  of  the  nations  hath  He  revealed  His 
 righteousness. 
 He    hath    remembered    His  loving-kindness    and   His 
 faithfulness  to  the  house  of  Israel  ; 
 All  the  ends  of  the  earth  have  seen  the  salvation  of 
 our  God. 
 
 4  Make  a  loud  noise  to  Jehovah,  all  the  earth  ; 
 
 Break  forth  and  sing  joyfully,  and  play, — 
 
 5  Play  unto  Jehovah  with  the  harp, 
 
 With  the  harp  and  the  voice  of  a  psalm  ; 
 
 6  With  trumpets  and  the  voice  of  a  cornet, 
 
 Make  a  loud  noise  before  Jehovah,  the  Kin< 
 
 7  Let  the  sea  thunder,  and  the  fulness  thereof, 
 The  world  and  thev  that  dwell  therein. 
 
 1.  The  first  two  lines  are  taken  Righteousness,  parallel  with 
 from  xcvi.  I  ;  the  last  line,  and  ver.  "salvation,"  as  so  frequently  in  the 
 2,  3,  from  Is.  Hi.  lo,  Ixiii.  5.  latter  portion  of  Isaiah.     See  note  on 
 
 Hath  gotten  Him  salvation,  Ixxi.  15. 
 
 or  "the  victory,"  as  in  E.V.      Comp.  3.  Loving-KINDNESS  .  .  .    FAITH- 
 
 xlix.  4,  Is.   hx.    16,  Ixiii.    5.      I  have  fulness,  the  two   attributes  expres- 
 
 preferred  here   the  former  rendering,  sive  of  God's  covenant  relationship  to 
 
 because  in  the    next  verse  the    noun  His  people. 
 
 occurs  from  the  same  root,  and  there  4.  Break  forth  and  sing,  as  in 
 
 the  rendering  "  salvation  "  is,  I  think.  Is.  Hi.  9,   though  the  more  common 
 
 preferable  to  "victory."  phrase  is  "break  forth  into  singing" 
 
 2.  Before  the  eyes,  &c.  ;  Ian-  (Is.  xiv.  7;  xliv.  23;  xlix.  13  ;  liv.  i). 
 guage  especially  applied  (as  in  5.  Voice  of  a  psalm,  as  in  Is. 
 Isaiah)  to  the  great  deliverance  from  li.  3. 
 
 Babylon.     See  xcvii.  6.  7.  Compare  xcvi.  11,  and  xxiv.   i. 
 
476  PSALM  XCIX. 
 
 8  Let  the  streams  clap  their  hands, 
 
 Together  let  the  mountains  sing  for  joy, 
 
 9  Before  Jehovah,  for  He  cometh  to  judge  the  earth, 
 
 He  shall  judge  the  world  with  righteousness, 
 And  the  peoples  with  uprightness. 
 
 8.  Clap  their  hands.  The  same       2  Kings  xi.    I2.     On  the  next  v< 
 phrase  occurs  Is.  Iv.  I2  ;  elsewhere  a       see  xcvi.  13. 
 different  verb  is  used,  as  in  xlvii.  I  : 
 
 PSALM  XCIX. 
 
 This  is  the  last  of  the  series  of  Royal  Psalms,  of  Psalms  which 
 celebrate  the  coming  of  Jehovah  as  King.  The  first  of  the  series  is 
 the  93rd.  This  opens  with  the  announcement  that  "Jehovah  is  King," 
 passes  on  to  tell  that  His  throne  has  been  from  everlasting,  that  He 
 made  the  world  and  that  He  rules  it — rules  the  rage  of  the  elements 
 and  the  convulsions  of  political  strife,  of  which  that  is  the  figure — and 
 then  concludes  with  one  brief  glance  at  His  revelation  of  Himself  to 
 His  people,  and  the  distinguishing  glory  of  the  house  in  which  He 
 deigns  to  dwell,  "  Holiness  iDecometh  Thine  house  for  ever." 
 
 The  95th  Psalm*  ascribes  glory  to  Him  as  "a  great  King  above  all 
 gods"  (ver.  3).  The  96th  would  have  the  glad  tidings  run  far  and  wide 
 that  "Jehovah  is  King,"  that  "  He  shall  judge  the  people  righteously" 
 (ver.  13).  The  97th  opens  "Jehovah  is  King,"  speaks  of  the  glory  of 
 His  advent,  and  of  the  joy  with  which  it  is  w^elcomed  by  His  people. 
 The  98th  calls  upon  all  lands  to  break  forth  into  loud  shouts  "  before 
 the  King  Jehovah,"  to  go  forth  and  to  meet  Him  with  glad  acclaim, 
 with  the  voice  of  harp  and  cornet  and  trumpet,  as  men  go  forth  to 
 meet  a  monarch  who  comes  in  state  to  take  possession  of  the  throne 
 of  his  fathers.     The  99th,  like  the  93rd  and  the  97th,  opens  with  the 
 
 *  The  c)4th  Psalm  seems  out  of  place  in  the  series  :  it  does  not,  like  the  rest,  speak  of  the 
 reign  of  Jehovah  ;  and  the  number  seven,  if  we  take  the  looth  Psalm  as  the  closing  Doxology, 
 is  complete  without  it. 
 
PSALM  XCIX.  477 
 
 joyful  announcement  that  "  Jehovah  is  King,"  and  then  bids  all  men 
 fall  down  and  confess  His  greatness,  and  worship  Him  who  alone  is 
 holy.  Both  the  first  and  the  last  of  the  series,  the  93rd  anct  the  99th, 
 celebrate  the  kingly  majesty  and  the  holiness  of  Jehovah,  and  also  the 
 holiness  of  His  Avorship. 
 
 All  these  Psalms,  then,  alike  tell  of  the  setting  up  of  a  Divine 
 kingdom  upon  earth.  All  alike  anticipate  the  event  with  joy.  One 
 universal  anthem  bursts  from  the  whole  wide  world  to  greet  the 
 advent  of  the  righteous  King.  Not  Zion  only  and  the  daughters  of 
 Judah  are  glad,  but  the  dwellers  in  far  off  islands  and  the  ends  of 
 the  earth.  Even  inanimate  nature  sympathises  with  the  joy  ;  the  sea 
 thunders  her  welcome,  the  rivers  clap  their  hands,  the  trees  of  the 
 wood  break  forth  into  singing  before  the  Lord.  In  all  these  Psalms 
 alike  the  joy  springs  from  the  same  source,  from  the  thought  that  on 
 this  earth,  where  might  has  so  long  triumphed  over  right,  a  righteoiis 
 King  shall  reign,  a  kingdom  shall  be  set  up  which  shall  be  a  kingdom 
 of  7-ighteoiisness,  and  judgement,  and  truth. 
 
 In  this  Psalm,  not  only  the  righteous  sway  of  the  King,  but  His 
 awful  holiness,  forms  the  subject  of  praise  ;  and  the  tme  character  of 
 His  worshipers  as  consecrated  priests,  holy,  set  apart  for  His  service, 
 is  illustrated  by  the  examples  of  holy  men  of  old,  like  Moses,  Aaron, 
 and  Samuel. 
 
 Jehovah  is  King,  the  peoples  tremble  ; 
 
 He  sitteth  throned  upon  the  cherubim,  the  earth  is 
 moved. 
 Jehovah  in  Zion  is  great, 
 
 And  He  is  exalted  above  all  the  peoples. 
 Let  them  give  thanks  unto  Thy  great  and  fearful  Name  ; 
 
 I,    Is    King,    lit.    "hath   become  3.  Let  them    give  thanks,    or 
 
 King,"  regmun  capessivit.  the    words     may    be    taken    as   the 
 
 He  sitteth.     This  is  a  participle,  utterance  of  the  Psalmist's  hope  that 
 
 and  is,  strictly  speaking,  not  so  much  Go  I's    "great    and     fearful    Name" 
 
 an  independent    clause   as   a   further  (Deut.    x.    17)  which    is    known    in 
 
 description   of  the  manner  of  God's  Israel   shall    be   glorified    in   all   the 
 
 kingly  rule  :  He  rules  sitting  throned,  world:     "they    shall    give    thanks," 
 
 &c.  &c.      But  the   optative   form   of  ex- 
 
 TJPON  the  cherubim.     See  note  pression  accords  best  with  tlie  exhor- 
 
 on  ixxx.  I.  tation  in  ver.  5,  9. 
 
478 
 
 PSALM  XCIX. 
 
 He  is  holy. 
 
 4  And  the  might  of  the  King  loveth  judgement ; 
 
 Thou  hast  estabhshed  uprightness, 
 Thou  hast  executed  judgement  and  righteousness  in 
 Jacob. 
 
 5  Exalt  ye  Jehovah  our  God, 
 
 And  bow  down  at  His  holy  footstool  : 
 He  is  holy. 
 
 6  Moses  and  Aaron  among  His  priests, 
 
 And  Samuel  among  them  that  9alled  upon  His  Name — 
 They  called  upon  Jehovah,  and  He  answered  them. 
 
 He  is  holy.  This  might  be  ren- 
 dered ''It\s  holy,"  i.e.  the  Name  of 
 God,  mentioned  just  before.  The 
 meaning  is  the  same  in  either  case, 
 for  God's  Name  "is  God  Himself  in 
 His  revealed  holiness,"  as  Delitzsch 
 observes, 
 
 4.  The  might  of  the  King  :  the 
 same  King  who  is  mentioned  ver.  i, 
 Jehovah.  His  might  is  no  arbitrary- 
 power,  like  that  of  earthly  tyrants, 
 but  a  judgement-loving  might.  His 
 power  only  expresses  itself  in  right- 
 eousness. He  has  "  established  up- 
 rightness" as  the  great  eternal  law 
 of  His  government,  the  inner  prin- 
 ciple of  His  sway,  and  He  has  mani- 
 fested it  in  all  His  acts:  He  "has 
 executed  Judgement  and  righteousness 
 in  Jacob." 
 
 5.  Footstool  :  properly,  the  lower 
 part  or  step  of  the  throne  (as  Is.  Ixvi. 
 I,  Ezek.  xliii.  7),  put  for  the  throne 
 itself  In  cxxxii.  7,  it  is  spoken, 
 apparently,  of  the  Sanctuary,  "His 
 dwellings,  or  tabernacles,*'  being  in 
 the  parallelism.  So  the  sanctuary  is 
 called  "the  place  of  My  feet,"  Is. 
 Ix.  13.  In  I  Chron.  xxviii.  2  it  is 
 used  of  the  ark  of  the  covenant  :  in 
 Lam.  ii.  i,  of  the  holy  city  (or  perhaps 
 the  Temple) ;  in  Is.  Ixvi.  i  (comp.  Matt. 
 V.  35),  of  the  whole  earth.  Here  it 
 seems  doubtful  whether  the  earthly 
 or  the  heavenly  sanctuary  be  meant. 
 
 6.  The  great  subject  of  the  Psalmist's 
 praise  is  the  holiness  of  God.  It  is  a 
 holy  God  whom  he  calls  upon  all 
 men  to  worship.  It  is  "a  holy  foot- 
 stool," "a  holy  mountain,"  before 
 which  they  bow  down  ;  it  is  there- 
 fore a  holy  worship  which  they  must 
 render.  Such  was  the  worship  of 
 His  saints  of  old  :  and  then  likewise 
 Jehovah  manifested  His  holiness, 
 both  in  "forgiving"  and  in  "taking 
 vengeance  "  (ver.  8). 
 
 Moses  .  .  .  among  His  priests. 
 The  priestly  office  was  exercised  by 
 Moses  in  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
 of  the  covenant,  Exod.  xxiv.  6 — 8, 
 and  again  in  the  whole  ritual  for  the 
 consecration  of  Aaron  and  his  sons, 
 Levit.  viii.,  as  well  as  in  the  service 
 of  the  sanctuary,  before  that  conse- 
 cration took  place,  Exod.  xl.  22 — 27. 
 So  likewise  he  "called  upon  the 
 Lord  "  as  "a  priest,"  in  intercession 
 for  his  people,  Exod.  xvii.  11,  12, 
 xxxii.  30 — 32  (comp.  Ps.  cvi.  23)  ; 
 Num.  xii.  13.  Samuel  also,  though 
 not  here  classed  with  the  priests,  but 
 mentioned  as  a  great  example  of 
 prayer,  not  only  like  Moses  discharged 
 priestly  functions,  but  also  like  Moses 
 interceded  for  the  people.  We  find 
 him  at  Ramah  offering  sacrifices  in 
 the  high  place,  and  his  independent 
 priestly  position  so  recognised  by  the 
 people,  that  they  would  not  partake 
 
PSALM  C. 
 
 479 
 
 7  In  the  pillar  of  a  cloud  He  spake  unto  them  ; 
 
 They  kept  His  testimonies  and  the  statute  Pie  gave 
 them. 
 
 8  Jehovah,  our  God,  Thou  didst  answer  them  ; 
 
 A  forgiving  God  didst  Thou  prove  to  them, 
 And  (a  God)  taking  vengeance  of  their  doings. 
 
 9  Exalt  ye  Jehovah  our  God, 
 
 And  bow  down  before  His  holy  mountain  ; 
 For  Jehovah  our  God  is  holy. 
 
 of  the  sacrifice  till  he  had  blessed  it. 
 (i  Sam.  ix.  12,  13.)  We  find  him  on 
 the  occasion  of  a  battle  offering  a 
 whole  burnt-offering  unto  Jehovah 
 (i  Sam.  vii.  9),  at  the  same  time  that 
 he  sternly  rebukes  Saul  for  presuming 
 to  do  the  same  thing  (i  Sam.  xiii. 
 II — 13).  For  the  efficacy  of  his 
 prayers  and  intercessions — on  which, 
 and  not  on  sacrifices,  the  stress  is 
 here  laid — see  the  instances  in  i  Sam. 
 vii.  8,  9,  xii.  16 — 18.  Comp.  Ecclus. 
 xlvi.  16,  17. 
 
 7.  In  the  pillar  of  a  cloud. 
 Strictly  this  applies  only  to  Moses, 
 or  at  the  most  only  to  Moses  and 
 Aaron  :  see  Num.  xii.  5. 
 
 They  kept  His  testimonies  ; 
 an  evidence  of  the  holiness  of  those 
 who  called   on  Jehovah,   and  whom 
 
 He  answered.  This  latter  clause 
 might  be  disposed  in  two  lines, 
 thus  : — 
 
 "  They  kept  His  testimonies, 
 And   He   gave   them    a    statute 
 (statutes)." 
 
 This  verse  would  then,  like  all  the 
 others  in  this  strophe,  consist  of 
 three  lines. 
 
 8.  Taking  vengeance.  As  it  is 
 clear  that  this  cannot  refer  to  the 
 three  great  examples  cited  above,  the 
 pronouns  in  this  verse  (and  perhaps, 
 as  Calvin  and  others  think,  in  ver.  7) 
 must  refer  to  the  people  at  large,  who 
 though  not  mentioned  are  in  the 
 Psalmist's  thoughts,  as  he  goes  back 
 to  their  ancient  history. 
 
 PSALM  C. 
 
 If  we  are  right  in  regarding  Psalms  xciii. — xcix.  as  forming  one 
 continuous  series,  one  great  prophetic  oratorio,  whose  title  is 
 "Jehovah   is   King,"  and  through  which  there  runs  the  same  great 
 
48o 
 
 PSALM  C 
 
 idea,  this  Psalm  may  be  regarded  as  the  Doxology  which  closes  the 
 strain.  We  find  lingering  in  it  notes  of  the  same  great  harmony.  It 
 breathes  the  same  gladness  :  it  is  filled  with  the  same  hope,  that  all 
 nations  shall  bow  down  before  Jehovah,  and  confess  that  He  is  God. 
 
 [a  psalm  for  the  thank-offering.*] 
 
 1  Shout  aloud  unto  Jehovah,  all  the  earth. 
 
 2  Serve  ye  Jehovah  with  gladness, 
 
 Come  before  His  presence  with  a  song  (of  joy). 
 
 3  Know  ye  that  Jehovah,  He  is  God  : 
 
 He  hath  made  us  and  we  are  His, 
 
 We  are  His  people  and  the  sheep  of  His  pasture. 
 
 4  O  come  into  His  gates  with  thanksgiving, 
 
 (Into)  Hi's  courts  with  praise: 
 
 Be  thankful  unto  Him,  bless  His  Name. 
 
 1.  Shout  aloud  :  used  of  the 
 welcome  given  to  a  king  who  enters 
 Ills  capital,  or  takes  possession  of  the 
 throne,  as  in  xcviii.  4,  6,  Ixvi.  i. 
 
 All  the  earth.  As  in  all  the 
 preceding  Psalms,  xciii. — xcix.,  so 
 here,  the  hope  of  the  Psalmist  goes 
 far  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  his 
 own  people  and  country.  The  bless- 
 ing of  Abraham  has  become  tlie 
 heritage  of  the  Gentiles.  The  whole 
 world  is  to  acknowledge  Jehovah,  and 
 to  rejoice  before  Him. 
 
 2.  Serve  ye.  Compare  ii.  ii  ; 
 where,  however,  in  accordance  with 
 the  warlike  character  ascribed  to  the 
 monarch,  it  is  added  "with  fear," 
 instead  of  "  with  joy  "  as  here, 
 
 3.  Know  ye,  i.e.  learn  by  ex- 
 perience. 
 
 Hath  made  us  ;  i.e.  not  merely 
 "  hath  created  us,"  but  hath  made  us 
 what  we  are,  viz.  His  people.  Comp. 
 I    Sam.   xii.   6:    "  It  is  Jehovah  that 
 
 made  (E.  V.  advanced)  Moses  and 
 Aaron."  See  also  Deut.  xxxii.  6,  18; 
 Ps.  xcv.  6,  And  so  Israel  is  called 
 "the  work  (lit.  maJdng)  of  Jehovah," 
 Is.  xxix.  23,  Ix.  21. 
 
 4.  The  knowledge  that  Jehovah 
 has  chosen  Israel  to  be  His  inheri- 
 tance and  the  sheep  of  His  pasture 
 is  not  to  tend  to  the  exclusion  of 
 others  from  the  same  privileges.  On 
 the  contrary,  all  nations  are  to  flow  to 
 Jerusalem,  and  worship  in  the  Temple. 
 What  in  Isaiah  ii.  2,  3  appears  in 
 the  form  of  prediction,  is  here  invi- 
 tation, as  in  Is.  ii.  5.  "His  temple 
 is  open  to  all.  They  may  enter  in  ; 
 and  when  they  enter  iiiay  expect 
 great  things  :  '  For  Jehovah  is  gra- 
 cious, and  His  loving-kindness  and 
 truth  never  fail,'  according  to  the 
 repeated  expressions  of  the  Halle- 
 lujah-Psalms and  Psalms  of  thanks- 
 giving. "—  Dclitzsch. 
 
 *  The  expression  is  used  ai)parently  in  a  liturgical  sense,  to  denote  that  the  Psalm  was  to 
 be  sung  dui  iiig  the  oft'ering  of  thank-offerings. 
 
PSALM  CI.  4S1 
 
 5   For  Jehovah  is  good,  His  loving-kindness  is  for  ever, 
 And  His  faithfuhiess  unto  all  generations. 
 
 5.  Good,  i.e.  "gracious,"  "kind,"  as  in  xxv.  8,  xxxiv.  8. 
 
 PSALM  CI. 
 
 This  Psalm  has  been  styled  "  the  godly  purposes  and  resolves  of  a 
 king."  It  might  also  be  described  as  "  Speculum  Regis,"  a  mirror 
 for  kings  and  all  that  are  in  authority.  It  opens  with  the  joyful 
 contemplation  of  God's  mercy  and  justice  as  kingly  virtues,  in  their 
 measure  and  degree  to  be  manifested  in  earthly  kings.  It  then 
 records  the  king's  pious  resolve  to  keep  his  own  heart  and  life  un- 
 spotted, and  to  remove  from  him  all  that  might  lead  him  astray.  Yet 
 scarcely  has  he  uttered  the  resolve,  when,  reflecting  on  all  that  such  a 
 resolve  implies,  he  breaks  forth  in  the  earnest  cry  that  God  Himself 
 would  come  to  him  and  take  up  His  dwelling  with  him,  giving  him 
 grace  to  walk  in  "  a  perfect  way."  Thus  having  consecrated  himself 
 and  his  house,  he  declares  further  how  he  will  provide  for  the  purity 
 of  his  court.  With  jealous  care  he  will  exclude  those  who  are  the 
 bane  of  kings'  houses — the  slanderer,  the  proud,  the  deceitful,  the  liar. 
 None  but  the  faithful,  none  but  those  who,  like  himself,  walk  in  a 
 perfect  {i.e.  blameless)  way,  shall  be  admitted  to  places  of  honour 
 and  trust  about  his  person.  Finally,  the  work  of  zealous  reformation 
 shall  extend  to  his  capital,  the  city  of  Jehovah,  and  to  the  utmost 
 borders  of  the  land,  that  he  may  see  reahzed  under  his  sway  the 
 great  ideal,  "  Ye  shall  be  to  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy 
 nation^ 
 
 All  this  falls  in  admirably  with  the  early  part  of  David's  reign,  and 
 the  words  are  just  what  we  might  expect  from  one  who  came  to  tlic 
 throne  with  a  heart  so  true  to  his  God.  If  the  words  "When  wi'.t 
 Thou  come  unto   me.''"  may  be  taken  to   express,  as  seems  most 
 
 I  I 
 
482  PSALM  CI. 
 
 natural,  David's  desire  to  see  the  Ark  at  length  fixed  in  the  Tabernacle 
 which  he  had  prepared  for  it  on  Zion,  the  Psalm  must  have  been 
 written  whilst  the  Ark  was  still  in  the  house  of  Obededom  (2  Sam. 
 vi.  10,  11). 
 
 [a   psalm    of   DAVID.] 
 
 I  WILL  sing  of  loving-kindness  and  judgement, 
 Unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  will  I  sing  psalms. 
 
 I  will  give  heed  to  a  perfect  way. 
 
 — When  wilt  Thou  come  unto  me  } — 
 
 I  will  walk  with  a  perfect  heart  within  my  house. 
 
 1.  Loving-kindness  and  judge- 
 ment. These  can  only  be  the  theme 
 of  praise  as  Divine  attributes.  But  it 
 is  as  a  king  who  would  frame  his  oM'n 
 rule  and  his  kingdom  after  the  Divine 
 pattern  that  David  makes  these  attri- 
 butes the  burden  of  his  song.  He 
 meditates  on  the  mercy  and  the  right- 
 eousness of  God,  that  he  may  learn 
 the  lesson  of  that  mercy  and  right- 
 eousness himself  He  meditates  on 
 them  till  his  heart  glows  with  the 
 thought  of  their  surpassing  excellence, 
 as  seen  in  the  Divine  government, 
 and  with  the  earnest  de-ire  that  the 
 same  kingly  virtues  may  be  trans- 
 ferred into  his  own  life  and  reign. 
 
 Sing  psalms,  or  perhaps,  rather, 
 "  play,"  i.e.  upon  the  harp  or  other 
 musical  instruments. 
 
 2.  I  WILL  GIVE  HEED.  The  ex- 
 pression shows  his  sense  of  his  own 
 responsibility.  The  possession  of  ab- 
 solute power  too  often  dazzles  and 
 blinds  men.  An  Eastern  despot 
 might  have  cast  off  all  restraint,  or  at 
 least  might  have  allowed  himself 
 large  licence  in  tlie  indulgence  of 
 his  passions  or  his  follies,  almost 
 without  scandal  or  hatred.  The 
 nobler,  therefore,  is  this  resolve. 
 
 When  wilt  Thou  come?  It 
 would  be  possible  to  render  :  *'  I  will 
 give  heed  to  a  perfect  way  when 
 Thou  comest  unto  me ; "  but  the 
 question  is  far  more  expressive.  It 
 bursts  forth  from  the  heart,  moved 
 and  stirred  to  its  inmost  centre,  as 
 it  thinks  of  all  the  height  and  depth 
 of  that  resolve  "to  walk  in  a  perfect 
 way."  How  shall  a  frail  son  of  man 
 keep  his  integrity  ?  The  task  is  too 
 great  for  his  own  strength,  honest 
 and  sincere  as  the  resolution  is,  and 
 therefore  he  cries,  "  When  wilt  Thou 
 come  unto  me?" — come  to  be  my 
 abiding  guest  —  come  not  only  to 
 dwell  on  Zion,  in  Thy  tabernacle, 
 but  with  me  Thy  servant,  in  my  house 
 and  in  my  heart  (comp.  John  xiv.  23), 
 giving  me  the  strength  and  the  grace 
 that  I  need?  The  expression  is  no 
 doubt  remarkable  as  occurring  in  the 
 Old  Testament  ;  though  if  it  be  un- 
 derstood as  referring  to  the  removal 
 of  the  Ark  to  Zion  (see  Introduction 
 to  the  Psalm),  it  would  be  but  a 
 claiming  of  the  promise  in  Exod.  xx. 
 24:  "In  all  places  where  I  record 
 My  Name  /  will  come  unto  thee,  and 
 bless  thee." 
 
PSALM  CL 
 
 4S3 
 
 I  will  not  set  before  mine  eyes  any  wicked  thin^ 
 
 The  sin  of  unfaithfulness  do  I  hate, 
 It  shall  not  cleave  unto  me. 
 A  froward  heart  shall  depart  from  me, 
 
 A  wicked  person  I  will  not  know. 
 Whoso  privily  slandereth  his  neighbour, 
 
 Him  will  I  destroy. 
 Whoso  hath  a  high  look  and  proud  heart. 
 
 Him  I  will  not  suffer. 
 Mine  eyes  are  upon  the  faithful  in  the  land, 
 
 3.  Set  before  mine  eyes,  i.e.  as 
 an  example  to  imitate.  According  to 
 Calvin,  he  speaks  in  the  previous 
 verse  of  the  manner  in  which  he  will 
 regulate  his  private  life ;  in  this  of 
 his  duties  as  a  king. 
 
 Wicked  thing,  ht.  "thing  of 
 Belial." 
 
 The  sin  of  unfaithfulness,  lit. 
 "the  doing  of  turnings  aside."  All 
 such  deviations  from  truth,  from  in- 
 tegrity, from  that  Divine  law  by  which 
 he  rules  himself,  shall  not  ''cleave" 
 to  him.  Temptations  to  such  a  course 
 may  beset  him.  The  whisper  might 
 come.  Policy  requires  this  course, 
 craft  must  be  met  by  craft,  power  is 
 given  to  be  used,  kings  are  above 
 law,  and  the  like.  But  he  refuses 
 to  listen  to  the  whisper  of  the  ser- 
 pent, and  when  it  would  fasten  its 
 fangs  in  him,  he  shakes  it  off. 
 
 4.  First  David  proves  himself, 
 laying  down  the  rule  for  his  own 
 guidance ;  then  he  determines  what 
 his  court  and  household  shall  be. 
 
 In  this  verse  he  repudiates  gene- 
 rally "the  froward  heart''  and  "the 
 wicked  person."  In  the  following  he 
 enters  more  into  detail. 
 
 A  wicked  person,  or  "wicked- 
 ness ;  "  but  the  former  accords  better 
 with  "the  froward  heart"  (comp. 
 Prov.  xi.  20)  in  the  parallelism. 
 
 5.  The  secret  slanderer,  seeking  to 
 ingratiate  himself  into  his  prince's 
 favour  by  pulling  down  others,  and 
 the  haughty,  over-bearing  noble  (ver. 
 6),  would  be  no  uncommon  characters 
 in  any  court,  least  of  all  an  Oriental 
 court.  Such  persons  would  David 
 destroy.  Thus  he  exercised  the 
 kingly  virtue  of  "judgement  "  ^ver.  l). 
 "As  a  private  individual  he  could 
 never  have  ventured  on  such  a  mea- 
 sure ;  but  when  he  was  placed  on  the 
 throne,  he  received  from  God's  hand 
 the  sword  with  v/hich  he  was  to 
 punish  wrong-doing." 
 
 6.  A  PROUD  heart,  lit.  "whoso 
 is  wide  of  heart,"  i.e.  as  puffed  up 
 and  blown  out  with  pride  (comp. 
 Prov.  xxi.  4,  xxviii.  25).  Elsewhere 
 the  phrase,  "a  wide  heart,"  occurs  in 
 a  very  different  sense.  It  is  said  of 
 Solomon  that  God  gave  him  "a  wide 
 heart,"  i.e.  comprehensiveness,  a  large 
 gi^asp,  the  power  not  only  ot  gathering 
 facts,  but  the  power  of  seeing  their 
 mutual  relation ;  breadth  of  sympathy, 
 and  breadth  of  understanding. 
 
 I  WILL  NOT  suffer,  or,  "I  Can- 
 not away  with."  Is.  i.  13  ;  Jer.  xliv. 
 22. 
 
 7.  Mine  eyes  are  upon.  Comp. 
 xxxii.  8,  xxxiv.  15,  Ixvi.  7.  His  min- 
 isters shall  be  chosen,  not  for  high 
 b.rth,  or  gifts  of  fortune,  or  talents, 
 
 I    i   2 
 
454 
 
 PSALM  CIL 
 
 That  they  may  dwell  with  me. 
 Whoso  walketh  in  a  perfect  way, 
 He  shall  be  my  servant. 
 
 8  He  that  worketh  deceit  shall  not  dwell  within  my  house, 
 
 He  that  speaketh  lies  shall  not  be  established  in  my 
 sight. 
 
 9  Every  morning  will  I  destroy  the  wicked  of  the  land, 
 
 That  I  may  cut  off  all  workers  of  iniquity  from  the 
 city  of  Jehovah. 
 
 or  accomplishments,  or  flattering  lips, 
 or  supple  compliance,  but  for  incor- 
 ruptible fidelity  ;  the  word  "  faithful  " 
 implying  that  faithfulness  to  God  is 
 the  basis  of  such  fidelity  to  their 
 king. 
 
 Whoso  walketh  in  a  perfect 
 WAY,  i.e.  with  evident  reference  to 
 ver.  2,  ' '  whoever  has  laid  down  for 
 himself  the  same  rule  of  integrity,  is 
 actuated  by  the  same  purity  of  motive 
 as  I  myself  am. " 
 
 8.  Worketh  deceit,  as  in  lii.  2. 
 Be     established,    or     "  abide," 
 
 "continue  :"  comp.  cii.  28. 
 
 9.  Every  morning.  Fast  as  the 
 evil  springs  under  shelter  of  the  dark- 
 ness, it  shall  be  destroyed  with  the 
 returning  light.  The  allusion  is, 
 doubtless,  to  the  Oriental  custom  of 
 holding  courts  of  law  in  the  early 
 morning.     (See  the  same  allusion  in 
 
 Jer.  xxi.  12.  "Execute  judgement 
 in  the  morning,  and  deliver  him  that 
 is  spoiled,"  &c.  and  comp.  Luke  xxii. 
 66  ;  John  xviii.  28.) 
 
 Day  by  day  will  he  exercise  his 
 work  of  righteous  judgement,  purging 
 out  all  ungodliness  from  the  Holy 
 City.  His  zeal  is  like  the  zeal  of 
 Phinehas,  a  zeal  for  God  and  for  His 
 honour.  He  will  have  a  pure  state, 
 a  pure  city,  as  the  w^riter  of  the  104th 
 Psalm  hopes  to  see  a  pure  earth  (civ. 
 35),  without  spot  or  stain  of  sin.  It  is 
 like  the  dream  which  fciscinated  the 
 Roman  Poet,  of  an  Ash-cca  redux. 
 It  is  a  hope  which  finds  its  accom- 
 plishment m  the  Apocalyptic  vision, 
 in  that  new  Jerusalem  into  which 
 ' '  there  shall  in  no  wise  enter  any- 
 thing that  defileth,  or  worketh  abomi- 
 nation, or  maketh  a  lie."  (Rev.  xxi. 
 27.) 
 
 PSALM  cn. 
 
 This  Psalm  must  have  been  written  by  one  of  the  exiles  in 
 Babylon,  probably  towards  the  close  of  the  Captivity,  when  the  hope 
 of  a  return  seemed  no  lontjer  doubtful.     In  mournful  strains  he  de- 
 
PSALM  CIl.  4S5 
 
 scribes  his  bitter  lot.  Sorrow  and  pain  had  been  very  busy  with  him. 
 His  very  heart  was  smitten  within  him,  as  the  grass  is  withered  in 
 the  hot  eye  of  the  sun.  He  was  alone,  with  no  friend  to  comfort 
 him  ;  his  enemies  turned  his  misery  into  a  proverb  ;  his  life  was 
 drawing  to  a  close  under  the  heavy  wrath  of  God. 
 
 But  when  he  has  time  to  look  away  from  his  sorrow,  a  prospect  so 
 bright  and  so  glorious  opens  before  him,  that  in  the  thought  of  it  all 
 else  is  swallowed  up  and  forgotten.  Zion's  deliverance  is  at  hand. 
 Her  God  has  not  forsaken  her.  The  grounds  on  which  his  hope 
 rests  are  broad  and  manifold  ;  for  Jehovah  is  the  everlasting  King 
 (ver.  12)  ;  the  time  fixed  in  His  counsels  is  come  (ver.  13) ;  the  hearts 
 of  her  children  are  moved  with  a  more  passionate  longing  for  her 
 restoration  (ver.  14) ;  the  prayer  of  His  suffering  people  has  prevailed, 
 the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  has  entered  into  His  ears  (ver.  17,  19,  20). 
 A  new  nation  shall  be  born  in  Zion,  and  other  nations  and  kingdoms 
 shall  be  gathered  into  her  to  praise  Jehovah  (ver.  18,  21,  22). 
 
 Once  again,  as  for  a  moment,  the  sadness  of  the  exile  and  the 
 sufferer  prevails.  His  life  is  ebbing  away,  his  heart  and  his  flesh  fail. 
 Shall  he  be  permitted  to  look  upon  that  glory  with  the  thought  of 
 which  he  has  been  comforting  himself,  the  vision  of  which  has  been 
 passing  before  his  eyes  .?  "  O  my  God,  take  me  not  away  in  the 
 midst  of  my  days  !  "  is  the  natural  and  touching  petition  v/hich  breaks 
 from  his  lips,  as  he  fears  lest  his  eyes  should  be  closed  in  death  before 
 that  glory  appears.  And  then  suddenly,  as  if  every  cloud  of  appre- 
 hension were  dispelled,  he  triumphs  in  the  thought  that  there  is  One 
 who  changeth  not  ;  that  though  the  solid  frame  of  the  universe  itself 
 should  crumble  into  dissolution,  yet  He  is  the  same  "yesterday, 
 to-day,  and  for  ever,"  the  one  Hope  and  Stay  of  His  children  now  and 
 in  all  generations  to  come. 
 
 On  the  Messianic  character  of  the  Psalm,  and  the  quotation  made 
 from  it  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  see  the  remarks  at  the  end  on 
 ver.  25 — 27. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  clearly  individual,  not  national,  and  must  have  been 
 intended  for  private  rather  than  liturgical  use,  as  the  Inscription 
 seems  designed  to  inform  us.  This  Inscription  is  peculiar  ;  it  stands 
 quite  alone  among  the  Titles  prefixed  to  the  Psalms  ;  for  it  describes 
 the  character  of  the  Psalm,  and  marks  the  circumstances  under  which 
 it  should  be  used.  In  all  other  instances  the  Inscriptions  are  either 
 musical  or  historical. 
 
4S6  PSALM  CIL 
 
 [a  prayer  of  the  afflicted,  when  he  is  overwhelmed,  and 
 
 BEFORE  JEHOVAH   POURETH  OUT   HIS   COMPLAINT.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  hear  my  prayer, 
 
 And  let  my  cry  come  unto  Thee. 
 
 2  Hide  not  Thy  face  from  me  ; 
 
 In  the  day  of  my  distress  incHne  Thine  ear  unto  me, 
 In  the  day  that  I  call  answer  me  speedily. 
 
 3  For  my  days  are  consumed  in  smoke, 
 
 And  my  bones  are  burnt  up  as  a  firebrand. 
 
 4  My  heart  is  smitten,  and  dried  up  like  grass, 
 
 For  I  have  forgotten  to  eat  my  bread. 
 
 5  Because  of  the  voice  of  my  groaning, 
 
 My  bones  have  cleaved  to  my  flesh. 
 
 6  I  am  like  a  pelican  of  the  wilderness, 
 
 I  am  become  like  an  owl  of  the  ruins. 
 
 7  I  have  watched,  and  have  been, 
 
 I,  2.  The  opening  words  are  such  5.  To  my  Flesh.     More  naturally 
 
 as  are  found  in  other  Psahns  :  comp.  in  Lam,  iv.  8,   "  Their  skin  cleaveih 
 
 xviii.  6;  xxxix.    12;  xxvii.   9  ("l:iide  to  their  bones;"  the  expression  de- 
 
 not  Thy  face")  ;  lix,  16  ("In  the  day  noting  extreme  emaciation.       In  Job 
 
 \ylien  I  was  in  distress"),  and  xviii.  6;  xix.    20,    however,    it   is    "my  bone 
 
 xxxi.    2    ("incline    Thine    ear    unto  cleaveth  to  my  skin,"  which  may  refer 
 
 me");  Ivi.   9^("In  the  day  when  I  to  a  state  of  weakness  and  relaxation 
 
 call");    Ixix.    17;  cxUii.  7  ("answer  brought  on  by  severe  pain,  in  which 
 
 me    speedily").     But    all    these    are  the    bones   have  lost  their   power  of 
 
 forms    of    expression    which    would  motion. 
 
 easily  pass  into  the  common  language  6.   A  teltcan  (E.  V.   Cormorant) 
 
 cf  prayer.  .  .   .  An  owl.     Both  are  mentioned 
 
 3.  My  bones.  The  bones  are  Lev.  xi.  17,  18,  and  the  former  as 
 burned  (see  on  Ixix.  3)  as  the  brand  inhabiting  the  wilderness,  Zeph.  ii. 
 is  when  placed  on  the  fire.  Comp.  14;  Is.  xxxiv.  1 1.  The  owl  is  called 
 xxii.  15,  xxxi.  10,  xxxii.  3.  in  Arabic,  "mother  of  the  ruins." 
 
 4.  Smitten,  as  by  a  sun-sfVoke.  7.  I  have  watched,  sleep  having 
 Comp.  cxxi.  6;  Hos.  ix.  16;  Jon.  iv.  8.  been  driven  away  by  sorrow.     With 
 
PSALM  CII. 
 
 487 
 
 Like  a  lonely  bird  on  the  house-top. 
 
 8  All  the  day  have  mine  enemies  reproached  me, 
 
 They  that  are  mad  against  me  have  made  their  oaths 
 by  me. 
 
 9  For  I  have  eaten  ashes  like  bread, 
 
 And  mingled  my  drink  with  weeping, 
 
 10  Because  of  Thine  indignation  and  Thy  wrath, 
 
 For  Thou  hast  taken  me  up  and  cast  me  away. 
 
 1 1  My  days  are  like  a  shadow  that  declineth, 
 
 And  I  am  withered  like  grass. 
 
 12  But  Thou,  O  Jehovah,  sittest  throned  forever, 
 
 the  next  clause  of  the  verse  may  be 
 compared  Virg.  ^n.  iv.  462  : — 
 
 "Solaque  culminibus  ferah   carmine 
 bubo 
 Visa  queri,   et  longas  in  fletum  du- 
 cere  voces." 
 
 And  Georg.  i.  403  : — 
 
 "  De  culmine  summo 
 
 Nequicquam    seros  exercet    noctua 
 cantus." 
 
 Ovid  also  has — 
 
 "In  adverso  nocturnus  culmine  bubo." 
 
 8.  Made  their  oaths  by  me, 
 i.e.  when  they  curse,  choose  me  as  an 
 example  of  misery,  and  imprecate 
 upon  themselves  or  others  my  mis- 
 fortunes— say,  "God  do  to  me,  to 
 thee,  as  He  has  done  to  this  man." 
 Comp.  Is.  Ixv.  15  ;  Jer.  xxix.  22. 
 
 9.  Ashes  like  bread,  Lam.  iii. 
 16.  Comp.  Ps.  xlii.  3,  "my  tears 
 are  my  food,"  Ixxx.  5. 
 
 10.  "The  acknowledgement  is 
 the  same  as  in  xc.  7 — 9.  It  is  sin 
 which  has  thus  provoked  God's  dis- 
 pleasure ;  the  two  nouns,  '  indigna- 
 tion' and  'wrath,'  are  in  the  Hebrew 
 the  strongest  which  the  language  pos- 
 sesses. " — Dtiitzsch. 
 
 Thou  hast  taken  me  up,  &c. 
 God's  wrath  has  seized  and  whirled 
 
 him  aloft,  only  to  cast  him,  as  worth- 
 less, away.  So  in  Is.  xxii.  18,  "  He 
 will  toss  thee  like  a  ball  into  a  large 
 country. " 
 
 11.  That  declineth.  The  word 
 is  used  properly  of  the  day  at  its 
 close  (as  in  Jud.  xix.  9),  or  the  su-n 
 as  setting,  and  so  here  transferred  to 
 the  evening  shadows  (comp.  cix.  23), 
 which  would  strictly  be  said  to 
 lengthen.  The  figure  describes  the 
 near  approach  of  death. 
 
 12.  But  Thou.  This  is  the  great 
 consolatory  thought  by  which  he  rises 
 above  his  sorrow.  He,  the  individual, 
 may  perish,  but  Zion's  hopes  rest 
 on  her  Eternal  King.  And  yet  this 
 might  seem,  as  Calvin  remarks,  a 
 far-fetched  consolation.  What  is  it  to 
 us  that  God  changeth  not,  that  He 
 sitteth  King  for  ever,  if  meanwhile 
 our  condition  is  so  frail  and  feeble 
 that  we  cannot  continue  for  a  moment 
 in  one  stay  ?  His  unchangeable  peace 
 and  blessedness  do  but  make  our  life 
 seem  the  more  complete  mockery,  liut 
 the  Psalmist  recalls  God's  promises 
 to  His  Church,  especially  that  great 
 covenant  promise,  "I  will  dwell  in 
 the  midst  of  you "  (Exod.  xxv.  8). 
 Resting  on  this,  he  feels  sure  that 
 God's  children,  however  miserable 
 their  state,  shall  have  their  share  in 
 that  heavenly  glory  wherein  God 
 dwellethi     BecaubC  God  changes  not, 
 
4S8 
 
 PSALM  CII. 
 
 And  Thy  memorial  is  to  all  generations. 
 
 13  Thou  wilt  arise  (and)  have  compassion  upon  Zion, 
 
 For  it  is  time  to  have  pity  upon  her, 
 For  the  set  time  is  come. 
 
 14  For  Thy  servants  find  pleasure  in  her  stones, 
 
 And  have  pity  upon  her  dust. 
 
 15  And  the  nations  shall  fear  the  Name  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  all  the  kings  of  the  earth  Thy  glory, 
 
 16  Because  Jehovah  hath  built  Zion  : 
 
 He  hath  appeared  in  His  glory  ; 
 
 17  He  hath  turned  to  the  prayer  of  the  poor-destitute, 
 
 And  hath  not  despised  their  prayer. 
 
 18  This  shall  be  written  for  the  generation  to  come, 
 
 His  promise  and  covenant  change  not, 
 and  therefore  we  may  ever  lift  om* 
 eyes  to  His  throne  in  heaven,  from 
 which  He  will  surely  stretch  forth  His 
 hand  to  us. 
 
 SiTTEST  THRONED,  as  in  ix.  7, 
 xxix.  10. 
 
 Thy  Name,  lit.  "  Thy  memorial," 
 as  in  Exod.  iii.  15. 
 
 13.  Because  God  is  eternal  there- 
 fore He  will  have  compassion  on 
 Zion.  Or  we  may  connect  this  verse 
 with  the  following  :  Thou,  Jehovah, 
 the  covenant  God  and  our  Father, 
 wilt  rebuild  the  walls  of  Zion,  for  even 
 ive  her  children  love  her  very  dust. 
 
 The  set  time.  See  on  Ixxv.  2. 
 It  is  not  necessary  to  understand  this 
 definitely  of  the  seventy  years  pro- 
 phesied by  Jeremiah,  xxv.  11,  12, 
 xxix.  10.  It  is  rather  the  time  when 
 her  warfare  is  accomplished. 
 
 14.  Stones  .  .  .  dust.  It  is 
 strange  that  Luther  and  others  should 
 have  understood  these  of  the  materials 
 for  building  the  new  city.  They  evi- 
 dently denote  the  ruins  of  the  old. 
 (Neh.  iv.  2,  10.) 
 
 Have  pity  upon  her  dust. 
 Zion  was  not  only  dear  to  them  in 
 
 her  glory,  when  the  splendour  of  her 
 Temple  riveted  every  eye  ;  but  her 
 very  dust  is  sacred,  her  very  ruins  are 
 dear.  *'  Quamvis  subversum  sit  tem- 
 plum,  et  deformis  tantum  vastitas 
 illuc  appareat,  fideles  tamen,  in  ejus 
 amore  manere  defixos,  in  putridis 
 lapidibus  et  corrupto  cremento  agnos- 
 cere  Dei  gloriam." — Calvin.  And 
 then  he  applies  all  this  to  the  spiritual 
 Zion,  the  Church,  bidding  us  remem- 
 ber that  the  more  mournful  her  de- 
 solations, the  less  should  we  cease  to 
 love  her;  yea,  rather,  the  more 
 earnestly  should  our  sighs  and  prayers 
 go  up  on  her  behalf. 
 
 15.  The  effect  produced  on  the 
 heathen  world  by  the  manifestation 
 of  God's  glory,  as  seen  in  the  re- 
 demption and  restoration  of  His 
 people,  which  is  not  only  the  accom- 
 plishment of  a  sovereign  purpose,  but 
 vouchsafed  in  answer  to  prayer. 
 
 17.  Poor-destitute.  I  have 
 retained  this  rendering  of  the  P.B.V. 
 because  the  word  expresses  utter 
 nakedness  and  destitution.  The 
 Hebrew  word  only  occurs  here  and 
 Jer.  xvii.  6. 
 
 18.  Shall    be    written.      The 
 
PSALM  CIL 
 
 4.S9 
 
 And  a  people  new-created  shall  praise  Jab. 
 
 19  For  He  hath  looked  down  from  His  holy  heigh. t, 
 
 Frorn  heaven  hath  Jehovah  beheld  the  .earth, 
 
 20  That  He  might  hear  the  sighing  of  the  prisoner, 
 
 That  He  might  set  at  liberty  those  that  are  doomed 
 to  death, 
 
 21  That  (men)  may  declare  the  name  of  Jehovah  in  Zion, 
 
 And  His  praise  in  Jerusalem, 
 
 22  When  the  peoples  are  gathered  together, 
 
 And  the  kingdoms  to  serve  Jehovah. 
 
 21   He  hath  brought  down  my  strength  in  the  way, 
 
 He  hath  shortened  my  days. 
 24  I  said,  O  my  God,  take  me  not  away  in  the  midst  of  my 
 days  ; — 
 
 only  place  in  the  Psalms  where  the 
 memory  of  great  events  is  said  to  be 
 preserved  in  writing  :  elsewhere  (as 
 in  xxii.  31,  xliv,  i,  Ixxviii.  2)  it  is 
 left  to  oral  transmission. 
 
 A    PEOPLE    NEW-CPvEATED,    or    "a 
 
 people  to  be  created,"  as  in  xxii.  31, 
 "a  people  that  shall  be  bom."  There 
 is,  as  Calvin  remarks,  an  implied 
 antithesis  between  the  new  creation 
 of  the  people  and  their  present  de- 
 struction. "The  return  from  the 
 Captivity  was  like  a  second  birth." 
 See  Cicero  {Ep.  ad  Att.  vi.  6,  §  4). 
 "  The  passage  strikingly  teaches  that 
 even  when  the  Church  seems  dead 
 it  can  be  created  anew  when  God 
 wills.  Let  us  never  therefore  de- 
 spair, but  rest  assured  that  He  who 
 created  a  world  out  of  nothing,  can 
 also  bring  His  Church  out  of  tlie 
 darkness  of  death." 
 
 19.  He   hath   LOOKED.      Comp. 
 Deut.  xxvi.  15. 
 
 20.  Doomed  to  death.      Heb. 
 "sons  of  death."     See  on  Ixxix.  11. 
 
 22.  On  this  gathering  of  the  nations 
 in  Jerusalem  comp.    xxii.   27,    Ixviii. 
 
 32  ;  Is.  xlv.  14.     It  is  a  fulfilment  of 
 the  prophecy  in  Gen.  xHx,  10. 
 
 23.  Again  he  returns  to  the  con- 
 trast between  his  own  weakness  and 
 the  brevity  of  human  life,  on  the  one 
 hand,  and  the  eternity  and  unchange- 
 ableness  of  God  on  the  other  (ste 
 above,  ver.  11,  12),  finding  in  this 
 last  his  perfect  satisfaction  and  rest. 
 
 In  the  way,  i.e.  in  the  journey  of 
 life.  Those  who  suppose  the  Psalm 
 to  express  the  feelings  rather  of  the 
 nation  at  large  than  of  the  individual, 
 see  here  an  allusion  to  the  journey 
 through  the  wilderness,  as  in  Exod. 
 xviii.  8  ;  Numb,  xvi.  12,  13,  xx.  14. 
 
 24.  The  abrupt  transition  in  this 
 verse  is  full  of  pathetic  beauty.  The 
 prayer  that  his  life  may  not  be  pre- 
 maturely cut  short  seems  to  spring  in 
 this  instance  not  merely  from  a  natural 
 clinging  to  life  (as  in  Hezekiah's  case, 
 Is.  xxxviii.  10,  II),  but  from  the 
 intense  desire  to  see  God's  glory 
 manifested  in  Israel's  restoration. 
 Then,  having  uttered  that  prayer, 
 without  waiting  for  the  answer,  he 
 magnifies    God's     eternity    and     uii- 
 
490 
 
 PSALM  cir. 
 
 Thy  years  are  to  all  generations. 
 
 25  Of  old  Thou  hast  laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth, 
 
 And  the  heavens  are  the  work  of  Thy  hands: 
 
 26  They  shall  perish,  but  Thou  remainest, 
 
 And  all  of  them  shall  wax  old  as  a  garment, 
 As  a  vesture  shalt  Thou  change  them,  and  they  shall 
 be  changed  ; 
 
 27  But  Thou  art  the  same, 
 
 And  Thy  years  shall  not  come  to  an  end. 
 
 28  The  children  of  Thy  servant  shall  continue, 
 
 changeableness.  He  finds  in  these 
 his  strength  in  weakness  ;  he  feels 
 that  he  can  rest  on  the  Everlasting 
 Arms.  He  draws  his  highest  con- 
 solation from  the  thought,  that  though 
 he  himself  may  perish,  cut  off  in  the 
 midst  of  his  days  ;  though  the  heavens 
 and  the  earth  may  be  changed,  and 
 wax  old  as  a  garment ;  yet  He  who 
 created  them  is  ever  the  same,  that 
 His  purposes  cannot  be  frustrated, 
 that  His  Church,  the  children  of  His 
 servants,  shall  abide,  the  witness  and 
 the  monument  of  His  love. 
 
 25.  The  creation  of  the  world 
 implies  its  ti-ansitoriness.  That  which 
 had  a  beginning  shall  have  an  end. 
 He  alone  who  created  all  cannot 
 change.  Comp.  Is.  li.  6,  liv.  10. 
 Elsewhere  the  order  of  nature  is 
 spoken  of  as  unchanging,  as  in  cxlviii. 
 6.  Comp.  Gen.  viii.  22.  And  such 
 expressions  occur  as  "the  everlasting 
 m(mntains,""theeverlastingheavens;" 
 but  as  compared  ivitk  God  all  that  is 
 most  abiding  has  upon  it  the  impress 
 of  decay  and  death.  On  the  other 
 hand,  there  is  nothing  here  which 
 contradicts  the  promise  made  else- 
 where of  "new  heavens  and  a  new 
 earth  "  (2  Pet.  iii.  13). 
 
 27.  THOU  (ar'j.)  the  same,  lit. 
 "Thou  art  He."  Comp.  the  same 
 form  of  expression,  Is.  xli.  4,  xlvi.  4. 
 
 Or  in  a  different  sense,  as  in  Deut. 
 xxxii.  39,  "  I  am  He,"  i.e.  I  am  God. 
 I  am  Jehovah,  the  only  true  God 
 comp.  Is.  xliii.  10,  13,  xlviii.  12,  Iii. 
 6  ;  and  see  Nehem.  ix.  6,  ' '  Thou  art 
 He,  Jehovah  alone,"  &c. 
 
 28.  Dwell,  i.e.  in  the  land,  as  in 
 xxxvii.  29,  Ixix.  36,  where  the  full 
 expression  occurs. 
 
 Verses  25 — 27  are  quoted  m  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (i.  10 — 12) 
 as  addressed  to  Christ,  and  form  a 
 part  of  the  \\Titer's  proof  from  the 
 Old  Testament  that  He,  as  the  Son 
 of  God,  is  higher  than  the  angels. 
 The  quotation  stands  between  two 
 others,  one  from  the  45th,  the  other 
 from  the  iioth  Psalm,  bearing  on  the 
 same  argument.  But  these  are  both 
 of  them  Messianic  Psalms,  and  the 
 principle  on  which  the  quotation  rests 
 is  sufficiently  obvious.  It  is  by  no 
 means  so  easy  to  understand  why  the 
 words  of  this  Psalm  should  have  been 
 quoted,  as  it  does  not  seem  at  first  sight 
 to  be  a  Messianic  Psalm.  It  may  be 
 observed,  however,  (i)  that  it  is  in  this 
 sense  Messianic,  that  it  looks  forward 
 to  Israel's  redemption  from  captivity, 
 and  the  future  glory  of  Zicn ;  (2) 
 that,  as  has  been  observed  in  the  note 
 on  Ps.  Ixxii.,  there  are  two  great  lines 
 of  Messianic  hope  running  through 
 the  Psalms,  the  one  human,  the  otlu  r 
 
PSALM  CUT. 
 
 491 
 
 And  their  seed  shall  be  established  before  Thee. 
 
 divine  ;  the  one  of  which  the  reign  of 
 the  Son  of  David,  the  other  of  which 
 the  advent  of  Jehovah,  is  the  great 
 end  and  object.  Here  the  Psahnist 
 is  occupied  with  the  latter,  the  appear- 
 ing of  Jehovah  in  His  glory.  (3) 
 This  identification  of  the  Jesus  of  the 
 New  Testament  with  the  Jehovah  of 
 the  Old  is  what  we  find  elsewhere  ; 
 comp.  John  xii.  41  with  Is.  vi.  (Isaiah 
 sees  the  glory  of  Jehovah,  St.  John 
 tells  us  it  was  the  glory  of  Christ), 
 and  John  xix.  37,  "they  shall  look 
 on  Him  whom  they  pierced,"  which 
 in     Zech.    xii.    10   is   language   ustd 
 
 directly  of  Jehovah.  The  difference 
 between  these  quotations  in  St.  John 
 and  the  one  in  the  Ep.  to  the  Hebrews 
 is,  that  the  argume^it  in  the  latter 
 requires  that  the  Messianic  character 
 of  the  P.salm  should  be  conceded.  (4) 
 Not  only  the  revelation,  the  appearing 
 of  Jehovah  in  Zion,  but  also  the 
 creation  of  the  world  (ver.  25)1  would 
 point  to  the  Great  Mediator,  the 
 Eternal  World,  as  the  person  here 
 spoken  of,  and  on  this  last  ground, 
 especially,  the  quotation  in  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  seems  to 
 rest. 
 
 PSALM  cm. 
 
 This  beautiful  Psalm  is  the  outpouring  of  a  full  heart  in  thanks- 
 giving to  Jehovah  for  His  grace  and  compassion,  both  as  experienced 
 by  the  Psalmist  in  his  own  life,  and  also  as  manifested  to  his  nation 
 in  their  history.  It  celebrates  especially  God's  mercy  in  the  forgive- 
 ness of  sin,  and  that  teiider  pity,  as  of  a  human  father,  wherewith  He 
 remembers  the  frailty,  and  stoops  to  the  weakness,  of  His  children. 
 It  is  a  hymn  of  which  the  text  and  motto  are  to  be  found  in  that  reve- 
 lation of  Himself  which  God  gave  to  Moses  when  He  proclaimed 
 Himself  as  "  Jehovah,  tenderly  com^passionate  and  gracious,  long- 
 suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth  "  (Exod.  xxxiv.  6). 
 
 Nothing  certain  can  be  said  as  to  the  author  and  date  of  the  Psalm, 
 though  various  conjectures  have  been  hazarded. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  parts  : — 
 
 I.  A  prelude,  in  a  strain  of  trustful  gladness,  in  which  the  Psalmist 
 seeks  to  stir  up  gratitude  within  him,  by  the  review  of  God's  mercies 
 to  him  as  an  individual.     Vcr.  1  —  5. 
 
492  PSALM  CUT. 
 
 II.  The  body  of  the  Poem,  in  a  more  reflective  tone,  full  of  a  quiet, 
 tender,  pathetic,  even  melancholy  beauty,  in  which,  after  a  brief 
 allusion  to  the  f^icts  of  the  national  history,  the  great  covenant 
 relationship  of  God  to  His  people,  forms  the  prominent  ground  of 
 hope  amid  human  sins  and  transitoriness.     Ver.  6—18. 
 
 III.  A  triumphant  conclusion.  Joy  in  the  remembrance  of  God's 
 goodness  to  himself  and  his  people  predominates  over  every  other 
 feeling.  Such  a  joy  must  utter  itself  in  praise.  Praise  seems  its 
 natural  employment,  and  therefore  the  natural  employment  of  all 
 other  creatures  which  it  summons  to  a  holy  sympathy  and  fellowship 
 with  itself.     Ver.  19—22. 
 
 [(a   psalm)    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul, 
 
 And  all  that  is  within  me  (bless)  His  holy  Name. 
 
 2  Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul, 
 
 And  forget  not  all  His  benefits  ; 
 
 3  Who  forgiveth  all  thine  iniquity. 
 
 Who  healeth  all  thy  diseases, 
 
 1.  All  THAT  IS  WITHIN  ME;  not  Diseases  or  "sicknesses,"  pri- 
 as  opposed  to  outward  or  mere  lip  marily,  at  least,  of  body,  as  in  Deat. 
 service,  but  expressing  the  desire  to  xxix.  22  ;  2  Chron.  xxi.  19  :  and  this 
 enlist  every  thought,  faculty,  power,  agrees  with  what  follows ;  though 
 the  heart  with  all  his  affections,  the  possibly  the  maladies  of  the  soul  may 
 will,  the  conscience,  the  reason,  in  a  be  included.  "  Even  when  sin  is  for- 
 word  the  whole  spiritual  being,  all  in  given,"  says  Augustine,  "thou  still 
 man  that  is  best  and  highest,  in  the  carriest  about  with  thee  an  infirm  body 
 same  heavenly  service.  .   .  .   Death  is  not  yet  swallowed  up 
 
 2.  Forget  not.  This  touches  the  in  victory,  this  corruptible  hath  not 
 secret  spring  of  so  much  ingratitude  :  yet  put  on  incorruption,  still  the  soul 
 — forgetfulness,  the  want  of  re- col  lee-  herself  is  shaken  by  pas-sions  and 
 tion,  or  gathering  together  again  of  temptations.  .  .  [But]  thy  sicknesses 
 all  the  varied  threads  of  mercy.  shall  all  be  healed,  doubt  it  not, 
 Comp.  Deut.  vi.  12,  viii.  11,  14.  They  ate  gi'eat,   thou  wilt  say;   but 
 
 3.  Forgiveth,  the  first  and  greatest  the  physician  is  greater.  To  an  Omni- 
 of  all  the  Divine  benefits  to  the  soul  potent  Physician  no  sickness  is  in- 
 burdened  with  a  sense  of  guilt  and  curable  ;  only  suffer  thyself  to  be 
 defilement :  therefore  also  that  Mdiich  healed,  thrust  not  away  His  hand, 
 calls  first  for  acknowledgement.  He  knoweth  what  He  doeth.  ...  A 
 "God's  benefits  will  not  be  before  human  physician  is  mistaken  some- 
 our  eyes,  unless  our  sins  be  also  be-  times  ;  why  ?  Because  he  did  not 
 fore  our  eyes." — Aiigustme,  make   that   which   he   undertakes   to 
 
PSALM  cm. 
 
 493 
 
 4  Who  redeemeth  thy  Hfe  from  the  pit, 
 
 Who  crowneth  thee  with  loving-kindness  and  tender 
 mercies, 
 
 5  Who  satisfieth  thy  mouth  with  good  (things), 
 
 So  that  thy  youth  renews  itself  as  the  eagle. 
 
 6  Jehovah  executeth  righteousness 
 
 And 'judgement  for  all  that  are  oppressed. 
 
 heal.  God  made  thy  body.  God 
 made  thy  soul ;  He  knoweth  how- 
 to  re-create  that  which  He  created  ; 
 He  knoweth  how  to  re-form  that 
 which  he  formed  ;  only  be  thou  still 
 under  the  hands  of  the  Physician  .  .  . 
 suffer  thou  His  hands,  O  soul  that 
 blessest  Him,  foi-getting  not  all  His 
 benefits  :  for  He  healeth  ail  thy  sick- 
 nesses." 
 
 4.  From  the  pit  (see  on  xvi.  10); 
 including  death,  the  grave,  Hades. 
 The  Targum  renders,  "  from  Ge- 
 henna. " 
 
 Crowneth.  The  love  of  God  not 
 only  delivers  from  sin,  disease,  and 
 death.  He  make-s  His  children  kings, 
 and  weaves  their  crown  out  of  His 
 own  glorious  attributes  of  loving- 
 kindness  and  tender  mercies. 
 
 5.  Satisfieth.  Giving  Himself 
 to  us  as  the  bread  of  life.  Augustine 
 observing  that  every  creature  has  its 
 own  good  :  "Seek  thine  own  good, 
 O  soul.  Notie  is  good  but  one,  that  is 
 God.  The  highest  good,  that  is  my 
 good.  What,  then,  can  he  want  who 
 hath  the  highest  good  ?  .  .  .  God  is 
 this  good.     What  kind  of  good,  who 
 
 can  say?  Behold  we  cannot  say, 
 and  yet  we  are  not  permitted  to  be 
 silent." 
 
 As  THE  EAGLE :  i.e.  so  that  in 
 strength  and  vigour  thou  art  like  the 
 eagle.  The  rendering  of  the  E.  V., 
 "so  that  thy  youth  is  renewed  like 
 the  eagle's,"  is  grammatically  justi- 
 fiable, but  very  unnecessarily  makes 
 the  Psalmist  responsible  for  the  fable 
 of  the  eagle's  renewing  its  youth.* 
 Neither  this  passage  nor  Is.  xl.  31 
 countenances  any  such  fable.  There  is 
 an  allusion,  no  doubt,  to  the  yearly 
 moulting  of  the  feathers  of  the  eagle 
 and  other  birds,  the  eagle  being 
 selected  as  the  liveliest  image  of 
 strength  and  vigour.  The  P.  B.  V. 
 gives  the  sense  rightly:  "Making 
 thee  young  and  lusty  as  an  eagle." 
 
 6.  He  passes  from  his  own  ex- 
 perience to  that  of  the  Church  at 
 large  :  God's  mercies  to  the  individual 
 are  only  a  part  of  that  vast  circle  of 
 mercy  which  embraces  all  Israel. 
 
 All  THAT  ARE  OPPRESSED  ;  the 
 Church  of  God  being  a  suffering 
 Church. 
 
 *  The  fable  of  the  eagle's  renewing  its  youth  has  received  difterent  enibellishmciils.  The 
 version  of  Saadia,  given  by  Kiinchi,  is  as  follows  :  The  eagle  mounts  aloft  into  heaven  till  he 
 comes  near  to  the  seat  of  central  fire  in  the  sun,  when,  scorched  by  the  heat,  he  casts  himseif 
 down  into  the  sea.  Thence  he  emerges  again  with  new  vigour  and  fresh  plumage,  till  at  last 
 in  his  hundredth  year  he  perishes  in  the  waves.  Augustine's  story  is  more  elaborate  and  far 
 less  poetical.  According  to  him,  when  the  eagle  grows  old,  the  upper  curved  portion  of  the 
 beak  becomes  so  enlarged,  that  the  bird  is  unable  to  open  its  mouth  to  seize  its  prey.  It 
 would  die  of  hunger,  therefore,  did  it  not  dash  this  part  of  its  beak  against  a  rock  till  the 
 troublesome  excrescence  is  got  rid  of  Then  it  can  devour  its  food  as  before,  vigour  is  restored 
 10  its  body,  splendour  to  its  plumage,  it  can  soar  aloft ;  a  kind  of  resurrection  has  taken  place. 
 T'hus  it  renews  its  youth.  And  then,  wonderfid  to  say,  having  told  this  story  gravely,  lie 
 iiiakes  Chriii  the  ruck,  addmg,  "  in  Christ  thy  youth  shall  be  renewed  as  the  eagle's." 
 
494 
 
 PSALM  cm. 
 
 7  He  hath  made  known  His  ways  unto  Moses, 
 
 His  acts  unto  the  children  of  Israel. 
 
 8  Jehovah  is  full  of  compassion  and  gracious, 
 
 Long-suffering  and  plenteous  in  loving-kindness. 
 
 9  He  will  not  alway  be  contending, 
 
 Neither  keepeth  He  (His  anger)  for  ever. 
 
 10  Not  according  to  our  sins  hath  He  dealt  with  us, 
 
 And  not  according  to  our  iniquities  hath  He  requited 
 us  ; 
 
 1 1  For  as  high  as  heaven  is  above  the  earth, 
 
 So  mighty  is  His  loving-kindness  upon  them  that  fear 
 Him. 
 
 12  As  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West, 
 
 So  far  hath  He  removed  our  transgressions  from  us. 
 
 13  Like  as  a  father  hath  compassion  on  his  children, 
 
 So  Jehovah  hath  compassion  on  them  that  fear  Him. 
 
 14  For  He  knoweth  our  frame, 
 
 He  remembereth  that  we  are  dust. 
 
 7.  His  ways,  in  allusion  to  the 
 prayer  of  Moses,  Exod,  xxxiii.  13  : 
 "If  I  have  found  grace  in  Thy  sight, 
 make  known  to  me  Thy  way,  and  let 
 me  know  Thee." 
 
 8.  The  verse  is  taken  from  Exod. 
 xxxiv.  6.  Comp.  Ixxxvi.  5,  15,  cxi. 
 4,  cxlv.  8;  Joel  ii.  13;  Nehem.  ix. 
 17,  31. 
 
 9.  Comp.  Is.  Ivii.  16,  *'  For  not 
 for  ever  will  I  contend,  and  not  per- 
 petually will  I  be  angry;  for  the  spirit 
 would  fail  before  me,  and  the  souls 
 that  I  have  made." 
 
 Keepeth.  See  the  same  absolute 
 use  of  the  verb,  Lev.  xix.  18,  "Thou 
 shalt  not  keep  [i.e.  cherish  any  grudge) 
 against  the  children  of  thy  people  ;  " 
 Nah.  i.  2  ;  and  of  the  synonymous 
 word  [shamar)  Jer.  iii.  5,  12.  Calvin 
 compares  the  French  phrases  il  lui 
 }:;arde,  il  me  Va  garde. 
 
 II.  The   expressions    in   x.\xvi.   5, 
 
 Ivii.  10,  are  similar.  God's  love  is 
 like  Himself,  infinite.  It  cannot  be 
 measured  by  all  the  measures  of  the 
 universe. 
 
 12.  Removed  our  transgres- 
 sions. The  forgiveness  of  sin  (as  in 
 ver.  3)  is  the  great  proof  of  God's 
 love.  "The  expression  describes,  m 
 language  which  might  be  that  of  the 
 N.  T.,  the  effects  of  justifying  grace." 
 — Del.  Comp.  Micah  vii.  19,  "Thou 
 wilt  cast  all  their  sins  into  the 
 depths  of  the  sea;"  Is.  xxxviii.  17, 
 ' '  Thou  hast  cas-t  all  my  sins  behind 
 Thy  back." 
 
 14 — 16.  Man's  weakness  and  transi- 
 toriness  is  itself  an  appeal  to  God's 
 fatherly  compassion.  Com.pare  Gen. 
 viii.  21,  and  see  the  same  ground  taken 
 in  Ps.  xxxix.  5,  13,  Ixxviii.  39  ;  Job 
 vii.  7. 
 
 14.  Our  frame,  lit.  "our  /a-x//- 
 ioning,"  as  in  Gen.  ii.   7,  "  And  He 
 
PSALM  cur. 
 
 495 
 
 15  As  for  frail  man,  his  days  are  as  grass : 
 
 As  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he  flourisheth. 
 
 16  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone, 
 
 And  the  place  thereof  knoweth  it  no  more. 
 
 17  But  the  loving-kindness  of  Jehovah  is  from  everlasting 
 
 to  everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him, 
 And  His  righteousness  to  children's  children  ; 
 
 18  To  such  as  keep  His  covenant, 
 
 And  to  those  that  remember  His  precepts  to  do  them. 
 
 19  Jehovah  hath  established  His  throne  in  the  heavens, 
 
 And  His  kingdom  ruleth  over  all. 
 
 20  O  bless  Jehovah,  ye  His  angels, 
 
 That  are  mighty  in  strength,  that  execute  His  word, 
 Hearkening  to  the  voice  of  His  word. 
 
 fashioned  (formed)  man  of  the  dust," 
 <S:c. ;  or  as  a  potter  moulds  and 
 fashions  the  clay,  Is.  xxix.  16,  xlv. 
 9,  1 1  ;  Job  X.  8. 
 
 15.  Compare,  for  the  figures  in  this 
 and  the  next  verse,  xxxvii,  2,  10,  36, 
 xc.  5,  6;  Is.  xl.  6—8,  li.  12;  Job 
 xiv.  2  ;  and  for  the  phrase,  * '  the 
 place  thereof  knoweth  it  no  more," 
 Job  vii.  10. 
 
 17.  The  same  contrast  between 
 man's  transitoriness  and  God's  un- 
 changeableness  which  occurs  in  Psalm 
 xc.  For  the  third  time  God's  mercy 
 and  loving-kindness  is  said  to  be 
 upon  "  them  that  fear  Him"  (comp. 
 ver.  II — 13),  as  if  to  remind  us  that 
 there  is  a  love  within  a  love — a  love 
 which  they  only  know  who  have 
 tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious,  who 
 fear  Him  and  walk  in  His  ways,  as 
 well  as  a  love  which  "  maketh  the 
 sun  to  shine,  and  sendeth  rain  upon 
 the  just  and  the  unjust."  In  the  next 
 verse  there  is  the  same  limitation, 
 *'  To  such  as  keep  His  covenant," 
 and  to  those  who  not  only  know,  but 
 "iA?"    His   will.      The   blessings    of 
 
 the  covenant  are  no  inalienable  right. 
 Children's  children  can  only  inherit 
 its  blessings  by  cleaving  to  it.  Comp. 
 Exod.  XX.  6,  xxiv.  7  ;  Deut.  vii.  9. 
 
 19.  The  concluding  portion  of  the 
 Psalm  extols  the  greatness  and  ma- 
 jesty of  Him  who  has  thus  stooped  in 
 pity  to  His  children.  The  Psalmist 
 had  begun  by  calling  upon  his  own 
 soul  to  bless  Jehovah  for  His  good- 
 ness ;  he  had  associated  with  him- 
 self, as  partakers  in  that  goodness,  all 
 who  feared  the  Lord.  Now  he  con- 
 cludes by  calhng  on  the  angels  in 
 heaven  and  all  creation,  inanimate  as 
 well  as  animate,  to  ascribe  blessing 
 and  honour  and  power  to  Him  who 
 sitteth  upon  the  throne.  Lastly,  from 
 all  that  vast  congregation  of  wor- 
 shippers praising  God,  he  turns  to  him- 
 self, that  his  voice  may  not  be  wanting 
 in  the  mighty  anthem,  "  Bless  thou 
 Jehovah,  O  my  soul." 
 
 20.  Mighty  in  strength,  or 
 "strong  warriors"  (see  note  on  Hi. 
 i),  as  afterwards  "  all  His  hosts,"  by 
 which  not  the  stars  but  the  angels 
 are  meant,  as  is  plain  from  the  paral- 
 
496  ,         PSALM  CIV. 
 
 21  Bless  ye  Jehovah,  all  His  hosts, 
 
 Ye  ministers  of  His,  that  do  His  pleasure. 
 
 22  Bless  Jehovah,  all  His  works, 
 
 In  all  places  of  His  dominion. 
 Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul. 
 
 lelism,  "ye  ministers  of  His  that  do  way  in  Ps.  cxiviii.  first  the  angels  and 
 
 His  pleasure."     See  also  Ps.  civ.  4;  then  the  whole  creation  is  called  upon 
 
 Dan.  vii.  lo,  to  praise  God. 
 22.  All  His  works.    In  the  same 
 
 PSALM  CIV. 
 
 The  general  argument  of  this  Divine  Ode  of  Creation  has  been  well 
 expressed  by  Calvin.  "  This  Psalm,"  he  says,  "  differs  from  the  last, 
 in  that  it  neither  treats  of  God's  special  mercies  bestowed  on  His 
 Church,  nor  lifts  us  to  the  hope  of  a  heavenly  life  ;  but  painting  for 
 us  in  the  frame  of  the  world,  and  the  order  of  nature,  the  living  image 
 of  God's  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness,  exhorts  us  to  praise  Him, 
 because  in  this  our  frail  mortal  life  He  manifests  Himself  to  us  as  a 
 Father."  It  is  a  bright  and  living  picture  of  God's  creative  power, 
 pouring  life  and  gladness  throughout  the  universe. 
 
 There  are  several  points  in  the  Psalmist's  treatment  of  his  subject 
 which  deserve  especial  notice. 
 
 1.  First  there  is  here,  what  is  not  to  be  found  to  the  same  extent, 
 if  at  all,  in  any  other  ancient  poetry,  the  distinct  recognition  of  the 
 absolute  dependence  of  the  universe,  as  created,  upon  the  Creator. 
 "  He  is  before  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  things  subsist."  This  truth 
 is  throughout  implied.  It  forms  the  very  basis,  and,  so  to  speak,  main 
 thread  of  the  Poem. 
 
 2.  Secondly,  the  great  work  of  creation  is  here  regarded  not  as  a 
 tb.ing  of  the  past  merely  :  the  Universe  is  not  a  machine  once  set 
 a-going,  and  then  left  to  its  fate  or  to  inexorable  laws.     The  Great 
 
PSALM  CI  V.  497 
 
 Worker  is  ever  working.*  "  The  world  and  all  things  owe  their  past 
 origin  and  their  present  form  to  the  continuous  operation  "  of  God. 
 Creation  ever  repeats  itself;  death  is  succeeded  by"  life.  He  who 
 made,  renews  the  face  of  the  earth.  It  is  the  same  profound  view 
 of  the  relation  of  the  Cosmos  to  the  Creator,  which  St.  Paul  exhibits 
 in  his  speech  on  Mars'  hill.  He,  too,  is  careful  not  to  separate  the 
 past  from  the  present.  "God,  who  77iade  the  world,"  did  not  then 
 leave  the  work  of  His  fingers  :  the  streaming  forth  of  His  Omnipo- 
 tence and  His  Love  was  not  checked  or  stayed  ;  on  the  contrary,  every 
 part  of  His  creation  rests  at  every  moment  on  His  hands  ;  "  lleifive//i 
 to  all  life  and  breath,  and  all  things  "  (Acts  xvii.  25). 
 
 3.  Thirdly,  in  its  main  outline  the  Poem  follows  the  story  of 
 Creation  contained  in  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  There  manifestly 
 is  the  source  whence  the  Psalmist  drew.  Meditating  on  that  sublime 
 description,  itself  a  poem,  he  finds  in  it  his  subject  and  his  inspiration. 
 And  yet  the  Psalm  is  not  a  mere  copy  of  the  original.  Breathing  the 
 same  lofty  spirit,  it  has  a  force  and  an  originality  of  its  own.  In  some 
 respects  the  Psalm,  even  more  strikingly  than  the  early  record, 
 exhibits  the  infinite  greatness,  the  order,  the  life  of  the  Universe.  But 
 the  creation  of  Genesis  is  a  creation  of  the  past  ;  the  creation  of  the 
 Psalm  is  a  creation  of  the  present.  The  one  pourtrays  the  beginning 
 of  the  eternal  order,  the  other  its  perpetual,  living  spectacle.  Hence, 
 too,  the  Ode  has  far  more  animation  than  the  Record.  The  latter  is  a 
 picture  of  still  life  ;  the  former  is  crowded  with  figures  full  of  tir  and 
 movement.  How  vivid  are  the  images  which  it  calls  up  ! — the  wild 
 ass  roaming  the  sands  of  the  wilderness,  stooping  to  slake  his  thirst 
 at  the  stream  which  God  has  provided  ;  the  birds  building  their  nests, 
 and  breaking  forth  into  song  in  the  -trees  which  fringe  the  margin  of  • 
 the  torrent-beds  ;  the  wild  goats  bounding  from  rock  to  rock,  and 
 rinding  their  home  in  the  inaccessible  crags  ;  the  young  lions  filling 
 the  forest  by  night  with  their  roar,  and  "  seeking  from  God  their 
 prey  ; "  and  the  sea  with  the  same  plenitude  of  life,  its  depths  peopled 
 with  huge  monsters  and  swarming  myriads  of  lesser  fish,  and  its 
 surface  studded  with  sails,  the  image  of  the  enterprise,  the  traf^c,  the 
 commerce  of  the  world  ;  and  lastly,  in  fine  contrast  with  this  merely 
 animal  activity  of  creatures  led  by  their  appetites,  the  even  tenour,  the 
 
 *  See  the  excellent  remarks  on   the  importance  of  this  view  of  nature  in  reference  to 
 i-niracles,  in  the  Rev.  D   J.  Vaughan's  valuable   work  Christian   Evidences  and  tfte  Bible, 
 
498  '  PSALM  CIV. 
 
 calm  unobtrusive  dignity  of  man's  daily  life  of  labour  :  take  all  these 
 together,  and  we  have  a  picture  which,  for  truth  and  depth  of  colouring, 
 for  animation,  tenderness,  beauty,  has  never  been  surpassed. 
 
 It  is  not  surprising  that  this  great  Hymn  of  Creation  should  have 
 called  forth  the  warmest  expressions  of  admiration  from  those  who 
 have  studied  it,  and  that  they  should  have  vied  with  one  another  in 
 praising  it  as  a  masterpiece  which  has  rarely  been  exceeded.  One 
 writer*  "  prefers  it  to  all  the  lyric  poetry  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans." 
 Anotherf  declares  that  "in  Hebrew  poetry  there  is  little  that  can 
 compare  with  it  in  precision  of  outline,  and  in  the  delicacy  of  its 
 transitions,  as  well  as  in  its  warm  sympathy  with  nature,  and  in  the 
 beauty  of  its  images." 
 
 The  Psalm  is  without  any  strophical  division,  but  its  main  outline,  as 
 has  been  said,  follows  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis.  The  Poet  begins 
 with  the  light,  and  the  heaven  with  its  clouds  and  storms,  ver,  2 — 4, 
 corresponding  to  the  works  of  the  First  and  Second  Days,  Gen.  i.  3 — 8. 
 Then  he  passes  to  the  earth,  first  describing  its  -original  chaotic  state, 
 and  the  separation  of  earth  and  water  by  the  voice  of  God,  ver.  5 — 9, 
 in  accordance  with  Gen.  i.  9,  lo  (first  portion  of  the  Third  Day's  work) ; 
 and  then  the  varied  adornment  of  the  earth  as  the  dwelling-place  of 
 living  creatures,  in  a  strain  which  goes  far  beyond  the  narrative  in 
 Gen.  i.  11,  12.  The  mention  of  the  heavenly  bodies  follows,  ver.  19 — 23 
 (Fourth  Day's  work),  but  with  a  more  direct  reference  to  the  life  of 
 men  and  animals  than  in  Gen.  i.  14 — 18.  Then,  after  a  short  exclama- 
 tion of  admiring  gratitude,  ver.  24,  the  Poet,  who  has  already  woven 
 into  his  verse  so  happily  some  portion  of  the  creative  wonders  of 
 the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Days,  the  birds  and  beasts,  and  creeping  things, 
 and  man,  Gen.  i.  20 — 26,  turns  back  again,  ver.  25,  26,  to  speak  of  the 
 sea  and  its  life.  Gen.  i.  21.  Finally,  after  expressing,  in  vivid  phrase, 
 the  absolute  dependence  of  all  this  vast  and  manifold  creation  upon 
 its  Maker,  ver.  27 — 30,  he  longs  to  see  the  bright  original  restored,  to 
 find  himself  and  all  God's  creatures  parts  of  the  mighty  harmony, 
 that  a  new  sabbath  of  creation  may  dawn,  a  rest  of  God,  in  which  He 
 shall  rejoice  in  His  works  and  they  in  Him,  and  the  world  become  a 
 temple  filled  with  the  anthem  of  praise,  ver.  31 — 35. 
 
 Kupfcld.  t  Amyraldus. 
 
PSALM  CIV, 
 
 4>9 
 
 Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul  ! 
 
 O  Jehovah  my  God,  Thou  art  very  great, 
 Thou  art  clothed  with  honour  and  majesty, 
 Thou  coverest  Thyself  with  light  as  with  a  garment, 
 
 Thou  spreadest  out  the  heavens  like  a  curtain, 
 Who  layeth  the  beams  of  His  chambers  in  the  waters, 
 
 1.  Clothed,  comp.  xciii.  i. 
 
 2,  Thou  coverest  Thyself,  lit. 
 "covering  Thyself"  {and  in  the  next 
 member  "spreading  out").  These 
 expressions  give  a  present  force  to 
 God's  creative  action,  and  teach  us 
 to  regard  it  not  merely  as  a  thing  of 
 the  past,  but  as  still  operative.  The 
 fifth  verse,  on  the  other  hand,  opening 
 with  a  past  tense,  takes  us  back  to 
 the  original  creation  of  all  things. 
 
 With  light.  This  is  the  First 
 Day.  At  the  creation  God  said^ 
 "Let  there  be  light."  Here,  where 
 the  creation  is  an  ever-continued  work. 
 He  apparels  Himself  with  light.  The 
 final  revelation  tells  us  that  "  God  is 
 Light,"  I  John  i.  5  ;  comp.  John 
 i.  4—9. 
 
 "  In  comparing  the  light  to  a  robe," 
 says  Calvin,  "he  signifies  tliat,  though 
 God  is  invisible,  yet  His  glory  is 
 manifest.  If  we  speak  of  His  essen- 
 tial being,  it  is  true  that  He  dvvelleth 
 in  light  inaccessible ;  but  inasmuch 
 as  He  irradiates  the  whole  world  with 
 His  glory,  thi^  is  a  robe  wherein  He 
 in  some  measure  appears  to  us  as 
 visible,  who  in  Himself  had  been 
 hidden." 
 
 Spreadest  out  the  heavens. 
 The  same  figure  in  Is.  xl.  22  (comp. 
 xlii.  5 ;  xliv.  24).  This  describes 
 briefly  the  work  of  the  Second  Day, 
 Gen.  i.  6 — 8.  The  heavens  are  the 
 firmament,  the  expanse  (as  the  Hebrew 
 word  literally  means)  which  is  spread 
 out  to  separate  the  waters  And  in 
 the  waters  above  God  lays,  as  it  were, 
 the  floor  of  His  palace. 
 
 Like  a  curtain,  i.e.  the  curtain 
 of  a  tent. 
 
 Both    Athanasius    and     Augustine 
 observe,  that  in  the  use  of  this  figure 
 the    Psalmist    designs    to    mark    not 
 merely  the  form  of  the  heaven,  but 
 the    ease   with    M'hich    God    works. 
 "For  easy  as  it  is,"  says  the  former, 
 "for  a   man   to   stretch    out  a  skin, 
 so  easy  is  it  for   God  to   create   the 
 heaven  which  did  not  exist  before." 
 Augustine:    "What   infinite    labour, 
 and  toil,  and  difficulty,  and  continued 
 effort  it  costs  to  spread  out  one  little 
 room  ;  there  is  no  effort  of  this  kind 
 in  the  works  of  Goi       Thou  art  not 
 to    think    that    God   spread    out    the 
 heaven  as  thou  spreadest  out  the  roof 
 of  thy  house  ;  but  as  easy  as  it  is  for 
 thee  to  spread  out  a  single  skin,  so 
 easy  was  it  for  God  to  spread  out  that 
 vast  heaven.  .   .  .   Nay,  God  did  not 
 spread  out  the  heaven  as  thou  spread- 
 est  out   the   skin.      For   let   a   skin, 
 wrinkled  or  folded,  be  placed  before 
 thee,  and  command  it  to  be  unfolded 
 and  stretched  out  ;   spread  it  out  by 
 the   word.       *I    cannot,'    thou    wilt 
 reply.     See  then  how  far  thou  comest 
 shurt   of   the   ease  with   which   God 
 v/orketh." 
 
 3.  Who  layeth  the  beams. 
 The  figures,  as  Calvin  remarks,  are 
 all  designed  to  leach  the  same  truth, 
 \  iz.  that  we  are  not  to  pierce  heaven 
 in  Older  to  discover  God,  because  He 
 meets  us  in  His  world  and  presents 
 everywhere  living  pictures  to  our  eyes. 
 We  must  not  suppose  that  anything 
 was  added  to  Him  by  the  creation  of 
 K   K    2 
 
500 
 
 PSALM  CIV. 
 
 Who  maketh  the  clouds  His  chariot, 
 
 Who  walketh  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind ; 
 
 4  Who  maketh  His  messengers  winds, 
 
 His  ministers  a  flaming  fire. 
 
 5  He  estabhshed  the  earth  upon  the  foundations  thereof, 
 
 the  world  ;  it  is  for  our  sakes  that  He 
 puts  on  this  garment. 
 
 His  CHAAiBERS,  lit.  "upper  cham- 
 bers," i/Vepf^a,  built  on  the  flat  roof 
 of  the  Eastern  houses.  For  the 
 literal  use  of  the  word,  see  for  in- 
 stance 2  Kings  iv.  lo  ;  for  the  figu- 
 rative, as  here,  Am.  ix.  6,  and  conip. 
 Jer.  xxii.  13,  14. 
 
 In  the  waters,  i.e.  the  waters 
 above  the  firmament,  Gen.  i.  7.  It 
 is  impossible  not  to  admire  the  bold- 
 ness of  the  figure. 
 
 4.  Some  of  the  ablest  .of  the  re- 
 cent commentators  have  rendered 
 this  verse  : 
 
 "Who  maketh  the  winds  His   mes- 
 sengers. 
 The  flaming  fire  His  ministers  ; " 
 
 and  had  the  construction  of  the  sen- 
 tence in  Hebrew  permitted  it,  I  should 
 have  no  hesitation  in  preferring  this 
 rendering.  It  would  seem  to  be  the 
 natural  sense  of  the  words,  and  that 
 which  harmonizes  best  with  the  con- 
 text. But  unless  the  grammatical 
 difficulty  can  be  removed,  we  must 
 render  "  He  maketh  His  messengers 
 winds,"  &c.,  i.e.  "He  clothes  His 
 messengers  with  the  might,  the  swift- 
 ness, the  all-pervading  subtilty  of 
 wind  and  fire."  This  is  far  better 
 than  to  explain  that  God's  messengers 
 (or  angels)  are  the  secret  agents  who 
 assume  the  forms  of  wind  and  light- 
 ning, in  order  to  accomplish  His  will, 
 that  what  we  see  working  around  us 
 are  not  blind  forces  of  nature,  but 
 l-eings  to  whom  natural  objects  are 
 a  veil  concealing  their  operation. 
 This  view  has  no   apparent   support 
 
 in  Scripture,  though  it  has  been  illus- 
 trated with  great  beauty  of  language 
 by  Dr.  Newman  in  his  Sermon  on 
 the  Feast  of  St.  Michael :  "  But  how 
 do  the  wind  and  water,  earth  and  fire 
 move?  Now,  here  Scripture  inter- 
 poses, and  seems  to  tell  us  that  all 
 this  wonderful  harmony  is  the  work 
 of  Atigels.  Those  events  which  we 
 ascribe  to  "chance,  as  the  weather,  or 
 to  nature,  as  the  seasons,  are  duties 
 done  to  that  God  who  maketh  His 
 Angels  to  be  winds,  and  His  Minis- 
 ters a  flame  of  fire.  .  .  .  Thus,  when- 
 ever we  look  abroad  we  are  reminded 
 of  those  most  gracious  and  holy 
 Bemgs,  the  servatns  of  the  Holiest, 
 who  deign  to  minister  to  the  heirs  of 
 salvanon.  Every  breath  of  air,  and 
 ray  of  light  and  heat,  every  beautiful 
 prospect  is,  as  it  were,  the  skirts  of 
 their  garments,  the  v/aving  of  the 
 robes  of  those  whose  faces  see  God 
 in  heaven." 
 
 5.  The  work  of  the  Third  Day  in 
 its  two  great  divisions :  first,  the 
 separation  of  the  land  and  water 
 (ver.  5 — 9)  ;  next,  the  clothing  of  the 
 earth  with  grass,  herbs,  and  trees 
 (ver.  10 — 18).  The  Poet,  however, 
 ranges  beyond  the  first  creation,  and 
 peoples  the  earth  with  the  living 
 creatures  of  the  Fifth  Day.  It  is  not 
 a  picture  of  still  life  like  that  in 
 Genesis,  but  a  living,  moving,  ani- 
 mated scene. 
 
 He  established.  God's  order  is 
 itself  the  surest  prop. 
 
 Upon  the  foundations 
 THEREOF.  Comp.  Job  xxxviii.  4—6 ; 
 Prov.  viii.  29.  On  the  other  hand, 
 in  Job  xxvi.  7,  God  is  said  to  * '  hang 
 
PSALM  CIV, 
 
 501 
 
 ^  -ru     ^^  ^^  should  not  be  moved  for  ever  and  ever 
 6  Thou  coveredst  it  with  the  deep  as  with  a  garment 
 
 Above  the  mountains  did  the  waters  stand 
 ;  At  Thy  rebuke  they  fled, 
 
 o  ^,^^  the  voice  of  Thy  thunder  they  were  scattered 
 ^    1  he  mountams  rose,  the  valleys  sank,— 
 
 To  the  place  which  Thou  hadst  established  for  them 
 9  Thou  hast  set  them  a  bound  that  they  can  not  pass 
 
 the  earth  upon  nothing."  Mendels- 
 sohn gets  rid  of  the  tigure  here  by 
 rendering  "  Thou  hast  estabhshed  the 
 earth  in  herself,"  but  it  must  be  a 
 dull  mind  which  needs  thus  to  be 
 guarded  against  misapprehension.  Yet 
 it  is  curious  to  see  how  these  obvious 
 figures  have  been  strained,  and  a  hard 
 literal,  prosaic  sense  given  to  what  is 
 manifestly  poetry.  This  was  one  of 
 the  passages  which,  according  to 
 Father  Sanchez,  was  most  strongly 
 relied  upon  in  the  controversy  with 
 Galileo. 
 
 6—8.  These  verses  hang  together 
 in  construction,  and  are  a  puetical 
 expansion  of  Gen.  i.  9, 
 
 6.  The  original  chaos  is  described 
 not  according  to  the  heathen  notion, 
 as  a  confused  mass,  earth  and  water 
 mingled  together,  but  the  earth  as 
 already  formed,  yet  completely  en- 
 veloped in  the  water.  The  "earth 
 standing  out  of  the  water,  and  in  the 
 water,"  2  Pet.  iii.  5.  This  vast 
 swelling  tumultuous  sea  hears  the 
 "rebuke"  of  God,  and  sinks  to  its 
 ajDpointed  place  ;  the  earth  appears, 
 emerges  from  her  watei"y  covering, 
 and  shows  her  surface  diversified 
 V  ith  mountain  and  valley. 
 
 So  Milton : — 
 
 "The  earth  was  form'd,  but  in  the 
 womb  as  yet 
 
 Of  waters,  embryon  immature  in- 
 volved. 
 
 Appear'd   not  :   over  all   the  face   of 
 
 earth 
 Main  ocean  flow'd." 
 
 7.  Comp.  Ixxvii.  17— 19.  At  Thy 
 REBUKE  ;  comp.  xviii.  15  ;  Ixxvi.  6  ; 
 Is.  1.  2,  and  Matt.  viii.  26. 
 
 8.  The  mountains  rose,  i.e.  thev 
 seemed  to  rise  as  the  waters  sub- 
 sided.    Comp.  Ovid,  Met.  i.  43  : 
 
 '•Jussit  et  extendi  campos,   subsidere 
 
 valles, 
 Fronde   tegi    sylvas,    lapidosos    sur- 
 
 gere  montes  ;  " 
 
 and  244  : 
 
 "Flumina    subsidunt,    montes    exire 
 
 videntta; 
 Surgit  humus,   crescunt  loca,    decrc- 
 
 scentibus  undis." 
 
 And  Milton  : — 
 
 "  Immediately    the    mountains    huge 
 
 appear 
 Emergent,  and  their  broad  bare  backs 
 
 upheave 
 Into  tlie  clouds,  their  tops  ascend  the 
 
 sky  ; 
 So  high  as  heaved  the   tumid   hills, 
 
 so  low 
 Down  sunk  a  hollow  bottom,   broad 
 
 and  deep. 
 Capacious  bed  of  waters,"  &c. 
 
 Paradise  Ldt,  book  vii. 
 
 9.  A  BOUND  separating  the  sea 
 from  the  land,  as  in  Job  xxxviii.  8 — » i. 
 See    for     a    wider    view,    extending 
 
502 
 
 PSALM  CIV. 
 
 That  they  turn  not  again  to  cover  the  earth  ; 
 Who  sendest  forth  springs  along  the  torrent-beds. 
 
 They  flow  between  the  mountains, 
 They  give  drink  to  all  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
 
 The  wild  asses  quench  their  thirst. 
 Above  them  the  fowls  have  their  habitation, 
 
 They  sing  among  the  branches. 
 He  watereth  the  mountains  from  His  chambers  ; 
 
 The  earth  is  satisfied  with  the  fruit  of  Thy  work. 
 14  He  maketh  grass  to  grow  for  the  cattle, 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 still  further  this  separation  of  the 
 elements,  Job  xxvi.  8 — 10,  Prov. 
 viii.  27,  29,  Delitzsch  saj's  it  might 
 almost  seem  as  if  the  Poet  who  v/rote 
 these  words  did  not  suppose  the  Flood 
 to  be  universal,  but  it  is  far  more 
 probable  that  he  is  not  thinking  of 
 the  Flood,  but  only  of  the  everlasting 
 order  first  established  at  the  creation, 
 and  afterwards  confirmed  in  the  cove- 
 nant made  with  Noah,  Gen,  ix. 
 9 — 16. 
 
 10.  The  loving  care,  the  tender 
 sympathy  v>^ith  which  God,  clothing 
 the  earth  with  beauty,  provides  at 
 the  same  time  for  the  wa.nts  of  all 
 His  creatures.  Even  the  wild  ass 
 which  shuns  the  approach  of  man, 
 and  the  birds  of  heaven,  which  have 
 no  keeper,  are  not  left  unprovided 
 for. 
 
 The  torrent-beds.  The  word 
 {nachal)  denotes  both  the  torrent  and 
 the  valley  through  which  it  flows, 
 corresponding  to  the   Arabic    IVady. 
 
 11.  Quench  their  thirst,  lit. 
 "break  their  thirst,"  a  phrase  which 
 occurs  only  here.  Comp.  the  Latin 
 frangere  sitim. 
 
 12.  Above  them,  or,  "beside 
 them."  The  banks  of  the  streams 
 and  the  valleys  would  first  be  clothed 
 with  trees,  and  there  the  foliage 
 would  be  most  luxuriant. 
 
 The  fowls  of  heaven  (E.  V. 
 air),  a  frequent  expression  in  Genesis, 
 as  in  i.  30,  ii.  19,  &c. 
 
 13.  God  waters  the  earth  not  only 
 by  the  fountains  and  torrents,  but  by 
 the  rain,     Comp.  Gen.  ii.  5  and  10. 
 
 He  w^atereth.  lit.  "He  giveth 
 drink  to,"  the  same  word  as  in  ver. 
 II.  The  mountains  are  mentioned 
 not  only  because  on  them  the  clouds 
 rest,  from  them  the  streams  descend, 
 but  because  Palestine  was  a  mountain- 
 land.  Comp.  Deut.  xi,  II,  "a  land 
 of  mountains  and  of  valleys,  of  the 
 rain  of  heaven  it  drinketh  water " 
 (unlike  Egypt,  which  was  watered 
 by  the  Nile),  Thus  doubly  watered, 
 from  above  and  from  beneath  (comp. 
 Qitw.  xlix.  25),  the  earth  brings  forth 
 grass  for  the  cattle,  and  its  various 
 fruits,  com  and  wine  and  oil  for  the 
 use  of  men — for  the  cattle  what  they 
 need,  for  man  more  than  he  needs — 
 that  which  makes  his  heart  glad  and 
 his  countenance  bright. 
 
 His  chambers,  the  clouds,  as  in 
 ver,  3,  where  they  are  built  on  the 
 waters. 
 
 The  fruit  of  Thy  work,  i.e. 
 apparently  the  rain,  as  seems  to  be 
 required  both  by  the  parallelism  and 
 by  the  expression  "the  earth  is  satis- 
 fi-ifl." 
 
 14,  Grass.  .  .  .  green    herb. 
 
PSALM  CIV 
 
 s^: 
 
 And  green  herb  for  the  service  of  man  ; 
 
 That  He  may  bring  forth  bread  from  the  earth, 
 
 15  And  that  wine  may  make  glad  the  heart  of  man, 
 
 And  that  oil  may  cause  (his)  face  to  shine, 
 And  that  bread  may  strengthen  man's  heart. 
 
 16  The  trees  of  Jehovah  are  satisfied, 
 
 The  cedars  of  Lebanon  which  He  hath  planted  ; 
 
 1 7  Where  the  birds  make  their  nests  : 
 
 As  for  the  stork,  the  cypresses  are  her  house. 
 
 18  The  high  mountains  are  for  the  wild  goats; 
 
 Comp.  Gen,  i.  11,  29,  30;  iii.  18; 
 Ex.  X.  12,  the  latter  comprising  not 
 vegetables  only,  but  corn,  &c. 
 
 For  the  service  of  man.  This 
 seems  the  most  natural  interpretation, 
 corresponding  to  "for  the  cattle"  in 
 the  first  member,  and  may  be  sup- 
 ported by  the  use  of  the  word  in 
 I  Chron.  xxvi.  30. 
 
 Bread  in  this  verse  seems  to  be 
 used  in  its  most  general  signitication  to 
 denote  all  by  which  man  is  nourished. 
 In  the  next  verse  it  is  mentioned  in 
 its  proper  sense,  together  with  v/ine 
 and  oil,  as  the  three  most  important 
 products  of  the  soil,  the  three  essen- 
 tial elements  of  an  Eastern  banquet, 
 the  object  being  to  set  forth  the  bounty 
 of  God's  provision  for  man.  He  fur- 
 nishes no  scanty  table,  He  gives  with 
 no  niggard  hand. 
 
 15.  From  the  satisfying  of  the 
 earth  by  the  precious  rain,  the  Poet's 
 thoughts  turn  to  the  satisfying  of 
 man  by  the  earth.  Not  that  man  is 
 the  main  subject,  but  rather  the  herbs 
 and  the  trees  ;  only  he  passes  for  a 
 moment  from  them  to  their  chief 
 uses,  viz.  for  man,  and  for  fowls,  and 
 for  beasts. 
 
 And  that  oil,  &c.,  lit.  "And  to 
 cause  (or,  that  He  may  cause)  his  face 
 to    shine    with    o'l  ,"'    the    lacj    being 
 
 mentioned  rather  tlian  the  head  which 
 Mas  anointed,  because  the  radiancy  of 
 joy  is  seen  in  the  face. 
 
 Strengthen  man's  heart.  Gen. 
 xviii.  5  ;  Jud.  xix.  5.  Comp.  Ps. 
 cv.  16. 
 
 16.  The  trees  of  Jehovah,  so 
 called,  as  planted,  not  by  human 
 hand,  but  by  God  Himself  (as  in  the 
 next  member),  trees  of  the  forest  and 
 the  mountain,  in  opposition  to  those 
 which  come  under  human  cultivation, 
 such  as  the  vine  and  the  olive,  which 
 are  implied  in  ver.  15.  See  note  on 
 xxxvi.  6. 
 
 Are  satisfied,  i.e.  with  the  rain, 
 as  in  ver.  13. 
 
 1 7.  These  trees  have  their  use  ; 
 they  are  a  home  and  a  shelter  for  the 
 l)irds — probably  the  larger  birds  are 
 specially  intended,  as  the  stork  is 
 named,  the  smaller  tribes  of  singing 
 b  rds  having  already  been  mentioned, 
 ver.  12. 
 
 The  stork.  The  word  means  in 
 Hebrew,  "the  pious,  or  affectionate 
 bird." 
 
 18.  The  high  mountains  and 
 precipices  or  "cliffs"  are  men- 
 tioned, because  they,  like  the  trees, 
 are  a  skelter  for  the  wild  animals. 
 God  provides  food,  and  God  provides 
 shelter  for  His  creatures. 
 
504  PSALM  CIV, 
 
 The  steep  precipices  are  a  refuge  for  the  conies. 
 
 19  He  hath  made  the  moon  for  seasons  ; 
 
 The  sun  knoweth  his  going  down  : 
 
 20  Thou  makest  darkness — and  it  is  night, 
 
 Wherein  all  the  beasts  of  the  forest  do  move. 
 
 2 1  The  young  lions  roar  after  their  prey, 
 
 And  seek  their  food  from  God  : 
 
 22  The  sun  ariseth, — they  get  them  away, 
 
 And  lay  them  down  in  their  dens. 
 
 23  Man  goeth  forth  to  his  work, 
 
 And  to  his  labour  until  the  evening. 
 
 24  How  manifold  are  Thy  works,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 In  wisdom  hast  Thou  made  them  all : 
 The  earth  is  full  of  Thy  riches. 
 
 25  Yonder  is  the  sea,  great  and  broad, 
 
 Conies.  I  have  left  the  word  as  in 
 the  E.  v.,  though  incorrect.  The 
 creature  meant  is  the  hyrax  Syriacus. 
 
 19.  Transition  to  the  work  of  the 
 Fourth  Day,  but  still  so  contrived  as 
 to  introduce  another  picture  of  life 
 upon  the  earth,  and  the  contrast  be- 
 tween the  life  of  the  night  and  the 
 life  of  the  day. 
 
 The  moon  mentioned  first,  because 
 to  the  Hebrew  mind  the  niglit  natu- 
 rally preceded  the  day,  as  throughout 
 (ien.  i.,  "And  it  was  evening  and  it 
 was  morning,"  Hence  we  have  first 
 the  night-scene,  ver.  20,  21,  and  then 
 the  day-scene,  ver.  22,  23. 
 
 For  seasons,  as  in  Gen.  i.  14. 
 
 Knoweth  his  going  down. 
 Comp.  Job  xxxviii.  12  ;  Jer.  viii.  7. 
 This  mention  of  the  sunset  prefaces 
 tlie  way  for  the  night-picture  which 
 follows. 
 
 20 — 23.  Even  the  night  has  its 
 busy  life ;  the  beasts  of  prey  are 
 abroad,  and  they,  too,  wait  upon 
 the  providence  of  God.     The  whole 
 
 picture  is  finely  conceived,  and  the 
 contrast  is  perfect  between  the  rest- 
 less movement  and  roaring  of  the 
 wild  beasts,  and  man's  calm  life  of 
 labour,  continued  in  the  quiet  light  of 
 day  from  morning  till  evening.  All 
 the  other  creatures  wait  upon  God, 
 in  simple  dependence  upon  Him  ; 
 man  must  labour,  as  well  as  gather 
 what  God  gives  him,  if  he  would  be 
 satisfied  with  good. 
 
 24.  Having  thus  come  to  man,  the 
 crown  of  all  creation,  and  so  touched, 
 a-;  it  were,  by  anticipation,  on  the  work 
 of  the  Sixth  Day,  the  Psalmist  pauses 
 to  review  with  grateful  wonder  the 
 multitude  of  God's  works,  and  the 
 wisdom  which  is  manifest  in  creation. 
 
 25.  Then  he  remembers  that  there 
 is  one  vast  field  of  creative  wonders 
 of  which  as  yet  he  has  said  nothing. 
 The  sea,  too,  has  its  life — a  life  in  its 
 depths,  of  things  small  and  great — a 
 life  of  the  coral  insect  as  well  as  of 
 the  whale  and  also  a  life  C'^n.  its  sur- 
 face, where  "go  the  ships  "  carrying 
 
PSALM  CIV 
 
 50s 
 
 Wherein  are  things  moving  without  number, 
 Beasts  both  small  and  great. 
 
 26  There  go  the  ships, 
 
 (And   there)   leviathan  whom  Thou  hast  formed  to 
 take  his  pastime  therein. 
 
 27  All  of  them  wait  upon  Thee, 
 
 That  Thou  mayest  give  them  their  food  in  its  season. 
 
 28  That  Thou  givest  them,  they  gather  ; 
 
 Thou   openest   Thine  hand,   they  are  satisfied    with 
 good  ; 
 
 29  Thou  hid  est  Thy  face,  they  are  troubled  ; 
 
 Thou  takest  away  their  breath,  they  die 
 And  turn  again  to  their  dust. 
 
 30  Thou  sendest  forth  Thy  breath,  they  are  created, 
 
 the  thoughts  and  the  passions,  the 
 skill  and  the  enterprise  of  human 
 hearts. 
 
 The  way  in  which  the  sea  is  men- 
 tioned indicates  a  writer  not  living  on 
 the  coast.  It  is  visible,  perhaps,  but 
 at  a  distance.  Its  monsters  are  not 
 familiar  objects,  but  are  vaguely  de- 
 scribed as  "  leviathan." 
 
 26.  Leviathan  ;  not  here  as  in 
 Ixxiv.  14;. Job,  E.  V.  xli.  I,  "the 
 crocodile,"  but  a  general  term  for  all 
 "  sea-monsters." 
 
 Therein,  i.e.  in  the  sea,  the  pro- 
 noun referring  to  the  more  remote 
 noun.  It  is  strange  that  Ewald  should 
 render  "whom  Thou  hast  made  to 
 play  with  him,"  and  appeal  to  Job, 
 E.  V.  xii,  5,  as  supporting  the  ren- 
 dering. The  Jewish  tradition  does 
 indeed  make  Leviathan  the  plaything 
 of  the  Almighty,  but  there  is  nothing 
 of  the  kind  in  Scripture. 
 
 27,  28.  In  allusion,  probably,  to 
 Gen.  i.  29,  30. 
 
 27.  Wait  upon  Thee.  The  verb 
 occurs  in  the  same  sense  and  with  the 
 same  construction,  cxlv.  15. 
 
 In  its  season.  Or  the  suffix  may 
 refer  di5tributively  to  the  aninfals  (not 
 
 to    the  food)  :  "  to   each  one   in   his 
 season,"  "at  the  fitting  time." 
 
 28.  Gather.  The  word  denotes 
 properly  *'  to  pick  up  objects  from  the 
 ground,"  as  stones,  flowers,  ears  of 
 corn,  grapes,  wood,  &c.  ;  here,  pro- 
 vender. There  is  no  allusion  to  the 
 gathering  of  the  manna. 
 
 29,  30.  God  is  not  only  the  liberal 
 and  provident  householder,  the  gra- 
 cious father  of  a  family.  He  is  the 
 Fountain  of  Life  to  His  creatures. 
 Comp.  xxxvi.  8,  9. 
 
 29.  Thou  hidest  Thy  face  :  a 
 phrase  elsewhere  used  to  express 
 God's  wrath  or  displeasure  ;  here  in 
 a  physical  sense,  the  withdrawal  of 
 His  care. 
 
 Troubled.  See  the  same  expres- 
 sion, XXX.  7  ;  and  comp.  Job  xxiii.  15. 
 
 Turn  AG.-aN  to  their  dust,  as 
 in  Gen.  iii.  19.    Job  xxxiv.  15. 
 
 30.  The  reference  can  hardly  be  to 
 Gen.  ii.  7,  where  the  inbreathing  of 
 life  is  confined  exclusively  to  the  crea- 
 tion of  man,  but  rather  to  i.  2,  where 
 the  Spirit  of  God  is  the  great  vivifying 
 Agent  in  all  Creation. 
 
 Thou  sendest  forth.  Comp. 
 Acts  xvii.  25.     Thy  breath.     The 
 
5c6 
 
 FSALM  CIV. 
 
 And  Thou  renewest  the  face  of  the  ground. 
 
 31  Let  the  glory  of  Jehovah  be  for  ever ! 
 
 Let  Jehovah  rejoice  in  His  works  ! 
 
 32  Who  looketh  on  the  earth,  and  it  trembleth, 
 
 When  He  toucheth  the  mountains,  they  smoke. 
 II  Let  me  sing  to  Jehovah,  as  long  as  I  live, 
 
 Let  me  play  unto  my  God,  while  I  have  my  being. 
 
 34  Let  my  meditation  be  sweet  unto  Him: 
 
 As  for  me,  I  will  rejoice  in  Jehovah. 
 
 35  Sinners  shall  be  consumed  out  of  the  earth. 
 
 And  the  wicked  shall  be  no  more. 
 Bless  Jehovah,  O  my  soul ! 
 
 same  word  in  Hebrew  may  be  ren- 
 dered "  breath  "  or  "  spirit."  As  the 
 rclerence  is  here  only  to  physical  life, 
 I  have  retained  the  former,  especially 
 as  the  same  word  is  employed  in  the 
 previous  verse,  where  there  can  be  no 
 doubt  as  to  the  meaning.  Comp.  Job 
 xxxiii.  4,  xxxiv.  14,  15,  Eccl.  xii.  7, 
 with  Ps.  cxlvi.  4.  God  is  called  "the 
 God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,"  Num. 
 xvi.  22,  xxvii.  16,  Heb.  xii  9,  and 
 He  "in  whom  we  live,  and  move, 
 and  have  our  being,"  Acts  xvii.  28. 
 
 Thou  renewest,  life  ever  "suc- 
 ceeding death,  and  all  life  being,  as 
 it  were,  a  new  creation. 
 
 "  States  fall,  arts  fade,  but  Nature 
 does  not  die." 
 
 31.  The  Psalm  closes  with  the 
 prayer  that  the  glory  of  that  God 
 who  has  thus  manifested  His  glory  in 
 creation  may  endure  for  ever,  and 
 that  He  who  looked  with  loving 
 approbation  upon  His  works  when 
 they  were  first  created,  pronouncing 
 all  "very  good,"  may  ever  rejoice 
 in  them  :  for  He  is  a  God  awful  in 
 His  majesty.  One  whose  look  makes 
 
 the  earth  tremble,  One  whose  touch 
 consumes  the  mountains,  One  who 
 could  in  a  moment  blot  out  the  crea- 
 tion He  has  made. 
 
 33.  And  as  the  Psalmist  utters  the 
 devout  wish  that  God  may  rejoice  in 
 Plis  works,  so  he  utters  the  wish  for 
 himself  that  he  may  ever  rejoice  in 
 God,  that  his  thoughts  and  words 
 may  find  acceptance  with  Him.  This 
 is  the  truest,  highest  harmony  of 
 creation  ;  God  finding  pleasure  in  His 
 creatures,  His  reasonable  creatures 
 finding  their  joy  in  Him.  But  this 
 harmony  has  been  rudely  broken  ; 
 the  sweet  notes  of  the  vast  instru- 
 ment of  the  Universe  are  jangled  out 
 of  tune.  Sin  is  the  discord  of  the 
 world.  Sin  has  changed  the  order 
 [Ko(Tp.ns)  into  disorder.  Hence  the 
 prophetic  hope  (35)  that  sinners  shall 
 be  consumed,  that  the  wicked  shaP 
 be  no  more,  that  thus  the  earth  shall 
 be  purified,  the  harmony  be  restored, 
 and  God,  once  more,  as  at  the  first, 
 pronounce  Plis  creation  "  very  good." 
 Jn  the  prospect  of  such  a  consumma- 
 tion, the  Poet  calls  upon  his  own 
 soul,  and  upon  all  around  him,  to 
 bless  and  praise  Jehovah. 
 
PSALM  CV.  507 
 
 Hallelujah. 
 
 35.   Hallelujah,  or,    "  Praise  ye  way  in   which   it  is.  connected    with 
 
 Jah."     The    Tahiiud    and     Midrash  the  prospect    of  the    final    overthrow 
 
 observe  that  this  is    the  first    Halle-  of  the  wicked  is  remarkable,  and  full 
 
 lujah  in    the   Psalter,    and    thai    the  of  tneaning. 
 
 PSALM  CV. 
 
 This  Psalm,  like  the  78th  and  the  io6th,  has  for  its  theme  the  early 
 history  of  Israel,  and  God's  wonders  wrought  on  behalf  of  the  nation; 
 but  it  differs  from  both  those  Psalms  in  the  intention  with  which  it 
 pursues  this  theme.  The  78th  Psalm  is  didactic  ;  its  object  is  to  teach 
 a  lesson  :  it  recalls  the  past,  as  conveying  instruction  and  warning  for 
 the  present.  The  io6th  Psalm  is  a  Psalm  of  penitential  confession. 
 The  history  of  the  past  appears  in  it  only  as  a  history  of  Israel's  sin. 
 In  this  Psalm,  on  the  other  hand,  the  mighty  acts  of  Jehovah  for  His 
 people  from  the  first  dawn  of  their  national  existence  are  recounted 
 as  a  fitting  subject  for  thankfulness,  and  as  a  groiTnd  for  future  obe- 
 dience. Those  interpositions  of  God  are  especially  dwelt  upon  which 
 have  a  reference  to  the  fulfilment  of  His  promise,  which  exhibit  most 
 clearly  His  faithfulness  to  His  covenant.  Hence  the  series  begins 
 with  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham,  tracing  all  the  steps  in  its 
 fulfilment  to  the  occupation  of  the  Promised  Land.  This  is  commenced 
 as  the  theme  of  the  Psalm  in  ver.  8 — 11. 
 
 The  first  fifteen  verses  are  found  in  i  Chron.  xvi.  8 — 22  (with  some 
 slight  variations),  as  the  first  portion  of  the  festal  song  which,  on  the 
 day  when  the  Ark  of  God  Avas  brought  to  its  resting-place  on  Zion, 
 was  delivered  by  David  into  the  hands  of  Asaph  and  his  brethren, 
 "  to  give  thanks  unto  Jehovah."  The  second  part  of  that  song  consists 
 of  Psalm  xcvi.,  the  first  verse  of  Psalm  cvii.,  and  the  forty-seventh  and 
 forty-eighth  verses  of  Psalm  cvi.  The  last  of  these  is  the  doxology 
 which  closes  the  Fourth  Book,  and  was  evidently  a  late  addition.  It 
 seems,  therefore,  impossible  to  doubt  that  the  so'^g  in  the  Chronicles 
 is  a  combination  from  other  sources. 
 
•5^^ 
 
 PSALM  CV. 
 
 Like  the  last  Psalm,  this  closes  with  a  Hallelujah.  It  is  ths  first  of 
 a  number  of  Psalms  beginning  Avith  the  word  Hodu,  "  Give  thanks  " 
 (cv.,  cvii.,  cxviii.,  cxxxvi.),  which  Delitzsch  styles  "  Hodu-Psalms," 
 or  Coiifitemini,  just  as  those  which  begin  with  Hallelujah  may  be 
 called  Hallelujah  Psalms,  cvi.,  cxi.— cxiii.,  cxviL,  cxxxv. 
 
 cxlvi. — el. 
 
 1  O  Give  thanks  to  Jehovah,  call  upon  His  Name, 
 
 Make  known  among  the  peoples  His  doings  ; 
 
 2  Sing  unto  Him,  play  unto  Him, 
 
 Meditate  of  all  His  wondrous  w^orks. 
 
 3  IMake  your  boast  of  His  holy  Name, 
 
 Let  the  heart  of  them  rejoice  that  seek  Jehovah. 
 
 4  Enquire  ye  after  Jehovah  and  His  strength. 
 
 Seek  His  face  evermore. 
 
 5  Remember  His  wondrous  works  that  He  hath  done, 
 
 His  tokens,  and  the  judgements  of  His  mouth, 
 
 6  O  ye  seed  of  Abraham  His  servant, 
 
 Ye  children  of  Jacob,  His  chosen. 
 
 7  He,  Jehovah,  is  our  God, 
 
 I  —6.  The  greatness  of  God's  love, 
 as  manifested  Jo  His  people  in  their 
 history,  calls  for  the  fullest  acknow- 
 ledgement. The  Psalmist  would  have 
 Israel  sound  forth  His  praises  among 
 all  nations.  They  are  not  to  sit  down 
 in  idle  satisfaction  with  their  own 
 privileges.  His  "doings"  (ver  i), 
 His  "wondrous  works"  (ver.  2,  5), 
 His  "tokens,"  "the  judgements  of 
 His  mouth"  (ver.  5),  "His  holy 
 Name"  (ver.  3),  as  the  revelation  of 
 His  character  and  attrihutes, — all 
 these  are  to  form  the  suljject  of  loud 
 tlianksgiving, — all  these  are  to  be- 
 come, through  Israel,  the  heritage  of 
 the  world. 
 
 I.  Taken  word  for  word  from  Is. 
 xii,  4. 
 
 5  Tokens   .   .    .   judgkmknts  ; 
 the    miracles    in    Egypt    are    chiefly 
 
 meant,    as    these    are    chiefly    dwelt 
 upon  afterwards. 
 
 6.  Seed  of  Abraham  :  in  i  Chron. 
 xvi.  13,  "seed  of  Israel."  His 
 CHOSEN,  plural,  referring  to  the 
 people,  not  to  Jacob.  It  is  on  this 
 ground,  because  they  are  Abraham's 
 seed,  because  they  are  God's  chosen, 
 because  they  are  Jacob's  children, 
 heritors  of  the  covenant  and  the 
 promises,  that  they  are  bound,  beyond 
 all  others,  to  "remember"  what  God 
 has  done  for  them.  On  the  other 
 hand,  God,  who  made  the  covenant 
 with  their  fathers,  "remembers''  it 
 fver.  8),  "for  His  part  will  surely 
 keep  and  perform  "  it. 
 
 7.  The  Psalmist  begins  himself 
 that  praise  of  God  to  which  he  has 
 exhorted  his  people.  And  first  he 
 extols  "the    covenant,"   "the  word" 
 
PSALM  CV, 
 
 509 
 
 His  judgements  are  in  all  the  earth, 
 
 8  He  hath  remembered  His  covenant  for  ever, 
 
 The   word  which     He    confirmed    to  a.  thousand 
 generations  ; 
 
 9  (The  covenant)  which  He  made  with  Abraham, 
 
 And  His  oath  (which  He  sware)  unto  Isaac, 
 
 10  And  He  established  it  unto  Jacob  for  a  statute, 
 
 Unto  Israel  for  an  everlasting  covenant, 
 
 1 1  Saying,  "  Unto  thee  will  I  give  the  land  of  Canaan, 
 
 The  line  of  your  inheritance." 
 
 12  When  they  were  (but)  a  small  number, 
 
 Very  few  and  sojourners  therein, 
 
 13  And  went  to  and  fro  from  nation  to  nation, 
 
 From  (one)  kingdom  to  another  people, 
 
 14  He  suffered  no  man  to  oppress  them. 
 
 And  reproved  kings  for  their  sakes,  (saying,) 
 
 1 5  "  Touch  not  Mine  anointed  ones, 
 
 (or  promise),  "the  oath"  by  which 
 God  had  bound  Himself  to  the  patri- 
 archs, and  which  He  "remembered," 
 i.e.  fulfilled,  when  He  brought  them 
 into  the  land  of  Canaan. 
 
 Our  God,  by  covenant,  but  also 
 Judge  and  Ruler  of  all  nations. 
 
 8.  He  hath  remembered  :  in 
 I  Chron.  xvi.  12,  "remember  ye." 
 
 To    A    THOUSAND    GENERATIONS  : 
 
 from  Deut.  vii.  9. 
 
 9.  Unto  Isaac,  in  allusion  to  Gen. 
 xxvi.  3,  where  God  says  to  Isaac, 
 "  To  thee  and  to  thy  seed  will  I  give 
 all  these  countries,  and  I  will  per- 
 form the  oath  which  I  sware  unto 
 Abraham  thy  father  ; "  comp.  Gen. 
 xxi.  16. 
 
 II.  The  LINE,  i.e.  an  inheritance 
 measured  out  by  line,  as  in  Ixxviii. 
 55  ;  see  note  on  xvi.  6. 
 
 12 — 15.  The  Divine  protection  by 
 which  the  small  beginnings  of  the 
 nation  were  shielded. 
 
 12.  A  SMALL  NUMBER,  lit.  "men 
 of  number,"  as  in  Gen.  xxxiv.  30; 
 see  also  Deut.  iv.  27,  xxvi.  5  ;  Jer. 
 xliv.  28.  So  Horace  says,  "  Nos 
 numerus  sumus." 
 
 13.  Nation  .  .  .  people.  "The 
 former  denotes  the  mass  as  bound 
 together  by  a  common  origin,  lan- 
 guage, country,  descent ;  the  latter 
 as  united  under  one  govei"nment." — 
 Dclitzsch. 
 
 14.  Kings,  viz.  of  the  Egyptians, 
 Gen.  xii.  17,  and  of  the  Philistines, 
 Gen.  XX.,  xxvi. 
 
 15.  Touch  not,  with  allusion, 
 perhaps,  to  Gen.  xxvi.  II. 
 
 Mine  anointed,  i.e.  specially  set 
 apart  and  consecrated.  The  Poet 
 uses  the  language  of  his  own  time, 
 not  that  of  the  patriarchs,  who  were 
 never  anointed.  But  iruismuch  as  in 
 David's  time  priests  and  prophets 
 were  anointed  (l  Kings  xix.  16),  when 
 he  would  say  that  the  patriarchs  are 
 
5IO 
 
 PSALM  CV. 
 
 And  to  My  prophets  do  no  harm." 
 And  He  called  for  a  famine  upon  the  land, 
 
 He  brake  every  staff  of  bread. 
 He  sent  before  them  a  man, 
 
 Joseph  was  sold  for  a  slave  ; 
 1 8  They  afflicted  his  feet  with  fetters, 
 
 He  was  laid  in  iron  (chains), 
 
 i6 
 
 17 
 
 priests  of  the  true  God,  and  therefore 
 to  be  regarded  as  sacred,  he  gives 
 them  the  epithet  "  anointed,"  as  in  the 
 next  hemistich  "prophets,"  a  name 
 which  God  bestows  upon  Abraham, 
 Gen,  XX.  7,  when  he  says  to  Abimelech, 
 "And  now  give  the  m.an  back  his 
 wife,  for  he  is  a  prophet ;  and  if  he 
 pray  for  thee,  thou  shalt  Hve." 
 
 My  prophets.  A  good  instance 
 of  the  wide  signification  of  this  word. 
 It  is  derived  from  a  root  signifying  to 
 boil,  to  bubble  up.  The  prophet  is  one 
 in  whose  soul  there  rises  a  spring,  a 
 rushing  stream  of  Divine  inspiration. 
 In  the  later  language  he  not  only 
 receives  the  Divine  word,  but  he  is 
 made  the  utterer  of  it,  the  organ  of 
 its  communication  to  others.  But 
 in  the  earlier  instances,  as  in  that  of 
 Abraham,  his  official  character  does 
 not  distinctly  appear,  though  doubt- 
 less, like  Noah,  lie  was  "  a  preacher 
 of  righteousness,"  and  taught  his  own 
 family  (and  through  them  ultimately 
 the  whole  world)  the  way  of  the 
 Lord.  (See  Gen.  xviii.  19.)  Here 
 the  prophet  means  little  more  than 
 one  to  whom  God  speaks,  one  with 
 whom  He  holds  converse,  whether  by 
 word,  or  vision,  or  dream,  or  inner 
 voice.  (Comp.  Num.  xii.  6 — 8.)  We 
 approach  nearest  lo  what  is  meant  by 
 styling  the  patriarchs  propliets,  when 
 we  read  such  passages  as  Gen.  xviii, 
 17,  "And  Jehovah  said.  Shall  I  hide 
 from  Abraham  that  thing  which  I 
 do?  '  or  again,  the  pleading  of  Abra- 
 ham for  Sodom,  in  ver.  23—33  of  tJ^e 
 
 same  chapter.  It  is,  indeed,  as 
 pleading  with  God  in  intercession  that 
 Abraham  is  termed  a  "  prophet "  in 
 Gen.  XX.  7.  The  title  is  thus  very 
 similar  to  that  of  the  "Friend  of 
 God, "  Is.  xli.  8  ;  2  Chron.  xx.  7  ; 
 James  ii.  23. 
 
 16.  From  this  point,  as  far  as  ver. 
 38,  the  history  of  the  nation  in  Egypt 
 is  followed,  with  a  recognition  of  the 
 Divine  Hand  fashioning  it  at  every 
 step,  and  at  every  step  accomplishing 
 the  fulfilment  of  the  promise. 
 
 16 — 22.  First,  the  preliminary  steps 
 in  the  history  of  Joseph,  The  famine 
 in  Canaan  was  no  chance  occurrence  ; 
 God  called  for  it.  (Comp.  2  Kings 
 viii.  I  ;  Am.  v.  8  ;  Hag,  i.  11.) 
 Joseph's  position  in  Egypt  was  no 
 accident ;  God  had  sent  him  thither  : 
 so  he  himself  traces  the  hand  of  God, 
 Gen.  xlv.  5,  1.  20. 
 
 16.  Staff  of  bread.  The  figure 
 occurs  first  in  Lev,  xxvi,  26 ;  comp. 
 Is.  iii.  I,  The  same  figure  is  sug- 
 gested in  civ.  15,  "bread  that 
 strengtheneth  (stayeth)  man's  heart." 
 18.  This  is  a  much  harsher  picture 
 of  Joseph's  imprisonment  than  that 
 given  in  Genesis  xxxix.  20 — 23,  xl,  4. 
 But  it  may  refer  to  the  earlier  stages 
 of  the  imprisonment,  before  he  had 
 won  the  confidence  of  his  gaoler,  or 
 it  may  be  tinged  with  the  colouring 
 of  poetry. 
 
 With  fetters.     Heb.  "with  the 
 fetter,"     The  word  occurs  only  here 
 and  cxlix.  8. 
 He  was  laid  in  iron.     I  have 
 
PSALM  CV. 
 
 5^' 
 
 19  Until  the  time  that  his  word  came, 
 
 The  saying  of  Jehovah  had  tried  him. 
 
 20  The  king  sent  and  loosed  him, 
 
 The  ruler  of  the  peoples,  and  let  him  go  free. 
 
 21  He  made  him  lord  over  his  house, 
 
 And  ruler  over  all  his  substance, 
 
 22  To  bind  his  princes  at  his  will, 
 
 And  to  teach  his  elders  wisdom. 
 
 23  Israel  also  came  into  Egypt, 
 
 here  followed  the  paraphrase  of  the 
 E.  V.  In  the  margin,  however,  the 
 literal  rendering  of  the  Hebrew  is 
 correctly  given,  "  His  soul  came  into 
 iron."  ("His  soul, ".merely  a  peri- 
 phrasis of  the  person  =  "he,"  as  in 
 Ivii.  4,  xciv.  17),  i.e.  he  was  a  pri- 
 soner, bound  with  chains.  Jerome, 
 "in  ferrmn  venit  anima  ejus.'.'  The 
 more  picturesque  but  incorrect  ren- 
 dering of  the  P.  B.  v.,  "the  iron 
 entered  into  his  soul,"  follows  the 
 Vulg.,  "ferrum  pertransiit  animam 
 ejus."  The  force  of  the  expression 
 has  made  it  stereotyped  in  our  lan- 
 guage. It  is  a  striking  instance  of 
 the  supremacy  of  the  P.  B.  V.  Pro- 
 bably not  one  reader  in  a  hundred 
 ever  thinks  of  any  other  translation 
 of  the  verse,  or  is  aware  that  the 
 Bible  Version  is  different. 
 
 19.  PI  IS  WORD.  This  may  be  (i), 
 "the  word  of  Joseph,"  i.e.  either  {a) 
 his  interpretation  of  the  dreams  of 
 the  king's  officers  in  the  prison,  which 
 finally  led  to  his  own  liberation,  Gen, 
 xli.  12;  or  {b)  the  word  revealed  to 
 him  in  dreams  of  his  own  future  exalt- 
 ation. Gen.  xlii.  9;  or  (2)  "the  word 
 oi  Jehovah  "  viz.  that  wliich  first  fore- 
 told, and  then  fulfilled  the  promise  of, 
 his  exaltation.  If  we  adopt  (l),  then 
 the  meaning  is,  Joseph  lay  in  prison 
 till  his  interpretation  of  the  dreams 
 came  to  pass. 
 
 Came,   i.e.    v/as   fulfilled,    a   word 
 
 used  in  the  same  way  of  the  fulfil- 
 ment of  prophecies,  Jud.  xiii.  12,  17 
 ("  come  to  pass,"  E.  V.) ;  i  Sam.  ix. 
 6  ;  Jer.  xvii.  15. 
 
 'i'liE  SAYING  (utterance,  promise) 
 OF  Jehovah,  different  from  the  word 
 in  the  previous  verse.  This  seems 
 most  naturally  to  be  understood,  not 
 of  God's  interpretation  of  tlie  dreams, 
 but  of  God's  promi.se  of  future  exalta- 
 tion conveyed  to  him  in  his  dreams. 
 The  Divine  utterance  has  ascribed  to 
 it  a  living  effectual  power,  as  in  cxix. 
 50.  It  })roved  him  by  testing  his 
 faith  during  the  years  of  suffering 
 and  imprisonment  which  intervened 
 between  the  promise  and  its  fulfil- 
 ment. 
 
 20.  With  what  follows,  comp. 
 Gen.  xli.  14,  39,  40,  44. 
 
 22.  To  BIND.  The  earliest  in- 
 stance of  the  use  of  the  word  in  a 
 sense  approaching  to  that  which  it 
 had  later,  in  the  phrase  "  binding  and 
 loosing."  It  denotes  here  generally 
 the  exerci.se  of  control.  "  The  capa- 
 bdity  of  binding  is  to  be  regarded  as 
 an  evidence  of  authority  ;  a  power  of 
 compelling  obedience,  or,  in  default 
 thereof,  of  infiicling  punishment." — 
 Phillips. 
 
 To  teach  .  .  .  WISDOM  ;  not  to 
 be  pressed  of  literal  instruction  in  the 
 art  of  politics,  but  merely  expressing 
 in  poetical  form  wliat  is  said  in  Gcii. 
 xli.  38,  39. 
 
51 
 
 PSA  LAI  CV. 
 
 And  Jacob  was  a  sojourner  in  the  land  of  Ham. 
 
 24  And  He  caused  His  people  to  be  fruitful  exceedingly, 
 
 And  He  made  them  stronger  than  their  adversaries. 
 
 25  He  turned  their  heart  to  hate  His  people, 
 
 To  deal  subtilly  with  His  servants. 
 
 26  He  sent  Moses  His  servant, 
 
 Aaron  whom  He  had  chosen. 
 
 27  They  did  among  them  His  signs 
 
 And  tokens  in  the  land  of  Ham. 
 
 28  He  sent  darkness  and  made  it  dark, — 
 
 And  they  rebelled  not  against  His  words. 
 
 23.  Land  OF  Ham,  asin  lxxviii.51, 
 
 24.  Comp.  Exod.  i.  7  ;  Deut. 
 xxvi.  5.  What  follows  to  ver.  38  is 
 a  resume  of  the  Jiistory  as  given  in 
 the  first  twelve  chapters  of  Exodus, 
 and  especially  of  the  plagues.  The 
 fifth  and  sixth  plagues,  however,  are 
 omitted  altogether,  and  the  plague 
 of  darkness  is  placed  first  :  in  other 
 respects  the  order  of  Exodus  is  ob- 
 served. That  in  Ixxviii.  44,  &c.  is 
 different. 
 
 25.  He  turned.  This  direct  as- 
 cription of  the  hostility  on  the  part 
 of  the  Egyptians  to  God  as  its  author 
 gave  early  offence.  Hence  the  Chald, 
 and  Arab,  render,  "their  heart  was 
 turned."  Grotius  and  others  would 
 soften  the  expression  as  meaning  only 
 that  God  suffered  this  hostility,  aris- 
 ing from  the  increase  of  the  people. 
 But  the  difficulty  is  exactly  of  the 
 same  kind  as  when  it  is  said  that  God 
 hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  or  as  we 
 find  in  Is.  vi.  9,  10;  Mark  iv.  12; 
 John  xii.  39,  40;  Rom.  xi.  8.  See 
 notes  on  li.  4,  Ix.  3. 
 
 To  DEAL  SUBTILLY ;  the  same 
 word  as  in  Gen.  xxxvii,  18  (where 
 E.  V.  "they  conspired  against"). 
 Compare  Exod.  i.  10,  "Come  and 
 let  us  deal  wisely  with  them  : "  the 
 reference  is  to  the  putting  to  death 
 the  male  children. 
 
 26.  Whom  He  had  chosen,  viz. 
 as  His  priest. 
 
 27.  Among  them,  the  Egyptians, 
 Comp.  Ixxviii.  43;  Exod.  x.  2,  "My 
 signs  which  I  have  done  (lit.  set, 
 placed)  among  them." 
 
 28.  The  ninth  plague  (Exod.  x. 
 21 — 29)  mentioned  first, — why,  it  is 
 difficult  to  see.  Hengstenberg  thinks 
 because  "  darkness  is  an  imasje  of  the 
 Divine  wrath,"  and  "the  Egyptians 
 were  in  this  sense  covered  with  dark- 
 ness from  the  first  to  the  last  plague." 
 But  this  is  far-fetched.  The  variation 
 in  the  order  of  the  plagues  from  the 
 narrative  in  Exodus  may  be  paralleled 
 by  the  variation  in  the  oider  of  the 
 commandments  as  quoted  by  our 
 Lord  in  Matt.  xix.  18,  19  ;  Mark  x. 
 19  ;  Luke  xviii.  20, — passages  in 
 which  the  order  and  enumeration 
 differ  from  one  another  as  well  as 
 from  the  original  in  Exod.  xx. 
 
 And  they  rebelled  not,  i.e. 
 Moses  and  Aaron,  wlio,  and  not  the 
 Egyptians,  must  here  be  the  subject. 
 The  obedience  of  Moses  and  Aaron 
 to  the  Divine  command  may  here  be 
 made  prominent,  with  reference  to 
 the  unwillingness  of  Moses  in  the  first 
 instance,  and  also  to  the  subsequent 
 disobedience  of  both,  Num.  xx.  24, 
 xxvii.    14. 
 
PSALM  CV.  513 
 
 29  He  turned  their  waters  into  blood, 
 
 And  made  their  fish  to  die. 
 
 30  Their  land  swarmed  with  frogs 
 
 In  the  chambers  of  their  kings. 
 
 31  He  spake  the  word,  and  there  came  flies, 
 
 Gnats  in  all  their  border. 
 
 32  He  gave  (them)  hail  as  their  rain. 
 
 Flaming  fire  in  their  land. 
 
 33  He  smote  also  their  vines  and  their  fig-trees, 
 
 And  brake  the  trees  of  their  border. 
 
 34  He  spake  the  word,  and  the  locusts  came, 
 
 And  grasshoppers  without  number, 
 
 35  And  devoured  all  the  green  herb  in  their  land, 
 
 And  devoured  the  fruit  of  their  ground. 
 2^6  And  He  smote  all  the  first-born  in  their  land, 
 The  firstlings  of  all  their  strength. 
 
 37  And  He  brought  them  forth  with  silver  and  gold, 
 
 And  there  was  none  among  their  tribes  that  stumbled. 
 
 38  Egypt  was  glad  when  they  went  forth, 
 
 For  their  terror  had  fallen  upon  them. 
 
 39  He  spread  a  cloud  for  a  covering, 
 
 29.  The   first    plague,    Exod.   vii.  37.    With    silver    and    gold  : 
 
 14 — 25  ;  in  the  next  verse,  the  second,  Exod.  xii,  35. 
 
 Exod.  viii.  I — 14.  That   stumbled.     See  the  same 
 
 31.  The  fourth  plague,  that  of  flies,  phrase,  as  descriptive  of  vigour,  Is. 
 Exod.  viii.  20 — 24,  and  the  third,  that  v.  27,  "none  sliall  be  weary  or 
 of  gnats,  or  mosquitoes  (E.V.  "lice"),  stumble  among  them;"  and  for  the 
 Exod.  viii.  16 — 19.  general  sense  comi).  Exod.  xiii.  18. 
 
 32,  33.  From  the  third  plague  he  38.  Was  glad  :  Exod.  xii.  31 — 
 passes  to  the  seventh,  Exod.  ix.  13—  33.  Their  terror:  xv.  14—16; 
 35.  Deut.  xi.  25. 
 
 34,  35.    The  eighth  plague,   Exod.  39—41 .     Three    of    tlie    principal 
 
 X.      I — 20,  where    only    one  kind  of  miracles    in    the    wilderness,     which 
 
 locust  is  mentioned.     Here  we  have  sum  up  the  period  between  the    de- 
 
 also,     "grasshopper"    (a    species    of  parture  from  Egypt  and  the  entrance 
 
 locust  winged,  Nah.  iii.  17,  and  hairy,  into  the  Promised    Land,     liut  it    is 
 
 Jer.  li.  27),  as  in  Ixxviii.  46,    "cater-  remarkable  that  the  great  miracle  of 
 
 piller  "  in  the  parallelism.  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea,  a  favou- 
 
 36.  The  fifth  and  sixth  plagues  are  rite  theme  with  poets  and  prophets, 
 
 omitted,  and  the   series  closed    with  is  not  even  alluded  to. 
 
 the  last,  in  language  borrowed  from  39.   Spread  a  cloud  :  not,  as  in 
 
 Ixxviii.  51.  Ex.  xiv.    19,    as  a  protection  against 
 
 L   L 
 
5^4 
 
 PSALM  CV 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 And  fire  to  lighten  the  night. 
 4.0  They  asked  and  He  brought  quails, 
 
 And  satisfied  them  with  the  bread  of  heaven. 
 He  opened  the  rock  and  the  waters  flowed, 
 They  went  along  the  deserts  (as)  a  river. 
 For  He  remembered  His  holy  word, 
 
 (He  remembered)  Abraham  His  servant, 
 
 43  And  He  brought  forth  His  people  with  gladness, 
 
 His  chosen  with  a  song  of  joy, 
 
 44  And  He  gave  them  the  lands  of  the  nations, 
 
 And  they  took  possession  of  the  labour  of  the  peoples  ; 
 
 45  That  they  might  keep  His  statutes. 
 
 And  observe  His  laws. 
 
 Hallelujah. 
 
 their  enemies,  but  rather  over  theiv 
 heads,  as  a  protection  against  the 
 burning  sun. 
 
 40.  See  on  Ixxviii.  24,  27. 
 
 They  asked.  The  verb  is  in  the 
 sing.,  referring  to  the  people. 
 
 41.  Rock.  The  word  is  tsiir,  and 
 therefore  the  miracle  at  Horeb  is  in- 
 tended ;  see  on  Ixxviii.  15. 
 
 42 — 45.  Conclusion,  giving,  first 
 the  reasons  why  God  had  thus  dealt 
 with  Israel,  viz.  His  own  promise, 
 and  the  faith  of  His  servant  Abraham, 
 as  in  ver.  8,  9  ;  next,  the  result  in 
 their  history,  that  by  virtue  of  this 
 covenant  they  had  taken  possession 
 of  the  land  of  Canaan ;  lastly,  the 
 great  purpose  designed  by  all  that 
 mai-vellous     guidance,     "That    they 
 
 might  keep  His  statutes,  and  observe 
 His  laws." 
 
 43.  With  gladness,  alluding, 
 probably,  to  the  song  of  triumph 
 after  the  overthrow  of  Pharaoh  and 
 his  captains  in  the  Red  Sea.  Comp. 
 Is.  xxxv.  10:  "And  the  redeemed 
 of  Jehovah  shall  return  and  come 
 to  Zion  with  a  song  of  joy,  and  ever- 
 lasting gladness  shall  be  on  their 
 head,"  &c. 
 
 44.  Labours  ;  not  only  cultivated 
 lands,  but  cities,  treasures,  «S:c. 
 
 45.  That  they  might  keep. 
 This  was  God's  purpose,  that  Israel 
 should  be  a  holy  nation  in  the  midst 
 of  oiher  nations,  a  priesthood  repre- 
 senting the  world,  and  claiming  it  for 
 God  as  His  world. 
 
PSALM  CVL  5x5 
 
 PSALM  CVI. 
 
 This  is  the  first  of  a  series  of  Hallelujah  Psalms  :  Psalms  of  which 
 the  word  Hallelujah  is,  as  it  were,  the  Inscription  (cvi.,  cxi. — cxiii., 
 cxvii.,  cxxxv.,  cxlvi.— cl.).  As  in  the  last  Psalm,  so  here,  the  history 
 of  Israel  is  recapitulated.  In  that  it  was  turned  into  a  thanksgiving ; 
 in  this  it  forms  the  burden  of  a  confession.  There,  God's  mighty  acts 
 for  His  people  were  celebrated  with  joy ;  here,  His  people's  sin  is 
 humbly  and  sorrowfully  acknowledged.  Nothing  is  more  remarkable 
 in  these  great  historical  Psalms  than  the  utter  absence  of  any  word  or 
 sentiment  tending  to  feed  the  national  vanity.  All  the  glory  of  Israel's 
 history  is  confessed  to  be  due,  not  to  her  heroes,  her  priests,  her 
 prophets,  but  to  God  ;  all  the  failures  which  are  written  upon  that 
 history,  all  discomfitures,  losses,  reverse?,  the  sword,  famine,  exile,  are 
 recognized  as  the  righteous  chastisement  which  the  sin  of  the  nation 
 has  provoked.  This  is  the  strain  of  such  Psalms  as  the  781.1,  the 
 105th,  the  1 06th.  This  is  invariably  the  tone  assumed  by  all  the 
 divinely- instructed  teachers  of  the  people,  by  the  prophets  in  their 
 great  sermons,  by  the  poets  in  their  contributions  to  the  national 
 liturgy.  There  is  no  other  poetry  in  the  world  of  a  popular  and 
 national  kind  so  full  of  patriotic  sentiment,  and  yet  at  the  same  time 
 marked  by  so  complete  an  abstinence  from  all  those  themes  which 
 are  commonly  found  in  poetry  written  for  the  people.  There  is  not  a 
 single  ode  in  honour  of  Moses  or  Aaron,  or  Joshua  or  David  ;  there 
 is  not  one  which  sings  the  glory  of  the  nation,  except  as  that  glory  is 
 given  it  of  God.  The  history  of  the  nation,  whenever  referred  to,  is 
 referred  to  almost  invariably  for  the  purpose  of  rebuke  and  upbraiding, 
 certainly  not  for  the  purpose  of  commendation  or  self-applause. 
 
 From  ver.  47  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that  the  Psalm  is  of  the  date 
 of  the  exile,  or  was  written  shortly  after  the  return  of  the  first  com- 
 pany of  exiles.  It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  both  that  verse  and 
 the  closing  doxology,  together  perhaps  with  the  first  verse  of  this 
 
 L  L   2 
 
5i6  PSALM  CVL 
 
 Psalm,  forai  the  concluding  portion  of  the  Psalm  which,  according  to 
 the  author  of  the  Book  of  Chronicles,  was  sung  by  David  when  he 
 removed  the  Ark  to  Mount  Zion,  i  Chron.  xvi.  34 — 36.  On  this  point, 
 see  more  in  the  Introduction  to  Ps.  cv.,  and  the  note  on  ver.  48. 
 
 The  Psalm  has  no  strophical  division.  It  consists  of  an  Intro- 
 duction, ver.  I — 6.  It  then  follows  the  history  of  Israel  as  a  history 
 of  perpetual  transgressions,  first,  from  Egypt  through  the  wilderness, 
 ver.  7 — 33,  and  then  in  the  Holy  Land,  34 — 46,  and  concludes 
 with  a  prayer  for  deliverance  from  the  present  calamity,  viz.  the 
 captivity  in  Babylon,  ver.  47. 
 
 1  Hallelujah! 
 
 Give  thanks  to  Jehovah,  for  He  is  good, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever, 
 
 2  Who  can  utter  the  mighty  acts  of  Jehovah, 
 
 (Who)  can  tell  forth  all  His  praise  t 
 
 3  Blessed  are  they  that  keep  judgement. 
 
 He  that  doeth  righteousness  at  all  times. 
 
 4  Remember  me,  O  Jehovah,  with  the  favour  thou  bearest 
 
 unto  Thy  people, 
 O  visit  me  with  Thy  salvation  ; 
 
 5  That  I  may  see  the  prosperity  of  Thy  chosen. 
 
 I — 5.     The  first  five  verses   seem  the  blessedness  of  those  who,  instead 
 
 to  stand  alone,   and  to  have  little  or  of  despising  thf  ^  goodness,  as  Israel 
 
 no   direct   connection    with  the   rest  had  done,  walked  in  the  ways  of  the 
 
 of  the  Psalm.     Hupfeld  regards  the  Lord,  keeping  judgement  and  doing 
 
 first   three    verses,    in   particular,    as  righteousness    (ver.    3)  ?     Or    again, 
 
 nothing   but  a    general   introduction,  what  more  natural  than  that  the  sense 
 
 and   one  quite    at  variance  with   the  of  the  national  privilege,  the  claim  of 
 
 strain  of  the  Psalm  as  a  confession  of  a   personal   share    in   that   privilege, 
 
 sin.     But  this  is  a  hasty  and  super-  should  spring  in  the  heart  and  rise  to 
 
 ficial  view.    The  first  verse,  no  doubt,  the  lips  of  one  who  felt  most  deeply 
 
 is  of  the  nature  of  a  doxological  for-  the  national  sin  and  ingratitude  ? 
 
 mula,  such  as  we  find  in  some  other  Good,  i.e.  not  so  much  in  reference 
 
 of  these  later  Psalms.     But  the  second  to  His  own  nature  as  in  His  gracious 
 
 and  third  verses  have   an  immediate  dealing  with  men. 
 
 bearing  on   what  follows.     What   so  2,  The  mighty  acts  are  all  that 
 
 fitting  to  introduce  the  confession  of  a  He  has  done  for  His  people,  as  His 
 
 nation's  sin  and  ingratitude  as  the  re-  praise  is  all  the  glory  which  He  has 
 
 hearsal  of  God's  goodness  manifested  thus  manifested,  and  which  calls  for 
 
 to  it,    and   the  acknowledgement   of  praise  from  them. 
 
PSALM  CVI.  5,7 
 
 That  I  may  be  glad  with  the  gladness  of  Thy  nation, 
 That  I  may  make  my  boast  with  thine  inheritance! 
 
 6  We  have  sinned  with  our  fathers, 
 
 We  have  done  iniquity,  we  have  dealt  wickedly. 
 
 7  Our  fathers  in  Egypt  considered  not  Thy  wonders, 
 
 They  remembered  not  the  multitude  of  Thy  loving- 
 kindnesses, 
 But  rebelled  at  the  sea,  at  the  Red  Sea ; 
 
 8  And  (yet)  He  saved  them  for  His  Name's  sake, 
 
 To  make  His  might  to  be  known. 
 
 9  And  He  rebuked  the  Red  Sea,  and  it  was  dried  up, 
 
 And  He  made  them  go  through  the  depths  as  (through) 
 the  wilderness. 
 
 10  And  He  saved  them  from  the  hand  of  the  hater, 
 
 And  ransomed  them  from  the  hand  of  the  enemy. 
 
 1 1  And  the  waters  covered  their  adversaries, 
 
 Not  one  of  them  was  left. 
 
 12  And  they  believed  His  words. 
 
 6.  The  language  is  borrowed  evi- 
 dently from  that  of  Solomon's  prayer, 
 I  Kings  viii.  47.  Comp.  Dan.  ix.  5  ; 
 Bar.  ii.  12,  where  in  the  same  way 
 several  words  are  used  in  confession, 
 as  if  to  express  both  the  earnestness 
 of  deep  conviction,  and  also  the  sense 
 of  vianifold  transgressions. 
 
 With  our  fathers.  The  nation 
 is  thus  regarded  as  a  whole,  one  in 
 guilt  and  one  in  punishment.  See 
 note  on  Ixxix.  8.  Not  only  the 
 "fathers  in  Egypt"  (ver.  7)  are 
 meant,  because  the  generation  in 
 Canaan  are  also  mentioned  (ver.  34 
 -36). 
 
 7.  Our  fathers  in  Egypt. 
 These  words  are  connected  together 
 by  the  accents,  but  the  words  "in 
 Egypt  "  belong  to  the  whole  sentence. 
 The  "wonders  "  are  wonders  wrought 
 in  Egypt,  the  impression  of  which, 
 great   as  they  were,  had  so   quickly 
 
 faded,  that  they  were  forgotten  even 
 when  the  people  stood  on  the  shore 
 of  the  Red  Sea.  Again,  in  ver.  13, 
 21,  this  forgetfidness  is  censured. 
 Comp.  Ixxviii.  II  ;  Deut.  xxxii.  18  ; 
 and  see  note  on  Ps.  ciii.  2. 
 
 Rebelled  ;  with  reference  to  the 
 occurrence  in  Ex.  xiv.  10 — 13. 
 
 This  is  the  first  act  of  transgression 
 of  which  confession  is  made. 
 
 8.  His  might  to  be  known,  as 
 in  Ixxvii.  14. 
 
 9.  Compare,  for  the  form  of  ex- 
 pression, Nah.  i.  4  ;  Is.  1.  2,  li.  10, 
 Ixiii.  13. 
 
 11.  Not  one  of  them  was  left. 
 Comp.  Ex.  xiv.  28. 
 
 12.  They  believed  .  .  .  they 
 sang,  with  evident  reference  to  Ex. 
 xiv.  31,  XV.  I  :  "  And  Israel  saw  the 
 great  act  (lit.  hand)  which  Jehovah 
 had  done  against  Egypt,  and  the 
 people     feared    Jehovah,    and    they 
 
5tS 
 
 PSALM  CVl. 
 
 They  sang  His  praise. 
 
 1 3  Very  soon  they  forgat  His  doings, 
 
 They  waited  not  for  His  counsel  ; 
 
 14  And  lusted  for  themselves  a  lust  in  the  wilderness, 
 
 And  tempted  God  in  the  waste. 
 
 15  And  He  gave  them  their  request, 
 
 And  sent  leanness  (withal)  into  their  soul. 
 
 16  And  they  were  jealous  against  Moses  in  the  camp, 
 
 Against  Aaron,  the  holy  one  of  Jehovah. 
 
 17  (Then)  the  earth  opened  and  swallowed  up  Dathan, 
 
 And  covered  the  congregation  of  Abiram  ; 
 
 believed  on  Jehovah  and  His  servant 
 Moses.  Then  sang  Moses  and  the 
 children  of  Israel  this  song."  Both 
 the  faith  and  the  song  are  mentioned, 
 not  in  praise  of  their  conduct,  but 
 only  as  still  further  proof  that,  what- 
 ever impressions  were  produced, 
 whether  by  God's  judgements  or  His 
 mercies,  were  but  temporary  and  on 
 the  surface.  The  goodness  of  Israel 
 was  like  the  dew,  early  gone. 
 
 13 — 33.  The  confession  of  Israel's 
 sins  in  the  wilderness.  On  the  first 
 of  these,  the  lusting  for  food,  comp. 
 Ixxviii.  18,  29,  and  Ex,  xv.  22  —  24, 
 xvii.  2.  See  also  Ex.  xvi.  and  Num. 
 xi. 
 
 13.  Waited  not  ;  were  not  con- 
 tent to  exercise  a  patient  dependence 
 upon  God,  leaving  to  Him  to  fulfil 
 His  own  purposes  in  His  own  way, 
 but  would  rather  rule  Him  than  sub- 
 mit themselves  to  His  rule. 
 
 14.  Lusted  for  themselves  a 
 LUST;  the  expression  is  taken  from 
 Num.  xi.  4. 
 
 15.  He  gave  them  their  re- 
 quest.    See  on  Ixxviii.  21,  29. 
 
 Leanness.  Comp.  Is.  x.  16,  xvii. 
 4.  This  leanness  and  sickness  may 
 refer  to  the  loathing  of  the  food,  fol- 
 lowed by  great  mortality  (the  "  blow 
 of  God"),  Num.  xi.  20,  33,  the  soul 
 being  here  used  only  in   a  physical 
 
 sense  of  the  life.  But  the  figurative 
 sense  is  equally  true  and  equally  per- 
 tinent. The  very  heart  and  spirit  of 
 a  man,  when  bent  only  or  supremely 
 on  the  satisfaction  of  its  earthly  de- 
 sires and  appetites,  is  always  dried 
 up  and  withered.  It  becomes  a  lean, 
 shrunk,  miserable  thing,  always  crav- 
 ing more  food,  yet  drawing  thence 
 no  nourishment,  * '  magnas  inter  opes 
 inops." 
 
 16 — 18.  The  second  great  sin  in 
 the  wilderness  was  the  insurrection 
 against  their  divinely-appointed  lead- 
 ers. The  reference  is  to  Num.  xvi., 
 xvii. 
 
 16.  The  holy  one.  Aaron  is 
 so  called  on  account  of  his  priestly 
 office.  It  was  this,  as  an  exclusive 
 privilege,  which  was  assailed  by 
 Korah  and  his  company,  on  the 
 ground  that  all  the  congregation  were 
 "  holy,"  i.e.  set  apart  and  consecrated 
 to  God  as  His  priests. 
 
 17.  Opened.  In  Num.  xvi.  30, 
 32,  xxvi.  10,  the  fuller  expression 
 occurs,  "opened  her  mouth."  Co- 
 vered, as  in  Num.  xvi.  33. 
 
 Dathan  and  Abiram  only  are  men- 
 tioned, and  this  is  in  strict  agreement 
 with  Num.  xxvi.  ii,  where  it  is 
 said,  "  Notwithstanding //^^  children 
 of  Korah  died  not."  And  the  .same 
 thing  is  at  least  implied  in  Num.  xvi. 
 
PSALM  CVI.  519 
 
 18  And  a  fire  was  kindled  in  their  congregation, 
 
 A  flame  burned  up  the  wicked. 
 
 19  They  made  a  calf  in  Horeb, 
 
 And  bowed  themselves  before  the  molten  image, 
 
 20  And  they  bartered  their  glory, 
 
 For  the  likeness  of  an  ox  that  eateth  grass. 
 
 21  They  forgat  God  their  Saviour, 
 
 Who  had  done  great  things  in  Egypt ; 
 
 22  Wondrous  things  in  the  land  of  Ham, 
 
 Fearful  things  by  the  Red  Sea. 
 
 23  Then  He  said  He  would  destroy  them, 
 
 Had    not   Moses    His   chosen   stood    in   the   breach 
 before  Him, 
 
 27,  where  it  is  said  that,  just  before 
 the  catastrophe  took  place,  "Dathan 
 and  Abiram  "  (there  is  no  mention  of 
 Korah)  "came  out  and  stood  in  the 
 door  of  their  tents."  See  this  noticed 
 and  accounted  for  in  Bhtnt's  Veracity 
 of  the  Books  of  Moses,  Part  I.  §  20, 
 p.  86. 
 
 18.  The  other  punishment,  the  de- 
 struction by  fire,  befell  the  250  princes 
 of  the  congregation  who  offered  in- 
 cense  before    the   Lord,    Num.    xvi. 
 
 2,  35- 
 
 The  wicked,  as  in  Num.  xvi.  20, 
 *'  Get  ye  up  from  the  tents  of  these 
 wicked  men," 
 
 19.  The  third  instance  of  trans- 
 gression, the  worship  of  the  calf:  see 
 Ex.  xxxii.  There  is  probably  also  a 
 reference  to  Deut.  ix.  8 — 12,  where 
 Moses  reminds  the  people  of  their 
 sin,  especially  as  IloTcb  (which  is  the 
 common  name  in  Deuteronomy),  and 
 not  Sinai,  is  here  the  name  of  the 
 mountain. 
 
 20.  Their  glory,  i.e.  their  God, 
 who  had  manifested  Himself  to  them 
 in  His  glory  ;  glory,  like  light,  being 
 used  in  Scripture  to  denote  the  Di- 
 vine perfections.     Others  understand 
 
 by  the  expression  the  God  who  was 
 the  source  and  fountain  of  their  glory, 
 or  that  revelation  of  God  to  them 
 which  distinguished  them  from  ail 
 other  nations.  Comp.  Deut.  iv.  7. 
 "For  what  nation  is  there  so  great, 
 who  hath  God  so  nigh  unto  them,  as 
 the  Lord  our  God  is  in  all  things  that 
 we  call  upon  Him  for?"  But  tlie 
 closest  parallel  is  Jer.  ii.  ii,  "  Hatli 
 a  nation  bartered  their  gods,  which  arc 
 yet  no  gods?  But  My  people  have 
 bartered  their  glory  iox  that  which  dolli 
 not  profit." 
 
 Likeness,  properly  "model"  or 
 "figure,"  See  the  same  word  in 
 Deut.  V,  6 — 8. 
 
 21.  Forgat  Gud  ;  with  reference, 
 perhapSj  to  the  warning,  Deut,  vi,  I  J, 
 "  Beware  least  thou  forget  Jehovah." 
 
 22.  Land  of  Ham,  as  in  cv.  23, 
 27,  Comp,  Ixxviii.  51,  "tents  uf 
 Ham,"  peculiar  to  these  historical 
 Psalms. 
 
 23.  Then  he  said,  lit.  "And  He 
 said  (resolved,  uttered  His  word),  to 
 destroy  them,"  Deut.  ix,  13.  Comp. 
 Ex.  xxxii.  10. 
 
 In  the  breach.  The  intercession 
 of  Moses  is  compared  to  the  act  of  a 
 
520 
 
 PSALM  CVI. 
 To  turn  away  His  fury  from  destroying  (them). 
 
 24  And  they  rejected  the  desirable  land, 
 
 They  believed  not  His  word ; 
 
 25  And  they  murmured  in  their  tents, 
 
 They  hearkened  not  to  the  voice  of  Jehovah. 
 
 26  Then  He  lifted  up  His  hand  against  them. 
 
 To  make  them  fall  in  the  wilderness, 
 2'j  And  to  make  their  seed  fall  among  the  nations. 
 And  to  scatter  them  in  the  lands. 
 
 28  They  were  yoked  also  unto  Baal-peor, 
 And  ate  the  sacrifices  of  the  dead, 
 
 brave  leader,  covering  with  his  bo«^> 
 the  breach  made  in  the  vi^alls  of  his 
 fortress.  Comp.  Ezek.  xxii.  30,  "And 
 I  sought  for  a  man  among  them,  that 
 should  make  up  the  hedge,  and  stand 
 in  the  gap  {breach,  as  here)  before  Me 
 for  the  land,  that  I  should  not  destroy 
 it." 
 
 24—27.  A  fourth  act  of  sin, — the 
 rebellion  which  followed  on  the  report 
 of  the  spies,  Num.  xiii.  xiv. 
 
 24.  The  desirable  land,  so 
 called  also  in  Jer.  iii.  19  ;  Zech.  vii. 
 14  (in  E.  V.  * '  pleasant  land  ").  The 
 other  expressions  in  this  and  the  next 
 verse  are  from  the  Pentateuch :  **they 
 rejected  "  (E.  V.  "  despised  "),  Num. 
 xiv.  31  ;  "  murmured  in  their  tents," 
 Deut.  i.  27  ;  "lifted  up  His  hands," 
 as  in  Ex.  vi.  6,  Deut.  xxxii,  40  :  "  to 
 make  them  fall,"  as  in  Num.  xiv.  29, 
 32.  The  phrase,  "  to  lift  up  the 
 hand,"  refers  to  the  custom  in  the 
 t.tking  of  an  oath.  Comp.  Gen.  xiv. 
 22.  The  threat  of  exile  (ver.  27. ),  of 
 which  nothing  is  said  in  Num.  xiv., 
 is  taken,  doubtless,  from  Lev.  xxvi.  ; 
 Deut.  xxviii.  Compare  the  same  ex- 
 pression Ezek.  XX.  23,  "I  lifted  up 
 Mine  hand  unto  them  also  in  the 
 wilderness,  that  I  would  scatter  them 
 
 among  the  heathen,  and  disperse  them 
 through  the  countries. " 
 
 28.  They  were  yoked  :  a  fifth 
 transgression  in  the  wilderness,  re- 
 corded in  Num.  xxv.  The  same  verb 
 is  used  there,  ver.  3,  with  reference 
 to  the  prostitution  which  accompanied 
 the  worship  of  Baal-peor,  "the  Moa- 
 bite  Priapus."  Comp.  I  Cor,  vi.  16, 
 17,   and  with  the   next   clause,   ate 
 
 THE   SACRIFICES,    I    Cor.    X.    1 8 — 21, 
 
 with  Num.  xxv.  2. 
 
 The  dead.  Two  interpretations 
 have  been  given  :  (i)  that  idols  are 
 meant,  as  opposed  to  ' '  the  living 
 God."  Comp.  Jer.  x.  10,  11,  and 
 the  contemptuous  expression,  "car- 
 cases of  their  kings  "  (probably  said 
 of  idols,  as  rivals  of  the  One  true 
 King  of  Israel),  in  Ezek.  xliii.  7,  9. 
 Comp.  Lev.  xxvi.  30 ;  Jer.  xvi.  18, 
 (2)  Usage,  however,  is  rather  in  fa- 
 vour of  some  allusion  to  necromantic 
 rites,  as  in  Deut.  xviii.  11,  "one  who 
 seeketh  to  the  dead  ; "  Is.  viii.  19, 
 ' '  should  a  people  seek  to  the  dead 
 (by  the  aid  of  necromancers,  consult- 
 ing them  as  Saul  consulted  the  Witch 
 of  Endor),  on  behalf  of  the  living  ?  " 
 
 This  2Sth  verse,  as  Delitzsch  re- 
 marks, is  of  historical  importance,  as 
 
PSALM  CVI. 
 
 ;2i 
 
 29  And  gave  provocation  with  their  doings, 
 
 And  a  plague  brake  in  upon  them. 
 
 30  Then  Phinehas  stood  (up)  and  did  judgement, 
 
 And  (so)  the  plague  was  stayed  ; 
 
 3 1  And  it  was  counted  unto  him  for  righteousness, 
 
 Unto  all  generations  for  evermore. 
 
 32  They  angered  (God)  also  at  the  waters  of  Meribah, 
 
 And  it  went  ill  with  Moses  for  their  sakes. 
 
 having  given  rise  to  the  prohibition  of 
 flesh  offered  in  sacrifice  to  idols.  St. 
 Paul  teaches  that  the  pollution,  when 
 it  exists,  is  not  in  the  meat  which  has 
 been  offered  in  sacrifice,  but  in  the 
 conscience  of  the  eater,  i  Cor.  x.  28, 
 29. 
 
 29.  A  PLAGUE,  The  word  is  used 
 of  a  Divine  judgement,  more  com- 
 monly of  sickness,  but  here,  as  in 
 Numb.  XXV.  8,  9,  18,  of  the  slaughter 
 accomplished  by  human  instruments. 
 Comp.  Ex.  xxxii.  35. 
 
 30.  Stood.  See  the  similar  ex- 
 pression, Numb.  XXV.  7,  "And when 
 Phinehas  saw  it,  he  rose  tip ;  "  and 
 the  same  verb  as  here,  Num.  xvi.  48, 
 of  Aaron's  intercession.  It  is  a  pic- 
 ture of  the  one  zealous  man  rising  up 
 from  the  midst  of  the  inactive  multi- 
 tude, who  sit  still  and  make  no  effort. 
 
 Did  JUDGEMENT,  not,  as  in  P.B.V. 
 following  the  Chald.  and  Syr. ,  "prayed" 
 {i.e.  interceded).  The  two  figures, 
 Aaron  standing  with  the  incense,  and 
 with  the  true  priestly  heart,  between 
 the  dead  and  the  living,  and  making 
 atonement,  and  Phinehas  as  the  mi- 
 nister of  righteous  vengeance  turning 
 away  wrath,  form  a  striking  and  in- 
 structive contrast.  The  one  makes 
 atonement  in  saving  life,  the  other  in 
 destroying  it. 
 
 31.  It  was  counted  unto  him 
 
 FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS  J    it  was   lookcd 
 
 upon  as  a  righteous  act,  and  rewarded 
 accordingly.  The  same  thing  is  said 
 of  \\\Q  faith  of  Abraham,  Gen.  xv.  6  : 
 a  striking  instance  of  the  fearlessness 
 of  expression  which  is  to  be  found  in 
 the  Scriptures,  as  compared  with  the 
 dogmatic  forms  of  modern  contro- 
 versial theology.  This  verse  has  given 
 occasion  to  whole  disquisitions  on  the 
 subject  of  justification,  with  which 
 it  really  has  nothing  to  do,  though  at 
 least  the  language  is  in  perfect  ac- 
 cordance with  that  of  St.  James  (ii. 
 20 — 26). 
 
 The  reward  of  this  righteousness 
 was  the  perpetual  continuance  of  the 
 priesthood  in  his  family  (Num.  xxv. 
 
 Unto  all  generations,  (Sic,  ht. 
 "for  generation  and  generation,  to 
 (all)  eternity,"  a  remarkable  instance 
 of  the  hyperbolic  way  in  which  this 
 and  similar  phrases  are  employed, 
 and  one  which  is  a  warning  against 
 hastily  building  doctrines  upon  mere 
 words. 
 
 32.  The  sixth  instance  of  trans- 
 gression—the rebellion  against  Moses 
 and  Aaron  tit  Meribah,  in  the  forlieih 
 year   of    the    wandering,    Num.    xx. 
 
 2—13. 
 
 It  went  ill  with.  This  must 
 be  the  meaning  here  (though  else- 
 where, the  same  plirase  nieans  "it 
 grieved,  or  displeased,"  as  in  Nch.  iu 
 
522 
 
 PSALM  CVI. 
 
 33  For  they  rebelled  against  His  Spirit, 
 
 And  he  spake  unadvisedly  with  his  lips. 
 
 34  They  did  not  destroy  the  peoples, 
 
 As  Jehovah  had  commanded  them  ; 
 
 35  But  they  mixed  themselves  with  the  nations, 
 
 And  learnt  their  works  ; 
 
 36  And  served  their  idols, 
 
 And  they  became  to  them  a  snare  ; 
 
 37  And  they  sacrificed  their  sons  and  their  daughters  to 
 
 false  gods ; 
 
 38  And  shed  innocent  blood, 
 
 The  blood  of  their  sons  and  their  daughters. 
 Which  they  sacrificed  to  the  idols  of  Canaan, 
 And  the  land  was  polluted  with  bloodshed. 
 
 10,  xiii,  8  ;  Jon,  iv.  i).  Comp.  Deut. 
 i.  37,  iii.  26,  "  also  Jehovah  was 
 angry  with  xiv&  for  your  sakes.'^  The 
 reason  why  Moses  was  forbidden  to 
 enter  the  Promised  Land  is  here  stated 
 more  distinctly  than  in  the  narrative. 
 It  was  the  exasperation  into  which 
 he  suffered  himself  to  be  betrayed  in 
 uttering  the  words  in  Numb.  xx.  10  ; 
 though  the  impatient  spirit  was  shown 
 also  in  striking  the  rock  twice. 
 
 33.  They  rebelled  against  His 
 Spirit.  Three  explanations  of  this 
 line  have  been  given.  (i)  By  "his 
 spirit "  has  been  understood  the  spirit 
 of  Moses,  and  accordingly  the  line 
 has  been  rendered  in  the  £,  V.  "  they 
 provoked  his  spirit."  This,  however 
 is  to  give  a  meaning  to  the  verb 
 which  it  never  has.  (2)  The  words 
 have  been  understood  of  disobedience 
 against  God  :  "  they  rebelled  against 
 His  (God's)  Spirit."  Comp.  Is.  Ixiii. 
 10,  "But  they  rebelled  and  vexed 
 His  Holy  Spirit,"  with  Ps.  Ixxviii. 
 40.  But  (3),  retaining  this  last  ex- 
 planation, It  is  still  a  question  what  is 
 
 the  subject  of  the  verb.  It  may  be 
 said  of  Moses  and  Aaron,  that  t/iey 
 rebelled  (see  Num.  xx,  24,  xxvii.  14), 
 but  it  is  better  to  assume  that  the 
 people  are  the  subject,  the  two  clauses 
 of  ver.  33  thus  answering  to  the  two 
 of  ver.  32. 
 
 34.  Disobedience  in  the  land  of 
 Canaan  itself,  especially  in  not  rooting 
 out  the  nations  (as  enjoined  Ex.  xxiii. 
 32,  33,  and  often  repeated.  Josh, 
 xxiii.  12,  13),  and  the  adoption  of 
 their  idolatrous  worship. 
 
 36.  A  SNARE,  as. the  warning  ran, 
 Ex.  xxiii.  33,  xxxiv.  12  ;  Deut  vii. 
 16.  Of  the  abominations  of  the 
 heathen,  that  of  human  sacrifices,  as 
 in  the  worship  of  Moloch,  is  especially 
 dwelt  upon.  This  was  an  offering  to 
 FALSE  GODS,  lit.  "  lords, "  like  i5'fl'r///;/7 
 ''Adonim,  and  then  applied  to  gods. 
 
 38.  Polluted,  The  strongest 
 word  taken  from  Num.  xxxv.  33  ; 
 comp.  Is.  xxiv.  5.  The  land,  the 
 very  soil  itself,  was  polluted  and 
 accursed,  as  well  as  the  inhabitants 
 (ver.  39). 
 
PSALM  CVr.  523 
 
 39  And  they  were  defiled  with  their  works, 
 And  went  a-whorinf:^  with  their  doincrs. 
 
 'fc. 
 
 40  Then  the  anger  of  Jehovah   was  kindled  against  His 
 
 people, 
 And  He  abhorred  His  own  inheritance. 
 
 41  And  He  gave  them  into  the  hand  of  the  nations, 
 
 And  their  haters  ruled  over  them. 
 
 42  And  their  enemies  oppressed  them, 
 
 And  they  were  bowed  down  under  their  hand. 
 
 43  Many  a  time  did  He  deliver  them, 
 
 But  they  rebelled  (against  Him)  in  their  counsel, 
 And  were  brought  low  through  their  iniquity. 
 
 44  But  He  looked  upon  their  distress, 
 
 When  He  heard  their  cry. 
 
 45  And  He  remembered  for  them  His  covenant, 
 
 And  pitied  them  according  to  the  greatness  of  His 
 loving-kindness. 
 
 46  And  He  made  them  to  find  compassion 
 
 In  the  presence  of  all  who  carried  them  captive. 
 
 47  Save  us,  O  Jehovah  our  God, 
 And  p-ather  us  from  the  nations, 
 
 tD^ 
 
 40 — 43.  The  terrible  and  repeated  as  in  l  Kings  viii.  28,  of  the  cry  of 
 
 judgements  of  God.  distress. 
 
 42.  They   were   bowed   down,  45.  Pitied  them,  or  "repented," 
 
 elsewhere  said  of  the  enemies  of  Is-  as  in  xc.  13. 
 
 rael,    Jud.    iii.   30,    iv.    23,    viii.    28,  46.  There  is  a  reference  to  Solo- 
 
 xi.  "  ^ 
 
 03' 
 
 men's  prayer,  i  Kings  viii.  50.   Comp. 
 
 43.  In     their    counsel,    as    in  Neh  i.  1 1  ;  Dan.  i.  9. 
 
 Ixxxi.    12;  Jer.  vii.   24,  emphatically  47.  The    grace    of    God,    already 
 
 opposed  to  the  counsel  and  purpose  shown   to    His  people,   leads  to  the 
 
 of  God.  prayer  of  this  verse— a  supplication 
 
 44.  The  Psalmist  turns  now  to  the  for  which  the  whole  Psalm  has  pre- 
 other  side  of  God's  dealings  with  His  pared  the  way.  The  language  would 
 people.  It  was  not  all  anger.  If  seem  to  indicate  that  the  Psalm  was 
 they  forgot  Plis  covenant,  He  remem-  written  in  exile,  though  the  same 
 bered  it.  Even  in  the  land  of  their  prayer  might  also  have  been  uttered 
 captivity.  He  softened  the  hearts  of  by  one  of  those  who  returned  m  tl.e 
 their  captors.  first  caravan,  on  behalf  of  his  breihrea 
 
 Their  cry.     The  word  which  is  who  were  still  dispersed, 
 often  used  of  the  song  of  joy,  here, 
 
524 
 
 PSALM  CVL 
 
 That  we  may  give  thanks  unto  Thy  holy  Name, 
 That  we  may  glory  in  Thy  praise. 
 
 zj8  Blessed  be  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel, 
 From  everlasting  to  everlasting. 
 And  let  all  the  people  say.  Amen  ! 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 Glory  in  Thy  praise,  or  "  deem 
 ourselves  happy  in  that  we  can  praise 
 Thee." 
 
 48.  The  last  verse  is  merely  a 
 Doxology  added  at  a  time  subsequent 
 to  the  composition  of  the  Psalm,  to 
 mark  the  close  of  the  Book.  The 
 first  line  varies  but  slightly  from  that 
 at  the  end  of  Ixxii.,  "Blessed  be 
 Jehovah  God,  the  God  of  Israel." 
 
 The  Chronicler  who  quotes  this 
 verse  (see  Introduction  to  this  Psalm 
 
 and  cv.),  changes  the  wish,  **  Let  all 
 the  people  say,  Amen,"itinto  the  his- 
 toric sense,  "And  all  the  people 
 said.  Amen,  and  praised  Jehovah " 
 (l  Chron.  xvi.  36).  The  fact  that  he 
 has  incorporated  this  verse  as  well 
 as  the  preceding  in  his  Psalm,  is  a 
 proof  that  already  in  his  time  the 
 Psalter  was  divided,  as  at  present, 
 into  Books,  the  Doxology  being  re- 
 garded as  an  integral  portion  of  the 
 Fsalm. 
 
THE    PSALMS, 
 
 BOOK   V, 
 
 PSALMS  CVIL— CL. 
 
PSALM  evil. 
 
 PSALM  CVII. 
 
 There  is  no  obvious  reason  why,  in  the  division  of  the  Psalter  into 
 Five  Books,  the  doxology  marking  the  close  of  the  Fourth  Book  should 
 have  been  placed  at  the  end  of  the  io6th  Psalm.  On  the  contrary, 
 the  io6th  and  107th  Psalms  seem  to  have  certain  links  of  connexion, 
 and  many  critics  have  supposed  that  they  are  the  work  of  the  same 
 author. 
 
 Not  only  are  the  opening  words  of  the  two  Psalms  identical,  but 
 what  is  the  subject  of  prayer  in  the  one  is  the  subject  of  thanksgiving 
 in  the  other.  In  cvi.  47  the  Psalmist  prays  that  God  would  gather 
 Israel  from  the  heathen  :  in  cvii.  3  he  exhorts  Israel  to  give  thanks  to 
 Him  who  has  brought  them  back  from  their  captivity. 
 
 It  has  been  asserted  by  some  expositors  that  there  is  an  historical 
 connexion  between  Psalms  civ. — cvii.,  and  it  is  assumed  that  the 
 107th  Psalm  is  designed  chiefly  to  celebrate  the  return  from  the 
 Babylonish  Captivity.  But  such  an  interpretation,  however,  can 
 scarcely  be  maintained. 
 
 It  is  evident  that  the  Psalm  is  not  historical.  It  describes  various 
 incidents  of  human  life,  it  tells  of  the  perils  which  befall  men,  and 
 the  goodness  of  God  in  delivering  them,  and  calls  upon  all  who  have 
 experienced  His  care  and  protection  gratefully  to  acknowledge  them  ; 
 and  it  is  perfectly  general  in  its  character.  The  four  or  five  groups, 
 or  pictures,  are  so  many  samples  taken  from  the  broad  and  varied 
 record  of  human  experience. 
 
 Such  a  Psalm  would  have  been  admirably  adapted  to  be  sung  in 
 the  Temple-worship,  at  the  offering  of  the  thank-offerings. 
 
 But,  whatever  may  have  been  the  circumstances  under  which  the 
 Psalm  was  written,  or  the  particular  occasion  for  which  it  was  intended, 
 there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  great  lesson  which  it  inculcates.  It 
 teaches  us  not  only  that  God's  Providence  watches  over  men,  but 
 that  His  ear  is  open  to  their  prayers.  It  teaches  us  that  prayer  may 
 be  put  up  for  temporal  deliverance,  and  that  such  prayer  is  answered. 
 
528  PSALM  CVII. 
 
 It  teaches  us  that  it  is  right  to  acknowledge  with  thanksgiving 
 such  answers  to  our  petitions.  This  was  the  simple  faith  of  the 
 Hebrew  Poet. 
 
 It  is  needless  to  say  how  readily  such  a  faith  is  shaken  now.  First, 
 there  is  the  old  and  obvious  objection  that  all  such  prayers,  even 
 when  offered  by  men  of  devout  mind,  are  not  answered.  Calvin 
 notices  the  difficulty,  quoting  the  story  of  the  wit,  who,  when  he 
 entered  the  temple,  and  observed  the  votive  tablets  suspended  there 
 by  merchants,  recording  their  escape  from  shipwreck  by  the  favour  of 
 the  gods,  sarcastically  remarked,  "  I  see  no  record  of  those  who 
 perish  in  the  sea,  and  yet  the  number  of  them  must  be  immense." 
 Calvin  replies,  as  might  be  expected,  that  though  a  hundredfold  more 
 are  lost  than  escape,  still  God's  goodness  is  not  obscured ;  that  He 
 exercises  judgement  as  well  as  mercy  ;  that  all  deserve  destruction, 
 and  that  therefore  His  sovereign  mercy  ought  to  be  acknowledged  in 
 every  instance  where  it  is  displayed.  It  would  have  been  better, 
 surely,  to  have  replied,  that  answers  to  prayer  are  not  all  of  one  kind  ; 
 and  that  God  as  really  answers  His  children's  supplication  when  He 
 gives  them  strength  and  resignation  in  prison  or  in  sickness,  as  when 
 He  "  breaks  in  pieces  the  bars  of  iron,"  or  "  sends  His  word  and 
 heals  them  ;  "  when  He  suffers  them  to  sink  beneath  the  raging  waters, 
 with  heaven  open  to  their  eyes,  as  when  He  "  brings  them  to  their 
 desired  haven."  Closely  akin  to  this  there  arises  another  question. 
 Does  God  ever  answer  prayer  by  direct  action  upon  the  material 
 world  ?  Are  not  the  laws  of  the  universe  the  expression  of  His  will  } 
 Are  they  not,  therefore,  unchangeable?  And  is  it  not  both  presump- 
 tuous and  selfish  to  ask  Him  to  change  the  phenomena,  which  are  the 
 result  of  those  laws  :  presumptuous,  because  we  thus  dictate  to  Him 
 what  is  best  for  us  ;  selfish,  because  the  blessing  we  crave  may  be 
 at  the  expense  of  injury  and  loss  to  others  ?  I  conceive  it  may 
 be  replied,  that  it  is  not  for  the  most  part  by  immediate  action  in  the 
 material  world  that  God  grants  our  petitions.  Even  if  we  were 
 forced  to  concede  that  now,  since  the  age  of  miracles  is  past,  God 
 never  so  acts,  still  this  should  not  trouble  us,  seeing  how  wide  the 
 region  is  in  which  indirectly  our  prayers  even  for  temporal  blessings 
 may  be  answered.  "  Thus,  for  instance  "  (I  venture  to  repeat  what  I 
 have  said  elsewhere*),  "  we  pray  that  the  cholera  or  the  murrain  may 
 be   stayed.     God  does  not  with  His  own  hand  take  away  the  plague; 
 
 '  'I'hd  Feast  of  Harvest.    A  Sermon  preached  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Carmarthen,  p,  19. 
 
PSALM  evil.  529 
 
 but  He  puts  it  into  the  heart  of  some  physician  to  find  the  remedy 
 which  will  remove  it.  He  does  not  hush  the  storm  in  a  moment  ;  but 
 He  gives  the  mariner  courage  and  skill  to  steer  before  it  till  he  reach 
 the  haven.  He  does  not  shower  bread  from  heaven  in  a  famine  ;  but 
 He  teaches  the  statesman  how,  with  wise  forethought  and  patient 
 endeavours,  at  least  to  mitigate  the  calamity.  How  often  we  speak  of 
 happy  inspirations,  little  knowing  what  we  mean  when  we  speak  thus  ! 
 And  how  unable  we  are  to  trace  the  chain  !  We  cannot  see  God's 
 Spirit  prompting  the  prayer,  or  suggesting  the  remedy  which  shall  be 
 the  answer  to  the  prayer.  But  the  antecedent  and  the  consequent  are 
 as  really  there,  the  links  of  the  chain  are  as  essential  as  they  are  in 
 any  of  the  phenomena  of  the  material  world,  which  present  them- 
 selves to  our  bodily  senses.  And  thus  the  answer  comes  not  by  direct 
 interference  with  the  laws  of  nature,  but  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
 of  the  spiritual  world,  by  the  Divine  action  on  the  heart  of  man."  If 
 so,  then  the  answer  may  be  acknowledged  with  devout  thanksgiving, 
 and  men  may  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness. 
 
 1  "  O  GIVE  thanks  unto  Jehovah,  for  He  is  good, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever," 
 
 2  Let  the  ransomed  of  Jehovah  say  (so), 
 
 Whom  He  hath  ransomed  from  the  hand  of  the  adver- 
 sary, 
 
 3  And  gathered  them  out  of  the  lands. 
 
 1,  The  Psalm  opens  with  the  same  in  Is.  Ixii.  12  (whence  it  may  be 
 cloxological  formula  as  cvi.,  only  borrowed),  Ixiii.  4;  comp.  xxxv.  9, 
 here  it  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  10. 
 
 exiles   returned  from   Babylon.     For  The  ADVERSARY,  the  oppressor  in 
 
 a   similar   opening   see  cxviii.    I— 4.  J'abylon  ;  or  the  word  may  mean,  ^ 
 
 In   earlier    Psalms  where  phrases   of  in  ver.  6,  "distress."  "From  the  hand 
 
 the  kind  occur,  they  do  not  stand  at  of  distress  "might  be  said  in  Hebrew, 
 
 the  beginning  of  the  Psalm,  and  the  in  the  same  way  as  "from  the  hand 
 
 verb   "  say  "  precedes  the   doxology,  of  the  dog"  (xxii.  20). 
 instead  of  following  it ;  see  xxxv.  27,  3.  Gaiheked  them,  as  in  cvi.  47, 
 
 xl.  16.  ami  generally  in  the  Prophets  (comp. 
 
 It   is   the   old  hturgical    doxology  Is.  xi.    12,  Ivi.  8,  and  oi'ten)  of    the 
 
 which,  as  in  Jer.  xxxiii.    ii,  is  to  be  return  from  the  Captivity.     For  the 
 
 heard  in  the  mouth  of   the  captives  same  picture  seels,  xliii.  5,  6,  xlix.  12. 
 
 restored  to  their  own  land.  The  exiles,  free  to  return,  are  seen 
 
 2.  Ransomed   of  Jehovah;    as  flocking,  not  from  Babylon  only,  but 
 
 M  M 
 
530 
 
 PSALM  CVII. 
 
 From  the  East  and  from  the  West, 
 From  the  North  and  from  the  South. 
 
 4  They  wandered  in  the  wilderness,  in  a  pathless  waste, 
 
 A  city  where  nien  dwell  they  found  not ; 
 
 5  Hungry  and  thirsty, 
 
 Their  soul  fainted  in  them  : 
 
 6  Then  they  cried  unto  Jehovah  in  their  trouble, 
 
 And  He  delivered  them  out  of  their  distresses  ; 
 
 7  And  He  led  them  by  a  straight  way, 
 
 from  all  lands,    "like  doves  to  their 
 windows. " 
 
 3.  The  South,  lit.  "the  sea" 
 ftf  the  text  is  correct),  which  every- 
 where else  means  the  West  (the  Medi- 
 terranean Sea),  but  must  obviously 
 here  denote  the  South. 
 
 4.  The  first  example  :  the  cara- 
 van which  has  lost  its  M^ay  in  the 
 desert.  The  interpretation  of  the 
 verse  will  vary  according  to  the  view 
 we  take  of  its  connection  with  the 
 preceding. 
 
 (i. )  We  may  take  the  "ransomed 
 of  Jehovah"  (ver,  2)  as  the  subject 
 of  the  verb;  and  then  {a),  by  those 
 who  adopt  the  historical  interpreta- 
 tion of  the  Psalm,  the  picture  which 
 follows  has  been  held  to  be  a  descrip- 
 tion eitiier  (i)  of  what  befell  the  Jews 
 who  (Jer.  xliii.)  fled  into  the  wilder- 
 ness to  escape  the  Chaldeans,  after 
 the  taking  of  Jerusalem  ;  or  (2)  of 
 the  perils  encountered  by  the  cara- 
 vans of  exiles  as  they  crossed  long 
 tracts  of  sandy  desert  on  their  return  ; 
 or  (3)  intended  to  set  forth  in  a  figure 
 the  miseries  of  the  Exile  itself.  Or 
 {b)  "the  ransomed  of  Jehovah"  may 
 be  taken  in  a  wider  sense,  as  de- 
 noting, not  the  captives  at  Babylon, 
 but  all  Jews  exposed  to  the  risks  and 
 hardships  of  foreign  travel. 
 
 (ii.)  The  subject  of  the  verb  may 
 be  changed,  and  this,  either  because 
 (a)  the    Psalmist    having    begun    to 
 
 speak  of  God's  goodness  to  the  exiles, 
 restored  by  His  hand  to  the  land  of 
 their  fathers,  goes  on  to  speak  of 
 other  instances  in  which  His  good- 
 ness has  been  manifested.  Or  (;3), 
 because  the  first  three  verses  were  a 
 liturgical  addition,  framed  with  par- 
 ticular reference  to  the  return  from 
 Babylon,  and  prefixed  to  a  poem 
 originally  designed  to  have  a  wider 
 scope. 
 
 They  wandered.  The  subject 
 of  the  verb  (see  last  note)  may  be 
 "men"  generally.  The  incident  de- 
 scribed was  doubtless  not  uncommon. 
 The  usual  ti-ack  of  the  caravan  is 
 lost — obliterated,  perhaps,  by  the 
 sandstorm. 
 
 A    CITY   WHERE   MEN    DWELL,    lit. 
 
 "a  city  of  habitation"  (as  E.V.). 
 No  particular  city  is  meant,  as  P.  B.  V. , 
 "the  city  where  they  dwelt,"  much 
 less  is  Jerusalem  intended,  but  any 
 inhabited  city,  as  opposed  to  the 
 uninhabited  wilderness. 
 
 5.  Fainted,  lit.  "covered  itself," 
 as  with  darkness,  sorrow,  and  the 
 like,  as  in  Ixxvii.  3,  cxlii.  3,  cxliii.  4  ; 
 Jon.  ii.   7. 
 
 6.  Then  they  cried.  So  it  ever 
 is  ;  the  pressure  of  a  great  need  only 
 forces  men  to  seek  God.  Prayer  is 
 not  only  the  resource  of  good  men, 
 but  of  all  men  in  trouble.  It  is  u 
 natural  instinct  even  of  wicked  men 
 to  turn  to  God  at  such  times. 
 
PSALM  CVIL  531 
 
 That  they  might  go  to  a  city  where  men  dwell  ; — 
 
 8  Let    them    give   thanks    to   Jeliovah    for    Ills    loving- 
 
 kindness, 
 And  for  His  wonders  to  the  children  of  men  : 
 
 9  For  He  satisfieth  the  longing  soul, 
 
 And  fiUeth  the  hungry  soul  with  good. 
 
 10  Such  as  sat  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death, 
 
 Being  bound  in  affliction  and  iron, 
 
 1 1  Because  they  rebelled  against  the  words  of  God, 
 
 And  despised  the  counsel  of  the  Most  High, 
 
 12  And  He  brought  down  their  heart  with  labour, 
 
 They  stumbled,  and  there  was  none  to  help  ; — 
 
 13  Then  they  cried  unto  Jehovah  in  their  trouble. 
 
 He  saved  them  out  of  their  distresses  ; 
 
 14  He  brought  them  out  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of 
 
 death, 
 And  brake  their  bonds  asunder : 
 
 15  Let   them    give   thanks    to   Jehovah    for    His   loving- 
 
 kindness, 
 And  for  His  wonders  to  the  children  of  men  : 
 
 16  For  He  brake  the  doors  of  brass, 
 
 And  cut  the  bars  of  iron  in  sunder. 
 
 17  Foolish  men,  because  of  the  way  of  their  transgression, 
 
 8.  Others  render,  "  Let  them  praise  the  fuller  phrase  Job.  xxxvi.  8  "  boutul 
 His  loving-kindness  before  Jehovah,  in  fetters,  and  holdeu  in  cords  of 
 and  His  wonders  before  the  children       affliction." 
 
 of  men,"    i.e.    let  them  confess  tlis  ii.   Words   .   .  .  counsel.     Tlie 
 
 goodness  befoi-e  God  and  man.  commandments  of   God  as  given   in 
 
 9.  There  is  a  reference  to  ver.  5  ;  the  Law,  and  His  counsel  as  declared 
 "longing"  answers  to  "thirsty,"  as  by  His  prophets,  are  cliiefly  me.ant  ; 
 in  Is.  xxix.  8.  for  throughout  tlie  passnge  langunge 
 
 ID — 16.   The  second  example — that  is  employed  which  implies  the  theo- 
 
 of  prisoners.  cratic    position    of    Israt.1.      But    the 
 
 10.  Darkness,  &c.  The  same  ex-  reference  may  be  Mider.  The  law 
 pression  occurs  Is.  xlii.  7,  xlix.  9  ;  written  in  the  conscience,  the  instruc- 
 Micah  vii.  8,  of  the  gloom  of  the  tion  given  by  inner  revehition  (comp. 
 prison-house.      Comp.    Virgil,    v-Ew.  xvi.  7),  need  not  be  excluded. 
 
 vi.    734,    "  Neque  auras   Respiciunt,  16.  The  expressions  are  apparently 
 
 clauses  tenebris  ct  carcere  caeco."  taken  from  Is.  xlv.  2. 
 
 AFFi^iCTlON  AND  IRON.      Comp.  17— 22.  Third  example:  sick  pcr- 
 
 M    .M    2 
 
53-' 
 
 PSALM  CVIL 
 
 And    because   of    their   iniquities,    bring    affliction 
 upon  themselves. 
 
 1 8  Their  soul  abhorreth  all  manner  of  food, 
 
 And  they  draw  near  to  the  gates  of  death. 
 
 19  Then  they  cry  unto  Jehovah  in  their  trouble, 
 
 He  saveth  them  out  of  their  distresses  : 
 
 20  He  sendeth  His  word,  and  healeth  them, 
 
 And  rescueth  them  from  their  graves. 
 
 21  Let   them   give   thanks   to    Jehovah   for    His 
 
 kindness, 
 And  for  His  wonders  to  the  children  of  men. 
 
 22  And  let  them  sacrifice  sacrifices  of  thanksgiving. 
 
 loving- 
 
 sons  brought  by  their  sickness  to  the 
 edge  of  the  grave. 
 
 17,  Foolish  men,  so  called  be- 
 cause of  the  moral  infatuation  which 
 marks  their  conduct,  as  in  xiv.  I, 
 where  see  notes ;  men  of  earthly,  sen- 
 sual, selfish  minds,  who  turn  a  deaf 
 ear  to  warning,  and  despise  counsel 
 (comp.  Prov.  i.  7,  xii.  15,  xiv.  3,  9, 
 XV.  5,  xxvii.  22),  and  \\4io  can  only 
 be  brought  to  reason  by  chastisement. 
 The  expression  seems  quite  to  exclude 
 the  notion  that  the  allusion  is  to 
 "a  party  of  sick  exiles,  enfeebled 
 probably  by  labours,  or  by  uncon- 
 genial climates,  so  that  their  soul 
 abhorred  all  manner  of  meat,  and 
 they  were  hard  at  death's  door." — 
 Liddon.  Such  persons  would  not  be 
 described  as  "  foolish, "  but  rather  as 
 objects  of  pity. 
 
 The  way  of  their  transgres- 
 sion. The  expression  is  used  to  de- 
 note the  course  of  conduct,  the  habit 
 of  the  life,  and  is  not  merely  pleo- 
 nastic. 
 
 Bring  affliction  upon  them- 
 SELVES.  The  proper  reflexive  signi- 
 fication of  the  conjugation  is  by  all 
 means  to  be  retained.  It  most  ex- 
 pressively marks  how  entirely  a  man 
 brings  upon  himself  his  own  punish- 
 ment.      I    have   here,    and    in   what 
 
 follows,  after  the  example  of  our 
 translators,  preferred  the  present  tense 
 to  the  past.  This  change  of  tense  exists 
 in  the  Hebrew,  and  the  rendering 
 gives  more  force  and  animation  to 
 the  picture  ;  though  it  would  certainly 
 be  possible  to  continue,  the  use  of 
 the  past  tense  throughout. 
 
 18.  Comp.  the  similar  passage. 
 Job  xxxiii.  20 — 22. 
 
 20.  He  SENDETH  His  WORD.  The 
 same  expression  occurs  in  cxlvii.  15, 
 18;  comp.  Is.  Iv.  II.  We  detect  in 
 such  passages  the  first  glimmering  of 
 St.  John's  doctrine  of  the  agency  of  the 
 personal  Word.  The  Word  by  which 
 the  heavens  were  made  (xxxiii.  6) 
 is  seen  to  be  not  merely  the  expres- 
 sion of  God's  will,  but  His  messenger 
 mediating  between  Himself  and  His 
 creatures.  It  is  interesting  to  com- 
 pare wiih  this  the  language  of  Elihu 
 in  the  parallel  passage  of  Job  xxxiii. 
 23,  where  what  is  here  ascribed  to 
 the  agency  of  the  Word  is  ascribed 
 to  that  of  the  "mediating  angel,  or 
 messenger." 
 
 Graves.  The  word  may  be  taken 
 in  this  sense,  in  allusion  to  their 
 nearness  to  death,  ver.  18,  or  it  may 
 mean  "pits"  metaphorically,  the  pit 
 of  suffering  into  which  they  have 
 sank. 
 
PSALM  CVIL 
 And  tell  of  His  works  with  a  sonir  of  joy. 
 
 23  They  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, 
 
 That  do  business  in  great  waters, 
 
 24  These  (men)  have  seen  the  works  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  His  wonders  in  the  deep. 
 
 25  For  He  commandeth  and  raiseth  a  stormy  wind, 
 
 Which  lifteth  up  the  waves  thereof. 
 
 26  They  mount  up  to  heaven, 
 
 They  go  down  (again)  to  the  depths, 
 Their  soul  melteth  because  of  trouble. 
 
 23 — 31.  Fourth  example :  sea- 
 farers tossed  and  driven  by  the  tem- 
 pest, and  brought  at  last  safe  into 
 port.  The  description  may  be  com- 
 pared 5\'ith  the  language  of  Jonah  i., 
 ii.  It  is  the  most  highly  finished,  the 
 most  thoroughly  poetical  of  each  of 
 the  four  pictures  of  human  peril  and 
 deliverance.  It  is  painted  as  a  lands- 
 man would  paint  it,  but  yet  only  as 
 one  who  had  himself  been  exposed  to 
 the  dangea-  could  paint  the  storm — the 
 waves  running  mountains  high,  on 
 which  the  tiny  craft  seemed  a  play- 
 thing, the  helplessness  of  human  skill, 
 the  gladness  of  the  calm,  the  safe 
 refuge  in  the  haven. 
 
 Addison  remarks  that  he  prefers 
 this  description  of  a  ship  in  a  storm 
 before  any  others  he  had  ever  met 
 with,  and  for  the  same  reason  for 
 which  "  Longinus  recommends  one 
 in  Homer,  because  the  poet  has  not 
 amused  himself  with  little  fancies 
 upon  the  occasion,  as  authors  of  an 
 inferior  genius,  whom  he  ^nenlions, 
 had  done,  but  because  he  has  gathered 
 together  those  circumstances  which 
 are  the  most  apt  to  terrify  the  imagi- 
 nation, and  which  really  happened  in 
 the  raging  of  a  tempest."  By  the 
 way,  he  adds,  "how  much  more 
 comfortable  as  well  as  rational  is  this 
 system  of  the  Psalmist,  than  the  pagan 
 
 scheme  in  Virgil  and  other  poets, 
 vhere  one  deity  is  represented  as 
 raising  a  storm,  and  another  as  layinjj 
 it !  Were  we  only  to  consider  the 
 sublime  in  this  piece  of  poetry,  what 
 can  be  nobler  than  the  idea  it  gives 
 us  of  the  Supreme  Being  thus  raising 
 a  tumult  among  the  elements,  and  re- 
 covering them  out  of  their  confusion  ; 
 thus  troubling  and  becalming  nature?" 
 Spectator^  No.  489. 
 
 23.  Go  DOWN  TO  THE  SEA,  as  in 
 Is.  xlii.  10 ;  Jon.  i.  3, 
 
 Business.  There  is  no  need  to 
 restrict  this  to  the  management  of 
 craft  by  seamen.  It  includes  the  oc- 
 cupations of  fishermen,  traders,  per- 
 sons on  a  voyage,  &c. 
 
 24.  The  works  of  Jehovah, 
 AND  His  wonders,  i.e.  His  rule  of 
 the  elements  :  how  at  His  word  the 
 storm  raises  the  billows  high  as 
 heaven,  how  at  His  word  it  sinks 
 down  hushed  and  gentle  as  the  soft 
 breath  of  summer. 
 
 25.  Yow  He  commandeth,  lit. 
 "and  He  said,"  the  phrase  which 
 occurs  so  often  in  Gen.  i.  to  describe 
 God's  creative  fiat. 
 
 26.  They  mount  up,  i.e.  not  "the 
 waves,"  but  "the  seafarers."  The 
 same  expression  occurs,  but  in  a  dif- 
 ferent sense,  in  civ.  8,  where  see 
 note. 
 
534  PSALM  CVIL 
 
 2^]  They  reel  to  and  fro,  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man, 
 And  are  at  their  wits'  end. 
 
 28  Then  they  cry  unto  Jehovah  in  their  trouble, 
 
 And  He  bringeth  them  out  of  their  distresses. 
 
 29  He  husheth  the  storm  to  a  gentle  air, 
 
 So  that  the  waves  thereof  are  still. 
 
 30  Then  are  they  glad  because  they  be  quiet, 
 
 And  He  leadeth  them  to  their  desired  haven. 
 
 31  Let  them   give   thanks  to   Jehovah    (for)    His    loving- 
 
 kindness, 
 And  (for)  His  wonders  to  the  children  of  men. 
 
 32  Let  them   exalt  Him  also  in  the  congregation  of  the 
 
 people, 
 And  praise  Him  in  the  assembly  of  the  elders. 
 
 '^''^   He  turneth  rivers  into  a  wilderness, 
 
 And  water-springs  into  dry  ground ; 
 
 27.  Reel  to  and   fro,  or,  even  30.   Haven.     Ihis  is  probably  the 
 
 more     exactly,      "spin     round     and  meaning  of  the  word,   but  it  occurs 
 
 round."  nowhere  else.     The  rabbinical  inter- 
 
 Are  at   their    wits'    end,    lit.  preters  render  it  "shore,"  "coast." 
 
 "all  their  wisdom   (skill,    resources,  32.  Assembly.      See  note  on  i.  I. 
 
 &c.)  swalloweth  itself  up,"  or  "com-  33.   The   character   of    the    Psalm 
 
 eth  of  itself  to  nought."*  changes  at  this  point.     We  have  no 
 
 29.  A    gentle   air.       This,    and  longer  distinct  pictures  as  before  :  the 
 
 not     absolute    "stillness,"     "calm"  beautiful  double  refrain  is   dropped, 
 
 seems  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  word.  the   language    is   harsher  and    more 
 
 The  waves  thereof,  lit.  '' their  abrupt.  Instead  of  fresh  examples  of 
 waves,"  but  the  plural  suffix  must  deliverance  from  peril,  and  thanks- 
 refer  to  the  sea,  and  may  perhaps  giving  for  God's  mercies,  we  have 
 have  been  occasioned  by  the  plural  now  mstances  of  God's  providential 
 "great  waters"  in  ver.  23.  See  note  government  of  the  world  exhibited  in 
 on  ver.  25.  Others  refer  the  plural  two  series  of  contrasts.  The  first  of 
 pronoun  to  the  seafarers:  ''their  these  is  contained  in  ver.  33 — 38,  and 
 waves,"  z>.  those  on  which  they  are  expresses  a  double  change — the  fruit- 
 tossed,  and  which  threaten  to  engulf  ful  well-*vatered  land  smitten,  like 
 them.  the  rich  plain  of  Sodom,  with  desola- 
 
 *  The  whole  description  up  to  this  point  finds  a  striking  parallel  in  Ovid,  Trist.  i.  2  :— 
 '  Me  miserum  quanti  monies  volvuntur  aquarum  : 
 
 Jamjam  tactiiros  sidera  summa  putes. 
 Quantse  didncto  subsidunt  ssquore  valles  : 
 
 Jamjam  tacturos  Tartara  nigra  putes. 
 Rector  in  incerto  est,  nee  quid  fugiatve  petatve 
 Invenit  ;  ambiguis  ars  stnpet  ipsa  mahs." 
 
PSALM  CVIL 
 
 535 
 
 34  A  fruitful  land  into  a  salt-marsli, 
 
 Because  of  the  wickedness  of  them  that  dwell  therein. 
 
 35  (Again)  He  turneth  the  wilderness  into  a>pool  of  water, 
 
 And  a  dry  land  into  water-springs. 
 
 36  And  there  He  maketh  the  hungry  to  dwell, 
 
 And  they  built  a  city  to  dwell  in  ; 
 IJ  And  sow  fields,  and  plant  vineyards, 
 
 Which  may  yield  the  fruit  of  (yearly)  produce. 
 
 38  And  He  blesseth  them  so  that  they  multiply  greatly, 
 
 And  suffereth  not  their  cattle  to  be  minished. 
 
 39  And  when  they  are  minished  and  brought  low 
 
 Through  (any)  oppression,  evil,  or  sorrow, 
 
 40  "  He  poureth  contempt  upon  princes. 
 
 And  maketh  them  to  wander  in  the  waste  (where  there 
 is  no)  way." 
 
 4ion,  and  changed  into  a  salt-marsh ; 
 and  anon,  the  wilderness  crowned 
 with  cities,  like  Tadmor  (of  which 
 Pliny  says,  vasto  ambitu  arenis  indudit 
 agros),  and  made  fertile  to  produce 
 corn  and  wine  :  the  second  is  con- 
 tained in  ver.  39 — 41,  and  expresses 
 somewhat  obscurely  the  changes  in 
 the  fortunes  of  men  (as  the  last  series 
 did  those  of  countries),  viz.  how  the 
 poor  and  the  humble  are  raised  and 
 the  rich  and  the  proud  overthrown. 
 
 35.  He  turneth,  &:c.  The  lan- 
 guage is  borrowed  from  Is.  xli.  18, 
 19,  and  hence  it  has  been  supposed 
 that  the  allusion  here  is  to  historical 
 events  ;  that  ver.  33  depicts  the  deso- 
 lation of  the  land  whilst  the  Jews  were 
 captives  in  Babylon,  ver.  35  the 
 change  which  took  place  on  their 
 return.  But  the  passages  in  Isaiah 
 (comp.,  besides  that  already  quoted, 
 XXXV.  6,  7,  xlii.  15,  16,  xliii.  19,  20, 
 xliv.  27,  1.  2)  refer  not  to  the  Holy 
 Land,  but  to  the  deserts  through 
 which  the  exiles  would  pass  on  their 
 return  ;  and  further,  the  language  em- 
 ployed is  far  too  general  to  be  thus 
 
 limited  to  one  event.  It  describes 
 what  frequently  has  occurred.  'J'he 
 histories  of  Mexico  and  of  Holland 
 might  furnish  examples  of  such  a 
 contrast. 
 
 39.  At  first  sight  it  seems  as  if 
 there  were  no  new  subject.  Another 
 reverse  is  apparently  described  as 
 befalling  those  who  had  just  risen 
 into  prosperity.  It  may  have  hap- 
 pened, says  the  Poet,  that  the  pro- 
 sperity of  this  race,  living  at  peace 
 amid  its  herds  and  flocks,  and  the 
 labours  of  its  hands,  has  provoked 
 the  envy  and  the  cupidity  of  some 
 neighbouring  tyrant.  He  destroys 
 their  harvest,  and  burns  their  home- 
 stead, and  drives  off  their  flocks  ;  but 
 God  pours  contempt  upon  him,  leads 
 him  astray  in  the  wilderness  to  perish, 
 and  restores  the  victims  of  his  tyranny 
 to  more  than  their  former  fortune. 
 
 40.  This  verse  is  a  quotation  from 
 Job  xii.  21,  where  it  stands  in  a  series 
 of  participial  sentences  describing  the 
 method  of  God's  government.  Here 
 it  is  introduced  abniptly,  and  is 
 scarcely  intelligible  except  by  refer- 
 
536  PSALM  CVIII. 
 
 41  And  He  setteth  the  poor  on  high  out  of  affliction, 
 
 And  maketh  families  like  a  flock. 
 
 42  The  upright  see  (it)  and  are  glad, 
 
 And  all  iniquity  hath  shut  her  mouth. 
 
 43  Who  is  wise  that  he  should  observe  these  things, 
 
 And     that    they    should     understand    the     loving- 
 kindnesses  of  Jehovah  ? 
 
 ence    to    the    passage   in   Job   from  these    acts    of    Divine     Providence, 
 
 whence  it  is  taken.  Ccmp.  Job  v.  16. 
 
 41.  Like  a  flock  :  a  fignre  ex-  43.  The  conclusion,  in  the  form  of 
 pressive  of  large  increase,  as  in  Job  a  question,  such  as  that  with  which 
 xxi,  II.  Hosea  concludes  his   prophecy,    xiv. 
 
 42.  The  impression   produced   by  9. 
 
 PSALM   CVIII. 
 
 This  Psalm  consists  of  portions  of  two  others,  the  first  half  of  it 
 being  taken  from  the  57th  Psalm,  ver.  7 — 11,  and  the  latter  half  from 
 the  60th,  ver.  5 — 12.  It  bears  the  name  of  David,  because  the  original 
 passages  both  occur  in  Psalms  ascribed  to  him  as  their  author.  But 
 there  is  no  reason  for  concluding  that  these  fragments  were  thus  united 
 by  David  himself.  Some  later  Poet  probably  adapted  them  to  circum- 
 stances of  his  own  time  ;  possibly  wished  thus  to  commemorate  some 
 victory  over  Edom  or  Philistia.  The  change  in  the  ninth  verse,  as 
 compared  with  the  corresponding  passage  in  the  60th  Psalm,  may  be 
 held  to  favour  this  view.  There  are  a  few  other  not  very  important 
 variations  of  the  text,  which  will  be  pointed  out  in  the  notes. 
 
 For  the  interpretation  at  large,  the  Notes  on  the  other  two  Psalms 
 may  be  consulted. 
 
 [a  song,      a  psalm   of  DAVID.] 
 
 I   My  heart  is  steadfast,  O  God, 
 
 I  will  sing  and  play,  yea,  even  my  glory. 
 
 I.  My  GLORY,  i.e.  "my  soul,"  with  belong  to  the  rational  being,  as  created 
 all  those  powers  and  faculties  which       in  the  image  of  God.     See  Gen.  ix.  6. 
 
PSALM  CVIIL 
 
 537 
 
 2  Awake,  lute  and  harp, 
 
 I  will  wake  the  morning-dawn. 
 
 3  I  will  give  thanks  unto  Thee  among  the   peoples,  O 
 
 Jehovah, 
 And  I  will  play  unto  Thee  among  the  nations. 
 
 4  For  great  above  the  heavens  is  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 
 And  thy  truth  (reacheth)  unto  the  skies. 
 
 5  Be  Thou  exalted  above  the  heavens,  O  God, 
 
 And  Thy  glory  above  all  the  earth. 
 
 6  That  Thy  beloved  may  be  delivered. 
 
 Save  with  thy  right  hand,  and  answer  me. 
 
 7  God  hath  spoken  in  His  holiness  : 
 
 Let  me  exult,  let  me  portion  out  Shechem, 
 And  the  valley  of  Succoth  let  me  measure. 
 
 8  Mine  is  Gilead,  mine  Manasseh, 
 
 Ephraim  also  is  the  defence  of  my  head  ; 
 Judah  is  my  sceptre  : 
 
 9  Moab  is  my  washpot  ; 
 
 Upon  Edom  will  I  cast  my  shoe ; 
 
 Over  Phihstia  will  I  shout  (in  triumph). 
 
 10  Who  will  conduct  me  into  the  fortified  city  } 
 
 Who  hath  led  me  unto  Edom  .? 
 
 11  Hast  not  Thou,  O  God,  cast  us  off.? 
 
 And  wilt  Thou   not   go    forth,    O    God,    with    our 
 hosts  } 
 
 12  O  give  us  help  from  the  adversary. 
 
 For  vain  is  the  salvation  of  man. 
 
 13  Through  God  we  shall  do  valiantly. 
 
 And  He  shall  tread  down  our  adversaries. 
 
 -x    T2H0VAH.     In  Ivii.  "  Adonai "  Ps.  Ix.     The  passage  consists  of  two 
 
 (Lord).  l'"^s   of    the    first    strophe    of    that 
 
 4.    Above  :    comp.    cxiii.    4.      In  Psalm,    and    the    second    and  third 
 
 xxxvi     5    the   form  of   expression   is  strophes  complete, 
 somewhat   different;   "   in   the   hea-  9-  On   the   change   in   this   verse, 
 
 vens  .     unto  the  clouds  :  "  see  instead  of  "  Because  of  me,  O  1  Inlis- 
 
 also  Ter.  li.  9.  tia,  cry  aloud,"  the  prmcijial  variation 
 
 6_i-J.  These  verses  are  taken  from  in  the  Psalm,  sec  note  on  ix.  'i. 
 
533  PSALM  CIX. 
 
 PSALM  CIX. 
 
 This  is  the  last  of  the  Psalms  of  imprecation,  and  completes  the 
 terrible  climax.  The  remarks  already  made  in  the  Note  on  xxxv.  22, 
 in  the  Introduction  to  Ixix.,  and  the  Note  on  ver.  22,  maybe  consulted 
 here. 
 
 This  Psalm  differs  from  the  69th  in  being  levelled  against  one  enemy 
 chiefly,  not  against  many.  This  circumstance  may  partly  account  for 
 the  even  more  intensely-wrought  and  detailed  character  of  the  curse. 
 In  the  awfulness  of  its  anathemas,  the  Psalm  surpasses  everything  of 
 the  kind  in  the  Old  Testament.  Who  the  person  was  who  was  thus 
 singled  out  for  execration,  it  is  in  vain  to  conjecture.  Those  who  hold, 
 in  accordance  with  the  Inscription,  that  the  Psalm  was  written  by 
 David,  suppose  that  Doeg  or  Cush,  Shimei  or  Ahithophel,  is  the  object 
 of  execration. 
 
 In  Acts  i.  20,  St.  Peter  combines  a  part  of  the  8th  verse  of  this 
 Psalm,  "  his  office  let  another  take,"  with  words  slightly  altered  from 
 the  25th  verse  of  the  69th  Psalm,  and  applies  them  to  Judas  Iscariot. 
 Hence  the  Psalm  has  been  regarded  by  the  majority  of  expositors, 
 ancient  and  modern,  as  a  prophetic  and  Messianic  Psalm.  The 
 language  has  been  justified  not  as  the  language  of  David,  but  as 
 the  language  of  Christ,  exercising  His  office  of  Judge,  or,  in  so  far 
 as  He  had  laid  aside  that  office  during  his  earthly  life,  calling  upon 
 His  Father  to  accomplish  the  curse.  It  has  been  alleged  that  this  is 
 the  prophetic  foreshadowing  of  the  solemn  words,  "  Woe  unto  that 
 man  by  whom  the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  ;  it  were  good  for  that  man 
 if  he  had  not  been  born"  (Matt.  xxvi.  24).  The  curse,  in  the  words 
 of  Chrysostom,  "is  a  prophecy  in  form  of  a  curse"  {Trpo(pr]Tela  iv 
 el'Sft  dpfis). 
 
 The  strain  which  such  a  view  compels  us  to  put  on  much  of  the 
 language  of  the  Psalm  ought  to  have  led  long  since  to  its  abandon- 
 ment. Not  even  the  woes  denounced  by  our  Lord  against  the 
 Pharisees  can  really  be  compared  to  the  anathemas  which  are  here 
 strung  together.  Much  less  is  there  any  pretence  for  saying  that 
 those  words,  so  full  of  deep  and  holy  sorrow,  addressed  to  the  traitor 
 
PSALM  CIX.  539 
 
 in  tlie  Gospels,  arc  merely  another  expression  of  the  appallin;^  de- 
 nunciations of  the  Psalm.  But  terrible  as  these  undoubtedly  are,  to 
 be  accounted  for  by  the  spirit  of  the  Old  Dispensation,  not  to  be 
 defended  by  that  of  the  New,  still  let  us  learn  to  estimate  them 
 aright.  This  is  the  natural  voice  of  righteousness  persecuted.  These 
 are  the  accents  of  the  martyr,  not  smarting  only  with  a  sense  of 
 personal  suffering,  but  feeling  acutely,  and  hating  nobly,  the  triumph 
 of  wickedness. 
 
 The  strains  of  this  Psalm  are  strains  which  have  lingered  even  in 
 the  Christian  Church,  not  softened  by  "the  meekness  and  gentleness 
 of  Christ."  Let  anyone  read  the  closing  passage  of  Tertullian's 
 treatise  De  Spectaculis,  in  which  he  does  not  hesitate  to  speak  of  the 
 joy  and  exultation  with  which,  at  the  Day  of  Judgement,  he  shall  look 
 upon  the  agonies  of  the  damned,  of  the  delight  with  which  he  shall 
 see  the  kings  of  the  earth,  and  the  rulers  who  persecuted  the  Name 
 of  the  Lord,  melting  in  flames  fiercer  than  those  which  they  lighted 
 for  the  Christians,  philosophers  burning  with  their  disciples,  tragic 
 actors  shrieking  with  real  pain,  the  charioteer  red  upon  his  fiery  wheel, 
 and  the  wrestler  tossing  in  the  flames,  till  the  fierce  invective  ends  in 
 a  perfect  shout  of  triumph  as  he  thinks  of  the  gi-andeur  of  the  spec- 
 tacle— let  anyone,  I  say,  read  passages  such  as  this,  let  him  remember 
 how  long  it  was  held  a  sacred  duty  by  Christian  Fathers  and  Bishops 
 to  persecute,  and  then  let  him  pause  before  he  passes  a  too  sweeping 
 judgement  on  ''  the  fierce  vindictiveness  "  of  the  Jew. 
 
 [for  the   precentor,      a  psalm    of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  O   God  of  my  praise,  be  not  silent  ! 
 
 2  For  a  wicked  mouth  and  a  deceitful  mouth  have  they 
 
 opened  against  me, 
 They  have  spoken  against  me  with  a  false  tongue  ; 
 
 I.    God   of   my    praise,   i.e.   the  oJTers   the   prayer,     *  Ce  not    silent' 
 
 object  of  my  praise   (Jer.   xvii.    14).  (comp.    xxviii.    I,    xxxv.    22).  ^  GckI 
 
 "The   name  contains  the  ground  of  speaks  when  He  interferes  to  judge 
 
 the    prayer.      The    God    whom   the  and  to  save."—Dc-/i.'zsc/i. 
 
 Psalmist  has  hitherto  found  reason  to  2.     A    wicked  MOUTir,    &c.,  lit-. 
 
 praise   will  now  also  give  him  fresh  "a   mouth    of   the    wicked,   and    a 
 
 reason  for  praise.     In  this  faith   he  mouth  of  deceit." 
 
540 
 
 PSALM  CIX. 
 
 3  Yea,   with  words  of  hatred  have  they  compassed  me 
 
 about, 
 And  fought  against  me  without  a  cause. 
 
 4  For  my  love  they  are  adversaries  unto  me, 
 
 But  I  (give  myself  unto)  prayer, 
 
 5  They  have  requited  me  also  evil  for  good, 
 
 And  hatred  for  my  love. 
 
 6  Set  Thou  a  wicked  man  over  him, 
 
 And  let  an  adversary  stand  at  his  right  hand. 
 
 7  When  he  is  judged  let  him  go  forth  condemned, 
 
 And  let  his  prayer  be  turned  into  sin. 
 
 4.  They  are  adversaries  unto 
 ME,  or  "  withstand  me "  (as  in 
 xxxviii.  20). 
 
 I     (GIVE   MYSELF   UNTO)    PRATER, 
 
 lit.  *'  I  (am)  prayer,"  i.e.  one  who 
 prays,  having  recourse  to  no  otlier 
 means  of  defence.  So  in  cxx.  7,  "  I 
 (am)  peace ;"  ex.  3,  "Thy  people  (are) 
 freewillingness."  The  sense  is,  *' I 
 find  refuge  in  prayer,  committing  my- 
 self and  my  cause  to  Thee."  Comp. 
 Ixix,  12,  13. 
 
 5.  For  the  sentiment  comp.  xxxv. 
 12,  xxxviii.  20. 
 
 6.  Leaving  the  mass  of  his  enemies, 
 the  Psalmist  suddenly  singles  out  one, 
 on  \vhom  he  pours  out  the  terrible 
 curse  AA'hich  follows.  See  a  similar 
 transition  in  Iv.  12.  Ver.  i — 5  do 
 not  give  whole  grounds  for  the  curse  ; 
 they  are  resumed  in  ver.   16 — 18. 
 
 Set,  i.e.  in  an  official  capacity. 
 Here,  "appoint  as  judge,"  or  "set 
 over  him  with  power  and  authority 
 to  punish. " 
 
 An  ADVERSARY,  or,  "  Satan." 
 Let  him  have  not  only  an  unrighteous 
 judge,  but  a  malicious  accuser.  On 
 the  whole,  I  prefer  the  more  general 
 word  "adversary,"  which  is  that  of 
 the  margin  of  the  E.V.,  especially  as 
 the  same  root  occurs  several  times  in 
 the  Psalm  ;  see  note  on  ver.  4.  It  is 
 not  indeed  certain  from  the  language 
 
 of  ver.  7  that  the  process  is  supposed 
 to  take  place  before  a  human  tribunal  ; 
 for  the  "prayer"  there  spoken  of  is 
 prayer  to  God,  not  supplication  to 
 the  human  judge.  But,  on  the  other 
 hand,  ' '  a  wicked  man  "  in  the  paral- 
 lelism, and  the  general  tenour  of  what 
 follows,  are  rather  in  favour  of  the 
 rendering  "  adversary."  In  Zech. 
 iii.  I,  where  there  is  the  same  form  of 
 expression, — "  and  he  showed  me 
 Joshua  the  High  Priest  standing 
 before  the  angel  of  Jehovah,  and  the 
 adversary  (or,  the  Satan)  standing  at 
 his  right  hand  to  be  an  adversary 
 unto  him  " — Satan  himself  is  doubtless 
 meant,  for  the  whole  sense  is  that  of 
 a  vision,  as  also  in  Job  i.  6 — 13. 
 This  last  passage  shows  how  early 
 the  name  occurred  as  a  proper  name. 
 There  is  no  pretence,  therefore,  for 
 saying  that  the  use  of  the  name  as 
 that  of  the  Evil  Spirit  is  later  than 
 this  Psalm. 
 
 7.  When  he  is  Judged,  &c. 
 When  his  case  is  called  let  him  go 
 FORTH,  leave  the  court,  with  sentence 
 pronounced  against  him  "guilty." 
 
 His  PRAYER,  not  addressed  to  the 
 human  judge  for  mitigation  of  the  sen- 
 tence, but  here,  as  always,  prayer  to 
 God.  The  criminal  looking  in  vain  for 
 pity  or  justice  at  the  hands  of  man, 
 turns  in  his  extremity  to  God  ;  but  even 
 
PSALM  CIX. 
 
 541 
 
 8  Let  his  days  be  few, 
 
 His  office  let  another  take. 
 
 9  Let  his  children  be  orphans, 
 
 And  his  wife  a  widow. 
 Let    his  children   also  be    continually  vagabonds   and 
 beg,_ 
 (Driven)  from    their   ruined    houses    let    them    seek 
 (their  bread). 
 Let  the  extortioner  lay  snares  for  all  that  he  hath, 
 
 And  let  strangers  spoil  his  labour. 
 Let  there  be  none  to  continue  kindness  unto  him, 
 
 Neither    let    his    fatherless    children    have    any    to 
 favour  (them). 
 Let  his  posterity  be  cut  off, 
 
 In  the  next  generation  let  their  name  be  blotted  out. 
 Let   the    iniquity  of   his  fathers  be  remembered   with 
 Jehovah, 
 And  let  not  the  sin  of  his  mother  be  blotted  out. 
 
 .TO 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 there,  at  the  very  fount  of  mercy, 
 let  mercy  fail  him,  let  his  prayer 
 aggravate  his  guilt.  The  utterance 
 of  such  a  wish  is  the  most  awful  part 
 of  the  imprecation.  That  prayer  may 
 thus  draw  down  not  forgiveness  but 
 wrath,  see  Is.  i.  15  :  Prov.  xxviii.  9 
 ('•  He  that  turneth  away  his  ear  from 
 hearing  the  law,  even  his  prayer  shall 
 be  abomination "),  xv.  8,  xxi,  27. 
 But  it  is  one  thing  to  recognise  this 
 as  a  fact  in  the  IJivine  government 
 of  man,  it  is  another  thing  to  im- 
 precate it. 
 
 8.  His  office,  implying  that  the 
 person  held  a  position  of  some  im- 
 portance. The  LXX.  eTrto-zcoTTTj, 
 whence  in  Acts  i.  20  the  passage  is 
 applied  to  Judas.  In  this  verse  a 
 double  loss  is  imprecated, — the  loss 
 of  Hfe,  "  let  his  days  be  few,"  and  the 
 loss  of  honour,  "let  another  take  his 
 office  ;  "  in  ver.  II  a  third  is  added, 
 the  loss  of  property. 
 
 9.  The  curse  passes  in  accordance 
 with   the  Mosaic  law  ("visiting  the 
 
 iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  chil- 
 dren ")  to  the  family  of  the  offender. 
 This  has  occasioned  considerable  per- 
 plexity to  those  who  take  the  whole 
 Psalm  as  prophetic,  and  aimed  through- 
 out at  Judas  Iscariot. 
 
 ro.  Bkg.  The  object,  "  bread " 
 (comp.  xxxvii.  25,  Prov.  xx.  4),  must 
 be  supplied  here,  and  with  the  verb 
 "seek  "  in  the  next  member. 
 
 From  their  ruined  houses,  lit. 
 "  from,  out  of,  their  ruins." 
 
 11.  Lay  snares  for,  admirably 
 descriptive  of  the  acts  of  the  usurer. 
 
 12.  Continue  kiiNDNp:ss  to  him- 
 self in  distress,  or  to  his  children.  See 
 the  same  phrase,  xxxvi.  10. 
 
 14,  15.  The  curse  goes  backward 
 as  well  as  forward.  The  whole  race 
 of  the  man  is  involved  in  it  ;  root  and 
 branch  he  is  accursed,  Not  the  guilt 
 of  the  individual  only,  but  the  guilt  of 
 all  his  giiilty  ancestors,  is  to  be  re- 
 membered and  visited  on  his  posterity. 
 For  the  great  law,  comp.  Matt,  xxiii. 
 32—36. 
 
542 
 
 PSALM  CIX. 
 
 1 5   Let  them  always  be  before  Jehovah, 
 
 That  He  may  cut  off  the  memory  of  them  from  the 
 earth. 
 i6  Because  he  remembered  not  to  show  kindness, 
 But  persecuted  the  afflicted  man  and  the  poor, 
 
 And  the  broken-hearted,  to  put  (them)  to  death  ; 
 
 17  And  he  loved  cursing,  and  it  came  unto  him, 
 
 And  he  had  no  delight  in  blessing,  and  it  was  far  from 
 him  ; 
 
 18  Yea,    he    clothed    himself   with    cursing    as    (with)    a 
 
 garment, 
 And  it  came  like  water  into  his  bowels, 
 And  like  oil  into  his  bones  ; 
 
 19  Let  it    be    unto    him    as    a    garment    (wherewith)    he 
 
 covereth  himself, 
 And  as  a  girdle  that  he  is  always  girded  withal. 
 
 20  This  is  the  reward  of  mine  adversaries  from  Jehovah, 
 
 And  of  them  that  speak  evil  against  my  soul. 
 
 16.  He  remembered  not  :  there- 
 fore ' '  let  his  iniquity  be  remembered^ " 
 ver.  14. 
 
 To  PUT  TO  DEATH.  The  intensive 
 form  of  the  Hebrew  verb  denotes  the 
 eagerness,  the  relentless  cruelty  of  the 
 persecutors. 
 
 Because.  We  may  paraphrase  this 
 and  the  following  verses  thus  :  "  Be- 
 cause he  persecuted  the  poor,  because 
 cursing  was  as  water  to  his  thirsty 
 soul,  as  marrow  and  fatness  to  his 
 bones,  let  it  be  unto  him  as  a  garment, 
 let  it  wrap  him  round  and  envelope 
 him,  covering  him  from  head  to  foot, 
 and  clinging  to  him  like  a  girdle 
 Avhich  never  leaves  his  loins." 
 
 20.  Two  explanations  of  this  verse 
 are  possible,  according  to  the  view  we 
 take  of  the  former  part  of  the  Psalm, 
 (i)  It  may  mean,  "  My  enemies  may 
 curse  me  thus,  but  after  all  this  cursing 
 returns  upon  themselves.     This  is  the 
 
 reward  they  themselves  receive  from 
 the  hand  of  the  righteous  Judge " 
 (comp.  vii.  15,  16).  (2)  Those  who 
 take  the  passage  ver.  6 — 19,  not  as 
 the  words  of  the  Psalmist,  but  as  the 
 words  of  his  enemies,  suppose  the 
 genitive  here  to  be  subjective  :  "  This 
 is  mine  adversaries'  award  unto  me  ; 
 this  is  the  sentence  they  would  pro- 
 cure against  me  from  Jehovah,  when 
 they  pray.  Set  Thou  a  v/icked  man 
 over  him,"  &c.  But  the  addition 
 "from  Jehovah"  renders  the  first  ex- 
 planation far  the  more  probable  : 
 "  This  is  the  reward  which  my  adver- 
 saries receive  from  Jehovah."  The 
 sentence  is  clear  and  intelligible.  But 
 on  the  other  interpretation  we  should 
 have  expected,  not  "  from  Jehovah  " 
 meaning  "  supplicated  from  Jehovah," 
 but  rather  the  personal  pronoun  which 
 can  hardly  be  omitted,  "This  is  mine 
 adversaries'  reward  icnto  7?ze." 
 
PSALM  CIX.  543 
 
 21  But  Thou,   O  Jehovah  Lord,  deal  with   me  for  Thy 
 
 Name's  sake, 
 For  Thy  loving-kindness  is  good  :  deliver  Thou  me. 
 
 22  For  I  am  afflicted  and  poor. 
 
 And  my  heart  is  wounded  within  me. 
 2.3  As  a  shadow,  when  it  lengtheneth,  am  I  gone  hence, 
 I  have  been  driven  away  as  the  locust. 
 
 24  My  knees  have  become  weak  through  fasting, 
 
 And  my  flesh  hath  failed  of  fatness. 
 
 25  As  for  me, — I  have  become  a  reproach  unto  them  ; 
 
 When  they  see  me  they  shake  their  head. 
 
 26  Help  me,  O  Jehovah  my  God, 
 
 Save  me  according  to  Thy  loving-kindness. 
 
 27  And  let  them  know  that  this  is  Thy  hand  ; 
 
 Thou,  Jehovah,  hast  done  it. 
 2Z  (Though)  iJicy  curse,  (yet)  Thou  blessest ; 
 They  arose  and  were  put  to  shame, 
 (But)  Thy  servant  rejoiceth. 
 
 29  Mine  adversaries  are  clothed  with  confusion  ; 
 
 They  cover  themselves  with  their  own  shame  (as  with) 
 a  mantle. 
 
 30  I     will    give    thanks    greatly    to    Jehovah    with     my 
 
 mouth, 
 
 21.   But  thou.      He   turns   from  "I  have  been   shaken  out,"  as  from 
 
 liis   adversaries    to    God,    from   their  a  cloth,  or  mantle,  or  the  deep  folds 
 
 curses  to  His  loving-kindness.     The  of  an  Eastern  robe.     See  the  use  of 
 
 emphatic    pronoun,    and   the   double  the    verb   in  Neh.  v.   13,  where   the 
 
 name  of  God,  both  mark  the  earnest-  shaking  out  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
 
 ness  of  the   appeal.     See  the   use  of  robe  is  symbolical  of  the  Divine  judgc- 
 
 these  two  names  in  Ixviii.   20,  cxl.   7,  ment. 
 
 cxli.   8  ;    Hab.   iii.    19.      The  second  As  the  LOCUST,  as  easily  terrified 
 
 member   of   the  verse  might  be  ren-  and  driven  away.     Comp.  Job  xxxix. 
 
 dered,    "Deliver    me,    because    Thy  20;  Exod.  x.  19. 
 
 loving-kindness  is  good;"  or,  again,  25.   Shake  THEIR  HEAD.     See  on 
 
 the  imperative,  "  Deliver  me,"  might  xxii.  7. 
 
 be   transferred    to    the    beginning   of  27.   At  the  close  of  the  Psalm  \\\c 
 
 ver.  22.  individual    persecutor   drops    out    of 
 
 23.  As    A   SHADOW,  &c.      Comp.  sight,  and  a  return   is  made   to   the 
 
 cii.  II.  plural  number,  as  in  ver.  2 — 5. 
 
 I  HAVE  BEEN  DRIVEN  AWAY,  Ht.  30,  31..  The  Fsalm  closes  with  tlie 
 
544  PSALM  ex. 
 
 And  in  the  midst  of  many  will  I  praise  Him. 
 
 31   For  He  standeth  at  the  right  hand  of  the  poor, 
 
 To  save  (him)  from  those  that  judge  his  soul. 
 
 confident  and  joyful  anticipation  that  right  hand    of  the  poor,  defenceless 
 
 the  prayer  in  ver.  26,  27  is  heard  and  victim,  to  protect  him.      There,   the 
 
 answered.  persecutor  finds  no  mercy  at  the  hands 
 
 There  is,  further,  a  remarkable  con-  of  the  human  judge,  into  whose  hands 
 
 trast  between  these  verses  and  verses  he  has  fallen.      Here,  the  Great  Judge 
 
 6,  7.     There,  the  adversary  stands  at  of  all  rescues  "  the  poor  "  from  "those 
 
 the  right  hand  of  the  wicked  man  to  that  judge  his  soul." 
 accuse  him ;   here,  Jehovah,    at   the 
 
 PSALM  ex. 
 
 This  Psalm  claims  emphatically  to  be  the  fruit  and  record  of  a 
 Divine  revelation.  The  words  of  the  Poet,  though  shaped  in  the 
 Poet's  heart,  come  to  him  from  the  very  sanctuary  of  the  Most  High. 
 It  is  an  oracle,  an  utterance  of  Jehovah,  which  he  has  heard,  and 
 v/hich  he  is  to  declare  to  others.  It  is  an  oracle  which  concerns  a 
 king  who  reigns  in  Zion  ;  it  is  addressed  to  one  to  whom  the  Poet 
 does  homage,  calling  him  "  Lord  ;"  it  assures  him  of  the  high  favour 
 of  Jehovah,  who  lifts  him  to  a  share  in  His  own  regal  dignity,  giving 
 him  the  victory  over  all  his  enemies.  The  Poet  then  pictures  the  king 
 going  forth  to  battle,  surrounded  by  his  youthful  warriors,  bright  and 
 numberless  as  the  dew-drops  on  a  summer's  morn,  willing  to  shed  their 
 heart's  blood  in  his  service,  each  one  robed  as  a  priest,  each  one  a 
 soldier  of  God. 
 
 As  he  gazes  on  the  vision  v/hich  has  been  called  up  by  the  first 
 word  from  heaven,  another  divine  word  sounds  in  his  ear  ;  the  word 
 confirmed  by  the  oathof  Jehovah,  that  the  king  shall  also  be  A  Priest 
 
 FOR   EVER   AFTER  THE   ORDER   OF   MeLCHIZEDEK. 
 
 Then  he  follows  the  king  in  imagination  to  the  war,  sees  him  win- 
 ning victoiy  after  victory  with  great  slaughter,  aided  by  God  Himself 
 in  the  fight,  and  securing  the  fruits  of  his  victories  by  a  pursuit  of 
 
PSALM  ex.  545 
 
 his  enemies  which  knows  no  check  even  in  the  burning  heat  of  an 
 Eastern  sun. 
 
 If  we  were  at  hberty  to  adopt  in  this  Psahn  the  same  principles  of 
 interpretation  which  we  have  already  adopted  with  regard  to  all  the 
 other  Messianic  Psalms,  it  would  present  no  special  difficulty.  We 
 might  suppose  it  to  have  been  written  by  some  poet  of  David's  time, 
 who  would  naturally  speak  of  David  himself  as  his  lord.  In  the  first 
 and  lowest  sense  his  words  would  apply  to  David  as  the  theocratic 
 king  ;  in  their  ultimate  and  highest  sense  they  would  be  fulfilled  in 
 David's  great  Descendant,  in  Him  who  was  both  David's  son  and 
 David's  lord.  But  we  seem  to  be  precluded  from  this  method  of 
 interpretation  here  by  the  argument  which,  according  to  all  the 
 Evangelists,  our  Lord,  in  disputing  with  the  Pharisees,  builds  upon 
 the  first  verse  of  the  Psalm.  "  When  the  Pharisees  were  gathered 
 together,"  St.  Matthew  tells  us,  "Jesus  asked  them,  saying,  What 
 think  ye  of  Christ  ?  whose  son  is  He.'*  They  say  unto  Him,  The  son 
 of  David.  He  saith  unto  them,  How  then  doth  David  in  spirit  call 
 Him  lord,  saying,  The  Lord  said  unto  my  lord.  Sit  thou  on  My  right 
 hand  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  footstool }  If  David  then  call  Him 
 lord,  how  is  He  his  son  ?"  (xxii.  41— 45).  In  St.  Mark's  Gospel  still 
 more  emphatically  :  "And  Jesus  answered  and  said,  while  He  taught 
 in  the  temple.  How  say  the  scribes  that  Christ  is  the  son  of  David  ^ 
 (For)  David  himself  said  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  The  Lord  said  to  my 
 lord,  Sit  thou  on  My  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
 stool. David  (therefore)  himself  calleth  Him  lord,  and  whence  is  He 
 his  son  ?"  (xii.  35 — 37).  In  St.  Luke  the  quotation  is  introduced  by 
 "  David  himself  saith  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,"  but  there  is  no  other 
 variation  of  any  importance. 
 
 Now  in  this  argument  all  turns  on  these  two  points  :  first,  that 
 David  himself  wrote  the  Psalm,  and  next,  that  in  writing  he  was 
 moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  David  himself,  in  a  confessedly  Mes- 
 sianic Psalm,  is  speaking  not  of  himself,  but  of  his  great  Descendant, 
 and,  so  speaking,  calls  Him  his  lord.  David  was  able  to  do  this, 
 was  able  in  faith  to  recognise  the  true  Divine  greatness  of  One  who, 
 according  to  the  flesh,  would  be  his  son,  because  he  spake  as  the 
 organ  of  a  Divine  revelation,  as  "he  was  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 
 This  is  clearly  the  scope  of  our  Lord's  argument.  And  if  so,  then  it 
 is  plain  that  there  can  be  no  lower  reference  of  the  Psalm  to  Davia 
 or  any  other  Jewish  monarch.  It  is  a  prediction,  and  a  prediction  of 
 the  Christ  as  the  true  King,  as  the  everlasting  Priest  after  the  order  of 
 
 N    N 
 
546  PSALM  ex. 
 
 Melchizedek.  Nor  is  there  anything  to  startle  us  in  such  a  conckision, 
 unless  we  are  prepared  to  deny  altogether  the  possibility  of  a  revelation 
 of  the  future.  The  real  difficulty  is  this,  that,  taking  this  view  of  the 
 Psalm,  it  differs  from  all  the  other  prophetic  Psalms  which,  in  their 
 first  intention  at  least,  refer  to  David  or  Solomon,  or  some  other  Jewish 
 monarch.  And  further,  the  language  of  the  latter  part  of  the  Psalm  is 
 such  as  to  be  only  fairly  applicable  to  an  earthly  king  literally  reigning 
 in  Zion,  and  literally  engaged  in  fierce  and  bloody  war  with  his  enemies  ; 
 and  therefore  it  becomes  the  more  difficult  to  understand  on  Avhat 
 principle  the  former  part  of  the  Psalm  can  be  detached  from  a  primary 
 reference  to  some  reigning  monarch. 
 
 Whilst,  however,  we  maintain  what  our  Lord's  argument  compels 
 us  to  maintain,  that  the  Psalm  is  a  prediction,  we  cannot  tell  to  what 
 extent  it  was  a  conscious  prediction.  We  do  not  know  how  far  David 
 himself  needed  an  interpretation  of  the  vision  in  which  he  saw  the 
 majestic  figure  of  the  priestly  King.  His  words  may  have  been  higher 
 than  his  thoughts  :  they  may  have  been  pregnant  with  a  meaning 
 which  he  did  not  see.  Unless  we  deny  all  inspiration,  we  must  be 
 prepared  to  admit  this.  At  the  same  time,  he  is  not  wholly  lifted  out 
 of  his  own  age  and  time.  If  he  speaks  of  a  Messiah  to  come,  and 
 so  far  sees  something  of  His  greatness  as  to  call  him  "  lord,"  he  is 
 still  suffered  to  conceive  of  Him,  partially  at  least,  as  an  earthly 
 monarch  fighting  bloody  battles  with  His  enemies.  The  Psalm  thus 
 sinks  down  towards  its  close  into — must  we  not  say  .'* — a  lower  key. 
 The  image  which  it  presents  to  us  is  an  image  partly  of  fine  gold,  but 
 partly  of  clay.  We  may  indeed  think  ourselves  at  liberty  to  take  the 
 earthly  words  as  symbols  of  spiritual  truths.  We  may  understand 
 the  victories  of  the  Messiah  as  won  in  the  kingdom  of  mind  and  heart, 
 not  as  won  with  sword  and  spear.  But  we  cannot  suppose  that  it 
 was  with  any  such  meaning  that  David  wrote,  "  He  shall  judge  among 
 the  nations,  filling  them  with  corpses."  To  his  eye  the  struggle  was 
 one  of  flesh  and  blood,  the  victory  such  as  he  had  himself  obtained, 
 the  triumph  that  of  an  earthly  conqueror. 
 
 Again,  as  we  may  allow  that  the  prediction  was  partially  at  least 
 unconscious,  or  that  the  vision  was  obscure,  so  we  may  also  admit 
 that  it  was  vouchsafed  in  connection  with  circumstances  and  events 
 to  which  it  would  stand  in  some  definite  relation.  Prophecy — and 
 the  inspired  songs  of  Psalmists  are  often  prophecies — never  seems 
 wholly  to  forsake  the  ground  of  history.  However  extended  the  vista 
 which  stretches  before  him,  that  vista  begins  at  the  Prophet's  feet. 
 
PSALM  ex.  547 
 
 The  present  is  his  home  and  his  starting-point,  though  he  may  make 
 "all  the  ages"  his  own.  So  we  must  look  to  some  occurrence  in 
 David's  life  for  the  secret  impulse  of  his  song ;  and  none  seems  so 
 naturally  and  obviously  to  associate  itself  with  the  language  of  the 
 Psalm,  as  that  marked  occurrence  to  which,  in  all  probability,  many 
 other  Psalms  are  due,  the  bringing  up  of  the  Ark  of  God  into  the 
 Tabernacle  which  he  had  prepared  for  it  in  Zion,  David  on  that 
 occasion  danced  before  the  Ark,  girded  with  a  linen  ephod,  offered 
 burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings,  and  blessed  the  people  in  the 
 name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  ;*  and  thus,  though  but  in  a  passing  and 
 temporary  manner,  prefigured  in  his  own  person  the  union  of  the 
 kingly  and  priestly  offices.  Zion  had  become,  by  the  removal  of  the 
 Ark  thither,  the  seat  of  Jehovah's  visible  Presence.  The  king,  there- 
 fore, who  made  Zion  his  abode,  was  himself  in  some  sense  the  assessor 
 of  Jehovah  on  His  throne.  Jerusalem,  tradition  said,  was  the  ancient 
 Salem,  the  capital  of  Melchizedek ;  and  the  memories  which  thus 
 lingered  about  it  and  hallowed  it  may  have  helped  David  to  under- 
 stand how  the  true  Ruler,  Priest  as  well  as  King,  should  be  Priest,  not 
 after  the  ancient  and  venerable  order  of  Aaron,  but  after  the  order 
 still  more  ancient  and  more  venerable,  of  Melchizedek.  It  may,  more- 
 over, have  been  wisely  ordered  not  only  with  a  view  to  the  future 
 Antitype,  but  with  regard  to  the  present 'relation  between  the  king 
 and  the  priesthood,  that  no  hint  should  be  given  of  any  unwarranted 
 assumption  on  the  part  of  the  one  of  the  duties  belonging  to  the  ether. 
 .  David  did  not  interfere  with  the  Levitical  priesthood  as  existing  in  his 
 own  day  ;  he  pointed  to  a  time  when  that  priesthood  would  be  super- 
 seded by  a  higher. 
 
 It  may  throw  still  further  light  on  some  of  the  expressions  in  the 
 Psalm,  if  we  recollect  in  what  a  spirit  and  with  what  resolves  David 
 had  begun  his  reign,  how  jealously  he  desired  to  maintain  the  purity 
 of  his  household  and  of  his  court  (see  Psalm  ci.),  how  firm  his  deter- 
 mination was  to  have  recognised  under  his  sway  the  great  ideal  to 
 which  Israel  was  called,  "Ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  priests 
 and  a  holy  nation."     For  the  people  of  the  king  in  the  Psalm  who 
 
 *  See  2  Sam.  vi.  14 — 18.  I  own  I  cannot  see  any  evidence  in  this  passage  that  "  David 
 was  recognised  as  the  head  of  the  priesthood,"  or  that  "  the  union  of  priesthood  and  kiPKship 
 in  David^vas  more  complete  than  in  any  other  sovereign  in  Jiidah."  We  read  of  no  repetition 
 of  such  acts  as  those  here  recorded  ;  the  occasion  itself  was  peculiar  ;  and  certainly  no  stress 
 can  be  laid  upon  the  expression  "  he  offered  burnt-offerings  and  peace-offerings  before  the 
 Lord  "  for  the  same  mifcht  be  said  of  anyone  who  brought  the  victims  to  the  priests  to  sacrifice, 
 t.^.  Solomon  and  all  the  congregation,  i  Kings  viii.  5. 
 
 N    N    2 
 
548  PSALM  ex. 
 
 offer  themselves  willingly  to  fight  his  battle  are  priestly  soldiers.  If 
 the  king  is  henceforth  to  be  a  priest  on  his  throne,  he  is  so  as  em- 
 bodying in  his  own  person  the  priestly  character  of  the  people.  He  is 
 not  only  the  military  chief,  he  is  the  religious  head  of  the  nation,  the 
 representative  both  of  Church  and  State. 
 
 Jt  has  been  said  that  it  is  of  importance  for  the  right  understanding 
 of  the  Psalm,  and  especially  of  the  third  verse  of  the  Psalm,  to  bear 
 in  mind  the  militaiy  character  of  the  Hebrew  priesthood.  It  is  per- 
 haps of  more  importance  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  whole  nation  was 
 at  once  a  nation  of  soldiers  and  a  nation  of  priests.  They  were  the 
 soldiers  of  God  pledged  to  a  crusade,  a  holy  war  ;  pledged  to  the 
 extermination  of  all  idolatry  and  all  wickedness,  wherever  existing. 
 The  character  of  the  war  marked  the  character  of  the  soldiers.  They 
 were  God's  "sanctified  ones."  They  were  set  apart  as  priests  for 
 His  service.  That  zeal  for  God '  should  have  manifested  itself  chiefly 
 in  the  priesthood,  and  that  they  should  not  have  hesitated  to  draw 
 the  sword,  is  readily  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  in  them  the 
 ideal  of  the  nation  culminated  :  they  were  in  every  sense  its  repre- 
 sentatives. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  not  only  quoted  by  our  Lord  as  Messianic  in  the 
 passages  already  referred  to  ;  it  is  more  frequently  cited  by  the  New 
 Testament  writers  than  any  other  single  portion  of  the  ancient  Scrip- 
 tures. Comp.,  besides  those  passages  in  the  Gospels,  Acts  ii.  34,  35  ; 
 I  Cor.  XV.  25  ;  Heb.  i.  13,  v.  6,  vii.  17,  21,  x.  13. 
 
 In  later  Jewish  writings,  in  the  Talmud  and  the  Rabbis,  nearly  every 
 verse  of  the  Psalm  is  quoted  as  referring  to  the  Messiah. 
 
 [a   psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 I   The  oracle  of  Jehovah  unto  my  lord  : 
 "  Sit  Thou  at  My  right  hand, 
 
 I.  Sit  Thou  at  My  right  hand,  allusion  to  it  both  amongst  the  Arabs 
 
 i.e.   on  My  throne.      The  expression  and  the  Greeks.     The  viceroys  of  the 
 
 denotes  that  the  person  thus  honoured  ancient   Arab  kings  sat  on  the  right 
 
 occupied  the  second  place  in  the  king-  hand  of  the  king.     Ibn  Cotaiba  says : 
 
 dom,   taking   rank   immediately  after  "  The  AV^/^y^/ is  the  dignity  of  sitting 
 
 the  king,  and  also  sharing  as  viceroy  next  to  the  king.     But  the  Radaf{\iQ 
 
 in  the  government.     The  custom  was  who  holds  rank  after  the  king)  sits  on 
 
 a  common  one  in  antiquity.     We  find  his  right  hand,  and  if  the  king  drinks, 
 
PSALM  ex. 
 Until  I  make  Thine  enemies  Thy  footstool." 
 
 549 
 
 the  Radaf  drinks  next,  before  all 
 others  ;  and  if  the  king  goes  out  upon 
 an  expedition,  the  Radaf  sits  on  his 
 seat  and  acts  in  his  room  till  he  re- 
 turns ;  and  if  the  king's  army  goes 
 forth  to  war,  the  Radaf  receives  a 
 fourth  part  of  the  booty." — EiCH- 
 HORN,  Aloniim.  Antiquiss.  Hist.  Ara- 
 buni,  p.  220. 
 
 Similarly  the  Greek  poets  spoke 
 of  their  gods  as  avv€SpoL,irdpsdpoi,  avv- 
 BpovQL  with  Zeus.  So  Pindar  {Fragin. 
 Ed.  Schneider,  p.  55)  speaks  of 
 Minerva  as  associated  with  Zeus  in 
 his  sovereignty,  and  receiving  his 
 commands  for  the  other  gods  :  5e|ta;/ 
 Karb.  x^^P"-  '''0^  irarpbs  KaQi^ofxivr]v, 
 Toy  ivToXas  to7s  0eo7s  dTroSexfC^a',  on 
 which  Aristides  observes  that  Minerva 
 was  dyyeAov  iJ.€i(coy,  and  that  she 
 Tcou  dyyeXcov  aWois  aWa  eTrirciTTet, 
 ■jrpwTT}  Trapa  rod  irarpos  irapaXapi^a- 
 vovaa.  And  Callimachus  [Hymn,  in 
 ApolL,  ver,  28)  says  that  Apollo  is 
 able  to  reward  the  Chorus,  if  they 
 sing  to  please  him,  because  he  sits  at 
 the  right  hand  of  Zeus,  hvvarai  yap, 
 tivei  Ail"  he^Lvs  ficrrai.  In  both  these 
 passages  it  is  clear  that  this  session  at 
 the  right  hand  of  Zeus  indicates  not 
 merely  a  mark  of  honour  conferred, 
 but  actual  participation  in  the  royal 
 dignity  and  power. 
 
 It  is  true  that  we  have  no  exactly 
 parallel  instance  in  the  O.  T.  When 
 Solomon  placed  Bathsheba  on  his 
 throne,  and  gave  her  a  seat  at  his 
 right  hand  (  I  Kings  ii.  19),  this  was 
 done  as  a  mark  of  honour,  not  as 
 associating  her  with  himself  in  the 
 government.  So  also  in  Ps.  xlv.  9, 
 the  queen  consort  stands  at  the  right 
 hand  of  the  king  as  the  place  of 
 honour — though  possibly  there  the 
 expression  may  denote  more  than  this, 
 may  signify  her  joint  sovereignty,  for 
 the  Tyrians  are  said  to  entreat  her 
 favour  with  gifts,  ver.  12.     The  same 
 
 mark  of  honour  was  conferred  by  the 
 king  of  Syria  on  Jonathan  (i  ^IacC. 
 x.  63).  There  is  a  more  nearly  parallel 
 passage  in  Matt.  xx.  20,  &c.  (comp. 
 Mark  x.  35,  &c.),  where  the  mother 
 of  Zebedee's  children  asks  for  lier  two 
 sons  that  they  may  sit  one  on  the  right 
 hand  and  the  other  on  the  left  of  our 
 Lord  in  His  kingdom.  It  is  evident 
 that  in  the  Psalm  not  an  occasional 
 honour,  but  a  permanent  dignity  is 
 meant,  for  Jehovah  is  to  aid  the  king 
 in  effecting  the  subjugation  of  his  ene- 
 mies :  he  is  to  sit  at  Jehovah's  right 
 hand  till  that  subjugation  is  effected. 
 
 If,  then,  this  be  the  meaning ;  if 
 the  solemn  address  "Sit  Thou  at  My 
 right  hand,"  is  equivalent  to  saying, 
 "  Be  Thou  associated  with  Me  in 
 My  kingly  dignity,  in  My  power  and 
 universal  dominion,"  then  the  best 
 comment  on  the  passage  is  to  be 
 found,  as  even  some  of  the  Jewish 
 interpreters  have  seen,  in  Dan.  vii. 
 13,  14,  where  "one  like  the  Son  of 
 Man  comes  with  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
 and  is  brought  unto  the  Ancient  of 
 Days,  and  there  is  given  Mini  do- 
 minion, and  glory,  and  a  kingdom, 
 that  all  people,  na'ions,  and  lan- 
 guages should  serve  Him."  The  two 
 passages,  the  one  from  the  Psahn 
 and  the  other  from  Daniel,  are,  in 
 fact,  combined  by  our  Lord  Ilimseli, 
 when  standing  before  the  high  priest. 
 He  says,  "  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  the 
 Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand 
 of  God,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
 heaven."  The  same  interjiretation  is 
 given  by  St.  Peter,  Acts  ii.  34 — 36. 
 Comp.    Ephes.    i.    20—22  ;    lleb.    i. 
 
 13.  14- 
 
 Until.  St.  Paul,  in  i  Cor.  xv. 
 24 — 28,  gives  a  limitation  to  the 
 meaning  of  the  passage  which  docs 
 not  lie  on  the  surface.  He  argues 
 from  the  words  of  this  verse  that 
 Christ  must  reign  until  [i.e.  only  until) 
 
55<^ 
 
 PSALM  ex. 
 
 2  The  sceptre  of  Thy  might  Jehovah  shall  stretch  forth  out 
 of  Zion  (saying)  : 
 "  Rule  Thou  in  the  midst  of  Thine  enemies." 
 
 He  h-as  put  all  enemies  under  His  feet, 
 and  that  then  His  mediatorial  reign 
 \vill  cease,  and  He  will  give  up  the 
 kingdom  to  God,  even  to  the  Father, 
 But  this  sense  is  not  necessarily  con- 
 veyed by  the  use  of  the  conjunction 
 "  until."  It  does  not  follow  that  what 
 takes  place  until  a  certain  limit  is 
 reached  must  cease  immediately  after- 
 wards. Thus,  for  instance,  in  cxii.  8, 
 "  He  shall  not  be  afraid  until  he  see 
 his  desire  upon  his  enemies  ; "  Gen. 
 xxviii.  15,  "I  will  not  leave  thee 
 until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have 
 spoken  to  thee  of ; ''  Deut.  vii.  24, 
 ' '  There  shall  no  man  be  able  to 
 stand  before  thee  until  thou  have 
 destroyed  them," — the  "until"  is 
 clearly  not  to  be  pressed  as  if  it  were 
 equivalent  to  "only  until,  not  after- 
 wards." The  context  must  determine 
 in  each  case  whether  the  "until"  is 
 inclusive  or  exclusive  of  a  time  sub- 
 sequent to  the  limit  mentioned,  and 
 here  the  general  tenour  of  the  Psalm 
 does  not  seem  to  favour  a  restriction 
 to  previous  time.  This  is  accordingly 
 one  of  those  instances  in  which  a 
 peculiar  turn  is  given  in  the  N.  T.  to 
 the  language  of  the  Old. 
 
 Thy  footstool,  lit.  "  a  stool  for 
 Thy  feet,"  an  emblem  of  complete 
 subjection  ;  comp.  viii.  6,  xviii.  38. 
 The  allusion  is  probably  to  the  cus- 
 tom of  conquerors  placing  their  feet 
 on  the  necks  of  the  conquered.  See 
 Josh.  x.  24,  25. 
 
 2.  Having  announced  the  oracle 
 which  he  has  received  by  Divine  re- 
 velation, the  Poet  turns  to  address 
 the  king,  and  declares  by  what 
 means  he  is  to  conquer,  viz.  by  the 
 help  of  God,  and  the  willing  courage 
 and  self-sacrifice  of  his  own  people. 
 The  Son  of  David  has  His  royal  seat 
 
 in  Zion,  the  city  of  David.  Thence, 
 by  the  grase  of  God,  He  shall  give 
 laws  to  the  world,  for  Jehovah  Him- 
 self, whose  vicegerent  He  is,  in  whose 
 strength  He  rules,  holds  and  sways 
 His  sceptre.  So  the  throne  of  even 
 the  earthly  king  is  in  like  manner 
 called  the  throne  of  Jehovah  ( I  Chron. 
 xxviii.  5,  xxix.  23). 
 
 The  sceptre  of  Thy  might,  i.e. 
 of  "Thy  kingly  majesty,"  as  in  Jer. 
 xlviii.  17  ;  Ezek,  xix.  14.  Chrysos- 
 tom  plays  upon  the  Avord  pd^Sos 
 (LXX.)  as  a  rod  of  strength  and  con- 
 solation, as  in  xxiii.  4 ;  a  rod  of 
 chastisement,  as  in  ii.  9,  i  Cor.  iv. 
 21  ;  a  symbol  of  kingly  rule,  as  in 
 Is.  xi.  I,  Ps.  xlv.  6.  It  was  by  this 
 rod,  he  says,  that  the  disciples 
 wrought  when  they  subdued  the 
 world  in  obedience  to  the  command, 
 "Go  and  make  disciples  of  all 
 nations  ; "  a  rod  far  more  powerful 
 than  that  of  Moses,  "  for  that  divided 
 rivers,  this  brake  in  pieces  the  un- 
 godliness of  the  world."  And  then 
 with  profound  truth  he  adds,  "  Nor 
 would  one  err  who  should  call  the 
 Cross  the  rod  of  power  ;  for  this  rod 
 converted  sea  and  land,  and  filled 
 them  with  a  vast  power.  Armed  with 
 this  rod,  the  Apostles  went  forth 
 throughout  the  world,  and  accom- 
 plished all  that  they  did,  beginning 
 at  Jerusalem."  The  Cross  which  to 
 men  seemed  the  very  emblem  of 
 shame  and  weakness,  was,  in  truth, 
 the  power  of  God. 
 
 Rule  Thou,  or,  "Have  domi- 
 nion," the  same  word  as  in  Ixxii.  8. 
 The  imperative  contains  in  itself  a 
 prediction  or  promise  of  fulfilment. 
 See  for  the  same  use  of  the  imperal. 
 xxxvii.  3.  Gen.  xx.  7.  These  v»'ords 
 are  probably   (as   many   of  the   best 
 
PSALM  ex. 
 
 551 
 
 3  Thy  people  offer  themselves  willingly  in  the  day  that 
 Thou  warrest, 
 (Clad)  in  holy  vestments  : 
 (As  the  dew)  from  the  womb  of  the  morning- 
 
 commentators  suppose)  addressed  by- 
 Jehovah  to  the  King.  Others  think 
 that  the  Poet  himself  thus  speaks. 
 
 3.  Thy  people.  In  the  midst  of 
 His  enemies,  the  King  has  His  own 
 faithful  adherents.  God,  who  holds 
 the  sceptre  of  His  Anointed,  and 
 assures  Him  of  victory,  has  also  given 
 Him  a  willmg  people,  working  in 
 their  hearts  by  His  Spirit  joyfulness 
 and  courage,  and  ready  self-sacrihce. 
 Comp.  Is.  xxviii.  5,  6,  "  In  that  day 
 shall  the  Lord  of  hosts  be  for  a  crown 
 of  glory  ,  .  .  and  for  strength  to 
 them  that  turn  the  battle  to  the 
 gate." 
 
 Offer  themselves  willingly, 
 lit.  "are  free-will  offerings,"  i.e.  give, 
 devote  themselves  as  a  willing  sacri- 
 fice. Comp.  for  the  form  of  expres- 
 sion cix.  4,  "Lam  prayer,"  and  for 
 the  sacrificial  sense  of  the  word  Exod. 
 XXXV.  29.  Lev.  xxii.  18,  21,  23,  Am. 
 iv.  5.  This  interpretation  harmonizes 
 best  with  the  priestly  character  assigned 
 both  to  the  warriors  and  to  their  leader. 
 Otherwise  the  word  often  loses  its 
 sacrificial  meaning  ;  and  so  here  many 
 render,  "Thy  people  are  most  will- 
 ing," lit.  "are  wiUingnesses "  (plur. 
 for  sing,  as  more  emphatic,  com- 
 prising every  possible  aspect  of  the 
 idea  contained  in  the  word,  alacrity, 
 readiness,  devotion  in  every  form). 
 They  are  no  hireling  soldiery  ;  they 
 serve  not  of  constraint  nor  for  filthy 
 lucre.  For  this  sense  of  the  word, 
 see  the  notes  on  li.  12,  liv.  6,  and 
 comp.  Hos.  xiv.  4,  "I  will  love  them 
 freely. " 
 
 In  the  day  that  Thou  war- 
 rest,  lit.  "in  the  day  of  Thy  hosl,'^ 
 i.e.  in  the  day    Thou  musterest  Thy 
 
 host  to  the  battle  ;  or  we  may  ren- 
 der, "in  the  day  of  Thy  pcnvcr,''  fur 
 the  word  occurs  in  both  significa- 
 tions. 
 
 In  holy  vestments.  Comp. 
 xxix.  2,  xcvi.  9.  The  you'.hiul 
 warriors  who  flock  to  the  standard 
 of  the  king  are  clad  in  holy  alt  ire, 
 combatants  iii  a  holy  war.  Comp. 
 Ls.  xiii.  3,  4,  "I  have  commanded 
 My  sauctijied  ones,  I  have  also  called 
 ]\Iy  mighty  ones  for  Mine  anger.  .  ,  . 
 The  Lord  of  hosts  mustereth  the  ho^t 
 of  the  battle."  (See  also  I  Sam.  xxv. 
 28;  Jer.  vi.  4,  ^^  Satictify  ye  wai 
 against  her  ;  "  li.  27,  "  Raise  a  stand- 
 ard, blow  a  trumpet  among  the 
 nations,  sanctify  the  nations  against 
 her.")  But  more  is  implied  perhaps 
 than  this.  The  "holy  garments  "  are 
 priestly  ganncnts.  They  who  wear 
 them  are  priestly  warriors,  in  the 
 train  of  a  priestly  leader.  If  so,  the 
 imagery  is  the  same  as  in  Rev.  xix. 
 14,  where  it  is  said  that  "armies  in 
 heaven  followed  Him  (whose  name  is 
 called  the  Word  of  God)  upon  white 
 horses,  clothed  in  fne  linen,  ivhite  and 
 clean.'"  The  garments  of  Aaron  and 
 the  priests  were  of  linen,  Exod. 
 xxviii.  39,  42,  Lev.  vi.  10,  xvi.  4, 
 and  they  were  called  "holy  gai- 
 ments,"  Exod.  xxviii.  4,  Lev.  xvi.  4. 
 The  Hebrew  word  there  rendcreil 
 garinents  is  different  from  that  cm- 
 ployed  in  this  and  the  two  jiarallel 
 passages  in  the  Psalms,  but  a]iparently 
 the  same  thing  is  intended.  Some 
 have  supposed  that  the  allusion  is 
 to  a  solemn  religious  service  held 
 before  going  out  to  battle,  but  we 
 have  no  evitlence  of  the  exisicKce  oi 
 any  such  custom. 
 
552 
 
 PSALM  ex. 
 
 (Is)  to  Thee  the  dew  of  Thy  young  men 
 4  Jehovah  hath  sworn,  and  will  not  repent  : 
 "■  Thou  art  a  priest  for  ever 
 After  the  order  of  Melchizedek." 
 
 Thy  young  men,  lit.  "Thy 
 youth,"  Elsewhere  the  word  means 
 the  time  of  yoiUh,  as  in  Eccl.  xi,  9, 
 10  ;  and  so  it  has  been  understood 
 here,  the  object  being  thus  to  mark 
 the  vigour  and  prowess  of  the  leader, 
 as  the  dew  denotes  fresh  and  early 
 beauty.  But  the  parallelism  requires 
 us  to  take  "Thy  youth"  here  in  a 
 collective  sense,  =  "  Thy  young  men." 
 
 The  dew  which,  especially  in  the 
 East,  falls  so  copiously,  is  most  pro- 
 bably employed  here  as  a  figure  de- 
 noting infinite  vudtitude.  Conip.  the 
 use  of  the  figure  in  2  Sam.  xvii.  11, 
 12,  "Therefore  1  counsel  that  all 
 Israel  be  gathered  to  thee  .  .  .  as 
 the  sand  that  is  by  the  sea  for  multi- 
 tude ....  and  we  will  light  upon 
 him  as  the  dnv  falleth  on  the  ground," 
 &c.  Others  find  the  point  of  com- 
 parison here  in  the  brightness  and 
 freshness  of  the  dew  ;  and  this  may 
 be  suggested  by  the  figure  as  well  as 
 multitude.  In  Mic.  v.  7  the  point  uf 
 comparison  seems  to  be  different  : 
 "  And  the  remnant  of  Jacob  shall  be 
 in  the  midst  of  many  people  as  a  dew 
 from  Jehovah,  as  showers  upon  the 
 grass,  that  tarrieth  not  for  man  nor 
 waiteth  for  the  sons  of  men."  Here 
 the  point  is,  that  the  dew,  like  the 
 rain,  is  a  wonderful  gift  of  God,  with 
 which  man  has  no  concern. 
 
 4.  This  verse  contains  the  great 
 central  revelation  of  the  Psalm.  How 
 weighty  it  is,  and  of  how  vast  im- 
 pcvrt,  may  be  inferred  from  the  solem- 
 nity of  the  introduction  "Jehovah 
 haih  sworn  "  (see  on  the  Divine  oath, 
 Heb.  vi.  13,-  17,  18),  and  this  is 
 carried  to  the  very  highest  pitch  by 
 the  addition  of  the  words  "  And  will 
 not  repent,"  i.e.  the  decree  is  abso- 
 
 lutely immutable  (for  God  Himself  is 
 said  to  have  repented.  Gen.  vi.  6). 
 It  is  the  solemn  inauguration  of  the 
 Messiah  in  time  to  the  priestly  office. 
 It  is  the  first  intimation  of  the  union 
 of  the  kingly  and  priestly  functions  in 
 His  person.  See  the  later  typical 
 representation  of  the  same  truth  in 
 Zech.  vi.  12,  13.  The  writer  of  the 
 Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  dwells  on  the 
 significance  of  each  expression  in  this 
 verse  :  "  with  an  oath  " — "  for  ever" 
 — "  After  the  order  of  Melchizedek." 
 (i)  He  lays  stress  on  the  fact  that 
 this  solemn  inauguration  into  the 
 priestly  office  was  by  an  oath,  which 
 was  not  the  case  with  the  institution 
 of  the  Levitical  priest.  This,  he 
 observes,  is  a  proof  that  Christ  is 
 Mediator  of  a  better  covenant  than 
 that  of  Moses  (Heb.  vii.  20 — 22). 
 
 (2)  He  argues  that  as  the  priest- 
 hood rests  on  an  unchangeable  foun- 
 dation, so  it  is  in  its  nature  unchange- 
 able :  a  Priest  for  ever.  ' '  He,  be- 
 cause He  abideth  for  ever,  hath  His 
 priesthood  unchangeable,"  vii.  23,  28. 
 
 (3)  He  enlarges  upon  all  those 
 points  in  which  Melchizedek,  rather 
 than  Aaron,  was  the  most  fitting  type 
 of  Christ  ;  passing  over,  however,  in 
 entire  silence,  that  which  in  the 
 Patristic  and  Romish  expositors  holds 
 a  prominent  place,  the  bringing  forth 
 of  bread  and  wine.  Another  and 
 essential  feature  of  the  type  which  is 
 implied  in  Heb.  vii.  is  too  often  over- 
 looked, viz.  that  the  priesthood  of 
 Melchizedek  was  not  only  before  the 
 law,  but  was  a  Gentile  priesthood, 
 and  therefore  the  most  fitting  type  of 
 a  universal  priesthood. 
 
 5 — 7.  The  martial  strain  of  ver. 
 2—4  is  resumed.      There  the  might 
 
PSALM  ex. 
 
 5  The  Lord  at  thy  right  hand 
 
 Hath  crushed  kin^^rg  in  the  day  of  His  wratli. 
 
 6  He  shall  judge  among  the  nations, 
 
 He  hath  filled  (them)  with  corpses,' 
 
 553 
 
 of  the  King  and  his  army  were  de- 
 scribed, here  the  conflict  and  the 
 victory.  It  is  remarkable  how  these 
 earthly  images,  this  warlike  tone,  pre- 
 dominates, considering  the  language 
 of  ver.  4.  The  priestly  character  of 
 the  monarch,  the  very  name  of  Mel- 
 chizedek,  who  was  not  only  king  of 
 righteousness,  but  king  of  Salem, 
 that  is,  king  of  peace  (Heb.  vii.), 
 would  have  led  us  to  expect  anything 
 but  the  picture  of  a  battle-field  covered 
 with  corpses  and  a  leader  in  full 
 pursuit  of  his  enemies.  Still  it  must 
 not  be  forgotten  that  we  have  a  paral- 
 lel example  in  the  New  Testament 
 See  Rev.  xix.  11 — 16. 
 
 5.  The  Lord  ('Adonai).  This 
 form  of  the  plural  is  never  used  except 
 as  a  Divine  Name.  The  Targum 
 gives  as  the  equivalent  here  "the  She- 
 chinah  of  Jehovah."  Is  this  name 
 here  applied  to  Jehovah  or  to  the 
 King?  Many  expositors  argue  that 
 the  King  must  be  meant  ;  and,  on 
 the  other  side,  it  has  been  argued 
 that  (i)  the  name  of  'Adonai  is  never 
 elsewhere  given  to  the  Messiah,  or  to 
 any  but  God  ;  (2)  that  the  expression 
 "  in  the  day  of  His  wrath  "  is  more 
 naturally  to  be  interpreted  of  God 
 than  of  the  Messiah. 
 
 The  arguments  are  so  nearly  ba- 
 lanced, that  it  is  difficult  to  decide, 
 although  most  of  the  recent  expositors 
 — even  those  who  hold  to  the  Mes- 
 sianic interpretation — understand  by 
 'Adonai,  ver.  5,  not  the  Messiah,  but 
 Jehovah.  It  should  be  observed, 
 however,  that  there  is  no  reas:m  why 
 the  King,  who  is  called 'Elohim  (God) 
 in  Ps.  xlv.,  should  not  be  called 
 'Adonai   (Lord)   in  this  Psalm.     On 
 
 the  other  hand,  to  assume  a  clinngcnf 
 subject,  whether  that  change  is  to  be 
 introduced  at  the  beginning  of  ver. 
 6  or  ver.  7  (see  below),  is  perfectly 
 justifiable  ;  and  it  is  more  justihalil'e 
 in  this  instance,  because  Jehovah  and 
 the  King  are  so  closely  associated, 
 that  what  the  one  does  the  other  may 
 be  said  to  do.  It  is  Jehovah's  throne 
 on  which  the  King  sits,  it  is  Jehovah's 
 hand  which  wields  the  King's  sceptre  : 
 Jehovah  discomfits  the  King's  ene- 
 mies, and  the  King  pursues  them  in 
 their  flight.  It  may  be  remarked, 
 further,  that  throughout  the  Psalm 
 the  address  is  directed  to  tlie  King  and 
 Priest,  and  that  in  cix.  31  Jehovah 
 "stands  at  the  right  hand"  of  tlie 
 poor  to  succour  and  defend  him,  as 
 here  at  the  right  hand  of  the  King. 
 
 Taking  this  view,  however,  it  is  still 
 difficult  to  say  whether  the  King  is  the 
 subject  of  both  verses  6  and  7,  or  only 
 of  ver.  7.  I  prefer,  however,  regarding 
 the  King  as  the  subject  of  ver."  6. 
 
 Kings.  There  may,  perhajxs,  be 
 an  allusion  to  the  glorious  victories  of 
 old,  such  as  that  of  Moses,  Num.  xxi.  ; 
 of  Joshua,  Josh.  x.  ;  of  Deborah, 
 Judg.  V.  3,  19  ;  of  Gideon,  Judg.  viii. 
 Comp.  Ps.  Ixviii.  12.  If  so,  this 
 would  account  for  the  use  of  the  jiast 
 tense,  *^  hath  crushed,"  all  God's 
 judgements  having  been  judgements 
 executed  on  behalf  of  His  Anointed. 
 But  as  the  future  tenses  are  inter- 
 changed M'iih  the  past  in  the  next  t\\;o 
 verses,  it  seems  Ijctter  to  regaitl  the 
 former  as  indicating  that  the  victory 
 is  yet  future,  while  the  latte:  miply 
 that  it  is  represented  so  vividly  to  the 
 Poet's  eye  that  he  can  conceive  of  it 
 as  already  accomplished. 
 
554  PSALM  ex. 
 
 He  hath  crushed  the  heads  over  wide  lands. 
 7  Of  the  brook  in  the  way  shall  He  drink  ; 
 Therefore  shall  He  lift  up  (His)  head. 
 
 6.  The  heads.  The  word  is  who  has  made  so  terrible  a  slaughter 
 singular,  but  used  apparently  in  a  that  the  field  of  battle  is  covered 
 collective  sense,  either  literally  as  in  with  corpses,  is  now  seen  pursuing  his 
 Ixviii.  21,  or  metaphorically  of  ;«/t7' J,  enemies.  Wearied  with  the  battle 
 princes.  and  the  pursuit,    he  stops  for  a  mo- 
 
 7.  Of  the  BRO0K  IN  THE  WAY,  ment  on  the  way  to  refresh  himself  by 
 or,  if  we  follow  the  accents,  "  Of  the  drinking  of  the  torrent  rushing  by. 
 brook  (or  torrent)  shall  he  drink  in  and  then  "  lifts  up  his  head,"  derives 
 the    way.''      The    victorious   leader,  rew  vigour  to  continue  the  pursuit. 
 
 I  subjdin  the  following  paraphrase  of  the  Psalm  : — 
 
 "  Thus  saith  Jehovah, — it  is  His  revelation  that  I  hear,  it  is  His 
 word  addressed  to  one  who,  though  He  be  my  son,,  is  yet  my  lord, — 
 *  I  give  Thee  honour  and  dignity  equal  to  My  own,  I  associate  Thee 
 with  Myself  in  kingly  rule  and  dominion,  until  I  have  subdued  every 
 enemy  who  shall  dare  to  lift  himself  up  against  Thee.'" 
 
 Then,  turning  to  the  King  who  has  thus  been  solemnly  placed  on 
 the  throne  of  Jehovah,  and  who  rules  as  His  vicegerent  in  Zion,  the 
 Psalmist  says  :  "  From  Zion,  Thy  royal  seat,  shall  Jehovah  Himself, 
 on  whose  throne  Thou  sittest,  stretch  out  the  sceptre  of  Thy  dominion. 
 So  close  shall  be  the  fellowship  between  Him  and  Thee.  Thou  shalt 
 sit  on  His  throne,  He  shall  wield  Thy  sceptre.  His  might  shall  be 
 Thy  might,  His  kingdom  shall  be  Thy  kingdom,  and  Thou  shalt  not 
 only  subdue  Thine  enemies,  but  before  they  are  yet  vanquished  Thou 
 shalt  rule  in  the  midst  of  them.  When  Thou  goest  forth  to  war, 
 Thine  own  people  shall  flock  with  glad  and  wilhng  hearts  to  Thy 
 standard.  They  shall  come  clad,  not  in  armour,  but  in  holy  vestments 
 as  ministering  priests,  for  Thou  hast  consecrated  them  to  be  Thy 
 priestly  soldiers.  They  shall  come  a  youthful  host,  in  numbers  num- 
 berless as  the  dew,  bright  and  fresh  as  the  dew  from  the  womb  of 
 the  morning. 
 
 "  Yet  another  solemn  word  concerning  Thee  have  I  heard.  It  is  a 
 word  confirmed  by  an  oath,  the  oath  of  the  Most  High,  which  cannot 
 be  broken.  By  that  oath  He  hath  made  Thee  Priest  as  well  as  King  ; 
 King  Thou  art.  Priest  Thou  shalt  be  henceforth  ;  Priest  not  after  the 
 law  of  a  carnal  commandment,  or  by  descent  through  the  Leviticcil 
 
PSALM  CXI. 
 
 555 
 
 priesthood,  but  after  the  order  of  Melchizedek,— Priest  therefore  not 
 of  the  Jew  only,  but  of  the  Gentile  also,— Priest  not  for  a  time,  but 
 for  ever." 
 
 Then,  looking  on  the  leader,  the  host,  the  conflict,  the  Poet  ex- 
 claims :  "The  Lord,  the  God  of  hosts  who  is  with  Thee,  O  King,  who 
 is  at  Thy  right  hand  to  succour  and  give  Thee  the  victory  in  the  battle, 
 hath  already  crushed  the  rival  monarchs  that  dispute  Thy  sway. 
 Thou  shalt  be  a  judge  and  ruler  among  the  nations  whom  He  has 
 given  Thee  as  Thine  inheritance.  The  vast  battle-field  is  strewn  with 
 the  corpses  of  Thy  foes.  Far  and  wide  hast  Thou  extended  Thy  con- 
 quests, vanquishing  one  leader  after  another ;  and  Thou  shalt  reap  the 
 fruit  of  Thy  victories  like  a  warrior  who,  pressing  hotly  on  the  rear  ot 
 his  enemies  as  they  flee  before  him,  scarcely  pauses  for  a  moment  to 
 snatch  a  hasty  draught  from  the  wayside  brook,  and  then  with  renewed 
 ardour,  with  head  erect  and  kindling  eye,  continues  the  pursuit.  Thus 
 shall  victory  be  crowned,  and  not  a  foe  remain." 
 
 PSALM  CXI. 
 
 This  Psalm  and  the  next  are  framed  exactly  on  the  same  model. 
 They  are  both  alphabetical  Psalms.  In  both  the  letters  of  the  alphabet 
 mark  not  only  the  beginning  of  verses,  as  in  other  Psalms,  but  the 
 beginning  of  each  several  clause  of  the  verses.  In  both  there  are 
 exactly  twenty-two  lines,  each  line  consisting  usually  of  three  words  ; 
 and  in  both  the  order  of  the  alphabet  is  strictly  preserved,  which  is 
 not  the  case  in  other  alphabetical  Psalms  (see,  for  instance,  xxv., 
 xxxiv.,  xxxvii.).  Finally,  so  exactly  does  the  structure  of  the  two 
 Psalms  correspond,  that  the  first  eight  verses  in  both  consist  each  of 
 two  lines,  and  the  last  two  verses  of  three  lines. 
 
 But  the  Psalms  answer  to  one  another  not  only  in  structure,  but  in 
 thought.  The  same  significant  phrases  occur  in  both,  and  occur  in 
 such  a  way  as  to  mark  the  mutual  relation  of  the  two  Poems.  In 
 the  I  nth,  the  mighty  deeds,  the  glory,  the  righteousness  of  Jehovah 
 
556  PSALM  CXI, 
 
 are  celebrated  in  the  assembly  of  the  upright.  In  the  112th,  the 
 righteousness,  the  goodness,  the  blessedness  of  the  upright  themselves 
 is  described  and  enlarged  upon.  The  one  sets  forth  God,  His  work 
 and  His  attributes  ;  the  other  tells  us  what  are  the  work  and  character 
 of  those  who  fear  and  honour  God.  Thus  in  cxi.  3  it  is  said  of 
 Jehovah  that  "  His  righteousness  standeth  fast  for  ever ;"  in  cxii.  3  the 
 same  thing  is  affirmed  of  the  man  that  feareth  Jehovah.  In  cxi.  4  it 
 is  declared  of  Jehovah  that  "  He  is  gracious  and  of  tender  compas- 
 sion ;"  in  cxii.  4  the  same  character  is  given  of  the  upright.  In  the 
 I  nth  Psalm  the  faithfulness  of  Jehovah  to  His  covenant  is  magnified 
 (ver.  5,  9);  in  the  112th  the  faithfulness  of  the  righteous  man,  his 
 trust  in  Jehovah,  is  exhibited  (ver.  7,  8). 
 
 In  spite  of  the  acrostic  arrangement  by  which  the  writer  has  chosen 
 to  fetter  himself,  this  Psalm  is  more  than  a  mere  string  of  gnomic 
 sentences.  The  thoughts  have  a  real  inner  connection.  The  Psalmist 
 begins  by  declaring  that  with  his  whole  heart  he  will  give  thanks  to 
 God  ;  and  because  to  keep  his  thankfulness  and  his  ascription  of 
 praise  to  himself  would  be  to  rob  God  of  half  His  honour,  therefore 
 will  he  give  utterance  to  his  feelings,  and  give  utterance  to  them  in 
 the  fiitting  place,  "in  the  congregation  of  the  upright."  Abundant 
 subject  for  such  praise  is  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  God  :  the  more 
 these  are  studied,  the  more  will  their  marvellous  and  unsearchable 
 character  be  seen,  and  the  greater  the  delight  which  will  be  experi- 
 enced in  the  study.  Everywhere  the  glory  of  God  will  be  traced, 
 everywhere  will  the  footsteps  of  His  unchangeable  righteousness  be 
 discovered.  At  all  times  His  works  testify  of  Him,  rebuking  the 
 apathy  and  the  forgetfulness  of  men,  and  calling  them  to  Him  who  is 
 "  gracious  and  of  tender  compassion." 
 
 He  has  shown  His  goodness  in  never  failing  to  supply  the  need  of 
 His  people  :  He  gave  them  manna  in  the  wilderness,  He  gave  them 
 the  spoil  of  the  heathen  in  Canaan  :  He  thus  kept  with  them  the 
 covenant  which  He  had  made  of  old  with  their  fathers.  Not  un- 
 mindful of  other  nations,  it  is  to  His  people  that  He  has  specially 
 revealed  Himself;  He  has  given  them  their  promised  inheritance. 
 As  in  His  works  so  in  His  commandments,  as  in  His  providence 
 so  in  His  word,  the  same  truth  and  faithfulness  are  visible.  Therefore 
 His  commandments  cannot  fail ;  they  remain  the  sure  everlasting 
 pillars  of  His  kingdom.  The  great  seal  of  all  is  the  redemption  which 
 He  accomphshed  for  His  people.  He  who  brought  them  out  of  Egypt 
 will  never  suffer  His  covenant  to  fail. 
 
PSALM  CXI,  j^y 
 
 Is  it  not  the  highest  wisdom  to  fear  such  a  God  as  this,  so  great  in 
 His  works,  so  true  in  His  word,  so  faithful  to  His  covenant?  To 
 fear  God  and  to  keep  His  commandments  is  the  whole  of  man  to 
 praise  Him  man's  highest  employment  both  now  and  for  ever.* 
 
 T  Hallelujah  ! 
 
 Aleph    I    will    give    thanks    to    Jehovah    with    (my) 
 
 whole  heart, 
 Beth       Hi    the  assembly    of  the   upright    and    in   the 
 
 congregation. 
 
 2  Gimel    Great  are  the  works  of  Jehovah, 
 
 Daleth  Sought    out    of    all    them    that    have    delight 
 therein. 
 
 3  He         His  doings  are  (full  of)  honour  and  majesty, 
 Vau       And  His  righteousness  standcth  fast  for  ever. 
 
 4  Zain       He  hath  made  a  memorial  for  His  wonderful 
 
 works  ; 
 Cheth    Gracious  and  of  tender  compassion  is  Jehovah. 
 
 5  Teth      He  hath  given  food  to  them  that  fear  Him, 
 
 1.  Assembly.  A  narrower  and  of  the  man  who  fears  Jehovah,  and 
 more  intimate  circle  is  implied  than  hath  delight  in  His  commandments, 
 in  the  word  "congregation,"   which  See  also  xix.  9. 
 
 lollows.  4.   A    .MEMORIAL.      Comp.    Num. 
 
 2.  The  works  of  Jehovah,  i.e.  xvi.  40,  Josh,  iv.  6,  7. 
 
 specially  His  mighty  deeds  on  behalf  For     (or     "belonging   to*')    Ills 
 
 of  His  people.   These  are  said  to  be—  v^onderful  works.     By  means  of 
 
 Sought  out,  the  objects  of  earnest  all  that  Ilehasso  marvellously  wrought 
 
 and    devout   meditation    and    study,  on  behalf  of  Israel,  He  has  reared,  so 
 
 studied    that    they  may   be    kno\^•n,  to  speak,  a  monument  to  His  glory, 
 studied  that  they  may  be  lived.     The         5.  Food,  or  perha]is  rather  "prey  " 
 
 same  law  holds  of  God's  revelation  or    "booty."       "  TJie    use    of     this 
 
 in  His  word  as  of  His  revelation  in  word,"  says  Mr.   Grove,  "especially 
 
 nature.     They  only  who  search  dili-  when   taken  in    connection  with  the 
 
 gently  and  who  have  a  delight  therein  words  rendered  'good  understanding' 
 
 can  discover  His  wonders  either  in  the  in  ver.    10,   which  should   rather  be 
 
 one  or  the  other.  as   in   the    margin,    'good    success,' 
 
 3.  His  righteousness  STANDETH  throws  a  new  and  unexpected  light 
 FAST  FOR  EVER.  Comp.  cxii.  3,  where  over  the  familiar  phrases  of  this 
 the  same  is  said  of  the  righteousness  beautiful    Psalm.     It  seems  to  show 
 
 *  With  this  Psalm  begins  another  series  of  Hallelujah  Psalms,  cxL-atiii.,  cxv. 
 
S58 
 
 PSALM  CXI. 
 
 .      Yod 
 
 6  Caph 
 
 Lamed 
 
 7  Mem 
 
 Nun 
 
 8  Samech 
 
 Ayin 
 9  Pe 
 Tsaddi 
 
 Koph 
 10  Resh 
 
 He  remembered  His  covenant  for  ever. 
 
 The  might  of  His  works  hath  He  declared  to 
 His  people, 
 
 To  give  them  the  heritage  of  the  nations. 
 
 The  works  of  His  hand  are  truth  and  judge- 
 ment ; 
 
 Faithful  are  all  His  statutes  ; 
 
 They  are  upheld  for  ever  and  ever, 
 
 They  are  done  in  truth  and  uprightness. 
 
 He  hath  sent  redemption  to  His  people  ; 
 
 He  hath  commanded  His  covenant  for  ever ; 
 
 Holy  and  awful  is  His  Name. 
 
 The  fear  of  Jehovah  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom, 
 
 how  inextinguishable  was  the  warlike 
 predatory  spirit  in  the  mind  of  the 
 writer,  good  Israelite  and  devout  wor- 
 shiper of  Jehovah  as  he  was.  Late 
 as  he  lived  in  the  history  of  his 
 nation,  he  cannot  forget  '  the  power ' 
 oi  Jehovah's  'works,'  by  which  his 
 forefathers  acquired  the  '  heritage 
 of  the  heathen  ;'  and  to  him,  as  to 
 his  ancestors  when  conquering  the 
 country,  it  is  still  a  firm  article  of 
 belief  that  those  who  fear  Jehovah 
 shall  obtain  most  of  the  spoil  of  His 
 enemies — those  M'ho  obey  His  com- 
 mandments shall  have  the  best  success 
 in  the  field." — Diet,  of  the  Bible,  art. 
 Meat. 
 
 To  the  above  may  be  added  the 
 probable  allusion  to  the  deliverance 
 from  Egypt,  and  the  occupation  of 
 Canaan,  in  ver.  9.  It  is  doubtful, 
 however,  whether  the  rendering  "good 
 success  "  in  ver,  10  is  correct. 
 
 Delitzsch,  on  the  other  hand,  sup- 
 poses that  by  the  "memorial-"  is 
 meant  the  Festivals,  which  were  insti- 
 tuted to  keep  alive  the  remembrance 
 of  God's  mighty  works  in  the  days  of 
 Moses,  and  by  the  "food,"  the  meal 
 accompanying  the  sacrifices,  and  ihe 
 Puschai  feast.     [It  is  with  reference 
 
 to  this  verse,  doubtless,  that  Luther 
 calls  the  Psalm  "an  Easter  or  Paschal 
 Psalm."]  Theodoret,  Augustine,  and 
 others  understand  by  this  "food ".in 
 the  N,  T.  sense  the  Eucharist,  and 
 the  Psalm  has  been  accordingly  used 
 rvs  a  Eucharistic  Psalm.  It  is  a 
 curious  instance  of  the  way  in  which  a 
 word  may  draw  to  itself  a  whole  train 
 of  thought  with  which  it  has  really  no 
 connection. 
 
 8.  Upheld  ;  not,  however,  by  any 
 external  proof,  but  by  their  own  in- 
 herent power. 
 
 9.  He  hath  sent.  There  is  pro- 
 bably an  allusion  to  the  redemption 
 from  Egypt,  and  in  the  next  member 
 to  the  Sinaitic  covenant.  Then  Je- 
 hovah revealed  Himself  as  the  holy 
 and  the  awful  God,  But  here,  and 
 throughout  the  Psalm,  I  have  rendered 
 the  past  tenses  as  perfects,  because  the 
 reference  is  evidently  not  exclusively 
 to  the  past,  but  also  to  the  still  pre- 
 sent results  of  the  "  redemption  "  and 
 the  "covenant." 
 
 He  hath  commanded.  The 
 verb  is  used,  as  in  cv,  8,  in  its  original 
 sense  of  appointing,  establishitig. 
 
 10.  The  beginning  of  wisdom. 
 Comp,  Job  xxviii.  28, 
 
PSALM  CXIl. 
 
 559 
 
 Shin       A  good  understanding  have  all   they   that    do 
 
 them  : 
 Tau        His  praise  endureth  for  ever. 
 
 A  GOOD  UNDERSTANDING,  or  per- 
 haps rather  "understanding  of,  in- 
 sight into,  that  which  is  good." 
 Comp.  Prov.  iii.  4,  xiii.  15  ;  2  Chron. 
 XXX.  22. 
 
 They  that  do  them.  The 
 reference  of  the  plur.  pron.   ' '  them  " 
 
 can  only  be  to  tlie  "  statutes  "  men- 
 tioned in  ver.  7.  The  P.  B.  V. 
 "thereafter."  Augustine  lays  stress 
 on  this  "  doing."  "  Bonus  est  iulel- 
 lectus,']  he  says  ;  "  quis  negat  ?  Scd 
 inteihgere  et  non  facere  periculosum 
 est.     Bonus  &xgo  Jacieniibus." 
 
 PSALM  CXIL 
 
 On  this  Psalm,  see  the  Introduction  to  Psalm  cxi.  In  its  general 
 character  it  resembles  Psalms  i.  and  xxxvii.  In  the  Vulgate  the  title 
 is  "  Conversio  Aggcci  et  Zacharite." 
 
 1  Hallelujah  ! 
 
 Aleph  Blessed  is  the  man  that  feareth  Jehovah, 
 
 Beth  That  delighteth  greatly  in  Plis  commandments. 
 
 2  Gimel  His  seed  shall  become  mighty  in  the  earth. 
 Daleth  The  generation  of  the  upright  shall  be  blessed  ; 
 
 3  He  Wealth  and  riches  are  in  his  house, 
 
 Vau        And  his  ri2"hteousness  standcth  fast  for  ever. 
 
 1.  Comp.  i.  I,  2. 
 
 2.  Mighty.  The  word  is  com- 
 monly used  of  7varlike  strength  and 
 prowess,  but  sometimes  also  in  a 
 more  general  sense  of  wealth,  sub- 
 stance, &c.  So  Boaz  is  called  "a 
 mighty  man  of  wealth,"  Ruth  ii.  i  ; 
 and  Kish,  i  Sam.  ix.  i  ;  see  also 
 2  Kings  XV.  20. 
 
 3.  Wealth  and  riches.  So  in 
 the  Proverbs  these  are  said  to  be  the 
 gift  of  Wisdom  to  them  that  love 
 her.  See  iii.  16,  viii.  18,  xxii.  4.  Su 
 even  in  the  New  Testament :  see  Mark 
 X.  29,  30. 
 
 His  righteousness,  &c.  It  seems 
 a  bold  thing  to  say  this  of  anything 
 human,   and   yet  it   is   true 
 
 for  aU 
 
S6o 
 
 4  Zain 
 
 PSALM  CXTI. 
 
 There  ariseth  a  light  in  the  darkness  for  the 
 upright,^ 
 
 Cheth      (He  is)  gracious,  and    of  tender  compassion, 
 and  righteous. 
 
 5  Teth       Happy  is  the  man   who   showeth  favour  and 
 
 lendeth, 
 Yod         He  shall  maintain  his  cause  in  (the)  judgement ; 
 
 6  Caph       For  he  shall  not  be  moved  for  ever, 
 
 Lamed    The  righteous  shall  be  in  everlasting  remem- 
 brance. 
 
 7  Mem       Because  of  (any)  evil  tidings  he  shall  not  fear : 
 Nun         His  heart  is  established  trusting  in  Jehovah. 
 
 8  Samech  His  heart  is  upheld,  he  cannot  fear, 
 
 Ayin       Until  he  see  (his  desire)  upon  his  adversaries. 
 
 human  righteousness  has  its  root  in  the 
 righteousness  of  God.  It  is  not  merely 
 man  striving  to  copy  God,  It  is  God's 
 gift  and  God's  work.  There  is  a  living- 
 connection  between  the  righteousness 
 of  God  and  the  righteousness  of  man, 
 and  therefore  the  imperishableness 
 of  the  one  appertains  to  the  other  also. 
 Hence  the  same  thing  is  affirmed 
 here  of  the  human  righteousness  which 
 in  cxi.  3,  is  affirmed  of  the  Divine. 
 
 4.    A    LIGHT    FOR    THE    UPRIGHT. 
 
 Comp.  xcvii.  1 1,  "Light  is  sown  for 
 the  upright." 
 
 In  the  next  clause  of  the  verse  the 
 three  adjectives  occasion  sortie  diffi- 
 culty. Although  they  are  in  the  sin- 
 gular number,  whilst  "the  upright" 
 in  the  preceding  line  is  plural,  it 
 seems  most  natural  to  take  them  as 
 intended  further  to  describe  the  cha- 
 racter of  the  upright.  The  first  two 
 epithets,  elsewhere  applied  only  to 
 Jehovah,  are  so  applied  in  cxi.  3,  and 
 the  relation  of  the  two  Psalms  makes 
 it  almost  certain,  therefore,  that  they 
 are  here  applied  to  His  servants.  See 
 al'^o  Matt.  V.  45,  48  ;  Is.  Iviii.  8.  The 
 change  from  the  plural  to  the  singular 
 
 is  certainly  unusually  harsh,  as  the 
 epithets  are  loosely  strung  together, 
 without  anything  to  mark  their  re- 
 ference ;  but  this  may  be  accounted 
 for  in  some  measure  by  the  require- 
 ment of  the  alphabetical  arrangement. 
 Others  take  the  three  attributes  as 
 in  opposition  with  the  noun  "light  " 
 in  the  preceding  clause,  God  Himself 
 being  the  "Light"  (as  in  xxvii.  i)  : 
 comp,  I3.  X.  17,  Ix.  I — 3  ;  Mai.  iv.  2  : 
 "  There  hath  arisen  a  Light,  viz.  He 
 who  is  gracious,"  &c, 
 
 5.  He  SHALL  MAINTAIN,  &c.,  men- 
 tioned as  an  instance  of  his  happiness, 
 which  is  then  confirmed  by  what 
 follows,    ver.  6. 
 
 6.  In  everlasting  remem- 
 brance.    Comp.  Prov.  .x.  7. 
 
 7.  Further  evidence  of  the  happi- 
 ness of  such  a  man — a  clear  conscience 
 and  a  heart  that  trusts  not  in  itself 
 but  in  God,  and  thus  is  raised  above 
 all  fear.  The  epithets  "  established," 
 "trusting,"  "upheld,"  are  all  stri- 
 kingly descriptive  of  the  true  attitude 
 of  faith,  as  that  which  La  us  tipon  and 
 is  supported  by  God.  The  two  last 
 are  combined  also  in  Is.  xxvi.  3. 
 
PSALM   CXni.  5r,r 
 
 9       Pe  He  hath  dispersed,  he  hath  given  to  the  poor ; 
 
 Tsaddi  His  righteousness  standeth  fast  for  ever, 
 Koph     His  horn  shall  be  exalted  with  glory. 
 10       Resh      The  wicked  shall  see  (it)  and  be  grieved, 
 Shin       He  shall  gnash  his  teeth  and  melt  away, 
 Tau        The  desire  of  the  wicked  shall  perish. 
 
 9.   He   hath   dispersed.        The  behalf  of  the  poor,  2  Cor.  ix.  9. 
 verb   occurs   in    Prov.  xi.  24,  in   the  Ills  horn  ;  see  on  Ixxv.  5. 
 
 same  way,  of  the  free  and  active  ex-  10.   Shall  gnash  his  teeth,  as 
 
 ercise  of  charity.     This  verse  is  quoted  in  xxxv.  16,  xxxvii.   12. 
 by  St.   Paul  when  exhorting  the  Co-  Melt  aw.\y,  i.e.  through  jealousy 
 
 rinthians  to  liberal  contributions  on  and  annoyance. 
 
 PSALM    CXHI. 
 
 With  this  Psalm  begins  "  the  Hallel "  which  was  sung  at  the  three 
 Great  Feasts,  at  the  Feast  of  Dedication,  and  at  the  New  Moons. 
 At  the  Feast  of  the  Passover  it  was  divided  into  two  parts,  the  first 
 of  which,  consisting  of  Psalms  cxiii.  cxiv.,  was  sung  before  the  meal, 
 that  is,  before  the  second  cup  was  passed  round  ;  and  the  second, 
 consisting  of  Psalms  cxv.— cxviii.,  after  the  meal,  when  the  fourth 
 cup  had  been  filled.  This  last,  probably,  was  "the  hymn"  which 
 our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  are  said  to  have  sung  (v/ii/rjo-ai/res-.  Matt, 
 xxvi.  30,  Mark  xiv.  26),  after  His  last  Passover. 
 
 Paulus  Burgensis  styles  Psalms  cxiii.— cxviii.  Alleluia  Juduorum 
 ina^mmt,  and  this  has  been  a  very  usual  designation.  But  according 
 to  the  ancient  Jewish  tradition  this  series  of  Psalms  is  called  simply 
 "the  Hallel,"  or  sometimes  "the  Egyptian  Hallel,"  whereas  the  name 
 "  Great  Hallel "  is  given  to  Psalm  cxxxvi. 
 
 The  Psalm  may  be  said  to  be  a  connecting  link  between  the  Song 
 of  Hannah  and  the  Magnificat  of  the  Virgin. 
 
 It  may  be  viewed  as  consisting  of  three  strophes. 
 
 O  O 
 
562   '  FSALM  CXIII. 
 
 1.  The  first  exhorts  to  the  praise  of  Jehovah  as  the  one  great  object 
 of  praise.     Ver.  i — 3. 
 
 2.  The  second  sets  forth  His  greatness.     Ver.  4—6. 
 
 3.  The  third  magnifies  His  condescension.     Ver.  7 — 9. 
 
 The  second  and  third  of  these  divisions,  however,  are  closely  con- 
 nected, and,  in  fact,  run  into  one  another. 
 
 1  Hallelujah  ! 
 
 Praise,  O  ye  servants  of  Jehovah, 
 Praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah. 
 
 2  Blessed  be  the  Name  of  Jehovah 
 
 From  this  time  forth  and  for  evermore. 
 
 3  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  unto  the  going  down  of  the 
 
 same 
 Let  the  Name  of  Jehovah  be  praised. 
 
 4  Jehovah  is  Hfted  up  above  all  nations, 
 
 His  glory  is  above  the  heavens. 
 
 5  Who  is  like  Jehovah  our  God, 
 
 Who  sitteth  throned  on  high, 
 
 6  Who  stoopeth  down  to  see 
 
 (What  is)  done  in  the  heaven  and  in  the  earth  .^ 
 
 7  He  raiseth  the  miserable  from  the  dust, 
 
 (And)  lifteth  up  the  poor  from  (the)  dunghill, 
 
 8  That  he  may  set  (him)  with  princes, 
 
 (Even)  with  the  princes  of  His  people. 
 
 I.   Servants    of    Jehovah  ;    all  "  maketh  high  to  sit ;  "  as  in  the  next 
 
 Israel  as  a  nation  consecrated  to  His  verse,    "maketh  low  to  see."       The 
 
 service  ;    comp,    Ixix.    36,    cxxxv.     i  same  antithesis  occurs  cxxxviii.  6.     It 
 
 (where  this  same  verse  is  found,  but  denotes   not  merely  the  omniscience 
 
 with  the  clauses  transposed),  cxxxvi.  2.  of  God,   but  His  greatness  and   His 
 
 3.   Let    the     Name,     &c.     This  condescension.     Comp.    viii.    4,    and 
 
 rendering    seems    preferable    in    the  the  striking  expansion    of  the   same 
 
 context,  though  we  might  render  "is  thought,  Is.  Ivii.  15.  • 
 
 worthy  to  be  praised,"  as  in  xviii.  3,  7.   This    and    the    next    verse    are 
 
 or  simply  "is  praised."  almost  word  for  word  from  the  Sonij 
 
 5.  Sitteth thronedon HIGH,  ht.  of  Hannah,  i  Sam.  ii,  8. 
 
PSALM  CXIV. 
 
 9  Who  maketh  the  barren  woman  to  keep  house, 
 As  a  joyful  mother  of  children. 
 Hallelujah! 
 
 5^3 
 
 9.  The  curse  of  barrenness  was  so 
 bilter  a  thing  in  Jewish  eyes,  that  its 
 removal  was  hailed  as  a  special  mark 
 of  Divine  favour.  The  allusion  to  it 
 here  was  suggested,  doubtless,  by 
 Hannah's  history,  and  by  the  strain 
 of  Hannah's  song  already  qnoted  : 
 see  I  Sam.  ii.  5. 
 
 Maketh  the  barren  woman, 
 &c.  :  lit.   "  maketh  her  who  is  barren 
 
 of  (in)  the  house  to  dwell,"  i.e.  ma- 
 keth her  who  through  barrenness  lias 
 no  family  to  have  a  family,  and  so 
 have  a  fixed,  settled  habitation  in  the 
 land.  The  use  of  the  phrase  in  Ixviii.  6 
 is  somewhat  different,  as  there  the 
 word  "  house "  means  the  place  of 
 abode ;  here,  the  family.  Compare 
 the  expression  "to  make  a  house," 
 Exod.  i.  21  ;  2  Sam.  vji.  11. 
 
 PSALM  CXIV. 
 
 This  is  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  Psalms  which  touch 
 on  the  early  history  of  Israel.  It  is  certainly  the  most  graphic  and 
 the  most  striking  in  the  boldness  of  its  outlines.  The  following 
 remarks  may  perhaps  illustrate  the  conception  and  plan  of  the  Poem. 
 
 1.  In  structure  it  is  singularly  perfect.  This  rests  upon  the  common 
 principle  of  pairs  of  verses,  and  thus  we  have  four  strophes,  each  con- 
 sisting of  two  verses  ;  each  of  these  verses,  again,  consists  of  two 
 lines,  in  which  the  parallelism  is  carefully  preserved. 
 
 2.  The  effect  is  produced,  as  in  Psalm  xxix.,  not  by  minute  tracing 
 of  details,  but  by  the  boldness  with  which  certain  great  fcatuics  of  the 
 history  are  presented. 
 
 3.  A  singular  animation  and  an  almost  dramatic  force  arc  given  to 
 the  Poem  by  the  beautiful  apostrophe  in  ver.  5,  6,  and  the  effect  of 
 this  is  heightened  in  a  remarkable  degree  by  the  use  of  the  present 
 tense.  The  awe  and  the  trembling  of  nature  are  a  spectacle  on 
 which  the  Poet  is  looking.  The  parted  sea  through  which  Israel 
 walks  as  on  dry  land,  the  rushing  Jordan  arrested  in  its  course,  the 
 
 002 
 
564  PSALM  CXIV. 
 
 granite  cliffs  of  Sinai  shaken  to  their  base— he  sees  it  all,  and  asks  in 
 wonder  what  it  means. 
 
 4.  Then  it  is  that  the  truth  bursts  upon  his  mind,  and  the  impression 
 of  this  upon  the  reader  is  very  finely  managed.  The  name  of  God, 
 which  has  been  entirely  concealed  up  to  this  point  in  the  Poem 
 (even  the  possessive  pronoun  being  left  without  its  substantive, 
 "judah  was  His  sanctuary,  Israel  was  His  dominion  "),  is  now  only 
 introduced  after  the  apostrophe  in  verses  5,  6. 
 
 "  The  reason  seems  evident,  and  this  conduct  necessary,  for  if  God 
 had  appeared  before,  there  could  be  no  wonder  why  the  mountains 
 should  leap  and  the  sea  retire  ;  therefore,  that  this  convulsion  of  nature 
 may  be  brought  in  with  due  surprise.  His  name  is  not  mentioned  till 
 afterward ;  and  then  with  a  very  agreeable  turn  of  thought,  God  is 
 introduced  at  once  in  all  His  majesty."* 
 
 We  have  no  clue  to  guide  us  as  to  the  age  of  the  Psalm,  or  the 
 occasion  for  which  it  was  written,  except  that  perhaps  the  forms  in 
 ver.  8,  which  are  found  in  other  late  Psalms,  may  be  taken  to  indicate 
 a  date  after  the  Exile. 
 
 1  When  Israel  went  forth  out  of  Egypt, 
 
 The  house  of  Jacob  from  a  people  of  strange 
 language, 
 
 2  Judah  became  His  sanctuary, 
 
 Israel  His  dominion. 
 
 3  The  sea  saw  and  fled, 
 
 I,  2.   The   introduction   sets    forth  lit.   "a  stammering  {i.e.  an  unintelli- 
 
 at  once  both  the  great  redemptive  act  gible)  people."     Comp.  Deut.  xxviii. 
 
 and  also  the  end  of  the  redemption,  49  ;  Is.  xxviii.  1 1,  xxxiii.  19;  Jer.  v. 
 
 viz.,   that  God  Himself  might'  dwell  15. 
 
 among  and  rule  His  people.  2.   His  SANCTUARY.    Comp.  Exod. 
 
 This  sanctifying  of  the  nation,  as  a  xv.   17,  where  the  Promised  Land  is 
 
 nation  to  Himself,  took  place  in  the  called     "the    Sanctuary,     O     Lord, 
 
 wilderness  before  the  law  was  given  :  which  Thy  hands  have  established." 
 
 "  Ye  shall  be  unto  Me  a  kingdom  of  His  DOMINION  or  kingdom  :  comp. 
 
 priests   and   a   holy  nation"    (Exod.  Num.  xxiii.  21. 
 
 xix.  6).  3.  The  sea  saw,  viz.  God,  whose 
 
 A  PEOPLE  OF  STRANGE  LANGUAGE,  name   and   whose   presence   are   still 
 
 *  Spectator,  No.  461. 
 
5^5 
 
 PSALM  CXV. 
 
 Jordan  was  turned  backwards  ; 
 The  mountains  skipped  like  rams, 
 The  hills  like  young  sheep. 
 
 5  What  aileth  thee,  O  thou  sea,  that  thou  flccst ; 
 
 Thou  Jordan,  that  thou  art  turned  backwards  ? 
 
 6  Ye  mountains,  that  ye  skip  like  rams  ; 
 
 Ye  hills,  like  young  sheep  ? 
 
 7  Before  the  Lord  tremble,  O  earth. 
 
 Before  God  (the  God  of)  Jacob  ; 
 
 8  Who  changed  the  rock  into  a  pool  of  water, 
 
 The  flint-stone  into  a  fountain  of  waters. 
 
 purposely  concealed.  Comp.  Ixxvii. 
 l6  ;  xcvii.  4 ;  Hab.  iii.  lo. 
 
 The  passage  of  the  Red  Sea  and 
 of  the  Jordan  are  combined,  not  only 
 as  miracles  of  a  similar  character,  but 
 as  marking  the  beginning  and  the  end 
 of  the  great  deliverance — the  escape 
 from  Egypt,  the  entrance  into  the 
 Promised  Land. 
 
 4.  The  i-eference  is  probably  to 
 the  terrors  which  accompanied  the 
 giving  of  the  Law  on  Sinai  (Exod. 
 xix.  18,  "and  the  whole  mount 
 quaked  greatly"),  although  these  con- 
 vulsions of  nature  form  a  part  of  every 
 Theophany,  or  manifestation  of  God. 
 
 Comp.  xviii.  7,  Ixxvii.  iS  ;  Ilab.  iii., 
 Is.  Ixiv.  I — 3.  For  the  figure  sec  Ps. 
 xxix.  6. 
 
 8.  The  rock  {tstir\  refeiring  to 
 the  miracle  in  Exod.  xvii.  6.  The 
 FLINT-STONE  (or  perhaps  "  the  steep 
 cliff"). 
 
 These  miracles  are  selected  as  the 
 most  striking  proofs  of  "  God's  abso- 
 lute creative  omnipotence,  and  of  the 
 grace  which  changes  death  into  life." 
 They  are,  moreover,  parallel  miracles 
 like  the  two  mentioned  in  ver.  3,  and 
 thus  the  poetical  effect  is  height- 
 ened. 
 
 PSALM  CXV. 
 
 This  is  evidently  one  of  the  later  liturgical  Psalms.  It  was  pro- 
 bably composed  for  the  service  of  the  Second  Temple,  whilst  yet  the 
 taunts  of  their  heathen  adversaries  were  ringing  in  the  ears  of  the 
 
566  PSALM  CXV. 
 
 returned  exiles,  and  whilst  yet  contempt  for  the  idolatries  which  they 
 had  witnessed  in  Babylon  was  fresh  in  their  hearts. 
 
 The  Psalm  opens  with  a  confession  of  unworthiness  and  a  prayer 
 that  God  would  vindicate  His  own  honour  against  the  scoff  of  the 
 heathen.     Ver.  r,  2. 
 
 It  exalts  Him,  the  Invisible,  Omn-ipotent,  absolutely  Supreme 
 Ruler  of  the  universe,  and  pours  contempt  upon  the  idols  and  their 
 worshipers.     Ver,  3 — 8. 
 
 It  bids  all  Israel,  both  priests  and  people,  put  their  trust  in  Him 
 who  is  alone  worthy  of  trust,  the  help  and  shield  of  His  people.  Ver. 
 9 — 12. 
 
 It  promises  that  Jehovah  shall  give  His  blessing  to  them  that  thus 
 trust  in  Him,  and  calls  upon  them  in  return  to  give  Him  thanks  for 
 ever.     Ver.  12 — 18. 
 
 Ewald's  conjecture  that  the  Psalm  was  intended  to  be  sung  Avhilst 
 the  sacrifices  were  offered,  and  that  at  ver.  12  the  voice  of  the  priest 
 declares  God's  gracious  acceptance  of  the  sacrifice,  is  not  improbable. 
 He  gives  ver.  i — 11  to  the  congregation,  ver,  12 — 15  to  the  priest, 
 ver.  16 — 18  to  the  congregation.  But  it  seems  more  likely  that  the 
 change  of  voices  comes  in  at  ver.  9,  and  that,  as  Tholuck  supposes, 
 in  each  of  the  verses  9,  10,  11,  the  first  line  was  sung  as  a  solo, 
 perhaps  by  one  of  the  Levites,  and  the  second  by  the  whole  choir. 
 
 [TJie  Congi'egafion?) 
 
 I  Not  unto  us,  O  Jehovah,  not  unto  us, 
 But  unto  Thy  Name,  give  glory, 
 
 Because  of  Thy  loving-kindness,  because  of 
 Thy  truth. 
 
 I.  Not  unto  us.     The  repetition  given  by  Moses,  St.  John  could  say, 
 
 of  the  words  expresses  the  move  vividly  7?    x^-P'^    ««^    >7    aXiQ^ia.    Zib.    'iTjtrod 
 
 the  deep   sense  of  unworthiness,   the  Xpiarov  iyeveTo,  John  i.  17. 
 unfeigned  humility  which  claims  no-  Both  these  attributes  of  God  would 
 
 thing  for  itself.  be     assailed    if    the    taunt    of    the 
 
 Loving-kindness  ....  truth.  heathen  should  be  allowed  to  pass 
 
 The  two  great  characteristic  attributes  unsilenced.     It  is  God's  glory  which 
 
 of  God,  even  in  the  Old  Testament  ;  is  at  stake, 
 though  in  contrast  v/ith  the  Law  as 
 
PSALM  CXV. 
 
 2  Wherefore  should  the  nations  say : 
 "  Where  now  is  their  God  ?  " 
 
 5(^1 
 
 3  But  our  God  is  in  the  heavens  ; 
 
 He  hath  done  whatsoever  He  pleased. 
 
 4  Their  idols  are  silver  and  gold, 
 
 The  work  of  men's  hands. 
 
 5  A  mouth  have  they,  but  they  speak  not; 
 
 Eyes  have  they,  but  they  do  not  see. 
 
 6  They  have  ears,  but  they  hear  not ; 
 
 A  nose  have  they,  but  they  do  not  smell 
 
 7  They  have  hands,  but  they  handle  not ; 
 
 Feet  have  they,  but  they  walk  not  : 
 They  do  not   utler  any  sound   with 
 throat. 
 
 8  Like  unto  them  are  they  that  make  them, 
 
 Every  one  who  putteth  his  trust  in  them 
 
 th 
 
 3.  But,  or  "and  yet."  See  the 
 same  use  of  the  conjunction  in  ii.  6. 
 The  answer  to  the  taunt  of  the 
 heathen,  who,  seeing  no  image  of 
 Jehovah,  mocked  at  His  existence. 
 First,  He  is  in  heaven,  invisible  in- 
 deed, yet  thence  ruHng  the  universe  ; 
 next,  He  doeth  what  He  will,  in  fine 
 contrast  with  the  utter  impotence  of 
 the  idols  of  the  heatlien.  The  last  ex- 
 pression denotes  both  God's  almighty 
 l)ower  and  His  absolute  freedom. 
 This,  truthfully  accepted,  does  away 
 with  all  d,  prio7-i  objections  to  mi- 
 racles. 
 
 4.  Silver  and  gold,  i.e.  how- 
 ever costly  the  material,  this  adds  no 
 real  value  to  the  image;  it  is,  after 
 all,  man's  workmanship.  This  seems 
 to  be  the  thought  :  otherwise  the 
 Psalmist  would  have  said  "wood 
 and  stone"  rather  than  "silver  and 
 gold."  This  agrees  also  with  what 
 lollows.  "  Though  they  may  be  of 
 costly  materials,  they  are  but  of  hu- 
 
 man workmanship  ;  though  they  may 
 have  the  form  and  members  of  man, 
 they  are  lifeless." 
 
 We  have  the  same  description  of 
 these  dumb  and  deaf  and  dead  gods 
 in  cxxxv.  15 — 18,  probably  borrowed 
 from  this  passage.  Comp.  Deut.  iv. 
 28,  and  the  sarcastic  picture  in  Is. 
 xliv.  9 — 20. 
 
 8.  Like  unto  them.  So  true  it 
 is,  not  only  that  as  is  man  so  is  his 
 god,  but  the  reverse  also,  as  is  the 
 god  so  is  his  worshiper.  Comp.  Is. 
 xliv.  9,  where  \\  hat  is  elsewhere  said 
 of  the  idols  is  said  of  the  worshiper>, 
 that  they  are  "  emptiness  ;  "  and  ob- 
 serve the  use  of  the  verb  "  to  become 
 vain,"  2  Kings  xvii.  15  ;  Jer.  ii.  5, 
 applied  in  like  manner  to  idolaters. 
 They  who,  turning  away  from  God's 
 witness  of  Himself  in  the  vi>il)le  crea- 
 tion, worshipt  the  creature  rather  than 
 the  Creator,  received  in  themselves 
 the  sentence  of  their  own  degrada- 
 tion,   "  Their   fooli^^h   heart    became 
 
568 
 
 PSALM  CXV. 
 
 lO 
 
 II 
 
 {Levitcs  and  Choir?)       ^ 
 
 O  Israel,  trust  in  Jehovah  ! 
 
 He  is  their  help  and  their  shield. 
 O  house  of  Aaron,  trust  ye  in  Jehovah  ! 
 
 He  is  their  help  and  their  shield. 
 Ye  that  fear  Jehovah,  trust  in  Jehovah  ! 
 
 He  is  their  help  and  their  shield. 
 
 {TJie  Priest^ 
 
 12  Jehovah  (who)  hath  been  mindful  of  us  will  bless- 
 
 He  will  bless  the  house  of  Israel, 
 He  will  bless  the  house  of  Aaron. 
 
 13  He  will  bless  them  that  fear  Jehovah, 
 
 Both  small  and  great. 
 
 darkened."  They  became  blind  and 
 deaf  and  dumb  and  dead,  like  the 
 idols  they  set  up  to  worship, 
 
 9.  The  change  in  the  strain  of  the 
 Psalm  here  must  unquestionably  have 
 been  accompanied  by  a  change  in  the 
 music.  And  it  appears  highly  pro- 
 bable, as  has  been  said,  that  the  first 
 line  of  this  and  the  two  following 
 verses  was  sung  as  a  solo  by  some  one 
 of  the  Levites,  and  the  second  line,  or 
 refrain,  which  occurs  in  each  verse, 
 "He  is  their  help  and  their  shield," 
 by  the  choir. 
 
 Trust  in  Jehovah,  in  contrast 
 with  the  "trust"  of  the  previous 
 verse.  Trust  in  Jehovah,  for  He  is 
 not  like  the  idols  ;  He  is  the  living 
 God,  "  the  help  and  the  shield " 
 (comp.  xxxiii.  20)  of  them  that  trust 
 in  Him.  Trust  in  Jehovah,,  for  He 
 hath  been  mindful  of  us  in  times  past. 
 He  will  bless  us  in  time  to  come 
 (ver.  12).  The  threefold  division, 
 Israel — house  of  A^ron — they  that 
 fear  Jehovah,  is  the  same  as  in  cxviii. 
 
 2,  3,  4,     In  cxxxv.  20  the  house  of 
 Levi  is  added. 
 
 10.  First  the  people  at  large  are 
 exhorted  to  this  trust,  then  the  priests, 
 because  to  them  was  confided  the  wor- 
 ship of  Jehovah,  with  them  it  rested 
 to  keep  it  pure,  and  they  might  natu- 
 rally be  expected  to  lead  the  people 
 in  the  path  of  holy  trust. 
 
 11.  Ye  that  fear  Jehovah. 
 This  has  been  understood  of  pro- 
 selytes of  the  gate,  in  accordance 
 with  the  later  Jewish  and  New  Test, 
 usage,  as  in  the  Acts,  o-eSo^ewi  tov 
 ©eoi/,  or  simply  ae^oikivoi.  Comp. 
 Acts  xiii,  43,  50.  But  in  other  places 
 in  the  Psalms  the  phrase  occurs  of  all 
 
 Israel :  see  xxii.  2 
 
 3,  cm.  II,  13,  17. 
 
 12.  Hath  been  mindful 
 WILL  BLESS.  The  past  is  the  pledge 
 of  the  future.  Again  the  same  three 
 classes  are  mentioned  as  in  the  three 
 preceding  verses. 
 
 This  blessing,  thus  promised  (ver. 
 12,  13)  and  thus  supplicated  (ve;-.  14, 
 15),  was  sung,  as  Ewald  conjectures, 
 
PSALM  CXVT. 
 
 569 
 
 14  May  Jehovah  increase  you  more  and  more, 
 
 You  and  your  children  ! 
 
 15  Blessed  be  ye  of  Jehovah, 
 
 The  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 
 
 {TJie  Congregation}) 
 
 16  The  heavens  are  Jehovah's  heavens  ; 
 
 But  the  earth  He  hath  given  to  the  children 
 of  men. 
 
 17  The  dead  cannot  praise  Jah, 
 
 Neither  all  they  that  go  down  into  silence ; 
 
 18  But  we  will  bless  Jah 
 
 From  henceforth  even  for  ever, 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 by  the  priest.      But  see  Introduction 
 to  Ps,  cxviii. 
 
 14.  Increase  you.  Comp.  Gen. 
 XXX.  24  ;  Deut.  i,  1 1  ;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  3. 
 
 15.  Maker  of  heaven  and 
 EARTH.  The  title  has  reference  to 
 the  impotent  idols  before  described. 
 
 16.  The  words  in  this  and  the  next 
 verse  are  simple  enough,  but  their 
 connection  \\ith  the  rest  of  the  Psalm 
 is  not  very  clear.-  Perhaps  it  may  be 
 traced  thus  :  In  ver.  15  Jehovah  is 
 said  to  have  made  heaven  and  earth. 
 Then  in  ver.  16  these  are  distributed  : 
 heaven  is   His  abode  ;   earth   is   the 
 
 abode  of  man.  But  the  mention  of 
 heaven  and  earth  suggests  the  lliuughi 
 of  another  region,  that  unseen  v.or-d 
 below  where  none  can  praise  God  as 
 they  do  on  this  fair  earth  which  Pie 
 has  given  to  the  children  of  men. 
 But  what  the  dead  cannot  do,  we  will 
 do, — we  to  whom  our  God  has  given 
 the  earth,  we  to  whom  Me  has  been 
 a  help  and  a  shield,  we  whom  He  has 
 blessed  and  will  bless,  we  with  thank- 
 {w\  hearts  will  never  cease  to  show 
 lorth  His  praise. 
 
 17.   Comp.  cxviii.   17;  Is.   xxwui. 
 18,  19. 
 
 PSALM  CXVI. 
 
 In  this  Psalm  one  who  has  been  in  peril  of  death  (ver.  3,  9,  15) 
 o-ives  thanks  to  God  with  a  full  heart  for  the  deliverance  which  has 
 been  vouchsafed  to  him.     Beginning  with  the  expression  of  a  love  to 
 
570  PSALM  CXVL 
 
 God  called  forth  by  His  mercy,  the  Psalmist  then  passes  in  review  all 
 God's  goodness,  till  he  feels  that  it  surpasses  infinitely  not  only  all 
 his  deserts,  but  all  adequate  power  of  acknowledgement  (ver.  12)  ; 
 and  he  concludes  by  declaring  that  in  the  most  public  manner,  before 
 the  assembled  congregation,  he  will  confess  how  great  the  debt  he 
 owes,  and  bind  himself  solemnly  to  the  service  of  Jehovah. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  evidence  of  the  truth  and  depth  of  the  religious  Hfe 
 in  individuals  after  the  return  from  the  Exile  ;  for  there  can  be  little 
 doubt  that  it  must  be  assigned  to  that  period.  Many  words  and 
 turns  of  phrases  remind  us  of  earher  Psalms,  and  especially  of  the 
 Psalms  of  David.  His  words  must  have  laid  hold  in  no  common 
 degree  of  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  heirs  of  his  faith,  and  have 
 sustained  them  in  times  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  and  nothing  would 
 be  more  natural  than  that  later  Poets  should  echo  his  strains,  and. 
 mingle  his  words  with  their  own  when  they  poured  forth  their  prayers 
 and  praises  before  God. 
 
 1  I  LOVE  (Him)  because  Jehovah  heareth 
 
 My  voice  (and)  my  supplications, 
 
 2  Because  He  hath  incHned  His  ear  unto  me, 
 
 Therefore  as  long  as  I  live  will  I  call  (upon  Him). 
 
 3  The  cords  of  Death  compassed  me, 
 
 And  the  pains  of  the  unseen  world  gat  hold  upon  me. 
 Distress  and  sorrow  did  I  find  : 
 
 4  Then  I  called  upon  the  name  of  Jehovah,' 
 
 "  O  Jehovah,  I  beseech  Thee,  deliver  my  soul." 
 
 5  Gracious  is  Jehovah  and  righteous  ; 
 
 I.  I  LOVE.     The  verb  stands  alone  2.   As  LONG  as  I  LIVE,  lit.  "in  my 
 
 without  any  expressed  object,  as  if  the  days." 
 
 full  heart  needed  not  to  express  it.  3.  The  later  Psalmists  would  na- 
 The  object  appears  as  subject  in  the  turally  often  use  David's  words  as  the 
 next  clause,  from  which  it  is  readily  best  expression  of  their  own  feelings, 
 supplied  :  "I  love  Jehovah,  for  He  especially  in  seasons  of  peril  and  sor- 
 heareth,"  &c.  The  writer  is  fond  of  row.  See  xviii.  I — 6. 
 this  pregnant  use  of  the  verb  without  5.  Instead  of  saying  directly,  "Te- 
 ar object  expressed.  See  ver.  2,  "  I  hovah  answered  me,"  he  magnifies 
 call,"  and  ver.  10,  "  I  believe."  For  those  attributes  of  God  which,  from 
 the  sentiment,  comp.  xviii.  I,  "Ten-  the  days  of  His  wDnderfuL  self-reve- 
 derly  do  I  love  Thee. "  ladon  to  Moses  (Ex.    xxxiv.  6),  had 
 
10 
 
 II 
 
 PSALM  CXVT. 
 
 Yea,  our  God  showeth  tender  compassion, 
 Jehovah  keepeth  the  simple  : 
 
 I  was  in  misery  and  He  helped  me: 
 Return  unto  thy  rest,  O  my  soul, 
 
 For  Jehovah  hath  dealt  bountifully  with  thee. 
 For  Thou  hast  delivered  my  soul  from  death, 
 
 Mine  eye  from  tears, 
 
 My  foot  from  stumbling. 
 I  will  walk  before  Jehovah 
 
 In  the  land  of  the  living. 
 I  believe  (in  Him)  ; — for  I  must  speak  : 
 
 I  was  greatly  afflicted. 
 I  said  in  my  confusion, 
 
 "  All  men  are  liars." 
 
 571 
 
 12  How  shall  I  repay  to  Jehovah 
 All  His  benefits  unto  me  .'' 
 
 been  the  joy  and  consolation  of  every 
 tried  and  trusting  heart.  See  Intro- 
 duction to  ciii.  The  epit^iet  "right- 
 eous" is  added  here,  as  in  cxii.  4. 
 
 6.  The  simple.  The  very  sim- 
 pUcity  which  lays  them  most  readily 
 open  to  attack  is  itself  an  appeal  for 
 protection  to  Him  who  "showeth 
 tender  compassion." 
 
 7.  The  deliverance  vouchsafed  in 
 answer  to  prayer  stills  the  tumult  of 
 the  soul.  The  rest  is  the  rest  of 
 confidence  in  God. 
 
 10.  The  E.  v.,  "I  beheved,  there- 
 fore have  I  spoken,"  follows  the 
 LXX.,  iiri(Tr€v<ra,  did  iKdhrjcra,  a 
 rendering  which  is  also  adopted  by 
 St.  Paul,  2  Cor.  iv.  13,  in  illustration 
 of  the  truth  that  a  living  faith  in  the 
 heart  will  utter  its  convictions  with 
 the  mouth.  But  the  Hebrew  will 
 not  admit  of  such  a  rendering.  The 
 following  are  possible  in;eq:)rctations  : 
 (l)  "I  believe  when  I  speak,"  i.e. 
 when    I    break   forth   into   the  cura- 
 
 plaint  v/hich  follows  in  the  next 
 clause.  Or  (2),  "I  believe" — em- 
 phatic, i.e.  I  do  believe,  I  have  learnt 
 trust  in  God  by  painful  experience — 
 "for  I  must  speak" — I  must  confess 
 it,  "I,  even  I  (pron.  emphatic),  was 
 greatly  afiflicted  ;  1  myself  (pron.  em- 
 phatic, as  before)  said,"  &c.  The 
 latter  explanation  seems,  on  the 
 Avhole,  preferable,  as  it  gives  the  due 
 prominence  to  the  repeated  pronoun, 
 and  moreover  a  satisfactory  sense  is 
 obtained.  The  Psalmist  declares  that 
 he  stays  himself  upon  God  ("I  be- 
 lieve"), for  he  had  looked  10  him- 
 self,  and  there  had  seen  nothing  but 
 weakness ;  he  hud  looked  to  other 
 men  and  found  them  all  deceitful, 
 treacherous  as  a  broken  reed.  Com}>. 
 Ix  II,  Ixii.  9,  cxviii.  8,  9.  There  is 
 an  allusion  to  this  passage  in  Rom. 
 iii.  4. 
 
 II.   The  first  member  is  \w  >ame 
 as  in  xxxi.  22. 
 
572 
 
 PSALM  CXVI. 
 
 13  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation, 
 
 And  call  on  the  Name  of  Jehovah. 
 
 14  My  vows  unto  Jehovah  will  I  pay, 
 
 Yea,  in  the  presence  of  all  His  people  let  me  (pay 
 them). 
 
 15  Precious  In  the  sight  of  Jehovah 
 
 Is  the  death  of  His  beloved. 
 
 16  I  beseech  Thee,  O  Jehovah — for  I  am  Thy  servant, 
 
 I  am  Thy  servant,  the  son  of  Thine  handmaid  ; 
 Thou  hast  loosed  my  bonds. 
 
 17  I    will    sacrifice   unto    Thee    the    sacrifice    of    thanks- 
 
 giving, 
 And  I  will  call  upon  the  Name  of  Jehovah. 
 
 18  My  vows  will  I  pay  unto  Jehovah, 
 
 Yea,  in  the  presence  of  all  His  people  let  me  (pay 
 them), 
 
 19  In  the  courts  of  Jehovah's  house, 
 
 In  the  midst  of  thee,  O  Jerusalem  ! 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 13.  The  cup.  Many  see  in  the 
 word  an  allusion  to  the  "  cup  of  bless- 
 ing" at  the  Paschal  meal  (INIatt.  xxvi. 
 27),  and  this  would  accord  with  the 
 sacrificial  language  of  ver.  14,  17. 
 It  is  true  there  is  no  evidence  of  any 
 H-  such  custom  at  the  celebration  of  the 
 Passover  in  the  Old  Test.  ;  but  as  the 
 custom  existed  in  our  Lord's  time, 
 the  only  question  is  as  to  the  time  of 
 its  introduction.  If  it  was  introduced 
 shortly  after  the  Exile,  this  Psalm 
 may  very  well  allude  to  it.  Others 
 understand  by  "the  cup,"  in  a  figu- 
 rative sense,  the  portion  allotted 
 to  man,  whether  of  prosperity,  as  in 
 xvi.  5,  xxiii.  5 ;  or  of  adversity,  as  in 
 xi.  6,  Ixxv.  8.  So  the  Arabs  speak 
 of  "the  cup  of  death,"  "the  cup  of 
 love,"  &c.  Then  the  meaning  of  the 
 verse  will  be,  "I  will  accept  thank- 
 
 fully and  with  devout  acknowledge- 
 ment the  blessings  which  God  gives 
 me  as  my  portion." 
 
 14.  Let  me  (pay  them).  I  have 
 endeavoured  thus  to  render  here, 
 and  in  ver.  18  (the  refrain),  the  in- 
 terjection which  is  used  in  beseeching. 
 It  is  a  part  of  the  same  interjec- 
 tion M'hich  occur?  in  ver.  4  and 
 16,  and  which  is  there  rendered, 
 "I  beseech  Thee."  A  fondness 
 for  these  forms  is  characteristic  of  the 
 Psalm. 
 
 15.  Precious  ...  is  the  death, 
 i.e.  it  is  no  light  thing  in  the  sight  of 
 God  that  His  servant  should  perish. 
 The  more  obvious  form  of  expression 
 occurs  in  Ixxii.  14,  "precious  is 
 their  blood  in  His  eyes." 
 
 16.  Son  of  Thine  handmaid. 
 Comp.  Ixxxvi.  16  ;  2  Tim.  i.  5. 
 
I'SALMS   CXVIL,   CXVIJI. 
 
 573 
 
 PSALM  CXVII. 
 
 This  short  Psalm  may  have  been  a  doxology  intended  to  be  sung 
 after  other  Psalms,  or  perhaps  at  the  beginning  or  end  of  the  Temple 
 service.  In  many  MSS.  and  editions  it  is  joined  with  the  following 
 Psalm,  but  without  any  sufficient  reason. 
 
 1  O  PRAISE  Jehovah,  all  ye  nations. 
 
 Laud  Him,  all  ye  peoples  ! 
 
 2  For  His  loving-kindness  is  mightily  shown  towards  us, 
 
 And  the  truth  of  Jehovah  is  for  ever. 
 Hallelujah ! 
 
 2.  Loving-kindness  .  ,  .  truth. 
 These  two  great  attributes  of  God 
 (see  on  cxv.  i),  as  manifested  to 
 Israel,  ^Uowards  t(s,'^  are  to  be  the 
 subject  of  praise  for  the  heathen,  an 
 indication  of  those  wider  sympathies 
 which  appear  to  have  manifested 
 themselves  after  the  Exile.  Hence 
 the  first  verse  is  quoted  by  St.  Paul, 
 
 Rom.  XV.  lo,  1 1, -together  with  Deut. 
 xxxii.  43,  "Rejoice,  ye  Gentiles,  with 
 His  people,"  as  showing  that  in  the 
 purpose  of  God  the  Genliles  were 
 destined  to  be  partakers,  together 
 with  the  Jews,  of  His  mercy  in 
 Christ. 
 
 Is      MIGHTILY     SHOWN.         Comp. 
 
 ciii.  II. 
 
 PSALM  CXVHI. 
 
 It  is  evident  that  this  Psalm  was  designed  to  be  sung  in  the 
 Temple  worship,  and  was  composed  for  some  festal  occas  on.  Its 
 liturgical  character  is  shown  by  the  formula  with  which  it  opens  and 
 clcses,  "  O  give  thanks  to   Jehovah,"  &c.  ;   by  the   introduction    of 
 
574  PSALM  CXVIIL 
 
 different  voices,  wliich  may  be  inferred  in  ver.  2 — 4  ;  and  by  the 
 frequent  repetition  of  certain  lines  as  a  refrain  in  the  former  hah"  of 
 the  Psahn,  which  can  leave  little  doubt  that  it  was  constructed  with  a 
 view  to  antiphonal  singing.  The  allusions  in  the  latter  part,  and 
 especially  ver.  24,  "  This  is  the  day  which  Jehovah  hath  made,"  &c. 
 point  to  some  great  festival  as  the  occasion  for  which  it  was  written. 
 Its  general  character,  and  the  many  passages  in  it  borrowed  from 
 earlier  writers,  render  it  probable  that  it  is  one  of  the  later  Psalms, 
 and  we  may  assume  that  it  was  composed  after  the  return  from 
 the  Captivity. 
 
 Four  different  occasions  have  been  suggested  for  which  it  might 
 have  been  written  : — 
 
 1.  The  first  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  in  the  seventh 
 month  of  the  first  year  of  the  Return,  when  nothing  but  the  altar  had, 
 as  yet,  been  erected  for  the  worship  of  God,  Ezra  iii.  i — 4.    (Ewald.) 
 
 2.  The  laying  of  the  foundation-stone  of  the  Second  Temple  in  the 
 second  month  of  the  second  year,  Ezra  iii.  8 — 13.     (Hengstenberg.) 
 
 3.  The  completion  and  consecration  of  the  Temple  in  the  twelfth 
 month  of  the  seventh  year  of  Darius,  Ezra  vi.  15 — 18.     (Dehtzsch.) 
 
 4.  The  extraordinary  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  after 
 the  completion  of  the  Second  Temple,  recorded  in  Neh.  viii.  13 — 18. 
 (Stier.) 
 
 The  following  considerations  may  help  us  to  decide  : — 
 
 1.  The  use  of  the  Psalm  in  the  Ritual  of  the  Second  Temple  leads 
 to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  composed  originally  for  the  Feast  of 
 Tabernacles.  For  the  words  of  the  25th  verse  were  sung  during  that 
 Feast,  when  the  altar  of  burnt-offering  was  solemnly  conipassed  ;  that 
 is,  once  on  each  of  the  first  six  days  of  the  Feast,  and  seven  times  on 
 the  seventh  day.  This  seventh  day  was  called  "  the  great  Hosamiah  " 
 {Save  now,  ver.  25)  ;  and  not  only  the  prayers  for  the  Feast,  but  even 
 the  branches  of  trees,  including  the  myrtles  which  were  attached  to 
 the  palm-branch  {Lulab),  were  called  "  Hosannas."  Further,  although 
 the  Psalm  itself  contains  no  direct  allusion  to  any  of  the  national 
 Feasts,  yet  the  use  of  the  word  "  tents  "  in  ver.  1 5  at  least  accords  very 
 well  with  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles. 
 
 2.  In  the  next  place,  it  seems  equally  clear  that  the  Psalm  supposes 
 the  completion  of  the  Temple.     The  language  of  verses  19,  20,  "  Opea 
 
PSALM  CXVJIL  575 
 
 me  the  gates  of  righteousness,"  "This  is  the  gate  of  Jehovah,"  and  the 
 figure  employed  in  ver.  22,  "  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected  is 
 become  the  head  stone  of  the  corner,"  cannot  be  easily  explained  on 
 any  other  supposition.  The  allusions  in  verses  8 — 12  to  the  deccilful- 
 ness  of  human  help  and  the  favour  of  princes,  as  well  as  to  the  active 
 interference  of  troublesome  enemies,  are  exactly  in  accordance  with 
 all  that  we  read  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  rebuilding  of 
 the  Temple.  The  most  probable  conclusion  therefore  is,  that  the 
 Psalm  was  composed  for  the  first  celebration  of  the  Feast  of  Taber- 
 nacles, after  the  completion  of  the  Second  Temple.  (Nehemiah 
 viii.) 
 
 The  congregation  speak  of  themselves  sometimes  in  the  singular, 
 sometimes  in  the  plural,  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  assume  that 
 in  the  former  case  the  words  were  sung  by  a  single  voice,  and  in 
 the  latter  by  many.  It  is  more  probable  that  in  some  portions  of 
 the  Psalm,  although  it  was  intended  for  public  worship,  the  personal 
 feelings  of  the  writer  were  uppermost.  There  is  the  same  change, 
 for  instance,  in  the  "  Te  Deum,"  and  such  variations  are  perfectly 
 natural. 
 
 O  GIVE  thanks  to  Jehovah,  for  He  is  good, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 Let  Israel  now  say, 
 
 That  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 Let  the  house  of  Aaron  now  say, 
 
 That  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 Let  them  now  that  fear  Jehovah  say. 
 
 That  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 Out  of  (my)  straitness  I  cried  unto  Jah, 
 
 Jah  answered  me  (and  set  me)  in  a  large  place. 
 Jehovah  is  on  my  side,  I  am  not  afraid  ; 
 
 What  can  man  do  unto  me  t 
 
 1—4.   Comp.   Ezra   iii.    ii,   where  in  favour  of  Hengstenbcrg's  view  as 
 
 the  same  refrain  is  found  as  the  bur-  tu  the  occasion  on  which  the  I'salin 
 
 den  of  the  psalmody  wliich  was  sung  A\as  first  sung.     See  Introduction  10 
 
 at  the  laying  of  the   foundations   of  the  Psalm, 
 the  Second  Temple.     This  is  so  far  6.  Lurrowed  from  hi.  9,  ii. 
 
576  PSALM  CXVIIL 
 
 7  Jehovah  is  on  my  side,  to  help  me, 
 
 Therefore  I  shall  see  my  desire  upon  them  that  hate 
 me. 
 
 8  It  is  better  to  find  refuge  in  Jehovah 
 
 Than  to  put  any  trust  in  man  : 
 
 9  It  is  better  to  find  refuge  in  Jehovah 
 
 Than  to  put  any  trust  in  princes. 
 
 lo 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 H 
 
 All  nations  compassed  me  about, 
 
 But  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  will  I  cut  them  off. 
 They  compassed  me  about,  yea,  they  compassed  me 
 about. 
 
 But  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  will  I  cut  them  off. 
 They  compassed  me  about  like  bees, 
 
 They  were  extinguished  like  a  fire  of  thorns  : 
 In  the  name  of  Jehovah  will  I  cut  them  off. 
 Thou  didst  thrust  sore  at  me,  that  I  might  fall, 
 
 But  Jehovah  helped  me. 
 Jah  is  my  strength  and  my  song, 
 
 And  He  is  become  my  salvation. 
 
 7.  To  HELP  ME,  or  "as  my 
 Helper."     Comp.  liv.  4. 
 
 8,  9.  See  Ixii.,  xxxiii.  16 — 19,  and 
 comp.  cxlvi.  3. 
 
 The  allusion  is  probably  to  the 
 hostility  of  the  Samaritans  and  the 
 Persian  satraps  during  the  building 
 of  the  Temple.  The  Jews  had  learnt 
 by  painful  experience  how  little  they 
 could  trust  in  princes,  for  the  work 
 which  had  been  begun  under  Cyrus 
 had  been  threatened  ur(,der  Cambyses, 
 and  had  been  suspended  under  the 
 pseud  o-Smerdis,  and  it  was  not  till 
 Darius  came  to  the  throne  that  they 
 were  allowed  to  resume  it  (Ezra 
 iv.). 
 
 10.  All  nations,  i.e.  the  neigh- 
 bouring tribes,  who  harassed  the 
 retumin  exiles,  the  four  times 
 repeated     ''compassed    me     about" 
 
 marking  their  close  and  pertinacious 
 hostility. 
 
 12.  Like  bees.  See  the  same 
 figure  Deut.  i.  44. 
 
 Fire  of  thorns,  quickly  blazing 
 up  and  as  quickly  dying  out.  Comp. 
 IviiL  9. 
 
 13.  Thou  didst  thrust  sore, 
 or  perhaps,  "Thou  didst  indeed  thrust, 
 &c.  .  .  .  but,''''  for  the  emphasis  in 
 the  repetition  of  the  verb  belongs, 
 not  merely  to  the  idea  contained  in 
 the  verb,  but  rather  to  the  whole 
 sentence,  and  implies  an  opposition, 
 as  here  in  what  follows.  The  words 
 are  an  apostrophe  to  the  enemy,  here 
 addressed  as  an  individual. 
 
 14.  In  the  first  line  there  is  a 
 reminiscence  of  Israel's  song  of 
 triumph  at  the  Red  Sea,  Ex.  xv.  2 
 (comp.  Is.  xii.  2). 
 
PSALM  CXVITL 
 
 1 5  The  voice  of  joyous  song  and  salvation 
 
 Is  in  the  tents  of  the  righteous  : 
 The  right  hand  of  Jehovah  doeth  valiantly. 
 
 1 6  The  right  hand  of  Jehovah  is  exalted, 
 
 The  right  hand  of  Jehovah  doeth  valiantly. 
 
 17  I  shall  not  die,  but  live, 
 
 And  I  shall  tell  forth  the  works  of  Jah. 
 
 1 8  Jehovah  hath  chastened  me  sore, 
 
 But  He  hath  not  given  me  over  unto  death. 
 
 19  Open  to  me  the  gates  of  righteousness, 
 
 I  will  go  into  them,  I  will  give  thanks  to  Jah. 
 
 20  This  is  the  gate  of  Jehovah, 
 
 The  righteous  shall  enter  into  it. 
 
 577 
 
 15.  Tents,  or  "tabernacles." 
 *'We  can  imagine  with  what  special 
 force  the  words  [of  this  verse]  would 
 come  to  those  who  then  were,  or  had 
 but  recently  been,  keeping  their  Feast 
 of  Tabernacles,  dwelling  in  the  tem- 
 porary huts  which  they  constructed 
 of  the  branches  of  the  olive  and  the 
 fig-tree,  the  myrtle  and  the  palm, 
 and  rejoicing  in  the  great  deliverance 
 which  God  had  given  them." — 
 Plumptre,  Biblical  Studies,  pp.  274, 
 
 275- 
 
 17.  The  personal  feeling  of  the 
 Psalmist  seems  here  to  predominate, 
 though  the  Psalm  is  so  manifestly 
 liturgical,  and  therefore  intended  to 
 represent  the  feelings  of  the  congre- 
 gation, that  the  personal  experience 
 includes  that  of  the  nation  at  large. 
 Each  one  of  those  redeemed  cap- 
 tives may  take  up  the  words  and 
 utter  them  as  his  own,  and  the  whole 
 nation  as  one  man  may  adopt  them 
 also.  Nationally  and  individually 
 they  are  alike  true. 
 
 19.  The  gates  of  righteous- 
 ness. The  gates  of  the  Temple 
 are  so  called  with  reference  to  the 
 sendee   of  God,  and  the  character  He 
 
 requires  of  Ilis  worshipers.  This 
 is  evident  from  the  next  verse,  "The 
 righteous  shall  enter  info  it."  Conip. 
 v.  4,  "  Evil  cannot  dwell  with  Thee," 
 i.e.  in  Thy  house;  xv.  i,  2,  "Who 
 may  dwell  on  Thy  holy  mountain  ? 
 He  that  walketh  perfectly  and  worketh 
 righteousneis,"  &c.  vSee  also  xxiv. 
 3 — 6.  What  David  had  declared  to 
 be  the  necessary  condition  of  all  ac- 
 ceptable worship  in  the  first  Temple 
 was  felt  to  be  true  also  of  the 
 second. 
 
 The  demand  "Open  to  me"  may 
 be  understood  either  (i)  literally,  in 
 which  case  it  is  best  explained  as  the 
 words  of  the  singers  in  the  festal  pro- 
 cession when  they  reach  the  Temple 
 gates  (see  Introduction  to  the  Psalm)  ; 
 or  (2)  figuratively,  as  implying  the 
 readiness  and  alacrity  with  which  the 
 Psalmist  will  go  to  the  house  of  God, 
 there  to  offer  his  sacrifices  and  to  utter 
 his  thanksgivings.  Comp.  Is.  xxvi.  2, 
 "  Open  ye  the  gates,  that  the  righteous 
 nation  may  enter  in,"  where  right- 
 eousness is  made  the  condition  of 
 entrance  into  "the  strong  city"  of 
 God's  building,  as  here  into  the  holy 
 place. 
 
 P   P 
 
578 
 
 PSALM  CXVIIL 
 
 21   I  will  give  thanks  unto  Thee,  for  Thou  hast  answered 
 
 me. 
 
 And  art  become  my  salvation. 
 22  A  stone  which  the  builders  rejected 
 
 Is  become  the  head  (stone)  of  the  corner. 
 
 22.     A    STONE,     The    imagery    is 
 dra\\Ti   obviously   from   the   building 
 of  the  Temple.      "  Some  incident  in 
 the  -progress  of  the  works   had  pro- 
 bably served  as  the  starting-point  of 
 the    parable.     Some    stone — a    frag- 
 ment, we  may  conjecture,  of  the  Old 
 Temple,  rescued  from  its  ruins — had 
 seemed  to  the  architects  unfit  for  the 
 work    of   binding   together  the   two 
 walls  that  met  at  right  angles  to  each 
 other.     They  would   have    preferred 
 some  new  block  of  their  own  fashion- 
 ing.    But    the   priests,     it   may    be, 
 more  conversant  with   the  traditions 
 of  the  Temple,  knew  that  that  was 
 the  right  place   for   it,   and   that   no 
 other    stone   would    answer    half  as 
 well.     The  trial  was  made,   and  the 
 issue    answered    their     expectations. 
 Could  they  fail  to  see  that  this  was 
 a  type  and  figure  of  what  was  then 
 passing  in  the  history  of  their  nation  ? 
 Israel    had    been     rejected    by     the 
 builders  of  this  world's  empires,   and 
 seemed  now  about  to  be  once  more 
 '  the  head  of  the  corner.'"     {Biblical 
 Studies,    p.    275.)     They    had    been 
 despised   by   their   heathen   masters, 
 but  now,  by  the  good  hand  of  their 
 God  upon  them,  they  had  been  lifted 
 into   a  place  of  honour.     They,  re- 
 jected of  men,  were  chosen  of  God 
 as  a  chief  stone  of  that  new  spiritual 
 building  which  Jehovah  was  about  to 
 erect ;  that  temple  of  the  world,   the 
 foundation  of  which  was  to  be  laid  in 
 Zion.     In   Matt.  xxi.  42 — 44  (Mark 
 xii.  10,  II  ;  Luke,  xx.  17),  our  Lord 
 applies   the   woi-ds   of    this   and   the 
 next  verse  to   Himself,     The   quota- 
 tion was,    it  would  seem,   purposely 
 taken  from    the    same   Psalm    from 
 
 which  the  multitude  had  just  before 
 taken  their  words  of  salutation  (see 
 on  ver.  25,  26),  as  they  went  forth 
 to  meet  Him  and  conduct  Him  in 
 triumph  into  Jerusalem.  But  there  is 
 more  than  an  application  of  the 
 \vords.  Israel  is  not  only  a  figure  of 
 Christ,  there  is  an  organic  unity  be- 
 tween Him  and  them.  Whatever, 
 therefore,  is  true  of  Israel  in  a  lower 
 sense,  is  true  in  its  highest  sense  of 
 Christ.  Is  Israel  God's  "first-bom 
 son "  ?  the  name  in  its  fulfilment  be- 
 longs to  Christ  (Matt.  ii.  15)  ;  if 
 Israel  is  "the  servant  of  Jehovah," 
 he  is  so  only  as  imperfectly  repre- 
 senting Him  who  Said,  ' '  My  meat  is 
 to  do  the  will  of  Him  who  sent  me, 
 and  to  finish  His  work."  If  Israel 
 is  the  rejected  stone  made  the  head 
 of  the  corner,  this  is  far  truer  of  Him 
 who  was  indeed  rejected  of  men,  but 
 chosen  of  God  and  precious ;  the 
 corner-stone  of  the  one  great  living 
 temple  of  the  redeemed,  whether 
 Jews  or  Gentiles.  (Comp.  Eph.  ii. 
 20. )  See  the  use  of  the  same  figure 
 in  its  application  to  our  Lord  by 
 St.  Peter,  Acts  iv.  11  ;  i  Pet.  ii.  7. 
 
 The  passage  which  forms  the 
 connecting  link  between  this  Psalm 
 and  the  N.  T.  quotaticms  is  Isaiah 
 xxviii.  16,  "Behold,  it  is  I  who  have 
 laid  securely  in  Zion  a  stone,  a  tried 
 precious  corner-stone,  most  securely 
 laid:  he  that  believeth  (i.e.  resteth 
 thereon)  shall  not  flee  (through  fear 
 of  any  evil)."  In  this  passage  the 
 Messianic  reference  is  still  more  di- 
 rect, even  if  we  suppose  a  primary 
 reference  to  the  house  of  David.  (It 
 is  interpreted  as  Messianic  both  by 
 the  Targum  and,  amongst  the  Rabbi- 
 
PSALM  CXVIII. 
 
 579 
 
 23  This  is  Jehovah's  doing-, 
 
 It  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes. 
 
 24  This  is  the  day  which  Jehovah  hath  made, 
 
 Let  us  exult  and  be  glad  in  it. 
 
 25  I  beseech  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  save  now, 
 
 I  beseech  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  send  now  prosperity. 
 
 26  Blessed  be  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  Jehovah, 
 
 We  have  blessed  you  from  the  house  of  Jehovah. 
 2J  Jehovah  is  God,  and  showeth  us  light  ; 
 
 Bind  the  sacrifice  with  cords,  even  unto  the  horns 
 of  the  altar. 
 
 nical  commentators,  by  Rashi.)  In 
 marked  contrast  with  this,  it  is  said 
 of  Babylon,  Jer.  li.  26,  "They 
 shall  not  take  of  thee  a  stone  for  a 
 corner,  nor  a  stone  for  a  founda- 
 tion." 
 
 23.  This  change  in  Israel's  destiny, 
 the  restoration  to  their  land,  the  re- 
 building of  their  Temple,  the  future  that 
 was  opening  before  them — these  things 
 are  a  miracle  ;  Jehovah's  hand  alone 
 could  have  accomplished  it. 
 
 24.  This  is  the  day,  i.e.  perhaps 
 the  great  day  of  festival  with  reference 
 to  which  the  Psalm  was  composed. 
 It  is  possible,  however,  that  this  verse 
 is  rather  to  be  connected  with  the 
 previous  verse,  so  that  ' '  the  day  "  is 
 not  the  Feast-day,  but  the  day  (the 
 time)  on  which  Jehovah  had  wrought 
 for  Israel  :  "This  is  Jehovah's  doing 
 .  .  .  this  is  the  day  which  lie  hath 
 made."  The  prayer  of  the  next  verse 
 falls  in  best  with  the  latter  interpre- 
 tation. 
 
 25.  I  BESEECH  Thee,  Comp.  cxvL 
 4,  16. 
 
 Save  now,  or  rather,  "Save,  I  pray" 
 {Hoianna).  The  particle  of  entreaty 
 is  repeated  in  each  member  of  this 
 verse,  so  that  altogether  it  occurs 
 four  times,  as  if  to  mark  the  earnest- 
 ness of  the  petition.  The  English 
 word    "now"'    is    not,    therefore,    a 
 
 particle  of  time,  but  a  particle  of 
 entreaty,  as  in  Eccl.  xii.  i,  "Re- 
 member now  thy  Creator,"  i.e. 
 "  Remember,  I  beseech  thee,  thy 
 Creator." 
 
 With  this  word  "ITosann.i,"  and 
 words  from  the  next  verse,  "  Blessed 
 be  He  that  cometh,"  &c.,  the  multi- 
 tude welcomed  Jesus  as  the  Messiah, 
 the  Psalm  being  perhaps  already  re- 
 cognised as  a  Messianic  Psalm.  Ac- 
 cording to  the  Midrash,  in  the  words 
 of  ver.  26  the  people  of  Jerusalem 
 welcome  the  caravans  of  pilgrims 
 coming  up  to  the  feast. 
 
 26.  According  to  the  accents  the 
 rendering  would  be  "Blessed  in  the 
 name  of  Jehovah  be  He  that  cometh," 
 the  formula  being  the  same  as  in  the 
 priestly  blessing.  Num.  vi.  24 ;  Dent, 
 xxi.  5  ;  2  Sam.  vi.  18.  Comp.  Ps. 
 cxxix.  8. 
 
 From  the  house  of  Jehovah, 
 the  priests  standing  there  to  bless 
 those  who  entered. 
 
 27.  Showeth  us  light,  in  allu- 
 sion to  the  priestly  blessing,  "Jehovah 
 make  His  face  shine  (lighten,  the 
 same  verb  as  here)  upon  thee." 
 Comp.  iv.  6. 
 
 The  sacrifice.  The  word  com- 
 monly denotes  the  feast ;  here,  as  in 
 Kx.  xxiii.  18,  the  victim  ofiered  at  the 
 feast. 
 
 P    P    2 
 
tSo  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 2Z  Thou  art  my  God,  and  I  will  give  Thee  thanks, 
 (Thou  art)  my  God,  and  I  will  exalt  Thee. 
 
 29  O  give  thanks  to  Jehovah,  for  He  is  good, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 Unto  the  horns  of  the  altar.  garlands  (or  boughs),"  following  the 
 
 The  expression  is  apparently  a  preg-  LXX.     (Tv)frT'f)<sa.aQ^    eopTrjv    iv    ro7s 
 
 nant  one,  and  the  sense  is,  "  Bind  the  irvKa^ova-ii^.  As  regards  this  rendering, 
 
 victim  with  cords  till  it  is  sacrificed,  the  word  translated  in  the  text  cords 
 
 and  its  blood  sprinkled  on  the  horns  may  mean  ^/lick  dintg/is,7rvKd(riJ.aTa  {!,ee 
 
 of  the  altar."  Ezek.    xix.    11  ;   xxxi.  3,  4),  but  the 
 
 Luther  has  "Deck  the  feast  with  verb   cannot   mean  deck  or  wreathe. 
 
 PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 This  is  the  longest  and  the  most  elaborate  of  the  Alphabetical 
 Psalms.  It  is  arranged  in  twenty-two  stanzas,  according  to  the 
 number  of  letters  in  the  Hebrew  alphabet.  Each  stanza  is  composed 
 of  eight  verses,  each  verse  consisting  of  two  members  only,  and  each 
 beginning  with  the  same  letter  of  the  alphabet.  Thus  each  of  the 
 first  eight  verses  begins  with  the  letter  Aleph,  each  of  the  next 
 eight  with  the  letter  Beth,  and  so  on  throughout  the  alphabet.  In 
 the  third  chapter  of  the  Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  a  similar  arrange- 
 ment is  adopted,  but  there  the  stanzas  or  groups  consist  only  of  three 
 verses,  each  beginning  with  the  same  letter.  Other  instances  of  this 
 acrostic  arrangement  occurring  in  the  Psalter  will  be  found  enume- 
 rated in  the  Introduction  to  Psalm  xxv.  (See  also  the  Introduction  to 
 Psalm  cxi.) 
 
 The  great  subject  of  the  Psalmist's  praise  is  the  Law  of  God.  In 
 this  respect  the  Psalm  may  be  said  to  be  an  elaborate  expansion  of 
 the  latter  part  of  Psalm  xix.  The  Masoretes  observe,  that  in  every 
 verse  but  one,  the  122nd,  there  is  direct  reference  to  the  Law  under 
 some  one  of  the  ten  names  (supposed  to  allude  to  the  Ten  Command- 
 
PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 5S1 
 
 ments),  word^  sayings  testimonies,  wayjuds:cinent,  precept,  command- 
 metit,  law,  statute,  faithfulness  (or  according  to  another  rcadin"- 
 righteousness).  They  ought,  however,  to  have  excepted  also  the  132nd 
 verse.  In  ver.  121,  "judgement  and  righteousness,"  if  not  denoting 
 the  Law  immediately,  are  employed  with  reference  to  the  requirements 
 of  the  Law. 
 
 The  date  of  the  Psalm  cannot  be  fixed  with  anything  like  certainty, 
 though  it  may  probably  be  referred  to  a  time  subsequent  to  the  return 
 from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 
 {a)  The  allusions  to  ''  princes  "  (ver.  23)  and  "  kings  "  (ver.  46)  who 
 did  not  share  the  faith  of  the  Psalmist,  may  be  taken  to  denote  that 
 the  Jews  were  subject  at  this  time  to  foreign  dominion. 
 
 ib)  The  Law  of  which  he  speaks  as  his  daily  study,  as  his  delight 
 and  his  counsellor,  must  obviously  have  been  the  written  Law,  and  it 
 may  be  inferred  that  it  was  now  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  Whether 
 this  was  the  case  to  any  extent  before  the  Exile,  we  have  now  no 
 means  of  ascertaining.  After  the  Exile,  copies  of  the  Scriptures  were 
 multiplied.  The  efforts  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  which  were  directed 
 in  the  first  instance  to  the  collection  of  the  Sacred  Books  (2  Mace.  ii. 
 13),  must  have  been  directed  eventually  to  their  dissemination. 
 Accordingly,  we  find  that  copies  of  "  the  books  of  the  Law,"  or  of 
 "  the  book  of  the  Covenant,"  were  in  the  possession  of  the  people  at 
 the  time  of  the  Maccabees  (i  Mace.  i.  55,  56).  In  the  Psalm  the 
 writer  perhaps  includes  in  "  the  word"  of  God,  not  only  the  Law,  but 
 other  writings  regarded  as  sacred.  In  Zech.  vii.  12,  "the  former 
 Prophets"  seem  to  be  placed  on  a  level  with  "  the  Law." 
 
 {c)  The  general  character  of  the  Psalm,  which  is  a  meditation 
 rather  than  a  poem,  as  well  as  its  place  in  the  Collection,  favours  the 
 supposition  that  it  is  one  of  the  later  Psalms. 
 
 \d)  The  alphabetical  arrangement,  it  has  also  been  argued,  forbids 
 our  assigning  it  to  an  earlier  period:  "adapted  for  didactic  rather 
 than  for  lyric  expression,  it  belongs,"  it  has  been  said,  "  to  an  age  no 
 longer  animated  by  the  soul  of  poetry,  but  struggling  to  clothe  its 
 religious  thoughts  in  a  poetic  form."*  It  is,  however,  far  from  certain 
 that  this  acrostic  device  is  of  itself  evidence  of  the  decline  of  the 
 poetic  spirit.  Some  of  the  oldest  poems  in  our  own  language  are 
 constructed  on  the  principle  of  alliteration.  It  is  the  same  in  Welsh 
 poetry.     And  unless  the  different  stages  of  Hebrew  poetry  were  more 
 
 The  Psalms  Chronologically  Arranged,  by  Four  Friends,  p.  383. 
 
SS2  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 clearly  marked  than  they  are  at  present,  its  acrostic  character  can 
 hardly  be  taken  as  settling  the  question  of  the  date  of  any  single 
 Psalm. 
 
 The  circumstances  of  the  Psalmist  may  be  inferred  in  some  mea- 
 sure from  the  language  of  the  Psalm  itself.  He  is  suffering  from  per-  ■ 
 secution.  His  enemies  are  men  of  rank  and  authority  (ven  21,  23), 
 having  both  the  power  and  the  will  to  crush  him  (ver.  61,  69).  His 
 constancy  is  severely  tried.  He  is  exposed  to  reproach  and  contempt 
 on  account  of  his  religion,  and  has  reason  to  fear  lest  his  hope  and 
 trust  in  God  should  be  put  to  shame  (ver.  6,  22,  31).  He  is  solicited 
 to  give  up  his  faith  for  gain,  and  even  perhaps  invited  to  join  in 
 idolatrous  worship  (ver.  36,  37).  These  things  make  him  sad  (ver. 
 25,  28),  but  he  stays  himself  upon  the  word  and  promise  of  God. 
 That  word  in  all  its  varied  aspects  of  law  and  promise,  of  precepts 
 and  judgements,  had  been  his  comfort  in  his  affliction,  his  most 
 precious  possession,  dearer  to  him  than  all  earthly  treasures  ;  he  had 
 meditated  upon  it  day  and  night ;  it  had  been  a  lamp  to  his  feet  and 
 a  light  to  his  path.  He  had  taken  it  for  his  rule  of  life,  he  longed  to 
 know  it  better,  he  prayed  to  have  the  veil  taken  off  his  eyes  that  he 
 might  behold  its  hidden  wonders.  These  thoughts,  and  thoughts 
 hke  these,  recur  again  and  again.  He  is  never  wearied  of  declaring 
 his  love  of  God's  Law,  or  of  praying  for  more  light  to  understand  it, 
 more  power  to  keep  it,  to  keep  it  with  his  "  whole  heart."  (The  fre- 
 quency of  this  last  expression  is  striking  evidence  of  the  earnestness 
 of  the  writer  :  see  on  ver.  2.)  But  there  does  not  seem  to  be  any- 
 thing like  continuity,  or  progress  of  thought,  or  of  recorded  experience, 
 in  the  several  stanzas  of  the  Psalm. 
 
 Still,  "if  we  would  fathom  the  depth  of  meaning  in  the  written 
 Law  of  Israel,  if  we  would  measure  the  elevation  of  soul,  the  hope, 
 the  confidence  even  before  princes  and  kings,  which  pious  Jews 
 derived  from  it,  we  must  turn  to  this  Psalm.  Here  is  an  epitome  of 
 all  true  religion,  as  conceived  by  the  best  spirits  of  that  time.  To 
 such  a  loving  study  and  meditation  on  the  Law  the  alphabetical 
 arrangement  is  not  inappropriate  ;  and  if  the  Poem  be  necessarily 
 somewhat  cramped,  it  is  nevertheless  pervaded  by  the  glow  of  love, 
 and  abounds  in  spiritual  life." 
 
 Delitzsch  thinks  that  the  Psalm  must  have  been  written  by  a  young 
 man,  and  appeals  to  ver.  9,  and  ver.  99,  100,  as  supporting  this  view. 
 But  the  language  of  ver.  9  is  rather  that  of  one  who,  looking  back 
 on  his  own  past  life,  draws  the  inference  which  he  seeks  to  impress 
 
rSALM  ex IX.  583 
 
 upon  the  young,  that  youthful  purity  can  only  be  preserved  by  those 
 who  from  their  early  years  take  God's  word  for  their  guide.  Just  so  in 
 Ecclesiastes  xii.  i,  it  is  the  man  of  mature  age  and  large  experience 
 who  gives  the  wise  and  friendly  counsel,  "  Remember,  I  beseech 
 thee,  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth."  The  lesson  in  each 
 case  comes  with  double  force,  because  it  comes  from  the  lips  of  one 
 who  speaks  with  the  authority  of  experience.  When  it  is  said  in 
 verses  99,  100  of  this  Psalm,  that  the  Psalmist  is  wiser  than  his 
 teachers,  wiser  than  the  aged,  the  only  conclusion  that  can  be  drawn 
 is  that  he  is  not  advanced  in  life.  It  is  plain  that  the  writer  is  not  an 
 old  man,  or  he  would  not  compare  his  knowledge  of  the  Law  with  the 
 knowledge  of  the  aged.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  he  is  a  young 
 man.  The  teachers  whom  he  has  outstript  may  have  been  those 
 whose  disciple  he  once  was,  not  those  whose  disciple  he  still  is  ;  or  he 
 may  refer  to  authorized  teachers,  to  whom  he  listened  because  they 
 sat  in  Moses'  seat,  though  he  felt  that  they  had  really  nothing  to 
 teach  him.  Indeed,  the  whole  strain  of  the  Psalm,  its  depth  and 
 breadth  of  spiritual  life,  and  the  long  acquaintance  which  is  every- 
 where implied  in  it  with  the  word  of  God,  can  leave  us  in  no  doubt 
 that  it  was  written  by  a  man  who  was  no  longer  young,  who  had  at 
 least  reached  "  the  middle  arch  of  life." 
 
 Aleph. 
 
 1  Blessed  are  the  perfect  in  the  way, 
 
 Who  walk  in  the  law  of  Jehovah. 
 
 2  Blessed  are  they  that  keep  His  testimonies, 
 
 That  seek  Him  with  the  whole  heart, 
 
 3  Who  also  have  done  no  iniquity, 
 
 Who  have  walked  in  His  ways. 
 
 4  Thou  hast  enjoined  Thy  precepts, 
 
 That  (we)  should  keep  (them)  diligently. 
 
 5  O  that  my  ways  were  established 
 
 To  keep  Thy  statutes. 
 
 6  Then  shall  I  not  be  ashamed, 
 
 2.    With    the    whole    heart.  6.  Ashamed,  i.e.   put  to  shame. 
 
 An*  expression  characteristic   of  this       iry  hope   being   frustrated.     Ihis   is 
 rsalm.  Comp.  ver.  10,  34,  58,69, 145-       the  shame  meant,  not  shame  of  con- 
 
5S4  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 When  I  have  respect  unto  all  Thy  commandments, 
 
 7  I    will    give   thanks    to   Thee   with    uprightness    of 
 
 heart, 
 When  I  learn  Thy  righteous  judgements. 
 
 8  I  will  keep  Thy  statutes  : 
 
 O  forsake  me  not  utterly. 
 
 Beth. 
 
 9  Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  keep  his  path  pure  ? 
 By  taking  heed  (thereto)  according  to  Thy  word. 
 
 10  With  my  whole  heart  have  I  sought  Thee: 
 
 0  let  me  not  wander  from  Thy  commandments. 
 
 1 1  In  my  heart  have  I  hid  Thy  word, 
 
 That  I  might  not  sin  against  Thee. 
 
 12  Blessed  art  Thou,  O  Jehovah  : 
 
 Teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 13  With  my  lips  have  I  told 
 
 Of  all  the  judgements  of  Thy  mouth. 
 
 14  In  the  way  of  Thy  testimonies  I  have  rejoiced, 
 
 As  much  as  in  all  manner  of  riches. 
 
 15  I  will  meditate  in  Thy  precepts, 
 
 And  have  respect  unto  Thy  paths. 
 
 16  In  Thy  statutes  will  I  delight  myself; 
 
 1  will  not  forget  Thy  word. 
 
 science  in   comparing    a    man's    life  11.  In  my  heart.     It  is  to  me  no 
 
 with  the  requirements  of  the  Law.  merely  outward  rule  of  conduct :  it  is 
 
 Have  respect  unto,   lit.    "look  a  power  and  a  life  within, 
 
 upon,"  z'.^.  with  care  and  thought,  so  Word,       or      rather      "saying," 
 
 as  to  make  them  the  rule  of  life.  "speech,"   distinct    from    the    word 
 
 7.  Judgements;  here  and  through-  employed,    for    instance,    in   ver.    9. 
 
 out  this  Psalm  not  used  of  God's  acts  Both    words     are     constantly    inter- 
 
 of   judgement,     but    merely    as    the  changed  throughout  the  Psalm, 
 
 equivalent    of    "law,"    "precepts,"  14.   All     manner     of     riches. 
 
 and  the  like,  utterances  as  of  a  Judge  Comp,   what   is   said   of  the   incom- 
 
 and    Lawgiver,    and    found    in    this  parable  worth  of  wisdom,  Prov.  ii.  4, 
 
 sense   even   in   the   Pentateuch,    Ex.  iii.    13 — 15,  viii.  10,   ii,   19,  xvi.  16, 
 
 xxi.  I,  xxiv.  3  ;  Lev.  xviii.  4,  5.  xxii.  I  ;  Job  xxviii.  15—19. 
 
PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 Gimel. 
 
 5S5 
 
 17  Deal  bountifully  with  Thy  servant  that  T  may  \\\^^ 
 
 And  so  will  I  keep  Thy  word. 
 
 18  Open  Thou  mine  eyes, 
 
 That  I  may  behold  wondrous  Things  out  of  Tliy 
 law. 
 
 19  I  am  a  sojourner  in  the  earth  : 
 
 Hide  not  Thy  commandments  from  me. 
 
 20  My  soul  breaketh  for  (the)  longing  / 
 
 (That  it  hath)  unto  Thy  judgements  at  all  times. 
 
 21  Thou  hast  rebuked  the  proud  that  they  are  cursed, 
 
 Which  do  wander  from  Thy  commandments. 
 
 22  Remove  from  me  reproach  and  contempt ; 
 
 For  I  have  ke.pt  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 23  Princes  also  have  sat  and  spoken  one  with  another 
 
 against  me, 
 But  Thy  servant  meditateth  in  Thy  statutes. 
 
 24  Thy  testimonies  also  are  my  delight, 
 
 And  my  counsellors. 
 
 Daleth. 
 
 25  My  soul  cleaveth  unto  the  dust ; 
 
 17.    That   I   may   live;   or    the  20.  Breaketh,  lit.    "is  broken,'* 
 
 construction  may  be,    "Let  me  live  as  expressive  of  the  intensity  of  the 
 
 (or,  if  I  live),  so  will  I,"   &c.     The  desire,    which  seems  to  perv.idc  the 
 
 gift    of  life,    if  vouchsafed,    shall   be  whole   man,    and   leave  him  cni.shcd 
 
 devoted  to  the  keeping  of  God's  word.  and  powerless  in   its  grasp.     Bishop 
 
 i8.   Wondrous   things  ;   an   ae-  Taylor  speaks   somewhere   of   "the 
 
 knowledgement   of  treasures    in    the  violence  of  the  desire,  bursting  itself 
 
 Divine   word   not   seen   by    common  with  its  fulness  into  dissolution." 
 
 eyes,    needing,    indeed,   spiritual  dis-  21.    That    they    are    cursed. 
 
 cernment,    and    heavenly    unveiling  :  The  adjective  is  a  predicate  marking 
 
 hence  "  Open   Thou:'  the  effect  of  God's  rebuke. 
 
 19.  A    SOJOURNER,  here  therefore  22.   Remove  from  me,  lit.  "  t.ike 
 
 but  for  a  short   time  (see   on   xxxix.  off  from  me,"  shame  being  regarded 
 
 12),  and  needing  for  that  time  Divine  as   a   cloak   or  mantle  covering   the 
 
 teaching.     Hence  the  prayer  "Hide  person. 
 
 not,"  i.e.   reveal,  show  me  the  inner  25.  Cleaveth   unto  the  dust. 
 
 sense  and  true  application  of  "  Thy  See  on  xliv.  25, 
 commandments." 
 
S86       _  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 Quicken  Thou  me  according  to  Thy  word. 
 
 26  I  have  told  my  ways,  and  Thou  heardest  me  ; 
 
 Teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 27  Make  me  to  understand  the  way  of  Thy  precepts, 
 
 So  shall  I  meditate  of  Thy  wondrous  works. 
 
 28  My  soul  melteth  for  heaviness  ; 
 
 Stablish  Thou  me  according  unto  Thy  word. 
 
 29  Remove  from  me  the  way  of  lying, 
 
 And  with  Thy  law  be  gracious  unto  me. 
 
 30  I  have  chosen  the  way  of  faithfulness  ; 
 
 Thy  judgements  have  I  laid  (before  me). 
 
 31  I  have  stuck  unto  Thy  testimonies: 
 
 O  Jehovah,  put  me  not  to  shame. 
 
 32  I  v/ill  run  the  way  of  Thy  commandments, 
 
 When  Thou  shalt  enlarge  my  heart. 
 
 He. 
 
 33  Teach  me,  O  Jehovah,  the  way  of  Thy  statutes, 
 
 And  I  shall  keep  it  unto  the  end. 
 
 34  Give  me  understanding,  that  I  may  observe  Thy  law, 
 
 That  I  may  keep  it  with  my  whole  heart. 
 
 35  Make  me  to  walk  in  the  path  of  Thy  commandments; 
 
 For  therein  do  I  delight. 
 
 36  Incline  my  heart  unto  Thy  testimonies, 
 
 26.   I    HAVE  TOLD   I.IY   WAYS.     I  the   term,    but    "unfaithfulness"    to 
 
 have  laid  before  Thee  severally,  num-  God,    to   which,    in    the   next  verse, 
 
 bering  them  as  it  were,  all  the  acts  "  the  way  of  faithfulness  "  is  opposed, 
 
 and  events  of  my  life.  With  Thy  law,  or  "Graciously 
 
 28.  Melteth,     lit.     "droppeth,"  impart  Thy  law  unto  me." 
 
 weeps  itself  away,  so  to  speak.  32.   Enlarge  my  heart,  i.e.  ex- 
 
 Stablish,  lit.    "set  me  up  again,"  pand  it  with  a  sense  of  liberty  and 
 
 the  meaning  being  nearly  the  same  as  joy,  as  in  Is.  Ix.  5  ;  2  Cor.  vi.  li,  13. 
 
 in  the  often-repeated  prayer,  "  quicken  See  on  ci.  6. 
 
 me,"  36.   My  heart,  to  which  answers 
 
 Word.     See  on  ver.  11.  in   the   next   verse   "mine  eyes,"  as 
 
 29.  The  way  of  lying,  i.e.  not  representing  the  senses  through  which 
 falsehood  in   the  common   sense   of  the  forbidden  desire  is  kindled  in  the 
 
PSALM  CXIX.  587 
 
 And  not  to  covctousness. 
 
 37  Turn  away  mine  eyes  from  seeing  vanity 
 
 In  Thy  way  quicken  Thou  me. 
 
 38  StabHsh  Thy  promise  unto  Thy  servant, 
 
 Who  is  (devoted)  to  Thy  fear. 
 
 39  Turn  away  my  reproach  which  I  fear, 
 
 For  Thy  judgements  are  good. 
 
 40  Behold,  I  have  longed  after  Thy  precepts  : 
 
 In  Thy  righteousness  quicken  Thou  me. 
 
 Van, 
 
 41  Let   Thy   loving-kindness   also    come    unto    me,    O 
 
 Jehovah, 
 Thy  salvation  according  to  Thy  promise. 
 
 42  So    shall  I  have  wherewith  to  answer  him   that  rc- 
 
 proacheth  me ; 
 For  I  trust  in  Thy  word. 
 
 43  And  take  not  the  word  of  truth  utterly  out  of    my 
 
 mouth  ; 
 For  I  have  waited  for  Thy  judc^cments. 
 
 44  So  shall  I  keep  Thy  law  continuall}', 
 
 (Yea)  for  ever  and  ever. 
 
 45  And  I  shall  walk  at  liberty ; 
 
 heart.     Comp.    Is.    xxxiii.     15  ;    Job  its  aim  and  object  (cxxx.  4),  tends  to 
 
 xxxi.    I,   7.  cherish  a  holy  fear. 
 
 COVETOUSNESS,    or  rather,    "yain  39.  The  train  of  tliought  seems  to 
 
 unjustly  acquired."  be:    Keep  me  from   tlie   reproach  of 
 
 37.  Turn  away,  lit.  "make  to  breaking  Thy  connnanclments,  for 
 pass  on  one  side  "  of  the  object.  those  conmiandments  arc   not   griev- 
 
 FiiOM  SEEING,  i.e.  being  attracted  ous,    but   good,    sweet,    and    full    of 
 
 by,  and  finding  pleasure  in  (Is.  xxxiii.  blessing  to  one  who  longs  after  them 
 
 15)    VANITY,     all    which,     as    being  aside.     Or  "  the  reproach "  may  be 
 
 against  God,  or  without  God,  is  un-  that   of   his   enemies   (ver.   42),   who 
 
 real  and  unstable  :  but  perhaps  iciol^  taunt  him  as  the  servant  of  GckI. 
 
 are  especially  meant.  43-  1'lie  sense  seems  to  be,   "  Give 
 
 38.  The  second  member  of  the  me  the  power  faithfully  to  witness 
 ver.  might  also  be  rendered  :  "  Which  fur  Thy  truth,  and  so  to  answer  him 
 (promise)  is  for  Thy  fear,"  /.d'.   either  that  reproacheth  me  "   (ver  42). 
 
 {a)  is  given  to  them  that  fear  Thee;  45.   Ar  LIUKRTY.  lit.    "in  a  wido 
 
 (/'),  which  has  the  fear  of  Thee  for       space,"    where    there  is  nothing   10 
 
588 
 
 PSALM   CXIX. 
 
 For  I  have  sought  Thy  precepts. 
 
 46  And  I  will  speak  of  Thy  testimonies  also  before  kings, 
 
 And  not  be  ashamed. 
 
 47  And  I  will  delight  myself  in  Thy  commandments, 
 
 Which  I  love. 
 
 48  My  hands  also  will  I  lift  up  unto  Thy  commandments, 
 
 which  I  love ; 
 And  I  will  meditate  in  Thy  statutes. 
 
 Zain. 
 
 49  Remember  the  word  unto  Thy  servant, 
 
 Upon  which  Thou  hast  caused  me  to  hope. 
 
 50  This  is  my  comfort  in  my  affliction, 
 
 For  Thy  word  hath  quickened  me. 
 
 5 1  (The)  proud  have  had  me  greatly  in  derision ; 
 
 (Yet)  have  I  not  swerved  from  Thy  law. 
 
 52  I  remember  Thy  judgements  of  old,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 check  or  hinder  freedom  of  action,  as 
 in  cxviii.  5. 
 
 46.  Before  kings.  It  may  be 
 inferred  that  the  Psalm  was  written 
 whilst  Judaea  was  in  subiection  to 
 foreign  rule.  The  viceroys  of  the 
 Persian  king  may  be  meant. 
 
 48.  My  hands  will  I  lift  up. 
 The  expression  denotes  the  act  of 
 prayer,  as  in  xxviii.  2,  Ixiii.  4,  cxxxiv. 
 2,  cxli.  2.  Comp.  Lara.  iii.  41,  "  Let 
 us  lift  up  our  heart  with  our  hands* " 
 Here  it  would  seem  to  denote  figura- 
 tively reverence,  devotion  of  heart, 
 and  the  like ;  unless  we  suppose  it  to 
 be  a  locutio  prccgitans  =  "  I  will  pray 
 to  Thee  for  grace  to  keep  Thy  com- 
 mandments." 
 
 49.  The  word,  apparently  some 
 special  word  of  promise  which  had 
 been  his  stay  in  his  affliction,  and 
 iiad  roused  him  to  new  hope  and 
 courage  (ver.  50). 
 
 50.  My    comfort.      Comp.    Job 
 
 vi.  10,  the  only  other  place  where 
 the  word  occurs.  It  is  the  "  word  " 
 (ver.  49)  which  is  his  comfort.  Others 
 render  the  ver.  "  This  is  my  comfort, 
 &c.  .  .  .  that  Thy  word  hath  quick- 
 ened me." 
 
 For  Thy  Word.  Here,  as  is 
 evident  from  the  mention  of  "afflic- 
 tion '' — and  indeed  throughout  the 
 Psalm — the  verb  "quicken"  is  used 
 not  merely  in  an  external  sense  of 
 "preservation  from  death,"  but  of 
 "reviving  the  heart,"  "imparting 
 fresh  courage,"  &c. 
 
 51.  Have  had  me  in  derision, 
 i.e.  probably  both  on  account  of  his 
 misery  and  his  trust  in  God.  The 
 verb  is  from  the  same  root  as  the 
 noun  "scorners,"  "  mockers,"  in  i.  I. 
 Comp.  foi;  the  same  connection  be- 
 tween the  spirit  of  pride  and  the  spirit 
 of  irreligious  scoffing,  Prov.  xxi,  24. 
 
 52.  Judgements,  in  the  same 
 sense  as  throughout  the  Psalm,  Gods 
 
PSALM  CXIX.  5S9 
 
 And  have  comforted  myself. 
 
 53  Burning  indignation  hath  taken  hold  upon  me, 
 
 Because  of  the  wicked  that  forsake  Thy  law. 
 
 54  Thy  statutes  have  been  my  songs 
 
 In  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage. 
 
 55  I  have  remembered  Thy  name  in  the  night,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  have  kept  Thy  law. 
 
 56  This  I  had, 
 
 Because  I  kept  Thy  precepts. 
 
 Chetli. 
 
 57  "Jehovah  is  my  portion," 
 
 I  said,  that  I  might  keep  Thy  words. 
 
 58  I  entreated  Thy  favour  with  (my)  whole  heart  ; 
 
 Be  gracious  to  me  according  to  Thy  promise. 
 
 59  I  thought  on  my  ways, 
 
 And  turned  back  my  feet  unto  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 60  I  made  haste,  and  delayed  not 
 
 To  keep  Thy  commandments. 
 
 61  The    cords  of  the  wicked    have   been  wound  about 
 
 me. 
 But  Thy  law  have  I  not  forgotten. 
 
 62  At  midnight  I  will  rise  to  give  thanks  unto  Thee, 
 
 Because  of  Thy  righteous  judgements. 
 61  I  am  a  companion  of  them  that  fear  Thee, 
 
 And  of  them  that  keep  Thy  precepts. 
 64  The  earth,  O  Jehovah,  is  full  of  Thy  loving-kindness  : 
 
 Teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 righteous  laws  which  He  revealed  OF  to  what  "this"  refers.     If  to  what 
 
 OLD,  which  are  ever  true  and  ever  in  goes  before,  it  may  be  to  the  remcm- 
 
 force.  brance  of  God's  Name.      Otherwise 
 
 54.  Pilgrimage,   or   rather   "so-  we   must   render:    "This    has    been 
 
 journing."     In   this  earth  I   am  but  (vouchsafed)  to  me,  that  I  have  kept 
 
 a  passing  guest,  as  at  some  wayside  Thy  statutes,"  i.e.  such  has  been  the 
 
 inn.     Comp.  Gen.  xlvii.  9.  gift  of  Thy  grace. 
 
 56,  This  I  had.     It  is  not  clear 
 
590  PSALM  CXIX, 
 
 Teth. 
 
 65  Thou  hast  dealt  well  with  Thy  servant, 
 
 O  Jehovah,  according  unto  Thy  word. 
 (i(i  Teach  me  good  perception  and  knowledge, 
 
 For  I  have  believed  Thy  commandments. 
 6j  Before  I  was  afflicted  I  went  astray, 
 
 But  now  have  I  kept  Thy  word. 
 6'^  Thou  art  good,  and  doest  good  : 
 
 Teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 69  The  proud  have  forged  a  lie  against  me  ; 
 
 /,  with  (my)  whole  heart,  will  keep  Thy  precepts. 
 
 70  Their  heart  is  as  fat  as  grease  : 
 
 As  for  me,  (in)  Thy  law  do  I  delight. 
 
 71  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been  afflicted, 
 
 That  I  might  learn  Thy  statutes. 
 
 72  The  law  of  Thy  mouth  is  better  unto  me 
 
 Than  thousands  of  gold  and  silver. 
 
 Yod. 
 
 73  Thy  hands  have  made  me  and  fashioned  me  : 
 
 Give  me  understanding,  that  I  may  learn  Thy  com- 
 mandments. 
 
 66.  Good  PERCEPTION,  lit.  "  good-  for  2.  fine  sense  or  apprehension   of 
 
 ness  of  perception  "  or  discernment ;  God's  word. 
 
 that   fine   taste   and   deUcate    feeling  67.   Thy    saying    or    "promise." 
 which  are  like  a  new  sense.     So  St.  See  note  on  ver.  11. 
 Paul  prays  for  the  Church  at  Philippi,  69.   The  proud.     The  same  over- 
 that  their   "  love  may  abound  more  bearing,  tyrannical  oppression  already 
 and    more   in   knotvledge  and   in   all  mentioned,  ver.  51,  61. 
 perception,^'    iu    iiriyvwasi    kui   iraat]  Have  FORGED,  lit.   "  have  patched 
 a'((rdi](rei.     The  two  words  correspond  up."     Comp.  Job  xiii.  4. 
 to  the  two  Hebrew  words  here  ;  but  the  70.    Fat.     For   the   figure   as   ex- 
 latter,  o.1(tQt](tis,  marks  in  the  Epistle  pressive  of  want  of  feeling,  see  xvii. 
 (chap.  i.  9)  the  delicate  tact  by  which  10,  Ixxiii.  7  ;  Is.  vi.  10. 
 Christian   iove   should   be   character-  71.   It    is    good    FOR    ME.     See 
 ised.     Here  the  Psalmist  prays  rather  ver.  67. 
 
PSALM  CXIX.  591 
 
 74  They  that  fear  Thee  will  be  glad  when  they  sec  me ; 
 
 For  in  Thy  word  have  I  hoped. 
 
 75  I  know,  O  Jehovah,  that  Thy  judgements. are  right, 
 
 And  that  in  faithfulness  Thou  hast  afflicted  me. 
 "jG  Let,  I  pray  Thee,   Thy   loving-kindness  be  for  my 
 comfort, 
 According  to  Thy  promise  unto  Thy  servant. 
 77  Let  Thy  tender  mercies  come  unto  me,  that  I  may 
 live; 
 For  Thy  law  is  my  delight. 
 'jZ  Let    the    proud   be   ashamed,   for  they    have    dealt 
 perversely  with  me  without  a  cause  : 
 As  for  me,  I  meditate  in  Thy  precepts. 
 
 79  They  that  fear  Thee  will  turn  unto  me, 
 
 And  they  shall  know  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 80  Let  my  heart  be  perfect  in  Thy  statutes, 
 
 That  I  be  not  ashamed. 
 
 Caph. 
 
 81   My  soul  hath  fainted  for  Thy  salvation  ; 
 
 In  Thy  word  have  I  hoped. 
 %2  Mine  eyes  have  failed  for  Thy  promise, 
 
 Saying,  "  When  wilt  Thou  comfort  me  ?  " 
 83   For  I  am  become  like  a  bottle  in  the  smoke  : 
 
 (Yet)  do  I  not  forget  Thy  statutes. 
 
 76.    Even  when  a  man  recognises  80.    Perfect,    i.e.    \rhole,    undi- 
 
 that  affliction  is  sent  in  ' '  faithfulness,"  vided, 
 
 that  God  has  a  wise  purpose  of  love  83.  A  bottle  in  the  smokh,  i.f. 
 
 in  sending  it,  still  is  it  in  itself  bitter,  a  skin  bottle  for  wine.     The  figure  is 
 
 and  therefore  he  prays   that  he  may  generally    supposed    to    denote    the 
 
 have    God's    "loving-kindness"   and  misery  and  affliction  of  the  Psalmist, 
 
 tlis  "  tender  mercies  "  as  his  comfort  who  compares  himself  to  one  of  these 
 
 in   the   midst   of  affliction.       Comp.  wine-skins   blackened   and    shriveled 
 
 Heb.  xii.  11.  and  rendered  useless  by  the  smoke  of 
 
 79.   Will  TURN,  or  there  may  be  the  fire  in  which  it  is  hung.     Roscnm., 
 
 the  expression  of  a  wish,   "  Let  them  however,  explains  it  as  the  custom  of 
 
 turn."  the  ancients  to  hang  skins  full  of  wme 
 
 They  shall  know.  i.e.  by  their  in  the  smoke,  in  order  to  mellow  the 
 
 own  experience.  wine.     In  this  case,  the  figure  would 
 
592  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 84  How  many  are  the  days  of  Thy  servant  ? 
 
 When  wilt  Thou  execute  judgement  on  them  that 
 persecute  me  ? 
 
 85  The  proud  have  digged  pits  for  me, 
 
 Who  are  not  after  Thy  law. 
 ^6  All  Thy  commandments  are  faithfulness  : 
 
 They  persecute  me  wrongfully ;  help  Thou  me. 
 Sy  They  had  almost  consumed  me  upon  earth  ; 
 
 But  as  for  me,  I  forsook  not  Thy  precepts. 
 ^d>  Quicken  me  after  Thy  loving-kindness, 
 
 So  shall  I  keep  the  testimony  of  Thy  mouth. 
 
 Lamed. 
 
 89  For  ever,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 Thy  word  is  settled  in  heaven ; 
 
 90  Thy  faithfulness  is  unto  all  generations  ; 
 
 Thou   hast  established  the  earth,  and  it  standeth 
 fast: 
 
 91  For  Thy  judgements,  they  stand  fast  (unto)  this  day; 
 
 For  all  things  are  Thy  servants. 
 
 92  Unless  Thy  law  had  been  my  delight, 
 
 I  should  then  have  perished  in  my  affliction. 
 
 93  I  will  never  forget  Thy  precepts  : 
 
 For  by  them  Thou  hast  quickened  me. 
 
 94  Thine  am  I,  save  me ; 
 
 For  I  have  sought  Thy  precepts. 
 
 95  The  wicked  have  waited  for  me  to  destroy  me  ; 
 
 (But)  Thy  testimonies  do  I  consider. 
 
 denote  the  mellowing  and  ripening  of  changing,  everlasting  character,  as  in 
 
 the  character  by  affliction.  Ixxxix.  2. 
 
 84.    How   MANY.     Comp.    xxxix.  91.    For  Thy  judgements,    i.e. 
 
 4.     It  is  an  argument  why  God  should  "with  reference  to  Thine  ordinances 
 
 take  speedy  vengeance  on  his  enemies,  or  law's,  they  {i.e.  heaven  and.  earth) 
 
 that  he  may  see  it  executed  before  he  stand  fast." 
 
 dies.  All  things,  lit.  "the  whole,"  i.e. 
 
 89.  In  hea^;en,  as  marking  its  un-  the  universe. 
 
PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 593 
 
 96  I  have  seen  an  end  of  all  perfection  ; 
 
 Thy  commandment  is  exceeding  broad. 
 
 Mem, 
 
 97  O  how  I  love  Thy  law  : 
 
 It  is  my  meditation  all  the  day. 
 
 98  Thy    commandments    make    me    wiser   than    mine 
 
 enemies  ; 
 For  they  are  ever  with  me. 
 
 99  I  have  more  understanding  than  all  my  teacliers  ; 
 
 For  Thy  testimonies  are  my  meditation. 
 
 100  I  understand  more  than  the  aged  ; 
 
 For  Thy  precepts  have  I  kept. 
 
 10 1  I  have  refrained  my  feet  from  every  evil  path, 
 
 That  I  might  keep  Thy  word. 
 
 102  From  Thy  judgements  have  I  not  turned  aside  ; 
 
 For  Thou  hast  taught  me. 
 
 103  How  sweet  is  Thy  promise  unto  my  taste, 
 
 (Yea,  sweeter)  than  honey  to  my  mouth. 
 
 104  Through  Thy  precepts  I  get  understanding  ; 
 
 Therefore  I  hate  every  path  of  falsehood. 
 
 Nim. 
 
 10^   Thy  word  is  a  lamp  unto  my  foot, 
 And  a  light  unto  my  path. 
 
 96.     All    perfection.       If    this  all   other   things  are   bounded   by   a 
 
 rendering  is  correct,    the  meaning  is  narrow  compass, 
 
 obvious.     There  is  nothing  upon  earth  Broad.     Comp.  Job  xi.  7 — 9. 
 
 to  which  there  does  not  cleave  some  98.     Make    me   wiser,  i.e.   teach 
 
 defect.     But  perhaps  the  clause  should  me  a  difTerent  wisdom  and  a  better 
 
 rather  be  rendered  :    "  I  have  seen  an  wisdom  than   theirs  ;  not   one  which 
 
 end,  a  limit,   to  the  whole  range  (or  consists  in  policy,  or  craft,  or  human 
 
 compass)  of  things  ;"  ameaning  which  prudence.       So,    too,  as  he   is  wiser 
 
 mav  be  defended  by  the  use  of  the  than  his  enemies,  he  is  wiser  than  his 
 
 sim'ilar  word  in  Job  xxvi.  ID,  xxviii.  3,  teachers  (ver.  99),  wiser  than  the  aged 
 
 and  which  harmonizes  with  the  next  (ver.    100),    and    his   wisdom  is   that 
 
 clause:    "Thy  commandment  is  ex-  practical  wisdom  which  consists  in  the 
 
 ceedmg  broad,"  has  no  limits,  whilst  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  which  leads  him 
 
 to  eschew  all  e\il  (ver.  loi). 
 
 Q  Q 
 
594  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 1 06  I  have  sworn,  and  am  steadfastly  purposed 
 
 That  I  will  keep  Thy  righteous  judgements. 
 
 107  I  am  afflicted  very  greatly  ; 
 
 Quicken  me,  O  Jehovah,  according  unto  Thy  word. 
 
 108  Accept,  I  beseech  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  the  freewill  offer- 
 
 ings of  my  mouth, 
 And  teach  me  Thy  judgements. 
 
 109  My  soul  is-continually  in  my  hand; 
 
 Yet  do  I  not  forget  Thy  law. 
 iio  The  wicked  have  laid  a  snare  for  me. .; 
 
 Yet  have>I  not  strayed  from  Thy  precepts. 
 
 1 1 1  Thy  testimonies  have  I  taken  as  an  heritage  for  ever  ; 
 
 For  they  are  the  rejoicing  of  my  heart. 
 
 112  I  have  inclined  mine  heart  to  perform  Thy  statutes 
 
 Always,  (even  unto)  the  end. 
 
 Sameck. 
 
 113  I  hate  them  that  are  of  double  mind. 
 
 But  Thy  law  do  I  love. 
 
 114  Thou  art  my  hiding-place  and  my  shield  : 
 
 I  have  hoped  in  Thy  word. 
 
 115  Depart  from  me,  ye  evil  doers. 
 
 That  so   I    may  keep   the    commandments   of  my 
 God. 
 
 116  Uphold  me  according  unto  Thy  promise,  that  I    m.ay 
 
 live, 
 And  let  me  not  be  ashamed  of  my  hope. 
 
 117  Hold  Thou  me  up,  and  so  I  shall  be  saved, 
 
 And  have  respect  unto  Thy  statutes  continually. 
 
 109.    My   soul  is  in   my   hand.  lasting  heritaije.     Comp.    xvi.    5,    6, 
 
 He  has  been  faithful  even  in  constant  where  the  Psalmist  claims  God  Him- 
 
 peril  of  death.      Comp.  Judg.  xii.  3  ;  self  as  his  heritage. 
 
 I  Sam.xix.  5,  xxviii.  21  ;  Job  xiii.  14,  113.  Of  double  mind.     See  the 
 
 III.    God's   law  is   an  everlasting  noun  from   the  same   root,    I    Kings 
 
 possession  (comp.  ver.  98),  more  truly  xviii.  21, "  How  long  halt  ye  between 
 
 so   than   the  land    of    Canaan  itself,  two  opinions?"  and  comp.  the  dvnp 
 
 which  was  given  to  Israel  Jor  an  ever-  U^vxos  of  St.  James  (i.  8). 
 
PSALM  CXIX.  595 
 
 118  Thou  hast  made  hght  of  all  them  that  wander  lioiii 
 
 Thy  statutes  ; 
 For  their  deceit  is  falsehood. 
 
 119  Thou  hast  put  away  all  the  wicked  of  the  earth  like 
 
 dross  ; 
 Therefore  I  love  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 120  My  flesh  trembleth  for  terror  of  Thee, 
 
 And  because  of  Thy  judgements  I  am  afraid. 
 
 A  in. 
 
 121  I  have  done  judgement  and  righteousness; 
 
 Leave  me  not  to  mine  oppressors. 
 
 122  Be  surety  for  Thy  servant  for  good  ; 
 
 Let  not  the  proud  oppress  me. 
 
 123  Mine  eyes  fail  for  Thy  salvation, 
 
 And  for  the  promise  of  Thy  righteousness. 
 
 124  Deal  with  Thy  servant  according  to  Thy  loving-kind- 
 
 ness. 
 And  teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 125  I  am  Thy  servant,  give  me  understanding, 
 
 That  I  may  know  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 126  It  is  time  for  Jehovah  to  act  ; 
 
 (For)  they  have  broken  Thy  law. 
 
 127  Therefore  I  love  Thy  commandments 
 
 Above  gold,  yea,  above  fine  gold. 
 
 118.  Falsehood,  i.e.  self-decep-  eousness,  apparently  terms  cmi'Ioycd 
 tion  :  they  rely  upon  their  deceitful  with  reference  to  the  Law.  It  is 
 artifices  in  vain,  and  only  to  their  own  equivalent  to  saying,  "I  have  kept 
 confusion.  Thy  law."  ^ 
 
 119.  Like  dross,  i.e.  by  the  fire  122.  Be  surety,  asm  Is.  xxxvui. 
 of  Thy  judgement.  Comp.  Jer.  vi.  14;  Job  xvii.  3.  This  and  ver  132 
 28—30  :  Ezek.  xxii.  18—20  ;  Mai.  iii.  are  the  only  two  verses  in  the  I  salm 
 2    ,  which  contain  no  allusion  to  the  Law. 
 
 '  1 20.  Trembleth,  or  "shuddereth,'  126.  To   act.     The  \-crb  is  used 
 
 strictly  used  of  the  liair  as  standing  absolutely  of  God  s  acts  of  judgemcni, 
 
 erect  in  terror.     Comp.  Job  iv.  15.  as  in  Jer.  xviii.  23  ;  Lzck.  xxxi.  u. 
 
 121.    TUDGEMENT       AND       RlGllT- 
 
 Q   Q   2 
 
590  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 128  Therefore  I  esteem   all  Thy  precepts  concerning   all 
 
 (things)  to  be  right ; 
 (And)  I  hate  every  false  way. 
 
 Pe, 
 
 129  Wonderful  are  Thy  testimonies  ; 
 
 Therefore  hath  my  soul  kept  them. 
 
 1 30  The  revelation  of  Thy  words  giveth  light, 
 
 It  giveth  understanding  unto  the  simple. 
 
 131  I  opened  my  mouth  and  panted  ; 
 
 For  I  longed  for  Thy  commandments. 
 
 132  Look  Thou  upon  me,  and  be  gracious  unto  me, 
 
 As  Thou  usest  to  do  unto  those  that  love  Thy  Name. 
 
 133  EstabHsh  my  steps  by  Thy  promise, 
 
 And  let  no  iniquity  have  dominion  over  me. 
 
 1 34  Redeem  me  from  the  oppression  of  man, 
 
 That  I  may  keep  Thy  precepts. 
 
 135  Make  Thy  face  to  shine  upon  Thy  servant, 
 
 And  teach  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 136  In  rivers  of  water  mine  eyes  run  down, 
 
 Because  they  keep  not  Thy  law. 
 
 Tsaddi. 
 
 137  Righteous  art  Thou,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  upright  are  TJiy  judgements. 
 
 138  Thou  hast  commanded  Thy  testimonies  in  righteous- 
 
 ness 
 And  exceedincf  faithfulness. 
 
 130.  Revelation,  lit.  "opening:,"  133.  Have  dominion,  as  in  xix. 
 i.e.    nnfo'din;^    or  unveiling,    not  en-  13. 
 
 trance,  z.i'vn.Y..N.  136.  In   rivers   of   water:  see 
 
 131.  I  opened  my  mouth,  an  the  same  phrase  Lam.  iii.  48, 
 expression  denoting  eager  desire,  as  in  138.  In  righteousness  and 
 Job  xxix.  23.  Like  one  oppressed  faithfulness.  The  nouns  may 
 with  burning  heat,  and  longing  for  either  be  used  adverbially,  or  they 
 some  cool  s]:)ring  of  M'ater,  or  some  may  be  accusatives  in  apposition,  "as 
 fjresh  breeze  to  fan  his  brow.  righteousness,"  &c. 
 
PSALM  CXIX.  597 
 
 139  My  zeal  hath  consumed  me; 
 
 Because    mine    adversaries    have    forgotten    Thy 
 words. 
 
 140  Thy  promise  is  tried  to  the  uttermost, 
 
 And  Thy  servant  loveth  it. 
 
 141  I  am  small  and  despised  ; 
 
 (Yet)  do  not  I  forget  Thy  precepts. 
 
 142  Thy  righteousness  is  an  everlasting  righteousness, 
 
 And  Thy  law  is  truth. 
 
 143  Distress  and  anguish  have  taken  hold  on  me  ; 
 
 Thy  commandments  are  my  delight. 
 1^4  The  righteousness  of  Thy  testimonies  is  everlasting  ; 
 Give  me  understanding,  that  I  may  live. 
 
 Koph. 
 
 145  I  called  with  (my)  whole  heart : 
 
 "  Answer  me,  Jehovah,  so  will  I  keep  Thy  statutes." 
 
 146  I  called  upon  Thee  :  "  Save  me, 
 
 So  will  I  keep  Thy  statutes." 
 
 147  Early  in  the  morning  twilight  did  I  cry  ; 
 
 I  hoped  in  Thy  word. 
 
 148  Mine  eyes  have  prevented  the  night-watches, 
 
 That  I  might  meditate  in  Thy  promises. 
 
 149  Hear  my  voice  according  unto  Thy  loving-kindness  ; 
 
 O  Jehovah,  quicken  me  according  to  Thy  judge- 
 ment. 
 
 150  They  draw  nigh  that  follow  after  mischief; 
 
 They  are  far  from.  Thy  law. 
 
 151  Thou  art  nigh,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  all  Thy  commandments  are  truth. 
 
 139.  Comp.  Ixix.  9.  means    "to   anticipate,"    "to   go  to 
 
 140.  Tried,  lit.  "  fined,"  as  metals  meet,"  with  the  accus.  (as  in  xvii. 
 are  in  the  furnace,  and  hence  pure,  13)  ;  and  used  .ibsolutcly,^  as  here,  it 
 free  from  all  admixture  of  dross,  true.  must  mean  "  I  rose  early." 
 
 Comp.  xii.  6.  151-  They  are  nigh   (ver.    150)  to 
 
 147.  Early,  lit.  "  I  was  before-  persecute  and  destroy  me  ;  1  hou  art 
 hand,    in  the   twilight."      The   verb       nigh  to  help  me. 
 
598  PSALM  CXIX. 
 
 152  Long  since  do  I  know  from  Thy  testimonies 
 That  Thou  hast  founded  them  for  ever. 
 
 Resh. 
 
 153  Look  upon  mine  affliction,  and  deliver  me; 
 
 For  I  do  not  forget  Thy  law. 
 
 154  Plead  my  cause  and  ransom  me  ; 
 
 Quicken  me  according  to  Thy  word. 
 
 155  Salvation  is  far  from  the  wicked  ; 
 
 For  they  have  not  sought  Thy  statutes. 
 
 156  Many  are  Thy  tender  mercies,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 Quicken  me  according  to  Thy  judgements. 
 
 157  Many  are  my  persecutors  and  mine  adversaries; 
 
 I  have  not  swerved  from  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 158  I  saw  the  faithless  and  was  grieved, 
 
 Because  they  kept  not  Thy  word. 
 
 159  See  how  I  love  Thy  precepts; 
 
 Quicken  me,  O  Jehovah,  according  to  Thy  loving- 
 kindness. 
 
 160  The  sum  of  Thy  word  is  truth, 
 
 And    every    one    of    Thy    righteous    judgements 
 (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 Sc/mi. 
 
 161  Princes- have  persecuted  me  without  a  cause; 
 
 But  my  heart  standeth  in  awe  of  Thy  word. 
 
 162  I  rejoice  because  of  Thy  promise. 
 
 As  one  that  findeth  great  spoil. 
 
 163  As  for  falsehood,  I  hate  and  abhor  it ; 
 
 Thy  law  do  I  love. 
 
 164  Seven  times  a  day  do  I  praise  Thee, 
 
 Because  of  Thy  righteous  judgements. 
 
 158.  Was    grieved,     lit.     ''felt  Fecause,    or   "who,"    viz.    "the 
 
 loathing.''     Comp.  cxxxix.  21.  faithless. 
 
rSALAf  CX/X.  599 
 
 165  Great  peace  have  they  which  love  Thy  law, 
 
 And  they  have  no  stumbling-block. 
 
 166  I  have  hoped  for  Thy  salvation,  Jehovah, 
 
 And  have  done  Thy  commandments. 
 
 167  My  sold  hath  kept  Thy  testimonies. 
 
 And  I  love  them  exceedingly. 
 
 168  I  have  kept  Thy  precepts  and  Thy  testimonies  ; 
 
 For  all  my  ways  are  before  Thee. 
 
 Tan, 
 
 169  Let  my  cry  come  near  before  Thy  face,  O  Jehovah  ; 
 
 Give  me  understanding,  according  to  Thy  word. 
 
 170  Let  my  supplication  come  before  Thy  face  ; 
 
 Deliver  me  according  to  Thy  promise. 
 
 171  Let  my  lips  pour  forth  praise; 
 
 For  Thou  teachest  me  Thy  statutes. 
 
 172  Let  my  tongue  sing  of  Thy  promise, 
 
 For  all  Thy  commandments  are  righteousness. 
 
 173  Let  Thine  hand  be  a  help  unto  me ; 
 
 For  I  have  chosen  Thy  precepts. 
 
 174  I  have  longed  for  Thy  salvation,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  Thy  law  is  my  delight. 
 
 175  Let  my  soul  live,  and  praise  Thee, 
 
 And  let  Thy  judgements  help  me. 
 
 176  I    have   gone   astray    like   a  lost  sheep  :    seek  Tliy 
 
 servant, 
 
 165.   No    STUMBLING-BLOCK.  those  stumbling-blocks  which  are  ever 
 LXX.  oi5/c  6(JTij'     avTo7s     oKavhaKov.  occasion  of  falling  to  others. 
 Comp.  the  words  of  St.  John,  (tkcxv-  166.  I  have  hoped.     Comp.  the 
 hoKov  ovK  eariv  4i/  avToS  (l   John   ii.  words  of  Jacob,  Gen.  xhx.   18. 
 10).     So  we  may  supply  here,  "  no  168.  For  all  .my  ways.     In  say- 
 stumbling-block    in    them,'''    or    "in  ing  "I  have  kt-pt  Thy  precepts."   I 
 their    path."     When    God's    law    is  make  no  vain  boast,  I  say  it  as  in  Thy 
 loved,    instead     of    being    struggled  sight,  who  seest  all  my  life, 
 against,    the   conscience  is   at  peace,  172.   Sing   of,    or    perhaps    "  rc- 
 and  the  inward  eve  is  clear;  a  man  peat,"  "echo." 
 Bees  his  duty  and  does  it,  free  from  176.  According  to  the  accents,  the 
 
6oo  '  PSALM  CXX, 
 
 For  I  do  not  forget  Thy  commandments. 
 
 rendering  would  rather  be,   "I  have  to  denote  the  helpless  condition  of  the 
 
 gone  astray  ;  seek   Thy  servant  as  a  Psalmist,  without  protectors,  exposed 
 
 lost  sheep/'     In  what  sense  can  one  to  enemies,  in  the  midst  of  whom  he 
 
 who   has  so  repeatedly  declared  his  wanders,  not  knowing  where  to  find 
 
 love  of  God's  word,  who  has  asserted  rest  and  shelter.     But  in  the  "  I  have 
 
 that.he  has  kept  God's  precepts,  make  gone  astray,"  there  is  doubtless   the 
 
 this  confession  ?     The   figure   cannot  sense  of  sin  as  well  as  of  weakness, 
 
 be  employed  here  in  the  same  sense,  though  there  is  also  the  consciousness 
 
 for  instance,  in  which  it  is  employed  of  love  to  God's  law,    "  I  do  not  for- 
 
 m  our  Lord's  parable.     He  who   is  get   Thy   commandments."       Comp. 
 
 the  lost  sheep  here  is  one  who  does  with   this  xix.    12 — 14.      The    word 
 
 not  forget  God's  commandments.   The  rendered    "lost"   may    be    rendered 
 
 figure,  therefore,  seems  in  this  place  "ready  to  perish." 
 
 PSALM  CXX. 
 
 With  this  Psalm  begins  a  series  of  fifteen  Psalms,  all  bearing  the 
 same  title,  "  Songs  of  the  goings-up ''  (E.V.  "  Songs  of  degrees  "),  and 
 constituting  originally,  no  doubt,  a  separate  hymn-book — a  Psalter 
 within  a  Psalter.  Of  the  different  interpretations  which  have  been 
 given,  the  most  probable  is  that  which  supposes  that  the  Psalms  to 
 which  this  title  is  prefixed  were  intended  to  be  sung  by  the  caravans 
 of  pilgrims  "  going  up  "  to  keep  the  yearly  feasts  at  Jerusalem.  The 
 collection  in  its  present  form  must  have  been  made  after  the  return 
 from  Babylon,  some  of  the  songs  containing  manifest  allusions  to  the 
 Captivity  as  still  in  the  recollection  of  the  writers.  All  these  odes 
 have  certain  features  in  common.  With  one  exception  (the  132nd) 
 they  are  all  short  -the  utterance  of  a  single  thought  or  feeling,  a  sigh, 
 a  hope,  a  joy.  They  are  all  pervaded  by  the  same  quiet,  graceful, 
 tender  beauty,  the  charm  of  which  was  so  felt  by  a  Spanish  com- 
 mentator, that  he  does  not  hesitate  to  say  that  this  collection  is  to  the 
 rest  of  the  Psalms  what  Paradise  was  to  the  rest  of  the  world  at  its 
 first  creation. 
 
 The  first  in  the  collection  is  a  prayer  against  the  lying  tongues  of 
 treacherous  neighbours,  whom  the  Poet  compares,  for  their  cruelty 
 
PSALM  CXX.  601 
 
 and  perfidy,  to  the  savage  hordes  of  the  Caucasus  or  of  the  Arabian 
 desert.  But  whether  the  Psahriist  thus  pictures  the  liealhen  amonj; 
 whom  he  dwells  in  exile,  or  the  wild  tribes  with  whom  no  treaty  can 
 be  kept,  by  whom  he  is  beset  on  his  way  back  from  Babylon  to 
 Palestine,  or  the  Saraarita-ns,  Arabians,  and  others,  who  after  their 
 return  attempted,  by  false  representations  to  the  Persian  monarch,  to 
 thwart  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  (Ezra  iv.)  and  the  fortification  of 
 the  city  (Nehem.  ii. — iv.),  it  is  impossible  to  say.  The  allusions  arc 
 brief  and  obscure. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song. 
 
 1  Unto  Jehovah,  when  I  was  in  distress, 
 
 I  cried,  and  He  answered  me. 
 
 2  O  Jehovah,  dehver  my  soul  from  lying  Hps, 
 
 From  a  deceitful  tongue. 
 
 3  What  shall  He  give  unto  thee,  and  what  shall  He  add 
 
 unto  thee, 
 O  thou  deceitful  tongue  } 
 
 4  Sharp  arrows  of  the  mighty, 
 
 I.   Cried  .  .  .  answered.      The  with   its    character.      As    the    lyinij 
 
 verbs  are  in  the  past  tense,  but  do  not  tongue  is  a  sharp  sword  (Ivii.  4),  as 
 
 refer  merely  to  a  past  occasion.     Past  it  is  a  sharp  arrow  (Jer.  ix.  8).  as  Jt 
 
 experience  and  present  are  here  com-  is  set  on  fire  of  hell  (James  ni.  5), 
 
 bined.      From    the    past    he    draws  so  shall  the  man  who  employs  it  be 
 
 encouragement  for  the  present.  destroyed  by  the  arrows  and  the  hre 
 
 -i    Give  .  .  .  add.      The  phrase  of  the  Mighty  One,  i.e.  God. 
 seems  to   mean:    "What   calamities  It  is  in  favour  of  the  first  mterprc- 
 
 shall  He  heap  upon  thee  ?  How  shall  tation  that  it  falls  m  with  the  pnera 
 
 punidiment    upon    punishment    visit  scope  of  the  Psalm,  m  which  the  1  oct 
 
 [l-^ee>''  complains  that,  loving  peace  himsell. 
 
 4. 'The   expressions    of  this   verse  he  meets  with  nothing  but  hosidity 
 
 may  either    (l)    describe   further   the  and  treachery.      On  the  other  hand, 
 
 treacherous  tongue  ("  thou  that  art  as  that  he  should  burst  forth  into  an  im- 
 
 sharp   arrows,"  \^c.),    as    in    Ivii.    4,  V'^'^^'T .""^  ^'''^"  T^'^^^'^^Zon^. 
 
 "  whose  teeth  are  spears  and  arrows,  head  of  these  t'-ef^^l^*^'"^'"^,"^  g/;^^,^"!^ 
 
 and  their  tongue  a  sharp  sword,"  Ixiv.  is  quite  in  accordance  w'lhjN  hat  ^ e 
 
 ^„  -who  have  sharpened  their  tongue  find  in  other  Psalms,  where  the  c.r- 
 
 like  the  sword,  and  have  aimed  their  cumstances  are  similar.     Comp.,  lor 
 
 arrow,  even  a  bitter  word  "  -see  also  instance,  Ps.  Iviii. 
 
 Iv   21    liK   7  •  or  (2)  the  punishment  The  mighty,     hven     f  ^^e  take 
 
 o'\he'tongaV  a  punishment  according  this  verse  as  describing  the  puntsh- 
 
602 
 
 PSALM  CXXL 
 
 With  coals  of  broom. 
 
 5  Woe  is  me  that  I  have  sojourned  in  Meshech, 
 
 That  I  have  dwelt  beside  the  tents  of  Kedar. 
 
 6  My  soul  hath  too  long  dwelt 
 
 With  him  that  hateth  peace. 
 
 7  As  for  m.e,  I  (am  for)  peace  ; 
 
 But  when  I  speak,  they  (are)  for  war. 
 
 ment  of  the  lying  tongue,  we  need 
 not  take  "  the  mighty"  to  mean  God,* 
 as  the  Tahiiud  does.  The  expression 
 may  only  mean  "sharp  arrows,  as  of 
 Q.warrior.'"  Comp.  cxxvii.  4;  Jer.  1.  9, 
 Broom,  not  as  E.  V.,  following 
 Jerome,  "juniper."  The  shrub 
 meant  is  the  genista  monosperma 
 (Arab,  reteiii),  the  root  of  which,  ac- 
 cording to  Burckhardt  {I tin.  ii.  p. 
 791),  is  used  for  fires  in  the  desert, 
 and  has  the  property  of  retaining  the 
 heat  for  a  considerable  time.  The 
 same  shrub  is  mentioned  i  Kings  xix. 
 4  ;  Job  XXX.  4.  The  latter  passage 
 may  mean,  not  that  the  root  of  the 
 genista  was  used  for  food,  which 
 seems  unlikely,  as  it  is  very  bitter,  but 
 perhaps  that  it  was  used  for  fire,  "  to 
 warm  them "  (comp.  Is.  xlvii.  14). 
 Wonderful  stories  are  told  by  Jerome 
 {De  mansionibus  Israel  ad  Fabiolam, 
 XV.),  and  in  the  Midrash  Tehillim, 
 how  travellers,  having  cooked  their 
 food  with  a  fire  made  of  the  juniper- 
 wood  (which  they  suppose  to  be  the 
 wood  here  meant),  and  returning  a 
 year  after  to  the  same  spot,  still  found 
 the  embers  alive. 
 
 These  coals  are  an  image  either 
 of  the  burning,  devouring  character 
 of  the  tongue,  or  of  its  punishment. 
 "Arrows  WITH  {i.e.  together  with) 
 coals,"  not,  as  others,  "fiery  arrovvs," 
 or  "arrows  sharpened  and  made 
 hard  by  means  of  fire,"  which  Avould 
 have  been  differently  expressed. 
 
 5.  Meshech,  probably  the  Moschi 
 of  Herodotus  (iii.  94),  mentioned, 
 together  with  Tubal,  Gen.  x.  2, 
 Ezek.  xxvii.  13  ;  a  barbarous  tribe 
 situated  south-east  of  the  Caucasus, 
 between  the  Black  Sea  and  the 
 Araxes  ;  and 
 
 Kedar,  one  of  the  predatory 
 hordes  roaming  the  Arabian  desert. 
 By  the  names  of  these  remote  and 
 barbarous  tribes,  the  one  to  the  north, 
 the  other  to  the  south  of  Palestine, 
 the  Psalmist  intends  to  mark  the 
 savage  character  of  those  who  sur- 
 round him.  We  might  speak  in  the 
 same  way,  says  De  Wette,  of  Turks 
 and  Hottentots. 
 
 7.  The  literal  rendering  of  the  first 
 clause  is,  "I  (am)  peace,"  as  in 
 cix.  4,  "  I  (am)  prayer."  The  pro- 
 noun in  each  clause  is  emphatic. 
 
 PSALM  CXXL 
 
 This  beautiful  Psalm  is  the  trustful  expression  of  a  heart  rejoicing- 
 in  its  own  safety  under  the  watchful  eye  of  Him  who  is  both  the 
 
PSALM  CXXT.  603 
 
 Maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  Keeper  of  Israel.  The  Creator 
 of  the  Universe,  the' Keeper  of  the  nation,  is  also  the  Keeper  of  the 
 individual.  The  one  ever-recurring  thought,  the  one.  characteristic 
 word  of  the  Psalm,  is  this  word  keep.  Six  times  it  is  repeated  in  the 
 last  five  verses  of  this  one  short  ode.  The  beauty  of  this  repetition  is 
 unfortunately  destroyed  in  the  Authorized  Version  by  the  substitution 
 in  the  last  three  instances,  in  verses  7  and  8,  of  the  verb  "  preserve" 
 for  the  verb  "  keep."  For  the  use  of  the  same  word  in  the  original 
 is  evidently  designed, — designed  to  mark  by  this  emphasis  of  itera- 
 tion the  truth  of  God's  loving  care  for  the  individual,  and  so  to 
 banish  all  shadow  of  doubt,  fear,  anxiety,  lest  in  the  vast  sum  the 
 unit  should  be  forgotten. 
 
 Under  what  circumstances  the  Psalm  was  written  is  doubtful.  Some 
 suppose  it  to  have  been  written  in  exile.  Others  understand  by  "  the 
 mountains  "  in  ver.  i,  not  the  mountains  of  Palestine  at  large,  but  the 
 one  mountain  or  mountain-group  of  Zion,  as  the  dwelling-place  of  God, 
 the  plural  being  used  as  in  cxxxiii.  3,  Ixxxvii.  i,  and  leave  it  an  open 
 question  whether  the  Psalmist  was  in  exile,  or  merely  at  a  distance 
 from  the  sanctuary. 
 
 Others,  again,  have  conjectured  that  this  was  the  song  sung  by  the 
 caravans  of  pilgrims  going  up  to  the  yearly  feasts,  when  first  they 
 came  in  sight  of  the  mountains  on  which  Jerusalem  stands. 
 
 The  Psalm  has  no  marked  divisions,  but  falls  naturally  into  pairs 
 of  verses.  The  Inscription,  "'A  song  for  the  goings-u-p,"  differs 
 slightly  from  that  which  is  prefixed  to  other  odes  of  this  collection. 
 
 [a  psalm.] 
 
 1  I  WILL  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the  mountains. 
 
 Whence  should  my  help  come  t 
 
 2  My  help  (cometh)  from  Jehovah, 
 
 I  The    mountains,     as    already  Comp.  Ixxxvii.  i  ;  cxxxiii.  3  ;  xiv.  7. 
 
 remarked   in  the  Introduction,  either  "  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  Israc    were 
 
 those  of  Palestine,   as  in  Nahum  i.  come  out  of  Zion ;     xx   2,     Jchovali 
 
 ic    and  in  Ezekiel,   "the  mountains  send  thee  help  from   the   sanctuary, 
 
 of  Israel ;"    or,   the  ridge  on  which  and  uphold  thee  out  of  Zion. 
 lay     Jerusalem     and     the     Temple. 
 
6o4 
 
 PSALM  CXXL 
 
 The  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 
 
 3  May  He  not  suffer  thy  foot  to  be  moved  ; 
 
 May  He  that  keepeth  thee  not  slumber. 
 
 4  Behold,  He  doth  neither  slumber  nor  sleep 
 
 That  keepeth  Israel. 
 
 5  Jehovah  is  thy  Keeper, 
 
 Jehovah  is  thy  shade  upon  thy  right  hand. 
 
 6  The  sun  shall  not  smite  thee  by  day, 
 
 Nor  the  moon  by  night. 
 
 7  Jehovah  shall  keep  thee  from  all  evil, 
 
 He  shall  keep  thy  soul, 
 
 8  Jehovah    shall     keep     thy   going    out    and 
 
 coming  in, 
 
 thy 
 
 2.  Maker  of  heaven  and 
 EARTH  ;  a  name  of  God  occurring 
 especially  in  these  Pilgrim  odes,  and 
 other  later  Psalms,  as  in  cxv.  15, 
 cxxiv.  8,  cxxxiv.  3,  cxlvi.  6.  God's 
 creative  power  and  majesty  were, 
 especially  during  the  Exile,  impressed 
 upon  the  heart  of  the  nation,  in  con- 
 trast with  the  vanity  of  the  gods  of  the 
 heathen.  Comp.  Jer.  x.  11,  "Then 
 shall  ye  say  unto  them  {i.e.  the  Jews 
 to  the  Chaldeans),  The  gods  that 
 have  not  made  the  heavens  and  the 
 earth,  even  they  shall  perish  from 
 the  earth,  and  from  under  these 
 heavens." 
 
 3.  The  Psalmist  turns  to  address 
 himself  First  he  utters  the  wish 
 that  God's  watchful  care  may  be  ex- 
 tended to  him  ;  then  the  conviction 
 that  the  Keeper  of  Israel,  He  who 
 has  been  the  God  of  his  fathers, 
 whose  Hand  has  led  the  nation 
 through  all  its  eventful  history,  doth 
 not — will  not,  cannot — slumber  nor 
 sleep.  Comp.  cxxxii.  4 ;  I  Kings 
 xviii.  27  ;  Is.  v.  27. 
 
 5.  Thy  shade,  as  a  protection 
 against  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun. 
 Comp.  xci.  I,  "shall  abide  under 
 the  shadow  of  the  Almighty;"  Is. 
 
 xxv.  4,  "Thou  hast  been  a  shadow 
 from  the  heat ; "  xxxii.  2,  "  As  the 
 shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary 
 land." 
 
 Upon  thy  right  hand  :  a  figure, 
 denoting  generally  succour,  help,  <&c. 
 (as  in  cix.  31,  ex.  5),  i.e.  Jehovah 
 standing  upon  thy  right  hand  to  de- 
 fend thee  is  thy  shade. 
 
 6.  Sun-stroke,  a  special  danger  of 
 the  East.  See  2  Kings  iv.  18 — 20  ; 
 Joh.  iv.  6 ;  and  comp.  Ps.  cii.  4, 
 where  the  Heart-  is  said  to  be  smitten 
 like  grass.  In  the  same  way  the  in- 
 fluence of  the  moon  is  considered  to 
 be  very  injurious  to  the  human  frame, 
 in  hot  climates  more  particularly. 
 Delitzsch  mentions  having  heard  from 
 Texas  that  the  consequence  of  sleep- 
 ing in  the  open  air  when  the  moon 
 was  shining  was  dizziness,  mentcl 
 aberration,  and  even  death.  The 
 names  given  to  persons  of  disordered 
 intellect,  aeX-nvia^ofxej/ot,  hinatid, 
 "lunatics,"  arose  from  the  wide- 
 spread belief  in  the  effects  of  the 
 moon  on  those  who  were  exposed  to 
 its  influence. 
 
 8.  Thy  going  out  and  thy 
 COMING  IN  ;  a  phrase  denoting  the 
 v/hole  life  and  occupations  of  a  man. 
 
PSALM  CXXII.  Co 5 
 
 From  this  time  forth  and  for  evermore. 
 
 Comp.  Deut.  xxviii.  6,  xxxi.  2  ;  coming  in,''  marks  the  completcner.s 
 I  Sam.  xxix.  6,  &c.  The  threefold  of  the  protection  vouchsafed,  ex- 
 expression,  "shall  keep  thee  .  .  .  tending  to  all  that  the  man  is  and 
 thy  soul  .  ,  .  thy  going  out  and  thy  that  he  does.     Comp.  I  Thcss.  v.  23. 
 
 PSALM  CXXII. 
 
 This  Psalm,  more  emphatically  than  any  in  the  collection  to  which 
 it  belongs,  merits  the  title  of  a  Pilgrim  song.  It  was  evidently  com- 
 posed with  immediate  reference  to  one  of  the  three  yearly  festivals, 
 when  the  caravans  of  pilgrims  "  went  up  "  to  the  Holy  City.  The  Poet 
 is  living  in  the  country.  As  the  time  of  the  Feast  draws  near,  his 
 friends  and  neighbours  come  to  him,  inviting  him  to  join  them  in  their 
 visit  to  Jerusalem.  It  is  with  this  picture  that  he  begins  his  Poem. 
 He  tells  us  how  his  heart  filled  with  joy  as  they  bade  him  come 
 with  them  "  to  the  house  of  Jehovah."  We  see  the  procession  start- 
 ing ;  we  see  beaming  eyes  and  happy  faces,  and  hear  the  music  of 
 gladness  with  which  the  pilgrims  begijile  the  tediousness  of  the 
 journey.  The  next  verse  transports  us  at  once  to  the  Holy  City 
 itself.  "Our  feet  have  stood  within  thy  gates;"  the  few  words  are 
 enough.  They  have  reached  their  journey's  end  ;  they  are  in  the 
 city  which  they  love.  Then  the  Poet  tells  us,  first,  the  impression 
 made  upon  his  mind  by  her  stateliness  and  her  beauty ;  and  next 
 how  there  comes  crowding  upon  his  memory  the  scenes  oi  her  earlier 
 grandeur,  the  thought  of  all  she  had  been  as  the  gathering-place  of 
 the  tribes  of  Jehovah,  the  royal  seat  of  David  and  of  his  house. 
 
 Filled  with  these  thoughts,  inspired  by  these  memories,  he  bursts 
 forth  into  hearty,  fervent  prayer — the  prayer  of  one  who  loved  his 
 country  as  he  loved  his  God,  with  no  common  devotion — for  the 
 welfare  of  that  city  so  glorious  in  her  past  history,  and  with  which 
 all  hopes  for  the  future  were  so  intimately  bound  up.  And  so  the 
 beautiful  ode  closes. 
 
 The  Psalm  is  called  in  the  title  a  Song  of  David.  It  is  certainly 
 possible  that  Psalms  written  by  him  might  be  comprised  in  a  collection 
 
6o6  PSALM  CXXII. 
 
 which  formed  a  hymn-book  for  the  pilgrims  ;  but  I  cannot  think  that 
 the  expression  "  thrones  of  the  house  of  David "  would  be  a  natural 
 one  in  David's  lips.  The  phrase  points,  surely,  to  a  dynasty  which 
 has  long  been  established  :  verses  4  and  5  are  clearly  a  retrospect. 
 
 As  most,  if  not  all,  of  these  Psalms  belong  to  a  period  subsequent 
 to  the  Captivity,  we  turn  more  naturally  to  that  time  as  furnishing 
 the  occasion  for  the  composition  of  this  ode.  But,  even  if  we  fix 
 upon  that  as  the  most  probable  date,  still  the  question  arises,  Is  the 
 whole  Psalm  a  retrospect,  or  does  it  spring  out  of  the  new  hfe  of  the 
 people  ?  Does  it  paint  only  the  recollection  of  former  pilgrimages  in 
 the  days  of  Zion's  first  glory,  or  does  it  paint  the  feelings  of  one  who 
 sees  the  old  state  of  things  revived,  and  who  joins  the  pilgrims  going 
 up  now  as  they  went  up  of  yore  t 
 
 The  Psalm  is  too  bright,  the  pictures  are  too  fresh,  to  be  the  utterance 
 of  an  old  man  returned  from  the  Exile  (as  some  think)  or  of  one  still 
 far  from  his  native  land.  There  is  none  of  that  "  deep  sighing  "  of 
 the  exile  or  the  old  man  looking  back  on  a  departed  glory  which 
 must  have  made  itself  felt,  none  of  that  melancholy  which  breathes, 
 for  instance,  in  such  a  Psalm  as  the  42nd,  and  even  the  84th.  The 
 gladness  of  the  first  verse  is  a  gladness  still  warm  at  the  heart  of 
 the  Poet  ;  the  picture  of  the  second  is  one  the  lines  of  which  are 
 not  yet  effaced  from  the  eye  of  his  mind.  The  reminiscences  of  the 
 past,  as  he  has  heard  the  tale  from  others,  or  as  he  has  read  it  in  the 
 words  of  other  Psalmists  and  Prophets,  mingle  with  the  present,  and 
 Jerusalem,  rising  from  her  ashes,  seems  to  him  fair  and  stately,  her 
 buhvarks  strong,  and  her  palaces  magnificent,  as  of  old. 
 
 [a   pilgrim    song,      of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  I  WAS  glad  when  they  said  unto  me, 
 
 Let  us  go  into  the  house  of  Jehovah. 
 
 2  Our  feet  have  stood 
 
 I.  The  house  of  Jehovah.    His  2.  Have  stood     This  may  be  a 
 
 joy  was  that  he  should  worship  thei-e       strict  perfect,  implying  that  they  are 
 "  in  the  presence  of  Jehovah."  still  standing.     It  is  the  lively  expres- 
 
PSALM  cxxir. 
 
 Within  thy  gates,  O  Jerusalem. 
 
 3  Jerusalem,  that  art  built 
 
 As  a  city  which  is  compact  togetliCr  ! 
 
 4  Whither  the  tribes  went  up,  the  tribes  of  J  ah, 
 
 (As  it  was)  a  law  for  Israel, 
 
 To  give  thanks  to  the  Name  of  Jehovah. 
 
 5  For  there  were  set  thrones  for  judgement, 
 
 Cb7 
 
 sion  of  the  satisfaction  and  delight  of 
 one  who  finds  himself  on  this  high 
 day  of  festal  joy  within  the  sacred 
 walls,  mingling  with  the  throng  of  wor- 
 shipers who  crowd  the  courts  of  the 
 Temple,  and  taking  his  part,  with 
 a  full  sense  of  his  privileges  as  an 
 Israelite,  in  the  solemn  services  of 
 the  Feast. 
 
 3.  Built.  This  has  been  ex- 
 plained in  three  different  ways,  (i) 
 it  has  been  closely  joined  with  what 
 follows,  "  built  as  a  city  which,"  <S:c. 
 (2)  It  has  been  taken  in  the  sense 
 of  "well-built,  stately."  (3)  It  has 
 been  understood  emphatically  to  de- 
 scribe the  city  as  rebuilt  after  the  Exile, 
 "  which  is  built  again,"  or,  "  O  thou 
 that  art  built  again."  Of  these,  the 
 last  is  preferable. 
 
 Compact.  This  has  been  under- 
 stood by  some  to  refer  to  the  natural 
 conformation  of  the  ground  on  which 
 the  city  stood.  So  Stanley,  speaking 
 of  "those  deep  ravines  which  separate 
 Jerusalem  from  the  rocky  plateau  of 
 which  it  forms  a  part,"  observes  that 
 they  must  have  not  only  "acted  as 
 its  natural  defence,  but  must  also 
 have  determined  its  natural  bound- 
 aries. The  city,  wherever  else  it 
 spread,  could  never  overleap  the 
 valley  of  the  Kedron  or  of  Hinnom. 
 ...  The  expression  of  compactness 
 was  still  more  appropriate  to  the 
 original  city,  if,  as  seems  probable, 
 the  valley  of  Tyropaeon  formed  in 
 earlier  times  a  fosse  within  a  fosse, 
 shutting  in  Zion  and  Moriah  into  one 
 
 compact  mass,  not  more  than  half 
 a  mile  in  breadth." — Shiai  and  Pales- 
 tine,  pp.  172,  173. 
 
 If,  however,  the  Psalm  refers,  as  is 
 probable,  to  the  city  as  rel)uilt  after 
 the  Exile,  then  the  epithet  alludes 
 to  the  reconstruction  of  walls  aii>l 
 houses ;  the  city  is  compact,  because 
 there  are  no  more  waste  places,  no 
 more  gaps  and  heaps  of  ruin. 
 
 4.  The  Poet  glances  here,  and  in 
 the  next  verse,  at  the  earlier  times, 
 when  Jerusalem  had  been  the  great 
 religious  and  political  centre  of  the 
 nation,  the  dwelling-place  of  Jeiio- 
 vah,  to  whose  Temple  all  the  tribes 
 were  gathered  at  the  three  great 
 Feasts,  and  the  seat  of  government 
 of  the  kings  of  the  house  of  David. 
 
 A  LAW.  The  word  usually  means 
 "testimony,"  but  here  must  evidently 
 be  understood  in  a  wider  sense.  The 
 "  law"  is  that  according  to  which  all 
 males  were  to  a]:)pear  before  the 
 Lord  three  times  in  the  year  :  Ex. 
 xxiii.  17,  xxxiv.  23  ;  Deut.  xvi.  16. 
 Comp.  Ps.  Ixxxi.  4,  5. 
 
 5.  For.  Jerusalem  had  become 
 the  religious  capital  of  the  nation, 
 because  it  was  already  the  civil 
 capital.  The  law  had  enjuincd  that 
 the  supreme  tribunal  should  be  in  the 
 same  place  as  the  sanctuary  (Deut. 
 xvii.  8,  9).  But  Jerusalem  was  fust 
 the  civil  metropolis,  "  the  city  of 
 David"  (2  Sam.  v.  9,  vL  12,  16), 
 before  it  became  "the  city  of  God." 
 To  a  Jewish  mind,  however,  the 
 religious  and  the  political  importance 
 
6o8 
 
 PSALM  CXXIIL 
 
 (The)  thrones  of  the  house  of  David. 
 
 O  pray  for  the  peace  of  Jerusalem  : 
 
 They  shall  prosper  that  love  thee. 
 Peace  be  within  thy  bulwarks, 
 
 Prosperity  within  Thy  palaces. 
 For  my  brethren  and  friends'  sakes, 
 
 Let  me  now  wish  thee  peace. 
 For  the  sake  of  the  house  of  Jehovah  our  God 
 
 I  will  seek  thy  good. 
 
 of  the  city  were  not  so  much  con- 
 trasted as  identical  ;  Church  and 
 State  were  not  two,  but  one. 
 
 Thrones  for  judgement.  The 
 king  was  also  the  judge  :  see  on 
 Ixxii.  I.  Comp.  2  Sam.  xv.  2  ; 
 I  Kings  iii.  16,  17. 
 
 The  house  of  David.  The  ex- 
 pression plainly  points  to  successors  of 
 David,  not  to  members  of  his  family 
 associated  with  himself  in  government, 
 administration  of  justice,  &c. 
 
 7.  Bulwarks  .  .  .  palaces,  as 
 in  xlviii,  13. 
 
 8.  The  last  four  verses  of  the 
 Psalm  breathe  a  spirit  of  the  noblest, 
 most  unselfish  patriotism.  Not  for 
 his  own  sake,  but  for  the  sake  of  his 
 brethren — the  peo]:)le  at  large — and 
 for  the  sake  of  his  God,  His  temple, 
 and  His  service,  he  wishes  peace  to 
 Jerusalem,  and  calls  upon  others  to 
 wish  her  peace.  With  love  to  Israel, 
 and  love  to  Jehovah,  there  is  natu- 
 rally united  a  warm  affection  for 
 Jerusalem,  a  hearty  interest  in  her 
 welfare. 
 
 PSALM  CXXIIL 
 
 Alsted  beautifully  entitles  this  Psalm  O cuius  Sperans,  "  The  Eye 
 of  Hope."  "This,"  says  Luther,  "is  a  deep  sigh  of  a  pained  heart 
 which  looks  round  on  all  sides,  and  seeks  friends,  protectors,  and 
 comforters,  but  can  find  none.  Therefore  it  says,  '  Where  shall  I,  a 
 poor  despised  man,  find  refuge  ?  I  am  not  so  strong  as  to  be  able 
 to  preserve  myself;  wisdom  and  plans  fail  me  among  the  multitude 
 of  adversaries  who  assault  me  ;  therefore  I  come  to  Thee,  O  my  God, 
 to  Thee  I  lift  my  eyes,  O  Thou  that  dwellest  in  the  heavens/     He 
 
PSALM  cxxni.  e-.o 
 
 pbces  over  against  each  other  the  Inhabitant  of  heaven  and  the 
 inhabitants  of  the  earth,  and  reminds  himself  that,  though  the  world 
 be  high  and  powerful,  God  is  higher  still.  What  shoiildcst  thou  do, 
 then,  when  the  world  despises  and  insults  thee  ?  Turn  thine  eyes 
 thither,  and  see  that  God  with  His  beloved  angels  and  His  elect  looks 
 down  upon  thee,  rejoices  in  thee,  and  loves  thee," 
 
 This  Psalm  is  either  the  sigh  of  the  exile,  towards  the  close  of  the 
 Captivity  looking  in  faith  and  patience  for  the  deliverance  which  ho 
 had  reason  to  hope  w^as  now  nigh  at  hand  ;  or  it  is  the  sigh  of 
 those  who,  having  already  returned  to  their  native  land,  were  still 
 exposed  to  "  the  scorn  and  contempt "  of  the  Samaritans  and  others, 
 who,  favoured  by  the  Persian  Government,  took  every  opportunity 
 of  harassing  and  insulting  the  Jews.  Comp.  Nehem.  ii.  19,  "They 
 laughed  us  to  scorn  and  despised  us,"  with  ver.  4  of  the  Psalm,  "  The 
 scorn  of  them  that  are  at  ease,  the  contempt  of  the  proud." 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  Unto  Thee  do  I  lift  up  mine  eyes, 
 
 O  Thou  that  art  throned  in  the  heavens ! 
 
 2  Behold,  as  the  eyes  of  slaves  unto  the  hand   of  their 
 
 masters. 
 As   the   eyes   of  a    maiden  unto  the    hand    of  her 
 
 mistress  ; 
 So  our  eyes  (look)  unto  Jehovah  our  God, 
 Until  He  be  gracious  unto  us. 
 
 1.  Comp.  cxxi.  I.  phrases,  a  nutu pendcrf,  a  vitltu,  orf, 
 
 2.  As  THE  EYES  OF  SLAVES,  &c.  Plaulus  {Aitlul.)  uses  the  e.\- 
 watching  anxiously  the  least  move-  pression  of  a  slave  "  oculos  in  oculis 
 ment,  the  smallest  sign  of  their  mas-  heri  habere  ;  "  and  Terence  (Adc-lph.) 
 ter's '  win.  The  image  expresses  "oculos  nunquam  ab  oculis  dimo- 
 complete  and  absolute  dependence.  vere."  In  those  passages,  however, 
 Savary  (in  his  Letters  on  Eiiypt,  p.  the  ready  obedience  of  the  slave  may 
 I70  says  •  "The  slaves  stand  silent  also  he  denoted  by  his  attitude.  In 
 at  the  bottom  of  the  rooms  with  the  Psalm  the  eye  directed  to  the 
 their  hands  crossed  over  their  breasts.  hand  of  God  is  the  ocidus  sperans 
 With  their  eyes  fixed  nf  on  theirmaster,  the  eye  whicli  waits,  and  hopes,  and 
 they  seek  to  anticipate  every  one  is  patient,  lookmt,'  only  to  llim  and 
 of  his  wishes."      Comp.    the   Latin  none  otlier  for  help. 
 
 R    R 
 
6io 
 
 PSALM  CXXIV. 
 
 3  Be  gracious  unto  us,  O  Jehovah,  be  gracious  unto  us. 
 
 For  we  are  exceedingly  filled  with  contempt. 
 
 4  Our  soul  is  exceedingly  filled 
 
 With  the  scorn  of  them  that  are  at  ease, 
 With  the  contempt  of  the  proud. 
 
 3.  Exceedingly  filled,  or  per- 
 haps "  has  long  been  filled."  (Comp. 
 cxx.  6.)  This  expression,  together 
 with  the  earnestness  of  the  repeated 
 prayer,  "  Be  gracious  unto  us,"  shows 
 that  the  "scorn"  and  "contempt" 
 have  long  pressed  upon  the  people, 
 and  their  faith  accordingly  exposed 
 to  a  severe  trial.      The  more  remark- 
 
 able is  the  entire  absence  of  anything 
 like  impatience  in  the  language  of 
 the  Psalm.  From  the  expression  of 
 trustful  dependence  wath  which  it 
 opens,  it  passes  to  the  earnest,  heart- 
 felt kyrie  eleison  in  which  it  pours  out 
 in  a  few  words  the  trouble  whence 
 springs  the  prayer. 
 
 PSALM  CXXIV. 
 
 The  last  Psalm  was  the  sigh  of  ail  exile  in  Babylon,  waiting  in 
 absolute  trust  and  dependence  upon  God  for  the  deliverance  of  him- 
 self and  his  people  from  captivity.  This  Psalm  is  the  joyful  acknow- 
 ledgement that  the  deliverance  has  been  vouchsafed.  The  next 
 Psalm,  the  125th,  describes  the  safety  of  the  new  colony,  restored  to 
 its  native  land,  and  girt  round  by  the  protection  of  Jehovah.  PI  ere, 
 then,  we  have  three  successive  pictures,  or  rather  three  parts  of  one 
 and  the  same  picture  ;  for  they  are  not  only  linked  together,  as  repre- 
 senting successive  scenes  in  one  history,  but  they  are  also  pervaded 
 by  one  great  master  thought,  which  lends  its  unity  to  the  whole 
 group.  In  each  there  is  the  same  full  recognition  of  Jehovah's  grace 
 and  power  as  working  both  for  the  deliverance  and  the  security  of 
 His  people.  In  the  123rd  Psalm,  "The  eye  waits  upon  Jehovah,  till 
 He  be  gracious."  In  the  124th,  "  If  Jehovah  had  not  been  on  our 
 side,  men  had  swallowed  us  up  alive.  ...  Our  help  is  in  the  name  of 
 Jehovah."  In  the  125th,  "The  mountains  are  about  Jerusalem,  and 
 Jehovah  is  round  about  His  people," 
 
rSALM  CXXIV.  6ri 
 
 There  can  be  little  doubt  that  this  Psalm  (the  124th)  records  ti.e 
 feelings  of  the  exiles  when  the  proclamation  of  Cyrus  at  length  per- 
 mitted them  to  return  to  their  native  land.  Yet  the  figures  employed 
 are  somewhat  startling.  The  swelling  waters  rising  till  they  threaten 
 to  sweep  all  before  them  is  an  image  expressing,  far  more  strongly 
 than  anything  in  the  history  would  seem  to  warrant,  the  hostility  of 
 their  conquerors  to  the  Jews.  The  bird  escaped  from  the  broken 
 snare  is  an  image  rather  of  sudden,  unlooked-for  deliverance,  than  of 
 a  return  so  deliberate,  so  slow,  in  some  instances  apparently  so  re- 
 luctant, as  that  of  the  Jews  from  Babylon.  The  figures  remind  one 
 rather  of  the  earlier  deliverance  from  Egypt.  The  Egyptians  did 
 "  rise  up  "  against  them.  Pharaoh  and  his  chariots  and  his  horsemen 
 followed  hard  after  them,  and  did  seem  as  if  about  to  swallow  them  up 
 when  they  were  entangled  in  the  wilderness.  The  waves  of  the  Red 
 Sea  overwhelming  their  enemies  might  have  suggested  naturally  the 
 figure  by  which  the  might  of  those  enemies  was  itself  compared  to 
 swelling  waters.  The  hasty  flight  might  well  be  likened  to  the  escape 
 of  the  bird  from  the  broken  snare  ;  the  blow  struck  in  the  death  of 
 the  first-born  to  the  breaking  of  the  snare. 
 
 Still  the  language  of  poetry  must  not  be  too  closely  pressed.  Indi- 
 viduals may  have  felt  strongly  thc-ir  oppression  in  Babylon.  How 
 keenly  some  had  reason  to  remember  their  captive  condition,  we  sec 
 from  the  137th  Psalm.  And  the  providential  means  by  which  their 
 deliverance  was  at  last  effected  were  unlooked  for,  and  may  have  well 
 taken  them  by  surprise.  The  power  of  Babylon  had  been  broken  by 
 Cyrus,  and  the  conqueror  had  set  them  free.  "  When  Jehovah  turned 
 again  the  captivity  of  Zion,  then  were  we  like  unto  them  that  dream," 
 Moreover,  we  know  how  constantly  both  Prophets  and  Psalmists  arc 
 in  the  habit  of  comparing  the  return  from  Babylon  to  the  deliverance 
 from  Egypt.  Twice  had  the  nation  been  in  bondage  to  other  nations, 
 in  a  strange  land  ;  twice  had  the  yoke  of  its  masters  been  broken  ; 
 and,  unlike  as  the  circumstances  may  have  been  under  which  the  two 
 great  acts  of  national  redemption  were  accomplished,  still  the  one  was 
 naturally  associated  in  the  minds  and  thoughts  of  the  people  with  the 
 other.  And  hence  a  Poet  celebrating  the  one  might  almost  uncon- 
 sciously borrow  his  imagery  from  the  other. 
 
 The  title,  which  gives  the  Psalm  to  David,  is  probably  of  nu 
 authority. 
 
 R    R    2 
 
6i2  PSALM  CXXV. 
 
 [a   pilgrim   song,      of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  If  Jehovah  had  not  been  on  our  side, — ■ 
 
 May  Israel  now  say — 
 
 2  If  Jehovah  had  not  been  on  our  side, 
 
 When  men  rose  up  against  us  ; 
 
 3  Then  had  they  swallowed  us  up  alive, 
 
 When  their  anger  was  kindled  against  us  ; 
 
 4  Then  had  the  waters  overwhelmed  us, 
 
 The  stream  had  gone  over  our  soul  ; 
 
 5  Then  there  had  gone  over  our  soul 
 
 The  proudly-swelling  waters. 
 
 6  Blessed  be  Jehovah, 
 
 Who  hath  not  given  us  as  a  prey  to  their  teeth. 
 
 7  Our  soul  is   escaped   as  a  bird  from  the  snare  of  the 
 
 fowlers  ; 
 The  snare  is  broken,  and  we  are  escaped. 
 
 8  Our  help  is  in  the  Name  of  Jehovah, 
 
 The  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 
 
 3.  Swallowed  us  up  alive.  the  melting  of  the  snow  in  spring. 
 Comp.  Iv,  15  ;  Prov.  i,  12  ;  with  For  the  figure  comp.  xviii.  16,  Ixix. 
 Num.  xvi.  32,  33,  where  the  phrase  I,  2,  cxHv,  7. 
 
 is  used  of  the  company  of  Korah.  5.     Proudly-swelling.     Comp. 
 
 4.  The  STREAM,  i.e.  the  mountain-  xlvi.  3,  Ixxxix.  9,  and  the  vlSpiarii^ 
 torrent  as  swollen  by  the  rains  and  iroTa;nos  of  ^schylus,  F.V.  717, 
 
 PSALM  CXXV. 
 
 The  exiles  had  been  restored  to  their  own  land  (see  Introduction 
 to  last  Psalm),  but  fresh  perils  awaited  them  there.  Not  only  were 
 they   perpetually   molested  by    the    Samaritans  and   others  in    the 
 
PSALM  CXXV.  Cx-s 
 
 rebuilding  of  the  Temple  and  oUhe  city  walls,  but  they  were  troubled 
 with  internal  dissensions  ;  Ezra  found  the  "  abominations  of  the 
 heathen"  countenanced  by  the  intermarriages  of  the  Jews  who  re- 
 turned from  the  Captivity  with  '•'  the  people  of  those  lands,"  and  was 
 dismayed  when  he  learnt  that  "the  hand  of  the  princes  and  the 
 rulers  had  been  chief  in  this  trespass."  Nchemiah,  at  a  later  period, 
 had  to  contend  against  a  faction  within  the  city  who  had  taken  the 
 bribes  of  the  Samaritans.  In  rebuilding  the  walls,  he  did  not  trust 
 the  priests,  the  nobles,  or  the  rulers,  till  he  had  begun  the  work 
 (Neh.  ii.  i6,  vi.  17).  Even  the  prophets  took  part  with  his  enemies 
 against  him.  Shemaiah,  he  found,  had  been  hired  by  Tobiah  and 
 Sanballat,  and  "the  prophetess  Noadiah  and  the  rest  of  the'prophcts" 
 had  joined  the  plot,  and  sought  "  to  put  him  in  fear,"  and  so  to 
 hinder  his  work  (vi.  10 — 14). 
 
 To  these  plots  and  this  defection  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  Jews 
 themselves  there  is  probably  an  allusion  in  ver.  3  and  5.  On  the  other 
 hand,  the  faith  of  the  Psalmist  rises  above  all  these  dangers.  There 
 is  One  who  is  the  sure  defence  of  His  people,  who  is  their  bulwark  as 
 the  mountains  are  the  bulwark  of  Jerusalem. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  They  that  trust  in  Jehovah  are  like  Mount  Zion, 
 
 Which  cannot  be  moved, 
 (But)  standeth  fast  for  ever. 
 
 2  As  for  Jerusalem,  the  mountains  are  round  about  her. 
 
 I    2.  Two  images  of  the  security  in    by    mountains,    except     on     the 
 
 of  those  who  trust  in  Jehovah  :  (i)  eastern  side,  where  it  may  be  said  to 
 
 they  stand  firm  as  Zion  itself,   they  be  enclosed  by  the  arms  of  Ohvet, 
 
 ?re  like  a  mountain  which  cannot  be  with  its  outlying  ndgcs  on  the  north- 
 
 sliaken  •  (2-)  they  are  girt  as  by  a  wall  east  and   south-east."      Viewed  from 
 
 of    mountains— a    natural     bulwark  any  other  direction,  Jerusalem  always 
 
 acrainst  all  enemies.  anj-ears  " on  an  elevation  hi-hcr  than 
 
 "^2    Mountains  are  round  about  the  hills  in  its  immediate  nei[;hbour- 
 
 HER        "This  imatie  is  not  realized,"  hood.     Nor  is  the  plam  on  which  it 
 
 says  Dean  Stanley,    "  as  most  persons  stands    enclosed     by     a     continuous 
 
 familiar   with  our  European  scenery  though    distant    circle   of  mountains 
 
 would  wish  and  expect  it  to  be  rea-  like   that    which    gives    its    peculiar 
 
 lized       Jerusalem  is  not  literally  shut  charm  to  Athens  and  Innsbruck.     J  he 
 
6i4 
 
 PSALM  CXXV. 
 
 And  Jehovah  is  round  about  His  people, 
 From  this  time  even  for  evermore. 
 For  the  rod  of  wickedness  shall  not  rest  upon  the  lot  of 
 the  righteous, 
 That  the  righteous  put  not  forth  their  hands   unto 
 iniquity. 
 Do  good,  O  Jehovah,  to  them  that  are  good, 
 
 And  to  them  that  are  upright  in  their  hearts. 
 But  as  for  those  who  turn  aside  to  their  crooked  pathc. 
 
 mountains  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
 Jerusalem  are  of  unequal  height,  .  .  . 
 only  in  two  or  three  instances  .  .  . 
 rising  to  any  considerable  elevation. 
 Even  Olivet  is  only  1 80  feet  above 
 the  top  of  Mount  Zion.  Still  they 
 act  as  a  shelter ;  they  must  be  sur- 
 mounted before  the  traveller  can  see, 
 or  the  invader  attack,  the  Holy  City ; 
 and  the  distant  line  of  Moab  w^ould 
 always  seem  to  rise  as  a  wall  against 
 invaders  from  the  remote  east."  It 
 is  of  these  distant  mountains  fhat 
 Josephus  speaks  {Bell.  Jud.  vi.  v.  i) 
 as  "the  surrounding  mountains," 
 ovvrw^^  5e  77  irepaia  Koi  rd  irspi^  opr], 
 — Si7tai  and  Palesti7ie,  pp.174,  175. 
 Is    ROUND     ABOUT     HiS     PEOPLE. 
 
 Comp.  Zech.  ii.  4,  5,  "Jenisalem 
 shall  be  inhabited  as  towns  without 
 walls,  for  I,  saith  Jehovah,  Avill  be 
 unto  her  a  wall  of  fire  round  about." 
 
 3.  For  introduces  an  example  of 
 God's  protecting  care — an  example 
 not  taken  from  the  past,  but  which 
 faith  anticipates  and  is  sure  of,  as  if 
 already  accomplished. 
 
 The  rod  of  wickedness.  The 
 expression  may  refer  to  the  Persian 
 rule  under  favour  of  which  the  Sama- 
 ritans and  others  annoyed  the  Jews. 
 The  rod  or  sceptre  could  not  apply  to 
 the  Samaritans,  for  they  did  not  ride 
 over  the  Jews.  But  it  was  through, 
 them  that  the  tyranny  of  the  Persian 
 court  made  itself  felt ;  and  they  con- 
 
 trived, moreover,  to  gain  over  a  con- 
 siderable part,  and  that  the  most 
 influential  part,  of  the  Jews  to  their 
 side.  The  fear  was,  as  the  next  clause 
 shows,  lest  in  this  state  of  things  the 
 defection  should  spread  still  more 
 widely. 
 
 Rest,  i.e.  "lie  heavy,"  so  as  to 
 oppress,  as  in  Is.  -xxv.  10,  with  a 
 further  sense  of  continuance  of  the 
 oppression. 
 
 The  lot  of  the  righteous  is 
 the  Holy  Land  itself ;  comp.  xvi.  5, 
 6.  The  consequence  of  a  long  con- 
 tinuance of  this  oppressive  rule  would 
 be  that  the  righteous,  the  sound 
 and  true  part  of  the  nation,  would 
 itself  be  tempted  to  despair  of  God's 
 succour,  and  so  be  drawn  away  from 
 its  stedfastness  (comp.  xxxvii.  7,  8, 
 xlix.  13,  Ixxiii.  13,  14 ;  Job  xv.  4). 
 
 4,  5.  The  Psalm  ends  with  a  con- 
 fident assertion  of  righteous  requital 
 — first  in  the  form  of  a  prayer,  and 
 then  in  the  utterance  of  a  hope,  both 
 springing  from  the  same  faith  in  the 
 righteousness  of  God. 
 
 5.  Turn  aside  to  their  crook- 
 ed paths,  lit.  "bend  their  crooked 
 ■paths,"  i.e.  so  turn  their  paths  aside 
 as  to  make  them  crooked.  Comp. 
 Judg.  V.  6.  The  expression  does  not 
 necessarily  denote  a  going  over  to 
 lieathenism  :  .it  would  describe  the 
 conduct  of  those  who,  in  tlie  time  of 
 Nchemiah,  made  common  cause  with 
 
PSALM  CXXVI.  Cz, 
 
 Jehovah    shall    make   them    go    their   way  with   tlie 
 workers  of  iniquity. 
 Peace  be  upon  Israel. 
 
 the  enemies  of  Israel  (Neh.  vi.   lo—       so  as  to  perish. 
 14,  xiii.  28—31).  Peace  upon  Isuakl.      Conm.  the 
 
 Make  them  go  their  way,  i.e.       conclusion  of  cxxviii. 
 
 PSALM  CXXVI. 
 
 The  first  colony  of  exiles  had  returned  to  Palestine.  The  permis- 
 sion to  return  had  been  so  unexpected,  the  circumstances  which  had 
 led  to  it  so  wonderful  and  so  unforeseen,  that  when  it  came  it  could 
 hardly  be  believed.  To  those  who  found  themselves  actually  restored 
 to  the  land  of  their  fathers  it  seemed  like  a  dream.  It  was  a  joy 
 beyond  all  words  to  utter.  God,  their  father's  God,  had  indeed 
 wrought  for  them,  and  even  the  heathen  had  recognised  His  hand. 
 
 It  is  with  these  thoughts  that  this  beautiful  Psalm  opens.  But, 
 after  all,  what  was  that  little  band  of  settlers  which  formed  the  first 
 caravan  1  It  was  only  as  the  trickling  of  a  tiny  rill  in  some  desert 
 waste.  Hence  the  prayer  bursts  from  the  lips  of  the  Psalmist,  Bring 
 back  our  captives  like  mighty  streams,  which,  swoln  by  the  wintry 
 rains,  descend  to  fertilize  the  parched  and  desolate  wilderness.  Then 
 comes  the  thought  of  the  many  discouragements  and  opposition 
 which  the  first  settlers  had  to  encounter  ;  it  was  a  time  of  sowing  in 
 tears  (Ezra  iv.  11 — 24).  Still,  faith  could  expect  a  joyful  harvest.  He 
 who  had  restored  them  to  the  land  would  assuredly  crown  His  work 
 with  blessing. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 I  When  Jehovah  brought  back  the  returned  of  Zion, 
 We  were  like  unto  them  that  dream. 
 
 I.  Like  UNTO  them  THAT  dream,       that  we  could  scarcely  believe  it  \\as 
 i.r.   so  unexpected  and  so  wonderful       true,  and  not  a  dream. 
 was  our  redemption  from  the  Exile, 
 
6i5 
 
 PSALM  CXXVL 
 
 2  Then  was  our  mouth  filled  with  laughter, 
 
 And  our  tongue  with  songs  of  joy. 
 
 3  Then  said  they  among  the  nations, 
 
 ''  Jehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  them.'' 
 
 4  (Yea)  J  ehovah  hath  done  great  things  for  us ; 
 
 (Therefore)  were  we  glad. 
 
 5  Bring  back,  O  Jehovah,  our  captives 
 
 As  streams  in  the  south. 
 
 6  They  that  sow  in  tears 
 
 Shall  reap  with  songs  of  joy. 
 
 7  (The  sower)  may  go  along  weeping, 
 
 Bearing  (his)  handful  of  seed ; 
 
 8  He  shall  surely  come  with  songs  of  joy, 
 
 2.  Filled  with  laughter,  as 
 in  Job  viii.  21. 
 
 5.  vStreams,  or  rather  "  channels" 
 (watercourses).  The  south  is  the 
 image  of  a  dry  and  thirsty  land,  which 
 wanted  springs.       Comp.  Judg.  i.  15. 
 
 Palestine  without  her  people  has 
 been  like  the  south  country  parched 
 with  the  drought  of  summer  :  the 
 return  of  her  inhabitants  will  be 
 grateful  as  the  return  of  the  mountain 
 torrents  when,  swoln  by  the  wintiy 
 rains,  th(-y  flow  again  along  the  beds 
 of  the  M'iitercourses,  carrying  with 
 them  life  and  verdure  and  fertility. 
 We  find  the  expression  of  the  same 
 feeling  under  a  different  figure  Is. 
 xlix.  18,  where  the  land,  like  a  be- 
 reaved mother,  waits  for  her  children, 
 whose  return  will  fill  her  heart  with  joy. 
 
 6.  They  that  sow  in  tear's. 
 The  sowing  is  a  season  of  trouble  and 
 anxiety,  but  the  rich  harvest  makes 
 amends  for  all.     So  though  the  new 
 
 colonists  were  exposed  to  many  trials, 
 yet  a  glorious  future  was  before  them. 
 That  time  of  labour,  and  trouble, 
 and  opposition,  and  discouragement, 
 and  anxious  waiting,  should  by  no 
 means  lose  its  reward.  The  weeping 
 should  be  changed  into  joy ;  the 
 weeping  should  be  the  path  of  joy. 
 Comp.  for  the  contrast  between  the 
 sowing  and  the  reaping,    Haggai  ii. 
 
 3-9,  17— 19-'" 
 
 7,  8.  These  verses  are  merely  an 
 expansion  of  the  image  in  ver.  6, 
 with  the  common  substitution  of  the 
 singular  for  the  plural,  to  bring  out 
 more  clearly  the  figure  of  the  in- 
 dividual sower. 
 
 7.  This  verse  might  perhaps  be 
 more  exactly  rendered  :  ' '  He  who 
 beareth  the  handful  of  seed  may 
 indeed  weep  every  step  that  he  goes." 
 
 Go  ALONG  weeping,  or,  yet  more 
 strongly,  "take  no  step  of  his  way 
 without  weeping." 
 
 *  Edmund  Poole,  accused  of  conspiring  to  place  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  on  the  English 
 thjone,  and  confined  in  that  part  of  the  Tower  of  London  called  the  Bcauchamp  Tower,  has 
 left  this  record  of  himself  engraven  on  the  walls — I.H.  S.  Qui  Semin  .  .  in  lachrimis  in 
 exuhaUsne  metct,  AE.  21,  E.  Pool--,  1,62. 
 
PSALM  CXXVIf.  617 
 
 Bearing  his  sheaves  (with  him). 
 
 Handful  of  seed,  lit.  "  that  scattered  on  the  field".  Hence  a  sower 
 which  is  drawn  into  the  hand  "  out  of  is  called  "a  drawer  of  seed,"  Amos 
 the  vessel  or  fold  of  the  robe  to  be       ix.  n. 
 
 PSALM  CXXVII. 
 
 This  and  the  next  Psalm  form  two  bright  companion  pictures  of 
 social  and  domestic  life,  and  of  the  happiness  of  a  household  which, 
 trained  in  the  fear  of  God,  is  blessed  by  His  providence. 
 
 There  is  not  a  word  in  either  Psalm  to  guide  us  as  to  the  time  of 
 its  composition.  The  title  gives  the  127th  to  Solomon  (only  one 
 other  in  the  entire  Psalter,  the  72nd,  being  ascribed  to  him),  but  it 
 may  be  doubted  whether  with  sufficient  reason.  In  form,  in  rhythm, 
 in  general  tone  and  character,  it  resembles  all  the  others  in  this 
 collection.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  the  proverb-like  structure 
 of  the  Psalm,  the  occurrence  in  it  of  several  words  and  phrases  also 
 occurring  in  the  Proverbs,  and  possibly  a  supposed  allusion  to  the 
 name  Jedediah  in  ver.  2,  "  His  beloved,"  and  to  the  building  of  the 
 Temple  in  ver.  i,  may  have  led  some  collector  to  conchide  that 
 the  Psalm  was  Solomon's.  In  the  Septuagint  it  is  anonymous.  In 
 the  Syriac  it  is  said  to  have  been  spoken  by  David  concerning 
 Solomon ;  but  also  concerning  Haggai  and  Zcchariah,  who  urged 
 the  building  of  the  Temple. 
 
 The  great  moral  of  the  Psalm  is,  that  without  God's  blessing  all 
 human  efforts  and  human  precautions  are  in  vain  ;  that  man  can  never 
 command  success  ;  that  God  gives  and  man  receives.  There  is  a 
 passage  in  Tennyson's  "  Lotos  Eaters,"  the  strain  of  which  is  not 
 unlike  that  of  ver.  3  of  the  Psalm,  except  that  there  is  a  shadow  of 
 sadness  and  weariness  on  the  words  of  the  modern  Poet  which  docs 
 not  rest  on  the  spirit  of  the  Hebrew  bard  : — 
 
 "  Why  are  we  weigh'd  upon  with  hea\iness, 
 And  utterly  consumed  with  sharp  distress, 
 
6iS  PSALM  CXXVIL 
 
 While  all  things  else  have  rest  from  weariness  ? 
 All  things  have  rest  :  why  should  we  toil  alone  ? 
 We  only  toil  who  are  the  first  of  things, 
 And  make  perpetual  moan, 
 Still  from  one  sorrow  to  another  thrown  : 
 Nor  ever  fold  our  wings, 
 And  cease  from  wanderings  ; 
 Nor  steep  our  brows  in  slumber's  holy  balm  ; 
 Nor  hearken  what  the  inner  spirit  sings, 
 *  There  is  no  joy  but  calm  ! ' 
 Why  should  we  only  toil,  the  roof  and  crown  of  things  ? " 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song,    of  solomon.-^^] 
 
 1  Except  Jehovah  build  the  house, 
 
 They  labour  upon  it  in  vain  that  build  it  ; 
 Except  Jehovah  watch  over  a  city, 
 (The)  watchman  waketh  (but)  in  vain. 
 
 2  Vain  is  it  for  you  that  ye  rise  up  early,  that   ye  late 
 
 take  rest, 
 That  ye  eat  the  bread  of  sorrows  ; 
 So  He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep. 
 
 I,  3.  The  truth  seems  obvious  and  2.  That  ye  rise,  or  "who  rise." 
 undeniable  that  all  success  is  from  Tlie  Hebrew  expression  runs  literally: 
 God,  "An  Gottes  Segen  ist  alles  "  making  early  to  rise,  making  late  to 
 gelegen;"  yet  practically  this  is  by  sit  (down)."  It  is  an  artificial  length- 
 most  men  forgotten.  The  spirit  of  ening  of  the  natural  day. 
 the  Chaldean  invader  of  whom  the  Bread  OF  sorrows,  or  perhaps 
 Prophet  says,  "This  his  strength  is  rather  "  of  wearisome  efforts. "  Comp. 
 his  God,"  the  Z>i?jr/ra  wz7^e  Z>^«j,  is  in  Prov.  v.  10,  "and  thy  wearisome 
 the  heart,  if  not  on  the  lips,  of  others  efforts  {i.e.  what  thou  hast  gotten 
 besides  the  atheist.  with  labour  and  toil)  be  in  die  house 
 
 I.   A  HOUSE,  not  "the  Temple,"  as  of  a  stranger."    There  is  an  allusion, 
 
 some  explain,  nor  "the  family,"  as  no  doubt,  to  Gen.  iii.  17,  "in  sorrow 
 
 otliers,    but  the  structure  itself,  as  is  (or  weariness)  thou  shalt  eat  of  it  all 
 
 evident  from  the  context.     Watch-  the  days  of  thy  life." 
 
 MAN,  lit.   "  keeper,"  2.^.  by  night,  as  So ;  some  interpret  this  He  GIVETH 
 
 in  cxxi.  3,  4.  (it)  i.e.  bread,   the  necessaries  of  life, 
 
 *  There  are  coincidences  of  expression    which  have  been  supposed  to  justify  this  title,  see 
 
 Proverbs  v.  lo,  xxiii.  30      The  whole  Psalm  may  be  considered  an  expansion  of  Proverbs 
 z.  22.                                          ^ 
 
FSALM  CXXVir. 
 
 619 
 
 Behold,  sons  are  a  heritage  from  Jehovah, 
 
 The  fruit  of  the  womb  (His)  reward. 
 Like  arrows  in  the  hand  of  a  mighty  man,  • 
 
 So  are  the  sons  of  (a  man's)  youth. 
 Happy  is  the  man  who  hath  filled  his  quiver  with  them, 
 
 IN  SLEEP,  but  I  am  inclined  to  prefer 
 the  rendering,  "So  He  giveth  His 
 beloved  sleep,"  though  it  is  no  doubt 
 difficult  to  explain  the  reference  of  the 
 particle  ."so."  I  suppose  it  refers  to 
 the  principle  laid  down  in  the  pre- 
 vious verses,  there  being  a  tacit  com- 
 parison, "as  all  labour  is  vain  without 
 God's  providence,  so  He  gives  the 
 man  who  loves  Him  and  leaves  all  in 
 His  hands,  calm  refreshing  sleep." 
 
 There  is  no  discouragement  here,  it 
 is  needless  to  say,  to  honest  labour. 
 It  is  undue  anxiety,  a  feverish  strain- 
 ing, a  toiling,  as  if  toil  of  itself  could 
 command  success,  the  folly  of  which 
 is  condemned.  Comp.  for  a  similar 
 sentiment  Prov.  x.  22  ,"  The  blessing 
 of  Jehovah  maketh  rich,  and  toil  can 
 add  nothing  thereto."  The  teaching 
 is  that  of  our  Lord  in  the  Sermon  on 
 the  Mount,  "Wherefore  I  say  unto 
 you,  Be  not  anxious  for  your  life,  what 
 ye  shall  eat  and  what  ye  shall  drink, 
 neither  for  yo\xr  body,  wherewith  ye 
 shall  be  clothed,"  &c.'.  Matt.  vi.  25 — 
 34.  See  also  Luke  x.  41  ;  I  Pet.  v. 
 7.  God's  "beloved"  are  not  ex- 
 empted from  the  great  law  of  labour 
 which  lies  upon  all,  but  the  sting  is 
 taken  from  it  when  they  can  leave  all 
 results  in  a  Father's  hand,  with  a])so- 
 lute  trust  in  His  wisdom  and  good- 
 ness. 
 
 3.  Behold,  as  drawing  pai'ticular 
 attention  to  one  marked  example  of 
 God's  good  gifts ;  which  none  can 
 question  is  emphatically  His  gift ;  on 
 this  the  Poet  lingers,  "allured  by  the 
 charm  of  the  subject,"  for  such  there 
 was,  especially  to  an  Oriental,  to 
 whom  a  numerous  progeny   was  th;^ 
 
 first  of  blessings,  giving  value  and 
 stability  to  all  others, 
 
 A  HERITAGE,  or  perhaps  here,  in  a 
 wider  sense,  "  a  possession." 
 
 4.  Sons  of  youth,  i.e.  sons  of 
 early  married  life  (as  in  Prov.  v.  iS, 
 "a  wife  of  youth"  is  one  marric<l 
 when  a  man  is  young).  On  the  other 
 hand,  in  Gen.  xxxvii.  3,  "  a  son  of  old 
 age  "  is  one  born  when  his  father  is  old. 
 
 These  sons  of  a  man's  youth  are 
 particularly  mentioned,  because  they 
 would  naturally  grow  up  to  be  a  su()- 
 port  and  protection  to  their  father  m 
 his  old  age,  when  he  would  most  need 
 their  support. 
 
 5.*  They.  The  pronoun  may  refer 
 only  to  the  father,  though  some  think 
 it  includes  both  father  and  sons. 
 
 Is.  THE  GATE,  here  mentioned 
 chielly  as  the  place  of  judgement 
 (Deut.  xxi.  19  ;  Is.  xxix.  21  ;  Amos 
 V.  12),  as  well  as  of  all  public  acts. 
 See  on  ix.  14.  The  allusion  is  to  law- 
 suits, in  which,  if  unjustly  accused  or 
 brought  before  an  unrighteous  judge, 
 a  man  need  not  fear  lest  he  should  liC 
 "put  to  shame,"  i.e.  lose  his  aruse  ; 
 his  stalwart  sons  would  not  suffer 
 might  to  prevail  against  right. 
 
 The  phrase,  "speak  with  their 
 enemies,"  in  the  sense  of  defending 
 their  cause,  may  be  illustrated  by 
 Josh.  XX.  4,  "  And  he  (the  man-.-laycr 
 who  has  fled)  shall  stand  in  the  en- 
 trance of  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  shall 
 speak  his  words  [i.e.  plead  his  cause) 
 in  the  ears  of  the  elders  uf  that  city." 
 Comp.  2  Sam.  xix.  S  ;  Jer.  xii.  I. 
 
 Others  understand  by  speaking  with 
 enemies  in  the  gate  a  battle  (ought 
 with    besiegers  at   the  gates.      This 
 
G20  PSALM  CXXV211. 
 
 They  shall  not  be  ashamed,  when  they  speak  with 
 their  enemies  in  the  gate. 
 
 certainly  harmonizes  better  with  the  <i)s  koX  rhv  ix^P^^  avTaavvcavTai  KaKo7s, 
 warlike  figure  of  the  quiver  full  of  koI  tov  (p'lKov  riixooaiv  i^  'laov  irarpi. 
 arrows  ;  but  can  "to  speak  with  ene- 
 mies "  mean  to  fight  with  them  ?  If  So,  too,  in  Ecclus.  xxx.  5,  6,  it  is  said 
 so,  it  must  be  an  idiom  something  like  of  a  father  that  "while  he  lived,  be 
 that  of  "looking  one  another  in  the  saw  and  rejoiced  in  him  (his  son)  ; 
 face,"  2  Kings  xiv.  8,  11.  and  v/hen  he  died,  he  was  not  sorrow- 
 With  the  sentiment  of  ver.  4,  5,  ful.  He  left  behind  him  an  avenger 
 compare   Soph.  Antig.  641 — 644:  against  his  enemies,  and  one  that  shall 
 
 requite  kindness  to  his  friends."   The 
 
 TouTovyap  ovueK   di/Sps^  evxouTaiyofas  coincidence  of  expression  in  the  last 
 
 KarrjKoovs  ovaavTis  iv  dofxoLi  e'xetJ',  two  passages  is  remarkable. 
 
 PSALM  CXXVIII. 
 
 The  Introduction  to  the  preceding  Psalm  may  be  consulted  on 
 this,  which  is  a  sunny  picture  of  the  family  happiness  of  one  who 
 fears  God,  and  leads  a  holy  life. 
 
 Luther  calls  this  an  "  Epithalamium  or  Marriage  Song,  wherein  the 
 Prophet  comforteth  them  that  are  married,  wishing  unto  them  and 
 promising  them  from  God  all  manner  of  blessings." 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts  : — 
 
 1.  The  description  of  the  happy  life.     Ver.  1—4. 
 
 II.  The  good  wishes  and  promises  for  him  who  has  entered  upon 
 it.     Ver,  5,  6. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  Happy  is  every  one  that  feareth  Jehovah, 
 
 That  walketh  in  His  ways. 
 
 2  For  the  labour  of  thy  hands  thou  shalt  eat, 
 
 2.  The  labour  of  thy  hands.  —the  quiet  peaceful  hfe  of  a  thriving, 
 This  is  the  first  part  of  the  blessing,        prosperous   yeoman    in    the   country, 
 
PSALM  CXXVTIL 
 
 621 
 
 Happy  art  thou,  and  it  (shall  be)  well  with  tlicc. 
 
 3  Thy  wife  (shall  be)  like  a  fruitful  vine,  in  the  inner  part 
 
 of  thy  house ; 
 Thy   children,    like   olive-plants,    round    about    thy 
 table  : 
 
 4  Behold,   thus   shall  the    man    be  blessed   that   feareth 
 
 Jehovah. 
 
 5  Jehovah  bless  thee  out  of  Zion, 
 
 And     (mayest     thou)     look    on    the    prosperity    of 
 Jerusalem 
 All  the  days  of  thy  life, 
 
 6  And  see  thy  children's  children. — 
 
 Peace  be  upon  Israel. 
 
 with  no  fear  that  the  harvest  will  be 
 trodden  down  by  the  invader  before  it 
 is  ripe,  or  the  catlle  swept  off  by  some 
 roving  predatory  tribe.  The  opposite 
 condition  is  threatened  as  a  curse  in 
 the  Law  :  "  Ye  shall  sow  your  seed 
 in  vain,  for  your  enemies  shall  eat  it," 
 Lev.  xxvi.  16  ;  "  Thou  shalt  build  an 
 house,  and  thou  shalt  not  dwell  there- 
 in ;  thou  shalt  plant  a  vineyard,  and 
 shalt  not  gather  the  grapes  thereof," 
 &c.,  Deut.  xxviii.  30 — 33,  39,  40, 
 See  also  Am.  v.  11  ;  Micah  vi.  15  ; 
 Eccles.  vi.  I,  2  ;  and  for  a  contrast, 
 in  this  respect,  between  the  lot  of  the 
 righteous  and  that  of  the  wicked,  Is. 
 iii.  10,  II. 
 
 3.  The  comparison  would  perhaps 
 be  brought  out  more  clearly  by  ar- 
 ranging the  verse  as  follows  : — 
 
 Thy  wife  shall  be  in  the  inner  part  of 
 thy  house 
 
 Like  a  fruitful  vine  ; 
 Thy  children  round  about  thy  table 
 
 Like  the  shoots  of  the  olive. 
 
 In  the  inner  part,  lit.  "the 
 sides  of  thy  house,"  as  in  Am.  vi.  10, 
 i.e.  the  women's  apartments,  as  mark- 
 ing the  proper  sphere  of  the  wife 
 cn^raged  in  her  domestic  duties,  and 
 
 also  to  some  extent  her  seclusion, 
 though  this  was  far  less  among  lie 
 Jews  than  among  other  Orientals. 
 
 The  VINE  is  an  emblem  chiefly  of 
 frtiitfiihiess,  but  perhaps  also  of  de- 
 pendence, as  needing  support ;  the 
 OLIVE  of  vigorous,  healthy,  joyous 
 life.  The  same  figure  is  employed 
 by  Euripides,  Here.  Fur.  S39,  Med. 
 1,098. 
 
 5.  Looking  on  the  beautiful  family 
 picture,  the  Poet  turns  to  greet  the 
 father  of  the  household,  and  to  wish 
 him  the  blessing  of  which  he  has 
 already  spoken  in  such  glowing  terms. 
 
 Out  of  Zion,  as  the  dwelling-place 
 of  God,  f  lis  earthly  throne  and  sanc- 
 tuary, whence  all  blessing  comes ; 
 cxxxiv.  3,  XX.  2. 
 
 Then  follows  the  truly  patriotic 
 sentiment— the  wish  that  he  may  sec 
 the  prosperity  of  Jerusalem,  as  well  as 
 that  he  may  live  long  to  see  his  chil- 
 dren and  grandchildren.  The  welfare 
 of  the  family  and  the  welfare  of  the 
 state  are  indissolubly  connected. 
 
 (Mayest  thou)  look,  lit.  "  look 
 thou." 
 
 6.  Children's  ciiiLDRrN.  So 
 Virgil:  "  Adspicics  .  .  .  natos  nato- 
 rum  et  qui  nasccntur  ab  iliis." 
 
62  2  PSALM  CXXIX, 
 
 PSALM  CXXIX. 
 
 The  nation,  delivered  from  the  Babylonish  Captivity,  may  well 
 look  back  to  all  her  past  history,  and  trace  in  it  the  same  great  law 
 of  suffering,  and  the  same  ever-repeated  tokens  of  God's  mercy.  The 
 record  is  a  record  of  conflict,  but  it  is  also  a  record  of  victory  (ver.  2). 
 The  great  principle  on  which  Israel's  'final  deliverance  rests  is  the 
 righteo2iS7iess  of  Jehovah  (ver  4).  That  has  been  manifested,  as  often 
 before,  so  now  in  cutting  asunder  the  cords  by  which  the  people  had 
 been  bound  in  Babylon.  Full  of  thankfulness  at  this  deliverance,  the 
 Poet  draws  thence  an  augury  and  a  hope  for  the  overthrow,  complete 
 and  final,  of  their  oppressors. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists,  accordingly,  of  two  stanzas,  each  of  four 
 verses  ;  the  first  containing  the  record  of  the  past,  the  second  the 
 prayer  (which  is  also  a  hope,  and  almost  a  promise)  for  the  future. 
 
 In  subject,  style,  and  rhythmical  structure,  it  most  nearly  resembles 
 Psalm  cxxiv. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  Greatly  have  they  fought  against  me,  from  my  youth 
 
 up— 
 May  Israel  now  say — 
 
 2  Greatly  have  they  fought  against  me,  from  my  youth  up, 
 
 (But)  they  have  not  also  prevailed  against  me. 
 
 I.  Greatly,  or  "Ions;."  of  youth,"  &c.     Hos.  ii.  15  ;  Jer.  ii. 
 
 Fought  against  me,   lit.    "have  2,  xxii.  21  ;  Ezek.  xxiii.  3. 
 been  adversaries  unto  me."  2.   Have  not  prevailed.      This 
 
 From  my  youth  up.      The  youth  is  the  point  of  the  Psalm.     The  New 
 
 of  the  nation  was  in  Egypt,  at  which  Testament  parallel  is  2  Cor.  iv.  8 — 10, 
 
 time  God  speaks   of  His   relation  to  and  the  whole  history  of  the  Christian 
 
 Israel  as  "love  of  youth,"  "espousals  Church  is  an  echo  of  the  words. 
 
PSALM  CXXX. 
 
 623 
 
 3  (The)  ploughers  ploughed  upon  my  back, 
 
 They  made  long  their  furrows. 
 
 4  (But)  Jehovah  is  righteous, 
 
 He  hath  cut  asunder  the  cords  of  the  wicked. 
 
 5  Let  them  be  ashamed  and  turned  backward, 
 
 As  many  as  hate  Zion. 
 
 6  Let  them  be  as  the  grass  on  the  housetops, 
 
 That  withereth  afore  it  be  plucked  up  : 
 
 7  Wherewith  the  mower  filleth  not  his  hand, 
 
 Nor  he  that  bindeth  sheaves  his  bosom ; 
 
 8  Neither  do  they  which  go  by  sa}'-, 
 
 "  The  blessing  of  Jehovah  be  upon  you." 
 **  We  bless  you  in  the  name  of  Jehovah." 
 
 3.  Furrows.  Deep  wounds,  such 
 as  those  made  by  the  lash  on  the  back 
 of  slaves.  Comp.  Is.  i.  6,  and  a 
 different  but  not  less  expressive  image, 
 li  23. 
 
 4.  The  cords.  The  figure  pro- 
 bably is  taken  from  the  yoking  of 
 oxen  :  when  the  traces  are  cut,  the 
 bullock  is  free.  Or  "the  cord"  may 
 be,  in  a  wider  sense,  an  image  of 
 slavery,  as  in  ii.  3. 
 
 6.  Grass  on  the  housetops, 
 easily  springing  up,  but  having  no 
 root.  The  flat  roofs  of  the  Eastern 
 houses  "are  plastered  with  a  com- 
 position of  mortar,  tar,  ashes,  and 
 sand,"  in  the  crevices  of  which  grass 
 
 often  springs.  The  houses  of  the 
 poor  in  the  country  were  formed  of  a 
 plaster  of  mud  and  straw,  where  the 
 grass  would  grow  still  morp  freely- : 
 as  all  the  images  are  taken  from 
 country  life,  it  is  doubtless  to  country 
 dwellings  that  the  Poet  refers.  Comp. 
 2  Kings  xix.  26  ;  Is.  xxxvii.  27. 
 
 The  picture  of  the  harvest-field  is 
 like  that  in  Ruth  ii.  4,  where  in  like 
 manner  we  have  the  greeting  and 
 counter-greeting.  "And  behold  I^oaz 
 came  from  Bethlehem  and  said  un'o 
 the  reapers,  Jehovah  be  with  you. 
 And  they  answered  him,  Jehovah 
 bless  thee." 
 
 PSALM  CXXX. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  cry  to  God  for  the  forgiveness  of  sin.  Tl.c 
 Psalmist  pleads  that  he  has  long  waited  upon  God,  trusting  in  His 
 word.     Out  of  his  own  experience  he  exhorts  all  Israel  in  like  manner 
 
624  PSALM  CXXX. 
 
 to  hope,  and  wait,  and  look  for  God's  mercy  and  redemption,  which 
 will  assuredly  be  vouchsafed. 
 
 "When  Luther,  in  the  year  1530,  was  in  the  fortress  of  Coburg,  on 
 four  occasions  during  the  night  there  seemed  to  pass  before  his  eyes 
 burning  torches,  and  this  was  followed  by  a  severe  headache.  One 
 night  he  saw  three  blazing  torches  come  in  at  the  window  of  his 
 room,  and  he  swooned  away.  His  servant,  coming  to  his  assistance, 
 poured  oil  of  almonds  into  his  ear  and  rubbed  his  feet  with  hot 
 napkins.  As  soon  as  he  recovered,  he  bade  him  read  to  him  a  por- 
 tion of  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  and  during  the  reading  fell 
 asleep.  The  danger  was  over,  and  when  he  awoke,  he  cried  out 
 joyfully  :  '  Come,  to  spite  the  devil,  let  us  sing  the  V Sdilva  De profiindis^ 
 in  four  parts.' 
 
 "Being  asked  on  one' occasion  which  were  the  best  Psalms,  he 
 replied,  '  The  Pauline  Psalms '  {Psalmi  Paiilmi),  and  being  pressed 
 to  say  which  they  were,  he  answered  :  '  The  32d,  the  51st,  the  130th, 
 and  the  143rd.  For  they  teach  us  that  the  forgiveness  of  sins  is 
 vouchsafed  to  them  that  believe  without  the  law  and  without  works  ; 
 therefore  are  they  Pauline  Psalms  ;  and  when  David  sings,  "  With 
 Thee  is  forgiveness,  that  Thou  mayest  be  feared,"  so  Paul  likewise 
 saith,  "  God  hath  concluded  all  under  sin,  that  He  may  have  mercy 
 on  all."  Therefore  none  can  boast  of  his  own  righteousness,  but  the 
 words,  "  That  Thou  mayest  be  feared,"  thrust  away  all  self-merit, 
 teach  us  to  take  off  our  hat  before  God  and  confess,  ^e^ratia  est  non 
 meritmn^  remissio  71011  satisfaction  it  is  all  forgiveness,  and  no  merit,' " 
 — Delitzsch. 
 
 This  is  the  sixth  of  the  seven  Penitential  Psalms,  as  they  are  called. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  Out  of  the  depths  have  I  called  upon  Thee,  O  Jehovah  ! 
 
 2  Lord,  hear  my  voice  : 
 
 Let  Thine  ears  be  attentive  to  the  voice  of  my  sup- 
 plications. 
 
 3  If  Thou,  O  Jah,  shouldest  mark  iniquities, 
 
 O  Lord,  who  shall  stand  .'* 
 
 I.  Out  of  the  depths.      Deep  3,  Mark,  lit.  "keep,"  or  "watch," 
 
 waters,   as  so  often  being  an  image  of  so  as  to  observe, 
 
 overwhelming  affliction  :  comp.  Ixix.  Who    shall   (or    can)   stand  ? 
 
 2,  14  ;  Is.  li.  10.  Comp.  Ixxvi.  7  ;  Nah.  i.  6;  Mai.  iii.  2. 
 
PSALM  CXXX. 
 
 But  with  Thee  is  forgiveness, 
 
 That  Thou  mayest  be  feared. 
 I  have  waited  for  Jehovah,  my  soul  hath  waited 
 
 And  in  His  word  have  I  hoped. 
 My  soul  (looketh)  for  the  Lord, 
 
 625 
 
 4,  But,  or  rather  for,  the  con- 
 junction referring  to  what  is  implied 
 in  the  previous  verse.  The  senti- 
 ment expanded  would  be  :  "  If  Thou 
 shouldest  mark  iniquities,  none  can 
 stand ;  but  Thou  dost  not  mark 
 them,  y^r  with  Thee  is  forgiveness." 
 
 That  Thou  mayest  be  feared. 
 God  freely  forgives  sin,  not  that  men 
 may  think  liglitly  of  sin,  but  that  they 
 may  magnify  His  grace  and  mercy  in 
 its  forgiveness,  and  so  give  Him  the 
 fear  and  the  honour  due  unto  His 
 Name.  So  in  xxv.  11,  the  Psahnist 
 prays,  "  For  Thy  Name's  sake  pardon 
 mine  iniquity;"  and  Ixxix.  9,  "Purge 
 away  our  sins  for  Thy  Name's  sake," 
 i.e.  tliat  God's  Name  may  be  glorified 
 as  a  God  who  pardoneth  iniquity, 
 transgression,  and  sin.  This  for- 
 giveness is  a  far  more  powerful 
 motive  than  any  other  to  call  forth 
 holy  fear  and  love  and  self-sacrifice. 
 Luther  says  :  "  Why  doth  he  add, 
 '  That  Thou  mayest  be  feared'?  .  .  . 
 It  is  as  if  he  should  say,  1  have  learned 
 by  experience,  O  Lord,  why  there  is 
 mercy  with  Thee,  and  why  of  right 
 Thou  mayest  challenge  this  title  unto 
 Thyself,  that  Thou  art  merciful  and 
 forgivest  sins.  For  in  that  Thou 
 shuttest  all  under  free  mercy,  and 
 leavest  nothing  to  the  merits  and 
 works  of  men,  therefore  Thou  art 
 feared.  But  if  all  things  were  not 
 placed  in  Thy  mercy,  and  we  could 
 take  away  our  sins  by  our  own  strength, 
 no  man  would  fear  Thee,  but  the 
 whole  world  would  proudly  contemn 
 Thee.  For  daily  experience  shows 
 that  where  there  is  not  this  know- 
 ledge of  God's  mercy,  there  men 
 walk  in  a  presumption  of  their  own 
 
 merits.  .  .  .  The  true  fear  of  God, 
 the  true  worship,  the  true  reverence, 
 yea,  the  true  knowledge  of  Go<i 
 resteth  on  nothing  but  mercy,  thai 
 through  Christ  we  assuredly  trusl 
 that  God  is  reconciled  unto  us.  .  .  . 
 Christian  doctrine  doth  not  deny  01 
 condemn  good  works,  but  it  teachetli 
 that  God  willeth  not  to  mark  in- 
 iquities, but  willeth  that  we  believe, 
 that  is,  tnist,  His  mercy.  For  with 
 Him  is  forgiveness,  that  He  may  be 
 feared  and  continue  to  be  our  God. 
 \Yhoever,  then,  do  believe  that  God 
 is  ready  to  forgive,  and  for  Christ's 
 sake  to  remit,  sins,  they  render  unt») 
 God  true  and  reasonable  service ; 
 they  strive  not  with  God  about  the 
 law,  works,  and  righteousness,  but, 
 laying  aside  all  truth  in  themselves,  d<» 
 fear  Him  because  of  His  mercy,  and 
 thus  are  made  sons  who  receive  the 
 Holy  Ghost,  and  begin  truly  to  do 
 the  works  of  the  law.  vSo,  in  these 
 two  lines,  David  sets  forth  to  us  the 
 sum  and  substance  of  all  Christian 
 doctrine,  and  that  Sun  which  giveth 
 light  to  the  Church." 
 
 5.  I  HAVE  waited.  This  ha-s 
 been  the  attitude  of  soul  in  which 
 God's  mercy  has  come  to  me. 
 
 In  His  word,  on  the  ground  of 
 His  promises,  I  have  claimed  that 
 mercy,  and  now  my  soul  "  is  unto  the 
 Lord,"  that  I  may  ever  find  fresh 
 mercy,  and  grace  for  all  my  need. 
 Tliis  waiting,  hoping  attitude  is  the 
 attitude  of  a  true  heart,  of  one  not 
 easily  discouraged,  of  one  that  .says, 
 "  I  will  not  let  Thee  go,  except  Thou 
 bless  me." 
 
 6.  My  soul  (looketh)  for,  lit. 
 "my  soul  is  unto  the  l.nrd"  (ns  in 
 
 S   S 
 
625 
 
 PSALM  CXXXL 
 
 More  than  watchers  (look)  for  the  morning. 
 
 (I  say,  more  than)  watchers  (look)  for  the  morning. 
 
 Let  Israel  hope  in  Jehovah  ; 
 
 For  with  Jehovah  is  loving-kindness, 
 And  with  Him  is  plenteous  redemption. 
 And  He  will  redeem  Israel 
 
 From  all  his  iniquities. 
 
 cxxiii.  2,  "our  eyes  are  unto  Jeho- 
 vah "),  as  the  eyes  of  watchers  through 
 the  long  and  weary  night  look  eagerly 
 for  the  first  streaks  of  the  coming  day. 
 Delitzsch  quotes  in  illustration  of  the 
 expression  the  words  of  Chr.  A 
 Crusius  on  his  death-bed,  when  lifting 
 up  his  eyes  and  hands  to  heaven  he 
 exclaimed  :  "  My  soul  is  full  of  the 
 grace  of  Jesus  Christ,  viy  whole  soul 
 IS  tutto  God.'''' 
 
 Watchers,  not  merely  "watch- 
 men," as  in  cxxvii,  i,  but  all  who, 
 from  whatever  cause,  are  obliged  to 
 keep  awake.  No  figure  could  more 
 beautifully  express  the  longing  of  the 
 soul  for  the  breaking  of  the  day  of 
 God's  loving  mercy. 
 
 7.   He  has  not  been   disappointed 
 
 of  his  hope,  and  therefore  he  can  bid 
 Israel  hope. 
 
 Plenteous  redemption,  or  more 
 literally,  "redemption  plenteously." 
 He  calls  it  plenteous,  as  Luther  says, 
 because  such  is  the  straitness  of  our 
 heart,  the  slenderness  of  our  hopes, 
 the  weakness  of  our  faith,  that  it  far 
 exceeds  all  our  capacity,  all  our  peti- 
 tions and  desires. 
 
 8.  HE  emphatic.  He  alone,  for 
 none  other  can. 
 
 From  his  iniquities,  not  merely 
 from  the  punishment.  The  redemp- 
 tion includes  the  forgiveness  of  sins, 
 the  breaking  of  the  power  and  do- 
 minion of  sin,  and  the  setting  free 
 from  all  the  consequences  of  sin. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXL 
 
 Whether  written  by  David,  to  whom  the  title  gives  it,  or  not,  this 
 short  Psalm,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  the  whole  Book,  assuredly 
 breathes  David's  spirit.  A  childlike  simplicity,  an  unaffected  humility, 
 the  honest  expression  of  that  humility  as  from  a  heart  spreading  itself 
 out  in  conscious  integrity  before  God— this  is  what  we  find  in  the 
 Psalm,  traits  of  a  character  like  that  of  David.  Delitzsch  calls  the 
 Psalm  an  echo  of  David's  answer  to  Michal,  2  Sam.  vi.  22,  "And  1 
 will  become  of  still  less  account  than  this,  and   I   will  be  lowly  in 
 
PSALM  CXXXI. 
 
 627 
 
 mine  own  e>es."  At  the  same  time,  with  the  majority  of  interprclcrs, 
 he  holds  it  to  be  a  post-Exile  Psalm,  written  with  a  view  to  cncourn^:;e 
 the  writer  himself  and  his  people  to  the  same  humiHty,  the  same 
 patient  waiting  upon  God,  of  which  David  was  so  striking  an 
 example. 
 
 [a  pilgrim   song,      of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  Jehovah,  my  heart  is  not  hauglity, 
 
 Nor  mine  eyes  lifted  up  : 
 Neither  have  I  exercised  myself  in  thin^^^s  too  great, 
 And  in  things  too  wonderful  for  me. 
 
 2  But  I  have  stilled  and  hushed  my  soul, 
 
 As  a  child  that  is  weaned  of  his  mother ; 
 
 1.  "All  virtues  together,"  it  has 
 been  said,  "are  a  body  whereof 
 humility  is  the  head."  It  is  this  chief 
 crowning  virtue  to  which  the  Poet 
 lays  claim  ;  for  "Jehovah  bath  respect 
 unto  the  lowly,"  cxxxviii.  6,  and 
 "dwelleth  with  him  that  is  of  an 
 humble  spirit,"  Is.  Ivii.  15. 
 
 Mine  eyes  lifted  up,  as  in  xviii. 
 27,  ci.  6;  therefore  a  Davidic  ex- 
 pression. Pride  has  its  seat  in  the 
 heart,  looks  forth  from  the  eyes,  and 
 expresses  itself  in  the  actions. 
 
 Have  I  exercised  myself,  lit. 
 "walked,"  a  common  figure  for  the 
 life  and  behaviour. 
 
 Too  GREAT  .  .  .  TOO  WONDER- 
 FUL, here  probably  in  a  practical 
 sense,  "I  have  not  aimed  at  a  posi- 
 tion above  me,  involving  duties  and 
 responsibilities  too  heavy  for  me." 
 Comp.  for  the  phrase,  Gen.  xviii.  14, 
 "Is  anything  too  wonderful  for  Je- 
 hovah?" Deut,  xvii.  8,  "When  a 
 matter  is  too  wonderful  (too  hard)  for 
 thee  for  judgement;"  xxx.  11,  "For 
 this  commandment  ...  is  not  too 
 wonderful  for  thee,  it  is  not  far  off." 
 
 2.  I    HAVE   STILLED  MY  SOUL,  i.e. 
 
 the  pride  and    passions  which  were 
 
 like  the  swelling  waves  of  an  angry 
 sea. 
 
 The  two  next  clauses  of  the  verse 
 would  be  more  exactly  rendered  : — 
 
 "  As  a  weaned  child  itpon  his  mother" 
 
 {i.e.     as    he    lies    resting    upon    his 
 mother's  bosom) ; 
 
 "As  the  weaned  child  (I  say),  lies 
 my  soul  upon  me." 
 
 The  figure  is  beautifully  expres- 
 sive of  the  humility  of  a  soul  chas- 
 tened by  disappointment.  As  the 
 weaned  child  no  longer  cries,  and 
 frets,  and  longs  for  the  breast,  but 
 lies  still  and  is  content,  because  it  is 
 with  its  mother;  so  my  soul  is  weaned 
 from  all  discontented  thoughts,  from 
 all  fretful  desires  for  earthly  good, 
 waiting  in  stillness  upon  God,  finding 
 its  satis''action  in  His  presence,  rest- 
 ing peacefully  in  His  arms. 
 
 "The  weaned  child,"  writes  a 
 mother,  with  reference  to  this  passage, 
 "has  for  the  first  time  become  fc/t- 
 scions  of  grief .  The  piteous  longing 
 for  the  sweet  nourishment  of  his  life, 
 the  broken  sob  of  disappointment, 
 mark  the  trouble  of  his  innoccnl- 
 S    S    2 
 
628 
 
 PSALM  CXXXI2. 
 
 As  the  weaned  child  (I  say)  is  my  soul  within  me. 
 3  Let  Israel  hope  in  Jehovah, 
 
 From  henceforth  even  for  ever. 
 
 heart:  it  is  not  so  much  the  bodily 
 suffering  ;  he  has  felt  that  before,  and 
 cried  while  it  lasted  ;  but  now  his 
 joy  and  comfort  are  taken  away, 
 and  he  knows  not  why.  When  his 
 head  is  once  more  laid  on  his 
 mother's  bosom,  then  he  trusts  and 
 loves  and  rests,  but  he  has  learned 
 the  first  lesson  of  humility,  he  is 
 cast  down,  and  clings  with  fond  help- 
 lessness to  his  one  friend." 
 
 At  a  time  when  the  devices  of  our 
 modern  civilization  are   fast   tending 
 
 to  obliterate  the  beauty  of  this  figure, 
 mothers  no  longer  doing  their  duty 
 by  their  children,  it  seems  the  more 
 necessary  to  draw  attention  to  it. 
 
 3.  Prayer,  as  at  the  close  of  the 
 last  Psalm,  that  the  experience  of 
 the  individual  may  become  the  ex- 
 perience of  the  nation,  that  they  too 
 may  learn  to  lie  still,  and  trust,  and 
 wait,  in  that  hope  which,  like  faith 
 and  love,  abideth  for  ever  (i  Cor. 
 xiii.  13). 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIL 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  prayer  that  God's  promises  made  to  David  may 
 not  fail  of  fulfilment,  that  He  will  dwell  for  ever  in  the  habitation 
 which  He  chose  for  Himself  in  Zion,  and  that  the  chijdren  of  David 
 may  for  ever  sit  upon  his  throne.  It  opens  with  a  recital  of  David's 
 efforts  to  bring  the  Ark  to  its  resting-place  ;  it  ends  with  a  recital  of 
 the  promises  made  to  David  and  to  his  seed. 
 
 There  has  been  much  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  occasion  for 
 which  the  Psalm  was  written. 
 
 I.  The  majority  of  the  ancient  interpreters  regard  it  as  a  prayer  of 
 David's,  either  at  the  consecration  of  the  Tabernacle  after  the  removal 
 of  the  Ark  thither,  or  at  the  time  when  he  formed  the  design  of  build- 
 ing the  Temple,  and  received  in  consequence  the  promise  in  2  Sam. 
 vii.,  or  at  the  dedication  of  Araunah's  threshing-floor,  2  Sam.  xxiv. 
 
 Others,  with  more  probability,  have  thought  that  the  Psalm  was 
 written  in  commemoration  of  the  completion  and  dedication  of  the 
 Temple,  either  by  Solomon  himself,  or  by  some  Poet  of  his  time.  On 
 such   a  view,   this   ode    is   seen  to   be   harmonious    and   consistent 
 
PSALM  CXXXJI.  (>2o 
 
 throughout.  It  is  perfectly  natural  that  Solomon,  or  a  Poet  of  his 
 age  writing  a  song  for  such  an  occasion,  should  recur  to  the  earlier 
 efforts  made  by  his  father  to  prepare  a  habitation  for  Jehovah.  On 
 the  completion  of  the  work,  his  thoughts  would  inevitably  revert  to 
 all  the  steps  which  had  led  to  its  accomplishment.  It  is  no  less 
 natural  that  at  such  a  time  the  promise  given  to  David  should  seem 
 doubly  precious,  that  it  should  be  clothed  with  a  new  interest,  a  fresh 
 significance,  when  David's  son  sat  upon  his  throne,  and  when  the 
 auspicious  opening  of  his  reign  might  itself  be  hailed  as  a  fulfilment 
 of  the  promise.  It  is,  moreover,  in  favour  of  this  view  that  ver.  8—10 
 of  the  Psalm  form,  with  one  slight  variation,  the  conclusion  of  Solo- 
 mon's prayer  at  the  dedication  of  the  Temple,  according  to  the 
 version  of  that  Prayer  given  in  the  Chronicles  (2  Chron.  vi.  41,  42). 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  remember  for  David 
 
 AH  his  anxious  cares, 
 
 2  How  he  sware  unto  Jehovah, 
 
 (And)  vowed  to  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob  : 
 
 3  "  I  will  not  come  into  the  tent  of  my  house, 
 
 I  will  not  go  up  to  the  couch  of  my  bed, 
 
 I.  Remember,  i.e.  so  as  to  fulfil  take  a  wider  range,   there  may  also 
 
 Thy  promise   made   to   him:   comp.  be  included  in  these  "  anxious  cares" 
 
 2  Chron.  vi.  42.  his  earnest  desire  to  build  th'i  Temple, 
 
 All  his  anxious  cares,  lit.  "  all  and  the  great  preparations  which  he 
 
 his  being  afflicted."     David  had  tor-  made  with  that  object,  by  collecting 
 
 mented  himself  with   his   anxiety   to  the   materials,  furnishing   the   design 
 
 prepare  a  suitable  earihly  dwelling-  to  his  son,  and  making  provision  for 
 
 'place  for  Jehovah.     First,  the  build-  the  service  and  worship  of  God  on  a 
 
 ing  of  the  Tabernacle  on  Mount  Zion,  scale  of  unexampled  magnificence, 
 and  the  solemn   bringing  up   of  the  2,   How    HE    sware,    lit.    "who 
 
 Ark  there,  had  engaged  his  thoughts.  sware." 
 
 The  prayer  in  ci.  2,   "O  when  wilt  Mighty  One  of  Jacob.      This 
 
 Thou  come  unto  me?"    is  the  best  name   of  God   (repeated   in   ver.    5) 
 
 comment  on   David's   afflictions   and  occurs  first  in  Gen.  xlix.  24,   in  the 
 
 anxious  cares   till   his    purpose    was  mouth   of    the   dying  Jacob.      It   is 
 
 accomplished.     In  contrast  with  this,  found  besides  only  in  three  pass-iges  : 
 
 he  says  himself,  "  We  did  not  seek  it  in  Is.  i.  24  ("  Mighty  One  of  IsraeV\ 
 
 (did  not  trouble  ourselves  about  it)  in  xlix.  26,  Ix.  16. 
 the  day  of  Saul,"  I   Chron.  xiii.  3.  3.  Tent  of  my  house,  i.^-.  "the 
 
 Next,   if  we  suppose   the   Psalm   to  tent  which  is  my  house"  (as  in  the 
 
630 
 
 PSALM  CXXXII. 
 
 4  I  will  not  give  sleep  to  mine  eyes, 
 
 Nor  slumber  to  my  eyelids, 
 
 5  Until  I  find  a  place  for  Jehovah, 
 
 A  dwelling  for  the  Mighty  One  of  Jacob." 
 
 6  Lo,  we  heard  of  it  at  Ephrathah, 
 
 next  clause,  "the  couch  which  is  my 
 bed  "),  a  good  instance  of  the  way  in 
 which  the  associations  of  the  old 
 patriarchal  tent  life  fixed  themselves 
 in  the  language  of  the  people. 
 
 4.  Sleep  to  mine  eyes.  See  the 
 same  proverbial  expression,  Prov.  vi.  4. 
 
 5.  A  DWELLING.  This  has  been 
 referred  to  the  placing  the  Ark  in  a 
 fixed  abode  on  Zion,  after  its  many 
 
 wanderings ;  comp.  Ixxviii.  68,  69. 
 And  this  appears  to  me  to  be  very 
 probable. 
 
 6.  This  verse  is  extremely  obscure, 
 but  it  seems  at  any  rate  to  describe  in 
 some  way  the  accomplishment  of 
 David's  purpose. 
 
 What  are  we  to  understand  by 
 Ephrathah  and  "the  fields  of  the 
 wood"? 
 
 {A)  To  take  the  latter  expression 
 first.  This  may  be  either  an  appel- 
 lative or  a  proper  name.  In  the  last 
 case  it  may  be  rendered,  "fields  of 
 Jaar,"  yaar  being  a  shortened  form  of 
 Kirjath-yt'^rzw,  "the  city  of  woods," 
 for  Jearim,  "woods"  is  only  the 
 plural  of  Jaar,  "  wood." 
 
 {B)  Ephrathah,  as  the  name  of  a 
 place,  occurs  elsewhere  as  the  ancient 
 name  of  Bethlehem,  Gen.  xxxv.  16, 
 19,  xlviii.  7  ;  Ruth  iv.  ii.  In  Micah 
 V.  2,  the  two  names  are  united, 
 Bethiehem-liphrathah. 
 
 Other  explanations  have  been  given 
 of  the  name. 
 
 (a)  Although  Ephrathah  is  only  an 
 
 ancient  name  for  Bethlehem,  yet  as 
 
 •  Ephraihite  as  frequently  denotes  aii 
 
 Ephraimite  as  a  Belhlehemite,  so  it  is 
 
 possible  that  Ephrathah  here  may  be 
 
 a  name  for  Ephraim.  In  that  case, 
 the  allusion  is  to  the  first  resting-- 
 place  of  the  Ark  m  Shiloh,  which 
 was  the  capital  of  Ephraim  :  "  We 
 heard  in  ancient  story  that  the  Ark 
 was  placed  in  Shiloh  ;  we  found  it, 
 when  at  last  it  was  to  be  removed  to 
 its  new  abode,  at  Kirjath-jearim." 
 The  word  found  would  naturally 
 suggest  the  many  vicissitudes  and 
 wanderings  of  the  Ark  in  the  in- 
 terval. 
 
 ()8)  It  has  been  supposed  that 
 Ephrathah  is  not  a  proper  name,  but 
 denotes,  in  accordance  with  its  ety- 
 mology, the  fruitful  land,  by  way  of 
 contrast  with  the  fields  of  the  wood, 
 i.e.  the  forest  district  ;  and  thus  the 
 whole  land  would  be  poetically  sum- 
 med up  under  the  two  heads  of  the 
 fertile  and  the  woody  regions,  and 
 the  meaning  would  be,  "  From  all 
 parts  of  the  land  we  flocked  at  the 
 summons  of  our  king,  to  bring  up  the 
 holy  Ark  to  its  dwelling-place  in  Zion. " 
 In  this  case,  the  verbs  "heard"  .  .  . 
 "found"  cannot  be  taken  as  de- 
 scribing different  and  contrasted  acts, 
 bu!  as  referring  to  one  and  the  same 
 event. 
 
 (7)  Ephrathah  has  been  conjec- 
 tured (also  with  reference  to  its 
 etymological  meaning  of  the  '•'■  fruitful 
 country ")  to  be  a  name  for  Beth- 
 shemesh,  the  spot  where  the  Ark  was 
 first  deposited  by  the  Philistines,  and 
 whence  it  was  subsequently  removed 
 to  "the  fields  of  the  wood,"  i.e. 
 Kirjath-jearim.  According  to  this 
 interpretation,  which  is  that  of  Hup- 
 feld,  the  verse  would  mean, 
 
PSALM  cxxxir. 
 
 We  found  it  in  the  field  of  the  wood  : 
 
 7  "■  Let  us  come  into  His  dwelling-, 
 
 Let  us  bow  ourselves  before  II is  footstool. 
 
 8  Arise,  O  Jehovah,  into  Thy  resting-place, 
 
 Thou,  and  the  Ark  of  Thy  strength. 
 
 9  Let  Thy  priests  be  clothed  with  righteousness, 
 
 And  let  Thy  saints  shout  for  joy." 
 10  For  Thy  servant  David's  sake, 
 
 Turn  not  away  the  face  of  Thine  Anointed. 
 
 63' 
 
 "  We  heard  that  the  Ark  was  brought 
 to  Bethshemesh  first, 
 We  found  it  at  Kirjath-jearim." 
 
 (S)  Lastly,  Ei:)hrathah  has  l)een 
 identified  with  the  district  about 
 Kirjath-jearim. 
 
 On  the  whole,  whichever  interpre- 
 tation we  adopt,  the  general  scope  of 
 the  passage  seems  to  be  :  Remember 
 Thy  servant  David,  remember  all 
 his  efforts  to  build  Thee  an  habitation 
 for  Thy  Name  ;  he  gave  himself  no 
 rest  till  he  had  brought  the  Ark  to 
 Zion,  We  heard  where  the  Ark  was, 
 we  went  to  fetch  it,  saying  one  to 
 another  as  we  brought  it  to  its  new 
 abode,  "Let  us  come  into  His 
 dwelling,"  &c.  And  now,  by  the 
 memory  of  David,  by  the  memory  of 
 Thy  covenant  with  him  and  his  faith- 
 fulness to  that  covenant,  we  plead 
 with  Thee.  Reject  not  the  prayer  of 
 our  king,  who  is  David's  son,  grant 
 him  the  request  of  his  lips,  fulfil  all 
 his  desires.     (Comp.  xx.  I — 4.) 
 
 7.  His  DWELLiiNG,  or  "taber- 
 nacles," the  house  which  David  calls 
 "curtains,"  2  Sam.  vii.  2,  purposely 
 repeated  from  ver.  5. 
 
 His  footstool.     See  on  xcix.  5. 
 
 8.  As  in  ver,  7  we  have  the  ex- 
 pression of  file  feelings  of  the  con- 
 gregation in  David's  time,  so  in  ver.  8 
 there  may  be  a  transition  to  the  lan- 
 guage  of    the   people   in    Solomon's 
 
 time.  To  the  Poet's  tliouglits  the 
 congregation  is  one,  and  the  utterance 
 of  their  fecUngs  is  one.  He  blends 
 together  the  song  which  was  raised 
 when  the  Ark  was  carried  up  to 
 Zion,  wiih  the  song  wliicli  wa-;  raised 
 when  it  was  again  niofed  from  Zion  t<» 
 its  final  resting-place  in  the  Temple, 
 2  Chron.  v.  2 — 5,  vi.  41. 
 
 Arise.  The  words  are  taken  from 
 the  old  battle-cry  of  the  nation,  when 
 the  Ark  set  forward,  "to  search  out 
 a  7-cstiitg-place  for  them  "  (Numb.  x. 
 33-36). 
 
 Ark  of  Thy  strength.  The 
 only  place  in  the  Psalms  where  the 
 Ark  is  mentioned.  This  designation 
 occurs  only  here  and  in  2  Chron. 
 vi.  41. 
 
 9.  Let  Thy  priests.  The  bless- 
 ing of  God's  presence  in  its  effects 
 both  upon  the  priests  and  the 
 people. 
 
 Righteousness.  In  the  promise, 
 ver.  16,  which  corresponds  to  this 
 prayer,  salvation  is  the  equivalent 
 word  :  see  on  Ixxi.  15. 
 
 Saints  or  "beloved,"  as  also  in 
 ver.  16.  See  on  xvi.  10.  From  this 
 verse  are  taken  the  petitions  in  our 
 Liturgy  :  "  Endue  Thy  ministers  with 
 righteousnos.  And  make  Thy  chosen 
 people  joyful." 
 
 ID.  Turn  not  away  the  pack, 
 i.e.  refuse  not  the  jiraycr.  See  the 
 same  phrase  I  Kings  ii.    16,   i;^  20, 
 
632 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIL 
 
 1 1  Jehovah  hath  sworn  unto  David, 
 
 It  is  truth,  He  will  not  depart  from  it, — 
 
 "  Of  the  fruit  of  thy  body  will  I  set  upon  thy  throne. 
 
 12  If  thy  sons  will  keep  My  covenant, 
 
 And  My  testimonies  which  I  shall  teach  theni, 
 Their  sons  also  for  ever  and  ever 
 Shall  sit  upon  thy  throne." 
 I  3   For  Jehovah  hath  chosen  Zion, 
 
 He  hath  desired  it  as  an  abode  for  Himself 
 
 14  This  is  my  resting-place  for  ever  and  ever, 
 
 Here  will  I  abide,  for  I  have  desired  it. 
 
 15  I  will  abundantly  bless  her  provision, 
 
 I  will  satisfy  her  poor  with  bread. 
 I  5  Her  priests  will  I  clothe  with  salvation, 
 
 And  her  saints  shall  shout  aloud  for  joy. 
 
 where  the  E.V.  renders  "deny  me 
 not,  say  me  not  nay." 
 
 Thine  Anointed.  This  cannot 
 be  David.  It  would  be  extremely 
 harsh  to  say,  "  For  David's  sake 
 refuse  not  the  prayer  of  David." 
 Obviously  the  Anointed  here  must 
 be  Solomon  (or  some  one  of  David's 
 descendants),  who  pleads  David,  and 
 the  promises  made  to  David,  as  a 
 reason  why  his  prayer  should  not  be 
 rejected.  In  2  Chron.  vi.  42,  the 
 verse  •  stands  somewhat  differently  : 
 "  O  Jehovah  God,  turn  not  away  the 
 face  of  Thine  Anointed  :  remember 
 the  loving-kindnesses  of  David  Thy  ser- 
 vant." The  last  clause  most  probably 
 means,  "  Thy  loving-kindnesses  to 
 David,"  but  others  render  "the  good- 
 ness or  piety  of  David  Thy  servant," 
 the  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  word 
 being  ambiguous.  The  prayer  is  a 
 prayer  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  pro- 
 mise. Hence  the  promise  is  quoted, 
 ver.  II,  12.  Others  suppose  that  the 
 subject  of  the  prayer  is  to  be  found 
 in  ver.  8,  9. 
 
 II.  Hath  SWORN  .  .  .  will  not 
 DEPART,  marking  the  unchangeable- 
 
 ness  of  the  promise,  as  in  ex.  4, 
 "Jehovah  hath  sworn  and  will  not 
 repent."  Comp.  Ixxxix.  34 — 37.  The 
 substance  of  the  promise  follows,  as 
 given  in  2  Sam.  vii. 
 
 13.  The  choosing  of  Zion  as  the 
 seat  of  the  sanctuary  is  mentioned  as 
 being  closely  and  intimately  connected 
 with  the  choosing  of  David  as  king, 
 and  the  tribe  of  Judah  as  the  ruling 
 tribe.  The  connection  is  :  Jehovah 
 has  given  the  sovereignty  to  David 
 and  to  David's  house ;  for  He  has 
 chosen  Zion  to  be  His  own  dwelling- 
 place.  The  religious  centre  and 
 political  centra  of  the  people  are  one 
 and   the  same :    exactly  as  in   cxxii. 
 
 14.  My  RESTiNG-rLACE.  Shiloh 
 had  been  abandoned  ;  for  a  time  the 
 Ark  was  at  Bethel,  Jud.  xx.  27  ;  then 
 at  Mizpah,  Jud.  xxi.  5  ;  afterwards, 
 for  twenty  years,  at  Kirjath-jearim, 
 I  Sam.  vii.  2  ;  and  then  for  three 
 months  in  the  house  of  Obed-Edom, 
 before  it  v/as  finally  brought  to  its 
 last  resting-place. 
 
 16.  A  promise  that  the  petition  in 
 ver.  9  shall  be  granted. 
 
PSALM  CXXXIIL  633 
 
 17  There  will  1  make  the  horn  of  David  to  bud, 
 
 I  have  prepared  a  lamp  for  mine  Anointed. 
 
 18  His  enemies  will  I  clothe  with  shame/ 
 
 But  upon  himself  shall  his  crown  shine. 
 
 17.  Make  the  horn  ...  to  will  I  give  one  tribe,  that  David  My 
 BUD.  Giving  ever  new  strength  to  servant  may  have  a  lamp  always  be- 
 lli^ house  and  victory  over  all  ene-  fore  Me  in  Jerusalem,  the  city  which 
 mies.  See  on  Ixxv.  5,  and  comp.  I  have  chosen  Mc  to  put  My  Name 
 Ezek.  xxix.  21.  there." 
 
 A  LAMP.     See  on  xviii.  28.  Comp,  18.  Shine,  lit.   "blossom." 
 I   Kings  xi.  36,   "And  unto  his  son 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIII. 
 
 Herder  says  of  this  exquisite  little  song,  that  "  it  has  the  fragrance 
 of  a  lovely  rose."  Nowhere  has  the  nature  of  true  unity— that  unity 
 which  binds  men  together,  not  by  artificial  restraints,  but  as  brethren 
 of  one  heart — been  more  faithfully  described,  nowhere  has  it  been  so 
 gracefully  illustrated,  as  in  this  short  ode.  True  concord  is,  we  are 
 here  taught,  a  holy  thing,  a  sacred  oil,  a  rich  perfume  which,  flowing 
 down  from  the  head  to  the  beard,  from  the  beard  to  the  garment, 
 sanctifies  the  whole  body.  It  is  a  sweet  morning  dew,  wliich  lights 
 not  only  on  the  lofty  mountain-peaks,  but  on  the  lesser  hills,  em- 
 bracing all,  and  refreshing  all  with  its  influence. 
 
 The  title  of  the  Psalm  gives  it  to  David.  Hence  it  has  been  con- 
 jectured that  it  refers  to  the  circumstances  attending  his  corona- 
 tion at  Hebron,  when,  after  eight  years  of  civil  war,  "all  the  tribes  of 
 Israel,"  laying  aside  their  mutual  animosities,  came  to  David  into 
 Hebron,  and  spake,  saying,  "  Behold,  we  are  thy  bone  and  thy  flesh  " 
 (2  Sam.  v.  i).  The  picture  of  a  united  nation  is  given  still  more 
 vividly  in  the  narrative  of  the  Chronicles  (i  Chron.  xii.  38 — 40). 
 
 Others  have  supposed  that  the  Psalm  was  suggested  by  the  sight 
 of  the  multitudes  who  came  up  from  all  parts  of  Palestine  to  be 
 present  at  the  great  national  Feasts  in  Jerusalem. 
 
634  PSALM  CXXXIIT 
 
 Again,  others,  and  perhaps  the  majority  of  commentators,  refer  the 
 Psahii  to  the  time  of  the  return  from  the  Captivity,  when,  there  being 
 no  longer  any  division  of  the  kingdom,  the  jealousies  of  the  tribes 
 had  ceased,  and  all  who  returned,  of  whatever  tribe,  were  incor- 
 porated in  one  state.  That  at  this  time  there  was  a  real  unity  of 
 heart  and  mind  in  the  nation,  may  be  inferred  from  the  narratives  in 
 Ezra  and  Nehemiah.  Thus,  for  instance,  we  read  in  Ezra  iii.  i,  that 
 "  when  the  seventh  month  was  com.e,  and  the  children  of  Israel  were 
 in  the  cities,  the  people  gathered  themselves  together  as  one  man  to 
 Jerusalem."  And  in  Nehem.  viii.  i  :  "And  all  the  people  gathered 
 themselves  together  as  one  man  into  the  street  that  w^as  before 
 the  Water  Gate,  and  they  spake  unto  Ezra  the  scribe  to  bring 
 the  book  of  the  Law  of  Moses,  which  the  Lord  had  commanded 
 to  Israel." 
 
 But  in  truth  there  is  not  a  syllable  in  the  Psalm  which  can  lead 
 us  to  any  conclusion  respecting  its  date.  Such  a  vision  of  the 
 blessedness  of  unity  may  have  charmed  the  Poet's  heart  and  inspired 
 the  Poet's  song  at  any  period  of  the  national  history.  And  his  words, 
 though  originally,  no  doubt,  intended  to  apply  to  a  state,  would  be 
 equally  true  of  a  smaller  circle,  a  family  or  a  tribe. 
 
 [a   pilgrim   song,      of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  Behold  how  good  and  how  pleasant  (it  is) 
 
 For  brethren  to  dwell  together  (in  unity). 
 
 2  It  is  like  the  precious  oil  upon  the  head, 
 
 I.  Behold  draws  attention  to  an  that  those  who  are  of  one  race  and 
 
 important  truth.      Augustine   says   of  one   stock   should   live   in   peace  and 
 
 this  first  verse,  that  the  very  sound  of  harmony  together  as  living  members 
 
 it  is  so  sweet  that  it  was  chanted  even  of  the   same   body,    filled    with    the 
 
 by  persons  who  knew  nothing  of  the  same  spirit,  seeking,  in  mutual   for- 
 
 rest  of  the  Psalter.     He  also  says  that  bearance    and    sympathy,    the   same 
 
 this  verse  gave  birth  to  monasteries  :  ends. 
 
 it   was   like  a   trumpet-call  to   those  2.  The  first  figure  is  taken  from  the 
 
 who    wished    to    dwell    together    as  oil  which  was  poured  on  the  head  of 
 
 brethren  {fraires  or  friars).  the   High  Priest  at  his  consecration 
 
 For   brethren   to    dw^ell    to-  (Ex.  xxix.  7  ;  Lev.  viii.   12,  xxi,  10). 
 
 GETHER.     The    exact    force    of    the  The  point  of  the  comparison  does  not 
 
 Hebrew     is,     "for    them    who    are  lie  inthe/r(fa(?Mj-w^j-j-of  theoil,  or  inits 
 
 brethren  also  to  dwell  together,"  i.e.  all-pci-v.iding  fragrance ;  but  in  this. 
 
PSALM  CXXXIII. 
 
 635 
 
 Which  descended  upon  the  beard,  (even)  Aaron's  beard, 
 Which  descended  to  the  edge  of  his  garments ; 
 
 dew  of  Hermon  which  descended   upon  tlie 
 mountains  of  Zion, 
 For  there  Jehovah  commanded  the  blessing, 
 
 3  Like  the 
 
 that  being  poured  on  the  head,  it  did 
 not  rest  there,  but  flowed  to  the  beard, 
 and  descended  even  to  the  garments, 
 and  thus,  as  it  were,  consecrated  the 
 whole  body  in  all  its  parts.  All  the 
 vuvibers  participate  in  the  same  bless- 
 ing. Comp.  I  Cor.  xii.  Thisisthepoint 
 of  the  comparison.  Other  thoughts 
 may  be  suggested  by  it,  as  that  the 
 spirit  of  concord,  both  in  a  state  and 
 in  a  family,  will  descend  from  those 
 who  govern  to  those  who  are  govern  ^d ; 
 or  again,  that  concord  is  a  holy  thii.g, 
 like  the  holy  oil,  or  that  it  is  sweet 
 and  fragrant,  like  the  fragrant  oil ; 
 but  these  are  mere  accessories  of  the 
 image,  not  that  which  suggested  its 
 use.  If,  as  is  commonly  assumed, 
 the  point  of  comparison  lay  in  the  all- 
 pervading  fragrance  of  the  oil,  the 
 addition  to  the  figure,  "which  de- 
 scended upon  the  beard  .  .  .  which 
 descended  to  the  edge  of  his  garments,''^ 
 would  be  thrown  away.  But  under- 
 stand this  as  typifying  the  consecration 
 of  the  -cuhole  man,  and  the  extension 
 of  the  figure  at  once  becomes  appro- 
 priate, and  full  of  meaning. 
 
 The  precious  oil,  lit.  "the  good 
 oil,"  i.e.  the  sacred  oil,  for  the  pre- 
 paration of  which  special  directions 
 were  given,  and  which  was  to  be 
 devoted  exclusively  to  the  consecra- 
 tion of  holy  things  and  persons, 
 Ex.  XXX.  22—33.  Hence  the  image 
 implies  not  only  that  the  whole  body 
 is  united,  but  that  the  whole  body  is 
 consecrated. 
 
 Aaron,  named  not  because  he 
 only  was  thus  anointed,  but  as  the 
 representative  of  all  priestly  anoint- 
 ing :  see  Ex.  xxviii.  41,  xxx.  30,  xl.  15. 
 
 Which  descended.  I  have  fol- 
 lowed the  Hebrew  in  retaining  the 
 same  word  in  the  three  successive 
 lines.  We  have  here,  as  in  so  many 
 of  the  Pilgrim  Songs,  the  repetition 
 of  the  same  ward  in  coiniection  with 
 the  same  sul)ject.  See  the  repetition 
 of  the  word  "keep"  in  cxxi.,  and  the 
 same  rhythmical  figure  in  cxxiii.  3,  4, 
 cxxiv.  I,  3,  4,  I've. 
 
 Edge,  or  rather  "collar,"  lit. 
 "mouth,"  "opening,"  as  the  moutli 
 of  a  sack.  The  image  does  not  repre- 
 sent the  oil  as  descending  to  the  skirts, 
 the  lower  edge  of  the  garment.  It  is 
 enough  that  it  touch  the  robe  to 
 sanctify  it.  Accordng  to  the  Law, 
 the  garments  of  the  priests  were  sprin- 
 kled with  the  holy  oil,  Ex.  xxix.  21  ; 
 Lev.  viii.  30. 
 
 3.  The  second  image  expressive  of 
 the  blessing  of  brotherly  concord,  is 
 taken  from  the  dew.  Here  again  it 
 is  not  the  refresh ingniiXwxQ  of  the  dew, 
 nor  its  gentle,  all-pcivading  iniluence, 
 which  is  the  prominent  feature.  Thai 
 which  renders  it  to  the  Poet's  eye  so 
 striking  an  image  of  brotherly  con- 
 cord, is  the  fact  that  it  falls  alike  on 
 both  mountains:  that  the  same  ckw 
 which  descends  on  the  lofty  Ilcrnion 
 descends  also  on  the  humbler  Ziun. 
 High  and  low  drink  in  the  same 
 sweet  refreshment.  Thus  the  image 
 is  exactly  parallel  to  the  last  ;  the  oil 
 descends  from  the  head  to  the  beard, 
 the  dew  from  the  higher  mountain  to 
 the  lower.  (Ilcrmon  in  the  north, 
 and  Zion  in  the  south,  may  also 
 further  suggest  the  union  of  the  north- 
 ern and  southern  tribes.) 
 
 There.     In  Zion  the  blessed  fruit* 
 
636                               PSALM  CXXXIV. 
 (Even)  life  for  evermore. 
 
 of  this  brotherly  concord  may  chiefiy  An  old  pilgrim  narrates,  that  every 
 
 be  looked  for,   for  Jehovah  Himself  morning  at  sumuse  a  handful  of  dew 
 
 has  made  it  the  great  centre  of  all  floated   down   from    the    summit    of 
 
 blessing  and  all  life.  Hermon,  and  deposited  itself  upon  the 
 
 This  last  verse  lends  some  colour  to  church  of  St.  Mary,  where  it  was  im- 
 
 the  view  that  the  Psalm  was  intended  mediately   gathered  up  by  Christian 
 
 to  be  sung  at  the  gathering  of  the  leeches,   and  was  found  a  sovereign 
 
 tri>}:)es  for  the  great  national  Feasts.  remedy  for  all  diseases  :  it  was  of  this 
 
 Comp.  cxxviii.  5,  cxxxiv.  3.  dew,  he  declares,  that  David  spoke 
 
 The  similitude  of  the  dew  has  taken  prophetically  in  this  Psalm. — Itinerary 
 
 shape  in  a  legend.  of  St.  Anthony. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIV. 
 
 "  Three  things  are  clear  with  regard  to  tiiis  Psalm,"  says  Delitzsch. 
 "  First,  that  it  consists  of  a  greeting,  ver.  i,  2,  and  a  reply,  ver.  3. 
 Next,  that  the  greeting  is  addressed  to  those  Priests  and  Levites  who 
 had  the  night-watch  in  the  Temple.  Lastly,  that  this  Psalm  is  pur- 
 posely placed  at  fhe  end  of  the  collection  of  Pilgrim  Songs  in  order 
 to  take  the  place  of  a  final  blessing." 
 
 That  the  address  is  not  to  any  person  in  the  habit  of  frequenting 
 the  Temple  is  evident,  because  it  was  only  in  rare  and  exceptional 
 cases  (Luke  ii.  37)  that  such  persons  could  be  found  in  the  Temple 
 at  night.  And,  further,  the  word  "  stand "  in  ver.  i  is  the  common 
 word  to  express  the  service  of  the  Priests  and  Levites,  who  had 
 their  duties  by  night  as  well  as  by  day  (i  Chron.  ix.  33). 
 
 The  Targum,  too,  explains  the  first  verse  of  the  Temple  watch  : 
 
 "The  custom  in  the  Second  Temple  appears  to  have  been  this. 
 After  midnight  the  chief  of  the  door-keepers  took  the  key  of  the  inner 
 Temple,  and  went  with  some  of  the  Priests  through  the  small  postern 
 of  the  Fire  Gate.  In  the  inner  court  this  watch  divided  itself  into  two 
 companies,  each  carrying  a  burning  torch  ;  one  company  turned  west, 
 the  other  east,  and  so  they  compassed  the  court  to  see  whether  all 
 were  in  readiness  for  the  Temple  service  on  the  following  morning. 
 In  the  bakehouse,  where  the  Mincha  (*  meat-offering ')  of  the  High 
 
PSALM  CXXXir.  6^7 
 
 Pnest  was  baked,  they  met  wiih  the  cry,  *  All  well.'  Meanwhile  the 
 rest  of  the  Priests  arose,  bathed  themselves,  and  put  on  their  gar- 
 ments. They  then  went  into  the  stone  chamber  (one-half  of  which 
 was  the  hall  of  session  of  the  Sanhedrim),  and  there,  under  the  super- 
 intendence of  the  officer  who  gave  the  watch-word,  and  one  of  the 
 Sanhedrim,  surrounded  by  the  Priests  clad  in  their  robes  of  office,  their 
 several  duties  for  the  coming  day  were  assigned  to  each  of  the  Priests 
 by  lot  (Luke  i.  9)." 
 
 Accordingly  it  has  been  supposed  by  Tholuck  and  others  that  the 
 greeting  in  ver.  i,  2,  was  addressed  to  the  guard  going  off  duty  by 
 those  who  came  to  relieve  them  ;  and  who  in  their  turn  received  the 
 answer  in  ver.  3.  Others  conjecture  that  the  greeting  was  inter- 
 changed between  the  two  companies  of  the  night-watch,  when  they 
 met  in  making  their  rounds  through  the  Temple.  Delitzsch,  however, 
 thinks  that  the  words  of  ver.  i,  2,  arc  addressed  by  the  congregation 
 to  the  Priests  and  Levites  who  had  charge  of  the  night-service,  and 
 that  ver.  3  is  an  answer  of  blessing  from  them  to  the  congregation 
 who  were  gathered  on  the  Temple-mount. 
 
 [a  pilgrim  song.] 
 
 {The  Greeting). 
 
 1  Behold,  bless  ye  Jehovah,  all  ye  servants  of  Jehovah, 
 
 Which  by  night  stand  in  the  house  of  Jehovah. 
 
 2  Lift  up  your  hands  to  the  sanctuary, 
 
 And  bless  ye  Jehovah. 
 
 {The  Anszver). 
 
 3  Jehovah  bless  thee  out  oi  Zion, 
 
 I.    Behold.       The    word    draws  By  night.     Lit.  "in  the  ni-hts." 
 
 attention   here   to  a  duty,   as  at  the  See  reference  to  a  night-service  in  I 
 
 beginning  of  the  last  Psalm   it  drew  Chr.  ix.  33. 
 
 attention  to  a  truth  at  once  important  Stand.     A  common  word  for  the 
 
 and  attractive.  service  of    the    Priests   and    Lcv.tes, 
 
 Servants    of    Jehovah.       The  Deut.  x.  8  ;   i  Chr.  xxui.  30 ;   2  Cl.r. 
 
 expression  of  itself  might  denote  the  xxix.  ri.                                      _ 
 
 people  at  large,   but  the  next  clause  3.     Blkss    thee.        The    sm^ular 
 
 limits  it  (as  in  cxxxv.  2)  to  the  Priests  instead   of    the   plural    '*  hlcss  y^u. 
 
 and  1  evn-s  because    tlie    words    are    LiRtn   Irt.n 
 
633  PSALM  CXXXV. 
 
 (Even  He  who  Is)  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth. 
 
 the  form  used  by  the  High  Priest  in  Maker,  of  heaven  and  earth. 
 
 blessing  the  people,  Num.  vi.  24.  As  in  cxxi.  2,  cxxiv.  8. 
 
 Out  of  Zion.     See  on  cxxxv.  21. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXV. 
 
 A  Psalm  intended  for  the  Temple  service,  and  one  of  the  Halle- 
 lujah Psalms,  though  not  placed  in  the  same  series  with  the  rest. 
 It  is,  like  Ps.  cxxxiv.,  an  exhortation  to  the  Priests  and  Levites  who 
 wait  in  the  sanctuary  to  praise  Jehovah,  both  because  of  His  goodness 
 in  choosing  Israel  to  be  His  people,  and  because  of  His  greatness 
 and  the  Almighty  power  which  He  has  shown  in  His  dominion 
 over  the  world  of  nature,  and  in  the  overthrow  of  all  the  enemies 
 of  His  people.  Then  His  abiding  Majesty  is  contrasted  with  the 
 nothingness  of  the  idols  of  the  heathen.  The  Psalm  is  almost 
 entirely  composed  of  passages  taken  from  other  sources.  Compare 
 ver.  I  with  cxxxiv.  i;  ver.  3  with  cxlvii.  i;  ver.  6  and  15 — 20  with 
 cxv.;  ver.  7  with  Jer.  x.  13  ;  ver.  14  with  Deut.  xxxii.  36  ;  ver,  8 — 12 
 with  cxxxvi.  10 — 22. 
 
 Delitzsch  not  inaptly  describes  the  Psalm,  on  this  account,  as  a 
 species  of  mosaic,  applying  to  its  structure  the  expression  of  the  old 
 Roman  poet  Lucilius  :  "  Quam  lepide  lexeis  composts  ut  tesserulae 
 omnes."  The  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  furnish  many  instances  of  a 
 similar  composite  diction.  Zephahiah  takes  his  words  and  phrases 
 almost  entirely  from  Jeremiah.  Many  sentences  in  the  Book  cf 
 Proverbs  would  naturally  appear  in  other  writers,  and  ?,  collector  of 
 proverbial  wisdom  must  by  the  very  nature  of  the  case  compose  a 
 mosaic  instead  of  painting  a  picture.  Several  of  the  Psalms  arc  speci- 
 mens of  this  composite  work.  The  diction  of  the  97th  and  98th  Psalms 
 in  particular  is  a  series  of  coloured  fragments,  as  it  were,  from  the 
 later  chapters  of  Isaiah.  The  tesserida  of  this  Psalm,  on  the  other 
 hand,  are  gathered  from  the  Law,  the  Prophets,  and  the  Hagiographa. 
 
PSALM  CXXXV. 
 
 ^39 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 Praise  ye  the  Name  of  Jehovah, 
 
 Praise  (it),  O  ye  servants  of  Jehovah. 
 Ye  that  stand  in  the  house  of  Jehovah, 
 
 In  the  courts  of  the  house  of  our  God, 
 Praise  ye  Jah,  for  Jehovah  is  good  ; 
 
 Sing  Psalms  unto  Mis  Name,  for  it  is  lovely 
 For  Jah  hath  chosen  Jacob  to  Himself, 
 
 Israel  for  His  peculiar  treasure. 
 For  I  know  that  Jehovah  is  great, 
 
 And  that  our  Lord  is  above  all  gods. 
 All  that  Jehovah  pleaseth  He  hath  done, 
 
 In  heaven  and  in  earth, 
 
 In  the  seas  and  in  all  deeps. 
 
 1.  The  opening  of  the  Psahii  re- 
 sembles the  o])ening  of  cxxxiv. 
 
 2,  In  THE  COURTS.  See  on  Ixxxiv. 
 2,  The  mention  of  these  "courts" 
 is  no  evidence  that  the  exhortation  is 
 addressed  not  merely  to  the  Priests, 
 but  to  the  people.  Nor  can  this  be 
 inferred  from  the  formula  in  ver.  19, 
 20,  which  is  common  to  these  liturgi- 
 cal Psalms;  comp.  cxv.  9 — II.  Tlie 
 address  is,  as  in  cxxxiv.  I,  to  the 
 Levites  who  sang  Psalms  and  played 
 on  the  different  musical  instruments 
 which  were  used  in  the  service  of  God, 
 and  to  the  Priests  who  blew  with  the 
 trumpets  and  repeated  the  liturgical 
 prayers  and  the  blessings. 
 
 The  thrice-repeated  Jehovah,  fol- 
 lowed by  Jah — Jehovah — Jah,  may 
 have  a  reference  to  the  form  of  the 
 priestly  blessing  in  which  tliey  "put 
 the  Name  of  Jehovah  upon  the  chil- 
 dren of  Israel,"  Num.  vi.  22 — 27. 
 Thrice  the  priests  uttered  the  Name  ; 
 thrice,  and  yet  thrice  again,  the 
 congregation  echoed  it  back  in  their 
 song. 
 
 3.  It  /S  LOVRLY.  According  to  the 
 paralleHsm,  this  will  refer  ci'ther  to 
 the  Name  of  Jehovah,  or  to  Jchov.ah 
 Ilmiself,  "for  He  is  lovely."  But 
 according  to  the  analogy  of  cxlvii.  i 
 (comp.  Prov.  xxiii.  8)  the  sul)ject  is 
 the  song:  "for  it  is  pleasant,  viz. 
 thus  to  sing  praise." 
 
 4.  Then  fullow  the  several  grounds 
 of  this  praise.  First,  because  He  has 
 chosen  Israel.  Next,  because  He  is 
 higher  than  all  the  gods  of  the  heathen, 
 as  He  has  shown  in  His  absolute 
 supremacy  over  the  world  of  nature, 
 ver.  5 — 7.  Then,  because  He  re- 
 deemed His  people  from  Kgypt,  ver. 
 8.  9.  Lastly,  becau.sc,  vanquishing 
 all  their  enemies,  He  gave  thcni  the 
 Promised  Land,  ver.  10 — 12. 
 
 5.  I  KNOW.  The  pron.  is  emphatic, 
 and  the  phrase  marks  a  strong  per- 
 sonal conviction  (sometimes,  as  in  xx. 
 6,  one  newly  gained). 
 
 6.  All  tii.vt  He  pleaseth. 
 This  absolute  supremacy  of  Cod  over 
 all  the  forces  and  plienonicna  of  the 
 natural  world  is  slated  in  the  same 
 
640  PSALM  CXXXV. 
 
 7  He  brlngeth  up  vapours  from  the  end  of  the  earth, 
 
 He  hath  made  hghtnings  for  the  rain. 
 
 He  sendeth  forth  the  wind  out  of  His  treasuries. 
 
 8  Who  smote  the  firstborn  of  Egypt, 
 
 Both  of  man  and  beast : 
 
 9  (Who)  sent  signs  and  wonders  into  the  midst  of  thee, 
 
 O  Egypt, 
 Upon  Pharaoh  and  upon  all  his  servants  ; 
 
 10  Who  smote  many  nations. 
 
 And  slew  mighty  kings. 
 
 1 1  Sihon,'  king  of  the  Amorites, 
 
 And  Og,  the  king  of  Bashan, 
 
 And  all  the  kingdoms  of  Canaan  ; 
 
 12  And  gave  their  land  as  an  heritage. 
 
 An  heritage  unto  Israel  His  people. 
 
 13  O  Jehovah,  Thy  name  (endureth)  for  ever, 
 
 Thy  memorial,  O  Jehovah,  to  all  generations. 
 
 14  For  Jehovah  judgeth  His  people, 
 
 And  repenteth  Himself  concerning  His  servants. 
 
 15  The  idols  of  the  nations  are  silver  and  gold, 
 
 The  work  of  men's  hands. 
 
 16  They  have  a  mouth,  and  speak  not  \ 
 
 Eyes  have  they,  and  see  not. 
 
 way  as  in  cxv.  3,  with  reference  more  lit.    "from  man  unto  beast." 
 
 paiticularly  to    the    weakness   of  the  13.   Comp.  Exod.  iii.  15. 
 
 gods  of  the  nations,   as  also  in  this  14.   Borrowed    from    Deut.    xxxii. 
 
 Psalm,  ver.  15—18.  36.     Comp.  for  the  second  clause  of 
 
 7.  The   verse  occurs  almost  word  the  verse  Ps.  xc.  13. 
 
 for  word  in  Jer.  x.  13,  li.  16.  For.     Here  is  the  proof  and  evi- 
 
 Vapours,  or  perhaps  "clouds"  as  dence    that    Jehovah's    Name      and 
 
 formed  of  masses  of  vapour.  memorial   abide   for   ever  ;   that    He 
 
 From  the  end  of  the  earth,  wiJl  manifest,   as  in  the  past,   so  in 
 
 i.e.  either  from  the  horizon  on  which  the  future,  His  righteousness  and  His 
 
 they  seem  to  gather,  or  from  the  sea  ;  mercy  to  Israel. 
 
 or  perhaps,  as  Augustine  says,  because  Judgeth,  i.e.   see  that  they  have 
 
 "  unde  surrexerint  nescis."  right,    which   is   in    fact    the    conse- 
 
 FoR  THE  rain,  i.e.  to  accompany  quence  of  His   "repenting  concern- 
 
 the  rain.  i'''g>"   or    "  having    compassion    of," 
 
 His      TREASURIES.      Comp.     Job  His  servants, 
 
 xxxviii.  22.  15 — 18.  Borrowed  with  some  varia- 
 
 8.  Both   of  man    and     beast  ;  tion  from  cxv.  4 — 8. 
 
PSALM  CXXXVI, 
 
 ly  They  have  ears,  and  (yet)  they  hear  not, 
 
 Yea,  they  have  no  breath  at  all  in  their  mouths. 
 
 1 8  They  that  make  them  shall  be  like  unto  them, 
 
 Every  one  that  putteth  his  trust  in  them. 
 
 19  O  house  of  Israel,  bless  ye  Jehovah  : 
 
 O  house  of  Aaron,  bless  ye  Jehovah  : 
 
 20  O  house  of  Levi,  bless  ye  Jehovah  : 
 
 Ye  that  fear  Jehovah,  bless  ye  Jehovah. 
 
 21  Blessed  be  Jehovah  out  of  Zion, 
 
 (Who)  dwelleth  in  Jerusalem. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 641 
 
 19,  20.  Precisely  as  in  cxv.  9 — 11, 
 cxviii,  2 — 4,  only  that  here  "the 
 house  of  Levi "  is  added. 
 
 21.  As  in  cxxviii.  5,  cxxxiv.  3, 
 Jehovah  blesses  out  of  Zion,  so  here, 
 on  the  other  hand.  His  people  bless 
 
 Ilim  out  of  Zion.  For  there  thev 
 meet  to  worship  Him  ;  there  not  only 
 He,  but  they,  may  be  said  to  dwell 
 (Is.  X.  24) ;  and  thence  accoidingly 
 His  praise  is  sounded  abroad. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXVI. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  little  more  than  a  variation  and  repetition  of  the 
 preceding  Psalm.  It  opens  with  the  same  liturgical  formula  witli 
 which  the  io6th  and  iiSth  Psalms  open,  and  was  evidently  designed 
 to  be  sung  antiphonally  in  the  Temple  worship.  Its  structure  is 
 peculiar.  The  first  line  of  each  verse  pursues  the  theme  of  the 
 Psalm,  the  second  hne,  "  For  His  loving-kindness  endureth  for  ever," 
 being  a  kind  of  refrain  or  response,  like  the  responses,  for  instance, 
 in  our  Litany,  breaking  in  upon  and  yet  sustaining  the  theme  of  the 
 Psalm  ;  the  first  would  be  sung  by  some  of  the  Levites,  the  second 
 by  the  choir  as  a  body,  or  by  the  whole  congregation  together  with 
 the  Levites.  We  have  an  example  of  a  similar  antiphonal  arrange- 
 ment in  the  first  four  verses  of  the  ii8th  Psalm;  but  there  is  no 
 
 T  T 
 
642  PSALM  C XXX VI. 
 
 other  instance  in  which  it  is  pursued  throughout  the  Psalm.  The 
 nearest  approach  to  the  same  constant  repetition  is  in  the  "  Amen " 
 of  the  people  to  the  curses  of  the  Law  as  pronounced  by  the  Levites, 
 Deut.  xxvii.  14. 
 
 In  the  Jewish  liturgy  this  Psalm,  with  its  twenty-six  responses,  is 
 called  "'the  Great  Hallel,''  by  way  of  distinction  from  "the  Hallel," 
 simply  so  called,  which  comprises  Psalms  exiii. — cxviii.,  though  there 
 is  some  uncertainty  as  to  the  former  designation  ;  for  according  to 
 some  "the  Great  HalleP'  comprises  cxxxv.  4 — cxxxvi,,  and  according 
 to  others,  cxx. — cxxxvi. 
 
 According  to  an  old  rule  of  writing  observed  in  some  of  the  most 
 ancient  MSS.,  the  two  lines  of  the  verses  ought  to  be  arranged  each 
 in  a  separate  column,  or,  as  the  phrase  runs,  "  half-brick  upon  half- 
 brick,  brick  upon  brick." 
 
 It  may  be  observed  that  the  verses  are  grouped  in  threes  as  far  as 
 ver.  18,  and  then  the  Psalm  concludes  with  two  groups  of  four  verses 
 each.  It  is  possible  that  ver.  19 — 22  did  not  originally  belong  to  this 
 Psalm,  being  introduced  from  the  previous  Psalm,  and  that  there  were 
 thus,  in  the  first  instance,  22  lines,  corresponding  to  the  number  of 
 letters  in  the  Hebrew  Alphabet.* 
 
 1  O  GIVE  thanks  unto  Jehovah,  for  He  is  good, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 2  O  give  thanks  unto  the  God  of  gods, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 2,  3.  God  of  gods  .  .  .  Lord  of  lords,  from  Deut.  x.  17. 
 
 *  "One  February  night,  a.d.  358,  the  great  church  at  Alexandria  was  bright  with  lights 
 far  into  the  night,  and  still  the  congregation  did  not  disperse.  The  Bishop  Athana^ius  was 
 there,  and  the  service  was  to  be  prolonged  till  morning,  for  next  day  the  Holy  Communion 
 was  to  be  celebrated,  and  it  was  the  frequent  custom  among  the  early  Christians  to  spend  the 
 preceding  night  in  prayer  and  singing  hymns.  All  knew  that  further  troubles  were  hanging 
 over  their  beloved  Bishop,  and  that  the  time  of  his  presence  v/ith  them  would  probably  be 
 very  short.  Suddenly  a  clashing  noise  broke  the  stillness— the  church  was  surroimded  by 
 armed  men — with  calm  presence  of  mind  Athanasius  rose  and  gave  out  the  136th  Psalm,  which 
 has  to  every  verse  the  response  '  For  His  mercy,  &c.'  The  whole  congregation  joined  in 
 thundering  fo'th  those  grand  words,  when  the  doors  bu-rst  open,  and  the  imperial  envoy  at  the 
 head  of  a  body  of  soldiers  walked  up  the  aisle.  For  a  moment,  the  soldiers  drew  back  in  awe 
 at  the  solemn  soimd  of  the  chanting,  but  again  they  pressed  on,  and  a  shower  of  arrows  flew 
 through  the'church.  Swords  flashed,  arms  rattled,  and  rough  shouts  interrupted  the  music. 
 Athaiiasius  retained  his  seat  till  the  congregation  had  dispersed.  Then  he  too  disappeared  in 
 the  darkness,  and  no  one  knew  where  he  was  gone.  .  He  found  a  refuge  among  his  old  friends 
 the  Hermits  of  Egypt." 
 
PSALM  CXXXVL  643 
 
 3  O  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord  of  lords, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (cndurcth)  for  ever. 
 
 4  To  Him  who  alone  docth  great  wonders, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 5  To  Him  who  in  wisdom  made  the  heavens. 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 6  To  Him  that  stretched  out  the  earth,  above  the  waters, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 7  To  Him  who  made  great  lights, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 8  The  sun  to  rule  the  day, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 9  The  moon  and  (the)  stars  to  rule  the  night, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 10  To  Him  who  smote  Egypt  in  their  first-born, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 1 1  And  brought  forth  Israel  from  the  midst  of  them, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 12  With  a  mighty  hand  and  a  stretched-out  arm, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 13  To  him  who  divided  the  Red  Sea  into  parts, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 14  And  made  Israel  to  pass  through  the  midst  of  it. 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 15  And  overthrew  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  Red  Sea, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 16  To  Him  who  led  His  people  through  the  wilderness, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 <.  In   wisdom.     Comp.   civ.   24;       16,    which    means    not     //c^'/'J,    but 
 
 Prov.  iii.  19  ;  Jer.  x.  12. 
 
 luminaries:  the  bodies,  that  is,  which 
 
 6.   Stretched    out;     from     the  hold  the  light.  _  _ 
 
 same  root  as  the  v^ox^X  firmament  or  9-   To   rule,  lit.    "for  dommjons 
 
 expanse  in  Gen.  I.    Comp.  Is.  xlii.  5,  over  ;"  the  plural,  poetically,  mstead 
 
 j^ji'y   24.  "f  t^e  singular,  as  in  the  preceding 
 
 Above    the    waters.       Comp.  verse,  and  in  Gen.  i. 
 ^j^-y   2.  10—22.  Almost  word  for  wont  as 
 
 7*I,tghts.       The    word    is    em-  in  cxxxv.  8— 12. 
 ployed   here   strictly,   instead   of  the  15.  Overi  iiKEW,lit.   'shookout, 
 
 corresponding  word  in   Gen.  i.   14—  as  m  Ex.  xiv.  27. 
 
 ^  T   T    2 
 
644  PSALM  CXXXVII. 
 
 ly  To  Him  who  smote  great  kings, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 1 8  And  slew  mighty  kings, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 19  Sihon  king  of  the  Amorites, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 20  And  Og  the  king  of  Bashan, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 21  And  gave  their  land  for  an  heritage, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 22  An  heritage  unto  Israel  His  servant, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 23  Who  remembered  us  in  our  low  estate, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 24  And  rescued  us  from  our  adversaries, 
 
 For  His  loving- kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 25  (Who)  giveth  food  to  all  flesh, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 26  O  give  thanks  to  the  God  of  heaven, 
 
 For  His  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever. 
 
 PSALM  cxxxvn. 
 
 There  can  be  no  doubt  whatever  as  to  the  time  when  this  Psalm 
 was  written.  It  expresses  the  feelings  of  an  exile  who  has  but  just 
 returned  from  the  land  of  his  captivity.  In  all  probability  the  writer 
 was  a  Levite,  who  had  been  carried  away  by  the  armies  of  Nebuchad- 
 nezzar when  Jerusalem  was  sacked  and  the  Temple  destroyed,  and 
 who  was  one  of  the  first,  as  soon  as  the  edict  of  Cyrus  was  published, 
 
PSALM  CXXXVIL  645 
 
 to  return  to  Jerusalem.  He  is  again  in  his  own  land.  He  sees  ajjain 
 the  old  familiar  scenes.  The  mountains  and  the  valleys  that  his  foot 
 trod  in  youth  are  before  him.  The  great  landmarks' are  the  same, 
 and  yet  the  change  is  terrible.  The  spoiler  has  been  in  his  home, 
 his  vines  and  his  fig-trees  have  been  cut  down,  the  House  of  his  God 
 is  a  heap  of  ruins.  His  heart  is  heavy  with  a  sense  of  desolation 
 and  bitter  with  the  memory  of  wrong  and  insult  from  which  he  has 
 but  lately  escaped. 
 
 He  takes  his  harp,  the  companion^of  his  exile,  the  cherished  relic 
 of  happier  days, — the  harp  which  he  could  not  string  at  the  bidding 
 of  his  conquerors  by  the  waters  of  Babylon  ;  and  now  with  faltering 
 hand  he  sweeps  the  strings,  first  in  low,  plaintive,  melancholy  cadence 
 pouring  out  his  griefs,  and  then  with  a  loud  crash  of  wild  and  stormy 
 music,  answering  to  the  wild  and  stormy  numbers  of  his  verse,  he 
 raises  the  paean  of  vengeance  over  his  foes. 
 
 He  begins  by  telling  in  language  of  pathetic  beauty  the  tale  of  his 
 captivity.  He  draws  first  t'he  picture  of  the  land — so  unhke  his  own 
 mountain  land — the  broad  plain  watered  by  the  Euphrates  and  in- 
 tersected by  its  canals,  their  banks  fringed  with  willows,  with  no 
 purple  peak,  no  deep,  cool  glcn  to  break  the  vast,  weary,  monotonous 
 expanse  ;  and  then  he  draws  the  figure  of  the  captives  in  their  deep 
 despondency,  a  despondency  so  deep  that  it  could  find  no  solace 
 even  in  those  sacred  melodies  which  were  dear  to  them  as  life — "  As 
 for  our  harps,  we  hanged  them  upon  the  willows  by  the  water-side." 
 Next,  his  verse  tells  of  the  mocking  taunt  of  their  captors,  "  Sing  us 
 one  of  the  songs  of  Zion  ;  "  and  the  half-sad,  half-proud  answer  of 
 the  heart,  strong  in  its  faith  and  unconquerable  in  its  patriotism, 
 "How  shall  we  sing  Jehovah's  song  in  a  strange  land.?"  It  were  a 
 profanation,  it  were  a  treachery.  Sooner  let  the  tongue  fail  to  sing 
 than  sing  to  make  the  heathen  mirth  ;  sooner  let  the  hand  lose  her 
 cunning  than  tune  the  harp  to  please  the  stranger. 
 
 No  wonder  that  then,  brooding  over  the  mcmoiy  of  the  past, 
 brooding  over  his  wrongs,  and  seeing  around  him  in  blackened  ruins 
 and  wasted  fields  the  footsteps  of  the  invader,  the  Poet  should  utter 
 his  wrath.  No  wonder  that  the  Psalm  concludes  with  that  fierce 
 outburst  of  natural  resentment,  a  resentment  which  borrows  almost  a 
 grandeur  from  the  religious  fervour,  the  devoted  patriotism,  whence 
 it  springs.  Terrible  have  been  the  wrongs "  of  Jerusalem  :  let  the 
 revenge  be  terrible.  Woe  to  those  who  in  the  day  of  her  fall  took 
 part  with  her  enemies  and  rejoiced  in  her  ovcrllirow,  when  they  ought 
 
6*46  PSALM  C XXXV IT. 
 
 rather  to  have  come  to  her  aid.  Woe  to  the  proud  oppressors  who 
 have  so  long  held  her  cliildren  captive,  and  made  their  hearts  bitter 
 with  insult  and  wrong.  "  Blessed  shall  he  be  who  taketh  thy  little 
 ones,  and  dasheth  them  against  the  rock." 
 
 What  a  wonderful  mixture  is  the  Psalm  of  soft  melancholy  and  fiery 
 patriotism  !  The  hand  which  wrote  it  must  have  known  how  to  smite 
 sharply  with  the  sword,  as  well  as  how  to  tune  the  harp.  The  words 
 are  burning  words  of  a  heart  breathing  undying  love  to  his  country, 
 undying  hate  to  his  foe.     The  Poet  is  indeed 
 
 "  Dowered  with  the  hate  of  hate,  the  scorn  of  scorn, 
 The  love  of  love."  ^ 
 
 1  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we  sat  down,  yea,  we 
 
 wept 
 When  we  remembered  Zion. 
 
 2  Upon  the  willows  in  the  midst  thereof 
 
 We  hanged  up  our  harps. 
 
 3  For  there  they  that  led  us  away  captive  asked  of   us  a 
 
 song, 
 And  they  that  spoiled  us  (required  of  us)  mirth, 
 (Saying)  "  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion." 
 
 4  How  should  we  sing  Jehovah's  song 
 
 In  a  strange  land  t 
 
 4,  5.  How  sing  a  holy  song  on  a  fore  the  King  said  unto  me,  Why  is 
 
 strange,  profane  soil?     How  sing  a  thy  countenance  sad,  seeing  tho.u  art 
 
 song  oi  joyvA\^\\  the  city  and  Temple  not  sick?     And  I  said,  Let  the  King 
 
 of  our  God  lay  in  ruins  ?     Compare  live   for   ever  :    why  should   not   my 
 
 the    words    of    Nehemiah,  ' '  Where-  countenance  be  sad  when  the  city,  the 
 
 *  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  was  taken  captive  by  pirates,  and  sold  at  Tunis  as  a  slave  to  the 
 Turks.  By  one  of  these  he  was  again  sold  to  a  renegade  nobleman  from  Nice,  now  living  in 
 the  country,  with  his  three  wives,  as  a  Mohamedan.  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  worked  in  his 
 garden,  and  one  of  the  Turkish  ladies,  who  was  fond  of  talking  with  him,  one  day  ordered 
 him  to  sing  one  of  his  hymns  to  his  God.  With  tears  in  his  eyes  he  sang  the  Psalm  of  the 
 Captivity,  "  By  the  waters  of  Babylon."  The  lady  was  so  touched  by  the  song  and  by  all  he 
 told  her  of  his  faith,  that  in  the  evening  she  rebuked  her  husband  for  his  apostasy.  He  was 
 tilled  with  remorse  and  anxiety  for  his  soul's  safety,  and  after  much  converse  with  his  slave 
 resolved  to  return  to  Christendom  and  the  gospel.  After  ten  months  he  made  his  escape, 
 taking  Vincent  with  him,  and  when  they  arrived  safely  in  France,  the  penitent  was  publicly 
 re-admitted  into  the  Church,  at  A.\\%\\ox\..— Stories  of  Success,  S.P.CK. 
 
PSALM  C XXXVI I. 
 
 6.17 
 
 5  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem, 
 
 Let  my  right  hand  forget  (her  cunning).  ' 
 
 6  Let  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth 
 
 If  I  remember  thee  not  ; 
 
 If  I  prefer  not  Jerusalem  above  my  chicfcst  joy. 
 
 7  Remember,  O  Jehovah,  the  children  of  Edom 
 
 (In)  the  day  of  Jerusalem, 
 
 Who  said,  Rase  it,  Rase  it,  even  to  the  foundation 
 thereof. 
 
 8  O  daughter  of  Babylon  that  shalt  be  destroyed, 
 
 Happy  shall  he  be  that  revvardeth  thee 
 As  thou  hast  served  us. 
 
 9  Happy  shall  he  be  that  taketh  and  dashcth  thy  little 
 
 ones 
 Against  the  rock. 
 
 place  of  my  fathers'  sepulchres,  lieth 
 waste,  and  the  gates  thereof  are  con- 
 sumed with  fire?"  (Neh.  ii.  2,  3.) 
 
 5.  Forget.  Probably  there  is  an 
 aposiopesis  ;  or  we  may  supply  either, 
 as  the  E.  V.,  "her  cunning,"  i.e.  her 
 skill  with  the  harp,  or  more  generally, 
 "  the  power  of  motion." 
 
 7.  As  he  broods  over  his  wrongs, 
 as  he  looks  upon  the  desolation  of 
 his  country,  as  he  remembers  witli 
 peculiar  bitterness  how  they  who 
 ought  to  have  been  allies  took  part 
 with  the  enemies  of  Jerusalem  in  tlic 
 fatal  day  of  her  overthrow,  there 
 bursts  forth  the  terrible  cry  for  ven- 
 geance ;  vengeance  first  on  the  false 
 kindred,  and  next  on  the  proud  con- 
 querors of  his  race.  Lam.  iv.  21, 
 22;  Ezek.  XXV.  8,  12—14;  Obad. 
 I — 21  ;  Jer.  xlix.  7 — 22  ;  Is.  Ixiii. 
 1—4. 
 
 8.  That  shalt  be  destroyed, 
 or  perhaps,  "doomed  to  destruc- 
 tion."   Others,  "  that  are  laid  waste," 
 
 as  if  referring  to  the  taking  of  Baby- 
 lon by  Cyrus.  Compare  for  the  sen- 
 timent, Jer.  Ii.  56,  "  Because  the 
 spoiler  is  come  upon  her,  even  upon 
 Babylon,  and  her  mighty  men  are 
 taken,  every  one  of  tlieir  bows  is 
 broken ;  for  Jehovah  is  a  God  of  re- 
 compenses, He  shall  surely  requite." 
 See  also  for  the  same  princii)le  of  retri- 
 bution in  the  overthrow  of  Babylon, 
 Is.  xlvii.  I — 9. 
 
 9  Little  ONES.  lit.  "sucklings." 
 ^Vith  such  *  barbarous  cruelty  wars 
 were  carried  on,  even  by  compara- 
 tively civilized  nations.  Comp.  for 
 Biblical  examples  2  Kmgs  viii.  I2fxv. 
 16;  Is.  xiii.  16;  IIos.  .\.  14,  xiii.  16; 
 Nah.  iii.  10.  So  Homer,  i)aintinj; 
 the  sack  of  a  city,  menlionscas  one  of 
 its  features,  vr\i^ia.  rtKua  BaWofjifya 
 ■n-porl  yaiT}.  And  again,  Andromache 
 addressing   her   child    says,  ad   5*    ol 
 
 TfKOS     fi     iflo\     aUTTJ    .    .     .      EvI'fOi    .     .     . 
 
 vvpyov,  \vyp6v  ij\(9poy. 
 
648  PSALM  CXXXVIII. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXVIII. 
 
 According  to  the  Hebrew  title,  this  is  a  Psahn  of  David.  So  far 
 as  the  Psahn  itself  is  concerned,  we  have  no  clue  to  guide  us  ;  neither 
 the  language  nor  the  allusions  will  warrant  any  conclusion  as  to  date 
 or  authorship.  The  mention  of  the  Temple  in  ver.  2  does  not  prove 
 that  the  Psalm  was  not  written  by  David,  for  the  word  rendered 
 "Temple"  might  be  used  of  a  structure  like  the  Tabernacle  (see  on 
 ver.  7).  Nor  does  the  hope  or  prophecy  concerning  the  kings  of  the 
 earth  in  ver.  4  necessarily  point  to  a  post-Exile  time,  for  hopes  of  a 
 similar  kind  are  found  also  in  earlier  Psalms  (see  note  on  that  verse). 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  three  strophes  :— 
 
 (i)  In  the  first  the  Poet  encourages  himself  to  praise  God  both 
 because  of  His  goodness  and  faithfulness  and  His  great  promises, 
 and  also  because  he  himself  had  had  his  prayers  answered.     Ver. 
 
 1—3. 
 
 (2)  He  utters  the  hope,  the  prophecy,  that  the  kings  of  the  earth 
 shall  acknowledge  the  greatness  of  Jehovah, — His  greatness  chiefly  in 
 this,  that  He  does  not  measure  by  any  huma-n  standard  of  great  and 
 small,  of  high  and  low.     Ver.  4 — 6. 
 
 (3)  He  applies  all  that  he  has  learnt  of  Jehovah's  character  to 
 his  own  individual  experience  in  prospect  of  trouble  and  danger 
 Ver.  7,  8. 
 
 [(a   psalm)   of   DAVID.] 
 
 I   I  WILL  give  thanks  unto  Thee  with  my  whole  heart, 
 Before  the  gods  will  I  sing  praise  unto  Thee : 
 
 I.   Unto  Thee.     The  Being  who  who  are  followed  by  Luther,  Calvin, 
 
 is  addressed  is  not  named  till  ver,  4.  and    others,     understand    it    of    the 
 
 It    is    as   though    in    the    P.-ahiiist's  an^ek.      But,  though    the  angels   are 
 
 heart  there  could  be  but  one  object  of  called  upon  to  praise  God,  they  are 
 
 praise,  whether  named  or  unnamed.  nowhere  in  the  O.  T.  regarded  as  wit- 
 
 Befork    the    gods.       This    has  nesses  of  or  sharers  in  the  worship  of 
 
 been  variously  explained.   TheLXX.,  men.     It  is  far  more  probable  that 
 
PSALM  cxxxvin 
 
 649 
 
 I  will  bow  myself  before  Thy  holy  Temple, 
 
 And   I  will  pve  thanks  to  Thy  Name,'  because  of 
 Thy  loving-kindness  and  Thy  truth, 
 For  Thou  hast  magnified  Thy  word  above  all  Thy 
 Name. 
 In  the  day  that  I  called.  Thou  answeredst  me, 
 Thou  madest  me   courageous  with   strength  in   my 
 soul. 
 
 4  All  the  kings  of  the  earth  shall  give  thanks  unto  Thee, 
 
 O  Jehovah  ; 
 For  they  have  heard  the  words  of  Thy  mouth. 
 
 5  And  they  shall  sing  of  the  ways  of  Jehovah  ; 
 
 For  great  is  the  glory  of  Jehovah. 
 
 6  For  (though)  Jehovah  is  high,  yet  He  seeth  the  humble; 
 
 And  the  proud  He  knoweth  afar  off. 
 
 "  tlie  gods  "  are  the  false  gods,  the  ob- 
 jects of  heathen  worship,  in  the  very 
 presence  of  whom,  and  to  the  confu- 
 sion of  their  worshipers,  the  Psahnist 
 will  utter  his  praise  of  the  true  God. 
 See  xcv.  3,  xcvi.  4,  5,  cxv,  3 — 8. 
 
 2.  Thy  word,  or  "promise." 
 Comp,  Ivi.  10,  Ix.  6,  Ixii.  1 1.  No 
 particular  promise  is  meant. 
 
 Above  all  Thy  Name.  The  ex- 
 pression seems  to  mean  that  to  the 
 soul  waiting  upon  God,  and  trusting 
 in  His  woid,  the  promise  becomes  so 
 precious,  so  strong  a  ground  of  hope, 
 that  it  surpasses  all  other  manifesta- 
 tions of  God's  goodness  and  truth  ;  or 
 in  the  promise  may  here  also  be  in- 
 cluded the  fulfilment  of  the  promise. 
 
 4.   All  THE  KINGS  OF  THE  EARTH. 
 
 See  the  expression  ofthesame  feeling 
 in  Ixviii.  29 — 32,  Ixxii.  ID,  II,  cii.  15. 
 For  THEY  HAVE  HEARD.  This 
 sounds  in  the  Old  Testament  almost 
 like  an  anticipation  of  St.  Paul's 
 words:  "But  I  say  have  they  not 
 heard?  Yea  verily,  their  sound  is 
 gone  forth  into  all  the  world,"     It 
 
 is  to  be  explained  by  ihc  Jeep  con- 
 viction in  the  Psalmist's  heart  that 
 God's  words  cannot  be  hidden,  must 
 be  published  abroad.  Others,  how- 
 ever, render,  "When  they  (shall) have 
 heard." 
 
 Sing  of  the  ways.  Having 
 heard  the  tidings,  "the  words  of 
 God's  mouth,"  they  will  joyfully  cele- 
 brate His  mighty  acts.  Comp.  ciii, 
 7,  where  "  His  ways"  correspond  to 
 "  His  acts"  in  tlie  parallelism, 
 
 6.   Is  HIGH.     Comp,  cxiii.  5,  6. 
 
 He  knoweth  afar  off.  This 
 is  the  only  proper  rendering  of  the 
 clause  ;  but  the  expression  is  some- 
 what remarkable.  (l)  It  has  been 
 explained  by  reference  to  cxxxix.  2 
 ("  Thou  understandest  my  thoughts 
 afar  off"),  which  would  mean,  God 
 knows  (observes)  the  proud,  distant 
 as  they  mny  think  themselves  to  he 
 from  His  control.  (2)  Hut  it  seems 
 rather  to  mean,  God  knows  tlicm 
 (regards  them)  only  at  a  distance, 
 does  not  admit  them  into  His  fel- 
 lowship ;   He  does  not  "sec"  ihcra 
 
6so  PSALM  CXXXIX. 
 
 7  If  I  walk  in  the  midst  of  trouble,   Thou    wilt  quicken 
 
 me: 
 Against  the  wrath  of  mine  enemies  Thou  wilt  stretch 
 
 out  Thine  hand, 
 And  Thy  right  hand  shall  save  me. 
 
 8  Jehovah  will  perfect  that  which  concerneth  me  ; 
 
 Jehovah,  Thy  loving-kindness  (endureth)  for  ever : 
 Forsake  not  the  works  of  Thy  hands. 
 
 as  He  "seeth  the  humble."     (3)  Or  work  He  has  begun.     See  the  same 
 
 it  would  be  possible  to  explain,  He  word  inlvii.  2,  andcomp.  the  fTriTeAeTj/ 
 
 knows  them  so  as  to  keep  thei7i  at  a  of  Phil.  i.  6.* 
 
 distance.  Forsake    not,    or    ''relax   not," 
 
 7.  If    I   WALK.       Compare    xxiii,  turning  into  a  prayer   what    he   had 
 4,  and  Ixxi.  20.  just  before  expressed  as  a  conviction 
 
 8.  Perfect,    i.e.    accomplish    the  of  his  own  mind. 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIX. 
 
 Nowhere  are  the  great  attributes  of  God — His  Omniscience,  His 
 Omnipresence,  His  Omnipotence — set  forth  so  strikingly  as  they  are 
 in  this  magnificent  Psalm.  Nowhere  is  there  a  more  overwhelming 
 sense  of  the  fact  that  man  is  beset  and  compassed  about  by  God,  per- 
 vaded by  His  Spirit,  unable  to  take  a  step  without  His  control ;  and  yet 
 nowhere  is  there  a  more  emphatic  assertion  of  the  personality  of  man 
 as  distinct  from,  not  absorbed  in,  the  Deity.  This  is  no  pantheistic 
 speculation.  Man  is  here  the  workmanship  of  God,  and  stands  in 
 the  presence  and  under  the  eye  of  One  who  is  his  Judge.  The  power 
 of  conscience,  the  sense  of  sin  and  of  responsibility,  are  felt  and 
 acknowledged,  and  prayer  is  offered  to  One  who  is  not  only  the  Judge, 
 but  the  Friend  ;  One  who  is  feared  as  none  else  are  feared  ;  One  who 
 is  loved  as  none  else  are  loved. 
 
 *  This  verse  was  Bishop  Andrewes'  favourite   ejaculatorj'  prayer.      See   Liudon,   Some 
 Elements  of  Religion,  Lecture  iii.,  p.  105. 
 
rSALM  ex XX IX.  C51 
 
 Both  in  loftiness  of  thought  and  in  expressive  beauty  of  language 
 the  Psalm  stands  pre-eminent,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Abcn  Ezra 
 should  have  pronounced  it  to  be  "  the  crown  of  all  the.  Psalms." 
 
 The  Psalm  is  anonymous  in  the  Hebrew,  but  it  is  probable  that  it 
 was  written  after  the  Exile. 
 
 The  rhythmical  structure  is,  on  the  whole,  regular.  There  are  four 
 strophes,  each  consisting  of  six  verses  ;  the  first  three  strophes  con- 
 taining the  proper  theme  of  the  Psalm,  and  the  last  the  expression  of 
 individual  feeling. 
 
 I.  In  the  first  strophe  the  Poet  dwells  on  the  omniscience  of  God 
 as  manifested  in  His  knowledge  of  the  deepest  thoughts  and  most 
 secret  workings  of  the  human  heart.     Ver.  i — 6. 
 
 II.  In  the  second,  on  His  omnipresence  ;  inasmuch  as  there  is  no 
 corner  of  the  universe  so  remote  that  it  is  not  pervaded  by  God's 
 presence,  no  darkness  so  deep  that  it  can  hide  from  His  eye.  Ver. 
 7 — 12. 
 
 III.  The  third  strophe  gives  the  reasonWor  the  profound  conviction 
 of  these  truths,  of  which  the  Poet's  heart  is  full.  No  wonder  that  God 
 should  have  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  man,  for  man  is  the  creature 
 of  God  :  the  mysterious  beginnings  of  life,  which  none  can  trace  ;  the 
 days,  all  of  which  are  ordered  before  the  first  breath  is  drawn, — these 
 are  fashioned  and  ordered  by  the  hand  of  God.     Ver.  13 — 18. 
 
 IV.  In  the  last  strophe  the  Psalmist  turns  abruptly  aside  to  ex- 
 press his  utter  abhorrence  of  wicked  men— an  abhorrence,  no  doubt, 
 deepened  by  his  previous  meditation  on  God  and  His  attributes,  and 
 called  forth  probably  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed  ; 
 and  then  closes  with  a  prayer  that  he  himself  may,  in  his  inmost 
 heart,  be  right  with  that  God  who  has  searched  him  and  known  him 
 and  laid  His  hand  upon  him,  and  that  he  may  be  led  by  Him  in  the 
 way  everlasting.     Ver.  19 — 24. 
 
 [for   the   precentor,      a  psalm  of  DAVID.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  Thou  hast  searched  me,  and  known  (me). 
 
 2  Thou  knowest  my  downsittinc^  and  mine  uprising, 
 
 Thou  understandest  my  thought  afar  off. 
 
652  PSALM  C XXXIX. 
 
 3  Thou  hast  searched  my  path  and  my  bed, 
 
 And  Thou  art  acquainted  with  all  my  ways. 
 
 4  For  before  a  word  is  yet  on  my  tongue, 
 
 Lo,  O  Jehovah,  Thou  knowest  it  altogether. 
 
 5  Behind  and  before  hast  Thou  beset  me, 
 
 And  laid  Thine  hand  upon  me. 
 
 6  (Such)  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  me, 
 
 It  is  too  high,  I  caflnot  attain  unto  it. 
 
 7  Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit } 
 
 Or  whither  shall  I  flee  from  Thy  presence  .'' 
 
 8  If  I  climb  up  into  heaven,  Thou  art  there, 
 
 And  if  I  make  my  bed  in  hell,  lo,  Thou  art  there. 
 
 9  (If)  I  take  the  wings  of  the  morning, 
 
 (If)  I  dwell  in  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  sea, 
 
 10  Even  there  shall  Thy  hand  lead  me, 
 
 And  Thy  right  hand  shall  hold  me. 
 
 1 1  And  should  I  say  :  Only  let  darkness  cover  me, 
 
 And  the  light  about  me  be  night ! 
 
 3.    Thou    hast    searched,    lit.  Thy  Spirit.    "The  word  .S/mV," 
 
 "Thou  hast  winnowed,"  or  "  sifted."  says  Calvin,  "is  not  put  kere  simply 
 
 5.  Beset  me,  or  "shut  me  in."  for  the  power  of  God,  as  commonly 
 Comp.  Job  iii.  23,  xiii,  27,  xiv.  5,  13,  in  the  Scriptures,  but  for  His  mind 
 16,  xix.  8.  and   understanding.       For    inasmuch 
 
 Laid  Thine  hand.     Job  xiii.  21,  as   the   spirit  in   man  is  the  seat   of 
 
 xxxiii.   7.     Therefore,  in  the  utmost  understanding,  the  Psalmist  transfers 
 
 exercise  of  his  freedom,  man  is  only  the  same  to   God  ;    which  is  clearer 
 
 accomplishing  what  God's  counsel  and  from  the  second  member,  where  the 
 
 foreknowledge  have  determined.  word  face  {presence)  is  put  for  know- 
 
 With  the  general  sentiment  of  the  ledge  or  sight." 
 
 first  strophe  compare  Acts  xvii.    28,  8.   My  bed  in  hell,  lit.  "  Should 
 
 "In   Him  we  live,   and   move,   and  I  make  the  unseen  world  [Sheol)  vay 
 
 have  our  being.'"'  bed."     Comp.  Is.  Ivii.  9. 
 
 6.  (Such)  knowledge.  See  a  9.  If  I  could  fly  with  the  same 
 similar  strain  of  acknowledgement  at  swiftness  from  east  to  west  as  the  first 
 the  close  of  the  third  strophe,  ver,  17,  rays  of  the  morning  shoot  from  one 
 18,  and   compare  Rom.   xi.    33,   "  O  end  of  heaven  to  the  other. 
 
 the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  Wings  OF  the  morning.   So  the 
 
 wisdom    and     knowledge    of    God  I  sun  is  said  to  have  wing-\  Mai.  iv.  2. 
 
 How   unsearchable    are    His   judge-  Uttermost   parts  of  the  sea, 
 
 ments,     and   His   ways   past   finding  i.e.  the  furthest  west, 
 
 out!"  II.  And  the  light  about  me. 
 
PSALM  CXXXIX. 
 
 653 
 
 12  Even  darkness  cannot  be  too  dark  for  Thcc, 
 
 But  the  night  is  Hght  as  the  day  ; 
 
 The  darkness  and  light  (to  Thee)  arc  both  aHkc. 
 
 13  For  Thou  hast  formed  my  reins, 
 
 Thou  didst  weave  me  together  in  my  motlicr's  womb. 
 
 14  I  will  give  Thee  thanks  for  that  1  am   fearfully  and 
 
 wonderfully  made  ; 
 Wonderful  are  Thy  works, 
 
 And  my  soul  knoweth  (it)  right  well. 
 
 15  My  bones  were  not  hid  from  Thee, 
 
 When  I  was  made  in  secret, 
 
 (When)  I  was  curiously  wrought  (as)  in  the  lower 
 parts  of  the  earth. 
 
 16  Thine  eyes  did  see  my  substance  yet  being  imperfect, 
 
 And  in  Thy  book  were  they  all  of  them  written, — 
 The  days  which  were  ordered,  when  as  yet  there 
 was  none  of  them. 
 
 17  And  how  precious  unto  me  are  Thy  thoughts,  O  God, 
 
 The  rendering  of  the  E.  V.,  "even 
 the  night  shall  be  light  about  me,"  is 
 defensible,  and  has  the  advantage  of 
 adhering  to  the  order  of  the  words  in 
 the  Hebrew. 
 
 12.  Cannot  be  too  dark  for 
 Thee,  lit.  "  cannot  be  dark  (so  as  to 
 hide)  from  Thee." 
 
 13.  "  Who  can  have  a  truer  and 
 deeper  knowledge  of  man  than  He 
 who  made  him  ?  " 
 
 My  reins.  See  on  xvL  7.  It 
 seems  to  denote  the  sensational  and 
 emotional  part  of  the  human  being, 
 as  afterwards  "the  bones"  denote 
 the  framework  of  the  body. 
 
 Weave  me  together,  as  in  Job 
 X.  II,  "  Thou  hast  woven  me  together 
 (E.  V.  fenced  me)  with  bones  and 
 sinews." 
 
 15.  My  BONKS,  lit.  "  my  strength," 
 but  here  evidently  meaning  the  bony- 
 framework  of  the  body. 
 
 Curiously  wrought.  The  verb 
 is  used  of  some  kind  of  parti-colourcd 
 work,  but  whether  woven  or  embroi- 
 dered is  doubtful. 
 
 In  secret.  Comp.  /Esch.  Eumen. 
 665,  f^v  (TK6Tot(n  vq5v>os  TedpafjLiJLfini}. 
 
 In  the  depths  of  the  karth. 
 Elsewhere  the  phrase  denotes  "  the 
 unseen  world,"  comp.  Ixiii.  9,  Ixxxvi. 
 13.  Here,  as  the  parallelism  shows, 
 it  is  used  in  a  figurative  sense  ti> 
 describe  a  region  of  darkness  and 
 mystery. 
 
 16.  My  substance  vet  being 
 iMl'ERFKcr.  One  word  in  the  ori- 
 ginal, which  means  strictly  aHythinq 
 ro//c'd  toi^dher  as  a  ball,  and  hence  is 
 generally  supposed  to  mean  here  ihc 
 foetus  or  embryo. 
 
 All  of  the.m,  i.e.  the  days  men- 
 tioned in  the  next  verse. 
 
 17.  He  breaks  off  in  wonder  and 
 admiration  and  holy  thankfulness,  as 
 
654 
 
 PSALM  CXXXIX. 
 
 How  great  is  the  sum  of  them ! 
 1 8  If  I  would  tell  them,   they  are  more  in  number  than 
 the  sand : 
 When  I  awake,  I  am  still  with  Thee. 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 Oh  that  thou  wouldest  slay  the  wicked,  O  God  ; 
 
 Depart  from  me,  ye  bloodthirsty  men  ; 
 Who  rebel  against  Thee  with  (their)  wicked  devices, 
 
 (Who)  lift  up  themselves  against  Thee  in  vain. 
 Should  I  not  hate  them  which  hate  Thee,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  should  I  not  be  grieved  with  them  that  rise  up 
 afjainst  Thee  ? 
 
 before  in  ver.  14 ;  these  expressions 
 of  personal  feeling  lending  not  only 
 much  beauty  and  force,  but  also  much 
 reality,  to  the  contemplation  of  God's 
 attributes.  Comp.  xxxvi.  7,  xcii.  5  ; 
 Kom.  xi.  33. 
 
 How  PRECIOUS,  or  perhaps  (in 
 accordance  with  the  root-meaning  of 
 the  word)  "how  hard  to  understand  " 
 (lit.  "how  heavy,  or  weighty"),  in 
 which  case  it  would  correspond  with 
 the  aye^epsupTjra  of  Rom.  xi.  33. 
 
 18.  More  in  number.  Comp. 
 xl.  5. 
 
 When  I  awake,  lit.  "I  have 
 waked,"  i.e.  as  often  as  he  awakes 
 from  sleep,  he  finds  that  he  is  again  in 
 the  presence  of  God,  again  occupied 
 with  thoughts  of  God,  again  medi- 
 tating afresh  with  new  wonder  and 
 admiration  on  His  wisdom  and  good- 
 ness. 
 
 19.  How  strangely  abrupt  is  the 
 turning  aside  from  one  of  the  sublimest 
 contemplations  to  be  found  anywhere 
 in  the  Bible,  to  express  a  hope  that 
 righteous  vengeance  will  overtake  the 
 wicked.  Such  a  passage  is  startling, — 
 startling  partly  because  the  spirit  of  the 
 New  Testament  is  so  different  ;  partly 
 too,  no  doubt,  because  "  our  modern 
 civilization  has  l)een  so  schooled  in 
 amenities"  that  we  hardly  know  what 
 
 is  meant  by  a  righteous  indignation. 
 It  is  well,  however,  to  notice  the  fact, 
 for  this  is  just  one  of  those  passages 
 which  help  us  to  understand  the 
 education  of  the  world.  Just  because 
 it  startles  us  is  it  so  instructive.  The 
 63rd  Psalm  presents  us,  as  we  have 
 seen,  with  a  similar  contrast.  There, 
 however,  the  feeling  expressed  is  of  a 
 more  directly  personal  kind.  David 
 is  encompassed  and  hard  pressed  by 
 enemies  who  are  threatening  his  life. 
 He  has  been  driven  from  his  throne 
 by  rebels,  and  the  deep  sense  of  wrong 
 makes  him  burst  forth  in  the  strain  of 
 indignation  and  of  anticipated  victory, 
 "  They  that  seek  my  life  to  destroy  it 
 shall  be  cast  into  the  pit, "  &c.  Here, 
 apparently,  the  prayer  for  the  over- 
 throw of  the  wicked  does  not  arise 
 from  a  sense  of  wrong  and  personal 
 danger,  but  from  the  intense  hatred  of 
 wickedness  as  wickedness,  from  the 
 deep  conviction  that,  if  hateful  to  a 
 true-hearted  man,  it  must  be  still 
 more  intensely  hateful  to  Him  who 
 searcheth  the  hearts  and  trieth  the 
 reins.  The  soul,  in  the  immediate 
 presence  of  God,  places  itself  on  the 
 side  of  God,  against  all  that  is  opposed 
 to  Him.  Stili,  the  prayer,  "Oh  that 
 Thou  wouldest  slay  the  wicked,"  can 
 never  be  a  Christian  prayer. 
 
PSALM  CXL, 
 
 22  With  perfect  hatred  do  I  hate  them  ; 
 
 I  count  them  mine  enemies. 
 
 23  Search  me,  O  God,  and  know  my  heait : 
 
 Try  me,  and  know  my  thoughts  : 
 
 24  And  see  if  there  be  any  wicked  way  in  me, 
 
 And  lead  me  in  the  way  everlasting. 
 
 C55 
 
 •  That  man 
 must  have  a  rare  confidence,"  says 
 Calvin,  "  who  offers  himself  so  boldly 
 to  the  scrutiny  of  God's  righteous 
 judgement."  And  then  he  remarks 
 that  such  a  prayer  is  no  evidence  of  self- 
 ignorance  or  a  presumptuous  spirit,  but 
 of  integrity  of  heart  and  the  absence 
 of  ail  hypocrisy.  It  is  connected  with 
 what  precedes  in  this  way  :  that, 
 having  declared  his  utter  separation 
 from,  and  aversion  to,  the  wicked,  he 
 prays  that  this  may  be  no  mere  out- 
 ward separation  j  he  i-emembers  that, 
 
 even  wliilst  he  seems  most  opposed  to 
 the  wicked,  the  All-sccing  Kyc  may 
 discern  in  him  some  way  of  evil  and 
 sorrow  ;  that  only  as  God  hokls  his 
 hand,  and  leads  him,  can  he  walk  in 
 the  way  of  life. 
 
 24.  Wicked  way,  or  rather  *'  v/ay 
 of  pain,"  i.e.  leading  to  pain,  such 
 pain  and  smart  being  the  consccjuences 
 of  sin,  as  in  Is.  xiv.  3. 
 
 Way  everlasting,  i.e.  the  one 
 true  abiding  way,  which  leads  to  the 
 true  and  everlasting  (iod. 
 
 PSALM  CXL. 
 
 This  Psalm  is  a  prayer  for  protection  against  enemies  who  were 
 both  violent  and  crafty  and  unscrupulous  in  the  use  of  their  tongues. 
 The  general  strain  of  the  Psalm  is  like  that  of  many  which  occur  in 
 the  earher  Books,  and  like  them  it  is  ascribed  to  David.  In  tone 
 and  language  it  resembles  Psalms  Iviii.  and  Ixiv.,  but  we  have  no 
 means  of  testing  the  accuracy  of  the  Inscription.  The  chief  pecu- 
 liarity of  the  Psalm  is,  that  it  has  several  words  which  occur  nowhere 
 else.  The  impression  left  upon  the  mind  in  reading  them,  I  think,  is 
 that  they  are  cast  in  David's  vein  and  in  imitation  of  his  manner 
 rather   than  written  by  David  himself;  but  it  would  be  absurd  to 
 
656  PSALM  CXL. 
 
 dogmatize  in  a  matter  wliere  we  are  really  left  with  nothing  to  guide 
 us,  unless  we  are  disposed  to  accept  the  tradition  from  which  the  title 
 has  sprung. 
 
 The  strophical  division  of  the  Psalm  is,  on  the  whole,  regular. 
 There  are  four  strophes,  consisting  each  of  three  verses,  except  that 
 the  third,  instead  of  consisting  of  three  verses  of  two  members,  con- 
 sists of  two  verses  of  three  members,  so  that  the  length  of  each 
 strophe  is  in  fact  the  same.  There  is  also  a  concluding  strophe  of 
 two  verses.  The  close  of  the  first  three  strophes  is  marked  by  the 
 Selah. 
 
 [for   the   precentor.      a   psalm    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Deliver  me,  O  Jehovah,  frorn  the  wicked  man, 
 
 From  the  violent  man  preserve  me. 
 
 2  Who  have  imagined  evil  things  in  (their)  hearts  ; 
 
 All  the  day  they  stir  up  wars. 
 
 3  They  have  sharpened  their  tongue  like  a  serpent, 
 
 Adder's  poison  is  under  their  lips.     [Selah.] 
 
 4  Keep  me,  O  Jehovah,  from  the  hands  of  the  wicked. 
 
 From  the  violent  man  preserve  me, 
 
 Who  have  purposed  to  thrust  aside  my  steps. 
 
 5  The  proud  have  hidden  a  snare  for  me,  and  cords. 
 
 They  have  spread  a  net  by  the  side  of  the  road, 
 They  have  set  gins  for  me.     [Selah.] 
 
 6  I  said  to  Jehovah,  Thou  art  my  God, 
 
 Give  ear,  O  Jehovah,  to  the  voice  of  my  suppli- 
 cations. 
 
 I.  Wicked    man,    or     "wicked  3,  Sharpen     their     tongues. 
 
 men"  .  .  .    "  violent  men  "  (the  sing.  Comp.  lii.  2.     And  for  the  next  clause, 
 
 being  used  collectively  for  the  plur. ),  Iviii.  4,  x.  7. 
 
 which  is  more  in  accordance  with  the  4.   The    opening     of    the     second 
 
 plural  in  the  next  verse.  strophe   is   a    repetition    with    slight 
 
 The  VIOLENT  man,  lit.   "man  of  variation  of  the  opening  of  the  first, 
 violences." 
 
PSALM  CXLL  657 
 
 7  O  Jehovah  Lord,  Thou  strength  of  my  salvation. 
 
 Thou  hast  covered  my  head  in  the  day  pf  battle. 
 
 8  Grant  not,  O  Jehovah,  the  desires  of  the  wicked, 
 
 Further  not   his  wicked    device,    that   they   be    not 
 lifted  up.     [Selah.]. 
 
 9  [When  they  lift  up]  the  head  that  compass  me  about, 
 
 Let  the  mischief  of  their  own  lips  cover  them. 
 
 10  Let  hot  burning  coals  fall  upon  them, 
 
 Let  them  be  cast  into  the  fire, 
 
 Into  floods  of  waters  that  they  rise  not  again. 
 
 1 1  An  evil  speaker  shall  not  be  established  in  the  earth. 
 
 The  violent  man — evil  shall  hunt  him  to  overthrow 
 (him). 
 
 12  I  know  that  Jehovah  will   maintain  the  cause  of  the 
 
 afflicted. 
 The  right  of  the  poor. 
 
 13  Surely  the  righteous  shall  give  thanks  to  Thy  Name  ; 
 
 The  upright  shall  dwell  in  Thy  presence. 
 
 7.  Covered  MY  HEAD, /.<?,  as  with  11.  An   evil  spfakkr,    lit.    "a 
 
 a  helmet.     Gomp.  Ix.  7.  man  of  tongue  ;  "  not,  however,  used 
 
 Battle,    lit.    "armour,"   as  in   i  here   in   the   sense   of    "a    talkative 
 
 Kings  X.   25  ;  2  Kings  x.    2  ;   Ezek.  man  ;"  as  the  similar  phrase,  "  a  man 
 
 xxxix.  9,  10.  of  lips"  (E.V.  "a  man  hill  of  talk  "), 
 
 10.  Let  them  be  cast,  lit.  "let  in  Job   xi,    2,  but   wiih   the   further 
 
 one  cast  them,"  or  perhaps  Jehovah  notion  of  <rr77  speaking,  as  in  ver.  3. 
 may  be  the  subject  of  the  verb,   "May  13.  Dwell    in    Thy    presence. 
 
 He  cast  them."  See  xi.  7,  xvi.  11. 
 
 PSAL?^I  CXLI. 
 
 This  Psalm  presents  some  peculiar  difficulties  of  interpretation 
 which  are  due  to  the  extreme  abruptness  with  which  in  verses  5—7  the 
 thoughts  follow  one  another,  and  the  extreme  obscurity  which  hangs 
 over  the  allusions. 
 
 U    IJ 
 
658  PSALM  CXLL 
 
 It  has  been  usual  to  accept  the  Inscription  which  assigns  the 
 Psahn  to  David,  and  to  refer  it  to  the  time  of  his  persecution  by- 
 Saul.  Ver.  5  has  generally  been  supposed  to  allude  to  David's 
 generous  conduct  in  sparing  the  life  of  his  foe  when  he  was  in  his 
 power  (see  i  Sam.  xxiv.,  and  comp.  the  note  on  ver.  6  of  this  Psalm), 
 but  it  is  quite  impossible  on  this  supposition  to  give  any  plausible 
 interpretation  to  ver.  7. 
 
 Delitzsch,  with  more  probability,  refers  the  Psalm  to  the  time  of 
 Absalom's  rebellion.  He  sees  an  allusion  to  David's  distance  from 
 the  sanctuary  and  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary  in  ver.  2,  and  he  ex- 
 plains ver.  6  of  the  punishment  which  shall  overtake  the  rebel  leaders, 
 and  the  return  of  the  people  to  their  allegiance. 
 
 [a   psalm    of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  I  have  called  upon  Thee,  haste  Thee  unto 
 
 me  ; 
 Give  ear  to  my  voice  when  I  call  upon  Thee. 
 
 2  Let  my  prayer  be  set  forth  (as)  incense  before  Thee, 
 
 The  lifting  up  of  my  hands  as  the  evening  sacrifice 
 
 3  Set  a  watch,  O  Jehovah,  before  my  mouth, 
 
 Keep  the  door  of  my  lips, 
 
 2.  Lifting  up  of  my  hands,  />.  to  Thee  as  are  the  daily  sacrifices  of 
 
 evidently,  as  the  parallelism  requires.  Thine     own     appointment."        (The 
 
 in  prayer  ;  comp.  xxviii.  2.  piinchah  is  used  i  Kin^^s  xviii.  29,  36, 
 
 Evening  SACRIFICE.  The  sacrifice  of  the  whole  evening  sacrifice,  and 
 here  meant  is  strictly  the  offering  con-  of  the  morning  sacrifice  2  Kings 
 sisting  of  fine  flour  with  oil  and  fi-ank-  iii.  20.)  The  incense  may  be  men- 
 incense,  or  of  unleavened  cakes  tioned  because,  as  ascending  in  a 
 mingled  with  oil,  which  was  burnt  fragrant  cloud,  it  was  symbolical  of 
 upon  the  altar  (Heb.  minchah,  E.V.  prayer  (Rev.  v.  8.  viii.  3,  4)  ;  and  the 
 "meat-offering")  :  see  Lev.  ii.  i — 11.  same  would  hold  also  of  tlie  "  meat- 
 This,  however,  like  the  "incense,"  offering,"  of  which  it  is  said  that  the 
 was  only  added  to  the  burnt-ofifering,  priest  was  to  burn  a  part  as  "  amemo- 
 the  lamb  which  was  offered  every  rial,"  "  a  JT^/^t/ jas'cjwr  unto  Jehovah " 
 morning  and  evening  (Ex.  xxix.  38^  (Lev.  ii.  9). 
 
 42  ;  Numb,  xxviii.   3 — 8).     It  would  3.   Set  a  watch.     Comp.  xxxiv. 
 
 seem,  therefore,  that  these  two,    "the  13,  xxxix.    I,   Prov.   xiii.    3,  xxi.  23. 
 
 incense"    and   "the  offering  of  fine  The    prayer    is    apparently    directed 
 
 flour,"  &c.,  stand  for  the  morning  and  against   the  temptation  to  indulge  in 
 
 evening  sacrifices  ;  and  the  sense  is,  rash  and  foolish  words,  such  as  wicked 
 
 "Let  my  daily  prayer  be  acceptable  men  would  indulge  in  (see  next  verse). 
 
PSALM  CXLL 
 
 659 
 
 4  Incline  not  my  heart  to  any  evil  tiling, 
 
 To  busy  itself  in  wicked  doin^rs  wkh  men  that  work 
 iniquity ; 
 And  let  me  not  eat  of  their  dainties. 
 
 5  Let  a  righteous  man  smite  me,  it  shall  be  a  kindness  ; 
 
 And  let  him  reprove  me,  it  shall  be  as  oil  upon  my 
 head, 
 Let  not  my  head  refuse  (it)  : 
 For  yet  is  my  prayer  against  their  wickednesses. 
 
 6  (When)   their  judges  have  been  hurled  down  the  sides 
 
 of  the  rock. 
 
 Others  suppose  that  he  prays  to  be 
 kept  from  the  temptation  to  break  out 
 iiUo  bitter  words  against  his  perse- 
 cutors (as  against  Saul,  if  the  Psalm 
 be  David's)  ;  or  into  murmurs  and 
 complaints  against  God. 
 
 4.  Incline  not.  See  note  on 
 cxix.  36. 
 
 Dainties.  It  is  unnecessary  to 
 explain  this  of  things  sacrificed  to 
 idols,  as  if  the  Psalmist  were  sur- 
 rounded by  heathen  :  comp.  xvi.  4. 
 The  temptation  is  rather  to  an  easy, 
 luxurious,  sensual  life,  as  in  Ixxiii. 
 
 5.  According  to  the  rendering  I 
 have  preferred  of  this  verse,  the  .sense 
 will  be  :  "  I  will  gladly  welcome  even 
 the  reproofs  of  the  good  (comp.  Prov. 
 xxvii.  6;  Eccl.  vii.  5),  and  I  will  avail 
 myself  of  prayer  as  the  best  defence 
 against  the  wickedness  of  my  perse- 
 cutors." It  is  possible,  however,  that 
 the  last  clause  may  refer  not  to  his 
 enemies,  but  to  the  righteous,  in  which 
 case  it  must  be  rendered,  "  For  still 
 my  prayer  shall  be  offered  in  their 
 misfortunes.'''' 
 
 In  ver.  4  he  had  prayed  that  he 
 might  not  be  led  astray  by  the  evil  he 
 saw  around  him,  nor  allured  by  the 
 blandishments  and  luxurious  pro- 
 sperity of  the  wicked.     Now  he  says. 
 
 on  the  contrary,  "  let  me  ever  lie  ready 
 to  welcome  even  reproof  from  the 
 righteous,"  which,  however  harsh,  is 
 salutaiy.  The  wounds  of  a  friend  arc 
 faithful,  and  better  than  the  kisses  of 
 an  enemy. 
 
 6.  This  verse,  difficult  in  itself,  is 
 still  more  difficult  because  it  has  no 
 very  obvious  connection  either  with 
 what  precedes  or  with  what  follows. 
 The  allusions  are  so  obscure  that  it  is 
 impossible  to  do  more  than  guess  at 
 the  meaning. 
 
 Thkir  JIIIGES  must  be  in  a  general 
 sense  the  "  rulers  "  or  "princes"  of 
 "  the  wicked  ; "  for  the  pronoun  must 
 refer  to  them.  The  verse  apparently 
 describes  a  punishment  which  has  b<-en 
 or  will  be  inllicted  upon  them  (see  for 
 this  mode  of  punishment  2  Chron.  xxv. 
 12;  Luke  iv.  29).  The  verb  huri.kd 
 D<nvN  is  the  same  which  is  usc<l,  2 
 Kings  ix.  33,  of  the  throwing  down  of 
 Jezebel  from  the  window. 
 
 The  sides  of  the  rock,  lit. 
 "along,"  or  "by  the  sides  (Hch. 
 hands)  of  the  rock  or  precipice." 
 Comp.  cxl.  5,  "by  the  side  of  the 
 path;"  Jud.  xi.  26,  "by  the  sides 
 (E.V.  coasts^  1 1  eh.  hands)  of  .Anion.  ' 
 Others,  "into  the  hands  (i.e.  the 
 power)  of  the  rock,"  with  the  same 
 
66o 
 
 PSALM  CXLI. 
 
 Then  they  shall  hear  my  words  that  they  are  sweet. 
 "J  As  when  one  furroweth  the  earth  (with  the  plough), 
 
 Our  iDOnes  have  been  scattered  at  the  mouth  of  the 
 grave. 
 
 8  For  unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah,  Lord,  are  mine  eyes, 
 
 In  Thee  have  I  found  refuge  ;  O  pour  not  out  my  soul. 
 
 9  Keep  me  from  the  snare  which  they  have  laid  for  me, 
 
 From  the  gins  of  the  workers  of  iniquity. 
 10  Let  the  wicked  fall  into  their  own  nets, 
 Whilst  that  I  escape. 
 
 notion  of  punishment,  but  rather  as 
 in  cxxxvii.  9,  being  hurled  against  the 
 rock. 
 
 They  shall  hear,  i.e.  of  course 
 not  the  "judges,"  .but  either  their 
 followers  who  have  been  led  astray  by 
 their  pernicious  influence,  or  perhaps, 
 more  generally,  men  shall  hear.  If 
 the  Psalm  is  to  be  referred  to  Absa- 
 lom's rebellion,  or  any  similar  occa- 
 sion, the  sense  will  be,  '*  When  the 
 leaders  in  the  insurrection  meet  with 
 the  fate  they  deserve,  then  the  subjects 
 of  the  king  will  return  to  their  alle- 
 giance." And  the  expression,  "  they 
 shall  hear  my  words  that  they  are 
 sweet,"  would  be  a  thoroughly  Orien- 
 tal mode  of  describing  the  satisfaction 
 with  which  they  would  welcome  the 
 gracious  amnesty  pronounced  by  their 
 offended  sovereign. 
 
 Others,  who  suppose  that  the  Psalm 
 alludes  to  David's  magnanimity  in 
 sparing  Saul  when  he  was  in  his  power 
 (i  Sam.  xxiv.),  explain  :  "When  their 
 leaders  (meaning  Saul)  were  let  go 
 (suffered  to  escape)  along  the  sides  of 
 the  rock,  they  heard  my  words  that 
 they  were  sweet," — recognised,  that 
 is,  my  forbearance  and  generosity  in 
 sparing  my  enemy,  instead  of  taking 
 his  life. 
 
 7.  As  when  one  furroweth, 
 &c,,.lit.  "as  one  who  furroweth  and 
 cleaveth  in  the  earth."      The  allusion 
 
 is  as  obscure  as  in  the  previous  verses, 
 and  the  point  of  the  comparison  is 
 differently  explained.  The  bones 
 scattered  are  compared  either  (i)  to 
 the  clods  broken  by  the  ploughshare, 
 or  (2)  to  the  seeds  scattered  in  the 
 earth  tunied  up  by  the  plough. 
 
 At  the  mouth,  or  perhaps  "/'r 
 the  mouth,"  i.e.  so  as  to  be  swallowed 
 up  by  it. 
 
 Grave.  Sheol,  the  abode  of  the 
 dead,  though  here  perhaps  nothing 
 more  than  the  grave  may  be  meant. 
 The  verse  thus  describes  a  complete 
 and  disastrous  overthrow,  and  ap- 
 parently of  the  whole  nation  ;  for 
 now  we  have  the  pronoun  of  the  first 
 person,    "fz^r  bones." 
 
 8.  For.  The  conjunction  does  not 
 refer  to  what  immediately  precedes, 
 but  either  to  what  is  said  in  ver.  4,  5, 
 or  perhaps  rather  to  the  whole  of  the 
 former  part  of  the  Psalm,  so  far  as  it 
 consists  of  petition:  "Listen  to  my 
 prayer, — keep  me  from  temptation, — 
 for  unto  Thee  are  mine  eyes." 
 
 Pour  not  out  my  soul,  i.e.  give 
 not  my  life  up  to  destruction. 
 
 9.  From  the  snare,  lit.  "from 
 the  hands  of  the  snare." 
 
 10.  Into  their  own  nets.  The 
 pronoun  is  singular,  used  distribu- 
 tively, — "  Each  one  of  them  into  his 
 own  net."  For  the  sentiment  comp. 
 vii.  15. 
 
FSALM  CXLIL  66  r 
 
 PSALM  CXLIL 
 
 This  is  the  last  of  the  eight  Psahns  which,  according  to  their 
 Inscriptions,  are  to  be  referred  to  David's  persecution  by  Saul.  Like 
 the  57th  Psalm,  it  is  supposed  to  describe  his  thoughts  and  feelings 
 when  he  was  "  in  the  cave/'  though  whether  in  the  cave  of  Adullam 
 (i  Sam.  xxii.  i)  or  in  that  of  Engedi  (i  Sam,  xxiv.  3)  is  not  clear. 
 (See  Introduction  to  Psalm-  Ivii.)  The  general  strain  of  the  Psalm  is 
 that  of  the  earlier  Books.  It  expresses  in  language  like  that  of  David 
 the  cleaving  of  the  heart  to  God,  the  deep  sense  of  loneliness,  the  cry 
 for  dehverance,  the  confidence  that  that  deliverance  will  call  forth  the 
 sympathy  and  the  joy  of  many  others.  But  whether  it  is  written  only 
 in  imitation  of  David's  manner,  or  whether  it  is  a  genuine  work  of 
 David's  extracted  perhaps  from  some  history,  and  added,  at  a  time 
 subsequent  to  the  Exile,  to  the  present  collection,  it  is  impossible  now 
 to  determine. 
 
 [a   MASCHIL*  of   DAVID  WHEN   HE   WAS    IN   THE  CAVE.      A   PRAYER.] 
 
 1  With  my  voice  to  Jehovah  will  I  cry, 
 
 With  my  voice  to  Jehovah  will  I  make  my  supplication. 
 
 2  I  will  pour  out  before  Him  my  complaint  ; 
 
 My  trouble  before  Him  will  I  make  known. 
 
 3  When  my  spirit  is  overwhelmed  within  me. 
 
 Thou  knowest  my  path  : 
 In  the  way  wherein  I  walk 
 
 Have  they  hidden  a  snare  for  me. 
 
 4  Look  on  the  right  hand  and  see, 
 
 3.    When   my  spirit.     The  first  Is  overwiielmf.i>,  lit.   "darkens 
 
 raeniber  of  this  verse  is  perhaps  to  be  itself." 
 
 connected  with  the  preceding  verse,  Within  me,  lit.  "  upon  me." 
 
 precisely  as  the  same  words  are  found  4.  On  the  kiciit  hand,    ns  the 
 
 connected  in  the  title  of  Ps.  cii.  direction  in  which  he  would  naturally 
 
 See  Int.,  p.  6. 
 
662  PSALM  CXLIII. 
 
 There  is  none  that  will  know  me ; 
 Refuge  hath  failed  me  ; 
 There  is  none  that  seeketh  after  my  soul. 
 
 5  I  have  cried  unto  Thee,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 I  have  said,  Thou  art  my  refuge. 
 My  portion  in  the  land  of  the  living. 
 
 6  Attend  unto  my  cry, 
 
 For  I  am  brought  very  low  : 
 Deliver  me  from  my  persecutors. 
 For  they  are  too  strong  for  me. 
 
 7  Bring  forth  my  soul  out  of  prison, 
 
 That  I  may  give  thanks  to  Thy  Name  : 
 The  righteous  shall  come  about  me, 
 
 Because  Thou  dealest  bountifully  with  me. 
 
 look  for  succour  (a  irapaoTaTrfs).     See  5.    My    PORTION.     Comp.    xvi.   5, 
 
 xvi.  8,  cix.  6,  31,  ex.  5,  cxxi.  5.  Ixxiii,  26. 
 
 That  will  know,  lit.  "that  re-  7.  Out  of  prison.    This  is  clearly 
 
 cognises  me."     Comp.    Ruth  ii.    10,  to  be  understood  figuratively.    Comp. 
 
 19-  the  parallel  passage,  cxliii.  11. 
 
 Seeketh   after,   i.e.  "  troubleth  Come  about  me,  z.^.  sympathising 
 
 himself  concerning,"  as  in  2  Sam.  xi.  in  my  joy,  though  elsewhere  the  word 
 
 3  ;  Job  X.  6.  is  used  in  a  hostile  sense.* 
 
 PSALM  CXLIII. 
 
 This  is  the  last  of  the  seven  Penitential  Psalms,  as  they  are  called. 
 In  the  Hebrew  it  is  styled  a  Psalm  of  David  ;  in  some  copies  of  the 
 LXX.  it  is  further  said  to  have  been  written  when  he  had  to  flee  from 
 his  son  Absalom.  It  is  probable  that  the  deep  tone  of  sorrow  and 
 anguish  which  pervades  the  Psalm,  and  the  deep  sense  of  sin,  led  to 
 the  belief  that  it  must  be  referred  to  that  occasion.     The  spirit  and 
 
 *  The  last  passages  of  Scripture  quoted  by  St.  Francis  d'Assisi  were  St.  John  xiii.  and  this 
 verse,  "The  righteous  shall  compass  me  about,  for  Thou  shalt  deal  bountifully  with  me." 
 "  Me  expectant  justi,  donee  retribuas  me."  The  righteous  wait  expectant  till  I  receive  my 
 recompense,     a.d.  1226.     "  Life  of  St.  Francis,"  by  Mrs.  Oliphant:  Swidciy  Library. 
 
PSALM  CXIJII.  063 
 
 the  language,  it  is  true,  are  not  unworthy  of  David  ;  yet  the  many 
 passages  borrowed  from  earlier  Psahiis  make  it  more  probable  thai 
 this  Psalm  is  the  work  of  some  later  Poet.  Dclitzsch.  says  very  truly, 
 that  if  David  himself  did  not  write  it — and  he  admits  that  the  many 
 expressions  derived  from  other  sources  are  against  such  a  supposition 
 — still  the  Psalm  is  "  an  extract  of  the  most  precious  balsam  from  the 
 old  Davidic  songs."  Like  other  post-Exile  Psalms  (such,  for  instance, 
 as  the  ii6th  and  119th),  it  is  a  witness  to  us  of  the  depth  and  reality 
 of  the  religious  life  in  the  later  history  of  the  nation,  and  an  evidence 
 also  of  the  way  in  which  that  life  was  upheld  and  cherished  by  the 
 inspired  words  of  David  and  other  Psalmists  and  Projihets  of  old. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  parts,  each  of  which  is  of  six  verses,  the 
 conclusion  of  the  first  being  marked  by  the  Sclah.  The  first  portion 
 contains  the  complaint  (ver.  i — 6)  ;  the  second,  the  prayer  founded 
 on  that  complaint  (ver,  7 — 12). 
 
 [a   psalm   of   DAVID.] 
 
 1  O  Jehovah,  hear  my  prayer, 
 
 Give  ear  to  my  supplications. 
 
 In    Thy   faithfulness    answer   me,  (and)  in  Thy 
 righteousness. 
 
 2  And  enter  not  into  judgement  with  Thy  servant  ; 
 
 For  before  Thee  no  man  living  is  righteous. 
 
 3  For  the  enemy  hath  persecuted  my  soul, 
 
 I.  In  Thy  faithfulness  ...  in  chastisement,  calling   him  to  repcnt- 
 
 Thy  righteousness.    It  is  to  God's  ance. 
 
 own  character  that  the  appeal  is  made.  See  in  many  of  the  passages  referred 
 
 It  IS  there  first,   and  not  in  his  own  to    in   Job    the    same  deep   sense   of 
 
 misery   that  the  sinner  finds  the  great  man's  unrighteousness  before  .1  rigbt- 
 
 ar^ument   why  his  prayer  should  be  eous  God   which    llie    I'salmist    hcie 
 
 answered.     It   is   precisely   the  san.e  expresses.      Yet  it  is  that  vt-rv  ngl.t- 
 
 <rround  which  St.  John  takes  :  "  If  we  cousness  before  vhich  lie  tren»hk-s  t.. 
 
 confess  our  sins,   He  is  faithful  and  which  he  appeals,  which  he  ncc.ls,  in 
 
 ri  hteous   (true   to    His  promise  and  vhich  alone  he  can  staml  belorc  his 
 
 true  to  His  revealed  character)  to  for-  Judge.     The   passage  ck-ariy  shows, 
 
 give  us  our  sins."  says  Calvm,  thai  he  is  ,ustihe.  who  .s 
 
 2    Enter  not  into  judgement,  considcrc.l  and  accounte«l  just  belorc 
 
 as  in  Tob  ix.  32,  xxii.  4-     He  traces  God,  or  whom    the    heavenly  Judge 
 
 his  suffering  to  his  sin  :  the  malice  of  Himself  aaiuits  as  innocent. 
 
 h!s    enemies    is    the    rod    of    God's  3-  FOK  THE  ENEMY.     1  his  .s  the 
 
664 
 
 PSALM  CXLIIl. 
 
 He  hath  smitten  my  life  down  to  the  earth, 
 
 He  hath  made  me  dwell  in  darkness  as  those  that 
 are  for  ever  dead. 
 
 4  And  my  spirit  is  overwhelmed  In  me, 
 
 My  heart  within  me  is  desolate. 
 
 5  I  have  remembered  the  days  of  old, 
 
 I  have  meditated  on  all  Thou  hast  done, 
 On  the  work  of  Thy  hands  do  I  muse. 
 
 6  I  have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  Thee, 
 
 My  soul  (thirsteth)  after  Thee  as  a  thirsty  land. 
 
 [Selah.] 
 
 7  Make  haste  (to)  answer  me,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 My  spirit  faileth  : 
 
 reason  why  he  turns  to  God  so 
 earnestly.  The  outward  suffering,  the 
 persecution,  the  chastisement  laid 
 upon  him — it  may  have  been  through 
 some  guilt  of  his  own — had  purged 
 the  spiritual  eye,  had  made  him  look 
 within,  had  shown  him  his  own  heart, 
 its  sinfulness  and  its  misery,  as  he  had 
 never  seen  it  before  ;  and  this  deep 
 sense  of  sin  and  misery  had  led  to  the 
 prayer  in  ver.  2.  Hence  his  deliver- 
 ance from  his  enemy  and  the  forgiveness 
 of  his  sin  are  naturally  connected  in 
 his  mind. 
 
 In  darkness,  lit.  "  in  darknesses. " 
 as  in  Ixxxviii.  6,  where  it  is  used  of 
 the  abode  of  the  dead. 
 
 Comp.  with  this  verse  vii.  5  ;  Lam. 
 iii.  6  ;  Ps.  Ixxxviii.  3 — 6. 
 
 For  ever  dead.  The  dead  are  so 
 called  as  "fixed  in  an  eternal  state," 
 as  those  who  can  never  return  again 
 to  this  world. 
 
 4.  Is  OVERWHELMED.  The  Same 
 word  as  in  Ixxvii.  3,  cvii.  5,  cxlii.  3. 
 "  Having  spoken  of  his  outward 
 troubles,"  says  Calvin,  "he  now  con- 
 fesses the  weakness  of  his  spirit, 
 whence  we  gather   that  his   was  no 
 
 stony  fortitude,  but  that,  whilst  over- 
 whelmed with  sorrow  so  far  as  his 
 natural  feelings  were  concerned,  he 
 stood  and  was  supported  only  by  faith 
 and  the  grace  of  the  Spirit." 
 
 Is  DESOLATE,  or  rather  "  is  full  of 
 amazement,"  lit.  "  astonies  itself  ;  " 
 seeks  to  comprehend  the  mystery  of 
 its  sufferings,  and  is  ever  beaten  back 
 upon  itself  in  its  perplexity.  Comp. 
 Ixxvii.  3 — 6,  II — 12. 
 
 6.  I  HAVE  STRETCHED  FORTH  MY 
 
 HANDS,  as  the  weary  child  stretches 
 forth  its  hands  to  its  mother,  that  on 
 her  bosom  it  may  be  hushed  to  rest. 
 
 After  Thee.  *'  Observe  how  he 
 binds  himself  to  God  alone,  cuts  off 
 every  other  hope  from  his  soul,  and, 
 in  short,  makes  his  very  need  a 
 chariot  wherewith  to  mount  up  to 
 God." 
 
 Thirsty,  lit.  "weary,"  "languish- 
 ing." "  In  great  heat  we  see  the 
 earth  cracking  and  gaping,  as  though 
 with  open  mouth  she  asked  for  the 
 rain  from  heaven." — Calvin. 
 
 7.  In  the  second  half  of  the  Psalm 
 many  of  the  expressions  are  borrowed 
 from  earlier  Psalms.     With  the  prayer 
 
PSALM  CXLIIL 
 
 665 
 
 Hide  not  Thy  face  from  me, 
 
 That  so  I  become  hke  unto  them  that  <;o  down  into 
 the  pit. 
 
 8  Cause  me  to  hear  Thy  loving-kindness  in  tlic  morning, 
 
 For  in  Thee  have  I  trusted  ; 
 Cause  me  to  know  the  way  in  which  I  sliould  walk, 
 For  unto  Thee  have  I  hfted  up  my  soul. 
 
 9  Deliver  me  from  mine  enemies,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 Unto  Thee  have  I  fled  to  hide  me. 
 
 10  Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will, 
 
 For  Thou  art  my  God  ; 
 
 Let  Thy  good  Spirit  lead  me  in  a  straight  path. 
 
 1 1  For  Thy  Name's  sake,  O  Jehovah,  quicken  me, 
 
 In  Thy  righteousness  bring  my  soul  out  of  distress. 
 
 in  this  verse  comp.  xxvii.  9,  Ixix.  17, 
 cii.  2  ;  with  the  second  clause  comp. 
 Ixxxiv.  2,  where  the  ardent  longing 
 for  God  is  expressed  in  the  same  way. 
 
 That  so  I  become,  &c.,  is  word 
 for  word  as  in  xxviii.  I  ;  comp. 
 Ixx.xviii.  4. 
 
 8.  In  the  morning,  i.e.  early, 
 soon.      Comp.  Moses'  prayer,  xc.  14. 
 
 Various  interpretations  have  been 
 given,  which  are  thus  summed  up  by 
 Calvin: — "i^dverbium  mane  frigide 
 quidam  restringunt  ad  sacrificia, 
 Scimus  enim  quotidie  bis  sacrificia 
 offerre  solitos,  matutinum  et  vesper- 
 tinum.  Alii  subtilius  accipiunt,  quod 
 Deus  mitius  agens  cum  suis  servis 
 dicatur  formare  novum  diem.  Alii 
 metaphoram  esse  volunt  et  notari 
 prosperum  l^etumque  statum  :  sicut 
 triste  et  calamitosum  tempus  sxpe 
 notatur  per  tenebras.  Sed  miror  in 
 hac  voce  qui^ri  extraneos  sensus,  qua 
 simpliciter  repetit  quod  prius  dixerat 
 festina.  Mane  ergo  tantundem  valet 
 ac  tempestive  vel  celeriter." 
 
 The  w.\y  in  which  I  shoui.d 
 WALK.  Comp.  XXV.  4,  cxlii.  3,  with 
 EkcI.  xxxiii.  13. 
 
 Lifted  up  my  soul,  as  in  xxv.  i, 
 Ixxxvi.  4. 
 
 9.  Fled  to  hide  me,  lit.  "unto 
 Thee  have  I  hidden  (myself)."  But 
 the  phrase  is  very  peculiar  and  its 
 meaning  doubtful. 
 
 10.  To  DO  Thy  will,  not  merely 
 to  knmo  it  ;  heuce  the  need  of  the 
 Holy  Spirit's  aid,  His  (luickcning, 
 guiding,  strengthening,  as  well  as  His 
 enlightening  influence. 
 
 Thy  good  Sri  kit,  as  in  Nch.  ix. 
 20  :  comp,  Ps.  li.  II. 
 
 In  a  straight  path,  lit.  ''in  a 
 level  land,"  or  "  on  level  ground," 
 where  there  is  no  fear  of  stumbling 
 and  falling,  Comp.  Is.  xxvi.  7,  "  The 
 path  of  the  righteous  is  level.  Thou 
 makest  level  (even  as  if  ailjusted 
 in  the  balance)  the  road  of  the 
 righteous," 
 
 Comp.  with  this  verse  generally 
 xxvii.  II,  x.Kxi,  3,  xl,  8,  ciii.  20. 
 
 11.  Out  of  distress.  Comp. 
 cxlii.  7. 
 
 The  scries  of  petitions  in  vcr.  8— 12 
 may  be  thus  grouped  : — 
 
 (i)  Prayer  for  God's  mercy  or 
 loving-kindness,  as  that  on  which  all 
 
666 
 
 PSALM  CXLIV. 
 
 12  And  of  Thy  loving-kindness  cut  off  mine  enemies, 
 And  destroy  all  the  adversaries  of  my  soul ; 
 For  I  am  Thy  servant. 
 
 hangs,  and  then  for  guidance  (ver.  8), 
 
 (2)  For  deliverance  from  enemies, 
 and  then  still  more  fully  for  a  know- 
 ledge of  God's  will,  and  the  gifts  of 
 His  Spirit,  that  He  may  obey  that  will 
 (ver.  9,  lo). 
 
 (3)  For  a  new  life,  and  deliverance 
 from  suffering,  and  now  not  only  for 
 deliverance  from  his  enemies,  but  for 
 their  destruction  (ver.  1 1,  12). 
 
 Hence  the  second  petition  in  (i) 
 answers  to  the  second  petition  in  (2)  ; 
 the  first  in  (2)  to  the  second  in  (3). 
 
 Further,  in  ver.  8 — 10,  the  ground 
 of  the  petition  in  each  case  is  the 
 personal  relation  of  the  Psalmist  to 
 God:  "In  Thee  have  I  trusted," 
 ' '  Unto  Thee  have  I  lifted  up  my  soul," 
 "Unto  Thee  have  I  fled,"  "Thou 
 art  my  God  ; "  and  so  also  at  the  close 
 of  ver.  12,  "I  am  Thy  Servant."  On 
 the  other  hand,  in  ver,  11,  and  the 
 first  member  of  ver.  12,  the  appeal  is 
 to  God  and  His  attributes,  "  For  Thy 
 Name's  sake,"  "in  Thy  righteous- 
 ness," "of  Thy  loving-kindness." 
 
 PSALM  CXLIV. 
 
 This  is  a  singularly  composite  Psalm.  The  earlier  portion  of  it,  to 
 the  end  of  ver.  11,  consists  almost  entirely  of  a  cento  of  quotations, 
 strung  together  from  earlier  Psalms ;  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to 
 trace  a  real  connection  between  them.  The  latter  portion  of  the 
 Psalm,  ver.  12 — 15,  differs  completely  from  the  former.  It  bears  the 
 stamp  of  originality,  and  is  entirely  free  from  the  quotations  and  allu- 
 sions with  which  the  preceding  verses  abound.  It  is  hardly  probable, 
 however,  that  this  concluding  portion  is  the  work  of  the  Poet  who 
 compiled  the  rest  of  the  Psalm  :  it  is  more  probable  that  he  has  here 
 transcribed  a  fragment  of  some  ancient  Poem,  in  which  were  por- 
 trayed the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the  nation  in  its  brightest 
 days, — under  David,  it  may  have  been,  or  at  the  beginning  of  the 
 reign  of  Solomon. 
 
 His  object  seems  to  have  been  thus  to  revive  the  hopes  of  his 
 nation,  perhaps  after  the  return  from  the  Exile,  by  reminding  them 
 
PSALM  CXLIV. 
 
 C67 
 
 how  in  their  past  history  obedience  to  God  luid  brought  wiili  it  its 
 full  recompense. 
 
 The  Psalmist  recounts  glorious  victories  in  the  past,  complains 
 that  the  nation  is  now  beset  by  strange,  i.e.  barbarous,  enemies,  so 
 false  and  treacherous  that  no  covenant  can  be  kept  with  them,  prays 
 for  deliverance  from  them  by  an  interposition  great  and  glorious  as 
 had  been  vouchsafed  of  old,  and  anticipates  the  return  of  a  golden 
 age  of  peace  and  plenty. 
 
 [(A  PSALM)   OF   DAVID.] 
 
 1  Blessed  be  Jehovah  my  rock. 
 
 Who  traineth  my  hands  for  the  war, 
 My  fingers  for  the  battle. 
 
 2  My  loving-kindness  and  my  fortress, 
 
 My  high  tower  and  my  deliverer, 
 My  shield,  and  He  in  whom  I  find  refuge. 
 Who  subdueth  my  people  under  me. 
 
 3  Jehovah,  what  is  man,  that  Thou  takest  knowledge 
 
 of  him  } 
 
 1.  Blessed,  &c.  "  In  the  strength 
 of  this  Benedidus  it  is  said  that  Louis 
 gained  the  victory  over  Alaric,  King 
 of  the  Qo'i\?,"—Delitzsch. 
 
 The  first  two  verses  are  taken  from 
 Ps.  xviii.  2,  34,  46. 
 
 2.  My  LOVING-KINDNESS.  A  Singu- 
 lar expression  for  "God  of  my  loving- 
 kindness,"  lix.  10,  17;  Jon.  ii.  9. 
 "  Deum  .  .  .  bonitatem  suam  nomi- 
 nat,  ab  eo  manare  inteUigens  quicquid 
 possidet  bonorum. " —  Calvin. 
 
 My  deliverer,  lit.  *' my  deliverer 
 for  me,"  as  the  expression  is  found  in 
 the  other  version  of  Ls.  xviii.  in  2 
 Sam.  xxii;  2.  On  the  heaping  to- 
 gether of  epithets  and  titles  of  God, 
 Calvin  remarks  that  it  is  not  super- 
 fluous, but  designed  tostrengtlien  and 
 confirm  faith;    for  men's  minds   are 
 
 easily  shaken,  especially  when  some 
 storm  of  trial  heats  ujion  them .  Hence, 
 if  God  should  promise  us  His  succour 
 in  one  word,  it  would  not  be  enough  : 
 in  fact,  in  spite  of  all  the  props  and 
 aids  He  gives  us,  we  constantly  totter 
 and  are  rcadv  to  fall,  and  such  a  for- 
 getfulness  of  His  loving-knidness  steals 
 iqion  us  that  we  come  near  to  losing 
 heart  altogether. 
 
 Who  si^HDUETH,  as  in  xviii.  47i 
 only  there  we  have  "peoples  "  instead 
 of  "  my  people,"  as  here.  The  I'.salm- 
 ist  is  not  triumphing  in  the  exercise  of 
 despotic  power,  but  gratefully  acknow- 
 ledges that  the  authority  he  wields 
 comes  only  from  Go<l. 
 
 3.  This  and  the  next  verse  are  again 
 borrowed  from  other  pa-s.ii;cs.  The 
 weakness  of  man  seems  here   to   be 
 
668  PSALM  CXLIV, 
 
 A  son  of  man,  that  Thou  makest  account  of  him  ? 
 
 4  (As  for)  man,  he  is  Hke  a  breath, 
 
 His  days  are  as  a  shadow  that  passeth. 
 
 5  Bow  Thy  heavens,  O  Jehovah,  and  come  down, 
 
 Touch  the  mountains  that  they  smoke. 
 
 6  Cast  forth  lightning,  and  scatter  them. 
 
 Send  forth  Thine  arrows  and  destroy  them. 
 
 7  Send  forth  Thine  hand  from  above, 
 
 Rid  me,  and  dehver  me  from  great  waters, 
 From  the  hand  of  strange  persons, 
 
 8  Whose  mouth  hath  spoken  falsehood. 
 
 And  v/hose  right  hand  (is)  a  right  hand  of  lies. 
 
 9  O  God,  a  new  song  will  I  sing  unto  Thee, 
 
 Upon  a  ten-stringed  lute  will  I  play  unto  Thee. 
 
 10  Who  giveth  victory  unto  kings, 
 
 Who  riddeth  David  His  servant  from  the  hurtful  sword. 
 
 1 1  Rid  me,  and  deliver  me  from  the  hand  of  strange  persons, 
 
 urged  as  a   reason  why  God   should  noting  faithlessness  to  a  solemn  cove- 
 come  to  his  succour  against  his  enemies.  nant,  the  right  hand  being  lifted  up  in 
 Ver.  3  is  a  variation  of  viii.  4.      Ver.  the  taking  of  an  oath. 
 4  resembles  xxxix.  5,  6  :  compare  cii.  9.  The   prayer   for   deliverance    is 
 1 1  ;  Job  viii.  9,  xiv.  2.  followed  by  the  promise  of  thankful- 
 
 5.  Here  begins  the  direct  prayer  for  uess  for  the  aid  vouchsafed.  The 
 the  overthrow  of  his  enemies.  The  "new  song,"  however,  is  not 
 Psalmist  longs  for   a   Theophany,    a  given. 
 
 coming  of  God  to  judgement,  which  O  God.     The  Elohim  in  this  verse 
 
 he  describes  in  language  again  bor-  is  the  only  one  in  the  last  two  Books 
 
 rowed  from  xviii.  9,  14 — 16.  of  the   Psalter,   except  in    Ps.   cviii., 
 
 Touch  the  mountains,  as  in  civ.  which  is  a  composite  Psalm  formed  of 
 
 32,    with  allusion  perhaps  to   Exod.  two  old  Davidic  Elohistic  Psalm?,  and 
 
 xix.  18,  XX.  18.  therefore  clearly  a  weak  attempt  to 
 
 6.  Cast  forth  lightning,  lit,  reproduce  the  old  Davidic  Elohistic 
 "  lighten  lightning. "    The  verb  occurs  style. " — Delitz-sch. 
 
 nowhere  else,  and  the  verb  translated  A  new  song.     Comp.  xxxiii.  3,  xl. 
 
 "rid"  iu  the  next  verse  is  found  only  3,  xcii.  3. 
 
 here  in  this  sense,  so  that  even  a  10.  David  His  servant.  Men- 
 writer  who  borrows  so  largely  as  this  tioned  here  apparently  as  an  example 
 Psalmist  has  still  his  peculiarities.  of  all    kings   and    leaders,    but   with 
 
 7.  Strange  persons,  lit,    "sons  obvious  reference  to  xviii.  50. 
 
 of  the  stranger,"  as  in  xviii.  44.  11.  This  verse   is    repeated   as    a 
 
 8.  A  right  hand  of   lies,    de-  refrain  from  ver.  7,  8. 
 
PSALM  CXLIV. 
 
 Whose  mouth  hath  spoken  falsehood, 
 
 And  whose  right  hand  is  a  ri-ht  hand  of  h^cs 
 
 669 
 
 12  We  whose  sons  arc  as  plants 
 
 Grown  up  in  their  youth  ; 
 Our  daughters  as  corner-pillars, 
 Sculptured  to  grace  a  palace  ; 
 
 13  Our  garners  full, 
 
 Affording  all  manner  of  stores  ; 
 Our  sheep  multiplying  in  thousands, 
 In  ten  thousands  in  our  pastures  ; 
 
 14  Our  oxen  laden  (with  the  produce  of  our  fields)  ; 
 
 No  breach  and  no  sallying  forth  (from  our  walls), 
 And  no  cry  (of  battle)  in  our  streets. 
 
 12.  The  passage  which  follows  to 
 the  end,  is,  as  has  already  been  re- 
 marked, altogether  unlike  the  rest  of 
 the  Psalms. 
 
 As  PLANTS.  In  a  striking  sermon 
 on  this  verse,  the  late  Archdeacon 
 Hare  says  of  the  figure  here  em- 
 ployed :  "  There  is  something  so  pal- 
 pable and  striking  in  this  type,  that, 
 flve-and-twenty  years  ago,  in  speak- 
 ing of  the  gentlemanly  character,  I 
 was  led  to  say,  '  If  a  gentleman  is  to 
 grow  up,  he  must  grow  like  a  tree  : 
 there  must  be  nothmg  between  him 
 and  heaven.'  " 
 
 This  figure  marks  the  native 
 strength  and  vigour  and  freedom  of 
 youth  of  the  land,  as  the  next 
 does  the  polished  gracefulness,  the 
 quiet  beauty,  of  the  maidens.  Tlicy 
 are  like  the  exquisitely  sculptured 
 forms  (the  Caryatides)  which  adorned 
 the  corners  of  some  magnificent  hall 
 or  chamber  of  a  palace. 
 
 C0RNER-PILLA.RS,  lit.  "corners," 
 Zech.  ix.  15. 
 
 To  GRACE  A  PALACE,  lit.  "(after) 
 the  mode  of  structure  of  a  palace." 
 
 13.  Pastures.  This  (and  not 
 "streets,"  E.V.)  is  the  meaning  of 
 the  word  here,  as  in  Job  v.  10,  Prov. 
 viii,  26. 
 
 14.  Every  expression  in  this  verse 
 is  of  doubtful  interpretation. 
 
 Laden  (with  the  producb  of 
 OUR  fields),  or  perhaps  "  great  with 
 young,"  i.e.  "fruitful,"  which  accords 
 better  with  the  preceding  description 
 of  the  sheep. 
 
 No  sallying  forth,  lit,  "going 
 out,"  which  has  been  interpreted 
 either  of  "going  forth  to  war,"  or 
 "going  forth  into  ca|Uivity."  This 
 and  the  previous  expression,  taken 
 together,  most  naturally  denote  a 
 time  of  profound  peace,  when  no 
 enemy  lies  before  the  walls,  when 
 there  is  no  need  to  fear  the  assault 
 through  the  breach,  no  neetl  to  sally 
 forth  to  attack  the  besiegers.  Comp. 
 Amos  V.  3. 
 
 Cry  (of  battle).   Such  seems  »hc 
 
670  PSALM  CXLV. 
 
 15   Happy  is  the  people  that  is  in  such  a  case  ; 
 
 Happy  is  the  people  who  hath  Jehovah  for  its  God. 
 
 probable  meaning  from  the  context  ;  picture   of  the   most   perfect,    undis- 
 
 or  it  may  mean,    generally,    "  cry  of  turbed  peace  and  tranquillity, 
 sorrow,"  as  in  Jer.  xiv.  2.  15,   Happy.     The  temporal  bless- 
 
 Streets,  lit.   broad  open  places,  ing  of  prosperity,  as  a  sign  of  God's 
 
 TKaTila.  favour,  is  natural  enough  under  the 
 
 The  whole  passage,    12 — 15,   is  a  Old  Dispensation. 
 
 PSALM  CXLV. 
 
 This  is  the  last  of  the  Alphabetical  Psalms,  of  which  there  are 
 eight  in  all,  if  we  reckon  the  9th  and  loth  Psalms  as  forming  one. 
 Like  four  other  of  the  Alphabetical  Psalms,  this  bears  the  name  of 
 David,  although  there  can  in  this  case  be  no  doubt  that  the  Inscrip- 
 tion is  not  to  be  trusted.  As  in  several  other  instances,  so  here,  the 
 acrostic  arrangement  is  not  strictly  observed.  The  letter  Nun  is 
 omitted. 
 
 This  is  the  only  Psalm  which  is  called  a  Tekillah,  i.e.  "  Praise"  or 
 "  Hymn,"  the  plural  of  which  word,  Tehillim,  is  the  general  name  for 
 the  whole  Psalter.  In  the  Talmud  it  is  said  :  "  Every  otie  who  repeats 
 the  Tehillah  of  David  thrice  a  day  may  be  sure  that  he  is  a  child  of 
 the  w^orld  to  come.  And  why?  Not  merely  because  the  Psalm  is 
 alphabetical  (for  that  the  119th  is,  and  in  an  eightfold  degree),  nor 
 only  because  it  celebrates  God's  care  for  all  creatures  (for  that  the 
 Great  Hallel  does,  cxxxvi.  25),  but  because  it  unices  both  these 
 qualities  in  itself." 
 
 [a   hymn   of    DAVID.] 
 
 I  Aleph      I  WILL  exalt  Thee,  my  God,  O  King, 
 
 And  I  will  bless  Thy  Name  for  ever  and  ever. 
 
 I.  For  ever  and  ever.  Not  vidurus  est:  but  the  heart  lifted  up 
 merely,  as  Calvin,  etiamsiplura  secula      to  God,  and  full  of  the  thoughts  of 
 
PSALM  CXLV. 
 
 671 
 
 2  Beth         Every  day  will  I  bless  Thee, 
 
 And   I  will  praise  Thy  Name  for  ever  and 
 ever. 
 
 3  Gimel       Great  is  Jehovah,  and  (greatly  to  be  praised, 
 
 And  His  greatness  is  unsearchable. 
 
 4  Daleth     One  generation  to   another    shall  praise  Thy 
 works, 
 
 And  declare  Thy  mighty  act.s. 
 Of  the  glorious  honour  of  Thy  majesty, 
 
 And  of  Thy  wondrous  works,  will  I  meditate. 
 And  (men)  shall  speak  of  the  might  of  Thy 
 terrible  acts, 
 And  I  will  tell  of  Thy  greatness. 
 7  Zain         They  shall  abundantly  utter  the   memory  of 
 Thy  great  goodness, 
 And  sing  aloud  of  Thy  righteousness. 
 
 He 
 
 Vau 
 
 Cheth 
 
 Teth 
 
 o  Yod 
 
 II 
 
 Caph 
 12  Lamed 
 
 Gracious  and  of  tender  compassion  is  Jehovah, 
 
 Long-suffering  and  of  great  loving-kindness. 
 Jehovah  is  good  unto  all. 
 
 And    His   tender  compassions  arc   over  all 
 His  works. 
 All  Thy  works  give  thanks  to  Thee,  O  Jehovah, 
 
 And  Thy  beloved  bless  Thee. 
 They  talk  of  the  glory  of  Thy  kingdom, 
 
 And  speak  of  Thy  might. 
 To  make  known  to  the  sons  of  men  His  mighty 
 acts. 
 
 And  the  glorious  majesty  of  His  kingdom. 
 
 God,  can  no  more  conceive  that  its 
 praise  should  cease,  than  that  God 
 Himself  should  cease  to  be. 
 
 3.  Greatly  to  be  praised,  or 
 "greatly  praised." 
 
 5.  Thy  wondrous  works,  lit. 
 "  the  words  of  Thy  wondrous  works." 
 Comp.  Ixvi.  3, 
 
 Meditate,  or  perhaps  "rehearse," 
 i.e.  in  poetiy. 
 
 6.  And  I  will  tell,  &c.,  lit. 
 '.'and  as  for  1  hy  greatnesses  (or 
 great  acts),  I  will  tell  of  ever)'  one 
 uf  them." 
 
 7.  Aiu:ndantly  itter.  So 
 the  verb  is  not  inaptly  paraphrased 
 by  our  translators;  lit.  it  is  "pour 
 forth,"  the  same  word  as  in  xix.  2, 
 lix.  7. 
 
 10.  Thy  beloved.  Seconcxlix.  i. 
 
672  PSALM  CXLVL 
 
 13  Mem        Thy  kingdom  is  a  kingdom  for  all  ages, 
 
 And  Thy  dominion  for  all  generations. 
 
 14  Samech  Jehovah  upholdeth  all  them  that  fall, 
 
 And  raiseth  up  all  those  that  be  bowed  down. 
 
 15  Ayin        The  eyes  of  all  wait  on  Thee, 
 
 And   Thou    givest    them    their   food  in    its 
 season  ; 
 
 16  ?e  Opening  Thine  hand, 
 
 And    satisfying   the   desire  of  every  living 
 thing. 
 
 17  Tsaddi     Jehovah  is  righteous  in  all  His  ways, 
 
 And  loving  in  all  His  works. 
 
 18  Koph       Jehovah  is  nigh  to  all  them  that  call  upon  Him, 
 
 To  all  who  call  upon  Him  in  truth. 
 
 19  Resh        He  fulfilleth  the  desire  of  them  that  fear  Him, 
 
 And  when  He  heareth  their  cry  He  helpeth 
 them. 
 
 20  Shin         Jehovah  keepeth  all  them  that  love  Him, 
 
 But  all  the  wicked  will  He  destroy. 
 
 21  Tau         Let  my  mouth  speak  the  praise  of  Jehovah, 
 
 And  let  all  flesh  bless  His  Holy  Name  for 
 ever  and  ever. 
 
 14.  The   glory,    the    majesty,    the  thing.     (We  have  here  a  resumption 
 
 eternity  of  God's  kingdom,  of  which  and  expansion  of  the  thoughts  in  vcr. 
 
 so  much  has  been  said — how  are  they  8,  9. ) 
 
 manifested?     Wherein    is    the    con-  All  them  that  fall.      Others, 
 
 spicuous  excellence  of  that  kingdom  "them  that  are  ready  to  fall." 
 seen?     Not  in  the  symbols  of  earthly  15.   This  verse,  and  the  first  clause 
 
 pride  and  power,  but  in  gracious  con-  of  the  next,  are  taken  from  civ.  27,  28. 
 descension    to    the    fallen    and    the  16.  Satisfying  the  desire,  lit. 
 
 crushed,    in   a   gracious    care    which  "  satisfying   every   living   thing    with 
 
 provides  for  the  wants  of  every  hving  (the  object  of)  its  desire." 
 
 PSALM  CXLVI. 
 
 With  this  Psalm  begins  another  series  of  Hallelujah  Psalms,  with 
 which  the  Book  closes.     Certain  of  the  words  and  phrases  seera  to 
 
PSALM  CXLVr.  673 
 
 connect  it  with  the  145th  ;  others  are  borrowed  from  the  io4.th  and 
 1 1 8th.  The  LXX.  ascribe  it,  as  they  do  the  138th  and  the  next  two 
 Psahiis,  to  Haggai  and  Zechariah.  It  is  by  no  means  improbable  that 
 this  Inscription  represents  an  ancient  tradition,  for  nothing  would  be 
 more  natural  than  that  these  Prophets  should  directly  or  indirectly 
 have  contributed  to  the  liturgy  of  the  Second  Temple,  to  which  these 
 Psalms  so  evidently  belong.  Later  they  formed,  together  with  Psalms 
 cxlix.  and  cl.,  a  portion  of  the  daily  morning  prayer  ;  they  also  had 
 the  name  of  "  Hallel,"  though  expressly  distinguished  from  "the 
 Hallel "  which  was  to  be  sung  at  the  Passover  and  the  other  F'eastb. 
 
 The  .Psalm  bears  evidaiat  traces,  both  in  style  and  language,  and 
 also  in  its  allusions  to  other  Psalms,  of  belonging  to  the  post-Exile 
 literature  ;  and  the  words  of  verses  7—9  are  certainly  no  inapt  expres- 
 sion of  the  feelings  which  would  naturally  be  called  forth  at  a  time 
 immediately  subsequent  to  the  return  from  the  Captivity. 
 
 It  is  an  exhortation  to  trust  not  in  man  (vcr.  3,  4),  but  in  Jehovah 
 alone  (ver.  5), — an  exhortation  enforced  by  the  exhibition  of  Jehovah's 
 character  and  attributes  as  the  one  really  worthy  object  of  trust 
 (ver.  6 — 9),  and  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  His  kingdom  does  not 
 contain  the  seeds  of  »veakness  and  dissolution,  like  all  earthly  king- 
 doms, but  is  eternal  as  He  is  eternal  (ver.  10). 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 1  Praise  Jehovah,  O  my  soul ! 
 
 2  I  will  praise  Jehovah  wliile  I  live, 
 
 I  will  play  (on  the  harp)  unto  my  God  while  I  have 
 my  being. 
 
 3  Trust  not  in  princes, 
 
 (Nor)  in  the  son  of  man,  in  whom  there  is  no  help. 
 
 4  His  breath  goeth  forth ;  he  turneth  to  his  eartii, 
 
 2.  While  I  have  my  being,  lit.  after  their  return  from  Babylon.  Sec 
 "while   I   yet   (am)."     Not   in   this       on  cxviii.  8,  9. 
 
 song  only  will  he  utter  His  praise.  No    help,    or     "no    salvation." 
 
 but   "  his  life  shall  be  a  thanksgiving  Comp.  xxxiii.  16,  Ix.  1 1. 
 
 \into  the  Power  that  made  him."  4.   His  bkkath.     Comp.  civ.   20. 
 
 3.  Trust  not  in  princes.  A  And,  with  his  breath,  his  thougmts 
 warning  which  might  be  calied  forth  or  "  i)uriH)st.s,"  however  j^rand  in 
 by   ihe  circumstances  of  llie   nation  conception,     however    masterly     tiie 
 
 X    X 
 
67 
 
 PSALM  CXL  VI. 
 
 In  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish. 
 
 5  Happy  is  he  that  hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help, 
 
 Whose  hope  (rests)  upon  Jehovah  his  God, 
 
 6  Who  made  heaven  and  earth, 
 
 The  sea,  and  all  that  therein  is  ; 
 Who  keepeth  truth  for  ever  ; 
 
 7  (Who)  executeth  judgement  for  the  oppressed, 
 
 (Who)  giveth  bread  to  the  hungry : 
 Jehovah  looseth  the  prisoners, 
 
 8  Jehovah  openeth  the  eyes  of  the  blind, 
 
 Jehovah  raiseth  up  them  that  are  bowed  dov/n, 
 Jehovah  loveth  the  righteous  ; 
 
 9  Jehovah  keepeth  the  strangers, 
 
 He  setteth  up  the  widow  and  the  fatherless, 
 But  the  way  of  the  wicked  He  turneth  aside. 
 
 execution,  all  come  to  an  end.  The 
 science,  the  philosophy,  the  states- 
 manship of  one  age  is  exploded  in 
 the  next.  The  men  who  are  the 
 masters  of  the  world's  intellect  to-day 
 are  discrowned  to-morrow.  In  this 
 age  of  restless  and  rapid  change  they 
 may  survive  their  own  thoughts  : 
 their  thoughts  do  not  survive  them. 
 
 6.  Who  made  (as  in  cxv.  15,  cxxi. 
 2,  cxxiv.  8,  cxxxiv.  3,  this  designation 
 of  God  being  characteristic  of  the 
 later  Psalms).  First,  He  is  an 
 Almighty  God,  as  the  Creator  of  the 
 universe  ;  next.  He  is  a  faithful  God 
 ("who  keepeth  truth  for  ever"); 
 further,  He  is  a  7-ighteous  God  (ver. 
 7),  a  boimiiful  God  {ib.),  a  gracious 
 God  (ver.  7 — 9). 
 
 Who  keepeth.  In  the  series  of 
 participles  marking  the  several  acts 
 or  attributes  of  God  in  this  and  the 
 next  two  verses,  this  only  has  the 
 article  prefixed,  perhaps  because  the 
 Psalmist  designed  to  give  a  certain 
 prominence  or  emphasis  to  this  attri- 
 bute of  God,  that  He  is  One  "who 
 keepeth  truth  for  ever."     It  is,  in  fact, 
 
 the  central  thought  of  the  Psalm. 
 For  on  this  ground  beyond  all  others 
 is  God  the  object  of  trust.  He  is  true, 
 and  His  word  is  truth,  and  that  word 
 He  keeps,  not  for  a  time,  but  for  ever. 
 7 — 9.  These  verses  portray  God's 
 character  as  a  Ruler.  It  is  such  a 
 Ciod  who  is  Zion's  King,  ver.  10. 
 Such  an  One  men  may  trust,  for  He  is 
 not  like  the  princes  of  the  earth,  ver.  3. 
 
 7.  Looseth  the  prisoners. 
 Comp.  Is.  Ixi,  I. 
 
 8.  Openeth  THE  EYES,  lit.  "open- 
 eth the  bUnd,"  i.e.  maketh  them  to  see. 
 The  expression  may  be  used  figura- 
 tively, as  a  remedy  applied  either  to 
 physical  helplessness,  as  Dent,  xxviii. 
 29,  Is.  xxix.  18,  Job  xii.  25  ;  or  to 
 spiritual  want  of  discernment  as, 
 Is.  lix.  9,  ID,  xlii,  7,  18,  xliii.  8. 
 Here  the  context  favours  the  former. 
 
 Raiseth  up.  This  word  only 
 occurs  once  besides,  cxlv.  14. 
 
 9.  The  strangers  .  .  .  the 
 WIDOW  .  .  .  the  fatherless,  the 
 three  great  examples  of  natural  de- 
 fencelessness. 
 
 He  turneth  aside.     That  which 
 
PSALM  CXLVIL  675 
 
 10  Jehovah  shall  be  king-  for  ever, 
 
 Thy  God,  O  Zion,  unto  all  generations. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 happens  in  the  course  of  God's  Provi-       in  Scripture  to  I  lis  immediate  apency. 
 dence,  and  as  the  inevitable  result  of  10.   Shall  be  King.     See  Iniro- 
 
 His  righteous  laws,  is  usually  ascribed       duction  to  xcix. 
 
 PSALM  CXLVII. 
 
 Like  the  last  Psalm,  and  like  those  which  follow  it,  this  is  evidently 
 an  anthem  intended  for  the  service  of  the  Second  Temple.  It  cele- 
 brates God's  ahiiighty  and  gracious  rule  over  His  people  and  over 
 the  world  of  nature,  but  mingles  with  this  a  special  commemoration 
 of  His  goodness  in  bringing  back  His  people  from  their  captivity  and 
 rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jerusalem.  In  the  allusions  to  these  events 
 in  ver.  2,  3,  and  ver.  13,  14,  we  shall  probably  be  justified  in  seeing 
 the  occasion  of  the  Psalm.  Ic  may  have  been  written  for  the  dedi- 
 cation of  the  Avail  of  Jerusalem,  which,  as  we  learn  from  Nehcm.  xii. 
 27,  was  kept  "  with  gladness,  both  with  thanksgivings  and  with  sing- 
 ing, with  cymbals,  psalteries,  and  with  harps."  It  is  indeed  not 
 improbable,  as  Hengstcnberg  suggests,  that  not  this  Psalm  only,  but 
 the  rest  of  the  Psalms  to  the  end  of  the  Book,  are  all  anthems 
 originally  composed  for  the  same  occasion.  The  wall  had  been  built 
 under  circumstances  of  no  ordinary  difficulty  and  discouragement 
 (Neh.  ii.  17 — iv,  23);  its  completion  was  celebrated  with  no  common 
 joy  and  thankfulness  ;  "  for  God  had  made  them  rejoice  with  great 
 joy  ;  the  wives  also  and  the  children  rejoiced  :  so  that  the  joy  ol 
 Jerusalem  was  heard  even  afar  off."     See  Neh.  xii.  27 — 43. 
 
 The  Psalm  cannot  be  said  to  have  any  regular  strophical  arrange- 
 ment, but  the  renewed  exhortations  to  praise  in  ver.  7,  12,  suggest  a 
 natural  division  of  the  Psalm.     It  is  a  Trifoliuni  of  jiraisc. 
 
 X    X    2 
 
676 
 
 rSALM  CXLVII. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 For  it  is  good  to  sing  praises  unto  our  God, 
 For  it  is  sweet ;  comely  is  the  hymn  of  praise. 
 Jehovah  doth  build  up  Jerusalem, 
 
 He  gathereth  together  the  outcasts  of  Israel ; 
 Who  healeth  the  broken  in  heart, 
 
 And  bindeth  up  their  wounds  ; 
 Who  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars, 
 
 (And)  calleth  them  all  (by  their)  nam.es. 
 Great  is  our  Lord,  and  of  great  power, 
 
 1 .  This  verse  might  perhaps  be  better 
 rendered  with  the  change  of  a  single 
 consonant:  ''Praise  ye  Jah,  for  He 
 is  good  :  sing  unto  our  God,  for  He 
 is  lovely ;  comely  is  the  hymn  of 
 praise."     Comp.  cxxxv.  3,  xxxiii.  I. 
 
 2.  Doth  BUILD  UP.  With  reference 
 to  the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  alter  the 
 Captivity,  as  in  cxxii.  3. 
 
 Outcasts,  lit.  "those  who  are 
 thrust  out,  driven  away."  It  is  the 
 same  word  as  in  Is.  xi.  12,  Ivi.  8. 
 
 3.  Broken  in  heart.  As  in 
 xxxiv.   18,  Is.  Ixi.  I. 
 
 4.  Who  telleth  the  number, 
 lit.  "  apportioneth  a  number  to  the 
 stars."  This  is  adduced  as  a  proof  of 
 the  omniscience  and  omnipotence  of 
 God,  and  hence  as  a  ground  of  con- 
 solation to  His  people,  however  tl'^ey 
 may  have  been  scattered,  and  how- 
 ever they  may  have  been  oppressed. 
 Surely  He  must  know,  He  must  be 
 able  to  succour,  human  woe,  to  whom 
 it  is  an  easy  thing  to  count  those  stars 
 which  are  beyond  man's  arithmetic 
 (Gen.  XV.  5), 
 
 The  argument  is  pi-ecisely  the  same 
 as  in  Is.  xl.  26 — 29,  "Lift  up  your 
 eyes  and  see  :  Who  hath  created  these 
 things?  It  is  He  that  bringeth  out 
 tlieh'  host  by  mmiber,  who  calleth  them 
 
 all  [by)  name.  For  abundance  of  power, 
 and  because  He  is  mis^kty  in  streni^th^ 
 not  one  faileth.  Why  sayest  Thou, 
 O  Jacob,  and  speakest,  O  Israel,  My 
 way  is  hid  from  Jehovah,  and  my 
 cause  is  passed  away  from  my  God  ? 
 Hast  thou  not  known,  hast  thou  not 
 heard  ?  An  everlasting  God  is  Je- 
 hovah, who  created  the  ends  of  the 
 earth.  He  fainteth  not,  neither  is 
 weary  :  there  is  no  searching  of  His 
 understanding.  He  giveth  to  the 
 weary  strength,  and  to  them  that 
 have  no  power  He  increaseth  might," 
 &c.  The  passage  in  italics  will 
 show  how  evidently  the  words  of 
 the  Prophet  were  in  the  mind  of  the 
 Psalmist. 
 
 Calleth  them,  &c.,  lit.  "calleth 
 names  to  all  of  them,"  an  expression 
 marking  not  only  God's  power  in  mar- 
 shalling them  all  as  a  host  (Is.  xl.  26), 
 but  also  the  most  intimate  knowledge 
 and  the  most  watchful  care,  as  that 
 of  a  shepherd  for  his  flock,  John  x.  3. 
 
 5.  Of  GREAT  POWER,  lit.  "abound- 
 ing in  power,"  as  in  Is.  xl.  26, 
 "mighty  in  strength,"  though  there 
 perhaps  the  epithet  applies  to  the 
 stars,  unless  indeed  we  may  take  the 
 use  of  tlie  phrase  here  as  deciding  its 
 application  there. 
 
PSALM  CXLVn. 
 
 <>77 
 
 His  understanding  is  infinite. 
 
 6  Jehovah  setteth  up  the  afflicted, 
 
 He  cafiteth  the  wicked  down  to  the  ground. 
 
 7  Sing  unto  Jehovah  with  thanksgiving, 
 
 Play  upon  the  harp  unto  our  God  ; 
 
 8  Who  covereth  the  heaven  with  clouds, 
 
 Who  prepareth  rain  for  the  earth. 
 
 Who  maketh  grass  to  grow  upon  the  mountains  ; 
 
 9  (Who)  giveth  to  the  cattle  their  food, 
 
 (And)  to  the  young  ravens  which  cry. 
 
 10  Not  in  the  strength  of  the  horse  doth  lie  deh"g]it, 
 
 Not  in  the  legs  of  a  man  doth  He  take  pleasure  ; 
 
 11  The  pleasure  of  Jehovah  is  in  them  that  fear  Him, 
 
 In  them  that  hope  for  His  loving-kindness. 
 
 12  Laud  Jehovah,  O  Jerusalem, 
 
 Praise  thy  God,  O  Zion ; 
 
 13  For  He  hath  strengthened  the  bars  of  thy  gates. 
 
 Pie  hath    blessed    thy  children    in  the  midst  of 
 thee  ; 
 
 His  understanding  is  infinite, 
 lit.  "  to  (of)  His  understanding  there 
 is  no  number,"  whereas  both  in 
 cxlv.  3  and  Is.  xl.  28  it  is,  "  there  is 
 no  searching."  Comp.  Rom.  xi.  33, 
 o.vii,iXv'^o.(TTQi  at  6So\  avrov. 
 
 6.  The  same  Lord  who  with  infinite 
 power  and  unsearchable  wisdom  rules 
 the  stars  in  their  courses,  rules  also 
 the  world  of  man.  The  history  of  the 
 world  is  a  mirror  both  of  His  love 
 and  of  His  righteous  anger.  His  rule 
 and  His  order  are  a  correction  of 
 man's  anarchy  and  disorder. 
 
 7.  A  fresh  burst  of  praise  l^ecause 
 of  God's  fatherly  care,  as  .>ho\vn  in 
 His  provision  for  the  wants  of  the 
 cattle  and  the  fowls  of  the  air.  And 
 as  He  feeds  the  ravens  (comp.  Luke 
 xii.  24),  which  have  neither  store- 
 house nor  barn,  but  only  cry  to  Him 
 fur   their   food   (Job   xxxviii.    41),  so 
 
 amongst  men  (ver.  10)  His  delight  is 
 not  in  those  who  trust  in  their  own 
 strength  and  swiftness,  but  in  those 
 who  look  to  //I'm,  fear  //////,  put  their 
 trust  in  //«  goodness. 
 
 In  ver.  8  the  LXX.  have  added, 
 from  civ.  14,  "and  herb  for  the  ser- 
 vice of  men,"  whence  it  has  found  its 
 way  into  our  1M5.V.  Eut  here  this 
 addition  is  out  of  place,  and  distmbs 
 the  order  of  thouglit.  It  is  not  till 
 ver.  10,  II,  that  /;/<///  is  introduced. 
 
 12.  Again  the  Psalmist  begins  his 
 hymn  of  praise,  and  now  with  a  direct 
 reference  to  llie  robiiiUling  of  Jeru- 
 salem, and  the  bright  prospect  which 
 seemed  to  dawn  upon  the  nation  after 
 its  restoration. 
 
 13.  Hath  STRENGTiir.NKD  the 
 BAKS  OK  THY  GATKS.  The  expres- 
 sion mi.:;ht  certainly  denote  figura- 
 tively the  security  of  the  ciiy,  but  as 
 
678 
 
 PSALM  CXL  VII. 
 
 14  Who  maketh  thy  border  peace, 
 
 (And  satisfieth  thee  with  the  fat  of  wheat ; 
 
 15  Who  sendeth  forth  His  commandment  upon  earth  : 
 
 His  word  runneth  very  swiftly  ; 
 
 16  Who  giveth  snow  hke  wool, 
 
 (And)  scattereth  the  hoarfrost  like  ashes  ; 
 
 17  (Who)  casteth  forth  His  ice  like  morsels  : 
 
 Who  can  stand  before  His  frost  ? 
 
 18  He  sendeth  His  word  and  melteth  them, 
 
 He  causeth  His  wind  to    blow,   (and  the)  waters 
 flow. 
 
 19  He  declareth  His  word  unto  Jacob, 
 
 His  statutes  and  His  judgements  unto  Israel. 
 
 the  Psalm  so  evidently  refers  to  the 
 return  from  the  Captivity  and  the  re- 
 building of  Jerusalem  (ver.  2),  there 
 can  be  little  doubt  that  there  is  here  a 
 direct  and  literal  reference  to  the 
 setting  up  of  the  gates  as  described  in 
 Neh.  vii.  i — 4. 
 
 With  the  latter  part  of  the  verse 
 comp.  the  promise  in  Is.  Ix.  17,  18, 
 "  I  will  also  make  thy  officers  peace 
 .  .  .  violence  shall  no  more  be  heard 
 in  thy  land,  wasting  nor  destruction 
 within  thy  borders,  but  thou  shalt 
 call  ihy  walls  Salvation,  and  thy  gates 
 Praise." 
 
 14.  Fat  ofwheat.  See  on  Ixxxi.  16. 
 
 15  —  r8.  This  repeated  reference 
 to  God's  power  as  manifested  in  the 
 world  is  certainly  remarkable,  and  is 
 characteristic  of  these  later  Psalms, 
 It  may  perhaps  be  accounted  for  by 
 the  fact  that  never  had  so  strong  a 
 conviction  laid  hold  of  the  national 
 heart,  of  the  utter  impotence  of  all 
 the  gods  of  the  heathen,  as  after  the 
 return  from  the  Exile  ;  never,  there- 
 fore, so  triumphant  and  living  a  sense 
 of  the  dominion  of  Jehovah,  not  in 
 Israel  only,  but  throughout  the  uni- 
 verse. 
 
 15.  His  commandment,  ox  "  say- 
 ing,^'' with  reference  perhaps  to  the 
 creative  fiat,  "And  God  said:^' 
 comp.  xxxiii.  9.  God  is  said  to 
 "send"  this  as  His  messenger,  as  in 
 cvii.  20. 
 
 16.  Snow  like  wool,  &c.  The 
 point  of  the  comparison  is  probably 
 merely  in  the  general  resemblance  of 
 the  snow,  frost,  ice,  to  the  different 
 objects  mentioned,  not  in  "the  ease 
 with  which  God  accomplishes  the 
 greatest  things  as  man  does  the  least, 
 such  as  causing  some  locks  of  wool 
 to  fly,  or  scattering  a  few  ashes." 
 (Henyst.) 
 
 19.  God's  works  in  Nature  are  for 
 all  men  :  "He  maketh  His  sun  to 
 rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and 
 sendeth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the 
 unjust  "  (Matt.  v.  45)  ;  but  there  is  a 
 special  pri\alege  belonging  to  His 
 chosen  people.  They,  and  they  alone 
 in  the  world,  have  received  the  lively 
 oracles  of  His  mouth.  Comp.  Rom. 
 iii.  I,  2,  "What  advantage  then 
 hath  the  Jew?  .  .  .  Much  every  way  ; 
 first,  because  that  unto  them  were 
 eommitied  the  oracles  of  God." 
 
PSALM  CXLVIIL  gy^ 
 
 20  He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation  ; 
 
 And  as  for  (His)  judgements,  they  do  not  know  them 
 Hallelujah ! 
 
 PSALM  CXLVni. 
 
 In  this  splendid  T^nthem  the  Psalmist  calls  upon  llie  whole  crea- 
 tion, in  its  two  great  divisions  (according  to  the  Hebrew  conception) 
 of  heaven  and  earth,  to  praise  Jehovah.  Things  with  and  things 
 without  life,  beings  rational  and  irrational,  are  summoned  to  join  the 
 mighty  chorus.  The  Psalm  is  an  expression  of  the  loftiest  devotion, 
 and  embraces  at  the  same  time  the  most  comprehensive  view  of  the 
 relation  of  the  creature  to  the  Creator.  Whether  it  is  exclusively  the 
 utterance  of  a  heart  filled  to  the  full  with  the  thought  of  the  infinite 
 majesty  of  God,  or  whether  it  is  also  an  anticipation,  a  prophetic 
 forecast,  of  the  final  glory  of  creation,  when,  at  the  manifestation  of 
 the  sons  of  God,  the  creation  itself  also  shall  be  redeemed  fiom  the 
 bondage  of  corruption  (Rom.  viii.  i8 — 23),  and  the  homage  of  praise 
 shall  indeed  be  rendered  by  all  things  that  are  in  heaven  and  earth 
 and  under  the  earth,  is  a  question  into  which  we  need  not  enter. 
 The  former  seems  to  my  mind  the  more  probable  view. 
 
 Isaac  Taylor  says  :  "  It  is  but  faintly  and  afar  off  that  the  ancient 
 liturgies  (except  so  far  as  they  merely  copied  their  originals)  come 
 up  to  the  majesty  and  the  wide  compass  of  the  Hebrew  worship 
 such  as  it  is  indicated  in  the  148th  Psalm.  Neither  Ambrose,  nor 
 Gregory,  nor  the  Greeks,  have  reached  or  approached  this  level  ; 
 and  in  tempering  the  boldness  of  their  originals  by  admixtures  of 
 what  is  more  Christianlike  and  spiritual,  the  added  elements  sustain 
 an  injury  which  is  not  compensated  by  what  they  bring  forward  of 
 a  purer  or  less  earthly  kind  :  feeble,  indeed,  is  the  tone  of  these 
 anthems  of  the  ancient  Church  ;  sophisticated  or  artificial  in  their 
 style.  Nor  would  it  be  possible, — it  has  never  yet  seemed  so, — to 
 Christianize  the  Hebrew  anthems,  retaining  their  power,  their  earth- 
 
6So  PSALM  CXL  VIII. 
 
 like  richness,  and  their  manifold  splendours — which  are  the  very- 
 splendours  and  the  true  riches  and  the  grandeur  of  God's  world — 
 and  withal  attempered  with  expressions  that  touch  to  the  quick  the 
 warmest  human  sympathies.  And  as.  the  enhancement  of  all  these 
 there  is  the  naUonality,  there  is  that  fire  which  is  sure  to  kindle  fire 
 in  true  human  hearts — 
 
 '  He  showeth  His  word  unto  Jacob, 
 His  statutes  and  His  judgements  unto  Israel. 
 He  hath  not  dealt  so  with  any  nation  ; 
 As  for  His  judgements,  they  have  not  known  them.' 
 
 [From  the  close  of  the  147th  Psalm]." — Spirit  of  the  Hebi'ew  Poetry^ 
 pp.  157,  158. 
 
 The  earliest  imitation  of  this  Psalm  is  "  The  Song  of  the  Three 
 Children,"  interpolated  by  the  LXX.  into  the  3rd  chapter  of  Daniel. 
 The  Hymn  of  Francis  of  Assisi,  in  which  he  calls  upon  the  creatures 
 to  praise  God,  propter  ho7iorabilem  fratrem  nostriitn  solem,  has  also 
 been  compared  with  it,  though  there  is  really  no  comparison  between 
 the  two.  The  same  Francis,  who  thus  calls  the  sun  our  "  honourable 
 brother,"  could  also  address  a  cricket  as  his  sister,  "  Canta,  soror 
 mea  cicada,  et  Dominum  creatorem  tuum  jubilo  lauda."  But  neither 
 in  this  Psalm,  nor  elsewhere  in  Scripture,  is  this  brotherly  and  sisterly 
 relation  of  things  inanimate  and  irrational  to  man  recognised  or 
 implied. 
 
 The  Psalm  consists  of  two  equal  parts  : 
 
 T.  The  praise  of  God  in  heaven.     Ver.  i — 6. 
 II.  The  praise  of  God  on  earth.     Ver.  7 — 12. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 O  praise  Jehovah  from  the  heavens, 
 Praise  Him  in  the  heights. 
 Praise  ye  Him,  all  His  angels, 
 
 Praise  Him,  all  His  hosts. 
 
 I.  From  the  heavens.    This  first       prising    all    afterwards    enumerated, 
 verse  is  not  to  be  restricted  merely  to       angels,  sun  and- moon,  &c. 
 the  angels.     It   is   the  prelude   com-  2.   His  hosts.     Here,  as  is  plain 
 
PSALM  CXLVIIL 
 
 68i 
 
 3  Praise  Him,  sun  and  moon, 
 
 Praise  Him,  all  ye  stars  of  light. 
 
 4  Praise  Him,  ye  heavens  of  heavens, 
 
 And  ye  waters,  that  be  above  the  heavens. 
 
 5  Let  them  praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah, 
 
 For  He  commanded,  and  they  were  created  ; 
 
 6  And  He  made  them  to  stand  (fast)  for  ever  and  ever. 
 
 He  hath  given  them  a  decree,  and  they  transgress 
 not. 
 
 7  O  praise  Jehovah  from  the  earth. 
 
 Ye  sea-monsters  and  all  deeps  ; 
 
 8  Fire  and  hail,  snow  and  vapour, 
 
 Stormy  wind  fulfilling  His  word  ; 
 
 9  Ye  mountains,  and  all  hills, 
 
 Fruit-trees,  and  all  cedars  ; 
 
 10  Beasts,  and  all  cattle, 
 
 Creeping  things,  and  winged  fowl ; 
 
 1 1  Kings  of  the  earth,  and  all  peoples. 
 
 from  the  parallelism,  "the  angels,"  as 
 also  m  I  Kings  xxii.  19,  though  else- 
 where the  expression  is  used  of  the 
 stars,  and  some  would  so  understand 
 it  here. 
 
 4.  Heavens  of  heavens.  A 
 superlative,  according  to  the  common 
 Hebrew  idiom,  denoting  "the  highest 
 heavens ; "  comp.  2  Cor.  xii.  2. 
 Others  take  it  as  a  poetical  way  of 
 expressing  the  apparently  boundless 
 depth  of  the  heavens. 
 
 Waters  .  .  .  above  the  hea- 
 vens, as  in  Gen.  i.  7.  This  is  usually 
 explained  of  the  clouds,  though  the 
 form  of  expression  cannot  be  said  to 
 favour  such  an  explanation,  nor  yet 
 the  statement  in  Genesis,  that  the 
 firmament  or  expanse  was  intended  to 
 separate  the  waters  above  from  the 
 waters  below.  Taken  in  their  obvious 
 meaning,  the  words  must  point  to  the 
 existence  of  a  vast  heavenly  .^ea  or 
 icscrvoir      flowever,   it  is   quite   out 
 
 of  place,  especially  when  dealing  with 
 language  so  evidently  poetical  as  this 
 to  raise  any  question  as  to  its  scicnlif.c 
 accuracy. 
 
 6.  And  they  transgress  it  not, 
 lit.  "and  none  of  them  transgresses 
 it ;  "  for  the  verb  is  in  the  singular, 
 and  therefore  distributive. 
 
 7.  The  second  great  division  of 
 created  things, — that  is,  according  to 
 the  Old  Test,  view,  Till-,  earth. 
 
 SI•:A-M(.t^STKRS,  nitntioned  first,  ns 
 at  the  bottom  of  the  scale  in  creation, 
 as  in  Gen.  i.  21. 
 
 8.  Fire,  i.e.  "lightning,"  as  in 
 xviii.  12,  where  it  is  in  like  manner 
 joined  with  hail. 
 
 Vai'OUR,  or  perhaps  rather 
 "smoke,"  answering  lo  "fire"  as 
 "  snow  "  to  "  hail." 
 
 Stormy  wi.nd,  as  in  cvii.  25. 
 
 II,  12.  Man  mentioned  last,  as  the 
 crown  of  all.  The  fnst  step  (see  ver. 
 7)  and  the   last  are  the  sanie  as  in 
 
682 
 
 PSALM  CXLIX. 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 Princes,  and  all  judges  of  the  earth  ; 
 Both  young  men,  and  maidens, 
 
 Old  men,  and  children  : 
 Let  them  praise  the  Name  of  Jehovah, 
 For  His  Name  only  is  exalted, 
 
 His  majesty  above  earth  and  heaven. 
 14  And  He  hath  lifted  up  the  horn  of  His  people, 
 A  praise  to  all  His  beloved, 
 
 (Even)  to  the  children  of  Israel,  a  people  near 
 unto  Him. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 Gen.  i.  In  the  intervening  stages,  with 
 the  usual  poetic  freedom,  the  order 
 of  Genesis  is  not  adhered  to. 
 
 13.  Let  them  praise,  exactly  as 
 at  the  close  of  the  first  great  division 
 of  the  anthem,  ver.  5  ;  and  in  the  same 
 way  as  there,  the  reason  for  the  ex- 
 hortation follows  in  the  next  clause. 
 But  it  is  a  different  reason.  It  is  no 
 longer  because  He  has  given  them  a 
 decree,  bound  them  as  passive  uncon- 
 scious creatures  by  a  law  which  they 
 cannot  transgress.  (It  is  the  fearful 
 mystery  of  the  reasonable  will  that  it 
 can  transgress  the  law.)  It  is  because 
 His  Name  is  exalted,  so  that  the  eyes 
 of  men  can  see  and  the  hearts  and 
 tongues  of  men  confess  it ;  it  is  be- 
 cause He  has  graciously  revealed 
 Himself  to,  and  mightily  succoured, 
 the  people  whom  He  loves,  ihe  nation 
 
 who  are  near  to  Him.  If  it  be  said, 
 thit  what  was  designed  to  be  a  Uni- 
 versal Anthem  is  thus  narrowed  at  its 
 close,  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
 however  largely  the  glory  of  God  was 
 written  on  the  visible  creation,  it  was 
 only  to  the  Jew  that  any  direct  revela- 
 tion of  His  character  had  been  made. 
 
 14.  Lifted  up  the  horn.  The 
 horn  being  the  house  of  David. 
 
 A  PRAISE.  This  may  either  be  (i) 
 in  apposition  with  the  whole  previous 
 sentence,  viz.  the  lifting  up  of  the 
 horn  is  "a  praise,"  a  glory,  to  His 
 beloved  (comp.  Is.  Ixi.  3,  11,  Ixii.  7)  ; 
 or  (2)  in  apposition  with  the  subject 
 of  the  previous  verb,  God  Himself  is 
 "a  praise  {i.e.  object  of  praise)  to," 
 &c. 
 
 Near  unto  Him,  as  a  holy  people, 
 Ueut.  iv.  7.     Comp.  Lev.  x.  3. 
 
 PSALM  CXLIX. 
 
 The  feelings  expressed  in  this  Psalm  are  perfectly  in  accordance 
 with  the  time  and  the  circumstances  to  which  we  have  already  re- 
 ferred the  whole  of  this  closing  group  of  Hallelujah  Psalms,  beginning 
 
PSALM  CXI.IX.  683 
 
 with  the  146th.  It  breathes  the  spirit  of  intense  joy  and  cajjcr  hope 
 which  must  have  been  in  the  very  nature  of  things  characteristic  of 
 the  period  which  succeeded  the  return  from  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
 Men  of  strong  faith  and  reHgious  enthusiasm  and  fervent  loyally 
 must  have  felt  that  in  the  very  fact  of  the  restoration  of  the  people 
 to  their  own  land  was  to  be  seen  so  signal  a  proof  of  the  Divine 
 favour,  that  it  could  not  but  be  regarded  as  a  pledge  of  a  glorious 
 future  yet  in  store  for  the  nation.  The  burning  sense  of  wrong,  the 
 purpose  of  a  terrible  revenge,  which  was  the  feeling  uppermost  when 
 they  had  first  escaped  from  their  oppressors  (as  in  Psalm  cxxxvii.), 
 was  soon  changed  into  the  hope  of  a  series  of  magnificent  victories 
 over  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  and  a  setting  up  of  a  universal 
 dominion.  It  is  such  a  hope  which  is  expressed  here.  The  old  days 
 of  the  nation,  and  the  old  martial  spirit,  are  revived.  God  is  their 
 King  (ver.  2),  and  they  are  His  soldiers,  going  forth  to  wage  His 
 battles,  with  His  praises  in  their  mouth  and  a  two-edged  sword  in 
 their  hands.  A  spirit  which  now  seems  sanguinary  and  revengeful 
 had,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  its  proper  function  under  the  Old 
 Testament,  and  was  not  only  natural  but  necessary,  if  that  small 
 nation  was  to  maintain  itself  against  the  powerful  tribes  by  which  it 
 was  hemmed  in  on  all  sides.  But  it  ought  to  require  no  proof  that 
 language  like  that  of  ver.  6 — 9  of  this  Psalm  is  no  warrant  for  the 
 exhibition  of  a  similar  spirit  in  the  Christian  Church. 
 
 "The  dream  that  it  was  possible  to  use  such  a  prayer  as  this, 
 without  a  spiritual  transubstantiation  of  the  words,  has  made  them 
 the  signal  for  some  of  the  greatest  crimes  with  which  the  Church 
 has  ever  been  stained.  It  was  by  means  of  this  Psalm  that  Casper 
 Sciopius  in  his  '  Clarion  of  the  Sacred  War'  {Classicum  Bcili  Sacri)^ 
 a  work  written,  it  has  been  said,  not  with  ink  but  with  blood,  roused 
 and  inflamed  the  Roman  Catholic  Princes  to  the  Thirty  Years'  War. 
 It  was  -by  means  of  this  Psalm  that,  in  the  Protestant  community, 
 Thomas  Miinzer  fanned  the  flames  of  the  War  of  the  Peasants.  We 
 see  from  these  and  other  instances  that  when  in  her  interpretation  of 
 such  a  Psalm  the  Church  forgets  the  words  of  the  Apostle,  'the 
 weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal  \  (2  Cor.  x.  4),  she  tails  back 
 upon  the  ground  of  the  Old  Testament,  beyond  which  she  has  long 
 since  advanced,— ground  which  even  the  Jews  themselves  do  not  ven- 
 ture to  maintain,  because  they  cannot  altogether  withdraw  themselves 
 from  the  influence  of  the  light  which  has  dawned  in  Christianity,  and 
 
684  PSALM  CXLIX. 
 
 which  condemns  the  vmdictive  spirit.  The  Church  of  the  Old  Testa- 
 ment, which,  as  the  people  of  Jehovah,  was  at  the  same  time  called  to 
 wage  a  holy  war,  had  a  right  to  express  its  hope  of  the  universal  con- 
 quest and  dominion  promised  to  it,  in  such  terms  as  those  of  this 
 Psalm  ;  but,  since  Jerusalem  and  the  seat  of  the  Old  Testament 
 worship  have  perished,  the  national  form  of  the  Church  has  also  for 
 ever  been  broken  in  pieces.  The  Church  of  Christ  is  built  up  among 
 and  out  of  the  nations  ;  but  neither  is  the  Church  a  nation,  nor  will 
 ever  again  one  nation  be  the  Church,  Kar  i^oxqv.  Therefore  the 
 Christian  must  transpose  the  letter  of  this  Psalm  into  the  spirit  of  the 
 N  ew  Testament." — Delitzsch. 
 
 1  Hallelujah  ! 
 
 O  sing  to  Jehovah  a  new  song-, 
 
 His  praise  in  the  congregation  of  (His)  beloved. 
 
 2  Let  Israel  rejoice  in  Him  that  made  him, 
 
 Let  the  children  of  Zion  be  joyful  in  their  King  ; 
 
 3  Let  them  praise  His  Name  in  (the)  dance, 
 
 With  tabret  and  harp  let  them  play  unto  Him  ; 
 
 4  For  Jehovah  hath  pleasure  in  His  people, 
 
 He  beautifieth  the  afflicted  with  salvation, 
 
 5  Let  (His)  beloved  exult  with  glory, 
 
 Let  them  sing  aloud  upon  their  beds  ; 
 
 1.  A  NEW  SONG,     As  expressive  of  4.    Hath  pleasure,  as  has  been 
 all  the  new  hopes  and  joys  of  a  new  shown  by  their  restoration  to  their  own 
 era,    a  new   spring   of  the  nation,   a  land.     Comp.  Ls.  liv.  7,  8. 
 newyouthof  the  Church  bursting  forth  Beautifieth.     Comp.,  as  having 
 into  a  new  life.  the  same  reference  to  the  change  in 
 
 (His)    beloved,     or    "them   that  the  condition  of  the  nation.  Is.  Iv.  5  ; 
 
 love  Him  ;"  see  on  xvi.  10.     A  name  Ix.  7,  9,  13  ;  Ixi.  3. 
 
 repeated  ver.  5  and  9,  and  therefore  5.    With  glory,  or   it  might   be 
 
 characteristic  of  the  Psahn.  rendered  "  because  of  (the)  glory  (put 
 
 2.  In  their  King.     God  again  is  upon  them)." 
 
 claimed  emphatically  as  the  King  of  Upon  their   beds.     Even  there, 
 
 the  nation,  wlien  they  had  no  longer  even  when  they  have  laid  themselves 
 
 a    king   sitting   on     David's    throne.  down  to  rest,    let  them   break   forth 
 
 Such  a  King  will  not  leave  them  under  into   joyfid   songs    at   the  thought  of 
 
 foreign  rule  :  He  will  break  tlie  yoke  God's  high  favour  shown  to  them,  in 
 
 of  every  oppressor  from  their  neck.  the  anticipation  of  the  victories  which 
 
PSALM  C 
 
 6S 
 
 6  (With)  the  high  (praises)  of  God  in  their  moutli 
 
 And  a  two-edged  sword  in  their  hand  ; 
 
 7  To  execute  vengeance  on  the  nations, 
 
 And  punishments  on  the  people ; 
 
 8  To  bind  their  kings  with  chains, 
 
 And  their  nobles  with  iron  fetters  ; 
 
 9  To  execute  upon  them  (the)  judgement  written, 
 
 It  is  an  honour  for  all  His  beloved. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 they  shall  achieve,  Comp.  Hos.  vii.  14. 
 
 6.  A  revival  of  the  old  military 
 spirit  of  the  nation,  of  which  we  have 
 an  instance  Neh.  iv.  17,  "  With  the 
 one  hand  they  did  their  work,  and 
 with  the  other  they  held  the  sword." 
 But  a  still  better  parallel  is  2  Mace. 
 XV.  27. 
 
 9.  (The)  Judgement  written. 
 This  lias  been  explained  by  some  to 
 have  reference  to  the  judgement  writ- 
 ten in  the  law,  or  such  judgements  as 
 are  threatened  in  the  Old  Test. ;  or  by 
 others  as  the  "judgement written,"  one 
 in  accordance  with  the  Divine  will  as 
 written  in  Scripture,  as  opposed  to 
 selfish  aims  and  passions.  But  per- 
 haps it  is  better   to   take   it   as   de- 
 
 noting a  judgement  fixed,  settled — 
 as  committed  to  writing,  so  as  to  de- 
 note its  permanent,  unalterable  charac- 
 ter— written  thus  by  God  Himself. 
 As  in  Is.  Ixv.  6,  God  says,  "Behold 
 it  is  written  before  Me  :  I  will  not 
 keep  silence,  but  will  recomiK-nse, 
 even  recompense  into  their  bosom." 
 
 It  is  an  honour.  That  is,  the 
 subjection  of  the  world  described  in 
 the  previous  verses.  But  perhaps  it  is 
 better  to  take  the  pronoun  as  refcrrinjj 
 to  God  :  "  He  is  a  glory  to  all,"  cK:c. : 
 i.e.  either  (i)  His  gloiy  and  majesty 
 are  reflected  in  His  people  ;  or  (2) 
 He  is  the  author  and  fountain  of  their 
 glory  ;  or  (3)  He  is  the  glorious  object 
 of  their  praise. 
 
 PSALM  CL. 
 
 The  great  closing  Hallehijah,  or  Doxology,  of  the  Psalter,  in  which 
 every  kind  of  musical  instrument  is  to  bear  its  part  as  well  as  the 
 voice  of  man,  in  which  not  one  nation  only,  but  "  cvcrythin-  that  hath 
 breath,"  is  invited  to  join.      It  is  one  of  those  Psalms  which  "  declare 
 
686  PSALM  CL. 
 
 their  own  intention  as  anthems,  adapted  for  that  pubhc  worship  which 
 was  the  glory  and  delight  of  the  Hebrew  people  ;  a  worship  carrying 
 with  it  the  soul  of  the  multitude  by  its  simple  majesty  and  by  the 
 powers  of  music,  brought  in  their  utmost  force  to  recommend  the  de- 
 votions of  earth  in  the  ears  of  heaven."  "  Take  it,"  says  Isaac  Taylor, 
 "  as  a  sample  of  this  class,  and  bring  the  spectacle  and  the  sounds  into 
 one,  for  the  imagination  to  rest  in.  It  was  evidently  to  subserve  the 
 purposes  of  iinisic  that  these  thirteen  verses  are  put  together  :  it  was 
 no  doubt  to  give  effect  first  to  the  human  voice,  and  then  to  the  alter- 
 nations of  instruments, — loud  and  tender  and  gay, — with  the  graceful 
 movements  of  the  dance,  that  the  anthem  was  composed  and  its  chorus 
 brought  out, 
 
 '  Let  everything  that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord  ! 
 Praise  ye  the  Lord  ! ' 
 
 And  so  did  the  congregated  thousands  take  up  their  part  with  a  shout, 
 '  even  as  the  voice  of  many  waters.' " — Spirit  of  the  Hebrew  Poetry, 
 pp.  156,  157. 
 
 Hallelujah  ! 
 
 O  praise  God  in  His  sanctuary, 
 
 Praise  Him  in  the  firmament  of  His  might. 
 Praise  Him  for  His  mighty  acts, 
 
 Praise  Him  according  to  His  excellent  greatness. 
 Praise  Him  with  the  sound  of  the  cornet, 
 
 Praise  Him  with  lute  and  harp. 
 Praise  Him  with  tabret  and  dance, 
 
 I.  In  His  SANCTUARY.    This  may  3.  Cornet,    properly  the    curved 
 
 be  either  the  earthly  or  the  heavenly  instrument  made  of  a  ram's  horn  (see 
 
 Temple.     The  character  of  the  Psalm  on   Ixxxi.  3),  and   distinct   from   the 
 
 as  a  liturgical  anthem  would  seem  to  straight  metal  trumpet,  though  in  the 
 
 show  that  the  former  is  meant;   the  Talmud  it  is  said  that  after  the  destruc- 
 
 parallelism  would  favour  the  latter.  tion  of  the  Temple  the  distinction  of 
 
 See  xi.  4,  where  there  is  the  same  names  was  no  longer  observed, 
 
 ambiguity.  4-  Tabret,      or      ''tambourine." 
 
 Firmament  of   His  might,  i.e.  The  Hebrew  toph  is  the  same  as  the 
 
 the  heaven  in  which  His  kingly  power  Arab,  duff ;  and  the  Spanish  adjtfe  is 
 
 and   majesty  are   displayed.     Comp.  derived  through  the  Moorish  from  the 
 
 Ixviii.  34.  same  root. 
 
PSALM  CL. 
 
 C>Z-j 
 
 Praise  Him  upon  the  strinc:^s  and  pipe. 
 
 5  Praise  Him  upon  the  clear  cymbals, 
 
 Praise  Him  upon  the  loud  cymbals." 
 
 6  Let  everything-  that  hath  breath  praise  Jah  ! 
 
 Hallelujah! 
 
 Strings.  This  is  probably  the 
 meaning,  as  in  Syriac. 
 
 Pipe,  properly  ''shepherd's  flute," 
 Gen.  iv.  21  ;  but  not  elsewhere  men- 
 tioned as  an  instrument  employed  in 
 sacred  music. 
 
 5.  Cymbals.  The  Hebrew  word 
 is  by  its  form  intended  to  describe 
 the  clanging  of  these  instruments.  It 
 occurs  in  sacred  music,  2  Sam.  vi.  5. 
 The  distinction  between  the  two  kinds 
 
 mentioned  is,  probal)ly,  that  the  first, 
 as  smaller,  had  a  clear,  \\\^\\  sound  ; 
 the  latter,  as  larger,  a  deep,  loud 
 sound.     Others  render  "  castanets." 
 
 6.  Let  evkrvtming  that  hath 
 BREATH,  and,  above  all,  the  voice  of 
 man,  as  opposed  to  the  dead  instiu- 
 ments  mentioned  before. 
 
 What  more  fitting  close  than  this  of 
 the  great  "  Book  of  Praises"  ? 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A.ARON,  anointing  of,  635. 
 
 .\braham,  seed  of,  308. 
 
 iVbsalom,  Psalms  written  with  refer- 
 ence to,  iii.,  iv.,  xi.,  xxiii,,  xxvi., 
 xxvii.,  xxviii.,  Ixi. ,  Ixiii. 
 
 Adder,  the  wicked  compared  to  the, 
 
 239- 
 Addison's  paraphrase  of  Ps.  xix.,  79. 
 Addison's  Spectator  quoted,  533. 
 Adonai,  Divine  name,  286,  308,  553. 
 Adonai,    used    seven    times    in   Ps. 
 
 Ixxxvi.,  419. 
 Adullam,  cave  of,  235. 
 Adversary,  an,  or  "  Satan,"  540, 
 Afflicted,  the,  43. 
 After  the  manner  of  Maidens,  6. 
 Ahithophel,  possible  allusion  to,  51, 
 
 224. 
 Alamoth,  6,  184. 
 Andrewes,   Bishop,  favourite  prayer, 
 
 650. 
 Angel  of  Jehovah,  128,  131. 
 Angels,  453. 
 Anger  of  God,  29. 
 Anglo-Saxon     Version    quoted,    59, 
 
 186,  188 
 Anointed,  Thine,  632. 
 Ark  of  Thy  strength,  631. 
 Ark,  Psalms  referring  to  the  removal 
 
 of  the,   20,  48,  58,   95,    130,  i^7» 
 
 253,  261,  507,  628,  657. 
 Arndt  quoted,  271,  284. 
 Arrogant,  the,  333. 
 Asaph,  aiithorof  twelve  Pss.,  8.    bee 
 
 also  202. 
 Assembly,  place  of,  344. 
 Asshur,  406. 
 
 Assjrrian  invasion,  183,  189,  353. 
 Athanasius,  anecdote  uf,  642. 
 Avenger,  38. 
 
 B. 
 
 Babylonish   Captivity,  return  of    the 
 
 Exiles  from,  415,  612. 
 Babylon,  song  of  the  exile  in,  610. 
 Baca,  413. 
 
 Bands  in  the  death,  333. 
 Basalt,  or  Basanitis,  origin  of  tenn, 
 
 288. 
 Bashan's  strong  ones,  90,  172,  283. 
 Basket,  the,  396. 
 Beast  of  the  reed,  292. 
 Beloved,  His,  684. 
 Beloved,  Thy,  64,  203,  250,  437. 
 Benjamin,  little,  292. 
 Bernard,  last  words  of,  117. 
 Bind,  to,  explanation  of  the  word,5i  i. 
 Bloodthirsty  man,  26. 
 '&hxn\.,Ufidcsig)icdCoincidcnces,(\yxoiei3if 
 
 225,  379. 
 Blunt,  Veracity  of  the  Books  of  Moses, 
 
 quoted,  51 1« 
 Boar  out  of  the  wood,  390. 
 Book  of  life,  305. 
 Book,  the,  154. 
 Bottle,  a,  in  the  smoke,  591. 
 Bottle  for  tears,  233. 
 Bow,  deceitful,  377. 
 Bow  of  brass,  75. 
 Bread  of  the  mighty,  37-- 
 Breath,  149. 
 
 Brook  of  God,  the,  272, 
 Broom  (the  hhrub),  602. 
 Burden,  pccuHarity  of  the  word,  230. 
 Byron  quoted,  356. 
 
 Y   Y 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Calvin  on  the  Messianic  view  of  the 
 Pss.  179,  315;  quoted,  171,  315, 
 363,  418,  488,  496,  665. 
 
 Caterpillar,  375,  513. 
 
 Cedars  of  God,  389. 
 
 Chaff,  wicked  compared  to,  14,  151. 
 
 Chaldean  invasion,  Ps.  Ixxiv.  may- 
 refer  to,  341.  Also  Ps.  Ixxix., 
 381. 
 
 Chaldee  paraphrast,  177. 
 
 Chariots,  289. 
 
 Charmer,  a,  240. 
 
 Chastisement  not  always  a  sign  of 
 anger,  29. 
 
 Cheek-bones,  sm.iting  on  the,  21. 
 
 Cherub,  upon  a,  72. 
 
 Children,  God'?,  spoken  of  collec- 
 tively not  individually,  336. 
 
 Children  of  men,  137. 
 
 Cholera,  Ps.  xci.  used  z.-,  a  preserva- 
 tive against,  452. 
 
 Christ,  application  of  Ps.  ii.  to,  17  ; 
 subjugation  of  all  things  to,  39  ; 
 vicarious  sufferings  of,  87 ;  pro- 
 phecy of,  93  ;  the  Good  Shepherd, 
 64  ;  part  of  Ps.  Ixviii.  applied  to, 
 290  ;  Solomon,  an  imperfect  type 
 of,  322;  prophecy  of  in  Ps.  Ixxxvii., 
 425  ;  Melchizedek,  type  of,  545. 
 
 Clap  their  hands,  476. 
 
 Compass  the  altar,  103^  488. 
 
 Congregation   of  the   righteous,    14, 
 
 133- 
 Conies,  503. 
 Cornet,  686. 
 
 Creation,  God's  glory  in,  77. 
 Creation,  Ps.   civ.,  a  Divine  ode  of, 
 
 496. 
 Cup,  the,  572. 
 Cush,  Ethiopia,  320. 
 Cush,  the  Benjamite,  32. 
 Cymbals,  687. 
 
 Daughter,  King's,  181. 
 
 Daughters  of  Judah,  193. 
 
 David,  his  hope  of  a  future  life,  64, 
 
 68 ;    personal    affection    to     God, 
 
 261 ;    assertion   of   innocence,    73, 
 
 102  ;  as  a  prophet,  64, 
 *'Dawn,  Hind  of  the,"  7. 
 Death   differently  viewed  by  O.   T. 
 
 and  N.  T.  saints,  30. 
 Death  of  the  Son,  7. 
 Death,  the  bands  of,  71. 
 Defend  (cover),  28. 
 Degrees,  songs  of,  600. 
 Delitzsch  quoted,  358,  624,  636,  638, 
 
 668. 
 Deserts,  the,  284. 
 "  Destroy  not,"  7. 
 Dew  of  Hermon,  635,  636. 
 "  Dew  of  Thy  young  men,"'  552. 
 Divine  names,  use  of^  162. 
 Dogs  have  come,  &c.,  90. 
 Donne  quoted,  121,  256,  258. 
 Doings  of  men,  66. 
 Doubter,  forbearance  to  the,  330. 
 Doubts,  in  reference  to  God,  421. 
 Doubts,  modern,  329. 
 Dove  of  the  Terebinths,  7. 
 "Dove,  the  silent,"  7. 
 Dove's  wings,  simile  of,  28 7. 
 Doxologies,  159,  323,  685. 
 Drink  offerings  of  blood,  62. 
 Dwelling-place,  God  a,  447. 
 
 Eagle,  fable  of  the,  493. 
 
 Ears  hast  Thou  opened,  154. 
 
 Earth,  448. 
 
 Edomites,    Joab's   victory   over    the, 
 
 246. 
 Elohim,  title  of  God,  162,  668. 
 Enchanters  or  "whisperers,"  239. 
 Endor,  407. 
 Engedi,  cave  of,  235. 
 Ephraim,  children  of,  368. 
 Ephratah,  630. 
 Ethan,  identical  with  Jeduthun,  148, 
 
 434. 
 Ethan  the  Ezrabite,  8,  148. 
 Euripides  quoted,  621. 
 Ewald  quoted,  147. 
 Excellent,  the,  62. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 ui 
 
 F. 
 
 Fainted,  literal  meaning  of  the  word, 
 
 530. 
 Faithful  witness,  the,  439. 
 Farrar,  'Dx.,Ba7}iJ)ton  Lectures,  quoted, 
 
 336. 
 Fatness,  138,  262, 
 Fat  of  wheat,  678. 
 Fear  and  faith,  co-existence  of,  282. 
 Feet,  lift  up  thy,  343. 
 Flood,  Shibboleth,  298. 
 Flood,  the  Deluge,  112, 
 Foolish  men,  why  so  called,  532. 
 Fool,  the,  57. 
 Footstool,  478. 
 Fountain  of  life,  138. 
 Future    life    little   understood  under 
 
 the  O,  T.  dispensation,  30,  39,  50, 
 
 64,  68,  115,  157,  199.338. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galileo,  passage  from  Ps.  civ.  quoted 
 in  Gall.,  302  ;  controversy  with, 
 501. 
 
 Gates  in  the,  43,  619. 
 
 Gave  shine,  363. 
 
 Gebal,  406. 
 
 Gerhardt,  Paul,  234. 
 
 Gittith,  upon  the,  6,  37,  411. 
 
 Glory  and  honour,  39. 
 
 Glory,  my,  22,  33,  6t^. 
 
 God,  holiness  of,  478. 
 
 God  of  Gods,  202. 
 
 God  of  my  righteousness,  22. 
 
 God's  above  all,  465. 
 
 God's  all  ye,  473- 
 
 God  save   the   king,   whence  taken, 
 
 84. 
 Gods,  name  of,  applied  to  the  judges 
 
 of  Israel,  400. 
 God's  ye  are,  402. 
 God,  the  living,  165. 
 Goel,  next  of  kin,  343. 
 Gog  and  Magog,  189. 
 Gog,  land  of,  190. 
 Graciousness,  Thy,  75- 
 Grass  on  the  housetops,  623. 
 
 II. 
 
 Ilabakkuk,  resemblan^ce  between  I'>. 
 Ixxvii.,  358. 
 
 Haggarenes,  the,  406. 
 
 "Hallel,  the,"  561. 
 
 '*  Hallel,  the  great,"  642. 
 
 Hallelujah  Psahns,  515,  557,  672. 
 
 Hannah,  the  song  of,  349. 
 
 Hare,  Archdeacon,  quoted,  669. 
 
 Harvest,  Ps.  Ixv.,  written  on  the  oc- 
 casion of,  267. 
 
 Heart,  my,  63. 
 
 Heathen,  the,  278,  382. 
 
 Hebrews,  the  writer  of,  quotes  Ps. 
 viii.,  37;  xlv.,  177. 
 
 Hell.     See  Sheol. 
 
 Hengstenburg  quoted,  446. 
 
 Hermons,  the,  167. 
 
 High  Priest's  blessing,  277,  283. 
 
 Hind  of  the  Dawn,  the,  7,  8S. 
 
 Hodu-Psalms,  508. 
 
 Holy  One  of  Israel,  313. 
 
 Holy  ones,  the  Angels,  435. 
 
 Holy  Spirit,  not  fully  understood  liy 
 O.  T.  saints,  213. 
 
 Holy  Temple,  49. 
 
 Holy  vestments,  551. 
 
 Homer  quoted,  647. 
 
 Horn,  352. 
 
 Horns  and  hoofs,  306. 
 
 Horror,  226. 
 
 Hosannah,  the  great,  574,  579- 
 
 Hosts,  His,  means  "  the  angels,"  68 1. 
 
 Huss,  anecdote  of,  117. 
 
 Hyssop,  212. 
 
 I. 
 
 Imprecations  in  the  Psalms^  303,  5.^S. 
 
 See  Vengeance. 
 Incense,  276. 
 
 Indignation,  righteous,  219. 
 Infatuation,  249. 
 Iniquity  of  my  heels,  197. 
 Innocence  asserted,  33,  65,  73,  102. 
 Inscriptions  of  the  Pss.,  5. 
 Isaiah,    expressions  coincident   with, 
 
 183,  189. 
 Ishmaelitcs,  the,  406. 
 
IV 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Israelite,  our  difficulty  in  understand- 
 ing the  feelings  of  a'  true,  243. 
 
 J- 
 
 Jackals,  place  of,  1 74. 
 
 Jacob,  pride  of,  188. 
 
 Jeduthun,  after  the  manner  of,  256, 
 
 360. 
 Jeduthun,  for,  148,  256. 
 [ehoiachin  alluded  to,  433. 
 Jehovah,  Elohim,  162,  185,  243. 
 Jehovah,  God  (Elohim),  414. 
 Jehovah,  God  of  Hosts,  185. 
 Jehovistic  Psalms,  56. 
 Jeremiah,   Pss.  probably  written  by, 
 
 296,  306,  309,  341. 
 Jeremiah,    quotes    from    Ps.     Ixxix., 
 
 '    381. 
 
 Jerome  of  Prague,  last  words  of,  1 1 7. 
 
 Jewish  liturgy,  in. 
 
 Joost  de  Moor,  anecdote  of,  127. 
 
 Josephus,  96, 
 
 Judas  Iscariot,  Ps.  xli.,  supposed  to 
 
 refer  to,  158  ;  Ps.  lix.   supposed  to 
 
 refer  to,  541. 
 Judgement,  in  the,  14. 
 Judges  of  the  earth,  18. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kadesh,  112. 
 
 Kedar,  602. 
 
 King  Jehovah  as,  458,  471. 
 
 King,  my,  title  given  to  God,  25. 
 
 Kiss  the  Son,  18. 
 
 Kitto,     Bible    lilnsircdions,     quoted, 
 
 343. 
 Korah,  history  of,  411. 
 Korah,    sons    of,    authors    of    eight 
 
 Psalms,  8. 
 
 Lamp,  my,  74. 
 Last  words  of  our  Lord, 
 Law,  book  of  the,  14. 
 Law,  the,  80,  143. 
 
 Leighton  quoted,  121. 
 
 Let  us  break  their  bonds,  16. 
 
 Leviathan,  346. 
 
 Life,  book  of,  305. 
 
 Life,  God  the  fountain  of,  138. 
 
 Life,  long,  promise  of,  as  a  temporal 
 
 blessing,  454. 
 Lifting  up,  352, 
 Light  and  Truth,  168. 
 Lighten  mine  eyes,  55. 
 Light,  in  Thy,  138. 
 Light,    name  applied  to   God,    104, 
 
 449. 
 Light  of  God's  countenance,  23,  235. 
 Lilies,  according  to  the,  387. 
 Lilies,  on  the,  178. 
 Lily  of  the  Testimony,  7,  248. 
 Living  God,  165,  412, 
 Lord  of  the  whole  earth,  472. 
 Lord,  our,  37. 
 Loving-kindness,    attribute   of    God, 
 
 138,  573. 
 Luther,    anecdote   of,    624 ;    quoted, 
 
 608. 
 
 M. 
 
 Maccabees,   Pss.   written  in  the  time 
 
 of,  170,  173,  273,  340,  380. 
 Machalath,  220. 
 Machilta  quoted,  16. 
 Man,  description  of  a  perfect,  60. 
 Man,  meaning  of  Hebrew  word,  39. 
 Marriage  songs,  175. 
 Maschil,  6,  1 2 1,  164,  178,  342,  661. 
 Meditate,  14,  16. 
 Melancthon,  last  words  of,  117. 
 Melodies  denoted  by  titles,  7. 
 Men  of  the  world,  67. 
 Meribah,  466. 
 Meroe,  city  of,  320. 
 Meshech,  602. 
 
 Messiah,  name  taken  from  Ps.ii.,  18. 
 Messiah,  prophecy  of,  322. 
 Michtam,  6,  61,  231,  248. 
 Midian,  407. 
 Midrash  Tehillim,  315. 
 Mighty  One  of  Jacob,  629. 
 Milton  quoted,  119,  501. 
 Miry  swamp,  152. 
 Miserable,  157,  401. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Mizar,  167. 
 Mizmor,  6,  41,  474. 
 Monsters,  the,  346. 
 Moses  among  the  priests,  478. 
 Moses,  author  of  Ps.  xc,,  8. 
 Moth,  Hke  the,  150. 
 Mountains  of  God,  137. 
 Mountains  of  prey,  355. 
 Mountains,  on  the,  321. 
 Mourning,  132. 
 Musician,  to  the  chief,  5. 
 
 N. 
 
 Name,  God's  holy,  28,  1 14,  193,  224. 
 Nations,  all  the,  243.     See,  278. 
 Neighbour,  Heb.  use  of  word,  52. 
 Net,  the,  276. 
 Night  watches,  263. 
 North,  sides  of  the,  190. 
 
 O. 
 
 Octave,  on  the,  29,  52. 
 
 "Oculus    Sperans,"    "The    Eye    of 
 
 Hope,"  name  given  to  Ps.  cxxiii., 
 
 608. 
 Oil  to  make  the  face  shine,  503. 
 Olive,     the,     emblem     of    vigorous, 
 
 healthy  life,  219,  621. 
 Only  One,  my,  91. 
 Oracles,  136. 
 Order,  set  in,  26. 
 Oreb  and  Zeeb,  407. 
 Outgoings,  271. 
 Overwhelmed,  664. 
 Overwhelmed,     literal     meaning     of 
 
 word,  254. 
 Ovid  quoted,  237,  501,  534. 
 Owl,    in   Arabic   called  "  Mother  of 
 
 the  ruins,"  486, 
 Oxen,  wild,  Qi, 
 
 P. 
 
 Peace,  317, 
 Pelican,  a,  4S6. 
 Pericles,  quotation  from,  193. 
 Petrarch,  anecdote  of,  100. 
 Philistia,  Tyre,  and  Ethiopia,  428. 
 "  Piercing  my  hands,"  &c.,  90. 
 Pilgrim,  songs,  600,  605. 
 Pindar  quoted,  549. 
 Pipe,  the,  687. 
 Pit,  the,  301. 
 Plautus  quoted,  609. 
 Plumptre  quoted,  410,  577. 
 Poet  and  prophet,  close  affinity  be- 
 tween, 52. 
 Poetry  of  the  Hebrews,  i. 
 Polycarp,  last  words  of,  1 1  7. 
 Poole,  Edmund,  anecdote  of,  626. 
 Praise,  to  give,  5. 
 "  Prayer,  and  my,"  132. 
 Prayer,  answers  to,  considered,   52S. 
 
 529- 
 Pride  of  Jacob,  the,  188. 
 Princess  Anne,  anecdote  of,  56. 
 Prophet,  David  as  a,  64. 
 Prophet,  meaning  of  the  word.  510. 
 Prosperity  of  the  wicked,  difficuliies 
 
 suggested  by,  327. 
 Proverb,  a,  173. 
 Psalm,  a,  274. 
 Psalms — 
 
 Alphabetical,  ix.,   x.,  xxv.,  xxxiv., 
 xxxvii.,  cxi ,  cxii.,  cxix.,  cxlv. 
 
 cxl.,  the  only,  called  "  Praise"  or 
 Hymn. 
 
 Inscriptions  of  the,  7. 
 
 of  the  Captivity,  4. 
 
 Penitential,    vi.,    xxxii.,     xxxviii.. 
 li.,  cii.,  cxxx.,  cxliii. 
 
 Pilgrim,  cxx.  to  cxxxiv. 
 
 Q- 
 
 Quails,  how  brought  by  an  east  and 
 
 south  wind,  372. 
 Quails,    possible   allusion    to   in    Ps. 
 
 Ixviii.,  286. 
 
 Palm,  the,  457. 
 
 Parable,  a,  or  dark  saying,  i( 
 
 Pasture,  384. 
 
 Path  o^  Life,  the,  64. 
 
 Rabbinical  writer.^,  1S9,  215. 
 Rahab,  427. 
 
VI 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Raiseth  up,  phrase  used  twice  in  the 
 
 Pss.,  674. 
 Ram's  horn,  why  the  trumpet  is  made 
 
 of,  393- 
 Ready  to  forgive,  420. 
 Rebellious,  290. 
 
 Redeem,  meaning  of  word,  343. 
 Remembrance,  to  bring  to,  307. 
 Rest,  my,  passage  quoted  in  Epistle 
 
 to  the  Hebrews,  467. 
 Ridafat,  the,  548. 
 Right  hand,  1 72. 
 Righteousness — 
 
 Connection  between  salvation  and, 
 
 97. 
 
 Gates  of,  577. 
 
 His,  93. 
 
 In  Thy,  27. 
 
 Meaning  of  word,  312. 
 
 O.  T.  meaning  of,  97. 
 
 Paths  of,  94. 
 
 Thy,  215. 
 Robertson  quoted,  94,  164,  165,  166, 
 Rock  of  our  Salvation,  485. 
 Rolling  thing,  as  a,  408. 
 Roll  of  the  book,  154. 
 
 S. 
 
 Saba,  330. 
 
 Sabaoth,  243. 
 
 Sacrifice,  meaning  of  term,  154. 
 
 Sacrifices — 
 
 Burnt  offering,  215. 
 
 Evening,  658, 
 
 of  righteousness,  23,  216. 
 
 of  shouting,  105. 
 
 of  thanksgiving,  206. 
 
 Peace  offerings,  204. 
 St.  Augustine,  212,  291. 
 St.  Columba,  anecdote  of,  128. 
 St.   Francis  d'Assisi,  life  of,   quoted, 
 
 662. 
 St.  Paul  quotes  from  the  Psalms,  77, 
 
 79,  121,  175,  210,  296. 
 St.    Vincent  de   Paul,    anecdote    of, 
 
 308. 
 Saints,  the,  62. 
 Salem,  354. 
 Salt,  valley  of,  247. 
 
 Salvation,  my,  257. 
 
 Sanctuary,  desecration  of  the,  344. 
 
 Sanctuary,  the,  336. 
 
 Saul,  references  to,  48,  130,  222,  235, 
 
 241. 
 Savary,    Letteis    on    Egypt,    quoted, 
 
 609. 
 Seba,  320. 
 
 Secret  of  the  Lord,  10 1. 
 Selah,  7. 
 
 Sennacherib,  annals  of,  19. 
 Sennacherib,  references  to,    182,  192, 
 
 267,  273. 
 Servant  of  Jehovah,  70. 
 Shadow  of  Thy  wing,  137,  236. 
 Sheba,  319. 
 
 Shechem  and  Succoth,  251. 
 Sheminith,  6. 
 Sheol,   43,  71,    115,    19^,   264,   660. 
 
 See  Unseen  world. 
 Shepherd,  my,  94. 
 Shepherd  of  Israel,  387. 
 Shield,  a,  20,  28. 
 Shield,  our,  245. 
 Shiggaion,  6. 
 Shiloh,  378. 
 Shoe,  my,  252. 
 Sides  of  the  north,  190. 
 Sin,  contrition  for,  207,  210. 
 Sin,  nature  of,  121,  211. 
 Sin,  various  words  used  for,  121,  209. 
 Singers,  David's,  8. 
 Sirion,    Sidonian  name  for  Hermoii, 
 
 III. 
 Snares,  50- 
 
 Snow,  like  wool,  678. 
 Sodom    and    Gomorrah,    destruction 
 
 of,  50- 
 Solomon,  author  of  two  Pss.,  8,  13, 
 
 314. 
 Solomon,   Ps.  xlv.  supposed  to  refer 
 
 to,  176  ;  cxxvii.  referred  to,  617. 
 Song,  a,  6. 
 
 Song  of  Deborah,  2S3,  285. 
 Song  of  Degrees,  6,  600. 
 Song  of  Loves,  6. 
 Song  of  Solomon,  177. 
 Song  of  the  Ascents,  6. 
 Songs  of  God,  iii. 
 Son  of  man,  title  taken  from  Ps.   ii., 
 
 18. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Vll 
 
 Sons  of  men,  22. 
 
 Sophocles  quoted,  287,  620. 
 
 Soul  or  life,  197. 
 
 Spanish    Armada,     destruction     of, 
 
 192. 
 Speculum  Regis,  name  applied  to  Ps. 
 
 ci.,  481, 
 Spirit,  soul,  and  body,  63. 
 Stanley,  Dean,  quoted,  112,  1S5,  190, 
 
 318,  363^  364,  370>  427,  613. 
 Stone,  a,  578. 
 
 Stork,  meaning  of  name,  503. 
 Succoth,  251. 
 Sucklings,  38. 
 Sun  and  Moon,  318. 
 Sun,  God  called  a,  415. 
 Sunstroke,  604. 
 Super  Maria,  97. 
 Sympathy,  202. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tab'erah,  "  burning,"  371. 
 
 Tabernacle,  59,  169,  354. 
 
 Tabernacles,  feast  of,  377,  574. 
 
 Tabor  and  Hermon,  436. 
 
 Tabret,  686. 
 
 Talmud  quoted,  7,  317,  670. 
 
 Targum  quoted,  7,  255,  315,  636. 
 
 Tarshish,  319. 
 
 Taylor,  Isaac,  quoted,  445,  679,  685. 
 
 **  Teaching,  for,"  5. 
 
 Temple — 
 
 Dedication  of  the,  113. 
 
 Heavenly,  71. 
 
 Holy,  49. 
 
 or  Tabernacle,  105. 
 
 second,  anthem  composed  for,  675. 
 Tennyson's  Lotos  Eaters  quoted,  617. 
 Terence  quoted,  609. 
 Thebes,  mural  paintings  at,  375. 
 Thompson,  Archbp.  of  York,  quoted, 
 
 448. 
 Thucydides  quoted,  193. 
 Thunderstorm,  description  of,  71,  109. 
 Treachery  of  a  guest,  158. 
 Tree,  figure  of  a,  14,  142. 
 Tribe,  the,  343. 
 Trieth,  explanation  of  word,  50,  75, 
 
 102. 
 
 Trifolium  of  Praise,  I's.  cxlvii.  called 
 
 a,  675. 
 Trust,  270. 
 Truth,  211. 
 Tyre,  daughter  of,  181, 
 
 U. 
 
 Ungodly,  punishment  of  the,  336. 
 
 Unite  my  heart,  422. 
 
 Unseen  world,  the,  43,  63,  115,  199, 
 
 264,  422. 
 Urim  and  Thummim.  168. 
 
 V. 
 
 Vaihinger  quoted,  382. 
 Vale  of  weepi/ig,  413. 
 Vanity,  a  breath,  449,  462. 
 Vaughan,  Rev.  D.  J.,  quoted,  497. 
 Vengeance,    prayers   for,     133,    303, 
 
 558,  654. 
 Vestments,  holy,  iii. 
 Villages,  46. 
 Vine,  a,  389,  621. 
 Vinegar  or  sour  wine,  303. 
 Virgil  quoted,  487,  531,  621. 
 Vulgate  quoted,  60. 
 
 W, 
 
 Wash  me,  209. 
 
 Wash  my  hands,   103. 
 
 Wash-pot,  my,  252. 
 
 Watch  in  the  night,  44S. 
 
 Weaned  child,  figure  of,  627. 
 
 Wlien  I  awake,  6S. 
 
 Whewell,  Astronomy,    d^c,    <]U'>ted, 
 
 39- 
 Wicked  man,  character  of  the,  pour- 
 
 t  rayed,    136. 
 Wicked,  prosperity  of,  in  this  world, 
 
 327- 
 Wings,  in  the   shadow  of   Thy,  67, 
 
 236,  263. 
 Wings,   Thy,   254. 
 Wordsworth  quoted,   78,    196 
 Workers  of  iniquity,  26. 
 
^111 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 World,  men  of  the,   68. 
 
 World,    the    unseen.       See    Unseen 
 
 world, 
 Vv'orld,   use  of  term,  440. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yesterday,  448. 
 
 V'ork,  Archbishop  of, quoted,  447 ^  449. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zalmon,   288. 
 
 Zion,   city  of,  428. 
 
 Zion,  on,   17,  42. 
 
 Zion,    removal    of   the    ark    to, 
 
 279. 
 Zoan,   369. 
 Zunz,   reference  to,   62. 
 
 TI-iE-  END. 
 
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