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THE 


pow OF PSALMS; 


A NEW TRANSLATION, 


WITH 


INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES 


EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL. 


VOL. Ii. 








THE 


nO. OF PSALMS: 


A NEW TRANSLATION, 


WITH 


INTRODUCTIONS AND NOTES 


EXPLANATORY AND CRITICAL. 


BY 


J. J. STEWART PEROWNE, B.D. 


] CANON RESIDENTIARY OF LLANDAFF: 
VICE-PRINCIPAL AND PROFESSOR OF HEBREW IN ST. DAVID’S COLLEGE, LAMPETER. 


VOL. II. 
SECOND EDITION, REVISED. ? / 
se b 
15 | 
LONDON: 


Ss BELL AND DALDY. 
_ +CAMBRIDGE: DEIGHTON, BELL, AND CO. 
1871. . 


[All Rights reserved.] 








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erties PSALMS. 


BOOK III. 


_ PSALMS LXXIII.—LXXXIX. 




















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PSALM LXXIII.* 


































_ ‘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 
n suffer, and bad men prosper? This difficulty was aggravated, 
we must remember, by what seemed to be the manifest contradiction 
be een the express teaching of his Law and the observed facts 
f human experience. The Law told him that God was a righteous 
5 udge, 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 
niversal law, but was accustomed to regard all visible phenomena 
as the immediate result of a free Sovereign Will. Direct interposi- 
tion, even arbitrary interference; was no difficulty to the Jew, to 
whom Jehovah was the absolute Sovereign of the world, not acting, 
so far as he could see, according to any established order.” Hence 
; it seemed to him inexplicable that the world of life should not reflect 
rfectly, 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 
: 2 er is to wait, to trust in Jehovah, and to rest assured that in the end 
le seeming disorder will be set right even in this world. The wicked 





z For some valuable suggestions on this Psalm I am indebted to a 
friend, the Rev. J. G. Mould. 


BZ2 


4 PSALM LXXIII. 


will perish, the enemies of Jehovah 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 feel that all this 
is a mystery. God will not give an account of any of His matters. 
“T go forward, but He is not there ; and backward, but I cannot per- 
ceive 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 
counsels of the Most High. He appears, not to lift the veil of 
mystery, but to teach the need of humiliation and the blessedness 
of 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 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 





* There is a difficulty, no doubt, in reconciling this solution, or rather 
non-solution of the problem, with that which is given subsequently in the 
historical conclusion of the Book. There we find Job recompensed zz 
this life for all his sufferings. If the historical parts of the Book are by 
the same author as the dialogue (as Ewald maintains), then we must 
suppose that when Job is brought to confess his own vileness, and his 
own.ignorance and presumption, then, and not till then, does God reward 
him with temporal prosperity. 


ak 











PSALM LXX71J. 5 


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 hissoul. 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 ever- 
lasting punishment 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 phe- 
_ Momena 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? Knowing as we do that the order of cause 
and effect is ever the same, how can we accept miracles or Divine 





* This point has been touched on by Mr. Farrar in his “Bampton 
Lectures,” a work which, for breadth and depth of learning, has few 
parallels in modern English literature, and which combines in no common 
degree the spirit of a sound faith and a true philosophy. Mr. Farrar 
_ says: “It is deeply interesting to observe, not merely that the difficulties 
_ concerning Providence felt by Job refer to the very subjects which 
~ lex the modern mind, but also that the friends of Job 
_ exhibit the instinctive tendency which is observed in modern times to 
_ denounce his doubt as sin, not less than to attribute his trials to evil as 
_ the direct cause. These two books of Scripture [Job and Ecclesiastes], 
together with the seventy-third Psalm, have an increasing religious 

as the world grows older. The things written aforetime were 
__ written for our learning.”—Lecture 1. p. 7, note. 


6 PSALM LXXIII. 


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 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 ail, 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 
conviction of the righteousness of God. Unbelief does not doubt, 
faith doubts.t And God permits the doubt in His truest and noblest 





* Quinet, CEuvres, t. i. c. 5, § 4. 

+ ‘The expression has been criticised as paradoxical, but the following 
admirable passages, which I have met with since the first edition of this 
work was published, may justify my language. They are quoted by Arch- 
lishop Whately in his Annotations on Bacon’s Essays, pp. 358, 359. 
The first is from a writer in the Edinburgh Review for January 1847, on 


OE 








PSALM LXX/II. 7 


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 ever- 
lasting truth. There is perhaps no Psalm in which Faith asserts 
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 darkness, 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 two parts :— 


I. The Psalmist tells the story of the doubts which had assailed 
him, the temptation to which he had nearly succumbed. Ver. 1—14. 


II. He confesses the sinfulness of these doubts, and explains 
how he had been enabled to overcome them. Ver. 15—28. 

These principal portions have their further subdivisions (which are 
in the main those given by Hupfeld) :— 

I. a. First we have, by way of Introduction, the conviction to 


which his struggle with doubt brought him, ver. 1; then the general 
statement of his offence, ver. 2, 3. 


6. The reason of which is more fully explained to be the prosperity 
of the wicked, ver. 4,5; and their insolence and pride in con- 
sequence, ver. 6—11. 





*The Genius of Pascal’: “So little inconsistent with a Aadzt of intelli- 
gent faith are such transient invasions of doubt, or such diminished 
i ean of the evidence of truth, that it may even be said that it is 

only those who have in some measure experienced them, who can be said 
in the highest sense to believe at all. He who has never had a doubt, 
who believes what he believes for reasons which he thinks as irrefragable 
(if that be possible) as those of a mathematical demonstration, ought not 
to be said so much to de/ieve as to know ; his belief is to him knowledge, 
and his mind stands in the same relation to it, however erroneous and 
absurd that belief may be. It is rather he who believes—not indeed with- 
out the exercise of his reason, but without the full satisfaction of his 
reason—with a knowledge amd appreciation of formidable objections—it 
is this man who may most truly be said intelligently to believe.” 

The other is from a short poem by Bishop Hinds: 


“Yet so it is; belief springs still 
In souls that nurture doubt. 
* * * * * 
Did never thorns thy path beset ? 
Beware—be not deceived ; 
He who has never doubted yet 
Has never yet believed.” 


8 PSALM LXXTIII. 


c. The comfortless conclusion which he had thence drawn, ver. 
I2—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 fearful end of the wicked, 
ver. 18—z20, and so had learned the /fo//y of his own speculation. 


6. 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. 


[A PSALM OF ASAPH.*] 


1 Surely> God is good to Israel, 
(Even) to such as are of a pure heart. 


1. SURELY. This particle, which 
occurs twice again in this Psalm, is 
rendered differently in each case by 
the E.°V: ; here ¢vudy, in ver. 13 
verily, in ver. 18 surely: but one 
rendering should be kept through- 
out. The word has been already 
discussed in the note on lkxii. I, 
where we have seen it is capable of 
two meanings. Here it is used 
affirmatively, and expresses the 
satisfaction with which the con- 
clusion has been arrived at, after 
all the anxious questionings and 
debatings through which the Psalm- 
ist has passed. “ Yes, it is so; after 
all, God 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 some- 
what abruptly opens the Psalm with 
the confident enunciation of the 
truth, of which victory over doubt 
had now made him more, and more 


intelligently, sure than ever, that. 


God is good to Israel, even to such 
as are of a clean heart.”—Zssential 
Coherence of the Old and New 
Testament, 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. There is no parade of 
doubt merely as doubt. He states 
Jirst, and in the most natural way, 
the fiza/ 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, lit. “ pure of 
aes as in xxiv. 4. Comp. Matt. 
v. 8, 





EEE 





PSALM LXXITT. 9 


2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone,° 
My steps had well nigh slipt. 
3 For I was envious at the fools, 
When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 
4 For they have no bands in their death,? 
And their strength* (continues) firm. 
5 Into the same trouble as (other) men they come not, 


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 felt no doubt. Calvin some- 
_ what differently explains: Even I, 
_ with all my knowledge — — 
tages, J, 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 
_ Num. xx. 17, 2 Sam. ii. 19, 21, &c. 
_ The verb in the next clause ex- 
presses the giving way from weak- 
ness, 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, 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 FOOLS. The word denotes 
those whose pride and infatuation 
amount almost to madness. It is 
_ difficult to find an exact equivalent 
in English. Gesenius renders it 
by superbi, insolentes, and J. D. 
Michaelis by stolide gloriosi. It 
_ occurs in v. 5 [6], where see note 4, 
and again in Ixxv.4[5]. The LXX., 
in all these instances,render vaguely, 
_ dyopot, Tapavopot. 

_ 4 BANDs. This word “ bands,” 
_ or “tight cords,” or “ fetters,” occurs 


only once besides, Is. lviii. 6. I 
have now [2nd Edit.] adopted the 
simplest and most straightforward 
rendering of the words, “They 
have no bands in their death” (lit. 
at or for their death, z.c. when they 
die), because 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 ed of the un- 
godly as happy (the very reverse 
is asserted ver. 17, &c.), but to 
describe the general prosperity of 
their ‘ves, no longer appears to me 
to be valid. For we must remember 
that the Psalmist is describing here 
not the fact, but what 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. Otherwise it would be 
possible to render [as in 1st Edit.], 
* For no bands (of suffering) (bring 
them) to their death.” No fetters 
are so to speak laid upon their 
limbs, so that they should be de- 
livered 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 


fe) PSALM LXXTIII. 


Neither are they plagued like (other) folk. 
6 Therefore pride is as a chain’ about their neck; 
Violence covereth* them as a garment. 
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! the crowd after them, 


is that which denotes man in his 
frailty and weakness. See on ix. 19, 
20, note'; x. 18,note'. 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 in- 
firmities of 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,” ze. 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 (the 
collum resupinum) is regarded as 
the seat of pride : comp. lxxv. 5 [6], 
Is. iii. 16. 

7. FROM FATNESS, z.e. from a 
sleek countenance, conveying in 
itself the impression of worldly ease 
and enjoyment. 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. 

OVERFLOW. The metaphor is 
from a swollen river which rises 
above its banks. The verb is used 
absolutely, as in Hab. i. 11, ‘‘ Then 
(his) spirit swells and overflows,” 
where the same figure is employed 
in describing the prideand insolence 
of the Chaldzeans. 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 
imaginations 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 
arranged thus :— 


“They scoff and speak wickedly 
of oppression, 
Loftily do they speak.” 


LOFTILY, or “from on high,” not 
“against the Most High,” as the 
P.B.V. See note on lvi. 2, and so 
afterwards. 

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. 

Jo. THEREFORE. This, as Men- 
delssohn has observed, is co-ordi- 
nate with the “therefore” in ver. 6. 
Both depend on the statement in 
ver. 4, 5. Because the wicked have 
no bands, &c., therefore pride com- 
passeth them, &c., and therefore 
others are induced to follow their 
example. 

THE CROWD, lit. “his people,” 
instead of “zheiy people.” In ac- 
cordance with a common Hebrew 
idiom, there is an abrupt transition 
from the plural to the singular, 





——— ee 





PSALM LXXITII. Ir 


And at the full stream would slake their thirst :™ 
11 And they say: “ How doth God know ? 
And is there knowledge in the Most High?” 


12 Lo, these are the wicked, 


And (these men), ever prosperous, have increased 


(their) wealth. 


an individual being now substituted 
for the mass. “ As people,” in this 
sense, are the crowd who attach 
themselves to one and another of 
these prosperous sinners, that they 
may share As prosperity. But per- 
the pronoun refers to God. 
Even His people, forsaking Him, 
are led away by the evil example, 
_ just as the Psalmist confesses he 
; himself was. 
AFTER THEM, lit. “thither,” ze. 
_ to the persons before described, 
and, as is implied, away from God. 
next clause of the verse is 
_ more difficult of explanation. The 
_E. V. by its rendering, “ And waters 
of a full (cup) are wrung out to 
sax probably means us to under- 
that the people of God, when 
they turn hither, ze. to the consi- 
deration of the prosperity of the 
wicked, are filled with sorrow, drink 
as it were the cup of tears; the 
image being the same as in lIxxx. 5 
[6].. The P. B. V. comes nearer to 
the mark : 


“Therefore fall the people unto 
them, 
And thereout suck they no small 
advantage,”— 


only that apparently in the second 
clause the pronoun ¢hey refers, not 
to the people, but to 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 


AND AT THE FULL STREAM, &c. 
lit. “ and fullness of water is drained 
by them ;” ze. broad and deep are 
the waters of sinful pleasures, which 
they, in their infatuation, drink. 


11. 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. Hupfeld 
thinks it is the wicked themselves 
(of ver. 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 pros- 
perity 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? The former is the view 
of Ewald, Stier, Delitzsch, and 
others. In this case the words 
must be throughout the words of 
those who have been tempted and 
led astray by the untroubled happi- 
ness of the wicked. They adopt 
their practically atheistical prin- 
ciples ; they ask, “ How doth God 
know,” &c.; they point, with a 
triumph not unmingled with bitter- 
ness, at their success: Lo, these 
are the ungodly, whose sudden and 
utter overthrow we have been 
taught to expect ; they come to the 
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. I5 seems naturally 
to introduce the reflections of the 
Psalmist himself, who had almost 
been carried away by the same 
sophistry. On the other hand, 
Hengstenberg and Hupfeld suppose 
the reflections of the Psalmist to 
begin at ver. 12. Verses 13, 14 


12 PSALM LXXI/1. 


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 every morning. 
15 If I had said," ‘Let me utter (words) like these,’° 
Lo, I should have been faithless to the generation of 


Thy children. 


16 And when I pondered? it 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. 


will then describe the temptation 
which pressed upon him, the 
thoughts which forced themselves 
into his mind, and which, as verses 
15, 16 show, he only with difficulty 
repressed. 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 
this interpretation it may be urged, 
that the LXX. have introduced a 
kal eira at the beginning of ver. 13. 

I confess that, while inclining to 
the former, I feel it difficult to 
decide between these two views ; 
and the decision must after all rest 
upon a certain feeling and instinct, 
rather than upon critical grounds. 

15. IF I HAD SAID, 2.2. to myself 
(as the verb is constantly used) ; if 
I had given way to the temptation 
to utter thoughts and misgivings 
like these. “The Hebrew Psalm- 
ist,” 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 un- 
necessarily to shake the. faith of 
others is a measure of the disin- 
terestedness of the doubter.”—Far- 
RAR, 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. 1; Hos. ii. 1. Here, however, 


the true Israel, “the clean of heart,” 
are meant. But the zzdividual 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 [6], “the 
days of old;” Prov. xvi. 9, “ one’s 
way.” THAT I MIGHT KNOW, Ze. 
reconcile all that I saw with the 
great fact of God’s moral govern- 
ment. 

A TROUBLE, or a weariness, as of 
a great burden laid upon me (comp. 
Eccles. viii. 17). Thought could 
not solve the problem. The brain 
grew wearier, and the heart heavier. 
Light and peace 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 teaching; not heaven, as 
Kimchi and others, but the Temple, 
as the place of His special mani- 
festation, not only by Urim and 
Thummin, but in direct answer to 
prayer. There, in some hour of 
fervent, secret prayer, like that of 
Hannah (1 Sam. i. 13; comp. Luke 
xvili, 10), or perhaps in some solemn 
service—it may have been (who can 
tell?) through the words of some 
inspired Psalm—a conviction of the 
truth broke upon him. The word 
SANCTUARY is in the plural, which 
is used here, as in xliii. 3, Ixviii. 35 
[36], for the singular. 








PSALM LXX1I1I. 13 


18 Surely in slippery places dost Thou set them, 
Thou hast cast them down to ruin.4 

19 How are they brought to desolation as (in) a moment, 
They have come to an end, they are cut off because of 


terrors. * 


18. The conclusion is remarkable. 
That which dispels the Psalmist’s 
doubts, and restores his faith, is the 
end of the ungodly 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 prosperity of the wicked, that 
he has forgotten by what appalling 
judgements God vindicates His 
righteousness. He does not follow 
them into the next world. His eye 
cannot see beyond the grave. Even 
the great horror of an evil con- 
science 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. But this s#éodicée was 
the only one then known, and is in 
fact based upon the Law, which, 
resting upon temporal sanctions, 
justified the expectation of visible 
Tetribution in this world. The 
judges of Israel were appointed, as 
-Delitzsch has observed, as the vice- 
of God, to execute this re- 
tribution. Hence the deep-rooted 
conviction on this point, even in 
the minds of the godly. It was 
not till a later period, and especially 
till after the Exile, that the judge- 
ment after death was clearly recog- 
nized. Comp. Mal. iii. 13, &c. 

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 lingering 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. Other- 


wise this passage of Job supports 


the obvious rendering of ver. 4, 
“ They do not die by lingering dis- 
eases, but easily,” this being the 
mistaken view afterwards corrected. 

“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 condition it is necessary, in 
order to vindicate the justice of 
God, to take in their whole career, 
and set over against their great 
prosperity the sudden and fearful 
reverses and destruction which they 
not unfrequently encounter. But 
in turning to the other side of the 
comparison, the case of the right- 
eous, 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. ‘ Never- 
theless I am continually with Thee,’ 
&c. The New Testament has 
nothing higher or more spiritual 
than this..—Essential Coherence, 
&c., pp. 86, 87. 

19. Thisverse, taken in connexion 
with ver. 27, seems almost to point, 
as Ewald has remarked, to some 
particular instance of the Divine 
judgement which had recently been 
witnessed. 


14 PSALM LXXIII. 


20 As a dream, when one awaketh, 
(So), O Lord, when Thou stirrest up Thyself s dost 
Thou despise their image. 


21 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, 


20. AS A DREAM, the unreality 
of which is only seen when a man 
awakes. Comp. xc. 5; Job xx. 8. 

WHEN THOU STIRREST UP THY- 
SELF. The verb in Hebrew is a 
different one from that in the pre- 
vious 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 to- 
gether, our translators have em- 
ployed two different words to ex- 
press 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. 

21. FoR. There is no reason to 
depart from this, the common 
meaning of the particle. (See 
Critical Note.) It explains the 
whole of the previous struggle. I 
was tempted to think thus, for I 
brooded over these difficulties till 
I became no better than the dumb 
cattle. So it ever is. Man does 
not show wisdom when he wearies 
himself to no purpose with the 
moral and speculative problems 
which beset him. His: highest 
wisdom is to stay himself upon 
God. 

22. SO BRUTISH, lit. “And I 
myself (the pronoun is emphatic) 
was brutish.” Comp. Prov. xxx. 
2. Si 

AVERY BEAST. The noun is in 
the plural, which is here used in a 
superlative or emphatic sense (see 


note on Ixviii. 35), 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 world, above 
doubts, and fears, and perplexities, 
into a higher and holier atmosphere: 
we breathe the airof heaven. The 
man who can truly use these words 
is not one who has “ crushed free 
thought,” but one who has 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.”—Ewald. 

It strangely mars the force of 
such a passage to limit its appli- 
cation 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,” ze. 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 (where 
see note), and Gen. v. 24, to which 
last passage there is doubtless an 
allusion in both places in the 
Psalms. But this Psalm is an ad- 
vance on Ps, xlix. 

The great difference, though with 
essential points of contact, between 
the hope of the life to come, as 
pourtrayed even in such a passage 
as this, and what we read in the 
New Testament, will best be under- 








EE 





PSALM LXXIII. 15 


Thou hast holden my right hand ; 
24 Thou wilt guide me in Thy counsel, 
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. 


_ stood by comparing the language 
here with St. Paul’s language in the 
_ 4th and sth chapters of the Second 
_ Epistle to the Corinthians, and the 
Ist chapter of the Epistle to the 
Philippians. 

THOU HAST HOLDEN ; either im- 
q ing that thus he had been saved 
; Bo falling altogether, when his feet 
were almost gone (ver. 2), or per- 
haps rather as stating more broadly 
ground of his abiding com- 
munion with God, at all times and 
all circumstances. Comp. 
Ixiii. 8 [9}. 

24. THOU WILT GUIDE ME. 
“ With confidence he commits him- 
self to the Divine guidance, though 
he does not see clearly the mystery 
of Divine purpose (counsel) in 
that guidance.”— Delitzsch. It is 


25. But THEE, or “beside 
Thee,” lit. “with Thee.” These 
words are to be supplied from the 
next clause, a word or a phrase 
belonging to two clauses being com- 
monly 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,” ze. 
“may have failed,” the preterite 
being here used hypothetically. 

27. The figure is very common. 
Israel is the spouse of God, and 
idolatry is a breaking of the mar- 
riage vow. But here it seems to be 
used, not merely of idolatry, but of 
departure from God such as that 
described in ver. 10. 

28. At the end’of this verse the 
LXX. add, “in the gates of the 
daughter of Zion,’ whence it has 
passed through the Vulgate, into 
our Prayer-Book Version. 


* See Psalm 1. note *, and General Introduction, vol. i. pp. 96—98. 
P YM, surely, or as it may be rendered, with Mendels. and others, even 


more pointedly, xevertheless. 


The exact force of the particle here has 


_ been best explained by Calvin: “Quod autem abriptum facit exordium, 
_ notare opere pretium est, antequam in hanc vocem erumperet David, 


16 PSALM LXXIIL. 


inter dubias et pugnantes sententias estuasse. Nam ut strenuus athleta 
seipsum exercuerat in pugnis difficilimis : postquam vero diu multumque 
sudavit, discussis impiis imaginationibus, constituit Deum /amen servis 
suis esse propitium, et salutis eorum fidum esse custodem. Ita subest 
antithesis inter pravas imaginationes quas suggesserat Satan, et hoc verze 
pietatis testimonium quo nunc se confirmat: acs? malediceret carnis su@ 
sensuz qui dubitationem admiserat de providentia Dei. Nunc tenemus 
quam emphatica sit exclamatio . . . quasi ex inferis emergeret, pleno 
spiritu jactare quam adeptus erat victoriam.” This has been seen also by 
some of the older interpreters (Symmachus, wAjv, Jerome, aztamen), as 
well as by the Rabbinical and other expositors. In like manner we have 
in Latin writers passages beginning with a zam or at, where something 
is implied as already existing in the mind of the writer, though not 
expressed. 


¢ 43. “The K’thibh is part. pass. sing., either absol. with the accus. 
following, or in the stat. constr. 0}, with the gen., either construction of 
the part. pass. being admissible. Comp. 2 Sam. xv. 32 with 2 Sam. xiii. 
31; Ezek. ix. 2 with 11 (Ges. § 132). For this the K’ri very unnecessarily 
substitutes 3 pl. perf. 4%), but in the full form, which would only be 
suitable in pause. In the same way the following AD5W, which is no 
doubt NDBY, 3 fem. sing., with the plur. noun Ws (a not uncommon 
construction, as in xxxvii. 31, see Ges. § 143, 3), has been just as 
unnecessarily corrected in the K’ri to 13Bw. It is however possible that 
the punctuation, 39 and ws, as plur., depends on the K’ri of the verbs, 
and that these words in the K’thibh are meant to be singular (as xliv. 19, 
Job xxxi. 7). So Cler., Hasse, and others."—Hupfeld. 


a pnind. This, as it stands, must mean “for, or af, or belonging fo, 
their death,” ze. when they die. But this, it has been said, does not fall 
in with the general scope of the passage, where not the death but the life 
of the wicked is described as one that seems enviable. Hence Hupfeld 
would render, “till their death,” and refers to the use of the prep. in Is. 
vii. 15 to justify this interpretation; but there sry means not “77/7 he 
knows,” but “ wen he knows,” as both Ewald and Knobel take it ; and 
Drechsler, on the passage, has clearly shown, in opposition to Gesenius, 
that the prep. ? is in no instance used to mark duration of time up toa 
certain point, and therefore never means wz/iZ. Bates, quoted by Horsley, 
proposed to make of pnin> two words, On 199, joining 1195 with the 
first ‘clause, they have no bonds,” and Df, as an adjective, with what 
follows, “sownd and fat is their body.” This has been adopted by 
Strut, Fry, &c., and by Ewald, who defends this sense of DM, (which is 
nowhere used of physica], but always of moral, soundness), by the use of 
the noun DF in Job xxi. 23 [Delitzsch refers to the similar use of DYDF 
xviii. 33, Prov. i. 12, but the first of these seems doubtful]. Mendelssohn 
supposes onind to be for oni, and renders: “ Kein Knotten hemmt 
ihrer Tage Lauf ;” the figure being that of the thread of life, which, if it 
becomes knotted and entangled, is liable to be broken. But retaining 
the reading of the present Masoretic text, two interpretations are 


PSALM LXXITII. 17 


































" possible : (1) “They have no fetters for their death,” which may either 
‘mean, if we take feffers (as in Is. lviii. 6, the only other passage in which 
word ear in the literal sense, “they are not delivered over bound 
© death ;” or, if we take it metaphorically, “they have no sufferings, 
diseases &c. which bring them to death. So Hulsius: “Nulla sunt 
is ligamenta ad mortem ecorum, i.e. nullis calamitatibus, nullis morbis 
unt obnoxii; morbi sunt mortis ligamenta qued in mortis potestatem 
omines conjiciant.” And Delitzsch: “Denn keine Qualen gibts, daran 
_ sie stiirben.” (2) “ They have no fetters (z.¢. troubles, cares, sufferings) in 

3 thei: death.” In this case the Psalmist is stating here by anticipation, 
“not his fresext conviction as to the death of the wicked, but the view 
which he once took of it, in a mood of mind which he afterwards 
discovered to be wrong. It is of importance to observe, however, that 
'Symm. and Jerome seem to have had a different reading. The former 
has : Gr otk eveOvpodvro rept Oavdrov,—the latter: “ guod non cogitaverint 
wae morte sua.” Did they read pawn ?s? Or did they intend to explain 
‘the present text in this sense, “ They have no troubles, anxious reflections, 
& >. with reference to their death?” The Syr. also here, as indeed 


ghout the Psalm, differs from the Heb. It has Jam DAN, “there 


is no end to their death,” the exact meaning of which is not very clear. 
The rendering of the LXX. is equally obscure : ovx éorw dvdvevois év TO 
@ airayv. With all this variation in the ancient Versions, they agree 
ne respect, they all have the word death. But for this, I should be 
sposed to accept the alteration of the text proposed above, as the 
mplest solution of the difficulty. 


= pba, from the noun 53x, strength (connected with nidys by, &c. from 
he root bus), with the suffix, and occurring only here (an alleged plur. 
rm, 2 Kings xxiv. 15, is doubtful). Symm. and others ef the ancient 
interpreters supposed it to be the noun DAN, meaning vestibule, portico, 
&c i and hence the rendering, orepea fv ra mpéavda aitév, and Jerome, 


x “era a denominative from 3}, a necklace, and occurring in the Kal 
here. 


ep '. The second clause of this verse will admit of four renderings : 
. 1) ny may be in constr. with DH (comp. Is. lix. 7), “a clothing of 
violence,” and ind, the object of the verb (which is the construction of 
x) her ies of clothing, comp. 6 nb>, Is. xi. 9); (2) MY may be the 
prec ae 2 (which the accent Rebia “Geresh would indicate), “violence 
covereth Sain as a garment ;” (3) 305 may belong to Dion, and the object 
of the verb be understood, “their violence covereth (them) as a garment” 
thi rendering is most in accordance with the accents}; (4) By an 
enall ge of number, sing. for plur., “they cover (themselves) with their 
mn violence as with a garment.” So the LXX. repseSadorro adixiay, and 
f Circumdederunt sibi iniguitatem. 

* tony [or 152, which is found in some MSS., the dual notin being 
th the sing. verb: Stier, indeed, maintains that this is the only correct 


VOL. II. c 


18 PSALM LXXI/T. 


form, as }1)7 is not used with a singular noun, but we have 412°) in ver. 5, 
‘which is only a plena scriptio for 2), 8 having no plural], lit. “ their 
eye goeth forth (looks out proudly) from fatness (z.e, a sleek countenance).” 
Comp. Job xv. 27. Ewald, Hupfeld, and others, following the LXX. 
éfeAevoerat ws ek oréatos 7 ddixia ab’rov, would read {D21p, “their iniquity,” 
or, without changing the word, would take }'y here to stand for }\y, as in 
Zech. v. 6, and the K’ri in Hos. x. 10. (And so the Syr. rom sos ) 
They also take abn, as in xvii. 10, in the sense of heart, or as Ewald 
renders, aus feistem Innern, the word fatness denoting a stupid, insensible 
heart. And so Ges. Thes. in v. 


i 4p. The word occurs only here, It is doubtless to be connected 
with the Aramaic p'%), Eng. mock. Comp. the Greek, pixos, puxryp, the 
nose, as expressing scorn, puxtnpifw, &c. So Symm., catapoxeopevor, and 
Jerome, zrriserunt. The Chald., Rabb., and others, wrongly connected 
the word with ppp, either (1) trans. “they make to melt, z.e. afflict, 
others;” or as the P.B.V., “they corrupt other ;” or (2) “they melt 
away, z.¢. they are dissolute, corrupt,” &c, 


k sban, as in Ex. ix. 23, for on, though it looks almost like an 
abbreviated Hithpael, a form which would be peculiarly suitable here in 
its common meaning, grassarz, PY in the first clause of the verse is 
for NY, as in xlix. 15, and with the tone on the ult. The perfect, followed 
by the future, shows that the second clause is subordinated to the first : 
“ They have set, &c. whilst their tongue goeth,” &c, The construction is 
the same as in ver. 3. 


1 39. If we retain the K’thibh, we must assume that the sing. is here 
put for the plur., the subject being virtually the same as that of the plur. 
verbs in ver. 7, 8, only that~mow these prosperous simners are regarded 
singly, not collectively. ‘“ He, ze. one and another of these proud, 
ungodly men, makes his people (those whom he draws after him) turn 
hither, ze. copy his example.” But perhaps the K’ri is preferable, TY 
being ‘the subject. And so Phillips, who, however, refers the suffix to 
Jehovah. Hs people, z.e. the people of God. 


m 4¥19', from the root N¥%, 4o wring out, to drain. The verb is several 
times used with MN, Zo drink, in order to convey the idea of draining to 
the dregs. So in Ixxv. 9, Is. li. 17, Ezek. xxiii. 34. It is used of wringing 
out (2) the dew from the fleece, in Jud. vi. 38; (4) the blood of the © 
sacrifices, Lev. i. 15, v.9. Our Version has everywhere employed wring 
out as the equivalent, except in Ezek., where it has suck out. Mendelssohn 
renders :— 
“ Bethoret folgt ihm das Volk in ganzen Haufen, 
Strémt ihm, wie Wasserfluthen, nach.” 


In the Beor, “ waters to the full” is explained to mean “the waters of a 
full river, which rush along with strength,” and to be used as a figure or 
comparison ; “so the men of their generation run after them ;” and 4¥1' 
is said to he for 4N¥19!, the 8 being dropt, as in Num. xi. 11, and Ezek. 


se 


PSALM LXXIIT. 19 


_ xxviii. 16. So this word was taken, too, by the older interpreters. The 
LXX. fpepai (reading ‘5%) wAnpeis évevpeOnoovra év aitois. Jerome, guis 
(%) plenus invenietur in es. 

BS SETON The word, Hupfeld thinks, is out of place. What is the 

_ meaning, he asks, “If 1 had said (or thought, Zé. said to myself) let me 

_ declare thus”? Not the forming the purpose to speak so, but the 

speaking so itself, would have been the treachery against the children of 

God. And therefore he would transpose the word either before the 

| particle Ox, “I said (thought) if I should declare thus,” &c., or to the 

_ beginning of ver. 13. See on xxxii. note* But is it not possible that 

‘AON may stand parenthetically : “If (methought) I should declare 

thus”? 
© ¥p>. If the reading be correct, this word must here stand as an 

_ adverb, in the sense so, #hus = 3, 2 meaning, however, in which it 
"ever occurs anywhere else. [Maurer contends for this as the 
z meaning, > being abbreviated from }D and }5 = A, indefinite, 
; am; hence the compound {3 means fale guid.| Some would 
> oD, and suppose it to stand for D3, ike them (the persons 
eiticned before), or /éke these things (such words as those just repeated), 
but this form, again, is never found. Ewald would read mgmi03, and 
pposes the 737] to have been dropt out because of the following 7373, and 
must either adopt this supposition, or with Ges., Hupf., and Del. 
con e that the word {2 is here used abnormally as an adverb. 


P m3yny). The punctuation of the } with Pathach here, instead of 
metz, appears to be arbitrary. Delitzsch, indeed, draws a distinction, 
d says that with | the word would mean ef cogitavi, whereas with } it 
s et cogitabam (or, which would be unsuitable here, et cogitare volo). 
a; ut in other passages where this last form occurs, as lxix. 21; Jud. vi. 9; 
Job xxx. 26, it is joined either with another verb in the fut., with }, or 
with a verb in the pret., without any mark of difference of time. There 
is more force in what Del. says as to the cohortative form of the fut., 
which often serves, without a particle of condition, to introduce the 
'protasis. (See on xlii. note *) So here we might render, “And when (or 
#f/) I thought to understand,” &c., cai ei EAoysfsunv, as Symm. 
In the next clause it is unimportant whether we adopt the K’thibh x‘, 
or the K’ri $39. The former may refer more immediately to the preceding 
Mt, and the latter to the whole preceding sentence, but either must be 
taken equally in a neuter sense. 
_ 4 niniv occurs again only in Ixxiv. 3. It is related, as Hupf. 
remz to such forms as MNiZ), and the like, but is not to be derived 
a ANY, as if it were for “mine, “an impossible form,” but from a 
r ot ee, with the common interchange of letters in weak st@ms. (See 
tpinza. The noun is apparently by transposition of letters for 
abn: It occurs once in the sing. in Is. xvii. 14, elsewhere only in Job 
nd Ezekiel, and there always in the plur. . 
C2 

























‘. 


t 
% 
wi 


-9@o PSALM LXXIV. 


* 3. So far as the grammatical form goes, this might mean z# the 
city, as the ancient interpreters understood (whence our P. B.V., but in 
defiance of grammar, “ Thou shalt make their image vanish out of the 
city”), But the sense is not suitable. The word is evidently a contracted 
form of the Hiphil infin. for 13, and is used intransitively, as in xxxv, 
23. For this contracted infin. see Jer. xxxix. 7 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 10; Prov. 
xxiv. 17. 


t %3.. According to Hupfeld, this mtroduces the protasis “when my 
heart,” &c., the apodosis beginning with } in ver. 22, and the imperfects 
(futures) being relative preterites. Similarly Ewald. But I know of no 
instance by which such a construction can be defended. Commonly 
when ‘3 introduces the protasis, followed by a verb in the future, that 
tense is used in its proper /ufure (not its zmferfect) meaning. Comp. 
Ixxv. 3; 2 Chron. vi. 28. Delitzsch, feeling this, supposes that the 
Psalmist is speaking, not of the past, but of a possible return of his 
temptation, and renders, sz exacerbaretur animus meus atgue in renibus 
mets pungerer, “if my mind should grow bitter, &c. . . . then I should 
be,” &c. But I cannot see why, if > be taken simply as a conjunction, 
for, and not as governing the clause, the verbs may not be regarded as 
imperfects, describing continued past action. The first verb means, 
properly, “to turn acid” (lit, “make itself acid”), Flam. acescere, Calv. 
acidum esse instar fermenti, The second is also strictly a reflexive, “to 
prick oneself.” Both verbs, misunderstood by the ancient interpreters, 
were first rightly explained by Rashi. ; 


«/’F)2D. The Hebrew will admit of the rendering, “ Thou wilt receive 
me with glory” (accus. of instrument). Contrary to the accents, others 
would take MS as a prep. (referring to Zech. ii. 12, which is not really 
analogous): “Thou leadest me after glory,” ze. as my aim (Ew., Hitz.), 
or “in the train of glory” (Hengst.), But the other interpretation, “7 
glory,” z.e. to the everlasting glory of Gad’s presence, is far better. “MN is 
an adverb, as in Gen. x. 18, xxx. 21, Prav, xx. 17, and many other places. 
On the use of the verb np in this sense, see xlix, 16. The whole context 
is in favour of the rendering “to glory.” 





PSALM LXXIV. 


Tuts 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 
Sanctuary: but the Seventy-fourth dwells chiefly on the destruction 
of the Temple ; the Seventy-ninth on the terrible slaughter of the 


eee 


i. = 


— 


ee ee a, 


S PSALM LXXIV. at 


' thhabitants 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 reasonably refer. The description might apply either to\ 
the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, or to the insolent eppression of © 
_ Antiochus Epiphanes; and with one or other of these two occa- 
_ sions it has been usually connected. 
' That no presumption can be raised against the later of ‘these 
‘dates from the history of the Canon, I have already shown in the 
General Introduction to Vol. I. pp. xxxi. xxxii., and in the Intro- 
_ duction to Ps. xliv. ; and there are, more particularly in this Psalm, 
_ some expressions which are most readily explained on the supposition 
_ that it was composed in the time of the Maccabees. 
_ (@) Qne of these is the complaint (ver. 9), “There is no Prophet 
“odeomal It is difficult to understand how such a complaint could 
- been uttered when Jeremiak and Ezekiel were both living ; or 
“with what truth it could be added, “Neither is there any among us 
9 knoweth how long,” when Jeremiah had distinctly foretold that 
‘the duration of the Captivity should be seventy years (Jer. xxv. 11, 
XIX i0).* Gn the other hand, such words are perfectly natural in 
mouth of a poet of the Maccabean age. For 250 years, from 
=e e death of Malachi, the voice of Prophecy had been silent. During 
that long interval, no inspired messenger had appeared to declare 
and to interpret the will of God to His people. And how keenly 
- 2 they were of the greatness of their loss in this respect, we 
m from the frequent allusions to it in the First Book of Maccabees 
“ee ix. 27, xiv. 41). The language of this Psalm, then, is but 
th expression of what we know to have been the national feeling 
c ‘that time. 
_ () Another feature of this Psalm is the description of the pro- 
fanation 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 
“x ohaaeay his return from the second Egyptian campaign, “ en- 
_tered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and 
th e candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof” (i. 21). Two 
ears later, the king sent a division of his army against Jerusalem, 
which fell upon the city, and having made a great slaughter of the 
inl a ats, plundered it, set it on fire, pulled down the houses and 






































F Teas been suggested to me by a friend, that this complaint would 
be unsuitable to the time of Esarhaddon’s invasion (2 Chron. xxxiii. 11). 


t period was singularly barren in prophets. 


_ 


22 PSALM LXXIV. 


walls, and carried away captive 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 abomina- 
tion of desolation was set up on the altar, and sacrifice offered “on 
the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God.” (1 Macc. i. 30— 
59. See also ii. 812, 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. The desolation of Jerusalem and 
the profanation of the sanctuary are described in terms quite as 
suitable to that event. Indeed, one part of the description, ‘ They 
have cast Thy sanctuary into the fire,” ver. 7, it is argued, would 
only hold good of the destruction of the Temple by the Chaldeans. 
Antiochus Epiphanes plundered the Temple, but did not burn it. On 
the contrary, wé are particularly informed that not the Temple itself, 
but the gates of the Temple (1 Macc. iv. 38; 2 Mace. viii. 33), and 
the porch of the Temple (2 Macc. i. 8), were burned, nor is the 
complete destruction of the whole building implied in the same way 
as it is in the Psalm. 

It has also been contended that even the complaint of the cessation 
of prophecy is not absolutely at variance with the older date, pro- 
vided we suppose that the Psalm was written during the Exile, when 
both Jeremiah and Ezekiel had ceased to prophesy, and before 
Daniel entered upon his office. (So Delitzsch, and Calvin admits 
this to be possible.) Tholuck, however, observes that ver. to, 18, 
23, lead us to infer that the Chaldean army was still in the land, and 
even in Jerusalem itself, and therefore that the Psalm must have been 
written when Jeremiah had already been carried away in chains to 
Ramah, on his way to Babylon (Jer. xl. 1). He suggests further, 
that these words (and the same may be said of the words which 
immediately follow, “Neither is there any among us who knoweth,” 
&c.) need not be taken in their exact literal meaning. The deep 
sorrow of the poet would lead him to paint the picture in colours 
darker and gloomier than the reality. Seventy years—who could 
hope to see the end of that weary length of captivity ?—who knew 
if the end would ever come? Such was the language of despondency. 
To one who refused to be comforted, the end promised was as 
though it were not. ; 

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 ; /er 
prophets also find no vision from Jehovah” (Lam. ii. 9). And the 








PSALM LXXIV. 23 


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. lxxix. 6, 7. Again, Lam. 
ii. 2 resembles Ixxiv. 7, and Lam. il. 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 simi- 
larities 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 
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 exazgera- 
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. 

Tt opens with a cry of complaint, and a prayer that God would 
remember His people in their desolation. Ver. 1—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. 
r2—17. Ps 


24 PSALM LXXIV. 


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.? | 


4 Way, O God, hast Thou cast (us) off for ever, . 
(Why) doth Thine anger smoke against the sheep of 


Thy pasture ? 


2 Remember Thy congregation which Thou hast pur- 


chased of old, 


1. Hast THOU CAST OFF. See 
note on xliv. 9. The object here 
may be supplied from the next 
clause, viz. “the sheep of Thy pas- 
ture.” 

WHY DOTH THINE ANGER 
SMOKE. For the figure, compare 
xviii. 8 [9], where see note. There 
is a change in the tenses, the pre- 
terite in the first clause being used 
to denote the act of casting off, the 
future (present) here to denote the 
continuance of the same. See on 
xliv. 9. 

SHEEP OF THY PASTURE; a 
favourite figure in those Psalms 
which are ascribed to Asaph. (See 
Introduction, Vol. I. pp. 96, 97.) It 
is found also in Jer. xxiii. 1. The 
name contains in itself an appeal to 
the compassion and tender care of 
the shepherd. Can the shepherd 
slay his sheep? 

2. THOU HAST PURCHASED ... 
THOU HAST RANSOMED. Both 
verbs contain in themselves a reason 
why God should remember His 
people. The first verb (Aéndh) may 
mean only Zo get, to acguire, the idea 
of a price paid for the acquisition 
being not necessarily contained in 


the word. So Gen. iv. 1, “I have . 


gotten a man with (the help of) 
Jehovah :” Gen. xiv: 22, “the most 
High God, ossessor of heaven and 
earth ;” Prov. viii. 22, “}ehovah 
possessed me in the beginning of 
His way.” And Jerome renders 
here fossedisti and the LXX: éxrijca. 
Exactly analogous is the use of the 


Greek repirouioba. Acts xx. 28: 
“The church of God, which He 
purchased (acquired) with His own’ 
blood.” 1 ‘Fim. iii, 13; “ Purchase 
(acquire) to themselves a good. 
degree.” Comp. Eph. i. 14, and § 
Thess. v. 9, where see Vaughan’s’ 
note. The second verb (gé-ai, to 
ransom, whence goél), from a root 
meaning Zo loosen [see Fiirst’s Con- 
cord.], is the technical word for 
every kind of redemption under the. 
Law, whether of fields (Lev. xxv. 
25), tithes (Lev. xxvii. 31, 33), 
or slaves (Lev. xxv. 48, 49). The 
next of kin was called Goél, be= 
cause on him devolved the duty of 
redeeming land which his poor 
relation had been compelled to selt 
(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). 

A third word is common in He- 
brew, dddéh, which means properly 
to separate, and then to loosen, and 
so to redeem, as im Deut. ix. 26, 
‘Thine inheritance which Thou 
hast redeemed.” This word is also 
employed, but more rarely, in the 
technical sense of the redemption 
of the first-born of animals for 
instance (Ex. xiii. 13, XxXxiv. 70), 
Both this and the verb ¢@-al ire _ 
frequently used of the deliverance 
from Egypt and from Babylon. 

OF OLD, as in xliv. 2, with refer- 
ence, doubtless, to the deliverance 
from Egyptian bondage. 


































assembly ;¢ 


THETRIBE. Stichis, apparently, 
the meaning of the word here, the 
whole nation being regarded, not as 
many tribes, but as one tribe, pro- 
bably 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 

“od of Thine inheritance,” and so 
suther, Calvin, and others, and the 
_ word frequently means “rod, staff (as 
_ in xxiji. 4), scepire (as in xlv. 6[ 7)), 
&c., but here it is usually explained 
_ to mean measuring-rod, and so the 
portion measured out—a meaning, 
ch r, in which the dias ae 
occurs. Jerome explains it by 
q sceptre, and so Theophylact, 7A0é 
_ 8€  paBdos riv Bacedeiar. 
_ The CONGREGATION represents 
_ the people in their religious aspect, 


and God’s dwelling in the midst of 


they would never be repaired. A 
similar phrase (though the words in 
_ the original are different) occurs in 
Gen. xxix. 1, 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 quickly, to reach out, to be in 
- good earnest, not to hesitate.”— 
ir10, Bible IlMustrations, i. 305. 


PSALM LXXIV. 


25 


(Which) Thou hast ransomed (to be)® the tribe of 
Thine inheritance, 
(And) the mount Zion wherein Thou hast dwelt. 
3 Lift up Thy feet unto the everlasting ruins !° 
(The) enemy hath laid waste all in the sanctuary ; 
4 Thine adversaries have roared in the midst of Thine 


EVERLASTING, the same word as 
in ver. 1, “for ever,” ze. which 
seem to human impatience, Jooking 
Jorward, as if they would never be 
built again. In Is. lxi. 4, “‘ the ever- 
lasting ruins ” (where, however, the 
Hebrew words are different) are so 
called, looking back on the long 
past continuance of the desolation. 
IN THE SANCTUARY. This is 
his greatest grief. His country has 
been laid waste with fire and sword, 
his friends slain or carried into 
captivity, but there is no thought so 
full of pain as this, that the holy 
and beautiful house wherein his 
fathers worshipt has been plundered 
and desecrated by a heathen sol- 
diery. Instead of the psalms, and 
hymns, and sacred anthems 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 re- 
ligious, have displaced the emblems 
of Jehovah. The magnificent 
carved work of the Temple, such 
as the cherubim, and the palms, 
and the pillars, with pomegranates 
and lily-work (1 Kings vi. 15, &c. if 
the allusion be to the First Temple), 
which 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, zc. here 
evidently “place of assembly,” a 


26 PSALM LXXTIV. 


They have set up their signs as signs. 
5 It seems® as though one lifted up on high 
Axes against the thickets of the wood: 
6 And now the carved work thereof‘ altogether 
With hatchet and hammers they break down. 
7 They have set on fire Thy sanctuary, 
They have profaned the dwelling-place of Thy Name 
(even) unto the earth. 


word originally applied to the Mo- 
saic tabernacle, and afterwards to 
the great national festivals. Here 
it would seem the Temple is meant. 
Comp. Lam. ii. 6, where the word 
occurs in both senses. “ He hath 
destroyed Wis assembly (or temple ; 
E. V. His places of assembly)... 
He hath caused to be forgotten 
solemn feast and sabbath,” &c. It 
comes from a root signifying to fix, 
to establish, &c., and hence is used 
both of a fixed time (see on Ixxv. 2) 
and a fixed place. 

THEIR SIGNS. An emphasis 
lies on the pronoun ; comp. ver. 9. 
I have retained the literal rendering, 
together with the ambiguity of the 
original. These were either mili- 
tary ensigns, standards, trophies, 
and the like (asin Num. ii. 2 ff.), the 
Temple having been turned into 
a barrack, or religious emblems, 
heathen rites and ceremonies, per- 
haps even idols, by which the 
temple and altar of Jehovah were 
profaned. (In this last sense the 
words would aptly describe the 
state of things under Antiochus 
Epiphanes. Comp. 1 Macc, i, 54 
and 59, “Now the five-and-twentieth 
day of the month they did sacrifice 
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 likeness 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 whatever kind. So Geier : “Ita 
ut accipiatur pro indicio potestatis 
alienz, quz est tum politica, tum 
religiosa : ita namque hostes muta- 
verant quoque signa priora, quibus 
tum Dei, tum magistratus proprii 
jurisdictio ac veneratio designa- 
batur.” 

5. This verse has been com- 
pletely misunderstood by our trans- 
lators, who have here followed 
Calvin, as well as by nearly all the 
older interpreters. It does not de- 
scribe the preparation once made 
for building the Temple, by hewing 
down cedars in the forest of Leba- 
non, but it compares the scene of 
ruin in the interior, the destruction 
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. Buchanan’s paraphrase 
gives the true meaning :-— 


“ Edis ruentis it fragor : 
Quales sub altis murmurant quercus 
jugis 
Czesee bipenni quum ruunt.” 


IT SEEMS, lit. “it is known, 
makes itself known, appears,” &c. 
as in Gen. xli, 21; Ex. xxi. 36, xxxiii, 
16. Or possibly, “he, ze. the 
enemy, makes himself known as 
one who lifts up,” &c. 

7. THEY HAVE SET ON FIRE, lit. 
“They have cast into the fire.” 
Hupfeld compares the German, “in 
Brand legen, stecken,” and the 
French, “ mettre & feu.” 

THEY HAVE PROFANED... UNTO 
THE EARTH, 2.¢. “by casting it to 








PSALM LXXIV. 27 


8 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. 


the ” 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 followed. We have a 
similar construction in lxxxix. 39 
[40], “ Thou hast defiled his crown 
to the earth,” z.z. by casting it to 
theearth. For the fuller expression 
on the other hand, see Lam. ii. 2. 
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 words is, 
that there were many other places 
for religious worship in the land be- 
side the Temple, and that these, as 
well as the Temple, were destroyed. 
All attempts to get rid of this 
meaning are utterly futile. It is 
assumed that this Psalm refers to 
the Chaldean invasion, and, as we 
hear of nos es or legalized 
before the Exile, there- 
fore it is said thatthe Temple must 
be meant, the plural being here used 
for the si ~ It is quite true 
that we have other plural forms 
ed to the Temple. Thus in 
ili. 3, “ Thy tabernacles,” lxxiii. 17, 
“ the sanctuaries of God,” the plural 
being used to denote the several 
parts, courts, chambers, &c. of the 
one building. But it is not only the 
word that we have here, but 


the far wider phrase “ a// the places 


of assembly 7 the land” Hu 
feld tries to escape from this diffi- 
culty by saying that all the previous 
different names of the sanctuary 
are finally comprised in one—that 
one house which may be called “all 
the houses of God,” because it 
ts and is the substitute for 
; and he attempts to defend this 
by Is. iv. 5, where, however, “every 
dwelling-place,” and “her assem- 
blies,” are expressly confined to 


“Mount Zion.” Mendelssohn has 
a similar explanation, except that 
he supposes the expression to be 
used from the point of view of the 
enemy: “ They say in their heart, 
that by destroying this house, we 
shall destroy all the assemblies of 
God together:” Israel having but 
one sanctuary, while all othernations 
build houses of assembly for their 
gods in every city and district. 
But all this is the merest trifling, 
and it is surprising that commen- 
tators of unquestioned ability should 
have recourse to such strained in- 
terpretations. Such interpretations 
are unnecessary, even on the as- 
sumption that this Psalm refers to 
the Chaldean invasion. Before that 
time synagogues are not mentioned, 
it is true, nor indeed are they in the 
Books of the Maccabees ; still it is 
scarcely credible that even before 
the Exile there were no houses of 
God, no places for religious worship, 
except the Temple in Jerusalem. 
Without holding, as Vitringa sur- 
mised, and as others have thought, 
that sacred places, such as those 
consecrated by the patriarchs and 
others, in early times—Ramah, 
Bethel, Gilgal, Shiloh—are meant, 
or “the high places” (see 2 Chron. 
xxxiii. 17, comp. I Kings xviii. 30, 
from which it appears that in Elijah’s 
time, and probably much earlier, 
there was an altar of Jehovah on 
Mount Carmel), theremust have been 
buildings where it was customary 
to meet, especially on the Sabbath 
(which in Lev. xxiii. 3 is called “a 
holy assembly ”), and to pray, turn- 
ing towards Jerusalem. There 
must surely have been some public 
worship beyond the limits of the 
family, and if so, places, houses, for 
its celebration. If, however, the 
Psalm be of the age of the Macca- 
bees, there is no difficulty, for 
before that time, there can be little 
doubt, synagogues were established. 


38 ' PSALM LXXIV. 


9 Our signs we see not; there is no Prophet any more; 
Neither is there with us any who knoweth how long. 
10 How long, O God, shall the adversary reproach ? 
And shall the enemy despise Thy name for ever? 
11 Why withdrawest Thou Thy hand, even Thy right 


hand? 


(Pluck it out) from the midst of Thy bosom, consume 


(them) ! 


12 Surely God is my King of old, 
Working deliverances in the midst of thé earth ; 


Our translators would seem, by 
their rendering “synagogues,” to 
have regarded this as a Maccabean 
Psalm. See more in Critical Note. 

g: OUR SIGNS, ze, 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 com- 
plaint seems most suitable to the 
time of the Maccabees, when, in 
fact, the complaint was frequent. 
See Introduction to the Psalm. 

Stier draws attention to the em- 
phatic way in which the lament 
here closes : no signs—religion de- 
stroyed and rooted out: no prophet 
—to announce approaching con- 
solation, or to begin the work of 
restoration ; none of us all there- 
fore knows how long this sad state 
of things shall last. The latter 
expression refers, not to the prophet 
(as Hupfeld), but to the mass of the 
people. 

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 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. 
XXXIl. 27. 

Il. WHY WITHDRAWEST THOU, 
lit. Why makest Thou to return, 
z.é. 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 
robe. 

(PLUCK IT OUT.) It seems 
necessary here to supply the ellipse 
in this way. The construction is a 
pregnant one, similar to what we 
have already hadin ver. 7. For the 
absolute use of the verb, CONSUME, 
comp. lix.13[14]. It may either be 
rendered as above, or perhaps as 
Meyer, Stier, and others, “‘ Make 
an end,” ze. of this state of things. 

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 God as Creator and 
absolute 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 representative of 
the people, “Art Thou not from 











PSALM LXXTV. 


29 


13 THou didst divide the sea through Thy strength, 
Thou brakest 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.’ 
15 THOv didst cleave fountain and brook ; 
‘FHOU driedst up everflowing rivers. 


everlasting, O Jehovah my God, 
my Holy One ?—we shall not die.” 
13—15 . Specialinstances of God’s 
wonder-working power in the pas- 
_ sage of the Red Sea, in bringing 
_ water from the rock, and in the 
of the Jordan. 
. 13. MONSTERS. (Symmachus, 
| v, the whales.) A sym- 
Bolick deccrigtion of the Egyptians. 
_ Comp. Is. li. g, and Ezek. xxix. 3, 
_ where Pharaoh is called the “ mon- 
_ sterwhich is inthesea.” The E. V. 
vag all these placés “ dragon” as 
= the ret word. Here the 
ae paxey, to express both 
word ow Leviathan in the 
next clause. The same Hebrew 
_ word, tannin, is employed again 


EE adted 7, and also Gen. i. 21 (where 


rendered wha/es), to denote 

huge sea-monsters, lit. creatures 
| extended, strétched out, hence ser- 
Perhaps the 


, Sevlathan) is meant here as em- 
blematic of Egypt. The head of 
the monster has been smitten, and 
the huge unwieldy carcase lies 

floating on the waters. 
_ The plural. HEADS has been sup- 
to refer to Pharaoh and his 


panes bet it may be only poetic 


on. 

14, LEVIATHAN, z.¢. the croco- 
- dile, asin Job xl. 25 (xli. 1, E.V.). In 
what sense is this said to be given 
as food to the people inhabiting the 
wilderness? Bochart, who is fol- 
lowed by Hengstenberg and others, 
that = allusion is to the 

phagi, who, according to 
Seeded fed on the sea-mon- 


sters which were thrown up on 
their shores. Comp. Herod. ii. 69. 
Similarly, the LXX. render Aaoits 
tois Ai@iwoyn. Others, again, think 
that by the people inhabiting the 
wilderness are meant the Israelites, 
to whom the Egyptians are said, 
figuratively, to be given as food, 
z.é. as plunder. But by far the 
simplest way is to understand the 
passage as meaning that the corpses 
of the Egyptians were cast upon 
the shore, and so became the prey 
of the wild beasts, which are here 
called a feople inhabiting the wil- 
derness; as in Prov. xxx. 25, 26, 
the ants and the conies are called 
“a people.” Comp. also Joel i. 6; 
Zeph. ii. 14. 

INHABITING THE WILDERNESS. 
On this word seé on Ixxii. note ». 

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 ; Hab. iii. 9. The refer- 
ence is, no doubt, to Exod. xvii. 6. 

THOU DRIEDST UP. The same 
word is used, Josh. ii. 10, of the 
Red Sea, and iv. 23, v. 1, of the 
Jordan. 

EVERFLOWING RIVERS, literally 

“streams of constant flow.” The 
same word occurs in Exod. xiv. 27, 
“The sea returned to its constant 
flow, its usual current.” See also 
Deut. xxi. 4; Amos v.24. Here the 
Jordan is meant, the plural being 
used, not to denote the several 
streams by which it is fed (as Kim- 
chi), but merely by way of poetic 
amplification. 


30 PSALM LXXTV. 


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, 
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, 


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-displayed 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 witness to, and an instance 
of, the other, 

(THE) LIGHT, or rather “lumi- 
nary,” corresponding to the Greek 
georyp (which Aquila employs 
here). Itis 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 then of these the sun is named 
as chief. In the same way we have, 
as Hupfeld remarks, Judah and 
Jerusalem, Ephraim and Samaria, 
and so the Greeks say, “EAAnves te 
kat A@nvaio, and the like. 

17. THE BORDERS OF THE 
EARTH, 2.¢, 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 
boundary lines by which order is 
preserved, 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 
everlasting order of the world, and 
perhaps with reference to Gen. viii. 
22. The literal rendering is “ Sum- 
mer and winter—Thou hast formed 
them.” 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- 
curs (comp. ver. 2) with renewed 
force after the Psalmist has com- 
forted 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, 2.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 Antio- 
chus Epiphanes, though it might of 
course refer to Nebuchadnezzar, 


The same Chaldee word (WDD, 


tiphsha) is, in the Targum on Deut. 
xxxii, 21, the equivalent of the same 
Hebrew word, where again the 
reference is to a heathen nation 
employed as the instrument of 
Israel’s chastisement. In Lev, 
xxvi. 41, it is the equivalent to the 
Hebrew uncircumcised. In Ecclus. 
1. 26, the Samaritans are called 
“that foolish people.” 

20. LOOK UPON THE COVENANT. 
The appeal 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 


—_ 








PSALM LXXTV. 3t 


For the dark places of the land are full of the habita- 


tions of violence. 


21 O let not the oppressed turn back confounded, 
Let the afflicted and the poor praise Thy name ! 
22 Arise, O God, plead Thine own cause. 
Remember how the foolish man reproacheth Thee all 


the day. 


23 Forget not the voice of Thine adversaries, 
The tumult of them that rise against Thee (which) 


goeth up for ever. 


made first with Abraham, and then 
renewed with him and with the 
fathers. Comp. Ixxviii. 10; Is. 
lxiv. 8. 

THE DARK PLACES, or, “ dark- 
nesses.” The word occurs else- 
where of the darkness of the grave, 
lxxxviii. 6 [7], cxliii. 3 ; Lam. iii. 6, 
and hence it may be used here in a 
figurative sense, merely as express- 
ing, generally, misery, gloom, &c. 

-oras Delitzsch explains Gane under- 
_ stands the Psalm of the Chaldean 
invasion), ‘Turn where we may, 
the darkened land is full of abodes 
_ of tyranny and oppression.” It 
_ seems most probable, however, that 
_ those are meant which were 
the best fitted for scenes of violence 


and murder—the haunts of rob- 
bers, who there lay in wait for 
their victims. The banditti would 
speedily become numerous in a 
country where law and order were 
at anend. Comp. x. 8. 

21. THE OPPRESSED, lit. “the 
crushed :” TURN BACK, as invi. Io 
[11], or, perhaps, simply “return” 
(the usual meaning of the verb), z.¢. 
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. 18. 

23. GOETH UP, ze. which ascends 
to heaven, crying aloud for ven- 
geance. 







* On Maschil, see above on xxxii. note *, and General Introduction, 
Vol. I. p. 85 ; on Asaph, see 1. note *, and General Introduction, Vol. I. 
P. 96. 

b ‘m3 D3Y. These words seem to be a predicate, the relative being 
supplied before FDN3. So Ewald: “Hast erlést zum Stamme,” &c, 
Mendelss. renders somewhat differently, as if D2¥’ depended on 5t, and 
‘m) were the predicate: “ (Denke), Des Stammes, dir zum Eigenthum 
befreiet.” But in the Beor it is explained as I have rendered it above. 
_ Delitzsch takes this clause as parenthetical, and says that the relative 
4 sagt of expression is here given up, though the next clause depends 
on Dt. 


_ © mixv. On the form and derivation of this word see on Ixxiii., 
- note 4. 

_ 4 33¥ip. A large number of MSS. and editions have the plur. 5"v19, 
asin ver. 8. The Chald., Kimchi, and others, have also adopted it, and it 
is in itself admissible, even if the Temple be meant. See note on ver. 8. 


32 PSALM LXXTV. 


e yt. Jz zs known, and so tt appears, see note on ver. 5. This word 
puzzled all the ancient interpreters. The Chald. omits it altogether, but 
gives the true sense of the passage, which all the others have missed, 
As regards the construction, either this and the next verse describe, as in 
a parenthesis, the scene of destruction, and hence the verbs are presents, 
giving more vividness to the narration ; or perhaps the two verses may 
be taken as protasis and apodosis. As... so now (AAY)). 893193, lit, 
as one causing to come in, or perhaps as one bringing. So Ges. Thes. in 
vy. S\2, comp. Job xii. 6. In 93D, the vowel is Kametz, not Kametz- 
Khatuph, as Nurzi calls it. Comp. N3i723N3, Esth. iv. 8. 


t IAB, carved wood-work, as in 1 Kings vi. 29. The fem. suff, 
cannot refer immediately to any of the preceding nouns. It seems to be 
used here as a neut., in an indefinite sense, referring Sal / to the 
“sanctuary” and “ assembly ” mentioned before. 


§ 033. Kimchi first rightly explained this as 1 plur. fut. Kal. of 7 
(elsewhere, except in the Part., occurring only in Hiph.), with suff. p> 
instead of D-, as 073, Num. xxi. 30. 


h Sevapin. The word “Yd, as has been remarked, may be used either 
of a fixed place of meeting (hence the Tabernacle was called ‘1p bai, tent 
of meeting, i.e. where God met the people) ; or of a fixed time, and so of 
the festivals, as in Lev. xxiii. 2, 4, 37. The ancient interpreters were 
divided as to the signification bere: Aq. and Symm. have évertpurav 
wdoas tas cuvaywyas. On the other hand, the LXX., who put the words 
into the mouth of the enemy, render, dedre, karamavoaper rds éopras rod 
Kupiov. The sixth translator in the Hexapla has xataxatoopev, which 
may have been the original reading of the LXX., as Jerome (in his Ep. 
to Sunnia and Fretela) contends. It might easily have been altered to 
avoid the awkwardness of saying, “ Let us burn up all the feasts.” 
Jerome translates the LXX. Quzescere faciamus omnes dies festos Det 


én terra; but his own rendering of the Hebrew is Jucenderunt omnes — 


solemnitates Det in terra. 


. py py. This is grammatically indefensible. If the two nouns 
are in apposition, then the first cannot be in the stat. constr. It must 
be ny. But more probably the second ° has been inserted by mistake 
before bY’. See a similar instance in Is. xxxii. 1. 


k nnd. According to the accents, this word is not to be joined with 
what follows ; hence many regard it as the constr. state put for the absol. 
But there is no instance of such usage. Others would supply ; ny or 
some such word, deast of (the field). It is better to regard it as an 
instance of a feminine noun terminating in its absolute state, in -ath 
instead of -é2. See on lxi. note #, and Kimchi’s remark there quoted. 
It is then doubtful whether we should take MD in the sense of w#ld 
beasts, or in the sense of Hos¢ (sc. of enemies). Delitzsch contends that 
the latter is required, because in the very next clause it occurs in this 
sense, “the congregation or host of Thine afflicted.” Comp, Ixviii, 10 





—— 

































PSALM LXXV. 33 


[11], and note there. Others would connect 3 mind together, taking 
wD} in the sense of eagerness, as in xvii. 9 (where see note.) Hence ‘3's 
would either mean Zo the eager host (sc. of enemies)—so Ges., Maur., and 
others—or, fo the eager (fierce, devouring) w#/d beast. 

Hupfeld thinks the difficulty is at once got over by the simple remedy 
__ of transposition, ‘Nn n'n vind jAA bs, “ Give not to rage (to the fierce will 
' of the enemy) “ie life of Thy turtle-dove.” He tries to defend this 
absolute use of wb) in the sense of fierce desire, by reference to xxvii. 12, 
_ xii. 2 [3], where the word, however, occurs with a genitive (“will of mine 
enemies”), which he thinks may be supplied here from the context. In 
_ the next clause he keeps the same meaning of 'n, “the life of Thine 
_ afflicted.” 

None of these explanations is satisfactory, though there can be no 
doubt as to the general sense of the passage. All the ancient Versions 
_ have misunderstood 7\F. The Chald. seems to have read 4N7iA, as it 
_ paraphrases, “the souls of them that teach Thy Law.” Others, appa- 
tently, as the LXX., Jerome, Syr., Arab., and Ethiop., read #7iA, “the 
soul (which) confesseth, or giveth thanks, to Thee.” All agree in 
{ rendering the first part of the sentence alike, o “Give not to the wild 


_ beasts,” except the Syr., which has aS 22 ii “ne des fractioni” 
_(Dathe) ; but why not Jrede@ ? as in Is. v.29. Does not this point to 
a reading 30 or njin, and may not the copyist have fallen into the error 
by his eye catching Mi‘ in the next line? 





i: PSALM LXXV. 


_ Tue 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 evildoers. 
_ There are no clearly marked historical allusions in the Psalm. It 

ms however not improbable, as has been conjectured by many 
‘commentators (Ewald, Tholuck, Delitzsch, &c.), that it may refer 
0 the time of the Assyrian invasion, either as celebrating, or imme- 
y anticipating, the defeat of Sennacherib. Like Ps. xlvi. it 
ars some resemblance to the prophecies of Isaiah uttered at that 
But there is, as Ewald has observed, a difference in the 
in which the Prophet and the Psalmist treats his subject. 


 -YOL. IL D 


34 PSALM LXXV. 


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 1 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. 1. 

It passes then to the prophetic announcement of the truth which 
has been uttered from heaven and echoed with triumph upon earth, 
of God’s righteous judgement. Ver. 2—8. 

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. 


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 ap- 
proaching fulfilment he saw in the 
spirit of prophecy; words that were 
themselves an exemplification of the 
truth that God is near, despite the 


madness of men and the disorders 
of the world. 

1. 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 Nameis near : 
they (ze. men, or our fathers, as in. 
xliv. 1 [2], Ixxviii. 3) have told of 
Thy wonders” (so Ewald). But it 
is, perhaps, better to connect the 
two clauses, as our translators have. 
done. Luther and Mendelssohn, 
and, more recently, Hupfeld and 
Bunsen, have taken the same view. 

THY NAME IS NEAR, not “near 
in our mouth,” ze, as the great 
object of praise (as Hengstenberg 
and others explain, referring to 








PSALM LXXV. 35 


. 
} 2 “ When the set time is come, 
























melting, 


Jer. xii. 2, a passage which is totally 
different), but near in presence, near 
_ in self-manifestation, near in love 
, ear in succour and 


who may be in doubt or perplexity 


WHEN THE SET TIME IS COME, 
‘Tit. “When I shall have taken 
Ss cipeal the set time,” ze. the 
_time appointed in the Divine coun- 
thread of time is ever 


as it were, from the 


eee eel , SC XViii. 
> and comp. the xatpds dexrés, 
“evmpoodexros of 2 Cor. vi. 2.) God 
is ever the righteous Judge, but He 

executes His sentence, not accord- 
; to man’s impatient expecta- 


Sehich He has Himself chosen. 
‘The words are an answer to_all 


over-zealous reformers, who would 
pull up the tares with the wheat 
rather than wait for the harvest. 
SET TIME. The Hebrew word 
(mo’ed) has also the signification 
assembly, congregation, which our 
translators have adopted here, and 
2 is common in the phrase 
bernacle of the congregation,” 
The root idea isthat of some- 
whether time or place 


- persons gathered in a 


nin: 


I myself have set up the pillars of it. 


mouth of God Himself, to those’ 
_ because their lot is cast in troublous: 


; but at the critical moment’ 
s hand arrests it: (For this 


but’ at the exact instant’ 


I, even I, will judge uprightly: 
3 (Though) the earth and all the inhabitants thereof are 


[Selah] 


place). See note on Ixxiv. 4. The 
former sense is clearly preferable 
here. Comp. cii. 13 [14] (where the 
E. V. has correctly “set time” in- 
stead of “ congregation,” as here) ; 
Hab. ii. 3, “the appointed time,” 
z.¢. for the accomplishment of the 
vision. And so also Dan. viii. 19, 
Xi. 27, 35. The proper rendering i is 
given by the LXX., éray A\aB@ xatpov. 
Jerome and the Vulgate, cum 
accepero tempus. Symmachus ap- 

ntly led the way with the other 
interpretation, Gray haBo dd ovvayo- 
yiv. The “congregation” would, of 
course, mean all who are assembled 
to behold the solemn act of judge- 
ment, as in vii. 7 [8], 1. 5. 

I, EVEN I. The pronoun is em- 
phatic. The Greek Version known 
as the Fifth renders it still more 
emphatically : “I am; I prepared 
the pillars thereof for ever” (eye cipl, 
Hroipava Tovs aTvhovs abtis dei). The 
same prominence is given to the 
pronoun in the second member of 
the next verse. 

3. Such a critical 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 
identified. To the poet’s eye, the 
world of nature and the world of 
man are not two, but one. The 
words of Hannah’s song (1 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 con- 
text shows, has a moral application. 

HAVE SET UP. A word properly 
used of fixing a thing by weight or 
measure. Comp. Job xxviil. 25; 
ee et, 52, 13. 


D2 


36 PSALM LXXV. 


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.° 


7 No, God is Judge, 


He putteth down one, and lifteth up another. 
8 For there is a cup in the hand of Jehovah, 


4. I SAID. Ewald and others 
suppose 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 indication of any change 
of speaker, itis 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 
lxxiii. 3, where see references. 

5. WITH A STIFF NECK. Here, 
again, there is evidently an allusion 
to the words of Hannah’s song, 
1 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 commis- 
sioned 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 cast- 
eth down according to His own 
righteous sentence. Again an allu- 
sion to 1 Sam. ii, 6. 

FROM THE WILDERNESS, z.¢. 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 
Sennacherib, by the fact that the 
Assyrian army approached from 
the North; 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 which 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 pe- 
culiarly unfortunate in conveying a 
wrong idea. “Lifting up,” in its 
Hebrew sense, does not mean ‘‘pro- 
motion,” as we commonly under- 
stand 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 [4], 
xviii. 2 [3], xxvii. 6. For other in- 
terpretations of this verse, see Cri- 
tical Note. 

8. The solemn act of judgement. 
God puts the cup of His wrath 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 lx, 
3 [5]. In the Prophets it occurs fre- 
quently: Is. li. 17—23 (comp. xix. 
14); Hab. ii. 15, 16; Ezek. xxiii. 
32, &c.; Jerem. xxv. 27; x\lviii. 
26; xlix, 12; and, in the form of 
a symbolical action, xxv. 15, &c. 

FOAMETH, 2.é. as it is poured into 






















the cup from the wine-jar, as is ex- 
pressed in the next member of the 
verse. 

MIXTURE, ze. the aromatic herbs, 
&c., which were put into the wine to 

it more intoxicating. Seethe 

q ay WINE in Smith’s Dict. of the 
_ POURETH OUT, zc. from the wine- 
_ jar into the cup. 
OF THE SAME, the wine; the 
_ DREGS THEREOF are the dregs of 
the cup. (See Critical Note.) 
iat BuT AS FOR ME—placing him- 
and the congregation of Israel 
_ in opposition to the proud oppres- 
! will be the everlasting 


"pp. 89, 96. 


PSALM LXXYV. 37 


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. 


herald of this great and memorable 
act. This is the true on omnis 
mortar. 

1o. 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 fail be- 
fore Him. Comp. Rev. ii. 26, 27. 

Ewald sees an emphasis in the 
word a/é/, repeated ver. 8 and here. 
The punishment is, as yet, only be- 
gun. Some only have drunk of that 
deadly wine, but the cup is large, 
and aé/ the wicked must drain it. 


* See above on lvii. note *, 1. note *; and General Introduction, Vol. I. 


_ © pny. Delitzsch and others take this, not as an adj. qualifying the 
3 Preceding noun, but as immediately dependent on the verb of speaking, 
which is, in fact, its usual construction. So in 1 Sam. ii. 3; Ps. xxxi. 19, 
xciv. 4. In this case WS3 must be taken absolutely ; ‘‘ with the neck ” 
meaning “with a proud stiff neck,” a mode of expression which it is 
supposed may be defended by Job xv. 26, “he runneth against Him with 
_ the neck,” where, however, as Hupfeld remarks, the phrase seems only 

__ equivalent to our expression “ with the head.” 


©3370. This reading is supported by most of the MSS. and 
=dd., and can only be translated “from the wilderness of the mountains,” 


ich is usually explained to mean the Arabian desert, so called because 
i pe wauicd in by the mountains of Idumea. “The desert of the 
“mountains” is, then, a mode of describing the South, and, according to 
} engst., the allusion is to Egypt, as the great Southern power which was 
the hope of Israel in the Assyrian invasion. According to this reading, 
Siar is is an aposiopesis. Not from the East, &c., and not from the 
wilderness of mountains—[cometh jadgement (Hengst.) or lifting up 














38 PSALM LXX VI. 


(Del.)]. But it is far better to read 13151) (absol. instead of constr.), and 
to take D7 as the Hiph. Inf. used as a noun, /i/ting uf, like }'20, xxxii. 
9. Kimchi testifies that in his time (end of the 12th century) this was 
the reading of the best MSS. (it is still found in several), and the Midrash 
expressly says that Aarim means harim (z.é. mountains) everywhere but 
in this passage. The whole scope of the Psalm, where so much is said 
of “lifting up,” confirms this view. Ewald also adopts the reading 
72719, but supplies the copula before O04, which he takes in its usual 
signification “mountains,” z.e. Lebanon, &c. as descriptive of the North. 
Thus he completes the four quarters, as the Chald. has done also, only 
inverting the order and understanding the North by the desert and the 
South by the mountains. 


a 19m j%. It seems doubtful whether } is here accusat. or nominat. 
So far as the constr. is concerned it may be the former : “It (ze. the cup) 
foameth with wine.” The objection to this is that the verb is in the masc. 
whereas Di is, in almost every instance, fem., and the suffix in mY 
would seem to show that it is fem. here. To this Hupf. replies: (1) that 
in Jer. xxv. 15, DiS is masc. (and therefore a noun of common gender), 
and (2) that the fem. suffix here refers to Dip and not to D3. 

xd is a verb followed by the accus. See Ixv. Io. 





PSALM LAV, 


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 de- 
liverance 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 Sa/em), 
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 








PSAIM LXX VI. 39 







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. 


























in three verses. 


_ 1—3. The whole emphasis of this 
first strophe consists in the pro- 
minence given to the particular 
locality where God has manifested 
His power. It is on the same field 
where He has so often gotten to 
glory. It is in Judah, in 
; ,in Zion. It is there (ver. 3, 
the word is ly emphatic) 
‘that He hath dashed in pieces the 
¥ of the foe. 
ead KNOWN, or perha more 
y, “maketh Himself known,” 
yr in ~ee la 3 [4], ze. by the present 
_ deliverance which He has wrought. 


_ [FOR THE PRECENTOR, WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS.* 
. OF ASAPH. A SONG. ] 


1 IN Judah is God known, 
His name is great in Israel. 


The internal evidence points so clearly to the occasion for which 
the Psalm was written, that the LXX. have inscribed it, zpoc rov 
*Aocvpov, and this reference has, with few exceptions, been recog- 
nized by commentators, ancient and modern. 


The Psalm consists of four strophes, each of which is comprised 


I. The first celebrates Jerusalem and Zion as the abode of God, 
and the place where He has manifested His power. 


II. The second describes in a forcible and animated manner the 
_ sudden destruction of the beleaguering army. Ver. 4—6. 
__ IIl. The third dwells on that event as a solemn, far-reaching act 
of judgement, conveying its lesson to the world. Ver. 7—9. 


IV. The last tells what that lesson is, counseling submission to 
Him whose power and whose righteousness have so wonderfully 
_ made themselves known. Ver. 1o—12. 


Ver. 1—3. 


A PSALM 


The participle expresses present 
action. 

IN ISRAEL. According to Hup- 
feld, Israel is here mentioned in the 
parallelism, 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 common phrase to 
denote the whole nation. But if 
the date assigned to the Psalm be 
correct, there may be a special 
reason for the mention of Israel. 
Hezekiah was the first monarch 
who made any attempt to restore 


40 PSALM LXXVI. 


2 In Salem also hath been His tabernacle, 
And His dwelling-place in Zion. 


the ancient unity of the tribes. 
After the fall of Samaria, and the 
deportation of the inhabitants of 
the northern kingdom by Esarhad- 
don, Israel, z.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 Jsvael and 
Fudah, and wrote letters also to 
Ephraim and Manasseh, that they 
should come to the house of the 
Lord at Jerusalem, to keep the 
passover unto the Lord God of 
Israel.” (2 Chron. xxx. 1.) A study 
of the whole chapter will show what 
importance 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 év 
eipnvn, and the Vulg. zz 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 Jeru- 
salem ; but whether as a mere ab- 
breviation, to suit some exigency 
of the poetry, and point the allusion 
to the eace which the city enjoyed 
through the protection of God [this 
is Ewald’s view], or whether, after 
a well-known habit of poets, it is an 
antique name preferred to the more 
modern and familiar one, is a ques- 
tion not yet decided. The latter is 
the opinion of the Jewish com- 
mentators, but it is grounded on 
their belief that the Salem of Mel- 
chizedek was the city which after- 
wards became Jerusalem. This is 
to beg the question.” He shows 
that this was the general belief, up 
to the time of Jerome, of Christians 
as well as Jews, But Jerome 
places the Salem of Melchizedek 
near Scythopolis, and identifies it 
with the Salim of John the Baptist. 
The narrative in Genesis does not 
mark the return route of Abraham, 
so as to furnish any data for fixing 


the locality of Salem. It is pro- 
bable that Abraham “ would equally 
pass by both Scythopolis and Jeru- 
salem.” On the other hand, the 
distance of Sodom from the former 
place (80 miles) renders it unlikely 
that the king of Sodom should 
have gone so far to meet Abraham, 
and makes it more probable that 
the interview took place after his 
return; and this “is, so far, in 
favour of Salem being Jerusalem.” 
Mr. Grove, who has discussed the 
whole question with his usual learn- 
ing and ability, throws out the sug- 
gestion that the antithesis in ver. 
I, between “Judah” and “ Israel,” 
may “imply that some sacred place 
in the northern kingdom is con- 
trasted with Zion, the sanctuary of 
the south. And if there were in 
the Bible any sanction to the iden- 
tification of Salem with Shechem 
[according to a tradition of Eupo- 
lemus, which he has quoted}, the 
passage might be taken as referring 
to the continued relation of God to 
the kingdom of Israel.” But see 
note on ver. I. Salem and Zion 
denote the lower and upper city 
respectively. 

His TABERNACLE, lit. “ booth,” 
as made of zzterwoven or inter- 
lacing boughs of trees, &c. (So 
the feast of ¢abernacies is the feast 
of dooths, or huts.) The name 
may have been used of any tem- 
porary structure, and so of the 
Tabernacle, and then, as here, of 
the Temple. Comp. xxvii. 5, and 
Lam. ii. 6. 

But I am inclined to prefer 
another meaning here, and one 
more in accordance with the con- 
text. 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 /azr.”) In 
ver. 4 it is said, “‘ Thou art glorious 
from the mountains of Jrey.” May 
not God be here likened to a lion 
couching in his /azr, and going 
forth from those mountains to de- 






































_ stroy? This seems almost certain, 
_ when we find that the word in the 
parallel, “His dwelling,” is also 
used Ee. 22 of the den of lions ; 
“the lions roaring after their rey, 
_ &c.... lay them down in their 
_ dens.” The same word occurs in 
‘the same sense in Am. iii.4. Then 
_ we should render: “In Salem is 
His covert, and his lair in Zion.” 
: Stanley, I find, takes the 
same view, Szvai and Pal. p. 177, 
note 2. -As regards the figure itself, 
Jehovah is said in two other pas- 
"sages to roar (as a lion), Joel iii. 16 
iv. 16]. He is here, as it were, 
dentified with “the lion of the 
ibe of Judah.” 
_ 3. THERE. Emphatically point- 
ing to the spot where the great de- 
liverance had been accomplished. 
Comp. for this use xxxvi. 12 [13], 
_Ixvi. 6, and for the general sense of 
the verse xlvi. 9 [10] :— 


“Who stilleth wars to the end of 
E the earth, 
Who breaketh the bow and cut- 
teth 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 flight, and their glitter- 
ing in the air; or possibly with an 
usion to the burning arrows em- 
ployed in ancient warfare. See on 
vii. note °. 

__ 4. There is no comparison, as in 

t V., “ more glorious than the 
ntains of prey,” though the 
y would admit of such a 


‘sameambiguity in the use of the pre- 
position, lv. 8 [9], and note there), 


PSAIM LXX VI. 41 


3 There® brake He the arrows® of (the) bow, 
Shield, and sword, and battle. 


[Selah.] 


4 Glorious? art Thou, (and) excellent 
From the mountains of prey. 

5 The stout-hearted have been spoiled,° 
They have sunk into their sleep, 


and it has been adopted by many 
commentators. They suppose that 
the Assyrian power is tacitly com- 
pared either to a lion going forth 
to ravin (comp. the fuller picture in 
Nah. ii.11—13[12—14], or torobbers 
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 com- 


’ parison 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,” Tholuck says, “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 Jeru- 
salem they themselves must be- 
come a prey, who had hoped there 
to gather the prey.” The plural, 
MOUNTAINS, either used in the 
wider sense, as in the passage just 
quoted from Isaiah, or possibly of 
Zion only, as in lxxxvii. I, cxxxili. 3. 
The great prominence always given 
to the mountains of their native 
land, both by Psalmists and Pro- 
phets, is a further confirmation of 
the view that the mountains of 
Palestine, not those of Assyria, are 
here meant. See Mr. Grove’s ad- 
mirable article, PALESTINE, § 26, 
in Smith’s Dict. 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”) ex- 
presses the languor and lassitude 


42 


PSALM LXXVI. 


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 earth feared and was still; . 
g When God arose to judgement, 


To save all the afflicted of the earth. 


by which 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 shep- 
herds s/umber, O King of Assyria,” 
where the word is used, as here, ot 
the sleep of death. A third word is 
employed in the next verse. 

HAVE FOUND THEIR HANDS 
finely expresses the helplessness 
and bewilderment of those proud 
warriors who but a short while 
before had raised their hands in 
scornful defiance against Jerusa- 
lem (see Is. x. 32). The idiom is 
apparently similar to our common 
expression, “ dosing heart.” (Comp. 
2 Sam. vii. 27, to “find heart.”) 
Hupfeld thinks that this rendering 
is not supported by usage, and 
would render, ‘have found nothing, 
z.e. achieved, effected nothing, with 
their hands.” But this is hyper- 
critical. 

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 (1) 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; 1 Sam. 
XXxVi. 12. 

CHARIOT AND HORSE, Zé. of 
course the riders in chariots and 
on horses (as the ancient Versions 


[Selah.] 


paraphrase). The figure is so ob- 
vious, that it might be left to explain 
itself, were it not for the strange 
prosaic misunderstanding of Heng- 
stenberg, who supposes that the 
chariot is said to sleep, because it 
has ceased to rattle. 

Byron’s animated lines on the 
destruction 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 mail.” 


7. WHEN ONCE THOU ART 
ANGRY, lit. “from the time of 
Thine anger.” See a similar form 
of expression, Ruth ii. 7; Jer. xliv. 
18. 

8. As in the last Psalm, God is 
spoken of as the Judge (this is a 
peculiar feature in the Psalms as- 
cribed to Asaph) ; and, as in that, 
He speaks from heaven, terrifying 
His enemies with the thunder of 
His word. Comp. Ixxv. 2, 3, 7, 8 
[3, 4, 8, 9]. The train of thought 


4 
4 








— ee 




















in the two Psalms has certainly 
sufficient in common to justify us in 
assigning both to the same period. 
io. WITH THE REMAINDER OF 
_ WRATH, &c. The meaning is not 
very clear. Whose wrath is here 
meant? that of man, or that of 
God? Some understand the latter, 
and explain the verse thus : All the 
wrath of men, every attempt that 
make to defeat the will of 
God, does but turn to their own 
and His glory ; and 
after all their efforts, Ds has a 
oe allpreiangt of wrath to pour 
m them as punishment. But 
Be igection 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 


_ @ With the remainder of man’s 

wrath, his last impotent efforts to 
assert his own power, God girds 
_ Himself, puts it on, so to speak, 
as an ornament—clothes Himself 
_ therewith to His own glory. 

Thus the 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. See note 
on Ixviii. 35 [36], and for a like use 
of the plural (1 Sam. ii. 3), where “a 





i ns 
On Asaph, see I. note * 


-* m@Y, here used apparently as = Dv. 
“common phrase MY D3? “WIN "WX (Ex. xxix. 42, al.), 
cee but surely there motion to a place is implied = “whither 1 go 


PSALM LXXVI. 43 


10 For the wrath of man must praise Thee, 

With the remainder of wrath Thou girdest Thyself’ 
11 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. 


God of knowledge” is lit. “a God 
of knowledges.” 

11. This is the end. God has 
wrought His terrible act of judge- 
ment—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, 11. 

VOw AND PAY. See on xxii. 25 
Far ie BRING PRESENTS, comp. Ixviii. 

30]. 


ALL THAT ARE ROUND ABOUT, 
z.é. the heathen nations, who are to 
bring presents in token of homage, 
as in lxviii. 30. 

UNTO HIM WHO OUGHT TO BE 
FEARED, lit. “to the Fear,” ze. 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 Prophet at the same time, 
Jud. viii. 2, xx. 45 ; Jer. vi. 9, 11.33; 
Joel iii. 13 [iv. 13]; Rev. xiv. 15. 


See on iv. note *, and General Introduction, Vol. I. p. 87. 


Hupfeld refers to its use in the 
“where I meet 


44 PSALM LXXV1. 


to meet you.” More in point is Ezek. xlviii. 35, Fehovah shammah, 
“Jehovah is ¢here.” See also cxxii. 5; Is. xxxiv. 15 (where nw occurs in 
the parall.); Jer. xviii. 2; 1 Chron. iv. 41. The Semitic accus. has a 
wide signification, and denotes not only the whzther (and how long), but 
also the where (when and how), so that, for instance, NNQ in the accus., 
and MANB, mean defore, or at the door, as NW, at the gate. Again, the 
accusative ending 7 is only met with in a partial and fragmentary 
manner; and in dying out seems to have lost much of its original 
meaning. Finally, of this particular word neither the Arab. nor Aram. 
has the simple form, but only the accus. form in the same sense. The 
above is from Hupfeld. 


‘DP ‘py. The word Aw denotes any hot, glowing substance. Hence 
Cant. viii. 6, US BY) (where since sa Dagesh, which is wanting here), 
“coals of fire;” Job v. 7, 72, “sons of burning,” or, a firebrand, 
interpreted by many to mean sparks. In Hab. iii. 5, the word is used of 
a burning fever. 


4 9}3, a Niphal form from “$s (which, like Ya, 35, is intrans.), and 
therefore questionable ; for "}8}, in 2 Sam. ii. 32, is not fut. Niph., but 
Kal, like t43!, as Hupf. observes. He therefore thinks that perhaps S83 
should be read ; comp. ver. 8, 13, and so the LXX. qoBepés. 


. binviy, lit. have suffered themselves to be plundered (an Aramaic 
form instead of ’ nw. Comp. “aNNS, 2 Chron. xx. 35 ; FPN, Is. Ixiii. 
3). This is an instance, according to Hupf,, of the passive use of the 
Hithpael. He quotes other instances given by Gesen. and Ewald, of an 
alleged similar use. But in every one of these examples, the reflexive 
meaning may be retained; and in fact it is retained, in most cases, by 
some one of the translators or commentators. Here, for instance, 
Phillips says: “ Zhey have been plundered, or they have exposed them- 
selves to plunder, agreeably to Abu Walid, who has taken the verb in a 
reciprocal, and not in a passive sense: they have despised themselves, i.e. 
they have cast away their weapons.” So in Jud. xx. 15, 17, Zunz has 
“ steliten sich zur Musterung,” and in xxi. 9, “ déess sich mustern.” 
(Indeed it is quite astonishing that the Hithp., in these instances, should 
have been regarded as a passive.) In Micah vi. 16, he renders “‘halten 
sich.” On Eccl. viii. 10, Preston remarks: ‘‘ The an NDA, being in 
the Hithp., expresses that their quiet and unostentatious lives cause them 
to be forgotten, ‘that they sink of themselves into oblivion.’” In Prov. 
xxxi. 30, gets to herself praise, and in Lam. iv. 1, pour themselves out 
(inanimate things, by a common figure, having life attributed to them) ; 
in 1 Sam. iii. 14, shall not make atonement for itself, lit. shall not cover 
ztself, are the proper renderings of the several Hithpaels. There is no 
necessity, I am satisfied, in any case, to lose sight of this strict reflexive 
meaning of the conjugation, though it may be more convenient in another 
language to employ the passive, just as in rendering the German phrase, 
“davon findet sich keine Spur,” in English, we must say, “ No trace of it 
zs found,” yet it would be absurd to maintain that the German reflexive 








PSALM LXX VII. 45 































is here used as a passive. Ewald, indeed, limits this pass. use of the 
Hithp. to rare cases, and to the later books chiefly, and only gives the 
two passages from Micah and Ecclesiastes, as illustrating it (Lehrd. d. 
_ AS. § 124 c. p. 284, 6% Auf.) ; but even in these the proper reflexive 
_ force is retained. The rendering is merely a question of idiom. 


f-3nm. There is no reason for departing from the ordinary meaning 
of the root. (Jerome, accingeris, and so apparently the Chald.) Comp. 
Is. lix. 17, &c. Kimchi and others have taken it in the sense éo restrain 
_ (as in a passage of the Mishna, and in accordance with the signif. of the 
_ cognate roots in Arab. and Syr.). The LXX. again have €oprace cot, 
and must have therefore read 430A, shall hold festival to Thee, answering 
_ to the parall. sha// praise Thee. This Ewald adopts, observing : “ Ver. 
II contains a very lofty thought. The only object with which Jehovah 
_ judges and punishes is, that even the most furious transgressors may at 
last attain to wisdom and to the praise of Jehovah; and though many 
_ fall under His chastisements, at least the remainder, taught by these 
terrible examples, will be saved. Or to put it in a shorter and more 
emphatic form: The wrath of man itself will praise Thee, being suddenly 
changed to its opposite, and as it were against its will.” 





PSALM LXXVII. 


Tuis 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 8oth, the 81st), evidently 
Not written during the Exile, look back to the Exodus, and the 


46 | PSALM LXXVII. 


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. ro—15, and verses 16—20 [17—21] 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 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 employed, would lead us to an exactly opposite. conclusion, 
(1) The figure in Hab. iii. 10, “ The mountains saw Thee, they were 
afraid (lit. 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 
[17]). (2) The phrase, “ the overflowing of the waters,” in Hab. iii. 
10, is more simple and natural than the corresponding phrase in ver. 
17 [18] of the Psalm, as I have remarked in the Critical Note on 
that verse, the verbal form here employed occurring nowhere else. 
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. 

There is some force, no doubt, in this argument. There is less, I 
think, in that which Hupfeld urges, on the ground of the apparent 
want of connection between the “lyric episode,” ver. 16 —19 


[17—20], and the rest of the Psalm. It is true thatthe rhythm of 


this portion is different, being in three members instead of in two ; 
and that here the strophe consists of four verses [or five], whereas 
the preceding strophes consist of three. But these are of them- 
selves unimportant variations. Nor do I see that ver. 20 [21] is 


naturally connected with ver. 15 [16]. On the contrary, it is far 


more striking (see note) in its present position. As to the objection 
that a single instance of God’s deliverance is so enlarged upon, is 


} 








PSALM LXXVII. 47 



































made to occupy so prominent a place, that is surely quite in accord- 
ance with the true genius of lyric poetry; not to mention that it was 
the one great act from which the whole history dated, and which has 
left its stamp on all the literature of the people. 

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 we 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 expression of the Psalmist’s sorrow and disquie- 
tude; the second, verses 10— 20, telling 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, 1o—12, 13—15 (the 
second having the Selah), and the last consisting of five, 16—20., 


_ [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.° 


1. AND MAY HE GIVE EAR, or tenses in the first six verses lends 
more literally, in the form of an ad- vividness to the expression of the 
dress to God, “And do Thou give Psalmist’s feelings. Sometimes, as 
ear.” The constant interchange of in ver. 2, 4, 5, we have the perfect 





___ * It is much to be regretted that Mr. Thrupp should have committed 
_ himself to the theory that all the Psalms ascribed to the Levitical singers 
re of necessity national. He has thus been obliged to give a most 
strained and unnatural interpretation tomany of them. Thus, forinstance, 
he holds that this Psalm is “the lamentation of the Jewish Church for the 
terrible political calamity . . . whereby the inhabitants of the northern 
ingdom were carried into captivity, and Joseph lost, the second time, to 
9b.” (Art. PSALMS, in Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, vol. ii. p. 957-) And 
more strangely, of the 73d Psalm, that “ though couched in the first 
son singular, (it) is really a prayer of the Jewish faithful against the 
ssyrian invaders.” (/é. p. 959.) Thisis, I must think, an entire misunder- 
ing of a very striking Psalm. 


48 PSALM LXXVII. 


2 In the day of my distress have I sought the Lord ; 
My hand in the night hath been stretched out an 


failed not, 


My soul hath refused to be comforted. 
3 I would remember God, and must sigh,¢ 
I would commune (with myself); and my spirit 
overwhelmed. [Selah.] 


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 remember my song in the night, 


tenses in narration, and then alter- 
nating with these, the paragogic 
future or optative, as in ver. I, 3, 6, 
expressing purpose, resolve, and the 
like. And thus are marked the fluc- 
tuating 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 asorer conflict, for he has 
not found the blessing as Jacob did, 
He cannot 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 ap- 
plied to the hand stretched out in 
prayer. “ The stretched-out, weak, 
and powerless hand,” says Heng- 
stenberg, “ conveys the picture of a 
relaxation of the whole body.” Or, 
there may be a confusion of meta- 
phor, that being said of the hand 
which could only properly be said of 
the eye (hence the Targum substi- 
tutes the latter for the former). The 


Rabbinical writers understood my 
hand to mean the hand, or blow, laid 
upon me, and hence came the sin- 
gular rendering of the E. V. my 
sore ran, &c. 

AND FAILED NOT (or it may be 
rendered as an adverbial clause, 
without 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 wo rest,” and 
iii. 49, “ Mine eye trickled down (the 
word rendered above has been 
stretched out), and ceaseth not, 
without any 7zztermission.” The 
words vest and intermission are 
derivatives from the verb here em- 
ployed, and are applied to tears, 
perhaps as frozen 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 
(orevaypois ddadnros). “St. Paul 
teaches us that it isthe Holy Ghost 
who in such sighs makes interces- 
sion for believers with God.”—-THo- 
LUCK, 

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. 
6. My SONG, properly, a song 








PSALM LXXVII. 


49 


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. 



























ees ringed instrument, as the 
He would console himself 
the recollection of a happier 
peat Such recollections,as Tholuck 
‘remarks, may hush the storm of the 
s may give a man courage to 
say to himself, Thou art His, He 
cannot forsake thee. But such re- 
collections may also be made the 
y instruments of Satan’s tempta- 
tions, when the soul asks, Why is it 
‘not always thus? and so falls into 
th sad and desponding thoughts 
vhich follow in the next verses. 
_IN THE NIGHT. This repeated 
‘mention of the night (see ver. 2) 
hows that he was one who loved 
ie affititicss andthe solitude of night 
or meditation and prayer. (Comp. 
7; Xvii. 3. 
“8. God’s loving-kindness and 
re od’s promise (or, ‘ word, as in Ixviii. 
11 [12], and Hab. iii. 9) are the two 
props of his faith. 
_ g. IN ANGER HIS TENDER MER- 
‘CIES. The words are evidently 
" aced with design in juxtaposition, 
order to heighten the contrast. 
Come _Hab. iii. 2, “In wrath re- 
er mercy, » where there is the 
ian osition in the Hebrew. 
io AN is that I have been ask- 
ng myself, and saddening myself 


is 
io 


7. 


ith asking, seems impossible, and 
et it is this very change which 
tp lexes me. 

Iy SORROW, or perhaps -“my 
” ze. as Calvin explains, 


' VOL. II. 


ckn cs 


It (But) I will celebrate the deeds of Jah, 


a disease which is only for a time, 


'and to which, therefore, I should 


patiently submit. Comp. Jer. x. 19. 
Others, “my infirmity,” ze. the 
weakness of my own spirit, which 
leads me to take this gloomy view, 
and which I must resist. 

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 peo- 
ple. But another rendering is pos- 
sible. The word changing (sh’noth) 
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.” 


z.é. the very recollection of those 
years, and of God’s help vouchsafed 
in times past, does but increase my 
present gloom. 

The E. V. connects this second 
clause with the following verse, and 
repeats the verb from that verse. 
See more in Critical Note. 

11. 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 


E 


50 PSAIM ZLXXVII. 


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. 


13 O God, Thy way is holy! 
Who is (so) great a God as (our) God ? 
14 Thou, even Thou, art the God that doest wonders, 
Thou hast made known Thy might among the peoples. 
15 Thou hast with (Thine) arm redeemed Thy people, 
The sons of Jacob and Joseph. 


16 The waters saw Thee, O God, the waters saw Thee, they 


_ were troubled ; 


own experience merely. Hence the 
despondency, when he contrasts the 
gloomy present with the far brighter 
and happier past. He cannot be- 
lieve that God has indeed forgotten 
to be gracious, 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 be- 
fore 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 sus- 
tains his sinking faith. Calvin says: 
‘Jam animosius contra tentationes 
exsurgit Propheta que fere ad op- 
primendam ejus fidem prevaluerant. 
Nam recordatio hzc operum Dei 
ab ea cujus ante meminit [ver. 5] 
differt: quia tunc eminus intuebatur 
Dei beneficia, quz lenire vel minuere 
dolorem nondum poterant. Hic 
vero arripit quasi certa testimonia 
perpetuz gratize, et ideo vehemen- 
tiz causa sententiam repetit.” 
THY WONDERS. The word is in 
the singular (though the Ancient 
Versions and many MSS. have the 
plural) 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 
wereincluded, is before his thoughts. 


[Selah.] 


Comp. Hab. iii. 2, “Revive Thy 
work.” . 

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. 11, 
“ Who is like unto Thee, O Jehovah, 
among the gods? Who is like 
Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in 
praises, doing wonders ?” 

15. THOU HAST REDEEMED, a 
word especiallyapplied to the deliver- 
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, “first entered intothecircle 
of religious ideas at the time when 
God ‘vedeemed His people from 
the house of bondage.’”—Fewish 
Church, Lect. V. p. 127. 

JOSEPH, mentioned here appa- 
rently as the father of Ephraim 
(comp. Ixxviii. 67), and so as repre- 
senting the kingdom of Israel (as 
Ixxx. 1 [2], Ixxxi. 5 [6]) ; perhaps” 
this special mention of Joseph ma 
indicate that the Psalmist himse 
belonged to the northern kingdom. © 

16—20. There follows now a de- 
scription of the manner in which 
the redemption (ver. 15) wasaccom- 
plished in the passage of the Red 








PSAIM LXXVTI. 51 


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 : 



























_ 19 Thy way was’ in the sea, 


Sea. In verses 17 and 18, the rain, 
the thunder and lightning, and 
the earthquake, are features of the 
Scene not mentioned in the history 
ir oes, though Tholuck sees an 
allusion toa storm in Exod. xiv. 24. 
Philo (V. M. i. 32) and Jose- 
(Ant. ii. 16, § 3) add this cir- 
sumstance in their narratives of the 
vent. “The Passage, as thus de- 
scribed,” says Dean Stanley, “was 

ected, not in the calmness and 
mess of daylight, but in the 
spth of midnight, amidst the roar 
Te hurricane, which caused the 
| to go back—amidst a darkness 


ghtning, as ‘the Lord looked out’ 
rom the thick darkness of the 
d.” He then quotes these verses 
f the Psalm. (Fewish Church, pp. 
7-8.) This is one of those in- 
ances in which we obtain valuable 
ncidental additions, by means of 
the Psalmists and Prophets, to the 
A rlier narratives. See Mr. Grove’s 
A ‘icle on OREB, in Smith’s Dic¢. of 
e Bible. 
"16 Saw THEE. Comp. cxiv. 3, 
e both the Red Sea and the 
jordan are mentioned, a passage 
hick d thinks is the original 
a which both this and Hab. iii. 
Eocene. 
TROUBLED, lit. “were in 
ras of travail. The same ex- 
ssion is used of the mountains 
: “The mountains 
- Thee, they were in pain; 
og seems more aptly to 
ibe the throes of the earth- 









a 
are 


it up only by the broad glare of the . 


The earth trembled and shook. 


And thy paths* in (the) mighty waters, 
And Thy footsteps were not known. 


quake, by which the mountains are 
shaken. 

17. The way is made by means of 
tempest and hurricane. 

POURED OUT. Comp. Hab. iii. 10 
(where the noun is from the same 
root): “the overflowing of the 
waters.” (E.V.) In the same way 
the lightning i is spoken of as “the 
arrows” of God, in Hab. iii. 11. 

18. ROLLED ALONG, lit. “was in 
the rolling,” with allusion to God’s 
chariot ; or perhaps “in the whirl- 
wind.” See Critical Note. 

GAVE SHINE. I have adopted 
here the Prayer-Book Version of 
the same words in xcvii. 4 (its ren- 
dering in this place is less correct), 
in preference to that of the A. V., 
“ the lightnings lightened, (1) be- 
cause the verb and the noun are 
from entirely different roots ; (2) be- 
cause 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 means 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 ter- 
rible 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, Jewish Church, 
p. 128. 


E 2 


52 


PSALM LXXVII. 


20 Thou leddest Thy people like sheep 
By the hand of Moses and Aaron. 


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. 1o—12, lvii. 15. 

Soends the Psalm. Nor can I 
see in such a close that abruptness. 
which has led some commentators 


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 re- 
demption. “He loses himself, as 
it were, in the joyful recollection.” 
(De Wette.) So may every sor- 
rowful 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. 


to suppose that the Psalm was never 


spn by, see on xxxix, note *, and General Introduction, Vol. I. 
p. 88. 


b Mpyys}. The use of the conjunction here may be explained by 
supposing in the previous clause an ellipse = “my voice (is directed) to 
God, and I would fain cry.” Hupf, assumes a double subject, as in iii. 5, — 
cxlii. 2, though it is sufficient in these instances to take ip as accus. of 
the instrument. 

The paragogic 7 shows that the verb is an optative. The same form 
recurs ver. 4, 7, 12, 13. Alternating as it does swith the perfects, it well 
describes the strong emotions of the Psalmist’s mind, This nice dis-_ 
tinction of tenses has been too often completely overlooked. 


© } tN), not the infin., but the imperat. And do T, hou give ear to me, by 
a somewhat abrupt transition. Ewald and others would soften this 
harshness by taking it as the preterite, with change of vowels, for }}$7. 


4 The double paragogic form may be taken here as marking protasis — 
and apodosis. “ When I remember, ¢hem I sigh,” &c. (so Ewald): or as 
in the text. See on xlii. 5, note °, and lv. 3, note °% 


¢ ninpy’, only here. It may be either, (1) for NINDWS, the night 
watches. Comp. for the sense lxiii. 7; and then, “Thou hast held the 
night-watches of mine eyes,” = “Thou hast held mine eyes in the night- 
watches.” Or (2) the eyelids, so called as guards, keepers of the eye. So 
the Chald., Ges., De Wette, &c. the meaning being, Thou hast held them 
so that I could not close them in sleep. Or (3) it may be the part. pass., 
as a predicate to the noun eyes = watchful, waking. 


f snipn, with the accent drawn back, because of the tone on the 
following monosyllable. This is either (1), as Kimchi takes it, an infin. 
(like nian, ver. 10), from 92M, meaning lit. my wounding, and so my 
suffering. Comp. for this use of the verb, cix. 22 (so Ewald). Or (2), 
infin. Piel of mn, my sickness, lit. “that which makes me sick.” See the 
same verb in the Piel, Deut. xxix. 21, “the diseases wherewith Jehovah 








PSALM LXXVI. 53 


































hath made it sick.” Hiph., Is. liii. 10. This seems to be supported by 
_ the parallel passage Jer. x. 19, “And I said, Surely this is my sickness 
(on mt) and I will bear it,” 2. God has laid His hand upon me, and I will 
. resign ‘myself to His chastisement. Here, too, there is a similar expres- 
sion of resignation. Or (3), the verb has been supposed to occur here in 
_ the same sense as in the phrase ’D "95 nbn, to entreat the favour of any 
_ ome. Hence it has been rendered my supplication. But the objection to 
_ this is, that here the phrase is incomplete, the noun being wanting, 
_ whereas the verb by itself never means /o supplicate. 

_ There is another word in this verse which presents a difficulty, 

nix’. This is capable of two meanings. Either it is (1), infin. constr. 
of the verb nw’, fo change, in a neuter sense = ¢o be changed (the verb in 
Kal is never used transitively) ; or (2), the plur. constr. of the noun 
nw, a year. According to these different renderings of these two words, 
_ the passage has been very differently interpreted. Even the Chald. gives 
two explanations :— 

(a) “ This is my znfirmity (NAY) ; the strength of the right hand of 
“the Highest és changed ()3RvN).” (6) Another Targum: “This is my 
supplication (*TA3), (that) the year of the end (should come) from the 
Right Hand.” 

_ The LXX. viv jpéduqy (a meaning which nbn has only in the Hiph.), 
adr 7} Goiwars tis deftas rod iviorov. 

_ Of more modern interpretations the following may be mentioned. 
Mendelssohn : “ Flzhen steht bei mir; dndern in des Hochstens Macht,” 
which is ingenious; but even admitting that ‘Gm can mean flehen, ' WW 
“cannot be transitive. The same objection applies to Luther's translation : 
“Tch muss das leiden ; die rechte Hand des Hochsten kann alles déndern.” 

. has : “ Das ist mein Flehen—die Fahre der R. d. Hochsten !” which 
certair ly gives a very good sense: “This is what I long and pray for— 
those years of God’s right hand in which He exhibited His grace and 
power.” Zhe right hand of God cannot mean, as some would take it, 
“His chastening hand ;” it must mean, “ His supporting hand.” It would 
be possible, however, to render, “ This it is which saddens me,—the years 
of the right Hand,” &c. ze. the remembrance of God’s power and grace in 
‘past times, as compared with my present lot. And this falls in with the 
' previous complaint : “ Hath God forgotten,” &c. On the whole, however, 
‘the rendering of J. H. Mich. is to be preferred : “ meine Krankhett (i.e. 
the misery of my spirit) zs¢ das: dass die R. des H. sich geandert habe.” 
_So also Hupfeld. And Maurer well explains: “guod egrum me fSacit hoc 
st, hzec est mea calamitas : guod se mutavit, non amplius ut olim parata 
est ad juvandum dextera Altissimi.” Ue then supports interpretation 
(2) of smion, and observes of 738%, “ muéari in deterius, ut Thren. iv. 1, in 
e: Prov. xxiv. 21; Mal. iii. 6, quo posteriore loco in contrarium hers 
atur haud nihil lucis accendentia huic quem tractamus loco: ego, 
z, non mutor, ee vos, filtt Facobi, non periistis.” Not unlike 
this is the rendering of Aq., appworia pov, atrn dddoiwors 8. b. (except that 
he must have understood ‘Nn of bodily infirmity, not of mental suffering), 
eod. and the Quinta, adives ciow, addoiaais 8. 0. 


54 PSALM LXXVITII. 


In this instance the A.V. and the P.B.V. coincide, the latter not 
following here either the Vulg. or the German. Our translators have 
copied Ab, Ez. and Kimchi, in supplying the verb, Z will remember, from 
the next verse. In so doing, they have followed the K’ri, whereas the 
K’thibh, VOT, I will celebrate, is preferable, as it avoids the tautology 
with TIN i in the next verse. 

8 3D, only, here, sometimes regarded as a Poel, but better as a Pual, 
the construction being that of the accus. DY), with ‘the pass., “the deeds 
were poured forth (in, or with) water.” (Phillips, indeed, would make 
’t) the subject, and suggests an ellipse of the prep. }), /yom the clouds, 
but such an ellipse is quite out of the question.) Comp. ‘1 D7}, Hab. iii. 
11, which certainly looks like the original expression. In /¥¥h we have 
the expanded poet. form, instead of 4"¥m (comp. ")!2Y, 770, &c.), perhaps 
chosen to express the zig-zag flash of the lightning. The verb in the 
Hithp. fut. is also expressive: “ kept going hither and thither.” 

. baby properly a wheel. (1) Some, following Kimchi, understand it of 
the globe or sphere of heaven. So Luther and the E.V., and with this 
has been compared the difficult and doubtful exuibestad Tpoxos Tis 
yeveoews, in James iii. 6. (2) J. D. Mich. and others render it whirlwind. 
So Ewald, zm Wirbel. But neither of these meanings can be supported. 

is better, therefore, to take the word here in the sense of vodling, a 
sense to which it might easily pass from that of whee/, and which its 
etymology confirms. The vod/ing will be that of the chariots of God. 
Comp. Hab. iii. 8; Joel ii. 5. Or possibly the wheel may stand by 
metonymy for the chariot. 

i The omission of the copula, where the reference is clearly to the 
past, is rare. See a similar instance in Jer. vii. 12: wovia Ws Ip by 
xvid, “Go to my place which was in Shiloh.” E : 7 

& bone, So the K’thibh in the plur., as in Jer. xviii. 15, the only 
other place where it occurs. The K’ri is an unnecessary correction. 





PSALM LXXVIIL¥* 


In this, the longest of the historical Psalms, the history of Israel 
is briefly recapitulated, from the time of the Exodus to the final 
union of the tribes under David, and the establishment of the 
kingdom in his family. This appeal to the past is made evi- 
‘ dently with a purpose. The Psalmist comes forward as a prophet 
to rebuke the sin, the ingratitude, the rebellion of his people. This 
he does by showing them the present in the light of the past. God — 





* On this Psalm see Isaac Taylor, Spirit of the Hebrew Poetry, p. 154. 








PSAIM IXXVHI. | 55 









































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 generation.” 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 earlier 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. Hengstenberg, who is determined, at the risk 
_ of any absurdity, to maintain the authority of the Inscription, which 
‘gives this Psalm to Asaph, is obliged to place it in the reign of 
' David. He says that the object of the Psalmist is “to warn the 
people against a possible revolt from David, and from the sanctuary 
in Zion; he cannot therefore have composed the Psalm after this 
- event had taken place.” But if the Psalmist had any such object 
in view, he seems most effectually to have disguised it. Indeed, 
_ Hengstenberg is obliged to admit that he does “ not once name the 
_ disruption which he is anxious to prevent, and makes no express 
mention whatever of any inclination to this, which might exist at 
the time ;” and tries to account for this singular reticence by sup- 
posing that “it was of importance not to irritate, for fear of increasing 
th dissatisfaction.” But could any more effectual mode of irritation 
have been devised than first to exhibit Ephraim as chief in transgres. 
sion (ver. 12), and then to commemorate in tones of triumph the 
‘degradation of that tribe from its ancient supremacy, and the 
exaltation of the rival tribe of Judah in its place? Was this a 


56 | PSALM LXXVII1. 


method likely to heal those heart-burnings and animosities which 
even David had failed altogether to allay? When Hengstenberg 
therefore adds, that “to deny that the Psalm belongs to the time of 
David manifests utter ignorance of its contents,” we can only say 
that the facts point to an exactly opposite conclusion. : 

Ewald, with equal dogmatism, and equal improbability, places the 
Psalm as late as the fifth century B.c., in the time of Ezra and 
Nehemiah. According to him, it was composed in a spirit of strong 
antagonism to the Samaritans, “the new Ephraim,” in whom the 
Poet sees the old Ephraim revived. In this spirit he reviews the 
ancient history of his nation. ‘ What would happen if Ephraim were 
the centre, he infers from the misfortunes of the period between 


Joshua and Saul, when the ark of the covenant was yet in Shiloh, | 


which belonged to that tribe, whereas the true worship of Jehovah 
was only firmly established in Zion under David; . . . the history 
itself was a witness that rest and faith could not be found in 
Ephraim.” But so arbitrary a treatment of the Psalm as this may 
at once be dismissed. Where is the proof that the Samaritans were 
ever regarded as the successors and legitimate representatives of 


Ephraim? Or what trace is there in the Psalm of any such feeling 


as that which Ewald supposes to have influenced the writer? 

The Psalm itself furnishes us with the following data for a con- 
clusion. 

(1) 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 indication, not of a smouldering animosity, but of an open 
and long-existing separation. 

But at this point two hypotheses become possible. 

(az) On the one hand, the Psalmist’s object may have been, by 
holding 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 pro_ 
_minence 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.). 

(2) On the other hand, the Psalmist’s design may have been not 








PSAIM LXX VIII. 57 
































s0 much to warn Judah, as to rebuke Ephraim. Hence it is, that 
whilst speaking of the past history of a Israel hé 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 
_heis 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 fits 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 with which the 
Psalm concludes seems to me to favour the last hypothesis, though I 
fear I must also add that I am unsupported in this view by other 
_ commentators. i 
The Psalm has no regular strophical division. Groups of four 
_verses frequently occur, and the general structure may be said to rest 
_ on the common principle of pairs of verses. Here and there certain 
expressions recur, such as ‘“‘ They tempted and provoked the Most 
‘High ;” “When God heard this, He was wroth,” &c., which, as 
PE Hupfeld Says, give a kind of epic character to the Psalm. In the 
review of the past history, the narrative is not given in bare chrono- 
logical order, but is rather combined in two principal masses. In 
the first of these the Psalmist but mentions the “ wonders in Egypt,” 
and passes on to detail the events in the wilderness. Then, having 
set forth all God’s marvellous works there, and all the rebellion of 
Israel, he begins the history again. He will paint more fully those 
“signs in Egypt,” which were of themselves so wonderful a proof of 
_ God’s redeeming Love, he will show still more convincingly Israel's 
. _ ingratitude, and having done this, he pursues the narrative, passing 
_ lightly now over the march through the wilderness, touching on the 
:. history in the time of the Judges, and bringing it down to the days 
__ of David, in whose election God had again magnified His grace. 


[A MASCHIL OF ASAPH.? ] 


I GIVE ear, O my people, to my law, 
Incline your ear to the words of my mouth. 


; j 1—4. The Introduction, announc- __ will recall the past, that it may act 
ing the Psalmist’s purpose. He as a warning for the present, and 


58 PSALM LXX VIII. 


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, 


that the wholesome lessons which 
it teaches may be perpetuated in the 
future. Inthe following four verses 
he declares that such commemora- 
tion 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. 
MAX 03: US./102, 

My LAW, here evidently used in 
its wider sense of zustruction gene- 
rally, as often in the Book of Pro- 
verbs. It is the teaching of a Pro- 
phet (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. Thesentence is very similar to 
that in xlix. 4[5]. The two words 
PARABLE and DARK SAYINGS are 
the same which occur in that pas- 
sage, where see note. The former 
(mashal) etymologically signifies a 
comparison, the placing of two ob- 
jects in their due relation, whether 
of likeness or unlikeness ; hence it 
is used of gnomic sentences, pro- 
verbs, parables, and indeed of 
poetical discourse generally (see 
Numbers xxi. 27, hammosih’lim, 
“the ballad-singers”), as being 
based on the principle of parallel- 
ism, or of antithesis. The latter 
means, properly, either (1) a sharp 
or Jointed saying; or (2), aperplexed 
saying, a riddle. (For a discussion 
of these words see Delitzsch on 
Habak. ii. 6, and in Gesch. der Fiid. 
Poesie, S. 196, 199). Having said 
so much on the meaning of these 


words, we have two further questions 
to consider. 

(2) In what sense is the early 
history of Israel, which forms the 
subject of the Poem, called here a 
“parable” and “dark sayings?” 
Does the Psalmist merely announce 
his purpose of treating that history 
in language of poetry (we have seen 
that the word “parable” may be 
almost equivalent to “ poetry”), or 
does he mean more? Does he 
mean that he has @ moral end in 
setting forth that history ? that under 
it truths are veiled which have a 
significance and an application to 
present circumstances for those who 
can read them aright? Probably, 
though we can hardly say certainly, 
the last. 

(6) How are we to understand the 
quotation made by St. Matthew of 
this passage, who sees a fulfilment 
of itin 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 Himself is here the speaker, 
But here, as elsewhere, that 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 hic locus a Matthzo, et 
accommodatur ad Christi personam. 
... In hacigitur parte quum similis 
Prophetee fuerit, quia de sublimibus 
mysteriis concionatus est in altiore 
dicendi forma, apposite transfertur 
ad ejus personam sy Propheta 
de se affirmat.”—Calvin. St. Mat- 
thew’s quotation runs, dém@s mAnpwO7 
To pndev did rod mpodrjrov déyorros, 
’Avoigw év mapaBoXais To ordéua pov, 
épedfouar Kekpuupéva amo KaraBodjjs 
(kéopov). The LXX. have in the 
latter clause: Pééy£ouar mpoBArpara 
dn’ dpxijs. 































hath done. 


4 WE WILL NOT HIDE. Comp. 
Sie. 18, where it is used in like 
_ manner of the faithful transmission 
_ of truths received. Alltruth known 
_ is a sacred trust, given to us, not 
_ for ourselves alone, but that we may 
hand on the torch to others. 

5. The very object with which God 
ve His LAW and His TESTIMONY 


all This sense is most in 
Soeincce with the paralleli 
though perhaps the rendering of the 


PSALM LXXVUI1. 59 


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 


5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, 
And appointed a law in Israel, 
Which He commanded our fathers 
To make known unto their children ; 
6 In order that the generation to come might know (them), 
(Even) the children 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, 


E. V., “that set not their heart 
aright,” zz. towards God, might be 
defended : comp. 1 Sam. vii. 3; Job 
xi. 13. 

9. THE CHILDREN OF EPHRAIM. 
An example 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 
Be Au We must not be led astray 

e€ expression ui as 
archers,” &c. to look ee = de- 
feats of the tribe in battle (as the 
Chald., the Rabb., Schnurrer, and 
others ‘do), for it is not a chastise- 
ment, but a sin which is spoken of. 
Hence the description of their car- 
Tying bows and back must 
be a figure employed in the same 
sense as that of “the deceitful bow,” 
ver. 57. (2) The allusion cannot be 
to the separation of Ephraim and 


60 PSALM LXXVIII. 


Turned back in the day of battle. 
10 They kept not the covenant of God, 
And refused to walk in His Law ; 
11 And they forgat His doings, 
And His wonderful works which He had shown them. 


the other tribes from Judah (as 
Venema, De Wette, &c. explain), 
because it is the earlier history of 
the nation in the wilderness which 
is here before the Poet’s eyes. (3) 
Nothing is gained by introducing 
the particle of comparison (so 
Luther, Rosenmiiller, &c.), as in the 
P.B.V., “dike as the children of 
Eph.” &c., for such a comparison 
rests upon nothing. (4) Nor can 
“the children of Ephraim” here 
stand merely for the whole nation, 
as has sometimes been maintained 
by referring to lxxx. 2 [3], and lxxxi. 
5 [6]: for in ver. 67 the distinction 
between Ephraim and Judah is 
marked. (5) It would seem, then, 
that ¢heir treacherous conduct is 
here specially stigmatized, in order, 
as it were, to sound the note of that 
rejection on which the Psalmist 
afterwards dwells, ver. 67. Ephraim 
had been, after the settlement in 
Canaan, the most numerous and 
the most powerful of the tribes. 
Shiloh, the religious capital of the 
nation, and Shechem, the gathering- 
place of the tribes (Josh. xxiv. 1; 
Jud. ix. 2; 1 Kings xii. 1), were 
both within its borders. During the 
time of the Judges it seems to have 
asserted a kind of supremacy over 
the rest. Possibly the Psalmist is 
thinking of this. Having their re- 
jection in view, he 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. 
During the wanderings in the wil- 
derness, 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 Psalmist forgets 


or neglects this circumstance, 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. 

A different interpretation is given 
in the art. Ephraim in Smith’s Dict. 
of the Bible. Hupfeld would ex- 
punge the words “the children of 
Ephraim,” as a gloss, but it is diffi- 
cult to see how such a gloss could 
have crept in. 

EQUIPPED AS ARCHERS. This 
and the next clause are designed 
apparently 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. Jud. xx. 
39, 41. Panic-struck, when they 
were expected to be of service ; 
hardly (as Maurer suggests) pre- 
tending flight, like the Thracian 
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 Hosea saith: Ephraim is 
as a silly dove that hath no heart. 











PSAIM LXX VIII. 61 


12 In the sight of their fathers He did wonders, 
In the land of Egypt, (in) the field of Zoan. 

13 He clave (the) sea, and caused them to pass through, 
And made (the) waters to stand as an heap. 

14 And He led them with the cloud in the day-time, 
And all the night (through) with a light of fire. 

15 He clave? rocks in the wilderness, 
And gave them drink as (from the) great deep.¢ 


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 denote the territory imme- 

i round the city, or its nome, 
or even a kingdom. This would 
accord best with the shepherd- 
period.” See the article ZOAN, in 
the Dict. of the Bible, by Mr. RS. 
Poole. May not * the field of Zoan” 
be the rich plain which, as he tells 


5 us, “ anciently extended due east as 


far as Pelusium, about miles 
distant,” and the whole of which, 
“about as far south and west as 
Tunis, was anciently known as ‘the 
Fields’ or ‘ Plains,’ ‘the Marshes’ 
or ‘ Pasture-lands,’ and which is now 
cat covered by the great Lake 
Menzeleh ?” The name only occurs 
once in the Pentateuch, in Num. xiii. 
22. (See the passage discussed in 
quoted.) 
__ It is remarkable that after begin- 
_ ning in this verse to of the 
_ wonders iz Egyfi, the Psalmist 
) all mention of them till ver. 


| 4 43 which is a resumption of this 


and turns aside to dwell on 


verse), 
the wonders zz the wilderness (see 


__ Introduction). 


13. Now follows the exemplifica- 
tion, in certain detailed instances, 
of the faithlessness, and disobe- 
dience, and forgetfulness of their 
fathers in the wilderness. First, in 
ver. 13—16, some of God’s wonders 
wrought on their behalf are men- 
tioned, 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 ¢sur shows 
that the Psalmist is thinking in this 
verse of the miracle at Horeb, re- 
corded in Ex. xvii. (See note on 
ver. 16.) The plural does not ne- 
cessarily imply that the two great 
instances in which this miracle was 
performed, the one in the first, and 
the other in the last year of the wan- 
dering, are here brought together 
(Ex. xvii. and Num. xx.) ; for both 
that and the verb, which (being 
here without the Vau consecutive) 
is apparently the aorist of repeated 
action, may only be used in the way 
of poetic amplification. The miracle 
seems as if ever repeated. 

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” com- 
parison. 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. 
xli. 7 [8], and note there. 

16. The word here used (.Se/é4) “is 
especially applied to the cliff at 


62 PSAIM LXX VIII. 


16 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, 
“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, | 


Kadesh, from which Moses brought 
water, as 7sur is for that struck in 
Ex, xvii.” — STANLEY, S7zzaz and 
Palestine, App. § 29. See also 
Chap. I. Part II. p. 95. 

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 
Jresh instance of sin. Hupfeld 
thinks it may be only a phrase bor- 
rowed from the Book of Judges, 
where it is commonly prefixed to 
each fresh act of disobedience (as 
in iii. 12, &c.) ; but there the formula 
is quite in place, as it follows the 
narration of previous transgres- 
sion. 

18, THEY TEMPTED Gop, ze. 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. 
xvii. 3, 7, where also the name 
Massah, “ tempting,” is given to the 
spot, 


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., 
Kui:9, He, 

19. PREPARE A TABLE, lit. “set 
out in order,” the same phrase as in 
xxiii. 5. 

20. WATERS GUSHED OUT occurs 
also cv. 41; Is. xlviii. 21. 

PROVIDE, or “ prepare,” as in Ixy, 
9 [10], lxviii. 10 fd 

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, 2I—25), and then the 
flesh (ver. 26—29), but His granting 
of their desire is in itself the most 
terrible of chastisements. The re- 
presentation is freely borrowed from 
the two accounts in Ex. xvi.; Num. 
xi.; more particularly the last. 

21. A FIRE, with allusion to the 
“fire of Jehovah” in Num. 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.” 

Atso. 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 
_‘Tetributive character of this fiery 

See the same use of the 

for instance, Is. xvi. 4. 
_ 22. HIS SALVATION, as already 
shown in the deliverance from 


24. baat Hence a le 
_ sion in the preceding verse, “open 
_ the doors,” &c. as in Gen. vii. 11 ; 
2 Kings vii. 2; Mal. iii. 10. In the 
- same same way the manna is said to be 
_ “rained” from heaven in gene 
Every expression used shows 

eiainty teat 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 

ie BREAD pores sary av) 
the marginal rendering of the 
_ probably means “ Angels’ bread,” 
_ LXX. dprov dyyédor, not as if an- 
“gels were Se tererished by it, or as if it 
prere food esha of | pea but s 

from heaven, where ange 

The word MIGHTY is no- 
where else used of the angels, though 
they are said in ciii. 20 to be 


PSALM LXX VIII. 63 


And anger also went up against Israel ; 

22 Because they believed not in God, 
And put not their trust in His salvation. 

23 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, 
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, 


“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), Ze. 
the finest, the most delicate bread. 

26. CAUSED TO BLOW, lit. “made 
to journey, or go forth.” "The verb is 
again the aorist of repeated action, 
as in ver. 15. 

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 Num. 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. 

EAST WIND . . . SOUTH WIND. 
These may be mentioned poetically, 
without being intended to describe 
exactly the quarter from which the 
quails came. In Num. xi. 31, it is 
merely said that “there went forth 
a wind from Jehovah, and brought 
quails from ‘he sea,” which Hupfeld 
too hastily asserts must be the Red 
Sea (z<¢., as he evidently means, the 
Gulf of Suez); and that conse- 
quently 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 


64 PSAIM LXX VIII. 


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, 
(Even) round about their habitations. 
29 So they did eat and were well filled, 
Seeing that He gave them their own desire. 
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, 


Mr. Houghton has remarked (see 
QUAILS, in Dict. of the Bible), on 
their spring journey of migration 
northwards. “The flight which fed 
the multitude at Kibroth-hattaavah 
might have started from Southern 
Egypt, and crossed the Red Sea 
near Ras Mohammed, and so up the 
Gulf of Akabah into Arabia Petrzea.” 
In this case, the wind blowing from 
the south first, and then from the 
east, would bring the quails. 

27. RAINED FLESH: as before, 
“rained manna,” from Exod. xvi. 4, 
8, 13. 

98. LETIT FALL. The word aptly 
describes the settling of these birds, 
unfitted for a long flight, and wearied 
by their passage across the gulf. 
Pliny, Wat. Hist. x. 33, says that 
quails settle on the sails of ships by 
night, so as to sink sometimes the 
ships in the neighbouring sea. And 
Diod. Sic. i. p. 38, tas Onpds trav 
dpruyav érowodvro, edépovtd re ovdrot 
kar’ dyéas peifous ex Tov medadyous. 
The verse follows Ex. xvi. 13 ; Num, 
xi. 31. 

29. WERE WELL FILLED, 2.¢. even 
to loathing, as follows, ver. 30 (see 
Num. xi. 18—20). Soinver. 25, “to 
the full,” from Ex. xvi. 3, 12. 

THEIR DESIRE, the satisfaction of 
their fleshly appetite. The word 
(taavah) no doubt alludes to -Kib- 


“the graves of 
Num. 


roth-hattaavah, 
desire, or fleshly appetite.” 
xi. 4, 34. 

30. THEY WERE NOT ESTRANGED, 
or, as it might be rendered, “‘( Whilst) 
they were not (yet) estranged,” Ze. 
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. Thus 
the two verses, 30, 31, stand in the 
relation of protasis and apodosis. 
The passage is manifestly borrowed 
from Num. xi. 33, “ And while the 
flesh was yet between their teeth, 
ere it was chewed, 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 
evidence that this portion of the 
Pentateuch already existed in 
writing. But, unfortunately, 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 [9]. 

THE FATTEST: it may mean 
either the strongest, or the noblest. 
Comp. xxii. 29 [30}. On these and 
the young men, the flower of the 
people, the judgement especially 
falls. 


32. The allusion seems to be to 


























destroyeth not ; 


xiv. 11, “ How long will it be 
e believe Me, for all the signs 
fhich I have showed among them?” 
1e words of God to Moses after the 
eturn of the spies. And this is the 
nore likely, because the next verse 
lludes to that cutting short of the 
e of the people, which was the 
sonsequence their rebellion at 
hat time. (Num. xiv. 28—34.) 

33. IN A BREATH. See xxxix. 5, 
, [6, 7], and the complaint of Moses, 
Kc. 9, though the word there used is 
itferent. 

_ 34. The passage which follows, to 
the end of ver. 39, is a most striking 
affecting picture of man’s heart, 
nd God’s gracious forbearance, in 
l ages :—man’s sin calling for 
hastis the isement pro- 
icing only temporary amendment, 
od’s goodness forgotten, and yet 
od’s great love never wearied, and 
d’s infinite compassion ever 
oved afresh by man’s weakness 
36. DID BUT FLATTER. Comp. 
. Xxix. 13, lvii. 11, lix.13. “This 
SVOL, II. 















PSALM LXX VIII. 6 


an 


33 Therefore did He make their days vanish in a breath, 
And their years in (sudden) 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 Most High God their Redeemer. 

_ 36 But they did but flatter Him with their mouth, 

And they lied unto Him with their tongue ; 

_ 37 And their heart was not steadfast with Him, 

Neither were they faithful in His covenant. 

38 But He, in His tender mercy, covereth iniquity, and 


And many a time turned He His anger away, 
And stirred not up all His fury.. 
39 And He remembered that they were (but) flesh, 
A wind that goeth and cometh not again. 


40 How often did they provoke Him in the wilderness, 


returning to God, at least so far as 
the majority were concerned, was 
not from any love of righteousness, 
but only from the fear of punish- 
ment.”— 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 
reference were only to a particular 
occasion. God’s mercy is like Him- 
self, everlasting, and ever the same. 

But HE. The words are em- 
phatic, and the allusion is to Ex. 
xxxiv. 6; Num. xiv. 18, 20. 

39. Compare Gen. vi. 3, viii. 21 ; 
Job vii. 7, 9, x. 21 ; Ps. ciii. 14—16; 
and for the word “ goeth,” or “ pass- 
eth away,” of the wind, Hos. vi. 4, 
xiii. 3. 

40. After thus celebrating God’s 
F 


66 PSALM LXXVIII. 


Did they grieve Him in the desert : : 
41 Yea, again and again they tempted God, 

And troubled the Holy One of Israel. 
42 They remembered not His hand, 

Nor the day when He redeemed them from 


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, 


tender compassion, in striking con- 
trast with the perpetual rebellion 
and ingratitude of the people, the 
Psalmist resumes the sad taleafresh. 
But instead of mentioning other in- 
stances of rebellion in the wilder- 
ness (ver. 40), he passes from that 
topic to dwell on the wonders 
wrought in Egypt, the lively recol- 
lection of which ought to have kept 
the people from these repeated pro- 
vocations. Thus he takes up again 
the thread dropped at ver. 12. 

The second principal portion of 
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 transgres- 
sion, the disaster at Shiloh, whereby 
Ephraim was robbed of his ancient 
honours, and which led to the choice 
of Zion, the ascendency of the tribe 
of Judah, and the union of the king- 
dom under David, ver. 56—72. 

41. TROUBLED, or perhaps “ dis- 
honoured.” Others, “limited,” ze. 


. is joined with the locust, as here. 























the 





set bounds to His power. See 
Critical Note. 

43. In the enumeration of the 
plagues, the Psalmist does not fol- 
low the order of the history, except 
as regards 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. 1 

45. The fourth plague (Ex. viii. 
20, &c.), and the second plague (Ex. 
viii. 1, &c.). 

FLIzs. The rendering of the 
E. V., “ divers sorts of flies,” comes 
from a wrong derivation of the word _ 
from a root signifying fo mix. : 

46. CATERPILLER, or possibly the _ 
word means some particular species 
of locust, or the locust in its larva 
(See Dict. of the Bible, V1. 
App. xxxix.) This word is not used 
in the Pentateuch, but in Joel i. 4 it 





47, 48. The seventh plague, hat 
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, vine: 


PSALM LXXVIII. 67 


F 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, 




























and sycomores are here mentioned, 
S vines and fig-trees in cv. 33. 
Wette and Hupfeld assert that 
le writer, as a native of Canaan, 
scribes too much prominence to 
= vine, the cultivation of which 
s but little attended to in Egypt, 
d which is not said in the Penta- 
much to have suffered. But this is 
n unfounded assertion. Mr. R. S. 
%oole, in his learned article on 
SYPT, in the Dict. of the Bible, 
Lys : : “Vines were extensively cul- 
d, and there were several dif- 
of ira one of which, 
» Mareotic, was famous among 
P Romans.” (Vol. i. p. 497.) 
araoh’s chief butler dreams of 
deg Gen. xl. 9—11 ; and the 
es of Egypt, as well as the figs 
201 es, are thought of 
st by the Israelites in the 
ess (Num. xx. 5). The mural 
zsat Thebes, at Beni- ae 
ie eam contain 
Boys an are 
ighten reg oe bantes feoen 
clusters, men gather them 
them in baskets, and 
y them to the wine-press, &c. 
=: ae unkn eo 
: Ps, rather, ~ huge 
ones,” but the word occurs 
vhere else, and: its meaning is 


HOT THUNDERBOLTS, or 
ings ;” the same word as in 
eS tai, “lightnings of the 
the allusion 


he whole work of devastation 


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, 


wrought by the Divine ministers of 
evil in the land of Egypt, and so 
strikingly introduces the final act of 
judgement, the destruction of the 
first-born, which follows in ver. 50, 
51. I see no reason for supposing, 
as Hupfeld and Delitzsch do, that 
there is any allusion to the fifth 
plague, that of the murrain among 
cattle. 

LETTING LOOSE, lit. “a letting 
loose of,” &c. this 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 angels as 
the ministers of the destruction. 

EVIL ANGELS. Others render, 

“angels, or messengers (the word 
may mean either, as dyyedos, in 
Greek) of evil,” z.¢. who work evil. 
So Hengstenberg and Delitzsch, 
who adopt the view of Ode, in his 
work De Angelis, that God makes 
use of good angels to punish bad 
men, and of evil angels to buffet 
and chasten good men. But this 
cannot be maintained : see 1 Sam, 
xvi. 14; 1 Kings xxii. 21, &c. How- 
ever, whichever rendering is pre- 
ferred, it comes to the same thing, 
for “ evil angels” would not mean 
here what wascommonly understood 
by evil spirits, but angels sent upon 
an evil mission—a mission of de- 
struction, There can be no doubt 
of this, because the expression must 
have been suggested by “the de- 
troyer” in Ex. xii. 13, 23. 

50. MADE A FREE PATH, lit. 
i aay a path,” as Prov. iv. 26, 
v. 


F2 


63 


But gave their life over to the pestilence ; 
51 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. 
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 ; 


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 [21]. 

54. YON MOUNTAIN, Ze. Zion, 
the building of the Temple there 
being represented, as in Ixviii, 16 
[17], as the great crowning act to 
which all else pointed; unless the 
noun is used here collectively = 
“these mountains,” z.e. this moun- 
tain-land of Palestine, as in Ex. xv. 
17, “the mountain of Thine inhe- 
ritance.” Comp. Is. xi. 9. This 
last, it may be said, is favoured by 
the parallelism. 

55. AND ALLOTTED THEM, lit. 


PSAIM LXXVIT1I, 


_ here the special act of provocation 












“made them fall,” in allusion to the. 
throwing of the lot. The pronoun 
“them” is used somewhat incor- 
rectly (the nations having been just 
spoken of as driven out), instead of 
“their land.” Comp. Josh. xxiii. 4, 
“See, I have allotted (made to Val 
unto you these nations,” &c.; Num, 
xxxiv. 2, “the land which fad/eth to 
you as an inheritance.” 

By LINE. See note on xvi. 6. 

56—58. The renewed disobe- 
dience of the nation, after their set- 
tlement in the land, during the time 
of the Judges. 

56. TEMPTED AND PROVOKED, 
repeated from ver. 17, 18, and 41; 


being the worship of idols in the 
high places. Comp. Jud. ii. 11, &e, 

57. A DECEITFUL BOW, Zé. one 
which disappoints the archer, by not 
sending the arrow straight to the 
mark (not “a s/ack bow,” as so 


PSALM LXXVIII. 69 


60 So that He rejected the tabernacle in Shiloh, 
The tent which He pitched among men. 
61 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. 
63 Their young men the fire devoured, 
And their maidens were not praisedi in the marriage-song. 
64 Their priests fell by the sword, 
And their widows made no lamentation. 























uld explain, referring to Prov. x. 
“a slack hand ”). 
_ 60. The Tabernacle was at Shiloh 
during the whole period of the 
Judges (Josh. xviii. 10 ; Jud. xviii. 
3; 1 Sam. iv. 3). God rejected 
d forsook it when the Ark was 
i nm into the hand of the Philis- 
tines, 1 Sam. iv. The Ark was never 
drought back thither, and the Taber- 
nacle itself was removed first to 
Nob (1 Sam. xxi.), and subsequently 
t peopeon (1 Kingsiii. 4). Jeremiah, 
when warning the nation against 
the _ superstitious notion that the 
‘Temple would be a defence, reminds 
them how “God had forsaken and 
rejected the place of the first Taber- 
nacle : “ For go now to My place 
which was in Shiloh, where I made 
fy name to dwell at the first, and 
see what I have done to it, because 
the wickedness of My people 
srac (Jer. vii. 12. See also ver. 
4 and chap. xxvi. 6.) These pas- 
ages do not, perhaps, necessarily 
mply a destruction of Shiloh by 
nemies,—certainly nothing of the 
meets us in the history,—but 
lation which followed on the 
of the sanctuary. Calvin 
ves : “ The mode of expression 


é 


65 Then the Lord awaked, as one out of sleep, 

. Like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine ; 
: 66 And He smote His adversaries backward, 

He put them to a perpetual reproach. 


is very emphatic : that God was so 
offended with the sins of His people, 
that He was forced to forsake the 
one place in the whole world which 
He had chosen.” 

PITCHED, lit. “caused to dwell.” 
Comp. Josh. xviii. 1, xxii. 19. 

61. HIS STRENGTH ... HIS 
BEAUTY. The Ark is so called 
because there God manifested His 
power and glory. Comp. 1 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; Job xxvii. 15. 
There is, perhaps, an allusion in 
ver. 64 to the death of Hophni and 
Phinehas. 

65, 66. God punishes and then de- 
livers. 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 (7h xliv. 
23 [24]. 

LIKE A MIGHTY MAN: comp. Is. 
xlii. 13. 


70 PSALM LXX VIII. 


67 And He abhorred the tent of Joseph, 
And chose not the tribe of Ephraim ; 
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, 
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 Goat 
And led them with the skilfulness of his hands. 


68. THE TRIBE OF JUDAH, 
though the sanctuary was planted, 
not “in Judak only, or in Benjamin 
only, but on the confines of both 
(comp. Josh. xv. 63 with Jud. i. 21); 
so that whilst the altars and the holy 
place were to stand within the bor- 
ders of the one tribe, the courts of 
the Temple were to extend into the 
borders of the other tribe, and thus 
the two were to be riveted together, 
as it were, by a cramp, bound by 
a sacred and everlasting bond.”— 


BLUNT, Undesigned Coincidences, 
&c. p. 181. 

69. LIKE HIGH PLACES, &c., or, 
as we might say, “high as heaven, 
and sure as the solid earth.” 

70—72. The faithful shepherd of 
the flock became the faithful shep- 
herd of the nation; just as the obe- 
dient fishermen in the Gospel history — 
became the successful fishers of men. 

On the figure here employed, see 
Ixxvii. 20 [21], and the remarks in 
Introduction to Vol. I. p. 96. 


® See above on xxxix. note *, and 1. note 





> WE. The relative does not refer to what precedes. It forms with 
the suffix D7 following, a neuter = gu@,; the relative clause, contrary to 
rule, being placed before the antecedent. “(The things) which we know 
. (those things) we will not hide.” For a similar indefinite use of the 
suffix see xxxix. 7. 
cD win spwia (LXX. évreivovres kat Baddovres téfov.) This is a 
compound phrase which has perplexed the commentators. For the two 
words in the stat. constr. are not, as is usual in such cases, in construction, 
the first with the second, and the second with the noun following, but are 
each in construction with the noun nwp, for we have ‘p *pvA3, 1 Chron. — 
xii. 2; 2 Chron. xvii. 17, meaning “ armed’ with bows,” and ‘p ‘917, Jer. 
iv. 29, “ shooting with bows.” Hence Hupfeld calls it “a hybrid phrase,” — 
and would strike out one of the words as a gloss ; but we have an exact 
parallel in Jer. xlvi. 9, ‘pray WDA, as he admits. The phrase nding 
¥ M3, lit. “the virgin of Zion, the daughter of Zion,” is another instance — 





PSALM LXXVIII. 71 


of the same construction. Maurer, in a note on Jer. xlvi. 9, has drawn 
attention to this construction, which, as he observes, has escaped the 
notice of the grammarians. pws means properly adjungere, applicare, 
conserere (as in P¥}, armour, as that which fits together), and then fre- 
_hendere (manu), tenere, tractare. 
o/- Spo. Hupf. speaks of this merely as “a pret. without } consec., as 
frequently in this Psalm, alternating with imperf. cons., ver. 26, 45, 47; 
49, 50.” But I prefer reparding it as an aor. of repeated action, not 
“ continuance of an action,” as Phillips—who, however, well explains the 
use of the tense, “as often as water was wanted by the Israelites in the 
emia the rock was cleft.” 
° m3} nininn>. The plur. noun is apparently used for the sing. (comp. 
_ Gen. vii. 11 ; Ps. xxxvi. 7), like niona, MinpH, &c. Hence the adj. is in 
the sing. The Chald. changes the adj. into the plur., in order to make it 
agree with the noun. The LXX. év dBivco@ wodAZ. So the older Verss., 
generally, take the two words as in concord. Others consider 731 to be 
an adverb, as Ixii. 3, Ixxxix. 8. “The imperf. consec. [at the beginning of 
‘the verse] faarks the consequence, which is here contrary to expectation.” 
—De Wette. 
“ . ning, as Is. iii. 8. Inf. Hiph, for nina, from i771 (as cvi. 7; comp. 
“ iii. 20), construed sometimes with acc., as here and ver. 40, 56, some- 
imes with 3 or with Dv. 
oe 2H. The Hiph. occurs again in Ezek. ix. 4 in the sense of “ putting 
” (on the forehead). So it was taken by the Chald. here, and this 
hhas been explained in two ways: (1) “they put boundaries (marks), 
a s” to the power of God. Or (2), as Hengst. Del. and others, “ they 
branded with reproach” (Del. drandmarkien). But it is better to connect 
it with the Syr. lo2, penituit eum, doluit. So the LXX. rapdévay. 
Vv lulg. exacerbaverunt. Jerome, concitaverunt. 
2k on sondn. This is commonly rendered “angels (or messengers) 
evil,” ze. causing evil, generally of the object, as in Prov. xvi. 14, 
“ messengers of death,” and Dy) is supposed to be a neuter = nirq, “evil 
things.” This may perhaps be “defended by 07°33, zobz/ia, Prov. viii. 6, 
though Hupf. contends that DY)¥ must be supplied there, as with the 
adjectives in ver. 6; to which it may be replied, that the noun has 
immediately preceded, and would therefore easily be understood in ver. 9, 
which is not the case in ver. 6. However, it is better to explain “1D as 
“angels (belonging to the class) of evil ones,” i.e. evil angels. (So the 
LX) romper ; Symm: xaxoUvrev.) Comp. the same use of the adj. after the 
onstr. in Num. v. 18, “waters (belonging to the class) of bitter (waters).” 
er. xxiv. 2, “figs of the early ones.” See also Is. xvii. 6; 1 Kings x. 15. 
acd? 4 This is not (as Schnurr) pret. Hoph. of bb = ejulare facte 
unt, ie. ejularunt; for that must mean “they were lamented.” It is 
nt by incorrect orthography for 1950 (Aq. tpxnOnoay ; Symm. Th. 
exyveOnoav), “were sung with praises, ” z.e. at the marriage feast. (Comp. 
32923 1, of the “harvest feast,” Jud. ix. 27, with xvi. 24; Lev. xix. 24, and 
the Rabb. sdybn_ ma, “ marriage tent”). 






























72 PSALM LXX1IX. 


PSALM LXXIX. 


Tuts 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 
foreground ; in the other, the terrible carnage which had made the 
streets of Jerusalem 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 through- — 
out, 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 
observable. Thus, for instance, we may compare Ixxix. 5, “how ~ 
long for ever,” with lxxiv. 1, 10; lxxix. 1, the desecration of the 
Temple, with Ixxiv. 3, 7; Ixxix. 2, the giving up to the wild beast, — 
with 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. 1. 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, without exaggeration, the funeral anthem of a 
nation. 

There can, therefore, be little doubt 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 — 
which 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 ? 

That the history of the Canon does not exclude the later of these 
periods, I must still maintain, notwithstanding the positive and con- — 
temptuous manner in which Dr. Pusey has recently expressed himself — 





PSALM LXXIX. 73 




































on this subject (Zectures on Daniel, pp. 56, 292, &c.). There is not 
a shadow of proof (as I have pointed out in the Introduction to Vol. 
L, pp. 18, 19) that the Canon was closed before the Maccabean era. 
_ We are therefore at liberty to form our opinion as to the probable 
_ date of the Psalm purely on internal evidence. And indeed it is on 
_ this ground that Hengstenberg undertakes to show that the Psalm 
refers to the Chaldean invasion. Let us examine his arguments. 

_ (1) He contends that there are no traces of any special reference 
to the Maccabean times. To this it may be replied, that it is almost 
_ impossible to find in any Psalm language so precise as to fix at once 
the date and the occasion for which it was written. But in this 
imstance the fact that the desecration, and not the destruction of the 
Temple is lamented, is certainly more easily explained on the Mac- 
cabean hypothesis than on the Chaldean. Antiochus Epiphanes 
defiled the Temple, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it. 

(2) He asserts that the language used im ver. 1, “ They have 
made Jerusalem a heap of stones,” and so general a slaughter as 
that described in ver. 2, 3, are not applicable to the history of the 
' Maccabean age. It is sufficient answer to say, that the first chapter 
of the First Book of the Maccabees altogether refutes such an 
assertion. The desolation of Jerusalem, and the slaughter there 
oken of, might adequately, and without exaggeration, be described 
the language of the Psalm: the difference is only the difference 
ye poetry and prose. 

(3) He objects that in the Psalm (ver. 6) “kingdoms and nations ” 

a spoken of, whereas in the Syrian period the Jews had to do with 
only one kingdom. But it is obvious that in the one struggle was 
Iyolved the whole principle of the antagonism to the heathen world 
at large. And nothing is more common than for the prophets and 
poets to extend their range of vision beyond the single enemy, or 
_ the immediate conflict, so as to embrace a larger issue. 
__ 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. rx). But even this might be used 
equally well of the captives who were carried away by the army of 
ky Antiochus (1 Macc. i. 32). So far, then, there is no positive evi- 
_ dence—and this Delitzsch cordially admits—in favour of one period 
Tather than of the other. 

We come now to difficulties of a more formidable kind. Two 
passages in the Psalm are found elsewhere ; the one in Jeremiah, 
and the other in the First Book of iiahers. 

_ 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 ? 


74 PSALM LXXIX. 


In favour of the former supposition it may be said: (1) That it is 
Jeremiah’s habit to quote largely from other writers, especially from 
Job and the Psalms ; (2) That in his prophecy the verse immediately 
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 immediately 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 (see note), 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. 

On the other hand, Hupfeld argues with regard to (3), that the 
passage, as it stands in Jeremiah, is anything but out of place; 
that the language there, on the contrary, is more definite, the contrast 
being this, that God would correct His own people with judgement, 
z.€. in measure, but that He would pour out all His fury without 
measure upon their enemies. He contends that this (expressing the 
same contrast which occurs elsewhere in chap. xxx. 11, xlvi. 28) must 

be the original passage. However, this question of coherence does — 
not go for much. Considering the abruptness of transition natural 
to lyric poetry, even a want of close connection would be no proof — 
that the passage was borrowed by the Psalmist. And, on the other — 
hand, the connection for which Hupfeld contends does not seem to 
be closer or more obvious than that in the Psalm. 

‘There is however another, and a very serious difficulty. This 
Psalm, supposing it to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, must have been 
written during the Exile—probably some time after the destruction of 
the Temple. The Seventy-fourth Psalm, in like manner, which speaks 
of “the everlasting desolations,” must have been composed at a com- 
paratively late period of the Captivity. But when were the passages 
in Jeremiah’s prophecy written, which connect them with these 
Psalms? Jeremiah, in chap. x. 17, 18, predicts the Captivity, and 
hence that part of his prophecy seems to be in time prior to the 
Psalm; and Hengstenberg can only evade this difficulty by the 
supposition that this chapter was not writen in its present form till — 
after the destruction of Jerusalem. This however is a mere assump- 
tion, without a shadow of proof. . 





PSALM LXXIX. 75 



































Another difficulty still remains. Ver. 3 is quoted in 1 Macc. vii. 16. 
The quotation is introduced by the formula xara roy Noyor dv Zypave 
(in the Syriac, “according to the word which the prophet has 
_ written”). This, Hengstenberg says, is the usual mode of citing 
' from the Canonical Scriptures, and hence he contends that the 
_ quotation could not be from a Psalm written at the time of the 
' persecution of Antiochus. But this does not follow, even if the 

use of Eypave be as limited as he would make it. As I have 
_ remarked, it cannot be shown that the Canon was completed before 
the age of the Maccabees, and ¢he writer of the Book lived long 
after the events which he narrates. Hence it would be quite natural 
» for him to refer to 2 Poem which had sprung out of the very cir- 
| cumstances of his history. Delitzsch even (i 557) thinks that the 
' aorist ypave sounds as if the quotation were from some work which 
' was produced under the pressure of the calamities which the author 
_ is describing. 

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 “ fore- 
fathers” is different, the thought is the same), Jerusalem and Thy 
_ people are become a reproach to all that are about us” (comp. ver. 
4 f the Psalm). 

Still the question must remain an open one whether the passage 
im Jeremiah or that in the Psalm is the original. Unless this question 
can be positively settled, 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 composi- 
| tion so low as the latter period, have supposed it to be a prophecy of 
that calamitous time. So Cassiodorus: ‘‘ Deplorat vero Antiochi 
_ persecutionem tempore Maccabeorum factam, tunc futuram, scilicet 
in spiritu prophetico quasi preteritam propter certitudinem eventus.” 


_ The Psalm can hardly be said to have any regular strophical 
' It consists, first, of a complaint (ver. 1—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 acknow- 
ledged (ver. 13). 


76 PSALM LXXIX. 


[A PSALM OF ASAPH. | 


{ 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? * the 


earth. 


1—4. Lament over the terrible 
calamities which have befallen the 
nation. 

I, HEATHEN. This word I have 
elsewhere translated “ nations,” but 
the enemies of Jerusalem are here 
so designated not merely as consist- 
ing of different 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 frequent'y 
in the Prophets (see Joel iii. [iv.] 
17; Nah. 1. 15[ii. 1]; Is. xxxv. 8; 
lii. 1, and especially as parallel 
with this passage, 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 
invasion be meant, the profanation 
only, and not the destruction of the 
Temple (as in lIxxiv.) should be 
lamented. 

A HEAP OF STONES, or rather, 
plur. “ heaps of stones,” “ ruins.” 
Thus was the prophecy of Micah 
fulfilled, which 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.” The 
LXX,. have drwpopvadkioy, “a gar- 
den-lodge,” which is explained by 
a scholion of the Cod. Vatic. 754 
(quoted by Delitzsch) as Aordyros 
Toms, érov THY oknvny exer 6 Tas 
émeépas Puddcowov. The Vulg. zx 
pomorum custodiam, in the same 
sense, probably, as Cassiodorus ex- 
plains, with reference to Is. i. 8, “as 
a lodge in a garden of cucumbers.” 
Lyra says: “ Id est in acervum lapi- 
dum, custodes enim pomorum 
faciunt magnum acervum lapidum, 
ut desuper ascendentes videant per 
totum pomeerium.” But the word 
employed in this sense is a different 
word. See Hos. xii. 11 [12]. 

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 5 XV. 3; XVi. 4; XDKeeme 
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 — 
whole nation as in covenant with — 
God, at the very time. when they — 
are ‘charged with breaking that — 
covenant. So Habakkuk, after — 
complaining of the corruption of 









































Jerusalem ; 


5 How long 


his people, and seeing that their 
sins will bring God’s judgement 
aa 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 
few,” “the holy seed,” than of the 
_ many whose sins had called for 
chastisement. 
| Some have seen in the word Chasi- 
_ dim an allusion to the ’Ac:daioe who 
were slain by Alcimus, 1 Macc. vii. 
3. This verse is quoted, but not 
_ exactly (probably therefore from 
memory), from the version of the 
LXX., in 1 Macc. vii. 16, 17, the 
_ Greek translator of the First Book 
_ of the Maccabees being familiar 
_ with the Greek Psalter, as Ewald 
has shown (Fahré. vi. 25). For the 
bearing of this quotation on the age 
of the Psalm see the Introduction. 
j THEY HAVE SHED. It might be 
better, though less idiomatic, to 
_ render “ they have poured out,” and 
so again in ver. 10, “ which is 
poured out.” Forit is the same word 
which occurs also in ver. 6, “Pour 
_ out Thy fury,” &c.; and there may 
_ perhaps be,as Hengstenberg thinks, 
| a designed antithesis in the repeti- 
tion of the word. “As they have 
out our blood, so do Thou 
out upon them Thy fury.” 
NONE TO BURY, this being, ac- 
cording to the deep-rooted feeling 
of all ancient nations, a great ag- 


of the a Comp. 
pies. xiv. 16, xxii. ¥8, 
4. With the pastor of the first 


PSALM LXXIX. 77 


3 They have shed their blood like water round about 


_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. 


, 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, 


word, this is an exact repetition of 
xliv. 13[14], where see note. (That 
Psalm, as we have seen, may per- 
haps be of the Maccabean age.) 
Comp. also Ixxx. 6 [7]. 

NEIGHBOURS. Such as the 
Edomites, for instance (see cxxxvii. 
7, Lam. iv. 21, 22), if the earlier 
date be preferred. 

—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 his prayer is not only 
that they have not called upon 
God’s name, but that they have de- 
voured Facob. Yence 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 
ordained them, and, O Thou Rock, 
for correction Thou hast appointed 
them” (i. 12) ; and then, after pour- 
traying the work of judgement 
wrought by that “bitter and hasty 
nation,” he tells of “the parable” 
and “ taunting proverb” which shall 
greet their utter overthrow (ii. 6, 
&c.). The same law of righteous 
retribution is frequently recognized 
by the Prophets. See for instance 
Is. x. 12, 24—26, and elsewhere. 

5. FOREVER. On this, as joined 
with the question, see on xiii. 2. 

LIKE FIRE. Comp. lxxviii. 21, 
and the original passage, Deut. 
XXXli, 22. 


78 PSALM LXXIX. 


And upon (the) kingdoms which have not called upon 


Thy Name. 


7 For they have devoured* Jacob, 
And laid waste his pasture. 


8 Oh remember not against us the iniquities of (our) fore- 


fathers ;4 


Let Thy tender mercies speedily come to meet us, 
For we are brought very low. 


6. This verse and the next are 
repeated with slight variation in 
Jer. x. 25. As to the question whe- 
ther the Psalmist borrowed from 
the Prophet, or the Prophet from 
the Psalmist, see Introduction. 

7. PASTURE. Such is the proper 
meaning of the word (not sazctuary, 
as the Chald.— but see 2 Sam. xv. 
25). Comp. Ixxxiii. 12 [13]; Ex. 
xv. 13 (where “ His holy pasture” 
may = “ His holy border,” Ixxviii. 
54); Jer. xxv. 30. The figure is 
thus suggested, which is afterwards 
more fully expressed in ver. 13, 
where however the word rendered 
“pasture” is a different one in the 
Hebrew. It is a favourite image in 
all this group of Psalms. See In- 
troduction to Vol. I. p. 97. 

8. AGAINST US, lit. “with respect 
to us,” z.¢. so that we should thereby 
suffer. Daniel ix. 16 combines in 
some measure the language of this 
verse and ver. 4. The Prophet 
confesses that Jerusalem and his 
people have become “a reproach 
unto all that are round about,” not 
only because of their own sins, but 
for “ the iniguities of their fathers.” 
This heritage of sin and its curse 
is indeed fully recognized 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. Hengstenberg, 
Delitzsch, and Hupfeld 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 down the rule 
by which human tribunals are to be 
bound. Fully to discuss this ques- 
tion in a note would be quite im- 
possible ; it would require a volume. 
I will only remark, (1) That, 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 chastise- 
ment of sin are transmitted. To 
this Scripture and experience alike 
bear witness. (2) That there is a 
mysterious oneness of being, a kind 
of perpetual existence which mani- 
fests 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 no- 
where teaches that a man is guilty 
in the sight of God for any sins but 
hisown. Sinning himself, he allows 
the deeds of his fathers; he is a 
partaker in their iniquities ; he 
helps to swell the fearful catalogue 
of guilt which at last brings down 
God’s judgement ; but his condem- 
nation, if he be condemned, is for 
his own transgression, not for those 
of his fathers. 

COME ‘0 MEET. E.V. “ prevent.” 
God’s mercy must anticipate, come 
to meet, man’s necessity. 





Name, 


sight 


is shed. 


bosom 


O Lord. 


___g. Twice the appeal is made “ for 

Thy Name’s sake ;” that revelation 
_ of God which He had made of 
_ Himself to Moses, when He passed 
_ by and proclaimed the Name of 
_ Jehovah. (Ex. xxxiv. 6,7.) Comp. 
_ Ps. xx. 1 [2], xxiii. 3, xxix. 2. 

COVER OUR SINS, and so “ for- 
give” them, as the word is com- 
monly rendered. See xxxii. I. 
They have provoked God’s wrath, 
and from that wrath He only can 
hide them. 

to. The first clause of the verse 
is borrowed nearly word for word 
from Joel ii. 17, and this Hengsten- 
berg thinks rests on Ex. xxxii. 12, 
Num. xiv. 15, 16, Deut. ix. 28. It 
_ is repeated in cxv. 2. 
q IN OUR SIGHT, lit. “before our 
. eyes.” There can hardly be an 
_ allusion to Deut. vi. 22, as has been 
. The expression suggests 
_ a feeling of joy and satisfaction in 
“ ing the righteous judgement 
of God. Comp. lii. 6 [8], and note 








PSALM LXXIX. 79 


9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy 


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 


The revenging of the blood of Thy servants which 


it Let the sighing of the prisoner come before Thee, 
According to the greatness of Thy power spare Thou 
those that are appointed unto death. 
12 And render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their 


Their reproach wherewith they have reproached Thee, 
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. 


THE REVENGING OF THE BLOOD, 
&c.: comp. Deut. xxxii. 43. 

11. THE SIGHING OF THE 
PRISONER and THOSE THAT ARE 
APPOINTED UNTO DEATH (Heb. 
“the sons of death”) are expres- 
sions found again in cii. 20 [21], 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 im- 
prisonment. If, on the other hand, 
the Psalm is Maccabean, the allu- 
sion will be to those who were carried 
captive by Antiochus Epiphanes. 

THY POWER. Heb. “ Thine arm.” 
Comp. Num. xiv. 17, Deut. iii. 24. 

12. UNTO OUR NEIGHBOURS. 
Because their scorn was more into- 
lerable, and also more inexcusable, 
than the oppression of distant ene- 
mies. Comp. ver. 4. SEVENFOLD, 
as in Gen. iv. 15,24. INTO THEIR 
BOSOM. Comp. Is. Ixv.7, Jer. xxxii. 18. 


80 PSALM LXXX. 


® in. On this form see 1. note °, cxiii. note *, cxiv. note >. 


b 4a)p. In Jer. xiv. 16 the same expression occurs, but there the verb 
is in the Piel, and is followed by b. Gesen. (Zhes. iz v.) says that the 
Kal is used of the burial of ome (except Ez. xxxix. 12), and the Piel of 
many. But here the Kal is used of many. : 


. Sox. It seems unnecessary to suppose, with Ewald, Hupf., and 
others, that the sing. is here written by mistake for the plur., although 
sixteen of Kennicott’s MSS. and nine of De Rossi’s have the latter, and 
it is also found in the parail. passage, Jer. x. 25. The use of the sing. 
has been explained by supposing (1) that the Psalmist had some particular 
enemy before his eyes: but the objection to this is, that he immediately 
returns to the plur. Or (2), as Delitzsch, that the great world-monarchy 
is here regarded as one mass, subject to one despotic will. But it may be 
merely the impersonal use of the verb, lit. “one hath devoured” (see on 
Ivii. note »), with which the plur. might readily alternate. See the same 
interchange of sing. and plur. Is, xvii. 12. 


4 pyN7. This might be an adj. qualifying nip, “former sins,” the 
masc. instead of the fem., as in Is. lix. 2, poya0 my, and it is so taken 
by the ancient Verss. But it is better to regard ‘py as in construction 
with ", just as we have in Lev. xxvi. 45, 7 m3, “covenant with the 
fathers.” So here, “sins of the fathers,” lit. “of those who were at the 
first, or, were before us.” We have the full expression in Jer. xi. 10, 
‘an onias ‘py, “the iniquities of their fathers who were at the first.” 
Comp. Ex. xx. 5; Lev. xxvi. 39. 


* y4y'. Masc. verb with fem. noun following, as often. (See Ges. § 144.) 
From overlooking this came the wrong rendering of the A.V. The 
P. B.V., is correct. 





PSALM LXXxX. 


As in the case of most of the historical Psalms, 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 
hindrance 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 





PSALM LXXX. 81 


_ 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 ? 
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., ixép rod ‘Acaupiov, 
jis to be taken in this sense. Calvin, on the other hand, thinks 
that it is a prayer for the Ten Tribes, by a poet of the southern 
‘kingdom.* He reminds us that even after the disruption prophets 

ere sent from Judah to Israel, and that Amos (vi. 6) rebukes 
those in Judah who do not “grieve for the wound of Joseph.” 
That Benjamin cannot be mentioned as the representative of the 
‘southern kingdom, and Ephraim and Manasseh of the northern, is 
‘perfectly clear. Had the object been to describe the nation by its 
> principal divisions, Judah would have been mentioned, and not 
njamin. It is quite true that Benjamin remained steadfast in its 
giance to the house of Solomon when Jeroboam revolted (see 
+ Kings xii. 21), and also that Jerusalem, the capital of the southern 
kingdom, stood partly in the borders of Benjamin ; but neither the 
One circumstance nor the other would account for the mention of 
Benjamin instead of Judah ; still less can the insertion of Benjamin 
between Ephraim and Manasseh be explained on this hypothesis. 
Hengs tenberg attempts to argue that Benjamin really belonged to the 
Ten Tribes, because Ahijah only promises to Rehoboam one tribe 
@ Kings xi. 13, 32, 36); but as the Prophet at the same time divides 
‘his mantle into twelve parts, and gives Jeroboam ten, he thus leaves 
Esco for Rehoboam : one of these Rehoboam is supposed to have 
already, and hence Ahijah only offers to give him one more. Still, 
in the course of time a portion of Benjamin may have become 
corporated into the northern kingdom. The children of Rachel, 
0 sph (= Ephraim and Manasseh) and Benjamin, would naturally 

_— together. Benjamin, the tribe of Saul and Ishbosheth, and 
@ time the leading tribe, would not readily submit to the supre- 
i 5 of Judah ; a jealousy existed which was not extinguished in 
lavids reign (2 Sam. xix., xx., xxi.), and which may have been 




























) @ * See Introduction to Psalm Ixxxv., p. 122. 
_ VOL. II. G 


82 PSALM LXXX. 






































revived later, It is, moreover, in favour of this view, that in the 
previous verse /oseph is mentioned, and not Judah ; and hence the 
whole Psalm refers, apparently, only to the kingdom of Israel. 

Hupfeld, however, argues that the designations here made use of 
are intended to describe the whole nation, and not a particular 
portion of it. He observes (a) that the use of the first person 
plural in ver. 2, 3 [3, 4] shows that the whole nation is meant (an 
argument which is of no force if the Psalm was written by a native 
of the northern kingdom) ; (4) that as regards the mention of Joseph, 
this is only what we find in lxxxi. 4, 5 [5, 6], where Israel and Joseph 
denote the whole nation, and in Ixxvii. 15 [16], where Jacob and 
Joseph are employed in the same way, and in both passages with 
reference to the Mosaic times. So again in Obad. 18, “the house of 
Joseph” is mentioned with “the house of Jacob,” in opposition to 
“the house of Esau,” Jacob’s brother. This remarkable usage of 
later writers has received different explanations. Rashi accounts for 
it by Joseph’s position in Egypt as a second father and protector of 
the nation ; Kimchi, by the blessing pronounced on Ephraim and 
Manasseh, Gen. xlviii, 16, and because, according to 1 Chron. v. 1, 
“the birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel.” 
Others again suppose that Joseph is mentioned, because, as being 
pre-eminent above all his brethren, he might be regarded as a fourth 
patriarch, and Benjamin, because he was a son of the same mother. 
Hupfeld admits that the phenomenon may be partially explained on 
these grounds, but sees in this prominence given to the northern tribes 
by a poet of Judah (for such he holds the writer of the Psalm to be), 
a hope implied of the re- union and restoration of all the tribes. 
After the dispersion of the Ten Tribes, and when calamities fell 
heavy upon the two, the old animosities were forgotten, and the one 
desire of Prophets and Psalmists was to see the breach healed, and 
the ancient unity restored. Hence the use of the Catholic names 
Israel” and “Jacob,” and hence, also, the mention of “ Joseph,” 
the best-beloved son of Jacob, even when Judah only was left.* 

But it is strange that Hupfeld entirely passes over, without remark, 
that particular association of the three tribes which most favours his 
view. In the journey through the wilderness these three tribes were 
ranged side by side, and in the order of march followed immediatel 
behind the Ark (Num. ii. 17—24). This explains their mention in the 








* Hupfeld appeals, in support of his view, to such passages as Hos. i. 
10, 11 fil. 1, 2], lil. 5 ; Amos ix. 8—11 ; Is. xi. 11—13 ; Jer. xxx., xxxi. (where 
there is a transition from “ Jacob,” chap.. xxx., to “ ‘Tsrael and hraim, 
chap. xxxi.) ; Ezek. xxxvii 15—-28 ; Zech. x, 6; comp. Ps. Ix. 70) 
26, 27 [27, 28]. 


PSALM LXXX. 83 




































_ Psalm. The prayer of the Psalmist is, that God would again lead 
_ His people, again go forth at 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 [21]), 
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 succour 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 81st 
_ Psalms, we meet with a similar peculiarity in the form of the 
‘National designation, and in all it may indicate some special rela- 
_ tion on the part of the writer to the kingdom of Israel. 

_ The strophical division of the Psalm is marked by the refrain, 
"ver. 3, 7, 19, with a variation of it in ver. 14. The strophes are 
thus of very unequal length. The first has three verses ; the second, 
four ; the third, twelve ; though this last, again, is partially broken by 
_the imperfect refrain in ver. 14. The first two of these strophes are, 
“im fact, introductory, containing the cry for help, and the lamentation 
_ Over disaster. The third constitutes the principal part of the Psalm, 
_ where, under the figure of a vine, the history of Israel is pourtrayed. 
In the refrain we have even more emphatically repeated the burden 
_ of the Psalmist’s prayer, the emphasis being each time deepened 
by the name given to God: first, “God ;” then, “God of Hosts ;” 
lastly, “Jehovah, God of Hosts.” 


| [FOR THE PRECENTOR. ACCORDING TO “THE LILIES—A TESTIMONY.” 
A PSALM OF ASAPH.| 


4 t O Tuovu Shepherd of Israel, give ear, 
ee: Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock ; 


_ 1. SHEPHERD OF ISRAEL. On an allusion to Gen. xlviii. 15, “the 
‘the figure as common to this group God who was my Shepherd” [E.V. 
‘of Psalms, bearing the name of “who fed me”], and xlix. 24. In 

japh, see on Ixxviii. 52. Thereis both passages Jacob blesses Foseph 


G 2 


84 PSALM LXXX. 


Thou that sittest (throned above) the Cherubim, 


shine forth. 


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 light 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 ? 


and his sons. So here it follows : 
“Thou that leadest Foseph like a 
flock.” 

(THRONED ABOVE) THE CHERU- 
BIM : as in xcix. I. Comp. xxii. 3 
[4], “‘throned above the praises of 
Israel,” where see note. The expres- 
sion denotes the dwelling of God in 
His temple, and the manifestation 
of His presence there, as is evident 
from the verb following. 

SHINE FORTH, appear in all Thy 
Glory and Majesty for our help. 
See 1. 2, where the same word is 
used of God’s coming forth from 
His Sanctuary 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 imme- 
diately behind the Ark. (See Num. 
ii. 17—24.) [The prep. “‘ before” is 
used thus of the order in proces- 
sions. See 2 Sam. iii. 31, Job xxi. 
33-] This falls in with the language 
of the previous verse, ‘Thou that 
sittest throned above the Cherubim, 
shine forth.” So Lyra: “ Hoc dicitur 
quia iste tres tribus figebant ten- 
toria ad occidentalem plagam taber- 
naculi, In parte vero occidentali 
tabernatulierat sanctum sanctorum, 
ubi erat propitiatorium, in quo da- 
bantur divina responsa.” It is 
strange how completely this fact, 


which is the obvious explanation of 
the mention of these three tribes 
together, has been overlooked by 
nearly all the recent German inter- 
preters. Bear this in mind, and it 
becomes evident that, whatever the 
national disaster here deplored, 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 (as the Chald.), supposing 
the Psalm to have been written 
after the captivity of the Ten Tribes; 
or in the more general sense of re- 
covery from disaster, as in lx. 1 [3]. 

SHOW THE LIGHT OF THY COUN- 
TENANCE. Again an allusion to 
the history of the people in the wil- 
derness, Num. vi. 25. See on lxvii. 
1. [2], iv. 6 [7]. 

4. GOD (OF) HOSTS, see on lix. 5 
[6]. On this repetition of the 
Divine Names Hengstenberg re- 
marks: “In prayer all depends 
upon God, in the full glory of His 
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. ‘Je- 
hovah,’ corresponding to the ‘ Shep- 
herd of Israel, ver. 1, points to the — 
fulness of the love of God toward 
His people; and ‘God, (God of) 
Hosts,’ corresponding to ‘ throned 
above the Cherubim,’ to His infinite — 
power to help them.” 

How LONG WILT THOU BE 





















measure.° 


be saved. 


ANGRY, &c.; lit. How long hast 
_ Thou smoked.” The preterite after 
the interrogative in this sense is 
_ unusual. But the full form of ex- 
ion. would be, “ How long hast 
ion ‘been . . . and wilt continue 
_ tobe... angry.” Comp. Ex. x. 3, 
xvi. 28. This use of the verb “io 
smoke,” said of a m, is 
without The usual phrase 
would “will Thine anger 
smoke.” Comp. lIxxiv. 1; xviii. 8 
La tol | (where see aie Deut. xxix. 
eb. 19]. But the figure i is bolder 
| here than in the other passages, as 
i i ied immediately to God 
f es if. Such figures, remarks 
_ Delitzsch, would be impossible, 
_ were not the power of the Divine 
_ wrath to be regarded as belonging 
"essentially to the very nature of the 
Divine God, who is Light 


WITH THY PEOPLE THAT PRAY- 
ETH, lit. “im (ze. during) the 
_ prayer of Thy people” (Jerome, 
aad elas “anne not as Hengst. and 

others, Py gr ‘ainst the prayer of Thy 
pl that is not an ages 
is displeasure. tw 
- seer bee mysterious, that ips 

alls for the expostulation and the 
‘entreaty is, that even whilst they 

of that prayer, God’s 

¥ against them. Some 

re seen here an implied opposi- 

on between the smoking of God’s 


PSALM LXXX. 85 


5 Thou hast fed them with tears as bread, 
And hast made them to drink of tears in great 


6 Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours, 
And our enemies mock (us) at their pleasure. 
7 O God (of) hosts, turn us again, 
And show the light of Thy countenance, that we may 


8 Thou broughtest¢ a vine out of Egypt, 
Thou didst drive out the heathen and plant it ; 


wrath, andthe prayer which ascends 
like the smoke of incense (see cxli. 
2, Rev. v. 8, viii. 3). But this seems 
fanciful. 


6. A STRIFE, ze. 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 

tty states which bordered on 

udza, who were always ready to 
exult over every misfortune that 
befel the Israelites. Comp. Ixxix. 
12. 

AT THEIR PLEASURE, lit. “for 
themselves,” z. e. for their own satis- 
faction, the pronoun being used to 
mark the reflex nature of the action. 
It cannot mean “among them- 
selves,” as E.V., nor is this the 
indirect use of the pronoun for the 
direct, as in Ixiv. 5 [6]. 

8. THou BROUGHTEST OUT, or, 
“transplantedst.” The word is 
used of rooting up a tree out of its 
soil, Job xix. 10. And so here. (In 
Ixxvili. 52 it is applied to the people 
in the literal sense of “making to 

epart.”) Delitzsch quotes from 
eet Rabba, c. 44. When cul- 
tivators wish to improve a vine, 
what do they do? They root it up 
out of its place, and transplant it to 
another.” See also Vayikra Rabba, 
c. 36. 
A VINE. The same comparison 


86 PSALM LXXX. 


g 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. 
11 She sent out her branches unto the sea, 
And her young shoots unto the river. 


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, 


is found in other passages : Is. v. 
I—7, xxvii. 2—6; Jer. li. 21, xii. 
10; Ezek. xvii. 5—10. In some of 
these passages the figure of a vine- 
yard is mixed with that of the vine, 
- and such is partly the case here: 
see ver. 12. That there is a refer- 
ence 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”), Cassiodorus, re- 
marking on the aptness of the figure, 
says: “ Vinea ecclesiz aptissime 
comparatur. Quoniam sicut illa 
inter foli acaduca necessarios infert 
fructus, sic et ista inter umbras 
turbatiles peccantium ornatur fruge 
sanctorum ; qui seculi hujus afflic- 
tione tanquam torcularibus pressi 
saporem norunt emanare dulcis- 
simum.” 

THOU DIDST DRIVE OUT, &c, 
Comp. xliv. 2 [3]. 

g. MADEST ROOM, by destroy- 
ing the Canaanites, as the soil is 
prepared for planting, by “ gather- 
ing out the stones,” &c. Comp. 
Is, v. 2. 

10. CEDARS OF GOD. See on 
xxxvi.6[7]. Hengst.and others, who 
find the comparison exaggerated, 
supply the verb from the first clause, 
and render: “And: the cedars of 
God were covered with the boughs 
thereof.” But thus the expression 
*‘cedars of God” is meaningless ; 
and, after all, the hyperbole in the 
figure is at least no greater than in 


Ezek. xxxi. 3, &c. Comp. Joel iii. 
18 [iv. 18] ; Amos ix. 13. 

11. SEA. ., RIVER, Zé. from 
Gaza on the Mediterranean to 
Euphrates. Comp. Ixxii. 8. The 
allusion is to the time of Solomon, 
of whom it is said, that “he had 
dominion over all the region on this 
side the river, from Tiphsah (de. 
Thapsacus, on the western bank of 
the Euphrates) even to Azzah (or 
Gaza),” 1 Kings iv. 24. Comp. 
Deut. xi. 24, “ Every place which 
the soles of your feet shall tread 
upon shall be yours: from the wil- 
derness and Lebanon, from the 
river, the river Euphrates, even 
unto the west sea shall be your boun- 
daries.” See also Gen. xxviii. 14; 
Josh. i. 4. P 

12, Portions of this verse are 
r peated in Ixxxix. 40, 41[41, 42} 
Comp. also Is. v. 5. The ver 
PLUCK occurs again only in Song 
of Sol. v. 1. 

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 enemyismeant, 
such as the Assyrian monarch or 
Nebuchadnezzar, but this is nega- 
tived by the indefinite expression in 
the parallel clause, “‘ the wild beasts 
of the field,” or more literally, “that 
which moveth in the field,” as in 1. 
11, the only other place where the 
phrase occurs. Lyra finds a par-— 
ticular reason why Nebuchadnezzar 
should be meant, “who is so called _ 
because he had for a long time his 
dwelling among the wild beasts” ! 





PSALM LXXX. 87 


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; 


15 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. 




































Thyself : 


_ 14. This verse is a reminiscence, 
so to of the refrain with 
which the two first strophes close 
‘im verses 3 and 7. It stands, more- 
over, where it might naturally have 
formed the conclusion of a third 
Strophe, which as consisting of 
seven verses, would have been of 
same length as the other two 
ether. But the verse is too 
closely connected with what follows 

be regarded properly as the end 
of a strophe. 

15. PROTECT. The E.V. takes 
the word, which occurs only here, as 
a noun, “the vineyard ;” and so the 
P.B.V. ‘‘ the place of the vineyard.” 
But it may be a verb, as the LXxX. 
ha rendered it. See more in the 

Critical Note. 

THE sON. Ewald and others 
sender, “the branch,” or “shoot,” 
referring to Gen. xlix. 22, where the 
word no doubt occurs in this sense 
e (ee above on ver. 8), a sense which 
_ would be very suitable here with 
op the figure of gas 
«Br the expressions in ver. 17, “ 

of man,” “son of Thy right frand,” 
em rather to indicate that here, 
E , the figure is dropt. The am- 
jiguous word may, however, have 
chosen designedly, the more 
y to connect the figure with 
ppollows. THE SON evidently 
] s the nation of Israel, as in 

bX. lv. 22; Hos. xi. I. 


17 Let Thy hand be over the man of Thy right hand, 
Over the son of man whom Thou madest strong for 


THOU MADEST STRONG, 7.¢. 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 [22]; 
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 
figure of the vine reappears ; in the 
second there-is an abrupt transition 
to the nation of whom the vine is 
the figure. Hence Schréder con- 
jectured that this verse ought to 
follow ver. 13, and this is git sti 
by Hupfeld, for then, he says : 
the second member, which bie 
refers awkwardly to the Israelites, 
might refer to the “ boar” and “the 
wild beasts,” and be rendered as 
the expression of a wish, “ Let 
them perish,” &c.; and (2) the latter 
portion of the Psalm, from ver. 8, 
would thus consist of three equal 
strophes of four verses each. He 
takes ver. 14 as a variation of the 
refrain in ver. 3, 7, and as the con- 
clusion of a strophe. 

17. MAN OF THY RIGHT HAND. 
This has been explained (1) “one 
whom Thy right hard protect 
one who is the object of Thy specia. 
care and love ; or (2) “one whom 


88 PSALM LXXX, 


18 So will we not go backé 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. 


Thou hast won for Thyself by Thy 
right hand” (in allusion to God’s 
putting 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 thetwo clauses of ver. 17answer 
to the two of ver. 15. Israel has 
been both planted and made 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 cx. I, 

, to sit on the right hand of God. 
(iHupfeld, in mentioning this view, 
quotes xvi. 8, cxxi. 5, as parallels, 
but in those places God is said to 
be on the right hand of David and 
of Israel, ze. to protect them, 
whereas the Messiah is said to be 
on the right hand of God, as Him- 
self invested with kingly dignity. ] 


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. 
And so Calvin understands it. 

18, Grammatically, the first clause 
of this verse ought perhaps to be 
connected with the previous verse, 
and be rendered, “and who (2.2. the 
son of man) hath not gone back 
from Thee.” See Critical Note. 

SO WILL WE NOT, &c. Cassio- 
dorus says: “ Quz enim semel 
mente concepimus cordis oculis 
jugiter intuemur. Quz autem sit 
utilitas ab ipso non discedere con- 
sequenter exponitur: cum dici- 
tur, vivificabis nos.” And on these 
last words Augustine, “ ut tecum 
non terrena amemus in quibus prius 
mortui eramus.” 

QUICKEN US, 2.é. restore us to a 
ae life. Comp. lxxi, 20 ; Ixxxv. 6 

7. 


* See notes on the Inscriptions of xlv., Ix., Ixix. 


> On the construction of this clause, see note on Ix., note *, Vol. L., p. 
309. In the next clause the construction is apparently changed. Properly © 
speaking, the verb npn takes a double accus. (of the person and the 
thing), whereas here we have the prep. 3 instead of the second accus., 
“Thou makest them to drink of (3, lit. with) tears.” As there is no other 
instance of such a construction, Hengst. takes wi*>y? as the second accus., 
and renders, “Thou makest them to drink a measure consisting of 
tears:” the measure, he says, is the thing given them to drink; “of 
tears,” denotes the contents of the measure. But the former construction 
is the most simple and obvious, in spite of the absence of an exact 
parallel, and so apparently the LXX. : morteis nuas év Saxpuow ev pérpo. 


e whbyi. The word (which only occurs again Is. xl, 12) means, evidently, 
a vessel of a particular size for measuring liquids: lit. “a third,” ze. of 
course of some larger measure, as we say, a quart. Comp. the Latin 
triental, Jerome renders ¢ripliciter, “in threefold degree,” a definite for 
an indefinite number. Similarly the Chald. But Hupfeld argues that 
the word denotes not a measure of large size, but one of the uswal size, 





PSALM LXXX. 89 


such as would commonly be used for the purpose of drinking. He 
explains it thus : “ Thou hast made them drink of tears as in (or from) a 
cup (the accus. describing the manner of an action), as wine is commonly 
drunk from a cup.” Hence the phrase would signify that tears were their 
daily portion (see xlii. 4). Bunsen accepting this says, the idea of 
abundance can only be derived from the contrast between the tears falling 
drop by drop, and the cup full of tears. 


_ 4y pp. It seems impossible to render this except as a past, though 

_Ewald and Olsh. adopt the present. Hupfeld merely remarks, that in the 
_ passage beginning here, “the earlier acts of God are described partly in 
_ perfects, partly in imperfects, with or without Vau conv., as in lxxviii.” 
But he overlooks the peculiarity here, which is, that the tense is used as 
an imperf., without any perfect tense having preceded. In Ixxviii. 9, on 
_ the other hand, where the Psalmist begins his narrative of the past, he 
“uses first the preterite, then the fut. with Vau consec., and then the simple . 
fut. as the aor. or impert,, describing past action. And this is undoubtedly 
'the rule. See xviii. 5 (pret.), 7 (fut.), and then a frequent interchange 
throughout the Psalm. In ti so regular is this usage, that Delitzsch 
makes the use of Ni3! in Habak. iii. 3 a reason for concluding that the 
Ss cannot be speaking of the past: otherwise, he argues, a pret. 
have preceded. The fact that the vision ofens with the fut. tense 

compels us to regard the Theophany as relating, not to the past (though 
i pee are borrowed from the past), but to the future, or rather the 
vision itself is fresent to the Prophet’s eye—“ God cometh? &c.—whilst it 
pourtrays the future. The occurrence, however, of the fut. (imperf.) in 
this Psalm at the deginning of a past narrative seems to show that such 
‘an argument as that of Delitzsch is not of itself convincing ; though he is, 
1 believe, right in thinking that Habakkuk’s vision regards the future, not 


©". The suspended v has had all kinds of fanciful meanings attached 

) it by the Rabbinical writers: the seventy years of the Babylonish 

-capti ity, the hanging of the Messiah on a tree; or according to the 
Salend the middle letter of the Psalms, as similarly a large letter 
"denotes the middle letter of the Pentateuch, &ce. 




























 * ip. eee oe teeee (s) 45. & Hom am the sense of “plant® 
4 (Chald., Syr., Ab. Ez., Kimchi, Jerome, vadicem) or “vineyard ” (E.V.), in 

f which case the whole of ver. 16 depends on the verb 4p8, which is thus 
ued first with the accus., and then with the prep. by. But it is 
better to take the word as a verb in the imperat. So the LXX. xardprieat, 
if it were = ng23, from #i>. - There can be little doubt, however, that 
. D. Mich. is right in deriving it from a root }99, allied to 433, to hedge 


out, to protect, and the Arab. “f construed with 5y, as verbs of 


co ering” commonly are. There is still a difficulty about the vocaliza- 
The proper form of the imperat. Kal with 5 paragogic would be 
But we have érah for orrah, Num. xxii. 6, and we find 4 instead of 


So EYRE RE SOR A A ee 
1 dpe 
a 


go PSALM LXXXI. 










6 in verbs YY"), as bs, cxix. 22. i133, therefore, is of the same form as 
i, with 7 paragog. 


8 31D). This is usually taken as Fut. Kal 1 plur. with the vowel 6 
instead of i. Hupf. objects to this (though so slight a variation of the 
vowel need not trouble us), and alleges, further, that the verb never occurs 
in the Kal except in the part. lili, 4, Prov. xiv. 14. He contends, 
therefore, that it is Perf. Niph. 3 sing., and that the first clause of this 
verse must be joined closely with what precedes, as a kind of further 
relative clause, “the son of man (whom) Thou madest so strong for 
Thyself, and (who) hath not gone back from Thee.” 








PSALM: LXXAXTL 


Tuts Psalm was apparently intended to be sung at one or more 
of the great national Festivals. There has, however, been much dif- 
ference of opinion as to the particular Festival or Festivals for which 
it was originally composed. 

1. The Jewish interpretation is, for the most part, in favour of the © 
Feast of Trumpets. According to the Targum, the Talmud (see — 
especially Rosh ha-Shana), the Midrash, and the Book Zohar, this — 
is a New Year's Psalm. It was to be sung, as it still is, in the Syna- — 
gogue, on the first day of the month Tisri, the new moon which, 
beyond all others, was celebrated by the blowing of cornets. But 
this view can only be maintained by giving to the word Kesef, in 
ver. 3 [4], the meaning, not of “the full moon,” but either of “the 
new moon,” or, more generally, of “an appointed time.” 

2. Others are of opinion that there is no allusion to the new 
moon, and that the Festival intended must be one celebrated at 
the full moon, and therefore either the Feast of Tabernacles or 
the Passover. | 

3. According to De Wette, Hengstenberg, and others, this Psalm 
was intended to be sung at the Passover. Hengstenberg’s main 
argument rests upon the language of ver. 5, where the feast is 
described as one which was instituted at the time of the Exodus, 
and, as appears in verses 6—10, instituted with special reference 
to that event. He contends, accordingly, that the word chodesh, 
in ver. 3, must be rendered, not “‘new moon,” but “month ”— 


PSALM LXXXI. gt 




































* Blow the cornet in ¢he month,” that month which is emphatically 
> first and chief in the year, the month in which the Passover 
scurred Comp. Exod. xii. 1,.2, ‘“‘And the Lord said to Moses 
ind Aaron in the land of Egypt, This month shall be to you the 
hief of months, it shall be the 77st month of the year to you.” 
[n the full moon,” of the second clause, defines exactly the time 
n the sacred month in which the Festival fell. Just as it is said 
in Levit. xxiii. 5, “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the 
‘month, is the passover to the Lord,” so here the note of time is the 
: “in the month... on the: full moon.” ‘“ Month,” says 
Hengstenberg, and not ie moon,” is the meaning of the word 
hrot Doak the Pentateuch. 

a A fourth view, and that which is now maintained by some of 
the most eminent critics (Ewald, Delitzsch, and Hupfeld), combines 
he first and second interpretations ; for it supposes that the exhorta- 
m of the Psalm refers both to the Feast of Trumpets on the first of 
é month, and to the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasted from the 
ifteenth to the twenty-first or twenty-second. This would explain 
ie mention both of “the new moon” and of “the full moon,” both 
: ing important Festivals, and Festivals occurring in the same 
iont Both would be kept with loud expressions of joy. The 
z of cornets, and the apparatus of musical instruments, by 
ch ithe first is to be announced, were certainly not usual at the 
si sover, whereas they would be perfectly in keeping with so joyous 
| Occasion as the Feast of Tabernacles. The music in Hezekiah’s 
lebration of the Passover (2 Chron. xxx. 21, &c.), to which Heng- 
srg refers, was probably exceptional. The peculiar circum- 
es _ under which the Feast was then kept, and the great joy 
Thich it called forth, would sufficiently account for this mode of 
elebration, but there is no hint given that musical instruments were 
ve Baploved, as the Passover was originally observed ; and the 
yeneral character of the Feast is against such a supposition. = Itisa 
ther evidence that the Feast of Tabernacles is meant, that it is 
tyled so emphatically “ our feast.” See note on ver. 4. 

On the relation of the ‘wo Festivals which, on this supposition, are 
sombined, more will be found in the note on that verse. 
Ewald observes that there is so much resemblance between this 
alm and Psalms Ixxvil. and xcv. that, but for certain peculiarities 
‘which this is marked, all might be assigned to the same author. 
ad | 1 De fitzsch thinks that Psalm Ixxxi. “unites the lyric element of 


<2 


ee seineaiiieaiieaat = = 
ts ey 





Piitence Tholuck conjectures that this Psalm was composed for 
a iah’s celebration. 3 


a 


ne Se ae 


92 PSALM LXXXI. 































Psalm Ixxvii. with the didactic element of Psalm lIxxviii.” “ All these 
three Psalms,” he observes, “‘ have the same character: all end in the 
same abrupt manner. The author rises to the height of his subject, 
and then suddenly drops it. Again, in Ixxvii. the nation is spoken 
of as ‘the sons of Jacob and Joseph,’ in lxxviii. as ‘the sons of 
Ephraim,’ and here simply as ‘Joseph.’ Like Ixxix., this Psalm 
rests upon the history of the Pentateuch, upon Exodus and 
Deuteronomy.” 





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. 1—5. 


II. In the next he abruptly drops his own words. What those 
circumstances were, 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. 

It 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 
the religious feasts of the nation than this. They 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 wha’ 
particular Festival or Festivals were chiefly before his eye. 


PSALM LXXXI. 93 


[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, 


























Ver. 1—5. The Festivals are to 
de kept with the loudest expressions 
f joy and thanksgiving, as Israel’s 
special privilege, as instituted by 
58 | Himself, and as a great me- 
jorial of His redemption. 
rr. ‘SHOUT ALOUD. There may 
igs Delitzsch suggests) an allu- 

in this verb to the expression 
» Num. xxix. I, where the noun 
nployed is from the same root 

dered in the E.V., “it is a day 
r the trumpets”). On the 
sday of theseventh month (Tisri) 
silver trumpets (at a later 
iad 120, see 2 Chron. v. 12) were 
ye blown. 


2. RAISE A SONG, &c. or, “take 
wusick” (the noun is used both of 
ae human voice and of instrumen- 
al music), “and s¢rize the timbrel.” 
See Critical Note. 
3- THE CORNET. “The shophar 
remarkable as being 
e only Hebrew instrument which 
s been preserved to the present 
é y in the religious services of the 
ews. It is still blown, as in time 
of old, at the Jewish new year’s 
_ festival, according to the command 
_ of Moses (Num. xxix. 1).” (Engel, 
Hist. of Music, p. 292.) These in- 
uments are commonly made of 
Be sheoe, tome being 
mewhat in some being 
ich more curved than others, and 
be of some not being round 
a 2 Engel mentions one 
eeeeet ynagogue in London, 
hich has this verse of the Psalm 
mscribed on it. He also quotes 
David Levi (Rites and Ceremonies 
of the Fews), as saying that the 


The pleasant harp with the lute. 
3 Blow (the) cornet in the new moon, 
At the full moon,* on our (solemn) feast.¢ 


trumpet is made of a ram’s horn, 
in remembrance of Abraham’s 
sacrifice (Gen. xxii. 12, 13), which, 
according to the Jewish tradition, 
was on the new year’s day, “and 
therefore we make use of a ram’s 
horn, beseeching the Almighty 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 
trumpets over their burnt offerings, 
&c., Num. x. 10; but perhaps the 
new moon of the seventh month, 
the new year’s day, is especially 
meant. (See Num. xxix. 1.) 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 Ara- 
maic 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, 7.é. 
the Feast of Tabernacles, which 
was also called pre-eminently “the 
Feast,” 1 Kings viii. 2,65 (where 
the E.V. has “a feast,” wrongly), 
xii, 32; Ezek. xlv. 25 ; Neh. viii. 
FAs? Chron. ee vii. 8. Josephus 
calls it 4 éopt) 4 dywrdry kal 
peyiorn (Antt. Viii. 4)s and Plutarch, 
€opt) peyiotn Kal tTehewtdtTn Tov 
“Toudaiay { (Sympos. iv. 6, 2). 


94 


4 For it is a statute for Israel, 
An ordinance of the God of Jacob: 
5 He appointed it as a testimony in Joseph, 


But are we to understand that 
both Festivals, 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. Ewald, Rosenm., Hitzig, 
and Delitzsch, all think that the 
music was a part of the celebration 
of both the feasts. Delitzsch thus 
explains, I think rightly, the re- 
ference to the two. Between the 
Feast of Trumpets on the Ist of 
Tisri, and the Feast of Tabernacles, 
which lasted from the 15th to the 
21st or 22nd, lay the Great Day of 
Atonement on the roth of the 
month. This circumstance gave a 
peculiar significance to the Feast of 
Tabernacles—made it, in fact, the 
chief of all the Feasts, inasmuch 
as it was the expression of the joy 
of forgiveness and reconciliation 
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. Hupfeld suggests that the 
very change of preposition in the 
last clause, “for (rather than oz) 
our feast-day,’ may have been de- 
signed to mark that that feast, the 
Feast of Tabernacles, was chiefly 
in the Psalmist’s mind, so that the 
blowing of the cornets at the new 
moon was merely preliminary to, 
and intended as a preparation for, 
this feast. Then the words “at the 
full moon,” denote, not the time of 
the blowing of the cornets, &c., but 
the time when the feast was held, 
so that the two clauses of the last 
member of the verse might be trans- 
posed, “for our feast-day at the 
full moon.” But this is unnecessary 


PSALM LXXXI. 





































when we remember what a feast of 
gladness the Feast of Tabernacles 
was, and long continued to be. 
Plutarch, in his time, terms it a — 
bacchanalian festival And the 
later Rabbis were wont to say, that 
one who had not witnessed the cele- 
bration of this feast did not know 
what joy was. 

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. Hengstenberg’s explana- 
tion is unnecessarily artificial here. 

Iris. The pronoun is used gene- 
rally, in a neuter sense, referring 
either to the mode of celebration 
described in ver. I—3, or to the 
feast itself; but the latter was more 
particularly enjoined in the Law. 

ORDINANCE, or “‘custom” (the 
word usually elsewhere translated 
judgement”) ; for the word in this 
sense, see xviii. 22 [23], Gen. xl. 13, 
&c.; and 4 

5. TESTIMONY, used of a single 
law, not, as usually, of the whole 
body of laws. See note on xix. 
It was a great wétness and memoria 
set up of God’s power and love. _ 

JOSEPH (or as it is here written, 
“Jehoseph,” as elsewhere we find 
Jehonadab for J onadab, Jehochanar 
for Jochanan, &c.). Hupfeld re. 
marks that it is used after “ Israel” 
and “Jacob” in the preceding verse 
merely as another designation « 
the whole nation, as in Ixxx. 1 [2], 
Hengstenberg says, “ Joseph occu- 
pies the place of Israel here, because 
during the whole period of their 
residence in the land of Egypt the 
nation owed everything to Joseph, 
‘the crowned one among his bre- 
thren,’ Gen. xlix. 26. Their oppres 
sion began with the king who kney 


PSALM LXXXI. 95 


































not Joseph, and this name could 
only belong to them with reference 
to that time.” And similarly Calvin. 
‘Butit i is far more natural, surely, to 
see in the use of this name here, as 
n Psalm Ixxx., an indication that 
& writer belonged to the northern 
, kingdom. 
AGAINST THE LAND OF EGYPT, 
wrongly rendered by the Ancient 
Verss. “from the land of Egypt,” 
(a meaning which it need scarcely 
ube said the prep. ce * a ealeae be- 
aus supposed that “the going 
th” could aah be that of Israel 
of Egypt. Hengstenberg, re- 
ing the same subject, renders: 
n he (Joseph) went forth 
‘ the land of Egypt.” He 
s for this use of the preposition 
to Job xxix. 7, ‘ when I went out to 
ithe gate before (along) the city.” 
Thus is denoted, he thinks, Israel’s 
‘riumphant march before the very 
es sof the Egyptians, who were 
lable to prevent their departure. 
: a XXxlii. 3, where they are 
to have gone out “with a high 
d in the sight of all the Egyp- 
” Similarly Calvin : “populum, 
D1 nte Deo, libere pervagatum 
lisse per terram Egypt, quia frac- 
ac pavefactis incolis datus est 
* But it is simpler to 
the usual meaning of the 
sition, and to refer the pro- 
suffix, not to Israel, but to 
|: “When He (God) went forth 
wainst the land of Egypt,” as in 
he slaying of the first-born (Exod. 
ci -4, cs will go forth through the 
4 of Egypt ), , and in all that 
did for deliverance of His 


As this verse connects the insti- 

tion of the Feast with a particular 
nt, namely, the departure from 
ypt, it does unquestionably fur- 
~ Resta argument to those 
Hengstenberg, believe that 
mn is to the Passover. For 


When He went forth against the land of Egypt, 
Where I heard a language‘ that I knew not : 


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 cele- 
bration as here described are 
against the Passover. I incline, 
therefore, to think that the “new 
moon” and “full moon” are put 
for any feasts that were held at 
those times respectively, all of 
which, beginning with the Passover, 
might thus be spoken of as dating 
from the Exodus. 

I HEARD. The verb is properly 
an imperfect. The LXX. and Vul- 
gate have the 3d person, “he 
heard,” &c., whence it has passed 
into our Prayer-book Version, not 
incorrectly as regards the sense. 
But the first person is used because 
the Psalmist speaks in the name of 
his people, identifying himself with 
them. 

A LANGUAGE THAT I KNEW NOT. 
What was this unknown tongue? 
Two interpretations have been 
given. It has been explained (1) 
Of the language of the Egyptians, 
which was a foreign tongue to the 
Hebrews, who were “strangers in 
the land of Egypt.” Comp. cxiv. 
1, “the people of strange language,” 
with Deut. xxviii. 49; Is. xxiii. 19; 
jer.-v.. 15. Accordingly, this fact is 
mentioned as one of the aggrava- 
tions of their condition «n Egypt, 
like the toiling with “the burden” 
and “the basket.” Calvin, who 
takes this view, remarks that the 
redemption of Israel from a people 
of foreign language was a special 
mark of God’s favour, inasmuch as 
the want of that common language, 
which is the bond of society, made ~ 
foreigner and enemy synonymous 
terms : “ Quia enim lingua est veluti 
character mentis ac speculum, non 
secus ac sylvestres fere, invicem 
alieni sunt qui carent linguz usu.’ 


96 PSALM LXXX1. 


6 “I removed his shoulder from the burden, 
His hands ceased from (toiling with) the basket. 
7 In thy distress thou calledst, and I delivered thee, 
I answered thee in the secret place of thunder, 


It is no objection to this view that 
the words of God follow abruptly. 
See Ixxv. 2. (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 themselves, but had not 
understood (comp. Acts vii. 25). 
This language is then given in sub- 
stance 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 were not then 
understood. 

Hupfeld supposes it to be called 
an “unknown” language, merely 
because it is Divine, unlike the 
every-day 4nown 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 reference to Exod. 
vi. 2, &c. “It was the language of 
a known, and yet unknown God, 
which Israel heard from Sinai. 
God, in fact, 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 as their King, 
giving them a law which bound 
them together as a people, and was 
the basis of their national exist- 
ence.” 

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. It 
is that of Mendelssohn, Ewald, 
Delitzsch, and Hupfeld. 

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 con- 
nection with which the Festival was 
instituted. 

It is as though, amidst all the 
gladness of the Feast, and all the 
music and the pomp of its celebra- 
tion, other thoughts arose, not to 
check, but to guide the current of 
a holy exultation, The sound of 
trumpet and timbrel and _ sacred 
song must be hushed, while Jehovah 
speaks to tell His forgetful people 
the lesson of their past history asso- 
ciated with that festival, the warn- 
ing and the expostulation suggested 
by their own perverseness. If they 
would praise Him aright, it must — 
be with hearts mindful of His good- 
ness, and sensible of their own un- 
worthiness and ingratitude. For 
the spirit in which all festivals 
should be kept, see on the offering 
of the first-fruits, Deut. xxvi. I—11. 

BURDEN, in allusion to Ex. i. 11 ; 
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 (1) 
a basket, in which heavy burdens 
were carried, such as are now seen 
pourtrayed on the monuments at 
Thebes ; so it is interpreted by the 
LXX., and Jerome has cophino : or 
(2), az earthen pot, with reference’ 
to the work in clay which the Is-— 
raelites were compelled to perform. 
Hence the E.V. renders, “his hands 
were delivered from making /¢he 


pots.” 


CEASED (E.V. “ were delivered”), 
lit. “passed.” The LXX., with a- 
very slight change in a single letter, 
“served” (€dovAevoay), but this in- 
volved also a change of the preposi- 


. tion “in” instead of “ from.” 


7. THE SECRET PLACE OF THUN- 
DER is the dark mass of the 





PSALM LXXXI. oe, 


I proved thee by the waters of Meribah : 


[Selah.] 


8 ‘Hear, O my people, and let Me testify unto thee ; 
O Israel, if thou wouldest hearken unto Me, 
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’ 

11 But My people hearkened not unto My voice, 
a And Israel was not willing to obey Me. 
_ 12 Sol gave them up unto the stubbornness of their heart, 
That they should walk after their own counsels. 
Be 13 Oh that My people would hearken unto Me, 
That Israel would walk in My way ! 
- 14 I would soon put down their enemies, 



























+ 
a 


nder-cloud in which God shrouds 
“Majesty. (Comp. xviii. 11 
Hab. iii. 4.) Here there is 
bly a special reference to the 
ag which Jehovah aga 
h in the passage through the 
. Sea, Exod. xiv. 19 (comp. the 
e on Ixxvii. 16) ; as there follows 
person of the second great 
, the giving the water from 
“PROVED THEE. (Deut. xxxiii. 
The mention of Israel’s sin 
which did not of itself belong 
an account of the institution of 
_ the feast, prepares the way, as 
i = berg points out, for the 
_ exhortation which follows. 
728 This is a discourse within 
aso It is the language 
n_ God held with His people 
ie., C Deut. vi. 4, and see the 
Ds. 1. 7. 
THOU WOULDEST, or “Oh 
as wouldest.” The particle 
ed in the expression ect a wish, 
[RANGE—STRANGER. The 
o words are different in Hebrew. 
VOL. 11. 


—. 










For the former, comp. xlvi. 20 [21], 
Is. xliii. 12; for the latter Deut. 
xxxii. 12, where the appeal is the 
same. 

1o. Comp. Deut. v. 1, 6, &c. 

11. Luther remarks: “It is 
something dreadful and terrible 
that He says Jy people. If it 
had been a stranger, to whom I 
had shown no particular kindness, 
&e. 

12. SO I GAVE THEM UP. Thé 
word is used of the letting go of 
captives, slaves, &c.; of giving over 
to sin, Job viii. 4. This is the 
greatest and most fearful of all 
ide punishments. Comp. lxxviii. 


P crunboninies The word oc- 
curs once in the Pentateuch, Deut. 
xxix. 19 [18], and several times 
in Jeremiah: The E.V. renders 
it here “ lusts,” and in all the 
other passages “imagination,” 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 
in the history of the latter. 


H 


ogre PSALM LXXX1. 


And turn My hand against their adversaries. 

15 The haters of Jehovah should feign submission to Him, 
And their time should be for ever. 

16 He would feed thee also with the fat of wheat, 
And with honey out of the rock should I satisfy thee.” 


14. AND TURN My HAND. 
There is no need to supply any 
ellipse or explain the phrase as 
meaning “again turn.” It is used 
as in Is. i. 25 ; Amosi. 8. 

15. To HIM, ze. Israel (for “‘the 
haters of Jehovah ” are the enemies 
of Israel) ; and hence, with the usual 
change from the collective sing. to 
the plural, “ ¢hezr time” in the next 
clause is “ the time of Israel.” 

TIME, in the general sense of 
duration merely, and not implying 
prosperity. Indeed the word may 
be used of times of adversity as 
well as prosperity (see xxxi. 15 [16]). 
Hence Ab. Ezra and Rashi sup- 
pose the time of the enemy to be 
meant (and so Theodoret), but the 
predicate “for ever” is against 
this. 

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 again in the next clause. 
These abrupt interchanges of per- 
sons are by no means uncommon 
in Heb. poetry. Comp. xxii. 26 
[27]. The 3rd person follows, as 
Hupfeld observes, from the mention 
of Jehovah just before, instead of 
the pean suffix of the Ist 
person. 

FAT OF WHEAT, as cxlvii. 14, 
Deut. xxxii. 14; comp. Gen. xlix. 20. 
So “fat of the land,” Gen. xlv. 18; 
of fruits, Num. xviii. 12, 29, as de- — 
noting 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. 


* See the note on the Inscription of Psalm viii. 


> pirjom. Gesen. explains this, give forth a sotind by striking the 
timbrel, i.e. “strike the timbrel,” after the analogy of Sip yna, “to give 
forth, utter a sound, the voice, &c.” But the analogy is anything but 
perfect; and there is no instance of a really parallel usage. I have 
therefore followed Mendelssohn and Zunz in preferring the other 
rendering. 


¢ mD>. The Jewish tradition as to the meaning of this word, Delitzsch 
observes, is uncertain. According to the Talmud (Rosh ha-Shana, 8, 
Béza, 16*) it is the day on which the new moon hides itself, z.¢. is scarcely 
visible in the morning in the far west, and in the evening in the far east. 
Rashi, Kimchi, and others again derive it from ADS = DD3, computare, in 
the sense of a “computed,” and so “fixed time.” And similarly the 
LXX. év edor{ug qepa, and the Vulg. 7 zwsigni die. Hence the E.V. “in 
the appointed time.” But it is perhaps more probably explained by the 
Syr. Xeso, which means “the full moon” (lit. “the covering (Heb. ADD) 
or filling up of the orb of the moon”), or more generally, “the middle o 
the month,” or rather the whole period from the full moon to the end 
the month ; for in the Peshito Vers. of 1 Kings xii. 32 it ts used of the 

















PSALM LXXXII. 99 


15th day of the month, and in 2 Chron. vii. 10 of the 23rd, but not, as 
Delitzsch asserts, in both instances of the Feast of Tabernacles ; for in 
Kings the reference is to Jeroboam’s spurious festival on the 15th of the 
eighth month ; and in Chronicles the people are sem away on the 23rd, 
the Feast of Dedication, which lasted for seven days, having followed the 
' Feast of Tabernacles. The Syr. here renders : “sound with horns at the 
mew moons (beginning of the month), and at the full moons (wrongly 
rendered in Walton’s Polygl. novilunits) on the feast days.” An analogous 
Aramaic form occurs Prov. vii. 20, where Aquila has yépa ravceAjvov . 
J erome renders there zz die Alene lune, and here in medio mense. 


4 333m. There can be little doubt but this is the better reading. It has 
ia pant of the LXX. and is found in the best texts, but the Syr. 
, and several of Kenn.’s and De R.’s MSS. have the plural 33°37. 


© © ney. The stat. constr. with the verb following, as in vii. 16 (comp. 

i 3, where the noun stands in construction with a sentence), the verb 
» here, what the second noun usually is, equivalent to an adjective. 
Phere is no need to explain the phrase elliptically, “the language of 
> whom | knew not,” though grammatically this would be allowable, as 

cy. 5, Job xviii. 21, xxix. 16. 

_Hengstenberg thinks that n5v could not be used to denote the voice or 
on of God, but can only be employed of a language ; but why may 
’’ mean “unintelligible words,” as Nipy ‘&, Prov. xii. 19, means 
“sie 2? 


| The change to the 3d pers. presents no difficulty, but the 
se of the } consec. does. It is out of the question to take this as the 
.XX. and Syr. do, as an historic tense. A condition is clearly implied. 
That is meant is, that if the Israel of to-day would be obedient, then the 
iracles of God’s love manifested of old should be repeated. Strictly 
leaking, if the } comsec. is retained, we ought to render “ He would have 
ed,” as if to intimate that not now only, but eveg from the first, God 
‘ould have done this, had His people been obedient, 























PSALM LXXXII. 


is Psalm is a solemn rebuke, addressed in prophetic strain, te 
se who, pledged by their office to uphold the Law, had trampled 
in it for their own selfish ends. It is a “ Vision of Judgment,” in 
ich no common offenders are arraigned, as it is no earthly tribunal 
ore which they are summoned. 

5E2 


100 PSALM LXXX/I. 


God Himself appears, so it seems to the prophet, taking His stand _ 


in the midst of that nation whom 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 5oth Psalm, to judge His Acop/e, 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 dese- 
crated 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 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 wealthy. They had crushed the poor, the de- 
fenceless, the fatherless, whose only protection lay in the unsullied — 
uprightness and incorruptibility of the judge, and whom God Him- ~ 
self had made their charge. ’ 

_A witness of these wrongs, the Psalmist appeals to them to dis-— 
charge their duty faithfully and uprightly: “Do justice to the 
miserable and fatherless,” &c. (ver. 3, 4). But the appeal is in 
vain. They have neither feeling nor conscience. Morally and 
intellectually, intellectually 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 consequence 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 





PSALM LXXXII. IOI 


_ arise and execute judgement in the earth, which they who bore His 
name had perverted. 
_ Ewald, De Wette, Hitzig, and others, suppose the expostulations 
of the Psalm to be addressed, not to Israelitish but to heathen 
_Tulers, satraps, &c. by a poet who lived towards the end of the 
_ Exile, in Babylon, and who, witnessing the corruption which was 
_ fast undermining the Babylonish empire; lifted up his voice against 
it. This view rests mainly upon the appeal to God (in ver. 7) as 
the Ruler and Judge of a// nations, not of Israel exclusively. But 
the Psalmists so frequently take a wider range than their own nation, 
so constantly, in a true prophetic spirit, recognize the special rule 
-and revelation of God in Israel, as only a part of His universal 
dominion (compare, for instance, vii. 6—8 [7—9]), that there is no 
need to depart from the more common view that Israelitish judges 
‘are meant ; especially as this is confirmed by the general tenour of 
the fish, Besides, as Stier and Hupfeld have pointed out, the 
‘Tames “gods,” and “sons of the Highest,” are never given to 
heathen monarchs in Scripture. The former says: ‘“ We look in 
vain for a passage where a heathen king, or even an Israelitish 
except David and Solomon, as types of the Messiah, is thought 
ce thy of this name (Son of God).” 
; __ Hpfeld and Bleek (who have been followed by Bunsen) maintain 
nd I believe that they are the only modern expositors who do so) 
hat the “gods” of the Psalm are not human judges, but angels ; that 
€ Psalmist sees a vision of judgement going on in heaven (which 
4 I iceivable, inasmuch as the angels are not pure in God’s sight), 
nd that he poetically applies the circumstances of this judgement to 
parallel upon earth. Hence the rebuke addressed to the angels is 
aded for human judges, and this explains how it is that the angels 
are charged with human delinquencies, with accepting persons, and 
: crushing the poor. So also when angels are threatened with death 
(a threat which Hupfeld argues has no meaning when uttered to 
_ human beings), this is a mode merely of threatening them with 
| _ degradation ; the language being figurative, and borrowed from the 
_ sentence of degradation pronounced on the First Man (Gen. ii. 17; 
iii. 19, 20). Bleek carries this notion so far as to suppose that the 
- ngels are the guardian angels to whom is entrusted the government 
f the several nations of the world (see Dan. x. 13, 20, 21; xii. 1; 
d Deut. xxxii. 8, in LXX_), a trust which they have betray ay 
“or such an interpretation it is enough to say with Calvin, 4d 
angel is trahere frigidum est commentum, not to mention that it seems- 
difficult to reconcile such a view with our Lord’s use of the Psalm in 
ohn x. 34, which Hupfeld passes over without any notice whatever 























Le 2 eg arte 


102 PSALM LXXXII. 


His objections to the common view that men are not called “ gods” 
and “sons of the Highest” in Scripture, and that there is no mean- 
ing in saying to human judges, “ Ye shall die like men,” &c. will be 
found substantially answered in the notes. 

The language of the Psalm is so general that it might belong to 
any period of the history ; and the history itself and the utterances of 
the prophets show us that the evil here denounced was not the evil 
of any one age, but of all. It was the accusation brought against the 
sons of Samuel, the last who bore the venerable title of Judges before 
the establishment of the monarchy, that they “turned aside after 
lucre and took bribes, and perverted judgement” (1 Sam. viii. 3). 
And a long line of prophets repeat the same complaint. See Amos 
v. 12, 15; Micah vii. 3; Is. i. 17, iii, 1315; Jer. xxi. 12; Zech. vii. 
9, 10. The passages which approach most nearly to the Psalm in 
their general character are (1) one of those already quoted 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, who is with 
you in the judgement. 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.” 

The Psalm has no regular strophical division, but the arrangement 
is natural, and presents no difficulty. It has béen already sufficiently 
indicated. ‘The general strain is like that of Psalm lviii. 

For certain peculiarities, which mark it in common with other 
Psalms, ascribed to Asaph, see General Introduction, Vol. I. p. 96, 


where however the view is taken that God is Himself the speaker in 
this Psalm. 


[A PSALM OF ASAPH.* ] 


1 GOD standeth in the congregation of God: 
In the midst of (the) gods doth He judge. 
1. Earthly rulers and judges are_ sible. There is One higher than | 


not, as they are too ready to think, the highest. As Jehoshaphat re- 
supreme, independent, irrespon- minds the judges of Israel, God is 








PSAIM LXXX1IT. 


103 


2 How long will ye give wrong judgement, 


And accept the persons of the wicked? 


with them in the judgement. Cal- 

vin quotes, to the like effect, the 

words of Horace: 

“Regum timendorum in proprios 
Reges in ipsos imperium est 
Jovis,” &c. 

en cannot see God with their 





j ie eg Is. iii. 13. 
___ IN THE CONGREGATION OF GOD, 


y 
3 
5g 
: 
i 


_ witnesses of His righteousness, but 

_ amidst the judges of the people 

__ who are the representatives of His 

are 

)S, not merely as having their 

authority from God (or as Calvin, 
quibus specialem gloriz notam in- 


[Selah.] 


nounced (as Knobel and Hupfeld 
understand), but the judges them- 
selves acting in His name and by 
His authority. If in Exod. xxi. 
28 [27], 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 implied that the ruler 
bears the image of God, and that 
every insult offered to such a repre- 
sentative of God in His kingdom 
is an insult against God (as Heng- 
stenberg remarks). The use of the 
name “gods” may have been in- 
tended to remind the world how 
near man, created in God’s image, 
is to God Himself. So in the 8th 
Psalm it is said, “ Thou hast made 
him a little lower than God.” (See 
note 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 instead of God” (Exod. 
iv. 16). And again: “See I have 
made thee a god to Pharaoh” (vii. 
1). In1t Sam. xxviii. 13, the witch 
of Endor says of Samuel, “I saw 
a god ascending out of the earth” 
(in allusion either to his maiestic 
appearance or possibly to his office 
as judge.) In Ps. xlv. 6, the king is 
called God (see note there). But it 
was in connection with the office of 
judge that the stamp of divinity 
was most conspicuous. “ The 
judgement is God’s,” Deut. i. 17; 
whoever comes before it comes be- 
fore 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 Clementia, i. 1) 
makes Nero say: “Electus sum 
qui in terris Deorum vice fungerer: 
ego vitz necisque gentibus arbiter, 
qualem quisque sortem statumque 
habeat in manu mea positum est.” 

2. It is usual to consider what 
follows, to the end of ver. 6, as the 
words of God, as He appears, in 
vision, pleading with the judges of 


104 


PSALM LXXX/I. 


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, 
In darkness they walk to and fro: 


All the foundations of the earth are out of course. 


His people. To me it seems pre- 
ferable to regard the passage as a 
rebuke addressed, in the true pro- 
phetic strain, by the Poet himself, 
to those whose iniquity called for 
the protest (somewhat in the same 
strain as in lviii. 1, 2 [2, 3]); 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 
become intolerable, because of its 
long standing. 

GIVE WRONG JUDGEMENT, lit. 
“judge iniquity ;” “give a judge- 
ment which is iniquity itself :” (the 
opposite being “ judging upright- 
ness,” lviii.1[2].) Comp. Lev. xix. 15. 

ACCEPT THE PERSONS. Such, 
there can be no doubt, is the mean- 
ing of the phrase here, and so it is 
understood by the LXX. Comp. 
Prov. xviii. 5 ; Lev. xix. 15. Some- 
times a different verb is employed, 
as in Lev. xix. 15; Deut. i. 17; xvi. 
19; Prov. xxiv. 23; xxviii. 21; 
where such partiality is straitly for- 
bidden. Jehoshaphat in his address 
to the judges (2 Chron. xix. 7) re- 
minds them that “with the Lord 
our God is no respect of persons, 
nor taking of gifts.” 

3. MISERABLE, See note on xli. I. 
NEEDY; the word (vésh), Delitzsch 
observes, does not occur in Hebrew 
literature earlier than the time of 
David. It is persons such as these 
who most of all need the protection 
of the judge. Their very existence 
depends on his integrity. - The or- 
phan who has lost his natural pro- 
tectors, the humble who have no 
powerlul friends, the poor who can 


purchase no countenance, to whom 
shall they look but to God’s vice- 
gerent? And if he violates his 
trust, God who is the “ God of the 
widow and the fatherless ” (lxviii. 
6), and who in the Law declares, 
“Cursed be he who perverteth the 
cause of the stranger, the fatherless, 
and the widow” (Deut. xxvii. 19), 
will not leave him unpunished. 

Do JUSTICE TO, lit. “ justify,” ze. 
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 will listen to His rebuke. 
But the transition from the 2nd per- 
son to the 3rd is so common as to 
render either exposition unneces- 
sary. It is one strain continued, 
only that now the infatuation, as 
before the moral perversion, of the 
judges is described. 

The expostulation falls dead with- 
out an echo. The men are infatu- 
ated by their position, and blinded 
by their own pride. 

THEY KNOW NOT, absolutely, as 
in liii. 4 [5] 5 Ixxiii. 21 (2k Comp. 
Is, i. 3. Moral blindness is the 
cause of allsin,  .- 

IN DARKNESS: Prov. ii. 13. 

THEY WALK TO AND FRO: such 
is the force of the Hithp.; denoting, 
generally the conversation, manner 
of life, &c.; here, according to” 
Delitzsch, their carnal security and 
self-seeking. 

ALL THE FOUNDATIONS, &c. See 
note on xi. 3, and comp, Ixxv. 3 [4]. 








The dissolution of society is the 
_ inevitable result of corruption in 
__ high places. , 
6. | nave SAID. The pronoun is 
emphatic. If these are the words 
of God, as most interpreters sup- 
pose, then in pronouncing judge- 
ment upon the judges, He declares 
that it was He Himself who called 
them to their office, and gave them 
_ the name, together with the dignity 
_ which they enjoy. (This interpre- 
tation 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 charac- 
_ ter, but you have degraded it, and 
_ degraded yourselves ; you are but 
nortal men, your tenure of office is 
but for a little while.” He does not 
add, what naturally suggests 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. 
_. QOur Lord appeals to this verse 
in His argument with the Jews 
_ when they charged Him with blas- 
u , “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 arenes 
_ the Scripture cannot be broken— 
‘say ye of Him whom the Father 
sanctiffed, and sent into the pete 
blasphemest, because I sai 
I the Son of God?” The ar- 
lent is one @ minori ad majus. 
‘How could they charge Him with 


blasphemy in claiming to be ‘he 


PSALM LXXXTI. 


105 


. 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. 

7 Arise, O God, judge Thou the earth, 

For Thou hast all the nations for Thine inheritance.¢ 


Son of God when their own judges 
had in their own scriptures been 
styled gods? They moreover were 
unrighteous judges (the worthy an- 
cestors, it is implied, of the un- 
righteous Pharisees and members 
of the Sanhedrim, who were our 
Lord’s bitterest opponents), whereas 
He was One whom the Father had 
sanctified, and sent into the world, 
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 character. He was in charac- 
ter as in nature Divine. To them 
the word of God had come (mpéos ots 
6 ayos tov Geod eyévero), whether 
the word of God’s revelation, or 
the word 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 (jyiacer), 
and sent to be not a judge but the 
Christ, not one of many sons, but 
emphatically the Son of God, the 
King of an everlasting kingdom. 
Both in His office and in His per- 
son He has far more right to the 
tit'e “Son of God” than they kave 
to that of “gods.” There is more- 
over further implied in this argu- 
ment that the Old Testament does 
contain hints, more or less obscure, 
preludes and foreshadowings, 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 Incarnation. 


106 PSALM LXXXIII. 


® See General Introduction, pp. 95, 96. 


b nN: for this Ewald reads IM¥3, and translates: “And fall, O ye 
princes, Zogether” (lit. like one man), referring to Is. lxv. 25 ; Ezra iii. 9, 
vii. 20, in support of his emendation. He makes this change on the 
ground that the opposition here is not between princes and gods, but 
between mortal men and gods, At the same time he admits that the 
other expression “as one of the princes,” ze. like a common prince, is a 
genuine Hebrew phrase. Comp. 2 Sam. ix. 11; Jud. xvi. 7, 11; 1 Kings 
Six. 2, 


¢ The verb 5ny is construed here with 3 instead of the accus. after the 
analogy of verbs of ruling, &c., like byin, bya, the word itself being 
employed to denote that whilst Israel is God’s peculiar zuheritance, 
mbna, He has the same right, makes the same claim, to all the nations, 





PSALM LXXXIII. 


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 was. 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 advanced 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 
on ver. 11), 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 






















PSALM LXXXIII. 107 


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. 1, 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. The great hiatus in the narrative (supposing this to 
be the occasion to which the Psalm refers) is, that it omits all mention 
of the Western nations as joining the confederacy. But on the hypo- 
thesis of any other historical reference at all, some hiatus will be 
found to exist. It is so if, with Hitzig, Olshausen, Grimm, and 
others, we refer the Psalm to the events mentioned in 1 Macc. v. 
1—8, where only Edomites, Ammonites, and Bajanites (a name as 
yet unexplained), are mentioned ; nor is the difficulty got over even 
if, with Hitzig, we add to this the subsequent campaign of Judas 
Maccabeus, recorded in the same chapter, ver. 3—54. Those who, 


like Ewald, place the Psalm in Persian times, and suppose it to be 


aimed at the attempts of Sanballat, Tobias, and others, to prevent 
the rebuilding of Jerusalem, are not more successful. The former of 
these views compels us to take Assyria (Asshur) as a name of Syria: 
the latter as a synonym for Persia. In neither case do “the children 
of Lot” occupy the prominent place: nor can we account for the 
mention of Amalekites, either in the time of Nehemiah, or in the 
time of the Maccabees. (See 1 Chron. iv. 43.) The more common 
opinion which connects the Psalm with Jehoshaphat’s struggle is 
certainly preferable to either of the views just mentioned. 

One expression in Jehoshaphat’s prayer bears a close resemblance 


to the language of the Psalm in ver. 11, 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 that 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 


é 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 
_ thetitle. (See General Introduction, Vol. I. pp. 95,96.) One thing, 


however, is clear ; the confederacy of which the Psalm speaks was 


_ formed before Assyria became a leading power. Moab and Ammon 


108 PSAIM LXXXTIT. 

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 the invaders are 
settling like swarms of locusts on the skirts of the land. Last, 
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, Moab and Ammon; the Philistines, long since 
humbled and driven back to their narrow strip of territory by the 
sea, yet still apparently 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 Zhee,;” ver. 18, “Let them know that Zhou art 
most high over all the earth.” 


The Psalm consists of two principal divisions :— 

I. The first describes the magnitude of the danger, and enume- 
rates 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. g—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, 





1. KEEP NOT SILENCE, lit. “ Let 
(there) not (be) silence to Thee,” as 
in Is. Ixii. 7. In both places the 
LXX. have made the same blunder, 
rendering here ris 6por@Onoerai oot, 
and there ox éorw dpows, On the 


general sense of this verse see note 
On xxviii. I. 

2. THINE ENEMIES, in itself a 
ground of appeal and of consola- 
tion. 

MAKE A TUMULT, lit. “roar like 





PSALM LXXXII1I. 


109 


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. 
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 Ishmaelites, 
Moab and the Hagarenes ; 

7 Gebal and Ammon, and Amalek, 


the waves of the sea.” See the 


‘same word in xlvi. 3 [4]. 


HAVE LIFTED UP (THEIR) HEAD. 
via 3 [4]; xxvii.6; and Jud. 


PLOT CRAFTILY, lit. “make 
craty (their) plot, or secret consul- 


Bray aippen ONES : those whom 
God holds in the hollow of His 
hand ; 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 
[21}. 


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. 
The adverb seems to be used almost 


q as an eye saective (LXX. év spovoia 





€mroavto), so that the phrase would 


_ answer to that in 1 Chron. xii. 38 
But perhaps it would be simpler 
and more certain with Hupt. and 
_ Hengst. to render : 
_ taken counsel in (their) heart to- 
gether” (Jerome, corde pariter), the 


“ They have 


heart being the source of their ma- 
chinations. Comp. v. 9 [10] ; lxiv. 
6 [7]. 

AGAINST THEE, as in ver. 3, 

“against Thy people.” God and 
His people are one. So our Lord 
says to Saul, “ Why persecutest 
thou Me?” 

6—8. The enumeration of the 
confederate tribes. First, those on 
the south and east. Then, those 
on the west, Philistia and. Tyre. 
Lastly, the Assyrians in the north, 
not yet regarded as a formidable 
power, but merely asallies of Moab 
and Ammon. 

6. THE TENTS, as properly de- 
scriptive of the nomad Arabian 
tribes. 

Epom. So in’2 Chron. xx. 2, 
“ Edom” should be read instead of 
“ Aram” (Syria), the confusion of 
the two words being discernible 
elsewhere. 

THE ISHMAELITES, according to 
Gen. xxv. 18, were spread over the 
whole tract of country south of 
Palestine, lying between Egypt and 
the Persian Gulf. Part of this 
territory is occupied by Amalekites 
in t 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 (1 Chron. v. 10, 18—20). 

7- GEBAL, usually supposed to 


I1O PSAILM ILXXX/11. 


Philistia, with them that dwell at Tyre. 
8 Asshur also is joined with them, 
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, 


denote the mountainous country 
south of the Dead Sea, in the 
neighbourhood of Petra (Arab. 
Degebel). Mr. Ffoulkes, indeed, in 
Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, identifies 
it with the Gebal of Ezekiel (xxvii. 
9), a maritime town of Phoenicia. 
He says: “ Jehoshaphat had in the 
beginning of his reign humbled the 
Philistines and Arabians (2 Chron. 
xvii. 9, 10), and still more recently 
had assisted Ahab against the 
Syrians (ibid. ch. xviii). Now, 
according to the poetic language of 
the Psalmist, there were symptoms 
of a general rising against him. 
On the south the Edomites, Ish- 
maelites, and Hagarenes; on the 
south-east Moab; and north-east 
Ammon. Along the whole line of 
the western coast (and, with Je- 
hoshaphat’s maritime projects, this 
would naturally disturb him most: 
see 2 Chron. xx. 36), the Amalek- 
ites, Philistines, or Phoenicians and 
inhabitants of Tyre, to their fron- 
tier town Gebal; with Assur, 2.e. 
the Syrians or Assyrians, from the 
more distant north, It may be 
observed that the Asshurites are 
mentioned in connection with Gebal 
no less (ver. 6) in the prophecy than 
in the psalm.” But the objection 
to this identification is the position 
which Gebal here occupies in the 
enumeration of the tribes. 

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 
Assyrian kingdom as a great power 
formidable to Israel till the time 


of Menahem, who “was reduced 
to the necessity of buying off an 
invasion of the Assyrians (the first 
incursion of that people), under 
Pul.” (2 Kings xv. 19.) 

THEY HAVE BEEN AN ARM. 
Comp. xliv. 3 [4]; Ixxi. 18; Is. 
Xxxili. 2. This agrees with the 
statement in Chronicles that Moab 
and Ammon 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. 11. The victory of 
Gideon over the Midianites was one 
of the most glorious in the national 
history, one the memory of which 
was fondly cherished. When Isaiah 
would describe the victories which 
are to precede the peaceful reign of 
Messiah, he can compare the over- 
throw of the enemy to nothing 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 Israel were the 
same as on that occasion ; for with 
the Midianites were the “ Amalek- 
ites and all-the children of the 
East.” (Judg. vi. 33. See Is. ix. 4 
[3], x. 26; Hab. iil. 7.) 

SISERA ... JABIN, 
history in Judg. iv. v. 

THE TORRENT OF KISHON, which 
swept away the corpses of the 
enemy, Judg. v.21. Qthers, “the 
valley or Wadi of Kishon ;”’—the 
Hebrew word means both. 

10. 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 isa, 


See the 
















































Zeeb ; 


considerable but now deserted vil- 
lage, four miles south of Tabor. The 
_ mame occurs besides, Josh. xvii. 11; 
Sam. xxviii. 7. 
j 11. 7?OREB AND ZEEB, ere, 
_ princes,” or probably “ generals o 
the army,” whilst Zebah and Zal- 
munna have the title of “kings.” 
_ Qudg. vii. 25 ; viii. 5,6.) The allu- 
sions here and in Is. x. 26, help us 
to complete the narrative in Judges. 
_ Isaiah implies that the slaughter 
_ must have been awful beyond any- 
thing that the history records, for 
“he places it in the same rank with 
the two most tremendous disasters 
recorded in the whole of the history 
_ of Israel—the destruction of the 
a jans in the Red Sea, and of 
_ the army of Sennacherib.” Here 
_ the discomfiture and flight of the 
Midiani is prominent. “In 
imagery both obvious and vivid to 
every native of the 
_ plains of Palestine, though to us 
- a eg ed unintelligible, the 
ist describes them as driven 
over the u ds of Gilead like the 
teh Neors; chased away like 
ie 1 oors ; away like 
S the opts masses of dry weeds 
_ which course over the plains of 
_ Esdraelon and Philistia— flying 
with the dreadful hurry and confu- 
_ sionof the flames, that rush and leap 
from tree to tree and hill to hill when 
the wooded mountains of a tropi- 
‘cal country are by chance ignited.” 
_ See the article OREB, by Mr. Grove, 
in Smith’s Dict. of the o.t/e. 


PSALM LXXX/11. 


hills and. 


IIit 


Who became dung for the land. 
11 Make them, (make) their nobles, like ’Oreb and like 


Yea, all their princes, like Zebah and like Zalmunna. 
12 Who said: “ Let us take to ourselves 

The pastures of God in possession.” 
13 O my God, make them as a rolling thing, 

As stubble before the wind. 
14 Asa fire that burneth a forest, 

And as a flame that setteth the mountains in a blaze, 


12. PASTURES. Others, “ habita- 
tions,” which Gesen. gives as the 
first meaning. But there is no rea- 
son to depart from the usual signi- 
fication. See On Ixxix. 7. Comp. 
xxiii. 2. Israel is God’s flock lying 
down in His pastures. The figure 
accords with the usage of Psalms 
ascribed to Asaph. See _ General 
Introduction, Vol. I. pp. 96, 97. 

13. AS A ROLLING THING. So 
the same word is rendered by the 
E.V. in the parallel passage, Is; 
xvii. 13: 


“ And (they) shall be chased as the 
chaff of the mountains before 
gos wind, 3 
dlike 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 ; and this, Hupfeld 
maintains, is the only correct ren- 
dering. But the parallel rather sug- 
gests “ spherical masses of weeds” 
(as Mr. Grove renders), chaff, dust, 
anything driven in rolling masses 
by the wind. And so Gesenius, 
Ewald, Delitzsch, &c. 

14. The image in this verse is also 
found in Isaiah. See chap. ix. 18 
[17]; x. 17, 18; and comp. Zech. 
xii. 6. 

Hupfeld 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 


112 PSALM LXXXTT/T. 


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. 
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. 


which is burned with fire.” But it 
is far better to take ver. 14 and ver. 
15 as thetwo 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 con- 
flagration ; in the two combined, 
the swift breathless pursuit and the 
unsparing 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 which 
mingles with the prayer for ven- 
geance. The man in danger, feeling 
his own and his country’s peril, de- 
Sires to see his enemies destroyed 
with a slaughter as terrible, a dis- 
comfiture as complete, as that on 
“the day of Midian.” The man 
who loves and fears Jehovah desires 


to see others, even his enemies, love 
and fear Him too, A pious Eng- 
lishman in Lucknow, or Delhi, or 
Cawnpore, during the Indian Mu- 
tiny, might have understood how 
possible it was to reconcile the two 
parts of the prayer. 

The prayer inver. 18 might indeed 
only mean that by their overthrow 
they should be forced to acknow- 
ledge the power and greatness of 
Jehovah, an external subjection as 
in xxxi. 17 [18], but the prayer that 
they should seek His Name must 
mean more than this. The end of 
all God’s judgements, as of all his- 
tory, is the same, that all should 
confess that Jehovah is One, and 
His Name One, Zech. xiv. 9. 

18. THOU, THY NAME, z.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 nothing.” The con- 
struction is that of a double nomina- 
tive. See note on xliv. 2. 


® See General Introduction, Vol. I. p. 96. 
b “jp, here used in a bad sense, as in lxiv. 3, is the object of the verb, 
the constr. being the same as in lv. 14 [15], “to make counsel sweet ;” so 


here, “‘to make counsel crafty.” 


In other places, it is true the Hiph. of 
this verb occurs intransitively, and so Hengst. would take it here, “ they — 


act craftily in reference to their counsel;” but this is unnecessary. See 
on xiv. 1. In the next clause the Hithp. /¥y'n’, which occurs only here, 


expresses the #zutual deliberation. 








~~ a 


PSALM LXXXIV. 113 


PSALM LXXXIV. 


In its general character this Psalm very nearly resembles Psalm 
xliii—-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 written 
_ 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 remembrance and of anticipation, half sad, half joyful. Certain 
_ turns of expression are the same in both. Compare ver. 2 here with 
| xiii. 1, 2; ver. 4 [5] here, “ they will still (or ye) praise Thee,” with 
' xiii. 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. 1 here, and xliii. 3. But 
v ith 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.—xliil. 
_ 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. Whether he is right in inferring from ver. 9 [10] of 
this Psalm that the author was a king, has been questioned. The 
form of expression points that way, and scarcely admits of a different 
explanation (see note on the verse). Ewald supposes the king to have 
been Jehoiachin (or Jeconiah), “ who, according to Jer. xxii. 28, &c. 
Was no contemptible person, and who, after having been long in exile 
(and in Eomeement), was at last restored to a place of honour, 2 Kings 
xxv. 27—30.” But see more in the Introduction to Psalm bi 
_ The former part of this Psalm may also be compared with Psalm 

xiii, and there are expressions which connect it with Psalms xxvii. 

ites. 

_Hengstenberg, who is a zealous upholder of the inscriptions, 
naintains that the Psalm was composed by some member of the 
_ VOL. II. I 

































114 PSALM LXXXIV. 


Levitical family of the Korahites who accompanied David when he 
fled from Absalom to the east side of the Jordan. But his explana- 
tion of the fact is curious. He says: “The ninth verse renders it 
evident that the speaker is the Anointed of the Lord. This fact 
can be reconciled with the title, which ascribes the Psalm to the 
sons of Korah, only by the supposition that it was sung from the 
soul of the Anointed.” 

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 ministrations 
of the Temple.” He draws attention to “ the touch which indicates the 
closest possible familiarity with the Temple precincts. The Levite 
ministrel 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 enclosure of the Mosque 
of Omar.” He observes what new force the Psalmist’s words 
acquire, “‘I had rather be a doorkeeper 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 (1 Chron. ix. 19), 
and sure to be appointed therefore to an analogous service in the 
Temple.” And he concludes that ‘‘this Psalm, like Psalm xlii., was 
written by some Levite detained against his will ‘in the land of 
Jordan’ and ‘on the slopes of Hermon,’ somewhere, #.¢. in the 
upland Gilead country, and that then the recollection of past jour- 
neys to Jerusalem would bring back the scenes of travel through 
the valley of the Jordan, which, with its deep depression and tropical 
climate, had from the earliest date been famous for its balsam-weeping — 
trees. Some parched rock-ravine on the way would be that which 
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, ver, 
1—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. Or we may divide the 
whole into three parts, thus: ver. 1—3 (or 4); ver. 4 (or 5) to 73 
ver. 8—12. If we make the first strophe end with ver. 3, then the 











































PSALM LXXXTV. 


115 


first strophe and the last resemble one another in structure so far, 
that both begin and end with the same address to God, “‘ O Jehovah 


of Hosts” (slightly varied in ver. 8). 


On the other hand, ver. 4 


q completes the subject of the first strophe (see note on the verse). 
| Hupfeld, Delitzsch, De Wette, and others, follow the division 
' Suggested by the Selah, and arrange the strophes accordingly: ver. 


I—4 ; ver. 5—8; ver. 9—12. 


But it is quite impossible to regard 


_ yer. 8 as the natural conclusion of the second strophe. 


[FOR THE PRECENTOR. UPON THE GITTITH.2 A PSALM OF THE 
SONS OF KORAH.>] 


1 How lovely are Thy dwellings, O Jehovah (of) Hosts! 







bet 


Jehovah ; 


a 


3 1, THY DWELLINGS. The plural 
may either be used to denote she 
dl parts of the sanctuary (see 
2 xvii 35), or perhaps rather 
‘ically, instead of the eer: 
xl 3, xlvi. *5boom 5,8. 
the same may be said of the 
I * courts, in the next verse 
which Mendelssohn renders by the 
ingular, Vorhof). But see General 
introduction Vol. I. p. 99. 
eS the COURTS, that part of 
1e ing is meant which was for 
' the people at large. (Soin Is. i. 12, 
| “Who hath required this at your 
hand to tread my courts.” Comp. 
4 [5], cxvi. 19.) No inference 
nor foc, from the plural, that 
ech is to the court of the 
eople and the court of the priests 
he Temple (as the Rabbis ex- 
n), and that consequently the 
ple was already built. 
this intense expression of per- 
affection to God and his wor- 

















> “ heart” is omitted) marking 
eile _man, with every faculty 
ion. The verbs are also 


a 2 My soul-longeth, yea even fainteth, for the courts of 


My heart and my flesh cry aloud to the living God. 


very expressive. The first, LONGETH, 
means literally, “ hath grown pale,’ 
as with the intensity of the feeling; 
the second, FAINTETH, is more 
exactly, “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 cf exile, there 
mingled with his longing a joy as 
he remembers, and anticipates, in 
spite of all that is adverse, commu- 
nion with God in Zion. Men- 
delssohn, keeping to this meaning 
of the verb, renders : “‘ My soul . 
fainteth for the court of the Eternal, 
(where) heart and flesh shout aloud 
( jauchzen) to the God of life.” But 
this ignores the pronominal suffixes 
However, the cry of Jrayer may be 
allthatismeant. Sothe noun from 
the same root is frequently used, 
and so the verb (in the Kal cgn- 
jug.) of the cry of distress, Lam. ii. 
I 


LIVING Gop. See note on xlii. 
2, the only other place in the Psalms 
where God is sonamed. This par- 
ticular form of caecesion, El Chay, 


ae a- 


116 


3 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! 


occurs but twice beside in the Bible, 
Josh, ili. 10, Hos.i. 10, The similar 
name, ’£lohim Chayim, is found, 
Deut. v. 26 (the first use of the 
epithet) ; 1 Sam. xvii. 26, 36; Jer. 
x. 10; xxiii. 36 ; and the correspond- 
ing Chaldee, Dan. vi. 26. A third 
combination of the noun and ad- 
jective, “Elohim Chay, occurs in 
2 Kings xix. 4, 16, and the corre- 
sponding passage in Is. xxxvii. 4, 17. 
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 Revelation. 

3. My KINGANDMY Gop. Thus 
joined also in v. 2. It will be seen 
from my rendering of this verse, 
which coincides with that of the 
E. V., that I do not find in it that 
‘insuperable difficulty ” which has 
presented itself to some of the 
modern commentators. The Psalm- 
ist, at a distance from Zion, envies 
the birds who are free to build their 
nests in the immediate precincts of 
the Temple. They have a happiness 
which he cannot enjoy. They are 
nearer to God, so it seems to him 
in his despondency, than he is, 
This is all that is meant. Norcan 
I see anything “trivial” in such a 
thought. “Thine altars” is a poet- 
ical way of saying “Thy house.” 
It is manifestly a special term in- 
stead of a general. Yet it has been 
seriously argued, that no birds 
could or would ever be suffered to 
build their nests on the altar. 
Surely this sort of expression, which 
is hardly a figure, is common 
enough. A parle potiori fit deno- 
minalio. We say, “There goes a 
sail.” What should we think of a 


PSAIM LXXXIV. 


—t 






































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 Psalm- 

ist far remoyed and in exile, is sug- 

gested rather than developed ; but 

it is sufficiently obvious: hence 

there is no need to adopt any of — 
the different interpretations of the 
last clause of the verse which have © 
been proposed, in order to escape a 
purely imaginary difficulty. Such 
as (1) “ O for Thine altars, O 
Jehovah,” &c., as if the meaning 
were : “ The birds have their nests, 
their homes, their shelter : Oh that 
I could find my place of refuge and 
shelter in Thy Temple!” Or (2) 
supposing an ellipsis or omission of 
certain words, “ The sparrow hath 
found an house, &c. . . . but J 
would jind Thine altars, &c.,” or, 
“When shall I come (as in xlii. 6) 
to Thine altars?” Or (3) by a 
transposition (which Hupfeld pro- 
poses), so that the last two clauses” 
of ver. 3 [4] would stand after the 
first clause of ver. 4 [5]: 3 


“Blessed are they that dwell in 
Thine house, 
(Even) Thine altars (or, by Thin 
altars), O Jehovah of Hosts, 
My King and my God, 
They will be alway praising Thee.” 





(4) The most improbable view 
all is that of Hengstenberg 
Delitzsch, who suppose that 


ee = 


PSALM LXXXIV. 


II7 


4 Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house ! 
They will be still praising Thee. [Selah.] 


5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in Thee, 
In whose hearts are (those) ways,* 


Psalmist speaks of himself under 
the of a bird. If that be so, 
_ what is the meaning of the allusion 
to the young ones? They are a 
pointless addition to the figure. 
in, what is the force of the par- 
‘ticle ‘yea’ (03), with which ver. 3 
opens, unless it be to institute a 
comparison and a conclusion @ 
inort ? Lastly, how can the 
Psalmist express this longing for 
_God’s house in ver. 2, and in ver. 3 
Say that he Zas found (observe the 
perfect tense) a home and a rest 
‘there? This has been well argued 
by Hupfeld, who, however, himself 
‘misses the simple and obvious ex- 
planation of the verse. 
_ 4. It is doubtful whether this 
verse should be regarded as closing 
the first strophe, or commencing 
the second. The Selah has been 
urged in favour of the former view, 
but no stress can be laid upon this, 
in the very next Psalm it is in- 
serted in the middle of a strophe, 
and in some instances, as has been 
I elsewhere, even in the 
_ middle of a verse. The chief argu- 
_ ment in favour of that division is 
. t thus the thought of ver. 3 is 
ompleted. Even the birds are 
happy, who find shelter beneath 
_ that sacred roof ; far mcre happy— 
truly blessed are they who dwell 
there, rendering the reasonable ser- 
vice of a thankful heart. Tie 
ssedness of God’s house is that 
men praise Him. This it 
s that made that house so pre- 
as to the Psalmist. And what 
‘istian man can climb higher 
2 this,—to find in the praise of 
i the greatest joy of his life? 
[EY WILL BE STILL PRAISING 
ze. “always, continually.” 
ners gta that a con- 
ist is impli tween the gloomy 
sent and the more hopeful 





























i APP 
JILICeC 


future, render, “‘ They will yet praise 
Thee,” taking the particle in the 
same sense as in xlii. 5 [6], ro [11]. 

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 station at which they 
have rested, lives in their heart. 
The path may be dry and dusty, 
through a lonely and sorrowful 
valley, but nevertheless they love it. 
The pilgrim band, rich in hope, for- 
get 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 
blessings. Hope sustains them at 
every step; from station to station 
they renew their strength as they 
draw nearer to the end of their 
journey, till at last they appear be- 
fore 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. (1) The 
Chaldee renders theverse: “ Blessed 
is the man whose strength is in 
Thy Word, who has confidence in 
his heart.” This preserves the 
parallelism, “strength”... “con- 
fidence.” It probably rested on a 
figurative interpretation of the word 
“highways,” roads carefully con- 
structed being firm, strong, safe, 
and hence an image of confidence. 
(2) Others again, as Kimchi, un- 
derstand by “the ways,” the “‘ com- 
mandments of God” (in which men 
are said to walk), and these are in 


118 


6 Who passing through the Vale of Weeping, make it a 


place of springs ; 


Yea, the early rain‘ covereth (it) with blessings, 
7 They go from strength to strength, 
(Every one of them) appeareth before God in Zion, | 


their heart, because they love and 
meditate thereon. (3) Hengstenberg 
explains the ways or roads con- 
structed in the heart as the second 
condition of salvation (the first 
being that a man has his strength in 
God), and thinks that the expression 
designates zealous moral effort, 
righteousness, &c.; the heart of 
man being naturally like a pathless 
and rocky wilderness, in which 
roads are leveled by repentance. 
He quotes Ps. ]. 23; Prov. xvi. 17; 
Is,.xL. 3, /4. 

But these interpretations 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 tothe 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 pilgrimage in a vale of tears? 
Is it not by the hope of appearing 
before God in the heavenly Jeru- 
salem that the Christian is sus- 
tained? Does he not find fountains 
of refreshment in the wilderness 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 Ver- 
sions render it by “ weeping,” and 
the Masora remarks that it is the 
same as “ Bacah,” weeping. Comp. 
xxiii. 4, “valley of the shadow of 
death.” Burckhardt tells us that 
he found a valley in the neighbour- 
hood of Sinai, which bore the name 
of “the valley of weeping.” 


PSALM LXXXTV. 


Others, as Delitzsch and Ewald, 
take Baca to be the name of a tree, 
as itis in 2 Sam. v. 24; 1 Chron, xiv. 
4; and either (as the E.V. there 
renders) “ a mulberry-tree,” or more 
probably some species of balsam- 
tree, dropping its tears of balm, and 
so taking its name from the Hebrew 
root which signifies “ weeping.” In 
this case some sandy valley is 
meant, where these trees grew, and 
which took its name from them. 
‘With the love for detecting allusive 
and, as it were, ominous meanings 
in proper names, which was cha- 
racteristic of Hebrew thought at 
all times, . . . the Psalmist plays — 
upon its etymological significance.” 
—Plumptre, B7b/. Studies, 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 de-— 
notes the soft, gentle autumnal rain 
(Joel ii. 23) which fell after the 
crops were sown. Thus the Vale of 
Weeping becomes a Vale of Joy. 

““Compare for the use of the same 
figure in a simpler form, Is. xxxv. 
7; Hos. ii. 15 [17 Heb.]. The en- 
trance into Palestine is, as a matter 
of fact, waste and arid.”—Ewald. 

A PLACE OF SPRINGS. This is 
the strict meaning of the word, 
rather than “a spring” or “ foun- 
tains.” Comp. cvii. 35. 

7. FROM STRENGTH TO 
STRENGTH,. ever renewing it, in 
spite of the toils of the way, and in 
view of the journey’s end, as Is. xl 
31. pomp. John i. 16, and 2 Cor. 
iii. 18. 

APPEARETH. See note on 
2. Comp. especially Exod, 
17, XXXiV. 23. 






























































9 See, O God our shield, 


where) ; 


__ 8. The Psalmist has pictured to 
_ himself the blessedness of those 
| who dwell in the holy city, in im- 
| mediate proximity to God’s house, 
the blessedness of those who can 
* , the pilgrim-caravans. Now 
q out a prayer for himself 
_ that Phe, though distant, may share 
_ the same blessing. 

g. SEE (absol. as in Ixxx. 14 [15].) 

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 i oe 
_ diately upon the words in ver 
_ “hear Ge auayer.” ” favours the sup- 
a that the Psalm was written 
* Braking So also does the use 
of the pronoun of the first person 
_ im ver. 10, introduced by the con- 
for.” Another might, 
eect: offer the prayer on his 
behalf. "See xx., xxi, xi. 6 [7]. 

10. BE A DOOR-KEEPER, lit. “lie 
on the threshold” mapappir- 
__retoOat), or “ busy oneself on the 
_ threshold ;” the lowest place, the 
% eel office in God’s house is a 
happiness and an honour beyond 
all that the world has to offer. De- 
_ litzsch sees in the comparison with 
_ “tents” rather than “ palaces,” an 

ir tion that the Ark of God was 


PSAIM LXXXIV. 


119 


8 O Jehovah, God (of) Hosts, hear my prayer, 
Give ear, O God of Jacob. [Selah.] 


And look upon the face of Thine anointed ; 
10 For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand (else- 


I had rather bea door-keeper i in the house of my God, 
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 
11 For Jehovah God is a sun and a shield, 
Jehovah giveth grace and glory, 
No good thing doth He withhold from them that 
walk uprightly. 


This form of the Divine Name is 
characteristic, as is well known, of 
the section, Gen. ii. 4—iii. 24, where 
it first occurs. We find it again in 
Exod. ix. 30, and in David’s prayer, 
2 Sam. vii. 22. This is the only 
passage in the Psalter where it is 
employed. In Ixviii. 18 [19] it is 
the shorter form “Jah Elohim.” 
In Ixxxv. 8 the order of the two 
names is different, “The Elohim 
Jehovah.” In lxxi. 5, and in a large 
number of passages in the Prophets 
where the E.V. has “the Lord God,” 
this represents the Hebrew “Adonai 
Jehovah.” 

A suUN. 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. lx. 19, 
20; Rev. xxi. 23; and the expres- 
sion, “Sun of Righteousness,” as 


applied to the Messiah, Mal. iii, 
20 [iv. 2 in E.V.], 
UPRIGHTLY, lit. “in perfect- 


ness ;” see xv. 2. To such persons 
God will show His salvation, all that 
is comprised in those two great 
words, “ grace” and “ glory,” 
whether they can enter His earthly 
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 


120 PSALM LXXXTV. 


12 O Jehovah (of) Hosts, 
Blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee! 


house (ver. 5), but they who, whether with Him by faith : “ Blessed is the 
they worship in it or not, are one man who ¢rusteth in Thee.” 


* See on the Title of Psalm viii, and General Introduction, Vol. I. 
p. 88. 


» See on Title of xlii., and General Introduction, Vol. I. p. 98. 


° WS, where, as in xcv. 9, Num. xx. 13. The two names of birds here 
mentioned are found together also in Prov. xxvi. 2. The Chald. render 
“dove” and “turtle,” but the rendering as above is preferable. See the 
words in Ges. Thes. 


d/mny. The n¥ may be as I have taken it, the sign of the accus. (in 
appos.), or it may be a preposition, dy, zear. In this last sense it is 
taken by the Syr., and so Ewald. 


of nibon. As the word stands, it can only mean highways, roads. 
The Chald., we have seen, gives it a figurative meaning, confidence. This 
meaning Hupfeld thinks is required by the parallelism, and he proposes 
to read nibps, the plur. of the noun nbpo, which occurs in this sense Job 
iv. 6. The plur. of abstract nouns is frequently used for the sing., and 
this plur. is found in a proper name, Josh. xix. 22. 


f my. The same word occurs in Joel ii. 23, of the autumnal rain 
(elsewhere 77}%); here, perhaps, any rain as softening and fertilizing. 
The older Verss. generally took the word in the sense of teacher, lawgiver. 
LXX. 6 vopoberav. Jer. doctor, but Aquila has mpa@mpos. Herder under- 
stands by it the /eader of the caravan. 

nyy’. Hiph. with double accus, (the nearer object being here omitted), 
as in lxv. 13. Hengst. makes it Kal (as in Lev. xiii. 45, Jer. xliii. 12), and 
insists that M7) means Zeacher, as in 2 Kings xvii. 28, Is. xxx. 20, Prov. 
v. 13, and so renders: “the teacher (¢.e. David himself) shall even be 
covered with blessings.” In this he follows Jerome: Aenedictionibus 
amicietur doctor; but the whole beauty of the image is thus destroyed. 

ni373. Some with the change of a single vowel read ni393, fools. 
Hence the E.V.: “The rain also filleth the pools.” The accusative is 
placed first in the sentence as emphatic, whilst the part. D3, yea, also, shows 
that the rain produces its effect a/so in blessing, as well as the springs in 
the valley : “ Yea with blessings doth the rain cover it.” 

The Chaldee paraphrase of this verse is singular enough to be worth 
quoting : “ The sinners who pass through the depths of Gehenna, greatly 
weeping, make it a fountain ; but [God] shall cover with blessings those 
that return to the doctrine of His law.” 











i a 


PSALM LXXXV. 121 


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 
_ 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 
_ €ver 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 uttered ; 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, 
im ver. g—12. It is a glowing prophecy of Messianic times, most 
na y connecting itself with the hopes which the return from 

_ Bab ylon had kindled afresh, and well fitted to enable those who 





























traces in the Psalm the influence of the later portion of 
n’s prophecy (chaps. xl.—xlvi.). It is one of the many Psalms 


122 PSAIM LXXXV, 


which were inspired, he says, by the unsealing of that great book, and 
which in their flowing, graceful, transparent style, their figurative alle- 
gorizing language, and their great prophetic thoughts of consolation, _ 
remind us of the common source whence they draw. : 

Mr. Plumptre, who holds that all the Korahite Psalms belong to 
the time of Hezekiah, thinks that this Psalm refers to the Assyrian 
invasion. He reminds us that the language of Isaiah in reference to 
that invasion is that “the cities shall be wasted without inhabitant,” 
that ‘the Lord shall remove men far away” (Is. vi. 11, 12); that 
he speaks not only of “the remnant of Israel,” “the remnant of 
Jacob” as returning (x. 20), but in terms hardly less strong, at the 
very crisis of Sennacherib’s invasion, of “ the remnant that is escaped 
of the house of Judah” (xxxvii. 32). After the overthrow of Sen- 
nacherib, and when the alliance of Hezekiah was courted by Babylon, 
there would be ample opportunities for many of those who had been 
carried into exile to return to the land of their fathers. ‘ The vision 
of mercy and truth, righteousness and peace, is the same with the 
Psalmist as with the Prophet.” It may be added, he remarks, that 
the prayer, “Turn us, O God of our salvation” (in ver. 4), is identical 
with the ever-recurring burden of Psalm lxxx., which clearly refers 
to the captivity of “Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,” ze. of 
“Jacob” rather than of “Judah.” (Biblical Studies, pp. 166-7.) 

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. 





















7 





According to Hupfeld, the Psalm falls into two nearly equal 
portions :— 

(1) The Prayer of the people or for the people, ver. 1—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 after prayer seeks and receives the Divine 
answer. 


[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. 
’ 1—3. The acknowledgement of captivity. It is not necessary to 


God’s goodness to His people in translate the tenses as ie 
theirrestorationfromthe Babylonish “Thou dids¢ become” (as Ewal 




























__ and others); for though the restora- 

_ tion is a past event, we need not 
it as long 

1. THOU HAST BROUGHT BACK, 

&c. See on xiv. 7, and on Ixviii. 18, 

_ 2. TAKEN AWAY. . . COVERED. 

Both words are used in xxxii. I, 
where see notes. 


5. FOR EVER. The emphatic 
ee laced first, because there 
to be no end to their calami- 


ties. Even the return to their own 
land had brought them apparently 
no rest, no consolation, no hope for 
the future. 

6. THovu. The pronoun is em- 
phatic ; for God alone can thus 
revive the sad hearts and broken 

of His people. 

UICKEN, &c. Comp. Ixxi. 20, 

xxx, 19. 
_ In THEE. Not in any earthly 
_ blessings, even when they are 
__ vouchsafed ; 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. 


‘PSALM LXXXV, 


123 


2 Thou hast taken away the iniquity of Thy people, 
Thou hast covered all their sin. 
3 Thou hast withdrawn all Thy wrath, 
Thou hast turned® from the fierceness of Thine anger. 


[Selah.] 


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, 
For He will speak peace to His people and His beloved, 
' Only let them not turn again to folly. 


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 
attitude of calm and quiet expecta- 
tion. 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 
God’s benefits to His church flow 
from His promises, the Psalmist 
mentions His mouth rather than 
His hand (os potius quam manum 
posuit), andat the same time teaches 
us that patience depends on the 
calm listening ear of faith.” 

Gop JEHOVAH, lit. “the God 
Jehovah,” the two nouns being in 
apposition. 

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. 10) having the privileges of 
their covenant relation to Him. 

FOLLY: so the infatuation of sin 
is spoken of. Comp. xiv. I, xlix. 13 


124 


PSALM LXXXV. 


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). 
11 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. 
13 Righteousness shall go before Him, 
And follow His footsteps in the way.° 


[14]. Or, perhaps, idolatry may be 
meant, and especially if the reference 
is to the Babylonish captivity. 

g. GLORY, ze. 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 human flesh, and 
men “beheld His glory, the glory 
as of the only-begotten of the 
Father.” 

10. The four virtues here men- 
tioned are, as Calvin remarks, the 
four cardinal virtues of Christ’s 
kingdom. Where these reign 
amongst men, there must be trueand 
perfect felicity. He adds, however, 
“If any one prefers to understand, 
by the loving-kindness and truth 
here mentioned, attributes of God, 
I have no objection to sucha 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. Oras Calvin more generally 
explains : “ Tantumdem valet ac si 
dixisset utramque fore sursum et 
deorsum ubique diffusam, ut ccelum 
et terram impleant. Neque enim 


seorsum illis aliquid diversum tri- 
buere voluit.”. 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 harmony to 
one glorious end. For this mutual 
blessing from the heaven above and 
the earth beneath, comp. Is. xlv. 8, 
Hos. ii. 23—25. 

12. The Psalmist passes from 
spiritual to temporal blessings. “ If 
any one 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 of that which is to come.”—Ca/- 
vin. He adds animportant remark: 
“This verse, moreover, shows us 
that the power of fruitfulness was 
not once for all bestowed on the 
earth (as men of no religion choose 
to imagine, that God at the creation 
gave to the several parts of His 
universe their several office, and 
then left them alone to pursue their 
own course), but that every year it 
is fertilized by the secret virtue of 
God, according as He sees fit to 
testify to us His goodness. 


* See above on the Title of Psalm xlii., and General Introduction, Vol. _ 


I. p. 98. 








PSAIM LXXX VI. 125 


: _ > 3'%Ym. The Hiph., which elsewhere is used with the accus. (xxviii. 38, 
 evir23, Job ix. 13, &c.),fis here used like the intrans. Kal, with }1) ; see 
Exod. xxxii. 12, Jon. iii. 9. There is apparently here a confusion of the 
two constructions, the phrase being borrowed from the passage in Exod., 
with the substitution of Hiph. for Kal. See a similar case in Ezek. xviii. 
39, 32. 

{ © The constr. is literally “and maketh His footsteps for a way,” ze. in 
_ which to follow Him. Others, as Del., explain: “and (righteousness) 
'  setteth (her feet) in the way of His steps,” a possible rendering, perhaps, 
_ but against the accents. Strictly speaking, ne is the optat. form, and 
therefore the whole verse ought rather to be rendered, “ Ze¢ righteousness 
go before Him,” &c. 

] 





















PSALM LXXXVI. 


Tuts 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. 
_ Hupfeld 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. 1—5) consists of a number of 
__€arnest petitions, based on several distinct pleas—the suffering (ver. 
1), the faith (ver. 2), the continued and earnest supplication (ver. 3, 
__ 4) of the Psalmist, and the mercy and goodness of God (ver. 5). 

__ Im the next part (ver. 6—13) he resumes his petition ; expresses 
* his confidence that God will hear him, comforting himself with the 


we 


126 PSALM LXXXVI, 
majesty and greatness of God, who is able to do all that he asks 
(ver. 8—10) ; prays for guidance and a united heart, mixing with ~his 
prayer resolves as to his conduct, and thanksgiving for deliverance 
(ver. 11—13). 

Finally (ver. 14—17) he speaks of the peril by which he has been 
threatened, turns to God with affectionate 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 ! 
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. lv. 1, 
2, 
AFFLICTED AND POOR: alleged 
in the same way as a reason, xl. 17 
[18]. This is not the highest ground 
which can be taken in pressing for 
an answer to our prayer, but it is a 
ground which God suffers us to take, 
both because He declares Himself 
to be the helper of the needy (comp. 
xii. 5 [6]), and because it is the sense 
of their need and misery which 


drives men to God. Comp. for the. 


same epithets xxxv. 10, xxxvii. 14, 
Ixxiv. 21, 

2. ONE WHOM THOU LOVEST, 
The first plea was his need ; now 
he pleads his own covenant relation 
to God; for this is implied in the 
adjective here used, cidsid. Comp. 
iv. 3[4], note », and the note on xvi. 
10. It is unfortunate that the E. V. 
renders: “for I am holy.” (The 


margin gives the true rendering.) 
The appeal is not to anything in 
himself, but to God’s goodness, 
This is clear from ver. 5. At the 
same time he does not hesitate to 
say what the attitude of his heart is 
towards God, and to urge his simple 
absolute confidence in God, as well 
as his unceasing earnest prayer, as 
reasons why he should be heard. 
This is the language of honest, 
straightforward simplicity, not of 
self-righteousness. 

4. I LIFT UP MY SOUL, as in xxv. 
1. Comp. cxxx. 6. 

5. READY TO FORGIVE. The ad- 
jective occurs nowhere else. The 
general sentiment of the verse (re- 
peated in 15) is borrowed from such 
passages as Exod. xx, 6, xxxiv. 6, 
9; Num. xiv. 18, 19. 

It is on the broad ground of 
God’s mercy, and of that mercy as 



































O Lord, 


Thou art God alone. 


_ freely bestowed on‘a// who seek it, 
that he rests. He applies the 
general truth (ver. 5) to his own 
case (ver. 6). Inver. 7 he pleads 
Ges: the need, under the pressure 
which he cries to God : it is no 


-unmanly, Saree peevish com- 
_ plaint that he utters. The calamity 
is real, and there is but one who 
has power to deliver him. 
__ 6. Comp. v. 2, xxviii. 2, cxxx. 2. 
_ The peculiar form of the word suP- 
) a PLICATIONS occurs only here. 
: - Comp. xx. 1; 115; Ixxvii. 2 
; xvii. 6. 
a 8—10, There are two kinds of 
Paoube which are wont in the hour 
_ of temptation to assail the soul ; 
the doubt as to God’s willingness, 
Sega the doubt as to God’s fower 
to succour. The first of these the 
_ Psalmist has already put from him: 
Bie now shows that he has overcome 
_the second. God is able as well as 
te 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 
all one day be recognized (so 
aks the strong prophetic hope 
im him, ver. 9) as the only God. 
‘his hope rests on the fact that 
d has created all men (“all na- 


+ PSALM LXXXVI. 


127 


6 Give ear, O Jehovah, to my prayer, 
And hearken to the voice of my supplications. 
7 In the day of my distress, I call upon Thee, 
For Thou wilt answer me. 
8 There is none like unto Thee among the gods, O Lord, 
Neither (are there any works) like unto Thy works. 
g All nations whom Thou hast made 
Shall come and bow themselves down before Thee, 


And shall give glory to Thy Name. 
10 For great art Thou, and doest wondrous things, 


11 Teach me, O Jehovah, Thy way, 
I will walk in Thy truth, 


tions whom Zhou hast made”), and 
nothing can be imagined more self- 
contradictory than that the spirit 
which has come from God should 
remain 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. 
Io 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. 11. Comp. 
Ixxxix. 8 [9], Ixxi. 19, &c. With 
the second half comp. Deut. iii. 24. 

g. Nearly as in xxii. 27 [28]. 
Comp. Ixvi. 4; Is. Ixvi. 18, 23; 
Zech. xiv. 9, 16. 

10. Comp. lxxvii. 13, 14 [14,1 
with Exod. xv. 11. See ele 
af [ro] ; 2 Kings xix. 15, 19; Neh. 


8 The first clause is word for 
word as in xxvii. 11. Comp. xxv. 


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 daily brea »’ and 


128 


PSALM LXXX VI. 


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. 


deliver us from evil.” He confesses 
that his spiritual eye is net 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 discern 
that 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 it no 
longer to scatter itself upon a mul- 
tiplicity of objects, to be drawn 
hither and thither by a thousand 
different aims, but turn all its 
powers, all its affections in one di- 
rection, collect them in one focus, 
make them all one in Thee. The 
prayer derives a special force from 
the resolve immediately preceding : 
“JT will walk in Thy truth.” The 
same integrity of heart which made 
the resolve could alone utter the 
prayer. The nearest Old Testa- 
ment parallels are : the “ one heart,” 
Jer. xxxii. 39; “And I will give 
them one heart and one way, that 
they may fear me for ever ;” andthe 
“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 them- 
selves to be hampered and dis- 
tracted, and in contrast with all this 
the exhortation, ‘‘ Seek ye first 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 thankful- 
ness, and to a more whole-hearted 
undivided service, Briefly, the 
connection in ver. II, 12, is this: 
“Teach me Thy way, (and then) 
I will walk, &c. Unite my heart, 
(andthen) I will give thanks.” 

13. Comp. lvii. 10 [11]; lvi. 13 
[14]; cxvi. 8. 

THE UNSEEN WORLD BENEATH, 
z.é. under the earth. Comp. Exod. 
xx. 4 with Phil. ii. 10. For similar 
phrases see Ezek. xxxi, 14, 16, 18 ; 
Ps. Ixiii. 9 [10], cxxxix. 15 ; Ezek. 
xxvi. 20, xxxil. 18, 24; Is. xliv. 
23, and Ps, Ixxxviii. 6 [7]; Lam. 
iii. 55. 

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 the peril was, and what he 
means by the deliverance from 








PSALM LXXX VII. 


129 


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, 


17 Show me a sign for good, 


That they who hate me may see and be ashamed, 


; 
: And save the son of Thy handmaid, 
; 


Because Thou, Jehovah, hast holpen me, and com- 


i forted me, 










_ Hades. The words are borrowed, 
with a slight variation (“proud 
_ men” instead of “ strangers”), from 


. 315. 
16. SON OF THY HANDMAID, as 
in exvi. 16. 

17. A SIGN, z.¢. not a miraculous 
sign, but an evident proof of Thy 
2 -will towards me, such as shall 

force even my haters to acknow- 


“Ts it not the fact,” says Tholuck, 
“that the more we recognize in 
every daily occurrence God’s secret 
inspiration guiding and controlling 
us, the more will all which to others 
wears a common every-day aspect, 
to us prove a sign and a wondrous 
work ?” 

FOR GOOD. Comp. Neh. v. 19, 
xiii. 31, and often in Jeremiah. 















ledge that Thou art on my side. 


PSALM LXXXVII. 


Tuts Psalm presents us with one of those startling 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 
‘tl narrowness of its spirit corresponded to the narrowness of its 
; phical 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. 
> Jews were constantly reminded that they were a separate people, 
and intended to be distinct, from all others. Their land was 
1 them as a special gift from Heaven. Both they and their 
VOL. Il. K 





130 PSALM LXXX VII. 


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 should 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 
victories, 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. iii 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 
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. 



















PSALM LXXXVI. 131 


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 th the Psalm stands alone > amongst 
the writings of the Old T estament, in representing ‘this union of 
nations as a new birth into the city of God 
~ This idea g 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 tells us that in Jesus Christ “there is 
_ neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free;” or 
_ when he writes 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 philo- 
sophers dreamt, which was “in the mind of Socrates when he 
_ called himself a citizen of the world,” which had “ become a com- 
‘monplace of the Stoic philosophy,” which Judaism tried finally to 
Tealize by the admission of proselytes, through baptism, into the 
Jewish community ; which Rome accomplished, so far as the ex- 
‘ternal semblance went, first by subduing the nations, and then by 
admitting them to the rights of Roman citizenship. But the true 
fulfilment of this hope is to be found only in that kingdom which 
Christ has set up. He has gathered into His commonwealth all the 
Bemedoms of the earthh He has made men one, members of the 

‘same family, by teaching them to feel that they are all children of 
a the same Father. He has made it evident 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 was fulfilled in Christ. When He came, “the city of 
God of which the Stoics doubtfully and feebly spoke, was set up 
before the eyes of men. It was no insubstantial city, such as we 
fancy in the clouds, no invisible pattern, such as Plato thought 

ight be laid up in heaven, but a visible corporation, whose 

"members met together to eat bread and drink wine, and into 

which they were initiated by bodily immersion in water. Here 

_ the Gentile met the Jew, whom he had been accustomed to regard 

as an enemy of the human race; the Roman met the lying Greek 
ist, the Syrian slave the gladiator born beside the Danube. In 

K 2 


Se—s—“‘(ai‘i( i‘ er ms 




































ee 


132 PSALM LXXXVII. 


brotherhood they met, the natural birth and kindred of each for- 
gotten, the baptism alone remembered in which they had been born 
again to God and to each other.” * 


There are two principal epochs to which the Psalm may be re- 
ferred :— 


I. Its tone, as has been already observed, falls in with that of 
some of the prophecies of Isaiah. Hence it has been referred, 
not without reason, to the reign of Hezekiah. Some have sup- 
posed that it was a song of triumph, written, like Psalms 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.” Mr. 
Plumptre gives several reasons in favour of this view. He refers 
(1) to the similarity between the opening verse and the language 
of Psalm xlvili. 2 (written, as we have seen, in Hezekiah’s reign), 
compared with Is. xxv. 6, 7, and ii. 3. (2) He thinks the use of the 
name ‘‘ Rahab” as designating Egypt is almost sufficient to fix the 
date of the Psalm. For the use of the word in this sense is 
characteristic of Isaiah, as in li. 9, “‘ Art thou not it that hast cut 
Rahab (i.e. smitten Egypt) and wounded the dragon?” And again 
Is. xxx. 7, ‘‘ The Egyptians shall help in vain. . . . They are Rahab 
(proud, mighty, ferocious as the monstrous forms of their own 
river), and yet they sit still.” (3) The hope thus expressed, that 
Egypt and Babylon shall be enrolled among the worshipers of 
Jehovah is a hope identical with that in Isaiah xix.: “ In that day 
shall Israel be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing 
in the midst of the land,” &c. And Babylon is substituted for 
Assyria in the Psalm, because of the greater intercourse with the 
former kingdom, and the seeming overthrow of the latter towards the 
close of Hezekiah’s reign. _Babylonish ambassadors came to Heze- 
kiah, and Isaiah’s prophecies in chaps. xiii., xiv., xxxix., are evidence 
that Babylon was prominent at this time. (4) The mention of 
Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia also synchronizes with Hezekiah’s 
reign. As Isaiah had foretold (xiv. 29), he subdued the Philistines 
(2 Kings xviii. 3). This was a token that the Lord “had founded 
Zion.” His reign witnessed a renewal of the intercourse with Tyre, 
and this was accompanied by a partial conversion, and by gifts and 
tribute in token of it. Ethiopia, too, had come at the same time into 
fresh prominence in connection with Judah (see Isaiah xxxvii. 9, 
and comp. Zeph. iii. 10). (5) Hezekiah was conspicuous for his 








* Ecce Homo, p. 136. 








PSALM LXXXVII. 133 


catholic spirit. He not only seeks to effect the reunion of Israel 
and Judah (2 Chron. xxx.), but also brings with them into fellow- 
ship “the strangers that came out of the land of Israel,” as distinct 
from “the congregation” (ver. 26). In 2 Chron. xxxii. 23, other 
nations are said to have brought gifts for the Temple. (6) Traces 
of this admission of proselytes meet us in the later history of the 
kingdom of Judah. Isaiah pronounced a solemn blessing on “the 
sons of the strangers that join themselves to the Lord,” who are to be 
made joyful in “‘the holy mountain ” (Is. lvi. 7). Comp. also Is. lv. 1, 
and Jer. xxxviii. 7.—iblical Studies, pp. 167—171. 

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 inferior in beauty and stateliness, as well as in the imposing 
splendour of its worship, to the house which their fathers remem- 
bered ; 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. —lxvi.). 


The outline of the Psalm is as follows :-— 


___ It opens with an outburst of intensely national feeling, celebrating 
the glory of Zion as the city of God. Ver. 1—3. 

But the patriotic sentiment is too large and too grand to suffer any 
natrow 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. | 


1 His foundation> upon the holy mountains doth Jehovah 
love, 


_ 1—3. The same deep affection are expressed here which are ex- 
and admiration for the holy city pressed in Psalm xlviii. But there 


134 


PSALM LXXX VII. 


2 (He loveth) the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings 


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; 


is nothing in the language employed 
to lead us to suppose that the city 
had just escaped from the horrors 
of war. The “gates” are men- 
tioned, not as a part of the fortifi- 
cations, but as one of the most 
prominent features of the city—the 
place of concourse, of judgement, 
&c. 

Every word is emphatic. His 
FOUNDATION, the city and the 
temple which He, Jehovah Himself, 
hath built ; UPON THE HOLY MOUN- 
TAINS, consecrated by His imme- 
diate and manifested Presence : 
which Jehovah LOVETH, and witha 
special and distinguishing 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 whole 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, 
Sinat and Palestine, chap. iii. p. 176. 
He compares its position in this re- 
spect 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 WILL MENTION. The words 
are the words of God. We have 
the same abrupt introduction of 
the Divine Speaker in other Psalms. 
Comp. xiv. 4; perhaps xxxii. 8; Ixxv. 


2 [3]; Ixxxi. 6 [7]; and (according 
to some expositors) Ixxxii. 2. 

RAHAB. Originally the word de- 
notes pride, ferocity. So in Job 
ix. 13, “‘ The helpers of pride (a- 
hab) 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 divideth the 
sea by His power, And by His un- ~ 
derstanding He smiteth the proud 
monster (Awhad),” where the LXX. 
have xfros. In Ps. Ixxxix. 10 [11], 
there can be no doubt of the refer- 
ence to Egypt : “ Thou hast broken 
Rahab in pieces,” the crocodile of 
the Nile being there taken as the 
symbol of that kingdom. So too 
in Is. li. 9, “Art thou not it that 
hast cut Rahabd (z.e. smitten Egypt) 
and wounded the dragon ?” and 
xxx. 9, “ 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 the. symbol. Ewald 
supposes it to be connected with 
the Egyptian name Rif, ‘and re- 
fers to Burckhardt’s Vudia, p. 
457. 

AMONG THEM THAT KNOW ME, 
lit. “as belonging to (the number of) 
them that know Me.” See Critical 
Note. The verb ¢o know 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 [11]; John x. 14,15. It 
is the knowledge of friendship, the 
knowledge which springs of inti- 








PSALM LXXXVII. 


135 


Lo Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia : 


3 ‘This one is born there.’ 


5 And to Zion it is said: 


‘One after another* is born in her, 


And the Highest Himself doth stablish her.’ 
6 Jehovah shall reckon when He writeth the nations, 


This one is born there.’” 


- mate intance, the knowledge 
of parent and child. 
PHILISTIA, TYRE, ETHIoPia. Of 
| all these nations it shall be said, 
_ that one and another of them 
: “obra one,” as if pointing to them) 
become a worshiper of Jehovah, 
and an adopted citizen of Zion, 
“born here.” With regard to these 
_ nations, see the prophecies of Isaiah 
oted in the Introduction, and 
comp. Ixviii. 31 [32]. THERE, so 
Zion is designated even before she 
is named. 





















__ 5. AND TO ZION, or “of Zion,” it 
is said, ONE AFTER ANOTHER, lit. 
“man and man,” 7.¢. vast multi- 
_tudes are born in her, as the nations 
‘one after another become incorpo- 
rated as her children. The LXX. 
here render, not “it shall be said 
_ to Zion,” but “ Mother Zion shall 
Siady épei), and Zion is 

oa. agas Saisier Ts Ixvi. 7, 
ae At . I—3, Ix. 4, 5; but the sense 
ie here is different. it is remarkable 
- that the figure of a new birth is 
used to express the admission of 
i Fi the different nations to the rights 
La of citizenship in Zion. So Cicero 
_ speaks of his restoration to his 
pri and honours on his re- 
% turn from banishment as “a re- 
a ion:” “Amicorum litere 
_ Ros ad triumphum vocant, rem a 
' _ nobis = arbitror, propter hanc 
aed nostram, non negli- 

genc nm” (Ep. ad. Att. vi. 6, § 4). 

A Clearly Zion stands in opposi- 
ir to the countries mentioned 
efore, the one city to the whole of 
t Riferent countries, the one city 
re Seepage the kingdoms of the 
. ”—Delitzsch. These king- 


ee re: STS SR eS 


[Selah] 


doms one after another lose their 
population, cease to be kingdoms, 
whilst their inhabitants all contri- 
bute to swell the population of that 
city which God’s own right hand 
establishes and makes glorious. 

6. WHEN JEHOVAH WRITETH, 
z.é. takes a census of the nations 
(comp. the figure Ezek. xiii. 9, Is. 
iv. 3, and see note on Ps. Ixix. 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 polity or do- 
minion, 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 brevity of 
this verse makes it extremely ob- 
scure. There are various interpre- 
tations. It has been rendered :— 

(1) “Both they that sing and 
they that dance (or, as others, d/ay 
the flute) say : ‘All my fountains (of 
salvation, or of delight) are in thee 
(O city of God).’” 

(2) “ 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. 

(3) By a change in the reading, 
“They both sing and dance, all 
who dwel]] in thee (or, all my dwel- 
lers in thee).” 

Of these, (2) is clearly prefer- 


136 PSALM LXXX VII. 


7 Both they that sing and they that dance,f 
All my fountains, are in thee.’ 


able. The verse might be arranged Milton, in his Paraphrase, gives 

thus :— a similar interpretation :— 

In ¢hee are they that sing and they “ Both they who sing and they who 

that dance. Rie 4 th 
In thee are a// my living springs. Ith sacred songs are there ; 

y PS In thee fresh brooks and soft 

This is abrupt, but still a natural streams glance, 

touch of genuine poetic feeling. And all my fountains clear.” 


® See above, General Introduction, Vol. I. p. 98, and p. 204. 


> mb’. This is not the part. pass. (as Hengst. and others maintain), 
“ the founded city,” but a subst., as is clear from the use of the suff. ; and 
although the word occurs nowhere else, it is fully supported by the 
analogy of mpidy, 3 mys, &c. Comp. IDi9, of Zion, Is. xxviii. 16. The 
suff. evidently refers, not to Zion, but to ‘God. As degurde the constr, it 
is far better, instead of taking ver. I as a separate clause, “ His foundation 
(is) upon the holy mountains,” to connect it with ver. 2, and to consider 
the words "* 3M as belonging to the first member. The verb can then 
readily be repeated with the second, 


© M173'3}, not an adv., as MIN in cxxxix. 14, nor an accus. as in Ixv. 6 
(see note f there), as Ewald, Hengst., and others explain, taking 7371) as 
an impersonal : “zt zs said of thee = men say of thee gloriotis: things ;” 
but fem. plur. = neut. (as in xlv. 5), joined irregularly with the masc. 
sing. part., not however to be defended by such passages as those quoted 
by Hupf., Gen. xxvii. 29; Is. iii. 12 ; Prov. iii. 18, where the sing. part. is 
used aistributively ; better on the principle which he suggests, that the 
part. is regarded as a kind of neuter noun: “that which ts spoken of thee, 
is glorious,” lit. glorious things. He quotes as similar, lxxiii. 28 ; Prov. 
xi. 23; Gen. xlix. 15, where the masc. 2} is used as the predicate of a 
fem. noun, and Is. xvi. 8, Pal nin w. The last is an exact parallel, 
But the simplest way is to regard all such instances as covered by the 
general principle that the predicate is frequently in the masc. sing. (not 
only when it stands first), whilst the subject is fem, or plural, or both, as 
here. (Gesen. § 144.) Comp. Is. viii. 22, MJD nPBN}. 


do syy vb, The bi is here used in the sense of belonging to, not as marking 
merely apposition, as Hupf. and others explain. The constr. cannot be 
compared with that of b in such phrases as S nin, Zo become, 9 awn, to 
reckon as, nor with such a usage as that in Exod. e. 2, or Ps, vii. 14, 
o’pet?, “he maketh his arrows (/o7, as) fiery arrows,” where the verb 
determines the sense in which the ? occurs. 

© wos) wes, lit. “man and man,” i.e. every man (Gesen. § 106. 4), as in 
Ley. xvii. 10, Esth. i. 8, or perhaps more exactly, ove man after another, 
as it were in a series extended indefinitely. Hofmann compares the 
phrases "5 $4, one gencration after another, and "p) “P, Exod. x. 8, 





































PSALM LXXXVTIT. 137 


£ oobi for pbbim, dancers engaged in the sacred solemnities, as 
maidens who celebrated a victory, and as David himself danced before 
the Ark, 2 Sam. vi. 16. The prefixed 3 must be supplied also before 
DW, “as well singers as dancers.” Or better, as Hupf. (following Is. 
and Dathe), who takes the participles as finite verbs, “ They shall sing 
and leap for joy,” viz. all they that dwell in thee (see next note). Gesen. 
and others regard ‘mM as a denom. from tbr, SJiute- players. The LXX. 
read DY, and connect it with the preceding verse, ral dpxdvrav tourer 
Tay yeyermpévoy év airy, and then render the last clause és eig@pawopevov 
| mdvrev 1 xaroixia év coi. See next note, and Hupfeld’s rendering based 
on this. 
» &*3 sya dp. According to the existing punctuation this can only 
_ mean, “all my fountains are in thee” (and so Aq. and Symm. among the 
_ ancients), which has been variously explained. Many interpreters suppose 
_ these to be the words of the nations keeping festival with songs and 
| dances, and saying, in the joy of their new birth into the city of God: 
“ All my fountains of salvation (comp. Is. xii. 3) are in thee.” But there 
is nothing in the context to favour this paraphrase of the word “fountains.” 
Hence Ewald would connect it with a root fy, cognate with similar Arab. 
and Syr. roots, meaning fo help, to be of service, and take fivp in the 
sense of Slave of refuge, or something wsefu/, and hence an art. 
Accordingly he renders, “singers as well as flute-players, all my arts are 
‘in thee.” Hupfeld, on the other hand, follows the guidance of the LXX., 
who have karoxia. He would read ‘jy, Hiph. part. constr. of jy, i 
@well, or rather *}'YD, “my dwellers, i.e. those who dwell with Me” (as 
“spoken by God). Hofmann also (Schriftb. II. 2. 526) supposes the words 
| to be spoken by God, but renders: “all My fountains are in thee,” and 

explains this by reference to such passages as Ixviii. 27, “the fountain of 
“Israel” (comp. Prov. v. 18), or Is. xlviii. 1, “the waters of Judah,” and 
- Zech. ix. I, “the fountain of Adam (the source of man) is Jehovah.” 
Hence, according to this view, Jehovah here says that all His fountains 
"are in Zion, that is, all His children are born there. Hofmann connects 
this with the previous words thus: singers as they join in the dance 
repeat these words, as the words of a song in which Jehovah says of 
Zion, “all My fountains,” &c. 





PSALM LXXXVIII. 


_ ‘Tas is the darkest, saddest Psalm in all the Psalter. It is one 
of sorrow from beginning to end. It is the only Psalm in which 
ie expression of feeling, the pouring out of the burdened heart 
= God, fails to bring relief and consolation. In every other 
mstance, however heavy the gloom, however oppressed and dejected 





' nor the expression of the thoughts favours one of these hypotheses 


138 PSALM LXXXVIII. 


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 my salvation.” That he can address 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 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 zational calamity. It is, throughout, personal and individual. 
Uzziah when smitten with leprosy, Jeremiah in the dungeon, Heze- 
kiah in his sickness, Job in his sufferings—to all these in turn has 
the authorship of the Psalm been assigned. But neither the thoughts 























more than another, except 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. 


PSALM LXXXVTITI. 
[A SONG. A PSALM OF THE SONS OF XORAE. 


“ AFTER MACHALATH L’ANNOTH.” 






























I. GoD OF MY SALVATION. 
Salutis sue vocans, quasi 
~ freno, cohibet doloris in- 
pera atiam, desperationi januam 
seque ad crugis tolerantiam 
et com ”"—Calvin. 
The greatness of his affliction, 
h has brought him to the very 
ze of the grave, is urged as a 
‘reason why God should hear him. 
— Co mp vi. 4, 5 [55 6]; XXX. 3 [4]; 
I I. 


_ IS FULL OF TROUBLES, lit. “is 
satiated with evils.” Comp. cxxiii. 
43 ; Lam. iii. 15, 30. 
4. THAT HATH NO STRENGTH, 
he. not oy as worn out with 
pain and suffering, which would be 
in anti-climax, but, as the parallel- 
a shows, like the unsubstantial 
Shadowy phantoms which people 
the unseen world. 
_§. CAST AWAY, or as the E.V. 
ree,” 2.2. left alone, with none to 
‘or me, in that unseen world 
whence even God’s Presenceseemed 
o be withdrawn. Calvin suggests 
_ that such a mode of expression may 
ye accounted for, either “ex vulgi 


139 


FOR THE PRECENTOR. 
A MASCHIL OF HEMAN THE 


EZRAHITE.*| 


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. 


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, 
Tt 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, 


sensu.... quia ad futuram vitam, 
quz abscondita est, nonnisi grada- 
tim conscendimus,” or rather on the 
principle that the Prophet spoke, 
“ex turbulento afflicti hominis 
sensu.” “Nec mirum est,” he adds, 
“hominem Spiritu Dei preditum, 
ubi przvaluit mceror, quasi attoni- 
tum fuisse, ut vocem parum consi- 
deratam emitteret.” 

But it is the same strain of feel- 
ing which we have already had in vi. 

5 [6], xxx. 9[10], where see notes. 
tis eye is looking down into the 
darkness, he sees himself already 
numbered with the dead. But what 
are the dead? Beings who “know 
not anything,” “ clean forgotten, out 
of mind,” beings whom God Him- 
self remembers not. “ The living, 
the living, he shall praise Thee :” 
this was the feeling, not of Hezekiah 
only, but of all the Old Testament 
saints, 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 


140 


PSAIM LXXXVITI. 


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, 
Thou hast made me an abomination unto them ; 
I am shut up, (so that) I cannot go 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 ? 


Ixiii. 9 [10]; Ixxxvi. 13. Comp. 
Lam. iii. 55, and Ezek. xxvi. 20. 

IN THE DEEPS, usually said of 
the sea, as in lxviii. 22 [23] ; Exod. 
xv. 5; here of Hades. 

7. WITH ALL THY WAVES. On 
this Calvin beautifully remarks : 
Jam quum tam horribile diluvium 
Prophetam non impedierit quomi- 
nus cor suum et vota ad Deum 
extolleret, discamus, ejus exemplo, 
in omnibus naufragiis nostris an- 
coram fidei et precum in ccelos 
jacere.” 

8. THOU HAST REMOVED, as 
before, “ Zou hast laid,” &c., thus 
directly tracing all to God’s will 
and fatherly hand. 

MY FAMILIAR FRIENDS. The 
word expresses close intimate 
friendship, more than the mere 
“acquaintance” 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, according to Levit. xiii., 
this sounds like the complaint of a 
leper, the leprosy moreover being 
just that death in life (Num. xii. 12) 
which is so pathetically described 
as the Psalmist’s condition. 

The cry here is repeated in ver. 
18 


AN ABOMINATION, lit. “abomi- 


[Selah.] 


nations,” the plural intensifying and 
enlarging the idea. Comp. note on 
Ixviii. 35. : 

10, Ewald takes this and the two 
following verses as the words of the 
prayer implied in saying, “I have 
stretched forth my hands unto 
Thee,” and cited from some former 
Psalm. 

ARISE, 2.¢. “rise up,” not “rise 
again from the dead” (comp. Ixxviii. 
5[6]). 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 improbability that God should 
restore to life one who was alread 
dead. Calvin observes that “this 
state of feeling cannot be excused, 
inasmuch as it is not for us to pre- 
scribe to God when 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 


















a 


PSAIM IXXX VII. 141 


11 Shail Thy loving-kindness be told in the grave, 
(Or) Thy faithfulness in destruction ? 
12 Shall Thy wonders be known in the dark ? 
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? 
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 me, 
My familiar friends—are darkness. 


‘to make allowance for the defects expression in the Book of Job, vi. 


ch are mingled even with their 4; ix. 34; xiii. 21, &c. 


very virtues.” 18. DARKNESS, lit. “the place of 


13. BUT AS FOR ME, emphatic; darkness,” the dark kingdom of the 


though thus at the very edge of dead, is now all I have to look to, 
death, though bowed down with instead of friends, or, as we might 








' the heavy load of affliction, still I say, The grave is now my only 

look to Thee. Thisunwearied“‘con- friend. Similar expressions occur 
_ tinuing instant in prayer” is the in Prov. vii. 4, and in Job xvii. 14, 
| victory of faith in the midstoftrials “1 havesaidto the grave, Thou art 
which, but for this, would end in my father,” &c. “The Psalm ends 
seme It had been one lifelong with an energetic expression of its 
‘suffering from his youth up, yet still main thought—the immediate vici- 
his earnest pleading had never nity of death. The darkness is 
ceased. Such prayers are those thickest at the end, just as it is in 
“unutterable groanings” of which the morning before the rising of 
St. Paul speaks. the sun.”—Hengstenberg. But here, 
_ 16, THY HORRORS: a frequent at least, the sun does not rise. 


a3 nbnoty : see on liii. note *. 
_ niay) has been interpreted either (1) for chastisement,; or (2) for singing 
(as in Exod. xxxii. 18; Is. xxvii. 2). 
_ Heman the Ezrahite, celebrated, together with Ethan (to whom the 
next Psalm is ascribed), for his wisdom, 1 Kings iv. 31 [v. 11], including 
reputation as a writer and a poet. In1 Chron. vi. 18, 29 (33, 42 in E.V.), 
both are mentioned as Levitical singers. 


142 PSALM LXXXVI11I. 


The Inscription is a double one, and is evidently derived from two 
different sources. This is plain, because the Psalm is ascribed to different 
authors; in the one instance to the Korahites, in the other to Heman ; 
and is differently described, in the first as “a song, a Psalm,” and in the 
second as “a Maschil.” Besides, ny22 always stands at the beginning 
of the Title. Hence one Title was “A song, a Psalm of the sons of 
Korah ;” the other, “ For the Precentor. After ‘Machalath l’annoth? 
A Maschil of Heman the Ezrahite.” 


> ompyy oy. Grammatically, this can only be explained, “in the day 
(when) I cry,” and the next clause must then be rendered, “in the night 
is my crying before Thee, or I am before Thee.” But this would be 
placing a peculiar emphasis on the night, and the whole sentence is lame. 
It is evident that “day” and “night” are used as marking the unceasing 
character of the cry, as we find often elsewhere ; xxii. 3, lv. 18, Ixxvii. 3 
&c. Hence it is probable that we ought to read Om}, 2x the day. 


© py AWN} 5 ; a mixed constr. compounded of two expressions, to be 
considered as Q, as xliv. 23), and Zo be made equal with, as in xxviii, J, 
exliii. 7. 


4 wan. This may be either (1) a noun with pron. suff. from wen (Ezek. 
XXVii. 20), my bed, my couch; or (2) an adj. free, let loose, which occurs 
usually in a good sense, of freedom from chains, wounds, burdens, and 
the like, or freedom as of a slave from a master, Ex. xxi. 5, 26, &c.; so of 
one set free by death, Job iii. 19. Symm. ddeis eXevOepos. Here in a bad 
sense: either (a) forsaken, neglected, uncared for; or (b) separated, cut 
of, i.e. from human companionship. Comp. n'wann na, “a separate 
house,” 2 Kings xv. 5, a hospital or asylum for lepers, &c. ; or (c) set free, 
Recharge? from the cares and duties of life, from communion with God 
and intercourse with men (Chald., Rashi, Calv., Del., Hengst.). Others, 


again, would connect the word with the Arab, Ur) to be weak, 
prostrate, which would accord with DSS), ver. 11. 































* may. Against the common explanation of the constr. that the accus. 
of the pers. pron. is understood, and that’n>p is the accus. of the instru- 
ment, “ Thou hast afflicted (me) (with) all Thy waves,” Hupf. objects first, 
that such a constr. is unheard of with may, and next, that the accent 
forbids it. He accordingly supplies the verb from the first clause, and 
inserts the relative, ‘And all Thy waves (lie upon me) with which Thou 
hast afflicted me,” referring to the constr. in li. 10, “the bones which 
Thou hast broken,” where the accent is the same. Others (as Ew. and 
Del.), “ Thou hast hurled down (lit. owed down) upon me (like a cataract) 
all Thy waves.” So the LXX., mdvrus tovs perewpiopovs cov emiyayes er 
eye. But Symm., rats xaraiywow éxdxoods pe. And Jerome, fluctibus tuis” 
afiixisti me; and in answer to Hupf. it may be said, that the use of the 
accus. instrum. is common with all verbs, as well as the omission of the 
personal object, and that the accent is not an infallible guide, 


‘ px] : here “the spirits of the departed” (eidoAa kapdvr@v). Comp, 
Is, xxvi. 14, Prov, xxi, 16, &c., but in other places used of “the race of 


| PSALM LXXXIX. 143 

























ts.” Many attempts have been made to connect the two significations 
_ (see Ges. Thes. in v.), but perhaps Hupfeld’s is the most plausible. He 

connects the word with the root 75%, ¢o de relaxed, and so (a) weak, feeble, 
__as “the shades,” and on the other (4) extended, at a vast length, zmmania 
_torpora, like “the giants.” Jerome here has gigantes. The LXX. iarpoi, 
connecting it curiously with the root NB, fo Aeal. 


_ 8 Y3, abstr. from "W3, youth, as Prov. xxix. 21, Job xxxiii. 25; and not 
from 13, excutere, expellere, which derivation has led some to explain it 
propter concussionem. 


_ » mS, only here, and both the root and the form occasion difficulty. 
Usually connected with the Arab. wi! infirma mente et consilit inops 


Suit. LXX. éfnmopyOnv. Jer. conturbatus sum. Uupf. would read 
‘MADS, in the sense of growing cold (spoken of the cessation of physical 
and spiritual life). The paragog. form is to be explained of an inner 
necessity, as in ly. 2; see note *¢, there. 


‘spnniy. Such a reduplication of the ‘eymination is unexampled. 
a dagesh in the 2nd rad. makes it look like a Piel (as in cxix. 139, 
sre the 3rd fem. sing. occurs), whereas the reduplication of the last 
‘tad. points to a Pilel form. Besides, the Kibbutz instead of Sh’va defies 
all grammar, and the form cannot be compared with IN 90D and such 
fo: It would be better to suppose that there is a play upon the form 
mMinD$, Lev. xxv. 23, 30 (as Kést. and Hengst. suppose), or that it is the 
mistake of a copyist for ‘y1n2¥ (see Hupfeld). 





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 
thai the king of whom the Psalm speaks (ver. 45 [46]) is the youthful 
“Jehboiachin, 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.” 
Th = lamentation over him in Jeremiah xxii. 24—29, may be taken 
“as evidence that he was beloved by his subjects, and the Prophet 


144 PSALM LXXXIX. 
and the Psalmist indulge in a similar strain as they behold the last 
hope of David's house perish. 

There is no reason to conclude from ver. 47 [48], that the king 
himself is the author of the Psalm (see note there); and from ver. 
18 [19], 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. He 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, 
“TI have sworn,” ver. 3, 35, 49; and the “ covenant,” ver. 3, 28, 34, 


39: . 


[A MASCHIL OF ETHAN THE EZRAHITE.®| 





1 I WILL for ever sing of the loving-kindnesses® of Jehovah, 
I will make known Thy faithfulness with my mouth 

to all generations. 
2 For I have said, for ever shall loving-kindness be built up, 









1, 2. The loving-kindness and the 
faithfulness of Jehovah are the 
source of the Promise. We are 
led to the source, that thence we 
may track the stream. 

1. FOR EVER. The position of 
these words before the verb has 
been supposed to indicate that the 
Psalmist is not speaking in his own 
name, but in the: name of the 
Church which abideth “ ever.” But 
they may refer to the everlasting 








continuance of God’s love and 
faithfulness, as pledged to David 
and his seed. 
LOVING-KINDNESSES, plural, as 
in Is. lv. 3, ‘ The sure mercies [faith- 
ful loving-kindnesses] of David.” 
For the same union of these two 
attributes of God, see xxxvi. 5 [6]. — 
2. FOR I HAVE SAID, ze. this is 
the conviction whence springs the 
resolve in ver. I. - ten - 
BE BUILT UP, like some statel 


































Him? 


2, Tising ever greater and 
; » stone by stone, before the 

ondering eyes of men, knowing 
sting never destined to fall 


; Sait rats THE HEAVENS, lit. “As for the 
heavens, Thou shalt establish Thy 
faithfulness in them.” The heavens 
the type of unchangeableness 
and perpetuity, as compared with 
the restless vicissitudes, the ever- 

ifting shows of earth. Comp. 


‘ oe 4, These are the words of God, 
_ the sum of His promise as given in 
2 Sam. vii. ey are introduced 
with remarkable abruptness, stand- 
aoe in their forcible: brevity, 
ilst the Psalmist passes on to 
rate at length the might and 
afulness of the Promiser. In 
the 19th verse he returns to the 
ise, and then expands and 
upon it. 
_ Most of the expressions, “David 
Myservant,” “establish,” “for ever,” 
“build,” the parallelism of “seed” 
“ throne,” “My chosen,” are 
taken, either directly or indirectly, 
rom the original passage in 2 Sam. 
_5. At first sight the passage which 
lows 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 
ale on which the /udfi/ment of His 
Promise depends. For “in a pro- 


PSAIM LXXXIX. 


145 


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.” 
- § 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, 

And to be feared above all them that are round about 


[Selah.] 


mise everything depends upon the 
person who promises. The question 
therefore occurs, Has he the will 
and the power to fulfil the pro- 
mise?”—Hengstenberg. Hence the 
Psalmist dwells first upon God's 
power as exhibited and confessed in 
creation, then upon His righteous- 
ness. goodness, and truth, as mani- 
fested especially to His people, of 
whom and of whose king He is the 
protector. 

THY WONDROUSNESS (lit. won- 
der): 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 [5], as one 
of the names of Messiah (comp. also 
Jud. xiii. 18). 

ASSEMBLY OF THE HOLY ONES, 
z.é. the angels, to which corresponds 
in the next verse, “the sons of the 
mighty ;” comp. xxix..1. They are 
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 faithfuiness also is 
praised,” &c. 
7. A Gop. It is more forcible’ 


to regard this as a predicate, or as 
standing in a kind of free apposition 
with “Jehovah,” than to take it as 
the subject of a fresh sentence: 
“ God is very terrible,” &c. 


L 


146 


8 O Jehovah, God of Hosts, 


PSALM LXXXIX. 


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,4 THOU stillest them. 
10 THOU hast crushed Rahab, as one that is slain; 
With Thy mighty arm Thou hast scattered Thine 


enemies. 


11 Thine are (the) heavens, Thine also is the earth ; 
THOU hast founded the world and the fulness thereof. 
12 THOU hast created the north and the south, 
Tabor and Hermon shout for joy in Thy Name. 
13 Thine is an arm (clothed) with might, 
Strong is Thy hand, high is Thy right hand. 
14 Righteousness and judgement are the pillars of Thy throne, 
Loving-kindness and Truth go to meet Thy face. 


8. AND THY FAITHFULNESS. Or 
as Ewald: “ And what faithfulness 
is like Thy faithfulness,” &c. 

ROUND ABOUT THEE, God’s at- 
tributes being personified, as in ver. 
14 and Ixxxv. 13 [14]. Then follow 
proofs and instances, first, of God’s 
might, ver. 9—13, and then of His 
faithfulness, ver. 14—18. 

10. RAHAB: here probably, as in 
Ixxxvii. 4 (where see note), a name 
of Egypt. God’s power as ruling 
the sea would naturally be con- 
nected in the Psalmist’s mind with 
that great manifestation of His 
power in the deliverance from 
Egypt. Compare the same asso- 
ciation of ideas in Ixxiv. 13—17. 
Others take the word in the more 
general sense of pride (z.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 mag- 
nified, but the Book is too far 
‘removed from the circle of Israel- 
itish 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 ful- 
ness thereof, Thou hast founded 
them.” And so in the next verse : 
“The north and the south, Thou 
hast created them.” 

12, TABOR AND HERMON do not 
denote merely the West and East, 
as most interpreters explain. They 
are mentioned rather as conspicu- 
ous mountains in a mountain land. 
Tabor, “remarkable for the ver- 
dure, which climbs—a rare sight in 
Eastern scenery—to its very sum- 
mit” (STANLEY, Sizatand Palestine, 
p. 350); Hermon, as its name im- 
ports, “the lofty prominent peak,” 
crowned with snow, themoststriking 
of all the mountains of Palestine, 
are fit representatives of the whole 
country ; open, as it were, the loud 
hymn of praise. See Ixxii. 3; 
xcviii. 8. 

14. PILLARS, or perhaps, as 

* others, “ basis, foundation.” 

15—18, Such is the God, so full 





































wh 
= 
%, ver. 19; (4) God’s constant aid, 
a and hence his victory over his foes, 


PSALM LXXXTIX. 


147 


15 Blessed are the people that know the joyful sound, 
That walk, O Jehovah, 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 TuHou art the glory of their might, 
And in Thy favour our horn is exalted : 
18 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, 
“T have laid help‘ upon a mighty man, 
I have exalted one chosen out of the people. 
20 I have found David My servant, 


of majesty and power, who has 
given the promise. Blessed, there- 
fore, are the people who have Je- 
hovah for their God. They may 
well rejoice in their privilege. 

15. THE JOYFUL SOUND, z.¢. the 
loud music of trumpets, &c., in the 
festivals, especially on the New 
Year’s Day, Lev. xxiii. 24, or on 
extraordinary occasions, Num. x. 
I—I0, xxiii. 21; Josh. vi. 5, 20, 
&c. - See on xxvii. 6; Ixxxi. 1 [2]. 


This Israel only knows, because 
_ Israel only is the people of God. 
__ Theyare blessed, because they, and 
* = Ps y 


, of all nations, can keep 
emn feasts to His praise. 
18. OUR SHIELD, 7.¢., as is evi- 


dent from the ioe tie the king. 


Comp. xlvii. 9[10]. The rendering, 
“ Jehovah is our shield,” is against 


19. The mention of the king in 
the preceding verse leads now to 
‘the resumption and expansion of 
the promise given to David. The 
two aspects of God’s relation to 
David and his house and kingdom 
are herein presented to us, an out- 


_ ward and an inward, corresponding 


to the two great attributes of God 
which are praised in ver. 1—18; 
His omnipotence and His faithful- 
ness. To the first of these belong : 
(a) David’s exaltation to the throne, 


ver. 2I—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 (4) an ever- 
lasting covenant made with him 
and his seed, and an everlasting 
kingdom, ver. 28, 29; hence, too, 
(c) the transgressions of his sons 
are visited, indeed, with a fatherly 
chastisement, ver. 30—32, but can- 
not make the covenant void, ver. 
33, 34; (@) and the assurance is 
finally repeated, that this covenant, 
which God has once confirmed by . 
an oath, cannot lie, and that thére- 
fore the seed as well as the throne 
of David must endure as the very 
heavens. For this outline of the con- 
nection I am indebted to Hupfeld. 

THEN, referring to the time when 
the promise was given. 

THY BELOVED. On this word 
see note on xvi. 10. David is evi- 
dently meant, though the revelation 
was made in vision, not to him, but 
to Nathan (2 Sam. vii. 4,17. If 
we adopt the plural, which is the 
reading of many MSS., then the 
revelation is made to the nation at 
large. 

A MIGHTY MAN. Comp. 2 Sam. 
xVil. 10. 


L.2 


148 


PSALM LXXXIX. 


With My holy oil have I anointed him ; 
21 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. 
23 And I will beat down his adversaries before his face, 
And plague them that hate him ; 


=f 
with him, 


And My faithfulness and My loving-kindness shall be 


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.’ 


a 


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. 
If his children forsake My law, 


? And walk not in My judgements, 
31 If they profane My statutes, 
And keep not My commandments, 


22. SON OF WICKEDNESS. This 
clause is taken verbatim from the. 
words of the promise in 2 Sam. 
Vii. 10. 

25.-THE SEA... 
z,.é. the Mediterranean Sea and the 
Euphrates, with reference, no doubt, 
to the extent of Solomon’s domi- 
nion. See above on Ixxx. 11. Or 
the range of hope may be wider, as 
in Ixxii. 8. The plural “rivers ” is 
in accordance with poetic usage, 
and need not be explained of the 
Euphrates and its separate chan- 
nels, or the Euphrates and Tigris,. 
&e. 
27. MY FIRST-BORN. Ashe calls 
Me “Father,” so I not only ac- 


. THE RIVERS, 


knowledge him as My son, but as 
My first-born, and therefore My 
heir. (So Israel is called the first- 
born, Exod. iv. 22, and Ephraim, 
Jer. xxxi. 9.) 

30. There follows a paraphrase 
of 2 Sam. vii. 14. The chastise- 
ment is a necessary part of the 
paternal relationship, Heb. xii. The 
sins of individuals will be punished 
by God’s fatherly correction, but 
the covenant cannot cease, the pro- 
mises made to the seed as a whole 
cannot be withdrawn. Their un- 
faithfulness cannot make the faith- 
fulness of God of none effect (Rom. 
iii. 3). But see, as presenting a 
different view, 1 Kings viii. 25. 








i i a el i ee 





— 


PSALM LXXXIX. 


149 


32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, 
And their iniquity with stripes. 
33 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; 
35 Once have I sworn by My holiness, 
I will not lie unto David. 


36 His seed shall be for ever, 


And his throne as the sun before Me. 
37 He shall be established for ever as the moon, 
And as the faithful witness in heaven.” 


38 But THou hast cut off, and rejected, 
Thou hast been wroth with Thine anointed. 


32. THE ROD... STRIPES. In 
2 Sam. vii. qualifying expressions 
are added : “rod of men,” “stripes 
of the children of men:” not mean- 
ing “such punishments as all men, 
because all are sinners, are exposed 
to” (Hengstenberg); but either (1) 
chastisements such as men (comp. 
for similar phraseology Hos. vi. 7, 
Job xxxi. 33), human fathers, em- 
ploy, for the correction, not the 
destruction of their children ; “ for 
what son is there whom his father 
chasteneth not ?” or (2) chastise- 
ments fitted to the measure of man’s 
endurance (comp. I Cor. x. 13). 

35. ONCE, ze. “once for all” 
(LXX. ama&). ; E 

By My HOLINESS, asin Amos iv. 
2. Other formulz are “by Myself,” 
Is. xlv. 23; “ by My name,” Jer. 
xliv.26. For the general sentiment 
of the verse comp. Rom. xi. 29: 
“the gifts and calling of God are 
without repentance.” 

37- THE FAITHFUL WITNESS. 
This, according to the parallelism, 
must be “the moon.” Luther and 
others have supposed the rain- 
bow to be meant. Others, again, 
think that the witness is God Him- 
self, and render, “And a faithful 


witness is in heaven.” But the 
moon is more for certain seasons 
than any other orb: in all coun- 
tries she has been the arbiter of 
festivals. 

38. But now comes the mournful 
contrast. This covenant, made by 
the almighty and all-faithful God, 
confirmed 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 truth of God. The expostula- 
tion of the Psalmist is nothing less 
than a reproach. God has with 
His own hand cast down the throne 
of David, and annulled the cove- 
nant: so it seems to one who 
measures promise and performance 
by a human standard. 

The boldness of the expostula- 
tion has scandalized the Jewish 
interpreters. 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 express- 
ing the scoff of enemies, not the 


150 


PSALM LXXXIX. 


39 Thou hast made voidi 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 edgej 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 with shame, 


[Selah.] 


46 How long, O Jehovah, wilt Thou hide Thyself for ever ? 
Shall Thy fury burn like fire ? 


reproach of the Psalmist. But see 
the exactly similar language in xliv. 
9—22, and notes there. 

40. HIS HEDGES. The pronouns 
in this and the next verse refer 
grammatically to the king, but in 
sense to the people, who are re- 
garded as one with their monarch. 
The expressions are borrowed from 
Ixxx. 12 [13]. 

44. GLORY, lit. “ purity,” and thus 
“splendour,” “majesty,” and the 
like. The literal rendering of the 
clause is, “Thou hast made (him) 
to cease from his splendour.” See 
Critical Note. 

45. THOU HAST SHORTENED, &c. 
This has been explained by 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. In this latter 


sense the clause is understood by 
Hupfeld and Hengstenberg ; and 
so Rosenm.: “ Quum regnum Jude 
vix ad maturitatem aliquam per- 
ductum, et quasi in ipso flore ex- 
tinctum sit, neque enim ad quin- 
gentos annos pervenit Davidice 
stirpis regnum.” 

46. The transition from expostu- 
lation to pleading, which of itself 
shows how the expostulation is to 
be understood. It is human weak- 
ness discovering to God its inmost 
heart. There zs a sense of wrong, 
and the true man says that he feels 
it, speaks it out, and asks God to 
set it right. Jt is an example of 
the perpetual clash between con- 
victions and facts. See Hab. i. 2, 3, 

The pleading consists of twa 
parts, each comprised in three 
verses. ‘The 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. 1, and comp. Ixxix. 5. 











men ! 


world? [Selah.] 


peoples,™ 
Jehovah, 


anointed. 


PSALM LXXXTX. 


151 


47 O remember how short a time! I have to live! 
‘ For what vanity hast Thou created all the sons of 


48 What man is he that liveth and shall not see death, 
That can deliver his soul from the hand of the unseen 


49 Lord, where are Thy former loving-kindnesses, 

Which Thou swarest unto David in Thy faithfulness ? 
50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of Thy servants, 

How I bear in my bosom [the reproach of] many 


51 Wherewith Thine enemies have reproached Thee, O 


Wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of Thine 





47. HOW SHORT A TIME: a fre- 
went ground of appeal to God’s 
mercy, xxxix. 5 ; Job vii. 

6, xiv. 1, &c. 

For the sentiment in this and the 
two following verses, see note on 
Ixxxviii. 10. The occurrence of ne 
pronoun of the first person singular 
can only be explained by its being 
intended to describe a fact of com- 
mon 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 
“J” is the expression of personal 
feeling, measuring others by itself. 
Or ver. 47—49 may mean, “Let 

me, even me, see Thy restoring 
love.” 

49. FORMER LOVING-KIND- 
NESSES ; not the promise itself, but 
_ the manifold proof of its fulfilment 

50. I BEAR IN MY BOSOM. The 
) elsewhere signifies “cherish- 





iy. 7 ae) * ‘pi eo <— 
™ v i ‘ee 7 
en ie | a ig ‘ 
a = ms Ud 


52 Blessed be Jehovah for evermore. 
Amen and Amen. 


Num. xi. 12; Deut. i 31; Is. xb 
II, xlvi. 3,—a signification which 
is here, of course, quite out of the 
question. See more in the Critical 
Note. It is rather the expression 
of an intense sympathy with the 
Anointed as the representative of 
Jehovah, and is urged as a plea 
why God’s faithfulness should be 
vindicated. 

51. FOOTSTEPS, z.¢. as we might 
say, “every step he takes.” Comp. 
xvil. 11; xxii. 16 [17]; xlix. 5 [6} 
The Tarzum interprets this as a 
reproach, because of the /arrying 
of the footsteps 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 Messianic 
Psalm. 

52. The Doxology is no part of 
the original Psalm, but was added 
subsequently, to mark the close of 
the Book. 


152 PSALM LXXXIX. 


* Ethan the Ezrahite (see note * on Ixxxviii.). Compare 1 Kings iv. 
31 [v. 11]; 1 Chron. ii. 6. An Ethan or Jeduthun, a Levite, is also 
mentioned 1 Chron. vi. 29 (44 in E.V.), xv. 17, 19, whom some hold to 
be the same person. He and Heman, according to Hengst., are called 
Ezrahites as belonging to the family of Serah, the & being Aleph 
prosthetic. At the same time, as they were Levites, he thinks they were 
incorporated into the family of Serah, the son of Judah.. So Elkanah 
the Levite, 1 Sam. i. 1, is called an Ephraimite. Comp. Jud. xvii. 7. 


> “1DN, with Dagesh /ene, contrary to the rule, here and in Lam. iii. 22. 


° }'DM, not constr., but like the forms 7933, DT DW. 


4 xiv, either infin. = Ni), xxviii. 2, Is. i. 14 (instead of NNW) or 
infinitival noun, like N'Y, Job xx. 6. 


° yTDo. The sing. refers clearly to David, but many of De Rossi’s 
and Kenn’s MSS. have the plur., which would refer to the people. See 


the same various reading in xvi. 10, and the double reference below, 
ver. 41. 


f 1. Hupf. objects to the word as inapplicable, and would read either 


t2, @ crown (comp. ver. 40), or TY, i aes But the ancient Verss. vouch 
for the present reading. 


s ~°W, the Hiph. usually means Zo deceive, lead astray (and so here 
Symm., J. H. Mich., Maur., Del.), but, construed with 3, it is better to 
take it in the sense in which it occurs in Kal, Zo act as a creditor, to exact. 


h “D8. Both the form and the meaning of this word occasion some 
difficulty. 7795, to which it is commonly referred, means properly Zo 
break, violate, a covenant, &c., and hence could only be used improperly 
here ; and besides, the fut. Hiph. of that verb would be "BX. Hence we 
must either refer it to a root "\5, as Gesenius does (7%es. zu v.75), or read 
FON, 7 will take away, from the parallel passages, 2 Sam. vii. 15, 
1 Chron. xvii. 13. 


i psa. The word occurs only here (LXX. karéorpewas) and Lam. ii. 7 
(LXX. dwérivage). It seems to be cognate with 13. 


J ayy. The only place where it occurs in this sense, “ edge of a sword,” 
but the sense is amply justified by the cogn. Arab. ya an onomatopoetic 


root, used of sharp, shrill, grinding, grating noises, &c., as Fleischer has 
elaborately shown in a note to Delitzsch’s commentary. Hence it is 
quite unnecessary to translate, “O Thou Rock” (Olsh.), or, “the rock of 
his sword ” (Hengst.), in a metaphorical sense, “the strength, &c. of his 
sword.” LXX. ri BonOeiay ris poudaias abrod. 

k jon. This is the reading of Nurzi, Heidenheim, and the best 
Christian editors. The Jewish interpreters (as Ab. Ez., Kimchi, &c.) 
assume a noun 77191), with euphonic Dagesh, as in Wp, Ex. xv. 17. 
The anomalous compound Sh’va is defended by such a form as Mm Wwba, 
2 Kings ii. 1. But it is better to take the 9 as the prep. from, “Thou 








2 2 —— oo 





1 
: 
= 
o 








PSALM LXXXIX. 153 


hast made (him) to cease from his splendour.” Nor is it necessary to 
have recourse to a form 7M or Wb (if we read with some MSS. 
jan), like boy, 3nd, &c. It may be a heteroclite from 7}, instead of 
}7NH, with rejection of the first syllable instead of the second. 


1’m ’D °28. MSS. vary considerably (see in Davidson’s Hebrew Text), 
and editors have troubled themselves with explanations, but there is 
really no difficulty. The pronoun stands emphatically first instead of 
WS 'N Mp, ego guantilli sim evi. See on xxxix. 4 [5], note ° 


m The whole of the latter clause of ver. 50 [51] presents difficulties 
such as render the correctness of the existing text questionable : (1) the 
singular number, when the plural has just preceded (for the reading yay 
of some MSS., and the Syr., looks as if altered on purpose to meet the 
difficulty) ; (2) the sense in which the phrase /o dear in the bosom is here 
used, contrary to that in which it elsewhere occurs; (3) the strange 
collocation of 0°D7 bp, all many, which cannot be defended by Ez. xxxi. 6, 
where b> stands in appos. with “7 D3, following ; (4) the position of the 
adj. D°31 before its noun, which in a common phrase of this kind is 
indefensible, and derives no support from Jer. xvi. 16, to which Maurer 
refers, as D°D) is there emphatically placed first. It seems necessary to 
repeat the word reproach from the first member of the verse, as the object 
of the verb in the second, either making this second clause a relative one, 
as the LXX. of tmécxov év tr. k. p. mo\Nav eOvev (or as Symm. without the 
relative, ¢S8doraca . . . modddyv €6.), “which I bear from [the whole of] 
many nations ;” or supplying NB after bp. Jerome may have had 
some other word instead of D°31, fortavi in sinu meo omnes iniguitates 
populorum. This would remove all difficulty. 

Delitzsch gives a different interpretation. He renders, “That I carry in 
my bosom all the many nations,” and supposes the Psalmist to complain, 
as a member of the body politic, that his land is full of strangers, 
Egyptians and their allies (he assigns the Psalm to the time of Shishak’s 
invasion), whose outrages and taunts fill his heart with sorrow. 








SALMS 





oe 


BOOK IV. 





XC.—CVI. 

















GE = ae 


. 
2 
= 


PSALM XC. 


“ Tue goth Psalm,” says Isaac Taylor, “ might be cited as perhaps 
the most sublime of human compositions, the deepest in feeling, 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, notwith- 
standing the most severe trials of their faith, lose not their confi- 
dence 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 contrast 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 petu- 


lance, 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 spectators 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 in- 
tellectual and moral history. This Psalm, 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.”—Spirit of the 
_ Hebrew Poetry, pp. 161-3. 


158 PSAIM XC. 


Two objections have been urged by Hupfeld against the Mosaic 
authorship of the Psalm, neither of which can be regarded as very 
weighty. (1) The first of these is, that the Psalm contains no clear 
and distinct reference to the circumstances of the Israelites in the 
wilderness. (2) The next is, that the span of human life is limited 
to threescore and ten or fourscore years, whereas not only Moses 
himself, but Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb, are all said to have reached 
a period of life considerably beyond this (Deut. xxxiyv. 7 ; Num. 
xxxlii. 39 ; Josh. xxiv. 29, Xiv. 10). 

As regards the first objection, it is sufficient to reply that the 
language of the Psalms is in almost every case general, not special, 
and that all that can be reasonably demanded is that there be 
nothing in the language at variance with the supposed circum- 
stances, or unsuitable to the person, the time, the place to which 
a particular Psalm is alleged to belong. Hupfeld himself admits 
that the general strain of thought and feeling is in every respect 
worthy of a man like Moses, as well as in perfect accordance with 
the circumstances under which this Psalm is commonly believed 
to have been written, viz. towards the close of the forty years’ 
wandering in the wilderness. 

The second objection seems at first sight of more force. Yet 
there is no evidence that the average duration of human life at that 
period was as extended as that of the few individuals who are named. 
On the contrary, if we may judge from the language of Caleb, who 
speaks of his strength at eighty-five as if it were quite beyond the 
common lot (Josh. xiv. 10), the instances mentioned must rather be 
regarded as exceptional instances of longevity. The life of the 
majority of those who died in the wilderness must have fallen short 
of fourscore ; and there is no reason to suppose that their lives were 
prematurely cut short. Not this (as Hupfeld asserts), but the forty 
years’ wandering in the wilderness, was their punishment ; and this 
limit seems to have been placed to their desert sojourn, because thus 
all the generation who left Egypt, having reached man’s estate, would, 
not exceptionally, but zz the natural course of things, have died out. 

All the ablest critics, even those who, like Ewald and Hupfeld, 
deny the Mosaic authorship of the Psalm, nevertheless admit, that 
in depth and loftiness of thought, in solemnity of feeling, and in 
majesty of diction, it is worthy of the great Lawgiver and Prophet. 
“The Psalm,” writes Ewald, “has something uncommonly striking, 
solemn, sinking into the depths of the Godhead. In subject-matter 
and style it is original, and powerful in its originality, and would 
be rightly attributed to Moses, the man of God (as the later collector 
calls him, comp. Deut. xxxiii. 1; Ezra iii, 2), if we knew more 





PSALM XC. 159 





















_ exactly the historical grounds which led the collector to this view.” 
It is strange that Ewald’s one reason for bringing down the Psalm to 
a later time, the ninth or eighth century B.c., is the deep sense of 
human infirmity and transitoriness which pervades it, and which he 
_ imagines could not have been felt at an earlier period of the history. 
_ “ There are important zz/erna/ reasons,” says Hengstenberg, “ which. 
_ may be 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 4y #tse/f, 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 Jorrowed. 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 


proclaimed as distinctly and impressively as it is here only in the 
Pentateuch, Gen. ii., iii, and in those ordinances of the ceremonial 
law 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, 
Rone 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, 




















* So Herder calls it “that ancient Psalm, that hymn of eternity.” 


160 PSALM XC. 


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, from the minutes and the hours that seem 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 sleeper. 
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 
rhythmical 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, thé contrast stated (ver. 1—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, not- 
withstanding 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.] 
1 Lorp, Thou hast been our dwelling-place 
In all generations. 


Ver. 1—6. The eternity and un- dwelling-place, but “ confessed that 


changeableness of Ged contrasted 
with the transitoriness of man. 
THOU HAST BEEN, or “ hast 
proved Thyself to be.” It is the 
record of a past experience, not 
merely the statement of what God 
is in His own nature. It is the 
acknowledgement of what God had 
been to Abraham, to Isaac, and to 
Jacob, when they had no fixed 


they were strangers and pilgrims,” 
of what He had been both to their 
fathers and to themselves. 

OUR DWELLING-PLACE, or “a 
place of refuge for us.” The word, 
which occurs Deut. xxxiii. 27, com- 
bines both ideas, and would have a 
peculiar force of meaning for the 
Israelites in the wilderness. For 
Israel was without a country and 


re 





- 








“Job xxxvii. 12). 


PSALM XC. 


161 


2 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. 
3 Thou turnest frail man to dust,> 
And sayest: Return, ye children of men. 
4 For a thousand years in Thy sight 
Are (but) as yesterday, when it passeth, 
And (as) a watch in the night. 


without a Aome, finding here and 
there only a brief resting-place 
beside the well and under the 
palms of the desert. And Israel 
was without @ réfuge, 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. Per- 
haps the passive rendering, which 
involves only a very slight change 
in a single vowel-point (see Critical 

. Note), is to be preferred: “Or 
ever the earth and the -world were 


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. he 


vill. 33 ; 


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 (Z.¢. to destruc- 
tion), ye children of men.” 


_ But if an emphatic repetition were 


ses per the form of the sentence 


rather have been : 
VOL. Il. 


“ment : 


“ Thou sayest, Turn to destruction, 
ye children of men, 
And they are turned.” 


Besides, the fut. consec. “and 
sayest,” would indicate that the 
act in the second clause of the 
verse is to be regarded as a con- 
sequence of that in the first, or at 
least as subsequent to, and not 
merely as parallel with it. Others, 
again, interpret the word “ return ” 
of a moral returning or conversion; 
or of the return of the spirit to God 
who gave it; or even of the resur- 
rection. But none of these explana- 
tions harmonizes with the context. 
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- 
it had its hours and its 
minutes, 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 


M 


162 


PSALM XC. 


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 light of Thy countenance. 


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 neg 
lected 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 and more tedious 
task, if a man were the worker, to 
build a world than to guide a way- 
ward nation through its fortunes-: 
but what means longer or shorter, 
where there is no labour, nor wait- 
ing, nor weariness, but only the 
streaming forth ef an -omnipetent 
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. ili. 8. 

5. THOU SWEEPEST,-&c. Or the 
two clauses may be dependent upon 
one another, asin 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 comparison (‘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 scorching hot wind (James i. 11) 
blows upon it, and again before 
evening it is withered. 

6. IT Is CUT DOWN, Others (see 
Critical Note) render: “ It is dried 
up.” The P.B V. gives both mean- 
ings : “it is cut down, dried up, and 
withered.” 

7. FOR: explanatory, not argu- 
mentative. The reason of all this 
transitoriness is to be found in 
‘Israel’s sin, which has provoked 
God's heavy displeasure against 
His people. The statement is not a 
general one of human sinfulness 
and frailty. The use of the first 
person, and the past tenses, shows 
that the writer is dealing with the 
facts of his own history and that of 
his people. , 

HAVE BEEN TERRIFIED, or, “ut- 
terly confounded.” See the same 
word xlviii.5 (note), “driven away 
in panic terror.” 

‘8. OUR ‘SECRET (SINS), or, “ our 
secret (heart) ;” for the word is 
singular, The whole inner bein 
that which is in man (John ii. of 
the pollution and sinfulness of 
which is hidden from a man him- 
self, till it is set in the light of God’s 
countenance. 

LIGHT, or more properly, “ lumi- 


es 














PSALM XC. 


9 For all our days have passed away in Thy wrath, 

We have spent our years as a thought : 

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. 

11 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, 


nary,” the same word which is found 
in Gen. i., used of the heavenly 
bodies, but nowhere else used in 
this particular phrase. (It is always 
*6r, not m’ér.) There seems, how- 
ever, to be a special reason for this. 
The light of God’s countenance is 
everywhere else spoken of as a light 
of love and approbation. (Hence, 
the Syriac renders the second clause 
risks tis grow young again in the 
light of Thy countenance.”) Here 
it is a revealing light. The “light ” 
or rather “sun” of God’s coun- 
tenance shines down into the dark 
abysses of the human heart, bring- 
ing out its hidden evils into strong 
and painful relief. The nearest 
expression occurs in Prov. 
Xv. 30, where the same word is used, 
rendered in the E.V. “the /ight of 
the eyes.” It means “that which 
contains and gives the light, as the 
sun, a lamp, &c.” 
_g. AS A THOUGHT. The same 
comparison is found in Homer, as 
an emblem of speed : écci rrepor fe 
vénua. And Theognis speaks of the 
years of youth as fleeing like a 
thought : ata yap @ore vonya map- 
€pxerat adyAaos 78n. Others, “as 
a sigh or groan,” a meaning which 
the word has in the two other pas- 
Sages where it occurs, Job xxxvii. 2 
(E. V. ca, Ezek. ii. 10 : V. 
mourning). Others again, “as a 
breath.” So the Chald., “as the 
breath of the mouth in winter.” 
_ (Comp. xxxix. 5, 6 [6, 7], where, how- 
ever, the word is different.) The 


LXX, and the Syr. have “as a 
spider.” On this rendering and its 
probable origin, information will be 
found in Rosenmiiller’s note. 

10. THE DAYS OF OUR YEARS (a 
common expression in Genesis). 
The literal rendering of this clause 
is, “as for the days of our years 
(nom. absol.)—in them are seventy 
years.” 

OR(PERCHANCE). More literally, 
“or if they (the years) be with ful- 
ness of strength.” 

THEIR PRIDE (the word occurs 
only here), ze. the pride of the 
years, meaning all in which men 
make their boast, as_ health, 
strength, honour, riches, &c. 

FOR IT HATH PAST, &c. Words 
which come 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. WHO KNOWETH, z.c. “regard- 
eth, considereth aright.” This 
must be repeated with the next 
hemistich, “Who regardeth Thy 
wrath, according,” &c. 

12. TEACH US, lit. “To number 
our days, so teach us,” i.e. 22 this 
manner teach us, give us ¢hzs kind 
of instruction. The position of the 
words and the accents justify this 
interpretation. Others take so in 
the sense of accordingly. And 
others again connect it with what 
goes before : “So, i.e. according to 


M 2 


164 


PSALM XC. 


That we may gain a heart of wisdom. 


13 Return, O Jehovah !—how long ?— 
And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants. 
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 ‘te the daysi in which Thou 


hast afflicted us, 


The years wherein we have seen evil. 
16 Let Thy werk appear urito Thy servants, 


the fear due unto Thee.” ©f the 
need of this Divine arithmetic Cal- 
vin well says: “Nam ‘qui optimus 
erit arithmeticus, ét myriades my- 
riadum distincte ac subtiliter tene- 
bit ac excutiet, non tamen poterit 
octoginta annes supputare'in pro- 
pria vita. Hoc certe prodigio simile 
est homines extra se ipsos metiri 
omnia intervalla, cognoscere quot 
pedibus distet iuna a centro ‘terre, 
quam longis inter se spatiis planétz 
dividantur, denique omnes cceli'et 
terree dimensiones tenere, quum in 
seipsis septuaginta annos non ‘ntu- 
merent.” 

THAT WE MAY GAIN, gather, 
bring in as a harvest, the fruit of the 
earth, &c. Comp. ‘the use of the 
same word, 2 Sam. ix. ro, Hagg, i. 
6: 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 

receding meditation, God is ever- 
asting, 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 sinful- 
ness and his transitoriness. But 
Moses does not forget that, in spite 
of all, God has beén and ‘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 wisdom, 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 
prone manifestation of Himself, 

is 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 pre- 
sage Of the end of their pilgrimage, 
and of their forgiveness, and their 
séttlement in the land that God 


had given them.” 


RETURN. This may mean, as in 
Exod. xxxii. r2, “Turn from Thine 
anger,” or, as in vi. ‘4[5], “Turnto 
Thy people.” 

Hew LONG. See notes on vi. 3, 4. 

LET IT REPENT THEE, or, “ show 
compassion towards.” The fuller 
expression is found ‘in Ex. xxxii. 


12, “ Let it‘repent Thee of the evil,” 


&c. The phrase occurs frequently 
in the Prophets. 

‘t4. IN THE MORNING, when the 
night of sorrow is spent. Comp. 
xlvi. 5 (note), cxliii. 8, 

“5. AFFLICTED Us, or “humbled 
us,”'the same word which is used 
in Deut. viii. 2, where -this “ hum- 
bling” is said to have been God’s 
purpose in'‘those forty ‘years’ wan- 
dering. 

16. THY WORK. The word is 
used both of God’s judgements and 
of His acts of grace. Comp. Ixxvii. 
2 [13], xcii. 4 [5], xcv. 9, end Hab. 





PSALM XC. 165 


And Thy majesty upon their children. 
17 And let the graciousness of Jehovah our God be upon us ; 
And the work of our hands do Thou establish upon us ; 
Yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it. 


iii. 2. Here, the bringing of Israel 
into his inheritance is meant. The 
noun occurs nowhere in the Pen- 
tateuch, except in Deuteronomy. 
See, for instance, Deut. xxxii. 4. _ 
“ Quia Deus Ecclesiam suam. de- 
serens, quodammodo alienam per- 
sonam induit, scite Moses proprium 


ejus opus nominat protectionis gra~ 
tiam quam pollicitus fuerat, filiis 
Abrahe. . . . Hac ratione Paulus. 


(Rom. ix. 23) Dei bonitatem gloriz 
titulo specialiter insignit.”—Ca/vin. 

THY MAJESTY. “ Notandum est,” 
says Calvin, “decoris et pulchritudt- 
mis nomen, unde colligimus quam 
incomparabilis sit erga nos Dei. 
amor. Quamvis enim suis donis 
nos nihil sibi acquirat, li- 
beraliter tamen nobiscum agendo 


splendere vult, et decorem suum 
palam facere ; .ac si forma ejus 
obscura, esset, ubi nos sua benefi- 
centia prosequi cessat.” 

UPON, as coming down out of 
heaven, and so descending upon. 
Comp. Is. xl. 1, 2. 

17. GRACIOUSNESS. This is pro- 
bably a_ better rendering than 
“beauty,” which I have retained in 
xxvii. 4, where see note. 

THE WORK OF OUR HANDS, an- 
other expression which runs all 
through Deuteronomy. i 

The order deserves notice. God’s 
work is first to appear, His majesty 
to. be revealed; then man’s work, 
which is God’s work carried out 
by. human instruments, may look 
for His blessing, 








* hina. (1) Accerding to. the existing punctuation, this is active 
(Pilel) ; but it may be either 2 pers. masc., as in the E. V., or it may be 
3 fem., as the Syr. takes it: “or ever it (ze, the earth) brought forth” 
(viz. plants, animals, &c., comp. Gen. i, 11, 24). So Ewald: eh’ kreiste 
Erd und Land. Hupf. Del.,and Bunsen adopt the former rendering, 
which makes God the subject of the verb, appealing to Deut, xxxii. 18, 
where the same verb is used of God in reference to Israel. The act of 
creation, says Del., is compared to the pangs of travail, There is, 
however, greater harshness in the application of such a figure to the 
origin of the material universe, than in its. application to describe the 
relation of His people to God. But (2) a vety slight change of punctua- 
tion will give us the passive, Sbina, which accords with the pass. a 
before, and which is the rendering of the Chald., LXX., and Jerome, “ or 
ever the earth was formed,” lit. “ born.” 


» N34, according to Ewald, fem. subst, for 73%, the termination in & 
being found early, Num. xi. 20. (Comp. Deut. xxiii. 2, where the reading 
Varies between the form in * and that in 8.) The form, however, is 
rather that of the adj. (xxxiv, 19, Is. lvii. 15), either in a neuter sense, 
_ contritum, comminutum, i.e. dust (comp. Gen. iii. 19), or as a predicate, 

0 ut fiat contritus, “to the condition of one who is crushed” (comp. or 
the constr. Num. xxiv. 24). 


166 PSALM XC. 


¢ 3p) '3. This can neither be rendered “when it és past” (as the 
E. V.), nor “when it shal/ have past” (as De Wette): grammatically it 
can only be “when it passeth” or “is passing” (so Ewald, who 
observes, “it is at evening when the day is just passing away that it 
seems the shortest,” but ?), or “decause it passeth ;” but neither of these 
yields a satisfactory sense : we want the rendering of the E.V., “when z¢ 
zs past.” Hupfeld therefore would take ‘yw BN as the subject of 73, 
“ For a thousand yea. are in Thy sight when they pass (or, because they 
pass) but as yesterday.” In like manner we have 42% with the sing. verb 
in xci. 7. 

4 omy. The verb occurs only here and Ixxvii. 18, formed from the 
noun Di}. The preterite may stand in the protasis as the condition of 
what follows: “ (When) Thou hast swept them away with a flood, they 
become as a sleep,” &c., like the shadowy image of a dream which leaves 
no trace behind. Hupfeld connects 1233 with this clause : “they become 
as a sleep in the morning ;” (comparing Ixxiii. 20, Is. xxix. 7.) No doubt 
this gives a good sense, and there is a difficulty in explaining the 
‘Masoretic text, “In the morning they are as grass,” &c., for “the 
morning ” cannot mean the morning of human life, or youth, as Kimchi 
and others understand. But, on the other hand, Hupfeld’s arrangement 
of the clauses leaves the second miserably lame: “ As the grass passeth 
away.” [On the question whether 3 can thus be construed with the verb, 
See on xlii. note > (3).] On the whole, it is better to assume an incorrect- 
ness of expression, and to take “in the morning they are,” &c, as = “they 
are as grass which wéthereth [or springeth afresh, see below] in the 
morning.” 


s sbn). Two exactly opposite interpretations have been given of this 
verb, both proceeding from the same. radical idea, that of change, 
transition from one place or condition to another ; but the one implying 
the change of new life, growth, &c., the other that of decay and death. 
The first meaning is common in the Hiph. of this verb (comp. cii. 27 ; 
Is. ix. 9, xl. 31, xli. 1; and of plants, Job ‘xiv. 7, xxix. 20), but is 
nowhere else: found in the Kal (though Gesen. gives this sense in 
Hab. i. 11, but wrongly). Hence Ewald, Hupf., Bunsen, and others, 
adopt the second meaning of passing away, in the sense of perishing (so 
the LXX. has mapéAOor, and Jerome, guasi herba pertransiens). According 
to this view, the first member of ver. 6 contains the whole figure, the 
latter part of which is then repeated and expanded in the second 
member :— 


“Jn the morning it flourisheth, and (then) perisheth, 
- In the evening it is dried up and withered.” 


Gesenius, on the other hand (7zes. zm v.), gives to nbn, in this passage, 
the sense of wiret, revirescit. Zunz’s Bible has sfrosset, Delitzsch schosset 
wieder. And amongst the older interpreters, the Chald. and Syr. render 
similarly. Hupf. and others object to the repetition involved in this 
rendering, but that exists on either interpretation, and the repetition 1 is 
merely emphatic, as for instance in xcii. 10. 


PSALM XC1. 167 


ae Shin». According to the punctuation, Palel, act., which is usually 
taken as an impers. instead of the passive : “ one cuts down,” instead of 
“it is cut down.” Ewald, Hupfeld, and others give to the verb 53p the 
sense of withering, here and in xxxvii. 2; and the former observes, that 
the beauty of the comparison consists in the fact that the flower which 
was so lovely in the morning fades away of zfse/f the same day in the 
scorching heat of the sun. But perhaps here the pass., with the same 
slight change of the vowel as in note %, is preferable. 


8 nina33. “Poet. plur. for sing. The word, an abstract from “33, 
Occurs nowhere else in this sense, but always of physical strength as 
exercised, put forth, as for instance in warlike prowess: so of the war- 
horse, cxlvii. 10, Job xxxix. 19 (comp. Osn, Ps. xxxiii. 16), of the sun at his 
rising, Judg. v. 31 (comp. Ps. xix. 6). The plural in particular is always 

_ used of deeds of valour, of the mighty acts of God or of men. The 
notion of physical strength, natural vigour, &c., is usually expressed by 
M33, 1¥3, and the like.”"—Aupfeld. 


h 93, not from tt, in a pass. sense, zs cut off, as Symm., tunBevres, but to 
be connected with 1)3, Aram. and Syr., fo pass dy. See on Ixxi. note », 
where, however, t3 is spoken of as the part. It is better, as the Vau 
consec. follows, to take it as the pret. 


_ } nips, only here and Deut. xxxii. 7, instead of ‘Q*; the following 
"M2, poet. plur. for 1%, occurs first in the same passage of Deut. Both 
are in construct. with the verbal clauses following, Ges. § 114, 3. 





PSALM XCI. 


Tuis 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. “Can the providence of God,” asks 
, Herder, “ be taught in a more trustful or a more tender spirit? The 
Beneuage i is the language of a father, growing ever more fatherly as it 
till at last the Great Father Himself takes it up and declares 
Es iis truth and faithfulness.” 
___ Mr. Plumptre speaks of it as “an echo, verse by verse almost, of 
the words in which Eliphaz the Temanite (Job v. 17—23) describes the 
good man’s life.” Biblical Studies, p. 184. 





& 


168 PSALM XCI. 

' 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. 15)*, 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 ?” expressed in rich and varied poetry. 

The structure of the Psalm is in some respects peculiar. The 
writer speaks at one time of or from, at another to, himself; he is 
both subject and object ; now he utters his own experience, and now 
he seeks to encourage himself with Divine promises ; and the transi- 
tions are so abrupt, that various attempts have been made to soften 
or explain them. A full account of these will be found in the Critical 
Note on verse 2. 


There is no strophical arrangement, but the general structure of © 


the Psalm rests on the common principle of pairs of verses, except 
that the two concluding groups consist of three verses each, thus: 1, 
2; 3,43; 5,6; 7,85; 9, 10; 11—13 ; 14—16. 


1 HE that sitteth in the secret place of the Most High, 
That resteth under the shadow of the Almighty, 


1. In the First Edition this verse 
was rendered as if it were complete 
in itself : 


implied by the rendering of the E.V., 
“He that dwelleth, &c. . . . shall 
abide,” z.e. constantly and perma- 
nently continue. Hence the reading 


“He that sitteth in the secret place 
of the Most High 
Resteth under the shadow of the 
Almighty.” 


But it cannot be denied that such a 
rendering is open to the charge. of 
tautology. It is better to take the 
second clause as only a variation of 
the first, in accordance with the 
common principle of Hebrew paral- 
lelism. There is no reason for 
affirming that the verb RESTETH (lit. 
*“lodgeth, passeth the night,”) is used 
in any emphatic sense, such as is 


of the LXX., who in ver. 2 have 
the 3rd per. épei, he shad/ say, instead 
of the 1st, J wéll say, has much 
to commend it, and I have now 
adopted it. 

In each clause of verses 1, 2, 
God is spoken of by a different 
name. 

God is “ Most High,” far above 
all the rage and malice of enemies ; 
“ Almighty,” so that none can stand 
before His power ; “ Jehovah,” the 
God of covenant and grace, who 
has revealed Himself to His people; 
and it is of such a God that the 





* Stier mentions that some years ago an eminent physician in St. 
Petersburg recommended this Psalm as the best preservative against the 


cholera, 



















Psalmist says in holy confidence, 
_ He is “ my God,” in whom I trust. 
: 2. SAITH, or “ will say.” In the 
4 Hebrew text the Ist person stands, 
“1 will say.” See more in Critical 
Note. 
3. SNARE OF THE HUNTER. 


Cred xviii. 5 [6], cxxiv. 7, Hos. 


Peiyouanic PESTILENCE. For 
the epithet, see Critical Note on v. 
9 [10 
he 4. WiTH HIS FEATHERS. See 
the beautiful passage, Deut. xxxii. 
i, Pe and note on Ps. xvii. 8, lxiii. 7. 

3 . TERROR BY NIGHT (comp. 
a Sue of Sol. iii. 8, Prov. iii. 23— 
____ 26), in allusion, probably, to night- 
attacks like these of Gideon (Judg. 
_ Vii.), a favourite artifice of Oriental 
_ warfare; or perhaps to a destruc- 
. _ ton like that of Sennacherib. 
___7. IT SHALL NOT COME NIGH 
4 THEE. The singular refers to any 
and every one of the evils men- 
_ tioned in ver. 5,6. “ As the general 
__ who carries within him the convic- 


PSALM XC. 


169 


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, 
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 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 ; 


tion 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 conviction that 
the thunderbolt will turn aside 
from his head, and the torrent dry 
up at his feet, and the arrow fall 
blunted from his breast, decause the 
Lord wil!s it? —Tholuck. 

g. The change of persons is 
again perplexing. The Psalmist 
suddenly interrupts the address to 
himself which had been continued 
in one strain from ver. 3 (and which 
is resumed again in the second 
clause of this verse, “ Thou hast 
made,” &c.), to express his own 
trust in God. But whether we 
suppose the address in ver. 3—8, 
and again that which, beginning 
with the second member of ver. 9, 
extends to the end of ver. 13, to be 
the words of the Psalmist himself, 


170 


PSALM XCI. 


10 (Therefore) there shall no evil befall thee, 
Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent ; 
11 For He will give His angels charge over thee, 
To keep thee in all thy ways; 
12 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. 


or whether they are put into some 
other mouth with a view to musical 
effect—in either case the words are 
really a voice from Heaven, the 
promise of God uttered to and 
appropriated by the soul. 
10o..TENT. An instance of the 
way in which the Patriarchal life 
became stereotyped, so to speak, in 
the language. 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 Del. thinks). As by “a 
stone” all hindrances, 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. 

What a prophecy of the victory 
of faith over the material as well as 
over the spiritual world, and that 
not only by miraculous but by non- 
miraculous means! Comp. Mark 
xvi. 18; Luke x. 19 ; John xiv. 12. 


The LXX. render ver. 11, 12, dre 
Trois dyyéAows avrov évreheirar sept 
cov, tov duapvadga oe ev wdcas 
tais d0ois gov. ’Eml yeupov dpovolv 
we, pHToTE TpocKdYWys mpos Aidov Tov 
aéda gov. ‘The quotation both in 
Matt. iv. 6, and Luke iv. 10, 11, 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. St. Bernard, speaking of 
the temptation, says: “ Non est via 
hec, sed ruina, et si via, tua est, 
non illius.” 

“Quanquam autem de singulis 
Ecclesize membris agit Propheta, 
non temere hoc diabolus aptavit 
ad personam Christi. Nam ut- 
cunque semper ei sit propositum 
pervertere et corrumpere veritatem 
Dei, in generalibus tamen principiis 
speciosum colorem adhibet, satisque 
acutus est theologus.”—Calvin. 

14—16. God’s answer to the soul 
which trusts in Him. “God Him- 
self comes forward to establish the 
faith of His servant, writes deeper 
in the soul so great a consolation, 











PSALM XCI. 171 


15 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.” 


and confirms the testimony to His is in accordance with the general 
servant. ‘He hath set his love character of the Old Testamenr. 
upon Me—he knoweth My Name Still it is possible that men like the 
—he calleth upon Me’—these are Psalmist, full of faith in God, at- 
the marks of a true servant of God. tached a deeper and more spiritual 
God draws nigh to one who so meaning to promises and hopes 
_ draws nigh to Him.” Compare like these, than was attached to 
_ with this passage l. 15, 23. them by the majority of their 
The special promise of long life countrymen. 
at the close, as a temporal blessing, 


- * D8. This, as it stands, can only be tst pers. fut., which is 
embarrassing, as the 3rd pers. precedes. This and other abrupt 
changes of person in the Psalm have given rise to every variety of 
explanation. 

Delitzsch thinks that the Psalm is dramatic in character, and that it 
must be distributed between three voices, and may have been possibly so 
Sung in Divine service. The first voice utters ver. 1, “ He that sitteth in 
the secret place, That abideth in the shadow of the Almighty,” and is 
taken up by the second voice, which sings ver. 2. The first voice resumes 
_at the beginning of ver. 3, and continues to the end of ver. 8. The 
_ second voice then utters the first clause of ver. 9, “ For Thou, O Jehovah, 
art my refuge.” And the first voice begins with “ Thou hast made the 
_ Most High thy habitation,” and goes on to the end of ver. 13. The third 
_ voice, which utters the words of God Himself, is heard in ver. 14—16. 

Tholuck’s arrangement is the same, except that he makes ver. I 
complete in itself, and that he gives ver. 1, ver. 3—8, and 94—13 to the 
precentor ; ver. 2 and 9a to the choir, and supposes 14—16 (the Divine 
words) to be sung by the precentor and choir together. 

Herder in like manner distributes the Psalm between two voices, but 
gives ver. I, 2, and 9a to the first voice, and the rest of the Psalm to the 
second, 

Ewald appears to me to have approached much more nearly to a true 
_ conception of the structure of the Psalm. Partly, he thinks, the Poet 
__ expresses his own feelings as from himself, and partly as if they were 
_ uttered by another. He seems to listen to the thoughts of his own spirit, 
__ till they become clear and distinct, like some prophetic words, or some 
_ Divine oracle speaking to him from without, and giving him thus the 
“assurance and the consolation afresh which had already sprung up in his 
heart. 

_ Hupfeld, who is followed by Bunsen, alters the text. He would supply 





172 PSALM XCUI. 


ws at the beginning of ver. 1, and read WYN instead of WN in ver. 2. 
He renders ver. 1, 2, 


“[Blessed is he] who sitteth in the hiding-place of the Most High, 
Who passeth the night in the shadow of the Almighty, 
Who saith to Jehovah, my refuge,” &c. 


Again in ver. 9 he supplies FON; 


“ Because [theu hast said] ‘Thou Jehovah art my refuge,’ 
(And) hast made the Most High thy habitation.” 


Such alterations may no doubt “get rid of all difficulty at a stroke,” 
but they are purely conjectural, and have no support from MSS. or Verss. 
The difficulty is older than any of the existing versions. The LXX., felt 
the awkwardness of the change from, the 3rd pers. in ver. 1 to the Ist in 
ver.. 2, and hence they retained the 3rd pers., epei, in ver. 2, Jerome 
likewise has dicems in ver. 2, as if he read "MN. The Syr. also has the 
3rd pers. instead of the-1st. The Chald. distributes the Psalm between 
three speakers. On any view there is much difficulty in determining the 
relation of the first verse to what follows. Taken by itself it is tauto- 
logical—the second clause is merely a repetition of the first, for the 
verb yom is not, as Mich. and others suppose, emphatic. It would seem 
better, therefore, with the Syr., LXX., and Jerome, to retain the 3rd pers. 
in ver. 2, and to read either "W)'N or 718, the- change in either case being 
very slight. The latter is preferable, as in the former both the subject 
and predicate would be participial. Ewald, however, thinks the Poet is 
himself the subject in both verses, first, as looking at himself (hence 
3rd _pers.), then, as sfeaking of himself (1st pers.): “The man who 
sitteth . . . who resteth, &c. . . . even I say,” &c. He refers to Job xii 
4. See also Is. xxviii. 16, : 


b sav) for Tw from IY. Comp. for similar forms Prov. xxix. 6, 
‘Is. xlii. 4. The LXX. xal Samoviou, from a false reading Wr. 





PSALM XCIL. 


Tuts Psalm is called a Psalm for the Sabbath-day, and, as we learn 


from the Talmud (Tr. Kiddushin), was appointed to be used in the 


Temple service on 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 (Num. xxviii. 9). At the evening sacrifice — : 
one of the three passages, Exod. xv. 1—10, 11—19, Num. xxi. 17—20, © 
was sung. The Talmudic treatise above referred to gives the follow- 








PSALM XCT/1. 173 



































ing as the selection of Psalms for the service, each day of the week, 
_ inthe 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. xcili. ; on the seventh “A Psalm or 
song for the Sabbath-day, i.e. A Psalm or song for the future age (the age 
of the Messiah), all of which will be sabbath.” In Rosh ha-Shana, 
however, the question is taised whether the Psalm refers to the 
Sabbath of Creation (R. Nehemia), or the final Sabbath of the world 
(R. Akiba). The title in the Targum, “Of the First Adam,” favours 
the former, as does aiso the opinion of the older Rabbis quoted by 
Kimchi, who tell us that this Psalm “ was said by the First Man, who 
_ was created on the eve of the sabbath, and when he awoke early in 
the morning of the sabbath, uttered this Psalm” (Phillips, vol. ii. p. 
302). Athanasius supposes the latter to be intended, aivet éxeivyny 
“ry yernooperny avdwavew. Better Augustine, “Dicit unde solent 
_ perturbari homines, et docet te agere sabbatem in-corde tuo.” It 
cannot be said, however, that there is anything in the-contents of 
‘the Psalm which, as pointing-either ‘to the future or the present rest, 
_ would account for its selection as the Sabbatical Psalm.* 
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 affarent 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 
government 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 british man (comp. Ixxiii. 22 with ver. 
_ 6 of this Psalm) ; he is rejoicing in the full and perfect conviction of 
_ the righteousness of God. 


_ The strophical arrangement of the Psalm is doubtful. Hupfeld 
_ groups the first three ‘verses and the last four togéther, and disposes 
_ the intermediate verses in pairs. ‘Delitzsch is clearly:wrong when he 








_ ..* This and all the Psalms which follow, as far as the rooth, are 

_ liturgical in character, and were evidently intended for use in the Temple 
_ service. They bear also some resemblance to one another in point of 
“style, especially in the anadiplosis, xcii. 9 [10]; xciv. 1, 3; xcvi. 13. 
_ Compare also xciii. 1 with xcvi. 10, and the recurrence of -the same 
expression in xcv. 3 ; “XCVI.45; XCVii. 9. 


174 PSALM XCII. 

distributes the Psalm into five groups, each of three verses. I believe 
that we have two principal divisions, ver. 1—7, and ver. 9—15, each 
division consisting of seven verses, separated by a verse (the eighth) 
which, unlike all the rest, is comprised in a single line. Each seven 
is again subdivided into a three and four. The whole scheme, there- 
fore, stands thus: 1—3, 4—7, (8), 9—11, 12—15. All the joy of 
the Psalmist culminates in that great fact, that Jehovah is throned on 
high for evermore ; from that flows the overthrow of the wicked and 
the triumph of the righteous. 


[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 in the morning Thy loving-kindness, 
And Thy faithfulness every night, 

3 Upon a ten-stringed instrument and upon the lute, 
With sound of music* upon the harp. 


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! 

Very deep are Thy thoughts. 
6 A brutish man® knoweth not, 

And a fool doth not consider this. 


1—3. Introduction, expressive of 
real delight in God’s service. 

1. IT IS A GOOD THING, ze. a de- 
lightful thing, not merely acceptable 
to God, but a real joy to the heart. 

4. The great reason of all this joy. 
The Psalmist has witnessed the 
manifestation and the triumph of 
the eternal righteousness of God. 

THAT THOU HAST DONE, or 
“Thy doing;” not here God’s 
power in creation (a misunder- 
standing which may have led to 
this Psalm being associated with 
the Sabbatical rest of creation), but 
God’s moral government of the 
world. So also in the next clause 


THE WORKS OF THY HANDS, as in 
cxliii. 5. 

5. HOW GREAT ; not as in Ixxiii., 
“it was a trouble in mine eyes.” 
Faith wonders and adores. Men’s 
thoughts on such subjects are but 
folly. It is as though they con- 
sidered not (ver. 6). Faith is the 


true interpreter of the world 
(ver..7). 
VERY DEEP. Comp. xxxvi. 6 


[7]; xl. 5 [6]3 cxxxix. 17; Rom. xi. 


6. A FOOL; in the same sense as 
in xiv. 1. “Stultos autem vocat 
omnes incredulos, ac tacite eos 


fidelibus opponit, quibus Deus per 








4 
. 
: 


PSALM XCII. 


175 


7 When the wicked spring as the green herb, 
And all the workers of iniquity do flourish, 














buffalo ; 


in wait for me, 


Verbum suum et Spiritum illucet. 
Nam pereque omnium mentes 
occupat hec inscitia et czcitas, 
donec ccelesti gratia oculati red- 
damur.”—Calvin. 

_ 8. This verse, consisting of but 
_ one line, expresses the great central 
fact on which all the doctrine of the 
_ Psalm rests. This is the great 
oo of the universe and of .our 

i “Hoc elogium non tantum 
honoris causa ad Dei essentiam 
refertur sed ad fidei nostre ful- 
turam ; ac si dictum esse quamvis 
_ in terra anxie gemant fideles ac 
‘trepident, Deum tamen, qui custos 
_ est vitze ipsorum, in sublimrmanere 
et eos protegere virtute xterna.” 


lated AY te 


a 


ai 


ON HIGH. The word only occurs 
* here as a predicate of God. Lit. 
_ “height,” or “in the height” (accu- 
_ Sative). Comp. the adverbial use 
of the same word in lvi. 2 [3], 
. here see note. Elsewhere God 
= 


pm 


Ww 
os eid “to. inhabit the height,” 
4 Is. lvii. 15 ; to be “ glorious in the 


-other : 


It is that they may be destroyed* for ever. 
8 And Thou, O Jehovah, art (throned) on high for evermore. 


9 For lo, Thine enemies, O Jehovah, 
For lo, Thine enemies shall perish, 
All the workers of iniquity shall melt away. 
10 And Thou hast exalted my horn like (the horn of) a 


I am anointed? with fresh oil. 
II pine eye also hath seen (its desire} upon them that lie 


And mine ear hath heard (its desire) of the wicked 
doers who rise against me. 


12 The righteous shall spring as the palm, 
He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 


height,” xciii. 4; and in Mic. vi. 6 


we have “ God-of height,” z.e. “God 
on high,” or “ God in heaven.” 

9. SHALL MELT AWAY, lit. “ shall 
Separate themselves, disperse,” 
breaking up as it were without the 
application of any external force. 

10. FRESH-OIL, or, “green oil,” 
as in Latin, oleum viride, said of 
the best oil. 

11. MINE EYE, &c. See for this 
expression liv. 7 [9], lix. 10, &c.; 
the one which follows in the next 
clause, of the ear hearing with satis- 
faction of ‘the overthrow of his 


‘enemies, seems to have been ex- 


pressly framed to correspond to the 
it-occurs nowhere else in 
this sense. 
ea HEM THAT LIE IN WAIT FOR 
; the same whom in ver. 9 he 
Ete “ Thine 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 


176 


PSALM XCVUI. 


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.* 


date-palm and the cedar are se- 
lected as the loveliest images of 
verdure, fruitfulness, undecaying 
vigour and perpetuity. ‘ Through- 
out the year, in the winter’s cold 
as in the summer’s heat, the palm 
continues green: not by years 
but by centuries is the cedar’s 
age reckoned.”—Tholuck. 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 inthe 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 Apo- 
crypha, Ecclus. xxiv. 14, “I was 
exalted like a palm-tree in En- 
gaddi.” This, as Dr. Howson 
(Smith’s Dict. of the Bible, art. 
PALM-TREE) has noticed, is re- 
markable, considering the beauty 


of the tree, and its frequent recur- 
rence 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 li. 8). Still it is by no 
means improbable that the pre- 
cincts:of the Temple, like the Haram 
es-Sherif, contained trees. * 

14. THEY SHALL BEAR FRUIT, in 
alusion 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. 

415. TO DECLARE, &c. Thus in 
the end God’s righteous govern- 
ment of the world will be mani- 
fested. 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 con- 
fidence resting ever on that un- 
shaken “ Rock.” 





« yan. As this word-occurs in the midst of others signifying musical 
instruments, it seems most natural to suppose that it also means an 
instrument of some kind. But usage and the derivation of the word are 
rather in favour of Gesenius’s interpretation, zozse, sound (ad strepitum 
cithara factum ; comp. ix. 16'[17]); nor does the prep. by militate against 
this. It may mean not only wfon ‘but accompanying. Uupf. renders 
“zum Spiel mit der ‘Haffe,” and Del., “auf sinnigem Spiel mit Cither.” 

> spa wr, “a brute-man,” a compound:expression, like DIS NB, Gen. 
xvi. 12, Ezek. xxxvi. 38. 

id piyind. An instance of the periphrastic use of the infin., with b for 
the future (see on Ixii, note §) ; ‘but perhaps the apodosis begins with 





PSALM XCUII. 177 
























4399}, “then all the works of iniquity flourish to their everlasting 
_ destruction.” 


a spib3. 1 Perf. sing. anomalously with the accent on the last syllable 
(as cxvi. 6, Is. xliv. 16). The form is rather that of the inf. with suffix, 
and so it was taken, against the context, by the older translators. LXX. 

7) yopas pov. Symm. 9 zwadaiacis pov. Jerome, sexecta mea. But this 
_ requires a verb to be supplied, on the principle of zeugma, from the first 
clause. “Thou hast exalted (= refreshed) my old age with fresh oil.” 
It is preferable therefore to take the word as 1 Perf. sing., here apparently 
_ intrans. (so Kimchi), though elsewhere trans. (cf. Gen. xi. 7, 9); and it 
_ may be trans. here, if we supply the object, #he horn, or, the head. 


e nnby, to be read nndy, as in Job v. 16, from dy, Is. lxi. 8, fem. of 
2 (by contraction of the original diphthong az into 6), instead of the 
more common nbw, which the Keri prefers (andw, as CXXV. 3). 





PSALM XCIII. 


THE sum and substance of this Psalm is contained, as Hitzig has 
Te ed, 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 
m, 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 
| 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 
_“iHis 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. 1), it may in this sense be 
_ termed Messianic. For, as Delitzsch has pointed out, the Old 
_ Testament prophecy concerning the kingdom of God consists of two 
_ Series of predictions, the one of which speaks of the reign of the 
nointed 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 
ere and there do we discern an intimation (as in xly. 7) that the 


VOL. IL N 


178 PSALM XCIII. 

The LXX. (Codex #) have the Inscription, ei¢ rv tpépay row 
mpocapPdrov, Ore Kar@Korat ) yi, alvoe woe TH Aavid. The latter 
part of this title is probably merely conjectural. ‘The former agrees 
with the Talmudic tradition, according to which this is the Friday 
Psalm, and as is said in Rosh ha-Shana, 31a, ‘‘ because God on the 
sixth day had finished His work, and begun to reign over His 
creatures.” Perhaps this is what is meant also by the dre xar@xuorat 
(or kat@xioro), “when the earth was peopled with living creatures,” 
of the LXX, 


I JEHOVAH is King, He hath clothed Himself with majesty; 


Jehovah hath clothed Himself, He hath girded Him- 


self with strength. 


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, 


1. Is KiNG. More exactly, “hath 
become King,” as if by a solemn 
coronation (comp. the same expres- 
sion of a new monarch ascending 
the throne, 2 Sam. xv. 10; I Kings 
i. 11; 2 Kings ix. 13). He has been 
King from everlasting, but now 
His kingdom is visibly set up, His 
power and His majesty fully dis- 
played and acknowledged ; as it is 
said in the Apocalypse of the-final 
manifestation, “ The kingdoms -of 
this world are become the kingdoms 
of our Lord and of His Christ.” 

HATH CLOTHED HIMSELF. 
Comp. civ. 1,2; Is. li. 9; Job xl. Io. 
In the second member of the verse 
the verb is rhythmically repeated, 
and the noun “ strength” really be- 
longs to both verbs. (So the LXX.) 
For the further description of this 
girding with strength, see-Is. lix. 17, 
Ixiii. 1; Dan. vii. 9. 

YEA, THE WORLD, &c. The effect 
of the Divine rule and power, as in 
xcvi. 10. The reference is appa- 
rently not merely to the creation of 
the world and its providential ad- 


ministration, but to these as repre- 
senting in a figure the moral 
government of God. For the 
throne of God in ver. 2 denotes, as 
Calvin says, His righteous sway 
and government, and the language 
of ver. 3 is to be understood figura- 
tively as well as literally. 

3. THE FLOODS. The word com- 
monly signifies streams, rivers, but 
occasionally also is used of the sea 
in. poetic parallelism, as in xxiv. 2; 
Jon. ii. 3 [4]; Jer. xlvi. 7, 8. 

HAVE LIFTED UP. The use of 
the past tense had led some com- 
mentators to see a.reference to 
some historic event, some gather- — 
ing of hostile powers who are de- 
scribed under the figure of the sea 
and the waves roaring. But the 
change in the last clause of the 
verse to the present tense renders 
this doubtful. 

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 be- 
sides only in Exod. xv. 10, and the — 


























“lifting up the voice,” as in Hab. 
iii. 10 (comp. Ixxvii. 17, 18), that 
_ there is an allusion to the passage 
_ of the Red Sea. 
THEIR ROARING, lit. “their blow,” 
_ or “beating,” said of the dashing of 
: oa surf in thunders upon the shore. 
The word occurs only here ; in the 
_ mext verse the plural “voices” is 
used here only of the sea, elsewhere 
always of the thunder. 
_ 4. The construction in this verse 
is not very clear. For the different 
renderings see Critical Note. 
EHOVAH ON HIGH. Comp. xcii. 


PSALM XCI1I. 


179 


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. 


5. The transition is abrupt, from 
the majesty of God as seen in His 
dominion in 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, 


8 [9], xxix. Io. 










, 


= pryas. According to the common accentuation, this adj., though 
standing before its noun, is not a predicate, but an attribute, “the mighty 
breakers of the sea,” and Hupf. would defend this by xcii. 12, where, 
however, the case is not parallel ; the participle, with the pron. and spun 
eS , being so closely connected as to form as it were one word, 
Dy 33. Perhaps, however, as it has been suggested that there D'Y7}) is 
a gloss, so in like manner here DY ba 4) may have crept into the text. 
But instead of Merca with DyaN, or Yarcha, as Ben-Asher reads, 
Ben-Naphtali has Dechi, which is undoubtedly preferable ; thus we may 
take both adjectives as qualifying DD, and then repeat the prep. from the 
_ first clause before » ‘D. Or we may take the prep. 2, not as expressing 
_ comparison, but as causal, and then two renderings are open to us, either 
(a) “ Because of the voices of many waters, mighty are the breakers of 
_ the sea ; Jehovah on high is mighty” [and this is supported by the LXX., 
except that perhaps they intended azo gavéy téaray roddGy to be joined 
_ with the previous verse]: or (4) “ By reason of the voices of many mighty 
, waters, even the breakers of the sea, Jehovah is mighty ;” zc. these great 
"phenomena of nature show forth His glory and His majesty. 


ha} 


Sei ty Hep" 


fee 
> 


— 





180 PSALM XCIV. 


PSALM XCIV. 


By the LXX. this is called “A lyric Psalm of David, for the fourth 
day of the week” (rerpade caBGarov). It. is probably not a Psalm 
of David, but the latter part of the Inscription accords with the 
Talmudic tradition (see Introduction to Ps. xcii.). 

The Psalm opens with an appeal to God to execute righteous 
vengeance on wicked rulers or judges who oppress and crush the 
helpless, 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 mani- 
fested. 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 
government 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. 1, 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—11. 

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 persenal conviction of Jebovah’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. 20o—23. 









1 O JEHOVAH, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, 
Thou God ‘to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth.* 
2 Lift up Thyself, Thou judge of the earth, 
Render a reward to the proud. 


1. GOD TO WHOM, &c.: lit.“God Jer. li. 56. For the anadiplosis, see 
of vengeances.” Comp. ix.12[13]; again ver. 3, 23, and xciii. 1, 3. 


































7 And say: 


3. With this verse begins the 
complaint, the expostulation with 
_ God, and therefore clearly the first 
strophe. Delitzsch and others 
wrongly join this with the two pre- 
a verses as- forming part of 
_ the Introduction. So far from that, 
it is quite possible, with the E. V., 
_ to regard ver. 4 35 continuing the 


pee of ver. “(How long) 
they pour forth” &c. 
_ 4 THEY POUR FORTH, THEY 


__ SPEAK, two verbs having one noun 
as the object (as in xciii. 1) = “ they 
a forth hard, or, proud (God. 18 
{ Prob 1 Sam. ii. 3) speeches.” 

5- CRUSH: Prov. xxii. 22 ; Is. iii. 
15. 

eh The LXX. have transposed the 
__-words “fatherless” and “stranger,” 
% and rendered the last “proselyte” 
‘mpoojAvrov). The widow and the 
4 erless are mentioned, as often, 
gaan icular instances of those 
___ whose misery ought to excite com- 
_ passion, but whose defencelessness 
_ makes them the easy prey of the 
wicked. is no abbreviated 

_ comparison, as Hengstenberg main- 
__ tains—“* Thy people who are as 
=. as the widow,” &c. But 

; the language shows that domestic 


PSALM XCIV. 


181 


3 How long shall the wicked, O Jehovah, 
How long shall the wicked triumph ? 
4 They pour forth, they speak hard things, 
All 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 ; 
“ 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? 


tyrants, not foreign enemies, are 
aimed at. 

rf ie SEETH NOT. Comp.x. II, 
lix. 7 [8]. Not that they deliberately 
utter such blasphemy, but their con- 
duct amounts to this, it is a practical 
atheism. See on xiv. I. 

8. The utter folly of this denial of 
a Divine Providence, because judge- 
ment is not executed speedily. The 
argument which follows is from the 
perfections of the creature to those 
of the Creator. The very nature of 
God and- of man convicts these 
fools of their folly. “Can anything,” 
says Herder, “more to the point be 
urged, even in our time, against the 
tribe of philosophers who deny a 
purpose and design in Nature? All 
that they allege of the dead abstrac- 
tion which they term ‘nature, the 
heathen ascribed to their gods: and 
what the Prophets say against the 
one, holds against the other. 

AMONG THE PEOPLE, z.¢. of Israel. 
“Gravius est autem vocare studltos 
in populo, quam simpliciter stultos : 
eo quod minus excusabilis sit talis 
amentia in filiis Abrahz, de quibus 
dictum fuerat &4 Mose, Quis popu- 
lus tam nobilis, &c. Deut. iv. 7.” 
—Calvin. = 


182 


PSALM XCIV. 


10 He that instructeth the nations, shall not He reprove, 
(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. 


10. In the English Bible this is 
broken up into two questions, and 
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 the 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 possess 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 matdevav 
€On, ovdxt édey&er; 6 diddoxav avOpo- 
mov yvoow; 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 ex- 
plained by the very depraved condi- 
tion of such of the heathen as were 
the near neighbours of the Israel- 
ites, and among whom few traces of 
such an influence could be seen. 
On this Divine education see Rom. 
i. 20, il. 14, 15. 

11. 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 1 Cor. iii. 20, 6 Kvptos 

weaker Tors Stadoyiopovds TAY copav 
Ore eioly paracot, Which only deviates 
from the version of the LXX. in 
the substitution of the special copa, 
as more suitable to the Apostle’s 
argument, for the general advépdrav. 

VANITY, lit. “a breath,” as in 
xxxix. 5, 6 [6, 7]. 

The second clause of the verse 
is ambiguous. The pronoun “they,” 
although masc., may refer to the 
noun “thoughts” (fem.), but perhaps 
rather to the collective “man.” 
Probably the best rendering of this 
clause would be, “ For they (z.2. 
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 infinite. 

12. The Psalmist turns to com- 
fort the individual sufferer. God, 
who educates the heathen (ver. 10), 
educates also the Israelite, giving 
him a better instruction (comp. 
Deut. viii. 5; Job v. 17), inasmuch 
as it is that of a direct Revelation, 

13. TO GIVE HIM REST. This is 
the end of God’s teaching, that His 
servant may wait in patience, un- 
moved by, safe FROM, THE DAYS 
OF EVIL (comp. xlix. 5 [6]), seeing 
the evil all round him lifting itself 
up, but seeing also the secret, myste- 
rious retribution, slowly but surely 
accomplishing itself. In this sense 
the “rest” is the rest of a calm, self- 
possessed spirit, as Is. vii. 4, xxx. _ 











PSALM XCTIV. 


183 


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 foilow 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 with Thee,’ 


ag 17, lvii. 20, and “to give 
= “that Thou mayest give 
him COthers interpret the “rest” 
of external rest, deliverance from 
sufferings (comp. Job iit. 13, i?) 
then “to give” would be = 
to give,” &c. 
14. For. God will give peace to 
_ the man whom He teaches, for he is 
a partaker of the covenant, one of 
that PEOPLE and that INHERIT- 
ANCE which He cannot forsake, 
and He cannot forsake them till 
_ righteousness ceases to be right- 
_ eousness. 
15. FOR JUDGEMENT, &c. Fudge- 
_ 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 


h i ycn Recht muss doch Recht 

bleiben.” 

___ SHALL FOLLOW 17, lit. “(shall be) 

after it,” Ze. shall give in their ad- 
ale to it, openly avow their at- 
t to it. For the phrase, 


~ 


% eee a 43 2 Sam i ro; 


eee sv. 


16—19. Application to himself, 
and record of his own experience. 

16. AGAINST, lit. “with ;” but we 
need not suppose that it =“to fight 
with,” as Hupfeld explains. See 
note on ly. 18 fr9}. 

SET HIMSELF UP, in battle, as in 
ii. 2; 2 Sam. xxiii. ro, 12. 

17. SILENCE, z.¢. of the grave, or 
the unseen world, as in xxxi. 18, 
Cxv. 17. 

19. ANXIOUS THOUGHTS, lit. 
“divided or branching thoughts,” 
whether doubts orcares. The word 
occurs, as here, with the 7 inserted, 
in Cxxxix. 23, and the simpler form 
in Job iv. 13. 

20—23. This strophe, like the 
last, applies the general doctrine of 
the Psalm to the individual case, 
the personal security of the Psalm- 
ist, and the righteous retribution 
visited upon the evil-doers. But 
for “Jehovah my God,” in ver. 22, 
we have, in ver. 23, “ Jehovah our 
God,” as if to remind us that his 
personal welfare does not stand 
apart from, but is bound up with, 
that of the nation. Comp. ver. 14. 

20. THE THRONE or “ judge- 
ment-seat.” The word isspurposely 


184 


PSALM XCIV. 


Which frameth mischief by statute? 
21 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 wickedness: 
Jehovah our God shall destroy them. 


employed, as Calvin observes, to 
_ show that he is inveighing, not 
against common assassins or 
thieves, but against tyrants who, 
under a false pretext of justice, op- 
pressed the Church. The throne 
of the king, the seat of the judge, 
which is consecrated to God, 
they stain and defile with their 
crimes. ; 

INIQUITY, or, perhaps, “ destruc- 
tion.” It is scarcely possible to 
give the word an adequate render- 
ing here. It occurs v. 9 [ 10] (“ yawn- 
ing gulf”), where see Critical Note; 
xci. 3, where, as the latter of two 
nouns, it may be rendered as an 
adjective, “‘devouring.” 

HAVE FELLOWSHIP WITH THEE. 
Comp. for the Hebrew expression 
v. 4 [5]; Gen. xiv. 3; “ Judges 
and magistrates ought to exercise 
their authority as God’s vicegerents, 
so that in this their unrighteous- 
ness they might seem to be claim- 
ing God Himself as their ally. 
Comp. 1. 16.”—Bunsen, 


By STATUTE. They claim to be 
acting according to law, seeking to 
hide their unrighteousness by a 
holy name. This seems, on the 
whole, the best rendering of the 
words, though others would render 
“against the law” (Symm. xara 
mpoorayparos). 

21. GATHER THEMSELVES IN 
TROOPS, like bands of brigands. 
For the word see xxxi. 13 [14], xxxv. 
15, lv. 18 [19]. 

CONDEMN THE INNOCENT 
BLOOD, z.é, “condemn the innocent 
to death ;” comp. Matt. xxvii. 4, 
Delitzsch wrongly explains that be- 
cause the blood is the life, the blood 
is the same as the person. 

23. HATH REQUITED, lit. “hath 
caused to return,” as vii. 16[17], liv. 
5 [7]. The preterites here express, 
not so much what has already taken 
place, as the confidence of faith 
which looks upon that which shall 
be as if already accomplished. 
Hence the interchange with the 
futures which follow. 


a y*Din, imperat. but irregular ; it should be either ny*pin, the full form, 
as in Ixxx. 2; or YBIN, the shorter form; see Ges, § 64, 1c. It may, 


however, be the pret., as in 1. 2. 


So the LXX. érappnoiacaro. And so 


Hengst., who refers to xciii., xcvii., xcix., as also beginning with the 


preterite. 


b }198N', only here, not the Hithp. of x, “they say to themselves, or 
among themselves ;” but more probably, as Schultens, connected with 
we s 

the Arab. Jor to command, ,\3, to Carty oneself as ruler (comp. pel 2 
Emir), In Heb, the root appears in DN, a high branch, and Wx, 





PSALM XCV. 185 


dweller in the mountains, cognate with 7°, the Hithp. of which occurs 
Is. lxi. 6, rightly rendered by Jerome, suferdietis. 


~ yb, We must supply m9, ##s¢ fuzsset, or esset, the apodosis being 
propemodum, or cito (see on ii. 12, note ‘) occubuisse¢t. As regards the 
construction, comp. cxix. 92, cxxiv. I—5 ; Is. i 9; and for the pret. with 
DYDD, Ixxiii. 2, cxix. 87 (with the fut. boxxi. 15). 
@ 373M, not Pual for 773M, with substitution of 6 for i, for this would 
" still leave unexplained the dropping of the Pathach, but Kal with 
transposed vowel for 473m). Comp. 43M} (Gen. xliii. 29, Is. xxx. 19) for 
42m, and INN (Job xx. 26) for smdonn. The same law holds, as Hupf. 
_ observes, in such forms as {2ONA for "ONA, Prov. i. 22, &c. The o in 
g TT points to a form "3M, which ought however to be aM}, as the root 
_ is intrans., and therefore must be pointed 137) ; but comp. yan and yn? 
- from YB. For the construction, comp. 473}, v- 5- 





PSALM XCV. 













‘Tas Psalm is one of a series, as has been already observed, 
ntended 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 81st Psalm, would render 
‘it it suitable for some of the great national feasts. 
_ As to the date of its composition nothing certain can be said. 
Phe 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 ex- 
orga ‘in David,” but this is evidently only equivalent to saying 
_ “in the Psalms.” In the Hebrew it has no Inscription. 
a _ In Christian liturgies the Psalm has commonly been termed the 
ko 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 Psalms of the Nocturn or 
4 Matins. (Palmer, Orig. Liturg. i. 221.) 
It consists of two very distinct parts :— 


i . I I. The first is an invitation to a joyful public acknowledgement of 

_ God's mercies. Ver. 1—7. 

_ II. The second (beginning with the last member of ver. 7 to the 

_ €nd) is a warning to the people against the unbelief and disobedience 
_ through which their fathers had perished in the wilderness, 











186 


PSALM XCV. 


1 O COME, let us sing (joyfully) unto Jehovah, 
Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation ; 
2 Let us go to meet His face with thanksgiving, 
With psalms let us shout aloud unto Him. 
3 For a great God is Jehovah, 
Yea, a great King above all gods. 
4 (Even He) in Whose hand are the deep places of the 


earth : 


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. 


1—7. The character of the invi- 
tation here given, to worship God, 
not with penitence and brokenness 
of heart, but with loud thanksgiv- 
ing, is the more remarkable, when 
we recollect 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 
has judbilemus, he explains it of a 
joy which runs beyond all words. 

ROCK OF OUR SALVATION, as in 
Ixxxix. 26 [27]. Comp. “rock of 
my refuge,” xciv. 22. 

2. GO TO MEET. Such is the 
proper and strict rendering of the 
word. See the same phrase xvii. 
¥3, Ixxxix. 14[15]. The verb is used 
in the same sense as here, Micah vi. 
6. In both places the E.V. has 
“come before,” which does not 
sufficiently express the forwardness, 
the ready alacrity, which are really 
denoted by the verb. 

3. A threefold reason is given 
why this worship should be offered 
with glad hearts and loud thanks- 
givings—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. 11, xv. 11, &c. 
It cannot be inferred from this lan- 
guage that the Psalmist supposed 
the heathen deities to have any 
real power, or real existence (comp. 
xcvi. 5). He is merely contrasting 
heathen objects of worship, clothed 
in the imagination of their worship- 
ers with certain attributes, and the 
one true supreme object of worship, 
who zs really all, and more than 
all, which the heathen think their 
gods to be. See more in the note 
on xcvii. 7.. 

6. OCOME. 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 


Gop, 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; xxiv. 
¥, 2. 


a 








: 
—- 
: 




















7 For He is our God, 


of His hand. 


7. PEOPLE OF HIS PASTURE. 
Hupfeld would correct, “ people of 
‘His hand, and sheep of His pas- 
ture.” But this is as dull as it is 
unnecessary. The subject of com 


rogether. 

_ The last member of this verse 
belongs clearly to what follows. It 
may however be rendered (Ff) either 
s the expression of a wish (as in 
the text), “Oh that,” &c., lit. “7 
ye will hear... (then it shall be 
well with you),” the apodosis being 
1 : or, (2) as in the LXX., 
| Jerome, the E. V., and others, this 
clause may be the protasis, “if ye 
ill hear His voice,” ver. 8 intro- 
ducing the apodosis, “harden not 
your hearts.” In any case there is 
the same solemn strain of warning 
ation breaking in upon 
the very joy and gladness of the 
Te Temple worship, as we have already 
% observed in Ixxxi. 6[7]. Psalms like 
these seem to have had a double 
purpose. They were not only ue 

ened t to be the expression of pu 
lic devotion, the utterance of a 
nation’s supplications and thanks- 
but they were intended 
also to teach, to warn, to exhort. 
They were sermons as well as litur- 
Hence, too, the prophetic 
which marks them. The 
like every true preacher, 
comes Sate an ambassador from 
ng not his own words, 
Be ise oer: which God has given 
hag utere. words which God Himself 


Bethe war warning here rests, as in 
Ixxxi., &c., on the example 
of their fathers in the desert. 


PSALM XCV. 


on and the figure are blended’ 


187 


And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep 


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, 


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. It “stands 
first,” as Bleek observes, “ with 
strong emphasis, in contrast to the 
whole past time during which they 
had shown themselves disobedient 
and rebellious against the Divine 
voice, as for instance during the 
journey through the wilderness, 
alluded to in the following verses : 
‘to-day’ therefore means ‘ now; 
‘nunc tandem.’” “To-day” — 
not only to a particular historical 
crisis, but (as Alford on Heb. iii. 7 
remarks) to every occasion on which 
the Psalm was used in public wor- 
ship. “Often as they were faith- 
less, the ‘to-day’ sounded ever 
anew ; for the ‘ gifts and calling of 
God are without repentance.’ ”— 
Fholuck. 

8. HARDEN NOT. Bleek asserts 
that this is the only place where to 
“harden the heart” is spoken of as 
man’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; 1 Sam. vi. 6 
(where the verb is 313 in the Piel) ; 
Prov. xxviii. 14 (where the same 
verb, Mv’p, is used as here); Deut. xv. 
7; 2 Chron. xxxvi. 13 (where the 
verb YDS is in the Piel). 

MERIBAH, _ striving” or “ pro- 
vocation.” Massau, “temptation” 
or “trial.” From Exod. xvii. I—7, 
it would appear that doth names 
were given to the same locality. 
But, according to Num. xx. I—13, 
the names were given to two dif- 


188 


PSALM XCV. 


9g When your fathers tried Me, 


Proved Me, yea, saw My work. 


10 Forty years (long) was I grieved with (that) generation,° 


(saying) 


‘It is a people that do err in (their) heart, 
And they do not know My ways ;’ 


11 So that4 I sware in My wrath, 


ferent 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 Meri- 
bah.” The LXX., in this Psalm 
only, give mapamixpacpdés as the 
equivalent of “Meribah:” else- 
where they have Aowddpynois (Exod. 
xvil. 7); AowWopia (Num. xx. 24); 
ayvtioyia (Num. xx. 13, xxvil. 143 
Deut. xxxil. 51, xxxiii. 8; Ps. Ixxx. 
8, cv. 32 [Heb. lxxxi. 7 [8]; cvi. 
32]); the only places where they 
have preserved the proper name 
being Ezek.-xlvii. 19, xlvili. 28 (see 
Alford on Heb. iii. 8). 

IN THE WILDERNESS, of Sin, near 
Kadesh, where the second murmur- 
ing against Moses and Aaron for 
want of water took place (Num. 
WEE). 

g. TRIED Me. In allusion to 
Massah, “trial,” in ver. 8. 

My work. Whether miracles 
of deliverance or acts of judge- 
ment, all that I did. See in Critical 
Note. 

10. 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 /oath- 
ing 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 wander- 
ing in the wilderness as the punish- 
ment of this zzmer 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 
highway” (as Bunsen calls it), is 
the reason that they wander in 
crooked by-paths. 

11, I SWARE. The reference is 
to Num. xiv. 21, &c., 28, &c. 

THEY SHALL NOT, lit. “if they 
shall enter,” this elliptical form of 
the oath being equivalent to a 
strong negative. Hence in the 
LXX. and Heb, iii. 11, &c., ef 
eloehevoovra. 

My REST: strictly “place of 
settlement,” as the abode of God 
(comp. cxxxii. 8, 14), but used also 
of the land of promise (Deut. xii, 
9), as a place of res¢ after the wan- 
dering in the wilderness. 

The author of the Epistle to the 
Hebrews (iv. 6—g9) 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 dispensation ; and from: 
the reference to God’s rest here, 
“in David” (¢e in the Book 
Psalms), that Canaan was not th 
true rest. Joshua did not bring th 
people into God’s rest, he says, 
otherwise we should not find in 
Psalm written so long after 
settlement of the people in Ca 
a warning addressed to them not 
sin as their fathers, lest they al 
through unbelief should fail ¢ 


: 
1 
| 
: 




























PSAIM XCV. 189 


They shall not enter into my rest.” 


God’s rest. Hence, he argues, the refer to the fast, not the resent, 
rest must be still future, dwoXetrerae history of Israel. Hence Calvin 
— apa gafBatiopds. This, however, remarks on the quotation in the 
-is not clear on the face of the Epistle tothe Hebrews: “ subtilius 
_ Psalm, as the words “they shall disputat quam ferant prophete 
not enter into My rest” seem to verba.” 




















* MIaYIA (from Hy, xduvyery, komav), according to its etymology, “ the 
weariness that comes of hard labour,” but not found in this sense. In 
Num. xxiii. 22, xxiv. 8, spoken of the buffalo, it can only mean strength ; 
in Job xxii. 25, it is used of “silver as obtained by ¢oz/ and /adour from 
‘the mine.” So Béttcher here would explain ‘nm ‘n, “mines in the 
mountains,” parallel with “deep places of the earth ;” others, “¢veasures 
of the mountains, as obtained by labour.” Others, again, following the 
LXX,, ra ty tar dpéor, “the heights of the mountains,” a meaning of 
the word which is supposed to spring from “the effort and weariness with 
hich men climb to the top of mountains” (cacumina montium, quia 
efatigantur qui eo ascendunt),—an explanation etymologically ‘unsatis- 
factory. The choice lies between the first and the last of these meanings. 
The first is supported by the passage in Numbers, the last has the 
Pi lelism in its favour. 


a bp D3. This has been explained, (1) “ A/éhough they had seen all 
the wonders I had wrought in their behalf.” (2) “ Yea (not only did they 
Me, but) they saw My judgements, felt My chastisements.” (So 
é Ewald, and Bleek.) The-ebjection to the former is that D3 does 
“not elsewhere mean a/though; it is not necessary so to render it in 
Ts. xlix. 15, to which Del. refers. On the other hand, “My work” is 
“more naturally understood of God’s great redemptive acts than of acts of 
: although it occurs in the latter sense lIxiv. 10; Is. v. 12; 


- 
¢ 


ISLILDCT 


_— es: 
ie ¢-jn, without the article (LXX. ri yevéa éxeivy), Berhsns: as Del. 
_ explains, “not Aac but fa/i generatione,’ the purely ethical notion being 
Reredcminant in the word. But the absence of the article may be only 


_ poetical usage. The Targum has “with a generation in the wilderness.” 
4 WR, so that, as in Gen. xi. 7. 





190) PSALM XCVI. 


PSALM XCVT. 


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—g. 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 Judzea.” 

The LXX. have a double Inscription :— 

(1) dre 6 oixos @xodopetro pera THY aixpadwoiar, which is probably 
correct, as indicating that the Psalm was composed after the Exile, 
and for the service of the second Temple. 

(2) #8 7g Aavid, which seems to contradict the other, but was no 
doubt occasioned by the circumstance that this Psalm, together with 
portions of Psalms cy. 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. 
Ver. I—3. 

II. He alone is worthy to be praised, for all other objects of 
worship are nothing. Ver. 4—6. 

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. 1o—13. 











<<. 

















1. ANEWSONG. See on xxxiii. 
3. The new song is not the Psalm 
self, but one which shall be the fit 
eeression expression of all the thoughts and 
d ay and triumphs of the new 
ious age which is about 
to dawn. It is the glad welcome 
to the King when He enters 

oe ie kingdom. Comp. with this 
verse Is. xlii. 10, Ix. 6, Ixvi. 19. 

_ 2. PUBLISH, 2.¢. “ proclaim 

ee x, etayyerifecbe. 

_4 The manifestation of God’s 
glory. Comp. cxlv. 3, xlviii. 1 [2}. 
_ ABOVE ALL GODS (as in xcv. 3; 
see note on xcvii. 7). Here, as is 
in from what follows, the heathen 
which are IDOLS, lit. “no- 
» a favourite word in Isaiah 
a idols, but occurring also as 
early as Lev. xix. 4, xxvi. I. See the 
assertions of their absolute 
n ingness in Is. xli., xliv. 

_ 5. JEHOVAH MADE THE HEAVENS. 










PSAIM XCVI. 


19! 


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 ; 

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. 


So has He manifested His power 
and majesty as the Creator in the 
eyes of all the world ; but the chief 
manifestation of His glory is in 
Israel, “in His sanctuary.” Com- 
pare the same strain in xcv. 3—7. 

7—9. The families of the nations 
themselves are called upon to take 
up the song in which Israel has 
made known to them the salvation 
of Jehovah. Comp. Zeph. iii. 9. 

These three verses are taken 
partly from xxix..1, 2. 

8. PRESENTS (the collective sing. 
for the plural), in allusion to the 
Oriental custom which required 
gifts to be brought by all who 
would be admitted to the presence 
of a king. Comp. xlv. 12[13], lxviii. 
29 [30]; lxxii. Io. 

InTO His courts. In'1 ‘Chron. 
xvi. 29, “ before Him,” meaning the 
same thing. Comp. the parallelism 
above in ver. 6. 


192 


PSALM XCV1. 


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. 
11 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 


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 partakers of the 
joy. Comp. Is. xxxv. 1, xlii. 10, 
xliv, 23, xiv. 8, xlix. 13, Iv. ‘42. 
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 crea- 
tion is still looking forward to this 
great consummation, (Rom. viii. 21.) 

JEHOVAH IS KING, lit. “ hath 
become King ;” hath taken to Him- 
self His great power and reigned. 
See xciii, 1; Rev. xi.17. The LXX, 
rightly, 6 kdptos eBacidevoe, with the 
addition in some copies of azo Tov 
évhov, whence the Itala Dominus 
regnavit a ligno, on which Justin, 
Tertullian, Augustine, and others, 
lay great stress. 

YEA THE WORLD, &c. This 
clause is introduced somewhat ab- 
ruptly, and quasi-parenthetically, 
from xciii. I. It describes one of 
the elements in Jehovah’s govern- 
ment, but is it to be understood in 
a physical or a moral sense? It 
may be that the fact that God has 
so established the zazwra/ order of 
the world is alleged as showing His 
power and His right as Creator to 
rule. (So Rosenm.) Or the mean- 
ing may be that the zations of the 
word (the inhabited earth), shaken 
and torn by war and anarchy, are 
now safe and peaceful under Jeho- 
vah’s righteous sway. (So De- 
litzsch.) 


Calvin has well combined the 
two senses: “ Notatu vero dignum 
est quod subjicit de stabilitate orbis. 
Etsi enim scimus nature ordinem 
ab initio divinitus fuisse positum, | 
eundem semper solem, lunam, et 
stellas resplenduisse in czelo, iisdem 
alimentis quibus fideles sustentatos 
fuisse incredulos, et eundem trax- 
isse spiritum vitalem ; tenendum 
est omnia esse confusa, et horribi- 
lem draéiay instar diluvii mundum in 
tenebris demersum tenere quamdiu 
impietas hominum animos occupat : 
quia extra Deum quid stabile esse 
potest? Non immerito igitur docet 
hic locus stabiliri orbem ut amplius 
non nutet, ubi rediguntur homines 
sub manum Dei. Unde etiam dis- 
cendum-est, quamvis suum officium 
peragant singulze creature, nihil 
tamen esse in mundo ordinatum, 
donec regiam sedem sibi Deus 
figat regendis hominibus.” He re- — 
fers to Ps, xlvi. 5 [6]. . 

It may be owing to the abrupt- 
ness ofthis clause that the Chroni- 
cler has transposed some of the 
clauses in his adaptation of the 
Psalm. His arrangement (1 Chr, 
xvi. 30—33) is as follows : “Tremble 
before Him all the earth, yea the 
world is established (that) it can- 
not 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 Je- 
hovah, For He cometh to judge 
the earth.” . 

































PSAIM XC VII. 193 





















~~ 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, 


_. 13. HE COMETH. Therepetition ing to judgement, but a judgement 
is full of force and animation. The whichis toissuein salvation. This 
participle is used to express more judgement in righteousness and 
_ vividly the coming of Jehovah, as_ faithfulness, and the peace which 
if actually taking place before the follows thereon, are beautifully 
eyes of the Psalmist, Itisacom- pourtrayed in Is. xi. I—9. 


2 ‘3} Tin. Instead of this the Chronicler has ip}p193._ HY TH) 1, “ Strength 
and joy are in His place,” my1D being a late word formed from a verb 
which occurs in the Pentateuch, Exod. xviii. g. Whether, as Delitzsch 
“suggests, the Chronicler put “in His place” instead of “in His sanctuary,” 
‘because the Temple was not yet built, seems very doubtful, 





: PSALM XCVII. 


_ Tue 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, 
iling of His righteousness, and all the nations of the world have 
‘seen His glory. His empire must be universal. Already the idols 

d 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 
ag is already brightening the sky. They who love His ap- 
g may look for Him, in holy abhorrence of evil and in 


18) 


194 PSALM XCVII. 

The coming of Jehovah as King and Judge is described almost in 
the same terms as the theophany in the Eighteenth and Fiftieth 
Psalms. The use of the past tenses in ver. 4—8, and in particular the 
vivid language in ver. 8, where Zion and the daughters of Judah 
rejoice in presence of Jehovah’s judgements, are most naturally ex- 
plained as occasioned by some historical event, some great national 
deliverance or triumph of recent occurrence ; such, for instance, as 
the overthrow of Babylon and the restoration of the theocracy (so 
Ewald). 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. 1—3. 





q 
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. 1o—12. 


I 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. 


1. The strain of the preceding 
Psalm, xcvi. 10, 11, is here resumed. 
Comp. also Is. xlii. 1o—12, li. 5. 

JEHOVAH Is KING. Augustine, 
who understands this directly of 
Christ’s advent, writes: ‘ Ille qui 
stetit ante judicem, ille qui alapas 
accepit, ille qui flageliatus est, ille 
qui consputus est, ille qui spinis 
coronatus est, ille qui colophis 
czesus est, ille qui in ligno suspensus 
est, ille cui pendenti in ligno insul- 
tatum est, ille qui in cruce mortuus 
est, ille qui lancea percussus est, 
ille qui sepultus est, ipse resurrexit. 
Dominus regnavit. Seviant quan- 
tum possunt regna; quid sunt 
factura Regi regnorum, Domino 


omnium regum, Creatori omnium — 
seeculorum ?” 

MULTITUDE OF THE ISLES, lit. 
“the many isles,” or “many as 
they are.” (Comp. Is. lii. 15.). The 
word rendered “isles” is used 
strictly of the islands and coasts of 
the Mediterranean Sea (as in ]xxii. 
10), but perhaps here, as in the 
later chapters of Isaiah, in a widet 
sense, of heathen countries at 










frequently described by later pro- 
phets and psalmists in images bor- 
rowed from the theophany on Sinat 
(Exod. xix. 9, 16, xx. 21; Deut. iv. 
II, Vv. 23); as in xviii. 9 [10]. 





















& Jehovah, 


THE PILLARS or “foundation.” 
The word is singular, and means 


eg “support.” Comp. lxxxix. 14 


) A FIRE, as in 1. 3. Comp. 
Me Hab. iii. 5, and the whole de- 
ad so in that chapter, so solemn 
jude majestic, of God’s coming 
ent. 
i es SHINE UNTO. See on 
dnwii, 18 [19], whence the first 
1 ber of this verse is taken: with 
the second compare Ixxvii. 16 [17]. 
__ 5. THE MOUNTAINS MELTED : 
comp. Micahi. 4 and Ps. Ixviii. 2 [3]. 
_ THE LORD OF THE WHOLE 
_ EARTH. This name of God occurs 
Pfirs in Joshua iii. 11, 13, where the 
Ark (at the passage of the Jordan) 
is called “the ark of ehovah the 
Lord of the whole ” as if em- 
_ phatically; then when the people 
* about to occupy their own 
= ike distinguish Jehovah their 
from the merely local and 
national gods of the heathen. The 
ap found again in Micah iv. 
% 33 , Zech. iv. 14, vi. 5. 
6. HAVE DECLARED HIS RIGHT- 
ISNESS is the end and 
pose of God’s coming (as in|. 6). 
comes to judge, and the act of 
gement is one which the whole 
‘ shall witness, as in Ixxvii. 4 
[5 peau XCVili. 3. Comp. the 











PSALM XCVI/I. 


3 A fire goeth before Him, 
And devoureth His adversaries round about Him. 


195 


4 His lightnings gave shine unto the world, 
The earth saw, and trembled. 
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of 


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. 


7 Ashamed are all they that serve graven images, 
That boast themselves in idols :— 
Bow down before Him, all ye gods. 


language used of the great deliver- 
ance from Babylon, Is. xxxv. 2, 
xL. 5, lii. 10, lxvi. 18. 

7. This and the next verse de- 
scribe the twofold result of the 
Divine judgement—the impression 
produced on the heathen and on 
Israel, the confusion of all wor- 
shipers of idols, and the joy and 
exultation of the people 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 
utter vanity and nothingness of 
the objects of their trust. 

On this Augustine says: “ Nonne 
factum est ? Nonne confusi sunt? 
Nonne quotidie confunduntur?... 
Jam omnes populi gloriam Christi 
confitentur ; erubescant qui adorant 
lapides. . . . Hanc gloriam ipsius 
cognoverunt populi; dimittunt tem- 
pla, currunt ad ecclesias. Adhuc 
quzrunt adorare sculptilia? No- 
luerunt deserere idola; deserti sunt 
ab idolis.” 

ALL YE GoDs. The LXX. (mpo- 
oKuVnoare aUT@ TavTes Gyyedot atrow) 
and the Syr. both understand these 
to be angels. But this is con- 
trary both to usage (see note on 
viii. 5) and to the context. The 
Chald. paraphrases: “all who wor- 
ship idols.” But doubtless heathen 


Q-2 


196 


8 Zion heard and was glad, 


PSALM XCVII. 


And the daughters of Judah exulted, 
Because of Thy judgements, O Jehovah. 
9 For THOU, Jehovah, art most high above all the earth, 
Thou art greatly exalted above all gods, 


10 O ye that love Jehovah, hate evil ; 
He keepeth the souls of His beloved, 
He rescueth them from the hand of the wicked. 


deities are meant. As all the wor- 
shipers are confounded, so must 
all the objects of their worship 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 mean- 
ing, 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 representa- 
tives. Augustine supposes a hea- 
then 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 argues 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 1 Cor. x. 19, 20, viii. 4. 
But, he continues, if the pagans 
say we worship good angels, not 
evil spirits, then the angels them- 
selves forbid such worship: “ Let 
them imitate the angels and worship 
Him who is worshipt by the an- 
gels ;” and then he cites the passage 
in the Latin Version, Adorate eum, 
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, ‘ Quanquam proprie in 
angelos id competit, in quibus relu- 


cet aliqua Deitatis particula, potest 
tamen improprie ad deos fictitios 
extendi, acsi dixisset: Quicquid 
habetur pro Deo, cedat et se sub- 
mittat, ut emineat Deus unus.” 
Delitzsch refers to the addition 
made by the LXX. to the text of 
Deut. xxxii. 43, kal mpooxuynodraoav 
avT@® mavres ayyedko. Geod, which is 
quoted in Heb. i. 6, perhaps with 
a reference also to the Septuagint 
Version of this Psalm, and applied 
to the worship which the angels 
shall give to the first-born of God 
when He comes again [of course, 
taking 6rav radw eicayayn to mean, 
“When He shall have brought in 
a second time into the world,” &c.] 
to judge the world; “where it is 
implied that it is Jesus in whom 
Jehovah’s universal kingdom is 
gloriously perfected.” 

8. HEARD AND WAS GLAD: bor- 
rowed from xlviii. 11 [12], where see 
note, and the opposite to “the 
earth saw and trembled,” ver. 4. 
Although the coming of Jehovah — 
has been pourtrayed in images full — 
of awe and terror, yet here, as in 
the two preceding Psalms, it is de- 
scribed 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 the precur- 
sors of His second coming, says, 
“When ye shall see these things 
begin to come to pass, then lift up 
your heads: for your redemption 
draweth nigh.” 

10. The Psalm closes with a prac- 
tical application, because the King 



















and Judge is drawing near, a warn- 
ing t the evil which is in the 
__ world, and an assurance of Divine 
ion 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” 


Be ; PSALM XCVIII. 


197 


11 Light is sown? for the righteous, 
And gladness for the upright in heart. 
12 Be glad in Jehovah, O ye righteous, 
And give thanks to His holy Name. 


in the sense of “scattered,” “ dif- 
fused.” 

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.” 


12. The first member of the verse 
corresponds nearly with xxxii. 11a; 
the second is exactly the same as 


xxx. 4 [5]4, where see note. 


= u- The LXX. avéreite, hath sprung up, arisen, and so the other 

ancient Versions, as if they read ft, as in cxii. 4, ‘but the change is 
In Prov. xiii. 9, “the light of the righteous rejoiceth,” it 
“has been proposed in like manner to read Mh 
















PSALM XCVIIL 


_ ‘Tuts Psalm is little more than an echo of Psalm xcvi. Its subject 
is “the last great revelation, the final victory ef 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 and to all the nations of the earth.” 
The Inscription of the Psalm in the Hebrew is only the single 
_ word Mismor, “Psalm” (whence probably the title “‘ orphan Mizmor” 
in the Talmudic treatise Avodah Zara, 242). 
__ Inscription runs, “Of the Redemption of the people from Egypt.” 
4 Both the beginning and end of the Psalm are taken from Psalm xcvi. 
es he rest of it is drawn chiefly from the later 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 


In the Syriac the 


? “su ng among the Psalms-of Vespers or Compline. 





198 


PSALM XCVIITI. 


[A PSALM. | 


1 SING unto Jehovah a new song, 
For He hath done marvellous things ; 
His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him 


salvation. 


2 Jehovah hath made known His salvation, 
Before the eyes of the nations hath He revealed His 


righteousness. 


3 He hath remembered His loving-kindness and His faith- 
fulness 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 King. 


7 Let the sea thunder, and the fulness thereof, 
The world and they that dwell therein. 


1. The first two lines are taken 
from xcvi. 1 ; the last line, and ver. 
2, 3, from Is. lii. 10, Ixili. 5. 

HATH GOTTEN HIM SALVATION, 
or, “ the victory,” as in E. V. Comp. 
xliv. 4[5] (and note), Is. lix. 16, Ixili. 
5. Ihave preferred here the former 
rendering, because in the next 
verse the noun occurs from the 
same root, and there the rendering 
“ salvation” is, I think, preferable 
to ‘‘ victory.” 

2. BEFORE THE EYES, &c.; lan- 
guage especially applied (as in 
Isaiah) to the great deliverance 
from Babylon, See xcvii. 6, 


RIGHTEOUSNESS, parallel with 
“ salvation,” as so frequently in the 
latter portion of Isaiah. See note 
on Ixxi. 15. ; 

3. LOVING-KINDNESS . . . FAITH- 
FULNESS, the two attributes expres- 
sive of God’s covenant relationship 
to His people. 

4. BREAK FORTH AND SING, as 
in Is, lii. 9, though the more com- 
mon phrase is “break forth into 
singing” (Is. xiv. 7; xliv. 23; xlix. 
13; liv. 1). 

5. VOICE OF A PSALM, as in Is, 
os 3, : 
7. Compare xcvi, 11 and xxiv. I. 








PSALM XCIX. ee 


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  xlvii. [2]; 2 Kings xi. 12. On the 


same phrase occurs Is. lv. 12; else- next verse see xcvi. 13. 
_ where a different verb is used, asin 





PSALM XCIX. 

















Fics is the last of the series of Royal Psalms, of Psalms which 
: elebrate the coming of Jehovah as King. The first of the series 
is the ogre. This opens with the announcement that “ Jehovah is 
” passes on to tell that His throne has been from everlasting, 
t He made the world and that He rules it—rules the rage of the 
is 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, “ Ho/iness becometh Thine house for ever.” 
_ The 95th Psalm* ascribes glory to Him as “‘a great King above all 
zods ” ota 3). The 96th would have the glad tidings run far and 
e that “Jehovah is King,” that “He shall judge the people 
ghteously” (ver. 13). The 97th opens “Jehovah is King,” speaks 
f the leas of His advent, and of the joy with which it is welcomed 
y His people. The 98th calls upon all lands to break forth into 
Toud shouts “before the King Jehovah,” to go forth to meet Him 
i glad acclaim, with the voice of harp and cornet and trumpet, as 
a go forth to meet a monarch who comes in state to take pos- 
sion of the throne of his fathers. The ggth, like the g3rd and the 
l, opens with the joyful announcement that “ Jehovah is King,” 
d then bids all men fali down and confess His greatness, and 





been: seems out of place in the series: it does not, like the 
spe of Jehovah ; and the number seven, if we take the 
ai ape ig Doxology, i is complete without it. 


200 PSALM XCIX. 


worship Him who alone is /o/y. Both the first and the last of the 
series, the 93rd and the ggth, celebrate the kingly majesty and the 
holiness of Jehovah, and also the holiness of His worship. 

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 
righteous King shall reign, a kingdom shall be set up which shall be 
a kingdom of righteousness, 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 true character of 
His worshipers as consecrated priests, holy, set apart for His service, 
is illustrated by the examples of: hely.men of old, like Moses, Aaron, 
and Samuel. 


The two principal divisions‘of the Psalm are marked by the greater — 
refrain with which each closes, “ Exalt ye Jehovah our God,” &c. 
(ver. 5, 9). But the thrice-repeated lesser refrain, ‘‘ He is holy,” 
more full at the -close (in ver. 9), “Jehovah our God is holy,” 
marks also..a strophical division, and is, in the words of Delitzsch, 
“an earthly echo of the Seraphic Zrisagion” (comp. Is. vi. 3). We 
have thus three strophes or Sanctuses, ver. 1—3, ver. .4—5, ver. 6—9, 
the first and second consisting each of-six lines. In each of these 
Jehovah is acknowledged in His peculiar covenant relation to His 
people. In the first, He is “ great in Zion” (ver. -2) ; in the second, 
He has “executed righteousness in Jacob” (ver. 4), and He is 
“Jehovah our God” (ver. 5) ; in the third, the great examples of — 
this covenant relationship are cited from Israel’s ancient history ; and — 
again God is twice claimed as “ Jehovah owr God” (ver. 8 and 9). 
In each there is the same exhortation to worship (ver. 3, ver. 5, ver. 9), 
and in-each the nature of the worship and the character of the 
worshipers is implied, because the character of God is in each ~ 
exhibited, “He is holy.” .Butin:the third Sanctus this is brought 
out most fully. The priestly character of all true worship is declared. 
All who call upon Jehovah call upon Him as His priests, all anointed 
with the same holy oil, all clothed in the same garments of holiness, 
‘for Jehovah our God is holy.” 



















Erklarte Offenb., S. 313- 


moved. 


He is holy. 


Jacob. 


ag Is KING, lit. “hath become 
. » regnum capessivit. See note 
on XCcvii. I. i 

_HE SITTETH. This is a parti- 
and is, strictly speaking, not 
so much an independent clause as 
a further description of the manner 


God’s kingly rule : He rules sit- 
throned, &c. 
_ UPON THE-CHERUBIM. See note 


on Ixxx..1 [2]. 

3. LET THEM GIVE THANKS, or 
the words may be taken as "the 
utterance of the Psalmist’s hope 
Bet God’s “great and fearful 
_ Name” (Deut. x. 17) which is known 
in Israelshall-be glorified in all the 
world: “they shall give thanks,” 
&c. But the-optative form of ex- 
pression accords best with the 
exhortation i in ver. 5, 9. 

HE Is HOLY. thus might be 
) Buidexed “Jt is holy,” z.e. the Name 
of God, mentioned just befere. 
_ The meaning is the same in either 

for God's name “is God Him- 
- self i in His revealed holiness,” as 
_ Delitzsch’ observes. I have pre- 
ferred the more immediately per- 


PSALM XCTIX. 


2 Jehovah in Zion is great, 
And HE.is exalted above all the peoples. 
3 Let them give thanks unto Thy great and fearful Name 


201 


Bengel (quoted by Delitzsch), recognizing this threefold partition 
of the Psalm, explains the structure somewhat differently. 
99th Psalm,” he says, “has three parts, in which the Lord is cele- 
_ brated as He who is tocome, as He whio is, and as He who was, and 
each part is closed with the ascription of praise, He is holy.”— 


“The 


I JEHOVAH is King, the peoples tremble ; 
He sitteth throned upon the cherubim, the earth is 


4 And the might of the King loveth judgement ; 
THOU hast established uprightness, 
THOU hast-executed judgement and righteousness in 


sonal rendering, because it is ob- 
viously required in the repetition 
of the same words afterwards, ver. 
5, 9 

4. Many expositors carry on the 
construction from the -last verse, 
taking the words “He (or, it) is 
holy,” as parenthetical, thus : 
“ They shall praise Thy great and 


~ fearful Name (it is holy), and the 


might of the King who (or, which) 
loveth righteousness.” It-must be 
confessed that but for the words of 
the refrain, which it-is awkward to 
take thus parenthetically, the sense 
and the construction are better pre- 
served by this rendering. Certainly 
the use of the conj. “and” at the 
beginning of this verse is far more 
natural on this view than on the 
other. At present it is otiose, sup- 
posing ver. 4 to begin a fresh sen- 
tence. It is possible, I think, that 
the words “ He is-holy” did not 
stand at the end of ver. 3 in the 
original Psalm, and that they were 
subsequently introduced in order 
to complete the 7Zer Sanctus. The 
correspondence between the two 


202 


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 called upon His Name— 
They called upon Jehovah, and HE answered them. 


greater refrains, the natural intro- 
duction of the words there, and 
their abruptness here, all render 
such a supposition at least not 
wholly improbable. 

THE MIGHT OF THE KING: the 
same King who is mentioned ver. 
1, Jehovah. His might is no arbi- 
trary power, like that of earthly 
tyrants, but a judgement-loving 
might. His power only expresses 
itself in righteousness. He has 
“established uprightness” as the 
great eternal law of His govern- 
ment, the inner principle of His 
sway, and He has manifested 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. lxvi. 1, Ezek. xliii. 7), put for the 
throne itself. In cxxxii. 7 it is 
spoken, apparently, of the sanc- 
tuary, “‘His dwellings, or taber- 
nacles,” being in the parallelism. 
So the sanctuary is called “the 
place of My feet,” Is. Ix. 13. “In 
1 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. 1 (comp. Matt. 
v. 35), of the whole earth. Here it 
seems doubtful whether the earthly 
or the heavenly -sanctuary be 
meant. 

6. The apparent abruptness of 
the transition in’ this verse—which, 
however, is very natural in lyric 
poetry—to the examples of Moses, 
and Aaron, and Samuel, has led to 
a variety of explanations. Rosen- 
miller proposes to join this with 
ver. 4, the refrain in-ver. 5 being 
regarded as parenthetical ; and 
*takes this verse as containing a 


xvii. II, 12, xxxii. 30—32 (comp. 


PSALM XCIX. 


































fresh instance of God’s goodness in 
hearing the prayers of His people. 
Delitzsch sees in it an appeal to 
the great men of old, and their ex- 
perience as to the “absolute life 
and kingly rule of Jehovah.” No 
explanation that I have seen satis- 
fies me. I have already hinted, in 
the Introduction to the Psalm, at 
what I believe to be the train of 
thought. The great subject of the 
Psalmist’s praise is the Aoliness of 
God. It is a holy God whom he 
calls upon all men to worship. It 
is “a holy footstool,” “a holy moun- 
tain,” before which they bow down; 
it is therefore 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” 
3° 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 consecration took place, Exod. — 
xl. 22—27. So likewise he “ called 
upon the Lord” as “a priest,” in 
intercession for his people, Exod. 


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 func-— 
tions, but also like Moses inter- 
ceded for the people. We find him 
at Ramah offering sacrifices in the 
high place, and his independent 
priestly position so recognized by 



















them. 


‘the people, that they would not 
partake of the sacrifice till he had 
blessed it (1 Sam. ix. 12, 13). We 
him on the occasion of a battle 
of g a whole burnt-offering unto 
Jehovah (1 Sam. vii. 9), at the same 
time that he =p ly pepeten: Dan 
for presuming to do the same g 
(1 Sam. xiii. pene For the effi- 
‘cacy of his prayers and interces- 
sions—on which, and not on sacri- 
fices, the stress is here laid—see 
| the instances in 1 Sam. vii. 8, 9, 
"xii. 16—18. Comp. Ecclus. xlvi. 
‘0, 17. 
7. IN THE PILLAR OF A CLOUD. 
y this applies only to Moses, 
most only to Moses and 
_ Aaron: see Num. xii. 5. 
.@ THEY KEPT HIS TESTIMONIES ; 
n evidence of the holiness of those 


PSALM C, 


203 


7 In the pillar of a cloud He spake unto them ; — 
They kept His testimonies and the statute He gave 


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. 


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 men- 
tioned, are in the Psalmist’s 
thoughts, as he goes back to their 
ancient history. 









= 


PSALM C. 


Ir we are right i 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 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. 


204 PSALM C. 

“This last Jubilate,” says Delitzsch, “is the echo of the first— 
that, namely, which occurs in the first half of Psalm xcy. There we 
find all the thoughts which recur here. There it is said, ver. 7, ‘He 
is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of 
His hand.’ And in ver. 2, ‘Let us come before His presence with © 
thanksgiving ; let us sing joyfully to Him with Psalms.’” : 

“‘ Among the Psalms of triumph and thanksgiving this stands pre- — 
eminent, as rising to the highest point of joy and grandeur. No local 
restrictions, no national exclusiveness, can find place in the contem- 
plation of God as the common Creator and Father of man: hence 
it is that no hymn or psalm in any subsequent age has found a 
readier response than this first appeal to the whole world to unite 
in worshiping Jehovah on the ground of a-common sonship and 
humanity.” * . 











[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. 


1. SHOUT ALOUD: used of the 
welcome given to a king who entérs 
his capital, or takes possession of 
the throne, as in xcviii. 4, 6, lxvi. 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 is become the heri- 
tage of the Gentiles. The whole 
world is to acknowledge Jehovah, 
and to rejoice before Him. So 
Augustine : “ Et tamen hanc vocem 
audivit universa terra. Jam jubilat 
Domino universa terra, et que 
adhuc non jubilat jubilabit. Per- 
tendens enim benedictio incipiente 
Ecclesia ab Jerusalem per omnes 


‘omnis terra ; in bonis jubilat omnis 

















gentes, impietatem ubique pro- 
sternit, pietatem ubique construit. 
Et mixti sunt boni malis; et mali 
per omnem terram, et boni per om- 
nem terram. In malis murmurat 


terra.” 

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 hestl 
* Libera servitus est apud Domi. 
num,” remarks Augustine, ‘‘lib 
servitus ; ubi non necessitas, 
caritas, servit.” 

3. KNow YE, ze. learn ‘by e 
rience, as Theodoret explains, 
avtav pabere TOY mpaypatwv. 





* The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, p. 321. 


















HATH MADE US: Ze. not merely 
“hath created us,” but hath made 
us what we are, viz. His people. 
Comp. 1 Sam. xii. 6: “ It is Jehovah 
that made (E. V. advanced) Moses 
_and Aaron.” See also Deut. xxxii. 
6,15; Ps. xcv. 6. And so Israel 
is called “the work (lit. making) of 
Jehovah,” Is. xxix. 23, lx. 21. 
Weare His. For the justifica- 
tion of this rendering 33 Critical 
Note, and compare xcv. 

_ 4. The knowledge ‘eae Jehovah 
nas chosen Israel to be His inherit- 
ice and the sheep of His pasture 
‘ig $ not to tend to the exclusion of 
from the same privileges, 


PSALM C. 


4 O come into His gates with thanksgiving, 
(Into) His courts with praise : 
Be thankful unto Him, bless His Name. 
§ For Jehovah is good, His loving-kindness is for ever, 
And His faithfulness unto all generations. 


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 invitation, as in Is. ii. 5. 
“His temple is open toall. They 
may enter in ; and when they enter 
may expect great things: ‘ For Je- 
hovah is gracious, and His loving- 
kindness and truth never fail,’ 
according to the repeated expres- 
sion of the Hallelujah-Psalms and 
Psalms of thanksgiving.” — De- 
litzsch. 

5- GOOD, ze. “ gracious,” “ kind,” 
as in xxv. 8, xxxiv. 8 [9]. 


= mind. The expression is used apparently in a liturgical sense (like 
the analogous titles of xxxviii., Ixx., xcii.), to denote that the Psalm was 

| to be sung during the offering of thank-offerings. Compare ‘MN mt, cvii. 
22, cxv. 17, which is also termed simply mA, lvi. 13, 2 Chr. xxix. 31. 


a b’y xh. So the K’thibh; the sense being, as it is commonly explained, 
- He hath made us (chosen us to be His people), and not we ourselves,” 
\ aa it was not of merit on our Part, but of His grace. So the LXX., 
abros énoincey Has, cal ody mpeis, the Vulg., and the Syr. And the 
Midrash (Bereshith Rabba, c. 100, ad init.) finds in this confession the 
0 to Pharaoh’s boast, “I have made myself,” Ezek. xxix. 3 (where, 
, the rendering probably is as in E.V., “I have made it (the Nile) 
for Seyectl ”)- But it is very doubtful if spch a meaning would be thus 
expressed in Hebrew. Hence Symm. (who adopts the K’thibh) gives a 
different explanation, airis éroincer jyas ovx évras, and similarly Rashi. 
- But the K’ri, 1, has the support of the Chald., Jerome, and Saadia; 
is found in nineteen MSS. of De R. and nine of Kenn.; yields the best 
Sense ; is more in accordance with the parallel passage, xcv. 7; and has 
been adopted by the ablest modern critics, Ewald, Hupfeld, Delitzsch, &c. 
The last mentions that the Masora reckons fifteen passages in ahah 
8 is written, and 3) ought to be read: Ex. xxi. 8; Lev. xi. 21, xxv. 30; 
1 Sam. ii. 3; 2 Sam. xvi. 18, xix. 7; Is. Get adi 5, xiii. oc he € 3; 
Tobi. 21, xiii. 15 ; Prov, xix, 7, xxvi. 2, 




















206 PSALM Ci. 


PSALM; CI. 


Tuts 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 (z.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 realized under his sway the 
great ideal, “ Ye shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a@ oly 
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 the 
throne with a heart so true to his God. If the words ‘“‘ When wilt 
Thou come unto me?” may be taken to express, as seems most 
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). “Zion was already David’s royal seat, and the Taber- 
nacle of Jehovah was there ; but all had not yet been accomplished 
that was necessary forthe proper ordering and administration of the 
kingdom. The new state had still to be organized, and the great 
officers of state and of the household to be chosen, men upon whose 
character so much always depends, and especially in despotic 
monarchies like those of the ancient world. David himself was 
standing at the threshold of the most critical period of his life, and, 
fully aware of the greatness of his responsibilities, did not feel 








PSALM CI. 






















207 


himself as yet equal to the task which devolved upon him, to the 
burden which he was henceforth to bear. Still at this first period of 
his reign in Jerusalem, in the flush of victory, in the full splendour 
of his newly-acquired dominion over the whole of Israel, at a time 
when lesser princes would so easily have been dazzled by the 
deceitful sunshine of prosperity, or would have been terrified at the 
responsibility, David is only the more earnest in praising Jehovah and 
calling to mind His attributes, in striving to purify his own heart, and 
to form wise measures for the conduct of a strong and righteous rule, 
and in the resolution to keep far from him all that would bring a 
reproach upon himself or a stain upon his court. For the very 
sanctity of that city which had just been chosen as the dwelling-place 
of Jehovah required that nothing unholy should be tolerated therein. 
One who begins his reign with thoughts and resolutions such as 
these may well look for a happy termination of it, and nothing shows 
-us more clearly the true nobleness of David’s soul than this short 
Psalm. It is the spontaneous, inartificial expression of feelings long 
restrained ; feelings and purposes, however, which form in themselves 
a whole, and which therefore naturally, and without effort, appear as 
a whole in the’ Psalm, and give it the unity which it possesses.” * 


[A PSALM OF DAVID. | 


1 OF loving-kindness and judgement will I sing ; 
Unto Thee, O Jehovah, will I sing psalms. 


_ 1. LOVING-KINDNESS AND JUDGE- 
MENT. These can only be the theme 


own life and reign. See note on 
lxxxv. 10. 


of praise as Divine attributes. But 
it is as a king who would frame his 
own rule and his kingdom after the 
Divine pattern that David makes 
these attributes the burden of his 
_ song. He meditates on the mercy 
_and the righteousness of God, that 
_ he may learn the lesson of that 
_ mercy and righteousness himself. 
__ He meditates on them till his heart 
____ glows with the thought of their sur- 
‘passing excellence, as seen in the 
ivine government, and with the 
___—s earnest desire that the same kingly 
_ Virtues may be transferred into his 





SING PSALMS, or perhaps, rather, 
“ play,” z.¢. upon the harp or other 
musicalinstruments. “ Quum dicit, 
Tibi, Fehovah, psallam,’ says Cal- 
vin, “ Dei beneficio se agnoscit ad 
tam preclarum et honorificum 
munus esse destinatum ; quia su- 
perbz temeritatis fuisset ultro se 
ingerere. Non abs re autem regias 
virtutes duabus his partibus com- 
plectitur, clementia et judicio ; quia 
sicuti preecipuum regis munus est 
suum cuique jus reddere, ita solli- 
citus erga suos amor et humanitas 
in eo requiritur. Nec abs re dicit - 








* The passage in inverted commas is taken in substance from Ewald. 


208 


PSAIM CZ. 


2 I will give heed* to a perfect way. 
—When? wilt Thou come unto me ?— 
I will walk with a perfect heart within my house. 
3 I will not set before mine eyes any wicked thing ; 
The sin of unfaithfulness® do I hate, 
It shall not cleave unto me. 
4 A froward heart shall depart from me, 
A wicked person I will not know, 


Solomo : Clementia stabiliri solium 
(Prov. xvi. 12).” 

2. 1 WILL GIVE HEED. The ex- 
pression shows his sense of his own 
responsibility. The possession of 
absolute 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 the 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 shalla 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 ex- 
pression is no doubt remarkable as 
occurring in the Old Testament ; 
though if it be understood as re- 
ferring 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 J will come unto thee, and 
bless thee.” 

3. SET BEFORE MINE EYES, Zé. 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, lit. “thing of 
Belial.” See on xli. 8. 

THE SIN OF UNFAITHFULNESS, 
lit. “the doing of turnings aside” 
(if we take the noun as an abstract), 
or, “the doing of them that turn 
aside,” ze, I hate to act as they do 
(if we take the word as an adjective). 
See more in the Critical Note. 

All such deviations from truth, 
from integrity, from that Divine 
Jaw by which he rules himself, shall 
not “cleave” tohim. 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 serpent, 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. 
Proy. xi. 20) in the parallelism. 


—_ 





—— s 


Him will I destroy. 


Him I will not suffer. 


sight. 


























5. The secret slanderer, seeking 
to ingratiate himself into his prince’s 
favour by pulling down others, and 
the haughty, overbearing noble (ver. 
6), would be no uncommon cha- 
racters in any court, least of all an 
Oriental court. Such persons would 
_ David destroy. Thus he exercised 
_ the kingly virtue of “judgement” 
(ver. 1). “As a private individual 
he could never have ventured on 
such a measure ; but when he was 

on the throne, he received 
Pi God’s hand the sword with 
; which | he was to punish wrong- 


6. A PROUD HEART, lit. “ whoso 
is wide of heart,” z.¢. as puffed up 
and blown out with pride (comp. 
_ Prov. xxi. 4, xxviii. 25). Elsewhere 
__ the phrase, “a wide heart,” occurs 
_ in avery different sense. It is said 
_of Solomon that God gave him “a 
‘wide heart,” 7.2, viva aig tc 

_a large grasp, the power not on 
_ of gathering facts, but the Seeier 
of seeing their mutual relation,— 
_ breadth of sympathy, and breadth 
of understanding. In cxix. 32, Is. 
_Ix. 5, the phrase denotes a feeling 

of liberty and of joy. In this last 
Sense, the expression “ my heart is 

_ dilated” occurs constantly in the 

_ © Arabian Nights.” Comp. 2 Cor. 
svi. «11: “H xap8ia qudy renAdruvra 
__ (where see Stanley’s note). 

= VOL. IL. 


PSALM C1. 


209 


5 Whoso privily slandereth? his neighbour, 
6 Whoso hath a high look and proud heart, 


7 Mine eyes are upon the faithful in the land, 
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 


9 Every morning will I destroy the wicked of the land, 


I WILL NOT SUFFER, or, “ I can- 
not away with,” Is. i. 13 ; Jer. xliv. 
22. 

7. MINE EYES ARE UPON. Comp. 
xxxil. 8, xxxiv. 15 [16], Ixvi. 7. 
His ministers shall be chosen, not 
for high birth, or gifts of fortune, or 
talents, or accomplishments, or flat- 
tering lips, or supple compliance, 
but for incorruptible fidelity; the 
word “faithful ” implying that faith- 
fulness to God is the basis of such 
fidelity to their king. 

WHOSO WALKETH IN A PERFECT 
WAY, z.¢. 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.” 

“s WORKETH DECEIT, as in lii. 2 
4 

BE ESTABLISHED, or “abide,” 
“continue :” comp, cii. 28 [29]. 

9g. EVERY MORNING, Fast as the 
evil springs under shelter of the 
darkness, 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 allu- 
sion 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, purg- 


P 


210 


PSALM CT. 


That I may cut off all workers of iniquity from the city 


of Jehovah. 


ing 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 writer of 
the 104th Psalm hopes to see a pure 
earth (civ. 35), without spot or stain 


fascinated the Roman poet, of an 
Astrea redux. It is a hope which 
finds its accomplishment in the 
Apocalyptic vision, in that new 
Jerusalem into which “ there shall 
in no wise enter any thing that 
defileth, or worketh abomination, or 


of sin. Itis like the dream which maketh a lie.” (Rev. xxi. 27.) 


. nDYSPN. See Critical Note on xli. 1 [2]. According to Hupf. with 
prep. (as here, and Dan. ix. 13, with 3, and elsewhere with Os, by, 5), it 
can only have the meaning of Zo regard. But in Dan. i. 4 we have the 
Hiph. part. followed by 3, apparently in the other sense of behaving 
wisely, and hence the rendering of the E.V., “I will behave myself 
wisely,” may be defended. Delitzsch explains the verb by the noun 

‘DvD in xxxii. 1, xIvii. 8, as expressing “poetic meditation,” wz// 
dichtend ehren. 


> ‘mn mp. The rendering given in the text is the most obvious. It is 
that of the LXX., Idre 7&eus mpos pe; and has been adopted by the E.V. 
It would be possible, however, (1) to take ‘NM’, not as an interrogative, 
but as a conjunction, when, as often as: compare the similar usage in 
Arab, and Syr., and that of other interrogative words, as for instance 
D, xxv. 12, xxxiv. 13. (2) NIQH may be 3rd fem., referring to 77 or 
Dh (so Maur.), “may it come to me,” ze. become my possession. But 
to speak of “a way,” or even of “ perfectness”—taking DA as a neut. 
noun (see on xv. 2, note *)—as “coming” to a person, is a strange 
expression, to which the words “within my house” in the next line 
form no real parallel. 


c nivy, inf. constr. for Nivy, as in Gen, xxxi. 28, 1. 20; Prov. xxi. 3: 
comp. } nis, Gen. xlviii., 11. 

pop. It seems most natural to take this as an abstract = DY, Hos. 
v. 2. See note on xl. 5, after the analogy of O 7}, xix. 14. The verb 
almost requires this, lit. “the doing of apostasies or faithlessnesses.” 
Ewald admits that this is the simplest construction, but thinks that the 
passage in Hosea is against it, as well as the sing. P27. Hence he 
renders, “the doing of the false,” ze. so to act as the false do, taking 
OP as an adjective. 


a wrdr (K’thibh), Past. Po., with the connecting vowel of the old stat. 
constr. (Ges. § 93. 2, Ew. § art 6). According to Hupf. the K’ri is Piel 
for “wn, like 4N¥"JA, lxii. 4; but it may be only the shortened form of 
the Poel with Kametz Chatiph instead of Cholem, in which case it will 
be read m’loshni. 








PSALM CI. 211 


PSALM CII. 


Tuis 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 longer doubtful. In mournful strains he de- 
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 ;. hisenemies 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 pre- 
 yailed, 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 which 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 apprehension 
_ 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. Itis strange that this quotation should have béen passed 
over without any notice not only by commentators like De Wette and 
_ Hupfeld, but even by Calvin, Tholuck, and Hengstenberg. 
Y P2 
















212 PSALM CI. 


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. 
musical or historical. 


In all other instances the Inscriptions are either 


Besides the Prologue, ver. 1, 2, and the Epilogue, ver. 23—28, the 
Psalm consists of two main divisions, the Complaint, ver. 3—11, and 


the Consolation, ver. 12—22. 


[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 incline 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 sighing, 


1, 2. The opening words are such 
as are found in other Psalms: 
comp. xviii. 6 [7]; xxxix. 12 [13]; 
xxvil. 9 (“hide not Thy face”); lix. 
16 [17] (“in the day when I was in 
distress”), and xviii. 6 [7]; xxxi. 2 
[3] (“incline Thine ear unto me ”) ; 
lvi. 9 [10] (“in the day when I 
call”) ; lxix. 17 [18], cxlili. 7 (“an- 
swer me speedily”). But all these 
are forms of expression which would 
easily pass into the common lan- 
guage of prayer. 

2. This verse admits of a different 
arrangement of its clauses :— 


Hide not, &c.. . 
distress, 
Incline, &c. .. . in the day that I call; 


Answer me speedily. 
So Hupfeld. 


. in the day of my 


3. IN SMOKE, as in xxxvii. 20, 
There is no need to adopt the read- 
ing of some MSS., “as smoke ;” 
nor again is it necessary to render 
in the next clause, “as wzth a fire- 
brand” (Hupfeld). The bones are 
burned (see on Ixix. 3) as the brand 
:s when placed on the fire. Com- 
pare xxil. 15 [16], xxxi. 10 [11], 
xxxii. 3. : 

4. SMITTEN, as by a sun-stroke. 
Comp. cxxi. 6; Hos. ix. 16; Jon. 
iv. 8. 

I HAVE FORGOTTEN, in the sor- 
row of my heart, as in cvii. 18; 
Job xxxiii, 20; 1 Sam. i. 7, 8, xx. 


Pj 1 Kings xxi. 4; Dan. vi. 18 | 


19]. So too in Homer, ZZ. xxiv. 
129. 

_ 5. TO MY FLESH. More naturally 
in Lam. iv. 8, “my bones cleave to 





i 


7 I have watched, 
















my skin ;” the expression denoting 
extreme emaciation. In Job xix. 20, 
however, it is, “my bone cleaveth 
to my skin and to my flesh,” which 
may refer to a state of weakness 
and relaxation brought on by severe 
pain, in which the bones have lost 
their power of motion. 

-6. APELICAN...ANOWL. Both 
are mentioned Lev. xi. 17, 18, and 
the former as inhabiting the wil- 
derness, Zeph. ii. 14 ; Is. xxxiv. 11. 

_ The LXX. have zeAexcy and vu«ti- 
_ xépaé. The owl is called in Arabic, 
“ mother of the ruins.” 

7. 1 HAVE WATCHED, sleep hav- 
ing been driven away by sorrow. 
ith the next clause of the verse 

aif be compared Virg. x. iv. 


oe Solaque culminibus ferali carmine 

bubo 
Visa queri, et longas in fletum 

ducere voces.” 

_ And Georg. i. 403 -— 

call —* De culmine summo 
Nequicquam seros exercet noctua 

_ Ovid also has— 

_ “Tn -adverso noeturnus culmine 

z bubo.” 

___ 8. MAKE THEIR OATHS BY ME, 

_ #e, when they curse, choose me as 






NG OT EA i 


PSALM CII. 


213 


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. 


And have been® like a lonely bird on the house-top. 
8 All the day have mine enemies reproached me, 
They that are mad against me‘ make 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. 
11 My days are like a shadow that declineth, 
And I am dried up like the grass. 


an example of misery, and impre- 
cate upon themselves or others my 
misfortunes—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 [4], “my 
tears are my food,” Ixxx. 5 [6]. 

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, ‘ indig- 
nation’ and ‘ wrath, are in the 
Hebrew the strongest which the 
language possesses.”—Dedlitzsch. 

THOU HAST TAKEN ME UP, &c. 
God’s wrath has seized and whirled 
him aloft, only to cast him, as 
worthless, away. So in Is. xxii. 18, 
“ He will toss thee like a ball into 
a large country.” Comp. Job xxvii. 
21, xxx. 22; Is. Ixiv. 6; Ezek. iii. 
14. Others explain, “only to dash 
him the more forcibly to the 
ground ;” but the verb properly 
means #0 cast away, as in li. 11 [13]; 
Job xviii. 7. 

11. THAT DECLINETH. The word 
is used properly of the day at its 
elose (as in Jud. xix. 9), or the sun 
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. 


214 


PSAIM CI. 


12 But THOU, O Jehovah, sittest throned for ever, 
And Thy Name is to all generations. 

13 THOU wilt arise (and) have compassion upon Zion, 
For it is time to be gracious unto her,¢ 

For the set time is come. 

14 For Thy servants find pleasure in her stones, 
And are gracious unto her dust. 

15 And the nations shall fear the Name of Jehovah, 
And all the kings of the earth Thy glory, 


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 farfetched consolation. 
What is it to us that God changeth 
not, that He sitteth King for ever, 
if meanwhile our own condition is 
so frail and feeble that we cannot 
continue for a moment in one stay? 
His unchangeable peace and bless- 
edness do but make our life seem 
the more complete mockery. But 
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 
dwelleth. Because God changes 
not, His promise and covenant 
change not, and therefore we may 
ever lift our eyes to His throne in 
heaven, from which He will surely 
stretch forth His hand to us. 

SITTEST THRONED, as in ix. 7 
[8], xxix. Io. 

Tuy NAME, lit. “ Thy memorial,” 
as in Exod. ili. 15. Some MSS, 
read “Thy ¢hrone,;” which, how- 
ever, may have come from the 
parallel passage, Lam. v. 19. 

13. Because God is eternal, there- 
fore He will have compassion on 
Zion. Or we may connect this 
verse with the following: THOou, 
Jehovah, the covenant God and our 
Father, wilt rebuild the walls of 


Zion, for even we her children love 
her very dust. 

THE SET TIME. See on lxxv. 2. 
It is not necessary to understand 
this definitely of the seventy years 
prophesied by Jeremiah, xxv. II, 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 evidently denote the 
ruins of the old. (Neh. iii. 34 [E.V. 
iv. 2], iv. 4 [E.V. iv. to].) It is 
not less strange that Hengstenberg 
should assert that we have here only 
a figure representing the low and 
ruinous condition of Zion, because 
in the Psalm there are no traces of 
the destruction of Jerusalem ! 

ARE GRACIOUS UNTO 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 subver- 
sum sit templum, et deformis tan- 
tum vastitas illuc appareat, fideles 
tamen, in ejus amore manere de- 
fixos, in putridis lapidibus et cor- 
rupto cemento agnoscere Dei glo- 
riam.” — Calvin. And then he 
applies all this to the spiritual 
Zion, the Church, bidding us re- 
member that the more mournful 
her desolations, 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 





, birth.” cyyeve 
_ the quotation from Cicero in the 





PSALM Ci. 


215 


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, 
And a people new-created shall praise Jah. 
19 For He hath looked down from His holy height, 
From 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 in Zion the name of Jehovah, 
And His praise in Jerusalem, 

22 When the peoples are gathered together, 
And the kingdoms to serve Jehovah. 


23 He hath brought down my strength in the way, 


of God’s glory, as seen in the re- 
demption and restoration of His 
people, which is not only the ac- 
complishment of a sovereign pur- 
pose, but vouchsafed in answer to 


prayer. 

17. POOR-DESTITUTE. I have 
Tetained rendering of the 
P. B.V. because the word 
utter nakedness and destitution. 
It only occurs here and Jer. xvii. 6. 

18. SHALL BE WRITTEN. The 
only place in the Psalms where the 
memory of great events ee 
be preserved in writing : where 
(as in xxii. 30 [31], xliv. 1 [2], Lxxviii. 
2 [3]) it is left to oral transmis- 
sion. 

A PEOPLE NEW-CREATED, or “a 

- to be created,” as in xxii. 31 

“a people that shall be born.” 

e is, as Calvin remarks, an im- 

% antithesis between the new 
_ ¢reation of the people and their 
seni destruction. “The return 
the ity was like a second 

It was a mad gia. See 


note on Ixxxvii. 5. “The passage 


strikingly teaches that even when 
the Church seems dead it can be 
created anew when God wills. Let 
us never therefore despair, but rest 
assured that He who created a 
world out of nothing, can also 
bring His Church out of the dark- 
ness of death.” 

19. HE HATH LOOKED. Comp. 
Deut. xxvi. I5. 

20. DOOMED TO DEATH. Heb. 
“sons of death.” See on Ixxix. 11. 

22. On this gathering of the na- 
tions in Jerusalem comp. xxii. 27 
[28}, Ixviit. 32 [33]; Is. xlv. 14. It 
is a fulfilment of the prophecy in 
Gen. xlix. Io. 

Verses 18—22 express again in a 
somewhat different form what has 
already been said in verses 13—17. 
Thus, “ Thou wilt arise,” &c., ver. 
13, answers to ver. 19, each describ- 
ing the first movement of the Divine 
compassion. Again, ver. 17, like 
ver. 20, ascribes God’s merciful in- 
terference to the prayer of His 
people. Ver. 15, like ver. 21, 22, 
speaks of the effect to be produced 
on the world at large. 


216 PSALM C/I. 


He hath shortened my days. 
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of 


my days ;— 


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. 


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 
unchangeableness of God on the 
other (see above, ver. 11, 12), find- 
ing in this last his perfect satisfac- 
tion and rest. 

IN THE WAY, ze. 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; Num. xvii. 12, 
13 [27, 28], xx. 14. 

24. The abrupt transition in this 
verse is full of pathetic beauty. 
The prayer that his life may not be 
prematurely cut short seems to 
spring in this instance not merely 
from a natural clinging to life (as 
in Hezekiah’s case, Is. xxxviii. 10, 
11), 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 unchangeableness. He 
finds in these his strength in weak- 
ness ; he feels that he can rest on 
the Everlasting Arms. He draws 
his highest consolation 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 wit- 
ness and the monument of His 
love. 

25. The creztion of the world 
implies its transitoriness. That 
which had a beginning shall have 
anend. 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 mountains,” 
“the everlasting heavens ;” but 
as compared with God all that is 
most abiding has upon it the im- 
press of decay and death. On the 
other hand, there is nothing here 
which contradicts the promise made 
elsewhere of “new heavens anda 
new earth” (2 Pet. iii. 13). 

27. THOU (ART) 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, “Iam He,” ze. I 
am God, I 1m Jehovah, the only 
true God: comp. Is. xiii, 10, 13, 
xlvili, 12, lil. 6; and see Nehem. 
ix. 6, “Thou art He, Jehovah 
alone,” &c. 


ES ee 


ll  —————— 






































note lL 


PSALM Ci, 


217 


28 The children of Thy servants shall dwell, 
And their seed shall be established before Thee. 


28. DWELL, zc. in the land, as in 
XXXVii. 29, lxix. 36 [37], where the 
full expression occurs. 

Verses 25—27 are quoted in the 
Epistle to the Hebrews (i. to—12) 
as addressed to Christ, and form a 
part of the writer’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 r1oth Psalm, bearing on 
the same argument. But these are 
both of them Messianic Psalms, 
and the principle on which the quo- 
tation rests is sufficiently obvious. 


_It is by no means so easy to under- 


stand why the words of this Psalm 
should have been quoted, as it does 
not seem at first sight to be a Mes- 
sianic Psalm. It may be observed, 
however, (1) that it is in this sense 
Messianic, that it looks forward to 
Israel’s redemption from captivity, 
and the future glory of Zion; (2) 


_ that, as has been observed in the 


note on Ps. Ixxii., and in the General 


_ Introduction, Vol. I. p. 54, there 
are two great lines of Messianic 
_ hope running through the Psalms, 
the one human, the other 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 Psalmist 
is occupied with the latter, the ap- 
pearing 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 Je- 
hovah, St. John tells us it was the 
glory of Christ), and John xix. 37, 
“they shall look on Him whom they 

ierced,” which in Zech. xii. 10 is 

nguage used directly of Jehovah. 
The difference between these quo- 
tations in St. John and the one in 
the Ep. to the Hebrews is, that the 
argument in the latter reguzres that 
the Messianic character of the 
Psalm should be conceded. (4) Not 
only the revelation, the appearing 
of Jehovah in Zion, but also the 
creation of the world (ver. 25) would 
point to the Great Mediator, the 
Eternal Word, as the Person here 
spoken of, and on this last ground, 
especially, the quotation in the 
Epistle to the Hebrews seems to 
rest. 


a M33, incorrect orthography for 737, as in Hos. ix. 16. See on xlv. 


____-© myysy. If the reading is correct, it is clear that the accent (Athnach) 
_ is misplaced. Olsh. ingeniously conjectures MPA} (comp. lv. 18). 
_ Instead of 179}3 many MSS. of Kenn. and De R. have I}3, wandering, 
as the Syr. also renders (the Chald. gives both), but contrary to the 
_Masora on Is. xiv. 31, Hos. viii. 9. 

= bn, Po. part. pass. (occurring also Eccl. ii. 2), with the objective 
suffix. Comp. for a similar constr. * NP’, cix. 3; but the part. lends 
itself more readily to this kind of construction, as the suffix may be 
_ ‘tegarded, in a measure, as possessive ; comp. ‘DP, xviii. 40. 

@ 99>, Inf Kal. The not unusual expanded form of this verb, as for 


- 


“instance in Is. xxx. 18, with Segol, instead of Chirik or Pathach. 












218 PSAIM CII. 


PSALM CII. 


Tuts 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 forgiveness of sin, and that tender 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 revelation of Himself which God gave to Moses 
when He proclaimed Himself as “Jehovah, tenderly compassionate 
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 Hebrew 
title gives it to David, the Syriac still more definitely assigns it to 
his old age. Rosenmiiller supposes it to have been written after 
his sin in ‘the matter of Uriah, a supposition which appears to me 
to be wholly without foundation. De Wette places the Psalm near 
the end of the Exile, on the ground that the Poet celebrates so 
largely God’s grace and long-suffering, manifested to His people in 
spite of their sins and their idolatry. Not one word, however, hints 
at idolatry as the sin of which they had been guilty, nor is there a 
word to connect the Psalm with the Exile. 

The argument built on the supposed later (Aramaic) forms which 
this Psalm has in common with Psalms cxvi., Cxxiv., CXxix., CXXXIX., 


is not absolutely conclusive for a post-Exile date, for the same forms — 


occur in 2 Kings iv. r—7. Still, such forms do not occur in David's 
time, or in Psalms in the earlier Books ascribed to him, and they 
must fairly be regarded either as marking a dialectic variation (see 
Critical Note on ver. 3), or a time when Aramaic influence had 
begun to make itself felt. Ewald, who thinks that this and the next 
Psalm were written by the same author, regards both as Temple- 
Psalms, composed after the Exile, the first praising Jehovah as the 
Redeemer of His people in the various circumstances of their history, 
the second praising Him as the Creator and Ruler of the world. 
There is little, however, to connect the two Psalms, except that both 
begin and end with the same self-exhortation, “ Bless Jehovah, O 
my soul.” 





* 
i 





—— 


PSALM C17. 219 





Others, again, attempt to connect this with the preceding Psalm. 
So Rieger observes: “ To feel sin and death, and with this feeling to 
__ wrestle for grace and reconciliation, and to seek after the kingdom 
__ of God and His righteousness, is the subject of the 102d Psalm ; to 
feel sin and death, and then to have received reconciliation and 
the Spirit which quickeneth, and so to praise God, and in faith and 
patience to join oneself to all God’s saints, is the subject of the ro3d 
Psalm.” Delitzsch, who quotes this with approbation, takes the 
same view. 


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. Ver. 1—5. 


_ If. 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 facts of the national history, the great covenant 
Telationship 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, 


1, ALL THAT IS WITHIN ME; not _ the secret spring of so much in- 


as opposed to outward or mere lip 
_ service, but expressing the desire to 
‘ enlist every thought, faculty, power, 
heart with all its affections, 

Bem the ar sone, the reason, 






gratitude :—forgetfulness, the want 
of re-collection, or gathering to- 
gether again of all the varied 
threads of mercy. Comp. Deut. vi. 
12, vill. 11, 14. “Si oblivisceris, 
tacebis. "Augustine. 

3. FORGIVETH, the first and 
greatest of all the Divine benefits 
to the soul burdened with a sense 


220 


PSAIM C/ll. 


Who healeth all thy diseases, 
4 Who redeemeth thy life 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. 


of guilt and defilement : therefore 
also that which calls first for ac- 
knowledgement. “ God’s benefits 
will not be before our eyes, unless 
our sins be also before our eyes.” 
—Augustine. 

DISEASES or datdkneieee ” pri- 
marily, at least, of body, asin Deut. 
Tere. 255-2 Chron. xxi. 19: and 
this agrees with what follows; 
though possibly the maladies of the 
soul may be included. “ Even when 
sin is forgiven,” says Augustine, 
“thou still carriest about with thee 
an infirm body... . Death is not 
yet swallowed up in victory, this 
corruptible hath not yet put on in- 
corruption, still the soul herself is 
shaken by passions and temptations. 
. . . [But] thy sicknesses shall all 
be healed, doubt it not. They are 
great, thou wilt say; but the phy- 
sician is greater. To an Omnipotent 
Physician no sickness is incurable ; 
only suffer thyself to be healed, 
thrust not away His hand, He 
knoweth what He doeth....A 
human physician is mistaken some- 
times ; why? Because he did not 
make that which he undertakes to 
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, forgetting not all 
His benefits ; for He healeth all 
thy sicknesses.” 

4. FROM THE PIT (see on xvi. 
10); including death, the grave, 


Hades. The Targum renders, 
“from Gehenna.” 

CROWNETH. The love of God 
not only delivers from sin, disease, 
and death. He makes 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; as Atha- 
nasius says: Tov TVEVHATLKOY pas 
ever noev dyabay, éavrdv nuiv aprov 
évra (wis émididovs. And Augustine, 
observing that every creature has 
its own good: “Seek thine own 
good, Osoul. one zs good but one, 
that is God. The highest good, 
this is thy 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: zé. 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 (see at end of Critical Notes). 
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- 





: PSALM CIil. 


7 He made known His ways unto Moses, 


His acts unto the children of Israel. 
8 Of tender mercy and gracious is Jehovah, 


9 He will not alway be contending, 


. q Long-suffering and plenteous in loving-kindness. 


fear Him. 


e to that of the Church at 

: God’s mercies to the indi- 
vidual are only a part of that vast 
circle of mercy which embraces 
all Israel. The connection is thus 
traced by Sanchez in his Para- 



















_ _ “Thou hast shown mercy to me, 
_ Thou hast on various occasions 
executed judgement on those who 
__ have persecuted and oppressed me, 
__and others of Thy people. These 
_ are Thy ways which Thou didst 
__ show to Moses, and to Thy people 
in the wilderness.—The Book of 
Deuteronomy from the 4th to the 
toth chapter, and again from the 
27th to the 3Ist, teaches nothing 
else but this, that Jehovah is full of 
com ion and long-suffering.”— 
Los Salmos, tomo ii. p. 34. 

_ RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGE- 
_ MENT. The wordsare in the plural, 
_ which therefore must either be used 
___ intensively for the singular (see note 
on Ixviii. 35), or perhaps rather to 

_ denote the several acts in which 
_ Jehovah had displayed His right- 
- eousness. 

__ ALL THAT ARE OPPRESSED ; the 
_ Church of God being a suffering 
1 ‘Church. 


A B sate ake in allusion to the 
_— gh oses, Exod. xxxiii. 13 : 
a onk fade grace in Thy sight, 


And not for ever keepeth He (His anger). 
10 Not according to our sins hath He dealt with us, 

And not according to our iniquities hath He requited us; 
11 For as high as heaven is above the earth, 

So mighty¢ is His loving-kindness upon them that 


12 As far as the East is from the West, 
So far hath He removed our transgressions from us. 


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. 

g. Compare Is. lvii. 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 (¢.¢. cherish any 
grudge) against the children of thy 
people ;” Nah. i. 2; and of the 
Synonymous word (shdémar) Jer. iii. 
5, 12. Calvin compares the French 
phrases 2/ luz garde, tl me Va gardé. 

11. The expressions in xxxvi. 5 
[6], lvii. ro[11], are similar. God’s 
love is like Himself, infinite. It 
cannot be measured by all the mea- 
sures 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, 
in 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 cast all my sins 
behind Thy back.” 


222 


PSAIM CITI. 


13 Like as a father showeth tender mercy to his children, 
So Jehovah showeth tender mercy to them that fear 


Him. 


14 For HE knoweth our frame, 
He remembereth * that we are dust. 
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 statutes to do them. 


14—16. Man’s weakness and tran- 
sitoriness is itself an appeal to 
God’s fatherly compassion. Com- 
pare Gen. viii. 21, and see the same 

ound taken in Ps. xxxix. 5 [6], 13 

14], Ixxviii. 39 ; Job vii. 7. 

14. OUR FRAME, lit. “our fash- 
zoning,” as in Gen. ii. 7, “ And He 
fashioned (formed) man of the 
dust,” &c.; or as a potter moulds 
and fashions the clay, Is. xxix. 16, 
xlv. 9, 11; 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. Io. 

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. IJ, 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 walkin 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 limi- 
tation, “To such as keep His 


covenant,” and to those who not 
only know, but “do” His will. The 
blessings of the covenant are no 
inalienable right. Mancipio nulli 
datur, Children’s children can only 
inherit its blessings by cleaving to 
it. Comp. Exod. xx. 6, xxiv. 7; 
Deut. vii. 9. 

FROM EVERLASTING TO EVER- 
LASTING. “Ab zeterno, ob pre- 
destinationem ; in zternum, ob 
beatificationem ; altera principium, 
altera finem nesciens.”— S¢. Ber- 
nara. 

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 
concludes by calling on the angels 
in heaven and all creation, inani- 
mate as well as animate, to ascribe 
blessing and honour and power 
to Him who sitteth upon the throne. 
Lastly, from all that vast congre- 
gation of worshipers praising God, 
he turns to himself, that his voice 
may not be wanting in the mighty 
anthem, “ Bless thou Jehovah, O 
my soul.” 








Se 








a la artis 


PSALM CI. 


223 


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. 
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. 


20. MIGHTY IN STRENGTH, or 
“strong warriors” (see note on lii. 
as afterwards “all His hosts,” by 
which not the stars but the angels 


are meant, as is plain from the paral- 


lelism, “ye ministers of His that do 
His pleasure.” Compare the Aetroup- 
yd mvevpata of Heb. i. 14. See 
also Ps. civ. 4; Dan. vii. 10. 

22. ALL HIS WORKS. In the 


*D2W . 


same way in Ps. cxlviii. first the 
angels and then the whole creation 
is called upon to praise God. 

On the closing words, “Bless 
Jehovah, O my soul,” J. H. Mi- 
chaelis observes, “ Magnum mdéos 
habet hic Psalmi finis, in quo 
Psalmista per epanalepsin ad ani- 
mam suam revertitur.” 


. . dnp. These forms of the fem. suffix, éc4z in the sing., 





and by chi i in the plural, are commonly regarded as later Aramaic forms. 
In the Psalter they occur, it is true, only in the later Psalms, as in 
xvi. 7, 19 (where in ver. 12 occurs also the pure Chaldee masc. suffix, 

, CXXXV. 9, cxxxvii.6. But they are rather to be regarded as instances 
of a return to the original fuller form of the 2 pers. fem. (corresponding 
to the original form ‘Ms, afterwards shortened into AN), a return due, 
perhaps, to Aramaic influence. It is, however, remarkable that these 
same forms are found (in the K’thibh) in a passage in the history of 
Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 1—7, a fact which certainly seems to suggest a 
dialectic, z.e. North Palestinian variation. The only other passage in 
which (according to Del.) this form of suffix occurs is Jer. xi. 15. 


> qYW. It is difficult to determine the meaning of the word here. In 
xxxii. 9 I have adopted the rendering ‘rapping, harness. Hupfeld 
contends for a similar meaning here: he takes it to denote the whole 


apparatus of external means by which life is maintained, all, whether in 


the way of ornament or of use, which is to a man what trappings are to 
a horse; all that he may be said, figuratively, to Aut on (MTY), just as 
men are said, for instance, to put on strength, pride, &c. Hengst. also 
renders the word ornament or beauty, but supposes it to be used, like the 


_ word glory elsewhere, for she soul, and tries to obviate the objection to 
_ this, viz. that the soul is addressed in ver. 1, by saying that, in what 


precedes, the idea of the whole person has imperceptibly taken the place 
of the soul. Maurer and Késter keep to the same rendering, viz. 


224 PSALM CITI. 


ornament, but think that che body is meant, spoken of by anticipation 
as restored to youth and beauty. 

Of the older interpreters, the Syr. has thy body, the LXX. desire 
(mOvpiav), the Chald. o/d age (either as connecting the word with “IW, dime, 
or as parallel to youzh in the next member), and this last is followed by 
De Wette and Gesen, (in his Lex.), though the latter in his Thes. prefers 
the more general sense of ¢¢as, and thinks that youth rather than old 
age is meant. Finally, there is the interpretation of Ab. Ez., Kimchi, 
and others, who here, as in xxxii. 9 (see Critical Note there), give the 


sense mouth, lit. cheek [just as Cicero uses dxcca in the same general way, 


guicguid in buccam venerit, scribito, “whatever comes into your head”). 
There are thus, in short, three meanings assigned to the word : (1) that 
which ts put on, ornament, beauty, &c., according to which the rendering 
would be, “ Who satisfieth all shat thou hast about thee ;” the awkward- 
ness of this it is impossible not to feel: (2) éime (whether youth or old 
age), a rendering to which Hupf. would incline, if it were allowable to set 
aside usage, and to go back to the root "PY, @fas: (3) mouth, for which 
may be alleged the interpretation of the older versions in xxxii. 9, and 
the Arabic cognate. This ‘last, which in xxxii. 9 has Ewald’s support 
(though here he has “deinen Muth”), is perhaps, on the whole, simplest, 
though I give it with some hesitation. 

° won: 3 fem. sing. with plur. noun, according to the well-known 
rule, Ges. § 146. 3. There is no reason to render this verb as a passive. 
The proper reflexive meaning is far more lifelike and expressive. 

@ 933 with by, in the same sense, cxvii. 2, Elsewhere the phrase has a 
different meaning, Gen. xlix. 26 ; 2 Sam. xi. 23. Hence Hupf. would here 
read #23. 

© Wt, strictly a passive zzfixus, but according to Ges. § 50, Obs, 2 = 
infixum (menti) habens. 

f vow ; gerundial = obediendo. 





The fable of the eagle’s renewing its youth has received different 
embellishments. The version of Saadia, given by Kimchi, 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 himself 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 to its body, splendour 
to its plumage, it can soar aloft ; a kind of resurrection has taken place. 
Thus it renews its youth. And then, wonderful to say, having told this 
story gravely, he makes Christ the rock, adding, “in Christ thy youth 
shall be renewed as the eagle’s.” 





oo 

















+ 


a hen 


ar cs 


. * 


PSALM CIV. 225 


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 Himélf 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 bis subject 
which deserve especial notice. 

1. First there is here, what is not to be found to the samé extent, 
if at all, in any other ancient poetry, the distinct recognition of the 
absolute dependence of the universe, as created, upon thé Creator. 
** He is before all things, and by Him all things subsist.” This 
truth is throughout implied. It forms the very basis, ahd, so to 
speak, main thread of the Poem. 

-2. Secondly, the great work of creation is here regarded not as a 
thing 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 
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 made (past, 6 zoujoac) the world,” 
did not then leave the work of His fingers: the streaming forth of 
His Omnipotence and His Love was not checked or stayed; on 
the contrary, every part of His creation rests at every moment on 
His hands ; “ He giveth (present, ddavc) 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 





_ * See the excellent remarks on the importance of this view of nature 
in reference to miracles, in the Rev. D. J. Vaughan’s valuable work 
Christian Evidences and the Bible, p. 97. 


VOL. II. Q 


226 PSALM CIV. 


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 itsown. In some 
respects the Psalm, even more strikingly than the early record, 
exhibits the infinite greatness, the order, the life of the Universe. “ It 
is remarkable,” says a Spanish commentator, “ how the lyric verse, 
while losing nothing of its freedom and fire (d¢zarria ed entusidsmo), 
contrives at the same time to preserve all the force and simplicity of 
the picture of nature presented to us in Genesis.”* 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 stir 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 finding 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 traffic, 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 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 
writert “ prefers it to all the lyric poetry of the Greeks and Romans.” 
Anothert 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.” A third§ says, “The Psalm is delightful, 





* Sanchez, Los Salmos, ii. 36. + Amyraldus, 
t Hupfeld. § Sanchez, 





2 ee 


PSALM CIV. 227 


sweet, and instructive, as teaching us the soundest views of nature 
(Ja mas sana fisica), and the best method of pursuing the study of it, 
viz. by admiring with one eye the works of God, and with the 
other God Himself, their Creator and Preserver.” The great natu- 
ralist, A. von Humboldt, writes: “It might almost be said that one 
single Psalm represents the image of the whole Cosmos. . . . We are 
astonished to find in a lyrical poem of such limited compass the 
whole universe—the heavens and earth—sketched with a few bold 
touches. The contrast of the labour of man with the animal life of 
Nature, and the image of omnipresent, invisible Power, renewing the 
earth at will, or sweeping it of inhabitants, is a grand and solemn 
poetical creation.”—Cosmos, vol. ii. part i. (p. 413, Bohn’s edition). 
“ With what an eye of gladness,” says Herder, “‘does the Poet survey 
the earth! It isa green mountain of Jehovah, which He lifted above 
the waters ; a paradise which He established for the dwelling-place 
of so many living creatures above the seas. The series of pictures 
which the Poet here displays is in fact the natural history of the 
earth.” 

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, 10 (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 exclamation 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. 2o—26, turns back again, 


yer. 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 
yast 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. 3I1—35. 


Q2 


A 


228 


PSALM CIV. 


1 BLESS Jehovah, O my soul! 
O Jehovah my God, Thou art very great, 
Thou art clothed with honour and majesty, 
2 Thou coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, 
Thou spreadest out the heavens like a curtain, 


1. CLOTHED, comp. xciii. 1. 

2. THOU COVEREST THYSELF, 
lit. “covering Thyself” (and in the 
next member “ spreading out”), if 
we connect these participial clauses 
with what precedes, or “covering 
Himself,” if we join them with 
what follows. This participial con- 
struction (of which we have fur- 
ther instances in ver. 10, 13, 14, 
cill. 35 : 
xlv. 7; Jer. x. 12; Am. iv. 13) gives 
a present force to God’s creative 
action, teaches 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 afpare/s Himself with 
light. The final revelation tells us 
that “God is Light,” 1 John i. 5; 
comp. John i. 4—9. : 

“In comparing the light to a 
robe,” says Calvin, “he signifies 
that though God is invisible, yet His 
glory is manifest. If we speak of 
His essential being, it is true that 
He dwelleth in light inaccessible ; 
but inasmuch as He irradiates the 
whole world with His glory, this is 
a robe wherein He in some mea- 
sure appears to us as visible, who in 
Himself had been hidden... . It 
is folly to seek God in His own 
naked Majesty . . . let us turn our 
eyes to that most beautiful frame 
of the world in which He would 
be seen by us, that we may not pry 
with idle curiosity into the mystery 
of His nature.” And Herder asks, 
‘Ts there in the universe a created 
thing more worthy to be the robe 


see also Is. xliv. 24, 25,. 


of Jehovah ; whose very being is 
such that He dwelleth in dark- 
ness ?” 

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, ze. the curtain 
of a tent, ‘ac si diceret regium 
esse tentorium.” 

“Because the Hebrews conceived 
of heaven as a temple and palace 
of God, that sacred azure was at 
once the floor of His, the roof ot 
our, abode. Yet methinks the 
dwellers in tents ever loved best the 
figure of the heavenly tent. They 
represent God as daily spreading 
it out, and fastening it at the ex- 
tremity of the horizon to the pillars 
of heaven, the mountains: it is to 
them a tent of safety, of rest, of a 
fatherly hospitality in which God 
lives with His creatures.”—Herder. 

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 which 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 con- 
tinued effort it costs to spread 
out one little room; there is no 


effort of this kind in the works of 


God. Thou art not to think that 


God spread out the heaven as thou 


spreadest out the roof of thy house; 





en 











Acixvutw @s ovdé 
_ eixh éperat, GAN airés éotw donep 
Tis vioyos attav ywopevos, did 


PSAIM CIV. 


229 


3 Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters, 
Who maketh the clouds His chariot, 
Who walketh upon the wings of the wind ; 
4 Who maketh His messengers winds, 


but as easy as it is for thee to 
spread out a single skin, so easy 
was it for God to spread out that 
wast heaven. ... Nay, God did 
not spread out the heaven as thou 
Sigua out the skin. For leta 

in, wrinkled or folded, be placed 
before thee, and command it to be 
unfolded and stretched out ; spread 
it out by thy word. ‘I cannot,’ 
thou wilt reply. See then how far 
thou comest short of the ease with 
which God worketh.” 

3. WHO LAYETH THE BEAMS. 
The figures, as Calvin remarks, are 
all designed to teach the same truth, 
Viz. that we are not to pierce heaven 
in order to discover God, because 
He meets us in His world and pre- 
sents everywhere living pictures to 
our eyes. We must not suppose 
that anything was added to Him by 
the creation of the world ; it is for 
our sakes that He puts on this 
garment. 

_ His CHAMBERS, lit. “upper cham- 
bers,” ixepea, built on the flat roof 
of the Eastern houses. For the 
literal use of the word, see for in- 
stance 2 Kings iv. 10 ; for the figu- 
rative, as here, Am. ix. 6, and comp. 
Jer. xxii. 13, 14. Clericus cites 
from Ennius, “ccenacula maxima 
ceeli ;” and from Plautus, Ami. iii. 
1—3, where Jupiter says of himself, 


_ “in superiore qui habito ccenaculo.” 


IN THE WATERS, z.¢. the waters 
above the firmament, Gen. i. 7. It 


is impossible not to admire the 
_ boldness of the figure. 


WALKETH UPON THE WINGS. 
1} TOY avéepav dopa 


Tais airay énBaivew mréputw.— 
thanasius, 
4. Some of the ablest of the re- 


cent commentators have rendered 
this verse : 


ee ¥ Ct 


“Who maketh the winds His mes- 
sengers, 
The flaming fire His ministers ;” 


and but for the order of the words, 
and the piural predicate in the 
second member, I should have no 
hesitation in preferring this render- 
ing. It would seem to be the 
natural sense of the words, and that 
which harmonizes best with the 
context. God has His palace in 
heaven, He makes the clouds His 
chariot, the winds and the light- 
ning His avant-couriers and His 
train. But first, the plural predicate 
is awkward. We ought to have 
either “flames of fire His ministers,” 
or “the flaming fire His minister.” 
Hupfeld indeed attempts to account 
for the plural predicate, “ minis- 
ters,” by saying that it is an accom- 
modation to the plural predicate 
“messengers” in the first member, 
It is more likely perhaps that as by 
the flaming fire the lightnings are 
meant, the subject itself is conceived 
of as plural. And next, the greater 
difficulty remains of the inversion, 
on this explanation, of the order of 
the words. The natural order in 
Hebrew as in English is, verb, ob- 
ject, predicate, and no instance has 
as yet been alleged in which the 
predicate stands after the verb be- 
fore the object. I have therefore, 
though reluctantly, given up the in- 
terpretation which the context seems 
to demand, in obedience to the 
grammatical requirements of the 
passage. Unless the grammatical 
difficulty can be removed, we must 
render “ He maketh His messengers 
winds,” &c., z.e. “He clothes His 
messengers with the might, the 
swiftness, the all-pervading subtilty 
of wind and fire.” See the remarks 
of the Bishop of St. David’s in the 
Critical Note. This is far better 


230 


PSALM CIV. 


His ministers a flaming fire,? 

5 He established the earth upon the foundations thereof, 
That it should not be moved for ever and ever. 

6 With the deep as with a garment Thou coveredst it,» 


than to explain [as in First Edition] 
that God’s messengers (or angels) 
are the secret agents who assume 
the forms of wind and lightning, 
in order to accomplish His will, 
that what we see working around 
us are not blind forces of nature, 
but beings 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 
interposes, and seems to tell us that 
all this wonderful harmony is the 
work of Angels. 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 Ministers a flame of fire. 
... Thus, whenever we look abroad 
we are reminded of those most 
gracious and holy Beings, the ser- 
vants of the Holiest, who deign to 
minister to the heirs of salvation. 
Every breath of air, and ray of light 
and heat, every beautiful prospect 
is, as it were, the skirts of their 
garments, the waving of the robes 
of those whose faces see God in 
heaven.” 

On the rendering of the verse by 
the LXX., and the quotation in the 
Ep. to the Hebrews, i. 7, more will 
be found in the Critical Note. 
Calvin observes that we are not 
bound in this and similar instances 
to regard the application of a pas- 
sage in the New Testament as 
settling the question of its meaning 
where it oceurs in the Old. 

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, animated scene. 

HE ESTABLISHED. God’s order 
is itself the surest prop. 

UPON THE FOUNDATIONS 
THEREOF. Comp. Job xxxviiil. 4—6; 
Prov. viii. 29. On the other hand, 
in Job xxvi. 7, God is said to “hang 
the earth upon nothing.” Mendels- 
sohn gets rid of the figure here b 
rendering “Thou hast establishe 
the earth in herself,” but it must 
be a dull mind which needs thus 
to be guarded against misappre- 
hension. 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 poetical 
expansion of Gen. i. 9. 


6. The original chaosis described, 
not according to the heathen notion, 
as a confused mass, earth and water 
mingled together, but the earth 
as already formed, yet completely 
enveloped in the water, é& ddaros kat 
d¢ Bdaros, 2 Pet. iii. 5. This vast, 
swelling, tumultuous sea hears the 
“rebuke” of God, and sinks to its 
appointed place ; the earth appears, 
emerges from her watery covering, 
and shows her surface diversified 
with mountain and valley. 

So Milton :— : 


“The Earth was form’d, but in 
the womb as yet 


—————————————— ee 


PSALM CIV. 


231 


Above the mountains did the waters stand.° 


7 At Thy rebuke they fled, 


At the voice of Thy thunder they were scattered, 
8 —The mountains rose, the valleys sank,— 

To the place which Thou hadst established for them. 
9g Thou hast set them a bound that they can not pass, 


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 [16]; Ixxvi. 
6 [7]: Is. 1. 2, and Matt. vii. 26. 

THE MOUNTAINS ROSE, 2. ¢. 
they seemed to rise as the waters 
subsided. Comp. Ovid, ez. i. 43: 


“ Jussit et extendi campos, subsidere 
valles, 

Fronde tegi sylvas, lapidosos sur- 
gere montes ;” 


and 244: 


“Flumina subsidunt, montes exire 
videntur, 

Surgit humus, crescunt loca, decre- 
scentibus undis.” 


And Milton :— 


“Immediately the mountains huge 


a 

Roveecent, and their broad bare 
backs upheave 

Into the 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 Lost, book vii. 


There is, however, some doubt 
as to the construction of the clauses 
of this verse. I should see no ob- 
jection to that which the LXX. and 
Jerome have adopted, according to 
which the two clauses are imme- 
diately connected (ava8aivovew Spy 
Kal xataBaivovor. media «ls térov 


ov @Oeuehiwoas avrois, Ascendent 
montes, et descendent campi ad 
locum quem fundasti eis), but that the 
subject of the next verse is evidently 
again that of ver. 6, the waters. 
Ewald and Hupfeld, whom I have 
followed, take the first member 
as parenthetical, and connect the 
second with the previous verse, “ At 
the voice of Thy thunder the waters 
fled to the place,” &c, ; and there 
may be a reference to Gen. i. 9, 
“Let the waters be gathered nto 
one place.” Del. says this reference 
is undeniable, but his own render- 
ing, “The mountains rose, (the 
water) sank down into the valleys,” 
is as improbable as it is artificial 
and unnecessary. The rendering of 
the Chald., “They (z.¢. the waters) 
go up to the mountains, they sink 
down into the valleys,” which has 
been followed by our translators 
both in the Bible and in the P.B.V. 
(the margin gives the rendering I 
have adopted), is grammatically 
admissible, and has a certain pic- 
turesque force, carrying on, as it 
does, the image of the preceding 
verse—the rush and confusion of - 
the waters fleeing at the rebuke of 
God. It has also the advantage 
of retaining the same _ subject 
throughout verses 6—9. On the 
other hand, the figure is perhaps 
somewhat strained, and it does not 
harmonize so well with ver. 6, or 
with the narrative in Genesis. The 
words of the first member occur 
again cvii. 26, where, as Ewald re- 
marks, they are strictly in place ; 
whereas here he thinks they may 
have been no part of the original 
poem. 

g. A BOUND separating the sea 
from the land, as in Job xxxviii. 8-11. 


232 


PSALM CIV. 


That they turn not again to cover the earth ; 

10 Who sendest forth springs along the torrent-beds, 
They flow between the mountains, 

11 They give drink to all the beasts of the field, 
The wild asses quench their thirst. 

12 Above them the fowls have their habitation, 
They sing among the branches. 

13 He watereth the mountains from His chambers; 
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of Thy work. 


See for a wider view, extending 
still further this separation of the 
elements, xxvi. 8—10, Prov. viii. 27, 
29. Delitzsch says it might almost 
seem as if the Poet who wrote these 
words did not suppose the Flood to 
be universal, but it is far more pro- 
bable that he is not thinking of the 
Flood, but only of the everlasting 
order first established at the crea- 
tion, and afterwards confirmed in 
the covenant made with Noah, Gen. 

ix. 9—16, 

: 10. The loving care, the tender 
sympathy with which God, clothing 
the earth with beauty, provides at 
the same time for the wants 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 unpro- 
vided for. 

WHO SENDEST FORTH. The 
article with the participle carries 
on the construction, Jehovah being 
the great subject throughout the 
Psalm. 

THE TORRENT-BEDS. The word 
(xachal) denotes both the torrent 
and the valley through which it 
flows, corresponding to the Arabic 
Wady. Ewald and Hupfeld ren- 
der, ‘Who sendeth forth springs 
into brooks.” ‘The latter argues (1) 
that the word never means ¢he valley 
only, without the stream, and (2) 
that the subject of the next clause, 
“ They flow,” &c., cannot be she 
Springs, but must be ¢he streams. 
But in answer to (1) it may be said, 
that the torrent-bed is not here sup- 
posed to exist apart from the tor- 


rent, but rather to be produced by 
the action of the torrent; and in 
answer to (2), that the general sub- 
ject of “water” is easily supplied 
from the preceding clause, as the 
LXX. have seen. 

II. 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 thevalleys would first be clothed 
with trees, and there the foliage 
would be most luxuriant. 

THE FOWLS OF HEAVEN, a fre- 
quent 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 Io. 

HE WATERETH, lit. “He giveth 
drink to,” the same word as in ver. 
11. The MOUNTAINS are men- 
tioned not only because on them 
the clouds rest, from them the 
streams descend, but because Pa- 
lestine was a mountain-land. Comp. 
Deut. xi. 11, “a land of mountains 
and of valleys, of the rain of heaven 
it drinketh water” (unlike Egypr, 
which was watered by the Nile). 
Thus doubly watered, from above 
and from beneath (comp. Gen. xlix. 
25), the earth brings forth grass 
for the cattle, and its various fruits, 
corn 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. 


PSALM CIV. 


233 


14 He maketh grass to grow for the cattle, 
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 ; 


HIS CHAMBERS, the clouds, as in 
ver. 3, where they are built on the 
waters. 

THE FRUIT OF THY WORK, 27.4. 
apparently the rain, as seems to be 
required both by the parallelism 
and by the expression “the earth is 
satisfied,” for with “the mountains” 
in the first clause, “the earth” can 
hardly stand here by meton. for 
“the dwellers on the earth,” viz. 
cattle and men. The rain may per- 
haps be called “ the fruit of God’s 
work,” as the result of His opera- 
tion, as elsewhere it is called “the 
brook of God,” Ixv. 9. 

14. GRASS ... GREEN HERB. 
Comp. Gen. i. 11, 29, 30; iii. 18, 19; 
Ex. x. 12, the latter comprising not 
vegetables only, but corn, &c. 

FOR THE SERVICE OF MAN. This 
seems the most natural interpreta- 
tion, corresponding to “for the 
cattle” in the first member, and 
may be supported by the use of the 
word in 1 Chron. xxvi. 30. Others 
render, “for the /adour of man” 
(as the same word in ver. 23), with 
which they connect the next clause, 
“that he (z.z. man by his labour in 
cultivating the earth) may bring 
forth bread from it.” But it is an 
objection oot te the whole 
passage s sO od's works 
and gifts, and there is nothing in it 
to suggest man’s co-operation. 

THAT HE MAY BRING FORTH, or 
ees, “in that He brings forth,” 

the construction is somewhat 
loose, and it can hardly be said 
that Purpose is clearly marked. If 
we adopt the latter rendering, then 
ver. 15 must be taken as an inde- 


: 
‘ 
E 
: 





ee 






ode 


ed 


“ny 


*. 


pendent statement. See Critical 
Note. 

BREAD in this verse seems to be 
used in its most general significa- 
tion to denote all by which man 
is nourished. In the next verse it 
is mentioned in its proper sense, 
together with wine and oil, as the 
three most important products of 
the soil, the three essential elements 
of an Eastern banquet, the object 
being to set forth the dounty 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 satisfy- 
ing 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 oil,” the face 
being mentioned rather than the 
head which was anointed, because 
the radiancy of joy is seen in the 
face. 

The construction of the verse is 
doubtful. See Critical Note. 

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 opposi- 
tion to those which come under 
human cultivation, such as the vine 


234 


PSALM CIV. 


17 Where the birds make their nests : 

As for the stork, the cypresses are her house. 
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats ; 

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. 


and the olive, which are implied in 
ver. 15. See note on xxxvi. 6. 

ARE SATISFIED, 2.é. with the rain, 
as in ver. 13. 

17. These trees have their use ; 
they are a home and a shelter for 
the birds—probably the larger birds 
are specially intended, as the stork 
is named, the smaller tribes of 
singing-birds having already been 
mentioned, ver. 12. 

THE STORK. The word means 
in Hebrew, “the pious, or affec- 
tionate bird,” called in Babrius 
Fab. xiii., rrnvav eboeBéotarov Gor, 
and by Petronius, 55, 6, pietati- 
cultrix. 

18. THE HIGH MOUNTAINS and 
PRECIPICES or “cliffs” are men- 
tioned, because they, like the trees, 
are a shelter for the wild animals. 
God provides food, and God pro- 
vides shelter for His creatures. 

ConiEs. I have left the word as 
in the E.V., though incorrect. The 
creature meant is the Ayrax Syria- 
cus. See Knobel on Lev. xi. 5, and 
Smith’s Dict. of the Bible. 

19. Transition to the work of 
the Fourth Day, but still so con- 
trived as to introduce another 
picture of life upon the earth, 
and the contrast between the life 
of the night and the life of the 
day. 

THE MOON mentioned first, be 
cause to the Hebrew mind the night 
naturally preceded the day, as 
throughout Gen. 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. 
Others would render in both pas- 
sages, “for festivals,” comp. Sir. 
xliii. 7, dard wed yns onpeiov éoptis, 
but there is no reason so to restrict 
it. See note on lxxv. 2 (“set time”), 
and comp. Lev. xxiii. 4. 

KNOWETH HIS GOING DOWN. 
Comp. Job xxxviii. 12 ; Jer. viii. 7. 
This mention of the sunset pre- 
faces the 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 
restless 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 depend- 
ence upon Him ; man must /adour, 
as well as gather what God gives 
him, if he would be satisfied with 
good. 

20. DO MOVE. The word is 
strictly used of the movements of 
reptiles and fishes. In Gen. i. 21 
and in Ps. lxix. 34 [35 | the verb, and 
in ver. 25 of this Psalm the noun, 
“things moving,” are used of crea- 
tures in the sea. In Gen. i. 24, 25, 
the noun denotes things creeping 
upon the earth. Here, as applied 
to the beasts of the forest, the word 
may have been chosen to express 








PSALM CIV. 


235 


21 The young lions roar after their prey, 
And seek from God their food : 
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 creatures. 
25 Yonder is the sea, great and broad, 
_ 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, 


their stea/thy movements in pur- 
suit of their prey, or it may be used 
of any kind of motion, as it is in 
Gen. vii. 21, “all flesh that moved 
upon the earth :” see also Gen. 
1X. 2. : 


24. Having thus come to man, 
the crown of all creation, and so 
touched, as 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. 

Athanasius beautifully remarks 
on the sense of rest and refresh- 
ment which is produced by this 
change of strain, the Psalmist pass- 
ing from the narration of God’s 
works of providence to praise and 
glorify Him who is the Creator of 
all: rov rept ris mpovoias deEeAOoy 
Aoyov emi tuvov tov krigavros Toy 


Ag Adyov pereBarev, diavandvev Govep 


dia rovrov tiv axon. 
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 on its surface, where “ go 
the ships” carrying 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 
described as “ leviathan.” 

BROAD, lit. “‘ wide of two hands,” 
z.e. “on both sides,” and so in all 
directions, a phrase used elsewhere 
of a land or country, as Gen. xxxiv. 
21; Jud. xviii. 10; Is. xxii. 18. 

26. LEVIATHAN ; not here ds in 
Ixxiv. 14; Job. xi. 25 [E. V. xli. 1], 
“the crocodile,” but a general term 
for all “‘ sea-monsters.” 

THEREIN, 2.2. 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 ap- 
peal to Job xl. 29 [E. V. xli. 5], as 
supporting the rendering. The 
Jewish tradition does indeed make 
Leviathan the plaything of the Al- 
mighty, but there is nothing of the 
kind in Scripture. 


236 


PSALM CIV. 


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 hidest 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, 
And Thou renewest the face of the ground. 
31 Let the glory of Jehovah be for ever ! 
Let Jehovah rejoice in His works! 


27, 28. In allusion, probably, to 
Gen. i. 29, 30. ‘ 

27. WAIT UPON THEE. The verb 
(which is more usual in Aramaic) 
occurs in the same sense and with 
the same construction, cxlv. 15. 

IN ITS SEASON. Or the suffix 
may refer distributively to the ani- 
mals (not to the food): “to each 
one in his season,” ‘at the fitting 
time.” 

28. See Job xxxiv. 15. 

GATHER. The word denotes pro- 
perly “‘to pick up objects from the 
ground,” as stones, flowers, ears of 
corn, grapes, wood, &c. ; here, pro- 
vender. There is no allusion (as 
Hengst.) 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 [9, 10]. 

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 ex- 
pression, xxx. 7 [8], and comp. Job 
xxiii. 15. 

THOU TAKEST AWAY, or per- 
haps rather “Thou withdrawest,” 
“drawest in,” correlative to “sendest 
forth,” ver. 30. Comp. exlvi. 4 with 
Job xxxiv. 14. 


THEY DIF, lit. “breathe out 


their life,’ exhalare animam, ex- 
spirare, the same word as in Gen. 
vi. 17, vii. 21, though there is no 
need to assume any allusion to the 
deluge. 

TURN AGAIN TO THEIR DUST, as 
in Gen. iii. 19. 

30. The reference can hardly be 
(as Hupf.) to Gen. ii. 7, where the 
inbreathing of life is confined ex- 
clusively to the creation 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 
same word in Hebrew may be ren- 
dered “ breath” or “ spirit.” As the 
reference is here only to physical 
life, I have retained the former, 
especially as the same word is em- 
ployed in the previous verse, where 
there can be no doubt as to the 
meaning. Comp. Job xxxiii. 4, xxiv, 
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 








PSALM CIV. 


237 


32 Who looketh on the earth, and it trembleth, 

When He toucheth the mountains, they smoke. 
33 Let me sing to Jehovah, as long as I live, 

Let me play unto my God, while I have my being. 
34 May my words please Him ; 

I myself 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! 


Hallelujah‘ 


who has thus manifested His glory 
in création may endure for ever, 
and that He who looked with loving 

approbation upon His works when 
ihey 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 
creation He has made. 

3. And as the Psalmist utters 
the devout wish that God may re- 
joice in His 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 instrument of the 
Universe are jangled and out of 
tune. Sin is the discord of the 
world. Sin has changed the order 
(xéopos) into disorder. Hence the 
prophetic hope (35) that sinners 
shall be consumed, that the wicked 
shall be no more, that thus the 
earth shall be purified, the harmony 
be restored, and God once more, 
as at the first, pronounce His crea- 
tion “very good.” In the prospect 
of such a consummation, the Poet 
calls upon his own soul, and upon 
all around him, to bless and praise 
Jehovah. 

35. HALLELUJAH, or “ Praise ye 
Jah.” The Talmud and Midrash 
observe that this is the first Halle- 
lujah in the Psalter, and that the 
way in which it is connected with 
the prospect of the final overthrow 
of the wicked is remarkable, and 
full of meaning. 


har aA Rs er 2 Fie 


lt Oe 
~ < 


® The LXX. render the verse: 6 roid rovs dyyéAous aitov mvevpara, Kat 
Tous Aetroupyovs avtov rup pAcyor (mupds PAdya in the Cod. Alex., which is 
followed in Heb. i. 7, where the passage is quoted), making the first nouns 
objects, and the second predicates. This is no doubt supported by the 
construction in the previous verse, where the same order is observed ; 
Who maketh the clouds His chariot.” As regards the English transla- 
tion it may be remarked, that the two words dy yeAous and mvevpara being 
both ambiguous, it is just as correct to render messengers and winds, as 
to render azge/s and sfirits; and the whole passage shows that winds, 
not spirits, is the proper meaning of mvetpata here. But as has been 
already remarked in the note on ver. 4, most of the modern commentators 
abandon the rendering of the LXX., and invért the order of the object 


38 PSALM CIV. 


and predicate, “Who maketh the winds His messengers, the flaming fire 
His ministers.” The plural predicate in the second member, as I have 
said, is to my mind a stumbling-block in the way of this otherwise 
natural interpretation. Hoffmann, who has discussed the passage 
carefully (Schriftb. I. 325), urges this difficulty, and contends, moreover, 
that Mwy, followed by a double accus., means not to make a thing to be 
something else, but to exhibit a thing as something else (e/was als etwas 
herstellen). So in Gen. vi. 14 the meaning is not “thou shalt make the 
ark, already constructed, into cells or compartments,” but, thou shalt 
construct it as (of) a number of compartments. So again, “male and 
female created He them” (Gen. i. 27), ie. as male and female; and “he 
made the altar of planks of acacia-wood” (Ex. xxxviii. 1), is, says 
Hoffmann, not essentially different. [Here, however, the second noun is 
not so much a predicate describing the form or manner in which the 
thing appears, as the material out of which it is made.] He renders 
therefore, “making His messengers as winds, His ministers as a flaming 
fire,” so that the passage does not describe the purpose to which God 
applies winds and fire, but the form which He gives to those whom He, 
riding upon the clouds, makes use of to announce His presence, and to 
execute His will, And such is the traditional Jewish view: as for 
instance in Shemoth Rabba, § 25, fol. 123. 3. “Deus dicitur Deus 
Zebaoth, quia cum angelis suis facit quzecunque vult. Quando vulkt, facit 
ipsos sedentes, Jud. vi. 11. Aliquando facit ipsos stantes, Isa. vi. 2. 
Aliquando facit similes mulieribus, Zech. v. 9. Aliquando viris, Gen. 
xviii. 2. Aliquando facit ipsos spiritus (why not ventos ?), Ps. civ. 4. 
Aliquando ignem, Ib.” Del. partially adopts this view, but takes the 
second accus., that is, the predicate, as denoting “He material out of 
which a thing is made (as in Ex. xxxviii. 1) Accordingly he renders, 
“Who maketh His messengers of winds, His servants of flaming fire,” 
which he says may either mean that God makes wind and fire of service 
to Him for special missions (comp. cxlviii. 8), or that God gives to His 
angels wind and fire as means whereby they may work, forms in which 
they may clothe themselves in order to execute His wiil in the world. 
But the former of these meanings comes to the same thing exactly as the 
rendering, “ Who maketh winds His messengers, &c.” The real difficulty, 
however, lies in the order of the words. Could a Hebrew writer have 
placed the verb first, then the predicate, and then the object? I have 
seen no proof that he could: in the only passage which Delitzsch quotes, 
Am. iv. 13, there is no reason whatever for supposing an inversion of the 
usual] order, The Bishop of St. David’s has kindly allowed me to make 
use of the remarks which he has sent me on this passage. After 
observing that he can recall no instance of such an inversion of the 
natural order of words in a sentence, he continues: “4 Priori, I should” 
have thought it incredible that the language should have been left in such 
a state as to make it immaterial as to the sense whether you wrote 
‘Who maketh the clouds His chariot, or, ‘Who maketh His chariot the 
clouds,’ and that the reader should have to infer the author’s meaning not 
from the order of his words, but from extrinsic considerations, such as 





PSALM CIV. 239 


those which you have discussed. I cannot help thinking that more 
attention should have been paid to this question, and that it should have 
taken precedence of every other: because, if in this respect the rule of 
Hebrew syntax was the same as our own, the only remaining doubt would 
be in what sense we are to understand the words ‘He maketh His 
messengers winds, His ministers a flaming fire,’ which would then be the 
only possible rendering. And in itself it would give a very good sense as 
meaning : ‘ He endows His messengers with the might of the winds, His 
Ministers with the all-pervading subtilty of fire —or as any one might 
paraphrase it better. But it would be only the irresistible compulsion of 
a grammatical necessity that would induce me to adopt this rendering ; 
because, however satisfactory in itself, it appears to me quite foreign to 
the context. The Psalmist is evidently speaking of God’s doings in the 
visible creation, not of the secret agency by which He accomplishes His 
ends. It was, therefore, very much to the purpose to say that wind and 
fire are His servants and do His pleasure ; but not at all to say that He 
has unseen servants who act as wind and fire.” The passages quoted 
in the first edition of this work, Gen. i. 27, Ex. xxv. 39, in which the 
predicate stands first, are not to the point, because there the predicate 
stands defore the verb. 

> $N°DS, abbr. for 3nN*P>. The masc. suffix may refer to PS, according 
to Del., by attraction, as in Is. ix. 18, Ixvi. 8. Others, in order to avoid 
the sudden change of gender in /W$, render “As for the deep (nom. 


_ absol.), as a garment Thou coverest it” Ge. placest it as a covering over 


the earth). But thus the verb “to cover” appears without an object, and 
pina, moreover, is generally like 8, fem., except in Job xxviii, 14, 
Jon. ii. 6. In other cases where it occurs ith a masc. verb, the verb 
precedes, and this proves nothing as to gender ; when the verb precedes, 
all fem. nouns may be construed with a masc. verb. 


© 37Dy!. The imperf. (after the perf. or pluperf.) as describing the then 
condition of things (relative preterite, as Hupf. calls it), and so again in 
the next verse, instead of historic tenses with } consec. 


4 The construction presents much difficulty. If we connect this verse 
with the last clause of the preceding, then we have the inf. with 5 twice 
followed by the fut., this change of construction from the infin. to the fut. 
being in aeuiance with a well-known principle of the language. Then 
the rendering will be as in the text. 

Ewald gives to } in ver. 15 the comparative meaning more than, and 
takes the inf. with b as gerundial merely: “ Bringing bread out of the 
earth, Wine to gladden man’s heart, More than oil making his face to 
shine; Bread to strengthen man’s heart :” but this, though it seems to be 
the most obvious construction of the words, places in too subordinate a 


' position what must have been designed to be prominent ; oz/ and wine 


are commonly joined together as principal products of the soil of 
Palestine ; Jud. ix. 9—13, Deut. xii. 17, Jer. xxxi. 12, &c. 

Hupfeld takes ver. 15 as unconnected in construction with the pre- 
ceding : “ And wine maketh glad the heart of man, Whilst oil makes his 


240 - FSALM CY. 


face to shine (lit. “ whilst He maketh his face to shine with oil”), and 
bread strengthens man’s heart.” 

¢ %%)... MY. The apocopated forms are used as marking protasis 
and apodosis : “ (When) Thou makest darkness, (then) it is night ;” or 
the first may be pret. (as in xviii. 12), and the second denote purpose, 
object, &c. (as in xlix. 10). 

f The Hallelujah is written differently in different MSS., sometimes 
avybdn, at others AY 355n, without the Makkef, or again moon, one word, 
but always, unless by mistake, with the He mappic. When it appears as 
one word, m) is not regarded as strictly the Divine name, but only as 
strengthening the meaning of 4727, as in the reading mana, cxviii. 5. 
—GEIGER, Urschrift u. Uebers. der Bibel, S. 275. 





PSALM CV. 


Tus Psalm, like the 78th and the ro6th, 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 zwtention 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 ro6th Psalm is a Psalm of peni- 
tential 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 ground for future obedience. 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. 

Hengstenberg has inferred, from the length at which the history of 
Joseph and the plagues in Egypt are dwelt upon, that the design of 
the Psalmist was to encourage the exiles in the Babylonish captivity, 
which by Psalmists and Prophets is so often compared with the 
bondage of the nation in Egypt. But although this is evidently one 


ie te 


Le 


nlatiinsadicle: athe =e ae 





oe eS eee 


‘seventh and forty-eighth verses of Psalm cvi. 


PSALM CV. 241. 
of the later Psalms, and, like the two which follow (both of which 
contain allusions to the Exile), may have been written after the return 
from the Captivity, still there is nothing in its language to justify the 
view which Hengstenberg takes. There is no hint of any comparison 
or contrast between those two great periods of national exile, and 
in particular the very slight allusion to the circumstances of the 
deliverance from Egypt—nothing being said either of the Passover or 
of the passage of the Red Sea—is unfavourable to the supposition 
that any such contrast is implied. 

The first fifteen verses are found in 1 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 was 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- 
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 song in 


the Chronicles is a combination from other sources. It is a striking 
proof how little a question like this, which is purely a critical question, 
can be fairly perverted into a question of orthodoxy, that whilst 
Hitzig holds the Psalm in Chronicles to be the original, Delitzsch 
maintains that it is a compilation, though he observes that the writer 
of the Book may not have compiled it himself, but have found it in 
its present shape in the Midrash of the King’s Book, which was his 
principal authority, and the source of his materials. 

Like the last Psalm, this closes with a Hallelujah. It is the first 
of a number of Psalms beginning with the word 473m (Hod), “Give 
thanks” (cy., cvii., cxvili., cxxxvi.), which Delitzsch styles “ Hodu- 
Psalms,” or Conjitemini, just as those which begin with Hallelujah 
may be called Hallelujah Psalms, cvi., cxi.—cxiii., cxvii., Cxxxv., 
exlvi—cl. 


1 GIVE thanks to Jehovah, call upon His Name, 
Make known among the peoples His doings ; 


1—6. The greatness of God’s 
love, as manifested to His people 


_ in their history, calls for the fullest 
acknowledgement. 


The Psalmist 


je would have Israel sound forth His 


S praises among all nations. 


They 
are not to sit down in idle satisfac- 
tion with their own privileges. His 


“doings” (ver. 1), His “wondrous 


VOL. II. 


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 attributes,—all these are to 
form the subject of loud thanks- 
giving,—all these are to become, 
through Israel, the heritage of the 
world. 


R 


242 


PSALM CV. 


2 Sing unto Him, play unto Him, 

Speak of all His wondrous works. 
3 Make 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, 


In all the earth are His judgements. 
8 He hath remembered for ever His covenant, 
The word which He confirmed to a thousand genera- 


tions ; 


9 (The covenant) which He made with Abraham, 
And His oath (which He sware) unto Isaac, 


1, Taken word for word from Is. 
xii. 4. 

5. TOKENS . . . JUDGEMENTS ; 
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 Abra- 
ham’s seed, because they are God’s 
chosen, because they are Jacob’s 
children, heritors of the covenant 
andthe 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,“ remem- 
bers” it (ver. 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 ” 
(or promise), “the oath” by which 
God had bound Himself to the 
patriarchs, and which He “re- 
membered,” z.¢. fulfilled, when He 


brought them into the land ot 
Canaan. 

OUR GOD, by covenant, but also, 
as follows in the next hemistich, 
Judge and Ruler of all nations. 

8. HE HATH REMEMBERED : in 
1 Chron. xvi. “ remember ye.” 

CONFIRMED: for this, the ori- 
ginal meaning of the word, see Ex. 
xviii. 23; Num. xxvii. 19. 

To A THOUSAND GENERATIONS : 
from Deut. vii. 9. 

g. The verb MADE (lit. “ cut,” as 
in zcere fedus) seems to require 
that the relative should refer to 
* covenant” in the first hemistich, 
rather than to “word” in the 
second, of ver. 8. But the phrase 
to “make (lit. “cut”) a word” 
occurs in Hag. ii. 5, and therefore 
the relative may refer to the nearer 
noun. 

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 
perform the oath which I sware 
unto Abraham thy father :” comp. 
Gen. xxii. 16, 


i 


a 


a i at ek be 











PSALM CV. 


243 


1o And established it with Jacob for a statute, 
With Israel for an everlasting covenant, 

t1 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,) 

15 “Touch not Mine anointed ones, 
And to My prophets do no harm.” 


11, THE LINE, 7.¢.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.” 

VERY FEW, lit. “as (it were) a 
little”” or “as little as possible,” 
bgov ddiyov. Comp. Prov. x. 20. 

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 government.” 
—Delitzsch. 

14. HE SUFFERED, as in Ex. 
xxxil. 10. 

KINGS, viz. of the Egyptians, 
Gen. xii., and of the Philistines, 
Gen. xx., xxvi. 

15. TOUCH NOT, with allusion, 
perhaps, to Gen. xxvi. II. 

MINE ANOINTED, 2z.é. specially 
set apart and consecrated. The 
poet uses, as Ros. observes, the 
language of his own time, not that 
of the patriarchs, who were never 
anointed. But inasmuch as in 
David’s time priests and prophets 
were anointed (1 Kings xix. 16), 
when he would say that the patri- 


__archs are priests of the true God, 


and therefore to be regarded as 
sacred, he gives them the epithet 
“ anointed,” as in the next hemi- 
stich “prophets,” a name which 
God bestows upon Abraham, Gen. 
xx. 7, when he says to Abimelech, 
“And now give the man back his 
wife, for he is a prophet ; and if he 
pray for thee, thou shalt live.” 

My PROPHETS. A good instance 
of the wide signification of this 
word. It is derived from a root 
signifying Zo 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 tt, the organ of its com- 
munication to others. But in the 
earlier instances, as in that of Abra- 
ham, his official character does not 
distinctly appear, though doubt- 
less, like Noah, he was “a.preacher 
of righteousness,” and taught his 
own family (and through them ulti- 
mately 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 to what is meant by styling 
the patriarchs prophets, when we 
read such passages as Gen. xviii. 


bay 


244 


PSALM CV. 


16 And He called for a famine upon the land, 
He brake every staff of bread. 

17, He sent before them a man, 
Joseph was sold for a slave ; 

18 They afflicted his feet with fetters, 
He was laid in iron (chains), 

19 Until the time that his word came, 


17, “And Jehovah said, Shall I 
hide from Abraham that thing which 
I do?” or again, the pleading of 
Abraham for Sodom, in ver. 23— 
33 of the same chapter. It is, in- 
deed, as pleading with God zz znter- 
cession 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 ac- 
complishing 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. 1: 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. 1. The same figure 
is suggested in civ. 15, “bread 
that strengtheneth (stayeth) man’s 
heart.” 

18. This is a much harsher pic- 
ture of Joseph’s imprisonment than 
that given in Genesis xxxix. 20— 23, 
xl. 4. But it may refer to the earlier 
stage 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 
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 
periphrasis of the person=“ he,” as 
in lvii. 4 [5], xciv. 17), z.@. he was a 
prisoner, bound with chains. So the 
Syr. and the LXX. oidnpov bindOev 9 
wvxn atrov. Jerome, “in ferrum 


venit anima ejus.” The more pictu- 


resque but incorrect rendering of 
the P.B.V., “the iron entered into 
his soul,” follows the Vulg., “fer- 
rum pertransiit animam ejus.” (The 
Chald. led the way in this interpre- 
tation.) 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. HIS WORD. This may be (1), 
“the word of Joseph,” z.e. either 
(a) his interpretation of the dreams 
of the king’s officers in the prison, 
which finally led to his own libera- 
tion, Gen. xli. 12 (so Ros., De Wette, 
Hupf.) ; or (4) the word revealed to 
him in dreams of his own future 
exaltation, Gen. xlii.9; or (2) “the 
word of ¥ehovah,” viz. that which 
first foretold, and then fulfilled the 
promise of, his exaltation. If we 
adopt (1), then the meaning is, 
Joseph lay in prison till his interpre- 
tation of the dreams came to pass. 

CAME, 7.é. was fulfilled, a word 
used in the same way of the fulfil- 
ment of prophecies, Jud. xiii. 12, 17 
(“come to pass,” E.V.) ; 1 Sam. ix. 
6; Jer. xvii. 15. Delitzsch, who 





— 








PSALM CV. 


245 


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 And Israel came into Egypt, | 
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. 


understands the “ word” here men- 
tioned as the word of God, illus- 
trates the passage by reference to 
Cvii. 20 ; just as there God “ sends” 
His word, so here His word “comes;” 
it came first as an angel of promise, 
and then as an angel of fulfil- 
ment. 

_ THE SAYING (utterance, promise) 


_ OF JEHOVAH. LXX., ro Aoyiov tot 


Kupiov, different from the WORD in 
the previous verse. This seems 
Most naturally to be understood, 
not of God’s interpretation of the 
dreams (as Hupf. and others), but 
of God’s promise of future exalta- 
tion conveyed to him in his dreams. 
The Divine utterance (imrah) has 
ascribed to it a living effectual 
wer, as in cxix. 50. It proved 

by testing his faith during the 
years of suffering and imprison- 
ment which intervened between the 
promise and its fulfilment. 

20. With what follows, comp. 
Gen. xli. 14, 39,40,44- 0 

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 gene- 
_ Tally the exercise of control. “The 


Capability of binding is to be re- 
____ garded as an evidence of authority ; 
_ a power of compelling obedience, 


or, in default thereof, of inflicting 
punishment.”—PAillips. 

Hengstenberg thinks that the 
figure was occasioned by a refer- 
ence to ver. 18: his soul, once 
bound, now binds princes. He 
illustrates the meaning by Gen. xli. 
44, “without thee shall no man 
move his hand or his foot in all the 
land of Egypt ;” and ver. 40, “thou 
shalt be over my house, and all my 
people shall kiss thy mouth.” 

AT HIS WILL, lit. “in, according 
to, his soul” (see on xvii. 9), equi- 
valent to “according unto thy 
word,” Gen. xli. 40. 

TO TEACH ... WISDOM ; not to 
be pressed of literal instruction in 
the art of politics, bug merely ex- 
pressing in poetical form what is 
said in Gen. xli. 38, 39s 

23. LAND OF Hay, as in Lxxviii. 51. 

24. Comp. Exod. 1. 7; Deut. 
xxvi. 5. What follows to ver. 38 is 
a résumé of the history 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 
observed. That in Ixxviii. 44, &c. 
is different. 

25. HE TURNED. This direct 
ascription of the hostility on the 


246 PSALM CV. 


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 word. 
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, 


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, arising from the in- 
crease of the people. But the diffi- 
culty 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, lx. 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.” 

HIs SIGNS, lit. “the words of His 
signs;” comp. Ixv. 3 [4] (where see 
note), cxly. 5, perhaps as facts that 
speak aloud (Del.), or as announced 
beforehand, so that they were, in 
fact, prophetic words (Hupf.), Exod. 
iv. 28, 30. 

28. The ninth plague (Exod. x. 
21—29) mentioned first,—why, it 
is difficult to see. Hengstenberg 
thinks because “ darkness is an 
image of the Divine wrath,” and 
“the Egyptians were in this sense 


covered with darkness from the 
first to the last plague.” But this 
is far-fetched. The variation in the 
order of the plagues from the nar- 
rative in Exodus may be paralleled 
by the variation in the order 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, 

MADE IT DARK: causative, as in 
Cxxxix. 12; Am. v. 8: but the in- 
transitive rendering, “and it was 
dark,” is also defensible ; see Jer. 
xiii. 16. 

AND THEY REBELLED NOT, Zé, 
Moses and Aaron, who, and not the 
Egyptians, must here be the sub- 
ject. From not seeing this, the 
LXX. omitted ‘the negative, kat 
mapemikpavay tovs Adyous atrov (and 
so also the Syr., Arab., and Ethiop.), 
whence in the P.B.V., “and they 
were not obedient unto His word.” 
The Vulg. retains the negative, but 
puts the verb in the singular, “ Et 
non exacerbavit sermones suos.” 
The obedience of Moses and Aarcn 
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. : 

29. The first plague, Exod. vii. 
I4—-25 ; in the next verse, the 
second, Exod. viii, 1—14 [vii. 26— 
viii. 11} 





— —<<-. -s 














— 








E 
j 
a 
d = 
: 
} 
¥3 


PSALM CV. 


247 


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. 
36 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, 
And fire to lighten the night. 
40 They asked and He brought quails, 


31. The fourth plague, that of 
flies, Exod. viii. 20—24 [16—20], 
and the third, that of gnats, or 
mosquitoes (E.V. “ lice”), Exod. 
viii. 16—19 [12—15]. 

32, 33. From the third plague he 
passes to the seventh, Exod. ix. 13 

34, 35. The eighth plague, Exod. 
xX. I—20, where only one kind of 
locust is mentioned (aréck). Here 
we have also yelek, “‘ grasshopper” 
(2 species of locust winged, Nah. 
li. 16, and hairy, Jer. li. 27), as in 
xxviii. 46, chész/, “caterpiller” in 
the parallelism: see Knobel on 
Levit. xi. 22. 

36. The fifth and sixth plagues 
are omitted, and the series closed 
with the last, in language borrowed 
from Ixxviii. 51. 

37- WITH SILVER AND GOLD: 
Exod. xii. 35. 

THAT STUMBLED. See the same 
phrase, as descriptive of vigour, Is. 
v. 27, “none shall be weary or 


stumble among them ;” and for the 
oes! sense comp. Exod. xiii. 
$c; 

38. WAS GLAD: Exod. xii. 31— 
33. THEIR TERROR: xv. 14—16; 
Deut. xi. 25. 

39-41. Three of the principal 
miracles in the wilderness, which 
sum up the period between the de- 
parturefrom Egypt and theentrance 
into the Promised Land. But it is 
remarkable that the great miracle 
of the passage of the Red Sea, a 
favourite theme with poets and 
prophets, is not even alluded to. 

39. SPREAD A CLOUD: not, as in 
Ex. xiv. 19, as a protection against 
their enemies, but rather over their 
heads, as a protection against the 
burning sun. See the use of the 
same verb, Exod. xl. 19, of the 
tabernacle ; Joel ii. 2, of a cloud; 
and comp. Is. iv. 5, 6. 

40. See on lxxviii. 24, 27. 

THEY ASKED. The verb is in the 
sing., referring to the people. 


248 


And satisfied them with the bread of heaven. ~~ 


‘PSALM CV. 


41 He opened the rock and the waters flowed, 
They went along the deserts (as) a river. 
42 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 labours of the 


peoples ; 


45 That they might keep His statutes, 


And observe His laws. 


41. Rock. The word is é¢sur, 
and therefore the miracle at Horeb 
is intended ; see on Ixxvili. 15. 

42—45. Conclusion, giving, first 
the reasons why God had thus 
dealt with Israel, viz. His own 
promise, and the faith of His ser- 
vant 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 marvellous 
guidance, “ That they might keep 
His statutes, and observe His laws.” 

43. WITH GLADNESS, alluding, 


Hallelujah. 


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 
everlasting gladness shall be on 
their head,” &c. 

44. LABOURS; not only cultivated 
lands, but cities, treasures, &c. 

45. THAT THEY MIGHT KEEP. 
This was God’s purpose, that Israel 


sbould be a holy nation in the 


midst of other nations, a priest- 
hood representing the world, and 
claiming it for God as His world. 


* nina. There is some difficulty as to the construction in this and 
the two next verses. In 1 Chron. xvi. 19 this verse is joined with what 
goes before, the suffix being changed to that of the 2nd pers., “when ye 
were,” and so the Chald. and Syr. here. Del. finds the protasis here, and 
the apodosis in ver. 14. He takes ver. 13 as a part of the protasis, 
according to the common rule, that a sentence beginning with the 
infinitive recurs to the use of the finite verb: “When they were few, 
and sojourners, and went to and fro, &c. . . . (then) He suffered no man 
to harin them.” Ewald connects both ver. 12 and ver. 13 with what 
precedes. Hupfeld thinks that ver. 12 is loosely subjoined to what 
precedes, but makes of ver. 13 and ver. 14 independent sentences: 
“they went from nation to nation,” . “He suffered no man,” &c. 





i at 














a 


PSALM CVI. 249 


PSALM CVI. 


Tuis is the first of a series of Hallelujah Psalms; Psalms of which 


tthe word- Hallelujah is, as it were, the Inscription (cvi., cxi.—cxiil., 


CXVil., 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, ale: reverses, the sword, famine, exile, are 


: _ fecognized as the righteous chastisement which the sin of the nation 
has provoked. This is the strain of such Psalms as the 78th, the 


tosth, the 106th. This is invariably the tone assumed by all the 


g 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. A 
similar review of the past history of Israel, joined in the same way 
with a confession of the sins of the nation during their history, occurs 
in the prayer of the Levites on the occasion of the solemn fast 


_ proclaimed after the return from the Captivity (Nehem. ix.). But the 
_ earliest specimen of this kind of confession is the prayer which is 


directed to be used at the offering of the first-fruits, Deut. xxvi. 


__Solomon’s prayer at the consecration of the Temple, 1 Kings viii., is 





not itself a prayer of confession, so much as a pleading with God 
that He would hear His people whenever, having sinned, they should 
come to Him confessing their sins. All these instances differ from 


_ the Psalm in being prose, not poetry. Still the Psalm is not free, as 


250 PSALM CVI. 

Delitzsch observes, from certain peculiarities found in the others, such 
as (1) the fondness for rhyme, especially in the use of suffixes having the 
same sound (see, for instance, ver. 4, 5, 8, 35-41): (2) the fondness 
for synonyms, as in ver. 21, 22, “great things,” “ wonderful things,” 
“terrible things ;” (3) the direct, even tautological expansion of the 
thought, as in ver. 37, 38, to the comparative neglect of the usual ~ 
principle of parallelism. 

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 
Psalm, form 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, 1 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. 1—5. 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 lovingkindness (endureth) for ever. 


1—5. The first five verses seem 
to stand alone, and to have little or 
no direct connection with the rest of 
the Psalm. Ilupfeld regards the 
first three verses, in particular, as 
nothing but a general introduction, 
and one quite at variance with the 
strain of the Psalm as a confession 
of sin. But this is a hasty and 
superficial view. The first verse, 
no doubt, is of the nature of a 
doxological formula, such as we 
find in some other of these later 
Psalms. But the second and third 
verses have an immediate bearing 
on what follows. What so fitting 
to introduce the confession of a 
nation’s sin and ingratitude, as the 
rehearsal of God’s goodness mani- 
fested to it, and the acknowledge- 


ment of the blessedness of those 
who, instead of despising that good- 
ness, as Israel had done, walked 
in the ways of the Lord, keeping 
judgement and doing righteousness 
(ver. 3)? Or again, what more 
natural than that the sense of the 
national privilege, the claim of a 
personal share in that privilege, 
should spring in the heart and rise 
to the lips of one who felt most 
deeply the national sin and ingrati- 
tude ? 

The fourth and fifth verses are 
clearly the expression of fersonal 
feeling. It is strange that some 
commentators should have seen 
here a personification of the people, 
when the fifth verse so expressly 
distinguishes, in every clause, be- 








PSALM CVI. 


251 


2 Who can utter the mighty acts of Jehovah, 
(Who) can tell forth all His praise ? 
: 3 Blessed are they that keep judgement, 
| Every one that doeth righteousness at all times. 




























unto Thy people, 


_ tween the individual who speaks 
and the people of which he is a 
member. Nor is there any reason 
to assume that the Psalmist speaks 
_ inthe name of the people. ‘There 
_ is the same blending of personal 
feeling and personal experience 
_ with the national life which we 
_ find, for instance, in Ixv. 3 [4]. The 
: oe expressed is, that when God 
ek again with favour upon the 
nation, when He delivers them from 
_ the hand of the heathen (see ver. 
_ 47), then the Psalmist himself may 
: in the general joy. 
: 1. The Psalm begins with the 
liturgical formula which was in use 
in Jeremiah’s time, xxxiii. 11 (under 
Zedekiah), and which became after- 
wards more frequent, 1 Macc. iv. 24. 
It is not, therefore, quite so certain 
_ that 1 Chron. xvi. 34 was taken from 
_ the beginning of this Psalm, as that 
_ the two following verses, 35, 36, were 
_ taken from its close. 
_ GOOD, z.e. not so much in refer- 
ence to “a own nature, as in His 
_ gracious dealing with men. The 
x. rightly, xonotés. 
_ 2. THE MIGHTY ACTS are all 
_ that He has done for His people, as 
HIs PRAISE is all the glory which 
_ He has thus manifested, and which 
_ calls for praise from them. 
_ 4 In this and the next verse the 


ee ee ea ae ena 


h 


4 Remember me, O Jehovah, with the favour Thou bearest 


O visit me with Thy salvation; 
5 That I may see the prosperity of Thy chosen, 
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, 


same suffix recurs, almost with the 
effect of rhyme ; “the peculiarity,” 
says Delitzsch, “of the T’phillah- 
style.” In ver. 6 the same thing is 
observable, which is characteristic 
of these prayers of confession ( Vid- 
duy, in the later Hebrew, from the 
verb “to confess,” Lev. xvi. 21), 1 
Kings viii. 47 (Dan. ix. 5 ; comp. 
Bar, ii. 12). 

5. NATION. The word in the 
plural is always used of the hea- 
then, but in the singular sometimes 
of the nation of Israel, and even 
with the pronominal suffix, as here, 
and Zeph. ii. 9. 

6. The language is borrowed 
evidently from that of Solomon’s 
prayer, 1 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 manifold trans- 
gressions. 

WITH OUR FATHERS. The nation 
is thus regarded as a whole, one in 
guilt and one in punishment. See 
note on lxxix. 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 to- 


252 


PSALM CVI. 


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, 
9g 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. 
11 And the waters covered their adversaries, 
Not one of them was left. 
12 And they believed His words, 


They sang His praise. 


13 Soon they forgat His doings, 
They waited not for His counsel ; 
14 And lusted for themselves a lust in the wilderness, 


gether 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 
Sorgetfulness is censured. Comp. 
Ixxviil. 11; Deut. xxxii. 18; and 
see note on Ps. ciii. 2. 

REBELLED (the verb is here used 
absol., elsewhere with the accus.), 
with reference to the occurrence in 
Ex. xiv. 1o—13. 

This is the first act of transgres- 
sion of which confession is made. 

8. HIS MIGHT TO BE KNOWN, as 
in Ixxvii. 14. 

9g. 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. 1: “And Israel 
saw the great act (lit. hand) which 


Jehovah had done against Egypt, 
and the people feared Jehovah, and 
they dedzeved on Jehovah and His 
servant Moses. Then sazg 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 fur- 
ther proof that whatever impres- 
sions 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. 
Ixxvill. 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 depen- 
dence upon God, leaving to Him to 
fulfil His own purposes in His own 
way, but would rather rule Him than 
submit themselves to His rule. 

14. LUSTED FOR THEMSELVES A 
LUST ; the expression is taken from 
Num. xi. 4. 














PSALM CVI. 


253 


And tempted God in the waste. 

15 And He gave them their request, 
And (withal) sent leanness 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 ; 

18 And a fire burnt in their congregation, 
A flame consumed the wicked. 


19 They made a calf in Horeb, 
_ And bowed themselves before the molten image, 
20 And they bartered their glory, 


15. HE GAVE THEM THEIR RE- 
QUEST. See on lxxviii. 21, 29. 
LEANNESS. Comp. Is. x. 16, xvii. 
4. The LXX., rAncpovyp, “ satiety,” 
and so the Syr. and Vulg., but 
wrongly. This LEANNESS and sick- 
ness (phthisis) may refer to the 
loathing of the food, followed by 
t mortality (the “blow of God”), 
um. 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 pertinent. 
The very heart and spirit of a man, 
when bent only or supremely on the 
satisfaction of its earthly desires 
and appetites, is always dried up 
and withered. It becomes a lean, 
shrunk, miserable thing, always 
craving 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 
leaders. The reference is to Num. 
XVI1., XVii. 


16. THE HOLYONE. Aaron is so 
called on account of his priestly 
office. It was this, as an exclusive 

rivilege, which was assailed by 

Korah and his company, on the 
ground that all the congregation 
were “holy,” 2.2. set apart and con- 
secrated to God as His priests. 

17. OPENED. In Num. xvi. 30, 


32, xxvi. 10, the fuller expression 
occurs, “opened her mouth.” 
COVERED, as in Num. xvi. 33. 

Dathan and Abiram only are 
mentioned, and this is in strict 
agreement with Num. xxvi. II, 
where it is said, “ Notwithstanding 
the children of Korah died not.” 
And the same thing is at least 
implied in Num. xvi. 27, where it 
is said that, just before the cata- 
strophe 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 Blunt’s Vera- 
city of the Books of Moses, Part I. 
§ 20, p. 86. 

18. The other punishment, the 
destruction by fire, befell the 250 
princes of the congregation, who 
offered incense before the Lord, 
Num. xvi. 2, 35 

THE WICKED, as in Num. xvi, 26, 
“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 Horeé (which is 
the common name in Deuteronomy), 
and not Sinai, is here the name of 
the mountain. 

20. THEIR GLORY, #.2. their God, 


254 


PSALM CVI. 


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, 


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. 


who had manifested Himself to 
them in His glory ; glory, like light, 
being used in Scripture to denote the 
Divine perfections. Others under- 
stand 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 all 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 the closest parallel is 
Jer. ii. 11, “ Hath a nation bartered 
their gods, which are yet no gods? 
But My people have bartered thetr 
glory for that which doth not profit.” 

LIKENESS, properly “ model” or 
“ficure.” See the same word in 
Deut. iv. 16—18. 

21. FORGAT GOD; with reference, 
perhaps, to the warning, Deut. vi. 12, 
“ beware lest thou forget Jehovah.” 

22. LAND OF HAM, as m cv. 23, 
27. Comp. Ixxviii. 51, “tents of 
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; and for the construc- 
tion, Ezek. xx. 8, 13, 21. 

IN THE BREACH. The interces- 


sion of Moses is compared to the 
act of a brave leader, covering with 
his body the breach made in the 
walls 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 
(reach, 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,” Num. xiv. 31; 
“murmured in their tents,” Deut. 
i. 27; “lifted up His hand,” as in 
Ex. vi. 8, Deut. xxxii. 4o; “to 
make them fall,” as in Num. xiv. 
29, 32. The phrase, “to lift up the 
hand,” refers to the custom in the 
taking 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, Comp. the same 
expression Ezek. xx. 23, “I lifted 
up Mine hand unto them also in 
the wilderness, that I would scatter 
them among the heathen, and dis- 
perse them through the countries.” 








PSALM CVI. 


255 


26 Then He lifted up His hand against them, 
To make them fall in the wilderness, 

27 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, 

29 And gave provocation with their doings, 
And a plague brake in upon them. 


27. TO MAKE FALL; here Jfro- 
jicere, in the same sense almost as 
* to scatter,” in the parallelism. 

28. THEY WERE YOKED: a fifth 
transgression in the wilderness, re- 
corded in Num. xxv. The same 
verb is used there, ver. 3, 5, with 
reference to the prostitution which 
accompanied the worship of Baal- 

r, “the Moabite Priapus.” 
ae 1 Cor. vi. 16,17, and with 
the next clause ATE THE SACRIFICES, 
1 Cor. x. 18—21, with Num. xxv. 
2. The LXX., for “they were 
_ yoked,” have éredéeoOnoay, “ they 

were initiated.” 

THE DEAD. Two interpretations 
have been given: (1) that idols are 
meant, as opposed to “the Aiving 
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 favour 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 
_ mecromancers, consulting them as 
_ Saul consulted the Witch of Endor), 
on behalf of the living?” So 
- Selden, De Diis Syris, i. 5, un- 

_derstands this place of sacrifices 
_ Offered Dis manibus. UHupfeld 
objects that in Num. xxv. 2 the 
_ same Sacrifices are called “sacrifices 
of their gods,” and that sacrifices 
_ to the dead would scarcely be ac- 


: 
| 

























companied by sacrificial feasts. 
This last objection has no force. 

This 28th verse, as Delitzsch 
remarks, is of historical importance, 
as having given rise to the pro- 
hibition of fiesh offered in sacrifice 
to idols. In the second section of 
the Avodah Zarah, in a comment 
on the words of the Mishna, “ The 
flesh which is intended to be offered 
to idols is allowed (to be partaken 
of), but that which comes from the 
temple is forbidden, because it is 
like sacrifices of the dead,” it is 
observed : “R. Jehudah b. Bethéra 
said, ‘ Whence do I know that that 
which is offered to idols pollutes 
like a dead body? From Ps. cvi. 
28. Asthe dead pollutes everything 
which is with him under the same 
roof, so also does all which is 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, 1 Cor. x. 
28, 29. 

29. GAVE PROVOCATION. The 
verb used absol., without a case, as 
in ver. 7, 32, 43, a peculiarity of the 
writer of this Psalm. 

A PLAGUE. The word is used of a 
Divine judgement, more commonly 
of sickness, but here, as in Num. 
xxv. 8, 9, 18, of the slaughter ac- 
complished by human instruments. 
Comp. Ex. xxxii. 35. 

BRAKE IN, or, “ made a breach ” 
(for the verb is from the same root 
as the noun in ver. 23). Comp. 
Ex. xix. 24. 


256 


PSALM CVI. 


30 Then Phinehas stood (up) and did judgement, 
And (so) the plague was stayed ; 

31 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. 
33 For they rebelled against His Spirit, 


30. STOOD. See the similar ex- 
pression, Num. xxv. 7, “ And when 
Phinehas saw it, he rose up,” and 
the same verb as here, Num. xvi. 
48 [xvii. 13], of Aaron’s intercession. 
It is a picture of the one zealous 
man rising up from the midst of 
the inactive multitude, who sit still 
and make no effort. 

DID JUDGEMENT, not, as in 
P.B.V., following the Chald. and 
Syr., “prayed” (z.¢. interceded), a 
meaning which the verb never has 
in this conjugation (Piel), but only 
in the Hithpael. The LXX. give 
the sense only, when they render 
e&idoaro (Vulg. Alacavit). This 
righteous act of judgement, like 
the intercession of Aaron, was pro- 
pitiatory; it appeased and turned 
away the wrath of God ; “ and the 
plague was stayed;” words bor- 
rowed from Num. xxv. 8; comp. 
Num. xvi. 48 [xvii. 13]. 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 minister 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 ; It was 
looked upon as a righteous act, 
and rewarded accordingly. The 
same thing is said of the /azth of 
Abraham, Gen. xv. 6 ; a striking 
instance of the fearlessness of ex- 
pression which is to be found in 
the Scriptures, as compared with 


the dogmatic forms of modern 
controversial theology, This verse 
has given occasion to whole dis- 
quisitions on the subject of justi- 
fication, with which it really has 
nothing to do, though at least the 
language is in perfect accordance 
with that of St. James (ii. 2o—26). 

The reward of this righteousness 
was the perpetual continuance of 
the priesthood in his family (Num. 
XXV. 12, 13). 

UNTO ALL GENERATIONS, &c. 
lit. “for generation and generation, 
to (all) eternity,” a remarkable in- 
stance 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 at Meribah, in 
the fortieth year of the wandering, 
Num. xx. 2—13, 

IT WENT ILL WITH. This must 
be the meaning here (though else- 
where the same phrase means “ it 
grieved, or displeased,” as in Neh, 
ll, 10, xiii. 8; Jon. iv. 1), Comp. 
Deut. i. 37, iii. 26, “also Jehovah 
was angry with me for your sakes.” 
The reason why Moses was for- 
bidden to enter the Promised Land 
is here stated more distinctly than 
in the narrative. It was the ex- 
asperation into which he suffered 
himself to be betrayed in uttering 
the words in Num. xx. 10; though 
the impatient spirit was shown also 
in striking the rock twice. 

33. THEY REBELLED AGAINST 
His SPIRIT. Three explanations 








PSALM CVI. 


257 


And he spake unadvisedly with his lips. 


34 They did not destroy the peoples, 

Which Jehovah had commanded them ; 

35 But they mixed themselves with the nations, 
| And learnt their works ; 


36 And served their idols, 
















(false) gods ; 


people, 


_ of this line have been given. (1) By 
_“his spirit” has been understood 
_ the Soe soled Moses, and accordingly 
the has been rendered in the 
=EV. “they provoked his spirit.” 
however, is to give a meaning 
to the verb which it never has. 
_ Hence res Wette, (e Aes strove 
: spirit.” (2) The words 
- aeogebenm understood of disobe- 
_ dience against God : “they rebelled 
_ against His (God’s) Spirit.” Comp. 
_ Is. lxiii. 10, “ But they rebelled and 
_ vexed His Holy Spirit,” with Ps. 
vill. 40. But (3), retaining this 

ast explanation, it is still a question 
what is the subject of the verb. It 
zy be said of Moses and Aaron, 
rebelled (see Num. xx. 


that the people are the 
the clauses of ver. 


in not 
ng far tie nares (as enjoined 


VOL. I. 


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. 
39 And they were defiled with their works, 
And went a-whoring with their doings. 


And they became to them a snare: 
37 And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to 


40 Then the anger of Jehovah was kindled against His 


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 sacri- 
fices, as in the worship of Moloch, 
is especially dwelt upon. This was 
an offering to FALSE GODS (Heb. 
Shédim), lit. “lords,” like Baalim, 
*Adonim, and then applied to gods 
(as the forms Shaddai, Adonai, 
were confined to Jehovah) 3 see the 
same word Deut. xxxii. 17, for 
which in Jud. ii. 11, Baalim. The 
LXX. render da:povios, and Jerome 
daemonibus, whence the E.V. has 
“ devils.” 

. 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). 

40—43. The terrible and repeated 
judgements of God. 


s 


258 


PSALM CVI. 


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, 
And 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 multitude of His 


loving-kindness. 


46 And made them.to find compassion 
In the presence of all who carried them captive. 
47 Save us, O Jehovah our God, 
And gather us from the nations, 
That we may give thanks to Thy holy Name, 
That we may glory in Thy play 





48 Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, 


42. THEY WERE BOWED DOWN, 
elsewhere said of the enemies of 
Israel, Jud. iii. 30, iv. 23, viii. 28, 
xi. 33. 

43. IN THEIR COUNSEL, as in 
Ixxxi, 12 [13]; Jer. vil. 24, em- 
phatically opposed to the counsel 
and purpose of God. 

WERE BROUGHT LOW, Lev. xxvi. 
39: 

44. The Psalmist turns now to 
the other side of God’s dealings 
with His people. It was not all 
anger. If they forgot His covenant, 
He remembered it. Even in the 
land of their captivity, He softened 
the hearts of their captors. 

THEIR CRY. The word which is 
often used of the song of joy, here, 
as in I Kings viii. 28, of the cry of 
distress. 

45. PITIED THEM, or “ repented,” 
as in xc. 13. 


46. There is a reference to Solo- © 
mon’s prayer, I Kings viii. 50. 
Comp. Neh. i. 11; Dan.i.9. For 
the construction, see Gen. xliii. 14. 

47. The grace of God, already 
shown to His people, leads to the | 
prayer of this verse—a supplication 
for which the whole Psalm has 
prepared the way. The language 
would seem to indicate that the 
Psalm was written in exile, though 
the same prayer might also have 
been uttered by one of those who 
returned in the first caravan, on 
behalf of his brethren who were 
still dispersed. 

GLORY IN THY PRAISE, or “ deem 
ourselves happy in that we can 
praise Thee.” The verb is the 
reflexive form (Hithpael), which 
occurs only in this Psalm. 

48. The last verse is merely a 
Doxology added at a time’ su 























— 


PSALM CVI. 259 


From everlasting to everlasting. 
And let all the people say, Amen ! 
Hallelujah! 


to the composition of the historic tense, “ And all the people 
to mark the close of the said, Amen, and praised Jehovah” 
first line varies but (1 Chron. xvi. 36). The fact that he 
q slightly from that at the end of has incorporated this verse as well 
Spee be Jehovah God, as the preceding in his Psalm, is a 
the of Israel.” roof that already in his time the 
Chronicler who quotes this Psalter was divided, as at present, 


e 


see Introductiontothis Psalm into Books, the Doxology being 
.), changes the wish “ Let all regarded as an integral portion of 


the people say, Amen,” into the the Psalm. 


i 














PSALM CVII. 


































Ir has already been observed in the General Introduction to this 
work (Vol. I. p. 71), that 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 
106th Psalm. On the contrary, the ro6th and 107th Psalms seem to 
have certain links of connection, 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.* 

_ Some expositors have even gone so far as to maintain that the four 

Psalms, civ.—cvii., were designed to constitute a complete tetralogy 
arranged in chronological order, beginning with the narrative of 
' creation (Ps. civ.), going on to the history of the patriarchs and the 
_ early history of Israel (Ps. cvi.), pursuing the fortunes of the nation 
in the Promised Land, and even down to the time of the Captivity 
' (Ps. cvi.), and finally celebrating the deliverance from Babylon, 
__ and the return of the exiles (Ps. cvii.). But the connection between 
_ Ps. civ. and those which follow it is by no means so close as that 

between the three Psalms, cv.—cvii. 

“‘ These three anonymous Psalms,” says Delitzsch, “ pa: a trilogy 
_ in the strictest sense, and are in all probability a tripartite whole from 
_ the hand of one author.” Phillipson takes the same view, remarking 
that the Poet has shown consummate art in the form which he has 
" given to the whole, and the disposition and grouping of his materials. 
He thus traces the connection : “ In the first part (Ps. cv.) the Poet 
has set forth the benefits of God, and the effect produced by them: 
in the second (Ps. cvi.), only the sins of Israel, and the loss and 
ere thereby incurred ; in the third (Ps. cvii.), the deliverance, 





-* On these grounds both Ewald and Hengstenberg regard these two 
Pesci as closely connected. 


264 PSALM CVI. 


into the picture of which he has skilfully introduced both the sufferings 
of his people and also their return to their God. The first part is 
bright with praise and thanksgiving, the second gloomy and terrifying, 
the third full of exhortation and encouragement. And how skilful is 
the transition from one part to another! At the close of the first 
division (cv. 45), an intimation is given that Israel had not accomplished 
the purpose for which Canaan had been given him as his inheritance ; 
at the close of the second (cvi. 45), we already see the dawn of 
approaching redemption.” 

Delitzsch, who traces the connection in a similar way, points to the 
three following passages as confirming it: “ He gave them fhe dands 
of the heathen” (cv. 44); “‘ He threatened to cast forth their seed 
among the heathen, and to scatter them im the lands” (cvi. 27) ; 
‘‘And He hath gathered them from the /ands, from the East and the 
West,” &c. (cvii. 3). Other expressions, he observes, occur which 
link the three Psalms together. Egypt is called in them “ the land 
of Ham,” cv. 23, 27, cvi. 22, and Israel “the chosen of Jehovah,” 
cv. 6, 43, cvi. § (comp. 23). In cv. 19, cvii. 20, there is an approach 
to the hypostatic sense of the “word” of God.* In cvi. 14, evii. 4, 
y’ shimon is the word used to describe the waste, the wilderness. To 
these characteristics may be added the use of the Hithpael conjuga- 
tion in all the Psalms, cv. 3, cvi. 5, cvi. 47, Cvii. 27. In all alike 
there is the same absence of strophical arrangement.t In all there 
is evidence of a partiality for the later chapters of Isaiah (xl.—lxvi.) 
and the Book of Job. This is more especially noticeable in the ro7th 
Psalm, where the Poet is more at liberty, as he is no longer reca- 
pitulating the history of his nation. 

But ingenious as all this is, it rests on the assumption that the 
107th Psalm, like the other two, is historical, and is designed chiefly 
to celebrate the return from the Babylonish captivity. The second 
and third verses of the Psalm are supposed to mark the occasion for 
which it was written, and the rest of the Psalm is held to exhibit, by 
means of certain examples of peril and deliverance, either in a figure 
the miseries of the Exile, or literally the various incidents of the 
homeward journey. 

Such an interpretation, however, can scarcely be maintained. It 
is unnatural to regard these various examples, taken from every-day 
experience, as a figurative description of the Exile ; it is quite im- 





* See, however, the notes on those passages. 

+ This can hardly be maintained with regard to Ps. cvii. At least to 
the end of ver. 32 the strophical arrangement is clearly marked by the 
double refrain, “Then they cried unto Jehovah,” &c., and “Let them — 
thank Jehovah for His loving-kindness,” &c. 














PSALM CVII 265 


possible, in particular, that the picture of the seafarers should 
represent the sufferings of captivity, though it certainly might form 
one part of the story of the return ; for the exiles are here described, 
not merely as coming back from Babylon, but from all the countries 
of their dispersion (comp. Jer. xvi. 15, xl. 12 ; Dan. ix. 7). 

It is obvious 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. 
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 a/ such prayers, even 
when offered by men of devout mind, are zof 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 
perished in the sea, and yet the number of them must be immense.” 
Calvin replies, as might be expected, that though a hundred-fold 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. 


266 PSALM CVI. 


Does God ever answer prayer by drect 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 zzdirectly 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 ; 
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 themselves 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. 

The Psalm consists of six groups, with a preface (ver. 1—3), and 
a conclusion (ver. 43). The preface and the conclusion alike give the 
theme or key-note of the Psalm. The first four groups are marked 
by the double refrain, the two last have but a slight connection with 
the others (see note on ver. 33). The grammatical structure is 
peculiar. In the first part of the Psalm the strophes, except the 
first, begin with a particle or adjective of the subject, the predicate 
being virtually contained in the verb of the refrain : Let them give 
thanks. 





* The Feast of Harvest. A Sermon preached in St. Peter’s Church, 
Carmarthen, p. 19. 














; 





a 

« 7 

fd > 
- 

; 





LS Ee Tee 
Ls 
F re 


PSALM CVII. 267 


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, 
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 men dwell they found not ; 


1. The Psalm opens with the 
same doxological formula as cvi., 
only here it is put into the mouth 
of the exiles returned from Babylon. 
For a similar opening see cxviii. 
1—4. In earlier Psalms where 
phrases of the kind occur, they do 
not stand at the beginning of the 
Psalm, and the verb “say” precedes 
the doxology, instead of following 
it; see xxxv. 27, xl. 16 [17]. 

It is the old liturgical doxology 
which, as in Jer. xxxiii. 11, is to be 
heard in the mouth of the captives 
restored to their own land. 

2. RANSOMED OF JEHOVAH ; as 
in Is. lxii. 12 (whence it may be 
borrowed), Ixiii. 4; comp. xxxv. 9, 
10. 

THE ADVERSARY, the oppressor 
in Babylon; or the word may mean, 
as in ver. 6, “distress.” “ From the 
hand of distress” might be said in 
Hebrew, in the same way as “ from 
the hand of the dog” (xxii. 20). _ 

3. GATHERED THEM, as in cvi. 
47, and generally in the Prophets 
(comp. Is. xi. 12, lvi. 8, and often) 
of the return from the Captivity. 
For the same picture see Is. xlii.; 5, 
6, xlix. 12. The exiles, free to re- 
turn, are seen flocking, not from 
Babylon only, but from all lands, 
“like doves to their windows.” 

THE SOUTH, lit. “the sea” (if the 
text is correct), which everywhere 
else means the West (the Mediterra- 
nean Sea), but must obviously here 
denote the South. Hence the 
Chald. understands by “the Sea,” 


ns 


the Arabian Gulf ; others again, the 
Southern (Indian) Ocean; but as 
these explanations are contrary to 
usage, there is reason to question 
the correctness of the text. See 
more in Critical Note. 

4. The first example: the caravan 
which has lost its way 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 de- 
scription either (1) of what befell 
the Jews who (Jer. xliii.) fled into 
the wilderness to escape the Chal- 
deans, after the taking of Jerusalem; 
or (2) of the perils encountered by 
the caravans 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 (4) “the ran- 
somed of Jehovah” may be taken 
in a wider sense, as denoting, not 
the captives at Babylon, but all 
Jews exposed to the risks and hard- 
ships of foreign travel. So Calvin: 
“Et primo ad gratitudinem horta- 
tur qui ex longinqua et difficili 
peregrinatione, adeoque ex servi- 
tute et vinculis, domum incolumes 
reversi sunt. Tales autem vocat 
redemptos Det, quia per deserta et 
invias solitudines vagando szpius 
a reditu exclusi essent, nisi Deus, 


268 


5 Hungry and thirsty, 


PSALM CVI. 


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, 
That they might go to a city where men dwell ;— 
8 Let them give thanks to Jehovah for His loving-kindness, 
And for His wonders to the children of men: 


quasi porrecta manu, ducem se illis 
preebuisset.” 

(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 goodness has been manifested. 
Or (8), because the first three verses 
were a liturgical addition, framed 
with particular reference to the re- 
turn 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 
described was doubtless not un- 
common. The usual track of the 
caravan is lost—obliterated, per- 
haps, 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 [4], cxlii. 3 [4], 
exlili. 4; Jon. ii. 7 [8]. 

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 a natural instinct 
even of wicked men to turn to God 
at such times: “ Si graviori in dis- 
crimine versentur, etiam sine certa 


meditatione, ad Deum invocandum 
natur duce et magistra impelli.”— 
Calvin. 

JEHOVAH. Hengstenberg alleges 
the use of this Name instead of the 
more general one, Elohim, God, in 
proof that the Psalmist is speaking 
not of men at large, but only of 
Jews (and that hence the Psalm 
refers to the return from the Capti- 
vity at Babylon). The heathen, he 
objects, would not be said to call 
upon Fehovah. But surely a Jew, 
even when speaking of the general 
providence of God, would have 
Jews chiefly before his mind as 
embraced in that providence, and 
as naturally would use the name of 
God which was dearest to him as a 
Jew. The distinction between Jew 
and Gentile would be lost sight of 
altogether. 

8. Others render, “Let them 
praise His loving-kindness before 
Jehovah, and His wonders before 
the children of men,” z.¢. let them 
confess His goodness before God 
and man. The parallelism may 
perhaps be more accurately pre- 
served by this rendering, but gram- 
matically it is not necessary. It is 
also doubtful whether we have here 
the expression of a wish, “Let them 
give thanks ;” or the statement of a 
past fact, “they gave thanks.” In 
support of the latter rendering may 
be alleged the frequent use of the 
same tense in the Psalm as a past 
(“a relative preterite,’ Hupf.); see 
on xviii., note*®. But the analogy 
of ver. 2, which is clearly opta- 
tive, makes the former the more 
probable. 








~—7> sre = 


i. . « 


PSALM CVII. 


269 


9 For He satisfieth the longing soul, 
And filleth the hungry soul with good. 


10 Such as sat in darkness and the shadow of -death, 
Being bound in affliction and iron, 
Ir 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 shadowof 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 in pieces the bars of iron. 


17 Foolish men, because of the way of their transgression, 


9. There is a reference to ver. 5 ; 
“longing” answers to “ thirsty,” as 
in Is, xxix. 8. 

to—16. The second example— 
that of prisoners. 

to. DARKNESS, &c. The same 
expression occurs Is. xlii. 7, xlix. 9; 
Micah vii. 8, of the gloom of the 
prison-house. Comp. Virgil, <7. 
vi. 734, “ Neque auras Respiciunt, 
clause tenebris et carcere czco.” 

AFFLICTION AND IRON. Comp. 
the fuller phrase Job xxxvi. 8, 
“bound in fetters, and holden in 
cords of affliction.” 

11, WORDS... COUNSEL. The 
commandments of God as given in 
the Law, and His counsel as de- 
clared by His prophets, are chiefly 
meant; for throughout the passage 
language is employed which implies 
the theocratic position of Israel. 
But the reference may be wider. 
The law written in the conscience, 
the instruction given by inner re- 
velation (comp. xvi. 7), need not be 
excluded. So the verb THEY DE- 
SPISED is used both in the theocratic 


sense of blasphemy (Num. xiv. 11, 
23, xvi. 30; Deut. xxxi. 20), and also 
in a more general sense, as in the 
rejection of the counsels of wisdom 
(Prov. i. 30, v. 12, xv. 5). 

15. The construction of the whole 
passage, beginning with ver. 10, is 
only completed here. The partici- 
pial subject, “such as sit,” &c., 
finds here its verb. The interven- 
ing verses, 1I—14, are to a certain 
extent parenthetical, ver. 11, 12 
giving the reason, and ver. 13, 14 
the consequences, of the chastise- 
ment. 

16. The expressions are appa- 
rently taken from Is. xlv. 2. 

17—22. Third example: sick per- 
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, sensual, 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), 


270 PSALM CVII. 


And because of their iniquities, bring affliction upon 


themselves. 


18 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 loving-kindness, 
And for His wonders to the children of men. 


and who can only be brought to 
reason by chastisement. The ex- 
pression seems quite to exclude the 
notion that the allusion is to “a 
party of sick exiles, enfeebled pro- 
bably by labours, or by uncongenial 
climates, so that their soul abhorred 
all manner of meat, and. they were 
hard at death’s door.”—JLiddon. 
Such persons would not be de- 
‘scribed as “foolish,” but rather as 
objects of pity. The noun “foolish- 
ness,” xxxviil. 5 [6], is from the 
same root, and is used in the same 
ethical sense. See note there. 

THE WAY OF THEIR TRANSGRES- 
SION. The expression is used to 
denote the course of conduct, the 
habit of the life, and is not merely 
pleonastic. 

BRING AFFLICTION UPON THEM- 
SELVES. The proper reflexive sig- 
nification of the conjugation is by 
all means to be retained. It most 
expressively marks how entirely a 
man brings upon himself his own 
punishment. The same form of 
the verb is used, but with a some- 
what different shade of meaning, 
in 1 Kings ii. 26. There it rather 
denotes the involuntary submission 
to suffering. [Delitzsch would give 
this sense here, and in 1 Kings ii. 
26 explains the Hithp., “ geflissent- 
lich leiden.” He is quite right in 
adding, “reines Passivum affige- 
bantur ist es nicht.”] I have here, 
and in what follows, after the ex- 
ample of our translators, preferred 
the present tense to the past. This 


change of tense exists in the He- 
brew, and the rendering gives more 
force and animation to the picture; 
though it would certainly be pos- 
sible to continue the use of the 
past tense throughout. See on 
XViii., note °. 

18. Comp. the similar passage, 
Job xxxiii. 20—22. 

20. HE SENDETH HIS WORD. 
The same expression occurs in 
cxlvii. 15, 18; comp. Is. lv. 11. 
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 expression of God’s 
will, but His messenger mediating 
between Himself and His creatures. 
It is interesting to compare with 
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.” Theodoret observes : 
0 Geds Adyos évavOpamjas Kai adzo- 
otarels aos dvOpwmos Ta mavrodama 
Tov Wuxev idcato tpabpuara, xal rods 
SiapOapevras dvéppace oyopors. 
Too much stress, however, must 
not be laid on the use of the 
verb “sendeth.” Comp. cxi. 9, 
“ He sent redemption unto His 
people.” 

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 


le | 








PSALM CVI. 


271 


22 And let them sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, 
And tell of His works with a song 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,. 


e of suffering into which they 
ve sunk. 

23—32. Fourth example: sea- 
farers tossed and driven by the 
tempest, and brought at last safe 
into port. The description may 
be compared with the language of 
Jonahi.,ii. It is the most highly 
finished, the most thoroughly poet- 
ical of each of the four pictures of 
human peril and deliverance. It is 

inted as a landsman would paint 
it, but yet only as one who had 
_ himself been exposed to the danger 
_ could paint the storm—the waves 
ing mountains high, on which 

the tiny craft seemed a plaything, 
_ the helplessness of human skill, 
the gladness of the calm, the safe 
i _ refuge in the haven. 
4 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 mentions, 
- had done, but because he has 
_ gathered together those circum- 
_ stances which are the most apt to 
_ terrify the imagination, 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, thanthe pagan scheme 
in Virgil and other poets, where one 
_ deity is represented as raising a 
_ storm, and another as laying it! 








Which lifteth up the waves thereof. 


Were we only to consider the sub- 
lime in this piece of poetry, what 
can be nobler than the idea it gives 
us of the Supreme Being thus rais- 
ing a tumult among the elements, 
and recovering them out of their 
confusion ; thus troubling and be- 
calming nature ?”—Sfectator, No. 


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 
occupations of fishermen, traders, 
persons on a voyage, &c. 

24. THE WORKS OF JEHOVAH, 
AND HIS WONDERS, z.¢. 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. FoR HE COMMANDETH, lit. 
“and He said,” the phrase which 
occurs so often in Gen. i. to de- 
scribe God’s creative fiat. Compare 
the use of the same word in cv. 
3!, 
THE WAVES THEREOF, 2.¢. of the 
sea, the pronominal suffix refer- 


-ring to the remote noun in ver. 23, 


as is not uncommonly the case in 
Hebrew. (See for a still more re- 
markable instance of this, cxi. 10, 
where the plural pronoun “them” 
can only refer to the word “statutes” 
in ver. 7-) In sense it may also 
refer to the noun “deep” in ver. 24, 
but not in grammar, this noun 
being feminine. 


272 


26 They mount up to heaven, 


PSALM CVI. 


They go down (again) to the depths, 
Their soul melteth because of trouble. 
27 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, 


26. THEY MOUNT UP, Zé. not 
“the waves,” but “the seafarers.” 
The same expression occurs, but in 
a different sense, in civ. 8, where 
see note. 

27. REEL TO AND FRO, or, even 
more exactly, “spin round and 
round,” 

ARE AT THEIR WITS’ END, lit. 
all their wisdom (skill, resources, 
&c.) swalloweth itself up,” or, “‘com- 
eth of itself to nought.”* (Comp. 
Is. xix. 3, “ I will bring his counsel 
to nought.”) The Hithpael occurs 
only here. Possibly the figure may 
have been taken from the Syrtes, 
or a whirlpool. 

29. A GENTLE AIR. This, and 
not absolute “stillness,” “ calm” 
(Symm. yaAjvn), seems to be the 
meaning of the word. Comp. I 
Kings xix. 12, and so the LXX. and 


Aq. aipa. J. D. Mich. quotes Vir- 
gil’s equate spirant aure. 

THE WAVES THEREOF, lit. “‘ their 
waves,” but the plural suffix must 
refer to the sea, and may perhaps 
have been occasioned by the plural 
“great waters” in ver. 23. See 
note on ver. 25. Others refer the 
plural pronoun to the seafarers: 
“‘ their waves,” z.é. those on which 
they are tossed, and which threaten 
to engulf them. 


30. BE QUIET. A word-used of — 


the quiet of the sea after a storm, 
Jon. i. 11, 12, and only once besides, 
Prov. xxvi. 20, of the ceasing of 
contention. 
HAVEN. This is probably the 
meaning of the word, but it occurs — 
nowhere else. The Rabbinical 
interpreters render it “shore,” 
“ coast.” 





* The whole description up to this point finds a striking parallel in 


Ovid, 77zsz. i. 2 -— 


“Me miserum quanti montes volvuntur aquarum : 
Jamjam tacturos sidera summa putes. 
Quante diducto subsidunt zequore valles : 
Jamjam tacturos Tartara nigra putes. 
Rector in incerto est, nec quid fugiatve petatve 


Invenit : 


ambiguis ars stupet ipsa malis.” 








PSALM CVII. 


273 


And praise Him in the assembly of the elders. 


33 He turneth (the) river into a wilderness, 
And water-springs into dry ground ; 
34 A fruitful land into a salt-marsh, 
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 build a city to dwell in; 
: 37 And sow fields, and plant vineyards, 
: Which may yield the fruit of (yearly) produce. 


32. ASSEMBLY. See note on i.t. 
33. The character of the Psalm 
: alge at this point. We have no 
distinct pictures as before : 
the. beautiful double refrain is 
the language is harsher 
oe abrupt. Instead of fresh 
of deliverance from peril, 
iving for God’s mercies, 
owe oo —_ instances of aoe s 
_ providenti government 0 e 
P world exhibited in two series of 
contrasts. The first of these is 
_ contained in ver. 33—38, and ex- 
‘ey - presses a double change—the fruit- 
ful well-watered land smitten, like 
Mie sich plain of Sodom, with 
_ desolation, and changed into a salt- 
marsh ; and anon, the wilderness 
crowned with cities, like Tadmor 
(of which Pliny says, vasto ambitu 
arenis includit agros), and made 


fertile to produce corn and wine: 
the second is contained in ver. 
nan and expresses somewhat 
* tunes re) 








7 ny oe 









the changes in the for- 

men (as the last series 

did those of countries), viz. how 

- the poor and the humble are raised 
_and the rich and the proud over- 


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 

q Through (any) oppression, evil, or sorrow, 


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 
desolation of the land whilst the 
Jews were captives in Babylon, ver. 
35 the change which took place on 
their return [comp. with this the 
language of cxxvi. 4, “ Turn again 
our captivity, as the streams in the 
south” ]. Butthe passages in Isaiah 
(comp. besides that already quoted, 
xxxv. 6,7, xlii. 15, 16, xliil. 19, 20, xliv. 
7 a 2) refer not to the Holy Land, 
but to the deserts through which 
the exiles would pass ontheir return ; 
and further, the language employed 
is far too general to be thus limited 
to one event. It describes what 
frequently has occurred. The his- 
tories 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 pros- 
perity of this race, living at peace 

st 


274 


PSALM CVII. 


40 “ He poureth contempt upon princes, 
And maketh them to wander in the waste (where there 


is no) way.” 


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 ? 


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. The play on the 
word “ minished” in ver. 38 and 39 
may be held to favour this view. 
On the other hand, here, as in verse 
4, the subject may not be found 
directly in what precedes, but may 
be general : “ When they, 7.2. men, 
reaped they may be, are minished, x 
=C 


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 
abruptly, and is scarcely intelligible 
except by reference to the passage 
in Job from whence it is taken. 

41. LIKE A FLOCK: a figure ex- 
pressive of large increase, as in Job 
axis 12, | 

42. The impression produced by 
these acts of Divine Providence. — 
Comp. Job v. 16. 

43. The conclusion, in the form 
of a question, such as that with - 
which Hosea concludes his pro- 
phecy, xiv. 10. 


* D’ everywhere else (unless possibly in Is. xlix. 12, where it is opposed 
to }iD¥) means the West, the ‘“‘Sea” being the Mediterranean, That 
evidently cannot be the meaning here, where another word is already 


used for West. 
}P*HD, as in Is, xliii. 5. 
» any Tow. 


Perhaps, therefore, we ought to read }¥)%) (K6st.) or 


It seems unnecessary, with Olsh. and others, to read 





Ww 2, as in ver. 40. The negative is implied in the word fin. The 
noun “way” is the pg 4 nearer definition, as it is called (Ges. § 118. 

3), ‘ Waste as to way” ‘a region where there is no way,” “a pathless 
desert.”. The LXX. join —_ with what follows, “a way to a city 0} 
habitation,” &c. Others would join it with wh (errarunt a via), whic 
however, is too remote. 










PSALM CVIII. 


PSALM CVIII. 


_ Tuis Psalm consists of portions of two others, the first half of it 
__ being taken from the 57th Psalm, ver. 7—11 [8—12], and the latter 
3 half from the 6oth, ver. 5—12 [7—14]. 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 pro- 
bably adapted them to circumstances of his own time; possibly 
_ wished thus to commemorate some victory over Edom or Philistia. 
‘The change in the tenth verse, as compared with the corresponding 
_ passage in the 6oth 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.] 


1 My heart is steadfast, O God, 
I will sing and play, yea, even my glory. 
_ 2 Awake, lute and harp, 
I will wake the morning-dawn. 
_ 3 I will give thanks unto Thee among the peoples, O 
r Jehovah, 
And I will play unto Thee among the nations. 
_ 4 For great above the heavens is Thy loving-kindness, 
4 And unto the clouds Thy truth (reacheth). 
- 5 Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, 


| 14. MY HEART IS STEADFAST. In 
| Ivii. 7 [8] this is repeated. In the 
mext member of the verse, MY 
GLORY has been made a second 
subject, “I, (even) my glory,” in- 
of being joined with the 
ying imperative, as in lvii. 
| My GLory, z.¢. “my soul,” with 
Il those powers and faculties which 








belong to the rational being, as 
created in the image of God. See 


Gen. xlix. 6. 
3. JEHOVAH. In lvii. “ Adonai” 
(Lord). 


4. ABOVE: comp. cxiii. 4. In 


- xxxvi. 5 [6] the form of expression 


is somewhat different; “zz the 
heavens . . . unfo the clouds :” 
see also Jer. li. 9. 


2 


276 


PSALM CVIIT. 


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, 


Judah is my sceptre: 
9 Moab is my washpot ; 


Ephraim also is the defence of my head ; 


Upon Edom will I cast my shoe; 
‘Over Philistia will I shout (in triumph). 
10 Who will conduct me into the fortified city ? 
Who hath led me unto Edom ? 
it 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, . . - et 
And HE shall tread down our adversaries. 


6—13. These verses are taken 
from Ps. 1x. The passage consists of 
two lines of the first strophe of that 
Psalm, and the second and third 
strophes complete. 

6. The construction of this verse 
is different from that in Ix. 5 [7]. 
Here it.forms a complete sentence 
in itself, the first clause depending 
on the second. The verse was 
evidently necessary to soften the 
abruptness of the transition from 
the former passage to this. 

' ANSWER ME; here in the text, 


and not the Masoretic correction, 
as in lx. 

g. On the change in this verse, 
instead of “Because of me, O 
Philistia, cry aloud,” the principal 
bas ir in the Psalm, see note on 
ce 

10, FORTIFIED. The more com- 
mon word mzvé¢sar is used instead 
of métsér in Ix. 

The omission of the copula in 
ver. 9a, and of the pronoun in ver. 
11, are the only other variations of 
any note. 















PSALM CIX. 277 


PSALM CIX. 






























_ Tuis 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, and in the General 
Introduction to Vol. I., pp. 61—64, may be consulted here. 
_ This Psalm differs from the 69th in being levelled against one 
enemy chiefly, not against many. This circumstance’ may partly ac- 
count 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 [Heb. 26th] verse of the 69th Psalm, and applies them to 
Judas Iscariot. Hence the Psalm has been regarded by the majority 
‘ - expositors, ancient and modern, as a prophetic and Messianic 

33 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” 
_ (xpodnreia ev cider apa). 

_ 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 
trung together. Much less is there any pretence for saying that 
those words so full of deep and holy sorrow, addressed to the traitor 
in the Gospels, are merely another expression of the appalling 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 


278 PSALM CIX. 


aright. This is the za/ura/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 any one 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 grandeur of the spec- 
tacle—let any one, 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. 

[A mode of interpretation has, however, sometimes been advocated 
which would get rid of the difficulty connected with the imprecations, 
by supposing them not to be uttered by the Psalmist, but to be 
merely cited by him as the words of his enemies directed against 
himself. We have only at the end of ver. 5 to supply the word 
“‘ saying” which is so commonly omitted in Hebrew before quota- 
tions (see for instance il. 2, xcv. 7, 10), and all that follows to the 
end of ver. 19 may be regarded as the malediction of the Psalmist’s 
enemies. ‘This is the view of Kennicott and of Mendelssohn, and it 
has been recently revived by Mr. Taylor (Gospel in the Law, p. 244, — 
&c.), who has also attempted to apply the same method in explaining 
Ps. Ixix. (2b. p. 225, &c.), though I cannot think successfully. For 
not to mention that other passages of a vindictive and impreca- 





* Calvin defends the imprecations on this ground partly, but goes 
further: “ Tenendum est,” he says, “ Davidem quoties diras istas vel 
maledictionis vota concepit, nec immodico carnis affectu fuisse com- — 
motum, nec privatam causam egisse, nec zelo inconsiderato fuisse ac- 
censum. Hec tria diligenter notanda sunt.” He then warns us not to 
allege the example of David when we are hurried away by our own 

assions,—for Christ’s answer to His disciples will apply to us, “ Ye 

now not of what spirit ye are,”—and severely comments on the sacrilege 
of the monks, and particularly the Franciscans, who could be hired to — 
recite this Psalm as a curse against an enemy. He mentions as a fact 
coming within his own knowledge, that a lady of quality in France had 
hired some Franciscans to curse her only son in the words of this Psalm. — 








PSAIM CIX. 249 























tory character remain, of which no such solution is possible, he is 
obliged to give an interpretation of ver. 20 of this Psalm which to 
say the least of it is strained and improbable (see note on the verse). 
It is moreover somewhat difficult to understand how the imprecations 
' of the Psalmis?’s enemies could be cited by St. Peter, Acts i. 20, as 
* prophetically descriptive of the fate of Judas. Would not this 
_ almost imply that the Psalmist himself was a kind of Old Testament 
Judas? Moreover, if we could account for every imprecation in the 
_ Psalms on the principle advocated by Mr. Taylor, what are we to say 
_ of such passages as the closing verses of Ps. lviii., or cxxxix. 19, or 
_exlix. 5—9 ?] 


[FOR THE PRECENTOR. A PSALM OF DAVID.] 


1 O Gop 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; 

_ 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. 


Ae Gop OF MY PRAISE, 2.2. oa 
of my praise (Jer. xvii. 14 
; « name contains the ground of 
_ the prayer. The God whom the 


the Psalmist prays. Hence, too, 

the play upon the word in ver. 6. 
4. THEY ARE ADVERSARIES UNTO 

ME, or “withstand me” (as in xxxviii. 


Psalmist has hitherto found reason 
to praise will now also give him 
fresh reason for praise. In this 
faith he offers the prayer, ‘Be not 
silent’ (comp. xxviii. 1, xxxv. 22). 
God speaks when He interferes to 
judge and to save.”— Delitzsch. 

_ 2. AWICKED MOUTH, &c., lit. “a 
_ mouth of the wicked, and a mouth 
of deceit.” For the first, some 
would read, by a slight change of 

vowels, “ 














FPPC ee 


' 
 - 
: 
é 
¥ 


he a mouth of wicked- 
_ Ness,” so as to bring the two clauses 
into harmony. Stier, however, 
| thinks that the expression “mouth 
ite the wicked” may have been 

sely employed with reference 
e wicked man against whom 


20 [21]}); the verb is from the same 
root as the noun in ver. 6, “ an ad- 
Leweerd “a Satan ;” see also ver. 

20, 29. It is used like diaBadra, 
dudohos, of malicious accusation. 

I (GIVE MYSELF UNTO) PRAYER, 
lit. “I (am) prayer,” ze one who 
prays, having recourse to no other 
means of defence. So in cxx. 7, 
“JT (am) peace;” cx. 3, “Thy 
people (are) freewillingness.” To 
supply “for them,” as if the prayer 
were for his enemies, as the Syriac 
translator and others do (influenced 
probably by the language of xxxv. 
13), is against the tenor of the 
Psalm. The sense is, rather, “I 
find refuge in prayer, committing 


280 


PSAIM CIX. 


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. 


8 Let his days be few, 


His office let another take. 


myself and my cause to Thee.” 
Comp. Ixix. 12, 13. 

5. For the sentiment comp. xxxv. 
12, xxxviii. 20 [21], 

6. Leaving the mass of his ene- 
mies, the Psalmist suddenly singles 
out one, on whom he pours forth 
the terrible. curse which follows. 
See a similar transition in lv. .12 
[13]. Ver. I—5 do not give the 
whole grounds for the curse ; they 
are resumed in ver. 16—18. 

-SET, z.é. in an official capacity 
(comp. the use of the noun from 
the same root, “ office,” in ver. 8). 
Here, “appoint as judge,” or “set 
over him with power and authority 
to punish.” For the construction, 
comp. Lev. xxvi. 16. 

AN ADVERSARY, or, “ Satan,” 
(the LXX. 8:dBodos, Jerome, Satan). 
Let him have not only an un- 
righteous 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 
parallelism, and the general tenour 
of what follows, are rather in favour 
of the rendering “adversary.” In 
Zech. iii. 1, where there is the 
same form of expression,—“ and he 
showed me Joshua the High Priest 


standing before the angel of Jeho- 
vah, 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 Jobi. 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 tried let him Go 
FORTH, leave the court, with sen- 
tence pronounced against him (lit. 
“guilty ;” comp. the verb from the 
same root “to condemn, to pro- 
nounce guilty,” xxxviii. 33). 

HIS PRAYER, not addressed to 
the human judge for mitigation of 
the sentence, but here, as always, 
prayer to God. The criminal look- 
ing in vain for pity or justice at the 
hands of man, turns in his ex- 
tremity to God ; but even 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 
recognize this as a fact in the 
Divine government of man, it is 
another thing to imprecate it. 

8, HIS OFFICE, implying that the 








iz and that “ 


And his wife a widow. 


bread). 


(them).> 


earth. 


orlfe “ith his days be’ few,” and 
the loss of honour, “let another 


_ take his office ;” in ver. 11 a third 


9. The curse passes in accordance 
with the Mosaic Law (“visiting 


_ the iniquity of the fathers upon the 


children”) to the family of the 


_ offender. This has occasioned con- 


siderable perplexity to those who 
__ take the whole Psalm as prophetic, 
_ and aimed throughout at Judas Is- 
_ cCariot. It is painful to see an ex- 
_ positor like Stier driven to maintain 
_ that from this point the curse is 
_ directed against the Jews at large, 
t Judas Iscariot, 
MES aecracivsly tc. denote, city, 
i guratively to denote city, 
land, &c. Others have inferred 
_ from the that Judas must 
have left a wife and children. 

to. BeG. The form of the verb 
__ is intensive or frequentative. The 





PSALM CIX. 


281 


9 Let his children be orphans, 


10 Let his children also be continually vagabonds and beg, 
(Driven) from their ruined houses* let them seek (their 


11 Let the extortioner lay snares for all that he hath, 
And let strangers spoil his labour. : 

12 Let there be none to continue kindness unto him, 
Neither let his fatherless children have any to favour 


13 Let his posterity be cut off¢ 
In the next generation let their name be blotted out. 
14 Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with Jehovah, 
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out. 
15 Let them always be before Jehovah, 
That He may cut off the memory of them from 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 KINDNESS to him- 
self in distress, or to his children. 
See the same phrase xxxvi. 10 [11]. 
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 guilty an- 
cestors, is to be remembered and 
visited on his posterity. For the 
great law, comp. Matt. xxiii. 32— 
36. Hupfeld objects that the curse 
on “the fathers” is pointless, as it 
could no longer reach them; but 
if I see rightly, the object is to 
heighten the effect of the curse as 
it falls upon the children mentioned 
in ver. 13.° So in our Litany: 
“ Remember not our offences, nor 
the offences of our forefathers.” 


282 


PSALM CIX. 


’ 


16 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, 


16. HE REMEMBERED NOT : 
therefore “let his iniquity be 7ve- 
membered,” ver. 14. 

TO PUT TO DEATH. The inten- 
sive form of the verb (Poel instead 
of Hiphil) denotes the eagerness, 
the relentless cruelty of the perse- 
cutors. The construction of this 
and the three following verses ad- 
mits of some question. 

(i.) Ver. 16 may be connected 
with ver. 15, as giving the reason 
for the prayer of that verse, “ Let 
them always be,” &c., “because he 
remembered not,” &c. Then ver. 
17, 18 stand alone, describing the 
man’s wickedness and the retribu- 
tion it brought upon him. The 
man’s own curse, aimed at others, 
has fallen back upon himself. What 
he has sown, ¢hat he has also 
reaped. Thus the figures “ as with 
a garment,” “like water,” “like 
oil,” would denote the penetrating, 
clinging nature of the curse, or, as 
Stier expresses it: “‘As the man 
has sinned through and through 
his whole being, so is his whole 
being cursed through and through.” 

But there are two objections to 
this explanation. (@) The figures 
in a Hebrew writer would more 
naturally denote what is refreshing 
than what is hurtful (comp. Job 
xv. 16, xxxiv. 7, Prov. iii. 7, 8, and 


xvii. 22). (4) The change to the 
expression of a wish, when the 
figures employed are so much 
weaker, has almost the effect of an 
anti-climax. This is only partially 
obviated, even if, with Delitzsch, 
we make the verb “covereth” 
emphatic = “envelopeth.” 

(ii.) We may take ver. 16—18 as 
the protasis, and ver. 19 as the 
apodosis : “ Because 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 
which never leaves his loins.” 

The verbs cannot be rendered in 
verses 17, 18, as in the E.V., as op- 
tatives. The tenses are past tenses, 
and have been rightly so rendered 
by the LXX. 

‘20. Two explanations of this 
verse are possible, according tothe — 
view we take of the former part of 
the Psalm. (1) 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 [16,17] ). (2) Those who take 
the passage ver. 6—19, not a* the 







































Name’s sake, 


_ words of the Psalmist, but as the 
words of his enemies, suppose the 
are here to be subjective : 
This is mine adversaries’ award 
unto me: this the sentence they 
against me from Je- 
when they pray, Set Thou 
wicked man over him,” &c. So 
ak explains (Gesfel in the 
Le aw, p. 249), and illustrates this use 
re the genitive by such expressions 
_ as “the of sin,” i.e. the wages 
_ sin gives (Rom. vi. 23); “ children 
_ are an heritage of the Lord,” ze. 
Babich the Lord bestows (Ps. cxxvii. 
33. “My reward is with me” (Rev. 


‘ ‘hovah” renders the first explanation 

te more probable : “ This is the 
4 which my adversaries re- 
efrom Jehovah.” The sentence 
is clear and intelligible. But on the 
interpretation we should have 
expecte ot “from Jehovah” mean- 
ing “supplicated from Jehovah,” but 
exe personal pronoun which 
ican hardly be omitted, “This is 
Mine adversaries’ reward unto me.” 
21. But THovu. He turns from 
SE adéersaries to God, from their 
_ curses to His loving-kindness. The 


PSALM CIX. 


283 


And of them that speak evil against my soul. 
21 But THou, O Jehovah Lord, deal with me for Thy 


For Thy loving-kindness is good: deliver Thou me. 
22 For I am afflicted and poor, 
é And my heart is wounded within me. 
23 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 ; 
y 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; 


emphatic pronoun, and the double 
name of God, both mark the earn- 
estness of the appeal. See the use 
of these two names in Ixviii. 20 [21], 
cxl. 7 [8], cxli. 8; Hab. iii. 19. The 
second member of the verse might 
be rendered, “ Deliver me, because 
Thy loving-kindness is good ;” or, 
again, the imperative, “ Deliver 
me,” might be transferred to the 
beginning of ver. 22. 

23. AS A SHADOW, &c.: comp. 
cil. 12. 

Am I GONE HENCE, or, more 
literally, “am I made to go hence.” 
This passive form (which only oc- 
curs here) denotes external com- 
pulsion. 

I HAVE BEEN DRIVEN AWAY, lit. 
“I have been shaken out,” as from 
a cloth, or mantle, or the deep 
folds of an Eastern robe. See the 
use of the verb in Neh. v. 13, where 
the shaking out of the upper part 
of the robe is symbolical of the 
Divine judgement. 

AS THE LOCUST, as easily terri- 
fied and driven away. Comp. Job 
xxxix. 20; Exod. x. 19. 

25. (SHAKE THEIR HEAD. See 
on xxii. 7. 


284 


PSAIM CIx., 


Thou, Jehovah, hast done it. 
28 (Though) “ey curse, (yet) THOU blessest ; 
They arose and were put to shame, 
(But) Thy servant rejoiceth. 
29 Mine adversaries clothe themselves with confusion ; 
They cover themselves with their own shame (as with) 


a mantle. 


30 I will give thanks greatly to Jehovah with my miouth, 
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. 


27. At-the close of the Psalm the 
individual persecutor drops out of 
sight, and a return is made to the 
plural number, as in ver. 2—5. 

30, 31. The Psalm closes with 
the confident and joyful anticipa- 
tion that the prayer in ver. 26, 27 
is heard and answered. 

There is, further, a remarkable 
contrast between these verses and 
verses 6,7. There, the adversary 


stands at the right hand of the 
wicked man to accuse him; here, 
Jehovah, at the right hand of the 
poor, defenceless victim, to protect 
him. There, the persecutor finds 
no mercy at the hands of the human 
judge, into whose hands he has 
fallen. Here, the Great Judge of 
all rescues “the poor” from “those 
that judge his soul,” 


= /31n9, “from, i.e. out of, away from, their ruins, i.e. the ruins of their 
homes.” The LXX. have éxBdnOjracav ék trav olxonédwv aitay, whence it 
has been conjectured that they read 4Wj (as in Exod. xii. 39 ; Job xxx. 5) 
instead of 40/7. 

> y3)n, a benefactor. This is the form everywhere, except in Prov. xiv. 
21, where it is }2iN. Like the verb, it is always construed with the 
accus. of the person, consequently ms is not governed by }jin, but — 
belongs to ‘i}. 

e ‘nS 99%. On this periphrastic future or optative, see on Ixii., note & 


4 wr (Kal. only here, elsewhere Piel), lit. hath lied or become faithless, 
ie. 2s changed (as LXX. and Symm. 7Adowbn) from fatness, so as no 
longer to be fat. Or it may be rendered hath fallen away (hath become 
faithless) from fat. }QY here, as in Is. v. 1, xxviii. 1, fa¢, not of. The 
LXX. 8 @daov, Symm. do dvadewpias, “my flesh has changed, grown 


lean for (want of) oil ;”—but wrongly. 











PSALM CX. 285 


PSALM CX. 


Tuts 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. 
‘Tt is an oracle, an utterance of Jehovah which he has heard, and 
which 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 hearts’ blood in his service, each one robed as a priest, 
each one a soldier of God. 

As he gazes on the vision which has been called up by the first 
word from heaven, another Divine word sounds in his ear; the word 
confirmed by the oath of 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 victory after victory with great slaughter, aided by God Himself 
in the fight, and securing the fruits of his victories by a pursuit of 


his enemies which knows no check even in the burning heat of an 


_ Eastern sun. 

If we were at liberty to adopt in this Psalm 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 


ia 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 





2 of David. He’saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call 


286 PSALM CX. 


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 footstool. David (therefore) himself calleth Him lord, 
and whence is He his son?” (xu. 35-37.) In St. Luke the quota- 
tion 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 4rd. David was able to do this, 
was able in faith to recognize 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 David 
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 Melchizedek. Nor is there anything to startle us in such a 
conclusion, 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 what principle the former part of 
the Psalm can be detached from a primary reference to some reigning 
monarch. 

Attempts have consequently been made to reconcile a primary — 
reference in the Psalm with our Lord’s argument as given by the — 
Evangelists. It has been said, for instance, that the Psalm may have 
been written, not by David, but by Nathan or some other poet, in 
honour of David, without either impugning our Lord’s veracity or 
affecting His argument. We are reminded that our Lord in His 
human nature does not claim omniscience, and that, in so trifling a — 
matter as the authorship of a particular poem, there is no reason 











PSALM CX. 287 
































why any supernatural illumination should have been vouchsafed Him. 
In matters of literature and criticism, His knowledge was the know- 
ledge of His time.* It is conceivable, therefore, that He might 
have adopted, as man, the popular view respecting the authorship of 
the Books of Holy Scripture. Or, as Neander puts it: “‘ If Christ 
really named David as the author of the Psalm, we are not reduced 
to the alternative of detracting from His infallibility and unconditional 
truthfulness, or else of admitting that David really wrote it. The 
question of the authorship was immaterial to His purpose ; it was no 
part of His divine calling to enter into such investigations.” (Zife of © 
Christ, Bohn’s Ed. p. 403.) 
But whilst we may freely admit that our Blessed Lord’s human 
q “knowledge was subject to limitation, since this is implied in the 
_ Gospel narrative, and we have His own express declaration to the 
_ same effect, it does not follow that we are justified in deciding for 
_ ourselves where the line is to be drawn—when it is that He speaks 
_ only as man, when it is that His divine nature operates. Surely on 
_ sO mysterious a subject it is wiser and more reverent to abstain from 
speculation, wiser and more reverent, to say the least, not lightly to 
_ charge Him with error to Whom we look as the Source and Fountain 
of truth. But apart from this, how does the argument hold, if the 
Psalm was not written by David, but by some one else? Neander 
_ contends that it is not invalidated. “lIts principal point,” he says, 
_ “is precisely that of the Psalm; the idea of the Theocratic King, 
_ King and Priest at once, raised up to God, and looking with calm 
_ assurance for the end of the conflict with his foes, and the triumphant 
_ establishment of his kingdom. This idea could never be realized in 
_ any man; it was a prophecy of Christ, and in Hr» it was fulfilled. 
_ This idea went forth necessarily from the spirit of the Old Dispensa- 
| tion, and from the organic connection of events in the old Theocracy; 
_ it was the blossom of a history and a religion that were in their very 
essence prophetical. In this regard it is a matter of no moment 
_ whether David uttered the Psalm or not. History and interpretation, 
_ perhaps, may show that he did not. But whether it was a conscious 
‘prediction of the royal Poet, or whether some other, in poetic but 
ee tion, seized upon this idea, the natural blossom and off- 
shoot of Judaism, and assigned it to an earthly monarch, although in 
_ its true sense it could never take form and shape in such an one, still 
*. it was the idea by which the Spirit, of which the inspired seer, who- 
_ ever he may have been, was but the organ, pointed to Jesus.” All 
“vey true, except that it does not show how it is possible for our 












* So Meyer, Evang. des Matthdus, kap. xxii. v. 43- 


£2 SI FRI TED 


288 PSALM CX. 


Lord’s argument to stand if we reject the Davidic authorship of the 
Psalm. If we hold ourselves at liberty to assume that our Lord was 
mistaken on this point, then His argument might certainly still be of 
force as against the Pharisees, who, like Himself, held the Psalm to 
be David's, but has no force whatever for ourselves. For the very 
hinge of the argument turns on the circumstance that David wrote 
the Psalm. ‘‘The Messiah, you admit, is David’s son. How then 
doth David in spirit call Him lord?” Suppose the Prophet Nathan 
or some Poet of David's time to have written the Psalm in honour of 
David, and the argument falls to the ground.* 

It has been. suggested by others, in order to escape from the em- 
barrassment in which the argument involves them, that our Lord’s 
object, in this instance, was not to establish any particular doctrine, 
‘as He had before established against the Sadducees the doctrine of 
a Resurrection, but only to silence His adversaries. It was quite 
unnecessary for Him, therefore, to do more. than argue from the 
premisses admitted by the Pharisees, that the Psalm was a Messianic 
Psalm, and that it was written by David. But this distinction is too 
subtle. As in His conflict with the Sadducees He proved the doc- 
trine of the Resurrection from the Pentateuch, so in His conflict with 
the Pharisees He showed from the Psalms that the Messiah must be 
not only the Son of Man, but the Son of God. His object was in each 
case to establish a truth which had been gainsaid by His opponents. 

It seems to me, then, that we are shut up to the conclusion that in 
this lofty and mysterious Psalm, David, speaking by the Holy Ghost 
(év ayiw mvevparc), was carried beyond himself, and_did see in pro- 
phetic vision that his son would also be his lord. Nor is it altogether 
strange, altogether inconsistent with the course of God’s providence, 
that such a vision should be vouchsafed to one to whom so clear a 
promise was given that the Messiah should come of his seed, and 
who in his “last words” pictured in such glowing terms the Righ- 
teous Ruler and the blessings of His righteous reign.t 





* But see the remarks of the Bishop of St. David’s, quoted in the note 
at the end of the Psalm, p. 302. 

+ It is impossible not to feel how not only our Lord’s argument but 
also that of the Epistle to the Hebrews fails, if we suppose the Psalm to 
have a first reference to David. If the writer of the Epistle had supposed ~ 
that David himself was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, what 
would have become of his argument that the abrogation of the Levitical 
priesthood was signified by the fact that the priesthood of Christ was 
after the order of Melchizedek? For if David, who raised the Levitical 
priesthood to a pitch of importance and splendour which it had never 
before possessed, was a priest after the order of Melchizedek, it is not 
clear how the priesthood of Christ was a proof that the Levitical priest- 
hood had come to an end, or that the one positively excluded the other. 








PSALM CX. 289 


ee ee ee ee 


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 mean- 
ing 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, 
he 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. 
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 
’salm, as that marked occurrence to which, in all probability, many 
ther Psalms are due, the bringing up of the Ark of God into the * 
Pabernacle which he had prepared for it in Zion. David on that 
yecasion danced before the Ark, girded with a linen ephod, offered 
burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, and blessed the people in the 
ame of the Lord of hosts ;* and thus, though but in a passing and 
























— 


SE PPE 





nl LP 


x 


_* See 2 Sam. vi. 14—18. I own I cannot see any evidence in this 
Passage that “ David was recognized as the head of the priesthood,” or 
the union of priesthood and kingship in David was more complete 


Pies “ 
mevOL. II. U 


290 PSALM CX. 


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 as- 
sessor 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 
understand 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, moreover, 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 un- 
warranted assumption on the part of the one of the duties belonging 
to the’other. David did not interfere with the Levitical priesthood 
as existing in his own day; he pointed to a time when that priest- 
hood would be superseded 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 recognized 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 wh 
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. 

It has been said that it is of importance for the right understanding 
of the Psalm, and especially of the fourth verse of the Psalm, to beat 
in mind the military character of the Hebrew priesthood. It is per 
haps of more importance to bear in mind that the whole nation wa 
‘at once a nation of soldiers and a nation of priests. They were th 
soldiers of God pledged to a crusade, a holy war; pledged to th 
extermination of all idolatry and all wickedness, wherever existin 
The character of the war marked the character of the soldiers. The 
















than in any other sovereign in Judah.” We read of no repetition of suc 
acts as those here recorded; the occasion itself was peculiar; ar 
certainly no stress can be laid upon the expression “he offered burn 
offerings and peace-offerings before the Lord,” for the same might bh 
said of any one who brought the victims to the priests to sacrifice, ¢ 
Solomon and all the congregation, 1 Kings viii. 5. i 


PSALM CX. 291 


_ 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 ; 
1 Cor. xy. 25; Heb. i. 13, x. 13, v. 6, vii. 17, 21. 
_ In later Jewish writings nearly every verse of the Psalm is quoted 
as referring to the Messiah. 
_ Ver. 1. In the Talmud (Sanhedrin, f. 108, 2) it is said: ‘God 
placed King Messiah at His right hand, according to Ps. cx. 2, and 
Abraham at His left. But the face of the latter grew pale, and he 
| said: ‘The son of my son sitteth at Thy right hand, but I at Thy 
left.’ And God appeased him, saying: ‘The son of thy son is at 
My night hand, but I (according to ver. 5) am at thy right hand.’” 
In the Midrash Tehillim on this passage, it is said, “God spake thus 
to the Messiah ;” and on Ps. ii. 7 the same explanation is given: in 
he same Midrash on Ps. xviii. 36 we read (fol. 14, 3): “R. Judah, in 
the name of R. Channa, the son of Chanina, says: ‘In the age to 
come [#.¢. the new Messianic dispensation] will the Holy One— 
| blessed be He—set the Messiah at His right hand (as it is written in 
| Psalm cx.), and Abraham at His left.’” In the book Zohar (Genes. 
fol. 35, col. 139) it is said : “ The higher degree spake unto the lower, 
i ‘S' Thou at My right hand.’” And again (Vumb. fol. 99, col. 394), 
_“ The righteous (Jacob) spake to the Messiah, the son of Joseph, ‘Sit 
! th ou at My right hand.’” According to the same authority (Genes. 
fol. 35, col. 139), R. Simeon explains the words, “ Jehovah said unto 
‘my Lord,” of the union of the Jews and the heathen in one king- 
‘dom by the Messiah. R. Saadias Gaon, commenting on Dan. vii. 13, 
& And behold there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto the 
n of Man,” writes: ‘“‘ This is the Messiah, our Righteousness, as it 
$ written in the rroth Psalm, ‘Jehovah iid unto my lord,’ &c. 
And in Dan. v. 14, ‘And He gave unto Him power,’ &c. As it is 
mitten in Psalm ii. 6, 7, ‘ But I have set my king,’ &c.” 
_ Ver. 2. According to Bereshith Rabba (sect. 85, fol. 83, 4), on 
Gen Ree iii, 18, the sceptre of the kingdom which the Lord sends 
en of Zion is the King Messiah of whom Isaiah (xi. 1) speaks: 
‘There shall go forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse.” So according 
B ammidbar Rabba (sect. 18, near the end), “The rod of Aaron is 
U 2 

























f 
: 


2092 PSALM CX. 


preserved, that it may be in the hand of King Messiah, which is the 
meaning of ‘the rod of Thy strength.’” And according to Tanchuma 
( Valkut Shimeoni, ii. fol. 124, 3), the Messiah will smite the nations 
with the same rod or sceptre. 

Ver. 3. The words “ From the womb of the morning,” &c., are 
applied in Bereshith Rabba to the Messiah, as follows : “ R. Barachias 
says: God spake to the Israelites: ‘Ye say unto Me, We are 
orphans and have no father (Lam. iv. 3). The Redeemer (Goe/) like- 
wise, whom I will raise up for you, hath no father,’ as it is said in 
Zech. vi. 12, ‘Behold a man whose name is the Branch (Zemach), 
and he shall branch out of his place.’ And so saith Isaiah (lili. 2): 
‘ He groweth up before Him as a shoot.’ It is of the same also that 
David speaks in Ps. cx. 3, ‘From the womb of the morning Thou 
hast the dew of Thy youth ;’ and in Ps. ii, 7, ‘The Lord hath said © 
unto me, Thou art My Son.’” | 

Ver. 4. In Bereshith Rabba, on Gen. xiv. 18, it is remarked of . 
Melchizedek, king of Salem, “‘ This is what the Scripture says, Ps. cx. 
4, ‘The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, Thou art a priest for 
ever after the order of Melchizedek.’ And who is this? It is the 
King Messiah, as in Zech. ix. 9, ‘ Behold thy King cometh to thee ; 
He is righteous, and bringing salvation.’ But what did he? He 
brought forth bread and wine, as in Ps. Ixxii. 16, ‘ There shall be 
abundance of corn in the land;’ and this it is which is written, 
‘He was a priest of the Most High God.’” The Targum on this 
verse runs: “For Thou hast been appointed prince of the age 
come, and that for Thy merit’s sake, because Thou art a righteous 
King.” 

Ver. 6. On the words “ He will judge among the nations,” it i 
said in the book Zohar (Gen. fol. 29, col. 113), “The Holy One 
blessed be He !—hath determined to clothe the King Messiah with 
purple, that He may judge the nations, as the Psalm saith, ‘ He she 
judge.’” 

Ver. 7. The Midrash Tehillim on “ He shall drink of the broo 
in the way” is, “In the time to come [the age of the Messiah_ 
streams of blood shall flow from the wicked, and the birds shall com 
to drink of the stream of blood, as it is written, ‘He shall drink.” 
See the authorities in Raym. Martini, Pugio Fidei; Schottgen, Z 
Messid, p. 246. 

It is not surprising, however, to find that by many of the Rabb 
this line of interpretation was abandoned. So long as the Psalm wa 
admitted to be a Messianic Psalm, the argument based upon it b 
our Lord and His Apostles was irresistible. Accordingly, we find 
early as the second century that the interpretation common amol 

















PSALIM CX. 293 


the Jews was that which explained the Psalm of Hezekiah. Both 
_ Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho (§ 33, 83), and Tertullian 
_ in his Treatise against Marcion (lib. v. cap. 9), set themselves to meet 

this as the then current Jewish application. The Rabbis of Justin’s 

days interpreted the words “‘sit thou at My right hand” as a com- 
_ mand to Hezekiah to sit on the right side of the Temple, safe under 
the Divine protection, when the messengers of the king of Assyria 
came to him with the threat of their master’s vengeance.* Chry- 
' sostom tells us that the Jews of his time held that these words were 
addressed, not to the Messiah, but to Abraham, or Zerubbabel, or 
Dayid. The Rabbis of the Middle Ages all agree in repudiating the 
‘Messianic interpretation. Rabbi Solomon Isaki (Rashi) mentions 
that some of the earlier Rabbis expounded the Psalm of Abraham, 
whom in Gen. xxiii. the children of Heth called “my lord.” He 
himself attempts to carry out this exposition in the most extraordinary 
Way ; interprets the “enemies” of ver. 2 of the four kings mentioned 
Gen. xiy. (because of their connection with the history of Melchizedek), 
and finds an allusion in the “corpses,” ver. 6, first to the carcases of 
th animals which Abraham divided, Gen. xv., and then to the dead 
Bodies of the Egyptians at the Red Sea, Exod. xiv. Immediately 
afi iter he suggests another application of the Psalm to David, and on 
ver. 6 yet another to Hezekiah and the destruction of the Assyrians. 
Aben Ezra and Kimchi argue that David is the subject of the 
salm, explaining the Inscription to mean not “of David,” but “for 
pr concerning David.” The former sees a reference to the war 
it th the Philistines, 2 Sam. xxi. 15—17, when David, having nearly 
st his life, his men sware unto him, saying, “Thou shalt not go 
orth any more with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of 
srael.” In accordance with this, Ab. Ezra explains the address in 
| the first verse of the Psalm to mean, “ Remain safe in thy strong- 
hold of Zion, trusting in My help; go not forth to battle ; I will 
: Pe due thine enemies for thee, even when thou art not present in 


ae battle.” 































* Conf. Tertullian (w¢ supra) : “ Dicunt denique (Judzi) hunc Psalmum 
Se eckiam cecinisse, quia is sederit ad dextram templi, et hostes ejus 
4s erit Deus et absumpserit ; Proffer ea igitur etc. ante luciferum ex 
ero generavi te, in Ezechiam conyenire, et in Ezechie nativitatem,” 





294 


PSALM CX. 


[A PSALM OF DAVID. ] 


1 THE oracle? of Jehovah unto my lord: 
“ Sit Thou at My right hand, i 


1. SIT THOU AT MY RIGHT HAND, 
ze. on My throne. The expres- 
sion denotes that the person thus 
honoured occupied the second place 
in the kingdom, taking rank im- 
mediately after the king, and also 
sharing as viceroy in the govern- 
ment. The custom was a common 
one in antiquity. We find allusion 
to it both amongst the Arabs and 
the Greeks. The viceroys of the 
ancient Arab kings sat on the right 
hand of the king. Ibn Cotaiba 
says: “The R7dafat is the dignity 
of sitting next to the king. But 
the Radaf (he who holds rank after 
the king) sits on his right hand, and 
if the king drinks, 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 returns; and if 
the king’s army goes forth to war,the 
Radaf receives a fourth part of the 
booty.”—EICHHORN, Monum. An- 
tiguiss. Hist. Arabum, p. 220. 

Similarly the Greek Poets spoke 
of their gods as ovvedpor, rdpedpor, 
avvOpovo. with Zeus. So Pindar 
(Fragm. Ed. Schneider, p. 55) 
speaks of Minerva as associated 
with Zeus in his sovereignty, and 
receiving his commands for the 
other gods: defiav card yeipa rov 
matpos KabeCopevny, Tas évrodas Tois 
@eois dmodéxecOar, on which Aris- 
tides observes that Minerva was 
dyyAov pei{ov, and that she ray 
dyyédwy Gddows GAa enirdrret, mpPOTN 
Tapa Tov matpos tmapadapuBavouca, 
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, divarac ydp, 
ere? Aut Seéids Fora. In both these 
passages it is clear that this session 
at the right hand of Zeus indicates 
not merely a mark of honour con- 


ferred, but actual participation in 
the royal dignity and power. 

It is true that we have no exactly 
parallel instance inthe O. T. When 
Solomon placed Bathsheba on his 
throne, and gave her a seat at his 
right hand (1 Kings ii. 19), this was 
done as a mark of honour, not as 
associating her with himself in the 
government. So also in Ps. xly. 
9 [10], 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[13]. The same mark — 
of honour was conferred by the © 
king of Syria on Jonathan, 1 Macc. — 
ii. 19. 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 her 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 
enemies : he is to sit at Jehovah’s 
right hand till that subjugation is 
effected. 4 

If, then, this be the meanine 
the solemnaddress “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 o 
heaven, and is brought unto the 
Ancient of Days, and there is given 
Him dominion, and glory, and a 







































































Be xingdom, that all people, nations, 
and languages should serve Him.” 
_ The two passages, the one from the 
Psalm and the one from Daniel, are, 
in fact, combined by our Lord Him- 
__ self, when standing before the high 
priest He says, “ Hereafter ye shall 
_ see the Son of Man sitting on the 
_ fight hand of God, and coming in 
_ the clouds of heaven.” The same 
; m is given by St. Peter, 
si ‘Acts ii. 34—36. Comp. Ephes. i. 
/ 20—22; Heb. i. 13, 14. 
, _ Untit. St. Paul, in 1 Cor. xv. 
24-28, gives a limitation to the 
_ ‘Meaning of the passage which does 
_ not lie on the surface. He argues 
_ from the words of this verse that 
Christ must reign until (¢.e. only 
_ until) He has put all enemies under 
His feet, and that then His media- 
torial reign will cease, and He will 
ag up the kingdom to God, even 
: Father. But this sense is not 
_ necessarily conveyed by the use of 
the conjunction “until.” It does 
not follow that what takes place 
«until a certain limit is reached 
fumes cease immediately afterwards. 
4 for instance, in cxii. 8, “ He 
“shall not be afraid uz7i/ he see his 
- desire upon his enemies ;” Gen. 
_ xxviii. 15, “I will not leave thee 
until I have done that which I have 
en to thee of ;” Deut. vii. 24, 
“There shall no man be able to 
# “stand before thee, uz¢z/ thou have 
ed them,’—the “until” is 
- clearly not to be pressed as if it were 
equivalent to “only until, not after- 
rds.” The context must deter- 
ne in each case whether the 
“until” is inclusive or exclusive of 
_a time subsequent to the limit men- 
_ tioned, and here the general tenour 
of the Psalm does not seem to 
fa 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 
pe the Old. See the remarks of 


PSALM CX. 


295 


Until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool.” 
2 The sceptre of Thy might Jehovah shall stretch forth 
out of Zion (saying) : 


Calvin quoted in the notes on xcv. 
II, Civ. 3. 

THY FOOTSTOOL, lit. “a stool for 
Thy feet,” an emblem of complete 
subjection ; comp. viii. 6 [7], xviii. 
38 [39]. The allusion is probably 
to the custom of conquerors placing 
their feet on the necks of the con- 
quered. See Josh. x. 24, 25. 

2. Having announced the oracle 
which he has received by Divine 
revelation, 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 grace of God, He 
shall give laws to the world, for 
Jehovah Himself, 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, 1 Chron. xxviii. 5, xxix. 23. 

THE SCEPTRE OF THY MIGHT, 
z.e. of “Thy kingly majesty,” 
in Jer. xlviii. 17; Ezek. xix. 14. 
Chrysostom plays upon the word 
paBdos (LXX.) as a rod of strength 
and consolation, 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. 1, Ps. xlv. 6 [7]. 
was by this rod, he says, that the 
disciples wrought when they sub- 
dued 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 ungodliness 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 accomplished all that 


296 


PSALM CX. 


“Rule Thou in the midst of Thine enemies.” 
3 Thy people? offer themselves willingly in the day that 


Thou warrest, 


(Clad) in holy vestments : 


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 imperat. 
Xxxvil. 3, Gen. xx. 7. These words 
are probably (as many of the best 
commentators suppose)addressed by 
Jehovah to the King. Others think 
that the Poet himself thus speaks. 

IN THE MIDST OF THINE ENE- 
MIES. Rosenmiiller well explains : 
“Hostes tuos non quidem protinus 
delebit Jova, sed tua potentie metu 
tnjecto continebit, Qui Davidem 
hac oda cani existimant, illi vicinos 
Palestine populos indicari volunt, 
hoc sensu: imperabis, quamvis 
circum circa hostes, Philisteei, Am- 
monitz, Moabite, alii, sint ; coll. 
2Sam.iii.18. Z medio, i.e. medios 
inter hostes, ut sensus sit: quamvis 
terrarum orbis hostibus tuis repletus 
sit, non tamen hi impedire poterunt, 
quominus regnum tuum in eorum 
medio propagetur.” 

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 willing people, work- 
ing in their hearts by His Spirit 
joyfulness and courage, and ready 
self-sacrifice. Comp. Is. xxvili. 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 WI LLINGLY, 
lit. “are free-will offerings,” ze. 
give, devote themselves as a willing 
sacrifice. Comp. for the form of 
expression cix. 4, “I am prayer,” 
and for the sacrificial sense of the 


word Exod. xxxv. 29, Lev. xxii. 
18, 21, 23, Am. iv. 5. This inter- 
pretation 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 willing,” lit. “are willing- 
nesses” (plur, for sing. as more 
emphatic, comprising every pos- 
sible 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 it liv. 6 [8], and 
comp. Hos. xiv. 4[5], “I will love 
them freely.” The reflexive form 
of the verb from the same root is 
used in like manner in Jud. v. 2, 9, 
of the people “willingly offering 
themselves” for the war against 
Jabin and Sisera. 

IN THE DAY THAT THOU WAR- 
REST, lit. “in the day of Thy /osz,” 
z.é. in the day Thou musterest Thy 
host to the battle; or we may ren- 
der, “in the day of Thy Jower,” for 
the word occurs in both significa- 
tions : for the former, see for in- 
stance Exod. xiv. 28, Deut. xi. 4, 
2 Kings vi. 15 ; for the latter, Ps. 
xviii. 32 [33], 39 [40]. 

IN HOLY VESTMENTS. Comp. 
xxix. 2, xcvi. 9. The youthful war- 
riors who flock to the standard of 
the king are clad in holy attire, 
combatants in a holy war. Comp. 
Is, xiii. 3, 4, “I have commanded 
My sanctified ones, 1 have also 
called My mighty ones for Mine 
ONBete ie as The Lord of hosts — 
mustereth the host of the battle.” 
(See also 1 Sam. xxv. 28; Jer. vi. 
4, “Sanctify ye war against her;” — 
li. 27, “ Raise a standard, blow a 
trumpet among the nations, sanctify 
the nations against her.”) But © 













































more is implied perhaps than this. 
The “holy garments” are priestly 
garments. They who wear them 
are priestly warriors, in the train of 
a priestly leader. If so, the ima- 
_ gery is the same as in Rev. xix. 14, 
where it is said that “the armies in 
heaven followed Him (whose name 
is called the Word of God) upon 
white horses, clothed in fine linen, 
white and clean.” The garments 
of Aaron and the priests were of 
_ linen, Exod. xxviii. 39, 42, Lev. vi. 
Io [3], xvi. 4, and they were called 
“holy garments,” Exod. xxviii. 4, 
_ Lev. xvi. 4. The Hebrew word 
_ there rendered garments is differ- 
_ ent from that employed in this and 
the two parallel passages in the 
but apparently the same 
thing is intended. Some have sup- 
_ posed that the allusion is to a 
_ solemn religious service held be- 
_ fore going out to battle, but we 
_ have no evidence of the existence 
of any such custom. 
Instead of “in holy vestments,” 
another reading found in several 
_ MSS. is “on the holy mountains.” 
_ This reading, which only involves 
_ *he slightest possible change in a 
‘Single letter, is as old as Jerome, 
_ who has zz montibus sanctis. It 
_ would describe the armed host as 
_ going forth to the battle from the 
_ mountain ridge on which Zion lay 
_ (see on Ixxvi. 4), and from which 
_ Jehovah stretches out the sceptre 
_ of His Anointed. 
__ FROM THE WOMB OF THE MORN- 
ING. According to the Masoretic 


| <jpamammet these ot Lae 2 
_ the preceding member, “In holy 
_ attire, from the womb of the morn- 
ing.” It is clear, however, that 
greg to the figure of the dew, 
and the only question is, whether 
_ the words “ in holy attire”. should 
be connected with the previous 
noun, “‘ Thy people,” cr with the 
ing, “Thy young men,”—a 
uestion of little importance. An- 


PSALM CX. 


297 


(As the dew) from the womb of the morning, 
(Is) to Thee the dew of Thy young men. 


other rendering of the words is 

ssible. A comparison may be 
implied, “ More than the dew from 
the womb,” &c., the construction 
being the same as in iv. 7 [8], where 
see note. 

THY YOUNG MEN, lit. “Thy 
youth.” Elsewhere the word means 
the time of youth, 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 ina 
collective sense, = “ Thy young 
men.” Ab. Ezra makes the paral- 
lelism yet more complete by ren- 
dering ”’davoth“willingnesses” ver. 
3, as if it were geshem ndévoth, 
“a bountiful rain,” Ixviii. 9 [10], 
and explains, “ If Thou needest to 
make war, Thy people shall go 
forth to Thee as plentiful showers.” 
This has been adopted by Men- 
delssohn, who observes: “ The 
force of the figure is, that they 
shall flow to Him, and hasten to 
serve Him, as fruitful showers do 
the field. The meaning is repeated 
in the next hemistich, which is as 
if the Psalmist had said, ‘In the 
day of Thy battle Thy young men 
are to Thee (as) dew from the womb 
of the morning.’ And how beau- 
tiful is the figure which-likens the 
act of men who make to the battle 
to drops of rain, and the act of 
young men who are anxious to try 
their strength in battle to drops of 
dew, which are smaller and finer 
than rain.” 

The dew which, especially in the 
East, falls so copiously, is most 
probably employed here as a figure 
denoting infinite multitude, Comp. 
the use of the figure in 2 Sam. xvii. 
11, 12, “ Therefore I counsel that 
all Israel be gathered to thee .... 
as the sand that is by the sea for 
multitude... .and we will light 
upon him as fhe dew falleth on the 


298 


PSALM CX. 


4 Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: 
“Thou art a priest for ever 
After the order* of Melchizedek.” 

5 The Lord at Thy right hand 


ground,” &c. Others find the point 
of comparison here in the dright- 
ness and freshness of the dew; and 
this may be suggested by the figure 
as well as multitude. In Mic. v. 7 
[6] the point of comparison seems 
to be different: “And the remnant 
of Jacob shall be in the midst of 
many people as a dew from Jeho- 
vah, as showers upon the grass, 
that turneth 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. 

The Greek and Latin Fathers, 
following the rendering of the LXX. 
and Vulg. (see Critical Note), build 
on this verse the doctrine of the 
eternal generation of the Son, and 
His oneness of nature with the 
Father. 

4. This verse contains the great 
central revelation of the Psalm. 
How weighty it is, and of how vast 
import, may be inferred from the 
solemnity of the introduction “ Je- 
hovah hath 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,” z.¢. the de- 
cree is absolutely immutable (for 
God Himself is said to have re- 
pented, Gen. vi. 6). It is the solemn 
inauguration of the Messiah in 
time to the priestly office. Itis 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.” 

(1) 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 cove- 
nant than that of Moses, Heb. vii. 
20—22. 

(2) He argues that as the priest- 
hood rests on an unchangeable 
Joundation, so it is in its nature 
unchangeable: a Priest for ever. 
“He, because 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, how- 
ever, in entire silence that which in 
the Patristic and Romish expositors 
holds a prominent place, the bring- 
ing forth of bread and wine. An- 
other and essential feature of the 
type which is implied in Heb. vii. 
is too often overlooked, 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 
of the King and his army were 
described, here the conflict and 
the victory. It is remarkable 


how these earthly images, this war- a 


like tone predominates, considering _ 
the language of ver.4. The priestly 
character of the monarch, the very 

name of Melchizedek, 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 for- — 
gotten that we have a parallel ex-— 
ample in the New Testament. See 
Rev. xix. 11—16, 

5. THE LorpD (Adonai). This — 







































form of the plural is never used 
except as a Divine Name. The 
Targum gives as the equivalent here 
_ “the Shechinah of Jehovah.” Is 
_ this name here applied to Jehovah 
_ orto the King? Many expositors 
___ argue that the King must be meant ; 
_ for (1) it is hardly probable that in 
so short a Psalm the King should 
first be said (ver. 1) to be at the 
right hand of Jehovah, and then 
that in ver. 5 Jehovah, on the con- 
, Should be said to be at the 
right hand of the King. (2) There 
is apparently no change of subject 
to the end of the Psalm, and in the 
verse it is quite clear that the 
ing is the subject: it is he, and 
ae ehovah, who drinks of the 
_ brook in the way. Hence it has 
been inferred that as the Messiah 
is called "Adonai, we have here a 
testimony to His divine nature. 
_ Qn the other side it has been 
_ argued that (1) the name ’Adonai is 
never elsewhere given to the Mes- 
al seh or to any | but God : (2) that 
a the express ion “in the day of His 
s wrath is more naturally to be in- 
" of God than of the Mes- 
aa ; See ii. 12, where that is threat- 
_ ened which is here fulfilled: (3) 
_ that when, in ver. 1, the King ses 
atthe right hand of jehovah, this is 
a session on the throne, indicating 
equal rank and honour; whereas 
in ver. § Jehovah is said to stand 
_ at the right hand of the King, a 
_ different phrase altogether, and one 
fi x sand help, succour, and the 
} Tike, ead gee being legitimately 
Biteete: (@) that the change of 
oe 4 ec O' 
— subject meant ver. 6 or 7), though 
_ abrupt, is only what is found in 
_ other Psalms, and is characteristic 
of Hebrew poetry. 
_ Where the arguments are so 
r Bae tenes it is difficult to 
‘ although most of the recent 
those who hold 


ver. 5, not 


Messiah, but Tchovah: It 


PSALM CX. 


299 


Hath crushed kings in the day of His wrath. 


should be observed, however, that 
there is no reason 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 change of sub- 
ject, 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 justifi- 
able in this instance, because Jeho- 
vah 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 the King 
and Priest, and that in cix. 31, Je- 
hovah “stands at the right hand” 
of the 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. Hupfeld, 
Bunsen, and Ewald think that the 
King is not introduced till ver. 7, 
which they regard as a single scene 
taken from the war. But I confess 
Reinke’s objection to this view 
appears to me to be weighty, viz. 
that such a scene standing by itself 
has no meaning. We must first 
see the warrior in the battle, or we 
cannot understand why he should 
drink of the brook in the way. I 
prefer, therefore, regarding the King 
as the subject of ver. 6. 

Kincs. There may, perhaps, 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. lxviii. 12 [13]. 
If so, this would account forthe use 
of the past tense, “ath crushed,” 
all God’s judgements having been 
judgements executed on behalf of 


300 


PSALM CX. 


6 He shall judge among the nations, 
He hath filled (them) with corpses,‘ 
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. 


His Anointed. But as the future 
tenses are interchanged with the 
past in the next two verses, it 
seems better to regard the former as 
indicating that the victory is yet 
future, while the latter imply that 
it is represented so vividly to the 
Poet’s eye that he can conceive 
of it as already accomplished. 

6. THE HEADS. The word is 
singular, but used apparently in a 
collective sense, either literally as 
in lxviii. 21 [22], or metaphorically 
of rulers, princes. See the same 
ambiguity in Hab. iii. 14.. The older 
expositors, adhering to the singular, 
“the head over the wide earth,” 
suppose Satan to be meant, who 
is called “the god of this world.” 
On the construction, see in Criti- 
cal Note. Some interpreters, as 
Mendelssohn and Delitzsch, render 


@ DN). 


“over the land of Rabbah,” sup- 
posing that David’s war with Am- 
mon was the historical occasion of 
the Psalm. But theland of Ammon 
would no more be called the land 
of Rabbah, than the land of Judzea 
would be called the land of Jeru- 
salem. 

7. OF THE BROOK IN THE WAY, 
or, if we follow the accents, “Of 
the brook (or torrent) shall he drink 
in the way.” The victorious leader, 
who has made so terrible a slaughter 
that the field of battle is covered 
with corpses, is now seen pursuing his 
enemies. Wearied with the battle 
and the pursuit, he stops for a 
moment on his way to refresh him- 
self by drinking of the torrent rush- 
ing by, and then “lifts up his 
head,” derives new vigour to con- 
tinue the pursuit. 


The word is used in almost every instance of the immediate 





utterance of God Himself, more rarely of that of the prophet or inspired 
organ of the Divine revelations, as of Balaam, Num. xxiv. 3, 15; of 
David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Once only is the word used apparently in a 
catachrestic sense of the evil inspirations of the wicked man, xxxvi. 1 [2], 
where see note * 


» This verse has been altogether misinterpreted by the LXX. They 
render: Mera cov 4 dpxi év tpépa tis Suvdyeds cou, ev tais haympdrnot 
tév aylov gov’ ék yaotpds mpo éwoddpov éyévmnod oe. They must have 
read 312) for Way, 754, as in ii. 7, for qT, Inv for IMYIN, and YAP 
for wip. The words >0 4? they have passed over altogether. In 
rendering nia) by dpxy, rule, dominion, they connected it with 1°}, @ 
prince. Etymologically this is defensible, for the two ideas of wodleness 
and freedom are readily and naturally connected. But the noun nj23} 
can only mean either w#//ingness (plur. for sing.) or free-qw7ll offerings. 
The Vulg. carried the blunder further by translating dpxy principium : 
“Tecum principium in die virtutis tuee in splendoribus sanctorum: ex 
utero ante luciferum genui te.” The Syr. confounding 29 with 720, che 
young of an animal (1 Sam. vii. 9), a young child, Is. Ixv. 25, has: “In 





PSALM CX. 301 


the splendour of holiness have I begotten thee as a child (son) from the 
womb of old” (reading like the LXX. 1n¥’p, and interpreting it as = 
DWP). All these renderings point to the eternal “generation of the 
Messiah as the Son of God, and have so been explained by the Greek 
and Latin Fathers. Jerome follows Symmachus (év dpeow ayios) in 
adopting the reading ’p '7753, which has the support of many MSS. 
and some editions (the interchange of 3 and “1 being very common), 
and is preferred by some of the ablest critics, though, I think, on hardly 
sufficient grounds. He renders: “Populi tui spontanei erunt in die 
fortitudinis tue: in montibus sanctis quasi de vulva orietur tibi ros 
adolescentiz tuz.” The latter part of the verse is rendered by Aquila: 
Gro phrpas €£ apOpiopévov cor dpdcos rasdidryrés pov. Symm. as kat’ épOpov 
oot Spdcos 4 veorns pov. Th. éx pyrpas ard mpeat vedtyros pov. 

e MII TY, the old form of the stat. constr. with the connecting vowel, 
for n733 Sy, which occurs in Eccles. iii. 18, vii. 14, viii. 2, and in the 
Chald. of Dan. ii. 30, iv. 14, instead of the earlier and more usual 
523 Sy. For the termination of the stat. constr. in Z, see on cxiii. note *. 
In the other passages where it occurs, the phrase 3 ‘Y means Jecause of, 
a meaning which Hupfeld would retain here, “ because of Melchizedek,” 
z.2. so far as the type is the ground of the antitype. Others (as Herder 
and Geiger, Urschrift, &c. p. 29) take the final 7 as a suffix: “ Thou arta 
Priest for ever—I swear it by My word—a (second) Melchizedek.” It is, 
however, far simpler and more natural, although no other instance of like 
usage can be adduced, to take 7 in the sense of the LXX. xard ry 
raéw. So the Syr. and so Jerome, Secundum ordinem. Except in this 
phrase and in the passages above quoted, 7725 only occurs once, Job v. 8. 


4’3 xb. The second accus. is understood, DAN. “He hath filled 


_ them (Zz. the nations) with corpses,” the verb being transitive, as often. 





Others make of 82%) an adjective governing M}*}3, “(it, ze. the field of 
battle, or the land, is) full of corpses.” 

e —’s by. The prep. may either depend on the verb, “He hath 
smitten over a wide extent of country,” &c., or it may depend on wx%, 
“head over, z.¢. prince over a wide territory,” like by ‘1°33, &c., but here 
the former is clearly to be preferred. 





A. I subjoin 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 


302 PSALM CX, 


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 willing hearts to Thy 
standard. ‘They shall come clad, not in armour, but in holy vest- 
ments as ministering priests, for Thou hast consecrated them to be 
Thy priestly soldiers. ‘They shall come a youthful host, in numbers 
numberless 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 
Levitical 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 
exclaims :—‘“ 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 conquests, vanquishing one leader after another ; and Thou shalt 
reap the fruit of Thy victories like a warrior who, pressing hotly on 
the rear of 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.” 


B. The Bishop of St. David’s has favoured me with the following 
valuable remarks on this Psalm, which he has kindly allowed me to 
publish :— 


“T think it will be convenient first to consider the Psalm by itself 
just as if no reference had been made to it in the New Testament, 
and then to see how our conclusions about it must be modified by 
our Lord’s language. 











PSALM CX. 303 


“(i.) I think there can be no doubt that, whoever was the author, 
it must be considered as a Messianic Psalm, a picture of a state of 
things which had not been fully realized, either in the literal or the 
spiritual sense, before the coming of Christ. This character of the 
Psalm, as manifested by its contents, would not be more strongly 
marked if it is considered as the work of David: and the only ques- 
tion is whether, without some special revelation, beyond what would 
have been required for any other author, he could have spoken of 
the person described in it as his ‘Lord.’ I will only say that it does 
not appear to me inconceivable, but quite natural, that he should so 
style one who answered to the description given of the future victo- 
rious King. Only I am not sure that there is anything in that de- 
scription that might not be accounted for without any peculiarly 
distinct comsciousness—some consciousness the writer must have had, 
whoever he was—in David’s mind, partly by the promises which 


he had received (2 Sam. vii.), and partly by traditional expectations 


of the coming Great One. 

“(ii.) How, then, is the case altered by our Lord’s reference to 
the Psalm? Here we find ourselves in the presence of two opposite 
theories as to our Lord’s ordinary intellectual state. According to 
that which invests Him with the fulness of divine as well as human 
knowledge, there is of course no room for doubt about the author- 
ship of the Psalm. You, however, seem willing to admit that of 
Neander, Meyer, and others (among the rest, Pressensé, Vie de Jésus), 
that our Lord was not habitually conscious of facts, such as ‘ matters 
of literary criticism,’ which did not fall within the range of His human 
knowledge. But then arises the question whether, even on this 
theory, we are not compelled to suppose that He would not have 
argued as He does with the Pharisees on the Psalm, if a certain 
_ knowledge of its real authorship had not been supernaturally infused 

_ into Him for the special occasion. This leads us to inquire what 
His argument was. And here it is to be observed that, strictly speak- 
ing, it was no argument at all. Still less was it an argument proving 
that the Christ was foreseen by David to be the Son of God. As far 
as our Lord’s words go, they are simply questions, and questions 
which might have been put by one who wished to suggest to the 
Pharisees that they were mistaken in believing that David was the 
author of the Psalm. Nothing of course could be farther than that 
_ from our Lord’s intention (though I see from Alford that De Wette 
_ actually thought so). But if He did not take, but stand on, the same 
__ intellectual level, in this respect, with the Pharisees, can it be said 

that His question, if David was not really the author of the Psalm, 


tended to mislead them, and therefore that this was a case in which, 





304 PSALM CX. 


if He had needed a supernatural revelation of the truth, He must 
have received one? I must own, that is not at all clearto me. But 
that which most perplexes me is the difficulty I find in understanding 
the precise drift of our Lord’s questions, or why they should have had 
the effect of putting the Pharisees to silence. One would think that 
they could have been at no loss for an answer, according to the 
current Messianic notions of the day. They knew that Messiah was 
to be of the lineage of David. ‘They also believed that He was to 
be a greater than David, though the precise degree of His superiority 
might be open to doubt. But this might suffice to remove the 
appearance of inconsistency between David’s language and His rela- 
tion to the expected Messiah. Nor does it appear elsewhere that the 
question between our Lord and His opponents was, who and what 
the Messiah was to be, but whether He was the Messiah. If the 
Pharisees had not believed that the Psalm related to the Messiah, 
the question would have been futile. The argument, whatever it 
may have been, turns upon that, quite as much as it does upon 
David’s authorship ; and though the title of Zord implied a dignity 
higher than David’s, it can hardly be said to carry so much as the 
sitting on Jehovah’s right hand, or even as the everlasting priest- 
hood. But if so, the alleged occasion for a supernatural infusion of 
superhuman knowledge seems to lose almost all its importance, as 
the only result would be the addition of a title, which could have 
no such meaning except in the mouth of David, but which is thrown 
into the shade by other attributes which do not depend on the 
supposition of his authorship. 

_ Qn the whole, the conclusion to which I am led, as far as the 
great obscurity and imperfection of the data permit me to draw any, 
is that we are left very much in the same position with regard to the 
Psalm as if our Lord had not asked those questions about it; and 
that though we may be at liberty, we are not ‘compelled’ to attach 
any greater weight to it than it would have if it was not written by 
David. All that ‘falls to the ground’ in our Lord’s ‘ argument’ is a 
particular which does not seem to have any bearing upon doctrine, 
and to be indeed immaterial.” 











PSALM CXI. 305 


PSALM CXI. 


Tuts 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 rri1th, the mighty deeds, the glory, the righteousness of Jehovah 
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 com- 
"passion ;” in cxii. 4 the same character is given of the upright. In 
| the 111th Psalm the faithfulness of Jehovah to His covenant is mag- 
' nified (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 fitting 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 
7 ; character be seen, and the greater the delight which will be experi- 
= VOL. I. x 


a 
Cp ER ce NEN ~v 





306 PSALM CX, 

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 
* sracious 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 accomplished for His people. He who brought them out 
of Egypt will never suffer His covenant to fail. 

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.* 


I HALLELUJAH ! 
s I will give thanks to Jehovah with (my) whole heart, 
1. In the assembly of the upright and in the congre- 
gation. | 
2} Great are the works of Jehovah, 
1 Sought out of all them that have delight therein. 


1. ASSEMBLY. See onxxv.note®. half of His people. These are said 


A narrower and more intimate 
circle is implied than in the word 
“congregation ” which follows. In 
xxv. 14 the word occurs in the 
sense of “secret,” z.e. “secret con- 
verse,” and in lv. 14 [15] ina similar 
sense, See note on this last pas- 
sage. 

2. THE WORKS OF JEHOVAH, 2.2. 
specially His mighty deeds on be- 


to be— 

SOUGHT OUT, the objects of ear- 
nest. and devout meditation and 
study, studied that they may be 
known, studied that they may be 
lived. The same law holds of God’s 
revelation in His word as of His 
revelation in nature. They only 
who search diligently and who have 
a delight therein can discover His 





~ 


* With this Psalm begins another series of Hallelujah Psalms, cxi.— — 


Cxili., CxV.— Cxyii. 











PSAIM CX1. 


3 


$97 


His doings are (full of ) honour and majesty, 


5 And His righteousness standeth fast for ever. 


43 


He hath made a memorial for His wonderful works ; 


tT Gracious and of tender compassion is Jehovah. 


50 


He hath given food to them that fear Him, 


* Heremembered His covenant for ever. 


65 
people, 


The might of His works hath He declared to His 


5 To give them the heritage of the nations. 


73 


The works of His hand are truth and judgement ; 


5 Faithful are all His statutes ; 


_ wonders either in the one or the 
other. For if what Origen says of 
the final revelation is true, émeupOn 
ov povor iva yvacGn, GdX iva cat 
Aabn (Contr. Cels. ii. 67), it is no 
less true, AavOdve: va yroo$7. 

3. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS STAND- 
ETH FAST FOR EVER. Comp. cxii. 
3, where the same is said of the 
righteousness of the man who fears 
Jehovah, and hath delight in His 
commandments. See also xix. 9. 

- 4. A MEMORIAL. Comp. Num. 
xvi. 40 [xvii. 5]; Josh. iv. 6, 7. 

For (or “belonging to”) HIs 

WONDERFUL WORKS. By means 


of all that He has so marvellously 


wrought on behalf of Israel, He 
has reared, so to speak, a monu- 
ment to His glory. 

. Foop, or perhaps rather 
“prey” or “booty.” “The use of 
this word,” says Mr. Grove, “espe- 
_ Cially when taken in connection with 
_ the words rendered ‘good under- 
_ standing’ in ver. 10, which should 
rather be as in the margin, ‘ good 
success,’ throws a new and unex- 

light over the familiar 
_ phrases of this beautiful Psalm. 
_ Itseems to show how inextinguish- 
_ able 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’ 
___ of 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 who obey His 
commandments shall have the best 
success in the field.”—-Dzct. 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. I0 is cor- 
rect. 

Delitzsch, on the other hand, 
supposes that by the “memorial” 
is meant the Festivals, which were 
instituted to keep alive the remem- 
brance of God’s mighty works in 
the days of Moses, and by the 
“ food,” the meal accompanying the 
sacrifices, and the Paschal 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 as a Eucha- 
ristic Psalm. It is a curious in- 
stance of the way in which a word 
may draw to itself a whole train of 
thought with which it has really no 
connection. 


X 2 


308 PSALM CX1. 
8 D They are upheld for ever and ever, 
y They are done in truth and uprightness. 
95 He hath sent redemption to His people; 
~ He hath commanded His covenant for ever ; 
> Holy and awful is His Name. 
10 9) The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom, 


w A good understanding have all they that do them : 
XM His praise endureth for ever. 


8. UPHELD, not however by any 
external proof, but by their own 
inherent power: comp. the use of 
the word cxii. 8; Is. xxvi. 3 (where 
the E. V. has “ stayed”). 

UPRIGHTNESS. The neuter adj. 
used thus in connection with a 
noun preceding is peculiar (see 
Cvli. 20). 

9. HE HATH SENT. There is pro- 
bably an allusion to the redemption 

_ from Egypt, and in the next mem- 
ber to the Sinaitic covenant. Then 
Jehovah revealed Himsélf as the 
holy and the awful God. But here, 
and throughout the Psalm, I have 
rendered the past tenses as per- 
fects, because the reference is evi- 
dently not exclusively to the past, 
but also to the still present results 
of the “ redemption” and the “cove- 
nant.” 

HE HATH COMMANDED. The 
verb is used, as in cy. 8, in its 
original sense of appointing, estab- 
lishing. 

10, THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM. 
Comp. Job xxviii. 28; Prov. i. 7, 


ix. 10, Augustine beautifully says : 
“ Pro deliciis autem omnibus hujus 
seeculi, quales vel expertus es, vel 
augere ac multiplicare augendo 
potes, immortalium deliciarum ma- 
trem concupisce sapientiam : sed 
Initium sapientie timor Domini. 
Delectabit illa, et ineffabiliter pro- 
cul dubio delectabit castis atque 
zeternis veritatis amplexibus: sed 
prius tibi donanda sunt debita, 


.quam preemia flagitanda. Jndtium 


ergo sapientia,” &c. 

A GOOD UNDERSTANDING, or 
perhaps rather “ understanding of, 
Insight 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 the “ statutes ” men- 
tioned in ver. 7. See the note on 
cvii. 25. Augustine lays stress on 
this “doing.” “ Bonus est intel- 
lectus,” he says ; “quis negat? Sed 
intelligere et non facere periculo- 
sum est. Bonus ergo facientibus.” 





® Dyas, pass. part. only here ; not merely worthy of being sought out, 
as in other passive. forms, like 19}, T119h, but sought, the, subject of 
diligent investigation, earnest pursuit, &c. paryprad, not “according 
to all their desires” (as the sing., 1 Kings ix. 11), Ze. so that they find in 
t their highest satisfaction ; for the plur. of ~N does not mean wishes, 
desires, but precious things (Prov. iii. 15, viii. 11), and 4 after a pass. can 
only point out the author or subject. Hence this is plur. of ppm. It is 
true this appears elsewhere in the form ‘$n, as xxxv, 27, xl. 15, but that 


is really an incorrect form of the stat. constr., with the vowel retained, _ 


contrary to the rule (Gesen. § 133, Rem, 1, 2). In like manner we have — 





PSAIM CXL. 309 
‘mg’, Is. xxiv. 7, and "Mp, Ps. xxxv. 26. There is, indeed, no parallel 
case where the first radical takes Segol. Usually a guttural first radical 
has Pathach or short Chirek, as ‘D3, ‘piv, &c., but this is of no 
importance, as the guttural in other forms is found with a Segol. 
Besides, though the long vowel might be retained in the stat. constr., it 
would naturally fall away before the grave suffix D9". The tendetiog 
given in the text is supported by the Syr., Chald., Jerome, Kimchi, 
Luther, Calv., Ges., &c. 





PSALM CXII. 


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 Aggei et Zachariz.” 


at | HALLELUJAH! 


ss Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, 
3 That hath great delight in His commandments. 


22 


His seed shall become mighty in the earth, 


‘t The generation of the upright shall be blessed ; 


37 


Wealth and riches are in his house, 


5 And his righteousness standeth fast for ever. 


1. Comp. i. I, 2. 
2. MIGHTY. The word is com- 


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. So 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 all 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 


310 


43 
upright, 


PSAIM CXII. 


There hath arisen in the darkness a light for the 


m (He is) gracious, and of tender compassion, and 


righteous. 


5 ® Happy? is the man who showeth favour and lendeth, 
‘ He shall maintain his cause in (the) judgement; 

6 5 For he shall not be moved for ever, 
The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 


7. 


Because of (any) evil tidings he shall not fear, 


5 His heart is established trusting in Jehovah. 


8 BD 


His heart is upheld, he cannot fear, 


y Until he see (his desire) upon his adversaries. 


95 


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. 11, “ Light is sown for 
the upright.” 

In the next clause of the verse 
the three adjectives occasion some 
difficulty. Although they are in the 
singular number, whilst “the up- 
right” in the preceding line is plural, 
it seems most natural to take them 
as intended further to’ describe the 
character 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 also Matt. v. 45, 48; 
Is. lviii. 7. The change from the 
plural to the singular is certainly 
unusually harsh, as the three 
epithets are loosely strung to- 
gether, without anything to mark 
their reference; but this may be 
accounted for in some measure by 
the requirement of the alphabetical 
arrangement. 

Others take the three attributes 


He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor, 


as in apposition with the noun 
“light” in the preceding clause, 
God Himself being the “ Light” (as 
in xxvii. 1: comp. Is. x. 17, Ix. I— 
Mal. iv. 2 [iii. 20]) : “ There hath 
arisen a Light, viz. He who is 
gracious,” &c. 

5. HE SHALL MAINTAIN, &c.: 
mentioned 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 hap- 
piness of such a man—a clear con- 
science and a heart that trusts not 
in itself but in God, and thus is 
raised above all fear. The epithets 
“ established,” “ trusting,” “ up- 
held,” are all strikingly descriptive 
of the true attitude of faith, as that 
which /eans upon and zs supported 
by God. The two last are combined 
also in Is. xxvi. 3. 

9. HE HATH DISPERSED. The 
verb occurs in Prov. xi. 24, in the 
same way, of the free and active 
exercise of charity. This verse is 
quoted by St. Paul when exhorting 
the Corinthians to liberal contri- 
butions on behalf of the poor, 2 
Cor. ix. 9. 








PSALM CXITII. 311 


% His righteousness standeth fast for ever, 
j2 His horn shall be exalted with glory. 

10 —\ The wicked shall see (it) and be grieved, 
w He shall gnash his teeth and melt away,” 
rn The desire of the wicked shall perish. 


















HIS HORN. See on lIxxv. 5 [6}. MELT AWAY, z.é. through jealousy 
to. SHALL GNASH HIS TEETH, and annoyance. 
as in xxxv. 16, xxxvii. 12. 


# 34D, here not in a moral sense good, but rather in a physical sense 

_ fortunate, happy, as in Is. iii. 10; Jer. xliv. 17. It is not necessary, 
however, to make it a noun, as Kimchi does (as in xxv. 13). The 
expression ’S ‘D is exactly equivalent to ‘N "WS, ver. 1, and the article is 

_ absent before wx, in both cases, because it is eed by the attributives 
_ which follow. 


» Di}, 3 pret. Niph. pausal form (as in Ex. xvi. 21) of Did} or DN). 
Usually the pausal substitute for Tsere is Pathach; here we have 
Kametz, probably as lengthened from the form D3, as in the plur. 
3B}. Comp. also the use of the suffixes D7 and Dt, instead of DZ, 
 exviil. 10. 





PSALM CXIII. 


Wits 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 (vpvqjcarrec, Matt. 
_ xxvi. 30, Mark xiv. 26), after His last Passover. 
_ Paulus Burgensis styles Psalms cxiii.—cxviii. Al/eluia Judeorum 
magnum, 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 


312 


PSALM CXIII. 


“ Great Hallel” is given to Psalm cxxxvi. (See Delitzsch, from whom 


the above is taken.) 


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. 

1. The first exhorts to the praise of Jehovah as the one great 


object of praise. Ver. 1—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 Lifted up above all nations is Jehovah, 
Above the heavens is His glory. 

§ Who is like Jehovah our God 
Who sitteth throned on high, * 


1. SERVANTS OF JEHOVAH; all 
Israel as a nation consecrated ‘to 
His service; comp. lxix. 36 [37], 
cxxxv. I (where this same verse is 
found, but with the clauses trans- 
posed), cxxxvi. 22. 

The rhythm of this verse is that 
of xxix. I. 

3. LET THE NAME, &c. This 
rendering seems preferable in the 
context, though we might render 
“is worthy to be praised,” as in 
xviii. 3 [4], or simply “is praised.” 

4. ABOVE THE HEAVENS. De 
Wette remarks that this goes be- 
yond what we find elsewhere in 
describing the exaltation of Jehovah; 


that in Ps, xviii, for instance, He 
inhabits the lower atmospheric 
heaven, and in Ps. lxviii. He is 
throned in Zion, whereas here He 
is lifted high above the sphere of 
creation. But he must have for- 
gotten such passages as viii. 1 [2], 
and lvii. 5 aa 11 [12]. 

5. SITTETH THRONED ON HIGH, 
lit. “ maketh high to sit ;” as in the 
next verse, “ maketh low to see,” 
The same antithesis occurs cxxxviii. 
6. It denotes not merely the om- 
niscience of God, but His great- 
ness and His condescension. Comp. 
viii. 4 [5], and the striking expan- 
sion of the same thought, Is. lvil. 15. 








PSALM CXI/II. 313 


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. 
9 Who maketh the barren woman to keep house, 
As a joyful mother of children.> 


Hallelujah ! 


6. IN THE HEAVEN AND IN THE 
EARTH. Some commentators would 
connect these words with the first 
clause of ver. 5, “ Who is like Je- 
_ hovah our God in the heaven and 
_ in the earth?” (as in Deut. iii. 24,) 

taking the two intervening clauses 
as parenthetical ; but this is quite 
unnecessary. The ellipsis may be 
supplied as it is in the E.V. 

7. This and the next verse are 
almost word for word from the Song 
of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 8. 

_ g. The curse of barrenness was 
so bitter a thing in Jewish eyes, 
that its removal was hailed as a 


special mark of Divine favour. 


Pa 


The allusion to it here was sug- 
gested, doubtless, by Hannah’s 
history, and by the strain of Han- 
nah’s song already quoted: see 1 
Sam. ii. 5. 

MAKETH THE BARREN WOMAN, 
&c. : lit. “ maketh her who is barren 
of (in) the house to dwell,” z.¢. maketh 
her who through barrenness has no 
family to have a family, and so 
a fixed, settled habitation in the 
land. The use of the phrase in 
Ixviii. 6 [7] is somewhat different, as 
there the word “house,” means she 
place of abode; here, the family. 
Compare the expression “to make 
a house,” Exod. i. 21; 2 Sam. vii. 11. 
















_ #992319. The final Chirek, Yod or Chirek compaginis as it is called, 

or long connecting vowel, in this and the two following participles, and 
also in the Hiph. infin. ‘3'yn? (ver. 8), is the vowel originally employed 
to mark the relation of the genitive. The old form of the stat. constr. 
‘had for its termination either Cholem, as in YS in‘, Gen. i. 24, or 
Chirek, as in the compound names Pry 2bn, “WON, and many others, in 
the participle 120 “pk, Gen. xlix. 11, DIY Sn, 76, 12, and in some 
prepositions, as *A?3, ‘ND, 139 (poet.). 

_ The termination 7 is found (a) with the first of the two nouns in the 
"stat. constr., whether masc., as in Deut. xxxiii. 16, Zech. xi. 17, or fem., 
as in Gen. xxxi. 39; Ps. cx. 4. It is found also (4) when the stat. constr. 
is resolved by means of a prep. prefixed to the second noun, as in the 
_ passage already quoted, Gen. xlix. 11; Ex. xv.6; Obad. 3; Hos. x. 11; 
Lam. i. 1; Ps. cxxiii. 1, and in the K’thibh, Jer. xxii. 23, li. 13; 
_ Ezek. xxvii. 3. It occurs (c) even where a word intervenes between the 
two which stand in the genitival relation, as in ci. 5; Is. xxii. 16; 
_ Mic. vii. 14. The fact that this long vowel draws to it the accent shows 
_ that it is no mere euphonic (paragogic) addition, but that it is really a 


314 PSALM CXI1V. 


connecting vowel marking the relation of the gen. case. Hence it may 
be regarded as a connecting link between the Semitic and Indo-Germanic 
languages. 

In this and other late Psalms (see for instance cxxiii. 1, cxiv. 8, where 
we have both the Chirek and the Cholem, and perhaps cxvi. 1) an 
attempt seems to have been made to bring back the old termination, but 
without regard always to its original signification. Thus in ver. 8 of this 
Psalm it is appended even to the Hiph. infin., a form which occurs 
nowhere else. 

O'225. Hupfeld and Olsh. condemn the article as incorrect. 

itzsch says: “ The Poet brings the matter so vividly before him, that 
he points, as it were, with his finger to the children with which God 
blesses her.” 





PSALM CXIV. 


Tuis 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 consisting 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 features of 
the history are presented. 

3. A singular animation and an almost dramatic force are 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 
tenses. 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 — 
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 impres- 
sion 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 — 





“Be PSALM CXIV. 315 




















(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 men- 
tioned 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 indi- 
_ cate 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 fied, 
Jordan was turned backwards ; 


_ 4,2. The Introduction sets forth 
at once both the great redemptive 
vact and also the end of the re- 
-demption, viz. that God Himself 
mi nt dwell among and rule His 


2 This sanctifying of the nation, as 
a nation to Himself, took place in 
the wilderness before the Law was 
v nae shall be unto Me a 
2 parma and a holy 
natio xix. 6). 
__A PEOPLE OF STRANGE LAN- 
E, lit. “a stammering (Zé. an 
eligible) peek Comp. 
cut. xxviii. 49; Is. xxviii. 11, xxxili. 
19; Jer. v.15. LXX. aod BapBapov. 
_ 2. HIS SANCTUARY. Comp. 
Exod. xy. 17, where the Promised 
Land is called “the Sanctuary, O 














Lord, which Thy hands have esta- 
blished.” 

HIs DOMINION or kingdom; 
comp. Num. xxiii. 21. The noun 
is in the plural, which is here used 
poetically as a plural of amplifica- 
tion. Comp. xliii. 3, xlvi. 4 [5], 
Ixviii. 35 [36] (where see note). 

3. THE SEA SAW, viz. God, whose 
name and whose presence are still 
purposely concealed. Comp. lxxvii. 
16 [17], xcvii. 4; Hab. iii. ro. 

The passage of the Red Sea and 
of the Jordan are combined, not 
only as miracles of a similar cha- 
racter, but as marking the begin- 
ning and the end of the great 
deliverance —the escape from 
Egypt, the entrance into the Pro- 
mised Land. 








* Spectator, No. 461. 


316 


PSALM CXTIV. 


4 The mountains skipped like rams, 
The hills like young sheep. 


5 What aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleest ; 
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. 


4. The reference 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 
convulsions of nature form a part 
of every Theophany, or manifesta- 
tion of God. Comp. xviii. 7 [8], 
Ixxvii. 18 [19]; Hab. iii. ; Is. lxiv. 
“BS For the figure see Ps, xxix. 


"8. THE ROCK (tsér), referring to 


the miracle in Exod. xvii. 6. THE 
FLINT-STONE (or perhaps “ the 


* nny. 


steep cliff;” LXX. tiv dxporopov) 
seems to be placed here poetically 
for the other characteristic word 
(sela’) which marks the scene of 
the miracle at Kadesh. See notes 
on Ixxviii. 15, 16. 

These miracles are selected as 
the most striking proofs of “ God’s 
absolute creative omnipotence, and 
of the grace which changes death 
into life.’ They are, moreover, 
parallel miracles like the two men- 
tioned in ver. 3, and thus the poet- 
ical effect is heightened. 


“ Judah” is ase feminine, in accordance with the general 


principle that /ands and mations are feminine. 


b »Bhn. 


On the termination see cxiii. note * 


The final Chirek, 





however, in this instance, is not strictly that of the stat. constr., for the 
participle here has the article prefixed, and therefore cannot be in 
construction. But it is one of the instances in which, as has been 
remarked in the note referred to, the later language adopted the 
termination without regard to its original use. 

In woe, on the other hand, we have a genuine instance of the old 
termination of the stat. constr. This final Cholem, however, is by no 
means so widely used as the final Chirek, With the exception of this 
place, and Num. xxiv. 3, 15, "2 422, it is found only in the phrase 
YW inv (or mIWD 'N), which first occurs Gen, i, 24, 








PSAIM CXV. 317 





PSALM CXV. 


Tuis 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 

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. 1, 2. 

It exalts Him, the Invisible, Omnipotent, 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 whilst 
_ 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. 1—11 to the congregation, ver. 12—15 to the priest, 

_ yer. 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. 

_ The LXX., Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic have strangely enough, 

and in defiance of all probability, joined this with the preceding 

_ Psalm, and then have restored the balance by dividing Psalm cxvi. 

_ into two parts. Even in some Hebrew MSS. Psalms cxiv. and cxv. 

_ are found written as one Psalm. But the very structure of Psalm 

_ €xiy., its beauty and completeness in itself, are sufficient to make us 

wonder what caprice could have led to such an arrangement. 









318 


PSALM CXV. 


(The Congregation.) 


1 NOT unto us, O Jehovah, not unto us, 
But to Thy Name, give glory, 
Because of Thy loving-kindness, because of Thy 


truth. 


2 Wherefore should the nations say: 
“Where now is their God ?” 


3 But our God is in the heavens ; 
He hath done whatsoever He pleased. 
4 Their idols are silver and gold, ° 


1. NOTUNTO US. The repetition 
of the words expresses the more 
vividly the deep sense of unworthi- 
ness, the unfeigned humility which 
claims nothing for itself. 

LOVING-KINDNESS.. . . TRUTH. 
The two great characteristic attri- 
butes of God, even in the Old 
Testament ; though in contrast 
with the Law as given by Moses, 
St. John could say, 7 xdpis kai 7 
adnbeva Sia "Incod Xpiorov éyevero, 
Jobn i. 17. 

Both these attributes of God 
would be assailed if the taunt of 
the heathen should be allowed to 
pass unsilenced, It is God’s glory 
which is at stake. “ Deo itaque,” 
says Calvin, “gratiam suam obji- 
ciunt (fideles), deinde fidem, qua- 
rum utramque manebant impize 
calumniz, si populum quem zeterno 
foedere sibi devinxerat, et quem 
adoptaverat gratuita misericordia, 
frustratus esset.” 

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 7 heaven, invisible 
indeed, yet thence ruling the uni- 
verse ; next, He doeth what He 
will, in fine contrast with the utter 
impotence of the idols of the 
heathen. The last expression de- 
notes both God’s almighty power 
and His absolute freedom. This, 


truthfully accepted, does away with 
all @ prioré objections to miracles. 

4. SILVER AND GOLD, 2.é. 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 
follows. “ Though they may be of 
costly materials, they are but of 
human workmanship ; though they 
may have the form and members of 
man, they are lifeless.” 

De Wette remarks that “the Jew, 
who was accustomed to see no im- 
age of the Deity, fell into the error 
(often perhaps purposely) of con- 
founding the idols of the heathen 
with the gods whom they repre- 
sented, and of which they were only 
the symbols. The Israelite of the 
ten tribes, who had his symbols of — 
Jehovah Himself, could not have 
made such a mistake.” But it may — 
be replied, in the first place, that 
the Jew would not have admitted 
that the gods had any real existence; 
they were as much the creatures of 
man’s imagination as the idols were 
of his art. In the next place, the 
heathen worship itself was not care- 
ful to maintain the difference be- 
tween the symbol and the thing — 
symbolized, and the great mass of — 
worshipers probably drew no dis- 
tinction between them. “Non 








































habent Siculi deos ad quos pre- 
_ centur,” says Cicero. On which 
Calvin remarks: “ Barbare hoc 
_ diceret, nisi hzc infixa fuisset opinio 
_ vulgi animis, deorum ccelestium 
_ figuras sibi ante oculos versari in 
gre, vel argento, vel marmore.” 
_ Even the refined teaching of the 
‘Church of Rome does not save the 
ignorant and the unlettered from 
_ absolute idolatry. 
Augustine has here some admir- 
_ able remarks on idol-worship, and 
the various attempts made to dis- 
- tingui n the image and the 
deity it ted. But he con- 
_ cedes the real existence of the gods 
as demons: “ Aliis itaque locis et 
contra ista divine Literz vigilant 
_ Ne quisquam dicat, cum irrisa fuerint 
simulacra, Non hoc visibile colo, 
sed numen quod illic invisibiliter 
habitat. Ipsa ergo numina in alio 
psalmo eadem Scriptura sic dam- 
nat: Quoniam dit gentium, inquit, 
_demonia; Dominus autem celos 
fecit. Dicit et Apostolus: Non guod 
_ tdolum sit aliquid, sed gquoniam que 
_immolant gentes, demoniis immo- 
_ lant, et non Deo,” &c. The whole 
is well worth reading as a 
masterly analysis of idol-worship. . 
___ We have the same description of 
_these dumb and deaf and dead gods 
Wm cxxxy. 15—18, probably bor- 
towed from this passage. Comp. 
‘Deut. iv. 28, and the sarcastic pic- 
ture in Is. xliv. g—20. 
__ 7. THEY HAVE HANDS, lit. “As 
for their hands, they handle not 


ct ioe ee ee 
ee : 
ss —e 


PSAIM CXV. 


319 


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 utter any sound with their throat. 

8 Like unto them are they that make them, 

Every one who putteth his trust in them. 


(with them) : As for their feet, they 
do not walk (therewith).” The con- 
struction is changed, and we have 
nominative absolutes, followed by 
the conjunction introducing the 
apodosis. See for the same con- 
struction Gen. xxii. 24; Prov. xxiii. 
24; Job xxxvi. 26. 

UTTER ANY SOUND. Theverb may 
mean only Zo speak, as in xxxvii. 30; 
Prov. viii. 7 ; but the rendering in 
the text approaches more nearly 
to the root-signification of the word, 
“do not utter even an inarticulate 
sound.” So Ab. Ezra and Kimchi. 

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. 19, where what is elsewhere 
said of the idols is said of the 
worshipers, that they are “empti- 
ness” (¢éh#) ; and observe 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 wit- 
ness of Himself in the visible crea- 
tion, worshipt the creature rather 
than the Creator, received in them- 
selves the sentence of their own 
degradation, “ Their foolish heart 
became darkened.” They became 
blind and deaf and dumb and dead, 
like the idols they set up to worship. 

ARE, or “become.” By the LXX., 
Jerome, and the Syriac the verb is 
rendered as an optative, “ May 
they become,” &c., which, however, 
is less forcible. 


320 


PSALM CXV. 


(Levites and Choir.) 


9 O Israel, trust in Jehovah ! 
He is their help and their shield. 
10 O house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah! 
He is their help and their shield. 
11 Ye that fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah ! 
He is their help and their shield. 


(The 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. 


14 May Jehovah increase you more and more, 


You and your children ! 


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 
probable, as has been said, that the 
first line of this and the two follow- 
ing 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 wd// bless us in time to 
come (ver.12), The threefold divi- 
sion, Israel—house of Aaron—they 
that fear Jehovah, is the same as in 
Cxviii. 2, 3, 4. In cxxxv. the house 
of Levi is added, 

Io. First the people at large are 
exhorted to this trust, then the 
priests—because to them was con- 


fided the worship of Jehovah, with 
them it rested to keep it pure, and 
they might naturally be expected 
to lead the people in the path of 
holy trust. 

II, 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, oeBdpevor tov 
Gcov, or simply oeSdpevor. Comp. 


Acts xiii. 43, 50. But in other places — 
in the Psalms the phrase occurs of — 
all Israel ; see xxii. 23 [24], ciii. 11, — 


13, 27. 
12. HATH BEEN 


of the future. Again the same three 


classes are mentioned as in the 


three preceding verses. 
This 


conjectures, by the priest. But see 


Introduction to Ps. cxviii. 


14. INCREASE you. Comp. Gen, 


xxx. 24; Deut. i. 


XXxiv. 3. 


11;.2 Sam 





MINDFUL... 
WILL BLESS. The past is the pledge — 


blessing, thus promised 
(ver. 12, 13) and thus supplicated © 
(ver. 14, 15), was sung, as Ewald — 


J 





PSALM CXVI. 


321 


15 Blessed be ye of Jehovah, 
The Maker of heaven and earth. 


_ (The Congregation.) 


2 &=<—<—$ << -- —- ~~ 


18 But we will bless Jah 


15. MAKER OF HEAVEN AND 
EARTH. The title has reference to 
the impotent idols before described. 

16. e words in this and the 
next verse are simple enough, but 
their connection with the rest of the 
Psalm is not very clear. Perhaps 
it may be traced thus: In ver. 15 
ontage is said to have made 

ven 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 thought of 





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 ; 


From henceforth even for ever, 
: : Hallelujah ! 


another region, that unseen world 
below where none can praise God 
as they do on this fair earth which 
He 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 He has been a help and a 
shield, we whom He has blessed 
and will bless, we with thankful 
hearts will never cease to show 
forth His praise. 

17. Comp. cxviii. 17 ; Is. xxxviii. 
18, 19. 








e 


Y 
i 


VOL. II. 


PSALM CXVI. 


In this Psalm one who has been in peril of death (ver. 3, 9, 15) 
gives thanks to God with a full heart for the deliverance which has 
_ been vouchsafed to him. Beginning with the expression of a love to 
_ 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. 


322 


PSALM CXVI. 


The Psalm is evidence of the truth and depth of the religious life 
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 earlier 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 inclined 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 upon the name of Jehovah I called, 
“QO Jehovah, I beseech Thee,’ deliver my soul.” 
5 Gracious is Jehovah and righteous ; 


1. I LOVE. The verb stands 
alone without any expressed object, 
as if the full heart needed not to 
express it. The object appears as 
subject in the next clause, from 
which it is readily supplied : “I love 
Jehovah, for He heareth,” &c. The 
writer is fond of this pregnant use 
of the verb without an object ex- 
pressed. See ver. 2, “I call,” and 
ver. Io, “I believe.” For the senti- 
ment, comp. xviii. 1 [2], “ Tenderly 
do I love Thee.” The rendering, 
“T am well pleased that,” &c. has 
no support in usage. 


On this first verse Augustine 


beautifully says : “Cantet hoc anima 
que peregrinatur a Domino, cantet 
hoc ovis illa quze erraverat, cantet 
hoc filius ille qui mortuus fuerat et 
revixit, perierat et inventus est ; 
cantet hoc anima nostra, fratres et 
filii carissimi.” 
















2. AS LONG AS I LIVE, lit. “in 
my days.” The phrase, “in m 
days will I call,” is certainly har 
and 2 Kings xx. 19 (Is. xxxix. 8), to 
which Del. refers, is not a real 
parallel. Still, as the LXX. and ~ 
Jerome evidently had the reading, 
it is probably the true one, and we 
need not adopt any of the con-— 
jectural emendations which have ~ 
been proposed. 

3. The later Psalmists would 
naturally often use David’s vor 
as the best expression of theit 
own feelings, especially in season 
of peril and sorrow. See xvii 
1—6 [2—7]. j 

5. Instead of saying directly, 
“Jehovah answered me,” he mag- 
nifies those attributes of God whick 
from the days of His wonderful 
self-revelation to Moses (Ex. xxxiv. 
6), had been the joy and conse 


2 PSALM CXVI. 















ion of every tried and trusting 
hea: See Introduction to ciil. 
‘The epithet “righteous” is added 
here, as in cxii. 4. 

6. THE SIMPLE. LXX. ra wjma. 
_very simplicity which lays 
n most ily open to attack 

for protection to 
“showeth tender com- 


_ g. THE LAND OF THE LIVING, 
lit. “ the lands,” but the plural may 
; ic amplification. In 


,@ - only : Det 
a ee i3 (comp. lvi. 13 [14]), we 
EV. “I believed, there- 
have I spoken,” follows the 
X. émiorevoa, do € a ren- 
ing which is also adopted by 
t. Paul, 2 Cor. iv. 13, in illustration 
of the truth that a living faith in 
the heart will utter its convictions 
it donee But the Hebrew 
will not admit of such a rendering. 
he following are possible inter- 


323 


- Yea, our God showeth tender compassion. 
6 Jehovah keepeth the simple: 
I was in misery and He helped* me. 
7 Return, O my soul, unto thy rest,? 
For Jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee. 
8 For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, 
Mine eye from tears, 
My foot from stumbling. 
9 I will walk before Jehovah 
In the land of the living. 
10 I believe (in Him) ;—for I must speak : 
I was greatly afflicted. 
11 I said in my confusion, 
“ All men are liars.” 


12 How shall I repay to Jehovah 
All His benefits* unto me? 


pretations : (1) “I believe when I 
speak,” z.¢. when I break forth into 
the complaint which follows in the 
next clause. For this use of the 
verb sfeak, comp. xxxix. 3 [4] (so 
Hupfeld). Or 6), “T believe ”— 
emphatic, z.¢. I do believe, I have 
learnt trust in God by painful ex- 
perience—“ for I must speak ”—I 
must confess it, “I, even I (pron. 
emphatic), was greatly afflicted ; I 
myself (pron. emphatic, as before) 
said,” &c. The latter explanation 
seems, on the whole, 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 believe”), 
for he had looked to himself, and 
there had seen nothing but weak- 
ness ; he had looked to other men 
and found them all deceitful, trea- 
cherous as a broken reed. Comp, 
Ix. 11 [13], lxii. 9 [10], cxviii. 8, 9. 
There is an allusion to this passage 
in Rom. iii. 4. 

11. The first member is the same 
as in xxxi. 22 [23]. 


a 3 


324 


PSAIM 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 off 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 Unto Thee will I sacrifice a sacrifice of thanksgiving, 
And upon the Name of Jehovah will I call. 
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 
blessing ” at the Paschal meal 
(Matt. xxvi. 27), and this would ac- 
cord with the sacrificial language 
of ver. 14,17. It is true there is 
no evidence of any 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 “me of its in- 
troduction. 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 [6], xxiii. 5, or of adversity, as 
in xi. 6 [7], Ixxv. 8 [9]. So the 
Arabs speak of “the cup of death,” 
“the cup of love,” &c. Then the 
meaning of the verse will be, “I 


* ‘\¥12; a later word, which occurs besides in the sing. I¥1)1, cxviii. +4 
and in the plur. O33, Lam. i. 3. In these other passages it mean 
narrowness, straitness, as of a narrow place, whereas here an abstract — 





















will accept thankfully and with de- 
voutacknowledgement 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 beseech- | 
ing. It is a part of the same inter- 
jection which occurs 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: Joes 
DEATH, z.é. it is no light thing in 
the sight of God that His servants 
should perish. The more obvious” 
form of expression occurs Ixxii, 14, 
“precious is their blood in His 
eyes.” £ 

16. SON OF THINE HANDMAID: 
Comp. lxxxvi. 16; 2 Tim, i. 5. 


ee 


PSALM CXVII. 325 


sense is required. The word does not also seem very suitable to bixy’, 
In the original passage an is the word employed, and hence Hupf. 
would read here *}¥1, wets, as in Job xix. 6; Eccl. vii. 26. 


‘P ABN with mn, as in five other places, instead of N, compounded of 
mS and NJ. It is accentuated both Milel and Milra. Properly speaking, 
in beseeching it is avd, Milra ; in asking questions, ézah, Milel. 


© win. For this form, with the 7 retained, see Lxxxi. 5 [6]. 


@ s5ymazt). The plur. masc. occurs only here, the plur. fem. in two 
other places instead of the sing. The noun means primarily a resting- 
place, and then rest (xxiii. 2). The plur. is used to denote rest in its 
Juiness. On the form of the fem. suffix in this word, and in iby i in the 
Same verse, and again in 321n3, ver. 19, see on ciii. note *. 


¢ s$s03m. This Aramaic plural suffix occurs only here in Biblical 
Hebrew (Ges. § 91, 2, Obs. 2). 
* £733). The form seems adapted to the following §}, to express the 
_ inward earnestness of wish; see the same form ver. 18, and again the 

use of 38, ver. 16. It is more difficult to account for the termination 
_ -ah in HY, ver. 15, which, as an accusatival termination, can have no 
force. Del. calls it “a pathetic form” for Ny), but the fondness for this 
termination is a peculiarity of the writer. 


s ~pind. The prep. 5 instead of the accus. after the trans. verb is an 


Aramaic construction, and one of the signs of the later date of the 
Psalm. 


7 





















PSALM CXVII. 


_ Tuis 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, 
Celebrate Him, all ye peoples !* 
2 For His loving-kindness is mightily shown towards us, 
2. LOVING-KINDNESS... TRUTH. Israel, “ ¢owards us,” are to be the 


These two great attributes of God subject of praise for the heathen, 
; ee on cxv, 1), as manifested to an indication of those wider sym- 


326 PSALM CXVIII. 


And the truth of Jehovah is for ever. 
Hallelujah! 


pathies which appear to have mani- that in the purpose of God the 
fested themselves after the Exile. Gentiles were destined to be par- 
Hence the first verse is quoted by takers, together with the Jews, of 
St. Paul, Rom. xv. 11, together with His mercy in Christ. 

Deut. xxxii. 43, “ Rejoice, ye Gen- Is MIGHTILY SHOWN. Comp. 
tiles, with His people,” as showing iii. 11. 


® pw. The only instance of this form in Biblical Hebrew. Else- 
nts either Mids (Gen. xxv. 16; Num, xxv. 15), or more commonly _ 
pvard. . 





PSALM CXVIII. 



















Ir is evident that this Psalm was- designed to be sung in the 
Temple worship, and was composed for some festal occasion. Its — 
liturgical character is shown by the formula with which it opens and 
closes, ““O give thanks to Jehovah,” &c.; by the introduction of — 
different voices, which may be inferred in ver. 2—4; and by the fre- 
quent repetition of certain lines as a refrain in the former half of the 
Psalm, 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 :— 4 

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. r—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, (Delitzsch.) 


































PSALM CXVIII. 327 


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 compassed ; 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 Hosannah” 
_ (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 (Zu/ad), were called ‘“ Hosannas” (nye). 
_ Farther, although the Psalm itself contains no direct allusion to 
_ any of the national Feasts, yet the use of the word “‘tents” in ver. 15 
at least accords very well with the Feast of Tabernacles. 

2. In the next place, it seems equally clear that the Psalm sup- 
_ poses the completion of the Temple. The language of verses 19, cia 
_ “Open me the gates of righteousness,” “ This is the gate of Jehov. 
and the figure employed in ver. 22, “‘ The stone which the buildexs 
_ tejected is become the head stone of the corner,” cannot be easily 
_ explained on any other supposition. The allusions in verses 8—12 
- to the deceitfulness 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 there- 
_ fore is, that the Psalm was composed for the first celebration of the 
_ Feast of Tabernacles, after the completion of the Second Temple. 
(Nehemiah viii.) 


Mr. Plumptre, who, like Ewald, supposes the Psalm to have been 
__Originally composed for the first Feast of Tabernacles after the Return, 
j - Suggests that it may subsequently have been used with adaptations 
_ at the later great gatherings of the people. He thus in fact com- 
_ bines the different views which have been held as to the occasion for 
_ which the Psalm was written. He thinks it may possibly have been 
_ Written by one of the two prophets of that time, and draws attention 
_ to the prominence in Zechariah of parables and illustrations drawn 
from the builder's work: the “stone” of iii. 9, iv. 7; the “house” 
_ and “timber” of v. 4, 11; the “line” of i. 16 ; the ‘ ‘carpenters ” of 
i. 20; the “measuring- de forthe walls’ of Jerusalem” of ii. 1; the 
9 Beant” in the hand of Zerubbabel of iv. 10. “The Prophet 


328 PSALM CX VIII. 


lives as it were among the works of the rising Temple.” (Biblical 
Studies, p. 274.) Comp. ver. 19 and 22 of the Psalm. 

Ewald distributes the Psalm between different voices, giving ver. 
1—4 to the choir, ver. 5—-23 to the leader of the choir, ver. 24, 25 
to the choir, ver. 26, 27 to the priest, ver. 28 to the leader of the 
choir, ver. 29 to the choir. But, as Delitzsch observes, the priests 
took no part in the singing of the service ; they blew with the trum- 
pets, but the singers and the players on the stringed and other instru- 
ments of music were Levites. The Psalm, therefore, should be dis- 
tributed between the Levites and the congregation, the lines containing 
the refrains being probably sung antiphonally by the latter. Delitzsch 
thinks it more certain that the Psalm consists of two parts, the first of 
which, ver. 1—19, was sung by the festal procession, led by priests 
and Levites, on the way to the Temple ; the second, ver. 2o—27, by 
the Levites, who received the procession at the Temple-gate. Finally, 
ver. 28 would be the response of those who had just reached the 
Temple, and ver. 29 would be sung by all, both Levites and those 
who formed the procession. 

A similar arrangement of the Psalm is suggested in the Midrash 
(Shocher tobh), but there “the men of Judah” form the procession, 
which is received by “the men of Jerusalem.” In Pesachim 119a the 
Psalm is assumed to be intended for antiphonal singing. 

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. 


I O GIVE thanks to Jehovah, for He is good, 

For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
2 Let Israel now say, 

That His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
3 Let the house of Aaron now say, 

That His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
4 Let them now that fear Jehovah say, 

That His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 

1—4. Comp. Ezra iii. 11, where sung at the laying of the founda- — 


the same refrain is found as the tions of the Second Temple. This — 
burden of the psalmody which was_ is so far in favour of Hengsten- — 








PSALM CXVTII. 


379 


5 Out of straitness I cried unto Jah, 
Jah answered? me (and set me) in a large place. 
6 Jehovah is on my side, I am not afraid ; 
What can man do unto me? 
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. 


10 All nations compassed me about, 
But in the name of Jehovah will I cut them off.® 
11 They compassed me about, yea, they compassed me 


about, 


But in the name of Jehovah will I cut them off. 
12 They compassed me about like bees, 
They were extinguished like a fire of thorns: 
In the name of Jehovah will I cut them off. 
13 Thou didst thrust sore at me, that I might fall, 
But Jehovah helped me. 


berg’s view as to the occasion on 


"which the Psalm was first sung. 


See Introduction to the Psalm. 

r Borrowed from lvi. 9, 11 [10, 
12 

7. TO HELP ME, or “as my 
Helper.” Comp. liv. 4 [6], where 
see note. 

8, 9. See Ixii., xxxiii. 16—19, and 


| 3 comp. cxlvi. 3. 





The allusion is probably to the 
hostility of the Samaritans and the 
Persian satraps during the build- 
ing 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 
_ under Cambyses, and had been 
_ suspended under the pseudo-Smer- 


dis, and it was not till Darius came 
to the throne that they were allowed 


_ to resume it (Ezra iv.). 


10. ALL NATIONS, 2.é. the neigh- 
bouring tribes, who harassed the 
returning exiles, the four times re- 
peated “‘compassed me about” 
marking their close and pertinacious 
hostility. 

12. LIKE BEES. See the same 
figure Deut. i. 44. 

FIRE OF THORNS, quickly blaz- 
ing up and as quickly dying out. 
Comp. lviii. 9 [10 

13. THOU DIDST THRUST SORE, 
or perhaps “Thou didst indeed 
thrust, &c. .. . dut,” for the em- 

hasis in the repetition of the verb 
infin. absol.) belongs, as Hupf. re- 
marks, not merely to the idea con- 
tained 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 indi- 
vidual. 


33° 


PSALM CX VIII. 


14 Jah is my strength and my song, 
And He is become my salvation, 
15 The voice of joyous song and salvation 
Is in the tents of the righteous: 
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly. 
16 The right hand of Jehovah is exalted,* 
The right hand of Jehovah doeth valiantly. 


17 I shall not die, but live, 


And tell the works of Jah. 


18 Jehovah hath chastened me sore, 
But He hath not given me over unto death. 


- Ig 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. 


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). 

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, dwell- 
ing in the temporary huts which 
they constructed of the branches 
of the olive and the fir-tree, the 
myrtle and the palm, and rejoicing 
in the great deliverance which God 
had given them.”— PLUMPTRE, 4z- 
lical Studies, pp. 274, 275. 

17. “Ad se redit, letusque ex- 
clamat,” remarks Rosenmiiller. And 
certainly the personal feeling of the 
Psalmist seems here to predomi- 
nate, though the Psalm ‘is_ so 
manifestly liturgical, and therefore 
intended to represent the feelings 
of the congregation, that the perso- 
nal experience includes that of the 
nation at large. Each one of those 
redeemed captives 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 
service of God, and the character 
He requires of His worshipers. 
This is evident from the next verse, 
“The righteous shall enter into it.” — 
Comp. v. 4 [5], “ Evil cannot dwell 
with Thee,” z.¢. in Thy house ; xv. 
I, 2, “ Who may dwell on Thy holy 
mountain? He that walketh per- 
fectly and worketh righteousness,” 
&c. See also xxiv. 3--6. What 
David had declared to be the 
necessary condition of all accept- 
able worship in the first Temple was 
felt to be true also of the second. 

The demand “ Open to me” may 
be understood either (1) literally, in 
which case it is best explained as — 
the words of the singers in the © 
festal procession when they reach — 
the Temple gates (see Introduction 
to the Psalm); or (2) figuratively, as 
implying the readiness and ity” 
with which the Psalmist will go to — 
the house of God, there to offer his” 
sacrifices and to utter his thanks- 
givings. Comp. Is. xxvi. 2, “Open 
ye the gates, that the righteous 
nation may enter in,” where right- 
eousness is made the condition of 




















i ne 


LE I PY 


PSALM CXVIII. 


331 


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. 


entrance into “the strong city” of 
God’s building, as here into the 
holy place. : y 
22. A STONE. The imagery is 
drawn obviously from the building 
of the Temple. “Some incident 
in the progress of the works had 
probably served as the starting- 
“ox of the parable. Some stone— 
t, we may conjecture, of 

the Old Temple, rescued from its 
ruins—had seemed to the architects 


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 

fail to see that this was a type 

figure of what was then pass- 
ing 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, 


) aejected of men, were chosen of 
_ God as a chief stone of that new 


i 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, 11, Luke 
xx. 17), our Lord applies the words 

of this the next verse to Him- 


and 
The quotation was, it would 
ey taken from the 
Psalm from which the multi- 
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 words. 
Israel is not only a figure of Christ, 
there is an organic unity between 
Him afid them. Whatever, there- 
fore, is true of Israel in a lower 
sense, is true in its highest sense of 
Christ. Is Israel God’s “first-born 
son?” the name in its fulfilment 
belongs 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 re- 
jected of men, but chosen of God 
and precious ; the corner-stone of 
the one great living temple of the 
redeemed, whether Jews or Gen- 
tiles. (Comp. Eph. ii. 20.) See 
the use of the same figure in its 
application to our Lord by. St. 
Peter, Acts iv. 11; 1 Pet. ii. 7. 

The passage which forms the 
connecting link between this Psalm 
and the N. T. quotations 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 
direct, even if we suppose a pri- 
mary reference to the house of 
David. (It is interpreted as Mes- 
sianic both by the Targum and, 
amongst the Rabbinical commen- 
tators, by Rashi.) In marked con- 
trast 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 foundation.” 


33? 


23 This is Jehovah’s doing, 


PSAIM CXVIII. 


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. 
27 Jehovah is God, and showeth us light ; 
Bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of 


the altar. 


23. Fhis change in Israel's des- 
tiny, the restoration to their land, 
the rebuilding of their Temple, the 
future that was opening before them 
—these things are a miracle; Je- 
hovah’s hand alone could have 
accomplished it. 

24. THIS IS THE DAY, Ze. per- 
haps the great day of festival with 
reference to which the Psalm was 
composed. It is possible, however, 
that this verse is rather to be con- 
nected 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 He hath 
made.” The prayer of the next 
verse falls in best with the latter 
interpretation. 

25. I BESEECH THEE. Comp. 
cxvi. 4, 16. 

SAVE NOW, or rather, “Save, I 
pray” (Hosanna). The particle of 
entreaty is repeated in each mem- 
ber of this verse, so that altogether 
it occurs four times, as if to mark 
the earnestness of the petition. 
The English word “now” is not, 
therefore, a particle of time, but a 
particle of entreaty, as in Eccl. xii. 
1, “Remember now thy Creator,” 
z.é. “Remember, I beseech thee, 
thy Creator.” 

With this word “ Hosanna,” and 
words from the next verse, “‘ Blessed 
be He that cometh,” &c., the mul- 
titude welcomed Jesus as the Mes- 


siah, the Psalm being perhaps al- 
ready recognized as a Messianic 
Psalm. According 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 behe that cometh,” 
the formula being the same as in 
the priestly blessing, Num. vi. 27; 
Deut. xxi. 5; 2 Sam. vi. 18. Comp. 
Ps. exxix. 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, “ Jeho- 
vah make His face shine (lighten, 
the same verb as here) upon thee.” 
Comp. iv. 6 [7]. 

THE SACRIFICE. The word com- 
monly denotes she feast; here, as in 
Ex. xxiii. 18, Mal. ii. 3, the victim 
offered at the feast. 

UNTO THE HORNS OF THE AL- 
TAR. The expression is apparently 
a pregnant one, and the sense is, 
“ Bind the victim with cords till it 
is sacrificed, and its blood sprinkled 
on the horns of the altar.” De- 
litzsch, on the other hand, renders 
“as far as the horns of the altar.” 
Supposing the Psalm to have been 
written for the dedication of the 
Second Temple, he refers to Ezra 
vi. 17, where mention is made of 
the vast number of animals slaugh- 
tered on the occasion; hence he 





PSALM CXVITII. 


333 


28 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. 


explains that the victims (taking 
the word sacrifice in a collective 
sense) were so numerous that the 
whole court of the priests was 
crowded with them, and that they 
reached as far as the horns of the 
altar. “The meaning is,” he says, 
“Bring your hecatombs and have 
them ready for sacrifice.” 

But on this interpretation there 
is nothing appropriate in the men- 
tion of the horns of the altar. 
These have always a reference to 


Luther has “ Deck the feast with 
garlands (or boughs),” following the 
LXX. ovorjcacbe éoptny év ois 
muxagovew. Symm. has ovvdjeate 
€v Travnyupet wuxdopara, and Jerome 

Srequentate solennitatem in frondo- 
sis—all renderings which imply a 
belief that the Psalm was intended 
for the Feast of Tabernacles. As 
regards this rendering, the word 
translated in the text cords may 
mean thick boughs, wuxacpara (see 
Ezek. xix. 11; xxxi. 3, 4), but the verb 





the blood of the sacrifice. » tnd cannot mean deck or wreathe, 


* ‘399. This (and not °}3y)) is the usual vocalization, whether in pause 
or not; comp. I Sam. xxviii. 15, where it stands with Munach. The 
construction with 3793 is an instance of what is called the constructio 
pregnans. Comp. lIxxiv. 7; 2 Sam. xviii. 19; Jer. xli. 7, Symm. 
€njkovce pov eis evpuxepiar. 

ed pd. Hiphil (only here) of yp, which means elsewhere to 
circumcise, in Kal and Niphal. Hengst. would retain the signification 
here, as if the victory over the heathen, “the uncircumcised,” were 
described under the figure of a compulsory circumcision. Such a form 
of expression does occur in the later Jewish history (Joseph. Arch. xiii. 
9, I, 11, 3). Compare also the allusions in Gal. v. 12, Phil. iii. 2, and the 
forcible circumcision as a token of victory, 1 Sam. xviii. 25, 2 Sam. iii. 14. 
But it is better to give to the Hiph. the more general meaning #0 cut off, 
which is found in the Pilel, xc. 6, and in the Hithpael, lviii. 8. Hupf. 
would read DDN (from by, sustinere), “1 will repel them,” in accordance 
with the rendering of the LXX. jyvvayny. 

As regards the punctuation, the correct texts of Nurzi, Heydenheim, 
and others, have pdx, and so Gesen. would read, the Pathach in pause 
being the representative of the Tsere. Delitzsch observes that such a 
change of vowel is remarkable, and he would account for it by supposing 
that, in such cases, as the vowel is already long and cannot be lengthened, 
it is sharpened (pointed) instead. 

The affirmative "5 stands before this verb (instead of at the beginning 
of the sentence), as in cxxviii.2. Compare the position of DW, lxvi. 18. 
Its use may be explained by an ellipse = “know that,” “be sure that,” 
as in an oath, 1 Sam. xiv. 44. 


a: binyb, with Pe dagess., whereas with 3 and 3 the aspirate is left, with 
but few exceptions, such as Gen. xxxv. 22. 


334 PSALM CXIX. 


2 my}. See on xvi. note *, 


© mp. Not an adj., as if from O19, a root which does not exist, but 
either (1) 3 pret. Pal., or (2) Part. Pal. with loss of the 1) (as DDw, 
Dan. viii. 13, bi, Is. iii. 12, and elsewhere), and retention of the vowel 
=, asin pause. The objection to (1) is, that then the accentuation ought 
to be M2121. 


“4 nbn. For other instances of this form comp. Gen. xxxiii. 11; 
Deut. xxxi. 29 ; Jer. xliv. 23; Is. vii. 14. MN? MN, rhythmic M7/e/ with 
Dagesh in the following word, as for instance in Gen. xix. 38 ; Ex. xvi. 24; 
1 Sam. vi. 9; Prov. vii. 13, &c. 





PSALM CXIxX. 


Tuis 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- 
ments) word, saying, testimonies, way, judgement, precept, commandment, 
law, statute, faithfulness (or according to another reading, righteous- 
ness). 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, 








PSALM CXIX. 335 


































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. 

(6) 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 Macc. ii. 
13), must have been directed eventually to their dissemination. 
Accordingly, we find that copies of “the books of the Law,” or ot 
“the book of the Covenant,” were in the possession of the people at 
‘the time of the Maccabees (1 Macc. 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. 

__ @) 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.”* Itis, 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 
_ 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 (ver. 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 





* The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, by Four Friends, p. 383. 


336 PSALM CXIX. 


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 
like 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 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. 1, 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 





* Delitzsch thinks that he discovers a leading idea in each stanza, and 
thus endeavours to link the several stanzas together, but his analysis does 
not appear to me to be very successful. To a certain extent, freedom of 
thought and expression must have been fettered by the requirements of — 
the alphabetical order. But, after all, what is rhyme but a fetter ? 

+ The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, p. 385. 











, > hat aa Ae ee 


_ An expression characteristic of this 


PSALM CXIX. 337 


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. Itis plain that the writer is not an 
old man, as Ewald would have us believe, 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 everywhere 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. 


I S& 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 s&& 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 s& O that? my ways were established 
To keep Thy statutes. 
6 & Then shall I not be ashamed, 
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. 


2. WITH THE WHOLE HEART. upon,” zc. with care and thought, so 


as to make them the rule of life. 


_ Psalm. Comp. ver. 10, 34, 58, 69, 
«145. 
BJ 6. ASHAMED, z.¢. put to shame, 
_ my hope being frustrated. This is 
_ the shame meant, not shame of 
_ conscience in comparing a man’s 
_ life with the requirements of the 
Law. 
HAVE RESPECT UNTO, lit. “look 


VOL. IL 






7. JUDGEMENTS; here and 
throughout this Psalm not used 
of God’s acts of judgement, but 
merely as the equivalent of “ law,” 
“ precepts,” and the like, utterances 
as of a Judge and Lawgiver, and 
found in this sense even in the 
Pentateuch, Ex, xxi. 1, xxiv. 3; 
Lev. xviii. 4, 5. 


Z 


338 


PSAIM CXIX. 


8 § I will keep Thy statutes : 
O forsake me not utterly. 


Beth. 


9 1 Wherewithal shall a young man keep his path pure ? 
By taking heed (thereto) according to Thy word.” 
10 1 With my whole heart have I sought Thee : 
O let me not wander from Thy commandments. 
11 3 In my heart have I hid Thy word, 
That I might not sin against Thee, 
12 1 Blessed art Thou, O Jehovah: 
Teach me Thy statutes. 
13 3 With my lips have I told 
Of all the judgements of Thy mouth. 
14 1 In the way of Thy testimonies I have rejoiced, 


As much as in all manner of riches. 
15 1 I will meditate in Thy precepts, 

And have respect unto Thy paths, 
16 1 In Thy statutes will I delight myself; 

I will not forget Thy word. 


Gimel. 
17 3 Deal bountifully with Thy servant that I may live, 
And so will I keep Thy word. 
18 3 Open Thou mine eyes, : 
That I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. — 
19 X I ama stranger in the earth: . 


11. IN MY HEART. It is to me 
no merely outward rule of conduct : 
it is a power and a life within. 

WoRD, or rather “ saying,” 
“speech,” distinct from the word 
employed, for instance, in ver. 9. 
Both words are constantly inter- 
changed throughout the Psalm. 

14, ALL MANNER OF RICHES, 
Comp. what is said of the incom- 
parable worth of wisdom, Prov. ii. 
4, lil. 13—15, viii. 10, 11, 19, xvi. 16, 
xxii. 1; Job xxviii. 15—109. 

17. THAT I MAY LIVE: or the 














construction may be, “ Let me live 
(or, if I live), so will I,” &c. The 
gift of life, if vouchsafed, shall be 
devoted to the keeping of God’s - 
word. } 
18. WONDROUS THINGS; an ac- 
knowledgement of treasures in the 
Divine word not seen by common 
eyes, needing, indeed, spiritual dis- 
cernment and heavenly unveiling : 
hence “ Open Zhou.” 
19. A STRANGER or “ sojourner,” 
here therefore but for a short time 
(see on xxxix, 12), and needing 






EE 






















against me, 


_ that time Divine teaching. Hence 
_ the prayer “ Hide not,” z.¢. reveal, 
show me the inner sense and true 
application of, “ Thy command- 
ments.” 
20. BREAKETH, lit. “is broken,” 
__ as expressive of the intensity of the 
_ desire, which seems to pervade the 
_ whole man, and leave him crushed 
and powerless in its grasp. Bp. 
Taylor speaks somewhere of “ the 
Peapleoce of the desire, bursting 
; itself with its fulness into dissolu- 
7 21. THAT THEY ARE CURSED. 
_ The adjective is a predicate mark- 
_ ing the effect of God’s rebuke. 
22. REMOVE FROM ME, lit. “take 
_ off from me,” shame being regarded 


FPF. ee 
. Pg tee a + i - ¥ 


PSALM CXIX. 


339 


Hide not Thy commandments from me. 
20 \ My soul breaketh for (the) longing‘ 

(That it hath) unto Thy judgements at all times. 
21 3 Thou hast rebuked the proud that they are cursed, 
Which do wander from Thy commandments. 
22 3 Remove‘ from me reproach and contempt ; 

For I have kept Thy testimonies. 
23 3 Princes also have sat and spoken one with another 


But Thy servant meditates in Thy statutes. 
- 24 3 Thy testimonies also are my delight, 
And my counsellors. 


Datleth. 


25 7 My soul cleaveth unto the dust: 
Quicken Thou me according to Thy word. 
26 4 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 promise. 


as a cloak or mantle covering the 
person. 

23. ONE WITH ANOTHER. The 
verb (Niphal) is reciprocal, as in 
Ezek. xxxiii. 30. 

25. CLEAVETH UNTO THE DUST. 
See on xliv. 25 [26]. 

26. I HAVE TOLD My Ways. I 
have laid before Thee severally, 
numbering them as it were, all the 
acts and events of my life. 

28. MELTETH, lit. “ droppeth,” 
weeps itself away, so to speak. 

STABLISH, lit. “ set me up again,” 
the meaning being nearly the same 
as in the often-repeated prayer, 
“quicken me.” 

PROMISE, or “saying.” 
ver. II. 


See on 


Z2 


PSALM CXIX. 


Remove from me the way of lying, 


And with Thy law be gracious unto me. 


I have chosen the way of faithfulness ; 


Thy judgements have I laid (before me). 


I have stuck unto Thy testimonies: 


O Jehovah, put me not to shame. 


I will run the way of Thy commandments, 


When Thou shalt enlarge my heart. 


He. 


Teach me, O Jehovah, the way of Thy statutes, 


And I shall keep it unto the end. 


Give me understanding, that I may observe Thy law, 


That I may keep it with my whole heart. 


29. THE WAY OF LYING, Zé. not 
falsehood in the common sense of 
the term, but “unfaithfulness ” to 
God, to which, in the next verse, 
“the way of faithfulness” is op- 
posed. 

WITH THY LAW, or “ Graciously 
impart Thy law unto me.” The 
construction is that of the double 
accusative. 

32. ENLARGE MY HEART, Z.é. ex- 
pand it with a sense of liberty and 
joy, as in Is, lx. 5; 2 Cor. vi. 11, 13. 
See on ci. 6. 

36. MY HEART, to which answers 
in the next verse “mine eyes,” as 
representing the senses through 
which the forbidden desire is kin- 
dled in the heart. Comp. Is. xxxiii. 
15; Job xxxi. 1, 7. 

COVETOUSNESS, or rather, “ gain 
unjustly acquired.” LXX. meove- 


Make me to walk in the path of Thy commandments ; 
For therein do I delight. 

Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, 
And not to covetousness. 

Turn away mine eyes from seeing vanity ; 
In Thy way quicken Thou me. 

38  Stablish Thy promise unto Thy servant, 


















giav. Stanley, on 1 Cor. v. Io, 
thinks that from the connection of 
mAeovegia with idolatry, it may be 
used in the sense of sexsuality,which 
so often accompanied idolatry, and — 
he sees a similar connection here, 
vanity in the next verse being a 
term for zdolatry. However, the — 
Hebrew word Y¥3 can only mean © 
plunder, rapine, unjust gain. 

37. TURN AWAY, lit. “make to 
pass on one side” of the object. 

FROM SEEING, ze. being attracted 
by, and so finding pleasure in (Is. 
xxxlli. 15) VANITY, all which, as 
being against God, or without a 
is unreal and unstable: but perhaps” 
zdols are especially meant. 

38. The second member of the 
verse might also be rendered : 
“ Which (promise) is for Thy fear,” 
z.é. either (a) is given to them that 


PSALM CXIX. 


341 


Who is (devoted) to Thy fear. 
39 71 Turn away my reproach which I fear, 


For Thy judgements are good. 








fear Thee; or (4), which has the 
fear of Thee for its aim and object 
—— 4), tends to cherish a holy 


39. The train of thought seems 
to be: Keep me from the reproach 
of breaking Thy commandments, 
for those commandments are not 
grievous, but good, sweet, and full 
_ of blessing to one who longs after 
_ themasiIdo. Or “the reproach” 

_ may be that of his enemies (ver. 42), 
; as ae servant of 


’ 40 #71 Behold, I have longed after Thy precepts: 
In Thy righteousness quicken Thou me. 


Let Thy loving-kindnesses come also unto me, O 


Thy salvation, according to Thy promise. 
So shall I have wherewith to answer him that re- 


And take not the word of truth utterly out of my 


Let me speak of Thy testimonies also before kings, 


And I will delight myself in Thy commandments, 


Vau. 
41 } 
Jehovah, 
42) 
proacheth me; 
For I trust in Thy word. 
43) 
mouth ; 
For I have waited for Thy judgements. 
44 1 So shall I keep Thy law continually, 
(Yea) for ever and ever. 
45 1) Let me walk at liberty ; 
For I have sought thy precepts. 
464 
And not be ashamed. 
47 1 
: Which I love. 
48 5 


My hands also will I lift up unto Thy command- 
ments, which I love; 


43. The sense seems to be, “Give 
me the power faithfully to witness 
for Thy truth, and so to answer him 
that reproacheth me” (ver. 42). 

45. AT LIBERTY, lit. “in a wide 
space,” where there is nothing to 
check or hinder freedom of action, 
as in CXviili. 5. 

46. BEFORE KINGS. It may be 
inferred that the Psalm was written 
whilst Judzea was in subjection to 
foreign rule. The viceroys of the 
Persian king may be meant. 

48. My HANDS WILL I LIFT UP. 


342 PSALM CXIX. 
And I would meditate in Thy statutes. 
Zain. 
49 } Remember the word unto Thy servant, 
Upon which Thou hast caused me to hope. 
50 3 This is my comfort in my affliction, 
For Thy promise hath quickened me. 
51} (The) proud have had me greatly in derision ; 
(Yet) have I not declined from Thy law. 
52 } I remembered Thy judgements of old, O Jehovah, 
And have comforted myself. 
53 3 Burning indignation hath taken hold upon me, 
Because of the wicked that forsake Thy law. 
543 Thy statutes have been my songs 
In the house of my pilgrimage. 
55 3 


Jehovah, 


I have remembered Thy name in the night, O 


And have kept Thy law. 


The expression denotes the act of 
prayer, as in xxviii. 2, Ixiii. 4 [5], 
cxxxiv. 2, cxli. 2. Comp. Lam. iii. 
41, “Let us lift up our heart with 
our hands.” Here it would seem 
to denote figuratively reverence, de- 
votion of heart, and the like ; unless 
we suppose it to be a locutio preg- 


nans = “I will pray to Thee for. 


grace to keep Thy commandments.” 

49. THE WORD, apparently some 
special word of promise which had 
been his stay in his affliction, and 
had 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 quickened me.” 

FOR THY PROMISE. 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” (Hupf.), 
but of “reviving the heart,” “im- 
parting fresh courage,” &c. 

51. HAVE HAD ME IN DERISION, 

z.é. 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. 
1. Comp. for the same connection 
between the spirit of ride and the 
spirit of zrreligious scoffing, Prov. 
xxi. 24. 
' 52. JUDGEMENTS, in the same 
sense as throughout the Psalm, 
God’s righteous laws which He re- 
vealed OF OLD, which are ever true 
and ever in force. 

53. BURNING INDIGNATION. See 
on xi. note * 

54. PILGRIMAGE, or rather “ so- 
journing,” from the same root as 
the noun in ver. 9, where see note, 
In this earth I am but a passing 
guest, as at some wayside inn, 
Comp. Gen. xlvii. 9. 








PSALM CXIX. 343 


56 3 This I had, 
Because I kept Thy precepts. 


Cheth. 


57 MM “Jehovah is my portion,” I said, 
That I might keep Thy words. 
58 mm I entreated Thy favour with (my) whole heart ; 
Be gracious to me according to Thy promise. 
59 M I thought on my ways, 
And turned back my feet unto Thy testimonies. 
60 1 I made haste, and delayed not 
To keep Thy commandments. 
61 fT The cords of the wicked have been cast about me, 
But Thy law have I not forgotten. 
62 m At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee, 
Because of Thy righteous judgements. 
63 M1 I am a companion of them that fear Thee, 
And of them that keep Thy precepts. 
64 7 The earth, O Jehovah, is full of Thy loving-kindness : 
Teach me Thy statutes. 


Teth. 


65 © Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, 
O Jehovah, according unto Thy word. 

66 ® Teach me good perception and knowledge, 
For I have believed Thy commandments. 


; 56. THISI HAD. It is not clear 58. I ENTREATED THY FAVOUR. 
| towhat “this” refers. If to what Comp. xlv. 12 [13]. 
_ goes before, it may be to the re- 66. GOOD PERCEPTION, lit.“good- 
“membrance of God’s Name. Other- ness of perception” or discern- 
wise we must render: “This has ment; that fine taste and delicate 
_ been (vouchsafed) to me, that 1 feeling which are like a new sense. 
have kept Thy statutes,” z¢. such So St. Paul prays for the Church 
has been the gift of Thy grace. at Philippi, that their “love may 
“a ll I SAID, thrown in parentheti- abound more and more in know- 
F veg oe hs Is. xlv. 24, and like zz- ledge and in all perception,” év 
émtyvoce cai mdon aicOyce. The 


“THAT. aes MIGHT KEEP, or “in two words correspond to the two 
Hebrew words here; but the latter, 





J, with (my) whole heart, will keep Thy precepts. 


Give me understanding, that I may learn Thy 


They that fear Thee will be glad when they see me; 


I know, O Jehovah, that Thy judgements are right, 


And that in faithfulness Thou hast afflicted me. 


344 PSALM CXTX. 
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, 
But now have I kept Thy saying. 
68 ¥ Thou art good, and doest good : 
Teach me Thy statutes. 
69 The proud have forged a lie against me ; 
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 and fashioned me: 
‘commandments. 
74° 
For in Thy word have I hoped. 
Re 
yo 


comfort, 


Let, I pray Thee, Thy loving-kindness be for my 


According to Thy promise unto Thy servant. 
77% Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may 


live; 


aio Onows, marks in the Epistle (chap. 
i. 9) the delicate tact by which 
Christian love should be character- 
ized. Here the Psalmist prays 
rather for a fime sense or apprehen- 
sion of God’s word. 

67. THY SAYING or “ promise.” 
See note on ver. II. 

69. THE PROUD. The same 
overbearing, tyrannical oppression 
already mentioned ver. 51, 61. 

HAVE FORGED, lit. “have patched 
up.” Comp. Job xiii. 4, xiv. 17. 

70. FAT. For the figure as ex- 


pressive of want of feeling, see xvii. 
9 [10], xxiii. 6 [7]; Is. vi. ro. 

71. IT IS GOOD FOR ME. See 
ver. 67. 

76. Even when a man recognizes 
that affliction is sent in “ faithful- 
ness,” that God has a wise pur- 

ose of love in sending it, still it 
is in itself bitter, and therefore 
he prays that he may have God’s 
“ loving-kindness ” and His “ tender 
mercies” as his comfort in the 
midst of affliction. Comp. Heb, — 
xii. IT. 





PSALM CXTIX. 


345 


For Thy law is my delight. 


78.9 


79° 














86 5 


79. WILL TURN, or there may be 
_ the expression of a wish, “Let them 
_ turn.” 


THEY SHALL KNOW, z.¢. by their 
own experience. Such is the read- 
ing of the present text, but if we 
peecent the Masoretic correction the 
second member of the verse will be: 


— A BOTTLE IN THE SMOKE, 

_#.é. a skin bottle for wine. The 
| figure is generally supposed to de- 
: the misery and affliction of the 


Let the proud be ashamed, for they have dealt per- 
versely with me without a cause: 
As for me, I meditate in Thy precepts. 
They that fear Thee will turn unto me, 
And they shall know Thy testimonies. 


When wilt Thou execute judgement on them that 


80 5 Let my heart be perfect in Thy statutes, 

That I be not ashamed. 
Caph. 

81 5 My soul hath fainted for Thy salvation ; 
In Thy word have I hoped. 

82 5 Mine eyes have failed for Thy promise, 
Saying, “ When wilt Thou comfort me?” 

83 5 For I am become like a bottle in the smoke: 
(Yet) do I not forget Thy statutes. 

84 3 How many are the days of Thy servant ? 

persecute me ? 
85 5 The proud have digged pits for me, 


Who are not after Thy law. 
All Thy commandments are faithfulness : 
They persecute me wrongfully ; help Thou me. 
87 5 They had almost consumed me upon earth ; 
But as for me, I forsook not Thy precepts. 


Psalmist, who compares himself to 
one of these wine-skins blackened 
and shriveled and rendered useless 
by the smoke of the fire in which 
it is hung. Rosenm., however, ex- 
plains it as the custom of the 
ancients to hang skins full of wine 
in the smoke, in order to mellow 
the wine. In this case, the figure 
would denote the mellowing and 
ripening of the character by affliction, 

84. How MANY. Comp. xxxix. 
4[5]. It is an argument why God 
should take sfeedy vengeance on 
his enemies, that he may see it 
executed before he dies. 


346 


PSALM CXIX. 


88 5 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 4 Thy faithfulness is unto all generations ; 
Thou hast established the earth, and it standeth 


fast : 


ot © For Thy judgements, they stand fast (unto) this day ; 
For all things are Thy servants. 
92 4 Unless Thy law had been my delight, 
I should then have perished in my affliction. 
93 4 For ever will I not forget Thy precepts : 


For by them Thou hast quickened me. 
94 4 Thine am I, save me; 
For I have sought thy precepts. 
95 4 The wicked have waited for me to destroy me ; 
(But) Thy testimonies do I consider. 
96 4% I have seen an end of all perfection ; 
Thy commandment is exceeding broad. 


Mem. 


97 1) O how I love Thy law: 
It is my meditation all the day. 


89. IN HEAVEN, as marking its 
unchanging, everlasting character, 
as in Ixxxix. 2 [3] 

g1. FoR THY JUDGEMENTS, 2.¢. 
“with reference to Thine ordinances 
or laws, they (z.¢. heaven and earth) 
stand fast.” 

ALL THINGS, lit. “the whole,” z. ¢. 
the universe. 

96. ALL PERFECTION. If this 
rendering is correct, the meaning is 
obvious. There is nothing upon 
earth to which there does not cleave 














some defect. But perhaps the clause 
should rather be rendered: “I have 
seen an end, a limit, to the whole 
range (or compass) of things ;” a 
meaning which may be defended 
by the use of the similar hes in 
Job xxvi. 10, xxviii. 3, and which 
harmonizes with the next clause: 
“Thy commandment is excee E 
broad,” has no limits, whilst al 
other things are bounded by a nat- 
row compass. 
BROAD, Comp. Job xi. 7—9. 


PSALM CXIX. 


347 


98 ® Thy commandments make me wiser* than mine 


enemies ; 


: For they are ever with me. 
99 1) I have more understanding than all my teachers ; 















_- 98. MAKE ME WISER, 7.¢. teach 
ay ne a different wisdom and a better 


sists in policy, or craft, or human 
udence. So, too, as he is wiser 


his: teachers (ver. 99), wiser than 
hi ced (ver. 100), and his wisdom 
that practical wisdom which con- 


For Thy testimonies are my meditation. 
100 % I understand more than the aged ; 
For Thy precepts have I kept. 
101 } I have refrained my feet from every evil path, 
That I might keep Thy word. 
102 % From Thy judgements have I not departed ; 
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. 


Nun. 


105 } Thy word is a lamp unto my foot, 
And a light unto my path. 
106 5 I have sworn, and I have performed it, 
That I will keep Thy righteous judgements. 
107 3 I am afflicted very greatly ; 
Quicken me, O Jehovah, according unto Thy word. 
108 3} Accept, I beseech Thee, O Jehovah, the freewill 
offerings of my mouth, 
And teach me Thy judgements. 
109 3 My soul is continually in my hand ; 
Yet do I not forget Thy law. 
_ 110 3 The wicked have laid a snare for me ; 


sists in the fear of the Lord, and 
which leads him to eschew all evil 
(ver. 101). 

109. My SOUL IS IN MY HAND. 
He has been faithful even in con- 
stant peril of death. Comp. Judg. 
xii. 3; 1 Sam. xix. 5, xxviii, 21; Job 
xiil. 14. 


348 


PSALM CXIX. 


Yet from Thy precepts have I not erred. 


Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever; 


For they are the rejoicing of my heart. 


I have inclined mine heart to perform Thy statutes 


Always, (even unto) the end. 


Samech. 


113 D 


I hate them that are of double mind, 


But Thy law do I love. 
114. D0 THOU art my hiding-place and my shield : 
I have hoped in Thy word. 


II5 D 


116 D 
live, 


And let me not be ashamed of my hope. 
D Hold Thou me up, and so I shall be saved, 
And have respect unto Thy statutes continually. 
Thou hast made light of all them that err from Thy 


117 
118 D 
statutes ; 
For their deceit is falsehood. 
I19 D 
dross ;~ 
Therefore I love Thy testimonies. 
120 D My flesh trembleth for terror of Thee, 


And because of Thy judgements I am afraid. 


111. God’s law is an everlasting 
possession (comp. ver. 98), more 
truly so than the land of Canaan 
itself, which was given to Israel for 
an everlasting heritage. Comp. xvi. 
5, 6, where the Psalmist claims God 
Himself as his heritage. 

113. OF DOUBLE MIND. See the 
noun from the same root, 1 Kings 
xviii. 21, “ How long halt ye be- 
tween two opinions?” and com 
the avip dipuxos of St. James (i. 8), 


Thou hast put away all the wicked of the earth like 


Depart from me, ye evil doers, 
That so I may keep the commandments of my God. — 
Uphold me according unto Thy promise, that I may 














118. FALSEHOOD, 2.2. self-decep- 
tion: they rely upon their deceitful 
artifices in vain, and only to their 
own confusion. 

119. LIKE DROSS, @.é. by the fire 
of Thy judgement. Comp. Jer. vi. 
28—30; Ezek. xxii. 18—20; Mal 
Hi22s3. 

120, TREMBLETH or “shudder 
eth,” strictly used of the hair 2 
standing erect in terror (comp, Jc i 
iv. 15). ‘ 


PSALM CXIX. 


349 


Ain. 


) - 
121 y I have done judgement and righteousness ; 
















kindness, 


I21. JUDGEMENT AND RIGHT- 
etait apparently terms em- 
ployed with reference to the Law. 
uivalent to saying, “I have 
ep y law.” 

122. BE SURETY, as in Is. xxxviii. 
7 This and ver. 132 


> ‘ 126. To act. The verb is used 
_ absolutely of God’s acts of judge- 


Leave me not to mine oppressors. 
122 Y 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- 


And teach me Thy statutes. 
125 » Iam Thy servant, give me understanding, 
. That I may know Thy testimonies. 
126 y It is time for Jehovah to act; 
(For) they have broken Thy law. 
127 y Therefore I love Thy commandments 
Above gold, yea, above fine gold. 
128 y Therefore I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all 
(things) to be right ; 
(And) I hate every false way. 


Pe. 


129 5 Wonderful are Thy testimonies ; 
Therefore hath my soul kept them. 

130 © The revelation of Thy words giveth light, 

> It giveth understanding unto the simple. 

_ 131 © I opened my mouth and panted ; 


ment, as in Jer. xviii. 23; Ezek. 
Xxxi. II. 

128. CONCERNING ALL THINGS. 
These words are doubtful. See 
Critical Note. 

130. REVELATION, lit. “opening,” 
i.e. unfolding or unveiling, not en- 
trance, as in E.V. 

131. I OPENED MY MOUTH, an 
expression denoting eager desire, 
as in Job xxix. 23. Like one op- 
pressed with burning heat, and 


350 PSALM CXIX. 


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 oe 
Name. 
133 © Establish my steps by Thy promise, 
And let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 
134 ) 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 Thy judgements. 
138 & Thou hast commanded Thy testimonies in righteous- 
ness 
And exceeding faithfulness. 
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 sstteciires!. 
142 % Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, 
And Thy law is truth. 













longing for some cool spring of FAITHFULNESS. The nouns may 
water, or some fresh breeze to fan either be used adverbially, or they — 


his brow. may be accusatives in apposition, 
133. HAVE DOMINION, as in xix. “as righteousness,” &c, 

13 [14]. 139. Comp, lxix. 9 [10]. 
136. IN RIVERS OF WATER: see 140, TRIED, lit. “ fined,” as metalal 


the same phrase Lam. iii. 48, and are in the furnace, and hence fier 

for the construction Gesen. § 138, free from all admixture of ! 

1, Obs, 9. true. Comp. xii. 6 [7]. 
138. IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND 


PSALM CXIX. 



















ment. 


147. EARLY, lit. “I was before- 
hand in the twilight.” The verb 
_ means “to anticipate,” “to go to 
a: » with the accus. (as in xvii. 
_ 13); and used absolutely, as here, 
_ it must mean “I rose early.” 


151. They are nigh (ver. 150) to 


35? 


143 % Distress and anguish have taken hold on me; 
Thy commandments zre my delights. 

144 % The righteousness of Thy testimonies is everlasting ; 
Give me understanding, that I may live. 


Koph. 
145 »2 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 p 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- 


150 ) They draw nigh that follow after mischief ; 
They are far from Thy law. 

151 p THOU art nigh, O Jehovah, 
And all Thy commandments are truth. 

152 2 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 5 Plead my cause, and ransom me; 

. Quicken me according to Thy promise. 

_ 155 “ Salvation is far from the wicked ; 


persecute and destroy me; Thou 
art wigh to help me. 
154. ACCORDING TO. Forthe use 
of the preposition comp. Is. xi. 3. 
155. FAR. A masc. predicate 
prefixed, the noun being fem., as in 
137 a singular predicate is prefixed 


35? 


PSALM CXIX. 


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 declined from Thy testimonies. 
158 “ I saw the faithless and was grieved, 
Because they kept not Thy word. 
159 “\) See that 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. 


Schin. 


161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause ; 
But my heart standeth in awe of Thy word. 
162 W I rejoice because of Thy promise, 
As one that findeth great spoil. 
163 W As for falsehood, I hate and abhor it; 


Thy law do I love. 


164 t) Seven times a day do I praise Thee, 
Because of Thy righteous judgements. 

165 tt) Great peace have they which love Thy law, 
And they have no stumbling-block. 

166 w I have hoped for Thy salvation, Jehovah, 


when the noun is in the plural. 
For other instances of anomalous 
usage of gender see ver. 115, I5I. 

158. WAS GRIEVED (pausal aorist), 
lit. “felt loathing.” Comp. cxxxix. 
25; 

BECAUSE, or “who,” viz. “ the 
faithless.” 

160, THE SUM, as in Cxxxix. 17. 
Jerome, “ Caput verborum tuorum.” 
The LXX, wrongly, apy?) rév Adyar 
gov. Still less defensible is the 
E. V., “from the beginning.” 

165. NO STUMBLING-BLOCK. 














LXX. ovx @orw abrois oxdvdadov, 
Comp. the words of St. John, oxav- — 
Sadov otc éotw év air@ (1 John ii, | 
10). Sowe may supply here, “no — 
stumbling-block zz them,’ or “in — 
their path.” When God’s law is 
loved, instead of being struggled 
against, the conscience is at peace, — 
and the inward eye is clear; a man 
sees his duty and does it, free from 
those see which are 
ever occasion of falling to others. 

166, I HAVE HOPED. Comp, the 
words of Jacob, Gen. xlix. 18. 


ai 


———————————— eS SC 





PSALM CXTIX. 353 


And have done Thy commandments. 
167 & My soul hath kept Thy testimonies, 
And I love them exceedingly. 


168 w I have kept Thy precepts and Thy testimonies ; 


For all my ways are before Thee. 


Tau. 
169 FM Let my cry come near before Thy face, O Jehovah ; 













' 168. FoR ALL My ways. In 
Saying “T have kept Thy pre- 
cepts,” I make no vain boast, I 

say it as in Thy sight, who seest 

all my life. 

_ 172. SING OF, or perhaps “re- 

eat,” “echo.” 

_. 176. According to the accents, 
the rendering would rather be, “I 

he oy astray ; seek Thy servant 

‘as a lost sheep.” In what sense 
can one who has so repeatedly de- 

_ clared his love of God’s word, who 

has asserted that he has kept 
God’s precepts, make this con- 
sion? The figure cannot be em- 

yed here in the same sense, for 
ance, in which it is employed 










Give me understanding, according to Thy word. 
170 fF Let my supplication come before Thy face; 
Deliver me according to Thy promise. 
171 F) My lips shall pour forth praise ; 
For Thou teachest me Thy statutes, 
172 FN My tongue shall sing of Thy promise, 
For all Thy commandments are righteousness. 
- 173 MM Let Thine hand be a help unto me; 
For I have chosen Thy precepts. 
_ 174 M1 I have longed for Thy salvation, O Jehovah, 
a’ And Thy law is my delight. on ae 
175 FD Let my soul live, and praise Thee, 
And let Thy judgements help me. 
_ 176 Fy Lhave goneastray like a lost sheep : seek Thy servant, 
For I do not forget Thy commandments. 


in our Lord’s parable. He who is 
the lost sheep here is one who does 
not forget God’s commandments. 
The figure, therefore, seems in this 
place to denote the helpless con- 
dition ‘of the Psalmist, without pro- 
tectors, exposed to enemies, in the 
midst of whom he wanders, not 
knowing where to find rest and 
shelter. But in the “I have gone 
astray,” there is doubtless the sense 
of sin as well as of weakness, though 
there is also the consciousness of 
love to God’s law, “I do not forget 
Thy commandments.” Comp. with 
this xix. 12—14[13—15]. The word 
rendered “lost” may be rendered 
“ready to perish.” 


AA 


354 PSALM CXX. : 

a omy (whence bmg, 2 Kings v. 3), compounded of Mis and 9? (*Y9), 
= 0 St, : 

> 3213. Many MSS. and Edd. have the plural, and again ver. 16, 17, 
25, 28, 42, 101. The same is the case with YON, ver. 11, 103, 148, 162. 
But there is no doubt that the sing. is to be preferred. It is otherwise 
with Vay, which is clearly a defective form, instead of the plur. 7" = 43 
and 147. Comp. 37, 41, for similar forms. 

The construction in “iy i is that of the gerund. 


© MANA, only here, instead of NYS A, and so also the verb oxn occurs 
only in this Psalm, ver. 40, 174. 


q bs, not instead of b; from bby, to roll away, as De Wette and others, 
referring to Josh. v. 9, but the same word as in ver. 18, from MP3, to. 
uncover, which occurs with a twofold construction ; eithes (1) with the 
accus. of the thing uncovered, as in ver. 18, “to uncover the eyes;” or — 
(2) with accus. of the covering which is taken off, as in Is, xxii. 8, 
Nah. iii. 5, and so here: “uncover,” ze, take off from me, the reproach 

_which lies upon me “as a cloak.” 


© ‘PSMA, 3 sing. fem., not 2 masc. For this use of the sing. verb with 
the plur. noun see Ges. § 143, 3. The following ¥’n shows that the law is 
regarded as a whole; however, the plur. punctuation of the noun may be 
anerror. See note . 


t by PS bp. This is usually rendered, “Ali (Thy) precepts concerning 
all (things),” and is defended by Ez. xliv. 30, “ All firstlings of all (sorts).” 
See a similar expression Num. viii. 16. The case, however, is not really 
analogous, as the phrase here does not mean “all precepts of all sorts ;” 
and, besides, the absence of the pronoun is awkward: we want “7hy 
precepts.” Hence the reading ought probably to be pa ; and so 
Houb., Ew., Olsh., Hupf. And this is supported by the LXX., mpds 
maoas Tus évToAds gov KarwpOovpny, and Jerome, 7x universa precepta tua 
dirext, 





















PSALM CXxX. 


Wirn 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 Psalte: 
within a Psalter. The different interpretations which have been giv 
of the name will be found mentioned in the Introduction to Vol. | 
p. 86. Of these, the most probable is that which supposes that th 
Psalms to which this title is eae were intended to be sung by th 
caravans of pilgrims “ going up” to keep the yearly feasts at Jerusalen 


- PSALM CXX. 355 


: 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 fresh 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 alike in tone, in diction, in 
_ rhythm, the climactic form of the last recurring so often as to have 
_led Gesenius to suppose that the title, “Song of ascents,” was given 
_ to them owing to this peculiarity. They are all pervaded by the 
‘same quiet, graceful, tender beauty, the charm of which was so felt 
‘by a Spanish commentator, that he does not hesitate to say that 
this collection is to the rest of the Psalms what Paradise was to the 
test of the world at its first creation. 
_ The first in the collection is a prayer against ‘the lying tongues of 
ee neighbours, whom the Poet compares, for their cruelty 
d perfidy, to the savage hordes of the Caucasus or of the Arabian 
de a But whether the Psalmist thus pictures the heathen among 
whom he dwells in exile, or the wild tribes with whom no treaty can 
9e kept, by whom he is beset on his way back from Babylon to 
Palestine, or the Samaritans,* Arabians, and others, who after their 
ret turn attempted, by false representations to the Persian monarch, to 
the rebuilding of the Temple (Ezra iv.) and the fortification 
f the city (Nehem. ii.—iv.), it is impossible to say. The allusions 
“eed and obscure. Reuss says: “Ce psaume, le seul qui soit 
ile & expliquer parmi ces chants: de pélerinage, peut étre regardé 
¢ Pun des plus obscurs de tout le Psautier. Les idées y sont 
peine indiquées, les images sont peu transparentes, et les allusions 
listoriques sont pour nous autant d’énigmes.” 
























[A PILGRIM SONG. |] 


1 To Jehovah, when I was in distress,* 
-I cried, and He answered me. 


RIED ... ANSWERED. The  Pastexperience and present are here 
are in the past tense, butdo combined. From the past he draws 
ee to apast occasion. encouragement for the present. 


F a indeed doubtful whether the Chaldee letters in Ezra iv. do relate 
he obstacles offered by the Samaritans to the rebuilding of the Temple, 
sther they are not rather to be referred to the opposition made to 
ilding of the city walls under Xerxes and Artaxerxes, at a much 

x period, Neh. ii. &c. The chief enemies of the Jews at this time 
e not the aga but persons of other tribes,—Moabites, Ammon- 
, Philistines, all perhaps comprised under the general name of 
rabians See Neh. ii. 10, 19, iv. 7. 
hy AA2 





356 


PSALM CXX. 


2 O Jehovah, deliver my soul from lying lips, 
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, 


With coals of broom. 


3. GIVE... ADD. The phrase 
seems to mean: “ What calamities 
shall He heap upon thee? How 
shall punishment upon punishment 
visit thee?” Compare the some- 
what similar expression in the for- 
mula of cursing, “ God do so to me, 
and more also,” 1 Sam. iii. 17, xx. 
13, and often. In that formula, 
~ however, the first verb is do, not 
£tve. 

4. The expressions of this verse 
may either (1) describe further the 
treacherous tongue (“thou that art 
as sharp arrows,” &c.), as in lvii. 4 
[5], “whose teeth are spears and 
arrows, and their tongue a sharp 
sword,” lxiv. 3 [4], “who have 
sharpened their tongue like the 
sword, and have aimed their arrow, 
even a bitter word ”—see also lv. 
21 [22], lix. 7[8]; or (2) the punish- 
ment of the tongue, a punishment 
according with its character. As 
the lying tongue is a sharp sword 


(lvii. 4 [5]), as it is a sharp arrow - 


(Jer. ix. 8[7]), as it is set on fire of 
hell (James iii. 6), so shall the man 
who employs it be destroyed by the 
arrows and the fire of the Mighty 
One, z.e. God. (But see below.) 
So in the Talmud, Zvachin, 15 4, it 
is said, “ The Mighty is none other 
but God Himself.” Comp. cxl. 9, 
10 [10, 11], “Let the mischief of 
their own lips cover them, Let 
burning coals fall upon them, let 
them be cast into the fire,” &c. 
Such is the law of the Eternal 
Nemesis: “ What a man soweth, 
that shall he also reap.” 

It is in favour of the first inter- 
pretation that it falls in with the 
general scope of the Psalm, in 
which the Poet complains that, 


loving peace himself, he meets with 
nothing but hostility and treachery. 
On the other hand, that he should 
burst forth into an imprecation of 
God’s judgements on the head of 
these treacherous neighbours is 
quite in accordance with what we 
find in other Psalms, where the 
circumstances are similar. Comp. 
for instance Ps. lviii. For other 
explanations see Critical Note. 

THE MIGHTY. Even if we take 
this verse as describing the punish- — 
ment of the lying tongue, we need 
not take “the mighty” to mean ~ 
God, as the Talmud does. The 
expression may only mean “sharp 
arrows, as of a warrior.” Comp. 
cxxvii. 4; Jer. 1. 9. 

Broom, not as E. V., following 
Jerome, “juniper.” The shrub 
meant is the gesista monosperma 
(Arab. rvefem), the root of which, 
according to Burckhardt (/¢i#. ii. 
p- 791), is used for fires in the 
desert, and has the property of 
retaining the heat for a consider- 
able time. The same shrub is men- 
tioned 1 Kings xix. 4; Job xxx, 
4. The latter passage may mean, 
not that the root of the genista was 
used for food, which seems un 
likely, as it is very bitter, ; 
perhaps that it was used for fire, 
“to warm them” (comp. Is. xlvii. 
14). Wonderful stories are told b 
Jerome (De mansionibus Israel aa 
Fabiolam, xv.), and in the Midrash 
Tehillim, how travellers, havinj 
cooked their food with a fire mad 
of the juniper-wood (which the 
suppose to be the wood here meant 
and returning a year after to th 
same spot, still found the embe 
alive. 




















| | PSALM CXX. 
























These COALS are an image either 
of the burning, devouring character 
of the tongue, or of its punishment. 
_“ Arrows WITH (Zc. together with) 
coals,” not, asothers, “fiery arrows,” 
or “arrows sharpened and made 
hard by means of fire,” which would 
have been differently expressed. 

5. MESHECH, probably the Moschi 
of Herodotus (iii. 94), mentioned, 
together with Tubal, Gen. x. 2, 
XXvil. 13 ; a barbarous tribe 
situated south-east of the Caucasus, 
between the Black Sea and the 
Araxes ; and 


357 


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 me, I (am for) peace ; 
| But when I speak,‘ they (are) for war. 


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 surround 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. 


_ * ANY; the fuller form for 773. Comp. similar forms in iii. 3, xliv. 27. 


hia iv, absol. instead of constr. (comp. lii. 6); unless we take 
WD) (as Del. suggests) as an adj. (see Mic. vi. 12). But the expression 
may be explained on the principle of apposition, “a tongue which is 
deceit,” as in Prov. xxii. 21, NDS OM, “ words which are truth.” 

i jh? nD. The interpretations of this verse are various. 


Is the “giving,” &c. to be understood in a good or a bad sense? Does 
it mean “ What doth it profit thee?” or “ What doth it harm thee ?” 


| And who is addressed,—the lying tongue, ze. the liar, or God, or the 









“Jehovah,” is the subject. 


Psalmist himself, or some third person indefinitely ? 

1. Supposing the words to be taken in a bad sense, they can mean 
irm, injury, which the deceitful tongue works to others, or punishment 
hich it brings upon itself. In the first case “the tongue,” in the second 
So far as the grammar goes, there is nothing 
ainst either interpretation ; for the verb standing before the fem. noun 


can be masc. (Ges. § 147), and thus “the tongue” may be the subject : 









Ԥ 121, Rem. 1). 


on the other hand, the masc. pron. “to thee” may refer not 
nediately to the tongue, but to the ferson whose the tongue is 


3 (a) It is in favour of the interpretation which makes the tongue 
addressed, and Jehovah the subject (“What shall He give to thee,” 
_&c.), that a very similar phrase is used several times in adjuration, 


358 ; PSALM CXX. 


“So Jehovah do unto me, and more also,” ze. so let Him punish me 
(1 Sam. iii, 17,,xiv. 44, xx. 13, and often). Then the punishment 
threatened is further described in the next verse: “ What shall He give 
thee?” “Sharp arrows of the mighty,” &c. Hupf. objects to this 
interpretation, that here the formula is not employed in an oath, and 
that it is doubtful whether it denotes punishment, inasmuch as the 
principal verb here is not niyys, but jf. Those who make Jehovah the 
subject are again divided when they come to the next verse ; for, instead 
of seeing in that verse the manner of punishment, some see in it a 
further description of the character of the tongue itself, as elsewhere the 
tongue is compared to a sharp sword, &c. 

(6) Hence others take the tongue as the subject, and suppose that the 
person whose the deceitful tongue is, is addressed. The sense will then 
be: “ What does a false tongue profit thee (O thou liar)? So far from 
that, thou only doest harm to others ;” and this harm is then expressed 
figuratively in the next verse, “for thou art as sharp arrows,” &c. So the 
Chald., Ab. Ez., Kimchi, Calv., De Dieu, most of the older interpreters, 
Ros., De W. Here the pron. “thee” is taken generally of any one who 

"speaks deceit. 

2. Others refer the pron. to Jehovah. “ What can a deceitful tongue 
profit Thee?” the argument being similar to that in such questions as in 
xxx, 9 [ro], and ver. 4 again giving the reply: so far from profit, it is a 
pestilent mischief. 

3. Once more, the pronoun may refer to the Poet himself, or some 
third person indefinitely, “ What can the false tongue give thee? ze. what 
harm can it inflict upon thee?” the Poet turning this question upon 
himself, and the answer being that in ver. 4, “Surely much harm, for it is 
as sharp arrows,” &c. According to this, jn} is = nwy, Zo work, in a bad — 
sense, as Lev. xxiv. 19, 20; Prov. x. 10, xiii. 10, xxix. 25. But it may be 
questioned if }n3 with 5 can have this meaning. In Ley. xxiv. it is — 
followed by 3, in the other passages it stands absol., zo effect, and 
therefore proves nothing. 

Hupfeld, rejecting all these interpretations, separates ver. 3 entirely — 
from ver. 4. To the former he gives the meaning: “ What (real) good 
can a false tongue bring thee, how can it help thee, O thou who employest — 
its arts?” and supposes (1) that not a slanderer, but a false friend or 
neighbour is pointed at, and (2) that the Poet is speaking not to himself 
so much as to a third person, and uttering a general sentiment. In ver. 4 
he would read ra instead of Sn, and would either understand DYN 
as a proper name, the name of a tribe or a locality in which the broom 
was plentiful (as Rithmah, Num. xxxiii. 18, 19, one of the stations of the 
Israelites, doubtless took its name from the broom which grew there), or 
else that by ¢ents of broom are meant poor hovels formed of broom, as a 
shelter for some needy desert-horde. He takes the verse, not in appos 
with the preceding, but as an independent sentence: “ Sharp are the 
arrows of the warrior, by the tents of the Rethamim,” which of cours¢ 
is to be understood figuratively as expressive of the hostility of thes 
neighbours of the Poet. : 























PSALM CXXI. 359 























ee MN, only here with the termination nz, used pathetically. There is 
_ no need in such an interjection as this to assume, with Hupf,, that it is - 
am accus. termination like My}, for instance, cxvi. 15, in accordance 
_ with later usage. 

_ 44, with the accus., as in v. 5; Is. xxxiii. 15 ; Jud. v. 17. 


_ ©M32 See the same form Ixv. 10, cxxiii. 4, cxxix. I, 2. It belongs 
,_ chiefly to the later language. Comp. 2 Chron. xxx. 17, 18. 


#378 3). The verb here stands absolutely, as in hens 4; there is 
‘no need to supply the object, “when I speak of peace.” Nor is Ewald’s 
rendering, “ As for me, when I speak of peace,” at all probable ; for even 
‘if %3 can thus stand in the middle of the sentence, as in cxviii. 10, 11, 
exxviii. 2 (comp. 7, cxli. 10), it is very unlikely that >) should occupy 
such a position. The construction is the same as in cix. 4, where see 





PSALM CXXI. 


_ Tuts beautiful Psalm is the trustful expression of a heart rejoicing 
in its own safety under the watchful eye of Him who is both the 
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-4eef. 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 
s evidently designed,—designed to mark by this emphasis of itera- 
ion the truth of God's loving care for the individual, and so to 
lanish all shadow of doubt, fear, anxiety, lest in the vast sum the 
mit should be forgotten. 

Under what circumstances the Psalm was written is donteea 
me (as Ewald and De Wette) suppose it to have been written in 
The Psalmist turns his longing eyes towards the hills of his 
land, or the hills which bounded his sight in the direction 
Swhich it lay, as Daniel opened his windows towards Jerusalem 
hen he prayed. Others (as Hupfeld) understand by “the moun- 
ins” in ver. 1, not the mountains of Palestine at large, but the one 
‘in or mountain-group of Zion, as the dwelling-place of God, 


360 PSALM CXX1. 


the plural being used as in cxxxiii. 3, lxxxvii. 1, 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. At 
evening, as they are about to make preparations for their last night’s 
encampment, they behold in the far distance, clear against the dying 
light of the western sky, the holy hill with its crown of towers. The 
sight fills them with a sense of peace and security, and from the 
midst of the band a voice begins: ‘‘I will lift up mine eyes to the 
mountains,” &c. And another voice answers, “ May He not suffer 
thy foot to be moved. May He that keepeth thee slumber not.” 
And anon the whole company of pilgrims take up the strain: “ Be- 
hold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep; 
Jehovah shall keep thee,” &c. 

To-morrow, in the words of the next Psalm, they will sing, “ Our 
feet have been standing within thy gates, O Jerusalem.” 

It is, however, perhaps unnecessary to assume different voices in 
the Psalm ; we may have but the voice of the Poet speaking to his 
own heart,—speaking to it, in words that are not his own, heavenly 
strength and courage. That he is at a distance from the sanctuary, 
if not from Palestine, is clear. It is almost equally certain that 
there is no reference to “the special dangers of the desert” as — 
encountered by the exiles on their return, The baneful influence of . 
the sun and the moon (ver. 6) would not be peculiar to the desert, — 
and I can see no allusion to “ perils from lawless tribes by night” in 
ver. 3,4. The expression, “ thy going out and thy coming in,” would 
surely describe naturally, not the life of a traveler passing through 
the desert, but the settled home life, with its usual occupations, 
whether in Palestine or in Babylon. Beyond this, and the words of 
ver. 1, we have nothing to guide us. 

The Psalm has no marked divisions, but falls naturally into pairs — 
of verses. The Inscription, ‘A song for the goings-up,” differs 
slightly from that which is prefixed to other odes of this collection. 











[A PILGRIM SONG. | 


1 I WILL lift up mine eyes unto the mountains. 


1. THE MOUNTAINS, as already 15 [ii.1] and in Ezekiel, “the 
remarked in the Introduction, either mountains of Israel ;” or, the rid 
those of Palestine, as in Nahum i, on which lay Jerusalem and the 



































_ Temple. Comp. for the plural, 
li. I, Cxxxiii. 3; and for the 
tion of help from Zion, 

xiv. 7, “Oh that the salvation of 
Israel were come out of Zion ;” xx. 
2 [3] “Jehovah send thee help 
from the sanctuary, and uphold thee 
out of Zion.” 

WHENCE. It is better to take 
_ this as an interrogative than as a 
relative. In Josh. ii. 4, the only 
A where the word occurs as 
a relative, it is really an indirect 
interrogative. 
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, 
upon the heart of the 
nation, in contrast with the vanity 
of the gods of the heathen. Comp. 
_ Jer. x. 11, “Then shall ye say unto 
_ them (#.c.the Jews to the Chaldeans), 
_ The gods that have not made the 
heavens and the earth, even they 


at God’s watchful care may be ex- 
tended to him; then the conviction 
E ha the Keeper of Israel, He who 
thas been the God of his fathers, 
whose Hand has led the nation 
_ through all its eventful history, 


§ 


h s 


PSALM CXXI. 


361 


Whence should my help come ? 
2 My help (cometh) from, Jehovah, 
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 By day the sun shall not smite thee, 
Nor the moon by night. 


doth not—will not, cannot—slumber 
or sleep. Comp. cxxxii. 4; 1 Kings 
Xviii. 27 ; Is. v. 27 ; Job vii. 20. 

4. SLUMBER ... SLEEP. There 
is no climax in these words, as 
some have supposed. Etymologi- 
cally, the first is the stronger word, 
and it occurs lxxvi. 5 [6] (where see 
note) of the sleep of death. In this 
instance there is no real distinction 
between the two. Possibly there 
may be an allusion to the nightly 
encampment, and the sentries of 
the caravan. 

5. THY SHADE, as a protection 
against the burning rays of the 
sun. Comp. xci. 1, “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. This is 
not part of the former figure: it 
does not denote the south side (as 
some would explain), as that on 
which the sun would be hottest, 
and therefore protection most ne- 
cessary. It is rather a separate 
figure, denoting generally succour, 
help, &c. (as in cix. 31, cx. 5), ze. 
Jehovah standing upon thy right 
hand to defend thee is thy shade. 

6. Sun-stroke, a special danger 
of the East. See 2 Kings iv. 13— 
20; Jon. iv. 8; and comp. Ps. cii. 4 
(sl, where the heart is said to be 
smitten like grass. In the same 


362 


PSALM CXXII. 


7 Jehovah shall keep thee from all evil, 


He shall keep thy soul. 


8 Jehovah shall keep thy going out and thy coming in 
From this time forth and for evermore. 


way the influence of the moon is 
considered to be very injurious to 
the human frame, in hot climates 
more particularly. De Wette refers 
to Andersen’s Lastern Travels, 
Ewald to Carne’s Life aud Manners 
in the East, in proof that this 
opinion is commonly entertained. 
Delitzsch mentions having heard 
from Texas that the consequence 
of sleeping in the open air when 
the moon was shining was dizziness, 
mental aberration, and even death. 
‘The names given to persons of 
disordered intellect, ceAnviafopevor, 


wide-spread belief in the effects of 
the moon on those who were ex- 
posed to its influence. 

8. THY GOING OUT AND THY 
COMING IN; a phrase denoting the 
whole life and occupations of a 
man. Comp. Deut. xxviii. 6, xxxi. 
2; 1 Sam, xxix. 6, &c. The three- 
fold expression, “ shall keep ¢hee... 
thy soul... thy going out and thy 
coming in,” marks the completeness 
of the protection vouchsafed, ex- 
tending to all that the man is and 
that he does. Comp. 1 Thess. v. 
23, Kal OAdKANpoY byway TO mvedpa, Kal 


lunatici, “lunatics,” arose from the 7 uy), kal ro copa. . . THpNnOein. 


. by = po}, and must not, therefore, be rendered as if it were merely ov. 
Ewald takes it interrogatively, as uy is also used, “Surely He will not 
suffer thy foot to be moved?” Delitzsch takes it similarly, but without a 
question, as expressing the subjective view of the speaker. Such a 

rendering, “ Surely He will not suffer,” &c., is, I think, defensible. See 
"on xxxiv. 5, and 1., note » (Vol. I. p. 397). On the other hand, there is no 
reason for departing from the opt. here, especially as we have an exactly 
parallel usage in xxv. 3, where see note. 





PSALM CXXII. 


Tus 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. 





































PSALM CXXII. 363 


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 beguile 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 of 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 beau- 
tiful 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 collec- 
tion which formed a hymn-book for the pilgrims. It is possible, also, 
_ that David himself, although there was still a sanctuary at Gibeon, 
even after the Ark was brought to Zion, may nevertheless have en- 
couraged the people to regard Jerusalem as the true centre of worship, 
‘and that the custom of keeping the annual feasts there may have 
begun during his reign. In fact, this seems most natural and most 
‘probable, when we remember how great and joyful an event was the , 
‘bringing up of the Ark to Zion. There, henceforth, must have been 
“the heart of the Israelitish religion.” The expressions in ver. 3 
"might also be explained very naturally of Jerusalem as it was in 
David's time,—“‘a city beautifully built, well compacted, adorned 
with palaces, and fortified.” Still, in spite of Hengstenberg’s remarks 
fo the contrary, 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 
occasion for the composition of this ode. But, even if we fix 
m that as the most probable date, still the question arises, Is the 
_ whole Psalm a retrospect, or does it spring out of the new life 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 


364 PSALM CXXI/I. 
sees the old state of things revived, and who joins the pilgrims going 
up now as they went up of yore ? 

Ewald supposes it to be a blessing on a party of pilgrims, uttered _- 
by an old man returned from the Exile, himself unequal to a journey — 
across the desert. ‘The departure of his friends reminds him of the 
alacrity with which he too had once obeyed a similar summons ; his 
spirit is fired by sympathy with their enthusiasm, and he pours forth 
the praises of that city which from the earliest times had been recog- 
nized as the key-stone of the national unity, the civil and religious 
metropolis of the tribes.” * Delitzsch takes a somewhat similar view, 
except that he supposes the Poet to be still in exile. But the Psalm 
is too bright, the pictures are too. fresh, to lend any colour to either 
interpretation. 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 Forty-second, and even the Eighty-fourth. 
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 
bulwarks 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? 
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem, 








1. THE HOUSE OF JEHOVAH. throng of worshipers who crowd 


His joy was that he should worship 
there “ in the presence of Jehovah.” 
(Ex. xxiii. 17.) 

2, HAVE STOOD. This may be a 
strict perfect, implying that they 
are still standing. It is the lively 
expression of the satisfaction and 
delight of one who finds himself on 
this high day of festal joy within 
the sacred walls, mingling with the 


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. 

The rendering of the E.V., “ shall 
stand,” is clearly wrong. The only — 
other possible rendering (see Criti- 
cal Note) is one that would throw — 
the whole scene into the past, “our 
feet once stood.” It is the uncer- 











* The Psalms Chronologically Arranged, by Four Friends, p. 292. — 





































tainty attaching to this form which 

occasions so much difficulty in the 
int ation of the Psalm. 

3. BuiLT. This has been ex- 

ined in three different ways. 

1) It has been closely joined with 

what follows, “ built as a city which,” 


sense of “well-built, stately.” (3) 
It has been understood emphati- 
cally to describe the city as rebuclt 
after the Exile, “which is built 
again,” or, “O thou that art built 
again.” Of these, the last is pre- 
ferable. (1) injures the parallelism, 
and (2) has no support in usage. 
Compact. This has been under- 
stood by some to refer to the na- 
tural conformation of the ground 
on which the city stood. So Stan- 
5 ing 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 de- 
_ fence, but must also have deter- 
mined its natural boundaries. 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 T n formed in earlier times 
_afosse within a fosse, shutting in 
_ Zion and Moriah into one compact 
_ mass, not more than half a mile 
in breadth.”—Sinai and Palestine, 
, 172, 173- 
d Others, as Herder, suppose the 
_ epithet to mark the well-built city 
_ with its fine streets and long rows 
of contiguous houses, such an epi- 
_ thet being peculiarly appropriate 
__ and very natural in the lips of one 
_ who, accustomed only to the scat- 
tered dwellings of country villages, 
is struck with the compact line of 


PSALM CXXII. 


&c. (2) It has been taken in the 


365 


3 Jerusalem, that art built, 
As a city which is compact* together ! 
4 Whither the tribes went up, the tribes of Jah, 
(As it was) a law for Israel, © 
To give thanks to the Name of Jehovah. 


stately buildings which form so 
imposing a feature of the capital. 
“This,” he exclaims, “is indeed a 
city :” 


* Urbem quam dicunt Romam, Meii- 
boee, putavi 
Stultus ego huic nostrz similem.” 


Herder accordingly renders,— 


“Jerusalem, du dicht-gebaute Stadt! 
Wohnung an Wohnung ist in dir.” 


If, however, the Psalm refers, as 
is probable, to the city as rebuilt 
after the Exile, then the epithet 
alludes to the reconstruction of 
walls and houses ; the city is com- 
pact, 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 Jeho- 
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. 

This had.been its double glory. 
It may be inferred that he was 
living at a time when all was 
changed. There wasstill one sanc- 
tuary, but all Israel.was not united 
under one sceptre. It was no longer 
all the tribes who went up, as they 
had done of old ; there was now no 
throne of the house of David. In 
fact, even after the disruption of the 
kingdom under Jeroboam, the tribes 
did not go up to keep the yearly 
Feasts in Jerusalem. It was a part 
of “the Machiavellian policy” of 
that prince to put a stop to this 
custom, lest such occasions should 
be made the means of restoring the 
national unity (1 Kings xii. 26). 

A LAW. The word usually means 


366 


5 For there were set thrones for judgement, 
(The) thrones of the house of David. : 


6 O pray for the peace of Jerusalem : 
They shall prosper that love thee. 
7 Peace be within thy bulwarks, 


PSALM CXXITT. 


aS se 


Prosperity within thy palaces. 
8 For my brethren and friends’ sakes, 
Let me now wish4 thee peace. 


9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God 
I will seek tliy good. 


“testimony,” but here must evi- 
dently be understood in a wider 
_ sense. The “law” is that according 
to which all males were to appear 
before the Lord three times in the 
year : Ex, xxiii, 17, xxxiv. 23 ; Deut. 
xvi. 16 ; comp. Ps. Ixxxi. 4, 5 [5, 6]. 

The words “a law for Israel,” are 
grammatically in apposition with 
the previous clause, “the tribes 
went up,” &c. 

5. For. Jerusalem had become 
the religious capital of the nation, 
because it was already the civil 
capital. The law had enjoined that 
the supreme tribunal should be in 
the same place as the sanctuary 
(Deut. xvii. 8, 9). But Jerusalem 
was first the civil metropolis, “the 
city of David” (2 Sam. v. 9, vi. 12, 
16), before it became “the city of 
God.” To aJewish mind, however, 
the religious and the political im- 
portance ‘of the city were not so 
much contrasted as_ identical ; 
Church and State were not two, 
but one. 

WERE SET, lit. “ sit,” more com- 
monly used of those who sit on the 
throne, but the verb may be used of 
things without life to describe their 
position ; as of mountains, cxxv. I; 
in many passages, of cities; and 


* pyxa. Strictly, this means, “I rejoiced zn, over, because of them 
There is little difference in sense between 
this and D283, “when they said,” except that with the part. the 


that were saying unto me.” 


even of countries (Jer. xvii. 6; Joel 
iii. 20 [iv. 20]). 

THRONES FOR JUDGEMENT. The 
king was also the judge: see on 
Ixxil. I. Comp. 2 Sam. xv. 2; 1 
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 jus- 
tice, &c. 

6. PEACE ... PROSPER, and in 
the next verse PEACE ... PROS- 
PERITY, with a play of words in the 
original (shdlém, shalvah), perhaps 
also with an allusion to the name 
of Jerusalem. 

7. BULWARKS.. 
in xlviii. 13 [14]. 

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 people 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 naturally united a warm affec-— 
tion for Jerusalem, a hearty interest — 
in her welfare. a 





















. PALACES, as 


























PSALM CXXIII. 367 


& persons who speak become more prominent. The LXX. rightly, éxt rois 
‘elpyxéos pov. 
_ ‘Hiay may be either past (as all the older interpreters) or present. 


> 4 nit~y. This compound tense may either be an imperfect, “ were 
_ standing,” “used to stand ;” or a strict perfect, “have been standing, 
and now are standing.” ti this last case it may even be rendered as a 
present. 

(1) MH, with the part., is an imperfect either (z) of habit, as Gen. 
Xxxii, 22, “ Whatever they did (part.) there, he was doing,” z.c. was in the 
habit of doing ; Jud. i. 7, “seventy kings were gathering (i.e. were in the 
habit of gathering) their meat under my table :” or (4) of continued past 
action simply, as Job i. 14, “the herd were ploughing.” 

(2) 1°, with the part., is a strict perfect in Is. lix. 2, “ Your sins have 
been separating,” zc. have separated, and still do separate; Jer. v. 8, 
_ where 3° DvD probably means either “ they have strayed,” or “they 
have been fed to the full” (see Neumann, iz Joc.). In Is. xxx. 20 the 
_ Same construction is used to express a prophetic future, ze. a perfect 
- transferred into the future, in which case it is followed by a future: 
_ “Your eyes have dcen seeing (i.e. assuredly shall see) . .. and your ears 
pent hear (fut.).” 

e many. The word is used of the putting together of the coverings of 
iseabernacle, Ex. xxvi. 3, 10. Comp. wn in Is. iii.7, and Wwip3, Neh. iii. 38. 

The prefixed 4 is not a later form of the pron., for it is found in the song 
_of Deborah. mi is the reflexive pron. used emphatically, as in cxx. 6. 


4°23 M318. This has been rendered (1) “Let me speak peace 
ncerning thee,” as xxviii. 3. LXX. mepi cod. So Del., who compares 
uke xix. 42, rd mpos eipyvnv airns. (2) As Hupf. “let me speak peace in 
thee,” zz. in all my words, Ses &c. wish that peace may be in thee; 
as God is said “to speak peace,” Ixxxv. 9; comp. Esth. x. 3, where the 
a: pees Ub, 5 aera Parag any xxv. 28. 





PSALM CXXIIL. 


cc ers, but can find none. ‘Therefore it says, ‘ Where shall I, a 
por despised man, find refuge? Iam not so strong as to be able 


368 PSALM CXXIT/T,. 


— 


me, 
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 
places 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 shouldest 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 he 
had reason to hope was 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 have 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. . 
3 Be gracious unto us, O Jehovah, be gracious unto us, 


1. Comp. cxxi. I. a vultu, ore, &c. 


‘ 















Plautus (Aulul.) 


2. AS THE EYES OF SLAVES, 
watching anxiously the least move- 
ment, the smallest sign of their 
master’s will. The image expresses 
complete and absolute dependence. 
Savary (in his Le¢ters on Egyft, 
p- 135) says: “The slaves stand 
silent at the bottom of the rooms 
with their hands crossed over their 
breasts. With their eyes fixed upon 
their master, they seek to anticipate 
every one of his wishes.” Comp. 
the Latin phrases, a nutu pendere, 


uses the expression of a slave 
* oculosin oculis heri habere ;” and 
Terence (Ade/ph.) “oculos nun- 
quam ab oculis dimovere.” In 
those passages, however, the ready 
obedience of the slave may also be 
denoted by his attitude. In the 
Psalm the eye directed to the hand 
of God is the oculus sperans, the 
eye which waits, and hopes, and is 
patient, looking only to Him and 
none other for help. 

3. EXCEEDINGLY FILLED, or per- 










| PSALM CXXIII. 






















_ haps “has long been filled.” (Comp. 
exx. 6.) This expression, together 
with the - Ean of the repeated 
yer, e ious unto us,” 

peel that the acorn” ” and “ con- 
tempt” have long pressed upon the 
people, and their faith accordingly 

exposed toa severetrial. The 
more remarkable is the entire ab- 


the art. stands here. 


369 


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.a 


sence of anything like impatience 
in the language of the Psalm. 
From the expression of trustful 
dependence with which it opens, 
it passes to the earnest, heartfelt 
kyrie eletson in which it pours out 
in a few words the trouble whence 
springs the prayer. 


*92y. On this form, with the Chirek compaginis, see cxiii. note *. 


b 35 = N54, ver. 4, and cxx. 6, and is the older form of this word in 
its adverbial use. See Gen. xlv. 28 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. 16; 1 Kings xix. 4. 


_ © 3y>m. The noun apparently in stat. constr. with the art., which is 
incorrect, though according to Ges. § 108, 2, a. ¢., Ewald, § 290, d.¢., this 
is allowable in certain instances, viz. bathe when the denoasianve 
power of the article is required, or when the connection between the 
noun and the following genitive is somewhat loose, so that the first forms 
‘a perfect idea by itself, while the second conveys only a supplemental 


dea relating to the material or purpose. 


It is on this latter principle 


DD? °§83, & proud ones of oppressors” (which, however, as poy does not 
occur, ought rather to be °§3, from m3), but quite unnecessarily. 
one word, a plur. from a form fi's3 (from M)$3), as Gesenius, or fsa, as 


It is 


Sd 


Ewald takes it, like Wy. The adjective, however, occurs nowhere else. 
A ing to Hupf., this is substantially the same form as the Nv above, 
the terminations ir and Jt being originally adverbial, and formed from a 





VOL. I. 





370 PSALM CXXIV. 


PSALM CXXIV. 


Tue last Psalm was the sigh of an 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. Here, 
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 r24th, “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.” 

There can be little doubt that this Psalm (the 124th) records the 
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 fol- 
lowed 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 te 
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 o 
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 their oppression in Babylon. ( 























PSAIM CXXIV. 371 
: keenly some had reason to remember their captive condition, 
_ we see 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 are 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 cele- 
brating the one might almost unconsciously borrow his imagery from 
the other. 

_ The title, which gives the Psalm to David, is probably of no 
authority. Delitzsch conjectures that the recurrence of certain words 
- found in the genuine Davidic Psalms may have led the collector to 
_ assign this ode to him. In the LXX. and the Syriac it is anonymous. 
























[A PILGRIM SONG. OF DAVID.] 


ee 1 IF Jehovah had not* been on our side,— 
4 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 passed over our soul ; 
5 Then there had passed over our soul 
The proudly-swelling waters. 


__ 3. SWALLOWED US UP ALIVE. 
‘Comp. lv. 15°[16]; Prov. i. 12 ; with 
Num. xvi. 32, 33, where the phrase 
is used of the company of Korah. 
_ 4. THE STREAM, 7.¢. the moun- 
tain-torrent as swollen by the rains 
ind the melting of the snow in 







spring. For the figure comp. xviii. 
16 [17], lxix. 1, 2 [2, 3], cxliv. 7, and 
the still more exact parallel, Is. viii. 
7,8; Hab. i. 11. 

5- PROUDLY-SWELLING. Comp. 
xlvi. 3[4], lxxxix. 9[1o],and the i8po- 
Ts wotapos of Acschylus, P.V. 717. 


BB 2 


372 PSALM CXXIV. 


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. 


a "29, followed both in protasis and apodosis by preterite, See xxvii. 
note © 

my. The use of the relative here is commonly accounted for by an 
ellipse of the verb 7m, “If (it had not been) Jehovah who was on our 
side,” &c. But Hupf. observes that such an ellipse of the verb after a 
conjunction is unheard of (in xciv. 17 it is virtually supplied in the 
predicate), and supposes therefore that & is here used pleonastically after 
9232 as a conjunction, in the sense of “that.” He compares the use of 
the English z/ shat and the pleonastic use of & in Cant. iii. 4, Eccles. vi. 3. 
The LXX., too, render e pi} drt. Delitzsch compares the Aram. (DY 
1D, oO sé (lit, o si quod). 


b ‘ts. According to Hupf., the genuine old Hebrew (not Aram.) form, 
instead of the more common 1X, here introducing the apodosis (as in 
cxix. 92), and rightly rendered by the LXX. dpa. Del., on the other hand 
(following Ewald, § 103, 2), holds it to be a shortened ‘Kate of the Aram. 
TTS. It here introduces the apodosis instead of the affirmative 3, which 
is employed in the older language to introduce the apodosis after by. 
Gen. xxxi. 42, xliii. 10. 


e mbna, i in many MSS. and Edd., with the accent on the last syllable, 
as if it were fem., but properly on the antepenultimate (as the Masora 
and Kimchi, and the majority of MSS.), to distinguish it from the same 
word as Milra, meaning “an inheritance,” and thus masculine, as the 
verb requires, with the old accus. termination, as cxvi. 15 (comp. cxx. 6), 
which, however, has lost its meaning. In Num. xxxiv. 5, on the other 
hand, it is a real accusative, fo the stream. 


@ nytt, only here, a later adjective form for the more common rahe hd 
(but not Aramaic), bearing the same relation to yt that Ing (see note 4 
on last Psalm) does to jis. 





ei ie a tee 


Vt le ang 


PSALM CXXV. 373 


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 re- 
building of the Temple and of the 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 
tulers had been chief in this trespass.” Nehemiah, 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. 16, 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 prophets ” 
had joined the plot, and sought “to put him in fear,” and so to 
hinder his work (vi. to—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, mountains are round about her, 






I, 2. Two images of the security 
_ of those who trust in Jehovah : (1) 
_ they stand firm as Zion itself, they 
are like a mountain which cannot 
be shaken ; (2) they are girt as by 
- awall of mountains—a natural bul- 
_ wark against all enemies. 


1. STANDETH FAST, lit. “sitteth;” 
as spoken of a mountain “lieth” or 
“is situated,” but here, with the 
following “ for ever,” used in a still 
stronger sense. See on the use of 
this verb cxxii. 5. 

2. MOUNTAINS ARE ROUND 


374 


PSALM CXXV. 


And Jehovah is round about His people, 
From this time even for evermore. 
3 For the rod of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of 


the righteous, 


That the righteous put not forth their hands unto 


iniquity. 


4 Do good, O Jehovah, to them that are good, 
And to them that are upright in their hearts, 


ABOUT HER. “This image is not 
realized,” says Dean Stanley, “as 
most persons familiar with our 
European scenery would wish and 
expect it to be realized. Jerusalem 
is not literally shut in by mountains, 
except on the eastern side, where it 
may be said to be enclosed by the 
arms of Olivet, with its outlying 
ridges on the north-east and south- 
east.” Viewed from any other di- 
rection, Jerusalem always appears 
“on an elevation higher than the 
hills in its immediate neighbour- 
hoed. Nor is the plain on which 
it stands enclosed by a continuous 
though distant circle of mountains 
like that which gives its peculiar 
charm to Athens and Innsbruck. 
The mountains in the neighbour- 
hood of Jerusalem are of un- 
equal height, . . . only in two or 
three instances ... rising to any 
considerable elevation. Even Oli- 
vet is only 180 feet above the top of 
Mount Zion. Still they act as a 
shelter ; they must be surmounted 
before the traveller can see, or the 
invader attack, the Holy City; and 
the distant line of Moab would 
always seem to rise as a wall against 
invaders from the remote east.” It 
is of these distant mountains that 
Josephus speaks (Bel/. Fud.. vi. v. 1) 
as “the surrounding mountains,” 
ovrnxer dé ) mepaia Kal Ta mépiE Opn. 
—Sinai and Palestine, pp. 174, 175. 

AND JEHOVAH, instead of “so 
Jehovah,” &c., the comparison being 
formed by merely placing the two 
objects side by side, as so frequently 
in the Proverbs. 

Is ROUND ABOUT HIS PEOPLE. 


Comp. Zech. ii. 4, 5 [8, 9], “Jeru- 
salem shall be inhabited as towns 
without walls, for I, saith Jehovah, 
will 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 
Samaritans and others annoyed the 
Jews. The vod or sceptre, De Wette 
urges, could not apply to the Sa- 
maritans, for they did not rade over 
the Jews. But it was through them 
that the tyranny of the Persian 
court made itself felt; and they 
contrived, moreover, to gain over a 
considerable 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, ze. “lie heavy,” so as to 
oppress, as in Is, xxv. Io, 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 (4h Ixxiii. 13, 
14 [14, 15]; Job xv. 4). 


4, 5. The Psalm ends with a con- 











PSALM CXXVI. 


375 


5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked paths, 
Jehovah shall make them go their way with the 


workers of iniquity. 
Peace be upon Israel. 


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 
” 7.e. so turn their paths aside 

as to make them crooked. Comp. 
Judg. v. 6. The expression does not 


heathenism : it would describe the 
conduct of those who, in the time 
of Nehemiah, made common cause 
with the enemies of Israel (Neh. 
vi. IO—14, xiii. 28—31). 

MAKE THEM GO THEIR WAY, 2.¢. 
so as to perish. Comp. the use of 
fates verb in lviii. 8 [9], cix. 22 

23 

PEACE UPON ISRAEL. Comp. the 

conclusion of cxxviii. 


q necessarily denote a going over to 













PSALM CXXVI. 


_ Tue 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 fathers’ God, had indeed 
_ wrought for them, and even the heathen had recognized 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? It was but 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 (Ezraiv. 11—24). Still faith could expect a joyful harvest. He 
_ who had restored them to the land would assuredly crown His work 
_ with blessing. 


376 


PSALM CXXVI. 


[A PILGRIM SONG. ] 


I WHEN Jehovah brought back the returned, of Zion, 
We were like unto them that dream. 

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, 
And our tongues with songs of joy. 

3. Then said they among the nations, 
“ Jehovah hath done great things for them.” 

4 (Yea) Jehovah 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 ; 


1. LIKE UNTO THEM THAT 
DREAM, 2.é. so unexpected and so 
wonderful was our redemption from 
the Exile, that we could scarcely 
believe it was true, and not a dream. 

2. FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, as 
in Job viii. 21. 

3. JEHOVAH HATH DONE GREAT 
THINGS, lit. “hath magnified to do 
with (towards) these,” as in Joel ii. 
20. 

5. STREAMS, or rather “channels” 
(watercourses). The south is the 
image of a dry and thirsty land, 
which wanted springs. Comp. 
Judg. i. 1 

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 moun- 
tain torrents when, swoln by the 
wintry rains, they flow again along 
the beds of the watercourses, carry- 
ing 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 bereaved mother, waits for 


her children, whose return will fill 
her heart with joy. 

6. THEY THAT SOW IN TEARS. 
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, Beg 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 
individual sower. 

7. This verse might perhaps = 
more exactly rendered: “ He who 


beareth the handful of seed may — 


indeed weep every step that he 
goes.” 


PSALM CXXVIZ. 377 


8 He shall surely come with songs of joy, 
Bearing his sheaves (with him). 





















GO ALONG WEEPING, or, yet | HANDFUL OF SEED, lit. “that 

_ more strongly, “take no step of his which is drawn into the hand ” out 

_ Way without weeping,” the double of the vessel or fold of the robe to 

infinitive being employed to mark _ be scattered on the field. Hence a 

_ the continued nature ~ the action. sower is called “a drawer of seed,” 
_ Comp. 2 Sam. iii. 16; Jer. 1 4; Amos ix. 13. 

_ Gesen. § 131, 34. 


* 
—* 


A -*°¥ nz, generally rendered, after the LXX., mjy aixpateviay Siar, 

_ though perhaps unnecessarily. 

2 nw is formed from 31, as 7° from Dyp (Lam. iii. 63), and signifies 

; “the return,” and so “those who return,” just as m2 or nn, “the 

eee 7” and hence “the captives,” m3, “the exile” and so “the 

xiles.” To this Hupf. objects that it is hardly likely that a form 73° 

should be found as well as nD, which occurs in the same sense 

sip Is. xxx. 15. Hence he maintains that n3*y is an old mistake 

mw or may. 

_ That 3Ww3 refers to the past is quite certain, from the following 33"7, 

Bi Jerome is right, “quum converteret . . . facti sumus.” 

a ‘MS introduces emphatically the FEST, ot the verbs which follow 
7 = proper imperfects : “then our mouth degan to be filled” &c. . . . then 
were saying, &c. 





PSALM CXXVII. 


Tuis and the next Psalm form two bright companion pictures of 

cial and domestic life, and of the happiness of a household which, 
ed in the fear of God, is blessed by His providence. “These 
ures,” says Isaac Taylor, “are mild and bright ; humanizing are 
‘in the best sense: they retain certain elements of Paradise, and 
more the elements of the Patriarchal era, with the addition of that 
iotism and of that concentration in which the Patriarchal life was 
iting. ‘The happy religious man, after the Hebrew pattern, pos- 
ed those feelings and habitudes which, if they greatly prevail in 
community, impart to it the strength of a combination which is 

ager than any other ; uniting the force of domestic virtue, of rural, 


378 PSALM CXXVTI. 


yeomanlike, agricultural occupations, of unaggressive defensive valour, 
and of a religious animation which is za¢iona/ as well as authentic and 
true. Our modern learning in Oriental modes of life and its circum- 
stances and scenery may help us to bring into view either of two gay 
pictures ;—that of the Hebrew man in mid-life, at rest in his country 
home, with his sturdy sons about him; his wife is still young; her 
fair daughters are like cornices sculptured as decorations fora palace : 
or else the companion picture, with its group on their way Zionward, 
resting for the sultry noon-hour under the palms by the side of a 
stream, and yet home, happy home, is in the recollection of the party ; 
but the Hill of God, ‘whereunto the tribes of the Lord go up,’ is in the 
fervent purpose of all; and while they rest they beguile the time 
with a sacred song and with its soothing melody. Happy were the 
people while their mind was such as this, and such their habits, and 
such their piety !”—SZzrit of the Hebrew Poetry, pp. 165, 166. 

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” (y’dido), and to the building 
of the Temple in ver. 1, may have led some collector to conclude 
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 Zechariah, who urged the 
building of the Temple. Many, both ancient and modern, inter- 
preters have, in the same way, discovered in the Psalm an allusion 
to the circumstances of the people after the return from the Captivity, 
to the rebuilding of the Temple, and the guarding of the newly- 
erected walls in ver. 1, and to the numerical increase of the people 
in ver. 4, 5, which at such a time would possess especial importance 
in the eyes of a patriotic Hebrew. But the “house” in ver. 1 is 


clearly not the Temple, but any house which men build, for the whole — 


Psalm is a picture of daily life, social and domestic ; and, as De Wette 
very truly observes, to build houses, to guard the city, to be diligent 


in labours, would be just as important at any other period as after 
the return from the Exile; and the Jews at all times of their history 
esteemed a large family one of the chief of blessings. 


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 


PSALM CXXVIT. 




















379 


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 does 
not rest on the spirit of the Hebrew bard :— 


“ Why are we weigh’d upon with heaviness, 
And utterly consumed with sharp distress, 
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 fae ry 


[A PILGRIM SONG. OF SOLOMON.*] 


_ 1 Except Jehovah build a house, 

_ ___ They labour upon it in vain that build it ; 
Except Jehovah watch over a city, 

a) watchman waketh (but) in vain. 






spirit of the Chaldean invader of 
Ang Prophet says, “ This his 


_ 1. A HOUSE, not “the Temple,” 
as some nor “the family,” 
is others, but the structure itself, 
as is evident from the context. 


WATCHMAN, lit. “keeper,” z.¢. by 
night, as in cxxi. 3, 4. 

THEY LABOUR, or rather “ they 
have laboured.” It is the strict 
perfect ; the writer places himself 
at the end of the work, sees its re- 
sult, “they have spent their labour 
in vain ;” and so in the next verse, 
“ the watchman hath waked.” 

2. THAT YE RISE, or “ who rise.” 
keh ree expression runs liter- 

y : “ making early to making 
late to sit (down).” eae an arti- 
ficial lengthening of the natural 
day. Others render the latter 


380 


PSALM CXXVII. 


That ye eat the bread of sorrows; 
(Even) sot He giveth (it) to His beloved in sleep.4 
3 Behold, sons are a heritage from Jehovah, 
The fruit of the womb (His) reward. 
4 Like arrows in the hand of a mighty man, 
So are the sons of (a man’s) youth. 


clause as in the E. V. “sit up late,” 
appealing to Is. v. 11, where, how- 
ever, the construction is different, 
the participle being followed not as 
here by the infinitive, but by a noun 
with the preposition, and the ex- 
pression being lit. “that make late 
in the evening,” z.e. no doubt that 
prolong their revels into the night. 
BREAD OF SORROWS, or perhaps 
rather “of wearisome efforts.” Comp. 
Prov. v. 10, “and thy wearisome 
efforts (z.e. what thou hast gotten 
with labour and toil) be in the house 
of a stranger.” There is an allu- 
sion, no doubt, to Gen. iii. 17, “in 
sorrow (or weariness) thou shalt 
eat of it all the days of thy life.” 
(EVEN) SO, nearly equivalent to 
“the very self-same thing.” HE 
GIVETH (IT), z.¢. bread, the neces- 
saries of life, IN SLEEP. What 
others obtain only with such wear- 
ing toil, such constant effort, with 
so much disappointment and so 
much sorrow, God gives to the 
man whom He loves as it were 
while he sleeps, i.e. without all this 
anxiety and exertion. This is the 
interpretation now perhaps com- 
monly adopted, but it seems to me 
very questionable (though I ac- 
cepted it in the First Edition), for 
the following reasons :—(1) It is 
necessary to supply “ bread,” not 
“bread of sorrows,” in this clause; 
and (2) I am not satisfied that the 
rendering of the accusative “zm 
sleep” is justifiable. The alleged 
parallel instances (see Critical Note) 
expressing parts of time are not 
really parallel. I am _ inclined, 
therefore, to prefer the rendering, 
“So He giveth His beloved sleep,” 
though it is no doubt difficult to 
explain the reference of the par- 


ticle “so.” I suppose it refers to 
the principle laid down in the 
previous verses, there being a tacit 
comparison, “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 straining, a toiling, as if 


toil of itself could command suc- — 
cess, the folly of which is con- — 


demned. Comp. for a similar 
sentiment Prov. x. 22, “ The bless- 
ing 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 (pi — 


peptpvare) for your life, what ye 
shall eat and what ye shall drink, 


neither for your body, wherewith — 


ye shall be clothed,” &c., Matt. vi. 
25—34. See also Luke x. 41; 
1 Pet. v. 7. God’s “beloved” are 


not exempted from the great law _ 


of labour which lies upon all, but — 
the sting is taken from it when ie 


can leave all results ina Fathe 


hand, with absolute trust in His © 


wisdom and goodness. 


3. BEHOLD, as drawing particular — 
attention to one marked example of © 
God’s good gifts ; which none can — 


question is emphatically His su i: 
on this the Poet lingers, “allured b 
the charm of the subject,” for suc 
there was, especially to an Oriental, 
to whom a numerous progeny was 
the 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, #.e. sons of 





. 


_ —.ep hye. 


an ae a 


























Siatty married life (as in Prov. v. 18, 
“a wife of youth” is one married 
‘when a man is young). On the other 


hand, 

of old ee is one born when his 
father is old. 

These sons of a man’s youth 
Fare particularly mentioned, because 
_ they would naturally grow up to be 
a support and protection to their 
; ore in his old age, when he 
d most need their support. 

e THEY. The pronoun cannot 
= referred, with Calvin and many 
expositors, to the sons, for it is 
= y the father whose cause is 
posed to be at stake, and who 
) the emergency finds his sons 
ready to defend him. Others, with 
ore probability, suppose it to in- 


a ude both father and sons. But 
it may refer only to the father. 
Hupfeid calls the change of number 


sh (from singular to plural), but 
} not more so than in cvii. 43, 


, as well as of all public acts. 
ix. 14. The allusion is to 
ysuits, in which, if unjustly ac- 
sed or brought before an un- 
ous judge, a man need not 
= lest should be “put to 
me,” 7.¢. lose his cause; his 
sons would not suffer might 
ve inst right. 
e “speak with their 
ies,” in the sense of defending 


~ 


PSALM CXXVII. 


384 


5 Happy is the man who hath filled his quiver with them, 
They shall not be ashamed, when ine 5 speak with their 
enemies in the gate. 


their cause, may be illustrated by 
Josh. xx. 4, “And he (the man- 
slayer who has fled) shall stand in 
the entrance of the gate of the 
city, and shall sfeak his words 
(z. e. plead his cause) in the ears of 
the elders of that city.” Comp. 
2 Sam. xix. 30; Jer. xii. I. 

Others understand by speaking 
with enemies in the gate a battle 
fought with besiegers at the gates. 
So apparently Ewald, who refers 
to Gen. xxii. 17, “thy seed shall 
possess the gate of his enemies ;” 
and xxiv. 60, “let thy seed possess 
the gate of those which hate them.” 
This certainly harmonizes better 
with the warlike figure of the quiver 
full of arrows: but can “to speak 
with enemies” mean to fight with 
them? If so, it must be an idiom 
something like that of “looking 
one another in the face,” 2 Kings 
xiv. 8, II. 

With the sentiment of ver. 4, 5, 
compare Soph. Antig. 641—644: 
Tovrou yap otver’ avdpes eUxovraryovas 
kaTKoous Picarres ev depots €, exe, 
os Kal Tov €xOpor a dvrapwvevrat Kaxois, 
kai Tov didoy tipaow ¢& ivov rarpi. 
So, too, in Ecclus. xxx. 5, 6, it is 
said of a father that “while he 
lived, he saw and rejoiced in him 
(his son); and when he died, he 
was not sorrowful. He left behind 
him an avenger against his ene- 
mies, and one that shall requite 
kindness to his friends.” The co- 
incidence of expression in the last 
two passages is remarkable. 


~~ * The following coincidences of expression have been supposed to 
the title. D3 yD, wearisome efforts, ver. 2, occurs also Prov. v. 10; 
n D, making late, in Prov. xxiii. 30. As in ver. 4 of the Psalm ‘39 "33, 
+ of Youth, so in Prov. v. 18'S NYS, wife of youth. Ver. 5, im the 
as in Prov. xxii. 22, xxiv. 7. And the whole Psalm may be 
idered an expansion of Prov. x. 22. 


382 PSALM CXXVITI. 


» N3Y, opposed to dsp, as cxxxix. 2, Lam. iii. 63, as also are the two 
participles in the stat. constr. Aquila, rightly, Bpudvvotcr xcabjoba. 


€ 13, so, 7.¢. with just the same result. So in the passages cited by 
Del.: Num. xiii. 33, “we were so, ze. just the same in their sight ;” 
Is. li. 6, }2°193, as so, ze. in like manner ; Job ix. 35, “for it is not so with 
me (as you think),” ze. I am not guilty, as you assert; 2 Sam. xxiii. 5 
may be interrogative, “For is not my house so with God that He hath 
made an everlasting covenant with me?” In all these instances Del. 
would take }3 as meaning swad/, or as nothing ( gering, wie nichts), which 
can only be justified if we suppose the word to be used Secxrexds. 


. NI, with Aramaic termination, for me, here it is said not acc. of the 
object, but of time, as frequently in other words, such as "p3, ay, &c., 
Ges, § 118, 2; but, as I have said in the note on ver. 2,1 am doubtful 
how far these can be regarded as really parallel instances. 





— 


PSALM CXXVIILI. 

















Tue 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 says: ‘In the former Psalm the prophet treated of both 
kinds of life, that is, both of national life and domestic life (politia 
et economia). The same thing almost he doth in this Psalm, but yet 
after another sort. For although here also he joineth the two together, — 
and wisheth the blessing of God and peace unto them both, yet hath 
he more respect to household government or matrimony, because it 
is, as it were, the fountain and source of civil government. For the 
children whom we bring up and instruct at home, these will, in time 
to come, be the governors of the state. For of houses or families 
are made cities, of cities provinces, of provinces kingdoms. House- 
hold government, then, is with reason called the fountain of policy 
and political government, for if you destroy the one, the other — 
cannot exist. 

“Wherefore to this Psalm we will give this title, that it is ar 
Epithalamium or Marriage Song, wherein the Prophet comforteth 
them that are married, wishing unto them and promising them fi 
God all manner of blessings.” 





PSALM CXXVII1. 


383 


The Psalm consists of two parts :— 


I. The description of the happy life. 


Ver. 1—4. 


II. The good wishes and promises for him who has entered upon 


ame Ver.'s, 6 


[A PILGRIM SONG. ] 


‘ 1 Happy is every one that feareth Jehovah, 























of thy house ; 


Jehovah. 


_ 2, THE LABOUR OF THY HANDS. 
This is the first part of the blessing, 
_—the quiet peaceful life of a thriv- 
hn prosperous yeoman in the 

country, with no fear that the har- 
vest will be trodden down by the 
invader before it is ripe, or the 
cattle swept off by some roving 
predatory tribe. The opposite con- 
dition 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 
herein ; thou shalt plant a vineyard, 
eet shalt not gather the grapes 
thereof,” &c., Deut. xxviii. 30—33, 
39, 40. See also Am. v. 11; Micah 

vi. 15; Eccles. vi. 1, 2; and for a 

contrast, in this respect, between 

‘the lot of the righteous and that of 
the wicked, Is. ili. 10, 11. 

_ 3. The comparison would per- 
haps be brought out more clearly 
by arranging the verse as follows :— 

hy wife shall be in the inner part 
of thy house 
_ Like a fruitful vine ; 


That walketh in His ways. 
2 For? the labour of thy hands thou shalt eat, 
Happy art thou, and it (shall be) well with thee. 
3 Thy wife> (shall be) like a fruitful vine, in the inner part 


Thy children, like olive-plants, round about thy table : 
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed that feareth 


5 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion, 


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, 2.¢. the women’s apartments, as 
marking the proper sphere of the 
wife engaged in her domestic duties, 
and also to some extent her se- 
clusion, though this was far less 
among the Jews than among other 
Orientals. 

The VINE is an emblem chiefly 
of fruttfulness, but perhaps also of 
dependence, as needing support ; 
the OLIVE of vigorous, healthy, 
joyous life. The same figure is 
employed by Euripides, Heré. Fur. 
839, 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, His earthly throne 
and sanctuary, whence all blessing 
comes, Cxxxiv. 3, xx. 2 [3]. 


384 


PSALM CXXIX. 


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. 


Then follows the truly patriotic 
sentiment—the wish that he may 
see the prosperity of Ferusalem, as 
well as that he may live long to see 
his children and _ grandchildren. 
The welfare of the family and the 
welfare of the state are indissolubly 
connected. 


thou,” an imperative following the 
optative, and therefore to be under- 
stood as expressing a wish, and 
even more, a promise, as in Xxxvii. 
3, where see note”. 

6. CHILDREN’S CHILDREN. So 
Virgil: “Adspicies . . . natos nato- 
rum et qui nascentur ab illis.” 


(MAYEST THOU) LOOK, lit. “look 


4 499 is sometimes thus placed after other words instead of standing 
first in the sentence: comp. cxvili. 1Io—12; Gen. xviii. 20. Hupfeld 
contends that it retains its usual meaning fo, but he would transpose the 
two clauses of the verse: “ Happy art thou, and it is well with thee, For — 
thou shalt eat,” &c. Del. on the other hand, following Ew., takes it as 
emphatic, surely, in German ja. Hupf. says "3 never has this sense ; 
but surely it may be used elliptically, = “be assured ¢ha?,” on the same 
principle as in the fuller phrases *} 3A, ver. 4, dehold that, &c. ; "3 xn, 
1 Sam. x. 1; "3 DDN, Job xii. 2; and the common expression °3 Ax, &c. ; 


b TAU 5 only here with this punctuation, instead of TAN. m8. | 
is for 178, as 7233, Lam. i. 6, for 733, Ew. § 189, ¢. 















PSALM CXXIX. 


Tue 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 
righteousness 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 deliver- 





PSALM CXXIX. 


385 


% ance, the Poet draws thence an augury and a hope for the over- 
_ throw, complete and final, of their oppressors. 

























up— 
May Israel now say— 


As many as hate Zion. 


_ 1. Greatty, or “long:” the 
Same word as in cxx. 6, cxxill. 4. 
SOUGHT AGAINST ME, lit. “ have 
en adversaries unto me.” 
FROM MY YOUTH UP. The youth 
of the nation was in Egypt, at 
hich time God Ehiakeet Hards- 
‘ea ‘Israel as “love of youth,” 
€spousals of youth,” &c. Hos. ii. 
5; Jer. ii. 2, xxii. 21; Ezek. xxiii. 


2. HAVE NOT PREVAILED. This 
is the point of the Psalm. The 
Yew Testament parallel is 2 Cor. 
iv. 8—tIo, and the whole history of 

i Christian Church is an echo of 


: Furrows. Deep wounds, such 
hose made by the lash on the 


_ 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. 

__ Insubject, style, and rhythmical structure, it most-nearly resembles 


[A PILGRIM SONG.] 


I GREATLY have they fought against me, from my youth 


_ 2 Greatly have they fought against me, from my youth up, 
a (But) they have not also* prevailed against me. 
__ 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. 


b 


A “$ Let them be ashamed and turned backward, 


a 6 Let them be as the grass on the housetops, 
____ That withereth afore‘ it be plucked up :4 


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 


cc 


386 PSALM CXXIX. 


7 Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand, 
Nor he that bindeth sheaves his bosom ; 
8 Neither do they which go by say, 
“ The blessing of Jehovah be upon you.” 
“We bless you in the name of Jehovah.” 


more freely: as all the images are of the subject allures” the Poet in 
taken from country life, it is doubt- each instance. 


less to country dwellings that the The picture of the harvest-field 
Poet refers. Comp. 2 Kings xix. is like that in Ruth ii. 4, where in 
26; Is. xxxvii. 27. like manner we have the greeting 


7, 8. These two verses are a and counter-greeting. “And _be- 
poetic expansion of the figure, an hold Boaz came from Bethlehem 
imaginative excursus, exactly paral- and said unto the reapers, Jehovah 
lel to that which occurs in ver. 4,5 be with you. And they answered 
of the 127th Psalm. ‘‘The charm him, Jehovah bless thee.” 


* D3. According to Ew. § 3544a,in this and other passages, such as 
cxix. 24, Ezek. xvi. 28, Eccl. vi. 7, the particle is equivalent to the Greek 
dpes, nevertheless. Hupf. denies this, and argues that there is no need to 
depart from the usual signification in any case: thus here, “They have 
fought . . . they have not a/so prevailed.” Comp, Gen. xxx. 8, xxxviii. 24, 
Job ii. 10. 

b pnw. So the K’thibh, rightly, the word being plur. of My, 
which. occurs besides only in 1 Sam. xiv. 14. The 5, marking the object, 
is not necessarily an Aramaism, though found more frequently in the 
later Psalms. Comp. lxix. 6, cxvi. 16. Here, however, the construction 
may be explained by the form of the verb, as = “have made length to 
their furrows.” 

© nptpYy, a doubly Aramaic form ; for (1) the relative ¥ belongs: to 
the verb, which withereth, and (2) MIP occurs elsewhere only in Chald. § 
Ezra v. 11, Dan. vi. 11, but not as here, immediately before a verb. 


a nbvi, to draw out, used of drawing out a weapon, &c., here impersonal 


Moe a 


for the passive, defore one pulls up, i.e. before it is pulled up. So the 


LXX., Th., and the Quinta, pd rod éxomacOijva, and so Gesen. Thes. in v., 


Hupf., De W., &c. Others render defore it shoot up, or be grown so as” 


to blossom (the blossom coming out of the sheath, as it were). So 
according to Theodoret, some copies of the LXX. é£av@joa, Aq. dvéOadev. 
Symm. has ékxkavAjoa, which may mean has come to a stalk, or perhaps 
be equivalent to éxxavrifew, root up. 











PSALM CXXNX. 387 


PSALM CXXX. 


4 
= 
, 
= 
% 
q 


Tuis Psalm is a cry to God for the forgiveness of sin. The 

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 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 hima 
portion 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, Jet us sing the Psalm De profundis, 
in four parts.’ 
__ “Being asked on one occasion which were the best Psalms, he 
; replied, ‘The Pauline Psalms’ (Psa/mi Paudini), and being pressed 
O say which they were, he answered: ‘ The 32d, the 51st, the r30th, 
ar id the 143d. For they teach us that the forgiveness of sins is 
v ouchsafed to them that believe without the law and without works ; 
therefore are they Pauline Psalms; and when David sings, “ With 
e is forgiveness, that Thou miayeed be feared,” so Paul likewise 
h, “ God hath concluded all under sin, that He may have mercy 
on all.” Therefore none can boast of his own righteousness, but the 
y ee rds, “That Thou mayest be feared,” thrust away all self-merit, 
ach us to take off our hat before God and confess, gratia est, non 
rilum, remissio non satisfactio, it is all forgiveness, and no merit.’ ”— 
‘This is the sixth of the seven Penitential Psalms, as they are called. 
= itzsch notices that several of the words and phrases of this 
alm occur also in Psalm Ixxxvi., but there are few of them of a 
d kind. It may be taken as evidence of the late date of the 
salir Bocas the word rendered “ attentive,” ver. 2, occurs besides only 
1 2 Chron. vi. 40, vii. 15, and the word “forgiveness,” ver. 4, only 
n Dan. ix. 9, Neh. ix. 17. 




















i 


Ccc2 


388 


PSALM CXXX. 


[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 ? 

4 But with Thee is forgiveness, 
That Thou mayest be feared.* 


1. OUT OF THE DEPTHS. Deep 
waters, as so often being an image 
of overwhelming affliction: comp. 
Ixix. 2 [3], 14 [15]; Is. li. 10. 

“Unde clamat?” says Augus- 
tine. “De profundo. Quis est ergo 
qui clamat? Peccator. Et qua 
spe clamat? Quia qui venit solvere 
peccata, dedit spem etiam in pro- 
fundo posito peccatori. . . Clamat 
sub molibus et fluctibus iniquitatum 
suarum. Circumspexit se, circum- 
spexit vitam suam ; vidit illam un- 
dique flagitiis et facinoribus co- 
opertam: quacunque respexit, nihil 
in se bonum invenit, nihil illi jus- 
titize serenum potuit occurrere.” 

HAVE I CALLED, a strict perfect 
(not a present), as marking a long 
experience continued up to the pre- 
sent moment: comp. ver. 5 

2. LET THINE EARS BE ATTEN- 
TIVE. The same expression occurs 
2 Chron. vi. 40. 

3. MARK, lit. “keep,” or “watch,” 
so as to observe : the same word as 
in ver. 6, but used in the sense of 
marking, observing, Job x. 14, xiv. 
16 (comp. for the sense Ps. xc. 8); 
and with the further sense of £eep- 
ing in memory, i.e. in order to 
punish, Jer. iii. 5; Amos i. 11. 

WHO SHALL (OR CAN) STAND? 
Comp. lxxvi. 7 [8]; Nah. i. 6; Mal. 
iii. 2. “Non dixit, ego non sus- 
tinebo ; sed, guzs sustinebit? Vidit 
enim prope totam vitam humanam 
circumlatrari peccatis suis, accusari 


omnes conscientias cogitationibus 
suis, non inveniri cor castum pra- 
sumens de sua justitia.”—Augus- 
tine. ; 

4. BUT, or rather FOR, the con- — 
junction referring to what is zmplied 
in the previous verse. The senti- — 
ment expanded would be: “If — 
Thou shouldest mark iniquities, — 
none can stand; but Thou dost — 
not mark them, for with Thee is 
forgiveness.” 

FORGIVENESS, lit. “¢he forgive- — 
ness” (either the common use of _ 
the article before abstract nouns, or 
possibly with reference to some- 
thing not expressed, e.g. “the for- 
giveness we need”). This noun 
occurs besides only in_ two later 
passages, Neh. ix. 17, Dan. ix. 9; — 
and the adjective from the same 
root only in Ps, Ixxxv. 5 [6]; but the 
verb occurs frequently, both in the 
Pentateuch and the later books. 

THAT THOU MAYEST BE FEARED. 
God freely forgives sin, not that 
men may think lightly of sin, but 
that they may magnify His grace 




















in xxv, 11, the Psalmist prays, “For 
Thy Name’s sake pardon mine 
iniquity ;” and Ixxix. 9, “ Purge 
away our sins for Thy Name's 
sake,” z. 2. that God’s Name may b 
glorified as a God who pardoneth 
iniquity, transgression, and sin, 





PSALM CXXX. 


389 


5 I have waited for Jehovah, my soul hath waited ; 
And in His word have I hoped. 
6 My soul (looketh) for the Lord, 


This forgiveness is a far more 
werful 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, I have learned by experience, 
O Lord, why there is mercy with 
Thee, and why of right Thou may- 
est challenge this title unto Thyself, 
that Thou art merciful and forgivest 
sins. For in that Thou shuttest all 


under free mercy, and leavest no- 


thing 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 God 
testeth on nothing but mercy, 
that through Christ we assuredly 
trust that God is reconciled unto 
us. . . Christian doctrine doth not 
deny or condemn good works, but 
it teacheth that God willeth not to 
mark iniquities, but willeth that we 
believe, that is, trust, His mercy. 
For with Him is forgiveness, that 


_ He may be feared and continue to 


be our God. Whoever, then, do 


_ believe that God is ready to forgive, 


and for Christ’s sake to remit, sins, 
they render unto God true and 
reasonable service; they strive not 
with God about the law, works, 
and righteousness, but, laying 


_ aside ali trust in themselves, do 


fear Him because of His mercy, 


b and thus are made sons who re- 


ceive the Holy Ghost, and 


; truly to do the works of the law. 
_ So, 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 has 
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. This waiting, hoping atti- 
tude 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.” 

Luther, taking the verbs as pre- 
sents, “I wait,” &c. traces the con- 
nection somewhat differently. “The 
Psalmist,” he observes, “ first prays 
to be heard (ver. 2), then, obtaining 
mercy, he perceiveth that he is 
heard. Now, therefore, he addeth 
an exhortation whereby he stirreth 
himself up constantly to persevere 
in this knowledge of grace. As if 
he had said, I know that there is 
mercy with the Lord. This princi- 
pal article I have in some part now 
learned. Now this remaineth for 
me to do, to wait upon the Lord, 
that is, to trust in the Lord, that I 
may continue in this knowledge, 
and hold fast this hope of mercy 
for ever.” 

6. My SOUL (LOOKETH) FOR, lit. 
“my soul is unto the Lord” (as in 
Cxxili. 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 
en Christ, my whole soul is unto 

od. 


399 


PSALM CXXX. 


_More than watchers (look) for the morning, 
(I say, more than) watchers (look) for the morning. 


7 Let Israel hope in Jehovah ; 
For with Jehovah is loving-kindness, 


And with Him is plenteous redemption. 


8 And HE will redeem Israel 


From all his iniquities. 


WATCHERS, not merely “ watch- 
men,” as in cxxvii. 1, but all who, 
from whatever cause, are obliged 
to keep awake. No figure could 
more beautifully express the long- 
ing 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. “ Here he hath 
respect,” says Luther, “to that great 
conflict, wherein the mind, op- 
pressed with calamities, beginneth 
to doubt of the mercy of God. In 
this conflict, because the mind doth 
not so soon feel those comforts 
which the word promiseth and faith 
believeth, as it would do, it is ready 
to despair. Against this tempta- 
tion David armeth us, and warneth 
us to be mindful that we must wait 
upon the Lord, and never depart 
from the word or believe anything 
against the word, and he showeth 
the cause why. For with the Lord 
is mercy. . . In myself I perceive 
nothing but wrath, in the devil 


nothing but hatred, in the world 
nothing but extreme fury and mad- 
ness. But the Holy Ghost cannot 
lie, which willeth me to trust be- 
cause there is mercy with the 
Lord, and with Him is plenteous 
redemption.” 

PLENTEOUS REDEMPTION, or 
more literally, “redemption plen- 
teously ” (the inf. absol. being used 
as an adverb). He calls it plen- 
teous, 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 petitions and desires. 

8. HE emphatic, He alone, for 
none other can. 

FROM HIS INIQUITIES, not 
merely from the punishment (as 
Ewald and Hupfeld). The re- 
demption includes the forgiveness 
of sins, the breaking of the power 
and dominion of sin, and the set- 
ting free from all the consequences 
of sin. 





@ SAA 2. The words seem to have been a stumbling-block to the 
Greek translators. The LXX, render as if it were TY wn, joining 
these words with what follows, evexey tod drdpards cov iméuewa oe, Kupee. 
Aq. Th., &vexev rod PoBov. Symm., évexey rov vopov (possibly taking the 
Sear of Jehovah to be a name of the Law, as in xix. ro), Another has 
évexev Tov yvooOjva tov Aéyov cov; and another éras émigoBos ton, this 
last alone being a rendering of the Hebrew. Jerome goes equally astray : 
“ Quia tuum est propitiatio, cum terribil7s szs, sustinui Dominum.” The 
Fathers, of course, following the Greek or the Vulgate, “ propter legem 
tuam sustinui te, Domine,” miss the whole scope of the passage. 











PSALM CXXXI. 391 


PSALM CXXXI]I, 


WHETHER written by David, to whom the title gives it, or not, this 
short Psalm, one of the most beautiful in 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 I 
will become of still less account than this, and I will be lowly in 


_ mine own eyes.” At the same time, with the majority of interpreters, 


he holds it to be a post-exile Psalm, written with a view to encourage 


_ the writer himself and his people to the same humility, the same 
_ patient waiting upon God, of which David was so striking an 






















example. 


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 hath 

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 [28], ci. 5; therefore a 
Davidic expression. 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. The perfects 
denote strictly past action continued 
to the present moment (as in cxxx. 


[A PILGRIM SONG. 


OF DAVID.] 


1 JEHOVAH, my heart is not haughty, 
Nor mine eyes lifted up: 
Neither have I exercised myself in things too great, 
And in things too wonderful for me. 
2 But? I have stilled and hushed my soul, 


I, 5), and the intensive form of the 
verb (Piel), the busy, continual 
action. 

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 
Jehovah?” Deut. xvii. 8, “ When 
a matter is too wonderful (too hard) 
for thee for judgement :” xxx. IJ, 
“ For this commandment... is not 
too wonderful for thee, it is not far 
off.” 

2. I HAVE STILLED MY SOUL, 2.2, 
the pride and passions which were 
like the swelling waves of an angry 


392 


PSALM CXXXI, 


As a child that is weaned of his mother ; 
As the weaned child> (I say) is my soul within me, 
3 Let Israel hope in Jehovah, 
From henceforth even for ever. 


sea. ‘The word is used in Is, xxviil. 
25, of /evectng the ground after the 
clods have been broken by the 
plough. 

The next two clauses of the verse 
would be more exactly rendered :— 


“As aweaned child wfow his mother” 


(7.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 satisfaction 
in His presence, resting peacefully 
in His arms. 

“The weaned child,” writes a 
mother, with reference to this 
passage, “ has for the first time 
become conscious of grief. The 


piteous longing for the sweet 
nourishment of his life, the broken 
sob of disappointment, mark the 
trouble of his innocent heart : it is 
not so much the éodily suffering ; 
he has felt that pain 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 
helplessness 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 
experience 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 
(1 Cor. xiii. 13). 





a yd DX, not conditional with the apodosis beginning at bap, nor 
interrogative, as if = nbn, but either an asseveration, suve/y (commonly 
so used after words of swearing, but also without the adjuration, Num. 
xiv. 35, Is. v.. 9, and often in Job), or serving to introduce an opposition 
to what precedes, du/, as in Gen. xxiv. 38, Jer. xxii. 6, Ezek. iii. 6, 


p Spsp. The article is clearly the article of reference, z.e. it resumes 
the word in the previous line: “As a weaned child .. . as the weaned — 
child, I say.” And this resumption of the previous expression is in entire — 
accordance with the common rhythmical structure of so many of these 
Pilgrim Songs. Hupf. most unnecessarily takes the double 9 as correla- 
tive, and explains, ““As a weaned child, so is that which is weaned in me, — 
viz. my soul.” There is, I think, a -designed parallel in the use of the 





PSALM CXXX/1. 393 


prep. by in the two lines (though Del. denies this): As the weaned child 
lies fox its mother’s breast, so my soul lies ufon me ; the soul being for 
_ the moment regarded as separate from the man, as that part which is the 
seat of the affections, passions, &c. 





PSALM CXXXII. 

























_ Tuis 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 children 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. 
_ 4. 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. 
But the petition in ver. 10, “ For Thy servant David’s sake, turn not 
away the face of Thine Anointed,” does not seem natural in the 
‘mouth of David. In the mouth of one of his descendants, whose 
confidence and hope rested on the promise made to his ancestor, and 
who could plead David’s faithfulness to the covenant, such a petition 
becomes much more intelligible. In any case, it is clear that the 
Psalm could not have been composed till after the promise had been 
given to David in z Sam. vii., to which it contains a distinct reference, 
and therefore was not sikended to be sung at the consecration of the 
‘Tabernacle on Mount Zion. 
2. Others, with more probability, have thought that the Psalm was 
in commemoration of the completion and dedication of the 
Temple, either by Solomon himself, or by some Poet of his time. On 
sl a view, this ode is seen to be harmonious and consistent 
out. It is perfectly natural that Solomon, or a Poet of his 
writing a song for such an occasion, should recur to the earlier 


394 PSALM CXXXI/. 


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—1o0 
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).* 

3. Many of the more recent expositors, starting with the prejudice 
that all these Pilgrim songs belong to a period subsequent to the 
Exile, suppose the Psalm to have been written for the dedication of 
the Second Temple, or in order to encourage Zerubbabel, the chief 
representative at that time of David’s family, “ whose spirit God had 
stirred to go up to build the house of the Lord” (Ezra i. 5). But the 
title of “‘the Anointed” would hardly have been given to Zerubbabel. 
He never Sat on the throne. The crowns which Zechariah was 
directed to make were to be placed not on the head of Zerubbabel, 
but on the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest: the 
sovereignty was to be with him; “he shall bear the glory, and shall 
sit and rule upon his throne” (Zech. vi. ro—13). It is possible, of 
course, that a Poet in these later times might have transported him- 
self in imagination into the times of David, and that his words might 
borrow their colouring and glow from the brighter period which 
inspired his song. Yet it is hardly probable that there should have 
been no allusion to the existing depression of David’s house, no 
lamentation over its fallen fortunes, as in Ps. Ixxxix. for instance, no 
hint of any contrast between its past and its present condition.t Such 
entire sinking of the present in the past is hardly conceivable. 





* It is at least evidence that the compiler of the Book supposed the 
Psalm to have been written with reference to that event. The passage — 
does not occur at all in Solomon’s prayer as given in I Kings viii. This, 
of itself, makes it probable that the Chronicler borrows from the Psalmist, 
not the Psalmist from the Chronicler. Besides, the variations in the 
Chronicles are such as would be made in changing poetry into prose, — 
especially the explanation given of ver. 10 in the Psalm: “ Remember the ~ 
mercies of David Thy servant.” We have already seen, in the Introduc- 
tion to Ps. cv., that the writer of that book allows himself some liberty 
in quoting from the Psalms. 

+ I confess I can see no indication in the Psalm of any such contrast, — 
though it has been assumed by many interpreters, both ancient an 
modern. The mention of the Ark does not prove that the Psalm was not 
intended for the dedication of the Second Temple, for although it may be — 








PSALM CXXXII. 


395 


Still less probable does it appear to me that some prince of the 
_ House of David, at a still later period of the history, should be the 
Anointed of the Psalm, or that it is to be brought down to the age 


of the Maccabees. 


a 


4. It-may be mentioned that Origen, Theodoret, and some other 


_ of the Greek fathers, hold the Psalm to be a prayer of the exiles in 
Babylon, longing for the rebuilding of the Temple, and the restoration 


of David's dynasty. 


5. Finally, Maurer would refer the Psalm to the time of Josiah, 
_and conjectures that it may have been written after the reformation 
which he introduced in accordance with the law of Moses. 


4 r 


[A PILGRIM SONG.] 


1 O JEHOVAH, remember for David 
All his anxious cares, 
















_ 1. REMEMBER, z.é. so as to fulfil 
‘hy promise made to him: comp. 
2 Chron. vi. 42. 

_ ALL HIS ANXIOUS CARES, lit. “all 
his being afflicted” (the infin. Pual 
used as a noun). See the same 
word cxix. 71; Is. lili. 4. David 
nad 4formented himself with his 
anxiety to prepare a suitable earthly 
iwelling-place for Jehovah. First, 
the building of the Tabernacle on 
fount Zion, and the solemn bring- 
ing ee wenged 
lis thoughts. The prayer in ci. 2, 
*O when wilt Thou come unto 
me?” is the best comment on 
Javid’s afflictions and anxious 
ares till his purpose was accom- 
ished. In contrast with this, he 
ays himself, “ We did not seek it 
did not trouble ourselves about it) 


2 How he sware unto Jehovah, 
(And) vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: 


in the day of Saul,” 1 Chron. xiii. 3. 
Next, if we suppose the Psalm to 
take a wider range, there may also 
be included in these “anxious cares” 
his earnest desire to build the 
Temple, and the great preparations 
which he made with that object, by 
collecting the materials, furnishing 
the design to his son, and making 
provision for the service and wor- 
ship of God on a scale of unex- 
ampled magnificence. 

2. HOW HE SWARE, lit. “who 
sware.” 

MIGHTY ONE OF JACOB. This 
name of God (repeated in ver. 5) 
occurs first in Gen, xlix. 24, in the 
mouth of the dying Jacob. It is 
found besides only in three pas- 
sages: in Is. i. 24 (“ Mighty One of 
Israel”), xlix. 26, lx. 16. 











rred from Josephus (Be//. Fud. v. § v. 5), and from the Mishna ( Yoma, 
2)—where we are told that in the place of the Ark was an altar-stone 
ree fingers’ height above the ground, on which the High Priest placed 
le censers on the Day of Atonement—that the Ark had perished in the 
estruction of the First Temple, still the exiles might have used, without 
ag them, the words which were sung at Solomon’s dedication. 


396 


PSAEM CXXXTI. 


3 “I will not come into the tent of my house, 
I will not go up to the couch of my bed, 
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, 


3. TENT OF MY HOUSE, z.e. “the 
tent which is my house” (as in the 
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 (1) to David’s intention of 
building the Temple, 2 Sam. vii., 
and the preparatory consecration 
of the threshing-floor of Araunah, 
2 Sam. xxiv. ; (2) to the placing the 
Ark in a fixed abode on Zion, after 
its many wanderings : comp. Ixxviii. 
68, 69. The latter is the more pro- 
panies 47"! 

6. This verse is extremely ob- 
scure, but it seems at any rate to 
describe in some way the accom- 
plishment of David’s purpose. 
There are three principal points in 
it to be considered :— 

(1) To what does the feminine 
pronoun “it,” which is the object 
of the two verbs “heard,” “ found,” 
refer? Either (a) it is an indefinite 
neuter, “We heard of ¢he matter,” 
or as Bunsen more precisely ex- 
plains, “ We heard it, viz. the joyful 
cry in ver. 7, Let us go to the 
Temple on Zion.” The objection 
to taking the pronoun in this 
way is, that the second verb, 
“we found,” is not very suitable 
on either explanation. Or (4) the 
po refers to the Ark, which 

as already been tacitly brought 
before us in ver. 5 (where “a dwell- 
ing for Fehovah” is a dwelling for 


the Ark, as the symbol of His pre- 
sence), and is expressly mentioned 
in ver. 7. The noun is fem. as well 
as masc., and, by a not uncommon 
Hebrew usage, the pronoun antici- 
pates the mention of the object to 
which it points. G, Bauer (in a 
note to De Wette) objects that He- 
brew usage will not allow of the 
rendering “We heard of it,” and 
that the only proper translation is 
“We heard it,” viz. the rumour. 
But in Jer. xlvi. 12, we have the — 
same construction (the verb with 
the accus.), “ The nations have 
heard of thy shame.” 

(2) In the use of the verbs 
“heard”... “found” is the paral- — 
lelism synonymous or antithetical ? 
Do they describe two parts of the © 
same action, “We heard it was, &c, 
and there we found it?” or do they — 
mark two distinct and opposed ac- 
tions, “We heard it was in one 
place, we found it in another”? 
The answer to this question must 
depend on the: interpretation we 
give to the proper names which 
follow. g 

(3) What are we to understand 
by Ephrathah and “the fields of 
the wood”? 

(A) To take the latter expressior 
first. This may be either an app 
lative or a proper name. In the 
last case it may be rendered, “fields 
of Jaar,” Faar being a shortened 
form of Kirjath-fearim, “the ci' 
of woods,” for Jearim, “woods,” is 
only the plural of Jaar, “ wood. 
The name of this city, as it hap- 
pens, appears in a variety of differ 
ent forms ; in Jer. xxvi. 20, 
Kirjath-hajearim (¢.e. with the 


¢ 
: 













































































ticle) and apocopated, Kirjath’arim, 
Ezra ii. 25 (comp. Josh. xviii. 28); 
it is also called Kirjath-baal Josh. 
xv. 60, and Baalah xv. 9, 1 Chron. 
xiii. 6 (comp. Josh. xv. 10, “the 
mountain of fearim,” with 11, “the 
mountain of Baalah”’) ; and _ap- 
eeny Baalejudah, 2 Sam. vi. 2. 

ere is no reason why, poetically, 
it should not be called Jaar; and 
when we further remember that the 
Ark, after having been captured by 
the Philistines and restored by 
them, remained for twenty years 
at Kirjath-jearim (1 Sam. vii. 2), it 
is at least probable that, in a pas- 
sage which speaks of the removal 
of the Ark to Zion, there may be 
some allusion to the place of its 
previous sojourn. 

(B) Ephrathah, as the name of a 
"place, only occurs elsewhere as the 
ancient name of Bethlehem, Gen. 
xxxv. 16, 19, xlviii. 7; Ruth iv. 11. 
In Micah v. 2 {1], the two names 
are united, Bethlehem-Ephrathah. 
Hengstenberg maintains that the 

e is the same here, “‘ We, being 
ehem, heard.” There, he 
ars, David spent his youth while 
as yet he had only heard of the in- 
_ visible Ark of the covenant. It was 
_ known only by hearsay, no one 
went to see it, it was almost out of 
_ mind; comp. Job xlii. 5; Ps. xviii. 44 
1 Us] (and David's words in 1 Chron. 
_Xili. 3). But the pronoun “we” 
must surely refer, not to David, but 
_ to the people at large. And besides, 
although the construction “ We in 
Bethlehem heard it” may possibly 
be defended by Matt, ii. 2, “We 
in the East saw His Star,” yet here 
_ the elism seems rather to re- 
"quire the sense, “ We heard that it 
_ was at Ephrathah, we found it at 
-jearim.” 
explanations have accord- 
been given of the name. 
_ (a) Although Ephrathah is only 
‘an ancient name for Bethlehem, yet 
as  cedabamege as frequently denotes 
imite as a Bethlehemite, so 
itis ele that Ephrathah here 
a name for Ephraim. In 


PSALM CXXXII. 


397 


We found it in the fields of the wood: 


that case, the allusion is to the first 
resting-place of the Ark in Shiloh, 
which was the capital of Ephraim: 

“We heard in ancient story that 
the Ark was placed in Shiloh ; we 


Jound 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 interval. 

(8) It has been supposed that 
Ephrathah is not a proper name, 
but denotes, in accordance with its 
etymology, the fruitful land, by 
way of contrast with the felds of 
the wood, i.e. the forest district; the 
former denoting the southern part 
of Palestine, as the more culti- 
vated, the latter the northern, and 
especially the woody ranges of 
Lebanon. Thus the whole land 
would be poetically summed 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 sum- 
mons 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 describing different and 
contrasted acts, but as referring to 
one and the same event. 

(y) Ephrathah has been conjec- 
tured (also with reference to its 
etymological meaning of “the /ruz¢- 
Jul country”) to be a name for 
Beth-shemesh, the spot where the 
Ark was first deposited by the 
Philistines, and whence it was sub- 
sequently removed to “the fields of 
the wood,” z.¢. Kirjath-jearim. Ac- 
cording to this interpretation, which 
is that of Hupfeld, the verse would 
mean, 


“We heard that the Ark was brought 
to Bethshemesh first, 
We found it at Kirjath-jearim.” 


(8) Lastly, Delitzsch identifies 
Ephrathah with the district about 
Kirjath-jearim, and on_ these 
grounds: Caleb had by Ephrath, 
his third wife, a son named Hur 


> 


398 


PSALM CXXXIJT, 


7 “Let us come into His dwelling, 
Let us bow ourselves before His footstool. 
8 Arise, O Jehovah, into Thy resting-place, 
Thou, and the Ark of Thy strength. 
9g Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness, 
And let Thy saints shout for joy.” 
10 For Thy servant David's sake, 


(1 Chron. ii. 19).. By the descen- 
dants of this Hur Bethlehem was 
peopled (1 Chron. iv. 4) ; and from 
Shobal, a son of this Hur, the in- 
habitants of Kirjath-jearim were 
descended (2 Chron. ii. 50). Kir- 
jath-jearim then is, as it were; a 
daughter of Bethlehem. Bethlehem 
was originally called Ephrathah, 
and this latter name was afterwards 
given to the district about Bethle- 
hem, whence in Micah v. 2 [1] 
we find the compound name Beth- 
lehem-Ephrathah. _ Kirjath-jearim 
belonged to Caleb-Ephrathah (1 
Chron. ii. 24), which is probably to 
be distinguished as the northern 
part of the territory from Negeb 
Caleb, “the south of Caleb” (1 
Sam. xxx. 14). 
On the whole, whichever inter- 
pretation we adopt, the general 
~scope of the passage seems to be: 
Remember Thy servant David, re- 
member 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 unto His dwelling,” 
&c. And now, by the memory of 
David, by the memory of Thy 
covenant with him and his faithful- 
ness 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 DWELLING, or “ taber- 
nacles,” the house which David 
calls “ curtains,” 2 Sam. vii. 2, pur- 


posely repeated from ver. 5. On 
the plural form of the word see on 
Ixxxiv. I. 

HIS FOOTSTOOL. See on xcix 5. 

8. As in ver. 7 we have the ex- 
pression of the feelings of the con- 
gregation in David’s time, so in 
ver. 8 there may be a transition to 
the language of the people in Solo- 
mon’s time. To the Poet’s thoughts 
the congregation is one, and the ut- 
terance of their feelings is one. He 
blends together the song which was 
raised when the Ark was carried 
up to Zion, with the song which was 
raised when it was again moved 
from Zion to its final resting-place 
in the Tempte, 2 Chron. v. 2—5, 
vi. 41. 

ARISE. The words are taken 
from the old battle-cry of the na- 
tion, when the Ark set forward, 
“to search out @ resting-place for 
them” (Numb. x. 33—36). Comp. 
Ps, Ixviii. 1 [2]. 

ARK OF THY STRENGTH. The 
only place in the Psalms where the 
Ark is mentioned. This designa- 
tion occurs only here and in 2 Chron. 
vi. 41. 

g. 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 righteousness. And make 
Thy chosen people joyful.” 








PSALM CXXX/I. 


Bhs 


Turn not away the face of Thine Anointed. 


11 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 testimony‘ which I shall teach them, 
Their sons also for ever and ever 
Shall sit upon thy throne.” 
13 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, 
Her poor I will satisfy with bread. 









_ 10. TURN NOT AWAY THE FACE, 
adh refuse not the prayer. See the 
1 Kings ii. 16, 17, 20, 
S tiere the E. V. renders 2 deny me 
‘not, say me not nay.” 
THINE ANOINTED. This cannot 

be David (as Hengst., Hupf., and 
y ). It would be extremely 
hz to say, “For David’s sake 
‘refuse not the prayer of David.” 
eeoeay 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 
‘Rot be rejected. In 2 Chron. vi. 
‘42, the verse stands somewhat dif- 
ferently: “ O Jehovah God, turn 
‘not away the face of Thine Anoint- 
ed: remember the loving-kindnesses 

9 David Thy servant.” The last 

slause most probably means, “Thy 
ng-kindnesses fo David,” but 
ers render “the goodness or 
piety of David Thy servant,” the 
‘meaning of the Hebrew word chesed 
being Sabaruous. The prayer is 
. iti for the fulfilment of the 

D 5 Hence the promise is 
‘quoted, ver. 11, 12. Others sup- 
pose that the subject of the prayer 
is to be found in ver. 8, 1 9. 
_ it. HATH SWORN... WILL NOT 
















os 


DEPART, marking the unchange- 
ableness of the promise, as in cx. 4, 
“Jehovah hath sworn and will not 
repent.” Comp. Ixxxix. 34—-37 [35 
—38]. The substance of the pro- 
mise 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 con- 
nected with the choosing of David 
as King, and the tribe of Judah as 
ai ruling tribe. The connection 

: Jehovah has given the sove- 
fchnany to David and to David’s 
house ; for He has chosen Zion to 
be His own dwelling-place. The 
religious centre and political centre 
of the people are one and the same: 
exactly as in cxxil. 4, 5. Comp. 
xxviii. 67—71, “ He chose the tribe 
of Judah, the Mount Zion which 
He loved. . . . He chose David 
also His servant,” &c. 

14. MY RESTING-PLACE. Shiloh 
had been abandoned ; for a time 
the Ark was at Bethel, Jud. xx. 27; 
then at Mizpah, Jud. xxi. 5; after- 
wards, for twenty years, at Kirjath- 
jearim, 1 Sam. vii. 2; and then for 
three months in the house of Obed- 
Edon, before it was finally brought 
to its last resting-place. 


400 


PSALM CXXXTJI. 


16 Her priests will I clothe with salvation, 
- And her saints shall shout aloud for joy. 
17 There will I make the horn of David to grow, 
I have prepared a lamp for mine Anointed. 
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame, 
But upon himself shall his crown shine. 


16. A promise that the petition 
in ver. 9 shall be granted. 

17, MAKE THE HORN... TO 
GROW. Giving ever new strength 
to his house and victory over all 
enemies. See on lxxv. 5 [6], and 
comp. Ezek. xxix. 21. 

A LAMP. See on xviii. 28 [29]. 
Comp. 1 Kings xi. 36, “And unto 


his son will I give one tribe, that 
David My servant may havea lamp 
always before Me in Jerusalem, the 
city which I have chosen Me to 
put My Name there.” 

18. SHINE, lit. “blossom.” On 
the etymological connection be- 
tween the two ideas, see Gesenius, 
Thes. 


a nw for mY, according to Hupf. apocopated from the fuller form 
nw, like nyt, “nbn (see on xvi. note *), as he says, is plain from the 
rejection of the first vowel, which cannot otherwise be explained. Del., 
following Ewald (Lehré. § 1732), regards the termination as Araimaie. 
m3, he observes, is always said of the eye/zds, Gen. xxxi. 40, Prov. vi. 4, 
Eccl. viii. 16, never of the eyes, and this distinction is carefully maintained 
even in the post-biblical T’phillah style ; but the word only occurs in one 
passage which he quotes, Prov. vi. 4, and this is the only place where it is 
found with the word eyedids. 


b px. This is not the object of the verb yay, “He hath sworn a 
faithful oath.” Del. makes it an adverbial accus., and claims the support 
of the accents, the Pazer (distinctive) markian the close of the first 
member of the verse. But it is better to take Mip& independently, as 
standing at the beginning of a parenthetical clause : “Tt (ze. the oath) is 
truth, He will not depart from it.” 


e »n4y, either sing. for ‘nity, like ‘nin for ‘434m, 2 Kings vi. 8, or 
plur, with the suffix of the singular, as for instance Deut» xxviii. 59, — 
Ges. § 89, 3. 











PSALM CXXXIII. pe 





PSALM CXXXIIL 


_ HERDER says of this exquisite little song, that “‘it has the fragrance 
_ ofa lovely rose.” Nowhere has the nature of true unity—that unity 
_ which binds men together, not by artificial restraints, but as brethren 
7 of one heart—been more faithfully described, nowhere has it been so 
a ly 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, which lights 
not only on the lofty mountain-peaks, but on the lesser hills, em- 
3 bracing all, and refreshing all with its influence. 
_ The title of the Psaim gives it to David. Hence it has been con- 
, Mectnred that it may refer 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” 
(2Sam.v.1). The picture of a united nation is given still more 
vividly in the narrative of the Chronicles : “ All these men of war that 
could keep rank came with a perfect heart to Hebron, to make David 
King over all Israel: and all the rest also of Israel were of one heart 
"to make David king. And there they were with David three days, 
ating and drinking; for their brethren had prepared fer them. 
} , they that were nigh them, even unto Issachar, and 
r Zebulur and Naphtali, brought bread on asses, and on camels, 
a md on mules, and on oxen, and meat, meal, cakes of figs, and 
aches of raisins, and wine, and oil, and oxen, and sheep abun- 
y: for there was joy in Israel.” (1 Chron. xii. 38—40.) 
Others have supposed that the Psalm was suggested by the sight 
the multitudes who came up from all parts of Palestine to be 
present at the great national Feasts in Jerusalem. 
a others, and perhaps the majority of commentators, refer the 
Psalm to the time of the return from the Captivity, when, there being 
By tonger any division of the kingdom, the jealousies of the tribes 
1 ceased, and all who returned, of whatever tribe, were incor- 
or ied in one state. That at this time there was a real unity of 
€art and mind in the nation, may be inferred from the narratives in 
izra and Nehemiah. Thus, for instance, we read in Ezra iii. 1, that 
“ when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were 
VOL. IL DD 

























402 PSAIM CXXXIIT. 

in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to 
Jerusalem.” And in Nehem. viii. 1: “ And all the people gathered 
themselves together @s one man into the street that was 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, : 


1. BEHOLD draws attention to an 
important truth. Augustine says of 
this first verse, that the very sound 
of it is so sweet that it was chanted 
even by persons who knew nothing 
of the rest of the Psalter. He also 
says that this verse gave birth to 
monasteries : it was like a trumpet- 
call to those who wished to dwell to- 
gether as brethren ( fratres or friars). 

FOR BRETHREN TO DWELL TO- 
GETHER. The exact force of the 
Hebrew is, “for them who are 
brethren aso to dwell together,” Ze. 
that those who are of one race and 
one stock should live in peace and 
harmony togetheras living members 
of the same body, filled with the 
same spirit, seeking, in mutual for- 
bearance and sympathy, the same 
ends. 

2. The first figure is taken from 
the oil which was poured on the 
head of the High Priest at his con- 
secration (Ex. xxix. 7; Lev. viii. 12, 
xxi. 10), The point of the compari- 
son does not lie in the Arectousness 
of the oil, or in its a/l-pervading 
Jragrance; but in this, 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. <Ad/ 
the members participate in the same 
blessing. Comp. 1 Cor. xii. This — 
is the point 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 governed ; or again, 

that concord is a holy thing, 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 — 
descended upon ¢he beard. . . which 
descended to the edge of his gar- 
ments,” would be thrown away. But 
understand this as typifying the 
consecration of the whole man, 
and the extension of the figure at 
once becomes appropriate, and full 
of meaning. Luther remarks: “In ~ 
that he saith ‘from the head, he 

showeth the nature of true con- 
cord. For like as the ointment ran 





























PSALM CXXXITII. 


403 


Which descended upon the beard, (even) Aaron’s beard, 
Which descended to the edge of his garments ; 
3 Like the dew of Hermon which descended upon the 


mountains of Zion, 


_ down from the head of Aaron the 
__ High Priest upon his beard, and so 
_ descended unto the borders of his 
_ garment ; even so true concord in 
_ doctrine and brotherly love- floweth 
as a precious ointment, by the unity 
of the Spirit, from Christ the High 
_ Priest and Head of the Church, 
» unto all the members of the same. 
_ For by the beard and extreme parts 
__ of the garment he signifieth, that as 
pee the Church reacheth, so far 
E eth the unity which floweth 
Christ her Head.” 
_ THE PRECIOUS OIL, lit. “the good 
oil,” z.¢. the sacred oil, for the pre- 
_ Paration of which directions 
_ were given, and which was to be 
__ devoted exclusively io the consecra- 
_ tion of holy things and persons, 
_ Ex. xxx. 22—33. Hence the image 
F 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. xxviil. 41, xxx. 30, 
= 3c. 
WHICH DESCENDED. I have 
followed the Hebrew in retaining 
_the same word in the three succes- 
‘Sive lines. In the second line, 
“Which descended to the edge of 
his aia ts,” there is considerable 
de to what the relative refers. 
Is it the oii (as in the previous line), 
or isit the beard, which descends to 
the edge of the garments? Some of 
the recent interpreters understand 
if of the rag as a kind of con- 
mecting link between the head and 
he Peetients : the oil descended on 
the beard, the beard touched the 
arments, and so imparted to them 
the sanctification which it had itself 
sceived from the oil (so De W., 
Stier, Hengst., Del., Hupf.). But 






















the other interpretation, which has 
the support of all the ancient Ver- 
sions, and the majority of interpre- 
ters, is certainly to be preferred, and 
is even required by the rhythmical 
structure of the Psalm. We have 
here, as in so many of the Pilgrim 
Songs, the repetition of the same 
word in connection with the same 
subject. See the repetition of the 
word “keep” in cxxi., and the same 
rhythmical figure in cxxiii. 3, 4, 
Cxxiv. I, 3, 4, &c. 
EDGE, or rather “ collar,” lit. 
“ mouth,” “opening,” as the mouth 
of a sack. The word is used Ex. 
XXViii. 32, xxxix. 23, of the opening 
at the top of the robe of the ephod. 
The image does not represent the 
oil as descending to the skirts, the 
lower edge of the garment. It is 
enough that it touch the robe to 


' sanctify it. [According to the Law, 


the garments of the priests were 
sprinkled 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 7é/reshing nature of the 
dew, nor its gentle, all-pervading 
influence, which is the prominent 
feature. That which renders it to 
the Poet’s eye so striking an image 
of brotherly concord, is the fact 
that z¢ falls alike on both mountains: 
that the same dew which descends 
on the lofty Hermon descends also 
on the humbler Zion. High and 
low drink in the same sweet refresh- 
ment. 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. (Hermon in the north, and 
Zion in the south, may also further 
suggest the union of the northern 
and southern tribes.) Luther says : 


BD 2 


404 


PSAIM CXXXTV. 


For there Jehovah commanded the blessing, 
(Even) life for evermore. 


“ Whereas the mountains oftenseem, 
to those that behold them afar off, 
to reach up even unto heaven ; the 
dew which cometh from heaven 
seemeth to fall from the high moun- 
tains unto the hills which are under 
them. Therefore he saith that the 
dew descendeth from Hermon unto 
Mount Zion, because it so seemeth 
unto those that do behold it afar 
off. And this clause after my judge- 
ment pertaineth to civil concord, 
like as the former similitude per- 
taineth to the Church, because God 
through peace and concord maketh 
commonwealths and kingdoms to 
flourish ; even as seeds, herbs, and 
plants are fresh and flourish through 
the morning dew. The beginning 
of this peace cometh from the 
princes and magistrates, as from 
Mount Hermon: from whom it 
floweth unto every particular person, 
and to the whole commonwealth, 
which is refreshed thereby.” 


THERE. In Zion the blessed 
fruits of this brotherly concord 
may chiefly be looked for, for Jeho- 
vah Himself has made it the great 
centre of all blessing and all life. 

This last verse lends some colour 
to the view that the Psalm was in- 
tended to be sung at the gathering 
of the tribes for the great national 
Feasts. Comp. cxxviii. 6, cxxxiv. 4. 

The similitude of the dew has 
taken shape in a legend. 

An old pilgrim narrates, that every 
morning at sunrise a handful of dew 
floated down from the summit of 
Hermon, and deposited itself upon 
the Church of St. Mary, where it 
was immediately gathered up by 
Christian leeches, and was found a 
sovereign remedy for all diseases : 
it was of this dew, he declares, 
that David spoke _ prophetically 
in this Psalm.—Jléimerary of St. 
Anthony. 





PSALM CXXXIV. 


“THREE things are clear with regard to this Psalm,” says Delitzsch. 


* First, that it consists of a greeting, ver. 1, 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. 


posely placed at the end of the collection of Pilgrim Songs in order 
to take the place of a final blessing.” 

That the address is not to any persons 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. 1 is the common 


Lastly, that this Psalm is pur- 





PSALM CXXXTV. 




























405 


word to express the service of the Priests and Levites, who had 
their duties by night as well as by day (1 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 (spinon na we). 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 A/incha (‘meat- 
offering’) of the High Priest was baked, they met with the cry, ‘ All 
well.’ Meanwhile the rest of the Priests arose, bathed themselves, 
and put on their garments. . They then went into the stone chamber 
(one-half of which was the hall of session of the Sanhedrim), and 
there, under the superintendence 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. g).” 

Accordingly it has been supposed by Tholuck and others that the 
_ greeting in ver. 1, 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, how- 
ever, thinks that the words of ver. 1, 2, are addressed by the con- 
_ gregation 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.) 


- BEHOLD, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah, 


I. BEHOLD. The word draws 
attention here to a duty, as at the 
beginning of the last Psalm it drew 
attention to a truth at once im- 
portant and attractive. 







SERVANTS OF JEHOVAH. The 
expression of itself might denote 
the people at large, but the next 
clause limits it (as in cxxxy. 2) to 
the Priests and Levites. 


406 


PSAIM CXXXV. 


Which by night stand in the house of Jehovah. 
2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary,? 


And bless ye Jehovah. 


(The Answer.) 


3 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion, 
(Even He who is) the Maker of heaven and earth. 


BY NIGHT. Lit. “in the nights.” 
This cannot mean merely “night 
as well as day,” and therefore “at 
all times,” as Hupfeld maintains. 
In xlii. 8 [9], and xcii. 2 [3], to 
which he refers, “the morning” is 
expressly mentioned as well as “the 
night,” and in v. 3 [4], where “ the 
morning ” only is mentioned, the 
morning only is meant. Even if 
there were no other mention of a 
night-service in the Temple, consi- 
dering how meagre the notices are, 
we should not be justified in setting 
this aside: but we have express 


reference to a night-service in 1 
Chr: ix, 33. 

STAND. A common word for the 
service of the Priests and Levites, 
Deut. x. 8, xv. 2, 7 ; 1 Chr. xxiii. 30 ; 
2 Chr. xem, 52. 

3. BLESS THEE. The singular 
instead of the plural “bless you,” 
because the words are taken from 
the form used by the High Priest 
in blessing the people, Num. vi. 
24. 
OUT OF ZION. See on cxxxv, 21. 
MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, 
As in cxxi. 2, cxxiv. 8. 


a wap. The accusative of direction, as frequently O37} is merely an 


incorrect form for D3°7}. 








PSALM CXXXV. 


A Psat 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 good- 
ness in choosing Israel to be His people, and because of His great- — 
ness 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 





PSALM CXXX V. 407 

entirely composed of passages taken from other sources. Compare 
ver. 1 with cxxxiv. 1; ver. 3 with cxlvil. 1; ver. 6 and 15—20 with 
cexy. ; ver. 7 with Jer. x. 13; ver. 14 with Deut. xxxii. 36; ver. 8—12 


with cxxxvi. 1o—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 compostz ut tesserulze 

omnes.” The prophecies of Jeremiah furnish many instances of a 
_ similar composite diction. Zephaniah takes his words and phrases 
_ almost entirely from Jeremiah. Many sentences in the Book of 
Proverbs would naturally appear in other writers, and a collector of 
_ proverbial wisdom must by the very nature of the case compose a 
‘mosaic instead of painting a picture. Several of the Psalms are 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 “esseru/e of this Psalm, on the other 
hand, are gathered from the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiographa. 


HALLELUJAH ! 
1 Praise ye the Name of Jehovah, 















_ 1. The opening of the Psalm re- 
sembles the opening of cxxxiv. 
_ 2.IN THE COURTS. See on 
; pexxiv. 2 [3]. The mention of these 
_ “courts” is no evidence that the 
Sediortation i 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 com- 
“mon to these liturgical Psalms ; 
comp. cxv.9—11. The address is, 
aS in cxxxiv. I, to the Levites who 
ig Psalms and played on the 
erent musical instruments which 
were used in the service of God, 
nd to the Priests who blew with 
the trumpets and repeated the litur- 
prayers and the blessings. 
The thrice-repeated Jehovah, fol- 
ed by Jah—Jehovah—Jah, may 
= a reference to the form of the 
stly blessing in which they “ put 


: Praise (it), O ye servants of Jehovah. 
ft 2 Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah, 
In the courts of the house of our God, 
3 Praise-ye Jah, for Jehovah is good ; 


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. JEHOVAH IS GooD. “ Breviter 
uno verbo,” says Augustine, “ expli- 
cata est laus Domini Dei nostri: 
bonus Dominus. Sed bonus, non ut 
sunt bona quefecit. Nam fecit Deus 
omnia bona valde; non tantum bona, 
sed et valde. Ccelum et terram et 
omnia quz in eis sunt bona fecit, et 
valde bona fecit. Si hec omnia 
bona fecit, qualis est ille qui fecit ? 
Et tamen, cum bona fecerit, mul- 
toque sit melior qui fecit quam 
ista quze fecit non invenis melius 
quod de illo dicas nisi guéa bonus 
est Dominus: si tamen intelligas 
proprie bonum, a quo sunt cetera 


408 


PSAIM CXXXV. 


Sing psalms unto His Name, for it is lovely. 
4 For Jah hath chosen Jacob to Himself, 

Israel to be His possession. 
5 For I know that Jehovah is great, 

And that our Lord is above all gods. 
6 All that Jehovah pleaseth He hath done, 


In heaven and in earth, 


In the seas and in all the depths. | 
7 He bringeth up vapours from the end of the earth, : 


He hath made lightnings 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 ; 


bona, Omnia enim bona ipse fecit : 
ipse est bonus quem nemo fecit. Ille 
bono suo bonus est, non aliunde 
participato bono: ille seipso bono 
bonus est, non adhzerendo alteri 
bono. ... Ineffabili dulcedine teneor 
cum audio donus Dominus; con- 
sideratisque omnibus et collustratis 
que forinsecus video, quoniam ex 
ipso sunt omnia, etiam cum mihi 
heec placent, ad illum video a quo 
sunt, ut intelligam guoniam bonus 
est Dominus.” 

IT IS LOVELY. According to the 
parallelism, this will refer either to 
the Name of Jehovah, or to Jehovah 
Himself, “for Ye is lovely.” But 
according to the analogy of cxlvii. 1 
(comp. Prov, xxiii. 8) the subject is 
the song: “for it is pleasant, viz. 
thus to sing praise.” 

4. Then follow 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 redeemed His people from 
Egypt, ver. 8, 9. Lastly, because, 
vanquishing all their enemies, He 


















gave them the Promised Land, ver. 
Io—I2. e 

5. I KNOW. The pron. is em- 
phatic, andthe phrase marksa strong 
personal conviction (sometimes, as 
in xx. 6!7], one newly gained). 

6. ALL THAF HE PLEASETH. 
This absolute supremacy of God 
over all the forces and phenomena — 
of the natural world is stated in the 
same way as in cxv. 3, with refer- — 
ence more particularly to the weak- 
ness of the gods of the nations, as 
also in this Psalm, ver. 15—18. 

7. The verse occurs almost word 
for word in Jer. x. 13, li. 16. ; 

VAPOURS, or perhaps “clouds,” 
as formed of masses of vapour. 

FROM THE END OF THE EARTH, 
z.e. either from the horizon on which 
they seem to gather, or from the 
sea ; or perhaps, as Augustine says, 
because “ unde surrexerint nescis.” 

FOR THE RAIN, 2é. to accom- 
pany the rain, not as LXX., dorpamwas” 
eis veror erroinger. 

HIS TREASURIES, Comp. Job- 
Xxxvill. 22, “ Occutis causis, unde 
nescis.”— Augustine. 

8. BoTH OF MAN AND BEAST. 
Lit. “from man unto beast.” 



































__ 13. Comp. Exod. iii. 15. 

14. Borrowed from Deut. xxxii. 
: x Comp. for the second clause of 
4 verse Ps. xc. 13. 


_ For. Here is the proof and evi- 
“dence that Jehovah’s Name and 
me lal abide for ever; that He 
_will manifest, as in the past, so in 
he future, His righteousness and 
His mercy to Israel. 
_ JUDGE, ze. see that they have 
“right, which is in fact the conse- 
‘quence of His “repenting concern- 
in ” or “having compassion of,” 


PSAIM CXXXV. 


409 


10 Who smote many nations, 
And slew mighty kings. 
11 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. 
17 They have ears, and (yet) they hear not, 
Yea, they have no breath at all¢ in their mouths. 
} 18 Like unto them are they that make 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 Jehovah. 
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion, 
sew) dwelleth in Jerusalem. 
Hallelujah ! 


4 


15—18. Borrowed with some va- 
riation from cxv. 4—8. 

19, 20. Precisely as in cxv. g— 
II, Cxvili. 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 Him out of Zion. For there 
they meet to worship Him; there 
not only He, but they, may be said 
to dwell (Is. x. 24) ; and thence ac- 
cordingly His praise is sounded 
abroad. 


410 PSAIM CXXXVI. 


® Ny, either incorrect for Ny}, the accent being drawn back after 
the analogy of the fut. conv., or, as the participle is somewhat lame after 
ntvy, perhaps it is merely an error for N¥¥*1, which is found in the parallel 
passages, Jer. x. 13, li. 16, 


b ‘31N3. For this form see on ciii. note %, 


¢ The 5 after 37M is not necessarily due to Aramaic influence. It 
occurs not only in 2 Sam. iii. 30 (where Del. alleges that ver. 30, 31, and 
36, 37, are a later addition, and therefore not exempt from Aramaic 
tendencies), but also in Job v. 2. We have it also again in cxxxvi. 19, 20. 
Maurer explains that with the accus. it is ¢terjficere aliguem, and with 
cedem facere alicui, For other instances of the ? after the active verb 
see xxv. 7, Ixix. 6, cxvi. 16, cxxix. 3, cxxxvi. 23. With the exception of 
this use of the b and the y, the whole colouring and language of ver: 
1o—12 is that of Deuteronomy. 


4 ws, constr., and quite superfluous after }'$. It occurs also 1 Sam. xxi. 
9, where, however, according to Del., the punctuation should be }'® and 
wy ps = Aram. MN pN, zum (an) est, js being a North Palestine 
Aramaising form of the Heb. interrog. ON. 





PSALM CAXAAVE 


Tuts Psalm is little more than a variation and repetition of the 
preceding Psalm. It opens with the same liturgical formula with 
which the 106th and 118th 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 line, “ 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 118th Psalm; but there is no — 
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 


: 
: 











PSALM CXXXVI. 4it 


called ‘‘ the Great Hallel,” by way of distinction from “the Hallel,” 
simply so called, which comprises Psalins cxiiii—cxviii., though there 
is some uncertainty as to the former designation ; for according to 
some “the Great Hallel” 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 (as Delitzsch suggests) that ver. 1922 did not 
originally belong to this Psalm, being introduced from the previous 
Psalm, and that there were thus, in the first instance, 22 lines, cor- 
responding to the number of letters in the Hebrew Alphabet. 


I 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. 
3 O give thanks unto the Lord of lords, 

For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
4 To Him who alone doeth 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. 







_ 2,3. GoD oF Gops... LORD ABOVE THE WATERS: comp. xxiv. 
LORDS, from Deut. x. 17. 1 [2]. 
_ 5. IN WISDOM. Comp. civ. 24 ; 7. LIGHTS. The word is em- 
Prov. iii. 19 ; Jer. x. 12. ployed here strictly, instead of the 
_ 6, STRETCHED OUT; from the corresponding word in Gen. i. 14— 
Same root asthe word frmament or 16, which means not /ighis, but 
in Gen. i. Comp. Is, xlii. /uminaries ; the bodies, that is, 
5, xliv. 24. which hold the light, 


412 


PSALM CXXXVI. 


9g The moon and (the)-stars to rule the night, 

For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
10 To Him who smote Egypt in their firstborn, 

For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
11 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. 
17 To Him who smote great kings, 
For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 


18 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. 


9. TO RULE, lit. “for dominions 
over ;” the plural, poetically, instead 
of the singular, as in the preceding 
verse, and in Gen. i. 

10—22. Almost word for word as 
in cxxxv. 8—I2. 

13. DIVIDED ; the same word as 
in 1 Kings iii. 25,and the noun PARTS 
(lit. “divisions,” from the same 
root), as in Gen. xv. 17. A dif- 
ferent word is used of the divid- 
ing of the Red Sea, Ex. xiv. 16, 21. 
See also Ps, Ixxviii. 12 [13]. 

15. OVERTHREW, lit. “ shook 
out,” as in Ex, xiv, 27. ’ 


19. The occurrence of the prepo- 
sition b at the beginning of this 
verse before the objective is the 
more remarkable because hitherto 
throughout the Psalm it has been 
employed at the beginning of the © 
verse to connect some fresh attribute 
or work of God with the verb “ Give 
thanks” in the first verse. So in 
ver. 4, “(Give thanks) unto Him 
who doeth great wonders ;” in ver, — 
5, “(Give thanks) to Him who made 
the heavens ;” and so on, ver, 6, 7, 
10, 13, 16. 








PSAIM CXXXVIT. 413 


























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 in our low estate remembered us, 
For His loving-kindness (endureth) for ever. 
24 And rescued us from our adversaries, 
5 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 CXXXVII. 


_ 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- 
a when Jerusalem was sacked and the Temple destroyed, and 
_who was one of the first, as soon as the edict of Cyrus was published, : 
to > return to Jerusalem. He is again in his own land. He sees again 
the old familiar scenes. The mountains and the valleys that his foot 
trod i 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 
put 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 
han¢ he sweeps the strings, first in low, plaintive, melancholy cadence 
douring 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 
aises the pzean of vengeance over his foes. 


414 PSALM CXXXVII. 


He begins by telling in language of pathetic beauty the tale of his’ 
captivity. He draws first the picture of the land—so unlike 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 glen 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 memory 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 overthrow, when they 
ought rather to have come to her aid. Woe to the proud oppressors 
who have so long held her children 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 


“ Dower'd 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. 








PSALM CXXXVII. 


415 


: | 3 For there they that led us away captive asked of us a 




























’ song, 


In a strange land ? 


thereof. 


~ 


4,5. Howsinga holy song ona 
_ Strange, Profane soil? How sing a 
_ song of gay when thecity and Temple 
_ of our God lay in ruins? Compare 
the words of Nehemiah, “ Where- 
fore the King said unto me, Why is 
thy countenance sad, seeing thou 
art not sick? And I said, Let the 
King live for ever : why should not 
My countenance be sad when the 
city, the place of my fathers’ sepul- 
chres, li waste, and the gates 
‘thereof are consumed with fire?” 
(Neh. ii. 2, 3.) 
Se FORGET. Probably there is 
am aposiopesis ; or we may supply 
either, as the E.V., “her cunning,” 
he. her skill with the harp, or, more 
generally, “the power of motion.” 
6. My CHIEFEST JOY, lit. “the top 
of my joy.” Comp. Exod. xxx. 23 ; 
Song of Sol. i iv. 14. Others, “the 
sum of my joy.” 
_ 7. As he broods over his wrongs, 
a he looks upon the desolation of 
his country, as he remembers with 
peculiar bitterness how they who 
ought to have been allies took part 
vith the enemies of Jerusalem in 
the fatal day of her overthrow, there 
bursts forth the terrible cry for ven- 


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 


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 chiefest joy. 
7 Remember, O Jehovah, the children of Edom 
(In) the day of Jerusalem, 
Who said, Rase® it, Rase it, even to the foundation 


Pact 


geance ; vengeance first on the false 
kindred, and next on the proud 
conquerors of his race. 

* Deepest of all was the indigna- 
tion roused by the sight of the 
nearest of kin, the race of Esau, 
often allied to Judah, often indgpen- 
dent, now bound by the closest union 
with the power that was truly the 
common enemy of both. There 
was an intoxication of delight in 
the wild Edomite chiefs, as at each 
successive stroke against the vene- 
rable walls they shouted, ‘ Down 
with it! down with it! even to the 
ground.’ They stood in the passes 
to intercept the escape of those who 
would have fled down to the Jordan 
valley ; they betrayed the fugitives ; 
they indulged their barbarous revels 
on the Temple hill. Long and loud 
has been the wail of execration 
which has gone up from the Jewish 
nation against Edom. It is the one 
imprecation which breaks forth from 
the Lamentations of Jeremiah ; it 
is the culmination of the fierce 
threats of Ezekiel; it is the sole 
purpose of the short, sharp cry of 
Obadiah ; it is the bitterest drop in 
the sad recollections of the Israelite 


416 


PSALM CXXX VII. 


8 O daughter of Babylon that shalt be destroyed,° 
Happy shall he be that rewardeth thee 
As thou hast served us. 
9 Happy shall he be that layeth hold of thy little ones, 
And dasheth them against the rock. 


captives by the waters of Babylon ; 
and the one warlike strain of the 
Evangelical Prophet is inspired by 
the hope that the Divine Conqueror 
should come knee-deep in Idumzan 
blood. (Lam. iv. 21,22; Ezek. xxv. 
8, 12—14; Obad. 1—21 ; Jer. xlix. 
7—22; Is. lxiii. 1—4.)”—-STANLEY, 
Fewish Church, ii. p. 556. 

8. THAT SHALT BE DESTROYED, 
or, perhaps, “ doomed to destruc- 
tion.” Others, “that are laid waste,” 
as if referring to the taking of 
Babylon by Cyrus. The LXX. 
ambiguously, 1 radairwpos. See 
more in Critical Note. Compare 
for the sentiment, Jer. li. 56, “ Be- 
cause the spoiler is come upon her, 
even upon Babylon, and her mighty 
men are taken, every one of their 
bows is broken: For Jehovah is a 
God of recompenses, He shall surely 
requite.” See also for the same 
principle of retribution in the over- 
throw of Babylon, Is. xlvii. I—9. 

g. LITTLE ONES, lit. “ sucklings.” 


With such barbarous cruelty wars 
were carried on, even by compara- 
tively civilized nations. Comp. for 
Biblical examples 2 Kings viii. 12, 
xv. 16; Is. xiii. 16; Hos. x. 14, xiii. 
16 [xiv. 1]; Nah, iii. 10. So Homer, 
painting the sack of a city, mentions, 
as one of its. features, vyjmia réxva 
Ba\Aoyueva mpori yain. And again, 
Andromache addressing her child 
says, od & ad, réxos, fj) uot avr. . . 
"Eweat . . . 7 Tes Axara ‘Piper, xetpds 
édav dad mbpyov, Avypov OdcOpovr. 
At a far later period, Athenzeus tells 
us, such inhuman barbarity was to 
be found even among the Greeks, 
that in one insurrection the populace 
wreaked their fury on the upper 
classes by throwing their children to 
be trampled under the feet of oxen, 
and when the aristocracy in their 
turn got the upper hand, they took 
their revenge by burning their ene- 
mies alive, together with their wives 
and children. (Tholuck.) 


a ypbiA, The LXX. of dmaydyovres yas, and similarly the Chald. and 
Syr. “our plunderers,” the word being regarded as an Aram. form, with — 
nm for w, instead of aod. There is a twofold objection, however, to 
this: first, that >? only occurs as a Passive; and next, in Aram. the 
form is >>y, not Un, in this sense. Hence it seems probable that we 
ought to read sr Obivi, Otherwise we must derive the word from a root 

by, “to howl” (after the analogy of avin, from 2w); then the abstract 
“howling” will stand by metonymy for the torture, punishment, &c. which 
occasions it, and this, again concrete, for the torturers. In the abstract 
sense, Abulval., Kimchi. In the concrete, Ges., De W., Win., and others, 
and so Jerome, gui affligebant nos. 

b yay. Imp. Piel, with a drawing back of the accent to the penult, 
because of the pause, Ges. § 29, 4, 4,c. MY, “to make bare, shave 
smooth, &c., reduce to a flat, level surface.” Comp. Hab. iii. 13, 
and the noun in Is. xix. 7. 








PSALM CXXXVIII. 417 




























wn. This cannot be active with the present punctuation, 7hox 
that wastest (Symm. 4 Anotpis, but it is a further objection to this rendering 
that the root does not mean ¢o plunder). 
(1) If we give the active meaning, which certainly seems very suitable, 
the punctuation must be awa, like 73533, Jer. iii. 7, 10 (with immovable 
Kametz), or at any rate nw, Ew. § 152 5. 
(2) Inits existing form it is a pass. part., either past, as Aq. mpovevouevpem, 
Jerome vastata,; or future, vastanda, as Theod., d:apracOncopém. Réd. 
' im Gesen. Zhes. gives the latter sense, but Del. objects that though 

the Niph. part. (¢.g. xxii. 32, cii. 19) and the Pual (xviii. 4) may have 
_ this meaning, it is not found in the Kal. However, he would himself 
‘give the meaning vastationi devota, which he defends by Jer. iv. 30, 

where 717% is used hypothetically = “ when thou art wasted.” So he 

Says the sense is here: “ O daughter of Babylon, that art wasted, blessed 
_ shall he be who, when this judgement of wasting shall come upon thee, 
_ shall take thy sucklings,” &c. Hupf., on the other hand, contends for 
_ the simple passive rendering, thou that art wasted, which he explains of 
_ the capture of the city by Cyrus. 





PSALM CXXXVIII. 


AccoRDING to the Hebrew title, this is a Psalm of David. The 
LXX. have added to this title the names of Haggai and Zechariah 
(rg Aavid, ’Ayyatou, cat Zaxapiov), which would seem to show that the 
translators were not satisfied with the traditional view as to the 
authorship of the Psalm, and would rather refer it to a time subse- 
quent to the Exile. So far as the Psalm itself is concerned, we have 
“no clue to guide us; neither the language nor the allusions will 
warrant any Soachision 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 ofa 
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 :— 

;, () In the first the Poet encourages himself to praise God both 
yecause of His goodness and faithfulness and His great promises, 
"VOL. IL EE 


418 


PSAIM CXXX VIII. 


and also because he himself had had his prayers answered. Ver. 


I—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 human 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.] 


1 I WILL give thanks unto Thee with my whole heart, 
Before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee. 
2 I will bow myself before Thy holy Temple, 


And I will give thanks to Thy Name, because of Thy 
loving-kindness and Thy truth, 
For Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy 


Name. 


1. UNTO THEE. The Being who 
is addressed is not named till ver. 4. 
The LXX. have thought it neces- 
sary to insert a Kiépie, and in this 
have been followed by the Vulg. and 
by our P.B. V. The absence of the 
vocative is, however, more empha- 
tic. It is as though in the Psalm- 
ist’s heart there could be but one 
object of praise, whether named or 
unnamed. 

BEFORE THE GODS. This has 
been variously explained. (1) The 
LXX., who are followed by Luther, 
Calvin, and others, understand it of 
the angels. But, though the angels 
are called upon to praise God, they 
are nowhere in the O. T. regarded 
as witnesses of or sharers in the 
worship of men. (2) The Chald., 
Syr., Rabb., and many recent inter- 
preters suppose that £¢gs or judges 
are meant (see on Ixxxii.). (3) Ewald 
and others would render “before 
God,” and consider this as equiva- 
lent to “ before the Ark,” or “in the 
sanctuary.” But the extreme awk- 
wardness of sucha phrase here, 
















“ Before God I will give thanks to 
thee, O Jehovah,” is sufficient to 
condemn the interpretation. (4) It 
is far more probable that “ the 
gods” are the false gods, the ob- 
jects of heathen worship, in the 
very presence of whom, and to the 
confusion of their worshipers, the 
Psalmist will utter his praise of the 
true God. See xcv. 3, xcvi. 4, 5, 
cxv. 3—8. 

2. THY WORD, or “ promise.” 
Comp. lvi. to [11], lx. 6 [8], lxii. 
11 [12]. No particular promise is 
meant. The same word occurs 
frequently in cxix. See note on ver, 
25 of that Psalm. 

ABOVE ALL THY NAME. The ex- 
pression seems to mean that to the 
soul waiting upon God, and trusting 
in His word, the promise becomes 
so precious, so strong a ground of 
hope, that it surpasses all other 
manifestations of God’s goodness 
and truth; or in the promise may 
here also be included the fulfilment 
of the promise. Many interpreters 
have stumbled at the expression, 

































O Jehovah ; 


and Hupfeld objects that “it is 
contrary to all analogy. The Name 
of God cannot be surpassed by any 
individual act or attribute of God, 
for every such separate act is only 
a manifestation of that Name; nor 
can it be limited to Jast manifesta- 
_ tions of God’s character, or taken 
as equivalent to calling upon His 
_ Name. On By other ear Z make 

great (magnify) is only said of God’s 
acts, ¢ His grace, His salvation, 
and the like, and could scarcely be 
_ said of His word or promise. One 
would rather Ti ase ‘ hast 
magnified Thy Name above all Thy 
coded A all that Thou 


prom d 
__ The difficulty has been felt from 
the first. The LXX. épeyaduvas éni 
may 16 évopa ro Gywv cov, “ Thou 
hast magnified Thy Holy Name 
‘above all.” The Chald. “ Thou 
hast magnified the words of Thy 
| praise above all Thy Name.” Hup- 
feld would follow Clericus in read- 
ing “above all Thy heavens,” which 
involves only a very slight change 
of the text. But all the Ancient 
Versions had the present reading. 
_ 4. ALLTHE KINGS OF THE EARTH. 
See the expression of the same feel- 
‘ing in lxviii. 29—32 [30—33], lxxii. 
10, 11, cii. 15 [16 
OR THEY HAVE HEARD. This 
nds in the Old Testament almost 
like an anticipation of St. Paul’s 
ords : “ But I say have they not 


PSAIM CXXX VIII. 


419 


3 In the day that I called, Thou answeredst me, 
Thou madest me courageous? in my soul with strength. 


4 All the kings of the earth shall give thanks unto Thee, 


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. 


7 If I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt quicken me: 


heard? Yea verily, their sound is 
gone forth into all the world.” It 
is to be explained by the deep 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 
celebrate His mighty acts. Comp. 
ciii. 7, where “ His ways” corre- 
spond to “ His acts” in the paral- 
lelism. The second clause may 
= be rendered, “ Zhat great is,” 

f. 

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. (1) 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 may think themselves to be 
from His control. (2) But it seems 
rather to mean, God knows them 
(regards them) only at a distance, 
does not admit them into His fel- 
lowship ; He does not “see” them 
as He “seeth the humble.” (3) Or 
it would be possible to explain, He 
knows them so as to keep them ata 
distance. 

7. Ir IWALK. Compare xxiii. 4, 
and Ixxi. 20, 


oN E? 


420 PSALM CXXXIX., 


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. 


8. PERFECT, @¢. accomplish the turning into a prayer what he had 
work He has begun. Seethesame just before expressed as a convic- 
word in lvii. 2 [3], and comp. the _ tion of his own mind. For the word 
emtredeiv Of Phil. i. 6. see Nehem. vi. 3. 

FORSAKE NOT, or “ relax not,” 


9 993777h. LXX. rodveproes. De Rossi says that he found in several 
MSS, and Edd. 22°MA, which is also expressed by Jerome, @/atadbis. 
But the change is not necessary : the root 295 means strictly fo be proud 
(sée on Ixxxvii. 4). Is. iii. 5, “ behave himself proudly ” (in a bad sense), 
Prov. vi. 3, “ fvess (make sure, E.V.) thy neighbour.” Song of Sol. vi. 5, 
“for they (thine eyes) have overcome me” (Hiph. as here), or perhaps 
“have dazzled or bewildered me.” If we trace the shades of meaning, 
we shall see that the root-meaning is fo act with spirit. This applies 
both in Is, iii, 5 and in Prov. vi. 3, and so here, “ Thou. hast infused 
spirit into me,” a sense which would not be unsuitable in Song of Sol. 
vi.5. The tense obtains a Jasé signification, because it follows a fut. 
with Vau consecutive. 


b ’y 99993. The prep. denotes the object as often with analogous verbs 
as 935, bbn, main, &c. 

¢ yt, fut. Kal, apparently formed after the analogy of the Hiphil forms, 
by "Y, Is. xvi. 7, 2%, Job xxiv. 21, and originating in the effort to restore 
the “sound of the first radical, which in the Hiph. coalesces with the 
preceding vowel, and in the Kal is lost altogether. 





PSALM CXXXIX. 


NowHEreE 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 








PSALM CXXXIX. — 421 








































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. 

Both in loftiness of thought and in expressive beauty of language 
the Psalm stands pre-eminent, and it is not surprising that Aben Ezra 
should have pronounced it to be “ the crown of all the Psalms.” 

The Psalm is anonymous in the Hebrew. By the LXX. it is 
ascribed to David, though in some copies it is also said to be a Psalm 
of Zechariah (Zaxapiov), with the further addition by a second hand 
of the words, “in the dispersion ” (€v 79 duaoropa), which Origen tells 
us he found in some MSS. The strongly Aramaic colouring of the 
language certainly makes it more probable that the Psalm was written 
after the Exile than before, unless, indeed, this tendency to Aramaisms 
is to be regarded as evidence of a variation merely of dialect, perhaps 
the dialect of Northern Palestine,—a supposition which seems not to 
be wholly without foundation. 

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. r—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. 
-j—12. 


Ill. The third strophe gives the reason for 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 the previous meditation on God and His attributes, and 


422 


PSALM CXXXIX. 


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 downsitting and mine uprising, 
Thou understandest my thought? afar off. 


3 My path and my bed? Thou hast searched,* 
And with all my ways Thou art acquainted. | 
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 cannot attain unto it. 


7 Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit ? 
Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence ? 


1. KNOWN (ME). The form of 
the verb marks a consequence of 
the previous action. 

3. THOU HAST SEARCHED, lit. 
“Thou hast winnowed,” or “sifted.” 

4. FOR BEFORE A WORD. This 
is probably the better rendering (see 
Critical Note), though that of the 


E.V., “For there is not a word. ... 


but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it 
altogether,” is not certainly wrong. 

5. BESET ME, or “shut me in.” 
Comp. Job iii. 23, xiii. 27, xiv. 5, 13, 
16, xix. 8. 

LAID THINE HAND. Job xiii. 
21, xxxiii. 7. Therefore, in the ut- 
most exercise of his freedom, man 
is only accomplishing what God’s 
counsel and foreknowledge have 
determined. 

With the general sentiment of 
the first strophe compare Acts xvii. 
28, “In Him we live, and move, 
and have our being.” 

6. (SUCH) KNOWLEDGE. See a 


















similar strain of acknowledgement 
at the close of the third strophe, 
ver. 17, 18, and compare Rom. xi. 
33, “O the depth of the riches both 
of the wisdom and knowledge of — 
God! How unsearchable are His 
judgements, and His ways past — 
finding out !” 

7. WHITHER SHALL I Go. It 
was this and the following verses, 
in all probability, which led a Span- — 
ish commentator (Father Sanchez) 
to ascribe this Psalm to the Prophet 
Jonah. Comp. Jon. i. 3, “ But Jo- 
nah rose up ¢o fice unto Tarshish 
Jrom the presence of Fehovah” 

Tuy Spirit. “The word Spirit,” — 
says Calvin, “is not put here simply 
for the power of God, as commonly 
in the Scriptures, but for His mind 
and understanding. For inasmuch 
as the spirit in man is the seat of 
understanding, the Psalmist trans- 
fers the same to God; which is 
clearer from the second member, 































where the word face (presence) is 
put for knowledge or sight.” He 
then remarks that the passage has 
- been wrongly applied to prove the 
infinite nature of God (ad prodban- 
dam essentie Dei immensitatem) ; 
for it is not with metaphysical con- 
ceptions that the Psalmist is em- 
ployed, but with the practical truth 
that by no change of place or cir- 
cumstance can man escape from 
the eye of God. There is further 
implied, too, in the thought of 
_ escape, and in the thought of dark- 
ness, a sense of sin and the terror 
of an awakened conscience, which 
“dl oat would lead a ayn 7 ate 
himself, if it were possible, from 
his Maker. : 
_ _ 8. My BEDIN HELL, lit. “Should 
I make the unseen world (Sheol) 
my bed.” Comp. Is. lviii. 5. For 
_ the same thought see Prov. xv. 11; 
_ Job xxvi. 6—9. 
__ g. If I could fly with the same 
swiftness from east to west as the 
_ first rays of the morning shoot from 
_ one end of heaven to the other. 
__ WINGS OF THE MORNING. So the 
_ Sun is said to have wings, Mal. iv. 2. 
___ UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE SEA, 
2.e, the furthest west. 
11, AND THE LIGHT ABOUT ME. 
The rendering of the E. V., “even 
the night shail be light about me,” 


PSALM CXXX1/X. 


423 


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. 
ir And should I say : Only let darkness cover’ me, 
F And the light about me be night ; 
12 Even darkness cannot be too dark for Thee; 
But the night is light as the day ; 
The darkness* and light (to Thee) are both alike. 


13 For THou hast formed my reins, 
_ Thou didst weave me together in my mother’s womb. 


is defensible, and has the advantage 
of adhering to the order of the 
words in the Hebrew, but I have 
followed some of the best autho- 
rities in making the apodosis begin 
with the next verse, where it is 
introduced by the particle “even,” 
as in ver. 10. The predicate 
“night” thus stands first in the 
Hebrew, as is not unusual. 

12. CANNOT BE TOO DARK FOR 
THEE, lit. “cannot be dark (so as 
to hide) from Thee ;” or we may 
retain, both in this and in the next 
clause, something of the causative 
meaning of the verbs, and render 
“ make darkness”. . . “give light.” 

13. “ Who can have a truer and 
deeper knowledge of man than He 
who made him?” 

FORMED. The connection and 
parallelism seem to show that this 


_ must be the meaning of the word 


here, as in Deut. xxxii. 6, “Is not 
He Thy Father that formed thee ?” 
where E.V. has “that dough? thee ;” 
and Gen. xiv. 19, “J/aker of heaven 
and earth,” where E. V. has “Zos- 
sessor.” 

My REINS. See on xvi. 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 


424 


PSAIM CXXXIX. 


14 I will give Thee thanks for that I 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 depths 


of the earth. 


16 Thine eyes did see my substancej 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 to me how precious are Thy thoughts, O God, 
How great is the sum of them ! 
18 IfI would tell them,they are more in number than the ES 


x. 11, “ Thou hast woven me to- 
gether (E. V. fenced me) with bones 
and sinews.” 

15. My BONES, lit. “my strength” 
(and so Symm. 7 xpataiwcis pov), 
but here evidently meaning the 
bony framework of the body. 

CURIOUSLY WROUGHT. The verb 
is used of some kind of parti- 
coloured work, but whether woven 
or embroidered is doubtful. Gese- 
nius, who discusses the question at 
large in his Thesaurus, decides for 
embroidery. On the other hand, it 
has been denied by Hartmann that 
the Hebrews possessed this art. 
Camp. explains well: “ Velut tape- 
tum e nervis et venis contextus.” 

IN SECRET. Comp. Aésch. Lumen. 
665, év oxorovot vndvos TeOpappern. 

IN THE DEPTHS OF THE EARTH. 
Elsewhere the phrase denotes “the 
unseen world,” comp. Ilxiii. 9 [10], 
Ixxxvi. 13. Here, as the parallelism 
shows, it is used in a figurative 
sense to describe a region of dark- 
ness and mystery. 

16. MY SUBSTANCE YET- BEING 
IMPERFECT. One word in the ori- 
ginal, which means strictly any- 
thing rolled together as a ball, and 
hence is generally supposed to mean 


here the foetus or embryo. Hupfeld, 
however, prefers to understand it 
of the ball of life, as consisting of 
a number of different threads (“the 
days” of ver. 16), which are first a 
compact mass, as it were, and 
which are then unwound as life 
runs on. 

ALL OF THEM, z.¢. the days men- 
tioned in the next verse. 

17. He breaks off in wonder and 
admiration and holy thankfulness, 
as before in ver. 14; these expres- 
sions of personal feeling lending 
not only much beauty and force, 
but also much reality, to the con- 
templation of? God’s attributes, 
Comp. xxxvi. 7 [8], xcii. 5 [6]; 
Rom. xi. 33. 

HOW PRECIOUS, or perhaps (in 
accordance with the root-meaning 
of the word) “how hard to un- 
derstand ” (lit. “how heavy, or 
weighty ”), in which case it would 
correspond with the dveEcpevvyra 
of Rom, xi. 33. 

Sum, lit. “sums,” an unusual 
plural, ‘denoting that the investiga- 
tion and enumeration extend in 
many directions. 

18. MORE IN NUMBER. Comp. 


xl. 5 [6}. 














































against Thee? 





WHEN I AWAKE, lit. “I have 
waked,” ze. as often as he awakes 
from sleep, he finds that he is again 
in the presence of God, again occu- 
_ pied with thoughts of God, again 

_ meditating afresh with new wonder 
and admiration on His wisdom and 
goodness. Others explain, “Waking 
and sleeping, day and night, I 
think of Thee, and find ever the 
same inexhaustible depth and ful- 
ness.” Others again would inter- 
pret the “awaking” as awaking out 
of a reverie in which the Psalmist 
had lost himself while meditating 
upon God. But the first explana- 
tion is the simplest and most 
probable. 

19. How strangely abrupt is the 
‘turning aside from one of the sub- 
limest contemplations to be found 

anywhere in the Bible, to express a 
_ hope that righteous vengeance will 
overtake the wicked. Such a pas- 
Sage is startling,—startling partly 
because the spirit of the New Testa- 
_ ment is so different ; partly too, no 
_ doubt, because “ our modern civili- 
zation has been so schooled in 
amenities” that we hardly know 
_what is meant by a righteous indig- 
‘nation. It is well, however, to no- 
tice the fact, for this is just one of 
; passages which help us to 
understand the education of the 

\ Just because it startles us is 
it so instructive. The 63rd Psalm 
ts us, as we have seen, with 
a similar contrast. There, how- 


PSALM CXXXIX,. 


425 


When I awake, I am still with Thee. 


19 Oh that Thou wouldest slay the wicked, O God ; 
Depart from me, ye bloodthirsty men. 

20 Who rebel! against Thee with (their) wicked devices, 

q (Who) lift up™ themselves against Thee” in vain. 

21 Should I not hate them which hate Thee, O Jehovah, 
And should I not be grieved with them that rise up? 


22 With perfect hatred do I hate them, 
-I count them mine enemies. 


ever, 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, ap- 
parently, 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 imme- 
diate presence of God, places itself 
on the side of God, against all that 
is opposed to Him. Still, the prayer, 
“Oh that Thou wouldest slay the 
wicked,” can never be a Christian 
prayer. 

zo. WHO REBEL. Either the con- 
struction is changed fromthe second 
person in the preceding verse (“ De- 
part from me”) to the third in the 
relative clause ; or the last clause 
of ver. 19 must be regarded as 
parenthetical, which is natural 
enough in a strong outburst of per- 
sonal feeling, and then the con- 
struction proceeds regularly : “Wilt 
Thou not slay the wicked, who 
rebel,” &c. 


426 PSALM CXXXTX. 


23 Search me, O God, and know my heart : 
Try me, and know my thoughts: 

24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, 
And lead me in the way everlasting. 


23. SEARCH ME. “ 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 pre- 
sumptuous spirit, but of integrity of 
heart and the absence of all hypo- 
crisy. 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 
outward separation ; he remembers 
that, even whilst he seems most op- 
posed to the wicked, the All-seeing 
Eye may discern in him some way 
of evil and sorrow; that only as 
God holds his hand, and leads him, 
can he walk in the way of life. 

24. WICKED WAY, or rather “way 
of pain,” z.¢. leading to pain, such 


* 7 only here: = Chald. niyy (from root AY = M¥), properly 


pain and smart being the conse- 
quences of sin, as in Is. xiv. 3. 
Others, “way of zdo/s,” as in Is. xlviii. 
5, ‘“* the way of idolatry” being op- 
posed to “the way of Jehovah,” xxv. 
4. Comp. also Am. vili. 14, and the 
use of ddo0s Acts xix. 23, xxii. 4. 

WAY EVERLASTING, Z.é. the one 
true abiding way, which leads to the 
true and everlasting God. Calvin, 
who translates via seculi, supposes 
merely the course of life in this 
world to be meant, and that the 
Psalmist prays God to be with him 
to the end (‘ac si peteret Deum sibi 
esse ducem stadii sui usque ad 
metam”); but the Hebrew ’o/am 
(aidv) has not of itself this meaning. 
Others render “the o/d way,” i.e. 
the true religion, the religion of 
his fathers, as in Jer. vi. 16, “the 
old paths,” xviii. 15. 





“will,” here “thought.” The ° prefixed to the obj. is perhaps an 
Aramaism (comp. cxvi. 25, Cxxix. 3, CXxxv. I1), but not necessarily, as 
the 5 may denote the direction of the thought. 


b sy95. Another Chald. form for '¥39, and another am. Xey. This and 
the preceding word are properly two ‘infinitives, “my walking and my 
lying down.” Though the noun M8 is Hebrew, the verb occurs only 
here and in Job xxxiv. 8, a passage which has also an Aram. tincture. 


¢ myyt (cognate with Mu, yn), Zhou hast spread out, and so winnowed, 
LXX. é&tyudoas, tracked; Jerome, eventilaste. 
49. The construction of this verse has been taken in two ways: 
(1) There is no word on my tongue (which) Thou dost not know 
altogether; (2) A word is not (yet) upon my tongue, (but) lo! Thou — 
knowest it altogether. This last is the rendering of Kimchi, Calvin, and 
others, and the }j favours it, as Hupf. observes. -Comp. Is. xl. 24. [But 
}7] in later writers = ON. See Gesen. Lex. Can it here be used after a 
negative in the sense of wzsz or guin ?] 
e syybp. Fem. of the adj. N>B (as the K’thtbh, Jud. xiii, 18), and 
therefore to be read mye, and not as the K’ri, 7” 2. 
On 5 55 sce xiii. 5. 





4 
4 
L 
, 
, 


PSALM CXXXIX. 427 


f pds (only here) from PD}, Aramaic (for the usual Heb. dy), but only 
used in fut. imperat. inf. Kal and Aphel. The alternate form is np, but 
we must not therefore assume, with Ges., Ew., and others, that pDx is for 

$, and this again by transposition for poo. The roots are distinct, 
though cognate. Comp. also 77020, Dan. vi. 24. 














































& %35\u". In the two other passages where the same word occurs, 
Gen. iii. 15, Job ix. 17, it means “to bruise,” “to crush,” a meaning 
evidently not applicable here, though the LXX. have carararjoe. Hence 
Umbreit would connect it with }Xw, in the sense zzhiare, insidiari (comp. 
LXX. rnpéeiv), and so zzvadere, “to fall upon.” Even this, however, gives 
but a poor meaning, as Hupfeld truly remarks. Either, therefore, we 
must connect it with another root, 9), “the darkness shall be gloomy, 
thick, about me”—so the Targ., Saadia, Rashi, Kimchi, &c., and so 
Symm. emurxerdoet pe, another Greek Vers. xadiwe, Jerome, oferient—or 
we must adopt a different reading, such as ')5{', which Béttcher proposes, 
comparing Job xi. 17; or *33%, as Ewald suggests, from 9% = 4D, Zo 
cover, as WW for TW, xci. 6. 

h mD>'Yn, a fem. with a superfluous » inserted, but not otherwise an 
uncommon form, whereas the fem. 77} only occurs besides Esth. viii. 16, 
and is a later and Aram. form. 


i spp) (Pual only here). The root means to vardegate, mouxiddew. 
The body or the foetus is described as woven together of so many 
different-coloured threads, like a cunning and beautiful network or 
tapestry—“ velut tapetum e nervis et venis contextus,” Camp.—similar 
therefore to the use of 3D, ver. 13; Job x. 11. 


j nb; from nbs, to roll together, 2 Kings ii. 8, whence nibs, a mantle, 
Ezek. xxvii. 24. The word ndj occurs here only in the O.T., but is used 
in the Talmud of any unformed, unshapen mass. So the LXX., Aq., 
have here dxarépyaorov pov, Symm. audpporov, as describing the embryo. 
Hupfeld, however, understands it not of the embryo, but of the yet 
undeveloped course of life, the days of which are so many ¢hreads which 
as yet are rolled together zz @ da//, and which are unwound as life goes 
on. So that 053 would mean my ball of life, just as in classical and 
other writers we have ¢he thread of life, the web of life, &c. Comp. 
Catull., “ Currite ducentes subtemina, currite, Parcz.” 


. pb. To what does the suffix refer? Some suppose that the yet 
undeveloped members in the embryo are alluded to, as so many threads 
rolled and twisted together, and fashioned day by day. But the pronoun 
must rather be anticipative of the following plur. days; these are so 
many threads of life (comp. Is. xxxviii. 12) which were written (imperf.) 
in God’s book. For other instances of this anticipative use of the 
_ pronoun see ix. 13, lxxxvii. 1, cxxxii. 6 ; Job vi. 29; Is. viii. 21, xiii. 2. 

In the following >) the K’thibh is obviously right ; though the Rabb. 
attempt to explain the K’ri 1, “to Him (z.e. God) they are as one day.” 


Isp’. This cannot be “speak against Thee,” from dx, with 
omission of the 8 (of which there is only one instance in this verb, 


428 PSALM CXL. 


2 Sam. xix. 14, though other elisions of the 8 may be cited, 2 Sam. xx. 9, 
xxii. 40; Is. xiii. 20), for this must have been expressed by 134, with the 
prep. 20 or 3; nor “speak of Thee,” as the Chald. paraphrases “ swear 
by Thy name wickedly.” There is no other instance in which "x with 
the accus. means “to speak of a person.” The correct reading is 
probably 471) (as the Quinta renders, wapemixpavay ce), “ provoke Thee,” 
“rebel against Thee,” this verb being construed with the accus, Then 
the following mrp is used adverbially like nv, as further explaining 
the nature of the provocation or rebellion, for Nw may mean foolishly, 
ie. wickedly, as well as in vain, to no purpose. 


m 3&9, an anomalous form, after the analogy of verbs 7 4 with 
prosthetic 8. It ought to be IN) (comp. Jer. x. 5 ; Ezek. xlvii. 8). The 
same mode of writing is found (Jer. x. 5) in the Niphal. 

For this absolute use of the verb comp. Ixxxix. 10; Hab. i, 3, NW }/7193, 
“and contention /ifteth itself up.” 

yw. This is generally rendered Thine enemies, and as the verse 
begins with the relative WW, a second subject is thus awkwardly 
introduced. So the Chald. and so Aq., dvri{ndoi vov, Symm., of évavrios 
gov, Jerome, adversarii tuz (but rendering the relative preceding by gzza). 
Some, feeling the awkwardness of the double subject, render, “ And they 
have lifted up Thine enemies (z.e. raised them to honour) in vain.” 
Others, again, would explain ee 3, with reference to Ex. xx. 7, “they have 
uttered lies, sworn falsely ;” or would read 91p¥ for 4", so as to bring 
the passage into a closer resemblance to Ex. xx. 7. But it is a slighter 
and simpler change to read spon, a change which ought perhaps to be 
made also in 1 Sam, xxviii. 16. Seven MSS. Kenn., and twenty De R., 
have here 4, wu¢o Thee. JY is usually taken to be an Aramaic form 
for 31¥. Otherwise it must mean Thy cities (ix. 7, Is. xiv. 21), a sense 
which is unsuitable here, though it is given by the LXX., AnwWovra «is 
paratérnta tas wédets Gov, and also by the Syr. and Vulg. 

° spnipm. The only instance of an apocop. Hithp. part. Either 
the 1 is omitted incorrectly, or, as Buxtorf conjectures, in order to avoid 
the concurrence of four servile letters at the beginning of the word. For 
the objective affix comp. xvii. 7. 





PSALM CXL. 


Tuts 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 earlier Books, and like them it is ascribed to David. In tone 





; 


















PSALM CX1. 429 
and language it resembles Psalms lviii. 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. Ewald would refer this and the two following Psalms—but, as 
it appears to me, without any sufficient reason—to the age of 
Manasseh. 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 ab- 
surd to dogmatize in a matter where 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, from the wicked man, 
From the violent man preserve? me. 

2 Who have imagined wickednesses 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, 


1. WICKED MAN, or “ wicked 
men”... “violent men” (the sing. 
eing used collectively for the plur.), 
hich is more in accordance with 
the plural in the next verse. 
_ THE VIOLENT MAN, lit. “ man of 
violences,” as in 2 Sam. xxii. 49, 
instead of “ man of violence,” as in 
xviii. 48 [49]. 








3. SHARPEN THEIR TONGUES. 
Comp. lii. 2 [4]. And for the next 
clause, lviii. 4 [5], x. 7. 

4. The opening of the second 
strophe is a repetition with slight 
variation of the opening of the first. 

5. THE PROUD HAVE HIDDEN, 
or the adjective may be a predi- 
cate, and the subject the same as 


430 


PSALM CXL. 


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 supplications. 
7 O Jehovah Lord, Thou strength of my salvation, 
Thou hast covered my head in the day of 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 fallg upon them, 


Let them be cast into the fire, 
Into floods of waters" that they rise not again. 
11 An evil speaker shall not be established in the earth, 
The violent man—evili 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 ; 3 
The upright shall dwell in Thy presence. 


before : “who have hidden in their 
pride,” &c. 

7. COVERED MY HEAD, Zé. as 
with a helmet. Comp. Ix: 7 [9]. 

BATTLE, lit. “ armour,” as in 
1 Kings x. 25; 2 Kings x. 2; Ezek. 
XXXix. 9, 10. 

9g. WHEN THEY LIFT UP. The 
verb should probably be transferred 
here from the end of the previous 
verse (see Critical Note). In the 
next clause, and verses 10, 11, I 
have followed the E.V. in pre- 
ferring the optative to the future. 
But the LXX., Jerome, and the 
majority of modern commentators 
give the future: “ Though they that 
compass me may lift up the head, 
















the mischief of their own lips skha/Z — 
cover them ; hot burning coals shad/ 
fall upon them,” &e. 

10, LET THEM BE CAST, lit. “let 
one cast them,” or perhaps Jehovah 
may be the subject of the verb, 
- pany: He cast them.” 

AN EVIL SPEAKER, lit, “a 
nan ‘of tongue ;” not, however, ‘used — 
here in the sense of “a talkative 
man ;” as the similar phrase, “a 
man of lips” (E. V. “a man full of 
talk”), in Job xi. 2, but with the 
further notion of evz/ speaking, as 
in ver. 3. 

13. DWELL IN THY PRESENGEE 
See xi, 7, xvi. 11. 


PSAIM CXL. 431 


® 379)F. The full form, as in lxi. 8, Ixxviii. 7, &c. 


bmx. The verb is usually intrans., “ gather themselves,” in a hostile 
Sense, as in lvi.7. So it is commonly taiken here, the prep. oy or 5 being 
understood, or the accus. being regarded as the accus. of direction. 
Kimchi, ewer, makes the verb trans. here gather wars, i.e. gather the 
materials for war. Perhaps it is better to take 13 = M3, Zo stir up, as 
the Chald., Syr., and others. In the next verse away is an Gm. dey. 



































© #819 (only here, instead of N38, NIWA). Constr. plur. of MYND, not of 
‘IND or "ND, as Gesen., for the termination it; is a contraction from ai—a 
false formation, with euphonic doubling of the third radical, according to 
the analogy of D°32¥%D, D’YOMD, &c., here transferred to 3 Yod, contrary 
to rule. It would be better to wii “IND, like the constr. forms "73 
(Gen. xxvii. 9, 16); 2 (Is. xxx. 28, instead of "13, &c.), after the 
analogy of the termination °N7. This is proposed by Abulvalid, who 
found it in his MS., and Kimchi ( (Michlol), and Kenn. and Norzi mention 
having found it iy some MSS. ; but the form does not occur elsewhere. 
(The above is taken from Hupfeld.) D1 is another dr. dey. 





@ 357°. This is commonly taken as loosely subjoined to the previous 
_ sentence, either as governed by the preceding negative, LXX. pnrore 
tyrobaor, Symm. wa pi éxapOdox (comp. Is. xiv. 21, 3D3>! $3), or as 
describing the consequences of their success, “they will lift themselves 
up.” But it is impossible not to feel that in all probability the word is 

_ misplaced before the Selah, and that it belongs to the following verse, * 
_ especially as the first clause of that verse requires a verb to make sense. 
“They that surround me have lifted up the head.” It is true that O19 in 
the Kal is not trans., and therefore Yx7 must either be the accus. of 
_teference, “as to the head,” or perhaps we ought to read 30. For the 
fluctuations between Kal and Hiph. in this word comp. Ixxxix. 18, 26, 
exlvili. 13. 


© °3DID, usually taken as part. Hiph.: but the Hiph. of this verb is 
“never intransitive, not even in Josh. vi. 11, 2 Sam. v. 23. It must 
therefore be from an abstract 3D), whence pian: constr. M\RDID, used 
‘adverbially, and °3D%), 2 Kings xxiii. 5; and here with suffix = *n2’20, 
xxvii. 6. 


_ fyp1p>". The K’thibh is plur., referring to the Zs as the subject 
‘Sagem § it 1). The correction to the sing. in the K’ri is therefore 


_ & 40'D’. The K’thibh can only refer to an indefinite subject: “ Zet 
them (men) cast hot burning coals,” &c., which is equivalent to a passive : 
t hot burning coals (which may perhaps mean /ightnings, as in 
13, 14) be cast, &c. See on lvi. note * The K’ri, however, 
itutes the Niph. 3012!, which is contrary to the usage in the Niph. 
Hupf. therefore would read VDD! (comp. xi, 6), making Jehovah the 
SU bject here, as in the next clause. 


432 PSALM CXLI. 


h nin, only here. The Rabb. explain it to mean deep fits, but 
without any reason. It is probably to be explained by the cogn, Arab. 


“Ce 


ye to pour out water, 5,2, a cataract. 


iyn. The accent is clearly wrong, for this is not an adjective to 
'N We, a wicked, violent man, but a noun, which is the subject of the 
following verb, as the Chald., the LXX., the Rabb., and others have 
taken it. The Athnach should therefore be transferred to Dipn. 





PSALM CXLI 


Tuis Psalm presents some peculiar difficulties of interpretation, 
which, however, are due neither to the words employed nor to the 
grammatical construction, but to the extreme abruptness with which 
in verses 5—7 the thoughts follow one another, and the extreme 
obscurity which hangs over the allusions. To translate each sentence 
by itself is no difficult matter, but it is almost hopeless either to link 
the sentences plausibly together, or to discover in them any tangible 
clue to the circumstances in which the Psalmist was placed. As all 
the Ancient Versions must have had substantially the same text, the 
deviations in any of them being very slight, it is hardly probable 
that, as Olshausen and Hupfeld maintain, the text is corrupt: it is 
more likely that our entire ignorance of the circumstances under 
which the Psalm was written prevents our piercing the obscurity of 
the writer’s words. 

It has been usual to accept the Inscription which assigns the 
Psalm 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 r 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. 










PSALM CXLI. 433 


. Ewald would assign this, as well as the preceding and following 
Psalms, to a time subsequent to the Assyrian invasion,—perhaps the 
reign of Manasseh. He supposes that in the persecution to which 
the true worshipers of Jehovah, and especially the leading men 
amongst them, were exposed, the Psalmist, who was apparently a 
__ man of some distinction (cxlii. 7 [8]), had himself suffered. He had 
__ been assailed by threats (cxl. 3 [4], 9 [10]), and by flatteries (cxli. 4); 
_ and if these failed in drawing him away, his destruction was resolved 
_ upon (exl. 5 [6], cxli. 9, 10, cxlii. 3 [4]). But undaunted by threats, 
_ unseduced by flatteries, he cleaves with the most resolute faith and 
love to his God, and will rather submit to reproof from the true- 
hearted than suffer himself to be cajoled and led astray by the 
wicked (cxli. 5). And when at last his enemies, enraged at his firm- 
ness, seize him and cast him into prison, leaving him there to perish 
_ (cxlii. 7 [8]), he does not give way, but still cries to Jehovah for help, 
and trusts in His power and faithfulness.* 

Maurer thinks that this Psalm was written at a time when idolatry 
had become prevalent, especially among men of the highest rank and 
_ station, and that in consequence the faithful servants of Jehovah 
were exposed to bitter persecution. We thus obtain a suitable mean- 
ing, he says, for the whole Psalm, of which he thus sketches the out- 
Tine :—“ There are three strophes : (1) Hear my prayer, O Jehovah: 
suffer me not to speak any word against Thee, nor to fall away to the 
wicked, allured by their luxurious banquets (ver. 1—4), (2) Why 
should I not rejoice in my God? Nay, if their leaders are over- 
thrown, the men shall gladly hear me raising a song of joy and 
triumph, though now our bones cover the earth (ver. 5—7). (3) Keep 
me, O Jehovah, from the devices of the wicked. Let them be 
ed in their own nets, whilst I escape” (ver. 8—1o). . 











































_* I subjoin Ewald’s rendering and explanation of ver. 5—7: “Let the 
Tighteous smite me in love and chastise me; let no oil for the head soften 
my head! For still—my prayer is uttered in their misfortunes. Their 
judges have been hurled into the rifts of the rock; so shall they hear how 
sweet my words are! As though one should furrow and cleave the earth, 
pur bones have been scattered for the jaws of death.” That is, “So far 
m I from partaking of the dainties of the wicked, I will rather turn to 

: righteous, and welcome their reproofs for my past coldness. I will 
ot even anoint my head,” for that would be a sign of joy and festivity, 

as now they are in suffering, and I can only pray. The chiefest 
nong them have already perished, “but the righteous who have escaped 
e general persecution shall hear my words of sympathy and my prayers” 
uch, for instance, as we have in this Psalm); and then, as if deeply sym- 

hising with the judges, the princes who have been slain, he counts 
aself in their number, “ Our bones lie scattered,” &c., as on a field of 


ttle (lili. 5 [6]). 
VOL. Il. F F 


434 


PSALM CXL1. 


It is curious that whilst De Wette, describing the Psalm as “a 
very original, and therefore difficult, Psalm,” holds it to be one of 
the oldest in the collection, Maurer, almost on the same grounds 
(“oratio maxime impedita ac talis in qua manifeste cum verbis 
luctetur vates”), sets it down as belonging to a comparatively late 


period. 


[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 in Thy sight, 
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. 


4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, . 
To busy itself¢ in wicked doings with men4 that work 


iniquity ; 


2. LIFTING UP OF MY HANDS, 
z.é. evidently, as the parallelism re- 
quires, in prayer: comp. xxviii. 2. 
Others, as the Syr., and recently 
Ewald and Hengstenberg, explain 
it of bringing an offering, which is 
against both the parallelism and 
the comparison with the evening 
sacrifice. 

EVENING SACRIFICE. The sacri- 
fice here meant is strictly the offer- 
ing consisting of fine flour with oil 
and frankincense, or of unleavened 
cakes mingled with oil, which was 
burnt upon the altar (Heb. mznchah, 
E.V. “ meat-offering ”): see Lev. ii. 
I1—1!. This, however, like the 
“incense,” was only added to the 
burnt-offering, the lamb which was 
offered every morning and evening 
(Ex. xxix. 38—42; Num. xxviii. 3-— 
8). It would seem, therefore, that 
these two, “the incense” and “the 
offering of fine flour,” &c., stand 
for the morning and evening sacri- 
fices ; and the sense is, “ Let my 
daily prayer be acceptable to Thee 
as are the daily sacrifices of Thine 


















own appointment.” (The minchah 
is used 1 Kings xviii. 29, 36, of the 
whole evening sacrifice, and of the 
morning sacrifice 2 Kings iii. 20.) 
The incense may be mentioned be- 
cause, as ascending in a fragrant 
cloud, it was symbolical of prayer 
(Rev. v. 8, viii. 3, 4); and the same 
would hold also of the “ meat-offer- 
ing,” of which it is said that the 
priest was to burn a part as “a 
memorial,” “a sweet savour unto 
Jehovah” (Lev, ii. 9). 

3. SET A WATCH, Comp. xxxiv, 
13 [14], xxxix. 1 [2]; Prov. xiii. 
xxi. 23. The prayer is apparently 
directed against the temptation to 
indulge in rash and foolish words. 
such as wicked men would indulg 
in (see next verse). Others suppo: 
that he prays to be kept from 
temptation to break out into bitter 
words against his persecutors 
against Saul, if the Psalm 
David’s) ; or into murmurs ar 
complaints against God. 
‘ 4. INCLINE NOT. See note ot 
i. 4. 


PSALM CXLI. 


435 


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, 




























the rock, 


DAINTIES. It is unnecessary to 

this of things sacrificed to 

idols (Ros., Del.), as if the Psalmist 

__ were surrounded 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 wel- 
come 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 wicked- 
‘ness of my persecutors.” It is pos- 
‘sible, 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 

ore yer shall be offered 2 their mis- 
prtunes.” (So Ewald.) 

Again, the first two clauses have 
been rendered : “Let a righteous 
™man smite me in love (accus.) and 


let not my head refuse.” 


Jers is not so well preserved. Others 
in (as Maur., Hengst.) under- 
_by the @ righteous,” God, 
ppealing to Is. xxiv. 16—where, 
iowever, the “righteous” means 
1ot God, but “the righteous nation.” 
_In ver. 4 he had prayed that he 
ight not be led astray by the evil 
€ saw around him, nor allured by 
1€ ents and luxurious 
rc SE erity of the wicked. Now he 
ys, on the contrary, “let me ever 
: ready to welcome even reproof 


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 


from the righteous,” which, how- 
ever harsh, is salutary. The wounds 
of a friend are 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. 

THEIR JUDGES must bei in a gene- 
ral sense the “ rulers” or “ princes” 
of “the wicked ;” for the pronoun 
must refer to them. (Ewald, how- 
ever— see Introduction to the 
Psalm—supposes the leading men 
amongst the righteous to be meant, 
who are the principal sufferers in 
the time of persecution.) The verse 
apparently describes a punishmient 
which has been or will be inflicted 
upon them (see for this mode of 

unishment 2 Chron. xxv. 12; Luke 
Iv. 29). The verb HURLED DOWN 
is the same which is used, 2 Kings 
33, of the throwing ‘down of 
Bo from the window. 

THE SIDES OF THE ROCK, lit. 
“along,” or “by the sides (Heb. 
hands) of the rock or precipice.” 
Comp. cxl. 5 [6], “ by the side of the 
path”; Jud. xi. 26, “‘by the sides 
(E.V. coasts, Heb. Aands) of Arnon.” 
Others, “into the hands (z.e¢. the 
power) of the rock,” with the same 
notion of punishment, but rather as 
in cxxxvil. 9, being hurled against 
the rock. (The preposition em- 
ployed favours the latter explana- 
tion ; see Lam. i. 14.) 


FF z 


436 


PSALM CXLI. 


Then they shall hear my words that they are sweet. 
7 As when one furroweth the earth (with the plough), 
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the 


unseen world. 


THEY SHALL HEAR, z.¢. of course 

not the “ judges,” but either ¢hezr 
Jollowers who have been led astray 
by their pernicious influence, or 
perhaps, more generally, #zez shall 
hear. If the Psalm is to be referred 
to Absalom’s rebellion, or any 
similar occasion, the sense will be, 
“When the leaders in the insurrec- 
tion meet with the fate they deserve, 
then the subjects of the king will 
return to their allegiance.” And the 
expression, “they shall hear my 
words that they are sweet,” would 
be a thoroughly Oriental mode of 
describing the satisfaction with 
which they would welcome the gra- 
cious amnesty pronounced by their 
offended sovereign. 

Others, who suppose that the 
Psalm alludes to David’s magnani- 
mity in sparing Saul when he was 
in his power (1 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,”—recognized, that is, my for- 
bearance 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 parti- 


ciple absolute being used for the , 


finite verb). The allusion is as ob- 
scure as in the previous verses, and 
the point of the comparison is 
differently explained. The bones 
scattered are compared either (1) 
to the clods broken by the plough- 
share, or (2) to the seed scattered 
in the earth turned up by the plough. 
Maurer finds the point of the com- 
parison in the Zeng?th of the furrow: 
““Quemadmodum qui terram arat, 
longas facit series sulcorum, sic ossa 
nostra, longa serie sparsa, prostrata 
sunt orci in predam.” but the 


emphasis is laid by the use of the 


double verb on the dveaking-up of 
the clods. There is no reason to 
supply a different object, as the 
E. V., ““As when one cutteth and 
cleaveth wood upon the earth.” The 
explanation first given is the most 
probable. In 2 Chron. xxy. 12, 
where ten thousand Edomites are 
said to have been cast down from — 
the top of the rock (se/a’, as here), — 
the same verb is used to describe © 
their destruction which is here used — 
of cleaving the earth by the plough. — 

AT THE MOUTH, or perhaps “for 
the mouth,” z.e. so as to be swal- 
lowed up by it. 

THE UNSEEN WORLD. Sheol, the 
abode of the dead, though here 
perhaps nothing more than the 
grave may be meant. The verse 
thus describes a complete and dis- | 
astrous overthrow, and apparently 
of the whole nation; for now we 
have the pronoun of the first per- 
son, “our bones.” It is true that 
























avroy, and this is found in A (bya 
second hand) and in the Syr., Arab., 
and Athiop. Béttcher insists upon 
this as the correct reading, and ex. 
plains “ their bones” of the bone: 
of the judges hurled down the roc 
Hengst. and Delitzsch, on the othe 
hand, find here a figure expres 
sive of hope and consolation. Thi 
bones, according to them, are com 
pared to seed scattered in the up 
turned earth, from which a harve: 
may be expected. So here a ni 
tional resurrection (the first ger 
of what is expressed in Is, xxv 
19; Ezek. xxxvii.), a new life, 
anticipated. But if this be t 
point of comparison, it is ve 





PSAIM CXLI. 


437 


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 I at the same time” escape. 


strangely expressed: it certainl 
does not lie on the surface of the 
words. 
8. For. The conjunction does 
not refer to what immediately pre- 
cedes, but either to what is said in 
ver. 4, 5 (so Maurer), or perhaps 
rather to the whole of the former 
part of the Psalm, so far as it con- 
_ sists of petition: “ Listen to my 
prayer, oe me from temptation, 
_ —/or unto Thee are mine eyes.” 
POUR NOT OUT MY SOUL, Z.¢. 
give not my life up to destruction. 


Comp. the use of the same verb Is. 
liti. 12, “ He poured out His soul 
unto death.” 

9. FROM THE SNARE, lit. “ from 
the hands of the snare.” So we 
have in xxii. 20 [21], “from the hand 
of the dog ;” in Jobv. 29, “ from the 
hand of the sword ;” Is. xlvii. 14, 
“ from the hand of the flame.” 

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 [16]. 



















* m7pY. The noun occurs only here. Kimchi defends it by forms 
_ Such as ND3H, MD¥y. Hupf. finds a difficulty in admitting this abstract 
noun from a transitive verb, especially as we have another noun, "DvD, 
_ in this sense ; and is inclined therefore to take the word as the imperative 
with 7 paragog., in the same construction with x, as in xxxix. 2, where, 
however, it is followed by the accus. DIDM'D. Like Ab. Ezr., he supposes 
_ that the writer intended to imitate the construction in xxxix. 2, but to 
break it up into "p> ‘p mv and 7D’, but then either omitted ‘p or 
_ dropped the construction he had begun. It is so far in favour of this 
view, that 773} is of the same imperat. form (Kal with euphon. Dagesh, 
as in Prov. iv. 13); here followed by by (which it is nowhere else), after 
the analogy of mw. Some, however, would make i173}, like T70¥, 
a noun. 


» bs, another dm. Acy., instead of the fem. nb. 
_ © Syn. This Hithpo. (denom. from ny) occurs only here. 


4 py. This plur. form occurs also Prov. viii. 4; Is. liii. 3. 

_ py, in the next line, is another dz. dey. 
© 939 for NP}, as "AN for X'38, Micah i. 15, written defectively, perhaps 
because optative or jussive. See lv. note’; Ges. § 73, Rem. 4, § 74; 


21c. The rendering of the LXX., py Autavarw thy Kehadny pov, 
h which Jerome and the Syr. agree, cannot be defended. There is, 


indeed, an Arab. root, use to become fat, but there is no such root in 


438 PSALM CXLI. 


f'n) ty 13. The | must introduce the apodosis, and the sentence is 
elliptical : “For (so it is) still, zat my prayer,” &c. With this elliptical 
use of } Ti compare WS “iy, “it will still be that,” Zech. viii. 20, and 
1 NN, Prov. xxiv. 27, “afterwards it shall be that,” &e. Mendels. gives 
the sense: “Ich bete noch da jene Schandthat iiben.” : 


8 “yA for WA (Ges. § 75, Rem. 8), Piel, or incorr. for "YA, Hiph., which 
is found in Is. liii. 12, The root is used of emptying a vessel, Gen. xxiv. 
20; a chest, 2 Chron. xxiv. 11; then it gets the sense of fouring out, as 
Maurer observes : “ Quod evacuandi verba facillime a vasis transferuntur 
ad id quod vasis continetur.” 


h 4m). Some would join this to the previous hemistich: “into their 
own nets together.” Maurer considers it to be = 7M) bp, and supposes 
it to refer to ¢he nets, and to be the object of the verb: “ Whilst I escape 
them all.” But it is better to take Im here in the sense of at the same 
time (comp. iv. 9, xxxlii, 15), and 3Y (wz/st, as in Job viii. 21) as merely 
placed second in the sentence (comp. cxxvili. 2), in order that the 
emphatic word may occupy the first place. 





PSALM CXLIIL. 









Tuis is the last of the eight Psalms 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 
(1 Sam. xxii. 1) or in that of Engedi (1 Sam. xxiv. 3) is not clear. 
(See Introduction to Psalm lvii.) 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 deliverance, 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. | 




























cation. 





3. WHEN MY SPIRIT. The first 
_ member of this verse is perhaps to 
be connected with the preceding 
_ verse, precisely as the same words 
are found connected in the title of 
Ps. cii. (So Hupfeld and Bunsen.) 

Is OVERWHELMED, lit. “ darkens 
itself.” See on Ixxvii. 3 [4 

WITHIN ME, lit. “upon me.” See 
on xiii. note 4. 

THOU: lit.“and THov.” If the 
existing arrangement of the text is 
right, the conjunction only serves 
to introduce the apodosis. But if 
the first clause, “ when my spirit,” 
_ &c., belongs to the previous verse, 

we must render here, “ But 
Thou knowest,” &c. 
__ 4. Look. There is no contradic- 
tion in this prayer to the previous 
Statement of belief in God’s omni- 
ience, “ Thou knowest my path,” 
as has been alleged. Such appeals 
to God to see, to regard, &c., are 
common encugh, and “are bound 


PSALM CXLI. 


439 


[A MASCHIL* ©F 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 suppli- 


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, 
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. 


up with the very nature of prayer, 
which is one great anthropomor- 
phism.” 

ON THE RIGHT HAND, as the 
direction in which he would natu- 
rally look for succour (a rapaotarns). 
See xvi. 8, cix. 6, 31, Cx. 5, Cxxi. 


THAT WILL KNOW, lit. “that re- 
cognizes me.” Comp. Ruth ii. Io, 
19. 
HATH FAILED, as in Am, ii. 14; 
Jer. xxv. 35 ; Job xi. 20. 

SEEKETH AFTER, z.¢. “ troubleth 
himself concerning,” as in 2 Sam. 
xi. 3; Job x. 6; though, according 
to the analogy of Jer. xxx. 17, it 
would be possible also to render, 
“My soul hath none that seeketh 
(it) ;” or “seeker” may here mean 
“avenger,” as Hammond explains, 
vindex et servator sollicitus. Comp. 
for this use of the verb x. 13. 

5. MY PORTION. . Comp. xvi. 5, 
Ixxiii. 26. 


440 PSALM CXLI1. 


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. 


7. OUT OF PRISON. This is COME ABOUT ME, 2.¢. sympa- 
clearly to be understood figura- thising in my joy, though else- 


tively. Comp. the parallel passage, where the word is used in a hostile 
cxliil, 11. sense, 


* See on xxxii. note *, and Introduction to lvii. 


» pan. This can only be imperat. (like the following M$) for yan, 
as in Job xxxv. 5. See on lIxxvii. note *, xciv. note *% The Ancient 
Versions, nearly without exception, have here the Ist person. LXX. 
Karevoouv kai éméBerov. Similarly the Chald. and Syr., and the Rabb. 
commentators, and so the E.V., evidently taking the forms as infinitive 
absolutes, which would hold of 6°25, but not of M9, for the apparent inf. 
constr. M99, Ezek. xxi. 15, proves nothing, as it follows wd. Ewald would 
read AN}, but no change is necessary. Jerome is quite right in keeping 
the imperative, Respice . . . et vide. 


¢ 49A2’. The verb, both in Hiph. and Piel, is elsewhere used in a 
hostile sense, and with the accus.: here it must be expressive of 
sympathy, though neither this meaning nor the constr. with 2 is to be 
found elsewhere. Others, following the LXX. and Aq., render “shall — 
wait for me ;” but then it must be Piel, as in Job xxxvi. 2, where it is — 
also followed by ?. Others again take the word as a denom. from 102, 
and explain crown, or put on a crown, in a figurative sense, ze. triumph — 
in me, boast themselves of me as of a crown. Del. compares Prov. xiv. 
18. Symm. rd évoud cov orehavocovra Sika. Jerome, 7 me corona- 
buntur justi. 











PSALM CXLI1I. 441 


PSALM CXLIII. 


'-—— >? 


Tuis is the last of the seven Penitential Psalms, as they are called. 
(See Introduction to Vol. I. p. 24.) 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 per- 
vades the Psalm, and the deep sense of sin, led to the belief that 
it must be referred to that occasion. The spirit and the language, 
it is true, are not unworthy of David ; yet the many passages borrowed 
from earlier Psalms make it more probable that this Psalm is the 
work of some later Poet. Delitzsch 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 116th and rrgth), 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 prophets of old. 

The Psalm consists of two parts, each of which is of six verses, the 
conclusion of the first being marked by the Selah. The first portion 
contains the complaint (ver. 1—6) ; the second, the prayer founded 
on that complaint (ver. 7—12). 





_—— 2 























[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; 


_. 1. INTHY FAITHFULNESS...IN It is precisely the same ground 
THY RIGHTEOUSNESS. It is to which St. John takes: “If we con- 
_ God’s own character that the ap-_ fess our sins, He is faithful and 
peal is made. It isthere first,and righteous (true to His promise and 
not in his own misery, that the true to His revealed character) to 
sinner finds the great argument forgive us our sins.” 

why his prayer should be answered. 2. ENTER NOT INTO JUDGE- 


442 


PSAIM CXLITT, 


For in Thy sight no man living is righteous. 
3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul, 
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, 


MENT, as in Job ix. 32, xxii. 4. He 
traces his suffering to his sin: the 
malice of his enemies is the rod of 
God’s chastisement, calling him to 
repentance. 

Is RIGHTEOUS. Our translators 
are not consistent in their rendering 
of this verb. Here they follow the 
LXX. od SixawOjoera, “shall not 
be justified.” But in Job ix. 15, x. 
15, XV. 14, Xxli. 3, XXXil. I, Xxxiv. 5, 
xxxv. 7, xl. 8, they give as the equi- 
valent “to be righteous ;” so, too, 
in Ps. xix. 9 [10]. But in Ps. li. 4 
[5] they have “justify,” as here ; 
and so in Job xi. 2, xili. 18, xxv. 4; 
whereas in iv. 17, xxxiii. 12, they 
render “ to be just.” 

See in many of the passages re- 
ferred to in Job the same deep sense 
of man’s unrighteousness before a 
righteous God which the Psalmist 
here expresses. Yet it is that very 
righteousness before which he trem- 
bles, to which he appeals, which he 
needs, in which alone he can stand 
before his Judge. The passage 
clearly shows, says Calvin, that he 
is justified who is considered and 
accounted just before God, or whom 
the heavenly Judge Himself acquits 
as innocent. 

3. FOR THE ENEMY. This is the 
reason why he turns to God so ear- 
nestly. 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 be- 
fore; and this deep sense of sin 
and misery had led to the prayer in 
ver. 2. Hence his deliverance from 
his enemy and the forgiveness of 
his sin are naturally connected in 
his mind. 

IN DARKNESS, lit. “in darknesses,” 
as in Ixxxviii. 6 [7], where it is used 
of the abode of the dead. 

Comp. with this verse vii. 5 [6] ; 
Lam. iii. 6 ; Ps. Ixxxviii. 3—6 [4—7]. 

FOR EVER DEAD. The dead are 
so called as “fixed in an eternal 
state,” as those who can never re- 
turn again to this world, 

4. IS OVERWHELMED. The same 
word as in Ixxvii. 3 [4], cvii. 5 (where 
see note), cxlii. 3 [4]. “ Having 
spoken of his outward troubles,” 


. says Calvin, “he now confesses the 


weakness of his spirit, whence we 
gather that his was no stony forti- 
tude (zou saxeam Suisse ejus forti- 
tudinem), 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 ie 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: 
such is the full force of the reflexive 
conjugation here employed. The 
form occurs beside Is. lix. 16, Ixiii, 
5; Dan. viii. 27; Eccl. vii. 16. This 
and the next verse are an echo of 
Ixxvii. 3—6 [4—7], 11, 12 [12, 13]. 
See notes there. . 











PSALM CXLIII. 


443 


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 hath failed : 


Hide not Thy face from me, 
That so I become like unto them that go down into 


the pit. 


8 Cause me to hear Thy loving-kindness in the morning, 
For in Thee have I trusted ; 
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, 
_ For unto Thee have I lifted up my soul. 
9 Deliver me from mine enemiés, O Jehovah, 
Unto Thee have I fled to hide me# 


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. 

THIRSTY, lit.“* weary,” “languish- 
ing,” but used as here Is. xxxii. 2. 
The construction is doubtful. Ac- 
cording to the accents it would be, 
“ My soul is a land thirsting after 
Thee.” But as the adjective is used 


_ both of the soul, Prov. xxv. 25, and 


of a land, Ps. Ixiii. 1 [2], it is pro- 
bable that it here belongs to both 
words. “In great heat we see the 
earth cracking and gaping, as 
though with open mouth she asked 
for the rain from heaven.”—Ca/vin. 

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 
» 


7. In the second half of the 


Psalm many of the expressions are 


borrowed from earlier Psalms. 
_ With the prayer in this verse comp. 
xix. 17 [18], xxvii. 9, cii. 2[3] ; with 


the second clause comp. lxxxiv. 2 


[3], where the ardent longing for 


God is expressed in the same 
way. 

THAT SO I BECOME, &c., is word 
for word as in xxviii. 1; comp. 
Ixxxviii. 4 [5]. 

8. IN THE MORNING, 2.¢. early, 
soon. Comp. Moses’ prayer, xc. 14. 

Various interpretations have been 
given, which are thus summed up 
by Calvin: “Adverbium wane 
frigide quidam restringunt ad sa- 
crificia. Scimus enim quotidie bis 
sacrificia offerre solitos, matutinum 
et vespertinum. Alii subtilius ac- 
cipiunt, quod Deus mitius agens 
cum suis servis dicatur formare 
novum diem. Alii metaphoram 
esse volunt et notari prosperum 
lzetumque statum: sicut triste et 
calamitosum tempus szpe notatur 
per tenebras. Sed miror in hac 
voce quzri extraneos sensus, qua 
simpliciter repetit quod prius dix- 
erat festina. Mane ergo tantundem 
valet ac tempestive vel celeriter.” 

THE WAY IN WHICH I SHOULD 
WALK. Comp. xxv. 4, cxlii. 3 [4] 
with Exod. xxxiii. 13. 

LIFTED UP MY SOUL, as in xxv. 
I, Ixxxvi. 4. 

g. FLED TO HIDE ME, lit. “unto 


444 


10 Teach me to do Thy will, 
For Thou art my God ; 


PSALM CXLII{l. 


Let Thy good? Spirit: lead me in a straight path. 
11 For Thy Name’s sake, O Jehovah, quicken me, 
In Thy righteousness bring my soul out of distress. 
12 And of Thy loving-kindness cut off mine enemies, 
And destroy all the adversaries of my soul ; 


For I am Thy servant. 


Thee have I hidden (myself).” But 
the phrase is very peculiar and its 
meaning doubtful. See in Critical 
Note. 

10. TODO THY WILL, not merely 
to know it ; hence the need of the 
Holy Spirit’s aid, His quickening, 
guiding, strengthening, as well as 
His enlightening influence. “ Ne- 
cesse est Deum nobis oz mortua 
tantum litera magistrum esse et 
doctorem, sed arcano Spiritus in- 
stinctu, imo tribus modis fungitur 
erga nos magistri officio: quia 
verbo suo nos docet ; deinde Spiritu 
mentes illuminat; tertio cordibus 
nostris insculpit doctrinam, ut vero 
et serio consensu obediamus.” 

THY GOOD SPIRIT, as in Neh. ix. 
20; comp. Ps. li. 11 [13]. 

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 adjusted 
in the balance) the road of the 
righteous.” It is unnecessary with 
Hupf. to correct the text, and sub- 
stitute “path” for “land,” for we 
have a similar expression in Is. 
xxvi, 10, “the land of upright- 
ness.” 

Comp. with this verse generally 
xxvii. 11, xxxi. 3 [4], xl. 8 [9], ciil. 
21; 

11. OUT OF DISTRESS. 
exlii. 8. 


Comp. 


The series of petitions in ver.8— 
12 may be thus grouped :— 

(1) Prayer for God’s mercy or 
loving-kindness, as that on which 
all hangs, and then for guidance 
(ver. 8). 

(2) For deliverance from ene- 
mies, and then still more fully for 
a knowledge of God’s will, and the 
gifts of His Spirit, that he may 
obey that will (ver. 9, 10). 

(3) For a new life, and deliver- 
ance from suffering, and now not 
only for deliverance from his ene- 
mies, but for their destruction (ver. 
Ti, 82) 

Hence the second petition in (1) 
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 righteousness,” “ of 
Thy loving-kindness.” 

12, I AM THY SERVANT. “Tan- 
tundem hoc valet acsi Dei se cli- _ 
entem faciens, ejus patrocinio vitam 
suam permitteret.”—Calvin, 


s ‘TDD TON. It is not easy to explain the construction. The Syr, 


omits the words altogether. 


The LXX. render 6m mpds oe xarépvyor, 


from which it might seem that they read ‘DM, were it not that elsewhere 














PSALM CXLIV. 445 


they render 013, and not IDM, by xarapvyetv. The Targum paraphrases, 
“Thy word have I counted as a Redeemer,” whence it might be inferred 
that they read ‘ADD (see this verb, Ex. xii. 4). Jerome apparently had 
our present text, only that he changed the vocalization, making it passive 
instead of active, Ad Te protectus sum (*PD). Kimchi would explain 
the phrase as a Jocutio pregnans: “1 cried unto Thee in secret, and so 
as to hide it from men.” Similarly Ab. Ez., who remarks that “ fo hide to 
a person” is exactly opposite to the expression “to hide from a person” 
(Gen, xviii. 17), and means, therefore, to reveal to him what is hidden 
from others. J. D. Mich. (Supflem. p. 1317) takes the same view, and so 
does Rosenm., “Tibi in occulto revelavi quod homines celavi.” Saadia, 
who is followed by Ewald, Maurer, Hengst., and others, takes the verb in 
a reflexive sense, “ Unto Thee (z.c. with Thee) have I hidden myself,” 
which they defend by the use of the Piel in Gen. xxxviii. 14, Deut. xxii. 17, 
Jon. iii. 6. The last of these, however, proves nothing, as yop is to be 
supplied from the preceding youn, and then the construction will be “he 
covereth sackcloth, z¢. he puts it as a covering, upon him,” the con- 
struction being exactly the same as in Job xxxvi. 32, Ezek. xxiv. 7. In 
the other two passages Hupf. would adopt the somewhat arbitrary method 
of substituting the Hithpael for the Piel. Delitzsch more probably 
explains the use of the Piel in these passages as elliptical, Gen. xxxviii. 
14, “ And she put a covering with a veil (before her face) ;” Deut. xxii. 12, 
“Wherewith thou puttest a covering (on thy body).” Hence they do not 
justify our taking *m’DD here in a reflexive sense. Hupf., Olsh., and 
others, would read *n’DH ; but the objection to this is, that this verb is 
elsewhere always followed by 3, not by ?&. 


bmi. The art. is omitted occasionally with the adj. after a definite 


noun, Ges. § 109,24. In the very same expression, Neh. ix. 20, we have 
the article with the adj. 





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- 


446 PSALM CXLIV. 


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 
how in their past history obedience to God had brought with it its 
full recompense. 

Kimchi, who holds the Psalm to be ‘David’s, refers it to the events 
mentioned in 2 Sam. v., when, having been acknowledged by all the 
tribes of Israel as their king (see ver. 2 of the Psalm, “who sub- 
dueth my people under me”), and having completely subjugated the 
Philistines, he might look forward to a peaceful and prosperous 
reign. 

In some copies of the LXX. the Psalm is said to have been com- 
posed in honour of David’s victory over Goliath ; which may perhaps 
_ be due to the Targum on ver. 10, which explains “ the hurtful sword ” 
as the sword of Goliath. It is scarcely necessary to remark how 
improbable such a view is. 

Others, again, have conjectured that the Psalm was directed against 
Abner (2 Sam. ii. 13, &c.), or against Absalom. 

Theodoret supposes it to be spoken in the person of the Jews 
who, after their return from Babylon, were attacked by the neigh- 
bouring nations. 

Another Greek writer, mentioned by Agellius, would refer the 
Psalm to the times of the Maccabees. 

But the language of ver. 1—4, as well as the language of ver. ro, 
is clearly only suitable in the mouth of a king, or some powerful and 
recognized leader of the nation; and it is difficult to find a person 
of rank in the later history in whose mouth such a Psalm as this 
would be appropriate. 

The Psalmist recounts glorious victories in the past, complains 
that the nation is now beset by strange, ¢. 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. 











PSALM CXLIV. 


447 


[(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 Benedictus it is said 
that Louis gained the victory over 
Alaric, King of the Goths.”—De- 
litzsch. 

The first two verses are taken 
from Ps. xviii. 2 [3], 46 [47], 34 
[35]. 

2. My LOVING-KINDNESS. A sin- 

expression for “God of my 
oving-kindness,” lix. 1o [11], 17 
[18]; Jon. ii.9. “Deum. . . boni- 
tatem suam nominat, ab eo manare 
intelligens quicquid possidet bono- 
rum.”—Ca/lvin. 

MY DELIVERER, lit. “my de- 
liverer for me,” as the expression is 
found in the other version of Ps. 
xviii. in 2 Sam. xxii. 2. On the 
heaping together of epithets and 
titles of God Calvin remarks that 
it is not superfluous, but designed 
to strengthen and confirm faith ; 


_ for men’s minds are easily shaken, 


‘especially when some storm of trial 
‘beats upon 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 ready to fall, and 
‘such a forgetfulness of His loving- 
__ kindness stealsupon usthat we come 
_ near to losing heart altogether. 
_ WHO SUBDUETH, as in xviii. 47 
[48]; only there we have “ peoples” 
instead of “my people,” as here. 





Some indeed would correct the text 
here, or regard the form as an im- 
perfect plural. The Syr. and Chald. 
have the plural, and it is found in 
some MSS. Itis certainly not easy 
to understand how any but a despo- 
tic ruler, or one whose people had 
taken up arms against him, could 
thus*celebrate God as subduing his 
own nation under him. Delitzsch 
suggests that the words may have 
been the words of David after he 
had been anointed, but before he 
had ascended the throne. And 
similarly Calvin, supposing this to 
be one of David’s Psalms, “ Post- 
quam ergo David quas adeptus erat 
victorias contra exteros Deo ascrip- 
sit, simul etiam gratias agit de or- 
dinato regni statu. Et certe quum 
esset ignobilis, deinde falsis calum- 
niis exosus, vix credibile fuit posse 
unquam tranquillum imperium con- 
sequi. Quod ergo preter spem 
repente se populus dedidit, tam ad- 
mirabilis mutatio preclarum fuit 
Dei opus.” In any case, the Psalm- 
ist is not triumphing in the exercise 
of despotic power, but gratefully 
acknowledges that the authority he 
wields comes only from God. 

3. This and the next verse are 
again borrowed from other pas- 
sages. The weakness of man seems 
here to be urged as a reason why 
God should come to his succour 
against his enemies. Ver. 3 is a 


448 


PSALM CXLIV. 


A son of man, that Thou makest account of him? 
4 (As for) man, he is like 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 deliver me from great waters, 
From the hand of strange persons, 
8 Whose mouth hath spoken falsehood, 
And whose right hand (is) a right hand of lies. 


9 O God, a new song will I sing unto Thee, 
Upon a ten-stringed harp will I play unte Thee. 
10 Who giveth victory unto kings, 
Who riddeth David His servant from the hurtful 


sword. 


11 Rid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange persons, 


variation of viii. 4 [5]. Ver. 4 re- 
sembles xxxix. 5, 6 [6, 7]: compare 
cii. 11 [12]; Job viii. 9, xiv. 2. 

5. Here begins the direct prayer 
for the overthrow of his enemies. 
The Psalmist longs for a Theo- 
phany, a coming of God to judge- 
ment, which he describes in lan- 

age again borrowed from xviii. 9 
[top 14~-16 [15—17] 3 

TOUCH THE MOUNTAINS, as in 
civ. 32, with allusion perhaps to 
Exod. xix. 18, xx. 15. 

6. CAST FORTH LIGHTNING, lit. 
“lighten lightning.” The verb oc- 
curs nowhere else, and the verb 
translated “rid” in the next verse 
is found only here in this sense 
(which is the meaning of the root 
in Aramaic and Arabic), so that 
even a writer who borrows so 
largely as this Psalmist has still 
his peculiarities. 

7. STRANGE PERSONS, lit. “sons 
of the stranger,” as in xviii. 44 [45]. 

8. A RIGHT HAND OF LIES, de- 


noting faithlessness to a solemn 
covenant, the right hand being 
lifted up in the taking of an oath. 

9. The prayer for deliverance is 
followed by the promise of thank- 
fulness for the aid vouchsafed. 
The “new song,” however, is not 
given. ; 

O Gop. “The £/ohim in this 
verse is the only one in the last two 
Books of the Psalter, except in Ps, 
cviii., which is a composite Psalm 
formed of two old Davidic Elohis- 
tic Psalms, and therefore clearly a 
weak attempt to reproduce the old 
Davidic Elohistic style.” — De- 
litzsch. 

A NEW SONG. Comp. xxxiii. 3, 
xl. 3 [4], xcii. 4. 

10. DAVID HIS SERVANT. Men- 
tioned here apparently as an ex- 
ample of all kings and leaders, but 
me obvious reference to xviii. 50 
51}. 

11. This verse is repeated as a 
refrain from ver. 7, 8, 











PSALM CXLIV. 


449 


Whose mouth hath spoken falsehood, 
And whose right hand is a right hand of lies. 



































13 Our garners® full, 


42, The passage which follows to 
the end is, as has already been re- 
marked, altogether unlike the rest 
of the Psalm. 

For its grammatical construction 
see Critical Note ; on its connection 

_ with the preceding verses some- 

_ thing has been said in the Intro- 
duction to the Psalm. 

_ AS PLANTS. Inastriking-sermon 

on this verse, the late Archdeacon 

4 Hare mrs of the figure here em- 


: palpable and striking in this type, 
that, five-and-twenty years ago, in 
ing of the gentlemanly cha- 
a -racter, I was led to say, ‘ If a gentle- 
_™an is to grow up, he must grow 
like a tree : there must be nothing 
_ between him and heaven.’” 

Selesed figure marks the native 
strength and ur and freedom 
of the youth of the land, as the 
ext does the polished gracefulness, 
the quiet beauty, of the maidens, 
are like the exquisitely- 
‘sculptured forms (the Caryatides) 
which adorned the corners of some 
mag ee hall or chamber of a 


5 
a To. GRACE A PALACE, lit. “ (after) 
the mode of structure of a palace.” 


12 We whose? sons are as plants 
Grown up in their youth ; 
Our daughters as corner-pillars, 
Sculptured to grace a palace ; 


Affording all manner of store; 
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), 


13. ALL MANNER OF STORE, lit. 
“from kind to kind.” The word is 
a late Aramaic word. 

PASTURES. This (and not 
“ streets,” E.V.) is the meaning of 
the word here, as in Job v. Io, 
Prov. viii. 26; and this is in ac- 
cordance with the root. meaning, 

“places outside the city.” 

14. Every expression in this verse 
is of doubtful interpretation. 

LADEN (WITH THE PRODUCE OF 
OUR FIELDS), or perhaps “ great 
with young,” ze. “fruitful,” which 
accords better with the preceding 
description of the sheep. See more 
in Critical Note. 

No BREACH. Thisis the obvious 
meaning of the word : see on lx. 1, 
2 [2, 3}. 

NO SALLYING FORTH, lit. “going 
out,” which has been interpreted 
either of “ going forth to war,” or 
“going forth into captivity.” 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 need to 
sally forth to attack the besiegers. 
Comp. Amos v. 3. The LXX. have 
deEod0s, Symm. éxpopa, Jerome 


egressus, 
GG 


450 


PSALM CXLIV. 


And no cry (of battle) in our squares. 
15 Happy is the people that is in such a case ;4 
Happy is the people which hath Jehovah for its God. 


Cry (OF BATTLE). Such seems 
the probable meaning from the con- 
text ; and so Calvin, ex subito tu- 
multi, and Clericus, pugnantium ; 
or it may mean, generally, “cry of 
sorrow,” as in Jer. xiv. 2. 

SQUARES, lit. broad open places, 
mAareia, 

The whole passage, I2—I15, is a 
picture of the most perfect, undis- 
turbed peace and tranquillity. 

15. Happy. The temporal bless- 
ing of prosperity, as a sign of God’s 


favour, is natural enough under the 
Old Dispensation, Calvin, however, 
says truly: “Si quis objiciat nihil 
nisi crassum et terrenum spirare, 
quod de felicitate hominum zestimat 
ex caducis commodis : respondeo, 
hzec duo conjunctim legenda esse, 
beatos esse qui in sua abundantia 
Deum sibi propitium sentiunt ; et 
sic ejus gratiam degustant in bene- 
dictionibus caducis ut de paterno 
ejus amore persuasi, aspirent ad 
veram hereditatem.” 


a “we. The relative at the beginning of this verse is very perplexing. 
(1) The LXX., with their rendering dy oi vioi, would seem to refer it to 
the enemy, “the strange persons” of the preceding verse. But it is clear, 
from ver. 15, that the picture of ver. 12—14 is a picture of the felicity of 
the Jewish nation under the protection of Jehovah. (2) Hence De Wette 
and others would give to the relative the meaning of “in order that,” “so 
that,” as in Gen. xi. 7, Deut. iv. 40, 1 Kings xxii, 16; but then it must be 
followed by the finite verb, whereas here we have nothing but participles. 
(3) It has been suggested, therefore, to take the relative in the sense of 
“for,” “because,” as in Gen. xxxi. 49, Deut. iii. 24; but it is not clear 
how what follows in this and the next verse can be alleged as a reason for 
the prayer of the previous verse. (4) Bunsen refers the relative to God, 
and supplies a verb: “ Who maketh our sons like plants,” but does not 
attempt to defend the rendering. (5) Maurer joins the relative with the 
suffix of the following noun—certainly the most obvious construction— 
but finds here the expression of a wish, to which the form of the sentence 
(in participles) does not lend itself. He connects the verses thus: “Save 
me, Thy people, even us (ver. 11) ; whose sons, may they be as plants,” 
&c. (6) Ewald also keeps to the common use of the relative, but 
connects it with ver. 15, “ We, whose sons are, &c. . . . O happy is the 
people that is in such a case.” And, supposing that the relative is to be 
retained, this is on the whole the most satisfactory. Hupfeld, however, 
and others, consider the whole passage, 12—15, as a fragment belonging 
to some other Psalm, and here altogether out of place. Delitzsch 
suggests that perhaps ver. 11, where the refrain is repeated, ought to be 
struck out. In this case, however, the relative would naturally refer to 
God, and then we should expect some verb to follow it. 


& 4yy9, an Cz. Aey., from a sing. IY) or At) (Ew. ), and in either c 
shortened from My}. The Aram. jf in the next line occurs again 
2 Chron, xvi. 14, instead of "9, which is the older word. 


































PSALM CXLV. 451 


te 2) wprdy. The word means elsewhere “princes,” “leaders,” and 
Maur., Fiirst., and others would retain this meaning here : “Our princes 
are set up, ze. full of power and dignity. ” They appeal, for this sense of 

?zDID, to the Chald. form in Ezra vi. 3. This interpretation accords 
with ‘what follows, but not with what precedes. After the mention of 
“ sheep ” (33})N¥, a form in which the } is evidence of late writing), it is 
more natural to take pepidys here as the representative in the later 
language of the older pends (vii. 8), oxen. But assuming this to be the 
case, the meaning of pn is still doubtful. It means Jaden or burdened, 
but how? (1) It has been explained to mean “capable of bearing 
burdens,” /adoris patientes, robusti (so the Chald. and Kimchi), but it is 
doubtful whether the pass. part. can bear this meaning. (2) “ Zaden, i.e. 
with the fruits of the land,” as an image of plenteousness; or “laden 
with fat or flesh,” and so “ strong,” which comes to pretty much the same 
thing as (1). So the LXX. mayeis, and so the Syr., Jer., and most of the 
older interpreters. (3) Pregnant (laden with the fruit of the womb), as 
descriptive of the fruitfulness of the herds: so Ros., Ges., De W., Ew., 
Hitz., Hupf. The chief objection to this is the masc. form of the noun, 
but mdr, like 923, may be epicene. 


a nDDy. The same form occurs again Song of Sol. v. 9. The w 
prefixed to Mjn) is a solitary instance. 





PSALM CXLYV. 


Tuis is the last of the Alphabetical Psalms, of which there are 
' eight in all, if we reckon the gth and roth 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 Vum (3) is 
omitted. The LXX. have supplied the deficiency by intercalating a 
verse, Iardc (joN3, as in cxi. 7) Kupeoe év rote Aoyote avrov, Kai Sowe ev 
‘FGot otc Epyotc avrov ; but the latter part of this is taken from ver. 17, 
and none of the other Ancient Versions except the Syr. and those 
which follow the LXX. recognize this addition. 

_ This is the only Psalm which is called a Zeh#//ah, i.e. “ Praise” or 
“Hymn,” the plural of which word, 7e/z//im, is the general name for 

GG 2 


452 PSAIM CXLIV. 

the whole Psalter. The LXX. render it atveotc, Aquila tuvnote, Sym- 
machus tproc, and “Hymn” is given as the equivalent in the Midrash 
on the Song of Solomon. In the Talmud (Berachoth, 46) it is said : 
“Every one who repeats the Tehillah of David thrice a day may 
be sure that he is a child of the world 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 unites both these qualities in itself.” 


[A HYMN OF DAVID. | 


I s I WILL exalt Thee, my God, O King, 
And I will bless Thy Name for ever and ever. 


2. Every day will I bless Thee, 
And I will praise Thy Name for ever and ever. 
3 3 Great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised, 
And His greatness is unsearchable. 
4 t One generation to another shall praise Thy works, 
And declare Thy mighty acts. 
5 7 Of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, 
And of Thy wondrous works, will I meditate. 
6 \ And (men) shall speak of the might of Thy terrible 


acts, 


And I will tell of Thy greatness.* 
7 + The memory of Thy great goodness? they shall abun- 


dantly utter, 


1. FOR EVER AND EVER. Not 
merely, as Calvin, etiamsi plura 
secula victurus est: but the heart 
lifted up to God, and full of the 
thoughts of God, can no more con- 
ceive that its praise should cease, 
than that God Himself should cease 
to be. 

3. GREATLY TO PE PRAISED, or 

“greatly praised ;” but see on xviii. 
a, 


5. THY WONDROUS WORKS, lit. 
“thewords of Thy wondrous works.” 
Comp. lIxv. 3 [4]. 

MEDITATE, or perhaps “r 
hearse,” z.¢. in poetry. 

6. AND I WILL TELL, &c., lit. 

“and as for Thy greatnesses (or — 
great acts), I will tell of every one 
of them.” 

7. ABUNDANTLY UTTER. So the 
verb is not inaptly paraphrased by 








oe —_ 


PSALM CXLV. 


453 


And sing aloud of Thy righteousness. 


8 mM Gracious and of tender compassion is Jehovah, 
Long-suffering and of great loving-kindness. 
9 © Jehovah is good unto all, 
And His tender compassions are over all His works. 
10 9 All Thy works give thanks to Thee, O Jehovah, 
And Thy beloved bless Thee. 
11 5 They talk of the glory of Thy kingdom, - 
And speak of Thy might. 
12 4 To make known to the sons of men Thy mighty acts, 
And the glorious majesty of Thy kingdom. 
13 4 Thy kingdom is a kingdom for all ages, 
And Thy dominion for all generations. 


14 D Jehovah upholdeth all them that fall, 

And raiseth up all those that be bowed down. 
15 » The eyes of all wait on Thee, 

And Thou givest them their food in its season ; 


16 5 Opening Thine hand, 


And satisfying the desire of every living thing. 
17 % Jehovah is righteous in all His ways, 
And loving in all His works. 
18 )) Jehovah is nigh to all them that call upon Him, 
To all who call upon Him in truth. 
19 \ He fulfilleth the desire of them that fear Him, 
And when He heareth their cry He helpeth them. 


our translators ; lit. it is “ pour 

forth,” the same word as in xix. 2 

[3], lix. 7 [8], where see Note. 

' to. THY BELOVED. See on cxlix. 1. 
14. The glory, the majesty, the 


__ eternity of God’s kingdom, of which 


so much has been said—how are 
‘they manifested? Wherein is the 


__ conspicuous excellence of that king- 


dom seen? Not in the symbols 


__ of earthly pride and power, but in 


_ gracious condescension to the fallen 
__and the crushed, in a gracious care 





which provides for the wants of 
every living thing. (We have here 
a resumption and expansion of the 
thoughts in ver. 8, 9.) 

ALL THEM THAT FALL. Others, 
“them that are ready to fall:” but 
see Xxxvii. 24. 

15. This verse, and the first clause 
of the next, are taken from civ. 
27, 28. 

16. SATISFYING THE DESIRE, lit. 
“satisfying every living thing with 
(the object of) its desire.” 


454 PSALM CXLVI. 


20 & Jehovah keepeth all them that love Him, 
But all the wicked will He destroy. 
21 7) Let my mouth speak the praise of Jehovah, 
And let all flesh bless His holy Name for ever and 
ever. 


: pmb. The K’thibh is in the plur., which has been very unneces- 
sarily corrected to the sing., because of the following singular suffix, 
which, however, is not uncommon with the plur. (see for instance 
2 Kings iii. 3, x. 26), and here, moreover, can be readily explained as 
distributive. 


byaiwat. The adj. is irregularly prefixed, possibly, as Hengst. 
suggests, because it forms one word with the noun following = much- 
goodness. Kim., Ros., Olsh., Del., would take 39 as a subst., for 35, but 
according to the analogy of xxxi. 20, Is, Ixiii. 7, it must be an adj. 





PSALM CXLVI. 


WirH this Psalm begins another series of Hallelujah Psalms, with 
which the Book closes. Certain of the words and phrases seem to con- 
nect it with the 145th; others are borrowed from the ro4th and 118th. 
The LXX. ascribe it, as they do the 138th and the next two Psalms 
(or the next three, according to their reckoning, for they divide the 
147th into two), to Haggai and Zechariah (’AdAn\otwa* ’Ayyatov Kal 
Zaxapiov). It is by no means improbable that this Inscription repre- 
sents 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 


“allel,” though expressly distinguished from “the Hallel,” which — 


was to be sung at the Passover and the other Feasts. 


The Psalm bears evident traces, both in style and language, and — 


also in its allusions to other Psalms, of belonging to the post-Exile 











PSAIM CXL VI. 


455 


literature ; and the words of verses 7—g are certainly no inapt ex- 
pression 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 (ver. 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 weakness 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 while 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 earth, 
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, 


2. WHILE I HAVE MY BEING, lit. 
“while I yet (am).” Not-in this 
song only will he utter His praise, 
but “his life shall be a thanksgiving 

- unto the Power that made him.” 

3. TRUST NOT IN PRINCES. A 

warning which might be called forth 
the circumstances of the nation 
their return from Babylon. 

See on cxviii. 8, 9. 

No HELP, or “no _ salvation.” 
- Comp. xxxili. 16, Ix. 11 [13]. 

4. HIS BREATH. Comp. civ. 2. 
And, with his breath, His THOUGHTS 
or “ ” (a Chald. word for 
which we have the Hebrew equiva- 
Tent Job xii. 5), however grand in 
conception, however masterly the 

execution, all come toanend. 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 theirown thoughts: 
their thoughts do not survive them. 

5- FOR HIS HELP. The predicate 
is introduced by the preposition 
(the Beth essentia, as the gram- 
marians term it), as in xxxy. 2, for 
instance. 

6. WHO MADE (as in cxv. 15, 
cxxi. 2, cxxiv, 8, cxxxiy. 3, this 
designation of God charac- 
teristic 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 


456 PSALM CXLVI. 


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 down, 
Jehovah loveth the righteous ; 


9 Jehovah keepeth the strangers, 
The widow and the fatherless He setteth up, 
But the way of the wicked He turneth aside. 
10 Jehovah shall be King for ever, 
Thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. 


righteous God (ver. 7), a bountiful 
God (20.), a gracious God (ver. 7 


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 attribute 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 be- 
yond 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 pourtray God’s 
character asa Ruler. It is sucha 
God who is Zion’s King, ver. Io. 
Such an One men may trust, for 
He is not like the princes of the 
earth, ver. 3. 

7. LOOSETH THE PRISONERS. 
Comp. Is. lxi. 1. Delitzsch quotes 
a curious instance of the allegorical 
interpretation of these words from 
Joseph Albo, who in his Dogmatics 
(bearing date 1425), sect. ii. cap. 

“16, maintaining against Maimo- 
nides that the ceremonial law was 
not of perpetual obligation, appeals 


Hallelujah ! 


to the Midrash Tanchuma, which 
interprets this loosing of the pri- 
soners as an allowing of what had 
once been forbidden. 

8. OPENETH THE EYES, lit. “open- 
eth the blind,” ze. maketh them to 
see. The expression may be used 
figuratively, as a remedy applied 
either to physical helplessness, as 
Deut. xxviii. 29, Is. lix. 9, 10, Job 
xii. 25 ; or to spiritual want of dis- 
cernment, as Is, xxix. 18, 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. ‘‘ Valde gratus mihi 
est hic Psalmus,” says Bakius, “ob — 
Trifolium illud Dei: Advenas, Pu- 
pillos, et Viduas, versu uno luculen- — 
tissime depictum, id quod in toto 
Psalterio nullibi fit.” 

H£ TURNETH ASIDE. That which — 
happens in the course of God’s 
Providence, and as the inevitable 
result of His righteous laws, is” 
usually ascribed in Scripture to His 
immediate agency. { 

10, SHALL BE KING. See Intro- 
duction to xcix. 








| 
: 




















PSAIM CXLVIT. 457 


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 almighty 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 seemg 
the occasion of the Psalm. It may have been written for the dedi- 
cation of the wall of Jerusalem, which, as we learn from Nehem. 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 Hengstenberg 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 of 
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 Zrifolium of praise. 

The LXX. divide the Psalm into two parts, beginning a new 


_ Psalm at ver. 12. 


1 HALLELUJAH! 
_ For it is good to sing unto our God, 
For it is sweet ; comely is the hymn of praise. 
2 Jehovah doth build up Jerusalem, 
He gathereth together the outcasts of Israel ; 


», 


1. This verse might perhaps be 3, xxxiii. I. See more in Critical 


_ better rendered with the change of Note. 


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. 





2. DOTH BUILD UP. With refer- 
ence to the rebuilding of the walls 
after the Captivity, as in cxxii. 3 

GATHERETH TOGETHER. A verb 


458 


PSAIM CXLVII. 


3 Who healeth the broken in heart, 
And bindeth up their wounds ; 


4 Who telleth the number of the stars, 
(And) calleth them all (by their) names. : 


5 Great is our Lord, and of great power, 

His understanding is infinite. 
6 Jehovah setteth up the afflicted, 

He casteth the wicked down to the ground. 
7 Sing unto Jehovah with thanksgiving, 


found, in this conjugation only, Ezek. 
xxii. 21, xxxix. 28, and in the latter 
passage with the same reference as 
here. 

OUTCASTS, lit. “those who are 
thrust out, driven away.” Symm. 
é€Ewapevous, whereas the LXX. ex- 
press the sense more generally, rds 
dvacropas. It is the same word as 
in Is, xi. 12, lvi. 8. 

3. BROKEN IN HEART, As in 
xxxiv. 18 [19], Is. lxi. 1, where, 
however, the participle is Niphal. 

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 
consolation to His people, however 
they may have been scattered, and 
however they may have been op- 
pressed. 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 precisely the 
same as in Is. xl. 26—29, “ Lift u 
your eyes and see: Who hat 
created these things? It is He that 
bringeth out cher host by number, 
who calleth them all (by) name. 
For abundance of power, and be- 
cause He is mighty in strength, 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 
Jehovah, 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 passages 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 expres- 
sion marking not only God’s power 
in marshalling them all as a host 
(Is. xl, 26), but also the most in- 
timate knowledge and the most 
watchful care, as that of a shepherd 
for his flock, john xigs 

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 the phrase here as decid- 
ing its application there. 

HIS UNDERSTANDING IS _ INFI- 
NITE, lit. “to (of) His understand- — 
ing there is no number,” whereas 
both in cxly. 3 and Is. xl. 28 it is, 
“there is no searching.” Comp. 
Rom. xi. 33, dvefixviagror ai ddot 
avrov. i 
6. The same Lord who with infi- " 
nite power and unsearchable wis- 
dom 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 Hi 
order are a correction of man’s 
anarchy and disorder. 

7. A fresh burst of praise because 





—— 









PSALM CXLV//. 


459 


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 He delight, 
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 Celebrate Jehovah, O Jerusalem, 


Praise thy God, O Zion ; 


13 For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates, 
He hath blessed thy children in the midst of thee; 
14 Who maketh thy border peace, 
(And) satisfieth thee with the fat of wheat ; 


of God’s fatherly care, as shown 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 for their food (Job xxxviii. 41), 
so amongst men (ver. 10) His de- 
light is not in those who trust in 
their own and swiftness, 
but in those who look to Hm, fear 
Him, put their trust in Hzs good- 
ness. 

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 P.B.V. But here 
this addition is out of place, and 
disturbs the order of thought. It 
is not till ver. 10, 11, that man is 


_ introduced. 


2 in the Psalmist begins his 
ymn of praise, and now with a 
direct reference to the rebuilding of 
Jerusalem, and the bright prospect 


which seemed to dawn upon the 


nation after its restoration. 
13. HATH STRENGTHENED THE 
BARS OF THY GATES. The expres- 


sion might certainly denote figura- 


tively (as Hupfeld says) the security 
of the city, but, as the Psalm so 
evidently refers to the return from 
the Captivity and the rebuilding 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. lx. 17, 18, 
**T 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 thy walls Salvation, and thy 
gates Praise.” 

14. FAT OF WHEAT. See on Ixxi. 
16 [17]. 

15—18. 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 ac- 
counted 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, therefore, so trium- 


460 PSAIM CXLVII. 


15 Who sendeth forth His commandment (to the) earth: 
His word runneth very swiftly ; 
16 Who giveth snow like wool, 
(And) scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes ; 
17 (Who) casteth forth His ice like morsels: : 
Who can stand before His frost ? 
18 He sendéth 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. 
20 He hath not dealt so with any nation ; 
And as for (His) judgements, they do not know them. 
Hallelujah ! 










phant and living a sense of the 
dominion of Jehovah, not in Israel 
only, but throughout the universe. 
15. HIS COMMANDMENT, or “ 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, where see note. 
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 


* mt. 


of wool to fly, or scattering a few 
ashes.” (Hengst.) 

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 ther 
is a special privilege belonging to 
His chosen people. They, and they 
alone in the world, have received 
the lively oracles ‘of His mouth, 
Comp. Rom. iii. 1, 2. “ What ad- 
vantage then hath the Jew?. 7 
Much every way: first, because 
that unto them were committed the 
oracles of God.” 


This, as it stands, must be a fem, infin. Piel, and as such it is © 


usually defended by 77), ri xxvi. 18, the only other instance of such a 
form; but Hupf. contends that such fem, infin, in the Piel and Hiph, 
ought to be of the forms nbyp and napa, as in Aramaic. He also 
objects that 2§% %D cannot mean “for 7¢ is ‘good, ” but “for He is good,” 
the adjective being always predicated of God, and he appeals especially 
to the parallel passage, cxxxv. 3. Further, according to the usual 
rendering, the second hemistich of the verse consists of two verses 
dependent on '3, yet unconnected with one another; and in the n 4 
verse the construction is carried on with a participle, which implies that 
Jehovah is already the subject of the previous verse. Hence, unless 
myer is imperat. paragog. sing., instead of plur. (which here would be a 











PSAIM CXLVIII. 461 


harsh enallage of number), we must either feud 3W3t (so Ven., Olsh.) or 
Vos, with the same change from the 3rd pers. to the rst as in cxlv. 6. 
The Athnach is wrongly placed: it should clearly stand with D‘y}, not 
with 33° 


ES! =e — LU lh ee 





PSALM CXLVIII. 































In this splendid Anthem the Psalmist calls upon the 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 from the 
bondage of corruption (Rom. viii. r3—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; but the 
other is as old as Hilary, who sees the end of the exhortation of the 
Psalm to be, ‘ Ut ob depulsam szculi vanitatem creatura omnis, ex 
magnis officiorum suorum laboribus absoluta, et in beato regno eter- 
Nitatis aliquando respirans, Deum suum et leta predicat et quieta, et 
ipsa secundum Apostolum in gloriam beatz zeternitatis assumpta.” 

_ 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 boidness 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 


462 PSALM CXL VIII. 


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- 
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 zationality, 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 Hebrew 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 honorabilem fratrem nostrum 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 recognized or 
implied. 


The Psalm consists of two equal parts ; 


I. The praise of God in heaven. Ver. 1—6. 
II. The praise of God on earth. Ver. 7—12. 


1 HALLELUJAH! 
O praise Jehovah from the heavens, 
Praise Him in the heights. 
2 Praise ye Him, all His angels, 
Praise Him, all His hosts. 


1. FROM THE HEAVENS. This. lude comprising all afterwards enu- 
first verse is not to be restricted merated, angels, sun, and moon, &e. 
merely to the angels: It is the pre- 2. His HosTS. Here, as is plain 








PSALM CXLVIIT. 463 










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 it 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, 


from the parallelism, “the angels,” 
as also in 1 Kings xxii. 19, though 
elsewhere the expression is used of 
_ the s¢ars,and some would so under- 
stand it here. 
_ 4 HEAVENS OF HEAVENS. A 
_ superlative, according to the com- 
_ mon Hebrew idiom, denoting “the 
highest heavens ;” comp. 2 Cor. xii. 
2. Others take it as a poetical way 
of expressing the apparently bound- 
less depth of the heavens. So 
Luther, “Ihr Himmel allenthal- 
ben ;” Maurer, “Omnia ccelorum 
_spatia utut vasta et infinita,” an 
interpretation which perhaps de- 
Tives some support from the phrase, 
“the heaven and the heaven of 
heavens,” Deut. x. 14; 1 Kings viii. 
























WATERS ... ABOVE THE HEA- 
_ VENS, as in Gen. i. 7. This is usu- 
_ ally 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 exist- 
ence of a vast heavenly sea or re- 
‘servoir. However, it is quite out 
of place, especially when dealing 


with language so evidently poetical 
as this, to raise any question as to 
its scientific accuracy. 

5. HE COMMANDED. The LXX,. 
add here from the parallel passage, 
xXxxili. 9, the other clause, “He 
spake, and it was done,” or, as 
they render, “...and they were 
made.” 

6. AND THEY TRANSGRESS IT 
NOT, lit. “and none of them trans- 
gresses it ;” for the verb is in the 
singular, and therefore distribu- 
tive. Others, as the E. V., follow- 
ing the LXX., Jerome, the Syriac, 
&c., “a law which shall not pass;” or 
“ shall not be broken.” The objec- 
tion to this is, that the verb is never 
used elsewhere of the passing away 
of a law, but always of the trans- 
gression of a law. 

7. The second great division of 
created things,—that is, according 
to the Old Test. view, THE EARTH. 

SEA-MONSTERS, mentioned first, 
as at the bottom of the scale in 
creation, as in Gen. i. 21. 

8. FIRE, z.e. “lightning,” as in 
xviii. 12 [13], where it is in like 
manner joined with hail. 

VAPOUR, or. perhaps rather 
“smoke,” answering to “fire” as 
““snow” to “ hail.” 

STORMY WIND, as in cvii. 25. 


464 


PSALM CXLVITT. 


Fruit-trees, and all cedars ; 


10 Beasts, and all cattle, 


Creeping things, and winged fowl ; 
II Kings of the earth, and all peoples, 

Princes, and all judges of the earth ; 
12 Young men, and also maidens, 


Old men, and children : 


13 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. 


11,12. Man mentioned last, as 
the crown of all. The first step 
(see ver. 7) and the last are the 
same as in Gen.i. In the inter- 
vening 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 rea- 
son for the exhortation 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 unconscious crea- 
tures by a law which they cannot 
transgress. (It is the fearful mys- 
tery of the reasonable will that it 
can transgress the law.) It is be- 
cause His Name is exalted, so that 
the eyes of men can see and the 
hearts and tongues of men confess 
it ; it is because He has graciously 
revealed Himself to, and mightily 


Hallelujah ! 




















succoured, the ‘people whom He 
loves, thenation who arenearto Him. 
If it be said, that what was designed 
to be a Universal 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 revelation of 
His character had been made. 

14. LIFTED UP THE HORN. See 
on Ixxv. 6, 

A PRAISE. This may either be 
(1) 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, 
lxii. 7) ; or (2) in apposition with the 
subject of the previous verb, God 
Himself is “a praise (2. 2. object of 
praise) to,” &c. So the LXXi® 
vpvos, Jerome /aws. See on cxlix. 9. 

NEAR UNTO HIM, as a holy — 
people, Deut. iv. 7. Comp, Ley, — 
415. 














PSALM CXLIX. 465 


PSALM CXLIX. 






































Tue 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 
_ with the 146th. It breathes the spirit of intense joy and eager 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 religious enthusiasm and fervent loyalty 
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 the 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 allsides. 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 Belli 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 
VOL, II. HH 





466 PSALM CXLIX. 

Apostle, ‘the weapons of our warfare are not carnal’ (2 Cor. x. 4), 
she falls back upon the ground of the Old Testament, beyond which 
she has long since advanced,—ground which even the Jews them- 
selves do not venture to maintain, because they cannot altogether 
withdraw themselves from the influence of the light which has 
dawned in Christianity, and which condemns the vindictive spirit. 
The Church of the Old Testament, which, as the people of Jehovah, 
was at the same time called to wage a holy war, had a right to ex- 
press its hope of the universal conquest 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’ é£dxnv. Therefore the Christian must transpose the 
letter of this Psalm into the spirit of the New Testament.”— Deditzsch. 


I 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 ; 


them under foreign rule; He will 
break the yoke of every oppressor 
from their neck. 


1. A NEW SONG. As expressive 
of all the new hopes and joys of a 
new era, a new spring of the nation, 





a new youth of the Church bursting 
forth into a new life. 

(His) BELOVED, or “them that 
love Him ;” see on xvi. 10. A name 
repeated ver. 5 and 9, and therefore 
characteristic of the Psalm. 

2. IN THEIR KING. God again 
is claimed emphatically as the King 
of the nation, when they had no 
longer a king sitting on David’s 
throne. Such a King will not leave 


4. HATH PLEASURE, as has been 


shown by their restoration to their 


own land. Comp. Is, liv. 7, 8. 

BEAUTIFIETH. Comp., as having 
the same reference to the change in 
the condition of the nation, Is. lv. 
53 Ix. 7,9, 13; xi. 3. 

5. WITH GLORY, or it might be 
rendered “decause of (the) glory (put 
upon them).” 

UPON THEIR BEDS. Even there, 






































_ even when they have laid them- 
selves down to rest, let them 
break forth into joyful songs at the 
thought of God’s high favour shown 
to them, in the anticipation of the 
_ victories which they shall achieve. 
This appears to me to be the ob- 
vious and most simple explanation. 
_ Maurer, “Tam privata quam pub- 
lica sit letitia”” Hengstenberg, 
“Upon their beds,—where before, 
in the loneliness of night, they con- 
_ sumed themselves with grief for 
their shame.” Comp. Hos. vii. 14. 
6. A revival of the old military 
‘Spirit of the nation, of which we 
have an instance Neh. iv. 17 [11], 
_ “With the one hand they did their 
work, and with the other they held 
the sword.” But a still better parallel 
is 2 Macc. xv. 27, rais pev xepolv 
dyev(épevot, rais d¢ kapdiats mpos Tov 
Geov evxdpevor. 
g. (THE) JUDGEMENT WRITTEN. 
is has been explained to mean 
the judgement written in the Law, 
_and that either (1) the extermination 
of the Canaanites, as a pattern for all 
future acts of righteous vengeance 
(Stier) ; or (2), in a more general 
sense, such judgements as those 
threatened in Deut. xxxii. 40—43. 
‘Comp. Is. xlv. 14; Ezek. xxv. 14, 
XXXviii., xxxix.; Zech. xiv. But the 
sxtermination of the Canaanites 
could not be regarded as a typical 


PSAIM CXLIX. 


467 


6 (Let) the high (praises) of God (be) in their mouth, 
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 ! 


example, for the Jews were not sent 
to exterminate other nations, nor is 
any such measure hinted at here. 
Nor, again, if by “written” we un- 
derstand “prescribed in the Law,” 
is the allusion to Deut. xxxii. 40—44 
and similar passages more pro- 
bable ; for in those passages ven- 
geance on the enemies of Israel is 
not enjoined, but God speaks of it 
as His own act. 

Hence others understand by “a 
judgement written” one in accord- 
ance with the Divine will as written 
in Scripture, as opposed to selfish 
aims and passions (so Calvin). But 
perhaps it is better to take it as 
denoting a judgement fixed, settled 
—as committed to writing, so as to 
denote its permanent, unalterable 
character—written thus by God 
Himself. As in Is. lxv. 6 God says, 
“ Behold it is written before Me: I 
will not keep silence, but will re- 
compense, 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 re- 
ferring to God : “ He isa glory to 
all,” &c.: ze. either (1) His glory 
and majesty are reflected in His 
people ; or (2) He is the author and 
fountain of their glory ; or (3) Heis 
the glorious object of their praise. 


_* ey. This has been usually taken as a plur., adapting itself to 
may ; but it is rather sing. (with the usual substitution of * for m, in 
; HH2 


468 PSALM CL. 


verbs 175), and particularly in this participle, Job xxxv. ro, Is, liv. 5. 
So Hupf. and Ewald, Lehré. § 2564, and so also Gesen. in the latest 
editions of his Grammar. 


> nip, infin. subst. from DY: see on Ixvi. note £. 





PSALM CL. 


Tue great closing Hallelujah, 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 “everything that — 
hath breath,” is invited to join. It is one of those Psalms which “ de- 
clare their own intention as anthems, adapted for that public 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 devotions 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 music that these thirteen verses are put 
together : it was no doubt to give effect first to the human voice, and ~ 
then to the alternations 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. . 


1 HALLELUJAH! 
O praise God in His sanctuary, 


1. IN HIS SANCTUARY. This would seem to show that the form 
may be either the earthly or the is meant; the parallelism wou 
heavenly Temple. The character favour the latter. See xi. 4, where 
of the Psalm as a liturgical anthem __ there is the same ambiguity. 













_. FIRMAMENT OF HIs MIGHT, #.¢. 
_ the heaven in which His kingly 
power and coupe are displayed. 

Comp. Ixviii. 34 [35]. 
__ 3. CORNET, properly the curved 

Siiranent made of a ram’s horn 
(see on Ixxxi. 3), and distinct from 
the straight metal trumpet, though 
in the Talmud it is said that after 
the destruction of the Temple the 
distinction of names was no longer 
observed. 

4. TABRET, or “tambourine.” 
_ The Hebrew toph i is the same as the 
_ Arab. duff; and the Spanish adufe 
is deriv through the Moorish from 
the same root. 

STRINGS. This is probably the 
meaning, as in Syriac. See on xlv. 
note*. 


PIPE, properly “shepherd's flute,” 


PSALM CTL. 


Praise Him in the firmament of His might. 
2 Praise Him for His mighty acts, 
Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. 
3 Praise Him with the sound of the cornet, 
Praise Him with lute and harp. 
4 Praise Him with tabret and dance, 
Praise Him upon the strings and pipe. 
5 Praise Him upon the clear cymbals, 
Praise Him upon the loud cymbals. 
6 Let everything that hath breath praise Jah! 
HALLELUJAH ! 


Gen. iv. 21 ; but not elsewhere men- 
tioned as an instrument employed 
in sacred music. 

5. CYMBALS. The Hebrew word 
is onomatopoetic, intended to de- 
scribe the clanging of these instru- 
ments. It occurs in sacred music, 
2 Sam. vi. 5, LXX. ctipBara. The 
distinction between the two kinds 
mentioned is, probably, that the 
first, as smaller, had a clear, high 
sound ; the latter, as larger,a ’ deep, 
loud sound. (So Ewald, Fahro. 
viii. 67.) Others render, “ cas- 
tanets.” 

6. LET EVERYTHING THAT HATH 
BREATH, and, above all, the voice 
of man, as opposed to the dead 
instruments mentioned before. 

What more fitting close than this 
of the great “ Book of Praises ?” 


) 


Br >, HON eae 











ee 
fs — ae 
: .; 
e * 
ees tee] 
mR ET eke, 
s 
x _ 
} * 
, . 
. F 7 
ee. ' . 
a ~ - = ++ 
” + 
. t 
; 
- « 7 j r 
~ f +. 7 . 
. 7a ny . : 
_ . 
: ad 5 tas 
* - ‘ 
- ‘ : 
* 
: i : i hm, 
5 4 . - 2 3 
oe i wh \ < 2 yay 
pe Somacead ‘ s _ . Pee ple 
yaaa *e 
§ i ; " 
- . 2 
\ 
4 , 
S ny j 
. ; 


ye 
, Pn. “s ee 
( vik =A y 
: : = SF vend bores 
5 
7 
ee ; 
Fw 





GENERAL INDEX. 


A. 


ot his story of a Spanish Jew, 
149. 
Aes, the wicked compared to the, i. 


Adtimo, hymn quoted, i. 213 ; his ad- 
miration of the description of a ship 
in a storm in Ps. cvii., ii, 271. 

Adonai, ii. 299. 

ZEschylus, Prometheus of, quoted, i. 203. 

Ahithophel, supposed allusion to, Ps. xii., 
i. 331; probably not the treacherous 
friend to in Ps. lv., 421. 


Alamoth, i. 136. 

Albo, Joseph, eae ii. 456. 

, compassing the, a part of Divine 
i, 2535 homns of tha, #i 432- 


70. 

footsteps of the, interpreted 
by the T: of the delay of the 
Messiah, ii. 151; of whom spoken, 
243, 399. 

Antiochus Epiphanes, probable allusion 
to, in Ps. lxxiv., ii. ti . 
Aposiopesis, instance of, 1. 25 

Ark, removal of, to Zion, i. 178, 242, 


word, li. 25, 27, 


Augustine, Ps. xxxii. favourite of, i 
2773 = confession and taking away 
of sin, 280; against the Pelagians, 
449 ; quoted, 529, 558, ii. 194, 195 ; on 
the Great Physician, 220 ; story of the 
eagle renewing its youth, 2243; on 
wisdom, 308 ; on idol-worship, 319; 
on Ps. cxvi., 322; on Ps. cxxx., 388 ; 
says that Ps. exxxiii. gave birth to 





monasteries, 402; on God as the foun- 
tain of goodness, 407. 
rae are blood, i. 152. 
e, meaning of, ii. 425- 
Awaking, whether used of the resur- 
rection, i. 196. 


B. 


a captivity, return of the exiles 
from the, ii. 121; their feelings on 

their return cae mee 364, 368, 370. 

Baca, - suaadndh thy ey of Weeping, ii. 118. 

i. 215. 

Bakius, quoted, i. a 310; ii. 456. 

Bands in death, meaning of, ii. 9. 

Basalt, or Basanites, i. 509. 

Bashan, the land of, i. 231; mountain 
range of, i. 509. 

Bear in the bosom, to, ii. 151. 

Beast of the reed, explanation of, i. 514- 

Beloved (of God), i. 186, 268, 392; 
76, 147, 466. 

Benjamin, little, why so called, i. §14. 

Bind, to, used in a sense approaching 
the modern ey in the Tl sacgd 
“ binding and ” ii. 


Birks jistaes of Belief), homed i i. 


404. 
Birds in the Temple, ii. 116. 
Bloodthirsty man, i. 128. 
Blunt, Veracity of the Books of Moses, 
quoted, ii. 253. 
Boar, the, out of the wood, ii. 36. 
Book of life, i. 535- 
Bottle, skin, i. 432. 
Bottle, a, in the smoke, ii. 345. 
Bow, of brass, i. 206; deceitful, emblem 
of faithlessness, ii. 68. 
Breach, in the, ii. 254. 
Bread, mentioned as one of the three 
. most essential elements of an Eastern 


472 


banquet, ii. 233; of sorrows, 380; 
of the mighty, 63; staff of, 244. 

Breaketh, the word applied to the soul, 
ii. 339. 

Bridal, Psalm for a, i. 355. 

Brook in the way, ii. 300. 

Buchanan, quoted, ii. 21. 

Bulls, lit. ‘* strong ones,” i. 515. 

Bunsen, quoted, i. 204, 415, 443, 508 ; 
ii. 184. 

Byron, his lines on the destruction of 
Sennacherib alluded to, ii. 42. 


C. 


Calovius, quoted, i. 331. 

Calvin, on the inclination of our hearts 
to evil, i. 106; motto of, in trouble, 
134; on flattering lips, 168; faith in 
affliction, 172; on ‘‘the excellent,” 
184; God our perpetual inheritance, 
185; explains the importance of join- 
ing prayer with a good conscience, 
193; David’s prayer for special deliver- 
ance, 194; explains the ‘‘ waking ” of 
which David speaks, 196; on David’s 
assertion of innocence, 193; our igno- 
rance of surrounding evils, 216; the 
earthly and heavenly sanctuary, 221 ; 
faith in God, 240; David’s anticipa- 
tion of a future life, 241; warning 
against praying for the destruction 
of the wicked, 260; on the omni- 
science of God, 285; God’s power in 
creation and providence, 74.; on 
Psalm xxxvili., 311; on the temporal 
promises of the O. T., 329; interpre- 
tation of ‘longing after God,” 338; 
on attributing calamities to God, 351; 
God’s justice in punishment, 316; 
grace compared to a stream of water, 
369 ; describes the subject of Ps. xlix., 

, 383; thanksgiving and prayer great 
part of religion, 394; on sin, 396, 
400—402 ; co-existence of hope and 
fear in the human heart, 431; on 
comparing the wicked to dogs, 448, 
450; Dayid’s faith, 449; submission 
of the faithful to God, 466; His faith- 
fulness, 467; the ark of the cove- 
nant, 503; on means of escape from 
death, 512; power of faith, 276, 528; 
man’s righteousness the work of 
Christ, 552; his view of the Mes- 
sianic Psalms, 219, 359, 482, 496, 
529, 548; reference to, on the dif- 
ferent conditions of the righteous and 
the wicked in this world and the 
next, ii. §, 9; story of Dionysius the 
Less; 9 ;-on: Ps.) Ixziviy. 233s 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Ixxvii., 50; his view of the applica- 
tion of Ps. lxxviii. 2 by St. Matthew 
to Christ, 58; the redemption of 
Israel from a people of foreign lan- 
guage, a special mark of God’s favour, 
95; on the mixing of temporal and 
spiritual blessings, 124; on the date 
of Ps. Ixxxvii., 133 5 on “God of my 
salvation,” 139; on God’s omnipo- 
tence, 140; on quotations from O. T. 
in N. T., 144; on the numbering 
of our days, 164; styles the devil 
an acute theologian, 170; glory of 
God the prop of our faith, 175; God 
the ruler of the world, 192; singing 
Psalms, 207; cites the story of the 
wit in the temple, 265; on the im- 
precations in Ps. cix., 278; quoted, 
318; on the word “ spirit,” 422; on 
the word “‘early,” 443; on Ps. cxliv., 
447, 450. 

Caryatides, ii. 449. 

Cassiodorus, quoted, ii. 75, 86, 88. 

Caterpillar, ii. 66, 247. 

Cedars of God, ii. 86. 

Chaff, i. 108. 

Chaldean invasion, reference to, ii. 22, 


73- 

Chambers in heaven, ii. 116, 229. 

Cherub, i. 203. 

Children, God’s, spoken of collectively, 
not individually, in the Old Testa- 
ment, ii. 12. 

Cholera, Ps. xci. recommended as a 
preservative against, ii. 168. 

Christ, application of Psalm ii. to, i.114; 
subjugation of all things to, 147; vica- 
rious sufferings of, 229; David in his 
sufferings a type of, 235; the Good 
Shepherd, 239; part of Ps. Ixviii, 
applied to, 511; Solomon an imper- 
fect type of, 549, 556; kingdom of, 
dream of the heathen philosophers of 
a common citizenship of nations, and 
its fulfilment in, ii. 131 ; Melchizedek 
a type of, 298. 

Christian character, perfect delineation 
of, in Ps, xv., i. 178. 

Christmas Day, why Ps. xix, is used on 
this day, 1. 212. 

Chrysostom, quoted, ii. 295. 

Clap the hands, ii. 199. 

Colenso, Bishop, his criticisms exa- 
mined, i. 414, 415, 454, 462, 488, 
493, 501, 502. 

Coney, word imperfectly translated, ii. 
234. 

Confidence of a righteous man in ap-~ 

proaching God, i. 127, 138, 192, 251, 

254; in the protection of God, ii, 

169, 




















ion, word resenting the 
allege en en 
2s 
aeta ii. 385. 
ornet, the, ii. 
Courts of the Temple, ii. 115 


‘Covenant, appeal to the, ii. 30. 
Creation, God’s glory in, i. 211; Ps. 
a 2 Divine ode of, ii. 225,226; 
's continuous work i in, 227. 


Crisis apart from orthodoxy, ii. 


Crucifixion, the, foreshadowed, i. 231. 

— 
bed, ii. 

Cup, figurative sense of, i. 165, 184; 


waters of a full, ii. 11 ; the, 30, 324. 
Curtain, like a, ii. 
Cush, the Benjamite, i. 138 ; Ethiopia, 


I 
Geta, castanet, meaning of word, 
i. 


D. 


Daniel, his probable acquaintance with, 


of a future life, 186, 197 ; Secon 
_ affection to God, 195s 275, 431, 436, 
472; his assertion of innocence, 193, 
204, 252; servant of God, 200; Ps. 
Ixxxvi. the only one ascribed to, in the 
third book, ii. 125; promise to, refer- 
red to, 144; Ps. xciy. attributed to, 
180, 


: Dawn, etymology of the word, i. 471. 
) eee eee sneaning of, ii. 150. 

| ee deicek i 

\ premature, deprecated, i. 135 ; 
waking from, re regarded as a 


i. 500, 506. 
S Deceitfal. bow an emblem of faithless- 


‘ness, ii. 68. 
_ Deep calleth unto deep, i. 341. 


; eg ech Songs of, ii. Ps. exx. to Cxxxv. 

tzsch compares Ps. xii. to a ring, 
i. 169 ; on the feelings of God’s people 
in affliction, 171; the morning sun 


GENERAL INDEX. 


473 


compared to a bridegroom, 214; in- 
terpretation of Ps. xxxv. 13, asalluding 
to the posture of prayer, 292; heroic 
faith of the O. T. saints, 316; on 
Ps. xlvi., 367; connection of heaven 
~ and earth, 438; God the protector of 
Israel, 7%.; how to show our grati- 
tude to God, 483; on Ps. Ixviii., 508 ; 
Solomon a type of Christ, 556; an 
anecdote of Luther, ii. 387; de- 
scribes Ps. cxxxv. as a species of 
mosaic, 407; quoted, 448, 456, 465. 
Deliverer, epithet applied to God, ii. 


447- 

De Muis quoted, i. 278. 

Deserts, the, i. 503. 

Devouring pestilence, ii. 169. 

De Wette, quoted, i. 197, 324, 497, 
500, 507. 

Dew, figurative sense of, ii. 297; of 
Hermon, ii, 403. 

Dionysius the Less, story of, quoted 
from Calvin, ii. 9. 

ps God the healer of, ii. 220. 
ispleasure or anger of God, i. 134. 

Divine Name, use of, in the first and 
second books of the Psalms, i. 334- 

ae providence, an argument for, ii. 
181. 

Doeg, whether referred to, i. 410. 

Donne (Sermons), quoted, i. 278, 279, 
465, 467, 470, 473, 474. 

Doorkeeper, ii. 119. 

Doubter, forbearance towards the, urged, 
ii. 6. 

Doubts, comparison of ancient and 
modern, li. 5; wisdom of not intrud- 
ing, 12; in the hour of temptation, 
127. 

Doxology, why incorporated into the 
Psalm, ii. 259; Ps. cvii. opens with 
a, 267 ; Ps. cxvii. a, 325. 

Drink-offerings, i. 184. 


E. 


Eagle, alluded to, ii. 220; fable of the, 
renewing its youth, 224. 

Ears to open, meaning of, i. 323; in- 
cline the, 383 

Earth, world, etymology of, ii. 161. 

Eichhorn, quoted on the Ridafat, ii. 


294. 
Elohim, i. 146, 334, 359, 391; ii. 448. 
Enchanters, i. 441. 
Endor, ii. IIo. 
Engel, quoted on the cornet, ii. 93. 
Ephraim specially eet ii. 55, 60; 
their faithlessness, 


474 


Ephratah, ancient name of Bethlehem, 
mentioned in Ps. exxxii., ii, 398. 

Eucharist, Ps. cxi. supposed by some 
to bear reference to, ii. 307, 

Ever and ever, for, applied to David, i. 


224. 
Ewald, quoted, i. 157, 165, 174, 196, 
203, 211, 262, 292, 313, 500, 529. 
Excellent, the, i. 184. 
Expostulation with God, ii. 150. 


F. 


Fainteth, i. 463; ii. 268. 

Faith and fear, co-existence of, i. 430. 

Faith in God, i. 171; in the hour of 
Death, 273; justification by, 278 ; 
meaning of, 542; victory of, ii. 170, 


I7I. 

Faithful witness, the, ii. 149. 

Farrar’s Bampton Lectures, quoted on 
** difficulties concerning Providence,” 
ii. 5; wisdom of the Psalmist in con- 
cealing his doubts, 12, 

Fat of wheat, ii. 98. 

Feeling, blending of the personal and 
national, in the mind of the Psalmist, 
ii. 250. 

Feet, to lift up the, phrase explained, 
li, 25. 

Festival, Ps, Ixxxi. sung at a great 
national, ii. 90. 

Fire as lightning, i. 265. 

Firstborn, ii, 148. 

Flesh, i. 472. 

Flood (the Deluge), i. 265 ; the Shibbo- 
leth of the Ephraimites, 528. 

Floods, lifting up of the, ii, 178. 

Fool, the, a practical atheist, i. 175 ; 
see also i. 157. 

Foolish men, why so called, ii. 269. 

Foolish people, to whom the term is 
applied, ii. 30. 

Fools, meaning of the term, ii. 9. 

Footstool, His holy, ii. 202; emblem 
of subjection, 295. 

Forgiveness of sins, comfort to the peni- 
tent, ii. 219; proof of God’s love, 
221. 

Fountain of life, God only, i. 300. 

Fourth day of the week, Psalm for, ac- 
cording to the LXX., ii. 180. 

Frame, our, ii. 222. 

Frost, meaning of word uncertain, ii. 
6 


rp 

Future life, how far revealed to the 
O.T. saints, i. 135, 147, 153, 165, 
186, 197, 269, 276, 329, 387, ii. 14, 
140, 


GENERAL INDEX. 


G, 


Galileo, passage from Ps. civ. quoted 
in controversy with, ii. 230. 

Gall, i. 532. 

Gate, the place of public concourse, i. 
152; or market, 276. 

Gebal, position of, ii. 109. 

Geier, quoted, ii. 26. 

Genesis, Psalm viii. a lyric echo of the 
first chapter of, i. 143; account of 
creation in, poetically expanded in 
Ps, civ., ii, 230. * 

Gittith, i. 144. 

Glory, the manifested presence of God, 
ii. 124, 

God, a shield, i. 120, 131, 200, 261, 
449; an upholder of all that trust in 
Him, 120, 542; of my righteousness, 
123; name of, 130; chastisements of, 
134, ii. 149; glory of, in creation, i. 
145, 211, 244, 266, 284; confidence 
in, 164, ii. 169; graciousness and 
meekness of, i. 206; revelation of, 
in nature and His word, 214; holi- 
ness of, 229, 244, ii. 201; the Shep- 
herd of His people, i. 238; a king, 
265, ii. 178; holy Name of, i. 268; 
of truth, 273; omniscience and omni- 
presence of, 285; loving-kindness of, 
301; providence of, vindicated, 303, 
ever active, ii. 124; living, name 
occurring only twice in the Psalms, i. 
337, ii. 123; with us, Immanuel, i. 
367; of gods, 391; the Judge, 393, 
448, ii. 180; righteousness of, i. io8 5 
of Hosts, 447, ii. 74; of power and 
love, i. 468; the hearer of prayer, 
482; the loving Father and righteous 
Judge, 504 ; tenderness of, 512; judge- 
ment of, celebrated, ii. 38; His for- 
bearance to man, 65; cedars of, 86; 
epithet discussed, 101, 102, 105; His 
faithfulness, 145, 146, 441; His omni- 
potence and His faithfulness set forth 
in His relation to David, 147; work 
of, before work of man, 1053 majesty 
of, 179; above all gods, 186; prayer 
for presence of, with man, remark- 
able in O.T., 208 ; the fountain of life, 
236; pleasure of, in creation, 237; 
love of traced in a nation’s history, — 

- 242; mountains of, 299; forgive- 
ness of, motive for fearing Him, 
388 ; God’s kingdom, triumph of, i. 
51l. 

Godly sorrow, hope in, i. 399. 

Gods of the heathen, whether idols or — 
demons, ii. 195. 

Goél, the next of kin, explanation of — 
term and derivation, ii. 24. 








GENERAL INDEX. 


tains of Palestine, AR on the word 
“food,” 307. 


H. 


Habakkuk, resemblance between Ps. 
xlvii. and chap. iii. of, ii. 46. 


aa 
the name given to a series of 


Psalms according to theancient Jewish 
tradition, ii. 311. 
Hallelujah, the first in the Psalter, why 
phy wee according to the Talmud 
ga ii. 237 ; Psalms, list of, 


241, 341. 

Hand, Heb. for power, i. 232, ii. 435, 
437 ; washing the, i. 252; stretching 
forth the, ii. 243; to lift up the, 254, 
434; setting at the right, a mark of 
honour, 294 ; for side, 435. 

Hannah, resemblance between Ps. xxv. 
and Song of, ii. 34—36; also two 
verses in Ps. cxiil., 313. 


recollections of past, may be 
made instruments of temptation by 
_ Satan, ii. 49. 
Hare, 


eaps 76. 

Heart, the whole, required by God, ii. 
128 ; to harden ken of as 
man’s act, 187; a “proud,” different 
from ‘‘a wide heart,” 209. 
See re Way 00 ransated, i. 76. 

Heavens, _ above the, ii. 312. 

Heels, i pa compassing the, mean- 

i, 

Hei as a predicate of God, ii. 175. 

Hengstenberg, quoted, i. 147, 157, 238, 
402, 508, il. 117; error in assigning 
Ps. Ixxviii. to the time of David, ii. 
Same 
invasion, 73; on prayer, 

Herder, quoted, i. 315, 507; ii. 181, 
228, 365. 

Hermon, i. 340. 

Hezekiah, Psalms written in the time 
of, i. 366. 

Hidden ones, Thy, ii. 109. 

_ Hiding-place Ai ’God’s presence, i. 
275- 


475 


High priest, blessing of, alluded to, i. 
125, 494. 

Hind, i. 206 ; of the morning, 235. 

Hinds, Bishop, quoted, ii. 7. 

Hodu Psalms, or Confitemini, ii. 241. 

Holiness, oath by, ii. 149. 

Holy, i. 229. 

Holy city, David’s desire for a, on 

ii. 206; affection of the 

Psalmist for the, 133. 

Holy One of Israel, name of God, i. 
230; wey Pe three times in the 


54 

Holy ones, #.¢. the angels, ii. 145. 

Holy Spirit, not fully revealed as a 
Person to the O. T. saints, i 406; 
Luther’s illustration of the union of, 
with man, 261. 

Hope and fear, not inconsistent feelings, 


i. 431. 

Hope, union of faith with, i. 165. 

Hosannah, the great, the seventh day of 
the feast of tabernacles so called, ii. 
327- 

Hosts, His, expression used sometimes 
of the stars, ii. 462. 

House, Thy, meaning of term, i. 128. 
Meroe quoted, i. 29, 169, 184, 225, 
326, 500, ii. 11; on the authorshi 
of Ps. Ixxix., 74; on Ps. xc., i. 15 


Hyssop, cleansing with, i. 405. 


gS 


Immanuel, God with us, i. 367. 
Immortality, not clearly discerned under 
the O. T. dispensation, i. 135, 269. 
Imprecations in the Psalms, how to be 


ae een i. 260, 293, 331, 5353 ii. 
27 


Indignation, pg i. 168, 413, 443. 
Infatuation, word denoting Divine 
unishment, i. 455. 

Iniquities, confession of by the Psalmist 
cannot be applied to Christ, i. 325, 
330- 

Iniquity, meaning of word, ii. 184. 

Innocence, David’s assertion of, ex- 
plained, i. 193, 204, 252; assertion 
of national, 352. 

Isaiah, affinity between chap. vii. of, and 
Ps. iL, i. 110; between chap. xxxiii. 
and Ps. xlvi., 367; between chap. viii. 
and Ps. xlvi., tb. ; similarity between 
passages in, and Ps. xxii., 230; also 
pe chap. xl and Ps. exlvii., ii. 
45 

Ishmaelites, ii. 109. 

Israel, why used in the parallelism with 
Judah, ii. 39. 


476 


Israelite, our difficulty in understanding 
the feelings and expressions of a true, 
i. 448. 


ne 


Jackals, place of, figurative meaning 
of the phrase, i, 352, 

Jacob, pride of, i. 374, 

Jeduthun, ii. 47. 

Jehoshaphat, whether Ps. Ixxxiii, refers 
to, ii. 107, 


Jehovah, a refuge in trouble, i. 164 ; 


repetition of name in Ps, xix., 217 3- 


angel of, 291; the coming of, to 
judgement, ii. 193; as King, 193, 
194, 200; theory of Hengstenberg 
on use of the name in Ps, cvii., 268 ; 
trust in, inculcated, 320. 

Jehovah Elohim, i. 447. 

Jehovah Sabaoth, i. 447. 

Jehovistic Psalms, i. 334. 

Jeremiah, Psalms supposed to be written 
by, Xxx., xxxi., lxix., Ixxi. ; borrows 
from Ps. i., i. 106 ; relation of, to Ps, 
Ixxiv, and Ixxix., ii. 23 ; passages in, 
almost identical with verses in Ps, 
Ixxix., 73. 

Jerusalem, elevation of, i. 376; destruc- 
tion or sack of, by Antiochus Epi- 
phanes, subject of Ps, Ixxix., ii. 74. 

Jewish nation, narrow exclusiveness 
of, ii. 129. 

Joab, Ps. 1x. composed in commemora- 
tion of the victory of, over the Edom- 
ites, i. 453. 

Job, difficulties of, compared with 
modern doubts, ii. 5, 12. 

Jonah the Prophet, authorship of Ps, 
cxxxix, ascribed to, ii. 422. 

Josiah supposed to be the author of Ps. 
XXVili., i, 259. 

Judaism, spirit of, ii. 129. 

Judas Iscariot, Ps. cix, supposed to 
refer to, ii. 279. 

Judgement, i. 108, 549; of God, cele- 
brated, ii. 38. 

Judges, in what sense to be understood, 


ii, 435. 


K. 


Kadesh, i. 265. 

Kimchi, quoted, i. 111, 180, 227, 558. 

King, Jehovah as, ii. 193. 

“King, my,” i. 1273; expression of 
ees feeling used by the Psalmist, 
ii, 28, 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Kiss the Son, i. 115. 
Kitto quoted, ‘‘ Bible Illustrations,” ii, 
2 


Korah, Psalms of the sons of, from 


xlii. to xlix., and Ps, Ixxxvi. 


L. 


Lamp, lighted, a symbol of prosperity, 
i. 205; figure of, in Ps. CXXXii., ii, 
OO, 


400, 
Lane (Modern Egyptians), quoted, i. 
441. 
**Language, a, I understood not,” 
meaning of passage, ii. 95. 
Law, the, ‘‘the Testimony,” i. 21 5. 
Leanness, meaning of expression, ii. 


253. 
Leighton, Archbishop, quoted, i, 123; 
guilelessness pleasing to God, 279 ; 
on confession and forgiveness, 26. 
Leviathan, meaning of, ii. 29 ; general 
term for sea-monster, 235. 
Liar, a, pourtrayed and condemned, i. 
II 


411. 

Life, the path of, i. 186; the Book of, 
335 3 a long, promise of, as a tem- 
poral blessing, ii. 171; importance 
of rightly estimating, 24.; future, see 
Future life. 

Lifting up, i. 267. 

Light, the only instance of direct appli- 
cation of this name to God, Ps, XXVii., 
i. 255 ; word denoting all theheavenl 
bodies, ii. 30 ; a characteristic of God. 
119 ; God’s countenance spoken of 
as a light, 162, 

Light and truth, i. 342. 

Lightning cast forth, ii. 448. 

Lilies, on, i. 362. 

Living God, name occurring only twice 
in the Psalms, i. 337; ii. 115, 

Locust, ii. 247. ; 

Loosing prisoners, allegorical interpre- 
tation of, ii. 456. 

Lord, Adonai, ii. 298. 

Lord, our, meaning of epithet, i. 145. 

Loving-kindness, or grace, i, 248, 252, 
301. 

Loving-kindness and faithfulness ex- 
pressive of God’s covenant relation- 
ship to His people, ii. 198; my, a 
singular expression for ‘God of my 
loving-kindness,” 447. 

Luminary, ii. 162, 

Luther, quoted, i. 27; applies Ps. ii. to 
the Christian Church, 113; on God’s 
chastisements, 134 ; ‘* Amens leute,” 
168 ; God’s people in affliction, 172 ; 
on the character of a righteous man, 








view of Messianic Psalms, 185, 
220; adopts the allegorical ex- 


planation of Ps. xix. as given by the 
older interpreters, 214 ; application 
of Ps. xx. to the Church in all ages, 


220 ; describes a blessed death, 273; 
on sin, 401, 404 ; illustrates the union 
of the Spirit of God with the spirit 
of man, 407; quoted, ii. 97, 193, 
367, 382, 387 anecdote of, related 
by Delitzsch, 387; forgiveness of God, 
motive for fearing Him, 388; on 
the anointing oil, 403. 


M. 


Maccabees, First Book of, passage in 
+ Ps, xxix. similar to one in, ii. 73. 
Maker, our, ii. 186. 
Man, ‘subjection of the world to, in 
Christ, i. 147. 
Man of Thy right band 87. 
allusion to, i. 505, ii. 63. 











Melchizedek, type of Christ, ii. 298. 
Men of the world, description of, i. 


196. 
Mendelssohn, | Slee i, 139, 145. 
Meribah, cope 

Messengers God, ii. 229. 

Tested wad Son of God, two of the 
names given to the Hope of Israel by 
the Jews, taken from Ps. ii., i, 115. 

Messianic Psalms, how to be under- 

stood, i. a 224, ois oar 245, 

I, 5: 3 II, 52 pro- 

— ears ; character of Ps. 

» 131; xciii., 177 ; connection 
rophecy with N. T., 


| Migs Ose of Jacob, name of God, 
Mion [Poradis Lost), quoted, ii. 197, 


Micrable, the Hebrew word not used 

before the time of David, ii. 104. 

Mixture, herbs put into wine, ii. 37. 

Mizar, i 340. 

Mizmor, ii. 197. 

Mockers, or scorners, word used but 

once in the Psalter, i. 106. 

“ape a symbolical term descriptive 
rs 5 Ss 


Egyptians, ii. 29. ‘- 
Moon, marked the Jewish feasts, ii. 93; 


GENERAL INDEX. 


477 


why mentioned before the sun in the 
work of the creation, 234. 

Morning, in the, meaning of phrase, ii. 
162; womb of the, 297. 

Moses, his authorship of Ps. xc., ii. 
158; the priestly office of, 202; the 
reasons why he was excluded from 
the Promised Land, more fully stated 
than in the narrative, 255. 

Mountain, image of security, ii. 374. 

Mountains, corn on the, i. 555. 


N. 
Name of God, i. 130. 
Name, Holy, i. 268; Thy, above all, 
ii. 418. 


Nation, meaning of the word used in 
the plural and in the singular, ii. 


251. 

Nature, God’s revelation of Himself in, 
i. 213. 

Nebuchadnezzar, invasion of, referred 
to, ii. 21. 

Neck, veel gia tee Bc 
ii. IO. 


Night, picture of, ii. 234. 
Nob, sanctuary at, i, 414. 


Oo. 


Octave, i. 134. 

**Oculus Sperans,” the Eye of Hope, 
name given to Ps. cxxiii., ii. 367. 

Offerings, drink, i. 184; difference be- 
tween burnt and sin, 322; thanks- 
giving better than burnt, 393, 408; 
free-will, 420; free-will, God's people 
are, ii. 296. 

Oil, face made to shine with, ii. 233; 
the precious, 403. 

Olive-tree, type of fruitfulness, ii. 414 ; 
oe of healthy, vigorous life, 
3°3- 

Open the eyes to, ii. 456. 

Oreb, article in Smith’s Dict., quoted, 


i. 51. 

Oreb and Zeeb, ii. 111. 

Our Lord, first time used in the Book 
of Psalms, i. 145. 

Overwhelmed, ii. 442. 

Ovid, Met., quoted, ii. 213, 231; on a 
storm at sea, 272. 

Owl, called in Arabic “mother of the 
ruins,” ii. 213. 


478 
Ps 


Palestine, Psalm illustrated by the 
geographical position of, ii. 232. 

Palm, rareness of allusion to, in the 
Old Testament, ii. 176. 

Parable, meaning of, i. 384; ii. 58. 

Parallelism, instance of, Ps. xix., i. 215. 

Passage of the Red Sea, ii. 51. 

Passover, Ps. cxv.—cxviii. supposed to 
have been sung by our Lord after His 
last, ii. 311. 

Pasture, ii. 78. 

Paul, St., comparison of his language 
with that of the Old Testament, con- 
cerning the hope of a future life, ii. 15. 

Peace, God’s great word, ii. 123. 

Pekah, i. IIo, 

Pelican, ii, 213. 

Pericles, difference between the patriotic 
sentiment of the eee orator and 
the Jewish poet, i. 

Perowne, T. T. es, Coherence of 
the New Testament), reference to, fora 
clear view of Ps. Ixxiii., ii. 8, 13. 

Phillips (Commentary on the Psalms), 
quoted, i. 556, ii. 245. 

Piercing the hands and feet, i, 231. 

Pipe, but twice mentioned as a musical 
instrument, ii, 469. 

Pit, explanation of, i. 321, 531. 

Plagues of Egypt, ii. 66 

Plumptre, quoted, i. 119, 123; il. 152, 
327; 331. 

Pococke, quoted, i. III. 

er affinity between Prophet and, i. 
168. 

Poole, Mr. R. S., quoted on the cultiva- 
tion of the vine in Egypt, ii. 67. 

Poor destitute, ii. 215. 

Praise, or Hymn, Ps. cxlv. the only 
one so called, ii. 451. 

Prayer-book version, see Psalms. 

Prayer, morning, i. 128; true, 405; 
passage discussed relating to, 292; 
for temporal blessings, efficacy of, ii. 
265 ; for spiritual, should precede that 
for temporal blessings, 128. 

Presents, custom of bringing to an 
Oriental king, ii. 191. 

Promotion, incorrect rendering of E.V., 
ii. 36. 

Prophecy, nature of, i. III. 

Prophet, derivation ‘of word, ii. 243. 

ae and Poet, affinity between, i. 

16 

Proverb, Jewish, quoted, i. 203. 

Providence and Grace, i. 240; of God 
ever active, ii. 124. 

Soyer the prophetic character of the, 
ll, 167. 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Psalms, see Chronological Index of ; 
Prayer-book version referred to, i. 
181, ii. 9, 10, 51; by Four Friends, 
quoted, 335, 364. 

Punishment, lit. ‘‘a blow,” i. 311 ; testi- 
mony of ‘Scripture with reference to 
men’s, ii. 78. 

Pusey, Dr., quoted, i. 555, 556; on the 
closing of the Canon, ii. 72. 


Q. 
Quails, i. 505; how brought by an east 
and south wind, ii. 63. 


R. 


“* Radaf,” the rank of, ii. 294. 
Rahab, a ae agro name for Egypt, ii- 


134, I 

Rain, a bountifal, figurative, i. 505. 

Ram’s horn, why the trumpet is made 
of, ii. 93. 

Redeem, meaning of word, ii. 24; the 
peculiar meaning of the word to the 
Israelite, 2d. 

Redemption, how the word first re- 
ceived significance, ii. 50. 

Rest, or confidence of the servant of 
God when surrounded by evil, ii. 182 ; 
bse referring to present or future, 
189. 

Return, interpretation of word, ii. r6r1, 
164. 

Revelation, God’s glory in, Ps. xix., i. 
211. 

Rezin, reference of Ps. ii. to, i. 110, 

Riches, vanity of, i. 382, 384, 386, 413. 

‘* Ridafat,” il. 294. 

Rieger, quoted, ii. 219. 

Right hand, denoting succour, i. 185; 
ii. 284, 299, 361, 439. 

Righteous judgements of God, ii. 34. 

Righteous man, description of a, i. 178. 

Righteous, verb so rendered, variously 
translated, ii. fre. 

Righteousness, God’s, i. 129; paths of, 
240; Old Testament meaning of the 
term, 244; final triumph of, 387; 
God’s, vindicated by repentance of 
sinners, 408; of God, 408, 549; 
sacrifices of, 409; meaning of, 543; 
attribute to be desired for a 
550; gates of, ii, 330; human, gift 
of God, 369. 

Robertson (Sermons), quoted, descrip« 
tion of the Syrian shepherd and his 
flock, i. 239; craving of the finite 
after the infinite, 338; taunting of — 
the world in religious perplexity, 339; 
on hope, 2 




















Rock, at Horeb, ii. 61 of salvation, 


Sabbath-day, Psalm for, ii. 174. 
Sackcloth, symbol of sorrow, i. 530. 
Sacrifice, of righteousness, 124; of 
prayer, 217; papa 2573 2.¢. 
5 322, evening, il. 434; 
better than, 124, 396, 
: 409; 0 ce better than, 323. 
stats the, 1, tha, 302; He 358 
whether identical with Jeru- 
i ii. 40. 


Sallying forth, ii. 449. 

Samuel, priestly office of, ii. 202. 

Sanchez, quoted, ii. 220, 355, 422. 

Sanctuary, the, refers to the Temple, or 
heaven, ii. 12, 468; grief of the 
ee ere OG 25+ 


Ets 


eee ciychorth 200. 
Set time, critical meaning of word, time 


a. 

oer favourite figure 
a favouri 

ies thé Poslas of Asaph, i. 24. 

see Unseen World. 

figure of, i. 238; God the, 

ee et a5- 

i. 528. 


explanation of term, i. 120, 131 ; 
q ii, oil: 







GENERAL INDEX. 


479 


Shields of the earth, i. 375. 


Shower, a pate ae the special gift of 


God, i. 485, 505, 552. 

Sides "3 the north, what is meant by, 
i. 37 

Sign, meaning of term, ii. 26, 28. 

Silence of the grave, ii. 183. 

Sin, whole idea of, given in Psalm 
Xxxil., i 277; full depth and iniquity 
of, not disclosed to the O.T. saints, 
252; blotting out of, 400; forgive- 
ness of, 401; confession of, to God 
only, ib. ; how viewed in the O.T., 
402; original, 403 ; one, the mother 
of many, 400; conviction of, in a 
heart that deeply loves God, 402; 
source of, 403. 

Sirion, 7. 2. ’Anti-Lebanon, i i. 265. 

Slaves, attitude of, ii. 368. 

Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, quoted : 
Genesis, i. 334; Jehovah, Penta- 
teuch, zid.; Urim and Thummim, 
342; Succoth, 457 ; Gall, 532; Tar- 
shish, 553; Solomon, 5573 Psalms, 

ii. 47; Oreb, 51 ; Zoan, 61; Palestine, 
41; Palm-tree, 176; Meat, 307. 

Snare of the hunter, ii. 169. 

Snow, image of, i. 508; like wool, 
ii. 


Solomon, a attributed to, i., Ixxii. ; 
xlv. applied to, i. 7.355 3593 a type 
of Christ, 548, 55 

Son of aoe dag: . 148. 

Song of the Three Children, imitation of 
Ps. cxlviii., ii. 462. 

Sons of God, i. 264; of men, 124; 
of youth, ii. 381. 

Soul, i. 384. 

South, the, to what it refers, ii. 267. 

Taek The, quoted on Ps, exiv., ii. 


i Specalum Regis,” Ps. ci. described as, 


Spirit, sorrowing, how to find rest, 
ii. 52; sanguinary and revengeful, 
justified under the Old dispensation, 

465. 

Spirit of God, ii. 422; rebellion against 
the, 256. 

Stanley (Sizai and Palestine), quoted, i. 
265, 335, 369, 376, ii. 134; om the 
word ‘‘redemption,” ii. 50; on the 
‘deliverance of Israel by the passage 
of the Red Sea, §1; on the position 
of Jerusalem, 134, 374; Tabor and 
‘Hermon, 146; bitterness of the 
Edomites at the fall of Jerusalem, 
415- 

St. Bernard, quoted, i. 288. 

St. Chrysostom, quoted, i. 470. 


480 


St. David’s, Bishop of, quoted, ii. 302. 

St. James, Epistle of, expansion of, and 
comment on Psalm xyv., i. 180. 

Stier on Christ’s vicarious sufferings, 
i, 229; on the future rest alluded to 
in Psalm xxiii., 240. 

Stone, the rejected corner-, ii. 331. 

Stork, meaning of name in Hebrew, 
Greek, and Latin, ii. 234. 

Strange, stranger, how used in Hebrew, 
ii. 97. 

Stranger and sojourner, i. 317. 

Streams of water, i. 108. 

Stringed instruments, i. 87. 
Stubbornness, incorrectness of E. V. in 
rendering the werd ‘‘ lusts,” ii. 97. 
Succoth, geographical position of, i. 


457- 

Sun, a, God so called only once in the 
Psalms, ii. 119. 

Super Maria, the Romish interpretation 
of, i. 244. 

Supplications, peculiar form of, the 
word in Ps, Ixxxvi., ii. 127. 

Sympathy, word so rendered used but 
once in the Psalter, i. 532. 

Syrtes, or whirlpool, figure taken frem, 
ii. 272. 


es 


Tabernacle, what is meant by, i. 179; 
referred to, 241, 256, 463; lit. 
“‘booth,” may be understood as the 
“‘lion’s lair,” ii. 40; at Shiloh 
removed, 69. 

Tabernacles, Feast of, ii. 94. 

Tabor and Hermon, ii. 146. 

Talmud, quoted on Ps. xcii., il. 17335 
on Ps. cx., 291; on Ps. exly., 452. 

Tambourine, or Tabret, ii. 469. : 

Targum, quoted on Ps. xcii., ii, 173 ; 
on Ps, cx., 299; on the night watch 
in the Temple, 405. 

Tarshish, i. 553. 

Taylor, Isaac (Saturday Evening), 
quoted, i. 182; (Spirit of Hebrew 
Poetry), ii. 157, 377, 461, 468. 

Temple, i. 128, 201, 379, 514. 

Temple worship, Psalms for, ii. 185. 

Tertullian, quoted, i. 303; treatise De 
Spectaculis referred to, ii. 278. 

Testament, Old, spirit of, different from 
that of the New, i. 61. 

Thebes, mural paintings at, ii. 67. 

Thirsty, lit. “weary, languishing,” ii. 443. 

Tholuck, quoted, i. 482, 483; on the 
Covenant, ii. 30 ; God’sguidance in our 
every-day life, 129; feeling of secu- 
rity in God’s people in danger, 169 ; 
on Ps, Ixxxvi., 125. 


GENERAL INDEX. 


Thomson, Archbishop of York (Se 
mons preached at Lincoln’s Inn), 
quoted, ii. 160, 162, 

Thought, emblem of speed, ii. 163. 

Thoughts, anxious, ii. 183. 

Thrupp, Mr., quoted, i. 221; his view 
of the Levitical Psalms, ii. 47. 

Thunderstorm, description of, in Ps. 
xxix., i. 269. 

Time, conception of, to the Jewish 
mind, ii. 161. 

Torrent-bed, word corresponding to the 
Arab ‘‘wady,” ii. 232. 

Tribe, the word as applied to the na- 
tion of Israel, ii, 25. 

Tribes of Israel, why mentioned indi- 
vidually sometimes, and why collec- 
tively, in the Psalms, ii. 81. 


AS, 


Unchangeableness, God’s character of, 
man’s greatest comfort in his own 
conscious weakness, ii, 214, 222, 

Ungodly, punishment of the, in this 
world and the next, ii. 13 ; overthrow 
of the, and final triumph of the 
righteous, celebrated in Ps. xcii., 173. 

Unseen world, the, i. 153, 186, 201, 
ise 276, 329, 387, 474; ii. 128, 
435. 

Until, meaning of the word, ii. 295. 

Untruthfulness deprecated, ii. 208. 

Upright, a light for the, ii. 310. 

Urim and Thummin, i. 342. 


V. 


Vanity, i. 244. 

Venema, quoted, i. 483. 

Vengeance, prayers for, see Impreca- 
tions ; a righteous, may be desired by 
a pious man, ii. 112, 425. 

Verses, structure of, in Ps. i, and in 
Ps, xix., remarkable as examples of 
Hebrew parallelisms, i. 106, 215. 

Vestments, holy, ii. 296, 

Villages, i. 157. 

Vine, cultivation of the, in Egypt, ii. 
67; emblem of fruitfulness, 383. 

Vine-dresser, image made use of, ii. 43. 

Vinegar, what is probably meant by, in 
the N. T., i. 532, . 


W. 


Wake the morning dawn, i. 438. 
Wash, to, i. 400. 








GENERAL INDEX. 


Washing the hands, figurative, i. 252. 
Watch in the night, ii. 161. 
Waters of a full cup, ii. 11. 
Way, figurative use of, ii. 426. 
Weaned child, ii. 392. : 
, Abp., annotations on Bacon, 
ae 
Wheat, fat of, ii. 98. 
_ Whewell (Astronomy), quoted, i. 146. 
Wicked, the, contrast between the 
righteous and, i. 106, 306 é God’s 
judgements upon, 130, 136, 151; 
identified with the heathen nations, 
155; deny God, 157; description 
of 175, 298; compared to the 
adder, 441; to lions, 158, 195, 
_their fate, #.; compared to 
dogs, 232, 448; the mischievous 
tongue of, 478; career of, a per- 
plexity, ii. 13. t 
Wickedness, rod of, ii. 374. 
~ Wilson (Lands of the Bible), quoted, 


Wi ae Gere of, 

ings, hgt > 1. 473- 

Witness, the faithful, ii. 149. 

Womb of the morning, ii. 297. 
Women, custom of Israelitish, to com- 
a memorate victory with songs of 
triumph, i. 506. 

Word of God, comparison of the use of 





be ) 


481 


the term in Old and New Testaments, 
li. 270. 

Wordsworth, quoted, 384. 

Work, meaning of God’s, ii. 165 ; relation 
to man’s, 7d. 

World, the, i. 383; men of the, 196, 
383. 

World, unseen, see Unseen world. 

Writing mentioned once in the Psalms, 
ii. 215. 

Written judgement, meaning of, 467. 


¥; 


Yesterday, Jews’ division of time dif- 
. ferent from ours, ii. 161. 
Youth, sons of, ii. 381. 


Zi 


Zalmon, or dark mountain, i. 509. 

Zion, i. 114, 152; elevation of, 376; 
God’s entry into His sanctuary on, 
245, 496; Psalms written on occasion 
of removing the Ark to, see Ark; 
citizenship in, ii. 135. 

Zoan, in Egypt, Greek name Tanis, the 
city where Pharaoh dwelt, mentioned 
in Exodus, ii. 61. 

Zunz, quoted, i. 193. 













A... 


Absolute for construct, ii. 357. 

Abstract plural, i. 162. 

Accent, anomalous, ii. 177; drawn 
back, ii. 410, 416; misplaced, ii. 217, 

461; peculiarity of, i. 166, ii. 


icing defining action of the verb, 
i. 180; of direction, ii. 406, 431; of 
the instrument, i. 121, 170, 195, ii. 
142; of nearer definition, ii. 274; of 
time, i. 537, ii. 382; Semitic, signifi- 
ion of, ii. 44; termination in 777, 
121, ii. 359, 372; with ive verb, 
ii. G4; with verbs of dwelling, i, 131; 
i of motion, i. 210. 
after the construct, ii. 71; 
before the noun, ii. 153, 179, 454; 
masc. with fem. noun, i. 475; sing. 
i subject, ii. 310; without 
the art. after definite noun, ii. 445. 
*Adonai, i. 188; and ’Adonin, ii. 257. 
_ Adverbial clause, i. 253, 296. 
_ Aorist of ted action, i. 281, ii. 71. 
_Apocopated forms, i. 193, 364 (plur.), 
li. 240, 


400. Bt 
_ Apodosis, introduced by, 8, ii. 377. 
Aposiopesis, i. 258. 
_Apposition, nouns in, i. 309, 460, ii. 88, 


Gi 392; omitted in poetry, i. 116, ii. 
189; unusual insertion of, ii. 314. 


GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL INDEX. 





c. 


Collective noun sing. with plural verb, 

i, 151. 

Comparison, particle of, omitted, i. 166. 
Compound expressions, ii. 176; forms, 
pg in Hebrew, i. 241; tense, ii. 

397. 

Conjunctions :— 

Di, ii. 386. 

1, emphatic, i. 452; explanatory, i. 
428 ; introduces apodosis, i. 452; 
uses of, ii. 52, 438; can it mean 
‘Seven 2?” i. 276. 

*D, construction of, i. 166, 354, 389, 
li. 20; its place in the sentence, ii. 
333, 384- J, 

12, 1. 381, 475, ii. 382. 

1B, construction of, i. 261, 313. 

Construct state, with article, ii. 369; 
followed by object, i. 388; relative 
clause, i. 189; by verb, ii. 99; of 
verbal adjective, i. 258; infinitive in- 
stead of absol., i. 397 ; irregular form 
of, ii. 431; middle form between, and 
absolute, i. 363; termination of, in 

Nz, i. 190; with long final vowel, i. 

397; ii. 80, 210, 301, 313; 316; re- 

lation of two adjectives in, i. 297 ; of 

two nouns both in construction with 

the third, ii. 70. 

Copula, omitted, ii. 185. 


D. 


Dagesh euphonic, i. 365, ii. 152; lene, 
ii. 44, 152; omitted in Piel form, i. 


Defective forms, i. 188, 100, 428, ii. 
437,438. 

Dialectic variations, ii. 223. 

Diminutive verbal form, i. 313. 


484 
E. 


Elliptical construction, i. 371; sen- 
tences, i. 126, 444, ii. 438. 

Emphatic forms, i. 296. 

Energetic future, i. 451. 


F. 


Feminine plural with verb sing. masc., i. 
438; noun with masc. verb, ii. 239. 
Feminine termination of the noun in 

-ath, i. 190, 461, 464, ii. 32; of the 
verb, ii. 3343 pronoun, reference of, 
i. 506, 509 ; pronominal suffix, ii. 223. 
Final consonant, doubled in adjectives, 


i. 519. 
Fuller forms of words with 77 inserted, 
i, 365. 


G. 


Gender, anomaly of, adj. and noun, ii. 
357; verb and noun, i. 344, ii. 136, 
224. 

Gerund, ii. 224. 

Grammatical forms, older and later, i, 
501. 


H. 


Hallelujah, differently written in MSS., 
ii, 240, 

Hiphil of verbs "5 with 71 retained, ii. 
325 ; conjugation, not always causa- 
tive, i, 109, 332, ii. 112, 125, 210; 
abbreviated, i. 181; infinitive, the 
M coalescing with the prep., i. 254, 
ii. 20, 71 ; fluctuates with Kal, ii. 431; 
expresses state or condition, i. 371; 
with double accusative, i, 517, il. 
120. 

Hithpael, force of, i. 523, ii. 44, 112, 
224, 256, 272; part. apocopated, ii. 
428; incorrectly pointed with suffix, 
i, 345. 


if 


Imperative, double, i. 409; of verbs 
YY, i. 235; with 1 paragogic, ii. 89, 
437; used as future, 1. 308. 

Imperfect, relation of, to the perfect, i, 
108, 209, with °5 345, ii. 20, 89, 166; 
Kal with * inserted, i. 218; with 
paragogic M, i. 220, 222; with \ con- 
secutive, ii. 19; with DS for_par- 
ticiple, i. 452. 

Infinitive of verbs )’Y with fem. termina- 


GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL INDEX. 


tion, i. 197, ii. 52; absolute for finite 
verb, ,i. 198; impersonal, i. 371; 
with 5 followed by finite verb, ii. 
239; transition from, to finite verb, i. 
371; periphrastic with 5 for fut., i. 
469, 521, ii. 176, 284; substantive, 
ii. 468; feminine, ii. 460. 

Irregular verbal forms, i. 142, 190, 218, 
222, 236, 241, 277, 516, 523, il. 420. 


K. 
Kal for Hiphil, i. 177. 
K’ri and K’thibh, i. 166, 190, 236, 270, 
313, 318, 332, 409, 434, 452, 559, ii. 
369, 386, 431, 454. 


M. 


Masora (on 89 and 3), ii. 205. 
Metonymy, i. 225. 
Midrash (on D9), ii. 38. 


N. 


Negative particles, ba with infin., i. 
282. 
b3 with participle, i. 218. 
by, i. 252, 329, 397, ii. 362. 
N? for Nba, i. 451. 
position of, i. 389. 


* Niphal, in a reflexive sense, i. 210; in- 


finitive, irregular, i. 516. 
North Palestine, dialect of, ii. 223. 
Noun with suffix in apposition, not in 
construction, i. 364. 


O. 


Optative, i. 250, 344, 373, 397, 487, 
492, 495, ii. 125; of internal neces- 
sity, i. 439. 

Order, inversion of, i. 133. 


ee 


Paragogic forms, i. 439, ii. 52, 143. 

Participle, absolute for finite verb, ii. 
137, 436; Kal with ’ inserted, i. 190; 
as neut. adjective, i. 149; as neut. 
noun, ii. 136; of verbs, Y’Y, i. 236; 
with finite verb expressing both per- 
fect and imperfect, ii. 367; with verb — 
substantive, 7.; with suffix instead — 
of prep., i. 249, 418; passive, past and 








GRAMMATICAL AND CRITICAL INDEX. 485 


future, i. 208, ii. 417; passive with 
objective suffix, ii. 217; with r. ii 


Particle of asseveration, ii. 392. 
Partitive adj. in construction, i. 297. 
Pausal forms, i. 397, ii. 311. 

Pealal conjugation, i. 313, 363. 

Perfect followed by future, ii. 18 ; hypo- 
thetic use of, i. 166; concessive, i. 
439; with } emphatic. for imperative, 
i. 250. 

Periphrastic future, i. 469, ii. 284. 

Persons, change of, ii. 99, 171- 

Plural for sing. (poet.), i. 516, ii. 167; 
with suffix of sing., ii. 400. 

Predicate in the accus., ii. 31; position 
of, with the object, i. 439, ii. 238. 

Prepositions :— 

3 denoting cause as well as “me, i. 
154; essentia, i. 295, il. 455; after 
verbs of speaking, Xc., ii. 367, 420, 


2, i. 344. 

5 of general reference, time, condi- 
tion, &c., i. 170, 189, 197, 237, 
365, 522, ii. 16, 136; after transi- 
tive verb, i. 226, 400, 537; ii. 325, 
386, 410, 426. 

‘JBI, i. 46r. 

» JO, i. 162, 318, 300, 452, ii. 179. 

by, i. 188, 363, 381. 

Pronoun, anticipative use of, i. 480, 

509, ii. 427 ; placed emphatically first 

in sentence, il. 153; of 3rd pers. sub- 
joined to those of 1st or znd emphati- 
cally, i. 353; reflexive use of, i. 170, 
4443 in appos. with noun, i. 
151, 206, 313; with 5 as dat. com- 
modi, i. 493, 522. 

Protasis and Apodosis, i. 344, ii. 240, 
248, 518. 


Q. 


__ Quadriliteral forms, i. 519, 523, 558. 


R. 


~ Radical Yod retained in future of verbs, 
eae, i. 559. 
Reduplicatio: 


n rragrag i: 143; 
of two first radicals, i. 363. 





Reflexive pronoun, emphatic use of, ii. 
367, 447. 

Relative pronoun, used adverbially, ii. 
120, 189; pleonastically after a con- 
junction, ii. 372; doubtful construc- 
tion of, i, 161, ii. 450; clause before 
the antecedent, ii. 70. 

Relative preterite, i. 270, 281, 492, 517; 
ii. 239. 


S. 


Selah, out of place, i. 524. 

Septuagint, differs from Hebrew, i. 181, 
30L, 323, HU. 323, 390. 

Sheva, compound, anomalous, ii. 152. 

Singular suff. for plural, i. 132, 371; 
noun with plur. predicate, i 166; 
with plur. suffix, i. 155; verb with 
plur. subj., i. 210, ii. 18, 224; and 
plural forms interchanged, ii. 354. 

Subject and predicate, i. 181. 

Subordinate clause marking purpose, i. 


487. 

Suffix, 9°, singular as well as plural, 
i. 166; D7, for DY, ii. 32; OF for DY, 
i. 522; sing. within verbs 9”, i 
363, 492, ii. 467; omitted, i. 177, 
270, 435; noun with, in apposition. 
not in construction, i. 364, 546. 


as 


Tenses, sequence of, i. 108, 142, 148, 
209, 318 ; order of, in dependent sen- 
tence, i. 261; rendering of, doubtful, 
1. 495. 


V: 


Verb with accus. instead of prep., i. 
131, 173; with accus. and prep., 2, 
i. 226; with double accus., ii. 3543 
with indefinite subject, i. 162, 380; 
439, ii. 431; denominative, ii. 17; 
supplied in one clause from another, 
i. 361; impersonal, i. 445, 476, 480, 
ii. 80, 167 ; masc. with fem. noun, ii. 
80; fem. with masc. noun, i. 344; 
substantive, omitted where the re- 
ference is to the past, ii. 54. 

Verbal adjective, i. 258; noun, i. 282. 

Voluntative form in apodosis when the 
protasis is hypothetical, i. 518. 

Vowel, transposition of, ii. 185. 





a aS 


JUST PUBLISHED. 


THE 


BOOK OF PSALMS, 


A NEW TRANSLATION, 
With Introductions and Hotes Explanatory and Critical. 


SECOND EDITION. 


By J. J. STEWART PEROWNE, B.D. 


Canon Residentiary of Llandaff ; 
Vice-Principal and Professor of Hebrew in St. David's College, Lampeter. 





OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 


THE GUARDIAN. 
sot tase Mr. Perowne’s Work on the Psalms will please everybody ; but 


, reverent, and 
its of mind and different shades of opinion. Mr. Perowne is occupied, in the first 
matters of fact: the instinctive desire to grasp the literal truth is a prominent feature 
The tone of h’s Commentary is devotional ; he is by no means insensible to poetic 
in the conception of his work, devotion and poetry do not find a place till after the 
use of grammar and dictionary. He would first fix the meaning of the words of a 
ascertain, if possible, its historical allusion ; and then consider it in its relation to the 
divine truth, or to the diffused beauty and glory of the universe. ... . He throws 
is labours into an inviting form, putting before each Psalm an introduction, describing 
expressive ett its occasion and object, and appending an analysis of its contents. 
the translation, with such notes subjoined to it as are intelligible to every one who 
can read his New Testament in the Greek. The notes, which can only be appreciated by the 
advanced Hebrew student, form a eet and concluding portion to the comment on each Psalm. 
Mr. Perowne’s for¢e is detail, with which, however, he deals in no dry, forbidding spirit, but as one 
is sensible of the mx heights and depths which encompass the soul of man He uses 
a like one who feels that they are the handmaids, not the rulers of theology ; 
and, from erring a meaning on the sacred text, derive, in fact, their own profounder 
meaning from it. Wehaveno hesitation in saying that Mr. Perowne’s work is almost indispensable 
= student who seeks, with the aid of modern » to approximate to a true interpretation 


ne 
ee 


‘ 
‘ 


. 


1 
Bs 
ra 


i 


THE CLERICAL JOURNAL. 


**Tt is oA enon fe ene = he 7a arene = oo ps = taste— 
ae pcre A when a hi er of religious feeli to it—is subjected to process 

criticism. The Psalms have suffered in this way under the hand of the so-called ‘higher 
criticism ’"—which deserves that name by being more pedestrian than any other. But, though 
Mr. Perowne takes a scholarlike view of the Book of Psalms, considered as a collection of Hebrew 
poetry, he is far from regarding it as the mere inspiration of any earth-born genius ; or as adapted 
to excite the mere poetic emotions. He says: “The very excellence of the Psalms is their 


the ripest 

the words of one who lived centuries before the coming of Christ in the flesh.’ . . . . 

this work of Mr. Perowne as a most valuable contribution to our sacred literature. 

devoutly feels the inspiration of his subject, without being betrayed by enthusiasm to 

Ree oe coegetical faithfulness. The unlearned reader may sit at his feet with confidence, 
scholar find that in most cases the translator and commentator has given good 

_ grammatical reasons for his conclusions.” 





to 


CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. 


** Mr. Perowne’s work carries with it all the marks of genuine Hebrew scholarship ; and to 
persons accustomed to consult other works of the same kind, it is most satisfactory to notice the 
multiplied instances in which he has displayed his critical acumen and extensive Biblical learning. 

He manifests all through this Psalter that minute knowledge of words, and their varying forms, 
that attention to the force of particles, that fine distinction between words (which some might fancy 
mc yoy because similar), that none can doubt his power skilfully to impart knowledge . 
to students, 


CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER,. 


“* The author's familiarity wich the original Hebrew is extensive. No theological student can 
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READER. 


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important : we mean its adaptation to the wants and the use of the ordinary reader. .... 
book is one which may be studied with pleasure and profit by a very large circle of readers. . . . 
The most. devout reader will not complain of any lack of religious warmth in Mr. Perowne’s com- 
ments. Critical analysis has not lowered the spiritual value of the Psalms in his eyes. On the 
whole, we cannot but congratulate him on having produced a most acceptable and valuable work.” 


SATURDAY REVIEW. 


**Mr. Perowne is probably as capable as any one in England of doing all that Hebrew scholar- 
sh‘p can do towards a better knowledge of the Psalms. He can give us all the light that there is 
to be had about the construction and meaning of a difficult passage. He can hold an even and fair 
balance between the conflicting opinions of other scholars. He knows what others have done, and 
makes a candid and intelligent use of it. If we wanted to find out what could be made of one of 
those strange verses which often carry with them such remarkable suggestions and associations, 
yet baffle us utterly when we try to analyse their meaning, Mr. Perowne will-do more for us than 
any other English writer to clear up the obscurity. He will give an exact and accurate account of 
what has been made out on the subject, or he will wisely and sensibly tell us that there are now no 
means of knowing. He may not always satisfy us, but he has manifestly worked over the ground 
carefully, conscientiously, and intelligently, seeing the difficulties, and taking the right way to deal 
with them ; and the learning which he has brought together gives a value of its own to hi 
and makes it an important contribution to a department of Biblical scholarship in which we are at 
present rather poorly furnished.” 





THE CHURCHMAN. 


“The plan on which Mr. Perowne rroceeds is well judged. Before each Psalm he gives a short 
introduction on the structure and subject. He then gives a new translation ofthe Psalm, arranged 
in the Hebrew parallelisms, to which are subjoined notes explanatory, illustrative, and occasionally 
practical, intended for the English reader. These again are followed by another set of notes, 
purely philological, and for the benefit of the student of the original. ‘Thus each Psalm is fully 
treated, and one branch of explanatory matter does not interfere with and become confused with 
another, . ... There is a good arrangement of matter, a thorough acquaintance with modern 
literature on the subject, and an unwillingness on the part of the wr ter to be led, though he often 
is led, into interpretations not consistent with the analogy of the Catholic faith, and the reverence 
due to Holy Scripture as its own interpreter.” } 


- 


THE CONTEMPORARY REVIEW. 


‘*Mr. Perowne’s work on the Book of Psalms is acknowledged to be the standard English 
work on that subject. ... . It was high time that we had a critical and sensible interpretation 
of the Book of Psalms. It is the work of a thorough scholar, and one not afraid to face the truth. 
In this edition he has taken advantage of the criticisms made on the first edition, correcting some 
errors that had formerly escaped him, and keeping as near as possible to the Authorized Version.” 





BY THE SAME AUTHOR. 


Ba MO ROTA LI Ea 
BEING THE HULSEAN LECTURES FOR THE YEAR 1868. 


“*Mr. Perowne has gained by his ‘Commentary on the Psalms’ a high tags in the goodly — 
company of Hebrew scholars. The volume which he has now published adds to that reputation — 
the praise of a thoughtful and glowing eloquence.”—Contemporary Review, 

















ee se ee Te ee cae 











23 


PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE 
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET 





UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY 





Bible Perowne 
Comment The Psalms 
(O.T.) 

Psalms 

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bem ihe! Bost 
























met rebates or ys Grek 3 ‘ Taf Bo . ' 
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Peg ae ‘ inep Vote. a ' 5 pate et ge Belk Oy 
Phar iaeey iprkan aM , eA 8 * ' + 
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ye” ‘ey I! ' . ' . 
4 ' to% “4 
; cee ne } “ : : 
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