The Psalms translated and explained

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J. A. ALEXANDER

PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PRINvETOW

VOLUME III

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER 145 NASSAU STREET

1856.

Kntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1850, hy

JOSEPH ADDISON ALEXANDER,

In the Clerk's Office of the United States District Court for the District of

New c iisey.

THE PSALMS.

PSALM G I .

After propounding as his theme the mercy and justice of the
Lord, v. 1, the Psalmist announces his determination to be blame-
less in his own walk, vs. 2 — 4, and so to exercise his power over
others as to favour the godly and drive out the wicked, vs. 5 — S.

1, By David. A Psalm. Mercy arid judgment will I sing ; to
thee, Jehovah , will I flay (or make music.) As such a declaration
of a present purpose in the Psalms is always followed by its exe-
cution, the older interpreters suppose mercy and judgment to be
those which David meant to practise, as he states more fully in
the remainder of the psalm. But besides that he says nothing
in what follows of his mercy , there is no usage of the Psalms
more settled than that mercy and justice are combined to denote
divine not human attributes, and that to sing and make music to
Jehovah never means to praise something else in an address to
him, but always to sing praises to himself. See above, Ps. ix.
12 (11.) xiii. 6 (5.) xviii. 50 (49.) xxx. 5 (4.) 13 (12.) xxxiii. 2.
lxviii. 5 (4.) lxxi. 22, 23, in all which cases the form of expres-
sion seems to be derived from Judg. v. 3. But the psalm be-
fore us contains no such celebration of God's mercy and justice

4 PSALM CI.

beyond this first verse. The best solution of this fact appears to
be the one proposed by Hengstenberg, according to which the
execution of the purpose here avowed is contained in Ps. ciii,
which then, together with the one before us, and of course the
interveni-ng one, compose a trilogy or series of three psalms, all
by David, each complete in itself, and yet designed to be con-
nected with, the others and interpreted by them. Supposing this
to be the case, we must regard them all as psalms of David,
whose name is prefixed to the third and the one before us, in
which he lays down a rule, as it were, for his own government,
and that of his successors, in the regal office. The impression
made by these inspired instructions on the first of those succes-
sors may account for the remarkable coincidences of expression
between this psalm and the Book of Proverbs.

2. I tvill act wisely in a perfect way. When wilt thou come
to me ? I will walk in the integrity of my heart within my house.
As to the first verb, see above, on Ps. ii. 10. xiv. 2. Its form
here is one expressing fixed determination. A perfect way, as in
Ps. xviii. 31, 33 (30, 32.) This and other favourite expressions
of the same kind, Ps. xviii. 24, 26 (23, 25.) xv. 2, are founded
upon Gen. xvii. 1. When wilt thou come to me, and bless me, in
fulfilment of thy promise, Ex. xx. 21. This interrogative ejacu-
lation implies a sense of his dependence on divine aid for the
execution of his purpose. Integrity (integritas, completeness) of
my heart is an expression borrowed from Gen. xx. 5, 6. See
above, on Ps. lxxviii. 72, and compare 1 Kings iii. 14. Prov.
xx. 7. Way and walk are familiar figures for habitual conduct.
Within, literally, in the midst (or inside) of my house, i. e. at home,
in private life, as distinguished from the house of God and his
official conduct there, to which he afterwards adverts.

3. I will not set before my eyes a word of Belial ; the doing of
apostasies I hate, it shall not cleave to me. The positive terms of

PSALM CI. 5

the preceding verse are now exchanged for negatives. Having
said what he will do, he now says what he will not do. See a
similar transition, but in the inverse order, Ps. i. 1,2. Set
before my eyes, as a model to be copied, or as an object of ap-
proving contemplation. A word of Belial, as in Ps xli. 9 (8),
except that word, which there most probably relates to slander
or false accusation, may here denote a proposition, and the whole
phrase a worthless (i. e. wicked) plan or purpose. Apostasies,
departures, deviations from the right course. See the verbal
root as used in Ps. xl. 5 (4), and a cognate verb in Num. v.
12, 19. Some make the word here used a participle or verbal
noun, as in the English Bible, the work of them that turn aside.
But its form and the analogy of Hos. v. 2 entitle the other con-
struction to the preference. It shall not cleave to me, I will not
be concerned or implicated in it ; or more emphatically still, it
shall not cleave te me as a reproach or stigma. In favour of the
former sense is the analogy of Deut. xiii. 18 (17), from which the
expression seems to have been borrowed.

4. A crooked heart shall depart from me; evil I will not know.
Crooked, froward, or perverse, as in Ps. xviii. 27 (26.) Com-
pare Prov. xi. 20. xvii. 20. The whole phrase might be under-
stood to mean a person having such a heart, and the whole clause
that the Psalmist would have no intercourse with such. The
parallel term evil would then mean a wicked person, as translated
in the English Bible. On the ground, however, that the person
of the sinner seems to be reserved for the latter part of
the psalm, the best interpreters take evil in the abstract sense of
moral evil, wickedness, as in Ps. xxxiv. 17, lii. 5 (3.) The first
clause will then naturally mean, my own heart shall not be per-
verse or froward.

5. (One) slandering in secret his fellow — him I will destroy :
(one) lofty of eyes and wide of heart — him I will not bear.

6 PSALM CI.

Having declared what his own course of life should be, he now
describes the conduct which he should require in his confidential
servants. Here again the statement is both negative and posi-
tive, but in this case beginning with the former. See above, on
v. 3. It is not an improbable conjecture that in specifying
slander, David had reference to his sufferings from that cause in
the days of Saul. See above, on Ps. xviii. 1. lii. 4 — 7 (2 — 5),
and compare Ps. xv. 3. The verb translated slandering occurs,
in any of its forms, only here and Prov. xxx. 10. Wide of heart
means neither magnanimous nor greedy, but proud, self-confident,
as appears from Prov. xxviii. 25. Both figurative phrases here
used are combined again in Prov. xxi. 4. The last verb in the
sentence usually means to be able, but is here used absolutely, as
in Isai. i. 13.

6. My eyes (are) on the faithful of the land, to dwell with me.
(OneJ walking in a perfect way — he shall serve me. On the faith-
ful, literally, in or with them. See above, on Ps. xxxiv. 16, 17
(15, 16), and compare Ps. xxxii. 8 (7.) My eyes are on them is
equivalent to saying, I will seek them out to dwell with me and
serve me. The word translated faithful is properly a passive
participle meaning trusted, relied upon, confided in. Another
passive participle from the same root is commonly supposed to be
used in the same sense, Ps. xii. 2 (1.) xxxi. 24 (23.) In the
first words of the last clause there is manifest allusion to the form
of expression in v. 2 above. This clause is to be understood ex-
clusively, such a person and no other. Shall serve me, be em- ,
ployed by me, clothed with responsible and honourable offices.

7. JSfot in the inside of my house shall dwell (one) practising
fraud, telling lies ; not settled shall he be before my eyes. Here
again the form of expression corresponds to that in the first part
of the psalm. Compare in the midst of my Jwuse with v. 2, and
before my eyes with v. 3. Shall not dwell, or still more strongly,

PSALM CI. 7

shall not (even) sit, which is the primary meaning of the Hebrew
verb. The corresponding verb in the last clause means to be
established, permanently settled, as opposed to a mere tem-
porary, transient presence. As if he had said : though they
should even gain admission to my house, they shall not take up
their abode there.

S. In the morning will I destroy all the wicked of the land, (so as)
to cut off from the city of Jehovah all workers of iniquity. The
first phrase literally means at the mornings, and* may be intended
to suggest the twofold idea of early and constantly, in the morn-
ing and every morning. See above, on Ps. lxxiii. 14, and com
pare Jer. xxi. 12. The last clause serves to show, or to remind
the reader, that this rigour was not simply prudential or po-
litical, but religious. It had reference not merely to Jerusalem
as a city, but as the city of Jehovah, his earthly residence, the
centre of the theocracy, the temporary scat of the true religion.
See above, on Ps. xlvi. 5 (4) xlviii. 2 (l.)lxxxvii. 3. Under the
peculiar institutions of the old economy, the safety of the
theocratic state required peculiar vigilance and rigour, in exer-
cising even those powers which are common to all governments.

PSALM C 1 1 .

1. A Prayer. By a Sufferer , when he is troubled, and before
Jehovah pours out his complaint. The psalm is called a prayer
because petition constitutes its substance. See above, on Ps. xc.
1. The translation for the sufferer (or afflicted) would also be

8 PSALM CI.

grammatical, and perfectly consistent with the real design of the
composition. But phrases of this kind, in the titles of the
psalms, so constantly indicate the author or performer, and when
only one occurs the former, that a departure from this usage here
is highly improbable, and the assumption of it altogether arbi-
trary. At the same time, the indefinite expression, a sufferer, or
an afflicted person, seems to be intentionally used for the purpose
of giving the psalm an unrestricted application, though the pri-
mary reference is no doubt to the suffering kings of Israel, in
whom the sufferings of the people were concentrated and repre-
sented. The other terms of the inscription all occur in psalms of
David ; troubled ( or overwhelmed) in Ps. lxi. 3 (2) ; complaint
(or moaning) in Ps. Iv. 3 (2.) lxiv. 2 (1) ; and pouring out the
soul in Ps. lxii. 9 (8.) This agrees with the general Davidic
character of the composition, and favours Hengstenberg's hypo-
thesis, not otherwise demonstrable, nor even very probable, that
this psalm forms the connecting link between the pious resolutions
of Ps. 101 and the joyful acknowledgments of Ps. 103, and was
composed in prophetic foresight of the straits to which the theo-
cratical state should be reduced, and in which the sufferings of
David, here immediately described, should, as it were, be realized
anew. The psalm may be divided into two parts, in the first of
which the tone of lamentation or complaint predominates, vs. 2—
12 (1 — 11), while in the second it is tempered and controlled by
the contemplation of God's attributes, and confident anticipation
of his favour, vs. 13—29 (12—28.)

2(1.) Jehovah, hear my prayer, and let my cry (for help) unto
thee come. With this verse compare Ps. iv. 2 (1.) xvii. 1. xviii. 7
(6.) liv. 4 (2.) There is no more reason for regarding these
resemblances as imitations by a later writer in the case before
us than in any of the others. And if not such, they may serve
to show, that David only asks, for the future or for others, that
favour which he has himself sought and experienced already.

PSALM CII. 9

3 (2.) Hide not thy face from me; in the day (there is) distress
to me, incline to me thine ear ; in the day I call, make haste (and)
answer me. Compare Ps. x. 1. xiii. 1. xvii. 6. xviii. 7 (6.) xxvii.
9. xxxi. 3 (2.) lvi. 10 (9.) lxvi. 14 (13.) lxxi. 2. We find here
accumulated nearly all the phrases used by David to express the
same ideas elsewhere. This is not unnatural if we suppose him
to have been preparing a form of complaint and supplication for
the use of his successors in their worst distresses.

4 (3.) For wasted in smoke are my days, and my bones like
a burning are kindled. With the first clause compare Ps.
xxxvii. 20. The bones are mentioned as the seat of strength.
See above, on Ps. vi. 3 (2.) xxxi. 11 (10.) xxxv. 10. xlii. 11 (10.)
This description, although strictly applicable to the case of indi-
vidual sufferers, may also be applied to the decline of the theo-
cratic monarchy and the approach of its catastrophe.

5 (4.) Smitten like grass and ivithered is my heart, for I have
forgotten to eat my bread. Thp first verb is used to describe the
effect of the sun on plants, Ps. exxi. 6. Isai. xlix. 10. (Compare
Jon. iv. 7.) The heart is mentioned as the seat of life. The
common version of the last clause (so that I forget) is ungram-
matical. The failure of the strength is rather described as imme-
diately occasioned by the want of food (1 Sam. xxviii. 20), and
this by loss of appetite from extreme distress. See below, on Ps.
cvii. IS, and compare 1 Sam. i. 7. xx. 34. 1 Kings xxi. 4. For-
gotten to eat, literally, forgotten from eating, so as not to eat, a
common idiomatic use of the preposition from in Hebrew.

G (5.) From the voice of my groaning, my bone cleaves to ny

flesh. The word voice implies an audible and loud expression of

distress. The first clause means, in consequence of the ago ly

which makes me groan. My bone may signify each of my bones,

or be used collectively for the whole skeleton or framework of the
1#

10 PSALM C II.

body. Tlie only natural explanation of this clause is that it
describes emaciation, as a consequence and symptom of extreme
distress. See above, on Ps. xxii. 15, IS (14, 17.)

7 (6.) I resemble a pelican of the wilderness ; I am become like
an owl (haunting) ruins. The simple idea conveyed by these
figures is that of extreme loneliness and desolation. Beyond the
fact that they inhabit solitudes, the natural history of the birds
mentioned is of no exegetical importance.

8 (7.) I have watched, and have been like a sparrow dwelling
alone upon a house-top. The first words suggest the idea of a soli-
tary vigil. As to the word translated sparrow, see above, on Ps.
lxxxiv. 4 (3.) The word dwelling is supplied in the translation
of the last clause, in order to retain the form of the original ex-
pression, which is that of an active participle. Some suppose the
idea to be that of a bird, deprived of its mate or of its young.

9 (8.) All the day my enemies have taunted me; my infuriated
(foes) swear by me. The verb in the .first clause suggests the
ideas of contempt and hatred, calumny and insult. See above,
on Ps. xlii. 11 (10.) The first word of the last clause is a pas-
sive participle, my enraged (or maddened) ones, those who are mad
(i. e. insane with enmity) against me. The last phrase does not
mean swear at me, i. e. vent their rage by oaths and curses, nor
are sworn against me, neither of which is justified by Hebrew
usage ; but sicear by me, i. e. use me as a formula of execration,
imprecating upon others misery like mine. Compare Isai. lxv.
15. Jer. xxix. 22. The preterite forms imply a long previous
continuance of this furious persecution, as all the day does its con-
stant, unremitted racing;.

10 (9.) For ashes like bread have I eaten, and my drink with
weeping have mixed. The ashes, in which lie sat, or with which

PSALM CII. 11

he was covered, as a sign of mourning, became mingled with his
food, and his tears fell into his drink. This last word is, in He-
brew, of the plural number, drinks or beverages, analogous to
victuals as a simple synonyme of food. As an opposite example of
the same idiomatic difference, the word translated ashes is a sin-
gular in Hebrew. The whole verse is a strong poetical descrip-
tion of constant and extreme distress.

11 (10.) Because of thine indignation and thy wrrith; for thou
hast taken me up and cast me away. The first clause describes his
suffering as the fruit of God's displeasure. See above, on Ps.
xc. 7. The antithesis presented in the common version of the
last clause (lifted me up and cast me down) does not seem to be
the sense of the original, in which there is probably allusion to
the figure of a storm or whirlwind catching things up and blowing
them away. The Prayer Book version of the first verb (taken me
up) is more exact.

12 (11.) My days (are) like a shadow inclined, and I (myself)
like the grass wither. An inclined shadow is an unusual and ob-
scure expression, but seems to mean a shadow verging towards its
disappearance, ready to vanish away. The double or reflexive
pronoun (I myself ) in the translation of the last clause is neces-
sary to convey the full force of the Hebrew pronoun, which is sel-
dom expressed, except when it is meant to be emphatic. /
toither, am withering, or about to wither.

13 (12.) And thou, Jehovah, to eternity shalt sit, and thy memory
(shall endure) to generation and generation. Here again the
pronoun is emphatic, and exhibits a strong contrast between God's
eternity and human frailty. While I wither like the grass, thou
endurest forever, and not only so, but rcignest, sittest on the
throne. See above, on Ps. ix. 8(7.) xxix. 10. lv. 20 (19.) The
qrord memory seems here to be employed for the sake of the anti-

12 PSALM CII.

thesis which it implies. While I perish and am utterly forgotten,
thy existence and thy memory shall last forever. It may, how-
ever, have the same sense as in Ps. xxx. 5 (4), namely, the di-
vine perfection, associated in our memory with the name of God.
Thou shalt not only reign forever, but be worthy, as an infinitely
perfect being, so to do.

14 (13.) Thou wilt arise, wilt have mercy upon Zion, when (it
is) time to favour her, when the set time is come. The pronoun is
again emphatic. Thou, the God thus glorious and immutable, wilt
certainly arise from this apparent inaction, and have mercy or com-
passion on thy people, when the time fixed in thy eten .al purpose
is arrived. The sense of when, thus given to the Hebrew particle
(*S), although less usual, is sometimes absolutely necessary, and
is therefore admissible in this case, where it suits the sense much
better than the ordinary sense of for. Or the one may be re-
solved into the other, by explaining the whole thus : thou wilt
certainly arise and have compassion upon Zion, at the proper time,
for there is a time fixed at which thou dost design to favour her.
For the meaning of the word translated set time, see above, on Ps.
lxxv. 3 (2.)

15 (14.) When thy servants love her stones, and her dust regaul
with favour. Both verbs in Hebrew mean to favour, or more
strongly, to delight in, to take pleasure in. See above, Ps. lxii.
5 (4.) lxxxv. 2 (1.) Stones and dust are here put for ruins or
rubbish, as in Neh. iii. 34 (iv. 2.) iv. 4 (10.) The verse may
be understood as a condition or a premonition of her restoration,
that before it takes place, God will fill his servants with affectionate
concern for her desolate condition. The same sense may be ob-
tained without departing from the usual sense of the particle.
Thou wilt have mercy upon Zion, for thy servants already look
with interest and strong desire on her ruins, a sure sign of the ap-
proaching restoration.

PSALM CII. 13

16 (15.) And nations shall fear the name of Jehovah , and all
tangs of the earth thy glory. The impression of awe, unavoidably
produced by these exhibitions of Jehovah's attributes, shall not be
limited to Israel but extend to other nations, and even kings shall
vie with each other in their reverential admiration of his regal
honours. Compare the similar expressions of Isaiah (lix. 19.)

17 (16.) Because Jehovah has built Zion ; he has been seen in
his glory. These are not praeterita prophetica, describing future
events as past ; nor are they to be taken as mere presents, but as
denoting a relative past, dependent on the futures of the verse
preceding. The nations and their kings are to fear because Je-
hovah has built (i. e. will then have built) Zion. Still another
construction may seem possible, viz. ' when Jehovah has built
Zion, he shall be seen in his glory.' But in this case, Hebrew
usage would require the last verb, if not both, to have the future
form

18 (17.) He has turned unto the prayer of the destitute, and has
not despised their prayer. This verse continues to assign the rea-
son why the nations and their kings will be struck with awe, viz.
because this great and glorious God has turned round, as it were,
and listened to the prayer of the destitute and granted their peti-
tion. The word translated destitute occurs only here and in Jer.
xvii. 6 ; but from its etymological affinities and its intensive form,
appears to mean stark naked, and then figuratively, stripped of
every thing, impoverished, entirely destitute.

19 (18.) This shall be written for an after generation, and a,
people (yet to be) created shall praise Jah. This fulfilment of God's
promise and illustration of his attributes is left on record for the
learning or instruction of posterity. Compare 1 Cor. x. 11. An
after generation, as in Ps. xlviii. 14 (13.) lxxviii. 4. Equivalent
in meaning, but abridged in form, is the expression in the passage

14 PSALM CII.

upon which these are founded, Ps. xxii. 31 (30.) See also Ps
Ixxi. 18. Created may have the force of a gerundive, as the pas-
sive particle often has in Hebrew ; or it may meau {then) created,
{but not note.) See above, on Ps. xxii. 32 (31.) As the verb
(al-) create is applied only to divine acts, its use here seems to
indicate that what is meant is not merely a future generation, a
race yet to come into existence, but a people in the strict sense,
an organized body to be formed hereafter by sovereign authority
and almighty power. Shall praise Jah, recognize Jehovah as
possessing and as being all that is denoted by his name.

20 (19.) For he has leaned from the high-place of his holiness ;
Jehovah from heaven to earth lias looked. The first word may
also be translated that, and the verse be understood as an ampli-
fication of the pronoun this at the beginning of v. 19 (18.) This
is what shall be written for a future generation ; this is what they
shall praise Jah for ; viz. that he has looked, etc. To avoid the
repetition of the English verb, as well as to add life to the de-
scription, the Hebrew verb is here represented by what seems to
be its primary meaning. See above on Ps. xiv. 2. lxxxv. 12 (11),
and compare Deut. xxvi. 15.

21 (20.) To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to loose the sons
of mortality. The construction is continued from the foregoing
verse, and the design of God's thus looking down is stated. The
word translated groaning is almost peculiar to the psalms of
David, and according to its etymology properly denotes suffoca-
tion. To loose, literally to open, sometimes applied to the open-
ing of a dress for the purpose of removing it, as in Ps. xxx.
12 (11) ; then to the loosening of chains, as in Ps. cxvi. 16 ; then
to the deliverance of the prisoner himself. Sons of mortality or
death, i. e. those doomed to die. See above, on Ps. lxxix. 11.

22 (21.) To recount in Zion the name of Jehovah and his praise

PSALM C II. . 15

•

in Jerusalem. This, according to the laws of Hebrew syntax,
does not necessarily denote an act of God himself, as the similar
construction in the preceding verse does, but may have a vaguer
sense equivalent to saying, that his name may be declared in Zion.
To recount God's name is to recount the mighty deeds which
constitute it, and the celebration of which constitutes his praise.
Zion is still represented as the great scene of Jehovah's triumphs,
not however as the capital of Israel or Judah merely, but as the
radiating centre of religious light and influence to all the earth.

23 (22.) In the gathering of peoples together, and kingdoms to
serve Jehovah, This verse is necessary to complete and qualify
the sense of that before it. God has looked down from heaven
to deliver his people and receive their praise, not in their secluded,
insulated state, but in their glorious reunion with the converted
nations. The first verb is a passive infinitive in Hebrew, in their
being gathered. The preposition in relates both to the time and
to the act of convocation. To serve Jehovah, not only as a King,
but as a God, to be both his subject and his worshipper. Com-
pare Ps. ii. 11.

24 (23.) Re has humbled in the way his strength ; he has
shortened my days. The Psalmist here resumes the tone of
complaint, but only for a moment, and as an introduction to what
follows. Humbled, weakened, or afflicted. In or by the way of
his providential guidance, as distinguished from the glorious end
to which it led. His strength and my days seem clearly to refer
to the same person. To avoid this harsh enallagc, the maso-
retic critics changed a single letter, and for (iri3) his strength
read (^Hls) my strength, which, though adopted in most versions,
is an obvious evasion of a supposed difficulty. With the last
clause compare Ps. lxxxix. 46 (45.) See also Ps. '/v. 24 (23.)

25 (24.) I ivill say, Oh my God, take me not up in the half

16 PSALM CII.

of my days ; through generation of generations (are) thy yean,.
Take up, cause to ascend, i. e. as some suppose, like smoke,
which is very forced and far-fetched. Others make it simply mean
to take away, which gives a good sense, but is not sufficiently
sustained by usage. Better than either is the supposition that
death or removal out of life is here described by a figure corre-
sponding to the actual departure of Enoch and Elijah. See G-en.
v. 24. 2 Kings ii. 1, 3, 5, 10, 11. In the half (or midst) of my
days ; see above, on Ps. lv. 24 (23), and compare Isai. xxxviii.
10. Generation of generations, i. e. all generations, as in Ps. Ixxii.
5. Isai. Ii. 8. He prays that God, whose years are endless, would
not, as it were, grudge the few days granted to his creatures. See
above, on Ps. xxxix. 6 (5.)

26 (25.) At first thou the earth didst found, and the work
of thy hands (are) the heavens. The phrase at the beginning
means originally to the face, and then before, as an adverb
both of time and place ; but this would be ambiguous here,
since it might be understood as a conjunction i before thou didst
found the earth, expressing the same idea as in Ps. xc. 2. It
here means long ago, of old, in the beginning. With the last
clause compare Ps. viii. 4 (3.) xix. 2(1.) xxxiii. 6. God's crea-
tive power is here added to his eternity, in order to enhance the
contrast between his infinity and man's littleness, as a reason for
compassion to the latter.

27 (26.) They shall perish and thou shalt stand, and all of
them like a garment shall wear out, like a dress shalt thou cliangc
them and they shall change. The contrast is brought out as pointedly
as possible in Hebrew, by the insertion of the pronouns they and
thou, neither of which is grammatically necessary to the expres-
sion of the meaning. Stand, stand fast, endure, remain, continue.
All of them, without exception, even the noblest of God's works,
ehall at least lose their present form, and in that sense perish, a

PSALM CII. 17

sense which may "be still more readily put upon the parallel verb
pass away or change. The twoTold usage of the English verb, as
active and neuter, or transitive and intransitive, makes it an
appropriate representative of the primitive and derivative forms
of the Hebrew verb (t)in). The corresponding verb, in the
second member of the sentence, means not only to wax old,
but, as the necessary consequence, to wear out. See above on
Ps. xxxii. 3, and compare Ps. xlix. 15 (14.)

28 (27.) And Thou (art) lie — and thy years shall not be
finished. The construction of the first clause is disputed. Some
read it, Thou thyself and thy years shall not end. Others, Thou,
art the same, giving awn the same sense with the Greek o afadg,
which is actually used here to translate it in the Septuagint. In
favour of the version first above given, is its agreement with the
usage of the Hebrew words, with the analogy of Deut. xxxii. 39
and Isai. xliii. 10, and with the context here. The meaning
then is, Thou art the Unchangeable One just described. Or, it is
Thou, and nothing else, that shall thus endure. Be finished,
spent, consumed, as the Hebrew word invariably means. What
is elsewhere literally said of the violent destruction of human
life is here transferred to the lapse of time.

29- (28.) The sons of thy servants shall abide, and their seed
before thee shall be established. This might also be translated as
a prayer, let the so7is of thy servants continue, which is really
included even in the prediction. Before thee, as in Gren. xvii. 1.
Ps. lxxxix. 37 (36.) Be established, as in Ps. lxxxix. 38 (37.)
ci. 7. With this conclusion of the whole psalm compare Ps. lxix.
36, 37 (35, 36.) xc. 16, 17.

18 PSALM CIII.

PSALM CIII.

The Psalmist calls upon himself to praise God for personal
favours already experienced, vs. 1—5. From these .lie rises, in
the body of the psalm, to the contemplation of God's attributes,
in themselves considered, and as manifested in his dealings with
his people, vs. 6-19. He concludes as he began, with an exhort-
ation to bless God, no longer addressed merely to himself, but to
all creatures, vs. 20-22. According to the exegetical hypothesis
already mentioned, this is the song of mercy and judgment pro-
mised in Ps. ci. 1. The arguments in favour of this theory have
been already stated. The principal objection to it, and that by
no means a conclusive one, is the want of unison and even con-
cord, as to tone and spirit, between the psalm before us and the
two preceding it. Be this a3 it may, the psalm before us is a
complete and finished composition, being one of the most simple
and yet regular in structure that the book contains. This has
contributed, with other obvious peculiarities, to make it a favourite
vehicle of thankful praise among the pious of all ages.

1. By David. Bless, oh my soul, Jehovah, and all within me
(bless) his holy name ! The attempts which havo been made by
modern critics to discredit the inscription in the first clause chiefly
consist in representing the many imitations and allusions to this
noble composition in the later scriptures as a cento of citations
from those scriptures by the writer of the psalm itself, a prepos-
terous inversion of the laws of evidence to which the ncolojncal

PSALM CI II. 19

critics are especially addicted, and by which any thing and every
thing can be disproved or proved at pleasure. Bless, when ap-
plied to God, means to praise, but with a strong implication of
devout affection. By calling on his soul to do this, he acknow-
ledges his own obligation, not only to praise God, but to praise
him cordially, with all the heart, according to the solemn requisi-
tion of the Law (Deut. vi. 5), to which there is perhaps a refer-
ence in all such cases. See above, on Ps. iii. 3 (2.) The pa-
rallel expression, all within me, is the plural form of one repeat-
edly used elsewhere and denoting the inside of any thing,. and
more especially of man, his mind or heart, as distinguished from
his mere professions or external acts. See above, on Ps. v. 10
(9.) xlix. 12(11.) The literal translation of the form here used is
my insides or inner parts, the strong and comprehensive meaning
of the plural being further enhanced by the addition of all, as if
to preclude exception and reserve, and comprehend within the
scope of the address all the powers and affections. His name of
holiness (or holy name), i. e. the revelation of his infinite perfec-
tions. See above, on Ps. v. 12 (11.) xxii. 4 (3.)

2. Bless, oh my soul, Jehovah, and forget not all his dealings.
The positive exhortation is repeated as a kind of foil to the nega-
tive one following, in which there seems to be allusion to the fre-
quent admonition in the Law to Israel, not to forget the Lord
who brought him up out of the land of Egypt. ' See Deut. vi. 12.
viii. 11, 14. The last word in the verse before us is the passive
participle of a verb which means to treat, and commonly to treat
well. See above on Ps. vii. 5 (4. J The idea here conveyed is
that of treatment, determined by the context to be kind and gra-
cious treatment. The latitude of meaning and the plural form
are both represented in the English word dealings, which, though
susceptible of either application, can, in this connection, only have
a good one.

20 PSALM CIII.

3. Forgiving all thy guilt , healing all thy sicknesses- The par-
ticiples are to be grammatically construed with Jehovah as the
object of the praise required, and assign a reason for the requisi-
tion, furnished by the personal experience of the soul itself. The
original expression is still more definite, each participle having
the article prefixed, the (one) forgiving, the (one) healing. See
a similar construction carried out still further in Ps. xviii. 33-35
(32-34), 48-51 (47-50.) The last word in the verse is an un-
usual one borrowed from Deut. xxix. 21, where sicknesses are
ioined with plagues or strokes, to signify calamities considered as
•lenal inflictions. The same idea is expressed in other words,
Ex. xvi. 26. The relation of the clauses, in the verse before us,
may be that of cause and effect. Forgiving all thy guilt and
thereby removing all the misery occasioned by it.

4. Redeeming from the grave thy life, crowning thee (with)
mercy and compassions. The combination of the article and par-
ticiple is the same as in v. 3, the (one) redeeming, t/ie (one) crown-
ing. The continuation of the sentence in this form keeps the
attention fixed upon the reasons for which, or the characters in
which, the Lord is to be praised. As if he had said, Bless him
as the one forgiving thee and healing thee, redeeming thee and
crowning thee. Redeeming means delivering, but with a strong
implication of cost and risk. For the twofold sense of (rnr)
the word translated grave, see above, on Ps. xvi. 10, and com-
pare Ps. xxx. 10 (9.) The peculiar form of the possessive pro-
noun, in this verse and the one before it, has been represented as
a proof of later date, but really belongs to the dialect of poetry,
from which, in all languages, certain expressions are continually
passing into that of common life, so that what in one age is poet-
ical is in the next colloquial, and seems therefore to belong to the
later period and to show the recent date of any composition in
which it occurs. The familiar use of such words as oftentimes,
perchance,, etc. in our own day may thus be used hereafter to prove

PSALM CIII. 21

the writings of our older poets spurious. The figure of crowning,
-which occurs above iu Ps. lxv. 12 (11), suggests the ideas of dig-
nity and beauty, while the absence of merit in the object, and the
sovereign freeness of the gift, are indicated by making the crown
itself a crown of mercy and compassions. The last word in He-
brew is expressive of the warmest and tenderest affections. See
above, on Ps. xviii. 2 (1.) xxv. 6. xl. 12 (11.)

5. Filling with good thy soul — {then) is renewed, like the eagle,
thy youth. The peculiar construction of the two preceding verses
is continued through the first clause of the one before us, and then
suddenly abandoned. Filling, the {one) filling, in the sense of
satisfying or abundantly supplying, but without the accessory
notion of satiety. See above, on Ps. lxxxi. 17 (16.) xci. 16.
With good, literally the good, by way of eminence, the chief good
or the real good. Thy soul is not a literal translation of the He-
brew term, which, in every other case where it occurs, means or-
nament or decoration. See for example Ps. xxxii. 9 (8.) The
translations mouth, life, etc. are gratuitous conjectures from the
context. The best explanation is that furnished by the analogous
word (-!ii3l) honour, glory, which is sometimes applied to the
soul as the nobler part of man. See above, on Ps. xvi. 9. This
explanation is confirmed by the frequent combination of the noun
soul and the verb to satisfy. See above, Ps. Ixiii. 6 (5), and
below, Ps. cvii. 9, and compare Isai. lviii. 11. It is also sanc-
tioned by the ancient versions ; for although the Targum makes
it mean old age, a palpable conjecture, the Septuagint and Vul-
gate have desire (irfidvtuluv, desideriwm) , a frequent sense of
(BE>5) soul in Hebrew, and Jerome translates it literally, orna-
mentum. The word then is introduced into the translation of the
second clause, in order to retain the Hebrew collocation, which is
not without its emphasis. Is renewed, or retaining the reflexive
form of the original, renews itself. The supposed allusion in this
clause to a fabulous or real renovation of the eagle in its old age,

22 PSALM CIII.

rests upon a misconception of the language, as the only point of
comparison with the eagle is its strength and vigour, as in 2 Sam.
i. 23. Isai. xl. 31, and the whole verse may be paraphrased as
follows. ' So completely does his bounty feed thy strength, that
even in old age thou growest young again, and soarest like an
ea^le.'

6. Doing righteousnesses (is) Jehovah, and judgments for all
oppressed. Thus far the reasons urged for praising God were per-
sonal, i. c. derived from individual experience. With these, from
the very constitution of our nature, all our grateful exercises must
begin. But if genuine they do not stop there, as the Psalmist, at
this point, ascends from private causes of thanksgiving to more
general views of God's administration, as a basis for the universal
call with which the psalm concludes. The connection here may
thus be stated. ( Such have been the Lord's compassions to my-
self, but these are only samples of his goodness. He is not only
merciful to me, but to all who are oppressed, and to deliver whom
he executes his iudgments.' There is no contrast here intended
between mercy and justice, with respect to different objects of the
Lord's compassion. The meaning is, that man's injustice is re-
dressed by God's mercy. The redemption of his people is often
represented as coincident wtth the condign punishment of their
oppressors. Compare my note on Isai. i. 27. Doing, i. e. prac-
tising in general, and executing in particular cases. The partici-
ple {doing) signifies habitual and constant action ; the plural form
{righteousnesses) completeness and variety, adapted to all possible
emergencies. Judgments, as usual, denotes judicial acts, as dis
tinguished from mere attributes or principles.

7. lie malces known his ways to Moses, to the children of Israel
his (mighty) deeds. The general statement of the fact in the
preceding verse is now followed by the great historical example
furnished in Jehovah's dealings with his people. This serves,

PSALM CIII. 23

not only to illustrate what was said before, but to show that it
was not a mere vague declaration of what God will do to all men,
but a definite assertion of his purpose and his practice with re-
spect to his own people. All the oppressed, to whom he grants
or promises deliverance, are not mankind in general, without dis-
tinction cr exception, but his own people when in that condition.
The first clause contains an obvious allusion to the prayer of
Moses, as recorded by himself, Ex. xxxiii. 13, from which pas-
sage it appears, that the ways of God, which he desired to know,
were his modes of dealing with his people, or the course of hi3
dispensations towards them. See above, on Ps. xxv. 4. lxvii.
3 (2.) The knowledge thus imparted was experimental or af-
forded by experience. The parallelism between Moses and the
Children of Israel shows that the latter were represented by the
former. The last Hebrew word is one constantly applied to
God's exploits or mighty deeds in behalf of Israel. See above,
on Ps. ix. 12 (11.) lxxviii. 11.

8. Compassionate and gracious (is) Jehovah, slow to anger, and
rich in mercy. See above, on Ps. lxxvii. 10 (9.) lxxviii. 38.
lxxxvi. 15, in all which cases, as in this, the terms of the de-
scription are borrowed from Ex. xxxiv. 6. There is here an
evident progression in the thought. Not only is God good to me,
but to all his people in distress ; not only did he prove this to
Moses and to Israel by saving them from Pharoah and their other
enemies, but by bearing with their own offences. The previous
context might have seemed to concede innocence, if not merit, to
God's people, as the object of his kind regard ; but they are here
exhibited as sinners, needing his forbearance and forgiveness.

9. Not to perpetuity will he strive, and not to eternity retain
(his anger.J This of course implies that he is sometimes angry,
even with his people, and sometimes strives in opposition to their
strivings against him. But as he is always in the right, and they

24 PSALM CIII.

arc always in the wrong, it is a signal proof of the divine com-
passion, that he does not strive and is not wroth forever. The
first clause is closely copied by Isaiah (lvii. 16.) The second is
itself derived from Lev. xix. 18, where we find a verb meaning to
retain or reserve used absolutely in the sense of harbouring a
grudge or cherishing a secret spite. This remarkable form of
expression is copied in the case before us and in Nah. i. 2. Jer.
iii. 5, 12. The original passage is a prohibition, in obeying which
the Lord, as it were, here sets his people an example. Compare
Matt. v. 48. 1 Cor. xi. 1. Eph. v. 1.

10. Not according to our sins has he done to us, and not ac-
cording to onr iniquities has he dealt with us. That the people
stood in need of the divine forbearance, is now still more dis-
tinctly intimated. The last verb is the one of which the participle
occurs in v. 2, and might here be rendered, with still closer ad-
herence to the strict sense of the Hebrew preposition, has he be-
stowed upon us. See the same construction in the Hebrew of
Ps. xiii. 6. cxvi. 7. cxlii. 8 (7.) The past tense has reference to
the previous history of Israel as a nation, but involves the state-
ment of a general truth. At the end of the verse, we may sup-
pose it to be tacitly added : as he might have done, not only in
strict justice, but in execution of his express threatening, Lev.
xxvi. 21.

11, For as the heavens are high above the earth, mighty is his
mercy above those that fear him. The Hebrew preposition is the
bame in both clauses, and cannot be varied in translation without
weakening the sentence. In the last clause it sujjo-ests the ideaa
of descent from above, superior power, and protection, in ad-
dition to that of mere relation or direction, which is all that is
conveyed by the translation to or towards. The force of the
original is likewise impaired by substituting great for strong or
mighty. The idea meant to be conveyed is not that of mere

PSALM CIII.

25

extent but of efficiency. The literal meaning of the first words
is, like the height of the heavens, or like their being high. His
fearers, or those fearing him, is a common description of the
righteous or God's people, who are more particularly character-
ized in v. 18.

12. As far as the east is from the west, he hath put far from us
our transgressions. The form of expression at the beginning is
the same as in v. 11, like the distance of the east, or like its being
far. The Hebrew words for east and west, according to their
etymology, denote the place of sunrise and the place of evening.
Put far from us, as no longer having anything to do with us, a
figure which suggests the idea both of pardon and renewal, justifi-
cation and sanctification.

13. As a father has compassion on (his) children, Jehovah has
compassion on his fearers. The compound phrase, has compassion,
is here substituted for the simple verb pity, in order to retain the
preposition on, which follows it in Hebrew, and also because the
plural form compassions was necessarily employed in v. 4 to trans-
late the cognate noun. The Hebrew verb is peculiarly appropri-
ate in speaking of parental love. See above, on Ps. xviii. 2
(1.) The preterite forms represent the fact alleged as one already
known and well attested by experience.

14. For he knows our frame, mindful that dust (are) we. The
fragility of man is here again assigned as a ground of the divine
compassion. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 39. lxxxix. 48 (47.)
Frame, formation, constitution, or as we say familiarly in Eng-
lish, our make, our build. The Hebrew noun is derived from the
verb used in Ps. xciv. 9, and may therefore be intended to suggest
the same idea that is there expressed. He who formed us knows
of course how we are formed. The same noun is applied to the

moral constitution, Gen. vi. 5, viii. 21, Deut. xxxi. 21. The word
vol. in. 2

26 PSALM CIII.

translated mindful is, in form, a passive participle, (tai*-}) meaning
remembered, but equivalent in use to the active, remembering, or
the verbal adjective mindful, just as the like form (nps) trusted
is equivalent to trusting, Ps. cxii. 7, the English rejoiced to re-
joicings etc. We are dust, i. e. made of it, and tending to it
Compare Gen. ii. 7, iii, 19, Ps. xc 3.

15. (As for) man, his days {are) Me the grass ; like the blossom
of the field, so he blossoms. As the precediug verse expresses the
fragility of man by referring to his origin and end, so this verse
does the same by a familiar but beautiful comparison, borrowed
from Ps. xc. 6, and repeated in Isai. xl. 6 — S. Job xiv. 2. The
very name here given to the race is one denoting frailty and in-
firmity. See above, on Ps. viii. 5 (4.)

16. For a breath passes over him and he is not, and no more
shall his place know him. The pronouns may, with equal gram-
matical correctness, be referred to the grass and rendered it, its.
The primary meaning of the first noun (breath) is, in this con-
nection, stronger "than the secondary (wind.) The wind may be
a whirlwind ; but to say that a mere breath is sufficient to de-
stroy one is the strongest possible expression of fragility. That
the wind is called the breath of God, as the thunder is his voice,
is a striking and poetical but needless supposition. He is not or
no more, there is none of him, no such thing or person. See
above, on Ps. xxxvii. 10. With the first clause compare Isai.
xl. 7 ; with the second, Job vii. 10. The last verb means to
recognize or know again, as in Ps. cxlii. 5 (4), and the whole
clause, that death makes men strangers to the objects with which
they have been most familiar.

17. And the mercy of Jehovah (is) from eternity even to
eternity upon those fearing him, and his righteousness to children's
children. Having carried the description of man's frailty to the

PSALM CIII. 27

furthest' point, the Psalmist suddenly contrasts with it God's
everlasting mercy. The use of the simple copulative and, in
such a marked antithesis, where but might to us seem indispens-
able, is one of the most striking and familiar Hebrew idioms.
Upon those fearing him suggests the idea of a gift from above.
To children 's children simply means given (or belonging J to
them. Unless we make the last clause a threatening of hereditary
vengeance to the wicked, his righteousness can only mean his
rectitude, including his veracity and faithfulness in exercising
covenanted mercy. Children's children, literally, sons of sons.

IS. To the keepers of his covenant, and to the rememberers of his
laws, to do them. This is the necessary qualification of a pro-
mise which mio-ht otherwise have seemed too absolute. Even to
the descendants of those fearing him the promise availed nothing,
unless they themselves were faithful to his covenant and obedient
to his law. The last words {to do them) show that the remeni
brance of the law required was not merely intellectual but practi
cal and tending to obedience.

19. Jehovah in the heavens has fixed his throne, and his king"
dom over all rules. Not only is he infinitely merciful and faith-
ful, but a universal and almighty sovereign, no less able than
willing to fulfil his promises and execute his purposes of mercy.
The word translated fixed, like its English representative, sug-
gests the two ideas of preparing and establishing. The same
combination with throne occurs above, Ps. ix. 8 (7.) See also
Ps. xi. 4. xlvii. 9 (8.) Over all ; the original expression is still
stronger, over the whole, the universe, to nuv. The same phrase
is applied to the entire human race, Ps. xiv. 3. The past tens8
of the last verb represents this unlimited dominion as already
established or revealed. The future would have made its ulterior
continuance the prominent idea.

28 PSALM CIII.

20. Bless Jehovah, ye his angels, mighty in strength, doing his
word, (so as) to listen to the voice of his word. Haying finished
his assertion of God's claims to universal praise, the Psalmist
resumes the tone of exhortation with which he began. His appeal,
however, is no longer to his own soul, but to the hosts of heaven,
the noblest of God's creatures, the highest order of finite intel-
ligences. Mighty in strength, more exactly, mighty (ones) of
strength, or, as the first word is applied as a substantive to
warriors or conquerors, heroes of strength or mighty heroes. See
above, on Ps. xxiv. 8. lxxviii. 25. The construction in the last
clause is obscure. The infinitive may here have the force of a
gerund, audiendo, auscultando, by listening to the voice of his
word, or, as in Ps. lxxviii. 18, it may denote the extent or the
effect of their obedience, so as to hearken, or so that they hearken,
i. e. listen for the faintest intimation of his will. The expression
hearken to his voice, as thus applied, is a Mosaic one. See Deut.
xxvi. 17. xxx. 20.

21. Bless Jehovah, ye his hosts, his ministers, the doers of his
will. As the word hosts is applied both to the angels and the
heavenly bodies (see above, on Ps. xxiv. 10), some interpreters,
in order to relieve this verse of a tautology, suppose it to relate to
the heavenly hosts in one sense, as the preceding verso does in
another. In the same way they account for the change of ex-
pression in the last clause. Only intelligent creatures can be
literally said to listen for God's word and to obey it ; but even
the inanimate creation may be said, without a metaphor, to exe-
cute his will. This last phrase occurs also in Ps. xl. 9 (8.)

22. Bless ye Jehovah, all his icorks, in all places of his realm ;
bless thou, oh my soul, Jehovah! The angels and heavenly bodies,
with men and every other creature, are now summed up in the
comprehensive phrase, all his icorks, i. e. all that he has made,
all creatures, and invited to bless God, which invitation the

PSALM CIV. 29

Psalmist then addresses once more to himself, and thus, by a
beautiful transition, brings us back to the point from which we
started.

PSALM CIV.

We have here another of those psalms, in which the hopes of
God's people are excited and their faith strengthened by a view
of the authority and providential care which he exercises over the
creation. The sum of the whole psalm is contained in the first
verse, and its application indicated in the last. Here, as in Ps.
viii, xix, xxix, lxv, the description of God's glory, as exhibited in
nature, is entirely subservient to a moral and religious purpose,
and the psalm is therefore fully entitled to a place in the collec-
tion, and adapted to the permanent use of the church. The ar
rangement of the psalm is founded on the history of the creation,
but with such variations as were suited to the writer's purpose.
After a general statement of this purpose, v. 1, the Psalmist
traces the creative and providential agency of God in the works of
the first and second day, vs. 2 — 5, then in that of the third, vs.
6 — 18, then in that of the fourth, vs. 19 — 23, then in that of the
fifth, vs. 24 — 26, with an allusion to the rest of the seventh day
in v. 31. The psalm closes with a summary statement of the de-
pendence of all living creatures upon God's care and bounty, vs.
27 — 32, a resolution to glorify him accordingly, vs. 33 — 34, and
a pregnant inference, that they who arc under such protection
have nothing to fear from human enemies, v. 35. According to
Hengstenberg, this and the two next psalms compose a trilogy.

30 PSALM CIV.

added to the Davidic one immediately preceding (Ps. ci — ciii)
about the time of the Babylonish exile. This hypothesis, he
thinks, accounts for the occurrence of Davidic psalms in this part
of the Psalter, which would otherwise have found their place
anions the Psalms of David in the first division of the book.
But having been made the basis or the nucleus of later compo-
sitions, they were naturally placed with these in their proper
chronological position.

1. Bless , oh my soul, Jehovah ! Oh Jehovah, my God, thou art
great exceedingly ; honour and majesty hast 'thou put on. The
resemblance of the first clause to Ps. ciii. 1 shows the designed con-
nection of the two psalms. The remainder of the verse is a kind of
response to this invocation, and contains, as it were, the words in
which his soul does actually bless God. At the same time it ex-
hibits in advance the sum and substance of the whole composition,
the design of which is to describe the dories of creation and
providence as the royal robe of the divine sovereign. Compare
Ps. xlv. 4 (3.) xciii. 1. xcvi. 6. Job xl. 10. Isai. li. 9.

2. Wearing light like a roue, spreading heaven like a curtain.
In carrying out the idea summarily stated in the first verse, he
begins where the cosmogony in Genesis begins, with the light and
the firmament, not the act of their creation, but their use, as the
Creator's robe and curtain. It follows of course that light and
heaven must be taken in their popular and ordinary sense, and
not as denoting the heaven of heavens and the light inaccessible
in which he is elsewhere represented as dwelling. The definite
forms of the original, the robe, the curtain, as contrasted with the
vaguer forms, light, heaven, may be intended to suggest the idea
of the robe and curtain known and used in common life, which man
puts on and stretches out with perfect ease, but not more easily
than God puts on the light and stretches out the sky. Compare
Gen i. 6. Isai. xl. 22. Job. ix. 8.

PSALM CIV. 31

3. Framing with wale?' his halls ; making clouds his convey-
ance ; moving on wings of the wind. The first word means
laying beams or rafters. The next phrase may either mean in
or with water. The first is more obvious, the last more striking,
as it represents a solid building, made of a liquid or fluid ma-
terial. In the other case the waters meant are those above the
firmament. See Gen. i. 6, 7. Ps. xviii. 12 (11J, where the clouds
and the wings of the wind are also mentioned in the same con-
nection. The word translated halls denotes the highest room of
an oriental house, which is frequently the largest. Hence the
frequent mention, in the New Testament, of the vtiequjov as a
place of assembly. Making, literally, setting, placing. Chariot
is too specific a translation of the Hebrew word, which means
anything on which a person rides. The preposterous figure of
walking on wings belongs entirely to the versions, ancient and
modern. The Hebrew word, though often so applied, is a
generic one, denoting all progressive movement, and nearly
equivalent to our word going, which is not so agreeable, however,
in this place, to English usage, as the more general and poetical
term moving. See above, on Ps. xviii. 11 (10.)

4. Making his angels winds, his ministers flaming fire. Ac-
cording to the simplest and most obvious construction of this
verse, it can only mean that G-od makes his angels or ministering
spirits swift and ardent in his service. But such a statement
would be wholly out of place in a psalm, the rest of which relates
exclusively to the material creation. The best interpreters are
therefore of opinion that angels and ministers are predicates not
subjects, or in other words, that the idea meant to be conveyed is,
that he makes the winds his messengers or ano-els, and the flam-
ing fire his minister or servant. This agrees exactly with the
previous declaration that he makes the clouds his chariot or con-
veyance, and moves upon the wings of the wind. It may seem,
however, to be inconsistent with the use made of the passage in

32 PSALM CIV.

Heb. 1. 7, as a proof that the angels are inferior to the Son of
God. But how could this inferiority he proved by the fact that
the angels are spirits, or even wind and fire ? The latter cannot
be literally true, and if metaphorical, can only mean that they
are swift and ardent in God's service, which they might be and
yet equal to the Son in nature, who, considered as a messenger
or agent of the Father, exhibits precisely the same qualities.
The truth is that the passage, as thus understood, is perfectly
irrelevant and useless to the argument, and therefore that this
mode of explaining it is not entitled to the preference, what-
ever difficulties may attend the other. Let it be observed, too,
that the Septuagint version, which is quoted in Heb. i. 7, is an
exact transcript of the Hebrew, both as to the sense and colloca-
tion of the words, so that if the original admits of a different con-
struction, it may be extended to the version likewise. The most
satisfactory conclusion is, that the words are not quoted as an
argument or proof of the inferiority of angels, but merely as a
striking yet familiar form of words in which to clothe the writer's
own idea, which is this, that angels are mere messengers and
ministers, and as such may be classed with the material agencies
which God employs in execution of his purpose. The wind and
the liditnino; are God's ans-els and his ministers, and are ex-
pressly so described in the Old Testament ; but they are nevei
called his sons, much less addressed directly as the sovereign,
eternal, righteous, ever-blessed God. Nor are the ministering
spirits, who share with these material agencies the character of
messengers and servants, ever so described or so addressed. By
thus supplying the suppressed links of the chain of argument, the
verse before us, in the only sense of which the context really ad-
mits, will be found not only as appropriate as the other to the
purpose for which it is quoted in the New Testament, but incom-
parably more so.

5. Tie founded the earth on its bases ; it shall not be moved for*

PSALM CIV. 33

ever and ever. The idea of bases is rather suggested by the con-
text, and especially the verb founded, than expressed by the
Hebrew noun itself, which properly means places, or more specifi-
cally, fixed and settled places. See above, on Ps. lxxxix. 15 (14.)
xcvii. 2, and with the whole verse compare Ps. lxxviii. 69. lxxxix.
12 (11.) cii. 26 (25J

6. (With) the deep, like a garment, thou didst cover it ; above
the mountains stand the waters. Next in importance to the separ-
ation of the land and water in the beginning (Gen. i. "9, 10),
was the temporary confounding of the two in the universal
deluge (Gen. vii. 19, 20), which the Psalmist therefore here con-
nects with the creation, as equally demonstrative of almighty
power, and also for the purpose of founding on this seeming vio-
lation of the promise in the last clause of v. 5, a still more
solemn repetition of it. The grammatical objection that the
pronoun in the phrase didst cover it is masculine, and cannot
therefore refer to earth which is feminine, is easily removed by a
reference to the general license of the Hebrew syntax with re-
spect to genders, and the idiomatic tendency to use the mascu-
line, not as a distinctive but as a generic form, in cases where the
subject is sufficiently indicated by the context. There are more-
over several clear examples of the masculine construction of this
very noun (f1]?*) besides those in which earth or land is put for
its inhabitants. See e. g. Gen. xiii. 6. Isai. ix. 18. The allu-
sion in the last clause to Gen. vii. 19, 20, is too plain to be mis
taken.

7. At thy rebuke they flee, at the voice of thy thunder they hasten
away. The same power that produced the deluge put an end to
it. The verbs agree with waters in v- 6. The divine command

O

that they should cease or disappear is poetically spoken of as a
rebuke. See above, on Ps. xviii. 16 (15.) lxxvi. 7 (6), and com-
pare Isai. 1. 2. The Hebrew particle means from, denoting both
2*

34 PSALM CIV.

the time and cause of the effect described. The last verb is a
passive meaning strictly to be panic-struck, or to flee in conse-
quence of being panic-struck. See above, on Ps. xxxi. 23 (22.)
xlviii. 6 (5.) The voice of thy thunder may be literally under-
stood to mean the sound of thunder, or, according to a well-known
Hebrew idiom, thy voice of thunder, or thy thundering voice.

8. They go up mountains, they go dozen valleys, to this place
thou hast founded for them. The first clause is a beautiful de-
scription of the fluctuations which attend the subsidence of
swollen waters, not only in the case of Noah's flood (Gen. viii.
4 — 5) to which the words relate in the first instance, but in all
other cases, where the same rule still holds good, so that the
verse, by an insensible transition, founds the statement of a gen-
eral truth on that of a particular event. The use of the de-
monstrative (this) is highly idiomatic. The original construc-
tion is, to a place, this (which) thou hast founded for them. This
form of expression is equivalent to pointing with the hand, and
therefore adds not a little to the graphic vividness of the descrip-
tion.

9. A hound thou didst set, they shall not pass over, they shall
not return to cover the earth. This grand exception to the law
which governs the relations between land and water is the only
one to be permitted or expected. The limits broken were re-
newed with an assurance that henceforth they should be inviol-
able. See Gen. ix. 15. Besides the immediate reference to the
flood, the verse contains the statement of a general fact in the
economy of nature, and thus furnishes a natural transition to the
similar statements of the next verse.

10. Sending springs into the valleys ; between hills they go.
The participial construction, interrupted by the parenthetical ac-
count of the flood, is here resumed, the participle, like the others,

PSALM CIV. 35

agreeing directly with Jehovah understood, as the (one) sending,
which is the precise form of the original. See above, on Ps. ciii.
3 — 6. Springs or fountains, not in the restricted sense, but
comprehending both the source and stream, as in Joel iv. IS
(iii. 18.) The word translated valleys is restricted in usage to
such as have streams Sowing through them. The last word is the
one translated walketh by the English Bible in v. 3 above, but
here run, although walk is given in the margin, as a more pre-
cise and literal translation, while Jerome inserts it in his text, ut
inter medios monies ambulent.

11. They water every least of the field ; (at them) wild asses
quench their thirst. The subject of the first verb is still the
waters. The verb itself means to water, in the sense of giving
drink to animals, though sometimes metaphorically applied to
irrigation. See Gen. ii. 10. The form of the parallelism in this
verse is peculiar, although not uncommon in Hebrew poetry, the
last clause containing a specification of the general statement in
the first. What is first said of animals, or wild ones in the gen-
eral, is then said of the wild ass in particular. Quench, literally,
Ireak, i. e. subdue, assuage. A derivative noun is applied in
Hebrew to corn or grain, as that which breaks or assuages hunger,
although most interpreters and lexicographers suppose a reference
to the literal breaking or grinding of the corn itself.

12. Above them the birds of heaven dwell, from between the
branches they give voice. The poetical character of the compo-
sition is in nothing more obvious than in these minute strokes of
exquisite painting, superadded to the more essential parts of the
description. At the same time, these are not to be regarded as
mere lavish or gratuitous embellishments, since the Psalmist's
purpose is to celebrate God's wonderful and bountiful provision
for his living creatures, and the running brooks would fail to an-
swer one of their most valuable ends, if there were no birds to give

36 PSALM CIV.

voice or sins: anions the branches of the overhan<nn2: trees. The
word translated birds is a collective answering to the old English
fowl, not as used in the version of this psalm, where it is plural,
but in that of Gen. i. 20, 22, 26, 28. That passage furnishes an
explanation of the phrase fowl (or birds) of heaven, in the fuller
description (Gen i. 20), fowl that may fly above the earth in the
open firmament of heaven, i. e. through the air, across the face of
the expanse or visible heaven.

* 13. Watering mountains from his upper rooms — frcm the fruit
of thy works is the earth filled. He still returns to God as the
author of these merciful provisions, and represents him, by a
beautiful figure, as pouring this abundant supply of water from
his upper rooms , the same word that was rendered halls in v. 3 ;
but here the connection seems to require that its precise etymo-
logical import should be prominent. The fruit of thy works, the
result or product of thy creative energy. Filled, not in the sense
of being occupied, which would require a different Hebrew verb,
but in that of being abundantly supplied or saturated. See
above, on Ps. ciii. 5. The sudden apostrophe to God himself
enhances the poetical effect.

14. Causing grass to grow for the catth and herb for the
culture of man, (so as) to bring forth bread from the earth. In
this verse there is a transition from God's care of the inferior ani-
mals to his care of man. The word translated herb denotes any
green plant or vegetable, and is here applied to such as constitute
or furnish human food. The common version of the next words,
for the service of man, can only mean for his benefit or use, a
sonse not belonging to the Hebrew word, which, as well as its verbal
root, is applied to man's servitude or bondage as a tiller of the
ground (Gen. iii. 17 — 19), and has here the sense of husbandry
->r cultivation, as in Ex. i. 14. Lev. xxv. 39, it has that of com-

PSALM CIV. 37

pulsory or servile labour. The infinitive in the last clause indi-
cates the object for which labour is imposed on man.

15. And wine gladdens the heart of man — (so as) to make his
face shine more than oil — and bread the heart of man sustains.
The general expression at the end of v. 14 is now rendered more
specific by distinctly mentioning the great staples of production
and subsistence in the Holy Land. The only doubt is whether
two or three are mentioned. The text of the English Bible
makes oil a distinct item in the catalogue, and oil to make his face
to shine. But this is an impossible construction of the Hebrew,
in which the infinitive {to make shine) bears the same relation to
what goes before as the infinitive (to bring forth) in the verse pre-
ceding, and is therefore expressive not of a distinct cause and
effect, but of a consequence resulting from the one just men-
tioned. The true construction is given in the margin of the
English Bible, to make his face shine with oil, or more than oil.
To the first of these alternative translations it may be objected
that wine cannot make men's faces shine with oil, unless there is
allusion to the festive unctions of the ancients, which however
were restricted to the head. The other, therefore, seems to be
the true sense, in which oil is merely mentioned as a shining sub-
stance. The description of food as sustaining the heart is very
ancient. See Gen. xviii. 5. Judg. xix. 8.

16. Full are the trees of Jehovah; the cedars of Lebanon which
he planted. Full, i. e. abundantly supplied, saturated as in v. 13.
The English versions supply sap ; but the idea suggested by the
context is the more general one of moisture, irrigation. The
mutual relation of the clauses is the same as in v. 11. What is
first said of trees, or of the noblest trees, in general, is then said
of the cedars in particular. The trees of Jehovah, like the cedars
of God in Ps. lxxx. 11 (10), are those which he has planted
(Num. xxiv. 6), those which, by their loftiness or fruitfulness or

38 PSALM CIV.

beauty, bear the strongest impress of their Maker's hand. The
cedars of Lebanon are often mentioned as the noblest and most
famous of their kind. See above, on Ps. xxix. 5. xcii. 13 (12.)

17. "Where the (small) birds nestle; (as to) the stork, the
cypresses (arc) her house. He again recurs to the provision made
for birds, which is here connected with the trees, as it is in v. 12.
The word translated birds is not the one there used, but the same
with that in Ps. lxxxiv. 4 (3.) cii. 7, where it is commonly trans-
lated sparrow, though supposed to be a general term for small
birds, so called from their chirping, twittering noise. Here it
may represent the smaller and the stork the larger class of birds.
The Hebrew name of the stork means merciful or pious, and is
supposed to have reference to the natural kindness of that bird,
both to its parents and its young. Nestle or build their nests.
The choice between the old translation, fir-trees, and the new one,
cypresses, is exegctically unimportant.

18. Mountains, the high (ones), are for the loild-goats — rocks
(are) a refuge for the conies. The idea seems to be, that even
the wildest situations, and the most inaccessible to man, afford
shelter and subsistence to some form of life, and are therefore
proofs of the divine benevolence and wisdom. Of the names of
animals here mentioned, the first occurs also in the book of Job
(xxxix. 1) ; the second in the lists of unclean beasts, Lev. xi. 5.
Deut. xiv. 7 ; and both in the writings of Solomon, Prov. v. 19.
xxx. 26. Of the second, various explanations have been given,
but none of them more probable than that derived from the rab-
binical tradition. Nor is the question of the slightest exegetical
importance, since the only peculiarities involved are those sug-
gested by the text itself, to wit, that the animals intended must be
such as inhabit rocks and mountains. Some supply a refuge in the
first clause from the second ; but a better sense is yielded by the
simpler construction, they belong to (or are intended for) the wild

PSALM CIV. 39

goats, which agrees exactly with the drift of the whole psalm to
show that all parts of the inanimate creation contribute something
to the comfort of the living sentient creature.

19. He made the moon for seasons; the sun knows his setting.
Even the heavenly bodies have a reference to man's advantage.
The moon is a measure of time, and the sun defines the period of
active labor. The word translated seasons is the plural of the one
translated set time in Ps. lxxv. 3 (2.) cii. 14, and the same that
means assemblies in Ps. lxxiv. 4, S. It is here put for all divi-
sions of time, including the succession of day and night, to which
there is perhaps a special reference, as in the other clause, where
the meaning seems to be, that the sun knows when and where to
set, and does not make the day, with its attendant toils, perpetual.
This is a strong poetical description of an obvious and familiar
fact, and no more presupposes a particular theory or system of
astronomy than the similar language of uninspired poets among
ourselves.

20. Thou makest darkness and it is night ; in it begins to move
every beast of the forest. The first verb in Hebrew means to set
or place, but is used precisely as a word of the same meaning is
in v. 3. Its abbreviated form does not indicate an optative
meaning, but is substituted for the full form by poetic license.
It is night, or night is, night begins to be. The same inceptive
meaning is expressed in the translation of the third verb, which
denotes animal motion, but is specially applied to that of reptiles.
The idea of a secret, stealthy motion, as suggested by the com-
mon version (do creep forth), can hardly be intended, as the con-
text shows the main idea of the passage to be this, that as the
day affords a time for active motion to mankind and to domestic
animals, the night affords a like time for the wilder beasts, or
beasts of the forest, an expression which occurs above, in Ps.
I. 10

40 PSALM CIV.

21. The young lions roaring for the prey, and to seek from
God their food. By translating the participle and infinitive both
as presents, the common version makes this a distinct propo-
sition. But in Hebrew it forms part of the preceding sentence,
and contains a specification of the general statement there made.
When nio-ht comes on, all the beasts of the forest are aroused,
and among the rest the lion, roaring for his prey, (is roused) to
seek his food from God. This last expression implies no such
purpose on the lion's part, but merely that he seeks what can only
be bestowed by an almighty being, which idea is suggested by the
name of God here used.

22. The sun rises — they are gathered — and in their dens lie down.
The first clause may also be translated, let the sun rise, they are
gathered, or paraphrased in more accordance with our idiom,
when the win rises they are gathered ; but neither of these con-
structions is so 'striking and poetical as the exact version first
above given. Gathered, i. e. called in from their wanderings and
dispersions. The word translated dens means abodes or homes,
and is a connate form to that in Ps. xc. 1 ; but the form here
used is specially applied to the lairs or resting places of wild
beasts, not only here but in Am. iii. 4. The last verb is also
one appropriated to the lying down of animals. See above, on
Ps. xxiii. 2. The construction is a pregnant one : they lie down
to (or into) their dens, i. e. go into them and lie down.

23. Forth goes man to his work, and to his labour until evening.
This verse presents the day-scene corresponding to the night-
scene of the two preceding verses. When night comes on, the
beasts of the forest are in motion ; when the sun appears, they
gather to their lairs, and man comes forth to labour until evening,
when the scene is shifted as before. Leaving out of view all
higher claims to admiration and respect, the poetical merit of

PSALM CIV. 41

this whole description is of the highest order. The word trans-
lated labour is the same that was translated culture in v. 14.

24. How manifold are thy works, Jehovah; all of them in wis-
dom hast thou wrought ; full is the earth of thy riches. The first
verb in Hebrew strictly means are many, but as the context has
respect to the variety, and not to the mere number, of God's
works, the sense is well conveyed by the term used in the English
versions {manifold.) Works and wrought represent a cognate
verb and noun in Hebrew, a combination which adds point and ani-
mation to the sentence. The last word in the verse is derived from
a verb which means to acquire, either by creation or by purchase.
While the noun, therefore, strictly denotes acquisitions or pos-
sessions, its etymological affinities would instantly suggest to
every Hebrew reader the idea of creation, as the ultimate source
of these possessions, a modification of the thought which cannot
be conveyed by any mere translation.

25. Here is the sea, great and wide on all hands; there are

moving things, and without number, small animals with great.

The exclamation or reflection in the preceding verse affords a

transition to the survey of other parts of the creation, not included

in the catalogue before recited, yet no less striking in themselves,

and as proofs or illustrations of the Maker's wisdom. Such is the

sea, or here for instance is the sea, are the phrases which would

probably be used in our idiom, to introduce the first example

The same thing was probably intended by the Hebrew phrase,

this (is) the sea, as if the speaker at the same time pointed to it.

See above, on v. 8. Wide of both hands is another idiomatic

phrase used also by Moses (G-en. xxxiv. 21) and Isaiah (xxxiii.

21.) It obviously means stretching out in all directions. The

sense of hand, as thus used, is the same as in the English phrase

on all hands, and is probably derived from the use of the right

and left hand to distinguish position or direction. Moving things

42 PSALM CIV.

is here used to translate a single Hebrew word (-fa*)), the cognate
noun of the verb employed in v. 20 to denote animal motion.
It is a j) plied to marine animals, as here, in Gen. i. 9. Ps. lxix.
35 f34.) The use of the word leasts, in the common version of
the last clause, is not' consistent with its modern usage, which re-
stricts it to terrestial quadrupeds.

26. There the shifts go — Leviathan — this (that) thou hast formed
to play therein. While the ships connect the sea with man's
activity and interests, Leviathan, the standing representative of
aquatic monsters, may be here put for the population of the sea
itself. To play therein, as in his native element. Compare Job
xl. 20. The idiomatic use of this is like that in v. 25. The word
translated go, in the common version of the first clause, is the
same that was rendered walk in v. 3, and run in v. 10.

27. All of them on thee rely, to give their food in its season.
The all of them obviously relates to all the living creatures
previously mentioned, and not to any one or more exclusively,
the proposition being no less true of men than brutes, or of brutes
than men. On thee rely is not an exact translation of the He-
brew, which indeed does not admit of one, because it combines a
verb and preposition which cannot be combined in English. The
form of the original is, to thee wait, expect, or hope, the verb ex-
pressing confidence, the particle the act of looking towards the
object thus confided in. The description of the animals as
thus expecting their supplies from God, is merely the poetical
costume in which the Psalmist clothes the fact, that they are
really, although unconsciously, dependent on him. In precisely
the same manner, other poets represent the earth, in time of
drought, as. parched with thirst and longing for the rain, which
expressions no sane man would either charge with falsehood, or
consider as implying a belief in the conscious personality of

PSALM CIV. 43

Earth Compare my note on Isai. xlii. 4. In its season, i. c.
when they need it.

2S. Thou giv est to them, they gather; thou openest thy hand,
they are filled {with) food. The point of the significant anti-
thesis is this, that God as easily bestows as they receive. He has
only to give, they have only to gather. He has but to open his
hand, and they are instantly provided, even to satiety. Filled,
satisfied, abundantly supplied, as in v. 13. The verb rendered
gather means to pick up or collect from the ground. It is
used in the history of the manna (Ex. xvi. 1, 5, 16), to which
there is obvious allusion. The act- of gathering from the ground
seems to presuppose a previous throwing down from heaven
The common version, that (meaning what) thou givest them they
gather, weakens the sentence, if it does not render it unmeaning

29. Thou hidest thy face, they are confounded ; thou withdraw est
their breath, they expire, and to their dust return. The hiding of
God's face is the opposite of looking with a favourable aspect.
See above, on Ps. xiii. 2(1.) It here means the suspension or
withdrawing of the various benefits before described. They are
troubled is, in every case, a feeble version of one of the strongest
words in the language, which has been already more than once
explained. Even confounded, though much stronger, does not
perfectly convey the idea, which is that of being agitated, terror-
stricken, or convulsed. See above, on Ps. ii. 5. lxxviii, 33. xc. 7.
Their breath, the vital principle imparted by the Spirit of God
(Gen. ii. 7), who is the God of the spirits of all flesh, i. e. the
author of all life whatever. See Num. xvi. 22. xxvii. 16, and
compare Heb. xii. 9. The verb expire is used in the account of
the destruction of all living creatures by the flood, Gen. vii. 21,
22, to which there is no doubt allusion, as there is in the next
clause to Gen. iii. 19. Compare Ps. xc. 3 ciii. 14. Ecc. xii. 7.

44 PSALM CIV.

Their dust, their own, their native dust, to which they "belong,
and from which they sprang.

30. Thou sendest thy breath, they are created, and thou re-
newest the face of the earth. The absolute power of God over the
life of his creatures is expressed by representing him as annihil-
ating and creating the whole race at pleasure, by a breath. With
equal correctness we might read thy spirit, but thy breath is more
poetical, and therefore better suited to the context as the primary
meaning, though the spirit be really intended. They are created
refers the effect more directly to God's power than they live or
they revive would do. In the last clause there is evident allusion
to the renovation of the earth desolated by the flood, and the
joyous change of its face or aspect when re-peopled.

31. Let the glory of Jehovah be forever ; let Jehovah rejoice in
his works. The optative form of the first verb here determines
the meaning of the other. It would also be grammatical, though
much less natural in this connection, to regard the abbreviated
form of the first verb as a mere poetic license, and explain both
as futures proper. The glory of Jehovah shall be to eternity ; Je-
hovah shall rejoice in his ivories. The grammatical question is of
less importance, because one of these senses really implies the
other. The wish is not for something doubtful but infallibly cer-
tain, and the prediction is in strict accordance with the wish
of him who utters it. In this verse some interpreters suppose
an allusion to God's satisfaction in his own work of creation
when he rested from it on the seventh day. See Gen. ii. 1, 2.

32. He that looks at the earth and it quakes, touches the hills and
they smoke. There is something in the form of this verse similar
to that of v. 2S. God has only to look at the earth to make it
quake. He has only to touch the mountains and they smoke.
His controlling and terrifying acts are as prompt and easy as his

PSALM CIV. 45

acts of grace. There seems to be a reference to the words of
Moses in describing the effects of the theophany at Sinai, when
its summit smoked, and its very roots or bases were on fire. See
Ex. xix. 18. Deut. xxxii. 22. To those familiar with the con-
stant use of mountains as a symbol of great monarchies, this verse
would necessarily suggest the thought, that God's power over
states is no less absolute than that which he exercises over indi-
viduals, or over the inanimate creation.

33. I. will sing to Jehovah while, I live, I will make music to my
God while I still (exist.) This is the Psalmist's conclusion from the
view which he has taken, with respect to his own interest and
duty. If the Lord be such a Grod to all his creatures, then I
can do no better than expend the remainder of my life in praising
him. The two verbs are those continually joined to denote vocal
and instrumental praise. The closing words of each clause, and
especially the second, have a highly idiomatic character. The
phrase translated while I live means literally in my life or lives.
The corresponding one can scarcely be translated, as it is com-
posed of the preposition in, the adverb yet or still, and the pro-
noun of the first person, in my yet, i. e. in my {being) yet, while I
still am, or continue to exist.

34. Sweet shall be of him my meditation ; I will rejoice in Je-
hovah. The ancient versions and the Prayer Book, with some of
the best interpreters, put an optative sense upon the first clause,
may my thought (or speech) be acceptable to him. In favour of
this interpretation is the fact that a synonymous verb, followed by
the same preposition (^S)> means to be pleasing to a person, in Ps.
xvi. 6. In favour of the other is the want of anything to indi-
cate a wish, and the parallelism of the second clause, which relates
to the expression of his own feelings towards Jehovah, not to the
dispositions of Jehovah towards himself. Thus understood, the
whole verse completes the Psalmist's practical conclusion from

46 PSALM CV.

the view which he has taken of God's power, wisdom, and good-
ness, namely, that the knowledge and possession of this God is
happiness.

35. Consumed are sinners from the earth, and (as for) wicked
men, they are no more. Bless, oh my soul, Jehovah. Hallelujah !
This verse has no perceptible connexion, either with the verse
immediately before it, or with the general drift of the whole
psalm, except upon the supposition, that the whole psalm was in-
tended to derive, from the view of God's authoritative *;are over
his works, an encouraging assurance that his people must be safe ;
that he who feeds and shelters the inferior animals, and makes
provision for the physical necessities of men in general, cannot
fail to provide for the security and happiness of those whom he
has set apart for himself, or to free them from the malice of those
sinners who are equally the enemies of God and of his people.
The psalm, like the one before it, closes with the same words
which began it. The last word, Hallelujah (praise ye Jali),
occurs here for the first time, and is supposed by some to form
no part of the original composition, but to have been added for
the purpose of adapting it to some public service at a later date.

PSALM C Y .

Tins, like the Seventy-Eighth, is a historical psalm, recounting
God's ancient dealings with his people, especially in Egypt.
The practical design of the commemoration is not to bring the
people to repentance, as in the case referred to, but to excite
their hopes of an analogous deliverance. According to a theory

PSALM CV. 47

already mentioned, this is the second member of a trilogy, added
to one of older date (Ps. ci — ciii) during the time of the cap-
tivity. It differs from the psalm before it in deriving from his-
tory the same consolation which is there derived from nature.
After the introduction, vs. 1 — 7, the arrangement is simply chrono-
logical, beginning with the promise to Abraham, and ending with
the conquest of Canaan, vs. 8 — 44. The first fifteen verses of this
psalm are found in 1 Chron. xvi, combined with Ps. xevi and
three verses of Ps. cvi. See above, on Ps. xcvi. 1.

1. Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, make known
among the nations his exploits. The original meaning of the
second phrase is, call (him) by his name, i. e. give him the de-
scriptive title most expressive of his divine perfections ; or more
specifically, call him by his name Jehovah, i. e. ascribe to him
the attributes which it denotes, to wit, eternity and self-existence,
together with that covenant relation to his people, which though
not denoted by the name was constantly associated with it, and
therefore necessarily suggested by it. The meaning of the next
phrase is obscured, if not entirely concealed, in the common ver-
sion, among the people. The plural form and sense of the original
expression are essential to the writer's purpose, which is to
glorify the God of Israel among all nations. See above, on Ps.
xviii. 50 (49.) lvii. 10 (9.) For the meaning of the last word,
see above, on Ps. ciii. 7.

2. Sing to him, play to him, muse on all his wondrous deeds.
The exhortation seems to be addressed to the Gentiles, who are
called uDon to join in the praises and to share the blessings of the
chosen people. For the meaning of the last verb, see above, on
Ps. civ. 34.

3. Glory in his holy name ! Glad shall he the heart of those who
seek Jehovah. Congratulate yourselves that you possess a right

48 PSALM CV.

and interest in the favour of so glorious a Being. The last clause
presents as an inducement, that to seek the favour of this (rod is
a source, and by implication the only source, of joy and happi-
ness. Compare Ps. xxxiv. 3 (2.) xl. 17 (16.) lxix. 7 (6.)

4. Seek Jehovah and his strength, seek his face evermore. The
Hebrew verbs, although synonymous, are not identical. And his
strength, the protection secured by his almighty power. Seek
him, not as a finite beings but as the omnipotent Jehovah, the
source, as well as the possessor, of all strength. Seek his face,
not merely his presence, but his countenance, his favourable look
or aspect. With the several expressions of this verse compare
Ps. ix. 11 (10.) x. 4. xiv. 2. xxiv. 6. xxxiv. 5 (4.) lxi. 4 (3.)
lxii. 8 (7.) lxiii. 3 (2.) lxviii. 35 (34) xcvi. 7.

5. Remember his wondrous deeds ivhich he did, his miracles and
the judgments of his mouth. They are exhorted not to forget
them, as Israel is charged with doing, Ps. lxxviii. 11. Miracles,
prodigies or wonders, proofs of divine power. There is no need
of identifying these with the judgments of his mouth, which in-
clude his laws and the sentences pronounced upon his enemies.
The latter is probably the prominent idea as best suited to this
context.

6. Ye seed cf Abraham his servant, ye sons of Jacob, his chosen
(ones.) Descendants of the patriarchs, and therefore heirs of the
patriarchal promises. The common version of the last phrase
(his chosen), though exact, conveys a wrong idea, as it seems to
make chosen an epithet of Jacob, which would also seem to be
required by the parallelism ; but the Hebrew word is plural and
describes the object of address as the church or chosen people.
Compare Isai. lxv. 9. Abraham is called the Servant of God, in
an emphatic sense, as being his chosen instrument and confidential

PSALM CV. 49

agent. See above, on Ps. xviii. 1, and compare Ps. xc. 1. The
parallel passage (1 Chr. xvi. 13) has Israel his servant.

7. lie is lehovah our God ; in all the earth (are) his judg-
ments. His covenant relations are with us the seed of Abraham ;
but the proofs of his existence and vindicatory justice are com-
mon to all nations. This whole introduction seems intended to
dispose both Jews and Gentiles to the praise of God.

8. He rememhered forever his covenant , the word he commanded for
a thousand generations. There is here a kind of antithetical allu-
sion to the exhortation in v. 5. They should remember what he
did, since he remembers what he promised. What he has done
involves a pledge of what he will do. He has remembered (and
will remember) his covenant to eternity. The tcord is the word
of promise. He is said to have commanded it, partly because his
promise is conditional and annexed to his commandment, and for
that reason called a covenant ; partly because all that God says
must of necessity be said with authority, so that even his pro-
mises partake of the nature of commands. The last phrase, a
thousand generations , is Mosaic. See Deut. vii. 9, and' compare
Ex. xx. 6.

9. Which he ratified with Abraham , and his oath to Isaac.
The sentence is continued from the foregoing verse. Ratified,
literally cut ; see above, on Ps. 1. 5. His oath (which he sware)
to Isaac, or, his oath for (the benefit of) Isaac. The distinction,
if any be intended, is that the covenant was formally made only
with Abraham, and merely sanctioned or confirmed by oath to
his successors. See Gen. xv. 18. xxvi. 3. xxviii. 13. His oath
is governed by rememhered in v. 8. Compare Ps. lxxxix. 2S,
34 (27, 33.)

10. And confirmed it to lacob for a statute, to Israel (for)

VOL. III. 3

50 PSALM CV.

an everlasting covenant. Confirmed it, literally, made (or let) it
stand, instead of suffering it to expire with the person to whom it
was originally given. A statute, in the wide sense of a perma-
nent arrangement, a perpetual constitution, or, as it is called in
the last clause, a compact of eternity, an everlasting covenant.
See Gen. xxviii. 13. xxxv. 12.

11. Saying, To thee will I give the land of Canaan, as the
portion of your heritagcx The subject or substance of the pro-
mise is now more distinctly stated. The word translated portion
primarily means a line, especially a measuring line, and then
what is measured by it, to wit, a piece of land, a lot of ground.
This was not to be given to the patriarchs in person, but to their
descendants, as the portion of their heritage or their hereditary
portion. The plural your may refer, however, to the patriarchs
themselves, as the promise was repeated to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob.

12. When as yet they could be numbered — very few, and Strang
trs in it. The first clause involves an antithetical allusion to the
promise, afterwards fulfilled, that they should be innumerable as
the stars, or as the sand upon the shore, Gen. xxii. 17. The
form of the original is highly idiomatic, in their being men of
number, like a little, or like littleness itself. See above, on Ps.
lxxiii. 2, and compare Isai. i. 9. Strangers, sojourners, living
on the lands of others, at their will, or by their sufferance. See
above, on Ps. xxxix. 13 (12.) In it, the land of Canaan, men-
tioned in the preceding verse. The whole verse qualifies the
previous account of the patriarchal covenant, which was not
made with Israel when already a great nation, but with their
ancestors when few in number and without a settled home. The
parallel passage (1 Chron. xvi. 19) has when ye were. See Gen.
zxxiv. 30, and compare Deut. xxxiii. G. Jsai. x. 19.

PSALM CV. 51

13. And they went about from nation to nation, from kingdom to
another people. This may be regarded as in contrast with v. 12, and
(yet) they went about, notwithstanding their small number and their
being strangers. Or vs. 12, 13, may be the protasis of the sen-
tence, and v. 14 its apodosis. 'When they were few and
strangers, and went from nation to nation, he let no man, etc'
This verse describes the characteristic feature in the condition of
the chosen people, during the patriarchal period of their history,
namely, their migratory intercourse with various nations. These
are mentioned in the first clause as distinct races, in the last as
distinct states or bodies politic. Where wo might have expected
from kingdom to kingdom, the ear is somewhat disappointed by
the phrase from kingdom to another people, which may have been
intended to distinguish the Egyptian and other monarchies from
the more democratical or patriarchal institutions of the Arabians
and other nations. They tvent about seems to be the force of the
reflexive or frequentative verb, as distinguished from that of the
primitive, they went. See above, on Ps. xxvi. 3. xxxv. 14. ci. 2,
and compare Gen. v. 22. xvii. 1. xxiv. 6, 9, 40. xlviii. 15.

14. He suffered no man to oppress them, and reproved, for their
sake, kings. The precise sense of the first clause is, he suffered
not man (or men in general) to oppress them. The protection
of the patriarchs is certainly one of the most striking facts in
sacred history. The kings mentioned in the last clause are the
kings of Egypt and Gerar (Gen. xii. 17. xx. 3), not without
reference perhaps to those mentioned in Gen. xiv. 1.

15. Tauch not mine anointed (ones), and to my prophets do no
harm. These are the words of God himself, and are designated
as such, in the English Bible, by supplying the word saying,
which is expressed in the analogous case, v. 11. Touch not, as
in Gen. xxvi. 11,29. In the Old Testament, unction is the
symbol of spiritual gifts, and especially of those imparted to the

52 PSALM CV.

great theocratical offices. See above, on Ps. ii. 2. From the
case of Elisha (1 Kings xix. 16) it would seem that -prophets
were anointed when inducted into office. The patriarchs are here
called prophets in the proper sense of the term, as denoting men
inspired of God, and admitted to confidential intercourse with
him. The allusion here is to Gen. xx. 7, where God says to
Abimclech of Abraham, "Restore the man his wife, for he is a
prophet, and he will pray for thee, and thou shalt live."

16. And he called (for) a famine on the land ; every staff of
bread he broke. The psalmist now passes from the Patriarchal to
the Egyptian period of the history, by stating the occasion of
Israel's migration into Egypt. The meaning of the first clause
seems to be, that he summoned famine, as his instrument or ser-
vant, to come down upon the land, as sent from above, that is to
say, from himself. The meaning of the last clause is, that the
people were deprived of every customary means and source of
subsistence. The figure of a staff or stay is a Mosaic one. See
Lev. xxvi. 26, and compare Isai. iii. 1. It is near akin to the
description of food as staying or sustaining the heart. See above,
on Ps. civ. 15, The historical reference in the verse before us
is to Gen. xli. 54.

17. He sent before them a man ; sold for a slave was Joseph.
The same providential purpose is assigned to Joseph's bondage
by himself, Gen. xlv. 5. With the last clause compare Gen.
xxxvii. 36. Some interpreters, assuming, as we have already
seen, that this psalm was composed in the time of the captivity,
suppose a parallel, in this verse, between Joseph and Daniel,
both of whom, in addition to their personal qualities, were sent
into captivity before the body of their brethren ; both gained the
royal favour and were exalted to high station in the land of their
captivity ; and both employed the influence thus gained for tli !
.advantage of their countrymen. To the Jews in exile, such a

PSALM CV

53-

parallel must have been not only interesting, in a historical or
poetical point of view, but consolatory and encouraging as a token
for good, a sign that God was about to renew the exodus from
Egypt in an exodus from Babylon.

18. They hurt, with tM fetter, his feet ; into iron came his soul.
That Joseph was actually chained or fettered, is included in the
true sense of the word bound, applied to him in the history.. See
Gen. xl. 3, and compare Gen. xxxix. 20, 22. They, the Egyp-
tians, or his gaolers ; or the verb may be indefinitely construed,
as if it had been said, his feet were hurt. The verb means else-
where to humble or mortify, but is here used in its strict sense of
afflicting, causing to suffer. The Prayer Book version of the
last clause, the iron entered into his soul, is ungrammatical, the
word for iron being masculine, while that for soul is, like the verb,
feminine. The general sense is given in the text of the English
Bible, and the exact form in the margin. The mention of the
soul, as in many other cases, is of course not meant to be ex-
clusive of the body, but to suggest the idea of intimate and heart-
felt suffering. See above, on Ps. iii. 3 (2.) xi. 1, etc.

19. Until the time that his word came (to pass), the saying of
Jehovah tried him. The last verb properly denotes the assaying
of metals, but is figuratively applied to moral trial and purgation.
See above, on Ps. xii. 7 (6.) xvii. 3. xviii. 31 (30.)xxvi. 2. The
most probable meaning of the verse is, that during the two years
which intervened between his explanation of the prisoners'
dreams and the favourable issue to which it ultimately led, his
faith in the divine promise, both to himself and to his people, was
severely but favourably tried. Compare the history in Gen. xl, xli.

20. The king sent and loosed him — the ruler of nations, and set
him free. Both verbs strictly apply to the removal of his fetters,
the first meaning properly to knock off (Isai. lviii. 6), the other to

54 PSALM CV.

open for the purpose of removing. See above, on Ps. xxx
12 (11.) The king of Egypt is called a ruler of peoples, either
in reference to the tribes or nomes of Egypt itself, or because
there were other nations tributary to hiin.

21. He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his wealth.
The literal meaning of the first clause is, he placed him lord to his
house,. See Gen. xli. 40, 41, 43. xlv. 8. For the meaning of
the last word in the sentence, see above, on Ps. civ. 24. It is
one of the points of resemblance which are thought to identify
the two psalms as the work of the same author.

22. To bind his chiefs at his pleasure, and his elders to make
wise. The words translated chiefs and elders are those commonly
applied to the heads of tribes and families, the hereditary magi-
strates under the patriarchal system. The application of the
second word to Egypt is found also in the history, Gen. 1. 7. At
his pleasure, literally, with his soul, which some explain as a bold
metaphor, describing Joseph's mind or soul as the cord or chain
with which he bound the Egyptians, i. e. forced them to perform
his will. But see Ps. xvii. 9. xxvii. 12. xli. 3 (2.)

23. And (so) Israel entered Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the
land of Ham. This was the main event, to which those .just re-
cited were preparatory. Israel and Jacob are the names both of
the individual patriarch and of his descendants as a nation. In
this case both the applications are admissible, or rather requisite,
in order to exhaust the writer's meaning. The patriarch himself
came into Egypt, but his sons literally came with him, and all his
descendants figuratively in him. The land of Ham, from whom
Mizraim was descended. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 51.

24. And he increased his people greatly, and made (hem stronger
than their enemies. Increased, literally, rendered fruitful. The

PSALM CV. 55

same verb is used in the promise to Abraham and Jacob (Gen.
xvii. 6. xxviii. 2), and in the history of Israel in Egypt, Ex. i. 7.
The word here used for enemies is one implying persecution and
oppression. The singular pronouns in the Hebrew, made him
stronger than his enemies, are in strict grammatical agreement with
the collective noun people.

25. He turned their heart to Imte his people, to deal craftily
with his servants. The first clause asserts G-od's sovereign
control even of the free acts of his sinful creatures, a truth
repeatedly affirmed in the history which this psalm recapitulates.
See Ex. iv. 21. vii. 3, and compare 1 Sam. xxvi. 9. 2 Sam. xvi. 10.
xxiv. 1. The last verb occurs only in the history of Joseph, Gen.
xxxvii. IS. The corresponding term in Exodus (i. 10) is let us deal
wisely, or more exactly, let us make ourselves wise, as the verb in
this case may be rendered, let us make ourselves subtle or crafty,
both beins; reflexive forms. The historical allusion is of course
to the murderous policy, which preceded the violent oppression of
the Hebrews.

26. He sent Moses his servant (and) Aaron whom he chose.
The meaning is not Moses (who was) his servant, or (because he
was) his servant, but (to be) his servant, his instrument in the
great work of delivering his people. See above, on v. 6, and on
Ps. xviii. 1. xxxvi. 1. lxxviii. 70.

27. They placed among them the words of his signs and wonders
in the land of Ham. The first phrase seems to mean nothing
more than set before them or exhibited to them. Words of signs is
by some understood to mean matters (or affairs) of signs, and to
be either a pleonastic phrase for signs alone, or an emphatic
phrase denoting all the signs. See above, on Ps. lxv. 4 (3.)
The Srst is a gratuitous assumption, the last a forced interpreta-
tion Better than either is the explanation which gives to words

56 PSALM CV.

its proper meaning, and supposes stress to be intentionally laid on
the divine word of Jehovah, and the prophetic word of Moses and
Aaron, in the way of threatening and command, as well as on the
physical effects which followed these denunciations. Compare
the use of words in Ps. vii. 1, and the explanation there given.
Signs, i. e. tokens of God's presence and activity, and indica-
tions of his will. Wonders, prodigies, miracles, the same word
that occurs above in v. 5.

28. He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not resist
his words, or according to the marginal readinor his word. - This
is by some understood to mean the plague of darkness, which im-
mediately preceded the slaughter of the first born, Ex. x. 22.
But to this explanation there are two objections ; first, that it en-
tirely disturbs the order of the plagues, which is otherwise observed
with great exactness, the only deviation being very trivial compared
with this ; secondly, because it would then be necessary to apply
the last clause to Moses and Aaron, or to Israel in general, there-
by making it unmeaning, or else to admit a contradiction of
the history, which expressly says that the Egyptians did resist
the word of God even after the plague of darkness, Ex. x. 27.
The only remaining explanation is, that darkness, in the verse
before us, as in many other cases, is a figure for calamity in gene-
ral, and applied not to one plague in particular, but to the whole
scries, of which a more detailed account is then subjoined.

29. He turned their waters to blood and killed their fish. Here
begins the more particular enumeration of the plagues of Egypt.
Compare Ps. Ixxviii. 44, where the inconvenience specified is that
they could not drink the water, whereas here it is the loss of their
accustomed food. This last word is used as a collective in both
lamruarres. ,

30. Their land teemed with frogs — in the chambers of their kings.
That even these were not safe from the hateful intruders, is an

PSALM CV, 57

aggravating circumstance, particularly mentioned in the original
threatening, and implied in the narrative of its execution. See
Ex. viii. 3, 9. The first verb means to bring forth in abundance,
and is so used in the history of the creation, with particular refer-
ence to the genesis of animals, Gen. i. 20.

31. He said, and the fly came and gnats (or lice) in all their
border. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 45, where the gnats or lice
are omitted, and the flies precede the frogs. So here, the flies
precede the lice, a slight departure from the order of the history.
See Ex. viii. 5, 16. He said, i. e. he said so, which is tanta-
mount to saying, he commanded. In all their border, i. e. every
where within it, throughout the land. This expression is bor-
rowed from the history. See Ex. viii. 2 (vii. 27.)

32. He gave them hail for rain (and) flaming fire in their land.
This, which is the common version, represents the sense correctly,
but with a deviation from the form of the original, which is highly
idiomatic. A bald translation is, he gave their rains hail, fire of
flames in their land. The terms are chosen for the sake of an
allusion to the promise in Lev. xxvi. 4, I will give your rains in
their season. Instead of these he gave the Egyptians a destruc-
tive hail-storm. Compare Ps. lxxviii. 48.

33. And smote their vine and their fig-tree, and shattered
the trees of their border. Compare Ps. lxxviii. 47, where syca-
mores are particularly mentioned. The history says nothing of
the vines, but speaks of the breaking of the trees, using the same
intensive verb as here. See Ex. ix. 25. Their border, as before,
means their land or territory in its whole extent, just as the ends
of the earth is put for all its parts. See above, on Ps. ii. 8.

34. He said, and the arbeh came, and the yclck, and (that)
without number. The two Hebrew words, here retained, denote

3*

5S PSALM CV.

varieties of the locust, and have no equivalents in English. See
above, on Ps. lxxviii. 46, where the first word here stands second,
and the place of the other is supplied by hasil, another distinctive
term of the same kind. Without number, literally, there is no
number. See the same expression, Ps. civ. 25.

35. And devoured every herb in their land, and devoured the
fruit of their ground. The verb, though varied in the common
version, is the same in both cla uses of the Hebrew. See above,
on Ps. xlviii. 46, and com pare the original narrative, Ex. x. 5, 15.

36. And he smote all the firstborn in their land, the first-fruits

*

of all their strength. For the meaning of the last clause, see
above, on Ps. lxxviii. 51, and compare Ex. xii. 29, 30.

37. And he brought them out with silver and with gold, and there
was not in his tribes a totttrer (or stumbler.) The first clause
relates to the spoiling of the Egyptians, Ex. xii. 35, 36. The
last word denotes a person unfit for military service. Compare
[sai. v. 27.

3S. Glad was Egypt at their going forth, for their fear had
fallen upon them. This panic terror, which followed the last
plague and facilitated the escape of Israel (Ex. xi. 1. xii. 31 — 33),
accounts for the readiness with which the Egyptians gave what-
ever was demanded, and completely vindicates the children of
Israel from the charge of borrowing what they never meant to pay.
The terms used in the history denote the acts of asking and
giving, not those of borrowing and lending. The terms of the
last clause are derived from Ex. xv. 16. Deut. xi. 25".

39. lie spread a cloud for a covering, and fire to give light by
night. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 14. The poetical description

PSALM CV. 59

of the cloud as covering the host is derived from the statement
that "the cloud of Jehovah was over (or above) them by day,"
Num. x. 34. Compare Num. ix. 16. Neh. ix. 12. Isai. iv. 5, 6.

40. (The people) ashed and he made quails come — and bread cj
heaven satisfied them. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 25 — 27, and
compare Ex. xvi. 4 — 13. Num. xi. 31. As to the alternation of
the singular and plural forms, see above, on v. 24. Bread may
either be the subject of the verb, as given above, or a qualifying
term, (with) bread.

41. He opened a rock and forth gushed waters ; they ran in the
wastes, a river. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 16, 20. The word
translated wastes means, according to its etymology, dry places.

42. Because he remembered his holy word with Abraham his ser-
vant. This brings us back to the statement in vs. 8, 9, in proof
of which this long array of facts has been presented. Nothing
of all this would have taken place if God had been forgetful of
his covenant. This covenant is here meant by his holy word,
which is therefore followed by the preposition with, as in Ex.
ix. 24, where the covenant is expressly mentioned.

43. And brought out his people in joy, in triumph his chosen
(ones.) He remembered his promise and in execution of it
brought out his people, etc. The parallelism of people and chosen
throws light upon the latter term, as used in v. 6.

44. And gave to them nations'' lands, and peoples labour they
inherit. The prominent idea is not that of gentiles or heathen,
in the religious sense, but that of other nations, and whole na-
tions, to whose place and possessions they succeeded. Labour is
put for its result or product, as a synonymous Hebrew word is in
Ps. lxxviii. 46.

60 PSALM CVI.

45. To the end that they might keep his statutes and his laws
observe. Hallelujah ! The emphatic phrase at the beginning,
corresponding to our phrases, to the end, for the purpose, or in
order that, points this out as the qualification or condition of the
promise which had been so gloriously verified. The same con-
dition is expressed or implied elsewhere. See above, en Ps.
Ixxviii. 7, and compare Gen. xviii. 19. Deut. iv. 40. xxvi. 17.
Hallelujah (praise ye Jah) as above, in Ps. civ. 35.

PSALM C V I .

After an introduction, praising the divine goodness, and ex-
pressing the hope of a participation in it, vs. 1 — 5, this psalm
contains a solemn confession of the sins of Israel through all the
periods of his history ; in Egypt, v. 6 — 12 ; in the wilderness,
v. 13 — 33 ; in Canaan, vs. 34 — 43 ; and a prayer, founded on
encouraging tokens of the Lord's compassion, that he will save
his people from the punishment incurred by their unfaithfulness,
vs. 44 — 48. According to Hengstenberg's hypothesis already
mentioned, this is the third psalm of the trilogy added to Ps.
ci — ciii, in the times of the captivity, and a direct continuation
of the series, since the moral condition of God's covenant, pro-
pounded at the close of Ps. cv, is here acknowledged to have
been violated by his people, who are also represented as actually
suffering the punishment of this violation, but encouraged by re-
turning tokens of a favourable change, to hope and pray for the
forgiveness of their sins and the removal of the judgments which
they have so well deserved. The first verse and the two last
form a part of the mixed composition in First Chronicles, which

PSALM CVI. 61

has been already mentioned. See above, on Ps. xcvi. 1. But a
still more interesting parallel to this psalm is the prayer or con-
fession in the ninth chapter of Daniel, which resembles it so much
in subject, tone, and diction, that although not otherwise de-
monstrable, it would not be absurd to regard the psalm before us
as a lyrical paraphrase of that confession, prepared for permament
and public use by Daniel himself or some contemporary writer.

1. Hallelujah ! Give thanks unto Jehovah, for (he is) good, for
unto eternity (is) his mercy. The Hallelujah (praise ye Jah !)
which concludes the two preceding psalms, stands both at the
beginning and the close of this. The exhortation to give thanks
unto Jehovah is also found at the beo-inning of Ps. cv. The
reason here assigned, that he is good, and his mercy endures for-
ever, is expressed in the same words, Ps. c. 5.

2. Who shall tell the mighty deeds of Jehovah ? (Who) shall
utter all his praise ? The potential meaning (who can tell ?) is
here included in the simple future. Mighty deeds answers to a
single word in Hebrew meaning strengths or powers. The ex-
pression is borrowed from Deut. iii. 24, where the English Bible
has the singular form might. The verb translated utter is a
causative, who shall cause to hear or to be heard ? See above, on
Ps. xxvi. 7. The interrogation involves a negative assertion,
namely, that they cannot be fully expressed or duly celebrated.

3. Happy the keepers of judgment, the doer of righteousness at
every time. The form of expression at the beginning is the same
as in Ps. i. 1 . The keepers of judgment are those who observe
justice as the rule of their conduct, the same idea that is after-
wards expressed in other words, the doer (or practiser) of right-
eousness, not occasionally merely but at all times. The change
from the plural to the singular is common, where the latter de-
notes an ideal individual, the representative of a whole class

62 PSALM CVI.

The condition here propounded is identical with that in Ps.
cv. 45. ciii. IS. Dan. ix. 4.

4. Remember me, Jehovah, with the favour of thy people; visit
me with thy salvation. The speaker is the Church or chosen
people, and therefore prays to be remembered with the kindness
due to her as such. Visit me, manifest thy favourable presence.
See above, on Ps. viii 5 (4.) Such a prayer, uttered by the
church itself, implies that the tokens of God's favourable presence
had been interrupted or withdrawn.

5. To witness the welfare of thy chosen {ones), to rejoice in the
joy of thy nation, to glory with thy heritage. Our idiom requires
the subject of the verb to be more distinctly indicated. The
meaning evidently is, that I may witness, that I may rejoice, thai
I may glory. The phrase translated witness the welfare literally
means to see in the good, i. e. to look on, to be a spectator, when
thy chosen ones are in possession or enjoyment of good. Thy
nation is here used instead of the customary phrase thy people,
perhaps because the meaning is, the nation which is thy chosen
people. The general meaning of the whole verse is, that I may
once more be recognised and treated as thy people.

6. We have sinned with our fathers, we have done perversely,
we have done iciclcedly. The connection with the foregoing con-
text may be made clear by supplying a few intermediate thoughts.
c True, we have no right to expect this, much less to demand it.
We have not performed the condition of thy covenant ; we have
not kept thy statutes or observed thy laws ; we have not kept
judgment or done righteousness.' The national confession here
begun is nearly co-extensive with the psalm itself. The terms of
this verse are borrowed, here as well as in Dan. ix. 5, from that
great model of ecclesiastical and national devotion furnished by
Solomon, in his prayer at the dedication of the temple, 1 Kings

PSALM CVI. 63

viii. 47. Compare Isai. lix. 12. With our fathers, not merely
like them, but as sharing their responsibility and guilt. Of the
three verbs used in this confession, the first denotes failure to dis-
charge one's obligations, the second wilful perversion or distor-
tion, the third disorderly or turbulent transgression. See above,
on Ps. i. 1.

7. Our fathers in Egypt did not understand thy wondrous
works, they did not remember the abundance of thy mercies, and
rebelled upon the sea, at the Red Sea. The general confession in
v. 6 is now followed by a more detailed acknowledgment, begin-
ning with the exodus from Egypt. The wondrous works of God,
the things done wonderfully by him, then and there, for the deli-
verance of his people, the great body of them did not understand.
Even those who referred them to their true source and author, did
not fully appreciate the end for which they were performed, or
enter into the majestic plan, in executing which they were per-
mitted bo be God's co-workers. The truth of this charge is abun-
dantly established by the narrow, grovelling, selfish views and
feelings so repeatedly betrayed by the generation which came out
of Egypt, showing clearly that they did not practically understand
God's dealings with them. This is probably the idea meant to be
conveyed by the Hebrew verb, which usually means to act wisely,
but is here modified by governing a noun directly. See above, on
Ps. ii. 10. xiv. 2. The two-fold local designation, on the sea, at
t/ie Red Sea, was probably suggested by the parallelism in Ex.
xv. 4. The variation of the particle seems merely a poetical
embellishment ; the difference in meaning is no greater than in
our on and at. The Sea of Sea-weed was the name given by the
Hebrews and Egyptians to that bay or gulf of the Indian Ocean,
which was called the Red Sea by the Greek geographers.

S. And he saved them for his name's sake, to make known his
might. This is an answer to a tacit objection, namely, that their

64 PSALM CVI.

conduct had been sanctioned by God's saving them. True, he
did save them, because they were necessary to his purpose. He
saved them not for their sake but his own, to accomplish his own
ends, and exhibit his own power.

9. And he rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and he made
them go through the deeps like the desert. This is merely a specifi-
cation of the general statement in the preceding verse. The
divine intervention here commemorated was the more remarkable
because it took place on the very spot where they first rebelled,
as mentioned in v. 7. Though they disobeyed him at the Red
Sea, he nevertheless dried the Red Sea, i. e. as much of it as was
required to furnish them a passage. Rebuked, as in Ps. civ. 7.
Like the desert, as in the desert, i. e. in a level and extensive
plain, without obstruction or unevenness. See my note on Isai.
Ixiii. 13, where the same comparison is used.

10. And he saved them from the hand of the hater, and redeemed
them from the hand of the enemy. Both epithets are intended to
apply to Pharaoh, not only as a personal oppressor of the Israel-
ites, but as the representative of Egypt, all of which now feared
and hated the occasion of its multiplied and aggravated sufferings.

11. And the waters covered their adversaries ; not one of them was
left. The Psalmist dwells upon the completeness of the overthrow
and destruction experienced by Pharaoh and his host, in order to
aggravate the previous and subsequent ingratitude of Israel, as
well as to enhance the free grace of Jehovah, and the fidelity
with which he executed his engagements, even to the faithless.

12. And they believe his words, they sing his praise. Then (and
' not till then) do they believe. This is not an encomium on their

faith, but a confession of their unbelief. It was not till the pro-

PSALM CV'I. 65

hrise was fulfilled that they believed it. With the first clause
compare Ex. xiv. 31 ; with the second, Ex. xv. 1.

13. They made haste, they forgot his deeds, they did not wait for
his counsel. Their propensity to evil was so strong, that they are
said to have hastened to forget what God had done for them, which
means much more than that they soon forgot it. They did not
even wait for the promise to be verified by the event. The ex-
pression in the first clause is borrowed from Ex. xxxii. 8. The
works or deeds of God are not in this case, as in Ps. ciii. 22. civ.
24, the works of nature, but the plagues of Egypt. See Deut.
xi. 3, and compare Dan. ix. 4.

14. And they lusted a lust in the wilderness and tempted God in
the desert. The confession now passes from their sins in Egypt
to their sins in the wilderness. The strong expression in the first
clause relates to their wanton craving of animal food. See Num.
xi. 4, 34. With the last clause compare Ps. lxxviii. IS. The
two words for wilderness and desert are the same as those in Ps.
lxxviii. 40. See also Ps. Ixviii. 8 (7.)

15. And he gave them their request and sent {them) leanness in
their soul. The last phrase is by some translated against, by
others into their soul ; but it is really a qualifying phrase, de-
signed to show that the emaciation or. decay which was sent upon
them was not bodily but spiritual. See Num. xi. 18, and com-
pare Ps. lxxviii. 10, 18.

16. And they were envious at Moses in the camp, at Aaron, the
Holy One of Jehovah. This is another of their wilderness sins.
See Num. chap. xvi. x\aron is not called the Saint of the Lord
in reference to his personal holiness, which does not' seem to have
been eminent, but his Holy (or Consecrated) One, in reference to
his sacerdotal dignity.

C6 PSALM CVI.

17. (Then) opens the earth and swallows Dathan, and coven
over the company of Abiram. This relates to the destruction of
those followers of Korah who were not Levites. See Num. xvi.
32, 33, and compare Deut. xi. 6. From the first of these passages
some interpreters supply her mouth after opens ; but the absolute
use of the verb is perfectly consistent with our idiom.

IS. And a fire devours their company, a flame consumes (those)
nicked (men.) This relates to the destruction of Korah himself
and his Levitical followers. See Num. xvi. 35. xxvi. 10.

19. They make a calf in Horeb, and bow down to a molten
image. This was a third sin committed in the wilderness. See
Ex. xxxii. 1 — 6, and compare Ex. xxxiv. 4. The golden calf
appears to have been an imperfect and diminutive copy of the
bull Apis, worshipped in Egypt.

20. And exchange their glory for the likeness of an ox eating
grass. This must be read in the closest connection with v. 19,
in order to complete it. Their folly consisted in exchanging the
true God, whose worship and whose favour was their highest
honour, for the mere likeness of an irrational brute. Eating
grass, not in the act, but in the habit, of so doing. Although
the golden calf at Horeb, and the golden calves at Dan and Beer-
sheba, were all regarded as representatives of Jehovah himself,
their worship was uniformly treated as idolatry, and as a virtual
though not a formal or avowed renunciation of his service. Com-
pare Jcr. ii. 10 — 13.

21. They forgot God that saved them, that did great (things)
in Egypt. That saved, that did ; literally, saving, doing.

22. Wonderful ("things) in the land of Ham, terrible (things)
on the Red Sea. ^Yonderful, literally, (things J made wonderful

PSALM CVI. G7

or strangely done Terrible, literally, to be dreaded. Compare
Ps. cv. 23, 27.

23. And 'he saia he ivould destroy them — unless Moses his elect
had stood in the breach before him, to turn back his wrath from
destroying. The first and last verbs are different in Hebrew,
but have only one exact equivalent in English. The second
clause is not a part of what God said, but a historical statement
of what really prevented the execution o£ his threatening. He
said he would destroy them, and he would have done so, had not
Moses, etc. Moses is called the Elect or Chosen of Jehovah, as
having been selected and set apart to be God's instrument in the
great work of deliverance and legislation. The plural is elsewhere
applied to the whole nation as the chosen people. See above, v.
5, and Ps. cv. 43. Stood in the breach is a military figure, drawn
from the desperate defence of a beseiged town or fortress. Com-
pare Jer. xv. i. Ez. xiii. 5. xxii. 30. The historical reference is
to Ex. xxxii. 11 — 14. Deut. ix. 18, 19. To turn back his wrath
is to prevent its accomplishing its object. See above, on Ps.
Ixxviii. 38, and compare Num. xxv. 11.

24. And they rejected the pleasant land, they did not believe his
word. This refers to the refusal of the people to invade the land
of Canaan in the first year of their exodus from Egypt, and to
their believing the report of the ten spies in preference to God
himself. See above, on Ps. Ixxviii. 22, 32, and compare Num.
xiv. 31. The land of desire, the desired or desirable land, is a
name also found in Jer. iii. 19.

25. And they murmured in their tents ; they did not hearken to
the voice of Jehovah. The form of expression in the first clause
is borrowed from Deut. i. 2~ ; in the second from Num. xiv. 22.

26. And he lifted his hand to them, to make them fall in the wiU

63 PSALM CVT.

derness. The first phrase does not mean, he raised his hand
against them, or to strike them, but as the ancient gesture of
swearing. See Num. xiv. 28, 30. Deut. i. 34. ii. 14. The last
clause contains the oath itself, or what he swore, to wit, that he
would make them fall, slay them, in the wilderness. See Num.
xiv. 29, 32.

27. And to make their seed fall in the nations, and to scatter
them in the lands. As the appointed punishment of the older
generation was to die in the wilderness, so that of their descend-
ants was to die in dispersion and captivity among the Gentiles.
See Lev. xxvi. 33, 38, and compare Deut. xxviii. 32, 36, 64, 68.
The recollection of this threatening must have been peculiarly
affecting to the Jews in Babylon.

28. And they joined themselves to Baal Peor, and ate the sacri-
fices of the, dead. He now adds a sin committed near the end of
the long error, and on the very borders of the Promised Land.
The first verb is properly passive, they were joined, but this
of course does not mean by others but themselves, and thus the
simple passive comes to have a reflexive meaning. Baal Peor is
the name given to Baal, or the supreme God of the Tyrians
and Moabites, as he was worshipped, with licentious rites, at
Peor, a mountain in the land of Moab. See Num. xxv. 1 — 3.
The dead, not dead men, in allusion to necromantic superstitions,
but the dumb or lifeless gods whom they worshipped. See below,
on Ps. cxv. 4 — 7, and compare 1 Cor. xii. 2.

29. And they provoked him by their crimes, and the plague
broke out among them. The first verb means to excite both grief
and indignation. Compare the use of the cognate noun in Ps.
vi. 8 (7), and of the verb itself in Ps. lxxviii. 58. The word trans-
lated plague, like its English equivalent, has both a generic and
specific meaning ; that of a divine stroke or infliction in general,

PSALM CVI

69

and that of a pestilential disease in particular. See Num. xxv.
18, 19.

30. Then stood up Phinehas and judged, and (so) was stayed
the plague. He stood (or rose) up from among the rest, pre-
sented himself before the people. He judged i. e. assumed the
office and discharged the duty, from which the regular official
judges seemed to shrink. The verb includes the act both of pro-
nouncing and of executing judgment. See the narrative in Num.
ch. xxv. The form of expression in the last clause is borrowed
from Num. xvii. 13 (xvi. 48.)

31. And it was reckoned to him for righteousness, to generation
and generation, even to eternity. The form of expression is bor-
rowed from Gen. xv. 6 ; but what is here meant is evidently not
a justifying act by which Phinehas was saved, but a praiseworthy
act for which he, a justified or righteous man already, received
the divine commendation and a perpetual memorial of his faith-
fulness. Compare Deut. vi. 25. xxiv. 13. The particular reward
promised (Num. xxv. 13), that of a perpetual priesthood, is not
here mentioned, but was familiar to the mind of every Hebrew
reader.

32. And they angered (him) at the waters of Strife, and it went
ill icith Moses, on their account. See above, on Ps. lxxxi. 8 (7)
xcv. 8. xcix. S. The Hebrew word for strife is the name given to
the place, Meribah. The object of the first verb is Jehovah, as
in v. 29. It went ill with Moses, or, more literally, it was bad
for Moses.

33. For they resisted his spirit, and he spake unadvisedly with
his lips. His spirit may grammatically signify either that of God
or that of Moses: The latest writers are in favour of the first
construction, which is not without analogies in other parts of

70- PSALM CVI.

Scripture (Isai. lxiii. 10. Eph. iv. 30) , but the other seems
entitled to the preference in this connection, because the first
clause then contains the ground or reason of the other. It was
because the mind of Moses was excited by their opposition, that
he spake unadvisedly with his lips. The last verb is one used in
the law to denote a precipitate inconsiderate engagement, Lev. v. 4.

34. They did not destroy the nations which the Lord said to
them. The confession now passes from the sins of the wilderness
to those of Canaan. The neglect to destroy the Canaanites com-
pletely was not only a direct violatiom of God's precept, but the
source of nearly all the public evils that ensued. There is no
need of giving to the last verb a rare and dubious sense {com-
manded.) The meaning of the clause is, which Jehovah said to
them (must be destroyed.)

35. And they mixed themselves with the nations and learned
their doings. The reflexive verb at the beginning indicates an
active and deliberate amalgamation, as distinguished from a pas-
sive and involuntary one. The nations of the Canaanites, and
those which inhabited surrounding countries. The primary idea
is not that of gentiles or heathen, in the religious sense. Learned
their doings or practices, learned to do as they did. With the
first clause compare Jos. xxiii. 12, 13. Judg. iii. 6 ; with the
second, Dcut. xviii. 9. xx. IS.

L5

36. And served their idols, and they were to tJiem for a snare.
The word translated idols, by its etymological affinities, suggests
the idea of vexations, pains. See above, on Ps. xvi. 4. A snare,
i. e. a temptation to idolatry. Compare Deut. vii. 16.

37. And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the
demons. This last is the Septuagint version and, if not directly
sanctioned, is at least referred to in the New Testament (1 Cor.

PSALM CVI. 71

x.20.) That the worship of idols was connected with that of
fallen spirits, is neither improbable in itself nor contradictory to
Scripture. According to the modern etymologists, the Hebrew
word means lords or masters, and is a poetical equivalent to
Baalim, which means the same thing. Compare Deut. xxxii. 17,
and the xigioi 0f 1 Cor. viii. 5. The word translated devils in
Lev. 17. 7 is entirely different.

38. And they shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and
daughters, whkh they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan; and de-
filed was the land with bloods. The first verb means to pour out
and here implies a copious or abundant bloodshed, corresponding
to the next verb, which is an intensive form of that used in v. 37.
Blood, in the singular, is used in a physical sense ; the plural
bloods in a moral one, always implying guilt, and especially the
guilt of murder. See above, on Ps. v. 7 (6.) xxvi. 9. li. 16 (14.)
lv. 24 (23.) The first three members of the sentence have re-
spect to the prohibitions in Deut. xii. 31. xviii. 10. xix. 10. With
the last clause compare Num. xxxv. 33.

39. And they were polluted by their oxen doings, and went
a tehoring by their own crimes. They defiled not only the land
of promise but themselves. Or rather, this verse is explanatory
of the last clause of v. 38, and shows that the pollution of the
land was nothing more nor less than that of its inhabitants. The
figure of spiritual whoredom or adultery is often used to signify
the violation, by the chosen people, of their covenant with God,
which is constantly described as a conjugal relation. See above,
on Ps. xlv and compare Ps. lxxiii. 27. This is not stated as
an additional offence but as an aggravating circumstance attending
the iniquities already mentioned.

40. And the anger of Jehovah was enkindled at his people, and
he abhorred his heritage. This is the strongest form in which his

72 PSALM CVI.

detestation of their sins could be expressed, but does not neces-
sarily imply the abrogation of his covenant with them. The
feeling described is like that of a parent towards his wicked chil-
dren, or of husbands and wives, who do not cease to love each
other, though grieved and indignant at each other's sins. The
word heritage adds great point to the sentence. He abhorred the
very people whom he had chosen to be his, not merely for a sin-
gle generation, but for many. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 59, 62.

41. And he gave them into the hand of nations, and over them
ruled their haters. The same nations whom they had rebelliously
spared, with others of like spirit — the same nations who had led
them into sin — were used as instruments of punishment. Com-
pare Lev. xxvi. 17. Judges ii. 14.

42. And their enemies oppressed them, and they were lowed
down under their hand. They not only governed them, but
governed them tyrannically, so that they were not only under
coercion and constraint, but humbled and degraded from the rank
of an independent state to that of tributaries and bondsmen. With
the terms of this verse compare Judg. i. 34. iii. 30. iv. 3. viii. 2S.

43. Many times he frees them, and they resist (him) by their
counsel, and are brought low by their guilt. Having given in the
preceding verses a brief but lively summary of the Book of
Judges, the Psalmist now passes, by an almost insensible transi-
tion, to the later periods of the history, and indeed to its catas-
trophe ; for the meaning of the last clause seems to be, that after
all their fluctuations, they at length sink or fall into a ruinous
condition, as the ultimate fruit of their rebellions. The meaning
of the first clause is, that by their self-willed plans and projects
they continually come into collision with the will of God, and
with that great providential purpose, in promoting which it was

PSALM CVI. 73

their duty, and would have been their happiness, to co-cperate.
With the last clause compare Lev. xxvi. 39. Ezek. xxxiii. 10.

44. And he has looked at their distress when he heard them cry
The idiomatic form of the original may thus be represented by a
bald translation, and he saio in the distress to them in his hearing
their cry. As this follows the brief statement of their downfall,
there is much probability in the opinion, that it relates to the
" tokens for good," which were granted to the exiled Jews in
Babylon long before their actual restoration. With the first clause
compare Ex. ii. 25. iv. 31. Deut. iv. 30. Ps. xviii. 7. cii. 3.

45. And he has remembered for them his covenant, and repented
according to the abundance of his mercy. For them, i. e. in their
favour, for their benefit. It does not qualify covenant, but re-
membered. With the first clause compare Lev. xxvi. 42, 45. Ps.
cv. 8, 42 ; with the second, Num. xiv. 19. Ps. v. 8 (7.) lxix. 14
(13.) Neh. xiii. 22. The common version of the last word {mercies)
rests upon the marginal or masoretic reading ; the more ancient
text is mercy.

46. And has given them favour before all their captors. The
literal translation of the first clause is, and has given them for
mercies or compassions. This remarkable expression is borrowed
from 1 Kings viii. 50 (compare 2 Chr. xxx. 9), not only here but
in the history of Daniel and his fellow-captives (Dan. i. 9), which
makes it not at all improbable, that what is there recorded is
among the indications of returning divine favour here referred to
by the Psalmist.

47. Save us, Jehovah, our God, and gather us from the nations,
to give thanks unto thy holy name, to glory in thy praise. Encour-
aged by these tokens of returning favour, the church prays that
the hopes thus raised may not be disappointed, but abundantly

vol. in. 4

74 PSALM CVJ.

fulfilled in the restoration of the exiles to their own land, in return for
which she indirectly engages to render praise and thanksgiving to
Jehovah as her liberator. We are thus brought back to the be-
ginning of the psalm, and the voice of confession is again lost in
that of anticipated praise. Instead of our God, the parallel pas-
sage (1 Chr. xvi. 36) has God of our Salvation. The word trans-
lated glory occurs only in that passage and the one before us. It
is synonymous, however, with the one used in Ps. cv. 3, and often
elsewhere, both meaning properly to praise one's self. With the
second clause compare Ps. xxx. 5 (4.)

48. Blessed (be) Jehovah, God of Israel, from eternity even to
eternity. And all the people says Amen. Hallelujah! Some inter-
preters regard the psalm as closing with the preceding verse, and
the one before us as a doxology added to mark the conclusion of
the Fourth Book. But here, as in Ps. lxxii. 19, it is far more
probable that this doxology was the occasion of the psalm's being
reckoned as the last of a Book, notwithstanding its intimate con-
nection with the one that follows. This probability is strength-
ened, in the case before us, by the addition of the words, and all
the people says Amen, which would be unmeaning, unless the
doxology formed part of the psalm itself. The additional words
are borrowed from Deut. xxvii. 15 — 26. The parallel passage
(1 Chr. xvi. 36) has, And all the people said Amen and give praise
(or gave praise) to Jehovah, which last words are represented, in
the verse before us, by the Hallelujah (Praise ye Jah!)

PSALM CVII. 75

PSALM C V 1 1 .

After propounding as his theme the goodness of God in deli-
vering his people, and especially in bringing them back from their
dispersions, vs. 1 — 3, the Psalmist celebrates this great event,
under the various figures of safe conduct through a desert and
arrival in a populous' city, vs. 4 — 9 ; emancipation Yrom imprison-
ment, vs. 10 — 16; recovery from deadly sickness, vs. 17 — 22;
deliverance from the dangers of the sea, vs. 23 — 32 ; then de-
scribes, in more direct terms, the fall of the oppressor, the restora-
tion of Israel, and his happy prospects, vs. 33 — 42 ; ending, as
he began, with an earnest exhortation to remember and comme-
morate Jehovah's goodness, v. 43. The psalm is so constructed
as to admit of being readily applied, either literally or figuratively,
to various emergencies ; but its primary reference to the return
from exile seems to be determined by vs. 2, 3. According to
Hengstenberg's hypothesis, this psalm was added to the double
trilogy by which it is preceded (Ps. 101 — 106), immediately after
the return from exile, when the holy city was re-peopled, and the
first harvest had been gathered, but the rebuilding of the temple
had not yet begun. The whole seven then compose one series or
system, intended to be used together in the public worship of the
ancient church.

1. Give thanks unto Jehovah, for he (is) good, for unto eternity
(is) his mercy. The repetition of the first words of the foregoing
psalm, as the beginning of the one before us, strongly favours the

76 PSALM CVII.

opinion, that the latter was designed to be a hind of supplement
or appendix to the former.

2. (So) say the Redeemed of Jehovah, whom he has redeemed
from the hand of distress (or of the enemy.) What they are to say
is not the exhortation in the first clause, but the reason for it in
the last clause, of the foregoing verse. Let them acknowledge his
unceasing mercy, who have just experienced so remarkable a
proof of it. The ambiguous word (^2) should probably be taken in
the same sense which it elsewhere has throughout this psalm.
See below, vs. 6, 13, 19, 28, and compare Ps. cvi. 44. Indeed
the two senses may be reconciled by simply supposing the distress
to be personified. Compare the unambiguous expression in Ps.
cvi. 10. Ike* Redeemed of the Lord is a favourite expression of
Isaiah (xxxv. 9, 10. lxii. 12. lxiii. 3.)

3. And from the lands has gathered them, from the east and
from the west, from the north and from the sea. The Babylonish
exile is continually spoken of as a dispersion, either because it is
considered as including other minor deportations, or because the
migration of the great mass of the people into Babylonia was un-
avoidably accompanied, followed, or preceded, by a less extensive
and more scattering migration of many individuals and families to
other quarters. On the false assumption of a perfect parallelism
as indispensable, some have supposed that sea is here put for the
south. But this is not the only case in which the enumeration of
the cardinal points is complete only in number. See Isai. xlix. 12,
and compare Isai. xliii. 5, 6. lvi. 8. The mention of the sea in-
stead of the south may perhaps have reference to the prophecy in
Deut. xxviii. 68. The verse before us records the answer to the
prayer in Ps. cvi. 47 and thus affords another indication, that the
writer of the later composition had the earlier in his eye., and
wrote with some intention to illustrate or complete it.

PSALM CVII. 77

4. They wandered in the wilderness, in a desert amy ; a city of
habitation found they not. Here begins the first metaphorical
account of the Captivity and Restoration, in which the exiles are
described as wanderers in a desert way, i. e. as some suppose a
pathless desert, which sense, however, can scarcely be extracted
from the Hebrew words. Others understand the phrase to mean
a way, i. e. a course, a region to be traversed, which is desert ;
but this supposes way to be the subject and desert the qualifying
term, as they would be in English, but in Hebrew the precise
sense is a desert of way, or a way-desert, which some interpreters
explain to mean a desert in reference to its ways' or paths, thus
arriving, by a different course, at the meaning first suggested,
namely, that of a pathless wilderness. City of habitation may
mean a habitable or inhabited city in general, or a city for them
to inhabit in particular. The latter is more probable, because the
word translated habitation is not an abstract but a local noun,
meaning the place where men sit or dwell, according to the pri
mary and secondary meaning of the verbal root. See above, on
Ps. i. 1. It may here be either governed by city, as above, or in
apposition with it, a city, a dwelling-place, i. e. a city in which
they might dwell. There is obvious allusion to Jerusalem, as
well as to the great Arabian wilderness, although the contrast of
the city and the desert suggests the idea of suffering and relief, by
a natural as well as a historical association. See Ez. xxix. 5, and
compare Job xii. 24.

5. Hungry — also thirsty — their soul in them shrouds itself.
This verse continues the description of the wanderers in the
desert. To avoid the ambiguity of an exact version, in which
hungry and thirsty might seem to agree with soul, the substantive
verb may be supplied in the first clause, {they are) hungry, also
thirsty. The primary sense of the reflexive verb at the end of the
sentence seems to be that of covering one's self with darkness, or
sinking overwhelmed beneath some great calamity. See above,

7S PSALM CVII.

on Ps. lxxvii. 4 (3), and compare the cognate forms in Ps. lxi. 3
(2.) lxv. 14 (13.) cii. i. Isai. lvii. 16.

6. And they cried to Jehovah in their distress ; from their straits
he frees them. Both the nouns, according to their etymology,
convey the idea of pressure, compression, painful restraint. In
their distress, literally, in the distress to them, that which they had
or suffered. See above, on Ps. cvi. 44, and compare Deut. iv. 30.
The change from the past tense to the future seems intended
merely to describe the act denoted by the second as more recent

7. And he led them in a straight course, to go to a city of habi
tation. No exact version can preserve or imitate the paronomasia
arising from the etymological affinity of the first verb and noun,
analogous to that between the English walk and to walk, though
the Hebrew forms are only similar and not identical. The idea
of physical rectitude or straightness necessarily suggests that of
moral rectitude or honesty, commonly denoted by the Hebrew
word.

8. Let (such) give thanks to Jehovah (far) his mercy, and his
wonderful works to the sons of man. Some interpreters make
this the close of a long sentence, beginning with v. 4, and adopt,
in all the intervening verses, a relative construction, as if he had
said, let such as wandered in the wilderness, whose soul fainted in
them, who cried unto the Lord, whom he led etc. let such give
thanks unto his name. But although this is certainly the logical
connection of the passage, its involution and complexity of form
are as far as possible removed from the simplicity of Hebrew
syntax, which prefers a distinct enunciation of particulars to all
such artificial combinations. This verse constitutes the burden or
chorus of the psalm.

9. For he has satisfied ihe craving soul, and the hungry soul

PSALM CVII. 79

has filled with good. This is merely the conclusion of the first
scene or picture, with a change of figure hut a very slight one,
as tho want of food is one of the most painful and familiar
hardships of a journey through a desert, and as such would
necessarily occur to every Israelite who knew the story of the
error in the wilderness. The first verb has the same sense as in
Ps. civ. 13 ; the last noun the same sense as in Ps. ciii. 4. civ. 28.
The unusual word translated craving is borrowed from Isai. xxix. 8.

10. Dwelling in darkness and deathshade, bound in affliction
and iron. Here begins the second picture which exhibits the
same sufferers, no longer as wanderers in the desert, but as closely
confined prisoners. The darkness primarily meant is that of the
dungeon, but not without reference to the frequent use of dark-
ness in general as an emblem of misery. See above, on Ps. lxviii.
7(6.) The idea of darkness is then expressed in a still stronger
form by the striking compound deathshade or shadow of death, a
bold but beautiful description of the most profound obscurity.
See above, on Ps. xxiii. 4. The leading words of the two clauses
might, in one respect, be more exactly rendered, inhabitants of
darkness , prisoners of affliction. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 61.
There is no mixture of literal and figurative terms in the last
clause, but only the addition of a specific to a general term.
The affliction particularly meant is that produced by iron, i. e.
chains or fetters. See above, on Ps. cv. 18, and with the verse
before us compare Isai. xlii. 7. xlix. 9. Job xxxvi. 8. Luke xhi.
16.

1 1 . Because they resisted the words of the Mightiest, and the
counsel of the Highest contemned. This verse introduces what
was wanting in the first scene, the fact that these were not inno-
cent sufferers. However cruel or unjust their sufferings at the
hands of men, they were but condign punishments as sent by God.
This is a point of contact and resemblance with the preceding

80 PSALM CVII.

psalm, which is not without importance. Resisted, rebelled against,
a favourite expression in these psalms. Sec above, on Ps. cv. 28.
cvi. 7, 33, 43. Words or sayings, commonly applied to promises,
and even here combining that idea with the sense of command,
because the command which they resisted or rebelled against had
reference to the plan or counsel of the Lord for the deliverance of
his people. The word translated mightiest is (;&) one of the divine
names, here represented by an English superlative, in order to
preserve the antithesis with Most High in the other clause.

12. And he brought doicn, with trouble, their heart; they
stumbled and there was no helper. The remedial design and
effect of their punishment are beautifully set forth in the first
clause. The word translated trouble means originally work or
labour, then the pain attending it or flowing from it. Stumbled
may here be put for fell, or have the milder sense of tottering or
stumbling, as distinguished from a total fall. No helper, or no?ie
helping, 'except God, as intimated in the next verse ; or against
God, when he chose to punish them.

13. And they cried to Jehovah in their distress; out of tlidr
straits he saves them. An exact repetition of v. 6, except that the
first verb is exchanged for a cognate one, differing only in a single
letter, and the last verb for a synonyme still more familiar. As
to the consecution of the tenses, see above, on v. 6.

14. He brings them out from darkness and deathshade, and
their bonds he severs. The terms used in describing the deliver*
ance are studiously made to correspond with the account of tho
captivity in v. 10. It is more remarkable, though possibly for-
tuitous, that the words of the second clause are the same which
David puts into the mouth of the revolted nations, Ps. ii. 3. The
English word severs is here used instead of breaks, in order to re-
present the more uncommon and poetical term used in Hebrew.

PSALM CVII. gl

15, 16. Let (such) give thanks unto Jehovah {for) his mercy,
and his wonderful works to the sons of man, because he has broken
doors of brass, and bars of iron has cut asunder. The burden
m v. 15 is in all respects identical with v. 8, but the supplemen-
tary verse differs, according to the prominent figures in the two
scenes or pictures. As the idea of famine was selected, in v. 9,
from among the hardships of the wilderness, so here the fastenings
of the prison are presented in precisely the same manner. In
this striking regularity of form, combined with vividness and beauty
of conception, there is evidence of art and skill as well as genius.
The verb in the first clause of v. 16 is an intensive form of the
verb to break, and might here be rendered shattered, shivered, or the
like. The corresponding verb in the last clause is a similar in-
tensive of the verb to cut. The whole verse is copied from Isai
xlv. 2, where we find the promise, of which this is the fulfilment

17. Fools by their course of transgression, and by their crimes,
afflict themselves. Here begins the third scene or picture, at the
very opening of which the charge of folly is added to the previous
one of guilt. The reflexive meaning of the verb is essential and
cannot be diluted into a mere passive, without weakening the
whole sentence, the very point of which consists in making them
the guilty authors of their own distresses. The word for trans-
gression is the one that originally means revolt from God,
apostasy. See above, on Ps. xxxvi. 2 (1.) Course, literally,
way or path. By, literally, from, as when we speak of an effect
as arising or proceeding from a cause.

18. All food their soul abhors, and they draw near to the very

gates of death. This verse abruptly brings before us the same

persons whom we lately beheld wandering in the desert, and then

chained in a dark dungeon, now suffering from disease, such as

not only mars their pleasures, but threatens to abbreviate their

lives. Compare Ps. cii. 3. Job xxxiii. 20. The expression very

4*

§2 PSALM CVII.

gates, in the translation of the last clause, is intended to convey
the full force of the Hebrew preposition p2) which is stronger
than (:a) to. See above, on Ps. lvii. 11 (10.) With the last
clause compare Ps. ix. 14. lxxxviii. 4 (3.) Job. xxxiii. 22. Isai.
xxxviii. 9.

• 19. And they cry to Jehovah in their distress ; out of their
straits he saves them. See above on vs. 6, 13, with the last of
which this agrees exactly.

20. He sends his word and heals them, and males them escape
from their destructions, i. e. those which threatened them, and
from which escape appeared impossible. Tic sends his word, he
issues his command, exerts his sovereign power and authority.
The last word in the Hebrew occurs only here and once in
Lamentations (iv. 20.) The modern interpreters have pits or
graves ; but such a derivation from the verbal root is without
example or analogy. See above, on Ps. xvi. 10- With the first
clause compare Ps. xxx. 3 (2.) xxxiii. 9. Isai. lvii. IS ; with the
last Ps. ciii. 4.

21, 22. Let (such) give thanks unto Jehovah (for) his mercy,
and his wonderful works to the sons of man ; and let them sacri-
fice sacrifices of thanksgiving, and recount his deeds with (joyful)
singing. The freedom from technical and artificial rules of
rhetoric or versification, even in those parts of the composition
which exhibit most of art and skill, is peculiarly observable in this
verse, where, instead of adding to the uniform chorus or refrain
some particular image from the scene just closing, as in vs. 9,
16, the Psalmist continues and completes the sentence by repeat-
ing the exhortation to give thanks, in another but still figurative
form, derived from the musical and sacrificial customs of the
temple worship. They must not only utter thanks but offer thcin

PSALM CVII. g3

in sacrifice. They must not only offer them in sacrifice but sing
them. With the first clause compare Ps. 1. 14.

23. Going down the sea in ships, doing business in the many
waters. Here again the scene is shifted, and the exiles pass
before us, not as wanderers in the desert, or as captives in the
dungeon, or as suffering from sickness, but as mariners engaged
in an adventurous voyage. Descending, going down, seems to be
an idiomatic phrase, borrowed from Isai. xlii. 10, and equivalent
to going out to sea in English. The expression may have refer-
ence to the general elevation of the land above the water (see
above, on Ps. xxiv. 2), but is directly opposite to our phrase, tf&
high seas, and to the classical usage of ascending ships, i. e. em-
barking, and descending, i. e. landing. Doing business has its
ordinary sense, as applied to trade or traffic. The last words
may also be translated great or mighty waters ; but the usage of
the Psalms is in favour of the version many waters, which more-
over forms a beautiful poetical equivalent to sea or ocean. This
image could not fail to suggest, however indirectly, the idea of
the world with its commotions, of which the constant emblem is
the sea. See above, on Ps. xlvi. 4 (3.) lxv. 8 (7.)lxxxix. 10 (9.)
xciii. 3, 4, and compare Matt. viii. 23 — 26. Mark iv. 36 — 41.
Luke viii. 22 — 25.

24. They saw the works of Jehovah, and his wonders in the deep.
The pronoun at the beginning is emphatic, (it is) they (that) see
(or saiv) the works of the Lord, as if others could lay claim to
no such privilege or honour. Both the senses of the phrase Godh
works are appropriate in this connection, his works of creation
and his works of providence. The last word is another poetical
equivalent to sea or ocean. See above, on Ps. lxix. 3 (2.)

25. And he said — and there arose a stormy wind, and it lifted
up his leaves. He now parenthetically specifies some of the divine

84 PSALM CVII.

works which he had just mentioned in the general. The form of
expression at the beginning, as in all like cases, involves an allu-
sion to the history of the creation, where each creative act is pre-
ceded by God's saying, let it be. So here, the full sense is, and
God said (let a stormy wind arise) and a stormy wind arose. See
above, on Ps. xxxiii. 9. Arose, literally, stood, stood up; as in
Ps. cvi. 30. A stormy wind, literally, a wind of storm or tem-
pest. Instead of his leaves we may read its leaves, and refer the
pronoun to the remoter antecedent (sea) in v. 23. Deep, in v.
24, is of a different gender. It is equally correct, however, and
more natural, to re*fer it to Jehovah, as the maker of the sea and
the ruler of its waves. Compare the expression thy leaves and
thy billows in Ps. xlii. 8. See also Isai. li. 15. Jer. xxxi. 35.

26. They rise (to) the heavens ; they sink (to) the depths ; their
soul with evil dissolves itself. That the verbs in the first clause
relate not to the waves but to the .mariners, is evident from the
last clause. The words rise and sink are used instead of ascend,
descend, or go up, go down, because the Hebrew verbs have no
etymological affinity, nor even a single letter common to their
roots. The ellipsis of the preposition to is frequent, or rather
verbs of motion in Hebrew may be construed directly with
a noun, where our idiom requires the intervention of a par-
ticle. Evil in the last clause may denote their evil state or
painful situation, with all the circumstances comprehended in
it ; or more specifically, their distress and painful feelings. Com-
pare Gen. xli. 29. The reflexive form of the last verb is not
essential to the meaning of the sentence, as in v. 17, and may
therefore be explained as an intensive or emphatic passive, it is
melted. See above, on Ps. xxii. 15 (14.) With the whole verse
compare Ps. civ. 8.

27. They reel and stagger like a drunken (man), and all their
wisdom is confounded. By wisdom we are here to understand

PSALM CVII. 85

reason, common sense, that which makes men rational and raises
them above the brutes. This is plain from the comparison with
drunkenness, the only point of which must be the loss of reason.
The reeling and staggering may relate to the irregular and violent
motion of a vessel in a storm, or, as the last clause does, to the
mariners themselves. The last verb literally means is swallowed
up, or retaining the reflexive form, still more strongly, swallows
itself up. But see above, on the last word of v. 26.

28. And they cried to Jehovah in their distress, and out of their
straits he hrings them forth. The consecution of the tenses cor-
responds to the relation of the acts which they denote, as viewed
by a spectator. i Now they have cried to the Lord, and now he
is bringing them forth.' The verse differs from vs. 13, 19, in
the first verb, which agrees with v. 6, and in the last verb which
is unlike both.

29. He stills the storm to a calm, and silent are their waves.
This is an amplification of the last phrase in v. 28, and shows
how it is that he brings them forth. The first verb strictly means
he makes it stand, but in a sense directly opposite to that of a
synonymous though different verb in v. 25. Calm, literally,
silence, stillness. Their waves, the waves from which they suf-
fer, by which they are buffeted. Compare his waves in v. 25.

30. And they are glad that they are quiet, and he guides them to
their desired haven. The connection might be rendered clearer
by translating with the English Bible, then are they glad^ etc.
The last word in the verse occurs only here, and is by some
translated shore, by others goal ; but it is safer to retain the old
interpretation, which affords a perfectly good sense, and rests
upon the joint authority of the Rabbinical tradition and the
Septuagint version.

86 PSALM CVII.

31, 32. Let (such) give thanks to Jehovah (for) his mercy, and
his wonderful works to the sons of man • and let them exalt him in
the congregation of the people, and in the session of the elders praise
him. Here again we have a striking instance of variety combined
with uniformity. The burden or chorus, as in v. 22, is followed
by a solemn exhortation to connect the required thanksgiving
with the forms of public worship. But instead of the temple with
its sacrifices and its chants, the reference in this case, it should
seem, is to the spiritual worship of the synagogue. The word
translated congregation is one constantly applied to Israel, as
actually gathered at the place of worship. See above, on Ps.
xxii. 23 (22.) The word session is employed in the translation
of the last clause, not for the sake of a verbal coincidence with
Presbyterian institutions, a coincidence however which is not to
be denied, but because it adequately represents the Hebrew
(--ite) in its double acceptation, as denoting both the act and
the place of sitting, and especially of sitting together. See
above, on v. 4. The elders, here as elsewhere, are the heads of
tribes and families, the hereditary chiefs and representatives of
Israel.

33. Tie turns streams into a wilderness, and springs of water
to a thirsty place. As the shifting of the scene is not renewed in
the remainder of the psalm, which, on the other hand, if viewed
as a distinct and independent portion of the poem, mars its
symmetry of structure, it seems best to regard these verses as
an episode belonging to the last scene and containing the praises
of the people and their elders. The figures in this verse are
often used, particularly by Isaiah, to denote an entire revolution,
whether physical or moral, social or political. Compare Isai.
xliv. 26, 27. 1. 2. Jer. 1. 3S. li. 36. It thus prepares the way
for the subsequent rejoicings in the downfall of Babylon and the
restoration of the exiled Jews

PSALM CVII. 87

34. A fruitful land to saltness, for the wickedness of those diceU
hng in it. The sentence is continued from the foregoing verse
the nouns being governed by the verb he turns. The first phrase
literally means a land of fruit. The next noun may be taken
either in the abstract sense of saltness or the concrete one of a
saline soil or region, and by implication barren. For, literally
from, as in v. 17 above. Compare the threatening in Isai. xiii.
19, and the great historical type of all such judgments, the de-
struction of Sodom and Gomorrah.

35. He turns a desert to a pool of loatcr, and a dry land into
springs of water. This is the reverse of the description in v. 33,
to which the terms are studiously conformed. In both cases the
first verb literally means he sets or puts, and the noun translated
springs means issues or places where the waters issue. Compare
Isai. xxxv. 7. xli. 18. xliii. 20.

36. And has settled there famished {men), awl they have established
a city to dwell in. There is no need of assuming, that the desert
thus transformed is Palestine or Canaan. It is better to adhere
to the general import of the figures, which is change for the bet-
ter. Settled, literally, caused to dwell. The primary meanino-
of the last clause is that those once homeless have a home ; but
there is of course a reference to the repossession and rebuilding
of Jerusalem. The last phrase in Hebrew is the same with that
translated city of habitation in v. 4.

37. And have soioed fields, and planted vineyards, and made
fruits of increase. The form of all these verbs requires them to
be understood, like those of v. 36, as referring to time actually
past, from which some have inferred that the date of the psalm
itself lay between the first ingathering of the fruits by the returned
Jews and the founding of the temple, to which there is here no
allusion. The word translated increase is applied elsewhere to

88 PSALM C VI I.

the annual productions of the earth. See Lev. xxv. 16. To matte,
these is to gain or acquire them by cultivation, as we speak of
making money, hut of raising corn. See above, on Ps. lx. 14
(12.)'

38. And he has blessed them, and they have increased greatly,
and (even) their cattle he does not diminish. Increased, not in
numbers merely, but in wealth, strength, and prosperity. See
Deut. xxx. 16. The verb to diminish is borrowed from Lev.
xxvi. 22. The negation may be understood as a mciosis, meaning to
increase or multiply. The whole of this description agrees well
with the encouraging appearances, by which the Restoration was
attended and immediately followed, before the colony experienced
reverses or had lost the fresh impression of their recent sufferings
and privations, which are mentioned in the next verse.

39. And they were diminished and brought low, from oppression,
suffering, and grief. The only grammatical construction of the
verbs is that which refers them to a former time, i. e. to the con-
dition of the people under Babylonian oppression. The sense is
therefore quite mistaken in the English, though correctly given in
the ancient versions. The contrast is intended to enhance the
joy and thankfulness of the restored exiles. These, now so pros-
perous, are the very men who lately were in abject misery.

40. Pouring contempt on princes — and he has made them wan-
der in a waste (where there is) no way. From the exiles he
reverts to their Deliverer, and describes him as spurning the most
lordly of their persecutors — nay as making them take the place
of those whom they oppressed, which idea is conveyed by the
figure before used of wanderers in a pathless desert. See above,
on v. 4, and compare Job. xii. 21, 24. The word for waste or
void is one of those used in Gen. i. 2, to describe the original con-
dition of the earth.

PSALM CVIII.

S9

41 . And has raised the poor from affliction, and made like a flock
families. The first verb suggests the two-fold idea of elevation
from a wretched state, and security from future danger. For its
ordinary sense, see above, on Ps. xx. 2 (1.) xci. 14. The last
clause simply means, he has increased the people who were so
reduced in strength and numbers.

42. The righteous shall see and rejoice, and all iniquity stop her
mouth. The righteous are the true Israel, as in Ps. xxxiii. 1.
Num. xxiii. 10. Dan. xi. 17. With the last clause compare Job
v. 16. Isai Hi. 15.

43. Who (is) wise and will observe these things, and attentively
consider the mercies of Jehovah ? The change of number in the
Hebrew does not affect the meaning. Whoever is wise will ob-
serve these things, and all who are wise will consider them.
With this conclusion compare Hos. xiv. 10. Isai. xlii. 23. Jer. ix.
11.

PSALM CVIII.

1. A Song. A Psalm. By David. This is not an original
or independent composition, but a compilation from two other
psalms, which have already been explained. The introduction,
vs. 2 — 6 (1 — 5) is substantially identical with Ps. lvii. 8 — 12
(7—11) ; the body of the psalm, vs. 7—13 (6—12), with Ps.
Ix. 7 — 14 (5 — 12.) The supposition of erroneous copies, or of
later corruptions, is still more improbable in this case than in
those of Ps. xviii, liii, lxx. The best solution which has been

90 PSALM CVIII.

proposed is, that David himself combined these passages to be
the basis of a trilogy (Ps. cviii — ex), adapted to the use of the
church at a period posterior to the date of Ps. lvii. and lx. The
comments here will .be confined to the variations, as in Ps. liii
and lxx.

2 (1.) Fixed is my heart , oh God, fixed is my heart ; I will
sing and play — also my glory. See above, on Ps. lvii. 8 (7.)
The words here added, also my glory , correspond to the first
clause of the next verse in that psalm, awake my glory !

3 (2.) Awake lute and harp ! I toill awaken the dawn (or
morning.) See above, on Ps. lvii. 9 (8.) The only variation is
the one already mentioned, the omission here of the words awake
my glory, for which the last clause of v. 2 (1) is a substitute.

4 (3.) I will thank thee among the nations, oh Jehovah, I will
praise thee among the peoples. See above, on Ps. lvii. 10 (9.)
The only variation is the substitution of the name Jehovah for
Adhonai, a change scarcely perceptible in the English versions.

5 (4.) For great from above the heavens (is) thy mercy, and
unto the clouds thy truth. See above, on Ps. lvii. 11 (10.) The
only variation is the change of ("£) unto into (~2fa) from above ,
apparently intended to suggest the idea of God's mercy as de-
scending upon man.

6 (5.) Be thou high above the heavens, oh God, and above all
the earth thy glory. See above, on Ps. lvii. 12 (11.) The only
variation is the introduction of the copulative and at the begin-
ning of the second clause.

o

7 (6.) In order that thy beloved (ones) may be delivered, save
with thy right hand, and hear (or answer) us. See above, on

PSALM CVIII. 91

Ps. Is. 7 (5), with which this verse agrees in all points, not ex-
cepting the keri or various reading in the last word (me for 7is.)

8 (7.) God hath spoken in Jus holiness (and therefore) I ivill
triumph, I will divide Shechcm, and the valley of Succoth 1 will
measure. See above, on Ps. lx. 8 (6), with which this verse
agrees exactly.

9 (8.) To me (belongs) Gilead, to me Manasseh, and Ephraim
the strength of my head, Judah my lawgiver. See above, on Ps.
lx. 9 (7.) The only variation is the omission, in the verse before
us, of the and after Gilead.

10 (9.) Moab (is) my wash-pot ; at Edom will I throio my
shoe ; over Philistia will I shout aloud. See above, on Ps. lx.
10 (S,) At the end of this verse is the most material variation
in the whole psalm, which, however, is evidently not fortuitous
or by a later hand, but intentional and made by the original
writer. I will shout aloud, as an expression of triumph over a
conquered enemy.

11 (10.) Who will bring me (to) the fortified city? I^Hio
leads (or has led) me up to Edom ? See above on Ps. lx. 11 (9.)
The only variation is the change of one synonymous word for
another, to express the idea of a fortified city.

12 (11.) (Is it) not God , who hast cast us 'off, and wilt not go
forth with our hosts ? See above on Ps. lx. 12 (10.) The only
variation consists in the omission of the emphatic pronoun thou,
which is expressed in the parallel passage, and only implied in
the one before us. Some interpreters suppose a sudden change
of construction from the third to the second person. Is it not
God — (even, thou who) didst cast us off, etc.

13 (12.) Give us help from the enemy (or from distress); and

92 PSALM CIX.

(the rather because) vain is the salvation of man, meaning that
which he affords. See above, on Ps. lx. 13 (11), which agrees
with this exactly.

14 (13.) In God we will make (i. e, gain or gather) strength^
and he will tread down (or trample on) our adversaries (perse-
cutors or oppressors.) See above, on Ps. lx. 14 (12), between
which and the verse before us there is not the slightest differ-
ence.

PSALM CIX.

This psalm consists of three parts ; a complaint of slanderous
and malignant enemies, vs. 1 — 5 ; a prayer for the punishment
of such, vs. 6 — 20 ; and a prayer for the sufferer's own deliver-
ance, with a promise of thanksgiving, vs. 21 — 31. According to
the theory repeatedly referred to, this is the second psalm of a
Davidic trilogy. See above, on Ps. cviii. This psalm is re-
markable on two accounts ; first, as containing the most striking
instances of what are called the imprecations of the psalms ; and
then, as having been applied in the most explicit manner to the
sufferings of our Saviour from the treachery of Judas, and to the
miserable fate of the latter. These two peculiarities are perhaps
more closely connected than they may at first sight seem. Per-
haps the best solution of the first is that afforded by the second,
or at least by the hypothesis, that the Psalmist, under the direc-
tion of the Spirit, viewed the sufferings of Israel, which furnished
the occasion of the psalm, as a historical type of the Messiah's
sufferings from the treachery of Judas, representing that of

PSALM CIX, 93

Judah, and that with this view he expresses his abhorrence of the
crime, and acquiesces in the justice of its punishment, in stronger
terms than would have been, or are elsewhere, employed in
reference to ordinary criminals.

1. To the Chief Musician. By David. A Psalm. God of
my praiv, be not silent. The first inscription was particularly
necessary here because the psalm might otherwise have seemed to
be a mere expression of strong personal feeling. See above, on Ps.
li. I. God of my praise, i. e. the object of it, whom I
delight, or am accustomed, or have cause, to praise. Be not
silent means not merely do not refuse to answer, but amidst the
threats and railings of my enemies, let thy voice be heard also. See
above, on Ps. xxviii. 1. xxxv. 22. xxxix. 13. (12.)

2. For a wicked mouth and a mouth of deceit they have opened;
they have spoken against me with a tongue of falsehood. Com-
pare Ps. xxxv. 11. lv. 4 (3.) The subject of the first verb is his
enemies, and not the nouns preceding, as the verb translated
open is elsewhere always active. Against me, literally, with me,
implying that they charged him falsely to his face, a circumstance
remarkably fulfilled in Christ. See Matth. xxvi. 59.

3. And with words of hatred they have compassed me, and have
fought against me without cause. See above, on Ps. xxxv. 20.
xxxvi. 4 (3. )

4. In return for my love they are my adversaries — and I (am)
prayer. The first word in Hebrew strictly means instead or in
lieu of. The unusual expression at the end can only mean, I am
all prayer, I do nothing but pray, which some understand to sig-
nify, I bear their persecution meekly and continue my devotions
undisturbed by their calumnies and insults. But as the whole
context is descriptive, not of the sufferer's behaviour but of his

y4 PSALM CIX.

enemies', a more probable sense is, I am forced to be continually
praying for protection against them and deliverance from them.

5. They lay upon me evil instead of good and hatred instead of
love. The first verb literally means they set or place. Instead
of the good and the love which they owed me, or in return for my
kindness and love to them, as in v. 4.

6. Appoint thou over him a wicked one, and let an adversary
stand upon his right hand. The first verb in Hebrew means to
place one in authority or charge over another. See Gen. xxxix.
5. xli. 34. Num. i. 50 and compare Lev. xxvi. 16. Jer. xv. 3.
Wicked one and adversary (Satan), although here used as appel-
latives or common nouns, are the very terms applied, in the later
scriptures, to the Evil Spirit or the Devil. See Job i. 6. ii. 1.
1 Chr. xxi. 1. Zech. iii. 1,2. In the place last cited he stands
too at the right hand of the sinner to accuse him. The change
of number in the verse before us might, in conformity with usage,
be explained as a mere difference of form, the ideal person denoted
by the singular being really the type and representative of the whole
class denoted by the plural. But the constancy with which the
change, in this case, is adhered to, rather favours the conclusion,
that a real individual is meant, to whom the Psalmist turns from
the promiscuous crowd of his oppressors. For a similar transi-
tion, see above, on Ps. lv. 13 (12.)

7. When he is tried he shall go forth guilty, and his prayer
shall he for sin. The future meaning of the second verb is deter-
mined by the form of the third, which is not apocopated, as in vs.
12, 13. When he is tried, literally, in his being tried. The next
phrase simply means that he shall be condemned ; the last clause,
that his very prayer for mercy shall be reckoned as a new offence,
a strong description of extreme judicial rigour and inexorable
justice.

PSALM CIX, 95

8. Let his days be few — Ids office let another take. The word
translated office is a collateral derivative of the verb at the be-
ginning of v. 6, and means commission, charge. This expression
makes it still more probable that a real individual is referred to,
as the possession of a charge or office could not be common to the
whole class of malignant enemies. The Septuagint version is
IntaKon^v^ oversight or supervision, corresponding exactly to the
meaning of the Hebrew verb in v. 6. This translation is retained
in Acts i. 20, where the verse before us is expressly quoted by
Peter, as " written in the book of Psalms," and applied to the
case of Judas Iscariot.

9. Let his sons be orphans and his wife a widow. He here
passes from tho person of the criminal to the sufferings of those
dependent on him. See Ex. xx. 5.

10. And wander — wander — let his sons and beg, and seek (their
food) from (among) their ruins. The emphatic repetition of the
first verb is expressed, in the English Bible, by a paraphrase, let
his children be continually vagabonds. The last clause is ex-
tremely graphic, representing them as creeping forth in search of
food from amidst the ruins of their habitations.

11. Let a creditor entrap all he has, and strangers plunder (the
fruit of) his labour. The first noun originally means a lender,
but in usage has the accessory sense of a hard creditor, an extor-
tioner. The verb means to lay a snare for, as in Ps. xxxviii. 13
(12.) Strangers, not his natural heirs, not members of his
family. See Deut. xxv. 5.

12. Let there be no one to him extending mercy, and let there be
no one showing favour to his orphans. The verb translated ex-
tend literally means draw out, prolong, and is applied to the con-
tinued indulgence both of hostile and amicable feelings. See

96 PSALM CIX.

above, on Ps. xxviii. 3. xxxvi. 11 (10.) lxxxv. 6 (5.) Showing
favour, exercising mercy, as in Ps. xxxvii. 21.

13. Let his posterity be cut off ; in the next generation, hlottea
out le their name. The word for posterity strictly means futurity,
after part, or latter end. See above, Ps. xxxvii. 37, 38. Cut
off, literally, for cutting off. The next or after generation, as in
Ps. xlviii. 14 (13.) The plural pronoun their refers to the col-
lective noun posterity.

14. Let the guilt of his fathers be remembered by Jehovah, and his
mothers sin not blotted out. This is perhaps the most fearful im-
precation in the psalm, as it extends the consequences of trans-
gression, not merely to the children, who might naturally be ex-
pected to partake of them, but to the parents. It is not to be
forgotten, however, that in all such cases, the personal guilt of
the implicated parties is presupposed, and not inferred from their
connection with the principals. Remembered by (literally to)
Jehovah, which may possibly mean brought to his remembrance,
recalled to mind by another, perhaps by the accuser before men-
tioned.

15. Let them be before Jehovah always, and let him cut off from
the earth their memory. The subject of the first clause is the
guilt and sin mentioned in the verse preceding. Before Jehovah^
in his sight, an object of attention to him. See above, Ps. xc. 8 .
With the last clause compare Ps. ix. 7 (6.) xxxiv. 17 (16.)

16. Because that he did not remember to do mercy, and perse-
cuted an afflicted and poor man, and one smitten in heart, to kill
(him.) There is an antithesis between the remember of this verse
and the remembered of v. 14. Though he did not remember mercy,
God remembers guilt. The last phrase, to kill, denotes both
the design and the extent of the malignant persecution, which

PSALM CIX, 97

was deadly or to death. The object of the persecution is the
psalmist himself, or the ideal person whom he represents. See
v. 22.

17. And he loved a curse, and it has come (upon) him ; and he
delighted not in blessing, and it has removed far from him. This
verse contemplates the event as actually past. The optative
meaning, given to the verbs in the English Bible, is as incon-
sistent with the form of the original as the future meaning given
in the Prayer Book and the ancient versions.

18. And he has put on cursing as his garment , and it has come
like water into his inside, and like oil into his bones. There is an
obvious climax in this verse. That which is first described as the
man's exterior covering, is then said to be within him, first as
water, then as oil or fat, first in the vessels of his body, then in
his very bones. The general idea is that the curse, which he de-
nounced and endeavoured to inflict on others, has taken possession
of himself, both within and without. Compare Num. v. 22,
24, 27. The first clause admits of a different construction,
which would make it descriptive of the crime and not the
punishment. He put on cursing as his garment, and (now) it has
come, etc. This construction introduces an antithesis, and there
by adds to the point of the sentence, and is also recommended by
the analogy of v. 17.

19. Let it be to him as a garment (that) he wears, and for a belt
let him always gird it. This is not a mere reiteration of the
figure in the first clause of v. IS, but conveys the additional idea
of a habitual and constant presence. The word belt is used in the
translation of the last clause, because the Hebrew word to which
it corresponds is not the usual derivative of the verb that follows,
but etymologically unconnected with it.

r

20. (Be) this the wages of my adversaries from Jehovah, and

vol. in. — 5

98 PSALM CIX.

of those speaking evil against my soul. The pronoun this in the first
clause refers to the whole preceding series of denunciations. The
word translated wages means originally work, and secondarily the
price or recompense of work or labour, and is so used in the law
of Moses. See Lev. xix. 13. It is here peculiarly appropriate
because it represents the misfortunes of his enemies as the direct
fruit of their own misconduct. No single word in English can
express this double meaning of the Hebrew. Such is their work
and such their wages. The word translated adversaries is a cog-
nate form to that used in v. 6, and might suggest the idea of my
Satans ; but this would probably convey too much. From Je-
hovah, their reward or recompense to be expected from him, or
already bestowed by him. The description in the last clause in-
cludes insult, slander, and malicious plotting.

21. And thou, Jehovah, Lord, do with me for thy name's sake ,
because good is thy mercy, set me free. The emjmatic thou at the
beginning indicates a contrast between God and his oppressors.
Do with me is a common English phrase meaning deal with me,
dispose of me ; but no such idiom exists in Hebrew, and the best
authorities regard the construction as elliptical and make it mean,
do kindness (or shew mercy) to me. With the last clause com-
pare Ps. lxiii. 4 (3.) lxix. 17 (16.)

22. For afflicted and poor (am) J, and my heart is wounded
within me. This, though indefinite in form, is equivalent to say-
ing, I am the afflicted and poor man whom the malignant adver-
sary persecuted, as was said in v. 16. The word translated
wounded strictly means pierced or perforated, a stronger expres-
sion than the one in v. 16. With the first clause compare Ps.
xl. 18 (17.) lxix. 30 (29.)

23. IAke a shadow at its turning I am gone ; I am driven
away like the locust. The first comparison is the same with that

PSALM CIX. 99

in Ps. cii. 12. Our idiom enables us to imitate the phrase I am
gone, a passive which in Hebrew occurs only here. The other
verb is rare, but its meaning is sufficiently determined by usage.
The allusion here is to the violence with which a cloud of locusts
in the east is scattered by the wind. Compare Ex. x. 19. Joel
ii. 20. Nah. iii. 17.

24. My knees totter from fasting, and my flesh fails from fat-
ness. The last phrase is obscure but seems to mean/Vow being
fat, so that it is not fat ; the privative usage of the preposition
being very common. The sense thus put upon the verb is justi-
fied by the analogy of Isai. lviii. 11, where an equivalent expres-
sion is applied to failing waters. Some interpreters, however,
insist upon retaining the strict sense both of verb and noun, and
understand the clause to mean, my flesh lies or deceives the eye,
by no longer appearing as it once did, or by seeming to exist
when it is gone, from oil, i. e. from want of oil, because no longer
taken care of and anointed. But no construction could well be
more forced and far-fetched. It may also be objected that the
external use of oil was to anoint the head on festive occasions,
not to fatten the person or preserve the flesh.

25. And I have been a reproach to them, they see me, they shaki
their head. A reproach, an object of contempt, as in Ps. xxii.
7(6.) xxxi. 12 (11.) As to the meaning of the gesture men-
tioned in the last clause, see above, on Ps. xxii. 8 (7.)

26. Help me, Jehovah, my God, save me, according to thy mercy.
The renewed description of his sufferings, in vs. 22 — 25, is fol-
lowed by a renewed petition for deliverance, corresponding to that
in v. 21. According to thy mercy, i. c. in proportion to its great-
ness and the freeness with which it is exercised.

27. And they shall know that this (is) thy hand ; thou, Jehovah,

100 PSALM CIX.

hast done it. The optative construction, let them know, and the
subjunctive one, that they may know, are really involved in the
more exact translation, they shall know. The subject of the verb
may be men in general, or the persecuting adversaries in par-
ticular, more probably the latter, because they are referred to,
both before and after. This is thy hand, i. e. this deliverance is
the product of thy power. Compare Ps. lix. 14 (13.)

2S. They will curse, and thou wilt bless ; they have risen up, and
shall be shamed, and thy servant shall be glad. The first clause,
expressed in our idiom, would be, they may curse but thou wilt
bless. Risen up, i. e. against me, a favourite expression in the
Psalms. Shamed, in the pregnant sense of being disappointed,
defeated, confounded. Thy servant, i. e. I as such, in that ca-
pacity or character.

29. Clothed shall my adversaries be with confusion, and dressed,
as a robe, in their shame. This is not the mere expression of a
wish, like that in v. 18, which would here be out of place, but a
confident anticipation, with which he concludes the psalm. Com-
pare Ps. lxxi. 13.' The word translated robe denotes a garment
reaching to the feet, and expresses therefore still more strongly
the idea that Lis foes shall be completely covered with confusion

30. I will thank Jehovah greatly with my mouth, and in the
midst of many will I praise him. He vows that his thanksgiving
shall not be merely mental or domestic, but audible and public.
With the last clause compare Ps. xxii. 23 (22.)

31. For he will stand at the right hand of a poor (man), to save
(hi?n) from the judges of his soul. This assigns the special rea-
son of his promised praise. The verse is in strong contrast to
v. 6 above, especially if Satan be there taken as a proper name.
The right hand here is not the place of honour but of protection.

PSALM CX. 101

A poo?' man, as in v. 16, means this poo?- man, i. e. me a poor
man. Compare Ps. xxxiv. 7 (G) The last clause is correctly
paraphrased in the common version, those that condemn his soul.

PSALM C X .

This is the counterpart of the Second Psalm, completing the
prophetic picture of the conquering Messiah. The progressive
development of the Messianic doctrine lies in this, that the King-
ship of Messiah, there alleged and confirmed by a divine decree,
is here assumed at the beginning, and then shown to be connected
with his Priesthood, which is also solemnly proclaimed, and its
perpetuity ensured by a divine oath. This constitutes the centre
of the psalm, v. 4, to which all the rest is either introductory,
vs. 1 — 3, or supplementary, v. 5 — 7. The repeated, explicit,
and emphatic application of this psalm, in the New Testament,
to Jesus Christ, is so far from being arbitrary or at variance with
the obvious import of the psalm itself, that any other application
is ridiculous. The chief peculiarity of form is a frequent change
of person, not unlike that in Ps. xci.

1. By David. A Psalm. Thus saith Jehovah to my Lord,
Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy foot-
stool. The ascription of the psalm to David is not only uncon-
tradicted by external evidence, but corroborated by the internal
character of the composition, its laconic energy, its martial tone,
its triumphant confidence, and its resemblance to other undis-
puted psalms of David. In addition to all this, we have the
authority of Christ himself, who not only speaks of it as David's,
but founds an argument upon it, the whole force of which depends
upon its having been composed by him. See Matt. xxii. 43.

102 PSALM CX.

Mark xii. 36. Luke xx. 42, and compare Acts ii. 34. As a fur-
ther confirmation of the truth of this inscription, some allege the
obvious relation of this psalm to those before it, as forming with
them a Davidic trilogy. See above, on Ps. cviii. 1. Thus saith
Jehovah, or more exactly, a dictum (or saying) of Jehovah. For
the origin and usage of this formula, used only in prophetic
declarations, see above on Ps. xxxvi. 2 (1.) My Lord, i. e.
David's, as our Saviour explicitly declares in the passages already
cited, yet not of David merely as a private person, nor even as an
individual king, but as representing his own royal race and the
house of Israel over which it reigned. The person thus de-
scribed as the superior and sovereign of David and his house and
of all Israel, could not possibly be David himself, nor any of his
sons and successors except one, who, by virtue of his twofold
nature, was at once his sovereign and his son. See Rom. i. 3, 4.
That the Lord here meant was universally identified with the
Messiah by the ancient Jews, is clear, not only from their own
traditions, but from Christ's assuming this interpretation as the
basis of his argument to prove the Messiah's superhuman na-
ture, and from the fact that his opponents, far from questioning this
fact, were unable to answer him a word, and afraid to interrogate
him further (Matt. xxii. 46.) The original form of expression,
in the phrase Sit at my right hand, is the same as in Ps. cix. 31.
A seat at the right hand of a king is mentioned in the Scriptures
as a place of honour, not arbitrarily, but as implying a participa-
tion in his power, of which the right hand is a constant symbol.
See above, on Ps. xlv. 10 (9), and compare Matt. xix. 28. The
Bitting posture is appropriate to kings who are frequently described
as sitting on their thrones. See above, on Ps. xxix. 10. In this
case, however, the posture is of less moment than the position.
Hence Stephen sees Christ standing at the right hand of God
(Acts vii. 55, 56), and Paul simply says he is there (Horn. viii.
34.) The participation in the divine power, thus ascribed to the
Messiah, is a special and extraordinary one, having reference to

PSALM CX. 103

the total subjugation of his enemies. This idea is expressed by
the figure of their beiug made his footstool, perhaps with allusion
to the ancient practice spoken of in Josh. x. 24. This figure
itself, however, presupposes the act of sitting on a throne. It
does not imply inactivity, as some suppose, or mean that Jehovah
would conquer his foes for him, without any intervention of his
own. The idea running through the whole psalm is, that it is in
and through him that Jehovah acts for the destruction of his
enemies, and that for this very end he is invested with almighty
power, as denoted by his session at the right hand of God. This
session is to last until the total subjugation of his enemies, that is to
say, this special and extraordinary power of the Messiah is then
to terminate, a representation which agrees exactly with that of
Paul in 1 Cor. xv. 24 — 28, where the verse before us is dis-
tinctly referred to, although not expressly quoted. It is there-
fore needless, though grammatical, to give the until an in
elusive meaning, namely, until then and afterwards, as in Ps.
cxii. S below. This verse, it has been said, is more frequently
quoted or referred to, in the New Testament, than any other in
the Hebrew Bible. Besides the passages already cited, it lies at
the foundation of all those which represent Christ as sitting
at the right hand of the Father. See Matt. xxvi. 64. 1 Cor.
xv. 25. Eph. i. 20—22. Phil. ii. 9—11. Heb. i. 3, 14. viii. 1.
x. 12, 13. 1 Pet. iii. 22, and compare Rev. iii. 21.

2. The rod of thy strength will Jehovah send forth from Zion ;
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. The Psalmist now ad-
dresses the Messiah directly. The idea latent in the figures of
the first verse, namely that of power, is here expressed. The
word (uM) translated rod never means a sceptre, as the synony-
mous term ('£~d\ sometimes docs, from which it is distinguished
by Ezekiel (xix. 11), but a rod of correction and of chastisement.
See Jer. xlviii. 12, and compare Lsai. ix. 3 (4.) x. 5, 15, xiv. 4,
5. Ez. vii. 10, 11. It is here named as the instrument with

104 PSALM CX.

which the foes are to be subdued. Compare Ps. ii. 9. There
may be an allusion to the rod of Moses. See Ex. xiv. 16, 21,
and compare Isai. x. 24, 26. The rod of thy strength, or thy
rod of strength, thy strong rod, or rather the rod by means of
•which thine own strength is to be exerted. As this strength is
not human but divine, it is said to be sent forth by Jehovah out
of Zion, considered as his earthly residence, the seat of the theo-
cracy. See above, on Ps. xx. 3 (2. ) The verb translated ruh
is not applied in usage to a peaceful reign, but to coercive or
compulsory dominion over conquered enemies. See above, on
Ps. xlix. 15 (14), and compare Num. xxiv. 19. The imperative
here involves prediction in its strongest form. As if he had said :
All is ready for the conquest ; there is no resistance ; there can
be no doubt of the result ; rule, therefore, in the midst thine ene-
mies, i. e. over the very enemies by whom thou art surrounded,
and who threatened to dethrone thee.

3. Thy people (are) free-will-offerings in the day of thy power,
in holy decorations, from the womb of the dawn, to thee (is) the dew
of thy youth. Every member of this very obscure verse has been
a subject of dispute and of conflicting explanations. The com-
mon version of the first words (thy people shall be willing) is en-
tirely inadmissible as an exact translation, since the word trans-
lated willing is a plural substantive of the feminine gender, and
not an adjective agreeing with the masculine singular noun people.
The idea, however, is the same, but expressed with far more
strength and beauty. The plural noun just mentioned is the one
used to denote spontaneous gifts, or freewill-offerings, under the
law ^f Moses.. See above, on Ps. liv. 8 (7), and compare Ex,
xxv. 2. xxxv. 29. xxxvi. 3. Lev. xxii. 23. By supplying the
correlative verb, which may be considered as latent in the noun,
we obtain the sense, thy people (offer) voluntary gifts. But by
supplying the substantive verb, which is far more natural and
common, we obtain the still more striking sense, thy people are

PSALM CX. 105

themselves such gifts, i. e. they freely consecrate themselves to
God. In this sense of voluntary self-dedication the reflexive form
of the verbal root is used even in historical prose (1 Chr. xxix. 14,
17), especially in reference to military service (Judg. v. 2, 9.
2 Chr. xvii. 16.) The day of thy power, the day in which it is ex-
erted and displayed in the subjugation of thine enemies. The
next phrase literally means, in beauties (or ornaments) of holiness,
which may cither have its obvious spiritual sense, as in Ps. xxix.
2, or that of holy decorations, with allusion to the sacerdotal dress,
which is expressly called garments of holiness, Lev. xvi. 4. The
last is the sense put by the modern interpreters upon the phrase,
which then means that the people, when they make this solemn
ottering of themselves to God, appear clothed in sacerdotal vest-
ments, as the servants of a priestly king (v. 4 below), and them-
selves a "kingdom of priests" (Ex. xix. 6.) The. womb of the
dawn (or day-break) is a very strong poetical description of the
origin or source of the dew which immediately follows, and the
sense of which must determine that of the whole clause. The
most probable opinions as to this point are the following. Some
suppose the clause to be descriptive of the multitude of warriors
who devote themselves to the Messiah, and who are then described
as no less numerous than the drops of dew born from the womb
of morning. The objection to this is, that it lays too much stress
upon mere numbers, and expresses that idea by a figure neither
common nor altogether natural. Another explanation makes the
point of the comparison with dew, not numbers, but beauty, bril-
liancy thus corresponding to the holy decorations of the other clause.
Here again the comparison selected is by no means obvious, much
less familiar. Lovely or beautiful as dew is not a combination
likely to occur to the mind of any writer. In the two interpreta-
tions which have now been given, youth must be taken in the
use of young men, like the Latin pules and juvenilis, when ap-
plied to a youthful soldiery, or made to qualify the noun before
t youthful dew, still meaning the young warriors. But of such

5*

106 PSALM CX.

a figure there is not a trace in Hebrew usage, and in the only
other place -where the word (r --.;:") occurs, it evidently means
youth, as a period of human life (Ecc. xi. 9, 10.) Free from all
these objections is the supposition, that the clause relates not to
the numbers or the beauty of Messiah's people, but to their per-
petual succession, expressed by a fine poetical comparison with
dew, engendered afresh daily from the womb of the morning.
Youth will then have its proper sense, as denoting the perpetual
youth of the Messiah, whose body is thus constantly renewed by
the successive generations of his people. This construction also
enables us to divide the clause more equally than in the masoretic
interpunction, which, at all events, is either incorrect or rather
musical than logical.

4. Sworn hath Jehovah, and will not repent, Thou (shalt he) a
priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek. . The declaration
in the last clause of v. 3 is here repeated in another form, and
with a statement of the ground or reason upon which it rests.
What was there poetically represented as the perpetual youth of
the Messiah is here more solemnly described as a perpetual priest-
hood, indissolubly blended with a perpetual kingship, both secured
by the oath of God himself. Tie will not repent, there is no fear
or even possibility of his breaking or retracting this engagement,
for such it is, and not a mere declaratory attestation of the pre-
sent fact or general truth, as it might seem to be from the com-
mon version, not only here but in Ilcb. v. 6. vii. 17, 21, in every
ore of which places the Greek conforms exactly to the Septuagint
version and the Hebrew text, the art being constantly supplied by
the translators. That the clause is a promise, and as such relates
directly to the future, is clear from the whole tenor of the psalm as a
prophetic one, as well as from the oath, which is not used in Scrip-
ture to attest mere matters of fact, but to confirm the divine promise
and thrcatenings. The indefinite expression, a priest, is intended
to describe the office in itself considered, without reference to

PSALM CX,

]07

temporary distinctions and gradations. It therefore comprehends
whatever appertained to the office of the High Priest, as the head
and representative of all the rest. After the order, i. e. accord-
ing to the manner, character, or institution. It is remarkable
that this phrase (like mniit! ni Y- 3) 'ls almost peculiar to this
psalm and the .book of Ecclesiastes, being found besides in only
one place (Job v. 8.) In all the direct quotations of the verse
in Hebrews, the Septuagint version of this word (x&£iv) is re-
tained. But in one of the more indirect citations (Heb. vii. 15)
another word (0^016x^x0,) is substituted, showing that the essen-
tial idea is that of likeness or resemblance. This likeness con-
sists primarily in the union of the regal and sacerdotal offices.
See Gen. xiv. 18. The meaning of the verse in its original con-
nection is, that this royal conqueror is also a priest, who makes
atonement for the sins of his people, and thus enables and dis-
poses them to make the dedication of themselves described in the
preceding verse. The perpetuity of this relation, and its confir-
mation by the oath of God, are attendant circumstances but
essential, and as such insisted on by the apostle, Heb. vii. 20 — 24.
The coincidences founded on the meaning of the names Melchize-
dek and Salem (Heb. vii. 2), and on the want of hierarchical
succession in both cases (Heb. vii. 3), are perfectly legitimate but
not essential to the understanding of the verse in its original con-
nection. The inspired commentary on this sentence, which occu-
pies the whole seventh chapter of Hebrews, is not intended merely
to explain its meaning, but also to make use of its terms, and the
associations coupled with them, as a vehicle of other kindred
truths, belonging to the Christian revelation, and not necessarily
suggested by the Psalm to its original readers.

5. The Lord on thy right hand has smitten, in the day of his
anger, kings. Some suppose this to be addressed to Jehovah, and
the Lord to mean Messiah, on the ground that they could not each
be on the right hand of the other. See above, v. 1. That they

108 PSALM CX.

could be so, however, only shows that the whole description is a
figurative one, and that the principal figure has a two-fold mean-
ing. On the right hand has precisely the same meaning here as
in Ps. cix. 31, where it denotes the place of protection or assist-
ance, the figure being probably derived from the usages of war,
in which one who succours or protects another may be said to
strengthen his right hand, as the member which he uses in his
own defence. In one sense, therefore, the Lord is at the right
hand of Jehovah ; in another sense, Jehovah is at his. This
assistance, far from excluding, presupposes his own action, or ra-
ther, what Jehovah is described as doing for him he does through
him. See above, on v. 1. The word translated smite is very
strong and has repeatedly occurred before. See above, on Ps.
xviii. 39 (38.) lxviii. 22, 24 (21, 23.) The day of Jehovah's
wrath is coincident with that of the Lord's strength in v. 3. The
strength of the Messiah, as a conqueror, is to be exerted in giving
effect to Jehovah's wrath against his enemies. The position of the
word kings at the end of the sentence, although harsh and almost
uno-rammatical in English, is retained in the translation for the
sake of its effect upon the emphasis and point of the description.
The objects of Jehovah's wrath and the Messiah's strokes are not
to be mere ordinary men, but kings, if they continue to oppose
themselves. See above, on Ps. ii. 2, 10. The tense of the verb
may be regarded as an instance of praeteritum propheticum, de-
scribing what is certainly to happen as already past.

6. He will judge among the nations — he has filled {them) with
corpses — he has smitten the head over much land (or over the wide
earth.) By another sudden change of form, the Messiah is again
spoken of as a third person. The judgment here ascribed to him
is only another name and figure for the conquest just described.
The form of expression in the last clause is unusual and obscure.
The common version makes both head and land collectives, the
heads over many countries. Some interpreters explain the second

J SALM CX. 109

word in this way, but the first more strictly, as denoting a single
*uler over many countries. Others invert the terms and under-
stand by head the various chiefs of nations, but by earth the
whole earth with its qualifying epithet of great or icicle. Amidst
bhese questions of construction or minute interpretation, the
general idea is clear enough, to wit, that of universal conquest on
the part of the Messiah, and extending to all earthly principalities
and powers.

7. From the Irook in the way he will drink, therefore will he
'aise the head. According to the masoretic interpunction, in the
way does not qualify the brook but he will drink, a distinction of
little exegetical importance. Unlike the foregoing verse, the one
before us is perfectly clear in its particular expressions, but ob-
scure in its general import and relation to the context. The
most probable meaning of the first clause is, that he shall not be
exhausted like those wandering in the desert (Ps. cii. 24. cvii.
4, 5) but refreshed and strengthened, with a reference, as some
suppose, to the relief experienced by Samson (Judg. xv. 18, 19.)
The raising of the head, in the last clause, is an obvious and in-
telligible figure for exhilaration, or relief from dejection and de-
pression, which is naturally indicated by the hanging of the head.
The only question is whether this effect is here supposed to be
produced in the conqueror himself or in others. In favour of
the former explanation is the parallel clause, which represents
him as assuajnn^ his own thirst. In favour of the other is the
analogy of Ps. iii. 4 (3) xxvii. 6, where God is said to raise the
head of man. As in other doubtful cases, where the senses are
not incompatible or exclusive of each other, it is safe, if not en-
tirely satisfactory, to leave them side by side, the rather as the
words could probably not fail to suggest both idea* tc the Hebrew
reader.

110 PSALM CXI.

P S A L M CXI.

This is an alphabetical psalm, in which the Hebrew letters
mark the beginning not of verses but of clauses. The first eight
verses contain each two clauses ; the last two consist of three.
The psalm begins with an invitation to the public praise of God,
v. 1, then assigns, as the ground and object of this praise, his
dealings with his people, vs. 2 — 9, and ends with the conclusion,
that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, v. 10.
There is nothing in the psalm itself to determine its date or its
historical occasion. According to Hengstenberg, it is the first,
psalm of a trilogy, added to the ancient one preceding (Ps.
cviii — ex.) after the return from exile.

1. Hallelujah ! I will thank Jehovah with a whole heart, in the
company of the upright and in the congregation. The Hallelujah
(praise ye Jah) marks the designation of the latter psalms for
permanent use in public worship, as the inscription to the chief
musician does that of the older ones. With a whole hea?'t, or with
all (my) heart, as it is fully ex]3ressed in Ps. lxxxvi. 12. Compare
Ps. cxix. 2. The word translated company means properly a
circle of confidential friends. See above, on Ps. xxv. 14. lv.
15 (14.) lxiv. 3 (2.) lxxxiii. 4 (3.) It is here applied to the
church or chosen people, as constituting such a company or circle,
in opposition to the world without. It is not therefore really
distinct from the congregation mentioned in the last clause, but
another name for it. The upright (or straightforward") is a title
given to the true Israel, from the days of Balaam downwards.
See Num. xxiv 10.

2. G? eat are the works of Jehovah, sought (according) to all

PSALM CXI. Ill

their desires. The common version of the last phrase, all them
that have pleasure therein, supposes the text to he differently
pointed, as in Ps. xl. 15 (14,) lxx. 3 (2.) The received text can
only mean to (for or according to) all their wishes. The ante-
cedent of the pronoun {their) seems to he the upright in v. 1. For
a similar construction of the same pronoun, see below, en v. 10
The clause, thus construed, is obscure, but may be understood
to mean, that when the works of God are sought out, investigated,
or explored, their greatness fully satisfies the hopes and wishes
of his people.. Another possible sense is, that they are sought
'for, i. e. the experience or knowledge of them eagerly desired,
with (literally as to) all their wishes, i. e. with avidity, or, as it is
expressed in the preceding verse, with all the heart.

3. Honour mnd majesty (is) his work — and his righteousness
standing forever. In the first clause, work is the subject of the
proposition, honour and majesty the predicate. His work is
honour and majesty, i. e. all that he does is noble and majestic,
worthy of the great King, to whom these epithets are often ap-
plied elsewhere. See above, on Ps. civ. 1. His work means
specifically here what he does for the protection and deliverance
of his people. In the last clause, as in many other places, this
work is referred to his righteousness, not his justice, in the
technical and strict sense, but his rectitude, including his fidelity
to his engagements, and securing the exercise of his covenanted
mercy. This seems more natural than to explain it as meaning
the practical-justification of his people by his providential care of
them. Standing to eternity (or perpetuity), not fitful or ca-
pricious, not confined or temporary, but perpetual and constant.

4. A memory has he made for his wonderful works ; gracious
and compassionate (is) Jehovah. The first clause, though not
exactly rendered, is correctly paraphrased in the English Bible,
he hath made his wonderful works to be remembered, and still

112 PSALM CXI.

more freely in the Prayer Book version. The last clause shows
that the wonderful works of the first are not the wonders of crea-
tion, nor those of providence in general, but those wrought for
the benefit of Israel. The terms of this clause are borrowed
from Ex. xxxiv. 6. See above, on Ps. ciii. 8.

5. Prey hath he given to those fearing him ; he will remember to
eternity his covenant. The first word properly denotes the food
of wild beasts, and may here be either a poetical equivalent to
food, provision, as in Prov. xxxi. 15. Mai. iii. 10, or intended to
suggest the additional idea of food obtained at the expense of
enemies. In either case there seems to be no reason for restrict-
ing the clause to the supply of Israel in the desert, although that
would necessarily occur to every reader, as the great historical
example of the general fact alleged, and in the last clause repre-
sented as a proof of God's fidelity to covenant engagements.

6. The power of his iuorks he has declared to his people, (so as)
to give to them a heritage of nations. He has shown them what
powerful things he can do, by favouring them so far as to drive
out nations from their seats, and make his people their successors
and, as it were, their heirs. This refers to the conquest of
Canaan, as the first in a long series of such dispossessions, includ-
ing all the territories gained in war from the surrounding nations,
till the death of David. The construction of to give as a gerund
(by giving) is not a Hebrew idiom, and restricts the meaning of
the clause unduly. See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 18.

7. The ivories of his hands are truth and judgment ; sure [are)
all his precepts. The second clause is not an iteration of the first,
but an inference from it. If what God does himself is always
done in faithfulness and justice to his people, then what he re-
quires them to do must certainly be right and best, and his

PSALM CXI. 113

requisitions therefore may "be trusted and confided in, the true
sense of the adjective or participle here employed.

S. Settled for ever and ever, done in truth and right. The
subjects are the same as in v. 7, but presented in an inverse
order, the first clause relating to the precepts, the last to the
works, of God. The former are settled, firmly supported, found-
ed, or established, not capricious and precarious. The latter, by
■which they are recommended and attested (see above, on v. 9),
are works of faithfulness and rectitude. The last word in He-
brew is an adjective used as a neuter or abstract noun, in which
respect the English right resembles it.

9. Redemption he has sent to his people ; he has ordained to eternity
his covenant ; holy and fearful is his name. That this verse was
intended to consist of three clauses, is clear from the fact that it
contains three letters of the alphabet in regular succession.
The same thino; is true of the remaining verse. The first clause
relates mainly, not exclusively, to the deliverance from Egypt.
As in v. 5, the second clause affirms a general truth, attested and
exemplified by the particular fact mentioned in the first. Fear-
ful, not merely to his foes but to his people, who can never cease
to worship him with holy awe.

10. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of Jehovah ; a good
understanding (is) to all (those) doing them ; his praise endureth
forever. This is the conclusion drawn from all that goes before.
Since all God's dealings with his people are in faithfulness and
truth, and his commands not only are but must be right, then the
first step in wisdom, its first principle or element, is reverence for
such a Being, proved by obedience to his will. The same senti-
ment occurs in Prov. i. 7. ix. 10. Job. xxviii. 28. The intimate
connection of the verse, notwithstanding its proverbial or aphor-
istic form, with the foregoing context, is apparent from the refer-

114 PSALM CXII.

cnce of the pronoun them to the plural nouns of the preceding
verses. Endy/reth forever, literally, (is) standing to eternity.
This is equivalent to saying that he will and must be praised for-
ever, corresponding to the Hallelujah, at the beginning of the
psalm.

PSALM CXII.

Another alphabetical psalm of precisely the same character,
coinciding with the one before it, even in the number of verses,
and the number of clauses in each verse. This formal agreement
shows the intimate connection of the two compositions, and makes
it highly probable that they belong not only to the same age but
to the same author, and were meant to form parts of one con-
tinued series or system. This psalm begins precisely where the
one before it ends, i. e. with the happiness arising from the fear
of God, v. 1, the blessed effects of which are then recounted
under several particulars, vs. 2 — 9, and finally contrasted with
the fate of the ungodly, v. 10.

1. Happy the man fearing Jehovah, in his commandments de-
lighting greatly. There is here not only an obvious connection
with the close of the preceding psalm, but an obvious advance
upon it or progression of ideas. As the fear of the Lord is there
declared to be the principle of all true wisdom, so here it is de-
clared to be the source of all true happiness. The second clause
defines the meaning of the first by showing, that the fear there
mentioned is a fear consistent with, or rather necessarily involv-
ing, a complacent acquiescence in Grod's will, thus entirely cxclud-

PSALM CXII. 115

ing a mere slavish dread, which, is incompatible with such a
disposition.

2. Mighty in the earth shall he his seed ; the race of the upright
shall be blessed. The first phrase is borrowed from Gen. x. 8,
and would at once suggest to every Hebrew reader the idea of a
mighty man like Nimrod and the other ancient heroes. Now a
promise of personal heroism is perhaps without analogy, especi-
ally as given to the son, to the exclusion of the father. This
anomaly can be avoided only by assuming, what is probable
enough in itself, that the ideal person here described represents
the chosen people, the upright of the other clause, each successive
generation of whom might be expected to excel its predecessors
in heroic eminence.

3. Wealth and riches {are) in his house, and his righteousness
endureth forever. Not only in his dwelling but in his family, so
that his wealth or prosperity might have been said to endure for-
ever as well as his righteousness, i. e. his recognition and recep-
tion as a righteous person, his justification. Endureth, literally,
(is) standing, the same expression that is used in Ps. cxi. 3 of
God himself. There is also an analogy, at least in form, between
the majesty and honour of the righteous God and the wealth and
riches of the righteous man.

4. There arises in the darkness light to the upright — kind and
compassionate and righteous. The figure in the first clause is a
natural and common one, denoting relief from deep distress. See
above, on Ps. xcvii. 11. In the last clause we have another in-
stance of the singular way in which terms applied to God in the
preceding psalm are copied and applied to man in this. The first
two epithets in this clause arc employed above in Ps. cxi. 4.
The principle involved may be the same as in Luke vi. 36, "be
ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful." Compare

116 PSALM CXII.

Matt. v. 48. To these two epithets is added that of righteous, in
the wide sense including both the others. The construction of
the sentence is unusual and doubtful ; but most probably the sec-
ond clause sustains the same relation to the other as in v. 1 ; that
is to say, it limits and defines the general description upright,
by confining it to such as have the qualities expressed by the
three adjectives that follow. The alternation of the numbers is
familiar where the singular denotes an ideal individual including
many real ones.

5. Happy the man showing favour and lending ; he shall sus~
tain his affairs by justice. The first word in Hebrew, which
means good, is here descriptive not of character but of condition,
and denotes good fortune. It is used in the same sense by Isaiah
(iii. 10) and Jeremiah (xliv. 17.) The common version (a good
man) is forbidden by the Hebrew collocation. Lending, not
as a financial or commercial operation, but as an act of charity,
lending to the poor. The verb in the last clause strictly means
to provide for or sustain, especially with food. See above, on
Ps. lv. 23 (22.) It is here applied to the control and manage-
ment of all one's interests. Affairs, literally, words, but in the
wider sense of that which words denote, namely, things, affairs, in
which sense it is sometimes applied to causes or suits at law.
The last word is commonly translated judgment, not in the sense
of discretion, given in the English versions, but in that of practi-
cal justice, righteous conduct. He shall best secure his own in-
terests by treating those of others justly and generously.

6. For to eternity he shall not be moved; to the memory of
eternity he shall be righteous. The for assigns the reason for his
being pronounced happy. Moved, i. e. from his prosperous com
dition, or from his position as a righteous man. The construc-
tion of the last clause in the English versions {the righteous shah
be in everlasting remembrance) is grammatical, and yields a goou

PSALM CXII. . 117

sense ; but the latest interpreters prefer another, which makes
to everlasting remembrance mean the same as to eternity. As
long as he shall be remembered, he shall be remembered as a
righteous man. This construction has the advantage of making
the parallelism more exact.

7. From evil tidings he shall not fear ; fixed is his heart, trust-
ing in Jehovah. The first Hebrew noun is in the singular num-
ber, and is properly a participle passive meaning heard, used
absolutely as a noun denoting what is heard, a rumour or report,
news or tidings. The common version (he shall not be afraid of
evil tidings) seems to confine the negation to the mere apprehen-
sion or anticipation of bad news, whereas the original expression
comprehends, and indeed more properly denotes, being frightened
when the evil tidings are heard. A fixed heart is the negation
both of fickleness and cowardice. See above, on Ps. li. 12 (10.)
lvii. 8 (7.) cviii. 1. Instead of the active participle trusting,
the Hebrew has the passive trusted, analogous to that in Ps.
ciii. 14.

8. Settled (is) his heart, he shall not fear, until he look upon his
foes (with triumph.) The first word is another expression bor-
rowed from the foregoing psalm, but applied in a manner alto-
gether different. See Ps. cxi. 8, where the plural of the same
participle is applied to God's commandments. The construction
in the last clause is the idiomatic one of the verb see with the
preposition in, which usually means to see with strong emotion,
and especially with joy or triumph. See above, on Ps. 1. 23.
liv. 9 (7.) Until docs not imply that he shall then fear, but
that there will then be no occasion so to do. See above, on Ps.
ex. 1.

9. He has scattered, he has given to the poor, his righteousness
endureth forever , Us horn shall be high with honour. The first

118 • PSALM CXIII.

verb denotes profuse munificence, as in Prov. xi. 34. This is
alleged not as the cause but the effect, and therefore as the evi-
dence of his being righteous. The next clause is the same as the
last of v. 3. With the last clause compare Ps. lxxv. 5 (4.)
lxxxix. IS (17.)

10. The wicked shall see and fret ; his teeth he shall gnash, and
shall melt aivay ; the desire of the ivickcd shall perish. He shall
see, but not with triumnh or delight, like the righteous in v. 8.
The word translated fret means both to grieve and be angry, and
has no exact equivalent in English. See above, on Ps. vi. 8 (7.)
x. 14, xxxi. 10 (9.) Gnash with his teeth, a strong expression of
impotent malignity. See above, on Ps. xxxv. 16, xxxvii. 12.
Melt aivay, literally, be melted, i. e. waste or decay. See above,
on Ps. xxii. 15 (14.) lxviii. 3 (2.) The desire *f the wicked is
his wish to see the righteous perish. Compare Prov. x. 24, 2S.
Job viii. 13, and the contrary promise to the humble, Ps. ix.
19 (18.)

PSALM CXIII.

The Psalmist celebrates the majesty of God, vs. 1 — 5, in con-
trast with his gracious condescension to his suffering creatures,
vs. 6 — 9. According to a Jewish usage, which appears to have
existed even in the time of Christ, the six psalms beginning
with this one constitute the Greater IlalleL suns: at the annual
festivals, especially the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles.
According to Ilengstenberg's arrangement, this psalm closes a

PSALM CXIII. 119

second trilogy, added to the Davidic one (Ps. cviii — ex) after the
return from Babylon.

1. Hallelujah! Praise, oh ye servants of Jehovah, praise the
name of Jehovah ! As the title, Servant of Jehovah, is applied
to eminent leaders of the chosen people (Ps. xviii. 1. xxxvi. 1.
xc. 1. cv. 6), so the plural, Servants of Jehovah, designates the
chosen people itself. See above, Ps. xxxiv. 23 (22.) lxix. 37 (36),
and below, Ps. exxxvi. 22, and compare Ezra v. 11. Neb. i. 10,
from which last places it appears, that this was a familiar form
of speech with the returned exiles.

2. Be the name of Jehovah blessed, from now and even to eternity.
In this as well as the preceding verse, the name of Jehovah in-
volves the usual allusion to the manifestation of his nature in his
former acts. See above, on Ps. v. 12 (11.) The wish expressed
in this verse implies a perpetual continuation or renewal of the
evidence already furnished.

3 From the rising of the sun even to its setting, (to be) praised
(is the) name of Jehovah. "With the first clause compare Ps. 1. 1.
The last clause might be grammatically construed as a wish, like
that in the preceding verse, praised (be the) name of Jehovah.
It is more probable, however, that the passive participle (landa-
tus) was meant to have the force of a gerundive (laudandus.) See
above, on Ps. xviii. 4 (3.)

4. High above all nations (is) Jehovah ; above the heavens (is)
las (glory.) The two clauses are declaratory of his infinite su-
periority, both to the animate and inanimate creation, each beinc
represented by its noblest part ; the former by mankind, and
that considered not as individuals but nations ; the latter by
the heavens. This is certainly more natural, and yields a better
sense, than to give the preposition (^5>) a different meaning in the
two clauses, in the first that of above, in the second that of on, in

120 PSALM CXIII.

which case it is necessary to explain on heaven as meaning in
heaven, just as on the earth and in the earth are convertible ex-
pressions. See above, on Ps. lvii. 6 (5.)

5. Who is like Jehovah, our God, the (one) dwelling high ?
The verb denotes not merely dwelling, but sitting enthroned, sit-
ting as a king-. The oris-inal construction of the last clause is
peculiar, the (one) making high to sit (or dwell.)

6. The one seeing deep — in heaven and in earth. The construc-
tion of the first clause is precisely the same with that of the last
clause in v. 5, and must be explained in the same manner. As
making high to dwell means dwelling high, so making low (or
deep) to see must mean seeing deep, i. e. far below. It also fol-
lows from the exact correspondence of these clauses, that the
remaining words of v. 6 are to be connected with the first words

of v. 5. Who is like Jehovah, our God in heaven and in

earth ? The rest will then be read as a parenthesis. This con-
struction is confirmed by the analogy of Deut. iii. 24.

7. Raising from the dust the poor — -from the dunghill he will
lift the needy. The mention of God's seeing far below him sug-
gests the idea of his condescension to the humblest objects which
he thus beholds. The word translated poor is one of wide signi-
fication, meaning sometimes poor in flesh and sometimes poor in
purse. See above, on Ps. xli. 2 (\.) The parallel term means
poor in the strict sense, i. e. needy, destitute. Dust and dung-
hill, common figures in all languages for a degraded social state.
The terms are borrowed from the prayer of Hannah, 1 Sam. ii. 8.
Compare Ps. xliv. 26 (25.)

8. To make him sit with nobles, with the nobles of his people.
Not merely to dwell, which is too vague, but to sit with them, a?,
their equal and associate. There is also a climax in the last clause

PSALM CXIV. 121

He not only raises the poor to an equality with nobles in general,
but with the nobles of his people, i. e. with the noblest of man-
kind. See again, 1 Sam. ii. 8.

9. Making the barren (one) of the house to sit a joyful mother
of children. Hallelujah ! The common version (to keep house)
is founded upon Ps. lxviii. 7 (6), but is here at variance both
with Hebrew usage and the masoretic accents, which require
(irnpjP) barren and (rrSlj) the house to be closely united in con-
struction, as above. The form of expression is like one in Ps.
lxviii. 13 (12.) To sit might be rendered to dwell without any
material change of sense ; but the former keeps up the uniformity
with vs. 5, 8, where the same Hebrew word is used. The his-
torical allusion is to Hannah who, with other long childless
mothers mentioned in the sacred history, was a type of the Church
in its low estate, and more especially in exile. Compare Isai
liv. 1.

PSALM CXIV.

As the preceding psalm encouraged the people of God, in a
time of trial, by reminding them that, although infinitely exalted,
he condescends to notice and relieve the sufferings of his crea-
tures, so the one before us is intended to produce the same
effect, by bringing to their recollection what he actually did for
Israel in the period of the exodus from Egypt. By that deliver-
ance he acknowledged Israel as his chosen people, vs. 1, 2, and

attested the acknowledgment by miracle, vs. 3, 4. Nature her-
vol. in. 6

122 PSALM CXIV.

self, whose course was interrupted, is appealed to as a witness,
vs. 5, 6, that she is subject to the God of Israel, vs. 7, 8. There
is no improbability in the opinion that this psalm, wi'tL those
which immediately follow, was intended to continue the series
begun in the two preceding trilogies (Ps. cviii — ex, cxi — cxiii),
and intended to sustain the hopes of the Jewish Church after
its return from Babylon.

1. In the coming forth of Israel from Egypt, of the house of
Jacob from a people of strange language. The first phrase is
not to be restricted to the very act or moment of the exodus, but
comjorehends the whole Mosaic period, of which this was the
characteristic and critical event. The house of Jacob is a phrase
peculiarly appropriate to those who entered Egypt as a family, and
left it as a nation. Of strange language is a paraphrase of one
Hebrew word, apparently a participle and occurring only here ;
but according to its obvious etymological affinities, it probably
means stammering , and then, by an association common in an-
tiquity, speaking barbarously, i. e. in a foreign language. All
such expressions may perhaps involve an allusion to the pre-
eminence of Hebrew, as the primitive and sacred language. It
was no small part of the humiliation to which Israel was sub-
jected in Egypt, that the people of God should sustain for ages a
relation of dependence to a nation who did not even speak the

red language, much less profess the true religion, so insepar-
ably blended with it. See above, on Ps. lxxxi. 6 (5), and com-
pare my note on Isai. xxxiii. 19.

2. Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his dominion. Judah is
put as an equivalent to Israel, not only because it had really be-
come so when the psalm was written, but because it was destined
to become so from the first. See Gen. xlix. 10. Became, liter-
ally, was for, which might mean nothing more than served as or
was treated as ; but this construction of the verb to be with to or

PSALM CXIV. 123

for is the only representative in Hebrew of our word become.
The sense thus obtained is entirely consistent with the calling
of Abraham, because what is here meant is that Israel, as a na-
tion, was now publicly declared to be the chosen or peculiar peo-
ple, an idea expressed by the phrase his sanctuary or holy things
i. e. something set apart exclusively to his use and service. The
parallel word in the original is plural, dominions or domains^ in
reference, as some suppose, to the plurality of tribes, but accord-
ing to others, in contrast with the lordships and dominions of the
world, to all which Israel, is described as more than equipollent,
just as the infinite superiority of the true Grod to all false gods
is expressed or suggested by the plural name Klohim. Here, as
in Ps. Ixxxvii. 1 , the pronouns are without an antecedent in the
senteo.ee. The reference to Glod is so self-evident, that the only
question has respect to the unusual form, which some explain
by supposing that the psalm was originally part of the preceding
one, or at least designed to be always read or sung directly after
it. The latest interpreters prefer the explanation, that the name
of God was designedly suppressed, in order that the questions in
vs. 5, 6, might appear more natural and yet more striking.

3. The sea saw and fled — the Jordan tufns back. By suppos-
ing the conversive prefix to affect both verbs, we may render the
last also as a preterite, turned back. The historical allusion is to
Ex. xiv. 21. Josh. iii. 14 — 17. At the same time, as seas and
rivers are familiar emblems of the world and its nations, the remi-
niscence is adapted to suggest the hope, that other seas and
other rivers may be yet controlled by the same power. Sea
above, on Ps. lxxvii. 17 (16.) xciii. 3. cvii. 23.

4. The mountains skipped like rams, (the) hills like the young of
sheep. As the Psalmist is reciting actual events, to be used as
symbols and pledges of others, this cannot be expJained as a po-
etical figure, but must be understood as referring to the concus-

124 PSALM CXIV.

sion of Sinai, with its various peaks and neighbouring mountains
See Ex. xix. IS. Judg. v. 4. Ps. lxviii. 9 (8.) xcvii. 4, 5. Hab.
iii. 6. Here again, the familiar use of mountains to denote states
and empires is suggestive of the same consolation as in v. 3.

5. What aileth thee, oh sea, that thou fieest — oh Jordan (that)
thou turncst back ? By a fine poetical apostrophe, the Psalmist,
instead of simply stating the cause of these effects, puts the
question to the natural objects which thus wttnessed and attested
the divine presence. The first phrase literally means, what (is)
to thee, the nearest approach that the Semitic dialects can make
to our expression, what have you, which in some languages, the
French for instance, is the usual equivalent to what ails you ?

6. Ye mountains, (that) ye skip like rams — ye hills, like the young
of sheep ? The sentence is continued from the foregoing verse,
being still dependent on the question there asked. In this in-
terrogation the terms of vs. 3, 4, are studiously repeated. The
young of sheep, literally, sons of the flock.

7. From before the Lord tremble, oh earth, from before the God
of Jacob. As in other cases of rhetorical interrogation, the
writer or speaker answers his own question. The imperative
mood is here peculiarly significant, including both a recollection
and prediction ; as if he had said, the earth might well tremble at
the presence of the Lord, and may well tremble at it still. From
before is better than at the presence of , because the very form of the
expression necessarily suggests the ideas of recoil and flight.
Before is itself a compound term in Hebrew, meaning to the face
of. The word translated Lord is the simple or primitive form of
Adhonai, and is applied both to God and man, in the sense of
lord or master. See Ex. xxiii. 17. Mai. iii. 1.

8. Turning the rock (into) a pool of water, the flint to springs

PSALM CXV. 125

of water. This refers to the miraculous supply of water in the
desert. See above, on Ps. cvii. 35, and compare Ex. xvii. 6.
Num. xx. 11. Deut. viii.«15. xxxii. 13. Isai. xli. 18. The con-
nection with the preceding verse is still more marked in the
original, the first words of which strictly mean the (one) turning^
etc. The reader is left to draw for himself the natural and
obvious conclusion, that the God, who thus drew water from a
flinty rock for the supply of Israel, can still educe the richest
blessings from what seem to be the hardest and most inauspicious
situations. When this thought is supplied, the psalm no longer
seems unfinished or abrupt in its conclusion.

PSALM CXY.

God is entreated by his people to vindicate not their honour
but his own, vs. 1, 2, which is contrasted with the impotence of
idols and their worshippers, vs. 3 — 8, and urged as a reason why
his people should trust in him, for a large increase, vs. 9 — 15,
and a fulfilment of his purpose to glorify himself by the praises of
the living not the dead, vs. 16 — 17, in the promotion of whicn
end the church declares her resolution to co-operate forever,
v. 18. The general tenor of the psalm, thus stated, and its par-
ticular contents, make it perfectly well suited to the state of
things in which the series is supposed to have been written,
namely,, that succeeding the return from exile, but before the
actual rebuilding of the temple.

1. Not unto ms, Jehovah, not unto us, but to thy name give

126 PSALM CXV.

glory, for thy mercy, for thy truth. The glory meant is not that
of former but of future deeds. The implied petition is, that God
would interpose for the deliverance of bis people, not to do them
honour but to glorify himself, and especially to vindicate his
mercy and fidelity, which seemed to be dishonoured by his de-
sertion of the chosen people. See above, on Ps. lxxix. 9, and
compare Num. xiv. 15.1sai. xliii. 7, 25. xlviii. 9, 11. Dan. ix. IS.
The favour sought is the completion of the work of restoration,
still imperfect, though auspiciously begun.

2. Wliy should the nations say, Where now is their God?
Why should they have occasion so to ask ? The form of expres-
sion is borrowed from Ps. lxxix. 10, with the addition of (w) now,
which is not a particle of timo, but of entreaty, or, in this con-
nection, of triumphant demand. Where, pray, is their God?
This verse is explanatory of the one before it, by showing that
there really was need of something to silence the reproaches of
the heathen, a description exactly corresponding to the state of
the Jews at the Restoration.

3. And our God (is) in heaven; all that he pleased he has done.
The and, though foreign from our idiom, adds sensibly to the
force of the expression. They ask thus, as if our God were ab-
sent or had no existence ; and yet all the while our God is in
heaven, in his glorious and exalted dwelling-place. Compare Ps.
iff 4. xi. 4. ciii. 19. The same phrase, but in the future tense,
is used by Solomon (Ecc. viii. 3.) The same idea is expressed
in other words, Gen. xviii. 14. Job. xxiii. 13.

4. Their idols (are) silver and gold, the work of the hands of
man. Here begins the contrast between the true God and all
others. Their idols, those of the Gentiles, who reproach us with
the absence or indifference of our God. For the associations
coupled with the word for idols, sec above, on Ps. cvi. 38

PSALM CXV. 127

Hands of man, not of a man, but of mankind, i. e. human hands.
With this whole passage compare Isai. xl. 18 — 20. xli. 7. xliv.
9—20. xlvi. 5—7. Jer. ii. 28. x. 3—15.

5. They have a mouth and speak not ; they have eyes and see not
As the verb to have is wanting in the Hebrew and its cognate
languages (sec above, on Ps. cxiv. 5), it is not a literal transla-
tion of the original expression, (there is) a mouth to them, (there
are) eyes to them. The futures include not only a simple affirm-
ation, they speak not, they see not, but the future and potential
sense, they never will or can speak or see.

6. They have ears and hear not, they have a nose and smell not.
The antithesis is that expressed in Ps. xciv. 9, that God is the
former of the eye and the planter of the ear in man ; much more
then can he see and hear himself.

7. They liave hands and feel not ; they have feet and walk not ;
they do not mutter in their throat. The sameness of this long
enumeration, the force of which is logical and not poetical, is
partially relieved by a change in the form of the original, which
cannot well be imitated in translation. Their hands, and they
fed not ; their feet, and they walk not. Some make the first
words in each clause nominatives absolute ; their hands — they feel
not; their feet — they walk not. But in the preceding parts of
the description, the verbs relate not to the particular members,
but to the whole person. It is better, therefore, to supply a
verb — their hands (are there) and (yet) they feel not — their feet
(are there) and (yet) they go not. The English feel is to be
taken in its physical and outward sense, corresponding to the
Latin palpo, here used by the Vulgate and Jerome. A le.s.s
equivocal translation would be touch. The other verb denotes all
progressive movements of the body, comprehended in the English
go. See above, on Ps. civ. 3. The meaning of the last clause

128 PSALM CXV.

is, that they cannot even make the faintest and most inarticulate
guttural noise, like the lower animals ; much less speak as men
do. See above, on Ps. xxxv. 28. lxxi. 24.

8. Like them shall be those who make them, every one who trusts
in them. The last clause forbids the application of the first to the
mere artificers, as such, and fastens it on those who trust in idols,
whether made by them or by others for them. However formi-
dable now, they shall hereafter be as powerless and senseless as
the gods they worship. The translation are is contrary to Hebrew
usage, which requires the present tense of the substantive verb
to be suppressed.

9. Oh Israel, trust thou in Jehovah ; their help and their shield
(is) He. Thi3 is the practical application of the contrast just
presented. Since idols are impotent and God almighty, it is
folly to fear them or their servants ; it is worse than folly not to
trust in Him. The last clause is borrowed from Ps. xxxiii. 20.
After addressing Israel directly in the first clause, he resumes
the third person in the second, and, as if speaking to himself,
assigns the reason for the exhortation. The first clause is, as it
were, uttered in a loud voice, and the second in a low one.

10. Oh house of Aaron, trust ye in Jehovah ; their help and
their shield (is) He. Before the exile this particular address to
the priests would have been surprising. It is perfectly natural,
however, after the return from Babylon, when the priests bore
so large a proportion, not only to the other levites, but to the
whole nation, and naturally exercised a paramount influence in
its affairs.

11. Fearers of Jehovah, trust ye in Jehovah; their help and
their shield (is) He. He turns again to the people at large, who
are here described as fearers of Jehovah, not in reference to the

PSALM CXV. 129

actual character of al] the individual members, but to the high
vocation of the body. See above, Ps. xxii. 24 (23.) cxi. 5.

12. Jehovah hath remembered us ; he will bless, he will bless tJie
house of Israel ; he will bless the house of Aaron. The exhorta-
tion to confide in God does not imply that he has yet done nothing.
He has already shown his gracious recollection of us by beginning
to bless us, and he will still go on to bless us ; an idea simply but
beautifully expressed by the repetition of 4he verb, the effect of
which is spoiled in the common version by needlessly supplying us.

13. He will bless the fearers of Jehovah, the small with the
great. There is no need of explaining the great to be the priests
and the small the laity. It is much more natural to understand
this as an instance of a common Hebrew idiom, which combines
small and great in the sense of all, just as neither good nor evil
means neither one thing nor another, i. e. nothing. Compare
2 Kings xviii. 24. Jer. xvi. 6. Rev. xiii. IS. xix. 6.

14. May Jehovah add to you, to you and to your children ! This
implies a previous diminution of the people, such as really took
place in the Babylonish exile. The optative meaning of the
verb, both here and in Gen. xxx. 24, is clear from Deut.. i. 11.
2. Sam. xxiv. 3. The Hebrew preposition strictly means upon
you, and conveys the idea of accumulation much more stroD^ly.
See above, on Ps. lxxi. 14, where we have an example of the
same construction.

15. Blessed are ye of Jehovah, Maker of heaven and earth. Ye
are the people blessed of old in the person of your father Abra-
ham, by Melchizedek, priest of the Most High God, saying,
" Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, creator of heaven
and earth," Gen. xiv. 19. Of Jehovah, literally, to Jehovah, as
an object of benediction to him. Or the Hebrew preposition, as

130 PSALM CXV.

in many other cases, may be simply equivalent to our by. The
creative character of God is mentioned, as ensuring his ability,
no less than his willingness, to bless his people.

16. The heavens (are) heavens for Jehovah, anal the earth he has
given to the sons of man. This verse suggests another reason
why God would increase them, namely, that although he reserved
heaven for himself, he designed the earth to be filled and occu-
pied by man, and he'nee in the primeval blessing on mankind,
as originally uttered, and as repeated after the flood (Gen i. 28.
ix. 1), the command to increase is coupled with that to fill the
earth. Now if it is not God's will that the race should be diminished
and reduced to nothing, much less can such be his intention
with respect to his own people. The form of expression in the
first clause is unusual. The construction eiven in the English
Bible (the heaven, even the heavens, are the Lordh) is entirely
gratuitous, the distinction of numbers (heaven, heavens), and the
emphatic even, being - both supplied by the translators. The
Hebrew word is plural in both cases, and is indeed used only in
that number.

17. (It is) not the dead (that) are to praise Jah, and not all
(those) going down to silence. This may be regarded as a further
reason for expecting the divine protection. God has chosen a
people, from among the nations of the earth, to praise him, not
when dead but living, not in the silence of the grave, but with their
voices in the present life. Thus understood, the verse teaches no-
thing as to the employments of the disembodied spirit, or of soul
and body in the future state. All that is affirmed here (and per-
haps in other places like it) is that the praises of the chosen
people, as such, must be limited to this life. See above, on Ps.
vi. 6 (5.) xxx. 10 (9.) lxxxviii. 11 — 13 (10 — 12), and compare
Isai. xxxviii. IS. Silence, a poetical description of the grave or
the unseen world, as in Ps. xciv. 17,

PSALM CXVI. 131

18. And (therefore) ice will hless Jah from now even to
eternity. Hallelujah ! As it is not the dead who are to do it,
and as we are still preserved alive, let us answer our vocation and
the very end of our existence. The insensible transition from
temporal to eternal praise is altogether natural. The hallelujah
refers back to the expression praise Jah (yehallelujah) in v. 17.
As if he had said : let us do what the dead can not, shout Halle-
lujah !

PSALM CXVI.

The Church declares her resolution to praise Jehovah for
the deliverance which she has experienced, vs. 1, 2, and which is
then described with some particularity, vs. 3 — 10, followed by
a declaration of the way in which the Church means to express
her gratitude, vs. 11 — 19. The Septuagint and Vulgate, which
combine the two preceding psalms as one, divide the one before
us into two, with as little reason in the one case as the other.
The state of things referred to in this psalm, as one of mingled
joy and grief, and its peculiarities of language, all combine to fix
its date immediately after the return from Babylon.

1. I love — because Jehovah hears my voice, my supplications.
The common version gives the sense correctly, but by a transpo-
sition of Jehovah, avoids the singular peculiarity of form in the
original. The object of the verb J love is easily supplied from
the remainder of the sentence. Compare Ps. xviii. 2 (1.) Deut.
vi. 5. Both verbs may be translated in the present, though of
different tenses in the Hebrew. The preterite form of the first

132 PSALM CXVI.

(I have loved) implies that the occasion had already been afforded ;
the future form of the second (he will hea?-), that it was con-
tinued and would be continued. The last word, according to its
etymology, means prayers for grace or favour.

2. For he has inclined his ear to me, and in my days I will call
(upon him.) The original idea of the figure in the first clause
seems to be that of leaning- forward to catch a sound otherwise
too faint to be distinctly audible. See above, on Ps. xxxi. 3 (2),
and compare Ps. xvii. 6. lxxi. 2. Ixxviii. 1. cii. 3. In my days
is commonly understood to mean through all the days of my life,
or as long as I live. Compare Isai. xxxix. 8, and see above, on
Ps. civ. 33. 1 will call might be understood to mean, I will still
pray to him who has hitherto answered my petitions. But to call
upon God is applied not only to prayer but to thanksgiving, as
appears from v. 13 below, where indeed we have the execution
of the purpose here avowed.

3. The bands of death enclosed me, and the pangs of hell found
me ; distress and grief I find. Here begins the description of
the sufferings from which God had delivered him. The expres-
sions are borrowed from Ps. xviii. 5, 6, (4, 5.) The twofold use
of the \evhfind in this verse is analogous to that of the synony-
mous verbs catch and seize in English, when a man is said to
catch a disease, and the disease is said to seize the man. Com-
pare Ps. cxix. 143 with Prov. vi. 33. Hell, in the wide sense
corresponding to sJieol, the grave, death, or the state of the dead.
See above, on Ps. vi. 6 (5.)

4. And on the name of Jehovah I call : ah now, Jehovah, de-
liver my soul ! The future in the first clause may be strictly
translated (1 will call) as expressing the determination which he
formed in the midst of his distress. See above, on Ps. xviii. 5, 7
(4, 6.) Ah now corresponds exactly, both in origin and mean-

PSALM CXVI. 133

ing, to the intensive particle of entreaty (nii* for mjm from fia
and &0) which the common version paraphrases, I beseech thee.
One of the elements of which it is compounded occurs above,
Ps. cxv. 2.

5. Gracious (is) Jehovah and righteous, and our God shotvs
pity. With the first clause compare Ps. cxi. 4. cxii. 4. The
last word in Hebrew is the active participle of the verb to pity,
to compassionate, and is here used to denote a habit as distinguished
from a momentary feeling.

6. A preserver of the simple (is) Jehovah; I was brought low,
and to me he brought salvation. Here again the first word is an
active participle, keeping the simple, i. e. habitually watching over
them. For the meaning of the simple, see above, on Ps. xix.
g (7.) The word brought, twice used in translating this verse,
has nothing distinctly corresponding to it in the Hebrew, but by
a fortuitous coincidence, enters into two English phrases, by
which the original verbs may best be represented. The verb
translated brought low means to be reduced, in person, strength,
or circumstances. See above, on Ps. lxxix. 8, and compare the
cognate adjective in Ps. xli. 2 (1.) The other is the common
Hebrew verb to save, here expressed by a circumlocution, for
the purpose of retaining the original construction with the prepo-
sition to, which also occurs above, Ps. lxxii. 4. lxxxvi. 16.

7. Return, oh my soul, unto thy rest, for Jehovah hath bestowed
upon thee (favour.) By calling on his soul, which had been agi-
tated and alarmed, to return to its repose, he implies the cessation
of the danger. Rest, literally, rests or resting-places, implying
fulness or completeness of repose. See above, on Ps. xxiii. 2.
For the sense and usage of (bw) the last verb, see above, on Ps.
xiii. 6 (5), and compare Ps. vii. 5 (4.) ciii. 10. The unusual gram-
matical forms in this verse are similar to those in Ps. ciii. 2, 5.

134 PSALM CXVI.

S. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, my eye from
weeping, my foot from falling. By a sudden apostrophe, God is
now addressed directly. The first and last members of the
sentence are borrowed from Ps. lvi. 14 (13.) The second bears
some resemblance to Ps. lvi. 9 (8) and Jer. xxxi. 16.

9.. I will walk before Jehovah in the land of life (or of the liv-
ing.) This is also borrowed from Ps. lvi. 14 (13), with the
substitution of land (literally lands) for light. Compare Ps.
xxvii. 13. The hope here expressed is in contrast with Ps.
cxv. 17.

10. I believed, for (thus) I speak; I urns afflicted greatly. I
must have exercised faith, or I could not thus have spoken. The
Septuagint version, retained in the New Testament (2 Cor. iv. 13),
clothes the same ess*jntial meaning in a different form, I believed,
therefore have I sfcHen. It was because his faith enabled him to
speak, so that his ipeaking was a proof of faith.

11. I said in wy terror, All mankind {are) false. The form of
expression in tVj first clause is borrowed from Ps. xxxi. 23 (22.)
But instead of being a confession of error it is here rather a
profession of faith. Even in the midst of his excitement, terror,
panic, he could turn away from all human aid and trust in God
alone. The proposition, all mankind are false, i. e. not to be
trusted or relied upon, implies as its complement or converse,
therefore God alone is to be trusted. See the same contrast
stated more explicitly in Ps. cxviii. 8, and compare Ps. lxii.
9, 10 (S, 9.) cviii. 13 (12.) cxlvi. 3, 4.

12. How shall I requite to Jehovah all his bestowments upon me.
Between this verse and that before it, we must supply the thought
that his faith was rewarded and justified by the event. This is
indeed implied in the interrogation now before us. IIoiv, liter-

PSALM CX VI. 135

ally what, i. e. (in) what (way)) or (by) what (?}ieans) ? See Gen.
xliv. 16. The unusual word bestowments is here used to repre-
sent a Hebrew one occurring only here, but evidently formed
from the verb (bfc|) to confer or bestow upon, employed in v. 7
above. The peculiar form both of the noun and pronoun
(^rn^teJft) is regarded by the highest philological authorities as
fixing the date of the composition after the Captivity.

13. The cup of salvations I will take up, and on the name of
Jehovah will call. This is commonly explained by a reference to
the Jewish tradition of a cup of thanksgiving which accompanied
or followed the thank-offerings. But we read of no such cup in
Scripture, and its origin may probably be traced to the rabbinical
interpretation of this very passage. Interpreted by Scriptural
analogies it simply means, I will accept the portion God allots
me. For this figurative use of cup, see above, on Ps. xi. 6.
xvi. 5. The plural form, salvations, denotes fulness or complete-
ness, as in Ps. xviii. 52 (51.) liii. 7 (6.) Take up, as if from the
table where the hand of God has placed it ; or lift zip, towards
heaven, as a gesture of acknowledgment.

14. My voids to Jehovah will I pay — in the presence of all his
people. The word now, in the common version, misleads the
English reader, who can scarcely fail to understand it as an ad-
verb of time, meaning at present, immediately, without delay,
whereas it is the particle of entreaty (*e) used in Ps. cxv. 2, and
here employed to modify the bold avowal of a purpose, by making
it dependent on divine permission. As if he had said: my vows
to Jehovah I will pay — let me do it in the presence (I entreat) of
all his people. The same meaning is attached by some to the
augmented or paragogic form of the word translated presence, and
which strictly means the front or forepart. Both these peculi-
arities are reckoned among the indications of a later age of He
brew composition.

136 PSALM CXVI.

15. Precious in the eyes of Jehovah (is) the death of his gracious
ones (or saints.) The idea and expression are borrowed from
Ps. lxxii. 14, where the same thing is said of their blood. The
word for death has the same peculiarity of form as that for
presence in v. 14, and is construed in the same way with the
preposition to, the death to his saints, i. e. the death belonging to
them, which they die. These are regarded by the critics as
additional tokens of the age in which the psalm was written.
The verse assigns the reason for the preceding vow, to wit, that
God counts the death of his people too costly to be lightly or
gratuitously suffered.

16. Ah now Jehovah— for I (am) thy servant, I (am) thy ser-
vant, the son of thy handmaid ; thou hast loosed my bonds. The
expression of entreaty at the beginning has reference to some
thing not expressed, though easily supplied, namely permission
thus to testify his gratitude. Ah now Lord (suffer me thus to
do) for I am thy servant, etc. . The additional phrase, son of
thy handmaid, is much stronger than thy servant, and describes
him as' a home-born slave. See above, on Ps. lxxxvi. 16. In
the last clause we have another instance of a preposition (b) in-
terposed between the active verb and its object, in a way un-
known to the older Hebrew. It is possible, however, to translate
the words, thou hast freed (me) as to (i. e. from J my bonds.

17. To thee will I sacrifice a sacrifice of thanks, and on the
name of Jehovah will I call. The sense is not, I will offer thanks
instead of an oblation, but an oblation really expressive of thanks-
giving and appointed for that purpose.

IS. My vows to Jehovah will I pay in the presence (I entreat;
of all his people. An exact repetition of v. 14, with all its singu-
larities of form. .

PSALM CXVII. 137

19. In the courts of the house of Jehovah, in the midst of thee,
Jerusalem. Hallelujah ! This verse completes the one before it,
and explains the phrase, before all his people. Some regard it as
a proof that the psalm was composed after the actual rebuilding
of the temple. But in Ezr. ii. 68. iii. 8, we find the designa-
tion house of God applied to the consecrated site. The use of the
word courts is still more natural, because it originally means enclos-
ures, which might be and no doubt were defined, long before the
temple was rebuilt. This explanation seems to be confirmed by
the addition of the last clause. In the courts of the Lord's
house, that is, on the consecrated spot in the midst of thee, oh
Jerusalem, the Holy City.

PSALM CXVII.

This, which is the shortest psalm in the collection, has evi-
dently no independent character or even meaning of its own, but
was designed to be a chorus or doxology to a longer composition.
Its position is sufficiently accounted for by the assumption, that
it was primarily meant to serve the purpose just described with
reference to the psalm or to the trilogy immediately preceding ;
while its being separately written as an independent psalm may
have arisen from the purpose to use it sometimes in a differ-
ent connection, with which view it would naturally be left move-
able, like the doxologies in our modern books, which may be
attached to any psalm or hymn, at the discretion of the person
who conducts the service.

1. Praise Jehovah, all ye nations ; laud him all ye peoples.

138 PSALM CXVIII.

The last word is a different plural form from that in Gen. xxv. 1(5
Num. xxv. 15, and belongs no doubt to the later Hebrew. Here,

'CD J

as in Ps. xlvii. 2 (l.J lxvi. S. xcviii. 4. the whole world is invited
to praise God for his favours shown to Israel.

2. For mighty over us has been his mercy, and the truth of Je-
hovah (is) to eternity. Hallelujah ! The verb at the beginning
means not merely to be great, but te be strong or powerful. See
above, on Ps. ciii. 11. The preposition over suggests the idea
of protection, or, if translated o?i, that of favour descending from
above.

PSALM CXVIII.

After an invitation to praise God for his goodness to his
people, vs. 1 — 4, the occasion of this praise is more particularly
stated, namely, that he has delivered Israel from great distress, and
thereby proved himself worthy of their highest confidence, vs.
5 — 14. After another statement of the favour just experienced,
vs. 15 — 18, the people are described as entering the sanctuary,
there to give thanks and implore the divine blessing on the
enterprise in which they arc engaged, vs. 19 — 29. The ideal
speaker, throughout the psalm, is Israel, as the Church or chosen
people. The deliverance celebrated cannot be identified with any
one so naturally as with that from the Babylonish exile. Some, on
account of supposed allusions to the temple as already built, refer
the psalm to the times of Nehemiah. Others, with more proba-
bility, though not with absolute conclusiveness, infer from the

PSALM CXVIIi: 139

tone of lively joy and thankfulness, pervading the whole composi-
tion, that it was written and originally sung soon after the return ;
and from the allusions in vs. 22, 25, that it has reference to the
founding of the second temple, and is the very psalm, or one of
the psalms, mentioned in the history, Ezra iii. 10, 11, where its
first and last words are recited. The mention of David in that
passage is accounted for by the assumption that this psalm was
sung only as a part of the whole series, which opens with a
Davidic trilogy, Ps. cviii — ex.

1. Give thanks unto Jehovah, for {he is) good, for unto
demity (is) his mercy. The opening formula is common to this
psalm with Ps. cvi and cvii. Its elements are also found,
combined with others, in Ps. c. 4, 5. With the second member
of the sentence compare Ps. xxv. 8. lxxiii. 1.

2. Oh that Israel would say — for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
Th& first clause of this translation is a paraphrase of the original,
to which the particle of entreaty (&o) gives a strong optative
meaning. Here, as :'n Ps- cxvi. 14, 18, the common version
(now) is equivocal. That version also has that instead of for, in
the last clause of this and the two next verses. This translation
is perfectly grammatical, and makes the sentence more complete
in itself. But besides that it breaks the studied uniformity of the
context by varying the version of the particle (^3), the depen-
dence of the clause on the preceding verse, required and denoted
by the use of the word for, is really essential to the writer's
object. It is as if he had said: the reason for thus urging
man to praise Jehovah is because his mercy endureth forever,
and oh that Israel would join in affirming this reason. Oh thai
Israel would say (I will give thanks) for his mercy endureth
forever.

, 4. Oh that the house of Aaron would say — 'for unto eterni?%

140 TSALM CXVIII.

(is) his mercy.'9 Oh that the fearers of Jehovah would say — lfor
unto eternity (is) his mercy.'' The succession of Israel, the house
of Aaron, and the fearers of Jehovah, in this and the following
verses, is the same as in Ps. cxv. 9 — 11. This and the trine
repetitions in vs. 10 — 12, 15 — 16, compared with that in Ps.
cxv. 12 — 13, are corroborations of the assumed affinity between
the psalms of this whole series, both in origin and purpose.

5. Out of anguish I invoked Jah; heard me in a wide place
Jah. The first noun is a rare one, common to this place and Ps.
cxvi. 3, another indication of affinity. Heard, in the pregnant
sense of heard favourably, heard and answered. See above, on
Ps. xxii. 22 (21.) As the word translated anguish originally
means pressure, confinement, the appropriate figure for relief from
it is a wide room, ample space, enlargement. See above, on Ps.
iv. 2 (1.) To answer in a wide place is to grant his prayer by
bringing him forth into such a place.

6. Jehovah (is) for me ; I will not fear ; what can man do to
me ? Instead of for me, i. e. in my favour, on my side, the
Hebrew (*c) may also be translated to me, i. e. is or belongs to
me, is mine. See above, on Ps. lvi. 5, 10, 12 (4,9, 11.) Man
does not here mean a man, but mankind, or Man as opposed to
God.

7. Jehovah is for me, among my helpers, and I shall look upon
my haters. Here again, the first clause may be rendered, Jehovah
is to me (or I have Jehovah) among or with my helpers. With
this last expression compare Ps. xlv. 10 (9.) xcix. 6. The
construction in the last clause is the idiomatic one meaning to see
with joy or triumph, or to see their punishment and subjugation.
See above, on Ps. liv. 9 (7), and with the whole verse compare
Ps. liv. 6 (4.) As the ideal speaker is the ancient church or

PSALM CXVIII, 141

chosen people, the haterg or enemies here meant arc primarily
heathen persecutors and oppressors.

8. It is good to confide in Jehovah (more) than to trust in man.
This and the next verse affirm clearly and fully what is more
obscurely intimated in Ps. cxvi. 11. As the Hebrew has no
distinct form of comparison, this is the nearest possible approach
to saying, it is better. Than, literally from, away from, implying
difference, and then comparison, but not expressing it. The verb
confide is the expressive one originally meaning to take refuge or
find shelter. See above, on Ps. ii : 12.

'•>

9. It is good to confide in Jehovah (more) than to trust in nobles.
This merely strengthens the foregoing declaration, by rendering it
more specific and emphatic. The Lord is more to be confided in,
not merely than the mass of men, but than their chiefs. Nobles
is a better translation than princes, because it keeps up the asso-
ciation with the adjective sense noble, generous, liberal, spontane-
ous, which is otherwise lost sight of. See above, on Ps. Ii. 14 (12.)
Even the Persian patrons and protectors of the Jews had not
entirely deserved their confidence ; nor at all, in comparison
with Jehovah their covenanted God.

10. All the nations surround me ; in the name of Jehovah — that
I will cut them off. The hyperbolical expression, all the nations,
is less strange than it might otherwise appear because (E^i-j)
nations had now begun to be familiarly applied to the gentiles or
heathen, not as organized bodies merely, but as individuals,
especially when numerous. ' There is nothing unnatural, there-
fore, in the use of this expression to describe the heathen adver-
saries of the Jews at the period of the Restoration, not excepting
the Samaritans, who, though they claimed to be a mixed race,
were really heathen, both in origin and character. Another
way in which the hyperbole may be explained, or rather done

142 PSALM CXVIII.

away, is by supposing the first clause to be substantially al-
though not formally conditional. Should, all nations (or though
all nations should) surround me. The strongest sense may
then be put upon the words all nations, as the act ascribed
to them is merely hypothetical. The construction of the last
clause is unusual and doubtful. Some arbitrarily make the
^3 a particle of affirmation, yea, yes, verily, etc. Others gain
the same sense by explaining the whole phrase to mean, (it
is true, or it is certain) that I will cut them off. The same use
of the particle is thought to be exemplified in Isai. vii. 9. Per-
haps the best solution is the one afforded by the Hebrew usage of
suppressing the principal verb in oaths or solemn affirmations.
If this may be omitted even when there is nothing to denote the
character of the expression, and when .the form of the expression
itself is liable to misconstruction, as for instance in the formula with
if, much more may it be omitted where the sense of the expression
is quite clear, and its juratory or imprecatory character denoted by
accompanying words. The sense will then be, in the name of Je-
hovah (I swear or solemnly affirm) that I will cut them off. This
last verb always means to cut, and except in Ps. xc. 6, where one
of its derived forms is used, to circumcise. It was here used, as some
suppose, to suggest that the uncircumcised enemies of Israel, as they
are often called, should be cut or cut off in another sense. Com-
pare the play upon the corresponding Greek words in Phil. iii. 2, 3.

11. They surround me, yea they surround me ; in the name of
Jehovah (I declare) that I will cut them off. The same sentence
is repeated with a slight variation, which consists in the omission
of the subject and the iteration of the verb, rendered more em-
phatic by a change of form. The word translated yea means
also, likewise, but cannot be so used in the English idiom. The
climax indicated may be, that the act described is no longer
hypothetical but actual. They surround me, yes, they really, in
fact, surround me.

PSALM CXVIII. 143

12. They surround me like bees ; they are quenched as a fire of
thorns ; in the name of Jehovah (I declare) that I will cut them
off. This completes the trine repetition so characteristic of these
psalms. The point of comparison with bees is their swarm ino-
multitude and irritating stings. Compare Deut. i. 44. That
with thorns is the rapidity and ease with which they are both
kindled and extinguished. See above, on Ps. lviii. 10 (9.)

13. Thou didst thrust, thrust at me, to (make me) fall, and
Jehovah helped me. By a lively apostrophe, the enemy is here
addressed directly, that is, the hostile heathen power, from whose
oppressions Israel had just been rescued. See above, on v. 7.
The verb to thrust or strike at is the root of the noun translated
falling in Ps. lvi. 14 (13.) cxvi. 8.

14. My strength and song (is) Jah, and he has become my sal-
vation. These words are from Ex. xv. 2. The first clause is
also borrowed by Isaiah (xii. 2.) My strength and song, my
protection or deliverer, and as such the object of my praise.
Become my salvation, literally, has been to me for salvation, a
stronger though synonymous expression for my saviour.

15. The voice of joy and salvation in the tents of the righteous—
the right hand of Jehovah has made strength. The word trans-
lated joy means properly the audible expression of it by shout or
song, and is sometimes applied even to a cry of distress. Com
pare Ps. xxx. 6 (5.) xlii. 5 (4.) xlvii. 2 (1) with Ps. xvii. l.lxi.
2 (1.) Joy and salvation are related as cause and effect, joy oc-
casioned by salvation. Tents, a poetical expression for dwellings.
See above, on Ps. xci. 10. The righteous, the true Israel, the
people of God, as such considered. See above, on Ps. xxxiii. 1.
The substantive verb (is) may be supplied in this verse, so as to
make it a complete proposition ; or it may be a kind of exclama-
tion, as if he had said, Hark ! the voice of joy, etc. Compare

144 PSALM CXVIII.

Isai. xl. 3, 6. The last clause may then be understood as con-
taining the words uttered by the voice. The idiomatic phrase
at the end may either mean that God has acquired or exerted
strength. See above, on Ps. lx. 14 (12.) cviii. 14.

16. The right hand of Jehovah is raised, the right hand of Je-
hovah makes strength. This, with the last clause of v. 15,
makes another of the triplets or trine repetitions, which are
characteristic of these psalms. See above, on vs. 2 — 4, 10 — 12.
Instead of is raised some read raises or exalts, which is equally
grammatical, as the active and passive forms in this case are co-
incident. The meaning then is, that his right hand raises or
exalts his people, as the other clause says that his right hand
gains or exercises strength in their behalf. It seems more na-
tural, however, to explain it as an instance of a common figure
which describes Grod's hand as raised, when he exerts his power.

17. i" shall not die hut live, and recount the works of Jah. The
existence thus to be preserved is that of Israel, and the last clause
describes the final cause of that existence, which is here stated as
a ground of confidence, and is elsewhere urged as an argument
in prayer. See above, on Ps. cxv. 17. cxvi. 9, 15, and compare
Ps. lxxi. 20. The original construction of the first clause is, I
shall not die, for I shall live.

18. Sorely has Jah chastened me, but to death did not give me.
This verse, though simple in its structure and transparent in its
meaning, is highly idiomatic in its form. The adverb used in
the translation represents the emphatic repetition of tne verb in
Hebrew, which is sometimes imitated in the English Bible
{chastening has Jah chastened me), but seldom so as to convey the
whole idea. Of such a repetition we have had an instance in v. 13.
Another unavoidable departure from the original form consists
in using hut for and, at the beginning of the second clause. Did

PSALM CXVIII.

i45

not give, give up, give over or abandon. The- chastisement here
mentioned must be the calamity from which the people had
been recently delivered, and in which we have already seen good
grounds to recognize the Babylonish conquest, domination and
captivity.

19. Open ye to me the gates of righteousness, I will come in by
them, I will thank Jah. This may have been intended to ac-
company the entrance of the priests and people into the sacred
enclosure, for the purpose of laying the foundation of the temple,
as when David pitched the tabernacle on Mount Zion. See
above, on Ps. xxiv.

20. This (is) the gate (that belongs) to Jehovah ; the righteous
shall come in by it. Or the meaning may be, since this is the
Lord's gate, let the righteous (and no others) enter at it. Many
interpreters find obvious indications here of double or responsive
choirs, by which the psalm was to be sung. But this, though
possible, is not a necessary supposition, nor is there any certain
trace of such a usage or arrangement elsewhere in the book of
Psalms. See above, vol. i. pp. 198, 200, 203.

21. I will thank thee, for thou hast answered me, and hast be-
come my salvation. This verse assigns the reason for their
entrance. Answered, in the specific sense of answering or grant-
ing prayer. See above, on v. 5. The last clause is from v. 14.

22. The stone fwhichj the builders rejected has become the head
of the corner. This is a proverbial expression, and as such ap-
plicable to any case, in which what seemed to be contemptible
has come to honour. This mode of expressing the idea was
most probably suggested by the founding of the temple. There
is no need, however, of supposing any actual dispute among the

Jewish builders in relation to the corner stone of the sacred edi-
vol. in. 7

146 PSALM CXVIII.

fice. The sight of the stone, or the act of laying it, would be
sufficient to suggest the proverb and its application to the happy-
change experienced by Israel, so lately blotted from the list of
nations, and regarded by the heathen as unworthy even of an
humble place in the proud fabric of consolidated empire, but now
restored not only to a place but to the highest place among the
nations, not in point of power, wealth, or worldly glory, but as
the chosen and peculiar people of the Most High God. As this
psalm was sung by the people at the last Jewish festival attended
by our Saviour, he applied this proverb to himself, as one rejected
by the Jews and by their rulers, yet before long to be recognized
as their Messiah whom they had denied and murdered, but whom
God had exalted as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance
to Israel and remission of sins (Acts v. 31.) This, though really
another application of the proverb in its general meaning, has a
certain affinity with its original application in the verse before us,
because the fortunes of the ancient Israel, especially in reference
to great conjunctures, bore a designed resemblance to the history
of Christ himself, by a kind of sympathy between the Body and the
Head. Even the temple, which suggested the original expression,
did but teach the doctrine of divine inhabitation, and was therefore
superseded by the advent of the Son himself. The head of the
corner means the chief or corner stone of the foundation, even in
Zech. iv. 7, where it is translated headstone. The application of
the verse before us made by Christ himself (Matt. xxi. 42) is re-
newed by Peter (Acts iv. 11.)

*

23. From Jehovah is this ; it is wonderfully done in our eyes.
This signal revolution in the condition of the chosen people is not
the work of man but of God. From the Lord, i. e. proceeding
from him as its author. Is this, literally, has been, i. e. happened,
come to pass. In the last clause it is said to be not merely won-
derful, but wonderfully done, the Hebrew word being a passive
participle, which strictly means distinguished, made tc differ,

PSALM CXVIII. 147

made strange, strangely done. Its plural is continually used as a
noun in application to Gl od's wondrous works or doings. This, no
less than the proverb to which it is attached, was as appropriate
to the case of the Messiah as to that of his people, and is accord-
ingly applied in the same manner by himself (Matt. xxi. 42.)

24. This is the day Jehovah has made, we will rejoice and tri-
umph in it. By the day we are here to understand the happier
times which Israel, through God's grace, was permitted to enjoy.
This day he is said, as the author of this blessed revolution, to
have made, created. Some understand by day the festival or
celebration, at which the psalm was intended to be sung. The
day, in this sense, God is said to have made or instituted, not so
much by positive appointment as by having providentially afforded
the occasion for it. In a still higher sense, the words may be ap-
plied to the new dispensation, as a glorious change in the condi-
tion of the church, compared with which the restoration from
c^Qelvity was nothing, except as a preliminary to it and a prepa-
ration for it. There is no allusion to the weekly Sabbath, except
so far as it was meant to be a type of the rest of the church from
the heavy burdens of the old dispensation.

25. Ah now, Jehovah, save, we beseech thee ! Ah now, Jehovah,
prosper, we beseech thee ! The circumlocution, we beseech thee, is
the only form in which the force of the supplicatory particle (^
can be expressed, without the risk of its being mistaken for an ad-
verb of time. The whole phrase /»| ns^ioifi), save ive pray, be-
came a standing formula of supplication with reference to great
public interests or undertakings, and reappears in the New Testa-
ment under the form Hosanna. See Matt. xxi. 9, where we find
it, in the acclamations of the multitude, combined with other ex-
pressions from this same psalm which, as we have seen, they were
accustomed to sing at their great festivals. See above, on v. 22.

148. PSALM CXVIII.

26. Blessed he he that cometh in the name of Jehovah ! We bless
you from the house of Jehovah. According to the accents, the
construction of the first clause is, blessed, in the name of Jehovah,
be he that cometh. This agrees exactly with the frequent mention
of blessing in the name of Jehovah. See below, Ps. exxix. 8, and
compare Num. vi. 27. Deut. xxi. 5. 2 Sam. vi. IS. Jle that
cometh is commonly and not improbably supposed to have meant
primarily the people or their representatives, to whom, as they
approached the sacred spot, these words were to be uttered.
There were other thoughts, however, which the words could
hardly fail to suggest, for example that of Israel coming back
from exile, that of God coming back to his forsaken people, and
at least in the most enlightened minds, that of the great Deliverer,
to whose coming all the rest was but preparatory, to whom the
name tfi-in or o £gx6uevos was afterwards given as a standing ap-
pellation, in allusion either to this passage or to Mai. iii. 1, or to
both, and to whom this very sentence was applied by the multitude
who witnessed and attended Christ's triumphal entrance. Ipu^^.
Holy City. See Matt. xxi. 9. «/W

27. Mighty (is) Jehovah and hath given light to us. Bind the.
sacrifice with cords as far as the horns of the altar. The first
word does not express the general idea of divinity, but that of
divine power, which is no doubt essential to the writer's purpose.
It was the power of Jehovah which had turned the night of
Israel to day, and illumined the darkness of their sore distress
with the light of his returning favour. The figure is borrowed

CD CD *— ■

from the pillar of fire, the token of Jehovah's presence with his
people in the wilderness. See Ex. xiii. 21. xiv. 20. Neh. ix. 12.
The last clause has been the subject of a good deal of dispute.
It is commonly admitted that (an) a Hebrew word, which pro-
perly denotes a periodical or stated festival, is here put for the
victim offered at it, as in Ex. xxiii. 18 the fat of my sacrifice is
in Hebrew the fat of my festival pan), and in 2 Chron. xxx. 22,

PSALM CX VII I. 149

another word for festival (n?i£) is used in precisely the same
way, being governed by the verb to eat, although this singular
expression is avoided in the English Bible, by the use of
the word " throughout." Those who agree in this, however,
are at variance in relation to the act required. As the
word translated cords is sometimes applied to the thick boughs or
branches of a tree (Ez. xix. 11. xxxi. 3, 10, 14), some under-
stand the sense to be, Bind the sacrifice with branches, sacrificial
wreaths. But this practice, and the meaning put upon th-'i He-
brew word, are both denied by others who allege moreover the
repeated combination of the same verb a^ ^aoun m ihe sense of
tying, making b, with cords. See 'Judg. xv. 13. xvi. 11. Ez.
iii. 25. The 1 'ish Bible makes the clause refer to the fasten-
ing of the victii • the altar. To this it is objected that l&rprepo-
sition (13>) mc\9 \ as far as, and implies a verb of motion,
expressed or ue 'stood. To avoid this dim|ulty, some of the
latest writers un >tand the words to signify the conducting of
the victim bound 1 it reaches the altar as the place of sacrifice.
Hold fast the saci 7* with cords, until it comes to the horns of
the altar, poeticalh t for the altar itself, not only as its promi-
nent or salient poi but as the parts to which the blood, the
essential vehicle of v iation, was applied. Thus understood the
clause is merely an invitation to fulfill the vow recorded in Ps
cxvi. 14, 17, 18.

28. My God art thou, and I will thank thee ; my God, I if ill
exalt thee. The Hebrew words for God are not the same. The
second is that commonly so rendered, while the first is that used
in v. 27, and denoting the divine omnipotence.

29. Give thanks unto Jehovah, for {He is) good, for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. In these words we are brought back to the
point from which we started, and the circle of praise returns into
itself.

150 PSALM CXIX

PSALM CXIX.

There is no psalm in the whole collection which has more the
appearance of haying been exclusively designed for practical and
personal improvement, without any reference to national or even
to ecclesiastical relations, than the one before us, which is wholly
occupied with praises of God's word or written revelation, as the
only source of spiritual strength and comfort, and with prayers
for grace to make a profitable use of it. The prominence of this
one theme is sufficiently apparent from the fact, to which the Masora
directs attention, that there is only one verse which does not contain
some title or description of the word of God. But notwithstanding
this peculiar character, the position of the psalm in the collection,
and especially its juxtaposition with respect to Ps. cviii — cxviii,
its kindred tone of mingled gratitude and sadness, and a great
variety of minor verbal correspondences, have led some of the
best interpreters to look upon it as the conclusion of the whole
series or system of psalms, supposed to have been written for the
use of the returned Jews, at or near the time of the founding: of
the second temple. The opinion, held by some of the same
writers, that the ideal speaker, throughout this psalm, is Israel,
considered as the church or chosen people, will never commend
itself as natural or likely to the mass of readers, and is scarcely
consistent with such passages as vs. 63, 74, 79, and others, where
the speaker expressly distinguishes himself as an individual from
the body of the people. The same difficulty, in a less degree,
attends the national interpretation of the psalms immediately

PSALM CXIX. 151

preceding. Perhaps the best mode of reconciling the two views
is by supposing that this psalm was intended as a manual of pious
and instructive thoughts, designed for popular improvement and
especially for that of the younger generation after the return from
exile, and that the person speaking is the individual believer, not
as an isolated personality, but as a member of the general body,
with which he identifies himself so far, that many expressions of
the psalm are strictly applicable only to the whole as such consid-
ered, while others are appropriate only to certain persons or to
certain classes in the ancient Israel. To this design of popular
instruction, and especially to that of constant repetition and
reflection, the psalm is admirably suited by its form and structure.
The alphabetical arrangement, of which it is at once the most ex-
tended and most perfect specimen, and the aphoristic character,
common to all alphabetic psalms, are both adapted to assist the
memory, as well as to give point to the immediate impression.
It follows, of course, that the psalm was rather meant to be a
store-house of materials for pious meditation than a discourse for
continuous perusal. At the same time, the fact of its existence
in the Psalter is presumptive proof that it was used in public
worship, either as a whole, or in one or more of the twenty-two
stanzas into which it is divided, corresponding to the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet, all the eight verses of each paragraph begin-
ning with the same Hebrew letter.

1. Happy the perfect of way, i. e. blameless in their course of
life, those walking in the law of Jehovah. There seems to be
allusion to the precept in Lev. xviii. 4. The common version
of the second Hebrew word (undefiled) is derived from the
Yulgate (immaculati), which is itself too confined a version of the
Septuagint (di/iwfiot,.) The essential idea is that of complete-
ness or perfection. The form and construction of the first word
are the same as in Ps. i. 1.

152 PSALM CXIX.

2. Happy the keepers of his testimonies (who) with a whole
heart seek him. Keepers, observers, those obeying. Testimonies,
the divine precepts, which bear witness against sin and in behalf
of holiness. . With all the heart, undivided affection. See above,
Ps. cxi. 1, and compare 2 Kings xxiii. 3. Seek him, the know-
ledge of his will and the enjoyment of his favour.

3. (Who) also do not practise wrong, (but) in his ways ivalk.
This verse both limits and completes the one before it, by showing
that no zeal in seeking God can be acceptable, if coupled with a
wicked life. In his ways, not in those of his enemies, nor even
in their own.

4. Thou hast commanded thy precepts, to he kept strictly.
Commanded, given them in charge, entrusted others with them.
The literal meaning of the last clause is, to keep very {much), i. e.
not formally or superficially, but really and thoroughly. Compare
the use of (l&ti) as a noun in Deut. vi. 5.

5. Oh that my ways to ere settled, to observe thy statutes ! The
optative particle at the beginning occurs only here and, with a
slight difference of pointing, 2 Kings v. 3. My ways, my cus-
tomary modes of acting, my habits. Settled, fixed, confirmed,
established, in opposition to capricious vacillation and unsteadi-
ness. To observe, to watch, for the purpose of obeying. The
word translated statutes, according to its etymology, means definite
and permanent enactments.

6 Then shall I not be shamed, in my looking unto all thy
tommandments. The then at the beginning has respect to the
time mentioned in the last clause. Shamed, put to shame,
defeated, frustrated, disappointed in one's- highest hopes. In my
looking suowests the idea both of time and of causation, when 1
look and because I look. The act itself is that of looking towards

PSALM CXIX. 153

a mark to hi attained, or towards a model, rule, or standard, to be
followed and conformed to.

7. I will thank thee with rectitude of hearty in my learning the
judgments of thy righteousness. It is only my experience of thy
righteous judgments that enables me to praise thee as I ought ;
a sentiment peculiarly appropriate to the period of some great
deliverance, for instance that of the return from exile, when the
righteousness of God had been so signally displayed in the
destruction of his enemies, and in the fulfilment of his promise to
his people. Here again, in my learning does not mean merely
after I have learned, but in the very act and in consequence of
learning.

8. Thy statutes I will keep ; oh forsake me not utterly. The
fixed resolution to obey is intimately blended with a consciousness
of incapacity to do so, unless aided by divine grace. Utterly,
unto extremity or still more literally, until very (much.) The
initial words of this first stanza are all different, except that vs.
1, 2, both begin with (i^r^) happiness or happy.

9. By what (means) can. a youth cleanse his path, (so) as to
keep (it) according to thy word ? To cleanse is here to keep clean
or pure from the stain of sin. Most interpreters regard the last
clause as an answer to the question in the first. But this
requires the infinitive to be construed as a gerund (by keeping),
a construction too rare and doubtful to be anywhere assumed
without necessity. See above, on, Ps. lxxviii. IS. cxi. 6. It
is much more simple and agreeable to usage to regard the whole
as one interrogation, and the second clause as supplementary to
the first. To keep may then mean to adhere to it, or rather, in
accordance with the figure of the first clause, to preserve it clear
or pure as God requires. The answer is suppressed, or rathei
left to be inferred from the whole tenor of the psalm, which is,

I

J54 PSALM CXIX.

that men, and especially the young, whose passions and tempta-
tions are strong in proportion to their inexperience, can do
nothing of themselves but are dependent on the grace of God
The omission of an answer, which is thus suggested by the whole
psalm, rather strengthens than impairs the impression on the
reader.

10. With my whole heart have I sought thee ; let me not err
from thy commandments. While the first clause alleges his
sincerity in seeking God, the second and third owns his depend-
ence on him for success and safety.

11. In my heart have I hid thy saying , that I may not sin
against thee. The first phrase means within me, as opposed to a
mere outward and corporeal possession of the written word. Not
in my house, or in my hand, but in myself, my mind, with special
reference, in this case, to the memory. Hid, not for conceal-
ment, but for preservation. The word saying, elsewhere used to
signify God's promise, here denotes his precept, as it does in v.
67 below. Against thee, literally, as to, with respect to thee.
See above, on Ps. li. 6 (4.)

12. Blessed (he) thou, Jehovah ! Teach me thy statutes ! The
doxology seems designed to break the uniformity of this series of
aphorisms, by an occasional expression of strong feeling. At the
same time, it furnishes a kind of ground for the petition in the
last clause. Since thou art the blessed and eternal God, have
pity on my weakness and instruct me in the knowledge of thy
will.

13. With my lips have I recounted all the judgments of thy
mouth. 1 have not confined the knowledge of thy precepts to my
own mind, but imparted it to others. See above, on Ps. xl. 10,
11 (9, 10.) Judgments, judicial decisions, determinations as to

PSALM CXIX. 155

what is right and binding, a description perfectly appropriate to
the divine precepts. Of thy mouth, which thou hast uttered.
There seems to be allusion to the phrase with my lijps in the first
clause.

14. In the ivay of thy testimonies I rejoice as over all wealth.
Not merely in the knowledge of God's will, but in the doing of it,
in treading the path which he prescribes for us. Over may be
simply equivalent to in, or intended to suggest the additional idea
of superiority, above (or more than) all wealth. As over, as I do
over all the wealth I have, or as I should do over all wealth if I
had it.

15. In thy precepts will I meditate and look (at) thy paths.
Not only of thy precepts or concerning them, but in them, while
engaged in doing them. Look has the same sense as in v. 6.

16. In thy statutes I will delight myself ; I will not forget thy
word. Delight or enjoy myself, seek my pleasure, find my hap-
piness. Here ends the second stanza, in which all the verses
except one (v. 12) begin not only with the same letter but the
same word, the preposition (n) in.

17. Grant to thy servant (that) I may live, and I will keep thy
word. Grant to, bestow upon, thy servant this favour. Seo
above, on Ps. xiii. 6 (5.) There may be an allusion to the way
in which the law connects life and obedience. See Lev. xviii.
5. Deut. vi. 24.

18. Uncover my eyes and I will look — wonders out of thy law /
The last clause is a kind of exclamation after his eyes have been
uncovered. This figure is often used to denote inspiration or a
special divine communication. Out of thy law, i. e. brought out
to view, as if from a place of concealment.

156 PSALM CXIX.

19. A stranger (a?n) I in the earth,' hide not from me thy
commandments. A stranger, an exile, one without friends or
home, a poetical description of calamity in general, not without
allusion to the captivity both in Babylon and Egypt, and to the
consequent mention of strangers in the Law as objects of compas-
sion. The prayer in the last clause is, that God will not withhold
from him the knowledge of his will.

20. My soul breaketh with longing for thy judgments at every
time. The Hebrew verb occurs only here, but its meaning is
determined by the cognate dialects. The word translated longing
belongs also to the later Hebrew. Its verbal root occurs below
in vs. 40, 174. Judgments includes God's precepts mentioned in
v. 19 and his penal inflictions on the wicked mentioned in v. 21.

21. Thou hast rebuked the proud, the accursed, those wandering
from thy commandments. Compare Ps. ix. 6 (5.) Rebuked, not
merely by word but by deed, i. e. punished.

22. Roll from off me reproach and contempt, for thy testimonies
I have kept. The first verse coincides in form with that at the
beginning of v. 18, but is from a different root. There is an
obvious allusion to the rolling off of the reproach of Egypt,
Josh. v. 9.

23. Also princes sat and at me talked together, and thy servant
muses of thy statutes. This is one of the expressions in the
psalm not literally applicable to the individual believer, and re-
garded therefore as a proof of its national design and import.
The princes are then the chiefs of the surrounding nations. The
also (dii) seem to be inserted merely on account of the alphabet-
ical arrangement which requires the letter gimel.

24. Also thy testimonies {are) my delights, the men of my

PSALM CXIX. 157

counsel. He calls them his counsellors, in opposition to the
malignant counsels of the enemy. Delights, enjoyments, happi-
ness, the plural form denoting fulness and completeness. Two of
the verses in the stanza ending here begin with (ta) also, and
two with (ba)j though in different senses.

25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust ; quicken thou me according
to thy word. The first clause seems intended to suggest two
consistent but distinct ideas, that of deep degradation, as in Ps.
xliv. 26 (25), and that of death, as in Ps. xxii. 30 (29.) The
first would be more obvious in itself, and in connection with the
parallel referred to ; but the other seems to be indicated as the
prominent idea by the correlative petition in the last clause.
Quicken, i. e. save me alive, or restore me to life, the Hebrew
word being a causative of the verb to live. See above, on Ps.
xxx. 4 (3.) Thy word, the promise annexed to thy command-
ment, as in v. 28 below.

26. My icays have I recounted, and thou hast answered me;
teach me thy statutes. The first clause is not to be restricted
to a confession of sin, though that may be included, but ex-
tended to a statement of his cares, anxieties, and affairs in
general. Hence the correlative expression, thou hast answered
me, the Hebrew verb being specially appropriated to the hear-
ing or answering of prayer, i. e. granting what it asks. The last
clause expresses a desire to testify his gratitude for God's com-
passion by obeying his commandments, with the usual acknow-
ledgment that these cannot be executed without divine assistance,
or even known without divine instruction.

27. The way of thy precepts make me- under st and y and I will
muse of thy wonders. The first clause expreses the same wish,
arising from the same consciousness of weakness, as in v. 26. The
verb in the last clause is one of those in the usao;e of which the

158 PSALM CXIX.

ideas of speech and meditation run continually into one another
See above, on Ps. lv. IS (17.) lxix. 13 (12.) lxxiv. 4, 7 (3, 6.)
cv. 2.

28. My soul iceeps from sorrow ; raise me up according to thy
word. The meaning of the first verb seems to be determined by
Job xvi. 20, where the same thing is predicated of the eye. The
oldest versions make it mean to slumber (LXX. ivvcria^ep.
Yulg. dormitavit), which would make the clause remarkably coin-
cident with Luke xxii. 45.

29. The way of falsehood remove from me, and thy law grant
unto me graciously. The way mentioned in the first clause is that
of unfaithfulness to God's covenant, or of apostasy from it. See
above, v. 21. Remove, a causative in Hebrew, meaning make to
depart. The common version of the last verb, as above given, is
a correct paraphrase of the Hebrew verb (tn) to be gracious, to
act graciously, and here still more specifically, to give graciously,
to bestow as a free favou» To give the law is still, as in the pre-
ceding verses, to make it known by a divine illumination.

30. The way of truth have I chosen ; thy judgments have I set
(before me.) Truth, in the sense of faithfulness, fidelity to ob-
ligations, the opposite of the falsehood mentioned in v. 29. His
own choice coincides with the divine requisitions. Judgments, as
in vs. 7, 13, above. I have set, i. e. before me, as an end to be
aimed at, and a rule to be followed. The Hebrew verb occurs
above, Ps. xviii. 34 (33.) xxi. 6 (5.) lxxxix. 20 (19), and the
full phrase, Ps. xvi. 8. The Septuagint renders it here, I have
not forgotten.

31. I have cleaved unto thy testimonies, oh Jehovah, put me not to
shame. The first verb is the same with that in v. 25. Unto,
literally in, as if implying a complete absorption in the object.

PSALM CXIX. 159

See above, on Ps. i. 2. Testimonies, precepts, as in v. 2 Shame
me not, suffer not my Lopes to be disappointed and confounded
The Hebrew verb is a causative of that in v. 6.

32. The way of thy commandments will I run, for thou wilt en-
large my heart. The verb to run expresses* a more zealous
obedience than the usual expression walk. To enlarge is some-
times to relieve from confinement. See above, on Ps. cxviii. 5.
But the whole phrase, to enlarge the heart, seems, especially in
this connection, to denote a change in the affections leading to
more prompt obedience. Of the eight verses in this stanza five
begin with the noun (TjtH) way or its plural, and two with the
verb (pi^T) to cleave.

33. Guide me, Jehovah, (in) the way of thy statutes, and I will
keep it (to the) end. The first verb is here used in its primary
sense of showing or pointing out the way, from which is deduced
the secondary one of teaching. Keep it, observe it, adhere to it,
keep in it. The last word in Hebrew, which occurs above, in
different senses and connections, Ps. xix. 12 (11.) xl. 16 (15.)
lxx. 4 (3), is used adverbially here and in v. 112 below.

34. Make me understand (it), and I will keep thy law, and will
observe it with a whole heart. The first verb is too vaguely ren-
dered in the English versions (give me understanding.) It has
here the same sense as in v. 27, and the object is to be supplied
from the next member of the sentence. The form of the last
verb is one expressing strong desire and fixed determination.
With a whole heart, or with all (my) heart, as in v. 2.

35. Make me tread in the path of thy commandments, for in it
do I delight. The first verb is the causative of that used in Ps.
vii. 13 (12.) xi. 2. xxxvii. 14. xci. 13. I delight, have delighted,
not at present merely but in time past.

160 PSALM CXIX.

36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to gain.
Here again the sense of absolute dependence or divine influence
is strongly implied. Testimonies, as in v. 31. Gain, profit,
lucre, as in Ps. xxx. 10 (9), but here put for overweening love of
it, supreme devotion to it.

37. Turn away my eyes from seeing falsehood ; in thy ways
quicken me. The first verb strictly means to cause to pass (or turn)
away. Falsehood is not the word so rendered in v. 29, but the neg-
ative term (tfTB) meaning vanity, nonentity, and here applied to
all objects of religious trust besides God. These the Psalmist
desires not even to see, much less to gaze at with delight and
confidence. See above, Ps. xxxi. 7 (6.) xl. 5 (4. ) lx. 13 (11.)
lxii. 10 (9.) Quicken me, save me or make me alive, as in v. 25.
In thy ways, by leading me in the way of thy commandments.

38. Blake good to thy servant thy word which (thou hast
spoken) to thy fearers. The first verb means to cause to stand,
to set up, to establish, to confirm, and in this connection to ful-
fill or verify. To thy servant, not merely to me, but to me who
am thy servant, in a special and emphatic sense, which is appli-
cable either to the chosen people as a whole, or to its individual
members. Thy word, as in vs. 25, 28. To thy fearers, liter-
ally, to thy fear, the abstract being put for the concrete term ; or
it might be rendered for thy fear, that thou mayest be feared.
See below, on Ps. cxxx. 4.

39. Turn away my disgrace which I dread, for thy judgments
{are) good. The first word is the same with that in v. 37, mean-
ing make (or cause) to pass aivay. In this connection it might
cither mean to remove or to avert ; but the latter agrees better
with the next phrase, which I dread. The original is not the com-
mon Hebrew word for fear, but one used by Moses in precisely
the same sense as here. See Deut. ix. 19. xxviii. 60. and com-

PSALM CXIX. 161

pare Job ix. 28. Thy judgments are good, i. e. prompted and
controlled by infinite goodness, and sliould therefore fall upon
the wicked, not the righteous.

40. Behold, I long for thy precepts ; in thy righteousness quicken
me. The first word is equivalent to see (or thou, scest) that it is
so, and involves an appeal to the divine omniscience. The first
verb is the root of the noun longing in v. 20. To long for God's
precepts is to long for the knowledge of them and for grace to
obey them. The last clause prays that since God's judgments
are good (v. 39), instead of killing they may make alive. See
above, on vs. 17, 25, 37. In the stanza closing with this verse,
only one initial word is repeated, namely (^Sp) cause to pass or
turn aivay.

41. And let thy mercies come (unto) me, oh Jehovah, thy salva-
tion, according to thy word. That the stanzas were not meant to
be regarded as distinct and independent compositions, is clear
from the copulative (and) at the beginning of this verse. Mercies,
suited to my various necessities. Come to me, or upon me, or
into me, which are the ideas commonly expressed by this verb
when construed directly with a noun. See above, Ps. xxxv. 8.
xxxvi. 12 (11.) c. 4. Salvation is in apposition with mercies,
being that in which all other gifts and favours are summed up
and comprehended. With the last words compare v. 3S above.

42. And (then) I will answer my reviler a word ; for I trust
in thy word. The best answer to the calumnies and insults of
his enemies is that afforded by his manifest experience of God's
favour, and the practical vindication thereby afforded. The ad-
dition of word, which in our idiom is superfluous, may have some
reference to its use in the corresponding clause. As if he had
said : only let thy word be fulfilled, and I shall have a word to
say in answer to my enemies.

162 PSALM CXIX.

43. And take not out of my mouth (this) word of truth utterly ,
for in thy judgments do I hope. Deprive me not of this conclusive
answer to my enemies, by withholding that providential vindica-
tion of my character and practical attestation of thy favour to-
wards me, which I confidently look for. The first verb is used
in its primary sense (Gen. xxxii. 12), from which comes the usual
but secondary one of snatching out of danger, extricating, saving.
For the literal meaning of the Hebrew phrase translated utterly ,
see above, on v. 8. The last phrase in the verse means, for thy
judgments I have waited, i. e. confidently looked for their ap-
pearance.

44. And I will observe thy law always, unto eternity and
perpetuity. Not merely for a time, or for the purpose of securing
this triumph over his enemies, but forever, to express which idea
the three strongest terms afforded by the language are combined.
As the keeping of the law, so often mentioned in this psalm, has
evident reference to the present life, the strong promise of per-
petual obedience, in the verse before us, is considered by some
writers as a proof that the ideal speaker is not an individual be-
liever, but the church or chosen people.

45. And, I will walk in a wide place, for thy precepts have 1
sought. Free from the pressure and confinement to which he
had been previously subject. See above, on Ps. cxviii. 5.
Sought thy precepts, i. e. sought to know them and to do them.
Compare the combination, keep and seek, in 1 Chr. xxviii. 8.

46. And I will speak of thy testimonies before kings and will
not be ashamed. Here again some eminent interpreters have
found an indication of the national design and meaning of the
whole psalm, as the individual believer could not be expected to
bear witness to the truth in such a presence. He might however
*lo so, as one of the component parts of the whole body. But

PSALM CXIX. 163

the words are really expressive only of a readiness to declare the
divine testimony against sin, in any presence, even the most
august, if it should be necessary. This passage seems to have
been present to our Saviour's mind when he uttered the predic-
tion in Matt. x. 18. Ashamed has here its strict sense, as deno-
ting a painful feeling of humiliation.

47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments which I
love. Lwill not obey them merely from a selfish dread of punish-
ment or painful sense of obligation, but because I love them and
derive my highest happiness from doing them. See above, on
Ps. xix. 12 (11.) The first verb has the same sense as in v. 16.
The past tense of the last verb (I have loved) represents his love
to God's commandments as no new-born and capricious passion,
but a settled habit and affection of his soul.

48. And I will raise my hands to thy commandments which I
love, and I will muse of thy statutes. The raising of the hands
is a symbol of the raising of the heart or the affections to some
elevated object. See above, on Ps. xxviii. 2. Which I love,
or have loved, as in v. 47, the terms of which are studiously
repeated with a fine rhetorical effect, which is further heightened
by the and at the beginning, throwing both verses, as it were,
into one sentence. As if he had said : I will derive my
happiness from thy commandments, which I love and have loved,
and to these commandments, which I love and have loved, I will
lift up my hands and heart together. For the meaning of the
last clause, see above, on v. 27. The connective force of the
conjunction and must not be urged in this verse, as it was needed
to supply the initial vau, a letter with which scarcely any Hebrew
words begin.

49. Remember (thy) word to thy servant, because thou hast
made me to hope. The obvious meaning of the first clause

164 PSALM CXIX.

is, rememher the word (spoken) to thy servant. But Hebrew
usage makes it probable, that tbe first and last words of
the clause are to be construed together, so as to mean remember
for thy servant, i. e. for his benefit, as in Ps. xcviii. 3. cvi. 45.
Word is then absolutely put for promise, as in Ps. lvi. 11 (10),
and the meaning of the whole clause is, remember thy promise in
compassion to thy servant. The common version of the last
clause (upon which etc.) is forbidden by the facts, that the Hebrew
verb is never construed elsewhere with the proposition on, and that
Hebrew usage would require a different combination (T"^5> ^vi'k)
to convey the sense supposed. That the one here used
(T38 is) may mean because, is clear from Deut. xxix. 24.
2 Sam. iii. 30. The same verb that means to hope in v. 43 is used
as a causative, to make hope, here and in Ezek. xiii. 6.

50. This (is) my comfort in my suffering, and thy word
quickens me. The reference to continued suffering in the first
clause, and to its partial cessation in the second, agrees well with
the condition of the chosen people when restored from exile.
The terms, however, are so chosen as to be equally appropriate
to personal afflictions, restorations, and deliverances. The word
for comfort occurs elsewhere only in Job vi. 10, where it has
precisely the same form. Thy word includes thy decree or
order and thy promise. Quickens, saves alive, or restores to life,
according to the prayer in vs. 25, 37, 40. The past tense (has
quickened) implies that the conservative or restorative effect has
already been experienced, though not yet perfected.

51. Proud (ones) deride me greatly ; from thy laio I swerve
not. Both verbs are in the past tense, which would seem to
indicate that the derision here complained of, although recent,
had now ceased or been abated. The clause agrees well with
the scorn excited in the heathen neighbours of the restored Jews
by what seemed to be their mad attempt to build the temple.

PSALM CXIX. iQr,

The omission of a connective makes the antithesis more pointed.
Swerved, declined, or turned aside. See above, on Ps. xliv. 19
(IS), and compare Ps. xl. 5 (4.) The first word in the verse is
one commonly applied to presumptuous high-handed sinners. See
above, on Ps. xix. 14 (13.)

52. I have remembered thy judgments from eternity, Jehovah,
and consoled myself. His faith and hope under present trials are
sustained by recollection of the past. Thy judgments, not merely
the punishments inflicted on thy enemies, but all the exhibitions
of thy righteousness in outward act, including the deliverances of
thy people. From eternity, or from an indefinite antiquity, which
is the primary meaning of the Hebrew word. There is no reason
for discarding the reflexive form of the last verb, as some versions
do, especially as it suggests the idea, not of a mere passive recep-
tion of the comfort, but of an active effort to obtain it.

53. Rage has seized me from ivicked. (men) abandoning thy
law. No English word is strong enough to represent the first
one in the Hebrew of this verse except rage or fury. See above,
on Ps. xi. 6. It here denotes the highest pitch of indignant
disapproval. From, i. e. arising or proceeding from, because of.
Forsaking thy law, not only refusing in practice to obey it, but
avowedly abjuring its authority.

54. Songs for me have been thy statutes in the house of my
sojournings. Instead of abjuring them as presumptuous sinners
do, I make them the subject of my thankful and triumphant
songs (Isai. xxiv. 16), even while I sojourn as a pilgrim^and a
stranger in a strange land. The house of my sojournings, i. e.
the house where I sojourn, is an imitation of the phrase, land of
sojournings, which occurs so often in the patriarchal history. See
Gen. xvii. 8. xxviii. 4. xxxvi. 7. xxxvii. 1. Pilgrimage is less
exact because it suggests the idea of locomotion rather than of

166 PSALM CXIX.

rest. The statutes of God are thus rejoiced in, not as mere
requisitions, but as necessarily including promises.

55. / remember in the night thy name, Jehovah, and observe
thy laio. The night is mentioned as the natural and customary sea-
son of reflection and self-recollection, and also as the time when
pains of every kind are usually most acute. See above, on Ps.
xci. 5. With this clause and the verse preceding compare Job
xxxv. 10. Thy name, i. e. all that is denoted by thy names, and
more especially by the one here mentioned, thy eternal self-
existence and thy covenant relation to thy people.

56. This has been to me, for thy precepts I have kept. The
usual interpretations, this I had because I kept thy precepts, and.
this I have (namely) that I keep thy precepts, are almost unmeaning.
"When taken in connection with the one before it, the true sense
of the verse appears to be, that what he was thus wont to promise
or resolve, he had performed. The substantive verb is to be
taken in the sense which it so often has in history. This has
happened to me, come to pass, been verified in my experience.
In the stanza which here ends, three verses beo-in with some form
of the verb (*\5l) to remember, and two with the pronoun (r.&'t)
this.

57. My portion, oh Jehovah, I have said, (is) to keep thy words.
This construction is rejected by Hengstenberg and others, as
forbidden by the accents and the analogy of Ps. xvi. 5. lxxiii. 26.
But as the same words may either express the sense here given or
my portion (is) Jehovah, we are at liberty to choose the one best
suited to the context, even- in opposition to the accents, which
cannot be regarded as an ultimate authority. In favour of the
sense first given is its perfect agreement with the close of the
preceding stanza. In reference to the resolution there recorded

PSALM CXIX. 167

and described as having been fulfilled, lie here adds, thus have I
said (declared my purpose) oh Lord to obey thy words.

5S. I have sought thy favour with all (my) heart ; be gracious
unto me according to thy word. In the first clause we have a
repetition of the singular and striking idiom used in Ps.xlv. 13
(12), and explained by some as meaning strictly to soothe or
stroke the face, and by others to soften or subdue it, i. e. the
hostility or opposition expressed by it. With all (my) heart, or
with a whole heart, as in vs. 2, 34, above. Thy ivord or saying,
i. e. thy promise. The original expression is not ("Ol) the one
so constantly employed in this psalm, but (mft!*) that used in
vs. 10, 41, and derived from the verb (ifaa) to say.

59. / have thought on my ivays, and turned back my feet to
thy testimonies. The first verb here means thought over, pondered,
as in Ps. lxxvii. 6 (5.) My ways, i. e., as appears from the last
clause, my departures from thy testimonies or commandments.
See above, on vs. 2, 14, 31, 36, 46. The common version of the
last verb {turned), although correct, is not sufficient to convey
the full force of the Hebrew word, which is a causative meaning
to bring back or make to return, and implying previous departure,
whereas the primitive verb turn carries with it no such implication.
"While this verse is exactly descriptive of the process of personal
conviction and conversion, it is also strikingly appropriate to the
effects of the captivity on Israel, as a church and nation.

60. I hastened, and delayed not, to observe thy commandments.
This continues the account of his conversion, begun in the prece-
ding verse. The first clause exemplifies the idiomatic combination
of a positive and negative expression of the same idea. The
second verb is peculiarly expressive and seems to be applied, in
the most ancient Llebrew books, to a trifling and unreasonable
tarrying in great emergencies. See Gen. xix. 16. xliii. 10. Ex. xii

168 PSALM CXIX.

39. In this respect, as well as in relation to its singular redu-
plicated form, the Hebrew verb bears some analogy to certain
familiar terms in English, which are colloquially used in the
same manner.

61. The bands of wicked men environed me, (but) thy law I did
not forget. As descriptive of personal experience, this may be
translated in the present {environ me, forget not) ; but in order
to include a reference to the Babylonish exile, and the preserva-
tion of the people from apostasy at that eventful crisis, the pre-
terite forms of the original must be preserved. The figure of the
first clause is borrowed from Ps. xviii. 5, 6 (4, 5), but with the
substitution of a verbal form used only here, and represented by
the word environed. The relation of the clauses, to denote which
in English hut has been supplied, is the same as in v. 51 above.

62. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee on ^account
of) the judgments of thy righteousness. The first phrase, which
literally means the half (or halving) of the night, is borrowed from
the history of the midnight massacre in Egypt, Ex. xi. 4. xii. 29,
to which there is also a historical allusion, as a signal instance of
divine interposition and miraculous deliverance. A similar allu-
sion may be traced in Job x'xxiv. 20. The judgments of thy
righteousness, thy judgments of righteousness, thy righteous
judgments, cannot be altogether different in meaning from the
very same words in v. 7, as supposed by some interpreters, who
there explain the phrase to mean Glod's precepts or his requisi-
tions, here his penal inflictions. The solution of the difficulty lies
in this, that the words mean neither of these things specifically,
but something which comprehends them both, viz. the actual
manifestations of God's righteousness, in word or deed, by precept
or by punishment.

63. A fellow {am) I to all who fear thee, and to the keepers of

PSALM CXIX. 169

thy precepts. Not merely a companion or frequenter of their
company, but an associate, a congenial spirit, one of the same
character. Compare-the use of the same Hebrew word in Ps.
xlv. 8 (7), where the plural is translated fellows in the English
Bible. The verse before us is one of those which it seems most
difficult to understand of Israel as" a whole ; for in what sense was
the church or chosen people a companion of those fearing God
and keeping his commandments, when all the people in the world
of that description were embraced within her own communion ?
The force of this objection is so great that Hengstenberg applies
the description to the pious ancestors of the returned Jews, and
refers to Mai. iii. 24 (iv. 6.) The necessity of such a forced
construction goes far to confirm the exegetical hypothesis, already
stated as most probably the true one, that the psalm was intended
to express the feelings of an individual believer, but that some of
its terms are, from parity of circumstances, equally descriptive of
what had been experienced by the house of Israel as a church and
nation.

64. Of thy mercy, oh Jehovah, full is the earth; thy statutes
leach me. Since thy mercy fills the whole earth, let it reach to
me, enabling me to understand thy will and to obey it. The
relation of the clauses is not unlike that in v. 12. The stanza
closing with this verse is the first in which the initial words of all
the verses are entirely different. See above, on vs. 8, 16, 24,
32, 40, 48, 56.

65. Good hast thou done to thy servant, oh Jehovah, according
to thy word. The common version of the first clause {thou hast
dealt well with thy servant) is equally correct and has the advantage
of retaining the preposition with, which may be used in English
after deal but not after do. The sense expressed by both trans-
lations is the same, to wit, thou hast treated him graciously or

vol. in. 8

170 PSALM CXIX.

kindly. According to thy word, i. e. the promise annexed to thy
commandments, as in vs. 25, 28 (compare vs. 41, 5S.) This
verse is equally appropriate as a personal thanksgiving, and an
acknowledgment of national deliverances, such as that from
Babylon.

66. Goodness of judgment and knowledge teach me, for in thy
commandments I believe. The first word in Hebrew is not (rrit)
the adjective good, as in v. 65, but (-"-) the corresponding
abstract noun meaning goodness, as in Ps. xxv. 7. xxvii. 13.
xxxi. 20 (19.) That it here denotes not moral but intellectual
excellence, is determined by the addition of ('Q^ts) a word origi
nally meaning taste, and then transferred to reason, judgment,
understanding. See above, on Ps. xxxiv. 1. Teach me good
judgment, i. e. impart it by divine instruction. Judgment and
knowledge may be here distinguished as in common parlance, the
one denoting the faculty employed, the other the result of its
exertion. The knowledge meant is that continually prayed for in
this psalm, to wit, the knowledge of God's will. The connection
of the clauses seems to be, that he has faith and would fain have
knowledge ; he takes God's precepts upon trust, but then prays
that he may understand them. To believe in 'God's command-
ments is to believe that they are his, and therefore right and
binding.

67. Before I suffered I {to as) going astray, and note thy saying
I observe. Going astray, wandering, erring, i. e. habitually, ever
straying. And now (on the contrary), where our idiom would
require a but. The saying of God is what he says, including both
commands and promises, which indeed are represented in the Old
Testament, and especially in this psalm, as inseparable. Observe,
attend to, keep in view, according to the nature of the object,
trusting the promise, obeying the command. The last verb stri^tW
means I have observed, implying that the salutary fruit of the

PSALM CXIX. 171

affliction was already realized and still continued. The sentiment
of this verse has been echoed, and its very words repeated, by the
godly sufferers of every age, a strong proof that it was meant to
be so used. At the same time it furnishes an exquisite description
of the effect produced upon the Jews, as a body, by the Babylon-
ish exile, and especially the end which it forever put to their
continual lapses into idolatry, by which their early history was
characterized, and with respect to which the whole race might
well have said, Before I suffered I was (ever) straying.

68. Good (art) thou and doing good — teach me thy statutes !
Good, both essentially and actively or practically ; good in thyself
and good to others. The participle, as in v. 67, denotes habitual
constant action, (ever) doing good. It is characteristic of this
psalm, that the petition founded on the goodness of God's nature,
on his beneficence, and even on his infinite perfection, si still,
teach me thy statutes ! Make me acquainted with thy will, and
show me how to do it ! See above, on vs. 12, 64.

69. Proud (men) have forged a lie against me; i", with all
(my) heart, will keep thy precepts. Proud, presumptuous, over-
bearing sinners, as in v. 51. Forged expresses the essential
meaning of the Hebrew word, but not its figurative form, which
seems to be that of sewing, analogous to that of weaving, as ap-
plied to the same thing, both in Hebrew and in other languages.
We may also compare our figurative phrase, to patch up, which
however is not so much suggestive of artifice or skill as of the
want of it. The connection of the clauses is, that all the craft
and malice of his enemies should only lead him to obey God with
a more undivided heart than ever. See above, on v. 5S. With
the same surprising skill and wisdom as in many other cases
which have been already mentioned, this verse is so framed as to
be equally well suited to such national and public evils as those
described in the fourth chapter of Ezra, and to the sufferings of

172 PSALM CXIX.

ihe pious individual, arising from the pride and spite of wicked
enemies.

70. Fat as grease (is) their heart. I (in) thy law delight. The
connection of the clauses lies in the figurative use of fat to denote
insensibility. See above, on Ps. xvii. 10. lxxiii. 7. While they
are utterly insensible to spiritual pleasures, and especially to those
springing from the knowledge of thy law, I find therein my highest
happiness. The verb in the last clause is a cognate form to that
in vs. 16, 47, and identical with that in Isai. xi. 8, where it
means to play, sport, or enjoy one's self.

71. (It is) good for me that I was made to suffer, to the end
that I might learn thy statutes. The prayer so frequently re-
peated, teach me thy statutes, is now proved to be sincere by a
hearty acquiescence in the painful discipline by which it had been
partially fulfilled already. Good for me, and therefore good on
God's part. The idea of compulsory subjection to this salutary
process is suggested by the passive causative form of the verb
used in v. 67. To the end or intent, a phrase corresponding,
both in form and meaning, to the Hebrew.

72. Good for me is the law of thy mouth (more) than thous-
ands of gold and silver. For me, for my use as well as in my
estimation. The law of thy mouth, that which thou hast uttered.
See above, on v. 13. Than, literally, from, away from, as dis-
tinguished from, as compared with, which is just the meaning of
the English than. The combination good thorn, or good from, is
the nearest approach, of which the Hebrew idiom admits, to better
than. The indefinite term thousands may refer to weight or
number; to coin or bullion ; to coins in general, or to shekels or

nts in particular. While this verse primarily expresses the
changed estimate which Israel learned in exile to put upon the law,

PSALM CXI X. 273

it is equally expressive of the feeling cherished by all true be
Hovers, iu their best estate, as to the value of the word of God.
Here ends the ninth stanza, of which five verses begin with the
word (site) good.

73. Thy hands made me and fashioned me; make me understand
and let me learn thy commandments. As I owe my existence to thy
power, so too I rely upon thy grace for spiritual illumination.
Compare Deut. xxxii. 6. Fashioned, literally, fixed, established,
i. e. framed my constitution as it is.

74. Thy fearers shall see me and rejoice ; for in thy word have
I hoped. Compare Ps. v. 12 (11.) xxxiv. 3 (2.) They shall
rejoice in my case, as a new proof that they who trust in God
cannot be disappointed. The literal meaning of the last clause
is, because for thy word I have waited, i. e. patiently and trust-
fully awaited its fulfilment.

75. I know, Jehovah, that righteousness are thy judgments, and
(in) faithfulness thou hast afflicted me (or made me suffer.) Thy
judgments, thy sovereign decisions and their execution, are
righteousness itself, i. e. perfectly righteous. So in the next
clause, for in faithfulness we may read as faithfulness itself, as
one absolutely faithful to his promise and engagements. This
confession would be untrue, if those who made it were not con-
scious of their guilt and ill-desert. Compare Deut. xxxii. 4.

76. Oh that thy me? cy might be for my comfort, according to
thy saying to thy servant. The optative expression, oh that, is
here used to represent the Hebrew particle of entreaty (yt.*\, cor-
rectly paraphrased in the English Bible, / pray thee. For my
comfort, literally, to comfort (ov console) me. Thy saying, that
which thou hast said or promised. To thy servant, to me as thy

174 PSALM CXIX.

servant, and as such in covenant with thee. This description is
equally appropriate to the body and its members.

77. Let thy compassions come unto me (or upon me), and I shall
live, for thy law (is) my delights. The construction in the first
clause is like that in v. 41. And I shall live, or as we misjht ex-
press it, that 1 may live. See above, on v. 17. He pleads what
he has received already as a ground for asking more. The plural
{delights) expresses fulness and completeness, or perhaps implies
that this joy is equal or superior to all others, or includes them all.
The Hebrew noun is derived from the verb in vs. 16, 47, 70.

7S. Shamed be the proud, for falsely have they wronged me; I
will muse of thy precepts. Falsely, literally, falsehood, i. e. in or
by it. Wronged, literally, bent, perverted. With the last
clause compare vs. 27, 48.

79. Let them return to me that fear thee and know thy testi-
monies. Let thy servants who have looked upon me as abandoned
by thee now restore to me their confidence. The various read-
ing in the last clause (.iJT^ and 19*^) does not affect the meaning
of the sentence, except that the reading in the text maybe included
in the wish, and let them know thy testimonies,!, e. let them learn
from my experience to understand thy precepts better.

80. Let my Jieart be perfect in thy statutes, to the end that I may
not be shamed. In thy statutes, in the knowledge and the prac-
tice of them, or as it is expressed in Ps. xix. 12 (11), in keeping
them. Shamed, put to shame by the frustration of my highest
hopes. See above, on v. 6. Two of the verses in this stanza
begin with the same Hebrew word ("n^.)-

PSALM CXIX. 175

81. For thy salvation faints my soul ; for thy word do I wait.
Both verbs are in the preterite, implying that it is so and has
been so. Faints, is spent or wasted. This strong expression for
intense desire is borrowed from Ps. lxxxiv. 3 (2.) With the last
clause compare v. 74.

82. My eyes fail for thy saying, so that I say, when wilt thou
comfort me ? The first verb in Hebrew is the same with the first
in the preceding verse. Thy saying, the fulfilment of thy promise.
The Hebrew noun is derived from the following verb, to say, so
as to say, so that I say. It might also be translated, but with
less exactness, while I say.

S3. For I have been like a bottle in the smoke ; thy statutes 1
have not forgotten. The bottle meant is one of skin, still com-
mon in the east. The comparison is not entirely clear. Some
suppose that the blackening and shrivelling effect of the smoke
upon the skin is simply used as a figure for distress. Others
understand the words as conveying the additional idea, that as
wine-skins are not meant to be involved in smoke, so distress
is not the normal or natural condition of Grod's people. Others,
assuming that the skins were intentionally smoked by way of
seasoning, suppose the principal idea to be that of painful but
salutary discipline. There can be no doubt, that the clause
relates, in some way, to the afflictions, either of the chosen people,
or of individual believers, or of both. The meaning of the last
clause is that, notwithstanding these afflictions, the sufferer has
not forgotten God's commandments.

84. How many (arc) the days of thy servant ? When wilt thou
execute upon my 'persecutors judgment ? The shortness of life is
indirectly urged as an argument for speedy action. See above,

176 PSALM CXIX.

on Ps. xxxix. 5, 14 (4, 13.) lxxviii. 39. Ixxxix. 48,49 (47,48.)
Execute judgment, or do justice, as in Ps. ix. 5 (4.)

85. Proud {men) dig for me gits, which (are) not according to
thy law. The presumptuous sinners (vs. 51, 69, 7S) who are his
enemies use the most treacherous means for his destruction, with-
out regard to the divine command or prohibition. See above, on
Ps vii. 16 (15.) lvii. 7 (6.)

S6. All thy commandments (are) faith fulness ; falsely do they
persecute me ; help thou me. The promises annexed to God's
commandments are infallible. Falsely, as in v. 78, falsehood,
i. e. in falsehood, without right or reason, or with (by means of)
falsehood, as their instrument. The verb agrees with the re-
moter antecedent (persecutors) in v. 84.

87. They almost consumed me in the land, and I did not forsake
thy precepts. The verb consumed or destroyed (^3) and the
phrase in the land both occur in reference to the Canaanites,
2 Chr. viii. 8. The translation in the earth (v. 19) is admissible,
but less significant, and less in keeping with the national import
of the psalm. The second clause, as usual in such cases, de-
clares that notwithstanding his afflictions, he still sought to know
and do the will of God.

SS. According to thy mercy quicken me, and I will keep the testi-
mony of thy mouth. Restore me to life, or save me alive, as in
vs. 25, 37, 40. Of thy mouth, as in vs. 11, 72. This closes
the eleventh stanza and the first half of the psalm. Two of these
eight verses begin with different forms of the verb (nis) to fail or
faint, and three (including v. 84) with the particle (r) as or like

89. To eternity, Jehovah, thy word is settled in heaven. Th

i >

PSALM CXIX. 177

translation, eternal (art thou) Lord, is contrary to usage, which
requires the pronoun, in that case, to be expressed. Settled, liter-
ally, made to stand, i. e. unalterably fixed. In heaven, beyond
the reach of all disturbing causes. See above, Ps. lxxxix. 3 (2.)

90. To generation and generation (is) thy faithfulness ; thou
hast fixed the earth and it stands. Resolved into our idiom, the
moaning of this verse is, that the truth of God's promises, or his
fidelity to his engagements, is secured by the. same divine per-
fection, which brought the world at first into existence, and has
ever since preserved it. The verb translated fixed is not the one
employed in v. 89, but that used in Ps. vii. 10 (9.) ix. 8 (7.)
xl. 3 (2.) xlviii. 9 (8.) Ixviii. 10 (9.) xc. 17. xcix. 4. cvii. 36. The
sense prepared is rare and doubtful, and too feeble for this con-
text.

91. For thy judgments they stand to day, for all are thy ser-
vants. The subject of the first verb, though obscure, is probably
the heavens and the earth, mentioned in the two preceding
verses. These stand, continue to exist, for the execution of
God's judgments, with reference perhaps to the destruction
wrought by fire from heaven, by the opening of the earth, etc.
All, literally, the whole, to nav, the universe ; but the construc-
tion of this with the plural servants would be harsh in English.
The same expression is applied in Ps. xiv. 3 to all mankind, but
here to the material universe. Thy servants, the instruments
employed to execute thy will.

92. Unless thy law were my delights, then should I perish in my
affliction. The verse admits also of the construction in.the Eng-
lish Bible, which refers it to a remoter past, and represents the
danger as escaped, whereas the first construction implies a con-
tinued state of suffering. The law of God, as usual in this psalm,

8*

17S PSALM CXIX.

is here viewed, not as a body of mere requisitions, but as a cove-
nant, a law accompanied by promises.

93. To eternity I will not forget thy precepts , for in them hast
thou quickened me. In them, or by them, which is really included
in the other, meaning in the practice of them and by means of
them. Quickened, as in vs. 17, 25, 37, 40, 50.

94. Thine am I- — save me — for thy precepts I have sought. The
original form of the first clause is, to thee (am) I. Sought, as
in vs. 2, 10, 45.

95. For me have wicked (men) waited, to destroy me; thy testi-
monies will I understand. With the first clause compare Ps.
lvi. 7 (6.) Consider, though correct, is an inadequate translation
of the last verb, which denotes a fixed and intelligent attention.
The only effect of his enemies' malignant plots is a still more
serious contemplation of God's precepts.

96. To all perfection I have seen an end, (but) wide is thy com-
mand exceedingly. By end we are not to'understand the end of
its existence, but the limit or boundary of its extent. To all
other perfection (so called) I can see an end, but that required
and embodied in thy law is boundless. All the verses of this
stanza except one (v. 92) begin with the preposition (b) to or
for, as all those of the second do with (n) in.

97. How I love thy law ! All the day it (is) my meditation,!, e.
the subject of my solitary musing. This continual representation
of God's, law, not as a mere rule, but as an object of affection
and a subject of perpetual reflection, is characteristic of the
Psalms, and appears at the very threshold of the whole collection
See above, on Ps. i. 2.

PSALM CXIX. 179

98. (More) than my enemies do thy commandments make me
wise; for to eternity it is mine (or to me.) This is the con*
struction of the first clause preferred by the latest interpreters,
although it requires a singular verb to be construed with a
plural ncun. But as the same irregularity exists in the construc-
tion of the pronoun in the second clause, however the first may be
explained, it is best to explain both anomalies alike, i. e. partly
by the relative position of the words, and partly by the aggregate
sense in which commandments is here used as equivalent to law,
and which, agreeably to general usage, may sufficiently account
for its construction with a verb and pronoun in the singular. As
analogous cases have been cited 2 Sam. xxii. 23 — " (as for ) his
statutes, I depart not from it" — -and 2 Kings xvii. 22 — " the sins
of Jeroboam which he did, they departed not from it." As the
sins of Jeroboam were concentrated in one, so the statutes of Je-
hovah might be viewed as one great comprehensive precept. The
meaning of the last clause is not merely, it is ever with me, but
it is forever to me, i. e. mine, my inalienable indefeasible pos-
session. See above, v. 94.

99. (More) than all my teachers I act wisely , for thy testimonies
(are) a meditation to me. My teachers, my superiors in natural
and worldly wisdom. As the Hebrew verb has always elsewhere
an active meaning, it is better to retain it here, the rather as it
indicates more clearly that the wisdom which he boasts was
practical, experimental. See above, on Ps. ii. 10. xiv. 2. xxxii.
3 (7.) xli. 2(1.) lxiv. 10 (9.) ci. 2. The essential meaning of
the last clause is the same with that of v. 97, but the use of the
expression hV) suggests the same idea of possession that is ex-
pressed in v. 9S. Thy testimonies are mine, belong to me, as an
object of incessant contemplation.

100. (More) than old men I understand, because thy precepts
I have kept. The first verb is the same, and has the same sense

18C PSALM CXIX.

as in v. 95. The ambiguous Hebrew word ( d^Jjt ) cannot be
expressed by any one in modern English, as it may mean either
old men in the proper sense, whose greater experience entitled
them to be considered wiser than their juniors ; or the anzicnts,
those of former generations, who are popularly looked upon as
wiser than their children and successors. One of these senses suits
the personal, the other the national design and application of the
psalm. In either case, there is really no boast of superior intelli-
gence, as a distinguishing endowment, but merely an assertion, in
a striking form, that the highest wisdom is to do the will of (rod.
See above, on Ps. cxi. 10.

101. From every evil path I refrain my feet, to the intent that
I may keep thy word. Of the two ideas conveyed by word, that
of command is here predominant, but not exclusive of the other.
To keep God's word is primarily to obey his precept, but second-
arily to verify his promise. This verse teaches clearly that the
keeping of God's word is something incompatible with treading
any evil path.

102. From thy judgments I do not depart, because thou guidest
me. We have here another word of comprehensive meaning, in
which sometimes one phase of the essential idea is presented prom-
inently, sometimes another. The divine judgments, in this psalm,
are always the external exhibitions of the divine righteousness, in
word or deed, by precept or by punishment. Here of course the
former are especially intended. The figure of a way, though not
expressed, is still indicated by the verbs depart and guide. As to
the latter, see above, on v. 33. From this verse it is doubly clear
that he claims nothing as belonging to himself, or as accomplished
in his own strength, but ascribes all to the power and grace of God.
The preterite forms, in this and the preceding verse, merely make
the past more prominent than the future, as an accessory idea to
the present.

PSALM CXIX. 181

103. How sweet to my palate are thy sayings, sweeter than
honey to my mouth ! As the Hebrew verb occurs only here, it is
better to follow the rabbinical tradition and the ancient versions,
which make the idea to be that of sweetness, than the uncertain
etymological deductions of the lexicons, which make it to be that
of smoothness. The passive form may possibly denote that the
psalmist's relish for God's word was not a native but acquired
taste. Some interpreters unreasonably give to word the sense of
law, excluding that of promise altogether, whereas both must
unavoidably have been suggested to a Hebrew reader. The
original word means neither more nor less than that which God
has said. The figures of this verse are borrowed from Ps. xix.
11 (10.)

104. From thy precepts I get understanding ; therefore I hate
every path of falsehood. The common version of the first verb
comes as near to the exact sense of the original as any other
English word or phrase. The Hebrew verb is the same that
occurs above, vs. 95, 100. As he knows no wisdom independent
of the truth, he hates falsehood as the height of folly, and regu-
lates his life accordingly. All the verses of this stanza begin
either with the exclamation (n?a) how, or with the preposition
("Va) fromt than.

105. A lantern for my foot is thy word, and a light for my
path. To the figure of a path, so frequently presented in this psalm
already, is now added that of a light, to make it plain amidst
surrounding darkness. The parallelism is completed by adding
the generic term, light, to the specific one, lamp or lantern. For
my foot, i. e. to guide it. For my path, i. e. to show it.

106. I have sworn, and will perform (my oath), to observe the
judgments of thy righteousness. The second verb occurs above,

182 PSALM CXIX.

v. 28, in its primary sense of raising up, or causing to stand up-
right. In the later books, particularly that of Esther, it occurs
very often in the sense of ratifying or confirming, and might here
be rendered, I confirm (my oath already made.) In either case,
it merely strengthens the expression which precedes it. Observe,
keep, or obey, as in vs. 4, 5, 8, etc. Thy righteous judgments,
as in vs. 7, 62. Considered as the language of the whole church
or nation, this verse may have reference to the covenant entered
into at Mount Sinai and renewed in the plains of Moab, while as
a personal profession, it has its counterpart in the experience of
every true believer.

107. I am afflicted even to extremity ; Jehovah, quicken me ac-
cording to thy word. That the first clause does not relate
merely to past sufferings {I was afflicted), seems to follow from
the prayer in the last clause, which may, however, be understood
as a petition for deliverance from the deadening effects of a
calamity already past, such as the Babylonish exile, the enfeeb-
ling influence of which notwithstanding incidental benefits, con-
tinued to be felt for ages. The first verb in Hebrew, with the
idea of suffering, always suggests that of humiliation. Even to
extremity, the same words that occur above, in vs. 8, 43, 51.
The meaning of the last clause is, bestow upon me that life which
is promised in the Law to those who keep it. See Lev. xviii. 5.
Deut. vi. 24.

10S. The free-will offerings of my mouth accept, I pray thee,
oh Jehovah, and thy judgments teach me. For the meaning of the
first Hebrew word, see above, on Ps. ex. 3. It is here a figure
for prayers and praises, as appears from the addition of my
mouth. The verb accept is one continually used in the Law, with
respect to sacrificial offerings. See above, on Ps. li. 18 (16), and
compare Ps. 1. 14. The recurrence of the prayer, thy judgments
teach me, shows that the writer's object was to make everything

PSALM CXIX. 1S3

tend to this conclusion, and that however a sentence may begin,
it cannot be complete without a repetition of this favourite idea.

109. My soul is in my hand always, and (yet) thy law I have
not forgotten. The sense of the strong figure in the first clause
is clear from Judg. xii. 13. 1 Sam. xix. 5. xxviii. 21, where he
who risks or jeopards his own life, in war or otherwise, is said to
put his soul into his hand, as if to have it ready to give up or
throw away at any moment. The same expression reappears in
Job xiii. 14. The meaning of the whole verse is, that even amidst
the deadly perils which environed him, he still remembered the
divine law, as an object of supreme affection.

110. Wicked (men) have laid a snare for me, and (yetj from
thy precepts I have not strayed. Laid for me, literally, given to
me, as we might speak of a snare as presented to a person, i. e
set before him. The devices and temptations of the wicked were
as powerless as all the other causes previously mentioned, in lead-
ing him away from the path of truth and safety.

Ill I inherit thy testimonies to eternity, for the joy of my heart
(are) they. The first verb means to take as a possession or in-
heritance, and. is here used in allusion to those places of the
Pentateuch where it is applied to the possession of the promised
land. See for example Ex. xxiii. 30.

112. J incline my heart to do thy statutes to eternity, (even to)
the end. The preterite form of the first verb represents the
effort as already made but still continued: For the meaning of
the last word, see above, on v. 33. This stanza, like the eighth,
has a different initial word in every verse.

113. Waver ers I hate, and thy law 1 love. The first word in

184 PSALM CXIX.

Hebrew occurs only here. According to the most probable ety-
mology, it means men of divided and unstable minds. See
above, on Ps. xii. 3 (2), and compare James i. 8.

114. My hiding place and my shield (art) thou — for thy word
I wait, i. e. for the fulfilment of thy promise. See above, on
v. 81. The first word in the verse means properly a secret
or a secret place. See above, on Ps. xxvii. 5. xxxii. 7. lxi.
5 (4.) xci. 1. The shield is a favourite figure for protection
See above, on Ps. iii. 4 (3.) vii. 11 (10.) xviii. 3, 31 (2, 30.;

115. Depart from me, evil doers, and I will keep the command-
ments of God. The first clause is borrowed from Ps. vi. 9 (8.)
The meaning in both cases seems to be, that he has no fear of
their enmity. The reason given in this case is, because he is re-
solved to do the will of God, and is therefore sure of his protection.

11G. Uphold me according to thy promise, and let me live, and
let vie not be ashamed of my hope. Promise, literally, saying, that
which thou hast said, as in v. 82. Let me live might also
be translated and I shall live, or paraphrased that I may live.
See above, on v. 17. Of my hope, literally from my hope, which
some understand in a privative sense, away from, deprived of,
without my hope, i. e. without having it fulfilled. Ashamed of
my hope does not convey the sense so fully as shamed in my hope,
frustrated, disappointed, in my expectations.

117. Sustain me and I shall be saved, and I will look to thy
statutes always. The first verb is nearly synonymous with that
at the beginning of v. 116, and the same that occurs above, Ps.
xx. 3 (2.) xli. 4 (3.) xciv. 18. civ. 15. i" shall be saved, or let
me be saved, or that I may be saved, precisely as in the preceding
verse. The strict future sense is here to be preferred, as the vert

PSALM CXIX. 185

is not both preceded and followed by a prayer, as in the other
case. Look to, have respect to, regard, as the rule of my con-
duct. The construction of the verb and preposition is the same
as in Ex. v. 9.

118. Thoudespisesta.il (those) straying from thy statutes, for a
lie (is) their deceit. They are objects not only of disapprobation but
of scorn, because in attempting to deceive others they deceive
themselves. Their deception of others is a lie to themselves.

119. (As) dross hast thou made to cease all the wicked of the
earth ; therefore I love thy testimonies. The purifying tendency
of God's judgments is itself a reason for delighting in them. The
verb in the first clause, which occurs in its primary sense in Ps.
viii. 3 (2), is applied to the purging out of leaven at the passover
(Ex. xii. 15) and to the extirpation of wild beasts (Lev. xxvi. 6.

120. My flesh shudders from dread of thee, and of thy judgments
I am afraid. The first verb in Hebrew occurs only here, but is
universally admitted to denote some bodily effect of fear, such as
trembling, shuddering, or the instinctive creeping of the flesh.
Afraid of, in the last clause, does not fully represent the Hebrew
phrase, which denotes noL mere apprehension of something still
future or absent, but terror in view of something actually present.
Judgments has its usual wide sense, but with special reference, in
this case, to God's penal visitations. Here ends the fifteenth
stanza, in which, as in the one before it, every verse has a dis-
tinct initial word.

121. / do justice and righteousness ; leave me not to my op-
pressors. The first verb is in the past tense, I have done and I
still do. Do justice, not in the restricted or forensic sense of re-
dressing wrong judicially, but in the wide sense of executing jus-
tice or reducing it to practice.

1S6 PSALM CXIX.

122. Be surety for thy servant for good ; let not the frond op-
press me. The sense and construction of the first verb are pre-
cisely the same as in Gren. xliii. 9. xliv. 32. Compare Job xvii. 3,
and see my note on Isai. xxxviii. 14. It means not merely take
me under thy protection, but become answerable for me, stand
between me and those who, under any pretext, even that of legal
right, may seek to oppress me. For good, i. e. for my good, for
my safety or deliverance. Compare Deut. vi. 24. x. 13. xxx. 9.
This is noted in the masora as the only verse in which the word
of God, or some equivalent expression, is not found.

123. My eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word of thy
righteousness. With the first clause compare v. 82. The word
of thy righteousness, thy word of righteousness, thy righteous
word, the promise of a righteous God who cannot lie.

124. Deal with thy servant according to thy mercy, and thy
statutes teach me. The first words strictly mean do with thy ser-
vant, which may be an ellipsis for do good to him, or deal kindly
with him, as in v. 65. See above, on Ps. cix. 21.

125. Thy servant (am) 1 ; make me understand and let me know
thy testimonies. That thy servant is not a mere periphrasis for I
or me in v. 122 and elsewhere, appears from the first clause of
the verse before us, where it constitutes the predicate of the pro-
position. In the second clause, we'have the same choice of con-
structions as in vs. 110,117. Let me know, or (then) I shall know^
or that I may knoiv, all implying one another, and amounting to
the same thing.

126. (It is) time for Jehovah to do — they break thy laiu. The
absolute use of do, without an object, or leaving it to be suggested
by the context, is a peculiar Hebrew idiom. See above, on Ps.
22 (21.) We may here supply justice from v. 121 (compare

PSALM CXIX. 187

v. 84) ; or more indefinitely, whatever should be done ; or more
indefinitely still, it is time to do (something), i. e. to act, which is
substantially the meaning of the common version (time to work.)
Retaining the order of the Hebrew words, the sense would seem
to be, it is time to do (something) for Jehovah, i. e. for his people
to do it. But the direct address to God in the last clause, and
the whole tenor of the context, make it more probable, that God
himself is here entreated to do something for the vindication of
his broken law. The verb in the last clause is to be construed
indefinitely ; they, i. e. men in general, or the wicked in par-
ticular. With this clause compare Isai. xxiv. 5.

127. Therefore I love thy commandments (more) than gold and
(more) than fine gold. The first word refers not to the immediately
preceding verse, but to the whole previous description of the
excellence of God's commandments. The comparison in the last
clause, like that in v. 103, is borrowed from Ps. xix. 11 (10.)

128. Therefore all (thy) precepts (as to) all (things) I think
right ; every way of falsehood do I hate. The therefore is co-
ordinate with that in the preceding verse, and to be explained iu
the same manner. Both were probably occasioned by the alpha-
betical arrangement here requiring an initial ayin. Precepts of
course mean those of God, as word means his word in v. 49.
The construction here is very foreign from our idiom, and by no
means easily translated into it. The literal meaning of the
words is, all precepts of all, which some understand to mean of
all lands, as in v. 14 and Ps. cxviii. 10. But others deny that
all has this sense, even in the places cited, and explain it here to
mean concerning all, on all subjects. The clause is then con-
demnatory of all partial distinctions between God's command-
ments, which may be the way of falsehood specially intended in
the last clause. Compare Matt. v. 17 — 19. The verb in the
first clause always elsewhere means to make straight, to s;o

188 PSALM CXIX.

straight, or to direct aright ; but the best interpreters agree in
making it here mean, to think right or approve. It is worthy of
remark, that as to all these points, the true sense of this difficult
clause seems to be given in the English Bible. With the last
clause compare v. 104. In the sixteenth stanza, which here
closes, two of the verses begin with' (\3~~2) therefore, and two
with different forms of the verb (o^5>) to do.

129. Wonderful {are) thy testimonies ; therefore my soul keepeth
them. The first word in Hebrew is a plural form of that in Ps.
lxxvii. 12, 15 (11, 14) lxxviii. 12. lxxxviii. 11 (10), and proper-
ly means wonders, i. e., miracles or prodigies of moral excellence.
My soul, not merely I, but I with all my heart or soul.

130. The opening of thy words enlightens, making the simple
understand. The common version of the first word (entrance) is
inaccurate, and the one here given, though exact is ambiguous.
The clause does not refer to the mechanical opening; of the book
by the reader, but to the spiritual opening of its true sense, by
divine illumination, to the mind which naturally cannot discern
it. For the Scriptural usage of the word translated simple, see
above, on Ps. xix. S (7.) cxvi. 6.

131. My mouth I stretch and pant, because for thy command-
ments 1 long. The first verb usually means to gape or yawn, but
these verbs are intransitive in English, and cannot be construed
with the noun directly. For the meaning of the next veHb, see
above, on Ps. lvi. 2, 3 (1,2.) lvii. 4 (3.) Both are figurative
expressions of the idea conveyed directly by the third verb, which
occurs nowhere else, but differs only in a single letter from the
verb of the same meaning used in vs. 40, 174, which also is
peculiar to this psalm.

132. Turn to me, and be gracious to me, as (is) due to the lovers

PSALM CXIX. 1S9

of thy name. The first verb does not mean to return or come
back, but to turn round to or towards an object from which the
looks have been averted. See above, on Ps. cii. 18 (17.) fie
gracious or merciful, show favour to or favour me. As is due to,
or according to the right of, the lovers etc. The Hebrew word
(E&EJfr) has here the meaning of the Latin jus, as in Ps. lxxxi.
5, (4.) For the meaning of the lovers of thy name, see above,
on Ps. v. 12 (11.)

133. My steps establish by thy word, and let not any iniquity
rule over me. Establish, i. e. make firm, cause me to walk safe-
ly. See above, on Ps. xl. 3 (2.) fiy thy word or saying,
what thou hast said, i. e. by the fulfilment of fhy promise. The
last clause might seem to be a prayer against the power of his
own corruption ; but the frequent use of the Hebrew noun to de-
note the mutual injustice of men, together with the language of
the next verse, seems to show that this too is a prayer against op-
pression. The verb in this clause is applied by Nehemiah (v. 15 )
to the oppression suffered by the restored Jews. The Arabic
verb of the same form is the root of the royal title Sultan.

134. Redeem me from the oppression of man, and I will l-eep
thy precepts. These two verses are peculiarly appropriate to the
trials and temptations of the Jews at the time of the Restora-
tion. The form of the last verb denotes strong desire and de-
termination.

135. Let thy face shine upon thy servant, and teach me thy
statutes. The prayer of the first clause is the same as that
which forms the burden of Ps. lxxx. (4, 8, 20.) Thy servant,
i. e. me who am thy servant ; hence the first person is immedi-
ately resumed.

136. Streams of water run down my eyes, for (that) they do

190 PSALM CXIX.

not keep thy law. In the Hebrew of the first clause, eye is the
subject, not the object, of the verb. See the same or similar
idiomatic constructions, Jer. ix. 17. xiii. 17. Lam. i. 16. iii. 48.
Ezek. vii. 17. The preposition in the last clause is to be
construed with the relative understood, in the sense of for
that, forasmuch as, because. The complete phrase occurs above,
v. 49. They do not, i. e., men indefinitely, others. Here ends
the seventeenth stanza, all the verses of which begin with different
Hebrew words.

137. Righteous {art) thou, oh Jehovah, and just thy judgments.
The English and the ancient versions make the second adjective
aoree with judgments, although different in number. This might
be justified by making (*fflP) Just a neuter adjective or substan-
tive, as in Ps. cxi. 8. It is much more simple and agreeable to
usage to apply the epithet to God himself, as in Deut. xxxii. 4,
and explain thy judgments as a kind of adverbial or qualifying
phrase, very common in Hebrew, but in our idiom requiring the
insertion of a preposition, upright {in or as to) thy judgments.

138. Thou hast commanded righteousness thy testimonies, and
faithfulness — exceedingly. This is another elliptical construction,
wholly foreign from our idiom. Some resolve it by supplying to
or to he : thou hast commanded thy testimonies to (or to be)
righteousness, i. e. hast made them righteous. It is simpler,
however, and more like the syntax of the verse preceding, to
supply in or with : thou hast commanded (in) righteousness thy
testimonies, etc. The very or exceedingly may belong to faithful-
ness alone, or to the whole proposition. The mention of faithful-
ness shows that the idea of God's promise. is included in his testi-
mony With this verse compare v. 86, and Ps. xciii. 5.

139 My zeal consumes me, because my adversaries forget thy
word. The verbs strictly niean,/i<3s consumed, ha ve forgotten, but

PSALM CXIX. 191

without excluding the present, as they might seem to do, if ren-
dered literally into English. 2kal, jealous regard for God's author-
ity and honour. See above, on Ps. lxix. 10, (9.) The first He-
brew verb occurs above, Ps. lxxxviii. 17 (16.) The last clause
gives the reason or occasion of his jealousy. Adversaries, perse-
cutors or oppressors. Thy word includes thy promise to me and
thy command to them.

140. Pure (is) thy word — exceedingly, and thy servant, loves it.
Pure, literally, purged, tried, assayed, refined, like precious metal.
See above, on Ps. xviii. 31 (30. ) Saying, as elsewhere in this psalm,
alternates with word, and has the same comprehensive meaning.
Thy servant, I as thy servant, and because I am so. Loves and
has Ions; loved.

141. Little (am) I and despised, (but) thy precepts do I not for-
get. However proudly or however justly I may be despised, I
can still lay claim to one distinction, that I have not, like my de-
spisers, forgotten God's commandments. These words are pecu-
liarly appropriate to Israel, as a body, at the Restoration.

142. Thy righteousness (is) right forever, and thy law (is) truth.
Right is here used as a noun, in order to vary the expression in
English as in Hebrew, where two cognate forms (fij?12 and pr.:)
are employed. With the first clause compare Ps. ciii. 17. cxi. 3.
The idea here is, that God's rectitude is not capricious or mutable,
as might be inferred from the afflictions of his people, but un-
changeable and to eternity. Thy law, both in its precepts and its
promises, is true, is truth itself.

143. Distress and anguish seize (or seized) me; thy command-
ments (are) my delight. Even in the midst of suffering, thy com-
mandments not only solace me but make me happy. Seize, liter-

192 PSALM CXIX.

ally find , as in Ps. cxvi. 3. Delight , literally, delights, a succe-
claneum for all other pleasures. See above, on v. 24.

144. Right (are) thy testimonies to eternity ; make vie under-
stand, and I shall live. Right, righteousness, the second of the
nouns used in v. 142. Make me understand {them), i. e., these
thy testimonies. And (then) I shall live, which includes let me
live and that I may live. See above, on vs. 17, 116. Three
of the verses in this stanza begin with derivatives of the root p!2.

145. Iinvoke (thee) with a -whole heart — answer me, Jehovah —
thy statutes will I keep. I have invoked thy favour with a heart-
felt sense of its necessity ; grant it to me, according to my
prayer, and I am fully resolved to keep thy statutes.

146. I invoke thee — save me — and I will observe thy testimonies.
The pronoun implied in the preceding verse is here expressed.
The augmented form of the last verb is emphatic or intensive. I
will observe thy testimonies, i. e. obey thy precepts and believe
thy promises.

147. I come lefore (thee) in the (morning) twilight, and I cry
to (thee) ; for thy words do I wait. The first verb has the same
sense as in Ps. xcv. 2. Compare Ps. lxxxviii. 14 (13.) Early
prayer implies importunate desire. The twilight meant is that of
morning, as in 1 Sam. xxx. 17. Job vii. 4. The second verb
means to cry for help. Its augmented form is common in verbs
of speaking, and supposed by some grammarians to denote motion
or direction towards the object of address, like the local or di-
rective n in nouns. See Judo;, vi. 10. 1 Sam. xxviii. 15. Neh.
v. 7. xhi. 11, 17, 21. Dan. ix. 4.

148. My eyes anticipate the watches, to muse of thy promise.
Before the stated hours of vigil he is awake and ready for devout

PSALM CXIX. 193

meditation. To muse, that I may muse or meditate. See above,
on v. 62, and compare Ps. lxiii. 7 (6). lxxvii. 5 (4.) Lam. ii. 19.

149. My voice hear according to thy mercy, oh Jehovah, accord-
ing to thy judgments quicken me. According to the promises an-
nexed to thy commandments.

150. JYear are those pursuing crime ; from thy law they are far'
off. Pursuing, eagerly devising and attempting. Crime, malicious
mischief, as in Ps. xxvi. 10. In the last clause there is a kind of
play upon the words far and near, as if he had said, the nearer
they are to harming me, the further are they from obeying thee.

151. Near {art) thou, Jehovah, and all thy commandments are
truth. The lusus verlorum may be said to be continued. As
they are near to injure, thou art near to save, and all thy pro-
mises to those who do thy will are true, are truth itself.

152. Jong have I known from thy testimonies (themselves), that
thou unto eternity hast founded them. The first word in Hebrew
is a noun used adverbially, as in Ps. lv. 20 (19.) The precepts
of the law describe themselves as everlasting. See Ex. xxvii. 21.
xxviii. 43. xxxvi. 21. Lev. iii. 17. vi. 11. vii. 36. Num. x. 8. This
concludes the nineteenth stanza, two of the initial words in which
are derivatives of *np, two of S^p, three of ETp.

153. See my suffering and deliver me ; for thy law I forget
not. The first petition, in the same words, occurs above, Ps.
ix. 14 (13.) The first verb originally signifies to extricate or dis-
embarrass. I forget not, and have not forgotten, both of which
ideas would be necessarily suggested to a Hebrew reader.

154. Strive my strife and redeem me ; as to thy word, quicken
me. With the first clause compare Ps. xlih\ 1. lxix. 19 (18.)

VOL. III. 9

194 PSALM CXIX.

As to, according to, in fulfilment of, thy saying, that which thou
hast said, thy promise. See above, v. 41.

155. Far from the wicked {is) salvation ; because thy statutes they
seek not. The first word in Hebrew is a masculine adjective, and
does not agree regularly with salvation, which is feminine, but is
construed as a •neuter, something far, as the first word in v. 72
means a good thing. Seek not, and have not sought, i. e. desired
either to know or do thy will. See above, on v. 45.

156. Many (or manifold are) thy compassions, oh Jehovah, ac-
cording to thy judgments quicken me. That the first word means
many, not great, in this connection, seems clear from the next
verse. According to thy judgments, as in v. 149.

157. Many {are) my persecutors and oppressors ; from thy testi-
monies I decline not. The second noun is often rendered adver-
saries, as in v. 139, but it may here be taken in its primary sense,
which is near akin to that of the preceding word. I decline noty
and have not declined, deviated, swerved.

158. I see traitors and am sickened — (those) who thy saying keep
not. The wicked are called traitors against God, their rightful
sovereign, as in Ps. xxv. 8. The first verb is the reflexive form
of that in Ps. xcv. 10, I sicken (or disgust) myself. The common
version of the relative {because) conveys an idea not expressed
but understood. There is no need of departing from the strict
sense of the pronoun. See and have seen, keep and have kept.

159. See hoio I love thy precepts, Jehovah ; according to thy
mercy, quicken me. See how, literally see that, which is tanta-
mount to saying, thou scest that.

160. The head of thy word (is) truth, and to eternity (is) every

PSALM CXIX.

195

judgment of thy righteousness. Head is by some explained as
meaning the sum total, by others as synonymous with the connate
form (fl-iBlfty in Ps. cxi. 10. Every judgment of thy righteous-
ness, every one of thy righteous judgments. Three verses of the
twentieth stanza begin with some form of the verb (nz*l) to see.

161. Princes persecute me without cause — and at thy words my
heart is awed. Both Hebrew verbs are in the past tense. The
first verb, like its representative, originally means to follow
after, to pursue, but is commonly employed in a hostile sense.
Without cause answers to a single Hebrew word (5-ri) an adverb
related to the noun (w(n) favour, as gratis is to gratia in Latin.
So in modern English, the idea here might be expressed by the
one word gratuitously. At thy words, literally, from them, i. e.
because or on account of them. The last verb is not a passive in
Hebrew, but a less usual synonyme of (a1^) to fear, correctly
paraphrased in the English versions (standeth in awe.) The maso-
retic reading is thy word in the singular, but, as in most other
cases, the best critics now prefer the reading in the text.

162. Rejoicing (am) I over thy saying, like (one) finding much
spoil. The participle indicates continued and habitual rejoicing.
Thy saying, that which thou hast said, thy law with its attendant
promises.

163. Falsehood I hate and abhor ; thy law Hove. Hate and
have hated, love and have loved. Falsehood or lying, as in v. 29.
The second verb has the same augmented and intensive form that
occurs above, vs. 147, 158.

164. Seven limes in the day I praise thee, for the judgments of
thy righteousness. Seven times is a proverbial idiom for often or
repeatedly. The use of this form of expression here is not the

196 PSALM CXIX.

effect but the occasion of the observance of canonical hours. See
above, on Ps. lv. IS (17.) Praise thee, and have been accustomed
so to do. "With the last clause compare v. 160.

165. (There is) much peace to the lovers of thy laio, and there is
to them no stumbling block. Peace, in opposition to the disquie-
tude inseparable from a course of sin. A stumbling-block is a
common scriptural figure for an occasion of unbelief or sin. The
idea here is, that the best preservative against temptation is a
love to God's commandments. The Prayer-Book version (they
are not offended at it) and that in the text of the English Bible
{nothing shall offend them) convey a very different meaning from
the true one to a modern reader. The latter indeed seems
directly contradictory to vs. 53, 158. The correct sense is in-
telligibly given in the margin of the common version.

166. I hope for thy salvation, oh Jehovah, and thy command-
ments I do. I hope and have hoped, do and have done. In the
meantime, while expecting thy salvation, I am careful to perforin
thy will.

167. My soul observes thy testimonies, and Hove them greatly (or
exceedingly .) I observe them, pay particular regard to them, in
regulating my behaviour, not with a mere external conformity, but
from or with my soul, because I love them greatly.

168. I observe thy precepts and thy testimonies, because all my
toays are before thee. He does not affect to be prompted by a
love exclusive of all fear, but only of a slavish dread. He stands
in awe of God's omniscience, and is influenced by dread of his
disapprobation to obey his precepts, as well as by attachment to
the law itself. My ways, my courses of conduct, mode of life,
behaviour. Before thee, open to God's infallible inspection, and
subjected to his judgment. Two of the verses in this stanza begin

PSALM CX IX. 197

with forms of the verb ("titt?) to observe or keep. It is also worthy
of remark that fc and to are treated as one letter, three of the verses
beginning with the former, namely, the two first and the sixth.

169. Let my cry come near before thee, ok Jehovah ; according
to thy word, make me understand. The first noun denotes an audi-
ble expression of strong feeling, whether sorrowful or joyful. See
above, on Ps. xvii. 1. xxx. 6 (5.) Come near before thee, not only
near enough to be heard, but into thy presencej so that he who utters
it may be seen. According to thy word, thy commandment which
requires, and thy promise which secures, the understanding of thy
will. See above, vs. 25, 65, 107, and compare Deut. xxx. 6.

170. Let my supplication come before thee ; according to thy prom-
ise, free me (or deliver me.) The first noun, according to its ety
mology, denotes a prayer for grace or favour. See above, Ps. vi.
10 (9.) lv. 2 (1.) In this and the preceding verse, the prayer for
deliverance from outward troubles is subjoined, and as it were
subordinated, to that for grace to do the will of God. The samo
connection may be traced in Ps. xc. 11 — 17.

171. My lips shall pour forth praise ; for thou wilt teach me thy
statides. The first verb means to cause to gush or flow, and is
the same with that in Ps. xix. 3 (2.) lxxviii. 2. It here denotes
eager, abundant, and unceasing jDraise. The last clause expresses
the confident expectation of the blessing so often and importu-
nately asked throughout the psalm. As if he had said, Now shall
my lips praise, for I am about to receive what I had prayed for ;
thou wilt indeed teach me thy statutes. The translation when thou
hast taught me (or shall teach me) is less exact, less forcible, and
really included in the other.

172. Let my tongue answer thy saying — that all thy command-
ments are right. The verb which usually means to answer prayer

198 PSALM CXIX.

(see above, vs. 26, 145) is here used in the sense of responding
to a precept or a promise by the language of praise and acquies-
cence. Compare v. 42. There is no need of treating the optative
form of the verb as a poetic license. The strict sense agrees well
with the prayer in the next verse. "What is here asked is occasion
thus to praise God. As the last clause seems to assign no perti-
nent reason for the prayer in the first, it may be regarded as the
response itself. Let my tongue say in answer to all thy requisi-
tions, that all thy commandments are right, or righteousness itself,
as in vs. 142, 144.

173. Let thy hand he (near) to help me ; for thy precepts do 1
choose. The word supplied in this translation is not necessary to
the sense, but is introduced for the purpose of retaining the
original construction, he to help me, i. e. be my help, or simply
help me. The reason given in the last clause is, that as he volun-
tarily makes choice of God's will as his rule of conduct, he there-
by renounces all other protection. The Hebrew verb is a pre-
terite ; I choose, and have already chosen.

174. I long for thy salvation, oh Jehovah, and thy law (is) my
delights. I long and have longed. "With the first clause com-
pare vs. 40, 81, 131 ; with the second, vs. 24, 77, 92.

175. Let my soul live and praise thee ; and let thy judgments
help me. This verse sums up in conclusion the petitions of the
whole psalm. Save me, and thereby give me cause to praise
thee, for the blessings which I have derived from the promises
and precepts of the law. Let my soul live, because it is that which
is in danger. Judgments, as in vs. 149, 156.

176. I wander like a lost sheep — seek thy servant — for thy com-
mandments I do not forget. The English versions of the first
clause (I have gone astray) although they adhere strictly to the

PSALM CXX. 199

form of the original, seem to make the primary idea that of sin,
which is really included, but only as the cause of that which is
directly intended, namely misery, represented by the wandering of
a lost and helpless sheep. Compare Jer. 1. 6. Seek thy servant,
deliver from this wretched state one who is still thy servant, and
as such remembers thy commandments, even in the midst of his
worst sufferings. As the preceding verse sums up the petitions
of the psalm, so this sums up its complaints in the first clause
and its professions in the last, connected by the short prayer
(seek thy servant) as by a single link. The predominant use of
the past tense, even to the end, shows how deeply the entire
psalm is founded upon actual and previous experience. In this
last stanza, the only initial word repeated is (taHfr) the verb of
existence.

PSALM CXX.

1 . A Song of the Ascents. To Jehovah, inmy distress, I called, and
he answered me. This is the first of fifteen psalms (cxx — cxxxiv )
all bearing the inscription, song of ascents or up goings, i. e
sung during the periodical journeys or pilgrimages to Jerusalem
at the times of the great yearly festivals. On these occasions the
people are said, even in historical prose, to go up to Jerusalem,
in reference both to its physical and moral elevation. See Ex.
xxxiv. 24. 1 Kings xii. 27, 28. The Hebrew verb (n)$) em-
ployed in such connections is the root of the noun (tfibSfa) ascents
in these inscriptions. This explanation of the title is much more
satisfactory than any other which has been proposed. * A rabbini-
cal tradition represents these psalms as having been sung by the

200 PSALM CXX.

people, as they ascended the fifteen steps (in Hebrew tri!)3M3i
seven on one side and eight on the other, repeatedly mentioned
by Ezekiel (xl. 6, 22, 26, 31, 34, 37.) But apart from the in-
trinsic improbability of this tradition, some psalms in the series
were evidently not meant to be sung at the temple. No less im-
probable than this very ancient explanation is the modern one,
that the inscription has reference to a peculiarity of structure, the
repetition of a phrase or clause of one sentence in the next with
an addition, forming a idn$ of climax or progression in the terms
as well as the ideas. But even admitting that this peculiarity of
form might be described by (rn^^) the Hebrew word in ques-
tion, this word could not have been prefixed to each of the fifteen
psalms, when the examples of the fact alleged are confined almost
exclusively to one or two of them. Much nearer to the truth
is the opinion, that these psalms were intended to be sung
during the return from Babylon, which is called an ascent
(nbsfa) by Ezra (vii. 9.) But this can only be maintained by
arbitrarily denying the genuineness of the titles, which ascribe
four of the psalms (cxxii, cxxiv, cxxxi, cxxxiii) to David and one
(cxxvii) to Solomon. The position assigned to these, and the dif-
ference of tone between them and the rest, are ingeniously ac-
counted for by Hengstenberg's hypothesis, that these five ancient
psalms, sung by the people, as they went up to Jerusalem, before
the captivity, were made the basis of a whole series or system,
designed for the same use by an inspired writer after the Restora-
tion, who not only added ten psalms of his own, as appears from the
identity of tone and diction, but joined them to the old ones in a
studied and artificial manner, entirely inconsistent with the suppo-
sition of fortuitous or random combination. The one psalm by
Solomon stands in the centre of the series or system and divides it
into two equal parts, in each of which we find two psalms of David
and five anonymous or new ones, the former being separated and
surrounded by the latter, an additional and strong proof of intend-
ed adaptation to the times when the later psalms were written, to

PSALM CXX. 201

which Hengstenberg still further adds tho number and distribu-
tion of the divine names in the whole series and its subdivisions.
The psalm immediately before is anonymous, but its tone and
diction mark it as belonging to the period of the Restoration. It
begins with an acknowledgment of that great mercy, v. 1 , followed
by a prayer for deliverance from treacherous and spiteful ene-
mies, v. 2, and a confident anticipation of their punishment, vs. 3, 4,
but closes with a further lamentation and complaint of present
suffering, vs. 5 — 7. In this, as in all the other psalms of the
series, the ideal speaker is Israel or Judah, considered as the church
or chosen people. This first verse, although general in its terms, is
perfectly appropriate to the Captivity, as the distress out of which
the sufferer cried to God, and to the Restoration, as the answer to his
prayer. In my distress, literally, in distress to me, an expression
like that in Ps. xviii. 7 (6.) The augmented form of the Hebrew
noun is like that in Ps. iii. 3 (2.)

2. Oh Jehovah, free my soul from lip of falsehood, from tongue
of fraud. The soul is particularly mentioned as usual when the
life or the existence is in danger. The last two nouns in Hebrew
are not in construction but in apposition, a tongue {which is)
fraud, equivalent in meaning to the same English words in an
inverted order, fraud-tongue. See a somewhat similar combina-
tion, Ps. xlv. 5 (4.) lx. 5 (4.) The terms of the description are
too strong to be applied to mere delusive promises, and necessarily
suggest the idea of calumnious falsehood, as in Ps. xxxi. 19 (18.)
cxix. 69, 78. The reality answering to this description in the
case of the restored Jews is the spiteful misrepresentation, by
which the Samaritans retarded the rebuilding of the temple, as
recorded in the fourth chapter of Ezra.

3. What will he give to thee, and tohat will he add to thee, thou
tongue of fraud ? Having complained to God of the false
tongue, the ideal speaker turns to it as actually^ present and ad-

9*

202 PSALM CXX.

dresses it directly, speaking of God in the third person. The
meaning of the question is, what recompense can you expect from
an infinitely righteous God for these malignant calumnies ? The
peculiar form of the interrogation is derived from that of an
ancient oath, The Lord do so to me and more also, literally, and
so add, i. e. further do, or in addition to the thing in question.
See 1 Sam. iii. 17. xiv. 44. As explained by this allusion, the
words have a new force. What good or evil may be imprecated
on thee, as the consequence of these malicious falsehoods ?

4. Arrows of a warrior sharpened, (together) with coals of
juniper. The general idea of severe and painful punishment is
here expressed by the obvious and intelligible figures of keen
arrows and hot coals. The arrows of a mighty man, warrior, or
hero, are those used in battle, perhaps with an allusion to the
fact, that one of the races mentioned in the next verse excelled
in archery. See Isai. xxi. 17. The word which the rabbin-
ical tradition explains to mean the juniper, is by modern lexi-
cographers identified with the Arabic name of a species of broom-
plant, which is thought, on account of its inflammatory quality,
to make the best charcoal. See Robinson's Palestine, vol. i. p. 299.
With the figures of the verse before us compare Ps. vii. 14 (13.)
xviii. 13, 14 (12, 13.) cxl. 11 (10.)

5. Alas for me, that I sojourn (with) Meshech (and) dwell near
the tents of Kcdar ! The first verb seems elsewhere, in the same
construction, to denote the act of dwelling with one, Ps. v.
5 (4.) The Hebrew preposition in the last clause properly
means with and denotes association and proximity. The English
Bible, by twice employing our preposition in, obscures the mean-
ing of both clauses, which is not that the people were in the
power or even in the midst of the enemies here mentioned, but
compelled to reside near them and to suffer from their neighbour-
hood. Meshech is the name given in Gen. x. 2 to the Moschi, a

PSALM CXX. 203

barbarous people inhabiting the mountains between Colchis
Armenia, and Iberia. Kedar was one of the sons of Ishmael
(Gren. xxv. 13), whose name is sometimes used to designate an
Arabian tribe (Isai. xxi. 16. xlii. 11 J, and in later Hebrew the
Arabians generally. As these races, dwelling far off, in the north
and south, were never in immediate or continued contact with
the Israelites, they are probably named as types and representa-
tives of warlike barbarism, just as the names Goths, Vandals,
Huns, Turks, Tartars, Cossacks, have at different times been
used proverbially in English, to describe those supposed to
exhibit the same character, however unconnected or remote in
genealogy and local habitation. A slight approach to the same
usage was produced among ourselves by the revolutionary war,
in reference to the national names, British and Hessian. In the
case before us, it is evident from v. 6, that Meshech and Kedar
are mere types and representatives of those who hate peace and
delight in war. Compare Ezek. xxxviii. 2, where Meshech ap-
pears as a chief leader under Gog, the great prophetic represent-
ative of heathendom.

6. My soul has dwelt too long for her with (one J hating peace.
The substitution oi my soul for /implies the intimate conviction
and the painful sense of what is here asserted. Too long, lite-
rally, much or too much. As to this peculiar idiom, see above, on
Ps. lxv. 10 (9.) For her may be an idiomatic pleonasm, adding
nothing to the meaning of the verb, with which it must be read
in close connection ; or it may have the meaning which the cor-
responding phrase would naturally seem to have in English, for
her good or for her interest. See above on Ps. lviii. 8 (7.)
Hating peace is clearly a collective or aggregate expression,
comprehending all denoted by the Meshech and Kedar of the
preceding verse, as an ideal individual.

7. I am peace j and when I speak, they (go) to ivar. The first

204 PSALM CXXI.

phrase resembles I am prayer in Ps. cix. 4, and seems to mean, I
am all peace, nothing but peace, peace itself, i. e. entirely peace-
ful or pacific. Speak may be an ellipsis for apeak peace, a
phrase repeatedly occurring in the Psalms. See above, Ps.
xxxv. 20. lxxxv. 9 (8), and below, Ps. cxxii. 8. The sense
will then be, whenever I desire or propose peace. If the verb be
absolutely understood, the sense is that every word he utters is
made an occasion of attack or conflict. The double for, in the
common version of this sentence, is as incorrect as the double in
of v. 5, and more enfeebling to the sense. I am not only for
peace, but am peace itself. They are not only for wart but arise,
proceed, or address themselves to it.

PSALM CXXI.

1 . A Song for the Ascents. I raise my eyes to the mountains.
Whence cometh my help 1 The title difFers from that of the pre-
ceding psalm only in the use of the preposition for, instead of the
simple genitive construction. This variation, though without
effect upon the sense, is favourable to the explanation which has
been already given of these titles, as a song for the ascents or pil-
grimages to Jerusalem is certainly more intelligible than a song
for the steps of the temple, and still more so than a song for the
returns from exile, while the modern theory of climacteric re-
sumptions fails altogether to account for the expression here used
The whole psalm is a description of Jehovah as the guardian or
protector of his people. The only material distinction of the
parts is that arising from the alternate use of the first and second
person, as in Ps. xci, which has led some to assume without ne-

PSALM CXXI. 205

cessity, that the psalm was intended to be sung by alternate or
responsive choirs. The phrase to lift the eyes, though sometimes
used to signify the mere act of directing them to an object, has
its strict and full sense, when a higher object is particularly men-
tioned, such as hills or heavens. The mountains here meant are
the heights on which Jerusalem is built. It is not improbable
that this psalm was intended to be sung when the pilgrims came
in sight of the Holy City. Some suppose moreover that it was
meant to be an evening song and used when they halted for the
last night's rest before they reached Jerusalem. The relative
construction of the last clause yields a good sense, but is not in
perfect keeping with the usage of the compound particle
(T.**??) which is elsewhere always interrogative.

2. My help is from Jehovah, Maker of heaven and earth. The
creative power of Jehovah is particularly mentioned, to demon-
strate his ability to help his people. Compare Ps. cxv. 15.

3. May he not suffer to he moved thy foot ; may he, not slumber
— thy keeper. This is the expression of a wish, the only sense
consistent with the form of the original. Let him not give up to
moving thy foot. See above, Ps. xxxviii. 17 (16. ) Ixvi. 9 (8.) The
figure is peculiarly appropriate in the mouth of pilgrims, making
their way among the hills and rocks of Palestine. The same thing
is true of the figures in the subsequent verses.

4. Xo, he shall not slumber, and he shall not sleep — the keeper of
Israel. What is desired in the third verse, is affirmed in
this. The position of the subject at the end of the sentence, in
both cases, is emphatic. Most interpreters assume a gradation in
the meaning of the two verbs ' as if one denoted lighter and the
other deep sleep ; but they differ on the question which is the
stronger of the two expressions. The latest writers say the first
See above, on Ps. iv. 9 (S.)

•206 PSALM CXXI.

5. Jehovah is thy kt&per ; Jehovah is thy shade upon thy right
hand. The keeper or protector of Israel, who had twice been
mentioned by that title, is now named. A shade or shadow is a
common figure for protector, and the right hand often mentioned
as the place of a protector. See above, on Ps. cix. 6. ex. 5, and
compare Num. xiv. 9-

6. By day the sun shall not smite thee, and the moon by night.
The last clause does not necessarily refer to injurious effects pro-
duced directly by the moon, but may be understood as a poetical
description of all noxious influences operating in the night, over
which the moon was constituted ruler at the time of its creation
See Gen. i. 16. xxxi. 40. Jer. xxxvi. 30.

7. Jehovah will keep thee from all evil ; he will keep thy soul.
The protection which had been repeatedly promised to Israel on
the part of God, is now described as extending to all evils and to
the very life and soul.

8. Jehovah ivill keep thy going out and thy coming in, from now
even to eternity. This is the third repetition of the phrase, Jehovah
will keep, i. e. keep safe, protect, preserve, as if to silence the
misgivings of a weak or tempted faith, by the reiterated declara-
tion of this cheering truth. Going out and coming in is a pro-
verbial Hebrew phrase for all the occupations and affairs of life
See Deut. xxviii. 6. 1 Sam. xxix. 6. The original reference is
to man's going out to labour in the morning and returning home
to rest at night. See above, on Ps. civ. 23. "With the last
clause compare Ps. cxiii. 2. cxvi. 18. exxv. 2. The promise of
eternal preservation is addressed directly to the church as such ;
but that it involves the blessed immortality of individual believers,
is admitted even by those least disposed to find allusions to the
future state in the Book of Psalms.

•

PSALM CXXII. 207

PSALM CXXII.

1. A So7ig of the Ascents. By David. I rejoice in (those)
toying to me, To the house of Jehovah we will go. This psalm,
though so much older than the two before it, was probably placed
third in the series, because it was intended to be sung, and was
actually sung, at the entrance of the Holy City, whereas the
others were used at the commencement of the march, and on
coming in sight of Jerusalem. The ideal speaker represents the
church or chosen people. After the introduction, vs. 1, 2,
comes a panegyric on Jerusalem, as the royal and holy city,
vs. 3 — 5, followed by a prayer for her prosperity as such, vs. 6 — 9.
The Ascents, or upward' journeys of the people to the sanctuary,
as in Ps. cxx. 1. exxi. 1. To rejoice in those saying is to rejoice
because they say. On the last clause is founded Isai. ii. 3, where
the gentiles are described as joining in the words here uttered by
the Jews.

2. Standing are our feet in thy gates, oh Jerusalem ! The com-
mon version (shall stand) is entirely ungrammatical. The past
tense of the substantive verb with the participle means strictly
have been standing, i. e. have begun to stand, or are already
standing.

3. Jerusalem, the {one) built like a city which is joined to itself
together. This seems to be a continuation of the address in the
preceding verse. The unusual expressions in the last clause are
intended to describe the city as substantially and strongly built.
The sense is correctly given in the English Bible, a city that is

208 PSALM CXXII.

compact together. This seems to imply that Jerusalem had re-
cently assumed this character, and may therefore help to de-
termine the period in the reign of David, when the psalm was
•written. See 2 Sam. v. 9. The abbreviated relative (rftSffiw)
has by some been made a proof of later date ; but it no doubt
belonged from the beginning to the dialect of common life,
though not commonly employed in writing till a later date.
It occurs in the song of Deborah, Judg. v. 7, and elsewhere in
the Book of Judges (vi. 17. vii. 12. viii. 26.)

4. Where the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, (as) a testimony
to Israel, to give tkanJis to the name of Jehovah. There is obvious
reference to the requisition in Ex. xxiii. 17. xxxiv. 23. Deut. xvi.
16, which is called a testimony, not merely as the law in general
is (Ps. xciii. 5), but as a constant memorial of God's goodness to
his people. The mention of the tribes seems to point to the
period of the undivided monarchy.

5. For there sit thrones for judgment, thrones for the house of
David. This means simply that Jerusalem was a civil as well as
a religious capital. There, literally thither, implying that the
sino-ers were themselves in motion towards these thrones. Sit, or
as we should say in English, stand. See below, Ps. cxxv. 1.

6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem ; may they have peace that
love thee ! Peace, in both clauses, includes all prosperity. There
is obvious allusion to the meaning of the name Jerusalem. See
above, on Ps. Ixxvi. 3 (2.)

7. Peace be within thy rampart, and repose within thy palaces.
Peace and repose from all distracting causes, of whatever nature.
Rampart, breast-work, circumvallation. Rampart and palaces
are put for the outer and inner masses of building. Comparo Ps.
xlviii. 14.

PSALM CXXIII. 209

8. For the sake of my brethren and my friends, let me speak,
Peace (be) within thee. By brethren and friends we are to under-
stand the whole body of the chosen people. For their sake may
include the sense of in their behalf. The last clause admits of a
different construction, Let me speak peace to thee, literally in thee.
See above, on Ps. Ixxxv. 9 (8.) The optative meaning of the verb is
determined by the particle hti\ the use of which here seems to be
imitated in Ps. cxv. 2. cxvi. 4.

9. For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God, I will seek thy
good. The house of G-od is here the sanctuary and all the inter-
ests of which it was the local centre. Jehovah our God, our pat-
ron and protector, our peculiar covenant God. Seek includes
every form of effort to promote it ; but the prominent idea is that
of intercession.

PSALM CXXIII.

1 . A Song of the Asce7its. Unto thee do I raise my eyes, the
(one) sitting in the heavens. This psalm contains an expression of
solicitous desire for divine help, v. 1,2, a direct prayer for mercy,
v. 3, and a statement of the circumstances which occasioned it.
With the first clause compare Ps. exxi. 1, with the second, Ps.
ii. 4. xi. 4. ciii. 19. cxiii. 3, 5.

2. Behold, as the eyes of servants (are turned) to the hand of
their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so
our eyes (are turned) to Jehovah our God, until he have mercy upon
vs. The behold as, at the beginning, is equivalent to see how in
English. Some suppose the act of looking towards the hand of a

210 PSALM CXXIV,

superior to denote desire of protection ; others an appeal to his
bounty, as in Ps. civ. 27, 2S. cxlv. 15, 16 ; others an implied
prayer that punishment may cease. Compare Gen. xvi. 6, 8, 9.
Perhaps all these explanations err in being too specific, and the
sense of the comparison is simply that they look with deference
and trust to the superior power which controls them.

3. Have mercy upon us, oh Jehovah, have mercy upon us ; for
greatly are ice sated with contempt. This petition forms. the centre
of the psalm, to which what goes before is introductory and what
follows supplementary. The contempt is that of heathen neigh-
bours, and especially that of the Samaritans, which is expressly
mentioned in the history. See Neh. i. 3. ii. 19.

4. Much sated in itself is our soul with the scorning of the secure,
the contempt of the proud. In itself, literally, to or for itself, as
in Ps. exxii. 3. Secure (sinners), those at ease, indifferent to the
sufferings of others, and without apprehension of their own. Com-
pare Ps. lxxiii. J 2.

PSALM C X X I Y .

1. A Song of the Ascents. By David. If (it had) not (been)
Jehovah who was for us — oh let Israel say. This psalm consists
of two parts, an acknowledgment of God as the deliverer of
Israel, vs. 1 — 5, and a consequent determination to trust in him
exclusively for future favours, v. 6 — 9. The verse before us
propounds the theme of the whole composition, in a conditional
and imperfect, but for that very reason a more striking form..

PSALM CXXIV. 211

It is tantamount to saying, what if the Lord had not been for
us ? — leaving the answer to the imagination of the reader. For
us, in our favour, on our side ; or to us, belonging to us, ours,
which really includes the other. See above, on Ps. lvi. 10 (9.)
Oh that in the last clause represents (ao) the particle of entreaty.
The common version (now) conveys the very different idea, at
length, after all that we have suffered, let Israel so say. The mis-
take is rendered more natural or rather unavoidable, to mere
English readers, by the seeming antithesis between the now of
this verse and the then of vs. 3, 4, 5, of which there is not the
slightest trace in the original.

2. If (it had) not (been) Jehovah who was for us, in the rising
up of man against us — "What was left unfinished in the first verse,
as a mere suggestion of the Psalmist's theme, is now repeated, for
the purpose of being carried out. This is one of the rhetorical
resumptions, which some modern critics hold to be the (irrib^fa)
degrees, from which these fifteen psalms derived their common
designation. With this verse compare Ps. lvi. 12 (11.)

3. Then alive would they have swallowed us, in the kindling of
their wrath against us. "With respect to the then at the begin-
ning of this verse, there is danger of an error just the opposite of
that already pointed out in reference to the now of v. 1. As the
English reader would be almost sure to take that for a particle of
time, which it is not, he would be equally certain to mistake this
for a term of logic, meaning in that case, upon that supposition,
or the like ; whereas it really means at that time, the well remem-
bered time of our extremity, when God so wonderfully interposed
for our deliverance. The Hebrew particle occurs in this form
only here, and is consequently no more a proof of recent than of
early date. Another word liable to misconstruction in the Eng-
lish versions of this clause is quick, here used in its primary sense
of living or alive, from which may be easily deduced its secondary

212 PSALM CXXIV.

sense of swift, implying lively motion. The historical allusion, in
this and other like passages, is no doubt to the fate of Korah and
his company. Compare Xum. xvi. 32, 33, where the same verb
and adjective occur together. See above, on Ps. lv. 16 (15.J
The plural pronoun their refers to the collective man in the pre-
ceding verse.

4. Then the waters would have overwhelmed us (and) a stream
passed over our soul. The common version [had overwhelmed us)
is entirely correct, and more poetical in form than that here given,
but at the same time ambiguous, as the sentence, taken by itself,
would seem to mean, that before the time signified by then, the
waters had actually overwhelmed them, which was not the case.
The figures are the same as in Ps. xviii. 5, 17 (4, 16.) cxliv. 7.

5. Then had passed over our soul the ivaters, the proud (ivaters.)
The waters are so described, partly because of the ideas suggested
by their swelling (Ps. Ixxxix. 10), partly because they represent
dangers arising from the selfish pride of human enemies. Some,
without necessity, recur to the primary meaning of the root, and
explain the adjective to mean boiling, effervescing.

6. Blessed (be) Jehovah, who did not give us (as) prey to their
teeth. By one of those rhetorical transitions which are constantly
occurring in the figurative diction of the psalms, the enemies and
dangers, which had just been represented as an overwhelming flood
or torrent, are suddenly transformed into devouring beasts. See
above, on Ps. iii. 8 (7.) Iviii. 7 (6.) With the benediction or dox-
ology, blessed (be) Jehovah, compare Ps. xxviii. 6. xxxi. 22 (21.)

7. Our soul is escaped, like a bird, from the snare of the fowlers ;
ihe snare is broken and ice are escaped. We have here a second
transition and a third comparison, to wit, that of the enemies to
fowlers, and of their devices to snares or traps used in catching

PSALM CXXV. 213

birds. In the second clause there is an obvious climax. Not only
is the bird gone, but the snare is broken. This is peculiarly ap-
propriate to the restoration of the Jews from Babylon, which was
occasioned by the fall of Babylon itself. With the figures of this
verse compare Ps. xviii. 5 (4.) xci. 3. The English phrase is
escaped , denoting a change of state, and not, like has escaped, a
single act, is well suited to represent the Hebrew verb, which,
though active in meaning, has the passive form.

8. Our kelp is in the name of Jehovah, maker of heaven and
earth. The conclusion drawn from the experience here recorded
is, that he who had helped them must help them still. Our help
for the future no less than the past. In the name of Jehovah, the
manifested attributes, which constitute his name, in the peculiar
dialect of Scripture, and especially of this book. See above,
on Ps. v. 12 (11) xx. 2(1.) With this verse compare also Ps
xxxiii. 22. cxxi. 2.

PSALM C X X V .

1. A Song of the Ascents. Those trusting in Jehovah (arc)
like Mount Zion, (which) is not moved {hut) stands forever. This
psalm contains an expression of strong confidence in the divine
protection, vs. 1, 2, especially against wicked enemies, v. 3, with
a prayer that this confidence may not go unrewarded, v. 4, and a
prophetic anticipation of the fate of the ungodly, v. 5. The con-
dition of the chosen people, here described or pre-supposed, as
suffering from the spite of heathen enemies, not in captivity or

214 PSALM CXXV.

exile, but at Lome in their own land, and internally divided into
two great parties, the sincere and hypocritical, agrees exactly
with the period of the Restoration, and especially that part of it
in which the building of the temple was suspended, as known to
us from history and prophecy. The psalm before /us was well
suited to alarm and warn the false Israel, as well as to encourage
and support the true. According to Hengstenberg, it was in-
tended, with the psalms before and after it, to form a trilogy,
consisting of one ancient and two later compositions. Those
trusting in Jehovah is a characteristic designation of the true
church, the spiritual Israel, the chosen people. The meaning is
not merely that they individually exercise this faith, but that col-
lectively, or as a body, they are built upon it, and have no secu-
rity except in the divine protection. Mount Zion, not as a figure
for the church, which would then be compared with itself, but
simply as a mountain, and like other mountains solid and endur-
ing here selected as a sample or an emblem of these qualities,
because it had also a religious pre-eminence, as the earthly seat
and centre of the true religion. It is not (and shall not be)
moved, shaken from its firm position. See above on Ps.
xlvi. 6 (5.) Stands forever , literally, sits to eternity, the Hebrew
idiom using one of these postures as we use the other, or rather
using both as we use only one, to denote the opposite of vacilla-
tion and prostration. See above, on Ps. exxii. 5.

2. Jerusalem fhas) hills about her, and (soj Jehovah (is) about
his people, from noio even to eternity. The site of Jerusalem,
with its peculiar features, furnishes the psalmist with a striking
image of the divine protection. As in v. 1, the permanent secu-
rity of the church itself is likened to the firmness of Mount Zion
on its base, so here the protecting care, which causes this secu-
rity, is likened to the heights by which the city is surrounded
upon all sides. The verb has, supplied in the translation
of the first clause, is really a violation of the Hebrew

PSALM CXXV. 215

idiom, to which as well as to the kindred tongues the verb
to have is utterly unknown. In our own idiom, however,
it expresses the precise idea, and enables us to retain the Hebrew
collocation, which assigns Jerusalem the first place in the sentence.
The Hebrew corresponding to about is a compound phrase, con-
sisting of a local adverb and a preposition, around as to. Jlis
people, meaning those who trust him (v. 1), to the exclusion of all
hypocrites and unbelievers.

3. For not to rest is the rod of wickedness over the lot of the
righteous, to the intent that the righteous may not put forth to
iniquity their hands. This unusually long verse clearly shows the
actual condition of the chosen people, here assumed or pre-
supposed, as well known to the writer and original readers of the
psalm. The present ascendency of wicked men is not inconsist-
ent with the truth just stated, because it is to be brought to an
end, lest the faith and patience of God's people should fail, and
they should be tempted to renounce his service as unprofitable,
nay as ruinous. Compare Ps. lxxiii. 13, 14. To rest, not mere-
ly to remain, but to continue undisturbed. The rod or staff is
here a symbol of authority, and might be rendered sceptre, if the
subject of discourse were kings. See above on Ps. ii. 9. xlv. 7 (6.)
The lot of the righteous, their share of the inheritance of the cho-
sen people, at first distributed by lot. To. the intent indicates
the reason why this undeserved superiority is not to last. The
reason is founded not merely on the ill desert of the wicked, but
on the interest and welfaro of the righteous. Put forth, or
stretch out, literally send into. See the same construction,
Gen. xxxvii. 22. Ex. xxii. 7, 10 (S, 11.) To touch iniquity is
here to meddle with it, not, as some suppose, in the shape of re-
venge merely, but in all its degrees and forms, by which tho
righteous can be tempted.

4. Do good, Oh Jehovah, to the good, and to (those) upright in

216 PSALM CXXV.

their hearts . These are additional descriptions of the truo church
or spiritual Israel, to whom alone the promise of divine favour and
protection had been given. Upright, literally straight, straight-
forward, as opposed to all moral obliquity whatever. See above,
on Ps. vii. 11 (10.) The prayer involves a prophetic declaration,
that to such and such only, God will do good or act kindly in the
highest sense. See above, on Ps. lxxiii. 1.

5. And, (as to) those turning aside (in) their crooked (ways),
Jehovah will let them go with the doers of iniquity. Peace (be)
upon Israel! The participle in the first clause is properly a
transitive and means causing to turn aside, but has here the sense
of going aside, or turning in the intransitive sense, the English
verb having precisely the same double usage. This construction
of the Hebrew verb, which occurs also in Isai. xxx. 11. Job.
xxiii. 11, may be resolved into the usual one, by supposing an
ellipsis of their feet or steps. The adjective translated crooked oc-
curs only here and in Judg. v. 6, where the noun (ivays or paths )
is expressed. It denotes the bye-ways of corrupt inclination and
transgression, by which men deviate from the straight and narrow
highway of God's commandments. Compare Deut. ix. 16.
Mai. ii. 8, 9. The workers of iniquity are not a different class
from these wanderers, but that to which they belong, and the
doom of which they would gladly escape ; but the Lord will let
them go on still with those whom they resemble in character,
and as they have been like them by the way, they shall be like
them in the end. Compare Ps. xxvi. 9. xxviii. 3. Having thus
excluded hypocritical pretenders from the object .of the bene-
diction, he concludes by wishing or invoking peace upon (the true
or spiritual) Israel. Compare Isai. lvii. 19, 21.

PSALM CXXVI. 217

PSALM CXXYI.

1. A Song of the Ascents. In Jehovah' *s turning (to) the turn-
ing of Zion, ice were like (men) dreaming. The church acknow-
ledges the good work of deliverance as joyfully begun, vs. 1 — 3, and
prays that it may be completed, vs. 4 — 6. For the meaning and
construction of the first verb see above, on Ps. xiv. 7. lxxxvi. 5 (4),
and compare my note on Jsai. lii. S. Instead of the usual
combination (tfiaip i^iB) return to the captivity, we have here one
resembling it in form (ftn^E) STO) but meaning to return to the
return or meet those returning, as it were, half-way. Compare
Deut. xxx. 2, 3. James iv. S. The Hebrew noun denotes con-
version, in its spiritual sense, and the verb God's gracious conde-
scension in accepting or responding to it. The great historical
example of this condescension, which the Psalmist had immedi-
ately in view, was the deliverance from Babylon ; but the terms
are so selected as to be appropriate to the most intimate personal
experience of the same kind. Zion is here put for the church or
chosen people, of which it was the local seat or centre. Like the
dreamers or those dreaming, i. e. out of our ordinary normal
state, and in an ecstasy or trance, arising from excess of joy.
The idea of incredulity may be included, but must not be suffered
to exclude all others.

2. Then was filled with laughter our mouth, and our tongue
with singing ; then said they among the nations, Jehovah hath done
great things to these (people.) The particle (t») then is followed
by the future in the sense of the preterite, in prose as well as

VOL. III. 10.

218 PSALM CXXVI.

poetry. See Ex. xv. 1. Deut. iv. 41. Josh. 10, 12. There is
no need therefore of supposing that the writer simply retained
the future forms of the passage from which this was copied,
namely, Job viii. 21. Laughter and singing, both as signs of
joy. Done great things, literally magnified to do, an idiomatic
phrase borrowed from Joel ii. 21. To these, literally with these,
i. e. in his associations and transactions with them.

3. Jehovah has done great things to us. We are joyful. This
last is not a mere appendage to the first clause, we are glad that
he has done great things for us, but an independent proposition,
containing the proof of that by which it is preceded. He has
indeed done much for us, for whereas we were lately wretched,
we are now rejoicing, or more closely rendered, have become joy-
ful.

4. Turn, oh Jehovah, to our captivity, like the streams in the
south. The prayer is that God will return to or revisit his peo-
ple in their bondage or distress, and by necessary implication set
them free from it. See above on v. 1, where we have a studied
variation of this favourite expression. According to the usual
interpretation (bring back our captivity), this verse is either incon-
sistent with the first, or a proof that the restoration is not men-
tioned there as past already. Like the streams in the south, as the
temporary torrents in the dry southern district of Palestine re-
appear in the rainy season, after having ceased to flow in the pre-
ceding; drought.

5 Those solving with weeping with singing shall reap. Those
sowing, literally the solving, i. e. the (same persons or the very
persons) sowing. With weeping, or in tears ; the Hebrew noun
is a singular collective. See above, onPs. vi. 7 (6.) xxxix. 13 (12.)
lvi. 9 (8.) Singing, as a vocal expression of joy. See above,
on v- 2. The figures are natural and common ones for means

PSALM CXXV I. 219

and end, or for the beginning and the issue of any undertaking
They may have been suggested here by the mention of the parch-
ed and thirsty south, where the fears of the husbandman are
often disappointed "by abundant rains and the sudden reappear-
ance of the vanished streams.

6. He may go forth, he may go forth, and weep, bearing (his)
load of seed. He shall come, he shall come with singing, bearing
sheaves. The emphatic combination of the finite tense with the
infinitive is altogether foreign from our idiom, and very imper-
fectly represented, in the ancient and some modern versions, by
the active participle (venientes venient, coming they shall come),
which conveys neither the peculiar form nor the precise sense of
the Hebrew phrase. The best approximation to the force of
the original is Luther's repetition of the finite tense, he shall
come, he shall come, because in all such cases the infinitive is
really defined or determined by the term which follows, and in
sense, though not in form, assimilated to it. Load of seed, liter-
ally drawing or draught of seed, an obscure phrase probably
denoting that from which the sower draws forth seed to sow, or
perhaps the seed itself thus drawn forth. The only analogous
expression is in Am. ix. 13, where the sower is called (S^jn ttjpto)
a drawer {forth) of seed. The common version (precious seed)
has no foundation either in etymology or usage. The contrast so
beautifully painted in this verse was realized in the experience of
Israel, when " the priests and the levites, and the rest of the chil-
dren of the captivity, kept the dedication of the house of God
with joy" (Ezra vi. 16), " and kept the feast of unleavened
bread seven days with joy, because the Lord had made them joy-
ful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria unto them, to
strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God
of Israel" (Ezra vi. 22.) See also Nehemiah xii. 43.

220 PSALM CXXVIT

PSALM CXXVII.

1. A Song of the Ascents. By Solomon. If Jehovah will not
build a house, in vain toil its builders in it, If Jehovah will not
keep a city, in vain watches (its) keeper. This is the central psalm
of the series, having seven before and seven after it. This
position it may owe to its being the only psalm of Solomon,
whereas four are by David, and the remaining ten probably by
one and the same author. See above, on Ps. cxx. 1. The ad-
mission of this psalm among the Songs of Pilgrimage was proba-
bly occasioned by its opening words, which, though admitting of
a general application, were peculiarly appropriate to the building
both of the first and second temple. It was perfectly natural,
apart from all particular divine direction, that the rebuilders of
the temple should rejoice to appropriate the words of Solomon,
their great exemplar. The correctness of the title, which
ascribes the psalm to him, is not only free from any plausible ob-
jection, but abundantly confirmed by its internal character, its
allusions to a state of high prosperity, and its resemblance to the
Book of Proverbs, where the sentiment here uttered is frequently
reiterated. See for example Prov. x. 22. The general princi-
ple, that human care and toil are unavailing without God's bless-
ing, is applied successively to several of the most familiar interests
of real life. Beyond this the psalm admits of no subdivision.
The first specification has respect to human dwellings, both on a
small and on a large scale. The futures, will not build, will not
keep, may also be explained as presents, builds not, keeps not.
The phrase (is) in it or on it is to be connected with the verb and

PSALM CXXVII 221

not with builders. Watches, wakes, remains awake, but always
with a view to the exercise of vigilance. See above on Ps.
cii. 8, and compare Prov. viii. 34. The last word in Hebrew is
properly the participle of the verb translated keep.

2. It is in vain for you, rising up early, sitting down late, eat-
ing the bread of cares (or troubles.) So he giveth his beloved sleep.
The first phrase means, you labour in vain.- Rising up, not
merely from sleep, but to labour, addressing yourselves to work.
Sitting down, to rest when the work is done. The contrast is
sufficiently maintained by the common version, sitting up late;
but it is objected that the Hebrews did not work in a sitting pos-
ture. Both these phrases are peculiar in their form — making
early (or hastening) to rise — making late (or delaying) to sit.
Bread of cares (or troubles) is bread earned by hard toil and con-
sumed amidst it. There is obvious allusion to Gen. iii. 17, 19.
The last clause is exceedingly obscure. Some understand it to
mean that while others labour, God's beloved sleeps. But this
is contradicted by notorious facts and inconsistent with the doc-
trine of the Bible, and especially the Book of Proverbs, with re-
spect to idleness and diligence: See Prov. vi. 9, 10. xxxi. 27.
Another possible interpretation is that God gives his beloved re-
freshing sleep after their labour, but this cannot be said of such
exclusively. The latest writers understand the clause to mean,
that what others hope to gain exclusively by labour, but in vain,
the Lord bestows upon his people while they sleep, they know
not how. According to this view of the passage, it must be trans-
lated, so, i. e. such, namely, what they thus seek, he gives to his
beloved one (in) sleep. This, which is not a very obvious con-
struction, derives some additional colour from the seeming allusion
to Solomon's name Jedidiah (2 Sam. xii. 25), the Beloved of the
Lord, and to the promise of prosperity communicated to him in a
dream (1 Kings iii. 5, 15.)

222 PSALM CXXVII.

3. Lo, a heritage fr om Jehovah (are) children ; a reward (is)
the fruit of the womb. What is true of dwellings and the means
of subsistence is no less true of those for whom these advantages
are commonly provided. An inheritance or heritage, i. e. a val-
uable possession derived from a father. Children, literally sons,
a term very often used indefinitely. A reward or hire, the ex-
pression used by Leah, in naming her son Issachar, Gen. xxx. 18.
In the same chapter (G-en. xxx. 2) children are called the fruit
of the womb, and represented as the gift of God. See also
Deut. vii 13.

4. As arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the sous of youth.
The first clause describes them as defenders of their parents. A
warrior, literally, a strong or (mighty) one. Sons of youth, i. e.
born while their parents are still young. See G-en. xxxvii. 3.
Isai. liv. 6. The allusion is not only to their vigour (Gen. xlix.
3), but to the value of their aid to the parent in declining age.

5. Happy the man who has filled his quiver with them — they shall
not be put to shame — they shall speak with adversaries in the gate.
The first clause carries out the figure of arrows in the verse pre-
ceding. The mention of the gate, in the last clause, as the place
both of commercial and judicial business, seems to mark a transi-
tion from martial to forensic conflict, and to show that the ene-
mies or adversaries here meant are adverse parties in litigation.
See above, on Ps. lxix. 13 (12.) For a striking contrast to this
picture, see Job v. 4. This last example, although perfectly in
keeping with the views of the ancient Israelites in general, seems
peculiarly natural and life-like in a psalm of Solomon

PSALM CXXVIII. 223

PSALM CXXVIII.

1. A Song of Ascents. Happy is every fearer of Jehovah , tht
{one) walking in his ways. This psalm seems intended to assure
the tempted and discouraged people of Judah, under the most
adverse circumstances, that devotion to his service cannot lose its
reward. As if he had said, however things may now seem to
an eye of sense, it is still a certain truth, that the truly happy
man is he who fears Jehovah, not in mere profession, but who
testifies his fear of him by walking in his ways or doing his com-
mandments.

2. The labour of thy hands when thou shalt eat, happy thou and
well with thee. The promise implied is the opposite of the threaten-
ing in Deut. xxviii. 33. Lev. xxvi. 16. What the enemies of
Israel are there described as doing, it is here said that Israel shall
do himself. Well with thee, literally, good for thee. The con-
junction h^) in the first clause is not to be construed as in Ps.
cxviii. 10, but as a particle of time. Happy thou, or oh thy
happinesses, is an expression borrowed from Deut. x^xiii. 29.

3. Thy wife, as a fruitful vine -J the sides of thy house; thy
sons, as olive-plants around thy tahle. The word translated sides
always means the edge or border, and, according to some, the
innermost part. See above, on Ps. xlviii. 3 (2.) Sons, as usual,
represent the children of both sexes. The olive-plants are em-
blems of luxuriance and fruitfulness. See above, on Ps. Hi. 10

224 PSALM CXXVIII.

(S), and compare Jer. xi. 16. The Hebrew for around or about
is the same as in Ps. cxxv. 2.

4. See — -for so shall be blessed the man fearing Jehovah. The
lo or behold at the beginning is equivalent to saying, Look upon
this picture, for it represents the state of one who truly fears the
Lord. Although such a connection between goodness and pros-
perity was far more uniform and constant under the Old Testa-
ment than now, it is not to be supposed that these promises were
actually verified in the experience of every godly Israelite. This
has led some of the most eminent interpreters to the conclusion,
that the promises of this psalm are not personal at all, but ad-
dressed to an ideal person representing the whole class of true
believers, the true Israel.

5. Jehovah bless thee out of Zion, and look thou upon the ic elf are
of Jerusalem. The consecution of the future and imperative is
the same as in Ps. ex. 2. The latter might therefore be trans-
lated as a promise, the Lord shall bless thee, but the optative mean-
ing seems more natural in this connection. In either case, the
imperative conveys substantially the same idea. See above, on
Ps. xxxvii. 3, 4, 27. From Zion, as his earthly residence, the
seat of the theocracy. See above, on Ps. xx. 3 (2.) Look upon,
with joy and triumph. See above, on Ps. xxii. IS (17.) xxxvii.
34. liv. 9 (8.) Welfare, literally goodness, not of character but
of condition, good fortune. The Hebrew word occurs above, Ps.
cxix. 66.

6. And see thou sons to thy sons. Peace (be) upon Israel ! The
first clause is a virtual promise of long life — thou shalt see thy child-
renh children. An interesting parallel is furnished by Zech. viii.
4, the whole of which chapter is indeed a prophetic commentary
on this psalm. For the meaning of the last clause, see above, on
Ps. cxxv. 5.

PSALM CXXIX. 225

PSALM CXXIX.

1. A Song of the Ascents. Many (a time) have they distressed
fne from my youth — oh let Israel say ! On the recollection of de-
liverances in times past, vs. 1 — 4, rests the hope of others in time
to come, vs. 5 — S. The first word after the inscription properly
means much or too much. See above, on Ps. cxx. 6. cxxiii. 4.
But most interpreters agree in referring it to time, as in the Eng-
lish version, many a time or often. The youth of Israel, as a na-
tion, was the period of his residence in Egypt. See Hos. ii. 17.
Jer. ii. 2. xxii. 21. Ezek. xxiii. 3. For the optative meaning of
the last clause, and the true sense of the Hebrew particle (**?),
see above, on Ps. cxviii. 2. cxxiv. 1. Distressed, persecuted or
oppressed me. Compare the use of the participle in Ps. vi. 8 (7.)
vii. 5 (4.) xxiii. 5.

2. Many {a time) have they distressed me from my youth ; yet
have they not prevailed against me. The statement in the first
verse is repeated, for the sake of being joined with one of a more
cheering character. Yet, literally, also. As if he had said : it is
true that they have so done, but it is also true, etc. Prevailed
against me, literally, been able (as) to me, i. e. able to accomplish
their designs respecting me. See Gen. xxxii. 26 (25), and com-
pare Ps. xiii. 5 (4.)

3. Upon my back ploughed ploughers ; they made long their fur-
rows. The expression, on my back seems to show that the allusion

10*

226 PSALM CXXIX.

is to wounds produced by stripes. As if he had said, 'my back
was furrowed by their whips or scourges. We have here then an
example of the image of an image. The ploughing is a figure for
scourging, and the scourging a figure for the manifold sufferings
inflicted upon Israel by his cruel enemies.

4. Jehovah (is) righteous ; he cut the. cord of the wicked. He is
righteous, and therefore faithful to his promise, and to his cove-
nant engagements to his people. The cord (not cords) is that
which fastened the ox to the plough. This continuation of the
figure in v. 3 is much more natural than the assumption of a new
one, that of confinement by the tying of the limbs, as in Ps. ii. 3.
According to the first translation above given, the meaning of the
clause is, that Jehovah put an end to their inflictions by a violent
separation from their victim.

5. Shamed and turned lack are fand shall be) all haters of
Zion. What Jehovah has already done for Zion, as recorded in
v. 4, creates and justifies the confident belief, that he will do still
more. This language was peculiarly appropriate to Israel at the
Restoration, when the main deliverance had already been accom-
plished, but others were still needed to complete the happy
revolution. With the first clause compare Ps. vi. 11 (10.)
xxxv. 4 (3.) xl. 14 (13.)

6. They shall be like the grass of the house-tops, which, before
one pulls (it) , withers. The flat roofs of the oriental houses
being often covered with earth, grass and weeds readily spring up,
but having no depth of root soon wither. Compare my note on
Isai. xxxvii. 27, from which place the figure is here borrowed.
The common version (afore it groweth up) is founded on Je-
rome's (statim ut viruerit.) The other is supported by the Sep-
tuagint and Vulgate (ngb tou ix(j7ta<j6T]Pav? priusquam evcllatur),

PSALM CXXIX. 227

and by the usage of the verb (*]Bir*) in the sense of drawing
(a sword), drawing off (a shoe) etc.

7. (With) which the reaper fills not his hand and his bosom,
(when) binding sheaves. The ephemeral and worthless vegeta-
tion of the house-top is contrasted still further with the useful pro-
ducts of the earth, in order to contrast still more strongly the
end of the righteous and the wicked. The last Hebrew word is
translated above strictly as a participle of the verb (^lfas) to bind
or gather sheaves, and may agree with (l-TiJ?) reaper in the first
clause. Since the latter, however, is itself a participle used as a
noun, most interpreters put the same construction on the other
word, and suppose it to denote a different person from the reaper.
With which the reaper fills not his hand nor his bosom the sheaf-
binder. The word translated bosom is explained by lexicogra-
phers to mean the front fold of the oriental robe, in which things
are carried. It might also be translated lap. Hengstenberg's
version is his arm. Compare my note on Isai. xlix. 22.

8 JSTor do the passers by say, The blessing of Jehovah fcome)
unto you, we bless you in the name of Jehovah. The negative
description is still carried out, with unusual distinctness and par-
ticularity. This verse affords an interesting glimpse of ancient
harvest usages, confirmed by the historical statement in Ruth ii. 4,
from the analogy of which place it is altogether probable, although
denied by some, that there is here allusion to the alternate or
responsive salutations in common use among the people. We
may then supply in thought before the last clause, nor receive
the customary answer. As the Hebrew preposition before you
does not mean on but to or unto, it seems better to supply come
than be. With this verse compare Ps. cxviii. 26.

228 PSALM CXXX.

PSALM CXXX.

1. A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths do L invcKe thee, oh
Jehovah ! This is the penitential psalm of the series, in which
the guilt of the chosen people is distinctly acknowledged, as the
cause of its calamities, hut not as an occasion of despair. After
an introductory petition to be heard, vs. 1, 2, comes the indirect
confession of sin, vs. 3, 4, then an expression of strong confidence,
vs. 5, 6, and an exhortation to Israel to indulge the same, vs. 7, 8.
The distinction made in this last stanza, between Israel at large
and the penitent who utters the previous confession, would seem
to show, that the latter is to be conceived of as an individual,
and not as representing the whole people. But the best inter-
preters are of opinion, that the distinction is entirely formal, and
that the object of address in the last stanza is identical with the
person speaking in the others. See above, on Ps. lxix. 3, 15
(2, 14), and compare Isai. li. 10, in all which places the word
translated depths occurs, and in the same sense, as a figure for
extreme dejection and distress. The figure itself is also used in
Ps. xl. 3.(2.) Ezek. xxvii. 34.

2. Lord, hearken to my voice ; let thine ears be attentive to the
voice of my supplications. The first word in Hebrew is (^'la)
the one strictly meaning Lord, and showing that the prayer is
offered to a sovereign God. The common verb (9tod) to hear is
here construed with a preposition (s), thus resembling, in its syn-
tax, our verbs hearken, listen. The adjective attentive is peculiar

PSALM CXXX. 229

to the later Hebrew, though its verbal root is of frequent occur-
rence in the psalms. Supplications, prayers for grace or mercy
See above, on Ps. xxviii. 6. xxxi. 23 (22.)

3. If iniquities thou, mark, oh Jah — oh Lord, who shall stand ?
This interrogation clearly implies consciousness of guilt, and is
therefore an indirect confession of it. To mark is to note, take
notice of, observe. The Hebrew verb is used in precisely the
same manner, Job x. 14. xiv. 16. To stand is to stand one's
ground, maintain one's innocence, and perhaps in this case, to
endure one's sentence. See above, on Ps. i. 6, and compare
Nah. i. 6. Mai. iii. 2. The question is equivalent to a strong
negation, or an affirmation that none can stand.

4. For with thee (there is) forgiveness, to the intent that thou
may est be feared. The for has reference to a thought suppressed
but easily supplied. Since none can stand, oh Lord, forgive, for
with thee, etc. Or, since none can stand, our only hope is in
free forgiveness, for with thee etc. With thee, belonging to
thee, exercised by thee. The word rendered forgiveness is pecu-
liar to the later Hebrew ; its plural form occurs in Neh. ix. 17.

The forgiveness that we need, the (only) forgiveness that is avail-
able or attainable. To the, intent, for this very purpose, not
merely so that, as an incidental consequence. Fear or godly
reverence is here represented as one fruit and evidence of par-
doned sin.

5. I id ait for Jehovah — my soul toaits — and in his word do I
hope. The last verb also means to wait for his word, i. e the
fulfilment of his promise, as in Ps. cxix. 74, 81, 82, 114, 147.
My soul waits, I wait with all my soul or heart. My powers and
affections are absorbed in this earnest expectation.

6. My soul (waits) for the Lord more than ( those) watching

230 PSALM CXXX.

for the morning — watching for the morning. There is some-
thing beautiful and touching in this simple repetition, though it is
not easy to account for its effect, which is sensibly impaired by
the attempt made in the English version to relieve the baldness
of the iteration, I say more than they that watch for the morning.
The comparison suggested is between the impatience of nocturnal
watchers for the break of day and that of sufferers for relief, or
of convicted sinners for forgiveness.

7. Hope thou, Israel, in Jehovah ; for with Jehovah (is) mercy,
and abundantly with him redemption. The third person used in
the English Bible (let Israel hope in the Lord) is an inaccuracy
the more remarkable because not found in the Prayer Book Ver-
sion (Oh Israel, trust in the Lord.) In Jehovah, literally to him,
i. e. look to him with confident expectation, as in Isai. li. 5.
The construction in the last clause is idiomatic and not suscepti-
ble of close translation. The word corresponding to abundantly
is the infinitive of a verb meaning to increase or multiply, but is
often used adverbially in the sense of much, greatly, or abun-
dantly. See above, on Ps. li. 4 (2.) Redemption, deliverance,
especially from bondage, that of Babylon in Ps. cxi. 9, that of
sin or condemnation in the case before us.

8. And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. The pro-
noun is emphatic ; only trust him for redemption, and he will
himself redeem thee. As the first clause shows by whom Israel
is to be redeemed, to wit, by God alone, so the second shows
from what, to wit, from sin, as the cause of his sufferings. This
is a very significant variation of the older passage, Ps. xxv. 22,
where the sufferings alone are expressly mentioned.

PSALM CXXXI. 231

PSALM CXXXI.

1. A Song of Ascents. By David. Oh Jehovah, not haughty
is my heart, and not lofty are my eyes, and I meddle not with great
(things) and (with things) too wonderful for me. This short
psalm is perfectly in David's manner^ as well as his spirit, dis-
playing in a high degree that childlike royalty, in which he is
resembled by no other even of the sacred writers. Haughty, lite-
rally high, but with particular reference to hauteur or loftiness of
spirit. Lofty eyes are mentioned elsewhere by David himself as
a sign of pride. See Ps. xviii. 28 (27.) ci. 5. The elation here
described is elsewhere represented as the natural fruit of undis-
turbed prosperity. See Deut. xxxii. 15. 2 Cbron. xxvi. 16. xxxii.
25. This confirms the Davidic origin of the psalm, and shows that
it was only adaptedjby the later writer to his own purpose, when the
original conception would have been almost impossible. Meddle,
literally, walk or walk about, i. e. employ or (as the English versions
have it) exercise myself. Too wonderful for me, wonderfully
done (more) than I (can comprehend.) The great and wonderful
things meant are God's secret purposes and sovereign means for
their accomplishment, in which man is not called to co-operate
but to acquiesce. As David practised this forbearance by his
patient expectation of the kingdom, both before and after the
death of Saul, so he here describes it as a characteristic of the
chosen people.

2. (God knows) if I have not soothed and quieted my soul, as a
weaned (child leans) upon his mother ; as a weaned (child leans)

232 PSALM CXXXI.

on me my soul. The first clause contains a strong asseveration, in
the idiomatic form of an ancient oath, very feebly represented by
our adverb surely. See above, on Ps. lxxxix. 36 (35.) The word
translated soothed means rather smoothed, levelled, as in Isai.
xxviii. 25. Quieted, stilled, hushed, reduced to silence. The
repeated use of the preposition on in this connection is so marked
and striking, that it seems to make it necessary to supply a verb
with which it may be construed. This is certainly better than to
give it a different meaning in the two clauses, or in both one which
does not belong to it. In the version above given, the comparison
suggested is between a weaned child, quietly reposing on its moth-
er's breast, without desiring to be suckled as of old, and the soul of
the Psalmist, by a bold conception represented as his child, and
acting in like manner. Hengstenberg denies that there is any
reference to the mother's milk, or that weaned has any other
meaning here than that of infant or young child, as in Isai. xi. 8.
xxviii. 9. The comparison is then coincident with that in Matth.
xviii. 3, 4. But the use of the word weaned, which was here re-
quired by no parallelism as in Isaiah, and the singular aptness of
the figure suggested by the word when strictly understood, have
led most interpreters, and will probably lead inost readers, to pre-
fer the obvious and strict interpretation.

t
3. Hope thou, Israel, in Jehovah, from now even to eternity.

This is the opposite of the feeling disavowed in the preceding

verses. From the first clause that of Ps. cxxx. 7 was no doubt

borrowed by the later writer, who prefixed that psalm to the one

before us. With the last clause compare Ps. cxxi. 8.

PSALM CXXXII. 233

PSALM CXXXII.

1. A Song of Ascents Remember, oh Jehovah, for David, all
his affliction. This psalm contains a commemoration of David's
zeal for the house of God, vs. 1 — 9, and a prayer that it may be
rewarded by the fulfilment of the promise to him and to his house,
vs. 10 — 18. The* common version {remember David and all his
afflictions) omits a preposition and inserts a conjunction, both
without necessity. The same verb and preposition (b 1ST) are
combined elsewhere, in the sense of remembering something in a

7 O O

person's favour, to his advantage, for his benefit. See above, on
Ps. xcviii. 3. cvi. 45. cxix. 49. So here : remember, in behalf
of David, how he was distressed. The common version of this
last phrase {all his afflictions) supposes the Hebrew word (tviaS)
to be a plural noun, whereas it is the infinitive of the passive verb
(ra!p) to be afflicted or distressed (Ps. cxix. 71), and is therefore
more correctly rendered in the Prayer Book {all his trouble.)
The precise sense is, his being afflicted. The distress referred to
is the great anxiety which David felt, first to reunite the ark and
tabernacle, and then to build a more permanent sanctuary. This
zeal for the house of God is one of the most characteristic features
in the history of David, and for this he was rewarded, not only
with a promise that his son should execute his favourite design,
but also with a promise that God would build a house for him, by
granting a perpetual succession in his family upon the throne of
Judah. This promise seemed to be forgotten at the time of the
Captivity, and even after the first Restoration, when the house of
David was reduced so low, that its hereditary representative,

234 PSALM CXXXII.

Zerubbabel, never even bore the royal title. The form of the
petition in this verse is copied from that of Solomon, at the dedi-
cation of the temple, as recorded in 2 Chron. vi. 42.

2. Who swore to Jehovah, vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.
This last expression is borrowed, both here and in Isai. i. 24, from
Jacob himself. See Gen. xlix. 24.

3. If I go into the tent (which is) my house, if I go up on the
bed (which is) my couch. The elliptical form of swearing here
used is equivalent to saying, i" will not go. See above,
on Ps. cxxxi. 2. The tent my house, the couch my bed, are
mere poetical expressions for the house where I dwell, the couch
where I lie. Instead of being in apposition, however, they may
be in regimen, the tent of my house, the couch of my bed, i. e. the
dwelling place of my house, the resting place of my bed.

A. If I give sleep to my eyes, to my eyelids slumber. This is a
part of the sentence begun in v. 3 and completed in v. 5. The
promise is, of course, not to be absolutely understood, but as
meaning, that he would not sleep at ease, or abandon himself to
undisturbed repose, till the condition was complied with.

5. Until I find a place for Jehovah, dwellings for the Mighty
One of Jacob. The implication in the first clause, that Jehovah
was without a place on earth, may remind us of Christ's memor-
able saying, Matt. viii. 20. Luke ix. 58. The word translated dwel-
lings is peculiarly expressive /because, although strictly a generic
term, it is specially applied in usage to the sanctuary with its
enclosures and appendages. See above, on Ps. lxxxiv. 2 (1.)

6. Lo, ice heard it in Ephrathah ; ice found it in the fields of
the wood. These are most probably the words of David and his
contemporaries, with respect to the recovery of the ark. We

PSALM CXXXII. 235

heard it, or heard of it, i. e. of the ark, implying that they did
not see it, that it was out of public view. In Ephrathah has
been variously explained. Some suppose it to mean Ephraim, as
Ephrathi means 'an Ephraimite, and apply the words to Shiloh,
where the ark was long deposited. But Ephrathah itself is never
80 used elsewhere, and the ark, while at Shiloh, was as much in
public view as at Jerusalem. Others, because Bethlehem Eph-
rathah and Bethlehem Judah are convertible expressions (1 Sam.
xvii. 12. Mic. v. 1), make Ephrathah another name for Judah,
which it never is, however, when it stands by itself. The only
explanation, equally agreeable to usage and the context, is that
which makes Ephrathah the ancient name of Bethlehem (Gen.
xlviii. 7), here mentioned as the place where David spent his
youth, and where he used to hear of the ark, although he never
saw it till long afterwards, when he found it in the fields of the
wood, or in the neighbourhood of Kirjath-jearim, which name
means Forest-town or City of the Woods. Compare 1 Sam. vii. 1
with 2 Sam. vi. 3, 4.

7. Let us come to his dwellings ; let us low down to his foot-
stool. Another step is here taken in reviewing the history of the
sanctuary and of David's zeal for it. These are such words as
might have been spoken at the public and solemn introduction of
the ark into Jerusalem. As if it had been said : the ark of God
has long been lost or out of sight, but now that a dwelling is provi-
ded for it on Mount Zion, let us come etc. Without any material
change of sense, the future form may be retained, and the para-
gogic augment understood to express a strong determination.
Now that the ark is established on Mount Zion, we will come etc.
With respect to the representation of the ark as the footstool of
Jehovah, and the act of bowing down to it, see above, on Ps
xcix. 5.

8. Arisey Jehovah, to thy resting-place, thou and, the ark of thy

236 PSALM CXXXII.

strength. Here again the form of expression is borrowed from the
words of Solomon at the dedication of the temple, as recorded in
2 Chr. vi. 41. This shows that the Psalmist regarded Solomon
as merely carrying out his father's plan, or acting as the executor
of his will, which is in fact the mutual relation of these personages
as they appear in sacred history. A more remote allusion
may he traced to Num. x. 35. See above, on Ps. lxviii. 2(1.)
The word translated resting-place has here its proper meaning as
a local noun. The last clause shows the true import of the ark
in the Mosaic system, as a pledge and token of Jehovah's pres-
ence, so that its solemn entrance into Zion was the entrance of
the Lord himself, and to bow down to it was to worship him. The
ark of thy strength is by some, in accordance with a common
Hebrew idiom, resolved into thy ark of strength, and that into thy
strong (or mighty) ark. It is simpler, however, and in this case
yields a better meaning, to retain the original expression in its
obvious sense, the ark which assures us of the presence and exer-
tion of thy power for our protection.

9. Let thy priests he clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints
shout (or sing.) This is the conclusion of the sentence quoted
from 2 Chr. vi. 41. Instead of righteousness we there read salva-
tion, which has led some to explain the two words as synonymous,
while others understand by righteousness the practical justification
which salvation carries with it. Another possible construction is
to take the righteousness as that of God, which is displayed in
the salvation of his people, and in which his priests, who officially
declared it, might be said to clothe themselves. See the same
figure in Job xxix. 14. Saints, gracious ones, or true believers.
The parallel passage has, rejoice in good or goodness.

10. For the sake of David thy servant, turn not away the face
of thine Anointed. The most obvious construction of this verse
is that which makes it intercede, on the ground of the divine par-

PSALM CXXXII. 237

tiality to David, for another person, supposed by some to be one
or more of his successors in the kingly office, by others Israel at
large. A comparison, however, of the place from which the
words are borrowed (2 Chron. vi. 42) and of v. 17 below, makes
it highly probable that both clauses relate to David himself.
This may be rendered clearer and more natural by making the
first clause an elliptical petition, entirely distinct from the second.
For the sake of David thy servant (grant these requests which are
really his) ; tu rn not away (his face which is) the face of thine Anoint-
ed. The frequency with which God is urged to hear and answer
prayer /or Davidh sake (1 Kings xi. 12, 13. xv. 4. 2 Kings viii. 19,
etc.) is not to be explained by making David mean the promise
to David, nor from the personal favour of which he was the
object, but from his historical position, as the great theocratical
model, in whom it pleased God that the old economy should
reach its culminating point, and who is always held up as the type
and representative of the Messiah, so that all the intervening
kings are mere connecting links, and their reigns mere repetitions
and continuations of the reign of David, with more or less resem-
blance as they happened to be good or bad. Hence the frequen-
cy with which his name appears in the later Scriptures, com-
pared with even the best of his successors, and the otherwise
inexplicable transfer of that name to the Messiah himself. It is
in this unique character and office, as the Servant of the Lord,
that David is here mentioned, first by his own name, and then as
the Anointed King of Israel, whose face Jehovah is entreated
not to turn away, a figure* for refusing him an audience, or at
least denying his petition, which we know to have been used in
David's times. See the Hebrew of 1 Kings ii. 16, 17, 20.

11. Sworn hath Jehovah to David ^in) truth^he will not turn
back from it : Of the fruit of thy body I ivill place on the throne
for thee. See above, on Ps. lxxxix. 4, 36 (3, 35), and compare
2 Sam. vii. 28. Turn back, recede from his engagement, or fail

238 PSALM CXXXII.

to perform it. Of the fruit , from among thy posterity or offspring.
On the throne, literally to or for it. See above, on Ps. ix. 5 (4.)
For thee, in thy place, as thy representatives, or (belonging) to
thee, i. e. thy throne.

12. If thy sons will observe my covenant and my testimonies
which I teach them, (then) likewise their sons unto perpetuity shall
sit upon the throne for thee. This is the condition of the promise,
the breach of which accounts for the apparent violation of the
promise itself. Such a suspension of the promise was not only
just in itself, but foreseen and provided for (2 Sam. vii. 14, 15),
as something perfectly consistent with the perpetuity of the en-
gagement, i" teach you refers not only to external legislation, but
to spiritual guidance and illumination.

13. For Jehovah has chosen Zion,has desired (it) for a dwell-
ing for him. Besides the oath and promise made directly to
David, the petition of the psalm is here enforced by the divine
choice of Zion, which was inseparably connected with the exalta-
tion of the family of David. See the same thing asserted or im-
plied, Ps. xliii. 2(1.) lxv. 2 ( 1.) exxv. 2. As in vs. 11, 12, the
last words in Hebrew (ib) may be also rendered to him, belong-
ing to him, his dwelling.

14. This is my resting-place to perpetuity ; here will I dioell,
because I have, desired it. These are the words of God, though
not expressly so described. See above, on Ps. lxxxvii. 4. lxxxix.
4, 5 (3, 4.) The word translated dwell means originally to sit,
and especially to sit enthroned, so that this idea would be neces-
sarily suggested with the other to a Hebrew reader. See above,
on Ps. xxix. 10. lv. 20 (19.) cii. 13 (12.) exxiii. 1.

15. Her provision I will bless, I will bless ; her poor I icill
satisfy (with) bread. The repetition of the verb may express

PSALM CXXXII. 239

either certainty or fulness. I will surely bless, or I will bless
abundantly. See above, on Ps. exxvi. 6. The word translated
provision is a cognate form to that in Ps. lxxviii. 25. Satisfy,
amply or abundantly supply.

16. And her priests I will clothe with salvation ; and her saints
shall shout, shall shout (for joy.) This is the promise correspond-
ing to the prayer in v. 9. The word salvation, for which right-
eousness was substituted there, is here restored from the original
passage, 2 Chron. vi. 41. The last verb in Hebrew means to
express joy by shouting or singing. As to the emphatic repetition,
see above, on v. 15.

17. There will I make to bud a horn for David ; I have trimmed
a, lamp for mine Anointed. These are common figures in the
Scripture for strength and prosperity. See above, on Ps. xviii
(10), 29 (28.) lxxxix. 18 (17.) xcii. 11, and compare 1 Sam. ii. 1.
2 Sam. xxi. 17. Ezek. xxix. 21. The last clause contains an
allusion to the Law, which cannot be preserved in any version.
The word translated lamp is used to designate the several burners
of the golden candlestick (Ex. xxv. 37. xxxv. 14. xxxvii. 23.
xxxix. 37), and the verb here joined with it is the one applied to
the ordering or tending of the sacred lights by the priests (Ex.
xxvii. 21. Lev. xxiv. 3.) The meaning of the whole verse is,
that the promises of old made to David and to Zion should be yet
fulfilled, however dark and inauspicious present appearances.

18. His enemies I will clothe with shame, and on him shall bloom
his crown. The pronouns refer to David, as the Lord's Anointed,
mentioned in v. 17. The fierure in the first clause is the converse
or counterpart of that in vs. 9, 1.6, and the same with that in
Ps. xxxv. 26. cix. 29. With (he last clause compare Ps. lxxxix.
40 (39.) The verb to bloom or blossom agrees well with the idea
of a wreath or chaplet. Compare the buaquvuvov aieqarov of

240 PSALM CXXXIII.

1 Pet. v. 4. Some prefer, however, to retain what they regard as
the original meaning of the Hebrew verb : on him shall his crown
shine (or glitter.) See above, on Ps. lxxii. 16.

PSALM CXXXIII.

1. A Song of Ascents. By David. Behold, how good and
how pleasant (is) the dwelling of brethren also together. This
psalm is an effusion of holy joy occasioned by the sight of the
gathering of Israel as one great household at the yearly feasts. It
is distinguished from the later compositions of this series by the
absence of complaint or lamentation, while its freshness and viva-
city and antique phraseology confirm the title which ascribes it to
David. The idiomatic use of (&5) also in the last clause is not
easily transferred to any other language. The meaning may be,
that although the children of Israel were brethren even when
divided and dispersed, it was only in these great convocations that
besides being thus related to each other, they also actually dwelt
together. There might likewise be allusion, in the first instance,
to the previous jealousies and alienations in the family of Israel,
which seemed to be exchanged for mutual concord and affection,
on David's accession to the throne of the whole nation.

2. Like the oil, the good (oil), on the head, running down upon
the beard, the beard of Aaron, which runs down to the edge of his
robes. The joyous character of this great family meeting suggests
the "oil of joy" (Isai. lxi. 3), the standing symbol of festivity, to
which a more specific and religious character is then imparted by
a beautiful transition to the good oil (i. e. sweet and costly), with

PSALM CXXXIII. 241

which Aaron was anointed (Ex. xxix. 7. xxx. 22. xl. 13), as a
sio-n of consecration and of spiritual influences. See above, on
Ps. ii. 2. As we read of the anointing of no subsequent High
Priest, except prospectively (Lev. xxi. 10. Num. xxxv. 25), the
reference here may be confined to Aaron himself. This is
alleged to have differed from the unction of the other priests, by
adding to the simple application of the oil to certain parts of tho
body, a copious affusion on the head, extending to the beard and
even to the sacerdotal vestments. Some interpreters apply the
last clause to the beard itself as reaching down to the mouth
(n^) or opening at the neck of the official tunic. But the repeti-
tion of the verb (TV1), and the strong improbability that so much
stress would have been laid upon the length of the beard, to which
nothing is compared and which illustrates nothing, seem decisive
in favour of the other explanation.

3. Like the dew of Harmon, which comes down upon the mountains
of Zion ; for there has Jehovah commanded the blessing, even life
for evermore. The comparison with oil is now exchanged for one
with dew, suggesting the idea of a refreshing, fertilizing influence.
As the general comparison with oil is rendered more specific by
the mention of the kind most highly valued, because made under
the divine direction and applied to a most sacred use, so the gene-
ral term dew is specified in like manner as the dew of Hermon, the
dew falling on the lofty heights of Antilibanus. See above, on
Ps. lxxxix. 13 (12.) How this dew could be said to fall upon
the mountains of Zion, is a question which has much divided and
perplexed interpreters. Some have assumed a peculiar theory or
system of physics on the writer's part. Others suppose dew of
Hermon to be merely descriptive of the quality, irrespective of
the actual place of the deposit. Simpler and more natural than
either of these, although not without difficulties of its own, is the
interpretation which restricts the comparison itself to the first few
words, and includes all that follows in the application. Like tliz

VOL. III. 11

242 PSALM CXXXIV.

dew of Hermon (is the influence) which descends upon the hills of
Zion,for there, etc. the last clause then explaining what this influ-
ence was. Whether this be the true solution of the question as
to form or not, it is no doubt the essential meaning of the passage,
upon any exegetical hypothesis whatever. The dew of Hermon
was mere moisture, but the dew of Zion was the promise of eter
nal life, there made and verified. Even life for evermore, literally,
life even to eternity

PSALM CXXXIV.

1. A Song of Ascents. Behold! bless Jehovah, all ye servants
of Jehovah, those standing in the house of Jehovah by night. The
whole series of pilgrimage songs closes, in the most appropriate
manner, with a summons to bless the Lord, addressed by the
people on arriving at the sanctuary to the priests there in attend-
ance, vs. 1, 2, and indirectly answered by a priestly blessing on
the worshippers themselves, v. 3. The lo or behold at the beginning
is equivalent to saying, See, we are here, or toe are come. To
bless God, as in all other cases, is to praise him in a reverential
and adoring manner. The servants of the Lord here meant
are not his people indiscriminately, but his official servants, and
most probably the priests, as will appear from v. 3 below. The
(ones) standing, the appropriate posture of attendants, even in the
courts of earthly monarchs. By night, literally, in the nights, which
does not however necessarily mean all night (1 Chron. ix. 33),
as appears from Ps. xcii. 3, where it stands opposed to in
the morning, and may therefore denote simply in the evening, with

PSALM CXXXIV. 243

specific reference, as some suppose, to the evening sacrifice, with
which the daily service of the priests concluded. We may then
assume, although we cannot prove, that the pilgrims were accus-
tomed to reach the sanctuary at that hour, singing this last " song
of ascents."

2. Raise your hands to the holy place, and bless Jehovah ! The
gesture mentioned in the first clause symbolized the raising of
the heart to God. See above, on Ps. xxviii. 2. lxiii. 5 (4.) The
word for holy place or sanctuary is the same in form with
that so frequently translated as an abstract, holiness. For its
local meaning, see above, on Ps. xx. 3 (2.) It here denotes the
temple or its site, as distinguished from the courts around it. As
to the act of praying to or towards it, see above, on Ps. v. 8 (7.)
xcix. 5.

3. Jehovah bless thee out of Zion, Maker of heaven and earth.
As the priests were called upon to bless God in behalf of the
people, so here they bless the people in behalf of God. Between
the verses we may suppose the previous request to be complied
with. The priests, having blessed God, turn and bless the people.
The obvious allusion to the sacerdotal blessing, Num. vi. 23 — 27,
favours the optative construction of this verse, which really in-
cludes a prediction (the Lord will bless thee.) Out of Zion, as
in Ps. cxxviii. 5. Maker of heaven and earth, and therefore in-
finitely able to fulfil this prayer. See above, on Ps. cxv. 15.
cxxi. 2. cxxiv. 8.

244 PSALM CXXXV

PSALM CXXXV.

The people of Jehovah are exhorted to praise hirn as their
peculiar God, vs. 1 — 4, as the God of nature, vs. 5 — 7, as the de-
liverer of Israel from Egypt and in Canaan, vs. 8 — 12, as their hope
also for the future, vs. 13 — 14, rendered more glorious by contrast
with the impotence of idols, vs. 15 — 18, after which the psalm
concludes as it began with an exhortation to praise God, vs.
19 — 21. According to Hengstenberg's arrangement and distribu-
tion, this is the first of a series of twelve psalms (135 — 146), sung
at the completion of the second temple, and consisting of eight
Davidic psalms (138 — 145), preceded by three (135 — 137) and
followed by one (146) of later date. In this way he accounts for
the omission of these ancient psalms in the former part of the
collection, because they were no longer looked upon as independ-
ent compositions, but as inseparable parts of the series or systems
into which they had been introduced.

1. Hallelujah! Praise the name of Jehovah. Praise (it), ye
servants of Jehovah ! The close of the Psalm shows that although
the priests are included (v. 19) among the servants of Jehovah,
they are not exclusively intended, as in Ps. cxxxiv. 1. Even
there, however, the priests are representatives of Israel at large.

2. Who (are) standing in the house of Jehovah, in the courts
of the house of our God. The participle indicates continued
action. The mention of the courts confirms what has been
already said, as to the objects of address in v. 1.

PSALM CXXXV. 245

3. Hallelujah (praise ye Jah !) for good (is) Jehovah. Make
music to his name, for it is lovely.- The last words may also be
translated, he is lovely, i. e. an object worthy of supreme attachment.

4. For Jacob did Jah choose for himself, Israel for his own
possession. They are particularly bound to praise him, as his
chosen and peculiar people. The last word in Hebrew means a
possession of peculiar value, set apart and distinguished from all
others. See Ex. xix. 5. Deut. vii. 6. xiv. 2. xxvi. 18.

5. For 1 knoio that great is Jehovah, and our Lord (more) than
all Gods. However ignorant the world maybe of his superiority,
I, the representative of Israel and as such speaking in his name,
know and am assured of the truth from my own observation and
experience.

6. All that Jehovah will he does in the heavens' and in the earth,
in the seas and all depths. Compare Ps. cxv. 3. Ecc. viii. 3.
Jon. i. 14. Isa. xlvi. 10, 11. It is not merely as their own peculiai
God that they are bound to praise him, but as the universal
sovereign. Heaven, earth, and sea, are put for the whole frains
of nature, as in Ex. xx. 4.

7. Causing vapours to ascend from the end of the earth — light-
nings for the rain he makes — bringing out the wind from his irea^
sures. As certain portions of the world are specified in v. 6 to define
the extent of his dominion, so here certain natural phenomena are
mentioned as the product of his power. Compare Jer. x. 13.
li. 16. From the end of the earth, i. e. from all parts of it, not ex-
cepting the most, remote. See above, on Ps. Ixi. 3 (2). The
second clause is by some explained to mean, turning lightnings
into rain, i. e. causing the thunder-cloud to dissolve in rain.
But this is not so natural as the common version, he maketh light-
nings for the rain, i. e. to accompany it, or according to the

246 PSALM CXXXV.

paraphrase in the Prayer Book, sendeth forth lightnings with the
rain. With the last clause compare Job xxxviii. 22. .

8. IVho smote the first-born of Egypt, from man even to
least. From the proofs of God's supremacy in nature, he now
proceeds to those in history, and especially the history of his
dealings with his people and their enemies. This is precisely
the relation between Ps. civ and cv. The first example chosen
here is the last and greatest of the plagues of Egypt. From
man to beast, including both ; in other words, both man and beast.

9. Sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, oh Egypt, upon
Pharaoh and on all his servants. Signs and wonders, i. e. mira-
cles, to wit, those which preceded and accompanied the exodus.
See above, on Ps. lxxviii. 43. In the midst of thee, oh Egypt, an
expression similar to that in Ps. cxvi. 19, in the midst of thee, oh
Jerusalem! Upon Pharaoh, literally, in Pharaoh and in all his
servants.

10. Who smote many nations and slew mighty kings. To the
miracles of Egypt and the Exode are now added those of Canaan
and the Conquest.

11. Sihon Icing of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan, and
all the kingdoms of Canaan. Each of these three particulars is
preceded in Hebrew by the preposition (r) to or for ; and that
this is not an inadvertence or an accident, appears from its repeti-
tion in the next psalm (exxxvi. 19, 20. )• Though not in accord-
ance with the usage of the verb (3^in) which is construed else-
where with the verb directly, the particle must be regarded here
as an objective sign, as in Ps. exxix. 3, unless we suppose the
sense to be, that what had just been said in general is true in par-
ticular as to Sihon, as to Og, and as to the kingdoms (here put for
the kings) of Canaan.

PSALM CXXXV. 24?

12. And gave tiieir land (as) a heritage, a heritage to Israel his
people. The land of Canaan was an inheritance to Israel, not as
the hens of the Canaanites, but because it was to be transmitted
from father to son, by hereditary right and succession. See
above, on Ps. cv. 44. cxi. 6.

13. Jehovah, thy name (is) to eternity. Jehovah, thy memory is
to generation and generation. Name and memory are here equiv-
alent expressions, meaning that by which G-od is remembered or
commemorated, namely, his perfections as exhibited in act. The
perpetuity of this implies continued or repeated acts of goodness.

14. For Jehovah will judge his people, and for the sake of his
servants will repent. He will fulfil the promise in Deut. xxxii. 36.
He will judge (i. e. do justice to) his people. See above, on Ps.
lxxii. 2. For the sense in which repentance is ascribed to God,
see above, on Ps. xc. 13.

15. The idols of the nations (are) silver and gold, works of the
hands of man. The divine perfection of the Lord is now exhib-
ited in contrast with the impotence and nullity of idols. The
terms of the comparison are borrowed, with several variations,
from Ps. cxv. 4 — 8.

16. (There is) a mouth to them, and (yet) they speak not ; (there
are) eyes to them, and (yet) they see not. See above, on Ps. cxv.
5, which agrees exactly with the verse before us.

17. (There are) ears to them, and (yet) they hear not ; likewise
there is no hreath in their mouth. See above, on Ps. cxv. 6. This
verse contains the most considerable variation of the pas-
sages. The second clause in both beo-ins with the same Hebrew
word (f|&) ; but in the one case it is a noun, meaning the nose,
in the other an adverb, meaning likewise. This kind of variation.

248 PSALM CXXXV.

in which the form is retained but with a change of meaning, is
perfectly agreeable to Hebrew usage.

18. Like them shall be those making them, every one who (is)
trusting in them. See above, on Ps. cxv. 8, with which thi3
verse agrees exactly. If the meaning had been simply, those
who make them are like them, Hebrew usage would hare required
the verb to be suppressed. Its insertion, therefore, in the future
form (^fp.) requires it to be rendered strictly shall be, i. e. in
fate as well as character. Idolaters shall perish with their per-
ishable idols. Compare Isai. i. 31.

19. Oh house of Israel, bless Jehovah ! Oh house of Aaron, bless
Jehovah ! Having shown what God is, in himself and in com-
parison with idols, he repeats the exhortation which this descrip-
tion was intended to explain and justify. With this and the next
verse compare Ps. cxv. 9 — 11. cxviii. 2 — 4. Instead of trust
we have here bless, as at the beginning of the Psalm. Compare
Ps. cxxxiv. 1.

20. Oh house of Levi, bless Jehovah ! Fearers of Jehovah, bless
Jehovah ! The Levites are not particularly mentioned in the
parallel passages.

21. Blessed (be) Jehovah from Zion — inhabiting Jerusalem —
Hallelujah ! There is here an allusion to Ps. cxxxiv. 3. As Je-
hovah blesses out of Zion, so also he is blessed out of Zion, by
the diffusion of his praise, as from a radiating centre. This is
said to be the only place in which Jerusalem is put for Zion, as
the earthly residence of God. But see above, on Ps, Ixxvi. 3 (2),
and compare Ps. cxxv. 1, 2.

PSALM CXXXVI. 249

PSALM CXXXVI.

In theme and structure, this psalm resembles that before it, a
resemblance rendered still more striking by particular coincidences
of expression. In this case also, the people are invited to praise
Jehovah, vs. 1 — 3, as the God of nature, vs. 4—9, as the deliv-
erer of Israel from Egypt, vs. 10 — 15, his guide in the wilderness,
v. 16, the conqueror of his enemies, vs. 17 — 24, the provider of
all creatures, v. 25, and the God of heaven, te whom, in conclu-
sion, praise is again declared to be due, v. 26. The grand pecu-
liarity of form in this psalm, by which it is distinguished from all
others, is the regular recurrence, at the close of every verse, of a
burden or refrain^ like the responses in the Litany, but carried
through with still more perfect uniformity. The text or theme,
which thus forms the second clause of every verse, is one
which has repeatedly occurred already, in Ps. cvi. 1. cvii. 1.
cxviii. 1 — 4,29. Compare 1 Chron. xvii. 34. It has been a favour-
ite idea with interpreters that such repetitions necessarily imply al-
ternate or responsive choirs. But the other indications of this
usage in the Psalter are extremely doubtful, and every exegetical
condition may be satisfied by simply supposing that the singers,
in some cases, answered their own questions, and that in others, as
in that before us, the people united in the burden or chorus, as
they were wont to do in the Amen. See above, on Ps. cvi. 48.

1. Give thanks unto Jehovah— for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
This introductory sentence is identical with those already cited
from Ps. cvi, cvii, cxviii.

11*

250 PSALM CXXXVI.

2. Give thanks unlo the God of Gods— for unto eternity (is)
his mercy. The divine title or description, both in this verse and
the next, is borrowed from Deut. x. 17. Gods does not here
mean false gods, but is a superlative plural qualifying that before
it. See above, on Ps. lxxvii. 14 (13.) exxxv. 5.

3. Give thanks unto the Lord of Lords — for unto eternity (is)
his mercy. The Lord of Lords, i. e. the supreme Lord, the
Lord by way of excellence, as in the English phrase heart of
hearts for inmost heart.

4. To (him) doing wondrous (things) , great (things), alone —
for unto eternity (is) his mercy. Compare the expression doing
wonders, Ex. xv. 11. Alone, not merely more than others, but
to their exclusion. The for, in this and the following verses, has
reference, not to what immediately precedes, but to the verb give
thanks, to be supplied at the beginning of the sentence.

5. To him that made the heavens in wisdom — for unto eternity
(is) his mercy. That made, literally making, perhaps in reference
to the continued exercise of God's creative power. In wisdom,
or with understanding. See above, on Ps. civ. 24, and compare
Prov. iii. 19.

6. To him that spread the earth above the waters — for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. That spread, literally spreading, as in
v. 5. Above (not upon, but higher than) the waters. See above,
on Ps. xxiv. 2.

7 To him that made great lights — for unto eternity (is) his
mercy. The plural lights (t^nia) occurs only here, but is cog-
nate and synonymous with the one used in Gen. i. 14, 16.

8. The sun to rule by day — for unto eternity (is) his mercy.

PSALM CXXXVI. 251

The musical design of the composition is especially observable
where the burden or chorus is interposed between inseparable
parts of the same sentence, as in this one, the substance of which
is borrowed from Gen. i. 16, but with some change both in the
words and the construction.

9. The moon and stars to rule by night — for unto eternity (is)
his mercy. To rule, literally, for rules or dominions, perhaps
because the stars are here made sharers with the moon in the
dominion of the night.

10. To him that smote Egypt in their first born — for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. We have here the transition from nature
to history, as in Ps. exxxv. 8. Him that smote (or the smiter of)
Egypt, i. e. the Egyptians. Hence the plural pronoun, their
first bom. ■

11. And brought out Israel from the midst of them — for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. Here for the first time we have a finite
tense (the future conversive), interrupting the long series of
participles, all agreeing with Jehovah understood.

12. With a high hand and with an arm outstretched — for unto
eternity is his mercy. These are favourite Mosaic figures for the
active and energetic exercise of power. See Ex. iii. 19. vi. 1, 6
xiii. 9. xv 12. Deut. iv. 34. v. 15. vii. 19. xi. 2. xxvi. 8.

13. To him that parted the Red Sea into parts — for unto eter-
nity (is) his mercy. Parted and parts have the same relation to
each other as the Hebrew verb and noun.

14. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it — for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. Here again we have a finite tense, not
the conversive future, as in v. 11, but the preterite. Through

252 PSALM CXXXVI.

the midst of it, between the parts into which it was divided. Some
suppose an allusion to the covenant transaction" in Gen. xv. 17,
where the word translated parts is the one used in v. 13 above.

15. And cast Pharaoh and his host into the Red Sea — -for unto
eternity (is) his mercy. The first verb strictly means knocked off
or shook off, and is borrowed from Ex. xiv. 27. A passive form
of it occurs above, Ps. cix. 23.

16. To him that led his people in the wilderness — for unto eter-
nity (is) his mercy. Led, literally, caused to go. See above,
Ps. exxv. 5. The participial construction is again resumed.

17. To him that smote great kings — for unto eternity (is) his
mercy. Compare the parallel passage, Ps. exxxv. 10, which is
here divided by the theme or chorus. See above, on v. 8.

18. And slew mighty kings — for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
The first clause answers to the latter half of Ps. exxxv. 10, with
the substitution of another Hebrew word for mighty.

19. Sihon king of the Amorite — -for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
Literally, to, for, or as to Sihon, etc. See above, on Ps. exxxv. 11.

20. And Og king of Bashan — -for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
To, for, or as to, Og king of Bashan.

21. And gave their land as a heritage — for unto eternity (is) his
mercy. As a heritage, literally, for it. See above, on Ps. exxxv. 12.

22. A heritage to Israel his servant — -for unto eternity (is) his
mercy. This is the latter half of Ps. exxxv. 12, divided from the
first half by the theme or chorus.

PSALM CXXXVII. 253

23. Who in our low estate remembered us — -for unto eternity (is)
his mercy. In our low estate, in our humiliation, in our beino"
humbled or reduced. Remembered us, or for us, for our benefit,
as in Ps. exxxii. 1. From the analogy of Ps. cvii. 16, 18, 26.
cxv. 12, we learn that this relates to the captivity in Babylon,
which is also the subject of the next psalm.

24. And snatched us from our adversaries — for unto eternity (is)
his mercy. The first verb always denotes violent action. See
above, on Ps. vii. 3 (2.) It here means to snatch or tear away,
as in Lam. v. 8, and has reference to the great catastrophe by
which the Babjdonian power was broken and the Jews set free.

25. Giving bread to all flesh — for unto eternity (is) his mercy.
Here the description passes suddenly from Grod's acts of mercy
towards his people to his general beneficence towards all that
lives, perhaps with a design to intimate that he who thus cares
for men in general and even for the lower animals, will not and
cannot let his people perish. See Matth. vi. 30.

26. Give thanks unto the God of heaven, for unto eternity (is) his
mercy. The G-od of heaven is a new description as to form, but
substantially equivalent to that in Ps. vii. 8 (7.) xi. 4. xiv. 2.
xxxiii. 13, 14.

PSALM CXXXVII.

This is the most direct and striking reminiscence of the Baby-
lonish Exile in the whole collection, and could scarcely have been
written but by one who had partaken of its trials. The

254 PSALM CXXXVII.

first part of the psalm recalls the treatment of the Jews in Baby-
lonia, vs, 1 — 6 ; the second anticipates the punishment of Edom
and of Babylon, as persecuting enemies of Israel, vs. 7 — 9.

1. By the rivers of Babylon , there tee sat down, yea we wept,
when we remembered Zion. The first word sometimes means along,
and especially along the course of streams, as in Ps. xxiii. 2. Ba-
bel or Babylon is here put for the whole country which we call
Babylonia. Its rivers are the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Chabo-
ras, and the Ulai, with their tributary branches. Various expla-
nations have been given of the exiles being represented as sitting by
the rivers ; but none of them are so satisfactory as the obvious and
simple supposition, that the rivers are mentioned as a characteris-
tic feature of the country, just as we might speak of the mountains
of Switzerland or the plains of Tartary, meaning Switzerland or
Tartary itself. There is emphatic ; there, even in that dis-
tant heathen country. Sat or sat down, if significant at all,
may mean that they sat upon the ground as mourners. Yea, lite-
rally also ; we not only sat but also wept. When we remem-
bered, literally, in our remembering, i. e. at the time, and as the
effect, of our so doing. Zion, not merely as the mother-country
or its capital, but as the seat of the theocracy and earthly centre
of the true religion.

2. On willows in the midst of it we hung our harps. It has been
objected that the willow is unknown in the region once called
Babylonia, which is said to produce nothing but the palm-tree.
Some avoid this difficulty by explaining the whole verse as meta-
phorical, hanging up the harps being a figure for renouncing mu-
sic, and willows being suggested by the mention of streams, perhaps
with some allusion to associations connected with this particular
tree. It may also be observed that extraordinary changes have
taken place in the vegetable products, and especially the trees, of
certain countries. Thus the palm-tree, so frequently referred to

PSALM CXXXVII.

255

in the scriptures, and so comrno-n once that cities were called after
it, is now almost unknown in Palestine.

3. For there our captors asked of us the words of a song, and
our spoilers mirth, (saying) Sing to us from a song of Zion.
Words of a song may either be an idiomatic pleonasm meaning
simply song itself, or denote, as in English, the words sung as
distinguished from the music. Our spoilers is by some taken in a
passive sense, our spoiled or plundered ones ; but the usual explana-
tion is favoured by tradition'and analogy. One of the songs can
hardly be the meaning of the Hebrew phrase, in which the noun
is singular. The literal translation above given yields a perfectly
good sense. A song of Zion is a psalm, a religious lyric, such as
many of the heathen knew to be employed in the temple worship
at Jerusalem. Many interpreters suppose the object of this re-
quest to be contempt or ridicule ; but the words themselves
necessarily suggest nothing more than curiosity.

4. How shall we sing the song of Jehovah on a foreign soil ?
These are the words with which the invitation was or mio-ht have
been rejected at the time. The question implies a moral im-
possibility. The idea is not, that the psalms themselves would
be profaned by being sung there, but that the expression of reli-
gious joy would be misplaced and incongruous, implying an
oblivion of the sanctuary and its forfeited advantages. A foreign
soil, a ground or land of strangeness. See above, on Ps. xviii. 45,
46 (44, 45.)

5. If I forget thee, oh Jerusalem, let my right hand forget (its
skill.) This is a disavowal of the forgetfulness which would have
been implied in yielding to the wishes of their captors. Jerusalem
is here used precisely as Zion is in vs. 1, 3. The object of the
verb in the last clause is supposed by some to be me ; let my right
hand forget me, i. e. let me be forgotten by myself. But most

256 PSALM CXXXVII.

interpreters concur in the correctness of the common version, in
which cunning has its old English sense of skill. The only ques-
tion then is, whether this is to be understood indefinitely of all
that the right hand can do, and is wont to do, for the convenience
of the person, or whether it is to be understood specifically of its
use in playing on an instrument. The former is the more com-
prehensive meaning, but the latter is more pointed and better suited
to this context. The sense will then be : if I so far forget thee as
to strike the harp while in this condition, let my right hand lose
the power so to do.

6. Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember thee,
if I do not raise Jerusalem above the head of my rejoicing. What
he had first wished as to his power of instrumental performance,
he now wishes with respect to his vocal organs. If I forget thee,
let my hand forever cease to strike the harp, and my tongue to
utter sound ! The most natural meaning; of the last clause is the
one paraphrastically given in the English version, if I prefer not
Jerusalem above my chief joy.

7. Remember, oh Jehovah, against the sons of Edom, the day of
Jerusalem, (against,) those saying, Make bare, make bare, to the very
foundation in it. Most interpreters regard this as a kind of com-
ment by the Psalmist on the preceding recollection of the Cap-
tivity. But the transition then seems too abrupt and unaccoun-
table. The best explanation is, that these are still the real or
supposed words of the captives, in reply to the request of their
oppressors, far from granting which they break forth in a prayer
for the destruction of those who had destroyed Jerusalem. As
if they had said : No, instead of singing psalms to gratify your
idle or malignant curiosity, we will rather pray God to avenge
the insults offered to his holy city. This interpretation is more-
over recommended by its rendering the strong terms that fol-
low more natural than if uttered in cold blood and in calm

PSALM CXXXVII. 257

deliberation at a later period. Remember against, literally for or
with respect to. See above, on Ps. cxxxii. 1. cxxxvi. 23, where
the same idiomatic phrase is used in a favourable sense. The day
of Jerusalem is the day of its calamity or great catastrophe.
Compare Obad. 11 — 13, where the same crime is charged upon
Edom, namely that of concurring and rejoicing in the downfal of
his kinsman Israel. See also Jer. xlix. 7 — 22. Lam. iv. 21, 22.
Ezek. xxv. 12 — 14.

8. Daughter of Babylon, the desolated ! Happy (he) icho shall
repay to thee thy treatment xoherewith thou hast treated us. The
daughter of Babylon (or virgin Babylon) is the people or king-
dom of Babylonia, personified as a woman. See above, on
Ps. ix. 14 ( 13. J The wasted or desolated is the epithet belong-
ing to her by way of eminence in prophecy and history. There
is no need therefore of distinguishing between a partial and total
desolation, or between that of the city and the kingdom at large.
The last clause may mean nothing more than that such a revolu-
tion is at hand that he will be esteemed a fortunate man who
treats thee as thou hast treated us. For the true sense of the
last verb, see above, on Ps. xiii. 6 (5, 6. )

9. Happy he (who) shall seize and dash thy little ones against
the stones. This revolting act was not uncommon in ancient
warfare. See 2 Kings viii. 12. Hos. xiv. 1. Nah. iii. 10. Isai.
xiii. 16, 18. The more revolting, the stronger the descrip-
tion of the change awaiting Babylon. The day is coming when
he shall be deemed fortunate who, according to the usages of war,
requites thy own sanguinary cruelties. The word translated dash
means really to dash in pieces, as in Ps. ii. 9. The act here
meant is commonly expressed by (d"o^) a different Hebrew verb.
Taketh and dasheth is equivocal, the first of these verbs being
used in familiar English as a kind of auxiliary, whereas the cor-
responding verb in Hebrew denotes a distinct and independent
act.

2^8 PSALM CXXXVIII.

PSALM C X X X Y 1 1 1 .

This is the first of a series of eight psalms (cxxxviii — cxlv),
probably the last composed by David, a kind of commentary on
the great Messianic promise in 2 Sam. vii. They are found in
this part of the Psalter, in consequence of having been made the
basis, or rather the body, of a system or series (cxxxv — cxlvi)
by a later writer. See above, on Ps. cxxxv. 1. The psalm be-
fore us contains an acknowledgment of God's goodness as expe-
rienced already, vs. 1 — 3, an anticipation of his universal recog-
nition by the nations, vs. 4, 5, and in the mean time of additional
favours to the Psalmist, or to the church of which he was the
temporary head, vs. 6 — 8. Such a psalm was of course well
suited to sustain the faith and revive the hopes of a later generation.

1. By David. I will thank thee with all my heart ; before
gods I ivill praise thee. The Davidic style and tone of composi-
tion are acknowledged even by the skeptical interpreters. With
all my heart implies the greatness of the gift to be acknowledged,
which was no doubt the promise of Messiah contained in 2 Sam.
vii. See above, on Ps. ix. 2 (1.) Before gods, i. e. in the pre-
sence, to the face, and in contempt of all imaginary rival deities.
The translation before God is grammatical, but confounds the
second and third person in a single clause. The Septuagint and
Vulgate have before angels, which is inconsistent with the usage
of the Hebrew word. Thank thee, in the strict sense of praising

PSALM CXXXVIII. 259

for benefits received ; or in a wider sense, acknowledge thee as God.
Praise thee, make music, sing and play to thee. With this verse
compare Ps. vii. 18 (17.) xviii.' 50 (49.) liv. S (7.) lvii. 10 (9.)
ci. 1.

2. I will bow down to thy holy temple, and will thank thy name,,
for thy mercy and for thy truth; for thou hast made great, above
all thy name, thy promise. With the first clause compare Ps. v.
S (7.) Bow down, or prostrate myself, as an act of worship.
Mercy in promising, truth in performing. See above, on Ps. xxv.
10. Above^all thy name, i. e. all the previous manifestations of
thy nature. Thy word, literally, thy saying, that which thou
hast said, but applied specifically to the divine promise. See
above, on Ps, xviii. 31 (30.)#cxix. 38, 50, 103, 140. The trans-
cendant promise here referred to is that of the Messiah in 2 Sam.
vii. which is there described as unique by David himself, and
which forms the basis of many psalms, but especially of
Ps. xviii, xxi, lxi, ci, cii, ciii, and the one before us.

3. In the day I called and thou didst answer me, thou makest me
brave in my soul (with) strength. This may be connected with
what goes before, thou didst magnify thy word in the day when I
called etc. The promise in 2 Sam. vii was an answer to his
prayer for a perpetual succession. See above, on Ps. xxi.
3, 5 (2, 4.) lxi. 6 (5.) The common version of the last clause
(strengthcnedst me with strength in my soul) contains a parono-
masia not in the original, where the verb and noun have not even
a letter in common. The verb is by some translated made me
proud, i. e. elated me, not with a vain or selfish pride, but with
a lofty and exhilarating hope. In my soul, as opposed to a mere
outward influence. Strength, i. e. strength of faith and confidence
in God.

4. Jehovah, all kings of the earth shall acknowledge thee, when

26C PSALM CXXXVIII,

they have heard the sayings of thy mouth. Not merely one king,
though that king be David, shall acknowledge, thank, and praise
thee, but all others who receive the true religion, when they know
what thou hast promised, and especially when they compare the
promise and fulfilment, with particular reference to the promise
of Messiah, which is described in Scripture as a grand means for
the conversion of the nations and the chiefs which represent them.
See above, on Ps. lxviii. 30, 32 (29, 31.) cii. 16 (15.)

5. And they shall sing in the ways of Jehovah, for great (shall
be) the glory of Jehovah. The kings of the earth, representing
its nations, shall join in the praise of the true God, walking in
his ways, i. e. as converts to the true religion. Compare
Mic. iv. 2. Isai. iv. 3. Instead of for we may read when, as in
v. 4 ; when the glory of Jehovah has been duly exalted and dif-
fused by the extension of the true religion. Some make this
clause the theme or subject of the praise — they shall sing that the
glory of Jehovah is great — a less natural construction, but one
which yields an equally good sense.

6. For lofty is Jehovah — and the low he sees — and the haughty
from afar he knows. The first two clauses may be in antithesis,
and yet he looks upon the low, or simply co-ordinate, and there-
fore he looks upon the loio, i. e. the lowly, who shall be exalted,
while the opposite end of the proud is implied in the concluding
declaration. Even from afar, from the distant heaven where he
seems to behold nothing, he knows precisely what the proud man
is, what he deserves, and what is actually to befall him. See
above, on Ps. i. 1.

7 '. If I go through the midst of distress, thou wilt save (or make)
me alive ; upon the wrath of my enemies thou wilt stretch forth thy
hand, and save me (with) thy right hand. The first clause re-
sembles that of Ps. xxiii. 4. Go through or walk in the midst of

PSALM CXXXIX. 261

trouble. To quicken or revive, as in Ps. xxx. 4 (3.) lxxi. 20.
Upon the wrath, implyino^motion from above, which is more sig-
nificant and graphic than against. The common version of the
last words (and thy right hand shall save me) is equally gram-
matical'and found in all the ancient versions ; but the other is re-
commended by its ascribing the deliverance directly to God, and
by the analogy of Ps. lx. 7 (5), where hand is adverbially con-
strued with the same verb. See also Ps. xvii. 14.

8. Jehovah will complete for me (what he has begun) Jehovah,
thy mercy (is) forever ; the works of thy hands do not forsake.
The work begun and yet to be completed was the whole series of
God's gracious dispensations towards David and his seed, begin-
ning with the first choice of the former and ending in the Messiah.
With the first clause compare Ps. lvii. 3 (2.) Phil. i. 6. The
second member of the sentence might be read, let thy mercy be
forever or unto eternity. But it is more probably an affirmation,
similar to that in Ps. ciii. 17, and the clause contains an appeal
to the promise of eternal favour, 2 Sam. vii. 13, 26, or perhaps
to the eternity of God's compassions, as a reason why he should
not and could not abandon what had been so graciously begun.

PSALM CXXXIX.

The Psalmist describes God's omnipresence and omniscience,
vs. 1 — 12, as attributes necessarily belonging to him as the Crea-
tor, vs. 13 — 18, and appeals to them in attestation of his own
aversion to the wicked, vs. 19 — 24. From its collocation it is
probable that this psalm records David's exercises under the

262 PSALM CXXXIX.

powerful impressions of the great Messianic promises in 2 Sam. vii,
and is therefore to be regarded as a confession and profession
made not merely for himself but for his successors on the throne of
Israel, and intended both to warn them and console them by this
grand view of Jehovah's constant and infallible inspection.

1. To the Chief Musician. By David. A Psalm. Jehovah,
thou hast searched me and hiowest. As a later writer could have
no motive for prefixing the title to the Chief Musician, it affords
an incidental proof of antiquity and genuineness. Thou hast
searched me or continually searchest me. The Hebrew verb origin-
ally means to dig and is applied to the search for precious metals
(Job xxviii. 3), but metaphorically to a moral inquisition into
guilt. See above, on Ps. xliv. 22 (21), and compare Job xiii. 9.
It is here used in the intermediate sense of full investigation.
Thou hast knotcn or knowest all that can result from such a sera-
tiny, not only my corruptions and infirmities but my cares and
sorrows. The object is not expressed in this verse, which is a
summary of the whole psalm, because the very object of what
follows is to state it in detail.

2. Thou knowest my sitting and my rising ; thou under standest
as to my thought from afar. Sitting and rising or standing re-
present rest and motion, or all the various conditions of the living,
waking man. See above, on Ps. i. 1. xxvii. 2. In every posture,
state, and occupation, thou knowest me. The next phrase does
not merely signify, thou perceivest the meaning of my thought,
but thou knowest all about it, its origin, its tendency, its moral
quality ; thou under standest (every thing) respecting it. From
afar, unimpeded by local distance, by which men are prone to
imagine the divine omniscience to be circumscribed. See Job
xxii. 12 — 14, and compare with this verse Ps- exxxviii. 6.
Jer. xxiii. 23.

PSALM CXXXIX. 263

3.

My path and my lair thou siftest, and with all my ways art
acquainted. Path is here put for going, lair for lying, and these,
like the terms of the preceding verse, for motion and rest, or the
active and passive parts of human life. The poetical word lair
is used to represent a Hebrew one, occurring only here, but the
verbal root of which is used by Moses, Lev. xviii. 23. xx. 16.
The last verb means to be accustomed (Num. xxii. 30), and then
by a natural association, acquainted or familiar (Job xxii. 21.)
My ivays, my condition and my conduct, what I do and what
I suffer.

4. For there is not a word in my tongue, (but) lo, Jehovah,
thou knowest all of it. The relation of the clauses may be also
expressed thus in English, which, oh Lord, thou know est not, all
of it (or altogether.) In my tongue, in its power, or, as it were,
in its possession. This verse merely applies to his words speci-
fically what was said before of all his actions. The lo or behold
is equivalent to see there, or to the act of pointing at the words as
objects of sight and as actually present.

5. Behind and before thou dost beset me, and lay est upon me thy
hand. There is here an insensible transition from Grod's omnis-
cience to his omnipresence, out of which the Scriptures represent
it as arising. Behind and before, i. e. on all sides. The idea of
above and below is suggested by the last clause. Beset, besiege,
hem in, or closely*surround. Thy hand, or the palm of thy hand,
as the Hebrew word strictly denotes.

6. Such knowledge is too wonder ful for me ; it is exalted, I cannot
(attain) to it. The literal meaning of the Hebrew word is, wonderful
knowledge away from me, or more than 1 (can comprehend) ; it is
exalted, I cannot (do any thing) as to it. With the word wonderful
compare the use of the cognate verb, Deut. xxx. 11. Prov. xxx. IS,
The knowledge meant is man's finite knowledge of the infinite.

264 PSALM CXXXIX.

7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit, and whither from thy
face shall I fee? The interrogation involves a denial of all pos-
sible escape from God's inspection, when a guilty conscience
prompts to seek one. Compare Am. ix. 2.

8. If I scale the heavens, there (art) thou ; and if I spread the
grave, lo thou (art there.) The word scale is used to represent a
Hebrew verb occurring only here, and no doubt belonging to the
dialect of poetry. The verb translated spread means specifically
to spread a couch or make a bed. If I make sheol my led, i. e.
lie down in the grave or hell, in the wide old English sense. See
above, on Ps. vi. 6 (5.)

9. I tcill raise the wings of day-break. I will dwell in the end
of the sea. By supplying if, although the sense is not materially
changed, the form of expression becomes much less striking. The
conditional construction is forbidden also, or at least rendered
highly improbable, by the form of the second verb, expressing
strong desire and resolution. The truth is that we have here a
bold transition. After speaking of guilty flight from God himself,
the Psalmist now speaks of anxious flight from other enemies, and
as if visibly surrounded by them, here resolves to escape from
them. This, which is Hengstenberg's interpretation, is strongly
favoured by the unconditional construction, although he himself
retains the other. The same writer objects to the translation
raise tlie wings, that before one can raise wings he must have them.
But for that very reason the possession of them may be presup-
posed, or considered as implied in the act expressed. The same
combination is employed by Ezekiel (x. 16, 19), in a way that ad-
mits of only one translation. The Hebrew word PT^) is not the
common one for morning, but one denoting day-break or the dawn
See above, on Ps. lvii. 9 (8.) The point of comparison appears
to be the incalculable velocity of light. The extremity (or end) of

PSALM CXXXIX. 265

the sea is added to heaven and hell, in order to convey the idea of
the most remote points.

10. Even there thy hand guides me, and thy right hand holds me.
From the use of similar expressions to denote a friendly guidance
and support, in Ps. xviii. 17 (16.) lv. 7—9 (6—8.) v. 9 (8.) xxiii. 3.
xxvii. 11. lxxiii. 24, and other places, Hengstenberg infers that
this must mean, when I fly to the ends of the earth before my
enemies, thou art still there to protect me, and that the psalm was
therefore meant not merely to alarm but to console.

11. And I say, only darkness overwhelms me, night is the light
lecome around me. The ideal situation is the same as in v. 9,
one of danger and terror, in which he is constrained to say, no-
thing but darkness comes upon me, smites me, and the very light
i^turned to darkness round about me. According to this view
of the passage, darkness, as in many other places, is a figure for
calamity and danger. See Isai. 1. 10. Ps. exxxviii. 7. Ac-
cording to the usual interpretation it denotes concealment from
the eye of God.

12. Even darkness does not make (it) dark to him, and night like
day shines ; as the darkness, so the light. The interpretation given
of the foregoing verse does not necessarily affect the sense of this,
which still means that nothing can prevent God's seeing either
sin or suffering, either the danger of his people or the malice of
fiheir enemies. Make dark, as in Ps. cv. 28. To thee, literally,
from thee, i. e. so as to conceal from thee.

13. For thou possessest my reins; thou coverest me in my
mother's womb. The meaning of the first clause seems to be :
thou hast in thy power and at thy control the very seat of my
strongest sensibilities, my pains and pleasures ; and this subjec-
tion is coeval with my being, for even before birth I was under

vol. in. 12

266 PSALM CXXXIX.

thy protection and command, as I am now. The sense of weav-
ing, which is given to the last verb by some modern writers rests
on a mere etymological deduction and has no foundation either in
tradition or in usage. The for at the beginning of this verse
marks the transition from the fact of God's omniscience to its
origin or reason in his creative character and rio-hts. As a logi-
cal particle, the for relates, not to the immediately preceding
verse, but to the whole preceding context. God is omnipresent
and omniscient, for he is the maker of the universe.

14. I thank thee, because fearfully I am distinguished ; wonder-
ful (are) thy works, and (that) my soul knoweth right (well.)
He makes it a subject of grateful acknowledgment, that God has
distinguished him or made him to differ from inferior creatures,
both in constitution and in destiny. Because is in Hebrew a com-
pound particle (^3 i?) like for that, forasmuch as. Fearfully,
literally fearful (things), but used adverbially, as in Pa.
lxv. 6 (o.) It might here be rendered (by) fearful (things.)
The words corresponding to distinguished and loonderful are in
Hebrew passive forms from cognate roots fn*s& and }*b£>J- Tlie
particular statement of the first clause is resolved by the last into
the general one, of which it is a mere specification. The con-
cluding words express a strong and, as it were, experimental con-
viction of the truth.

15. Not hid was my frame from thee, when I teas made in se-
cret, embroidered in depths of the earth. The not hid is a meiosis,
implying that God saw it clearly and fully understood it, inas-
much as he himself created it. Frame, literally strength, as in
Deut. viii. 17, but applied to the bones and sinews as the strength
or frame-work of the body. See above, on Ps. vi. 3 (2), and
compare Job x. 11. The common Hebrew word for bone
differs only in the pointing. The word translated when is (T^'a)
the relative pronoun, and may here retain its proper meaning

PSALM CXXXIX. • 267

although then not easily translated, as its antecedent is latent in
the phrase my frame, which may be thus resolved, the frame of
me who was made, etc. In secret, i. e. in the womb. Embroi-
dered, which is the invariable meaning of the Hebrew verb, is a
bold but beautiful expression for the complicated tissue of the
human frame, in which so many and such various threads are cu-
riously interwoven. Depths of the earth can only be explained as
a comparative expression, corresponding to in secret and denoting
the same thing, which it describes as no less dark and hidden
from the view of men than subterraneous caverns, or as some sup-
pose sheol, the invisible world. See above, on Ps. lxiii. 10 (9),
and compare Job i. 21, where the figure is inverted, and the grave
is confounded with the womb.

16. My unformed substance did thine eyes see, and in thy look
all of them are written, days are form,ed, and there is not one
among them. This is one of the most obscure and doubtful verses
in the book of Psalms. Its difficulty to our own translators may
be gathered from the fact, that": substance yet being unperfect an-
swers to a single Hebrew word, and that my members is a
gratuitous addition to the text. The first word in Hebrew
occurs only here, but is clearly derived from a verb which means
to roll or roll up (2 Kings ii. S), and may therefore be supposed
itself to signify something rolled up or rolled together, and from
this may be deduced the sense of something shapeless or un-
formed, or more specifically that of an embryo or foetus. The
next difficulty lies in the expression all of them, evaded in the
English Bible by changing it to all my members and then making
this the subject of the plurals following. The best interpreters
are now disposed to construe all of them with days by a gram-
matical prolepsis. In thy book all of them arc written, namely,
all my days, as they were planned, projected, or decreed, before
as yet one of them had really existed. Written and formed are
then parallel expressions- All of them are icrilten, days are de-

268 PSALM CXXXIX.

lincated or depicted. By days (translated in our Bible in continu-
ance) we are then to understand not merely the length but the
events and vicissitudes of life. See Job xiv. 5. Ps. lvi. 9 (8.)
This is one of those cases in which the difficulty lies in the par-
ticular expressions, while the general import of the passage is
clearly determined bv the context. Instead of (s&) not, the keri
or marginal reading m the Hebrew Bible has (ib) to him, to Taxa-
tion to which no one has succeeded in attaching a coherent sense.
Precisely the same difference of text exists in Ps. c. 3.

17. And to me koiv precious are thy thoughts, oh God ! TIoio
great is the sum of them ! Having presented this impressive
view of God's omniscience, he now tells how he is himself affected
by it. So far from thinking it a hardship to be subject to this
scrutiny, he counts it a most valuable privilege. However
others may regard this truth, to me, my judgment and my feel-
ings, how costly, valuable, are thy thoughts, i. e. thy perpetual
attention to me. For the true sense of precious, see above, on
Ps. xxxvi. 8 (7.) xlv. 10 (9.) Great is the sum,\\tQY2i\\j,strong
for many) are their sums, an expression which can hardly be re-
tained in our idiom.

18. I will count them — (but no) — more than sand they are
many — I awake and still I (am) with thee. The first clause is
equivalent to a conditional proposition, if I would count them etc.
but far more striking and poetical in form. See above, on Ps.
xl. 6 (5.) I am still with thee has the same essential meaning
with the similar expression in Ps. lxxiii. 23, namely, I am still in
thy society or company. But there the reference is chiefly to
divine protection, here to meditation on the divine attributes.
Thou art still before me as an object of adoring wonder, not by
day only, but by night ; not merely in the watches of the night,
but even in my sleep. See above, on Ps. i. 2. xvi. 7. lxiii. 7 (6.)

PSALM CXXXIX. 269

19. If thou wilt slay, oh God, the wicked (man) ! And ye men
of blood, depart from me ! The first clause is in fact, though not
in form, the expression of a wish. If thou wouldst but slay !
In form, there is an aposiopesis, which may be variously supplied
by adding, I will praise thee, I will rejoice, it will be just, or the
like. Men of bloods, murderers or murderous men. See above,
on Ps. v. 7 (6.) xxvi. 9. lv. 24 (23. ) Depart from me is the
same expression as in Ps. vi. 9 (8.) cxix. 15, but the main idea
here is that of disavowal or repudiation. Oh that God would
slay them, and until he does, I desire to have no communion
with them. Compare Job xxi. 14. Matth. vii. 23.

20. Who speak of thee for wickedness and take in vain — thy foes !
Speak of thee, or name thee, use thy name, for the accomplish-
ment of wicked ends. The other clause will then be strictly
parallel, and take (thy name) in vain, as in Ex. xx. 7. For the
meaning of this difficult expression, see above, on Ps. xxiv. 4.
The subject of the proposition is placed emphatically at the end.

21. Thy haters, oh Jehovah, shall not I hate, and with thine
assailants be disgusted ? The simple future in the first clause
comprehends several distinct shades of meaning. Do I not, may
I not, must I not, hate those hating thee ? Hate them, net
as man hates, but as God hates. See above, on Ps. v. 6 (5. )
The construction of the verb and preposition in the last clause is
the same in Hebrew and in English. Be disgusted, literally,
sicken or disgust myself, abhor, or loathe. Thine assailants,
those rising up against thee, as rebellious enemies. The Hebrew
word is a noun formed from the participle used above, Ps. xvii. 7.
lix. 2 (1.)

22. ( With) perfection of hatred do I hate them ; as enemies
they are to me. Literally, they are for enemies, i. e. I so esteem
them. As enemies of God, they must be mine.

270 PSALM CXL.

23. Search me, God, and know my heart ; try me, and know
my thoughts. The last expression is emphatic, meaning even my
most anxious and disturbed thoughts, into which corruption might
most easily find entrance. See above, on Ps. xciv. 19, the only
other place where the Hebrew word occurs. In this verse, he
again appeals to the divine omniscience for the purity of his in-
tentions, and thus comes back to the point from which he started.

24. And see if a ivay of pain he in me, and guide me in a way
of eternity. In the first clause some translate, the way of an idol,
an idolatrous way. But the meaning idol is not justified by usage.
A way of pain is one that leads to suffering and misery hereafter.
The opposite of this is a way of eternity, by which some under-
stand an everlasting way, as distinguished from the perishable
way of sinners, Ps. i. 6. Others, more probably, the way that
leads to everlasting life. Usage, however, is in favour of a third
and very different interpretation, which gives the Hebrew phrase
(fibis ^Ti) tne same sense with a kindred one (&Ji9 tri^M)
used by Jeremiah (vi. 16), to wit, that of old or ancient way, the
one pursued by prophets, patriarchs, and saints of old. Similar
expressions are found in Jer. xviii. 15. Job xxii. 15, applied, in a
bad sense, to the course pursued by ancient sinners. The prayer,
however, still amounts to the same thing, to wit, that God would
lead him in the good old way, which is itself the way to everlasting
life.

PSALM CXL.

1. To the Chief Musician. A Psalm. By David. We find
ourselves, in this psalm, carried back not only to the times of

PSALM CXL. 271

David, but to those of the Sauline persecution, from which the
images are evidently borrowed. Besides the warlike tone, the
vigorous conciseness, the verbal agreements with Davidic psalms
combined with eminent originality, the very structure is Davidic,
and exhibits the familiar sequence of complaint, vs. 2 — 6 (1 — 5),
prayer, vs. 7 — 9 (6 — 8), and confident anticipation, vs. 10 — 14
(9 — 13.) So clearly do these features of the composition mark
its origin, even independently of the inscription, that nothing can
account for its position here but the hypothesis already stated,
that these ancient psalms were incorporated into a series of later
date, and placed in the collection, not according to their individual
antiquity, but according to the data of the whole set or system,
into which they had been made to enter. Like the psalms im-
mediately preceding, this was probably composed by David after
the reception of the great Messianic promise, and with immediate
reference to it. * v

2(1.) Deliver me, Jehovah, from the bad man ; from the man
of violences thou wilt preserve me. This is one of those pictures so
abundant in the genuine Davidic Psalms, of which Saul seems to
have furnished the original. Compare Ps. Hi. The first man
is the generic term (QT?), the other the individual designation
C^"^), which seem, however, to be used here as equivalents. The
insensible transition from direct prayer to confident anticipation is
characteristic of the psalms of David. Man of violence is another
favourite expression. See above, on Ps. xviii. 49 (48), and com-
pare the parallel passage, 2 Sam. xxii. 49, where the plural form
(violences) is used, as in the verse before us.

«

3 (2.) Who imagine evils in (their) heart ; all the day they gather
(for) battles. That the preceding verse, notwithstanding the refer-
ence to Saul, is the description of a whole class, is clear from the
plural forms in this verse. Think, meditate, devise, imagine.
Evils, particularly such as are inflicted on others, well expressed

272 PSALM CXL.

in the common version, mischiefs. Another construction of the
last clause, preferred by some interpreters, is, all the day they
dwell with wars (or in tears) , i. o. are constantly involved in them
and busied with them. This use of the verb (iw) is justified by
Ps. v. 5 (4.) cv. 23. exxv. 5. But the analogy of Ps. lvi. 7 (6.)
lix. 4 (3) is decisive in favour of the other explanation. Compare
Ps. xxxi. 14 (13.) xxxv. 15. Isai. liv. 15.

4 (3.) They sharpen their tongue as a serpent ; the poison of an
adder (is) under their lips, Selah. Not as a serpent (does), but
(spiteful or venomous) as a serpent. See above, on Ps. lxiv. 4 (3.)
With the last clause compare Ps. x. 7. lviii. 5 (4.) The word for
asp or adder occurs only here. The only point of exegetical
importance is, that it means a poisonous serpent, and is thus a
specification of the general expression in the other clause.

5 (4!) Keep me, Jehovah, from the hands of the wicked (man) ;
from the man of violences thou ivilt preserve me, ivho have thought
to subvert my steps. A varied repetition of the prayer in v. 1.
With the last clause compare Ps. xxxv. 5. xxxvi. 13 (12.) lvi. 14 (13.)
^xviii. 13.

6 (5.) High (ones) have hid a snare for me, and cords — they
have spread out a net by the side of the road — traps have they laid,
for me, Selah. This is little more than an accumulation of the
various terms in which David elsewhere clothes one of his favo'ir-
ite figures, as if he saw his own perils reappearing in the future.
High ones, i. e. proud or haughty men. By the side, literally,
the hand, as we say on either hand. The word translated road,
according to its etymology, denotes a wagon-road, a track worn
by wheels.

7 (6.) _Z~ have said to Jehovah, My God (art) thou ; give ear,
Jehovah, (to) the voice of my supplications. All the component

PSALM CXL. 273

parts of this verse are of constant occurrence in the psalms of
David. "With the first clause compare Ps. xvi. 2. xxxi. 15 (14.)
With the second, Ps. v. 2, 3 (1, 2.) xvii. 1. xxviii. 2, 6 (1, 5.)
xxxi. 23 (22.) xxxix. 13 (12.) liii. 4 (3.)

S (7.) Jehovah, Lord, the strength of my salvation ; thou hast
covered my head in the day of battle. My covenant God and sove-
reign, whose power saves me. Head is preceded by a preposition
(i), thou hast been a covering (or afforded shelter) to (or for) my
head. The day of battle, literally, of armour or of weapons, i. e.
the day when they are used. With this verse compare Ps. v. 12 (1 1 .)
Ix. 9 (7.) lxii. 2, 12 (1, 11.) cxxxix. 13. 1 Sam. xxviii. 2.

9 (8.) Grant not, Jehovah, the desires of the wicked man — his
device succeed not — they will be exalted. Succeed not, suffer not to
prosper; literally, draw not out, i. e. to a successful issue. The
last clause states what would be the effect of their success ; they
would be elated, or exalt themselves. With this verse compare
Ps. xxvii. 12. xxxi. 14 (13.) xxxvii. 12. lxvi. 7 (6.) Deut. xxxii. 27.

10 (9.) The head of those surrounding me — the mischief of their
lips shall cover them. The nominative absolute refers back to the
covering of the Psalmist's head in v. 8 (7.) Wrhile my head is
covered by the divine protection, the head of those by whom I
am beset shall be covered with the consequences or the punishment
of the mischief occasioned by their calumnies and insults. Or the
trouble, which their lips have caused to others, shall return upon
themselves. Compare Ps. vii. 17 (16.) Those surrounding me,
or, as a noun, my surroundings, as in 2 Kings xxiii. 5. Tho
participle would, according to analogy and usage, mean causing
me to turn bach or retreat (Jer. xxi. 4), which yields a good sense
here. The head of those who once drove me back shall be cov-
ered, etc.

274 PSALM CXL.

11 (10.) Coals shall be cast upon them ; into the fire he shall make
them fall, and into deep waters, (whence) they shall not rise. The
first noun in Hebrew always means burning or live coals. See
above, on Ps. xviii. 13, 14 (12, 13.) Shall he cast is the keri or
marginal reading, no doubt intended to relieve the harshness and
obscurity of the reading in the text, they shall cast or shake, an
indefinite or impersonal construction, really equivalent in meaning
to the passive. In the second member of the sentence the action
is ascribed to God himself. Deep waters answers to a single He-
brew word occurring only here, and by some supposed to mean
deep pits or excavations. The first sense above given is founded
on an Arabic analogy.

12 (11). A man of tongue shall not be established in the land,
(nor) a man of violence, a bad (man) — he shall hunt him to destruc-
tion. A man of a calumnious unbridled tongue (James i. 26)
shall not be permanently seated in a prosperous condition. See
above, on Ps. ci. 7. cii. 29 (28.) The next words may be variously
construed ; a man of wicked violence, or, disregarding the accents,
a man of violence, evil shall hunt him, etc. According to the
other constructions, God is the subject of the verb, as of the
second in v. 11 (10.) To destructions, the plural form denoting
fulness and completeness. Others render it by strokes, i. e. suc-
cessive strokes ; others again, in haste, which agrees well with the
usage of the verbal root. See 2 Chr. xxvi. 20. Esth. iii. 15.
vi. 12. viii. 14.

13 (12.) I know that Jehovah will do justice to the sufferer, and,
judgment for the poor. Compare Ps. ix. 5, 17 (4, 16.) Liter-
ally, the right of the sufferer, the judgment of the poor.

14 (13.) Only the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name, I lit
upright shall sit in thy presence. Only the righteous shall have
occasion for thanksgiving. There is no need therefore of depart-

PSALM CXLI. 275

ing from the proper sense of (Tja) the Hebrew particle. See
above, on Ps. lxxiii. 1. Sit in thy presence, as thy friends or
guests or favoured servants. Perhaps it may mean sit (en-
throned) before thee. Compare Matth4 xix. 28. Some under-
stand the sense to be, shall dwell (in the land) before thee, i. e.
under thy protection and inspection. Compare Ps. xxi. 7 (6.)
xli. 13 (12.) lvi. 14 (13.)

P S A L M CXLI.

After an introductory petition for a favourable hearing, vs. 1 , 2,
the Psalmist prays to be delivered from trie power of tempta-
tion, vs. 3, 4, comforts himself under his afflictions as paternal
chastisements, vs. 5, 6, anticipates the ruin of his enemies, v. 7,
and prays for deliverance from them in the mean time, vs. 8 — 10.
This psalm, like the one before it, is distinguished by a pregnant
brevity and the use of rare expressions, while at the same time it
is full of verbal and real coincidences with the psalms of David.
These indications are so clear and undeniable, that a skeptical
critic of great eminence (De Wette) pronounces it one of the
oldest psalms in the collection. With respect to its position in
the Psalter, see the prefatory notes to Ps. exxxv, cxl.

1. A Psalm. By David. Jehovah, I invoke thee ; hasten to
me ; give ear to my voice in my calling to thee. This verse is en-
tirely made up of phrases frequently occurring in the psalms of
David. I invoke thee, Ps. xvii. 6. Hasten to me, Ps. xxii. 20 (19.)
lxx. 2 (1.) lxxi. 12. Hear my voice, Ps. cxl. 7 (6.) In my
calling, Ps. iv. 2 (1.)

276 PSALM CXLI.

2. Let my prayer continue (as) incense before thee, the offering
of my hands (as) the evening oblation. Continue, literally, be
established, as in Ps. cxl. 12 (11.) He prays not, only for acceptance,
but for constant or perpetual acceptance, as the offerings referred
to were the stated daily services of the Mosaic ritual. Incense is
in scripture the symbol of prayer. In the books posterior to the
Pentateuch it is commonly mentioned as an evening oblation
(1 Kings xviii. 29, 36. 2 Kings xvi. 15. Dan. ix. 21. Ezra ix. 4, 5),
perhaps because in the evening it was reckoned the main
offering, whereas in the morning it was merely an appendage
to the animal sacrifice. Lifting up is not the meaning of the
Hebrew word (n&fflla) in any other place, whereas it cften means
a gift, and especially a portion of food (Gen. xliii. 34. 2 Sam.
xi. 8), in which sense it might naturally be applied to the vegeta-
ble offerings of the Law.

3. Set, oh Jehovah, a guard at my mouth ; watch over the door
of my lips. The prayer, for which he had bespoken audience
and acceptance, was a prayer against the power of temptation,
and first with reference to sins of speech. See above, on Ps.
xxxix. 2 (1.) The words translated loatch and door are forms
occurring only here, but etymologic ally near akin to others which
are in common use.

4. Incline not my heart to an evil word, to practise practices in
wickedness with men (who are) workers of iniquity, and let me
not eat of their dainties. An evil word may b« strictly understood,
as referring still to sins of the tongue, or be taken in the idiom-
atic sense of an evil matter, which last is preferred by most inter-
preters. The assonance in practise practices is copied from the
Hebrew, where the cognate verb and noun are combined in the
same manner. Practices in icickedness or wicked practices.
The last words seem to be a prayer, that he may not be tempted.

PSALM CXLI. 277

by the luxurious prosperity of wicked men, to follow their exam-
ple. See above, on Ps. lxxiii. 3 — 7, 12.

5. Let the righteous smite me (in) mercy and chasten me — oil
for the head let not my head refuse — for (it is) still (to come) —
and my prayer (must still ascend) in their injuries. This verse
is so obscure as to be almost unintelligible. According to the
English versions, it expresses his willingness to be rebuked by
good men for his benefit. But this sense is not only hard to be
extracted from the words, but foreign from the context. Of the
many contradictory interpretations which have been proposed the
most probable is that which makes the sentence mean, that the
sufferings endured by the good man, even at the hand of the
wicked, are chastisements inflicted by a righteous God in justice
and in mercy, and as such may be likened to a festive ointment,
which the head of the sufferer should not refuse, as he will still
have need of consolation and occasion to invoke God, in the midst
of trials and of mischiefs yet to be experienced.

6. Thrown down among the rocks are their judges ; and (then)
they hear my words, for they are sweet. When the judgments in
reserve for the leaders of my enemies shall come upon them,
they will perceive too late how reasonable are my words, and wish
that they had hearkened to them sooner. Thrown down, orio-i-
nally let go, here used as in 2 Kings ix. 33. Among the rocks,
literally in (or into) the hands of the rock. Some understand this
to mean into its power (see v. 9 below) ; others, against its sides
(see Ps. cxl. 6) ; but the simplest explanation is that which supposes
the rock to be personified and represented as standing below and
holding out its hands to catch the person or thing falling. Some
in the last clause read, that they are sweet. Then, when it is too
late, they shall perceive how sweet my words are.

7. Like (one) ploughing and, cleaving the earth — scattered are

278 PSALM CXLI.

our hones at the gravels mouth (or the mouth of hell. ) There are only
two plausible interpretations of this obscure comparison. As the
first Hebrew verb (nb&),in its derivative forms, has the general sense
of cleaving, and the second (9ps) is expressly used (Ecc. x. 9) in
that of splitting wood, some interpreters give both verbs that spe-
cific meaning here, and suppose the verse to be simply a description
of mortality or carnage, the effect of which is, that human bones
lie about the opening of the grave, or the devouring jaws of hell
(Isai. v. 14), as numerous and as little heeded as so many logs or
sticks of wood. To this it is objected, that the phrase in (or on)
the earth is then unmeaning, or at least superfluous, and that the
verse, if thus explained, does not cohere with the ensuing con-
text, which supposes the contents of this verse to be cheering and
consolatory. The other interpretation avoids these objections,
by explaining the first clause not of cleaving wood but ploughing,
to which the first verb is applied in Arabic. Like (one) plough-
ing and cleaving (making furrows) in the earth, not for the sake
of mangling its surface, but to make it fruitful and productive,
(so) our bones are scattered at the mouth of hell, as the necessary
means of a glorious resurrection.

8. For unto thee, Jehovah, Lord, (are) my eyes — in thee have 1
confided — pour not out my soul. The for refers to the consola-
tory import of the verse preceding. The one before us contains
several favourite Davidic phrases. My eyes are unto thee, Ps.
xxv. 15. In thee have I confided (or sought refuge), Ps. ii. 12.
xxxi. 2(1.) In the last clause the soul or life is confounded
with its vehicle. See Gren. ix. 4. Lev. xvii. 11, 14. The same
remarkable expression is applied by Isaiah (liii. 12) to the volun-
tary death of the Messiah. That the verb literally means
to pour out, is clear from Gen. xxiv. 20. Isai. xxxii. 15. This
verse resembles Ps. cxl. 8 (7), in two points, the combination Je-
hovah Adhonai, and the supernumerary n in urrisD and rfiS.

PSALM CXLII. 279

9. Keep me from the hands of the snare which they have, netted
for me, and the nets of the doers of iniquity. The word hands is
entirely omitted both in the English Bible and the Prayer Book
version. It is put, by a favourite personification, for power or
possession. The use of the expression here was probably occa-
sioned by its previous use in Ps. cxl. 4. The verb netted is here
employed to represent the cognate verb and noun in Hebrew.

10. Let the wicked fall into their oivn traps, lohile I at the
same time escape. Compare Ps. vii. 16 (15.) The combination
of the singular and plural in the first clause — wicked (men) and
his snares — shows that the singular denotes not a real but ideal
person, representing a whole class. The best construction of the
last clause is that given in the English Bible and retained above,
with the single change of withal to the synonymous but less am-
biguous expression, at the same time. The transpositions of this
clause are unusual, even in Hebrew — at the same time I until (ov
while) I pass, i. e. pass by uninjured or escape.

PSALM CXLII.

1. Maschil. By David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer.
It is called a maschil or didactic psalm because it might other-
wise have seemed to contain matter wholly personal to David.
See above, on Ps. xxxii. 1. When he was, literally, in his being,
which does not refer exclusively to time, but suggests the occasion
or exciting cause. The reference may be either to the cave of
Adullam (1 Sam. xxii. 1), or to that of Engedi (1 Sam. xxiv. 3),
or to that period and mode of life in general, when David was

280 PSALM CXLII.

obliged to seek refuge in caves, and which he might expect to see
reproduced, under other forms, in the experience of his succes-
sors, for whose guidance and encouragement this psalm was
written. See above, on Ps. lvii. 1. It is called a prayer, be-
cause the complaint or description of the danger, vs. 2 — 5 (1 — 4),
is merely introductory to the petition for deliverance, vs. 6 — 8
(5 — 7.) See above, on Ps. xvii. 1. lxxxvi. 1. xc. 1. cii. 1.

2(1.) ( With) my voice to Jehovah I cry ; (with) my voice to
Jehovah I make supplication. With the first clause compare
Ps. iii. 5 (4) ; with the second, Ps. xxx. 9 (8.) There are also
coincidences of expression with Ps. xxii. 6 (5.) lxxvii. 2 (1.)
cxl. 7 (6.) cxli. 1. With my voice, i. e. audibly, aloud, as op-
posed to a mere mental prayer. The word translated supplication
means, according to its etymology, a prayer for grace or mercy.

3 (2.) I pour out before him my care ; my trouble before him 1
tell. With the first clause compare Ps. xlii. 5 (4.) lxii. 9 (8.)
1 Sam. i. 15. Lam. ii. 19. The word translated care means pro-
perly reflection, meditation, musing, especially such as is anxious
and sad. See above, on Ps. lxiv. 2 (1.)

4 (3.) Because my spirit is overwhelmed within me — and thou
knowest my path — in the way that I go, they have hid a snare for
me. The literal translation of the first words is, in my spirifs being
overwhelmed, which may indicate either the time or the cause of his
distress. See above, on v. 1. Some adopt this construction : when
my spirit is overwhelmed (then) thou knowest my path. Others sup-
pose two reasons to be given for his calling upon God, his distress
and his trust in the divine omniscience. Because my spirit is
overwhelmed, and (because) thou knowest my path. But as the
form of the two phrases is entirely different in Hebrew, the
simplest and safest construction is "to treat the second clause as
parenthetical. Within me, literally upon me ; see above, on Ps.

PSALM CXLII. 281

xlii. 5 — 7 (4 — 6.) In the ivay that I go, i. e. along my path. See
above, on Ps. cxl. 5 (4.) The words may mean, however, as in
Ps. cxliii. 8, in the ivay that I should go, i. e. in the path of duty.
Without my fault they hid a snare for me. With the first clause
of this verse compare Ps. xlii. 5 (4.) lxi. 3 (2.) lxxvii. 4 (3),
and with the last Ps. cxl. 6 (5.) cxli. 9. cxliii. 8.

5 (4.) Look to the right and see — and there is no tune knowing
me — refuge has failed me — there is no one caring for my soul.
The first two verbs must be translated as imperatives, as in the
margin of the English Bible. The right hand is mentioned as
the post of a protector. See above, on Ps. cix. 6. ex. 5. exxi. 5
The and at the beginning of the second clause is foreign from
our idiom, which would seem to require that or for. We might
however say, look to the right and see, and (you will find that)
there is no one etc. Knowing, recognizing, willing to acknow-
ledge, much less to defend. There is none to me, i. e. I have none.
Far from having a protector at my right hand, I have not even
one who will acknowledge that he knows me. Caring, literally,
seeking, asking, or inquiring after it, in order to assist or save it.
Nearly the same form of speech is used to express the very op-
posite idea, that of seeking out's soul to destroy it. See above,
on Ps. xxxv. 4.

6 (5.) I have cried unto thee, Jehovah. I have said, Thou (art)
my refuge, my portion in the land of life. I have cried and still
cry ; I have said and still say. With this last expression com-
pare Ps. xxxi. 15 (14.) xli. 5 (4.) Thou* (art) my refuge, as in
Ps. lxii. S (7.) lxxi. 7. My portion, as in Ps. xvi. 5. lxxiii. 26.
cxix. 57. Land of life (ov of the Iking), as in Ps. xxvii. 13.
Hi. 7 (5.)

7. (6.) Hearken to my cry, for I am reduced greatly ; free vie
from my persecutors, for they are mightier than L All these are

282 PSALM CXLII

favourite Davidic phrases. Hearken to my cry, as in Ps. xvii. 1,
Ixi. 2(1.) I am reduced for weakened) greatly ', as in Ps. lxxix.
8 (7.) cxvi. 6. Compare Judges vi. 6. Free me from my perse-
cutors, as in Ps. vii. 2 (1.) They are mightier than I, as in Ps.
xviii. IS (17.)

8. Bring out from prison my soul, to thank thy name. Me shall
the righteous surround when thou shall bestow on me (favour.)
With the first clause compare Ps. xxv. 17. cvii. 10. cxliii. 11.
Some suppose an allusion to Joseph's imprisonment and liberation.
See above, on Ps. cv. 17 — 20. To thank (or praise) thy name,
although an exact translation, is restricted by the English idiom
to the person mentioned just before, and can only mean in
accordance with our usage, that I may thank thy name ; whereas
the Hebrew infinitive knows no such limitation and in this case
simply means, that some one (without defining who) may j)raise
thy name ; or, exchanging the active for the passive form, that
thy name may be praised ; or, retaining the indefiniteness of the
original expression, for the praising of thy name. The agents
here intended are probably the righteous, who are mentioned in
the next clause. The verb surround, which has a hostile sense
in Ps. xxii. 13. Hab. i. 4, here means to gather round one with a
friendly curiosity and eagerness, which some suppose to be sug-
gested by the construction with the preposition (r), which cannot
be expressed in English. This sympathy of the righteous in his
joys and sorrows is a favourite idea with David. See above, on
Ps. xxxv. 27. xl. 17 (16.) For the meaning and construction of
the last verb, see above, on Ps. xiii. 6. ciii. 10. cxvi. 7.

PSALM CXLIII. g83

PSALM CXLIII.

This psalm may be divided into two equal parts, separated by
the Selah in v. 6. The first contains a complaint, vs. 1 — 6 ; the
second a prayer for mercy, vs. 7 — 12. It resembles the preceding
psalm, not only in this relation of its parts, but in its whole tone
and diction, its Davidic phraseology combined with an originality
never exhibited by the mere imitator or compiler.

1. A Psalm. By David. Jehovah, hear my grayer ', give ear
unto my cries for mercy ; in thy faithfulness answer me {and) in
thy righteousness. The combination of faithfulness and righteous-
ness is like that in Ps. xxxvi. 6, 7 (5, 6.) They can hardly be
regarded as distinct grounds of argument, but rather as modified
statements of the same. The faithfulness of God has direct
reference to his promise or covenant engagements; his rio-hte-
ousness has reference to the claims of his own people, but claims
which owe their existence to those same covenant engagements.

a ov

2. And enter not into judgment icitk thy servant, for just before
thee is no one living. To enter into judgment is a forensic phrase
meaning to go to law, to prosecute, to sue. See Job ix. 32.
xxii. 4. The verb in the last clause is not a passive meaning to
be justified, but a neuter meaning to be just or innocent, to be in
the right or on the right side of the controverted question. The
acknowledgment in this verse has caused the psalm to be reckoned
among the penitential psalms. The verse is often imitated or

•>

2S4 PSALM CXLIII.

referred to elsewhere. See Job ix. 2. xiv. 3. xv. 14. Pioni
iii. 20, etc.

3. For the enemy persecutes my soul, crushes to the earth my life
makes me dwell in dark places like the dead of old. This verse
assigns a reason for the preceding prayers, a connection indicated
by the for* He prays that Grod will deal with him in mercy, not
in justice, by abandoning him to the fate here described. Com-
pare Ps. vii. 6 (5), but especially Ps. lxxxviii. 4 — 7 (3 — 6.) Se-e
also Lam. iii. 6. The last words some understand to mean
forever dead.

4. And overwhelmed within me is my spirit ; in the midst of me
desolated is my heart. With the first clause compare Ps.
cxlii. 4 (3) ; with the second Ps. xl. 16 (15.)

5. I remember the days of old ; I meditate of all thy doing ;
of the work of thy hands I muse. He recalls and ponders them,
not as a source of comfort, as in Ps. xliv. 2 — 4 (1 — 3), but of
sorrow, from their painful contrast with his actual condition. See
above, on Ps. xxii. 4 — 6 (3 — 5.) lxxvii. 6 (5), and with the last
clause conijDare Ps. xcii. 5

C. I spread my hands unto thee; my soul is like a weary land
to thee, i. e. thirsts or longs for thee, as a dry or thirsty land for
rain. See above, on Ps. lxiii. 2(1.) A tveary land is an unu-
sual expression, and one of the peculiar features of this psalm.
"With the first clause compare Ps. xliv. 21 (20.) The close of
the complaint or lamentation, and the strength of the feeling with
winch it is uttered, are both indicated by the Selah.

7. Hasten, answer me, Jehovah — my spirit fails — hide not thy
face from me — or I shall be confounded with (those) going down
(to) the pit. The meaning of the first clause is, hasten to grant

PSALM CXLIII. 285

my petition. Fails, is spent or exhausted. See above, on
Ps. xxviii. 1. xxxix. 11 (10.) lxix. IS (17,) cii. 3 (2.) That lie is
in extremity, is urged as a reason why God cannot fail to hear and
answer him. This verse begins the main prayer of the psalm,
that in vs. 1, 2, being merely introductory to the complaint in
vs. 3 — 6, which is itself introductory to the prayer that follows.

8. Let me hear in the morning thy mercy ; let me know the way
that I must go, for unto thee I raise my soul. All these are
familiar thoughts and terms to the readers of the psalms of David,
and may be severally found in Ps. xxv. 1 — 4. li. 10 (8.) lix. 17
(16.) The way that I must go, not merely to be right, but to be
safe and happy ; the way of safety as well as that of duty. See
above, on Ps. cxlii. 7 (6.)

9. Free me from my enemies, Jehovah, with thee I hide myself.
With the first clause compare Ps. lix. 12 (11.) cxlii. 7; with the
second, Ps. xxvii. 5. xxxi. 21 (20.) The form of expression here,
however, is peculiar and original. The literal meaning is to thee
I cover, i. e. cover myself, the reflexive use of the Hebrew verb
being clear from Gen. xxxviii. 14. Deut. xxii. 12. Jon. iii. 6.
The force of the pregnant construction is well though freely given
in the English version, I flee unto thee to hide me.

10. Teach me to do thy will, for thou (art) my God. Thy spirit
(is) good ; let it guide me in level ground. This is a prayer for
external safety, and at the same time for that spiritual guidance,
without which it is unattainable. Compare Ps. v. 9 (8.) xxvi.
12. xxvii. 11. xl. 9 (8.) exxxix. 10, 24. Some make but two
clauses, and instead of the short proposition in the middle, read,
let thy good spirit guide me etc. or let thy spirit, ("which is) good
guide me etc. Level ground, literally earth (or land) of evenness
(or straightness.) See above, on Ps. xxvi. 12.

2SG PSALM CXLIV.

11. For thy name's sake, Jehovah, thou wilt quicken me; in th§
righteousness thou wilt bring out of distress my soul. Here again
we have an accumulation of Davidic ideas and expressions. For
thy name's sake, as in Ps. xxiii. 3. xxv. 11. xxxi. 4. cix. 21.
Thou u'ilt quicken me, as in Ps. exxxviii. 7. In thy righteousness,
as in Ps. xxxi. 2. Bring my soul out of trouble, as in Ps. xxv.
15. xxxiv. IS (11.) cxlii. 8 (7.)

12. And in thy mercy thou wilt destroy my enemies and cause to
•perish all that vex my soul ; for I (am) thy servant. With the
first clause compare Ps. xxxi. 17 (16.) xviii. 41 (40.) Some find
here an allusion to the promise in Deut. viiT 24. Vexers, adver-
saries, persecutors, of my soul. Thy servant, not merely a be-
liever but a chosen instrument, not merely one of thy people but
their chief and representative, and as such entitled to deliverance,
both for their sake and my own. In these two verses, the form
of direct petition is insensibly exchanged for that of confident an-
ticipation.

PSALM CXLIY.

This is a kind of supplement or counterpart to Ps. xviii, in
which the view there taken of David's personal experience is ap-
plied to the anticipated case of his successors. The design thus
assumed accounts for the position of the psalm in the collection.
That its being placed precisely here is not fortuitous, may be in-
ferred from its furnishing a kind of link between the urgent en-
treaties of the preceding psalms and the triumphant praise of
those which follow. The Davidic origin of this psalm is as marked
as that of any in the Psalter. The accumulation of Davidic

PSALM CXLIV. 2S7

phrases is confined to the first part, while the last is independent
and original, a fact entirely inconsistent with the supposition of a
later compilation. The Psalmist thanks God for his protection
of himself and of mankind in general, vs. 1 — 4, prays for deliver-
ance from present dangers, vs. 5 — 8, expresses his confident an-
ticipation of a favourable answer, vs. 9 — 10, renews his prayer,
not only for himself but for the chosen people, vs. 11 — 14, and
felicitates them that they are such, v. 15.

1 . By David. Blessed be Jehovah, my Rock, the (one) training
my hands for fight, my fingers for war. See above, on
Ps. xviii. 35, 47 (34, 46), where most of these expressions have
already been explained. Fight and war are both verbs and
nouns in English, but the Hebrew words are nouns with the ar-
ticle prefixed. David here begins by referring all the successes
of himself and his successors to Jehovah.

2. My mercy and my fortress, my high place, and a deliverer
for me, my shield and (he) in whom I trust, the (one) subduing
my people. No less than five of these descriptive epithets are
taken from a single verse of Ps. xviii, viz. v. 3 (2.) Peculiar to
the place before us is my mercy, i. e. my God of mercy. See
above, on Ps. lix. 18 (1.7.) The benefit of these relations to Je-
hovah David claims not merely for himself but for his royal race,
which was closed and yet perpetuated in the Messiah. He in
whom I trust, literally, and in him I trust. My people, in its
widest sense, including; Israel and the Gentiles who were to be
added to the kingdom of David under the reign of the Messiah.
Compare Ps. xviii. 44, 48 (43, 47) with the parallel passages in
2 Samuel.

3. Jehovah, what (is) man, that thou shouldst hioio him, the
son of man, that thou- shouldst think of him? The greatness of
God's goodness is enhanced by a view of man's insignificance and

288 PSALM CXLIV.

un worthiness. The original construction seems to be, what is
man ? (nothing), and (jet) thou knowest him etc. To know is
here to recognise as being in existence, to take notice of. The
first man is the generic term, the second one denoting weakness.
See above, on Ps. viii. 5 (4), and compare 2 Sam vii. IS.

4. Man to vanity is like ; his days (are) as a passing shadow.
He cannot therefore be a worthy object, in himself, of the divine
regard and favour. "With the first clause compare Ps. xxxix.
6, 7 (5, 6), lxii. 10 (9) ; with the second, Ps. cii. 12 (11.) ciii. 15.

5. Jehovah, bow thy heavens and come down ; touch the moun-
tains and let them smoke. With, the first clause compare Ps.
xviii. 10 (9.) What God is tbere described as doing, be is here
besought to do again. With the last clause compare Ps. civ. 32
Mountains , in all sucb connections, would necessarily suggest the
idea of states and kingdoms. See above, on Ps. xlvi. 3, 4(2, 3.)

6. Lighten lightning and scatter them; send out thy arrows
and confound them. The first word in Hebrew is a verb occurring
nowhere else, and composed of the same radicals with the common
word for lightning which immediately follows. For the meaning
of the other terms, see above, on Ps. xviii. 15 (14), and compare
the parallel passage, 2 Sam. xxii. 15 (14), with which the writer
of the psalm before us was certainly acquainted, as appears
from his occasional use of its peculiar readings.

7. Send thy hands from on high ; rid me and free me from (the)
many waters, from the hand of aliens. With the first clause
compare Ps. xviii. 17 (16.) For hand we have here the plural
hands, and for the two verbs there used two substantially equiva-
lent, the first of which has the sense here given to it only in this
place and the cognate languages, and is therefore well represented
by the less usual English word rid. With the last clause, comparo

PSALM CXLIV. 289

Ps. xviii. 45, 46 (44, 45), where the phrase sons of strangeness
(or of foreign 'parts) has been explained ahead j.

8. Whose month speaks fraud, and their right hand (is) a righ
hand of falsehood. The word translated fraud is properly a
negative meaning vanity or emptiness, but applied to the want of
moral goodness and especially of truth. See above, on Ps. xxiv. 4.
The right hand is mentioned in allusion either to the practice of
swearing with uplifted hand (Ps. cvi. 26), or to that of striking
hands in bargains (2 Kings x. 15.) There seems to be reference,
in this verse, to the feigned obedience of the enemy, Ps. xviii.
45 (44.)

9. Oh God, a new song I will sing to thee ; with a lyre of ten
(strings) I will play (or make music) to thee. See above, on
Ps. xxxiii. 2, 3, where David exhorts others to do what he here
resolves and vows to do himself. The new song still implies a
new occasion for it, so that he here begins to anticipate the an-
swer to his foregoing prayers. •

10. The (one) giving salvation to kings ; the (one) ridding
David his servant from an evil sword. This mode of connecting
sentences, by a participle agreeing with a noun in the foregoing
context, is a characteristic feature of Ps. xviii. See vol. i.
pp. 144, 145. The kings particularly meant are the theocratical
sovereigns, the royal family of David. Ridding, the participle
of the verb so rendered in v. 7. David (as) his servant, because
he is his servant, in the sense repeatedly explained already. See
above, on Ps. cxliii. 2, 12. David speaks of himself by name,
not only here but in Ps. xviii. 51 (50.) lxi. 7 (6. J lxiii. 12 (11.)
2 Sam. vii. 26. An evil sword, not only dangerous but wicked.
Compare Ps. xxii. 21 (20.)

11. Rid me and free me from the hand of aliens , whose Trwutli
vol. in. 13

290 PSALM CXLIV.

speaks fraud* ana whose right hand (is) a right hand of falsehood
In resuming the language of direct petition, the terms of vs. 7, 8,
are studiously repeated, as if to show that this prayer is parallel to
that, and not an addition to it.

12. So that our sons (may be) as plants grown large in their
youth, our daughters as corner-stones hewn (for) the building of
the temple. The reminiscences or imitations of Ps. xviii suddenly
cease here, and are followed by a series of original, peculiar, and
for the most part no doubt antique expressions. On the supposi-
tion that the title is correct in making David the author, this is
natural enough. On any other supposition it is unaccountable,
unless by the gratuitous assumption, that this is a fragment of an
older composition, a mode of reasoning by which any thing may
be either proved or disj)roved. The first word in Hebrew is the
relative pronoun, and the literal meaning of the clause is, (by)
which for in consequence of which) our sons, etc. The which re-
fers to the deliverance prayed for in the preceding verse. Grown
large, literally magnified or made great. The common version
(grown up in their youth) has a paradoxical appearance, arising
from the ambiguity of our phrase grown up, which is applied (like
the Greek ?}A*xia) both to age and stature. The word translated
corner-stones has the same sense in Zech. ix. 15. The corner-
stones are mentioned as those which were hewn and polished with
peculiar care. Likeness or model would agree better with the
usage of the Hebrew word (^t^), but its primary sense, as a
derivative of the verb (*"£?) to build, is here still more appropri-
ate. Most interpreters give the last word the vague sense of a
palace, considered as a splendid building. There is something,
however, far more striking in the translation temple, found in the
Prayer-Book and the ancient versions. The omission of the article
is a poetic license of perpetual occurrence. The temple was the
great architectural model and standard of comparison, and particu-
larly remarkable for the great size and skilful elaboration of its

PSALM CXLIV. 291

foundation-stones, some of winch, there is reason to believe, have
remained undisturbed since the time of Solomon. See Robinson's
Palestine, vol.' i, pp. 422—426.

13. Our garners full, affording from land to land ; our flocks
bearing thousands, multiplied by myriads, in our streets. From
kind to kind seems to denote not only variety but regular succes-
sion, as expressed in Hengstenberg's version, one kind after an-
other. Compare Ps. lxxxiv. 8 (7.) The participles in the next
clause are highly idiomatic and scarcely reproducible in any
other lano-uao-e. A somewhat similar example occurs above,
Ps. lxix. 32 (31.) But there both forms are active, whereas here
we have one active and one passive participle, formed directly
from the Hebrew words denoting a thousand and a myriad, the
last of which is a derivative of the verb to increase or multiply,
and would therefore necessarily suggest that idea. See above, on
Ps. iii. 7 (6.) lxviii. 18 (17.) Streets, though not incorrect, is
an inadequate translation of the Hebrew word (rviXin), which
means external spaces, streets as opposed to the inside of houses,
fields or country as opposed to a whole town. Here it includes
not onlv roads but fields.

14. Our oxen loaded — no damage and no loss — and no complaint
in oar streets. The first particular implies abundance. For the
use of oxen as beasts of burden, see 1 Chr. xii. 40. Damage and
loss, literally, breach and going forth. Complaint, literally, cry,
but especially for loss of the fruits of the earth. See Isai. xxiv. 11.
Some give the sentence an entirely different meaning, by supposing
the word translated oxen to mean princes, as it does in Zech. ix. 7.
xii. 5, 6, and giving the participle joined with it the Chaldee sense
of raised erect or upright. Going out then means going out to
war, as in Am. v. 3,' breach the incursion of an enemy, and cry a
war-cry. But the first Hebrew word in question (t^**) is applied
only to the chiefs of Edom (Gen. xxxvi. 15), except in the latest

292 PSALM CXLV.

books of the Old Testament, such as Zechariah ; and we naturally
look for oxen after sheep, as in Ps. viii. S (7.)

15. Happy the people (with) whom (it is) thus ! Happy the people
whose God (is) Jehovah ! The clauses are not antithetical but
equivalent. The people means the (chosen) people, Israel, with
whom, in prosperous times, it was thus, and was thus for the very
reason that Jehovah was their God.

PSALM CXLY.

This has been happily characterized as the "new song" prom-
ised in Ps. cxliv. 9. In other words, it is the song of praise, cor-
responding to the didactic, penitential, and supplicatory psalms of
this series. In form it is an alphabetical psalm, and like others of
that class (see vol. i. p. 206) admits of no analysis, being made up
of variations on a single theme, the righteousness and goodness of
the Lord to men in general, to his own people in particular, and
more especially to those who suffer. The letter nun is wanting,
being omitted, as some suppose, for the sake of having three equal
stanzas, each containing seven verses. The Septuagint supplies
the omission, in a very inartificial manner, by anticipating v. 17
before v. 15, with a simple change of righteous (P^TS) to faith-
ful (Wr), as in Ps. cxi. 7.

1. Praise. By David. I will exalt thee, my God, the King
and will hless thy name to eternity and perpetuity. This is the
only case in which the word Praise stands alone as the designation
or description of a psalm. It evidently bears an antithetical re-
lation to the title Prayer in Ps. cxlii. 1, the rather as the Hebrew

PSALM CXLV. 093

words (njsti and n|MR) are still more alike than their English
equivalents, differing only in a single letter. I will exalt thee, as
in Ps. xxx. 2(1), where the reason is expressed that is here im-
plied, to wit, that God had exalted him. The king, the only true
king, the king of kings, by whom they are put up and down, pro-
tected and punished. See above, on Ps. cxliv. 10, and compare
Ps. v. 3 (2.) xx. 10 (9.) xxiv. 8, 10. xxix. 10. xciii. 1. xcv. 3.
xcvi. 10. xcix. 1. The regal honours paid to himself by others
David here transfers as due to God alone. Bless thy name, i. e.
reverently praise it. See above, on Ps. v. 12 (11.) xxxiv. 2 (1.)
ciii. 1. Forever and ever, in reference not merely to himself but
to his royal race, which is to live forever. See above, on
Ps. cxxxviii. 8.

2. Every day will I bless thee and praise thy name to eter-
nity and perpetuity. Compare Ps. lxviii. 20 (19.) lxix. 31 (30.)
xcii. 2, 3. Every day denotes constancy and regularity.

3. Great (is) Jehovah and to be praised exceedingly, and to his
greatness there is no search, i. e. it is unsearchable. The first
clause is quoted in Ps. xlviii. 2(1.) Greatly to be praised, as in
Ps. xviii. 4 (3.) xcvi. 4. cxiii. 3. His greatness, as displayed in
act, his great performance or performances. See above, on
Ps. lxxi. 21. With the last words of the verse compare Ps.
xl. 6 (5.)

4. Generation to generation lauds thy deeds, and thy mighty
doings they declare. With the first clause compare Ps. xix. 3 (2.)
The verbs are of the future form, lauds and will laud, declare
and will declare. The first verb is the one used in Ps. Ixiii. 4 (3.)
cxvii. 1. Mighty doings, literally, mights or foivers, but always
used, like greatness, in an active not an abstract sense. See
above, on Ps. xx. 7 (6.) cvi. 2. They declare may agree with

294 PSALM CXLV.

men indefinitely, or with the double generation in the first clause,
which, however, is there construed with a verb in the singular.

5. (Of) the beauty of the honour of thy majesty, and the words
of thy wonders, I icill muse (or meditate.) The accumulation of
synonymous expressions in the first clause has been falsely repre-
sented as a proof of later date and a corrupted taste, whereas it
only proves intensity of admiration. For examples of the same
thing in undisputed psalms of David, see above, Ps. xviii. 3 (2.)
Ixii. 8 (7). Beauty and majesty, as in Ps. xlv. 4 (3.) Honour
or glory, as in Ps. xix. 1. Words of thy wonders are the wonders
or wondrous deeds themselves, considered as subjects of discourse
or celebration. See above, on Ps. lxv. 4 (3.) cv. 27. I will
muse, as in Ps. lxxvii. 13 (12.) cxix. 15, 23, 27, 48, 78, 14S.

6. And the force of thy dread (deeds) they utter — and (as to)
thy greatness, I will recount it. Dread, literally, feared, and then
to be feared, as praised means to be praised in v. 3 above. Utter,
literally say, precisely as in Ps. xl. 11 (10.) Greatness, or ac-
cording to the reading in the text of the Hebrew Bible, great-
nesses, i. e. great deeds, as mights means mighty deeds in v. 5.

7. The memory of thy great goodness they pour forth, and (of)
thy righteousness they sing (or shout.) Memory, as in Ps. vi. 6 (5.)
Great goodness is the order of the words not only in Eng-
lish but in Hebrew, where it is unusual. See above, on
Ps. lxxxix. 51 (50.) Pour forth, as in Ps. xix. 3 (2.) lxxviii. 2.
Compare Ps. lix. 8 (7.) Thy righteousness, as in Ps. xxxi. 2 (1.)
li. 16 (14.) cxliii. 1. Sing or shout for joy. The construction
is like that in Ps. li. 16 (14.) lix. 17 (10.)

8. Gracious and compassionate (is) Jehovah, slow to anger and
great (in) mercy. Compare Ps. Ixxxvi. 15 (14.) ciii. S. cxi. 4.

PSALM CXLV. 295

Instead of the usual expression (^h) much or abundant, we have
here great, in allusion to its previous use in vs. 3, 6.

9. Good (is) Jehovah to all, and his compassions (are) over all
his works. All, literally, the all, the whole universe. See
above, on Ps. cxix. 91. Over or upon, the first suggesting the
idea of a coverino;, the second that of a descent from above. His
works, the things which he has made, his creatures. See above,
on Ps. ciii. 22. The argument implied is, how much more to
his own people, the creatures of his grace. See above, on
Ps. exxxviii. 8.

10. All thy creatures, oh Jehovah, praise (or thank) thee, and
thy saints bless thee. The future forms, as usual, denote that it is
so and will be so. The superfluous n in the last word is an or-
thographical peculiarity like that in Ps. exxxix. 3. cxl. 8. cxli. 8.
As saints (or gracious ones) are more than creatures, so to bless
is more than to praise. See above, on v. 1 .

.11. The glory of thy reign they utter, and thy might they speak.
Compare Ps. ciii. 19. Thy reign or kingdom, which is universal.
The whole phrase may mean thy royal dignity or honour.

12. To make known to the sons of man his mighty deeds, and the
glory of the majesty of his reign (or kingdom.) Some give the
infinitive the force of a gerund, by making known ; but the true
sense seems to be, so as to (or so that they) make known.- See
above, on Ps. lxxviii. 18.

5

13. Thy reign is a reign of all eternities, and thy dominion in
generation' and generation. These words are also found in
Dan. iii. 33. iv. 31. The meaning of the last clause is, thy domi-
nion still exists and shall exist in every successive generation.

6

296 PSALM CXLV.

14. An upholder (is) Jehovah for all the falling, a lifter up
for all the boiccd down. The first word in each clause is properly
a participle, here used as a noun, and therefore followed by the
preposition to or for. Translated in either way, the words neces-
sarily suggest the idea of habitual action. With the first clause
compare Ps. xxxvii. 17, 24. liv. 6 (4.) cxix. 116.

15. The eyes of all unto thee (look and) wait, and thou giv est
them their food in its season. The verb in the first clause means
to wait, expect, or hope, but is here construed with the preposi-
tion to or towards, which implies the act of turning or looking to
the object confided in. Givest, literally giving, i. e. (art habit-
ually) giving. See above, on Ps. civ. 27, where these words are
quoted.

16. Opening thy hand and satisfying to every living (thing its)
desire, or the desire of every living thing. Another construction,
preferred by some interpreters, is, satisfying (giving satisfaction)
to every living thing (in its) desire, viz. that which it desires.
See the imitation of this verse in Ps. civ. 28, and compare
Ps. ciii. 5. Acts xiv. 17. The words satisfy and will (or desire)
are combined, as here, in Deut xxxiii. 23.

17. Righteous (is) Jehovah in all his ways and merciful in all
his works. Justice and mercy are not mentioned here as oppo-
sites, but rather as equivalents, the goodness of God being really
included in the rectitude so frequently ascribed to him.

18. Near (is) Jehovah to all calling upon Mm, to all falling
upon him in truth, i. e. sincerely, with importunate desL-e and
strong confidence. With this verse compare Ps. xxxiv. 7, ] 9.

19. The will of his fearers he will do, and their cry he will
hear, and will save them. lie will do what they desire, or grant

PSALM CXLVI. 297

their prayer, especially their prayer for help in time of danger and
distress, as intimated in the last clause. Compare Ps. xxxiv. 10,
16 (9, 15.) xxxvii. 40.

20. Jehovah keeps all that love him, and all the wicked will he
destroy. The fearers of v. 19 and the lovers of this verse are iden-
tical, which shows that godly fear and love are not incompatible.
Keeps, literally keeping, as in v. 15, from all danger and distress,
preserving.

21. The praise of Jehovah shall my mouth speak, and all flesh
shall bless his holy name forever, or retaining the idiomatic form of
the original, all flesh shall bless the name of his holiness (or his
name of holiness) to eternity and perpetuity. The use of the word
praise connects this verse with the title or inscription in v. 1,
which is thereby justified or proved to be correct. All flesh, as
in Ps. lxv. 3 (2.) His holy name, as in Ps. xxxiii. 21.

PSALM CXLVI.

This psalm may be divided into two equal parts, the first of
which describes the happiness of those who trust in God and not
in man, vs. 1 — 5, while the second gives the reason, drawn from
the divine perfections, vs. 6—10. The psalm is distinguished
from the Davidic series which precedes it (exxxviii — cxlv) by
its whole internal character. At the same time its coincidences
of expression with the one immediately before it show that it was
meant to be used in connection with it, and may therefore be re-
garded as the closing psalm of the whole series beginning with

298 PSALM C LVI.

Ps. cxxxv, and belonging to the time of Haggai and Zechariah, to
which the psalm before us is expressly referred in the Septuagint
Version.

1. Hillelujah ! Praise, oh my soul, Jehovah! See above,
Ps. ciii. 1, 22. civ. 1, 35. The Hallelujah never appears in any
psalm which bears the name of David, and is indeed as character-
istic of the later psalms as the Selah is of the more ancient.

2. I will praise Jehovah while I live ; I will make music to my
God while I still (exist.) For the literal meaning of these words,
see above, on Ps. civ. 33, from which they are borrowed, with the
unimportant change of sing to praise.

3. Trust ye not in princes, in the son of man, to whom there is no
salvation, who cannot save either himself or others, but is wholly
dependent upon God. Compare Ps. xl. 5 (4.) lxxv. 7, 8 (6, 7.)
cviii. 13. cxvi. 11. cxliv. 10. This may be regarded as an exhort-
ation to men in general from Israel, an exhortation founded on his
own experience.

4. Forth goes his spirit, he returns to his earth ; in that very day
his thoughts perish. For the meaning of the first clause, see above,
on Ps. civ. 29. The primary idea of breath and the secondary
one of spirit run into each other in the usage of the Hebrew word
(T?^)) so that either may be expressed in the translation, without
entirely excluding the other. His thoughts, his vain notions or
ambitious schemes.

5. Happy he whose help is the God of Jacob, (and) his reliance
on Jehovah his God. Whose help, literally, in whose help, i. e
engaged, employed in it, or more probably, among whose helpers.
Compare Ps. xlv. 10 (9.) liv. 6 (4.) xcix. 6. cxviii. 7. The divine
name (*>«) here used suggests the idea of almighty power, as

PSALM CXLVI. 299

opposed to that of human weakness. Reliance, literally, expecta-
tion, hope ; but the first idea is necessarily suggested by the prepo-
sition on.

6. Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that (is) in them
— the (one) keeping truth forever. Two reasons are here given for
thus relying upon God ; his almighty power, as exercised and
proved in the creation of the world, and his unchangeable fidelity.
See above, Ps. xxv. 5. Who- made, literally, making, with the
usual reference to God's creative power as still exerted in the sus-
tentation of the universe. See above, on Ps. lxv. 7 (6.) cxxi. 2.
cxliv. 2.

7. Doing justice to the oppressed — giving bread to the hungry —
Jehovah, freeing (or the liberator of) the bound. He is not only
able but accustomed to relieve those in distress, of whom several dis-
tinct classes are here specified as samples. Compare Ps. xxxvii. 19.
lxviii. 6, 7 (5, 6.) cvii. 5, 9, 10. cxlv. 14. Hunger and captivity
are both familiar figures for spiritual evils, as well as literal desig-
nations of external ones, both which may here be considered as
included.

8. Jehovah opens (the eyes of) the blind ; Jehovah raises up the
bowed down ; Jehovah loves the righteous. The ellipsis in the first
clause is not so harsh in Hebrew as in English, because the verb
(np.^) is almost confined, in usage, to the eyes, and would at once
suggest them to a Hebrew reader. All the verbs are of the parti-
cipial form, opening, raising, loving, i. e. continually doing so.
The first clause is applicable both to bodily and mental blindness.
Compare Deut. xxviii. 29. Isai. lix. 10. Job xii. 25. The second
clause is borrowed from Ps. cxlv. 14.

9. Jehovah preserves strangers ; orphan and widow he relieves ;
and the way of wicked men makes crooked. The stranger, the or-

300 PSALM CXLVII.

phan, and the widow are constantly presented in the Law as objects
of compassion and beneficence. See. above, on Ps. lxviii. 6, 7 (5, 6.)
Itelieves, restores, raises up from their low condition. As a straight
path is an emblem of prosperity, to render one's path crooked is to
involve him in calamity. The same verb is applied, in a moral
sense, to the perverse conduct of the wicked, Ps. cxix. 78.

10. Jehovah (reigns and) shall reign to eternity ; thy God, oh
Zion, to generation and generation. Hallelujah (praise ye Jah) !
The Psalm closes with a grand sentence from the Song of Moses,
Ex. xv. IS, to which a parallel clause is added, and a concluding
Hallelujah, winding up the whole series of psalms, supposed to
have been sung at the completion of the second temple.

PSALM CXLVII.

A song of praise to Jehovah on account of his goodness to hia
creatures generally, and to his church or chosen people in particu-
lar. Both these themes run through the psalm ; but one is pre-
dominant in the first part, vs. 1 — 1 1 ; the other in the second, vs.
12 — 20. The four remaining psalms (cxlvii — cl), connected to-
gether, and distinguished from what goes before, by the Hallelujah
with which they all begin and end ; by their joyous tone, unmixed
with lamentation or complaint ; by their frequent allusions to some
great deliverance recently experienced ; and by the peculiar way
in which they bring together the exhibitions of God's glory in the
works of nature and in his dealings with the church ; have not
improbably been represented as a series, intended to commemo-
rate the completion of the walls of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, an

PSALM CXLVII. 30i

event described in the history itself, as putting an end to the re-
proach of Israel, and restoring the Holy City to its proper rank.
See Neli. i. 3. ii. 5, 17. vi. 6, 7, 15, 16. vii. 4. ix. 6, 13, 14. x. 29.
xii. 27, 35, 41, 43.

1. Hallelujah (praise ye Jah), for it is good to celebrate our
God, for it is sweet (and) praise becoming. This is made up of
the beginnings of three other psalms. See above, Ps. xcii. 2(1.)
exxxv. 3. xxxiii. 1. Celebrate, make music to, with voice and in-
strument. See above, on Ps. vii. 18 (17.) Instead of it is siveet
some read he is lovely, i. e. a worthy object of supreme affection,
as in Ps. exxxv. 3. But even there the construction is a doubt-
ful one, and here the first proposed above is recommended by the
fact that the epithets before and after relate not to God himself
but to his praise.

2. Building Jerusalem (is) Jehovah ; the outcasts of Israel he
gathers. The rebuilding of the walls in the days of Nehemiah,
may be said to have completed the fulfilment of the promise in
Lsai. xi. 12. lvi. 8. Compare Ps. cvii. 3.

3. The (one) healing the broken-hearted and binding up their
wounds. ■ This was true as a general description, and specially
exemplified in the deliverance which Israel had experienced.
See above, on Ps. xxxiv. 19 (18.) ciii. 3, and compare lsai. lxi. 1.

4. Telling the number of the stars — to all of them names he
calls. The God who thus provides for Israel is the God of nature
no less than of grace. Telling, counting, reckoning, estimating.
Not determining beforehand, but simply doing what man cannot.
See Gen. xv. 5, and compare. Gen. xiii. 16, Num. xxiii. 10. lsai.
lxv. 12. He not only counts but names them, calling them all by
name. The verse is borrowed from lsai. xl. 26, where as here

302 PSALM CXLVII.

God's knowledge and control of nature is presented as a source
of consolation to Lis people. m

5. Great is our Lord and of much power ; to his understand
ing there is no member, i. e. it is incalculable and immense.
Compare Isai. xl. 26, 28. Of muck power, or abundant in
strength.

6. Raising up the humble (is) Jehovah, casting down the
wicked to the very earth. See above, Ps. cxlvi. 8, 9. To the
very earth, literally, even to the earth.

7. Respond to Jehovah with thanksgiving ; make music to our
God with a harp. The first verb has its proper sense of answer-
ing or responding, as in Ps. cxix. 172. It may be doubted
whether it ever has that of simply singing. Respond, i. e. to his
manifold favours.

S. The (one) covering the heavens icith clouds — the (one,)
providing for the earth rain — the (one) causing the mountains to
'put forth grass. The grass as produced by means of the rain,
and the rain by means of the clouds. See above, on Ps. civ. 13.

9. Giving to the cattle its food — to the young ravens which cry.
The first noun may also be translated least, but still with refer-
ence to domestic animals, with which is contrasted in the other
clause the raven, as a wild bird, unconnected with mankind, and
as some suppose with allusion to its harsh and piercing cry. See
above, on Ps. civ. 21. cxlv. 15, and compare Job xxxviii. 41.

Young ravens, literally, sons of the raven.

10. Not in the strength of a horse does he delight ; not with
the legs of a man is he pleased. The best explanation of the sin-
gular expressions in the last clause is, that the whole verse was

PSALM CXLVII. 303

intended to describe horse and foot, or cavalry an! infantry, as
forming the military strength of armies. It is not to those who
trust in these that God is disposed to extend favour, nor do these
advantages at all attract him.

11. Phased (is) Jehovah with those fearing him, with those
hoping for his mercy. This implies the want of secular advan-
tages, or at least an absence of reliance on them, and a sense of
dependence upon God alone.

12. Laud , oh Jerusalem, Jehovah ! Praise thy God, oh Zion !
Here begins the second division of the psalm, in which the good-
ness of God to his people is the theme, and the people itself the
object of address.

13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he hath'
blessed thy sons in the midst of thee. Although the first clause
admits of a general figurative application, it seems to contain an
evident allusion to the historical occasion of the psalm, or at least
to favour the opinion, that it was designed to celebrate the
renewed fortifications of the Holy City.

14. (It is) he that makes thy border peace, (and with) the fat
of wheat he satisfies thee. He that makes, literally, the (one)
placing. Border is put for all that it contains or bounds, thy
territory or domain. To make it peace is to make it peaceful or
to give it peace. See Isai. liv. 12. With the last clause com-
pare Ps. lxxxi. 17. Deut. xxxii. 14.

15. He that sendcth his commandment (upon) earth — very
swiftly runs his word. The construction is like that in the pre-
ceding verse. He that sendeth,th.e (one) sending. Commandment,
literally, saying, what he says. Very swiftly, literally, even to
swiftness. The authoritative word of God is here personified as

304 PSALM CXLVII.

his messenger or agent, whose swift running signifies the prompt
execution of the divine will.

16. He that gives snoio like wool, hoar-frost like ashes sprinkles.
As easily as a man scatters wool or ashes, does God cover the
earth with snow or frost. The selection of phenomena peculiar
to winter may have reference to the season when the psalm was
written or originally sung. At the same time they were probably
designed to serve as emblems of the long distress, to which the
Restoration put an end, as spring does to winter. The compari-
sons in this verse are less striking to us than to the people of
countries where snow and frost are less familiar.

17. He that sendeth his ice like crumbs. Before his cold who
can stand ? The second noun means scraps or morsels, but in
usage is specially applied to food. See Gen. xviii. 5. Judg. xix. 5.
This seems to be descriptive of hail, which God sends upon the
earth as easily and freely as man scatters crumbs or throws away
the refuse of his food. The allusion to the feeding of domesti-
cated animals, which some assume, is needless though admissible.

IS. He sends his ivord and melts them — he makes his wind blow
— tvaters flow. Sends his ivord, utters his command. The
plural pronoun (them) refers to snow, frost, and ice, in vs. 16, 17.
The winds meant are the warm winds of the spring, attended by
a general thaw.

19. Declaring his word to Jacob, his statutes and his judg-
ments to Israel. The God of Nature is the God of Revelation.
He who thus controls the elements and seasons is the God of
Israel, and will work spiritual changes corresponding to these
natural phenomena, for the benefit of the people whom he has
entrusted with the revelation of his will.

PSALM CXLVIII. 305

20. He has not done so to every nation — and (as for) judgments.
they know nothing of them. This revelation to Israel is peculiar
and exclusive. E eery nation, and by implication, any one. This
is indeed the only form in which that idea could be expressed in
Hebrew. The last clause declares the other nations ignorant not
only of his laics or judgments, but of any that deserve the name.

PSALM CXLVIII.

The universe, in all its parts, is summoned to praise God as its
maker, and as infinitely worthy of its adoration. The invitation
is addressed, in the first instance, to heaven and its inhabitants,
exhorting them to praise God as their maker and preserver,
vs. L — 6. It is then addressed to the earth and its inhabitants,
exhorting them to praise him for his infinite perfection, as dis-
played in his works, but especially in his dealings with his chosen
people, vs. 7 — 14. Even the most skeptical critics are con-
strained to acknowledge that this psalm and the two which follow
are admirably suited to their purpose.

1. Hallelujah ! Praise ye Jehovah from the heavens ! Praise
kirn in the heights ! This verse designates the place, or part of
the creation, from which the praise is to proceed. Heights, or
high-places, is a simple equivalent to heavens, the plural form of
which it takes by assimilation. Compare the singular in Ps.
xviii. 17 (16.) The preposition from denotes the direction of
the sound, the preposition in the place where it is uttered.

2. Praise ye him, all his angels ! Praise re him, all his hosh !

306 PSALM CXLVIII.

As this last expression is applied both to the angels and the
heavenly bodies, it here affords a natural transition from the one
to the other. See above, on Ps. xxiv. 10. xxix. 1. ciii. 21.

3. Praise ye him, sun and moon ! Praise him, all ye stars of
light ! This is a specification of the general term, his hosts, in
v. 2. Stars of light is a beautiful poetical expression for bright
or shining stars.

4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters which are
above the heavens ! The object of address in the first clause is the
highest heaven, the heaven of that which is heaven to us. See
above, on Ps. lxviii. 34 (33), and compare Deut. x. 14. 1 Kings
viii. 27. 2 Cor. xii. 2. The waters meant are the watery clouds
above the lower heavens, as in Gen. i. 7. See above, on
Ps. civ. 3 ♦

5. Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for he commanded and
they were created. The direct invitation to the heavens is followed
by a statement of the reason why they should comply with it, ex-
pressed in the third person, as if addressed to others. The pro-
noun he is emphatic. (It was) he (that) commanded (and no
other.) See above, on Ps. xxxiii. 9, and compare Gen. i. 3.

6. And made them stand to 'perpetuity and eternity ; a limit he
gave (them) and they cannot pass (it.) The immutability
ascribed to the frame of nature, Ps. lxxii. 5. Ixxxix. 3, 37 (2, 36),
is not absolute but relative to the will of the creator. All that is
required by the context in such cases is, that they cannot change
in opposition to his will or independently of it. See Ps. cii. 27.
The first word in the second clause is here used in its primary
sense of a definite boundary or limit, from which may be readily
deduced the usual one of statute or permanent enactment. See
above, on Ps. ii. 7. As the last verb is in the singular number,

PSALM CXLVIII. 307

the most obvious construction is the one given in the English
Bible, a decree which shall not pass. Compare Matth. v. 18.
But the highest authorities appear to be agreed that the analogy
of Job xiv. 5. Ps. civ. 9. Jer. v. 22, requires the verb to be taken
in the sense of transcending or transgressing, and construed with
the aggregate of the heavenly bodies.

7. Praise Jehovah from the earth, ye dragons and all depths !
Here begins the second part, in which the address is to the earth
and its inhabitants. From the earth is in antithesis to from the
heavens in v. 1. Earth here includes land and water; hence the
last clause makes exclusive mention of the latter, as the word
translated dragons is applied to huge aquatic animals, (Ps. lxxiv.
13), and the one translated depths to large bodies of water
f Ps. xxxiii. 7.) As the first, however, sometimes means serpents
(Ts. xci. 13J, it may here be the connecting link between land
and water.

8. Fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy wind doing his
word. The address here passes to the inanimate and unconscious
agencies of nature. Fire and hail, as in Ps. cv. 32. The fire
meant is commonly supposed to be lightning ; but according to
Hengstenberg the word is to be taken in its ordinary sense and
is separated from its natural attendant smoke (for such is the
meaning of the Hebrew word elsewhere, e. g. Ps. cxix. 83J only
for the purpose of contrasting hot and cold, white and black,
which seems a little fanciful and far-fetched. The storm-wind
(or stormy wind) is mentioned as a natural agent the least likely
to be under control, and it is expressly described as doing Grod's
word, i. e. executing his command. See above, on Ps. ciii. 20.
civ. 4.

9. The mountains and all hills, fruit-trees and all cedars. Not
fruitful trees, as distinguished from barren trees, but fruit-trees

308 PSALM CXLV1II.

(literally, tree of fruit), as distinguished from forest-trees, here
represented by the cedar, which is usually spokm of in scripture
as the noblest species, and therefore called the cedar of God, Ps
lxxx. 11 (10.)

10. The wild (beast) and all cattle, creeping thing and flying
fowl. The contrast in the first clause is analogous to that between
fruit-trees and cedars in v. 9. The Hebrew word (i^l) transla-
ted creeping thing has no exact equivalent in English. It seems
strictly to denote animal or vital motion, or as a concrete term
whatever so moves, and is even applied to aquatic animals,
Ps. civ. 25. But when used distinctively, it denotes the smaller
classes of terrestrial animals, including insects, reptiles, and the
smallest quadrupeds. It is here added simply to complete the
expression of the general idea, all animals whatever. Flying
fowl, literally, bird of wing. The first of the Hebrew words is
specially applied to the smaller birds, and sometimes specifically
to the sparrow. See above, on Ps. xi. 1. lxxxiv. 4 (3.) civ. 17.
exxiv. 7. This and the preceding item in the catalogue, suggest-
ing the idea of the smallest animals, may possibly have been used
to denote the universality of the call here made upon all creatures,
from the greatest to the smallest, to praise God their maker.

11. Kings of the earth and all nations, chiefs and all. judges of
the earth. He here passes from the lower animals to man. Kings
and the nations whom they represent. Princes is not an exact
translation of the Hebrew (t^b), which is especially, though not
exclusively, applied to military leaders of various rank, and may
therefore best be represented by the English chiefs or chieftains.

12. Young men and also maidens, old men with children. The
obvious meaning of this verse is, all men, without distinction of
sex or age. There is no need, therefore, of refining on the
several particulars, or undertaking to explain why old men and

PSALM CXLVIII. 309

young men are both mentioned, since neither of them could have
been omitted without failing to accomplish the design of the enu-
meration. For the etymology and primary meaning of the first
word in Hebrew, sec above, on Ps. lxxviii. 63, where it stands in
precisely the same combination. The two nouns in the last
clause may be considered as of common gender.

13. Let (all these) praise 'the name of Jehovah, for exalted is
his name alone, his glory is above earth and heaven. The
mention of earth and heaven shows that the first verb relates not
merely to that which immediately precedes, but to the whole
enumeration of God's creatures with which the psalm is occupied.
See above, on Ps. civ. 27. Exalted is his name, as in Isai. xii. 4.
His glory or majesty, a Hebrew word especially applied to royal
dignity. See above, on Ps. xxi. 6 (5.) xlv. 4 (3.) xcvi. 6. civ. 1.
cxi. 3. Above earth and heaven, i. e, superior to their mere
material splendor, or on earth and heaven, i. e. placed upon them
as a crown. . See above, on Ps. viii. 2 (1.) lvii. 6 (5.)

14. And he has raised up a horn for his people — praise for
all his saints— for the children of Israel — a people near to him.
Hallelujah! While all the creatures before mentioned have
abundant cause to praise God for his infinite perfection and his
goodness to themselves, a peculiar obligation is incumbent on his
people ; first, for his distinguishing favour through all periods of
their history ; and then, for a special mercy recently experienced,
namely, th*e restoration from captivity, now completed by the
renewal of the temple and the reconstruction of the city walls.
This restoration is described, by a favourite Davidic figure, as
exalting or lifting up the horn of Israel. See above, on Ps.
lxxv. 6, 7 (5, 6.) xcii. 11 (10.) The previous condition of the
chosen people might be well represented by the opposite figure,
used in Job xvi. 15. Raised a horn for his people seems to be
only another way of saying raised the horn of his people. The

310 PSALM CXLIX.

first form of expression may have been here used for the purpose
of assimilating this clause to the next, where praise is still depend-
ent on the verb at the beginning, and to raise up praise for /lis
people is to give them fresh occasion of still higher praise than
they had ever yet been called to utter. The ancient church is
here described in a fourfold manner ; first, simply as his people ;
then, as his saints or gracious ones, the objects of his mercy and
the subjects of his grace ; then, by 'their national title, as the sons
for descendants) of Israel ; and lastly as the people near him, i. e.
nearer to him than all others, sustaining a more intimate relation
to him. The same expression which is elsewhere applied to the
priests (Lev. x. 3. Ezek. xlii. 13) is here applied to Israel as "a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex. xix. 6.)

PSALM CXLIX.

This may be regarded as the special song of praise required of
Israel at the close of the preceding psalm ; first, on account of
mercies already experienced by the chosen people, vs. 1 — 5, and
then, in the hope of future triumphs over all heathen and hostile
powers, vs. 6 — 9. Nothing could well be more appropriate to
the state of things under Nehemiah, when the city and nation
had again been put into a posture of defence and resistance.

1. Hallelujah ! Sing unto Jehovah a new song, his praise in
the congregation of saints. Compare Ps. xl. 4 (3.) xcvi. I. cxi. 1.
cxlviii. 14, to which last there is an obvious allusion, connecting
the two psalms in the closest manner.

2. Let Israel rejoice in his Maker ! Let the sons of Zion triumph

PSALM CXLIX. 311

m their King ! Not merely the creator of individuals, but of the
church and nation as such, and that not only at first, but by a kind
of new creation, in the restoration of the people from captivity.
They are summoned to rejoice in him, not only as their founder
and restorer but their sovereign. See above, on Ps. xcv. 6. c. 3.
cxlv. 1, and compare Isai. xliii. 1. xliv. 2. xlv. 13.

3. Let them praise his name in the dance; with timbrel and harp
let them play (or make music) to him. The usual modes of ex-
pressing joy are here combined. As to the dance, see above, on
Ps. xxx. 12 (11.)

4. For Jehovah is pleased with his people ; he beautifies the
humble with salvation. The first clause suggests the idea of a
previous alienation and of his having been appeased or reconciled.
See above, on Ps. lxxxv. 2(1.) The verb is one applied in the
Law to God's acceptance of the sacrifices, and might therefore
awaken here associations with atonement and forgiveness. See
above, on Ps. xix. 15 (14.) li. 22 (20.) The verb occurs in its
general sense of being pleased or satisfied, Ps. cxlvii. 10, 11.
With the last clause compare Isai. lxi. 3.

5. Let the saints exult in glory ; let them sing (for joy) upon
their beds. The word translated saints is the same that occurs in
Ps. cxlviii. 14, and is there explained. In glory (or honour), i. e.
the glorious or honourable state into which Jehovah has now
brought them. The glory is not that which belongs to God,
Ps. xxix. 9. xcvi. 7, but that which he bestows, Ps. lxxxiv. 12
(11.) lxxxv. 10 (9.) The very phrase, in honour, occurs above,
Ps. cxii. 9. Sing or shout, as audible expressions of strong feel-
ing, and especially of joy. On their beds, where they have been
accustomed to lament their previous degradation, or what Nehe-
miah calls their " affliction and reproach." See Neh. i. 3
iii. 36 (iv. 4.)

312 PSALM CXLIX.

6. Praises of God in their throat, and a two-edged sword in
their hand. A striking coincidence has been observed between
this verse and Neh. iv. 11, 12 (17, IS.) As then they worked
with one hand and brandished the sword with the other, so now
they might be said at the same time to praise Grod and defy their
enemies. This singular mixture of devotional and martial spirit
is characteristic of the psalm and furnishes a valuable index to the
date of composition. The conclusion thus reached is corroborated
by the account of the military and religious pomp, with which the
walls were dedicated, as described by Nehemiah (xii. 31 — 47.)

cr

ft

7. To execute vengeance among the nations, punishments amon
the peoples. Not their own vengeance, but that of God, to whom
alone it appertains. See above, on Ps. xviii. 48 (47.) xciv. 1, and
compare Deut. xxxii. 35. Eom. xii. 19. Heb. x. 30. This is really
nothing more than a prediction, that God would use his people as
his instruments in punishing the nations by whom they had them-
selves been persecuted and oppressed. This was partially ful-
filled in the successes of the Maccabees, but under a new and
unexpected form, in the spiritual triumphs of the true religion,
and its actual or prospective subjugation of the world.

8. To bind their kings with chains, their nobles with fetters of
iron. The word translated nobles is properly a participle, mean-
ing honoured (ones.) The verse simply carries out the idea of the
one before it, that of the subjugation of the gentiles by the true
religion. The objection to this, as a spiritualizing explanation of
the text, springs from a narrow and erroneous view of the very
end for which Israel existed as a nation. Those promises to Is-
rael, which are not still available for us, were but of temporary
local value.

9. To execute among them the judgment written. An honour is
tJuit for all his saints. This last phrase occurs also at the close of

PSALM CL. 313

the preceding psalm (cxlviii. 14). As written may mean written
in the book of God's decrees, there is no need of supposing a refer-
ence to any part of scripture. If there be such reference, how-
ever, it is no doubt to the threatening in Deut. xxxii. 41 — 43. To
act as God's instruments in this great judicial process, so far from
being a disgrace or hardship, is an honour reserved for all the ob-
jects of his mercy and subjects of his grace. The psalm ends a3
it began, with Hallelujah !

PSALM C L .

This is the closing Hallelujah or Doxology, which marks the
conclusion of the last series or cycle (Ps. cxlvii — cl), of the
Fifth Book (Ps. cvii — cl), and of the whole Psalter. In form
and structure it is perfectly simple, merely reciting, in an ani-
mated manner, the place (v. 1), the theme (v. 2), the mode
(vs. 3 — 5), and the extent (v. 6) of the praise due to Jehovah.

1 . Hallelujah ! Praise God in his sanctuary ! Praise him in
the firmament of his power ! The essential meaning of the verse
is, praise him both in earth and heaven. The particulars detailed
in Ps. cxlviii are here condensed into a pregnant summary. The
sanctuary is the earthly one, and as such stands opposed to the
firmament or heaven, called the firmament of his power, as being
one of the most glorious proofs and products of its exercise, and
still the scene of its most striking exhibitions. The phrase is to
be understood as comprehending the hosts of heaven, both inani-
mate and living, both material and spiritual. The parallelism is

314 PSALM CL.

rendered still more perfect by the correspondence between power
in the last clause and (i&) the divine name in the first.

2. Praise him for hh mighty acts ! Praise him according to
his plenitude of greatness ! His mighty acts, literally, his mights
or powers. See above, on Ps. cxlv. 4. For, literally, in them,
i. e. praise him as exhibited and viewed in these. The corres-
ponding particle means like, in accordance with, in proportion to,
in a manner worthy of his greatness. The last phrase in He-
brew is peculiarly expressive, consisting of the two strongest
terms denoting magnitude, the abstract forms of much and great,
which might be rendered, if our usage suffered it, muchness of
greatness.

3. Praise him with blast of trumpet ! Praise him with harp
and lyre ! Here begins an enumeration of the instruments em-
ployed in public worship, and therefore necessarily associated
with the idea of divine praise. The trumpet was used to assem-
ble the people, and would therefore excite many of the same asso-
ciations with our church-bells. The other instruments were used
as actual accompaniments of the psalms performed in public
worship.

4. Praise him with timbrel and dance ! Praise him with strings
and pipe ! The three great classes of instruments are here dis-
tinctly mentioned, namely, wind, stringed, and pulsatile. The
last, represented by the drum or timbrel, still called by a kindred
name in Arabic, is here accompanied by its inseparable adjunct

■-dug, which might seem misplaced in a list of instruments,
and those employed in sacred music, but for the peculiar usages
and notions of the ancient Hebrews, with respect*to this external
sign of joy. See above, on Ps. xxx. 12 (11.) cxlix. 3. The
comn'o version of the last word (organ) is derived through the

PSALM CL. 315

Vulgate from the Septuagint, where it denotes a system or com-
bination of pipes. The Hebrew word, according to the Jewish
tradition, means a simple pipe, and is so rendered in the Prayer
Book version. It here represents the whole class of wind-
instruments. See above, on Ps. lxviii. 26 (25), and compare
2 Sam. vi. 5.

5. Praise him with cymbals of loud sound ! Praise him with
cymbals of joyful noise ! The dominant idea, that of audibly
expressed joy, is sustained to the last, where the cymbals are
mentioned in both clauses, as an instrument peculiarly appro-
priated to occasions of unusual rejoicing. See 2 Sam. vi. 5.
Ezr. iii. 10. Neh. xii. 27. The effect is still further heightened
by the qualifying epithets, the first of which strictly denotes
hearing or the thing heard, i. e. sound, and here by implication,
loud sound. To this idea the parallel term adds that of joyful
sound, to which it is constantly applied in usage. See above,
on Ps. xxvii. 6. lxxxix. 16 (15), and compare Num. xxiii. 21.
The distinction, here assumed by some interpreters, between
cymbals of a larger and a smaller size, is wholly unnecessary.

6. Let all breath praise Jahl Hallelujah I The very am-
biguity of all breath gives extraordinary richness of meaniDg to
this closing sentence. From the simple idea of wind instruments,
mentioned in the context, it leads us, by a beautiful transition, to
that of vocal, articulate, intelligent praise, uttered by the breath
of living men, as distinguished from mere lifeless instruments.
See above, on Ps. lxviii. 26 (25.) Then lastly, by a natural
association, we ascend to the idea expressed in the common ver-
sion, every thing that hath breath, not merely all that lires, but all
that has a voice to praise God. There is nothing in the Psalter
more majestic or more beautiful than this brief but most signifi-
cant finale, in which solemnity of tone predominates, without

n

16 PSALM CL.

however in the least disturbing the exhilaration which the close
of the Psalter seems intended to produce, as if in emblematical
allusion to the triumph which awaits the church and all its
members, when through much tribulation they shall enter into
rest.

THE END-

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