* i THE PSALMS A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN THE LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT Printed and Bound in Ireland by :: :: M. H. Gill & Son y • • • • 7 4/7 • • • • • • • • ' t' vv • • • • • jo TJpper 0’Connell Street :: :: Dublin ^.[x * &' T- Asta \v) ► "12*0 * i ^ (S^ '"*' v PSALMS A STUDY OF THE VULGATE PSALTER IN THE LIGHT OF THE HEBREW TEXT BY -v\ REV. PATRICK BOYLAN, M.A. Professor of Sacred Scripture and Oricntal Languages, St. Patrici? s College , Maynoolh , and Professor of E astem Languages , University College, Dubim VOLUME ONE PSALMS I-LXXI BOSTON COLLE9S LIBRARI CEK8TRUT MLL, MA&g, B. HERDER BOOK COMPANY St. Louis, Mo. M . H . GI L L & SON, LTD. Dublin 1920 Rtbil Obstat: JOANNES CANONICUS WATERS, Censor Theol. Deput. Imprimi potest: ^ GULIELMUS, Archiep. Dublinen. Hibernise Primas. Dublini, die 3 0 Decembris, 1920. & PREFACE T HE main purpose of this work is to put within reach of divinity students, priests and the educated laity such information as is required for the intelligent use of the Vulgate Psalter. An attempt has been made in a general introduction to the Book of Psalms to outline the history and the chief charac- teristics of the Vulgate Psalter as a whole. In the Commentary the psalms of the Vulgate are studied in detail as independent units, and it is hoped that the introduction, translation, and notes which accompany each psalm will make it ciear that the Vulgate Psalter is a collection of beautiful and reasonably in- telligible poems. Where the text of the Vulgate is obscure, light has been freely sought in the Hebrew Psalter. Every Hebrew word and phrase quoted in the Commentary has, how- ever, been transliterated and explained, and no specialist know- ledge (beyond what this work itself supplies) is necessary for the understanding of any statement contained in the Comment¬ ary. It will be found that the English version of the Vulgate psalms given in this work is explained and justified in the notes which follow the individual psalms. Some surprise may be felt that the work contains so few references to authorities. But professional students of Scripture will probably recognise that this is not due to any neglect of the important contributions to every department of psalm-exegesis made by modern scholarship. Modern research has been con- stantly kept in sight, and its results, so far as they could be regarded as sound and pertinent, have been incorporated in the present study. In the great mass of existing literature dealing with the Psalter it is difficult to find anything valuable which has not been put forward as an independent personal contri- bution by several writers. Where individual achievement is so difficult to identify, it is probably better, and certainly more VI PREFACE economical, to abandon the custom of bracketing with exegetical views long lists of authors’ names. I have tried in the Commentary to be as brief as the diffi- culties of exposition permitted—keeping in view the familiar experience that in exegesis it is usually easier to say too much than too little. Though enumerations of theories and discursive treatment of the text have been, for the most part, avoided, no genuine problem of the Vulgate Psalter has been consciously shirked. To the Rev. M. B. Langford, B.D., Dunboyne Establishment, Maynooth College, who assisted in preparing the manuscript for the printer, and to the Rev. P. J. Walsh, M.A., Archbishop's House, Dublin, who read the proofs and helped me constantly with kindly and suggestive criticism, my best thanks are due. P. B. St. Pa.trick’s College, Maynooth. CONTENTS Preface .... INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS : I. Its place in the Canon PAGE V II. Names and divisions of the Book of Psalnis . xii III. The primitive text oj the Psalter . xvi IV. Ancient versions of the Psalter , . xxii V. The poetical form of the Psalms xlviii VI. The purpose of the P salter . lv VII. The Superscriptions of the Psalms . Ivi VIII. Classification of the Psalms . lxi IX. Important dates in Hebrew history . lxvi X. Transliteration of Hebrew lxvii XI. Bibliography .... lxviii PSALM i. The Two Paths .... 1 2. The Victory of the Anointed . • 4 3. A Morning Prayer .... . 8 4. A Vesper Song . . ^ . 11 5. A prayer for guidance and for the punishment of the godless . 14 6. A prayer in time of need . 17 7. A cry for help .... . 20 8. Man’s littleness and greatness . 24 9 . A song of thanks for the overthrow of enemies . . 27 10. Trust in the Lord ! .... • 35 11. Complaint of the pious . 38 12. Confidence in the time of trial . 41 13. The Fools ..... • • 43 XI Vll viii CONTENTS PSALM PAGE 14. The Citizen of Sion . . . . . .47 15. God is man’s chief good . . . . .49 16. A prayer for justice against ruthless foes . . • 53 17. A song of thanksgiving and iriumph . . . . 58 18. The glory of God in the Heavens and in the Law . .66 19. A prayer for the King when he goes forth to battle . . 71 20. After the battle . . . . . • 74 21. The Just One in distress . . . . . 78 22. The Lord as Shepherd and Host . . . .84 23. Entry into the Sanctuary of the Lord . . . .86 24. A prayer in time of need . . . . .89 25. A prayer of the guiltless . . . . .92 26. In the Lord I am strong! . . . . 94 27. A prayer against enemies . . . . .98 28. The glory of God in a storm ..... 100 29. A song of thanks for rescue ..... 103 30. A prayer in time of need ..... 106 31. The joy of pardon ...... m 32. The Providence of God . . . . .114 33. Peace and joy in the fear of the Lord .... 117 34. A prayer of the lowly ..... 120 35. The blessedness of God’s favour . . . «125 36. How fleeting the luck of the godless .... 128 37. A penitentia! prayer of one smitten by sickness . . 133 38. Lndurance in trial ...... 137 39. Obedience and gratitude are better than sacrifice . . 141 40. Prayer of a sick man against treacherous enemies . . 145 41. Longing for God ...... 149 42. Longing for God ...... 154 43. Awake, 0 God of Israel ..... 156 44. A royal wedding . . . . . .160 45 - A sure refuge is the God of Israel . . . «165 46. Hymn to the Lord as King of the world . . . 168- 47. The City of God. A song for pilgrims . . . 171 CONTENTS ix PSALM PAGE 48. Weallh avails not the wicked . * 175 49. The well-pleasing sacrifice . l80 50. God, be merciful to me a sinner . I84 51. The fate of sinners . I89 52. The Fools .... • 193 53. A prayer against ruthless foes • 195 54. Impious foes, and a disloyal friend . 197 55. In God I pnt my trust ! . 202 56. In God I have no fear ! . 205 57. A prayer against unjust judges . 208 58. A prayer for help agains ruthless foes . 212 59. Help us, 0 Lord, according to Thy promise ! . 2l6 60. A prayer of an exile for the king . 222 61. Confidence in God . 225 62. The possession of God . 229 63. A prayer for the punishment of slander er s . 232 64. Thanksgiving for God’s favours . 236 65. A Thanksgiving • 243 66. A harvest song . 247 67. A commemoration of victory . . 250 68. A cry from the depths of sorrow . 267 69. A cry for help against enemies . 278 70. A prayer for help . 280 71. The King of Peace • . 289 INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF PSALMS I.—Its Place in the Canon i T HE books of the Hebrew Bible are divided into three classes : (i) the Law (the five books of Moses); (2) the Prophets (the so called ‘earlier’ Prophets, Joshue, Judges, Samuel, Kings, and the ‘ later ' Prophets, Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel and the twelve minor Prophets); (3) the‘Writings/ To the ‘Writings’ (which are usually known by their Greek name Hagiographa) belong, (a) three books of poetry, Psalms, Proverbs, Job ; ( b ) the five ‘ Rolls ’ (volumina), Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations. Ecclesiastes, Esther ; (c) Daniel; (d) the historical books, Esdras Nehemias, and the two Books of Paralipomenon (Chronicies). Thus the Book of Psalms belongs to the Hagiographa. In the New Testament period it was apparently the first book of that group, for Our Lord, referring to the three classes of books that make up the Old Testament, speaks of the things that had been written of Him ‘in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms ' (Luke 24, 44 ). There is, however, no fixed tradition as to the precise place of the Psalms among the ‘ Writings.’ In the majority of Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible and in all the printed Hebrew Bibles the order of the Hagiographa is that given above—Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the five Rolls, Daniel, Esdras—Nehemias and Chronicles. In the Talmud, however, Ruth is put before the Psalms, and in some manuscripts of the Bible, Chronicles comes first. The Hebrew arrangement of the books of the Old Testament was known at Alexandria, the horne of the Greek Bible, in the second century b.c., for it is several times referred to in the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus (written probably about 132 b.c.). It was not, however, retained by the Greek Bible. There is little agreement among the ancient Greek codices as to the precise order of the books in the Greek Old Testament, but it is ciear that a grouping of books accord- ing to subject-matter and authorship was substituted for the Hebrew system. The editors of the Greek Bible aimed, apparently, at an arrangement of the books into historical, didactic or sapiential, and prophetical. While the chief historical books always appear in the Greek codices in the first place, the sapiential and prophetical books xi Xll INTRODUCTION frequently change places. The Vatican Codex (B), with which the majority of ancient authorities agree, places the sapiential books in the second place and the prophetical in the third. The sapiential books are seven and appear in B in the order Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Canticles, Job, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus. In the Latin Bible (Vulgate), which also assigns the middle place to the sapiential books, Job is the first of the sapiential books and Psalms the second. 1 II.— NAMES AND DlVISIONS OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS There is no one general name for the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible. The Book was called by the Jews at an early period T e hillim (‘ Praises ’) or Sepher T e hillim (‘ Book of Praises.’) 2 This designation of the Hebrew Book of Psalms was known to Origen, for he calls the Book a-epcpOiXXlp.^ and to Jerome, who calls it Sephar Thallim* In the Greek Bible the Book is usually designated paX/iol* and in the New Testament we hear of the os paXp.wv (Luke 20, 42 4 * ; Acts i, 20 ). In the Alexandrian Codex of the Septuagint paXrrjpiov is used as a name for the whole collection of psalms. Psalterium was, apparently, a popular name of the book as early as the time of St. Jerome. 6 Psalterium Davidicum centum quinquaginta psalmorum is the title used in the Tridentine list of canonical books (Cone. Trid. sess. iv. Decretum de canonicis scripturis). ‘ Psaltery ' is, properly speaking, the name of a musical instrument (harp, or similar stringed instru- ment), and paXrrjpiov is used frequently in the Greek text of the Psalms to translate the Hebrew nebhel (harp). Though ' Psalter ’ is thus a somewhat inexact name for the collection of psalms, its popularity is justified by the circumstance that the psalms were primitively intended, for the most part, to be sung to a musical ac- companiment. More than a third of the psalms are called in the Hebrew superscriptions mizmor, i.e. a song meant to be sung to a musical accompaniment. The Greek word paXpos is an accurate 1 In the Sinaitic Codex of the Septuagint, the sapiential books are the last group and the first of them is Psalms, the last Job : in the Codex Alexandrinus the sapiential books are again in the third place, Psalms being the first of them, and Job the second. See on this whole question Swete, Introduction to the Old Testament in Greek. Revised by Ottley, 1914. Pp. 197-230. 2 T e hillim is often contrasted into Tillim. The form with Aramaic ending Tillin is also often used. 3 Origen in Ps. i. Migne, 12, 1084. 4 Praef. in librum Psalmorum juxta Hebraicam veritatem. Migne, Jerome, 28, 1124. Jerome renders the title, Volumen hymnorum. 6 See Luke 24, 44 , already referred to. 6 See his Preface to the Psalter, printed in editions of the Vulgate. INTRODUCTION • • • Xlll rendering of mizmor. It is not strange, then, that a book which consisted mainly of paXfxoi should come to be called a ‘ Psaltery/ or ‘ Psalter/ Besides mizmor (‘ psalm ') there are several other names given to individual psalms and groups of psalms in the Hebrew text. The final verse of Ps. 72 (Hebrew) speaks of the foregoing psalms as fphilloth Dawid (‘ the prayers of David ’). It is possible, however, that the true reading here ought to be fhilloth Dawid, ‘ the praises of David ’ (as in the Latin text of the verse, laudes David) —a title which would be identical (except for the feminine, and more normal, plural fhilloth) with the Jewish name of the Psalter— T e hillim. In the Vulgate Ps. 16 is called an Oratio David, Ps. 101 Oratio pauperis, Ps. 89 Oratio Moysi ; Ps. 141 is also called an Oratio. Some psalms are called shir (a ‘ song ' : Ps. 46, 45, 18—Hebrew) ; several are called shir mizmor {psalmus cantici ; so, Ps. 47, 66, 67, etc.) ; others are called mizmor shir {canticum psalmi ; so, Ps. 65, 87, etc.). A number of psalms, apparently forming a special group, receive the unintelligible name mikhtam (Ps. 15, 55-59 ; the name is rendered in the Latin Tituli inscriptio) ; another group is marked off by the title maskil (Ps. 31, 41, 43, 44, 51-54, 73, 77, 87, 88, 141). In the Latin this name is rendered usually Intellectus, but in Ps. 51 it appears as In- telligentia. The meaning of the name is uncertain. Ps. 44 is called in the Latin Canticum pro dilecto (‘love-song’). Ps. 7 is called in Hebrew a Shiggayon —which uncertain title the Latin replaces by psalmus. Psalms 119-133 ali receive in the Latin the title Canticum graduum {' gradual psalm * corresponding to the Hebrew shir ham- ma ,(l loth). The only psalm which is directly called T e hillah {‘ a praising-song ’) is Ps. 144 (in Latin called a Laudatio) Ps. 90 is, however, styled in the Latin Laus Cantici (but there is no correspond¬ ing title in the Hebrew). These and such other designations of individual psalms as occur are discussed in their respective places in the Commentary. The Hebrew Book of Psalms contains 150 poems. The Greek translation of ihe Psalter known as the Septuagint contains 151, but the last psalm in the Greek—a poem by David on his struggle with Goliath, is regarded generally as apocryphal. The 150 canonical psalms are not numbered in the same way in the Hebrew and the Greek. Since in this respect, as in most others, the Latin Psalter (Vulgate) follows the Greek, it is necessary to make quite ciear the relations between the two systems of numbering the psalms. The Hebrew psalms 9 and 10 appear in the Graeco-Latin Psalter as a single poem. The Hebrew psalms 114 and 115 also appear as one psalm in the Graeco-Latin text. On the other hand, the Graeco-Latin text breaks up the Hebrew Ps. 116 into two psalms, and treats the Hebrew Ps. 147 also as if it were two poems. XIV INTRODUCTION The exact relations of the two-psalters are shown in the following tabi e: — Hebrew Ps. 1-8 = „ 9-10 = „ n-113 = „ 114-115 = „ 116, x - 9 — „ 116, 10 ' 19 = „ 117-146 == „ 147, i- 11 = „ 147, 12 - 20 = „ 148-150 = Graeco-Latin Ps. 1-8 „ 9 ,, 10-112 M 113 „ 114 „ 115 „ 116-145 ,, I46 „ 147 „ I 48 -I 5 O Thus it will be seen that, for the most part, the numbering of the Greek and Latin psalms is one less than that of the corresponding psalms in the Hebrew psalter, and psalters which are directly derived from the Hebrew. Throughout this work the numbering of the Latin psalter is followed—except where it is otherwise expressly stated. The 150 psalms are divided into five books. These books are marked off from each other by doxologies which serve as conclusions to the books. To the first book belong Ps. 1-40; to the second, Ps. 41-71 ; to the third, Ps. 72-88 ; to the fourth, Ps 89-105 ; to the fifth, Ps. 106-150. The doxologies which mark the close of the different books are : Ps. 40, 14 : Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel a saeculo, et usque in saecjilum : fiat, fiat. Ps. 71, 18 - 19 ; Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, qui facit mirabilia solus, et benedictum nomen majestatis ejus in aeternum, et replebitur majestate ejus omnis terra : fiat, fiat. Ps. 88, 63 : Benedictus Dominus in aeternum : fiat, fiat. Ps. 105, 48 : Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel a saeculo et usque in saeculum ; et dicet omnis populus : fiat, fiat. Ps. 150 serves as a conclusion to the fifth book and to the entire collection. The division of the psalms into five books has often been ascribed to the alleged desire of Jewish scholars to model the Book of Psalms on the Pentateuch. Just as there were five books of the Law, so there should be five books of praising song. There is, however, practically no evidence to support this view. It is more likely that the arrange- ment of the psalms in five separate books is due to the gradual INTRODUCTION xv formation of the Psalter. There are many features of the Psalter which suggest that it was not collected by a single editor who brought together a number of individual poems, but that it grew gradually, for the most part by the union of small pre-existing groups of poems. Thus Ps. 13 of the first book, appears again as Ps. 52 in the second book. Ps. 39, 14 ^ appears again as Ps. 69 in the second book. Ps. 107 of the fifth book is a combination of Ps. 56, 8 ” 12 and 59, 7 “ 14 of the second book. This repetition of psalm-passages in different books implies, probably, that these books were in existence as independent collections before they were combined in the Psalter. The gradual growth of the Psalter by the coalescence of collections of poems is strongly suggested also by the conclusion of Ps. 71, the last psalm of the second book : ' Finished are the prayers (or praises) of David/ The writer of that conclusion could scarcely have been aware of the existence of the eighteen poems which are ascribed to David in the Hebrew text of Books III-V. 1 The presence in the Psalter of several distinet groups of psalms 1 The growth of the Psalter from smaller collections is perhaps also suggested by the manner in which the Divine names Yahweh (the personal name of the God of Israel) and * Elohim (‘ God ') are used in the different parts of the Psalter. In the first book (Hebrew) Yahweh occurs 272 times, ' Elohim 15 ; in the second book (Hebr.) Yahweh occurs 30 times, ’ Elohim 164. In the third book (Hebr.), in Ps. 73-83 (Hebr.) Yahweh occurs 13 times, and ’ Elohim 36 ; but in the same book, in Ps. 84-89 (Hebr.) Yahweh occurs 31 times, and ‘Elohim 7. In Bk. IV we have Yahweh only, and in Bk. V Yahweh only (except in Ps. 108 which is repeated from Ps. 57 and 60, and in Ps. 144,® (Hebr.). Why does ' Elohim preponderate so greatly in Bk. II and in Ps. 73-83 (Hebr.) ? The reason seems to be that the * Elohistic ’ psalms, as they are called from their use of ' Elohim , had been edited as a separate collection before they were incorporated in the Psalter. Notice particularly that Ps. 14 (Hebr.), which used Yahweh in the first book, uses ’ Elohim when it appears as Ps. 53 (Hebr.) in Bk. II. The same is true of Ps. 40, 19 -^ (Hebr.) ; it is * Yahwistic,' but is ‘ Elohistic ’ when it reappears as Ps. 70 (Hebr.) in Bk. II. The editor who substituted ’ Elohim for Yahweh in Bk. II could not have been the editor or collector of the whole Psalter. That the editor or collector of Bk. II had a very strong prejudice against using the name Yahweh appears from the fact that he employs reduplications of ' Elohim in a manner not to be paralleled from other parts of the Old Testament. Where other authors or editors would have written ‘ Yahweh, my God,' or ‘ Yahweh, thy God,' he gives us ‘ God, my God ’ (42,*) and ‘God, thy God’ (44,®; 49*). So also in the second book we find such phrases as Deus, Deus salutis meae (50, 16 ) ; ‘ God, the God of Israel ’ (68,® Hebr.), where we should rather expect ‘ Yahweh, my rescuing God/ ‘ Yahweh, the God of Israel.' The editor of Bk. II may, perhaps, have been the Elohistic editor also of Ps. 73-83 (Hebr.). In spite of his predilection for ’ Elohim the ‘ Elohistic' collector or editor has allowed Yahweh, as was said above, to stand in a fairly considerable number of places. Hence his prejudice against allowing that Divine name to stand in the text in those places where it has been obviously omitted, cannot be due to the later Jewish tendency to abstain altogether from using the name Yahweh. The Hebrew personal name of God is written throughout this work as Yahweh. There is no real justification for the form Jehovah. The first consonant of the word is a y-sound rather than an English j. The vowels of Jehovah are really the vowels of ' a donai (lord), for ’ a donai was substituted by Jews of the late period for Yahweh. XVI INTRODUCTION which stand apart from ali the rest is a further indication of the gradual growth of the Psalter from the coalescence of pre-existing smaller collections of poems. Such an obvious group, for instance, is that of the ‘ Gradual Psalms ' (i 19-133). Other such definite groups are the Asaphite Psalms (Ps. 49, 72-82), and the Korachite collection (Ps. 41-48, 83-88) ; further, the maskil -psalms (51-54), the mikhtam-g roup (55-59), and the ‘ Alleluja '-psalms (104-106, 110- 118, 134 - 135 , 145 - 150 ). Since there are many poems in the Psalter which do not belong to any of the obvious groups of psalms, it must be admitted that the Psalter has not grown wholly from the union of groups of psalms. Individual psalms were incorporated with the groups by the different editors. The question of the authorship of the psalms is, of course, independent of all theories as to the manner and date of their col¬ lection and publication, as we have them, in the Psalter. The question of the authorship of the Psalms will be discussed in a later section. III.— The Primitive Text of the Psalter The original language of all the psalms was Hebrew. It is prac- tically certain that the period throughout which the psalms of our Psalter were composed extended over, at least, six or seven hundred years—from the time of David (who began to reign about 1,000 b.c.) io some date in the post-exilic period (which began with the first return of the Exiles from Babylon about 538 b.c.). If some of the psalms were composed in the Maccabean period (167-63 b.c.), as many critics maintain, the gradual formation of the Psalter vili have ex¬ tended over a period of close on a thousand years. It is not, indeed, probable that some of the psalms were written as late as the Maccabean period, for it is likely that the psalm-collection was complete when I Paralipomenon was written (about 300 b.c .). 1 The Prologue to Ecclesiasticus, written, probably, about 132 b.c., refers several times to the Greek translation of the Old Testament in such a way as to imply that the Greek Bible, including the Psalter, was already prac- tically complete at the time at which the Prologue was composed. It would be very unlikely that psalms written in Hebrew subsequently 1 In I Par. 16, 36 the doxology which marks the close of the fourth book of psalms is quoted. If this quotation is a part of the original text of Paralipo¬ menon, and if the doxology in Ps. 105, 48 is, like the doxologies at the close of the other psalm-books, in reality a verse editorially added to mark the end of a book, it will have to be admitted that the psalm-books existed practically as we know them about 300 b.c. This would, of course, exclude Maccabean psalms. The whole question of Maccabean psalms is exhaustively discussed in Nikel’s Alttestamentliche Abhandlungen by Goossens in his essay, Die Frage nach makkabtiischen Psalmen, 1914. INTRODUCTION XVII to 170 b.c. could have been generally received as canonical and then translated into Greek in Egypt before 132 b.c. But whether we accept 300 b.c. or (let us say) 150 b.c., as the date before which the Psalter must have been completely collected, it vili stili be true that a great interval of time separates the earliest psalms from the latest. We should, then, expect to find in the Hebrew psalms traces of the changes which must have taken place in the Hebrev language through- out six or seven hundred years. Yet there are very few such traces. Their absence must be due, then, to some extent, at least, to editorial activity. It is scarcely thinkable that David would have used pre- cisely the same forms, and modes of expression as poets who lived in the post-exilic period between 400 b.c. and 300 b.c. Yet the student of the Hebrew text of the psalms cannot discern, except very vaguely, any special linguistic features by which he might identify one psalm as early, and another as late. It is true that psalms sometimes show what one might call ‘ modernising ’ tendencies in language— such, for instance, as the use of forms and words borrowed from Aramaic. Yet even in these psalms the apparently late features may be due to a late editorial hand, or, what modern scholars regard as later forms or borrowings from Aramaic, may be really echoes of popular speech, and very ancient, appearing to be modern only be- cause we know so little of the popular speech of Israel in any period. The uniformity in language and style of the Psalter must be due, then, to some extent, to the work of later editors. Besides such editorial change as the Hebrew psalms underwent before they took the form which they have in the existing Hebrew Psalter, they were liable, like ali other frequently copied ancient texts, to cor- ruptions at the hands of scribes. We have no ground for supposing that a special Providence preserved the Hebrew Psalter from the corruption to which other portions of the Hebrew Bible were certainly exposed. Some notion can be formed of how the Hebrew Psalter fared in its transmission by studying the few instances which exist in the Hebrew Bible of double recensions of the same psalm-text. Thus, for instance, the poem which appears as Psalm 17 is found also in II Kings 22, and it can readily be seen by comparing the two texts, that the primitive text of the poem has suffered so much cor¬ ruption that it cannot be completely recovered. A comparison of the text of Ps. 13 with that of Ps. 52, and of Ps. 39, 14 ^ with Ps. 69 will also help to throw light on the transmission of the Hebrew text of the Psalter. It is ciear, indeed, that the text of the Hebrew Psalter was as liable to modification as any other part of the Hebrew text of the Bible. 1 That modern scholars, Catholic as well as non- 1 C/. IV Kings i8, 13 -2o, 19 with Isaias 36-39, or IV Kings 24, 17 -^ with Jeremias 52 for illustration of the fortunes of other portions of the Hebrew INTRODUCTION xviii Catholic," admit that the primitive Hebrew text of the psalms has suffered in its transmission, will be ciear to any one who takes the trouble to look for a moment into any modern commentary on the Hebrew Psalter. All ancient much copied texts underwent changes in the course of time through the ordinary frailties of copyists. But the Hebrew Bible was, by its peculiar history, liable to more than the ordinary vicissitudes of much copied texts. All those portions of the Bible which were composed in the pre-exilic period (before 586 b.c.), and, probably, some which were first published in the post-exilic period, were written in a script quite different from the form of Hebrew character which is used in modern Hebrew Bibles. Up to the time of the Exile (586 b.c.), and for some time following it, the Hebrews used a script which, because it was used at an early period by all the Semitic peoples of Palestine, is called the Canaanite script. The special form of this script which was used by Israelite scribes is known to have remained in general use among the Jews until the time of Nehemias (about 440 b.c.). The Samaritans, who set up their special religious community not long subsequently to this, retained for their Pentateuch the old form of script. We may infer, therefore, that the Jews were stili using the old ‘ Canaanite ’ alphabet at the time when the Samaritans were formally distinguished as a religious com¬ munity from Israel. Even after that date the old Canaanite character did not altogether disappear, for it was stili used for certain purposes (such, for instance, as legends on coins) even in the Christian period. Besides the form of the Canaanite script which had remained in use in Palestine down to the post-exilic period, there was another which had developed among the Arameans, * 1 and had become so modified that it could no longer be read by a scribe who knew only the Canaanite alphabet of Palestine. The Arameans had attained to great im- portance by the time that the Persian Empire was established after the middle of the sixth century b.c. —the century of the Babylonian Exile. So important were the Arameans in the Persian Empire that their language—Aramaic, was used as a sort of lingua franca for administrative purposes throughout the Western provinces of that empire. With the Aramaic language went, of course, the Aramaic alphabet, and in the post-exilic period this alphabet came to be adopted even by the Jews in Palestine. The Jews called the Aramaic script Old Testament. The Greek (Septuagint) text of Jeremias omits about an eighth of the present Hebrew text, and in Ezechiel the arrangement of the Greek text differs completely from that of the Hebrew in chapters 36-40. Every student of the Hebrew Bible is familiar with the necessity of frequent textual emendation. Correction of text would not be necessary if the original text had been faithfully preserved. 1 Vid. infra, p. xxii. INTRODUCTION XIX ‘ Assyrian ’ (which was for them the same as ‘ Syrian,' i.e. Aramaic) : they also called it, because of its appearance as compared with their own script, the ‘ square' alphabet. It is this * * Assyrian ' or square character which (in a somewhat evolved form) appears in our modern Hebrew Bibi es. When Our Lord says in Matthew 5, 18 : ‘ Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall not pass of the Law, till all be fulfilled,” His words are intelligible only in reference to the * square ’ script; theyod (iota, jot) of the older script is by no means a small character, it is, however, the smallest letter of the (evolved) * square * alphabet. It is obvious from all this that such portions of the Hebrew Bible as were written before 400 b.c. have passed from one form of script to another. Now in the older Canaanite script there were letters which differed from each other but slightly in shape, and between which, therefore, confusion was easily possible. The same thing is true of certain letters in the ‘ Aramaic ' or ‘ square ’ script. Further- more, there was a possibility of confusion between characters of the older and characters of the later script. Hence poems of the Psalter composed before the change of alphabet had taken place in Palestine, were liable, in a special way, to corruptions at the hand of scribes. It must be constantly remembered, further, that in neither the older nor the Aramaic alphabet were there signs for vowel-sounds ; both alphabets consisted of consonants merely. Hence in order to be able to read a Biblical text written in either script a reader needed to be already familiar with the traditional interpretation of the text. 1 Again, it is to be noted that it was customary in the early period to write the purely consonantal text of the Bible without any separation or distinction of words. 2 A further important point to be remembered is that at the time when the Bible was probably most liable to editorial modification and to corruption at the hands of copyists—viz. about 400 b.c., the original language of the Bible was rapidly ceasing to be the vernacular of the Jews. Obviously in proportion as Hebrew ceased to be widely spoken, the people (and even the scribes) would become less sensitive to changes in the traditional text. 1 One can illustrate for oneself the difficulties which would arise in the attempt to read an unfamiliar consonantal text, by taking, let us say, the con¬ sonants of some familiar Latin word, and thinking out the various words which they might represent. The consonants of mors, for example, are the consonants of mars, maris (mas), maris (mare), mores, moris, murus, muros, mures, mirus , miris, miros, miras, moros, mires, etc., etc. An equally interesting experiment could be made with the consonants of mens, or labor. Of course, in any given sentence there could not be unlimited freedom of choice. *In the text of Ps. 43, 5 , for instance, the consonants ’ l h m $ w h were read by the Greek translators ' e lohai m e sawweh, while the Massoretes, dividing differently, read ' Hohim sawweh (Command, O God!). The Greek reading means ‘ My God, who commands.' XX INTRODUCTION When ali these points are considered, it will be evident that the text of the Psalter may have departedin many points fromits primitive form by 300 b.c. Departures from primitive purity of text may have been chiefly due to inevitable misunderstandings and confusions of copyists. But there will also have been intentional changes of text by ‘ tendencious ' scribes; 1 and the process, so familiar in Biblical texts outside the Psalter, of incorporating marginal glosses in the text will surely also have been employed by copyists of the Hebrew Psalter. 2 That the textual tradition of the Hebrew Psalter was not quite uniform in the pre-Christian period will be clearer when we have considered the Greek translation of the Psalter. But it is important to realise that long before the Greek translation of the Psalter was made (long, that is, before 250-200 b.c.) the text of the Psalter had been mishandled by critics and copyists. Hence, even when the Hebrew and Greek texts of the psalms agree, it may stili be lawful, or even necessary, to postulate the presence of a cor- ruption in the text. The existing form of the Hebrew Psalter with ali its elaborate apparatus of vowel-points, and accents, and minutely recorded peculiarities, is the outcome of the work of Jewish scholars from the second to the tenth century of our era. The critical work out of which the modern Hebrew Bible has grown began as far back as the time of the Emperor Hadrian (117-138 a.d.) : it continued until the tenth century. The introduction of vowel-points into the consonantal text was carried out about the seventh century. Just as the later Hebrew alphabet was an adaptation of the Aramaic character, so the Hebrew vowel-points were borrowed from an Aramaic source: they were taken over from the Syriae scribes. Since all the work done in fixing the text of the Hebrew Bible was an attempt to crystallise the best tradition as to that text, the fixation of the Hebrew text is called Massorah 3 (‘ tradition '), and the scholars who established the present Hebrew text are known as the ' Massoretes/ and the received Hebrew text of the Bible is called the ‘ Massoretic * text. As far as we can ascertain, the Massoretic text differs scarcely at all from the form of Hebrew text current in St. Jerome's day (about end of fourth century), and it is likely that it enshrines, in 1 Compare the substitution of ’ Elohim for Yahweh noted above. 2 See, in this connection, the elever, if not quite convincing, study by Pfarrer Hellebronth in the Biblische Zeitschrift, 1915, PP- 296-311, Spuren uralter textkritischer Noten im masoretischen Texte des Psalters. 3 The form massorah has developed from the earlier form massoreth (like kapporeth, ‘ propitiatory’). Many scholars insist on writing masorah —but this is almost certainly wrong : massorah is derived from the late Hebrew verb masar,' to teach/ ‘ to hand on a tradition/ and not from the verb 'asar, ‘ to bind/ The form massorah has been followed in this book. INTRODUCTION XXI general, the textual tradition of the beginning of the second Christian century—the date at which genuine Massoretic activity began. Many of the differences which the student will discover between the Massoretic and the Greek Psalter are due to the fact that the Mas- soretes have followed a textual tradition different from that accepted by the Greek translators. There must have been a considerable variety of traditions in the pre-Massoretic period, both as to the vocalising of the text, and the division of the consonantal text into words. Certain peculiarities of the Samaritan Pentateuch and of some of the Old Testament passages quoted in the New Testament suggest almost inevitably that the pre-Massoretic text existed in several recensions. The aim of the Massoretes was to discover and perpetuate the best textual tradition of their time, and, incidentally, to bring about the disappearance of readings of which they did not approve. That they were leamed, industrious, and conscientious is certain ; but they were, after ali, fallible, and their methods had neither the objectivity nor the systematic completeness of modern scholarship. Hence we are free to question the perfection of the Massoretic Psalter; we are not bound to regard its text as always identical with the original text of the psalms. We are free to emend the Massoretic Psalter where it seems reasonable to do so, and we are therefore free to prefer to it at times the recension of the Hebrew Psalter which was used by the first translators of the psalms into- Greek—especially as the Greek (Septuagint) Psalter is older by several centuries than the Hebrew text which was critically fixed by the Massoretes. In spite, however, of ali the possibilities of corruption in the Massoretic Psalter, its text is, in general, intelligible and reliable. Without its help it would be often practically impossible to under- stand the Greek (Septuagint) or Latin (Vulgate) Psalter. Though it has been often asserted both by ancient and modern scholars that the Massoretes in some cases falsified the text of passages which were supposed to favour the claims of Christianity against Judaism, there is no real evidence to support this charge. Even in passages like Ps. 15, 10 {nec dabis sanctum tuum videre corruptionem, where the Massoretic text has * Thy holy ones ’) and Ps. 21, 17 {Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos, where the Massoretes read, ‘ Like a lion, my hands and my feet ’) the reading followed by the Greek (and Vulgate) Bible is carefully recorded on the margin by the Massoretes. XXII INTRODUCTION IV.—ANCIENT VeRSIONS OF THE PSALTER 1 (a) THE TARGUM It has been already stated that in the post-exilic period ( i.e . after 538 b.c.) Hebrew ceased to be used as the vernacular in Palestine. Its place was taken by a closely allied language of the Semitic group— Aramaic. Aramaic was the speech of a people which appears under the name Arimi or Ahlame in cuneiform inscriptions of the fourteenth century b.c. The Arameans were at that time, apparentiy, a nomad people of the Syrian desert on the south-western border of Babylonia. 2 By the time when the Persian Empire was being established (middle of sixth century b.c.) the language of the Arameans had come to be used as a general medium of communication throughout a great part of the Semitic East. In the Western portions of the Persian Empire it was used as the language of administration and commerce. As a sort of imperial language it gradually superseded the local vernaculars Assyrian, Phoenician and Hebrew. Before the coming of Our Lord, Aramaic had completely ousted Hebrew as the Semitic vernacular of Palestine. We can see from the Aramaic sections of the books of Esdras and Daniel that Aramaic was used even as a literary language by the Jews at the time when those books were written. It is possible that Hebrew was not used at all colloquially in the towns of Palestine in the post-exilic period. Nehemias made an attempt to re-establish the old language at the time of the restoration of Jerusalem (Nehemias 13, 24 > 25 ), but his efforts were not, as far as we can judge, very suc- cessful. A military colony of Jews which was established on Ele¬ phantine, an island in the Nile near Assuan, in the sixth century b.c. has left us substantial literary remains from which we can see that the vernacular of the colony was not Hebrew, but Aramaic. It may be inferred, obviously, that the Palestinian district from which this colony had come was Aramaic-speaking already in the sixth century b.c . 3 1 Only those ancient versions are here considered which throw light on the history of the Vulgate Psalter. The Targum is described because its origin is similar to the origin of the Greek and Latin Psalters, and the Greek Psalter is dealt with because it is, as will be seen, the immediate source of the Latin Psalter. The Syriae and Coptic Psalters, though often useful in matters of exegesis, are of no particular interest for the genesis of the Vulgate Psalter. 2 It is interesting to note that in Genesis 25, 20 the relatives of Abraham in Paddan-Aram are called Arameans. 3 The various documents left by the Jewish colony in Elephantine (and also, apparently, in Assuan) may be studied in Sayce and Cowley, Aramaic Papyri discovered at Assuan .’ London, 1906 ; Sachau, Drei aramdische Papy- rusurkunden aus Elephantine (Proceedings of Berlin Academy, 1907) ; Sachau, Aramdische Papyrus und Ostraka, Leipzig, 1911. From IV Kings 18, 26 and Isaias 36, n - la it may be inferred that Aramaic, though it was already a INTRODUCTION XXlll Though Hebrew ceased to be spoken in the later post-exilic period, it stili continued to be studied, and to be used as a literary medium by scribes and scholars. Thus the Book of Ecclesiasticus was written in good Hebrew probably about 200 b.c., and several other works were composed in Hebrew during the two centuries preceding the birth of Christ. Hebrew was the language of the learned com- mentaries on the Jewish Law written by Jewish scholars in the early Christian period—but that Hebrew of the schools tended steadily to assume a relation towards classical, or biblical, Hebrew similar to that which the Latin of mediaeval writers holds to that of Cicero or Livy. The Hebrew of the oldest Rabbinical texts of the Christian period shows a very extraordinary degeneration when it is com- pared with even the latest pre-Christian texts. The reason of this is, probably, to be found in the fact that the pre-Christian writers were stili near enough to the old days to be able to detach themselves almost fully from the Aramaic which Was spoken around them, while the Jewish writers of the Christian period some generations later wrote under the unrelieved pressure of the Aramaic vernacular of their time. The post-exilic period saw the disappearance of Hebrew as a vernacular: it also saw a great development of the Synagogue and its system of study, prayer, and worship. As Hebrew became less and less familiar to the people, the profit which they derived from the synagogal reading and exposition of the Law and the other Hebrew Scriptures diminished. If, then, the Synagogue-system were to be continued, it was plainly necessary to furnish the people with some sort of translation of the Scriptures into Aramaic. At first such translation remained purely oral. When the Hebrew Scriptures were being read in the synagogal Service an interpreter was at hand, whose duty it was to translate into Aramaic each verse (later, each section) immediately after it had been recited in Hebrew. The interpreter was not permitted to keep befote him a text—either Hebrew or Ara¬ maic. It was, indeed, expressly forbidden to put in writing an Aramaic translation of those parts of the Bible which were usually read in the Synagogue. However, as the Aramaic version became more and more necessary for the people, a written Aramaic Old Testa- ment would have become more and more necessary for those who were in charge of the synagogal Services. Thus ultimately an Aramaic diplomatists’ lingua franca in the eighth century b.c., was not then widely spoken among the Hebrews. Some writers stili persist in calling Aramaic * Syro-Chaldaic,' and seem to think that it was a kind of jargon arising from the corruption of Hebrew by ‘ Chaldaic ' elements during the Exile. Aramaic is, of course, a fully developed language of the Semitic group—as independent of any other language of the group, as Irish is, for instance, of Welsh in the Celtic group. XXIV INTRODUCTION translation of many Old Testament books was written—when pre- cisely we do not know. The different parts of the Old Testament were translated at different times and with varying accuracy. The Synagogue ofhcial whose duty it was to render the Hebrew lectiones into Aramaic was called the MHhargem, or MHhurgaman (‘ Interpreter ’ ; cf. Dragoman) from targem, ‘ to translate/ His rendering was called Targum translation ’). Thus the Aramaic version of the Old Testament has come to be known as the ‘ Targum/ It will be noticed as an interesting point in connection with the Psalter that the Gospels represent Our Lord as quoting Psalm 21, 1 2 in Aramaic : Eloi Eloi lama sabakhthanei . 1 The use of Aramaic in that great hour of Our Lord’s life when He hung on the Cross would suggest that a Targum to the Psalter existed already in the time of Christ. The Targum or Aramaic version of the psalms which has come down to us is of comparatively little value except as a specimen of early Rabbinical exegesis—for it is often a paraphrase and commentary rather than a translation. ( b ) THE GREEK PSALTER The existence of the Targum, or Aramaic Old Testament, was due, as has been said, to the disappearance of Hebrew as a vernacular in the post-exilic period, and to the resulting necessity of providing the worshippers in the synagogues with a version of the Scriptures which they could understand. But throughout the period which followed the Exile, and, possibly, even during and before the Exile, there were many Jews who, though they were loyal to the Jewish religion and practised it as well as they could, spoke neither Hebrew nor Aramaic. Reference was made above to the presence in Egypt in the sixth pre-Christian century, of Jewish colonists whose language was Aramaic. There can be little doubt that many Jews were settled in other parts of Egypt in the same century, and it is fair to assume that those of them who settled in the north, within easy reach of the civilisation of the cities of Lower Egypt, would gradually have dropped their Semitic vernacular. 2 1 Mark 15, 34 ; Matt. 27/® has for t\wi, The Hebrew of Psalm 21, 2 has ‘Eli, ‘Eli lamah ‘ a zabhtani . 2 After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 b.c. a great number of Jews fled to Egypt against the advice of the prophet Jeremias (Jer. 41-44). These exiles settled in different parts of Egypt—some in various districts of Lower Egypt, and some even in Upper Egypt (Patros, — in Egyptian p'-t’-rsi, ‘ the Southern land’). It is probable that Jewish emigration to Egypt continued during the Persian period. There are indications that large numbers of Jewish soldiers served in the Persian armies which advanced into Egypt in the time of Cambyses (525 b.c.). It is known that Alexander the Great, for many reasons, showed INTRODUCTION XXV As Greek thought and speech became more and more predominant in Egypt, the Jews who lived there will have found themselves com- pelled either to speak Greek as well as Aramaic, or to abandon Aramaic and use Greek as a sole vernacular. Great numbers must have taken the latter course, for in the third century b.c. the synagogal authorities in Alexandria found it necessary to provide the wor- shippers in their Synagogues with a Greek version of the Scriptures. The Greek translation of the Bible was thus, like the Targum, due to the needs of the Synagogue: it was an effort to make the Scriptures intelligible to a Jewish Diaspora whose language was the K oivrj, or generaily used Hellenistic dialect of the time. 1 The whole of the Hebrew Old Testament was not translated into Greek at once. The Pentateuch was first rendered, and later at various dates, the pro- phetical and other books were done into Greek. It is not possible to determine precisely the date of any Greek book of the Old Testa¬ ment. The different books of the translation are different in their literary value, and vary also greatly in their fidelity as renderings of the Hebrew. There is no reasonable ground for doubting that the Greek version of the Bible, like the Targum, was due primarily to the practical needs of the Synagogue. A very different notion of its origin is, however, given to us by the ancient document known as the ‘ Letter of Aristeas to Philocrates/ 2 According to this document Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, King of Egypt (285-247 b.c.), at the suggestion of his librari an, Demetrius of Phalerum, decided to have a translation of the Jewish Laws made for the royal library in Alexandria. Ac- cordingly he sent an embassy (of which Aristeas is said to have been a member) to Eleazar, the High Priest at Jerusalem, requesting that favour to the Jews. When he founded Alexandria (in 332 b.c.) he assigned a special place in the new city to Jewish colonists, and admitted them to full citizenship (Josephus, Antiquities, xix. 5, 2 ; Contra Apion, ii. 4; Bellum Judaicum ii. 18, 7.). The Jewish colony of Alexandria grew and flourished under the Ptolemies. Ptolemy I, it is said (Jos. Antiquities xii. 1, 1), carried off great numbers of Jews from Palestine whom he established in Alexandria. The Jewish colony at Alexandria became so well known for its prosperity that many Jews from Palestine continued to emigrate to Egypt throughout the Greek period. In Alexandria the Jews were permitted to live according to their national laws and customs. Their religion was not interfered with, and hence their synagogues became very numerous. At the time of Philo (born about 20 b.c.) two of the five districts of Alexandria were called ‘ Jewish ' because they were occupied chiefly by Jews (Philo, In Flaccum, 8). Philo estimates at a million the total number of Jews living in Egypt in his day ( ibid . 6), and modern inquiry has helped to confirm this estimate. See, Schurer, Geschichte des jiidischen Volkes, III. p. 38/7.; Swete, Introd. pp. 3/7. 1 Greek was the language of the synagogal Service not merely in Egypt, but throughout the greater part of the Jewish Diaspora in the two pre-Christian centuries. Vid. Schurer III. 140. 2 A critical edition of the Greek text of Aristeas is printed as an Appendix in Swete's Introduction. XXVI INTRODUCTION there might be sent to him Jewish elders who would be able to trans¬ late the Pentateuch into Greek. Eleazar received the embassy with friendship, and sent to Ptolemy seventy-two elders—six from each tribe. With them Eleazar sent a copy of the Law written in letters of gold on rolls composed of skins. When the seventy-two came to Egypt they soon set to work on the translation, and completed it in exactly seventy-two days. The story contained in the Letter of Aristeas was enlarged in the patristic period into a legend which ascribed the Greek version of the entire Old Testament (and not merely of the Pentateuch) to the seventy-two, and wondrous features were added to the narrative of Aristeas which were intended to show that the translators worked under the influence of divine inspiration. The story of Aristeas has given rise to the popular title of the earliest Greek Bible. Seventy-two Jewish scholars had produced it. Hence it was called ‘ The version according to the Seventy *; and at an early period it was commonly referred to as ‘ The Seventy '—just as we now call it, the ‘ Septuagint/ Modern scholarship does not accept the Letter of Aristeas as genuine. The Letter, however, is certainly correct in putting the beginnings of the Greek Bible in the third century b.c. The first part of the Hebrew Bible—the Law (Pentateuch), will have been translated about 250 b.c. The second and third parts of the Bible—• the ‘ Prophets ’ and ‘ Writings/ were translated probably between 250 B.c. and 200 b.c. The Letter of Aristeas was written about 100 b.c. It shows that at that date the Greek Old Testament re¬ ceived in Egypt the same respect as the Hebrew Scriptures did in Jerusalem. 1 1 In the Prologue to Ecclesiasticus there are indicatione that the whole of the Hebrew Old Testament had been rendered into Greek before that Prologue was written. The author of the Prologue says (after pleading for indulgence from his readers should they find his translation of Ecclesiasticus imperfect) : ‘ For things originally spoken in Hebrew have not the same force in them when they are translated into another tongue ; and not only these, but the Law itself, and the Prophecies, and the rest of the books, have no small difference when they are spoken in their original form. Now in the eighth and thirtieth year under king Euergetes, having come into Egypt and continued there, I found opportunity for no small instruction. I, therefore, deemed it most necessary myself to devote some zeal and loving labour to the interpretation of this book ; devoting, indeed, much sleepless care and skill in the interval in order, having brought the book to an end, to publish it for them also who in the land of their sojourning desire to be lovers of learning, being already pre- pared in respect of their moral culture to live by the Law.' If the thirty-eighth year of Euergetes is a year of that king’s reign, the reference must be to Euergetes II who reigned, partly as joint ruler and partly as sole king, for fifty-four years (170-116 b.c.). The reign of Euergetes I lasted only twenty-five years (247-222 b.c.). The thirty-eighth year of the reign of Euergetes II would be 132 b.c., and if that is the year referred to in the Pro¬ logue, it may be assumed that a Greek version of the Law, Prophets and * other .books ' (i.e. of the Old Testament generally) existed in 132 b.c. Though it is INTRODUCTION xxvii The appearance of the Greek Bible in Egypt must have been a very great event for the world of Greek heathenism. It put within reach of inquiring Gentiles the treasure of Divine revelation contained in the Hebrew Scriptures. It made thus accessible to the philosophical mind of the West a system of theology and a theory of life and nature which, in essentials, were vastly superior to the achievements of Greek speculation. The Greek Bible made possible a vigorous and successful mission of Judaism among the Gentiles, and must have served, in no small measure, to prepare the way for the preaching of Christi ani ty to the Hellenist world. 1 The task of translating the Hebrew Bible into Greek was a difficult one—and that for severa! reasons. The Hebrew Bible was a purely oriental work, and its thought could not be readily presented in a Greek or western dress. Again, even among oriental books it stood apart because of its intense monotheism, and its rejecti on of most of the elements of ordinary oriental religion and cult. This made it more difficult to clothe the thought of the Bible in Hellenistic Greek than it would have been to render into a western language a Baby- lonian or Egyptian religious text. It must be remembered, further, in estimating the merits of the Greek Bible, that successful translation implies scholarship and breadth of view : it implies in the translator the capacity to realise precisely the meaning of the original and to discover in the language of the version such words and phrases as will be not merely verbal equivalents of the original, but actual equiva- lents in their power to suggest to the readers of the version the same association-contexts as the original suggested to those for whom it was composed. Thus, successful translation of the Old Testament into Greek demanded in the translators a complete mastery of the Hebrew language, and full sympathy with the Hebrew point of view in religion and philosophy ; it also demanded complete familiarity with the Greek language and with the western mind. The trans¬ lators were certainly Jews, and were, therefore, sufhciently in sympathy with the Jewish Outlook and the general attitude of the Old Testa- not absolutely certain that ‘ the other books ’ include the Psalter, that is the more likely view. It has been held also, however, that the Euergetes of the Prologue is Euer- getes I, and that the phrase in the Greek text referring to the thirty-eighth year means that Euergetes had ascended the throne of Egypt thirty-eight years after his predecessor Ptolemy Philadelphus (285-247 b.c.) had become king. In this view the author of the Prologue speaks of himself as coming to Egypt in the thirty-eighth year after the accession of Ptolemy Philadelphus, shortly after Euergetes I had become king, i.e. in 247 b.c. This view is defended by Hart in his Ecclesiasticus in Greek, pp. 249 ff. It would make the Greek version of the greater part of the Old Testament older than 247 b.c. 1 The importance of the Septuagint as a preparation for the Christian Mission is well stated by Deissmann in his essay, Die Hellenisierung des semitischen Monotheismus, Neue Jahrbiicher fur das classische Altertum, 1903, p. 161-177. INTRODUCTION xxviii ment. Yet, strangely enough, it can be gathered from their work that their knowledge of Hebrew was not thorough. They were, apparently, more familiar with Aramaic than with Hebrew. Further, it would seem that they were not fully alive to all the possibilities of the plastic speech of Hellenism. Hence the Septuagint is not perfect as a translation, and it is doubtful if an ancient Gentile reader, who was not otherwise familiar with Judaism, would have been able to gather from the version a meaning even approximately as full as that which the original conveyed of old to the Hebrew-speaking Jews of Palestine. In spite of its Greek dress the Bible was stili an oriental book. In the Pentateuch and in the purely narrative sections the translation was good ; but in the difhcult text of the prophets and psalms the Greek was often a merely verbal rendering of the Hebrew —giving comparatively little help to a reader who had not already come into contact with Jewish thought. In the psalms, in particular, there is a great deal of merely verbal translation without much effort to penetrate to the precise religious and poetic value of the Hebrew Psalter. That the translators of the Psalter were more familiar with Aramaic than with Hebrew is ciear from many passages in which the translation is explicable only on the supposition that Hebrew words were treated as if they were Aramaic. Indeed, the view has been frequently put forward that the translators of the Psalter had learned practically all the Hebrew they knew from the Hebrew Pentateuch studied with the help of the already published Greek Pentateuch. 1 It would be difhcult and quite outside the scope of this work to give an exact statement of all the points in which the Septuagint fails to reproduce fully the thought of the Hebrew Psalter. A few of the more outstanding defects of the Greek Psalter which appear also in the Vulgate may, however, be noted here. Probably the most frequently occurring defect of the Septuagint Psalter is its imperfect rendering of Hebrew verbs. The verbal system in Hebrew is quite unlike the verbal system of Greek—particularly in regard to tense—forms. In Biblical Hebrew there are—apparently at least—two tenses, the so-called perfect and imperfect (or future). In reality the Hebrew perfect and imperfect do not express the time at which the action of the verb takes place, but chiefly the degree of completeness which belongs to the action. Hence both perfect and imperfect can refer to past, present or future time inasmuch as they 1 On the Septuagint as a translation see : Swete, Introduction, pp. 315-341 ; Ottley, Handbook to the Septuagint (London, 1920), ch. 5. For the characteristics of the Septuagint Psalter, see : Mozley, The Psalter of the Church, Cambridge, 19° 5 i Flashar, Exegetische Studien zum Septuagintapsalter, Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 1912, pp. 83^. ; Rahlfs, Septuagintastudien, 1907 ; Baethgen, Der textkritische Wert der alten ‘Obersetzungen zu den Psalmen, 1882 (pub. in Jahrbucher fur protestantische Theologie, 1882). INTRODUCTION XXIX can express that an action is complete or being stili performed in the present, past or future. The time reference is not contained directly in the Hebrew verbal form, but can generally be supplied by the context in which the verb occurs. In translating Hebrew texts it is thertefore vital to keep the whole context in view. Where the Greek translators fully understood the meaning of a context they rendered it as accurat ely as a modern scholar could ren der it. But where contexts were obscure—-above all in complicated poetic texts in which subtle emotional moods were expressed, such as the psalms, the translators worked mechanically, usually making the Greek aorist represent the Hebrew perfect, and the Greek future the Hebrew imperfect. There has thus arisen in the Septuagint Psalter a great deal of obscurity. Different Greek tenses are thrown together frequently in a confusing way in the same passage, and the whole sense and balance of the Hebrew is thus often completely missed. In the rendering of Hebrew words the Septuagint is not precise. It represents the same Hebrew word by different words at different times—even where the context does not suggest any difference of shade in the meaning. On the other hand, the same Greek word is used to render several quite different Hebrew words. The tendency of the Septuagint translators to read the Hebrew text as if it were Aramaic has produced many peculiarities in the Greek Psalter. Since most of these have passed over into the Latin Psalter they will be discussed in the next section. It is obvious from the general character of the Septuagint that the translators aimed, as a rule, at extreme fidelity, and often at slavish verbal accuracy. One very useful resuit of this is that we can generally reconstruet from the Greek the Hebrew text on which the translators worked, and can thus often understand the Greek Psalter better from the Hebrew to which it points than from itself. Occasionally, too, the Hebrew text, which we can reconstruet more or less mechanically from the Greek, serves to correct the Massoretic text. In spite of the general fidelity of the translators, it is to be noticed that they sometimes intentionally depart from the original. This happens often in connection with Hebrew metaphors relating to God. The Septuagint avoids such designations of God as ‘ shield/ ‘ rock/ ‘ fortress/ and replaces them either by the direct word ‘ God ' or by some such word as ‘ Helper ' or ‘ Refuge/ Again, in all passages where ’Elohim (God) is used in a way which might be misleading to Gentiles, it is ‘ replaced ’ by ' angels/ (So, in Ps. 8, 6 ; 96, 7 ; 137, 1 ; 77, 26 . C/. Genesis 6, 2 .) There are other indications, also, that the translators allowed their theological views to influence their translation. Probably one of the most frequent of these is the tendency to render all the various Hebrew words for ‘ sin/ ‘ crime/ * iniquity/ etc., by the single Greek term dvo/xia —‘ lawlessness/ For the translators sin of every kind XXX INTRODUCTION is primarily an offence against the Torah, the (Mosaic) Law ; it is transgression of the Code of Israel (even for those who did not know that Code), violation of the ‘ Law '— avo^ia. This is the attitude of later Hebrew thought. To the student of Hebrew the most disturbing single feature of the Greek Psalter is perhaps its substitution for the personal name of the God of Israel—Yahweh, of the general term ‘ Lord ’ (kvplos). It is possible, however, that the Septuagint translators are not alto- gether responsible for this. It is likely that even before the Old Testa- ment was translated into Greek, Yahweh was not pronounced in the recitation of the Hebrew Scriptures: its place would be taken by >a donai (‘ Lord ’), and Kvpios would be the natural rendering of ’ a donai. The substitution of K vpios has generally produced a strange weaken- ing of the meaning of the original. A phrase like : ‘ Fortunate is the people whose God is Yahweh ’ (Ps. 32, 12 ) loses a great part of its meaning in the Greek rendering: ‘ Fortunate is the people whose God is the Lord.’ The name ‘ Yahweh ’ would recall to the Hebrew the proudest memori es of his nation’s history—ali those wonderful interventions in the great crises of the national life of Israel by which IsraeFs God Yahweh had shown Himself to be indeed the living, loving and mighty protector of His people which the name ‘ Yahweh ’ implied. 1 ‘Lord' ( Kvptos) might perhaps suggest to a Hellenist the sovereignty of God, but it was not a proper name, and the phrase, ‘ the Lord is God/ could not suggest immediately, as * Yahweh is God ’ did, that the God worshipped by Israel, Yahweh, was the God, the God of the universe. The language of the Septuagint Psalter is not classical Greek, but that dialect of Greek which is called the kolvt )—the dialect which was spoken throughout the whole Greek-speaking world in the period which followed the conquests of Alexander. This form of Greek is also often spoken of as ‘ Hellenistic ’ Greek. It was inevitable, per¬ haps, that idioms and constructions which were more Hebrew than Greek should find their way into the Greek Bible, and thus it is correct to a certain extent, to set the Greek Bible apart from other documents written in Hellenistic Greek. Yet in general it can be safely held that the language of the Septuagint is not a dialect peculiar to the Bible and therefore to be called ‘ Biblical Greek ’; it is the K oivrj such as it was spoken in Lower Egypt in the third century b.c. The Greek Bible was intended primarily for use in the synagogues of Egypt. In course of time it was used in the synagogues of Greek- speaking Jews everywhere. Thus it came to be known in Palestine, and in Our Lord's time it was quite familiar there. From the earliest days of Christianity, as soon as the faith began to spread outside the 1 C/. Hehn, Die biblische und die babylonische Gottesidee, Leipzig, 1913, p. 214$. INTRODUCTION XXXI mother-church at Jerusalem, the Septuagint was the Bible of the Christians. It is, in general, the Bible of the Apostolic writings, and as the faith was carried through Asia Minor and into Europe, the Septuagint became more and more the peculiar possession of Christi ani ty. The great importance of the Septuagint for the early Christians and their use of it in discussion with Jewish adversaries tended to make it unpopular among the Jews. The critical study of the Hebrew text which was inaugurated by the Rabbinical authorities in the early part of the second century a.d. made the Jewish scholars realise that the Christian Bible differed frequently in text from their own Hebrew Bible. To meet the Christian controversialists on their own ground with a Greek Bible which would be really loyal to the Hebrew, the Jews had need of a Greek Bible of their own. This was produced by a Jewish proselyte named Aquila in the first half of the second century. Aquila's translation was so slavishly literal that it frequently sacrificed ali trace of Greek idiom and construction to reproduce the Hebrew. Some time in the second half of the same second Christian century another Greek Bible was published by a man called Theodotion who is variously described as a Jewish proselyte, and as a Jew who had become an Ebionite. He was very probably a native of Ephesus. His version appears to have been in general a free revision of the Septuagint made with the help of the Standard Hebrew text of the time. Probably later than Theodotion, another scholar named Symmachus, described both as an Ebionite, and as a Samaritan converted to Judaism, issued another Greek Old Testa¬ men t. Symmachus, far more than the other translators, aimed at making the Greek Bible a really Greek book. Thus his version is much freer than any of the others. There is evidence also that other, at least partial, versions of the Old Testament in Greek were published before the time of Origen (a.d. 185-253). Three of these are known from the works of Origen as the Quinta, Sexta and Septima respectively. The Sexta is usually regarded as of Christian origin. The Greek of the Quinta was of high literary value. Of the Septima practically nothing is known. The Septuagint was often copied during the early centuries of its existence. No doubt, scribes will have often tried to correct it into greater harmony with the Hebrew. When the other Greek trans- lations became familiar the text of the Septuagint must have been in constant danger of being corrupted by readings derived from their text. It is not strange then, that the Septuagint should have ap- peared to Origen in the beginning of the third century as greatly in need of critical reconstruction. In bringing about the reconstruction of the Septuagint text Origen assumed that the Hebrew text of his day should be taken as the true and original text. His aim, therefore, was to bring the Septuagint into as complete harmony as was possible XXX11 INTRODUCTION with the received Hebrew text (which was practically the same as the present-day Massoretic text). To this end he made an elaborate comparison between the Hebrew text and each of the existing Greek versions. To facilitate this comparison he transcribed the Hebrew text and the various Greek versions in parallel columns. In the first column he set the current Hebrew text in Hebrew characters ; in the second he put the Hebrew text transliterated in Greek characters ; in the third column stood Aquila’s version ; in the fourth the version of Symmachus; in the fifth the Septuagint, and in the sixth the version of Theodotion. This parallel Bible of Origen is called, because of its six columns, the Hexapla. The fifth column did not contain the ordinary Septuagint text merely. Origen, having compared the current Septuagint with the Hebrew and the other versions, noted carefully the points in which it differed from the Hebrew. Where it omitted passages contained in the Hebrew, Origen added these passages in his fifth column—generally from one of the other versions ; where, on the other hand, the Septuagint contained more than the Hebrew, Origen indicated the plus of the Septuagint by an obelus, or deletion- mark. The passages which Origen inserted from the other versions he marked with an asterisk. Wherever Origen regarded the text of the Septuagint not merely as defective or superfluous, but as actually corrupt, he corrected it in his fifth column from the best available sources. Thus the fifth column of the Hexapla was really a critical edition of the Septuagint, bringing the latter as close as possible to the Hebrew. 1 The Hexapla must have been a work of enormous dimensions. There is no evidence that it was ever copied as a whole. It was deposited, it would seem by Origen himself, in the library of Pamphilus at Caesarea in Palestine. There it could be examined by scholars, and there in the fourth century Jerome consulted it and made ex- 1 The critical signs used by Origen to mark the relations of the Septuagint to the Hebrew were borrowed from the works of the famous Homerie editor, the Alexandrian librarian Aristarchus. The close of the passages to which asterisk or obelus was intended to apply was marked by a sign called the metobelus. The asterisk was written by Origen as the Greek letter chi with four dots *x*; the obelus took the form of a horizontal straight line (—), or of such a line with dots above and below, or on one side only (-f or —) ; the metobelus was usually like a colon (:) ; other forms of it show a sloping line with a dot, or dots (•/ or * /.). Swete gives a useful illustration of a text marked with the Hexaplaric signs on p. 73 of his Introduction. The student of the Psalter will find an interesting specimen of a psalm-text arranged in the six-column method of the Hexapla in Swete, pp. 62-63. (See also article on Septuagint by Nestle in Hasting’s Dict. of the Bible). The Hexapla was completed before 245 a.d. There is a confused tradition that the four Greek versions were published later by Origen in the same kind of parallel arrangement which he had employed in the Hexapla. This Tetrapla or four column Bible would be obviously of much less critical value than the Hexapla, and there is no real proof that it ever existed as an independent work of Origen. INTRODUCTION • • • XXX111 tracts from it. In 638 a.d. Caesarea feli into the hands of the Saracens and the Hexapla of Origen has never been seen, as a whole, since that date. 1 Fortunately, however, the fifth column had been copied frequently, and through the care of Pamphilus and Eusebius the Hexaplaric Septuagint was circulated in Palestine during the fourth century. The critical signs of Origen were, in the course of time, naturally omitted by scribes who did not understand the part the critical notation was meant to play in the construction of the text. Thus, in the end, the Hexaplaric Septuagint became a hybrid and misleading text, and the critical work of Otigen needed to be done all over again. Many scholars subsequently to Origen did a great deal of useful critical work for the Septuagint. Among these were Eusebius and Pamphilus of Caesarea, Lucian of Antioch and Hesychius of Egypt. With their work and with all the efforts of scholars from their time to our day to restore the Septuagint to its primitive form we are not here concerned. 2 (c) THE LATIN PSALTER We have seen how the Targum and the Greek Old Testament arose out of the practical needs of the Jewish Synagogue. The Latin Bible (Old Testament and New) owed its beginnings to a similar kind of practical necessity within the Christian Church. The history of the Greek Psalter is, as has been shown, the history of the Greek Old Testament. So, too, the story of the rise and growth of the Latin Psalter must for the most part be told in connection with that of the Latin Bible as a whole. The Christian Church of the first century was mainly Greek-speaking and used the Septuagint and the Greek New Testament freely as its Scriptures. Greek was the language of liturgy and administration in the Roman Church itself, 1 A portion of the Hexapla containing some of the psalms was found in 1896 in Milan ; other fragments were discovered in Cairo by Dr. Schechter. The traces of the Hexapla to be discovered from most of the ancient sources have been collected by Field in his Origenis Hexaplorum quae supersunt, 1875. 2 For the reader of the Commentary which folio ws, it is necessary to remember the names of some of the most ancient manuscripts containing the whole, or nearly the whole, of the Septuagint. These are: r. Codex Alexandrinus, in the British Museum, a manuscript of the fifth century, usually referred to by the Symbol A.; 2. Codex Vaticanus, in the Vatican Library, a MS. of the fourth century, known as B. ; 3. Codex Sinaiticus, in the Imperial Library, Petrograd (a portion is in Leipzig), a manuscript of fourth century, probably later than B., known as ^ ('Aleph). There are very many codices which contain the Septuagint Psalter. Swete gives a full account of the MSS. of the Septuagint in his Introduction, p. 122-170, and ‘ Additional Notes,' ibid. pp. 505-512. XXXIV INTRODUCTION even during a great portion of the second century. 1 When, however, the faith began to penetrate into those districts of the Roman Empire, where Latin was predominantly spoken, the need of a Latin Bible, both for preaching and liturgy, made itself urgently felt. Probably the need in such districts for a Latin Psalter would be only less urgent than the need for a Latin New Testament. Where the first Latin Bible (complete or incomplete) appeared we do not know. Very probably the beginnings of the Latin version were entirely unofficial. Priests and preachers at first would have translated these portions o f Scripture which they needed for instruction and ceremonial without formal preparation. But the value of a written Latin version ready to hand must have been quickly recognised. Possibly there were in the beginning a very great number of such Latin versions. But the Liturgy of the Church has always tended to uniformity and it is highly probable that the ecclesiastical authorities tried at an early stage to control and unify the various versions that were current. Thus an official or quasi-ofbcial text of the Latin Bible must have arisen very early in the Christian Churches of the Latin tongue. All the probabilities point to North West Africa (i.e. pro- consular Africa of which Carthage was the chief city) as the horne of the earliest Latin Bible. Both Greek and Punic were spoken widely in pro-consular Africa in the second century, but Latin was also very generally spoken there. Tertullian (second half of second century) seems to have known and used a Latin Bible—and if there was a fairly well-known Latin Bible in his day, it is reasonable to assume that the beginnings of the Latin version in Africa go back to the first half of the second century. It is generally recognised now-a- days that there was a Latin Bible in use in Africa before a Latin version was current in Rome or any other di striet of Italy. By the time of Cypri an (210-258) an official Latin Bible was cer- tainly current in Africa. Yet it is possible that several forms or recensions of that text were stili in use at the end of the third century. We cannot determine with certainty how many forms of the Latin Bible existed even in the second half of the fourth century. A phrase of St. Augustine which has been taken as a reference to a particular form of the Latin Bible— In ipsis autem interpretationibus Itala caeteris praeferatur nam est verborum tenacior cum perspicuitate sententiae (Doctr. Christiana, ii. 15. Migne, 34, 46), has given rise 1 Hippolytus who died about 235 a.d. wrote in Greek. The Pastor of Hermas suggests a completely Greek-speaking Church at Rome. When Polycarp of Smyrna came to Rome in 154 he celebrated the sacred liturgy in Greek. In the list of Popes down to Victor there are only two names Latin. It was pro¬ bably not until about the middle of the third century that the language of the Roman Church became predominantly Latin. There must have been, however, a considerable Latin speaking element in the Roman Church by the middle of the second century. INTRODUCTION XXXV to the view that there was in Augustine’s time a Latin version of the Scriptures known as the Itala which was remarkable for its fidelity to the original (the Greek Bible) and for its clearness of style. It has been generally assumed that Augustine refers in the phrase to a Latin version prior to St. Jerome (i.e. to a pre-Vulgate text). Hence has arisen the custom of calling the Old Latin or pre-Jeromite Bible the Vetus Itala. Apart, however, from the reference in Augustine on which the name ‘ Itala ’ is based, there is no other instance in ancient writers of the use of that name for a pre-Jeromite Latin Bible. It has been suggested, therefore, that the reading ‘ Itala ’ in Augustine is wrong and various emendations have been put forward—ali im- plying, of course, that Augustine gave no name to the interpretatio which he praised so highly. 1 Augustine's famous phrase does not really help us to determine whether there was only one, or whether there were several official or quasi-ofhcial texts of the Latin Bible in the second half of the fourth century. For the history of the Old Latin Psalter in that period very valuable work has recently been done. Capelle (in his Le texte dn Psautier latin en Afrique, Rome, 1912) has shown that, just as the Church of North Africa had its special form of the Old Latin New Testament, so also it had, even in Cyprian’s time, its peculiar form of Old Latin Psalter. He has also proved that we have in the Codex Veronensis the text of the African Psalter which was in use in the time of Augustine, and he conjectures that it is a revisi on of the Psalter used by Cypri an. Thus Capelle brings us back practically to the Old Latin Psalter as used in Africa in the third century. We do not know when the Latin Psalter was first used in Europe, nor can we determine whether the European form of the Latin Psalter was or was not derived from the primitive African Psalter. Jeannotte (in his Le Psautier de Saint Hilaire de Poitiers, Paris, 1917) has en- deavoured to do for the European form of the Old Latin Psalter what Capelle had done for the African text. He has shown that St. Hilary 1 Illa and Usitata have been suggested as the true reading. Vaccari has recently argued acutely in his Alie origini della Volgata (reprinted from the Civiltd Cattolica, Rome, 1916) that Augustine’s phrase refers to Greek rather than to Latin texts, and that ‘ Aquila ’ should be read instead of ' Itala.' Burkitt, accepting the reading ‘ Itala,’ set up the theory that it is a designation of a text identical with Jerome’s Vulgate (See The Old Latin and the Itala, Texts and Studies iv. 3). Vaccari ( op . cit.) regards it as impossible that ‘ Itala,’ if it prove to be the correct reading, could refer to the Vulgate of Jerome ; if it does refer to a Latin text, the text in question must have been one in use in Augustine’s time in Italy. Burkitfs view has, however, the support of such important scholars as Corssen, Zahn, and Wendland. Possibly the Vienna edition of the Doctrina Christiana may ultimately show that Vaccari’s reading * Aquila’ is the true one, and then we shall be free to refuse to apply the designation ‘ Itala ' to any form of the Old Latin Bible. Meanwhile ‘ Itala ’ or ' Vetus Itala ’ serves as a convenient name for the pre-Jeromite Latin Bible. XXXVI INTRODUCTION used a form of the Latin Psalter which is sufficiently distinet from the African Psalter and from contemporary Italian Codices to stand apart as the Gallic Psalter of the fourth century. According to Jeannotte the Old Latin Psalters of that date form two main groups—• the African and the European. The Codices of the European class fall apart then, further, into a Gallic and an Italian group. Ali three groups, in spite of their differences, show an extraordinary agreement in their general text. This agreement, however, is not great enough to prove that ali three are merely different recensions of one primitive version. Thus modern scholarship is stili unable to decide whether the different forms of the Old Latin Psalter which existed in St. Jerome’s day were the product of a single primitive version recognised at first in some particular Church (such as the African) which, through being copied, appeared ultimately in various recensions, or whether they were due to a multiplicity of primitive independent translations. The multiplicity of Latin Codices in the fourth century was very confusing. Hilary, Augustine, Jerome—ali complain that there were in their days almost as many different types of text as there were manuscripts of the Latin Bible {tot ex¬ emplaria quot codices). Such variety of texts would be most un- pleasantly felt in the liturgy. To establish some general uniformity Pope Damasus commissioned St. Jerome in 383 to revise the Old Latin Scriptures. Jerome at once set about the work, and revised immediately the New Testament and the Psalter (in 383). In his revision of the Psalter, Jerome simply sought to bring the Old Latin text into agreement with the commonly received text of the Septua- gint. The Old Latin Bible was, of course, a Latin version of the Septuagint, and Jerome’s aim (and the aim of Pope Damasus) was to secure as close an agreement as possible between the Latin Bible and the best available text of the Septuagint. We do not know whether Jerome took much trouble to secure a Greek Codex of ex- ceptional value and reliability as the basis of his work. He had not yet made the acquaintance of Origen’s critical text in the Hexapla. This first Jeromite revision of the Psalter was immediately adopted for use in the Church at Rome. Hence it is called the Psalterium Romanum. This Psalter remained in ofhcial use in the various churches of Rome down to the reign of Pope Pius V ; it is stili used in St. Peter’s. It is also used in the Ambrosian liturgy. The psalm- passages which are read in the Introits, Graduals, Offertories and Communions of the Roman Missal are taken from the Psalterium Romanum. In the Breviary the Invitatory Psalm (94) and the Antiphons and Responsories are also according to the text of the Psalterium Romanum, In December, 384, Pope Damasus, the friend and patron of Jerome, died, and in the autumn of 385, Jerome left Rome and went to the Holy Land. In the following year he settled down at Bethlehem, INTRODUCTION xxxvii and there he spent the remaining thirty-four years of his life in the study of the Scriptures and the practice of severe monasticism. In Palestine, Jerome saw the Hexapla of Origen which was in the pos- session of the presbyter, Pamphilus of Caesarea. He realised at once the critical value of the Hexaplaric Septuagint, and copied from it for his own use OrigerTs emendations as well as the symbols which Origen had used in setting up his text. Jerome had not, as far as we know, a high opinion of his Psalterium Romanum. He speaks of it as having been produced rather hastily. 1 About 392 Jerome made a second revision of the Old Latin Psalter—this time on the basis of the Hexaplaric Septuagint. This revision contained the critical signs of OrigerTs text—the asterisks, obeli, etc., and Jerome was anxious that these signs should be incorporated in all copies of his revision. Scribes, however, frequently disregarded Jerome’s wish in this matter, and in the course of time the critical notation of Origen disappeared from the second psalter of Jerome. 2 The first Church which accepted Jerome’s second revision as its official Psalter was that of Gaul. 3 Hence the revision has received the name Psalterium Gallicanum . 4 1 In his preface to the Psalterium Gallicanum Jerome says : Psalterium Romae dudum positus emendaram : et juxta Septuaginta interpretes, licet cursim, magna tamen ex parte correxeram. He goes on then to say that this version had itself been quickiy corrupted— scriptorum vitio depravatum, so that the mistakes he had removed had become even more deeply rooted than before. The sight of the fifth column of the Hexapla was probably, however, a greater incentive to a new revision of the Psalter than the growing corruption of the Psalterium Romanum. 2 An interesting example cf a Latin Psalter which in great measure repro- duces the critical signs will be found in the Cathach of St. Columba (edited by Rev. H. J. Lawlor in the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 1916). The text of the Cathach, though it is clearly based on Jerome’s second revision, is not free from Old Latin corruptions. 3 Apparently through the influence of Gregory of Tours. Cf. Walafrid Strabo, De rebus eccles. 25. 4 A comparison of the invitatory psalm 94 with the same psalm as it appears in the Breviary in the 3rd nocturn of the Office of the Epiphany will give some slight notion of the relations between the Romanum and the Gallicanum. The two psalters are printed together in the 29th vol. of Migne’s Latin Fathers. Jerome's own idea of the relations between the Roman and Gallic Psalters is stated most clearly in his letter to the Gothic scholars Sunnia and Fretela (Vallarsi’s edition of Jerome, Vol. I). This letter can be used as an authentic commentary on the Gallic Psalter. Jerome admits that at times he failed to incorporate in the Gallicanum a reading supported by the Hexapla, even when it was the certainly better reading, because, provided the general sense of the readings in question was the same, he was unwilling veterum interpretum consue¬ tudinem mutare, ne nimia novitate lectoris studium terreremus. It is likely, too, that Jerome, in making the second revision, sometimes accepted a reading from the Hebrew or from one of the versions in the third, fourth, and sixth columns of the Hexapla rather than from the Hexaplaric Septuagint itself. Thus it is not possible to reconstruet exactly from the Gallicanum the Psalter of the Hexaplaric Septuagint. In addition to seeing the Hexapla at Caesarea, Jerome was brought frequently into contact with the Hexaplaric Septuagint during the whole course of his XXXV111 INTRODUCTION About 393 Jerome made a Latin version of the Psalter directly from Hebrew text. This is known as the Psalterium juxta Hebraeos . * 1 Though this psalter was superior in many ways to the other two, it was never adopted as an official text in any Church. Priests and people would naturally resent any far-reaching change in the psalm texts of the liturgy, and the Psalterium juxta Hebraeos being, as com- pared with the old psalter, strikingly new in many places, was never popularly received. Thus it has come about that in the Vulgate Bible the text of the Psalter is not (as is the case with most of the other books of the Old Testament) Jerome^ version made directly from the Hebrew, but his second revision of the Old Latin Psalter, the Psalterium Gallicanum. From this Psalter, are derived the psalms of the Breviary. 2 Thus it will be seen that the Psalter of the Breviary is essentially the Old Latin version of the Septuagint Psalter, and therefore, a translation of a translation. Its language is the vulgar Latin of the ancient Latin Psalter—the idiom which was spoken in Italy and Africa, and other parts of the Roman Empire in the second century a.d. Hence we must not look for classical correctness either in its grammar, or in its style. The Commentary which follows deals with the peculiarities of the Vulgate Psalter in detail. In order, however, to help the reader to realise from the beginning the general character of the Vulgate Psalter, a very brief account of the chief sources of its obscurities and diffi- culties may be found useful here. The Vulgate Psalter is a literal translation in the idiom of Vulgar Latin of a Greek Psalter which is itself an almost verbally literal version of the Hebrew Psalms. We may, therefore, expect to find in the Vulgate Psalter three main classes of defects and peculiarities : (i) those due to its fidelity in reproducing the Septuagint Psalter, (ii) those which may be styled ‘ Semitisms ’ as due to the influence of the Hebrew original, and (iii) those which arise from the character of Vulgar Latin. 3 life in Palestine, for it is known that the Hexaplaric recension was widely used in the Church of Palestine in Jerome's time. It can be said that Jerome by his Psalterium Gallicanum advertised Origen’s Hexapla in the West, and that those who are bound to the recitation of the Roman Breviary maintain, as it were, a perpetual commemoration of Origen's zeal and scholarship. 1 In the Commentary that follows, this translation is usually referred to as. ‘ Jerome’s version ' or simply ‘ Jerome.’ 2 The Psalterium juxta Hebraeos is to be found in Migne, Vol. 28. The most scholarly edition of it is probably that by Lagarde, Psalterium juxta Hebraeos Hieronymi, Leipzig, 1874. Bonaccorsi gives the Greek Psalter and the Latin Psalters of Jerome in a very convenient form in his (stili incomplete) Psalterium Latinum cum Graeco et Hebraeo comparatum, 1914-1915. 8 The classes (i) and (ii) are intimately connected, and the distinction be- tween them here made is somewhat artificial. Obviously if the Septuagint Psalter is reproduced with fidelity by the Vulgate, and if the Semitisms of the INTRODUCTION XXXIX (i) Defects and pecaliarities due to literal reproduction of Septuagint. Some of the more striking defects of the Greek Psalter have been mentioned above—such as the imperfect rendering of Hebrew verbal forms, omission of metaphor in regard to God, simplification of vocabu- lary, substitution of * Lord * for Yahweh. All these have been taken over, of course, in the Latin Psalter. The failure of the Latin (following the Greek) to reproduce the exact meaning of the Hebrew verbal system may be seen everywhere in the Psalter. Compare, for instance, Ps. 6, 7 : Laboravi in gemitu meo, lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo. Here the three verbs ought to be in the present tense. So again in Ps 118, 97 dilexi instead of diligo, in 8, 4 videbo instead of video, and similarly in numberless other cases. In the English translation of the psalms given in this work the Vulgate tenses have been replaced generally by those required by the context in the Hebrew original. The substitution of Deus for epithets such as ‘ rock,’ ‘fortress/ ‘ shield/ has been carried out just as in the Greek (Ps. 6i, 8 ; 72, 26 ; 27,\ etc., etc.) : ‘ rock ’ of the Hebrew is sometimes replaced by adjutor, zy , 3 ; or firmamentum (ibid), or fortitudo, 30, 4 ; or susceptor, 41, 10 ; ‘shield' appears as assumptio, 88, 19 ; and protector, 143, 2 ; ‘ fortress ' is replaced by susceptor, 61, 2 ; 58, 17 » 18 . Angeli represents ’Elohim in Ps. 8, 6 ; 96, 7 ; 137, 1 . The use of Dominus for Yahweh follows the Septuagint use of Kupto?. Here deserves to be noticed a very striking instance in which a peculiarly coloured Greek rendering is followed by the Vulgate. In Ps. 83, 12 the Massoretic text has : ‘ For a Sun and a Shield is Yahweh 'Elohim * ; the Vulgate (changing the whole sentence) has : Quoniam misericordiam et veritatem diligit Deus. In the Greek version there are many indications that the trans- lators were more familiar with Aramaic than with Hebrew. The Latin text shows many strange phrases which arose out of the con- fusion of Hebrew and Aramaic words by the Septuagint translators. See, for instance, the Commentary below on Ps. 51, 3 . In 59, 10 ( = 107, 10 ) Moab olla spei meae is due to reading the Hebrew ‘ my wash- ing * as if it were the Aramaic ‘ my hope ’ (the true sense of the passage being, ‘ Moab is my washing-basin ’). In Ps. 60, 8 Miseri¬ cordiam et veritatem ejus quis requiret represents the Hebrew : ‘ Loving- kindness and Faithfulness (Grace and Truth regarded as ministers Vulgate are present also in the Septuagint, (i) and (ii) fall practically together. Yet there are features of the Vulgate which, though derived from the Hebrew through the Greek, deserve to be called rather ‘ Graecisms ' than ‘ Semitisms.' d xl INTRODUCTION of God : cf. John i, 14 ) do Thoii command to guard him/ because the Greek translators read the Hebrew verb man (the piel imperative of manahy meaning ‘command' or ‘commission') as if it were the Aramaic man (=‘ who ’). Through reading an Aramaic instead of a Hebrew verb (and consequently, transposing subject and object) the Greek translators got the sense which appears in the Vulgate as : Improperium expectavit cor meum (68, 21 ). The Massoretic text has : ‘ Insuit hath broken my heart/ The Hebrew verb ‘ to break ' has in unpointed script the same appearance as the Aramaic verb ‘ to hope/ The same confusion between ‘ break ’ and ‘ hope ' has pro- duced, 103, 11 — Expectabunt onagri in siti sua, instead of Frangunt onagri sitim suam. In 118, 120 the translators not understanding the Hebrew samar (‘ shudder ') translated it as if it were an Aramaic verb meaning ‘ to nail ’; hence the strange phrase : Confige timore tuo carnes meas instead of the Hebrew : ‘ My flesh shudders for dread of Thee/ 1 It was said above that the Greek translators had before them a purely consonantal Hebrew text without division of words. Many defects of our Vulgate Psalter are due to an incorrect resolution of the consonantal text into separate words. Thus, for instance, in Ps. 4, 3 we have in the Vulgate : Filii hominum usquequo gravi corde ? Ut quid diligitis vanitatem et quaeritis mendacium ? The corresponding Massoretic text means : How long, sons of men, shall my honour be stained ? Will ye stili love folly and seek after deceit ? The Massoretes read : b e ne ’ish ‘ad-meh khfbhodi likh e limmah (‘ sons of men, how long shall my honour be disgrace ? ’) The Greek trans¬ lators read: b e ne ’ish ‘ad-meh kibhlde lebh lammah (‘ sons of men, why stili heavy of heart ? Why/ etc.). Thus, except for the change of the kh in likh e limmah into bh , the Greek translation presupposes the same consonantal text as the Massoretic, but has divided that text in its own way into words. Many of the most unintelligible passages in the Latin Psalter are due to similar false resolution of the Hebrew consonantal text. Often a whole passage is obscure simply because a single Hebrew word was wrongly vocalised by the Septuagint translators. Thus, in 9, 7 frameae in finem is a mistake for ruinae in finem, because the Hebrew words ‘ swords ’ and ‘ ruins ’ have the same consonants. In Ps. 87, 11 is the difficult text: Numquid mortuis facies mirabilia, aut medici suscitabunt et confitebuntur tibi ? 1 See also Ps. 71 , 12 . INTRODUCTION xli It seems to suggest the idea of raising up the dead that they may give praise to God. The Massoretic text corresponding means: Canst Thou work wonders for the dead ? Will ‘ the Shades ’ rise again to praise Thee ? The explanation of the difference is easy. RP’M could be read roph e, im which means physicians, or R c phaim —the dwellers in Sheol, the ‘Shades/ Again YKM could be read yakumu ‘rise up * or yakimu ‘ raise up/ The Massoretic readings are obviously to be preferred. Again in Ps. 90, 3-6 the Hebrew debher, which means plague or pestilence, is treated in the Graeco-Latin Psalter as if it were dabhar which=‘ word/ or ‘ thing/ Thus the negotium (=dabhar) perambulans in tenebris has come to take the place of the Hebrew, * the pestilence ( debher) which creeps in the darkness/ Again in Ps. 103, 17 we ha ve : Illic passeres nidificabunt, herodii domus dux est eorum suggesting that the ‘ stork’s house * is a guide for the sparrows. But the Massoretic text has : [The Cedars of Lebanon] Where the little birds build their nest. The stork for its home has the cypress. The Massoretes read b e roshim =‘ cypress/ the Septuagint translators b e ro’sham, ‘ at their head/ Jerome in his own translation juxta Hebraeos has : milvo >abies domus ejus, which, except for the rendering of the Hebrew hasid (stork) by milvus, accurately represents the Hebrew. The difficulty of the passage Ps. 57, 10 : Priusquam intelligerent spinae vestrae rhamnum is due to the reading by the Greeks of sirim (‘ thorns ’) instead of the Massoretic siroth (‘ kettles ’). The Massoretic text means : Before your kettles feel [the fire of] the thorns. In Ps. 126, 4 , Sicut sagittae in manu potentis ita filii excussorum the Hebrew word n e ‘urim which means ‘ youth ’ has been read as if it were n e ‘urim the plural passive participle from na‘ar, ‘ to shake off/ ‘ to cast off/ It is easy to see how the sons begotten in youth are like arrows in the strong man's hand. But there is no genuine meaning in ‘ the sons of the driven out/ The obscure passage in Ps. 130, 2 : Si non humiliter sentiebam sed exaltavi animam meam. Sicut ablactatus est super matre sua, ita retributio in anima mea xlii INTRODUCTION owes its obscurity mainly to the circumstance that the Greek trans- lators read romamti (exaltavi) instead of domamti (‘ I silenced '), and g e mul (retributio) instead of gamul (ablactatus). They also read ‘ a le naphshi instead of ‘alai naphshi. The passage really means: Surely my thought was lowly, And I kept silent my soul. Like a weaned child with its mother, Yea ! like a weaned child with me was my soul! The psalmi st's soul was as silent in him as is the weaned child by its mother’s side. Such a quiet soul could not be suspected of pride. The Vulgate text as it stands scarcely conveys this, or any, intelligible meaning. An analogous misreading and misunderstanding of the Greek interpreters has produced the text Ps. ioi, 24-25 : Respondit ei in via virtutis suae, paucitatem dierum meorum nuncia mihi Ne revoces me in dimidio dierum meorum. Jerome in his version from the Hebrew has rightly rendered this passage: Afflixit in via fortitudinem meam abbreviavit dies meos ; Dicam ; ne rapias me in medio dierum meorum. The Greek translators took ‘innah (‘ humbled/ ‘ broke ’) as ‘anah (‘ answered '). Kissar yamai ’omar ‘ He hath shortened my days ; I will say/ the Greeks read as koser yamai >e mor, * Teli Thou the shortness of my days/ In Ps. 89, 12 the unintelligible phrase : Dinumerare dexteram tuam sic notam fac et eruditos corde in sapientia is due to false division of the unpointed Hebrew text. The Massoretic text (slightly emended) means : To reckon our years do Thou teach us, That so in our heart we may set wisdom. Yamenu (our days) of the Massoretic text was read with the first letter of the next word (ken) as y e minka (‘ thy right hand '). Nablii’ (‘ that we may bring ’) was perhaps read as n e bhone (eruditi, nun taking the place of 'aleph ). 1 1 The Septuagint translators had here before them, apparently, the con- Rnnsnfs 1 j-pvf LMNTYMNKKNHD‘WNBNLBBHKMH which they read, limnoth yeminka ken hoda‘ un e bhone lebh b e hokhmah. INTRODUCTION xliii In Ps. 76, 11 ; Et dixi nunc coepi; haec mutatio dexterae Excelsi, the Greek translators read the word hallothi (‘ my wound ’) as if it were a part of the verb halat which in some of its forms means * begin/ The true sense of the passage is : Then I said : This indeed is my trouble That the right hand of the Most High hath changed. The Psalterium juxta Hebraeos gives the sense f airly well: Imbecillitas mea est haec, commutatio dexterae Excelsi. The psalmisfs chief grief is that God’s attitude of kindness towards him has changed. Another familiar type of misunderstanding which has been in- herited by the Gallican Psalter from the Septuagint is the frequent failure to recognise proper names as such. Thus, for instance, Meribah becomes irritatio in 94, 9 ; Siryon is transformed into dilectus in 28,® (but see commentary on this verse) ; the vale of Sukkoth in 59, 8 is read as Convallis tabernaculorum : the ‘ mountain of Bashan ’ in 67, 16 becomes mons pinguis ; in 67, 15 Shaddai (an old name of God) becomes caelestis : Moshekh of 119, 5 is rendered prolongatus (because mashakh means ‘ to draw out ’) ; ‘In Shalem/ Ps. 75, 3 (where the parallelism with ‘ Sion ’ shows that Jerusalem is meant) is rendered ‘ in pace.’ The converse error of taking a Hebrew adjective as a proper name is also found in the Vulgate Psalter—for instance, in Ps. 73, 15 Siccasti fluvios Ethan where Ethan is an adjective meaning ‘ ever- flowing * ( i.e. not ceasing to flow in summer, like many of the ‘ winter flowing ’ wadys ; Jerome renders, flumina fortia) ; again, in the same psalm, verse 14, Dedisti eum escam populis Aethiopum, Aethiopum has taken the place of the Hebrew ‘ desert-dwellers ’ \cf. Ps. 71, 9 ). The examples of obscurities and defects in the Vulgate Psalter due to fidelity in reproducing the peculiarities of the Septuagint might be multiplied indefinitely. It must not be assumed, however, from the above list that the Hebrew text supposed by the Graeco- Latin Psalter is always inferior to the Massoretic text. Often the latter must be emended on the basis of the former. Yet it will be found, as a rule, that the differences between the Graeco-Latin and the Massoretic Psalters are due mainly to different methods of reading the primitive consonantal text—to different traditions, that is, con- cerning the breaking up of the consonantal text into groups forming individual words, and the insertion of vowels into those words. Even in the case of an apparently great difference between the Psalters such as in Ps. 21, 17 where the Latin has. Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos and the Massoretic text, ‘ Like a lion, my hands and my feet ’ (connecting with the preceding, ‘ A band of evil-doers encircles me *), the difference in the consonantal Hebrew impiied in the two readings is altogether in a single letter. The Latin reading supposes a vau where the Massoretic reads a yod as the fourth consonant of xliv INTRODUCTION the phrase. Ka’ru =foderunt; k a,a ri means * like a lion/ The Latin gives clearly the better text, but there is no ground for suspecting the Massoretes of having here intentionally falsified the text. Vau and Yod were frequently confused in the editing of the Hebrew Bible. Moreover, the Massoretes here actually indicated in the margin the reading ka’ru . A very extraordinary case of difference between the Vulgate Psalter and the Hebrew is the insertion in the Vulgate text of Ps. 13 the passage, Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum : linguis suis dolose agebant, venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum ; Quorum os maledictione et amaritudine plenum est. veloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem. Contritio et felicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacis non cognoverunt: non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum. This passage as it stands has nothing corresponding to it in the Hebrew text. But it occurs exactly in the form here given in St Pauhs Epistle to the Romans 3 , 13if . Hence it has been conjectured that the passage (which is largely composed of psalm-texts) has been trans- ferred to the Psalter from the Epistle to the Romans. 1 The New Testament has also, in the view of some scholars, influenced the text of the Greek Psalter in Ps. 39, 7 . Here the Vulgate has Aures perfecisti mihi, the Massoretic text, ‘ Ears thou hast dug for me/ and the Septuagint, ‘ A body thou hast fashioned for me/ The read¬ ing ‘body’ 2 * * has possibly crept into the Septuagint from the Epistle to the Hebrews, 10, 5 * . The difference between the Vulgate perfecisit and the Hebrew * thou hast dug ’ is due apparently to the fact that where the Massoretes read karitha (‘ thou hast dug ’) the Greek trans¬ latori read konanta (‘ Thou hast fashioned ’). Besides the peculiarities of the Vulgate Psalter which are due to 1 The insertion is found also in the Vatican Codex of the Septuagint. 2 This is, however, only a conjecture. It is possible that the author of Hebrews may have read aw/xa in his Greek Psalter. It is possible, too, that /xa arose originally through the mistake of a copyist who joined the a of the preceding word by mistake with drria and then read 2OTIA as 21IMA. In the Psalterium Romanum we have corpus, and the change to aures in the Vulgate would naturally be due to Jerome’s study of Origen’s Hexapla. If the MS. of the Septuagint, on the basis of which Jerome made his firs.t revision (the Roman Psalter) contained aib/xa, and the Hexaplaric Septuagint drria, the problem of the text can be solved without the hypothesis of a borrowing from Hebrews. The presence of au/xa in the MS. which underlay the Psalterium Romanum could be explained, as has just been said, by the theory of a copyist's error in reading twice the final s of the word preceding drria and then regarding 7 otl, 123, 1 ; Ut quid for Uva tI, 4, 3 ; Nequando for fxr) nore, 7, 3 ; Ex hoc nunc for Ik tov vvv, 112, 2 (hic used as article) ; Supersperare for €7reA7ri£av, 118, 43 ; Exerceri for /xeAeraj/, 118, 15 ; In idipsum for irrl ro a vto, 40> 8 - 2. The use of two Latin words to render a compound Greek word : haereditate possideamus =KA^povo/x 4 o-w/xev, 82, 13 ; Legem ponere = voixodUtiv (=‘teach’), 118, 33 . Similarly, simul trahere (‘ snatch away/ 27, 3 ; bene patientes (‘ flourishing ’), 91, 15 . 3. The use of grammatical constructions unfamiliar in Latin, but common in Greek : (a) Attraction, as in Comprehenduntur in consiliis quibus cogitant, 9, 23 ; (b) Construction of comparative with genitive, Eripiens inopem de manu fortiorum ejus, 34, 10 ; (c) Construction of dominari with genitive, 21, 2 ' 9 ; (d) Use of accusative absolute : De¬ lictum oris eorum, ‘ because of the sin of their mouth/ 58, 13 ; (e) The Hebrew use of the construet infinitive which the Greek could' repro- duce has resulted in such constructi ons as : In conveniendo poptdos in unum, ‘ When the peoples gathered together/ 101, 23 ; In deficiendo ex me spiritum meum, ‘ When my spirit languishes/ 141, 4 . A similar, but stili less justifiable construction is, In convertendo Dominus captivi¬ tatem Sion, Ps. 125,L 4. Many Greek words appear in the Vulgate Psalter—such as, abyssus, bruchus (locust), camus (bridle), calamus, cathedra, cete, christus, cilicium, cinifes, cithara, clerus (lot, share), clibanus (oven), cophinus (basket), crystallus (ice), ccenomyia (dog-fly), diplois (mantle), eremus, euge, herodius (stork), neomenia, nycticorax (owl), rhamnus (thorn-bush), statera, tympanistria, etc., etc. (ii) Semitisms of the Vulgate Psalter 1. The feminine is used for the neuter. So in Ps. 26, 4 , Unam petii a Domino hanc requiram ; Ps. 118, 5,6 , Haec facta est mihi ; 108, 27 , Manus tua haec (fecit) et tu Domine fecisti eam. 2. The comparative is expressed by the prepositions a and ex with the ablative (corresponding to use of Hebrew preposition miri). Ps. 138, 6 , Mirabilis facta est scientia tua ex me ; Ps. 92, 3 > 4 , Elevaverunt flumina fluctus suos a vocibus aquarum multarum. The preposition super is sometimes used in the same way : Super senes intellexi, 118, 100 . 3. Verbs like addere, adjicere, apponere, converti, are used with xlvi INTRODUCTION other verbs to express the idea of the repetition of the action signified by the verbs with which they are combined. See Ps. 84, 7 : Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos ; 77 , 17 , Apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei,; 40, 9 , Numquid qui dormit non adjiciet ut resurgat ? Analogous construc- tions are : Abundavit ut averteret, JJ, 3S ; Magnificavit facere, 125, 3 ; Cito fecerunt, obliti sunt, 105 , 13 = cito obliti sunt. 4. Constructions like: Civitas cujus participatio ejus in idipsum, Ps. 121, 3 ; Beata gens cujus est Dominus Deus ejus, 32, 12 ; Aaron, quem elegit ipsum, 104, 26 , in which a demonstrative pronoun is used redundantly with a relative. 5. In oaths si is used in the sense of ‘ surely not/ and si non in the sense of ‘ surely/ So in 94, n , Si introibunt in requiem meam; 88 , 36 , Semel juravi in sancto meo, si David mentiar. Cf. 131, 3 ’ 4 ; 130, 2 , Si non humiliter sentiebam. The negative form of affirmative oaths and the affirmative form of negative oaths, is apparently due to the fact that some sort of imprecation is to be understood as introducing the oath : “ May so and so happen to me if ” ; “ May so and so happen to me if . . . . not.” 6. Expressions of wish in the form, Quis dabit ex Sion salutare Israel (Oh, that the rescue of Israel might be given from Sion !) 13, 7 ; Quis dabit mihi pennas ? 54, 7 . 7. Abstract nouns in the genitive are used as adjectives. So, virga directionis, 44, 7 =just sceptre ; mons sanctificationis, 77, 54 = holy mount ; sacrificium justitiae, 4 , 6 , ‘ a due sacrifice '; aqua refectio¬ nis, 22fi, ‘ refreshing water ’ ; funiculus distributionis, 77, 54 , ‘ measur- ing line * ; Deus justitiae meae, 4 fi, ' my just God/ 8. Reduplications such as, In corde et corde (with double heart, ii, 3 ) : Homo et homo ‘ very many/ 86, 5 ; in saecula saeculorum (for all ages). Similarly, phrases like coelum coeli (‘ highest heavens/ 67, 34 ). This is the same kind of construction as Sanctum sanctorum, vanitas vani¬ tatum, canticum canticorum. 9. The preposition in (=Hebrew b e ) used with ablative to express instrumentality: Qui non egit dolum in lingua sua, 14, 3 ; Ecce loquentur in ore suo, 58,®. A somewhat similar use is shown in phrases like Vox Domini in virtute (=with power, 28, 4 ). The con¬ struction videre in aliquo is used to express the idea of seeing gladly the misfortunes of others, and audire in aliquo means to hear with joy of another’s failure, 91, 12 . 10. Such phrases as a facie, ante faciem, in conspectu, in ore, de manu, instead of simple prepositions ; constructions like adhaesit anima post te, 62, 9 ; Esto mihi in Deum, 30, 3 ; constitues me in caput, gentium 17, 44 . 11. Such forms of expression as, avertere faciem, exaltare cornu, deprecari vultum (‘ pay homage/ 44, 13 ) ; videre in bonitate (=frui bono, 105, 5 ) ; omnibus eis nomina vocat, 146 fi. Pregnant phrases like, Exaudivit me in latitudine, 117, 5 . INTRODUCTION xlvii ii. Several Hebrew words are simply transliterated in the Psalter -—AUeluja, Cherub, Jubilum, Sabbatum. (iii) Peculiarities of the Vulgar Latin of the Psalter (1) Compound verbs are used frequently where classical Latin would use simple verbs: abire, i, 1 , for ire ; distillare, 67, 9 , for stillare ; retribuere, 118, 17 , for tribuere ; proponere, 136, 6 , for ponere. (2) Transitive verbs are used intransitively, and vice versa : convertere for retroire, 9, 4 ; elongare for procul discedere, 54/ ; emigrare for expellere, 51, 7 . Cognoscere and derelinquere are also used intran¬ sitively. Complacere is transitive 34, 14 and also exsultare, 50, 15 . (3) Deponents are used as passives : consolari (permit oneself to be comforted, 76, 3 ) ; deprecari =placari, 134, 14 . (4) Passives are used like the Greek middle : Laudatur (=gloriatur), 9, 24 ; cf. Ps. 33, 3 , In Domino laudabitur anima mea. (5) Objects of verbs are often omitted —avertere (faciem), intendere (animam), dirigere (viam), etc. (6) Preposition in is used with ablative instead of accusative : Insurgentes in nobis, 43, 6 ; Sicut oculi servorum in manibus dominorum, 122, 2 ; Scribantur haec in generatione altera, 101, 19 ; Humiliavit in terra vitam meam, 142, 3 , etc., etc. New prepositional forms are used : de post, 77, 70 , de longe, desuper, desursum. (7) Adverbs are used in unfamiliar meanings : contra instead of coram, 50, 5 ; nimis instead of valde, m, 1 ; ab intus instead of intrinsecus, 44, 14 ; paulo minus instead of propemodum, 93, 17 . Adverbial phrases are also used strangely. So, sine causa fer frustra or inutiliter, 72, 13 . Unfamiliar adverbs are often used, such as fiducialiter, singulariter, supervacue, velociter, voluntarie. (8) Unusual meanings of nouns and adjectives : adeps, unresponsive heart, 16, 11 ; assumptio, protection, 88, 19 ; adinventio, work, deed, 76, 13 , etc.; confessio, praise ; correctio, support, 96, 2 ; cantabilis, praiseworthy, 118, 54 ; commutatio, successor, 88, 52 ; creditus, loyal, 77, 8 ; directio, uprightness, 118, 7 ; emundatio, glory, 88, 45 ; framea, sword, 21, 21 ; foetosus, fruitful, 143, 13 ; gutta, sweet scented oil, 44,® ; incola, stranger, 118, 19 ; incolatus, exile, 119, 5 ; ignitum, tried by fire, 118, 140 ; imperium, strength, 85, 16 ; linguosus, slanderer, 139, 12 ; maturitas, early morning, 118, 147 ; oratio, prayer, (passini) ; peccatum, offering for sin, 39, 7 ; principatus, sum, 138, 17 ; potentatus, ‘ at most,’ 89, 10 ; patriae, tribes, 95/ ; reverentia, shame, 68, 20 ; sanctificatio, shrine, 95, 6 . (9) Many unfamiliar words are used: sagittare, shoot with arrows, io, 3 ; obviare, meet, 84, 41 , etc. xlviii INTRODUCTION (io) Unusual forms. Plurals of words which are used, as a rule, only in singular are common: aequitates, iniquitates, intentiones, misericordiae, sanguines, veritates. Unusual verbal forms occur, such as: frenduerunt, 34, 16 ; odire odivit, 25, 5 ; 35, 5 ; 100, 3 ; odientes, 17, 40 ; metibor, 59, 8 ; partibor, 59 > 8 - Other features of the language of the Vulgate Psalter which belong to it in common with Vulgar Latin generally, such as its tendency to set up new word-formations with sonorous endings, to form new verbs from nouns and adjectives, to employ new compounds as nouns, adjectives and verbs, etc., etc., do not require to be specially considered here. From all that has been said about the text of the Vulgate Psalter, it is obvious that that Psalter is not an ideal translation. Jerome’s direct translati on of the Psalter from the Hebrew is a much closer approach to the original sense of the psalms ; yet it was not accepted by the Church as an ofhcial text in St. Jerome’s day, nor at any subsequent period. We stili recite the Psalter according to the text of the Psalterium Gallicanum. There is, no doubt, often a wonderful strength and beauty in the Vulgate rendering of the Psalms, and a new rendering of the Psalter in Latin based on all the work of modern scholarship would probably be as unpopular now as was Jerome’s Psalterium juxta Hebraeos at the end of the fourth century. The revision of the Vulgate inaugurated by Pope Pius X in 1907 and entrusted to the care of the Benedictine Order does not, apparently, aim at replacing the text of any book of the Vulgate by a text that might be per se more reliable, but only at re-establishing the genuine text of St. Jerome’s Vulgate. As long as the Gallican Psalter with all its obscurity and difhculty has to be read in the Breviary it will be practically impossible for those who are bound to recite the Divine Office to grasp the meaning of the Psalms without a preliminary study of the history and exegesis of the Vulgate Text. 1 V.—The Poetical Form of the Psalms 2 Apart from their beauty of language and the intensity of feeling which they express, the Vulgate Psalms convey little suggestion of poetry. Neither the Greek translators nor their Latin successors 1 The Latin text which is printed in the Commentary is the text of the Breviary Psalter. The superscriptions, which are wanting in the Psalter of the Breviary, have been added from Hetzenauer’s edition of the Vulgate. The numbering of the verses is the same as that in Hetzenauer, but the punctuation of the Breviary Psalter has been left unchanged. 2 The problems of Hebrew poetry may be studied very agreeably in the following : Buchanan Gray, “The Forms of Hebrew Poetry”; G. A. Smith, INTRODUCTION xlix made any serious attempt to give a poetic rendering of the Hebrew originals. Yet, as it were, in spite of the translators, something of the external poetical form of the Hebrew psalms has passed over into the Greek and Latin translations. Hence, even in a work like the present, in which the Hebrew text is used merely as a means for ex- plaining the Vulgate, it will not be out of place to discuss very briefly the poetical structure of the Hebrew psalms. Hebrew poetry differs considerably in structure from most forms of European poetry. It shows very rarely any tendency to rhyme or vowel assonance. Its metre is so difhcult to understand that some scholars refuse to believe that it possesses any definite form of metre. Further, it is dominated by what is known as the ‘ parallelism of members.' As this third peculiarity of Hebrew poetry survives in the Greek and Vulgate prose translations of the Psalter, we shall consider it first. The most casual reader of the Vulgate Psalter will notie e how frequently the same thought is repeated in a single verse, as, for instance: Noli aemulari in malignantibus, neque zelaveris facientes iniquitatem. Quoniam tanquam foenum velociter arescent, et quemadmodum olera herbarum cito decident—(36, M) Here the same prohibition is twice repeated in the first verse, and the same reason for it is twice stated in the second. This kind of double statement of a thought within a verse, this balancing against the first half of a verse an echo, as it were, of itself, is a strikingly obvious feature of the psalms. Sometimes the thought is not balanced against an echo of itself, but against its opposite—the second half of the line reversing, like the back swing of a pendulum, the thought-movement of the first, as in Ps. i, 6 : Quoniam novit Dominus viam justorum et iter impiorum peribit. Sometimes the thought conveyed in the first part of a verse is ex- panded or explained by the remaining part or parts of the verse. Note, for example, the development of the thought in Ps. i, 1 : Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum et in via peccatorum non stetit, et in cathedra pestilentium non sedit. “ The Early Poetry of Israel ” ; E. G. King, “ Early Religious Poetry of the Hebrews ” ; W. H. Cobb, “ A Criticism of Systems of Hebrew Metre.” The Psalter has been closely studied on its metrical side by the Catholic scholar Prof. Nivard Schlogl of Vienna. The basis of his metrical theory is fully laid down in his essay. Die echte biblisch-hebraische Metrik (Freiburg, 1912) ; his System is applied in his two valuable commentaries, Die Psalmen, hebraisch und deutsch (Vienna, 1911), and Die Psalmen in his edition of the Old Testament (Vienna and Leipzig, 1915). 1 INTRODUCTION Note again Ps. 40, 2 , where the second part of the verse gives a reason for the first: Beatus qui intelligit super egenum et pauperem in die mala liberabit eum Dominus. Sometimes the second part of the verse is an inference from the first, as in Ps. 84, 7 : Deus tu conversus vivificabis nos et plebs tua laetabitur in te. In so-called parallelism, then, the thought of the first part of a verse is either echoed, or reversed, or expanded in the second, and these three kinds of parallelism are known as synonymous, antithetic and synthetic. There are other forms of parallelism of a more compli- cated kind which need not be here considered. The three kinds just mentioned are very familiar in the Psalter. As in our rhyming poetry the rhyme ends or stops the line, so the parallelism acts as a line- determinant in Hebrew poetry, and thus produces a portion of that balance or symmetry which is necessary to poetry as distinguished from prose. The origin of parallelism is variously explained, but we are concerned here with its function, and not with theories as to its origin. In the study of the Psalms parallelism is of the first im- portance, for we can often determine the meaning of an obscure line by reading it in the light of its less obscure parallel. Thus, for ex- ample, in Ps. 75,® : Et factus est in pace locus ejus et habitatio ejus in Sion. the second half of the verse shows that in pace ought to be read ‘ in Shalem ’ (i.e. Jerusalem ; the Hebrew Shalom, ‘peace,’ and Shalem, ‘ Jerusalem ’ would be indistinguishable in a consonantal text). So again in Ps. 67, 23 : Dixit Dominus : Ex Basan convertam convertam in profundum maris, it is ciear from the parallelism that the second part of the verse ought to be convertam ex profundo maris. The careful reader of the Psalms will note how the lines are balanced against each other and explain each other, and thus he will be able, as a rule, to attach likely meanings to the most obscure verses. Parallelism is not confined to Hebrew poetry : it is very familiar in the poetry of ancient Egypt and Babylon also, and it is present more or less in the simpler folk-poetry of the European peoples. Rhyme is a balancing of similar sounds : parallelism is a balancing of thoughts. Just as the rhyming words mark the end of the line in European poetry, so the line in Hebrew is determined, in a sense, by the thought which it conveys. But, as with rhyme there goes a certain INTRODUCTION li measurement of lines in Western poetry, so in Hebrew poetry the balanced lines may not vary greatly from each other in length. In connection with the measurement of these lines a great number of theories have .been put forward which it would be profitless to enumerate here. It is now widely admitted that the metrical balane e of the connected lines in a verse is not due to any equality or other mathematical relation in the number of syllables in the balanced lines. Hebrew metre is not primarily dependent on number of feet or on the quantity of syllables ; it is dependent rather on the number of stresses or accent-beats, and connected lines are definitely related to each other by the number of their stressed syllables. Yet there is not certainty in every case as to the number of stresses in a line of Hebrew poetry, and in the same poem there may be great varieties of metre (i.e. in the number of stresses in the groups of balanced lines). The English translation of the Psalter in this work is intended to show roughly, by the way in which it is printed, the connection of lines in parallelism; but as a translation of the Vulgate it could not, of course, pretend to suggest the rhythm of the Hebrew original. In the translation it will be noticed that, as a rule, the psalms are broken up into groups of verses. These groups are not always stanzas of equal length in the same poem. When they are examined it will be seen that in each such strophe, or group of connected verses, a more or less com¬ plete thought is expressed. Just as lines are related to each other within a verse by parallelism, so the strophes are often related to each other within a psalm by something resembling parallelism. For the most part it is possible to identify strophes only by the thought-connection which holds them together. But sometimes we have external indications of the presence and structure of such strophes. Such, for instance, are the refrains which occur in Ps. 41, 42, 45, 56, 58, 61, 66, 79, 98. Another indication is the obscure word Selah (but sometimes it is obviously out of place). In the alphabetical psalms a new strophe is sometimes indicated by each succeeding letter of the alphabet. The best example of the alphabet indication of strophes is Ps. 118 in which strophes of eight verses each are held together by the identity of their initial consonants. In Ps. 9 and 36 there are two verses to each letter. In Ps. 24, 33, 144 each single verse, and in Ps. no and m each separate half verse (i.e. line) begins with a different letter. In the cases of these psalms there is, of course, no question of strophic structure. There are other external or formal criterias of strophes which are too technical to be discussed in an intro- duction like the present. It is enough to have indicated here that there are often two separate kinds of unity within the single psalm— the verse consisting of two lines which echo or balance each other, and the strophe consisting of groups of verses held together by simi- larity of thought, or by obvious external structure. Just as the parallelism of lines is often useful in explaining or reconstructing lii INTRODUCTION obscure lines, so the recognition of strophes often explains such apparent irregularities or inconsistencies as the appearance within a single psalm of different or contrasted points of view. One often meets in a psalm a sudden change of theme, or an unexpected transition from third to first person, or an apparently unmotived change of mood on the part of the psalmist. The strophic structure of the psalms which introduces inevitably a quasi-dramatic element will often be found to explain these peculiarities. The poetical form of the psalms is so wide a subject that it can be only thus briefly referred to in this Introduction. A few illustra- tions showing approximately the rhythmic and strophic structure of the Hebrew originals will serve to make the foregoing remarks more intelligible. Ps. 136— The Song of the Exiles By the waters of Babel We sat and did weep, For our thoughts were on Sion. On the willows that stood there We hung up our harps. There did our captors Ask of us songs, Our jailers a mirth-song ! * Sing us a song, A song of Sion ! ’ How shall we sing A song of Yahweh On the soil of the stranger ? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, Then wither my right hand ; Cleave my tongue to my palate If I remember thee not, If I make thee not, Jerusalem, Chief source of my joy ! O Yahweh, remember The children of Edom, JerusalenTs day, When they cried out : ‘ Destroy ye ! Destroy, To her deepest foundations.’ Thou ravager Babel ! Happy he who shall pay thee, Shall pay back what thou gavest us. Happy he who shall seize and shall shatter Ihy babes 'gainst the rock ! INTRODUCTION liii The poem passes, strophe by strophe, from the picture of the exiles’ gloom to the cynical demands of their captors, and then to the reply—first of the exiles generally, and then of the psalmist himself. Then, as if in contrast with the song of Sion so mockingly asked for, the concluding strophes forecast the doom of Sion’s destroyers. The beautiful ode on the blessings of home, Ps. 127, illustrates well the quasi-dramatic character which strophic structure gives to the psalms. Happy he who feareth Yahweh, Who guideth his life by His words. The fruit of thy toil thou dost eat. Good luck ! Every blessing be thine ! Like a fruitful vine is thy wife, Hid away in thy house. Thy sons are like shoots of the olive, When they sit round thy board. Even thus shall be blessed the man Who feareth Yahweh. May Yahweh thee bless from Sion, 1 Mayest thou see Jerusalem happy All the days of thy life ? Mayest thou look on the sons of thy sons. In Israel peace ! In Ps. 22—the psalm of the Good Shepherd—there is a very striking contrast of strophes by which the different aspects of God’s loving care are set forth. Yahweh is my Shepherd, I lack naught. On pastures green He doth feed me. By waters of rest He doth lead me : He refresheth my soul. He guideth me ever on right ways Because of His name. And whenever I pass Through the gloom of the valley, No ili do I fear. For Thou goest before me ; Thy staff Thou dost lean on— Therein is my comfort. 1 A line is missing here. liv INTRODUCTION Thou spreadest before me a table In the sight of my foes. With oil Thou anointest my head ; Well filled is my cup. So may goodness and favour pursue me ; Ali the days of my life ! I will dwell in the House of Yahweh Through the length of the days. As the poetry of the Ancient East—the poetry of the Sumerians, Babylonians and Egyptians—has come to be more and more studied in recent times, it has been gradually realised that Hebrew poetry in its metrical technique or external form is closely akin to the poetry of IsraePs ancient neighbours. And it has been fonnd also that its kinship with the poetry of the rest of the ancient Near East extends beyond metrical form, and appears, to some extent, in similarity of theme or subject-matter. Just as the Hebrew Psalter is a collection of exclusively religious poems, so the poetry of Babylon and Egypt is mainly religious. But most scholara—including even those who would link up most closely the Psalter with heathen religious poetry of the Ancient East, insist on the wonderful superiority of the Psalms over ali contemporary or earlier religious poetry in its moral and theological outlook. Thus the literary connection of the Psalter with ancient poetry serves only to bring into clearer prominence the di vini ty of the religion which underlies it. It is only in the Psalter of Israel that the supernatural in the fullest sense is recognised as a factor in human affairs (cf. Ps. 39, 49, 50). There are many so-called peni- tential psalms in Babyloni an literature, 1 but these are very often nothing more than fragments of magical or quasi-magical literature, and do not show any of that consciousness of guilt on the part of Babylonian worshippers which the Hebrew psalmist reveals. It is only in the Psalter that we find expressed the sure and confident hope of the coming of a kingdom of God in which all peoples will find a place—a kingdom in which love and truth, salvation and peace shall reign (cf. Ps. 84, 11 ; 71 ; 92-98, etc., etc.). It is interesting for those of us who are bound to the daily recita- tion of the Psalter to realise that we are using formulae of prayer and praise which voiced the thoughts and longings of ancient Israel. The Hymnal of the second Temple has become our Hymnal also, 1 Cf. Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, Giessen, 1905-1911. Zimmern, Babylonische Busspsalmen, Leipzig, 1885 ; Babylonische Hymnen und Gebete in Auswahl, Leipzig, 1905 ; Edelkoort, Het Zondebesef in de Babylonische Boetepsalmen. Utrecht, 1918. The psalm-commentaries of Kittel (Leipzig, 1914), Staerk ( Lyrik des a. Test. Gottingen, 1920) and Gunkel ( Ausgewahlte Psalmen. Gottingen, 1917) make extensive use of Babylonian parallels in ex- plaining the Psalter »but their work is somewhat one-sided and needs to be used with cautio n. INTRODUCTION lv and we pray to God and praise Him with words which were devised for worship by men of Israel who lived centuries before Plato and Aristotle were born. The Hymnal of Israel is as much superior to the religious poetry of Babylon and Egypt as Christianity is to Paganism. VI. —The Purpose of the Psalter The Psalter is not a mere anthology of Hebrew poetry collected for literary purposes. Neither is it a collection of poems meant to illustrate the history of Israel. It is primarily a collection of sacred songs meant to be used in the Liturgy. Several of the psalms are assigned by their superscriptions to definite liturgical purposes. Thus the following are set apart to be sung during the offering of the daily morning holocaust (the so-called Tamid) on the different days of the week: On Sunday, Ps. 23 ; Monday, Ps. 47 ; Tuesday, Ps. 81 ; Wednesday, Ps. 93 (and also 100) ; Thursday, Ps. 80 ; Friday, Ps. 92 ; Sabbath, Ps. 91 (also 37). On the festivals other sacrifices were offered in addition to the Tamid, and certain psalms were also set apart to be sung during the offering of those additional sacrifices. Thus to the days of the Feast of Tabernacles, from the 2nd to the 8th were assigned : Ps. 28 ; 49, 16jf ; 93, 16 ^; 93, 7 -^; 80,'64 (according to Septuagint 28). To the Feast of the New Year, Ps. 80 was assigned for the morning and Ps. 28 the afternoon. During the slaying of the Paschal Lamb the psalms of the Hallel (112-117) were sung. Portions of the Hallel (especially Ps. 117) were also prescribed to be sung during the Feast of Tabernacles. Ali these special prescriptions in regard to the use of psalms were made in view of the liturgy of the Temple. We know, however, that psalms were also largely used in the worship of the Synagogue. Our information on this matter is, however, meagre. It is known that in the Synagogue Ps. 7 was chanted on the Feast of Purim, Ps. 28 at Pentecost, Ps. 29 on the Feast of Dedication, Ps. 83 or 104 at Pasch, Ps. 136 on the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple. The Hallel, 112-117, was chanted at the three great festivals : Pasch, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Apparently the psalms were not as a rule chanted or recited unbrokenly in the Synagogue Services ; as each verse of a psalm was recited or chanted, the people answered with an expressi on of praise to God—as we can see in Ps. 135. We have in the Old Testament itself some examples of the use of the psalms in the Temple liturgy. In I Par. i6, 8 ^, we see how the Levites chanted Ps. 104, 15 and 95, 1 - 13 , ending with a proclamation of God’s praise (105,*) and an exhortation to the people to ask God’s help and to give Him praise (Ps. 105, 47 > 48 ). The people answer * Arnen ' and join in praising the Lord. In many cases—particularly Ivi INTRODUCTION in the use of those psalms wliich begin with hallelu-yah —the psalms were sung by a chanter while a choir or the people burst out into a cry of God’s praise after each verse (as in Ps. 135 ; cf. II. Paral. 7 ; Esdras 3, 10 > 11 ). It may be assumed that the psalms were used also in the devotions of families and individuals. We know that the Hallel was sung at the Paschal Supper—half of it being sung before the Supper and the other half after it (cf. Matt. 26, 30 ). Individuals will have used the psalms just as we do in their prayers, and to express their religious emotions, for even though the Psalter as a whole may owe its origin to liturgical needs, yet the individual psalms of which it is composed present some of the most perfect types of prayer conceivable—perfect not merely for the community, but for the individual. It is interesting to note how very frequently Our Lord refers to the psalms (cf. John 10, 34-36 ; Matt. 21, 41 " 46 ; John 15, 25 ). As He hung on the Cross He recited Ps. 21, and His last word on the Cross was a passage from the psalms (Ps. 30, 6 ). The Apostles imitated Our Lord in the constant use of the psalms in their preaching. The Christian Church in taking the psalms as her great model of praise and prayer has followed in the footsteps of her Founder. In the Christian Church, as in the Jewish Temple, the Psalter is the chief source of liturgical prayer. VII.— The Superscriptions of the Psalms Most of the psalms bear superscriptions or tities which give informa- tion of a varied kind about the origin and use of the psalms. In the Graeco-Latin Psalter only two psalms—the first and second—have no title ; in the Massoretic Psalter there are thirty-nine without title. The tities vary greatly in iength and character. They give, as a rule, some or all of the following details : (a) Name of author or of the person or persons to whom the psalm peculiarly belonged. (b) Occasion of the psalm. (c) Class of poem to which the psalm could be assigned. (d) Notes on musical or other technical features connected with the chanting of the psalm. (e) Liturgical directions. It is very seldom that a psalm-title gives information on all these points, 1 and it is to be noted that there is not complete agreement in the text of the tities even between the Septuagint and the Vulgate Psalters. The psalm-titles are omitted in the Breviary Psalter. 1 C/. Ps. 59, 58, 56, 55 » etc., etc. f INTRODUCTION Ivi i They are, however, so important for the history of the Psalter that they must be considered at least briefly here. (a) Nantes of author or of the person or persons to whom the psalm peculiarly belonged In the tities of seventy-three Massoretic psalms occurs the ex¬ pressi on l e Dawid. This has been rendered in the Septuagint by T(f Aa vi 8 , and in the Vulgate by David (apparently a genitive) or ipsi David. In the Vulgate eighty-five psalms are thus Associated with the name of David. The Vulgate similarly associates twelve psalms with the name of Asaph, eleven with the Korachites [filii Core), one with Moses (89), one (or, perhaps, two) with Solomon (126 and 71), one with Ethan (88), one with Heman (87). The name of Yeduthun (or Yedithun) occurs in the tities of Ps. 38, 61 and 76. Ps. 136 is associated in the Vulgate and some MSS. of the Septuagint with the names of Jeremias and David. In the Septuagint Ps. 145- 148 are connected with the names of the prophets Aggaeus and Zachary (the Vulgate connects with these names only Ps. 145). Ps. 64 is called in the Vulgate title a ‘ Psalm of David ' and a * Song of Jeremias and Ezechiel ’) ; so similarly, Ps. 70 is assigned both to David and the ‘ sons of Jonadab.’ In the Massoretic Psalter fifty- two psalms, and in the Graeco-Latin Psalter forty psalms are not connected in this way with the name of any individual as a possible author. It has been long a hotly disputed question whether the preposition l e in the tities of the psalms ever really indicates authorship. It has also been much debated whether, granting that l e does indicate authorship, tities which contain such statement of authorship can be accepted as reliable. The Hebrew preposition l e used as in the tities of the psalms with the name of an individual, does not per se indicate authorship. It is capable of a much wider interpretation, such as ‘ belonging to,’ or ‘conceming,’ so that l e Dawid could in itself, as far as grammar goes, mean * belonging to David ' or ‘ conceming David ' ; it could even mean, prefixed to a poem, ‘ Davidic.’ In Ps. 71 the Greek translators actually took liSh e lomoh not as ‘ by Solomon/ but * con- cerning Solomon.’ Why not then, it has been asked, take l e Dawid as meaning ‘ conceming David ' or ‘ Davidic ’ (as in Ps. 136), or * belonging to David ’ ? The expression, which is so frequent in the tities, lanfnaseah does not mean ‘ by the choir-leader/ but ‘ for the choir-leader,' or ‘ belonging to the choir-leader.’ On this analogy VDawid ought to mean, if that meaning is possible, ‘ belonging to> David.' Thus it is argued that l e Dawid and similar expressions in the psalms need not be taken as suggesting authorship. On the other hand, however, l c Dawid can certainly mean ‘ by INTRODUCTION lviii David/ and the persistent tradition of the Jewish and Christian Churches has taken it in this sense. We can reasonably hold, there- fore, that the preposition l e used with the name of an individual in the tities does actually indicate authorship ; where, however, the preposition is used with the name of a group (like the filii Core) it seems more reasonable to hold that it indicates possession, or other similar relation, rather than authorship. The psalm-titles, then, may be taken as assigning more than half the Psalter to David as author. Is this testimony reliable ? Modern liberal criticism, for the most part, refuses to accept it. For such criticism all, or practically ali, the psalms are of post-exilic origin, and none of them is as old as David. The ascription of psalms to David is, say the critics, like the ascription of books of Wisdom to Solomon. Just as Solomon was renowned for his wisdom, so David was celebrated in Hebrew tradition as a musician and a poet, and that tradition naturally associated him with the organisation of liturgical music and song and, therefore, with the Psalter. Besides, the critics argue, there are many references in psalms ascribed to David by their tities to events of the post-Davidic period, and if some tities are thus proved to be false how can any be trusted ? Such references to post-Davidic affairs are allusions to Temple-worship, and to events of the Exilic or post-exilic period. To these should be added indications of a religious outlook which would have been impossible in the Davidic age, and ciear allusions to a reigning Israelite king in the third person, or words addressed to him directly. Sometimes the language of psalms ascribed to David is so Aramaising in tendency that it could not be associated with David as its author. The critics argue stili further against the tities on the ground that no two of the ancient Psalters (Hebrew, Septuagint, Latin, Syriae) agree as to the text of the tities. Is it not, therefore, they say, more scientific to disregard the tities completely, and to determine the authorship of the psalms solely by a study of their contents ? In this study of contents the critics have come to reject the possibility not merely of Davidic, but even of pre-exilic psalms. They find in the Psalter essentially the thought and outlook and the historical background of post-exilic Judaism, and some of the critics are doubtful whether any of the psalms can be older than the Maccabean age. The Psalter is, as has been said already, essentially a liturgical book, and it may be correct to call it with most modern critics ‘ the Hymnal of the second Temple/ But it does not thence immediately follow that the poems of the Psalter are not older than the second, or post-exilic Temple. Poems written in the early monarchical period—even as early as David’s day, could well have been incorporated in a post-exilic hymnal. It is certain that there was a highly organised cult in the Solomonic Temple. In the liturgy of that cult sacred song and music must have played a great part—just as music and song are INTRODUCTION lix known to have played a great part in the liturgy of Oriental cults much older than that of the Temple of Solomon. 1 It is not un- reasonable then to assume that much of the liturgical poetry of the pre-exilic Temple survived the Exile and was used again in the second Temple. Many of the psalms are scarcely intelligible unless they are thought of as the product of the monarchical period. Such are, for instance, the so-called ‘ Royal Psalms * (17, 19, 20, 27, 32, 44, 60, 62, 71, 109, etc., etc.). These psalms, whether they refer directly to the reigning king of Israel or to the Messianic King, pre-suppose the existence of a monarchy in Israel at the time at which they were composed. Since it is thus certain that a great number of psalms are pre-exilic, the possibility at once arises that many of them are of Davi dic origin. There must be a strong historical basis for the ancient tradition which made David a prolific religious poet. Without such a historical basis there would not have arisen the idea of a collection of Davidic poems. There is abundant evidence in the Old Testament outside the Psalter to show that David was remarkable for his skill in music, and for his capacity as a poet. It was as a skilled musician that he was taken into the house of Saul (I Kings 16, 18 ). The historical books have preserved for us the dirges which he composed over Saul and Jonathan (II Kings i, 17-27 ) and Abner (II Kings 3, 3a/ ) ; in II Kings 22 is ascribed to David the same poem which appears again as the I7th Psalm ; in II Kings 23, 1-7 we have the swan-song of David and he is called there ‘ the chanter of IsraePs songs.’ 2 * * * Amos 6 , 5 speaks of those who seek to vie with David in devising ‘ instruments to accompany song.’ Practically everywhere in the Old Testament outside the Psalter where sacred songs and the music of the sacred liturgy are spoken of, David is associated with them as author or organiser (c/. I Par. 16, 7 8 » 36 ; II Par. 7,®; 29, 30 ; Eccli. 47, 9 ’ 12 ; II Mac. 2, 13 ). That the character and history of David were such as to fit him for the composition of many of the psalms cannot be doubted. He is depicted in reliable Hebrew tradition as a deeply pious man—though at times passionate and wayward ; his career is described in the Books of Kings as full of most thrilling incident and of every kind of vicissitude ; his success as a leader, diplomat and king, shows that he was exceptionally gifted in mind, and possessed of ali that capacity 1 The ‘ Songs of Sion ’ in Ps. 136, which could not be sung during the Exile on the soil of the stranger, must have been sung in Jerusalem before the Exile. For the use of music and song in Israelite worship of the eighth century b.c. compare Amos 5, 23 . Compare also the account of the bringing of the Ark to Sion in the reign of David, II Kings 6, 6 . It may be said, indeed, that the re¬ ligious song or Psalm must have been familiar in Israel from the beginnings of its natio nal life. 8 The Hebrew epithet may, however, mean ‘ darling of Israel’s songs,’ i.e. favourite theme of them. Ix INTRODUCTION of receiving a multiplicity of impressions, and of analysing moods and attitudes in himself and others which wouJd fit him to excel as a lyric poet. The tities of the psalms command respect by their great antiquity. The Septuagint translators did not fully understand them, so that even as early as about 200 b.c. they must have been so old that tra- dition as to their meaning had already grown confused. Hence it is possible that some tities may be practically as old as the psalms which they accompany. If the tities were late inventions they would be more intelligible. Again, if there is not some venerable tradition underlying the tities which determine authorship, why are so many psalms left without any note of origin ? It would have been as easy to ascribe authors to ali as to some. It is to be noted further, that even though the Psalter is primarily a Hymnal, many of its poems may have been composed without any immediate reference to sacred liturgy. When such personal lyrics came to be incorporated in a Hymnal they would be likely to undergo some modification. Possibly many of the alleged post-Davidic features in psalms ascribed by their tities to David, may thus be due to the work of late liturgical editors. 1 In view, then, of the certain presence of many pre-exilic poems in the Psalter, and of the persistent Hebrew tradition which associates David with sacred music and song, and taking into account the possibility that liturgical additions to the text of the psalms were made in certain cases in the post-exilic period, we are scientifically justified in accepting generally the accuracy of the tities which ascribe authorship of psalms to David. The attribution to David of a number of individual psalms in the New Testament 2 is a ciear indication that Our Lord and the Apostles regarded the psalm-titles, in so far as they suggested authorship, with respect. There is no need to speak of * accommodation ’ in reference to the attitude of Our Lord and the Apostolic Church in this matter. In the Commentary below, each psalm is provided with an introduction which discusses generally its origin and its date. (b) Historical occasion A note giving the occasion out of which the psalm arose forms at times part of a psalm-title. The majority of such notes are derived from the text of I and II Kings. They are discussed in the Com¬ mentary whenever they occur. 1 C/. the Commentary below on the concluding verses of Ps. 50. *Cf. Acts 4, 25 i 26 ; I3, 83-36 ; Matt. 22, 43 ' 46 ; Roms. 11, etc. INTRODUCTION lxi (c) Class of poem to which psalm belongs The various names given to the psalms in the tities have been already enumerated. See Section I above. (d) Musical and other technical terms Here must be noted the phrase lam e naseafi which the Vulgate has rendered in finem (See Commentary, Ps. 4, 1 ). The expression is uncertain in meaning, but most modem writers on the psalms explain it as ‘ For the choir-master/ C/. I Par. 15 , 21 . The tities sometimes contain what seem to be the names of the instruments to be used in accompanying the chanting of the psalms to which those tities are prefixed. Sometimes, again, we find in the tities elements which look like the names of the melodies to which the psalms were to be chanted. In the Vulgate tities occur such directions as in carminibus, in hymnis, in laudibus, pro octava, pro arcanis, pro susceptione matutina, pro occultis filii, etc., etc. These are discussed in their respective places in the Commentary. It is possible that many, if not most, of them are really names of guilds of singers to which particular psalms were assigned in the liturgy of the post-exilic Temple. Besides these musical notes which occur in the tities, there is an obscure one which is often foundat different places in the text of certain psalms. It is the word Selah. Its meaning is quite uncertain ; but as it occurs nearly always at the close of clearly marked sections, it is considered by many recent writers as marking the end of strophes. It is omitted in the Vulgate Psalter. (e) Liturgical directions 1. Indications of the special occasions on which the psalm is to be used, as, for instance, in the title of Ps. 29, In dedicatione domus (Dedication of Temple) ; Ps. 28, In consummatione Tabernaculi (at the close of the Feast of Tabernacles) ; Ps. 99, In confessione (for a thanksgiving offering), etc., etc. 2. The word Alleluia at the beginning of a psalm indicates probably that the psalm is to be recited after the manner of Ps. 135—the people intervening with a cry of praise at the end of each verse or half verse. C/. Ps. 104-106 ; 110-113, etc., etc. VIII.— ClASSIFICATION OF THE PSALMS The psalms may be conveniently classified either according to their literary character, or according to their subject-matter. From the point of view of literary character the psalms may be arranged in groups corresponding to four well defined types of lxii INTRODUCTION religious poetry: (a) Hymns; ( b ) Prayers of thanksgiving and petition ; (c) Religious lyrics in the striet sense; (d) Didactic (or Sapiential) poems. {a) The primary purpose of the hymn is to sing praise to God. It is the most familiar form of ancient Oriental religious song. The song or hymn of God’s praise might be intended for public use in the liturgy or for the private devotion of the individual. To the class of hymns belong processional songs (such as Ps. 23, 47, 86), songs of victory and of festival (such as Ps. 113, 80, 149, 67), and liturgical hymns (like Ps. 133, 148, 112, 46, 96, 74, etc.). To the class of hymns belong also the psalms which celebrate the glory of God in nature (18, 8, 28, 103), and to it may be assigned also such highly individual poems as Ps. 132 and Ps. 138. (b) The prayer-psalms are very numerous. Many are prayers of thanksgiving for help and favour received from God—for the blessings of rich harvests, for victory in war, for the coronation of the king, etc. Of these thanksgiving songs some are for choral or liturgical use, such as Ps. 66, 64, 123, etc., others are songs of thanksgiving for the use of individuals (29, 65, 26, etc.). The prayer-psalms of petition are more numerous than those of thanksgiving ; many of these are communal or national (19, 122, 125, 84, 105, 101, 79, 88, 82, 43, etc.) ; others are complaints of the loyal worshippers of the Lord living among scoffing and hostile neigh- bours (Ps. 11, 63, 119, etc.). Most, indeed, of the psalms of petition might just as well be styled psalms of complaint, since they are, for the most part, petitions for rescue from pain or oppression. Hence, to this group belong the * psalms of the sick ’ (such as 87 and 37). Failure of harvests, famine, defeat in war and similar calamities brought the people in tearful prayer to the Sanctuary (c/. Ps. 43, 73> 78, 84, 122, 125). Individuals who were sick or grieved or op- pressed were wont to turn to the Lord, promising Him a thanks¬ giving Service of praising song, or of sacrifice and song, in the Temple, should He deign to hear and rescue them. For such thanksgiving Services not a few of the psalms were composed. To the class of prayer-psalms should probably be added those psalms which asseverate the guiltlessness of the psalmist (25, 16, etc.), and also those which emphasise the absolute trust of the psalmist in God (93, 91, 35, 22, 6, 124, 61). Some of the psalms of the prayer-group are the most intimately personal in the Psalter (such as 60, 62, 41-42, 76, 50, etc.). (c) The peculiarity of the religious lyric in the striet sense is that it is an outpouring of the psalmist’s soul to God without immediate reference to liturgy or ceremonial of any kind. It is, as a rule, either an expression of direct adoration of God, or an outburst of joy because INTRODUCTION bdii of the consciousness of God’s presence, or a reverential reflection on His omnipotence and wisdom, or a retrospect of Israehs divinely guarded past, or a glad forecast of Israel’s glory in the Messianic age. To this class we may assign psalms which celebrate the blessedness of the God-fearing (90, 51, 127, etc.), and such pilgrim-psalms as 83 and 121. To this group belong the royal and Messianic poems, Ps. 2, 71,109, and to it may perhaps also be assigned the psalms which bewail the power and influence of evil (such as 13, 81, 57). (d) The didactic psalms might be regarded as a sub-division of (c), but they form so well defined a class that it is perhaps more suitable to set them up as a separate group. Their usual theme is the praise of piety and of the Law (Ps. 1, 124, 127, 132). Many of the didactic psalms are alphabetically arranged as if they were intended to be leamed by heart (24, 36, 110, m, 118). Several of the psalms of this group are statements of the lessons to be learned from the history of Israel (95, 104, 105, 77), and several deal with the methods of Divine Providence (in particular the so-called ‘ Theodicy psalms/ 36,48,72,81,93). A classification of the psalms on the basis of their content must of necessity be unsatisfactory, for, on the one hand, psalms dealing with similar subject-matter often differ so greatly from each other that they cannot be conveniently grouped together, and, on the other, psalms dealing with different themes often resemble each other closely. Besides, there is such variety of theme in the Psalter that it is practically impossible to enumerate all the different groups into which the psalms might be arranged. It will be understood, therefore, that in the following arrangement of the psalms according to subject-matter no attempt is made at completeness. Only the more striking and obvious groups of psalms are enumerated. (a) Historical Psalms .—To this class belong such psalms as can be connected more or less probably with definite events in the history of Israel. Such, for instance, are Ps. 45, 47, 73, 75. With these might be grouped those psalms which look back on the career of Israel to derive from it a warning or an inspirati on (105,104, 134, etc.). (b) Nature Psalms .—In these are hymned that power and majesty of God which the physical world reveals (8, 18, 28, 103). (c) Psalms of divine love .—As the nature-psalms celebrate the glory, wisdom, and power of God which are shown forth in the cosmos, so there are other psalms which celebrate the love and kindness dis- played by God towards men (102, 32, 110, 112, etc.). (d) Patriotic Psalms .—Israel was God’s own people, and Yahweh was Israel’s king. Hence the religion and the national life of Israel were most intimately associated. In the Psalms we find, therefore, intense nationalism and deep religious feeling closely combined. The victories of Israel are celebrated as victori es of Yahweh, and when Ixiv INTRODUCTION Israel has suffered defeat it is to the psalmist as if the fame of IsraeFs God and King, Yahweh, were, in a sense, threatened with eclipse. Jerusalem is great and glorious because Yahweh has His Dwelling in its midst. For the psalmist’s patriotic pride in general, note Ps. 77, 88, 136, etc., etc., and for his pride in Jerusalem see Ps. 121, 124, 45» 47» etc. (e) Problem Psalms .—These deal with the question which is put in Jeremias 12, 1 : Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper ? Wherefore are all they at ease who deal treacherously ? Such psalms are 36, 38, 48, 72. With the theological aspect of these psalms and with the psalmisfs attitude to the problem of immortality, which is connected with the problems of Divine Providence (Ps. 72, 16, etc.), the Commentary briefly deals. (f) Pilgrim Songs .—The largest group of these songs is that of the so-called ‘ Gradual Psalms/ 1 (g) Imprecatory Psalms .—There are several psalms which invoke vengeance and destruction on the en emi es of the psalmist. Such are 34, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 68, 78, 82, 93, 108, 136, 139. The apparent malevolence of the psalmist in these poems seems, at first sight, to be irreconcilable with the Divine origin of the Psalter. It must be noted, however, that in many of the imprecatory psalms the psalmist speaks in the name of the Israelite people, and his enemies are, there- fore, the enemies of God and of God’s kingdom on earth. We our- selves do not think it strange to pray for the overthrow and destruc¬ tion of the foes of God and of His Church. Again, it might be said that the curses of the psalmist are often to be taken as prophecies whose fulfilment depends on the refusal of his enemies to repent. It might be maintained further that in many cases it is rather the destruction of sin and injustice than the discomfiture of his foes that the psalmist seeks. If we knew precisely the historical background of the imprecatory psalms they would doubtless seem far less vin- dictive than they do. There are imprecations in the prophets as bitter as any which are in the Psalms, but in the familiar context of the prophets they cause us little surprise. 2 In estimating the imprecatory psalms we must keep in view the psalmists’ burning zeal for right and justice, and their enthusiasm for the kingdom of God and His Messias. We must also bear in mind the imperfect character of the Old Dispensation as compared with the New, and try to realise that it would be unreasonable to expect in Old Testa- 1 It is not certain that the Gradual Psalms are all in reality pilgrim songs. The origin and use are discussed in the Commentary. 2 See Is. 17, 18, 19, 21, 63 ; Jer. 25, 43, 46-51, etc., etc. INTRODUCTION lxv ment poetry the sublime ethical perfection of the Sermon on the Mount. (h) Messianic Psalms .—A number of the psalms are directly Messianic—taking for their theme one or more aspects of the Ideal or Messianic King of Israel—such as His eternal rule, His priesthood, His office as Judge, His sufferings, His resurrecti on, His glori ficati on. Other psalms are indirectly Messianic, dealing directly and im- mediately with David or some other actual Israelite king or leader, and only indirectly with the Messias. The directly Messianic psalms are 2, 15, 21, 44, 71, 109. Of these, Ps. 2, 71 and 109 are concerned exclusively with the Messianic King and His universal rule. Ps. 15, 21 and 44 are dominated by the figure of the Messias and are properly regarded as directly Messianic, but, as explained in the Commentary, their Messianic quality differs somewhat from that of Ps. 2, 71 and 109. 1 * * * * The indirectly Messianic psalms are numerous. As the history of Israel can be looked upon, in a fashion, as the history of the kingdom of God on earth, so each crisis of that history and the career of each outstanding hero and leader of the Israelite nation can be regarded as somehow foreshadowing and as helping to realise the full establish- ment of God’s kingdom in the Messianic era. And just as Israel and its leaders were thus necessarily typical of the Messianic King, so the Messias was expected to resume in Himself, as it were, all that was greatest and best and most striking in the history of the people. The Messianic kingdom was pictured by popular imaginati on as a restoration of the empire of David. The Messias Himself was to be of the Davidic stock, and it was expected that His career would some¬ how reflect the history of the dynasty of David. From these peculiar relations of the Messias with ancient Israel and its leaders 1 Even though it were maintained that Ps. 15 and 44 were primarily suggested by some event in the career of an Israelite king or other prominent individual in Israel, it would stili have to be admitted that the terms of these psalms point beyond all human royalty and greatness to the glory and privileges of the Messianic King. It has been frequently suggested that in Ps. 44, 6 we should read ‘ Thy throne shall be for ever ' instead of ‘ Thy throne, O God, is for ever ’ (’Elohim being regarded as due to an Elohistic redactor who mistakenly read the Hebrew verb yihyeh (' shall be ’) as if it were Yahweh). Yet even if ‘ God ’ had to be thus omitted from verse 6, Ps. 44 would stili have to be explained Messianically in view of the wondrous beauty and power of the king whom it depicts. Ps. 21 is one of the most important Messianic texts of the Old Testa- ment. Apart from the Isaian texts which deal with the ‘ Servant of Yahweh ’ (Is. 53) this psalm is the only ciear forecast which the Old Testament gives of a suffering Messias. The vivid reference to what is obviously a crucifixion-scene in 21, 7 can scarcely be otherwise explained than as a most striking prophecy of the crucifixion of Our Lord. For the question of Messianic psalms see Vigouroux-Brassac, Manuel Biblique, 2nd Vol. 2nd part [1920] pp. 65-100. A somewhat less traditional but suggestive treatment of the Messianic psalms is Lagrange's study, Notes sur le Messianisme des Psaumes, Revue Biblique, 1905. Compare also an interesting study by Hennen on Ps. 44 in the Biblische Zeitschrift, 1919, pp. 116-121. Ixvi INTRODUCTION there arises the possibility of regarding most of the psalms which deal with Israel or the kings and leaders of Israel as indirectly Messianic. It would seem both from the Psalter and from the Old Testament generally that there existed ready to hand for poets of ancient Israel a mass of terminology and imagery dealing with the Messianic King and His rule. On this store the psalmists often apparently drew when they sang of the fortunes of Israelite heroes or of tbe Israelite nation. The psalms which treat of Israe] or Israelites as typical of the Messias, and those which employ what may be called the technical imaginative apparatus of the Messianic hope are indicated in the Commentary. (i) Penitential Psalms .—These are 6 ; 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, 142. It would be possible to enumerate other groups of psalms held together by similarity of subject-matter, but the groups already indicated are sufficiently numerous to suggest that the Psalter, instead of being monotonous, as is sometimes supposed, is rich in the abundant variety of its themes. IX.—Important Dates in Hebrew History The following table of dates will help to make intelligible the references to events of Hebrew history which occur throughout this work:— Monarchical Period Establishment of the Monarchy .... about r >. 1025 Reign of David . . y 9 1010-970 Reign of Solomon ...... 99 970-932 Division of Israel from Juda .... 9 9 932 Syro-Ephraimite Invasion of Juda 99 734 Fall of Samaria and end of the Kingdom of Israel 99 722 Sanherib’s Invasion of Juda. . 9 9 701 Religious Reform begun by Josias 621 Exilic Period Destruction of Jerusalem and formal beginning of Babylonian Exile ..... 586 Persian Conquest of Babylon and close of the Exile 538 Post-Exilic Period Dedication of the Second Temple at Jerusalem Work of re-organisation of Jerusalem carried out by Esdras and Nehemias . Submission of Jews to Alexander the Great . 516 458-432 332 INTRODUCTION Maccabean Period Persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes Maccabean Revolt against Antiochus Jerusalem re-captured by the Maccabees and Worship in the Temple Restored Palestine becomes a Roman Province . B.C. 168 167 165 65 Students of the Psalter should know something of the history of Hebrew prophecy. They should note that to the middle of the eighth century b.c. belongs the preaching of Amos and Osee, and that the main prophetical activity of Isaias and Michaeas belongs to the last quarter of the same century. They should also know that Jeremias came forward publicly as a prophet in the last quarter of the seventh century b.c., and that his work continued during the fateful years which preceded the fall of Jerusalem, and was carried on even after the Exile had begun. To the closing years of the seventh century belong also Habacuc, Nahum, and Sophonias. Ezechiel belongs altogether to the Exilic period, and Zachary and Aggaeus were active shortly after the Exiles began to return—encouraging the people to set up again in Jerusalem the Temple liturgy which the Babylonians had so rudely interrupted in 586 b.c. X.— Transliteration of Hebrew Since ali Hebrew words and phrases quoted in this work are given in transliterated form, it is necessary to indicate here briefly the general method of transliteration which has been adopted. The following table will show the system used in transliterating the Hebrew consonants. 'Aleph . 9 Lamed . . 1 Beth without dagesh . bh Mem . m Beth with dagesh . b Nun . n Gimel • g Samekh . s Daleth . . d 'Ayin i He. . h Pe without dag. . ph Vau . w Pe with dag. . • P Zayin . z Sade • . s • Heth h Kcph • h Teth . t Resh . r Yod • y Sin . 5 Kaph without dag. . . kh Shin . sh Kaph with dag. . k Tau without dag. . th Tau with dag. . / No attempt has been made to distinguish the long and short full vowels. lxviii INTRODUCTION The simple murmur-vowel ( shewa ) is represented by 5 written above the line, and the composite shewas are represented by * e ° written above the line. Biblical proper names are written, as a rule, according to the tradition of the Graeco-Latin Bible. XI. —Bibliography An attempt to give a complete bibliography of literature dealing with the Psalter as a whole or with any aspect of the Psalter would be out of place in a simple study of the Vulgate Psalter. The aim of the list which follows is merely to indicate the chief Commentaries on the Psalter which have been constantly consulted in preparing this work. Those students who may wish for fuller bibliographical details, especially on the Patristic and Mediaeval Psalm-literature, will consuit with advantage Hoberg’s Psalmen der Vulgata (2nd. ed. Freiburg, 1906) and Ecker’s Porta Sion (Trier, 1903). Early Period Origen, Exegetic fragments published in Migne, Vol. 12 ; Jerome Commentarioli in Psalmos, edited by Morin (in Anecdota Maredsolana), 1895. There are many notes on the exegesis of the Psalter in Jerome’s letters to Damasus, Marcella, Paula, Principia, Sunnia and Fretela, and the Presbyter Cyprian—all published in Migne, Vol. 22. Theodoret, “ Interpretation of Psalms ” (Migne, 80). Middle Ages St. Thomas Aquinas, In Psalmos Davidis expositio (Ps. 1-51). Modern Period Agellius, Commentarii in psalmos et in divini officii cantica, Rome, 1606 ; Simeon de Muis, Commentarius liter alis et historicus in omnes psalmos Davidis, Paris, 1630 ; Le Blanc, Psalmorum Davidicorum analysis et commentarius, Cologne, 1680 ; Bellarmine, Explanatio in Psalmos (Rome, 1611) ; Calmet, Commentarius, Vol. 6, Wiirzburg, 1791 ; Schegg, Die Psalmen (3 vols. Munich, 1857) ; Reinke, Messian- ische Psalmen (Giessen, 1857) ; Beelen, Het Boek der Psalmen (Louvain, 1878) ; Lesetre, Le livre des Psaumes (Paris, 1883) ; Langer, Das Buch der Psalmen (3rd ed. Freiburg, 1889) ; Mlcoch, Psalterium INTRODUCTION lxix (Olmiitz, 1890) ; Raffl, Die Psalmen (101-150, Freiburg, 1892) ; Cornely, Psalmorum Synopses (Paris, 1899) ; Sedlacek, Vyklad posvat- nych Zalmu (Prague, 1900-1901) ; Wolter, Psallite Sapienter (Frei¬ burg, 1904) ; d'Eyragues, Les Psaumes traduits de VHebreu (3rd ed. Paris, 1905) ; Hoberg, Die Psalmen der Vulgata (2nd ed. Freiburg, 1906) ; Ceulemans, Introductio et Commentarius in Psalmos (Mechlin, 1906) ; Schloegl, Die Psalmen (Vienna, 1911) ; Knabenbauer, Com¬ mentarii in psalmos (Paris, 1912) ; Van der Heeren, Psalmi et cantica breviarii (Bruges, 1913) ; Thalhofer, Erklaerung der Psalmen (8th ed. Regensburg, 1914) ; Schloegl, Die Psalmen (In the translation, Die heiligen Schriften des alten Bundes, Vol. 3, Pt. 1, Vienna, 1915) ; Bonaccorsi, Psalterium latinum cum Graeco et Hebraeo comparatum (Florence, 1914-15. So far only two fasicules, dealing with Ps. 1-25, have appeared) ; Schulte, Die Psalmen des Breviers (2nd ed. Pader- bom, 1917) ; Jetzinger, Die Psalmen und Cantica des Breviers (Regens¬ burg, 1917) ; Higgins, Commentary on the Psalms (Dublin, 1913) ; M'Swiney, Translation of the Psalms and Canticles (Dublin 1901) ; Eaton, Sing ye to the Lord (London, 1909-1912) ; Barry, Commentary on the Psalms (1-50, New York) ; Fillion, The New Psalter (Trans, from the French, St. Louis). The following Commentaries by non-Catholic autfiors have been frequently consulted : Delitzsch, Die Psalmen (4th ed. 1883) ; Hup- feld-Nowack, Die Psalmen (3rd ed. 1888) ; Wellhausen, The Book of Psalms (Polychrome Bible, London, 1898) ; King, The Psalms in three Collections (Cambridge, 1898) ; Duhm, Die Psalmen (Goettingen, 1904) ; Cheyne, The Book of Psalms (London, 1904) ; Baethgen, Die Psalmen (Goettingen, 1904) ; Cobb, The Book of Psalms (London, 1905) ; Kirkpatrick, The Book of Psalms (Cambridge, 1902) ; Briggs, A critical and exegetical Commentary on the Book of Psalms (Edinburgh, 1907) ; Kittel, Die Psalmen (Leipzig, 1914) ; Gunkel, Ausgewahlte Psalmen (4th ed. Goettingen, 1917) ; Staerk, Lyrik (in the Series Schriften des alten Testaments, 2nd ed. Goettingen, 1920) ; Driver, Studies in the Psalms (London, 1915). PSALM I THE TWO PATHS I N this psalm, which serves as a sort of introduction to the Psalter, one of the most fundamental thoughts of Hebrew speculation finds expression. The just man, it telis us, prospers in all things, while the wicked man’s life ends in failure. The psalm, however, dwells rather on the success of the just than on the failure of the wicked. It depicts the ideally just man first negatively (verse i), then positively (2-3), and then in contrast with the wicked (4-5). The just man shows no tendency to adopt the ideas of the godless who set no value on the Law, or to associate himself with the sinners who openly oppose the Law, or to help in spreading the corruption of those who sneer at the Law’s require- ments. His heart is fixed on the Law, and he constantly murmurs to himself its precepts. His life is rich in works of the Law, so that it reminds one of the verdure of a tree that blooms and bears fruit beside the running waters of irrigation channels. As one might well expect, there is a blessing on all his toil, and his every enterprise succeeds. Over against the continued prosperity of the just we see the instability of the godless. They are like the dust of the road in the storm, or like the chaff which the wind whirls away from the winnowing on the hill-top. They will not succeed in the great Tria], nor hold a place in the Assembly of the just when the Trial is over. The loving eyes of God are on the path of the just ; but the path of the wicked leads to death. The psalm bears no title, and neither its date nor its author can be determined. The picture of the just man’s success, and the sinner's failure is painted in the spirit of ancient Hebrew belief, and may well belong to the Davidic age. Yet, it is not connected by a superscription with the Davidic or any other ancient collection of psalms, and many modern critics believe that it was written expressly by a comparatively late poet (possibly the first editor of the Book of Psalms) to serve as an introduction to the whole collection of psalms, just as Psalm cl. seems to have been written directly as a conclusion to the “ Praises of Israel.” The extraordinary parallelism of Jere- mias xvii. 5-8 to this Psalm is regarded by many critics as a proof that the Psalm is subsequent at least to the time of Jeremias. It is interesting to note that in Acts xiii. 33, according to a reading of some importance, Psalm ii. is called the first Psalm. 2 THE PSALMS 1. Beatus vir, qui non abiit i. in consilio impiorum, et in via peccatorum non stetit, et in cathedra pestilentiae non sedit : 2. Sed in lege Domini volun- 2. tas ejus, et in lege ejus medi¬ tabitur die ac nocte. 3. Et erit tamquam lignum, 3. quod plantatum est secus de¬ cursus aquarum, quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo : Et folium ejus non defluet : et omnia quaecumque faciet, prosperabuntur. Fortunate is the man Who hath not walked according to the counsel of the godless ; Nor stood in the path of sinners ; Nor sat in the chair of corruption. But hath his pleasure in the Law of the Lord, And pondereth on His Law by day and by night. He is like a tree That is planted by running waters ; Which giveth its fruit in due season, And whose foliage falleth not. And ali that he doeth succeedeth. 4. Non sic impii, non sic : sed tamquam pulvis, quem pro¬ jicit ventus a facie terrae. 5. Ideo non resurgent impii in judicio : neque peccatores in concilio justorum. 6. Quoniam novit Dominus viam justorum : et iter impio¬ rum peribit. 4. Not thus are the godless ! No ! But like the dust which the wind sweep- eth (from off the earth). 5. Therefore the godless will not stand in the Trial, Nor sinners in the Assembly of the just ; 6. For the Lord knoweth the way of the just. But the path of the godless cometh to naught. 1. The three verbs, walk, stand, sit, are connected with the three things, counsel, path, seat, and have the three distinet subjects, the godless, sinners, and mockers (“ Corruption ” is abstract for cor- rupters ; Hebrew-' mockers ’). A climax is, evidently, intended. As the good man is described as the man whose pleasure ( voluntas ) is in the Law of Israel (the Law of Moses), so the various classes of the wicked are characterised by different degrees of indifference or hostility to the Law. Some seem to forget the Law ; others act openly against it; others carry on a campaign of sneering and con- tempt against it. The Hebrew text of the third clause might be understood of a “ circle ” or group of mockers, rather than of a teacher’s chair, around which the mockers gathered. The pious Israelite will separate himself completely from sinners and sceptics. This tendency to aloofness was carried to extremes by the Pharisees (“ the separated ones ”). 2. The just man, on the other hand, is quite taken up with the Law : it is “ a torch for his feet.” It is always in his heart, and always on his lips (as is prescribed in Deuteron. vi. 6-8). Meditari means, according to Hebrew, not silent contemplation, but audible murmuring of the words of the Law. This verse and the following are echoed in, or are an echo of, Josue i. 8 : “ This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth, and thou shalt ponder over it murmuringly day and night, so that thou mayest be constant in acting as is prescribed therein ; for then thou shalt make thy way to prosper, and then thou shalt have success." THE TWO PATHS 3 3* The decursus uouurum (Hebrew, “ divisions of waters ”) are imgation canals such as might be seen in Babylonia or Egypt rather than in Palestine. For the comparison see Ps. Ii. io ; xci. 13. 4. The Hebrew compares the wicked with the chaff which is whirled from the threshing-floor. The threshing, or winnowing usually took place on a raised ground in an exposed position {cf. Matt. iii. 12). The instability of the godless is often similarly sug- gested elsewhere in Scripture. Cf. Osee xiii. 3 : “ They shall be as the moming-cloud, as dew of the dawn that vanisheth, like the chaff that is whirled away from the threshing-floor, like smoke from the chimney. Again, Isaias xvii. 12 : “ The nations . . . shall be chased like chaff on the mountain before the breeze.” Cf. also the passage in Wisdom v. 14 : " The hope of the godless is like dust (chaff) swept along by the wind, and like thin foam scattered by the storm, and like smoke dispersed by the breeze, and like the remembrance of a one-day guest ” {cf. Ps. xxxiv. 5 ; Job xxi 18) “ From face of the earth ” is not in the Hebrew. It goes naturally enough with pulvis. The Greek xvous can mean chaff or dust. 5. The Trial is the great Messianic Assize, the final Judgment where the wicked shall be set apart from the good in the sight of ali. The way of the wicked is their path of life, or plan of action. The just will form an exclusi ve group after the great separation * the wicked will have no part with them {cf. Is. iv. 3). The Hebrew’ has will not stand in the Trial,” i.e. will not prevail in it. Resurgent (with its suggestion of the Resurrection of the Just) is due to the Christian imagination of fhe translator. 6. Gods knowledge implies interest and approval. Cf. Ps. xxxvi. 18 ; Lk. xiii. 27, etc. The just will live in the light of Gods face, but the way of the wicked will be through darkness, and will lead to death. There is a striking parallel to this psalm in Jeremias xvii. 5-8 : ‘ Accursed is the man who trusts in men, and makes flesh his arm ; but his heart is disloyal to Yahweh. He is like a leafless tree in the plain, and hath no experience of prosperitv He dwelleth in and tracts of the deseri, * in a land salt-strewn, and uninhabitable. Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh, and whose hope is Yahweh. He is like a tree which is planted by the waters, which stretcheth out its roots to the brook ; which feareth not when heat cometh, whose’foliage remaineth freshly green which^even m years of drought, hath no care ; and ceaseth not to bring forth For the contrast in the lot of pious and godless, see also Exod. xx. 5 , Ezech. xviii. ; and for a late poem on the theme, cf. Psalms of Solomon xiv. PSALM II THE VICTORY OF THE ANOINTED T HIS psalm sets us directly in the Messianic period. The tumuit of the armies which are being mustered against the Anointed is heard. The aim of the muster is declared ; it is to shake off the rule of the Messianic King (3). But God in His heaven laughs at man's vain tumuit (4), and then with swift change to anger, He telis them (Hebrew, 5) that He has set up His King on Sion, against whom the nations may rage in vain. The Anointed then declares (Hebrew 6-9) the powers, and the task which the Most High has given to Him. He has been set up as the Son of God, and the earth and its fulness are His. He is to rule the nations sternly, and inexorably to repress their pride. The Psalmist him- self then addresses (10-13) the royal foes of the Messianic King, and ad vises them to accept the situation, and make submission to the Anointed One, lest the Anger of God come swiftly, and destroy them. The psalm has no title, but it is assigned to David in Acts iv. 25. It is frequently quoted in the New Testament (Matt. iii. 17 ; Luke ii. 26 ; Acts iv. 25-28 ; xiii. 33 ; Heb. i. 5 ; v. 5 ; Apoc. ii. 27 ; xii. 5 ; xix. 15). It is obviously regarded as Messianic in the New Testa¬ ment period. The idea of hostile armies gathering together against the Ruler of the Messianic Kingdom is familiar in the Old Testament; so also is the thought of their defeat, on the Day of Yahweh (as here verse 13). The princes of earth are warned by the Psalmist to do homage to the Messianic King lest He utterly break them in the day of His wrath. Every king of Israel was an Anointed (a Messias = Mashiah) of the Lord, and it has been conjectured that we have in Psalm ii. an ode in honour of some actual king of Israel. The king, indeed, could be called a son of God, as Solomon was (cf. II Kings vii. 14) ; but the universal power which is given to the Anointed of this psalm does not fit in with the facts of Hebrew history. We must then, with the Apostolic Church, look beyond every actual king of Israel for the Anointed of this psalm. The literary manner of the poem resembles that of the Hebrew prophets generally, and there is no reason for refusing to the psalm a date in the period of the early Monarchy. Modern attempts to assign it to the Maccabean period spring from prejudice, and must face the great literary difftculty that, as can be judged from an imitation of our Psalm apparently belonging to the Maccabean age 4 THE VICTORY OF THE ANOINTED 5 (Psalms of Solomon, xvii. 1 the treatment of the theme of the Psalm would have been quite different in that period. 1. Quare fremuerunt Gentes, i. et populi meditati sunt inania ? 2. Astiterunt reges terrae, et 2. principes convenerunt in unum adversus Dominum, et adversus Christum ejus. 3. Dirumpamus vincula eo- 3. rum: et projiciamus a nobis jugum ipsorum. Why do the nations clamour ? Why do the peoples plan vain things ? Kings of earth stand forth to challenge, And princes conspire against the Lord and His Anointed. “ Let us break their bonds, And cast off from us their fetters ! ” 4. Qui habitat in coelis, irri¬ debit eos : et Dominus sub¬ sannabit eos. 5. Tunc loquetur ad eos in ira sua, et in furore suo con¬ turbabit eos. 6. Ego autem constitutus sum Rex ab eo super Sion montem sanctum ejus, praedicans prae¬ ceptum ejus. 4. He that dwelleth in heaven doth mock them, And the Lord doth laugh them to scom. 5. Then doth He speak to them in His anger, And in His fierce wrath doth He dismay them. 6. " I have been established as King by Him over Sion, His holy Mountain ; as Herald of His decree. 7. Dominus dixit ad me : Filius meus es tu, ego hodie genui te. 8. Postula a me, et dabo tibi Gentes haereditatem tuam, et possessionem tuam terminos terras. 9. Reges eos in virga ferrea, et tamquam vas figuli con¬ fringes eos. 7. The Lord hath said to me : “ Thou art my Son ; This day I have begotten Thee. 8. Ask of me, and I will give Thee the nations as Thy inheritance, And the ends of the earth as Thy possession. 9. Thou shalt rule them with a sceptre of iron, And thou shalt shatter them like a potter’s vessel.” 10. Et nunc reges intelligite : 10. erudimini qui judicatis terram. 11. Servite Domino in timo- 11. re : et exsultate ei cum tremore. 12. Apprehendite disciplinam, 12. nequando irascatur Dominus, et pereatis de via justa. 13. Cum exarserit in brevi ira 13. ejus, beati omnes qui confidunt in eo. Now, therefore, O kings, be ye wise ; Be advised, ye rulers of earth ! Serve the Lord with fear ; And rejoice before Him with trem- bling. Accept instruction, lest perchance, the Lord grow angry, And ye come to naught, missing the true path, When His anger doth swiftly blaze forth! Fortunate are ali who put their trust in Him. 1. Meditari here, as in Psalm i. 2, suggests the spoken or murmured thought. The poet, who throughout the psalm, speaks in the manner of the prophets, hears in mysterious prophetic fashion, the murmuring voices of the hosts that gather to battle against the Messianic King. 2. The standing forth is the provocative standing forth of a 1 Possibly this Psalm is as late as 104 b.c., but it illustrates, at all events, the literary methods of the second century b.c. 6 THE PSALMS Champion or of a leader. The Anointed is the Messias. This is ciear from the New Testament texts referred to above ; it is also the view of the Targum. The thought here may, of course, be influenced by the description of Solomon in II Kings, vii. 12-16. The Messianic King is often described in ternas of Davidic glory, but generally, as here, He is made greater than any King of David’s house. It has often been maintained that Psalm ii. is a Coronation Ode in honour of some King of Israel. David, Solomon, Josaphat, Ezechias have been identified by different critics with the Anointed. The Maccabean prince Alexander Jannaeus (a tyrant and murderer who on one occasion crucified 800 Pharisees, and had their wives and children slain before their eyes while they hung on their gibbets) has also been put forward by scholars as the theme of Psalm ii. The description, however, of the position and task of the Anointed fits no historical king of Israel, and the New Testament identification of Him with the Messias, the ideal King of Israel, must be accepted. (For the king as the “ Anointed of Yahweh, ,, cf. I Kings, xxiv. 7 ; xxvi. 9 ; Ps. xvii. 51, etc.) 3. The plural “ their ” is due to the thought that the Israelites will be the army of the Anointed in the Messianic age. This implies belief in the predominance of Israel over the kings and princes of the world. We can see how even the Apostles, after they had lived a long time with Our Lord, and witnessed His death, could not easily get rid of the idea of the Messias as King of a world subdued to Israel {cf. Acts i. 6). 4, 5. God laughs first; then speaks in anger. Cf. Is. xvii. 12 for a somewhat parallel situation. 6. The Latin puts the words in the mouth of the Anointed—giving thus no further meaning to loquetur (5). In the Hebrew the words are spoken by God, and the sense is : ‘ How can you dare to muster your armies against the king whom I have established on Sion ? ’ Prcedicans prceceptum, etc., is spoken by the Anointed ; “I would teli of His decree,” i.e., the decree of Sonship and world-rule which follows, verse 7. 7. By being set up as World-Ruler the Anointed is declared to be Son and Heir of God. Hodie genui te must mean : ‘ To-day {i.e., Thy day of victory and glory ’) I have given Thee the fulness of splendour due to Thee as my Son.’ There is no question of mere adoption here (as some modern critics assert), but of making evident to ali, the Sonship of the Anointed. The verse is used by St. Paul in Acts. xiii. 33 as referring to Christ (so also Heb. v. 5). The hodie, the Day of Victory, is taken by St. Paul as the Day of Christ's Resurrection {cf. Roms. i. 3-4). A very well authenticated text of Luke iii. 22, gives the words spoken by the voice from heaven at Christ’s baptism exactly as in Psalm ii. 7 : “ Thou art my Son : this day I have be- gotten Thee.” The divine Sonship was declared, then, at the Baptism ; THE VICTORY OF THE ANOINTED 7 it was declared more definitely by the Resurrection. Israel is fre- quently called in Scripture, directly or equivalently, the first-bom Son of God (Exod. iv. 22/. ; Deut. xiv. 1 ; Is. i. 2 ; Jer. xxxi. 9, 20) ; but of Israel God never says : “ I have begotten thee.” The two parts of the oracle, “ Thou art my Son,” and “ This day I have begotten thee ” must be explained together, and no exegesis which attends merely to one part of the verse is adequate. The view that since “ Thou art my Son,” is an adoption-formula familiar in an cient Semitic usage (cf. Code of Hammurapi, 170-171), the verse means no more than the divine adoption of an Israelite king as Son, breaks down completely before the words : Hodie genui te. 8, 9. The world-rule is here granted, ‘‘ Thou shalt rule ” is due probably to a misreading of the Greek translator. The Hebrew : ‘ Thou shalt sinite/ goes better with the parallel: ‘ Thou shalt shatter/ There is question here of the policy of the Anointed towards His foes. Cf. Is. xxx. 14 ; Ps. lxxxviii. 21-30 ; lxxi. 8-11. 10-13. The poet here warns the enemies of the Messias to make speedy submission to Him. Apprehendite disciplinam is a very in- telligible substitute for a practically impossible phrase in the tra- ditional Hebrew text. Pereatis de via is a pregnant expression —* come to ruin by missing the true path/ The anger of the Lord will be shown on the Day of Yahweh, the dies irae , the day on which He will make plain to all that a God of holiness and justice rules the world. Cf. Amos vi. 10/. v. 12, 17 ; Soph. i. 7/; Mal. iii. 2 ; iv. 5 ; Joel iii. 12 ; Zach. 14. 13. Cum exarserit : the Hebrew would, perhaps, be best rendered : ‘ For soon shall His wrath blaze forth/ The Day of Yahweh is not far distant. A new clause should begin with beati. PSALM III A MORNING PRAYER •* I N both Hebrew and Vulgate this psalm is connected with the flight of David from Jerusalem during the rebellion of Absalom. The situation implied is that which is described in II Kings, 15-18. As he fled to Mahanaim, David’s position seemed well nigh desperate. Many, indeed, were they who rose against him. All Israel “ had tumed its heart to Absalom.” The faint-hearted friends of the king were telling him that it was useless to look further for help from God. Yet, in all his grief and humiliation, David passionately proclaims his unbroken confidence in his God. He recalls the many tokens of His mercy in the past: he remembers how often God has been his protector, his shield, the loved object of his proud homage, the kind Friend who so often had given him hope and courage when he was straitened. Wearied with the griefs and toils of his hasty flight, David, in the midst of perils, spends a night in sleep. When he awakes he sees a new and touching token of God’s watchful love in the safety in which he has passed a night of peaceful slumber, though threatened on every side by ruthless foes. “ Let my enemies come in thousands, I will not fear them,” he says in an outburst of heroic confidence. In the same spirit of confidence, deeming the future of his hope already present, he raises the ancient battle-cry of victorious Israel: “ Arise, O Yahweh ! ” and in spirit he sees his enemies broken, and their fangs, with which, wild-beast- like, they had threatened him, shattered. To Yahweh alone, he sees, belongs the strength of victory. The royal prayer at the close, pointing clearly to a kingly poet, is called forth by the thought of the horrors of the civil war which has begun : ‘ On Israel, Thy people, be Thy blessing, Yahweh ! ' There is no good reason that can be opposed to the Davidic origin of the psalm. The reference to the holy mountain (5) does not pro ve that the Temple was on Sion when the poem was composed. The Ark was already on Sion. Indeed, David had instructed the priests who wished to carry away the Ark in his flight to bring it back to Sion. The concluding verse clearly implies a royal author. 1. Psalmus David, cum fuge- 1. A psalm of David when he fled from his ret a facie Absalom filii sui. son Absalom. 2. Domine quid multiplicati sunt qui tribulant me ? multi insurgunt adversum me. 2. O Lord how many are they that oppress me ! How many there are that rise up against me ! 8 A MORNING PRAYER 9 3. Multi dicunt animae meae : Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus. 3. Many do say of me : “ For him there is no help in his God.” 4. Tu autem Domine susce¬ ptor meus es, gloria mea, et exaltans caput meum. 5. Voce mea ad Dominum clamavi: et exaudivit me de monte sancto suo. 4. But Thou, O Lord, art my Protector ; My Pride, and He that upliftetb my head. 5. With my voice I cry to the Lord : And He heareth me from His holy mountain. 6. Ego dormivi, et soporatus 6. sum : et exsurrexi, quia Domi¬ nus suscepit me. 7. Non timebo millia populi 7. circumdantis me : exsurge Do¬ mine, salvum me fac, Deus meus. I laid me down to rest, and slept; And I arise because the Lord doth pro tect me. I fear not even thousands of the people, Who encompass me round about. Arise, O Lord ; save me, my God ! 8. Quoniam tu percussisti omnes adversantes mihi sine causa : dentes peccatorum con¬ trivisti. 9. Domini est salus : et super populum tuum benedictio tua. 8. For Thou hast smitten ali those who were my foes without cause ; The teeth of sinners Thou hast broken. 9. With the Lord is help ; On Thy people be Thy blessing ! 1. A psalm (Hebrew, mizmor) is a song intended to be sung to a musical accompaniment. 2. Quid multiplicati, etc., is Hebrew idiom for : “ How greatly are they multiplied ; how many they are who, etc.” II Kings xv., telis how all Israel supported Absalom with enthusiasm. 3. Animae meae, ‘ about me/ Anima is often used for self (and thus may take the place of a personal pronoun) ; it is also frequently used as=life. We ought to ha ve the ablative with de instead of the dative. Ipsi—huic. In Deo ejus: the ejus is wanting in the Hebrew. The multi here are not the hostile multi of verse 2, but the half-hearted wavering friends of David. 4. The king’s proud answer to the pessimists : ‘ The Lord will help me as He has always helped me/ Susceptor is used in the Psalter as=helper or defender. The Hebrew, “ Thou, O Yahweh, art a shield round about me,” is changed intentionally into the less vivid, but, to the later mind, more respect- ful: Susceptor meus es tu. Exaltare caput may mean either, to imbue with fresh courage, or, to raise to high dignity ; here the former. 5. Voce mea ; Hebrew, “ I—my voice—did call.” The Ark was already on Sion, and thither he tums in prayer, and thence help comes. Clamavi = clamo. Exaudivi—exaudiet. 6. Dormivi, ‘ I laid me down to rest'; or, ‘ I lay me down to rest/ IO THE PSALMS The text might be taken in one of three different senses. David may be speaking of past experiences when, though surrounded with danger, he slept hoping for God’s protection and received it. Or, he may be thought as singing this psalm in the morning after a night of peaceful slumber during Absaloms rebellion ; or, we might assume that David here speaks a word of confidence before he gives himself to rest, remembering God’s favours in the past. The second view would make the psalm a morning song (the more popular, and likely view) ; the third would make it an evening song. Suscepit, protected. Cf. susceptor, verse 4. 7. Circumdantes, in hostile sense, ‘ beset me/ Exsurge Domine ! ‘ Up, O Yahweh ! ’—as if the Lord were seated in idleness or indifference. Kumah Yahweh, ‘ Arise, O Yahweh ! * was a battle cry of Israel. Save me —the safety of the King is needed for the safety of his people. 8. Sine causa is to be read with adversantes. Sine causa, rashly, in vain, gratuitously. The Hebrew is a more probable text here : “ Thou hast smitten the cheek of my foes. Thou hast broken the teeth of the godless.” The Greek translators read here: l e hinnam,' in vain, for l e hi, face or jaw. The foes are thought of as furious wild beasts. 9. Help can come from God alone, and hence the royal singer prays : ‘ Let Thy blessing come upon Thy people/ PSALM IV A VESPER SONG T HE psalmist who, according to the title of the poem, is David, begs of the Lord the continuance of His mercies and favours (verse 2). He is of troubled mind because there are some who turn aside from God, and speak falsely of himself. These he addresses as “ Children of men ” (verse 3). He reminds them of the striking favours which he has received from God, and urges them to abandon the schemes which they are planning against him. He ad vises them to turn to God with a perfect sacrifice—the token of a perfect heart. Men complain of the failure, and sadness of all things. “ And yet,” says the psalmist, “ the blessed light of God’s face is on us who trust in Him, and filis us with a joy more deep than the gladness of a rich harvest or vintage.” He that lives in the light of God’s face has no fear; and, with perfect trust in the Lord’s protecting care, the psalmist lays him down to rest. The sleep that comes at once betokens the peace of his heart, and the fulness of his trust. The concluding verses show the psalm to be a vesper prayer. Tradition assigns the psalm to David, and it also assigns the com¬ positi on of the poem to the period following the defeat of Absalom. It is ciear from the text itself that the poet is a person of importance. His enemies are men of high rank (“ children of men ”). The designa- tion of the psalmist as sanctus (Hebrew Hasid) is regarded by many modem critics as an indication of a late (probably Maccabean) origin of the psalm. The contention, however, that hasid ( sanctus ) is a sort of technical term confined to the Greek period, is, to say the least, not proven. 1. In finem in carminibus, 1. Psalmus David. 2. Cum invocarem exaudivit 2. me Deus justitiae meae : in tri¬ bulatione dilatasti mihi. Miserere mei, et exaudi ora¬ tionem meam. 3. Filii hominum usquequo gravi corde ? ut quid diligitis vanitatem, et quaeritis menda¬ cium ? For the choir leader : on stringed instru- ments. A psalm of David. When I call on Him, my just God heareth me. When I was straitened, Thou didst set me at large, Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer. Ye children of men, how long will ye be of hardened heart ? Why love ye the futile ; and seek after the false ? 12 THE PSALMS 4. Et scitote quoniam miri- ficavit Dominus sanctum suum : Dominus exaudiet me cum cla¬ mavero ad eum. 5. Irascimini, et nolite pec¬ care : quae dicitis in cordibus vestris, in cubilibus vestris com¬ pungimini. 6. Sacrificate sacrificium ju¬ stitiae, et sperate in Domino. 4. Know ye that the Lord hath wondrously favoured His worshipper. The Lord doth hear me when I invoke Him. 5. Be angry [with me, if ye will] ; but sin not. What ye plan in your hearts repent of on your couches. 6. Offer a due sacrifice, and put your trust in the Lord. Multi dicunt: Quis ostendit nobis bona ? 7. Signatum est super nos lumen vultus tui Domine : de¬ disti laetitiam in corde meo. 8. A fructu frumenti, vini, et olei sui multiplicati sunt. Many there are who say : Who will give us to see good fortune ? 7. Shown forth upon us is the light of Thy face, O Lord. 8. Thou givest joy to my heart, Greater than doth the produce of corn and wine, and oil, when these abound. 9. In pace in idipsum dor¬ miam, et requiescam ; 10. Quoniam tu Domine sin¬ gulariter in spe constituisti me. 9. In peace I lay me down, and sleep forth- with. For Thou alone, O Lord, makest me to abide in calm security. 1. In finem represents the Greek T o reXo?. The Greek phrase seems to have arisen from a misreading or misunderstanding of the Hebrew lawlnasseah, ‘ for the choir-leader.’ Jerome has victori , as if there were question of the Aramaic verb n e sah, to be victorious. Accepting in finem as correct, some commentators took it to mean that the psalm was to be sung unceasingly; others, that it was to be sung towards the close of the Service ; others again, equate it with " fortissimo ” ; others take it as implying that the psalm could be sung at any time, and not merely on certain stated days or feasts. The Greek commentators have attached all sorts of deep meanings to the phrase. The sense of the Hebrew—“ for the choir-leader ” is to be preferred here, and in all the other psalm-inscriptions in which in finem occurs. The inscription apparently implies that every poem to which it is prefixed, belonged in a special way to the ofhcial collection of songs which would be in charge of the chief singer. In carminibus , ‘ with stringed instruments ’ (Hebrew). Psalm , a song sung to a musical accompaniment (mizmor). 2. Deus justitice mece, ‘ my just God.’ The construction is the common Hebrew one of noun in construet state with connected abstract substantive, instead of noun and adjective. Compare sacrificium justitice ; Deus salutis, and similar constructions. Dilatasti. For the Oriental, pain and sorrow and defeat are symbolised and suggested by narrowness of space restricting move- ment. Freedom of open spaces suggests strength and gladness, Hence the phrase, Ambulavi in latitudine (118, 45. Cf. 17, 20). A VESPER SONG J 3 Miserere, be gracious to me. Note that oratio is used freely in the Vulgate in the Christian sense of ‘ prayer.’ 3-5. “ Sons of men ” ( b e ne ’ish, not b e ne ’adam) is suggesti ve of men of standing. These he warns to be careful when they are tempted to scheme against him. They have spoken calumnies about him ; but the psalmist telis them that God has helped him with wondrous deeds of mercy in the past, and will do so once more against themselves. If they are angry with him, let them not give rein to their anger, and speak sinful words of malice against him. Or, the sense may be, according to the Hebrew : “ Tremble (at the thought of God's vengeance) and sin not.” Instead of breathing rage and malice against the psalmist. they should offer a due sacrifice, i.e., a sacrifice perfect in the sense required by the Law, and perfect also as inspired by a humble and contrite spirit. That sanctus (hasid), i.e., ‘ faithful worshipper ’ of the Lord, means necessarily, as many critics contend, a faithful Jew of the Maccabean period, is a mere hypothesis. Dicere in corde, “ think.” 6-9. While men are complaining : “ When shall we see happiness again ? ” the psalmist urges them to be of good heart. Quis ostendit, * O that some one might show ! ’ The psalmist uses here the words of the High Priesfs blessing, Num. vi. 25/. : “ May Yahweh bless thee and keep thee, and make His face to shine upon thee.” In that light of God’s face there can be no grief, but only a gladness greater than that of harvest-time. 7. In corde, for, in cor. The a with fructu, etc., is the Hebrew comparative particle min. The joy of an abundant harvest was regarded as one of the most intense of ali joys. Cf. Isaias ix. 3. 9. Conscious of the Lord's unceasing care, he can lay him down, and abandon himself to the sleep that comes without delay (in idipsum, ‘ at once '). PSALM V A PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE AND FOR THE PUNISHMENT OF THE GODLESS t H ERE David (according to the title of the poem) depicts himself as a priest who comes for the morning offering to the Temple. The morning Service is preluded by a prayer for God’s help and guidance. The priest sets the morning sacrifice in order, and then waits for the tokens of God’s good pleasure. He reflects that neither the unjust, nor liars, nor murderers, nor the treacherous, are tolerated in the presence of the Lord. And yet, he himself is before the face of his God in the Temple ; but he has this privilege only through the rich fulness of God’s kind- ness and mercy. He begs, then, to be kept on the path which God would have him follow. He calls for Divine punishment on the godless and unjust; but for the faithful worshippers like himself he begs the continuance of that Divine favour which protects, like an all-encompassing shield, the faithful friends of God. There is some difficulty in regarding David as the author of this psalm. The Temple-service seems to be presupposed—though it is possible that the “ Temple ’* (verse 8) is nothing more than the Tent in which the Ark was kept on Sion. At ali events, if David is the singer, he seems to take here the role of a priest who is entrusted with the care of the morning Service in Gods House. Lying, and treachery, and murder were familiar in Israel at all periods ; and the reference to general godlessness does not, therefore, greatly help to date the poem. 1. In finem pro ea quae haere- i. ditatem consequitur Psalmus David. 2. Verba mea auribus percipe 2. Domine, intellige clamorem me¬ um. 3. Intende voci orationis meae, 3. Rex meus et Deus meus. 4. Quoniam ad te orabo : 4. Domine mane exaudies vocem meam. 5. Mane astabo tibi et vi- 5. debo : Quoniam non Deus volens ini¬ quitatem tu es. For the choir-leader. According to . . . A psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O Lord ! Give heed to my cry. Regard the words of my prayer, My King and my God ! For to Thee do I pray, my Lord, in the morning ; Thou hearest my voice. In the morning I present myself before Thee, And remain on the watch (for Thee). For Thou art not a God that taketh pleasure in injustice ; A PRAYER FOR GUIDANCE i5 6. Neque habitabit juxta te 6. malignus : neque permanebunt injusti ante oculos tuos. 7. Odisti omnes, qui operan- 7. tur iniquitatem : perdes omnes qui loquuntur mendacium. Virum sanguinum et dolosum abominabitur Dominus : 8. Ego autem in multitudine 8. misericordiae tuae. Introibo in domum tuam : adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum in timore tuo. 9. Domine deduc me in ju- 9. stitia tua: propter inimicos meos dirige in conspectu tuo viam meam. 10. Quoniam non est in ore 10. eorum veritas : cor eorum va¬ num est. 11. Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum, linguis suis dolose agebant, Judica illos Deus. Decidant a cogitationibus suis, secundum multitudinem impie¬ tatum eorum expelle eos, quo¬ niam irritaverunt te Domine. 12. Et laetentur omnes, qui 12. sperant in te, in aeternum ex¬ sultabunt : et habitabis in eis. Et gloriabuntur in te omnes, qui diligunt nomen tuum, 13. Quoniam tu benedices jus- 13. to. Domine, ut scuto bonae vo¬ luntatis tuae coronasti nos. No wicked man can be Thy guest. The godless abide not In Thy presence, Thou hatest ali evil-doers ; Thou destroyest them that speak false- hood. The man of bloody deeds and of treachery The Lord doth abhor. But I, through the abundance of Thy graciousness, Do en ter into Thy House, And make homage towards Thy Temple With fear of Thee. O Lord, guide me in Thy justice, Because of my enemies. Make straight Thou my path before Thee. For in their mouth there is no truth ; Their heart is untrustworthy. Judge them, O God ; Let them fail in their schemes. For the multitude of their sins drive them forth ; Because they rouse Thee to anger, O Lord. And let all who trust in Thee be glad : • Let them rejoice forever. Thou wilt dwell in their midst. And all who love Thy Name will boast of Thee. For Thou dost bless the righteous, And, with the shield of Thy favour Thou dost encompass us, O Lord ! 11. An open grave is their throat; With their tongues they deal treacher- ously. 1. Pro ea quae hcereditatem consequitur ; seems to represent what was, perhaps, originally intended to be the name of a melody. The Hebrew, however, suggests that the reference is to the instrument with which the psalm was to be accompanied. ( N e hiloth may=flutes, or, more generally, wind-instruments.) Jerome, translating Pro haere- ditatibus, gives no help. The Greek translators had the same con- sonantal text before them which the Hebrew stili shows; but they read hannoheleth instead of hann e hiloth. We shall meet several • • parallel tities, or directions, throughout the Psalter. C/. lxi. 1; vi. 1; hi. 1 ; xxi. 1 ; etc. 3. voci orationis mece, ‘ my suppliant voice/ 5. Astabo, Hebrew, ‘ put in order/ i.e., make all things ready (for the moming sacrifice). Videbo, ‘ I will look for Thee/ i.e., will look i6 THE PSALMS out for some sign 1 of Thy gracious presence. The psalm may perhaps be regarded as having been sung as an accompaniment of the moming sacrifice. Jerome translates : mane prceparabor ad te et contemplabor. The singer reflects that not all have the privilege to be the guests of the Lord, as he has. Psalm xiv. enumerates the qualities which are required in the man who will be a guest in the dwelling of the Lord ; they are the qualities which are especially wanting in those described here, verses 5, 6, 7. The psalmist himself does not deserve the grace which he enjoys ; it is granted to him by the loving kindness of God. C/. Job v. 13 ; I Cor. iii. 20. 8. In multitudine miser icor dice tuce, thro’ Thy abounding gracious- ness, or favour, and not through any right or claim of the worshipper. Ad templum, ‘ towards the Temple/ If David is the psalmist, the Temple must mean the Tabernacle. 9. In justitia, either, ‘ on account of Thy justice/ or, ‘ on the path of Thy justice/ Propter inimicos —to save me from my foes ; it would be better, perhaps, to read it with deduc me in justitia than with the following. 10. Vanum : the Hebrew has : ‘ their heart (interior) is destruc- tion/ i.e. their whole thought is bent on destruction. The Hebrew, hawwoth, is not adequately represented by vanum. In Ps. xxxvii. 13 it is rendered by vanitates. Cf. Ii. 7. 11. An open sepulchre—because of the fetidness which it exhales, and its readiness to receive new occupants. The reference is to the malice of evil speech. For linguis suis dolose agebant Jerome has linguam suam levificant ; Hebrew, ‘ they make slippery their tongue/ Judica, Hebrew, ‘ declare them guilty/ Jerome, condemna eos, Greek, Kpiveiv = KaraKpLveiv. Decidant a, ‘ let them be foiled so as to fall short of/ Secundum multitudinem impietatum, etc. ‘ Because of their multi- tudinous crimes dash them headlong/ Irritaverunt (Jerome, provo¬ caverunt) =risen up in rebellion against (Hebrew). The psalmist shows no pity for the godless ; they are, after all, God’s foes even more than they are his. The contrast of the just and sinners is made with similar vividness in other psalms. Cf. Ps. lxiii. and, for a reflection of the psalmist on his own privileges like the present psalm, cf. Ps. xxv. 13. Ut scuto, Hebrew : * Thou dost crown ( i.e ., encompass) them with [Thy] good pleasure as with a shield/ The Hebrew sinnah signifies a great shield covering the whole body. 1 We do not know what kind of sign would be looked for. Probably the priests had at their disposal a body of traditional lore, dealing with the tokens of Divine acceptance of sacrifice. PSALM VI A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED \ T HE psalmist is in bitter need. Evil-doers and enemies of many kinds have caused him fear and unceasing care. His strength is failing, and his body is shaken, and his eyes have lost the brightness of life. He begs with intense earnestness to be saved from the death which threatens him. For the Lord can look for no advantage from his death. In the underworld there is no chorus of praise for God. All at once his fear is changed into confident hope, and with triumphant repetition he telis how the Lord has heard his prayer. This psalm is ascribed by the title to David. Some modem commentators have taken the psalm as a complaint of a man who is stricken with some dreadful sickness, and is threatened with approach- ing death, and, at the same time, is mocked by his foes. The poem, however, as suggested in the translation, may be understood of a man grievously persecuted by his foes. It might describe the troubles of David when persecuted by Saul, or again during the rebellion of Absalom, or during other grievous times which are not described in the historical books. His enemies are, apparently, expecting his speedy destruction. i. In finem in carminibus, i. For the choir-leader ; with stringed in- Psalmus David, pro octava. struments ; according to the octave (?) ; a psalm of David. 2. Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me. 3. Miserere mei Domine quo¬ niam infirmus sum : sana me Domine quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea. 2. Lord, in Thy wrath rebuke me not, And in Thy fury chastise me not. 3. Be gracious unto me, O Lord, for I am weak. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are shaken. 4. Et anima mea turbata est valde : sed tu Domine usque- quo ? 5. Convertere Domine, et eripe animam meam : salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam. 6. Quoniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui : in inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi ? 2 17 4. Yea, my soul is greatly dismayed. But Thou, O Lord—how long ? 5. Rescue me once again, O Lord, Rescue me for the sake of Thy gracious- ness. 6. For in death there is none who thinks of Thee ; And in the underworld who shall praise Thee? i8 THE PSALMS 7. Laboravi in gemitu meo, lavabo per singulas noctes lect¬ um meum : lacrimis meis stra¬ tum meum rigabo. 8. Turbatus est a furore ocu¬ lus meus : inveteravi inter omnes inimicos meos. 9. Discedite a me omnes, qui operamini iniquitatem : quo¬ niam exaudivit Dominus vocem fletus mei. 10. Exaudivit Dominus de¬ precationem meam, Dominus orationem meam suscepit. 11. Erubescant, et conturben¬ tur vehementer omnes inimici mei: convertantur et erubescant valde velociter. 7. I am wearied with my sighing, I bedew each night my bed; With my tears I bathe my couch. 8. My eye is dim for grief, I have grown old because of ali my foes. 9. Begone from me ali ye evil-doers, For the Lord hath heard my tearful cry; 10. The Lord hath heard my petition ; The Lord hath received my prayer. 11. Utterly ashamed and confused shall be my enemies ; Quickly again shall they be brought to shame. 1. Pro octava may describe some particular kind of stringed instrument suitable to accompany songs like this. The Targum explains—a harp of eight strings. 2-3. The psalmist is aware that his own sins have brought on him his sorrows. This is the first of the so-called Penitential Psalms. The others are xxxi., xxxvii., 1 ., ci., cxxix., cxlii. But, though the psalmist knows he has deserved his punishment, he begs that it may be lightened. His body is shaken like a building that totters in an earthquake. 4-5. Usquequo, ‘ why dost Thou delay to help for so long ? ’ Con¬ vertere et eripe may be, " turn graciously to me again, and rescue me ” ; or, convertere may represent, as in verse 11, a Hebrew idiom. The Hebrew verbs “ add ” and “ return ” are often combined with another verb to express a repetition of the action expressed by that other verb : v.g. et conversus vivificasti me (Ps. lxx. 20) ; revertetur et miserebitur nostri (Mich. vii. 19) ; neque convertentur operire terram (Ps. ciii. 9) ; ‘ they shall not again cover the earth ’ ; conversi sunt et tentaverunt Deum, ‘ again they tempted God' (Ps. lxxvii. 41) ; non adjiciat ut resurgat, ‘ he will not rise again ' (Ps. xl. 9) ; et apposuerunt adhuc peccare ei (Ps. lxxvii. 17) ; non apponat nocere ei (Ps. lxxxviii. 23) ; aut non apponet ut complacitior sit adhuc (Ps. lxxvi. 8) ; ut non apponat ultra magnificare se homo (Ps. ix. 39). Eripe animam — anima, life, as often in Vulgate Psalter. 6. In morte, in the land of death. The same thought is suggestcd in xxix. 10 ; lxxxvii. 12 ; cxiii. 17 [non mortui laudabunt te Domine, neque omnes qui descendunt in infernum). The same idea—that God can expect no glory or praise from the dead, is expressed elsewhere also in the Old Testament. C/. Isaias, xxxviii. 18-19 > Ecclesiasticus, xvii. 26 ; Baruch, ii. 17 ; Job, x. 21-22. Infernus, Hebrew, Sheol (Greek, Hades) ; it was, in an cient Hebrew thought, a sort of under- world where the dead lived in darkness a life which was only partly A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED l 9 real—a life without thought or action, and, hence, without any worship of God. Confiteri , ‘ praise ’—so mostly in Vulgate Psalter. 7-8. When other men rest, and find relief fiom their sorrow, then, especially in the solitude of night, the singer is distracted by his griefs. He makes his couch to swim (Hebrew) with the flood of his tears. No wonder, then that his eyes have lost their lustre, and become like those of an old man {turbatus est oculus). The furor is vexation or grief. He himself has grown old and feeble through the unceasing enmity of those who are e ver about him. 9 fi. The sudden transition from deep dejection to vigorous hope is often found in Hebrew poetry. It is due to the feeling that God has heard the poet’s prayer. Notice the triumphant repetition of “ has heard ” in 9 and 10. For convertantur, see above, verse 5. It is to be noted that the confusion of his enemies, and not their destruction, is asked for by the psalmist. PSALM VII A CRY FOR HELP T HE psalmist is threatened by many enemies, and begs for help against theai from the Lord. He claims that he has given no cause for their hostility. Had he given such cause he would, he says, willingly pay for his offence with death. But, since he is innocent, he begs the Lord to declare his innocence in a public trial—a trial like the Last Judgment—at which the nations will be gathered to hear the sentence. 1 In this trial God will, the singer hopes, take His seat once again as world-judge, and by His sentence put an end to evil, and protect the just. The Psalmist sees his enemies preparing a new attack against him, and warns them that they are devising destruction for themselves when they think of destroying him. For the intervention of the Lord to this end, which the singer now confidently expects, he will sing a hymn of praise. If we could ascertain the real nature of the charge made against the Psalmist which is referred to in verse 4, we should be able, perhaps, to date the poem with some certainty. But we do not know what is really implied in verse 4. The psalmist is obviously a person of great importance, since a great trial, like the Judgment of the nations, is demanded for his sake. The Davidic authorship claimed by the superscription, is, therefore, quite possible. We cannot identify the Benjaminite, Chusi. 1. Psalmus David, quem can- 1. A psalm of David which he sang because tavit Domino pro verbis Chusi of the words of the Benjaminite filii Jemini. Chusi. 2. Domine Deus meus in te speravi: salvum me fac ex omnibus persequentibus me, et libera me. 3. Nequando rapiat ut leo animam meam, dum non est qui redimat, neque qui salvum faciat. 4. Domine Deus meus si feci istud, si est iniquitas in manibus meis : 2. O Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust. Save me from my persecutors and rescue me, 3. That like a lion they rend me not, While there is none to rescue or save. 4. O Lord my God, if I have done this thing, If there is injustice on my hands, If I have requited those that did evil to me, 1 Some commentators regard verses 7-12 as an independent poem. The separation of 7-12 from the rest of the psalm is based chiefly upon metrical reasons. See Revue Biblique, January, 1920, p. 62, 67 /. It has been also suggested that vv. 13-17 should immediately follow v. 6, and that vv. 7-12 should be inserted between verses 17 aud 18. (Schlogl, Die Psalmen, p. 5). 20 A CRY FOR HELP 21 5. Si reddidi retribuentibus 5. mihi mala, decidam merito ab inimicis meis inanis. 6. Persequatur inimicus ani¬ mam meam, et comprehendat, et conculcet in terra vitam meam, et gloriam meam in pulverem deducat. 7. Exsurge Domine in ira tua : 7 et exaltare in finibus inimicorum meorum. Et exsurge Domine Deus meus in praecepto quod man¬ dasti : 8. Et synagoga populorum 8. circumdabit te. Et propter hanc in altum regredere : 9. Dominus judicat populos. 9. Judica me Domine secundum justitiam meam, et secundum innocentiam meam super me. 10. Consumetur nequitia pec- 10. catorum, et diriges justum, scru¬ tans corda et renes Deus. 11. Justum adjutorium meum 11. a Domino, qui salvos facit rectos corde. 12. Deus judex justus, fortis, 12. et patiens : numquid irascitur per singulos dies ? 13. Nisi conversi fueritis gla- 13. dium suum vibrabit : arcum suum tetendit, et paravit illum. 14. Et in eo paravit vasa 14. mortis : sagittas suas ardenti¬ bus effecit. 15. Ecce parturiit injustitiam: 15. concepit dolorem, et peperit ini¬ quitatem. 16. Lacum aperuit, et effodit 16. eum : et incidit in foveam quam fecit. 17. Convertetur dolor ejus in 17. caput ejus : et in verticem ipsi¬ us iniquitas ejus descendet. 18. Confitebor Domino secun- 18. dum justitiam ejus : et psallam nomini Domini altissimi. Then, indeed, let me fall helpless before my foes. Then let the enemy pursue me, and seize me ; And tread down my life to earth, And bring down my glory td the dust. Arise, O Lord, in Thy anger. Arise, O Lord my God ! for the sake of the command which Thou hast given. Rise up against the furious excesses of my foes. And the assembly of the nations will gather round Thee, And do Thou, because of it, return (to Thy throne) on high. The Lord is judge over the nations. Judge me, O Lord, according to my justice, And according to my innocence—which is in me. Let the malice of sinners be brought to an end : And do Thou confirm the just man ; Thou God that searchest heart and reins ! My true help is from the Lord, Who maketh safe the upright of heart. God is a just, a strong, a long-suffering judge. Doth He grow angry every day ? If ye be not converted, He will wield the sword. He hath stretched out His bow and made it ready ; And on it He holdeth ready death- dealing darts ; Things of fire hath He made His arrows. Behold he (the sinner) is big with in- justice. He hath conceived mischief, and brought forth sin. He hath digged a pit, and hollowed it out; And hath fallen into the pit which he hath made. His mischief falleth back on his own head And on his own pate his malice returns. I will praise the Lord because of His justice ; And I will hymn the name of the Lord, the Most High. 1. The Hebrew calls this poem a shiggayon —a term of uncertain meaning (cf. Hab. iii. 1). Jerome’s rendering, Pro ignoratione, gives 22 THE PSALMS no help. In his translation Jerome takes Chusi as meaning Ethiopian and Jemini he regards as a proper name. But filius jemini represent, the Hebrew, ben y e mini, Benjaminite, and Chusi, therefore, must be the name of an individual. The Massoretic text reads Kush, but the Greek reading Chusi (=Hebrew Kushi) is to be preferred. Chusi is probably to be connected with the Kushi of II Kings, xviii. 21-23, 31-32 (though the Kushi of that context is not called a Benjaminite). In his Commentarioli in psalmos (Anecdota Maredsolana, 3, 1, p. 18) Jerome says : Sciendum itaque Chusi interpretari Aethiopem, et totum psalmum contra Satd esse conscriptum. . . . quem Aethiopem vocat propter sanguinarios et tetros et crudeles mores. The only support of this view is the fact that Saul was a ben y e mini, a Benjaminite. 2. In te speravi, Hebrew ; ‘ in Thee do I seek refuge/ 3. The enemy is likened to a ravening lion. Rapiat, Hebrew, ‘ rend/ animam meam, me. 4. 5. Istud is the charge. The Hebrew suggests that one charge was in gratitude towards kindly and helpful friends—■* If I have requited with evil those who lived at peace with me/ The clause that folio ws, runs in Hebrew : “In fact I rescued those who were unreasonably hostile towards me/ So far was the psalmist from injuring his friends, that he actually went out of his way to assist his foes. The Latin puts a different complexion on the text. Here the charge seems to be, either that the poet has requited evil for evil, or, that he has requited kindness (retribuentibus^ dantibus) withinjury. A b inimicis inanis, either, ‘ fali away hopeless before his foes ’; or, * fail hopelessly through the action of his foes/ 6. Anima, vita, and gloria are practically synonymous. In terra, for classical, in terram. 7. But, sin ce he is innocent, the Lord should justify him before ali. Exaltare in finibus, literally, ‘ Show Thy power in the territories of my foes/ But fines may, perhaps, be taken in connection with the Hebrew ebhrah as—‘ passing beyond/ ‘ excess/ Jerome refers it directly, with Hebrew, to God : Elevare indignans super hostes meos. In prcecepto, Hebrew ‘ trial/ the trial which the Lord has ordered for ali, the world-judgment. The Vulgate might be rendered : * Because of the Trial which Thou hast commanded/ The Hebrew says : ‘ Because Thou hast ordered a Trial/ 8. Description of the great assize. Propter hanc ; better, super hanc. The Lord is prayed to take His throne as ruler and as Judge of the nations. The throne would be set in sight of ali, and, therefore, above the'gathering. 9. Super me, Hebrew * alai’ (which is) in me. The verse might be also rendered thus : ‘ The Lord judgeth the nations : Procure for me justice, O Lord ! According to my justice, and my innocence, [let it be done] to me/ Some verb like ya‘ a bhor (Job xiii. 13) would, in this view, have to be understood. A CRY FOR HELP 23 10. Diriges, establish, confirm. Cf. xxxvi. 23, Apud Dominum gressus hominis dirigentur ; xxxix. 3, Direxit gressus meas ; lxxvii. 8, quae non direxit cor suum ; ci. 29, Semen eorum in cBternum dirigetur. The general sense is, * make stable/ ‘ secure/ 11. Justum adjutorium, such help as is efficacious, and such as one may reasonably expect. 12. The question implies that God is not angry every day, or, all the time. The Hebrew says that God is angry (or threatens) every day. Both texts express a truth. 13. If the psalmisfs enemies will not tum to God, God is ready with His weapons to destroy them. 14. Vasa mortis, Hebrew, ‘ instruments of death/ Ardentibus—ardentes. Cf. Ephes, vi. 16. 15. The enemy of God and of the psalmist is pregnant with the mali ce which he has devised. 16. The picture is taken from the sportsman’s life. Pits were dug to serve as traps for the wild beasts. 17. The picture is here that of a man who awkwardly throws a missile so that it falis back on himself. The dolor is the mischief which he has planned for others. 18. Altissimus is one of God’s tities ; it does not serve here merely as an attribute of Dominus. PSALM VIII MAN’S LITTLENESS AND GREATNESS HE glory of God, as shown forth in nature and in man, is the theme of this poem. God’s wondrous greatness can every- where be seen. It is reflected especially in the heavens. When it is hymned by infant lips it disarms the enemies of God. Over against the great glory of God, man appears so trifling that it is strange that God should give any thought to him. Yet God has taken such deep interest in him, that He has given him a greatness far above that of nature, a greatness only less than divine. This kindness of God towards man only serves to show forth more fully His greatness. The poem ends with the same awestruck con- fession of Gods glory with which it began. The song seems to be a song of the vintage season. The glory of the nightly heavens is so emphasised that we may, perhaps, suppose that it was sung in the night time. Possibly it was sung during a night-watch in the Temple during the feast of Tabernacles. It may have been composed by David as a meditation on the glory of God, without any reference to liturgical use. The appropriation to a vintage-festival, like Tabernacles, implied in Pro torcularibus, is not necessarily Davidic. « i. In finem pro torcularibus, Psalmus David. 2. Domine Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tu¬ um in universa terra ! Quoniam elevata est magni¬ ficentia tua, super coelos. 3. Ex ore infantium et la¬ ctentium perfecisti laudem pro¬ pter inimicos tuos, ut destruas inimicum et ultorem. 4. Quoniam videbo coelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum : lunam et stellas, quae tu fundasti. 5. Quid est homo, quod me¬ mor es ejus ? aut filius hominis, quoniam visitas eum ? 1. For the choir-leader. For the wine presses. A Psalm of David. (Choir) : 2. O Lord, our Lord, How wonderful is Thy name In all the earth ! For Thy glory is exalted above the heavens. 3. From the mouth of babes and sucklings Thou hast set up praise, because of Thy foes That Thou mightest destroy (Thy) enemy and vengeful foe. (Single voice) : 4. If I look on Thy heavens The work of Thy hands, And on the moon and the stars which Thou hast made.— 5. What is man that Thou shouldst remem- ber him ? Or the son of man that Thou shouldst visit him ? 24 MAN’S LITTLENESS AND GREATNESS 25 6. Minuisti eum paulo minus 6. ab Angelis, gloria et honore coronasti eum : 7. Et constituisti eum super 7. opera manuum tuarum. 8. Omnia subjecisti sub pedi- 8. bus ejus, Oves et boves universas : in¬ super et pecora campi. 9. Volucres coeli, et pisces 9. maris, qui perambulant semitas maris. 10. Domine Dominus noster, quam admirabile est nomen tu¬ um in universa terra ! And (yet) Thou hast set him but a little below the angels : With glory and with honour Thou hast encompassed him ; And Thou hast placed him over the works of Thy hands. All things hast Thou put beneath his feet.— Sheep, and cattle—all of them, And the wild beasts too, The birds of heaven, and the fishes of the sea Which traverse the paths of the sea. (Choir) : 10 O Lord, our Lord ! How wonderful is Thy name In all the earth ! 1. Pro torcularibus. Cf. Ps. lxxx and lxxxiii. The Hebrew suggests here rather a reference to a musical instrument. The Patristic commentators attached very wonderful mystic meanings to the wine- presses. St. Augustine, for instance, explains them as the Church, or the Word of God, or martyrdom. 2. Domine Dominus noster is the rendering of ‘ Yahweh Our Lord ! * ‘ Nomen * is equi valent to majesty, being. 3. The heavens are the garment of God [cf. Ps. ciii. 1-2), and in the heavens all eyes can see revealed His glory and majesty. Perfecisti, produced, called into being, established. The lisping of babes, that behold thq wonders of God's world, is a bulwark set up against scoffers and non-believers (Matt. xi. 16). The Hebrew text is, however, somewhat uncertain ; and the idea may be that God has set up the heavens as a stronghold against His foes. 4. Quoniam ought to be cum. The Latin here simply reproduces the Greek. The antiphonal arrangement suggested in the transla- tion would explain the transition to first person singular. The general choir would sing verses 1-3 and 10 ; the remainder would be sung by a single voice. 5. The filius hominis is obviously parallel to homo, and both seem to have the same meaning. The application of verses 6 and 7 to Christ in Hebrews ii. 6-9 has led to the view that the ‘ Son of Man ' is here to be understood in a Messianic sense {cf. also I Cor. xv. 25-28).. It seems, however, to be nothing more than the poetical equivalent or parallel, of ‘ man.’ Visitas, in the sense of ‘ taking interest in,’ ‘ taking thought for/ Sometimes the word suggests unfriendly interest, punishment. 6. The immediate reference is to the dignity of man, of human nature geneifilly. The Hebrew text speaks of * God ’—not of angels : 26 THE PSALMS ‘ Thou hast made him to lack but little of a God/ The translation ‘ angels ' represents, no doubt, the Jewish exegesis of the age of the Greek translators. The “ ab ” expresses comparison, according to the Hebrew idiom. In the Epistle to the Hebrews (ii. 6) the Greek reading is followed, and fipaxv tl [minus) is taken in a temporal sense, ' for a brief period/ i.e. the lifetime of Jesus on earth. Gloria and honor are generally used of God's attributes. The whole verse repeats the thought of Gen. i., that man is made in the image of God. In this is shown chiefly the wonderful interest (•visitatio ) which God takes in man. 7. Man's control over nature is also to be regarded as part of his close likeness to God. C/. I Cor. xv. 26 : Omnia enim subjecit sub pedibus ejus, where the Messianic reference of this verse is implied. (cf. Ephes. i. 22). What is true of man, generally, must be true, in the deepest and highest sense, of the man who sums up ali things in Himself. The verses 7-9 look like a poetic meditation on Gen. i. 26, 28. The pecora campi are the wild beasts, as distinguished from the domestic animals. 9. Qui perambulant semitas maris is, in Hebrew, a new class of beings, * everything that doth traverse the paths of the sea/ including the cete illa grandia of Gen. i. 21. 10. The poem is rounded off with the expression of wonder at God's greatness with which it began. PSALM IX A SONG OF THANKS FOR THE OVER- THROW OF ENEMIES T HE first part of this psalm (verses 2-21) is a song of thanks- giving for the rescue of Israel from foreign enemies ; the second part (22-39) i s a prayer for protection against troubles which ha ve arisen within the Hebre w State., Part I. The Lord has held judgment over the heathen strangers. He has reduced their cities to ruins, and blotted out their name for e ver. Israel, avenged and victorious, sings glad songs of praise and thanks in Jerusalem. The heathens ha ve met with that same fate which they had planned for Sion. The first part ends with a strong appeal to the Lord to set a masterful ruler over the heathens that they may realise that they are but mere men. Part II begins with a complaint that the Lord is not helping in the hour of need. He seems to stand afar off, and to give no thought to His friends. The friends of the Lord are here the poor and the God-fearing, who are pursued and oppressed by godless Israelites. The oppression of the weaker Israelites by the wealthy and insolent and God-defying aristocrats is vividly described. The psalmist prays to God, as the sole refuge of the weak and lowly, to break the power of their ruthless oppressors. The concluding verses (37-39) serve as a conclusion to both parts of the psalm. The foreign enemies ha ve been ruined, and the oppressors within Israel ha ve learned the lesson that man is but man, and that God is the shield of the weak and oppressed. The two parts of the poem end with the same thought. In this analysis it is assumed that the two parts constitute a single poem. The Hebrew text regards them as two separate poems. The combined arrangement is, however, supported by certain features of the Hebrew text itself. This psalm is one of the alphabetical psalms, and the alphabetical structure is continued through the two parts. The two parts form a single psalm in the Greek versions, and in Jerome’s version. The Hebrew text of the second part (Ps. x. Hebrew) has no title—as if it had been set in isolation by some accident. As we see, the two parts, besides being connected by the acrostic arrangement, end similarly, and the situation of Part I is implied in the conclusion of Part II. The Vulgate arrangement of the two partsr as one poem is, therefore, to be retained. Since, however, Part II forms a separate psalm in the Hebrew text, the 27 28 THE PSALMS Vulgate numbering of the psalms will henceforth, for the most part, be different from that of the Massoretic text (and therefore also, of the Revised Version). The occasion of this poem cannot be determined. David had many experiences of victories abroad and troubles at home. Yet it is very difficult to find in any known incidents of his reign a background for the ninth Psalm. The tendency of many modern commentators is to parallel Part I with the prophecy of Nahum, and to explain the defeat of the heathen as referring to the fall of Niniveh. More radical critics would find the inspiration for the two parts in events of the Maccabean period. If we set aside the Vulgate ascription of the psalm to David, we shall have nothing to guide us in placing the poem but mere subjectivism. The words of the title : Pro occultis filii may point back to a consonantal Hebrew text which could be translated, ‘ According to the death of the Son ’•—but this again, would give us no help in discovering the historical context of the psalm. i. In finem pro occultis filii, Psalmus David. i. For the choir-leader. According to . . a psalm of David. Part I 2. Confitebor tibi Domini in 2. toto corde meo : narrabo omnia mirabilia tua. 3. Laetabor et exsultabo in 3. te : psallam nomini tuo Altis¬ sime, 4. In convertendo inimicum 4. meum retrorsum : infirmabun¬ tur, et peribunt a facie tua. 5. Quoniam fecisti judicium meum et causam meam : sedi¬ sti super thronum qui judicas justitiam. 6. Increpasti Gentes, et per¬ iit impius : nomen eorum delesti in aeternum, et in saeculum saeculi. 7. Inimici defecerunt frameae in finem : et civitates eorum destruxisti. Periit memoria eorum cum sonitu : I praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart: I publish ali Thy wondrous deeds. I exuit and rejoice in Thee ; I hymn Thy name, Most High. Because my enemy falleth back, And they [my foes] grow powerless, and come to naught before Thee. 5. For Thou dost conduct my trial and my case : Thou dost sit on the throne judging justly ; 6. Thou dost chide the nations and the god- less ceases to be. Their name Thou dost blot out for ever and aye. 7. The swords of the foe have been alto- gether destroyed ; And their cities Thou hast over- whelmed. The memory of them is vanished with [the speed of] a [sudden] crash. 8. Et Dominus in aeternum permanet. Paravit in judicio thronum suum : 8. But the Lord remaineth for ever. He hath set up His throne for holding trial: A SONG OF THANKS 29 9. Et ipse judicabit orbem 9. terrae in aequitate, judicabit po¬ pulos in justitia. 10. Et factus est Dominus re- 10. fugium pauperi: adjutor in opportunitatibus, in tribula¬ tione. 11. Et sperent in te qui no- 11. verunt nomen tuum : quoniam non dereliquisti quaerentes te Domine. And He doth judge the world with fair- ness, And He doth judge the peoples with justice. The Lord is a refuge to the poor ; He is a helper in good time, in trial. They that know Thy name shall trust in Thee, For Thou dost not abandon those who seek Thee, O Lord. 12. Psallite Domino, qui habi- 12. tat in Sion : annuntiate inter Gentes studia ejus : 13. Quoniam requirens san- 13. guinem eorum recordatus est: non est oblitus clamorem pau¬ perum. Hymn the Lord who dwelleth on Sion ; Publish among the nations His deeds ; For as an avenger of blood He is mindful of them (i.e. the poor) : He doth not forget the cry of need of the poor. 14. Miserere mei Domine : vide humilitatem meam de inimicis meis. 15. Qui exaltas me de portis mortis, ut annuntiem omnes laudationes tuas in portis filiae Sion. 16. Exsultabo in salutari tuo : infixae sunt Gentes in interitu, quem fecerunt. In laqueo isto, quem abs¬ conderunt, comprehensus est pes eorum. 17. Cognoscetur Dominus ju¬ dicia faciens : in operibus ma¬ nuum suarum comprehensus est peccator. 18. Convertantur peccatores in infernum, omnes Gentes quae obliviscuntur Deum. 19. Quoniam non in finem ob¬ livio erit pauperis : patientia pauperum non peribit in finem. 14. Pity me, O Lord : behold my humiliation at the hands of my foes,— 15. Thou who dost raise me out of the gates of death, So that I may recount ali Thy glorious deeds In the gates of the daughter of Sion. 16. I rejoice because of Thy help. Caught are the nations in the destruction which they contrived : In the net which they hid, their own foot is snared. 17. The Lord is made known by His practice of justice, But the sinner is enmeshed in the works of his own hands. 18. Sinners shall be cast into the under- world— All the nations who give no thought to God. 19. But not altogether will the poor be for- gotten : The enduring hope of the poor will not be always frustrated. 20. Exsurge Domine, non- 20. confortetur homo : judicentur Gentes in conspectu tuo. 21. Constitue Domine legis- 21. latorem super eos : ut sciant Gentes quoniam homines sunt. Arise, O Lord ; let no man be presump- tuous; Let the nations be brought to trial before Thee. Appoint, O Lord, a lawgiver over them, That the nations may know that they are but men. 3° THE PSALMS Part II 22. Why dost Thou keep Thyself far off, O Lord ? Why dost Thou suffer the right moment to pass, in season of need ? 23. While the godless is proud, the poor man is consumed (with care) ; Let them (the godless) be caught by the pians which they devise. 24. For the sinner boasts of his lusts, And the godless one is loud in his own praise. 25. The sinner embittereth the Lord. In the abundance of his contempt [he saith] “ He maketh no inquiry.” 26. There is no God before his eyes. His ways are always shameful: 22. Ut quid Domine recessisti longe, despicis in opportunitati¬ bus, in tribulatione ? 23. Dum superbit impius, in¬ cenditur pauper : comprehen¬ duntur in consiliis quibus cogi¬ tant. 24. Quoniam laudatur pecca¬ tor in desideriis animae suae : et iniquus benedicitur. 25. Exacerbavit Dominum peccator, secundum multitudi¬ nem irae suae non quaeret. 26. Non est Deus in conspectu ejus : inquinatae sunt viae illius in omni tempore. Auferuntur judicia tua a facie ejus : omnium inimicorum suo¬ rum dominabitur. 27. Dixit enim in corde suo : Non movebor a generatione in generationem sine malo. Thy laws are put away from before him He lords it over all his enemies. 27. He thinketh : " I shall not be shaken ” ; For all time I (shall be) free from mis- fortune.” 28. Cujus maledictione os ple¬ num est, et amaritudine, et do¬ lo : sub lingua ejus labor et dolor. 29. Sedet in insidiis cum divi¬ tibus in occultis, ut interficiat innocentem. 30. Oculi ejus in pauperem respiciunt : insidiatur in ab¬ scondito, quasi leo in spelunca sua. Insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem, rapere pauperem, dum attrahit eum. & 31. In laqueo suo humiliabit eum : inclinabit se, et cadet, cum dominatus fuerit pauperum. 28. His mouth is full of cursing, and taunting, and treachery ; Beneath his tongue are toil and mischief. 29. He sits in ambush with the rich, That he may slay the innocent in the darkness. 30. His eyes watch for the poor. He lies in ambush in hidden places—like a lion in his lair : He lies in ambush to seize the poor. He seizes (him) and drags him along. 31. With his noose he brings him down : He stoopeth down, and lieth (on the ground ?) when he has mastered the poor. 32. Dixit enim in corde suo : 32. He thinketh : “ God doth forget: Oblitus est Deus, avertit faciem He turneth away His face that He may suam ne videat in finem. see nothing whatsoever.” 33. Exsurge Domine Deus, 33. exaltetur manus tua : ne ob¬ liviscaris pauperum. 34. Propter quid irritavit im- 34. pius Deum ? dixit enim in corde suo : Non requiret. 35. Vides quoniam tu labo- 35. rem et dolorem consideras : ut tradas eos in manus tuas. Tibi derelictus est pauper; orphano tu eris adjutor. Anse, O Lord God ! Let Thy hand be raised. Forget not the poor. Why doth the godless embitter God ? He thinketh : “ He will ask no questions.” Thou seest (this), for Thou lookest on labour and pain That Thou mayest take them into Thine own care. To Thee the poor man is left, For the orphan Thou art the Protector A SONG OF THANKS 31 36. Contere brachium pecca- 36. toris et maligni : quaeretur pec¬ catum illius, et non invenietur. Shatter, Thou, the arm of the sinner and the evil -doer : His sin will be sought, but it will not be found. 37. Dominus regnabit in aeter¬ num, et in saeculum saeculi : peri¬ bitis Gentes de terra illius. 38. Desiderium pauperum ex¬ audivit Dominus : praeparatio¬ nem cordis eorum audivit auris tua. 39. Judicare pupillo et humili, ut non apponat ultra magnifi¬ care se homo super terram. 37. The Lord will be King for ever and ever. The natio ns will come to naught, far away from His land. 38. The Lord doth listen to the desire of the poor : Thine ear doth hear the prayer of their heart, 39. To do justice to the orphan and the oppressed, So that mere man may no more proudly exalt himself on earth. 1. Pro occultis filii would represent a Hebrew ‘ al ' a lumoth labben. The Masoretic text first omits the ‘al and reads, ‘al muth labben. Other groupings of the Hebrew consonants are possible also. 1 Perhaps we have here the name of the melody to which the psalm was to be sung—‘ Death to the Son/ or ‘ Death makes pale/ etc. (The Fathers interpret the occulta filii as the mysteries of Christ, the Son of God.) 2. Confitebor is equivalent to laudabo. Narrabo, Hebrew : * Let me recount/ 3. In te, ‘ because of Thee/ 4. In convertendo inimicum is an attempt to reproduce the Greek infinitive with article. It appears in a stili more un-Latin form in Ps. cxxv. 1 : In convertendo Dominus captivitatem Sion, and ci. 23, In conveniendo populus in unum. Infirmabuntur and peribunt are not necessarily to be understood of the future. Jerome has : cum ceciderint, corruerint, perierint. 5. Judicium et causam neam ; Hebrew : ‘ My verdict and my trial/ The sense seems to be : ‘ Thou hast undertaken the defence of my case/ The ‘ throne ’ is the judge’s seat ; judicas justitiam, Hebrew idiom for judicas juste (cf. judicatis iniquitatem, Ps. lxxxi. 2). 6. The gentes are the heathen peoples who lived across the borders of Palestine. 7. Inimici is genitive. Framea is used in Vulgate for sword. Defecerunt, ‘ perished/ ‘ were destroyed.’ In finem, ‘ for ever/ or, ‘ completely/ The Hebrew text here implied is the same as the Massoretic as far as the consonants are concerned. The Massoretes read, however : ‘ The enemy are vanished—ruins for ever/ Cum sonitu : either, * with a great and crashing overthrow/ or* ‘ with the §uddenness of a crash/ The Hebrew hemmah (‘ they themselves ') was read by the Greek translators as some form of the verb hamah. Theodoret says there is here a metaphor taken from 1 Schlogl reads ' Alemeth—a place-name, instead of ‘alrnuth. 32 THE PSALMS the fall of houses during an earthquake. The Hebrew text is not here very reliable. Jerome translates : completae sunt solitudines in finem, et civitates subvertisti ; periit memoria eorum cum ipsis. 8. In judicio, for the purpose of judging, or holding trial. io. Pauperi, the oppressed, in general. In opportunitatibus in tribulatione ; Hebrew : * in seasons of dis¬ tress/ The Greek has taken Hebrew, bassarah (distress) as b e sarah (in distress). 12. There is a striking parallelism between verses 12-17 an d verses 2-7. Studia, all that He does for His people. Jerome has cogitationes ejus. 13. Requirens sanguinem, an avenger of blood (unjustly shed). The ‘ poor * ; Hebrew, either, ‘ the oppressed/ or, ‘ the meek/ 14. Hebrew : ‘ The Lord hath been gracious to me ; and hath beheld (so, probably) my oppression at the hand of those who hate me/ 15. ‘ He raiseth me up into safety from the gates of death/ i. e. rescued me when death threatened. God saved the singer from death so that he might live to praise his Helper publicly in (the gates of) Sion. 16. In salutari tuo, 1 the help which Thou givest/ Infixce, etc. The first picture is suggested by the method of trapping big game in pits, into which the wild animals walked unawares, and from which they could not climb out. The second picture is suggested by the snaring of game. Interitus ; Hebrew, ‘ pit ' ; Jerome, fovea. To ‘ hide * snares is a Hebrew expression. 18. Convertantur, they will be sent back, or they will be given up, to Sheol—the world of the dead. The Hebrew verb shubh, here translated converti, does not necessarily mean to retum. It can mean, as here, to make for one’s own due place. 19. The enduring hope {expectatio) of the lowly and oppressed will not be always disappointed. 20. God is called upon to come forward, and show His power against the overweening self-confidence of men. It is a prayer for the protection of Israel against the heathen. 21. Set a ‘ master * over them, corresponding to a Hebrew, moreh ; Jerome has terrorem, reading Hebrew mora’. 22. Here begins the ioth Psalm in the Massoretic text. God was formerly e ver ready with His help, but now He seems to be unwilling to give assistance. He stands afar off, as if He did not care. Despicis, ‘ Thou pretendest not to notice/ Hebrew: ‘ Thou dost hide Thyself/ In opportunitatibus, etc., cf. v. 10 ; Jerome : in temporibus augustiae. 23. Dum superbit, ‘ because of the pride/ etc. Incenditur : the A SONG OF THANKS 33 Hebrew suggests the idea of a pursuit of the lowly which brings the latter to a fever heat. 24. Laudatur and benedicitur may be taken here in a media sense. The Hebrew is here uncertain in meaning. 25. The Hebrew makes the sense ciear : in his arrogance (Hebrew, ‘ the loftiness of his nostrils *: ’appo = his anger and his pride) the godless says : ‘ He (i.e. God) will make no inquiry [into my affairs]. There is no God/ Then the psalmi st adds : ‘ Such are ali his thoughts/ “ Non quceret ” : “ Non est Deus ” are words of the godless. In conspectu ejus is a free rendering of ‘ [Such are] all his thoughts (or plannings)/ The denial of God here referred to, is not a denial of God's existence, but of God’s interest in men's doings (Providence). 26. Dominabitur . Translates a Hebrew verb which means pufhng out the cheeks. This gesture of contempt he displays to his foes. 27. Dicere in corde, 1 think/ He is quite confident of permanent good fortune. 28. The labor (toil) and dolor (mischief) are, of course, intended for others. 29. The “ divites ” are the natural allies of the godless. The prophetic literature of Israel contains many references to the op- pression of the poor at the hands of the aristocracy. The Massoretic text does not speak of the " rich ” here. It reads : ‘ He lies in ambush in the villages/ The Hebrew words for “ villages ” and “ rich,” though they are spelled very differently, resemble each other somewhat in sound. It is better to read in occultis with interficiat. 30. His eyes from his hiding-place watch for the approach of his victim. He is like a lion watching for prey. In abscondito corre- sponds to in occultis of the preceding verse. What follows here describes the seizing of the prey. Attrahit expresses either the en- ticing of the victim into the snare set for him, or the actual seizing of him. 31. He pulls the victim down with his noose : then he stoops down, preparing, as a lion might, to spring on his prey. It is difficult to explain cadet of the oppressor. Did the Latin translator regard it as describing a stage in the seizing of his prey by the oppressor ? Or, does it describe the careless rest which the lion takes as soon as the resistance of his victim has been overcome ? The Hebrew seems to take the last clause of the verse as a description of the victim in his overthrow : ‘ The helpless one falis into his power/ 32. Hebrew : ‘ He thinks : “ God has forgotten : He hath hidden His face : He will ne ver see (it) ” (cf. verses 25-26). 33. It is time for God to show the power of His right hand in the protection of the oppressed. 34. How can God tolerate the policy and theory of the godless ? 3 34 THE PSALMS 35. This is a contradiction of the practical atheist's view. God does see, and will remember. He is interested in the pain and trouble of His friends, and will take their case into His hands. Indeed, the oppressed have no other hope or solace but God. The orphan is a type of the helpless generally. 36. When the power of the impious is broken he will be able to sin no more. 37. The Lord has taken His seat as King once more. This appears from the defeat of the godless, and the protection of the poor and helpless. His enemies have vanished from His land, i.e. from the soil of Israel (corresponding to the national outlook of Part I of poem). The next verse expresses the fulfilment of the prayers of Part II of the Psalm. 38. Prceparatio cordis, what the heart has prepared or proposed, i.e. the desires or prayers of the heart. 39. God is to give fair trial to the lowly and weak, so that His enemies, outside Israel and within it, may realise that there is a divine rule of the world, and that they are, after ali, mere men. C/. verse 21. Thus the two parts of the poem are brought into a unity by the concluding verse. PSALM X TRUST IN THE LORD! I T is a time of perii. The social order is disturbed, and timid friends recommend the singer to fly to the safety of the hilis. But the psalmist is full of trust in God. However uncertain all things on earth may become, the throne of God is fixed immovably in heaven, and from it God will deal out justi ce to the world. Mockers and sinners will be duly punished, and the pious and just will see the friendship of God, and live in the light of God’s face. Possibly we ha ve here an echo of the troubles which straitened Israel in the days of David s wars with the Philistines. Or, the poem may reflect the difficulties of David during his persecution by Saul. He was often during that time an outcast, hiding, like a frightened bird, in the hilis. But the stress is here laid on the chaotic condition of the State, rather than on the personal perils of a fugitive such as David was when he fled from the court of Saul. The general tone and style of the psalm strongly remind one of Psalms iii. and iv., and, from a literary point of view, the three psalms seem to have had a common origin. i. In finem, Psalmus David. i. 2. In Domino confido : quo- 2. modo dicitis animae meae : Transmigra in montem sicut passer ? 3. Quoniam ecce peccatores 3. intenderunt arcum, paraverunt sagittas suas in pharetra, ut sagittent in obscuro rectos corde. 4. Quoniam quae perfecisti 4. destruxerunt: justus autem quid fecit ? 5. Dominus in templo sancto suo, Dominus in caelo sedes ejus : Oculi ejus in pauperem respi¬ ciunt palpebrae ejus interrogant filios hominum. For the choir-leader. A Psalm of David. I trust in the Lord : How can ye say to me : “ Fly like a bird to the mountains ” ? For, see, the sinners have stretched the bow, And have put their arrows in the quiver, To shoot in the darkness at the upright of heart! For what thou didst establish they destroy* But the just man—what can he do ? 5. The Lord is in His holy palace. The Lord has His throne in heavert His eyes look on the poor ; And His eyelids test the children of men. 35 THE PSALMS 6. Dominus interrogat justum et impium : qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam. 7. Pluet super peccatores la¬ queos : ignis, et sulphur, et spiritus procellarum pars calicis eorum. 8. Quoniam justus Dominus, et justitias dilexit: aequitatem vidit vultus ejus. 6. The Lord testeth the just and the sinner ; He that loveth wickedness hateth him- self. 7. He raineth snares down on sinners ; Fire, and brimstone, and storm-wind are the portion of their cup, 8. For the Lord is just, and loveth just deeds His countenance is turned unto justice. 2. The speakers seem to be pessimistic friends of the singer (in the Latin text). The Hebrew makes them, apparently, speak mock- ingly : ‘ Away to your mountain, small bird! ’ The forest-clad hilis would be the natural home and hiding-place of the bird. Passer is a name for small birds in general: Hebrew sippor. The hunters (i.e. the impious) are getting ready bow and arrow to shoot the righteous : the symbol—bird, is here replaced by the thing symbolised—the persecuted just. 3. Pharetra : Hebrew, ‘ string/ 4. The Hebrew has : ‘ If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do ? ’ The “ foundations ” are “ quce perfecistii.e. the laws which thy authority has established. If all that David has done to establish law and order is overthrown, what is the advantage of his further effort ? This seems to be part of the st at ement of the speakers of verse 2. 5. This is the confident reply of the psalmist. God is in heaven as ruler of the world, and justice must, therefore, in the end prevail. ‘ God's in His heaven : alFs right with the world/ In templo, in His palace, where also stands His throne—heaven. While God’s throne stands, truth must prevail. Palpebrce —parallel to oculi. Why the eyelids ? Is it that God sees even when His eyes seem to be closed ; or, is it implied that, in His close scrutiny, God lowers somewhat His eyelids—as a man does when he wishes to see an object more closely ? But most likely we ha ve here equivalence of eyes and eyelids, as elsewhere, in parallelism : Cf. Jer. ix. 17 : ‘ That our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters/ 6. The Hebrew reads : ‘ His (i.e. God's) soul hates him who loveth sin/ It is, of course, true also that a man who loves sin hates his own soul. 7. Laqueos : to ensnare the wicked. But the Hebrew ought, perhaps, to be translated ‘ glowing coals/ This would fit in better with the fire and brimstone and burning wind, or storm-wind, which follow. Cf. the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The destruction of the impious will be like the overthrow of the Cities of the Plain. TRUST IN THE LORD ! 37 The “ pars calicis ” refers to the Hebrew custom according to which the head of the house presiding at table poured out for each member of the family his due portion of wine into his cup. 8 . The Latin makes the countenance of the Lord look on deeds of justice. The Hebrew says that ‘ the upright shall see His (God’s) face.’ The vision of God’s face is a symbol of blessedness. The Greek and Targum texts seem to have substituted for the Hebrew text the more re verent ial st at ement that God will look on the just. PSALM XI COMPLAINT OF THE PIOUS T HE time is one of social chaos. Pride, treachery, and deceit dominate society, and the pious are smarting under oppression. The psalmist prays for the destruction of his boastful and insolent foes. He remembers that the Lord has promised to come forward to help the righteous ; and, full of confidence in God’s word, which is pure, like silver many times refined, he calmly awaits the divine protection against the existing generation of his foes—even though, for the moment, godlessness is permitted to prevail. If we are to find a time for this poem in the life of David, it must be during his days of perii in the court of Saul. There he was sur- rounded by intrigue, and exposed to the malignant envy of his less successful comrades. The abundance of mali ce and intrigue which David saw in the little court of Saul, may have embittered him for a while against the pettiness of men generally, and called forth the complaints of this poem. But there is nothing definite in the psalm, besides the title, to attach it to David. i. In finem pro octava, Psalmus David. i. For the choir-Ieader; according to the octave ; a psalm of David. 2. Salvum me fac, Domine quoniam defecit sanctus : quo¬ niam diminutae sunt veritates a filiis hominum. 3. Vana locuti sunt unusquis¬ que ad proximum suum : labia dolosa, in corde et corde locuti sunt. 2. Rescue me, O Lord, for the pious doth fail, For vanished is faithfulness from among the children of men. 3. Lying things the one speaketh against the other ; They speak with deceiving lips and double hearts. 4. Disperdat Dominus uni¬ versa labia dolosa, et linguam magniloquam. 5. Qui dixerunt: Linguam nostram magnificabimus, labia nostra a nobis sunt, quis noster Dominus est ? 4. May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips And every boasting tongue 5. (Of those) who say : “ We shall show forth the power of our tongue ; Our lips depend on us alone. Who is our master ? ” 6. Propter miseriam inopum, 6. et gemitum pauperum, nunc ex¬ surgam, dicit Dominus. Ponam in salutari : fiducia¬ liter agam in eo. Because of the wretchedness of the help less and the sighs of the poor ‘I will now arise,’ saith the Lord, ‘ I will put them in safety ; I will act decisively therein.’ 38 COMPLAINT OF THE PIOUS 39 7. Eloquia Domini, eloquia 7. casta : argentum igne exami¬ natum, probatum terrae purga¬ tum septuplum. 8. Tu Domine servabis nos : 8. et custodies nos a generatione hac in aeternum. 9. In circuitu impii ambu- 9. lant: secundum altitudinem tuam multiplicasti filios homi¬ num The words of the Lord are words sincere (They are) silver tried in fire, current in the land, seven times refined. > Thou, O Lord, wilt guard us, And wilt protect us for ever from this generation The godless come and go around (us) ; According to Thine own greatness Thou dost make the children of men to increase. 1. Pro octava, cf. Ps. vi. 1. 2. Salvum me fac : Hebrew, ‘ Give help, O Yahweh !' Deficit, fail, disappear. Diminutce sunt veritates ; no fidelity or constancy is left. Filii hominum, men. 3. Corde et corde is the dipsuchos of James i. 8—a double heart, i.e. an insincere heart. 5. Understand [eorum] qui, etc. Linguam nostram magnificabimus, we shall speak in a boasting, insolent fashion. Labia nostra a nobis, etc., are with us, on our side. We can use them as we please. We are not compelled to use our lips to pay homage to any lord. It is a proud expression of independence— possibly against the King, possibly against David. 6. The words in this verse are spoken by God. Ponam insalutari, 1 1 will set them in safety/ Fiducialiter agam in eo —if spoken by God, must mean, ‘ I will boldly act on behalf of the oppressed ’ ; ‘I will show them the full power of my protection/ If the words are taken as spoken by the psalmist, they are the beginning of his profession of confidence in the word of the Lord which is contained in verse 7. In this second view the phrase will mean : ‘ I will put full trust in Him ’ ( i.e . God), or, ‘ in His words/ The Hebrew is difficult and obscure, but it clearly takes the whole verse 6 as spoken by the Lord. 7. The word of the Lord. His promise of help, is altogether trust- worthy ; it is completely genuine, and fully meant. Probatum terree is often taken as, ‘ approved upon earth/ ‘ current/ ‘ (regarded as genuine) among men/ The reference is immediately to the silver. Jerome translates : separatum a terra, i.e. cleared of all dross. The Hebrew is obscure. 8. Generatio may be taken here as the present evil generation (so in translation above), or as ‘ the present time ’—from now and for ever. 9. The impious are free to go and come, and plan, and exeeute their intrigues. The Latin text seems to imply that, in spite of the 4 o THE PSALMS freedom and success of the godless, God causes the children of men— the pious, to abound. The Hebrew text is here obscure ; it seems to refer only to the godless. Jerome’s translation —cum exaltati fuerint vilissimi filiorum hominum, does not help us greatly. It is a strange thing to find a psalm ending on a note of failure or despondency. We may conjecture, therefore, that the text in the final verse has suffered serious corruption.^ PSALM XII CONFIDENCE IN THE TIME OF TRIAL T HERE are three stages in the poem. In the first (verses 1-3) the psalmist complains of the grief and care in which he is forced to live because God’s face is turned away from him. In the second stage (4-5) he prays earnestly for help lest he die, and his death be taken by his foes as a token of his Lord’s indifference or weakness. In the final section (6) he expresses his complete confidence in the certainty of help, and his song of complaint passes into a hymn of thanksgiving. Those who accept the ascription of this poem to David, assign it to a somewhat later period in the royal singer’s life than Psalm x. It suggests a more thoroughgoing persecution of the psalmist than does Psalm x. If it describes, as many think, the anxieties and troubles of David pursued by Saul, it belongs to the last and most troublesome period of Sauhs campaign against David, when the latter was com- pelled to take refuge with his former foes, the Philistines. 1. In finem, Psalmus David. 1. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. Usquequo Domine oblivisce¬ ris me in finem ? Usquequo avertis faciem tuam a me ? 2. Quamdiu ponam consilia in anima mea, dolorem in corde meo per diem ? 3. Usquequo exaltabitur ini¬ micus meus super me ? How long, O Lord, wilt Thou thus com- pletely forget me ? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me ? 2. How long must I carry care in my soul; And grief in my heart the live-long day ? 3. How long shall my foe triumph over me ? 4. Respice, et exaudi me Do¬ mine Deus meus. Illumina oculos meos ne um- quam obdormiam in morte : 5. Nequando dicat inimicus meus : Praevalui adversus eum. Qui tribulant me, exsultabunt si motus fuero : 4. Look on me, and hear me, O Lord my God ! Make my eyes to shine lest I fall asleep in death ; 5. Lest my foe should ever say : ‘ I ha ve mastered him ’ ; (Lest) my enemies rejoice when I stumble. 6. Ego autem in misericordia tua speravi. Exsultabit cor meum in salu¬ tari tuo : cantabo Domino qui bona tribuit mihi: et psallam nomini Domini altissimi. 6. But I hold firm my trust in Thy kindness : My heart will rejoice because of Thy help : I will sing unto the Lord who hath dealt kindly with me ; And I will hymn the name of the Lord,. the Most High. 4i 42 THE PSALMS 1. Usquequo : the ' How long ! * four times repeated in the first section, shows the intensity of the psalmisTs feeling. God seems to have forgotten him completely [in finem). 2. Consilia. The Hebrew text suggests anxious ponderings and plannings as to means of escape from perils that threaten. How long must he go on anxiously devising pians against this trouble ? Dolorem is governed by ponam. Per diem seems here to mean ‘ continually.’ Some Greek texts add : ‘ and night.’ 4. His eyes are dimmed and almost broken with grief. He prays the Lord to give them back their natural lustre, lest he “ sleep the sleep of death,” and thus give gladness to his enemies. The enemies will take the psalmisfs failure as a proof of the helplessness of his God. That must not be. 6. Notice how the mere voicing of his sorrow and trouble in prayer brings comfort, and the full confidence that help and rescue are at hand. PSALM XIII THE FOOLS T HE psalmist looks back on a time not long past when blasphemy, religious indifference, and injustice prevailed (1-3) ; he re- joices that folly has met with its deserts, and that the impious have received their reward, and that their schemings against the righteous have turned back upon themselves (4-6). He ends with a prayer that the Lord may deign quickly to change the lot of Israel, and so give the nation reason to rejoice. The occasion of the psalm cannot be determined. It is clearly implied that God has strikingly intervened to punish the godless enemies of the psalmist, but we have no means of explaining the impiication. The poem appears again as Psalm lii, with the title ‘ Pro maeleth intelligentice David,’ i.e. (perhaps) ‘ To the tune of Mahatath( ?), a maskil of David/ The second recension of the poem is in the so-called Elohistic spirit : it substitutes Elohim for Yahweh. 1 The concluding verse of Ps. xiii may, perhaps, refer to the Babylonian captivity. Obviously David could not have spoken of events which occurred four hundred years after his time except as a prophet. If the last verse refers to the Babylonian captivity, and if David is the author of the whole poem, we can look on the picture presented in the psalm as due to the moralisings of David on times to come, and as unconnected, therefore, with any definite incident in his own career. It is to be noted, however, that “ avertere captivitatem ” may, according to the Hebrew, simply mean * change the lot/ or condition, without reference to an exile. Further, it is possible that the last verse is a liturgical addition to the psalm appended in the Exilic period. 1. In finem, Psalmus David. Dixit inspiens in corde suo : Non est Deus. Corrupti sunt, et abomina¬ biles facti sunt in studiis suis : non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. 1. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart: “ There is no God." They are perverted and hateful because of their deeds. There is none that doth good—not even one ! 1 Psalm lii. calls itself a Maskil of David (“ Intelligentia David,” Vulg.) The word Maskil seems to indicate either a didactic poem, or a poem con- structed accurately according to received metrical principies. For meaning of Maskil , see Psalm xli. 43 44 THE PSALMS 2. Dominus de caelo prosperit 2. super filios hominum, ut videat si est intelligens, aut requirens Deum. 3. Omnes declinaverunt, si- 3. mul inutiles facti sunt: non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum : linguis suis dolose age¬ bant, venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum. Quorum os maledictione et amaritudine plenum est: ve¬ loces pedes eorum ad effunden¬ dum sanguinem. Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacs non co¬ gnoverunt : non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum. 4. Nonne cognoscent omnes 4. qui operantur iniquitatem, qui devorant plebem meam sicut escam panis ? 5. Dominum non invocave¬ runt, illic trepidaverunt timore, ubi non erat timor. 6. Quoniam Dominus in gene¬ ratione justa est, consilium ino¬ pis confudistis: quoniam Do¬ minus spes ejus est. 7. Quis dabit ex Sion salutare 7. Israel ? cum averterit Dominus captivitatem plebis suae, exsulta¬ bit Jacob, et laetabitur Israel. The Lord looketh down from heaven On the children of men, To see if there is one that understandeth, Or one that inquireth after God. All ha ve gone astray, all ha ve become profitless. There is none that doth good—no, not even one ! Have not all evil-doers experienced it(?)— They who did evil, who devoured my people like a meal(?) of bread ; O that rescue for Israel were come from Sion ! When the Lord bringeth back the cap¬ tives of His people, Jacob will be glad, and Israel will rejoice. [Their heart is an open grave. With their tongues they deal deceitfully. The poison of adders is beneath their lips. Their mouth is full of malediction and taunting. Their feet rush on to deeds of bloodshed. Destruc- tion and wretchedness are on their paths and the way of peace they know not; there is no fear of God before their eyes'] 5. They who called not on the Lord ! Then did they tremble with terror even where there was no (real) cause for fear, 6. For the Lord is with the generation that is upright. Ye are brought to shame through intrigu- ing against the helpless ; For the Lord is his hope. 1. The insipiens is the fool—the nabhal of the Hebrew. * Folly' —the attitude of the nabhal, included ingratitude to God, and open immorality. The ‘ fool ’ does not deny God’s existence : he denies only divine rule or Providence. The Targum version puts the thought well: * There is no rule of God on earth.' There were no theoretical atheists in Israel. The * fool ’ was the man who thought that God does not care. C/. Ps. ix. 34 ; Sophonias i. 12. Dicere in corde=thmk. Cf. ix. 28. In studiis suis appears in Ps. lii. as in iniquitatibus. The “ studia ” include both schemes, and the actions by which men put them in practice. * Not even one ’ is added by the Greek text; it is not in the Hebrew. THE FOOLS 45 2. God leans out from His throne in heaven to look for a " maskil / an intelligens, the antithesis of the fool, among men. The quaerens Deum, the one that seeketh for God, the man that puts God before him in his life, is the same as the “ intelligens Possibly Ps. lii. is called a “ maskil ” because the poem deals with the madness of " folly,” and the praise of prudence. 3. There is no maskil among men. They ha ve all * gone aside ' from God ; they ha ve become " insipid ” (Hebrew) : they are inutiles ” because their evil life brings no pro fit or credit to their God. * Not even one * is an integral part of the text here. Sepulchrum patens, etc., to the end of verse 3, has been inserted here from the Epistle to the Romans, iii. 13-18. The Pauline text in question consists itself mainly of psalm passages. Sepulchrum patens ; cf. Ps. v. 10. Venenum aspidum ; cf. Ps. cxxxix. 4. Quorum os ; cf. Ps. ix. 28. Veloces pedes ; cf. Is. lix. 7/. Non est timor ; cf. Ps. xxxv. 2. The passage from the Romans seems to ha ve found its way into the text through the carelessness of some copyist ; or, possibly, its insertion is due to the fact that St. PauPs texts depict so fully the character of the ‘ fool/ The insertion is absent from Ps. lii. 4. Nonne cognoscent, etc., * They ha ve sinned ; have they not also realised the folly of their sin when its consequences have appeared ? ’ Esca panis, a meal, or a piece of bread. Ps. lii. reads, ut cibum panis. The phrase may be taken simply as ‘ who devour my people like bread/ (The Hebrew has been explained as meaning : ‘ They eat the bread of the Lord though they did not call on His name/) 5. Connect with preceding—‘ qui * Dominum non invocaverunt. Illic trepidaverunt, etc. may mean that they were suddenly over- taken by God’s vengeance when they had no special reason for ex- pecting it. It has been taken also as meaning that the impious had reason to fear when the godly had none. The psalmist seems to refer to some definite event which we have no means of ascertaining. Ubi non erat timor is wanting here in Hebrew, but it is found in Hebrew of Ps. lii. 6. The ground of their fear was quoniam Dominus in generatione justa est, i.e. that there is indeed a God who cares for His elect, and protects them against their oppressors. The event referred to in verse 5 was such as to bring horne this truth to the ‘ fools/ Consilium inopis, etc. If this must be translated as it stands, it can only mean : ‘ the plan (i.e. the determination to seek after God) of the just (or “ lowly ”), you seek (or, have sought) to frustrate/ An easy change in the Hebrew would admit of the translation : con¬ silio inopis confusi sunt, i.e. through the plan which they devised THE PSALMS 46 against the lowly they (the “ fools ”) were brought to shame. Their cruel designs were defeated by the intervention of the Lord. 7. Quis dabit is the usual Hebrew manner of expressing an eamest wish : ‘ O that help might come from Sion ! ’ Averterit captivitatem seems to mean in the Hebrew : ‘ when the Lord shall change the lot of His people/ The whole verse is a wish for the re-establishment of the nation after some time of trial or disaster. PSALM XIV THE CITIZEN OF SION T HE psalmist puts before us here the ideal of a pious Israelite. He dramatises his thought in Hebrew fashion, and brings an Israelite, or a procession of Israelites, to the entrance of the Temple (or Tabernacle) to ask of those who keep watch there (the Priests), what he must be, and do, who will enter into God s House, and there abide. The guardians of the Sanctuary answer that a true domesticus Dei must be honest, straightforward with him- self and others, careful of his fellows' good repute, trustworthy, averse to all ill-gotten gain and bribery. He that answers to this description can never fail, or be confounded. The psalm seems to be quoted in Isaias xxxiii. 13-16, and must, therefore, be at least older than the Isaian period. There is nothing in the psalm which excludes the Davidic authorship claimed by its title. When commentators infer from the absence of all reference to sacrifice and cult-ceremonial in the picture of the perfect Israelite, that the psalm must belong to a very late period, they forget that the psalmist is writing about the qualities which permit a man to join the household of God, and not about the actions to be performed by him when he is within the household. 1. Psalmus David. 1. A psalm of David. Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo ? aut quis re¬ quiescet in monte sancto tuo ? (Visitor to Temple). O Lord, who will dwell in Thy tent ? And who will abide on Thy Holy Mountain ? 2. Qui ingreditur sine macula, et operatur justitiam : 3. Qui loquitur veritatem in corde suo, qui non egit dolum in lingua sua : Nec fecit proximo suo malum, et opprobrium non accepit ad¬ versus proximos suos. 4. Ad nihilum deductus est in conspectu ejus malignus : ti¬ mentes autem Dominum glori¬ ficat : Qui jurat proximo suo, et non decipit, (Priests). 2. He that walketh without stain, and practiseth justice ; 3. Who thinketh truth in his heart; Who accomplisheth no deceit with his tongue ; Who doth no evil to his neighbour, And permitteth no slandering of his fellow-men ; 4. By whom the malicious is treated with (due) contempt; Who praiseth those that fear the Lord, Who sweareth to his neighbour, and de- ceiveth him not; 47 4 8 THE PSALMS 5. Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram, et munera super innocentem non accepit. 5. Who giveth not his gold for usury, And taketh not bribes against the guiltless : Qui facit haec, non movebitur in aeternum. Whoso acteth thus shall not fail for e ver. 1. It has been conjectured on the basis of this psalm and of Ps. xxiii. 3-5 and Is. xxxiii. 14-16, that it was customary for the priests guard- ing the Temple gateways to warn those entering the Temple that only the pure and upright were entitled to enter. Here the visitor to the Temple, or the procession which approaches the Temple (or Tent), asks the question with which the Psalm begins. Possibly a form of song like this psalm was chanted whenever processions advanced towards the Temple on the feast days. The priests from within the Temple recite or chant the answer which is here given, verses 2 ff. What was true of the Temple may have been true, also, of the Tabernacle (verse 2) of DavkTs time. 2. The answer of the priests reminds the people of what the holiness of God's House requires of them. In verse 2 the uprightness of external action is emphasised. 3. This is the uprightness of a man whose heart is right, and who is honest with himself and others ; he will not do evil, nor listen to slander against his neighbour. 4. He will despise the malignus —the godless, the antithesis of those “who fear God.” Qui jurat, etc. The Latin would suggest an oath to do his fellow a Service, from which the true Israelite would not withdraw. The Hebrew is different : ‘ If he swears to inflict evil, he deceiveth not/ The reference seems to be to Lev. v. 4 : If a man swear he must ac- complish his oath. 5. Is this an absolute prohibition of usury ? Usury against Israelites, but not usury against foreigners, was prohibited in the Law. The conclusion we should expect would be : He that doth these things may hope to be the Lord's guest. But the priestly speakers naturally conclude with a blessing. PSALM XV GOD IS MAN’S CHIEF GOOD T HE psalmist has found in the Lord his true happiness, for the Lord gives peace to His faithful ones in Israel. From idol-worship and its abominations he tums to the Lord, who alone is his allotted possession. He gives thanks for the prosperity of his lot, and is sure that in the protection of the Lord he can, at ali times, despise all perii. The Lord will not suffer His loyal friends to fail; at the end He will give them the fulness of joy in the vision of Himself. This poem seems to point to a time when many Israelites had begun to practise various forms of heathen worship. Indeed, it would almost seem as if the “ Sancti ”—the loyal servants of the Lord, were few as compared with those who ‘ ran after strange gods.‘ It is difficult to find a suitable occasion for such a poem in the life of David. But David could have composed it in his character as prophet, and perhaps, in his role as type of the Messias. The New Testament (Acts ii. 22-31 ; xiii. 35) takes the psalm as descriptive of the Messias, or rather, as composed by the Messias through the mouth of David. Modern critical writers are inclined to take the poem as a song of tho Exilic period, during which many of the exiles in Babylon feli away. from the worship of Yahweh. The psalm is of great religious importance, implying, as it does, a hope of a blessed immortality to be attained in the vision of God. 1. Tituli inscriptio ipsi David. 1. Conserva me Domine, quo¬ niam speravi in te. 2. Dixi Domino : Deus meus 2. es tu, quoniam bonorum meo¬ rum non eges. 3. Sanctis, qui sunt in terra 3. ejus, mirificavit omnes volun¬ tates meas in eis. A monumental poem of David. Guard me, O Lord, for in Thee I put my trust! I say to the Lord : My God art Thou ! For Thou hast no need of my posses- sions. As for the pious ones who dwell in His land— He hath wondrously accomplished all that which I did wish for them. 4. Multiplicatae sunt infirmi¬ tates eorum : postea accelerave¬ runt. Non congregabo conventicula eorum de sanguinibus, nec me¬ mor ero nominum eorum per labia mea. 4 4. Many are the woes of them that run after them {i.e., strange gods). I will not call together their gatherings because of (their) libations of blood. I will not take their name upon my lips. 49 5° THE PSALMS 5. Dominus pars haereditatis 5. meas, et calicis mei : tu es, qui restitues haereditatem meam mihi. The Lord is my allotted possession, and the portion of my cup : It is Thou that givest to me my in- heritance. 6. Funes ceciderunt mihi in praeclaris : etenim haereditas mea praeclara est mihi. 7. Benedicam Dominum, qui tribuit mihi intellectum : in¬ super et usque ad noctem increpuerunt me renes mei. 6. The measuring lines have fallen for me in pleasant places ; And my possession is beautiful in my eyes. 7. I bless the Lord who hath given me in- sight: Even unto the night my reins do exhort me. 8. Providebam Dominum in 8. conspectu meo semper: quo¬ niam a dextris est mihi, ne commovear. 9. Propter hoc laetatum est 9. cor meum, et exsultavit lingua mea: insuper et caro mea requiescet in spe. 10. Quoniam non derelinques 10. animam meam in inferno : nec dabis sanctum tuum videre cor¬ ruptionem. Notas mihi fecisti vias vitae, adimplebis me laetitia cum vultu tuo : delectationes in dextera tua usque in finem. I see the Lord at all times by me ; For He is at my right hand that I may not waver. Hence my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoiceth, And my flesh doth dwell in securityj For Thou wilt not abandon me to the underworld ; Nor wilt Thou permit Thy faithful worshipper to see destruction. Thou wilt show me the way of life ; Thou wilt fili me with joy through the vision of Thee. Delights are in Thy right hand for ever. 1. The Latin title, Tituli inscriptio, is not more or less ciear than the Hebrew Mikhtam. Tituli inscriptio translates the Greek stelo- graphia, i.e. an inscription on a pillar. The word titulus would by itself, perhaps, express this idea of a conspicuous inscription ; in¬ scriptio makes this sense of titulus more obvions. The two words might be translated, * an inscribed (or engraved) text/ The name of the psalm suggests, perhaps, its abiding worth. Containing prophecy and unusually deep theology it deserved to be carved, like a royal inscription, on a stela. The Hebrew Mikhtam cannot be explained. Jerome has “ Humilis et simplicis ” as if mikhtam were really two words, makh= lowly, and toz=perfect. 2. Thou dost not need them, for Thou hast them already. But the Hebrew seems to rnean : ‘ I have no good thing that goes beyond Thee/ i.e. ‘ Thou art my chiefest good.’ Jerome translates : Bene mihi non est sine te. 3. The Latin here differs from the Greek, the latter being some- what closer to the Hebrew. The Latin speaks of the Lord as fulfilling wondrously ( mirificare) his (the psalmisfs) own wishes towards the pious of Israel. The Greek says that God carried out wondrously His own kind designs for the pious ones. As in the early Christian period the faithful were called “ Sancti,” so, in the psalms, the loyal friends of the Law often get this title. GOD IS MAN’S CHIEF GOOD 5i 4. This text describes the lot of those who ha ve gone aside from the worship of the Lord. Their troubles ha ve increased because they have run after stranger gods (post ea, i.e. idola). The Hebrew puts the thought clearly : * Many are the woes of those who run after Another ’ (i. e. another god). The psalmist goes on to say that he will have nothing to do with their false worship. He will not summon (or, poss bly, * join ') their cult-gatherings because of the deeds of blood done by the idolaters, or, perhaps, because of the bloody offerings (such, possibly, as human sacrifices) which are presented by the idolaters to their divinities. He will not even so much as mention the names of the apostates. It is possible, however, to take de san¬ guinibus directly with conventicula, and understand the combination to mean conventicula cruenta, i.e. assemblies at which libations of blood were poured so in Hebrew : * I will not pour their libations of blood/ Here also there may be suggested the idea of human sacrifices, and libations of human blood. 5. In contrast with the idolaters, the psalmist looks on the Lord as his sole portion and possession. As the Hebrew paterfamilias poured into the cup of each guest at table the portion appointed to each one, so has the Lord been apportioned to the psalmist. The Lord is also the peculiar possession, the special portion, as it were, of a farm left by will, which has been assigned to the poet. The renegade Israelites serve foreign gods ; the Lord is the possession of the faithful. The picture of the cup may have been suggested here by the libations of blood in the preceding verse. The Lord is, in a sense, the well-filled cup of Israel. Restitues, ‘ establish '—so that it cannot be interfered with. 6. The thought of an inheritance suggests the idea of the measur- ing out of portions of land. For the measuring, measuring-ropes were needed ; the portion which the measuring-lines of the psalmist have enclosed is pleasant. In prceclaris for in prceclara : funis (or funiculus), is equated by metonymy: with the space measured. Cf. Ps. civ. 11: Funiculum hcereditatis vestrce, ‘ the inheritance measured out to you. The ‘ pleasant inheritance ' may be the land of Chanaan. 7. The reins are often regarded as the seat of perception. The Lord has advised the psalmist as to the path he should follow. The path has led to success, and so the singer thanks the Lord. Usque ad noc em, ‘ even in the night/ God’s inspiration was at all times urgent. 8. He has determined to keep the Lord before his eyes. When the Lord stands at his right hand, he has no fear of any danger. 9. His mind and body (caro mea) are in perfect security. He is untroubled in mind, and secure from bodily perii. 10. The ground o his hope and confidence is that the Lord will not give up to destruction His faithful worshipper. Infernus and corruptio are made equivalent, by the parallelism. Infernus is the: 5 2 THE PSALMS Hebrew Sheol, the dwelling-place of the dead. The idea is that God will not permit His loyal friends (a possible reading of Hebrew would give here the plural, sanctos) to see death—a lasting destruction. It is ciear that this hope in the full sense, was not realised in any one but Christ, so that the New Testament reference of this passage to Our Lord is fully justified (Acts ii. 24-32 ; xiii. 34-37). But, on the other hand, in a wider sense, as implying the continuance o^ the higher life of the spirit and, therefore, the immortality of the soul, it has a general application. 11. The hope of an immortality in the light of God’s face seems to be here also implied. God has taught the psalmist the genuine path to life—the life which will be spent with God H.mself. Cum vultu tuo, ‘ by Thy countenance/ i.e. by the Vision of Thy face. The Hebrew says : ‘ Fulness of joys is with (i.e. united with) thy face' (=presence) ; or, possibly, ‘ Fulness of joys is before Thy face/ Jerome has, plenitudinem Icetitiarum ante vultum tuum. The Lord holds delights e ver {usque in finem) ready in His right hand, to distribute them to His friends. PSALM XVI A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE AGAINST RUTH- LESS FOES T HE poem contains three petitions. In the first (verses 1-5) the psalmist begs of God to give him justice and help against his foes. His cause is just : he is free from ali guilt ; his mind is pure, and his life has been directed by the Law. In a second prayer (6-12) he again begs for help from the Lord, and describes the cruel enemy who is threatening him. The third appeal (13-15) is for the destruction of the enemy. Even though the godless seem to prevail for a while, in the end justice will triumph, and the light of God’s face will shine on those who are now oppressed. The psalmist s attitude of complaint, the description of his enemies, his insistence on his own blamelessness, his prayer for a very special divine assistance, point to a time of great perii arising from the menaee of powerful foes. The only period of David's career in which he found himself in such a position, was during the persecution of Saul. The poem is certainly descriptive of an individual, not of a com- munity. The text of the psalm is in a comparatively poor condition, and we thus fail to get as much light from it about its origin as, at first sight, it seems to give. For many modern critics this psalm suggests the social and religious background of the late post-Exilic period. The psalm is, like the preceding, of very great religious value, since it implies, if it does not clearly state, the doctrine of immortality. 1. Oratio David. 1. A prayer of David. Exaudi Domine justitiam me¬ am : intende deprecationem meam. Auribus percipe orationem meam, non in labiis dolosis. 2. De vultu tuo judicium meum prodeat: oculi tui vi¬ deant aequitates. 3. Probasti cor meum, et visitasti nocte: igne me exa¬ minasti, et non est inventa in me iniquitas. 4. Ut non loquatur os meum opera hominum : propter verba labiorum tuorum ego custodivi vias duras. Hear, O Lord, my just plea : give heed to my petition ! Give ear to my prayer which springs not from treacherous lips ! 2. Let the judgment on me go forth from Thee : Let Thine eyes look on justice ! 3. Thou hast tested my heart and searched it, even in the night: With fire Thou didst test me ; But sin was not found in me. 4. That my mouth may not speak of the works of men, I keep myself from ways of evil because of the words of Thy lips. 53 54 THE PSALMS 5. Perfice gressus meos in 5. semitis tuis : ut non moveantur vestigia mea. 6. Ego clamavi, quoniam ex- 6. audisti me Deus : inclina aurem tuam mihi, et exaudi verba mea. 7. Mirifica misericordias tuas, 7. qui salvos facis sperantes in te. 8. A resistentibus dexterae 8. custodi me, ut pupillam oculi. Sub umbra alarum tuarum protege me : 9. A facie impiorum qui me 9. afflixerunt. Inimici mei animam meam circumdederunt, 10. Adipem suum concluse- 10. runt: os eorum locutum est superbiam. 11. Projicientes me nunc cir- 11. cumdederunt me : oculos suos statuerunt declinare in terram. 12. Susceperunt me sicut leo 12. paratus ad praedam : et sicut catulus leonis habitans in abditis. 13. Exsurge Domine, praeveni 13. eum, et supplanta eum : eripe animam meam ab impio, fra¬ meam tuam ab inimicis manus tuae. 14. Domine a paucis de terra 14. divide eos in vita eorum : de absconditis tuis adimpletus est venter eorum. Saturati sunt filiis : et di¬ miserunt reliquias suas parvulis suis. 15. Ego autem in justitia ap- 15. parebo conspectui tuo : satia¬ bor cum apparuerit gloria tua. Make firm my steps on Thy paths, So that my feet may not be made to stray. I call on Thee, for Thou hearest me, O God ! Bend Thine ear to me and hear my words. Show wonderfully Thy kindness— Thou who rescuest those that trust in Thee ! Guard me as the apple of Thine eye from those who would resist Thy right hand : Under the shadow of Thy wings pro- tect me, From the evil ones who attack me. My enemies encompass me. They shut up their unfeeling heart; Their mouth speaketh proud things. They cast me down and encompass me : They set their mind to (my) overthrow. They seize me like a lion ready for (his) prey, And like a young lion that lurks in (his) lair. Up, O Lord, forestall him ! And cast him to earth : rescue me from the godless, [rescue me by] Thy sword From the foes of Thy power, O Lord— The men of the world ; Requite them even while they live. Their longing is sated with Thy stored up (anger). They are abundantly sated with chastise- ment in their children ; And they leave their inheritance (of affliction) to their children. But I shall appear in justice before Thee : I shall be sated when Thy glory reveals itself. 1. Justitiam ineam : meam has nothing corresponding in Hebrew. Justitia is ‘ just cause/ Intende, i.e. intende animum deprecationi. Deprecatio seems to be used here in the sense of precatio. Non in labiis —is a relative clause, ‘ which is not from/ etc., Hebrew, ‘ from lips free from guile.” 2. De vultu tuo, ‘ from before Thee/ ‘ from out Thy presence/ A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE 55 Judicium meum is the verdict or sentence on me. The psalmist appeals to God to judge his case, and give decision. He has no fear of the resuit. ‘ Let Thine eyes/ he adds, ‘ look with justice on the case/ The cequitates are the compelling merits of his case ; and if God looks on them, His eyes will see justly or fairly. 3. God knows exactly how the psalmist stands : He has tested his heart, even at times when the psalmist did not look for God’s testing, and He has found no trace of malice in him. 4. In the Vulgate the main verb is custodivi, ‘ I have kept myself from cruel ways * (1 vias duras) : I have watched evil ways, so as to avoid them ; and so as not to speak of the evil works of men. This I have done because of Thy commands [verba labiorum tuorum). But the structure of the text is here very obscure. The vice durce are more usually understood as ways of austerity, and custodivi in the usual meaning of observing faithfully. The Hebrew is quite different here from Vulgate ; but the translation given of the Vulgate above puts the two texts in the closest relation that can be devised for texts so unlike. 5. Perfice ; cf. perfecisti laudem, Ps. viii. 3 : * establish/ ' make firm/ Jerome has sustenta. The “ gressus ” include the whole conduct of life. Vestigia, feet, rather than foot-prints. The foot- prints would, of course, show whither the feet had strayed. In Hebrew parallelism gressus and vestigia are practically equivalents. Moveri, ‘ waver/ ‘ vacillate/ There must be no hesitation in moral and religious action. 6. He calls on God again, because he is sure of a hearing. Inclina, etc. : notice the repetition of the invocation of verse 1. 7. Mirifica, ‘ show forth wondrously ! ’ He asks God to give him a striking proof of His graciousness [misericordia), as He has often done for those who seek refuge (so, Hebrew) in Him. 8. The ‘ right hand ’ is the power or authority of God. Against the adversaries of that authority the psalmist prays for help. God must guard him as a man would guard the pupil of his eye. The shade of God’s wings reminds one of the picture in Matt. xxiii. 37. Cf. Exod. xix. 4 ; Ruth ii. 12. 9. A facie —connect with preceding; ' Protect me from the godless who surround me and harass me/ Animam meam= me. 10. Adipem concluserunt, * they have shut up their fat heart/ i.e., they have entrenched themselves in callousness. Superbiam, haughtily; Cf. loqui mendacium (Ps. v. 6) ; loqui sapientiam (xlviii. 4), and other similar expressions, in which the Vulgate uses the abstract noun instead of an ad verb. 11. The Vulgate here is difhcult, and the Hebrew makes difficulties also. The translation given above takes projicientes me as, ‘ casting me down to earth/ Having overthrown their victim, the enemies stand around him threateningly. The phrase oculos suos, etc., means. 56 THE PSALMS according to Hebrew, ‘ they watch eagerly for a suitable chance to cast me headlong/ 12. The enemy compared, as often, to a beast of prey. The Vulgate differs somewhat from the Greek here. The Greek has : ‘ They thought of me as a lion thinks of its prey ’; Hebrew : ‘ They are like the lion that longs for prey, and the young lion that lurks in the lair/ 13. This is the third appeal. Prcevenire, * go to meet him/ with the implied sense, ‘ forestall him/ Supplanta, overthrow. Animam meam, my life. 14. The interpretation of this verse is a somewhat hopeless task. Frameam tuam of verse 13 apparently should be read with both verses. ‘ Snatch (eripe) Thy sword from the foes of Thy power/ But how can the sword of the Lord be thought of as in the hands of His foes ? The thought is, possibly, that the godless enemies of the psalmist ha ve been used by the Lord as the sword of His chastisement against the psalmist. Now the psalmist would ask that the godless be no longer thus employed ( cf . Bellarmine in loc .). 1 It is possible to take frameam tuam as per frameam tuam (so, perhaps, Hebrew). The sense would be, then : * Rescue my life ; rescue it by Thy sword from the foes of Thy power/ Augustine’s equating of anima and framea does not help. What follows is stili more difficult. The pauci de terra ha ve been taken as the godless, materialistic, earth-loving foes of the psalmist (as in translation above) ; they have also been taken as the lowly ones, the servants of the Lord. In the second view the text is ex- plained : separa nmltitudinem impiorum a pusillo grege tuo . . . etiam in prcesenti [vita] : so Bellarmine. But this gives no explanation of de terra, and the context of the psalm does not suggest that the pauci are the lowly friends of God. Hitherto the psalmist has spoken of himself alone. It seems, then, better to take pauci de terra as descriptive of the godless. Pauci is then contemptuous : ‘ those contemptible ones, so earthly in their views, who think themselves so great/ Divide eos is a further difbculty. It must mean : ‘ set the godless apart as a marked body, as Thy clearly marked foes ' (or, perhaps, * assign them their lot '). In vita eorum, ‘ even while they stili live/ Their punishment must come in time for themselves and all to see it. This brings us away, of course, from the Hebrew, but some reasonable view of the Vulgate text is indispensable. De absconditis tuis, etc. The reference here again is to the enemies of the psalmist. Hence the abscondita are not the stored up treasures 1 Some commentators think that David here speaks of himself as the Sword of Yahweh. 57 A PRAYER FOR JUSTICE of God’s mercies, but rather the hitherto restrained chastisements of His anger. ‘ Let their longings be sated (here sarcastic) with the treasures of Thy anger ! ’ Nor are their chastisements confined to themselves ; they will be tortured also in their children, and what the fathers ha ve not fully endured, or that in which their punishment has not been full, will be left as an inheritance to their sons. The Greek reading, Ixoprao-^o-av vetuv represented in the Vetus Itala by saturati sunt porcina, suggests also, possibly, the idea of chastisements rather than that of wallowing in lustful pleasures. It seems to be very reasonable to take the whole verse 14 as descriptive of chastise¬ ments to be bome by the evil-doers, the enemies of the psalmist, and by their sons. 15. The psalmist's lot will be very different : He will see the face (Hebrew—not, ‘ appear before the face ’) of God because of his innocence, and he will be sated when he awakes (from death) by the vision of God. The Vulgate would give the sense more accurately if it read satiabor cum exsurgerim. It is possible, however, to refer the ' awaking ’ to the Lord, as is implied in the Latin [apparere is due to the reverence of the Greek translator, who substituted opOrivai for Hebrew hakis), and then to translate ‘ I shall be sated at Thy awakening (when Thou dost bestir Thyself to help me), with the vision of Thee/ It is, however, much simpler to take the awaken¬ ing as the act of the psalmist, sin ce we then ha ve here a ciear state- ment of confident hope of immortality. Jerome renders 13-15 thus : Surge, domine, prczveni faciem ejus, incurva eum : salva animam meam ab impio, qui est gladius tuus, a viris manus tucv, domine, qui mortui sunt in profundo, quorum pars in vita, et quorum de absconditis tuis replesti ventrem: qui saturabuntur filiis, et dimittent reliquias suas parvulis eorum. Ego in justitia videbo faciem tuam: implebor, cum evigilavero, similitudine tua. This translation is suggestive enough of the obscurity of the passage. PSALM XVII A SONG OF THANKSGIVING AND TRIUMPH T HE royal poet will sing a song of heartfelt praise and thanks for the special favours and mercies which God has granted to him. He has been rescued from many perils, and raised to the highest honours. In verses 2-7 we have a sort of summary of the psalm. The poet was in extreme perii through the plotting of his foes : he called on the Lord for help and was rescued. In verses 8-20 he describes the manner of his rescue. In a thunder- storm the Lord came down, and overwhelmed, and scattered his enemies. In verses 21-25 we are told that the merciful intervention of the Lord was due to the poets piety, and loyalty to God’s Law ; for (as is shown in verses 26-31) to the pious God showeth favour, and dealeth out mercy. Once more (verses 32-46) the singer returns to what God has done for him. He has protected him in battle, smitten his foes, and humbled strange peoples beneath his rule. The poem closes (verses 47-51) with the solemnly expressed resolution of the psalmist to praise his Lord among the gentiles. This poem appears also in II Kings, xxii, as a poem of David. Though the text of II Kings xxii, differs in a number of small points from the psalm-text, it is obviously the same poem as the one we have here. The Davidic origin of Psalm xvii is thus assured in a very satisfactory fashion. Internally the poem points to such an author as David. The poet is a general, and a king, and a victorious leader, who subdues peoples hitherto unknown to Israel. Ali this suits David better than any other king of Israel. The description of the coming of God in the thunderstorm reminds one of Hebrew poetry of the most ancient period ( cf . Judges v. 4, 5, and the Song of Deborah generally). We may, therefore, confidently accept the Davidic authorship of this poem. The circumstances of its composi- tion (verse 1) are described in II Kings, xxii, in the same way as here. 1. In finem puero Domini David, qui locutus est Domino verba cantici hujus, in die, qua eripuit eum Dominus de manu omnium inimicorum ejus, et de manu Saul, et dixit: 1. For the choir-leader: by the servant of the Lord, David, who chanted to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord rescued him from the power of ali his foes, and from the power of Saul. And he said : 2. Diligam te Domine fortitu- 2. I love Thee, O Lord, my Strength ! do mea : 58 A SONG OF THANKSGIVING 3. Dominus firmamentum 3. meum, et refugium meum, et liberator meus. Deus meus adjutor meus, et sperabo in eum. Protector meus, et cornu salu¬ tis meae, et susceptor meus. 4. Laudans invocabo Domi- 4. num : et ab inimicis meis salvus ero. 5. Circumdederunt me do- 5. lores mortis : et torrentes ini¬ quitatis conturbaverunt me. 6. Dolores inferni circumdede- 6. runt me : praeoccupaverunt me laquei mortis. 7. In tribulatione mea invo- 7. cavi Dominum, et ad Deum me¬ um clamavi : Et exaudivit de templo san¬ cto suo vocem meam : et cla¬ mor meus in conspectu ejus, in¬ troivit in aures ejus. 8 . Commota est, et contre- 8. muit terra : fundamenta monti¬ um conturbata sunt, et commota sunt, quoniam iratus est eis. 9. Ascendit fumus in ira ejus : 9. et ignis a facie ejus exarsit: car¬ bones succensi sunt ab eo. 10. Inclinavit coelos, et de- 10. scendit: et caligo sub pedibus ejus. 11. Et ascendit super Cheru- 11. bim, et volavit: volavit super pennas ventorum. 12. Et posuit tenebras latibu- 12. Ium suum, in circuitu ejus tabernaculum ejus: tenebrosa aqua in nubibus aeris. 13. Prae fulgore in conspectu 13. ejus nubes transierunt, grando et carbones ignis. 14. Et intonuit de coelo Do- 14. minus, et Altissimus dedit vo¬ cem suam : grando et carbones ignis. 15. Et misit sagittas suas, et 15. dissipavit eos : fulgura multi¬ plicavit, et conturbavit eos. 16. Et apparuerunt fontes 16. aquarum, et revelata sunt fun¬ damenta orbis terrarum : Ab increpatione tua Domine, ab inspiratione spiritus iras tuae. The Lord is my stay and my refuge, and my Saviour. My God is my helper, and in Him I set my hope. He is my protector and the horn of my safety. And my guardian. With praises I call 011 the Lord, And I am saved from my foes. Pains of death pressed upon me, And torrents of misfortune disrnayed me. The woes of the underworld girt me round ; And the bonds of death enmeshed me. In my misery I called on the Lord ; And to my God I cried. And He heard from His Sacred Palace my voice ; And my cry came before Him, even unto His ears. The earth tottered and quaked : The foundations of the mountains were a-trembling and a-quivering, For He was angry with them. The smoke of His anger rose up. And from His face fire was enkindled; Glowing coals burned forth from Him. He lowered the heavens and (He Himself) came down ; And darkness was around His feet. He mounted the Cherubs and flew ; And sped on the wings of the storm. Darkness He made His shroud ; Round about Him was His tent— Dark waters of the clouds of heaven. Before the brightness of His face the clouds passed away. Hail and burning coals ! And from heaven thundered the Lord And the Most High let His voice re- sound. Hail and burning coals ! And He sent His arrows and scattered them ; He multiplied His thunderbolts and disrnayed them. The springs of the deep appeared ; And the foundations of the world were laid bare,— Because of Thy chiding, O Lord ! Because of the breath of Thy wrath. 6 o THE PSALMS 17. Misit de summo, et ac- 17 cepit me : et assumpsit me de aquis multis. 18. Eripuit me de inimicis meis fortissimis, et ab his qui oderunt me : quoniam confor¬ tati sunt super me. 19. Praevenerunt me in die afflictionis meae : et factus est Dominus protector meus. 20. Et eduxit me in latitu¬ dinem : salvum me fecit, quo¬ niam voluit me. He reached out from Heaven and grasped me ; And drew me forth from the multi- tudinous waters. He saved me from my powerful foes, And from those that hate me ; for they had become too powerful for me. 19. They had fallen on me in the day of my misfortune ; But the Lord became my Protector, 20. And led me out into an open place, and set me in security, For He held me dear. 18. 21. Et retribuet mihi Domi- 21. nus secundum justitiam meam, et secundum puritatem manuum mearum retribuet mihi : 22. Quia custodivi vias Do- 22. mini, nec impie gessi a Deo meo. 23. Quoniam omnia judicia ejus in conspectu meo: et 23. justitias ejus non repuli a me. 24. Et ero immaculatus cum 24. eo : et observabo me ab iniqui¬ tate mea. 25. Et retribuet mihi Do¬ minus secundum justitiam me¬ am : et secundum puritatem manuum mearum in conspectu oculorum ejus. 26. Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum viro innocente innocens eris : 27. Et cum electo electus eris : et cum perverso perverteris. 28. Quoniam tu populum hu¬ milem salvum facies : et oculos superborum humiliabis. 29. Quoniam tu illuminas lu¬ cernam meam Domine : Deus meus illumina tenebras meas. 30. Quoniam in te eripiar a tentatione, et in Deo meo trans¬ grediar murum. 31. Deus meus impolluta via ejus : eloquia Domini igne ex¬ aminata : protector est omnium sperantium in se. The Lord dealt with me according to my justice ; And according to the cleanness of my hands He did repay me. For I did keep the ways of the Lord, And did no evil to bring me away from God. For all His laws were before my eyes ; And His decrees I put not from me ; And stainless I stood before Him, And kept myself from my sin : 25. And the Lord dealt with me according to my justice, And according to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes. 26. Towards the pious Thou art gracious ; And towards the upright Thou dost act uprightly. 27. With the just Thou dealest justly ; And with the treacherous Thou dealest craftily. 28. For Thou rescuest a lowly people, But arrogant eyes Thou humblest. 29. For Thou dost make my light to shine, O Lord ; My God, enlighten my darkness ! 30. For through Thee I am saved from attack; And through my God I leap over a wall. 31. The dealings of my God are beyond re- proach ; The words of the Lord are tested by fire ; He is the Guardian of all who put their trust in Him. 32. For who is God but the Lord ? Or who is God but our God ? 32. Quoniam quis Deus prae¬ ter Dominum ? aut quis Deus praeter Deum nostrum ? 33. Deus qui praecinxit me 33. virtute : et posuit immaculatam viam meam. God it is who has girt me with strength. And made my way stainless : A SONG OF THANKSGIVING 61 34. Qui perfecit pedes meos 34. tamquam cervorum, et super excelsa statuens me. 35. Qui docet manus meas ad 35. praelium : et posuisti, ut arcum aereum, brachia mea. 36. Et dedisti mihi protectio- 36. nem salutis tuae : et dextera tua suscepit me : Et disciplina tua correxit me in finem : et disciplina tua ipsa me docebit. 37. Dilatasti gressus meos su- 37. btus me : et non sunt infirmata vestigia mea : 38. Persequar inimicos meos, 38. et comprendam illos : et non convertar, donec deficiant. 39. Confringam illos, nec po- 39. terunt stare: cadent subtus pedes meos. 40. Et praecinxisti me virtute 40. ad bellum : et supplantasti in¬ surgentes in me subtus me. 41. Et inimicos meos dedisti 41. mihi dorsum, et odientes me disperdidisti. 42. Clamaverunt, nec erat qui 42. salvos faceret, ad Dominum: nec exaudivit eos. 43. Et comminuam eos, ut 43. pulverem ante faciem venti: ut lutum platearum delebo eos. 44. Eripes me de contradi- 44. ctionibus populi : constitues me in caput Gentium. 45. Populus, quem non cogno- 45. vi, servivit mihi : in auditu auris obedivit mihi. 46. Filii alieni mentiti sunt 46. mihi, filii alieni inveterati sunt, et claudicaverunt a semitis suis. 47. Vivit Dominus, et bene- 47. dictus Deus meus, et exaltetur Deus salutis meae. 48. Deus, qui das vindictas 48. mihi, et subdis populos sub me, liberator meus de inimicis meis iracundis. 49. Et ab insurgentibus in me 49. exaltabis me : a viro iniquo , eripies me. Who hath made my feet like those of the stag, And set me on the high places : Who hath trained my hands for battle, And made my arms like an iron bow. Thou didst give me the shield of Thy help. And Thy right hand did guard me ; And Thy teaching hath set me right indeed, And Thy teaching hath trained me. Thou hast made free my stride ; And my feet ha ve not failed. I pursued my enemies and overtook them ; I turned not back till they were destroyed. I smote them, and they could not stand ; They feli beneath my feet. For Thou didst gird me with strength for battle ; And didst overthrow those who rose in revolt against me. And my enemies Thou didst turn from me in flight; And them that hated me Thou didst scatter. They cried, but there was none to save them— To the Lord, but He heard them not. And I scattered them like dust before the breeze ; Like mire in the streets I swept them away. Thou didst save me from the contendings of the people ; Thou didst set me up as head of nations: A people whom I knew not became my slave ; At the very mention of my name it made submission to me. The children of the stranger paid flattering court to me. The children of the stranger waned in strength ; And limped away from their paths. The Lord liveth, and blessed be my God ; And praised be my rescuing God ! The God who giveth me vengeance, And subdueth nations unto me : My Saviour from my raging foes ! Above those who revolt against me Thou dost raise me. And from the godless Thou dost save me. 62 THE PSALMS 50. Propterea confitebor tibi 50. in nationibus Domine : et no¬ mini tuo psalmum dica a, 51. Magnificans salutes regis 51. ejus, et faciens misericordiam Christo suo David, et semini ejus usque in saeculum. Therefore, I praise Thee among the nations, O Lord ! And sing a hymn to Thy name. For Thou art He that giveth mighty help to the king, And showeth kindness to His anointed, David, and to his seed for ever. 2, 3. The Hebrew is more poetic : ‘ My Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my God, my Strong Tower to which I flee, my Shield, and Horn of my victory, my Stronghold ! ' The Greek (followed by Vulgate) has toned down the boldness of the epithets. Cornu salutis. The horn symbolises strength. God was the mighty source of the help which saved him. (So, too, the altar of God was equipped with horns, by grasping which a man con- demned to death could secure asylum.) Susceptor =protector. C/. Ps. iii. 4 ; ix. 10. 4. In Hebrew the sense seems to be : ‘ Praised be Yahweh ! I cry ! ’ Thus Laudans should he Laudandus. ‘ Mehullal Yahweh * was DavkFs battle cry. 5, 6. For the “ dolores mortis ” the parallel Hebrew text in Kings has ‘ billows of death/ which would suit better the parallel torrentes iniquitatis. In verse 6 the dolores inferni, when taken in parallelism with laquei mortis, make a strange impression. The Hebrew hebhle was taken by the Greek translators as, ‘ pains/ or ‘ pangs '; but it could be taken also as ‘ ropes ' or ‘ cords ' (cf. Ps. xvi. b). In verse 6 the meaning ‘ cord ' or * thong ’ is the only one possible. In verse 5 the parallel text in II Kings, xxii, reads : the breakers (or billows) of death/ The Vulgate of II Kings, xxii. 5, 6, reads : Quia circumdederunt me contritiones mortis, torrentes Belial terruerunt me. Funes inferni circumdederunt me, prcevenerunt me laquei mortis. We may, therefore, understand ‘ breakers of death ' in verse 5 and * bonds of the unclerworld ' in verse 6. In verse 5 the reference is to Sheol, the Hebrew underworld, thought of after the manner of the abyss ; the torrentes Belial are the streams of the underworld (cf. Job. xxvi. 5). In verse 6 death is pictured as a hunter from whose noose or snare the psaimist hardly escaped. The psaimist will convey in his picturesque way that death was menacingly near to him. 7. The “ palace ' is the heavenly palace—not the Temple. 8. The verses 8-16 are a fine description of the thunderstorm by which the Lord dismayed the foes of the psaimist. Commota, etc.: the earth seems to tremble in the gathering storm. There may be present here the idea of an earthquake also. More tlran any other phenomenon, an earthquake would symbolise the anger of God. The very pillars of earth, the foundations of the mountains, trembled at the anger of the Lord. A SONG OF THANKSGIVING 63 9. The smoke corresponds to the dense thunder-clouds of the gathering storm. The Hebrew reads : ‘ Smoke went up from His nostrils.' The picture is taken from animals snorting with fury [cf. Job xli. 12) ; the thunder-clouds are the smoke of anger which rises from the nostrils of God. The carbones are, perhaps, the fiery borders of the clouds. The devouring fire is, obviously, some form of lightning. 10. The heavens seem to settle down over the earth in the deep- descending storm-clouds. The ‘ darkness ' about the feet of God is another waj^ of describing the dark density of the clouds. 11. A description of the storm of wind which accompanied the thunder-storm. The cherubs seem here to mean the swiftly racing clouds which are the winged steeds of God's chariot. 12. The rain-storm which burst out of the lowering heavens. God’s throne is shut up in a canopy of dark streaming clouds. 13. The thought seems to be that the tent-wall of dark drifting cloud, from which rain-torrents streamed, was broken from time to time, and through the rift shone for an instant the flashing glories of God's throne. The breaking through of the tent-wall of cloud seems to mean the fleeing of the clouds before the lightnings. Thus the lightnings would be nothing more than flashes from the dazzling brightness which surrounded the throne of God. Grando et carbones ignis ! —an exclamation of wonder : * Hail and glowing coals together ! ' So also in verse 14. With the storm of thunder, rain, and wind, there went also a mighty hail-storm. Cf. the storm which overwhelmed the enemies of Joshua (Jos. x, especially verse 11). 14. Thunder is the voice of God, for the Hebrew. ‘ Most High ’ is an ancient name of God. Cf. story of Abraham and Melchisedech the latter is a priest of ‘ God, Most High ' (Gen. xiv). 15. The arrows are the lightnings. 16. The foundations of earth are the bed of the sea. The storm is thought of as lashing the oceans into mountain-waves, between which the ocean-floor stands bare. Ab inspiratione spiritus ira tua, ‘ at the fierce breath of Thy wrath.' 17. God has reached out His hand, and snatched him from the waters—the sea of perii in which he was sinking. 18. The foes had grown too powerful [super me) for him. The preposition super is often used to express comparison (Hebrew, min )_ Cf. Ps. xviii. 11, desiderabilia super aurum, dulciora super mei. ; Ps. 1 . 9, super nivem dealbabor. 19. In die afflictionis, in the time of his misfortune. Pravenerunt is here used in a hostile sense. 20. As sorrow implies constraint, so gladness is symbolised by open spaces and freedom of movernent, and great length of stride. THE PSALMS 64 Cf. Ps. cxvii. 5 : exaudivit me in latitudine Dominus ; cxviii. 45 : Ambulabam in latitudine. . 21. The reasons which moved God to help the psalmist. Clean- ness of hands is a symbol of moral integrity. The palms of the hands were held open towards heaven in prayer. 22-23. The vice, judicia and justitiae are the laws of God, which the psalmist claims to ha ve observed. 24. Immaculatus, stainless, without defect in his attitude towards God, and God’s Law. The “ero ” suggests merely habitual action, whether in past, present or future. Observabo, ‘ guard myself from/ The mea in iniquitate mea is redundant : ‘ I will keep myself from sin/ not, * from my wonted sin/ 26-28. The policy of God. He deals with men as they deal with Him. Towards a pious one He shows Himself gracious, towards an upright {innocens) man He shows Himself just, towards the straightforward He shows Himself straightforward [electus) ; but to the cunning He shows Himself crafty. It is a quaint application, in a sense, of the Lex talionis. God treats every man according to his deserts. To the impious the punishment which God sends, appears unfair and treacherous. 28. Quoniam seems to mean ‘ surely.’ Humilis, ‘ oppressed/ Oculi superborum, proud eyes ; cf. Ps. cxxx. 1, where elati oculi are paralleled with exaltatum cor. 29. Thou lightest my lamp, i.e., Thou makest me to prosper. But the thought is suggested that prosperity is due to following God’s guidance and doing His will. Hence the second half of the verse. Cf. Ps. cxviii. 105, Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum; cf also the text, John xi. 9. 30. Transgrediar murum, leap over the wall, that defends a city, i.e. take it by storm. 31. The words of God are tried and tested, like silver refined. They may, therefore, be relied on wholly. Deus meus is here an absolute nominative—an imitation of the Hebrew. The eloquia are the oracles and promises of God. 32. Who is God but the Lord, i.e. Yahweh, the God of Israel. ‘ Who is God but Yahweh ? ' 33. He is the God who, etc. Posuit= made. The ‘ way' is the manner of living. 34. The point of comparison is swiftness—an important quality in warriors of ancient times. The “ heights ” are the solitudes where the stag wanders at will. 36. Protectio salutis tuce, * Thy saving (rescuing) help/ Suscepit =protects. The disciplina is the Law of the Lord. In finem=con- stantly, ever. The phrase, Et disciplina, etc., is due to the incor- poration in the text of Theodotion’s rendering beside that of the Septuagint. A SONG OF THANKSGIVING .65 57. The long strides would betoken strength and untrammelled freedom. The text means : ‘ Thou hast widened the paths which my feet do traverse/ The vestigia will not move here and there uncertainly, but will mark a straight and steady path. 38-43 describe DavkTs successful campaigns against the hostile nations round about Israel. 41. Inimicos dedisti dorsum, ‘ Thou didst turn them in flight before me/ Dorsum=terga. 42. The enemies of David called on Yahweh for help. Are the enemies here spoken of, Israelite enemies ? 43. Delebo —Hebrew : * I will pour them out/ 44. The ‘ contendings of the people * would seem to mean the internal troubles of David’s kingdom, including the rebellion of Absalom. 45. Foreign peoples which had heard of the greatness of David’s kingdom, offered themselves to him as vassals. The mere mention of his name sufhced to terrify them. 46. The foreigners mentiti sunt, i.e., offered flattering or forced homage—homage, therefore, which was not sincere. They waned ( inveterati sunt) before DavkTs power, and hobbled away helplessly from their usual paths. The Hebrew implies that they limped out tremblingly from their castles to offer their submission to David. 48. Vindictas, vengeance. 50. This is difhcult to understand in the mouth of David. It is not impossible that we ha ve to reckon here, and in the following verse, with a liturgical addition to the psalm. 51. Magnificans, etc. (God) who performs many and wondrous deeds of rescue, and shows unceasing kindness to His anointed—the king. Christo=uncto : Hebrew, mashiah. 5 PSALM XVIII THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS AND IN THE LAW T HE glory of God, as shown in the heavens, and revealed in the Law, is the theme of this psalm. The first part of the poem (1-7) deals with the glory of God which is un- ceasingly hymned, in words intelligible to ali, by the hosts of heaven—the glory which each hour of the day and of the night displays in ever-changing splendour, the glory which is seen most fully in the sun, the greatest of the wondrous beings which God has set in the heavens. From one end of heaven to the other speeds the great sun, penetrating all things with his fiery glow. The second part of the psalm (8-15) deals with that glory of God which the Law displays. The Law is pure and clean : it brightens the eyes, and quickens the soul; to follow it means rich reward. May the Lord forgive the singer his sins of frailty, save him from the godless, and receive graciously the words of his song ! The two parts of the poem fall naturally enough together. To the brilliant fiery ball of the sun that lights up and vivifies the world, corresponds the Law that gives brilliancy to the eyes and quicken- ing to the soul. The transition from the first part to the second is, however, abrupt, and the two parts differ greatly in. metrical structure. Possibly the first part is older than the second. It is possible that an ancient song of God’s glory in nature, and, perhaps, a fragment of a poem on the sun, were taken to form a preface to a poem on the Law. The wondrous glory shown in the starry heavens and the mighty sun would form a htting counterpoise to the glory of the moral Law. The author of the psalm is, according to the title, David. If the view, that there are here fragments of ancient poetry used as a prelude to a poem on the Law, is true, David can stili be the author of the poem as it stands. It is objected, however, against Davidic authorship, that the attitude of reflection on, and respect for, the Law shown in the second part is far more natural in the post-Exilic, than it would have been in the Davidic period. 1. In finem. Psalmus David. 1. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. 2. Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei, 2. et opera manuum ejus annun¬ tiat firmamentum. (ist part) The heavens teli the glory of God ; And the firmament publisheth the work of His hands. 66 THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS 67 3. Dies diei eructat verbum, 3. et nox nocti indicat scientiam. 4. Non sunt loquelae, neque 4. sermones, quorum non audian¬ tur voces eorum. 5. In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum : et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum. 6. In sole posuit tabernacu- 6. Ium suum: et ipse tamquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo : Exsultavit ut gigas ad cur¬ rendam viam, 7. a summo coelo egressio 7. ejus : Et occursus ejus usque ad summum ejus : nec est qui se abscondat a calore ejus. 8. Lex Domini immaculata 8. convertens animas : testimoni¬ um Domini fidele, sapientiam praestans parvulis. 9. Justitiae Domini rectae, Ise- 9. tificantes corda: praeceptum Domini lucidum ; illuminans oculos. 10. Timor Domini sanctus, 10. permanens in saeculum saeculi : judicia Domini vera, justificata in semetipsa. 11. Desiderabilia super aurum 11. et lapidem pretiosum multum : et dulciora super mei et favum. 12. Etenim servus tuus custo- 12. dit ea, in custodiendis illis re¬ tributio multa. , 13. Delicta quis intelligit ? 13. ab occultis meis munda me : 14. Et ab alienis parce servo 14. tuo. Si mei non fuerint dominati, tunc immaculatus ero : et emun¬ dabor a delicto maximo. 15. Et erunt ut complaceant 15. eloquia oris mei : et meditatio cordis mei in conspectu tuo semper. Domine adjutor meus, et re¬ demptor meus. Day unto day declareth the message ; And night unto night revealeth the knowledge. It is neither speech nor discourse, The sound of which may not be heard. In the sun God hath set up His tent; And he, like a bridegroom coming forth from the bridal chamber, Exulteth like a hero when he entereth on his path. On the one boundary of heaven is his rising, And his course is unto the other. There is not one who can hide himself from his glow. (2nd. part) The law of the Lord is perfect— Soul-quickening : The Lord’s command is trustworthy— Giving insight to the simple : The ordinances of the Lord are just— Heart-rejoicing : The precept of the Lord is luminous— Eye-illuminating : The fear of the Lord is holy— Ever-abiding. The judgments of the Lord are true— Altogether just: More to be treasured than gold, And many a precious stone ; Sweeter than honey and the (dripping) honey-comb. Thy servant doth keep them : For their keeping there is huge reward. Who can know (one’s) offences ? Cleanse me from my secret faults. And from the proud keep Thou Thy servant far : If they do not rule over me, Then I shall be stainless and stand free from heinous sin. Let the words of my mouth. And the thoughts of my heart, Find favour before Thee ever, O Lord, My Helper and Rescuer ! 5. Over the whole earth goeth the sound of them, And even to the ends of the earth (reach) their words. 2. The Hebrew uses here for God 'EI, not Yahweh : the glory is one that ali men see. C/. Ps. viii, and Ps. ciii. In the second part* 68 THE PSALMS where the reference is to the glory of God shown in the Mosaic Law, we find the name Yahweh. Opera manuum tuarum, ‘ what Thou canst do/ Thy power. 3. The hymn of praise is unending. Day and night are the daily and nightly heavens, each phase of which is a song of the Creator’s praise. The ‘ word * of praise, and the message of the 4 knowledge ' of God which day communicates to day, and night to night, is unceasing. The discourse of day and night is like the flow of an ever-bubbling fountain [eructat). 4. The hymn of heaven’s praise is not such that men of many races may not understand it ; it is voiced in a speech that every man can understand. No one who has eyes to see the heavens day and night, can fail to comprehend their message. Eorum is re¬ dundant (Hebrew idiom). The Hebrew has : ‘ Neither language, nor words—Their voice is not heard/ The Latin seems to em- phasise the clearness of the utterance, the Hebrew to insist on its inaudibility. Some commentators have found in the Hebrew a reference to the harmony of the spheres—which only the poet can hear. 5. As far as earth extends, and the borders of the firmament reach, the glory of the heavens may be seen, and its f word ' under- stood. The Hebrew is different here, but the Vulgate gives a better text. (Note the application of this verse to the Apostolic preaching in Rom. x. 18.) 6. The sun is taken as the chief representative of heaven. The Hebrew would read (as Jerome has it) : Soli posuit tabernaculum in eis, ‘ He hath set up for the sun his dwelling in them ' (in the heavens). The Vulgate says that God has set up His own tent in the sun, i.e. God’s glory and majesty are peculiarly manifested in the sun. The Hebrew hero was, of necessity, swift of foot. The com- parison of the sun emerging from the east, with the bridegroom coming forth from the nuptial chamber, suggests the freshness and brilliancy of the sun. One can well imagine with what awestruck wonder the Hebrews must have watched the splendid course of the eastern sun from its resting place in the purple of the hilis of Moab and Bashan through the glow of its midday power, to its golden-red setting in the sea beyond Jaffa or Carmel. The poet thinks of the sun as passing the night in its royal tent near the eastern skies. A heathen poet might have spoken of the sun-disc as the divinity ; but the Hebrew poet says only that the sun reflects the glory of God, and that God has given the sun its dwelling (Hebrew), or made His own dwelling in the sun (Vulgate). A summo coelo : from one end of heaven ; ad summum ejus —to the other. 8. The 4 Law' is the whole complex of the teaching—moral, religious and ceremonial, of the Old Testament. It is the guidance ♦ THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS 69 and revelation contained in the books of the Old Testament. With this second part of the poem should be compared Psalm cxviii. Here, as there, many synonyms are used for the ‘ Law *•— lex, testimonium , justitice, prceceptum, timor Dei. It is interesting to note the con- trast between the delight in the ‘ Law,’ which this psalm describes, and the joylessness of those who were borne down by the yoke of the Law in the New Testament period ( cf. Roms. vii ; Gals. iii ; Acts xv. 10 ; Matt. xxiii. 4, etc., etc.). The ‘ Law ' of the New Testament period contained too much of human admixture, too many traditiones patrum. The metre in this second part is the so-called Kinah or elegiae metre. Each line consists of a long half followed by a short. The first half of each line says what the Law is in itself; the second describes its effect in human experience. Convertens animas, Hebrew : ‘ soul-refreshing/ Fidele, well established and trustworthy. Sapientiam preestans parvulis : the parvuli are the simple and untaught. For these the Law takes the place of man’s wisdom, since it gives them sure insight into the true philosophy of life. Cf. the “ little ones ” of Our Lord (Matt. xi. 25 ; xviii. 1-6). 9. Lucidum ; Hebrew : ‘ pure/ ‘ ciear from all defect/ Illuminans oculos : suggesting gladness and certainty of guidance. Cf. Ps. cxviii. 105, 130 : Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum . . . . declaratio sermonum tuorum illuminat. Cf. Ephes. i. 18 : illuminatos oculos cordis vestri. Cf. also the idea expressed in Ps. xii. 4. 10. Instead of ‘ timor Dei * a slight emendation of Hebrew would give ‘ verbum Dei.’ Reading timor we must explain, * that which leads one to fear the Lord/ i.e. the Law. Justificata in semetipsa means, according to Hebrew, ‘ completely vindicated/ i.e. as active in human life. In semetipsa translates iahdau, which is elsewhere represented by in idipsum (Ps. xxxiii. 4; lxi. 10; iv. 9, etc.). It means ‘ alto- gether/ * completely/ 11. Aurum, the Hebrew, paz, pure gold—the topazion of Ps. cxviii. 127. * Multum is an adjective ; the law is more to be sought after than even a great store of precious stones. Favum : Jerome has : favum redundantem. The Hebrew implies what drops from the honeycomb. 12. Etenim does not introduce a reason : it=‘ indeed/ Retributio is the reward of the faithful observance of the Law. 13. The Hebrew reads : ‘ Sins of inadvertence ’ (, Sh e gi’oth )—* who giveth thought to them ? From hidden (sins) do Thou cleanse me/ In the Law (cf. Leviticus iv. 2) the Sh c gi’oth (Vulgate ignorantia; Hebrew, Sh e gagah) are offences committed, in inadvertence, against the Law—particularly against the ceremonial Law. Such sins could be atoned for by a sacrifice when the offender realised that he had 70 THE PSALMS committed them. Obviously a man might offend often against cult-laws, and other laws, with sucti an inadvertence or unconscious- ness that no hint or reminder ever afterwards would avail to recall him to a sense of guilt. For offences thus altogether unknown and forgotten there could be no sacrificial atonement, and for pardon of them there could be no hope except in the mercy of God. The delicta are such sins as are afterwards remembered : the occulta are those of which one never becomes conscious. 14. The alienis are not the ‘ sins of others/ but the ‘ proud/ The Sept. read here in the Hebrew zarim instead of zedim, and the Vulgate has followed the Greek. Alieni means proud or insolent enemies (cf. Ps. liii. 5 ; cviii. 11, and the filii alieni of Ps. xvii. 46). The “ proud/’ or the " enemies,” are those who profess to despise the Law—those worldly-minded ones with whom a pious observer of the Law might not safely associate (cf. Ps. cxviii. 21). If such men do not succeed in gaining power over him, the psalmist will be able to stand with a ciear conscience before the Lord, and with the confidence that—apart from the occulta —he is not stained with the guilt of any great offence against the Law of the Lord. 15. The psalmist here prays that the words of his poem may be found pleasing to God. The meditatio cordis is the inner side of the eloquia oris. The poet is conscious that he has expressed very valuable thoughts in very beautiful form. PSALM XIX A PRAYER FOR THE KING WHEN HE GOES FORTH TO BATTLE T HIS is a prayer for the king as he marches out to battle. The time is a dies tribulationis —a season of bitter need. Before the royal army marches forth, sacrifice is offered in the Temple (or Sanctuary), and prayers for the king’s safety and success are sung. The psalm which we have here is obviously a prayer sung after the offering of sacrifice for the king’s success. It is possible to suppose that verses 1-7 were sung by a choir of priests. A single voice takes up verses 7&-10, and all the assembly joins in the petition at the end, hoshi‘ah hammelekh —‘ Keep safe the king ! ' The army is small (verses 8, 9), but its confidence in God is strong, and in this confidence it will conquer. The psalm is ascribed to David. For the custom of offering sacrifice before engaging in battle, cf. I Kings xiii. 9 ff. It is not easy to determine the identity of the king for whose success the poem is sung. The psalm is certainly of the monarchical period, and if David is its author, he must be also the king to whom it refers. Un- less, as Cyril of Alexandria and Theodoret suppose, David composed the psalm with prophetic vision of the sorrows of some later king, such as Ezechias. 1. In finem, Psalmus David. 1. 2. Exaudiat te Dominus in 2. die tribulationis: protegat te nomen Dei Jacob. 3. Mittat tibi auxilium de 3. sancto : et de Sion tueatur te. 4. Memor sit omnis sacrificii 4. tui : et holocaustum tuum pin¬ gue fiat. 5. Tribuat tibi secundum cor 5. tuum : et omne consilium tuum confirmet. 6. Lsetabimur in salutari tuo : 6. et in nomine Dei nostri magni¬ ficabimur. 7. Impleat Dominus omnes 7. petitiones tuas : Nunc cognovi quoniam sal¬ vum fecit Dominus Christum suum. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. (Choir of Priests) May the Lord hear thee in time of trial: May the name of the God of Jacob protect thee ! May He send thee help from the Sanctu- ary, And from Sion may He guard thee ! May He be mindful of all thy offerings. And may thy sacrifice be acceptable ! May He grant thee thy heart’s desire. And accomplish all thy planning ! We shall (then) rejoice in thy victory, And boast in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all thy requests ! (Single voice) Now I know that the Lord keepeth in safety His Anointed, 7i 72 THE PSALMS Exaudiet illum de coelo san¬ cto suo : in potentatibus salus dexterae ejus. 8. Hi in curribus, et hi in equis: nos autem in nomine Domini Dei nostri invocabimus. 9. Ipsi obligati sunt, et ceci¬ derunt : nos autem surreximus et erecti sumus. He hears him from out His holy heaven; In deeds of might is the rescue^of His right hand. 8. Some put their trust in chariots, others in steeds, But we in the name of the Lord, our God. 9. They are entangled, and fall, But we arise and hold ourselves erect. (Multitude) 10. Domine salvum fac re- 10. O Lord, do Thou keep safe the king ; gem : et exaudi nos in die, qua And hear us when we call on Thee. invocaverimus te. 2. The dies tribulationis may be simply the day of battle. The nomen Dei Jacob would be a protection, since the king would fight for the glory of that name. Possibly the battle-cry of the king would include the divine name. Cf. David's battle-cry, M e hullal Yahweh—Laudandus Dominus, Ps. xvii. 4. 3. This verse seems to imply that the Temple was already on Sion. It excludes, at all events, the time of Saul—for Sion was not an Israelite sanctuary till the days of David. 4. The ‘ sacrifice ' is the sacrifice offered on this occasion. The sacrificium is here the minhah, the meal-offering (or, offering in general). The holocaustum is the burnt-offering. Pingue, ' fat ' and therefore, acceptable. The Hebrew may be translated : ‘ May He make {i.e. declare, recognise) it (the holocaust) fat/ i.e. regard it as pleasing. 5. The consilium is the plan of the royal campaign. 6. We shall rejoice—in salutari tuo, * in the victory given to thee/ i.e. to the king. Magnificabimur : The Hebrew says, ‘ and we shall wave banners/ i.e. in token of victory. The Sept. read n e gaddel ; the Massora nidgol. Jerome has, ducemus choros, which is perhaps based on nagil, ‘ let us rejoice/ 7. The second section begins in verse yb. Apparently the voice of a single singer now takes up the chant. Some one of the priests, seeing by some token that the offering of sacrifice and prayer has been accepted, or caught by a prophetic impulse, declares the coming victory of the king. That some sign of the Lords favour has been seen by all. or shown at least to one, is ciear from the emphasis on * now/ Potentatibus, deeds of might. In Hebrew: ‘ He answers him from His holy heavens with rescuing deeds of might done by His right hand/ Salus should be salutis. Jerome translates : exaudiet eum .... in fortitudine salutis dexterce suce. A PRAYER FOR THE KING 73 8. The hi and hi are the enemies. Invocabunt is to be supplied with in curribus and in equis. Invocare in seems to mean here ‘ put one’s trust in/ It reproduces the Hebrew nazkir, * we will com¬ memorate/ The Greek tradition is not hxed. The Psalt. Rom. reads, as in verse 5, magnificabimur (Hebrew nagbir ?). The Greek variants represent Hebrew readings nagbir, nazkir and nagil —‘ We shall boast of * (or be strong by), ‘ we shall commemorate ' (or trust in), and ‘ we shall rejoice/ For the sentiment here expressed cf. the story of Gideon’s army, Judges vii. Cf. also Is. xxx. 15. Possibly ‘ B e shem Yahweh’ ‘ in the name of Yahweh/ was to be used as a battle-cry by the king. But there may be nothing further suggested here than that the king was going out to fight the battles of the Lord, and must, therefore, be victorious. There can be no sug- gestion here that the name of Yahweh possessed some magical, talismanic value. 9. Obligati, bound by bonds or fetters. The Hebrew has : ' they are bowed down ' (Jerome : incurvati sunt). The Greek suggests the idea of having the foe bound with fetters. The fetters would naturally bring about a fall. The sense seems to be that those who put their trust in material equipment for battle will be defeated. Sun eximus is the opposite of obligati :■ we who had been fettered, as it were, with fear, arise (surreximus=surgimus). Erecti sumus is in contrast with ceciderunt. 10. The Latin text here is better than the Hebrew. The whole gathering, priests and peopie, joins in this prayer. Possibly the Hoshlah {salvum fac) suggested to the peopie the Hoshi‘a-nah (Hosarfna) so often sung during the Feast of Tabernacles. PSALM XX AFTER THE BATTLE A S in the preceding psalm a prayer was offered for the kings success in battle, so here we have a prayer of thanksgiving for the victory which has been given to him. We have the same general arrangement here as in Psalm xix. The temple- ehoir fervently thanks the Lord for giving to the king the attainment of ali his pians, and for granting him the rich fulness of honour which naturally foliows from his victories (2-7). A single voice then takes up the song, and prophesies the continuance of the Lord’s favour towards the king, and the utter defeat of all the king’s foes (8-13). As in Psalm xix, so here, the last verse is a prayer for the immediate and energetic help of the Lord, sung by the whole gathering—priests and people. The occasion of this song is just as obscure as that of Psalm xix. Obviously this psalm could be used in the Temple-services which followed military campaigns of Hebrew Kings generally. When it was first sung we do not know. It must be dated in the monarchical period. If David is the king referred to, the psalm must be dated some short time subsequently to the preceding. (The situation described in I Par. xx. 1-2 has been suggested by commentators.) The thanksgiving Service for a Davidic victory could not be celebrated in the Temple ; but the ceremonial suggested in this poem could have been carried out in the Tabernacle with scarcely less solemnity than in the Temple. It has been suggested that this poem was really a coronation-hymn—and not a song of thanks for military victories just achieved. The hyperbole of verse 5—‘ life for e ver and e ver/ which is very natural in an Oriental poem, and especially in an Oriental poem about a king, has sometimes been regarded as a proof that the psalm is a prophecy of the Messianic King, and His coronation on the day of His victory. The Targum version understands the psalm clearly in the Messianic sense. It is to be noted, however, that the Messianic King, as summing up in Himself all that was great and glorious and victorious in every King of Israel, was necessarily foreshadowed by every great ruler among the Kings of Israel. 1. In finem, Psalmus David. 1. 2 . Domine in virtute tua lae- 2. tabitur Rex : et super salutare tuum exsultabit vehementer. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. (Choir) O Lord, the king doth rejoice because of Thy power, And because of Thy help he greatly exulteth. 74 AFTER THE BATTLE 3. Desiderium cordis ejus tri- 3. buisti ei: et voluntate labiorum «jus non fraudasti eum. 4. Quoniam praevenisti eum in benedictionibus dulcedinis, posuisti in capite ejus coronam de lapide pretioso. 5. Vitam petiit a te : et tri¬ buisti ei longitudinem dierum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi. 6. Magna est gloria ejus in salutari suo: gloriam et ma¬ gnum decorem impones super eum. 7. Quoniam dabis eum in benedictionem in saeculum sae¬ culi : laetificabis eum in gaudio cum vultu tuo. 8. Quoniam Rex sperat in 8. Domino : et in misericordia Altissimi non commovebitur. 9. Inveniatur manus tua 9. omnibus inimicis tuis: dex¬ tera tua inveniat omnes, qui te oderunt. 10. Pones eos ut clibanum ignis in tempore vultus tui: Dominus in ira sua conturbabit eos, et devorabit eos ignis. 11. Fructum eorum de terra perdes: et semen eorum a filiis hominum. 12. Quoniam declinaverunt in 12. te mal : cogitaverunt consilia, quae non potuerunt stabilire. 13. Quoniam pones eos dor- 13. sum : in reliquiis tuis praepara¬ bis vultum eorum. 14. Exaltare Domine in vir- 14. tute tua : cantabimus et psalle¬ mus virtutes tuas. 75 What his heart did crave for, Thou hast given him, And from what his lips besought Thou hast not withheld him. (Single voice) For the king puts his hope in the Lord ; And because of the graciousness of the Most High he is not moved. May all Thy enemies feel the weight of Thy hand : May Thy right hand reach unto all who hate Thee. For they sought to turn evil on Thee : They planned out schemes which they could not carry through. Thou didst turn them in flight by those who stood by Thee ; Thou aimest at their face. (The multitude) Arise, O Lord, in Thy strength ! We will praise and sing Thy deeds of power. 4. For Thou camest to meet him with blessings abundant; On his head hast Thou set a crown of precious gems. 5. Life he did beg of Thee, And life prolonged Thou hast given him— Life for ever and ever. 6. Great is his renown, because of Thy help; Glory and honour Thou hast set on his head. 7. For Thou makest him a (source of) bless- ing for ever ; " Thou dost delight him with gladness by Thy presence. 10. Thou makest them a furnace of fire When Thy anger bursts forth. [The Lord doth destroy them in His anger, and fire doth devour them]. 11. Their children Thou dost exterminate from out the land, And their offspring from among men. 2. The ‘ power ' is the helping strength of the Lord. The ‘ salu¬ tare ' is the help which the Lord has sent. Super salutare is a construction of vulgar Latin. 3. The desiderium is the secundum cor tuum of xix. 5. Voluntas labiorum, desire expressed. Fraudare, refuse, reject. Hebrew : ‘ Thou hast not withheld.' 7 6 THE PSALMS 4. Prcevenisti, Thou hast come to meet him. Benedictionibus dulcedinis, most sweet blessings (most kind and gracious favours). Coronam : by his victories the king was, as it were, crowned once more. The Hebrew speaks of ' purest gold ’ instead of * precious stone/ This verse it is that has led some commentators to see in the psalm a coronation-hymn. (But compare I Par. xx. 1-2.) 5. For the Hebrews, length of days (i.e. of life) was regarded as one of the greatest of blessings. Notice the phrasing in the trans- lation. There is no great contrast intended between ‘ life * and ‘ length of life * ; no doubt it was the latter that the king prayed for. The verse says merely that God generously answered his prayer. 6. This is to be taken as largely hyperbole. The gloria and honor appear usually as divine qualities. Dabis in benedictionem, either ‘ Thou wilt make him a source of blessing ’ for others, like Abraham (Gen. xii. 2), or, ‘ Thou wilt make him altogether blessed ’ (i.e. successful). This second meaning is suggested by the Old Latin rendering dabis ei benedictionem. Possibly the true sense is that the king will be so fortunate that his name will become proverbial, and men will pray for blessings like to those which he enjoyed. Cum vultu tuo seems to mean, through, by means of, Thy presence. The ‘ presence ' is the consciousness of God’s continual assistance ; the ‘ delight ' is the gladness which arises from the sense of God’s helping presence, the pleasure of living in the full light of God’s face. 8. Here the soloist takes up the song. The king’s trust in God is, and will be, the real ground of his success. Non commovebitur , shall not be made to falter and fail. 9. The king is here addressed. The dative ( inimicis ) is here used for the classical ablative. The sense is : ‘ May none of thy foes escape thy avenging hand/ The Hebrew reads : ‘ May thy hand find all thy foes/ which expresses the same idea. 10. Pones eos ut, ‘ thou shalt make them ’ ; the ut reproduces the Hebrew k e which is often used with verbs implying transforma- tion. His enemies will be the fuel for His furnace of wrath. I 3 §|| In tempore vultus tui, when thou dost appear [i.e. in thy anger). Dominus in ira sua, etc. This unexpected reference to the Lord in a passage addressed to the king is suspicious, and many critics are disposed to omit the last two clauses of this verse. 11. Their * fruit ’ is their offspring. A filiis hominum —so that they might be no longer numbered among men. It was not unusual in tribal wars of the early world to exterminate the males of a con- quered tribe. 12. Declinaverunt : Jerome has : inclinaverunt super te malum : they set their hearts to bring evil on him. But all their pians failed, they could not make them good ( stabilire ). 13. ‘ Thou didst put them to flight ’ ( cf . Ps. xvii. 41). In reliquiis > AFTER THE BATTLE 77 as it stands is rather hopeless. Jerome translates : funes tuos firmabis contra facies eorum, understanding, probably, a reference in funes to the string of a bow which is being stretched to shoot arrows at the face of the foe. In reliquiis is due apparently to the presence in the Hebrew text read by the Septuagint translators of ieter instead of the Massoretic metarim : ieter can mean both the string of a bow, and that which is left, or remnant. The Sept. trans- lation followed the second meaning. The translation above gives the only rendering that is possible here, of in reliquiis, viz., ‘ by the surviving troops * (or, ‘ by the loyal troops ’) of the king. PrcBparabis, refers to the aiming of the arrows suggested by the bow-strings of the Massoretic text. 14. A general prayer of the assembly, that the Lord may show His strength, so that Israel may continue to chant His glorious deeds (virtutes). PSALM XXI THE JIJST ONE IN DISTRESS T HIS psalm is clearly Messianic. It reads in places almost like an eye-witnesss account of the Crucifixion of Our Lord. The Gospels put the hrst words of this psalm in the mouth of the dying Saviour, and we may assume that the thoughts of this poem passed through the mind of Jesus even when His lips were unable to form the words of it. If the psalm is Davidic, it is rather of Christ than of David that it speaks. The structure of the poem is very simple. Verses 2-22 are a complaint and a prayer ; verses 23-32 are praise and thanks. The hrst part expresses the dreadful loneliness of Christ on the cross, and in His cruel agony : the second part announces the fulfilment of Christ's prayer, that, through His sorrows, the world might come to share in His triumph ; all the ends of the earth are shown hurrying to pay homage to the God of Israel. Here, as in most of the psalms of com¬ plaint, there is a strikingly sudden transit ion from the deepest de- jection to the most triumphant confidence. Modern critics are inclined to regard this psalm as of post-exilic origin. For these critics the woes of the psalmist are the woes of Israel in exile. The poem must be the story of a nation's sorrows, it is said, sffice all the world will not turn to God with praise because of one man’s deliverance ; not because of any single Israelite can all the kings of earth be summoned to adore the God of Israel. The Servant of the Lord in Isaias is depicted similarly to the sufferer of this poem, and the critics who identify the Servant with Israel or some section of Israel, find in that identification a reason for taking Psalm xxi as referring to the people of Israel as a whole, or to the most faithful section of the Hebrew Exiles. It is true that the Messianic meaning of a psalm is not excluded by the immediate and literal reference of the psalm to a particular historical personage or incident. But whatever the immediate subject of this psalm may be—whether David, Ezechias or the Israelite nation, as has been variously conjectured—the picture which it puts before us is more true of Christ, the Crucified, than it is of any other person—whether individual or national. The victory of Christ is reason sufficient to bring all nations and kings of earth to pay homage to the God of truth. 78 THE JUST ONE IN DISTRESS 79 1. In finem pro susceptione i. matutina, Psalmus David. 2. Deus, Deus meus respice 2. in me : quare me dereliquisti ? longe a salute mea verba de¬ lictorum meorum. 3. Deus meus clamabo per 3. diem, et non exaudies: et nocte, et non ad insipientiam mihi. 4. Tu autem in sancto habi- 4. tas, laus Israel. 5. In te speraverunt patres 5. nostri : speraverunt, et liberasti eos. 6. Ad te clamaverunt, et 6. salvi facti sunt: in te spera¬ verunt, et non sunt confusi. For the choir-leader. According to “ The Hind of the Dawn.” A psalm of David. O God, my God, look Thou upon me ; why hast Thou abandoned me ? Remote make my rescue the sins which have been laid on me. My God, I pray in the day-time, and Thou payest no heed ; And in the night-time—but not for my own sin. Yet Thou dwellest in the Holy Place, Thou theme of Israel’s song ! In Thee our fathers set their hope ; They hoped and Thou didst give them freedom. To Thee they cried, and they were rescued ; In Thee they hoped and were not put to shame. 7. Ego autem sum vermis, et 7. non homo : opprobrium homi¬ num, et abjectio plebis. 8 . Omnes videntes me, de- 8. riserunt me : locuti sunt labiis, et moverunt caput. 9. Speravit in Domino, eri- 9. piat eum : salvum faciat eum, quoniam vult eum. 10. Quoniam tu es, qui ex¬ traxisti me de ventre : spes mea ab uberibus matris meae. 11. In te projectus sum ex utero : De ventre matris meae Deus meus es tu, 12. Ne discesseris a me : Quoniam tribulatio proxima est: quoniam non est qui ad¬ juvet. 13. Circumdederunt me vi¬ tuli multi : tauri pingues obse¬ derunt me. 14. Aperuerunt super me os suum, sicut leo rapiens et rugiens. 15. Sicut aqua effusus sum : et dispersa sunt omnia ossa mea. Factum est cor meum tam¬ quam cera liquescens in medio ventris mei. 16. Aruit tamquam testa vir¬ tus mea, et lingua mea adhaesit faucibus meis : et in pulverem mortis deduxisti me. But, as for me, I am a worm and not a man, The scorn of men and the outcast of the people. Ali those who see me laugh me to scorn. With their lips they mock me, and they wag their head, [as they say] : ‘' He hoped in the Lord ; let Him set him free, Since He finds His pleasure in him.” 10. For Thou indeed art He who didst bring me forth from the womb ; Thou art my hope from my mother’s breast. 11. On Thee was I cast when (I was taken) from the womb ; From the womb of my mother Thou hast been my God. 12. Depart not from me, for sorrow is near,, . For there is none (other) to give help. 13. Many oxen surround me ; Fat bulls besiege me. 14. They open their mouth against me, Like a rending and roaring lion. 15. I am poured out like water, And ali my bones are separated. My heart has become like wax That melteth within me. 16. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaveth to my palate : And thou hast brought me down to the dust of death. 8 o THE PSALMS 17. Quoniam circumdederunt 17. me canes multi : concilium ma¬ lignantium obsedit me. Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos : 18. Dinumeraverunt omnia 18. ossa mea. Ipsi vero consideraverunt et inspexerunt me : 19. Diviserunt sibi vestimenta 19. mea, et super vestem meam miserunt sortem. 20. Tu autem Domine ne 20. elongaveris auxilium tuum a me: ad defensionem meam conspice. 21. Erue a framea Deus ani- 21. mam meam : et de manu canis unicam meam: 22. Salva me ex ore leonis: 22. et a cornibus unicornium humi¬ litatem meam. A multitude of dogs surrounds me : A band of evildoers encompasses me : They dig through my hands and feet. They count all my bones ; They gaze on me and examine me. They divide among them my garments. And they cast lots for my tunic. But Thou, O Lord, keep not Thy rescue far from me ; Look down and help me ! Save my life, O God, from the sword, And my “ sole belonging ” from the power of the dogs ! Save me from the mouth of the lion. And save me, lowly one, from the horns of the “ unicorn.” 23. Narrabo nomen tuum fra- 23. tribus meis : in medio ecclesiae laudabo te. 24. Qui timetis Dominum, 24. laudate eum : universum semen Jacob glorificate eum. 25. Timeat eum omne semen 25. Israel: quoniam non sprevit, neque despexit deprecationem pauperis : Nec avertit faciem suam a me : et cum clamarem ad eum, exaudivit me. 26. Apud te laus mea in ,ec- 26. clesia magna : vota mea reddam in conspectu timentium eum. 27. Edent pauperes, et satu- 27. rabuntur: et laudabunt Do¬ minum qui requirunt eum : vivent corda eorum in saeculum saeculi. I will teli of Thy Name among my brethren, In the midst of the Assembly I will praise Thee. All ye who fear the Lord, praise Him ! All you seed of Jacob, extol Him ! Let all the seed of Israel fear Him ! For He hath not despised, nor rejected The prayer of the poor. He hath not hidden His face from me : When I cried to Him He heard me. For Thee is my song in the great As¬ sembly ; My vows I will pay in the sight of those who fear Him. The poor shall eat and be sated. And they shall praise the Lord who seek Him ; Their hearts shall live for ever. 28. Reminiscentur et conver- 28. tentur ad Dominum universi fines terrae : Et adorabunt in conspectu ejus universae familiae Gentium. 29. Quoniam Domini est re- 29. gnum: et ipse dominabitur Gentium. 30. Manducaverunt et adora- 30. verunt omnes pingues terrae : in conspectu ejus cadent omnes qui descendunt in terram. 31. Et anima mea illi vivet: 31. et semen meum serviet ipsi. All the ends of the earth will be mind- ful of the Lord, And will turn to Him ; And all the heathen nations shall wor- ship before Him. For the Lord’s is the Kingdom, And He will rule over the nations. The mighty ones of earth will eat and do homage ; Before Him shall bow all who go down to the dust. But my soul shall live for Him ; And my children shall serve Him. 8i THE JUST ONE IN DISTRESS 32. Annuntiabitur Domino 32. generatio ventura : et annuntia¬ bunt coeli justitiam ejus populo qui nascetur, quem fecit Domi¬ nus. Tidings of the Lord will be given to a race that is to come. The heavens will teli of His justice To a people which shall arise, which the Lord hath fashioned. 1. The title, which appears in Vulgate as pro susceptione matutina , is in Hebrew, * According to the hind of the dawn.’ This was perhaps the name of the ancient melody to which the psalm was to be sung. 2, 3. Christ recites the first words of this psalm in Aramaic as He hangs on the cross. He must ha ve understood the psalm as being a prophecy of His own griefs. Longe a salute mea, etc. As Christ had done no sin, the delicta were the burden of our sins, which He took on Himself : the idea of vicarious suffering seems to be clearly expressed in the following verse : et non ad insipientiam mihi. The verba delictorum are not the * words * of sin, but the whole affair, the whole business of sin. It was this which stood between the Just One and His deliverance. The Hebrew is here quite different. It does not suggest so clearly the thought of vicarious suffering. It has nothing corresponding to Respice in me. It reads : “ My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ! far from my rescue are the words of my wailing : my God, I cry in the day-time and Thou answerest not ; and even in the night—and there is no silence(?) for me.” Here the note of help- lessness is perhaps stronger than in the Vulgate. 4. Hebrew : ‘ And yet Thou art the Holy One that thronest on the praises of Israel.’ The neglect of the singer is suggested to be out of harmony with the holiness of the Lord. The Vulgate in sancto must be taken as meaning ‘ in heaven.’ The Vulgate makes the Lord the theme of IsraeTs songs of praise : the Hebrew, more poetically, represents Him as enthroned upon the songs of praise. 5, 6. Israel hoped in the past and not in vain. Perhaps now also, God will help. 7. God seems indeed to have utterly abandoned the psalmist. The nation Israel is called a worm in Is. xli. 14. But that is not a convincing reason for finding here a picture of a people, rather than of an individual. What follows refers most naturally to an individual. Opprobrium hominum, an object of mens contempt ; abjectio plebis, a thing cast away by the people. 8. Locuti sunt labiis represents a Hebrew which would be better translated : distendunt rictum in labiis. Jerome has dimittunt labium ; the reference is to some sort of twisting of the lips as a sign of contempt. The wagging of the head is familiar as a mark of contempt. 9. The words are spoken by the mockers. The Hebrew has : 4 Commit thyself to Yahweh.’ Quoniam vult, ‘ because He hath 6 82 THE PSALMS pleasure in him/ So the High Priests and Scribes mocked Our Lord : Confidit in Deo : liberet nunc, si vult eum. 10. Quoniam, ‘ yes, indeed! ’ It is true that the psalmist has at all times, put his trust in God. The mockers are right : he will go on trusting in the Lord, for it is to Him that he owes his being, and his safety up to the present. Ab uberibus, etc., Hebrew : ‘ on the breasts of my mother/ 11. The reference may be to the custom of placing the new-born babe in the lap of the father, who, by receiving it, acknowledged it as his own. Cf. Gen. xxx. 3 ; 1 . 22 ; Job. iii. 12. De ventre, since the time when I was in the womb. 12. A bitter cry for help. The sorrow which was nigh is described in the following. 13. The beasts symbolise the various enemies of the psalmist. For tauri pingues Hebrew has : * the strong ones of Bashan/ Bashan, the mountain district in the north of the East Jordan country, was famous for its pastures and its cattle {cf. Amos iv. 1). It has let loose, as it were, its fiercest and wildest bulls against the psalmist. 14. Aperuerunt, i.e. the enemies of the singer (or of Christ). 15. The ponring out implies instability, helplessness ; the psalmist has no power over his limbs ; he is limp and almost paralysed. 16. It has been proposed to read fauces mece instead of virtus mea. A comparatively slight change in the Hebrew characters would give the former meaning. But the change is not necessary. His vital energy is quite dried up. 17. The foes are now symbolised by furious dogs. Foderunt, etc. There is a difference here between Hebrew and Vulgate, but the Hebrew is unsatisfactory, and the Vulgate seems to represent a better text. There can be little doubt that there is some reference here to crucifixion. The possibility cannot be excluded that in verses 15-19 we have a description of a crucifixion scene. Are we to understand the hostility of the enemies as showing itself in a great law-suit against the psalmist which may end in his con- demnation to crucifixion ? If the enemy are judges as well as accusers the ‘ digging ' of hands and feet refers clearly to crucifixion. Crucifixion was a familiar mode of execution among the Persians, and we have evidence that the Persians sometimes, at least, nailed the victims to the cross. We know practically nothing of Hebrew methods of ‘ hanging on the tree ’—so that the possibility of a reference to a nailing of a criminal to a cross in ancient Hebrew li terat ure cannot be denied. 18. The body of the sufferer is so spent and worn that the bones show clearly through. Hebrew has the first person for dinumera¬ verunt : ‘ I can count all my bones/ 19. The reference may be to a custom of dividing the victin/s garments among the executioners (Matt. xxvii. 35). The vestimenta THE JUST ONE IN DISTRESS 83 are the outer garments ; the vestis would be the tunic, or seamless robe of Christ (John xix. 24). 21, 22. The anima is the same as the unica, and the humilitas ; his * lowly * life is the sole possession which the sufferer stili holds. Unicornium : the Hebrew r**em means a wild bull, or perhaps, bison. The Old Latin translator is foliowed here by Jerome. There are ancient legends about monstrous creatures equipped with a single horn in the centre of the forehead (cf. Aristotle Partes Animalium iii. 2p. 663*2, etc., etc. Caesar Bell. Gall. vi. 26, 2 ; and elsewhere in the ancient authors). The * unicorn ’ is mentioned again in Ps. xxviii. 6 ; lxxvii. 69 ; xci. 11 ; Is. xxxiv. 7 ; in ali these passages it translates Hebrew re em, or rem. 23-25. Notice the sudden transition to confidence. The psalmist feels that his cause has prevailed, and for this he will ever thank the Lord. He calls on ali Israel to join in his song of thanksgiving. Cf. Hebrews ii. 11-12 which puts verse 23 in the mouth of Christ. 26. Apud te, God is the occasion,. and the theme, of the song. 27. Some of the results of Christ's sufferings. 28. The deliverance of Israel will bring the nations to the Lord : to Israel was first preached the glad tidings of Christ’s redemption (Roms. i. 16, etc.) 29. The universality of the Messianic kingdom. 30. Manducaverunt, etc. The text is obscure both in Hebrew and Vulgate. The pingues terree are the great ones of earth, whether individuals or nations. Qui descendunt in terram are those who go down to the grave (Hebrew : ‘ aphar=&v&t, i.e. the dust of the tomb)—that is, those who must die, not those who are already dead. Manducaverunt may be taken as referring to the future. The verse, then, may be under- stood thus : the powerful ones of earth shall eat of the victims offered in sacrifice in the Temple (or of the banquet of the Lord’s Supper,) and shall offer their homage to God : those also who are in misfortune and doomed to a speedy deatli shall bow down before the Lord. The whole world will share in the fruits of Christ s victory, in the joy of the Messianic age. 31. 32. Et anima mea illi vivit, the singer will live to celebrate the glory of the Lord. The Hebrew is : ‘ And whoso is unable to keep his soul alive ’ ; this would be a gloss or a parallel to ‘ qui descendunt in terram / Annuntiabitur—de Domino, to a race yet unborn. It is the justice of the Lord which has preserved Israel; it will be proclaimed to peoples whom God has fashioned, but who are as yet unknown. [Annuntiabitur, etc., might also be rendered : * The coming race will declare itself to the Lord/ Quem fecit may mean : ‘ which the Lord will fashion/) PSALM XXII THE LORD AS SHEPHERD AND HOST T HE LorcTs loving care for the psalmist is described here, first under the symbol of the Good Shepherd (1-4), and then under that of the generous host (5-6). As the shepherd feeds a flock, so the psalmist may be regarded.as_ represen tmg the community (the flock) of Israel. God is the Shepherd of Israel (c 7 TExod.~xxxivr 1H1 g), and HeTiTalso the master of the house, wlro entertains Israel in the sacred banquets of the Temple. The singer seems to speak as one who has been through bitter trials (4)—not merely as one who is ready to face with courage the unknown perils of the future. The difficulties of the ancient desert-sojournings, or the trials of the Babylo ni an Exile may be here referred to. The tone of the psalm reminds one of the “ Gradual Psalms.” 1. Psalmus David. 1. A psalm of David. Dominus regit me, et nihil mihi deerit: 2. In loco pascuae ibi me collo- 2. cavit. Super aquam refectionis edu¬ cavit me : 3. Animam meam convertit. 3. Deduxit me super semitas justitiae, propter nomen suum. The Lord guideth me, and nothing is wanting to me, In the pasture He lets me rest. To refreshing waters He leadeth me; He quickeneth my soul, He guideth me on the right path For His name's sake. 4. Nam, et si ambulavero in medio umbrae mortis, non time¬ bo mala : quoniam tu mecum es. Virga tua, et baculus tuus : ipsa me consolata sunt. 4. For even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I fear not misfortune : Because Thou art with me ; Thy crook and Thy staff Do strengthen me. 5. Parasti in conspectu meo mensam, adversus eos, qui tri¬ bulant me. Impinguasti in oleo caput meum : et calix meus inebrians quam praeclarus est ! 6. Et misericordia tua sub- sequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae : Et ut inhabitem in domo Domini, in longitudinem dierum. 5. Thou preparest for me a banquet In the sight of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil; And the cup which refresheth me—how goodly it is ! 6. Thy kindness followeth me All the days of my life, So that I may dwell in the House of the Lord For ever and ever. 84 THE LORD AS SHEPHERD AND HOST 85 1. Regit, ‘ guides as a shepherd/ as Hebrew shows. 2. The aqua refectionis are the waters by which the flocks find rest at noon-day. A iiwmm meam convertit ; the soul which was departed, as it were, in fatigue, is brougfa back. The Shepherd guides the sheep on sumi ike - ft i stiti . e.jSi e paths, the paths that lead surely and safely to the rest of evening and night. 4. The darkness is that of the narrow deep valley, or gorge, as contrasted with the bright sunlight of the open pasture-land. The virga and the baculus are the shepherd^ crook and staff which keep off thieves, and hostile wild beasts, and give the flock a sense of security (consolata, ‘ give confidence ’ rather than ‘ comfort ’) when it has to pass through places where such foes may lurk. The crook and staff in the hand of God are symbols of His wise and loving guidance. The idea of the Lord as the Shepherd of Israel is very common in the Psalms (lxxix. 2 ; lxxviii. 13. Cf. also Is. xl. 11 ; Gen. xlix. 24 : Our Lord makes use of this familiar idea when He describes Himself as the Good Shepherd (Lk. xv. 4-7 ; John x. 1-18). 5. The second picture shows God as the host who entertains Israel at a banquet. The idea of hospitality, with all that it implied of the sacredness of guests and the duties of lavish generosity, often appears in Oriental literature. Like a splendid host God orders a heavily-laden banquet-table to be prepared. He filis the cups of His guests with the wine of His never-failing generosity, and pours on their heads the oil of festal gladness. This He does before the face of Israels foes, as a king might give a banquet of honour to a man whose foes had sought to bring him to ruin, before the eyes of these same enemies. In the sacred banquets of the Temple the pious Israelite could feel that God was the Host and Master of the banquet. The sacri - ficial Service of the Temple would thus be the pledge of God’s abiding presence in Israel; and to dwell in the Lord’s House would be the highest privilege which a pious Israelite could seek. For calix meus inebrians the Hebrew has : ‘ My cup is super- abundance'—referring to the constant replenishing. 6. The ut before inhabitem ought to be omitted. Though there is no immediate reference to the Banquet of the New Law, it will be seen how readily the verses 5 and 6 can be made applicable to it. For long-continued dwelling in the Temple cf. the account of Anna (Lk. ii. 37). PSALM XXIII ENTRY INTO THE SANCTUARY OF THE LORD T HE verses 4-6 answer the question ; ' Who is the friend and guest of the Lord ? ’ (like Ps. xiv). The answer is : ‘ He whose thoughts and acts are pure/ In verses 1-2 the majesty of the Lord, the Founder of the universe, is described. The sixth verse would form a very natural ending to what precedes ; and a very neat and beautiful poem, similar in theme to Ps. xiv, might be regarded as completed in verses 1-6. In verses 7-10 is celebrated a solemn entry of the Lord into His Sanctuary. Thus the second part of Psalm xxiii deals, like the first (verses 1-6), with entrance into the Sanctuary, but the first part (1-6) deals with the ethical conditions demanded from Israelites who will sojourn there ; while the second (7-10) speaks of the glorious entrance of the Lord into His own shrine. The poetical structure differs in the two parts of the psalm, and the view has often been expressed that we have in this psalm a combination of two poems which had originally nothing to do with each other. It might be well maintained that the second part of the psalm was chanted for the first time when David brought the Ark to Sion, and that it was after- wards sung whenever the Ark was being carried back to its sanctuary at the close of a victorious military campaign, in which the Ark, as the symbol of God, had been carried on the battlefields. The words of the second part of the psalm would find a very natural explanation if they could be regarded as part of the liturgy recited at the return of the Ark from victorious warfare, but there is, un- fortunately, no direct evidence that the Ark was carried out to battle during the monarchical period. Some recent commentators have conjectured that the whole psalm was composed for an annual Feast of Dedication of the Temple at which the Ark was carried out from its shrine, and borne back to it again. But there is no trace of such an annual festival in ancient Israel. The structure of verses 3-6 and of verses 7-10 is obviously dramatic and liturgical. A procession in both parts approaches the Temple, and voices from without and within are heard in question and reply. The translation suggests the order of speakers or singers. C/. Ps. xiv ; Is. xxxiii. 14-16 ; Mich. vi. 8/. 86 ENTRY INTO THE SANCTUARY 87 1. Prima Sabbati, Psalmus i. David. Domini est terra, et plenitudo ejus: orbis terrarum, et uni¬ versi qui habitant in eo. 2. Quia ipse super maria fun- 2. davit eum: et super flumina praeparavit eum. 3. Quis ascendet in montem 3. Domini ? aut quis stabit in loco sancto ejus ? 4. Innocens manibus et mun- 4. do corde, qui non accepit in vano animam suam, nec juravit in dolo proximo suo. 5. Hic accipiet benedictionem 5. a Domino : et misericordiam a Deo salutari suo. 6. Hac est generatio quae- 6. rentium eum, quaerentium fa¬ ciem Dei Jacob. 7. Attollite portas principes 7. vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales: et introibit Rex gloriae. 8. Quis est iste Rex gloriae ? 8. Dominus fortis et potens: Dominus potens in praelio. 9. Attollite portas principes 9. vestras, et elevamini portae aeternales: et introibit Rex gloriae. 10. Quis est iste Rex gloriae ? io. Dominus virtutum ipse est Rex gloriae. On the First day of the week. A psalm of David. The world is the Lord’s, and all that it holds ; The universe and everything that dwells therein. For He hath established it upon the seas ; And upon the waters He hath made it firm. (The procession) Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord ? And who shall stand in His holy place ? (The Priests at the Temple-entrance) He that is clean of hands, and pure of heart; He that setteth not his desire on vanity. And sweareth not treacherously to his neighbour. Such a one will receive blessings from the Lord, And graciousness from his God, who is so rich in help. Such are the men who seek Him, Who seek the face of the God of J acob. (The procession with the Ark) Open, O Princes, your gates ! And raise yourselves, ye everlasting gates ! That the glorious King may enter in! 4 (A voice from within the sanctuary) Who is this glorious king ? (The procession) The Lord, the Mighty and Strong, The Lord who is powerful in battle ! Open, O Princes, your gates ! And raise yourselves ye everlasting gates! That the glorious King may enter in. (Voice within) Who is this glorious king ? (Procession) The Lord of Hosts is the glorious King. 1. By the title the psalm is assigned to Sunday—because, perhaps, on that day creation began. Fi ve days of the week ha ve psalms assigned to them in the Septuagint, and one in the Hebrew. Sunday, 88 THE PSALMS Psalm xxiii ; Monday, Psalm xlvii ; Wednesday, Psalm xciii ; Friday, Psalm xcii ; Saturday, Psalm xci (both in Septuagint and Hebrew). There is some evidence that Psalm xcvi was assigned to Tuesday, and Psalm lxxx to Thursday. 2. The earth was, in the Hebrew idea, established on waters ; the maria are the waters beneath the earth, and the flumina are the currents of the underlying ocean. C/. Genesis vii. ii ; xlix. 25. From the under-world of ocean came springs and rivers. The glory of God is seen in this that He has set a firm world on a basis naturally nnstable. It is ciear that the psalmisFs aim here is rather to extol the greatness of God than to teach a theory of cosmogony. The cosmogony here impiied is the same as that of Gen. I, and Psalm ciii. (For prceparare in sense of ‘ establish/ compare Ps. lxiv. 7 ; Ixxxviii. 3 ; xxxii. 14, etc.) 3. The connection with verse 2 is : God is the majestic Lord of the world. Who then can approach Him ? The answer is : Only the pure, for the Almighty One is also the All Holy One ! 4. The vanum, probably, is ‘ evil/ Accipere animam is here a translation of nasa’ nephesh, ‘ lift up the soul/ or ‘ set the mind ’ (to something). The Flebrew has nothing about the neighbour. That is added here, probably, from Ps. xiv. 3. 5. Instead of misericordia we have s e dakah (=justice) in Hebrew. The Latin (following the Greek) does not reproduce the Hebrew exactly here. 6. Qucerere Deum is a technical Hebraism expressing devotion to God, and complete readiness to do His will. To * seek the face of God ' was to come to worship in the Temple. With this insistence on the need of purity and truth in those who would enter the Sanctuary, may be compared the inscription often found at the entrance to the inner portions of Egyptian temples : ‘ Let him be pure who enters here ! ' 7. The Hebrew is different. In the Hebrew text the gates of the city (or of the Temple), are called on to raise their heads : * Raise, O ye gates, your heads; rise, ye everlasting gates! ’ The entrances are too low, as it were, for the glory of the entering ark. The ‘ ever¬ lasting gates ’ are the ancient, venerable gates. Those who carry the Ark, and accompany it, address the gates (i.e. the Priests guarding the gates). 8. The gates ask wonderingly : Who is the King ? The answer suggests that a victorious war had just been ended. The Lord is described in martial epithets. Note that it is only when the chief of the Lord’s military epithets Yahweh S e bha‘oth is given, that the gates are opened. 9. 10. The repetition is for dramatic effect. PSALM XXIV A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED T HIS is an alphabetical psalm. The &-verse is missing, and verse 22 beginning with p is supernumary, being, appar- ently, a liturgical addition. The vau which is wanting in verse 56 is easily supplied. The psalm is somewhat loosely put together ; it consists of prayers for help against oppressors, for guidance on the right path, for continuance of divine support, and for freedom from pain and enmity. The psalm may have been a sort of model prayer, to be used in ali times of need and trouble. The last verse shows that it was ali Israel. 1. In finem, Psalmus David. 1. 2. Ad te Domine levavi ani- 2. mam meam : Deus meus in te confido, non erubescam. 3. Neque irrideant me ini- 3. mici mei: etenim universi, qui sustinent te, non confundentur. 4. Confundantur omnes ini- 4. qua agentes supervacue. Vias tuas Domine demonstra mihi : et semitas tuas edoce me. 5. Dirige me in veritate tua, 5. et doce me : quia tu es Deus salvator meus, et te sustinui tota die. 6. Reminiscere miserationum 6. tuarum Domine, et misericor¬ diarum tuarum, quae a saeculo sunt. 7. Delicta juventutis meae, et 7. ignorantias meas ne memineris. Secundum misericordiam tu¬ am memento mei tu : propter bonitatem tuam Domine. 8. Dulcis et rectus Dominus : 8. propter hoc legem dabit de¬ linquentibus in via. 9. Diriget mansuetos in judi- 9. cio : docebit mites vias suas. 10. Universae viae Domini, 10. misericordia et veritas, requiren¬ tibus testamentum ejus et testi¬ monia ejus. used in the liturgy as a prayer for For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. To Thee, O Lord, I raise up my soul. O my God, I put my trust in Thee : let me not be brought to shame ! Nor let my enemies mock me ! For all who hope in Thee will not be brought to shame. May they all be brought to shame who do injustice without excuse (or, with- out avail). Show me, O Lord, Thy ways ; And teach me Thy paths. Guide me in Thy truth, and be my Teacher. For Thou art the God who can rescue me, And in Thee I put my trust the live- long day. Be mindful, O Lord, of Thy deeds of mercy, And of Thy acts of kindness which have been done from days of old. Be mindful no longer of the offences of my youth (nor of my sins) : But be mindful of me in Thy loving kindness. (For the sake of Thy goodness, O Lord!) Kind and just is the Lord : Therefore He giveth a law to those who might fail on the way [of life]. He guideth the humble with justice : He teacheth the peaceful His ways. All the ways of the Lord are kindness and truth— For those who are zealous for His Covenant, and His precepts. 89 9 o THE PSALMS 11. Propter nomen tuum Do- ii. mine propitiaberis peccato meo : multum est enim. 12. Quis est homo qui timet 12. Dominum ? legem statuit ei in via, quam elegit. 13. Anima ejus in bonis de- 13. morabitur : et semen ejus haere- ditabit terram. 14. Firmamentum est Domi¬ nus timentibus eum : et testa¬ mentum ipsius ut manifestetur illis. 15. Oculi mei semper ad Do¬ minum : quoniam ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos. 16. Respice in me, et mise¬ rere mei : quia unicus et pauper sum ego. 17. Tribulationes cordis mei multiplicatae sunt: de necessi¬ tatibus meis erue me. 18. Vide humilitatem meam, et laborem meum: et dimitte universa delicta mea. 19. Respice inimicos meos 19. quoniam multiplicati sunt, et odio iniquo oderunt me. 20. Custodi animam meam, 20. et erue me : non erubescam quoniam speravi in te. 21. Innocentes et recti ad- 21. haeserunt mihi: quia sustinui te. 22. Libera Deus Israel, ex 22. omnibus tribulationibus suis. For the sake of Thy name, O Lord, Pardon my sins, for they are many ! Who is he that feareth the Lord ? Him doth He teach the path which he should choose. Such a one will enjoy good fortune ; And his posterity will inherit the land. See how many are my foes, And with what bitter malice they hate me ! Guard me and rescue me ! Let me not be brought to shame! For I have put my trust in Thee. The blameless and just unite themselves with me, For I do wait on Thee. Set Israel free, O God, from ali her sorrows ! 14. The Lord is a stay to those who fear Him : And His Covenant [is there] that it be made plain to them. 15. My eyes are at ali times turned to the Lord, For He releaseth my feet from the snare. 16. Look on me and pity me, For I am lonely and poor ! 17. The cares of my heart are many. Rescue me from my sorrows ! 18. Behold my lowliness, and my pain ; And pardon all my sins ! 1. Levare animam translates the same Hebrew phrase as accipere animam of xxiii. 4. 4. Supervacue may mean, without provocation or excuse, or, without any pro fit to themselves. If the iniqua agentes are, as some think, apostates, only the second explanation of supervacue can stand. The ‘ ways ’ of God are here the sort of life which God prescribes. 5. The ' truth ' is that which appears in Gods Law. 6. The ‘ mercy ’ and * grace ' are those shown to the fathers in the ancient days— v.g., in the Exodus. 7. The sins of youth were those committcd in the early days of Israebs national life (as, for instance, the worship of the golden calf and the other sins of the Wanderings). The ignorantice seem to have been inserted to make the psalm suitable for private use ; these ignorantice are not such sins as were committed through inadvertence, but sins in general, acts of revolt against God (Hebrew pesha‘). 8. Delinquentibus in via, ought to be, according to Hebrew, de- A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED 9 1 linquentibus monstrat viam . The sinners are the Israelites, and the “ way 1 is the Law. 9. The “ humble ” and “ peaceful ” are the poor and lowly, i.e. the pious Israelites. 10. The ‘ ways ’ of God here are His policy towards His people. 11. The sense seems to be : ‘ Because Thou bearest the name “ God of Israel/ 1 forgive Thy people Israel their sins ! 1 13. Compare the Beatitudes. 14. The second half of the verse is obscure. Possibly something has fallen out, thus : * [It is His pleasure] to make known His covenant to them/ 21. The Hebrew has : ' May innocence and honour guard me 1 — the two virtues being thought of as protecting Spirits sent by God. 22. This is certainly an addition to the poem. It does not fall into the alphabetical arrangement, and while Yahweh is used else- where in the psalm, we ha ve in this verse Elohim. PSALM XXV PRAYER OF THE GUILTLESS I N this poem oppressed innocence prays for justice. The innocent who is also lowly and poor, is maltreated by the impious and bloodthirsty ; yet he holds firmly to his piety, confident that, at some time, his way of life will be smoothened and made straight for him. The psalm would suit any occasion in which oppressed innocence feels compelled to plead its claims. It might be sung, therefore, at any time by any pious Israelite who felt that his piety was not sufficiently remembered and rewarded. It is, however, better, per- haps, to take the psalm as a public or communal prayer, intended to be sung on behalf of all Israel. The emphasis on the singeNs innocence will thus become more intelligible. It will be noted that the singer claims to ha ve many points of the ideal perfection outlined in Psalm i. The psalm is almost identical in content with Psalm c. i. In finem, Psalmus David. i. Judica me, Domine, quoniam ego in innocentia mea ingressus sum : et in Domino sperans non nfirmabor. 2. Proba me, Domine, et 2. tenta me : ure renes meos et: cor meum. 3. Quoniam misericordia tua 3. ante oculos meos est: et com¬ placui in veritate tua. 4. Non sedi cum concilio va- 4. nitatis : et cum iniqua gerenti bus non introibo. 5. Odivi ecclesiam malignan- 5. tium : et cum impiis non sedebo. 6. Lavabo inter innocentes 6. manus meas: et circumdabo altare tuum, Domine : 7. Ut audiam vocem laudis, 7. et enarrem universa mirabilia tua. 8. Domine, dilexi decorem do- 8. mus tuae, et locum habitationis gloriae tuae. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. Judge me, O Lord, for I walk in innocence. And in the Lord do I trust without falter ! Test me, O Lord, and try me ! Prove Thou my reins and my heart! For ever-present is Thy kindness before me, And in Thy truth I find my pleasure. I sit not in the gathering of the godless ; And I have no converse with evil-doers. I hate the gathering of the evil-minded ; And with the godless I sit not. I wash my hands in innocence ; And I walk in procession round Thy altar, To hear the words of praising song, And to chant of all Thy wondrous deeds. O Lord, I love Thy beauteous House, And the place where Thy glory dwelleth ! 92 PRAYER OF THE GUILTLESS 93 9. Ne perdas cum impiis 9. Deus, animam meam, et cum viris sanguinum vitam meam. 10. In quorum manibus ini- 10. quitates sunt: dextera eorum repleta est muneribus. 11. Ego autem in innocentia 11. mea ingressus sum : redime me, et miserere mei. 12. Pes meus stetit in directo : 12. in ecclesiis benedicam te, Do¬ mine. Destroy not my soul with the impious, O God, Nor my life with men of blood ; On whose hands injustice abideth, And whose right hand is full of bribes. But I do wallc in blamelessness ; Rescue me and pity me ! My foot is on the straight path ; In the assemblies I will praise Thee, Lord ! 1. Judica, ‘ procure for me justice/ Hitherto the impious ha ve deprived the psalmist of his rights. Innocentia, blamelessness, piety. 2. Ure is parallel to proba and tenta. The reins and heart are the seat of feeling, and must, therefore, be tested by the “ Tester of reins and hearts.” 3. The ‘ kindness * is the graciousness which the Lord has shown to Israel, and the ‘ truth ' is, probably, the truth which hnds expression in the Law. 4. Cf. Ps. i. Vanitas, ‘sin/ The iniqua gerentes are, in Hebrew, * the hidden ones ’—because their actions could not endure the light. 5. Cf. again Ps. i. 6. 7. Inter innocentes, Hebrew : ‘ in innocency ’ ; the * washing ’ means keeping oneself from sin. According to the Hebrew the washing of the hands symbolises the cleanness of the psalmist's heart. Inter innocentes suggests that, if the psalmist is among the perfect, he is perfect himself. The priests were bound to wash their feet and hands before approaching the altar. So the singer, who represents himself here as approaching the altar, makes himself clean. There seems to be here a reference to a solemn procession around the altar during a ceremony of thanksgiving. The vox laudis is part of the ceremony, and the theme of the “ Lauds ” was mainly the wonderful mercy of God towards Israel—the universa mirabilia tua. 8. The singer hnds it an intense pleasure to share in the thanks- giving-service, and in the other Services of the Temple. The gloria is the concrete manifestation of God s glory in the Holy of Holies. There is a reference also to the visible glory in which God used to appear in the early days. Vid. Exod. xvi. 10 ; 3 Kings viii. 11; Ps. lxxxiv. 10. 9-12. He prays that he may not die the sudden and bitter death of the godless—murderers, robbers, and corrupters of justice. His way is in innocence, in directo —on the smooth path on which there is no stumbling : if he has not yet found his path smooth and pleasant, his faith makes him confident that it will be peaceful and secure in the future. PSALM XXVI IN THE LORD I AM STRONG! i^T^HIS psalm, like Psalm xxiii, has two clearly distinguishable parts. In the first (verses 1-6) the singer expresses his complete trust in the Lord, and his love for the Lord’s dwelling-place which guarantees protection against all danger. In the second part (7-14) he pleads for pity and mercy in his need ; he is abandoned, and he is attacked by foes, but he is stili full of confidence that the Lord will rescue him, and give him peace. The great contrast between the two parts has here also suggested the theory that the psalm is a combination of two originally uncon- nected poems. Yet the two parts seem, somehow, to balance each other, and to refer to each other. Compare the hope expressed in verse 4 with that expressed in verse 13. The whole psalm might be taken as the song of an Israelite in exile and oppressed, who longs to share again in the liturgy of the Divine Service, and whose courage is upheld by the thought of the protecting presence in the Sanctuary of Israel of the God who has, in all times of need, sustained His servants of the chosen race. The longing to share in the ritual, and the desire to see ‘ the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living/ belong to the same frame of mind which shows itself in Ps. xxii, xxiii and xxv (cf. especially xxv, 6-8). It is difiicult, but not, of course, impossible, to suppose that David was thus full of longing to share in the liturgy of the Tabernacle during his troubles with Saul. The superscription ‘ before he was anointed ’ is not in the Hebrew, and is wanting in most of the Greek codices. (There are three Biblical accounts of the anointing of David : I Kings xvi ; II Kings ii, and II Kings v, and the superscription may be referred to any one of them.) 1. Psalmus David priusquam 1. liniretur. Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea, quem timebo ? Dominus protector vitae meae, a quo trepidabo ? 2. Dum appropiant super me 2. nocentes, ut edant carnes meas : Qui tribulant me inimici mei, ipsi infirmati sunt, et ceciderunt. A Psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom have I to fear ? The Lord is the guardian of my life. Before whom shall I tremble ? While evil-doers draw nigh against me, To devour my flesh,— My enemies who oppress me Grow powerless and sink down. 94 IN THE LORD I AM STRONG! 95 3. If a whole army should encamp against me, My heart feeleth no fear. If battle should rage against me I stili am confident. 4. One thing I have begged for from the Lord, And it I long for— To dwell in the House of the Lord During all my days, That I may gaze on that in which the Lord delights, And visit His Sanctuary. 5. For He hideth me in His tent. On the evil day ; He guardeth me in the secret places of His tent; 6. On a rock He hath set me up. 3. Si consistant adversum me castra, non timebit cor meum. Si exsurgat adversum me prae¬ lium, in hoc ego sperabo. 4. Unam petii a Domino, hanc requiram, ut inhabitem in domo Domini omnibus diebus vitae meae : Ut videam voluptatem Do¬ mini, et visitem templum ejus. 5. Quoniam abscondit me in tabernaculo suo : in die malo¬ rum protexit me in abscondito tabernaculi sui. 6. In petra exaltavit me : Et nunc exaltavit caput me¬ um super inimicos meos. Circuivi, et immolavi in taber¬ naculo ejus hostiam vociferatio¬ nis : cantabo, et psalmum dicam Domino. 7. Exaudi Domine vocem me¬ am, qua clamavi ad te : miserere mei, et exaudi me. 8. Tibi dixit cor meum, ex- quisivit te facies mea : faciem tuum Domine requiram. 9. Ne avertas faciem tuam a me : ne declines in ira a servo tuo. Adjutor meus esto : ne dere¬ linquas me, neque despicias me Deus salutaris meus. 10. Quoniam pater meus, et mater mea dereliquerunt me : Dominus autem assumpsit me. 11. Legem pone mihi Domi¬ ne in via tua : et dirige me in semitam rectam propter inimi¬ cos meos. 12. Ne tradideris me in ani¬ mas tribulantium me : quoniam insurrexerunt in me testes ini¬ qui, et mentita est iniquitas sibi. 13. Credo videre bona Do¬ mini in terra viventium. 14. Exspecta Dominum, viri¬ liter age: et confortetur cor tuum, et sustine Dominum. And now He doth raise up my head Above my foes. I draw nigh, and offer in His tent A sacrifice with trumpet-clang. I will sing and hymn unto the Lord. 7. Hear, O Lord, my voice with which I cry to Thee! Have pity on me and hear me. 8. To Thee my heart doth speak My glance doth seek Thee. I long for Thy countenance, O Lord. 9. Turn not Thy face from me Turn not away in anger from Thy servant Be Thou my Helper. Abandon me not, and despise me not, O God my Saviour | 10. Though father and mother abandon Tne, The Lord doth rescue me. 11. Give me a law, O Lord, for Thy way ; And guide me on the right path, Because of my foes. 12. Abandon me not to the desires of my oppressors : When false witnesses arise against me, Godlessness becometh openly a liar. 13. I am confident that I shall seeHhe good- ness of the Lord In the land of the living. 14. Trust in the Lord ! Act boldly, and let thy heart be strengthened, And wait for the Lord ! 96 THE PSALMS LffH. The Lord is the Light which dispels the darkness of grief and trouble. He is the shield which protects from all attack. 2. The nocentes (= maligni) come like raging wild beasts ready to devour him. There is no question here of a metaphorical use of edere carnes : the metaphor lies in representing the enemies as savage wild beasts, and that kind of metaphor is frequent in the psalms. The enemies are themselves smitten by the misfortune which they would bring on the psalmist. Of course, we do not know anything definite about the situation here implied. 3. In hoc, ‘ in spite of this/ 4. Unam translates the Hebrew feminine, which does duty for the neuter. The singer here clearly States a desire to dwell in the House of the Lord. There is not question merely of dwelling near the Temple or Tabernacle, and of coming to see the ritual, but of actually remaining permanently in the Holy House so as to share in all the Divine Worship of the shrine. The ‘ voluptas ’ is that in which God finds His delight— i.e. the whole ceremonial of sacrifice and worship generally in the Sanctuary. The Hebrew speaks of the * loveliness ’ of the Lord—which is the same thing from the point of view of the zealous worshipper. Visitem does not fit in well with the context—since the singer is, in his desire, already within the Sanctuary. The Hebrew text is, however, not helpful towards a .better—or any—rendering. 5. The Sanctuary, and the cult therein, are the pledge and source of Israel s, and particularly of Jerusalems, security. 6. The security of an inaccessible cliff is guaranteed to Jerusalem by the presence of the Dwelling of the Lord. Circuivi is represented in Hebrew by an adverbial phrase to be read with the preceding—* my enemies round about mei The Latin might be taken as implying a processional movement about the altar. The hostia vociferationis is, perhaps, a sacrifice accompanied by clang of trumpets. In Numbers x, 10/ we hear of special sacrifices offered with blowing of trumpets ; but there is no need to assume that the hostia vociferationis is one of those, or that it means anything more than a thanksgiving sacrifice accompanied by song (and possibly music). 8. The Hebrew is different here : ‘ Thine (i.e. Thy command), says my heart, is the “ Seek-ye-my-face,” and, therefore, O Yahweh, do I seek Thy face/ His heart reminds him of the divine command to seek the face of God. 10. ‘ Even should father and mother abandon him ’—an idea natural enough in the East where exposure of infants has always been known. 11. The “ Law ” will be a guide on the way. IN THE LORD I AM STRONG ! 97 Propter inimicos — i.e. so that they may not triumph. 12. Animas, the will, or desire. Et mentita est iniquitas sibi —their false evidence betrays itself, shows itself clearly to be false. The Hebrew is difficult here also. 13. The bona Domini might include the splendours of Divine worship (cf. verse 4). The land of the living is this world, as opposed to Sheol. 14. The singer may be regarded as here addressing his own heart. Sustine, ‘ wait confidently for ' (cf. Ps. xxxvi. 9 ; xxiv. 3, 5, 21). 7 PSALM XXVII A PRAYER AGAINST ENEMIES T HIS psalm is at once a prayer for rescue from perii, and for vengeance against enemies (verses 1-5), and a thanksgiving for the hearing of the prayer. The occasion of the poem is unknown. It was composed at a time when there was a generally acknowledged king upon the throne (verses 8-9). The ascription of the psalm to a king is reason- able, and there is no serious intrinsic difhculty against its Davidic origin. 1. Psalmus ipsi David. 1. A psalm of David. Ad te Domine clamabo, Deus meus ne sileas a me : nequando taceas a me, et assimilabor descendentibus in lacum. 2. Exaudi Domine vocem de¬ precationis meae dum oro ad te : dum extollo manus meas ad templum sanctum tuum. To Thee, O Lord, do I cry. Turn not in silence from me, O my God, That Thou mayest not abandon me, and I may not become like those Who sink down into the grave. 2. Hear, O Lord, my words of petition, When I pray to Thee ! When I raise my hands Towards Thy holy temple ! 3. Ne simul trahas me cum 3. peccatoribus : et cum operanti¬ bus iniquitatem ne perdas me. Qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem in cordibus eorum. 4. Da illis secundum opera 4. eorum, et secundum nequitiam adinventionum ipsorum. Secundum opera manuum eo¬ rum tribue illis : redde retribu¬ tionem eorum ipsis. 5. Quoniam non intellexerunt opera Domini, et in opera manuum ejus destrues illos, et non aedificabis eos. 6. Benedictus Dominus : quo¬ niam exaudivit vocem depreca¬ tionis meae. 7. Dominus adjutor meus, et protector meus : in ipso speravit cor meum, et adjutus sum. Et refloruit caro mea : et ex voluntate mea confitebor ei. Snatch me not away with sinners ; And destroy me not with evil-doers, Who speak words of peace to their neigh- bour, But have malice in their hearts. Reward them according to their works And according to their evil deeds. According to the deeds of their hands requite them ! Let them have their due reward ! 5. For they pay no heed to the works of the Lord, And the deeds of His Hands. Pull Thou them down, and build them not up. 6. Praised be the Lord, for He heareth The words of my prayer. 7. The Lord is my help and my protection : My heart did hope in Him ; And help has been given me, and my flesh is again refreshed. And gladly do I praise Him. 98 A PRAYER AGAINST ENEMIES 99 8. Dominus fortitudo plebis suae : et protector salvationum Christi sui est. g. Salvum fac populum tuum Domine, et benedic haereditati tuae : et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum. 8. The Lord is the strength of His people, And the rescuing Protector of His anointed. g. Help Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy possession ! And guide them and bear them up for ever ! 1. Ne sileas a me, is a pregnant construction : ‘ Do not turn from my prayer in contemptuous silence/ It is the same as ne taceas. 2. Raising the hands, palms upward, was the usual gesture of prayer. The Hebrew has ‘ towards Thy holy D e bhir,’ i.e. the inner- most shrine, the Holy of Holies. 3. The godless are here depicted as a booty which the Divine Hunter captures. 5. The opera Dei are the signs of the times, present and past, wherein men could read the judgments of God. Hardened sinners do not heed {intellexerunt), and, therefore, do not appreciate, the ways of God. The prayer for the pulling down of his foes may sound strangely from the lips of David But his enemies were those of God, and of God’s people, and it must be remembered that we also pray ut inimicos sanet ce ecclesice humiliare digneris. 6. The singer feels that his prayer is granted—or about to be granted. 8. Salvationum —the Lord shows His protection in many ways. The construction is like Deus justitice, etc. 9. Israel is a hcereditas, i.e. a peculiar and permanent possession, of the Lord. Rege, i.e. (according to Hebrew) as a shepherd. Extolle illos, ‘ carry them/ as a shepherd carries a strayed or wearied sheep. Cf. Isaias lxiii. 9 ; ‘In his love and pity He rescued them ; and He raised them up, and carried them ali the days of old/ PSALM XXVIII THE GLORY OF GOD IN A STORM T HE author of this psalm is inspired by the glory of a great thunder-storm. The whole course of the storm, from the first gathering of the threatening clouds to the last terrific crash of thunder, is described. Seven times the singer cries out: Kol Yahweh! vox Domini ! as if to echo the peals of thunder. The first words of the song are an appeal to the angels to give honour and praise to the Lord of the storm ; and the poem itself in general may be regarded as the praising song of the angels heard above the fury of the storm. The concluding verse voices the thought that a Lord so mighty as He whose voice is the thunder, can give peace and security to His people. This is one of the nature-psalms—the poems which deal with the greatness and majesty of God, as shown forth in nature (c/. Ps. viii and xviii). Palestine, with its contrasts of desert, sea, and highland, supplies an almost perfect stage for the furious scenery of terrific thunderstorms. The psalm reflects the primitive standpoint which finds the chief terror of the storm in the ‘ voice of God ’—the thunder, rather than in the lightning-flash. The whole tone of the psalm is an cient, and the concluding verse suggests that Israel was stili great and powerful as a State, when the song was composed. i. Psalmus David. In con- i. summatione tabernaculi. Afferte Domino filii Dei: afferte Domino filios arietum. 2. Afferte Domino gloriam et honorem, afferte Domino glori¬ am nomini ejus : adorate Do¬ minum in atrio sancto ejus. 3. Vox Domini super aquas, 3. Deus majestatis intonuit: Do¬ minus super aquas multas. 4. Vox Domini in virtute : 4. vox Dominion magnificentia. 1 5. Vox Domini confringentis 5. cedros : et confringet Dominus cedros Libani: A psalm of David. At the close of the feast of Tabernacles. [Hark !] The voice of the Lord o’er the waters ! The mighty God makes the thunder to crash. The Lord over the great waters ! The voice of the Lord in strength ! The voice of the Lord in splendour ! The voice of the Lord who shatters the cedars ! Yea, the Lord doth shatter the cedars of Lebanon, Sacrifice to the Lord, O ye children of God ! Offer in sacrifice young rams to the Lord ! 2. Give to the Lord praise and honour. Give to the Lord praise of His name, Worship the Lord in His sacred shrine. 100 THE GLORY OF GOD IN A STORM IOI 6. Et comminuet eas tam- 6. quam vitulum Libani: et dile¬ ctus quemadmodum filius uni¬ cornium. 7. Vox Domini intercidentis 7. flammam ignis : 8. Vox Domini concutientis 8. desertum: et commovebit Domi¬ nus desertum Cades. And dasheth them headlong like the calf of Lebanon,— Even if it is prized as highly as a young unicorn. The voice of the Lord who cleaveth the flame of fire ! The voice of the Lord who maketh the desert to tremble ! Yea ! the Lord maketh to tremble the desert of Kadesh. 9. Vox Domini praeparantis 9. cervos, et revelabit condensa : et in templo ejus omnes dicent gloriam. 10. Dominus diluvium inha- 10. bitare facit: et sedebit Do¬ minus rex in aeternum. 11. Dominus virtutem populo 11. suo dabit: Dominus benedicet populo suo in pace. The voice of the Lord who bringeth hinds to the bearing, And sweepeth away the foliage of the thicket ! But in ali His temple they cry— " Glory ! ” The Lord dwelleth in the Flood ; And so sitteth enthroned as King for ever. The Lord will give to His people strength ; The Lord will bless His people with peace. 1. In consummatione tabernaculi , * for the close of the Feast of Tabernacles/ The phrase bears no reference to the setting up of the Tabernacle. In Hebrew liturgy of the present day the psalm is used as a Pentecost psalm. The filii dei are probably the angels—though the expression might refer to the pious among men ( cf . Ps. lxxxviii. 7). (The ex- planation which makes the ‘ sons of God/=the Levites is improbable.) 2. The angels are represented as appearing before God in some kind of sacred ritual. In the heavenly palace there is an altar, round which angel-priests, arrayed in garments of wondrous splendour (Hebrew ‘ in holy adornment * instead of, in atrio sancto), minister. The Hebrew has nothing corresponding to the filii arietum, ‘ young rams.’ The graphic similarity between the plurals of ’el (God) and ’ayil (ram) may ha ve brought the reference to the * young rams * into the Septuagint and Vulgate. If we retain it, we must suppose that the ritual worship of heaven is thought of as including holo- causts, as well as songs of praise. In atrio sancto would, in the context, naturally mean ‘ in heaven * ; but, as already noted, the corresponding phrase in the Hebrew describes the dress of the ministering angels. (With the psalmists invitation to the angels to praise the Lord, compare Ps. cii. 20 ; cxlviii 2.) 3. The angels are called on to worship God because of the exceed- ing greatness of the majesty which is shown forth in the thunder- storm. Vox Domini, is the thunder. 102 THE PSALMS 4 ff. The storm comes from the Mediterranean, and sweeps inland over the hilis, and southwards over the desert. The mighty cedars of Lebanon are mere toys of the storm. The whole forest of Lebanon and Hermon is swayed to and fro (‘ dances ’) in the storm, and then is hurled headlong down the mountain side. 6. This is one of the most difficult texts of the Vulgate Psalter. The Hebrew is ciear enough : ‘ He makes Lebanon skip like a calf ; and Sirion like a young unicorn.’ Sirion is the Phoenician name for Hermon, and the poet pictures the swaying of the forest-trees after the fashion of the skipping of a calf or young bison. But the Latin gives us dilectus instead of Sirion and speaks of shattering the ‘ Calf of Lebanon ’ ; further, Dilectus quemamodum filius unicornium seems to be, in the Vulgate, an independent sentence. It has been suggested that * dilectus ’ represents Sion, and that the sense is, ‘ Even Sion dances in the thunderstorm like a young bison.’ The Hebrew is here obviously preferable to the Vulgate. (Does J the use of the Phoenician name Sirion for Hermon imply that this poem was written in the Northern Kingdom ? The poem is, beyond all dispute, very ancient.) 1 7. The liglitning also is dreadful. (The phrase, ‘ cleaving of the flame ’ is obscure, and the text is, probably, defective.) 8. From Western sea and northern highland the storm sweeps down to the Southern steppes—to the district of Kadesh. Here the earth itself begins to tremble, as in an earthquake, at the voice of the Lord. 9. 10. Animals in their terror bring forth their young untimely. The trees of the forest shake off their leaves in fear. Yet, while earth is full of quaking at the majesty that overwhelms it, the heavenly choir of angel-priests cries out, ‘ Glory ! ’ The deluge which foliows the thunder-storm reminds the poet of the Great Deluge. Now, as then, the God of nature sits untroubled on His throne. (Compare Ps. xcvi, especially xcvi. 1-9.) 11. Surely a God so mighty will help His own people—is the poet’s last reflection on the storm. Thus it may be said that the psalm begins with Gloria in excelsis and ends with in terra pax. 1 For Siryon as Phoenician (Sidonian) name of Hermon, see Deut. iii. 9. The mountain is called Sanir in Assyrian texts. The substitution of dilectus for Siryon is due to the circumstance that the Greek translators read in their Hebrew text, y e shurun, instead of w e siryon (=and Siryon). Y e shurun appears as a honorific name of Israel in Deut. xxxii. 15 ; xxxiii. 5, 26 ; Is. xliv; 2, and in all these places it is represented in the Septuagint by r/yuirr//utros {dilectus). In Deut. xxxii. 15. the Vulgate represents Y e shurun by dilectus ; in the other texts of Deuteronomy the Vulgate gives the more correct rendering rectissimus. It is difficult to explain why the Septuagint represents Y e shurun by r/ya-m//utros. (See note Ps. lxvii. 13). It would appear as if the Greek translators of this psalm took the shattering of the cedars of Lebanon as symbolical of the destruc- tion of the peoples and princes who should oppose the Messianic King. Israel, as the people of the Messias, would naturally be thought of as helping Him to destroy His foes. PSALM XXIX A SONG OF THANKS FOR RESCUE T HE singer was at the point of death when he was rescued. In his great need he prayed, and his prayer was heard. For this he thanks, and will always thank, his Helper, God. There is nothing in the psalm to exclude Davidic origin. It may be a song of thanksgiving arising out of some situation of DavkTs career. Possibly it deals with the deadly perii which over- shadowed Israel in the pestilence by which David/s overweening pride {cf. verses 7-8) was punished (II Kings xxiv.). During the pestilence David and his household wore the garment of mourning of which verse 12 speaks (I Par. xxi. 16). The psalm would, in this view, deal rather with the griefs of the nation Israel, than with the personal experience of the poet. The words of the title : Canticum (more correct than Cantici: see note 1.) in dedicatione domus are a late addition, due, probably, to the circumstance that this psalm was sung at the Feast of Dedication established by Judas Maccabeus in 165 b.c. (I Macc. iv. 48-59 ; cf. John x. 22). There is nothing in the psalm to show that it was written for that Feast. 1. Psalmus Cantici. In dedi- 1. A psalm: for the dedication of the catione domus David. Temple ; by David. 2. Exaltabo te Domine quo- 2. niam suscepisti me: nec de¬ lectasti inimicos meos super me. I praise Thee, O Lord, for Thou dost guard me, And givest not to my enemies joy over me ! 3. Domine Deus meus cla- 3. mavi ad te, et sanasti me. 4. Domine eduxisti ab inferno 4. animam meam : salvasti me a descendentibus in lacum. 5. Psallite Domino sancti 5. ejus: et confitemini memoriae sanctitatis ejus. 6. Quoniam ira in indigna- 6. tione ejus : et vita in voluntate ejus. Ad vesperum demorabitur fle¬ tus : et ad matutinum laetitia. O Lord, my God, I cried to Thee, And Thou didst heal me : O Lord, Thou hast drawn forth my soul from the underworld ; Thou hast rescued me from out of those that go down into the pit. Sing to the Lord, ye who worship Him, And praise His holy name ! For chastisement is through His wrath ; And life through His favour. If there are tears in the evening, There will be joy in the morning. 103 THE PSALMS i °4 7. Ego autem dixi in abun¬ dantia mea : Non movebor in aeternum. 8. Domine in voluntate tua, praestitisti decori meo virtutem. Avertisti faciem tuam a me, et factus sum conturbatus. 9. Ad te Domine clamabo: et ad Deum meum deprecabor. 10. Quae utilitas in sanguine meo, dum descendo in corruptio¬ nem ? Numquid confitebitur tibi pul¬ vis, aut annuntiabit veritatem tuam ? 11. Audivit Dominus, et mi¬ sertus est mei : Dominus factus est adjutor meus. 7. I said in my great happiness : “ I will ne ver fail.” 8. In Thy good pleasure, O Lord, Thou hadst added strength to my fair out- ward seeming ; But then Thou didst turn Thy face from me, and I was dismayed. 9. To Thee, O Lord, I cried ; And to my God I prayed. 10. “ What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the grave ? Can mere dust praise Thee, and pro- claim Thy faithfulness ? ” 11. The Lord heard me and took pity on me ; The Lord became my Helper, 12. Convertisti planctum me¬ um in gaudium mihi : conscidi¬ sti saccum meum, et circumde¬ disti me laetitia : 13. Ut cantet tibi gloria mea, et non compungar: Domine Deus meus in aeternum confite¬ bor tibi. 12. Thou hast turned my plaint into joy ; Thou hast rent my garments of mourning, And hast clad me with gladness. 13. So that my soul may sing to Thee, And I need not keep the silence of grief. O Lord, my God, for ever I will praise Thee ! 1. Psalmus cantici is difficult to explain. Canticum translates Hebrew shir, which has a wider meaning than mizmor (represented by psalmus). This double designation is found also in the superscriptions of Psalms xlvii, lxvi, lxvii, lxxiv, lxxxvi, xci. The combinat ion in inverted form— Canticum psalmi , is found in Psalms lxv, lxxxii, lxxxvii, cvii. Possibly the superscription has arisen here through the insertion of shir hanukkath habbayith (‘ a song for the Dedication of the Temple ’), in the familiar combination mizmor l e Dawid. We should, in this view, translate : ' A psalm by David, an Ode for the Dedication of the Temple/ The inserted clause would be the work of a late liturgical editor (living about 165 B.C.). 2. Suscepisti me, * drawn me forth/ Captives were often kept in a cistern or well. C/. Jerome xxxviii. 6-13. 4. David (or Israel) was at deatt/s door when rescue came. In spirit, the singer was already in Sheol when he turned to God in passionate prayer for help. 5. The prayer was heard, and thanksgiving foliows at once on the granting of the petition. 6. The Hebrew is here different: ‘ His anger endures but a moment, but a life-time His favour/ The second half of the verse expresses the swift and sudden change from sadness to joy. Mis- fortune and suffering are the tokens of God’s displeasure ; they A SONG OF THANKS FOR RESCUE 105 disappear when God makes the light of His face shine again on the sinner. 7. Here is described the attitude of the singer when the sudden misfortune overtook him. 8. The Vulgate means : Thou didst add to external honour external power. The Hebrew says : ‘ Thou hadst set me up in Thy favour on firm mountains/ He had been overweeningly confident that God’s favour would continue. He felt sure he could not fail. Then, all at once, came sickness, or other misfortune, and death and failure were close at hand. Then the singer burst out into the pro- testing prayer to which he referred before in verse 3. If he dies, God will no longer receive the homage of his praise, particularly, the homage of his praise of the divine fidelity. The thought is similar to that of Ps. vi. 6 and Ps. cxv. 6. C/. also the following psalm passages : lxxxvii. 6, 12 ; cxiii. 17 ; cxlv. 2, 4 ; cxvii. 17 ; and also Job x. 21, 22 ; vii. 9 ; Is. xxxviii. 18 ; Eccles. ix. 10. 12. The saccus is the garment of penance and mourning. With circumdedisti Icetitia —cf. scuto bonce voluntatis tuce coronasti nos (v. 13). The close-clinging garment of sorrow God has pulled off, and replaced by a festive robe. 13. Gloria=anima, i.e. ‘ I will sing to Thee/ Cf. for this use of gloria, Ps. Ivi.- 9 ; Exurge gloria, mea ; exurge psalterium et cithara . In both cases, however, ‘ gloria ’ may be some kind of song of praise, so that here the meaning may be : f that a never ending song may hymn Thee/ Compungar, Jerome has : et non taceat. The meaning is : * That I may not be so overcome by grief as to be forced to keep silence.’ PSALM XXX A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED T HERE is no very definite development of idea throughout this psalm. It contains expressions of confidence, petition, complaint, and thanksgiving, and these do not, in e very case, seem to pass over into each other naturally. The poem gives the impression of being built up on conventional lines of liturgical psalmody, and does not appear to be a natural expression of personal or communal experience. The title pro extasi which is wanting in several ancient Latin Psalters, and has nothing corre- sponding to it in the oldest Greek Codices, nor in the Hebrew, is obviously derived from verse 23. If David is to be regarded as the author of the psalm, it belongs to the period of his persecution by Saul, and, in particular, to the time when he was in the desert of Maon and had begun to despair of being able to evade Saul (cf. I Kings xxiii. 26). The prophet Jonas has borrowed from this psalm verses 7 and 23 (cf. Jon. ii. 5, 9). Our Lord used verse 6 on the cross, and verses 10-16 might be taken as prophetically descriptive of Our Lord in His Passion. The psalm, however, is not immediately Messianic ; but it may be regarded as (in passages at least) indirectly or figuratively Messianic. The history of David and of Israel may be taken generally as typical of the career of the Messias. The critics who maintain the post-exilic dating of this poem, find in it several imitations or echoes of Jeremias (verse 11—Jer. xx. 18 ; 13 b —Jer. xxii. 28 ; 14—Jer. xx. 10 ; 18—Jer. xvii. 18 ; 23—Lament. iii. 54). It is interesting to note in this psalm the echoes of several other psalms (cf. verses 2-4 and Ps. lxx. 1-3 ; verse 4 and Ps. xxii. 3 ; verse 5 and Ps. ix. 16 ; verse 9 and Ps. xvii. 20 ; verse 12 and Ps. xxxvii. 12). 1. In finem, Psalmus David, 1. pro extasi. 2. In te Domine speravi, non 2. confundar in aeternum : in ju¬ stitia tua libera me. 3. Inclina ad me aurem tuam, 3. accelera ut eruas me. Esto mihi in Deum protecto¬ rem : et in domum refugii, ut salvum me facias. 4. Quoniam fortitudo mea, et 4. refugium meum es tu : et pro¬ pter nomen tuum deduces me, -et enutries me. For the choir-leader. A psalm of David. For time of bewilderment. In Thee, O Lord, I put my trust; Let me not be put to shame ! Because of Thy justice rescue me ! Turn to me Thy ear ! Swiftly rescue me ! Be to me a protecting God ! And a place of refuge so that Thou mayest save me ! For Thou art my strength and my refuge ; And because of Thy name Thou wilt guide me, and foster me. 106 A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED 5. Educes me de laqueo hoc, 5. quem absconderunt mihi : quo¬ niam tu es protector meus. 6. In manus tuas commendo 6. spiritum meum : redemisti me Domine Deus veritatis. 7. Odisti observantes vani- 7. tates, supervacue. Ego autem in Domino speravi: 8. Exsultabo, et laetabor in 8. misericordia tua. Quoniam respexisti humilita¬ tem meam, salvasti de necessi¬ tatibus animam meam. 9. Nec conclusisti me in ma- 9. nibus inimici : statuisti in loco spatioso pedes meos. 10. Miserere mei Domine quo- 10. niam tribulor : conturbatus est in ira oculus meus, anima mea, et venter meus : 11. Quoniam defecit in do- 11. lore vita mea : et anni mei in gemitibus. Infirmata est in paupertate virtus mea : et ossa mea con¬ turbata sunt. 12. Super omnes inimicos 12. meos factus sum opprobrium et vicinis meis valde : et timor notis meis. Qui videbant me, foras fuge¬ runt a me : 13. Oblivioni datus sum, tam- 13. quam mortuus a corde. Factus sum tamquam vas perditum : 14. Quoniam audivi vitupera- 14. tionem multorum commoranti¬ um in circuitu. In eo dum convenirent simul adversum me, accipere animam meam consiliati sunt. 15. Ego autem in te speravi 15. Domine : dixi : Deus meus es tu : 16. In manibus tuis sortes 16. meae. Eripe me de manu inimicorum meorum, et a persequentibus me. 17. Illustra faciem tuam super 17. servum tuum, salvum me fac in misericordia tua : 18. Domine non confundar, 18. quoniam invocavi te. Erubescant impii, et dedu¬ cantur in infernum : 19. Muta fiant labia dolosa. 19. Quae loquuntur adversus ju¬ stum iniquitatem, in superbia, et in abusione. Thou wilt loose me from the snare which they have secretly laid for me. For Thou art my Protector ; Into Thy hands I entrust my spirit Thou dost rescue me, O Lord, Thou faithful God ! Thou hatest those who hold to vain idols. But I do put my trust in the Lord. I exuit and rejoice because of Thy good- ness : For Thou dost look upon my humilia- tion, And bringest rescue to my soul in times of need. Thou dost not surrender me into the hands of enemies ; Thou settest my feet in open spaces. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am straitened ! My eye is dim because of trouble [my soul and my body]. For my life is passing away in pain ; And my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through misery ; And my bones are shaken. Because of all my foes I have become an object of bitter reproach ; Even to my neighbours, and to friends have I become an object of dread. They that see me abroad, do fly from me. To oblivion I am abandoned altogether, like one dead ; I am become like a shattered vessel. For I hear the censure of many, Who dwell round about; When they gather together against me, They plan to take my life. But I put my trust in Thee, O Lord ! I say : Thou art my God ! In Thy hand is my fate ; snatch me from the power Of my foes and persecutors ! Let Thy face shine upon Thy servant; Save me for the sake of Thy mercy ! O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call on Thee ! May the godless be brought to shame, and cast down to the underworld. May deceiving^ips be silent, 'Which speak evil things against the just man, In pride and contempt. io8 THE PSALMS 20. Quam magna multitudo 20. dulcedinis tuae Domine, quam abscondisti timentibus te. Perfecisti eis, qui sperant in te, in conspectu filiorum homi¬ num. 21. Abscondes eos in abscon- 21. dito faciei tuae a conturbatione hominum. Proteges eos in tabernaculo tuo a contradictione linguarum. How rich is Thy great goodness, O Lord, Which Thou storest up for those who fear Thee, Which Thou dost accomplish for those that trust in Thee, Before all the world ! Thou dost shield them with the protec- tion of Thy countenance From the disturbing schemes of men ; Thou dost shelter them in Thy tent from the calumny of tongues. 22. Blessed be the Lord ! for, in wondrous fashion, He doth show His mercy towards me, In a city besieged. 23. I had said in the dismay of my mind, “ I am cast out from Thy eyes ! ” Yet Thou dost hear the words of my prayer When I cry to Thee ! 22. Benedictus Dominus : quoniam mirificavit misericor¬ diam suam mihi in civitate munita. 23. Ego aute dixi in ex¬ cessu mentis meae: Projectus sum a facie oculorum tuorum. Ideo exaudisti vocem oratio¬ nis meae, dum clamarem ad te. 24. Diligite Dominum omnes 24. sancti ejus : quoniam veritatem requiret Dominus, et retribuet abundanter facientibus super¬ biam. 25. Viriliter agite, et confor- 25. tetur cor vestrum, omnes qui speratis in Domino. Love the Lord all ye that worship Him ; For the Lord demandeth loyalty, And He doth fully requite those that act proudly. Do bravely, and let your courage be strengthened— All you who trust in the Lord ! 1. Pro extasi obviously has crept in from verse 23 ; it serves to suggest the key-note of the psalm. Cf. Ps. cxv. 2 ; lxvii. 28, where the same Greek word is rendered by excessus. 2. Non confundar in ceternum^ne unquam confundar. 3. 4. Accelera has here an ad verbi al sense (‘ swiftly ’). In Deum and in domum —Hebrew construction. Cf. facti sunt in adjutorium. The Hebrew text is here more vivid : * Be Thou to me a protecting Rock, a mountain-fortress to help me : Thou art my Rock and my Fortress.’ The Greek translators did not regard the vividness of the Hebrew as sufficiently respectful. Cf. following verse. 5. The snare is a frequently used symbol of danger. Here the Hebrew : ‘ Thou art my stronghold/ becomes ‘ Thou art my Pro¬ tector.’ 6. The words of Our Lord on the cross. The ‘ spirit ’ is the principle of life, particularly, of the higher, spiritual life. Notice here the strong note of confidence. The confidence is based on God’s fidelity to His promises (His veritas). 7. Observantes vafiitates supervacue. Hebrew: ' Thou hatest those who hold to vanities of nothingness.’ The * vanities of nothing- A PRAYER IN TIME OF NEED 109 ness ’ are usually explained as idols, but they may be understood more widely, perhaps, to include all things in general that are vain and futile [cf. Jonas ii. 9). Supervacue, in view of the Hebrew text, may be taken with vanitates, ‘ most foolish of vain things/ Some commentators see here a reference to divination and to superstition generally (i.e. vana observatio), rather than to idolatry. As against all vain trust in idols, the psalmist puts all his hope in God. 8. In, ‘ on account of/ Humlitas, afiliction, humiliation. Neces sitas=augusti ce. 9. Conclusisti, * shut in * ; here means ' hand over/ Instead of this God has given the psalmist the fullest of freedom. Constraint implies grief and pain ; freedom of movement in open places implies gladness and joy. Cf. In tribulatione dilatasti mihi (Ps. iv. 2) ; dilatasti gressus meos subtus me (Ps. xvii. 37) ; ambulabam in latitudine (cxviii. 45) ; exaudivit me in latitudine Dominus (cxvii. 5). 10. Conturbatus, etc. Cf. Ps. vi. 8 : Turbatus est a furore oculus meus. Ira, vexation rather than anger. Ocidus, anima and venter, taken together, express the full physical and psychical nature of man. His whole self is disturbed. (Several commentators regard anima mea et venter meus as a gloss.) It is possible in the Vulgate to understand ira as God’s anger, and then the rest of the verse would express the effect of God’s anger on the person of the psalmist. But it is better to take ira as the psalmist’s own anxiety or trouble. 11. Defecit, * is consumed/ Cf. Ps. ix. 7. Paupertas, abandonment, misery. Cf. Unicus et pauper sum ego (xxiv. 16). Ossa is parallel to virtus. 12. Super would naturally mean here f more than ’ ; yet, since the enemies are the source of the psalmisfs trouble, the sense is probably ‘ because of/ Vicinis meis, ‘ even to my neighbours ’ ; valde may be taken with opprobrium. The condition of the singer seems to be that of a man smitten with a disease from which his fellow-men fly with loathing and fear. 13. The sense would appear more clearly if the words were arranged : oblivioni datus sum a corde, tamquam mortuus. The heart is the seat of memory. The fragments of a shattered vessel of clay are a symbol of all that is most worthless and mean. 14. The ‘ for ' refers back probably to the petition in verse 13. In eo dum conveniunt is a paraphrase of the Greek construction. Instead of commorantium in circuitu the Hebrew has : ‘ fear on every side/ The Greek translators omitted the m of magor (fear) because the preceding word ended with m, and added an m to the gr because the following word began with m. The new word was read as garim (dwellers). Thus magor missabhibh (‘ fear on every side ’) became IIO THE PSALMS garim missabhibh, ‘ dwellers round about/ It will be remembered, of course, that the Hebrew text which the Greek translators had before them, was purely consonantal. 16. Sortes ; Hebrew, ‘ my times/ i.e. my fate. The Greek trans- lators read kleroi for kairoi. 17. * Let Thy face shine on me/ means, ‘ show me favour/ Cf. the priestly blessing, Nmnbers vi. 24-26 ; cf. Ps. lxvi. 2. 18. Deducantur ; Hebrew, * may they be dumb to Sheol.' Cf. I Kings ii. 6. 19. Loqui iniquit at em=loqui inique. In superbia=superbe. Abusio, mocking, contempt. 20. Multitudo dulcedinis, ‘ great goodness/ A.bscondere, store up. Perfecisti is parallel here to abscondisti. In conspectu, etc., so that all men can see, and admire it. 21. The idea is that the Divine countenance is itself a shield. So also God’s protection is a tent into which the just can come for shelter. But the psalmist may be thinking in both clauses of the Tabernacle in which God dwelt in the desert. Perturbatio, tumuit and intriguing: Contradictio linguarum, ‘ contentious tongues/ The attitude of the psalmist is like that of St. Paul in II Cor. vii. 4 : Repletus sum consolatione, super abundo gaudio in omni tribulatione nostra. 22. Misericordiam mirificare, to show love in wondrous wise. In civitate munita, ‘ in a fortified city/ or, ‘ in a city girt about * (besieged). The former is a more natural meaning. Possibly the reference is to the town of K e ‘ila (I Kings 23). The Hebrew seems to mean ‘ in a city of distress/ i.e., perhaps, a city besieged. A slight change of the Hebrew would give : ‘ in time of distress/ This would suit the context. 23. In excessu, ‘ consternation/ This is the source of the title of the psalm. Ego . . . mece is an interjected clause. A facie oculorum, ‘ from before Thy eyes/ Oratio, ‘ prayer/ 24. 25. Men must not lose courage. God keeps His word and— veritatem requirit —expects men to hold loyally to His Service. PSALM XXXI THE JOY OF PARDON T HE singer declares him happy whose sin is forgiven (1-7). He himself has felt the deep joy of being pardoned, when he confessed his sin (3-5). Taught by his own experience he exhorts the pious to seek God in due season, for with God is protection and rescue (6-7). Men must not set themselves up in passion or stubborn pride against the guidance of Providence (8-9). Sin brings sorrow, but trust in God brings grace in fulness. For this must ali the just rejoice. The psalm is a development of the thought expressed in Prov. xxviii. 13 : ‘ He that hideth his sins shall not prosper ; but whoso confesseth, and forsaketh them, shall have mercy/ The thought of the psalm is also strikingly like that of the Johannine saying : f If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness ’ (I John i. 8). The psalm is the second of the penitential psalms. It is obviously a description, in part at least, of the poet’s personal experience. It describes in a very powerful way the bitterness of the burden of sin unconfessed, and the wonderful peace and joy which confession of sin brings to the soul. It was a favourite psalm of St. Augustine. If we are to seek in David’s life for an occasion of this poem, the most suitable incident to serve as such occasion would be the reconciliation of David with God after his sin with Bathsheba (II Kings xii). 1. By David. A maskil. Happy are they whose trespasses are for¬ given, And whose sins are remitted ! 2. Happy the man to whom the Lord Attributes not sin, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! 1. Ipsi David intellectus. Beati quorum remissae sunt iniquitates: et quorum tecta sunt peccata. 2. Beatus vir, cui non impu¬ tavit Dominus peccatum, nec est in spiritu ejus dolus. 3. Quoniam tacui, invetera- 3 - verunt ossa mea, dum clamarem tota die. 4. Quoniam die ac nocte gra- 4. vata est super me manus tua : conversus sum in aerumna mea, dum configitur spina. Because I spoke not, my bones grew old, Because of my loud groaning the live- long day. For day and night Thy hand lay Heavy on me : I was cast into misery, While the thorn [of sin] was stili fixed in me. 112 THE PSALMS 5. But my sin I made known to Thee ; And my iniquity I hid not. I said : I will confess before the Lord The iniquity (which speaketh) against me. Then didst Thou pardon my sin. 5. Delictum meum cognitum tibi feci: et injustitiam meam non abscondi. Dixi: Confitebor adversum me injustitiam meam Domino : et tu remisisti impietatem pec¬ cati mei. 6. Pro hac orabit ad te omnis sanctus, in tempore opportuno. Verumtamen in diluvio aqua¬ rum multarum, ad eum non ap¬ proximabunt. 7. Tu es refugium meum a 7 - tribulatione, quae circumdedit me : exsultatio mea erue me a circumdantibus me. 8. Intellectum tibi dabo, et 8. instruam te in via hac, qua gradieris : firmabo super te oculos meos. 9. Nolite fieri sicut equus et 9. mulus, quibus non est intel¬ lectus. In camo et fraeno maxillas eorum constringe, qui non ap¬ proximant ad te. 10. Multa flagella peccatoris, 10. sperantem autem in Domino misericordia circumdabit. 11. Laetamini in Domino et 11. exsultate justi, et gloriamini omnes recti corde. Wherefore let every pious one turn to Thee in prayer In due season : Even when the multitudinous waters come in flood, They will not reach him. Thou art my protection against the affliction that besets me ! [Thou art] my joy ! Save me from those that encompass me round ! I will give thee understanding, and I will teach thee In the way which thou shalt traverse ; I will keep my eyes fixed on thee. Be not like the horse and mule, Which have no understanding ; With curb and bridle bind the jaws of those Who come not nigh to thee. Many are the scourges of the sinner ; But loving kindness surroundeth him who hopeth in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord, and be glad, ye just ones ! And exuit all ye that are upright of heart! 1. Intellectus is the name of a definite kind of poem. Possibly it means ‘ didactic poem/ Though this meaning is suitable here, it is not satisfactory everywhere. The same title is found in Psalms xli, li, lii, liii, liv, lxxiii, lxxvii, lxxxvii, lxxxviii, cxli. The technical phrases expressing forgiveness— remissce, tecta, non imputavit, seem to be equivalent in meaning. They imply that forgiveness means more than that God shuts His eyes to sin. Note St. PauPs use of this verse in Roms. iv. 6-9. (Luther based his theory of non-imputation as distinguished from real remission of sin, partly on this verse.) 2. Nec est, etc., might be taken perhaps as =quia non est, etc., thus giving the condition of pardon, viz. simplicity of heart. 3. For a time the psalmist tried to conceal his crime ; but his THE JOY OF PARDON 113 conscience ceased not to cry out against him (dum clamarem) ; and, in the conflict between shame pressing to conceal, and conscience urging to confess, he wasted away, for the hand of God’s displeasure lay heavily on him. 4. Conversus sum. Here Latin and Hebrew go different ways. In cerumna=in cerumnam . Mea is redundant. Spina is used here symbolically for sin. • Configitur, ‘ remains inserted/ ' embedded/ in me. Possibly the phrase may be intended as a description of the gnawing of conscience. The Hebrew says : 4 The sap of my life was changed [as] by the burning heat of summer.’ 5. Confession restored the peace of spirit. Pro hac, because of my obtaining pardon. 6. The Hebrew says : ‘ Wherefore let every pious one ha ve re- course to Yahweh at the season of finding ’— i.e. at the season when He may be found (cf. Is. lv. 6 ; xlix. 8). In the time of swelling floods * (i.e. in time of greatest perii), the waters will not reach him who turns trustfully and simply to the Lord. 7. The pious man is secure because the Lord is his Protector. The Latin differs here from the Massora, and is possibly traceable to a different Hebrew recension. 8. It might be supposed that God is the speaker in verses 8, 9. Yet it is probably better to understand these verses as the words of the poet speaking like one of the sages of Israel. 9. Neither Vulgate nor Hebrew is very ciear in this verse. The general sense, however, is obvious. We must not rise up in revolt against God’s Providence ; we must not be like the fiery steed or stubborn mule ; but we must accept with ready submission the guidance of God. The obedience which beasts show only under the pressure of force, reasonable beings should offer freely. One can bring forward the horse and the mule only by force. Must God also use force with us ? Cf. Prov. xxvi. 3 ; x. 13 ; xix. 20. 10. 11. If men will be warned by the fate of the godless, they will secure the happiness which comes from trust in God alone ; and ali the pious will join with them in a song of joy and praise to God. 8 PSALM XXXII THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD T HE psalm is, apparently, a song of national thanksgiving. A victory of GocTs people has shattered the pians of the heathen princes and peoples who plotted IsraeFs overthrow (verses 10-12). For the saving help of the Lord, given according to His an cient promises, the people are called on to join in a great thanksgiving Service of music and song (1-5). Vainly do the heathen peoples war against Him whose mere word has formed heaven and the stars that are its host—against Him who filis the seas with the same ease with which the peasant filis the water-bottle from the spring— against Him who stores the upper and nether oceans within their limits, as a man stores corn in his barn (6, 7). The heathen pians He has defeated ; their thoughts were open to the eyes of Him who had fashioned their hearts. He has saved His own people, whom long ago He chose as His own dear possession (8-15). Not in might of armies, nor strength of men, nor in fleetness of war-horse, does victory or safety he. Nothing avails but loving trnst in God (16-19). The Lord has shown anew His loving care for His people ; that He will continue to watch over them with power, the people trust. The last verse—a prayer for the constant protection of the Lord, looks like a liturgical addition. The occasion of this psalm cannot be determined. Possibly the national perii here referred to was the Assyrian invasion. The Hebrew text does not ascribe the poem to David. Several phrases and some turns of thought are borrowed by Psalm exivi from this psalm. -*Modern criticism is inclined to regard Psalm xxxii as a sort of mosaic of quotations in which the pattern is indefinite and the general artistic effect feeble. The theme of national rescue is, however, often treated in Hebrew literature, and the somewhat stereotyped character of ali Oriental poetry inevitably produces similarity of treatment and phrase in Hebrew poems of resembling motif. 9 1. Psalmus David. 1. A psalm of David. Exsultate justi in Domino : rectos decet collaudatio. Praise, O ye just, the Lord ! Praising befitteth the upright. 2. Confitemini Domino in ci¬ thara : in psalterio decem chor¬ darum psallite illi. 2. Praise the Lord on the zither ! Hymn to Him on ten-stringed harps ! 3. Cantate ei canticum no¬ vum : bene psallite ei in voci¬ feratione. 3. Sing unto Him a new song ! Sing loud to Him in jubilating chorus ? THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD ii 4. Quia rectum est verbum Domini, et omnia opera ejus in fide. 5. Diligit misericordiam et judicium : misericordia Domini plena est terra. 4. For just is the word of the Lord ; And His every deed is trustworthy. 5. He loveth kindliness and justice ; The earth is full of the Lord’s loving- kindness. 6. Verbo Domini coeli firmati 6. sunt: et spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus eorum. 7. Congregans sicut in utre 7. aquas maris : ponens in thesau¬ ris abyssos. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made ; And all their host by the word of His mouth. He gathers, as into a bottle, the waters of the sea ; The oceans He Stores up. 8. Timeat Dominum omnis 8. terra : ab eo autem commovean¬ tur omnes inhabitantes orbem. 9. Quoniam ipse dixit, et 9. facta sunt: ipse mandavit, et creata sunt. 10. Dominus dissipat consilia 10. Gentium : reprobat autem cogi¬ tationes populorum, et reprobat consilia principum. 11. Consilium autem Domini 11. in aeternum manet: cogitationes cordis ejus in generatione et generationem. 12. Beata gens, cujus est Do- 12. minus, Deus ejus : populus, quem elegit in haereditatem sibi. 13. De coelo respexit Do- 13 - minus : vidit omnes filios ho- minum. 14. De praeparato habitaculo 14. suo respexit super omnes, habitant terram. qui 15. Qui finxit sigillatim corda eorum : qui intelligit omnia 15 . opera eorum. 16. Non salvatur rex per 16. multam virtutem: et gigas non salvabitur in multitudine virtutis suae. 17. Fallax equus ad salutem : 17. in abundantia autem virtutis suae non salvabitur. 18. Ecce oculi Domini super 18. metuentes eum : et in eis, qui sperant super misericordia ejus : 19. Ut eruat a morte animas 19. eorum : et alat eos in fame. Let all the earth fear the Lord ! Let all dwellers of the earth tremble before Him ! For He spoke and they sprang into being ; He gave command and they were made. The Lord frustrateth the pians of the heathen ; And bringeth to naught the designs of the peoples ; And thwarteth the schemes of princes. But the plan of the Lord standeth for ever— The designs of His heart from age to age. Happy the nation whose God is the Lord. The people whom He hath chosen as a special possession. From heaven the Lord looketh down, And seeth all the children of men : From His established dwelling-place He beholds All the dwellers of earth,— He who did fashion the hearts of them all, Who understandeth all their doings. The king is not saved by a mighty host; Nor the giant made secure by his vast strength. Untrustworthy for rescue is the steed ; By his great power he is not saved. Lo ! the eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him, And on those who put their hope in His mercy. That He may save them from death, And, in time of hunger, give them food. THE PSALMS 116 20. Anima nostra sustinet Do¬ minum : quoniam adjutor et protector noster est. 21. Quia in eo laetabitur cor nostrum : et in nomine sancto ejus speravimus. 20. Our soul waits on the Lord ; For He is our help and our shield. 21. Our heart doth rejoice in Him ; And in His holy name we trust. 22. Fiat misericordia tua Do- 22. Be Thy grace upon us, O Lord, mine super nos : quemadmodum According as we hope in Thee ! speravimus in te. 1. The justi are the community of Israel. 2. The cithara (Hebrew: Kinnor= harp), and the psalterium ( nebhel ) were the two-stringed instruments in familiar use among the Hebrews. 3. “ New song ”—the new mercy that the Lord has shown, de- mands a poetic effort surpassing the ancient hymns of national thanks- giving. The vociferatio is the solemn vehemence of the sacred chants sung to the music of harp and psaltery, and accompanied also, perhaps, by trumpet-clang. 4. The verbum is God’s old-time promise to be Israeks protecting and ever-present God (implied in name Yahweh). His promise was true and it has now again been loyally fulfilled. 6. The love of the Lord and His power are both displayed in creation. 7. The Lord’s endless power over nature, and the ease of its exercise, are here illustrated. The abyssi are the ocean above the firmament, and the ocean beneath the firmament, which the Lord holds easily within their respective limits. Is there here an implied contrast with the old Babylonian legends of creation, in which the gods defeat Chaos, and set up a cosmic order only with toilsome effort, and bitter struggle ? Ps. cxxxiv. 7 speaks of the winds as proceeding from the store-house of the Lord ; and, according to Job xxxviii. 22, the snow and hail are kept also in a treasury or store-house of Yahweh. 9. The Word which sufficed to build up the world, should avail to break the strength of God’s enemies. 10. In history, as in nature, God is omnipotent. We do not know what conspiracy of the heathens against God’s people is here referred to ; its defeat is, obviously, the occasion of the psalm. 12. A sort of sigh of content at the coming of God s help. 13-14. Here we have aspects of the general historical situation. Prceparatum, ‘ established/ 15. That God, as'Creator of the human heart, knows all its secrets is a frequent thought in the Old Testament. 16-18. The rescue of Israel has been due to the Lord alone, and fear of the Lord has been the sole ground of victory. 19. The death in question is death on the battlefield. 20. Since God has hitherto helped so faithfully, we may confidently hope that He will continue to help. Hence the prayer, verse 21: PSALM XXXIII PEACE AND JOY IN THE FEAR OF THE LORD I T HIS is the fourth of the alphabetical psalms. As in Psalm xxiv, the last verse is supernumerary, and a liturgical addition ; as in Psalm xxiv, also, the sixth or vau-ve rse is wanting. The poem consists of two parts. The first (2-11) thanks the Lord for gracious help and rescue given to a loyal and lowly wor- shipper ; the second (12-21) is didactic, reminding one of the Book of Proverbs. The poem teaches generally that happiness in life is to be attained only through God-fearingness of conduct. The good may, indeed, fall into misfortune, and be overtaken by grief, but in the end, the Lord brings them help', and makes their faces radiant with gladness. The general structure and tone of the psalm are regarded by most modern critics as indicating a late date. The title in verse 1 ascribes the origin of the poem to the period of David’s life when he fled to the court of the Philistine king, Achish of Gath. 1 This first verse is, undoubtedly, a very ancient testimony to the Dav dic origin of the psalm, and the gnomic style of the second part of the poem is no genuine indication of a post- exilic date. It is true, however, that the references in the poem are strangely general if they are really due to DavkTs experiences in the Court of Achish. The psalm is intended to serve as an encourage- ment and as a consolation to the pious (Sancti), the God-fearing Israelites. The ‘ rich ’ and ‘ evildoers ’ and ‘ sinners * may be either foreigners (and, therefore, foes of the Israelite people), or godless Israelites. 1. Davidi, cum immutavit 1. [By] David when he feigned madness vultum suum coram Achimelech before Achimelek and the latter dis- et dimisit eum et abiit. missed him, and he went his way. 1 C/. I Kings xxi. 10-22 where the king is called Achist, not, as here, Achimelek. The Septuagint, Massora, and old Latin read more correctly, Abimelech. Possibly Abimelech was a general Hebrew designation for Philistine kings. Two different kings of Gerar are called Abimelech in Gen. xx. 2 and xxvi. C/. the parallel cases of Pharoah and Minos. Abimelech, which means ‘ My father is king/ or * father of the king ’ would be a suitable designation of foreign kings whose precise names were of comparative unimportance. 118 THE PSALMS 2. Benedicam Dominum in 2. omni tempore: semper laus ejus in ore meo. 3. In Domino laudabitur ani- 3. ma mea : audiant mansueti, et laetentur. 4. Magnificate Dominum me- 4. cum : et exaltemus nomen ejus in idipsum. 5. Exquisivi Dominum, et ex- 5. audivit me : et ex omnibus tri¬ bulationibus meis eripuit me. 6. Accedite ad eum, et illu- 6. minamini : et facies vestrae non confundentur. 7. Iste pauper clamavit, et 7. Dominus exaudivit eum : et de omnibus tribulationibus ejus sal¬ vavit eum. 8. Immittet Angelus Domini 8. in circuitu timentium eum : et eripiet eos. 9. Gustate, et videte quoni- 9. am suavis est Dominus : beatus vir, qui sperat in eo. 10. Timete Dominum omnes 10. sancti ejus : quoniam non est inopia timentibus eum. 11. Divites eguerunt et esuri- 11. erunt: inquirentes autem Domi¬ num non minuentur omni bono. 12. Venite filii, audite me : 12. timorem Domini docebo vos. 13. Quis est homo qui vult 13. vitam : diligit dies videre bonos. 14. Prohibe linguam tuam a 14. malo : et labia tua ne loquantur dolum. 15. Diverte a malo, et fac bonum : inquire pacem, et per¬ sequere eam. 16. Oculi Domini super ju¬ stos : et aures ejus in preces eorum. 17. Vultus autem Domini su¬ per facientes mala : ut perdat de terra memoriam eorum. 18. Clamaverunt justi, et Do¬ minus exaudivit eos : et ex omnibus tribulaionibus eorumt liberavit eos. 19. Juxta est Dominus iis, 19. qui tribulato sunt corde : et humiles spiritu salvabit. 20. Multae tribulationes justo- 20. rum : et de omnibus his libera¬ bit eos Dominus. 21. Custodit Dominus omnia 21. ossa eorum : unum ex his non conteretur. The Lord I will praise at all times : Let His praise be ever in my mouth. I will boast of the Lord ; The humble shall hear it and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me : And let us together praise His name. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my anguish. Approach unto Him, and be made radiant: And ye will not be abashed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, And helped him out of all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord casts his tent Around those who fear Him, and rescues them. Taste ye, and learn that the Lord is kind. Happy is the man who trusteth in Him. Fear the Lord all ye His worshippers : For they have no lack who fear Him. The rich suffer want, and feel the pang of hunger. But they who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come, children, listen to me : I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Who is the man who desireth life, Who would gladly enjoy pleasant days? Keep thy tongue from evil: And let not thy lips speak deceit. The Lord is near to the sad of heart; And to the lowly in spirit He bringeth safety. Many are the affiictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers them out of them all: The Lord protecteth all their bones : Not one of them is broken. 15. Turn away from evil and do good ; Seek after peace, and pursue it. 16. The eyes of the Lord are on the just. And His ears [are open] to their petitions. 17. The face of the Lord is against those that do evil, To cut off from earth the memory of them. 18. If the just call, the Lord doth hear them. And rescueth them from all their troubles. PEACE AND JOY IN FEAR OF THE LORD 119 22. Mors peccatorum pessi¬ ma : et qui oderunt justum, de¬ linquent. 23. Redimet Dominus animas servorum suorum : et non de¬ linquent omnes qui sperant in eo. 22. The death of sinners is most wretched, For guilty indeed are they who hate the righteous. 23. (The Lord doth guard the life of His servants : And no one sinneth who trusteth in Him.) 3. The mansueti are the same as the justi and sancti. Laudabitur anima may be a passive, ‘ my soul will be praised/ * regarded as blessed ’ ; or as a middle, * my soul will boast of ’ (as the Greek, l7raa/ecr$?/