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DIVINITY SCHOOL
TROWBRIDGE LIBRARY

THE PSALMS;

WITH NOTES,

CRITICAL, EXPLANATORY, AND PRACTICAL,

DESIGNED FOR BOTH TASIORS AND PEOPLE.

BY
Rev. HENRY COWLES, D.D.

-" Understandest thou what thou readest? , And he said, How can I unless some man
should guide me?" — Acts viii : 30, 31.

NEW YO RK:
D. APPLETON & COMPANY,
549 and 551 Broadway.
1872.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
Rev. HENRY COWLES, D.D.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C«

PREFACE.

Ant just interpretation of the scriptures must assume that they
were written so as to be readily understood by the average mind
of their first readers. Especially must this be true of compositions
prepared for the public worship of the sanctuary, to be sung or
listened to by minds of the ordinary grade of culture, such as
were the masses of the Hebrew worshiping congregations. It
follows that these Psalms will become plain to us just so far as
we are able to place ourselves in the circumstances of their authors
and of the people of their age. To do this requires a good
knowledge of their language; also a familiar acquaintance with
their history and life, and, so far as possible, with the special
history that belongs to each of these several Psalms — embraced
under the questions of author ; date ; the occasion of its being writ
ten — the facts to which it alludes ; and the purpose or object had
in view by the author.  These remarks will indicate the points
to which special attention has been given in the preparation of
these Notes. I have sought diligently to locate these several
Psalms in history as one of the first and most important means
of reproducing the circumstances under which they were written.
A table in the Appendix presents very briefly the leading points
of this external history of the Psalms. More extended discussions
will be found introducing each Psalm.  1 have also aimed in
my Notes to represent the exact shades of thought expressed in
the original Hebrew, especially when the received English version
Ciii)

IV PREFACE.
fails of this expression. More extended discussion has been al
lowed to the Psalms which are at once difficult, controverted, and
important, e. ff., those which are supposed to be prophetic of the
Messiah, and also those which have been sometimes arraigned as
expressing malign imprecations against the Psalmist's enemies.
 The bearing of the practical points upon Christian experi
ence and upon the great moral duties of man to his Maker are
touched briefly and suggestively — not exhaustively.  With the
prayerful hope that these Notes will shed light on points other
wise dark, and possibly disclose beauties and truths otherwise
unnoticed, and thus secure a deeper and more intelligent interest
and a richer profit to the diligent study of these sweet songs of
Zion, this volume is respectfully laid before the public, being
"designed for both pastors and people,"
BY THE AUTHOR.
Obeklin, Ohio, March, 1872.

PSALMS.

• GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
The Psalms were written and were compiled into their present
form for use in the public worship of God in the Jewish sanctuary.
From a very early age poetry and song were called into service to
express with greater pleasure and profit the sentiments and emo
tions of pious men toward their Infinite Father. Their aid was
invoked in sacred worship. The earliest sacred song on record
was prepared by Moses and sung by the children of Israel over
the fall of Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea. We have it
Exod. 15: 1-21.  If the question be asked, Why did the leaders
of Israel under those circumstances think in poetry and utter
their thought in song? It may fitly be answered, Because their
hearts were full, and their full hearts must pour forth their emo
tions, and would have the help of poetry and song. Nothing less
would suffice. Warm, fervent emotion demands such expression,
and refuses to be satisfied without it. Those saved men and
women could not help uttering praise to Almighty God for his
strong hand uplifted to their salvation. Their excited minds de
lighted to lift their thought to the loftiest conceptions of the im
agination [which is to make poetry], and such praise, put in poetry,
yet needed the aid of music in song. No other style of speech
than poetry could fitly express their exultant, lofty triumph in
Him, and no other utterance of poetry could do justice to their
emotions save that in song. This is the ultimate answer to all
questions as to the origin of sacred song. It is the natural ex
pression of deep and strong emotion. Deep feeling finds relief,
as well as pleasing culture and development, in the language of
poetry and in music.  Somewhat later, poetry and song appear
in their triumphal form in the history of Deborah and Barak ; and
in the minor key over the death of Saul and Jonathan. How large
a place they held in the stated worship of God in the tabernacle

2 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
before the age of David we have no means of knowing. The his
toric records bring sacred song to view only on special occasions.
To David is, doubtless, due the credit of reviving, and, by exam
ple and impulse, almost creating the psalmody of Israel. His soul
was full of song, and, indeed, of poetry as well. He entered into
the worship and the praises of God with all his heart, and, there
fore, found poetry and song congenial to his own spirit. Hence, he
naturally inferred that the same means would promote the devo
tions of his people.  Sacred history makes frequent allusion to
his skill and power upon the harp. But not content with the
harp alone, he invented other instruments of music, and enjoined
their use in sacred song. "Four thousand Levites praised the
Lord with the instruments which I made " (said David) "to praise
therewith" (1 Chron. 23: 5). The prophet Amos (6: 5) speaks
of those who " invent to themselves instruments of music like
David." One historian (1 Chron. 25 : 5, 6) says of the develop
ment of Hebrew song: "God gave Heman fourteen sons and three
daughters " (a family of singers) ; " all these were under the hand
of their father for song in the house of the Lord, with cymbals,
psalteries,' and harps, for the service of the house of God, accord
ing to the king's order to Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman."' Not
inappropriately David bears the distinctive honor of being " the
sweet Psalmist of Israel" (2 Sam. 23: 1). Well might he speak
of it as his chief glory : " The Spirit of the Lord spake by me,
and his word was in my tongue " (2 Sam. 23 : 1-3). To him, and
to his associates and successors, is the world indebted, under God,
for these treasures of sacred song. It is a vast debt. The treas
ures are, beyond measure, rich and precious. They witness to
the deep Christian emotion of good men who lived three thou
sand yea^s ago. Here are their experiences, their trials, their
straits, their conflicts against temptation ; and here, also, are the
records of their precious faith in God, through which they gained
the victory over the world and the wickedness thereof. Here
stand recorded their exultant songs of triumph in the day of
their deliverance ; here the outflowings of their grateful hearts in
praise to the power that redeemed, and to the loving-kindness that
remembered, them with plonteousness of mercy and salvation.
These forms of uttering devout affection are so rich, so full, and
so various, that Christians in all ages have delighted to find hero
the very words prepared to their hand in which their souls, bur-

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 3
dened or lightened, might speak before the Lord of their wants,
or of the fullness of their joy when those wants were supplied. It
is not strange that Christians in all later ages should feel peculiar
interest in using these words in their own worship, public or
private, to express similar feelings. It will always be pleasant to
think that God moved holy men of old to these utterances of
earthly want, of faith in God for promised help, and of thanks
for delivering grace. We unconsciously account their experience
of God's mercy as his pledge of like mercy to his people in every
age under their similar wants, and in answer to the same faith
and prayer for like help in time of need.
In our Hebrew Bibles, the Psalms are divided into five books—
the closing Psalm in each of the five respectively being the forty-
first, the seventy-second, the eighty-ninth, the one hundred and
sixth, and the one hundred and fiftieth. Remarkably, these
Psalms end with a special doxology — the first three with a
double -Amen, and the last two with Hallelujah. This arrange
ment is, probably, as old as the compilation of the Psalter itself.
 -It may not be possible to give, with certainty, all the reasons
which induced the compilers to arrange these Psalms in this five
fold division, and the several Psalms in their order,- as we have
them in each book. It is, however, generally conceded that the
first book (Ps. 1-41) is composed entirely of Psalms of David,
and was compiled first in the order of time, and, probably, soon
after David's death. The second book (42-72) involves the diffi
cult question whether, in case of Ps, 42-49, the superscription
" for [or '' of"] the sons of Korah " names them as authors or as
musical performers. I favor the opinion that they are spoken of
as authors. The series Ps. 51-71 were manifestly written by David.
The 72d and 45th are usually attributed to Solomon. Inasmuch
as Ps. 46 belongs, probably, to the reign of Hezekiah, it may be
assumed that this second book was compiled at or near this date.
The statement (Ps. 72 : 20), " The prayers of David the son of
Jesse are ended," seems to show that the compiler supposed that
no more Psalms of David were extant. Yet one Psalm ascribed to
him appears in the third book (Ps. 86), and seventeen in Books IV
and V, viz.: Psalms 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145.
Book IH apparently comprises, for the most part, Psalms pre
pared! and brought into use in and near the time of Hezekiah.
Book IV contains the remainder of the Psalms that appeared

4 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
down to the time of the captivity — chiefly of the age of Josiah
and Jeremiah ; and Book V those which were either written or
brought forward from an earlier age after the restoration.
It thus appears that this book of Psalms, as we have it, was a
growth— the accumulation of religious odes composed during the
lapse of several centuries, and hence a natural product of the
piety and talent on the one hand, and of providential circum
stances on the other, which make up the religious history of the
covenant people during those most favored ages of their national life.
The interest felt in this subject will justify a somewhat more
full development. Let us compare Jewish Psalmody with Chris
tian in point of historic growth. It is ¦frell known that Christian
Psalmody has been largely the product of special epochs; e. g.,
we have one installment from the early Christian centuries — tho
work of the fathers in that memorable Christian age. "We have
another installment from the pious men of the middle ages — Ber
nard, Aquinas, etc. Some contributions come in from the age of
the German reformation ; more and richer still for our mother
tongue, from the revivals of the eighteenth century — the age of
the Wesleys, Watts, Cowper, and Doddridge ; and, finally, an im
mense accession from the quickened piety and the missionary zeal
of the nineteenth century. Comprehensively our Christian. Psalm
ody has been the natural product of revival periods.  The same
is true of Jewish Psalmody. The age of David was remarkably
one of religious revival. An earnestly pious king became under
God the means of a quickened religious life among the people.
True, it took on to some extent a martial tone, and developed itself
in the faith and heroism of bloody wars against the idolatrous
enemies of- Israel ; but it was none the less a revival of the re
ligious element, and manifested itself delightfully in the public
worship of the sanctuary. Sacred song became a necessity to
supply the natural want of so much quickened religious emo
tion ; so here we have the first installment of Psalms and odes
suitable for public religious worship.  The next religious epoch,
fruitful in fresh songs for the sanctuary, was precisely the next
considerable reformation, viz., that under Jehoshaphat. The great
military event of his time, sketched so vigorously in 2 Chron. 20,
gave occasion, apparently, to two very stirring odes (Ps. 47 and 48,
and, perhaps, Ps. 83). The second, book of Psalms (42-72) was
probably brought together and added to the Psalter shortly after

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. 5
this revival period..  More extensive and thorough still was the
great reformation under Hezekiah. . It sent forth its inviting call
to the long-time wandering brethren of the ten tribes — a fact
which manifests itself in some of the new songs of this king's
reign. The fall of the proud Assyrian before Jehovah's uplifted
arm gave occasion, as we might anticipate, to other and most sub
lime songs for the sanctuary. The age of Isaiah, of Micah, and
of Nahum, might be expected to make very considerable additions
to the Psalmody of Israel. Of this we find ample traces as we
study the historic dates of the Psalms, especially of Book III,
which book may have been compiled near the close of Hezekiah's
reign.- — -The reign of Josiah dates the next great reformation,
an,d became, consequently, the epoch of the next considerable ac
cession to Jewish Psalmody. A very large portion of Book IV
must be dated within this reign and the life of Jeremiah and
Habakkuk, extending into the earlier years of the captivity.
The power of Isaiah's prophetic thought and spirit appear in
some of the odes of this age, as we shall have occasion to notice.
 Lastly, the revived spirit and life of the restoration under
Zerubbabel, Joshua, Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah,
gave birth to the last contribution to the volume of Jewish Psalm
ody, These contributions appear in Book V (Ps. 107-150). 
Thus, comprehensively, we have the instructive historic fact that
religious revivals have, for the most part, given birth to the re
ligious songs of all ages ; first, the Jewish, last, the Christian.
The more particular questions pertaining to the author and
date of each Psalm must be examined in connection with their
exposition. These questions have great interest and very consid
erable importance. If these points can be satisfactorily ascer
tained, they enable us to reproduce, in a measure, the history, and
the circumstances under which each. Psalm was written. In so
far as we are able to reproduce those circumstances, we shall see
more clearly the pertinence and beauty, and shall feel more deeply
the force, of the. allusions made to events then passing. In order
to feel as the Psalmist felt, we need to see his situation and to ap
preciate the circumstances by which he was surrounded. To bring
out these circumstances in their jilst light is one of the first duties
of the commentator^ and one of his chief contributions to the ben
efit of his readers.
This introduction ought not to close without some notice of an-

6 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
other point which the study of these Psalms will continually sug
gest, viz. : What illustrations and developments of God and of his
truth had been then already made so as to be accessible for re
ligious culture ? In what shape were the waters of the spiritual
life then flowing for the people of God; where were the fountains
thereof; and how could thirsty souls gain access and find their
supply?  We of this Christian age find these fountains largely
in the earthly life ; the loving words and promises ; the sacrificial
death ; and the ever-manifested presence of Jesus through his
Spirit. But they of the older Jewish age had these things only
in the tiniest prophetic germ. Rarely in these Psalms do the
writers seem to turn to these germs of prophetic truth for the
quickening of their spiritual life. What did they do? What
sources of religious instruction and of quickening impulse were
accessible 'to them?  Comprehensively, they had two sources:
(1). They saw God in creation and in nature. As we may, so
might they look abroad of a starry night, and "consider the
heavens the work of divine fingers" (Ps. 8); they could listen
and hear the heavens "telling the glory of God" (Ps. 19). Or
they could look forth upon the fresh face of the earth and see the
valleys covered with corn,' the pastures with flocks, and the hills
girding on joy (Ps. 65).  But (2) more and better than this,
the long ages of God's covenant people had a history. . God had
come down and talked with men of faith, and had condescended
to enter into covenant with them. He had given them his name
"Jehovah" — the faithful God, the maker and fulfiller of 'promise.
It is interesting to see how constantly the authors of these sacred
songs fall back upon the revelations of God in history ; how nat
urally their thoughts recur to the promise of Canaan to the patri
archs, to the wonders wrought in fulfillment thereof in Egypt, at
the Red Sea, in the desert, and in the conquest of Canaan ; how
constantly their faith seeks and finds support in those marvelous
''works" of the right hand of the Lord. At these fountains of
truth they drank all along the otherwise unwatered desert of
their earthly pilgrimage. These wonderful facts were good ma
terial to work into poetry and song as well as into the warp and
woof of the religious life; and hence we shall not be surprised to
find allusions made often, yet not too often- -allusions simple yet
always impressive, and sometimes sublime — to those wonderful
works of their own ever-faithful Jehovah.

PSALMS

PSALM I.

Obviously this Psalm was either written for an introduction to
the Psalter or was selected by the compiler as one adapted to this
place. There is no good reason to doubt that David was its author.
It breathes forth and foreshadows the spirit of the entire book in
this special respect, celebrating the blessedness and prosperity of
the truly good man in this world and inferring his corresponding
fruition in the world to come. He is put in contrast with the
wicked both in his life and in his destiny.  We shall often have
occasion to notice that the sentiment of this Psalm has a somewhat
special adaptation to that age of the world in which present retri
bution was far more the common law of God's providential admin
istration than it is in our times.
1. Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful.
2. But his delight is in the law of the Lokd ; and in his
law doth he meditate day and night.
The force of the original is better given by reading, "0, the
blessedness of the man I " or " 0, how blessed is the man ! " etc. 
He is first described negatively. He does " not walk in the counsel
of the ungodly" — according to their principles and aims; does
"not stand in the way of sinners," associating with them as being
of kindred spirit ; does not sit in the seat of scorners. Standing,
walking, sitting, as here used, group together all customary forms,
not precisely of human activity but of social life, in none of which
does this good man evince any co-operation or even sympathy with
the wicked. — —On the other hand, considered positively, he has de
lights, yet they are not in the ways of the wicked, but in the law
of the Lord: he has thought and study, yet not on themes congenial
to the wicked, but upon the precious law of his God. In both his
life and his thought, therefore, he is utterly unlike the wicked. 
The tense of the Hebrew verb in this verse is past, yet implying
the present. Such has been his way of life ; such it is still.— — The
(7)

8 PSALM I.
reader will notice the underlying assumption throughout this Psalm
that the outer life is a certain index of the inner heart. "A man
is known by the company he keeps" — and loves.
3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of
water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season ; his leaf
also shall not wither ; and whatsoever he doeth shall pros
per. The charming figure of a tree, ever green, thrifty, flourishing
and fruitful, sets forth his prosperity. In Palestine, vegetables of
annual growth might fail through drought ; but the tree (e. g., the
fig, olive, or palm), deep rooted, beside living waters, whose leaf
never withered, and its fruit never failed, became a true type of
the good man whose life could never be a failure — whose work was
evermore sure to prosper and fruit well.  The Hebrew words for
"rivers of water" carry the mind to artificial channels cut for
irrigation. The fact involves the labor and care of the husband
man, suggesting God's unceasing care in providence over his faith
ful servants.  In the last clause, the figure gives place to the
fact prefigured: "Whatsoever he shall do, he will make to prosper."
The case of Joseph is in point. " The Lord made all that he did
to prosper in his hand." " The Lord was with Joseph, and he was
a prosperous man" (Gen. xxxix: 2, 3, 23).  Perhaps it should
be suggested that this connection between moral uprightness and
external prosperity was more apparent and more invariable under
the ancient economy than under the present. There were obvious
reasons why a theocracy, so largely external in its relations, should
involve a specially large amount of present retribution. Such Psalms
as the thirty-seventh and such passages as Deut. 28, present these
views forcibly. There are also obvious reasons why in the early
ages of the race, the matter of righteous retribution from God
should be both proved and illustrated to the very eyes of men,
before God should say much in regard to retribution in another
state beyond the grave, out of human sight. Else how could he
hope to gain the confidence of men in any thing he might say
about that unseen world ?
4. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which
the wind driveth away. *
The ungodly are not so, either in their life, their spirit, or their
destiny, for all these points seem to be involved in the contrast —
the latter -not least. They can not be compared to a tree, or even
a shrub, or the tiniest of vegetable growths ; but find their sym
bol in chaff, seen and known mainly as separated from the wheat,
because not only worthless but injurious, and driven away, there
fore, before the winnowing wind on the hill-tops, or, as elsewhere
suggested, burned in the fire of destruction. So the incorrigible
sinners in God's universe must be violently torn away from among
the righteous and doomed to hopeless ruin. Having proved them-

PSALM I. 9
selves worthless, and even mischievous, in the sphere God made
them to fill, their end must be as their works — their character
giving shape to their destiny, which can only be destruction
" without remedy."  This figure, chaff, to describe the doom of
the wicked, appears forcibly in Job 21: 18 and Ps. 35: 5; Isa.
17: 13, and, not least, in Matt. 3: 12.
5. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judg
ment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
The question respecting the proper reference of the judgment,
whether to providential judgments inflicted in this world, or to
the final judgment-day when this world shall end, seems to be fitly
answered by the demands of the context. The judgment here
thought of is the same sifting, punitive, and destructive process
set before us in v. 4 under the figure of " the chaff which the
wind driveth away." As thought of by the Psalmist, its first in
stallment comes often in this world, yet so only as foreshadowing
the fiir more dreadful doom which awaits the wicked hereafter.
They are separated from the assemblies of the righteous (so the
parallel clause affirms) ; they can never stand, i. e., stand up in
strength and with the divine favor, before God in his days of judg
ment, whether in the present life or the future. Their doom is
to be disowned of God, condemned, and made monuments of his
eternal justice.
6. For the Loed knoweth the way of the righteous : but
the way of the ungodly shall perish.
In the passage, " the Lord knoweth the way," etc., the leading
thought seems to be upon„that sure and perfect discrimination
with which the Lord will sever between the righteous and the
wicked".* He knows perfectly how the righteous have lived, what
spirit they are of, and what destiny he proposes to award to them
in the end. He knoweth their " way " both of earthly life and of
future reward.  But the way of the ungodly is ruin, and noth
ing else. Their very way itself shall perish — a strong form of
asserting that their path leads to perdition, and will surely land
them there.  Thus utterly unlike are the godly from the un
godly, in our world, and so it is infinitely right, and therefore
sure, that their respective destines, as they are contrasted often in
this world, will be far more certainly and totally so in the retribu
tions of the world to come. At the stand-point of view held by
the Psalmist, the righteous were seen, not only upright and re
gardful -of God's will, but happy and prosperous ; while the
wicked are seen mainly at the point of their final doom — " chaff
which the wind driveth away," even in the retributions of the
present world. It behooves us, at least, to make^the momentous
inference: If such be the contrast both in life and destiny be
tween the good and the bad in the partial developments and ret-

10 PSALM II.
ributions of time, how much more fearful the contrast must be
under the perfect judgment of the final and eternal state !
PSALM II.
This Psalm stands without the author's name, but must be as
cribed to David, for he is the author of all the other Psalms in
this first book (1-41), and, therefore, doubtless of this. The im
agery is drawn from his own personal relations to God as king
of Israel and from God's promise to him of the Messiah in the
line of his children — a fact which witnesses to his authorship ;
and, finally, it is specifically attributed to him by the apostles
(Acts 4 : 25) : " Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast
said, Why did the heathen rage?" etc.- — as in this Psalm. As to
its date, we need only say, after the scenes of 2 Sam. 7, and prob
ably not long after. The Psalm treats, not (as some have claimed)
of David nor of any other ancient Jewish king, but of the Messiah
alone. Its imagery and phraseology are indeed drawn from the
case of David anointed as king over Israel on Mount Zioh, and
raised up of God to subdue the adjacent hostile nations ; but we
must refer the Psalm to the Messiah and not to David, because,
(1.) It can not apply throughout to David without the utmost
violence; (2.) It does apply to the Messiah fitly, naturally, and in
harmony with numerous other Messianic prophecies ; and. (3.) It
is explicitly referred to the Messiah by the inspired apostles (as
above, Acts 4: 25-28), where they find the raging of the nations
and the combination of kings against the Lord's anointed fulfilled
in the gathering together of Herod, Pilate, the Romans, and the
Jews, to crucify the Lord Jesus. Also the repeated reference to
v. 7, "Thou art my Son;" e. g., Heb. 1: 5 and 5: 5, and Acts
12 : 33, and the remarkable announcement of the fact at his bap
tism and transfiguration, as shown in Matt. 3: 17 and 17: 5; and,
yet further, the reference to v. 9 in Rev. 2 : 27 and 12 : 5. The
proof is most abundant that the inspired apostles saw the Messiah,
and him only, throughout this Psalm. Appealing to it in proof
that Jesus of Nazareth is the very Messiah of Old Testament
prophecy, of course they assume this to be a prophecy of. him.
In a case of such vital moment, where the points to be proved are
entirely fundamental to Christianity, to deny the authority of the
apostles as interpreters of prophecy is to deny their inspiration.
The course of thought in this Psalm has extraordinary brilliancy,
beauty, and force. The prophet sees the nations combining in
hostile mood against the Lord's anointed (vs. 1, 2) ; hears the
very words that breathe forth their spirit of rebellion (v. 3);
then sees the Almighty reposing serenely on his lofty throne, con
demning the puny endeavors of his foes, speaking terror to their
hearts, and affirming the regal authority of his anointed Son (vs.

PSALM II. 11
4-6). Then the Son himself appears, witnessing in the very
words of the Infinite Father to his own supreme dominion (vs. 7-
9), upon the basis of which the Psalm closes with a solemn ad
monition from the prophet to yield in submission, obedience, and
love to this glorious Messiah, and thus escape the ruin of all per
sistent rebels and gain the blessedness of an humble trust in his
name. 1. "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a
vain thing ?
The nations are seen all astir and deeply agitated with the spirit
of rebellion against the Lord Jehovah. Why is this ? says the
prophet ; of what use ; and what can be the reason for these vain
endeavors ? The original implies that they have been and still are
raging in their tumultuous efforts ; are now plotting and will con
tinue to plot this utterly futile and self-ruinous rebellion. As seen
in vision these rebels are the nations and p*eoples of the earth.
The prophet is deeply impressed with the folly and madness of
their opposition against the great God.
2. The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together, against the Loed, and against his
Anointed, saying,
This verse explains their case more fully. They take their
stand and devise their schemes against Jehovah and against his
anointed Son.  The original word here is Messiah — the Anointed
One, to which the word Christ is the Greek equivalent. The idea
of anointing comes from the Hebrew practice of inducting their
high priests and their kings into office by this ceremony. The his
tory gives prominence to the anointing of Saul (1 Sam. 10: 1),
of David (1 Sam. 16: 13), and of Solomon (1 Kings 1: .34, 39);
and says of David, ""The Spirit of the Lord came upon David
from that day forward." Anointing was the symbol of this
divine unction, and, therefore, makes the names Messiah and
Christ specially significant and appropriate in the case of him
to whom God gave the Spirit " not by measure."
3. Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their
cords from us.
The prophet first sees these hostile kings and nations in the
tumult of their rebellious plans and movements; then with a
deeper view of their spirit he hears their very words.' They
spurn the restraints of God's authority. "We will not have this
man to reign over us." The Messiah, anointed king in Zion, to
rule with most mild and beneficent sway, "his yoke easy and his
burden' light," they intensely hate and scornfully^ repeli _ Alas! for
the folly and the guilt of such rebellion ! It is precisely sin —
shv in its very nature and essence ; the heart lifting up itself
against the perfectly reasonable authority and most righteous

12 PSALM II.
claims of the infinite God, and none the less for his inexpressible
goodness and perfect purity; none the less because he is our
Great Maker and Father — the glorious giver of every good.
Against such a God rebellion is simple madness — the madness,
not of real insanity, but of supreme folly.
4. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord
shall have them in derision.
Is Jehovah afraid of this uprising of rebellion? The prophet
sees him sitting in the heavens, infinitely high above the reach of
their puny arm, not agitated like those raging foes, but serene
and undisturbed ; indeed, looking with contempt upon these puny
and really contemptible swellings of rage in creatures so insig
nificant. It need not surprise us that the rage of the wicked
against God should appear in his view contemptible for its infi
nite weakness. If it were not that his pity deplores its wickedness,
how could he have tiny other feeling than contempt for its utter
imbecility and folly ? He might even enjoy the thought of his
own infinite power to make the wrath of man work out his own
praise and the good of his universe. Apart from the divine pity
for the sinner, a just sense of sin, as the puny, abortive, and mad
uprising of man against the infinite God, would legitimately
awaken the very feeling here expressed. Let every guilty sinner
think of it and be confounded in the thought of his own unutter
able folly as well as guilt.
5. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex
them in his sore displeasure.
6. Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.
From describing what the Lord does, the prophet passes to what
he says. Filled with indignation toward these adversaries of his
Anointed Son, he will speak to them in his wrath and will terrify
them in his stern displeasure. The word for "vex "has rather
this sense of striking terror into their guilty souls by the assertion
of his divine purpose to enthrone his Son in Zion and give him
the nations as his subjects — all persistent rebels to be broken
with a rod of iron. This is the amount of his solemn declara
tion : I have enthroned my Son as king on Zion, my holy mount
ain. I have done it : no mortal power can undo or withstand it !
" He must reign till he shall have put all enemies beneath his
feetl "  The reader will notice that David's anointing and inau
guration furnish the imagery and the phraseology ; yet none but
the Messiah fills the sense.
7. I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto -
me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee.
With inimitable beauty and pertinence the Messiah himself
now appears and speaks, witnessing to his sonship and kingship,
and to the constitution — the grand charter of rights — under which

PSALM II. 13
this fallen world is given to him as his empire. "Let me speak
now concerning the decree," (Heb.)— the great ordinance or statute
of heaven under which the Son of God is enthroned as king.
" Jehovah said to me, My Son art thou : this day have I begotte^
thee."  Obviously sonship is here thought of as the ground of
kingship — the son succeeding rightfully to the father's authority
as king. "This day have I made thee such," recognizing thy son-
ship by giving thee this authority of king.  Construing the
• language thus in harmony with the drift of the context, there
seems to be no occasion here to raise any metaphysical questions
respecting the eternal generation of the Son of God. Can it be
supposed that the Psalmist or even the Spirit of inspiration,
speaking through him, had any reference to the birth-hour of the
Messiah, considered as the time when his existence began?
The plain thought seems rather to be : This day, by anointing
thee as King on my hill of Zion, I have recognized thee as my
Son. This enthroning is my public and solemn recognition of this
rolation — the relation being essentially eternal in the past, but
never brought forth to the knowledge of created minds till this
momentous inauguration as king. So Paul understood this verse,
for he finds it fulfilled in Christ's resurrection and consequent
ascension and enthronement in heaven. (See Acts 13 : 33).
8. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine
inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy
possession. Having been proclaimed king, the next step is the dower of a
kingdom. Who are to be his subjects, and on what conditions
shall the new king receive them ? To these points our verse speaks.
His subjects are the nations of the earth, the same obviously who
are seen in the opening of the vision as raging against his au
thority. Given to him in answer to prayer, and moreover given
him as his inheritance and possession in the sense in which
Israel was God's inheritance and his peculiar people, they must
be considered here as given him to become mainly his submissive,
trustful, and beloved people. It can not be supposed that the grand
charter of Messiah's great commission signifies only this — The
nations given to thee as thine own, only or mainly to destroy
them. Jesus himself would teach us far otherwise than this : —
" The Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save
them" (Luke 9: 56). "God sent not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved" (John 3 : 17). The apparently different view given in the
next verse (v. 9) will be considered in its place.  Next as to
the conditions of this gift. "Ask of me." If it be your desire,
all the nations shall be yours. Nothing thou canst ask is too
much for thy rich Father to give. May we suppose that this ex
pressed condition follows the usage of royal fathers conferring
royalty and its munificent gifts upon favored sons; or perhaps,

14 PSALM n:
that it comes from the case of David himself, raised up of God
to be successful in subduing the nations to his scepter according
to the faith he should have in the infinite resources of Israel's
God ? However the phraseology may be accounted for, we may
best take the obvious meaning for the true one, viz. : that in the
legitimate sense in which Jesus offers prayer to the Father, this
asking was truly the antecedent condition of his receiving this
largest possible gift — the nations en masse, the people of the wide
earth, for his inheritance and possession. " The kingdoms of this
world to become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ"
[anointed]. As already said, these nations* are the same
whom the prophet saw (v. 1) raging in their rebellion against
the Lord. Given to Christ, they will come under his royal
sway— ^sweetly submissive and joyfully reposing in his pardoning
love if they will; but terribly destroyed if they persist in mad
rebellion. This is the constant teaching of Christ and of his
apostles: "He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth
not shall be damned." " To you who believe he is precious ; but
to them who are disobedient, a stone of stumbling' —to stumble
over to their fatal fall.  Elsewhere the Scriptures indicate that
Christ's people when they come into real and full sympathy with
him, blend their prayers with his as conditions precedent for the
conversion of the nations to Christ
9. Thou shalfc break them with a rod of iron ; thou shalt
dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Some readers will ask : Is it not the fair sense of this verse that
all the nations promised to Christ as his inheritance and possession
are given him only to be destroyed?  To this I answer: It is
probably due in part to the salient points of David's own sway
over the hostile nations — Philistia, Syria, Moab, Amnion and
Edom — that the language of this verse contemplates the subject
nations as being crushed by physical power rather than saved by
moral. Moreover, this view is in keeping with the leading thought
of the Psalm — these nations seen in their malign rage against Je
hovah and his anointed Son; and the Lord asserting his infinite
right to reign, and giving dominion to his Son that he may reign
to the subjugation of every foe. This is one of the main points in
this Psalm. Yet as shown above, v. 8 must contemplate tSe masses
of the nations as converted, to become Christ's true inheritance.
The last three verses assume most clearly and delightfully that
there is mercy most abundant for the guiltiest rebel who will sub
mit to Christ and be a rebel no more. These "terrors of -the
Lord " are here for the very purpose of persuading men to be wise
and to submit while yet pardon is possible.  The verse before us
must therefore by no means be construed as proving that the
nations of the world are given to Christ only or even mainly to
*D'1S

PSALM II. 15
be destroyed. We can not even infer from this Psalm that the lost
will be the mass, and the saved the few isolated exceptions. It
should be borne in mind that David is a foreshadowing type of
Christ, not as to every point in his mission and work, but only as to
some special points, and these, mainly the points made prominent
in this Psalm. David reigned on Zion hill — a king in most respects
after the very heart of God; yet mostly representing the Great
Messiah, not as an atoning Lamb ; not as a Savior pardoning sin
ners; not as developing a glorious moral power for the conversion
of enemies to friends ; not as bringing forth to human view the
matchless love of God, and sending his Spirit to make this mani
fested love a power to melt hearts of stone to flesh ;— but quite in
another line, viz., to subdue hostile nations by the strong arm of
war,_ causing God's chosen people to rest in peace from foreign
assailants ; and then reviving the worship of God in his earthly
sanctuary and ruling in righteousness for the general prosperity
of the land. At the era of David, God had work for a warrior-
chieftain who should be strong in the Lord to put down the ene
mies of Israel; and hence it was in those aspects mainly that he
stands here as the representative of King Messiah. But this does
not even propose to give us the chief work of the Messiah — much
less, the whole. Beyond all question, the doctrine of the entire
Bible, the New Testament and the Old, is that Jesus becomes King
and Lord of all, to bring rebels to penitence and penitent souls
back to purity and blessedness; but to give the incorrigibly im
penitent their righteous doom — remediless ruin. Who will not
bow in submission must fall beneath his rod. Justice demands
this and Jesus will execute it. Whosoever will may come to him
for life; but whosoever will not have life must have death!  It
suffices therefore to say of our passage and-indeed of the whole
Psalm that it contemplates as its main theme the case of Christ's
enemies in hostile league against him, but sure to fall beneath his
rod unless they will bow to his scepter. The moral purpose of the
Psalm is to impress the" wicked with fear of the world's great King
and Lord, and to assure them that their wrath and rage against
him are worse than vain — there being nothing but absolute ruin
before them in that line of policy, and their only hope lying in
prompt submission.
10. Be wise now therefore, 0 ye kings : be instructed,
ye judges of the earth.
11. Serve the Loed with fear, and rejoice with tremb
ling. With such views of the ineffable majesty and power of King
Messiah before the mind, nothing can be more appropriate than
this exhortation to be wise and to bow submissively to his scepter.
It is addressed • specially to the kings and judges of the same
nations who are seen in the opening verses in hostile stand against
the Lord's anointed. To become wise implies (and most truly)

1C PSALM III.
that sin is pure folly — senseless, irrational. "Be instructed;" —
consent to take advice and give heed to wise counsel " Serve the
Lord" reverently, with becoming fear of his dread judgments : —
so may ye rejoice (with hope) in his forgiving mercy, for the issues
are momentous, and a trembling solicitude befits men coming back
from such rebellion. Mingled emotions of hope and of fear are
surely not inappropriate.
12. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perisli from
the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed
are all they that put their trust in him.
" Kiss the Son," according to the usage of those times in recog
nition of. royal state. So Samuel poured anointing oil upon Saul's
head, and hissed him, saying, "Is it not because the Lord hath
anointed thee to be captain over his inheritance?" (1 Sam. 10:
1.) "Lest he be angry " — if ye refuse him this rightful homage.
" And ye perish from the way " — failing of the way of life ; or,
perhaps, perishing in your path, just where ye are walking, i. e.,
suddenly.  In the next clause the translation, " when his wrath
is kindled but a little," fails to give the sense of the original.
The word for "when" usually means "for," indicating the reason
why. And the word translated " but a little," much more natu
rally relates to time than to the degree of this enkindling. For
his wrath kindles soon, suddenly, within a little. This is a most
forcible reason for immediate submission to his sway. He does
not bear long with persistent, abusive rebels. The honor and
stability of his throne can not endure such insult beyond a certain
brief limit of long-suffering. It is death to abuse his patience
beyond that brief limit. With no delay give him the submission
of your hearts, lest ye fall, never to rise — fall in your very path
way; for his wrath kindles suddenly.  "Blessed are all they
who put their trust in him ; " and this blessedness may be yours,
in place of that doom of woe and ruin. It becomes yours as the
fruit of true submission to Messiah's sway.
Thus closes this sublime and solemnly impressive Psalm. Com
paring it with the first Psalm, it ends where that begins — with the
blessedness of the righteous. Like that, it makes prominent the
heaven-wide contrast between the righteous and the wicked in re
spect to both present condition and future destiny. Like that, its
great moral purpose is to commend true piety; to dissuade men
from the ways of sin and rebellion ; and to press them to sub
mission to God as the path of life and blessedness.

PSALM III.
The introduction, "A Psalm of David when he fled from Absa
lom his son," opens this Psalm, and may properly be considered a

PSALM III. 17
part of it. These introductory clauses, prefixed to a largo portion
of the Psalms, stand in the Hebrew text; were probably written
by the several authors or by the original compilers, more probably
the latter; and are regarded, for tho most part, as historically re
liable. They usually give us the very facts we need in order to
locate the writing of the Psalm in the author's personal history
and experience.  In the present case, the rebellion of Absalom,
the uprising of the people under him, and its utter failure, find
place in the historical books (2 Sam. 15-19). Far along in the
forty years' reign of David (the precise date not given), after his
sons had reached the years if not the maturity of manhood, and
after the infirmities of age had induced, apparently, some negli
gence in his judicial duties, Absalom, a fast young man, of pre-pos-
sessing person and ambitious soul, ingratiating himself into favor
with the people (in the language of the historian), " stole their
hearts," and then made a bold dash for the throne itself. The
masses of the people (strangely, perhaps heedlessly) lent them
selves to this conspiracy. David thought it prudent to flee from
his royal city, to rally his friends on the east of the Jordan, and
stake his kingdom on the fortunes of a field-battle. In the result
God gave him victory, a penitent people, a firmer throne, and a
new experience of his own enduring love. At what point in this
series of events we are to locate the writing of this Psalm is not
entirely clear; but, apparently, most of it before the final victory
over the hosts of Absalom and while yet the exiled monarch was
walking, not by sight, but alone by faith in Israel's God.
1. Lord, how are they increased that trouble me ! many
are they that rise up against me.
2. Many tJiere be t which say of my soul, 27iere is no help
for him in God. Selah.
The first and most painful impression forced upon David's heart
under the fearful tidings of ¦ this rebellion was of its wide extent —
the. many thousands of Israel who had madly, rushed into it and
set themselves against his throne. "There came a messenger to
David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom"
(2 Sam. 15 :. 13). The sudden flight from the city assumes that the
masses of the people are in this rebellion.1 The language of Hushai
to Absalom in council implies it:' "Whom this people andall the
men of Israel choose '(*.'«., for; their king) his will I be," etc. (2
Sam. 16: 18). "Therefore, I counsel that all Israel be generally
gathered together unto thee, from Dan even to Beersheba, as the
sand that is by the sea for multitude," etc. (2'Sam. 17 : 11). This
was indeed a terrible crisis. A nation rising in arms against
their legal sovereign ; the head man in this rebellion a son
against his own father! Then, also, more painful than all the
rest, was the irreligious aspect of this uprising; for David was the
anointed of the Lord, and the spirit of the rebels stands out in
the words he puts into their mouths : " There is no salvation for

18 PSALM III.
the old king in his God!" How fast the various and sometimes
conflicting thoughts must have flashed through David's mind!
Of the one sort were his comforting assurance that God did cer
tainly call him from leading his father's flocks to be the leader
and shepherd of his people; that this same God had many a
time delivered him from trouble and given him peace and rest de
spite of bitter and mighty foes ; and that he had in the main hon
estly sought to serve the Lord his God. But other thoughts would
flash upon him — of his great sin in the matter of Bathsheba; of
his ungodly son Amnon,- murdered by a brother's hand, even the
hand of this very Absalom, of his own body begotten, now u
traitor, with no fear of God before his eyes— suffered in divine Prov
idence to become a terrible scourge to the kingdom, the household,
and the heart of this aged king. Did these naturally appalling
facts suggest the heart-sinking fear that his God had forsaken
him?  Hear what he says: "Lord" — i. e., 0, thou Jehovah, the
everfaithful God, the God of our fathers in all the ages past —
"Behold, and see how many there are now in this uprising against
mel" Hear them say, " His God will save him no longer ! ' Surely
thou wilt mark the spirit of these words, so painful to me; so
reproachful to thee.  "Selah" calls for a pause in the recita
tion or chanting of the Psalm, inviting the reader to reflection
and the choir (it is supposed) to a rest in the musical perform
ance. ¦ . ,....,
3. But thou, 0 Loed, art a shield for me : my glory,
and the lifter up of mine head.
His faith fails not. Though the nation seems to be in arms
against him, and his own son heads them in this rebellion, still he
will believe in the Lord his God. Thou, O most faithful One,
hast been and art still my buckler all round about me, covering
my whole . person from the deadly shafts of battle ; thou art my
glory in whom I have rejoiced and even exulted as my greatest
and best Friend; thou hast been evermore the lifter up of my
head, when else I must have sunk to rise no more : certainly I
must, I will trust in thee in this terrible emergency!
4. I cried unto the Loed with my voice, and he heard
me out of his holy hill. Selah.
The original gives us the verb "cried" in the future
tense, implying his settled purpose evermore to cry to God for
help in his trouble.- "I said, •With my voice to the Lord will I
cry;" and." then he heard me from his holy hill." According to
the form and the spirit of the ancient system, all pious suppliants
turned toward Zion hill. as the dwelling-place of their God. To
them he manifested himself' there, even as under the gospel age,
we think of God as manifesting himself in Christ and we turn to
him for his help in time of need.  Here another pause is appro
priate for reflection.

PSALM III. 19
5. I laid me down and slept ; I awaked ; for the Loed
sustained me.
In form this seems to be a statement made after the scene had
passed. In spirit it is most expressive of the calmness and repose
that 'came of his faith in God. In such peril of life and under
the immense responsibilities of a king for his whole people, a very
slight wavering in his faith would let in such apprehension and
consequent agitation as must have banished sleep. But he testi
fies of himself — "I laid me down and slept sweetly: I awoke re
freshed ; for the Lord sustained me." This reminds us of his
words elsewhere — "Thou preparedst a table before me in the
presence of my enemies" — so that I ate quietly in the very face of
their array against me (Ps. 23 : 5).
6. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that
have set themselves against me round about.
With God on my side and his resources of wisdom and power
pledged in my behalf,. I will not fear those myriads of people
whom the chiefs in this rebellion have set against me on every
side. The word "themselves" is without authority. The orig
inal rather implies that these ten thousands of people were put in
this hostile attitude by others — the leaders in this conspiracy.
7. Arise, O Loed; save me, O my God: for thou hast
smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone ; thou hast
broken, the teeth of the ungodly.
"Arise" — as if he had been sitting in repose while this terrible
conspiracy was being concocted; but the straitened suppliant
feels that now he must implore God's interposition for help.- 
"Save me, O my God; "mine by covenant; mine by the full
choice of my soul; mine by long years of trustful service on my
part and precious mercies on thine. For 1 have this assurance
of relief to-day, that thou hast ofttimes s interposed to smite down
my '¦ foes; therefore thou surely wilt again. — —Smiting' on the
cheek and breaking in the teeth, conceive of his enemies as savage'
beasts of prey whose terribleness lay in their powerful jaws and
piercing teeth. ' To break these teeth thoroughly was to disarm
them for mischief. : So God had disabled his enemies.
8. Salvation behngeth unto the Lord : thy blessing is
upon thy people! Selah.
Salvation is, of the Lord: it cometh evermore from him alone!
From him. it does surely come to his waiting children in all times
of need.  Most pertinently this sweet Psalm closes with the
prayer — " Thy blessing be upon thy people ! " So be it evermore !
God the salvation of his people forever and ever !
Of the many thousands along the ages who have read or sung
this Psalm, making its precious words of faith and prayer their

20 PSALM IV.
own, but very few have been in circumstances of want and peril
so severe and extreme as those of David. Making all due allow
ance for the fact that each one's own trials seem to himself of the
very sternest sort, it must yet be obvious to our reason that as to
most of us, our enemies are few while David's were many ; our
perils trivial, while his were real and fearful; the strain upon
equanimity in our case ought to be small, while in his it was
prodigious. Then let US' consider that the grace which proved
so adequate for him must be infinitely ample for each one of us.
PSALM IV.
This Psalm corresponds with Ps. 3 so closely both in its general
course of thought and in several special expressions (compare 3 : 4
with 4: 1 and 3 : 5 with 4: 8) that it may safely be assumed to
bear the same date and to refer specially to David's experience in
connection with the rebellion of Absalom.  -He cries to his God
for help (v. 1) ; expostulates with his enemies (v. 2) ; and exhorts
them to consideration, repentance and righteousness (v. 3-5);
contrasts his own joyful and peaceful repose in God with their
persistent but fruitless endeavors after perishing good (vs. 6-8).
The "chief musician" to whom this Psalm is intrusted may
have been a choir-leader or the leading singer, i. e., the precen
tor; or perhaps the solo performer accompanying the instruments.
The circumstance that fifty-three Psalms are committed to him —
so many and no more — seems to favor the theory that his service
was special and not universal,;?, e., he did not bear this part in all
the _ songs of the temple. .But it is very difficult if not even im
possible to arrive at i; certainty in regard to the precise forms of
Hebrew music in the. temple worship.-  "Neginoth" specified
the musical instrument to be used.
1. Hear me' when I call," O; God of my righteousness:
thou bast enlarged me when! was in distress; have mercy
upon . me, and near my prayer.
"O.God, of my righteousness "¦ is equivalent to, Q my righteous
God. The suppliant, is conscious of his own integrity "in the
great question at issue between. himself; and his enemies; in this
assurance of his' heart" he" practically says: "I know. God! will
vindicate my cause as his own, since :really if is his own," and
therefore I can appeal to' him as my ever-rightebus God— my De
fender and Avenger.  Thou hast on former occasions brought
me forth from straitness into a large place; therefore I will trust
thee yet and for evermore ; have mercy upon me now and hear
my prayer.-  The Hebrew words, "in distress;" "hast enlarged
me ;" conceive of one cramped, straitened, shut in so closely as to
make escape apparently impossible; yet with God's help brought

PSALM IV. 21
forth with ample range for flight and escape. Arab life, and in
deed oriental life generally, associates peril with straitness, but
safety with free scope for flight. To this day the Arab relies for
his protection, not on city walls or fortified castles ; but on his
vast deserts and his fleet horse or dromedary. "Straitened," he is
an easy prey : '_' in a large place," he defies his foe. David had
practical experience of this when hunted down by King Saul.
2. O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn, my glory into
shame ? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing ?
Selah. The original is very abrupt : " Sons of men, how long . . .
my glory to shame ? Will ye love vanity . . . will ye seek
lies ? The ellipses are well supplied in the English version — How
long will ye account my glory as only my disgrace ? How can ye
think that my God who is my real glory is only my reproach ? Or
that my faith in him which is the noblest element in my character
and life, is really my disgrace? How long will your heart love
this vain attempt at rebellion and seek to pervert all truth and
right into falsehood and wrong ? For, treason is falsehood ; re
bellion is perjury — the most intense form of lying. "Leasing" is
an obsolete English word for lying.— — The men here addressed —
"Sons of men" — were chief men, princes, perhaps the head men
-of the tribes, who seem generally to have gone into this conspiracy
with Absalom. The Hebrew has various words for man ; one in
dicating man as of the earth, frail and weak; another, man as
strong, gigantic ; and again another, man as of noble rank. The
latter is used here.  Selah, meaning pause, invites to reflection
upon the thought just presented, and here, very pertinently. Why
should ye, men of noble rank, be so unmanly as to account my
real glory to be only my disgrace ? How can ye so pervert the
reality of things ? How can noble men either think or do a thing
so mean ?
3. But know that the Loed hath set apart him that is
godly for himself: the Loed will hear when I call unto him.
But know ye that God hath no sympathy with your notions of
what is one's glory or disgrace. You think it my disgrace that I
have sought the Lord Jehovah and trusted him for help in all my
straits. Know ye that Jehovah has always distinguished with pe
culiar, honor the truly pious man — the law of his realm being:
" Them that honor me Twill honor " (1 Sam. 2 : 30)... Therefore
I know that the Lord will hear when I call upon him.
4. Stand in awe, and sin not : commune with your own
heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
It would be quite within the usual significance of the first verb*

22 PSALM IV.
here to render it — "rage, but sin not;" i. c, do not sin in thus
raging against the Lord's anointed. Paul quotes it from the Sep-
tuagint in this sense (Eph. 4: 26): "Be ye angry and sin not" —
i. e., sin not by the indulgence of anger ; never let the sun go down
» witness to your wrath. — -But it is also in harmony with the
primary sense of this verb to translate with our English version :
" Stand in awe ; " let your soul be impressed with a wholesome
fear of the great God ! The verb always implies agitation, great
excitement ; but as to the character of this excitement, it takes a
somewhat wide range, so as to embrace fear as well as anger.
Fear is the better sense here. It relieves the passage of the harsh
ness and apparent incongruity of enjoining anger.  -" Talk to
your own heart ; " listen to the inward voice of conscience ; hush
the din of the. outward world and think of God; think of your
great guilt before him.^  Thus the Psalmist exhorts his guilty
persecutors to consider their ways, repent, and escape the judg
ments of the Almighty.:  Selah, a pause for reflection, is specially
pertinent here.
5. Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your
trust in the. Lord.
Sacrifice to God only in righteousness, not in hypocrisy, not in
the midst of your schemes of wickedness. So and only so can you
fitly put your trust in the Lord. It avails nothing that you profess
or even assay to trust him while your hearts are in sin and your
offerings are in all unrighteousness.
6. There be many that say, Who 'will show us any good ?
Loed, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us.
Many are saying here and now in this grand conspiracy — "Who
will show us good ? " Who will give us the new happiness we seek
under our new king? So they: but David's heart seeks good in
God alone : " Lord, lift thou the light of thy countenance upon
us: " — that brings the joy of heaven to our souls. In the phrase
" Lift up the light of thy countenance," there may be a double
figure — that of lifting up the face upon one as opposed to turning
it away in displeasure; and that of causing light to beam on one
in darkness. The prescribed formula for the blessing from the
priest (Num. 6 : 24-26) has this twofold expression : " The Lord
make his face shine upon thee ; " " The Lord lift up his countenance
upon thee." _ Full of beauty and force is this thought of God lift
ing the sunlight of his face upon a soul, otherwise in the gloom of
darkness. David means to say that other men, e. g., those treach
erous enemies of his, may seek thei# good elsewhere and any
where else they please; but for himself it is an all-sufficient joy if
only he may have peace in God and the sunlight of his favor.
_ 7- Thou hast put gladness in my heart,. more than in the
time tliat their corn and their wine increased.

PSALM V. 23
Thou, God, hast put more gladness in my heart than they have
when their harvests are most abundant and their souls are most
merry in feasting and wine.
8. I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou,
Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Nothing could better express the sweet apd perfect repose of
faith than this. No matter for the danger to my throne or the
peril to my life ; my soul shall still rest in God, my Refuge— rest
so completely that I shall lay me down and sleep in peace, for with
God for my Helper, and all the universe besides against me, I shall
dwell in safety. God alone, God with no other refuge or friend, is
simply sufficient to ensure my salvation.  And this experience
is for me, let each reader say, as truly as for David. It stands
here of set divine purpose for the people of God in every age to
read and to sing ; to meditate upon and to transfer to their own case
and appropriate each to his own soul in the midst of whatever
trials, persecutions, dangers. The heart that is consciously upright
before God, honestly and humbly seeking his favor above all things
else, may trust in his protection and in his love forever. Such
walking by faith is morally sublime. It has a grand power to lift
up and ennoble human character.  »Oj»iOo 
PSALM V.
This Psalm, like the two that precede it, is pertinent to the cir
cumstances of David when driven from his home and throne by
Absalom in revolt. It is supposed, with some probability, that thi8
entire series of five Psalms, beginning with the third, pertain to
that revolt and to the varied experiences of David amid those
scenes. The fact that the third locates itself there, and that the
seventh was occasioned by the words of Cush, the Benjamite (who
may be same with Shimei) favors this opinion, especially when
coupled with the fact that in many cases a subsequent Psalm, with
out the usual introductory notices of author and occasion, is a con
tinuation of a preceding one in which these points are given. 
Sundry features of this Pslam, to be noticed as they occur, favor
its reference to the times of Absalom.  The words "upon
Nehiloth" are obscure. The choice of construction seems to lie
between that of Gesenius, "upon flutes," wind instruments, per
forated, as he takes the Hebrew root to mean; and that of the
ancient versions adopted by Alexander and others who derive it
frQm another root which means to inherit, with the sense, concern
ing inheritances or destinies', i. e. concerning the diverse lot of the
righteous and the wicked. The latter is best supported.
1. Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my medita
tion.

24 PSALM V.
This prayer invokes the attention of God, first to his words, and
next to his. thoughts — the deep musings and workings of his mind.
In his view God looks specially on the heart. Prayer to God
should always recognize this precious truth — that God thinks of
and cares for the deep sorrows of our soul and their out-going ex
pressions of imploring supplication.
2. Hearken unto' the voice of my cry, my King, and my
God : for unto thee will I pray.
"My cry," the word being commonly used for an outcry of dis
tress. Pertinently, David, himself a king under God, addresses
Jehovah as his own King and his own God, making this recognized
relation a ground of his plea. Since I take the Infinite God as
my God and my King, he will hear my cry.  Hear me for I
pray unto thee. I look nowhere else for aid, but I do cast myself
upon thee in prayer and trust. His faith clings to the divine arm,
reasoning thus : He who hath so promised and who hath so in
vited his creatures to trust in their God alone, can not fail to hear
their cry in their time of need.
3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will
look up.
The Hebrews sometimes speak of doing things "in the morn
ing," meaning by it rather earnestly than early. Perhaps both
ideas are involved here — the latter more surely. The first thing
when the day opens and my refreshed powers turn anew to my
life-work, I will lift up my voice gratefully to God my preserver,
imploringly to God my benefactor.  What can be more fitting?
Why not begin each day in communion with God?  In the
original word, "direct," lies a tacit allusion to the sacrificial system
in which this is the technical word for arrange in order, the wood
upon the altar, the flesh upon the wood, also the shew-bread upon
the table. David's thought therefore is this: As the priests
arrange all sacred things and oblations in due order before the
Lord, so will I as each day opens adjust myself — my thoughts, my
thanksgivings, and my supplications before God.  " I will look
up," i. e., to see blessings return upon me in answer to my prayer.
1 take a waiting, expectant attitude toward God. This word
naturally implies and expresses expectation of coming good.
4. For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wicked
ness : neither shall evil dwell with thee.
The Psalmist means not only that God has no complacency "in
wrong, but that he is utterly displeased with it. Evil, in the per
son of evil-doers, shall not dwell with God — shall not come near to
him to be at home in his presence and to experience his favor.
In this conviction, David is sure God will never be on the side

PSALM V. 25
of his persecutors— will not befriend them in their schemes to
dethrone himself.
5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight : thou hatest
all workers of iniquity.
The "foolish" — rather the proud who love to display themselves
and to shine before others' eyes. However lofty their pride, how
ever exquisite their beauty, or gorgeous their display, they can not
stand before the pure eye of God. Thou hast afihorred all evil
doers, and wilt forever. The history of God's past abhorrence of
sinners confirms his conviction that God will utterly abhor them
in all the future.
6. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord
will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.
Passing from general statements of sin to specific, he names
lying,_ deceitful, and blood-thirsty men, such being now specially
combined to expel him from his throne and country. This trea
son of Absalom resorted to falsehood and slander against the
kingj involved treachery and perjury, and of course contemplated
nothing short of blood as the price of success. Such evil-doers
God must abhor, and therefore must destroy.
7. But as for me, I will come into thy house in the mul
titude of thy mercy : and in thy fear will I worship toward
thy holy temple.
"As for me," my lot is in contrast with theirs. "In the mul
titude of thy mercies" (not on the score of my special merits),
I will come into thy house, the temple, with my joyful thanks
givings. The original puts the "mercy" in the foreground. "In
thy great mercy I shall be permitted to come," etc.  "Worship
toward thy temple," since the Hebrew worshipers might not enter
into the most holy place, but stood without, offering their reverent
worship toward that august but vailed presence.  This allusion
to his assured return to Jerusalem applies pertinently to his tran
sient exile when driven out by Absalom's uprising. The reader
will recall with interest David's plaintive words as they appear in
the history (2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26). j' If I shall find favor in the eyes
of the Lord, he will bring me again and show me both it and his
habitation: But if he thus say, I have no delight in thee, behold
here am I; let him do unto me as it seeemeth good to him." At
a later hour, in writing this Psalm, the uncertainty of this "if"
had given place to an assured expectation.
8. Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of
mine enemies ; make thy way straight before my face.
Lead me forth out of my present straits ; guide all my steps in
thy perfect wisdom. Do this also "in thy righteousness," i. e., in
thy justice ; blast the purposes of my wicked enemies, and so de
liver me.

26 PSALM V.
9. For there is no faithfulness in their mouth ; their in
ward part is very wickedness ; their throat is an open sepul-
cher ; they flatter with their tongue.
There is nothing firm, reliable in their mouth. Not only out
wardly but inwardly they are utter wickedness — false to the very
core of their heart. Their throat is like a grave standing ever
open, yawning to devour — the grave being thought of here (as in
Prov. 30 : 15, 16) as one of the things that never says, " It is
enough." As a figure, the grave may be either an insatiate de
stroyer or a receptacle of all things loathsome. The former use is
to be preferred here.  The last clause reads literally, "They
make their tongues smooth," i.e., for flattery and by its practice.
 This verse is quoted pertinently by Paul to' the Romans (3:
13, 14) in proof of the intense depravity of human hearts.
10. Destroy thou them, O God ; let them fall by their
own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their
transgressions ; for they have rebelled against thee.
Such intense wickedness precedes and foreshadows destruction,
and draws it down upon their own heads. Hold them guilty,
0 God ; let them fall because of their malicious counsels ; or, per
haps, let them fail of executing their schemes, and so let them
bring ruin on themselves ; cast them forth from thy presence and
favor in (and because of) the multitude of their sins, for they
are in rebellion, not more against me, their legitimate sovereign,
than against thee, their infinite Lord and King.  This is not
malicious imprecation ; it is not David moved selfishly to curse his
enemies, considered as only his own, but it is David, the rightful
sovereign of the nation, conscious of acting under the great God
both of Israel and of all the nations of the earth, jealous for the
honor of his Master, accounting the wickedness of those traitors
more as rebellion against God than as treason against his own
earthly throne; identifying himself with God, and invoking his
interposition for the honor of his name and the vindication of his
justice.  And now can any complaint lie against the spirit of
these words ? Ought not the all-perfect God to hold such sinners
guilty and treat them accordingly ? And ought not every soul
that loves God, and justice, and the well-being of the universe to
stand with God in this? approving his judgments upon the wicked,
sympathizing with his abhorrence of all sin and wrong, and rejoic
ing that he will not let the incorrigibly wicked escape their de
served doom?
11. But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice :
let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them :
let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Naturally and inevitably the joy of the righteous stands over
against the woe of the wicked. The judgments that bring down

PSALM V. 27
upon the wicked their just doom bring deliverance and salvation
to the righteous. David is saved because Absalom and his fellow-
traitors fall. God's interposing arm brings both results, When
traitors against God and man meet their doom, all men loyal to
God and his (jause may fitly rejoice. Joy that God reigns is
always legitimate — always glorious. It is sad that men and
devils will be wicked; it is not sad that, being wicked past all
cure and even all effective restraint in a free world, they should
eat of the fruit of their own doings, and that God makes their
example of woe and ruin a glorious power toward holiness and
blessedness in his universe.  Thus much in exposition of what
are so often called the imprecatory and vindictive Psalms, it is fit
should be said, and is of the utmost consequence that all men
should understand. Let lis beware lest' in taking part with the
wicked we be found fighting against God.  The same subject is
discussed more at length in Ps. 109.
12. For thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor
wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
"For" involves the argument that by virtue of his very nature
and promises God must, and therefore will, bless the righteous.
Let the righteous rejoice, for God will certainly bless them. In
this there can be no failure.  Thou wilt cover him all round
about with thy manifested favor, as the ancient shield covered and
protected the warrior's person.
As said above, there is good ground for assuming a primary ref
erence in this Psalm to the rebellion of Absalom and his party.
It would seem, however, to have been written, not as a first thought,
but rather as an after-thought, upon those scenes. In reference .
especially to his feelings toward those conspirators and their guilty
chief, the reader will note that David's first thought as to Absalom
was quite unlike what stands forth so distinctly in this Psalm.
His first emotions were those of an agonized father, appalled, it
may be, with the horrid crime of his son, but agonized with his
awful death, in his sins, under the wrath of the Almighty! With
only the human side toward him, he wailed aloud : " O Absalom !
my son, my son; would God I had died for thee, O Absalom ! my
son, my son ! " (2 Sam. 19 : 4.) But, remarkably, in all the
Psalms that were subsequently penned to record the impressions
and to expand the moral lessons of that entire scene, not one
trace appears of these merely human sympathies with the beauti
ful but hardened and guilty Absalom. It would seem that
David's after-thought gave God the ascendency and merged those
outbursts of parental emotion in the purer stream of his divine
sympathies. He came to think more of God and less of even a
son. Nothing that would savor of apologizing for Absalom or of
reflection upon the providences that caused his death could possi
bly find place in the inspired liturgies of the church.

28 PSALM VI.

PSALM VI.

This plaintive Psalm is ascribed to David, but its date and oc
casion are not entirely certain. It was obviously composed in
some season of severe affliction, this affliction being not (as somo
have too hastily concluded) sickness, but the hostility of enemies.
He does indeed speak of his bones as "vexed" (v. 2), but of his
"seul" as yet more so (v. 3); and in the sequel alludes so de
cidedly to his personal enemies (vs. 7, 8, 10) as to leave no doubt
that this trial was primarily from persecutors rather than from
disease. Not unnaturally, his body sympathizes with "his mental
sufferings. Enemies outside of himself are certainly here; and
this cause being sufficient to account for all the points made here,
we need not, look for any other.  Under the inquiry, What
enemy was this ? the choice lies between Saul and Absalom, with
some preponderance in favor of the latter, especially because,
under this .great trial, he might very naturally feel that the Lord
was rebuking and chastising him "in hot displeasure," because
of his great sins in the matter of Bathsheba. The words of vs. 8
and 10 are also quite appropriate to these enemies.  It is, how
ever, a case in which we lack the data for an absolutely certain
conclusion. In the caption, "Neginoth," which appears in the caption of
seven Psalms and also in Habakkuk 3, is supposed to name u
stringed instrument, played by striking the strings, as the Hebrew
word indicates.  "Sheminith," signifying an eighth or octave, is
thought to mean an octave below, i. e., on the bass key — probably
as more appropriate to this sad theme.
1. O Loed, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither
chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
2. Have mercy upon me, O Lord ; for I am weak : O
Lord, heal me ; for my bones are vexed.
3. My soul is also sore vexed : but thou, O Loed, how
long? This is imploring supplication under a sense of guilt and ill de
sert. If we assume the scene to be his flight before Absalom, we
very readily account for this pungent conviction of guilt and this
sense of the divine displeasure. It need not surprise us that God
should call to his mind those greatest sins of his public life
adultery and murder, both committed under circumstances of ex
treme aggravation. We must suppose David to have seen and
felt very deeply that God still had a controversy with him for
those awful sins, and could not send him the deliverance he
sought till his heart was broken again in most sincere repentance,
and he_ should publicly cast himself upon divine mercy. Then
God might, honorably to himself and safely as to David, forgive
his sins and send him help from on high.  " My bones are

PSALM VI. 29
vexed," is, more precisely, are shaken, tremble under the weight of
an old man's bitter grief and heart-trials.  "But thou, 0 Lord,
how long" ere thou give me some token of thy forgiving mercy
and send me the help I need ?
4. Return, O Loed, deliver my soul: oh save me for
thy mercies' sake.
" Return " suggests that God's displeasure is expressed by dis
tance — by withdrawing the light and joy of his presence. He
rests his plea, not on his good deeds, not even on his repentance,
but solely on God's mercy: "for thy name's sake save me." So
all true penitents feel. No words can put too strongly their sense
of emptiness as to all merit of 'their own.
5. For in death there is no remembrance of thee : in the
grave who shall give thee thanks ?
" In death " means, not in the momentary point of dying, but
in the state of the dead — equivalents "in the grave " in the par
allel clause. So, also, " remembrance of thee " corresponds in
thought to " give thee thanks," and aids us to the precise signifi
cance of the verse. This does not deny all thought and conscious
ness, much less all existence in the state after death, but simply
denies that the dead can render thanks to God here in his holy
temple before the eyes of living men, as his soul longed to do.
His prayer would be, Let me live ; let me find mercy of thee, so that I
may go again before the great congregation in thy house of praise
and there render my thanksgivings for delivering mercy. Death
would cut me off from this greatest joy of my heart.  The same
sentiment appears again in Ps. 30: 9, and 88: 10-12, and 115:
17, 18 ; also Isa. 38 : 18.
6. I am weary with my groaning ; all the night make I
my bed to swim ; I water my couch with my tears.
7. Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old
because of all mine enemies.
Groans and tears are the witness of his bitter grief So many
sharp sorrows at once — his throne in peril ; his son a rebel and
the immediate cause of this avalanche of trouble ; but, more than
all, a sense that his own God was chastening him in his hot dis
pleasure — liow could any heart, accustomed to repose in God's
love, pass through such complicated, multiplied, torturing pains
without tears ?
8. Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity ; for the
Loed hath heard the voice of. my weeping.
9. The Lord hath heard my supplication ; the Lord
will receive my prayer.
All suddenly his waiting soul receives the witness from God of

30 PSALM VII.
his forgiving mercy, and instantly his tone changes ; despondency
gives place to exultant hope and even confidence in God. "De
part from me," says he, " all ye workers of iniquity; " what more
have I to do with you ? Is not my God almighty to save ? Ho
has heard the voice of my weeping; it is enough! And he turns
the sweet thought over and over : " The Lord hath heard the voice
of my weeping; " "the Lord hath heard my supplication;" the
Lord not only hath in the nearer present, but will in the future*
receive my prayer. All will be well !
10. Let all mine enemies be ashamed and sore vexed : let
them return and be ashamed suddenly.
In this connection these words are more prediction than impre
cation. He felt sure of this result, and could expect nothing legs.
 "Let them return," i. e., from this persecuting pursuit of me;
lot them retire, baffled, defeated, broken ; " let them be ashamed "
— in the usual sense of confounded, put to shame, as men utterly
unable to accomplish their purpose.
PSALM VII.
The caption to this Psalm fails to solve with certainty the ques
tion of its particular occasion, because we are unable to identify
this " Cush, the Benjamite." The history gives no allusion to him
under this name. Some suppose that he is Shimei, who came out
from Bahurim and met David in his flight before Absalom (2 Sam.
16 : 5-13) and cursed him grievously. Others suppose that Jie is
King Saul himself, this name Cush, equivalent to the Ethiopian,
being given to Saul to signify his bad -character. There are
' slight traces (e. g., in Amos 9: 7) that the Ethiopians were in
bad repute, and hence the name might.be given to Saul for this
reason. In favor of the reference to Shimei are the prominence
given to certain spoken words; and the fact that this caption
seems to assume that the case was well known, coupled also
with the circumstance that the preceding Psalms — the third and
fourth certainly, the fifth with very great probability, and the
sixth with a fair degree of probability — refer to the conspiracy
of Absalom and to David's sore affliction from that cause. If
this seventh Psalm refers to this same event, we have an obvious
reason for the grouping of these Psalms together and for the ab
sence of any more definite account in their respective captions of
their circumstances and occasion.  In favor of the reference to
Saul is mainly the one consideration that the points made seem
to fit his case and his relations to David better than they fit the
case of Absalom.  The considerations are, in my view, too
evenly balanced to justify a very positive decision between
them. Fortunately, no very important result turns upon the de-

PSALM VII. 31
cision. The moral of the Psalm is essentially the same, which
ever may have been its special occasion.  "Shiggaion" is prob
ably a Psalm of wandering, written during David's flight and wan
dering from his home and city, either before Saul or before Absa
lom.  The previous Psalm confesses great sin as toward God;
this asserts integrity and uprightness as toward man, his enemy
and persecutor, yet with no necessary antagonism or even diversity
in the moral state of the writer, save that there he contemplates
his relations toward God, here his relations toward man.
1. O Loed my God, in thee do I put my trust: save
me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me-:
2. Lest he tear my soul like a lion, rending it in pieces,
while there is none \p deliver.
David rests his appeal to God for help on two grounds: (1.)
that he is in peril and can not live without help : (2.) that he has
made the Lord God his refuge ; that he had long before accepted
Jehovah as his Friend and Helper, and therefore comes to him
now in his time of need.  That he should speak of his enemies
at one time as many and at other times as one, need occasion no
difficulty, since the one may be a chief-— the leader of the rest.
This would apply either to Saul or to Absalom, each of these
being the moving spirit, but having others acting under them in
their efforts against David's life.
3. O Loed my God, if I have done this; if there be
iniquity in my hands ;
4. If I have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace
with me ; (yea, I have delivered him that without cause is
mine enemy;)
5. Let the enemy persecute my soul, and take it; yea,
let him tread down my life upon the earth, and lay mine
honor in the dust. Selah.
If I have done aught against my enemy worthy of death, as he
seems to claim, I refuse not to die. If I have forfeited my life by
crime against my enemy, let him take it !  The last clause of
v. 4, put in parenthesis in our English version, has been trans
lated and' constructed variously, the verb rendered " have deliv
ered" being translated by Gesenius and Alexander, stripped or
spoiled ; by Fuerst, pressed sorely upon, afflicted ; and by Maurer,
have enraged. All concur in discarding the parenthesis and in
putting if instead of " yea," continuing the same construction as
in the three preceding verbs — " If I have done this ; ' if I have
rewarded evil; if I have spoiled," or as the sense may be, op
pressed or enraged. Moreover all agree that the Hebrew words
for " without cause" apply not to the enemy but to his own act,
thus : If I have without good cause oppressed or spoiled ; not, if
I have oppressed one who had no cause to be my enemy.  The

32 PSALM VII.
Hebrew gives no authority for changing the construction from if
to " yea." The more exact translation would be, " If I have requited
evil for good to one who was my friend, if I have even spoiled him
as an enemy without provocation, then let my enemy pursue my
soul and overtake and tread down my life to the ground," etc.
6. Arise, O Lord, in thine auger, lift up thyself because
of the rage of mine enemies : and awake for me to the
judgment that thou hast commanded.
"Arise and awake," addressed to God, are strong words, indi
cating that he had been sitting and even sleeping while his friend
had been in sore peril from enraged enemies. It seemed to David
that his imminent danger had been unnoticed by his God. 
"Lift up thyself in this rage of mine enemies" — in the midst of
it, while they are breathing out threatening and slaughter against
me. "Because of" is. rather implied than expressed. — '¦ — While
my enemies are excited to fury to do me a great injustice, do thou
stir up thyself in earnest to do me justice. The word " anger"
seems to be spoken of God to correspond antithetically witli
"rage," said of his enemies; but the real antithesis of thought is
as given above— they, mad upon doing me injustice ; thou, there
fore, in solemn earnest to do me justice. Whenever the word
" anger " is used of God it ought certainly to be qualified by his
well known character, and therefore every element of unreasonable
passion or irritation, or of selfish excitement, must be perfectly
excluded. The character, the heart, . of God being what it is,
anger in him can not possibly be any thing more or else than
a just and righteous displeasure against wrong-doing and an
honorable and benevolent zeal to sustain the right and put down
the wrong.  "Awake for me to the judgment thou hast com
manded," might.be put thus: Awake in my behalf to decide my
case by a righteous decision according to that providential govern
ment over men which thou hast instituted. The words recognize
the fact of God's righteous government over men as a positive
institution, to which in this emergency he makes his confident
appeal. 7. So shall the congregation of the people compass thee
about : for their sakes therefore return thou on high.
The nations shall gather about Thee as their great Judge ; there
fore return thou to thy lofty throne above this assembled people.
The thought^ is of a grand court of the nations with the Great
God as their judge.
8. The Lord shall judge the people: judge me, O Lord,
according to my righteousness, and according to mine in
tegrity that is in me.
, 9. Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end ;

• PSALM VII. 33
but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the
hearts and reins.
10. My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in
heart. The same idea is more fully expanded. Additional points are
made — that God rules to put an end to wickedness and to establish
righteousness ; and rules with perfect equity because " he tries
hearts and reins" — ;'. e., judges, not according to outside appear
ances, but according to inward reality, the intents of the heart.
11. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the
iciched every day.
12. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent
his bow, and made it ready.
In v. 11, the words " with the wicked" are not expressed in the
original — omitted, we must presume, because in the writer's mind
too obvious to need mention. - God's judgment upon the case of
the righteous is thought of here as a vindication of his cause
against the oppression of the wicked. So considered, David says,
"God will avenge the righteous man, intensely indignant all the
time" i. «., against his oppressor. So the next words imply,
"If he turn not" — which can possibly mean none other than this
wicked persecutor of the good. This turning must be a reversal
of his course — real repentance of this sin.  " Hath bent [Heb.
trodden] his bow," i. e., with the foot as was the practice in spring
ing the powerful bow of the ancient warrior.
13. He hath also prepared for him the instruments of
death ; he ordaineth his arrows against the persecutors.
» The best critics concur in reading the last clause, not " against
the persecutors," but he prepares burning arrows. The Hebrew
words seem to demand this. Arrows on fire were hurled to burn
down cities and do otherwise a terrible execution.
14. Behold, be travaileth with iniquity, and hath con
ceived mischief, and brought forth falsehood.
15. He made a pit, and digged it, and is fallen into the
ditch which he made.
16. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his
violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
The figure sets forth that this wicked man studiously plots mis
chief, involving slander and lies ; digs a pit for the good man but
falls into it himself, his schemes reacting against himself under
the righteous ordering of divine retribution.
17. I will praise the Loed according to his righteous
ness : and will sing praise to the name of the Loed most
high.

34 PSALM V11I.
In view of such results of God's righteous ways in providence,
David exults in the Lord and sings praises to his glorious name.
Well he may ! So let all those who love his name and trust his
righteous administration unite their hearts and songs in grateful
praises.
PSALM VIII.
A recent critic advances the opinion that the idea of this Psalm
was suggested to David by his victory over Goliath, thinking of
himself as a mere child, and of his powerful antagonist as " the
enemy and avenger," whose proud boasts he brought by God's
power to eternal silence. This allusion to " the enemy and aven
ger " is the only point in the Psalm which favors this opinion.
Every thing else concurs to sustain the more common view, viz.,
that flie Psalm had no particular historical occasion, but stands as
a sublime ode in praise of God's glory as revealed in all his works,
including man, the chief of them all. Its.key-note appears in the
first strain which leads the thought of the ode, and in the last
which comes in as the comprehensive inference from the whole ;
" 0 Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth 1 "
How grand and glorious are thy manifestations in this world of
thine !  1 see no demand for any other occasion for this writing
than the opening of one's eyes and heart to the impressions which
a view of the heavens, the earth and man, would legitimately make.
For such surveys of the heavens David's shepherd life gave him
ample opportunity.  "Upon Gittith" probably refers either to
the instrument or to the music with which it should be sung. It
appears also in the titles to Ps. 81, and 84, which like this are joy
ous in character.
1. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all
the earth ! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
That this " Lord " is our Lord exceedingly heightens the preoious-
ness of these manifestations. " Thy name is equivalent to thy
manifestations — the qualities of character which thou dost reveal
over all the earth, in every work of thy hands."  The form of tho
Hebrew verb in the phrase, " who hast set" as it stands in our
text, is precisely the Hebrew imperative. " Set thou thy glory above
the heavens." Some critics, however, suppose it to be defectively
written, and really to be the indicative, and therefore to be trans
lated as in our English version. The current of thought strongly
favors this view. On the other hand, an imperative here — a com
mand going forth from the Psalmist, to be repeated by every reader
and singer, is simply unendurable.
2. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou

PSALM VIII. 35
ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou
mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
The words, "ordain strength out of the mouth of babes," etc.,
will impress most readers as not very clear. A careful study both
of the original and of the nature of the case will give us some
light. The Hebrew word for ordain* means primarily to found,
to lay the foundation for.  "Strength" is the usual meaning of
the Hebrew word thus translated, yet in this case most critics con
cur in the sense — praise, glory. We get the full idea when we
contemplate this admiration of God's works, felt in the minds of
children and expressed by their lips, as giving strength to the claims
and the cause of the great God — affording one of the most con
vincing testimonies to his infinite perfections. Their simple un
sophisticated hearts, as yet untainted with the false philosophies
of older sinners, bear a glorious witness to the real grandeur, sub
limity, wisdom and beneficence of God's great works of creation
and providence.  It is better not to press the words, "babes and
sucklings " too far back upon infancy. The nature of the case re
quires that we think of children who are sufficiently mature to
take in the natural impression of the beauty and glory of God's
great world. Our Lord seems to refer to this passage in that de
vout ejaculation (Matt. 11: 25): "I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord
of heaven and earth " [this epithet manifestly referring to the
strain of this Psalm] " because thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes." Yet " babes "
here are not mere infants in days (speechless infants) but rather
simple-hearted children as opposed to the worldly-wise, the self-
conceited and vain. Another allusion made by Christ to this
, passage (Matt. 21: 16) most certainly contemplates children old
** enough to go into the streets and the temple and shout " Hosahna
to the Son of David." As to this quotation of the verse before us,
it need not be pressed to iniply that David in this Psalm explicitly
predicted these joyful acclamations of the children. It suffices if
these acclamations afford a case in point — an illustration of the
great principle contemplated in the Psalm. So much is entirely
and beautifully true. The simple heart of childhood loves to bear
witness to the purity and glory of Jesus as it appeared when he
entered Jerusalem in triumph. The same simple heart loves to
bear like witness when it sees God in his .great works in this
beautiful and glorious world — which is the doctrine of our Psalm.
 Such testimony serves to silence the cavils of God's enemies.
The words quietly suggest that it is only from enemies to God —
from those who are his enemies in their heart by reason of their
wicked works — that any counter voice is heard, disparaging to the
great God. No other voice ever needs to be put to silence save
that of prejudiced enemies.

36 PSALM VIII.
3. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained ;
4. What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the
son of man, that thou visitest him?
The omission to name the glorious sun, as well as the prominence'
given to the moon and the stars, suggest that this is a night scene.
Yet David had a soul to appreciate the glories of the sun, for no
human pen ever spake of the sun in finer, grander strains than
his in Psalm 19. But the nightly heavens are sublimely grand.
Let one walk abroad of a brilliant night and open his mind to the
full impression; let him think of those resplendent orbs of the
heavens, their number, their vastness, their beauty; then, if ho
can enlarge his conceptions by the aid of modern astronomy, its
instruments of observation and its mathematical estimates of size,
motions, and distance, how will his view of man be dwarfed almost
to nothing in the comparison! Verily he can find no more fit
utterance than this, "Lord, what is man," thrown into the
scale against these sublimely glorious heavens? The great God
whose hand built all those worlds, and who has the care of them
all upon his heart — how can he stoop to be mindful also of frail
and insignificant man? How can he have the love requisite to
"visit" him in thoughtful care and tender compassion? Yet this
Great Father has made account most wonderfully of this little
being, man — as the next verse proceeds to say.
5. For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honor.
The word translated "angels" is Elohim, the usual sense of
which is God — the Mighty One. The translators seem to have
followed the Septuagint in giving it "angels." But the Seventy '
were governed, not by the usage and authority of the word, but
by their ideas of the doctrinal exigencies of the passage. It is
better to follow the authority of the word and accept the sense — a
little below divinity, according to Gen. 1 : 27 : "So God created
man in his own image, in the image of God created he him."
That David had the words of Moses in his mind is made the moro
certain by his obvious allusion to man's control over all the lower
animals as said by Moses (Gen. 1 : 28). — ¦ — The word " for " in
this verse fails to give the true relations of the thought. Better
thus : " What is man that thou shouldest remember him, the son
of man thou shouldest visit him, and even make him a little below
the divinity, and crown him with glory and honor" — i. e., mako
him king over all other living creatures ?
6. Thou madest him to have dominion over the
works of thy hands; thou has put all things under his
feet :
7. All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;

PSALM VIII. 37
8. The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and what
soever passeth through the paths of the seas.
On verse 6, the question might arise whether " the works of thy
hands" contemplate inanimate matter, or refer exclusively to ani
mated, living creatures, as expanded into particulars below. The
words themselves would readily admit the broadest application,
but the context and the obvious reference to Gen. 1 : 26, 28, favor
the restriction to man's dominion over the animal creation. Dr.
Alexander correctly says : " The dominion thus ascribed to man as
a part of his original prerogative is ¦not to be confounded with the
coercive rule which he still exercises over the inferior creation."
That is, David with his eye on Gen. 1 : 26, 28, thinks only of the
dignity and dominion accorded to man in his primeval innocence,
not of the power he is able by superior skill to assert and main
tain over a portion of the lower animals, despite of his fallen
moral state. Hence we have no occasion to debate the question
whether in his present state man has or has not this supreme
dominion over the animal creation.  Notice should be taken of
the argument in Heb. 2 : 5-9, where this Psalm is cited as guar
antying to man, as a race, supreme dominion — "all things put
under his feet;" and the argument is made that this has no com
plete fulfillment otherwise than in and through Christ, and therefore
has its proper fulfillment in him alone. In other words, this su
preme dominion, pledged to man in innocence, was lost in his fall
and regained only through Christ and in his person. Under this
construction of the Psalm we have a far more grand idea in the
central question — "What is man that thou art mindful of him,
that thou shouldest visit him?" — thus: When I contemplate the
glorious, heavens as they spread out their majesty before me in the
night season, I say, what is frail, weak man that thou shouldest be
so lovingly mindful of him and shouldest visit him in the person
of thine only Son, and shouldest make him only less than God,
lifting him into wonderful alliance with the Highest through the
incarnation "of thy Son in human flesh, and then shouldest crown
him with glory and supreme dominion by making Jesus, the great
divine Man, absolutely Lord of all ? This seems to be the argu
ment in Heb. 2: 5-9, and beyond question intensifies the force and
sublimity of this Psalm. What would be grand with no under
lying thought of Jesus as being in the race by his human birth
becomes surpassingly majestic when we include this great mystery
of godliness and find the supreme dominion of man ov£r God's
creation consummated in the Son of Mary— the loving conde
scension of the Great Father made ineffably glorious in the lift
ing up of our race morally into the divine image. ¦
9. O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all
the earth !
The points made in detail between the first verse and the last serve
to put new beauty and force into these words, and wo. gladly re-

38 PSALM IX.
peat them in the closing strain, for more fit words no human mind
has conceived or pen recorded. And if we may include in the
scope of this Psalm, not the material world only but the moral
also — not only man as a race with no Christ in it, but the race
with an incarnate Savior as part and even the chief part of it, how
will the manifestations of God in all the earth — in all its moral
history, in all the destiny of its once living men, saints and sin
ners, become the admiration, the wonder, the praise of the intel
ligent universe forever I — — <K>S«0« 
PSALM IX.
Various opinions have been held respecting the particular cir
cumstances under which this Psalm was written. It has been put
forward as far as the time of Hezekiah, but without necessity and
in causeless disregard of the authority of the title, which ascribes it
to David. If we suppose it was written by David after some consid
erable victories had been gained over the national enemies of
Israel — e. g., the Amalekites, the Philistines — while other enemies
still remained in formidable power, we shall have present all the
circumstances which the allusions in this song demand.  The
strain of this Psalm is exulting praise to God for victories already
achieved; the repeated and joyful recognition of these victories
as the result of God's righteous judgments from his lofty throne
as King of nations, coupled with the assurance that God will still
defend his people and vindicate their cause against their wicked
foes. »
As to the significance of the words in the caption, " Upon Muth-
labben," the choice lies between these constructions: (1) That
of Alexander, who takes them to be the first words of some well-
known song, which are given here to indicate the tune in which
this Psalm is to be sung, as we might say, To be sung in "Rock
of Ages " or " Majestic sweetness," meaning the well-known tune
associated with these words; or (2) that of Gesenius, "with fe
male voices;" or (3) that of Fuerst, "as the name of a musical
choir." The darkness that rests upon this and similar phrases in
the captions of these Psalms goes to prove their high antiquity,
running back beyond all reliable traditionary knowledge. Things
perfectly well understood then have passed into the darkness of
forgotten ages. It is, however, nearly if not quite certain that
most of these terms referred to the musical execution of the
Psalm. Since almost every thing relating to Hebrew music, its
methods, its art, and its instruments, has perished, these musical
terms are at best practically dead.
1. I Will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart ; I
will show forth all thy marvelous works.

PSALM IX. 39
2. I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise
to thy name, O thou Most High.
The Psalmist breaks into his song of praise with overflowing
soul : " I will praise Jehovah with all my heart." The theme is
vast and glorious; "let me .proclaim all thy marvelous works."
 The Hebrew text omits "thee" in the first clause with no
loss of terseness and force : " I will praise Jehovah with all my
heart." Then we have the very common change to the direct ad
dress — " all thy wonderful works." The sequel shows that his
thought is chiefly upon those great victories which the God of
Israel had given them over their national enemies.  Note that
these victories are ascribed specially to his divine arm ; hence,
" I will be glad and rejoice in thee, thou Most High and Mighty
One!" 3. When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall
and perish at thy presence.
4. For thou hast maintained my right and my cause ;
thou satest in the throne judging right.
That his enemies fall and perish in God's presence shows that
their being turned back in defeat and flight is attributed to God's
arm. He was there. They fell before his face. And this fall of
theirs came of the fact that the Lord appeared in power to vindi
cate the cause of his anointed king, his servant David. . In right
eousness to Abraham and his posterity, God had given them
Canaan ; in outrage against righteousness, the Amalekites came
down upon the feeble and helpless who had fallen into the rear of
their marching hosts (Deut. 25 : 17-19) ; in outrage against right
eousness these hostile nations had often fallen upon them for pil
lage and slaughter. Hence it was demanded of the righteous God
that he should reveal himself from his throne of judgment, doing
right. 5. Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed
the wicked, thou hast put out their name forever and ever.
6. O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual
end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is per
ished witb them.
This is a rebuke, not of words but of deeds^rebuke in the sense
of discomfiture, overthrow, and putting to utter confusion. They are
thought of, it should be noted, as " wicked," hostile to God, and hos
tile to the true interests of humanity. Hence their utter destruction.
In the strong figure of the orignal, " thou hast -wiped out their
name forever and ever."  In v. 6, the form of direct address to
the "enemy" tends to mislead the reader, since it is not he, the
enemy, but God, who is addressed as having destroyed their cities.
Therefore better thus : "As to the enemy, the destructions
brought upon him are final, total; thou, Lord, hast destroyed

40 PSALM IX.
even their walled and powerful cities ; their very name and me
morial have perished, even theirs."  Amalek may be taken as
a case for illustration — perhaps was in the writer's mind. Hear
Moses (Deut. 25 : 17-19) : "Remember what Amalek did unto thee
by the way, when ye were come forth out of Egypt; how he met
thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, even all that
were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary ; and
he feared not God. Therefore it shall be, when the Lord hath
given thee rest in the land, that thou shalt blot out" ["wipe out,"
as here, v. 5] " the remembrance " [here the same Hebrew word
is rendered "memorial"] "of Amalek from under heaven."
This commission was specially intrusted to Saul (1 Sam. 15 : 2,
3), and was thoroughly performed by David (1 Sam. 27 : 8, 9, and
30 : 1, 17, and 2 Sam. 8 : 12). This case illustrates the animus
of that great divine commission as it appears in this Psalm and
in the history of the sin and doom of Amalek and other hostile
nations of kindred spirit. Other nations are manifestly in the
thought of the Psalm; but the case of Amalek shows why
God doomed them, why he bade his people destroy them, and
why David magnifies the righteous justice of the great God in
their destruction.
7. But the Loed shall endure forever: he hath prepared
his throne for judgment. ' •
8. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he
shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
The Hebrew for " endure " is not limited to the idea of exist
ing, prolonging his days; much less to that of resisting decay
and holding out in vigor, as the English reader might perhaps
suppose ; but it has simply the sense of sitting as king on his
throne, as the parallel clause has it, "He has prepared his
throne for" [the administration of] "justice; and he shall judge
the inhabited world — the world considered as peopled — and,
therefore, with a moral administration over moral agents, and
not merely a physical agency over material things. Let men
rejoice in this moral administration, and welcome the fact that it
shall be perpetual, eternal. .
9. The Loed also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a
refuge in times of trouble.
_ 10. And they that know thy name will put their trust
in thee : for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek
thee. The connection of thought with the previous verse demands
rather "consequently" than "also" — an inference, and not
merely an additional fact. It is because God rules the nations
and the people of the earth in righteousness that he will surely
prove himself a refuge for the oppressed. For it is mainly to vin-

PSALM IX. 41
dicate the cause of the oppressed that God rules the nations at all,
his purpose being to restrain Bin and crime and to break in pieces
the oppressor. They who know God's name in the sense of know
ing these grand elements of his glorious character as a righteous
ruler of wicked men and wicked devils will surely put their trust
in him, for all the history of time shows that God has never forsa
ken those who have sought his aid against wrong-doers.
11. Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion :
declare among the people his doings.
On the basis of such views of God's ways in justice toward hi3
people and their oppressors, rests this new summons to praise and
to a fresh testimony to the perfect doings of the Great King and
Lord of all.
12. When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remember-
eth them : he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
The English version does not give clearly the sense of the
word "them" — "he remembereth them." The real antecedent is
"blood," which in Hebrew is plural — bloods. When God searches
for the blood-stains of murder, he remembers them — those "blood
stains — put here for the crime and its author. The writer alludes
to Gen. 9: 5, 6, the same leading words being here as there.
Making "inquisition for blood" is there " requiring" the mur
derer's blood for the blood he has shed.  By "the humble" is
meant the defenseless, upon whom the strong come down with
cruel, bloody hands.' Their cry God accounts it at once his duty
and his glory to hear and avenge.
13. Have mercy upon me, O Loed ; consider my trouble
which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up
from tlje gates of death :
14. That I may show forth all thy praise in the gates of
the daughter of Zion : Twill rejoice in thy salvation.
Primarily we may consider this as David's personal case, perti
nent however in its application to every other servant of God in
like circumstances. Remarkably one chief reason for his plea for
deliverance is, that he may live to render praise to God in the
gates — the most public resort of the great city of Israel — the
place of all others for bearing testimony to God's wonders of-
mercy before the great national congregation.
15. The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made :
in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
As usual, God makes man's wrath react to his_ own praise.
Foiling the wicked in their plans, he turns back their wicked en
deavors upon their own head. The figure is taken from the pits
dug to catch wild animals. The wicked dig such pit's to ensnare

42 PSALM IX.
and destroy the righteous: God brings their own feet into these
snares. Haman and his gallows are in point.
16. The Loed is known by the judgment which he ex-
ecuteth : the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
Higgaion. Selah.
Literally this would read : " Jehovah is known : he hath exe
cuted judgment; " but this can have no other sense than that of
our English version: He is known because he has administered
justice; known by those very acts of his righteous government.
They reveal his real character. His creatures learn him from his
doings and pre-eminently from those of his moral administration
over intelligent beings. Of all his doings, this one is singled out
as a rich case in point, viz. : that he causes the wicked to be
taken in their own snares, drawn in and cast down into the pit of
their own making. These overruling agencies of God evince his
far-reaching eye and his all-controlling hand. He knows so well
how to counterwork the most crafty schemes of the wicked and
take them in their own snares and he never lacks the requisite
agencies to bring about this result.  "Higgaion" — let the voice
fall to a low key, and let the people muse quietly, solemnly, upon
these sublime and momentous themes. It is generally conoeded
that "Higgaion" is a term of musical direction, indicating as
above a low, half-suppressed tone, suggestive of serious medita
tion.  "Selah" calls for a pause for this purpose.
17. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the
nations that forget God.
Guided by the entire context, following the course of thought
throughout this Psalm, we must think of the " wicked " here as
those wicked nations who appear as "mine enemies" (v. 3); as
"the heathen" and "the wicked" (v. 5); as the "inhabited
world" and the people thereof (v. 8); whose oppressions are
implied (v. 9); whose murderous deeds are searched 6ut and
punished (v. 12) ; who are heathen, falling into their own
pit (v. 15); judged before the very eyes of God (v. 19); im
pressed with fear and made to know that they are only frail men
(v. 20). Consequently the punishment primarily meant by their
being "turned into hell" is tho utter destruction which befalls
them as nations in this world. As nations they are not known in
the world to come. Their nationality terminates with this earthly
life and can not reappear in the next world. But let no one jump
from this fact to the false assumption that this and kindred
passages have no bearing upon a future holl for all the unrepent-
ing wicked. The simple truth is that God's government here is
a foreshadowing of his government there. His justice here is a
sure pledge of his justice there, for his character chafiges not.
Retribution hero, carrying with it the utter ruin of his persistent
enemies, ensures like retribution there Retribution hero is of

PSALM IX. 43
necessity imperfect, incomplete; hence the demand for a supple
mentary retribution in the next world to fill out the imperfections
of this, applying to all the individuals who experienced retribution
in their national character and relations in this earthly life, and
indeed to all the race. Therefore every case of retribution upon
a guilty nation in this world is a pledge, fresh from the hand of
God himself, ihat he will reward the incorrigibly wicked in the
world to come according to their deeds. If in the great slave
holders' rebellion, fresh in every mind, " God prepared his throne
for judgment; " if he heard the cry of the oppressed; if he made
inquisition for blood; if he caused those uprising rebels to sink
down in the pit themselves had dug, and snared them in the work
of their own hands : then let it be forever known arid never ques
tioned — the same God of justice will set up his "great white throne"
for a future final judgment ; will bring into that judgment every
work of man, good or evil," and make his final award in perfect
equity "according to their works."  If Napoleon with guilty
ambition and execrable folly hurls France on Prussia in the dread
ful conflict of arms and finds his foot caught in his own net ; him
self and his dynasty and his nation sunk together into the pit
themselves had sought to dig for a brother nation: then "God
will be known by the judgment which he executeth," and will
manifest his justice and his, terrible but righteous retribution in
the next world as well as this, making the retribution which
passes so manifestly before our eyes here the pledge, and so far as
the nature of the case admits, the illustration of that far more
appalling, more searching, more eventful — that perfect, that eternal
retribution which constitutes the one great fact of the world to
come!  "All the nations that forget God" — forget God and
therefore live a^i if there were no God— forget God, and therefore
have no faith in a just retribution for sin and no fear of it; forget
God, and therefore spurn his law and trample down the rights of
our common humanity: all such must have their doom, first as
nations in the retributions of time; then as individuals in the
more just — the perfectly just and complete retributions of eternity !
18. For the needy shall not always be forgotten : the
expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.
The "needy" are those especially who need God's protection
against the oppressions of men both wicked and strong. They
are thought of as defenseless save as God becomes their De
fender. He never fails to assume the care and defend the cause
of those who, having no other refuge, cast themselves on him.
19. Arise, O Lord ; let not man prevail : let the heathen
be judged in thy sight.
20. Put them in fear, O Lord : that the nations may
know themselves to be but men. Selah.
" Let not man prevail," in the sense of being even for the

44 PSALM X.
moment, stronger than God, or even of appearing to be so. Im
press the nations with a wholesome fear of the Great God and let
them know that frail man against Almighty God is infinitely puny
and powerless.  •oXXo- 
PSALM X.
By general consent of critics this Psalm bears a close relation
to the ninth. The Septuagint and Vulgate unite them into one,
led to do so probably, not only by a general similarity of theme, but
by the fact that this has no distinct caption. Whenever the
seeond of two consecutive Psalms has no caption, it is presumed
to be by the same author, and ordinarily on a related theme, and
consequently of the same date, constituting with the former a pair
of Psalms. We shall see several cases verifying this principle.
 The writer expatiates upon the wickedness of the ungodly
man, his antagonism against the righteous, his oppression of the
weak, and his bold impiety toward God. ¦ He seems to conceive of
an ideal wicked man rather than of any definite individual.
Whereas the preceding Psalm contemplates nations as such
arrayed against God's people, this treats of the wicked man with
more definite reference to his personal and heart relations to sin,
to God, and to God's suffering people.
1. Why standest thou afar off, O Lord ? why hidest thou
tiiyself in times of trouble ?
This is said as if the Lord seemed to stand aloof and let the
wicked have his own way in persecuting God's weak and afflicted
people. Such is often the first and outside appeariRice of things in
our world, due to the fact that probation preponderates over retri
bution and becomes the common law of the divine administration
for the present state of our existence. While God waits on guilty
men to give them space for repentance, they seize their opportunity
as space for bold impiety and outrageous wickedness.
2. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor : let
them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
The better construction of the first clause is this : " Under the
pride of the wicked, the afflicted man burns, i. e., his heart burns
with trial, grief, perplexity — and perhaps the implication is with
a feeling like that expressed in v. 1. The verb is future — will
burn, i. e., may be expected to do so; will scarcely fail to feel this
sore and burning trial.  The last clause is either a future or an
imperative : The wicked will be taken in the crafty devices which
he has conceived; or, let him be, etc. In the latter case it would
be the afflicted man's prayer. The sentiment — the wicked man
falling into his own net— appears repeatedly in the previous
Psalm.

PSALM X. 45
3. For the Avicked boasteth. of his heart's desire, and
blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
The last clause of this verse has been construed with great di
versity; thus: Acquiring unrighteous gain, he blesses those whom
God abhors; or blesses himself but contemns God; or blesses the
covetous whom the Lord abhors; or blesses but still contemns
God ; or finally and preferably on the whole to either of the pre
ceding, acquiring unrighteous gain, he parts company with and
contemns God. The usual word for " bless," * from being used as
a verb of farewell parting, is thought to shade off into the sense
of parting from, terminating, all social connection with. The
wicked man, prospering in his covetous schemes for unrighteous
gain, abandons God, no longer feels a sense of dependence upon
him, and even despises, contemns him. This is one of the fear
ful facts of human experience.  The first clause is : The wicked
gloats over the desire of his soul — makes a vain display of it.
4. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance,-
will not seek after God-: God is not in all his thoughts.
The reader will notice that there are no Hebrew words corres
ponding to " after God." It therefore becomes a question whether
the sense be as in our English version ; or thus : The wicked man,
according to the pride of his countenance, says, God will not re
quite — will not make inquisition for human guilt. I incline to the
latter construction both because this verb appears prominently in
the previous Psalm (e. g., v. 12), and because it is fully in* the
spirit of the immediate context here; («. g., " Thy judgments are
far above out of his , sight.")  The first clause is expressive :
"The wicked man, according to the loftiness of his look" (liter
ally of his.Ji<we). ^ike this lofty, proud look of his, so is his
heart.— — All his thought is— no God. He is practically an
atheist. He thinks and lives as if there were no God. God has
no place in his thought.
5. His ways are always grievous ; thy judgments are far
above out of his sight : as for all his enemies, he puffeth
at them.
6. He hath said in bis heart, I shall not be moved : for
IslutU never be in adversity.
•"Grievous," applied to his ways, is not so much in harmony
with the course of thought as the sense strong, .prosperous, — mean
ing either that he is strong and bold of heart, recklessly defying
God ; or that his ways prosper for the time, and therefore he goes
on with no misgivings, no . compunetions, nothing to _ arrest or
seriously trouble ~ him' in- his career of crime. God's judgments
are far up out of his sight, as if concealed away in the distance
of the heavenly throne, and not brought down palpably within his

46 PSALM X.
view where he can not but feel their presence and know their
reality. Of course he blows'at his enemies contemptuously, and
fears nothing in the future. This is put with great force : "I am
not the man who shall ever be in calamity. The righteous have
calamity enough for their portion ; but I am safe ! "
7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud :
under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
A more specific description of the wicked man, and first, of his
words; sins of the tongue. "His mouth is full of cursing" —
probably false swearing; and of deceit — for the same purpose;
and oppression, extortion. " Under his tongue," as if coiled away
there, like the poison of the serpent, are mischief and sin, this
last word signifying what is void of all good — pure wickedness.
8. He sittetb in the lurking places of the villages : in
the secret places doth he murder the innocent : his eyes
are privily set against the poor.
9. He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den : he lieth
in wait to catch the poor : he doth catch the poor, when he
draweth him into his net.
Here are his deeds, presented under the figure of one lying in
wait secretly— a lion watching for his prey, a hunter laying his
snares. 10. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor
may fall by his strong ones.
The Hebrew verbs would be rendered much more in accordance
with their usual sense if referred to the suffering victim, rather
than to his oppressors, thus: "And crushed, he sinks down, yea,
he falls — the afflicted do — under his strong ones; " the last words
referring either to his powerful means of attack or to his strong
helpers. 11. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he
hideth his face ; he will never see it.
The heart and thought of the wicked oppressor are put here in
plain words : " God (he thinks) has forgotten all his promises of
help to his afflicted people — all his responsibilities as moral gov
ernor of the world ; ne has covered his own face so as to notico
nothing; he will never see these deeds of mine."  Ah! how
strangely does he delude himself! But such are the ways of sin
and of Satan !
12. Arise, O Loed ; O God, lift up thine hand : forget
not the humble.
The Psalmist can no longer restrain himself, but cries out :
"Arise, 0 God, for it is time for thee to manifest thy presence

PSALM X. 47
and show thy hand ! Let it not be said, God has forgotten his
helpless and suffering ones 1 "
13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath
said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
"Wherefore do the wicked contemn God?" which may mean
not merely, Why is he so infatuated as to do it? but, Why does
God so far withdraw himself from human affairs as to suffer it?
The former, however, is more in harmony with the context, the
mind of the Psalmist being upon the inexpressible folly and false
hood of his saying in his heart, Thou wilt not require, i. e., make
inquisition into human guilt — call the sinner to account; the same
words which we have met repeatedly in this sense, e. g., 9 : 12 and
10 : 4. This contemning God is the same spirit seen in v. 3
above where the same verb appears, unfortunately translated
"abhorreth," and referred to God rather than the sinner. With
out doubt, the sense both there and here alike, is that the wicked
contemns God, despises him as one whose word of threatening
against sin and sinners is not to be feared.  It is specially in
sulting that the sinner should address this to God : " Thou wilt
not require ! "
14. Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and
spite, to requite it with thy hand : the poor committeth
himself unto thee ; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
The sinner is utterly mistaken, "for thou hast seen" — for thou
wilt always (future tense) look upon sorrow and grief [such as
the sin of the wicked occasions] to give [the due reward] with
thy hands. The helpless casts himself upon thee and leaves him
self in thy hands — both ideas being virtually involved in this He
brew clause. — —As to the orphan, thou hast [ever] been his helper.
 Thus the entire history of God's faithful care of his trustful
people confronts the impious assumption of the wicked and shows
that God will surely protect his suffering friends and requite their
oppressors. 15. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man
seek out bis wickedness till thou find none.
" Break " [shiver to atoms] " the arm of the wicked ; " let him
not defiantly exult in his vain strength against God ! " Seek out
his wickedness — make inquisition for his sins " — the same word as
repeatedly above. Search it all out thoroughly till no more re
mains to be found.
16, The Loed is King forever and ever: the heathen
are perished out of his land.
Jehovah is King, moral governor, taking cognizance therefore
vigilantly of all transgression, and with no intermission or end —
forever and ever. This allusion to the heathen, the nations hostile

48 PSALM XL
to his people, carries us back to the scope of the previous Psalm,
and serves to show the close relation between this and that
17. Loed, thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to
hear :
18. To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the
man of the earth may no more oppress.
To hear the longing desire is to hear and also to answer. And
not only hast thou always done this in all thy past administration,
but thou wilt make their heart firm [more precisely the sense than
" prepare "] — thou wilt give them an assured and solid confidence.
So surely wilt thou hear their cry for help, and so righteously wilt
thou judge the orphan and the oppressed [literally the crushed
ones], that the man of the earth will add no more to affright —
will no more terrify or even alarm.  "The man of the earth"
is a phrase of rare occurrence, but probably is used as we say :
"the man of the world," but with national allusion to the people
outside of Palestine — the recognized enemies of God's children.
Some critics, however, connect this clause with the verb here ren
dered "oppress," in this sense— so that frail man shall no more
drive them out of the land.

PSALM XI.
This Psalm, ascribed to David, manifestly alludes to circum
stances personal to him. It is easy to find in the history of his .
persecutions from both Saul and Absalom circumstances to which
these words might allude, but the correspondence between the
facts of the history and the words of this song is so general that
we can not confidently fix upon any precise point of time as its
date or upon any particular event as its special occasion. The
main thought is clear: "I have made the Lord my trust; there
fore I need not flee as if I had no refuge save in flight. The
wicked may waylay me for my life; God shields the righteous,
but sends awful judgments on the wicked: let this suffice me."
1. In the Lord put I my trust : how say ye to my soul,
Flee as a bird to your mountain ?
"Say ye to my soul" — in a way to touch my sensibilities most
acutely. "I beg you (David would say) not to distress my soul
with such counsels. Rather say words that will put vigor into
my faith in God ; courage and calmness into my heart.  Dur
ing the period of Saul's malign persecution, David did flee more
than once to the mountain fastnesses of Judah. Probably at a
later period, and perhaps in the early stages of Absalom's revolt,

PSALM XI. 49
his friends may have counseled his flight to the same mountains
and may have drawn from him this first reply.
2. For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready
their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at
the upright in heart.
Obviously, these also are the words of those who advised David
to flee, assigning their reasons : For, lo, see, the wicked will tread
their bow ; they have fitted their arrow upon the string that they
may shoot in the dark at the truly upright. They work so artfully
in secret and have their schemes so well laid and so near their
execution that you can not hope for safety otherwise than in flight.
3. If the foundations be destroyed, what can the right
eous do ?
Translating this verse with due regard to the Hebrew tenses
and connecting words, we must read it : " For the foundations
will be torn up; what have the righteous achieved?" That is, de
spite the influence of good men, the very foundations of society are
uptorn. The last clause is not, What can, nor what will they do ?
but what have they done f Very probably, however, this is implied :
If they have been able to accomplish so little heretofore, when
society still had some bottom, what will they be able to do after
the bottom has fallen out and the foundations have been utterly
torn up.?  This also we may regard as part of the argument
of David's friends, urging him to flight. This may have been the
state of society at the breaking out of Absalom's rebellion.
4. The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord's throne is
in heaven : his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of
men. 5. The Loed trieth the righteous : but the wicked and
him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
Here David answers. We are not, he would say, to reason on
this case as if there were no God, or as if he had abandoned his
throne in despair of maintaining moral order. Not at all. " The
Lord is in his holy temple " — still abiding in the midst of his cov
enant people ; still true to his responsibilities to punish the wicked
and avenge the righteous. — —The Lord is not only here in his
earthly temple, but he has a higher throne in the heavens. From
that lofty point of vision his eyes behold all the sons of men and
try their deeds, weighing them, so to speak, in the scales of infi
nite justice. He also tries the righteous, with the result, how
ever, of approbation — in strong contrast with the hatred he feels
toward the wicked and every lover of forceful fippression.
6. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brim
stone, and a horrible tempest : this shall be the portion of
their cup.

50 PSALM XII.
Having judged and condemned the wicked, he will also pun
ish — of which punishment this verse speaks, and in words and
figures fearfully appalling. Upon them God will rain [pour forth
abundantly] lightnings [not "snares"], fire and brimstone, and
the hot, scorching wind, i. e., the terrible sirocco of the_ desert;
these are the portion of their eup — their assigned and righteous
destiny.  The latest lexicographers give the word rendered
" snares " the senso, lightnings — altogether more pertinent in this
connection. The Hebrew word for "horrible tempest" means
precisely a burning wind, scorching blasts — with unquestionable
reference to the well-known and most terrible sirocco. The case
of the fires sent upon Sodom and Gomorrah is in the writer's
mind, and he would say — God will make wicked men a second
Sodom and pour forth upon them another deluge of fire and
brimstone from the Lord out of heaven! Figures of speech
these are, indeed, but .figures of most fearful import!  Their
application to the wicked in the future world is not in the least
softened and toned down by saying that these are only the judg
ments which God sends on wicked nations and cruel oppressors
in the present world. For if, despite of the necessary imperfec
tions and the manifold limitations of judgment upon men in
this world, such figures come from the lips of God to express it,
what will be the unmitigated, the perfect retribution of the eternal
world? What figures will ever be found adequate to measure
that shoreless ocean of the sinner's woe?
7. For the righteous Loed loveth righteousness ; his
countenance doth behold the upright.
The logic of this verse in its connection should not be over
looked. "For," the reason why God has destined such awful
judgments for the wicked, is that, being righteous, he loves
righteousness, and therefore can not endure wickedness — can not
let it pass unpunished — can not give it unrestrained range in his
moral universe.  His face looks [kindly] upon the upright. 
Grammarians notice that both the word for face [" countenance"]
and the suffix corresponding to " his " are not singular but plural.
The best explanation of this apparent anomaly is the same which
we must give" for the plural names of the Deity, e. g., Elohim.
This only carries out the same idea — "their faces.
PSALM XII.
"Upon Sheminith" occurs in the caption of Ps. 6— in the sup
posed sense there as here of an octave below — a grave and proba
bly sorrowful tone.  This Psalm makes no allusion to any
special historical occasion. Wickedness abounds, especially false
hood and deception, and men are defiant toward God's authority

PSALM XII. 51
and oppressive toward the defenseless. God will arise to then-
rescue and defense.
1. Help, Lord ; for the godly man ceaseth ; for the
faithful fail from among the children of men.
Good, trustworthy men have almost disappeared from society.
Amid the abounding wickedness of the times, David implores sal
vation from God.
2. They speak vanity every one with his neighbor : with
flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
3. The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips, and the
tongue that speaketh proud things :
4. Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail ; our
lips are our own: who is lord over us.
. "Vanity" is falsehood; words good for nothing' because not
true.  A "double heart" in the strong idiom of the Hebrew is
" a heart and a heart" — one to hide and live by; another to show
to the world and not to live by. But the Lord can not be de
ceived by such men. He utterly abhors their double heart and
will cut them off for their sins. Expressively said, he will cut
off those treacherous lips — that proud, lying tongue!  Their
spirit is further described as virtually saying, " With our tongue
we are mighty'; " like heroes we say what we please : " our lips
are with us," under our own exclusive control and we are respon
sible to nobody; "who is Lord to us?" Who shall dare dictate to
us how we shall speak and what we may be allowed to say ? 
Wonderfully true to proud human nature !
5. For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the
needy, now will I arise, saith the Lord ; I will set him in
safety from him that puffetb at him.
It is assumed that these poor and needy ones are sufferers un
der the falsehood, treachery and oppression, of the ungodly.
Therefore for their sake God will arise to their rescue.  The
last clause of v. 5 will bear this construction : " I will put in
safety him who pants for it ; " i. e., him whose uplifted cry for
help comes up to my throne.
6. The words of the Loed are pure words: as silver
tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7. Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve
them from this generation forever.
The words of the Lord are put in contrast with the words of
the wicked — pure while those are foul;. true and perfectly relia
ble, while those are utterly treacherous. The inference just here
is that when God promises to help his people or to cut off their

52 PSALM XIII.
oppressors, you need not fear that his words will fail. Therefore
he will surely preserve his saints from all evil-doers forever.
8. The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men
are exalted.
The wicked walk to and fro, ranging at their will with lofty
bearing, according as the vilest men are in power — more or less
according to the high position and influence of bad men. This
construction — that of our English version — expresses an unques
tionable truth and one not foreign to the scope of. this Psalm, nor
to the usual sense of these Hebrew words. Yet the last clause
has been construed with very great diversity — by Gesenius and
Maurer, " Like the rising of a tempest upon the sons of men ; "
by Robinson and Fuerst, " When badness, vileness is set on high ; "
while Alexander favors this: "Like exaltation is disgrace to the
sons of men," i. e., the disgrace cast on the righteous is really to
their honor because it proves them to be not with the wicked in
heart, but with God."

PSALM XIII.
The tone of this Psalm is earnest expostulation, as if God had
utterly forgotten his suffering friend. Ultimately he expresses his
confidence in God, and rises to exultant joy and songs of praise.
 David probably passed through experiences of this sort more
than once. They are not unusual in the life-history of God's
people. It is well therefore that such a Psalm should have a
place in the devotional songs of Zion, evermore impressing the
precious truth that God's trustful children will surely come forth
from every affliction, however sore, with a song of praise; that
God will not forget them forever; that, having put their faith to
stern trial, he will make this very trial yield the fruit of a purer
and stronger faith, a richer joy in God, and a firmer footing upon
his promises.
1. How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
How long wilt thou hide thy face from me ?
2. How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having
sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be
exalted over me ?
The special form of this trial seems to have been oppression
from some personal enemy, with very probable reference to Saul.
His "taking counsel with a sad heart daily," refers to plans of
action looking toward escape, relief, or the conciliation of his
enemy, such (e. g.) as David often had with Jonathan. Repeated
failure extorted the cry, " How long, Lord, wilt thou forget me and
cast mo off?" It seemed to him it would be forever!

PSALM XIV. . 53
3. Consider and hear me, O Lord my God : lighten
mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death ;
4. Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him ;
and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
"Consider" means look kindly upon me. Let light break in
upon my darkness and gladden my dimmed eyes, lest I sleep the
death — with possible allusion to the usual dimness of vision in old
age or from approaching death.  " When I am moved " — dis
lodged from my strong position; thrown into fresh trouble and
solicitude. 5. But I have trusted in thy mercy ; my heart shall
rejoice in thy salvation.
6. I will sing unto the Lord, because he hath dealt
bountifully with me.
A sudiTen change comes over his spirit and finds expression hero.
1 have trusted and will still trust in God's mercy. " My very ¦
heart" (stronger than if he had said only I) 1 with all my heart
will rejoice in thy salvation.  In the phrase "Dealt bountifully
with me," the original words suggest the thought of blessings con
ferred upon me abundantly. — x>>*;o- 
PSALM XIV.
This Psalm bears a very close rosemblanee to Ps. 53. Both are
ascribed to David. The principal variations occur between Ps. 14:
5, 6, and Ps. 53 : 5. In general the variations between these two
Psalms fall under these two heads: (a.) The names of the Deity.
In four instances the name " Lord " [Hebrew, Jehovah] in Ps. 14
becomes "God" [Elohim] in Ps. 53. Jehovah is not used at all in
the latter Psalm. (6. ) A weaker expression in Ps. 14 gives place
to a stronger one in Ps. 53. — —These comparative points make it
probable if not certain that David wrote Ps. 14 first in time, and
subsequently revised it with a few alterations as we have them in
Ps. 53. The former, it will be noticed, appears in the first of the
five books; the latter in the second, the compilation of which ob»
viously bears date many years later.  The general theme is the
deep depravity, the moral corruption of the race. They recognize
no God; they seek him not; call not on his name; do abominable
deeds ; absolutely none are doers of good : they persecute and
devour God's people and despise them for their trust in God —
which points naturally elicit the prayer that God would save his
people out of Zion.  Whether the " Nabal" of 1 Sam. 25 sat for
the picture of this nabal ["the fool"], it may not be possible_ to
determine with certainty. I see no objection to the supposition
that his case suggested this Psalm, and yet we know too little of

54 PSALM XIV.
him to affirm it as unquestionable. The Nabal of Mt. Oarmel was
thoroughly selfish and wicked, far enough from having any sym
pathy with David in his great trial as a persecuted man of God.
Not unnaturally, therefore, David might make him the text for this
brief presentation of the great points of the wicked man's char
acter. 1. The fool hath said in his heart, Titer e is no God.
They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there
is none that doeth good.
Some have supposed the precise meaning of the first clause to
be — would there were no God! — a mere wish in the fool's heart
that there were none. This may be true of the wicked fool, but it
can not be the precise and whole truth expressed here. It might
be said doubtless that " the wish is father to this thought," but the
child and not the father is the thing spoken of here. This product
of wicked, selfish desire is atheism, not in theory but in, thought
and in act. His thinking presupposes no God ; his acts are as if
there were none.  The writers usage of the phrase, "Say in
one's heart," maybe seen sufficiently in Ps. 10: 6, 11, 13, where
this same atheistic and wicked man is the subject, one who " will
not seek after God;" " God is not in all his thoughts." " Hehath
said in his heart, ¦ I shall not be moved ; " " He hath said in
his heart, God hath forgotten;" "He hath said in his heart,
thou wilt not require," t. e., make inquisition for sin. In the
.same sense here, he says in his heart. No God I He repels all
thought of God; he lays his schemes for wickedness as if there
were no God ; hardens himself in sin as if nothing were to be
feared from God. He -says this in his heart, not perhaps openly,
not to the public ear. But it is the inner 'thought of the man, and
it gives shape to his actual life. Practically, he is godless.  The
consequences of this practical atheism the Psalmist proceeds to
unfold. The first verb, translated " are corrupt," is equivalent to
our English word destroy, and may well be taken to mean, They
have wrought destruction, they have made their moral nature a
ruin.  The next clause might be rendered, They have made
their deeds abominable, or They have done abominable wicked
ness — the noun that follows the verb having either the usual sense of
deed, a thing done, or the unusual sense of wickedness, like the par
allel word in Ps. 53. The general sense is essentially the same either
way.  "There is no doer of good," affirms the universal fact of
depravity.— — These, it should be remembered, are the fruits of
practical atheism. The sense of a great and holy God very near,
evermore noting all human thought and act, ever impressing
human souls with his purity and his love, is a power perpetually
restraining from sin, evermore transforming men to like purity and
love. But when human depravity rules all such thought and
sense of God out of the mind, the soul gravitates downward under
the terrible force of its own depravity — a moral wreck, its noblest
powors a mass of ruins !

PSALM XIV. 55
2. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children
of men, to see if there were any that did understand,
and seek God.
This "looking down" has the precise sense of bending over as
if from his high throne, much as was said of God looking into
the corrupt state of the world just before the flood (Gen. 6 : 12) ;
or into Sodom (Gen. 18: 21). So here he bends over to scrutinize
closely the moral state of man, and especially to " see if any
were acting wisely" [not as the "fool"] "and seeking God,
as the wise man would. This assumes that the truly wise will
seek after God as surely as the fool will not, but will even ignore
his very being.
3. They are all gone aside, they are all together become
filthy : there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
"The all" [says the Hebrew], the whole body, have apostatized
together; they have become morally corrupt; as the original im
plies, have turned sour and putrid under a process analogous to
decomposition by chemical change.  "No doer of good, not
even one," makes the statement perfectly sweeping, shutting off
all possible exception. Of course this contemplates man as he is
without God, never seeking God, and of course unblessed by gos
pel grace.
4. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who
eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon
the Lord.
Is it credible that all these workers of iniquity are utterly with
out knowledge? i. e., do they not know better than to persecute
my people and so incur my wrath ? They are eating up my peo
ple 'as men eat bread; say with avidity, or with like pleasure, or
equally without compunction, and they never worship God, this
being the usual sense of " calling upon God."  It seems to be
implied that these wicked fools, giving themselves up to reckless
persecution of God's people, do certainly know better — must know
that such sin will bring down upon them the wrath of Almighty God.
5. There were they in great fear : for God is in the gen
eration of the righteous.
" There," at this precise point, when they have provoked God
by devouring his people, " they become awfully afraid," for "God
is in the generation of the righteous" — will surely manifest his
presence with them — their Helper and Avenger in all such seasons
of need.
6. Ye have shamed the counsel»of the poor, because the
Lord is his refuge.
"The counsel of the afflicted" [better than "poor"] is the
product of their wisdom in its relations to God — their wisdom as

56 PSALM XV.
dictating trust in God and obedience. You put to shame their
trust in God as being in your eyes folly. You despise them for
making God their refuge. How great tad fatal is your mistake !
7. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion !
when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people,
Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.
Literally thus : " Who will give out of Zion the salvation of
Israel in God's returning to the captives of his people" [or turn
ing the captivity of his people]? "Let Jacob rejoice; let Israel
be glad! "  " Who will give" is a common Hebrew idiom equiv
alent to, O that it might be so !  That this salvation is thought
to come out of Zion results from the fact that the Zion-temple was
the recognized dwelling-place of Israel's God from whom this sal
vation came.  Some critics, supposing the language hero to
refer to the restoration from captivity in Babylon, maintain that
the Psalm must have been written after that event. But there is
no occasion to apply the words to that restoration. Long before
that period this phrase, " turn the captivity," had come into cur
rent figurative use where no real restoration from a proper cap
tivity could have been thought of, e. g., Job. 42: 10, where the
Lord changed the captive state of Job as it were from bondage to
liberty, yet Job was by no means a prisoner of war. So also God
spake by Ezekiel (16: 53) of "turning the captivity of Sodom,"
where no literal restoration from a land of captivity is possible.
 Moreover, this precise form of the Hebrew verb may be trans
lated either, God returns to his captive people; or, he turns
their captive state from one of quasi bondage to one of freedom.
 According to the Masoretic interpunction and the proper con
struction of the Hebrew verbs ["rejoice and be glad '], the last
clause stands independent of what precedes, a sudden transition
from prayer for salvation to a call for joy and gladness in Israel
under the assurance that his prayer is answered. " Let Jacob
rejoice : let Israel be glad ! "

PSALM XV.
This Psalm of David corresponds so closely with portions of
Ps. 24 that we can scarcely hesitate to refer it to the same oc
casion, viz. : the location of the ark on Mount Zion, (see 2 Sam. 6,
and 1 Chron. 13). It was thus made the visible dwelling place
of Israel's God, and therefore would suggest the question, Who now
shall be honored to dwell with God in this holy hill ? Who shall en
joy this exalted privilege of special communion and fellowship with
God, and consequently of his perpetual protection? This question
it is the purpose of the Psalm to answer.  As a description of
the thoroughly righteous man it stands in direct contrast with Ps.
14, which is a- corresponding description of an intensely wicked

PSALM XV. 57
man. This contrast may account for its location here rather
than in connection with Ps. 24.
1. Loed, who shall abide in thy tabernacle ? who shall
dwell in thy holy hill ?
"Abide in thy tabernacle " — at home and made welcome there
as being of the household of God, one of his intimate friends and
therefore enjoying his protection. The tabernacle was now lo
cated on the Zion hill, in the city of David. See the historical
account of this transaction (2 Sam. 6: 12-19).
2. He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteous
ness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He whose walk, daily life, is unblemished, faultless ; whose
doings are right; who speaks truth with sincere heart, i. e., always
aiming to say only the exact truth. These are positive traits and
manifestations. 3. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil
to his neighbor, nor taketh up a reproach against his neigh
bor. Here are negatives — the things he does not. He does not
slander ; literally, foot it about with the tongue, which seems to des
cribe one who goes round tattling, speaking slanderously.  Does
not do evil to his neighbor [intentionally]; does not take up a
reproachful rumor against his neighbor — not into his heart to be
lieve and love it, and much less to help push it on.
4. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned ; but he
honoreth them that fear the Loed. He thai, sweareth to his
own hurt, andchangeth not.
"The despicable man," one worthy to be despised, is in his eyes
rejected, contemned, according as his true character deserves.
While he despises bad men, he honors the truly pious.  The
last clause alludes to Lev. 5 : 4, the case of one who takes an oath
unadvisedly, i. e., without due reflection, binding himself to do
some act which will involve him in evil or in good, and is holden
by the saeredness of his oath. A part only of the full phrase
appears here — the case of swearing to do something which will
naturally be an evil to himself. From this oath the good man
changes not, recedes not, but faithfully stands to his bond. 
Some modern critics translate "that sweareth to a bad man; " but
this can not be accepted. The allusion to the Levitical law as
above can not well be questioned.
5. -He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor
taketh reward against the^jnnocent. He that doeth these
things shall never be moved.

58 PSALM XVI.
This usury is not interest on money which is borrowed to make
more money with — a commercial transaction of which the Mosaic
law had no occasion to speak ; but is money loaned to a poor man
as the law required bread to be loaned to the suffering, upon
which no interest was permitted. In the current life of the He
brew people, no man borrowed either money or bread save under
the stress of hunger, necessity, of which stress no neighbor, well
to do himself, was permitted to take advantage.  A bribe to harm'
the innocent was an abomination to the Mosaic law — is so to all
righteous law — to every upright conscience.  " Shall never be
moved" — shall have a sure standing in the house of God, ever
more enjoying his protection and never jostled from his sure foun
dation.

PSALM XVI.
The caption ascribes this Psalm to David. The one question
of interpretation here which eclipses all others in importance is
that of the eunuch to Philip concerning Isa. 53: "I pray thee,
of whom spake the prophet this ; of himself, or of some other
man?" (Acts .8: 34.) The same answer is to be given here as
there; the interpreter must expound his scripture "of Jesus."
The subject naturally opens with the fact that David was a
prophet and wrote some prophecies. The apostle Peter himself,
at that moment under unquestionable inspiration (Acts 2: 30),
affirms this : " Therefore the patriarch David, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit
of his loins according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit
on his throne," etc. This passage indeed carries us one step
further and affirms on like authority and with equal certainty that
as a prophet, David spake of Christ. "He [David] seeing this
before (i. «., foreseeing it with prophetic eye) spake of the resur
rection of Christ that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh
did see corruption." Here Peter quotes from the Psalm now be
fore us, and had previously quoted from it yet more fully in this
very discourse (vs. 25-28).  With a more brief quotation but
no less clearly and to the same purport precisely Paul (Acts 13 :
33-37) quotes from this Psalm to prove that the promised Mes
siah was not to experience corruption in the grave, but was to be
raised from the dead before that change should take place. He
even argues the point specifically to show that these words of the
Psalm before us can not refer to David because he died as other
men die, and "was laid to his fathers and saw corruption,"
according to the common lot of mortals.  Entirely coincident
with this testimony to the point that the Psalm contains predic
tions of Christ is the authority of Jesus himself, who after his
resurrection (Luke 24 : 44-46) said' to his disciples, " All things
must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in

PSALM XVI. 59
the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me." " Then opened
he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures,
and said unto them, Thus it behooved Christ to suffer and to rise
from the dead the third day." It seems therefore that Jesus spake
at this time particularly of his resurrection as a point embraced
in the Old Testament Prophecies. Inasmuch as the disciples who
heard this conversation refer to no other prophecy as foretelling
his resurrection except this one in our Psalm, and inasmuch as
they do refer to this with special stress and a special argument
to prove its necessary reference to Christ, there is no reason to
doubt that they had their interpretation from Jesus himself.
With those therefore who accept the authority of Jesus there re
mains no further question. With all those who admit the divine
inspiration of Peter after the great effusion of the Spirit upon him,
or of Paul after his conversion and special anointing as an apos
tle, there remains no further question on the point that this Psalm
treats of Christ and definitely predicts his resurrection from the
dead. But there are other questions pertaining to this Psalm that should
receive attention. Does it all refer to Christ? Does any part of
it refer to David? Is it admissible to assume that the same
words refer both to David and to Christ? Why does David
speak in the first person as if of himself only ? How can we de
termine in such a case whether he does really speak of himself,
or of some other man, e. g., Jesus the Messiah ?  It will be quite
as well to meet these questions as they are presented in this Psalm,
as to put the answer in the more general form.  1 therefore re
ply thus: (1.) Every specific feature in this entire Psalm admits
of a natural, easy, and very appropriate reference to Christ. This
will appear as we examine it word by word, verse by verse. Con
sequently there is no demand whatever for applying any part of
it to David.  (2.) There are some features in the Psalm which
positively will not bear to be applied to David. This both Peter and
Paul have shown on the point of experiencing the corruption of
the grave. Therefore we absolutely know that the Messiah is
here. No. other person fills the description; no other can be the
subject spoken of.  There are also various other features of
this description which apply with much greater pertinence and
force to the Messiah than to David. That some features should be
common to both David and Christ, i. e., applicable to either, need
not surprise us and will not when we consider that Jesus was truly
human no less than divine ; that his human nature was prominent
in his sufferings and indeed during his entire state of humiliation
while he was on earth; and that David in more than one respect
was a special type or representative of the Messiah.  (3.) This
latter fact sufficiently accounts for the form in which this Psalm
appears — David speaking in the first person, while yet he speaks
not of himself but of some other one, viz., that greater personage
who was to be his Son, to sit on his throne, to pass through ex
periences of trial, and affliction on earth, in many points analogous

60 PSALM XVI.
to those periods in his own life, when though anointed to be king
he yet was persecuted, despised, and rejected by the reigning au
thorities of the nation.  It is no part of our work as interpreters
of prophecy to ascertain and show how far the prophet David un
derstood what the Spirit spake through him of Christ. It would
be a very interesting inquiry if we had the data for developing it
and for reaching positive knowledge in the case ; but what if we
have not? The words which holy men spake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghost remain to us just the same for our instruction,
good for the truth they teach us, whether we can or can not ascer
tain how far the prophet David understood them.  In fine, this
Psalm (and all other prophecies on the same conditions) must be
accepted as real prophecy upon the following points of proof in
this case: That Jesus or his inspired apostles, or both, quote
them as prophecy ; that the passage in question is applicable as
prophecy to Christ, easily and pertinently; that there are points
in it which can not be applied to any one else. These reasons
seem to be entirely valid and conclusive. The reader will notice
that Peter and Paul follow precisely this mode of proving that
the Psalm before us is a prophecy of Christ. They had their in
terpretation from Christ himself; they argue that its points apply
readily to Jesus, and can not apply to David or any one else.
Some of my readers may push the further question — Whether
this Psalm does not speak of David and of Christ both, saying of
David all that can apply to him, and of Christ all that applies fitly
to him.  The main objection to this is, that it is against the na
ture of mind and therefore of speech to have two objects, of
thought and speech before the mind at once. For example, our
Psalm is an expression of what we may call heart-experience— the
emotions, sentiments, pious exercises of some Christian heart.
Every statement is in the singular number, by one speaker, and
as if of himself. My argument is that it is against nature and
contrary to the normal action of finite minds to suppose that such
language speaks equally of two different persons. Ever so many
thousands may have a similar experience ; that is entirely another
matter. Our question is, Does such language primarily. and prop
erly contemplate more than one subject, one person, as saying
these words and having these emotions? If he were to say, "I
am speaking now, not for myself only, but for another man equally
and as well," then we must take his meaning as thus specially
explained; but, otherwise, we must jiaturally understand him to
speak of himself only. If he is a prophet, he may speak exclu
sively of some great personage who is the subject of his prophetic
communications. Unity of thought and of intent is thus fully
maintained. Such unity of thought and of speech is the recog
nized and universal law of human speech in all language, unless
prophecy be an exception. My position is that prophecy can not
be made an exception — tljat this ' law must obtain equally in all
prophetic language, for the simple reason that in his word (proph
ecy included) God speaks to man in man's words — in human Ian-

PSALM XVI. 61
guage and in accordance with the well-known laws of human
speech. If he spake otherwise, on other principles, under other
laws of speech, we could never reach his meaning with any cer-
• tainty or with any well-grounded confidence.  1 hardly need say
that the view here presented in opposition to what is often called
"the double sense, has no conflict whatever with the true doc
trine of prophetic types, i. e., of representative men, or represent
ative institutions which serve to illustrate Christ and his work.
The second Psalm may take its imagery and many of its promi
nent words from the case of David. Yet it meant not David but
Christ. It speaks of Christ in words and figures that were made
clear to the Jewish mind by their knowledge of the sources whence
they were taken ; in other words, by their knowledge of the his
tory of David. So David's experience as a suffering man of God
may furnish more or less of the words and figures in this six
teenth Psalm. But this is very far from proving that these words,
as used here, speak of David.  This discussion would be an
unpardonable digression if it were not the case that the subject
has involved many minds in immense perplexity and confusion.
 Let us now resume the Psalm. The question of date in this
Psalm has no practical importance.  As to occasion, we only
require two conditions: (1) The suffering periods of David's life;
(2) The light of inspiration suggesting to him that his greater
Son was to have experiences in this point similar to his own.
The word " Michtam " in the title is explained variously by the
best critics. It occurs at the head of five other Psalms (56-60) ;
is thought by Gesenius, Fuerst, and Maurer to mean simply a writ
ing, analogous to the similar word in Isa. 38 : 9, at the head of
Hezekiah' s song. The ancient versions, indorsed by Prof. Stuart,
make it an inscription, equivalent to "song of victory;" while
Alexander supposes it to indicate something secret, deep — " the
depth of doctrinal and spiritual import in those sacred compo
sitions." The etymological affinities of the word are too obscure
and its meaning too doubtful to afford any aid in the interpreta
tion of the Psalm.
1. Preserve me, O God : for in thee do I put my trust.
In view of what has been said above of the reference of this
Psalm to the Messiah, it is a perfectly reasonable supposition that
it was written in prophetic anticipation of his experiences at
pome time, probably not long prior to his death. Several pas
sages in his recorded history suffice to show that more than onco
his mind was thrown strongly upon those final conflicts of trial
and suffering through which he was destined to pass. Luke re
cords that in his transfiguration " there talked with him two men,
who wpre Moses and Elias : who appeared in glory, and spake of
his decease which he should accomplish at, Jerusalem" (Luke 9 :
30, 31). John reports these words of his (12: 27) : "Now is my
bou! troubled, and what shall I say ? Father, save me from this

62 PSALM XVI.
hour ? [Nay,] since for this cause came I unto this hour. Father,
glorify thy name." And Luke, these: "I have a baptism to be
baptized with (t. e., of fearful suffering), and how am 1 straitened
until it be accomplished ? " (12: 50.) The scenes of Gethsemane
are familiar to every Bible reader. The spirit of those scenes of
agony came over him more than once in his previous experience.
This Psalm is fully in harmony with Gethsemane — those antici
pations of trial and anguish, coupled with sweet repose in God,
and on the whole a joyful acquiescence in his mission, with all its
results of temporary suffering, but eternal, glorious reward. Let
us, then, assume that the Psalm gives us a chapter in these heart-
experiences of our Lord at some period not very long prior to his
death. "Preserve me, 0 God;" uphold me in these scenes of sore
trial — in these anticipations of untold agony soon to be endured —
" for in thee do I seek a refuge." This is more precise than our
English " put my trust," since the Hebrew verb conceives of one
as flying for refuge from some threatened evil.
2. 0 my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou art
my Lord : my goodness extendeth not to thee ;
3. But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the ex
cellent, in whom is all my delight.
"My soul hath said to Jehovah, Thou art my Lord;" t. e., I
have said it with all my heart. The Hebrews used the word
"soul" in this way for stronger emphasis. It did not express
adequately the strength of the speaker's feelings to say simply,
"I have made Jehovah my Lord." Thus I understand this quite
peculiar Hebrew phrase. The word for " soul " is implied, not ex
pressed, but is indicated by the corresponding gender (feminine)
in the verb, and by its second person, implying that the soul is
addressed.  Thus Jesus accepted Jehovah, the ever-faithful God,
as his Lord and his God, and made the strongest declaration of
it which the Hebrew language and idioms can make.  In the
next clause there is no Hebrew word for "extendeth." It is there
fore supplied arbitrarily, and the resulting sense does not recom
mend it. Prof. Stuart proposes a very animated construction,
thus : " Source of my happiness ; there is none beside thee,'.' ap
plying the word for "goodness" to God in direct address. Less
violent and more probable is this reading: "My happiness is
nothing without thee;" I have no real joy save in thee". As to
the saints in the earth — "the excellent ones — all my delight is in
them," i. e., all the delight I find on the earth, in the society of
mortals. On the one hand, in the highest possible sense, God is
the sole and infinite joy of his heart; but on the other, in a lower
sense,- God's people who bear his image are precious to his soul,
the only congenial society of earth.  It is pleasant to dwell on
these words as setting.before us the very heart and soul of Him
whom "not having seen we love." They are remarkably in liar-

PSALM XVI. 63
mony with both his words and his life as given us in the gospel
history.  We pause here a moment over the suggestion that in
the strength and fullness of 4hese declarations, their reference to
Jesus is easy and every way right, but if referred to David, they
seem overdone, fulsome, and therefore scarcely admissible.
4. Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after
another god : their drink offerings of blood will I not offer,
nor take up their names into my lips.
The word for " sorrows," by a slight change in its vowels, is
used for idol gods, thought of as made laboriously by human hands.
Very probably this word is chosen out of several which would
have the sense, sorrow, because it suggested the miseries of idol-
worshipers — the painful unrest of those who have no better God
than a manufactured idol.  The verb rendered "hasten" is of
rare occurrence, yet in one clear case-(Ex. 22: 15) is used for
buying a wife, and very probably is chosen here with tacit allu
sion to idolatry as spiritual harlotry — going adulterously away
from the true God to marry idol gods. The sense of the verse is
plain : While I have infinite joy in the blessed God, and a lesser
joy in his beloved people, they who give their hearts to idol gods
have their sorrows multiplied; sorrow upon sorrow. My soul
turns from them with loathing; their drink-offerings are nothing
better than blood, and I can never offer them nor pollute my lips
with even their names !  If it be asked, Why should Jesus speak
thus of idol gods inasmuch as during his life on earth, idolatry
was unknown among the Jews? the answer is that this Psalm was
written by David, to be read and sung in his age and in subse
quent ages when idolatry was the giant sin of the world. It was
therefore every way appropriate that the Messiah should be put
before the Jews as intensely abhorring idolatry.  As to the
comparative facility of making these the words of Jesus on
the one hand or of" David on the other — as said by Jesus it is
perfect. On the other side, there is no doubt that David abhorred
idol gods ; yet in those Psalms where he certainly sp'eaks of him
self, such declarations as this occur rarely if ever.
5. The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of
my cup : thou maintainest my lot.
6. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places ; yea,
I have a goodly heritage.
Jehovah is my chosen portion, mine inheritance — the good which
my soul rejoices in far above all other.  These several words,
"inheritance," "cup," "lot," concur in the common idea of one's
chosen and accepted good. So in the same sense, "the lines,"
i. e., the measuring lines which lay out one's grounds and define
his landed possessions — taken from the vocabulary of an agricul
tural people to signify the possessions themselves. The sentiment
of verse o is— I am happy and satisfied with my assigned mission

64 PSALM XVI.
and its reward. Jesus surveys the whole work allotted, to him,
with its promised reward, and joyfully accepts it. "For the joy
set before him, he endures the cross.' [heroically], " despising the
shame." 7. I will bless the Loed, who hath given me counsel : my
reins also instruct 'me in the night seasons.
The " counsel " given him by the LordV I take in the special
sense of encouragement, exhortation — those inspirations of faith
and courage and love by which the Father sustained him through
every hour of sorest temptation and trial. The original word sug
gests this special sense. Well might the Messiah say, I will bless
Jehovah, my faithful God, for these suggestions and for this moral
strength in my seasons of need.  The last clause of the verse
thus : " Yea, in the night season, my reins," i. e., my deep thoughts,
"admonish," suggest to me to bless and thank him. As I muse
in the deep night I am sweetly moved to bless the Lord for his
sustaining mercy.
8. I have set the Loed always before me : because he is
at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Of set purpose and by direct effort, I place the Lord Jehovah
ever before my face. 1 keep him in my constant view. Every
thought and purpose are shaped under a sense of his present eye
and hand. Because he is at my right hand, ever ready to uphold
me, I shall not be moved from my sure foundation, but shall stand
securely. 9. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth :
my flesh also shall rest in hope.
Therefore the Messiah has a perfect assurance of success in his
great mission, and rejoices in it exceedingly. In the strong Hebrew
idiom, his heart exults ; his " glory," i. e., his soul, his noblest pow
ers, rejoice. The word rendered "glory" means properly the heavy
organ, the liver ; but corresponds perfectly in figurative usage with
our word heart.  Even in death my flesh shall rest in the confi
dent hope of a speedy resurrection.
10. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell ; neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption;
Literally, " thou wilt not leave my soul to hell," i. e., surrendered
to its power. The word Sheol, translated hell, is here (as not in
frequently) personified to represent the ruling Power of that world
of the dead. To that Power, God will not leave him — said with
more Bpecial reference to his body than to his soul, considered as
the spiritual part of his compound being. So the parallel clause
clearly implies—" nor wilt thou give thy Holy One to see corrup
tion: 'thou wilt not leave thy son to experience the corruption of
the body in the grave, but wilt raise him from the dead before

PSALM XVI. 65
corruptian ensues.  The last word of this verso, translated
" corruption," has been regarded as the test word of this passage,
claimed by those who deny its reference to Christ to mean simply
the pit, the grave. Insisting upon the reference of this Psalm en
tire to David only, they are forced to evade the sense, corruption,
since in this sense it could not apply to- David. Hence they derive
the word Shahhath * from another root Shuah f which means pit.
But the root Shahhath — to destroy or corrupt, is the more natural
one and has most usage in its favor, and moreover, has the full
support of the Septuagint whose Greek .word, meaning corruption,
passed into the New Testament and received the practical indorse
ment of the apostles because they made their main argument from
prophecy for the resurrection of Christ turn on this precise sense
of our word. The authorities are therefore quite decisive in favor
of the meaning, corruption.  In this construction the sentiment
is every way appropriate. It was fit that the Great Conqueror of
death should burst its bands and come forth from its control before
even his body had experienced that decomposition by which death
and the grave despoil the beauty of man and remand his flesh back
to dust. Of this the Messiah was made sure on the authority of
prophetic inspiration. His own words to his disciples long before
his death show that he knew he should rise from the dead and
even on the third day, before corruption had really begun its
work. (See Matt. 16 : 21, and 20 : 19).
11. Thou wilt show me the path of life : in thy presence
is fullness of joy ; at thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore. Thou wilt guide me to perfect bliss in thy presence, joys eternal
at thy right hand. " Fullness of joy " has the sense in the Hebrew
of satiety, that which will fully satisfy the utmost desires of the
soul.  "At thy right hand" reminds us that the risen Jesus is
continually represented as enthroned at the right hand of the
Father, in supreme dignity and glory.  These visions of future
reward were "the joy set before him" for which "he endured the
cross and despised the shame." (Heb. 12: 2). Isaiah touches the
same fact in the words, " He shall see of the travail of his soul and
be satisfied." (53 : 11.). Such self-sacrificing benevolence will be
rewarded with infinite exaltation and blessedness, not only because
such reward is intrinsically fit, but for the sake of its moral lessons
to the universe of intelligent minds. Paul sets forth the same log
ical and moral relation, between Christ's extreme humiliation on
the one hand, and his infinite exaltation on the other, in the
memorable words (Phil. 2: 6-11), "Wherefore (because he hum
bled himself and became obedient even to the extent of death on
the cross, therefore) God hath highly exalted him and given him a
name above every name."

J.

66 . PSALM XVII.
Thus this wonderful prophetic Psalm witnesseth to the Great
Messiah, giving us his various heart-experiences of anticipated suf
fering, of peaceful repose in God, of joyful acquiescence in his work
(the suffering included), for the sake of the joy set before him ; re
vealing also his confident assurance of a speedy resurrection from
the grave, followed by perfect, eternal bliss at God's right hand.
What should interest us more than to know how Jesus met and
bore his anticipated sufferings, and how absolutely his soul was
filled with love and trust toward his heavenly Father and with joy
in his mission of suffering because of its results in the salvation
of men and the infinite glory of God ?
 »<>»{« 
PSALM XVII.
This Psalm of David is comprehensively and appropriately
called a prayer. It is the outpouring of a pious heart before God
under bitter persecution from malicious enemies — enemies who
manifestly had slandered and even maligned him, and therefore
made it proper for him to assert his innocence and integrity. He
casts himself upon God for justice and for succor from his ene
mies.  This Psalm corresponds well to the experiences of David,
persecuted by Saul.
1. Hear the right, 0 Lord, attend unto my cry ; give ear
unto my prayer, that goeih not out of feigned lips.
This prayer, "Hear the right," implies a full consciousness of
personal uprightness as to the points involved between the sup
pliant and his adversaries. He does not ask of God any favor
itism or partiality, but simple righteousness.  The prayer
which he offers goes forth from lips not deceitful, but which speak
truly what an honest heart feels.
2. Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let
thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
"My sentence" is my judgment or decree as from a court .of
justice or from the Supreme King. The verbs in Hebrew are
future, as if expressing his strong assurance, yet put in such a
way as to imply the prayer that such things may yet be. "My
sentence shall come forth from thy throne (let it not fail so to come !) ;
" thine eyes will discern all equity " (so may it be !).
3. Thou hast proved mine heart ; thou hast visited me in
the night ; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing : I
am purposed tliat my mouth shall not transgress.
"Proved" as metals are proved and purified in the furnace. 
" Hast visited me in the night " — when, secluded from social in
fluence, and left to his own thought, man is himself; thinking

PSALM XVII. 67
evil if so inclined, but good and good only if a truly honest man.
 "Thou hast tried me" as with fire, for so the original implies,
and shalX find no dross, no deceit.  The last clause has been
construed variously: "My mouth shall not exceed my thought,"
(Alexander); "My thoughts transgress not my command, t. e., do
not swerve from the law of God and of virtue which I have im
posed on myself" (Gesenius); "My thinking did not go beyond
my mouth " (Fuerst) ; " Thou shalt not find me plotting evil ; my
mouth shall not transgress" (Maurer); "No iniquity shall be
found in me; my mouth shall not speak the words of men"
(Septuagint and Vulgate) — which connect this verse with the first
clause of the verse following. The reader will notice that the
general sentiment remains substantially the same through all
these slight diversities.  Several circumstances combine to occa
sion these diversities, e. g., that the word translated, "am pur
posed" may be used either in a good sense or a bad; either for
the thoughtful, solemn purpose of good, or fir the cunning, ma
licious . purpose of evil; also that the word for transgress may
stand with or without an object — may be either transitive or in
transitive. Then again, the Masorites have complicated the diffi
culties of the passage by indicating that in their opinion the word
for "purposed " is not a verb in the preter, but a noun or an infini
tive. But for this opinion of theirs, the construction given in our
English version would, I judge, have been readily adopted. I in
cline to adopt it notwithstanding, for even taking this contested
word as an infinitive or a noun we may translate, "According to
my earnest purpose, my mouth shall not transgress."
4. Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy
lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
"Concerning the works of men" is said of the evil doings of
bad men. From these' the Psalmist kept himself by carefully
observing the words of the Lord, the words that had fallen from
his lips.  "Paths of the destroyer" are the ways of life pur
sued by men of violence and blood. Once and again David
might have taken the life of Saul by violence, but he restrained
himself, saying, "I must not lift up my hand against the Lord's
anointed." The word of Jehovah's lips had said, "Vengeance is
mine" — and these words kept him from violence, the usual way
of bad men. See 1 Sam. 26: 8-11, 23 and 24: 3-19 and Deut.
32: 35.
5. Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip
not. 6. I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O
God : incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7. Show thy marvelous loving-kindness, O thou that
savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee
from those that rise up against them.

68 PSALM XVII.
Such a temptation to violence as that which had almost en
snared David to take the life of Saul suggested the need of such
prayer as this, that God would continually uphold him acid make
him strong in the right way.  "Show thy marvelous loving-
kindness" is more precisely, show thy loving-kindness to be mar
velous — make the manifestations of it to be glorious in the case
of thy servant.  Beautiful indeed is the form of this address to
the Hearer of prayer — "O thou that savest by thy right hand all
who trust in thee from their uprising foes."
8. Keep me as the apple of the eye ; hide me under the
shadow of thy wings,
9. From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly
enemies, who compass me about.
The original is fine: "Keep me as the little man, the daughter
of the eye," i. e., the pupil of the eye in which you may see the
little man — the very diminutive image of yourself, which, regard
less of gender, the Hebrews spake of also as "the daughter of the
eye." Both God's care in the construction of the eye, and the in
stinct of man under a consciousness of its priceless value, conspire
to the keeping of the eye above all other keeping, thus making it
an admirable illustration of the care with which we fitly pray God
to keep us from all sin and harm.  " Hide me under the shadow
of thy wings," looks toward the mother birds who shield their
young under their outspread wings, close to their warm bosom.
Both these figures come naturally from those charming words of
Moses (Deut. 32: 10, 11): "He found him" - [the Lord found
Israel] " in a, desert land and in the waste, howling wilderness :
he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his
eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest ; fluttereth over her young ;
spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her
wings; so the Lord alone did lead him," etc.
10. They are inclosed in their own fat ; with their mouth
they speak proudly.
The Hebrews associate excessive fatness [obesity] with the dull
est moral perceptions, and a hard, stubborn, and proud heart.
Moses leads in this thought (Deut. 32: 10); "Jeshurun [the 'up
right one] waxed fat and kioked" [with allusion to well fed
animals]. Job says (15 : 25-27) of the man who " strengtheneth
himself against the Almighty, running upon the thick bosses of his
buckler" — "Because he covereth his face with his fatness and
maketh oollops of fat on his flanks " — as if this excessive fatness
produced the most defiant hardihood against God. In Ps. 73 : 7-9,
we have this portrait : " Their eyes Btand out with fatness : they
are corrupt; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the
heavens," etc., and Ps. 119 : 70: "Their heart is as fat as grease;
but I [all unlike them] delight in thy law." Isaiah"(6: 10) has
the same conception.

PSALM XVII. C9
11. They have now compassed us, in our steps : they have
set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12, Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it
were a young lion lurking in secret places.
"They have set their eyes bowing down to the earth," connected
closely with "encompassing the steps of the righteous," supposes
them to follow their track with sharp eye and head inclined for
ward, chasing them down ; or as the lion lying in wait and impa
tient for the moment to spring upon his victim.
13. Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down:
deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword :
14. From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men
of the world, which Jiave their portion in tliis life, and whose
belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of
children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
" Disappoint," should rather be intercept; or more precisely, rush
in before him, i. e., between me and my deadly foe ; and break him
down; lay him low at my feet.  In the last clause, the Hebrew
leaves us to decide by the context and the nature of the case be
tween these two constructions — that of our English text, and that
of the English margin; that is, between placing "sword" in ap
position to the wicked ; or putting a preposition, before it — by thy
sword; in the former case with the idea that God used those
wicked men as his instrument in scourging David; in the latter, he
prays to God: Draw thy sword against my foes to cut them off.
The Hebrew will bear either construction and therefore does not
decide this point. The latter construction seems to me much more
in harmony with the course of thought here than the former.
While it is true that God sometimes uses the wicked as his instru
ment to scourge good men erring, the scope of this Psalm does not
intimate the presence of this truth in the writer's mind. He does
not think of these wicked men as doing God's work, but rather as
doing their own; nor of himself as suffering under God's righteous
visitation through the hands of ungodly men, but as suffering un
justly from the causeless malice of the wicked. I therefore prefer
to read : " Deliver my soul from the wicked by thy sword. 
The same considerations should determine the construction in v.
14, thus : " Deliver my soul from men by thy hand, 0 Lord, yea,
from men — from the world — (where we have the same preposition
before "world" as before "men"), i. e., from worldly men as
opposed to the godly, who are also further described as having their
portion in this life, prospered in wordly good, blessed to their
heart's desire with children and with wealth to leave to them when
they die.
15. As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness : I
shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
4

70 PSALM XVII.
The Hebrew makes the antithesis between the writer and his
rich and powerful enemies, very strong: I, for my part, have a far
different lot from theirs. My treasures are not of the earth, con
sist not in being satisfied with children and with wealth enough
to enjoy with them while I live and to leave for them at my
death : but it shall suffice for me to behold thy face in purity and
integrity so as to ensure thy favor; it shall be enough for me to
have the blissful satisfaction of awaking from the sleep of death
in thine own blessed image !
On this passage the great question of interpretation is whether
David thinks of the enjoyment of God's favor here in this world,
or in the world to come; whether this beholding the face of God is
only those manifestations of his favor which pertain to earth, or
those which pertain to heaven : also whether the awaking is from
natural sleep only, each morning; or from the sleep of death in
the resurrection of the just; and whether "in thy likeness"
means " with thine appearance," as Dr. Alexander puts it. or in
thy perfect moral image in the sense of the Apostle John ; " We
shall be like him for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3 : 2).
I have already indicated my preference for the construction
which refers this passage to the future life. In support of it I
urge, (1) That the words themselves not only admit but with con
siderable force demand this construction. "Beholding the face
of God" will not have its legitimate meaning filled out until we
reach heaven. "Awaking" is painfully meager and inept if ap
plied to rising from one's nightly sleep, but is not only pertinent
but sublimely glorious when said of the resurrection from the
grave. " With thy likeness " a Hebrew word which legitimately
means form, image, as of what is shaped, fashioned, has no proper
sense if applied to each morning's' rising from sleep, but is preg
nant with grand significance as spoken of the resurrection body
clothed upon with immortality.  1 also urge, (2) That the con
text — the relation of thought in this antithesis between David and
his wicked persecutors, demands the reference of his words to the
future life. They are " men of this world ; " he of another: " they
have their portion in this life ; " he in the next: they are satisfied
with children ; he, with his final awaking in the divine image :
they make out a sort of immortality by leaving their wealth to
their sons and to their sons' sons after them ; but David's immor
tality is simply that of the just — the glorious inheritance laid up
for God's children.  These two comprehensive considerations
constitute in my view the legitimate arguments by which the main
question must be determined. I submit to the reader whether
they are not decisive.  That a large number of German critics,
assuming that David knew nothing about the resurrection or the
future blessed life, should see here only a man enjoying a con
sciousness of personal integrity and a sense of God's approbation,
awaking from sleep each morning with these views of himself and
of God, refreshed by the grateful invigoration of repose, does not

PSALM XVIII. 71
greatly surprise me. But that Dr. Alexander, a very judicious
commentator who almost never misses the Christian sense of God's
word, should endorse those views, is at once surprising and sad.
His words are : "A third interpretation puts a still higher sense
upon the phrase as referring to the act of awaking from the. sleep
of death. But this excludes too much from view the enjoyment
of God's favor and protection even here, which is the burden of
the whole prayer. If the hope of future blessedness had been
enough, the previous petitions would have been superfluous." 
But it might be asked, Is it superfluous for Christians to pray for
protection of life, for the measure of earthly good which it may
please God to grant, because they deeply feel that " the hope of
future blessedness is enough?" David was bearing the responsi
bilities of a throne and of a great people, yea, of God's earthly
kingdom : might he not pray that God would save him from his
powerful foes and gird him for his earthly work, and also with all
this, feel most fully that his supreme and only satisfying joys are
in the promised resurrection of the just and in that perfect image
of his Maker in which he should one day rise to a glorious im
mortality ? — «**:oo —
PSALM XVIII.
This remarkable Psalm indicates not only its author but its
object — David, writing after the Lord had delivered him from all
his enemies and especially from Saul — writing to recount the
dangevs through which the Lord had borne him in safety, declar
ing his love to his gracious Protector, delightfully reiterating the
thought that God's own hand and this alone had wrought for him
these signal deliverances and made him triumphant over all his
foes. The last verse alludes definitely to his anointed Son — the
Great Messiah — destined of God to be his successor on an eter
nal throne according to the promise in 2 Sam. 7 — a fact which
seems to locate the writing of this Psalm at a point subsequent to
that prophetic announcement to him, and to show that David saw
in the deliverances achieved for himself a first installment of God's
promised deliverances for his Zion through the Great Redeemer.
 This song, with only slight variations, appears in the histori
cal book (2 Sam. 22).
To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, the servant of the Lord, who
spake unto the Lord the words of this song in the day that the Lord
delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand
of Saul ! And he said,
1. I will love thee, O Lord, my strength.
2. The Lord, is my rock, and my fortress, and my de
liverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my
buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

72 PSALM XVIII.
Nothing can surpass the pertinence, simplicity, and beauty of
this first utterance : " I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." My
grateful heart shall give thee its purest love in the overflowing of
its warmest gratitude for thy saving mercy to me through many
long years of peril.  The reader will also notice the accumula
tion of oriental and ancient terms to express the one idea that
God and God only had saved him.  Here are two Hebrew words
meaning rock, the second (in the middle of v. 2) being trans
lated in our version, " my strength." "Fortress," "high tower,"
"horn of salvation, "buckler," "deliverer," all combine to show
how strongly David felt the truth he uttered and how his mind
labored to give it full expression.
3. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised :
so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
The use of the future tense in this Psalm should be particularly
noted as a point of some difficulty, yet of real interest. I incline
somewhat strongly to this construction, viz. : that in these future
verbs (as here "I will call") the writer throws himself back in
thought into the midst of those scenes to reproduce the feelings of
those hours and testify to his words and thoughts then, assuming
doubtless that he thinks and feels essentially so still. The verses
before us would take this turn : In those scenes of peril I said, " I
will call upon the Lord, evermore to be praised; and I shall be
saved from all my enemies." I thought and felt so then ; I think
and feel so now.
4. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods
of ungodly men made me afraid.
5. The sorrows of hell compassed me about : the snares
of death prevented me.
The word " sorrows " should be read bands or cords, meaning,
I was as one bound for death, like an ox bound for the slaughter.
This is the usual and well established sense of the original word.
It is moreover strongly implied in both the verbs used with it,
(that in v. 4 and that in v. 5, which are unlike in Hebrew, though
both are translated "compassed" in our version). "Bands com
passed me," were drawn firmly round me. These Hebrew verbs
could scarcely be used of pains, sorrows. That pangs should
seize upon one is a Hebrew conception; but it is not Hebrew
usage that pangs become cords and ropes to gird a prisoner round
and hold him fast.  In harmony with this is the last clause "of
v. 5 : Snares, deadly, fatal gins, were immediately before me, in
my very path, so that it seemed I could not take another step
without being caught in their grasp. The old sense of the word
"prevent" is precisely this; they came in directly before me;
they lay under my very feet.  In v. 5, "hell" [Sheol] is essen
tially synonymous with "death" in the parallel clause in v. 4.
The sense in both words is that he seemed to himself bound and

PSALM XVIII. 73
drawn unto death, a captive in the power of Death personified, on
the point of being dragged to his bloody altar to be immolated
there. The meaning is not at all that he had an awful foretaste
or even fear of the pains of the future hell, thought of as the
final doom of the wicked.-  In the clause, " Floods of ungodly
men," etc., the abstract, wickedness, or more precisely, worthless-
ness, would be more exactly the sense of the Hebrew word. He
thinks of human depravity as a torrent rushing upon him to
affright his soul and threaten his certain destruction.
6. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried
unto my God : he heard my voice out of his temple, and
my cry came before him, even into his ears.
Every verb in this verse is in the future tense, to be con
structed as said above on v. 3. In my straitness [I said] I will
call upon the Lord and to my God will I lift up my cry ; he will
hear my voice, etc. So I felt then ; so I said; so I did. -It is re
freshing now to remember how my agonized heart cried out after
God, and how my faith and God's open ear and strong hand bore
me safely through.  That he thinks of God as " hearing out of
his temple" is due to that remarkable feature in the divine ar
rangement with Israel whereby he made the most holy place,
whether in the tabernacle or temple, his visible abode, and di
rected his people to pray toward this earthly dwelling-place of his.
In dedicating the temple he' had built, Solomon continually speaks
of " praying toward this house " (1 Kings 8 : 29, 30, etc). On the
same principle of condescending accommodation to the infancy
of the most advanced human thought, God encourages his people
to speak of their cry as " coming up before him even into his
ear. It gives us a life-like impression of One who tenderly
bends to the voice of our cry and opens the ear to every word of
humble prayer.
7. Then the earth shook and trembled ; the foundations
also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was
wroth. 8. There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire
out of his mouth devoured : coals were kindled by it.
God hears the cry of his suffering, imperiled servant, and
rouses himself to his rescue. Indignant that wicked men should
set upon him thus to distress and even destroy him, he gives ex
pression to this hot indignation. David gives the freest play to
his poetic genius, or shall we rather say, his enkindled soul pours
forth its poetic fire to do justice if he can to the manifestations
of God's righteous judgment upon his enemies. "Then the earth
did shake and quake" (all nature in sympathy with its great
Maker) ; the very foundations of the hills rocked under his earth
quake tread, for' God was aroused to fierce indignation.  In v.
8, " there went up a smoke," etc. ; it is supposable that- the poet's

74 PSALM XVIII.
imagination conceives of the convulsions of nature as giving best
expression to the emotions of its Author, and at this point sees the
open volcano emitting columns of heavy smoke and sheets of
lurid flame. It is God in his awful majesty ! So before the sweep
of God's righteous providence Saul was hurried on to a fearful
death, and Absalom also. David lived to see every one of his
prominent enemies slain.  In the Hebrew which stands for the
clause, " The earth shook and trembled," the reader would notice
that singular assonance which I have sought to reproduce in the
words, Then the earth did shake and quake. It is more than
probable that the words David used suggested by their very sound
the rush and crash of nature's elements in this august crisis.
9. He bowed the heavens also, and came down : and
darkness was under his feet.
10. And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly : yea, he
did fly upon the wings of the wind.
It is not enough that God should speak through nature, giving
it a thousand voices of earthquake and of storm to utter forth his
indignation. He must needs come down himself to the rescue of
his accepted suppliant. So we see here : " He bowed the
heavens; his lofty dwelling-place and glorious throne seemed
themselves to come down toward the earth; God came near.
Darkness gathered about his sacred feet. "He rode upon a
cherub " (the winged angel figures of the most holy place furnish
the poetic conception). He flew on wings of wind. Rapidity and
majesty blend in the grandeur and power of this scene.
11. He made darkness his secret place ; his pavilion
round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the
skies. 12. At the brightness thai was before him his thick
clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
Darkness and storm are in the ascendant here. " Dark waters,"
are not waters resting on the earth of a dark black color, but are
rather clouds made black, dark, and heavy, by being fully charged
with water.  V. 12 might' be read, From the brightness before
him (flashes of lightning) his heavy clouds swept on with hail and
lightning. Coals of fire in this connection can be none other than
the sheets of lightning out of these awful storm-clouds.
13. The Loed also thundered in the heavens, and the
Highest gave his voice ; hail stones and coals of fire.
14. Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them ;
and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
The thnnder-storm stands out here in every word. The voice
of God here as throughout Ps. 29 is simply thunder. " Coals of
fire " are .only lightnings. Changing the figure yet again, these

PSALM XVIII. 75
are God's arrows with which he discomfits his foes. The word
" them " after the verbs " scattered " and " discomfited " represents
his enemies for whose destruction he bowed the heavens and came
down. >
15. Then the channels of waters were seen, and the
foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke,
O Lord, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
The. conception seems to be that the solid globe is convulsed
and even, uptorn so that the water-courses of the underground
springs and rivera are brought to view, and the very foundations
of the mountains are laid bare by this rebuke of the Almighty —
this blast of the breath of his indignation.  The word rendered
" nostrils " often and probably here has the sense of indignation,
as also in v. 8.
16. He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of
many waters.
All the Hebrew verbs in this verse and the next are in the future
tense, for which I see no other explanation so satisfactory as that
above given, viz. : that the poet throws himself back into the midst
of those scenes and gives us the very thoughts and feelings of his
soul then and there ; I said, " he will send forth his hand and take
me.";  The Hebrew verb "drew" carries us back to the case of
Moses whom his mother drew out of the waters of the Nile, a
saved boy, and therefore gave him this name, Drew. The name
Moses is from the verb used both here and there for drawing one
out of the water, meaning the drawn-out boy. Thus David compares
himself with Moses, in a similar way drawn out of the great deep
waters of his perils from bloody enemies.
17. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from
them which hated me : for they were too strong for me.
18. They prevented me in the day of my calamity : but
the Loed was my stay.
19. He brought me forth also into a large place; he
delivered me, because he delighted in me.
The same thought is expanded. "Prevented me," as above;
they planted, themselves immediately before me; they environed
my steps.  "Into a large place" as opposed to a straitened, shut-
up place, where, hedged in onjevery side, he could not escape, but
must fall an easy prey to his pursuers. In those Oriental countries
where so commonly men in peril sought safety only in flight, this
figure would, be at once plain and forcible. A mounted Arab or a
swift-footed mountaineer asked only a fair field for a race, and
distance became his safety. Cornered in the fastnesses of the hills,
either of them would be an easy prey.  The last clause of v. 19
advances to a new thought upon which he proceeds to enlarge, viz. :
that God delivered him because he approved of his life and spirit,

76 PSALM XVIII.
and had chosen him therefore, a " man after his own heart " to
ascend the throne of Israel, and hence after a sufficient baptism
of suffering and trial, after an adequate discipline to his faith and
patience and resignation to God's will, he seats him securely on
that throne.
20. The Loed rewarded me according to my righteous
ness ; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he rec
ompensed me.
21. For I have kept the ways of the Loed, and have
not wickedly departed from my God.
22. For all his judgments were before me, and I did
not put away his statutes from me.
23. I was also upright before him, and I kept myself
from mine iniquity.
24. Therefore hath the Loed recompensed me according
to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands
in his eyesight.
How shall we understand these assertions as to personal right
eousness ? Does David mean to affirm of himself sinless perfection
unqualifiedly, and to affirm it of the entire period of his religious
life ; or shall we restrict his words to the great point at issue as
between himself and his political enemies ?  A question of this
sort should not be decided upon any other considerations save the
legitimate demands of the context and the nature of the case.
Obviously these statements are made here to show why the Lord
interposed for his help. It suffices therefore to account for these
protestations of innocence and integrity, to understand him as re
ferring only to his conduct in relation to his enemies, of whom we
may well take king Saul as a specimen case. David did not strike
for the throne of Israel of his own motion, but only because God
called him. When thus called he did not ambitiously hasten and
force his way to the throne, but quietly waited the slow movements
of God's providence. When his life was imperiled and his foot
steps tracked and hunted down from Dan to Beersheba, he never
retaliated. When he might have done bo, he withheld his hand,
never striking at Saul's life, nor even touching a hair of his head —
in all which he was deeply conscious of having sought to please
God and of having been essentially .upright before him. In those
great points at issue he had been right and Saul wrong. This ob
viously is what he meant to say in these verses, and apparently all
he meant to say. The scope of this Psalm demands no broader and
no other application of his words than this. Hence I conclude
that this is their true construction. The question whether at this
writing David had lived a sinless life and how long, if at all, does
not come in here appropriately, and finds no evidence here bearing
toward its legitimate answer.

PSALM XVIII. 77
25. With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful ;
with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright ;
26. With the pure thou wilt show thyself pure ; and
with the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.
The doctrine of these verses is that God deals with men accord
ing to their character and deserts. The only difficult clause is the
last, " With the froward thou wilt show thyself froward." " Fro
ward " means perverse, and usually in the bad moral sense. Must
we then say that God deals perversely, subverting moral rectitude,
witlj the perverse sinner ? By no means. Every element in his
nature forbids. But does not this language affirm precisely this ?
Not at all. The language is shaped in close correspondence with
the three clauses immediately preceding. It follows those three
clauses in its form perfectly ; this accounts for the application of the
word " froward " to God. The meaning is that if men pursue a tortu
ous, crooked course toward God, perpetually swerving from the
straight line of moral rectitude, he can shift his course to meet and
baffle them at every point. He can make his course as crooked
physically as they do theirs morally. They can never make so tortu
ous- a path morally that God can not follow them up in the course
of his physical visitations of judgment and bring on them a righteous
retribution. This perfect retribution from God is precisely the thing
affirmed throughout these verses. The Psalmist meant to say that
the wicked never can be too cunning, too artful, to be detected
and scourged, punished, by the all-knowing and all-powerful God.
27. For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt
bring down high looks.
28. For thou wilt light my candle: the Loed my God
will enlighten my darkness.
29. For by thee I have run through a troop ; and by my
God have I leaped over a wall.
That God will save the afflicted and abase the proud, are truths
often reiterated in these Psalms, yet always precious. David felt
them to be so because they had touched his personal experi
ence.  "Light my candle," "illumine my darkness," are words
full of precious significance. Blessed are they whose life, like
David's, is full of it!  David had the physical as well as the
moral qualities of a great warrior. Remarkably he sees God's
hand in the gift of these qualities. By Thee have I rushed through
whole troops of foes; By my God have I over-leaped walls—
the high walls of strong cities. Thus the scope of this Psalm
goes beyond mere protection — David upon the defensive and God
warding off violent assaults; for here David takes the offensive
and becomes mighty through God to rush upon the serried hosts
of his enemies, or to scale the walls of their strong cities.
30. As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the;

78 PSALM XVIII.
Loed is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in
him. 31. For who is God save the Loed ? or who is a rock save
our God?
God's ways with his true servants are "perfect" in the sense of
meeting all their emergencies as in this context, both for defense
and offense against enemies, either or both as the case may
require.  " The word of the Lord " seems here to be his word
of promise, which is proved, David would say, in my experience.
I came to him in my distress and sought his help and pled his
promise, never in vain !  The two most common names of T3od
are used here, not at random, but with exquisite pertinence.
" Who is Elohim " — the Almighty God — " save Jehovah ' — the ever
faithful One whose word of promise I have tried and proved; "or
who is a Sock" — of all sustaining strength — " save our Elohim" —
the Mighty One ?
32. It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh
my way perfect.
33. He maketh my feet like hind's feet, and setteth .me
upon my high places.
34. He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel
is broken by mine arms.
Feet swift as the hind's enabled David, fleeing before Saul, to
make his escape with comparative ease. "Set upon his high
places," ho was up beyond the reach of the weapons of ancient
warfare.  "Bow of steel" — better of brass, since the word is
most often so used, and we know that brass was in use for bows
long before steel was, if indeed steel was ever in such use. The
word for "broken" probably means to be sprung or bent, in
readiness for throwing its arrow.
35. Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation :
and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness
hath made me great.
In the clause, "Thy gentleness hath made me great," "gentle
ness " seems not quite the word. The original, as applied to men,
means usually humility, lowliness ; and as used of God, condescen
sion, said, it would seem, with special reference to God's bending
low to his prayer and coming down low, i. e., from the high
heavens above, in his glorious help. The Hebrew verb from which
this noun comes means both to answer and to be lowly — ideas which
naturally blend, for all answering implies more or less inclination
toward, but especially is this true of God's answering to his lowly
creature, man.
36. Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet
did not slip.

PSALM XVIII. 79
37. I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them:
neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38. I have wounded them that they were not able to rise :
they are fallen under my feet.
To "enlarge one's steps" is to give him ample standing and a
strong position.  It should not be forgotten that David fought
his battles not for himself or for any selfish object, but as the
Lord's consecrated servant. Hence such words as these have a
legitimate place in this sacred, grateful song. Otherwise they
would be utterly out of place here.
39. For thou hast girded me with strength unto the bat
tle : thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against
me. 40. Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies ;
that I might destroy them that hate me.
To " give to David the necks of his enemies " is, in the expres
sive phrase of the Hebrew, to give them to him by the neck, or
neck-wise — to place their necks in his power.
41. They cried, but there was none to save tliem: even
unto the Lord, but he answered them not.
In their distress they cried to their own God, but in vain; or if to
the real Jehovah, still he was no God of theirs — was not the God they
intelligently or sincerely worshiped. The story of Jonah shows
that the uninstructed heathen may cry in their distress to the god
of the storm, or to the god who wields the destinies of battle ;
and perhaps this is what David intended to say.
42. Then did I beat them small as the dust before the
wind : I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
This portion of the Psalm contemplates the wars of David
against the various heathen nations contiguous, from whom under
the Judges and Saul the nation had often suffered severely —
Philistia, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and Syria. The figure in this
verse indicates the thoroughness, not to say severity, with which
he executed his high commission against them. The short-com
ing of Saul (1 Sam. 15 :) sent of God to destroy Amalek, was
before his eyes as a warning.
43. Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the peo
ple ; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen : a
peop% wham I have not known shall serve me.
44. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me : the
strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of
their close places.

80 PSALM XV1IL
" Strivings of the people," meaning by " people " the Gontile
and hostile nations encircling Israel, over all whom the Lord
made David victorious.  The word rendered, "Shall submit
themselves unto me," implies that they lie to him to gain his favor,
perhaps after the manner of the Gibeonites (Josh. 9), but cer
tainly implying great fear of his power.  " Be afraid out of their
close places " is precisely — They come forth with fear from their
hiding-places, assured of their insecurity there and having no
hope but in complete, not to say abject, submission.
46. The Loed liveth ; and blessed be my Rock ; and let
the God of my salvation be exalted.
47. It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people
under me.
48. He delivereth me from mine enemies : yea, thou liftest
me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast de
livered me from the violent man.
" The Lord liveth " can not be taken as a form of the solemn
oath, as these words are used in some connections, nor as a prayer
that God may live, which in its strict sense is entirely uncalled
for ; but as a fact in which his obedient people may forever exult.
David would say: It is my supreme joy that my Jehovah liveth
forever and ever: blessed be He who is the Rock of my salva
tion.  "It is God who giveth me revenges," i. e., who avenges
my cause, and for my sincere devotion to him makes me victorious
over my foes. But David recognizes the cause for which he lived
and for which he waged his wars as rather God's than his own—
i. e., as God's before it was his, and as his only because it was
God's and himself God's servant. Hence his joy in God who had
interposed for his own purposes and for his own glory.
49. Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O Loed,
among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
The remarkable thing here is that David would send the voice of
his thanksgiving to God forth abroad among the heathen nations.
It was no part of his faith that the true religion was for Hebrews
only. It was a joy to his large heart to make known God's won
derful works and his exalted nature to the natiohs of the wide
earth, all along down the coming ages. It is interesting to note
that Paul (Rom. .15: 9) caught the spirit of this passage and ap
plied it to the conversion of the Gentiles.
50. Great deliverance giveth he to his king ; and shwveth
mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for ever
more. "To his king"— to me only because I am his anointed king,
called by his prophet to serve him in this capacity; saved from all
my enemies and finally made secure and triumphant on his throne

PSALM XIX. . 81
to do his work in Israel.  "Mercy to his anointed" might in
itself not improperly be extended to apply to every anointed king
on the throne of Israel, but the explanatory clause which follows
demands this large application, yet with very special reference to
his greater Son, the one supreme Messiah. In particular the
eternal duration here contemplated — " for evermore — can be fitly
applied only to the great Messiah. Hence it is plain that in the
subjugation of his national enemies, in their ready subjection to
his scepter, and in the retribution which God brought upon his
persistent enemies, David thought of himself as the great re
presentative of the true Messiah. His thought was : Such deliv
erances will the mighty God work for his then future king; such
achievements the gospel forces of the coming age are destined to
effect. The Psalm has an element of prophecy running through
it but developing itself with special clearness, in these closing
verses. Well might this element enkindle David's songs and give
fresh impulse to his praises of God among all the heathen. And
let every Christian reader say, Amen!
PSALM XIX.
This Psalm is in two parts: in the first (v. 1-6) the visible
heavens come before us as witnesses for God: in the second (v.
7-14) God's written law is presented, both in its qualities and in its
moral effects. Comprehensively we might say here is, first, nature ;
secondly, revelation. Both are thought of as books from God; both
as proclaiming his character, witnessing to his glorious majesty
and his matchless wisdom and beneficence. The Psalm has been
admired in all ages for its exquisite poetry, its comprehensive and
pertinent thought; and for its sublime moral lessons. It gives us
new views of the breadth and comprehensiveness of David's mind,
and of his noble appreciation of the works of God in both these
great fields of his revelation to mortals.
1. The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firma
ment showeth his handiwork.
The "heavens" are here the lower visible heavens with special
reference to the heavenly bodies (so called) ; and the " firmament "
is no other than the great concave sky, called the "firmament"
because supposed to be solid matter, of firm, concave surface, in
which the stars were fixed . and along the face of which the sun
and the moon swept over their respective pathways to fulfill their
destined mission.  A more precise rendering of the Hebrew
heightens the impression: "The heavens are telling the glory of
God; the firmament is setting before us the work of his hands " —
constantly, now and evermore, with no cessation, no intermis
sion. " Telling " as from a book, a written narrative, as the He-

82 PSALM XIX.
brew woi-d indicates.  "Handiwork" is not his easily made
work, but simply the work of his hands.  " The glory of God "
is no other than the glorious qualities of his character — his wis
dom, power, and beneficence. Every thing in this vast field of
nature above our heads is magnificent and beautiful, grand in its
order and method, vast in its proportions, and, above all, benefi
cent in its provisions of light and heat for the good of man and
of all sentient beings.  Let it also be noted that the names of
the Deity used here are not taken up at random, but are wisely
chosen. " El," the Mighty One, the Great Creator and Ruler of
all, is he whose glory the heavens are telling. It is as such a
glorious Creator and disposer of all the worlds in space that the
heavens are forever proclaiming his glory. On the other hand,
the giver of the law (vs. 7-14) is '^Jehovah," the God of the
Covenant, the God of the promises, the God who first revealed the
significance of this name, " Jehovah," to Moses and to Israel (Ex.
6 : 3 and 3 : 11-15), in calling his people forth from Egypt and
giving them then his moral law together with statutes and judg
ments under which they might walk in communion with him as
their revealed Lord and Father.
2. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night
showeth knowledge.
"Day to day will pour out speech; night to night will set forth
knowledge" — the future tense indicating that this both is and will
be their perpetual function. "Day unto day" means that each
day bears its witness in perpetual succession, as if one testified in
harmony with another and each in harmony with all. Each
day and each night come forward as witnesses to the same glory
of their Maker, each true to its mission of service, each prompt
to its appointed work in perfect method, with unvarying order, in
military precision. The " speech" which the day uttered forth is
no other than this witnessing testimony to the glory of the Great
Maker of all. The "knowledge" which each night reveals to
man is knowledge concerning the mighty God who made the count
less worlds of the evening sky.
3. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is
not heard.
4. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their
words to the end of the world.
As if conscious that his bold poetic conception of the heavens
as a book and of speech uttered by one day after another might
need some qualification, he checks himself here for explanation.
Not real speech ; no actual words ; no articulate voice is heard ;
and yet their line, their musical utterance, the ring of their sweet
melody goes forth through all the earth, and their poetic words to
the ends of the world. The English version obscures the sense by
introducing the words, "there is" and "where." The true sense

PSALM XIX. 83
appears when we simply translate the words given in the Hebrew
as above. " No speech ; no words ; no [literal] voice of theirs is
heard."  -In y. 4, "their line" is taken by some to mean their
measuring line, in the sense, the range or scope of their domain
fills the wide world; but the context and the parallel term,
"words," concur to justify the sense — their melody, the ring or
twang of their melodious utterance.  Remarkably the Hebrew
term for "words" in the last clause of v. 4, is used only in
poetry — their words, poetically conceived, sound forth to the ends
of the world. The entire passage is full of exquisite beauty.
5. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, Avhich
is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and re-
joiceth as a strong man to run a race.
6. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and
his circuit unto the ends of it : and there is nothing hid
from the heat thereof.
In these heavens God hath pitched a tent for the sun— a state
ment which is the more remarkable because, according to the as
tronomical conceptions of that age, this tent was not located in
the visible heavens, but below the horizon, under the earth, the
sun dropping into it at his setting, and coming forth from it fresh
and lovely as a bridegroom from his chamber ; vigorous as a strong
man trained for the race. Then he sweeps athwart the heavens
from the distant East to the farthest West, and nothing can
escape the heat of his beams. Vegetation starts into fresh life at
his touch; all living things and creatures rejoice in his light and
heat. His ministries of good pervade the wide earth from the end
of heaven, the eastern horizon, to the uttermost end of it on the
face of the western sky.  These conceptions of the heavenly
bodies are thoroughly poetical, i. e., such as the imagination
paints, and they follow the current astronomical thought and
speech of that age. It is their charm and glory, not alone that
they are unsurpassed in poetic beauty, but that they have an eye
to see God in all his works, and that they witness so forcibly; to
the impression which the visible heavens made upon the soul of
"the sweet Psalmist of Israel." His shepherd life made him
familiar with the face of the evening as well as of the morning
sky. We must suppose that his eye had been often turned up
ward and fastened upon the great bodies which stand forth in
these visible heavens— those that bestud the firmament in the
night season, as well as upon that grand monarch of the day who
during his race from eastern sky to western throws all else into
the shade. In all these he saw God, the great Maker and Father
of all.
7. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul :
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the

84 PSALM XIX.
heart : the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlighten
ing the eyes.
9. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever ; the
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
Here are six corresponding and nearly parallel statements in
three pairs, all treating of essentially the same written law of God,
though under six different designations; "law," "testimony,"
"statutes," commandments," "the fear of the Lord," and "his
judgments;" in each case giving one defining characteristic in a
single word, and then adding one statement as to its precious re
sults or effects — all with the same systematic order.  It will be
asked, What precisely does the Psalmist mean by "law," "com
mandment?" etc. Is it the moral law of the ten commandments
and this only ; or is it this, including also all the statutes, civil
or religious, of the Mosaic code? The latter, manifestly, and
nothing less, if we may judge from the variety of terms and
phrases used here, and from the fact that precisely those terms and
phrases are used to represent the entire civil, ceremonial, and
religious code as given by the Lord through Moses. I can see no
reason for restricting the language to the ten commandments.
Indeed there are many things in the historic portions of the Pen
tateuch, falling naturally under the head of "judgments," e. g.,
the visitations of God upon Sodom, Egypt, Pharaoh, Korah, etc.,
which had their moral lessons no less truly than the statute laws.
It would seem more appropriate to include these than to exclude
every thing but the ten commandments. The written law as it was
in the hand of David could not have been less and perhaps may
not have been more than the Pentateuch. This was known by
the Jews through all ages as distinctively " the Law," and as
given through Moses [John 1: 17].
Psalm 119 is precisely an .expansion of these verses [7-12],
with the same leading phrases, the same strain of thought, only
opened and enlarged much more fully in the line of the writer's
heart-experiences of love, esteem, admiration for this " law of the
Lord,"  This law is here said to be "perfect," i. e., complete
and without defect ; and " converting " or more precisely restoring
"the soul," as the same words are used (Ps. 23 : 3)— "he restoreth
my soul," i. e„ renews its spiritual strength. According to its
primary sense, this word might refer to spiritual conversion from
sin to holiness; it might also refer to spiritual quickening, im-
parted to one already converted. The general strain of this
passage,, however, must apply to a child of God, one who loves
the law of God and who purposely and earnestly sets himself to
a holy life and studies the_ law of God as the legitimate means
for discovering and expelling his "errors and secret faults."
Hence it is best to interpret this word accordingly.  " The tes
timony of the Lord," a name applied to the law because it is his
testimony against sin,. wrong-doing, and in favor of the right, "is

PSALM XIX. 85
sure," literally reliable, veracious, truth only with no admixturo
of error or falsehood. "It maketh wise the simple" who are
here, not the easily seduced — the sense common in Solomon's
writings — but those who are open and simple-hearted as opposed
to prejudice, a stubborn self-will and self-made moral blindness.
 " The statutes of the Lord are right," commending themselves
as right to every honest conscience; and gladdening the hearts of
all who love equity.  " The commandment of the Lord is pure,"
morally faultless ; and " it enlightens- the eyes," either in the
sense of revealing new light as to human duty, or of inspiring
hope and joy, i. e., of dispelling darkness and gloom and of
shedding the light of gladness on the soul. The latter is a very
common conception in the Hebrew writings. But there can be
no strong objection to the sense of spiritual illumination as to
truth and duty.  " The fear of the Lord " is somewhat often
made synonymous with true piety, and seems here to be trans
ferred to that which begets piety, viz. : the law of God. We are
pressed to this construction by the tenor of the whole passage.
The writer had perhaps mostly exhausted the Hebrew syno
nyms for law, and therefore indulged himself in this license of
using a phrase which describes a state of heart for that which
naturally produces it; the name of the cause being given to the
effect.  "Clean" is here in its moral sense, pure, undefiled.
"Standing forever," never to be abrogated. The great moral
lessons of even the ceremonial and sacrificial system could never
lose their force. The form might change; the spirit never. 
"Judgment" has a broad range of possible meanings — e. g., stat
utes, considered as expressions of the divine will ; the decisions of
a ruler or judge, passed upon moral actions; and sometimes even
the execution of a legal sentence, and especially the punishment
which God visits upon sin. The drift of the passage and the
demands of substantial parallelism favor the sense first above indi
cated, that of statutes, as the leading idea. They are declared to
be true and all righteous.
10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much
fine gold : sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb.
" More to be desired " — strictly, loved, cherished, valued — and
measured here by that which men most prize and by general con
sent have made the standard of value — gold. So the next figure
compares the sweetness of this law of the Lord to that of honey,
even when dripping fresh from the comb. Thus the love of the
heart for God ana his law is set forth as stronger than the
strongest earthly passions of men — those for most precious gold
and most luscious honey. Each reader may wisely ask. Is this
true of me ?
11. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in
keeping of them tliere is great reward.
" Warned " in the sense of instructed, enlightened. The re-

86 -PSALM XIX.
ward of obedience to this law is great — in a right heart; a peace
ful tranquil mind ; a loving spirit which brings its own reward of
bliss, but which ensures also a rich and eternal reward of blessed
ness from the Great Father.
12. Who can understand his errors ? cleanse thou me from
secret faults.
13. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them have not have dominion over me : then shall I be
upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgres
sion. The Mosaic law made a broad distinction between sins of ignor
ance, inadvertence, or error, on the one hand; and presumptuous
sins, i. e., sins with a bold heart and a high hand on the other.
The former are spoken of in Lev. 4: 2, 22, 27, and Num. 15: 27;
the latter in Num. 15: 30, 31, and Deut. 17: 12, 13. The par
allelism renders it probable, if not certain, that in v. 12
" errors " and " secret faults " are put in the same class, not of pre
sumptuous sins, but sins of ignorance, mistake, inadvertence. The
study of the Mosaic law and of his own heart and life had im
pressed David with a deep sense of the great difficulty of know
ing his own heart to the bottom, and of discerning the applica
tions of the law of God in all its breadth and spirituality. Under
these impressions he cries out, " Who can understand his errors ?
Cleanse thou me from secret, unnoticed, unobserved sins." He
also prays not less fervently that he may be effectually restrained
from presumptuous sins ; that their dominion over his soul may be
forever broken ; and that no temptation from excited passion may
ever "hurry him into such sin.  "Innocent," not from "the"
great transgression as if his eye were on Eome one special form
far above all others in malignity; but from "great transgression,"
?'. e., from any considerable, grave transgression.  It thus be
comes clear that David set his heart most fully and strongly
against presumptuous sins, spoken of here as " great transgres
sions," and also that he had a deep sense of the difficulty of guard
ing effectually against the other class of sins, but gave himself
to the effort with earnest purpose and sought help from the Lord
in prayer for absolute purity, even from "secret" sins. David
manifestly made much use of the law of God as well as of prayer
in both these lines of moral effort toward personal and complete
victory over sin.
14. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of
my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord, my strength,
and my redeemer.
The Hebrew words for "be acceptable'' are of constant use in
the Levitical law for sacrifices and offerings acceptable to God.
Obviously David's thought is upon those prescribed services and

PSALM XX. 87
sacrifices by means of which sinners may approach the sinless
One acceptably.  In these closing words the highest aspirations
of David's heart culminate. 0 that my words and thoughts might
be such as please God! O let me be so pure from sin, so fully in
the spirit of the prescribed sacrifices for sin, that he can graciously
receive me as his pardoned and purified child!  Thus closes
this admirable and wonderful Psalm. The poetry and beauty of
the first part will fascinate many, and not unworthily ; but a no
bler spirit reigns in this latter portion, a grander aspiration, a
high aim, more worthy of an iiflmortal being made in the image
of God and nobly laboring upward to regain the purity and per
fection of moral character which are pleasing before the Great
Father.  »oJ«t;o° 
PSALM XX.
This Psalm was composed for the emergency of a pending war,
of which the indications are "the day of trouble" (v. 1); that
prayer for help in batttle is the strain of the whole Psalm ; the
offering of special sacrifices preliminary to the going forth to war
(v. 3); the setting up of military banners in the name of their
God (v. 5) ; the fact that their enemies gloried in chariots and in
horses, God's people in his name alone (v. 7) ; and that in this
conflict their enemies fell and they rose in strength and victory
(v. 8). These points harmonize readily with the historic account
of David's war against the combined forces of Amnion and Syria
as recorded in 2 Sam. 10: 6-19 and 1 Chron. 19: 6-19. The
prayerful spirit which pervaded this expedition appears even in the
history : " Be of good courage and let us behave ourselves valiantly
for our people and for the cities of our God; and let the Lord do
that which is good in his sight " (1 Chron. 19 : 13). We may there
fore suppose this Psalm to have been composed for the worship
[and prayers] of the tabernacle on this momentous occasion.
It should be borne in mind that these were the most powerful
enemies with whom David ever came into the collision of arms.
1. The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble ; the name
of the God of Jacob defend thee ;
2. Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen
thee out of Zion ;
This was a critical hour. The might of Ammon, savage and
fierce in arms, was more than duplicated by a most formidable
alliance with Syria, constituting a military crisis for the relatively
small kingdom of Israel. Hence the prayer : " Let Jehovah, our
covenant God, hear thee in this day of trouble ; let the name — all
the glorious perfections — all the power and wisdom of the God of
Jacob, set thee on high in safety and victory; send thec help from
his own abode, his sanctuary in Zion."

88 PSALM XX.
3. Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt
sacrifice ; Selah.
4. Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfill
all thy counsel.
" May he notice with favor thy offerings and thy sacrifices " —
the first of the two terms, " offerings," including the vegetable
class, and the second the animal which were offered by fire. The
word for "accept" means, primarily, to make fat, then to account
as fat and so to regard with favor. The fat was burned on the
altar — vital to the acceptance of the sacrifice.  "Selah" indi
cates a pause, perhaps for silent prayer. Here was the appropri
ate place to ask that God would grant all the king's desire and
help him to accomplish all his purposes.
5. We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of
our God we will set up our banners : the Lord fulfill all
thy petitions.
The setting up, unfurling, of military banners in the name of
their God indicates the religious feeling with which they wont
forth to this war. " Our God " expressed their relation to the
Most High and the ground of their confidence of success.
6. Now know I that the Loed saveth his anointed ; he
will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength
of his right hand.
The writer and every one of the people worshiping and praying
in the words of this song might say: "I," "I know that the Lord,
the faithful God, will save his anointed king." The anointing was
God's own designation of David to the throne as the man of his
own heart to rule his people Israel. Hence these words of confi
dent assurance, beautifully thrown in with these supplications. The
last clause might as well have been read, "with the strength of
his saving right hand " — that right hand which is so gloriously
clothed with power unto salvation.
7. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses : but we
will remember the name of the Lord our God.
The Hebrew gives but one verb for this verse — translated
"remember." This should be used instead of "trust" in the
first clause. Inasmuch as this remembering the name of the
Lord is remembering with prayer and praise, and at this stage
of the song with praise especially, the verso may be translated
thus : "Some" (i. e., our enemies) "glory in chariots and horses;
but we will glory in the name of Jehovah alone," our faithful and
Almighty God.
8. They are brought down and fallen : but we are risen,
and stand upright.

PSALM XXII. 89
Ihey, glorying in their chariots and horses, are brought down
and have utterly fallen : but God has given us the victory. We
have risen from our former low estate and have become estab
lished in power and fame before the nations. Such historically
was the result of this victory.
9. Save, Lord : let the king hear us when we call.
Some critics prefer to change the punctuation and construction
so as to read: "Lord, save the king: hear us when we call."
The traditional authority of the ancient Hebrew scholars is
strongly in favor of the punctuation followed in our English ver
sion, in which case "the king" with the article i. e., the Great
King, is Jehovah himself, the real King over the covenant people
under the theocracy. Let the Great King of the land hear us when
we call on him for his saving power in this emergency ! Similarly
in Ps. 48 : 2, " the city of the Great King ;" and in Deut. 33 : 5,
" He was King in Jeshurun," i. e., over his upright people.

PSALM XXI.
This Psalm bears somewhat close relations to the preceding one,
that being mainly prayer for divine help in the emergency of a
pending war; this, a joyful thanksgiving for victories achieved,
coupled with expressions of assurance that other victories will fol
low. Probably the victory obtained over Amnion and the capture
of its great city Rabbah, as recorded in the history (2 Sam. 12:
30, 31) constitute the occasion of this Psalm. Compare v. 3 with
2 Sam. 12 : 30, and v. 9 here with v. 31 there. Then if we bear
in mind also that -the great promises given to David, recorded 2
Sam. 7, expanded also in Ps. 89, were then recent and fresh before
his mind, and that he thought of these victories over Ammon and
Rabbah as pledges of the same divine favor which was manifested
there in those promises of the great Messiah, and a sort of guar
anty that they should be fulfilled to him and to God's people in yet
greater victories of truth through this most Mighty Conqueror in
his far more lasting reign, we shall be in a position to understand
the scope and spirit of this interesting Psalm.
1. The king shall joy in thy strength, 0 Loed ; and in
thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice !
This king is David. The Hebrew word lacks the article which
distinguishes it from the King, the great King of Ps. 20 : 9. Yet
the relations were close between David, the Lord's chosen and
anointed king of Israel, and the Great Anointed One [Messiah],
his prophetic son and his successor on an eternal throne.  The
tone of this verse is that of exultant joy in the strength of the
Most High who had given David a signal victory over his most for
midable enemies.

90 PSALM XXI.
2. Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not
withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
3. For thou preventest him with the blessings of good
ness : thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.
The prayer which mostly fills the previous Psalm has now been
answered.  " Preventest," in the ancient sense of this word — to
come in before him, to meet him even while yet speaking, with most
precious blessings.  This "crown of pure gold" may be the
very one captured at Rabbah, and thenceforward worn by David.
The historic record states (1 Chron. 20: 2): "David took the
crown of their king from off his head and found it to weigh a
talent of gold, and there were precious stones in it; and it was set
upon David's head."
4. He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even
length of days forever and ever.
David had prayed for life, in a larger sense than merely added
days — a sense which included prosperity, and especially a. throne
perpetuated to his posterity after him. The history shows (2 Sam.
7: 18, 19, 26, 29) that David was deeply affected with the wealth
of these promises, and most of all, the duration of these blessings :
" Thou hast spoken of thy servant's house for a great while to
come ! " " Let the house of thy servant David be established be
fore thee ;" " With thy blessing let the house of thy servant be
blessed forever." These expressions in that remarkable prayer ex
plain the corresponding language here, " length of days forever and
ever," showing that his mind is upon the perpetuation of his throne
in the great Messiah.
5. His glory is great in thy salvation : honor and majesty
hast thou laid upon him.
6. For thou hast made him most blessed forever : thou
hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.
"Laid upon him" in the sense of conferred, bestowed. 
" Made him most blessed," is in Hebrew : Hast made him blessings
forever — a fountain of blessings to others, with an eye probably to
the form of the promise made to Abraham : " In thy seed shall all
nations be blessed" (Gen. 22: 18).  "Exceeding glad with thy
countenance," means with the manifestations of thy presence, the
light of thy face, thy favor and love.
7. For the king trusteth in the Loed, and through the
mercy of the Most High he shall not be moved.
_ These great blessings came through faith in God. Because the
king is trusting and has trusted in Jehovah, therefore is his mercy
so great toward his believing servant.  " Shall not be moved,
the Hebrew conception of a stable throne— one not to be disturbed
by hostile powers.

PSALM XXII. 91
_ 8. Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies : thy
right hand shall find out those that hate thee.
9. Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of
thine anger : the Loed shall swallow them up in his wrath,
and the fire shall devour them.
10. Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and
their seed from among the children of men.
_ To find all his enemies ; to destroy them with terrible destruc
tion — the Almighty himself being the great agent in this result ;
to exterminate their race ; these are the points here made, indica
ting most complete destruction. The history gives a similar view
of this destruction (2 Sam. 12: 31).  The first clause of v. 9
should read: " Thou shalt make them as an oven of fire in the time
of thy presence," i. e., in the day when thou shalt meet them face
to face for retribution.
11. For they intended evil against thee : they imagined
a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.
12. Therefore" shalt thou make them turn their back,
wlien thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings
against the face of them.
" They intended evil against thee; " but the original means more
than a mental intention : they set forward their schemes ; or fol
lowing out the figure of the Hebrew words, they stretched abroad
their nets for mischief to thee. They devised artful mischief, but
were powerless, as the concise form of the Hebrew has it.  The
reason is then given: "for" (not "therefore") God interposes:
"Thou shalt set them backwise," i. e.,.with their back toward their
enemies.  "On thy bowstring thou wilt prepare" [thine arrows]j
"to their face." The arrows of the Almighty meet them in front'
The word arrow, however, is not expressed, but implied. The over
throw of this enemy is ascribed in many forms to the might of
Israel's God.
13. Be thou exalted, Loed, in thine own strength: so
will we sing and praise thy power.
For all these interpositions of mercy and power, let the Lord
Jehovah be exalted on high as one infinitely worthy to reign, and
let us sing and give praise to him in grateful song !

PSALM XXII.
This Psalm classes itself with the sixteenth. In the interpre
tation of this as of that the first and main question is ; " Of whom
spake the prophet this ; of himself, or of some other man ?" The

92 PSALM XXII.
primary question, important above all others, is whether the per
son speaking here, the "I" of this Psalm, is David or is Christ?
 1 am well aware of another mode of putting the theory of the
Psalm, viz. : that it presents an idealized picture of a pious suf
ferer. Adding this to the other two alternatives and assuming
what all admit — that David wrote the Psalm, we may inquire :
(1.) Did. he personate himself, i. e., write this of himself as his
personal history and experience ?— — or, (2.) Did he intentionally
personate (in the same sense of this word) not himself specially,
but all the suffering pious, giving an ideal conception of the life-
experiences of this whole class ?  or, (3.) Did he write pro
phetically of the Messiah, his greater Son, destined, as being
inspired he might know him to be, to these most peculiar sufferings
of scorn and heart-trials, waxing more and more fearful unto
death, yet finally resulting in glorious salvation to the race?
The first view is held largely by the German school of critics
and by all of neological tendencies. The second has some able advo
cates ; e. g., Professor Alexander who says: " The subject of this
Psalm is the deliverance of a righteous sufferer from his enemies,
and the effect of this deliverance on others. It is so framed as to
be applied without violence to any case belonging to the class
described, yet so that it was fully verified only in Christ, the head
and representative of the class in question. The immediate
speaker in the Psalm is an ideal person, the righteous servant of
Jehovah, but his words may, to a certan extent, be appropriated
by any suffering believer, and by the whole suffering church, as
they have been in all ages." The writer, in Smith's Bible Dic
tionary says : " The most thoroughly idealized picture suggested by
a retrospect of all the dangers of his outlaw life is that presented
to us by David in Ps. 22." — : — That David's personal history and
experiences were in such a sense present to his mind as to furnish
to him largely the language and illustrations, especially in the
portion descriptive of suffering, I see no occasion to deny. This
admission by no means carries with it the theory that he wrote it
properly concerning himself, or even of the entire body of pious
sufferers.  The theory that David wrote the Psalm under inspi
ration and of Christ I accept, and maintain it on the following
grounds: 1. The passages which are quoted from it by the Evangelists,
and declared, or assumed to be prophecies of Christ; e. g., (v. 18)
" They part my garments among them and cast lots for my ves
ture." Of this circumstance John speaks very definitely, thus :
"Then the soldiers when they had crucified Jesus took his gar
ments and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his
coat: now the coat was without seam, wove from the top through
out. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it
but cast lots for it whose it shall be ; that the scripture might be
fulfilled which saith, "They parted my raiment among them and
for my vesture they did cast lots." See also Luke 23 : 34. 

PSALM XXII. 93
Also v. 22. " I will declare thy name unto my, brethren : in the
midst of the congregation will I praise thee"— which the writer
of the Epistle to the Hebrews (2 : 11, 12) quotes to show that
Jesus recognized his people as his brethren and therefore passed
through suffering unto perfect salvation even as they do, and is
not ashamed to call them brethren because they really are, both
in view of his complete human nature and of his common sym
pathy with them in suffering. My argument here is that the
Apostle assumes this language to be that of Christ, not of David ;
that if these words from the Psalm mean David, his argument is
utterly null and void.
2. A second ground, somewhat less conclusive, yet having
weight in connection with the preceding point and with those that
follow, is the fact that the language of this Psalm is appropriated
by Christ and used of himself; and is also taken up, unwittingly,
we suppose, yet very suggestively, by Christ's enemies. Thus the
first words of this Psalm are precisely appropriated by Jesus on
the cross. (See Matt. 27: 46 and Mark 15: 34). I admit that
Jesus might have taken these words from this Psalm even if
David had written them of himself or of some ideal sufferer ; but
I maintain that he used them with far more pertinence if they
were really spoken of him and for him in prophecy.  The revil-
ings cast upon the sufferer in this Psalm are one of its most prom
inent features. Now it is a remarkable fact that the revilers of
Jesus (by some unconscious influence, must we not Bay, on their
hearts and lips) use these very words. Compare the words here,
vs. 7, 8, with their words as in Matt. 27 : 39, 42, 43, and Mark 15 :
29-31 and Luke 23 : 39. The fullness and minuteness with which
the gospel historians quote these words of Christ's revilers indi
cate plainly that they regarded them as a definite fulfillment of
the Psalm before us.
3. A third ground is the precision with which the very mode of
Christ's death is indicated;' the fact that this mode is utterly
foreign to Jewish usage in capital punishment ; and that such a
death and even such wounds are unknown to Jewish history save in
the death of Christ.  In v. 16, we read: "They pierced my
hands and my feet." Years later, another prophecy said : " They
shall look on me whom t/iey have pierced and shall mourn." (Zech.
12: 10). As if with an eye on these prophecies, John the
Revelator wrote : " Behold, he cometh with clouds ; and every eye
shall see him, and they also who pierced him." This most cruel
mode of death by being transfixed on the cross appearing thus
both in prophecy and in history shows how strongly it had im
pressed the minds of the' sacred writers ; or rather how promin
ently it lay before the mind of the inditing Spirit.  But this
passage (v. 16) involves some critical questions. Its full con
sideration is therefore deferred to its place in the chapter.
4. It is at least strongly implied that these sufferings of the
Great Sufferer terminated in death, yet none the less in ultimate
victory. The indications of death are these: (a) In v. 15, "Thou
5

94 - PSALM XXII.
hast brought me _into the dust of death." The Hebrew puts this
in the future tense: "Thou wilt bring me," etc., which we can
not interpret as a groundless fear, but must take as a definite
prophetic anticipation, (b) V. 16, " They pierced my hands and
my feet." Here the argument stands or falls with the construc
tion which [refers these words to crucifixion. If they have this
reference, they of course assume a termination of his sufferings
in death, (c) In v. 18, the "parting of his garments and casting
lots for his vesture " certainly assume that he is slain and that
his murderers, according to usage, are disposing of his garments.
Be it also considered that his prayer (v. 20), "Deliver my soul
from the sword," etc., does not, as applied to Jesus, militate against
the idea of his death ; since the writer to the Hebrews (5 : 7) dis
tinctly informs us that " after strong crying and tears to him who
was able to save him from death, he was heard in respect to that
thing which he feared;" but that thing was not that he might be
spared from death, for beyond all question that writer knew that
Jesus actually died. There, as here, death brought victory. This
mighty struggle of prayer labored upon some other, point than
mere dying. His prayer seems to have been that he might die in
such a spirit of endurance, faith, and triumph over Satan, that his
death might bo a perfect success — a result which is richly indi
cated in the closing portion of this Psalm.  As to the point of
our present argument it will be readily seen that if real death is
involved in the case of this sufferer, he can not be David, for
David died in a good old age, after a successful forty years' reign.
Nor can it be applied with any greater facility to the supposed
ideal sufferer — the whole race of suffering good men — for such a
death as is indicated here is entirely out of place in a comprehen
sive ideal view of their life-history. True, all the good of earth
die ; but only a minute fraction die by violent persecution — under
such insults as these.
5. Entirely conclusive in my view to the Messianic character of
this entire Psalm is the co-relation between the latter portion (vs.
22-31) and the former (vs. 1-2.1). The latter portion gives us the
results of these sufferings. And what are they? — "—First, "I will
declare thy name unto my brethren" — words which appear in the
last verses of the longest recorded prayer of Jesus (John 17 : 26) : " I
have declared unto them thy name and will declare it ;" and are here
as one of the great ends of his mission to earth. Next a thanks
giving feast in which the sufferer pays his vows after the manner
of pious Israelites. This, remarkably, shades off into the great
gpspel feast, probably suggesting this current usage of Jesus and
of the gospel historians; for in this case, as in that. of, gospel his
tory, the "meek" [i. e., the humble, the broken of heart for sin]
"shall eat and be satisfied;" their mouths are filled with praise;
their "hearts live forever" with that eternal life which none can
give but Jesus : and then the range and scope of these blessings
spread out to embrace the "wide, wide world," for "all the ends.
of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the

PSALM XXII. 95
kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee." The gospel
goes forth conquering and to conquer; the rightful rule of the
Lord Jehovah becomes supreme over all the nations. Generation
after generation down through the lapse of the ages, this su
premacy endures, his kingdom an everlasting kingdom and his
dominion one that has no end.  Such are the results of glorious
victory and triumph to the gospel and to the kingdom of Christ
over the nations which come of the sufferings through which this
Great Sufferer is presented in this Psalm as passing.  Now can
this sufferer be David himself and David only ? Was there in his
life any co-related results worthy of being put in such words as
these ? Not by any means. These results can be no other than
those which attend the sufferings of the great Messiah. In him
we see them fully developed. That his sufferings and the conse
quent "glory" were bound together by the strongest mutual co-
relation is signified in those comprehensive words of Peter, giving
the gist of Old Testament prophecy in which " the Spirit of Christ
testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should
follow" (1 Pet. 1 : 11). Precisely this co-relation appears in Isaiah
53, where, " making his soul an offering for sin," but seeing the
fruit of this agony to his full satisfaction and " dividing the spoil
with the mighty" are the attendant results. The scope of this
Psalm, co-relating such results of gospel victory with such suffer
ings, forbid us to see here David only or indeed at all; and shut
us up to Christ only and alone as fulfilling this Psalm.
The caption, " Upon Aijeleth Shahar," involves critical uncer
tainties as usual. The main question is whether these words are
to be taken as the first words of some other ode, indicating here
the tune to which this should be sung; or whether their proper
significance is intended to suggest in a somewhat enigmatic way
the sentiment of this Psalm. The words seem to mean :
" The hind of the dawn." The hind, hunted down, grievously
abused, yet a model of what is innocent and harmless, may sug
gest this sufferer; the "dawn" may be the joyful issue of such
sufferings in the breaking forth of glorious day after the dark
ness of midnight.  We can afford to accept this construction as
on the whole more probable than any other. .
1. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why
art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring ?
The original makes but one question, continuing the thought
thus: "Why hast. thou forsaken me, being afar from my help and
from the words of my plaintive cry ?" The last word, "roaring,"
is obnoxious to unpleasant associations which may fitly be avoided.
 The words, " My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ? "
were uttered by Jesus under the agonies of the cross (See Matt.
27 : 46 and Mark 15 : 34). We must suppose that he used these
wfeds because they w*ell expressed his thought and feeling, and

96 PSALM XXII.
with high probability, because he recognized them as prophetic of
his agony of soul in these last hours of woe. Beyond this who can
go ? How shall we account for that sense of being forsaken of
his God ? What can we say of its occasion, or of its causes, or
of its elements ? The inner chambers of the spirit's deep agony
are always sacred ; in this case, more than sacred ; they are mys
terious, unfathomable, having to do with the little known relations
of the world's great vicarious Sufferer to the Supreme Governor
of the Moral Universe in a point involving a propitiatory sacrifice
for sin, the vital elements of which are among the deepest things
of his moral reign.
2. O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not ;
and in the night season, and am not silent.
This represents the cry for help to be somewhat long protracted.
The history of Jesus gives some intimations of this great conflict
of soul, other than those which appear in Gethsemane and on
Calvary. We can not know their actual duration nor the suggestive
or other influences which seem to have induced them on special
occasions, as when he said: "Now is my soul troubled, and what
shall I say? Father save me from this hour? [Nay]." But for
this cause came I unto this hour (John 12 : 27).
3. But thou art holy, 0 thou that inhabitest the praises
of Israel.
4. Our fathers trusted in thee : they trusted and thou
didst deliver them.
5. They cried unto thee, and were delivered : they trusted
in thee, and were not confounded.
Thou art holy and consequently wise and good ; my soul shall
bow sweetly and trustfully to thy will. Admirably in harmony
with the spirit of these words, Jesus closed his prayer of agony
that " if possible the cup might pass from him," with these memora
ble words : " Not my will but thine be done."  The allusion to
"the fathers" who had trusted God in their affliction and had
been delivered, is eminently suggestive, showing the divine pur
pose in the permanent record of such examples — not to say also
in permitting such cases to exist as examples.  " Thou that in
habitest the praises of Israel," abiding in the temple amid its hal
lowed songs and being the supreme object of their constant wor
ship. 6. But I am a worm, and no man ; a reproach of men,
and despised of the people. •
7. All they that see me laugh me to scorn : they shoot
out the lip, they shake the head, saying,
8. He trusted on the Loed iliat he would deliver him :
let him deliver him, seeing he delightedjn him.

PSALM XXII. 97
"A worm," i. e., in the estimation of the people, as the strain
of the passage indicates. "And no man" — not a man respected
of men, the writer in this case selecting that Hebrew word for
" man " * which signifies one held in honor, a man of rank. "A
reproach of men," even of the lower class, of man considered as
earth-born. -j- Even they despise me. "They shoot out the lip,"
literally, pout with the lip', to express the most sovereign contempt.
 The Hebrew word translated " trusted " p. e., " on the Lord ']
means primarily to roll, i. e., to devolve upon the Lord whatever
may be your burden. It is used most expressively in this sense
in Ps. 37 : 5, " Roll thy way upon Jehovah ; " and in Prov. 16 : 3,
" Roll thy work upon Jehovah." Peter has the same thought in
his words, " Casting all your care upon him, for he careth for
you," (1 Peter, 5 : 7). It stands here in the imperative — a fact best
explained by supposing that his revilers tauntingly retort his own
words : " Thou who hast so often said, Roll every burden upon
Jehovah, try it in thine own time of need. God will doubtless
deliver thee ! God will rescue him, for he delights in him! " — all
said in contemptuous irony. The men who thus reviled him were
the last men in the world to believe one word of it.  As al
ready shown, all these words were said by the scribes and Phari
sees to the suffering Jesus in the very spirit which is here indi
cated. Unconsciously to themselves they were fulfilling prophecy,
altogether unaware that " thus it was written and thus it behooved
Christ to Buffer" (Luke 24: 46). Other prophecy at a later day
repeated some of these very words. " Thus saith the Lord . . .
to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth"
(Isa. 49:7). "He was despised and rejected of men ... he
was despised and we esteemed him not " (Isa. 53 : 3).
9. But thou art he that took me out of the womb : thou
didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.
10. I was cast upon thee from the womb : thou art my
God from my mother's belly.
The natural influence of such revilings must be to depress the
spirits, sadden the heart, and throw the pious man back upon his
God. So here : My God has had the care of me since my very
birth ; has all along since that hour been training me to trust in
him and giving me ever fresh proofs of his loving care; and shall
I despair of his love and of his help now?  Whatever may
have been true in this respect of David's infancy, we know it was
all strikingly true of Jesus — named and destined to his high mis
sion while yet unborn ; shielded from Herod's wrath by divine
admonition ; sent into Egypt and then brought back and closeted
away from the envy' and rage of Pharisee and priest in dark
Galilee, till his work was largely done.
B"N* D"lKt

98 PSALM XXII.
11. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is
none to help.
12. Many bulk have compassed me : strong bulls of
Bashan have beset me round.
13. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a raven
ing and a roaring lion.
These figures come from pastoral life — natural to David. Tho
cattle of Bashan were reputed to be both fat and fierce. Surround
ing their victims, bellowing and tearing, or like a lion devouring
his prey and roaring, they were forcible images of his fierce,
blood-thirsty enemies.
14. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out
of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of
my bowels.
15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my
tongue cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou hast brought me
into the dust of death.
Here we see the sufferer faint, exhausted, agonized as if his
bones were dislocated at every joint; his heart like melted wax;
his strength dried and gone ; his tongue parched with thirst — one
of the common results of extreme suffering and very definitely
fulfilled in [Jesus crucified; and finally in the climax he says
" Thou wilt put me into the dust of death! " The original makes
this verb future ; not " thou hast brought," but thou wilt, etc., in
dicating at least the.fear, and more naturally the definite expecta
tion, of death as the result. These various phrases combine to
give the idea of extreme nervous exhaustion. Such we know to
have been the last hours of Jesus. A whole night, not only
sleepless but full of earnest thought and intense emotion; the
passover, the long conversations and prayer which fill five pre
cious chapters in John's narrative (13-17); the scenes of Gethse
mane, the betrayal and arrest; the preliminary examination before
Ananias ;, the more protracted one before Caiaphas and the
Sanhedrim ; the hearing before Pilate ; then before Herod ; then
again before Pilate; the decree for his crucifixion; the weary
faintness which sunk under the wood of his own cross — all these
things were at once the causes and the proofs of exhaustion really
extreme, leaving no nervous energy to bear up against the terri
ble agony of crucifixion.
16. For dogs have compassed me : the assembly of the
wicked have inclosed me : they pierced my hands and my
feet. "Dogs" are in figure for ferocious men. But we must not find
this figure in the American dog of civilized society, domesticated,

PSALM XXII. 99
petted, cultivated; but in the Asiatic, wild and savage, a terror to
men.  "Assembly" is the usual word for "congregation," the
assembled people who offered their worship at God's temple, but
in the case of Jesus, a people utterly apostate from God, awfully
wicked, madly enraged against the meek and lovely Sufferer who
had fallen into their grasp.  In the last clause the word for
" pierced " has tasked the labors of critics to the utmost. It is
scarcely possible to lay before the merely English reader the com
plicated difficulties which invest the Hebrew word. It occurs in
precisely this form only once in our Hebrew Bible (viz., Isa. 38 :
13) ; there in the sense, " as a lion." With only a slight change in
the first vowel we meet it also in Num. 24 : 9, and Ezek. 22.: 25,
in these two passages with the same sense, "as a lion." But this
sense in the passage before us would be exceedingly inappropriate,
unnatural, and therefore unsatisfactory, the more so because there
being no verb inihis last clause, we must, by the common laws of
language, supply the next preceding one, thus : " As a lion they
enclose, surround, my hands and my feet." It seems incredible that
David could have meant to say this.  The case is complicated by
the presence of three various readings besides the text,* creating
real doubt as to the precise form of the original. Then we have
the possibility, not to say probability, of unusual grammatical
forms, and. also. of peculiar etymological forms under which the
word might be a verb from the root,f which means to dig through,
pierce, or bore. The Septuagint version gives the sense attached
to the word at the date of its translation (more than two centuries
before Christ) and this is pierced. In view of all the evidence in
the case I concur in the conclusion reached by Feurst, the latest
authority in lexicography, viz., that "it is either the construct
plural participle or third person plural perfect from (*")}0) m taO
sense of its cognate (~11^), and therefore should be translated
either "piercing " or " they pierced my hands and my feet." This
sense being granted, the passage becomes a remarkably definite
prediction of the manner of the Savior's death on the cross— a
point moreover quite inappplicable to David.
17. I may tell all my bones : they look and stare upon
me. "I might count all my bones," probably because indicated by
the pain that filled them.  "They look and stare upon me:1'
"they," not the bones, but the malicious enemies spoken of
throughout the previous verses of the Psalm. The idea is that
while every bone seemed to spring into vivid consciousness by its
distinct sufferings, those enemies were looking and staring at him
to taunt every pang !
18. They part my garments among them, and cast lots
upon my vesture.
vo vijo n*o (njo* Text. tixa «¦ -to

100 PSALM XXII.
This is a case of minutely definite prophecy, remarkably ful
filled. From the pen of John (19 : 23, 24) wc have the particulars
in full. The crucifixion was performed by four Roman soldiers.
According to usage the clothes of the malefactor were their per
quisite. In the present case they divided all except the seamless
robe into four parts, but this robe (such as the priests wore), a gar
ment woven without seam, was so peculiar and so valuable, they
said, Let it not be rent, i. e., for division among us, but let the lot
determine who shall have it.  Now it is safe to say that such a
series of particulars could not be combined in any merely human
prophecy and its fulfillment more than once in ten thousand public
executions. Such cases test the genuineness of prophecy. No
* eye save that of God could foresee such minute yet improbable
events. 19. But be not thou far from me, O Lord : O my
strength, haste thee to help me.
20. Deliver my soul from the sword ; my darling from
the power of the dog.
21. Save me from the lion's mouth : for. thou hast heard
me from the horns of the unicorns.
The " sword " is comprehensive for any instrument or method
of death by violence.  "Darling" has (in Hebrew) the sense of
one dearly beloved, most precious, and seems here to be applied
to life as that which men hold dear above all else. It seems to
involve the idea of the only thing one has of the kind, and is said
of life as the only one men have in this world to lose.  "From
the power" [Hebrew, hand] "of the dog," where the word "hand"
shows that the dog thought of is human, a fellow man, but of
savage, canine propensities.  "Thou hast heard me from the
horns" — a mode of speech technically called a "constructio
pregnans" — i. e., a pregnant construction which involves more than
is expressed : in this case, heard [and delivered] me from the horns
of the buffalo or wild bull.
At this point the description of suffering and of prayer closes,

myriads of those whom he came to seek and to save.
22. I will declare thy name unto my brethren : in the
midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
This verse makes two strong points toward the proof that
the Psalm is thoroughly Messianic. (1.) The writer of the
Epistle to the Hebrews cites these as the words of Jesus recogniz
ing his redeemed people as brethren, of common sympathies, com
mon sufferings, and a human nature common in all things with
his own (2: 11, 12).  (2.) The very point affirmed here, "I
will deolarc thy name unto my brethren, expresses in briefest,

PSALM XXII. 101
most_ comprehensive terms, one of the main purposes of his earthly
mission, and moreover, in the very language which himself used
in his remarkable prayer (John 17: 26): "I have declared unto
them thy name and will declare it." That is, I have done what the
Spirit of prophecy by the mouth of David indicated as the first
and chief end of my earthly mission touching my redeemed breth
ren.— —"In the midst of the congregation will I praise thee"—
following in the manner of public praise the usages of pious
Israelites in the age of David. So we should expect. How else
could the sense be conveyed save by words and allusions familiar
to those Hebrew readers ?
23. Ye thatfear the Lord, praise him ; all ye the seed
of Jacob, glorify him ; and fear him, all ye the seed of
Israel. 24. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction
of the afflicted ; neither hath he hid his face from him ; but
when he cried unto him, he heard.
Let all the truly pious, all the friends of God and of his Son,
unite with me in praising his name because he hath heard my
prayer from the depth of my affliction and hath not hid his face
(save for the moment, v. 1), but has borne me triumphantly
through.  It may be asked, What precisely was this " cry ?
What was«the exigency which extorted this prayer of an anguished
heart; and in what particulars were these prayers heard and
answered?  These questions look down into the depths of the
agonies of Gethsemane and of Calvary, and ask us to analyze the
elements of that mysterious woe. I doubt if any human sagacity
can do it. Men may gather up all the words that fell from the
lips of the Great Sufferer, and all the allusions made to those
scenes by other inspired pens (e. g., those words in Heb. 5 : 7, so
like these : " Who when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, and was heard in [reference to] that he feared ") ; but when
all is done has our human line fathomed this suffering to the bottom ?
Has our search brought out all its elements? We may assign a
portion of it to those significant words : " This is your hour and the
power of darkness" (Luke 22: 53)^ but even of this, how little
can we know ?  As bearing however on the question of the Mes
sianic reference of this Psalm or of this part of it, it should suffice
that the points made here — this most bitter agony ; the extorted cry
J to God for help ; the being heard and delivered from the specific
thing he feared, and the calling therefore on all the pious to join
the sufferer in exultant praise and thanksgiving; all these points
have their precise correspondence in the New Testament allu
sions to these scenes, and go to certify the complete fulfillment of
the Psalm in Jesus Christ, and in him only.
25. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation :
I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

102 PSALM XXII.
26. The meek shall eat and be satisfied : they shall praise
the Lord that seek him : your heart shall live forever.
When the pious Israelite paid his vows and presented his thanks
givings before the great congregation, he brought animals for the
sacrifice of his peace or thank offering [bullocks, calves, goats, or
sheep] — these only, and these apparently because they were suit
able for food, and the Mosaic law prescribed the burning of the fat,
but reserved » portion of the flesh for a thanksgiving feast of
which he who brought the offering partook in company with his
invited friends. They rejoiced together before the Lord in mutual
thanks for the blessings bestowed upon their friend. This usage
appears in the verse before us. This Mosaic thanksgiving festival
became the germ of the New Testament gospel feast to which
our Lord so often compared the gospel "kingdom of heaven."
Of this it is here said, "the meek shall eat and be satisfied."
The "meek" in the sense of the Hebrew are the afflicted, who
have borne their sufferings in patient submission; the humble,
the lowly of heart — the very class whom our Lord continually
invites to the great gospel feast. They "shall eat and bo satis
fied" — shall find this provision all-sufficient and adapted per
fectly to their wants. Then they who thus seek God shall 'have
infinite cause to praise him. " Their heart shall live," in the
highest, noblest sense of life, forever. Such life lacks no element
of real bliss. Its blessedness shall be eternal at God's right
hand! Surely this can be nothing less than the blessedness
which comes through the glorious gospel of Jesus!  :Thus man
ifestly does this thanksgiving festival bring us into the very mar
row and fatness of gospel blessings.
27. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn
unto the Lord : and all the kindreds of the nations shall
worship before thee.
28. For the kingdom is the Lord's : aud he is the gov
ernor among the nations.
The fullness and perfection of these blessings having been
briefly set forth, it remains to indicate their extent. How widely
shall they be enjoyed ? Who and how many shall participate ?
The answer is definite and it is glorious! "All the ends of the
world shall remember," i. e., shall consider, shall think of these
things, shall appreciate these blessings, and be attracted and
drawn back to their Father, God, by this manifestation of his"
infinite love in his suffering, atoning Son. " They shall remember
and shall turn unto the Lord" in true repentance,, earnestly
forsaking all sin and coming back to God in new obedience,
gratitude, and love. "All the families of the nations shall wor
ship before thee " — all tho heathen world shall forsake their idols
and return to the worship, love, and service of the true God.
For, the supreme dominion of this world belongs to Jehovah by

PSALM XXII. 103
supreme eternal right — a right which he asserts and will regain ! •
So the spirit of prophecy declared from age to age onward till
Jesus came, and then renewed the declaration with unabated em
phasis. Obadiah said, "The kingdom shall be the Lord's" («v. 21).
Daniel's words (7: 16) are: "There was given" [to One like the
Son of Man] " dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all people,
nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an
everlasting dominion. ' Let it be remembered that according to Ps.
2 : 7, 8, this dominion over the nations was transferred by cove
nant ["decree"] from the Father to the Son — the anointed Mes
siah. Consequently Jesus himself said, "All power is given unto
ma in heaven and in earth." His beloved disciple expressed the
grand consummation in the words, "The kingdoms of this world
are become the kingdom our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall
reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11: 15).
29. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship:
all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him:
and none can keep alive his own soul.
This language describes the extremes of society — of course in
cluding all the means — all the intermediate classes. The "fat"
are not in this case, the proud and morally hardened [as some
times], but rather the rich, the well-conditioned. Even these shall
eat at the gospel feast and shall reverently worship their glorious
Lord and* King; and on the other hand, all the goers down into
the dust — the toiling, down-crushed millions, the enslaved and
most abject of the race who can not [keep alive their own soul,
whose very lives are not in their own but in some other's keep
ing; even these too shall bow before the Great King and Lord
of all.
30. A seed shall serve him ; it shall be accounted to the
Lord for a generation.
31. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness
unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.
"A seed," a perpetuated race, families in succession from gener
ation to generation, shall be accounted as the Lord's. They shall
come promptly forward and declare his righteousness, his manifold
mercy in this glorious gospel, to generations yet to be born, be
cause the Lord hath accomplished — i. e., fully completed and
finished this gospel work No Hebrew word appears, correspond
ing to the word "this" at the end of the verse; yet the sense is
by no means left uncertain by this omission. "Hath accom
plished" means hath absolutely finished all he had purposed and
promised — hath wrought a most glorious achievement! It is
even suggested with some plausibility tbat the very last words of
the dying Jesus, "It is finished," had a tacit reference to the last
words of this remarkably prophetie Psalm, as to which we have
so many indications that it lay fresh in his mind and warmly on
his heart during those scenes of his final agony.,

104 PSALM XXIIT.

PSALM XXIII.

This Psalm, justly admired for its exquisite beauty, its sweet
simplicity, and its precious spiritual experiences, bears in every
feature the impress of David's hand and no less of David's heart.
Through all his early years at home amid flocks and folds, green
pastures and quiet waters — familiar with every thing pertaining
to the care and comfort of his charge, the young and the aged,
the weak and the strong ; he knew how to use this comparison
with the utmost facility and pertinence to represent the like care
and sympathy of his own Jehovah over himself and his fellow
Israelites.  As to date; we must place this Psalm, not in the
earlier but in the later years of his life, certainly after his trying
experiences of danger from Saul and after his repeated deliver
ances. The goodness and mercy with which God had shielded
him from those earlier dangers confirmed his faith in God for sim
ilar protection through all his future days. This fact with which
the Psalm closes serves to date the writing of it subsequent to his
earlier experiences, yet at a point when other years of probable
life were yet before him.
1. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
It is the shepherd's business to supply the natural wants of his
sheep. Are they hungry? He feeds them. Thirsty? He pro
vides them water to drink. Weary ? He gives them the time and
place for rest. Are they in peril from wild beasts ? He shields
them with his protection. Their comfort is his constant care. 
Moreover it should be borne in mind that where shepherd-life
reaches its highest development, and as we might say is made a
science, there comes to be a degree of mutual acquaintance, at
tachment, and sympathy, quite beyond what appears within the
narrow range of our American experience. The brief notices of
shepherd-life in the gospel history touch this point: "He calleth
his own sheep by name; " " they know his voice; they know not
the voice of strangers ; a stranger will they not follow," etc. Let
us think then of five thousand sheep under the care of one kind
shepherd. He can call whom he will by name; he knows them
individually and they know him ; he goes before them with his
call; they follow close in quick and trustful obedience. Such
was shepherd-life as it stood before the mind of David, inwrought
into whole years of his personal experience. With all this expe
rience fresh in his heart, he sings, "Jehovah is my shepherd; I
know his voice and he knows mine and every feature of my indi
vidual case. Under such a shepherd " I shall not want ; " I can
never lack any good thing. My shepherd can supply my need;
nothing that I, shall ever want can possibly be beyond his power
to give. I have long known the heart of the good shepherd ; and

PSALM XXIII. 105
now must I not think of my own Jehovah, the ever faithful God,
as full of the tenderest sympathy and love for his trustful chil
dren?  But the idea of God as a shepherd to his people was
[probably] not original with David. It appears in the recorded
words of those earlier shepherds, Jacob and Moses ; and we natu
rally assume that David had seen it there. Jacob (Gen. 48: 15)
has the same Hebrew word which David uses here to give the key
note to this Psalm : " The God who fed me," (i. e., was my shepherd)
all my life long unto this day ; " the Angel who redeemed me from
all evil, may he bless the lads" [the two sons of Joseph]. See
also Gen. 49: 24.  Moses (Deut. 32: 12, "So the Lord alone
did lead him") has the same pastoral word which David makes
prominent here : " He leadeth me in paths of righteousness."
2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures : he
leadeth me beside the still waters.
3. He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the paths of
• righteousness for his name's sake.
" Pastures of greenness ; " not parched, dry and desolate on the
desert, barren sand ; " waters of stillness ; " not the rushing winter
torrent, full of peril in the rainy season of that climate; these
are among the first necessities of the flock. These the good Shep
herd, Jehovah, will carefully provide. Then passing suddenly
from the figure to the reality ; from the things which the flock need
to the things which the soul of a child of God needs, he proceeds
to say : He renews my spiritual strength, giving me fresh life and
power in all holiness ; he leadeth me in paths of uprightness
according to his own name — the faithful God, the true Jehovah,
and because he is such a God.  This is precisely what the true
child of God most of all desires; not worldly good, not riches,
not health, not fame ; but an upright life and a heart evermore
pleasing to God — to be what God would have him and to do in
all things' as the Lord alone may lead him. This leading, more
over, is the true pastoral idea — the very thing which the shepherd
does permanently day after day for his trustful and ever following
flock. So the Lord alone leads his obedient, believing people.
4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil : for thou art with me ; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me.
This "valley of death-shade " Heed not be restricted to one's
actual death-scene. The Hebrew term has a broader appli
cation, even to any scenes of great darkne"ss, distress, trial, peril.
We need not exclude those scenes which are wont to precede
death, nor need we exclude many other scenes in which death is
not near nor even to be seriously apprehended. Probably David
had in his mind those years of peril in which, hunted by Saul
and fleeing before him, his life-path lay through a valley of dark
ness almost like that of the grave itself. Yet even so, he says,

106 PSALM XXIII.
I will fear no evil, for though I can not see at all what is before
me amid such darkness, I can still hear my Shepherd's voice :
"tThou art with me" — only one short step before me; "thy rod
and thy staff will comfort me " — I am ever within the touch of my
Shepherd's crook and I can feel it guiding my steps through this
darkness dense as the shadow of death. This seems to be the
precise conception here — strictly pastoral, in harmony with the
scope of the entire Psalm.  The Shepherd's rod is not by any
means an instrument for scourging the sheep, but is the Shep
herd's crook, used to guide his flock and to defend them in dan
ger. The word " staff is essentially equivalent.  The precious
sentiment hero is that in the midst of whatever danger, darkness,
perplexity ; though all other hopes and helpers should fail, yet God
is the strength of his heart — his comfort, his joy, his sure salva
tion. 5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies: tliou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over.
The first clause is specially forcible. Who shall be calm and
brave enough to sit down to his table and enjoy his meal in the
very presence of deadly enemies ? What power is competent to
spread such a table for us and make us thus calm and fearless in
the face of cruel foes ? David had this powerful friend in Jehovah
his God. So perfect was his trust, so full his assurance that God
both could and , would defend him and bear him through every
peril, that when God spread his table in the face of his savage
enemies, he ate his bread in quietness and confidence, as if en
folded within strong and loving arms where no harm could reach
him.  "Thou anointest my head with oil." The original word
shows that this anointing was festive and not official ; i. e., such
as was practiced at feasts and on joyous occasions, and not the
sacred ceremony of induction into the office of High Priest or
King. David would say that this table was not a dry crust,
seized in haste and terror by one trembling with dread of ene
mies ; but was a real banquet, good enough for a king, where his
faithful God ["thou"] stood by to break the alabaster box of
precious ointment and pour it on his head as he sat at meat ! As
an illustration of this usage the reader will recall the case given
by Luke.(7: 37)_ or by Mark (14: 3).  "My cup runneth over,"
full to overflowing; or as the Hebrew has it more precisely, is
abundance itself. So Paul assures his Philippian converts
(4: 19): "My God shall supply all your need according to his
riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life : and I will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever.
Such experiences in the past inspire these assurances in the future.

PSALM XXIV. 107
" His love in time past
Forbids me to think,
He '11 leave me at last
In trouble to sink."
The same great Jehovah who had "so signally befriended and
succored him through all the perils of the past, might surely be
trusted to stand by him with no less faithfulness and love through
all future time.  The Hebrew word translated " surely " more
often means only, i. e., goodness and mercy only — nothing else —
will follow me.'  The translation would be more accurate gram
matically if read: "Goodness and mercy will follow me all the
days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for
ever." He does not think of coercing, forcing, the manifestations
of goodness and mercy, nor should the word "will" be made em
phatic. A simple future is all he aims to express.  The Hebrew
rendered "forever" is simply, "for length of days — for a long
time."

PSALM XXIV.
The occasion and date of this Psalm must be inferred from its
contents. The historical details may be seen 2 Sam. 6 ; a passage
which puts strongly the current idea of our Psalm — "to bring up
the ark of God whose name is called by the name of The Lord of
Hosts that dwelleth between the cherubims."  In a Psalm com
posed to be sung on this occasion, it was eminently fit that God
should be placed before the people, (1) in all his infinite majesty
and glory; (2) in his spotless purity and holiness. The former
qualities are seen best in his creatorship — in the glory of the
worlds he has built and evermore sustains ; while the latter, as
sumed to be perfect, gives the utmost force to the question, Who
shall come up into the place where this Holy God dwelleth ? Who
may hope for his favor and blessing?  Precisely these are the
points which open this Psalm and prepare for the solemn inaugu
ration of,#ie sacred Presence among his people in the holy hill of
Zion. 1. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof;
the world, and they that dwell therein.
2. For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established
it upon the floods.
The earth is the Lord's by the sovereign right of Creatorship —
the right to a thing which we intuitively recognize as resting in
him that made it. This right covers the earth and all that fills it ;
the inhabited world and all that dwell therein. The Hebrew for
" world " means the earth considered as productive and inhabited —
the fitting abode of man.  In using the \vo?'d " upon the seas,"

108 PSALM XXIV.
11 upon the floods, our translators seem to have assumed that the
Psalmist and with him the ancient Hebrews thought of tho entire
earth as reposing upon a base of waters. I am not aware of any
satisfactory evidence that they held this opinion. The Hebrew
word used here by no means demands this construction, for it
equally well admits the sense of above; he fixed it above the seas ;
he made it firm above the floods. This is in harmony with the
Mosaic records and with the demands of geological science. God
gathered together (Gen. 1 : 9, 10) the surface waters that were in
undating the solid globe, elevating the land above those waters and
making it firm in this position, saying to the waters : " Hitherto
shalt thou come but no further; and here shall thy proud waves
be stayed" (Job 38: 11). The language of poetry should be ex
pected to differ somewhat from the language of natural science.
In the former God gathers together the waters and holds them to
their place by his high command ; in the latter he simply upheaves
the solid crust of the earth and leaves the forces of gravitation to
hold the mighty waters to their assigned bed. The proposed end
is gained — a habitable earth prepared for the abode of man — a
world made by its infinite Creator and forever held by him in his
sovereign right as both its Maker and its Lord. Creatorship re
veals and affirms his infinite dignity and glpry, and asserts his
claim to the grateful, adoring homage of his intelligent creatures.
3. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord ? or who
shall stand in his holy place ?
Assuming that this Great God who built the worlds is to take
his abode upon the holy hill of Zion, the Psalmist's mind abruptly
turns to the grave and solemn inquiry : " Who of all the sons of
men shall ascend into this holy hill ? Who shall stand before a
God so glorious and so pure, in his holy place ? " Familiar with
the Mosaic worship at the tabernacle, David would naturally
think of two classes: (1) Those who should abide in the holy
hill, the priests and the Levites permanently located there ; and
(2) those who out of all the tribes should go up to the holy hill
at their great annual festivals and other stated solemnities to
worship there before the God of Israel. It was for every reason
most pertinent that he should labor to impress both these classes
with a sense of the holiness and purity of the Great God, and
lead them to inquire solemnly, Who is worthy to ascend this holy
hill and dwell in this sacred Presence ?
4. He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart ; who
hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceit-
Mly. 5. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and
righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6. This is the generation of them that seek him, that
seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

PSALM XXIV. 103
Forthwith he answers his own question, resting his answer on
principles which are most obvious and which commend themselves
to every man's conscience : The pure in heart and they only shall
see God. They who would stand before the Holy One must be
themselves clean of hands" and pure of heart, for he abhors ini
quity. — —The precise sense of the phrase, " To lift up the soul
unto vanity" is not very obvious, either in this English version or
in the Hebrew. The same verb and preposition occur elsewhere
only in the third commandment — " Thou shalt not take the name
of God in vain " — literally, to take up the name to vanity. But
the same verb and noun with an analogous but not identical prep
osition occur somewhat frequently ; e. g., Ps. 25 : 1 : " Unto thee do
Ilift up my soul." Also Deut 24: 15 : "At his day thou shalt
five him (thy hired servant) his hire, for he is poor and selteth his
eart upon it; " i. e., lifteth up his heart to it. (See also Ps. 86 : 4,
and 143: 8, and Hos. 4: 8, and Prov. 19 : 18.) The choice seems
to lie between the general sense of bringing the soul into contact
with, and the more specific one, exciting the sensibilities toward
an object, lifting the heart toward it — with a preponderance of
probability for the latter.  The word " vanity" is used for things
vain and empty ; also for things false and for idols ; and is perhaps
used comprehensively for sin. The man described here, therefore,
is he who has not given his heart in love to any sin. He shall
receive blessings- — literally shall lift up blessings from the Lord,
with a play upon the same word in the previous clause, thus : He
who has not lifted up his soul [in love] to sin, shall lift up [and
bear away] blessings from the Lord, " even righteousness " — favor,
acceptance from the God who saves him.  This describes the
character and the consequent reward of the whole class [" gener
ation "] who heartily seek the Lord.  But we can not follow our
English translation precisely in supposing the face sought to be
that of Jacob. Both the nature of the case and the drift of the
context compel us to think only of the face of God. It is better,
therefore, to put the word "Jacob" in apposition with those who
seek, thus : . This is the generation of those who seek thy face —
the real Jacob — in the same sense in which the scriptures speak
of the true Israel: "They are not all Israel who are of Israel,"
but only they who are "Israelites indeed in whom is no guile."
See Rom. 9 : 6, and John 1 : 47.  On an occasion like this it was
specially pertinent to impress the sentiment that none could hope
for the favor of the Great and Holy God save such as came before
him pure in heart and hand ; humbly seeking his face in the spirit
of his true and sincere worshipers.
7. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lifted up,
ye everlasting doors ; and the King of glory shall come in.
8. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord strong and
mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Tf, as many critics suppose, this Psalm was written to bo sung

110 PSALM XXV.
as the national procession were advancing with the ark to place it
within the sacred tabernacle on the hill of Zion, then at this point
they have reached the tabernacle, and now address the ancient
gates, calling upon them to lift themselves up that the Glorious
King may enter. [These gates were tent-curtains, not doors on
hinges, opened therefore by being " lifted up."]  These doors
were called " everlasting," i. e., ancient, not on account of the an
tiquity of this particular tent which David himself had prepared
[" in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it," 2 Sam.
6 : 17], but with reference to the original tent constructed long
before in the wilderness, of which this was essentially a reproduc
tion, and possibly in some of its parts the same.  The " King of
glory" means simply the glorious King.  The conception,
" mighty in battle," comes from the life and character of that age —
a militant age and church, in long and bloody conflict with hostile
nations. This glorious King had shown himself to be "mighty to
save " those who went forth to battle with faith in his arm.
9. Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; even lift them up, ye
everlasting doors ; and the King of glory shall come in.
10. Who is this King of glory ? The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory. Selah.
The repetition here is exquisitely pertinent and beautiful, this
being the great central idea of the song.  It has been a favorite
theory with some critics that not only this Psalm but many others
were sung with responsive choirs, one party singing the question
and another the answer. We know too little in regard to the mu
sical performances of the Hebrews to affirm or deny very positively
on this point. It is easy to say that in this Psalm such a mode
would have been very impressive. But if this usage had been
common, it is scarcely credible that there should have been no
other Psalm but this adapted to the responsive method. A single
case of this sort is too small a base to support so great a super
structure as the theory in question. And it is not difficult to
account for the special form of this one on the ground of bold
personification and rhetorical force and beauty.
PSALM XXV.
The ark being now installed in its place on Mt. Zion, the time is
specially appropriate for the revival or rather the reorganization
of the public worship of the sanctuary, with a much larger place
assigned to sacred song than ever before. The responsibility and
labor of preparing these songs for the sanctuary devolved specially
upon David. Remarkably *re find here a series (25-29), five in
number, which, judging from their general scope as well as from
several special points, seem to have been suggested by the scenes

PSALM XXV. Ill
of Ps. 24, and written under the impulse of those scones. They
are fragrant with the spirit of true worship, with longing desires
to be taught of God in every right way, as a means of securing
his favor ; with expressions of trust ; with prayers for help ; with
thanksgiving for mercies, and with ascriptions of honor and glory
to the ever-glorious God.  This Psalm, with slight irregularities,
is an acrostic ; the successive verses beginning with the successive
letters of the Hebrew alphabet. This arrangement was designed
probably to aid the memory.
1. Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
Taking this verse as the key-note of the Psalm, and therefore
expressing comprehensively its main ideas, we shall see that it
covers essentially the whole field of prayer and communion with
God — the soul lifted up to him in prayerful trust for protection
against enemies, in supplication for divine guidance into all truth
and duty, giving moreover a large place to prayer for the pardon
of sin and for constant preservation from its approaches and
temptations. No language could more perfectly express the con
stant experience of the Christian heart. O my God, I lift up my
soul continually, imploringly, trustfully, unto thee. In sorrow or
in joy; in straitened or in large places; in sickness or in health;
what time " all these things are against me," or what time all goes
well — alike always and every-where, thou art my friend, my hope,
my joy; therefore my heart looks evermore unto thee.
2. O my God, I trust in thee : let me not be ashamed,
let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed : let them
be ashamed which transgress without cause.
The being "ashamed" or rather being put to shame, implies
that his expected help from God fails him and he therefore stands
confounded before his enemies as when one trusts in an arm of help
that proves too weak to afford the help needed. In such a result
David knew that his enemies would, exult over him — an exultation
that would be at once mortifying if not also disastrous to himself,
and dishonorable to God. A case in point will make this clear.
David went forth against Goliath of Gath (1 Sam. 17) in the pres
ence of both armies — those of Israel and those of the "aliens,"
proclaiming, " I come out to meet thge in the name of the Lord
of Hosts whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver
thee into mine hands, and all this assembly shall know that the
Lord saveth not with sword or spear; and he will give you into
our hands " (vs. 45-47). Now what if the Lord had failed him
in this emergency. Such a failure however is not to be thought
of so long as the youthful David is in his place prayerful
and trusting, his soul lifted up to the Lord only. Therefore it is
never superflous to pray, " 0 my God, I trust in thee ; let me not
be ashamed; let not mine enemies exult over me."  Not im-

112 PSALM XXV.
probably David is giving us here the precise experiences of his
soul in that eventful hour when he marched forth against the
proud Philistine. Noticeably he shapes this song and prayer, not
for his own use alone but for all : Let none that wait on thee be
ashamed ; but let this shame of disappointment be the lot of those
and those only who are treacherously, inexcusably wicked. The
verb here used, comprises the several ideas .of treachery, wicked
ness, and violence.
4. Show me thy ways, O Lord ; teach me thy paths.
5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me : for thou art the
God of my salvation ; on thee do I wait all the day.
"Thy ways," in an address to God, may mean either the ways
in which God himself walks, or the ways in which he would have
his people walk. The course of thought in this connection favors
the latter view, thus : Teach me how to walk so as to please thee.
Cause me to walk in thy truth, i. e., in precisely the ways which
thou shalt reveal, that I may not err at all from thy precepts, for
I depend on thee alone for my salvation, and I know that this de
pendence is wholly in vain unless I am guided in a holy life by
thine unerring wisdom and by thy good Spirit.  " On thee do I
wait all the day " — not through the day only as opposed to the
night; not through one day in distinction from many; but con
stantly, all the time.
6. Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lov
ing kindnesses ; for they have been ever of old.
7. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my trans
gressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for
thy goodness' sake, O Lord.
When we consider how utterly impossible it is that the infinite
mind of God should ever forget, or ever recall to mind things for
a time out of his thought, we may get some sense of that con
descending accommodation to our limited capacities under which
God allows us to speak to him according to our human ideas, or
after the manner of men with men. In these verses the Psalmist
prays God to remember one class of things, and not to remember
certain other things. Very appropriately too, for it is simply call
ing the divine attention to these points and beseeching him to
think of his tender mercies which he has constantly manifested
through all the ages past ; and next that he would not remember
against him the sins of his youth, but blot them from his book of
remembrance and fully forgive. What is prayer in any possible
case but calling the attention of our Great Father to our wants,
reminding him as the case may be of his promises and resting
our plea on his revealed mercy and goodness — " for thy goodness^
sake, O Lord ?"
8. Good and upright is the Lord : therefore will he
ssach sinners in the way.

PSALM XXV. 113
9. The meek will he guide in judgment : and the meek
will he teach his way.
Are these "sinners" godless men, in all their sins, and is this a
promise that God will lead them to himself if they will seek from
him such leading; or are they converted but yet imperfect, erring
men whom the Lord will guide into better ways of living ? The
latter seems to me most probably the sense. It is manifestly the
sense of the parallel clause that follows (v. 9): "The meek"'?', e.,
the humble as opposed to the proud of heart, " he will guide in
ways that please him." The first construction above named
yields a meaning that is most true and precious ; but not for that
reason necessarily the truth before the mind here.
10. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto
such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.
Sentiment : We may be very sure that God will teach his erring
but penitent people all the ways of life that please him, for his
own ways of dealing with them are wholly merciful and truthful,
i. e., are infinitely kind and faithful to his covenant.  The
"paths of the Lord" are here his own ways of dealing with his
covenant people.
11. For thy name's sake, 0 Lord, pardon mine iniquity;
for it is great.
In the phrase, "for thy name's sake," the nature of God, his
attributes of character, are really expressed under the word
" name." The force of the plea therefore as used in prayer is that
on the ground of his infinite love, pity, compassion, he would show
mercy in this particular case.  Yet another ground is named for
the request, " pardon mine iniquity," in the words, "for it is great."
What is great? Either thy name, i. e., thy manifested love and
faithfulness, or my sin. The former is the more remote antecedent,
the latter the nearer one, and therefore probably the true one.
Either would be a just ground of plea in this prayer. In the lat
ter case thus: For I confess my sin before thee ; I am exceedingly
guilty ; I can not live before thee, this sin remaining unforgiven ;
1 beseech thee, therefore, blot out this my great sin !
12. What man is he that feareth the Lord ? him shall
he teach in the way tliat he shall choose.
13. His soul shall dwell at ease ; and his seed shall in
herit the earth.
The original is abrupt, yet expressive: "Who is this — the
man fearing the Lord? Him he will teach in the way he
shall choose," i. e., God will teach'him in the way himself shall
choose for his fearing servant. This "fear" is not a servile
dread, but a filial, obedient regard.  His soul shall abide in
prosperity (not mere personal "ease"); "his seed" — his children

114 PSALM XXV.
after him — " shall inherit," not the whole world, but " the land " —
the promised Canaan. During all the ages, from Abraham to
Joshua, this was a "land of promise," fraught with glowing at
tractions to the exiled people in Egypt and to their wandering
sons and daughters in the great Arabian desert. Hence the
phrase, "inherit the land," came into current use to signify all
the' most valued and best things of earth.
14. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him;
and he will show them his covenant.
The word translated "secret"* means primarily a sitting
together; then the persons so sitting, constituting a circle or con
gregation; then a group of persons in consultation, involving the
natural concomitant — intimacy, friendship, free interchange of
thought and sympathy. These uses of the word may be seen in
Ps. Ill: 1, and 64: 3, and 55: 15, and Prov. 15: 22, and Gen.
49 : 6, etc. The sense here is, God is the intimate friend of those
who fear him — on terms of intimacy, endearment, sympathy,
counsel. The parallel clause seems to mean — his covenant is to
give them knowledge, to teach them, i. e., all they need to know.
This explains his relation to them. It is not that of equals mutu
ally dependent on each other, but of one mind infinitely superior
to the other and therefore in covenant to impart to the inferior all
needful knowledge and aid.  This sense must be preferred to
that of our received version because the collocation of the Hebrew
words, the Masoretic punctuation and the parallelism combine to
sustain it.  The reader will notice with interest that this mean
ing harmonizes remarkably with the genius of the new covenant
as it stands in Jer. 31 : 31-34, and Heb. 8: 8-11. "I will put my
laws into their mind and write them in their heart, . . . and
all shall know me from the least to the greatest." The germ of
this new covenant is in the passage before us. What can be more
precious ?
15. Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall
pluck my feet out of the net.
Such a friend may be relied on both to perceive all our personal
dangers, and to pluck our feet out from every snare. Therefore
let our waiting eye be evermore toward him for such friendly aid.
16. Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me ; for I
am desolate and afflicted,
17. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: 0 bring
thou me out of my distresses.
18. Look upon mine affliction and my pain ; and forgive
all my sins.
As mine eye is ever toward thee, so, I pray, lot thino oye turn
TlD*

PSALM XXVI. 115
unto me, for I am solitary, lonely, with no other capable friend to
relieve and aid me ; and I am weak (the sense of the word ren
dered "afflicted"); I am powerless to relieve myself; therefore
hasten thou to my relief.  It is doubly painful that a sense of
sin toward God should blend itself with countless other sorrows
and trials, so that with every prayer for help must be mingled a
cry for pardon of sin. But such is Christian experience, the
purest joy of which is evermore that our Father above is plenteous
in mercy and loves to blot out the sins of his penitent, believing
people. 19. Consider mine enemies ; for they are many ; and they
hate me with cruel hatred.
20. O keep my soul, and deliver me : let me not be
ashamed ; for I put my trust in thee.
In the translation " consider," our English version fails to pre
sent the beautiful correspondence which appears in the original :
"Look upon mine affliction" (v. 18) ; "look [also] upon mine en
emies : " let thine eye turn in like manner both ways — toward my
sufferings, and toward the number, malignity, and cruelty of my foes.
21. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I
wait on thee.
' A consciousness of integrity and, uprightness in his relations to
his enemies is quite consistent with such a sense of sin toward God
as is implied in his prayer for'pardon (v. 18).  These words need
not be pressed to imply that in his view his integrity and upright
ness were to be themselves a preserving power, all-sufficient for
his protection ; but only that inasmuch as his life had been in the
main upright, he may, without presumption, pray that God would
protect and deliver him. The Psalmist's doctrine on this point is
developed in Ps. 18: 20-26.— — "I wait on thee; " wait at thy door;
lay my case at thy-feet and trust thee to hear my prayer.
22. Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.
Thus the Psalm closes with a prayer for all, in which all Israel
may unite.  It is not important that we know what particular
troubles were then pressing upon the Israel of God, whether from
foreign enemies or domestic ; from jealousies between the tribes or
from growing prosperity. The prayer is good for every form of
trouble, in every nation, for the church in all ages, because God is
evermore the Refuge and Hope of his people, their Redeemer from
all their troubles. ^  »oj«io» 
PSALM XXVI.
This Psalm sustains close relations to the two that precede, as
also to the three that follow. Its key-note was struck in v. 21 of

116 PSALM XXVI.
the Psalm preceding : " Let integrity and uprightness preserve me ;
for I wait on thee." The writer thinks of his relations to the
wicked — how he has carefully kept aloof from their society,
abhorred their principles, and diligently sought to walk in the
fear of God and in the love of his name.
1. Judge me, 0 Loed ; for I have walked in mine integ
rity : I have trusted also in the Loed ; therefore I shall not
slide. 2. Examine me, O Loed, and prove me ; try my reins
and my heart.
Conscious of general integrity, he appeals to God to search and
try his very heart, his deepest thoughts and purposes.  " Shall
not slide," but shall have a firm footing, a sure standing, God being
his strength and support continually.
3. For thy loving-kindness is before mine eyes: and I
have walked in thy truth.
The connection of thought may be this : my upright life has been
sustained by a pious heart and by a sense of thy love and faithful
ness. I have sought to walk in all thy truth. A present and
gracious God, my guide and refuge, has held me to my purpose of
thorough integrity in all my relations, both to men and to God.
4. I have not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in
with dissemblers.
_ 5. I hated the congregation of evil doers ; and will not
sit with the wicked.
To " sit with the wicked " is to be intimate in their society, in
sympathy with their spirit and life. From such associations the
Psalmist has kept himself See his description of the righteous
man in Ps. 1 :  " Dissemblers," strictly, men of concealed
purpose, who cover their designs from public view, as if conscious
of being too mean and wicked to make it pleasant to be known as
they are. Therefore they are constantly contriving to appear to
be what they are not.
6. I will wash mine hands in innocency : so will I com
pass thine altar, O Loed :
7. That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving,
and tell of all thy wondrous works.
8. Loed, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and
the place where thine honor dwelleth. *
Obviously the question is still before his mind, "Who shal1
ascend into the hill of the Lord ? Who shall dwell in his holy place 'i
He that hath clean hands," etc. (24 : 3, 4). The ark is now located
on Mt. Zion, and public worship is revived there with fresh solemni-

PSALM XXVII. 117
ties. Hence the pertinence of this song.  David seems to recall
the great deliverances wrought for him since his call to the throne,
up to this inauguration of the sacred ark on the hill of Zion, and
is reminded of his manifold occasions for thanksgiving. Has not
he loved the dwelling-place of his God, the house where his visible
glory reposes above the mercy-seat between the cherubims ? " Thy
honor" is precisely thai visible glory* called in later times the
"Shechinah." 9. Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with
bloody men :
10. In whose hands is mischief, and their right hand is
full of bribes.
As his heart repels all sympathy with the wicked and he keeps
himself entirely aloof from their society, so he prays that he may
be severed from them in their lot as God's enemies, both here
and hereafter.
11. But as for me, I will walk in mine integrity: redeem
me, and be merciful unto me.
12. My foot standeth in an even place : iu the congrega
tions will I bless the Loed.
Putting himself in the strongest contrast with them, he renews
and re-asserts his purpose of personal integrity, and upon this.
bases a renewed prayer for redemption and mercy, coupled with
an expressed assurance of a safe standing, on an even and solid
surface, in beautiful antithesis with the sliding foot to which he
alludes in v. 1.

PSALM XXVII.
While the experiences recorded in this Psalm are entirely ap
propriate to the case of David, yet there is nothing so peculiar to
him as not to express also the heart-experiences of other saints
without number. We may suppose it to have been written about
the time of the revival of public worship at the tabernacle after
the ark was set up there as in Ps. 24 ; and David began to feel the
importance of providing suitable songs for the service of the sanc
tuary. Most naturally ho would draw first from the rich stores
of his own personal experience, as here.
1. The Lord is my light and my salvation ; whom shall
I fear? the Loed is the" strength of my life; of whom
shall I be afraid ?
" My light," my luminary, my Sun, who throws light and joy

6

TOO*

118 PSALM XXVII.
on my path and on myheart also. As darkness is the standing
symbol of calamity and consequent sorrow, and as an opaque
body that should eclipse all light and beget darkness and gloom
would be a word for whatever was fearful and to be deprecated,
so to call God " my light " is to say, he is my perpetual joy who
makes all my life-path cheerful and blessed.  "My salvation,"
my constant Savior, so mighty to save that I may well ask in
triumph— -With such a Savior, whom need I fear ?
2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes,
came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
" Came down upon me to eat up my flesh," like cannibals, with
savage ferocity. The original makes the word " they " emphatic,
in the sense : It was they, not I that stumbled and fell. This
was because God was his " salvation " and " the strength of his
life." 3. Though a host should encamp against me, my heart
shall not fear : though war should rise against me, in this
will I be confident.
The Hebrew usage of making nouns from their verbs enables
them to say as h«re: Though a crowd should crowd upon or a
camp should encamp against me. Of course this is in the hostile
sense.  In this emergency [of war] I will still trust, i. e., in
God, my light and my salvation.
4. One thing I have desired of the Loed, that will I seek
after ; that I may dwell" in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to
inquire in his temple.
Such were David's thoughts and feelings when driven from the
sanctuary by the persecutions of Saul. To be an exile from the
place and the home of the glorious "divine Presence was the bit
terest of his trials. One thing, therefore, above all other things,
his soul longed for, viz. : that he might dwell all his days in the
house of the Lord. Most expressively does he put the reason of
this one desire — that he might behold the loveliness of Israel's
God, might witness the manifestations of his love and grace as
made in his_ earthly temple and be there evermore to inquire after
God and gain new light as to his character and will. Here we
can see why David should be designated as " the man after God's
own heart ' (1 Sam. 13: 14, and Acts 13: 23), for does not God
love to see the face of those who so ardently long to see him that
they may learn and do all his will ?  The spirit of this verse
made David the "Sweet Psalmist of Israel" (2 Sam. 23: 1) who
could write songs of Zion out of a full and overflowing heart.
5. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pa-

PSALM XXVII. 119
vilion : in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me ; he
shall set me upon a rock.
6. And now shall mine bead be lifted up above mine
enemies round about me : therefore will I offer in his tab
ernacle sacrifices of joy ; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises
unto the Loed.
David's personal history during the long interval between his
being anointed prospective king of Israel and the death of Saul
suffices to show why protection against enemies should be made
so prominent among the blessings for which he gives thanks to
God.  "Pavilion' is the usual name for the booth or tent in
which nomadic tribes reside — the house of the Arabs of the desert.
In the secrecy of his tent he will secrete me (Heb.).  "Set me
high upon a rock," conceives of a mountain crag, high above the
reach of the missHe weapons of ancient warfare.  " Sacrifices
of joy " is literally of shouting, such as were offered with loud ex
pressions of joyful thanksgiving. With all his ardent soul David
will bless the Lord and sing his praises for these great deliver
ances wrought for him by the God of his salvation.
7. Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice: have
mercy also upon me, and answer me.
Though he has now reached the throne, he still needs help
from the same Deliverer. Former mercies only encourage him to
apply afresh for new and still needed blessings. How can he
ever live without God ?
8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face ; my heart said unto
thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.
Our received version gives the general sense, but fails to give
its nicer shades. The order of the words in the original is : As
to Thee, my heart said, Seek ye my face : thy face, Lord, .will
I seek. The sense I take to be that his heart says both the sub
sequent clauses ; the first in musing recollection, turning over and
over those hopeful and precious words of the Lord; the second in
earnest and warm response to his-kind invitation. Remembering
how the Lord had said (e. g., Deut 4: 29), "Thou shalt find him
if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul," and
musing thoughtfully on these words, my heart responded : So will
I indeed seek the Lord with all my soul !  Such is the expe
rience of those who seek and find God. Their aching heart
seizes upon some precious words of divine invitation and promise ;
they think of them as the words of God ; and then their heart
goes out in trustful, grateful response — " Thy face, Lord, will I

9. Hide not thy face far from me ; put not thy servant
away in anger: thou hast .been my help ; leave me not,
neither forsake me, O God of my salvation.

120 PSALM XXVII.
10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then
the Lord will take me up.
Most appropriately this responsive resolve is followed by
prayer which presents in various forms the great central wants of
the soul — the divine mercy and its conscious manifestations. I
seek thy face; hide it not from my sight; thrust me not away in
anger, greatly as I deserve it; thou hast been my help: but I
need more help still, and gather courage from past mercies to re
new and perpetuate my requests. Though father and mother
(representing all earthly friends) forsake me, still the Lord will
gather me among his children, for his parental loving-kindness
faileth not.  The usage of the Hebrew word which I have
rendered "gather" appears Josh. 20: 4, and Judg. 19: 15, in the
sense of taking into one's house or city for hospitable entertain
ment and protection.  Probably we need not assume that
David's father and mother did in fact forsake him. On this point
it is rather a supposed case.
11. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain
path, because of mine enemies.
12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies :
for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as
breathe out cruelty.
Knowing well that if he would have the Lord his Deliverer,
he must walk in ways that please him, and withal must really love
the ways of his perfect law, he prays, "Teach me thy way."
Also, "Lead me in an even, smooth way," as opposed to a rough
one in which his enemies might destroy him. He knew but too well
that they sought his death, and that some of them were malicious
enough to effect this by false accusation. The history (1 Sam.
22 : 9) gives us the case of Doeg the Edomite, and of Shimei
(2 Sam. 16 : 7, 8). The known desire of Saul would raise up
wicked men in abundance to gratify his revenge by wily efforts to
ruin David. " Breathing out cruelty " strongly represents it as fill
ing their wicked hearts and flowing out spontaneously as their
breath. Compare Acts 9 : 1.
13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the good
ness of the Lord in the land of the living.
The omission in the original'of any words for the idea, " I had
fainted" is so unusual and remarkable that some copies omit the
word for " unless," and the rest mark it heavily with dots to call
special attention to it. The full expression of the sense requires
some such 'words: I should have sunk down in despair — should
have lost all hope and heart. Probably David's eye is on those
bitter years of trial which lay between his call to the throne and
his being seated upon it — years during which the word of the Lord,

PSALM XXVIII. 121
by his prophet Samuel (1 Sam. 16 : 1-13), held him to high antici
pations, and at the same time involved him in critical exigencies
and fierce persecutions which sometimes put his faith to the
sharpest test and made him long for some resting place, exempt
from such peril. All through those sharpest trials he tells us here
that he still believed he should yet see the goodness of Jehovah,
his faithful God, in the land of the living.
14. Wait on the Loed : be of good courage, and he shall
strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Loed.
Upon his own personal experience he rests this exhortation:
Let every heart sorely tried with "hope long deferred" take
courage and wait on the Lord. For his comfort and strength let
him know that if he will gird his own soul with hope and courage,
God will minister to his strength of faith and endurance of soul.
Therefore let him wait on theLord for the help his faith needs as
well as for the ultimate realization of his hopes.
 OOV®^C* 
PSALM XXVIII.
The scope of this Psalm suggests its being classed with the
three next preceding, all composed by David for the public
worship of the sanctuary near the time of the location of the
ark on Zion and the introduction of a more ample service of
song. The allusion (v. 2) to "lifting up my hand toward thy
holy oracle" implies the presence of the ark in its. sacred tent,
while the allusion (v. 8) to "his anointed" contemplates David as
now on his throne. The experiences developed here though
primarily those of David personally are yet appropriate to all the
pious worshipers of his time, and indeed, for the most part, of all
time. 1. Unto thee will I cry, O Loed my rock ; be not silent
to me : lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them
that go down into the pit.
"My Rock," equivalent to my sure support, my Refuge and
Protector. In those times the rock was thought of, not merely as
a foundation to build on, or a thing immovable, but also as a mili
tary tower of defense, a lofty and secure place of safety— — " Turn
not away in silence from me," without answering my prayer. The
preposition before "me" seems to demand this additional idea of
turning away. The verb gives the sense to be silent. If God should
thus turn away from his prayer in silence, he would be like dying
men, helpless and hopeless.
2. Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto
thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.

122 PSALM XXVIII.
Lifting up the hand, significant of lifting up the heart to God,
is the attitude of prayer. May it not also be the attitude of wait
ing to receive from God the blessing sought? As examples, the
reader will readily recall the case of Moses (Ex. 9: 29, 33, and
17: 11, 12); and of Solomon in his prayer at the dedication of
the temple (1 Kings 8: 22, 38); and of Ezra (9: 5). — -''Oracle"
is one of the names for the most holy place where the visible glory
[the Shechinah] reposed on the cover of the ark beneath the
cherubim. The Hebrew word* comes from a verb f which is used
abundantly in the sense to speak, and hence might most naturally'
mean the place from which God spake to his people. This cor
responds so perfectly with the historic facts respecting the inner
sanctuary — the place where God spake with Moses — as to leave
little room to question the origin and significance of this name.
God said to Moses (Ex. 25 : 22) : " Thou shalt put the mercy-seat
above the ark and there will I meet with thee and I will commune
with thee from above the mercy-seat," etc. After the dedication
of the sacred tent, it is recorded (Num. 7: 89) that when Moses
had gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with
him plod], then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from
off the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the testimony from
between the two cherubims, etc. The same name ("oracle") was
given to the same position amid the same surroundings, in the
temple of Solomon (1 Kings 6 : 19, 20).  Dismissing from the
mind the heathenish associations of this word, it becomes a per
tinent name for the location of that visible glory of God in the
inner sanctuary toward which the pious Israelite was directed to
look in prayer and from which in some cases even an audible
response was heard from the Lord himself.  The German Lexi
cons [of Gesenius and Fuerst] give this word the sense of the
hinder or rear part of the sacred tent or temple, which was the
location of the most Holy place.
3. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the
workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbors,
but mischief is in their hearts.
"Draw me not away" seems to mean drag me not down with
the wicked to their deserved doom ; spare me from their fearful
lot. Let me not be numbered with them.
4. Give them according to their deeds, and according to
the wickedness of their endeavors : give them after the
work of their hands ; render to them their desert.
5. Because they regard not the works of the Loed : nor
the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not
build them up.
The Psalmist is far indeed from pleading with God not to give
wi* -nit

PSALM XXVIII. 123
them the lot they deserve. On the contrary while praying to be
himself spared from their lot, his descriptive view of their awful
wickedness impresses him with their righteous desert of a most
fearful retribution ; Therefore let them have their deserts !  It is
well to mark carefully the reasons why they so richly deserve this
doom, viz.: because when they might see God they will not : when
they might study the works of his hand and the retributions of his
providence and might by such means learn his wisdom, justice,
power, and love, they will not regard these works of his — will give
no thought to their moral lessons — will neither know, love, or
obey the Great God ! Therefore God will tear them down and
not build them up — a figure which conceives of them a's a house
or a castle — not to be made more firm but to be overthrown. 
Paul gives the same reason for the condemnation of the godless
heathen: " Because when they knew God they did not glorify him
as God" (Rom. 1: 21); i. e., in so far as they did know him,
they withheld from him due honor and obedience ; and because
they might, but would not, know him more, and would not give
him the honor they knew to be his due.  Isaiah has the same
words (5 : 12) of the wicked who give themselves up to thoughtless
and thought-killing revelry, utterly reckless of God and of all his
manifestations of himself in his works.  It should be carefully
noted that this doom is not pronounced on beings who have in
their created constitution no capacity for knowing God ; nor are
they condemned for not knowing an unrevealed God — one who has
neither said or done any thing by which they might know him.
On the contrary, the wicked men of • our world have both the
capacity and the means of knowing God their Maker and Father.
Therefore " this is the condemnation, that light has come into the
world and yet they have loved darkness rather than light because
their deeds are evil." (John 3 : 19). Hence the obvious and per
fect justice of their doom.
6. Blessed be the Loed, because he hath heard the voice
of my supplications.
7. The Loed is my strength and my shield; my heart
trusted in him, and I am helped : therefore my heart
greatly rejoiceth ; and with my song will I praise him.
This prayer heard and answered, is naturally that which next
precedes — the very one then specially before the mind, viz., that
God "would not draw him away with the wicked." Some precious
witness of the Spirit (we may suppose) assured him that this
prayer was answered, and therefore with all his soul and all his
powers of song, he praises God.
8. The Loed is their strength, and he is the saving
strength of his anointed.
9. Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance ; feed
them also, and lift them up forever.

124 PSALM XXIX.
" Their strength," i. e., of all his trustful people.  "The sav
ing strength," literally, " the strength of salvations of his anointed "
— a strength which ensures ample salvation for his anointed king —
a precious testimony which David bears for God as his own glori
ous Savior.  Such assurances as to God's saving strength do not
supersede prayer and render it needless, but rather open the way
for prayer — which the Psalm improves : " Save thy people ; bless
thine inheritance" — a people thine by covenant, fathers and sons
through all their successive generations. " Feed them also," as a
shepherd his flock, and continue to exalt them with thy blessings
forever.  °oS=«»« 
PSALM XXIX.
In common with Ps. 8 and 19, this Psalm shows that its author
was familiar with the manifestations of God in nature, and was
capable of quick and keen appreciation of their sublimity and
glory. The moral application of tho Psalm is exquisite. This
Great God whose voice of thunder shakes the heavens and the
earth, and whose majesty and power are so ineffably grand, gives
his great strength to the saving of his people, and will surely bless
them with all best prosperity. The more terrible he is to his foes
the less his friends have to fear, for all that formidable power
which strikes his foes with terror is sacred to the succor and salva
tion of his friends.  Its subject precludes the idea of any special
historic occasion.
1. Give unto the Loed, O ye mighty, give unto the Loed
glory and strength.
" Give," not in the sense of impart, which is not to be thought
of, but of ascribe, attribute, reverently acknowledging that these are
qualities of the Great God.  " O ye mighty " is in the original,
" Ye sons of the mighty ones " * — a word which is used in the
singular for God in the sense of the Mighty One. But in the
plural it is never used of the Supreme God, but of the angels, as
in Ps. 89 : 7 : " For who in the heaven can be compared unto the
Lord ? Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the
Lord? The call hero compares with that in Ps. 103: 20: "Bless
the Lord, ye his angels that excel in strength," etc.
2. Give unto the Loed the glory due unto his name ;
worship the Loed in the beauty of holiness.
" Worship," bow low before the Lord. " In the beauty of holi
ness," is thought by some to refer to the sacred vestments required
by the Mosaic law— holy garments ; but there can be no objection
to the vastly higher and more appropriate sense — in the moral

D*

hx

PSALM XXIX. 125
beauty of a holy heart. This is indefinitely more in accordance
with the strain of the Psalm.
3. The voice of the Loed is upon the waters: the God
of glory thundereth : the Lord is upon many waters.
The "waters" and the " many waters " of this verse can not
be the "great sea" of the Hebrews, the Mediterranean ; but must
be that mass of waters supposed to be recumbent upon the firma
ment, gathered there (and ever after remaining) when in the pro
cess of creation God divided between the waters above and those
beneath this firmament (Gen. 1 : 6-7). The Lord is conceived
to sit upon these superincumbent waters, and the thunder which
roars in the lofty clouds of heaven is thought of as his voice above
this ocean of the heavens !
4. The voice of the Lord is powerful ; the voice of the
Lord is full of majesty.
This voice of the Lord is no doubt thunder — here declared to be
both powerful and majestic.
5. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars ; yea, the
Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
The voice of the Lord — his mighty thunder — rends the cedars,
yea, the Lord shivers to atoms the cedars of Lebanon. " Break
eth " in the last clause translates an intensive form of the same
verb which appears in the first clause — an advance in the thought
which the English verb can not imitate. 1 have given the sense.
 The cedar represents the strongest kind of trees then known ;
those of Lebanon, the finest of their kind, yet none of these can
withstand the might of Jehovah.
6. He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanou
and Sirion like a young unicorn.
"He maketh them," but who or what is meant by "them?"
Either the cedars or the mountains on which they grow. The
parallel clause gives us "Lebanon and Sirion [Hermon] and there
fore favors the sense — the thunder shakes the very mountains. 
The Hebrew word used here is not supposed to mean the "uni
corn" but the buffalo or wild ox, and here the young of this
animal. The figure is bold and strong — the great mountains of
Lebanon leaping and dancing like a calf.
7. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire.
The verb ("divideth") means to cut or cleave asunder. As to
•the sense here, we must choose between thfe phenomena of forked
lightning, and the cleaving force of the electric fluid in cutting its
way through any obstacle whatever. In the latter case we might
translate: "The Lord cutteth or heweth his way with flames of
fire." Isaiah (51: 9) has the same verb in this sense: "Art not

126 PSALM XXIX.
thou it that hath cut Rahab ? " (Egypt) ; also Ilosea (6:5) : " I havo
hewed them by the prophets " ; i. e., have foretold that I would hew
them. These cases of usage favor the latter construction.
8. The voice of the Loed shaketh the wilderness ; the
Loed shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
Not upon the high mountains only, but equally upon the vast
deserts do the lightnings exert their fearful power.
9. The voice of the Lord maketh the hinds to calve, and
discovereth the forests : and in his temple doth every one
speak of his glory.
Sudden terror brings on parturition. These startling displays
of God's glorious majesty produce this effect upon wild animals.
 " Discovereth the forests" in the sense not of finding by search
but of laying bare, stripping them of leaves, limbs, and even
bark.  In God's glorious temple, the universe, every thing cries
aloud, Glory 1 wliat glory! The original verb translated 'speak
of" means precisely to say — or proclaim aloud; not to speak of;
and is followed by the words spoken, as here. All created things,
animate and inanimate, intelligent or unintelligent, are thought of
as crying aloud, Behold God's glory!
10. The Loed sitteth upon the flood; yea, the Loed
sitteth King forever.
In the phrase " upon the flood," we must choose between a his
toric allusion to the deluge of Noah, and a poetic reference to the
same assumed superincumbent ocean above the firmament which
appears in v. 3. The latter must be preferred both because of the
previous reference (v. 3) to this body of waters, and because the
parallel clause bears us to the heavenly throne of the Almighty,
thought of as only just above this celestial ocean.  "Sitteth
upon the flood" alludes to sitting as a king on his throne, i. e., the
throne reposing above this supposed mass of waters.
11. The Lord will give strength unto his people; the
Lord will bless his people with peace.
This Great God whose majesty and glory stand forth revealed in
such appalling forms throughout this Psalm is the Jehovah — the
faithful God of his trustful people, in covenant relation with them •
as their God and Friend, Almighty to save and to bless them.
What have they to fear with such a God their Friend and Savior?
Jonathan Edwards gives us this experience : When my heart was
far from God, every thunder storm was a terror; but when I came <
near to him in loving trust through Jesus Christ, I used to look
out with inexpressible delight upon the black thunder clouds, say
ing to myself, That is my God!

PSALM XXX. 127

PSALM XXX.
Some critics hold that this Psalm was composed on the occasion
of dedicating the royal palace of David, this being in their view
affirmed in the caption which stands in the English version, "A
Psalm or Song at the dedication of the house of David." Others
suppose that the word "house " in the caption has in this case its
very frequent sense, the temple; that David's name is here, not
as the owner or occupant of the house, but the author of the
Psalm, the sense being, not the house of David, but a Psalm of
David, and further that the scope of the Psalm does not adapt
itself to the dedication of David's own residence, but does admira
bly to his consecration of the ground for the temple built by Solo
mon and to his erection of an altar there. See 2 Sam. 24, and 1
Chron. 21, and 22 : 1.  The only argument of any weight for
the former view is the usage of the word "dedicate" which is ap
plied (Deut. 20: 5) to the consecration of a private residence.
But this I think is far outweighed by the fact that David's name
in the caption must, according to usage, indicate his authorship of
the Psalm and not his ownership of the house ; and by the striking
adaptation of the Psalm to the circumstances which led to the
location of the temple. It will be remembered that David had
sinned against God in his official order for the numbering of the
people ; that in consequence a pestilence was sent upon the people
and seventy thousand fell within three days ; that David gave him
self most solemnly to penitence and prayer ; that the Lord heard
his cry and commanded the destroying angel to stay his hand.
By his prophet he then directed David to build an altar on the
very spot where the angel stood when the order came to stay his
hand. That spot of hallowed associations David bought, and then
built there an altar, offered sacrifices which the Lord signally
answered by fire from heaven ; — whereupon David accepted these
facts as God's own consecration of this spot to be the site of the
future temple — in a sort, a dedication of its corner-stone — and forth
with proceeded to make preparation for the temple on this very
ground. " Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God
and this is the altar of the burnt-offering for Israel" (1 Chron.
22 : 1).
1. I will extol thee, O Lord ; for thou hast lifted me up,
and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.
The slight play on the related ideas of the first two verbs is a
beauty: " i'will lift thee on high by my praises because thou hast
lifted me up as out of a deep pit, from my perils." This second
verb ["lifted me up"] suggests the drawing of water from a deep
well. So God had lifted him out of the imminent perils of that
fearful pestilence. David had such a sense of his own personal
sin in the numbering of the people that he almost protested
against the visitation of the pestilence upon the people, demanding

128 PSALM XXX.
that it should rather fall only upon himself and his family. But
God wonderfully lifted him out of those perils.  " Hast not suf
fered my foes to exult over me" — for throughout his whole reign,
there remained some of the family or tribe of Saul who, through
envy at his prosperity and sympathy with the fortunes of Saul,
were ready to exult over his destruction (See 2 Sam. 16 : 5-13).
2. O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast
healed me.
3. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the
grave : thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down
to the pit.
It is at least supposable that the pestilence before which seventy
thousand fell touched David's person, though not fatally. Upon
his humble cry to God, healing mercy came and brought him up
from the jaws of death. His words mean precisely, Thou hast
spared me alive from those [or out of those] who were going
down by thousands to the grave. These words become specially
pertinent under the supposition that he was attacked by the
great plague, but restored in answer to his prayer.
4. Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. .
Most truly an occasion for songs of praise from all the saints.
 "At the remembrance of his holiness," with special reference
to the purity and justice which were manifested in disapproving
the spirit and act of David in numbering the people and in pun
ishing him severely for that sin. David's motive in that official
order was doubtless pride, national pride — a feeling which took
credit to himself for the great prosperity of the nation, and with
held from God the honor due supremely to him. God in his holi
ness rebuked this pride, and David now calls for public thanks
giving at the remembrance of this holiness. True penitence had
brought David's heart back once more into sympathy with God in
his ways of holiness and justice.
5. For his anger endureth but a moment ; in his favor is
life : .weeping may endure fpr a night, but joy cometh in the
morning. More literally we might read: "For a moment" [passes] "in
his anger; then life" [comes] "in his favor: at evening, weeping
lasts through the night; in the morning, a shout of joy!" So
brief and transient are the moments of God's displeasure ; so soon
his anger passes away and his favor brings life out of the jaws of
death. One night of tears ; but with the morning, songs of joyful
deliverance! Those three days of fearful pestilence once past
seemed short compared with the long years of God's mercy toward
the nation and toward David's own house. Such for the most
part is human life Health the rule ; sickness the exception : com-

PSALM XXX. 129
fort fills out the years; pain and anguish are shut into the mo
ments : weeping sometimes all the night, and then relief and joy
for the days and years that follow.  As bearing upon God's
dealings with his people we may compare Isa. 54 : 7-8.
6. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.
7. Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to
stand strong : thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
The original makes the pronoun " I " more prominent, thus : As
to myself, i. e., to revert now to my own personal experience ; under
the influence of my extraordinary prosperity I was saying, I shall
never be disturbed ; this prosperity will never be interrupted,
These words reveal the approaches of that temptation before which
David fell into thfe sin of numbering his people. It was the seduc
tive influence of great prosperity. The Lord through his favor
had made his mountain, i. e., his throne on the hill of Zion, to
stand strong. More literally, " thou hast given great stability to
my mountain."  This sin was the less excusable because God
had carefully forewarned his people against it. (See Deut. 8 :
11-18.) "When thou hast eaten and art full, beware that thou
forget. not the Lord thy God, and then thy heart be lifted up,"
etc.  But all suddenly the Lord hid his face in sore displeasure
and I was confounded [more than merely "troubled"]; I was
baffled every way, and knew not whither to turn for relief save to
do as I ultimately did, look unto the same holy God whose scourg
ing hand was on me and my people.
8. I cried to thee, O Lord ; and unto the Lord I made
supplication. 9. What profit is tliere in my blood, when I go down to
the pit ? Shall the dust praise thee ? Shall it declare thy
truth? The verbs in v. 8, " cry," " make supplication," are future, and
manifestly give his feelings and purposes as to what he would do.
He said within himself, I will cry to my God.  His plea with
God is to be specially noticed : What would my life-blood avail if
thou shouldest send me to the grave? Does the decomposed dust
of the dead in their graves render praise to God ? ' Does it bear
witness before living men to thy truth ? i. e., If I may live I shall
praise God and witness*to his truth before the living, and this will
avail to the glory and honor of God. But, cut down in death, my
lips are dumb thenceforth as to any testimony for God in the land
of the living. Essentially the same reasoning appears in Ps. 6 :
5, and 88: 10-12, and Isa. 38: 18-19. See alsoPs. 115: 17, etc.
 This need not be pressed to imply that the dead are uncon
scious or have ceased to be. It simply implies that they are re
moved from the scenes of earth and can send back no voice, no
sign, no testimony, to the living on this earth.

130 PSALM XXXI.
10. Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me : Loed,
be thou my helper.
11. Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing:
thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with glad
ness; 12. To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee,
and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks
unto thee forever.
V. 10 gives his prayer in that day of his calamity; and v. 11
his testimony that God heard propitiously.  " Put off my sack
cloth" — more precisely, loosed the girdle which bound it upon
me, and girded me with joy instead.  To the end that my glory,
my noblest powers; or since the word "my" is 'not expressed, it
may be taken in a broader sense — all that is noble and glorious_ —
glory universally; all the glory of created beings— may sing praise
to thee and never be dumb. My heart goes out in this service of
praise. For my part, I will give thanks to my glorious God, my
Redeemer and Savior, forever and ever !
PSALM XXXI.
Expressions common in David's Psalms, not to say peculiar
to them, occur in this Psalm, indorsing the testimony of the
caption to his authorship. We may suppose that he consigned
it to the choir-leader ["chief musician' ] for use in the songs
of the Sanctuary, deeming it adapted for that worship. Per
haps his revising hand gave it this general adaptation by modi
fying its personal allusions to his own experience so that
every pious Israelite might sing the whole Psalm as his own
experience. If so, we have accounted for the absence of those
very special historic marks which would enable us to locate the
Psalm with certainty at some definite point in his recorded his
tory.  Most of the commentators find the historic point for this
Psalm in 1 Sam. 23, when David lay at Keilah or in the wilder
ness of Ziph, and escaped Saul's vengeance in the first instance
by divine forewarning ; in the second, by means of an irruption
of the Philistines demanding Saul's presence elsewhere. Of this
theory we can only say there is nothing in the Psalm to forbid it,
nor is there any thing which altogether forbids its application to
other cases of deliverance. For the sake of a more definite and life
like illustration, wo may wisely assume that the Psalm describes
his experience during those eventful scenes.
1. In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust ; let me never be
ashamed : deliver me in thy righteousness.
No expressions are more frequent in the recorded experience of

TSALM XXXI. 131
David than those: "In thee do I put my trust; let me never be
put to shame." The first describes one of the most permanent
attitudes of his mind, one which appears from time to time in the '
narrative of his life, and nowhere in a more touching manner
than after the burning of Ziklag and the abduction of the wives
and children, both his own and those of his party (1 Sam. 30 : 1-6).
The shock was terrible. David wa% greatly distressed, not alone
by the loss of his own wives and children and by sympathy with
others in the same affliction, nor merely with the oppressive sense
of personal responsibility in this emergency, but because the
people in their agony of grief most unreasonably spake of stoning
him. Yet here, without one strong human heart to lean upon,
David, the record says, " encouraged himself in the Lord his
God." "The Lord his God" gives us the key-note of his life. It
was forever settled in his soul that Jehovah was his own God.
He held this conviction in the spirit of a consciously full conse
cration to his honor and service, and of a strong, unshaken trust
in his care and protection. With such a mutual understanding
between God and himself, he might fitly say : " Let me never be
put to shame." Never let it appear to my enemies that thou hast
forsaken me and left me to perish. Would not they in such a case
not only exult over me but reproach thee as a God not worthy to
be trusted ?  " Deliver me in thy righteousness " rests its plea
not on the ground of David's absolute sinlessness (see v. 10), but
of God's fidelity to his promise and to his covenant obligations.
2. Bow down thine ear to me ; deliver me speedily : be
thou my strong rock, for a house of defense to save me.
3. For thou art my rock and my fortress ; therefore for
thy name's sake lead me, arid guide me.
4. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for
me : for thou art my strength.
"For thy name's sake" rests on the same basis. God's name
was committed to his protection by the fact that David had accepted
his promises, had given himself to his service on the guaranty of
the requisite protection, and therefore was entitled to feel that
Jehovah's name was pledged for 'his deliverance. It was God
who had called David to the throne of Israel — a call which indi
rectly involved David in these years of peril from the hand of
Saul. When David accepted this call he put himself under God's
special protection, and therefore in the midst of these perils he
continually urges this plea : " Be thou my refuge ; hear me speed
ily ; " pull me out of the net which they are already coiling around
my very feet; "for thy name's sake lead me and guide me."
These words are pregnant with the precious associations of
shepherd-life. Be thou my shepherd ; let me be as thy weak and
lost lamb ; lead me safely out from all these dangers.

132 PSALM XXXI.
5. Into thine hand I commit my spirit :'1hou hast re
deemed me, O Lord God of truth.
These words are appropriate to tiny dying saint, and were used
by Jesus dying (Luke 23 : 46), and by the martyred Stephen
(Acts 7 : 59) ; yet we need not assume that in using them David
thought of himself as dying, but rather as fully committing the
whole question of life and death into the hands of his God, in the
assurance that God both had redeemed him from death in other
perils and would again.  In offering his prayer thus, " Lord
God of truth" he indicated the hold he consciously had upon God's
promise and veracity for his deliverance. I know thou wilt not
fail me, for thou art a true and faithful God.
6. I have hated them that regard lying vanities : but I
trust in the Lord.
The Hebrew words for " lying vanities " are among the strongest -
in the language to express the ideas of emptiness, falsehood, certain
failure, absolute nothingness ; and are frequently applied to idol
gods as objects of trust and worship. They admit, however, of
being applied to every other object of trust (save God alone)
chosen and relied on by wicked men. It was strong language in
David's lips to say : I hate those who thus give their heart and
trust to any thing else whatever than God ; I hate their spirit; I
have not the least sympathy with their heart -or life, for I trust
[only and wholly] in the Lord.
7. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy : for thou hast
considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in ad
versities ;
8. And hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy:
thou hast set my feet in a large room.
Characteristically David passes frequently in this class of Psalms
from the dark shades of his experience to the bright; from the
agony of solicitude and prayer, to the joy and triumph of praise
for deliverance. Of the latter we have an instance here : " I will
be glad and rejoice in thy mercy (favor far beyond my desert);
thou hast looked upon mine affliction ; thou hast known the
troubles of my soul" — known in the sense of a tender and ap
preciative regard.  "Set my foot in a large room" is a figure
very common with David, and we may add, very appropriate, for
his chief danger lay in being cornered and shut in by Saul's pur
suing hosts. A large place and ample field for flight was his
safety. 9. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble :
mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my
belly. 10. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with

PSALM XXXI. 133
sighing : my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and
my bones are consumed.
Recuring again to his bitter trials, he represents them as a long
and terrible affliction — as wasting his life-power, impairing his
health, poisoning the fountains of 'his peace and comfort, and all
the more so because blended with a sense of sin [" my strength
faileth because of mine iniquity "] — of which, what can we say
less, than that this is but too often one of the most bitter ingredi
ents in our cup of trial on earth — the conviction that we are far
from sinless ; that some things in our spirit, perhaps in our perma
nent character, are not pleasing to God and call for his manifested
displeasure. The consciousness of God's personal favor shaded
with doubt and fear, with sore burdens of trial also from other
sources, press continually upon us : alas, whither shall we look
for help !
11. I was a reproach among all mine enemies, but es
pecially among my neighbors, and a fear to mine acquain
tance : they that did see me without fled from me.
12. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind : I am
like a broken vessel.
13. For I have heard the slander of many : fear tuos on
every side : while they took counsel together against me,
they devised to take away my life.
Saul, the arch enemy of David during these perilous years, was
in power, and moreover was intensely jealous of any and every
man who manifested friendship for David. Consequently, not for
any fault of his own, David became an outcast and exile from many
of his former friends and neighbors. Few had the courage or the
sympathy with him to be willing to appear as his friend. Hence
his circumstances made him, in these respects, a sort of type of his
greater Son, who, not at all for his own fault, was " despised and
rejected- of men^  David seemed to himself to be dropped like
a dead man from the thought of the living; or, under another
figure, to be like a potsherd — a broken or worthless vessel.  The
phrases in v. 13 are used by Jeremiah also (20: 10, and 6: 25) —
a fact easily accounted for without assuming that Jeremiah wrote
this Psalm. This remarkable assumption (made by some German
critics) seems utterly destitute of plausibility, and much more, of
proof. 14. But I trusted in thee, 0 Lord : I said, Thou art
my God.
But, despite of this almost universal reproach, I [for my part]
put my trust in thee, O Lord : I said, Thou art still my God though
every other friend forsake me ! How fitting that his heart should
cleave the more closely to his God because his other friends proved
so unreliable !

134 PSALM XXXI.
15. My times are in thy hand : deliver me from the hand
of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
" My times, " not my life only, but all the events that make up
its surroundings and determine its future. Perhaps his thought
was somewhat on the time when he should reach the throne of
Israel, which God had virtually pledged to him. It was his joy
that his divine Lord would fix that time in his own wisdom. 
With, perhaps, a slight play on the word " hand," he prays that
God's hand may be against the hand of his enemies, counter work
ing their efforts.
16. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant: save me
for thy mercies' sake.
17. Let me not be ashamed, O Lord ; for I have called
upon thee : let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be si
lent in the grave. *
18. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak'
grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the
righteous. Beautifully expressive are these words : " Make thy face to shine
upon thy servant." When every face of human friend is turned
away and never a kind look of light and joy comes from my fellow-
men, then let thy face shine into this dense darkness and make my
path-way bright and radiant with tby love!  Let the shame
[confusion] of frustrated hopes not fall to my lot, but rather to
the lot of my wicked enemies, who are thy enemies as really as
mine, and mine because they are thine. Let their lying, slander
ous lips be silenced I
19. Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid
up for them that fear thee ; which thou hast wrought for
them that trust in thee before the sons of men !
His prayer is heard and his soul is thereby deeply affected with
a sense of the great goodness which God has ever in reserve, se
cretly stored away but ever in readiness for its fit occasion. God
has often made it manifest before the world in his ways of provi
dence toward his trustful people. In this verse the working
["wrought"], and not the trusting, are thought of as done before
the sons of men : the sense being " wrought before the sons of
men for them that trust in thee."
20. Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence
from the pride of man : thou shalt keep them secretly in a
pavilion from the strife of tongues.
The Hebrew plays upon its words : " Thou shalt hide them in
the hiding-place of thy presence ; or secrete them in the secrecy of
thy presence.  The word translated " pride " [" pride of man "]

PSALM XXXII. 135
occurs only here, and probably in the sense of plots, conspiracies,
corresponding to " strife of tongues " in the parallel clause ; which,
however, is not the jargon of conflicting tongues, but the struggle
of his combined enemies to destroy him with their slanderous ac
cusations. 21. Blessed be the Lord: for he hath showed me his
marvelous kindness in a strong city.
It is possible that this " strong city " may be Keilah itself, where
God remarkably heard his prayer and gave him forewarning of
his danger, (1 Sam. 23 : 1-13); but more probably David meant
that God had given him protection and safety analogous to that
of a strong city.
22. For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before
thine eyes : nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my
supplications when I cried unto thee.
The word "haste" [trepidation] has been thought to identify
this passage with 1 Sam. 23 : 26, where the corresponding verb is
used — "David made haste to get away for fear of Saul" — the haste
of trepidation and great fear. This was at the point of his escape
from the wilderness of Ziph, where a sudden irruption of the
Philistines was God's appointed agency for the relief of David —
his way of hearing David's prayer.
23. O love the Lord, all ye his saints : for the Lord
preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the
proud doer.
24. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your
heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.
Verily the Lord who thus hears the cry of his needy, trustful
children, is most worthy of their love. Let their hearts be drawn
to him in grateful affection, and let all those be of good courage
and strong heart who hope in the Lord, for David's rich experi
ence ought to, assure every saint, that his God, faithfully served,
and. earnestly sought unto, will never forsake him.

PSALM XXXII.
The caption ascribes this Psalm to David with only the ad
ditional "Maschil," i. e.,for instruction — as said also in the body
of the Psalm (v. 8) ; "I will instruct thee."— — Both the use of
the first person in this Psalm and the things said combine to show
that David is giving his own experience. There is no reasonable
doubt that the Psalm was occasioned by his great sin in the mat
ter of Bathsheba and Uriah which even the history recognizes as
the one great sin of his life. [" David did that which was right

136 PSALM XXXII.
in the eyes of the Lord, and turned not aside from any thing that
he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the mat
ter of Uriah the Hittite" (1 Kings 15: 5)].  In addition to the
light thrown upon this' experience of his in the history (2 Sam.
11 and 12) and in Ps. 51, we have here the bitter agony, the chaf
ing of his conscience and the dreadful unrest which filled those
fearful days that lay between the sin and the confession thereof
Very appropriately these revelations are made here for our in
struction. 1. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin
is covered.
2. Blessed is the man unto whom the Loed imputeth not
iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
The first word here (as in Ps. 1:1), translated in its full
strength, would read, " O the blessedness of those who are for
given of sin, covered as to their iniquity! How blessed is the
man to whom the Lord does not impute sin," i. e., account it as
standing against him in law, unforgiven. But this man must be
profoundly sincere in his penitence, one in whose spirit there is
no deceit, no insincerity; who makes no hypocritical pretensions,
but whose confessions mean all they say. David had felt the
sweet relief which comes of such confession and of the resulting
sense of pardon from God. Well might he exclaim, 0 the blessed
ness of this sense of pardon !
3. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my
roaring all the day long.
4. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me : my
moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.
So long as he kept silence, laboring to smother his convictions
and conceal his great sin, the dreadful agony was in hisisoul ; his
very bones — the firmest and least impressible part of his bodily
frame — waxed old under the wasting torture, and he could only
groan and sigh or moan all the day. Yes, all the day and all the
night as well, the hand of God, impressing a sense of guilty was
heavy upon him. " My moisture," the juice of my life — the figure
being taken from vegetable life and meaning the fresh and joyous
life-power — turned to the drought of summer. From being a
green, living, lovely tree, I became a dry stick. These figures
from the vegetable world, applied to his body to set forth the
agony of his soul, are intensely expressive. What a life was
this I Who can measure the woes of a guilty conscience, height
ened by a sense of that awful eye of God, impressing his purity
and justice, and making the soul afraid of his wrath !  "Selah "
calls for a thoughtful pause over these startling but most in
structive facts of his heart-history.
5. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity

PSALM XXXII. 137
have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions
unto the Loed ; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.
Selah. The first verb [" acknowledge "] is future in tense, the best ex
planation of which is that it indicates how he felt and what he
said within hiniself — thus : I said to myself, "my sin I will make
known to thee ; and [consequently] I no longer covered my sin.
I said, I will make confession to Jehovah concerning my Bin, and
then thou didst forgive, etc. And thus his dreadful agony found
relief. "He that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall have
mercy (Prov. 28 : 13). Nor David alone. Myriads of burdened,
agonized souls have found the same relief in the same way. It is
the great law of salvation for sinners before a righteous and holy
God. He has written his name, " The Lord God, merciful and
gracious, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity " -
(Ex. 34 : 6, 7). But penitent confession comes before forgiveness.
 "Selah " suggests that here is another truth over which it were
well to pause fordeep reflection and practical self-application.
6. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee
in a time when thou mayest be found : surely in the floods
of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.
The limitation to "every one that is godly" seems to say that
David was thinking specially of sins committed bylhe true child
ren of God. This would naturally result from the fact that the
Psalm is based on his own experience.  For such precious
pardon may every godly man well pray. Let him never fail of
it!  "In a time when thou mayest be found" suggests that this
is limited and will not continue long. Let every convicted soul
hasten to seize the moment of possible pardon — the precious time
within which God may be found a hearer of such prayer and a
graciously forgiving God.  In the last clause the word rendered
"surely admits of two constructions, viz.: this of our English
version, and another which gives it the more usual sense of only
and makes it qualify him who offers such acceptable prayer, thus :
In the floods of groat waters, unto him only shall they not come
nigh. He alone will be accepted and spared. 'The location of the
word at the head of the sentence favors the former; the more
common usage of the word the latter.  Under either construction
the figure is strong and fine. In the floods of great waters they shall
not reach him. Like Noah, riding in his ark above the floods, or
like one on the hill-tops whom the floods can not reach, he '•is safe.
Those floods engulf the prayerless, but not him.
7. Thou art my hiding-place ; thou shalt preserve "me from
trouble ; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliver
ance. Selah.
The remarkable thing here is that a sinner so lately tortured

138 PSALM XXXII.
with a sense of guilt and shrinking before the awful eye of God
should now speak so sweetly of finding in this same God a hiding-
place for his soul, a preserving hand against all danger and trouble,
a God of ready and warm heart to gird him all about with joyous
songs of deliverance ! Is not this for a wonder and joy forever,
that God can so freely and so fully forgive, and make the feast
over the prodigal's return so luscious, the welcome so warm, the
love so rich, so re-assuring, so Godlike ?  " Compass me about
with songs of deliverance is singularly strong and expressive.
It is not merely that his heart is full of them, but they invest him
on every side; they enrobe him, they overspread him from head
to foot— his glory and his covering I  Here is a fit placo for one
more nause to think of these wonders of God's love. Hence,
"Selah." 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which
thou shalt go : I wilL guide thee with mine eye.
David longs to make his own experience useful to others. He
had promised this on condition of being himself forgiven.  ¦
"Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, then will I teach
transgressors thy ways " (Ps. 51 : 12, 13). Therefore he says here,
" I will instruct" — will make this song a " Maschil " — i. e., for in
struction. Bringing before his mind some fallen one like himself,
he gives him this counsel : " I will teach thee as to the way thou
shalt go " — the way of frank, sincere confession, and of humble
prayer for mercy.  The last clause better thus: "I will guide;
mine eye shall be upon thee." The preposition before "thee"
[having the sense "upon"] strongly favors this construction.
9. Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no
understanding : whose mouth must be held in with bit and
bridle, lest they come near unto thee.
A more precise translation will make the true sense plain. " Be
ye not as the horse, as the mule, to understand nothing; to be
subdued with bit and curb — their ornament — for not coming
near to thee," i. e., because they will not come' near; or, else
they will not come "near to thee. The coming contemplated is not
the rush of high-spirited, unbroken animals to tread you down, but
coming near in gentleness and submission as the well tamed do
for our service. The idea is that the fractious horBe and the stub-
burn mule are offish, mulish, timid, and must be treated with
powerful curb and bit, or you can not bring them near you. So
guilty sinners are wont to be offish, fearful, distant; they can not
or will not bring their souls to come near to the Great God against
whom they are conscious of having grievously sinned. Therefore
ho is compelled to treat them to' bit and curb, to chastisement and
pain ; else he could not bring them near him. Nothing is .moro
common than such ways of God's discipline to bring sinners
near.  It was a great misapprehension in our English transla-

• PSALM XXXIII. 139
tors to suppose that the bit and bridle were used to keep horse
and mule from coming too near, instead of being used to break in
those timid or wayward creatures and tame them to come to you,
fearless and kind. The true version gives one of the finest illus
trations of God's ways in discipline, and suggests that we use the
understanding God has given us to see and appreciate his love and
to let it havo its subduing and winning power on our otherwise
stubborn and reluctant hearts.  Such is the spirit of this exhorta
tion. It is but too often needed. Conscious guilt is shrinking and
does not love to face the purity against which it has sinned.
Naturally sin is maddening and often seems to rob men of their
understanding, so that they need to be exhorted not to imi
tate the wild horse and mule in their reckless folly. The English
version misses also the true sense of the Hebrew words which fol-.
low "bit and bridle," viz.: "his ornament."* This seems to sug
gest that the horse-tamer, while recognizing the necessity of some
curbing power, contrives to make it not merely useful but ornamen
tal, hiding whatever might be repulsive in its power under forms
of beauty. So God has many ways of sweetening the bitter medi
cine which he finds indispensable for the moral healing of men.
10. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked : but he that
trusteth in the Loed, mercy shall compass him about.
11. Be glad in the Loed, and rejoice, ye righteous : and
shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart.
The persistently wicked have many — ah, how many sorrows;
sorrows in their sinning — after their sinning ; all through this
life — all through the life to come; but he who trusts in the Lord,
first penitently confessing and forsaking his sin, shall have mercy
clothing, investing, adorning him all round about. This " compass
ing about" is the same word as in v. 7.  To call upon the
righteous for joyful thanksgiving fitly closes this instructive Psalm.
Why not rejoice when their cup of joy so overflows and when
they have such testimony to the deep, eternal, loving-kindness of
the Lord their Redeemer ?

PSALM XXXIII.
This Psalm appears with no caption-^no hint from the compilers
or the author to indicate who the author was or what was its oc
casion or special design. This fact of itself suggests strongly that
this Psalm was regarded by the compilers as a continuation of the
one preceding, or at least as standing in very close connection
with it and written by the same author. This seems to have been
the method adopted by the compilers of the Psalms (obtaining in

ptf

140 PSALM XXXIII. •
general in Psalms 1-72) — that whenever a following Psalm con
tinued the same general subject as the next preceding, or sus
tained specially close relations to it, having apparently the same
author and occasion, then it opened at once with no name of
author and none of the points common to the captions of the
Psalms. The cases are Ps. 1 and 2 ; 9 and 10 ; 32 and 33 ; 42
and 43 ; 70 and 71 ; 90 and 91.  In the case now before us the
reader will readily compare 32 : 11, " Rejoice, ye righteous," with
33: 1, "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous." The Hebrew
reader would notice that the verb " shout for joy " (32 : 11) is the
same with the first word of this Psalm, translated "rejoice" — ;a
word of strong significance and of rather rare occurrence, mean
ing shout aloud, exult with strong demonstrations — outcries of joy
ous acclaim. A closer study 6f the scope of this Psalm in its re
lation to the one preceding will suggest that it is essentially an
expansion of the sentiment of joyous thanksgiving and of grateful
adoration with which Ps. 32 closes. In other words, it gives us
David's heart-experiences after the agonies of unrepentant convic
tion had passed away with the free and full confession of his sin
and had given place to the deeply affecting sense of personal for
giveness. Then David rejoiced in Gqd as never before. It was
like the joy of the new-born soul in the outgushings of its first
love, under its yet fresh sense of the greatness of that mercy
which can so wonderfully forgive. Noticeably we have the same
connection between the fact and the sense of pardon on the one
hand, and joy in God on the other, in Ps. 51 : 14, 15 : " Deliver
me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and
my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. O Lord, open
thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise." The
promise made in these words, this Ps. 33 fulfills. Hence there
seems to be no reasonable doubt that this Psalm is by David,
written in connection with Ps. 32, virtually a continuation of it,
and giving the thoughts and feelings of his heart after his repent
ance and the consequent restoration to him of the joys of God's
salvation. 1 . Rejoice in the Loed, O ye righteous : for praise is
comely for the upright.
2. Praise the Loed with harp : sing unto him with the
psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.
3. Sing unto him a new song ; play skillfully with a loud
noise. The distinctive feature in the righteous as here thought of is not
that they have never sinned, but that they are thoroughly peni
tent and graciously forgiven — enjoying therefore the blessedness
of him whose transgressions are forgiven and whose iniquity is
covered, and in whose spirit is no deceit (32 : 1, 2). For all such,
praise is indeed comely, most appropriate ; and every truly peni
tent, forgiven soul must feel it to be so. Does it not call for "a

PSALM XXXIII. 141
new song," celebrating new mercies?  Here musical instru
ments are first introduced in the Psalms. In the use of these,
David had extraordinary skill (1 Sam. 16: 16-18); some of these
were his own invention (Amos 6: 5, and 1 Chron. 23: 5). The
precise construction of these various instruments is lost irrecover
ably. We know that they were used as an accompaniment to the
voice, and may safely presume that they were adapted for sacred
music — well adapted, considering the genius and culture of the
age. 4. For the word of the Loed is right ; and all his
works are done in truth.
5. He loveth righteousness and judgment : the earth is
full of the goodness of the Loed.
These are adequate reasons why God should be praised.
His revealed word is in every respect right, pure, and perfect; and
all his works are wrought with fidelity, faithfulness, truth. "He
loveth righteousness and judgment" — a statement which might
apply to his own approbation of his own infinitely perfect charac
ter, or to his estimate of the character of creatures, especially of
man. The connection of thought favors the latter.  The earth
is full of manifestations of his goodness. Every thing even in
this world of rebellion testifies that God is good. Especially was
the earth as God first made it full of the goodness of the Lord.
He looked forth then upon the work of his hands and pronounced
all " very good " (Gen. 1 : 31). For all this let his name be praised.
6. By the word of the Loed were the heavens made ;
and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap :
he layeth up the depth in storehouses.
All these manifest and wonderful proofs of goodness in the
heavens above and in the earth beneath are to be ascribed to God,
for he is their Supreme Creator. This is the logical connection be
tween these verses and the preceding. All you see of goodness in
earth or sky; all these marvelous revealings of wisdom and
beauty, of adaptation to the happiness of man and of myriads of
other sentient beings, are to be ascribed .directly and wholly to
God their Creator ; "for by the word of the Lord were the heavens
made."  -The word for "breath" is in Hebrew, Spirit, with
manifest reference to Gen. 1: 2 — "The spirit of God brooded
upon the face of the deep" — said of the creative energy. Beyond
questionDavid had his eye on Gen. 1, and took his leading words
and ideas from that original account of the creation; He writes :
" The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord," while Moses
wrote, "God saw every thing he had made, and behold it was
very good" (Gen. 1: 31). David classifies the created worlds into
the earth, the heavens, and all their host; and so does Moses.
7

142 PSALM XXXIII.
David locates the creative energy in the word of the Lord_ and in
the spirit of his mouth, while Moses has it, "God said, let light be;
and light was ; and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters." David specifies the gathering together of the waters of
the sea into an heap, into storehouses, and Moses expands more
fully the same fact. David seizes upon the main points and omits
many of the details of the six days work simply because his ref
erence to the creation has a moral and not an historical purpose.
8. Let all the earth fear the Loed ; let all the inhab
itants of the world stand in awe of him.
9. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and
it stood fast.
Therefore let all the earth revere Jehovah. The fear expressed
by the word reverence, the spirit of the loving child, such fear as
begets obedience, homage, worship ; and not the dread of penal
inflictions — not the fear of the crushed slave — is the precise idea.
 Why should we cherish such fear ? The reason given is —
" for he said and it was ; he commanded, and it stood. His in
finite energy went forth with only a word from his mouth ; it was
but for him to say, " Let it be, ' and it , was.  As written by
David the word "he" is made specially emphatic; It was he who
said those sublime words given by Moses; it was he who com
manded and the earth stood — took its place in the vast family of
God's worlds. " Said," * is the word used by Moses, and well
chosen, for it is followed by the very words uttered: God said,
"Let light be," etc.
10. The Loed bringeth the counsel of the heathen to
nought : he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.
11. The counsel of the Loed standeth forever, the
thoughts of his heart to all generations.
A God of sufficient power to create can surely rule the worlds
he has made and the creatures he has formed to dwell therein.
Why then should the nations [heathen] combine against him and
rage in their mad infatuation (Ps. 2:1)? The Lord can frustrate
their wisest schemes. Their counsel shall not stand ; God's coun
sel shall. Our translators, bringing in the new word "devices,"
failed to do justice to David in the strength of his antithesis ; for
David puts the "counsel" and the "thoughts" of the people over
against the "counsel" and the "thoughts" of God. The former
God will bring to nought ; the latter shall stand forever.
12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Loed ; and
the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
O how blessed the nation whose God is not made of wood or
stone, gold or silver; but is the faithful Jehovah — at once the God
ION*

PSALM XXXIII. 143
who built the heavens and the earfch, and who is also in covenant
relation with men, adopting them as his chosen people, his special
inheritance. Plainly David brings together here those two grand
ideas — that the God of Israel was at once the Creator of all
worlds, and their own accepted Lord and King by special cove
nant. 13. The Loed looketh from heaven ; he beholdeth all the
sons of men.
14. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all
the inhabitants of the earth.
15. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all
their works.
God's omniscience is no less perfect than his omnipotence. To
this the Psalmist now specially turns. "Down from heaven the
Lord has looked" — always has, always will; "he beholdeth all the
sons of men" — the same word which Moses continually uses to
say that God saw his successive works of creation, al} "very good."
David would suggest that God sees the hearts of men even as he
saw all the material works of his hands.  " He looketh upon all
the inhabitants of the earth" in the sense of attentively consider
ing, carefully studying their hearts and thoughts. This is the
sense of the Hebrew word. *  He is equally the Maker of all
hearts — the sense being that he made them all by one creative
act, rather than after the same fashion.  " He understandeth "
(much stronger than merely " considereth") "all their works."
16. There is no king saved by the multitude of a host ;
a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
,17. A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he
deliver any by his great strength.
The great number of the army ; the great might of the war
riors ; the great strength or fleetness of the war-horse — are of no
account as compared with God, much less as matched against him.
These ideas were exceedingly practical to David and his people
in that militant age. They have a place therefore in such a relig
ious song as this which we can but feebly appreciate.
18. Behold, the eye of the Loed is upon them that fear
him, upon them that hope in his mercy ;
19. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them
alive in famine.
" Behold ; " look at this. The eye of the Lord is never turned
away from his people who fear him and trust his mercy, that he
should fail to see their need and give them his timely aid. The
mi?*

144 PSALM XXXIV.
specification of deliverance from death and famine covers in spirit-
all possible need.
20. Our soul waiteth for the Lord : he is our help and
our shield.
21. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have
trusted in his holy name.
22. Let thy mercy ; O Lord, be upon us, according as
we hope in thee.
The tone of these verses is that of exhortation to his people and
of prayer to God. Let us trustfully wait on the Lord, so mighty
to save and so faithful to all who trust him. We will rejoice in
him, for our obedient and grateful trust assures his blessing ; yet
let our last word be a prayer that God would still manifest his
mercy according to the measure of our believing trust.
•  «>itn<>« 
PSALM XXXIV.
At the head of this Psalm we read, " A Psalm of David, when
he changed his behavior before Abimelech ; who drove him
away, and he departed." This refers to the circumstances narrated
(1 Sam. 21: 10-15) — David feigning insanity before Achish, King
of Gath. He is here called "Abimelech," a name common to his
dynasty, as the kings of certain Egyptian dynasties were all Pha
raohs, and of one Roman, all were Csesars. I see no good
reason to question the correctness of this statement. Accepted,
it need not be taken as fixing the time of writing the Psalm
but only the occasion, the circumstances in view of which he
subsequently wrote it.  The tone of the Psalm is^ remarkably
simple and beautiful, rich in the spirit of thanksgiving for his
deliverance and of trust in God for all future need.  No
thoughtful mind can read it in the light of tho circumstances
which' occasioned it, without raising the questions': What did
David think at this time of his deception before Achish ? Did he
justify it and regard it as the Lord's way (in such an emer
gency) of hearing his prayer for deliverance and of sending an
angel for his rescue (vs. 4, 6, 7) ? Did he apparently think it con
sistent with the advice here given (vs. 13, 14) : " Keep thy tongue
from evil and thy lips from speaking guile?" Or was this his
view of it — that his course, though barely admissible, and suffered
through the Lord's forbearance to pass unrebuked and even to
prosper to the extent of his escape, was yet so near the bounding
line between right and wrong that he felt it incumbent to warn his
readers against " deceit and guile?"  It is perhaps impossible
to answer all these questions with certainty. It seems clear how
ever that David was deeply grateful for the mercy that bore him
through this emergency with life, and forbore to rebuke his course

PSALM XXXIV. 145
by frustrating its design ; also that the fullness and strength with
which he speaks of God's perfect care of those who trust him shows
that those scenes suggested to him God's wealth of resources for
such protection, probably without the use of such doubtful expedients;
and finally that David did by no means aim to recommend his own
course to others or the principle on which it rested. His cau
tion (vs. 13, 14) seems to settle this point.  In the caption "his
behavior" is literally his understanding. He acted as 'one who
had lost his reason — was insane.
1. I will bless the Lord at all times : his praise sludl
continually be in my mouth.
2. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord : the
humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. «
3. O magnify the Loed with me, and let us exalt his
name together.
A deep sense of great mercy impresses the duty of perpetual
praise. My soul exults in the Lord. I deem his protection and
love my highest glory. The humble (a general description of
God's children) will be deeply interested in the saving mercy
shown me, and will rejoice with me.  This Psalm, like Ps. 25,
is an acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet, the successive verses be
ginning with its successive letters — an expedient to aid the
memory. 4. I sought the Loed, and he heard me, and delivered
me from all my fears.
5. They looked unto him and were lightened : and their
faces were not ashamed.
6. ,This poor man cried and the Loed heard him, and
saved him out of all his troubles.
Obviously David regarded his . escape from Achish as an
answer to his prayer. " This poor man " is no other than
himself in his straits and helplessness. In v. 5 the plural " they
looked" etc., is peculiar but must be, understood as said of the
whole class represented by the Psalmist. All who truly fear God
are accustomed to look up to him for help in trouble, and then
their faces brighten up with the hope and ultimately the realization
of deliverance.
7. The. angel. of the Loed encampeth round about them
that fear him, and delivereth them.
The Lord's angel encampeth like a protecting army pitching
their camp around to protect their dear ones. Probably David's
thought is on the case of Jacob (Gen. 32 : 1, 2) around whom the
hosts of God gathered in such form as reminded Jacob of a dou
ble camp, and he gave this name to the place, " Mahanaim," dou
ble camp. "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to

146 BSALM XXXIV.
minister to the heirs of salvation?" (Heb. 1: 12.) God has a
wonderful wealth of resources for the protection ofhis people, not
only in his control over universal providence, but in his celestial
armies "who excel in strength" (Ps. 103: 20) and are never
slow to do his pleasure.
8. O taste and see that the Loed is good : blessed is the
man that trusteth in him.
" Taste " — make trial as by tasting. Commit your case to the
Lord and ye will see that he is faithful and does not fail you.
9. O fear the Lord, ye his saints : for there is no want
to them that fear him.
10. The young, lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but
they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing.
" Fear," as usual in the sense of filial reverence, not excluding the
trust and love of simple piety. Whoever fears and trusts thus
shall lack nothing good. The young lion despite the care of his
vigilant and powerful mother may suffer hunger, but God's sons
and daughters, never.
11. Come, ye children, hearken unto me : I will teach
you the fear of the Lord.
"Ye children" — the address of a teacher to his pupils, or of
an author to his readers.  "I will teach you the fear of the
Lord," seems here to mean definitely, I will teach you its condi
tions — what fearing the Lord implies ; what you must and what
you must not do, as you would ensure God's protection. In this
view of his meaning, the cautions that immediately follow have
special significance as related to his own course before Achish.
12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many
days, that he may see good ?
13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speak
ing guile.
14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and
pursue it.
Art thou deeply anxious to preserve thine own life for the sake,
of its future enjoyment? Let not this anxious desire tempt thy
tongue to any wrong or deception. Shun all evil ; do only good ;
seek peace (" as much_ as lieth in you, live peaceably with all
men ") ; and seek it not listlessly but earnestly, following hard after
it and laboring by all appropriate means to secure it. These pre
cautions will help to keep you on the safe side. Do they not hint
broadly that frankness is better than deception, even in such
emergencies as that which was before the writer's mind ?
15. The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and
his ears are open unto their cry.

PSALM XXXIV. 147
16. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to
cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17. The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and deliv-
ereth them out of all their troubles.
The sympathies of the righteous Lord are with his righteous and
trustful children, but against the doers of evil. Under that ancient
economy which so largely made retribution a present fact, it was
God's policy to root out incorrigible sinners from the earth, name
and. memorial, for an example of warning to the ungodly.
18. The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken
heart ; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
The fact that even good men fall into sin and that the best of
them have the sins of their impenitent life to repent of, make a.
broken heart and a contrite spirit, constituent elements of a pious
man's character, and standing conditions of God's favor. "To this
man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit
and trembleth at my word" (Is. 66: 2). No state of mind other
than this or unlike this can be right in one who has ever sinned. 
Shall we assume that in this verse David quietly suggests that he
looked with a sad heart upon his deception before Achish ? Per
haps this is not certain ; it is at least possible.
19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord
delivereth him out of them all.
20. He keepeth all his bones : not one of them is broken.
No human life escapes all suffering and trial ; let it suffice that
the Lord knows how to deliver every righteous one from any thing
whatever, that is, on the whole, a real evil, for he can make every
permitted trial or pain work out the richer results of moral disci
pline — submission, obedience, trust.
21. Evil shall slay the wicked : and they that hate the
righteous shall be desolate.
22. The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants : and
none of them that trust ia him shall be desolate.
In each of these verses the verb rendered "shall be desolate "
means, primarily, to be guilty ; and secondarily, to be punished for
this guilt. All they that hate the righteous are thus held guilty
and punished ; but never those who reverently and hiunbly trust
in him. The -ministrations of good or ill through God's providence,
will sever broadly between the righteous and the wicked. He
will surely let the world know whom he approves and loves, on
the one hand, and whom he can not but abhor for their wicked
ness, on the other.

148 PSALM XXXV.

PSALM XXXV.
This Psalm is specially correlated to Ps. 34, inasmuch as that
presents God's treatment of his friends; this, his treatment of his
enemies. As that was a suggestion, or we may call it an outgrowth
of one prominent fact in David's personal history, so is this also —
the suggestive fact being that remarkable interview between David
and Saul, recorded 1 Sam. 24, in which David spared tho life of
his malicious enemy, using language which appears almost verba-
tum in the opening of this Psalm — "The Lord therefore be judge
between me and thoe, and see and plead my cause, and deliver me
out of thy hand " (v. 15) ; and Saul, under the force of truth, was
compelled to say, " Thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have
rewarded thee evil" (v. 17.)  The charge of malicious impreca
tion has been brought by some against the spirit of David as
evinced in this Psalm. In answer to this charge, it may be said :
(1) Let the facts of his history speak for themselves. When Saul
fell into his power, once (1 Sam. 24) and again (1 Sam. 26), did
David evince any malicious revenge ? Utterly far from it. With
a magnanimity and spirit of forgiveness almost without a parallel,
he spared his life and withstood every solicitation to harm even so
much as a hair of his head. And when Saul ultimately died, there
was not probably a man in all Israel who bewailed his deserved
doom with sincerer grief and pity, than David. — —(2) David had
a sense of right and wrong, a consciousness of being in the. main,
right, in this pending issue with Saul, and an equally clear con
viction that Saul was wrong. He knew he did not anoint himself
to be Israel's future king; he did not strike for the throne then
filled by Saul, of his own motion. The God of Israel sent to him
this call; he was therefore consciously with God in obeying it,
and his conviction was perfect that Saul was wrong in seeking his
life because he accepted that call and was waiting God's time of
fulfilling it To blame him for this consciousness as to himself
and this conviction as to Saul, were simply absurd. It would be
demanding that he should crucify his own moral nature and ignore
all moral distinctions. God himself can not do this if he would,
and would not if he could. And shall it be demanded that man
be more tolerant to wrong or more indifferent to moral distinctions
than God? David, true to his moral nature, could not lovo and
approve wrong-doing; could not wish it to prosper; could not fail
to pray that it might never prosper ; indeed, that it might never es
cape condign punishment, save by the repentance of the guilty doer
and the safe exercise of divino mercy to the penitent.  But (3)
as to personal retaliation, David did the noblest thing possible for an
injured man to do, i. e., intrust vengeance to the Lord and leave it
with him to repay. This, it seems to me,is precisely the spirit of
the Psalm before us. David committed his case to the Lord his God,
imploring protection against Saul, as most assuredly he had a right
to do and ought to do ; leaving it with God in his own wisdom and

PSALM XXXV. 149
»
justice to arrange the whole matter of retribution toward both Saul
and all his malign enemies. Ought not every good man to rejoice that
God rules with retributive justice over all evil-doers, and that he
will take care of the interests of morally right-doing, sustaining
them by a righteous administration of reward and punishment ?
To this extent reaches the spirit of David in the Psalm before us;
no further.
1. Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with
mc : fight against them that fight against me.
2. Take hold of shield and buckler, ' and stand up for
mine help.
3. Draw out also' the spear, and stop the way against
them that persecute me : say unto my soul, I am thy salva
tion. The tone of v. 1 is simply, Lord, take my part. I am attacked
unto death; do thou come in to withstand my assailants. My
case is thine ; I put it over into thy hands. Go into court with
me to plead for me against my persecutors : go out to battle to
fight for me against my assailants.  In v. 3, " Stop the way " is
probably the precise sense of the Hebrew verb, although the word
for "way" is unexpressed, the original being simply shut or close
up as to the meeting of my pursuers, i. e., block their path, stay
their coming.
4. Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek
after my soul : let them be turned back and brought to con
fusion that devise my hurt.
5. Let them be as chaff before the wind : and let the
angel of the Lord chase tliem.
6. Let their way be dark and slippery,: and let the angel
of the Lord persecute them.
Why should they seek my life and plot my ruin ? I deserve it
not at their hand. The Lord sent Samuel to anoint my head; the
Lord felled Goliath of Gath under my hand. Shall Saul slay me
for these things ? The Lord be my Judge and Deliverer ! — —God's
angels are sent not only to encamp around the righteous but to
chase away the wicked. In v. 5, the word for " chase " is literally
urging, pushing them on, as a mighty wind does the chaff. — -" Par-
secute," not in a wrong, malicious sense, but in that of following
after to execute God's righteous will upon the guilty. A terrible
doom is this^driven back from their malicious assaults upon the
good, along *way dark and intensely slippery [Heb., double slip-
perinesses], and God's angel of retribution crowding hard upon
their steps !
7. For without cause have they hid for me their net in
a pit, ivhich without cause they have digged for my soul.

150 PSALM XXXV.
«
The reasons thereof follow: "for" all their malicious _ plots
against me are causeless; on my part unmerited.  A pit dug
with a net spread over it seems to be the precise idea — a net-pit,
for his life.
8. Let destruction come upon him at unawares ; and let
his net that he hath hid catch' himself: into that very de
struction let him fall.
Let destruction come upon him ere he knows it [Heb.].
Also in the last clause, " with ruin let him fall into it," i. e., let
it be a fatal fall.
9. And my. soul shall be joyful in the Lord : it shall re
joice in his salvation.
10. All my bones shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee,
which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him,
yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him ?
David was no doubt somewhat sensitive to his own well-being ;
every sentient creature is so by nature ; but this is not all, for the
interests treasured up in his life were more than his personal hap
piness, even the interests of piety and prosperity for Israel. It
should not be forgotten that David's sufferings from the hand of
Saul came wholly from the fact that God had called him to the
throne for the good of Israel, and therefore had treasured up in
David's life and success all those sacred interests. Let David re
joice therefore when God saves him from his enemies, and not for
his own sake only but for Zion's sake also. It is to the glory of
the Infinite Father that he cares for and preserves the defenseless
and suffering ones in his family against their mightier foes.
Well might David say, All my bones chime into the grand choral
song of praise for such parental care and love!
11. False witnesses did rise up; they laid to my charge
things that I knew not.
12. They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of
my.soul. Witnesses of violent, murderous intent, is better than simply
" false." They challenge me to answer to charges of which I
know nothing.  The word for " spoiling " is strong — the be
reavement of my soul, the stripping me of all things most dear,
liEe the death of best friends, and especially that bereavement
which leaves us widowed and childless.
13. But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was
sackcloth : I humbled my soul with fasting ; an 9 my prayer
returned into mine own bosom.
14. I behaved myself as though lie had been my friend
or brother : I bowed down heavily, as one that moumeth
for his mother.

PSALM XXXV. 151
David paints his own feeling and bearing toward his persecu
tors in the strongest contrast with theirs toward him, and so far as
the history throws light on the case, with entire truth.  " Hum
bled my soul with fasting " is the usual phrase with the Hebrew
writers. The verb however has the sense of afflict rather than pre
cisely humble, referring to the self-imposed suffering and discom
fort of abstinence from food.  The last clause of v. 13 is precisely,
My prayer shall [or let my prayer] return into mine own bosom ;
let the good I . have sought for them, since they requite it only
with hate and wrong, come back in blessings upon mine own
soul.  Observe the appropriate gradation from remoter friends
to dearest, "friend,'' "brother," "mother."
15. But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered
themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves
together against me, and I knew it not ; they did tear me,
and ceased not :
16. With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they guashed
upon me with their teeth.
While the general scope of these verses is clear, some of the par
ticular words and clauses are explained by critics variously. " Ad
versity " is a halting or stumbling, over which his enemies exulted.
The word for " abjects " is put by Maurer, fools ; by Alexander,
' cripples; by Gesenius, biters, in the sense of backbiters, i. e., slan
derers, which last seems to be favored by the next clause, "and
I knew it not," i. e., they slanderously charged against me things
of which I knew nothing.  " They did tear me," i. e., with the
teeth of slander, in the same sense as our word backbite.  -As
buffoons and -jesters are employed at some festive tables to make
sport for the guests, so David's enemies employed slanderers on
similar occasions to regale the party at his expense. This seems
to be the best explanation of v. 16. — -The word "hypocritical"
misses the true idea which sets forth rather their intense meanness
and wickedness.  Some critics suppose the allusion to " feasts,"
to signify that these slanderers did their service for bread, i. e.,
for pay, a livelihood ; others, that it alludes to a usage common in
their festivities — the latter with most probability. t
17. Lord, how long wilt thou look on ? rescue my soul
from their destructions, my darling from the lions.
18. I will give thee thanks in the great congregation :
I will praise thee among much people.
How long, Lord, wilt thou look on these things quietly, with no
indignant protest and resistance?  For "my darling," see Ps.
22: 20, the sense being, my precious life and all that is most
dear.  For such deliverances as I now implore, I will praise
thee before all the people.
19. Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully re-

152 PSALM XXXVI.
joice over me : neither let them wink with the eye that
bate me without a cause.
20. For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful
matters against them tliat are quiet in the land.
21. Yea, they opened their mouth wide against me, and
said, Aha, aha, our eye hath seen it.
"Wink with the eye" — malicious and scornful. They really
seek no one's good, but devise mischief against the most inoffen
sive.  " Our eye hath seen it," i. e., our heart's desire.
22. 27iis thou hast seen, 0 Lord : keep not silence : O
Lord, be not far from me.
23. Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even
unto my cause, my God and my Lord.
While they say, " Our eye hath seen," I know, O Lord, that
thou hast seen : now, therefore, keep silence no longer. Awake to
my judgment, {. e., to vindicate my cause.
24. Judge me, O Lord my God, according to thy
righteousness ; and let them not rejoice over me.
25. Let them not say in their hearts, Ah, so would we
have it : let them not say, We have swallowed him up.
26. Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion to
gether that rejoice at mine hurt : let them be clothed with
shame and dishonor that magnify themselves against me.
In the last clause " magnify themselves against me," probably
means, acting proudly and scornfully toward me. Then the anti
thetic use of the same words with reference to God in v. 27 might
mean. Let the Lord achieve real glory by my deliverance.
27. Let them shout for joy, and be glad, that favor my
righteous cause : yea, let them say continually, Let the
Lord be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity
of his servant.
28. And my tongue shall speak of thy righteousness and
of thy praise all the day long.
Let all those have" occasion to rejoice whose sympathies are
with me and with righteousness.  "All the day long " is not to
be restricted to one day's joyful thanksgiving, but means, through
whole days, perpetually.
PSALM XXXVI.
The particular occasion of this Psalm is not indicated. The
strain of it suggests however that it was some striking manifesta-

PSALM XXXVI. 153
tion of 'human depravity and of its amazing power over wicked
hearts. Having spoken of this in vs. 1-4, he then places in telling
contrast the opposite qualities in the character of the great God —
his mercy, faithfulness, loving-kindness, and his marvelously ten
der care of his trustful children.  The Psalm is attributed to
David with the rather unusual remark additional — " The servant
of the Lord," as if to suggest that in these words respecting the
horrible depravity of man on the one hand, and the wonderful
goodness and grace of God on the other, he thought and spake as
a true servant of God, fully in his sympathy and friendship.
1. The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart,
tliat there is no fear of God before his eyes.
All the critics feel the difficulties of this verse. The Hebrew
word answering to "saith" is not a verb, but a noun, meaning
properly an oracle — an utterance either from God himself, or from
one supposed to be under special inspiration. It is used six
times of Balaam (Num. 24 : 3, 4, 15, 16) within four verses, and
by David twice of himself as moved to sacred song (2 Sam. 23 : 1).
It is almost distinctively the word by which the prophetic declara
tions of God are indicated and is commonly translated, " Thus saith
the Lord." In accordance with this usage we have here the sen
timent, Depravity is the sinner's oracle. Its impulses have to him
an authority potent as the voice of God, or at least, as those
oracular responses which are supposed to come from superhuman
sources and which command the reverence, the homage and the
obedience of mankind.  The word for " transgression " I trans
late depravity, in the.sense of the passions, the impulses of sin in
a dtepraved soul.  Rather than "of the wicked," the Hebrew
requires the construction, as to the wicked, or to the wicked. The
love and the passion for sinning have the force of an oracle to the
wicked man.  The word " my " in the clause " within my
heart" seems very unnatural. The obvious sense of the words
is — I think so; it seems so "to me; but such a statement seems
uncalled for. 1 therefore incline strongly to accept the various
reading which makes it — " in his heart. Then the whole passage
becomes not only natural and easy, but forcible. Depravity is an
oracle to the wicked man in his heart; there is no fear of God
before his eyes. He fears, reverences, and obeys those voices
from within his heart which prompt him to sin — which call him
on to more and deeper wickedness ; but the fear of God has no
such power over his soul.
2. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his
iniquity be found to be hateful.
Here is one reason why he fears not God, but gives heed to the
impulses of his depravity. He flatters himself— not "until," but
in reference lo the finding out of his iniquity and the hating of it.
Now since the fear of God is the thing denied of him, the thought

154 PSALM XXXVI.
here must be that he flatters himself God will not find_ out his
iniquity to hate and therefore punish it. The word "until " is by
no means a correct and adequate rendering of the original prepo
sition. Under the right construction, the verse gives with sur
passing accuracy the philosophy of sinning, viz. : men flatter
themselves that God will never search out, find, hate, and there
fore punish their sin.
3. The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit : he
hath left off to be wise, and to do good.
4. He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself
in a way that is not good ; he abhorreth not evil.
He stands aloof from being wise and doing right.  " Upon
his bed," where one's thoughts come welling up from the heart,
least of all affected by external surroundings, there he is concocting
schemes of sinning. He plants himself habitually in ways that
are hot good, but bad, and has no repugnance to evil — i. e., he
really loves it. A dark picture, but not more dark than truthful.
5. Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy
faithfulness reacheth unto the clouds.
6. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy
judgments are a great deep : O Lord, thou preservest man
and beast.
The beauty of this Psalm lies in this expressive contrast which
places the glorious excellencies of Israel's God over against the
ineffable wickedness and guilt of sinners who throw a loose rein
upon their depraved impulses.  The sense is not that God's
mercy is exercised in the heavens in distinction from the earth —
rather there than here ; but as the parallelism demands, it towers
high, up to heaven ; it is great and glorious, high as heaven, vast as
the universe I So of God's " righteousness " and of his "judg
ments ; " the strongest expressions are used to indicate their rich
ness, depth, and unutterable glory.  "Thou preservest," etc., is
literally, thou savest, or more closely, thou wilt save man and beast,
prolonging their lives ; supplying every natural want ; pouring out
blessings upon them from thy full hand and thus perpetually
evincing thy glorious benevolence.  The future tense expresses
not only the present fact but the writer's assurance that it will be
so through all the future.
7. How excellent is thy loving-kindness, O God! there
fore the children of men put their trust under the shadow
of thy .wings.
Such loving-kindness is a most ample basis for perfect trust.
The sons of men will put (future tense) ; they will, for they will
have most abundant reason for it through all the ages.  " Un
der the shadow of thy wings" takes its figure from the mother

PSALM XXXVI. 155
bird whose wings are the natural shelter for her young. So she
draws the little ones close to her warm bosom and spreads over
them her sheltering wings. Our divine Lord reproduces this
figure as to even the city of his murderers — " How often would I
have gathered thy children as a hen doth gather her brood under
her wings" (Luke 13: 34).
8. They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of
thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river
of thy pleasures.
9. For with thee is the fountain of life : in thy light
shall we see light.
So the Great Father lavishes good upon his creatures and espe
cially upon his trustful children. These precious words have their
really full significance and application only in the line of the
spiritual blessings which God gives both surely and abundantly to
those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. All such shall
be satisfied with the fatness of his house. The family home where
they dwell under his shadow and sit around his table never lacks
a royal feast of fat things — a river of God's pleasures never dry —
a fountain of life-power and life-joy.
10. O continue thy loving-kindness unto them that know
thee ; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
Yet such is the wise and admirable plan of God that prayer has
its place between the promise and the bestowment. "Ask, and ye
shall receive" is evermore the law of God's spiritual house. So
here: "Continue," i. e., prolong, perpetuate thy loving-kindness to
thy people. Let it never fail. As thou hast said, so let it be !
11. Let not the foot of pride come against me,- and let
not the hand of the wicked remove me.
12. There are the workers of iniquity fallen : they are
cast down, and shall not be able to rise.
Let not the foot of pride come down upon me, scornfuf y tramp
ling me under foot ; let not the hand of the wicked make me a
wanderer ; break me up from my quiet home, and drive me away
an outcast.  In the last verse the emphatic form of the word
there is well put by Dr. Alexander : " There has very much the
same sense as in common parlance when uttered as a sudden ex
clamation: There! they have fallen [already]!" At the mo
ment of his prayer, a sense of assured confidence comes over hiff
soul ; he sees his prayer answered ; his enemies already prostrate
and his fears vanished away !

156 PSALM XXXVII.

PSALM XXXVII.

The scope of this Psalm relieves us of all inquiry after a special
occasion or special circumstances for its composition, inasmuch as
its views of men are general rather than special. The writer
looks at many cases under each class — the righteous and tho
wicked, and not exclusively at any particular one. It is a Psalm
of generalizations and not of specific allusions. David had seen
more than one case of a wicked man, prosperous for a short time,
but for a short time only. Nabal crossed his path early, and man
ifestly made a deep impression on his mind (1 Sam. 25).  The
v central thought of the Psalm is, Let not good men, however much
afflicted, envy the prosperous wicked, for their prosperity is
transient. God is against them. God will surely protect and
bless the righteous, and will speedily cut off the wicked.'  The
age when David observed these facts of human life was largely
one of present retribution on both good men and bad, tho wicked
not living out half their days; the righteous blessed ordinarily
with length of days and manifold prosperity. It was a wise ar
rangement of God s providence to give these present manifestations
of his moral government over men in those early ages, as a means
of confirming their faith in the fact that a righteous God reigns
over this sinning world. It would not have been well to ask men
to believe in future retribution until he had given them in this
world some demonstrations of his righteous justice. Hence tho
greater amount of present retribution in the early ages of our
world than in these later ages. These facts both certify the cor
rectness of tho doctrine of this Psalm and show its forcible moral
beariugs upon the certainty of retribution in eternity to fill out
tho unfinished retributions of time.
1. Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity. *.
2. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and
wither as the green herb.
"Fret not;" [Hebrew] be not excited, heated; let not your
heart wax hot as you think of tho prosperity of evil doers. For
their glory soon passes away, even as the cut grass and the green
herb of summer are soon dry — for the fires of the oven. This is
one among many reasons against fretfulness and envy in view of
Ihe prosperity of the wicked, yet alone it is all-sufficient. Their
prosperity is too short to be rationally envied. If you see their
whole case you can not be so foolish as to wish it were your own.
3. Trust in the Lord, and do good ; so shalt thou dwell
in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
All these verbs are in form imperative : "trust; do good; dwell
in tho land ; feed on truth." But according to the usual Hebrew

PSALM XXXVII. 157
idiom, the last two are legitimately promise, as in our English ver
sion.  " Do good," in the broad sense of doing right in all re
spects.  "Dwell in the land," i. e., of promise, Canaan, long the
cherished desire of the children of Abraham.  Not " shalt be
fed," for the verb is not passive but transitive, and the object
after it is expressed, viz., truth — God's faithful promises. On
these let thy soul feed in quiet, patient hope. Consequently the
primary sense here is not of earthly bread but of the bread of
heaven. The earthly is not expressed yet may be implied. The
greater includes the less.
4. Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give
thee the desires of thine heart.
"Delight thyself;" be happy in God; let it suffice thee that
thou hast such u, friend. Enjoy his friendship; do him the honor
of manifesting your confidence in him, your affection for him,
your full and abundant satisfaction in having one rich and noble
friend, so wise, so kind, so good that you are forever blest in his
love and friendship.  The friends of God sometimes need this
admonition. Alas, that they should so often dishonor their great
Father by not really delighting themselves in his friendship, and
in the glorious qualities of his character.  There is a promise
to those who obey this word : " He will give thee the desires of
thy heart." Joyfully trust him ; then will he joyfully bless thee.
Make your soul happy in loving and obeying him; he will not
crush out that joy, but will rejoice to fulfill the large desires of
your heart.
. 5. Commit thy way unto the Lord ; trust also in him ;
and he shall bring it to pass.
6. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light,
and thy.judgment as the noonday.
The word-for "commit" means primarily to roll. Roll thy way
upon the Lord ; devolve upon him the burdens of life, yet in the sense
not of laying off all personal responsibility, but of throwing yourself
in your weakness upon his strong arm for your needed strength.
The same word occurs in the same sense in Ps. 22 : 8, said there of
the Messiah : He rolled himself upon the Lord to be delivered. Also,
Prov. 16: 3: "Roll thy work upon the Lord" — for the help you
need to do it both easily and well. A different verb with the same
sense, appears in Ps. 55: 22: "Cast thy burden on the Lord;"
literally, cast upon the Lord what he gives thee to bear, etc. Peter
(1 Eps. 5 : 17) has the same precious thought : " Casting all your
care upon him, for he careth for you."  "Thy way" might of
ifself naturally take the sense : thy general course of life considered
as shaped, determined, by the agencies of divine providence. But
the whole current of the parallel passages favors the sense: thy
way of duty — the things that devolve upon thee to do. The last
clause of v. 5 favors this sense : The Lord will accomplish, will

158 PSALM XXXVII.
aid you to do that thing first expressed under the word "way."
V. 6 means, He will vindicate thy reputation before the world — a
thought specially dear to David whom his enemies, particularly
Saul, maligned and traduced grievously.
7. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret
not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, be
cause of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8. Cease from anger, and forsake w*ath : fret not thyself
in any wise to do evil.
" Rest," the original word suggesting a calm, quiet trust, since
its primary sense is to be silent. Yet the next verb, translated
"wait patiently," suggests an earnest mind toward God. (SeePs.
40: 1, and notes there). If the wicked seem to prosper, leave
their case with God and keep your spirit calm and cool.  The
clause (v. 8), "Fret not thyself in any, wise to do evil," should
read, "Fret not thyself — only to the doing of evil;" i. e., fretting^
tends only to evil-doing; can have no other result save to ensnare
thee into sin.
9. For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait
upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
10. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:
yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place,- and it shall
not be.
11. But the meek shall inherit the earth ; and shall de
light themselves in the abundance of peace.
The contrasted ideas are — on the one hand, evil-doers shall soon
be cut off by death ; on the other, the righteous shall dwell long
on the land of God's promise.  The word " earth " means the
land, i. e., of Canaan. " They shall inherit the land " came into
common use during the long years of their waiting in faith for the
promised land, while the patriarchs were strangers in it or exiled
from it in Egypt or the wilderness of Arabia.  The " meek" —
the same who (in v. 9) "wait on the Lord," — are the humble and
unaspiring whose souls are really contrite and lowly before God.
 Our Lord in his sermon (Matt. 5 : 5) quotes this very lan
guage : " The meek shall inherit the land " — children of promise.
12. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth
upon him with his teeth.
13. The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that^his
day is coming.
" Gnasheth "—expressing strongly his malign, revengeful spirit'.
 "The Lord shall laugh at him," as said ia-Ps. 2: 4, suggest
ing God's infinite contempt for his puny endeavorfe, and his con
sciousness of boundless resources for the sinner's punishment and

PSALM XXXVII. 159
destruction. The reason assigned here looks to this — "for he
seeth that his day is coming" — the day of swift retribution upon
the guilty.
• 14. The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have
bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to
slay such as be of upright conversation.
15. Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and
their bows shall be broken.
"Those of upright conversation" is in Hebrew simply, "the up
right of way," i. e., of life generally. This sense of the word
" conversation '' is now obsolete. Anciently, like the Latin word
from, which it comes, it meant one's way of life. It is now re
stricted to the intercommuication of thought in speech.  The
violence they plot against the righteous recoils upon themselves to
their ruin. See the case of Haman in the story of Esther.
16. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the
riches of many wicked.
17. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken : but the
Lord upholdeth the righteous.
The word for " riches " suggests the tumult, commotion, and un
rest that are associated with the wealth of the wicked.  "Arms"
in the literal sense, but implying their power of useful labor.
18. The Lord knoweth the days of the upright : and
. their inheritance shall be forever.
19. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time : and in
the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
The Lord is always cognizant of the days of the upright. Their
whole life, every moment of it, is .under his watchful and perfect
eye. He will make their inheritance of blessings permanent,
meaning primarily, they shall dwell in his land of promise all their
days.  "Be ashamed," here, as usual, in the sense of being put
to shame by disappointment of their hope, the failure of that on
which they rely. When all the land suffers in famine, they shall
have enough.
20. But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the
Loed shall be as the fat of lambs : they shall consume ; into
smoke shall they consume away.
In the clause, "the fat of lambs," the modern lexicons concur
in the sense, The glory of the pastures, according to the figure in
v. 2. The word rendered " fat" * means preciousness, that which
is most precious, which may possibly be used of the most precious
part of lambs. The word for lamb has this sense usually, but

160 PSALM XXXVII.
may bear the sense of pasture, as in Isaiah 30: 23, and Ps. 65 : 14.
The strong reason for the construction of our English version is
that the burning of lambs, as in sacrifice, seems to be the figure
before the mind as shown in the coatext. The other con
struction supposes a change of figure. In either construction the
sense is substantially the same, the fearful destruction of the
wicked. 21. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again : but
the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth. ^
22. For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth ;
and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
"The borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22: 7). It was
a feature in the prosperity of an obedient people as it stands in
the words of Moses, that they should be lenders, not borrowers.
•' Thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow."
(Deut. 15 : 6, and 28 : 12). Hence the strain of these verses is
primarily of ability, rather than moral honesty. The wicked are
needy, dependent; live by borrowing. The righteous have the
means to give and the heart also. "For" (assigning the reason)
those whom God blesses hold the land and abide in prosperity ;
but the accursed of God are soon cut off in death; perhaps thrust
out of the communion and excluded from the blessings of the
covenant people.  Moreover it is implied that the wicked deserve
this doom for their dishonesty.
23. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Loed :
and he delighteth in his way.
24. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down :
for the Loed upholdeth him with his hand.
God's providence reaches every minutest thing. Every several
step, each setting down of the foot, is shaped and determined of
God in the case of tho good man. God feels a personal interest
in the way he shall go. If he chance to fall., it is not serious ; is
never an utter prostration, for God never remits his care ; never
lets go his upholding hand.
25. I have been young, and now am old ; yet have I not
seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread
Literally, "I have been young; also have been old," and there
fore have had long years of observation ; but I have never seen
the righteous forsaken of God. He makes all things work together
for good to those who love and trust him. His posterity also are
blessed and never brought to beg their bread. In those ages pre
eminently, God manifested his favor to his people by means of
earthly and present good.
26. He is ever merciful, and lendeth ; and his seed is
blessed.

PSALM XXXVII. 161
27. Depart from evil, and do good ; and dwell for ever
more. 28. For the Loed loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his
saints; they are preserved forever: but the seed of the
wicked shall be cut off.
29. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein
forever. The staple thoughts of the Psalm are reiterated.
30. The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and
his tongue talketh of judgment.
31. The law of his God is in his heart ; none of his steps
shall slide.
From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, so that
you may know the good man who fear and loves God by the free
utterance of his most cherished thoughts. God will uphold such
a man so that none of his steps shall slide as if on an unstable
foundation. 32. The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to
slay him.
33. The Loed will not leave him in his hand, nor con
demn him when he is judged.
34. Wait on the Loed, and keep his way, and he shall
exalt thee to inherit the land : when the wicked are cut off,
thou shalt see it.
David wrote these words from his own experience as well as
from a large field of personal observation. • Saul had long watched
him to slay him; he had lived to see Saul's mournful death, and
himself exalted to the highest place over the Lord's land and
people. 35. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spread
ing himself like a green bay tree.
36. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not : yea, I
sought him, but he could not be found.
He seems to speak of some one individual, a giant in power and
wickedness, and withal spreading himself for a time for wider mis
chief.  Of the " green bay tree," the original gives us only these
ideas — a green tree never transplanted but spreading itself abroad
in its birth-place. The " bay tree " is the laurel ; but I see nothing
in the Hebrew word to indicate this species in particular.  Even
this mighty sinner, a terror to all, passed suddenly away. I sought
him in his old place, but there was nothing left of him.  Some
of those who favor the doctrine of the future annihilation of the
wicked think to find support in these verses ; and also in vs. 20, 38.
They should be reminded that David speaks of the present life, not

162 PSALM XXXVIIL
of the future ; of the wicked disappearing from among the living
here, not of their condition as living or not living there. It is
simply absurd to make David say : "I sought him through the
other world as well as this; I sought him in Sheol or in Paradise,
and could find him nowhere I " This would be putting a sense into
his words that he never dreamed of.
37. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright : for
the end of that man is peace.
38. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together : the
end of the wicked shall be cut off.
Once more David draws the contrast and calls upon the reader
to mark it well. The upright man lives and dies in peace — peace
to the very end of his mortal days, and with a blessed hopo of im
mortality which has perfected the peace and rest of his soul to his
dying hour, and which a faithful God will by no means disappoint,
But the end of the wicked, such men as he contemplates and in
that age, is, to be cut off by a violent death, a testimony to tho
righteous retribution of God's providence here, and a precursor of
more retribution yet to be filled out in the world to come.
39. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Loed :
he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40. And the Loed shall help them, and deliver them:
he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, be
cause they trust in him.
Most appropriately this Psalm closes by ascribing this wonder
ful salvation of the righteous, not to his personal merit, or to his
efficiency in saving himself, but to the Lord alone, his strength in
all trouble, his helper and deliverer against all evils and perils,
whether of body or soul, whether material or spiritual. In this,
David speaks in harmony with the feelings and convictions of
every truly righteous man. It is their perpetual joy to Ascribe
their help here and their salvation both here and hereafter to the
glorious Lord alone.
PSALM XXXVIII.
This Psalm is plaintive. David is a sufferer, (a) from sickness
(vs. 1-8, 10); (b) from the desertion of friends (v. 11); (c) from
the causeless, malign persecution of enemies (vs. 12-20). Three
times the strain of the Psalm turns from describing his afflictions to
prayer for divine help, viz., vs. 9, 15, and 21, 22.— — The author or
compiler puts at the head of this Psalm the word, " to remind," leav
ing us to determine from the scope of the Psalm whether this
means that David put these words on record to remind himself in
future years of his bitter experience; or put them in the form of

PSALM XXXVIII. 163
sacred song and prayer to remind Jehovah of his trials, his con
fessions of sin and ill-desert, and of his cries for help. The
reader will readily see that although the former may often be a
worthy reason for a journal or djary of any sad experience, yet in
this case the current strain of the Psalm is altogether of the
second sort, bringing before God his bitter sufferings as a foun
dation of prayer for divine help. Obviously it is admissible in
prayer to spread out our case before the Lord as David does in
this Psalm, not by any means assuming that the Lord has forgot
ten any of the points, and needs therefore to be reminded, nor
that he does not know every feature whether of his sufferings or
of his penitence for sin without David s saying a word. But that
prayer may be prayer, God invites us to lay our case before him
as a child before his human father — a gracious condescension to
our weakness, and not an expedient on his part for gaining infor
mation not otherwise in his possession.  There is at least a
fair measure of probability in the supposition that this Psalm and
also the next following were written very late in David's life, on
the occasion of'the conspiracy of.Adonijah. See remarks intro
ductory to Ps. 39.
1. 0 Loed, rebuke me not in thy wrath : neither chas
ten me in thy hot displeasure.
2. For thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand
presseth me sore.
David fully recognizes his suffering from sickness as a chastening
by the arrows of the Almighty, in faithful discipline for his sin.
He prays that the Lord would mercifully stay his hand.  "Stick
fast carries the thought somewhat beyond the original, which
means only that they sink deep, press heavily ; and not that they
can not be easily extracted. The verbs translated •" stick fast
and "presseth sore," are the same, save that one is passive in form
and the other not
3. There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine
anger ; .neither is there any rest in my bones because of my
sin. 4. For mine iniquities are gone over mine head : as a
heavy burden they are too heavy for me. *
5. My wounds stink and are corrupt because of my
foolishness. I see .no good reason to doubt that these verses and others in
this Psalm (e. g., vs. 7, 8, 10) describe bodily disease. The expres
sions are strong, perhaps poetically so. A prosaic statement might
qualify them somewhat.  " Mine iniquities gone over my head,"
suppose him in figure, sinking in deep and drowning waters.
Changing the figure, they are a burden upon him, insupportable,
crushing. His wounds, i. e., bodily pains, considered as the

164 PSALM XXXVIII.
infliction of God's chastisements, are suppurating and offensive
because of his folly in the sense of sin. The choice of this word,
" folly," to denote the sin for which God smote him, seems to
suggest that his sin was morally no less loathsome and disgusting
than his diseased and putrid body — a natural correlation between
the moral offense and the physical penalty for it.
6. I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go
mourning all the day long.
7. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease : and
Viere is no soundness in my flesh.
8. I am feeble and sore broken : I have roared bv reason
of the disquietness of my heart.
The first verb means, I have writhed in pain. I walk about as
a mourner all the day, as one bearing a heavy affliction.  My
loins are filled with inflammation, burning heat.  " I am feeble,"
is made in the original more definite.  1 am cold, vitality gone.
 "Roared" might as well have been sighed, groaned.
9. Loed, all my desire is before thee ; and my groaning
is not hid from thee.
All these, fearful sufferings and all the longing desire I feel to
be delivered from them are before thine eye. Let that eye look
in compassion upon me and thine ear listen to my sad plaint of
woo. 10. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me : as for
the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me.
"My heart palpitates," beating with swift motion. Disease or
grief produces blindness.
11. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore ;
and my kinsmen stand afar off.
12. They also that seek after my life lay snares for me;
and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and
imagine deceits all the day long. ,
Those who have loved and befriended me stand afar from me
thus smitten of God — literally, stand afar from my smiting. 
"Imagine deceits;" they devise deceitful measures to destroy me.
The original may mean either devise or utter, as in the parallel
clause we have " speak."
13. But I, as a deaf man, heard not ; and I was as a
dumb man that openeth not his mouth.
14. Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose
mouth are no reproofs.
15. For in thee, 0 Loed, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O
Lord my God.

PSALM XXXVIII. 165
In v. 13, the verbs for "heard" and "openeth" are both in the
future tense, and should be taken therefore, as expressing his
deliberate purpose, thus : But (I said) as a deaf man I will not
hear, I will be as one dumb who will not open his mouth. I will
bear it all meekly, with not one word of retort, not one sharp
reply or complaint. The reason appears in v. 15 : For in thee,
Lord, do I hope. Vengeance belongeth to the Lord ; I commit
its visitation on mine enemies to him alone This becomes
naturally a powerful plea, for the interposition of his God. The
spirit of it is admirable. God will never be slow to manifest his
approbation of it.
16. For I said, Sear me, lest otherwise they should
rejoice over me : when my foot slippeth they magnify
themselves against me.
17. For I am ready to halt, and my sorrow is continu
ally before me.
The italic words, " Hear me," " otherwise," may be dispensed
with by the following not unnatural construction : " For I have
spoken," (i.e., to Thee) "lest they should exult over me." To
which he adds ; When my foot slipped they did magnify themselves
against me, and therefore I could not but know their temper and
spirit.  "Ready to halt," to limp, moving as one disabled,
lame: 18. For I will declare mine iniquity ; I will be sorry for
my sin.
In view of these afflictions I do not claim to be sinless, nor do I
refuse to take blame to myself. On the contrary I publicly confess
my iniquity; I deplore my sin — a vitally important part of true
prayer in a case like this.
19. But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong :
and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
20. They also that render evil for good are mine adver
saries ; because I follow the thing that good is.
In the phrase, "mine enemies are lively," the Hebrew word*
must mean either living or life, and by no means "lively," in the
sense of spry, nimble. On the whole I prefer the construction,
enemies as to life, those who seek my life ; my mortal enemies ;
the whole verse amounting to this : My mortal enemies are strong
[Hebrew, bony, powerful]; those who hate me wrongfully are
many.  Disregarding the Hebrew accents we might arrange
v. 20 : " Men rendering evil for good will hate me because I follow
good." With proper regard for the accents, thus : " And they are
requiting evil for good ; they will hate me because of my following
good." The ultimate meaning is essentially the same.
oMn*

166 PSALM XXXIX.
21. Forsake me not, O Loed : O my God, be not far
from me.
22. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.
All these points in his case and not least the outrageous wicked
ness of his persecutors give force to his final prayer that God would
neither forsake nor remain at distance, but hasten Bpeedily to his
succor and salvation.
PSALM XXXIX.
This Psalm, ascribed to David, is assigned to the care of Jedu-
thun, as were Ps. 62 and 77 also. This name is often associated
with Heman in the historical books, both being prominent in the
service of song. (Compare I Chron. 16 : 41, 42, and 25 : 1-6.) 
The scope, the real animus, of this Psalm seems to me not perfectly
clear. We naturally ask, What are those painful thoughts, welling
up from the depths of his soul which he restrains himself from
uttering in the presence of the wicked ? Why this self-imposed
restraint ? Were these thoughts morally right, or morally wrong ?
If right, why should it be wrong or even unwise to express them ?
If wrong, why should he indulge them in his soul even secretly ?
or at least, why make them a theme of sacred song ?  Under
what circumstances was the Psalm written? -At what period in
David's life ? Is any clue afforded by the circumstances and date
which may aid us to solve the enigmas, throwing light upon the
otherwise dark points of the Psalm?  Of the opinions on these
various points which I here advance it seems proper to say that
while I hold them with only a moderate measure of confidence,
I deem them more satisfactory than any other views that have
been before me. I hope they are at least an approximation
toward absolute truth.  Let it now be assumed that the date
of the writing was very near the close of his life. The last
verse suggests this forcibly; "O spare me, that I may recover
strength, before I go hence, and be no more !" We may avail our
selves of the brief historical facts of this period found 1 Kings 1
and 2 : " David was old and stricken in years ; they covered Iiim
with clothes, but he gat no heat." The vital forces were low; the
living fire had almost gone out from his once vigorous frame. New
trials are sprung upon him. Another son, a younger brother of the
heartless, selfish Absalom, had struck for the scepter ; Joab the old
chieftain and Abiathar of high rank in the priesthood, were with
Adonijah in this uprising. David sees a^a glance the perils of
this crisis ; he feels its stern demands upon him for his utmost
energies. It agonizes him that his physical powers are so far gone
and so unequal to the struggle with such adversaries. A painful
sense of the shortness of life and of the frailty of man comes over
him, and he can scarcely repress the feeling of rebellion against

PSALM XXXIX. 167
these ordinations of providence.  If we study carefully the
words of Hezekiah, when he looked death in the face under a
somewhat similar sense of his responsibility as king, and a like
solicitude to meet them and do much more life-work before he
should lay his scepter down in death, we shall perhaps understand
better how David felt in this emergency. It would seem from the
language in this Psalm that David had more thoughts and other
than he felt it wise to utter ; especially before the wicked. Very
probably there were some that he did not altogether like to meet
and contemplate calmly in his solitude. His soul was troubled, we
may suppose, not merely with the trying facts of his case, but with
his own emotions and moral feelings under their pressure. These
suppositions seem to account fairly for the language before us in
this Psalm.  The theory suggested in Smith s Dictionary as to
the date and occasion of this Psalm, viz. : the scenes of Ziklag
(1 Sam. 30), seems to me far less adequate than the above to meet '
the facts indicated here. At that point David was neither sick,
infirm, nor apparently near death, but on the contrary, vigorous,
and full of courage in his God (1 Sam. 30 : 6).
1. I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with
my tongue : I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the
wicked is before me.
2. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, -even from
good ; and my sorrow was stirred.
" Somewhat more literally we might translate : " I said, Let me
restrain my ways [myself] from misusing the tongue; let me
restrain my mouth with a curb so long as the wicked are before
me."  " I held my peace even from good" is taken by some to mean,
from saying even good things ; but will bear a slightly different
construction, viz. : from speaking before the good; i. e., I held in
my words in the presence not only of the wicked, but of the good
as well. I rigorously suppressed all utterance of my troubled
thoughts, and consequently my sorrows were deeply stirred —
troubled the Hebrew has it.
3. My heart was hot within me ; while I was musing the
fire burned : then spake I with my tongue.
Giving no vent to this inward fire, his heart became hot within,
past endurance he would seem to imply. While he thought and
did nothing but think, the fire burned the more, and then he
" spake with his tongue" — the very thing he had previously resolved
not to do.
4. Loed, make me to know mine end, and the measure
of my days, what it is ; that I may know how frail I am.
5. Behold, thou hast made my days as a handbreadth ;
and my age is as nothing before thee : verily every man at
his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

168 PSALM XXXIX.
These words admit a construction which consists with reverence
toward God and is every way morally appropriate ; and on the
other hand they might be uttered in a tone and for a purpose very
exceptionable. The prayer — "Impress me with a just sense of
human frailty" — no man need apologize for making. But it may
be quite another thing to say, " Lord, open to me this strange and
hard mystery of my short life ; tell me why it is that thou givest
me days by handbreadths only — that my whole life is as nothing
before thee, and that every man is made to be only an utter vanity.
Why is all this ?"
6. Surely every man walketh in a vain show : surely they
are disquieted in vain : he heapeth up riclies, and knoweth
not who shall gather them.
The word translated " surely" has commonly the sense of only.
' Only as a vanishing shadow does the mighty man live ; only in
vain do they toil and groan. One heaps up .riches, but knows not
who shall appropriate them. This is at best a somber view of life.
As already remarked, it might all be said (possibly) in a reverent
spirit, submissively accepting these ordinations of providence as
necessarily and indeed justly incident to a world of sin and con
sequent mortality and death. But this strong setting forth of the
vanity of all human life might also be made in the spirit of dis
satisfied questioning, not to say of unsuppressed complaint. The
very strength of these representations of the vanity of life, coupled
with the questioning tone as if no good answer could be given, and
with the further indications of a consciousness that these thoughts
ought never to be spoken before the wicked or even the good, seems
to me to favor strongly the latter construction.
7. And now, Lord, what wait I for ? my hope is in thee.
Here the religious feeling appears coming up again to power.
Where is my hope and my refuge under the pressure of these sore
afflictions? In God only. What else can I wait and hope for?
Nothing else in all the universe ; nothing else can bring me relief
in this emergency. O my God, do not forsake me; my only hope
is in thee.
8. Deliver me from all my transgressions : make me not
the reproach of the foolish.
9. I was dumb, I opened not my mouth ; because thou
didst it.
From all my sins deliver me ; even from these sins of my repining
heart and of my unrestrained tongue. Let me not be an object of
reproach to men like Nabal, more wicked than foolish, or rather
foolish in tho sense of wicked. [The Hebrew word is Nabal.]
David saw that if God should fail him in this emergency, Adonijah
and Joab and their associates would exult over him as one aban
doned of his God and of his prestige of power.  " I am dumb

PSALM XXXIX. 169
and I will not open my mouth, for thou hast done it all." I have
said too much ; I can make no apology for my hasty complaining
words. I will not open my mouth in lelf-vindication, much less in
any more complaint against God, for all this vanity of human life
is the ordination of thine own providence. I see thy hand in it
all.  "Will not open" precisely represents the Hebrew tense.
" Thou hast done it," makes the word thou emphatic, the Hebrew
pronoun being expressed for emphasis. It is God's own hand.
How strangely was I beside myself to question the wisdom or the
right of what thou hast done !
10. Remove thy stroke away from me: I am consumed
by the blow of thine hand.
This is prayer that God would lift off his heavy hand and stay
this sore infliction. Perhaps there underlies it a fresh sense of
having doubly forfeited God's favor by thoughts and words which
his conscience now condemns.
11. When thou with rebukes dost correct man for in
iquity, thou makest his beauty to consume away like a
moth : surely every man is vanity. Selah.
If thou shalt still rebuke me as I consciously dese"rve, I perish
utterly. If thy rebukes correct me for mine iniquity, I can not
stand before thee. Let mercy prevail, O my God !  In the last
clause, " surely " is better read only. Every man is only vanity ;
nothing better: nothing else.
12. Hear my prayer, O Loed, and give ear unto my
cry; hold n<5t thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger
with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
This is pleading for mercy.  " Be not silent to my tears." 
"A stranger and sojourner" builds a plea for sparing mercy upon
the very frailty of his earthly life. I have at best but few days to
live ; like all my fathers I only sojourn here for a day. O let me
find a few hours more of thy sparing mercy ! See the same words
1 Chron. 29 : 15, where they stand historically near tho close of
David's life.
13. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I
go hence, and be no more.
" Spare me," in the Hebrew, signifies, avert thy face, thought of
as stern and frowning.  "Recover strength" has in the original
the usual if not uniform sense of putting on a cheerful counte
nance. Sentiment; that my face my brighten up before Igo hence
and be no more.

170 PSALM XL.

PSALM XL.

If we Were to classify or grade the Psalms supposed to be
prophetic of Christ according to the amount of evidence which
sustains their Messianic character, we might put in the first class
those which, in addition to other evidence, indicate him by name,
e. g., Ps. 110: "The Lord said unto my Lord;" Ps. 2: "I have
set my King," etc. ; " Thou art my Son," etc. ; " Kiss the Son," etc. ;
Ps. 45 : " Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever ; " " Therefore, 0
God, hath thy God anointed Thee," etc., etc.  We might put
into a second class 'those in which no distinctive name appears but
which were manifestly regarded by the apostles as Messianic;
which moreover admit, in all their poifits, of legitimate reference to
him, and which have some points not easily or perhaps not possi
bly referable to David or any other mere man. In this class we
may put Ps. 16, 22, and 40.  A third class may comprise those
from which quotations are made by the apostles and applied to
Christ, yet not in argument and not in a way to show that they
certainly referred the Psalm to Christ, but only that they found
language which might be fitly, perhaps forcibly, applied to his
case. Ps. 69 may represent this class. It contains nothing that
may not readily be applied to David; nothing therefore that dis
tinctively defines it to be Messianic.  1 have thrown out at this
point these proximate hints toward a classification for the sake of
locating the Psalm before us close upon the dividing line which
runs between the Messianic and the non-Messianic. The amount
of Messianic evidence is less in it than in any other Psalm which
I would regard as Messianic. Yet this evidence is in my judg
ment sufficient to justify its location in this class. Naturally
therefore it has difficult points which need to be discussed with
candor and thoroughness.  The strong proofs of its reference to
Christ lie in vs. 6-8, viz., in the points made in these verses and in
the application of them to Christ by the writer to the Hebrews
(10: 5-10). Hence these proofs are made up jointly of the au
thority of this writer as inspired, and of the pertinence of the
points made in this passage to Christ and Christ only.  In gen
eral we may say of the other points made in the Psalm that, while
they might apply to David, they might also under a fair construc
tion apply equally well to ChriBt. Therefore the whole Psalm
should be referred to Christ. I can not accept the interpretation
of those who rend the Psalm asunder at the close of v. 11, or in
deed at any other point, and apply what precedes to Christ and
what follows to David ; nor can I admit the double-sense interpre
tation which would apply the same identical words to both David
and Christ, assuming that certain of the ideas couched under
those words are for David only, or as the case may be, for Christ.
only, and certain other ideas, for David and Christ both. This
doctrine of interpreting Messianic prophecy must be responsible
for having done much to impair, not to say destroy, the confidence

PSALM XL. 171
of sober, intelligent minds in all prophecy. There is a more ex
cellent way.  As to the date and suggestive occasion of this
Psalm, its location in this group of four (38-41), and its numerous
points of analogy with the other three of the group, strongly favor
the same date and surroundings. This supposition does not mili
tate in the least against its exclusive reference to the Messiah, for
in all the cases where the spirit of prophecy led David to speak
of his greater Son, he first brought strongly before his mind those
points of his own history which were suggestive — we might say,
typical — of like features in the history, sufferings, and work of
Christ. We see this in those Psalms which treat of the reigning
Messiah (e. g., Ps. 2 and 110); also in those which present a suf
fering Messiah, viz., Ps. 16, 23, and therefore naturally Ps. 40.
1. I waited patiently for the Loed; and he inclined
unto me, and heard my cry.
2. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of
the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established
my goings.
3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise
unto our God : many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust
in the Lord.
The words "patient," "patiently," have chiefly lost their original
meaning in English, and a secondary one has become the primary.
" Patient," from the Latin "patiens," originally meant a sufferer.
The doctor's "patient" holds this idea still; and we also speak of
Christ's "passion," not as we speak of a passionate man, but
purely in the old sense of his suffering. But in almost all connec
tions we drop the old idea of suffering, and. think only of quiet
endurance, long-suffering, making prominent the idea of quietness
and self-control. In our passage we must go back to the original
sense suffer. "I waited sufferingly, intensely, with earnest longings,
an intensity of feeling which amounted to real suffering." This
was what our translators meant to express and according to the
usage of their times, did express. The Hebrew idiom also gives
the idea of intense waiting, a longing, which involved very strong
emotion.  This waiting on God was not in vain, for " he bowed.
his ear unto me and heard my cry," i. e., to answer and to save.
I was sinking as one in a deep pit and in miry clay; he lifted
me out and set my feet on rock, and made my goings firm. This
was equivalent to putting a new song into my mouth, giving me
occasion to praise him for new mercies. Many shall see this
gracious deliverance, and learn from it to trust in Jehovah for
their own salvation from all their straits and perils.  If now the
question be asked whether this can refer to Jesus in his human
nature and relations, the answer must be affirmative. Did he not
give decisive intimations of a most intense and suffering attitude of
waiting upon God in prayer and strong crying ? Did he not say,

172 PSALM XL.
"I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened
till it be accomplished?" Have we not read in his history of one
whole night of prayer to God? Can we forget the scenes of "sad
Gethsemane?" Need wc be reminded that the writer to the He
brews alludes to "the days of his flesh" when he had offered prayer
and supplication with strong crying and tears unto him that was
able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared?
(Heb. 5 : 7.)
4. Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust,
and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to
lies. Jesus had found this blessedness in his experience, and therefore
most fitly commended such trust to all who may be under trials
and afflictions, in any measure similar. Let his people make
their Lord alone their trust, and never look (in this sense of
trusting) to the proud. The word "respecteth," meaning primarily
to turn toward one, implies looking to one for help in need.
5. Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works
ivhiclh thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward :
they can not be reckoned up in order unto thee : if I would
declare and speak of Hiem, they are more than can be
numbered. God's works of mercy and thoughts of love toward us, so many
and so precious, impress the speaker's mind deeply. The clause,
" They can not be reckoned up in order unto thee," is in the orig
inal a model of conciseness ; somewhat thus : " There is no arrang
ing them to thee;" it is impossible to classify them and set them
forth in full and orderly detail.  Another sense has been put
.upon these words, thus: There is nothing that compares with
them. But the former is preferable, especially because it allows
us to continue the same line of thought through the verse. "Let
me set them forth [I said to myself] and speak of them in order;
they are too many to be numbered."  Impressed by this view
of the greatness and the number of God's blessings upon him, he
is drawn in grateful love to ask: What can I do for God? This
leads tho mind to the words that follow.
6. Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears
hast thou, opened : burnt offering and sin offering hast thou
not required.
7. Then said I, Lo, I come : in the volume of the book
it is written of me,
8. I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is
within my heart.
The thought lying upon the faco of this passage is that a sense

PSALM XL. 173
of God's great mercies constrains the speaker to a grateful obedi
ence and a full consecration of himself to the doing of God's will
Enumerating the various forms of sacrificial offering prescribed in
the Mosaic ritual, he says, These, O Lord, thou dost not require
of me. I am ready for any service which may be indicated by
thy expressed will. I love obedience to that will above my chief
joy. Thy law is within my heart, most dearly loved — to be obeyed
with supreme delight.  Giving attention next to points that may
be said to lie deeper than the surface we may note that the con
nection of this verse with v. 5, applying all to the Messiah, may
be this: An impressive sense of that great love with which "God
so loved the world as to give up for it his only begotten Son," in
spired the Son to say in a like spirit of self-sacrificing benevol
ence — "I come into a world of sin, assume the nature of the race
I am to save, and bow my soul to bear any burdens of suffering
with obedience unto death that I may do the will of the Father in
reference to the means and appliances for human salvation." So
Jesus said during his life upon earth : " My meat is to do the will
of him that sent me, and to finish his work " (John 4 : 34). The
writer" to the Hebrews suggests that "though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" — i. e., he
received a discipline unto obedience by his. experience of suffer
ing.  Emphatic and important are the words: "Lo, I come; in
the volume of the book it is written of me." The Messiah was
long known under the name "the coming One," "he that should
come" — phrases whioh have their, germ in this and kindred
frophecies. "In the volume of the book," i. e., in the Pentateuch
no other book then extant bore this title] it was written : " The
scepter shall not pass from Judah until Shiloh come " (Gen. 49 : 10).
So here it is written concerning me, i. e., that I am to come, and
devote myself to doing the perfect will of God, even though at the
cost of untold sufferings.  " Mine ears hast thou opened." The
Hebrew means primarily, thou hast digged,* but in the only sense
applicable to the ear, digged open, that he might hear more per
fectly every indication of the divine will. Closely analogous is
Isaiah 50: 4: "He wakeneth mine ear morning by morning to
hear as pupils do." Some have found here a reference to the
Mosaic regulation that in case a Hebrew servant preferred to be
bound to his master for life instead of becoming free after six
years, his ear must be bored with an awl. The other explanation is
more probable, especially because Isaiah has it in an analogous form,
perhaps borrowing the idea from this, passage.  A remarkable
fact concerning this phrase must now be noticed. The Septuagint
translation gives it : " A body thou hast prepared for me." Much
critical labor has been expended on this extraordinary translation,
but no proof lias been found that they had a different Hebrew
text from ours. It has never been made even plausible that they
thought the words they have given are exact equivalents of the
rro*

174 PSALM XL.
Hebrew words in their primary, literal sense. The only satisfactory
construction is that they thought the sense of the Hebrew words
obscure and therefore gave their view of the ultimate meaning by
a very liberal paraphrase instead of a literal translation. They
supposed the passage to mean this: The sacrifices of the Mosaic
ritual thou dost not require of me ; but thou dost require me to
become a Lamb for sacrifice, and therefore dost provide me a body
which may in due time be slain in sacrifice for the sins of the
world.  This Septuagint version of the passage the writer to the
Hebrews quotes in full (10 : 5-10) virtually explaining the "com
ing" here spoken of to be Christ s coming into the world by his
incarnation in human flesh, making the broadest possible dis
crimination between the Mosaic sacrifices on the one hand, and
the offering of his own body once for all on the other, declaring
that "he taketh away the first that he may establish the second;"
and moreover giving great prominence to the point made very
prominent by David, viz. : that all this was the will of God — the
whole scheme of salvation having its birth in his eternal purpose
and infinite love, and Jesus suffering all in loving obedience to
that will.  Let it be noted here that this remarkable version
of the Septuagint is really a traditional interpretation of the pas
sage. It shows us how it was understood by the learned Jews of
that age when this version was made, say two or three centuries
before Christ. They saw in this passage the promised Messiah,
and what is yet more, a Messiah becoming incarnate.  Again,
let it be noted that this passage is altogether inapplicable to David,
especially when taken as it must be in antithesis with not offering
the Mosaic sacrifices. The age of David was entirely too early for
him to speak with reference to himself of not offering the Mosaic
sacrifices, but coming in this emphatic sense as a substitute for
those offerings. Moreover David was never called of God to offer
his body a human sacrifice. Hence we can give these words no
satisfactory explanation save by referring them to Jesus Christ.
9. I have preached righteousness in the great congrega
tion : lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou
knowest. 10. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart ; I
have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation : I have
not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the
great congregation.
"Preached righteousness," the Hebrew word being the most
perfect equivalent which the language affords for evangelizing, i. e.,
preaching the glad tidings of gospel salvation. It is used repeat
edly in this sense by Isaiah (40 : 9, and 52 : 7).  The expres
sions, "In the great congregation;" "not concealed from the great
congregation," take their form from the times of David when the
great congregation of all Israel convened at the one place for wor
ship ; but in sense it purports that Christ proclaimed this gospel

PSALM XL. 175
to the Israel of his time and through them to the wide world.
Having made propitiation for sin by his death, he proclaimed for
all the race free pardon and God's righteousness in forgiving sin.
These verses make this idea very emphatic.
11. Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O
Lord : let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually
preserve me.
Following the original we must make this not a prayer but an
expression of confidence : " Thou wilt not withhold thy tender
mercies from me," etc. The ground of this confidence lies in his
own devotion to the will of -God as expressed in the verses immedi
ately preceding. The definite correspondence of thought between
those verses and this is somewhat obscured by the translators of
our version who should have preserved the same verb in both pas
sages ; thus : " I have not withheld my lips, O Lord, thou knowest"
(v. 9) : " therefore thou wilt not withhold thy tender mercies from
me" (v. 11). The Hebrew has the same verb in both passages.
12. For innumerable evils have compassed me about:
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able
to look up ; they are more than the hairs of mine head :
therefore my heart faileth me.
The main difficulty felt in applying this Psalm to the Messiah
lies in the words, "mine iniquities." How, it is asked, can this
possibly be said by Jesus or on his behalf, since he was " with
out sin?"  -To this I answer: (1) It is conceded by the best
lexicographers and critics that this Hebrew word* may mean not
precisely sin, but the punishment of sin ; the sufferings which sin
occasions.:  (2) The parallelism with " innumerable evils " de
mands this sense in the present ease.  (3) The verb that fol
lows, "have taken hold upon me," forbids the. sense of personal
sins. It is not sin, but only the suffering or evil connected in
some way with sin which can be said to take hold upon one. This
Hebrew verb translated, " have taken hold upon," f should be
carefully examined. Important cases of its use appear in Deut.
28 : 2, 15, 45. " All these blessings shall come on thee and
overtake thee." All these curses shall come upon thee and over
take thee;" "all these curses shall pursue thee and overtake thee."
The sense therefore is that of something befalling one from with
out and usually an infliction of evil. So in Ps. 69 : 24. " Let the
burning heat of thy wrath fall upon them ;" in our version, " take
hold of them." Also Zech. 1:6. " Did not my words " [of
threatening] "take hold of your fathers?"  This established
usage of the verb suffices to snow that the phrase in question can
by no means speak of personal sins, but only of the infliction of evil
in some way, for some reason.  (4) We can now properly ad
vance another step and compare this language with that which
J1JT JtWt

176 PSALM XL.
appears both in Old Testament prophecy and in New Testa
ment history with reference to the evils (in the sense of sufferings)
brought upon the Messiah. The passages are well known and
they are legion: e. g., "A man of sorrows;" "hath borne our
griefs;" "wounded for our transgressions;", "the chastisement of
our peace was upon him;" "the Lord hath laid upon him the
iniquities of us all;" "for the transgression of my people was he
stricken;" "he bare the sin of many;" (Isaiah 53 throughout).
So the New Testament : " He hath made him to be sin for us who
knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5: 21); "Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us " (Gal. 3 : 13) ; " Who
did no sin, but his own self bore oui? sins in his own body on
the tree;" . . . "by whose stripes we were healed" (1 Pet
2 : 22, 24).  Comparing these various passages with the one be
fore us it will be readily seen (a) that both speak of immense
suffering coming upon the Messiah for sin; (A) that there is a
striking similarity in the mode in which these sufferings came upon
him. "Have taken hold upon me;" "have overtaken me" (the
true sense of the word here), are only expanded and changed in
form, not in sense, in the phrases — "The Lord hath laid upon
him;" " it pleased the Lord to bruise him;" " God hath made him to
be sin" (a sin-offering) for us, etc.  A careful comparison of the
phraseology used by prophets and apostles on this mysterious point
of the sufferings of Christ may well relieve our minds of all surprise
that the Messiah should say here in briefest terms — "Innumerable
evils have compassed me about;" "mine iniquities" [those I am
made to bear] " have taken hold upon me with a grasp I can
not loosen, as a burden I can not shake off.  " So that I am not
able to look up," should rather be, "so that, I can not see;" all is
dark as death about me. The darkness over all. the land from
the sixth hour to the ninth (Luke«23: 44) was only a symbol of
that "horror of great darkness" which fell upon the spirit of the
world's Great Sufferer in those hours of his mysterious woe. 
"Therefore my heart faileth me" fills out this picture of untold
sorrow. It seemed too much to be endured. Did that fearful dark
ness shut off hope ? Did it hide from the Great Sufferer the face
of his Father? We may recall his words on the very eve of these
agonies : " This is your hour and the power of. darkness (Luke
22: 53), i. e., the hour for you and for the powers of darkness to
do your worst against the suffering Son of man. Beyond this,
what can we yet know?
13. Be pleased, 0 Lord, to deliver me : 0 Lord, make
haste to help me.
What could such a sufferer do but pray ? This prophetic fore
showing is entirely at one with the history as we see in Gethse
mane ; on the cross ; and in the expressive words of the writer to
the Hebrews, " Strong cryijjg and tears unto him who was able to
save !"

PS.ALM XL. 177
14. Let them be ashamed and confounded together that
seek after my soul to destroy it ; let them be driven back
ward and put to shame that wish me evil.
15. Let them be desolate for a reward of their shame
that say unto me, Aha, aha.
The Hebrew verbs in these two verses are simple futures with
nothing in the verses themselves to indicate prayer or imprecation.
It is only their connection with v. 13 that favors the construction
given in our English version.  "Wish me evil" is less strong
than the Hebrew which means, take delight in my calamity, the
word being the same as in v 8 : "I delight to do thy will." " Evil"
here is the same as the "evils innumerable" of v. 12.
The question will arise, Is the spirit of these verses at one with
the Saviors prayer on the cross : " Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do?" — —I answer, (a) Taking these words
as they stand in the original, i. e., as prediction only, they are per
fectly in harmony with the Savior's own words of prediction :
"Behold, your house is left Unto you desolate!" (Luke 13: 35),
and also with the facts of the case.  (A) While it is the mission
of Jesus to offer pardon to the penitent and to pray that sinners,
even his murderers, may repent and receive it, it is equally his
mission to bring retribution both in' time and eternity upon those
whom no mercy can melt to penitence, and who bend their energies
to frustrate all his endeavors to save the lost.  (c) In these verses
his enemies are seen and thought of only as madly bent on
heightening his torture and thwarting £is designs of mercy. So
considered, what more or other could the Messiah do than breast
their endeavors with his utmost strength, and carry through the
scheme of human salvation despite of their mad opposition ?- 
It ought not to be forgotten that Jesus saw in the malign spirit and
efforts of his betrayers and murderers the very hand and heart of
Satan. Shall it trouble us that he resists Satan at every point and
gives him no quarter ? That were a miserably misplaced sympathy.
Let us rather rejoice that this conflict is to the bitter end — to the
very death — and Satan the one to fall!
16. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and, be glad in
thee : let such as love thy salvation say continually, The
Lord be magnified.
17. But I am poor and needy ; yet the Lord thinketh
upon me : thou art my help and my deliverer ; make no
tarrying, O my God.
The original of v. 16 is also future and not imperative ; prediction,
and not prayer. Such results are forever sure, and no less glorious
than sure !  These last five verses reappear nearly verbatim in
Ps. 70. I see no occasion to assign any other special reason for
this than that they are precious words and by no means inappro
priate to be sung apart trom the connection in which they stand in

178 PSALM XLI.
Ps. 40. Or may it be supposed that they had become so familiar
as the closing verses of this Psalm that they suggested their rela
tion to the foregoing verses here, even though sung and read in
that disconnected form as we find them in Ps. 70 ?
PSALM XLI.
This Psalm is the language of one suffering from sickness. He is
conscious of having himself befriended the sick and helpless, and
therefore is confident that God will deal tenderly with him. He
has malign enemies who have been his professed friends but who
now exult in the hope of his death and plot mischief and lies
against him. Such hostility drives him to his great Frrend above
for help and consolation.  This Psalm has many points in common
with Ps. 38 and 39. It is therefore highly probable that it was an
outgrowth of the same historic circumstances and bears the same
date, i. e., near the close of David's life, under the trials that befell
him from the conspiracy of Adonijah (1 Kings 1). It will at least
give a certain life-likeness to the picture to assume that those were
the circumstances under which the Psalm was written.  The
fact that these four Psalms (38-41) close the first of the five books
of Psalms favors somewhat this view of their date. If they were
the latest written — the last effusions of his poetic inspiration — this
is their appropriate place in this first collection of the Psalms of
David. 1. Blessed is he that considereth the poor : the Lord will
deliver him in time of trouble.
The Hebrew word for " poor" may sometimes mean the money.
less, but more naturally the weak, the dependent, and not im
probably here, the sick or the frail in health.  " Considereth"
is somewhat more than thinketh upon. The primary sense is to
look attentively toward, but here with the farther idea of looking
kindly, with due sympathy and with prompt relief. Such an one
the Lord delivers in the day of his trouble. Loving the spirit that
sympathizes with the suffering, he will miss no fit opportunity to
express his love by rewarding it openly.
2. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive ; and .
he shall be blessed upon the earth : and thou wilt not de
liver him unto the will of his enemies.
3. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of lan
guishing : thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.
"Keep him alive," cause him to live in the sense of restoring
him when he is sick. " He shall be blessed" — prospered in the
land [better than " earth"] i. e., in the Lord's promised land of
Canaan.  " Thou. wilt not deliver," etc., is in the original rather

PSALM XLI. 179
a prayer than an assurance. " Do not thou deliver him up to the
soul [Hebrew] of his enemies" — in the sense of their wicked de
sire. The sudden change of construction from the future to the
imperative, from prediction to prayer, indicates the deep feeling
and strong sympathy of the writer. He can not endure that God
should fail of helping such a good man and therefore gives utter
ance here to. this prayer.  "Make all his bed in his sickness"
means in the original much more than making up a sick man's
bed by airing, stirring, and making it comfortable. It means to
change his sick bed to a bed of healthful repose, implying the
change of his state from sickness to health. The Hebrew word,
having the sense to turn or change, looks for its object beyond his
bed to his bodily state.
4. I said, Lord, be merciful unto me : heal my soul ;
for I have sinned against thee.
In the first words, "I said," the original makes the pronoun I,
very prominent, not to say emphatic. For my part, as respects
myself, I lift up this one prayer of my heart: " Be merciful unto
me and take my sins away." The striking point of the verse is
that he regards his bodily sickness as occasioned by his sin. The
reader will notice the same sentiment in Ps. 38: 3-5, 17, 18, and
39: 8, 10, 11, which may be supposed to refer to the same points
in his history.
5. Mine enemies speak evil of me, When shall he die,
and his name perish?
The first verb is future ; mine enemies do and will speak evil of
me ; I know them too well to expect any thing else. Adonijah
and his sympathizing associates were waiting for the death of the
aged king with aspirations so selfish as to be really malign. They
longed to see his name go down so low as to interpose no barrier
to their schemes.
6. And if he come to see me, he speaketh vanity : his
heart gathereth iniquity to itself; when he goeth abroad,
he telleth it.
7. All that hate me whisper together against me : against
me do they devise my hurt.
8. An evil disease, say they, cleaveth fast unto him : and
now, that he lieth he shall rise up no more.
"If he come to see " — not necessarily to see me, for the original
does not say this, but if he comes to look about from a nearer
point of view — to explore and see how the case stands, then he
will speak untruthfully, artfully concealing his real designs. The
Hebrew accents favor this reading of the next clause : As to his
heart, he will gather scandal and lies into it.  In the first clause
of v. 8, the " evil disease" is probably a moral evil — some sin that

180 PSALM XLI.
in the view of his enemies brought down God's judgments upon
him. Hence their assurance that he could not rise from his bed
again. This was indeed, one of the bitterest ingredients in his
cup. 9. Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against
me. Another most bitter thing was the treachery of former friends.
They had violated the most sacred rights of hospitality and friend
ship; perhaps he means the dearest ties of relationship, for
Adonijah was a son, from his father's own table ; Joab also and
Abiathar had been in most intimate relations to the royal person
and table.  To "lift up the heel" is a proverb, meaning they
have turned away from me, throwing up the heel as they went.
These words were said by Jesus (John 13 : 18) to be fulfilled in the
treachery of Judas. This fulfilling is in the sense of filling out the
full sense of these words — a case which is tantamount to the full idea
here. In the same way, when the Lord by a warning dream
called Joseph with Mary and the child Jesus out of Egypt, the
fact filled out again the sense of those words of Hosea, " Out of
Egypt have I called my son." (Matt. 2 : 15, and Hos. 11 : 1). It
is not necessary to interpret these words as directly prophetic of
the treachery of Judas. As originally written they may have
referred only to the treachery of Adonijah and his associates.
10. But thou, 0 Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise
me up, that I may requite them.
"Raise me up," although they have said, "he shall never rise"
(v. 8). Do thou this very thing which they vainly think can
never be.  "Requite them;" but this does not demand the
sense of retaliation, much less of selfish, revengeful retaliation, for
it may mean, that I may repay them good for their evil. Indeed
the Hebrew word strongly favors this sense — to make good again,
to make all whole, sound. David has repeatedly expressed this
sentiment in his Psalms (35 : 12-14, and 7:4); and yet better, has
lived it forth in his actual deeds (1 Sam. 24: 9-15, and 26: 18-25).
There is no occasion therefore, to give these words the bad sense
of a malign, wicked retaliation.
11. By this I know that thou favourest me, because
mine enemy doth not triumph over me. '
12. And as for me, thou upholdestme in mine integrity,
and settest me before thy face forever.
"Because mine enemy will not triumph over me," i. e., will not
have any occasion to triumph over me. The verb is future, ex
pressing his confidence in God that they will not succeed in their
wicked plots so as to exult over his fall.  " Upholdcst me because

PSALM XLII, 181
of my integrity rather than in it; i. e., because my conduct toward
them and toward thee has been in the main morally right. 
" Thou settest me before thy face ; " under thine eye, where thou
wilt carefully watch over me and guard me safely forever.
13. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting,
and to everlasting. Amen, and amen.
This doxology closes the first of the five books of the Psalms,
A similar doxology occurs at the end of the second, third, and
fourth books (Ps: 72 : 19, and 89 : 52, and 106 : 48). In the case
of the last book, the last three Psalms are essentially one prolonged
doxology.
PSALM XLII.
This Psalm opens the second book It is a "Maschil," a Psalm
for instruction.  Our English version reads, "for the sons of
Korah," assuming that it was committed by the author into their
hands to be sung in the sanctuary. The sons of Korah are well
known to have been among the leading musicians in the temple
service, their names being associated with those of Heman and
Asaph. (See 1 Chron. 6 : 22, 31, 37, and 25 : 1-7, and 2 Chron. 20 :
19). Eleven Psalms bear their name in the caption as here, viz.,
42, 44-49, 84, 85, 87, 88. But whether in these Psalms and in this
one especially, they are authors or only singers has been earnest
ly debated, yet with no absolutely certain result. It is for the
most part admitted that this Psalm gives the experience of David
when driven from the holy city before Absalom his son. This is
the point of prime importance to the interpretation and illustra
tion, of the Psalm. Ihe question whether David himself wrote
it or some one of the sons of Korah, is quite a secondary matter,
provided wo may assume that in the latter case it was written to
represent David's experiences in his flight before Absalom.  On
the question of authorship, these considerations favor the sons of
Korah : (1) The Hebrew preposition is constantly used elsewhere
to indicate the author, the prefix (1), meaning to in the sense as
cribed to, but translated "of,", a Psalm of David; "a Psalm of
the sons of Korah."  (2) In the eleven Psalms which have this
caption, there is nothing which positively indicates David to be the
author. The sons of Korah may have written them all.  (3)
They seem to have been authors since Solomon is compared with
them (1 Kings 4: 31).-  (4) These eleven Psalms use Elohim
much more than Jehovah for the name of God. David currently
uses Jehovah much more than Elohim.  (5) The style is thought
to be more bold than in the Psalms known to be David's. Com
paring Ps. 42 with Ps. 3 on the same subject, we shall see force
in this comparison.  In favor of the authorship of David are
these two main considerations: (1) It is far more natural and
probable that David should write his own personal experiences

182 PSALM XLII.
than that others should do it. He was accustomed to write his
own.  (2) It is very unnatural that the Psalm should be as
cribed to many authors rather than to one. Authorship is legiti
mately the product of some one mind. Never so many sons of
Korah might sing it, and might have the charge of it for the ser
vice of song.  These points may suffice to show how nicely the
considerations on either side balance each other.  Every point
in this Psalm is pertinent to the case of David seeking safety by
flight from Jerusalem before the formidable conspiracy of Absa
lom. The history of these scenes stands in 2 Sam. 15-19. The
longing for the worship of the sanctuary ; the yet deeper longing
for the manifestation of God's presence and favor ; and definitely,
the localities mentioned (v. 6) ; " the land of Jordan and of the
Hermonites," etc., concur to assign the Psalm to those events in
David's personal history.
1. As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so pant-
eth my soul after thee, O God.
2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God : when
shall I come and appear before God ?
The "har£" (the male deer), hot and faint in the chase or on
the mountains of Judah, thirsts intensely for " the water-brooks."
So David's soul thirsts and longs for God's manifested presence
and love. V. 2 beautifully reiterates the thought: " for God, the
living God," not the vain, unreal, dead gods of the idolaters; but
one forever living and for evermore the refuge and the joy of
those who know and trust him. When shall I ever come again
to appear in his lovely courts, a joyous worshiper ? To be ex
iled from his throne and from the city he had conquered and
built himself for his royal home might naturally have -cost him
some pang's of grief; but he does not even name this in compar
ison with exile from the house of God and the place where his
honor dwelt. And yet we must suppose that his heart is far more
upon God himself than upon the place of his usual manifestation.
 This uprising of Absalom was to David at once national and
domestic ; it struck with the same blow both his throne and his
home. He saw in it a judgment from God, not so much upon his
nation as upon himself, and upon himself rather for his sins in the
matter of Uriah than for any maladministration as king. God
was fearfully calling to remembrance the sad scenes of his family
history. David doubtless felt that he deserved this exile from the
city and sanctuary of his God ; but O, did he not long to be for
given of God and to be restored once more as a pardoned child!
3. My tears have been my meat day and night, while
they continually say unto me, Where is thy God ?
" Meat," not flesh but food — a most expressive figure, evincing
the deepest grief through the livelong day and night. It heightened
this grief that his enemies tauntingly said, Where is thy God now?

PSALM XLII. 183
Essentially the same sentiment though rhetorically less bold appears
in Ps. 3 : 2 : " Many there be who say of my soul, There is no
help for him in God." Perhaps he thinks of those curses from
Shimei who charged that God was visiting upon him the blood of
the house of Saul (2 Sam. 16: 7, 8). It is in human nature to
bear such maledictions and reproaches tolerably when one's own
conscience is quiet. But when under God's chastening hand they
become perpetually suggestive of bitter sins for which we can
make no apology, then comes the agony of the smitten soul !
4. Wnen I remember these things, I pour out my soul in
me : for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them
to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with
a multitude that kept holyday.
"I pour out my soul in me" — words of intense emotion and most
poignant grief. The memory of those sacred festal scenes when in
solemn procession the vast concourse of people moved up the hill
of Zion to the sacred tabernacle, the hallowed presence chamber of
the Most High, is in painful contrast with this exile and its deso
late surroundings ; yet this is sad mainly because so suggestive of the
lost presence of God. For all Christian experience witnesses that
even such an exile as this from home and throne, on those mountains
of Hermon, never so far away from the hill pf Zion, would have
been trivial if God had been there in his joyous presence with its
impressive manifestations.  This construction of the verse, in
harmony with our English version, assumes that David in his exile
beyond the Jordan is recalling the blest days of festal worship in
Jerusalem, and that this recollection at first thought embitters his
grief, but at second thought suggests that his God is ever faithful
and may be trusted even in these darkest hours, and will yet
bring him back to the city and sanctuary of his early love.  A
different construction, urged strongly by Alexander as the only
one which "gives the future forms [of the verbs] their proper
force instead of converting them into past tenses," translates thus :
" These things I will remember and will pour out upon me my
soul when I pass in the crowd, when I march with them up to the
house of God," etc. That is, the whole verse is anticipaiive. He
is thinking how he shall review these scenes of his exile when he
shall once get back to the holy city and head its solemn proces
sions to the sanctuary ; thus : These things let me recall to mind
and let me pour out my soul when I shall be moving on with the
worshiping multitude to the house of God, etc. This construction
is no doubt favored by the Hebrew tenses ; but on the other hand
it seems in point of sentiment unnatural and artificial. The first
named construction supposes that during this exile David recalls
the scenes of his past worship at Jerusalem; the second, that he
is forecasting future scenes of worship there and thinking how
pleasant it will be then to pour out his soul, i. e., in thanksgiving for
his deliverance. The great objection to the latter is that at this

184 PSALM XLII.
stage of the Psalm he has not reached that point yet. It supposes
him to be where he is not. In fact his soul is still cast down — is
just at this point struggling up to catch the first ray of light and
hope. 5. Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul? and why art
thou disquieted in me ? hope thou in God : for I shall yet
praise him for the help of his countenance.
The verb, " cast down," has the sense of being bowed low, almost
if not altogether prostrated ; while the form of the verb favors the
reflexive sense — a self-produced effect: Why art thou breaking
down thine own hopes and courage ? Why indulge such self-de
pressing thoughts ? The next words carry forward this view:
Why such unrest ? such inward anxiety ? such lack of trust ?
Hope thou in God I Poetically the hopeful spirit accosts the des
ponding one, as if there were two conflicting hearts in his inner
being; one lying prone in the dust, borne down in discouragement;
the other lifting its eye <upward ; catching a glimpse of the faithful
God; calling upon his fellow to take courage and still hope in God.
 " For the help of his countenance ;" literally, for the salvation
of his face, i. e., for the salvation which his manifested presence
will bring. Truly there is salvation in his presence ! When his
face shines upon us, we are already saved I
6. O my God, my soul is cast down within me : therefore
will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the
Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
Still depressed, the Psalmist addresses God directly, beautifully
and most fitly laying open his whole case : " 0 my God, my soul is
fearfully borne down with grief, depression ; 0 let me remember
thee from this far off land of the Jordan — from these mountains of
Hermon. It avails me nothing to brood over my affliction, still
turning my eye away from thee ; let me rather turn toward thee";
my God, and remember thee from this land of my exile.  The
mountains of Hermon were the north-east boundary of Palestine
entire, appearing in the history (Deut. 3:8, 9, and 4: 48, and
Josh. 12: 1.) The hill Mizar [the little] seems to have been a
special locality in the Hermon range, marking perhaps more de
finitely the place of his rest at this time.
7. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy water-spouts :
all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
In the first clause it is not easy to determine the precise sense.
Literally it stands, " Deep unto deep is calling to the voice of thy
water-spouts ;" " deep" being the word used (Gen. 1 : 2) of the
great mass of waters buried in darkness ; also for the ocean masses
of the deluge (Gen. 7 : 4, and 8:2); while the word for " water
spouts" occurs elsewhere but once (2 Sam. 5: 8), there translated
"gutter," but obviously used with reference to the sound of rushing

PSALM XLII. 185
waters. Whether the figure before the writer's mind is that of tho
surging billows of the sea, answering to each other in their per
petual succession, or the rushing of storm-clouds and aerial water
spouts, it is not easy to decide. It is clear however that the
roaring and dashing of waters is before the mind and suggested
the thought in the last clause : " All thy waves and thy billows
sweep over me." I am as one in the bottom of the sea, sunk be
neath the ever-dashing breakers. Wave after wave of trouble and
turmoil break over me.
8. Yet the Loed will command bis loving-kindness in
the daytime, and in the night his song slwll be with me, and
my prayer unto the God of my life.
"Will command," i. e., will commission his loving-kindness to
manifest itself in my behalf. And I will praise him night and day,
blending prayer with praise also continually to the God who is
my life and on whom all the good of my life depends. This is
the language of strong confidence and of overflowing gratitude.
9. I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgot
ten me ? why go I mourning because of the oppression of
the enemy?
The meaning of this is plain, but in its moral attitude it seems
to go to the outermost limit of propriety in calling upon God for
the reasons of his course. Whoever should adopt these words
into his own prayer must chasten his spirit to reverence and
modest humility, remembering that God is great and pure, and
never can do any thing amiss.
10. As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach
me ; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God ?
The bitterest ingredient in David's cup of grief during these
scenes was the thought that his God was chastening him, and had
withdrawn his favor because of his sin. That sad fall in the .mat
ter of Bathsheba and Uriah was perhaps still recent, and his ex
pulsion from his throne and from the holy city must have been
bitterly suggestive, tearing open those half-healed wounds and
causing him to live over again the contrition, the sorrows, and
the despondencies which grew out of that group of sins. How
truly the taunts of his foes — " Where is thy God now ? " — must have
been like a sword smiting through his very bones !
11. Why art thou cast. down, O my soul? and why art
thou disquieted within me ? hope thou in' God : for I shall
yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and
my God.
Again his faith rebukes his unbelief — the hopeful element in
his soul, the desponding and despairing ¦ one : Hope thou still in
thy God !  " The health of my countenance " repeats the Ian-

186 PSALM XLIII.
guage of v. 5 save that here we have "my face" against "thy
face " there.  " Health " is precisely the salvations of my face,
i. e., in thought my Savior, whose salvation will give me smiles for
tears — the glow of joy in my countenance for these deep lines of
woe.
PSALM XLIII.
Manifestly this Psalm is one of a pair with the preceding, and
hence opens with no caption whatever. It might be considered a
continuation. It will be seen that the strain of it is the same ; ¦
the leading thoughts and phrases are here repeated.
1. Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an un
godly nation : O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust
man. i
David implores God to judge between him and the conspirators
(Absalom and his associates) who had risen up to wrest away his
throne. He calls them a nation,* the word for a heathen power
in array against God's people, but fitly applied to the conspirators
here, for they were acting the part of a heathen force in arms
against the Lord's anointed.  David speaks as one who felt that
there was no help for him but in his God. This pending question
as to the throne must be submitted to God's decision as the
ultimate judge'.
2. For thou art the God of my strength : why dost thou
cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression
of the enemy ?
"For all my strength is in thee." Forsaken of thee, my case
is hopeless ; personally, I am without strength.  Why hast thou
left me to wander abroad, a sad mourner, by reason of these cruel
oppressions of the enemy ?
3. O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead
me; let them bring me unto thy holy bill, and to thy
tabernacles. "Thy light" — to chase away this darkness and to guide me in
tby perfect way. "Thy truth," in the sense here of manifesting
thy faithfulness in the fulfillment of promise. So guided all will
be well.  The naming of Zion hill and the sacred tabernacle
compels us to locate this Psalm during the time of David, and
after the death of Saul, inasmuch as before this, there was no
Zion hill, and after the very early years of Solomon, no taber
nacle but a temple.

PSALM XLIV. 187
4. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my
exceeding joy : yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, 0
God my God.
If once led back by God's kind hand to his throne, how joyfully
would he hasten to the altar of God with his thank-offerings, even
to that God who was his exultant joy, his joy of exultation, as the
Hebrew implies. This strong language witnesses to the depth
and fullness of his joy in God. Plainly he had strong emotions of
soul and did not shun their proper expression.
5. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art
thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet
praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my
God. Let this pair of beautiful Psalms suggest the blessedness of hav
ing such a God, the Refuge of our soul in trouble, the exceeding
joy of our heart in the day of our deliverance ! It is no mean
occasion of thanksgiving that God gave his servant David such ex
periences and then caused them to be sent down to us in this sa
cred record for our example and edification. Let none of us fail
to have like trust in God in the days of our affliction and equal
joy and gratitude for the salvations of his presence !

PSALM XLIV.
This is one of those eleven Psalms over which in our English
version we read, "For the sons of Korah," which were composed
either by the sons of Korah or by David for their use. The gen
eral strain of this Psalm is clear, but the particular historic oc
casion is not certain. It is thought by some critics (e. g., Heng-
stenberg, Keil, Delitzsch, Wordsworth) to refer to the same his
toric circumstances as Ps. 60, i. e., to the severe conflicts connected
with the conquest of Moab, Zobah, Syria, Ammon, and Edom, of
which the history may be seen in 2 Sam. 8, and 1 Chron. 18.
Obviously this Psalm has many points of resemblance with Ps. 60.
But it seems to me to indicate more severe reverses, and a more
depressed state of the Hebrew people than the history discloses
at any time during the reign of David. It may therefore belong
to the times of the later kings. ; Some have located it shortly be
fore the captivity. It lacks the data for determining its historic
time with certainty.  Of course if we locate it after David's
time we assign it to some one of the sons of Korah as its au
thor. 1. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers
have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the
times of old.

188 PSALM XLIV.
2. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand,
and plantedst them ; how thou didst afflict the people, and
cast them out.
3. For they got not the land in possession by their own
sword, neither did their own arm save them : but thy right
hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, be
cause thou hadst a favor unto them.
It has come down to us by tradition from the fathers how thou,
Lord, didst subdue the nations of Canaan by Joshua, drive them
out, and plant thy people in their deserted cities and lands. It
was not the sword of Israel nor their right arm that achieved
these victories, but thine. In the time of this Psalm it was a joy
to recall these wonderful works of the God of their fathers.
4. Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances
for Jacob.
The Hebrew is emphatic: "Thou art He," [still] "my King,"
no less than theirs, 0 thou mighty God ! Let thy decree go forth
[again] for the salvation of Jacob.
5. Through thee will we push down our enemies :
through thy name will we tread them under that rise up
against us. *
6. For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my
sword save me.
"Push down," as horned cattle with head and horns. As our
fathers conquered with thy strength, not their own, so I will not
trust in my bow, nor shall my own sword be my salvation.
7. But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast
put them to shame that hated us.
8. In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name
forever. Selah.
"All the day," not merely through all the hours of some one
day, but continually — its parallel in the next clause being "for
ever."  "Selah" suggests a pause to dwell impressively upon
this joyful and most wholesome thought.
9. But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame ; and go-
est not forth with our armies.
10. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and
they which hate us spoil for themselves.
Here is a sudden change in the tone of the song, indicating re
verses, defeats ; God's people forsaken of him, fleeing before their
enemies and made a spoil. It does not appear how long this
state of things continued or how severe these disasters were.

PSALM XLIV. 189
But the language in these and the following verses through v. 16
is certainly quite strong.
11. Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat;
and hast scattered us among the heathen.
12. Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not in
crease thy wealth by their price.
Thou hast suffered us to be devoured by our enemies as sheep
slaughtered for the table. "Scattered us among the heathen"
certainly seems to imply that some, not to say many, of the peo
ple had been taken captive in war. This may have been less than
a captivity of the entire nation like that by the Chaldeans.
"Sold" into the hand of their enemies indicated the defeat and
subjection of Israel, as may be seen often in the history of the
Judges (2-: 14, and 3 : 8, and 4 : 2, etc.) See the same language Isa.
52: 3. The figure assumes that they were his property, his in
heritance ; to be alienated into the possession of other lords there
fore only by sale.  The Psalmist expostulates with God, argu
ing that his wealth was not increased by the avails of this sale,
this -trading away of his covenant people. It inured only to the
dishonor of his name.
13. Thou makest us a reproach -to our neighbours, a
scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
14. Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a
shaking of the head among the people.
15. My confusion is continually before me, and the shame
of my face hath covered me.
16. For the voice of him that reproacheth and blas-
phemeth ; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
The Psalmist dwells long upon this thought: the reproach cast
upon the well-known people of God by their victorious enemies.
He seems to assume tacitly that this reproach must react against
their God, as if it proved him too weak to deliver and to save.
17. All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten
thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
18. Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps
declined from thy way ;
19. Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of
dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
It is not supposable that the Psalmist meant to say that his
people had been faultless before God, for this would imply that
God had forsaken and chastened them without cause. He might
however say that they had not apostatized in such a degree as to
forfeit their relation to God as his people. Their heart still turned
9

190 PSALM XLIV.
toward their God, sought .his -face, and recognized his covenant
with them. On this ground he plead that God would not cast
them off forever.  "Sore broken us," crushed us down, is the
sense of the verb.  "In the place of dragons" — of course, a place
fearfully desolate. The prophecies that predict the utter ruin of
Babylon and of Edom describe them as the place for dragons and
all most hideous and doleful creatures (Is. 13: 21, 22, and 34: 11-
14, etc).-  "Covered us with the shadow of death" — the deepest
darkness, symbolic of extreme calamity.
20. If we have forgotten the name of out God, or stretched
out our hands to a strange god ;
21. Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the
secrets of the heart.
"Forgotten the name" — equivalent to forgetting God, for his
name represents himself. To stretch out the hand to such a God
is an act of worship, especially of prayer. See Ps. 28 : 2. Surely
God can not fail to take cognizance of such idolatry. No sin
however secret can escape his eye.
22.- Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long'; we
are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
The word translated ""Yea " is common in the sense of for,
because, and logically connects this verse with those which precede
v. 20, the thought being : We are indeed thy people still for we
are perpetually slaughtered for thy sake. The evils we suffer are
persecutions brought on us because we are thy people.  Paul
(Rom. 8: 36) quotes it in this sense of Christian persecution.
He found here not exactly a prophecy of his own times but words
which well expressed the thing he would say.
23. Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord ? arise, cast ws
not off forever.
24. Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our
affliction and our oppression ?
25. For our soul is bowed down to the dust : our belly
cleaveth unto the earth.
26. Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies'

% This earnest expostulation represents God's apparent inaction
and forgetfulness as being asleep from which his people implore
him to awake for their deliverance. They urge also the extremity
of their sufferings and the honor of God's promised mercies.
This plea and argument would eminently befit the people of God
or even any individual Christian in any scene of great affliction
and depression.

PSALM XLV. 191
PSALM XLV.
This Psalm deserves careful attention. The numerous points
made in its caption indicate a high sense of its importance in the
view of its compilers.  " To the chief musician sots it apart
for the service of the sanctuary and therefore precludes the idea
of its being merely a nuptial song.  " Upon Shoshannim" is
variously explained — of the musical instrument with which it
should be accompanied ; of the tune in which it should be sung ;
as the first words of some well known song which would suggest
the tune for this. Far more probable than either of these explana
tions is that which translates, " Concerning lilies," with reference
to the figurative use of the same word in the Song of Solomon
(Song 2 : 1, 2, 16, and 4; 5, and 5 : 13, and 6 : 2, 3, and 7 : 2).
See my Introduction to Notes on the Song, page 332. Lilies are
a pertinent figure for women of beauty and purity — prominent
personages in this Psalm.  " For the sons of Korah," here as in
Ps. 42-44 and 46-49, either to or for ; indicating either authorship
or musical supervision. Inasmuch as this song stands in intimate
relation to the Song of Solomon, and must have had Solomon him
self as the ground-work of its imagery, it was probably written
later than David's time and by some one of the sons of Korah.
 "Maschil," a didactic or instructive Psalm; having therefore
a moral purpose far higher than mere amusement at a marriage
festival.  " A song of the loved ones;" not merely a song about
love, nor a loveable song, but a song concerning the beloved
Messiah and his beloved bride. This construction is sustained by
the manifest scope of the Psalm ; by the unquestionable allusions
in it to the Song of Solomon, and by the analogous and probably
borrowed words of Isaiah (5 : 1).*  That this Psalm is purely,
* The following paragraph from the Introduction to my Notes on the
Song of Solomon (page 332, 333) is in place here.  " This Psalm (45)
seems to have been built upon the Song of Solomon. It certainly contains
a number of similar forms of expression which have altogether the appear
ance of being definite allusions. Thus in the caption of the Psalm, ' Upon
Shoshannim,' i. c, concerning lilies — the symbol of beautiful women.
Now this is the very word used repeatedly in this as well as in its primary
sense in the Song (2 : 1, 2, 16, and 4 : 5, and 5 : 13, and 6 : 2, 3, and 7 : 2).
 Further the caption adds, ' A song of the loved ones,' which also is a
precise description of the Song of Solomon. Again, the subject of the
Psalm is declared to be ' touching the king ' (vs. 1, 5, 11, 13-15), to which
point the Song of Solomon corresponds perfectly as may be seen in 1 : 4,
12, and 7 : 5.  This king (in the Psalm) receives the highest possible
commendation for his beauty ; v. 2, ' Thou art fairer than the children of
men' — which only reproduces the whole scope of the Song, e. jr., 5 : 10.
' My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.'  A
special point is made of ' grace of lips ' — useful and attractive speech.
The phrase in the Psalm is, ' Grace is poured into thy lips ' (v. 2) : in the
Song — ' His lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh : his mouth is
most sweet, yea, he is altogether lovely ' (5 : 13, 16). Again, the reference
(Ps. 45 : 7) to this king's companions [' fellows '] gives us in the Hebrew

192 PSALM XLV.
thoroughly Messianic has been the doctrine of those who have held
the word of God in hand and in honor throughout all the ages.
The Chaldee Targum on v. 2 has this : " Thy beauty, O King
Messiah, is greater than of the sons of men." With this the oldest
Jewish Rabbis accord.  The voice of the early Christian church
may be given in the words of Theodoret : " This is a Psalm for
the beloved, i. e., for the beloved Son of God."  The writer to
the Hebrews gives his emphatic indorsement by quoting vs. 6, 7
entire as the words of God to his Son (1 : 8, 9). " But unto the
Son he saith, Thy throne, 0 God, is for ever and ever," etc.
The superlative beauty of this King "is in the grace of his lips :
he is the oracle of God to man; " never man spake like this man."
He came from heaven to earth to bring us words from God and
therefore is significantly called, The Word. He rides forth in
majesty, not because of personal beauty, or martial prowess, or mus
cular strength, or majestic mien, but " because of truth, meekness,
and righteousness." It is because he loves righteousness and hates
wickedness that his God anoints him, i. e., makes him his Anointed
One, the true Messiah, far above all other anointed kings of the Theoc
racy. And finally, his children are to be princes in all the earth (v.
16), and his name shall be remembered through all generations, him
self an object of praise from all the people forever and ever. Verily
no personage less than Jesus the Messiah is here, King of kings and
Lord of lords, "his kingdom an everlasting kingdom, and his
dominion that which knows no end."  Still the Messianic argu
ment is not exhausted, for new elements appear in the facts quite
peculiar to this prophecy, e. g., that here the Messiah is a bride
groom ; his bride is a prominent personage ; she is counseled to
forsake father and mother and cleave to the King her "Lord." A
new family is constituted ; the fruits thereof are children to be
" made princes in all the wide earth" — when " the kingdoms of
this world become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ."
The germ of this idea lies in the Song of Solomon, there more ex-
tho same word which occurs twice in the Song (1 : 7, and 8: 13). ' The
flocks of thy companions;' 'the companions hearken to thy voice.'——
The bridal procession is prominont in both the Song (3 : 6-11) and the
Psalm (vs. 14, 15). The Queen is adorned with surpassing splendor in tho
Psalm (v. 9): 'Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of
Ophir.' ' The King's daughter is all glorious within ' (v. 13). The cntiro
strain of the Song is the same, e. g., 4 : 9-11, with all which may be
compared Itev. 19 : 7, 8 — ' His wife hath made herself ready ;' ' arrayed
in fine linen, clean and white.'  A very specific point is the mention in
both of ' myrrh and aloes ;' in the Psalm v. 8 ; in the Song, 4 : 14 — a
combination found nowhere else in the Bible.  Resemblances so numer
ous, so apparently undesigned, and at once so general, covering the scope
and drift of each composition, and yet so minute, reaching to the definite
points of costume and drapery, seem to justify us fully in the conclusion
that the Psalm is precisely the Song over again — the Song oondensed,
simplified, its religious significance and practical bearings brought out.
more distinctly, and tho whole adapted to public worship in the sanctuary
1 — set to music."

PSALM XLV. 193
panded and diffuse than here ; enlarged to gather in more points
of oriental beauty; here put in convenient form for the musical
service of the sanctury.* It scarcely need be added that this alle
gorical conception which compared the covenant relation of God
with Israel to human marriage and which made her Maker her
husband and herself the bride, appears continually in the Old
Testament Prophets subsequently to the date of these compositions
(Song of Solomon and Ps. 45), and also throughout the New Testa
ment no less. (See Isa. 54 : 5, and 62 : 4, 5 ; Jer. 3:1; Ezek.
16 and 23; Mat. 9: 15, and 22: 2, and 25: 1, and John 3: 29,
and 2 Cor. 11 : 2, and Eph. 5: 25-32,- and Rev. 19: 7, and 21: 2,
and 22: 17.)  Comprehensively then we may say, the argument
for the Messianic reference of this Psalm lacks none of the usual
points of evidence, while it has some in extraordinary fullness and
force. It applies aptly to the Messiah in every particular; it re
fuses to adapt itself to any other personage ; its reference to the
Messiah is abundantly confirmed by the fact that the symbol of
marriage to illustrate the relation of the Messiah to his people,
starting with this Psalm and the Song of Solomon, runs through
all the Scriptures subsequently written, developed strongly in the
New Testament as having special reference to Christ and his
church ; and finally it is quoted by an inspired Apostle (Heb. 1 :
7, 8) in a way which peremptorily demands its original reference
to the Messiah and to him only.
1. My heart is inditing a good matter: I speak of the
things which I have made touching the King : my tongue
is the pen of a ready writer.
" Is inditing," but in the original, with more beauty and force ;
" My heart boils up [and overflows] with a good thing." My emo
tions are stirred to their depths with ravishing thoughts of the
glorious King and his beautiful bride. " I am to utter the song I
have prepared concerning the King; my tongue is the pen of a
swift writer," for my heart is so full of thoughts, rich and beauti
ful, I have only to open my lips and they pour forth fast as the
most rapid pen can write them. A wonderful exordium truly, in
dicating the profound interest which filled and stirred the soul of
this poet-prophet.
2. Thou art fairer than the children of men : grace is
poured into thy lips : therefore God hath blessed thee for
ever. Thou art exceeding fair above the sons of men — the verb being
in a specially emphatic form. The point of superlative beauty is
the lips considered as organs of speech, for the reference to
"truth" (v. 6) and to moral qualities generally, and especially to
* These points are discussed much more fully in my Introduction to
Notes on the Song of Solomon.

194 PSALM XLV.
the use of truth as a moral power for the subjugation of his enemies,
shows this to be the thing intended here. This may remind us
of the corresponding testimonies borne of Jesus during his earthly
life : " The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of
grace and truth" (John 1 : 14) ; " They wondered at the gracious
words which proceeded out of his mouth;" "Never man spake
like this man.  Therefore, because of his mission of heavenly
truth from God to men ; because he came to reveal God in words
and forms so perfect and so precious ; " therefore God hath blessed
thee forever. His work fully meets the approval of the Father;
it perfectly ensures the Father's blessing to the end of its absolute
success and final triumph over all the powers of darkness and
sin. 3. Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O most Mighty, with
thy glory and thy majesty.
4. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, because of truth
and meekness and righteousness ; and thy right hand shall
teach thee terrible things.
The martial genius of the age of David appears in this figure,
the sword girded on the thigh ; and yet the glory of this King
marching forth in triumph, lies not in routed armies and heaps of
the slain ; not in cities laid desolate, wives made widows, and
children fatherless ; but in "truth, meekness, and righteousness."
He comes to bring to men most blessed truth concerning their
Great Father ; to turn them from darkness, delusion, and crime,
to light, truth, and love.  "Thou Mighty One;" but Isaiah has
it, "The Mighty God" (9: 6) — possibly borrowing from this very
passage.  "Glory" and "Majesty" are terms frequently and most
legitimately used of the surpassing qualities of the Infinite God —
not out of place therefore, when said of his equal Son.  "Ride
prosperously" is made in the Hebrew idiom with two imperative
verbs: "prosper;" "ride."  " Thy right hand shall guide thee"
to wondrous achievements and results — this being the sense of the
original verb. Sentiment: Thy glorious qualities shall insure
thee magnificent success — such success as will make profound im
pressions of reverence and awe ["terrible things"], but not "ter
rible " in the sense of appalling, undesirable, but father of being
impressive, producing a deep sensation, commanding the admiring
awe of the universe.
5. Thine arrows are sharp in the heart of the King's
enemies ; whereby the people fall under thee.
The Hebrew words stand in this order: "Thine arrows are sharp;
people under thee shall fall; in the heart of the enemies of the.
King;" the last clause being an after-thought appended, to which
the word "sharp" should be prefixed — Yea, sharp are they "in
the very heart of the King's enemies." The writer to the Hebrews
(4: 12) perhaps borrows and then expands: "For tho word of

PSALM XLV. 195
God is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the
dividing asunder of soul and spirit." The power of truth sub
dues hearts most stubborn ; humbles hearts most proud.
6, Thy throne, 0 God, is forever and ever : the scepter
of thy kingdom is a right scepter.
7. Thou lovest righteousness, and hatest wickedness :
therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.
Here note (1) that the Messiah is addressed as God. This is
really the case in v. 7 as well as in v. 6. " Therefore, 0 God,
hath thy God anointed thee," etc. This is repeated by Isaiah
(9 : 6) : " His name shall be called the Mighty God, the Everlast
ing Father.  (2) His throne is eternal; forever and ever. Other
kingdoms, the mightiest and proudest ever reared by mortals, are
transient; the face of the world is strown with their ruins; but
this kingdom shall never collapse ; no chronicler in the ages never
so distant shall have to speak of its fall; no explorer shall
traverse and survey its ruins.  (3) Beautifully it shall be thus
enduring and imperishable because it is righteous : " the scepter of
thy kingdom is a right scepter." " Thou lovest righteousness and
hatest. wickedness ; therefore, O God, hath thy God anointed thee
with joy" more than any of thy associate kings on the throne of
Israel from whom the Messiah is thought of as coming forth.
Precisely this is the strain of argument in Isaiah 11: 1-9; "the
spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him;" "he shall not judge after
the sight of his eyes ;" " with righteousness shall he judge the poor;"
"with the breath of his lips shall he slay the. wicked;" therefore
men " shall not hurt nor destroy in all this holy mountain," etc.
The Infinite God is committed to the interests of righteousness,
purity, love, and the highest blessedness of the beings he has
created ; therefore the King who rules to the certain accomplish
ment of these grand results shall reign with assured prosperity —
a reign that never can end. Shall not the Great God be praised
for this ?
8. All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cas
sia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee
glad. The anointing with oil as in the previous verse suggests per
fumery as here. " Myrrh, aloes, and cassia are all thy garments,"
i. «., they are all perfumed with these sweet spices. These iden
tical spices are named in the Song of Solomon in this combination ;
not elsewhere in scripture.-  All thy garments, or perhaps the
implied wearers, come forth out of palaces ornamented with ivory,
from which also they have gladdened thee, such ornamentation and
perfumery being in place on such joyful occasions.

196 PSALM XLV.
9. Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women:
upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.
"Honorable women," maids of honor; the virgins whose pres
ence graced the marriage solemnities. The magnificence of this
scene is heightened by the circumstance that these maids of honor
are daughters of kings, themselves princesses of exalted rank. 
" Upon the right hand," the post of honor, stood the queen, the
bride herself. " In gold of Ophir," not, as some have thought,
clad in solid gold, but in garments ornamented with gold — the
precise manner of ornamentation being to us a point of no ac
count. 10. Hearken, O daughter, and consider, and incline
thine ear; forget also thine own people, and thy father's
house ;
11. So shall the King greatly desire thy beauty : for he
is thy Lord ; and worship thou him.
The bride of the great King having now been introduced, the
song turns suggestively from adornment and etiquette to moral
counsels, matters of real and truly surpassing importance. Shall
this bride acquit herself worthily of her new responsibilities, as
befits one so highly honored?  "Hearken;" bend thine ear;
consider well and be not fascinated with these splendors to the neg
lect of the sacred duties of this new relation.  " O daughter" —
for these suggestive words come from one who speaks as thy
father, and therefore should be heard with filial, daughterly af
fection.  "Forget thine own people and the house of thy
father," with tacit allusion to that great law of the marriage rela
tion, that a man shall leave father and mother, and the woman also
no less, to coUstitute a new family. (Gen. 2 : 24). So the bride
of Christ should expel from her heart all her old and earthly loves,
to give a pure and a whole heart to her affianced Lord, entering
upon this new relation with a radically changed heart and life, old
things passing away, and all things, all affections, all the heart's
love, and all the soul's real life,, made new. So shall the King
greatly desire thy beauty; so thou, mayest become sure of his love.
Such beauty of soul is forever precious in his eyes.. He is thy
Lord, thy husband — to be accepted with the sincerest love and
obedience of thy heart. Worship thou him with the reverence,
esteem, and love of a true wife, and even more as he is more than
a human husband ; higher far than the ideal husband with whom
in this figurative, illustrative conception, he is compared.
12. And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift;
even the rich among the people shall entreat thy favour.
" The daughter of Tyre," the richest of the nations, with gifts
shall conciliate thy favor. Here as in Isa. 60: 5-17, and 49:
18-23, and Ps. 72 : 10, tho sentiment is that in the fullness of tho

PSALM XLV. 197
Messianic times, tho wealth of the nations shall be cheerfully laid
at his feet. In the days of Solomon, TyTe represented the wealth
of the world. Hence her name is specified here.  The word for
"entreat" demands a broader signification; they shall bring
presents to conciliate thy good will. They shall make humble
submission to thee as their supreme and willingly accepted Lord
and king.
13. The King's daughter is all glorious within : her
clothing is of wrought gold.
"The King's daughter" means here the new bride. "Glorious
within " — i. e., within her palace, as you see her from without,
sitting opposite the door. Her clothing is variegated, ornamented
with gold.
14. She shall be brought unto the King in raiment of
needlework : the virgins her companions that follow her
shall be brought unto thee.
15. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought :
they shall enter into the Kiug's palace.
The virgins, her companions, are prominent here, brought in with
gladness and joy to become (must we not assume ?) permanent
members of this royal household, and therefore aptly representing
the Gentile nations introduced with joyful welcome into the great
family of the Messiah. This sentiment is takenNup and expanded
with most glowing imagery by Isaiah (49 : 6-23 and 60).
16. Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom
thou mayest make princes in all the earth.
" Instead of thy fathers," to share thy heart and thy house, shall
now and henceforth be thy sons, to be made princes in all the
earth ; for " the kingdoms of the world are to become thy kingdoms,"
and thou shalt make thy sons " kings and priests unto God/' The
figure seizes upon the highest earthly honor and prosperity to
represent the future enlargement and the benign world-wide sway
of the Messiah's kingdom.
17. I will make thy name to be remembered in all gen
erations : therefore shall the people praise thee forever and
ever. "Thy name remembered in all generations ; " the name of Jesus
known in all. the earth, held in honor and love by all the nations;
one Lord and his name one; the idols utterly perished; Satan's
throne prostrate and his very name forgotten; Jesus, the pure,
the lovely and Glorious One, the sole object of worship and praise
thenceforth and onward forever — such is the consummation of this
wonderful prophecy ! Will there not be joy above and joy below,
joy among the holy in heaven and joy among the living of earth,

198 PSALM XLVI.
when this "consummation so devoutly to be wished" shall become
too real to be any longer doubted— shall be truly the glory of
earth as well as the glory of heaven I

PSALM XLVI.
All the points in this Psalm accord admirably with the times of
Hezekiah when God interposed for his people as their refuge and
strength in times of deepest trouble, and when the proud Assyrian
whose tramp shook the nations was suddenly smitten, and the
daughters of Zion rejoiced in the God of their salvation. We can
not affirm with absolute certainty that this Psalm was written on
that occasion. It may suffice to say, nothing forbids that date and
occasion; every point is finely adapted to the circumstances of
that time ; and we get a more vivid and life-like sense of the Psalm
if we connect it with those historic events.  It was consigned to
the Chief Musician for his use in the service of song in the house
of the Lord ; written by some of the sons of Korah ; and set to
female voices — such being the best approved sense of the words,
" Upon Alamoth." We may think of it as the national song of
victory, or rather of triumph in God, -celebrating not so much the
prowess of arms, the courage of heroes, the terrible execution of
the enginery of war, as the might of Israel's God.
1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help
in trouble.
2. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be re
moved, and though the mountains be carried into the midst
of the sea ;
3. Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though
the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah.
The first words strike the key-note of this thrilling song — God, the
refuge and the strength of his prayerful, trusting people. It was in
times of deepest trouble that he was found their help, exceedingly —
this being the precise expression in the song. Therefore will we
never fear [through all the future ages] though the earth be displaced
and the mountains be agitated in the heart of the seas, i. e., by
such an earthquake as would uptear the deeply buried mountains
and toss the ocean-waters heaven high ; though the waters thereof
roar and foam. These figures — the ocean boiling as a huge caldron — '
every mountain shaking to its deep foundations — represent the
great nations of the East as thrown into extreme agitation by this"
Assyrian invasion. The kingdom of the ten tribes on the north
of Judah, had already fallen; a terrible onslaught was now being
made upon' Judah. In military strength, to human view, she was
powerless to withstand tho Conqueror of the Eastern world. Rela-

PSALM XLVI. 199
tively to her adversaries she was utterly weak, save in one single
point ; she had the Almighty God on her side I  " Selah ; " pause
and comtemplate the scene I Think how safe we were in God our
Refuge, and how safe we shall be through all the future ages with
such a Refuge ever at hand in our deepest need I
4. There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad
the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the
Most High.
One of the boasts of Assyria's king was this: "With the sole
of my foot have I dried up all the rivers of the besieged places"
(Isa. 37: 25); implying, it would seem, that he expected to subdue
Jerusalem by cutting off its supply of water. But the resources of
the Almighty withstood him at this point, providing a river whoso
streams should forever gladden the city of God. Water being one
of the necessities of life, a river becomes a fit symbol of rich and
unfailing supply. Eden was not complete without one ; the heav
enly paradise rejoices in its " river of the water of life, clear as
crystal." Water in amount as a river proceeding from under the
temple, became the symbol in Ezekiel s hand for the redeeming
power of gospel light and love over the sins and desolations of this
fallen world (Ezek. 47 : 1-12). Perhaps the germ of this common
symbol is here.
5. God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be moved :
God shall help her, and tliat right early.
If the question be asked, What is the security for these blessings
upon Zion ?.here is the answer : " God is in the midst of her-" his
earthly dwelling-place is there ; the home of his temple ; the place
of his visible presence. This is all the guarantee we need. God
will surely help her, as the Hebrew has it — " at the dawn of the
.morning" — at the turning point from night to day. "Weeping
may endure for a night" for the people must needs feel their de
pendence upon their God and give themselves to prayer. Then,
once humbled and fully cast upon God for help, he surely comes.
6. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved : he
uttered his voice, the earth melted.
7. The Lokd of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is
our refuge. Selah.
The song recurs again to the scenes of terror — the formidable
powers combined against the holy city — to bring to view once more
the effect of God's glorious interposition. Just then the awful voice
of God was heard ; the earth melted ; all hostile forces quailed
before him. This proves that the Lord of Hosts, God of the armies
of heaven, Monarch of the heavenly worlds, is on our side — at
onoe the God of heaven and the God of Jacob ; he is our refuge !
Why should we fear ?  " Selah ! " Think of this wonder-working
God, the unfailing strength and succor of his people !

200 PSALM XLVII.
8. Come, behold the works of the Loed, what desola
tions he hath made in the earth.
9. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth ;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he
burnetii the chariot in the fire.
Once more, come and see what God hath wrought ! Mark what
desolations he hath spread over the earth I Think of that vast host,
the pride and glory of Great Assyria: how suddenly are they
fallen! Their wars of conquest and terror are at an end; their
war-weapons broken ; the chariots of their pride burned in the
fire. How are they smitten!
10. Be still, and know that I am God : I will be exalted
among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11. The Loed of hosts is with us ; the God of Jacob is
our refuge. Selah.
" Be still" — addressed to those hostile nations; desist from your
vain endeavors against my people ; know ye that I am God, the
Almighty, against whom no human power can stand. "I will
be exalted among all the nations — over all the earth ! " Of this
glorious purpose, those events in the age of Hezekiah were at
once a proof and a prophecy — a demonstration for the time then
present; and God's own word for the perpetual ascendency of his
name and glory over all the earth, through all the coming ages!
 The joyous refrain of the song brings it fitly to its close. This
glorious Lord of Hosts dwells among us, the God of his own
people ["Jacob"] and their everlasting refuge.
 aoXKOc 
PSALM XLVII.
Most obviously this Psalm celebrates some victory in which God
had signally subdued Gentile nations before his people Israel. The
tone of it throughout is that of exulting triumph and high praises
to the God of their salvation. It lacks the data for determining
with certainity its historic occasion, and yet its points harmonize
so well with the events recorded 2 Chron. 20, as to justify us in
assuming its reference to those events. On that occasion Moab,
Ammon, and Edom, had combined their formidable hosts for the
invasion of Judah. They had crept round the southern extremity
of the Dead Sea [see the line of their path identified in Robinson s
Biblical Researches, vol. 2: 214, 215], and coming northward along
its western shore had reached Engedi [" Hazezon Tamar "] when
the tidings of their approach in such force were brought to
Jehoshaphat. He saw and felt the danger; despaired of help else
where than -in God ; and forthwith " proclaimed a fast throughout
Judah" (v. 3). All Judah came together; and there, while they

PSALM XLVII. 201
stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives and their
children (v. 13), God's word dropped upon them through his
prophet ; " Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great
multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's " (v. 15) ; " Ye shall
not need to fight in this battle ; set yourselves ; stand ye still, and
see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem ;
fear not, nor be dismayed ; to-morrow go ye out against them ; for
the Lord will be with you " (v. 17).  Even so they went forth
with the song of battle and victory on their lips, saying, " Praise
the Lord, for his mercy endureth for ever" (v. 21). Then the
Lord directed ambushments to be set against this host ; they were
smitten; then they fought each other and fell with an immense
slaughter. After three days spent in gathering the spoil, on the
fourth the hosts of Judah assembled in the valley of Berachah
[blessing] and there they blessed the Lord with songs of praise
for his redeeming mercy in saving his people and destroying their
enemies. To that occasion this Ps. 47 would have been eminently
appropriate. Then they went up to Jerusalem and there again
they celebrated this wonderful deliverance, probably in the use of
the Psalm next succeeding this, Ps. 48.  In addition to the
happy adaptation of these songs of praise and triumph to the cir
cumstances of that scene, we have the historic fact that the children
of the Sorbites I" Sons of Korah "] " stood up there, prominent
in that song, to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice
on high ,' (v. 19). All in all it was a wonderful deliverance. God's
hand was in it; indeed God's hand was all; other hands were
practically nothing. His people were there, praying,- humbling
their souls before him and imploringly trustful; — all the rest was
God — God in the greatness of his power and in the fullness of his
loving care for his people.  Such was the historic occasion with
which we have good reason for assuming this Psalm to be identi
fied. At every point we shall see its pertinence to this occasion.
1. O clap your hands, all ye people ; shout unto God with
the voice of triumph.
It would be at once most appropriate and most sublime to see
the whole assembled nation — the fathers, the mothers, the sons,
and the daughters of Judah, all in concert clap their hands and
shout unto God with the voice of triumph, i. e., the loud, shout of
joyous exultation.
2. For the Loed most high is terrible ; he is & great
King over all the earth.
3. He shall subdue the people under us, and the nations
under our feet.
"For Jehovah, Most High" — he who is at once our own cove
nant-keeping God [Jehovah] and the supremely great and glorious
One, is to be feared — terrible to his foes; Lord of all the earth.
We are sure he will subdue all the nations under us, for what he

202 PSALM XLVII.
has done before our eyes proves both his power and his prompt
readiness to do so.
4. He shall choose our inheritance for us, the excellency
of Jacob whom he loved. Selah.
" Choose our inheritance for us" is to do again what he did in
covenant with Abraham and in fulfillment through Joshua, i. e.,
give us Canaan and plant us securely therein. To preserve them
from being driven out by the combined forces of their adjacent
enemies, was equivalent to replanting them in their own promised
land.  " Selah ;" pause and dwell upon the marvelous loving-
kindness of the Lord our God.
5. God is gone up with a shout, the Loed with the sound
of a trumpet.
" Gone up.'' Having been down to do battle for us and having
gained this complete victory, leaving nothing more for us to desire
and having nothing more for himself to do, what should come
next but his glorious ascending to his throne in the heavens ? Let
him ascend therefore with shouts of triumph, amid the paeans of
victory 1
6. Sing praises to God, sing praises : sing praises unto
our King, sing praises.
7. For God is King of all the earth : sing ye praises with
understanding. God has shown himself King of all the earth ; extol him there
fore with highest praises.  This word for "sing" implies the
joint use of voice and instrument. The word translated " with
understanding " is that which stands at the head of so many Psalms
in the sense to instruct — for instruction — of course meaning here,
perform a "Maschil;" sing a Psalm for instruction, i. e., one
which sets forth these most instructive views of the glory, power,
and loving care of our Great God.
8. God reigneth over the heathen : God sitteth upon the
throne of his holiness.
9. The princes of the people are gathered together, even
the people of the God of Abraham : for the shields of the
earth belong unto God : he is greatly exalted.
God has begun to reign over the heathen ; has seated himself
upon his high throne as King of nations — of which we have the
evidence in the wonderful victory we this day celebrate. Already
the poet-prophet sees the glorious consummation of God's future
gospel triumphs, saying : " for the princes of the people " — the
noble-hearted, those high in power over the heathen nations — gather
themselves together as the people of the God of Abraham, i. e.,
as being such ; or without the word " as," we may translate, being
the people of the God of Abraham.  "For the shields," the

PSALM XLVIII. 203
great protectors of the earth, belong of right to God ; he is exalted
high above them all and they are only his servants.  The
thought in these verses is put by John (Rev. 11 : 15) in the sublime
words — " The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdom of
our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign forever and ever."
Should it surprise us that such a victory as that wrought before
the eyes of Jehoshaphat and of his praying, worshiping people
should suggest this grandly sublime result of the gospel age and
of its wonderful appliances and forces for human salvation?

PSALM XLVIII.
It was said in the introduction to Ps. 47 that this Psalm stands
in close relations to that, and therefore was probably written on
the same general occasion, viz. : the victory of Jehoshaphat over
the combined forces of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, narrated 2 Chron.
20. This is rendered the more probable because the history pro
vides for two special celebrations of that victory ; one in the valley
of blessing [Berachah] (2 Chron. 20: 26), and the other on their
arrival at Jerusalem (vs. 27, 28) to which they came " with psalteries
and harps and trumpets into the house of the Lord." As Ps. 47
is in every point adapted to the former of these celebrations, so is
this to the latter. I shall therefore assume that the Psalm was
composed for that occasion and shall interpret accordingly.
1. Great is the Loed, and greatly to be praised in the
city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
By this wonderful overthrow of the enemies of Judah, the
Lord had shown himself to be both great and worthy of the
highest praises possible to mortals. It was specially appropriate
that he should be thus praised " in the city of our God, in his holy
mountain," because this was the city which his interposing arm
had saved from capture and destruction. Full of the fresh joy
of this scene, the hosts of Judah thronged the temple with loudest
songs of praise to God for this deliverance.
2. Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is
mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great
King. 3. God is known in her palaces for a refuge.
Did Mount Zion ever look more fair to those enraptured eyes?
Only a few hours ago in danger of war, siege, capture, conflagra
tion, utter destruction ; now standing saved, untouched, in more
than its former glory; — we need not wonder then that her joyful
sons and daughters should sing: " Beautiful for elevation, the joy
of all the land " [perhaps prospectively of all the " earth "] " is
this our Mount Zion," especially as seen from the north ; the city

204 PSALM XLVIII.
honored as the home and throne of the Great King ! In her palaces
we have known and proved our God to be our Refuge. In our
danger we sought him — not in vain !
4. For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by
together. 5. They saw it, and they marveled ; they were troubled,
and hasted away.
6. Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a
woman in travail.
7. Thou breakest the ships of Tarshish with an east wind.
"Lo;" behold these facts of our history; think how the kings
of the south and of tho east gathered their hosts and came upon
us ; but all suddenly they passed away together. They came near
enough to see the towers of our glorious city [perhaps from the
heights of Tekoa; see Robinson's Researches, vol. 2: p. 182, 183]
but in a moment, panic-smitten, confounded, thrown into inex
tricable confusion, they fell upon each other in deadly conflict and
fled in consternation. It was as when tho typhoons of the east
shatter to atoms the huge ships of Tarshish.  The facts of this
history stand in these words : " When they began to sing and to
praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon,
Moab, and Mount Seir which were come against Judah ; and they
were smitten. For the children of Ammon stood up against the
inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them ; and
when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one
helped to destroy another. And when Judah came unto the watch-
tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitudes, and be
hold they were dead bodies, fallen to the earth and none escaped "
(2 Chron. 20: 22-24). So perished those hosts of Zion's enemies !
8. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the .
Loed of hosts, in the city of our God : God will establish
it forever. Selah.
We had heard with our ears of the glorious victories of Zion's
God over her foes in the ages past ; but now our eyes have seen.
Now we have another, even a fresh demonstration that God will
establish his kingdom forever. When his people put their trust
in him and seek his help in humble prayer and fasting, he can not
let them fall before their enemies. Their salvation, committed
humbly to his hand, is forever sure.  "Selah;" think of this and
lay it up in your hearts, ye people of God, throughout all the ages.
9. "We have thought of thy loving-kindness, O God, in
the midst of thy temple.
"Have thought of thy loving-kindness;" the Hebrew word sug
gesting the idea of comparison ; we have thought of it in the light
of this wonderful illustration — the recent overthrow of our enemies.

PSALM XLIX. 205
10. According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto
the ends of the earth : thy right hand is full of righteous
ness. "Thy names," e. g., the Mighty One; the One exalted Most
High ; the ever faithful and changeless One ; have ever brought
before us thy glorious qualities of being and of character. So shall
thy praise be according to what thou art. Thou shall be praised
to the very ends of the earth according to thine infinite worth.
Thy right hand doeth all righteous things — is full of righteous
achievements, as we have seen in this destruction of our wicked
enemies. 11. Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah
be glad, because of thy judgments.
"Daughters of Judah" may perhaps mean in this connection
the suburban villages in a manner dependent for protection upon
the mother city. This usage appears Josh. 15 : 45, 47, in a prosaic
geographical statement. But the more obvious construction refers
it to the mothers and their. female offspring who had special occa
sion to dread the horrors of war. Let them, therefore, be fore
most in these thank-offerings of praise to God for his righteous
judgments in destroying their enemies.
12. Walk about Zion, and go round about her : tell the
towers thereof.
13. Mark ! ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces ;
that ye may tell it to the generation following.
14. For this God is our God forever and ever: he will
be our guide even unto death.
The sweetly solemn and joyous thought that Zion still stands
unharmed, only the more beautiful for the recent danger and the
now assured safety which re-indorses her everlasting security in
God, seems to prompt the words before us. Walk'all round about
our Zion. Note every tower in its place, every bulwark in its full
strength, all her palaces in their untarnished glory. Mark all
this, and then send it down to coming generations to bear witness
all'along the ages that the God who hath wrought all this for us
is our own God forever and ever ; who will guide us in safety and
crown us with blessings even unto death ; long as there shall be
people who trust him and need his protecting care for their con
tinued salvation.
PSALM XLIX.
This Psalm, ascribed to some one of the sons of Korah as its
author, is not apparently an outgrowth of any special historical
occasion, but like Ps. 37 deduces its moral instruction from a largo

206 PSALM XLIX.
class of facts manifest in common life. Its moral purpose is to
set forth the vanity of wealth and its utter lack of power against
deathj and by implication, against any of the greater evils of hu
man life. Over against the emptiness of riches toward meeting
these vital wants of man stand the fullness and glory of God's love
and protection for his trusting people.
1. Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants
of the world:
2. Both low and high, rich and poor, together.
The Psalm opens by calling the attention of all people, of every
possible rank in life. The Hebrew language has two very unlike
words for man; one drawn from the earth, and significant of
frailty; the other significant of his relative strength and nobility.
Both are brought together here: man, the low; and man, the high.
This distinction is germain to the present theme ; an admonition to
the rich and the nobly-born, suggesting that they forbear to set un
due value on wealth and honor, and a comfort to the poor of hum
ble origin, inasmuch as the more enduring good of God's favor and
love are free to their choice and fully within their attainment.
3. My mouth shall speak of wisdom ; and the meditation
of my heart shall be of understanding.
4. I will incline mine ear to a parable : I will open my
dark sayings upon the harp.
"Wisdom" and "understanding" have here the meaning com
mon in the Proverbs of Solomon, practical sound sense in the
choice of the highest and best good of life, viz., God's favor and
love — far above all the glittering, fallacious treasures of earth,  7
" I will incline mine ear ; " but why should a writer say this ? One
who writes or speaks may fitly desire the inclined, attentive ear of
his hearers or readers; but what has he to do with inclining his
own ear to a parable or to any hearing whatever ?  The answer
is : If you think of this author as giving his own thought without
inspiration from God, you must say, he inclines his ear to the dictates
of his own judgment, or to the fancies of his own imagination; but
if you have reason to account him inspired, then, that he bends his
ear with atttentive docility to the voice divine that speaks within.
The present case is of the latter sort.  " My dark saying," trans
lates a Hebrew word which primarily means a riddle, an enigma;
and then passes into the sense of poetry, a composition to be sung
with perhaps a musical accompaniment as here.  To "open" is
not here to begin, but to unfold, to set forth clearly.
5. Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, when the
iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?
The writer, speaking for others as well as himself, represents one
who is the object of malicious persecution from men of rank and
wealth. " But why should I fear in these .days of my affliction

PSALM XLIX. 207
when the iniquity of my ensnarers, the malicious schemes of those
who would ensnare my heels, environs me round about ? for these
rich men have at best but small power." "Of my heels," is suf
ficiently literal, but comes far short of giving the true sense. The
writer does not speak of the agency of his own heels, much less of
their agency as being wicked. He is describing those who way
laid his feet, or as we might say dogged his heels from behind; set
upon him with dark, malicious intent to trip, cast down, and
destroy. 6. They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves
in the multitude • of their riches ;
7. None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give to God a ransom for him :
8. (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it
ceaseth forever :)
' 9. That he should still live forever,- and not see cor
ruption. With all his wealth not a man of them can redeem his brother
from death and the grave! They may have unbounded trust in
their riches, they may make any amount of display of their abund
ant wealth, and may shine before the eyes of men [so the He
brew word for " boast" implies] ; but God will by no means accept
their gold as a ransom from the grave. Such redemption of the
soul [life] is costly (better than "precious"); it costs too much for
them to pay in gold. No rubies can equal it; no millionaire can
raise money enough to buy off his soul from the exacting demand
of Death. "It ceaseth forever" — rather, one desists from the effort
forever, or he utterly and forever fails to make up an adequate ran
som, and therefore all hepe of success perishes forever. The for
mer seems to be more precisely the sense of the original: man
must give over the effort in eternal despair ! The richest of men
will not, can not, live forever so as not to see the corruptions of the
grave. The words ascribed to a dying queen are in point here :
" Millions of money for one inch of time ! '
10. For he seeth that wise men die, likewise the fool and
the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others.
11. Their inward thought is, Hwtt their houses shall con
tinue forever, and their dwelling-places to all generations ;
they call their lands after their own names.
"For," assigns a reason for accepting the truth previously
stated. Every observer of human life will see that the rich,
whether wise or foolish, die and are compelled to leave their
hoarded wealth to others. It matters not how wise they may have
been, nor on the other hand how foolish or even brutish: all alike
must in their time go down to the grave and leave their riches to
others. They may have inwardly thought that their houses would

208 PSALM XLIX.
stand forever, and they may have tacitly assumed that their own
life would be as permanent as their earthly mansions. They may
have even given their, own names to their estates and magnificent
establishments; but, alas ! even this insures no perpetuity to their
own frail life. So perish all man's vain hopes of an earthly im
mortality! A few days or years only, and he is numbered with
the dead, and the places that knew him once shall know him no
morel 12. Nevertheless man being in honour abideth not: he
is like the beasts that perish.
13. This their way is their folly : yet their posterity ap
prove their sayings. Selah.
Although their inner thought assumes for themselves an indefi
nitely long life, and they give their own names to their homes as if
they were to dwell there for ages, yet they abide not, even for a
night ; theirs is but the life of a day. Much as they were honored
for the moment (for wealth gives men a certain distinction), yet as
to their hold on life, they are like the beasts; they soon perish.
The verb translated " abideth " means strictly, to stay over night
" Beasts " is the usual word for domestic cattle, often brought sudr
denly from the stall to the slaughter. Or if the word should in
clude beasts in general, yet their life-term is brief and is referred
to as being so.  "This is their way and their folly" — their
"way" in the sense of their course of life; and their "folly" with
reference to the groundless and ruinous assumption they make as
to long life and permanent prosperity. This word for "folly" has
the sense primarily of hope; next, of hopes cherished without rea
son, presumptuously, foolishly — as here.  Yet despite of their
folly and of the perpetual frustration of their hopes and assump
tions, their followers still approve their principles and consequently
hold fast to the same delusions.  The Hebrew word for "pos
terity" need not be restricted to their offspring; nor does it em
brace all their survivors ; but should rather be taken in the sense
of their admirers who have deemed them fortunate men while
they lived, yet give no heed to the lessons which Wisdom would
draw from their early death and their utter failure to reach the
true ends of life.  Let the reader note how true to the human
nature and life of to-day are these records of the life and thought
of the rich and worldly men of twenty-five hundred years ago. 
"Selah; " let this be thought of deeply and laid to heart.
14. Like sheep they are laid in the grave ; death shall
feed on them ; and the upright shall have dominion over
them in the morning ; and their beauty shall consume in
the grave from their dwelling.
Shepherd-life supplies the figures in the first two clauses. Men
put them in tho grave like sheep, i. e., as they drive sheep in flocks

PSALM XLIX. 209
to the slaughter ; Death shall be their shepherd, taking them in
charge as the shepherd does his flock. This seems to be the pre
cise sense of the Hebrew verb and its pronoun. They are as
sheep, both in their wholesale slaughter, and in their falling un
der the control of Death, conceived of as the monarch of the
myriads of the dead.  The upright shall tread over their fresh
graves "in the morning," for their pleasure-life has been said
(v. 12) not to outlast the night. Soon therefore as the morning
comes, they are in their graves ; and the upright, no longer perse
cuted by their rich and proud oppressors, now tread over their
fresh graves with a keen sense of God's swift retribution upon the
wicked.  ''Their beauty" [literally their form, all that was
mortal] shall be for Sheol [the grave] to consume — they being far
away from their earthly dwellings. This paraphrase assumes an
allusion in the word "dwelling" to those "dwelling-places" which
they vainly dreamed would endure "to all generations" (v. 11).
Now they are driven from those to far other habitations.  These
last words of the verse — "from their dwellings" — are felt by all
critics to be difficult, mainly, it would seem, because the sentence
is so very elliptical. But assuming a reference to v. 11 we have a
fair and an exceedingly impressive sense both for this clause and
for the entire verse. These men, wicked, proud, and rich, are
hurried in throngs, like sheep, from their splendid palaces and
magnificent estates into the dark and dismal grave— Death their
shepherd there. Corruption quickly mars their beauty. The
earthly homes they built for immortality are their dwelling-places
no longer.
15. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the
grave : for he shall receive me. Selah.
God and he only will redeem my soul from the hand of Sheol ;
for he will take me, i. e., to himself. No such state awaits me in
the under-world as awaits the ungodly; for my God will take me
to his own mansions. The force of the first Hebrew word "only"
is quite left out in the English version. It is a thought too
precious to be missed. God alone; no other arm save his; I know
no other; I trust none other; God by. his own divine arm will
redeem my soul from the death-power of Sheol, and from his
dominion, compared just before to that of the shepherd controlling
his sheep.
16. Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the
glory of bis house is increased.
17. For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away : bis
glory shall not descend after him.
When one becomes rich fear not his power ; envy not his pros
perity ; aspire not after the increasing glory of his house, for
when he dieth not one thing of all he had can he take away with
him. His glory shall not go down to Sheol after him, i. e., to meet

210 PSALM L.
and rest upon him there. Ah no ; he goes down to the grave more
than empty; worse than naked.
18. Though while he lived he blessed his soul, (and mm
will praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself.)
19. He shall go to the generation of his fathers; they
shall never see light.
Though long as he lives he will think himself blest with all that
heart can wish, perpetually flattered as a prosperous and happy
man, for men will praise thee if thou doest well for thyself— if
thou takest supreme care of thine own worldly interests, even to
the piling up of great estates. Yet this man must go to the gen
eration of his fathers, dying like mortal men. None of them shall
ever see the joyous light of a true prosperity.
20. Man Oiat is in honor, and understandeth not, is like
the beasts that perish.
No matter how high in honor or how full of riches, yet if he
lack understanding ; if he lives -the fool ; if he builds his earthly
palace for immortality, saying : " Soul, thou hast much goods laid
up for many years ; now take thine ease and be merry, and let
God be forgotten, he is like the beasts that perish. His God-given
intelligence, his reason and conscience — divinest gifts of heaven —
have utterly failed to lift him above the earthly life of the brutes.
He goes to his grave as they to theirs — save that he has some
fearful elements in his account before God which can never enter
into their lot.  On two distinct occasions, both recorded by
Luke (12: 16-21, and 16: 19-31) Jesus spake of the rich sinner
in a strain remarkably analogous to that of this Psalm, and almost
without doubt, with these words in his mind: "I will say to my
soul, 'Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take
thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry.' But God said to him;
Thou fool ! This night thy soul shall be required of thee ; then
whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?"  "The
rich man also died and was buried; and in hell he lifted up his
eyes, being in torments," etc.  Well understood and duly con
sidered, such fearful facts touching the doom of the wicked, how
ever prosperous in wealth and honor, must surely show and im
press the folly of such a life — the unutterable woes of such a
death I

PSALM L.
This Psalm is ascribed to Asaph as its author, in the usual form
in which Psalms are ascribed to David. The history (2 Chron.
29 : 30), speaks of Asaph as a " seer," classing him with David as
an author of songs of praise. (See also 1 Cfiron. 25: 1, 2). This
Asaph was contemporary with David, active in the scenes connected

PSALM L. 211
with placing the ark on Mt. Zion (1 Chron. 15: 17, 19).^  The
theme of this Psalm is, God, the Judge of all the earth, holding
men to sincere and honest worship of God and to intrinsic right
eousness toward men, i. e., to obedience as to both the first table of
the law and the second. Under the first head, God does not
reprove his people for failure in the external rites of sacrifice and
offering, but insists upon thanksgiving, the payment of vows, and
prayer for divine help in all trouble.  The wicked he rebukes
for insincere religion ; for a heart utterly out of sympathy with
God's word and will, and in sympathy with thieves, adulterers, and
with slander of nearest friends.  If the question be asked, Is
this Psalm a prediction of the final judgment-scene, of the same
class with Matt. 25 : 31-46, and Acts 17 : 31 ? the answer must be,
Not precisely. As to form and drapery, this is rather an ideal
scene, representing the invisible judgment which God continually
exercises over his moral subjects. Strictly, the first verbs are in
the past tense, setting forth that God had even then already spoken,
and already summoned the whole earth before his tribunal. This
Psalm, it will be noticed, is silent as to those final awards of eter
nal blessedness to the righteous and endless woe to the wicked,
which are prominent features of the last judgment-scene as given
by our Lord. Hence this Psalm was not intended precisely to
predict that future judgment-scene, but rather to show that God is
really the Judge, of ~aK, and especially that he searches men's
hearts ; demands sincere worship, love, and obedience, and can not
be imposed upon by any sort of pretension. The points made in
this Psalm by no means supersede the necessity of the final judg
ment as revealed in the New Testament. On the other hand, they
fully recognize the principle which underlies that final judgment ;
they prove a demand for it in this moral world ; and are therefore
to be regarded, as in a sort, anticipating its essential features and
verifying its certainty.
1. The mighty God, even the Loed, hath spoken, and
called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going
down thereof.
The Psalm opens with the three most common and distinct
names of God — El, Elohim, Jehovah — best rendered, the Al
mighty, God, Jehovah or Lord. The first gives the element of
supreme power ;_ the second, that combination of infinite qualities
which makes him the only proper object of worship ; the third,
makes prominent his changeless, eternal nature, and consequently
his faithfulness to his word. The name Jehovah commonly rep
resents him as the God of his covenant people.  This Great God
hath spoken and hath convened the whole earth, summoning all
before his tribunal, from extremest East to remotest West.
2. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath
shined.

212 PSALM L.
" Hath shined," in the sense of revealing himself, his spiritual
nature, and his law for men.  " Out of Zion," as the place of
his earthly abode.  " The perfection of beauty, — with some ref
erence, perhaps, to its physical features (See Ps. 48 : 2), but with
more reference to the beauty and glory conferred on Zion by the
presence of her all-glorious King.
3. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a
fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestu
ous round about him.
4. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the
earth, that he may judge bis people.
" Come," that most expressive word, always signifies some ex
traordinary manifestation of presence and power. He is no longer
silent but speaks; is no longer at apparent distance, but draws
sensibly near. As on Sinai, fire invests him round about and es
pecially proceeds before him to manifest his presence. " Shall be
tempestuous" translates a single verb which signifies a fearful
storm in action, one which impresses the utmost terror and conster
nation.  Coming thus in glorious majesty, he convokes the heavens
and the earth that he may judge his people — i. e., in their presence.
5. Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have
made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
6. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness : for
God is judge himself. Selah.
First, let the professed saints of God be gathered — those who
made a covenant with God over or upon the sacrifice — said with
reference to the usual form of ratifying a covenant over slain ani
mals. Instances of such ratification may be seen, Gen. 15 : 9-18,
and Ex. 24: 5-8.  The heavens, assumed to be present as
witnesses, shall testify to God's righteousness, for it is God him
self who is the Judge. Do not the pure, exalted minds, peopling
the heavens, know the infinite righteousness of their God ? And
is it not pertinent to make this appeal to them to testify and set
forth [the sense of this Hebrew word] his spotless righteous
ness?  " Selah; " pause in profound awo; for the great trial is
about to open.
7, Hear, O my people, and I will speak ; O Israel, and
I will testify against thee : I am God, even thy God.
Appropriately the court opens with a call for profound atten
tion. The case of God's professed people Israel comes on first in
order. The Lord declares himself to be their God, in covenant
relation with them, although they have apparently forgotten and
virtually disowned this covenant by their reckless violation of its
obligations. 8.1 will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt
offerings, to have been continually before me.

PSALM L. 213
9. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goats
out of thy folds :
10. For every beast of the forest is mine, and- the cattle
upon a thousand hills.
11. I know all the fowls of the mountains : and the wild
beasts of the field are mine.
I am not now rebuking thee for neglecting the forms and
ritualities of sacrifice. This is not the charge brought against
thee. It is not thy bullocks or he-goats that I now demand. All
the cattle of the earth — the wild and the tame — are mine. I have
no occasion to ask of you even one of them for myself.  The
"beasts of the forest" are wild animals, while the cattle on the
hills are domestic.  -The tone of these verses seem to imply that
Israel had not been specially deficient in the rituals and externals
of the Mosaic system. It also implies that God regards the wor
ship of the heart as incomparably more important than these ex
ternals. 12. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee : for the world
is mine, and the fullness thereof.
13. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of
goats ?
Had they supposed that, like themselves, the Lord needs these
animals for food ? If so, how egregiously had they misconceived
his nature !
14. Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows
unto the Most High :
15. And call upon me in the day of trouble : I will de
liver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
¦On the side of things positively required, stand thanksgiving —
the grateful acknowledgment of mercies received from God; a
perpetual recognition of' his favors and of the love from which
they come. Next, the payment of vows unto the Most High, i. e.,
honest and truthful dealing with God, recognizing him as really
existing, and a vow to him therefore as a real obligation to a per
sonal being.  Next (remarkably) God invites (shall we not say
requires ?) them to call upon himself in the day of their trouble,
giving the promise that in such case he will set them free from
such trouble and they shall glorify him for this deliverance. The
beautiful thing here is that God seems to recognize it as one of
his rights and privileges to be called upon by his people for help
in their time of need, asking only that then they suitably ac
knowledge his delivering grace and give him the honor due there
for. Is it not wonderful ? Yet it is like God !
16. But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to
10

214 PSALM L.
do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my
covenant in thy mouth ?
17. Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words
behind thee.
Of the two classes brought before God in this Psalm for judicial
examination and appropriate rebuke and instruction, the former
are styled " my people " (v. 7) ; the latter, as here, " the wicked."
But it must not be inferred that God finds no sin in the former
class, nor that the latter class make no pretensions to piety and
have nothing to do with God's law. The distinction seems rather
to be one of degree — the latter more openly wicked and immoral
than the former. So they appear in points made here descriptive
of their character.  "What hast thou to do?" etc., is the He
brew jdiom which asks What right or what business hast thou to
declare my statutes? The word for "declare" means primarily
to count, number; then to set forth in order; to recount, narrate.
The formal repetition of the law in reading or in public rehearsal
might naturally come under this word. The Lord therefore says
here : What right hast thou, O wicked man, to rehearse the words
of my law as if thou wcrt recognizing its obligations; and by what
right dost thou take my covenant solemnly upon thy lips, while in
thy heart thou hatest instruction and castest my words behind
thee as unworthy of thy regard and as having no claim on thy
obedience — no claim which thou art bound to respect? Why.
shouldest thou insult thy Maker so?  This earnest rebuke ap
plies in all its force to those who by acts more or less public
recognize God's law as binding and take his covenant into their
lips, yet in heart hate the restraints of duty to God, hate the in
struction which demands a holy life, and thrust from them the
claims of God.
18. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with'
him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
The point,charged here against this wicked man is not that he
is first in the sins named, but second ; not that he leads, but that
he follows. He shows that his heart is radically in love with sin.
If he sees a thief, suddenly he is charmed, fascinated ; he loves ,
him and comes at once into sympathy with him. So of adulterers;
he falls in at once and takes his lot with them. Literally, with
adulterers is thy chosen portion. Thy heart draws thee into their
communion, and of course into their sin.  This way of bringing
out the sin ofcthe heart is strikingly sharp and clear. The probe
goes down to the bottom of the sore. Like Ithuriel's spear, its
touch brings up the covered sin.
19. Thou givest thy mouth "to evil, and thy tongue
frameth deceit.
20. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother ; thou
slanderest thine own mother's son.

PSALM L. - 215
Mischief and slander are brought out here. The first verb—
"givest" — is strong; sendest forth, giving it unbounded range and
no restraint; making the doing of evil its distinct and direct
function, its mission, its business. The tongue concocts deceit —
artful schemes for mischief.  "Sittest and speakest" — as if
sitting down to a day's work, making a business of slander. 
In the last clause of v. 20 the verb and noun translated " thou
, slanderest" are taken by most critics to mean — to put a stumbling-
' block before him. Dr. Alexander translates — to " aim a blow, '
" give a thrust." The parallelism leads us to interpret of a blo\s
at reputation, a thrust at one's good name.  It fearfully heightens
his guilt that no relationship is too dear or sacred to save one
from the venom of his slanderous tongue. His own brother, born
of the same mother, is specified as an illustration of the strength
of that propensity to slander which breaks through all the
restraints of the tenderest relationship. Alas ! what a view of
human nature ! Since this showing is often but too true, we must
also say, How fearfully depraved is this fallen nature !
21. These things'hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou
thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself : but I
will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
" Because vengeance against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart is fully set on eviL" So here: While thou
wast committing these sins I kept silence-; and then, so far from
interpreting this silence as only the long suffering of God designed
for salvation, to give thee space to repent, thou thoughtest that I
was really and entirely like thyself — well enough pleaBed with sin
and sinners.  The original word for " thoughtest" suggests the
idea of comparison ; thou wert comparing God with thyself. In
asmuch as God manifested no displeasure against thy sin, thou
wert assuming that like thyself he felt none. But I must correct
this mistake ; I must put an end to this false inference ; I must
fearfully rebuke this abuse of my forbearance.' I shall set the
¦ truth of this matter in sunlight before thine eyes !  Ah, indeed,
and why should he not ? How can he afford to leave such mis
conceptions of himself uncorrected? How can he endure that
such license in sin should be inferred from his merciful forbearance,
and sinners become more and more fearfully hardened in sin by
reason of his "keeping silence?"
22. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear
you in pieces, and tliere be none to deliver.
" Consider this " at once, without delay, ye forgetters of God ;
know ye that your God .and •judge sees into the utmost depths of
your guilty souls, strips off every covering from your concealed in
iquity, is grieved and indignant that you should so abuse his silent
forbearance ; and therefore can wait in silence no longer, but gives
you one last warning. Consider, repent, lest his righteous justice

216 « PSALM LI.
tear and there be none to deliver I  This word, " tear in pieces,''
is the Hebrew term for the rending of human flesh by the lion and
tiger — a terrible figure of speech to set forth the retributive judg
ments of the Almighty for the incorrigible sins of men I
23. Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me : and to him
that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salva
tion of God. s
Whoso makes praise his sacrificial offering, i. e., offers praise as
the Israelites were to offer animals in sacrifice, gives due honor to
God — the honor of the heart which he required (v. 14). To him
who rightly shapes his way, his moral course of life, 1 will show
my salvation. The word " conversation " here must be carefully
taken in its ancient, not its modern sense — in the sense of one's
entire life, not by any means of one's speech only. The original
has no specific reference to speech, though obviously it must in
clude words along with deeds. The specifications of the Psalm
include slander and sins of the tongue, but by no means exclude
all other sins. The demand is that men be honestly, con
scientiously careful to obey God's entire law, and shape their
whole life into harmony with his revealed will. So doing they
shall richly experience his salvation.
— »<>:*<<*> —
PSALM LI.
Every feature in this Psalm concurs with the caption to show
that David wrote it to express his penitence and his prayers for
mercy after the rebuke of Nathan the prophet had brought his great
sin in the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah fully before his mind,
and the Spirit of God had brought the conviction of his guilt
heavily upon his heart. The historical account of this great sin
appears 2 Sam. 11 ; the rebuke of Nathan, 2 Sam. 12 : 1-14.
David's reply to this rebuke is given there in fewest but most ex
pressive words: "I have sinned against the Lord." Ps. 32, as we
have seen, treats of this case and gives some of its points with
great pertinence and force. This' Psalm holds the mind closely
to David's bitter repentance and to his most earnest supplications
for mercy and for such moral cleansing as should save him ever
more from falling again before any possible power of temptation..
Assigned to " the chief musican " for perpetual use in the service
of song before the congregation of Israel, it testifies that no false
modesty and no indulged pride withheld him from making his
confession as public as his sin had Been notorious. He had sin
ned before the nation ; so he would have his repentance go forth
before not the nation only, but the world.
1. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy

PSALM LT. 217
loving-kindness : according unto the multitude of thy tender
mercies blot out my transgressions.
2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse
me from my sin.
Overwhelmed with a sense of guilt and ill-desert, what could he
do, king though he was, but cry for mercy, resting his plea upon
the known "loving-kindness and tender mercies" of his God?
His only hope lay here — he had known that the infinitely holy
and righteous God could forgive the penitent. Therefore without
one word or thought of self-defense or even extenuation, admitting
every thing, confessing all, and humbling himself low before God,
he pleads for mercy — mercy simple and pure — nothing else. Yet
he would add, not in the line of self-vindication, but of conscious
weakness and of inexpressible longings to be kept pure henceforth
and forever; "Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity; cleanse
me from my sin." Take away from ine, not only the condemnation
under which my guilty soul might justly sink, but the very spirit
of sinning — that pollution of soul which makes sin morally possi
ble. " Cleanse me " — that I sin no more.
3. For I acknowledge my transgressions : and my sin is
ever before me.
4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this
evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou
speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Primarily, this mean's: "For I know my transgression; my sin
is continually before me." I see it ; I can not ignore it ; the deep
consciousness of its guilt will go with me to my grave.  No
doubt it is implied also that he publicly "acknowledged," i. e.,
confessed his sin and guilt in this matter. But this language pri
marily contemplates his relation to God, and so far forth, what he
means to say is that he is deeply, painfully, sensible of his sin.
He says, "I know it I" It is a relief to his burdened soul to say
this and to place himself before God in this only true attitude — a
consciously guilty sinner.  "Against thee, thee only, have I
sinned ; " — the relations of this sin toward thee altogether eclipse
all its other relations. I can scarcely think of any thing else ; I
have done the evil toward thee, abusing thy love, outraging all my
most sacred obligations, requiting, with this awful crime, the honors
conferred on me in putting me upon the throne over this thy great
people — Ah I what have I not done to offend and grieve thee ! 
I say this to justify thee, O my God. in the most severe sentence
thou mayest pronounce against me, to clear thee of all wrong, how
ever terrible thy judgments upon me may be.-  This I" take to
be the sense of the last clause of v. 4. To make David say, I have
sinned against thee, O God, lo the end that, or in order that, thou •
mayest be justified in condemning me, is to miss his meaning
egregiously. But that he should say : I make this fullest possible

218 PSALM LI.
confession of my sins as specially against thee, so that thou mayest
be vindicated in the severest inflictions upon me therefor, is
germain to his state of feeling ; is in itself intrinsically right, and
is therefore, I judge, to be accepted as his meaning.
5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity ; and in sin did my
mother conceive me.
For many and cogent reasons, this verse demands the most
thoughtful and candid attention. We should labor to interpret it
so as to do justice to David's feelings, and much more, to the ways
of God, the Great Creator and Father.  The verb translated
" was shapen " must mean was born. The verse therefore undeni
ably speaks of the time-point of birth and of conception in the womb.
What does it affirm ?  So far as I can see, we are to choose be
tween these four supposable constructions. 
1. I was conceived and born with sin on the part of my mother —
in or under her sin.
2. I was conceived and born u sinful thing.
3. I was conceived and born actually sinning.
4. I was conceived and born of a sinning race, with the antece
dent occasions of sin in my constitution, rendering it morally cer
tain that J should fall before temptation.
Let us examine these suppositions in their order.
1. It bears strongly, and in my view unanswerably, against the
first proposed construction that David was in no mood of mind to
impute his sin and the blame of it to his mother. True confession
of one's own sin has not the least sympathy with throwing the
blame of it upon another. , No sinner since the world began,
under genuine and wholesome conviction of the guilt of his own
sin, has ever yet believed or felt that the blame of it was really
chargeable upon his mother. True conviction of guilt does not
work that way — never brings out that result. We must therefore
reject this construction as incompatible with David's spirit at this
time, and with the facts of the case.
2. Conceived and born a sinful thing. Of course I use the word
"thing" here as entirely distinct from an active agent; in fact, in
contrast with the idea of voluntary, responsible moral action. — r-
This construction of the passage holds that at the time-point of
conception and of birth, the material body is a corrupt sinful
thing, and that the yet undeveloped moral powers are in some sort
of anticipation, sinful also. It is common to argue this from
physical analogies, e. g., that the stream proves the nature of the
fountain; or from the analogies of brute instinct: the new-born
adder or the infant tiger has all the nature it will ever have. The
fatal fallacy of such logic lies in ignoring the radical difference
between a morally acting mind and either the impulses of brute
instinct or the course of unintelligent matter. Analogies built
upon such ignoring prove nothing. The simple question still re
turns upon ua: Can any mere thing bo in itself sinful, i. e., full of

PSALM LI. 219
sin? If this be true, the staggering question comes back to us:
Who made it so ? And yet again, How can this be ; for does not
God himself define sin to be " transgression of law ? " (1 John 3 :
4) and say also that "where no law is, there is no transgression?"
(Rom. 4: 15.) Does not every rebuke of sin that ever fell from
his lips assume it to be the active agency of a being capable of
knowing duty and of refusing to do it ? " To him that knoweth to
do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin?" (James 4: 17). Yet
again, do the awards of the final judgment pass upon mere things
as sinful and punishable, or rather upon sinfully acting men ? See
how this is put by Jesus himself^(Matt. 25: 31-46), and by Paul
(Rom. 2 : 4-16). Or yet again : Is it supposable that this " sinful
thing" say the foetus or the infant at birth, can be self-condemned
in conscience for this supposed sin — that is, for itself — a sinful
thing — not for what it does but for what it is ? Yet this power of
self-condemnation is beyond question an essential quality in a sin
ner. He is such in his very constitution that he is capable of dis
cerning moral right from moral wrong and therefore of condemn
ing himself for his own morally wrong doing. But how can this
supposed sinful thing ever have a moral consciousness of responsi
ble sin for being what it is at the point of conception or the point
of birth?  These points of argument are put (by necessity) with
the utmost brevity. They will however, if the reader understands
them, suffice to show that this construction of David's language
must be rejected as involving moral absurdities and impossibili
ties, as being entirely irreconcilable with the nature of sin as
known to the human consciousness and as set forth in the word of
God. 3. Does David speak of himself as actually sinning at the point of
conception or of birth ? Does he say in this verse — Behold I was
born in the act of personal sinning : I was conceived by my mother
while actually sinning against God?  It would seem scarcely
necessary to debate this theory of construction, further than to
put it to any reader — Do you really believe that David could have
..•meant to say this ? If so, do you assume that the sin he thought
of was in any respect like those dreadful sins against Bathsheba,
against Uriah, against the Hebrew nation, and most of all, against
God, under the conviction of which his soul is humbled in the
dust and overwhelmed with the agony of grief and shame ? But
to suppose that his mind has flitted away to some other kind of sin,
utterly unlike this is_ to ignore his whole mental state and to
assume a practical impossibility. — — We may therefore safely
dismiss this theory of construction.
4. There remains only this supposable construction, viz. : that
David thinks of himself as of a sinning race, born of sinning
parents, born with the antecedent temptations and occasions of
sin (not the efficient and necessitating causes) existing in himself,
and consequently under circumstances which induced sin at the
earliest moment possible. This fact is pertinent here, not as an

220 PSALM LI.
extenuation of his guilt, but as suggesting his own moral frailty,
his danger of falling again before temptation's power, and his
pressing need — a want that seemed almost crushing — of most
thorough moral cleansing and of most effective moral succor from
God's Spirit that he may stand henceforth in purity.  In this view
of it his meaning is fully in harmony with the words that immedi
ately follow, as we shall see.  In this construction the passage
classes itself with Job 31 : 18, and Ps. 58 : 3, as evincing a special
Hebrew idiom or proverbial expression in the sense of doing a
thing from the earliest practicable moment. Job said — " From my
youth the fatherless was brought up with me as with a father and
I have guided her from my mother's womb ;" the Psalmist : " The
wicked are estranged from the womb ; they go astray as soon as
they be born, speaking lies."
6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts : arid
in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
"In the inward parts," "in the hidden part," are expressions
precisely equivalent to our usage of the word heart. God seeks
an honest, pure, truthful heart. Behold, his approving eye is only
upon true sincerity. He abhors all hypocrisy. The sincerely
honest heart he will teach true wisdom.  This verse, therefore,
gives us God's standard of holiness, his ideas of what it really is.
Consequently the opposite of this is sin. But its opposite is not a
body of merely sinful matter, but is certain moral states and acts
of mind, such as insincerity, untruthfulness, dishonesty, false pro
fessions of penitence, a false show of reformation. Therefore David
longs, with irrepressible yearnings, to be made thoroughly pure in
heart and deeply sincere in his repentance. Oh, might he be lifted
above all the power of such temptations as those before which he
has so fearfully fallen I
7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean : wash
me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
The Hebrew words for "purge" and for "hyssop" come from
the sacrificial system, and indicate that moral cleansing from sin
of which those sacrifices and rites were typical. " Purge " means,
take sin out of me ; set me free from its presence and power. 
" Hyssop " is the name of a humble shrub of the desert, in constant
uso for the sprinkling of sacrificial blood. See Ex. 12 : 22, and
Num. 19 : 6, 18.  The last clause of.the verse repeats the thought
with a strong sense of the beauty and preciousness of the moral
purity so obtained.
8. Make me to hear joy and gladness ; that the bones
which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Make me hear [from thy lips] words of joy and gladness, that
the bones, crushed by thy words of terrible rebuke, may again re
joice in the manifestations of thy forgiving love. Whatever took

PSALM LI. 221
hold of the soul strongly, deeply, the Hebrews thought and spake
of as felt in the "bones."
9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine
iniquities. The two clauses of this verse are essentially parallel, both giving
the idea of true forgiveness, which is that of overlooking sin, re
garding it no longer as demanding punishment, but passing it
over, " remembering it no more." It amounts therefore to the same
thing whether the Lord hides his face from sin or blots the sin
out ; in either case he is thought of as putting the sin away from
his mind's 'eye and looking upon the sinner in a sense as if he had
not sinned. For this the penitent soul of David longed exceed
ingly, for it seemed to him unendurable that God should hold his
sin continually before the eye as if too bad to be forgiven. It is
refreshing (O who can tell how much so I) that the Infinite Father
can forgive in this full sense of " hiding his face from our sin and
blotting out our iniquities 1"
10. Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a
right spirit within me.
" Create" conveys a strong sense and high appreciation of tho
divine agency, yet without at all implying that this agency is
physical rather than moral, i. e., such as creates matter rather
than such as molds mind and moral character. Obviously, since
spiritual truth must of necessity be expressed largely in terms
drawn from the material world, we must determine whether this
influence be physical or moral by our knowledge of that which it
acts upon and of the effects it produces. Here the parallelism of
the verse comes to our aid, showing that the thing David prayed
for was precisely a spirit, a mind, fixed, settled, established, in
piety. This is the sense of the Hebrew word for "right" — "a
right spirit." David prayed to be kept steadfast in obedience, as
opposed to a fickle, changeful mind, easily seduced into sin by
temptation. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence ; and "take not
thy Holy Spirit from me.
To stand in the presence of kings is to enjoy their favor as well
as to be in readiness to do their bidding. The manifestations of
God's presence are essentially the same as the expressions of
his favor and love. Hence David prays here that God would
not. repel him away from his kind regard because of his great
sin. Let me still live before thee, still walk in thy light, believe
in and enjoy thy love.  The New Testament doctrine that the
Holy Spirit dwells in the heart of each saint, as God of old dwelt
in his earthly temple, appears here in its full development. David
prayed that God would not take this divine Presence from his soul,
but let it return rather and abide in all its power. How could he

222 PSALM LI.
hope to live a steadfast, holy life without this present Spirit of
God ever teaching, impressing, quickening. With such views of
its necessity, we must suppose that this prayer expressed his
• most earnest desire. It implored the blessing which more than
any other he felt that he must have.
12. Bestore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and up
hold me with thy free Spirit.
" The joy of thy salvation" — such joy as a conscious sense of
pardon and that peace with God which is the witness of present
salvation evermore imparts. This joy had for a long time ceased
from his heart, while his troubled conscience and his "guilty un
rest had filled his soul with agony. (See Ps. 32 : 3, 4, and notes
there).  In the last clause our translators have put in the word
" thy " without authority in the original. The fact that David
said "thy" in v. 11, " thy Holy Spirit ;" but did not say "thy"
in v. 10, nor in this verse, nor in v. 17, goes far to show that he
thinks in all these latter cases of his own spirit and not directly
of God's Spirit. It is indeed a prayer for God's gracious help;
but his precise meaning is — Uphold me by quickening in me a
willing, obedient, loving, and spontaneously acting spirit; i. e.,
help me, 0 Lord, to do right with all my heart and soul, with the
most spontaneous outgoing of my soul's aspirations and endeavors.
That is, he is here indicating what he wanted rather than the
agency by which he hoped to get it
13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sin
ners shall be converted unto thee.
Thus restored and thus girded with new spiritual strength, he
will gladly resume his Christian labor for the good of others.
Especially will he teach sinners — those who like himself had
grievously departed from the Lord — what God's ways of mercy
are ; how freely and how gloriously he can forgive ! Ah, could he
not testify to this from the depths of a broken heart ! Certainly,
under the influence of such witnessing testimony, sinners would
return again to God and find such joys of salvation as those which
now gladden his soul.  The words "sinners shall be converted
unto thee " might apply either to those who like himself had pre
viously known God but had grievously sinned, or to those who had
never either known God or sought him. Christ spake of Peter as
"converted" after his great sin (Luke 22: 32).
14. Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God
of my salvation : and my tongue shall sing aloud o'f thy
righteousness. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips ; and my mouth shall
show forth thy praise.
" Deliver me from blood " is the expressive phrase of the original,
looking it would seem to the current idea that the blood of the

PSALM LI. 223
murdered man had a voice that cried for vengeance^ and bore in
itself a terrible power of retribution upon the guilty murderer.
(See Gen. 4: 10). God had declared that he would require the
blood of murder (Gen.' 9 : 5). And in this very case David could
not forget those words sent him from God through Nathan : " Be
cause thou hast slain Uriah with the sword of the children of
Ammon, therefore the sword shall never depart from thy house "
(2 Sam. 12 : 9, 10). Yet David might and did pray that God
would spare him personally from the doom of the murderer and
blot out this great sin.  Thus forgiven, "my tongue shall sing
aloud of thy righteousness" — not "righteousness" however in the
sense of strict justice, but of clemency, goodness.  "Open my
lips" by giving me free pardon, and in this way, abundant occa
sion to testify to thy forgiving love ; and then my mouth shall wit
ness to thy praise. Loosen my tongue, and it shall indeed speak*
for thee in testimony to thy wondrous grace.
16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
If the sacrifice of animals even by the thousand could have
washed away his guilt, or in any way appropriately met his case
and the demands of infinite justice, how gladly would he have
made the offering ! But God had taught him better. The sacri
fices that God desired and demanded were a broken heart and a
contrite spirit — a heart humbled, consciously self-smitten for its
sin, thoroughly contrite, justifying God, and utterly condemning
himself. Such a state of heart, God would not despise ; could not
thrust away.
18. Do. good in thy good pleasure unto Zion : build thou
the walls of Jerusalem.
19. Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of
righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offer
ing : then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
It is refreshing to see David's heart return to its former love for
Zion and to prayer in her behalf, with a just sense of his royal
responsibilities. Doubtless he felt that his sins had brought great
scandal on the name of Israel's God, and spiritual danger upon the
Zion he had once loved and labored for. But now with a broken
heart and a sense of pardon from God and of his restored favor,
it was most pertinent that his prayer should revert again to those
great interests ' of national worship and national piety which he,
alas ! had done so much to imperil. Will he not give his spared
life and his restored soul afresh to the care of the Lord's people,
and to prayerful sympathy for Jerusalem, the city of his God ?
God smiling again upon his Zion as well as upon his own long
burdened and guilty soul, there shall be within her sacred walls.

224 PSALM LII.
yet many other acceptable offerings and sacrifices to the honor of
Israel's God and for the good of his worshiping people.
This penitential Psalm of David has a wonderful history stretch
ing all along down the ages since first the royal penitent wrote
it in tears, and passed it over to " the chief musician " for the
public service of the great congregation. It impresses^ us as one
of the masterly compensations wrought out in God's wisdom that
so many thousand hearts have prayed and sought mercy of God
in the use of these fitting words, and have been lifted out of the
depths of despair into peaceful hope by the inspiring power of this
Psalm and of this case of forgiving, restoring mercy. 0 how
many stricken hearts have found every feeling anticipated, every
want of their souls met by these utterances of the royal Psalmist !
How the thought and the feeling they could scarcely find words
to express, have flowed into the channel prepared for them in these
petitions, and there has been somehow a new sense of the possi
bility of mercy begotten by the fact that these words of one of
the chief of sinners did come up with acceptance before God, and
were placed in his word for the helpful encouragement of all like-
minded sorrowing souls onward to the end of time. So God is
wont to bring good out of the evil of sin.

PSALM LII.
The caption of this Psalm, " A Psalm of David when Doeg the
Edomite came and told Saul and said to him, David is come to the
house of Ahimelech," gives the occasion and subject definitely,
viz., David's words addressed to Doeg who sought to betray him
into Saul's power. The history stands in 1 Sam. 21 : 1-9, and 22 :
9-23, and evinces the bitterest rancor on the part of Saul against
David, and all who might have done for him even the offices of
common humanity. In the light of this rancor, we may estimate
justly the sin of Doeg, since he put himself entirely with Saul in
all his malignity toward David and those who befriended him.
1. Why boasteth thou thyself in mischief, O mighty
man ? the goodness of God endureth continually.
The exquisite beauty and force of this rebuke lie in the contrast
drawn between mischief and goodness — between Doeg, proud of
his wickedness, and God, glorying only in his perpetual benevo
lence. How canst thou, O Edomite, think it thy glory to do such
mischief, when the great God deems it his highest glory to do good?
Look at his eternal love toward all his creatures, and see in the
true glory thereof thine own guilt and shame in that thou canst
boast in thine utter wickedness I  So God's example should stand
forever, a rebuke to all mischief in act, and to all malignity in
spirit.  The original word for "boast" suggests making a shine,

PSALM LII. ¦ 225
showing off for proud display, as if it were his chosen distinction
upon which he prided himself. O how guilty and how base the
man who can deem it his proud distinction to be totally unlike
God ; to be as conspicuous and great in malignity as God is in his
loving-kindness !  Dr. Alexander thinks the address here, " O
mighty man" is to Saul and not to Doeg. But obviously the cap
tion was designed to indicate Doeg rather than Saul. All the
points made in the Psalm fit the case of Doeg ;_ so that there is no
occasion to discredit the authority of the caption.—- — Some com
mentators assume that the last clause of v. 1 implies only this :
All thy efforts for my destruction are futile, for God, my Refuge,
is. forever good. But the words do not suggest God as a refuge
or David's trust in him. The construction given above is there
fore better.
2. Thy tongue deviseth mischiefs; like a sharp* razor,
working deceitfully.
3. Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather
than to speak righteousness. Selah.
Of course, the tongue is here personified as if itself had the
malicious purpose and the intelligence to plan schemes of mis
chief, and power to cut like a razor. In David's view, mischief
and lies were thoroughly congenial to the heart of Doeg, done
without repugnance; loved more than truth and well-doing. Is
not this real depravity? Well may we pause ["Selah''] and
dwell on the ineffable meanness and guilt of such a heart !
4. Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful
tongue.
. 5. God shall likewise destroy thee forever, he shall take
thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling-place, and
root thee out of the land of the living. Selah.
"Thou lovest all destructive words," words having the power to
swallow up and destroy. God also will destroy thee, for ven
geance against such wickedness is demanded of the righteous
God.  The verbs in Hebrew are strongly significant, thus : God
will tear thee down [" destroy "] as men tear down old or worth
less buildings ; will seize upon thee [" take "] as men take up fire
from the hearth; he will pluck thee from thy dwelling-place as a
tree is torn up, and will uproot thee from the land of the living.
Pause and consider! for who can withstand the mighty God!
6. The righteous also shall see, and fear, and shall laugh
at him :
7. Lo, this is the man that made not God bis strength ;
but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened
himself in his wickedness.
His fall will be so conspicuous and striking that the righteous
will take note thereof and be quickened. to fresh reverence toward

226 • PSALM LIII.
the Great Avenger.  "Laugh," here, as in Ps. 2: 6, indicates,
not a malicious exultation, but a keen sense of the infinite impo
tence and folly of such wickedness. We may infer this from what
they say: "Behold! mark this man who never trusted God, but
trusted riches and wickedness instead I See his fatal end I So
shall all thine enemies perish, O God ! (Judg. 5 : 31).
8. But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God :
I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.
9. I will praise thee forever, because thou hast done it :
and I will wait on thy name ; for it is good before thy
saints. The green tree is a figure (at once beautiful and expressive) of
that which is pleasant to the sight, useful, thriving, and enduring.
The roQt of David's strength was finely indicated by locating this
tree in the house of God.  "I trusted," literally I have trusted,
but implying also the future : I will trust in God's name which
endures forever.  " I will praise thee forever because thou hast
wrought" — achieved — he does not define what, but leaves us to as
sume it to be that which I trust him for, viz., my safety and ulti
mate success in my -life-work — the thing which God virtually-
promised when he called David to the throne of Israel.  "I will
wait on thy name in the presence of the saints," making the most
public manifestations of my grateful and absolute trust in my God.
This name is infinitely "good." and therefore most worthy of my
utmost confidence. Thus it appears that the horrible wickedness
of Doeg could never shake David's confidence in his God. Indeed
it only made this confidence the more strong and himself the more
bold in avowing it before all God's people.

PSALM. LIII.
This Psalm repeats Ps. 14, with slight variations. These were
comprehensively indicated in the Notes to Ps. 14. To account for
this repetition we may reasonably suppose that David rewrote it
for the purpose of making some of its expressions stronger. The
Psalm here before us would seem to have been the later version,
partly because Ps. 14 stands in the first book and Ps. 53 in the
second — a subsequent compilation ; and partly because in several
points the change from the former to the latter was manifestly
made for greater strength.  In the caption to this Psalm we
have the additional words, "Upon Mahalath, Maschil." "Mas-
chil" is very common, in the sense, for instruction. The words,
" Upon Mahalath " occur elsewhere only in the caption of Ps. 88.
They are explained variously : by Fuerst, of a musical choir ; by
Gesenius, of a musical instrument; by Alexander, as indicating
disease, a malady, but with' special reference here to the moral
malady of human depravity, which is the subject of the Psalm.

PSALM LIII. 227
1. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity:
there is none that doeth good.
2. God looked down from heaven upon the children of
men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did
seek God.
3. Every one of them is gone back : they are altogether
become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
4. Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge ? who eat
up my people as they eat bread : they have not called upon
God. For the general sense of this Psalm the reader may see the
Notes on Ps. 14. Only the variations from that Psalm require
remarks here.  In v. 1 we have in Ps. 14, "They have done
abominable works ; " but here, " They have done abominable ini
quity," meaning, they have made their iniquity abominable. 
The use of Elohim as the name of God in place of Jehovah, is
indicated in the received version which translates Jehovah " Lord,"
and Elohim, "God."
5. There were they in great fear, where no fear was:
for God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth
against thee : thou bast put them to shame, because God
hath despised them.
6. Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion !
When God bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob
shall rejoice, and, Israel shall be glad.
V. 5 is made specially strong here : " They were in great fear
where there was no real occasion for it, for God hath not only
slain but scattered abroad the bones of him who hath pitched his
camp against thee. The earlier Psalm had said : " There were
they in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous."
This later one takes the bolder position that God has shown him
self to be in the midst of his people by scattering the very bones
of their enemies.  And whereas the earlier Psalm had said,
The wicked have sought to shame the hope of the poor because
they have made God their refuge, this later one turns the tables
completely: "Thou" [every righteous man] "dost deem the
wicked worthy of real shame because God hath despised them."
God's opinion of the wicked is more than the public sentiment of
all the universe besides, were it even combined against his. Much
more is his opinion of the wicked weighty when all the good are
with him, and also the conscience of every wicked man I What
stvails it then, if for a small moment, the wicked would fain put
the righteous to shame ? How utterly will they come down when

228 PSALM LIV.
all beings shall be seen and appreciated as they really are, and
they shall "awake to everlasting contempt," and the universe shall
know that " God hath despised them ! "
PSALM LIV.
The caption of this Psalm is definite as to its occasion and date :
" To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil: A Psalm of David
when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, " Doth not David hide him
self with us?" The history shows that the people of Ziph came
twice to Saul with this information as to David. 1 Sam. 23 : 19,
and 26 : 1. Either of these occasions might have suggested this
Psalm. In either case the circumstances sufficed to throw David
back from all human helpers upon his God in prayer and in grate
ful trust. Hence he composed this Psalm perhaps at first for his
own private worship, and after the public service of song was
established, he placed it in charge of the " Chief Musician " to be
sung for public instruction ["Maschil"] with the accompaniment
of a certain musical instrument ["Neginoth"]. This name (Ne
ginoth) appears in the caption of five other Psalms, viz. : 4, 6, 55,
67, 76.
1. Save me, O God, by thy name, and judge me by thy
strength; "By thy nanie" — according to those qualities of thy character
which are indicated by thy significant names, especially faithful
ness to thy promises [Jehovah], and power to save, [El, the Mighty
One].  "Judge me by thy strength" — not in the strict sense of
deciding which is right, my enemies or myself, but of avenging
and delivering me by thy strength. David's prayer, "save me
assumes that the question of right as between himself and his
enemies is already settled. He now only implores God to execute
that implied sentence and give him the results of the divine
acquittal. 2. Hear my prayer, O God ; give ear to the words of my
mouth. 3. For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors
seek after my soul : they have not set God before them.
Selah. He gives the reason for this prayer. " Strangers," not in the
sense of foreigners but of men alien from God. "Oppressors,"
of tyranical, violent spirit.  " Seek my soul," i. e., my life.
They have no fear of God before their eyes ; they act as if there
were no God. Saul had cut himself loose from all sense of obliga
tion to obey God and was persecuting David, not to please God
but to please himself only. — -" Selah " calls for a moment's

PSALM LV. 229
thought upon this remarkable fact. How terrible a fact it was in
the case of Saul, and is in any other man's case when his spirit
becomes reckless of God and he plans and labors to execute with
no regard whatever to the Great God I
4. Behold, God is mine helper : the Lord is with them
that uphold my soul.
5. He shall reward evil unto mine enemies : cut them
off' in thy truth.
" Behold," note this; God is my helper, not only ever before me
and my mind ever realizing his presence and shaping all my life
according to his supposed will, but consequently present as my
refuge and deliverer. He is also with all those who befriend me.
Placing themselves on my side they are also on the side of God
and he will care for them. This might fitly encourage the little
band who had cast in their lot with David in these days of his
persecution before Saul.  In v. 5, following the oldest and most
approved reading, I translate, " The evil" [i. e., which they seek
to bring upon me] " shall return upon mine enemies ; cut them
off in thy faithfulness " — to thy promises made to me. David's
call and anointing for the throne of Israel involved these promises
of protection and ultimate success. In cases almost innumerable
David in his sore affliction fell back upon those implied promises
and thus lived precisely upon his faith in God.
6. I will freely sacrifice unto thee : I will praise thy
name, 0 Loed ; for it is good.
7. For he hath delivered me out of all trouble: and
mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies.
"Freely," in the sense of a "free-will offering," technically so
called, in distinction from those specially prescribed or required
by some definite vow. I will offer a special sacrifice, spontane
ously, in grateful recognition of this delivering mercy.  " I will
praise thy name for it is good;" the qualities of thy character as
developed every-where and in particular toward me in all thy
ways — all which are comprised in thy names — are indeed ineffably
good; let me therefore praise thy name with all my soul! 
"Hath delivered " in past times, and I know that he will also in
the future.  " Mine eye hath looked upon mine enemies " — which
implies that he still survives ; and probably that they have fallen,
or at least, have lost their power to harm or even alarm him.
The word in Italics, " desire," is not indicated in the Hebrew.
PSALM LV..
The caption to this Psalm—" To the chief musician on Neginoth,
Maschil, a Psalm ol David " — does not locate it in either time or

230 PSALM LV-
occasion. The general scope of the Psalm assumes that the wri
ter [David] was in great affliction, severely pressed by enemies,
and especially by some one who had been ostensibly in most friendly
relations (vs. 12-14). In these sore trials he turns to God in
earnest prayer for help; expresses assured confidence that God
will deliver him, and builds upon his faith and experience the
broadly comprehensive doctrine that every friend of God may cast
upon him the disposal of his destiny with no fear as to the final
result, assured of his sustaining arm (v. 20). — —The personal
history of David, as known to us, suggests only the names of Saul
and Absalom between whom to choose as this enemy, with some
points in favor of each, but none quite decisive for either. The
location of this Psalm among others that certainly refer to Saul
favors the reference of this to him. The moral lessons of the
Psalm are scarcely affected by the decision of this question.
1. Give ear to my. prayer, O God ; and hide not thyself
from my supplication.
2. Attend unto me, and hear me : I mourn in my com
plaint, and make a noise ;
3. Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the op
pression of the wicked : for they cast iniquity upon me, and
in wrath they hate me.
" Hide not thyself from my supplications " — the conception be
ing that not hearing his cry for help was practically withdrawing
himself into darkness and leaving the poor suppliant in utter ne
glect.  " I mourn " — more strictly I wander about, restless and
troubled in my musings, and I moan — describing the case of one
deeply distressed, roaming about unconsciously under his load of
heart-sorrows.  "They cast iniquity upon me," in the sense of
pushing their wicked schemes vigorously for my destruction.
Literally, they move upon me like the approaches of a besieging
army, advancing each hour their assailing lines.
4. My heart is sore pained within me : and the terrors of
death are fallen upon me.
5. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, ajud
horror hath overwhelmed me.
"My heart is sore pained," literally writhes in its torture. His
life continually threatened, how could he shut off from his heart
the terrors of death ? For a long time Saul sought David's life
with his utmost energy and with the resources of his kingdom.
6. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove ! for then
would I fly away, and be at rest.
7. Lo, then would I, wander far off, and remain in the
wilderness. Selah.

PSALM LV. 231
8. I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and
tempest. The history of David's wanderings among the mountain fast
nesses of Judah, are a comment on these words. 0 if I only had
wings, how would I lift myself up from the face of a land that has
ho safe spot for the sole of my foot ; how would I fly away, leav
ing no trace of my steps, and dwell, as the timid birds do, in the
wilderness 1 No storms, like these now beating on me, should
reach me there !  " Selah " suggests a pause over a thought so
bright in anticipation though only ideal.  The words are no less
applicable to David's case when he actually fled the city before
Absalom and sought»safety -in the mountains east of the Jordan.
9. Destroy, O Lord, and divide their" tongues: for I have
seen violence and strife in the city.
"Divide their tongues; " distract their counsels, and thus break
their combined power — an expression borrowed perhaps from the
confusion of tongues at Babel. "In the city," somewhat probably
the city of Jerusalem ; yet if the Psalm relates to Saul, this city
was his capital. If it looks to the scenes of Absalom's revolt, it
touches most aptly the condition of the great city then. It would
be specially painful to David that the .holy city, the home of the
nation's worship and of the nation's God, should be the scene of
such " violence and strife." Their presence in that city moved his
soul to this prayer that God would distract their counsels and blast
their schemes. So we read in the history (2 Sam. 15: 31): "I
pray thee, 0 Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolish
ness." 10. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof:
mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11. Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile
depart not from her streets.
Violence and strife are personified and thought of as patrolling
the city, or ranging at will about its walls, day and night — a state
of anarchy, a wreck of law and order. The points made in these
verses correspond historically with the revolt of Absalom when
treason lifted its defiant head, and, for the time, the old authorities
were powerless in Jerusalem.
12. For it was not an enemy that reproached me ; then
I could have borne it : neither was it he that hated me that
did magnify himself against me ; then I would have hid
myself from him :
13. But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and
mine acquaintance.
14. We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto
the house of God in company.

232 PSALM LV.
In this Psalm David's personal enemies are spoken of as more
than one: see v. 3, "they cast iniquity upon me," and v. 15,
" Upon them," and v. 19, " God shall afflict them." But here somo
one is made specially prominent — one who had been esteemed a
friend, and indeed a very intimate and confidential friend. We
may, perhaps, suppose this friend to have been Ahithophel, in
whom David must have had the utmost confidence, and whose
treachery sent a pang of bitterest grief to his heart. The history
shows that Ahithophel had been one of David's most confidential
and trusted counselors, but that in this rebellion his plans con
templated nothing short of David's utter ruin — the reckless outrage
of his domestic rights and relations, .and the absolute committal
of this rebellion to victory or death. Nothing could have been
more bitter to David's heart than this astounding defection of his
old friend, this apparently sudden transformation of his bosom
counselor into a most malign and desperate foe.  " A man
mine equal " — of like rank and estimation with myself, whom I
had taken to my heart as a brother and into my confidence as one
who could never prove false to me. And to crown all, we had
been in the closest intimacy in our religious sympathies ; we had
walked to God's house in company; there we had sought God's
counsel in our straits and his blessing on our plans and endeavors.
There our friendship had been sanctified and sealed before the
mercy-seat and under the eye of Israel's God.  Is not such treach
ery the keenest torture ? Alas, how does it shake all confidence
in fallen mortals I
15. Let death seize upon them, and let them go down
quick into hell : for wickedness is in their dwelhngs, and
among them.
I would translate : " Destructions are upon them ! They shall go
down alive to the grave, for wickedness is in their dwellings, yea,
in their hearts." This translation of the first two words follows
the oldest authorities rather than the masoretic marginal reading
which has governed the received English version. Most of the
modern critics accept the authority of the consonants as written
in the text rather than the proposed corrections indicated in the
Hebrew margin.  The original words do not demand a prayer
here, but express only a prediction — the confident assurance that
ruin must suddenly overtake such outrageous wickedness. It is
remarkable that both Ahithophel and Absalom met their death —
in time, soon, and in manner, terribly. The one, in disappoint
ment and chagrin, hung himself; the other, caught by the proud
hair of his head, while yet the battle raged in the wood of
Ephraim, was left unhorsed and dangling till the darts of Joab
pierced him fatally, and his fall put an end at once to this battle
and to this rebellion. Thus they went down living to their graves —
the phrase being taken, it would seem from the case of Korah and
his company, swallowed alive by the opening jaws of the earth be-

PSALM LV. 233
neath their feet. (Num. 16.) The word "quick" is, in the old
sense, living — the meaning of the Hebrew word here used, and
not in the modern sense soon.
16. As for me, I will call upon God ; and the Loed
shall save me.
17. Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray,
and cry aloud : and he shall hear my voice.
"As for me" well indicates the strong contrast which David
designedly puts between his case and that of his enemies.
They,,prayerlesB and awfully wicked, go down suddenly and fear
fully to their own place ; but I cry to my God for help, and in
him I find precious salvation.  This allusion to David's stated
times for prayer is interesting as showing that he lived in the at
mosphere of prayer, waiting continually upon his God at all times,
and pre-eminently in all his straits.  The word rendered pray
[" I will pray "] has the primary sense of muse, meditate ; and
must certainly be understood to include serious meditation as op
posed to merely unthinking and formal prayer.  The last clause
should read: "And then he heard my voice." Instates the historic
fact that in those days of sorest trial when he sought the Lord so
earnestly and with such continuous prayer, the Lord met his re
quest most promptly with the desired salvation.
18. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle
that was against me : for there were many with me.
From the battle waged against me, he hath redeemed me into
peace and prosperity again — a fact the more worthy of notice be
cause the people arrayed against me were many. The' last clause
plainly means, not that his own party were many, but that the
many were, as we might say, fighting with him, £ e., in conflict
against him. The logic of. the passage demands this construction ;
and the Hebrew words readily admit it.
19. God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth
of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore
they fear not God.
The verb translated "afflict" usually means to answer, and in
this close connection with " hear " should be so taken. God will
hear and answer them [i. e., as their wicked prayer deserves].
"He that abideth of old" is not merely he who liveth of old, but
he who sits enthroned of old, from everlasting, the Eternal King.
 " Selah ; " think of this : He who has reigned through all the
ages of the eternal Past, will not he subdue the wicked beneath
his feet? Then continuing the construction without pause, we
may translate: "God will hear and answer them to whom there
are no changes and who fear not God." The word for " changes "
might possibly refer to inward, moral changes; but its current
usage as well as the logic of this passage strongly favor its refer-

234 PSALM LV.
ence to physical changes of condition, e. g., calamities, reverses.
God will hear and answer [in righteous justice] those who, long
prosperous, have been hardened in iniquity, past all wholesome
fear of his name.
20. He hath put forth his hands against such as be at
peace with him : he hath broken his covenant.
21. Tlie words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
but war was in his heart : his words were softer than oil,
yet were they drawn swords.
This continues the description of David's wicked enemy. He
turned against his trusting friends; his words were false and his
heart foul.
22. Cast thy burden upon the Loed, and he shall sus
tain thee : he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
The word for " burden " may be either a noun in the sense thy
destined lot or portion as assigned to thee by God in his provi
dence; or a verb to be translated, what he gives thee, i. «., to
bear; the sense of the passage being essentially the same in either
construction.  The word " sustain " well expresses the sense of
the Hebrew which, though sometimes used for support and nour
ishment by, food, yet readily admits the wider sense, uphold, sus
tain, i. e., to bear the lot of care", labor, or suffering which God
may appoint. The passage is essentially reproduced by Peter
(1 Eps. 5 : 7) : " Casting all your care upon him for he careth for
you.' Of kindred sentiment is Ps. 37 : 5 : " Commit thy way un
to the Lord ; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass. 
No words can adequately express the richness and preciousness
of these promises in their practical relations to the cares and bur
dens of every-day life. Every heart has its burdens; every heart
knoweth its own as none else save God can know them. But this
broad promise proffers all needful help under every burden.
What help can possibly be more effective and sufficient ? Whose
arm is stronger to sustain than his ? Whose sympathy can be so
precious?  It is both pleasant and instructive to think what
these words meant as they fell from the lips of David. " My bur
den," he would say, " was that of an exile driven from his throne,
from his home, and wives and children, and more than all, from
the altar and sanctuary of my God. I feared for my life ; I feared
for the welfare of my kingdom and my people ; the griefs of a
father's heart were embittered by the murderous treason of a son,'
by the treachery of my dearest counselor and friend, and finally'
by the agony of seeing that son die almost before my eyes, my
aching heart crying out : ' Would God I had died for thee, 0 Ab
salom, my son, my son ! ' These were the burdens God gave me
to bear ; but he gave me also this sweet and restoring promise :
' Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee : he will
never suffer the righteous to be moved.' Let the people of God,

PSALM LVI. 23'5
all down through the ages read in my case the fullness and glory
of this promise!"
23. But thou, 0 God, shalt bring them down into the
pit of destruction : bloody and deceitful men shall not live
out half their days ; but I will trust in thee.
So surely and terribly must the- wicked perish ! Men of blood
and deceit do not halve their days [so the Hebrew] ; their sun
sinks before it has reached the meridian !  But as for me, I will
trust in thee to bear me safely through every peril down to the
fullness and ripeness of human years.

PSALM LVI.
Several points are made in the caption. " To the chief musi
cian on Jonath-elem-rechokim ; Michtam of David, when the Phil
istines took him in Gath."  The historic occasion " when the
Philistines seized him in Gath" is rather inferable from I Sam.
21 : 10-12, than definitely stated there. Those Philistine servants of
Achish were manifestly very suspicious of David, and we may sup
pose, seized him rudely if not even violently, and brought him before
their master. This treatment seem to have suggested the Psalm.
 For the word " Michtam " which occurs only in Ps. 16, and
56-60, see notes on the caption to Ps. 16.  The Hebrew words,
Jonath-elem-rechokim, are obscure, and of course are interpreted
by the best critics variously, by Maurer, as referring to the musi
cal instrument used ; by Gesenius and Fuerst, as the first words
of some other song which indicates the tune for this or the man
ner of performance — the significance of the words being accord
ing to the former, "The silent dove among strangers" or exiles;
according to the latter, " The dove of God from the far sea."
Others, \e. g. Alexander] take the words as significant of the feel
ing and experience of the writer; the "dove" denotes innocence;
•'dumb" or silent,_as destined to bear with none hearing nor even
himself uttering his grievances ; and among strangers or exiles,
faraway from his home and people.  The word "upon" ["to
the chief musician upon "] favors the view of Gesenius. The
men of the age of David and Solomon, familiar with the temple
music, might readily understand it. But after that familiar
. knowledge had passed away, only the significance of the words
themselves would remain to guide the reader' to their meaniri"-
here.  The scope of the Psalm is obvious, setting forth his
affliction, his prayerful trust in God for help, and his grateful
thanksgiving for help obtained.
1. Be merciful unto me, O God : for man would swallow
me up ; he fighting daily oppresseth me.

236 PSALM LVI.
2. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up : for they be
many that fight against me, O thou Most High.
"Be merciful" — a cry for help from God against hostile and
powerful men. " Swallow me up," conceives of these enemies as
savage beasts, coming down upon him with open jaws, panting in
cessantly to devour.  The word translated, "0 thou Most High"
is commonly an adverb meaning proudly, as from a higher posi
tion and with superior claims. In this sense it would here de
scribe the spirit of their fighting against him. Hebrew usage does
not sustain our translators in taking it as a name of God.
3. What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.
Literally, " the day I shall fear I will put my trust in thee."
As they pant eagerly for my life all the day or every day, so will I,
through every such day of danger, find my refuge *ind hope in
thee. This is putting his faith in God to practical, every-day
use. 4. In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my
trust ; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.
"The words "In God," repeated here, give a striking promin
ence to his precious relations to his God. We might translate:
" In God will I exult, even in his word [of promise] ; in God have
I put my only trust ; I will not fear ; what can flesh [the weak
arm of mortal man] do against me while God is on my side ? " This
pause after " fear, and this interrogative construction of the last
words' are plainly indicated in the original and heighten the force
and beauty of the passage.
5. Every day they wrest my words : all their thoughts
are against me for evil.
6. They gather themselves together, they hide themselves,
they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul.
"Thoughts" in the sense of artful schemes, plans, devices
against his life. In the last clause of v. 6, the tense of the verb
requires this: "They will waylay my steps ['heels'], even as
they have lain in wait for my life.' They will continue to do as
they have committed themselves and have done before. There
fore I have nothing better or else to expect from them than per
petual endeavors to destroy me.
7. Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast
down the people, O God.
In the first clause there being nothing in the text to indicate a
question, it is better to translate affirmatively : " Upon iniquity is
their escape ;" meaning either that such has been the fact or that
such is their expectation, or yet more probably, both ideas are in
volved thus : Because they have thus far escaped justice by means
of consummate iniquity, therefore they hope to do so in the future.

PSALM LVII. 237
Upon this rests David's prayer— "In wrath cast down the wicked
people, 0 God." How canst thou endure it that they should per
petrate such wickedness and then escape justice by still other
schemes of iniquity ?
8. Thou tellest my wanderings : put thou my tears into
thy bottle : are they not in thy book ?
"Thou tellest" — by record in a book; literally, thou dost book
them. So also bottle thou my tears, for a permanent record, to
keep them ever before thine eye. Is it not even so ? Precious
thought — that the Great Father lets no tear of his child escape
his notice or fail from his memory I
9. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn
back : this I know ; for God is for me.
"Turn back," not of their own will and motion, but under
God's resistless hand. They shall be turned back, despite their
malign hostility. I know this because God is with me, on my
side, and mightier than the mightiest of my foes.
10. In God will I praise his word : in the Loed will I
praise 7iis word.
11. In God have I put my trust : I will not be afraid
what man can do unto me.
This essentially repeats the sentiment of v. 4. Trusting in God,
I will praise his word [of promise] ; i. «., will praise him for that
word. I will celebrate the love and faithfulness of those promises,
and of their ever-glorious Author. See notes on v. 4.
12. Thy vows are upon me, 0 God : I will render praises
unto thee.
13. For thou hast delivered my soul from death : wilt not
thou deliver my feet from falling, that I- may walk before
God in the light of the living?
In his distress he had made vows to his God. Having now
found deliverance, he is holden to repay those vows ; they are upon
him and hold him in the bonds of gratitude and love for their
payment in full. The Mosaic law provided for such cases by pre
scribing appropriate festal sacrifices.  Since in passing through
these special perils God had delivered him from death, he now
prays that in like manner henceforth God would shield him from
whatever perils may await him.

PSALM LVII.
The caption here indicates both the author and the occasion :
"To the chief musician, Al-taschith; Michtam of David, when he
11

238 PSALM LVII. •
fled from Saul in the cave." The history (1 Sam.. 22: 1, and
24: 1) recites some of David's experiences when secreting him
self from Saul in caves. The' passages, 1 Sam. 23 : 14, 29, and
24 : 2, 3, speak of his " abiding in strongholds in the fastnesses of
the hills of Judah." If the caption alludes to any one specific
point, the history is too brief and general to' enable us to locate
it.  "Al-taschith" [destroy not] appears in the caption of three
connected Psalms (57-59), and of Ps. 75. The words occur in
the report given by Moses of his prayer of intercession for his
people (Deut. 9: 26). David himself said of Saul to Abishai
(1 Sam. 26: 9): " Destroy him not." The Chaldee paraphrast sug
gests that the Psalms which bear this title belong to that period
of David's history when he was under the perpetual necessity of
saying, "destroy not," and are therefore suited to all similar emer
gencies of other saints. (Alexander.) May the Lord spare his
suppliant people, seems to be the spirit of the song.
1. Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:
for my soul trusteth in thee : yea, in the shadow of thy
wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over
past. The strain is remarkably similar to that of the two preceding
Psalms — prayer and trust for deliverance from the murderous de
signs of Saul., " Under the shadow of thy wings " — as in the hour
of danger the young nestle under the wing of the mother bird.
So may God's people always find a refuge, safe and sweet, under
his protecting wing.
2. I will cry unto God most high; unto God that per-
formeth all'things for me.
3. He shall send from heaven, and save me from the re
proach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God
shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
It was his joy that his God was truly Most High — -mighty in all
power; able to accomplish whatever he pleased in behalf of his
trustful servants.  In j>. 3, the clause translated "from the
reproach of him that would swallow me up," may be read, either,
Will save me whom my enemy scorns, or, He (God) will scorn
my enemy. The enemy is described by the same word as in Ps.
56 : 1,2; one who pants with open mouth to swallow him down. 
"God will send forth from heaven his mercy and his truth" — is
bold personification, as if mercy and truth were the very messen
gers of his power, the mighty agents, angels of deliverance to his
imperiled servants.
4. My soul is among lions : and I lie even among them
that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are
spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

PSALM LVII. 239
" My soul," in the sense of life, is in a den of lions. At best, I
make my bed among men on fire with rage, their teeth and tongue
weapons of war for my destruction. This prominence given to
slander in the effort of Saul to destroy David, was due to the fact
that David had, to a great extent, the hearts of the people, with
right and justice, on his side, and therefore Saul must needs tra
duce and slander his fair name, else the people would not let him
destroy David.
5. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens ; let thy
glory be above all the earth.
Exalt thyself, 0 thou mighty God, as the friend of the suffering
and the righteous — as my Friend in this emergency. Let thy
glory as the righteous God be displayed over all the earth in my
deliverance !
6. They have prepared a net for my steps ; my soul is
bowed down: they have digged a pit before me. into the
midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
In the second clause, the more facile reading is : They bow or
press my soul down into it ; they press me into the net spread for
me. Then suddenly a new turn is given to the thought : They fall
into the very pit which they have dug for my life. Over this let
the reader pause to think of God's righteous retributions!
.7. My heart is fixed, 0 God, my heart is fixed: I will
fsing and give praise.
-. 8. Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I
myself will awake early.
In view of such manifestations of God's love and faithfulness
to me and of his righteous justice toward my implacable enemies,
my heart is fixed, fully purposed and established ; I will love thee,
trust thee, and praise thee with my utmost powers I  Awake,
my soul, to grateful song ; let every power of my being conspire
to render praise to my. Infinite Friend and Deliverer I Let harp
and lute pour forth their sweetest strains ; let me awake the dawn
with songs. "Awaken the dawn of morning" is precisely the
sense of the original words, and is beautiful poetry.
9. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people : I will
sing unto thee among the nations.
10. For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy
truth unto the clouds.
11. Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let
thy glory be above all the earth.
* " Among the people, among the nations," seems to mean, in their
presence, before them all, to make the glory of his God known
to the very ends of the earth. Far is he from being ashamed to

240 PSALM LVIII.
testify for Israel's God. It is in his heart to let all the people of
the wide world know how faithful and true is his God, and how
rich in mercy to all who call upon him.  To say "mercy and
truth are great even to the heavens, reaching unto tho clouds " —
labors to set forth the exceeding greatness and excellent glory of
these moral qualities. How simple the conception, yet how sub
lime !  Thus, in the highest strain of poetic beauty, and with
imagery magnificently grand, does the Psalmist give the testimony
of his grateful heart to the mercy and the power shown him of
God in his deliverance from his enemies, and in his final triumph
in reaching the throne of Israel.

PSALM LVIII.
The caption to this Psalm corresponds to that of Ps. 57, and of
Ps. 59, omitting only the allusions which they severally contain to
the specific circumstances which occasioned their composition.
The location of this between those two and this correspondence
in caption, go far to prove that this was regarded by the compilers
as in the same class with those, an outgrowth of his persecutions
from Saul and particularly leveled against the perversions of jus
tice in the high ' places ; of power under which David suffered.
The Psalm opens with rebuke of this sin ; proceeds to describe
the enormity and'malignity of human wickedness, and to pray that
God would frustrate their wicked schemes with judgments so fear
ful as to assure the righteous that there is a God above who will
award good to the righteous but vengeance to the wicked.
1. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?
do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men ?
In this verse the Hebrew reader will have more difficulty than
the English. If we might take "congregation" to mean a judi
cial assembly, bearing the responsibility of administering justice
(if the Hebrews had any such), we should have a facile sense in
the verse. But the Hebrew as it now stands has no word for
"congregation," but has a word which usually means dumbness,
mute silence.* How to dispose of this word is with the critics the
great question. Will ye now truly decree justice, long time dumb,
as if with no voice to speak ?  Will ye, long guilty of silence, at
length give justice a voice through your righteous decisions ? Or,
are ye indeed dumb when ye should speak righteousness and judge
equitably? We get a good sense by any one of these slightly dif
ferent constructions, but we can not say that' any one of them is
an easy and natural translation of the Hebrew words. I strongly
suspect some error in the text, probably the creeping in of this.

PSALM LVIII. 241
word, dumbness — the- more probable because the Septuagint has
nothing whatever to express this idea. Happily the ultimate sense
is clear — a rebuke of those .official judges who withheld righteous
decisions. 2. Yea, in heart ye work wickedness ; ye weigh the vio
lence of your hands in the earth.
So far from sustaining justice and right, they wrought wicked
ness, and this with the heart, through sympathy with wrong,
"with a will" as we say.  The word "weigh" conceives of
ideal scales of justice in which the even balancing of evidence
should bring out the truth and the right, but which in their hand
and with their heart, are perverted to minister to wrongful vio
lence, and this "in the earth," i. e., in the land of God's covenant,
the land of promise to his obedient people. How could the Lord
endure that the courts of justice should themselves perpetrate mon
strous iniquity in his own land! The fact gives the Psalmist a
painfully keen sense of the terrible depravity of human hearts,
as we see in the next verse.
3. The wicked are estranged from the womb : they go
astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies.
This is saying in a very strong way that the race take to sin
ning as early as they can, and sin with their whole heart in it.
The last words of the verse, "speaking lies," fortunately guard us
against imputing to David or to the inditing Spirit the idea that
•infants do in fact begin to sin from their very birth. Nothing in
this passage justifies us in assuming that there is sin where there
is no evidence of thought, of knowledge of God and duty, or of
voluntary moral choice.
4. Their poison is like the poison of a serpent : tlwy are
like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear;
5. Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers,
charming never so wisely.
, The poison or virus of wickedness in man may be compared
with the poison of the serpent in the points of its power of mis
chief and of its terrible malignity, yet with no assumption of
moral quality in the serpent. The comparison can not "go on
all fours." We need not suppose that in David's view man's poi
son of depravity runs in his blood — belongs to his physical na
ture in precisely the same sense as in the serpent's. David has
not said that he puts the wicked man and the poisonous serpent
on precisely the same footing in the particular points of blame
worthiness or of propagation to their respective posterity of the
qualities that are compared.  The meaning of the verse seems
to be that the wicked judge stops his ear from hearing the evi
dence of truth and justice, even as the deaf adder whom no human
skill can charm into a harmless mood just because she has no ear

242 PSALM LVIII.
to hear those charming incantations. Some serpents can be
charmed so as not to bite, but the deaf adder can not be, for the
charm is addressed to the ear.  " Charming never so wisely "
translates a single word, meaning wellrskilled.
6. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth : break out
the great teeth of the young lions, O Loed.
In the case of serpents that can not be charmed, the only alter
native is this : break in their teeth ; or changing the figure slightly,
root out the teeth, of the young lion ; and this he prays God to do
with these wicked men. When their malignity is so terrible and
their power to harm so great, it only remains to cry to the great
and just God to knock in their poisonous fangs, or wrench out
their terribly sharp and strong incisors and make those lion-jaws
harmless.  The word for "young lion" suggests, not the infant
cub, but the full-grown, yet one not old but in the full vigor of
. youth. 7. Let them melt away as waters which run continually :
when he bendeth his bow to slioot his arrows, let them be as
cut in pieces.
New figures illustrate the same idea — the waning power of the
wicked. Let their resources for mischief grow rapidly less, as
waters that spread out over desert sands soon melt away and dis
appear. When he " treads his arrows," i. e. treads his bow in
preparation for shooting arrows, let it be as if his arrows were
pointless — the heads cut off.
8. As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass
away : like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may
not see the sun.
Let his march be like the snail's crawl — the point of the figure
being however, not speed, but the melting away of substance and
power ; — according to the current notion that the snail used him
self up by locomotion, perhaps depositing the slime of his body in
such quantities as to exhaust the body itself. So let the wicked
man move — only to exhaust his power the more at every step. 
Also let them be as if they had never been — utterly powerless to
affect human welfare.
9. Before your pots can feel the thorns, be shall take
them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his
wrath. Here we must think of cooking done in the open air, and the
pots heated with the thorn-bush for fuel. .Sudden gusts of wind
sweep the fuel away before any heat is felt. So let the concoct
ing of wicked schemes be suddenly blasted by the breath of the
Almighty!-  Before your pot shall feel the heat of the thorn-fire,
let him [God] sweep the fuel, green or dry, away with his whirl-

PSALM LIX. 243
wind. So the last clause, translated " both living and in his
wrath," may mean. Or, with Alexander, we may refer these
words to the flesh within the pot — whether raw or cooked, and
suppose the sense to be that the whirlwind sweeps away both pot
and fuel whether the cooking has been done or not. The former
construction seems more natural, because the disaster takes place
before the pot begins to feel the heat of the thorn-fire. God's
terrible hand is here, wielding the whirlwind of his fury in venge
ance upon the guilty schemes of the wicked.
10. The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the venge
ance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11. So that a man shall say, Verily titer e is a reward for
the righteous : verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.
These manifestations of God's righteous retribution will be so
clear that the righteous can not mistake his hand or his heart
either. They will rejoice most assuredly, and most righteously
too — for Ought they not to sympathize with righteousness, to mourn
over abounding and mischievous wickedness, and be glad when
God puts forth his strong arm to suppress it ? Indeed they will
have occasion to say, " Of a truth, there is a God ! Most cer
tainly he will reward the righteous " — the suffering and oppressed
ones who stand with him in right doing and in the love oi right
eousness. In his own time he will judge the earth and bring the
wicked to an exemplary and righteous doom !
PSALM LIX.
This is the last of the three Psalms distinguished by " Al-
taschith" [destroy not]. Its special dccasion appears in the
words — "When Saul sent and they watched the house to kill
him." The reader may see the account in full, I Sam. 19 : 11-17.
Appropriately the Psalmist cries to God for deliverance from such
enemies ; speaks of his own innoeence ; descants upon their
wickedness, and repeatedly expresses his assured hope in God for
the protection which he implores.
1., Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend
me from them that rise up against me.
2. Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me
from bloody men.
"Defend me," literally, set me on high, takes its form of expres
sion from the modes of defensive warfare in which men sought
safety in high towers or upon mountain-tops, out of the reach of
missile weapons. Their wickedness, in seeking his life became his
plea for God's interposition— a plea which God could not fail to
hear.

244 PSALM LIX.
3. For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul: the mighty are
gathered against me ; not for my transgression, nor for my
sin, O Loed.
4. They run and prepare themselves without my fault :
awake to help me, and behold.
"For my soul" — in the usual sense of life. They gather
together against me — mighty men. On the human side they are too
strong for me. Therefore, let thy stronger arm be lifted for my
succor.  Happily for David, he was fully conscious that as
between himself and Saul, this persecution was in no respect for
his fault. He had not sought the throne ; was no traitor to his
king or his country; and in those military exploits which had
aroused Saul's mean jealousy, he had only played the man for his
country and for his God. Hence it was in no spirit of presump
tion that he cast himself absolutely upon God for help.
5. Thou therefore, O Loed God of hosts, the God of
Israel, awake to visit all the heathen : be not merciful to
any wicked transgressors. Selah.
This repetition of the divine names is expressive and pertinent :
Jehovah, Elohim, God of the celestial armies and especially of
Israel ; • every element of his character and every aspect of his
relations signified in these words combine to inspire confidence and
hope in this prayer that God would visit all the wicked nations
who were in league against him and his people. This allusion to
" all the heathen " suggests that the Psalm was written after David
reached the throne, at a point when the circle of his personal ene
mies, once restricted to Saul and his minions, was enlarged to
include many contiguous nations.
6. They return at evening : they make a noise like a dog,
and go round about the city.
These verbs are either future or imperative : " Let them return,"
or, " they shall return ; " better the former. He thinks of the
Oriental, undomesticated dogs who infest the cities in vast num
bers, roaming abroad by day for a meager subsistence, and throng
ing outside the city walls at night, howling hideously. So let
those wicked men who .prowl about my dwelling to waylay and
murder me, find the _; JSTiS shut out of the city in the darkness of
night to howl like homeless dogs.
7. Behold, they belch out with their mouth : swords are
in their lips : for who, say they, doth hear?
The Hebrew word for " belch out" suggests that wickedness in
their hearts is a gushing spring of which the mouth is the outlet,
and the floods are forced out under high pressure.  "Swords in
their lips" refers to the cruel causeless calumnies by which they
traduced and belied David and sought his ruin. They knew that

PSALM LIX. 245
so long as the people believed him not only innocent but eminently
meritorious, it were vain if not even perilous to themselves to seek
his life.  " For who is hearing ? " the only words found in the
original, may be said by David and not by his enemies. So taken,
they express perhaps his first feeling in the case, viz. : that for a
time God seemed not to take cognizance of their wrong doing.
But many commentators favor the sense given in the received
version. 8. But thou, O Loed, shalt laugh at them ; thou shalt
have all the heathen in derision.
To the great God, the opposition of the mightiest of mortals
must seem infinitely puny — worthy only of supreme contempt.
Sec Psalm 2:4.
9. Because of bis strength will I wait upon thee : for God
is my defense.
10. The God of my mercy shall prevent me : God shall
let me see my desire upon mine enemies.
Because of whose strength? is the first and main question here.
To -say with some — that of his enemy, involves two 'difficulties, viz. :
that precisely at this point he represents that strength as infinites-
imally small, deserving only the derisive contempt of the Almighty,
and also that throughout this Psalm his enemies are not one as
here but many.  It seems better therefore to assume a reference
to God's strength — the change of person from the third to the
second being too common in Hebrew to occasion the least diffi
culty. His (God's) strength being such as I have just implied, I
will wait upon thee (O my God); "I will watch towards thee"
keeping my eye of faith steadfastly fixed on thee alone — this being
the sense of the verb here used.  " Shall prevent me," in the
old sense of prevent, i. e., anticipate ; come in for my help in
advance of my enemy, ready for my perfect protection.
11. Slay them not, lest my people forget : scatter them
by thy power ; and bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12. For the sin of their mouth and the words of their
lips let them even be taken in their pride : and for cursing
and lying which they speak.
" Slay them not, but scatter them," seems to mean : Do not an
nihilate them, lest thy people, only too fully relieved from all ene
mies, should forget their God, their Strength and Refuge. Scatter
them abroad into other lands where their doom may be a perpetual
lesson upon God's ways of righteous providence. Such, in fact,
have been. God's ways with his covenant people when apostate.
13. Consume them in wrath, consume them, that they
may not be: and let them know that God ruleth in Jacob
unto the ends of the earth. Selah.

246 PSALM LX.
It is not by any means clear how this verse is to be reconciled
with v. 11 — the negative there with the affirmative here ; the prayer,
" Slay them not," there, with the prayer, " Consume them utterly,"
which seems to be the meaning of the passage here. It would
seem that the parties thought of can not be identically the same,
but are in the latter case a more limited number — the incorrigible
for whom no mercy can avail.  " Let them — men in general —
(not the people destroyed) know that the God who ruleth in Jacob
bears sway to the very ends of the earth.
14. And at evening let them return ; and let them make
a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.
15. Let them wander up and down for meat, and grudge
if they be not satisfied.'
The words of v. 14 become the refrain of this Psalm, to which
is added here : Let them roam all abroad for food, and if not satis
fied, let them remain all the night — i. e., hungry.
16. But I will sing of thy power ; yea, I will sing aloud
of thy mercy in the morning : for thou hast been my de
fense and refuge, in the day of my trouble.
17. Unto thee, O my strength, will I sing : for God is
my defense, and the God of my mercy.
• " Will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning " — with allusion,
probably, to his safety ere the morning dawned, for while his ene
mies were waiting for the early morning to seize him $hen, he
was gone and was safe. It was by human stratagem that he made
his escape, but, noticeably, he gives to God all the praise. God's
hand only comes to his thought as having been the means of his
salvation; God's loving-kindness exclusively as deserving all the
glory.  aoXKcx- —
PSALM LX.
The caption of this Psalm reads: "To the chief Musician upon
Shushan-eduth, Michtam of David, to teach ; when he strove with
Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, when Joab returned, and
smote of Edom in the valley of salt twelve thousand."  The
words, "Upon Shushan-eduth," raise the usual question whether
this is the name of a musical instrument to be used in its
performance ; or, are the first words of some well known song
which would suggest the music for this; or, are here for the
suggestions which their proper meaning — The lily of the testimony —
would bring to the mind. The latter seems most probable. The
lily [Shushan] is the symbol of purity, humility, and beauty;
while " eduth [testimony] is used of the written law of God
(Ps. 19: 7), or portions thereof (Deut. 31: 19), as conveying

PSALM LX. 247
God's testimony respecting himself and his law given to men. It
is only the word "upon," indicating the relation of these words in
the sentence, that favors either of the first two suppositions.
Some obscurity hangs over this and similar expressions that appear
in the captions of many Psalms.  "To teach," show's that the
Psalm was intended for public instruction, perhaps to be com
mitted to memory, and thereby impressed the more deeply on the
souls of the people.  The historic allusions are important:
"When he strove with" [better, when he subdued, conquered]
"the Syrians of the rivers," i. e., of Mesopotamia — the country
between the Euphrates and the Tigris — " and the Syrians of
Zobah " — a Syrian province north of Damascus, stretching from
Hamath to the Euphrates.  Another prominent feature in this
series of wars and conquests, is that at this time Joab turned his
hand against Edom, and slew of their hosts, twelve thousand in
the valley of salt — a well known locality near the confines of
Judah and Edom, and adjacent to a very extraordinary salt-moun
tain, explored and described by Dr. Robinson in his Biblical
Researches in Palestine (Vol. 2 : 481-484). Jewish history treats
briefly of these wars and conquests (2 Sam. 8, and 1 Chron. 18).
The passage, 2 Sam. 8 : 13, has the word Syrians, but probably by
mistake, for Edomites, which appears both in 1 Chron. 18 : 12;
and in our caption here. The close resemblance in the Hebrew,
between Edom and Aram, accounts readily for this error.  The
Syrians on the North and East, and the Edomites on the South
and South-east — the most powerful among all the adjacent king
doms, made common cause against David, so that this eventful
year became a crisis of immensely critical interest to himself and
„his people. Hence the pertinence of this Psalm. These were
live issues, instinct with every element of vital interest Would
their God indeed be with his covenant people ? Would he make
them victorious over these ancient and mighty nations 1
1. O God, thou hast cast us off, thou hast scattered us,
thou hast been displeased ; O turn thyself to us again.
" Thou hast cast us off" with loathing, the original word implies.
The time when is not definitely indicated ; but such periods of re
jection — casting them off for their abominations — had. been not
infrequent during the times *of Saul and of the Judges. If God
were to do the same at the time of this writing, the combination of
their most powerful enemies against them would be their ruin.
Hence the prayer — " O turn thou to us in forgiving mercy again! "
2. Thou hast made the earth to tremble; thou hast
broken it: heal the breaches thereof; for it shaketh.
3. Thou hast showed thy people hard things : thou hast
made us to drink the wine of astonishment.
"Hast broken it;" literally, hast rent it as with an earthquake
Socially and politically their case had been like that of a country

248 PSALM LX.
rent and fissured by earthquakes — the people in consternation as
if nothing was firm beneath their feet. God had made them see
hard times; they reeled under the shock of disaster as men reel
from excess of wine. " The wine of astonishment " is such and
so much as produces intoxication. The word for "astonishment"
describes not so much a state of mind as of body — simple drunk
enness and its physical conditions. Politically the Psalmist would
say, the people felt themselves helpless, stunned, despairing.
4. Thou bast given a banner to them that fear thee, that
it may be displayed because of the truth. Selah.
Here the Psalm assumes the tone of hopefulness and trust. To
those that fear thee, thy obedient people, thou hast given a banner
to be unfurled because of truth — truth in the sense either of thy
faithfulness to thy promises; or of their fidelity to thee, their God.
In, either sense the reasoning is pertinent  "Selah" indicates
that this consideration should be pondered solemnly.
5. That thy beloved may be delivered; save wWi thy
right hand, and hear me.
It was ground of hope that God had manifested the most tender,
compassionate love for his chosen people. Now, therefore, that
the people thou hast so loved may be saved from their powerful
enemies, hear our prayer [" answer us" being the better reading]
and save with thy strong right hand.
6. God hath spoken in his holiness ; I will rejoice, I will
divide Shechem, and inete out the valley of Succoth.
7. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine ; Ephraim also .
is the strength of mine head ; Judah is my law-giver ;
8. Moab is my washpot ; over Edom will I cast out my
shoe: Philistia, triumph thou because of me.
The mind seems here to fall back upon God's ancient promise
of Canaan to Abraham and his seed. That precious word of
promise "God spake in his holiness ;" consequently his veracity is
forever pledged, and despite of whatever delays or apparent reverses,
it will surely be fulfilled. On the strength of this promise David
sings — " I will rejoice," for I am sure of Canaan in its largest ex
tent. This' promised extent made the great river [Euphrates] its
eastern boundary: "Unto thy seed have I given this land, from
tho river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates (Gen.
15: 18). So also Ex. 23: 21, and Num. 34: 1-13, and Deut.
11: 24. The conquest under Joshua comes up afresh before his
mind and he sees himself in like manner sure of possessing those
extensive regions North and East, which fell within the original
grant, but had not as yet been wrested from Israel's national
enemies. His words, "divide," "mete out," come from the re
cords of Joshua's work (Joshua 13: 7, and 18: 5). "Shechem,"
within the tribe of Ephraim and for ages a prominent city on the

PSALM LX. 249
West of Jordan, represents the cities in that entire section ; while
"Succoth" on the East of Jordan is the representative city for all
the Eastern section. It is probably more than a mere coincidence
that both these cities appear under these names in the account of
Jacob's return from Padan-aram to this promised land to re-assert
his hereditary title and preempt by actual possession. See Gen. 33 :
17, 18. At Succoth he made booths for his cattle, thus giving the place
its significant name. At Shechem he pitched his tent and set up
his altar to the God of Israel. Hence these names were associated
with hallowed, inspiring memories.  " Gilead " (a comprehen
sive name for a large district East of Jordan) " is mine ;" " Man-
asseh" — (a tribe populous enough to hold one large territory on
the West of Jordan and another on the East) "is also mine;"
Ephraim (if not first, yet at least second in population and in
power) is thought of as " the strength* of his head," meaning the
protection of his life — his life-guard ; while Judah has the pre
eminence as bearing the scepter, with reference probably to the
prophecy (Gen. 49: 10) which honored Judah with precisely this
distinction.  Moab is doomed to most servile purposes, tributary
to her far more powerful neighbor. " Upon" (rather than " over'')
" Edom will I cast my shoe " — a thing closely associated with tho
'' washpot," and like that referring (it would seem) to the custom
of putting upon the most menial servants the duty of washing
their masters feet. "Upon Edom will 1 cast my shoe" signifies
that I will give it to him to take care of, preparatory to washing
my feet, or throw it to him or at him to indicate his duty. 
Philistia is a third power in this subject and menial class. Some
critics take these words for irony : "Now, Philistia, send up thy
shouts of victory over the stripling David ! " But they may mean
in sober earnest — "Join thou, 0 Philistia, in the applause which.
shall greet me as the sole monarch of all the lands promised of
old to the seed of Abraham." The tone of this entire passage
(v. 8) is that of confident assurance of the conquest of all these
nations, so long formidable to Israel, but at that time subjugated
through God's blessing upon the arms of David.
9. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will
lead me into Edom?
10. Wilt not thou, O God, which hadst cast us off? and
tliou, 0 God, which didst not go out with our armies ?
But at the time of this writing, these achievements were rather
present to his faith than realized fully in fact. At least one
strong city the marvel of its time for its military strength, the
wonder of the ages for what both nature and art had done for it —
Petra — the rock-hewn capital of ancient Edom, remained to be
snbdued. Who will bring me into that city of strength? Wilt
not thou, 0 God, — thou who in former years didst cast us off with
loathing for our sins, and to whom we had to say — " thou wilt not
go forth with our armies" ? The last verb being future in tense, I

250 PSALM LXI.
give it this turn, the sense manifestly being that in some previous
periods then before the mind, God would not go out with his
people Israel to give them victory. But the Psalmist's prayer is
that God would now in mercy forgive, and appear at length to
make them victorious over their most powerful foes.
11. Give us help from trouble : for vain is the help of
man. 12. Through God we shall do valiantly : for he it is that
shall tread down our enemies.
"Give us help/rom our enemies" (better than "from trouble")
"for vain is salvation from frail man" — this word for. "man '
suggesting strongly his special frailty as one made of the earth.
 "Through God we shall develop strength" — exercise martial
power — seems to be the exact idea, yet of course implying success
and victory in War. The same words appear in Balaam s proph
ecy (Num. 24: 18); " And Edom shall be a possession and Seir
also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do
valiantly."  AUthis comes of being truly in God — which is the
most exact equivalent of the Hebrew words translated, " through
God." Being in harmony with him, hidden in him as our life,
perfectly united with him in sympathy, we can do any thing, or
rather there is nothing that he can not and will not do for us, for
he it is who shall tread down our foes beneath his glorious feet!
PSALM LXI.
In the caption, " To the chief musician upon Neginah, a Psalm
of David," the word "Neginah" belongs to a family which de
scribe a musical instrument. The form of the word seems to im
ply that it was David's, perhaps as being his invention.  We
are left to infer the occasion and date of this Psalm from its con
tents. The utmost we can say is that it might well have been
written by David to describe his experience, during his temporary
exile from Jerusalem in consequence of the conspiracy of Absa
lom. 1. Hear my cry, 0 God ; attend unto my prayer.
2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when
my heart is overwhelmed : lead me to the rock that is
higher than I.
3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong
tower from the enemy.
A Hebrew might say, "From the ends of the earth," with no
reference to the lands on the other side of the globe. The word
for " earth" is often used of the land of Palestine, to the remote

PSALM LXI. 251
districts of which David fled across the Jordan from the face of
Absalom. Or we may take this language as an index of his feel
ing of exile and loneliness when thrust away from the city of his
throne and of his God. To such a heart as David's such an exile
would seem like a banishment to the ends of- the earth.  From
this heart-oppressing exile — his soul overwhelmed with grief — he
cried to God for help. Verily, that was a time for a child of God
to pray I Why should he not? What else could he think of?
Whither else could he turn for help?  "Lead me to the rock
which is too high for me to reach for safety without a guiding
and helping hand." He pleads what God had done in his former
exigencies : " For thou hast in other days been a shelter for me :
So be thou my shelter yet again."  This is one of the comforts
of Christian experience — the logic of past mercies, good to inspire
hope and prayer for help under pending and pressing want.
4. I will abide in thy tabernacle forever : I will trust in
the covert of thy wings. Selah.
" I will abide " is more precisely, " Let me abide " — the peculiar
form of the verb indicating most earnest desire and prayer. This
is the utterance of David s heart. Having loved the house and
worship of God in his holy tabernacle above his chief joy ; having
given to it his best thoughts, his noblest powers of poetry and song ;
and having rested in the sweetness of trust and in the simplicity
of faith upon God's promises to himself and his seed for genera
tions to come, including the Great Messiah as the ultimate con
summation of these promises (See 2 Sam. 7), what could be more
fitting than this outpouring of prayer and this utterance of his
strong confidence in God?-  "Selah" is fully in place here. Let
the pious reader pause and enter into the sympathies of David's
great and god-like heart !
5. For thou, O God, hast heard my vows : thou hast
given me the heritage of those that fear thy name.
"Heard my vows," i. e. the prayer which was in them, which
constituted the soul of those vows. To all the fearers of his name
God gives a heritage of blessings. David is consciously with them
in spirit and character ; God has recognized him as one of them
by giving him in past days his portion of their heritage.
6. Thou wilt prolong the king's life: and his years as
many generations.
7. He shall abide before God forever : O prepare mercy
and truth, which may preserve him.
We may suppose that during this exile David had a sustaining
trust in God that he should live to return to his home, city, and
throne; yet this language manifestly looks quite beyond his own
personal life. The germ of the idea lying here is in the perpetuity

252 PSALM LXI.
of his throne in his posterity. This idea was boldly prominent in
the promise as made him through Nathan the prophet (2 Sam. 7 :
11-20) and reproduced (Ps. 89: 19-37): "When thy days shall be
fulfilled and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy
seed after thee, and I will establish his kingdom." Whereupon
David expressed the deep emotions of his heart in the words:
" Who am I, 0 Lord God, and what is my house that thou hast
brought me hitherto ? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight,
O Lord God ; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for
a great while to come" (2 Sam. 7: 18, 19). The writer of Ps. 89
makes this point peculiarly strong : " Once [ one thing ] have I
sworn by my holiness that I will not' lie unto David. His seed
shall endure forever and his throne as. the sun before me," etc. (Ps.
89 : 35, 36V  It may not be possible for us to say how fully
developed David's views were of that greater Son who was to hold
his throne forever ; but we know that they took hold powerfully of
his heart. We might trace this doctrine also in many prophecies
of later date. The father of John Baptist, filled with the Holy
Ghost, prophesied, saying: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he hath visited and redeemed his people, and hath raised up
u, horn of salvation [ a powerful Savior ] for us in the house of his
servant David as he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets which
have been since the world began" (Luke 1: 67-70.)  It is a
matter of curious interest that the Chaldee Targum paraphrases
these words : " Thou wilt add days upon days to King Messiah; "
and closes the Psalm thus: " I will pay my vows in the day of the
redemption of Israel, and on the day in which King Messiah will be
anointed to reign." This may be supposed to give the traditional
interpretation of the Pgalm by the learned Jews during the period
shortly before the coming of Christ.  " 0 prepare mercy and
truth " — in the sense, appoint or ordain that thy mercy and truth
shall be manifested in his behalf.
8. So will I sing praise unto thy name forever, that I
may daily perform my vows.
So in this hope, inspired by this sweet confidence in thy
promise, I will sing the praises of thy name forever.  Regarding
this Psalm as giving expression to David's thought and feeling
during those bitter days of exile from his throne before Absalom,
we see that his religion was a living power in his soul — a fountain
of inspiration to his hope and endurance — an inexpressible com
fort to his otherwise desolate heart. What time all else, or almost
all, had failed him, his hope still rested on God's promise. Ho
had known God; had trusted him through scenes of sore and
searching trial before; and this new avalanche of trouble only
drove him again to the same Refuge.

PSALM LXII. 253

' PSALM LXII.
In the caption to this Psalm as in Ps. 39 and 77, we have tho
words, " To Jeduthun." See Notes on the caption to Ps. 39.
There is nothing in the Psalm which determines with certainty its
date and special occasion. Some critics locate it in the times of
Absalom ; others, in the times of Saul. . Specially pertinent to the
latter is the very frequent figure of a "rock" to signify safety and
refuge; the intimation also that he stood chiefly alone against
numerous foes (v. 3), and that those foes resorted to slander and
lies for his destruction (v. 4). The central thought — the key-note
of the Psalm is — God only my help and salvation : man powerless
to harm me, but God almighty to defend.
1. Truly my soul waiteth upon God : from him cometh
my salvation.
It is noticeable here that the word for " wait " is properly silent.
"My soul is silent toward God." In reverent awe and quiet trust
my soul sits peacefully before him, biding his time for deliverance,
trustful that he doeth all things well. The same word, in a dif
ferent grammatical form, occurs v. 5: My soul, be thou silent
toward God only.  Another of the very characteristic words of this
Psalm is the first one of this verse, here translated "truly," but
better, "only." It occurs six times in this short Psalm (vs. I, 2, 4,
5, 6, 9). The English version translates it " only " in four of these
cases; " truly," in v. 1, and "surely," in v. 9. The uniform sense
"only" is right. In God only, to the complete exclusion of every
other help, do I put my trust.
2. He only is my rock and my salvation ; he is my
defense ; I shall not be greatly moved.
" My defense '' — my high place, castle, tower, or mountain-top,
lifting me above the missile weapons of my foes.  " Shall not be
greatly moved." Though I may not escape all disturbance from
these foes who seek my life, yet my God will preserve me from
any serious results.
3. How long will ye imagine mischief against a man ? ye
shall be slain all of you : as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as
a tottering fence.
Critically, there are two principal points to be settled in the
construction of this verse : (a) Whether the question, " How long,"
should govern the last clause as well as the first ; (6) Whether the
verb "be slain" is in the active voice or the. passive, since on this
point the best authorities are divided.^  On these points the evi
dence seems to me to favor the former alternative in each case.
So construed, I would translate: "How long, will ye assail [rush
violently upon] a man ? How long will ye, all of you, murderously

254 PSALM LXII.
thrust at one who is only a leaning city-wall, a stone wall pushed
almost over?" The thought is that which David put to Saul
(1 Sam. 24: 14): "After whom is the king of Israel come out?
After whom dost thou pursue ? After a dead dog, after a flea."
4. They only consult to cast him down from his excel
lency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth,
but they curse inwardly. Selah.
They counsel only to hurl him down from his position [i. e., in
the public confidence], and they aim to do this by lies — false
accusations. The suffering party is obviously the same in this
verse as in the preceding, i. e., David, remorselessly persecuted
by his malign enemies. The representation corresponds fully to
his case when persecuted by Saul.
5. My soul, wait thou only upon God ; for my expecta
tion is from him.
6. He only is my rock and my salvation : lie is my de
fense ; I shall not be moved.
7. In God is my salvation and my glory : the rock of my
strength, and my refuge, is in God.
"Wait," i. e., in silent, quiet expectation, and serene trust.
The leading verb means : Be thou silent toward God, O my soul.
Emphatic here is the word " only." Look to God and to him
only ; to no one else ; shut off absolutely all other reliance ; settle
it deeply in thy soul that no other help is to be thought of. His
is all-sufficient; none other can avail to the least purpose what
ever. 8. Trust in him at all times ; ye people, pour out your
heart before him : God is a refuge for us. Selah.
David's faith had been so richly joyous to his own soul, and had
brought him such salvation over his personal enemies, that he can
now commend it most heartily to all people in all their possi
ble emergencies. O, all ye people of every name and of all con
ditions — at all times, under whatever trials or straits — pour out
your heart before this great and bountiful God. He is a refuge
for all who put their trust in him. Pause and think of it ! Bur
dened hearts will here find their burdens lifted ; desolate hearts
will be cheered ; the sad will be made joyful ; the lost will be
saved, in the love and the might of this perfect Savior.
9. Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high
degree are a lie : to be laid in the balance, they are alto
gether lighter than vanity.
Only [better than "surely"], "only a vanity are the sons of
mortals ; only a lie are the sons of mighty men ; in the scales to
go up," i. e., destined or sure to mount' up if put on the scales.

PSALM LXIII. 255
All. these together are less [lighter] than a breath. Two* Hebrew
words for man — the man of the earth, frail ; and the man in power
and dignity, commanding — are brought together here to give force
to this statement : that all men alike — the least or the greatest —
are less than a breath when measured against the Great God.
, 10. Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in rob
bery : if riches increase, set not your heart upon tlxem.
Do not think to accomplish your ends of wealth or power by
oppression; indulge no vain hope of good from robbery; for how
can you prosper in the end, arrayed in the wrong against the
Mighty God ?  The historical reference, if any, in these words,
is not apparent. But it is easy to see that the main doctrine of
the Psalm is applied here to the great mass of human activities in
ordinary life. Take care that ye do not pursue worldly good in
ways that God must abhor, and will sooner or later frustrate and
terribly punish!
11. God hath spoken once ; twice have I heard this ;
that power belongeth unto God.
12. Also unto thee, 0 Lord, belongeth mercy : for thou
renderest to every man according to his work.
. "One thing" [not, "atone time"] "God hath said; these two
things have 1 heard, [i. e., from him] ; viz., that power is to God,
and that to thee, 0 Lord, is mercy, for thou dost render to man
according to his works." These great central truths in respect to
God and his ways with man were impressively revealed to the an
cients of David's time, and indeed to the ages long before. They
are here because they bear strongly on the points contemplated in
this Psalm. This Great God, of boundless power, and of blended
justice and mercy, will for evermore take cognizance of the moral
life of his creature man. Let none think to evade his judgments !
Let the most hardened sinner stand in awe before this great and
holy God! To all who wait before him in silent reverence and
obedient trust, it shall be well; but woe to him who recklessly
disowns his authority and tramples on his law !
PSALM LXIII.
The statement prefixed here, " A Psalm of David when he was
in the wilderness of Judah," leaves the question still open between
his wanderings when fleeing before Saul, and his flight before Ab
salom. During the former, he was often secreting himself in that
wilderness ; in the history of the latter, occur several allusions to
his being in this wilderness. See 2 Sam. 15 : 23, 28, and 16 : 2,
and 17 : 16. The question, however, is substantially settled in
favor of the times of Absalom : (a) by the reference to " the king,"

256 PSALM LXIII.
(v. 11), fthich could scarcely be said of himself in a Psalm refer
ring to the times of Saul, but is entirely in place for the times of
Absalom; (see also Ps. 61: 6); (b) by the strong points in com
mon between this Psalm and others which belong to the later
persecution. Notice especially his longing for the house of God
and its worship, as one who had been at home there for many
sweet years of life. Compare vs. 1, 2 with Ps. 42: 1-4, and 61 :
2-4. We may therefore assign this Psalm to the times of Absalom's
conspiracy. 1. O God, thou art my God ; early will I seek thee : my
soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry
and thirsty land, where no water is ;
2. To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen
thee in the sanctuary.
In this hour of extremest trial, when his own son heads a pow
erful rebellion, and hosts of his old friends forsake him and
combine to sustain this uprising, his soul turns to his God as to
his best and only capable Helper. "Thou art my God" — with a
precious emphasis on "my;' I will seek thee both early and
earnestly — with the early dawn of morning, and as those do who
are up betimes to indulge the most yearning desire of their heart.
Thirst in the dry wilderness ; his very body and soul fainting and
longing for God, as the parched tongue for water — set forth his
case. 0 might he see God's power and glory revealed here and
now in his behalf, as he had often heard of, and virtually seen, in
the worship of the sanctuary, where the glorious deeds of Israel's
God, in ancient days, had been the theme of speech and song. It
was not precisely that those deeds of power and glory had been
done in the sanctuary, but that they had been brought to mind
there — reproduced and re-impressed amid those scenes of wor
ship. 3. Because thy loving-kindness is better than life, my
lips shall praise thee.
4. Thus will I bless thee while I live : I will lift up my
hands in thy name.
"Better than life" — not merely than such a life as this here in
the desert, but better than any life — better than life itself, thought
of as what men most desire and love. Because thy loving-kind
ness is so precious my lips' shall praise thee; I will bless [honor
and praise] thee, long as I live.  To "lift up the hands" toward
God indicates prayer; perhaps praise also. "In thy name" — in
honor of it, and in appropriate worship. See Ps. 28: 2.
5. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness ;
and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.
6. When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on
thee in the night watches.

PSALM LXIII. 257
7. Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the
shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.
Assuming that at this Stage of his experiences he is yet in tho
wilderness; weariness and thirst upon him; the great issue of
battle still pending; nothing to assure him of victory except God's
faithfulness in promise and his strong arm, it was a bold thing for
David to say — "My soul shall be satisfied as with most luxurious
food, my mouth shall praise thee with lips of joy" as I think of
thee in the dead of night, and all this because thou- hast in other
days been my Almighty helper. I know thy wing is outspread
over me. Why shall not this be all-sufficient for my protection in
future and for my peace and even joy through these nights and days
of sternest peril and most critical exigency ?
8. My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand
upholdeth me.
My soul cleaveth to thee, following earnestly after thee, for the
original words blend these two ideas. I can not let thee go ; I
cling to thy side, pressing upon thy steps.
9. But those tliat seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go
into the lower parts of the earth.
10. They shall fall by the sword : they shall be a por
tion for foxes. .
The original leaves it in some doubt whether David means —
They seek my life to their own destruction; or, as the English
version puts it, seek my life to destroy it. In the former con
struction, the two clauses of the verse are parallel in sentiment —
which is common Hebrew usage.  "Go into the lower parts of
the earth" — the grave, under ground.  Men shall pour them
out, or they shall be poured out upon the hand of the sword, is the
literal rendering ; the sense being this — given over to its power. 
A portion for jackals, rather than " foxes " — animals that prey
upon the slain.
11. But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that
sweareth by him shall glory : but the mouth of them that
speak lies shall be stopped.
"The king," is said of himself, but of himself because he was
God's anointed. He shall rejoice in God who is ever faithful to
his anointed servant.  Every one that sweareth in or by this
God of Israel and standeth in allegiance to him instead of turning
rebel, shall glory; but the mouth of them that "speak lies" — for
swearing their oath of allegiance and swearing to the new usurper,
shall be violently shut.

258 PSALM LXIV.

PSALM LXIV.
In this Psalm, the short caption, "To the chief musician, a
Psalm of David," gives not the least hint of the time or occasion
of this writing. Its location, following Psalms (supposably, 61-63,
and almost certainly 61 and 63) which refer to the times of Absa
lom, combines with its obvious fitness to those times to render this
date highly probable. Recurring to that history as we have it
(2 Sam. 15-17) we shall notice (especially in 2 Sam. 15: 31-37,
and 16: 15-25, and 17: 1-14), how very prominently the plans
and counsels of that rebellion are brought before us, and how
deeply David's heart was affected by the part played therein by his
old, long-tried counselor, Ahithophel. It should be noted also
that of the two points of advice offered by Ahithophel, the first, the
one followed, was not only crafty, sagacious, but horribly Satanic,
unutterably heartless as toward his old friend, and as void of
purity and honor as can well be imagined. For Absalom's suc
cess, doubtless the first thing was to commit his followers beyond
all possible retreat — to make the breach between them and their
late sovereign too wide to be bridged over again. So Ahithophel
counseled Absalom to outrage his father's bed in the presence of
all Israel ! We are amazed that' even political rebellion could
have gone down to such a depth of vileness. We shall not won
der that David's soul felt this wrong intensely, and gave some ex
pression in his sacred Psalms, both to his deep reprobation of it
and to the moral lessons which God gave men from it in the way
of swift retribution upon such monstrous and notorious depravity.
 In this Psalm the . central theme is the counselings of his
enemies against him ; the secrecy and malignity of their plots ;
their exultation in the. assurance of success, coupled with God's
swift and terrible retribution under which their schemes recoiled
fatally upon themselves — from which result the nation learned
something more of God, and the righteous rejoiced with great
joy- 1. Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer : preserve my
life from fear of the enemy.
The Hebrew word for " prayer " suggests an outflowing from the
heart of sighs and moans.  Preserve, not my heart from fearing
the enemy, but my life from that which is to be feared — the ruin
he plots against me.
2. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked ; from
the insurrection of the workers of iniquity :
3. Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend Hieir
bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words :
4. That they may shoot in secret at the perfect : sud
denly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

PSALM LXIV. 259
In v. 2 the original word for " insurrection" should mean, either
the crowded throng, or the tumult they make ; probably the former,
with reference to the great numerical force of this uprising under
Absalom. It seems that the masses of the people were in it.
Then their leading spirits were thought of as traducing the old
king, doing their utmost to justify this rebellion by abusing his
administration and blackening his character. They whet their
tongue as they would a sword; their arrows are bitter words. Ah,
how bitter is such fatal slander, aimed not only at the life of this
aged and noble king, but at the ruin, politically, morally, relig
iously, of his realm.  As usual, preparing the bow for immediate
use is called "treading the arrow" — the bow being sprung with
the foot.  " Shoot at the perfect" — one who is entirely innocent
of the charges they bring against him, and therefore, as to the mat
ter in hand, perfect, sinless.
5. They encourage themselves in an evil matter : they
commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall
see them ?
Strictly, they make strong, not their heart but their wicked thing,
the vile plot they are consecrating. They consult to hide their
snares, etc.
6. They search out iniquities ; they accomplish a diligent
search : both the inward thought of every one of Hiem, and
the heart, is deep.
They search out the wickedest things possible, as if the highest
point of their ambition was to reach the consummation of wicked
ness.  Instead of our translation, " They accomplish a diligent
search," the Hebrew requires the first person plural, thus : " We
have perfected a well-devised scheme." -Dr. Alexander trans
lates : [They say] we are ready — a consummate plan ! " The
Psalmist closes, saying — Their plans are deep laid, etc.
7. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow ; suddenly
shall they be wounded.
As they had put their arrow to the bow (vs. 3, 4) to shoot sud
denly and in secret ; so God now suddenly lets fly his arrow at
them ; and they are the wounded men — they, not those whom
they wickedly sought to slay. Literally, the wounds are their own
— upon themselves. This is retribution — so perfectly in manner
like the sin it punishes as to suggest to all mankind why these
shafts of the Almighty strike there! This is God's way.
8. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon
themselves : all that see them shall flee away.
Critics differ slightly in the grammatical construction of the
first clause, but concur substantially in the thought expressed,
viz., that the conspirators spoken of wrought out their own de-

260 PSALM LXV.
struction by the very schemes of slander and mischief which
they concocted for another's ruin. And so they made it (God's
arrow, or the ruin it symbolizes) fall upon themselves, even their
tongue; i. e., they, personified by their guilty tongue, brought
down this recoil of judgment upon themselves.  "Flee away,"
scattering, the word suggests, as wanderers and vagabonds.
9. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of
God ; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.
10. The righteous shall be glad in the Loed, and shall
trust in him ; and all the upright in heart shall glory.
Perhaps, "shall declare" it to be God's work. They shall
have wiser views of his working than ever before. The moral
impression upon the nation at large and upon the world shall be
wholesome. The righteous shall feel fresh confidence that God
will defend their cause against the wicked. All the upright will
sympathize with the pious king of Israel in what God has wrought
for his deliverance.
PSALM LXV.
The caption, " To the chief Musician, a Psalm and song of
David," gives not the least intimation as to the historic occasion
of this Psalm. The Psalm itself is equally destitute of any defi
nite historic allusion. It is admirably pertinent to a national
thanksgiving for abundant harvests, especially for rain after
drought and impending or real famine. There are points in it
which would make it appropriate to David's return to his beloved
Zion after his flight and exile through fear of Absalom, and doubly
so if (as some have supposed) this return were accompanied with
rain and plenty after famine. But these points should be regarded
as hypothetical only. Fortunately the Psalm loses none of its rare
beauty by reason of our uncertainty as to its original adaptation.
Wo may take its sweet words and apply them to very many of the
varied scenes of ever shifting human life ; for when is God other
or less than the Infinite Fountain of all blessings I
1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion : and unto
thee shall the vow be performed.
2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh
come. According to our Hebrew text, the word translated "waiteth"
is a noun, used often in the sense of silence ; here, of silent trust.
(See Notes on Ps. 62 : 1). " To thee, O God, belong silent trust
and grateful praise; these become thee and thou art worthy to
receive them from thy worshipers in Zion." " To thee let the vow
be performed." This is appropriate to the case of David coming
home to the holy city to pay the vow made to God in the day of

PSALM LXV. 261
his calamity from treason and exile.  Unto God, so well known
as the Hearer of prayer, let all the needy come ! And their prayer
having been answered, let them come yet again with their grateful
thank-offering I
3. Iniquities prevail against me : as for our transgressions,
thou shalt purge them away.
The Hebrew gives here " Words " [or matters] " of iniquity " —
which certainly may refer to malignant plots of mischief concocted
by Absalom and his party; or might apply to the machinations
and slanders of Saul for his destruction.  "Prevail; " are too
strong for me in my unaided strength to withstand; but (the im
plication is) the Lord became my salvation.  " Our transgres
sions — thou shalt cover them ; " the usual word for atone, hide from
view by forgiveness. So far forth as the calamities which befel us
were the fruit of our sins, thou hast graciously forgiven the sin,
and then relieved us from those calamities. This is the experience
of God's children in all ages.
4. Blessed is tlie man whom thou choosest, and causest to
approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts : we
shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy
boly temple.
These words of David become specially impressive considered as
said and sung after those sad plaints of a soul thirsting and long
ing for God in a dry and desolate land far away from the city and
sanctuary where God revealed his presence. O blessed the man
chosen of God and brought very near, even to dwell in thy courts :
O shall we not all be satisfied, (filled with satisfying joy, the word
means) from the goodness of thy house, that holy temple I But
the words bear a precious truth for any and all of the children of
God who have known his presence and his love in his earthly
sanctuary. 5. By. terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer
us, O God of our salvation ; who airt the confidence of all the
ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the
sea: 6. Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains;
being girded with power : »
7. Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their
waves, and the tumult of the people.
We can not affirm that in these words David thought of those
terrible things in righteousness by which God answered his prayer
for life and kingdom when he caused so many thousands of Israel
to fall in the dread battle of the wood of Ephraim, and his an
guished heart bewailed so bitterly the death ot the much loved but
guilty Absalom; yet we can see that the words are signally
12

262 PSALM LXV.
apposite to those circumstances. It often costs terrible things in
righteousness to right the cruel wrongs of earth. Justice is more
than precious — it is glorious ; but its ministrations of deserved
retribution are not seldom " terrible." Yet it is as " the God of
our salvation" that he deals such fearful vengeance on guilty
oppressors.  Beautifully is he said. to be "the confidence of all
the ends of the earth " — worthy to be trusted by people of every
nation, every clime under the whole heavens I Think of his power !
How firmly does he set the mountains on their foundations ! How
easily can he hush . the roar of the ocean and make his breakers
quiet ! And the tumults of nations with like infinite ease. The
surgings of that uprising under Absalom, how speedily did the
voice of the Lord hush them into silence !
8. They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid
at thy tokens : thou makest the outgoings of the morning
and evening to rejoice.
This power is felt to the ends of the earth, for Israel's God is not
a merely provincial Deity, as the heathen gods were thought to
be, but the true God of the whole wide world.  " The outgoings
of the morning and of the evening" should mean primarily the
regions of the East where the sun first appears and " goes forth as
a bridegroom, rejoicing to run a race," and of the West where he
goes from human view; then, secondly, the people of those ex
treme quarters of the earth — which is the sense here. Thou
glorious God givest joy to all the living, even to the most remote
and least known regions of the earth.
9. Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it : thou greatly
enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water :
thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided
for it.
10. Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly : thou
settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with
showers : thou blessest the springing thereof.
It is God and not Nature apart from God, who visits the earth
with rain and in the rain. The "river of God" like "mountain
,of God," is a great river, a stream swollen with his own powerful
rains.  "Thou wilt prepare their corn when thou shalt have so
prepared it (the earth) to produce it." The two verbs which I
translate prepare are in Hebrew the same one. God insures corn
by first insuring the fertility of the earth.  The first two verbs
in v. 10 may be taken as imperatives: "Its furrows drench, its
ridges beat down;" with showers thou wilt make it soft and so
bless its vegetating forces — the upspringing of the young plants
toward maturity. A fine poetic description of the effect of timely
showers upon vegetation.

PSALM LXV. 263
11. Thou crownest the year with thy goodness ; and thy
paths drop fatness.
12. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness : and
the little hills rejoice on every side.
13. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys
also are covered over with corn ; they shout for joy, they
also sing.
In the first clause, perhaps better thus: "Thou crownest the
year of thy goodness,' i. e., the year which thou art pleased to
bless with abundant fertility; "thy paths" — the footsteps of thy
going forth upon the face of the fields — " drop with fatness " —
most luxuriant fertility.  "The pastures of the wilderness" —
such there were, for in the life and language of Palestine, the
wilderness was not a sterile desert, but a hilly, rough country,
unsuitable for tillage, but often fine for pasturage. These pastures
are clothed with flocks. Poetically, the hills "gird on joy as the
maiden girds about her robes of beauty. Pastures glorying in
their flocks, valleys waving with yellow grain, join the chorus of
song in praise to their great Maker. Do they sympathize with the
glad hearts of the hungry household and lead off in praise to
Him who gives them their burdens of blessing ? How much more
should man, so blessed, remember intelligently the ever present
hand of his well known Father.  High above the poetic beauty
of this exquisite Psalm is the moral beauty of the sentiment which
sees God himself and not Nature only nor her so-called "laws," in
the rains, the green pastures, and the valleys covered over with corn.
It is God who visits the earth, it is the river of God which bears
along the copious waters; "Thou ma-kest it soft with showers;"
Thou blessest the springing up of its vegetable growths ; it is thy
paths — thine own very footsteps over our fields — that distill fatness
and abundance ; it is unto Thee most appropriately that pastures
and valleys shout the chorus of praise and sing for joy I Every
thing full of God; his hand and his footsteps every-where. There
is no chill of a heartless and Godless philosophy, falsely so-called, on
the heart of this inspired poet; his glowing soul is warmed by
the felt presence of an active, energizing God whose handiwork
and whose blessed footsteps he sees in every thing that grows and
in every agency that makes growth and beauty and fruitfulness on
the face Of this fair world.
By a very interesting but logical process, Isaac Taylor infers
from this Psalm the general culture, the tastes, and the piety of
the Hebrew people of David's time. The data given are the
Psalm rtself ; the fact that it was sung in the public worship of
the sanctuary before and by the assembled thousands of Israel —
sung manifestly with spirit and enthusiasm; with intelligence
therefore, and with some adequate conception of its sentiments.
Now could a people in whose national literature such a Psalm has
a prominent place — nay more, in whose liturgy, in whose stated

264 PSALM LXVI.
worship it has its cherished place ; on whose, annual thanksgiving
festival, the great feast of the tabernacles, we may suppose it
formed the center and culminating point of their enthusiasm —
could a people so trained, capable of being charmed by the poetry
of such a song and of being lifted heavenward and Godward by
its divine sympathies and its recognition of an ever present God,
be only a "horde of rude and ignorant barbarians?"

PSALM LXVI.
The caption here names no author ; alludes to no historic occa
sion. We have only : " To the chief Musician ; a Song, a Psalm."
In quite an unusual degree the scope of this Psalm seems to. be
general rather than specific, witnessing to the glory of God's works
of deliverance wrought for his people in ancient times, as at the
Red Sea and the Jordan ; inferring thence his worthiness to be ex
alted and extolled in the praises, not of Israel alone, but of all
the nations ; with impressive allusion to his chastening hand upon
his people for their discipline; from which, humbled and proved,
they found mercy in answer to prayer, and then bore witness to
the loving faithfulness of their God.  It is noticeable that
throughout vs. 6-12, the writer speaks in the first person plural —
" we," "our," "us; " but in vs. 13-20, altogether in the singular,
as if giving his own personal experiences only. But no speciality
of meaning is intended by this variety. Every reader, ¦ every
singer of this song, may make these words his own. — —Some
critics suggest that the strain of this Psalm corresponds so well
with that of Ps. 46, that it may probably be referred to the same
date and occasion. It seems to me equally probable that it bears
a close relation, in time and purpose, to the 65th — a view, which
in the absence of other evidence either way, its proximity favors.
But we must be content to affirm nothing positively on this ques
tion. 1. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands :
2. Sing forth the honor of his name : make his praise
glorious. The English word " noise " has some unpleasant associations, of
which the Hebrew word here used is innocent. It denotes none
but joyous sounds, in glad earnest, from full hearts. The call for
such joyous acclaim is not to Israel only, but to all lands, and
rightly — for the God of Israel is the God of every land, of all the
nations. This great fact their psalmody was careful not to over
look.  " Make his praise glorious " — literally, a glorious thing, a
glory; let it be such as will give the Great God distinctive and
peculiar honor, high above all other honor and glory.

PSALM LXVI. 265
3. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works !
through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies sub
mit themselves unto thee.
4. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto-
thee ; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.
How should thy works impress the nations with fear and awe, as
toward One whose power none can withstand I The Hebrew word
is the common one for the fear and reverence due to God. 
" Submit themselves " — in the sense of straining the truth in
order to secure terms of peace — the case of the Gibeonites toward
Joshua (Josh. 9) being a standing example. The Psalmist would
not recommend a false and treacherous submission, but puts in
strong light the impression of his resistless power, which God has
made upon the nations. David has the same word in the same
sense (Ps. 18 : 44).  All the earth shall worship thee, the true
God, in songs of heart-felt homage, celebrating thy name' with in
telligent appreciation of its significance, i. e., with worship, neither
blind as to their intelligence, nor forced as to their will.  This
glorious prophecy stands here as if it rested on God's infinite
worthiness ot such homage. Let it be the gladness of our hearts
that One so supremely worthy of the pure, intelligent homage of
"all the earth" has fully purposed to secure it, some day ; it lies
in the counsels of his blessed will, and can not fail of ultimate ac
complishment.  "Selah ; " we can afford to pause and dwell on
a truth so inspiring, so precious !
5. Come and see the works of God : he is terrible in his
doing toward the children of men.
6. He turned the sea into dry land : they went through
the flood on foot : there did we rejoice in him.
Resuming the thought of v. 3, the Psalmist invites us to look
more considerately on those glorious achievements of Israel's God.
" Terrible " — the same word here as there.  The first reference
is to the Red Sea; the next to the passage of the Jordan, here
called the " flood," but in the Hebrew the river, yet always
in the sense of a great river. Did not we — the whole nation saved
by the very arm of -our Almighty King — rejoice in him there ? So
the song of Moses and Miriam on the hither shore of the Sea wit
nessed. (Ex. 15: 1-22).
7. He ruleth by his power forever ; his eyes behold the
nations : let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
Those deeds of the Red Sea and the Jordan were no spasmodic,
transient outburst of power, but indicate a rule and sway that are
indeed eternal, abiding, evermore sustained, and never waning. 
His eyes look into the nations, piercing, scanning perfectly. Let
rebels never lift up themselves against him !

266 PSALM LXVI.
8. O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his
praise to be heard :
9. Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our
. feet to be moved.
In the phrase, " holdeth our soul in life," the Hebrew verb has
the sense, to set or put as a special act, and does not suggest that
constant divine agency in sustaining human life which our English
version seems to imply. I take it to mean : Who lifts us from peril
akin to death into safety and well-being, real life. So the next
clause : Does not permit us to be jostled and thrown down from
our standing.
10. For thou, O God, hast proved us : thou hast tried "us,
as silver is tried.
11. Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidest affliction
upon our loins.
12. Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads ; we
went through fire and through water : but thou broughtest
us out into a wealthy place.
Here are special illustrations of this general law of God's deal
ings with his people, introduced by "for." In chastisement for
moral discipline, God had tried and proved his people; bringing
them into cruel subjection to oppressors; but when they had
become penitent, he brought them again into abundance. 
" Caused men to ride over our heads " is rather to ride at our head,
in power over us and we in subjection. " Through fire and through
water" — figures of sore national calamity. "A wealthy place."
The Hebrew word occurs elsewhere only in Ps. 23 : 5 ; '*' My cup
runneth over" — is abundance itself. It indicates prosperity and
plenty with allusion to abundant moisture — so essential in the
climate of Palestine.
13. I will go into thy house with burnt offerings : I will
pajithee my vows,
14. Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath
spoken, when I was in trouble.
15. I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with
the incense of rams : I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
The pious Israelite found in the law of Moses what sacrifices
and offerings were appropriate to express his gratitude to God for
deliverance from affliction. The mercy that turned his sorrow to
joy—that lifted his burden off and brought him peace and rest,
was in principle the same thing to the individual as to the nation.
Hence the transition from what seems to be national history in vs.
8-12 to individual experience in vs. 13-20 is by no means violent,
for it involves only the same universal law of God's moral admin
istration.

PSALM LXVII. 267
16. Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will
declare what he hath done for my soul.
17. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled
with my tongue.
Beautifully he invites all the pious to hear him testify how
divine mercy heard his prayer and gave him the richest of bless
ings.-: — " Done for my soul " — but the constant use of this Hebrew
word for " soul " in the sense of life demands a broader application
here than to merely spiritual blessings. "Done for my life " is the
more exact rendering.  " Extolled with my tongue," but literally,
praise was under my tongue — praise in the sense of extolling him
high in esteem and glory.
18. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not
hear me :
19. But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to
the voice of my prayer.
20. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my
prayer, nor his mercy from me.
The closer rendering is — "If I had regarded iniquity in my
heart, the Lord would not have heard me." But verily he has
heard me, and I bless his name for it, and put my case before all
that fear him both to encourage and to guide them in their prayer.
The Great and Holy God looks for a sincere and honest heart in
those who bow the knee before him, and will hear none else.

PSALM LXVII.
This Psalm, short but rich, stands before us with no hint as to
its author or date, and with no allusions which can throw the least
light upon its occasion except that v. 6 refers to an abundant har
vest. The verb there is in the past tense — " The earth has yielded
her increase." This therefore may be a thanksgiving song for a
bountiful harvest — upon which fact is built the prayer and the
prophecy that He who has shown such mercy and such power to
save, will also bathe all the nations with his light and glory, and
fill them with the blessings of his salvation.
1. God be merciful unto us, and bless us ; and cause his
face to shine upon us ; Selah.
2. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving
health among all nations.
" Cause his face to shine upon us," with face not averted in
wrath but turned toward us, beaming with kindness. Nothing
can be more plain or more pertinent and beautiful than this figure.
As the human face reveals the human heart, so is God's face

268 PSALM LXVII.
assumed to reveal his. This language seems to be an imitation of
the doxology prescribed for the priests (Num. .6: 23-27).  This
light of God's face is thought of also as bringing to us the knowl
edge of himself and of his moral government over men — " That
thy way may be known upon the earth," toward all the sons of
men.  The rare phrase, " saving health," translates the one usual
Hebrew word for salvation. It can mean nothing more or other
than that here. What the translators of our version meant beyond
or different from this does not appear. The prayer is that all the
nations may become acquainted with the salvation which God has
provided for them.
3. Let the people praise thee, O God ; let all the people
praise thee.
The English word " people " faithfully translates the Hebrew,
since the latter admits of being applied to God's chosen Israel, and
also of being used for all the inhabitants of the world. " All the
people " must of course have this widest possible sense. The
Psalmist therefore exhorts all the nations of men to recognize the
true God and render him due homage and praise.
4. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy : for thou
shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations
upon earth. Selah.
Well may they all rejoice and sing with exceeding joy because
this great and righteous God rules so perfectly, evermore judging
righteously. The word for "govern" is primarily lead, i. e., to
take charge of them as a shepherd of his flock, to guide their
'->, steps, shape their welfare, control their destinies.
\ 5. Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people
prraise thee.
( 6. Then shall the earth yield her increase ; and .God,
even our own God, shall bless us.
''7. God shall bless us ; and all the ends of the earth shall
fear him.
The refrain of this sweet song is this summons of all the people
to_ praise.  As said above, the tense here is not future but past,
with no word corresponding to " then." " The earth has produced
her increase ; " and since special mention is made of this, we may
assume the production to have been abundant and a fit occasion
for ^thanksgiving as well as a ground of assurance that the same
beneficent God would fill the world with his blessings and bring
all the ends of the earth to fear and praise his name.  As we
hdve had occasion to notice repeatedly, the religion of Israel was
no narrow, exclusive thing. Though the center of its worship
,Was Jerusalem, its circumference embraced all the nations of the
'earth. Its thought was — The God we worship is no provincial

PSALM LXVIII. 269
Deity, such as other nations distinctly recognized their little gods
to be, but is the God of all the earth, the Great Maker and Ruler
of all ; and he will surely assert his rights in due time and bring
all the nations to know himself, and to give him the loving wor
ship of obedient, grateful, adoring hearts.

PSALM LXVIII
This Psalm is ascribed to David. Its key-note is in striking
harmony with that of the three Psalms next preceding — high
praises to the God of Israel; in which not only all of Israel but
all the nations of the earth are summoned to join. In the special
point of being a r&ume" or recapitulation of the prominent mani
festations of God's power and goodness toward Israel, this Psalm
resembles Ps. 18 — with this main difference, that whereas that
Psalm pertains specially to the personal history of David, this
gives in general the history of God's ways with the entire Hebrew
nation.  As to its date and special occasion, some have located
it " at the removing of the ark. ' But it does not seem to be par
allel with Ps. 24 and 2 Sam. 6.  Others assume (on their inter
pretation of 2 Sam. 11: 11) that the ark was with the army of
Joab at the final conquest of Ammon and of its stronghold,
Rabbah (2 Sam. 12 : 26-31), and that this song was composed to
be sung upon its victorious re-establishment in Mt. Zion. In my
view, this theory that the ark itself went to the field of war lacks
support. But the fact that this was the last recorded war of con
quest waged by David against his national enemies favors the
date of this Psalm upon this occasion. Its allusion to several
tribes other than Judah (v. 27) forbids our placing it later than
the revolt; earlier than David no critic would think of placing it.
1. Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered : let them
also that hate him flee before him.
The point to be specially noted here is that these are the very
words used by Moses in the wilderness when the ark was taken
up and moved forward at the head of the marshaled hosts of Is
rael (Num. 10 : 35). This seems to have been the customary an
nouncement on every such occasion. When it rested the form
was, "Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel." As
the ark bore upon and over it the visible symbol of Jehovah's
presence, it was pertinent to speak of God as arising in his power
and majesty whenever the ark \vas taken up, and as returning
to his rest among his people when the ark rested.  Here the
Psalmist continues the thodght : Let God so arise in the manifes
tations of his power that his haters shall flee before him.
2. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away : as wax

270 PSALM LXVIII.
melteth before the fire, so let the wicked perish at the pres
ence of God.
The' figures are of the plainest : As high winds drive the smoke
and fire melts wax, so let the wicked perish before thy presence.
Of course wicked men are thought of as opposing God with ma
lign effort to thwart his plans, break down his kingdom, withstand
•his work of grace toward his people. Why should not the Great
Father protect his children and indeed all his creatures against
whatever Satan may devise and Satan's servants attempt for their
destruction ?
3. But let the righteous be glad ; let them rejoice before
God : yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.
Be glad that such a God reigns — reigns so wisely, so benevo
lently, so gloriously I Let his people rejoice exceedingly that op
position against his throne can harm none but the opposers them
selves. 4. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name : extol him
that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice
before him.
' " Extol him that rideth upon the heavens " is magnificent
poetry; but critical justice to David and to his Hebrew words
compels us to translate, " Cast up the highway for him who rideth
in the desert," etc. — the conception being the same which appears
in Isa. 57 : 14, and 62 : 10, and essentially in. Isa. 40 : 3, 4. The God
of Israel is thought of as marching at the head of his people
through the Arabian desert ; before whom, therefore, as before
other kings in like circumstances, a highway should be cast up ;
mountains leveled; valleys filled; the crooked made straight and
the rough smooth — for his march.  " By his name Jah " — a con
traction for Jehovah, the earliest appearance of which is in the
song of Moses and Miriam (Ex. 15 : 2).
5. A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows,
is God in his holy habitation.
6. God setteth the solitary in families : be bringeth out
those which are bound with chains : but the rebellious dwell
in a dry land.
To his high and perpetual glory, the God of Israel is the Refuge
and salvation of the needy and friendless. V. 6 applies this gen
eral principle to the special case of Israel brought forth from Egypt
and ultimately planted in Canaan.  "The solitary set in. fam
ilies " are rather the lonely, the unbefriended and homeless ones,
made to dwell in houses — the change. of condition from Egypt to
Canaan, and not as some have supposed, from a state of celibacy
to the domestic condition of families.  The middle clause of v. 6
should be read—" The captives he brought forth into prosperity,"

PSALM LXVIII. 271
with .the same reference to Egyptian bondage, exchanged for tho
blessings of Canaan. The word which our translators mado
"chains" is now generally admitted to mean good fortune, all
good things.  " Only the rebellious abide in a sun-burnt land."
For such and such only, God has no favors.
7. O God, when thou wentest forth before thy people,
when thou didst march through the wilderness ; Selah :
8. The earth shook, the heavens also dropped at the
presence of God : even Sinai itself was moved at the presence
of God, the God of Israel. ,
Sublimely God is here thought of as marching in his pillar of
cloud and fire at the head of his marshaled people from Egypt
through the wilderness, manifesting his presence pre-eminently on
Sinai. Then and there "the earth shook" (See Ex. 19: 16-18);
" the heavens dripped " rather than " dropped " — the fearful thun-
derings being at least conceived of as accompanied by rain as
usual.  The original words, " this Sinai " [or " that Sinai "], are
construed by some as a parenthesis — this was at Sinai; but by
others supplying the verb "shook" from the beginning of the
verse— which latter seems more in the line of thought, thus : Even
that well known Mt. Sinai shook and trembled exceedingly — a fact
which the records of Moses made very prominent.
9. Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby
thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
Good critics are sharply divided on the question whether the
two Hebrew words translated "plentiful rain" (literally a rain
of abundance or a rain of free gifts) refer precisely to a great
rain,' or to a gracious bestowment of various blessings, e. g., Manna ;
quails ; water from the rock, etc. The connection shows that these
were the blessings given the people in their wilderness life. The
facts of the case therefore favor the latter construction, and so also
does the fact that the verb for " send " is a sacrificial term, " wave,"
used continually of the " wave-offering." God waved over them
his full hand laden with various and precious blessings. The
Hebrew word for " plentiful " is a noun borrowed also from the
sacrificial vocabulary — the free-will offerings. The fact that both
these contiguous words suggest the sacrificial system strongly
favors the construction above preferred.  The Hebrew noun for
rain * always means of itself a great rain. How often when God's
people [his " inheritance "] were weary, did he refresh them, not
precisely with rain, but with these various gifts of his miraculous
hand 1
10. Thy congregation hath dwelt therein : thou, O God,
hast prepared of thy goodness for the poor.
" Thy congregation " — a word quite unusual in this sense, mean-
otw*

272 PSALM LXVIII.
ing primarily a living animal; then, a flock; and here, God's-flock,
his chosen people of whom he was Shepherd. They have dwelt'in
it [Canaan] ; thou hast provided and wilt still in the same way for
thy needy ones. The last verb is future, implying confidence in
God's future and perpetual protection.
11. The Lord gave the word : great was the company of
those that published it.
The thought of the poet is on the conquest of Canaan: " The
Lord gave the word " — but this can not well be the word of com
mand for the battle, but rather the word of summons to the victor's
song. I assume this from the suggestive words that follow — " the
women who shouted the glad news were a great host." This is
expressed by one Hebrew participle which is feminine, referring
therefore to women ; it means, to proclaim glad tidings, and must
mean here the glad tidings of victory. For the historic custom —
women singing songs of victory, See Ex. 15: 20; Judg. 5 and 11:
34, and 1 Sam. 18: 6, and 21 : 11, and 29; 5.  Some points of
the song follow.
12. Kings of armies did flee apace : and she that tarried
at home divided the spoil.
Kings heading great armies [Hebrew hosts'] fled;, they fled; i. e.,
fled in consternation ; were completely routed. The matrons, re
maining securely at home shared the spoil — this being the usual
custom when the rout was so entire that no enemy remained to be
feared. 13. Though ye have lain among the pots, yet shall ye be
as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers
with yellow gold.
There seems to be not the least authority for the translation,
" pots." The word occurs in Hebrew use in the sense of stalls for
cattle, places provided for them to stand, sheltered securely. The
word is here in the dual number, the sense being : When [after
these great victories over the kings of Canaan] ye shall lie repos
ing among or between the stalls for your cattle, in the quiet of
pastoral life, " ye shall be like the wings of a dove tipped with
silver, and her feathers with the yellowness of gold " — silver and
gold becoming suddenly abundant from the spoils of the conquered
Canaanites. 14. When the Almighty scattered kings in it, it was
ivhite as snow in Salmon.
The same "kings" referred to in v. 12, "scattered" in those
fearful routes recorded Josh. 10 and 11. "In it" — the land of
Canaan.  "It snowed in Salmon" or Zalmon — a low mountain.
spoken of Judg. 9: 48, deeply wooded, and therefore densely
shaded, from which fact it takes its name. But as to the exact

PSALM LXVIII. 273
import of these words, critics are divided, some saying: The
change in your condition is like that when the brightness of snow
'blends with the deep shades of the forest; others: the bleaching
bones of the slain Canaanites are as snow on Zalmon. To the
latter it might be objected that it takes time for the bones of
slaughtered armies to assume this appearance. Also, that the
context .demands the sense of joy after sorrow, to the victorious
Hebrews. 15. The hill of God is as the bill of Bashan ; a high
¦hill as the hill of Bashan.
16. Why leap ye, ye high hills ? this is the hill which
God desireth to dwell in ; yea, the Loed will dwell in it
forever. God's hill can be no other than Zion — the hill God had chosen
for his dwelling-place among his people. "Bashan," east of the
Jordan, was physically loftier, more grand ; but still, the glory of
God's presence on Zion made it surpass Mt. Bashan indefinitely. 
" An high hill " is more precisely a hill of lofty peaks, high head
lands.  "Why leap ye ?" fails to give the sense of the Hebrew,
which is : Why do ye look askance, invidiously, ye higher mount
ains ? Why do ye envy Mt. Zion this rare distinction of being
the chosen mount of God ? It bears this honor, simply because
God has chosen it (in the love of his heart for it, for the Hebrew
word involves this thought); yea, Jehovah (not merely Elohim,
but Jehovah), the covenant-keeping God of Israel, will make it his
dwelling forever. Such transitions from the name Elohim to the
name Lord (Jehovah), must not be attributed to chance or to a taste
for variety. We must find the reason in its special significance
as a name of God.
17. The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thou
sands of angels : the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in
the holy place.
Those kings of Canaan were fully up to their times in the art
of war. They were especially strong in war-chariots, of which
Jabin of Hazor had nine hundred, iron-armed. See also Judg. 1 :
19, and Josh. 11 : 4, 6, 9. The same was true of David's most
powerful enemies (2 Sam. 8 : 4, and 10 : 18). Hence when the
Poet-Psalmist would set forth the might of Jehovah as against
them, he measures his power by his war-chariots — "two myriads;
thousands repeated," i. e., re-duplicated indefinitely; and, more
than all, the Jehovah in them, as at Sinai, the holy mountain.
There is no Hebrew word here which can suggest the idea of
" angels." The words used set forth the immense riumber of his
war-chariots — the object being to show that, in the point of their
chief glory, he was infinitely above them.  Angels seem to have
been present in the scenes of Sinai (see Deut. 33: 2, and Acts 7:

274 PSALM LXVIII;
53, Gal. 3 : 19, and Heb. 2 : 2), although the history given in Ex
odus omits to mention it.
18. Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity
captive : thou hast received gifts for men ; yea, for the
rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among
them. t
After a great victory, the conquering king returns in pomp to
his capital and throne ; with his captives and his spoils [here
"gifts"] a portion of which he is wont to distribute among his '
most deserving officers and men. The phraseology here rests on
this usage of ancient conquerors. The God of Israel, conqueror
in these wars of Canaan, and last, in these closing wars of David's
reign, now ascends to his throne on high; he leads his captives
into captivity; he has received gifts among and even from rebels —
gifts and presents made in pledge of their submission to his right
ful authority; so that now his dominion is re-established over
them and he can dwell again among them — their recognized King
and Lord. The giving of gifts to men, or receiving them for men,
i. e., to be given to them, seems to be a secondary idea, not expli
citly involved in the words of the text here, but inferable from the
usage of military conquerors. Paul (Eph. 4: 8-12) finds here
words which apply happily to the victory over Satan and sin,
achieved by Jesus Christ in his death, and to his triumphant as
cension to his throne in the heavens, thenceforward to dispense
among men the gifts of his grace and the gifts of its human
instrumentalities as well. Without doubt the words apply well to
these great facts in regard to Jesus Christ; but this falls short of
proving this Psalm to be a prophecy of Christ. The great laws
of God's administration over men are the same in each of these
cases — a fact which sufficiently accounts for the facility with
which the words of the earlier case apply also to the later.
19. Blessed be the Lord, wlio daily loadeth us with benefits,
even the God of our salvation. Selah.
Critics differ as to the sense of the verb translated "loadeth."*
The word occurs most frequently in the bad sense of imposing a
burden. The original, moreover, has no word for " benefits."
Some therefore construct. thus: "Blessed be the Lord day by day;
whoever imposes burdens, God is our salvation." Others, as our
English version: "He who loads us every day" [with blessings]
" is the God of our salvation." The latter seems to me the more
easy and probable construction.
20. He tlwt is our God is the God of salvation ; and unto
God the Lord belong the issues from death.
21. But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and

PSALM LXVIII. 275
the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on still in bis tres
passes. " The issues of death" — the goings forth from under his power.
It is God's prerogative to bring his people up from the perils and
power of death when he will— which is said here with special
reference to the imminent perils of natural destruction from which
God had preserved his people.  "God shall wound the head,"
etc., but the Hebrew is stronger: shall crush or smite through and
through. 22. The Lord said, I will bring again from Bashan, I
will bring my people again from the depths of the sea :
23. That thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine
enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the same.
What God will do with his enemies is the subject, both in v. 21
and in v. 23, and therefore we can not without violence make v. 22
speak of God's people. The Hebrew has no word corresponding
to "my people" as it stands in the English version. The senti
ment, therefore, must be — I, the Lord, will bring back thy fleeing
and concealed enemies from the mountain fastnesses of Bashan or
from the depths of the sea, that thou mayest utterly break their
power. The supposition that God's enemies hide for fear of him
in the depths of the sea appears again in Amos 9: 3: "Though
they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will
I command the serpent and he shall bite them."  " That thou
mayest stir thy foot in the blood of thine enemies and the tongue
of thy dogs also " — which gives a strong view of their utterly sub
duing their foes, tramping their slain bodies beneath their feet.
War has its scenes of horror; and when human war becomes the
symbol of the judgments God brings on his persistent enemies,
nothing less than scenes of appalling terror and woe can set forth
the truth of the case.
24. They have seen thy goings, O God ; even the goings
of my God, my King, in the sanctuary.
25. The" singers went before, the players on instruments
followed after ; among them were the damsels playing with
timbrels. The "goings forth" of God here thought of are those in which
he went forth at the head of the hosts of Israel, and by his provi
dential agencies, smote and subdued their enemies.' Then he
went forth from his sanctuary; these goings forth were fitly cele
brated in the sanctuary after the victory was won. We have the
grand procession here in view ; the singers leading the train ; the
instrumental performers next; and all these in the midst of dam
sels playing the timbrel. This seems to be precisely what the
Hebrew words mean; not that the damsels mingled among the
other two classes, but that the other classes named were in the

276 PSALM LXVIII.
center and the damsels in the outer circle. The custom of dam
sels beating the timbrel in joyous processions prevails still in the
East. 26. Bless ye God in the congregations, even the Lord, from
the fountain of Israel.
Bless God not only in your families and in your closets, but in
the great congregation as here ; yea, bless your own Jehovah all
ye who are of the fountain of israel — the line of posterity being
thought of as a stream issuing from a fountain ; Abraham and the
patriarchs, the fountain-head ; and this great nation the outflowing
waters therefrom. See similar figures Isaiah 48: 1, and 51 : 1.
27. There is little Benjamin with their ruler, the princes
of Judah and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the
princes of Napbtali.
Here the object seems to be to give vividness to the picture by
specifying the leading tribes, first from the Southern part of the
land; then from the Northern. Benjamin is "little" as being the
youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob, yet his tribe furnished the
first king (Saul), and his territory gave the site for the holy city.
"There is little Benjamin, ruling them."  The Hebrew word that
follows " the princes of Judah " — standing, in our version, "and
their council" — is difficult. Literally, it is, their stone-heap, which
Dr. Alexander changes to "stoning them," with allusion to David's
victory over Goliah. Others, dropping out the idea of stone, make
it their troop, their host. May it not be akin to the use of " stone"
in Gen. 49 : 24 — " From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel ?"
The rock is a common symbol of strength, firmness.  The Sep
tuagint has it, Their leaders.
28. Thy God hath commanded thy strength : strengthen,
O God, that which thou hast wrought for us.
God hath ordained that thou shouldest be strong; still, O God,
mak'e thy work wrought for us yet more strong — a prayer for more
of the same divine aid through which they had conquered of old.
29. Because of thy temple at Jerusalem shall kings bring
presents unto thee.
Because God had located his temple and earthly throne at
Jerusalem, the kings of the nations should bring to that place their
gifts in honor of his name. The same idea re-appears often in
Isaiah (see 18 : 7, and 49 : 23, and 60 : 5-13, and 66 : 12).
30. Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of
the bulls, with the calves of the people, till every one sub
mit himself with pieces of silver : scatter thou the people
that delight in war.
This is a prayer that God would overthrow their mightiest foes.

PSALM LXVIII. 277
"The company of spearmen" — better "the beast of the reeds,"
the wildbeast, probably the "crocodile who makes his home in tho
dense thicket of reeds along the river's shore ; said in reference to
Egypt, more than once symbolized by its crocodile.  "Bulls" —
mighty men, princes. "With calves" fills out the picture by
suggesting their subordinates — including therefore the leaders
and the led; the captains and their men, making their submission
with tribute money.  The last clause is not a prayer, but a
prophecy, built on history: Thou hast scattered the war-loving na
tion, and thou wilt yet again.
31. Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon
stretch out her hands unto God.
" Princes ;" literally, the fat, rich ones ; but in the sense of
princes, men first in power. They shall come out of Egypt to
Jerusalem as promised above (v. 29) to bring thither their offer
ings to the true God. So Isaiah (19: 21, 22).  Ethiopia shall
hasten her hands toward God ; literally, make them run. Lifting
up the hands to God is with the Ps.almist an act of worship, yet
probably in this connection involving the presentation of her gifts
to the God of Israel.
32. Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing
praises unto the Loed ; Selah :
33. To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens,
which were of old ; lo, he doth send out his voice, and that
a mighty voice.
Inspired by this prophetic scene, the Psalmist calls on all. the
kingdoms of the earth to sing the praises of the mighty God who
rideth in state upon the heaven of heavens — the summit of the
ancient heavens ; higher than which no words of man can express
or imagination conceive. A God so great and glorious justly com
mands the homage of the wide world. It is in his eternal purpose
to secure in due time the universal homage of the nations.
34. Ascribe ye strength unto God : his excellency is over
Israel, and his strength is in the clouds.
35. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places : the
God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto
his people. Blessed be God.
Acknowledge his infinite power ; recognize it with your highest
praises. His excellent majesty rests upon Israel, in the sense of
being displayed in her salvation. Then in sublimest words the
song closes with ascriptions of highest glory and power to the God
of Israel. Think of this Psalm as sung by the vast choir of the
temple, sustained by players on instruments and damsels beating
timbrels and many thousand hearts and voices in the grand con
cert — ^as it not magnificent? May we not hope it had an in
spiring power to impress the masses with these sublime and glo-

278 PSALM LXIX.
rious truths pertaining to the God of their salvation, the High and
Lofty One whose throne they thought of as in the heaven of
heavens and yet whose dwelling-place was also within their sacred
tent — a visible Glory upon the ark of the covenant ?
PSALM LXIX.
The caption ascribes this. Psalm to David, with tho addition of
the words " Upon Shoshannim ; " which we have seen at the head
of Ps. 45 and 60. The common significance of these words —
" upon [or concerning] lilies," seems less appropriate here than in
the other Psalms. It must be admitted that obscurity rests on
some, not to say many, of these Hebrew phrases which appear in
the captions to the Psalms.  In this Psalm a sufferer sets forth
his own case — a sufferer who is religious, prayerful, in sympathy
with God, and suffering in part at least because he is godly, yet
one who confesses his sin (v. 5). He dwells on the reproaches
cast upon him, implores God's interposing arm for his deliverance ;
prays that righteous retribution may come upon the common ene
mies of himself and of his God ; and rejoices in the assurance
that God will hear his prayer, vindicate his own cause and that
of his servant, and remember his Zion to befriend his people. 
At this stage it should be noted that several phrases which occur in
this Psalm are applied in the New Testament to Christ and to
points in his history — e. g., v. 4, " They that hate me without a
cause," in Jn. 15: 25;  v. 9, "The zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up," in Jn. 2: 17. The last clause of the same verse,
" The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon
me," is applied to Christ by Paul (Rom. 15 : 3).  Also with v.
21. " In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink," compare Matt.
27 : 34, 48 and John 19 : 28, 29; and with v. 25 : " Let their habi
tation be desolate," compare Ac. 1 : 20.  In view of these quo
tations and allusions we have three distinct theories of construc
tion for this Psalm, between which to make our choice : (1) That
these are the words of the historic David writing primarily and
properly of himself, giving his own experience under his cir
cumstances at some certain point of his history; or (2) of David
describing an ideal sufferer, and therefore purposely saying things
which may_ apply in general to all Christian sufferers in such a
world as this, and perhaps pre-eminently to Christ, their great rep
resentative ; or (3) of David carrying along in his mind both his
own case, and by the inspiration of prophecy, that of Christ, say
ing some things which apply to himself only; other things appli
cable to Christ only; and yet other things equally applicable to
both.  All these theories have their advocates. In my view the
first is encumbered with far less difficulty than either the second
or the third. To the second the great objection is that it is unnat
ural—a, way of writing that nobody uses, and therefore a theory

PSALM LXIX. 279
which critics can reasonably adopt only when nothing else can be
found to meet the_ emergency. The third is most uncomfortably
vague and uncertain, requiring indeed a second revelation to show
what the revelation in this Psalm means ; and therefore should in
my view be rejected.— — The first theory — that these are words of
the historic David, said properly of himself — harmonizes without
difficulty with the quotations above referred to on the principle
of words borrowed from this Psalm because they fitly expressed
the ideas which the New Testament writers wished to express.
In some of these cases it is obvious that what they saw in Christ
simply suggested the words of this Psalm. Thus when Jesus so
resolutely drove out the traffickers from the temple, his disciples
remembered that it was written, " The zeal of thine house hath
eaten me up." His case suggested these words, not necessarily as
a prophecy, but as appropriate. This principle covers all the
other cases in this Psalm, and therefore leaves none which we
are compelled to regard as real prophecy, referring to Jesus Christ
in its primary and proper sense.  Fatally against the theory
that would make this entire Psalm refer to Christ is the confes
sion of "folly" and "guilt" (v. 5).  Assuming that the historic
David speaks here, we have only to inquire of what period in his
personal history he is speaking. The Psalm itself lacks very pos
itive indications. Its place however, near the close of this second
of the five original books of the Psalms, contiguous to Ps. 70
which is essentially the latter portion of Ps. 40 ; afcd to Ps. 71
which beyond all question belongs to the old age of David, renders
it highly probable that the date falls within his last scene of
trial, viz., that from the conspiracy of Adonijah. This view is
still strengthened by the similar location of Psalms pertaining to
the same period just at the close of the first book. See prelimi
nary Notes on Ps. 38 : 39, and 41. The first book of Psalms
(1—41) being made up almost if not quite exclusively of Psalms
written by David, and the second book (Ps. 42-72) chiefly of his,
nothing could be more natural than for the compilers to place at
the close of each a cluster of Psalms pertaining to that latest
scene of his earthly trials — perhaps the last, or nearly the last
Psalms he ever wrote. I therefore accept this as the date of Ps.
69 and 71. See particularly the Notes introductory to Ps. 39.
1. Save me, O God ; for the waters are come in unto my
soul. 2. I sink in deep mire, where Hhere is no standing : I am
come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
The figures are plain, almost homely, but exceedingly expressive ;
sinking in deep water of miry bottom, imperiling his very life.
Such was his feeling and such apparently the facts of his case
when that last conspiracy broke upon him, already almost sinking
under the infirmities of age and perhaps sickness.

280 PSALM LXIX.
3. I am weary of my crying : my throat is dried : mine
eyes fail while I wait for my. God.
4. They that hate me without a cause are more than the
hairs of mine bead : they that would destroy me, being mine
enemies wrongfully, are mighty : then I restored that which
I took not away.
Worn out with crying ; his throat hot, inflamed ; his eyes grow
ing dim with tears and long waiting with no answer from his
God — was not his case sad in the extreme?  Whatever might
be true of David's other enemies, these men, Adonijah, Joab,
Abiathar, had no ground for this heartless uprising against a
father and an old and most worthy friend! It was terribly cruel
upon the heart of the venerable David that they should now con
spire to wrest away from him at once his throne and his life. He
had done more for them than they could reasonably claim —
equivalent to restoring what he never took from them.
5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness ; and my sins are
not hid from thee.
As toward God, he had no such claim of being sinless, and
afflicted without cause. He remembered but too bitterly the
scenes associated with Uriah and Bathsheba, and it did not sur
prise him that God should remember against him that folly and
that guilt.
6. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts,
be ashamed for my sake : let not those that seek thee be
confounded for my sake, 0 God of Israel.
7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame
hath covered my face.
But now David is one of those who wait on God for his mercy
and in a measure represents this class. Out of this fact he draws
an argument ; on it he builds his plea tha.t God would in very deed
hear and save. O God, have mercy on me, lest, otherwise, those
that wait on thee as I now do, become discouraged and even con
founded. They will say — If God/will not hear David's prayer, how
can we hope, he will ever hear ours ?  This is also a strong point
in David's case: "I have suffered, O Lord, for thy sake; I have
borne reproach because I have stood by Thee. Now if Thou cast
me off, what wilt thou do for thy great name ? "
8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an
alien unto my mother's children.
9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up ; and the
reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon
me. May wc suppose that David here alludes tacitly to the tart

PSALM LXIX. 281
rebuke from his elder brother Eliab on that eventful day when his
faith in Israel's God first blazed out before the armies of Israel ?
(ISam. 17 : 28) ; and perhaps also to the rebuff from his own wife
Michal, Saul's daughter, when she saw King David leaping and
dancing before the Lord with exuberant joy and " despised him
in her heart," and taunted him in a most cutting way with her
tongue ? (2 Sam. 6 : 16-23). We may certainly suppose that these
cases do not exhaust the list, but are rather specimens of the
reproaches that fell on him often for daring to stand out so fully
and so fearlessly for God before godless men and women, void of
all sympathy with his heart or with Israel's God.-  " The zeal of
thine house," i. e., zeal for thine house — a zealous regard and an
intense love for the worship and the honor of thy temple have
absorbed my strength and consumed my life-forces. It is suppos
able that David's mind is in part at least upon his intense and long
cherished desire to build a temple for God in Jerusalem ; for which
indeed he did make immense preparations; but which God did not
permit him personally to erect. (See 2 Sam. 7, and 1 Chron. 22,
and 28, and 29). — The earnest zeal of Jesus manifested in driving
out those that sold and bought in the temple, suggested to the
disciples these very apposite words from this Psalm of David,
(John 2: 17).
10. When I wept, and cliastened my soul with fasting,
that was to my reproach.
11. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a
proverb to them.
12. They that sit in the gate speak against me ; and I was
the song of the drunkards.
There being no Hebrew words answering to "and chastened,"
we may translate the actual words of the text: " And then I wept
away my soul [or life] with fasting, and this became a reproach
to me." The godless Eliabs and Michals may have reproached
David not only for his zeal and faith toward God, but also for his
grief and sorrow under trials and under the consciousness of per
sonal guilt.  " They that sit in the gate " — either magistrates or
simply the men of leisure, news-mongers; probably the latter.
Oriental custom made the gates of the city the place of general
resort for gossips of the male sex.
13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O Loed, in
an acceptable time : O God, in the multitude of thy mercy
hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
14. Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink : let
me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the
deep waters.
15. Let not the water-flood overflow me, neither let the

282 PSALM LXIX.
deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth
upon me.
The words (v. 14), "deliver me from them that hate me," seem
to show that the calamities indicated by " deep waters," "water-
floods," "the deep," "the pit," etc., were precisely those brought
upon him by personal, malign enemies, e. g., Adonijah and those
whom he drew into his schemes of treason.
16. Hear me, O Loed ; for thy loving-kindness is good :
turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender
mercies. 17. And hide not thy face from thy servant ; for I am
in trouble : hear me speedily.
18. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it : deliver me
because of mine enemies.
It is at once noticeable and refreshing that under the pressure
of these calamities David seems to think first of all of prayer,
help from his God in his deep trouble. The first thing to be done
is to cry to God; all else. is comparatively unimportant. If God
be for him, all will be well; without God, all else must utterly
fail. His heart as well as his philosophy and his practical wisdom
determined the bent of his soul toward God for help.
19. Thou bast known my reproach, and my shame, and
my dishonor : mine adversaries are ail before thee.
20. Reproach hath broken my heart ; and I am full of
heaviness : and I looked for some to take pity, but Hiere was
none ; and for comforters, but I found none.
It was his comfort that God knew his whole case — knew every
one of his enemies and all their wickedness toward him.  When
he looked around for sympathy and help, he found none. Proba
bly we need not take this statement in its strongest, most absolute
sense, for so understood, it is scarcely credible ; but rather in the
sense — no adequate helpers — no comforters who can truly meet the
wants of my souL  Ihe words had their legitimate sense remark
ably met in the case of Jesus when all his disciples forsook him
and fled (Matt. 26 : 56) ; when the selected three slept more than
prayed with their master in the agony of Gethsemane, and the
most pronounced friend in the chosen twelve denied him.
21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my
thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
As said by David of himself, these words are probably figurative.
"Gall"* — bitter, and generally thought poisonous. These were
most unpalatable as well as unsuitable articles for either food or

PSALM LXIX. 283
drink.  It was customary to give the sufferer under crucifixion
certain medicinal drinks to abate the acuteness of his pain. In
the case of our Lord, Matthew (27 : 34) says : " They gave him
vinegar mingled with gall; " while Mark (15: 13) has it: " Wine
mingled with myrrh " — a case of different words for the same thing.
As done by the Roman soldiers, the purpose was humane, and
neither cruel nor insulting ; but as parts of the entire process of
crucifixion, and as instigated by the murderous Jews, the spirit
was the same which appears here — a case therefore of coinci
dence. 22. Let their table become a snare before them : and
ilwtt which should have been for their welfare, let it become a
trap. 23. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and
make their loins continually to shake.
24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy
wrathful anger take hold of them.
25. Let tbeir habitation be desolate ; and let none dwell
in their tents.
V. 22 seems to be, as to expression and figure, an outgrowth
of v. 21. As they have abused and outraged me at my table, so
let their table be to them a snare — retribution in kind.  The last
clause of v. 22 is simply: "And to them, secure, a trap; " »'. e.,
while supposing themselves secure from danger, let their own table
ensnare them fatally. The rest of the language here is plain.
The moral relations of the passage will be considered below, on
vs. 27, 28. "
26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten ; and
they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
The cruel thing to David was that while he was suffering de
served chastisement for his sins from the hand of God, his enemies.
took advantage of his distress to taunt, persecute, and destroy
him.  " Talk to the grief" — so talk as to aggravate the grief, etc.
So Shimei cursed him just at the point when his soul was most
bitterly tried with the cruel treason of Absalom. Adonijah took
a similar advantage of his father's infirmities of age and sickness.
27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity : and let them not
come into thy righteousness.
28. Let them be blotted out of the book of Bie living,
and not be written with the righteous.
The meaning here is not: Make them more wicked; lead them
on to greater and yet greater sin ; but this : Inflict punishment
for their sin, the same word being used both for sin and for its
punishment, in the sense : Give them for their sin the punishment

284 PSALM LXIX.
due to sin; literally, it is: Give punishment upon their sin. 
" Let them not come into thy righteousness " is : Let them find no
forgiveness ; let them not be accepted by thee as righteous. 
"The book of the living" conceives of a record or register which
contains the names of the living, but from which the names of the
dead are stricken off. Thus Moses (Ex. 32: 32) prays: " Blot me
out of thy book which thou hast written." This usage — a natural
outgrowth of the earliest use of writing, viz., for geneological pur
poses, came to be applied to a record or register of the righteous,
a book of life, as the list of those who were in favor with God.
(Phil. 4: 3, and Rev. 3: 5, and 13: 8, and 20: 12, and 21: 27.)
It remains now to consider the often vexed question of the
imprecatory Psalms. What is their moral character ?
The following few and simple points will bring us to the just
solution of this question.  (1) Is it right for God to punish the
wicked with just retribution for their sin, in either this world or
the next, or in both, according to his wisdom ? (2) Can he do
this benevolently, without the least malign feeling toward the sinner,
but purely for the highest good of his universe ?  (3) Is it mor
ally right for his people to sympathize with him in his views of
the wisdom, the necessity, and therefore the desirableness of such
retribution ?  (4) Is it possible for his people to do this benevo
lently, with no blending of malign purpose or emotion, for the
same reason, that God does ?  In my view the affirmative in each
of these questions must be true, and is indeed in ethics Belf-evident,
and therefore too plain to be made more so by any argument. 
The case admits of collateral support, e. g., from evidence in the
case of David toward Saul, which shows plainly that while he by
no means exempts Saul from his prayers for retribution on the
wicked, he yet "bore in his heart the kindest and most benevolent
feeling toward him.
29. But I am poor and sorrowful : let thy salvation, O
God, set me up on high.
30. I will praise the name of God with a. song, and will
magnify him with thanksgiving.
31. Tliis also shall please the Loed better than an ox or
bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
"Poor," as most commonly in the case of this Hebrew word, is
not pennyless, but frail, weak, and afflicted.  " Set me up on
high " — a military phrase, meaning above these dangers — lifted out
from the d*pth of affliction.  The grateful thanks of the heart
are more pleasing to God than the heartless offering of ox or
bullock, horned and hoofed — these descriptive points making a
palpable contrast between the grateful love of the heart and the
mere offering of horned cattle.  It is supposable that David
alludes here to the facts of the history (1 Kings 1 : 19) : "Adoni
jah slew' sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth

PSALM LXX. 285
and called all his brethren," etc. It is not said how much or how
little of religious worship may have been meant or professed in
this slaughter of animals, but probably he sought to strengthen
himself by at least the show of worshiping God. David had no
fear that he would make capital for himself by really pleasing
God. 32. The humble shall see iliis, and be glad : and your
hearts shall live that seek God.
33. For the Loed heareth the poor, and despiseth not
his prisoners.
" The humble " — a Hebrew word closely akin to the word " poor"
in v. 29.  "Your heart shall live" — i. e., in real life, joy,
and peace, sustained and prolonged, such as no word can express
more perfectly than life. See Ps. 22 : 26, and Heb. 12 : 9.
34. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas and
every thing that moveth therein.
35. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of
Judah : that they may dwell there, and have it in posses
sion. 36; The seed also of his servants shall inherit it : and
they that love his name shall dwell therein.
Lifted by faith above all fear, and joyful in the fresh salvation
which the Lord had given him over this last combination of ene
mies to crush him, he calls on the heavens and the earth to praise
God and exult with himself in the assurance that God will save
Zion and make her prosperity both permanent and glorious. Such
a succession of delivering mercies as God had manifested to David
through all his life prepared him to die with the unfaltering
assurance of God's everlasting love and faithfulness to his Zion,
and consequently of the future glory of God's earthly kingdom.

PSALM LXX.
The caption commits the Psalm to the choir-leader; ascribes it
to David, and subjoins, " to bring to remembrance," which stands
also at the head of Ps. 38. See notes on this phrase there. 
This short Psalm repeats almost verbatim the last portion of Ps.
40 • i. e., vs. 13-17. It also stands in very close relations to Ps. 69
which precedes, and Ps. 71, following, a continuation of the former
and, a preface to the latter. It will be remembered also that Ps.
38-41 which close the first book of Psalms have points of very
close analogy with Ps. 69-71 which [with the exception of Ps. 72
from Solomon] close the second book. We have seen strong rea
sons for assigning them all to the closing years of David's life, the
13

286 PSALM LXXI.
. calamities under which he suffers being those of a feeble and
probably diseased old age, coupled with the conspiracy of Adoni
jah.  This short Psalm is therefore appropriate to its place in
the collection. It seems most reasonable to regard it as a distinct
composition, and to account for its close resemblance to Ps. 40 :
13-17 by the fact that it was composed near the same time and in
view of substantially the same external circumstances.
1. Make haste, O God, to deliver me ; make haste to help
me, O Loed.
Here we have Elohim [God] in place of Jehovah as in Ps. 40 :
13. The other differences are unimportant. This may have been
made simply for variety.
2. Let them be ashamedand confounded that seek after
my soul : let them be turned backward, and put to confusion,
that desire my hurt.
3. Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame
that say, Aha, aha.
The cruel and heartless treason of Adonijah repeated the sin of
Absalom under even more aggravated circumstances because his
father was now sick and broken with the weight of years, trials,
and sufferings. There was therefore the utmost pertinence in this
prayer that those. who thus sought his life might be frustrated and
broken down in their infamous endeavors. It was a horrible
outrage on all propriety that a son, instead of revering a father so
worthy of his reverence, should treat him with sovereign contempt.
The justice of God and the interests of society demanded swift
retribution for such outrageous wrong.
4. Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in
thee : and let such as love thy salvation say continually,
Let God be magnified.
5. But I am poor and needy ; make haste unto me,* O
God : thou art my help and my deliverer ; O Loed, make
no tarrying.
Let those who seek thee never have occasion to mourn because
they find no help, but seek in vain. Let this be true of all this
class, as of me also. I need thy help; need it now: O let this
help come without delay !
PSALM LXXI.
The compilers put nothing at the head of this Psalm — a fact
which indicates that they held it to be a continuation of the one
preceding. Its special points strongly confirm the opinion already
expressed in the preliminary remarks on Ps. 69 and 70, viz. : that

« «

PSALM LXXI. 287
it dates near the close of David's life, and was occasioned by the
conspiracy of Adonijah. The allusions to his old age are remark
ably full and explicit (vs. 5, 6, 9, 17, 18).
1. In thee, O Loed, do I put my trust : let me never be
put to confusion.
2. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to
escape : incline thine ear unto me, and save me.
"Have I put my trust" [prefer tense] all my long life; let mo
never, even to the end of my days, be put to confusion, disap
pointed in my expectation of help from my God in every emerg
ency.  "Deliver me in thy righteousness," for righteousness de
mands the fulfillment of thy promises.
3. Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may con
tinually resort : thou hast given commandment to save me ;
for thou art my rock and my fortress.
4. Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked,
out of the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.
"My strong habitation" — literally, a rock of a dwelling-place —
a place of abode strong like a rock. These military ideas come
of course from the usages of those times. The fastnesses of the
rooks were often places of secure retreat and concealment; the
lofty, crags were natural castles of strength against the military
weapons of that age.  " Deliver me out of the hand of the un
righteous and cruel man ; for surely thy sense of justice and the
benevolence of thy heart will demand this. Thou seest the cruel
wrongs they perpetrate upon me ; let thine indignation be roused
against such wickedness.
5. For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my
trust from my youth.
6. By thee have I been holden up from the womb : thou
art he that took me out of my mother's bowels : my praise
shall be continually of thee.
Refreshing beyond measure it must have been to David to recall
the long years of his experience through a life of sweet trust in
God,' running even from his youth, back beyond that eventful visit
of Samuel (1 Sam. 16: 1-13) which called him in from his flock
and put the anointing oil of royalty upon his head. Indeed he
recognized God's hand upon him for good even from his birth.
All along, his God had been theme of his songs of praise, and
should be continually.
7. I am as a wonder unto many ; but thou art my strong
refuge. "I am as a wonder to many" — of which Dr. Alexander says — "as
a prodigy, a wonder, an object of contemptuous astonishment." The

288 PSALM LXXI.
Hebrew word however seems to suggest simply surprise, wonder, and
not necessarily contempt. The providences of God toward David had
been wonderful, striking; the exigencies through which he passed
were extraordinary and might well attract the profound attention
of many.  In the end God had always proved to be his refuge —
had brought him safely and triumphantly through.
8. Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with thy
honor all the day.
This verse is in form precisely future and not imperative. " My
mouth shall be filled; " so it should be, and this is the full purpose
of my heart.
9. Cast me not off in the time of old age ; forsake me not
when my strength faileth.
10. For mine enemies speak against me ; and they that
lay wait for my soul take counsel together,
11. Saying, God hath forsaken, him ; persecute and take
him ; for there is none to deliver him.
This was strong pleading, and his faithful God could not fail to
hear such prayer. Though conscious of many imperfections,
David still had 'a clear assurance that in the main he had sought
to please God and to do his will. This assurance was now a foun
tain of strength to his soul as he came before God.
12. O God, be not far from me : O my God, make haste
for my help.
13. Let them be confounded and consumed that are
adversaries to my soul ; let them be covered witli reproach
and dishonor that seek my hurt.
These verses are in the strain of Ps. 70 : 1, 2.
14. But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee
more and more.
15. My mouth shall show forth thy righteousness and thy
salvation all the day ; for I know not the numbers thereof.
I will never cease to hope, and I will even heighten my praises
of thee : more and more will I praise thee for thine ever growing
mercies.  " I know not the numbers thereof; " I can not express
all thou has done that is worthy of praise ; there is more than I
can tell. The word for " numbers " has the sense of recounting,
enumerating. I know not how to count them up.
16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God : I will
make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
"I will go in the strength of the Lord God" should naturally
mean — I will pursue my path-way of life in his strength. This
sentiment is unobjectionable, but the original word seems not to

PSALM LXXI. 289
be used in this way. This verb " go " * means to enter into, or to
go down as the sun at night, but never to travel one's life-course.
It is better therefore to assume a reference to going into the sanc
tuary for worship — this verb being often used for such going.
(See Ps. 5 : 7, and 66 : 13). That he speaks of doing this in God's
strength is due to his great physical weakness and his sense of
inability even to go into the sanctuary save as the Lord should
revive and restore his physical vigor.  Upborne of God, so as to
reach once more the sanctuary I love, I will speak of thy righteous
ness and of thine only ; not a word of my own ; of nothing else
but the goodness of my God and his divine equity as between me
and my enemies.
17. O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and
hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
18. Now also when I am old and grayheaded, O God,
forsake me not : until I have showed thy strength unto this
generation, and thy power, to every one iliat is to come.
" Taught," instructed me not by thy word only or chiefly, but by
thy works, preserving me from danger and guiding my steps.
His thought seems to be especially upon God's wonderful works of
providence toward him throughout his life.  Now that he is old,
frail, physically almost powerless, he needs the upholding hand of
his God more than ever, and he longs to fill out the same course
of testimony for God to the very end of life.  " Forsake me not ; "
uphold me still until I have testified in behalf of thy sustaining
arm to all future generations.
19. Thy righteousness also, 0 God, is very high, who
hast done great things : O God, who is like unto thee !
"Righteousness," here, as often, is goodness with some promi
nence to the idea of justice as between himself and his enemies.
 "Very high;" literally, unto the height, i. e., of heaven — a
common Hebrew phrase to express the highest conceivable great
ness. So Ps. 57 : 10 : " For thy mercy is great unto the heavenB and
thy truth reacheth unto the clouds." No other being can compare
with God : all the gods of the heathen are nothing before him.
20. Thou, which hast showed me great and sore troubles,
shalt quicken me again, and shalt bring me up again from
the depths of the earth.
In both instances the word for " again " is the Hebrew verb
return : Thou wilt return and revive ; return and bring me up. The
Psalmist gives prominence to the idea of a special interposition of
God — a coming back to manifest his love and power.  " From
the depth of the earth " is not here the grave, but the deep waters —
a figure for extreme depression, weakness; perhaps with allusion
iTO*

290 PSALM LXXII.
to the waters of the deluge, to which this word is repeatedly
applied. 21. Thou shalt increase my greatness, and comfort me on
every side.
" Greatness " — probably in the sense of dignity as king upon thy
throne. So far from suffering my glory to be eclipsed and its sun
to set in the blood of treason, thou wilt give me fresh proofs of thy
favor and of thy power to save.  " Comfort me on every side ''
is put with equal strength and beauty; Thou wilt pass all round
about me and comfort me ; look carefully to my whole case with
the purpose to do the utmost possible to fill my soul with consola
tion. 22. I will also praise thee with the psaltery, even thy
truth, O my God : unto thee will I sing with the harp, O
thou Holy One of Israel.
23. My lips shall greatly rejoice when I sing unto thee,;
and my soul, which thou hast redeemed.
24. My tongue also shall talk of thy righteousness all the
day long : for they are confounded, for they are brought
unto shame, that seek my hurt.
It heightens the beauty of this scene that " the sweet Psalmist "
is now " old and gray-headed." Yet the fire of love in his soul
burns brightly; the spirit of praise and of song is yet in its
strength; and these last strains of his pen and tongue are still
fresh with the dew of his youth and rich also in the ripeness of
hoary age. Who can doubt that such a life, closing in such a
death, opens out into a songful and glorious immortality? When will
David ever cease to bear his testimony in grateful, adoring praises
to the redeeming mercy and enduring faithfulness of his God !
PSALM LXXII.
The two preliminary questions of prime concern are : (a) Who
wrote this Psalm? (b) Of whom does it speak ?
(a) As to the author opinions are divided between David and
Solomon. I accept the theory that Solomon is the author on the
following grounds.  (1) The Psalm is ascribed to him in the
caption in the same way in which all the Psalms, supposed to be
written by David are ascribed to him, viz., with the Hebrew prepo
sition Lamed * meaning [ascribed] to Solomon. In the absence
of any strong counter-evidence, this ought certainly to be decisive.
 Since some may at first view suppose that v. 20 is such
counter-evidence, it should be said — This verse is not a part of Ps.

PSALM LXXII. 291
72, but is put, independently of this Psalm, at the close of the
second book of Psalms. Ps. 72 closes with the double doxology,
"Amen and Amen," substantially as each closing Psalm in the sev
eral separate books of Psalms ends. See Ps. 41: 13. "Blessed be
the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and
Amen." Here: "Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel;-
Amen and Amen;" and Ps. 89: 52, essentially the same; also
Ps. 106 : 48. This uniformity in the manner of closing the sev
eral books shows plainly that this Ps. 72 closes with v. 19. The
compilers added v. 20, not to the 72d Psalm but to the second book
of Psalms because they supposed they had now brought in the
last of the Psalms of David.  (2) In respect to drapery and
costume this Psalm comes from the peaceful reign of Solomon,
just as Ps. 2 and 110 come from the warlike reign of David, As
the key-note of the latter is war and conquest, so the key-note of
this is peace and its normal blessings. As the spirit of prophecy
drew the painting in Ps. 2 and 110 from the reign of David and
naturally spake to him in figures and images with which his
whole life-experience had been familiar, so was the case with this
Ps. 72;' the Spirit spake to Solomon in terms and figures most in
harmony with the grand idea of his reign. Or, to come yet more
close to the true conception, assuming that the Messiah is the
theme in all these three Psalms, he is put before David's mind as
a second David; before Solomon's mind as a second Solomon. 
(3) Some of the specific allusions in this Psalm strongly favor if
they do not even demand the theory that the date, of the writing
was during the reign of Solomon, and therefore that he and not
David was the author. Of these are v. 10: "The kings of Tar
shish and of the Isles shall bring presents " [people unknown to
the history of David] ; " the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer
gifts ; " facts which appear precisely in the history of Solomon,
but not of David. The wide extent of this king's reign (v. 8)
comes in idea from the reign of Solomon and not of David. (4)
The Chaldean Paraphrast, very ancient authority as to the cur
rent opinon of the Jews on this question, paraphrases the cap
tion "To Solomon," "spoken prophetically through Solomon."
(b.) The second preliminary question — Of whom? — is readily
answered. A greater than Solomon is here. ' Solomon may be
said to stand in the foreground, in the sense that the imagery is
borrowed from him arid from his reign, but the glory of this person
age is far above that of Solomon; the extent of his dominion is
greater; its duration indefinitely longer; its blessedness to his sub
jects far more deep, rich, abiding.  The voice of the most re
mote antiquity assigns this Psalm to the Messiah. The Chaldean
Paraphrast expands v. 1 thus : " O God, give the decrees of thy
judgments to King Messiah." Jarchi,onv. 16, says:- "The ancient
doctors explained these words of the times of the Messiah, and
indeed the whole Psalm concerning King Messiah." On this

292 PSALM LXXII.
point all the early Christian expositors concur with the early
Jewish doctors.
1. Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy right
eousness unto the king's son.
2. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy
poor with judgment.
It is refreshing to trace the spirit of these verses back to those
noblest utterances of David, found among his last words (2 Sam.
23: 2, 3): "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me and his word
was in my tongue; the God of Israel said — 'He that ruleth over
men must be just, riding in the fear of God.' " We find the same
ideas inwrought as deep convictions in the mind of Solomon ; for
when God said, "Ask what I shall give thee," he answered, "Give
thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may
discern between good and bad; for who is able to judge this thy
so great people ? So the Spirit of inspiration indites this prayer
which is really a prophecy: "Give to thy Great King Messiah
thy judgments, O God, that he may judge thy people with righteous
ness and thy poor with judgment" — justice. Isaiah (11: 1-3)
takes up this strain of thought : " The Spirit of the Lord shall rest
upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of
counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord." "With righteousness shall he judge the poor," etc.
And therefore, because he does judge and administer, both providen
tially and morally from God's throne, with infinite justice and perfect
equity, his reign shall be supremely prosperous. Such a king the
Infinite Father approves, will have, and then will bless with un
limited and eternal prosperity.  That stress is always laid upon
the administration of justice to " the poor," i. e., the weak, defense
less ones, suggests that government is made for this class ; it exists
to protect those who have no other protector. It has practically
no other mission save to stand for the protection and defense of
those who are otherwise exposed to the selfish tyranny of mightier
men. God has always accounted it his glory to interpose and
withstand the oppressions of the strong upon the weak, and bring
his almighty power into play as the perpetual antagonist force
against the wrongs which sin in strong hands is sure to inflict
where it can. This, is the glory of King Messiah's reign.
3. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and
the little hills, by righteousness.
" The mountains shall bring," i. e., shall bring forth as their na
tural product— the figure being that the mountains and hills of
Palestine, under high cultivation even to their summits and of
most exuberant fertility, should bring forth harvests of peace, i. e.,
all prosperity to the people under this reign of righteousness.
4. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the
children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.

PSALM LXXII. 293
Always delivering the helpless, friendless ones, he will have no
mercy on oppressors, but crush them to atoms — to fine dust as the
Hebrew naturally implies. Verily oppression finds no favor before
the Great Father. He loves the weakest of his offspring and deems
them his special charge. Woe to those, however mighty, who
throw themselves athwart his out-gushing sympathies and would
fain despoil those whom his heart loves and whom he makes it his
glory to protect !
5. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon
endure, throughout all generations.
" They," men in general, the masses of the people throughout.
his wide realm, " shall fear thee," in reverence and submission,
long as the sun shines; literally with the sun — all along continu
ously with the shining of his sun upon the face of the earth ; also
before the face of the moon, long as the moon shall wax and
wane. So long shall Messiah reign.  Inasmuch as the entire
scope of this Psalm witnesses that this reign of King Messiah
here portrayed is his kingdom on this earth in its present state
and constitution, and is neither its future era in heaven itself nor
any supposed era of peace upon some new earth, reconstructed
both materially and spiritually, therefore we are most plainly
taught here that Messiah's reign in the triumphs of truth and love
upon this very world of ours and under its present constitution
shall be indefinitely long, stretching on and on through untold, un
numbered ages. Beginning with the most positive, vigorous con
flict of light against darkness, love against hate, peace against war,
righteousness against all oppression, he shall wrest the scepter of
rule from the grasp of Satan, god and prince of this world, and
then himself rule on in the triumphs of truth and love over the
very world which Satan had cursed so long.
6. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass :
as showers that water the earth.
7. In his days shall the righteous flourish ; and abund
ance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
"The mown grass" is not the part cut off, but the part left
standing with its roots in the soil. As rain upon the recently
mowed meadows. Every farmer knows how the summer shower
comes down with blessings and makes his grass spring up green
and gladsome again. So King Messiah comes down to earth to
bless his people and refresh the moral face of the world.  " In
his days shall the righteous flourish," the word coming naturally
from the idea of the green, luxuriant meadows under the summer
rain. "Peace " in all its broad wealth of oriental meanings is the
natural fruit of his coming down. Of this peace there shall be
abundance — how long ? "Until there shall be no moon " — long as
the moon shall shine ; long as this present world shall stand, with
the sun its light by day and the moon its light by night.

294 PSALM LXXII.
8. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from
the river unto the ends of the earth.
Geographically, what are to be the boundaries of this kingdom ?
As we ought to expect, the answer is given in terms drawn from
ancient Hebrew geography, and specially from the national char
ter as given through Moses (Ex. 23: 31). "I will set thy bounds
from the Red Sea even unto the sea of the Philistines (the Mediter
ranean), and from the desert [of Arabia] unto the river [ i. e.,'the
great river Euphrates]. But while this original charter as given
to Israel suggests most of the points it does not give them all.
These boundaries compared with those have important variations,
"all in the line of indefinite enlargement. It is not from one specific
sea [the Red] to another [the Mediterranean], but from any one
sea to any and every other ; from the shore on one side to the utter
most shore on the other; and'from the great river — this being the
usual word for the Euphrates — to the end of the earth, in every
direction ; i. e., absolute universality. The vast wide earth is his
country; the. whole world his kingdom. He leaves out no province,
no continent, no island, no sea, no ocean, no zone of all the earth
from pole to pole.
9. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before
him ; and his enemies shall lick the dust.
10. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring
presents : the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him : all nations
shall serve him.
" They that dwell in the wilderness " — not merely the Nomades
in general, but the wild men, untutored, uncivilized; the original
word being .applied to savage beasts (Isa. 13 : 21, and 34 : 14) as
well as to savage men (Ps. 74 : 14).  " Shall bow " — stronger
than the oriental " bow " of civility or even the obeisance due to
royalty; and implying complete subjection, as in the parallel
phrase — "lick the dust."  "Tarshish" — which some ancient
geographers find in Western Italy ; more, in Southwestern Spain,
and which seems in some cases to be applied to certain coast
districts in North Africa — means here the remote regions reached
by crossing the Mediterranean. "The isles" also include not
merely the Islands of the great sea, but the coasts adjacent to it.
 " Sheba," (Arabia Felix) the richest portion of Arabia ; and
" Seba," thought to be equivalent to Meroe, representing the rich
regions of Ethiopia. In general, these terms indicate the most
> wealthy regions known to the Hebrew commerce of the age of
Solomon.  They "bring presents" and "offer gifts "—words
which suggest the two ideas — tribute as paid by subject nations,
and religious offerings appropriate in the worship of God. They
are the subjects of King Messiah and worship him as their infinite

PSALM LXXII. 295
Lord.  "All kings"— not only those here specified, but all the
kings and nations of the whole earth. The world is his empire.
12. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth ; the
poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save
the souls of the needy.
14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence :
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Beautifully the prophecy falls back once more to the moral
reasons for conferring such unlimited power upon King Messiah —
the same which are implied in vs. 2, 4 above. It is because he
fills the divine and most perfect idea of a moral sovereign, admin
istering justice with faultless impartiality, and for evermore, be
friending the oppressed as against his oppressor. Under his reign
each needy one, crying for help, is heard and saved. Their blood
is precious in his eyes. No harm done to them or attempted can
escape his swift retribution. The strong, it is assumed, can take
care of themselves; the weak, defenseless ones are objects of his
care; he rules for their protection and salvation. To right the
wrongs of this long time sin-cursed earth, is his special mission.
Be his name praised forever for all this 1 So the Psalmist proceeds
to say. 15. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of th^
gold of Sheba : prayer also shall be made for him continu
ally ; and daily shall he be praised.
The grammatical forms in this verse strongly favor, if indeed
they do not demand the construction which refers " he " [" he shall
live "], not to the Messiah, but to his saved people, thought of as a
body, a unit. The strong reasons for this construction are that
• the verbs are transitive rather than passive ; he (this saved people)
shall give to- him (the Messiah) the gold of Sheba, and shall pray
to him continually, and shall daily praise him. The sense then
will be that this redeemed people shall live in the sense of the
highest and best prosperity, and shall pour out at his feet the very
gold of Sheba, even as Sheba's queen brought her munificent
gifts to King Solomon (1 Kings 10 : 1-10) ; and shall lift up their
souls in prayer for the success of his kingdom (" thy kingdom
come") continually, even people of every tribe and tongue in all
lands of the earth; and not their prayers alone but their praises
shall be perpetual and universal. 0 what an age will this be
of prayer and praise, upborne from the saved ones of his vast
kingdom !
16. There shall be a handful of corn in the earth upon
the top of the mountains ; the fruit thereof shall shake like
Lebanon : and they of the city shall flourish like grass of
the earth.

296 PSALM LXXII.
The Hebrew word for "handful" is not found elsewhere. Some
of its supposed etymological affinities favor the sense — a small
quantity ; others, a large quantity, an abundance. The oldest Jew
ish authorities sustain the former sense. So also do the New Tes
tament parables, the "grain of mustard seed," and the "little
leaven." The sense would then be that a handful of seed, sown in
the most unfavorable localities, on the very top of the mountains,
should wave its fruits like the cedars of Lebanon, indicating unex
ampled fertility.  The populations of the city shall multiply on
the same scale of productiveness, as the grass grows.
17. His name -shall endure forever : his name" shall be
continued as long as the sun : and men shall be blessed in
him : all nations shall call him blessed.
" His name shall be forever ; " held in honor and in power
through all time.  The second clause [his name shall be con
tinued" etc.] seems to imply that it shall have a self-perpetua
ting power, reproducing itself as, human generations do, long as
the sun shall shine.  " Men shall be blessed in him " carries the
thought back to the early promise made to Abraham [Gen. 12 : 3,
and 22 : 18] ; " Through him shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed." They shall pronounce him most happy and most blest,
rejoicing in his prosperity and sympathizing in the blessedness
which-he enjoys.
18. Blessed be the Loed God, the God of Israel, who
only doeth wondrous things.
19. And blessed be bis glorious name forever : and let
the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and Amen.
To the Lord Jehovah,- the covenant God of Israel, be all the
glory of this kingdom, all the honor for giving to Israel and to the
wide world this munificent and perfect Sovereign ! He only and
he alone performs such wondrous works. Let his glorious name
be blessed forever, and the whole earth be vocal with his praises,,
full of his glory ! This rich doxology rounds out to its fit com
pletion this magnificent Psalm, and also fitly closes the second
book of Psalms as originally compiled.
20. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
See remarks in the introduction to this Psalm. I suppose- this
verse to have been appended by the compilers on their supposition
that they had now collected all the extant Psalms of David.
Prayer, being their leading characteristic, naturally becomes their
name: " the prayers of David."

PSALM LXXIII. 297

PSALM LXXIII.

This Psalm and also Psalms 74-83, following, are attributed to
Asaph. But the question still remains — Was this the same Asaph
who appears so prominently in the service of song in the age of
David ? or was it some descendant of his, lineal or professional,
bearing the same name ? The first Asaph was honorably associa
ted with David in the matter of song, including, it would seem,
both the authorship of words and music, and the performance also
(2 Chron. 29 : 30, and Neh. 12 : 46, and 1 Chron. 25: 1, 2, 6). But
in the age of Jehosaphat we find "a Levite of the sons of Asaph"
(2 Chron. 20 : 14), and even in the times of Ezra " the children
of Asaph" appear as singers (Ezra 2: 41). It is probable there
fore that the name Asaph reappeared from time to time among
the descendants of that Asaph who labored with David.  Some
of these eleven Psalms must upon internal evidence be assigned
to a time later than David.  J?salm 73 might have been written
at any point from David to Ezra. The writer had seen the wicked
prosper apparently more than the righteous, and he was sorely
troubled. He sets before us their ungodly pride ; their unaccount
able prosperity; and his own perplexity and distress over this
strange problem, until he went into God's sanctuary and there
saw their fearful end portrayed. This relieves his mind of its dif
ficulty, and suggests the far different end of the righteous — amid
the glories of which his song closes.
The difficulty which troubled Asaph has troubled other minds
in every age. The facts which he saw in the open world before
him were by no means peculiar to that age; they may be seen any
where, in every age. It is, however, only the first or surface view
of things which makes the trouble. Asaph at first tacitly assumed
not only that retribution from God for the sins of men ought to be
finished and made perfect in this present life, laying over nothing
to be evened up in the world to come, but also that it ought to be
kept good and perfect all along, step by step, day by day, so that an
observer, dropping his eyes upon God's ways toward men at any
point would see justice meted out promptly with no delay and
with unvarying perfection. But this assumption is without foun
dation. Such retribution, immediate and perfect, is not God's
way. His ways take time for their complete unfolding. Mani
festly he proposes to bear long with the wicked in order to make
full proof of the power of forbearance and love upon human
hearts to bring them to repentance. And if, as we see here, this
system of forbearance and delay of retribution involves some
moral trial to the righteous as well as to the wicked, God does
not for that reason reject it, but finds use for it in a system wisely
constructed for the largest discipline of moral probation. In this
line lie the moral lessons of tho Psalm before us.  Speaking
-of this class of Psalms of which Ps. 73 and 37 are samples,

298 PSALM LXXIII.
Isaac Taylor remarks ("Spirit of Hebrew Poetry" p. 209): "The
tone of these odes is meditative and ethical ; they represent those
balancing thoughts by aid of which the pious in comparing their
own lot, such as often it is, with the lot of the ungodly, or with
the outside show of that lot, bring their mind to an even balance
and restore its hopeful confidence in the divine favor."
1. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of
a clean heart.
Remarkably the Psalm opens, affirming as if by anticipation, .
the conclusion which he reaches at the end. It is as if he would
say: Though, as I am about to show you, my mind has labored
long and most painfully over this perplexing problem, yet I have
come at last most fully to this conclusion : God is surely good to
his true Israel. Note, they are not all Israel who are of Israel
(Rom. 9: 6). He would have us remember that by "Israel" he
means only the pure in heart — "the Israelites indeed in whom is
no guile."
2. But as for me, my feet were almost gone ; my steps
had well nigh slipped.
3. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the pros
perity of the wicked.
" As for me," introduces his own personal experience. I wish
to tell you that personally I have had most perplexing trials over
this matter. I have been stumbled, and within a little of abso
lutely falling.  The original suggests feet " stretched out,"
"poured out," sprawling, as if to make such a fall a serious, not
to say almost ludicrous, thing.  For I was envious of the proud,
those who make a great show or literally a shine in the world,
when (I said) I will look into this matter, the prosperity of wicked
men. He thought to make this a special study, and he was per
plexed. 4. For tliere are no bands in their death : but their
strength is firm.
"No bands; " more precisely, no pangs; their death is not pain
ful. Their bodies are fat, plump, even to their death — not emacia
ted, worn with long sickness. The word for " strength " means
properly the body, the person. This is the first point in his de
scription — a death comparatively painless.
5. They are not in trouble as other men ; neither are they
plagued like other men.
They are not involved in the troubles common to men; they are
not smitten, afflicted, equally with other men of our frail race.
_ 6. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain ;
violence covereth them as a garment.

PSALM LXXIII. 299
"As a chain," not in the sense of a fetter, but rather of a neck
lace, a personal ornament. The original verb leaves us to choose
between stretching out the neck, carrying the head with a lofty
bearing, and wearing pride as a necklace. The parallel clause fa
vors the latter. They are not only oppressive, but are proud of
it, glorying in their guilty shame.
7. Their eyes stand out with fatness : they have, more
than heart could wish.
The first clause is well put, the original suggesting that their eye
goes forth out of fatness.  In the last clause the marginal ver
sion, " They pass the thoughts of the heart," comes nearer to the
true sense. The imaginations of their heart in the sense of their
wicked devices, overflow, pour out, from their very abundance.
The original words seem to demand this construction.
8. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning op
pression : they speak loftily.
9. They set their mouth against the heavens, and their
tongue walketh through the earth.
Instead of " corrupt," I prefer to translate : " They mock "
[speak insultingly], "and speak in wickedness; they speak op
pressively as from on high," i. e., as from a commanding position,
as men of authority whose words are with power.  V. 9 liter
ally reads: "They set their mouth in the heavens; their tongue
ranges [at will] in the earth," i. e., their proud utterances breathe
defiance to God above and to men below; they fear nothing in the
heavens or in the earth.
10. Therefore his people return hither : and waters of a
full cup are wrung out to them.
11. And they say, How doth God know ? and is there
knowledge in the Most High ?
Questions of some difficulty arise here, e. g., Where do his peo
ple go, and in what sense "return?" Who are they (v. 11) who
say, " How doth God know? " and what is the spirit of this ques
tion?  Moreover the original gives two readings for the verb
"return," the second having the sense of causing to return, in
which case the subject of the verb is God — God causes his people
to return. But this distinction has only minor importance, for if
the agency of God is not expressed in the verb, it is at least im
plied.  1 paraphrase the passage thus : Therefore [under the
presence and pressure of these facts concerning the wicked] God's
people are brought into this perplexed and questioning attitude of
mind, [" hither"], into the state already described ; and they drink
a cup of bitter waters to the dregs. They even say, How can it
be that God knows all this and yet lets these rebels against his
throne live and prosper thus ? It does not seem possible that God
would permit such things if he really knew them !  Another con-

300 PSALM LXXIII.
struction of v. 10 is given by some with the sense : Therefore his
people apostatize, go over to the party of those wicked men; and
find only the bitterest sorrow there. But the first construction
above given is the more natural, and yields a sense far more in
line with the drift of the Psalm as well as more in accordance
with facts.
12. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the
world* ; they increase in riches.
The same speakers continue : Look at this, say they ; these are
godless men, open enemies of the Most High, yet they prosper for
ever, i. e., all their way through life, and are constantly heaping
up riches. The middle clause can scarcely mean, The peaceful
men of this world are they; but rather, the peaceful ones of all
time, of perpetuity, this being the almost, invariable sense of the
well known Hebrew word Olam.*
13. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed
my hands in innocency.
14. For all the day long have I been plagued, and chas
tened every morning.
While impiety pays so well, yielding such returns, it is of the
least possible account to be pious. That I have made my heart
pure and washed my hands morally clean is only in vain, i. e., al
together in vain, bringing me no adequate reward. For I have
been -vexed and scourged all the day long and chastened every
morning. I see no such hard lot befalling the wicked.  This is
tho climax. His heart-troubles and perplexities have reached
their maximum. It is terrible.
15. If I say, I will speak thus ; behold, I should offend
against the generation of thy children.
If I said [to myself ] I will speak thus (i. e., as above, vs. 11-14),
lo, I should deal treacherously against thy children. It would be
a _ breach of good faith — would violate my sacred obligations.
Literally, the original seems to say — If at any time — whenever I
thought in myself, I will speak so, I did break good faith with thy
children. It was playing false to my obligations toward them;
laying a stumbling-block before them for their destruction. 
Some expositors (less well) give it thus : I should apostatize from
their communion.
16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for
me :
17. Until I went into the sanctuary of God ; then under
stood I their end.
If yet I searched [dug deep] to know this, it was painful toil to

PSALM LXXIII. 301.
my eyes — until I went into the sanctuary of God and there con
sidered, profoundly studied, their latter end.  The Italic word
" then " in our English version were better omitted. He was sorely
troubled until he went into God's sanctuary and until he studied
their latter end there,' before God, and in the light of the revela
tions of God made there. It is implied (not expressed) that he
then found relief.  If the question be asked, By what means
did the Psalmist obtain at the sanctuary such light respecting the
final doom of -the wicked ? the answer is : From the public read
ing of the written word of God there and from the rehearsal of
inspired songs in the worship of the sanctuary. The Pentateuch,
certainly in their hands then, was full of demonstrations of tho
sudden and fearful end of the wicked — of which it may suffice to
name the deluge, Sodom, Egypt, and the rebellious factions of
Israel in the desert. The same truths are brought out in many
Psalms. 18. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places : thou
castedst them down into destruction.
19. How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment !
they are utterly consumed with terrors.
The word for " surely " has usually the somewhat stronger sense
of only. Only in slippery places, never o.n any solid foundation,
thou hast set and evermore wilt set them. Thou hast hurled them
down into destruction. Ah, how suddenly, as in the twinkling of
an eye, are they in desolation ! They are brought to an end ; they
are finished — used up, by means of terrors — as if by the very power
of consternation ! How suddenly are they made to feel that they
can not stand before the dreadful God I
20. As a dream when one awaketh ; so, 0 Lord, when
thou awakest, thou shalt despise their image.
The last word of the verse, "image," seems to mean, the
imagination of their dream — the minds fancies in sleep. The
thought then is— as one makes small account of his dreams when
once fully waked, so, O Lord, when thou hast waked them from
their sleep wilt thou despise their dreaming.  Not " when thou
thyself awakest," as if God himself had been asleep, but, as the
verb in this grammatical form must mean, when thou hast caused
them to awake, thou wilt make not the least account of their vain
imaginations in mere dreams.
21. Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my
reins. 22. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast
before thee.
"Was grieved "—literally, was in fermentation like yeast.
" Was pricked "—stung with excruciating thought. He is now

302 PSALM LXXIII.
profoundly ashamed of himself, and can compare himself only
with the irrational brutes. It seems to him passing strange that
he should have thought and felt so.  The verbs in v. 21 are
future in form — a fact to be accounted for probably by that pecu
liarity of the Hebrew mind under which they were wont to throw
themselves back into the past and give their views of what was
then present and future by using the future tense.
23. Nevertheless I am continually with thee : thou hast
holden me by my right hand.
24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward
receive me to glory.
But strange to say — strange considering how I have thought and
felt as to thee — I am constantly with thee ; thou hast held me fast
by my right hand, against that fatal fall of which I spake as almost
befalling me (v. 2). " In thy counsel thou wilt lead me and after
ward receive me gloriously," or, perhaps, into glory — the former
however being the more precise shade of the original. • Thou wilt
gloriously take me to thyself. What more could he ask?
25. Whom have I in heaven but fheef and there is none
upon earth that I desire besides thee.
Literally — What is there for me in the heavens ? and compared
with thee I have no pleasure upon the earth. Our English version
expresses well the ultimate sense of these brief but most precious
words. Heaven may be beautiful, but there is no beauty there like
that of God ; nay more, comparatively speaking, no beauty there
save what is in God. Heaven may be social, full of created beings
of lofty powers and most genial nature ; but what are they all
compared with God ! This is the spontaneous utterance of all true
love to God. The glories of his character throw every thing else
into the shade. The blessedness of his favor and friendship sur-
passses all other joy immeasurably. Nothing else should be once
named or thought of in the comparison. '
" Were I in heaven without my God,
'T would be no joy to me."
So also, earth with its utmost attractions affords nothing to be
loved and enjoyed compared with God.
26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the
strength of my heart and my portion forever.
"My flesh and my heart" — body and soul — languish, lose their
vital, force, sink under the pressure of weakness and the strain of
toil ; but God is the rock of my heart and my everlasting portion.
O how true to the experience of the child of God ! And how full
of blessedness is this truth ! All enduring life, all abiding joy, are
in God alone

PSALM LXXIV. 303
27. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish :
thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee.
To be far from God is ruin ; for is not he the fountain of all
life — as truly of the life of the soul, of its peace and joy, as of
the life of the body, sustaining its vital forces and ministering to
its joyous vigor.  To go away from God is naturally and always
to play the harlot, for is not God a Father, nay, a Husband, hold
ing all his redeemed children in relations to himself most endear
ing and sacred, even like those between husband and wife ? No
mistake can be greater than to think of divorcing one's self from
God as being no crime. It is of all crimes the greatest !
28. But it is good for me to draw near to God : I have
put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all thy
works. But being near to God is good to me; I know it in my own
precious experience. It is not only a good but all good. Compre
hensively it sums up all ; leaves out nothing.  1 have put my
trust in the Lord Jehovah, the God of my covenant, and with the
purpose in my heart of publishing all his works. I will speak for
God and not be silent. Rebuking myself for my former folly, re
turning to a better mind and to far other views of the Great God, I
discard, those vexing thoughts. I am ashamed that I ever indulged
them, and much more that I ever uttered them. Henceforth it
remains to witness for God that his ways are perfect; his glory
infinite ; his love the joy of heaven and the joy of earth, beyond
which I have nothing else or more to seek.  Thus endeth this
wonderful song.

PSALM LXXIV.
This Psalm, designed for public instruction [" Maschil "] is
ascribed to Asaph, but doubtless in the same general sense as Ps.
73 ; i. e., one of the family or school of Asaph, in charge of sacred
song, and from time to time preparing new Psalms for public
use.  As to its historic relations critics are divided in opinion
between the despoiling of the temple by King Ahaz, and the de
struction of both city and temple by the Chaldeans. The former
was a grave matter and must have been exceedingly afflictive to
all pious Jews. (See 2 Kings 16 : 14-18, and 2Chron. 28: 21-25).
A very large proportion of the Psalms in this Book III (Ps.
73-89) are located historically between the revolt and the death of
Hezekiah. This fact has had great influence to induce certain
critics to assign this to the times of Ahaz. But fatal objections
to this view appear in numerous points which refuse to be applied
to the facts of that age, e. g., perpetual (or perhaps utter) desola
tions (v. 3) ; the ensigns of the enemy set up for signs (v. 4) ; the

304 PSALM LXXIV.
burning of the sanctuary (vs. 7, 8) ; " no more any prophet " (v. 9),
etc. These and other points of the description seem to demand
the reference of this Psalm to the scenes and the time of the de
struction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans. Though brief, it com
pares readily with the lamentations of Jeremiah both in its tone
and in the facts to which it alludes.
1. O God, why hast thou cast us off forever ? why doth
thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture ?
"Cast off," i. e., with loathing, repellency as the verb implies.
Why doth thine anger burn and therefore smoke against the flock of
thine own feeding, the people whom thou hast nursed and fed and
blessed through so many generations ? This point in the description
puts the case strongly. Will our own God discard us after so
many and so long continued demonstrations of his love and care ?
2. Bemember thy congregation which thou hast purchased
of old ; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou bast re
deemed ; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt.
"Thy congregation" means a people with whom thou hast often
met in holy assembly upon invitation at stated times, and there
fore a people that should be dear to thee.  "Hast purchased,"
redeemed them out of Egypt, as if by paying a ransom for their.
national life.  " The rod of thine inheritance " — rod in the sense
of stock, a tribe or family of many generations. As a tree and
all its branches are a unit, so a patriarch and all his descendants
are one body, this being the figure of " the rod of his inheritance."
The fact that God had for long ages dwelt in Mount Zion and
practically acknowledged Israel as his own people, is made one
ground of this imploring plea, and the Psalmist beseeches God to
remember it.
3. Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations ; even
all that the enemy bath done wickedly in the sanctuary.
Come down and walk over these fearful, utter desolations, and
see all the destruction which the enemy hath wrought in the
sanctuary. Who can behold these desolations without pity for
the sufferers and indignation against the authors thereof?
4. Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations ;
they set up their ensigns for signs.
"Roar" as savage wild beasts exulting over their prey. 
" Ensigns for signs," but the Hebrew word in each case is the
same. They set up their military and idolatrous banners in place
of our banner of the Lord.
5. A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes
upon the thick trees.
6. But now they break down the carved work thereof at
once with axes and hammers.

PSALM LXXIV. 305
These Chaldean warriors (vandal savages!) sought notoriety
and glory in breaking down with axe and hammer all the beau
tiful carved work of the sanctuary, even as the wood-chopper
makes himself known and noted by his dexterity and power in
felling the thick trees of the forest. This seems to be the point
of this comparison. Ah ! how sad to the heart of those who had
loved and admired the adornments and surroundings of the holy
temple !
7. They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have de
filed by casting down the dwelling-place of thy name to the
ground. 8. They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them to
gether : they have burned up all the synagogues of God in
the land.
Literally, they have cast thy sanctuary into tho fire ; to the earth
have they profaned the dwelling-place of thy name — as if they
would hurl it into the fire and stamp it beneath their proud feet I
Their thought was — Let us bury them in one common ruin, the
people and their sanctuary together.  " Synagogues of God."
The original does not admit the more modern, i. e.t the New Tes
tament sense of synagogue, viz., the local houses of worship scat
tered over all the land. This word * is used very frequently in the
Old Testament in the sense of appointed times for stated worship ;
the place for such worship; and the assembly itself; here doubtless
for the temple as specially the place, the one only place (the plural
of excellence) for all ritual worship of God in the land. This
was the head and front of the Chaldean outrages. They had
burned up tho only place for the worship of the true God in all the
land, or as the word naturally means, the earth.
9. We see not our signs : there is no more any prophet :
neither is there among us any that knoweth how long.
We no longer see our sacred insignia, the ark, the mercy-seat,
the Cherubim, the Urim and Thummim, the altar and its appen
dages ; and what aggravates our distress greatly, we have no more
any prophet of God who can tell us how long this desolation shall
continue. This Psalm was manifestly written while the scenes it
portrays were yet fresh, the ruins still smoking (we might almost
say), and before Jeremiah had foretold "how long."
10. O God, how long shall the adversary reproach ? shall
the enemy blaspheme thy name forever ?
11. Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right
hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
" How long ? " was the point of most vital interest. Could it be
tins*

306 PSALM LXXIV.
that Go'd would let this desolation go on forever ? — — Withdrawing
the right hand from their aid implies standing aloof from their
help.  The last clause, translated, "Pluck it out of thy bosom,"
is in Hebrew highly elliptical, thus : " From thy bosom consume,"
i. e., finish, make an utter end of them. It is implied, (not ex
pressed) that the hand is drawn out of the bosom ; the thing ex
pressed is, consume them.
12. For God is my King of old, working salvation in
the midst of the earth.
Here the tone of the Psalm changes, the mind reverting to the
glorious past and to the wondrous displays of God's power and
faithfulness in behalf of his people. The Psalmist speaks for the
whole people. "God is my King;" and all the people unite to
say, " Often achieving salvation for me in the midst of the
earth." 13. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou
breakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14. Thou breakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and
gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilder
ness. 15. Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood : thou
driedst up mighty rivers.
Appropriately the song reverts to the glorious works of God at
the Red Sea, through the Arabian desert, and at the passage of the
Jordan. " By thy power thou didst cleave the sea asunder; thou
didst shiver to atoms the heads of the great sea-monsters — said
apparently to celebrate God's absolute dominion over the sea and
its mighty populations."  " Leviathan ; " literally, a crooked ser
pent, but used like "dragon" for the largest class of sea animals.
The poet represents the mighty hand of God at the Red Sea as
shattering all the huge sea-monsters, and tossing them up upon
the farther shore to become meat for the people dwelling there ;
but really it would_ seem with his eye on that proud host — Egypt's
horsemen and charioteers, sunk-in its mighty waves and their dead
carcasses washed upon the desert shore.  "Thou didst cleave
fountain and flood," with probable allusion to the cleaving of the
rocks under the rod of Moses, out of which waters ran as a river.
 " 1'hou driedst up mighty rivers," looks to the passage of the
Jordan. The word for "mighty" denotes rather a living, peren
nial stream, never naturally dry. Such was the Jordan, and
moreover at the time of this miracle, at high flood, overflowing all
its banks.  These wonderful achievements of their Almighty
King were good to think of in such seasons of sorrow and despon
dency as that of the writer of this Psalm and of his people.

PSALM LXXIV. 307
16. The day is thine, the night also is thine : thou hast
prepared the light and the sun.
17. Thou hast set all the borders of the earth : thou hast
made summer and winter.
Achievements more grand than those at the Red Sea and the
Jordan come here before the mind. The God of Israel is none
other than the Infinite Creator, the Author of day and night, of
light and darkness, who ordained the bounds of land and sea, and
the changes of the seasons — summer and winter. This seems to
imply that he who made the sun for the joyous light of earth by
day could bring up the sunlight of prosperity upon his people and
dispel the darkness of their captivity. He who makes summer and
winter could change the frost of their winter to the sunshine and
order of summer again.
18. Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O
Loed, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy
name. This one thing let not Jehovah, their Covenant God, forget — that
the enemy had reproached his name, and were Still' bringing re
proach upon it. Could he bear this ? Would it be for his honor
before the nations of the earth that his people should be utterly
broken down as if their own God were powerless to save ?
19. O deliver not the soul of thy turtle-dove unto the
multitude of the wicked : forget not the congregation of thy
poor forever.
The general sense of this verse is obvious, yet the original is
difficult, especially on account of the apparent play upon the one
word translated in the first clause, " multitude " and in the second
"congregation" — applied therefore in the former case to the
enemies of God; in the latter, to his friends. The word "soul"
probably qualifies this word * which primarily means an animal
or a herd of beasts — the sense being: Surrender not thy turtle
dove (gentle, timid, defenseless) to this greedy blood-thirsty herd ;
forget not the herd — the mass of thy poor ones, forever.
20. Have respect unto the covenant : for the dark places
of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
" Look to the covenant ; " fix thine eye, thy thought, upon thy
covenant of mercy with thy people ; for the darknesses of the earth
are full of the dwelling places of cruelty — as if cruelty found its
native home there.  The. darknesses, or dark places of the earth,
are here the Babylon to which God's people were borne away to
captivity. No true light of God was there ; nought but intensified
darkness. Conseauently cruelty dwelt there, a people fierce and
rvn *

308 PSALM LXXV.
savage (See Hab. 1 : 6, 7) who could taunt their Jewish captives
with the challenge to sing their songs of Zion (Ps. 137).
21. O let not the oppressed return ashamed : let the poor
and needy praise thy name.
"Return" — turn back as one baffled, frustrated. " Ashamed,"
in the usual sense, put to shame. Rather, let the poor, i. e., thy
poor, helpless people have cause to praise thy name for thy
delivering mercy.
22. Arise, O God, plead thine own cause : remember how
the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
23. Forget not the voice of'thine enemies : the tumult
of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
The final plea turns upon the honor of God and his regard for
his own name before the nations. Forget not the voice of thine
enemies — their exultation over thy .conquered people, their shouts
of triumph ['•' tumult "] which ascend continually — this being the
sense rather than " increaseth." These impious shouts of the
exultant Chaldeans rise up continually before God. He can not
ignore them; he is entreated to take note thereof and avenge him
self upon such enemies. In such emergencies it is never amiss to
plead — " What wilt thou do, O our God, for thy great name ? "
(Jer. 14:7-9, 21, 22).

PSALM LXXV.
The caption commits this Psalm " to the chief Musician " for use
in the sanctuary service ; adds the words " Al Taschith "• (destroy
not) which appear elsewhere only in Ps. 57-59 (See Notes on the
caption to Ps. 57), and ascribes the Psalm to Asaph.  On the
question of date and historic occasion the Psalm has in itself no
very distinctive indications. But the historic allusions in Ps. 76
locate that Psalm almost unmistakably in the times of Hezekiah
and the famed overthrow of the Assyrian host; and this Psalm (75)
is obviously one of a pair with that. The very first verses indicate
this. " His name is great in Israel," says Ps. 76 ; " For thy name
is near; thy wondrous works declare it," says Ps. 75. Thanks
for some signal manifestation of power and love in behalf of Israel
is the tone of Ps. 76, v. 11 calling for the payment of the vows and
the bringing of presents to One who had shown himself terrible to
their foes; while Ps. 75 strikes the same key-note in its first
words: "Unto thee, O Lord, do we give thanks." The judgments
of God on some proudly wicked power are the special* occasion for
both Psalms. I assume it, therefore, as highly probable that these '
Psalms contemplate the same historic event, viz., that most wonder- i
ful interposition of God for his people which distinguished tb

PSALM LXXV. 309
reign of Hezekiah and of which Isaiah was both the prophet and
the historian. (See his prophecies of it Isa. 10 : 5-34, and 14: 24-
27, and 17 : 12-14, and 33; also his history, chapters 36 and 37.)
1. Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto thee do
we give thanks : for that thy name is near thy wondrous
works declare.
The clause, " Thy name is near," is a fine illustration of the
Hebrew usage of the word "name" to represent the special mani
festations of* God to men in the line of his power, wisdom, and
love, here expressively grouped under the phrase, " Thy wonder
ful works."  The last part of the verse, more closely translated,
might starid: "Thy name is near; thy 'wondrous works declare
it ; " or possibly thus : They [men in general] declare thy won-'
drous works. God is so near, manifests himself so openly and so
signally that his glorious works are on every tongue; or those
works themselves are both lip and tongue to declare it. Nothing
less than this could fitly represent the prevalent feeling of the sons
and daughters of Jerusalem when they arose one morning to find
one hundred and eighty-five thousand dead corpses where but the
night before lay the proud host of Assyria's king — the spoil strown
over the country along their retreating path and the survivors of
that host gone, never to return I . Did they not feel deep in their
heart that not their own hand but God's hand had done this?
Ah indeed, his name on that eventful night was near ; his won
drous works told it too plainly to be misunderstood.
2. When I shall receive the congregation I will judge up
rightly. 3. The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dis
solved : I bear up the pillars of it. Selab.
The "I" of these verses is not, as the reader might at first view
suppose, the writer of the Psalm, nor king Hezekiah, nor indeed
any other merely human king. The last clause, " I bear up the
pillars of the earth," is altogether too much to come from any
mortal lip. The better view therefore is to assume that God him
self is the speaker here. In v. 1 his wondrous works are thought
of as speaking, telling their message [the precise sense of the He
brew word "declare"]. It is by no violent transition therefore
that in these verses God himself speaks.  The English transla
tion fails to give the exact thought. It is better thus : " For I will
take a set time; I will judge righteously. The land and all the
dwellers in it are panic-smitten ; I have adjusted the pillars there
of." That is, I will assign a time for manifesting my royal pre
rogative of judging the nations ; then I will judge them in right
eousness. It is an hour of consternation over all my land; men's
hearts meditate terror (Isa. 33 : 18) and can think and feel nothing
else. It is as if the very earth were melting away beneath their
feet, but I have the responsibility for its pillars ; I shall hold them
14

310 PSALM LXXV.
to their place, and this great terror will pass away as if it had
been but a dream. "Selah; " pause and dwell on a promise so
precious, a relief so divine !
4. I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly : and to the
wicked, Lift not up the horn :
5. Lift not up your horn on high : speak not with a stiff
neck. It seems better here also to attribute the words directly to God
as the speaker. If however the Psalmist speaks, he speaks for
God and in his behalf. The sentiments are his.  The "horn"
is the organ and symbol of power and also of pride. Horned
animals when high-spirited and. half furious throw high the horn,
to which the proud king of Assyria is not unaptly compared. His
spirit is fully brought out in the words of Isaiah (10 : 7-14, and
36: 4-10, 13-20). These verses are God's admonition to him and
to all like him to beware how they insult the God of heaven I
"Pride goeth before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall."
6. For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from
the west, nor from the south.
7. But God is the judge : he putteth down one, and set-
teth up another.
The word " promotion " * assumes the original word to be an in
finitive verb, meaning to lift high, instead of being the plural,
mountains, as usual. But it is harsh to use such an infinitive as a
noun ; its location at the very end of the verse is adverse to this
construction ; besides that it stands in the closest relation with the
word wilderness ["south"] immediately before it. I therefore
prefer to translate the verse thus, in the most direct, immediate
connection with what precedes : " For not from the east, nor from
the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains " [the great
Arabian wilderness on the south] " for God himself is judge ; he
prostrates this and lifts high that." The course of thought is,
Throw not your horn proudly in the air as if your power were su
preme, and the destinies of all earth's nations were in your hand ;
for the decision of destinies comes neither from the east nor west,
nor from the glorious old mountains of the region of Sinai, but
God only and alone is judge — the sole and Almighty Arbiter of
human destiny. He hurls down this nation and lifts high that one
at his supreme pleasure. With only the word of his power he
speaks and it is done 1
8. For in the hand of the Loed tJiere is a cup, and the
wine is red ; it is full of mixture ; and he poureth out of
the same : but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the
earth shall wring Uiem out, and drink them.
onn*

PSALM LXXVl. 311
The way he dealt that day before all Israel with the boastful,
blasphemous Assyrian suggests the thought of this verse ; a cup
.of spiced, hot, intoxicating wine, maddening and deadly, which the
wicked nation must drink from his hand to its very dregs. They
put themselves in battle array against almighty God ; of course
they fell. Their madness became their death. How could it be
otherwise ?
9. But I will declare forever ; I will sing praises to the
God of Jacob.
10. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but
the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.
But I for my part — I in the broadest antithesis with their
spirit — will set forth the glorious deeds of Jehovah forever; I will
sing praises to the God of 'Jacob.  In v. 10 it is simply a ques
tion of taste whether we shall suppose the speaker (I) to be God
himself, or the author of the Psalm, drawn by the strong sympathy
of his soul to speak in God's behalf. The truth spoken is the same
as in vs. 4-8. The horns of the wicked and proud Assyrian are
cut off, and God will do the same thing with every like proud and
wicked nation (or individual); but the horn of righteous Israel
and of every other righteous nation shall be exalted.

PSALM LXXVI.
The caption consigns this Psalm to the " Chief Musician," to be
sung with an instrument called " Neginoth," the author being of
the school of Asaph.  The points made in the Psalm adapt them
selves so nicely, not to say perfectly, to the destruction of the As
syrian host during the reign of Hezekiah, that we need look no
further for its date and historic reference. (See notes introductory
to Ps. 75.)
1. In Judah is God known : his name is great in Israel.
Well might it be said then, "In Judah is God known;," known
as the hearer of prayer ; known as the enduring, unfailing Friend
of his covenant people; known as One mighty to save. "His
name is great in Israel;" how could it be otherwise after such
displays of matchless power and terrible retribution upon the
proud Assyrian !
2. In Salem also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place
in Zion.
Salem is but another name for Jersusalem — the city of the
Great King, the place of God's special abode, where first his tent
and afterward his temple was located. Assyria's king had
proudly hurled defiance at the God of Israel ; in the words of

312 PSALM LXXVI.
Isaiah (10: 33), had "shaken his hand at the mount of the daugh
ter of Zion, the hill of Jerusalem ; " but the God who dwelt there
sent forth his angel through that Assyrian camp one awful.
night — it was enough! The dwelling-place of Israel's God was
safe! 3. There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and
the sword, and the battle. Selah.
There, at that point, just as that marshaled host thought them-
" selves within striking distance and ready to smite the city — there
Jehovah shivered the lightnings of the bow, the shield, the
sword — all his implements of battle.  -Pause and think of that
crash underneath the stroke of the Almighty!
4. Thou art more glorious and excellent than the moun
tains of prey.
Before the poet proceeds to speak more fully of the effects of
that one dreadful blow, he must needs celebrate the superlative
glory of Him who dealt it upon his foes. "Thou art brilliant" —
shining and " magnificent," far above the sublime mountain peaks
so often chosen by robber-mountaineers. So I understand this
somewhat difficult passage. Some suppose that mountains are put
here for mighty kingdoms, with reference to those hostile, conquer
ing powers at that time in arms against Judah ; but this seems to
me less poetical and therefore less apt and pertinent than the con
struction above given.
5. The stout-hearted are spoiled, they have slept their
sleep: and none of the men of might have found their
hands. Resuming the description of that immense slaughter, he gives
three distinct points: (a) Those stout-hearted ones — men of
mighty heart, fearless and brave — are spoiled, (b) They have
gone to their last sleep, from which men never wake, (c) Men
of might they were, but their hands are for evermore powerless.
They no longer find aught for their hands to do. In the prosaic
history of Isaiah : " In the morning they were all dead corpses."
6. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and
horse are cast into a dead sleep.
Not men only but chariots and horses are cast by thy rebuke
into a dead sleep. The chariots are silent as death, or perhaps
the reference may be to the death of the chariot-horses. The
dread mission of Death was not to the warriors alone but to-
the horses as well, of which they had been specially proud (Isaiah
36 : 8).
7. Thou, even thou, art to.be feared: and who may stand
in thy sight when once thou art angry ?

PSALM LXXVL 313
"Thou" is made by repetition specially emphatic. Thou and
none other or else ; thou alone art to be feared. Who can stand
before thee after thine anger begins to burn ?
8. Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven ;
the earth feared, and was still,
9. When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek
of the earth. Selah.
From out of his high heavens God made the mandate for his
judgments to be heard — -judgments in the sense of visitations of
destruction upon his defiant foes. Earth feared and hushed itself
to silence before God's awful voice.  It was to save the meek
ones — meek in the two-fold sense of pious and frail — the poor, de
pendent ones who cast themselves on their God for help.  Pause
and contemplate this wonderful interposition !
10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee : the re
mainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
Instead of " surely " the Hebrew gives us for * indicating that
the judgment on Assyria was only in accord with the universal
principle of God's government here brought to view.  The first
clause of this verse is very plain ; the second, somewhat difficult —
at least it is variously interpreted. The Hebrew verb "restrain"
will scarcely admit any other sense than gird on as the warrior
does his sword. Hence the English Version can not well be justi
fied from the Hebrew. We have therefore to choose between
these several interpretations.  (1) The last and utmost remains
of human wrath thou wilt gird about thee as it were thine own
sword for the destruction of "thy foes : (2) The remainder of thine
own wrath — its extremest manifestations — thou wilt gird on for
judgment, etc. : (3) The remains of thy wrath in the sense of
those who survive the visitations of thy wrath, thou wilt attach to
• thyself, converting them from foes to friends.  The last named
seems to get more from the words than they can naturally mean.
The second in order makes the same word in the second clause
refer to the wrath of God which in the first refers to the wrath of
man. This is harsh, unnatural, and therefore, being uncalled for,
should be rejected. The first-named has decidedly the preference.
In this construction the second clause carries out the idea of the
first. God can use the wrath of man to any extent for his own
praise. No matter how fierce, no matter how extreme or desperate,
the more the better for his purposes ; he can so easily gird it on
and make it the very sword of his righteous retribution upon his
proud and maddened foes.  Comparing this construction with
that of the received English version, it will be seen that this is
much the stronger and gives a bolder view of God's over-ruling
?3*

314 PSALM LXXVI.
agencies. While the English version represents him as curbing
in man's wickedness as if he could not make it work out his
praise (or at least whenever he can not), our construction assumes
his infinite power to make any and ail of it evolve his praise,
since he can even use it as his chief instrument in subduing his
foes. Their utmost outbursts of wrath are his sword which he girds
on for the battle against sin and wrath.  Sennacherib was a case
in point. He was full of pride and wrath against Jehovah. His
Assyrian gods (so he said) had given him victory over numerous
other great kingdoms of the East; he was bold to try their power
against the God of Israel. His pride got up this mighty issue and
made it stand out athwart the political sky of the ancient heavens.
All the civilized nations of that age had their eyes upon this
stupendous trial of strength between the many gods of Assyria
and the one God of Israel. And did not the result inure to the
praise of Israel's God? Ah, did not Jehovah gird about him the
utmost wrath of Assyria's king and use it as his sword for the
terrific slaughter of that mighty host ?  Such examples fill every
page of history. Comprehensively we may ask — What has been
going on upon our earth ever since Satan found his way to it with
his hellish machinations? Just this: Satan witting, but God out
witting; Satan planning, God over-planning; Satan mad, and the
Most High turning all his mad schemes into confusion, shame, and
defeat. Every-where and through all time, he who sitteth on high
has had in derision the most subtle devices of human or Satanic
wrath, counteracting, prostrating, and converting to glorious good
what was devised for the utmost evil. All this conspires to the
glory and praise of God.  This truth has bearings both wide
and rich upon the relations of sin under the moral government
of God. It shows plainly that God is not and never can be
alarmed by the presence of sin lest it should get any considerable
ascendency in his universe. No matter though it rage and burn
and goad itself into furious wrath; God knows his own resources.
He understands how he can not only arrest and curtail this mis
chief, but how he can even turn it to great and good account.
Hence he stands in 'no fear for either the present or final safety
of his realm.  These views of God's relations to sin should in
spire a calm and patient trust in God amid the darkest scenes.
The present may be the day of Sin's defiant triumph ; but let us
know assuredly that this triumph is only apparent; never can be
real. Even this appearance of triumph must be transient ; it can
not last long for God is on his lofty throne and his eyes behold
all the sons of pride, to abase them in due time. Therefore let
all who love his name " be as the sun when he goeth forth in his
might." 11. Vow, and pay unto the Loed your God : let all that
be round about him bring presents unto him that ought
to be feared.

PSALM LXXVII. 315
12. He shall cut off the spirit of princes : he is terrible
to the kings of the earth.
The daughter of Zion, saved once more, should bring presents
to her Great Deliverer, and pay the vows she made in the day of
her peril. We may hope that King Hezekiah and his people were
not unmindful of their Great Redeemer.  The last verse sug
gests one of the great lessons of those events — the terrible retri
bution of the Almighty upon his proud and persistent foes.
PSALM LXXVII.
This Psalm, like Ps. 39 and 62, is committed to " Jeduthun."
See introductory notes to Ps. 39.  By general consent critics
date this Psalm at some point between the revolt of the ten tribes
and the captivity, some of them favoring a point as early as
Rehoboam ; others, as late as Josiah. I see nothing in the Psalm
itself or in its place in the collection, which can determine this
question.  The key-note to this Psalm is its antithesis between
two lines of thought— two diverse views and states of mind : the
first sketched in vs. 2-9; the second in vs. 11-20. The former
view rests on some grievous calamity, some events painfully afflic
tive, which shake the writer's faith in God sorely and drive him
almost to despair of further mercy, -culminating in those strange
questionings which appear in vs. 7-9. Then in v. 10, his faith
rallies ; repels those terrible temptations to despair ; and resolves
to take a new and different view of God's wonderful deeds in the
ages past. Here he goes back to more remote events; his mind
takes a broader range and rests on those great and marvelous
achievements which had been the glory of Israel's God, especially
the redemption of his captive people from Egypt, and his wonderful
manifestations before them in the age of Moses and Aaron.
1. I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with
my voice ; and he gave ear unto me.
In this verse the writer gives a comprehensive view of the entire
experience expanded in this Psalm. Having given this in the most
general way, he proceeds to show how he cried to God — out of
what depths of affliction and under what pressure of doubt and
despondency ; and then how he found relief and finally rose to
exulting triumph.
2. In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord ; my sore
ran into the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be
comforted. 3. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained,
and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.

316 PSALM LXXVII.
As all God's real children should and indeed are wont to do, in
his day of trouble he sought the Lord. He gave himself to prayer.
His aching heart turned to God for relief.  Not " my sore," but
as the English margin suggests, " my hand was stretched forth (in
the attitude of prayer) and would not let itself down; " u my soul
refused to be comforted." The uplifted, unflagging hand did not
become faint or weak (so the verb indicates) ; his soul took on
grief, gave way to sorrow, and found no comfort. His thoughts of
God seemed only to aggravate his trouble and overwhelm his soul.
Why does God let these terrible calamities come upon me and
upon Israel?
4. Thou holdest mine eyes waking : I am so troubled that
I can not speak.
" Thou holdest the lids of mine eyes; " i. e., holdest them open
so that I can not sleep. " I am so troubled " — literally, so trodden
down, so pressed as with insulting foot-treads upon me that I can
not speak. A sense of unmitigated calamity and of overwhelming
discouragement had broken him utterly down.
5. I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient
times. 6. I call to remembrance my song in the night : I com
mune with mine own heart : and my spirit made diligent
search. My mind traveled back to better days. I pondered deeply
those ancient times and recalled my night-songs when I sang joy
ously of God's mercies. But this remembrance of better days
only served to aggravate his woe.
7. Will the Lord cast off forever ? and will be be favor
able no more ?
8. Is his mercy clean gone forever? doth his promise faij.
for evermore?
9. Hath God forgotten to be gracious ? hath he in anger
shut up his tender mercies ? Selah.
Is it for all time that the Lord will cast off as with loathing ?
Will he add no more manifestations of favor ? Is his mercy at an
end for ever ?  These questionings seem to be forced from his lips
by the dark aspect of these afflictive providences and by the pres
sure of despondency under which his soul seemed unable to rise.
 These words paint to the life the bitter experiences which
many tempted and tried souls have known but too well. Their
being here in this sacred song does not justify them, nor give
them. any measure of divine sanction. Rather they are here
because they are sometimes real, and to show us how the most be
wildered souls may come forth from such darkness into day; how
the most perplexed and even despairing may find views of God

PSALM LXXVII. 317
which shall turn their sorrow into joy ; their despair into exulting
triumph. 10. And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember
the years of the right band of the Most High.
This verse is the transition point from the sad experience to the
joyous — from dark, depressing views to bright, uplifting thoughts
of God and his ways. The first clause may be rendered — " And
then I said, This makes me sick" — this way of thinking sickens
me. Or the principal word may be taken from another root *
with the sense, to pierce, bore. This pierces my soul as with
daggers ; I can not bear it.  The last clause is difficult because
the word which our version represents by " years " may be a verb
in the sense — to change.f The sense might then be; The change from
this state is through the right hand of the Most High. He only
can achieve it ; or it can come to me only by turning my thought
to what his right hand has done. The ultimate sense, it will be
seen, is substantially the same in this construction as in that of our
English version which brings forward the verb of the next verse —
I will recall the years of God's right hand ; i. e., the great achieve
ments of those eventful years. It is by no means easy to decide
between these two methods of etymological derivation; nor is it
particularly essential to decide, since the ultimate sense varies so
slightly. 11. I will remember the works of the Loed : surely I
will remember thy wonders of old.
12. I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy
doings. In v. 11, the original has a nice shade of thought which our
English version fails to give. Though the verb "remember" is
repeated, it is in what is called another "conjugation" with a
different form and a modified sense, thus : " I will cause the works
of the Lord to be remembered, for I will recall [and so recite]
thy wonders of old." The first clause means, I will celebrate —
will bring to the notice of men; the second shows how, viz., by
first recalling them to his own mind.
13. Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary : who is so
great a God as our God?
The word for " sanctuary " J is used either in this sense.
the sanctuary; or in the sense of holiness as the prime dis
tinctive quality in God's moral character. The latter must be pre
ferred here — (1) Because it gives a better sense; (2) Because this
passage manifestly alludes to Ex. 15 : 11 where the same word is
used : " Who is like unto Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing wonders ? " This manifest allusion demands that the
BHpt m& t S^n *

318 PSALM LXXVII.
same word here should take the same sense as there. Moreover it
would be difficult to find any pertinent sense for the passage in
these words — " Thy way is in the temple" — since the context refers
to th.e glorious miracles wrought of God in the redemption of his
covenant people. But nothing could be more pertinent than to
say': Thy ways are altogether holy, wrought in pure and perfect
holiness, i. e., in supreme justice and benevolence — those great
moral qualities which in their perfection distinguish the Infinite
God from all the noblest creatures of earth. So also in greatness
none can compare with him.
14. Thou art the God that doest wonders : thou hast de
clared thy strength among the people.
15, Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the
sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.
Thou art the very God, the only God who performs wonders. 
"Hast declared;" but according to the usage of the Hebrew, not
in word but in deed ; literally, thou hast made known thy power
among the people. The word for "people" is plural, peoples, and
therefore must refer to Gentile nations, especially Egypt and the
Canaanites.  " With thy arm," as the history has it, " with a high
and stretched-out arm," indicating the signal manifestations of thy
divine power as in the plagues on Egypt and the overthrow of
Pharaoh's host in the sea.  "The sons of Jacob" all the tribes;
yet specifying the sons of Joseph because both Ephraim and Ma-
nasseh were prominent tribes, especially Ephraim, and pre-emi
nently so during and after the revolt. This allusion to " the sons
of Joseph " would tacitly suggest that those tribes, then in revolt
from Judah and from Judah's God, had a common inheritance in
those glorious works of God wrought in the ancient days for the
united people.  "Selah; " let each reader pause and dwell on
this significant fact.
16. The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee;
they were afraid : the depths also were troubled.
Under this grand poetical conception the waters of the Red Sea
become instinct with intelligence: they see the awful God and- are
afraid — literally, they writhe in agony. Yea, the great deeps are
troubled. The hand of God is upon them in power and with ef
fects never known before. How are they startled from their long
repose !
17. The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a
sound: thine arrows also went abroad.
Not only the waters below but the waters above are fearfully
agitated. The clouds pour forth torrents ; the skies utter a voice ;
thine arrows [the lightnings] fly to and fro. All the terrific agen
cies of the thunder-storm are wrought up to their intensest activ
ity ^ ,God wields them with his mighty arm !

PSALM LXXVII. 319
18. The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the
lightnings lightened the world : the earth trembled and
shook. Not precisely "in the [heaven," but in the whirlwind. Light
nings made the habited world light with more than the splendors
of day. The earth beneath shook under the crash of thunder
bolts, leaping from the hand of the Almighty !
19. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great
waters, and thy footsteps are not known.
It was only God marching along the sea and making his path
way in the great waters, when in his pillar of fire and cloud he
led the way for the hosts of Israel through the sea. From this
conception of God it was but an easy transition of thought to say
that his footsteps leave no trace behind. How soon the waters
close over those supposed foot-prints of the Almighty ! So the
majesty and glory ef his mighty works, who shall fully compre
hend? They are indeed ineffably glorious, and the thought of
them lifts us up from our despondency and compels us to feel
that if this Great God is our Friend, we can have nothing to
fear ; if he be the God of Zion, then Zion is forever safe under
his wing and strong in his power to save.
20. Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of
Moses and Aaron.
Amid all this terrible enginery of storm and lightning and seas
rent asunder — fearful to his enemies — there was nothing to alarm
his trustful friends. Ah no; for this God was their Shepherd,
leadingthem quietly as a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
All Israel marched safely and joyously through the vacant bed of
the sea, the mountain masses of water looking down as if standing
guard over them till they had passed safely through; then did
they not take on the fury of their power to whelm the enemies
of God and of his people with unutterable ruin !
Now as to the practical application of these inspiring facts, it
was but a natural and easy inference that this same God must be
still as mighty to save his people as ever — as strong against his
enemies in the age of this Psalm, as when he cast Pharaoh and
all his host into^the depths of the sea as a stone is sunk into the
mighty waters. The same Great God who never lacked resources
to humble the proudest nations of the ages long ago may be trusted
to do all he wills in the ages present or future. That wisdom and
power which stand out sublimely prominent in the great deeds of
the ancient times will always be equal to any demand through all
the ages. His troubled and discouraged people may safely banish
their fears and give to this Great God their humble confidence
under whatever calamities; through whatever straits. Is any
thing too hard for such a God ?

320 PSALM LXXVIII.

PSALM LXXVIII.
This Psalm is pre-eminently a " Maschil — a didactic composition,
composed for the instruction of the people. Ascribed to Asaph,
it may have been written by the father of that family or school,
contemporary with David, or, like several other Psalms, it may
have been composed by some of his successors or descendants
bearing his name. This question turns upon the date of the com
position.  The general drift and purpose of the Psalm is entirely
obvious. It recites the great events of Hebrew history, especially
the plagues on Egypt and the wanderings and murmurings in the
wilderness, for the high moral purpose of putting in the strong
light of contrast the stupendous achievements of their covenant-
keeping God in their behalf, coupled with compassionate long-
suffering, on the one hand; and the frequent murmurings and
apostasies of his people on the other. Examining the line of
thought more closely, it becomes apparent that the sacred poet
purposely gives prominence to the defection of fhe tribe of Ephraim
(vs. 9-11, 67), and God's choice of Judah as the leading tribe and
of David as his servant-king, the founder of the royal family for
his chosen people. For practical purposes this prominence would
have been forcibly in point at the juncture when David had been
placed over the tribe of Judah, but not yet accepted by the other
tribes. It would have been appropriate also after the revolt under
Jeroboam, especially while the question was still fresh on the heart
of the people of both kingdoms, Ephraim and Judah. We find an
argument very similar to the one in this Psalm in 2 Chron. 13 : 4-
12 — King Abijah of Judah debating with King Jeroboam of
Ephraim. To the great battle which followed, our Psalm (v. 9)
may refer.
But the precise date of the Psalm is a question of no small
difficulty. Critics hold diverse opinions. Some locate it during
the short reign of David over Judah only ; others, soon after the
scenes narrated 2 Chron. 13, the. reign of Abijah, son of Jeroboam;
others, during the reign of Hezekiah, supposing it to have been
designed to aid in his effort to recall the ten tribes into union with
Judah ; while others on very slender grounds throw it forward past
the captivity. The " turning back " of the armed men of Ephraim
in the day of battle (v. 9), alluded to as a signal and well known
event, favors the date of Abijah's reign, yet it may possibly refer
to events in the administration of Jephthah (Judg. 12 : 1-6), or of
other Judges (Judg. 1 : 27, 29). If the allusion to the " sanctuary "
(v. 69) indicated the temple on Moriah decisively, in distinction
from the tabernacle on Mt. Zion, then the later date must be
accepted ; but this word is often applied to the tabernacle. The
allusions (v. 60, 61) to Shiloh and the events narrated 1 Sam. 4,
favor the earlier date ; and finally, the entire absence of allusion
to thegreat events of the reign of David and to God's most won
derful indorsement of his reign by subduing before him all the

PSALM LXXVIII. 321
ancient enemies of Israel, seem to me to favor strongly the earlier
date. The_ staple events of history in the body of the Psalm belong
to the period of Moses and Joshua down to the earlier years of
David._ If the author had lived in the age of Abijah or of Heze
kiah, it is at least highly probable that events . later than these
would have found place in the Psalm, especially because they
would have sustained his main points strongly.  The striking
thought with which Ps. 77 closes (v. 20) appears in this Psalm (vs.
52, 53, 70-72) — a fact which may account for placing them in such
proximity. 1. Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears
to the words of my mouth.
2. I will open my mouth in a parable : I will utter dark
sayings of old :
3. Which we have heard and known, and our fathers
have told us. %
Appropriately the Psalmist first calls attention to what ho is
about to say.  "My law" — but in the sense here of moral in
struction.  "A parable" — here only a series of illustrations of
great moral truths, drawn riot from" his imagination, but from
historic facts. The history of God's dealings with ancient Israel
and of their behavior toward God is made to teach great moral
lessons.  The Hebrew word for "dark sayings" has often the
sense of a riddle, enigma : here it refers to the deeper significance
of God's ways toward men which he brings out in this Psalm.
(See Ps. 49 : 4).  They " are of old" inasmuch as the historic -
facts transpired long ago, in the days of the fathers and founders
of their nation. "
4. We will not hide them from their children, showing to
the generation to come the praises of the Loed, and his
strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. -
" We will not hide them from their children;" but in the spirit
of the Mosaic law and from the impulses of our own parental
heart, will testify of those great works of God wrought for his
people. The Psalmist remembered the injunction: "Take heed
lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen and lest they
depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them thy
son's sons," etc. (Deut. 4: 9). "Teach them diligently unto thy
•fchildren and talk of them when thou sittest in thy house." etc.
(Deut. 6: 7).
5. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed
a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they
should make them known to their children :
6. That the generation to come might know them, even

322 PSALM LXXVIII.
the children which should be born ; who should arise and
declare them to their children :
7. That they might set their hope in God, and not forget
the works of God, but keep his commandments :
8. And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and
rebellious generation ; a generation that set not their heart
aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.
• All these pointB are plain — that God gave their fathers a code
of civil law quite complete, and also a system of religious services,
to be enjoined carefully upon their children after them, and by
them upon their children onward through future ages — all for the
high purpose of leading them to set their hope in God and abide
in true-hearted obedience.
9. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying
bows, turned back in the day of battle.
10. They kept not the covenant of #od, and refused to
walk in his law ;
11. And forgat bis works, and his wonders that he had
showed them.
As suggested in the introductory remarks on this Psalm, it is
not easy to determine what particular " turning back" of the bow
men of Ephraim is here referred to. The tribe was characteris
tically populous and proud, envious of the supremacy of Judah, and
less faithful to their covenant with God. They appear badly in
the history of Jephthah (Judg. 12 : 1-6), and also in the times of
Gideon (Judg. 8 : 1-3). They experienced a most signal defeat
when under Jeroboam they joined battle with Abijah king of Ju
dah, as recorded 2 Chron. 13. The slaughter of that fearful day
was terrible and its moral lessons thrilling. But for the fact that
certain other things strongly favor an earlier date, the remarkable
prominence of that defeat and slaughter would seem to indicate
it as the event referred to here.
12. Marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers,
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Zoan, called by the Greeks Tanis, was long the capital of
Lower Egypt, on one of the eastern arms of the Nile, and near
the land of Goshen ; probably the residence of the Pharaoh of
Moses' time.
13. He divided the sea, and caused them to pass
through ; and he made the waters to stand as a heap.
Of this most memorable event, the history is given Ex. 14, the
commemorative song, Ex. 15 : 1-21. In the words of the history,
" the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand and on their
left" (14 : 22) ; in the loftier strains of poetry, " with the blast of
thy nostrils the waters were gathered together ; the floods stood

i

PSALM LXXVIII. 323
upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart
of the sea" (Ex. 15: 8).
14. In the daytime also he led them with a cloud, and
all the night with a light of fire.
This miraculous manifestation of God's presence seems to have
appeared immediately upon their leaving Egypt, " when they came
to Ethan in the edge of the wilderness." As described in the his
tory (Ex. 13 : 20-22) : "The Lord went before them by day in a
pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by night in a pillar
of fire to give them light, to go by day and by night." It is
spoken of as the presence of God's "angel" (Ex. 14: 40) and con
tinued through all their wilderness journeyings (Ex. 40: 38).
After the consecration of the tabernacle, this cloud rested upon
it, being lifted up and moving forward as the signal for the march
of Israel's host ; resting again as the signal for their halting (Num.
9 : 15-23, and 10 : 33-36). It was God's witness not to Israel
only but to other nations' of his abiding presence among his peo-
)le (Num. 14: 13, 14). Nehemiah attributes it to God's "mani-
bld mercies" that under the "great provocations" of his people,
God did not forsake them in the wilderness, never allowing the
pillar of the cloud to "depart from them by day nor the pillar of
fire by night to show them light and the way they should go"
(Neh. 9: 18,19).
15. He clave the rocks in the wilderness, and gave tliem
drink as out of the great depths. ,
16. He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused
waters to run down like rivers.
With no exaggeration the poet uses the plural "rocks;" "he
clave the rocks in the wilderness," since the history records two
signal instances : the first at Rephidim (Ex. 17 : 1-6) during the
first year of their wanderings ; and the second at Kadesh (Num.
20 : 1-11) during the last year of the forty. Both the history and
the song represent the quantity of water produced as very great,
amply sufficient for the supply of three millions of people with all
their cattle. Another reference to this miracle (Ps. 105 : 41) sus
tains this view of the great supply : " He opened the rock and the
waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river." 
How long this supply in these cases continued is not said ; but we
may assume it to have been as long as the demand.  Those who
are able to appreciate the intense suffering in the desert for want
of water, and the utter helplessness of a vast caravan like this —
a nation of people moving slowly along through a desert almost
utterly destitute of water — may form some conception of the
wealth of such a blessing— rivers of gushing water from a smit
ten rock— enough and more than enough for all ! Is it not strange
that, after having drank of these waters to their heart's supply,
they should not thenceforward and forever have believed in God?

324 PSALM LXXVIII.
This is precisely the thought which tho Psalmist proceeds to
suggest. 17. And they sinned yet more against him by provoking
the Most High in the wilderness.
18. And they tempted God in their heart by asking meat
for their lust.
19. Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God
furnish a table in the wilderness ?
20. Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed
out, and the streams overflowed ; can he give bread also ?
can he provide flesh for his people ?
" They sinned yet more against him ;'' they added yet other sin
by murmuring about their food. This sin was aggravated by rea
son of the great mercy shown them in such a gift of water. "They
tempted God" in the sense of trying him exceedingly by clamor
ing for food to gratify their appetite. They said, " Our soul loatheth
this light bread." "Yea, they spake against God" — in causeless
and guilty reflection against his power ; for they said, " Is God —
even El, the Mighty God — able to spread a table here in this wil
derness ? We know he smote the rock and brought forth rivers of
water ; but water is not bread : Is he able to give bread also ? "
The word "can" in vs. 19, 20 translates the Hebrew verb of
power : Has God the power — is he able to do this thing ? Will he
provide flesh for his people?— for this was what their appetite
specially craved.  These* verses obviously allude to the scenes
of lusting for flesh at Taberah, recorded Num. 14, when God
brought up quails from the sea covering their camp for a whole
day's journey round about, but visited their sin with his swift
judgment— as often happens under the two-fold operation of na
tural law and of divine and special retribution — to which the next
verse refers.
21. Therefore the Lord heard this, and was wroth : so
a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up
against Israel;
22. Because they believed not in God, and trusted not
in his salvation :
23. Though he had commanded the clouds from above,
and opened the doors of heaven,
24. And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and
had given them of the corn of heaven.
25. Man did eat angels' food : he sent them meat to the
full. These questionings of unbelief and complaint against God were
the more grievous to him for these two reasons" viz. : (1) That he

PSALM LXXVIII. 325
had given them water miraculously in ample supply ; and (2) that
during all the years of their desert life, he had fed them with
manna, thus supplying their bread almost without labor on their
part. He had given his special commission to the clouds from
above and had opened the doors of heaven to rain down upon
them this bread of heaven — this food from the home of the
angels — for this seems to be what is meant by " angel's food " —
literally, the bread of the mighty ones. It is not well to assume
that the angels subsist on food like ourselves ; much less that they
live on precisely such bread as the Hebrew manna. The de
mands of poetry -are better met by assuming that "heaven" here
is the lower heaven — the atmosphere above us; and that this
heaven is thought of as the home, the realm, of the angels. The
bread of the Hebrews, therefore, was not "of the earth, earthy,"
but from the heaven above, to be associated, therefore, with angelic
life — the last thing that men should despise.  The historic ac
count of this manna appears in Ex. 16: and Num. 11: 7-9. It
fell after and upon the dew of the evening ; was gathered in tho
morning after the dew had evaporated; in form like coriander
seed, to be ground and baked in cakes for bread ; its taste as fresh
oil or like wafers mixed with honey. Every thing about it was
miraculous — a fact doubly evinced by these special points, viz.:
that it fell regularly on six mornings and not on the seventh ; that
the fall of each of the first five days would keep only one day,
while the fall of the sixth day was double in amount and would
keep two days — thus supplying their Sabbath wants without Sab
bath labor ; and lastly, that a pot full, laid up as a memorial be
fore the Lord, was kept in perfect preservation for ages. Thus
God supplied subsistence for this host of his people during their
forty years of wandering in the wilderness. It was to the glory
of his name that he thus evinced his infinite resources to feed his
people in a barren, desolate wilderness — a most suggestive proof
of analogous resources to sustain his people spiritually with the
bread of life that comes down from the real heaven. It was the
shame and guilt of ancient Israel that even while they were eating
this manna and the nation had been subsisting upon it for a long
time, they still did not and would not believe that God could fur
nish flesh for so great a people. It was their shame that they
should demand it; their damning guilt that with all the light be
fore their minds they would not believe in God's willingness and
power to give them in abundance whatever change of food they
might really need.
26. He caused an east wind to blow in the heaven : and
by his power he brought in the south wind.
27. He rained flesh also upon them as dust, and feathered
fowls like as the sand of the sea :
28. And he let it fall in the midst of their camp, round
about their habitations.

326 PSALM LXXVIII.
29. So they did eat, and were well filled : for he gave
them their own desire;
30. They were not estranged from their lust : but while
their meat was yet in their mouths,
31. The wrath of God came upon them, and slew the
fattest of them, and smote down the chosen men of Israel.
This is a full account of the miraculous supply of flesh to which
vs. 18-22 allude. The intervening allusion to the manna (vs.
23-25) comes in there to show the special aggravation of their
guilt — that with the manna in their hands, they could yet deny
God's power to give them flesh in ample supply if he had seen it
best to do so.  The history shows that God sent them quails on two
distinct occasions; the first in connection with the first manna
(Ex. 16: 6, 7, 12, 13); and the second at Taberah (otherwise and
afterward called Kibroth-hattaavah) as narrated Num. 11 : 4-34.
In this latter case the judgment of God fell heavily upon the peo
ple while yet the flesh was between their teeth (Num. 11: 33).
And yet the survivors seem to have continued to eat of this mi
raculous supply of flesh, not one day only, nor two days, but a
whole month, until it became loathsome (vs. 19, 20). The marvel
is that the sudden smiting of the people with a " very great
plague " should have had so little moral impression upon the sur
vivors. Was it that this national passion for flesh had become a
madness — a furor that made them blind to the tokens of God's
displeasure ?
32. For all this they sinned still, and believed not for
his wondrous works.
33. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and
their years in trouble.
Their persistent unbelief despite of the presence of perpetual
miracles, and the somewhat frequent recurrence of those which
were new and fresh, are the strong points made in this Psalm.
Similar depravity is a fearful fact in the human life of every age.
It stands here a suggestive rebuke to the men of all time that in
the very presence of most impressive testimonies of God's love and
power they are still so slow of heart to believe in his love and to
trust his power to save.  The Hebrew nation doomed to wander
forty years up and down, back and forth, in that waste, dreary
wilderness consuming their days in vanity and their years in
trouble, are God's witnesses to the guilt of such sin, suggesting
how the unbelief of professed Christians dooms them to barren
ness and desolation during the many years of their earthly pil
grimage; while in their Father's house is bread enough and to
spare and their earthly life might just as well be spent in the land
of promise, flowing with milk and honey.
34. When he slew them, then they sought him : and
they returned and inquired early after God.

PSALM LXXVIII. 327
35. And they remembered that God was their Rock, aud
the high God their Bedeemer.
Yet the judgments of God were not altogether in vain. On
some hearts they fell impressively and brought forth the desired
moral fruit.  "Inquired early' a word which seems to couple
the two ideas, early and earnestly. What men rise early in the
morning to do, they do with a will, in the true earnestness of the
heart. 36. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth,
and they lied unto him with their tongues.
37. For their heart was not right with him, neither were
they steadfast in his covenant.
We need not apply these words to all the people ; yet they
were but too painfully true of the greater part, especially of the
fathers who came out of Egypt under Moses. Their hearts were
never true to God's covenant. Impressed by fearful judgments
they promised fairly, but full soon went back on their promises
and " lied unto God with their tongues."
38. But he, being full of compassion, forgave ffieir ini
quity, and destroyed them not : yea, many a time turned he
his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.
39. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind
that passeth away, and cometh not again.
Those historic events afford a lively illustration of the divine
qualities suggested here — deep compassion in view of human guilt ;
infinite readiness to forgive the penitent ; turning away his anger
and giving it but little scope compared with the ill-desert which he
must notice and rebuke ; and finally, making large account of hu
man frailty, remembering that man is but flesh, encompassed with
temptations that are mighty and having but feeble power to with
stand them. Such have always been God's marvelous ways of
mercy toward our sinning race I
40. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and
grieve him in the desert.
41. Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limi
ted the Holy One of Israel.
"How oft," is the very impression which will be made on the
mind of every reader of the history given by Moses of the wil
derness life of Israel.  " Turned back," »'• e., from God into mur
muring and rebellion.  The Hebrew word for "limited," of very
rare occurrence, and therefore of somewhat doubtful meaning, is
supposed by the best critical authorities to mean grieved, or more
precisely, they surprised, astonished him by their perversity ; by
their strange,' unaccountable depravity. Alexander translates:

328 PSALM LXXVIII.
" They set a mark on the Holy One of Israel," treating him con
temptuously. The Lexicons and other critical authorities follow
the analogy of cognate languages. The resulting sense — grieved,
astonished — is at least appropriate.
42. They remembered not his band, nor the day when
he delivered' them from the enemy.
43. How he bad wrought his signs in Egypt, and his
wonders in the field of Zoan :
44. And had turned their rivers into blood ; and their
floods, that they could not drink.
This was another point in their great guilt that they did not re
member the mighty hand of God, put forth so signally for their
deliverance from Egypt. That "day" of their redemption from
Egypt — a day that should have been never forgotten — they practi
cally forgot, and lived, thought, and felt, as if it had never been !
 The Psalmist now proceeds to recite the plagues brought on
Egypt by God's mighty hand for the rescue of his chosen people,
 "He turned their rivers;" literally, the streams of their
Nile, the one great river of Egypt, which however in Lower
Egypt is disparted into many, and reaches the great sea through
many mouths. The word here is the usual Egyptian name of the
Nile.  It was a terrible judgment — all their waters, blood; their
proud river, the boast and glory, the wealth and life of their land —
nothing but blood! The parallel Psalm and the history also
add— "And slew their fish" (Ps. 105: 29, and Ex. 7: 20, 21).
45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which de
voured them ; and frogs, which destroyed them.
46. He gave also their increase unto the caterpillar, and
their labour unto the locust.
On the question whether there were "diverse sorts of flies" or
only one sort, the ancient Jewish doctors held the former view, as
expressed in our English version; most of the recent critics hold
the latter. The same word * appears both in the history (Ex. 8 :
21, 22, etc.) and here. It is now supposed to refer to the gadfly,
alias dogfly, so called for his impudence, scorpion-like stinging
men and beasts, also sucking their blood.  Moses narrates the
plague of frogs Exod. 8: 1-15; of locusts, Ex. 10: 12-19. The
" caterpillar " is here only another name for the locust — for which
animal the Hebrews had many names [Joel gives four in the same
connection]. The word rendered " caterpillar " means the " de-
vourer ; " that for locust means, the countless ones, the animal that
comes in immense numbers.
47. He destroyed their vines with hail, and their syca
more trees with frost. ni-iy*

PSALM LXXVIII. 329
48. He gave up their cattle also to the hail, and their
flocks to hot thunderbolts.
The word for " frost " seems to mean hail-stones. For the plague
of hail, see Ex. 9 : 18-33. In a country where even rain is almost
unknown, and hail and thunder are of even more rare occurrence,
this plague must have been fearfully appalling.
49. He cast upon them the fierceness of his anger, wrath,
and indignation, and trouble, by sending evil angels among
them. " Evil angels ;" literally, angels of evil — messengers who bore
calamity as the burden of their message. These material plagues —
frogs, flies, locusts, hail and thunderbolts, etc., might by a figure
of speech be called God's angels — his ministers of evil sent on
Egypt ; or the sense may be that God employed the ministry of his
angels in sending these plagues. The Bible gives us cases of this
sort; e. g., 2 Sam. 24: 16, and Isa. 37: 36. In all these cases, God
employed good, not bad angels — "evil" only in the sense that they
bore calamities, not blessings.
50. He made a way to his anger ; he spared not their soul
from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence ;
51. And smote all the firstborn in Egypt; the chief of
tlieir strength in the tabernacles of Ham :
Last of all came that most fearful plague which spared not one
of the first-born of Egypt from the throne to the dunghill, leaying
not a house where there was not one dead! Then the might of
Jehovah conquered and Egypt's proud and long hardened king
succumbed. 52. But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and
guided them in the wilderness like a floek.
53. And he led them on safely, so that they feared not :
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
To a people so familiar with shepherd life, no analogy could be
more apt, suggestive, perfect, than this : God leading this nation
forth from Egypt and onward through the wilderness as a shepherd
does his flock, carefully, lovingly, safely.
54. And he brought them to the border of bis sanctuary,
even to this mountain, whicli his right hand had purchased.
He brought them safely through to his own holjr land of promise,
and especially to this Mount, i. e., Zion, acquired by his own
strong arm.
55. He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided
tbem an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to
dwell in their tents.

330 JSA1M LXXVIII.
The " heathen " are the nations of ancient Canaan.  " Divided
to them an inheritance by line" alludes to the definite assignment
of territory by accurate survey as done by Joshua.  The tribes
of'Israel were then made to dwell, not in their own tents, but in
those of the original Canaanites.
56. Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God,
and kept not his testimonies :
57. But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their
fathers : they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58. For they provoked him to anger with their -high
places, and moved him to jealousy with their graven images.
It was the great aggravation of their sin that it was against the
Most High God.  " Like a deceitful bow " which throws its arrow
aside the mark, disappointing the rational expectation of the
archer.  " High places " — beautiful,, enchanting for situation,
where idol-worship could be invested with every sensuous attrac
tion. The cultured but most corrupt nations of Canaan seem to
have led the nations of Western Asia in these artful appliances for
idolatry. 59. When God heard Uiis, he was wroth, and greatly
abhorred Israel :
60. So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent
which he placed among men ;
61. And delivered his strength into captivity, and his
glory into the enemy's hand.
The reference to Shiloh serves to connect these verses with the
history given in 1 Sam. 4 — the scenes of the death of Eli and of his
sons ; the capture of the ark by the Philistines, which ark seems
here to be indicated as "his strength" and " his glory " — consigned
to captivity and to the enemies' hands. Those sons of Eli were an
outrage on the priesthood, too base to be endured. They brought
a curse not on themselves alone, but on the nation.
62. He gave his people over also unto the sword; and
was wroth with his inheritance.
63. The ' fire consumed their young men ; and their
maidens were not given to marriage.
The history records on this occasion a "very great slaughter" —
the fall of " thirty thousand footmen of Israel " (1 Sam. 4 : 10). 
In the last clause of v. 63, one reading gives us — " Their maidens
were not praised," i. e., no nuptial songs were sung to their praise
on their marriage festival; while another reading would mean,
Their maidens were not bewailed. The former has the preference.
64. Their priests fell by the sword ; and their widows
made no lamentation.

PSALM LXXVIII. 331
This seems to allude specially to the fall of Hophni and Phineas,
slain in this bloody slaughter. That " their widows made no
lamentation " may be due to their being absorbed in their personal
peril, or, as some suppose, to the fact that the bodies of the slain
were not recovered and therefore no funeral obsequies were held.
65. Then the Lord awaked as one out of sleep, and like
a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine.
66. And he smote his enemies in the hinder parts : he
put them to a perpetual reproach.
This extremity became God's opportunity. Such emergencies
demand his interposition for the glory of his own name. He is
represented forcibly as a mighty man awaking from sleep, or
exhilarated with wine.  From this point the glory of the Philis
tines began to wane ; their prestige gave place to growing failure
and disgrace.
67. Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and
chose not the tribe of Ephraim :
68. But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which
he loved.
But these victories over Philistia were not achieved by Ephraim,
but rather by Judah and her representative son David. Ephraim
lost her pre-eminence among the tribes : Judah arose to this posi
tion, and God located the sacred ark on Mt. Zion. This fact
brings out one of the purposed political lessons of the Psalm — that
God chose Judah, David, and Mt. Zion before Ephraim and Shiloh,
a choice therefore which all the tribes were bound to recognize
and accept.
69. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the
earth which he hath established forever.
The Italic word supplied — " palaces " — were better read places,
this being the exact sense of the original. Some critics, induced
by the supposed antithesis with " earth " in the last clause, render
this the heavens; but the word legitimately means only high places,
mountains. God built his sanctuary stable as the mountains, fixed
as the earth which he has founded for the ages. This is in con
trast with the ark migratory from place to place as in the period
from Shiloh to its location on the hill of Zion.
70. He chose David also his servant, and took him from
the sheepfolds :
71. From following the ewes great with young he brought
him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
72. So he feoYthem according to the integrity of his heart ;
and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
The general cast of these verses implies that David was then

332 PSALM LXXIX.
living and reigning. Especially is this implied by the tense of the
last verb which is future — " And will guide them by the skill of his
hands." This fact bears upon the date of this Psalm.  Thus
David from being a skillful shepherd of flocks became the no less
skillful pastor-king of God's covenant people. Let all the tribes
accept God's choice, and let the great moral lessons of the past
history of God's people avail to warn them against forsaking the
God of their fathers, and hold them to grateful, unswerving loyalty
to their glorious King !
PSALM LXXIX.
This Psalm seems to. date with Ps. 74, based on the same his
toric events, viz., the destruction of Jerusalem and the profanation
of its holy temple by the Chaldeans. Some critics locate it in the
reign of Manasseh. Too little is known of the shedding of blood
in and about the city; and of the damage done to the city in con
nection with the capture of Manasseh himself, to enable us either to
affirm or deny on this point with any considerable certainty. We
do know however that such facts as are assumed in this Psalm
are fully certified as occurring at the final destruction of the city
by .the Chaldeans.  As to Manasseh, the writer of his history
in the book of Kings (2 Kings 21 : 1-18) makes no allusion to his .
captivity — none to any . destruction of the city during his reign.
The writer in Chronicles (2 Chron. 33 : 11) states that " the Lord
brought upon the people the captains of the host of the king of
Assyria who took Manasseh among the thorns and bound him
with fetters and brought him to Babylon." Nothing is said here
of a general slaughter of the people or of the destruction of the
city. It is therefore more in harmony with known history to as
sume the reference of this Psalm to the destruction of the city by
the Chaldeans.
1. O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance;
thy holy temple have they defiled ; they have laid Jerusa
lem on heaps.
"The heathen," the usual word for foreign nations hostile to
Israel. " Thine inheritance," the land of Canaan which God had
for ages claimed and held as his own. " They have defiled thine
holy temple." If the question arise, Why did not the Psalmist
use the stronger word " destroyed " if such were really the case ?
it may be answered that to the pious Israelite destruction was no
worse than desecration. Desecration was the first and chief af
fliction.  "They have laid Jersalem on heaps," the exact sense
of the original being: They have put Jerusalem into heaps of
ruins — have made it such. In Jer. 52: 13, 14, it is said: "They
burned the house of the Lord and the king's house, and all tho
houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of tho great men burned

PSALM LXXIX. 333
they with fire, and brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round
about" 2. The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be
meat unto the fowls of the heaven, the flesh of thy saints
unto the beasts of the earth.
3. Their blood have they shed like water round about
Jerusalem ; and there was none to bury t/tem.
These are points of the sorest affliction — the shedding of blood
like water round about the holy city ; human bodies left unburied
to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey, and especially that
these slain and unburied men were God's servants, his saints.
Surely God will hear such plaints' of sorrow from his surviving
people.  Jeremiah's prophetic forewarnings of this calamity in
cluded the lack of burial, which to the ancient oriental mind was
of all things most dreadful (Jer. 14 : 16, and 16 : 4).
4. We are become a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn
and derision to them that are round about us.
The poets and prophets of Israel, jealous for the honor of God
before the world, felt this point most keenly — the reproach brought
on God's chosen people, and by implication upon their God, when
their heathen enemies were victorious over them. See Lam. 5 :
1, and 2 : 15, 16, and Ezra 9 : 6, 7.
5. How long, Loed? wilt thou be angry forever? shall
thy jealousy burn like fire ?
Precisely the question which heavy calamity naturally extorts:
how long ? When will it end ? The question involves the prayer,
0 Lord, let it end speedily ! %
6. Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not
known thee, and upon the kingdoms that have not called
upon thy name.
7. For they have devoured Jacob, aud laid waste his
dwelling-place. Rather let thy wrath fall on thine enemies who have never
known or worshiped thee, for .are they not guilty of cruel wrong 1
See how they have devoured thy people ["Jacob"] and their
homes. Surely thou art the righteous King of nations and will
requite such wickedness. Nearly the same words occur Jer.
10: 25.
8. O remember not against us former iniquities: let thy
tender mercies speedily prevent us ; for we are brought very
low. "Former iniquities," or rather, the iniquities of former genera
tions, for this seems to be more precisely the sense of the
15

331 PSALM LXXIX.
original: " the iniquities of them that were before us." This cap
tivity had been repeatedly attributed to the sins of Manasseh (2
Kings 24 : 2-4, and 21 : 10-16, and 23 : 26, 27). Sinning against
the light of a pious father's example, and under the fresh mani
festations of God's glorious arm saving his city and people from
the Assyrian hosts, no one of all the wicked kings of Judah had
so provoked the Lord. His name deserved to be made prominent
as having brought on Judah this sweeping ruin. The sufferers
pining under their chains in Babylon might fitly pray as here.
Spare us any further infliction for sins perpetrated by former gen
erations.  "Prevent," in the sense of anticipate; come in be
tween us and the calamities that still impend.
9. Help us, O God of -our salvation, for the glory of
thy name : and deliver us, and purge away our sins, for
thy name's sake.
The only plea that could be made, for it were vain to plead,
We have not sinned; vain to urge, This suffering is greater than
our deserts. But they could say : We are thy professed people ;
thy name is implicated in our destiny ; have regard therefore to
the honor of thy name and save us.  A similar plea all sinners
are permitted to use, thus : It is the glory of God to show mercy,
to forgive the sins of penitent souls who place themselves within
the pale of the pardoning mercy offered in Christ. They may
therefore plead with God: "Help us, O God of our salvation, for
the glory of thy name." The very epithet, God of our salvation,
implies that God has in a sense committed himself to save those
who truly seek his mercy.  " Purge away our sins," is in He
brew " cover," the standard word for making atonement, the sense
being: Put out of thy sight, exclude from thine own view; regard
us no longer as sinners before thee.
10. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is their
God ? let him be known among the heathen in our sight by
the revenging of the blood of thy servants which is shed.
Wherefore should the heathen have occasion to say, Where is
their God? They have had a God who has sometimes shown him
self mighty to save his people ; where is he now ? What has hap
pened that He is their Savior no more?  In the last clause the
word "by" in italics has no corresponding word in Hebrew. The
revenging, or better, avenging, is therefore probably to be taken as
the subject of the verb, thus : Let the avenging of the blood of thy
servants be known among the heathen in our sight; let us see it,
and let the heathen also know it.
11. Let the sighing of the prisoner come up before thee;
according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those
that are appointed to die ;
12. And render unto our neighbors seven-fold into their

PSALM LXXX. 335
bosom their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee,
O Lord.
The "prisoners " contemplate the whole captive people in politi
cal bondage. Let their groans come up before thee, O God, as the
groans of one man, and then according to the, greatness of thine
arm (so the Hebrew) preserve alive the sons of death; cause to
survive those who are bound over to death, and must die unless
thou interpose. Then turn back upon themselves in sevenfold
measure the reproach which thy Chaldean enemies have sought to
heap upon thee.  "Into their own bosom," or as we might say,
turn back upon their own heads or upon themselves. The bosom
is named with reference to the oriental usage of making a large
reservoir or pocket with the folds of their outer garment or vail as
in the case of Ruth (3 : 15) which might hang at the bosom. Into
this the Psalmist supposes the reproach to be figuratively poured.
It is quite noticeable that pouring into the bosom became with the
Orientals the proverbial phrase to express recompense, retribution,
whether of good or evil. See Isa. 65 : 6, 7, and Jer. 32 : 18, and
Luke' 6 : 38.  The ignoble fall of Babylon before God's servant
Cyrus was a striking answer to this prayer. How did their long
famed valor and prowess vanish away in a drunken debauch and
iu the midst of their impious mockery of Israel's sanctuary and
Israel's God!
13. So we. thy people and sheep of thy pasture will give
thee thanks forever: we will show forth thy praise to ¦all
generations. For this crowning mercy, this salvation of thy covenant people
from national^ ruin, how will we, thy covenant people and the sheep
of thy pasture, give thee thanks forever ! It shall be to thy glory
and praise onward through all generations.
PSALM LXXX.
In this Psalm the unusual words, "Upon Shoshannim-Eduth,"
give us no aid in locating the Psalm in history and nothing deci
sive as to its object or significance. "Shoshannim" occurs also
in the caption of Ps. 45 and 69; "Eduth" in the caption of Ps.
60. The former has usually the sense of lilies ; the latter of law,
or more strictly testimony. In the present case some critics find
under these words the choir of musicians ; others, the instruments
employed; others still, take them as common, not proper nouns,
and think that their usual significance hints at the scope of the
Psalm. Conjectures on this point are of small account ; nothing
can be certainly known.
The subject and aim of this Psalm are in general clear. Israel,

336 PSALM LXXX.
thought of as a vine, transplanted from Egypt to Canaan,, and long
time prosperous there, has now been sadly damaged ; the enclos
ing protecting hedge around her broken down; the wild beasts
tearing her tendrils, plucking her fruit, and trampling it under
foot ; the fire has done its fearful work of destruction upon her.
The Psalm is a prayer to God for help in this emergency — its
thrice recurring refrain (vs. 3, 7, 19) giving this key-note: "Turn
us again ; let thy face shine ; so shall we be saved."  If now
we ask for the historic point to which this Psalm alludes we have
to choose between the overthrow of the Northern kingdom by the
Assyrians, on the one hand, and the fall of the Southern kingdom
before the Chaldeans, on the other. The former alternative may
be so far modified as to include the preceding inroads of Syria
upon the Northern kingdom to which sacred history makes several
allusions; e.g., 2 Kings 8: 12, and 10: 32, 33, and 12: 17, and
13 : 3, 7, 22.  The special allusion (v. 2) to Ephraim, Benjamin,
and Manasseh, and the probable allusion (v. 17) to Benjamin
(" man of the. right hand ") make it highly probable, almost cer
tain, that the Psalm contemplates the fall of the ten tribes, and is
a public prayer, set to music, for God's gracious interposition un-.
der this great national and religious calamity. At least we must
say such an occasion' called for such a prayer. The pious men
of Judah ought, under those circumstances, to have prayed and
sung according to this Psalm: every word is appropriate" to their .
case. Therefore we may safely assume its referenoe to that event,
written to meet the wants of the worshiping congregations in view
of that calamity.
1. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock ; thou that dwellest between, the cheru
bim, shine forth.
This address to God as "Shepherd of Israel" was exquisitely
pertinent here, suggesting his relations to all Israel and intimating
that he should not be content to see ten parts' in eleven of his fold
blotted out, utterly lost. There may perhaps be a tacit allusion
also to the fact that his under shepherd was David and that it be
hooved him to hear the prayer of David's tribe and of those who
still adhered to the king of David's line — that he would spare
and restore the other tribes.—* — The name " Joseph " may include
the whole nation or only the ten tribes of which Ephraim was
foremost. In the former case it is simply parallel to " Israel;" in
the latter it carries a special allusion to the ten tribes. The
former is the more probable.  " Dwellest between the cherubims ;"
literally, "the Sitter of Cherubims," t. e., the One enthroned upon
the mercy-seat beneath the out-spread wings of the Cherubim. 
The offered prayer is — " shine forth " benignantly ; reveal the light
of thy presence and the glory of thine arm for our salvation. So
in the refrain — " cause thy face to shine."

PSALM LXXX. 337
2. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up
thy strength, and come and save us.
" Before Ephraim," etc., i. e., moving in advance of Ephraim, Ben
jamin, and Manasseh as of old when the twelve tribes were mar
shaled for their onward march or for their encamping rest in the
wilderness. It should be noticed that by divine arrangement for
locating the tribes in the wilderness, they were formed into a hol
low square, three in front of the sacred tent, three on each flank,
apd three in the rear. (Num. 2: 18-24). The latter were pre
cisely Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, so that pertinently, in
motion or at rest, the symbols of God's visible presence were in
front of these three tribes — before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Ma
nasseh stood the emblem of Jehovah's strength and glory. The
prayer of this verse therefore reminds Jehovah of his local as well
as spiritual relation to these tribes during the forty years of their
wilderness life.  " Stir up thy strength " — as if it had been in
repose or asleep — a conception not uncommon. Interpose for our
salvation in this sad emergency.
3. Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face, to shine ;
and we shall be saved.
" Turn us again;" cause us to return truly to thee — words which
might refer to a political or to a spiritual restoration. The polit
ical and the spiritual were so closely associated under that economy
that it seems most natural to suppose them both included. That the
ten tribes might be politically restored and the whole united na
tion brought back spiritually to God may be regarded as the
burden of this precious refrain.  " Let the face of our God shine
upon us " in his blended light and love, with mercies suited to all
our case. So shall we be saved.
4. O Loed God of hosts, how long wilt thou be angry
against the prayer of thy people ?
The verb, " be angry," means properly, to smoke, since the prayers
of God's people under the old economy were often thought of as
incense ascending before God. Dr. Alexander suggests that the
smoke of the Lord's anger and the incense of his people's prayers
" are presented in a kind of conflict." See the usage respecting
incense in Ps. 141 : 2. The symbol comes perhaps from Lev. 16 : .13.
The prayer here is: How long shall it seem to us that thy dis
pleasure against the sins of our nation shuts off the prayers of
thy people in her behalf?
5. Thou feedest them with the bread of tears ; and givest
them tears to drink in great measure.
Strong words are these — that thou givest thy people their own
tears for bread, and tears also for their drinking water and that in
large measure. Will not the God of love take these tears away
and feed us with, far other bread and water than such as this?

338 PSALM LXXX.
6. Thou makest us a strife unto our neighbours : and our
enemies laugh among themselves.
"A strife unto our neighbors," but probably not in the sense of
a bone of contention as betweeen themselves, but rather an object
of contempt and scorn to them. They insult us for our weakness
and glory over our national calamity. Edom and Ammon missed
no opportunity of exulting over the decline or fall of Israel. See
Ps. 137: 7, and Amos 1: 11, and Obad. 12.
7. Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to
shine; and we shall be saved.
Instead of simply " God " as in v. 3, we have in the form of ad
dress here, "God of Hosts," significant of his ample power to
save. 8. Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt : thou hast
cast out the heathen and planted it.
9. Thou preparedst room before it, and didst cause it to
take deep root, and it filled the land.
We have here (v. 8-16) a beautiful parable, or shall we call it
an allegory, admirably sustained throughout, in which Israel
brought forth from Egypt, is a vine transplanted from that soil to
Canaan, and there under, divine culture for a long time prosper
ous, but at this present writing, sadly desolate. Part of the
beauty of the parable consists in the apt choice of the Hebrew
words — e.g., the verb "hast brought," i. e., a vine, might suggest
the transplanting of a vine, or somewhat more readily, the mov
ing of a nomadic caravan across a desert with allusion to Israel
on his way to Canaan. " Thou didst root out the heathen," pulling
them out by the roots to make room for this vine in Canaan.
Thus room was made all round about for its luxuriant growth till
Israel (under David and Solomon) had finally possessed all the
land promised to their fathers.
10. The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and
the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars.
11. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches
unto the river.
One great vine (this is the conception) covered the hills of Pales
tine with its shadow ; its towering boughs were tall like the cedars
of God [Hebrew] ; her branches stretched out to the great sea on
the West and to the great river (Euphrates) on the East. These
were the natural boundaries of the land promised originally to the
patriarchs. (See Gen. 15: 18, and Ex. 23: 31, and Num. 34: 6,
and Deut. 11: 24.)
12. Why hast thou then broken down her hedges, so that
all they which pass by the way do pluck her ?

PSALM LXXX. , 339
13. The boar of the wood doth waste it, and the wild
beast of the field doth devour it.
"The hedges," built for her protection against destructive ani
mals. " Why hast thou broken down " — by thy providential agen
cies permitting this result and therefore in a sense conceived to
have done it. The point of the plea is — Why shouldst thou destroy
thine own vine after so much labor and love spent upon it and after
it had become so magnificently grand ? Look down and see how
the boar of the wood — the wild boar — doth waste it, etc. The
great Assyrian power had ravaged the whole Northern kingdom,
besieged and captured Samaria and taken the mass of the people
away into captivity. The ten tribes were politically ruined. So
large a portion of the original vine had been wasted, devoured.
14. Eeturn, we beseech thee, O God of hosts : look down
from heaven, and behold, and visit this vine ;
15. And the vineyard which thy right band hath planted,
and the branch that thou madest strong for thyself.
16. It is burned with fire, it is cut down : they perish at
the rebuke of thy countenance.
"Return" — for the thought is that God must have been absent
and has not noticed this ruin befalling his vine. This calling the
attention of God to his wasted vine — his broken down and deso
lated people — is full of the simplicity of nature.  In v. 15 " and
the vineyard," etc., gives the general sense undoubtedly, yet critics
differ much on the question whether the first word * of the verse
is a verb in the imperative in the sense— protect, sustain ; or a noun
in the sense — thy layer-plant, shoot. We may read, either : Sustain
what thy right hand, has planted ; or continuing the construction
with the verb next preceding : Visit this vine, this layer-plant which
thine own hand has planted. The word occurs but rarely ; usage
fails to furnish decisive authority. Either construction is admis
sible.  "And the branch" — which, however, in Hebrew is the
word for son: look upon the son* This drops the allegory and
returns to the real thing — Israel, the chosen son of God. " Is
Ephraim my dear son (Jer. 31 : 20) ?  " Madest strong " — hast
reared up to manhood, cultivated and nourished unto maturity and
strength.  "Burnt with fire;" "cut down" — resume the alle
gorical conception of a vine; while the last clause, " they perish,"
etc., applies naturally to the people.  "At the rebuke of thy
countenance," as if the frown of his face was their ruin — only one
look of displeasure, and they perished before him.
17. Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand,
upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself.
The choice of words here is governed by v. 15. Thy right hand
rua * ¦

340 PSALM LXXX.
hath planted a noble vine, i. e., hath begotten and nourished a son.
Now let thy hand return and be again upon this man of thy right
hand, this son of man whom thou hast matured into manhood and
strength for thyself Whether there is here a tacit allusion to the
word Benjamin, which signifies the son ,of the right hand, it may be
impossible to decide with certainty.  We have a phrase kindred
in thought to this — " my right-hand man " — my chosen helper, my
chief reliance. So God trained Israel for his chief spiritual work
in this world.
18. So will not we go back from thee : quicken us, and
we will call upon thy name.
19. Turn us again, 0 Lord God of hosts, cause thy face
to shine ; and we shall be saved.
Thy right hand being once more upon us in mercy and in power,
we will no more apostatize from thee. Give us life from the dead ;
put new life, even thine own life, into us, and we will call upon thy
name. The closing refrain adds the word Lord, i. e., Jehovah, to
the form as in v. 7, heightening the strength and endearment of the
sacred name by this addition — our covenant-keeping God, the
changeless and ever faithful One.  Recurring to the history we
note that in the first year of Hezekiah a very special effort was made
to invite all the seriously disposed people of the ten tribes to meet
with their brethren of Judah at Jerusalem in the celebration of the
Passover. (2 Chron. 30). The messengers of Hezekiah with his
royal invitation were- by some laughed to scorn; "Nevertheless
divers of'Asher and Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves
and came to Jerusalem " (v. 11). "A multitude of the people even
many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun," are
referred to again as being present (v. 18). This, be it noted, was
in Hezekiah s first year. Three years later the Assyrian King
had swept the whole country of the ten tribes with his conquering
army and had laid siege to the forlorn hope of their nation in their
capital, Samaria. After a siege of three years, i. e., in Hezekiah's
sixth year, the city fell and the nation was ruined. Was not this
a most startling, thrilling event to the Southern kingdom ? It was
not only full of suggestions of danger to themselves from the same
great conquering power; it was also suggestive of sorrow and
sympathy with their afflicted brethren, and not least, of sadness
over the great breach made in the once united and flourishing
kingdom of Israel. This " vine " which had such a history as our
Psalm suggests, this great people of the living God — how are they
smitten and wasted 1 Shall not some notice of this sad event bo
taken in Judah by the worshiping assembly in Jerusalem?
Nothing could be more appropriate. Hence this Psalm, to be
sung by the thousands of Judah in solemn remembrance of the
desolation brought on so largo a portion of their once united, pros
perous, and happy kingdom.

PSALM LXXXI. 341

PSALM LXXXI.

The words, " To the chief musician upon Gittith," occur also
in the caption of Ps. 8, but not elsewhere. See notes there. 
On the points of date and suggestive occasion, I see no objection
to locating it very nearly with Ps. 80, perhaps shortly before the
final destruction of the Northern kingdom, yet in full view of its
near approach. Its appeal may have been designed both for the
few open ears yet remaining in that kingdom, and for the people
of Judah. It is a summons to the worship of the true God, on the
great festivals (v. 1-4) because of his blessings upon the nation
in its Egyptian and wilderness life (vs. 5-7) ; exhorting against all
idolatry (vs. 8-10), yet plainly implying that the people had already
become obdurately hardened and perverse (vs. 11, 12), to the grief
of their divine Father (v. 13) and to their imminent peril; from
which however God would soon redeem them if they would peni
tently seek and honestly serve him (vs. 14-16).
1. Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful
noise unto the God of Jacob. „
" Unto God our strength " has special force on the supposition
that powerful armies had been threatening or perhaps were even
then ravaging the ancient land of Israel. It was faith in Israel's
lofty triumph which amid such surroundings summoned the people
to sing aloud with joyful songs and shoutings to their God. It
amounted to saying : Whom need we fear with the infinite God on
our side ? What are all the hosts of Hazael or of Shalmanezer,
matched against our Lord God Almighty? So may God's people
say in every like emergency : What can the utmost powers of hell
avail to harm me, if only my own Jesus is near ?
2. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the
pleasant harp with the psaltery.
3. Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time
appointed, on our solemn feast day.
4. For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the
God of Jacob.
"Take a Psalm," i. e., take up a song; select a Psalm of praise
to sing, and then take appropriate instruments to accompany the
voice in song.  "Blow up" means only, Give the full blast; let
the trumpet ring out its shrill and thrilling tones, calling^ the
people to the service of worship on the new moon. See Num.
23 : 24, which " on the seventh month and first day of the month
enjoins a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy con
vocation," etc.  The Hebrew word for "time appointed,"* is
applied by some to the festival on the new moon ; by others to that
on the full moon. Moreover, some suppose this verse alludes to^the
HDD*

342 PSALM LXXXI.
Passover exclusively ; while others with more reason give promi
nence to the festivals of the seventh month in which occurred the
great feast of the new moon ; the great day of atonement on the
tenth ; and the feast of tabernacles, joyful above all, on the four
teenth. We need not exclude any of the Mosaic festivals. The
comprehensive thought is, Come and worship Israel's God with
cheerful trust and joyous triumph, in all the ways and times of
his appointment. Praise him exultingly though in the very face
of fierce and mighty national foes, for what are they before our
own great God ?
5. This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he
went out through the land of Egypt ; where I heard a lan
guage that I understood not.
6. I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands
were delivered from the pots.
The first clause somewhat favors the reference of what is said
above of "our feast day" to the Passover specifically, since that
was ordained precisely at the point of their history where they
went forth from Egypt (Ex. 12).  The language used here for
the Exodus is somewhat peculiar : " in his going forth upon * or
over the land of Egypt as if with the march of a conqueror." 
In the clause, " I heard a language I understood not," we must
choose between the following constructions: (1) I, the Lord
[and my people also] heard the foreign, unknown tongue of the
Egyptians; (2) I, the Lord, heard such words of murmuring
from my people as were strange, unaccountable; or (3) I, the
people, heard the voice of God from Sinai, as never before. Of
these the first named is much to'be preferred, this being a cus
tomary phrase to express a very undesirable condition, in a strange
land (Deut 28 : 49, and Jer. 5 : 15, etc.). The sudden change of
person as from "he" to "I" occurs very often in Hebrew. The
person speaking throughout the remaining part of the Psalm is
the Lord. (See vs. 6, 7, 8, 10, etc).  V. 6 refers to the relief
which God gave to the enslaved, hard-tasked people in Egypt
"I removed his shoulder from under the heavy burden; his hands
passed out from under the basket," in which they bore brick and
mortar for building. " This kind of vessel has been found de
lineated in a burial ground at Thebes." (Alexander).
7. Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee ; I an
swered thee in the secret place of thunder : I proved thee
at the waters of Meribah. Selah.
"Thou calledst in trouble," i. e., as said Ex. 3: 7-10. The
Eeople, crushed by their hard bondage, cried to God for help, and
e heard their cry.  The Hebrew verbs, I answered thee, I
proved thee, are in the future tenso, the precise idea being this :

^

PSALM LXXXI. 343
[1 said] I will answer thee from the dark thunder-cloud on Sinai ;
I will provethee at the waters of Meribah. The words express
the prospective purpose of God in respect to the moral discipline
of the people at the point where he took up their case under their
task-masters in Egypt.
8. Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee : O
Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me ;
9. There shall no strange god be in thee ; neither shalt
thou worship any strange god.
This is an admonition to present duty based on the review of the
ancient past.  It is better to make a full pause at the end of
v. 8, the sense being, I will testify unto thee, O Israel, if thou wilt
hearken to me: and not — "If thou wilt hearken, there shall be no
strange god," etc.  How gladly, saith their ftod, would I testify
my love to thee, presenting my appeals and claims, if only thou
wilt hearken.  "Strange god " — any god other than their own, a
heathen, false god. It was their crying, damning sin that they
would accept the gods and the worship of the heathen nations
round about — Phenicia and Syria.
10. I am the Loed thy God, which brought thee out of
the land of Egypt : open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.
In delivering them from Egypt Jehovah had proved himself to
be truly their own God. Let them henceforth believe his promises,
obey his word, and in all things accept him as their Infinite God.
 No words can be more plain than these last: "Open thy
mouth wide; I will fill it," but their beauty and pertinence are
better seen if we suppose the writer thinks of the little nestlings,
late from the egg— eyes still closed, but ears quick to notice any
one's approach and sure to open wide their mouth for the food
their instincts look for from the mother bird. Sweet confiding
creatures, they have but one thought — that their good mother will
surely give them what they. need. So let God's children do, for
they are almost as powerless to distinguish good from evil as the
eyeless nestlings, and have quite as much reason as they to accept
all that God drops into their open mouths as being the best things
possible in their case. Moreover let them enlarge their heart and
make broad their requests, remembering that when God's children
ask favors of him, they are never straitened in God, but only in
themselves. ,
11. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and
Israel would none of me.
" Would none of me " is scarcely modern English. The Hebrew
means : Would not obey me ; were not willing as toward me. They
were simply perverse, rebellious.  Historically, this had a fear
fully wide application. It was true of the masses that caine out of

344 PSALM LXXXI.
Egypt ; it became painfully apparent during the time of the Judges,
and in the age after the revolt under Jeroboam.
12. So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust : and
they walked in their own counsels.
" So," in the sense of consequently, i. e., because of their perverse-
ness, I sent them forth from me ; I thrust them away for the per-
verseness of their heart. The centuries of long forbearance came
to an end at last, and God gave up first the Northern kingdom
and then at last the Southern also to captivity and desolation.
They would not have Jehovah for their God, but would have Baal
and Moloch ; so God gave them up to their own perverseness, and
consequently, to national ruin. This is the law of his moral king
dom with individual sinners no less than with nations. There is
a point beyond which forbearance can go no farther, and where
forbearance ends,5udgment without mercy begins.
13. Oh that my people bad hearkened unto me, and
Israel bad walked in my ways !
14. I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned
my band against their adversaries.
But such a doom brings bitter grief to the parental heart of the
Great Father. Most tenderly, most honestly and truly, he cries
out : O that my people had hearkened to me ! How soon should I
have subdued their enemies and turned back my strong hand from
afflicting them !  So God will say with equal truth over the doom
of every lost sinner : O that he had heard my call to repent I O
that he had heeded my invitations of mercy and free pardon ! O
that there had been the heart in him to obey my voice !
15. The haters of the Lord should have submitted
themselves unto him : but their time should have endured
forever. 16. He should have fed them also with the finest of the
wheat ; and with honey out of the rock should I have satis
fied thee.
"Submitted themselves "—so impressed with fear as even to
make false professions of allegiance — the verb used being common
in Hebrew to express the thought of submission through extreme
fear. The case of the Gibeonites and Joshua was perhaps the
occasion of the phrase.  " Their time " — the time of my people's
prosperity would in this case have been unlimited. Age after age
they might have lived in the sunlight of Jehovah's presence and
love. All earthly good should have filled their cup — the best of
wheat; fullness of honey. Who can measure the blessings which
God pours out upon the truly obedient ? To nations or to indi
viduals, with no exception, these promises are forever good.

PSALM LXXXII. 345

PSALM LXXII.

This Psalm rebukes corrupt judges, putting in strong light their
high responsibility as vicegerents of God and therefore held ac
countable before him for the faithful administration of justice.
True to the nature of the case, this Psalm assumes that laws and
tribunals exist for the benefit, of those who need them for the pro
tection of their rights, i. e., for the poor, the helpless, the friendless.
Let all judges, and indeed legislators also, know and forget it not,
that God's sympathies are with these dependent classes, and he will
surely hold civil officers to their responsibilities toward these needy
ones. If they take the place of God, either in making or in admin
istering civil law, let them take care that they use their high
powers in sympathy -with their Supreme Master and never in
defiance of his throne.
As to the date and occasion of this Psalm, nothing can be cer
tainly known. No doubt it was written with a definite aim,
addressing certain corrupt judges then in office and then abusing
their powers. " How long will ye judge unjustly? "  The place
of this Psalm in the collection slightly favors its reference to the
same age with the two preceding Psalms, i. e., in the latter days
of the Northern kingdom. Such apostasy from God as theirs,
naturally carried with it corruption of the courts of justice and
crying oppression of the poor — to all which, history lends its
ample confirmation. Amos, living among that people at that time,
witnesseth thus: "They oppress the poor and crush the needy;
turn judgment to wormwood and leave off righteousness in the
earth; hate him that rebuketh in the gate" {the court-room];
"turn aside the poor in the gate from his right" etc. To such
perversions of justice, the rebukes of this Psalm most pertinently
apply. 1. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty ; he
judgeth among the gods.
In the use of the word " gods " (vs. 1, 6) the English reader is
liable to be misled by the ' defective translation of these passages
compared with certain passages in the Mosaic law which speak
of human judges under the same name. The facts are that in Ex.
21: 6, and 22: 8, 9, 28, this same word ("Elohim") is used of
civil judges and is translated "judges." But the same word is
used here and beyond all question in the same sense. It should
therefore have been translated "judges" here as well as there; or
gods there as well as here. A uniform translation where the
sense is so obviously the same would have relieved the difficulty.
 If the question be asked, How it came to pass that the word
"Elohim" was given to mere men in the capacity of judges? the
answer is: (1) They were acting in the place of God, in behalf of
God — were quasi-gods in the administration of justice in God's be-

346 PSALM LXXXII.
half. Here we may note how strongly this idea was put and
pressed under the ancient economy. " Ye shall not respect per
sons in judgment ; ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye
shall not be afraid of'the face of man, for the judgment is God's "
(Deut. 1 : 17). Jehoshaphat said to judges appointed by him :
" Take heed what ye do, for ye judge, not for man but for the
Lord who is with you in the judgment" (2 Chron. 19: 6). 
(2) This name for God admits of a wider range of application than
any one of'his other names, it being applied to angels (Ps. 8 : 6)
as well as here to judges. In the singular number (El), it is used
of the gods of the heathen (Isa. 44 : 10, 15, and 45 : 20, and 46 :
6).  "Standeth in the congregation" — here said of the assem
blies convened for judicial purposes equivalent to the civil court.
God takes his stand evermore in the midst of those who gather for
the administration of law, always present in the court-room. 
" Congregation of the mighty; " not the assemblies of great men or
strong men; not implying that God is among them because they
are mighty men ; but the word being " El " plod] we must apply
it to him unless there are very strong reasons for some other sense
of the word. The meaning of the clause therefore I take to be :
God standeth in the judicial assemblies which himself — the Most
Mighty One, has established. Why should he not be there to
supervise all its proceedings ; to hold every judge to his high re
sponsibilities ?
2. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the per
sons of the wicked? Selah.
To " accept the person of the wicked " is commonly supposed to
mean : to have regard to other things — points of a, personal nature —
rather than to the intrinsic right of the case. Some critics how
ever give it this turn : To take into favor wicked men — men whose
crimes you ought to condemn, and who ought to be themselves
condemned because of their crimes. The general sense throughout
the Bible seems to be, to make discriminations on the ground, not
of intrinsic character and merit, but of extraneous and personal
considerations; e. g., the prestige of riches, the Offer of bribes,
etc. 3. Defend the poor and fatherless : do justice to the af
flicted and needy.
4. Deliver the poor and needy : rid them out of the hand
of the wicked.
Remarkably this passage is made strong by a grouping of all
that class of words known to the language — the weak, the unpro
tected, the fatherless, the pennyless, etc.
5. They know not, neither will they understand ; they
walk on in darkness : all the foundations of the earth are
out of course.

PSALM LXXXIII. 347
The judges who rule iniquitously seem to have no sense, not
even common understanding. Mark how strangely they ignore the
God above and their own high responsibilities to his bar !  Such
administration of law subverts the very foundations of all society,
even as if in the material world, the very foundations were all
afloat, sliding out from beneath our feet ! This is the thought in
dicated in the Hebrew verb.
6. I have said, Ye are Gods; and all of you are
children of the Most High.
7. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the
princes. Though I have called you "gods'" and children of the Most
High, yet be not elated ; do not dream of being immortal for this
earth, or of being above responsibility to the Most High ; for ye
shall surely die like frail man, made of the ground.* And that
death will bring you before the dreadful bar of Him whose law
you have trampled down ; whose heart of love for the poor you
have outraged ; whose hottest retribution you have brought down
on your own guilty heads !
8. Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit
all nations.
" Arise," for the case is urgent; the perversions of justice are
awful ; arise, therefore, and judge all the earth — not the land of
Canaan only, but all the nations of the wide earth ; " for thou
shalt inherit all the nations " even as thou hast long since called
Israel thine " inheritance." This assumes the broad doctrine that
Israel's God is Supreme Judge of all the nations of men, Gentiles
no less than Jews. Consider Ps. 2 : 8.  The moral lessons of
this Psalm for all who have to do with the administration of civil
law are too obvious to need remark. Who does not see that if
there be a Supreme Being, the doctrine of this Psalm must be
true, and being true, is infinitely beneficent in its influence and
Bublime in its moral grandeur?
PSALM LXXXIII.
This Psalm supposes a general combination of adjacent powers
against Israel : Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, Tyre, and Syria,
with the full purpose of blotting out the very name of Israel for
ever. In such an emergency what should the people of the Lord
do but what is indicated here — cry aloud to their own Almighty
God for help ? Such is the strain of this Psalm, a song composed
to be sung for this occasion, to embody the prayers of the whole

348 PSALM LXXXIII.
people. — ^-As to the precise historic occasion, the evidence pre
ponderates strongly in favor of the great combination of foreign
powers against judah in the reign of Jehoshaphat, of which we
have an account in 2 Chron. 20, and to which date Ps. 47 and 48
also belong.. The account in Chronicles should be read in con
nection with this Psalm. The scene was intensely thrilling — the
invasion so formidable, its animus so malign, its prospects of suc
cess so fair, and the consequent ruin of the Jewish city and nation
so apparently near and certain; but in the end the Almighty arm
was interposed ; the salvation of Israel was glorious, and the ruin
of their enemies most disgraceful and overwhelming. It was
prayer answered before all earth and heaven, and the arm of Al
mighty God made bare to the confounding of his enemies and the
exulting joy of his friends.  The writer in Smith's Bible
Dictionary ["Psalms "] holds that this Psalm refers to a supposed
combination of foreign enemies against both Judah and Israel in
the times of Jeroboam second of Israel and Uzziah of Judah — an
hypothesis which lacks historic support and goes against all prob
ability in supposing that Jeroboam second came into such relations
to the God of Israel, and if he did, that his history should ignore
it. 1. Keep not thou silence, O God : hold not thy peace,
and be not still, O God.
Surely it was no time for their God to be silent and at rest when
such dangers threatened his people.
2. For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult : and they that
hate thee have lifted up the head.
3. They have taken crafty counsel against thy people,
and consulted against thy hidden ones.
" Thine enemies," not merely ours. They are mustering their
forces against thee, O God.  " Make a tumult," the Hebrew word
implying a confused rumble and roar as of distant armies, mus
tering for battle.  "Against thy hidden ones," those who are
under thy special protection, shielded beneath thine outspread
wing. 4. They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from
being a nation ; that the name of Israel may be no more in
remembrance. To exterminate the Israel they hated and put an end forever to
the annoyance they felt from her presence among them ; to wipe
out the old score of many a grudge and bury her very name so
deep that it should never rise again — such was the fell purpose of
their heart. The prayer of God's people brings up these points
as conclusive reasons why God should arise in his might to blast
their schemes.

PSALM LXXXIII. 349
5. For they have consulted together with one consent:
they are confederate against thee :
6. The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites ; of
Moab, and the Hagarenes ;
7. Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek ; the Philistines with
the inhabitants of Tyre ;
8. Assur also is joined with them : they have holpen the
children of Lot. Selah.
' " The tabernacles [or tents] of Edom," for the people dwelling
therein — a tent-abiding race. The Ishmaelites, their neighbors of
the Arabian desert. The Hagarenes appear in history (1 Chron.
5: 10) as dwellers in eastern Arabia, contiguous to the tribe of
Reuben on the east of Jordan. . "Gebal," properly a mountain;
here for the mountainous district south of the Dead Sea, and em
braced in the territory of Edom. The Philistines on the south
west and Tyre on the north-west with Syria on the north, com
pleted the circle, engirding the little kingdom of Judah on every
side.  " They have helped the children of Lot," i. e., Moab and
Ammon who Beem to have been the prime instigators of this con
spiracy against Judah.  " Selah ; ' pause to think of these
powerful foes and of the threatened ruin impending over God's
covenant people.
9. Do unto them as unto the Midianites ; as to Sisera,
as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison :
10. Wliich perished at En-dor : they became as dung for
the earth.
Here is the prayer. The historic allusions to previous victories
over these or similar enemies had in themselves an inspiration of
hope. Why shouldest not thou, O God, re-enact those ancient de
liverances of thy people and again overwhelm thy foes in judg
ment ?  As" unto the Midianites by the hand of Gideon (Judg. 7) ;
as to Sisera and Jabin (Judg. 4 and 5).
11. Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb : yea, all
their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna :
12. Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of
God in possession.
"Oreb and Zeeb," "Zebah and Zalmunna," suggest Gideon's
victory over the Midianites, as given Judg. 7 and 8 — one of the
most striking manifestations of Jehovah's power against the ene
mies of Israel. Those ancient Midianites, like these of the age
of our Psalm, meant no less than to drive us from our homes and
take possession for themselves.  " Houses of God," but the He
brew* has the broader sense of dwelling-places, including not
only the tent or house proper, but the adjacent grounds.
JTttO*

350 PSALM LXXXI V.
13. O my God, make them like a wheel ; as the stubble
before the wind.
" Like a wheel." properly, a rolling thing, with reference here
to flying chaff driven by the high winds, of which that people
availed themselves on the hill-tops for winnowing grain. Isaiah
makes use beautifully of the same word in a similar connection
(Isa. 17: 13): "like a rolling thing before the whirlwind."
14. As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth
the mountains on fire ;
15. So persecute them with thy tempest, and make tbem
afraid with thy storm.
The fires in a dry forest or sweeping up the mountain sides_ aro
vivid images of the destruction here invoked upon these ^combined
enemies of God's people. So do thou chase them down with thy
tempest; strike terror through them with thy storm!
16. Fill their faces with shame ; that they may seek thy
name, O Loed.
17. Let them be confounded and troubled forever ; yea,
let them be put to shame, and perish :
18. That men may know that thou, whose name alone is
JEHOVAH, art the Most High over all the earth.
As shame reveals itself in the blush on the face, no expression
can be stronger than this : " Fill their faces with shame. And
let it be forever; through all time; let them never recover. from
this disgraceful defeat, this crushing overthrow. The animus of
this prayer is that men — other men — all the world outside of these
combined nations, and perhaps all the survivors of these — may
seek thy name, 0 Lord, and may know of a truth that thou art
the Most High God over all the earth. Special beauty and force
appear in the closing strain : Thou who alone bearest the name
Jehovah — the ever-living, unchanging, ever-faithful God of thy
covenant people. Who is like unto thee? Let all the nations of
the earth know how worthy thou art to be trusted, loved, adored,
by all thy people.

PSALM LXXXIV.
For the words, " upon Gittith," see Notes introductory to Ps.
8.  The Psalms ascribed to Asaph and his family closed with
Ps. 83 ; this is ascribed to another family in the same profession —
that of Korah.  On the question of date and special occasion,
opinions are divided between the times of David driven into exile
by Absalom's rebellion, and the times of Hezekiah — in the latter
case expressing the spirit of the king and his pious friends when
they reinstated the national festivals and warmly invited their

PSALM LXXXIV. 351
brethren of the Northern kingdom to come up to the holy city and
temple on the great Passover. (See 2 Chron. 29: 3). In favor
of the former it is urged that this Psalm affiliates with Ps. 42.
But in fact it has more points unlike Ps. 42 than like it. It is
with that Psalm in its common love and longing for the sanctuary,
but it does not like that, assume the writer's absence and exile far
away across the Jordan, and it breathes none of his intense
despondency, but is rather hopeful and strong in the spirit of a
vigorous faith in God. The whole tone of this Psalm is that of
inviting men to the tabernacle of the Lord. It contemplates their
journeying thither, but sees no toils, no discomforts, but only
sweet associations and fountains of delight in the very travels up
from distant cities to the place of appearing before God in Zion.
These points accord well with the spirit and circumstances of
Hezekiah's great reformation. Coupling them with the place
which the compilers have assigned to this Psalm, viz., in the third
book, along with those which fall between the revolt and the cap
tivity, the evidence seems to me to preponderate very strongly in
favor of the times of Hezekiah.
1. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Loed of hosts !
2. My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of
the Loed : my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living
God. "How amiable" — words which legitimately mean: how worthy
of being loved, how lovable in general; but the Hebrew is more
definite and personal : How dear to my heart — 0 how tenderly do I
love the place where Thou dwellest, O Lord of Hosts 1 It is
rather an utterance of the heart than a judgment of the intelli
gence, expressing what one feels for himself rather than what he
holds as a general, abstract truth.  " Longing," " fainting," are
strong expressions of intense, languishing desire — a feeling that
nothing else can at all satisfy.  The Hebrew verb for crieth
out * is used almost if not quite invariably for the shoutings of
exultant joy ; not for the imploring cry for help. The distinction
is important as bearing upon the tone of feeling that pervades the
Psalm. 3. Yea, the sparrow hath found a house, and the swallow
a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine
altars, O Loed of hosts, my King, and my God.
In its obvious sense this speaks of literal, birds as finding place
for their nests near the altars of the Lord (near is probably the
meaning of the Hebrew word here). Some critics, thinking this
highly improbable, would escape the difficulty by assuming that
the Psalmist compares himself to those little birds — "-Yea, even I,
a wandering bird, have at last found a resting place for myself

352 PSALM LXXXIV
and my dear ones in thine house," etc. But this seems to be an
unnatural sense for these words. On the other hand those little
birds, certainly in this country and doubtless in Palestine of old,
are wont to make their nests in the quiet dwelling places of men,
and especially in those which are temporarily unoccupied or
deserted. It should be borne in_mind that Ahaz, immediately
preceding Hezekiah, had " cut in pieces the vessels of the house
of God and shut up the doors of the house of the Lord " (2 Chron.
28 : 24). Consequently Hezekiah " in the first year of his reign,
in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and
repaired them " (2 Chron. 29 : 3). Public worship there had been
for some time entirely discontinued : they " had shut up the doors
of the porch, put out the lamps, and had not burned incense nor
offered burnt-offering in the holy place unto the God of Israel "
(v. 7). For a period therefore during the reign of that most wicked
Ahaz, the sparrow and the swallow and they only had found sweet
homes for themselves and their young around the altars of the
Lord of Hosts. Yet there was the appropriate home for those who
could say of this glorious Lord of Hosts — " my King is he and my
God." . ¦
4. Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will
be still praising thee. Selah.
Happy are the little birds and birdlings who nestle there ; more
blessed still are those whom God has made in his own image and
who intelligently give their hearts' best love and homage to their
Maker. The reason is given; viz., they will perpetually praise
thee; round and round; over and over again, evermore will they
pour forth their praises from full glad hearts to the glorious One,
their Maker ana Father. The Hebrew word rendered "still"
[" still praising "] gives precisely this sense : they will reiterate
their praises in perpetual succession.  "Selah;" pause and
consider their joy !  " Dwell in thy house " indicates that they
are often there and so to speak, at home there in the love of their
heart and in the quiet trust of their souls in the Great God who
makes it his abode.
5. Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee ; in whose
heart are the ways of them.
"Whose strength is in thee" — not in himself but in his God
alone ; who looks to thee for help at all times, not only in great
but in all lesser and^all least emergencies. The Gospel writers
speak of the same living trust: ." I can do all things through Christ
who strcngtheneth me ' (Phil. 4 : 13). " I am the vine ; ye are the
branches ; abide in me as the branch in the vine : so shall ye be
living branches and not dead, and bear much fruit to the glory
of God (John 15 : 4-7). Such are indeed truly blessed.  The last
verse is concise and difficult. All that appears in the original
reads thus : " Ways — in their heart." The Italic words " of them "

PSALM LXXXIV. 353
are without authority and, in this connection, without meaning.
The word for " ways " signifies a high-way, rolled up, cast up ; is
used by Isaiah and. translated "high-way" in 11: 16, and 33: 8,
and 40 : 3, and 49 : 11, and 62 : 10. It may refer therefore to the
usual routes of travel from remote parts of Palestine up to Jerusa
lem, or possibly, as some suppose, to the procession of people on
their march to attend the holy festivals. The passage would then
mean that such worshipers love these high-ways. Hallowed associa
tions cluster round them.  Other critics give the passage the
sense of ways prepared in- their heart for the incoming and abode
of the Lord himself, carrying out the figure of Isaiah (40 : 3) to
its spiritual thought — "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." But
the next verse keeps the actual journey still before the mind, at
least ideally : " Passing through the valley of Baca ; ' ' and therefore
the drift of thought seems to demand a reference in these brief
words to the high-ways toward Jerusalem in their material sense.
6. Wlio passing through the valley of Baca make it a
well ; the rain also filleth the pools.
Each of the two clauses of this verse is controverted and must
perhaps be left a little doubtful.  "The valley of Baca" Fuerst
translates, "Valley of the balsam shrub," which he locates not
far from Jerusalem, one which many of the pilgrims had to pass
on their way to the holy festivals. Gesenius gives the more
common view — " The vale of weeping ; valley of lamentation,"
taking it as a proper name of "a valley in Palestine, probably
gloomy and sterile. ' Others assume it to be only ideal, like " the
valley of the shadow of death," signifying that travelers burdened
with sorrows who wet their way with tears, yet coming up to the
temple of the living God find all joys abounding there. They turn
a vale of tears to a valley of well-springs and verdure. I am con
strained to think there is a play upon the significance of the word
"Baca," weeping, in the manner last above stated; but whether
a valley of that name was known to the geography of Palestine in
the age of the writer must remain in doubt  On the last clause
critics differ widely.  The word for "pools '" with the vowels of
our Hebrew text must mean blessings. This being conceded, the
test-word is the one translated rain * which in nearly or quite
every other case of its use means teacher, and not rain. Hence
Alexander with most of the older authorities gives the passage this
sense : " The teacher is clothed with blessings." Gesenius puts
it, "The rain" \i. e., the early rain] " gives, abundant blessings."
But Fuerst starts a new interpretation, making it the proper name
of some dry and barren valley through which as well as through
the valley of Baca the pilgrims had to pass on their way to Jeru
salem. This valley was clothed with blessings to them.  The
strong point in support of the sense "teacher," is the well es-
mio*

354 PSALM LXXXIV.
tablished usage of the word. This is so general that it could
scarcely fail to suggest the thought. Under this construction, the
Psalmist in a measure drops the material figure and gives us the
spiritual idea, viz., that truth — the things taught and learned of
God — constitute the real joy and the priceless blessings of the
Jewish worshiper.
7. They go from strength to strength, every one of them
in Zion appeareth before God.
The thought is that every one who with true heart presents him
self before God in Zion, advances from one stage of spiritual
strength to another. It is a way of soul-progress, analogous to the
progress made in the journey from one stage to another.
8. O Loed God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O
God of Jacob. Selah.
The temple was the place, its seasons of festival worship, the
time pre-eminently for prayer. This was their glory. Hence the
emphasis of the verse before us. The pious worshiper is called
on to pour out his soul in prayer to the Lord God of Hosts, the
God of Jacob — this name of the aged" patriarch being specially sug
gestive of struggling, prevailing prayer.
9. Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of
thine anointed.
This does not mean, Look, 0 God, upon our shield ; but rather,
Do thou, O God, who art our shield, look on the face of thine
anointed who is at once our king and thy servant. V. 11 shows
that the Lord God is thought of as both "sun" and "shield,'' the
fountain of our light and the arm of our military defense.  The
prayer is that he would regard with merciful favor the King then
on the throne of David, since the prosperity of the whole people
hinged upon the divine mercy toward him. The words are
specially pertinent to be applied under the gospel to Jesus who
fills the full idea of Israel's king as the medium of all blessings to
God's people.
10. For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.
I had rather be a door-keeper in the house of my God, than
to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
"Better than a thousand," i. e., than a thousand elsewhere.
" Be a door-keeper," seems to mean precisely, be on the threshold,
perhaps waiting for admittance, or having only the privilege of
furtive glances at the glories within ; yet even this I choose before
dwelling in the tents of wickedness with all their luxuries and
surroundings. This was a grand sentiment to be sung in those
times of Hezekiah's revival of the temple worship, to be heralded
through all the tribes of Israel in the summons which invited them
to gather in tho temple before the God of Zion.

PSALM LXXXV. . 355
11. For the Loed God is a sun and shield: the Lord
will give grace and glory : no good thing will he withhold
from them that walk uprightly.
12. O Loed of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth
in thee.
"Sun and shield," dispelling all darkness; supplying all light,
warmth, fertility, beauty, every thing we need and love that is
better than eternal frost and endless night.  Our " Shield," pro
tecting us evermore from all enemies and guarantying our
perpetual safety.  " Will give grace and glory," grace here and
glory hereafter; spiritual aid and power against all earthly want
through all life's struggles ; but the glory of heaven in the eternal
future. It is every thing to say of him that he will withhold no
good thing from those who sincerely labor to please him, evermore
ordering their way uprightly. Must it not be infinitely blessed to
have such trust in the great God ?

«- PSALM LXXXV.
This Psalm celebrates some signal deliverance wrought by the
Lord for his people, connected, as in the nature of the case such
manifestations of God's hand must always have been, with the
repentance of the people and God's gracious forgiveness of their
sin. The Psalmist prays for yet other blessings; that God would
still avert his displeasure more and more, and reveal his mercy
in the salvation of his people.  -Critics locate the historic
references of the Psalm variously; some [Wordsworth] to the
restoration of David to the throne after the revolt of Absalom;
others [Smith] to the revival of religion under Hezekiah ; others
still to the restoration from Babylon. In support of the latter is
urged the words of v. 1 — "brought back the captivity of Jacob" —
also the fitness of the Psalm to the circumstances of that case.
Two considerations have great weight with me in favor of dating
the Psalm in the times of Hezekiah : (a) That it puts religious
reform in the foreground, corresponding fully to the facts in the
first years of Hezekiah, but less so to the times of David's restora
tion from his temporary exile, or to the restoration from Babylon.
 (b) That this theory is in keeping with the date of the Psalms
that precede it, and therefore accounts for its being placed here by
the compilers. It is safe to assume that the compilers had far
more knowledge than we can have as to the author, date, and oc
casion of these Psalms; and further, that they usually arranged
them with a fair measure of regard to their mutual relations to»
each other.
1. Lord, thou hast been favorable unto thy land; thou
hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

356 . PSALM LXXXV.
"Favorable," in the sense of propitious, merciful.  "Brought
back the captivity," etc. In its primary and strict sense this must
mean that God had restored his exiled people to their country.
But in consequence of the modes of ancient warfare, the driving
of a people from their home and country, and their restoration
again were so common that naturally this phrase came to be used
for other signal blessings, tacitly compared with this. Thus God
turned again the captivity of Job (42 : 10) when he only lifted
from him that heavy hand which he had laid upon him and gave
him back the blessings wrested so remarkably away. Other cases
of this figurative use of the phrase where no real captivity is
thought of occur Ezek. 16: 53, and Ps. 14: 7, and 53: 6. Hence
it can not be inferred from this language that the Psalm refers to
the actual restoration from Babylon or from any real captivity.
Some other signal blessing may be thought of.
2. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people ; thou
hast covered all their sin. Selah.
3. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath : thou hast turned
thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.
It will be readily seen that the forgiveness of the nation's sins is
made boldly prominent here, emphasized by " Selah." ¦ This fact
aptly meets the case of the people in the beginning of Hezekiah' s
reign. The preceding reign of Ahaz had introduced gross forms
of idolatry ; had outraged Jehovah and the public worship at his
temple, and brought great wrath upon the nation. Hezekiah came
to the throne with his first thought upon bringing the people back
penitently to God and propitiating his favor. Nothing could be
more appropriate therefore than to celebrate God's redeeming mercy
in the songs of the sanctuary, as here. The reader may profitably
study the history of Ahaz as given 2 Kings 16, and 2 Chron. 28;
and the historv of Hezekiah as found 2 Kings 18, and 2 Chron.
29-32. 4. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine
anger toward us to cease.
5. Wilt thou be angry with us forever ? wilt thou draw
out thine anger to all generations?
6. Wilt thou not revive us again : that thy people may
rejoice in thee?
7. Show us thy mercy, O Loed, and 'grant us thy salva
tion. As it stands hero this is prayer for the nation, yet is entirely
appropriate for any community or any church.  " O God of our
salvation," thou hast often saved thy people in times past ; there
fore we confide in thee for blessings now.  In v. 6 the Hebrew
reads, Wilt thou not return sind revive us ; come back to us and
quicken us to new spiritual life. Obviously, " revive " — cause us

PSALM LXXXV. 357
to live again — contemplates spiritual and not chiefly temporal
blessings.  The last clause may be read — "And shall not thy
people rejoice in thee ?" The connecting word is and rather than
"that." 8. I will hear what God the Loed will speak : for he
will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints : but
let them not turn again to folly.
The precise sense of the original is rather — Let me hear; let
me listen carefully to what the Lord will say in reply to these
prayers. Surely it comes from his very nature that he will speak
peace to his penitent, suppliant people. But let them stand to
their professions of penitence ; let them persist in the ways of a
reformed and holy life and not turn back again to their old sins —
well spoken of here as "folly."
9. Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him ; that
glory may dwell in our land.
This word for " surely " so often means only that it may perhaps
be better to read it so here. To those and those only who fear
him, his salvation is nigh. This is always true, and the truth
should forever bring assurance of hope to those who earnestly seek
the Lord.  "To the end that glory may dwell in our land" —
" glory." in the sense of God's manifested presence, as in the visi
ble glory of the Holy of holies, the symbol of Jehovah's presence
with his worshiping people. Thus understood the word carries
with it all the subordinate manifestations of Jehovah's presence
with his penitent people.
10. Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness and
peace have kissed each other.
11. Truth shall spring out of the earth ; and righteous
ness shall look down from heaven.
Exegetically the first and main question here is whether these
words — " mercy," " truth," " righteousness," " peace," are all to
be taken as attributes of God, or whether part of them speak of
qualities of men. Does the passage describe the harmonious inter
action of God's attributes ; or the reciprocity between God and man,
i. e., the relation between God's manifested mercy and man's faith
ful obedience ; God's clemency and man's peaceful prosperity? 
V. 11 seems to favor the latter construction; truth springing up,
like other growths, from the earth, while righteousness looks out
and down upon the race from heaven. So also the previous con
text — salvation from God nigh to those among men who fear him ;
i. e., a beautiful commerce between the Father above and his
children below.  "Truth" will bear the sense of fidelity to
covenant vows in the case of God's people and so be applicable to
men. When truth on man's part, thus understood, and mercy on
16

358 PSALM LXXXV.
God's part, " meet together," there is a loving accord between the
true-hearted child and the beneficent Father.  "Righteousness"
here is not justice in its sternest aspect, but clemency — such as
looks graciously from heaven upon humble penitents who put them
selves before God where he can forgive them freely, and as to the
justice of his throne, safely. This quality of God's character
insures the prosperity and peace of his children. Here, too, the
clemency of God kisses the obedience of men and sheds forth on
them the best of blessings — all peace and prosperity.
These remarks give the reader one of the two possible construc
tions. There is another possible construction, the alternative of
this. Between the two, our choice is to be made. It supposes
that these four terms^mercy, truth, righteousness, peace — are all
attributes of God. I* also supposes that these attributes are
thought of here, not as they exist abstractly in the divine mind,
but as they stand related to men. The conception is that the sins
of men bring these qualities of 'the mind of God into struggle, not
to say conflict ; while the penitence and obedience of men restore
harmony. To put the case more plainly : When man sinned, God's
justice said, man must die, and his truth was pledged to this
penalty. But mercy — compassion — pleaded, struggled, and, shall
we say it ? contested. There was conflict in the divine mind. So
himself represents : " How shall I give thee up, Ephraim ? " 
Now let the sinner become thoroughly penitent and humble. Let
atonement provide for safe pardon, and let the Binner accept par
don on the basis of this atonement. Then all conflict in the divine
mind ceases. Mercy and truth meet together; righteousness and
peace kiss each other. There is untold joy in the bosom of infinite
love ! This is the second construction.  On either we must take
the passage as poetry — genuine and beautiful . poetry. These
abstract qualities are personified ; they take on the forms and the
spirit, too, of life. We may think of them as angels from the
heavenly throne coming forth to manifest God to men, in the one
case, to show the loving accord which reigns among all the elements
of the infinite mind over and toward his creature man now that
he is a penitent child; in the other, witnessing to the reciprocity
of affection between the loving Father and his penitent children,
arid the free interchange and communion between the infinite
and the finite, as in prayer offered — prayer answered ; obedience
required, obedience paid.  As to the choice between these two
constructions ; it is easy to see that either brings out results that
are true ; indeed that are very precious truth. It may perhaps be
said that v. 10, taken apart from its connection, is explained more
naturally on the last named construction than on the first. On tho
other hand, it must be admitted that the context favors the first
named. The drift of thought here is of commerce between heaven
and earth — transactions between the God above and his children
below. God will speak peace to his people. His salvation is nigh
to his hearers. Truth is thought of as springing up like other things

PSALM LXXXVI. 359
that grow out of the earth ; while righteousness looks down lovingly
from heaven. The Lord gives the good ; the land and man receive
it. 12. Yea, the Loed shall give that which is good ; and our
land shall yield her increase.
13. Bighteousness shall go before him ; and shall set us in
the way of his steps.
" The Lord will give the good" [So the Hebrew], i. e., the good'
promised in his word to the obedient; with probable reference to
the standard passages in the Mosaic law, (e. g., Lev. 26 ; 3, 4, and
Deut. 11 : 13-15, etc.).  " Righteousness shall go before him " —
be manifested continually in his presence.  " And shall make
his steps for a way " [so the Hebrew] — an expression which puts
in strong light the example which God holds up before his people
to guide their life and which had its full development when the
Son of God, incarnate, planted his own foot-steps on this earth,
and made them the way for his people's steps in all their earthly
life.

PSALM LXXXVI.
On this Psalm the first question is that of authorship. The
caption ascribes it to David. If so, in what sense is it his, and
why does it appear in this third book (Ps. 73-89), in which we
have no other Psalm ascribed to David and no other (probably)
belonging to his age?  The Psalm stands here preceded and
followed by Psalms of the age of Hezekiah. It seems to be put
here because of'ita natural and fit relations, both to the one before
it and the one after it. It is also every way appropriate to the
reformation under Hezekiah, when the nation went down upon its
knees before God, and to Hezekiah personally, for he led the peo
ple in this humiliation and prayer for mercy. In what sense
then is this a Psalm of David? Was it really written in this
form by him, yet omitted — overlooked perhaps — in making up
Book I (Ps. 1-41), which are exclusively his; and also In the
compilation of Book II (Ps. 42-72), about half of which are his?
Did it afterward come to light and find place her& because ap
propriate in this connection? There is nothing impossible in
these suppositions. — —Or, again, is it called David s because,
though written out by Hezekiah, it was made up by taking its
several paragraphs from the earlier Psalms of David ? Shall it
be regarded as precisely a compilation from various Psalms of
David, brought together in the time of Hezekiah because specially
appropriate to his times ? This may have been its history. 
Still another hypothesis assumes that Hezekiah was its author
and is called David because he was a lineal descendant and king
on David's throne, and bearing up the religious work of David

360 PSALM LXXXVI.
pre-eminently. Those who adopt this hypothesis refer for author
ity to the sons of Asaph and the sons of Korah, who each bore
for ages the name of their father ; also to the well known fact
that the Messiah as the prophetic son of David, bears in several
prophecies the very name, David. This question will oome up
again in Book IV, which has two Psalms under the name of David,
and in Book V, which has fifteen. If the whole question turned
on the merits of this particular case, either the first supposition
or the second would be preferable to the third.
This Psalm is pertinently called "a prayer." Every verse,
every word, might be fitly used in prayer. It is also beautifully
appropriate to the great reformation in the times of Hezekiah,
and certainly not otherwise than appropriate to the case of David
in the times of Absalom. But it seems to me most probable that
the compilers put it here because of its fit connection with other
contiguous Psalms of Hezekiah's time, and because of its actual
use in that age.
1. Bow down thine ear, O Loed, hear me : for I am
poor and needy.
2. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: 0 thou my God,
save thy servant that trusteth in thee.
As usual in the Psalms "poor" is frail, weak, dependent, not
necessarily pennyless.  "Preserve my soul," i. e., my life.
"For I am holy" — in the sense of pious, one of thy devoted
worshipers.  Save thy servant who trusteth in thee — this being
the plea: Will not the Great King take care of his trusting, faith
ful servants?
3. Be merciful unto mc, O Lord: for I cry unto thee
daily. 4. Bejoice the soul of thy servant : for unto thee, O
Lord, do I lift up my soul.
"Daily" — Hebrew, all the day — all the time, constantly. 
"Rejoice the soul" — make me exceedingly glad, fill me with joy
in thee, for I lift up my soul to thee for the full blessings of thy
presence. 5. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive ; and
plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
The argument here is drawn from God's declared and known
nature. He proclaimed his name to Moses (Ex. 34: 5, 6), ex
panding the compassionate, forgiving, loving elements of his char
acter in times like these.
6. Give ear, O Loed, unto my prayer : and attend to
the voice of my supplications.
7. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee : for
thou wilt answer me.

PSALM LXXXVI. 361
We need never shrink from prayer because it is our time of
trouble, so be it we have honestly served God in our better days.
With all his heart the Lord invites his faithful ones to come to
him in every trouble, and justifies the assurance expressed here:
" for thou wilt answer me.
8. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O. Lord ;
neither are there any works like unto thy works.
"Among, the gods" — gods of the heathen, made with their own
fingers. The Psalmist need not be supposed to imply that those
gods are any thing at all beyond the wood and stone, the gold.and
silver, that make up their images. Infinitely far are they from
being like the Lord Jehovah, the Maker and Former of all things.
The last clause reads precisely : " And there is nothing like thy
works." His thought is: Nothing which heathen gods profess to
do can begin to compare with what thou hast done.
9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and
worship before thee, O Lord ; and shall glorify thy name.
10. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things : thou
art God alone.
From the infinite superiority of the true God above all idols, the
Psalmist comes to the grand result that the truth of the case will
ultimately triumph; all the Heathen nations will one day cast
away their empty gods and give their heart's entire love and hom
age to the Lord Jehovah. He loves to enlarge upon the reason
why — "For thou art great; thou doest wondrous things; thou
only art really God." This is a perfect reason. There is infinite
fitness that the supreme and only God should at length place him
self at the head of this world, its acknowledged Lord and King —
its one only object of supreme love and obedience. So let it be !
And let the time thereof hasten on !
11. Teach me thy way, O Lord ; I will walk in thy
truth : unite my heart to fear thy name.
Every word here is beautiful and strong. " Point out to me thy
way ;" as with the extended finger, indicate the path for me to
tread. I will walk earnestly — the intensive form of the Hebrew
verb — in thy truth ; i. e., according to all which thy revealed truth
shall prescribe.  "Unite my heart;" combine all its utmost
powers ; help me to concentrate every thought and affection upon
filial, reverential obedience. Let not my heart be divided — given
partly to other objects than thyself.
12. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my
heart : and I will glorify thy name for evermore.
13. For great is thy mercy toward me : and thou hast
delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

362 PSALM LXXXVII.
This is thoroughly in "the spirit of the previous words — praise
with all the heart, glorifying God's name, not transiently, not with
fluctuating, fickle love, but most heartily and forever. The good
and sufficient reason follows — "for thy mercy toward me is great,
very great; thou hast rescued me from death — literally, "my life
from the lower Sheol" — from going down to the under world.
Hebrew usage compels us to interpret this of natural death, from
which the Psalmist had been delivered. See Ps. 6 : 5, and 88 ; 10-
12, and 18 : 5, and Deut 32 : 22, where these very words occur.
14. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the
assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul ; and
have not set thee before them.
15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and
gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
Personally, this applies well to the case of David, long the object
of Saul's vengeance; then for a time, of the more organized assem
blies of violent men under military arms, headed, by Absalom.
Nationally, it meets the case of Hezekiah against whom the proud
Assyrian came upwith a mighty host and with no fear of God
before his eyes. But the compassionate loving-kindness of Israel's
God proved his refuge.
16. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me ; give thy
strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine hand
maid. 17. Show me a token for good ; that they which hate me
may see it, and be ashamed : because thou, Loed, hast
holpen me, and comforted me.
This prayer is for some visible manifestation of God's mercy to
his people which shall command the attention of his enemies, shall
confound them with shame and make them know that the Most
High God has truly appeared for his people. The overthrow of
the Assyrian host completely answered this prayer. God takes
delight in hearing such prayer to the end of such results. It
exalts his name and puts forward the great interests of his king
dom.

PSALM LXXXVII.
This jubilant song by the sons of Korah must be dated in the
times of Hezekiah for the following reasons : (a) Presumptively
we may assume this because the Psalms that precede and that
follow belong to those times.  (b) The five Gentiles nations named
here were prominent in that age, while in the age of David, Egypt
was not known under the name Rahab, and Babylon was scarcely ,

PSALM LXXXVII. 363
if at all known on the map of the nations. See Isa. 30 : 7, and 51 :
9. The name appears also in Ps. 89 : 10, but this belongs to the ago
of Hezekiah. — (c) The prophetic sentiment of this Psalm, viz., the
conversion of all the great nations of the earth to the trueJGod, is
remarkably in harmony with the prophecies of Isaiah, which were
suggested byTihe same event — the fall of the Assyrian hosts and
Gocts glorious triumphs therein. See Isa. 10-12, and 17 : 12-14,
with chap. 18: 7, and 19 : 23-25 and my Notes on these passages.
This coincidence is very remarkable, showing that this great
thought was not in the mind of Isaiah alone but belonged to that
age ; that the good men of Hezekiah's time saw in that wonderful
overthrow of Assyria a sure presage of the fall of every opposing
power and of the conversion of the great nations of the earth to
the living God.
1. His foundation is in the holy mountains.
" His foundation '' — the place of his abode, where the strong
pillars of his earthly temple are laid — is in the holy mountains,
»'. e., of Jerusalem, made sacred ages before by God's choice of
them as th$ site of his house. The words chosen in this verse
suggest firmness, stability, — a footing that can not be shaken.
2. The Loed loveth the gates of Zion more than all the
dwellings of Jacob.
3. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God.
Selah. This special love for Zion had been evinced in his choice of her
for the site of his tabernacle and temple. It had been demon
strated freshly in the fact that while the Assyrian host had swept
the entire Northern kingdom, besieged and destroyed Samaria, and
ravaged portions of the territory of Judah, the " daughter of Zion
had laughed their king to scorn " (Isa. 37 : 22), and God had sig
nally avenged her upon her proud assailants.  " Glorious things
are spoken of thee, 0 city of God ! " Had the writer of this
Psalm read the glowing and glorious words of Isaiah ? He began
to prophecy in the reign of ITzziah who died at least thirty-two
years before Hezekiah came to his throne, and forty-six years
before Sennacherib's expedition and fall. Micah was of the same
age; indeed this was pre-eminently an age in which "glorious
things were spoken of Zion." The spirit of exultant prophecy
pervaded the inspired writers of that time. Well might the sons
of Korah write " Selah " after the expression of a thought so sug
gestive; Let every reader pause and think of it! In our times
we may profitably read over and dwell long upon these " glorious
things as we find them in Isa. 2, and 9, and 11, and 12, and 35 ;
not to name also his later prophecies— Chap. 42, and 49, and 54, and
55, and 60, and 66 — also Micah 4 and 5.
4. I will make mention of Bahab and Babylon to them

364 PSALM LXXXVII.
that know me : behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia ;
this man was born there.
5. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was
born in her : and the Highest himself shall establish her.
6. The Loed shall count, when he writeth up the people,
that this man was born there. Selah.
As said above "Rahab" is but another name for Egypt, sig
nifying the proud one. " Them that know me," are my friends
and people.' To them God says, I will name Egypt and Babylon —
the great rival nations of that and subsequent ages — as born to the
God of Zion. See also Philistia, Tyre, Ethiopia; this one, each
and all of these, were born to God there, i. e., in Zion. " Man "
is by no means the word to supply in the last clause of v. 4. This
one means this nation, and in this connection, each of these
nations. Of Zion it shall be said, this one and that one [not this
man and that man] were born in her. In the writing up of the
peoples brought home to God it shall be recflrded that all these
nations were born to him in Zion. This .way of putting it, the
reader will observe, is precisely that of all the Old Testament
prophets. " The nations shall flow unto it," the mountain of the
Lord's house. (Isa. 2 : 2). " Many people and strong nations
shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem and to pray be
fore the Lord" (Zech. 8: 22). So throughout those ancient
prophecies, the Gentile nations como up in vast masses, flying as
doves to their window-cotes, to learn of God and to give him the
homage of their hearts, in Zion. A pious Hebrew, always trained
to the idea of but one place for acceptable worship, could not think
of the conversion of Gentiles as taking place in any other
way.  .Here again " Selah " is altogether in place. Let all
readers contemplate these marvelous things said of the future
Zion of the Lord Jehovah.
7. As well the singers as the players on instruments sliaU
be there: all my springs are in thee.
It seems better to supply the words, say, are saying, are pro
claiming aloud, rather than, "Shall be there," thus: Both the
singers and the instrumental players [or dancers] are proclaiming,
" All my springs are in the.e. The whole chorus shout these
richly expressive words: In God is the fountain of all my joy ! I
can trust him for all blessings on his Zion, and indeed, on the
nations of the whole earth.  "In thee" may perhaps refer
primarily to Zion rather than directly to God; but if so, to Zion
only as the place of Jehovah's manifestations, made sacred and
lovely and a fountain of blessings only because God is there. 
For explanation of the word " springs " [" all my springs "] see
Ps. 84: 6, also Joel 3: 18, and Zech. 13: 1, and 14: 8, and
Ezek. 47; 1-12, also Isa. 12 : 3, and 35: 6, and 44; 3, 4.

PSALM LXXXVHI. 365

PSALM LXXXVHI.
This Psalm is more intensely and unqualifiedly plaintive than
any other in the entire collection. The other plaintive Psalms
have some shades of light — at least a little " silver lining to the
cloud ; " but this, taken by itself, has none. We may emphasize
the words, "taken by itself," and look at the evidence that the
compiler (perhaps the writer) never intended it should stand by
itself, out of connection with the Psalm next following. Observe
the caption to Psalm 88 Bays, " a song ; " but in every other case
the songs are jubilant — as this will be in a fair measure when
associated with Ps. 89. But stronger yet is the circumstance that
the closing verses of Ps. 89 (vs. 46-51) resume the tone and
indeed the very words of this Psalm 88. The previous verses,
especially vs. 1-37, give the consolatory side — the considerations,
hopeful and inspiring, which relieve the darkness of the affliction.
This fact certainly goes far to show that these two Psalms were at
least compiled, if "not composed, to go together — a pair, neither com
plete without the other. It does not forbid this conclusion that
Heman wrote the one and Ethan the other, for they may have done
their parts of the common work in concert. The unusually long
.and full caption to Ps. 88, may belong in a measure to both, Ps. 89
having only the author's name, with no allusion to his subject.
Before we attempt to locate these Psalms in history, it were well
to settle this preliminary point : Are we to assume that this afflic
tion is personal, or is it only national ? Is this afflicted man, " I,"-
an individual man, or a .representative man speaking for the
nation?  1 am compelled to take the former alternative — as
being in harmony with all the other Psalms of kindred character ;
as being the only natural hypothesis — and certainly the writing, of
the Bible is pre-eminently natural; men speak and write as they
feel. There is nothing here that looks like ideal painting — a set
ting forth of public calamity in words and figures borrowed from
the individual life. I shall therefore assume that the writer repre
sents the personal individual sorrows, either of himself or of some
other man.  Can we locate this Psalm, or rather these two
Psalms, in history?  (1) The place assigned them by the com
pilers in this Book III, would put them in the age of Hezekiah.
Eight Psalms immediately preceding (80-87) we have located in
his age, as also Ps. 75 and 76. As these two (88 and 89) close the
third Book, the presumptive evidence is strong for this date.  (2)
Conclusive to the same point is the striking harmony between these
two Psalms on the one hand, and on the other the prayer and song
of Hezekiah on the occasion of his sickness and recovery. These
appear most fully in Isa. 38 — the prayer in brief; the thanksgiving
song in full. This song goes back to paint the bitterness and
sorrow of his soul in the near prospect of death, making largely
the same points which appear in Ps. 88. Then the covenant of
God with David and his royal line, drawn out so fully and vividly

366 PSALM LXXXVHI.
in Ps. 89 : 1-37 was manifestly the strong hold of Hezekiah in his
prayer and is indicated in God's answer : " Thus saith the Lord,
the God of David thy father." Comparing these Psalms with those
fragmentary records, we can not say less than that these are a
companion-piece to those— the same subject taken up by deeply
sympathizing friends and filled out in form adapted to the public
worship of the temple. A matter of so deep public interest was
surely a most appropriate theme for the songs of the sanctuary.
 The names of Heman and Ethan appear among the leading
musicians 1 Chron. 15 : 17, 19. The word " Mahalath " brings up
the usual question between reference to a musical choir, the name
of a tune, or the proper meaning of the word, viz., sickness. I
favor the latter. See Ps. 53, the only other case of its similar use.
 "Leannoth" means, to afflict, affliction, i. e., sickness for the
purpose of moral trial.
1. O Loed God of my salvation, I have cried day and
night before thee :
2. Let my prayer come before thee : incline thine ear unto
my cry ;
3. For my soul is full of troubles : and my life draweth
nigh unto the grave.
The reader will note that this is most earnest prayer, most per
sistent also, " day and night," the reason assigned being — " my
soul is full, sated, with the very utmost I can bear of trouble " —
the comprehensive cause being a sickness that threatened speedy
death. Suchwas the case with Hezekiah. Henot only had upon him
a disease usually fatal, but he had the very word of the Lord—" Set
thy house in order, for thou shalt die and not live" (2 Kings 20 : 1).
4. For I am counted with them that go down into the
pit : I am as a man that hath no strength :
5. Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the
grave, whom thou rememberest no .more: and they are cut
off from thy hand.
" I am counted " — regarded as of those who are just going down
into the grave. I am like a strong man, suddenly become power
less. The transition was most sudden from the vigor of the strong
man * to the prostration of mortal sickness.  In the phrase,
"free among the dead," the word for "free" has been taken by
many to be the Mosaic term for one emancipated — set free. But
the problem then has been to find any proper application of the
word in. this sense to the present case. The later critics are re
lieved of this difficulty by taking the word in the sense of couch —
" my couch is with the dead." I am so near to the dead that I
already seem to lie among them and to be of them.  "Whom

PSALM LXXXVHI. 367
Thou rememberest no more ; they are cut off from thy hand," in
the sense of being no longer the object of thy Care, as the living
are. This was one of the bitter things in this lot as it stood before
the Psalmist's mind. So Hezekiah said, " I shall not see the Lord,
even the Lord, in the land of the living;" t. «., I shall no more see
his faithful mercies as the true Jehovah, manifested to me.
6. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in
the deeps.
7. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted
me with all thy waves. Selah.
" Afflicted me with all thy waves " reminds us of the words of
David (Ps. 42 : 7) : "All thy waves and thy billows are gone over
me;" and of Jonah: "All thy billows and thy waves passed over
me " (Jonah 2 : 3) — as one cast away amid the rough breakers,
every wave sweeping over him.
8. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me ;
thou hast made me an abomination unto them : I am shut
up, and I can not come forth.
In what sense this was true of Hezekiah we know too little of
his history to say positively, and should have the same difficulty
in applying it to David at any point when he was, as here repre
sented, near death. May it be taken to express the feelings of
one who seems to himself to move off alone, unattended, to go down
the Jordan bank and launch away with none about him who can
in any wise sympathize with the new, strange, and fearful facts of
his case ? Does it not seem to him that they stand aloof as men
stand afar from the leper ?  He says, I am held fast by bands I
can not sever, as within prison-walls from which I can not come
forth. 9. Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction : Loed, I
have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands
unto thee.
" Mine eye mourneth " — but this word fails to give the full sense,
which is ; my vision pales ; all things become dark. Yet, O Lord,
how I have prayed, thou knowest ! Still thou hearest not. 
Hezekiah's prayer has the words : " Mine eyes fail with looking
upward" (Isa. 38: 14).
10. Wilt thou show wonders to the dead ? shall the dead
arise and praise thee ?. Selah.
11. Shall thy loving kindness be declared in the grave?
or thy faithfulness in destruction?
12. Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy
righteousness in the land of forgetfulness ?
All these questions are in one strain. " Wilt thou show won-

308 PSALM LXXXVHI.
ders," i. e., of delivering mercy, of thine interposing hand — " to the
dead ?" " Shall the dead" — a different word from the former and
meaning the shades, the disembodied souls — shall they arise and
praise thee ? ThiB, it may be noted, was a leading point made in
Hezekiah' s song : " for the grave can not praise thee ; death can not
celebrate thee ; they that go down into the pit can not hope for thy
truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee as I do this day '
(Isa. 38:- 18, 19j.  "Selah" shows that this was a special
point.  " Thy faithfulness in destruction " — " destruction " being
used synonymously with "grave." " In the dark," since they con
ceived of the under world as one of darkness. Job (10 : 21, 22)
puts the ancient oriental view thus : " Before I go whence I shall
not return, even to a land of darkness and the shadow of
death ; a land of darkness, as darkness itself and of the shadow
of death without any order and where the light is as darkness."
"In the land of forgetfulness " may mean, not a land where the
people thereof forget every thing and sink into unconsciousness,
but a land where the people are soon forgotten by all the living.
As Solomon has it: " The memory of them is forgotten; they have
no portion forever in any thing that is done under the sun " (Eccl.
9 : 5, 6).  The views of holy men at the age of this writing in
regard to the state next after death have been discussed somewhat
in my previous volumes, and need not be repeated here. See notes
on Isa. 38 : 18, 19, and Eccl. 9 : 5, 6.
13. But unto thee have I cried, O Loed ; and in the
morning shall my prayer prevent thee.
" Prevent," as usual in Scripture in tho sense of being before
hand, as if the suppliant would be on his knees before God in
the earliest morning dawn. Of course this is speaking after the
manner of men, with conceptions drawn from earthly thrones and
their suppliants.
14. Loed, why castest thou off my soul ? why hidest thou
thy face from me ?
15. I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up :
while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.
It is not clear why the writer should say — " Ready to die "
[literally, dying — the present participle always for the present
tense] — " from my youth up." It is, however, a fact of human
experience that scenes of fearful suffering and terrible trial may
take such exclusive possession of the mind as to cast all one's pre
ceding life into the shade and almost wipe it out from memory,
leaving the present to seem to represent all the past. Perhaps this
law of our mind gives the clew to the language before us.  The
tenses of the last clause are, " I have borne thy terrors ; I shall be
distracted." 16. Thy fierce wrath goeth over me ; thy terrors have cut
me off.

PSALM LXXXIX'. 369
17. They came round about me daily like water ; they
compassed me about together.
18. Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and
mine acquaintance into darkness.
These words essentially repeat points previously made, but serve
to show how intense his sufferings were and how fearful the trial
to which his soul was subjected.  But out of man's deepest,
bitterest woes God can bring up his saints to sweet submission,
placid trust, and joyful thanksgiving, as the case of Hezekiah bears
witness, and as the next Psalm, taken as one of a pair with this,
suffices to show.

PSALM LXXXIX.
In the remarks introductory to Ps. 88, it was suggested that
this Psalm is one of a pair with that, both being of the times of
Hezekiah, and occasioned by his extraordinary sickness, his sen
tence to death, his restoration in answer to prayer, and his
thanksgiving song therefor. Heman and Ethan, doubtless personal
friends of his, bearing responsibilities in the service of song in
the house of the Lord, sometimes writing Psalms as well as con
ducting the music, may be supposed to have been perfectly in
sympathy with him and competent to express his thoughts and
emotions in Psalm and music adapted to public worship.  He-
man, in Ps. 88, gave exclusively' the plaintive side. Ethan, during
the greater part of Psalm 89, gives the joyful side — the consider
ations that sustain hope and faith in God, and especially such as
were adapted to the case of Hezekiah. We can readily see that
the strong ground for him to rest on was God's covenant with Da
vid for himself and his royal offspririg. Hezekiah held his throne
as one of that line. All his hopes therefore reposed on God's
faithfulness to that covenant. That in vs. 38-51 Ethan reverts
to the other side of the case, shows only that he proposes to give,
not merely a part, but substantially the whole of Hezekiah's
thoughts and feelings. The covenant itself provided that if Da
vid's posterity forsook God's, law (vs.. 30-32) he would visit their
transgressions with the rod. Hezekiah's father, Ahaz, and his
son, Manasseh, were both fearfully guilty, and both fell under this
terrible scourge of God — not to say that Hezekiah had on his own
personal account some reason to confess sin and implore forgive
ness and mercy. Hence these points belong legitimately in this
Psalm. 1. I will sing of the mercies of the Loed forever : with
my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all gener
ations.

370 PSALM LXXXIX.
Assuming that Ethan proposes to himself to give a counter-
piece to the song of Heman (Ps. 88), we" may paraphrase this
verse thus : I admit there is a dark side to human life ; there are
emergencies when clouds and darkness gather thick upon us, as
we have seen in the case of our beloved king ; but there are bright
scenes in human life as well as dark, and no darkness ought
ever to shut off all thought of God's love to us; therefore "let me
sing the mercies of the Lord forever!"  "Let me sing" he
wrote, rather than precisely "I will sing." Let me, for my heart
is in it; I love it! Especially it was God's faithfulness to the
promises he had made to David and his royal race which it was
in his heart to celebrate. The good man then on the throne had
ample reason to fall back upon those ever faithful promises as his
refuge and consolation. Hezekiah need not fear the downfall of
Judah' s throne after what God had said to David.
2. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up forever: thy
faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.
3. I ' have made a covenant with my chosen, I have
sworn unto David my servant,
4. Thy seed will I establish forever, and build up thy
throne to all generations. Selah.
" Mercy shall be built up forever " — God's scheme of salvation
shall move on to its consummation, developing itself more and
more with the lapse of the ages. " The scheme of God's gracious
dispensations is conceived of as a building already formed and
hereafter to be carried up to its completion." (Alexander). 
That God's plans are thought of as more sure for being " estab
lished in the very heavens ' pre-supposes that the scheme or plan
is framed, there, and made perfect there so as never to need or
admit any subsequent change.  This covenant made with David,
guarantying the perpetuity of his throne, may be seen in 2 Sam.
7, and 1 Chron. 17.  " Selah " calls special attention to this
great fundamental fact.
5. And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, 0 Loed :
thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.
"The heavens shall praise," etc., the glorious ones in the
heavens, the word "heavens" being put for the inhabitants
thereof. So the parallel clause demands, "The congregation of
the saints," i. e., of the holy ones; not the word commonly applied
to saints on the earth, but a word used of the holy in heaven, as
may be seen Deut. 33: 2, 3, and Dan. 8: 13, and Zech. 14: 5,
and Job 4 : 18, and 15 : 15.  The sentiment is that the sinless
beings in heaven recognize God's wonders of mercy, and rejoice
in his faithfulness to his promises.
6. For who in the heaven can be compared unto the

PSALM LXXXIX. 371
Loed ? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened
unto the Loed?
7. God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the
saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about
him. In heaven are beings greatly exalted, of lofty powers and spot
less character; yet who of them all can for a moment be com
pared to Jehovah?  "Sons of the mighty," ["Elim"], the
angels and archangels of that glorious world — the same who are
called " saints " in v. 5. This great God is worthy of supreme
reverence ; let all beings whether in heaven or earth accord it to
him with all the heart !
8. O Loed God of hosts, who is a strong Lord like unto
thee ? or to thy faithfulness round about thee ?
Who is strong compared with thee, O Jehovah; and thy faith-
fulness'is inseparable from thyself, always round about thee, invest
ing thee with the honor of immutable veracity.  The con
struction in the English version fails of the precise sense. It is
not: Who is a strong Lord like thy faithfulness round about
thee ; but rather, as an after thought, thus : Who is strong like
thyself; and thy faithfulness is always with thee, encircling thee ;
never detached ; never absent
9. Thou rulest the raging of the sea : when the waves
thereof arise, thou stillest them.
10. Thou hast broken Bahab in pieces, as one that is
slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong
arm. •
The great strength of Jehovah is the theme set forth here by its
manifestations in nature. The swell of the sea ; all its rage and
pride — how mightily dost thou rule it, how easily hush its breakers
down to peace !-  "Rahab," a word signifying pride, but applied
pertinently and often in this age to Egypt. This nation God had
humbled in the greatness of her pride. Witness the plagues on
her land and the burying of her chariots and horsemen in the
Red Sea.
11. The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for
the world and the fullness thereof, thou hast founded them.
12. The north and the south thou hast created them :
Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.
In v. 11 the founding or building and the sustaining on their
enduring foundations pertain not merely to the world and what
fills it, but to the heavens and the earth, thus: "Thine the
heavens ; yea, thine the earth, the inhabited world and all that fill
it — thou hast founded them, i. e., them all. Creation and preser
vation are both embraced. Then the general idea is impressed by

372 PSALM LXXXIX.
being expanded into its particulars ; " The north and the south,"
the remote quarters of the earth in those directions, thou hast
created; Tabor — the great mountain on the west; Hermon, the
corresponding peak on the east, representing those quarters of the
globe — all rejoicing in thy name, i. e., in the ever present agencies
of their great Creator and Preserver. Joyously do they repose
under the eye and hand of their Almighty Maker!
13. Thou hast a. mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and
high is thy right hand.
14. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy
throne : mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
"An arm with might in it," is the expressive Hebrew
phrase.  "Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy
throne ; " it seems to rest on those grand qualities of thy
character. Yet thy justice and thy judgment never overrule
mercy. Mercy and truth march in advance of thee, ever present,
always of potent influence over all thou doest
15. Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound :
they shall walk, O Loed, in the light of thy countenance.
16. In thy name shall they rejoice all the day : and in
thy righteousness shall they be exalted.
Know wliat "joyful sound?" wo must ask here, for the im
mediate antecdent is rather implied than expressed. The scope
of the context however is clear. Tabor and Hermon rejoice in
God's name (v. 12) ; the whole earth is vocal with praises ; the
hosts of heaven bow reverently around the throne of Jehovah (vs.
6-8) ; but most blessed are the people of earth who enter into
these sympathies with all the holy in the universe of God and
pour forth their souls in praise and adoration. There may perhaps
be an allusion to the trumpet-call which convened the people for
worship on their great festival days, designated by the very word
used here.
17. For thou art the glory of their strength : and in thy
favor our horn shall be exalted.
18. For the Loed is our defense ; and the Holy One of
Israel is our King.
" Through thy favor our horn shall be high ; " " horn " probably
in the sense of king, who represented the strength of the nation,
the horn being the symbol of strength, arid the king being to the
nation what the horn is to horned animals. [Daniel's visions
chaps. 7 and 8 have the same symbolism — horn for king.]  In
v. 18, the more exact translation is: "For our shield belongs to
Jehovah; our king to the Holy One of Israel." Our king is only
the Lord's servant and therefore we may rely on the Lord to
Bustain him.

PSALM LXXXIX. 373
19. Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One, and
saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty ; I have
exalted one chosen out of the people.
20. I have found David my servant ; with my holy oil
have I anointed him :
21. With whom my hand shall be established : mine arm
also shall strengthen him.
At this point the Psalmist reverts to the original call and anoint
ing of David by Samuel — his selection as a man after God's own
heart to be king of Israel.
22. The enemy shall not exact upon him ; nor the son
of wickedness afflict him.
23. And I will beat down his foes before his face, and
plague them that hate him.
24. But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him :
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
" Exact upon him " — the verb being commonly used for the ex
actions, of the usurer.
25. I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand
in the rivers.
A remarkable expression, meaning : I will give him power from
sea to sea, and even to the great rivers of the world, the Euphrates
and the river of Egypt, both of which are named in the boundaries
of the land promised to Abraham's s%ed.
26. He shall cry unto me, Thou art my Father, my God,
and the Bock of my salvation.
Filially trusting me, he shall address me as Father* God, the
Rock of liis salvation. This was prominent in the promise as sent
through Nathan: "I will be his Father and he shall be my son."
See also how Davidrepeats it to his son Solomon (1 Chron. 22: 10).
27. Also I will make him my first-born, higher than the
kings of the earth.
28. My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my
"covenant shall stand fast with him.
29. His seed also will I make to endure forever, and bis
throne as the days of heaven.
Somewhat more than merely a son — he shall be my first-born,
my specially favored son. The peculiar relation of Israel to the
Lord is indicated by the same term (Ex. 4 : 22, and Jer. 31 : 9). 
The points made prominent herej viz., the perpetuity of this cove
nant and its eternal stability, lead the thought onward to David's
greater son, the Messiah, in whom only were these points perfectly
fulfilled.

374 PSALM LXXXIX.
30. If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my
judgments; 31. If they break my .statutes, and keep not my com
mandments ;
32. Then will I visit their transgression with the rod,
and their iniquity with stripes.
Such promises were liable to grievous abuse by unworthy suc
cessors on this throne of David. Hence this admonition — so terri
bly effective to the chastisement of the wicked kings in David's
line. 33. Nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not utterly
take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.
34. My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing
that is gone out of my lips.
Chastisements and even judgments may be demanded upon cor
rupt individuals in this royal line, but these shall not impair the
validity of the covenant. Noticeably the covenant runs sure, not
to them — all the members in this line — but to him, David, as the
representative of the line.  Taking into view the frailty of man
in his best estate, and the degeneracy incident to royal families, this
must be accounted one of the most precious features in this cove
nant. God would not let the corruption and moral failure- of indi- ¦
vidual kings in this line go to impair the covenant itself. That
should not be vitiated. What God had said should absolutely stand.
The grand idea of one great anointed king in this royal line, to be
come King of kings and Lord of lords, was in this covenant, and
no delinquencies of human sort, anywhere along the intermediate
links from David to Christ, could be allowed to vacate the glorious
promise, or work, on God's part, a repudiation of his covenant.
35. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie
unto David.
36. His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the
sun before me.
37. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a
faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
"Once" — not in the sense of one particular time, as this word
should naturally mean, but one thing — one point I have made sure
by my solemn oath, and in this I will never prove false to David ;
viz., the- perpetuity of his throne in his posterity. That greater
Son who shall pre-eminently bear up his name, and in whom alone
this covenant is to have its ultimate, unquestionable, sublime ful
fillment, shall reign forever ; his throne shall outlast the sun ; of
his dominion there shall be no end. The Hebrew writers give us
their strongest averments of indefinitely long duration — of things
that shall stand while the world shall last — by comparing them

PSALM LXXXIX. 375
with the life of the sun and of the moon. V. 37 naturally reads :
" As the moon shall it [his throne] stand forever, and the witness
in the heavens is sure' — the moon on the sky, and the sun per
haps as well, are the witness that God has measured the duration
of this promise by the existence of the sun and the moon, hung
out before mortal eyes in the heavens. " Selah " fitly calls for
special attention and meditation here, before the Psalmist passes
on to other points.
38. But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been
wroth with thine anointed.
39. Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant :
thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.
The sudden and entire change in the course of thought at this
point must strike every reflective reader as very extraordinary.
It might seem to reverse the very declarations just made.  The
probable explanation is, that under the presence and pressure of
severe calamity, befalling the reigning monarch and the people as
well, it really appeared as if God had broken his covenant, dishon
ored the crown of his own anointed One, given him up to reproach,
and the whole people to ruin. The tone is singularly outspoken,
not to say bold and almost irreverent. We have a case quite anal
ogous in Ps. 44 : 9-26.  " Profaned his crown to the earth " —
as if God had taken it from his head and thrown it into the dust.
40. Thou hast broken down all his hedges ; thou hast
brought bis strongholds to ruin. *
41. All that pass by the way spoil him : he is a reproach
to his neighbors.
The same figure — a vineyard enclosed with hedge — appears in
Ps. 80. In righteous chastisement of his guilty people, God suf
fered the natural defenses of the land to be broken down, and
their military strongholds to be demolished — to their reproach be
fore their enemies.
42. Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries ;
thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.
43. Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and
hast not made him to stand in tbe battle.
44. Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne
down to the ground.
45. The days of his youth thou hast shortened : thou hast
covered him with shame. Selah.
In v. 44 we should read literally, " Thou hast made him to cease
from his brightness," i. e., thou hast dimmed the glory and bril
liancy of his throne.  "Hast shortened the days of his youthful
vigor," — made him prematurely old and feeble.  Whether the

376 PSALM LXXXIX.
historical facts referred to here — the basis of these statements —
were in the sickness of Hezekiah, or in the greater public calami
ties in the reign of Manasseh, it is not perhaps possible to deter
mine. 46. How long, Loed ? wilt thou hide thyself forever ?
shall thy wrath burn like fire ?
47. Remember how short my time is : wherefore hast thou
made all men in vain ?
48. What man is lie tliat liveth, and shall not see death ?
shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave ?
Selah. The implied solecism of the question, "How long wilt thou hide
thyself forever ? " may be obviated by making two questions : How
long ? Shall it be forever ? Or thus : How long shall it seem to
us that thou has cast us off finally and forever ? Or, modifying the
word rendered forever : How long wilt thou continue to cast us off
with no relaxation of thy purpose ?  " Think how short human
life is " at best^— a strain of appeal analogous to that of Hezekiah
(Isa. 38 : 12).  "Wherefore hast thou made man so mere a
vanity," so like an empty breath? — expostulations extorted by
painful and to human view disastrous death, either transpiring or
near impending.
49. Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses, which
thou swarest unto David in thy truth ?
It seemed that those rich*loving-kindnesses promised to David
and shown so munificently to him had disappeared and were no
more — were exhausted and naught of them remained I Literally
the verse has two distinct clauses : " Where are thy former loving-
kindnesses, O Lord ?" " Thou didst sware unto David in thy truth."
How then comes it to pass as we see it now ?
50. Bemember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants ; how
I do bear iu my bosom Hie reproach of all the mighty people ;
51. Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O Lord ;
wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine
anointed. " The reproaches of thy servants " — i. e., which they suffer. 
The next clause stands in Hebrew — " my bearing in my bosom all
the mighty people" — which might mean: I bear all their sympa
thies ; or all their responsibilities; or all their reproaches. The word
"peoples" connected with many [better than "mighty"] must refer
to Gentile nations. Is there not here an allusion to the promise that
all these nations shall yet come to Zion as proselytes to the true God ;
and that this suppliant implores God to remember that Zion bears on
her heart this promise and asks how it shall ever be fulfilled if the
then present state of things is permitted ?  In v. 51, the word " re-

PSALM XC. 377
member" must be brought forward from the verse previous:
"Remember, Lord, how thine enemies have reproached — have
reproached the footsteps of thine Anointed." Ought not such
reproach to receive thine attention ?  Here the Psalm closes.
52.' Blessed be the Loed for evermore. Amen, and
Amen.
This doxology is properly the close of Book III of the Psalter.
A similar emphatic doxology and double "Amen" appear at the
close of the first book (Ps. 41 : 13) and of the second (Ps. 72 : 19).

PSALM XC.
This first Psalm in Book IV is the oldest in the entire collection.
There is every reason to regard this as a genuine relic of what was
even then a remote antiquity— a Psalm written by Moses near the
close of the forty years' wandering in the wilderness.  Its deep
minor strain is readily accounted for. When the nation was less
than two years out from Egypt, Moses sent twelve spies from
Kadesh-barnea into Canaan to explore the land and report back
to the people. Ten of the twelve brought back a report full of
unbelief — its conclusions based on an utter lack of faith in God ;
and this in the face of all God had wrought for them in the plagues
on Egypt, in the passage of the Red Sea and the glories of Sinai.
The masses of the people sympathized but too deeply in this utter
unbelief. The Lord's indignation against the people was deeply
stirred, and he swore in his wrath that not a man of all that gene
ration, then over twenty years of age, should ever enter Canaan,
save the two faithful men, Caleb and Joshua. They were doomed
to wander during forty years up and down in that wilderness, to
be thinned out by pestilence ; hastened to their early graves by
special judgments for special sins; or swept off under the general
. doom of an early death, till within forty years that whole genera
tion of adult men were dead. Therefore when the nation neared
at once the confines of Canaan and the close of that forty years,
Moses, then the solitary patriarch of one hundred and twenty
years, with eye undimmed and "natural force unabated" (Deut.
34 : 7), looked abroad upon the face of his people whom he had led
through all their wilderness life, and saw not a man among them
(save the two faithful spies) over sixty years of age. " The fathers,
where were they ? " lhe patriarchs, hoary with years, venerable
in age — the men whose years counted like Jacob's [147] ; like
Joseph's [110]; or like the Levite stock [Levi, 137; Kohath, 133;
Amram, 137 (Ex. 6 : 16, 18, 20)]— where were they ? Alas, the old
men were not there 1 One whole class in human society was utterly
blotted out ! Save Caleb and Joshua, Moses could not see a man
whose years numbered more than half his own. He was an old

378 PSALM XC.
man among a nation of children. He had long out-lived his gener
ation. The men he had familiarly known in his boyhood were
long since in their graves. And when he asked for the cause of
this sad experience — the reason of these appalling facts — the
answer was but too obvious — these early deaths came in judgment
from God for their sins. It was under the wrath of God for their
guilty unbelief that they perished long ere the usual race of human
life was run.  It was amid these surroundings that Moses wrote
this Ps. 90. It was the natural outgrowth of such circumstances.
The sad spectacle before his eyes drew forth these plaintive strains
of poetry and song from his stricken heart. It has been the lot of
few men if any in the whole range of our world's history to live
for years together amid bereavements so long continued, so un
sparing, so universal — exempting but two men of his own genera
tion ; yet there have been' hearts in plenty to respond somewhat to
the mournful strains of this Psalm. Ah, who has not wept over
early made graves, over dear ones cut down, according to our short
vision, too soon ! If death is because of Bin, and if its fearfulness
measures God's estimate of human guilt, then who has not had
abundant occasion to see that in God's sight it is a bitter thing
that a race has gone into rebellion against its Great Maker and
Father ? Who will not pray with Moses that God would soften
these strokes of his hand, all he wisely can, and let his mercy
shine out early and long, lest his creatures sink beneath his rod ?
It is not a question of merely idle curiosity — Why does this
Psalm of Moses stand here at the head of Book IV rather than
at the head of Book I, according to its age, or rather than any
where else?  This Book. IV (Ps. 90-106) is made up chiefly of
Psalms composed in the last reigns of the Jewish Kings," preced
ing the captivity — say from Manasseh, where Book IH ends, to
the fall of the city before the Chaldeans. If we may suppose it
to have been compiled by Jeremiah (a suggestion I do not remem
ber to have met with) we have at least two obvious reasons for
placing this Psalm by Moses at the head of it : (a) That the appall
ing national mortality which drew forth this Psalm originally from
the heart of Moses was reproduced before the eyes of Jeremiah.
He too saw a nation melting rapidly away ; its sons and daughters,
its fathers and. mothers falling thick and fast like the leaves of
autumn.— — (b) This Psalm met a quick response from the heart
of " the weeping prophet." If we might suppose that various other
coiripilers might miss its exquisite beauty, or fail to feel the whole
force of its sentiments, we may be sure not a word could be lost
on the heart of Jeremiah. He could not overlook, could not omit,1
this wonderful Psalm.
The reader will note that the caption speaks of this not as a
" Psalm " or " Song" but as a " prayer." And not inappropriately.
It is throughout addressed to God. There is not a word in it out
of place for a prayer. After the case is fully presented before
the Lord, the strain of it is closely and constantly that of suppli-

PSALM XC. 379
cation (vs. 12-17).  In Deut. 33: 1, Moses is called as here,
"The man of God"— in words not of Moses himself but of his
compiler ; also in Josh. 14 : 6— the words of Caleb ; and in Ezra
3 : 2 — the words of Ezra. A few other distinguished prophets
have been so called ; none more fitly than Moses.  As to the
internal evidence that Moses wrote this Psalm, Dr. Alexander has
well condensed the points thus: "Its unique simplicity and gran
deur, its appropriateness to his times and circumstances, its resem
blance to the Law in urging the connection between sin and
death ; its similarity of diction to the poetical portions of the Pen
tateuch, without the slightest trace of imitation or quotation ; its
marked unlikeness to the Psalms of David, and still more to those
of later date; and finally, the proved impossibility of plausibly
assigning it to any other age or author." (Vol. II : pg. 295).
1. Loed, thou hast been our_ dwelling-place in all genera
tions. "Our dwelling-place" — our home [so -the Hebrew] or place of
rest. Ranging this houseless desert; plowing these trackless
sands ; clambering these stony hills ; threading these treeless val
leys, with never a place of rest anywhere to the soles of our weary
feet — such is our life, and it is only when our eye rests on the
pillar of thy glory standing above our sacred tent that we get the
first idea of a home. In a wilderness, if God dwells in it, there
may be a home, but it must be in God only. So it was with our
fathers, the patriarchs, in their wanderings. Their God was their
dwelling-place through all their generations. Apart from God
there was no sense of home in their souls.
2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou
hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlast
ing to everlasting, thou art God.
The conceptions are poetic : " Before the mountains were born,
or ere thou hadst brought forth the earth" [this globe] "and the
world" [the surface considered as inhabited].  "From ever
lasting to everlasting " — back into the depths of a past eternity
and onward through the measureless years of the future, thou art
evermore the same — the Mighty God ["El"]. The course of
thought seems to be : Thou, O Jehovah, who hast been the dwell
ing-place of all the patriarchs — of Abraham and Jacob, of Enoch
and of Abel — there is no measuring thine endless years. The
longest human lives are less than units in this poor attempt toward
a time-computation of thy being.
3. Thou turnest man to destruction ; and sayest, Beturn,
ye children of men.
But man's days»are far otherwise. Alas, the contrast ! " Thou
turnest man to destruction" the word used by Moses signifying a
thing smitten and broken into fine dust. The conception seems to
be that man made of the dust of the earth is crushed and broken

380 PSALM XC.
till he is reduced to his original dust. It is put here as a second
fiat of the Almighty ; the first (ideally) summoning him forth from
dust into organized body instinct with life ; the second, remanding
him back again : Return to your primeval dust, ye sons of men !
It is in point here to recall the words of the Lord to Adam, then
representing the race : " Dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt
return" (Gen. 3: 19). Compare also Job 10: 9, and 34: 14, 15.
4. For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yester
day when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
It is at least supposable that one thousand years is first thought
of as proximately the extreme duration of antediluvian life. To
Moses and to the men of his time, those human lives seemed very
long; but what were they in the eye of God measured against his
immortal years ? Only like yesterday when it is gone — swallowed
up in the great abyss of the Past ; or like a watch (then the third
part only) of a single night.  The words of Peter (2 Eps. 3 : 8)
seem to be borrowed from this Psalm : " One day is with the Lord
as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day." What are
years to him whose years no lapse' of time can lessen, and no
count of ages on ages can ever begin to exhaust I
5. Thou carriest them away as with a flood ; they are as
a sleep : in the morning they are like grass which groweth
up. 6. In the morning it flourisbeth, and groweth up ; in the
evening it is cut down, and withereth.
The first clause is made in Hebrew by one most expressive word
for which we have no precise equivalent. We might say : Thou
floodest them, save that the sense is, not pouring water over them,
but sweeping them away as with a deluge, a mighty inundation.
 "Asleep are they," evanescent as a dream, or rather perhaps
suggesting that, compared with the immortal untiring activities of
the Infinite One, the whole of human life is but that dreamy,
torpid thing we call sleep.  Or again, human life is as the grass
whose whole duration of shooting up, blossoming, being cut down
and withering, is pressed within one brief day — beginning with a
morning, ending at the night. Alas, that such a figure should
measure human life on earth !
7. For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy
wrath are we troubled.
8. Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret
sins in the light of thy countenance.
9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we
spend our years as a tale that is told.
"By thy wrath are we troubled," but the word used by Moses
is much stronger than merely "troubled." It implies being cut
off, destroyed — in forms moreover of overwhelming terror.- — "In

PSALM XC. 381
the light of thy countenance," but this word for " light " means
not precisely the light itself, but the source of light, the luminous
body which supplies the light — the conception being, it would seem,
that God's face is itself a sun, and he brings our secret sins forth
and holds them before the face of this sun of the moral
universe! — ; — These verses come to the great question of the
reason why. How comes it to pass that man's life is so short, his
life-power so frail ? Why are we so soon and so suddenly " con
sumed ? " The answer is found in God's wrath toward man's sin.
That terrible mortality which bo soon swept off the entire adult
population came of God's indignation toward them for their un
belief. They would not believe in his power to save though he
had wrought most glorious and most palpable wonders of salvation
before their very eyes and for their very selves ! Those guilty
sins God could not hide ; and would not, must not, pass over !
No, he must lift them up before the ages of history — spread them
forth before earth and heaven, and let it be seen how much he felt
insulted and abused that his people would not believe in his love,
would not trust his power to save ! It was a moral lesson written
in blood, uttered in, the groans of the dying, set forth in tho
ghastliness of ten thousand deaths ; but there was a demand for
it, and even God's compassion could not spare it! So all death
follows sin and comes because sin has gone before.
9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath : we
spend our years as a tale that is told.
The original words suggest ideas of this sort : For all our days
turn and go under thy wrath ; we consume [use up] our years
quick as a thought. Almost in less time than we can think, they
are gone ! It seems to us that God's wrath for our sins abides on
us through all this fleeting life.
10. The days of our years are threescore years and ten ;
and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is
their strength labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off, and
we fly away.
Quite abruptly and half as an exclamation, the Psalmist wrote :
" The days of our years — in them are seventy years ; and if with
strength they are eighty years, yet their pride is labor and sorrow,
for it hastens fast and we fly away ! " " Their pride " — the best
of man's days, or the manly vigor which is his chief glory. The
average term of man's life-power is put at seventy years, shortened
greatly from the years of their fathers before them._ The re
corded years of those who went down into Egypt_ with Jacob,
range more nearly at twice seventy. But the men like Moses, of
undimmed eye and unwasted life-force at one hundred and
twenty, were at this writing no more to be found.
11. Who knoweth the p«wer of thine anger ? even accord
ing to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
17

382 PSALM XC.
Who knows the force [and the results] of thine anger so as to
appreciate thy wrath in the spirit of godly fear ? Or the last clause
thus : Who estimates thine indignation according to the fear it
should impress?  It seems quite plain that the question "Who
knoweth ? should grammatically govern the last words of the
verse ["thy wrath"] as really as the preceding phrase, "the
power of thine anger." The entire sentiment of the verse, there
fore, is: Who has ever fully comprehended the power and the
results of God's displeasure against sin, as we see them in the
universal mortality of the race, and in all the pains and woes
which fill this earthly life ? Who estimates this with such fear
of God as the facts inspire ?
12. So teach ws to number our days, that we may apply
our hearts unto wisdom.
Help us to make such an estimate of life as shall insure real
wisdom — literally, "that we may acquire a heart of wisdom." It
is not merely, as in our English version, that we may set ourselves
to the study of wisdom, but that we may truly gain it.
13. Beturn, O Lord, how long ? and let it repent thee
concerning thy servants. .
A prayer that God would turn his hand to blessings and mercies.
" Return," to visit thy people with good, and let thy compassionbe
moved toward thy suffering servants. This seems to be the precise
thought of the Hebrew verb which the English version puts:
" Let it repent thee."
14. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may re
joice and be glad all our days.
" Satisfy us with thy mercy in the morning," [Hebrew] — soon,
speedily, early in our day of brief life, so that we may have joy and
gladness all our days, instead of spending them all in misery and woe.
15. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast
afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let the years of our joy in the future be as the years of our
sorrow in the past. Let a new era dawn upon us of joy and peace.
no less long than the sad years of pestilence and death, through
which we have wended our sorrowing way.
16. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy
glory unto their children.
17. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us :
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us ; yea,
the work of our hands establish thou it.
Let us see thy work of redeeming mercy and saving power ; let
thy glory be displayed before the eyes of our children ; let the
beauty p. e., grace] of Jehovah, our covenant God, be upon us ;

PSALM XCI. 383
make our great national work successful, and confirm every word
of thy covenant in the gift of Canaan, and in making its posses
sion firm and sure to the generations of Israel.  This I take to
be the primary sense of this closing prayer of Moses — a prayer
which sacred history shows to have been abundantly fulfilled to
those very children whose fathers fell so fearfully in the wilderness.
The generation that went over into Canaan under Joshua had the
fear of God before their eyes and stood up staunchly to the obli
gations of their holy covenant. ' The Almighty God therefore
placed himself at the head of their marching hosts ; his own work
ing hand appeared manifestly unto his servants, his glory to their
children; and Canaan was indeed established unto Israel for an
everlasting possession'.

PSALM XCI.
This Psalm would be full of interest, found anywhere, standing
in any relations ; but has peculiar interest standing here in mani
festly close relations to Psalm 90. The slightest attention to these
two Psalms will show that they are paired together, the second a
counterpart to the first. The prayer of Moses has in its fore
ground a sweeping mortality among the people of Israel. It speaks
therefore of human frailty ; of man returning back to dust, and of
man's sin as calling forth the high displeasure of his Maker and
demanding such a demonstration of it as the cutting off of a whole
generation in the freshness of their manhood.  But this somber
view of human life should not stand alone. There are exceptional
cases. Even then when Moses wrote Ps. 90 there were before him
Caleb and Joshua, hale and strong ; Caleb eighty years old when
the nation crossed the Jordan, and Joshua one hundred and ten at
his death, and, as is supposed, ninety-three at the entrance into
Canaan. Caleb testifies of himself (Josh. 14: 10, 11) — "Behold,
the Lord hath kept me alive as he said these forty-five years even
since the Lord spake this word unto Moses while the children of
Israel wandered in the wilderness ; and now, lo, I am eighty-five
years old. As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day
that Moses sent me (i. «., to spy out the land) ; as my strength was
then, even so is my strength now for war, both to go out and to
come in." And Joshua also, aged from ninety-three to one hun
dred, seems to have been hale and strong for the hardships of
war. So that something should be said touching the strain of this
Ps. 90 by way of exception. It should be said that those who live
near to God shall abide under his protection ; shall be shielded
against the pestilence, protected from the fierce lion and poisonous
adder, put under the charge of God's sleepless angels to be kept
in all their ways, and crowned with the blessings of long life and
God's full salvation. Such is the tone of Ps. 91.  It scarcely
need be said that these Psalms belong to an age when present
retribution was far more fully the law of the divine hand toward

384 PSALM XCI.
men than in this latter dispensation. It was an age when he
who honored father and mother enjoyed long life on the land the
Lord had given to his people.  Such being the scope of this
Psalm and such its relations to Psalm 90, the question of author
becomes one of special interest. Who wrote it ? Can we get any
light on this point ?  It stands with po caption. The compilers
are silent as to author, date, or occasion. But perhaps this very
silence is itself suggestive. The ancient Jewish doctors held that
a subsequent Psalm, entirely without caption, came under the cap
tion of its immediate predecessor; stood in special relation to it;
was indeed one of a pair with it, written on the same occasion,
and (so they held) by the same author. And it must be admitted
that this doctrine holds good throughout the first three books.
The reader may easily examine the cases, viz., Ps. 1 and 2 ; Ps. 9
and' 10; Ps. 32 and 33 ; Ps. 42 and 43 ; and Ps. 70 and 71. Here
are five pairs of- Psalms, all sustaining the ancient rule of the
Jewish doctors.  The Jewish doctrine m respect to this coupling
of Psalms — the second without caption and therefore by the same
author — is not a little strengthened by the fact that at least
throughout the first three books no other Psalms but these thus
coupled stand without caption. All the rest have some word from
the compilers at their head. In Books IV and V it is not so easy
to detect the law of compilation. But as the case stands there is
a somewhat strong presumption that they considered Moses the
author of Ps. 91 as well as of Ps. 90. It is at least quite certain
that they regarded Ps. 91, by whomsoever written, as a counterpart
of Ps. 90. And this is the point of chief importance to its just
interpretation.* 1. He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High
shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
The word for " dwelleth " might equally well be translated sit
teth, i. e., under the covert, in the hiding-place, the sequestered
shelter of the Most High. This man "shall abide," lodge all
night and by consequence perpetually, under the shadow of the
Almighty. The sense, He who lives in great nearness to God,
making God his trust and refuge, may expect permanent protection.
Stress is laid upon God's infinite power to shield his trustful peo-
* A certain class of critios have unlimited confidence in their ability to
determine who wrote (c. g.) this Ps. 91 from its style, from its words,
grammatical forms, etc. In my view this sort of criticism has been
greatly overdone and its value overestimated. For what forbids (in this
case) that some later author should have wrought into this Psalm many
of the words and expressions that occur in the poetical writings of Moses ?
On the other hand, who knows the whole range of the vocabulary of
Moses? What forbids that he should put into this Ps. 91 some words
found in none of his other songs ? If we had in hand whole volumes
from his pen, we might prepare ourselves to draw conclusions respecting
his authorship of a given Psalm from his style, his choice of words. But
at present our data are too limited to justify very positive conclusions
from this sort of evidence.

PSALM XCI. 385
pie by the choice of those names for God which make his power
prominent. Who can be otherwise than safe with the Almighty
Go* for his Protector ?
2. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my
fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3. Surely he shall deliver thee, from the snare of the fow
ler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his
wings shalt thou trust: his truth slw.ll be % shield and
buckler. The Hebrew has it, not of the Lord, but to the Lord ; " I will
say to the Lord: " My Refuge and Fortress art thou, etc. "In
him will I trust," changes from the second person to the third, a
change not uncommon in Hebrew, but especially frequent in this
Psalm.  " The snare of the fowler," which may represent any
form of danger. Covered under wings and feathers is a favorite
Hebrew figure, open to the most common observation in the
habits of domestic fowls. Our Lord has it in beautiful form
(Matt 23 : 37).
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor
for the arrow that flieth by day ;
6. Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness ; nor
for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
The timid will readily feel the fitness and force of this de
scription — " the terror by night" The warriors of that age would
know the meaning of " the arrow that flieth by day."  Full of
pertinence is the description of the pestilence — " walking in dark
ness " — moving stealthily upon us in miasms which no human eye
can detect, in malarious influences impalpable to every sense, but
terrible in their power over the stoutest human frame. The de
struction wasting at noonday is the same thing in other words.
— — -Here is probably a tacit allusion to those plagues that fell
from the Lord upon the rebellious Hebrews in the wilderness.
(See e. g., Num. 11 : 32, and 16 : 46-49, and 25 : 8, 9).
7. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at
thy right hand ; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the
reward of the wicked.
God can throw over his favored ones a protecting shield, proof
against the most malignant malaria. When the plague is sweep
ing off its thousands at thy side, his voice can say with power :
" It shall not come nigh thee." Thou shalt lift up thine_ eyes
round about and see the retribution that is falling on the wicked.
Such was precisely the case with Joshua and Caleb when the
plao-ue fell on the other spies, unbelieving, and on their adherents
(Num. 14 : 36-38).

386 PSALM XCI.
9. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my
refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation ;
10. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall hny
plague come nigh thy dwelling.
Noticeably the word for " habitation " in v. 9, is the same which
stands in the foreground of Ps. 90, there translated " dwelling-
place." Because thou hast made the Lord thy dwelling-place, thy
home, thy shelter, thy supreme trust. So Joshua and Caleb had
done, and on this ground they said, It matters not how tall those
giants of Canaan or how lofty saai strong their walled cities; God
can give them into our hands with infinite ease ! Because they
had such faith and so fully honored God by it before the nation,
therefore no evil befell them ; no plague touched their dwelling.
So evermore with those who thus honor the Lord by a living faitn.
11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep
thee in all thy ways.
12. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou
dash thy foot against a stone.
God has angels to send, ever ready and equal to any emergency.
Is any agency required which calls for some power outside of the
course of nature and competent to counteract its laws? Angelic
hands are in readiness. They can bear thee up that thou stumble
not, nor trip thy foot against a stone.  The simplest possible so
lution is here of the problem : How can God bring about events
in opposition to natural causes, e. g., let a man, falling over a
precipice, come down unhurt ? " The angels shall bear thee up in
their hands." What hinders ? Do they not " excel in strength?"
• Does not the Bible attribute precisely this physical force to angelic
agencies, e. g., rolling the great stone from the sepulcher (Matt.
28 : 2) ? See also Dan. 10 : 10. Who knows but their power may
extend to malaria as well as to rolling heavy stones ? (See 2 Sam.
24 ; 16, 17, and 1 Chron. 21 ; 15, and Isa. 36 : 36.) • Of one thing
we may be very sure — that he who promises to protect his people
is not likely to be short of agencies for the purpose,
13. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder : the
young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
While the forms of evil mentioned here and elsewhere in this
Psalm can not be held to prove absolutely that the writer was^fn
the Arabian wilderness and familiar therefore by his very sur
roundings with wilderness life and dangers, yet it must be
admitted that if he had lived and written there, he could scarcely
have taken moro of his illustrative cases from that life than he has
done. The poisonous serpent will be remembered as among the
destroyers of the people there (Num. 21 : 6-9).
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will

PSALM XCII. 387
I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath
known my name.
15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him : I
will be with him in trouble ; I will deliver him, and honour
him. 16. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my
salvation. This sums up the great doctrine of the Psalm.  "Set his love
upon me," attached and bound himself to me in strongest, purest
affection ; therefore, I will not tear him away but will deliver him
from all danger. "Because he hath known my name," not with
merely intellectual notions, but with knowledge working itself out
in love.  "Will honor him," distinguish him from others by my
special favor. " I will satisfy him with long life," give him all his
heart craves ; fill his largest desires.  Thus there is an offset to
the mournfulness of human frailty and swift mortality. It shall
be well with those that fear God and walk softly before him.
Usually they have longer lives and more earthly blessings even in
our age and in every age than the defiantly wicked. But even if
their lives should be short in years, they are long in blessings and
rich in what yields the real fruits' of earthly existence — usefulness
to others, and a soul cultured on earth for the purity and the rest
of heaven.

PSALM XCII.
This Psalm appears with no clew to its author and has no defi
nite historic allusions to indicate its date or occasion. It is simply
" A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath day " — a statement with which
its contents entirely correspond. Its adaptations for Sabbath wor
ship as in the olden time are perfect.  Its place assigned by the
compilers, in Book IV, suggests the date, say of Josiah's reforma
tion, when it became practically a great national object and aim to
draw the people to the temple and interest them in sacred worship
on the holy day. The leading thoughts of this Psalria — the wicked
flourishing for a day, soon to perish ; the righteous flourishing like
the palm-tree, through long centuries, fruitful even in old age like
Moses, Caleb, Joshua — are so fully in harmony with the two
Psalms next preceding as to leave no room to question why it was
located contiguous to those.
1. It is a, good thing to give thanks unto the Loed, and
to sing praises unto thy name, O Most High :
2. To show forth thy loving-kinduess in the morning, and
thy faithfulness every night,

388 PSALM XCII.
3. Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psal
tery ; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
" Good is it to give thanks to the Lord " — good in the sense of
being appropriate, due to God, and also blessed to the worshiper.
Expanding the idea, God should be praised as being the Most
High and only God, and as perpetually manifesting his loving-
kindness and faithfulness to his people. Let him be honored with
fresh songs each morning, with new praises every night.  Let in
struments of music help to swell the song and inspire the souls of the
worshipers, even a lyre of ten strings; a harp also with its sweetly
murmuring tones. Curiously the Hebrew word for " a solemn
sound "— which however properly means either a meditation, or a
gentle soft tone — is constructed here as if it were itself an instrri1*
ment, and the volume of praise were borne up upon it as upon the
ten-stringed lyre.
4. For thou, Loed, hast made me glad through thy
work : I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
5. O Loed, how great are thy works ! and thy thoughts
are very deep.
The context shows sufficiently that the " works '' thought of here
are not primarily those of creation, but those of providence — the
divine agencies in controlling human life — rewarding and punish
ing the well or ill doing of men. It is of these that the Psalmist
exclaims: "How great are thy works; how very'ueep are thy
thoughts " — thoughts in the sense of counsels, plans, principles of
moral . government. The Psalmist is in most profound sympa
thy with God in these works of his, for he cries out, " Thou, Lord,
hast gladdened me by these works of thine ; " 1 will shout aloud
for joy because of these works of thy hand. How blessed to be in
such sympathy with the great God and with ways so good and so
glorious ; how precious withal to consecrate our earthly Sabbaths
to these most appropriate meditations and joyous praises !
6. A brutish man knoweth not ; neither doth a fool under
stand this.
7. When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all
the workers of iniquity do flourish ; it is that they shall be
destroyed forever :
Expressively he wrote: "The man-brute will not know; the fool
will not understand this," viz., that when the wicked spring up
with rapid and apparently vigorous growth as the summer flowers
in Palestine, it is that they may ripen soon for a swift destruction.
 The man-brute precisely translates the Hebrew words ; one
whom God has endowed with manhood, but who has debased him
self to brutehood; a man as being of God's creation in his own
image, but a brute as being self-molded (shall we say self-made ?)
into the image of the baser animals !

PSALM XCII. 389
8. But thou, Loed, art most high for evermore.
9. For, lo, thine enemies, O Loed, for, lo, thine enemies
shall perish ; all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
The retributions demanded of a righteous God upon such wicked
ness and beastliness suggest the next thought; " Thou, O Lord, art
most high for evermore ! " How well for a universe into which
such sin has forced its way, that God is great, and that he can
easily destroy his enemies and scatter their mightiest forces ! Look
at this ; " lo," contemplate this everlasting truth ; the enemies of God
shall perish I
10. But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a uni
corn : I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
11. Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and
mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up
against me.
The speaker who says "my horn," "I shall be anointed,"
seems to be himself a king, perhaps Josiah, reigning under the
God of Israel, anointed by his priests, and his horn [power]
being lifted high by God's special favor, he expects to see his
desire upon his enemies because they are also God's enemies. 
The " unicorn," by consent of modern critics, gives place to the
oriental buffalo or wild ox — well known in ancient Palestine and
Arabia. Job (39 : 9, 10) gives a bold view of his untamed fierce
ness; and David (Ps. 22: 22) makes him a symbol for fierce and
powerful enemies.  The Italic word "desire," twice used, may
be omitted: "Mine eye shall look on mine enemies; mine ear
shall hear of the wicked men who rise against me ; " i. e., shall see
and hear their doom — which though not definitely expressed is yet
fully implied.
12. The righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree : he
shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13.- Those that he planted in the house of the Loed shall
flourish in the courts of our God.
14. They shall still bring forth fruit in old age : they shall
be fat and flourishing ;
15. To show that the Lord is upright : lie is my rock, and
there is no unrighteousness in him.
The palm-tree is the glory of Palestine, magnificently tall and
beautiful, and all its parts made useful to meet human wants. So
the cedars of Lebanon are unsurpassed in grandeur. The figure
which compares the righteous to the palm and the cedar is still
heightened : by supposing them to be planted in the house of the
Lord and to flourish in the courts of his temple. Their character —
all that which makes them righteous men and not wicked ; good
men and wise rather than sensual, brutish, foolish ; finds its root

390 PSALM XCIII.
and life-power in the household of the Lord where God reveals his
love and makes known his name and breathes his own purity into
the souls of his sincere and humble worshipers. These are the
great truths so beautifully clothed with oriental imagery in our
passage. Such men survive to a ripe old age, fruitful all the way,
living witnesses that the Lord, the Jehovah who keeps covenant
with his people, is upright, the rock of support to his trustful
children, in whom moreover there never can be the least iniquity —
never a shade of unrighteousness.  »o>*4<» 
PSALM XCIII.
This short Psalm is left by the compilers without a word as to
its author or occasion. Its leading thought — the majesty and glory
of Jehovah's reign over his creatures — is remarkably in harmony
with the strain of the Psalm preceding, and leaves us therefore in
no doubt why the compilers placed it here.  The thought of
the Psalm is at once simple and sublime. " The Lord reigneth,"
all glorious, with all power ; has reigned through all the ages of
the past, rising infinitely above all opposing forces, and finally
crowning all his glorious natural attributes with the highest moral
perfections — truth and purity.
1. The Lord reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the
¦Lord is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded him
self : the world also is established, that it can not be moved.
The middle clause might well be read — " The Lord is clothed
with strength ; he girds it about him" — with allusion to the girding
of one's loins to prepare for the fullest and freest exertion of
strength.-^  " The world is established " — but the Hebrew term sug
gests the world as inhabited, peopled ; and not the material globe
itself. The reigning of God, which is in the foreground of this
Psalm, is not so much the ordering of the material world as the
ruling of nations and of individual men.
2. Thy throne is -established of old ; thou art from, ever
lasting. "From of old" is essentially equivalent 'to from eternity. Thy
throne has always stood ; it had no predecessor. No human
thought can reach a point for its commencement. Thou thyself
art from everlasting, and thy throne is no less ancient than thyself.
3. The floods have lifted up, O Loed, the floods have
lifted up their voice ; the floods lift up their waves.
4. The Loed on high is mightier than the noise of many
waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.

PSALM XCIV. 391
1 Exegetically the main question on these words lies between the
literal sense and the figurative; i. e., whether " floods " and " their
voice " mean the very waters of the earth, rushing in mighty
rivers, dashing in the great breakers of the sea, or rather repre
sent figuratively the uprising of the great forces of God's
enemies. I incline to meet this question by saying, The former
is the sense primarily ; the latter, by implication. Because God
is mightier than the rushing floods of Niagara, more grand than
the breakers of old oeean in a storm, therefore he is also infinitely
above the puny wrath of the fiercest and most malign of mortals. 
In v. 4 the order and construction of the Hebrew words might.be put
thus : " Far above the roar of the great waters, the. magnificent
[waters], the breakers of the sea, is Jehovah gloriousJfin high."
5. Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh
thine house, O Lord, forever.
By a most beautiful transition, the Psalmist passes from the
physical qualities of the Almighty to those moral perfections which
are the true and highest glory of his nature — the sublimest gran
deur of his throne. " Thy testimonies are filithful, very faithful ;"
the witness thou hast given to men of thy will and of thy love is
forever reliable and^ure.  " Holiness becometh thine house " —
the Hebrew word ["becometh"] combining, as in Ps. 33: 1, the two
ideas of beauty and fitness, expressing therefore the beauty of fit
ness. Holiness, moral purity, exemption from all sin, is appro
priate and exquisitely beautiful in thine house — the place of thine
earthly abode, where thy worshiping people meet thee face to
face. Let them appear there before this faithful and glorious
God with clean hands and pure heart, in. the beauty of holiness.
 Mta<°« 
PSALM XCIV.
In our attempt to locate this Psalm in history, we have no data
except, (1) The place which the compilers gave it, i. e., in Book IV
and among Psalms many_ at least of which seem to fit the age from
Manasseh to the captivity ; and (2) The contents of the Psalm
itself. The burden of the Psalm is complaint against abounding
iniquity, and especially against the abuse of law and government
by wicked rulers. The main question of the Psalm is whether
this wicked administration of law is in foreign. or in domestic
hands, i. e., whether the nation was suffering under a foreign
yoke, or under the iniquitous rule of their own sovereigns. Critics
differ widely as to the time and occasion of this writing, and per
haps we must say there is room for honest difference. I incline
strongly to the opinion that the crying evils referred to were
domestic rather than foreign, and that the Psalm contemplates
the state of society uftder Manasseh and Amon, or more probably,
under those godless sons of the good Josiah whose horrible in-

392 PSALM XCIV.
iquities appear in the prophets of that age, e. g., Zephaniah,
Ezekiel, and especially Jeremiah. To some extent the reasons for
this opinion will naturally appear as we proceed in the Psalm.
1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth ; O God,
to whom vengeance belongeth, show thyself.
2. Lift up thyself, thou Judge of the earth : render a
reward to the proud.
The most literal construction possible is full of force : " O God
of revenges, Jehovah ; God of revenges, shine forth." " Shine
forth," i. e., in manifestations of thy righteous indignation against
wrong-doing, and especially against wicked ruling. " Lift up thy
self" — assert thy power and right to call these wicked men to
account, for thou art the Supreme Judge of all the earth and
especially of this land of Israel. Therefore bring retribution upon
the proud — men high in power, but lifted up in heart and recog
nizing no God above them.
3. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the
wicked triumph?
4. How long shall they utter and speak hard things ? and
all the workers of iniquity boast themselves ?
This language does not of itself prove that the wicked men com
plained of were civil rulers, but the verses next following show it.
These questions are the imploring cry of one outraged by such
iniquity.  " Utter " — belch forth. " Hard things " — perversions
of justice ; intensely, recklessly iniquitous. " Boast themselves "f—
literally, put themselves on high, bear themselves proudly, im
periously. 5. They break in pieces thy people, 0 Lord, and afflict
thine heritage.
6. They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the
fatherless. If we remember that those last wicked kings of Judah were at
once recklessly unjust and oppressive, and also thoroughly idol
atrous, and therefore hearty persecutors of all the truly good, we
shall readily understand these verses.  The appeal to the God
of Israel was full of force : How long shall these men hold power
on the throne Thou hast set up over thy people, and murder those
defenseless ones whom Thou hast made law and government to
protect ?
7. Yet they say, the Lord shall not see, neither shall the
God of Jacob regard it.
Yet with most amazing fatuity they say, Jehovah will not see ; the
God of Jacob, though pledged to be their Protector and Father,
will not take notice ! These words are nof the thing to put into
the mouth of the Chaldeans during or after the captivity, nor of

PSALM XCIV. 393
the Syrian Antiochus to whom some critics have referred them.
They much more naturally set forth the moral blindness of Jewish
kings, fearfully apostate from their nation's God.
8. Understand, ye brutish among the people : and ye fools,
when will ye be wise ?
9. He that planted the ear, shall he not hear ? he that
formed the eye, shall he not see ?
10. He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct ?
he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know 1
Ye brutish ones, living among God's people, with light enough
before your eyes, yet too self-blind, too madly wicked, to see ! 
The Psalmist would reason a little with them. Shall he who made
man's ear have no ear, no sense of hearing, for himself? He that
formed the wonderful human eye, has he no eye of his own to see
your guilt and folly ? He that chastiseth the guilty heathen, can
he fail to chasten the men who hold power under himself over his
own people ? Remarkably in the last clause of v. 10, the question
stops inidway, the point of application being too obvious to need
mention : " He that teacheth man all his knowledge " — [Fill out
the rest yourselves : think, What then ?]
11. The Loed knoweth the thoughts of men, that they
are vanity.
Which is here said to be vanity; man's thoug his, or man him
self? Either would be true. In favor of supposing the antecedent
to be "man" is urged (a) That "man" here really means "men,"
all the wicked; (b). That the gender of the pronoun ["they"]
is masculine, corresponding therefore to "man" and not to
" thoughts " which is feminine ; and (c) That the very words used
here, " man is vanity," appear in Ps. 39 : 5, 11.-  But over against
these considerations is this one of great force — that the very thing
before the mind is the brutish, senseless thoughts of wicked men
who think of God as having no eye, no ear, no knowledge of
man. Must not God know that such thoughts are one unutterable
vanity ?
12. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O Lord,
and teachest him out of thy law ;
13. That thou mayest give him rest from the days of ad
versity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Suddenly the course of thought changes. Such outrageous
wickedness and persecution of the good has some indirect benefits.
It may be turned to some account as discipline for the pious suf
ferer. " Blessed is the man, O Lord, whom thou chastenest, and
at the same time teachest him out of thy law" — sustaining his
heart by thy precious truth, and giving him hope for the latter end.
14. For the Lord will not cast off his people, neither
will he forsake his inheritance.

394 PSALM XCIV.
_ Certainly the Lord will not cast off his people. It may some
times seem that he has done so ; it might have seemed so to the
gopd and faithful men who, like Jeremiah, breasted the horrid
wickedness of Jehoiakim's reign, and had well-nigh sunk beneath
it as Urijah (Jer. 26 : 20-23) did.
15. But judgment shall return unto righteousness : and
all the upright in heart shall follow it.
" Judgment," in the precise sense of law as administered — the
decisions of kings and courts ; these shall come back to intrinsic
justice. All the upright of heart shall be in sympathy with such
justice and shall rejoice to follow it.
16. Who will rise up for me against the evil doers ? or
who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity ?
17. Unless the Loed had been my help, my soul had
almost dwelt in silence.
The pious author seemed to stand almost alone. If the Lord
had not been at hand to help, my soul had soon [better than
" almost "] been in the dwelling-place of the dead — this being
obviously the sense of the word " silence " — the perpetual silence
of death.
18. When I said, My foot slippeth ; thy mercy, O Lord,
held me up.
19. In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy com
forts delight my soul.
" What time I said " [might say], " my foot slippeth, thy mercy,
O Jehovah, held me up," and always will. The last verb being
future affirms his assurance of help for all time as well as his
sense of help for that time.-  " In the multitude of my anxious
thoughts, solicitudes, thy comforts were soothing and joyous to my
soul." 20. Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with
thee, which frameth mischief by a law ?
" The throne of iniquity '' — a throne wickedly filled, perverted
to purposes of wrong. "Framing mischief" into law — giving
mischief the sanction of law, and so making it far more fearful
Shall such a throne associate itself with Thee— find a Friend and
Supporter in Thee — think to have thy sympathy and help ? How
repulsive and horrible the thought ! Will the holy and righteous
God lend himself to sustain such legalized iniquity ? Will he
throw a loving arm around such wicked rulers and comfort their
hearts with his smiles ?
21. They gather themselves together against the soul of
the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.

PSALM XCV. 395
They — those wicked rulers — come down in hostile troops upon
the souls of the righteous, or, as some critics prefer, they decide
against all righteous men. The latter sense makes a more exact
parallelism with the last clause : " they conderiin innocent blood.
In either construction, the verse expands the thought of the throne
of iniquity, framing mischief into law. Can God approve or even
endure such ruling ?
22. But the Lord is my defense; and my God is the
rock of my refuge.
23. And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity,
and shall cut them off in their own wickedness ; yea, the
Lord our God shall cut them off.
The Lord, so intensely loving righteousness, so thoroughly hating
iniquity, shall be my defense and refuge; and I surely know'he
will requite, nay more, will cut off the wicked who pervert their
power wholly to purposes of outrageous wrong.

PSALM XCV.
We are here in the midst of Psalms (91-100), ten in succession,
which the compilers arranged as we have them, but with no hint
as to their author or occasion. The question as to the time of
compilation is a choice between the age of Jeremiah and the age
of Ezra and Nehemiah, with thus far a preponderance in favor of
the former. Very manifestly Book V (Ps 107-150) belongs to the
latter age — which fact is a point in favor of locating Book IV at
the former period.  Obviously the date of all these Psalms turns
¦ very much upon the time when they were compiled into Book IV,
and the decision of this question requires a careful examination
of each Psalm of the seventeen (90-106) which make it up. 
Some have supposed that the allusion to Ps. 95, in Heb. 4 : 7
["saying in David"] proves that this Psalm was ascribed to him.
But this seems rather to be a reference to the Psalter entire, as
we speak of the " Psalms of David," without by any means imply
ing that he wrote them all.  The Psalm before us witnesses for
itself that it was written by some earnestly pious man in a time
of religious revival. He summons the people [Jews especially] to
worship their own Great and Glorious God — the Maker and Lord
of all, and the covenant God, Protector and Friend of their nation,
solemnly admonishing them against such unbelief and rebellion
as that of their fathers in the wilderness, which incurred the dis
pleasure and even abhorrence Of their God, and shut themout of
Canaan. The revival in Josiah's time meets all the conditions of
the Psalm as to the time when it was written and first brought
into use in public worship.

396 PSALM XCV.
1. 0 come, let us sing unto the Lord ; let us make a
joyful noise unto the Bock of our salvation.
2. Let us come before bis presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
As said above (Ps. 33: 3, and 66: 1, and 81 : 1), the word
" noise " suggests to our modern ears some unpleasant associations,
of which we must presume it was innocent when introduced by
our translators. This "joyful noise" is the joyous shout of the
outpoured song and glad acclaim of a thousand, voices lifted in
praise and adoration with Psalms and thanksgiving.
3. For the Loed is a great God, and a great King
above all gods.
4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth : the
'strength of the hills is his also.
5. The sea is his, and he made it : and his hands formed
the dry land.
Not without reason, for the Lord, our Jehovah, is a Great God
and a great and universal King. Think how his hand upholds the
deep places of the earth, where the miners dig into its bowels for
the precious things thereof. Also the "strength" — better, the
heights or summits of the mountains are his also. The Psalmist
names the lowest known localitiesandthe highest, to give definite-
ness to the conception that God holds all alike in his great hand.
" The sea and the dry land " — another comprehensive grouping
to signify all there is of the earth's surface. Honor ye the glori
ous Maker of all !
6. 0 come, let us worship and bow down : let us kneel
before the Loed our maker.
7. For he is our God ; and we are the people of his-
pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To-day if ye will hear
his voice,
The call to most devout and humble worship is enforced by the
special consideration : " he is our God, yea, our shepherd, who
both shields us from danger and feeds us in green pastures. 
The Hebrew punctuation corresponds to the division of .verses in
our English Bible, but not to the English punctuation. Following
the Hebrew arrangement, v. 7 would read: "We are the people
of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand, even this day if ye will
hear his voice." _ That is, ye of this generation have this blessed
privilege if ye will.
8. Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as
in the day of temptation in the wilderness :
9. When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw
my work.

PSALM XCV. 397
The special point of the exhortation is : Do not make your heart
hard by resisting this kind and earnest appeal. God speaks in love ;
do not repel his kindness and deaden your own moral sensibilities
to the ruin of your souls.  The example of their fathers in the
wilderness is brought before them to augment the force of this
appeal. The Hebrew words suggest these historical allusions,
and it were better that our English version should do the same,
thus: "Harden not your heart as at Meribah, as in the day of
Massah. in the wilderness." (See Ex.17: 1-7). These names
were significant, Meribah meaning strife ; Massah, temptation, with
reference to their trying und proving God as if to see how much
abuse he would bear.  "Saw my works;" but the Hebrew
makes this slightly emphatic: "also they saw my works," i. e.,
my miracles. The sense seems to be, that although they had seen
most striking miracles and were then living by miracle, they could
yet tempt and abuse their own divine Benefactpr and withold from
him their heart's confidence and love. •
10. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation,
and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they
have not known my way':.
11. Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should
not enter into my rest.
"Forty years long," i. e., throughout their entire wilderness
life from Egypt to "Canaan.  " Grieved " — the verb suggesting,.
however, the feeling of disgust, loathing.  "I said, a people
wanderers in heart are they " — the words being an allusion to
their wandering over the wilderness. That is, they are not only
wanderers over barren hills and dreary wastes, but worse yet,
wanderers in heart from truth and duty, from their greatest, best
Friend, the God of their broken covenant.  " They have not
known my ways " — not that they have had no means of knowing,
but that they had no heart to know. So far as " they knew God
they glorified him not as God," and therefore became only the
more lost to virtue and alien from God. Hence God sware in his
wrath that that generation should never enter Canaan, their prom
ised land of rest. " Enter into my rest," refers here to the solemn
oath of God, recorded Num. 14: 22, 23, 28-32. The mass of the
people sinned so unreasonably, against so much light, in the pres
ence of mercies so rich and miracles so great, the Lord could not
endure them, and therefore for his own honor, and for a warning
against like unbelief and sin, must, by his solemn oath, debar this
whole generation from their promised Canaan. Such sin, against
such light and such mercy, persisted in, must in every age and in
our own, shut men out of heaven.

398 PSALM XCVI.

PSALM XCVI.
In this Psalm the summons to sing the high praises of Jehovah
goes out not to Jews alone but to Gentiles also, even to all the
nations of the whole earth. In this one respect it is an advance
upon Ps. 95 which addresses itself specially to Jews. The strain
of this beautiful Psalm is eminently simple, yet grandly sublime.
Come and join with all your heart in the worship of the Great God
who built the heavens. High is he above all other gods : honor and
majesty invest him round about: ascribe to. him the glory due to
his name ; come into his courts with your thank-offerings and wor
ship him most reverently, for he is the Great King, and he cometh
to judge the world in righteousness.
1. O Sing unto the Loed a new song : sing unto the
LoED,.all the earth.
" A new song," unknown to you before. Come, all ye nations of
the wide earth, who, up to this hour, have been giving your wor
ship to dead gods that were no gods at all ; come and give your
hearts to the true and only God in this new song I
2. Sing unto the Loed, bless his name ; show forth bis
salvation from day to day.
3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders
among all people.
"Show forth his salvation'' — the verb "show forth" being that
which Isaiah has made sacred to the idea of preaching the Gospel,
proclaiming its. glad tidings. (Isa. 40 : 9, and 52 : 7.)  " Declare
his glory" . . . "his wonders," etc. — tell all the heathen world
how good and glorious is the Lord our God, and what wonders of
loving-kindness he hath wrought. It will be glad news to them!
 The reader should not fail to notice that this Psalm has not
only the choice words but the very spirit of Isaiah, so that we may
infer with great probability that it was written after (perhaps soon
after) the prophecies of Isaiah had made their mark on the relig
ious mind of the nation.
4. For the Loed is great, and greatly to be praised ; he
is to be feared above all gods.
5. For all the gods of the nations are idols : but the Lord
made the heavens.
Remarkably here as usually in the scriptures, the decisive test
of true divinity, distinguishing the true God from all false gods, is
his creatorship. Your heathen gods are mere nothings (the sense
of the Hebrew word for " idols "), but Jettovah, our God, built the
heajrens. (Compare Ps. 95: 5, and Jer. 10: 11, 12, 16). Ought he
not then to be feared and worshiped, high above all gods ?

PSALM XCVI. 399
6. Honor and majesty are before him: strength and
beauty are in his sanctuary.
"Honor and majesty are before him"— in the sense of being
always and every-where present where he is ; indeed the very out
going manifestations of his presence; the witness of a present
God.  " Strength and beauty " are in like manner revealed in
his holy place where he dwells for the purpose of revealing him
self to his people.
7. Give unto the Loed, O ye kindreds of the people,
give unto the Lord glory and strength.
8. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto bis name :
bring an offering, and come into bis courts.
As in Ps. 29, " Give " has the sense, not of impart, but of ascribe.
Recognize him as having glory arid strength : award him due honor
for these divine qualities.  "Bring an offering" — one of the
Hebrew ritual terms for a thank-offering of bloodless sort. Come,
all ye of the Gentile world ; enter the courts of our own Supreme
God with your grateful thank-offerings and your humble adora
tions. 9. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness : fear
before him, all the earth.
" In the beauty of holiness " — a phrase which I would not [with
Gesenius] restrict to priestly garments;" but, rising high above
such ritualistic notions, would find in it a call to offer worship to
the pure and holy One with pure and holy heart, in honest sin
cerity. Such simple hearted sincerity is beauty in his sight — the
" beauty of holiness."
10. Say among the heathen that the Loed reigneth : the
world also shall be established that it shall not be moved:
he shall judge the people righteously.
Exegetically the main question in this and the contiguous
Psalms respects the nature of this feigning and judging. Is it of
this world, and if so, of nature, or of providence, or of both ? Or is
it at the end of this world, the final and great judgment day, in
cluding naturally the retributions of the- eternal world as well?
The true answer must harmonize with the genius of the Old Testa
ment age, viz., retribution and in general the divine ruling mani
fested largely in the present life, yet designed to be the pledge, the
guaranty, and the illustration of the retributions of the eternal
world. Giving due scope to this comprehensive idea, I answer the
main question above made by saying — primarily of this world, but
suggestively, prophetically, of the world to come. First, here ;
ultimately, there. Ruling and judging among both nations and
men in time, foreshadowing the greater and more perfect ruling
and judging of all moral beings, yet to be, when no blending of

400 PSALM XCVII.
i
discipline and probation will modify or in any measure obscure the
perfect development of justice and judgment according to deeds and
deserts. 11. Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad ;
let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof.
12. Let the fields be joyful, and all that is therein : then
shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13. Before the Loed : for he cometh, for he cometh to
judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteous
ness, and the people with his truth.
Let all above and all below rejoice with gladness in the near
development of God's reign on earth ; and no less in the more
remote development of his final judgment and eternal reign of
righteousness. But first is that which is nearest and of time. As
God proceeds to make his name and gospel more fully known on
earth, with this advance of knowledge goes also a more full develop
ment of himself as Supreme Ruler and Judge.  -Making himself
more known in these relations he should be more heartily and
reverently adored. Let the universe of intelligent beings, and
indeed, through sympathy, the Bea and all that fills it; the fields
and all they contain and the trees of the wood as well — unite in
exulting praise and gladness before the mighty Lord because he
ruleth in righteousness and will bring down and bring under the
cruel wrongs of sin and the very spirit of sinning — all that makes
earth groan and heaven weep ; all the mass of earthly woe begotten
of sin and running riot over tho world's peace till God comes forth
to rule and judge the world in righteousness.

PSALM XCVII.
This Psalm takes up the theme with which the previous one
closed : " The Lord reigneth," and gives it (we might say in
musical phrase) "with variations." Here as there it is a joyful
theme (v. 1); it admits of some illustrations from the history of
the past (vs. 3-6); its lessons bear impressively upon the wor
shipers of idols (v. 7); the real Zion has joy in God's reigning
(v. 8). Let the righteous see their duty herein; be assured of
their reward ; and joyously give thanks in the remembrance of
his holiness.
1. The Loed reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the
multitude of isles be glad thereof.
" The multitude of isles," bears the mind to all remote lands of
the earth lying beyond the sea. Isaiah has the same usage of the
word "isles," and the same sentiment: Let them all rejoice in tho

PSALM XCVII. 401
one great and glorious God! (See 42: 10, 12). The Gentile
nations are assumed to have good reason for joy that such a God
reigns, the ground of this assumption being either that all
intelligent beings ought to rejoice in the prevalence of righteous
ness, or that, prophetically, it was foreseen that the moral reign
of God would yet become a source of unmeasured blessings to all
lands and peoples of the wide earth.
2. Clouds and darkness are round about him : righteous
ness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
If in revealing himself to mortals the invisible God should deem
it wise to make some visible manifestations of his presence, it is
quite obvious that they must be made under limitations. Care
must be taken to secure a feeling of reverence and awe, and to
avoid that disrespect which might result from too much familiarity.
Hence, the human mind and heart being what they are, there
arises, we might say, a natural necessity that "clouds and dark
ness should gather round about him." It should not surprise us
that at Sinai, in the solemn announcement of his law, God should
speak forth from the thick darkness — that cloud and tempest,
thunder and lightning, and the quaking of that grand and awful
mount, should impress the assembled people with fear and even
awe and dread. So when the Lord prepared for himself a per
manent dwelling-place in the tabernacle and temple,, he invested
himself in " thick darkness." Eyes profanely curious were sternly
barred off.  To these facts our passage seems to have primary
reference. Yet let it not be overlooked that a deeper meaning is
here, suggested by these historic facts and beautifully illustrated
thereby, viz., that the reasons of God's ways are often, perhaps
usually, too deep for our human line to fathom. Our short vision
can not penetrate their mystery. Clouds and darkness gather
round about him; and yet he takes care to give us abundant
reasons for believing that righteousness and judgment are the
basis of his throne — the principles that forever control his
decisions.  Dr. Alexander pertinently remarks that " righteous
ness and judgment seem to be here related as the attribute and
act." 3. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies
round about.
4. His lightnings enlightened the world : the earth saw,
and trembled.
5. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the
Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
In v. 3 the verbs are future, indicating not only what has been
but what will be. The meaning of these verses I take to be that
God has In former ages made such manifestations of his power
toward his enemies as are here described poetically, and will, yet
a»ain when the occasion demands. There may be some allusion

402 PSALM XCVII.
to the scenes of Sinai, yet it seems more appropriate to compare
the passage, with Ps. 18: 7-14, and 50: 3, etc. The strain is
most sublime poetry.
6. The heavens declare bis righteousness, and all the peo
ple see his glory.
The heavens themselves are thought of as setting forth or pro
claiming what God himself proclaims and sets forth from his throne
in the heavens. All the people of the earth are made to see his
glory — in the sense of his wonderful and glorious manifestations.
7. Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that
boast themselves of idols : worship him, all ye gods.
Let shame overwhelm all who serve idol gods. The word for
"boast themselves " suggests that they make a vain display — pre
cisely a shine, of such worship, i. e., are proud of it. Instead of
'being thus proud, let them become intensely ashamed of such gods
and of worshiping them. They ought to be !  " Worship him,"
[i. e., Jehovah] " all ye gods." The remarkable thing here is that
whereas idol gods are usually named, described, and held to be
mere nothings, nonentities, here they are thought of for the moment
as real existences, and are exhorted to give to the one and only
Great God the homage due to him.  A notion that this view of
idols is incongruous or inconsistent with the customary representa
tion, probably led the translators of the Septuagint to write : "Let
all his angels worship him." This translation of the Septuagint
was used by the writer to the Hebrews (1 : 6) — the words happily
expressing the great, fact that, at the Savior's birth, the angels
came in songs of welcome and adoration (Luke 2 : 13, 14).
8. Zion heard, and was glad ; and the daughters of Ju
dah rejoiced because of thy judgments, 0 Lord.
These words occur also in Ps. 48: 11.  "Daughters of Ju
dah " — sometimes used for the suburban towns and villages, but
more frequently for the very mothers, daughters, and sisters, with
special allusion to the female voice in song, and perhaps also to
the historic fact that damsels were prominent in the national songs
on occasions of great victory. God's judgments on the wicked
for the deliverance of the righteous and the support of intrinsic
righteousness, are the ground of this rejoicing.
9. For thou, Lord, art high ajbove all the earth : thou
art exalted far above all gods.
That such a God, the Great Jehovah, is high above all the earth
and all the wicked thereof, is here assigned as properly the ground
and reason of this joy. 0 how infinitely above the empty and
powerless gods of the heathen !
10. Ye that love the Lord, hate evil : be preserveth the

PSALM XCVIII. 403
souls of his saints ; he delivereth them out of the hand of
the wicked.
The one great moral lesson from these views of God and his
throne is briefly put here: "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil."
As God hates all sin and wrong, so should ye. No duty can be
more imperative ; none more reasonable. Let the example of the
great and holy God inspire in your souls most intense abhorrence
of sin. He who preserves your souls and redeems you from the
Eower of the wicked, does all in the love of righteousness and the
atred of sin ; therefore let this benevolence of your God prompt
and inspire you to like love. of others' well-being and abhorrence
of all evil.
11. Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the
upright in heart.
"Light sown" — to produce a harvest of blessings, the best of
" gladness." The figure is exquisitely beautiful. Light is one of
the finest possible emblems of happiness. That it should be
planted as a seed, is of course a poetic conception, yet at once
clear in sense and beautiful in figure, surely foretokening a future
product of good for the truly righteous.
12. Eejoice in the Lord, ye righteous ; and give thanks
at the remembrance of his holiness.
Well indeed may all the righteous rejoice in the Lord who
makes sure to them such a wealth of blessing. Let them espe
cially rejoice as they think of his holiness — his abhorrence of sin ;
his glorious purity ; his supreme devotion to the highest interests
of his moral universe.

PSALM XCVIII.
It is entirely obvious that this Psalm belongs to the group which
commences with Psalm 93, and (omitting perhaps Ps. 94) closes
with Ps. 100. With some variety, the general strain of thought,
as well as cast of expression, is remarkably similar. With great
probability they were all written by the same hand and of course
in the same age. I assume that the Psalms of Book IV belong to
the age between Manasseh and the last carrying away of captives
to Babylon, and that this special group is an outgrowth of the re
vival under Josiah. Such revivals of the religious life and conse
quently, of religious worship, would naturally bring out many new
songs for public use, adapted to the times.
1. O sing unto the Lord a new song ; for he hath done
marvelous things : his right hand, and his holy arm, hath
gotten him the victory.

404 PSALM XCVIII.
2. The Lord hath made known his salvation : his
righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the
heathen. 3. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward
the house of Israel : all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
It is, perhaps, impossible to say how far back the mind of the
writer travels into the historical past. Marvelous things, wrought
of God, victories won, the salvation of his people displayed before
all the earth, might have been found as far back as the age of
Moses and Egypt, or in the age of David and his powerful enemies,
or of Hezekiah and the proud Assyrian — the latter as being nearer,
with much more probability. Those wonders were the grand man
ifestation of God s power to save in their own age. They thrilled
the soul of Isaiah, and through him the souls of the pious in his
and the subsequent age. It is quite pertinent here to notice the
somewhat numerous points of striking similarity between this
group of Psalms and the writings of Isaiah. Is it perhaps suppos
able that Isaiah himself wrote them ? If not, we must, I judge,
concede that the writer had Isaiah before his mind, and drank in
from him a measure of his sublime poetic and religious inspiration.
Compare vs. 2, 3, of this Psalm, with Isa. 52 : 10. " The Lord
hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all
the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." The
spirit of missionary zeal and enterprise which reign in these
Psalms is only the spirit of Isaiah re-produced in the next genera
tion of his readers and admirers.
4. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth ;
make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.
5. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp,
and the voice of a psalm.
6. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful
noise before the Loed, the King.
The Hebrew word for " make a loud noise," * properly, to break
forth in loud shouts, is characteristic of Isaiah — used by him at
least seven times, and not elsewhere in this sense except once
here.  The sentiment— sing the high praises of God with ever
heightening appliances, with the use of all known instruments of
music adapted to religious worship.
7. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof; the world,
and they that dwell therein.
8. Let the floods clap their hands : let the hills be joyful
together rras*

PSALM XCIX. 405
9. Before the Loed ; for he cometh to judge the earth ;
with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the
people with equity.
Let all nature sympathize and swell the song — the sea and all
that dwell therein, the world and all its vast populations. Then
think of the floods clapping their hands with joy ! This figure also
comes from Isaiah (55: 12) who, however, applies it to the trees —
" all the trees of the field shall clap their hands." The inspiring
cause of this overflowing joy is that Jehovah is. coming to judge the
earth in righteousness and equity. Such judgments as those
which crushed the proud Assyrian inspired this confidence. The
words look primarily to similar manifestations of God's righteous
judgment among the nations : remotely, to the final judgment of
which these anterior manifestations are only the precursors and
pledges.
PSALM XCIX.
Here obviously we have the same general course of thought as
in the Psalms preceding, with some variations.
1. The Loed reigneth ; let the people tremble : he sitteth
between the cherubim ; let the .earth be moved.
2. The Loed is great in Zion ; and he is high above all
the people. j±
3. Let them praise thy great and terrible name ; for it is
holy. " Tremble," to the extent of reverent awe.  " Sitteth on " [or
between] "the cherubims," with allusion to the location of the
Shechinah, the visible manifestation of God's glory directly upon
the mercy-seat, i. e., the lid of the ark, over which cherubic fig
ures spread their wings. The usual mode of expression is the
same as here — sitting as if enthroned amid the cherubim; liter
ally, the sitter of the cherubim. (Compare 1 Sam. 4 : 4, and 2 Sam,
6 : 2, and 2 Kings 19 : 15.)  The words have some special im
portance here, as showing that the ark of the covenant was still in
the sanctuary, and therefore that this Psalm was not written after
the captivity — the ark never appearing in history after the exile
to Babylon.  "Let them praise thy great and fearful name,"
a name that should inspire profoundest reverence and awe ; " for
it is holy." The word "holy," affirmed of the name of God and
made strongly emphatic as here and in vs. 5, 9, seems to compre
hend all the divine perfections — (at least all the moral) — all that
which makes Jehovah truly God, according to the original idea of
the word ; that which is distinctively divine — which sets God apart
entirely from all his creatures, lifting him indefinitely above them
in every great and good quality of character.
18

406 "PSALM C.
4. The king's strength also loveth judgment ; thou dost
establish equity, thou executest judgment and righteousness
in Jacob.
5. Exalt ye the Loed our God, and worship at his foot
stool ; for he is holy.
In the remarkable phrase, " The king's strength loveth justice,"
we may supply the verb of the verse previous, thus : Let them
praise the strength of the king who loves justice ; or we may sup
pose the abstract used for the concrete — "the strength of the
king" for the strong king, the Mighty One. It is a matter of pro
found joy that one so mighty loves justice and will execute it
among the nations.
6. Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel
among them that call upon his name ; they called upon the
Lord, and he answered them.
7. He spake unto them in the cloudy pillar : they kept
his testimonies, and the ordinance that he gave them.
The noblest men of their ancient history were men of prayer.
They drew very near to God and God came down with most sig
nal revelations of himself to them. The fact seems to be intro
duced here for the moral power of its example.
8. Thou ausweredst them, O Lord our God: thou wast
a God that forgavest them, though thou tookest vengeance
of their injwitions.
Insensibly the discourse passes from those distinguished men
here named to the people of their generation.  "Inventions;"
not at all in the modern sense — mechanical improvements — but of
deeds wickedly devised by men alien from God. It is a striking
fact that this Hebrew word, applied to God, bears always the good
sense, but applied to man, always the bad sense of wicked de
vices, ways contrived in opposition to God, in defiance of his law.
9. Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at his holy
hill ; for the Loed our God is holy.
Exalt Jehovah, our Great God : worship at the place of his ap
pointment.

PSALM C.
Comparing the several Psalms of this group with each other, we
are struck with their general similarity, yet we may also detect
shades of difference. Thus Ps. 97 gives more prominence to the
glorious works of God; Ps. 98 makes prominent the summons to
praise because of those great works. In the same way, Ps. 99

PSALM CI. 407
dwells largely on what God has done ; Ps. 100 simply calls on all
to serve, worship, give thanks and praise. This fact evinces a
designed relation between these successive Psalms — a perfectly
natural and appropriate relation, moreover, for such a call to
praise and thanksgiving has a natural basis in God's character
and works. Nothing can be more fitting than that the call to
praise should follow such a presentation of qualities that ought to
be praised. God asks our love and praise, not on the basis of ar
bitrary power and right to command, but of his infinite merit,
his intrinsic worthiness and the proofs thereof which he has given
in lavish abundance.
1. Make a joyful noise unto the Loed, all ye lands.
2. Serve the Lord with gladness : come before his pres
ence with singing.
"Serve the Lord" — a word less frequent than we should per
haps expect. It occurs Ps. 2: 11. It calls for obedience to his
revealed will— the service due from subjects to their Great King.
Let it be rendered not grudgingly, not with painful resistance,
but with " gladness," which certainly implies a cheerful good will,
a hearty love of his service above all other life.
3. Know ye that the Lord he is God ; it is he that hath
made us, and not we ourselves ; we are his people, and the
sheep of his pasture. ,
This sentiment has appeared in Ps. 95 : 7, and elsewhere — the
high claims of God as our Creator, the fountain of our being and
of all the good which existence involves.
4. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his
courts with praise : be thankful unto him, and bless his
name. 5. For the Lord is good ; his mercy is everlasting ; and
his truth endureth to all generations.
The summons to praise, in public, in his earthly courts, is
based most appropriately on his goodness which no human words
can adequately express ; on his everlasting mercy ; and on his
truth, i. e., faithfulness to his promises, which endureth age after
age in unwaning strength, always reliable ; never failing.

PSALM CI.
This rsalm and also Ps. 103 are ascribed to David. Yet they
stand here in Book IV. But at the close of Book II (Ps. 72 : 20)
the compilers said — " The prayers of David the son of Jesse are
ended"  a statement which would seem to imply that they supposed
they had placed in the Psalter all the known Psalms of David.

408 PSALM CI.
Yet Book III has one Psalm ascribed to David (Ps. 86) ; Book
IV has two ; and Book V fifteen. These facts raise several ques
tions of interest, e. g., What does the subscription to Ps. 72
mean and is it reliable ? In what sense are these eighteen Psalms
the work of David which we find ascribed to him in Books IH, IV,
and V ?  On this latter point some critics hold that they are
David's only in the sense of being written by his royal de
scendants, e.g., Hezekiah, Josiah, Zerubbabel. Others hold the
less objectionable view that the groundwork is David's, but modi
fied, adapted to the times, and adopted practically by some later
hand. 1 accept this view as involving less difficulties than any
other.  As to the subscription to Ps. 72 we are relieved of some
difficulties when we take the ground (manifestly tenable and just)
that the compilers were not necessarily inspired and their remarks
need not be vindicated as if they were part of the inspired record.
Furthermore, the Psalms of David found in Books I and II may
include all that were thoroughly finished and prepared for the
public service of the sanctuary by himself. He may have left
other songs unfinished which came to light subsequently, and were
prepared for public use by other hands and adopted into the later
books of the Psalter. Or this may have been the case: Though
finished productions of David and truly inspired, they were not
called for in the sanctuary service until later ages and new events
made for them a fitting place and they were adopted, as said
above, by some other writer as expressing his experiences, and
as demanded in the public worship of his times.  Another
important question closely related to these points is that of the
time when these several books of the Psalter were compiled.
Briefly stated, I have assumed that Book I. was compiled during
the reign of David and probably near its close; Book II, not
earlier than the reign of Jehoshaphat and probably not later than
Hezekiah ; Book III, in like manner, not earlier than the time of
Hezekiah and probably not much later; Book IV, near the be
ginning of the captivity — in the time of Jeremiah ; and Book V,
in the age of Ezra and Nehemiah.  The time of compiling Book
IV calls for more particular notice here, it being a disputed ques
tion whether it was done in the age of Jeremiah or of Ezra. I
favor the earlier date on these grounds : (1) If placed in the age
of Ezra, no reason is apparent for making Book V at all. Why
were not all the Psalms (90-150) put into one book? By this
theory they should have been compiled by the same men and near
the same time: why then make them two books instead of
one? (2) Internal evidence makes it probable that the group of kin
dred Psalms (93-100) was written during the age of Josiah-. The
manifest influence of Isaiah's prophecies (probably a fresh influ
ence) and the reference to the ark and the cherubim (Ps. 99: 1)
are points in this evidence. If written then, they were probably
compiled during that age.

PSALM CI. 409
(3) It is probable (a priori) that as the religious reformation
under David brought into existence and into public use a body of
religious odes ; as the corresponding reformation under Jehosha
phat brought out another accession of odes, which appear in Book
II ; and the great revival under Hezekiah yet another which were
collected into Book III; so the last great revival preceding the
exile, viz., that under Josiah, should produce another, such as
Book IV.
(4) These Psalms of Book IV are in every respect admirably
adapted to the circumstances of that age.
In accordance with the views above presented, we may suppose
this Psalm to have been left among the unfinished or at least the
uncompiled Psalms of David, but taken up in the age of Jeremiah —
probably by King Josiah himself and brought forward as express
ing his noble purposes as to his religious life and regal responsi
bilities. It will be remembered that Josiah came to the throne at
the age of eight years " and in the eighth year of his reign, while
he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his
father," and in the twelfth year (then at the age of twenty) he
commenced his great public reformation (2 Chron. 34 : 1-3). The
entire tone of this Psalm is therefore admirably adapted to his
ease. 1. I will sing of mercy and judgment : unto thee, O Lord,
will I sing.
To sing unto God of mercy and of judgment would seem to mean —
I will celebrate the mercies and the judgments of the Lord; I will
sing of them to his praise. But this does not naturally give the
scope of this particular Psalm which is entirely occupied with his
own purposes respecting his life and reign. Hence some have
supposed that this v. 1. contemplates not specially the scope of
this Psalm, but of Ps. 102andl03; the former singing of judgment;
the latter, of mercy. Perhaps so. If the words are to be under
stood of this Psalm only, it is not easy to determine to what
precisely they refer.
2. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when
wilt thou come unto me ? I will walk within my house with
a perfect heart.
" O when. wilt thou come unto me ? " involves the prayer — Grant
me fresh manifestations of favor. Come near to me to dwell with
me and to aid me in maintaining the life of devoted service to thee
which I now solemnly purpose.
3. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes : I hate the
work of them that turn aside ; it shall not cleave to me.
I will not allow myself to look on any wickedness lest the sight
of the eye should bring temptation to my soul.  The last clause
probably in this sense ; I hate the doing of unrighteousness ; it

410 PSALM CI.
shall find no sympathy in me. My heart shall not cleave to it. I
hate the doing, and [by implication] the spirit of apostasy from
God. 4. A froward heart shall depart from me : I will not
know a wicked person.
Not primarily — I will thrust away the men of froward heart and
have no intimacy with the wicked ; but I will put.a froward heart
away from myself; I will put frOwardness, moral perverseness,
from my own soul, and I will not know wickedness — "know" in
the sense of approving sympathy. Thus understood, the verse
speaks of self-culture rather than of the choice of associates and
of relations to wicked men.  The last Hebrew noun, translated
" wicked person," should certainly mean wickedness itself. .
5. Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut
off: him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I
suffer. Here the writer passes from speaking of self-culture to speak of
his treatment of the wicked. " Privily slandereth " — literally, he
that tongueih his neighbor secretly.  " Will I not suffer," is
properly, "him I can not" — i. e., can not live with, can not bear
about me, as the same verb is used Isa. 1 : 13.
6. Mine eyes sliall be upon the faithful of the land, that
they may dwell with me : he that walketh in a perfect way,
he shall serve me.
7. He that worketh deceit shall not dwell within my
house : he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.
I will look carefully for faithful and true men to fill, responsible
positions under me. Nobly said I
8. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land ; that 1
may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord.
"Early," i. e., in the morning; but the sense is — In the very
beginning of my reign. Remembering that Josiah succeeded at
only a two years' interval the intensely wicked reign of Manasseh,
a long reign moreover of fifty-five years, it is obvious that a thin
ning out, not to say a general cleaning out of bad men from high
official positions, would be a first necessity to such a reformation
as Josiah had resolved to effect. The Bame necessity existed to
some extent though probably to a less extent in the case of David
when he came to the throne.

PSALM CII. 411

PSALM CII.

In the caption to this Psalm ("A prayer of the afflicted when
he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before the
Lord") the case of the author is described but his name withheld.
It is supposeable that the compiler was himself the author and for
this reason suppressed his name. Or he meant to- suggest that his
way of relief when " overwhelmed " was good for any and every
other "afllicted one," and any such one might fitly seek God for
like relief.  It was hinted in the introduction to Ps. 90, that not
improbably Jeremiah compiled this Book IV. The same suggestion
is in place here. He may have been of this Psalm both compiler
and author. His sympathy with suffering Zion, his grief, his tears,
and on the other hand his hope in God and his relief from God's
promises and from his love were certainly the same in kind which
we have here reproduced most perfectly. How far the affliction
contemplated here was personal, e.g., from sickness; and how far
public and religious — from sympathy with Zion in her affliction, it
is impossible to determine absolutely — but the latter was present
manifestly and in no inconsiderable force. It is the beauty and
glory of this Psalm that this afflicted one manifests such sympathy
and such identity of iriterest with the God of Zion that while God
lives and loves, he can not lack a well-spring of joy even in the
most dreary of earth's deserts. Flying to God and taking hold of
his promises of good to Zion, his soul rises to grateful joy.
1. Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto
thee. 2. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in
trouble : incline thine ear unto me : in the day when I call
answer me speedily.
These are the outgoings of the Christian soul ; the voice of the
religious life : To whom shall I go in trouble but to my God ?
3. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones
are burned as a hearth.
" Consumed like smoke " — would be better read — "pass away
as in smoke, as if they disappeared into smoke and ashes. 
"Burned as a hearth," is not a felicitous translation, for a
" hearth " should be incombustible. Better — " burned as a faggot,"
as any fuel. The sentiment, My days waste away to nothing; turn
to no good account; are lost.
4. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass : so that
I forget to eat my bread.
5. By reason of the voice of my groaning my bones cleave
to my skin.
"My heart smitten," its vital forces stricken down as grass is

412 PSALM CII.
struck with the mower's scythe and then must wither.  " Forget
to eat " — literally forget so as not to eat. No promptings of appe
tite call me to my accustomed food. Sorrow has taken all appetite
for food away.  " By reason of the voice of my groaning —but
it is rather the grief than the outward expression of it that dries
his flesh to his bones. This is a poet's delineation of intense
grief. 6. I am like a pelican of the wilderness : I am like an owl
of the desert.
7. I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house
top. These birds are chosen to represent his case because they fre
quent old ruins, the most desolate localities ; and in the night.
This afflicted one is a desolate dreary mourner, sleepless and
lonely. 8. Mine enemies reproach me all the day ; and they that
are mad against me are sworn against me.
The last clause better thus : My infuriated foes swear by me,
i. e., imprecate curses on men by saying, Let them be as miser
able as he. Hebrew usage sustains this sense of swearing by
another (See Isa. 65 : 15 and Jer. 29 : 22).
9. For I have eaten ashes like bread, and mingled my
drink with weeping,
10. Because of thine indignation and thy wrath : for thou
hast lifted me up, and cast me down.
In oriental life deep mourners sat in ashes, threw ashes upon
their heads, and thus ashes might come into their food. So the
mourners' oft-flowing tears became mixed with his drink — all by
reason of " the wrath of the Lord," probably as manifested toward
the Zion he so tenderly loved. Personal sufferings from persecu
tion or otherwise may have been involved, as in the case of Jere
miah. — '¦ — " Thou hast lifted me up and cast me down " seems to
imply, raising one high to give him a deeper and more dangerous
fall. Instead of this, the Hebrew suggests the figure of a tempest
or whirlwind by which one is caught up and hurled violently for
ward or cast away.
11. My days are like a shadow that declineth ; and I am
withered like grass.
" A shadow that declineth " is literally a shadow stretched out,
as shadows lengthen rapidly just when they are taking their flight.
Wasting grief, perhaps sickness, is cutting short his days.
12. But thou, O Loed, shalt endure forever ; and thy re
membrance unto all generations.

PSALM CII. 413
"But Thou" in the strongest contrast with my case. .And this
is my comfort — nay more, my joy — that my God lives, and will live
forever.  " Thy remembrance should probably be, thy memorial
name. Hebrew usage favors this sense. The meaning then would
be that the faithfulness and love expressed in that memorial
name [Jehovah] shall endure through all generations. God not
.only lives forever but will be forever the same faithful, loving God,
the everlasting hope and joy of his trustful people.
1,3. Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion : for
the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come.
14. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and
favor the dust thereof.
"Shalt arise" — as if from a sitting posture he aroused himself
to the most vigorous exertion of his saving power.  The impor
tant word " for " * ["for the time ; " "for thy servants "] admits
almost equally well of being translated "for " as a logical reason,
and when with reference to time. If the latter be chosen it will
of course assume the certainty of the event, and the event will
bear the same logical relation to its antecedent as if the sense
"for" were given it. Thus: Nothing is more certain than that
God will arise for mercy to Zion when his appointed time shall
have come, which time is in the divine plan and can not fail. So
also the set time will surely have come when God's servants shall
manifest their sympathy with her ruined stones and give themselves
with all their souls to her rebuilding. God's set time will be indi
cated by the hearts of his people.  Let it not be overlooked that
this faith in God's returning to rebuild Zion lifts the load of grief
from this smitten sufferer's heart. Inspired by such faith and hope
he can bear any thing; he practically knows no more any sorrow.
— The logical relations of thought in the passage are also richly
instructive. God will arise to restore Zion, for the thing is fixed
in his mind; will thus arise when this time shall have coirie; and
it will have come, you may know, when his servants, give the love
of their heart to Zion and the power of their hand to her work 
Plainly the writer lived at a point where he saw, present, or in
the near prospect, the desolation of Zion, and in the certain future,
her glorious restoration. The latter referred primarily to the
time of Cyrus.
15. So the heathen shall fear the name of the Loed, and
all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16. When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear
in his glory.
"So" — in consequence of such manifestations of God's power
and love for his Zion the heathen would be impressed with the

414 PSALM CII.
fear of Jehovah ; the kings of the earth would see his glory. 
In v. 16 the tenses being future, seem to demand this construc
tion : For the Lord will then have built Zion ; he will have dis
played his magnificent glory. That is, the time is past with close
reference to the fear of the name of the Lord and the beholding
of his glory which are the logical antecedents.
17. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not
despise their prayer.
"The prayer of the destitute" — in Hebrew, the naked one, the
most utterly destitute and helpless. When his people have this
feeling and come before God in conscious want and conscious
weakness, yet taking hold of his strength as their legitimate hope,
God will never despise their prayer.
18. This shall be written for the generation to come : and
the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord.
These things would be put on record for coming ages. Let all
people read and know, and knowing, praise the Lord Jehovah ! 
" The people which shall be created ' — the people then composing
the Lord's Zion, then constituting his church, shall sing ^Hallelu-
jah, i. e., praise the Lord. The expression seems to be parallel to
Ps. 22 : 31 : " They shall declare his righteousness unto a people
that shall be born," i. e., to a future generation. There is no
adequate authority in Hebrew usage for assuming a special refer
ence to the new birth.
19. For he hath looked down from the height of his
sanctuary ; from heaven did the Loed behold the earth ;
20. To hear the groaning of the prisoner ; to loose those
that are appointed to death ;
21. To declare the name of the Loed in Zion, and his
praise in Jerusalem ;
22. When the people are gathered together, and the
kingdoms, to serve the Loed.
"For" — the logical reason — "he [the Lord] hath bent himself
over [Hebrew] from his holy height — yea, from heaven bath the
Lord looked down to earth"— for what? Not to pay his respects
to earth's great men or its dazzling glories, but to hear the groan
ing of the prisoner; to loose the bands of the sons of death, i. e.,
those foredoomed to die, on the verge of death, [" the soul that
sinneth shall die "] ; to declare the name of Jehovah in Zion [i. e.,
to manifest what the name Jehovah implies], and to set forth in
Jerusalem his praise-worthy qualities and deeds, when the nations
shall be assembled there and the kingdoms to serve the Lord. The
last named point assumes that this event — the gathering of all the
nations to Zion to learn of God and to worship him, is already
foreshown— a thing of prophecy and of faith. Isaiah and Micah,
not to name others, had foiltold it in essentially these same words.

PSALM CII. 415
23. He weakened my strength in the way ; be shortened
my days.
24. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of
my days ; . thy years are throughout all generations.
By a very sudden transition of thought the writer recurs again
to his sad experiences as in vs. 3-11.  "He breaketh down my
strength in the way," i. e., in the course of his providential lead
ings : " he cuts short my days " — said probably with reference to
the severity of his trials and labors, or possibly persecutions.
Jeremiah might have said this with special pertinence.  " Take
me not away is more exactly, Take me not up, with possible refer-
«nce to the case of "Elijah, " taken up."  " In the midst," liter
ally, in the half of my days; when they are but half numbered.
¦.  " Thy years run through all generations." But what is the
relation of thought between the preceding words and these ? Is
it — Why shouldest thou not give thy servants more days on earth
when thy years stretch on so far ? Or is it rather this ; Short
though my days may be, yet my God lives on with never waning
strength and no end of his years. Let this be my joy — that his
thoughts of love will endure and he will never lack the power to
fulfill them. The following context and the entire scope of the
Psalm favor the latter view.
25. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth:
and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure; yea, all of
them shall wax old like a garment ; as a vesture shalt thou
change them, and they shall be changed :
27. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no
end. "Of old" — more literally, aforetime, said of what is before, but
here certainly with reference to time. I understand the passage
to allude tacitly to those striking words which solemnly affirm that
God's covenant with his people shall outlast the heavens, be
more sure than the ordinances of the sun and the moon in the
sky. In Jer. 31 : 35-37, on this wise : " Thus saith the Lord who
giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the moon
and of the stars for a light by night, the Lord of Hosts is his
name ; If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord,
then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation be
fore me forever," etc. Also Jer. 33: 20-22. The fact that the
known writings of Jeremiah use this illustration so familiarly
may be allowed to favor the theory that he is the author of
this Psalm.  The sentiment is grand. Human life is too short
for man to form and execute great plans ; for how often is his
strength cut off. in the midst of his work? But God's years
roll on forever. The sun and the stars will fade out, but his
strength remains unwasted for evermore!  "Thou art the same,"

416 PSALM CHI.
literally, Thou art he — an expressive affirmation of God's change
less being; — for evermore thou art He — all there is in God re
maining forever the same.  It is remarkable that the writer
to the Hebrews (1 : 10-12) assumes that this passage ascribes
Creatorship to the Son of God. This obviously implies that God
as revealed to his people under the name Jehovah, the great " 1
am" was really the eternal Son.
28. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their
seed shall be established before thee.
God's servants individually may be cut short of life and die;
but theirgenerations shall endure; their children shall rise up to
fill their places, and then their children's children, so that God's
covenant shall stand and the seed of the righteous be established
before God. So the church has a sort of earthly immortality ; God's
earthly kingdom shall not end while the world shall stand. Let
this be the consolation of any and every " afllicted one " " when
he is overwhelmed and poureth out his complaint before the Lord."
PSALM cm.
This sweet Psalm, so richly expressiv§ of grateful homage to the
Glorious Giver of all good, supplying through all tho ages since it
was written the choicest words for the noblest sentiments and af
fections toward God — is briefly ascribed to David. As to the pre
cise sense in which it is David's, the reader will please recur to the
remarks introductory to Ps. 101.  The first and central thought —
" Bless the Lord, O my soul " — is justified and enforced by a recital
of individual, personal, mercies (vs. 3-5) ; by a broader view of
his mercies to the specially needy and to his covenant people (vs.
6, 7) ; by a view of his intrinsic character as a God of mercy (vs.
8, 9) ; as manifested toward all his penitent children (vs. 10-14 ;
for which there is manifold occasion in the fact of human frailty
(vs. 15, 16). This mercy is most enduring (vs. 17, 18); issuing
forth from a throne forever fixed and supreme (v. 19) — which si?
premacy embraces the angelic hosts and calls upon them for
adoring homage (vs. 20, 21); and finally in like manner upon all
his works — beings and things — every-where in his universe ; and
last, upon the writer's own soul (v. 22).
1. Bless the Lord, O my soul : and all that is within
me, bless bis holy name.
"Bless" as here, is scarcely distinguishable from praise. It
makes prominent the thought of giving honor and glory to God ; it
may include wishing him joy m_ the exercise of his mercy and
rejoicing personally in his infinite happiness.  "All that is
within me" — all my noblest powers — my voice, my son<* my

PSALM Cm. 417
grateful emotions, the love of my heart, my willing spirit and
obedient life.
2. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his
benefits :
3. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all
thy diseases ;
4. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction ; who crown-
eth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies ;
5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things ; so tliat thy
youth is renewed like the eagle's.
These verses enumerate personal blessings from God. Most
fitly the first is forgiveness of sin. Who does riot feel that this
blessing towers high above all others possible to sinners? 
Restoration from sickness has appropriately the next place. 
In v. 5, the translation "mouth has no support from Hebrew
usage. The word used * means elsewhere ornament,, adornment.
Here, apparently, our highest glory as beings — that which gives
us our distinguished pre-eminence among the lower orders of
creatures, and well translated soul, in the same way in which the
usual Hebrew word for glory sometimes means soul [e. g., Ps. 16 :
9]. Satisfying the soul with good, renews one's youth like the
eagle's. A happy heart doeth good like a medicine. It becomes
a good, not to the soul only, but through sympathy, to the body as
well. 6. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for
all that are oppressed.
Rising from personal blessings to general, the comprehensive
fact, evermore to the glory of God, is his sympathy with the suffer
ing and oppressed, -and his ready and effective interpositiori in their
case. Who will not praise him that he careth so kindly and so
gloriously for those who suffer cruel wrongs from wicked op
pressors ?
7. He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto
the children of Israel.
These " ways " made known to Moses arid his people Israel, were
specimen cases under the general fact just mentioned — " righteous
ness and judgment for all the oppressed."
8. The Loed is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy.
9. He will not always chide : neither will he keep his
anger forever.
"Jehovah merciful and gracious," as he announced his immortal
name to Moses (recorded Ex. 34 : 5-7). Moses had said : " I be-
H)7*

418 PSALM CHI.
seech thee, show me thy glory; " and God replied: "I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and will proclaim the name of
the Lord before thee." To that wonderfully comprehensive and
descriptive name the Psalmist here refers: "Merciful and gra
cious. 10. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor re
warded us according to our iniquities.
11. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great
is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he
removed our transgressions from us.
His retribution for our sins has fallen far below our deserts.
Probation is itself merciful and involves immense long-suffering
and the glorious possibility on every sinner's part of turning back
to God, and in this event, the certainty of forgiveness. The height
of the heavens above the earth helps us to conceive the greatness
of this mercy toward those who humbly fear him. Beautifully
the Hebrew has it: As God has put the east far away from the
west, so hath he put our sins far away from us — to be remem
bered no more against us ! The pardon he giveth is pardon
indeed. Your sins and your iniquities shall be not even remem
bered any more. He says the same thing strongly through Micah
(Mic. 7: 18,19).
13. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Loed
pitieth them that fear him.
14. For he knoweth our frame ; he remembereth that we
are dust.
This illustration comes home to human bosoms, or rather, is
drawn from the impulses and the love of human souls. As the
human father has a warm heart [Hebrew] toward his children,
so has the Lord toward those that fear him — his filial, obedient,
children. For he knows our make — our constitution and its inhe
rent frailties and weaknesses; he remembers that these bodies
were made of dust; subject, therefore, to temptation, pain, and
death. 15. As for man, his days are as grass : as a flower of the
field, so he flourisheth.
16. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone ; and
the place thereof shall know it no more.
"As for man," very frail is he, as the word chosen here for
man implies. He is compared to the grass whose natural life is
only a few months at longest. As the blossom flowers, so he blos
soms for his brief day, the Hebrew beautifully using the same
word for the field-blossom and for the man, blossoming.  For a

PSALM CHI. 419
breath of air, a gentle wind * passes over him and he is gone. It
would not be so strange if a.tempest, a whirlwind, passing over
should sweep him away. The Psalmist means much more than
this. The gentlest touch, the whispering breeze, bears him off.
He soon becomes a stranger, no more known in the little space he
once filled, going out and coming in.
17. But the mercy of the Loed is from everlasting to
everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness
unto children's children ;
18. To such as keep his covenant, and to those that re
member his commandments to do them.
Over against the briefness of man's life and the transientness of
all his doings stand the enduring mercy of the Lord and his per
petual remembrance of his covenant people. O how unlike lo
man's few days are his immortal years ! How much more endur
ing his love and sure his promised blessings than any good guar
anteed to us only by frail, short-lived man !
19. The Loed hath prepared his throne in the heavens ;
and his kingdom ruleth over all.
It is ground for the purest joy that God's throne is fixed too
high to be endangered by his petty, puny foes — too exalted to be
obscured by their malicious endeavors. His kingdom embraces
all that live, excepting none.
20. Bless the Loed, ye his angels, that excel in
strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the
voice of his word.
21. Bless ye the Loed, all ye his hosts ; ye ministers of
his, that do his pleasure.
These few words descriptive of the angels are by no means ex
haustive. Yet the points given are of the first importance;
" mighty in strength," i. e., of most exalted powers and capabili
ties : And evermore obedient to the mandates of the Most High,
diligently hearkening to catch every word from his lips and ever
more swift to execute it. Upon all these noblest of created beings
the Psalmist calls to bless the Lord Jehovah. '
22. Bless the Lord, all his works in all places of his
dominion : bless the Lord, O my soul.
The last specification is completely coinprehensive ; all his
works in all places of his wide dominions " — all that he has made,
whether intelligent or not intelligent; " in all places " — above, be
neath, around : in heaven, earth, or hell: let them all fall into this
universal chorus of praise and blessing, extolling Jehovah, the
rm*

420 PSALM CIV.
One supremely great, supremely good !  Nor will he exempt
himself; for his personal responsibilities as to his own heart are
his highest. Therefore he closes as he began, " Bless the Lord,
O my soul I "
PSALM CIV.
This Psalm stands without caption. In subject it bears close re
lations to Ps. 103 — a circumstance strongly in favor of referring
it to the same author. It enlarges the glorious theme of praise to
God by setting forth his wonderful works in the material world.
It is God in nature, yet not at all in the pantheistic sense — nature
itself a part of God; but in the far nobler sense, a personal God,
the Infinite Creator of all material things, for evermore energizing
by his present hand to sustain the forces which supply from the
material world the wants of all the living. Remarkably the course
of thought follows somewhat definitely the order of topics pre
sented in the original account of the creation given [Gen. 1] by
Moses : God the glorious Creator ; investing himself with light ;
stretching out the broad expanse of the visible heavens ; locating
the waters that belong above the firmament ; the clouds also and
the winds; fixing the solid earth and gathering together 'the
waters appropriated to its surface and thus providing for the
springs and rivers that supply animal want and insure the fruits
of the earth. Thus the author's mind ranges on, as of one whose
open eye has traced out the marvelous ways of God in blessing
all his vast family of living creatures — themes on which it is sweet
to dwell, and which call forth from his grateful, adoring soul
praises ever fresh to the great Father of all.
1. Bless the Lord, O my soul. O Lord my God, thou
art very great ; thou art clothed with honor and majesty :
2. Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment; who
stretchest out the heavens like a curtain :
3. Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters ;
who maketh the clouds his chariot : who walketh upon the
wings of the wind :
" Thou art very great "—the comprehensive fact which the whole
Psalm expands and illustrates.  " Coverest thyself with light "
is put sublimely by Paul (1 Tim. 6: 16): "Dwelling in the light
which no man can approach unto."  "Stretching out the
heavens like a curtain," of course contemplates the heavens as
visible to us— the expanse above us in which we see the heavenly
bodies.  "Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the
waters," follows the ancient Hebrew conception which indeed ap
pears in Gen. 1, that God divided the waters of our globe into two
parts, storing one part above tho supposed solid firmament, and

PSALM CIV. 421
the other in the oceans and seas of our earth. In the former he
laid the beams of his upper chambers, those grand, apartments
of the universe which are his own special abode. It is of no im
portance for us to inquire whether this poetical conception is true
to fact and nature. The Scriptures were not designed to teach
us celestial geography in a scientific way.  The phenomena of
rain seemed to the ancients to imply a store-house of waters
above, and therefore their poetic imaginations assumed it. So
far as divine revelation is concerned, the Lord let it pass, wav
ing that whole subject in order to teach us more important things.
 "The clouds his chariot," and the thunder the roar of its
wheels.  " Walking-upon the wings " — but the incongruity of
walking on wings is not to be charged upon the Hebrew author,
who said only — moving, traversing the regions of space on the wings
of wind.
4. Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flam
ing fire:
This verse demands patient attention.
(1) Some maintain that the angels of Scripture, the intelligent
beings appearing so often in sacred history, are not here at all.
They translate — "Who maketh the winds his messengers; the
lightnings his ministers ; i. e ., who uses both the winds and the
lightnings as his servants. Against this construction lie the con
stant usage of the Hebrew word to signify an o/der of intelligent
beings, and the authority ofthe writer to the Hebrews who quotes
the passage (Heb. 1 : 7) in an argument which assumes that the
word refers to beings of intelligence.
(2) A few critics have explained the passage, Who maketh his
angels incorporeal — pure spirits, made Out of wind as best repre
senting the invisible nature of spirits. Also "his ministers" — a
parallel expression — out of fire, lightning. But this construction
scarcely deserves serious refutation. It is entirely foreign to the
scope of the Psalm which treats of the material works of God;
the sense it brings out conflicts with the constant representa
tion of the Scriptures, in which angels continually appear clad
in material forms. Yet of the nature of these material bodies
it were vain for us to speculate further than to say — They are not
brought before lis as incorporeal, i. e., as purely spiritual beings.
(3) A third construction has found much favor among critics,
thus: "Who maketh his angels as or like the winds, and as the
lightnings — swift in motion, mighty in power." The main objection
to this is, it seems to be aside from the scope of the Psalm.
(4) A fourth construction has the voice of a large part of the
best modern critics. It may be expressed thus : " Who employs his
angels upon the winds; his messengers upon the lightnings, i. e.,
who works the tempest and the lightning at his pleasure by the
agency of his angels.  The grandeur of this conception is in
striking harmony with the scope of the sublime things before the
poet's mind. Its thought moreover is germain to the theme of

422 PSALM CIV.
the Psalm-^-God's ways and workings in the material world. Nor
can there be any doubt that this sentiment is in accordance
with truth, at least in regard to whatever supernatural agencies
God may employ through tempest and storm.  On this remark
able passage the reader may be interested to see the views of
various critics. — Gesenius on the word " angel :" "By their agency
are wrought the phenomena of nature " — citing as a case this
passage. Fuerst, also on the word as in the passage : " He " [the
angel] " appears as tempest or lightning." Rev. Alfred Barry, in
Smith's Bible Dictionary: "The operations of nature are spoken
of as under angelic guidance, fulfilling the will of God." Not only
is this the case in poetical passages such as Ps. 104 : 4 (com
mented on in Heb. 1 : 7), but in the simplest prosaic history, e. g.,
Ex. 12 : 23 and Heb. 11 : 28. Stuart (Apoc. II : 400) : "It seems
probable that the passage [Ps. 104: 4 and Heb. 1 : 7] is to be ex
plained in reference to the views of the Jews as connected with
the subject of guardian angels over the elements." — Olshausen
[on Heb. 1 : 7] : " Scripturally the angels are powers of God, i. e.,
personal Creatures, furnished with peculiar powers, through whom
God works wonders in the kingdom of nature, and whom he ac
cordingly makes to be storm-winds and flames of fire in as far as
he lets them, so to speak, incorporate themselves with these ele
ments and operations of nature."  It only remains to say that
in this view of its meaning, the passage is beautifully appropriate
to the argument of the writer to the Hebrews. The angels are
exalted in dignity, great in strength, grand in their working, but
yet are far below the Son of God.
5. Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should
not be removed forever.
The firmness of the earth's deep foundations was a favorite and
precious thought in the Hebrew mind. Yet how much is the grand
eur of our conceptions enhanced when we come to understand
(as they did not) that the simple law of gravitation holds the earth
in its orbit and all the matter of our globe to its place 1
6. Thou coveredst it with the deep as with a garment :
the waters stood above the mountains.
7. At thy rebuke they fled ; at the voice of thy thunder
they hasted away.
8. They go up by the mountains ; they go down by the
valleys unto the place which thou hast founded for them.
9. Thou hast set a bound that they may not pass over ;
that they turn not again to cover the earth.
Exegetically, the question here is whether the passage refers to
the era of the creation or to that of the deluge in the age of Noah.
Inasmuch as the chaotic state (Gen. 1 : 2) involved essentially a
deluge— a submergence of the earth under water, the phenomena
in the two cases — the primeval chaos and the deluge of Noah

PSALM CIV. 423
must have been quite similar. Most of the points made in these
verses were fulfilled in both. The last point made in v. 9 is an
exception to this remark, since it refers manifestly to the deluge
of Noah and is inapplicable to the primeval chaos : " that they turn
not again to cover the earth."  v. 8 were better read : " They
ascend or climb the mountains : they flow back into the valleys,"
etc. ¦
10. He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run
among the hills.
11. They give drink to every beast of the field : the
wild asses quench their thirst.
The beautiful provision of mountain reservoirs which feed the
springs, which again feed the rivers that flow in the valleys, is
ascribed to God's hand which " sendeth them forth."
12. By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their
habitation, which sing among the branches _'
13. He watereth the hills from his chambers : the earth
is satisfied with the fruit of thy works.
"By them," i. e., by the side of these water-courses; for the
beauties of ' the river system are not complete without trees on
their banks and singing birds in the trees. — : — The hills are
watered from God's " chambers," the same word as in v. 3. The
palaces of God, his upper halls above the sky, are thought to rest
upon the superincumbent mass of waters above the firmament —
the great reservoir for our earth.  The earth is satisfied, i. e.,
sated, amply supplied with water and all things necessary to fer
tility. 14. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb
for the service of man : that he may bring forth food out of
the earth ;
15. And wine that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil
to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth
man's heart.
" Herb for the service of man," should rather be, the herb for the
culture of man, for him to cultivate for his subsistence.— — The al
lusion to "oil" does not class it as one of these products of the
earth, but makes it a figure of comparison, thus: "And wine that
gladdens man's heart to make his face shine more than oil."
The English margin suggests this ; the Hebrew demands it.
16. The trees of the Lord are full of sap ; the cedars of
Lebanon, which he hath planted ;
17, Where the birds make their nests ; as for the stork,
the fir trees are her house.

424 PSALM CIV.
18. The high hills are a refuge for the wild goats; and
the rocks for the conies.
The Lord's trees are the noblest, grandest of all, as " the mount-
tains of God " are the loftiest. The special reference here is to
the cedars of Lebanon, first in grandeur among trees known to
the Hebrew people.  Not specifically " full of sap," but accord
ing to the scope of the context, supplied with moisture, and there
fore kept in vigorous growth.  " The conies," an animal resem
bling the rabbit, yet unknown in America. All that is important
here is that the rocky districts were its home, God having utilized
the whole face of the earth by giving existence to animals adapted
to all varieties of soil, climate, condition.
19. He appointed the moon for seasons : the sun knoweth
his going down.
20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night : wherein all
the beasts of the forest do creep forth.
21. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their
meat from God.
22. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together,
and lay them down in their dens.
" The moon for seasons," i. e., for set times, the Hebrew months
being lunar and their festivals being fixed by the changes of the
moon.  "Beasts of the forest creep forth," not stealthily, but as
those who are in their place and on their own time. God made
them for night work.  "Seek their food from God" — not by ask
ing in prayer, but in the way of seeking by instinct what his care
ful bounty has provided. The Psalmist purposely honors God as
the Great Provider for even the powerful lion.
23. Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labor
until the evening.
As the wild animals improve the night to. get their food, man
uses the day for his labor. God's plan avoids their interference
with each other.
24. O Loed, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom
hast thou made them all : the earth is full of thy riches.
The natural and appropriate reflection from such a survey of
God's works in the material world and in his general providence.
What wisdom shines forth in all these wonderful adaptations of
earth to man and beast I The earth so amply furnished with all
most needful things reminds the Psalmist of some wealthy man's
establishment, supplied with all that industry and wealth can pro
vide. 25. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things
creeping innumerable, both small aud great beasts.

PSALM CIV. 425
26. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom
thou hast made to play therein.
27. These wait all upon thee ; that thou mayest give them
their meat in due season.
28. That thou givest them they gather: thfia openest
thine hand, they are filled with good.
29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled : thou takest
away their breath, they die, and return to their dust.
From a survey of the dry land, valley, mountain, he passes to
the great and wide sea where the ships travel ; where the huge,
sea-serpent sports, and where countless families of fish are fed
wonderfully from God's hand. Is there a greater marvel than lies
in the question — Where is their pasture-ground? What food
does their Great Maker provide for such countless and almost in
finitely various forms, tastes, and wants ?
30. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created : and
thou renewest the face of the earth.
Does this passage throw light on the question of new creations ?
In my view, not necessarily, for this may be only the general
fact that all the creatures contemplated in this Psalm owe their
existence to God's original creative fiat. " Renewest the face of
the earth" may be an allusion to its re-peopling after the deluge
of Noah.
31. The glory of the Lord shall endure forever: the
Lord shall rejoice in his works.
32. He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he
toucheth the hills, and they smoke.
" The glory of the Lord " as the Great Creator and Father of
all; i e., the manifestations of his wisdom, power, and love as
thus made " shall endure forever," evermore a perpetual study
and joy to his intelligent creatures, evermore a fountain of bless
edness to himself.— — With what glorious majesty and power his
very look makes the earth tremble ; he has only to " touch the hills
and they smoke," a beautiful allusion, it' would seem, to the phe
nomena of volcanoes.
33. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live : I will
sing praise to my God while I have my being.
34. My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be
glad in the Lord.
Enchanted with his theme, the'' author avows his purpose to
make it his study and the theme of his praise-song through all
his life — even through his eternal existence. 0, will he not enjoy
it ! Will not this study of the Great God in his works be " sweet '
and his soul as he dwells on it be made " glad in the Lord ? " 

426 PSALM CV.
The reader will note that this is one aspect of the work and joy
of the heavenly world.
35. Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and
let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Loed, O my
soul. Praise ye the Loed.
What is the connection of thought between this closing verse and
the rest of the Psalm? It does not lie on the surface but be
neath it. When we come fully into sympathy with the writer,
impressed as he was with the glory of God in all his works, with
his goodness, his love, his parental care of every living thing, we
shall begin to understand why he should cry out — O, those en
emies of such a God — those rebels against their glorious and lov
ing Father I . Let them be consumed from the face of the earth ;
let them be.no more! As for me, my whole being cries out;
" Bless the Lord, 0 my soul I " 0 all ye people, praise the Lord !

PSALM CV.
This Psalm is only a variation upon the general theme of the
two that precede it—the grounds of praise and thanksgiving to
God for his mercies. Whereas Ps. 104 expatiates upon the works
of God in the material world, its creation and its agencies ; this
Psalm gives a corresponding view of God's hand in history— — his
ways with his covenant people from the promise of Canaan to
Abraham and the patriarchs to its fulfilment under Joshua in
locating the tribes safely in that land of promise.
This Psalm traverses somewhat the same ground with Ps. 78,
with however these two points of difference : (a) that whereas that
Psalm passes repeatedly from God's mercies to the people's sins,
this restricts itself to the ways of his mercy, reserving the provoca
tions and rebellions of the people to Ps. 106 : (b) that whereas in
Ps. 78 the ultimate purpose of the writer was to affirm and justify
God's choice of Judah before Ephraim as the tribe from which to
take the royal family and within which to locate his sanctuary,
the writer's purpose here is rather in general to give the grounds
of praise, adoration and thanksgiving to the God of their nation's
covenant, and. in particular to inspire hope in God- for deliverance
from the national calamities then present or impending.  It
should be noted that vs. 1-15 of this Psalm appear nearly in the
same words in I Chron. 16 ; 8-22 ; there ascribed to David. The
case shows how later authors made free use of the earlier writings
of inspired men, especially of David. ;
1. O give thanks unto the Lord ; call upon his name :
make known his deeds among the people.

PSALM CV. 427
2. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him : talk ye of all
his wondrous works.
3. Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of tbem
rejoice that seek the Lord.
4. Seek the Lord, and his strength : seek bis face ever
more. " Call upon his name " is precisely, call him by his name ; i. e.,
make use of those significant names which especially reveal his
relations to his chosen people, e. g., Jehovah ; and set forth the
appropriateness of this name by showing his faithfulness to his an
cient promises.  "Make known his deeds among the people " —
but this being plural means, the peoples, the Gentile nations.
This point is too important to be obscured by a defective transla
tion.  " Seek the Lord and his strength " — seek him as the God
ef strength; seek of him the help which his strong arm is mighty
to give.
5. Eemember his marvelous works that he hath done ; his
wonders, and the judgments of his mouth:
6. O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of
Jacob his chosen.
"Marvelous works," "wonders" — are his miracles, supernatu
ral interpositions of power in the history of our nation. " The
judgments of his mouth" — the laws and ordinances spoken from
his lips, including also sentences of judgment upon his enemies,
e. g., on oppressive Egypt and the corrupt, idolatrous nations of
ancient Canaan.
7. He is the Loed our God : his judgments are in all the
earth. While he is pre-eminently our God, his judgments are upon
other nations also ; his rule is over all the earth. : Therefore let
Gentiles as well as Jews give ear to my song. These facts of his
tory have lessons for the wide world.
8. He hath remembered his covenant forever, the word
which he commanded to a thousand generations.
9. Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath
unto Isaac :
10. And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to
Israel for an everlasting covenant :
11. Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the
lot of your inheritance :
12. When they were but a few men in number; yea, very
few, and strangers in it.
God's covenant with the children of Israel was made when the
nation was in one man, Abraham. All the more striking and re-

428 PSALM CV.
markable therefore was the fact that God remembered that covenant;
continued from time to time to renew it with his posterity, and
never forgat it. In due time that posterity, having grown into a
great nation, were planted in the land of promise.
' 13. When they went from one nation to another, from
one kingdom to another people ;
14. He suffered no man to do them wrong.: yea, he
reproved kings for their sakes ;
15. Saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets
no barm.
" From one kindom to another people," which seems to recognize
Egypt as a kingdom. The Arab tribes and the petty sovereignties
of Canaan were only peoples.  " The reproving of kings " looks
toward the case of Pharaoh of Egypt (as in Gen. 12 ; 10-20), and
of Abimelech of Gerar (Gen. 20: 1-18). Abraham was the
" prophet " specially in view. (See Gen. 20 : 7.)
16. Moreover he called for a famine upon the land : he
brake the whole staff of bread.
17. He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold
for a servant ;
18. Whose feet they hurt with fetters : he was laid in
iron :
19. Until the time that his word came : the word of the
Lord tried him.
A famine upon the land of Canaan was God's agency to drive
Jacob's sons and ultimately himself and household into Egypt.
But forethoughtful provision was made for them by sending Joseph
there beforehand. Joseph himself so understood the purpose of
God. (Gen. 45 : 5).  The translation — "he was laid in iron"
quite avoids the literal form of the Hebrew which is — " His soul
came into the iron," i. e., the iron fetters, meaning that his nerves,
his keenest sensibilities, were galled by the fetters of a slave and
the bands of a prisoner.  In v. 19. "His" [Joseph's] "word"
and " the word of the Lord " are not the same term in Hebrew.
The sense seems to be that until Joseph's word [as an interpreter
of dreams] " came " to pass, " the word of the Lord," giving him
those interpretations, tried him greatly; perhaps because on the
one hand it indicated the divine favor to him, while yet, on the
other, the long delay of two full years (Gen. 41 : 1) between the
fulfilling of the first interpretations [those of the butler and
baker], and his deliverance from prison must havo put his faith to
the sternest test. See the whole history in Gen. 40 and 41.
20. The king sent and loosed him ; even the ruler of the
people, and let him go free.

PSALM CV. 429
21. He made him lord of his house, and ruler of all his
substance :
22. To bind his princes at his pleasure; and teach his
senators wisdom.
In the unfolding of God's plan it came to view that his purpose
was to bririg Joseph before Pharaoh and make him virtually lord
of all Egypt. So the dark providences of God are wont to be re
vealed in due time into glorious light. Is it not well and safe to
trust him ?
23. Israel also came into Egypt; and Jacob sojourned
in the land of Ham.
24. And he increased his people greatly ; and made them
stronger than their enemies.
The history makes special mention (Ex. 1 : 7) of the rapid,
extraordinary increase of the Hebrew people while in Egypt.
Fear of their numbers instigated the Egyptians both to impose
severe tasks and to plot the murder of their male infants (Ex. 1 :
1-16). 25. He turned their heart to bate his people., to deal
subtilely with his servants.
" He turned their heart to hate his people," yet not neces
sarily by any such direct agency as that which turns men's hearts
from sin to holiness ; but by permitting such events to occur and
to occur in such relations as produced in their proud, selfish, am
bitious souls this hatred of the Hebrew people and this cruelty
toward them. The actual processes under which Pharaoh's heart
was hardened, as shown in the history, are a sufficient comment
on the nature of that divine agency to which the hardening of his
heart is more than once ascribed.
26. He sent Moses his servant ; and Aaron whom he had
chosen. 27. They showed his signs among them, and wonders in
the land of Ham.
"Sent Moses to be his servant" — to act in this capacity. 
"They showed his signs," i. «., they performed miracles as com
missioned and directed of God, and did it in the presence of the
king and his people.
28. He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they re
belled not against his word.
The precise sense of this verse is not altogether obvious. Is
this " darkness " the ninth plague, or does it represent in general
the whole body of plagues on Egypt ? And who are they that
"did not rebel against his word?" If the Egyptians, then how
does this comport with the historical fact that they did "rebel"
repeatedly ? — The Egyptians must be the parties spoken of as " not
19

430 PSALM CV.
rebelling."  Against the supposition that this "darkness" was
the ninth special plague stands the fact that it was not this plague
but the death of all their first-born which ultimately broke them
down. I prefer therefore to interpret darkness here in its general
sense of calamity, and the passage as comprehensively affirming
that God sent on them terrible calamities until they no longer re
belled against his word, but succumbed. God sent darkness in
the sense of plague after plague till the Egyptians rebelled no
longer. Having said this in general, the Psalmist proceeds to the
details. 29. He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish.
30. Their land brought forth frogs in abundance, in the
chambers of their kings.
_ 31. He spake, and there came divers sorts of flies, and
lice in all their coasts.
These plagues on Egypt, (1) Water becoming blood; (2) Frogs;
(3) Flies; (4) Lice — are in essentially the same historical order
as in Moses (Ex. 7 : 20, 21 and 8 : 6, 17, 21). The striking point
in the narration here is that the miraculous power is attributed to
the divine word: " He spake, and flies came, and lice in all their
coasts." So in the original creation: "he spake and it was."
32. He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their
land. 33. He smote their vines also and their fig trees ; and
brake the trees of their coasts.
34. He' spake, and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and
that without number.
35. And did eat up all the herbs in thejr land, and de
voured the fruit of their ground.
" He made their rain hail " [Hebrew] — all the more terrible in
Egypt from the fact that even rain is so very unusual there.
The "flaming fire" was lightning — most terrific in Egypt. 
In this as in the case of the lice and the flies, God spakeank the
locusts came. The poetic conception makes them the army of tho
Lord, moving in mighty phalanx at his word of command. The
reader will note that this way of representing the miraculous
agency in these plagues is used only of animals, who move obedient
to the voice of God.
36. He smote also all the firstrborn in their land, the
chief of all tbeir strength.
"The chief of all their strength" is quite in harmony with the
Hebrew idea of the first-born, as may be seen in Jacob's words of
his Reuben [Gen. 49: 3], and in the Mosaic statutes [Deut. 21 ¦
17], in both which passages, however, the word here translated
"chief is translated "beginning."  This death-scene was the.

PSALM CV. 431
unendurable plague which broke the spirit of both people and
king. 37. He brought them forth also with silver and gold ; and
there iwas not one feeble person among their tribes.
It was of the Lord's justice that these bondmen were not al
lowed to go forth empty-handed. He directed them to borrow
[the Hebrew is simply ask] of the Egyptians. The last plague
made them willing to lend or give. It was but moderate wages
for their life-long services [Ex. 11: 2 and 12: 35, 36].  "Not
one halting, tottering one in their tribes " — unable to march. The
fact is extraordinary, indicating either miracle, or an unprece
dented vigor pervading the whole nation. Supernatural agency
should not be assumed where natural agencies suffice, as here.
The history of slavery in our own country shows that severe toil
and hard bondage are not incompatible with physical vigor.
38. Egypt was glad when they departed : for the fear of
them fell upon them.
"Was glad," for the death of the first-born in every house was
fearfully suggestive of what might come next. " We be all dead
men" [Ex. 12: 33].
39. He spread a cloud for a covering ; and fire to give
light in the night.
Rapidly the poet now touches the salient points of their history;
here, the wonderful pillar which was cloud by day and fire by night,
the visible manifestation of God's presence, guiding them through
all that pathless wilderness [Ex. 13 : 21, 22].
40. The people asked, and he brought quails, and satisfied
them with the bread of heaven.
41. He opened the rock, 'and the waters gushed out; they
ran in the dry places like a river.
The cases of the quails, the manna, and the smitten rock and its
gushing floods of water, are touched only in the briefest manner.
See .the more full notice in the history [Ex. 16: 12-35 and in Ps.
78 : 18-29]. In this passage the quantity of water is shown to
have been great.
42. For he remembered his holy promise, and Abraham
his servant.
43. And he brought forth his people with joy and his
chosen with gladness :
44. And gave them the lands of the heathen : and they
inherited the labor of the people ;
45. That they might observe his statutes, and keep his
laws. Praise ye the Lord.

432 PSALM CVI.
The conclusion of this song gives us its animus and purpose,
viz., to illustrate God's faithfulness in promise, and to inspire hope
and confidence in him for similar faithfulness in the present and
in the future. This God of the ancient promises and of these
wonderful achievements in fulfilling them, is our God forever and
ever : Praise him, all ye people !

PSALM CVI.
This Psalm belongs to the same family with the three that next
precede it, with specially close relations to its nearest one, Ps. 105.
Whereas that recites and reviews the divine jriercies to Israel from
Abraham to the possession of Canaan, this is mainly occupied with
the recital of their ingratitude, rebellion, and idolatry — a dark,
humiliating catalogue! The moral aim of this showing is suffi
ciently apparent, viz., to humble the nation, bring them to repent
ance, and encourage them to cry unto God for his pardoning mercy
and gracious help in their then present emergencies. The prayer
at the close (v. 47), " Save us," " gather us from among the
heathen," plainly implies that the Psalm was written at some
point, early or late, and probably early, during the exile in Baby
lon. During that period the Lord's prophets, Jeremiah, Ezekiel,
and Daniel, were inspired with earnest words and powerful appeals
to the people, designed to secure the very ends contemplated in this
Psalm— national humiliation, repentance, and prayerful hope in
God's faithfulness and mercy. Dan. 9 may be laid beside this
Psalm for comparison. The name of the author of these Psalms
(104-106) is not given and can not be ascertained.
1. Praise ye the Loed. O give thanks unto the Loed ;
for he is good : for his mercy endureth forever.
2. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Loed ? who can ,
show forth all his praise ?
"Who can utter," "show forth" "all his praise?" seems to
be a concluding inference from tho three Psalms immediately
preceding this. The writer would say ; We have been taking an
inventory of the mercies of God toward our world and especially
our nation, but who can enumerate them all ? We are lost in the
countless multitude ; the footing can never be made up; the coiftat
surpasses all numerical computation. Who has ever put himself
to the work and did not quickly reach the same conviction:
" When all thy mercies, 0 my God,
My rising soul surveys :
Transported with tho view, I'm lost
In wonder, love and praise."
3. Blessed are they that keep judgment, .and he that
doeth righteousness at all timesi

PSALM CVI. 433
The relation of thought between this verse and those that pre
cede it would seem to be this: In view of all this unmeasured
goodness and wealth of proffered mercy, how blessed must it be
to have this God for our Friend; to be at one with him as the
moral King of the universe ! Such is the case of those who " keep
judgment, always executing justice, always acting in the fear of
the Lord and in true obedience to his law.
4. Bemember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest
unto thy people : O visit me with thy salvation ;
5. That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may
rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with
thine inheritance.
The lot of God's obedient people must be most blessed ; let me
never miss but always enjoy it ! Let others pant for gold or fame,
length of days and fullness of all earthly good : — it shall suffice me
to have the lot of thy people ; to see their blessedness and be glad
dened with their joy I  Considered as a preface to this Psalm,
the tone of these remarks has this significance and bearing: — The
wealth of blessing God gives his people being so great, how sad it
must be to miss it by means of sin ! How tenderly earnest is the
appeal to a sinning people to consider their ways ; to measure their
infinite loss; and be moved to the depth of their souls toward
repentance and supplication for pardoning mercy !
6. We have sinned with our fathers, we have committed
iniquity, we have done wickedly.
A sudden transition here brings him face to face with the main
theme of this Psalm — the sins of the people.  " We have sinned
with our fathers ; we as well as they.; we in much the same manner
as they. And since they suffered fearful chastisements for their
sin, so are we destined" to like suffering. As they oftentimes found
mercy by crying mightily to God in their distresses, so [hopefully]
may we also.  Of the three verbs in this verse, meaning in gene
ral to sin, the first means primarily to miss the mark, to come short
of the proper aim of duty; the second suggests moral perverse-
ness ; the third, outbreaking, outrageous wickedness — the climax
of sin.7. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt;
they remembered not the multitude of thy mercies ; but
provoked him at the sea, even at the Bed sea.
" Understood not thy wonders." But it cannot possibly be true
that the Hebrews in bondage did not hear of the plagues on
Egypt ; did not know that themselves were set free and led out
through the dry bed of the Red sea; did not understand that God's
miraculous power wrought these wonders. But it was true that
they acted afterward as if they " understood not." The truth they

434 PSALM CVI.
knew, they did not duly realize; would not let it have its due
place and power on their hearts or in their lives. They held back
the truth through unrighteousness [Rom. 1: 18]. A heart mind
ing the flesh and lusting for worldly good blinded their minds, so
that practically it was as if they "understood not." For the same
cause they "remembered not the multitude of his mercies." It
became easy and natural (alas !) to forget I  These are most
vital facts pertaining to what we may call the mental laws of
human sinning — the power which a sin-loving heart has to counter
act whatever truth concerning God and duty men may know, and
to make it as if they knew and understood it not.
8. Nevertheless he saved them for his name's sake, that
he might make his mighty power to be known.
Say not (implies the Psalmist) that I overstate their sin or un
derstate their righteousness, and that God's saving them proves
this : for he saved them, not for their righteousness' sake, but of
his great mercy, for the honor of his name, and to make his great
power known. The Lord of their covenant was committed before
the nations as their protector ; salvation for the world was (instru-
mentally) locked up in their national life ; hence the Lord had
reasons, apart from their righteousness, for interposing to save
their nation from extinction. -
9. He rebuked the Bed sea also, and it was dried up : so
he led them through the depths, as through the wilderness.
10. And he saved them from the band of him that
hated tliem, and redeemed them from the hand of the en
emy. 11. And the waters covered their enemies : there was not
one of them left.
"He rebuked," with his word of command.  "Led them
through the depths " — the deep bed of the sea as if it were over
the dry sands of the desert.  "Not one of them left." The
history also affirms that this destruction was universal: "There
remained not so much as one of them." " The sea returned to his
strength : " they fled before it— but all in vain ! God's awful hand
was there !
12. Then believed they his words ; they sang bis praise.
13. They soon forgat his works ; they waited not for his
counsel': 14. But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, and tempted
God in the desert.
15. And he gave them their request ; but sent leanness
into their soul.
Then the people believed God's word, and let it be suggested
must have, for the moment, " understood his wonders on Eoypt.''

PSALM CVI. 435
•
But (v. 13) " they made haste to forget his works," as the express
ive Hebrew has it. Their lusts are charged with the responsibility
of this great sin. More strictly, it was their lustful heart — them
selves indulging their lusts.  "Waited not for his counsel" —
where the waiting refers not to time but to trust. It was not so
much that they would not delay till God moved as that they would
not wait on him in prayerful trust, asking for what they might
really need, committing their case to his wise counsel.. The
Hebrew words demand this sense.  He sent them quails in
plenty to eat, but sent leanness into their souls. They filled their
bodies fatally full : God made their souls fatally lean. The words
and figures aim to give the statement the force of contrast. It was
a terrible rebuke to unbridled lust when coupled, as it is wont to
be, with recklessness of God's authority and unbelief in his care.
16. They envied Moses also in the camp, and Aaron
the saint of the Lord.
17. The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan, and
covered the company of Abiram.
18. And a fire was kindled in their company ; the flame
burned up the wicked.
Num. 16, gives in detail the sad but instructive history referred
to here. 19. They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the
molten image.
20. Thus they changed their glory into the similitude of
an ox that eateth grass.
The people had become familiar in Egypt with the worship of
the calf, ox, cow. Hence when in their impatience they thought
their leader Moses had failed them, they strangely ignored the God
who had miraculously saved them, and lapsed into the idol-worship
of their late oppressors. The senseless, revolting wickedness of
this is forcibly and tersely set forth; "Thus they changed their
glory" — the glorious God of their fathers and of their national
salvation — " into something resembling a grass-eating ox I " Think
of it — what a change from the former to the latter ! What infinite
absurdities they must have swallowed before they could attempt
such a change, such a substitution 1
21. They forgat God their savior, which had done great
things in Egypt;
22. Wondrous works in the land of Ham, and terrible
things by the Bed sea.
23. Therefore he said that he would destroy them, had
not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, to
turn away his wrath, lest he should destroy them.

436 PSALM CVI.
Before they could do this, they must have strangely forgotten
God their Savior. How accurately the sacred writer touches the
mental process of sinning ! They forgat God. They remembered
not his merciful salvation. Their passion for sin ruled out of their
thought the very things they should have thought of.  The Lord
was so grieved, so offended, so discouraged (shall we say ?) with
this manifestation of ingratitude, forgetfulness, unbelief, that he
said he would destroy the whole nation, arid would have done so
had not Moses " stood before him in the breach." The historic
record (Ex. 32) gives a wonderful illustration of intercessory
prayer. 24. Yea, they despised the pleasant land, they believed not
his word :
25. But murmured in their tents, and hearkened not unto
the voice of the Lord.
26. Therefore he lifted up his hand against them, to
overthrow tliem in the wilderness :
The case of the spies (found historically Num. 13 and 14) is
touched briefly here. The conduct of the ten spies and of the
masses of the people involved two flagrant sins :  (a) They made
light of Canaan itself though it was really a pleasant land ; and
(6) They lacked faith in God s word of promise to give them Canaan.
Their unbelief held God to be a " liar."  " Lifted up his hand " —
in the solemn oath — fulfilled by dooming them to wander forty
years in that desolate wilderness till the sinning generation laid
their bones there. See notes on Ps. 90 and 95.
27. To overthrow their seed also among the nations, and
to scatter them in the lands.
28. They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate
the sacrifices of the dead.
Subsequent generations, because of like sins, were borne from
their land into captivity among Gentile nations. This pun
ishment God had definitely threatened (Lev. 26: 33, 38 and Deut.
28.)  " Theyjjoined themselves" — made the closest affinity, the
word used implies.  Ata the sacrifices offered to dead thincs,
things that never had any life, powerless, senseless.
29. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inven
tions ; and the plague brake in upon them.
30. Then stood up Phineas, and executed judgment :
and so the plague was stayed.
31. And that was counted unto him for righteousness unto
all generations for evermore.
"Inventions," as usual in the Scriptures, not at all in the me
chanical sense, but wholly in tho moral one of new devices for
sinning; here, new gods.  "Phineas executed judgment," i. e.

PSALM CVI. 437
executed the Mosaic law which enjoined summary and extreme
punishment on every one detected in practices connected with idol
atry. The history stands in Num. 25 ; the Mosaic law, Ex. 32 :
27-29 and Deut. 13.  As Phineas distinguished himself in this
case by his zeal for God, so God distinguished him by the special
blessing of an " everlasting priesthood for himself and his pos
terity. 32. They angered him also at the waters of strife, so that
it went ill with Moses for their sakes :
33. Because they provoked his spirit,. so that he spake
unadvisedly with his lips.
The historic facts here referred to implicate Moses. The people
seemed to lose sight of God's hand in bringing them forth from
Egypt, and in feeding them by miracle so long, and charged upon
Moses the responsibility of bringing them into that wilderness to
perish (Num. 20 ; 3, 4). Moses was exasperated. How much of
his excited feeling was personal and how much was a pious regard
for the honor of Jehovah we can not know absolutely, but plainly
the personal part was quite too great and too strong. The Lord
Baid, "Take the rod ; gather the people, thou and Aaron together,
and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes ; and thou shalt bring
forth to them water out of the rock," etc. (vs. 8-13). But, this
once, the meek man Moses " spake unadvisedly." " Hear now, ye
rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" — The word
" we" suggests that Moses had sinfully lost sight of God's hand in
this matter and was making it selfishly personal, as if the sin of
the people were against Moses rather than against God, and the
miraculous power were of his human arm rather than of God's
divine arm alone. And then instead of simply "speaking" to the
rock as the Lord had directed, he lifted up his hand in his strength
and " smote the rock twice." Ah, he did not honor God, and his
sin could not be lightly passed over. In Deut. 3 : 23-26, Moses
gives us the sequel of this case, his prayer that God would let
him go over and see the goodly land, and the final refusal which
shut off all further intercession on this point.
34. They did not destroy the nations, concerning whom
the Lord commanded them :
35. But were mingled among the heathen, and learned
their works.
36. And they served their idols : which were a snare unto
them. 37. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and thejr daughters
unto devils,
38. And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their
sons and of their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the
idols of Canaan : and the land was polluted with blood.

438 PSALM CVI.
The command to exterminate the nations of Canaan rested on
two main grounds, both indicated in this Psalm as well as in the
history; viz. (1) Their horrible, murderous sacrifice of their sons
and daughters to the idols and devils they worshiped : (2) The
moral certainty that the chosen people, living among them, would
be ensnared into these gross, abominable idolatries. The land of
promise was worse than worthless for their inheritance unless the
Canaanites were expelled. Those nations were superior in the
arts of civilized life, and were in a position, therefore, to exert a
dangerous influence on the Hebrew people. Hence the command
rested at once on the law of self-preservation as to Israel, and on
the law of righteous retribution as to the Canaanites in view of
the unendurable barbarities, inevitably begotten of their most cor
rupt forms of idol worship. What lower depth of social and moral
debasement can be conceived of than that which is indicated by
the murderous sacrifice of sons and daughters to the gods they
worshiped ?  This is not the place to discuss the moral charac
ter of God's edict of extermination against the Canaanites. The
reader who studies attentively the abominations spread but with
some detail in Lev. 18, giving due attention to vs. 21-28, will have
the data for comprehending the case. The Lord there represents that
their extermination was not so much of his arbitrary decree as of
the very laws of social life and of humanity; "The land itself
vomiteth out her inhabitants :" " that the land spew not you out
also when ye defile it, as it spewed out the nations that were before
you." They were too, rotten, morally and socially, to live. God's
earth could not bear such awful wickedness. See also Deut. 18:
9-14, and Gen. 15 : 16.
39. Thus they were defiled with their own works, and
went a whoring with their own inventions.
40. Therefore was the wrath of the Lord kindled against
his people, insomuch that he abhorred his own inheritance.
41. And he gave them into the hand of the heathen ; and
they that bated them ruled over them.
42. Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were
brought into subjection under their hand.
The people seduced by the Canaanites whom they had spared,
became self-defiled, and were fast becoming as corrupt as their
corrupters, so that God " abhorred his own inheritance ; " and of
course would not longer protect it against hostile heathen powers.
The passage seems to look specially to the portion of Hebrew his
tory sketched in the book of Judges.
43. Many.times did he deliver them; but they provoked
him with their counsel, and were brought low for their in
iquity. 44. Nevertheless he regarded their aflliction, when he
heard their cry :

PSALM CVII. 439
45. And he remembered for them his covenant, and re
pented according to the multitude of his mercies.
46 He made them also to be pitied of all those that
carried them captives.
The strong point here is that how often soever the people turned
from their sins and besought God's mercy, he heard and saved.
This fact was full of hope for the people of the Psalmist's age —
and of all ages. He who loves to forgive, who is " plenteous in '
mercy to all that call upon him in truth" will surely hear the
humble, imploring cry of those who penitently seek his mercy.
47. Save us, O Lord our God, and gather us from.
among the heathen, to give thanks unto thy holy name,
and to triumph in thy praise.
The moral force of the whole Psalm culminates in this closing
prayer. We. have sinned with our fathers ; we have been a sin
ning nation all along the ages of our national history: let us re
pent deeply and most humbly before the God of our national cov
enant and beseech him to gather us to our father-land again to
give thanks to his name and to triumph in his praise.
48. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting
to everlasting : and let all the people say, Amem Praise-
ye the Loed.
The intensive doxology, common at the close of the several orig
inal books of Psalms, appears here, probably as part of this
Psalm, though in place also as .the close of this Book IV. 
Whether this call to universal praise presupposes a favorable an
swer to the prayer of the verse preceding or not, there was then
and always is infinite reason for universal and unceasing praise.
This Book IV is full of those great facts pertaining to the goodness
and the interposing mercy of God which are for evermore the
rational ground of praise to the Great Father and Lord of all.
PSALM CVII.
This Psalm commences the fifth and last book of the Psalter.
There can be no doubt that it was compiled after, the restoration
from exile in Babylon, probably ¦ by. Ezra and his associates.
In respect to the authorship of the ninety-four Psalms composing
this Book V, it may be well to say here in general; that fifteen
bear the name of David ; viz., Ps. 108-110; 122; 124; 131 ; 133;
138-145. One [Ps. 127] is ascribed to Solomon. All the rest are
anonymous. It may be assumed that these were written by the
compilers whose modesty withheld their names, and that of course
they belong properly to the age of the restoration. Of those

440 PSALM CVII.
which bear the name of David, one (Ps. 108) is manifestly made
up of parts taken from two of his Psalms which appear in the
earlier books. Whether the others bear his name solely because
written in imitation of his Psalms ; or as some suppose, because
written by some king on his throne, of his royal line ; or whether
they escaped the notice of the compilers of Books I and II but
subsequently came to light ; or whether they were once included
in the first two books, but were subsequently transferred to this
because of their special fitness to these times; in general, why
they appear here and not in Book I or H, I doubt if we have
the means of determining with certainty. The question does not
. at all affect their divine authority and inspiration, and therefore
has only secondary importance. Much might be said in favor of
the various hypotheses here suggested; but the data for absolute
certainty seem to me to be wanting. Doubtful speculation would
be of small profit
In Ps. 107, the otie leading idea — a call to praise the Lord for
his mercy and for his wonderful works to men — puts it in the
closest cwnnection of thought and theme with the four that next
precede it, making with them a cluster of five praise-Psalms. This
fact does not prove that they were all written by the same man or
at the same time. A subsequent author might have written any
. later Psalm and especially this one, having the previous Psalms
before him and designing.to fill out the same comprehensive theme
with new facts, or with old facts put in new aspects.  Vs. 2, 3,
of this Psalm suffice to locate it after the return from the exile.
They show that it was composed to celebrate in the songs of the
sanctuary this signal mercy to their nation. The closing thought
of Psalm 106, contemplated the people in their political bondage,
and offered prayer for their deliverance. Fitly this Psalm follows
immediately, opening the collection made up after the return from
exile, assuming that the prayer was then answered and called for
the offering of praise.  A little attention to the structure of this
Psalm will disclose a very peculiar order and method. Four times,
(viz. vs. 8, 15, 21, 31,) we have what may be called a refrain, in the
same words ; " O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness
and for his wonderful works to the children of men." An equal
number of times we have with only the slightest variation the
words — " Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he
delivered them out of their distresses," [vs. 6, 13, 19, 28]. Obvi
ously the Psalm adduces four distinct cases of affliction, saying
somewhat the same things of each; viz., (1). Houseless wanderers
in the desert, hungry, thirsty and faint : (2) Prisoners in bonds :
(3) men dangerously sick: (4) seafaring men, in. storm and life-
peril. These four sections of the Psalm close respectively with vs.
9, 16, 22, 32.  Now exegetically the main question of the Psalm
-is whether these four cases of affliction are treated independently
as so many varieties of suffering through which men pass with
similar experiences of distress, prayer for help, and praises for

PSALM CVII. 441
redeeming mercy ; or whether they are only different illustrations
designed to set forth the one great affliction of the recent exile. 
The manner in which they are introduced and spoken of respect
ively does not forbid the former supposition ; but the opening and
closing of the Psalm and its manifest primary reference to the res
toration from the exile strongly favor the latter.
1. O give thanks unto the Loed, for he is good : for his
mercy endureth forever. fi
2. Let the redeemed of the Loed say so, whom he hath
redeemed from the hand of the enemy ;
3. And gathered them out of the iands, from the east,
and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
The first verse gives the scope of the whole song — a coll for
thanks and praise for God's goodness and enduring mercies. 
The " gathering out of all lands," can be applied justly to nothing
less than the great restoration from Babylon and the East.  The
last word in v. 3 translated " the south " is strictly the sea.
4. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way:
they fouud no city to dwell in.
5. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
6. Then they cried unto the Loed in their trouble, and
he delivered them out of their distresses.
7. And he led them forth by the right way, that they
might go to a city of habitation.
This seems to be a description of the weary journeyings of the
captives, torn away from home and country. In their extreme dis
tress they cried to God for help. In due time he heard and saved.
8. . Oh that men would praise the Loed for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works to the children of men !
9. For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hun
gry soul with goodness.
The refrain calls appropriately for praise in view of this great
mercy ; while v. 9 follows with the reasons in brief for this offering
of praise.
10. Such as sit in darkness aud in the shadow of death,
being bound in affliction and iron ;
11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and
contemned the counsel of the Most High :
12. Therefore he brought down their heart with labor ;
they fell down, and there was none to help.
13. Then they cried unto the Loed in their trouble, and
he saved them out of their distresses.

442 PSALM CVII.
14. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of
death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works to the children of men !
16. For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the
bars of iron in sunder.
On the whole I prefer to consider these verses as suggesting a
new4Hustration of the case of the exiles. They were captives, and
figuratively if not literally were in bonds.  It should be noted
that the song shows that the reason of this affliction was the great
sin of the people. They rebelled against God's word and con
temned his counsel. The book of Jeremiah discloses this fact
most fully and painfully.
17. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of
their iniquities, are afflicted.
18. Their soul abhorretb all manner of meat ; and they
draw near unto the gates of death.
19. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and
he saveth them out of their distresses.
20. He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered
them from their destructions.
21. Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works to the children of men !
22. And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare his works with rejoicing.
Personal sickness, utter loss of appetite and strength, afford
another illustration of their case. Sin as the antecedent cause
stands at the head of this showing.  In v. 17, "are afflicted"
should have the reciprocal serise — afflict, themselves — bring affliction
upon themselves by their own act.
23. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi
ness in great waters ;
24. These see the works of the Loed, and his wonders
in the deep.
25. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Seafaring men are sometimes in straits.- Their case, most
graphically described, affords another illustration.  In v. 24,
"These see," the first word is made in Hebrew especially em
phatic: these, if none others; these perhaps more than any others,
see the works and wonders of the Lord.  Note here, it is God's
simple word that raiseth the storm and lifteth high the waves of
the sea.

PSALM CVII. 443
26,. They mount up to the heaven, they go down again
to the depths: their soul is. melted because of trouble.
27. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken
man, and are at their wit's end.
This description of shipmen in a storm is classic in all lan
guages. Now they are borne up to the heaven on the mountain
wave; now pitched down to the depths as if they were going
into the very bowels of the earth; reeling, swaying; and their
wisdom swallowed up [Hebrew].
28. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and
he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves
thereof are still.
30. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he
bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31. Oh that men would, praise the Lord for his good
ness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men !
32. Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the
people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
Then, O how they cry to God for help! Men that never prayed
before, skeptics who had scorned all faith in prayer, are on their
knees in supplication. God hears and saves.  In ' v. 30, they,
the men of the sea, are glad because, not themselves, but the
waves, are quiet again.  Now let them gather in the great as
sembly with public praise for God's delivering mercies.
33. He turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-
springs into dry ground ;
34. A fruitful land into barrenness, for the wickedness
of them that dwell therein.
35. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and
dry ground into water-springs.
36. And there he maketh the hungry to dwell, that they
may prepare a city for habitation ;
37. And sow the fields, and plant vineyards, which may
yield fruits of increase.
38. He blesseth them also, so that they are multiplied
greatly ; and suffereth not their cattle to decrease.
39. Again, they are minished, and brought low through
oppression, affliction, and sorrow.
The central idea here is that God has such absolute control over
the realm of nature that he can utterly reverse its course, and so
reverse the circumstances of our lot ; changing rivers to dryness ;
the fruitful land to barrenness ; or again, the drought to copious

444 PSALM CVIII.
waterings, and the barren soil to exuberant fertility. All is in
his hand.
40. He poureth contempt upon princes, and causeth them
to wander in the wilderness, wliere there is no way.
41. Yet setteth he the poor on high from affliction, and
maketh him families like a flock.
So, also, high station and great power as men count things great,
can not save the wicked from his judgments. He can lay princes
low, and exalt the poor to a state of manifold blessings.
42. The righteous shall see it, and rejoice : and all in
iquity shall stop her mouth.
43. Whoso is wise, and will observe these tilings, even
they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.
Such great facts in God's rule in nature and providence bring
joy to his trustful, obedient people, and shut the mouth of all the
wicked. It was God's purpose — pre-eminently so in the early ages
of our world — to rule so that observing men should certainly see
that there is a, God — a God who rules in righteousness and awards
retribution — evil on the wicked — blessings upon the just.  Let
men open their eyes and observe God's ways ; so they will surely
see his loving-kindness to his people ; and his indignation against
the wicked.
PSALM CVIII.
This Psalm, ascribed to David, is made up of two selections from
Psalms of David found in Book II. Vs. 1-5 appear in almost
identical words in Ps. 57 : 8-12 ; while vs. 6-12, in like manner,
stand in Ps. 60 : 5-12. The first selection expresses in strongest
terms the writer's consecration of heart to God and also his spirit
of praise and adoration : the second implores divine help against
combined national enemies, coupled with strong assurance of vic
tory through the arm of God alone. The combination of these
two selections suggests that whenever the king and his people
have the spirit of the first selection, they may be sure of the re
sults indicated in the last. Thus understood, the Psalm in this
form became every way pertinent to the restored Jews in the time
of Nehemiah in their relations to their national enemies.  Some
critics suppose that this Psalm in its present form was made up
by David himself, late in his life. It seems to me more probable that
the making up, by selection as above shown, was done by Ezra
or the men of his time.  The two portions that compose this
Psalm having been commented on in their place, it only remains
to note the variations between the texts here and there.

PSALM CVIII. 445
1. O God, my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise,
even with my glory.
2. Awake, psaltery and harp : I myself will awake early.
3. I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people : and I
will sing praises unto thee among the nations.
4. For thy mercy is great above the heavens : and thy
truth reacheth unto' the clouds.
5. Be thou exalted, 0 God, above the heavens : and thy
glory above all the earth ;
In Ps. 57 David repeats the words, " my heart is fixed," but
omits " even with my glory." But in the verses corresponding to
our v. 2 he repeats the Word "awake " (not repeated nere), and
then introduces "my glory;" These may be taken as samples of
the variations — all practically unimportant, yet sufficing to show
that the transcription of the one into the other did not secure,
perhaps did not attempt, perfect accuracy. The thought was
more cared for than the words; the words more than their pre
cise order.
6. That thy beloved may be delivered : save with thy right
hand, and answer me.
7. God hath spoken in his holiness ; I will rejoice, I will
divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.
8. Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is
the strength of mine head ; Judah is my lawgiver ;
9. Moab is my washpot ; over Edom will I cast out my
shoe ; over Philistia will I triumph.
10. Who will bring me into the strong city? who will
lead me into Edom ?
11. Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt
not thou, O.God, go forth with our hosts?
12. Give us help from trouble : for vain is the help of
man. 13. " Through God we shall do valiantly : for he it is that
shall tread down our enemies.
The most considerable variations in the entire Psalm occur in
v. 9; here, "over Philistia will I triumph;" in Ps. 60, "Philistia,
triumph thou because of me," or by a better translation, "Tri
umph thou over me," which may be either ironical, or it may take
this turn : Triumph thou in the general joy over my victory. The
passage, as it stands in Ps. 108, gives the true sense in no ambig
uous words.

446 PSALM CIX.

PSALM CIX.
This Psalm is ascribed to David, and has strong affinities with other
Psalms of his ; e. g., Ps. 35, and 58 and 69. It is customarily placed at
the head of the class called " the Imprecatory Psalms," distinguished
for their imprecations of judgment upon the wicked. The pas
sages of this character in the Psalm before us are remarkable
for extent, variety of phrase, and intensity (vs. 6-20, 28, 29). 
If we may suppose that David's thought is chiefly upon some
one individual enemy, it may have been Saul, or Absalom, or
Ahithophel. Ezra and Nehemiah, taking up this Psalm from
David's hand, and virtually making it their own by placing it in
their collection, may have had their eye on Sanballat the Horon-
ite (Neh.. 6 : 1-14).  The work of the commentator on this
Psalm is in two parts: (1) To explain special words and phrases;
(2) To put in its true light the subject (perplexing to many) of im
precations upon the wicked.  Some remarks on the latter point
have been made above in notes on Ps. 35 and 58 and 69 : 27, 28.
1. Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise ;
2. For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the
deceitful are opened against me : they have spoken against
me with a lying tongue.
3. They compassed me about also with words of hatred ;
and fought against me without a cause.
A child of God under rancorous persecution cries to his Father
for help. Great stress is laid upon the slanderous and false
charges with which they sought his ruin. The same point is.
prominent throughout the Psalms which treat of Saul's persecu
tion.  "God of my praise" — thou God whom it has been my
joy to praise in sacred song.
4. For my love they are my adversaries l but I give my
self unto prayer.
In requital for my love to them, they play the part of Satan
against me. The Hebrew for " my adversaries " is a verb— the
same from which the word Satan is derived.  The last clause
is strikingly concise : "but I . . . . prayer." As for me, my heart
is all prayer. I cry to God for help constantly, to strengthen me
against temptation and shield me from this hot and malign perse
cution.. Christians have need, under such circumstances, to pray
without ceasing that God would help them keep their heart right.
Let us believe that this was one chief point in David's perpetual
prayer. 5. And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred
for my love.
This was true of either Saul or Absalom as toward David. It

PSALM CIX. 447
is in human nature, however much sanctified, to feel deeply aggrieved
by such requital of evil for good. It is simply impossible that the
heart should not be pained by such ingratitude and shocked by
such wickedness. Such sin calls loudly for retribution, and all
the elements in the character of God compel him to hear the call.
Let it not surprise us that his people, sympathizing with him, have
a like sense of the fitness of retribution for such sin.
6. Set thou a wicked man over him ; and let Satan stand
at his right hand.
The Hebrew word for " Satan " means an adversary — one who
hates and seeks to harm. The position at the right hand, for him,
is that of an accuser. See > Zech. 3 : 1 and Rev. 12 : 10.  The
sentiment is: Let him who acts the part of Satan toward me know
in his own case what it is to have a Satan at his right hand, over
him, with the heart to hate and the power to harm.  The second
verb is in form future, raising the important question whether it
is mere prediction or prayer. In Hebrew the future form is some
times imperative, and is normally so when preceded, as here, by
an imperative. The future forms continue mostly onward to the
end of v. 11, this first imperative (" Set thou ") throwing its influ
ence over the whole passage.
7. When he shall be judged, let him be condemned :
and let his prayer become sin.
When he shall be judged, let him go forth from the court a
condemned man, and let his prayer to the court for mercy be a
failure — miss its aim, is the original sense of the Hebrew word.
8. Let his days be few ; and let another take his office.
' This individual enemy is assumed to be in some position of re
sponsibility. The Psalmist prays that he may die soon, and a
better man take his official place. The Apostle Peter (Ac. 1 : 20)
applies this to the traitor Judas. The words were pertinent to his
case and therefore chosen.
9. Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.
10. Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg :
let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places.
By the laws of nature and by the constitution of society it is
almost inevitable that children suffer because of the sins of their
parents, not however by direct but by indirect retribution. The .
direct retribution involved in their suffering is upon the parent.
It goes to embitter the dregs of his cup.
11. Let the extortioner catch all that he hath ; and let
the strangers spoil his labor.
" Catch as with a snare " — by cunning arts.  " His labor " here

448 PSALM CIX.
represents the fruit of his labor, both ideas, labor, and tho fruit
thereof, being included in the same Hebrew word.
12. Let there be none to extend mercy unto him : neither
let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
13. Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation
following let their name be blotted out.
Both verbs in v. 12, and in the first in v. 13, are in the apocopate
form which by usage demands the optative, imperative construction.
Future forms come after, but by the laws of the language, must
follow the strain of the verb that precedes.
14. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered with
the Loed ; and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15. Let them be before the Loed continually, that he
may cut off the memory of them from the earth.
16. Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but
persecuted the poor and needy man, that he might even slay
the broken in heart.
V. 16 assigns the reason : Because they would show no mercy,
let no mercy be shown them. Because they chased down (Hebrew)
the afflicted and heart-broken, even to slaughter, let their retribu
tion be just and thorough, following their name and their posterity
till their memory is blotted from the earth.  These conceptions —
a- sinner punished in his posterity; punished also by the sin of his
father and of his mother coming down upon him— are deeply
tinged with the oriental character. They are peculiar, not merely
as being terribly strong, but as involving the sentiinent that a man
lives in the glory of his ancestry and in the glory of his posterity,
and therefore his punishment may be knit together with theirs.
17. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him : as he
delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.
18. As he clothed himself with cursing like as with his
garment, so let it come into his bowels like water, and like
oil into his bones.
A close and faithful adherence to the legitimate sense of the
original is the first duty of the commentator, whether the result
be or be not to his taste. _ I have sought to follow this rule in the
verses above, where the imperative and apocopated forms of the
verb demanded the construction of prayer as distinct from predic
tion. Now we come upon grammatical forms (in vs. 17, 18) which
are simply historical, and not at all imperative or optative, i. e.,
which are not prayer, nor even prediction. The only proper ren
dering is on this wise : " And he even loved cursing, and conse
quently [or, then] it came upon him ; and he did not love blessing,
and consequently it kept aloof from him. He even put on cursing

PSALM CIX. 449
as his long outer robe, and consequently it came like water into
his bowels and like oil into his bones.  " Loved' cursing " —
loved to curse others ; therefore cursing came with terrible power
upon him. He had no love of conferring blessings; therefore
blessings did not love to come near him. As he lived in an atmos
phere of cursing (we might say), but the orientalmind puts it — he
girt it about him as his robe, therefore he had his fill of it, as
water might fill his stomach and oil his bones. That is, God has
impressed the law of retribution, (1) upon the soul of man so that
it helps to work out this result;  (2) upon human society so that
man's social nature and relations help forward this' result;  and
(3) upon the agencies of his own providential government so that
they bring up toward completeness and fullness the results of righte
ous and terrible retribution. • " Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall
he also reap." The historic fact is the thing affirmed in these
verses. 19. Let it be unto him as the garment which covereth
him, and for a girdle wherewith he is girded continually.
20. Let this be the reward of mine adversaries from the
Loed, and of them that speak evil against my soul.
Here the first verb is an apocopated form, of which the proper
translation is : " Be this to him as a garment that shall invest him,
and for a girdle which he shall gird about himself continually.
This the reward of my haters from the Lord," etc. In v. 20 we
have no verb expressed, and must normally supply the next pre
ceding one. The sentiment is — Let all the influences and agencies
that work out retribution for sin take effect upon the wicked men
who have slandered me and sought my ruin.  The moral quality
of this state of mind under his circumstances will be considered
at the close of the Psalm.
21. But do thou for me, O God the Lord, for thy name's
sake : because thy mercy is good, deliver thou me.
22. For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded
within me.
The sudden transition is strongly indicated by the emphatic
" Thou" at the head of the sentence. But all unlike my wicked
haters, Thou, 0 Lord my God, art my Refuge ; show mercy to me ;
execute, do, by thine interposing arm, for thy name's sake. The
grounds of his plea are (1) God s great and good mercy ; (2) His
own utter weakness, and his smitten, suffering state.  " My heart
wounded," pierced as with daggers.
23. I am gone like the shadow when it declineth : I am
tossed up and down as the locust.
As shadows far stretched out soon go utterly from view, so I
am almost gone. The tossing up and down of the locust alludes

450 PSALM CIX.
to the strong winds which were God's agents in nature for driving
them away upon seas or other lands.
24. My knees are weak through fasting; and my flesh
faileth of fatness.
Perhaps his afflictions from persecuting enemies were aggravated
by wasting sickness or the infirmities of age, as in the times of
Adonijah.  " Flesh faileth of fatness ; " becomes lean, emaciated.
25. I became also a reproach unto them: when they
looked upon me they shaked their heads.
26. Help me, O Loed my God : O save me according to
thy mercy :
27. That they may know that this is 'thy hand ; tliat thou,
Loed, hast done it.
The word " I " is made emphatic here by writing the pronoun
as in the case of "Thou" (v. 21). As for me, I became a butt of
ridicule to them ; they will look at me and will wag the head " —
these verbs being future.  " Save me according to thy mercy "
[which will surely be a great and notable salvation], " and they
will know " [future] ; they can not fail to know — " that this is thy
hand" etc. He longs to have God's interposing hand in his
deliverance so signally conspicuous that they shall surely see it,
and shall know that God approves the right as warmly as he
abhors the wrong.
28. Let them curse, but bless thou : when they arise, let
them be ashamed ; but let thy servant rejoice.
29. Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame ; and let
them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a
mantle. It is better here to translate with grammatical precision, on
this wise : " They will curse, but Thou wilt bless : they have risen
up" [as mine enemies,] "and consequently were confounded; but
thy servant" [myself, because I am thy servant] "will rejoice.
My haters will be clothed with shame; they will cover themselves
with their own disgrace as with a mantle."
30. I will greatly- praise the Loed with my mouth ; yea,
I will praise him among the multitude.
31. For he shall stand at the right hand of the poor, to
save him from those that condemn his soul.
The tenses throughout these verses aro future, as they were
throughout vs. 28, 29. Here [not there] our English version has
rendered them accurately.  The sentiment — 1 will 'praise the
Lord, my Deliverer, with voice and tongue and before the great
congregation, because I know he will stand for the help of the
innocent, defenseless ones, to save them from their mortal foes.

PSALM CIX. 451
It now remains to speak of the imprecations in this Psalm —
those passages which invoke punishments or judgments, upon the
wicked.  The attentive reader will have noticed that, in my
view our English version gives the imprecatory sense in several
passages where the original does not. With all respect for those
excellent men, I marvel that they should have erred on that side.
I do not wonder that they should stand squarely and firmly up to
the demands of the original tongue ; but only that they should
have gone beyond those demands. The true mission of the trans
lator as of the expositor is to meet those demands with the utmost
possible precision, it being the function of God only to speak the
word ; of his servants, honestly to interpret.  There is real im
precation in this Psalm, and we are now to inquire into its moral
character considered as the utterance of the author : Is it, or is it
not, consistent with Christian love, with the spirit of the gospel of
Christ?  The subject has broad applications; e. g., to the ques
tion, Will the holy in heaven acquiesce in the punishment of
the wicked in hell — even the saved father in the doom of a son in
corrigibly wicked and hopelessly lost?
The solution of this great question turns on a power of mind
common to all intelligent moral agents by which we are able to
contemplate any other moral agent variously, holding him before
our mind, now in one light, now in another, according to the feat
ures which are prominent in his case, as thus : We are able to
love the man and hate the sinner; to love him thought of as man ;
but to hate, not his conduct only but himself, its responsible
author, thought of simply as a destroyer of other's happiness.
Thinking of him as a sentient being, capable of happiness and of
misery, we desire his happiness; we deprecate his misery; but
thinking of him as the deliberate and sworn foe and destroyer of
all happiness, even to his utmost power, we wish and pray that
God's retribution may seize upon him, arrest his career of mis
chief, and make his sufferings exemplary for the restraint of others
like-minded toward evil. The traitor in arms against his country
we shoot down and spare not: the same rebel, wounded, disarmed,
and at our mercy, we spare and lift up as swiftly as we smote
him when in arms. Thinking of man as a fellow-creature, as one
whose sensibilities to joy or woe are like our own, we love his
welfare and mourn over his fall ; but thinking of him as the enemy
of God, as the determined foe of all real, high, and noble blessed
ness in the universe, our indignation is bound to rise against him ;
we can not suppress it ; we are false to the highest interests of
truth and right if we disapprove or restrain it. "Do not I hate
them, O God, who hate thee? 1 hate them with perfect hatred; I
count them, not thine enemies only,1 but mine." [Ps. 139: 21, 22.]
 Assuring now that David wrote this Psalm and had his eye
on Saul or Ahithophel as the " Satan," the malign enemy, seeking
to break down his reputation by lies and to take his life by vio
lence, it is quite vital to our main question to ask — Did David hate

452 PSALM CIX.
Saul as a man, or did he simply withstand him in self-defense, and
abhor his murderous spirit as' intrinsically base and therefore
worthy of reprobation ? Did he hate Ahithophel, thought of sim
ply as a fellow-being ; or rather, did he detest his treachery and
ingratitude, and execrate his base plots against his life-long friend
and benefactor?  The history gives a beautiful record as to
David's spirit toward Saul. Once and again, while in armed pur
suit of David and bent on his death, he fell into David's power, yet
only to bring out the noble magnanimity and the pure benevolence
of David's heart toward him. And when he fell slain on Mt. Gil-
boa, no heart in all Israel bemoaned his fate more deeply than
David's. It would almost seem that this touching narrative (2
Sam. I :) was put on record to help us interpret these impreca
tory Psalms of David; i. e., to show that, personally, David's heart
was nobly generous and singularly exempt from all malign feeling
toward his worst public enemies. But thinking of Saul, as sel
fishly, madly, malignly bent on taking his life, and for this end
upon destroying his good name first, he could not do less than
withstand him; nay more, he could not do less than reprobate his
wicked spirit. David had a right to live and he knew it. God
had a right to call him to the throne of Israel, and David had
really no right to decline the call. Hence God was with David
and David was (in sympathy) with God in the measures taken to
plant David in due time upon that throne. The enemies to this
measure were at once the enemies of David and of God. Viewed
as such enemies, David ought to pray for their defeat and for their
just punishment. His case illustrates the broad principle that it
is within our power as moral beings to love a fellow-creature con
sidered simply as such, while we detest and hate him for his an
tagonism against God and against others' happiness. We love him
as sentient, but hate him as wicked ; love him in view of his per
sonal happiness ; but hate him in view of his guilty hostility to
others' happiness, his hostility to God and to all that is good. 
If now this distinction has been made plain to the reader, he will
see its bearing upon the moral attitude of all the holy in heaven
toward the lost in their eternal doom. The necessity and the re- -
sponsibilities of civil government in this world of crime furnish
apt illustration. The men of largest, purest benevolence are the
best men to frame criminal law; the best men to administer it
from the bench ; the best men to execute it in prison, in peniten
tiary, or upon the scaffold. Solemnly and firmly, wit}} tender
compassion, yet with unflinching fidelity, they may love the cul
prit, but they must inflict the penalty he deserves. In the right
eous demands of law they acquiesce simply because there is a
greater good behind which must be protected by the lesser sacri
fice of the guilty criminal. Under the stress of a necessity which
they deplore, they say from the bottom of their heart — The guilty
man must die; we should deprecate his escape; in behalf of all
society and of universal good, we feel a sense of relief when jus-

PSALM OX. 453
tice exacts the murderer's life — blood for blood.  The tribunal
of the Supreme Judge of the universe differs from this only as
being perfect and universal. Justice is the same thing there as
here. Benevolence is the same. The ultimate question, there
fore, is reduced to this : Shall God reign, or shall Satan ? Shall
the right triumph, or the wrong? Shall the innocent be pro
tected, or the guilty ; the good in heart, or the evil ? And to our
present point; — Where shall our sympathies be ; with God, or
with his enemies ? This is the ultimate question, beyond which
we have no occasion to go.

PSALM CX.
This Psalm, short but rich in thought, is ascribed to David. It
bears the impress of the same hand which wrote Ps. 2, and is
fitly considered its counterpart. As there the Messiah was set
forth as a conqueror, subduing all his foes and receiving the na
tions as his inheritance, so here he rules over his enemies, sub
dues the kings of the nations, and especially, bears the office of
priest as well as king. This latter is additional to what we have
in Ps. 2 — a step in advance in the progress of doctrine in respect
to the person and work of the Great Messiah. It appears in the
later prophet Zechariah (6 : 13), and may be foreshadowed in
Isa. 53.  This Psalm is applied to the Messiah by the Jewish
fathers ; by the very early Syriac version in the words : " A pro
phecy of Christ's victory over his enemies " ; and, higher than all
other testimony, by Jesus himself (Mat. 22: 41, and Mk. 12: 35,
and Lk. 20: 41). These passages show that the Jews of that age
recognized their expected Messiah in this Psalm, and also that
Jesus applied the Psalm to himself in an argument which none of
his opponents could resist.  Furthermore, the New Testament
writers repeatedly recognize and honor this Psalm as referring to
Christ by their application to him of the words, " Sit at my right
hand." No special eniphasis should be given to the word " sit "
as compared with any other posture ; position at the right hand
is the main thing. Hence Stephen saw him " standing at the
right hand of God " (Ac. 7: 56), and Paul (Rom. 8 :_ 34) has it
simply, " is at the right hand," etc. Sitting, however, is the usual
posture of royalty; a king sits on his throne. See other New
Testament references, in Mat. 26 : 64, and Eph. 1 : 20, and Heb.
1: 3, 13 and 8: 1, and 10: 12, and 1 Pet. 3: 22, and Rev. 3: 21.
 Another corresponding class of New Testament passages in
dorses the words, " make thine enemies thy footstool ;" e. g., 1
Cor. 15 : 25, and Eph. 1 : 22, and Heb. 10 : 13.  To these should
be added the strong Bupport given to the Messianic interpreta
tion of this Psalm by the allusion to his priesthood as taught
here in v. 4. The writer to the Hebrews makes this point strik
ingly emphatic CHeb. 5 : 6-10, and 6 : 20, and 7 : and. 8). In-
20

454 PSALM CX.
deed chapters 7 and 8 are a full discourse upon this v. 4 as
the text, amplifying the subject in its numerous bearings. Noth
ing more need be said to sustain the Messianic character of
this Psalm, or to show its commanding place in the gospel sys
tem of doctrine concerning Jesus Christ. Yet the subject would
not be exhausted short of a careful comparison of numerous New
Testament passages which assert another of the. grand senti
ments of this Psalm, viz., the ultimate victory of King Messiah
over all his enemies — a fact which appears frequently in the Epis
tles, but nowhere in more majestic outlines than in the Revelation
of John.
1. The Loed said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
" The Lord [Hebrew] Jehovah.  The Hebrew word for
"saith" is used only for prophetic declarations: literally, the
announcement of Jehovah; the thing prophetically foretold. See
Jer. 23: 30, 31, which shows that the false prophets stole this
phrase from the true prophets, and thereby incurred the Lord's
special indignation.  "Unto my Lord" — who yet was David's
Son. That the Messiah was David's Son is not affirmed in this
Psalm, but was earliest foretold in 2 Sam. 7, and often thence
forward ; was wrought into the entire web of Hebrew genealogy,
and appears prominently in prophecy, e. g., Isa. 11: 1, 10, and
Jer. 23: 5 and 30: 9, and Ezek. 34: 23,' 24, and 37: 24, 25, and
Hos. 3 : 5. There is not the least doubt that this was the well
understood faith of the Jews in our Savior's time.  The argu
ment of our Savior with the Jews turns upon the sentiment, ever
held in honor among the patriarchal people, that terms of high re
spect, reverence, and authority, were appropriately used by sons
of their fathers, but not by fathers of their sons. How then should
David call one who was his Son his Lord ? This argument of our
Savior was a claim to a nature higher than human, of which Ps. 2
was explicit prophetic authority. Jehovah said to him, "Thou art
my Son " I  " Sit' thou at my right hand." The right hand being
a natural emblem of power, to be near the right hand of one stronst
to save implies assured protection. The Psalms abound in cases
falling under this principle ; e. g., Ps. 109 : 31 — " For he [God]
shall stand at the right hand of the poor to save," etc. Also Ps.
16 : 8, " Because he [the Lord] is at my right hand, 1 shall not be
moved." Also Ps. 73 : 23, and 121 : 5.  But the passage before
us means more than this. Sitting here supposes a throne and the
sitting is that of aking, of one enthroned in: equal majesty and
honor. The Messiah is not there to be personally protected, but
to be invested with the purple of the heavenly kingdom, to reign
jointly with the Father.  "Until I make thine enemies thy foot
stool —the Almighty arm being pledged to this result, and the
promise good till it shall be achieved. What is beyond and after
this result is not said here.  That complete subjugation lies in
this figure — "thine enemies thy footstool seems to come from the

PSALM CX. 455
usage's of ancient warfare, of which we have traces in Josh. 10 :
24, and Isa. 26: 6, and Mai. 4: 3.
2. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of
Zion : rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
"Rod," an instrument for chastising, an emblem of power.
Here the phrase means — Thy strong rod. Its " going forth from
Zion" indicates either that Zion had been, under the ancient
economy, the place of God's visible abode — the God revealed
under that economy being no other than the Eternal Son ; or that
his militant people would go forth from Zion, soldiers in his mar
tial campaign. The latter seems most in harmony with the strain
of the passage.  The " ruling " expressed by the Hebrew word
here contemplates force in the subjection of enemies.
3. Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in
the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning :
thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Nothing could be more foreign from the true sense of these
words than the assumption, sometimes made, that this force is
exerted upon his people to bring them into obedience. The real
meaning of "the clause is the very opposite of this. " Thy people
shall be free-will offerings, like that class of offerings under the
Mosaic law which were required by no vow and by no specific
statute, but were offered by any pious Israelite spontaneously. 
"Day of thy power" is no other than the day of thy going forth
to war against thy foes — martial power being the exact sense of
the word. Thy people shall be volunteers in the day of thy. war
against thine enemies.  " In the beauties of holiness " means
primarily in holy garments, like those of the priesthood. Yet the
ultimate sense is doubtless — with holy hearts, with spirits conse
crated and devoted in love and sincerity to their Lord.  The
principal pause of the verse should come in here rather than after
the word " morning."  All critics acknowledge difficulties in the
last half of this verse. Undeniably we have here the bold but
beautiful poetic conception that the morning brings forth as from
its womb the dew — an emblem of freshness, vigor, and beauty.
Then the choice lies between these two constructions: (1) Taking
"youth " to mean young men, and giving the word for "from" its
very common sense — more than — we have this construction and
meaning : More than the dew-drops of the morning are the vigor
ous young men of thy martial hosts.  (2) Taking " youth " in its
usual sense, and referring it to the Messiah himselij we have this :
As by the dew from the womb of morning, thy youth is sustained
evermore in its freshness and beauty.  *-0f the best critics, some
favor the one and some th.e other of these two constructions. The
former has for its support that it holds the same subject before
the mind throughout the verse — the Messiah's people, ready, strong,
and in countless hosts for his spiritual warfare : also that the com-

456 PSALM OK.
parison of a multitudinous army to tho fallen dewdrops is not
unknown to the Hebrew mind. (See 2 Sam. 17: 12). The latter
has for its chief support the more common usage of the word
"youth." The former has my preference.  -AH this looks
toward the certain and 'glorious victory of King Messiah over his
foes, and gives us a glowing view of the marshaled hosts of his
people, prompt, cheerfully ready, and eager for the conflict; going
forth in the beauties of inward holiness ; countless in number, and
clothed in the freshness and beauty of youthful strength evermore
renewed like the eagle's by waiting in humble faith on their Lord.
4. The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
The allusion to the "holy garments" worn by his people
[" beauties of holiness "] seems to have suggested the great idea
of this verse — the perpetual priesthood of the Messiah. The re
markable fact of his character is that he is at once Priest and King.
Neither function interferes with the other; both are held and
exercised in their perfection. A Priest — himself the one great
sacrifice ; and this having been made once for all, then ascending
on high and ever living to be the Mediator and High Priest of his
people : — such are the staple facts in this class" of his functions as
given in the epistle to the Hebrews [chap. 7], developed there from
this prophecy as its text. But together with these functions of the
priest, he is also and none the less a Mighty King, clothed with
all requisite power, marshaling the hosts of his conquering
army, and certain of complete and glorious victory.  " After the
order of Melchizedek," who seems to have been both priest and
king. (See Gen. 14: 18-20). He had moreover this other pecul
iarity—that unlike the lineal priesthood of Aaron, running from
father to son through long successive generations, he stands one
and alone, the record giving no word as to his ancestry or pos
terity — no light as" to his birth or his death. Strictly by the record,
he stands before us " without beginning of days or end of years " —
fit emblem, therefore, of Christ's everlasting priesthood.
5. The Lord at thy right hand shall strike through kings
in the day of his wrath.
The appearance of solecism in placing both Father and Son
each at the right hand of the other, will be obviated by assuming
that the words in v. 1 and here are only figurative, indicating
rather their mutual relations- than their position in reference to
each other. The diversity in phrase is apparently due to the
change of speaker. In v. 1, the Father addresses the Son. In v.
5 the Psalmist speaks. "The Lord at thy right hand" means
only — The Jehovah who befriends and sustains Thee.  " Shall
strike through kings," and by implication, their subjects no less. No
opposing power can withstand him. Nations shall be subdued to

PSALM CXI. 457
Messiah's scepter. As said in Ps. 2; "Ask of me, and I will give
thee the heathen" [the nations] "for thine inheritance."
6. He shall judge among the heathen, be shall fill the
places with the dead bodies ; he shall wound the heads over
many countries.
7. He shall drink of the brook in the way: therefore
shall he lift up the head.
" Shall judge " — in his exalted functions as universal King and
Lord. His foes fall in slaughtered heaps, over vast countries.
This carries out the conception of deadly war — the figure here, as
in Ps. 2, being taken from the martial life of King David. How
far the ultimate thought is physical destruction of enemies, and how
far their spiritual subjection by the power of truth and love, we
could not determine absolutely from these Psalms alone ; but are
thrown upon other collateral prophecies for the light we need
upon this question. A store-house of explanatory truth on this
point may be found in Isaiah; witness chap. 9 : 1-7, and 11 : 1-10,
42: 1-7, and. 55: 6-13, and 61: 1-3, etc., etc.  "Shall drink
of the brook in the way " — " faint, yet pursuing ;" refreshing him
self by quick draughts of water in his hot pursuit, and then onto
victory I Therefore shall he raise high the head in the triumph
of complete success. His untiring zeal, his resistless spirit, in
sure his glorious triumph.
PSALM CXI.
This and the two succeeding Psalms are a group of praise-
Psalms, each commencing with " Hallelu-Jah " — praise -ye Jab,
i. £., Jehovah. This clause indicates the theme and purpose of
each song, viz., to set forth the glorious works of the Lord as the
ground and reason why'he should be praised.  This Psalm is
an acrostic on the Hebrew Alphabet, each successive clause be
ginning with its successive letters ; in each of the first eight
verses, two clauses ; in each of the last two, three. This would
aid the memory.  As to the date of these three praise-Psalms,
we may safely locate them in the age of the restoration from the
exile. •1." Praise ye the Loed. I will praise the Loed with my
whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the con
gregation. 2. The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all
them that have pleasure therein.
"I will praise the Lord," etc. The Psalmist not only calls on
others — all his people — all men in every land and every age— to

458 PSALM CXI.
praise the Lord, but avows his own earnest purpose to praise God
with all his heart. Let every reader h,e a worshiper, and every
worshiper throw his own soul into these words of the song and
make this avowal his own !  In the last clause of v. 2 : " Sought
out of all them that have pleasure therein," the Hebrew will bear
either this sense or another, viz., sought out according to all their
desirableness. The original may be either an adjective — by such
as delight in them; or a noun — for their delightfulness. In
either construction the sentiment is true.
3. His work is honorable and glorious : and his righteous
ness endureth forever.
4. He bath made his wonderful works to be remembered :
the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
Primarily the thought here is of those gracious works of provi
dence which had so adorned and distinguished the ancient history
of the covenant people. It was inspiring to the returned exiles
to recall those ancient works, to think of the mercy that shone
forth in them, and of their being impressed on the national heart
for everlasting remembrance.
5. He hath given meat unto them that fear him ; be will
ever be mindful of his covenant.
" Meat " — food in general, yet*in usage the word suggests food
that costs effort, like that obtained by the hunter, or plucked,
gathered with labor. The Israelites might naturally think of food
supplied to their fathers in the Arabian desert; — food of God's own
preparation. His covenant held him to provide for his people in
their emergencies' — then as always.
6. He hath showed his people the power of his works,
that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.
He hath made the great power of his arm manifest in his works,
even to the extent of giving them Canaan and all its wealth as
their inheritance. The inference suggested is that a God of such
power can give his people the inheritance of all the nations for
Christ, so that the labor of going forth into all the world to preach
the gospel to every creature and bring all the nations to know and
to serve the risen Jesus shall not prove abortive.
7. The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all
his commandments are sure.
8. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in
truth and uprightness.
Two things, distinct yet related, are brought together in these verses,
viz., what God himself does, and what he commands his people to do.
The former are true and just ; the latter are " sure " in the sense of
being worthy of being accepted as from God, and therefore obeyed.
Then in v. 8, inverting the order of these two themes, the com-

PSALM CXII. 459
mandments are said to be established forever, and God's works are
declared to be done in truth and uprightness.
9. He sent redemption unto his people : he hath com
manded his covenant for ever : holy and reverend is his
name. 10. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom ; a
good understanding have all they that do his commandments :
bis praise endureth for ever.
"He sent redemption to his people," first from Egypt; last,
from Babylon; the former giving pledge" of the latter, and both
guaranteeing God's ever faithful love and his swift redeeming
power in his people's behalf in every time of their need.  "He
hath commanded his covenant forever" — " command" in the sense
of ordain, constitute. His covenant with his people is no epheme
ral, transient thing. It was made for all time — as good for the
ages yet to come as for any of the ages past.  The name of
Him who thus remembers his people and abides forever faithful
to his covenant should be held in holy reverence by all his
saints, through all the ages. Such reverential fear, of which
obedience, trust, and homage are the cardinal manifestations, con
stitute the highest wisdom — the first step and the last in a wise
purpose and life. This thought is worth repeating; therefore the
Psalmist adds : All who obey God evince a good understanding —
a wholesome and discreet Wisdom. Nothing less, nothing else, is
truly wise. All other ways of moral living are folly and madness.
 Kindred sentiments appear in Prov. 1: 7, and 9: 10, and in
Job 28: 28.
PSALM CXII.
Like Psalm 111 this, too, is a praise-Psalm, and also a Hebrew
acrostic on the same pattern. For these reasons this might be
presumed to be one of a pair with that — a presumption fully con
firmed by the strain of the Psalm itself. Whereas that praised
God for his mercy to his covenant people, this correspondingly
praises him for his mercy to the individual saint. Whereas that
closed with affirming the wisdom of obeying God in humble fear,
this resumes thepoint there briefly touched and dropped, and pre
sents in detail the blessings of piety and prosperity which are sure
to the truly wise and upright man.
1. Praise ye the Loed. Blessed is the man Uiat feareth
the Loed, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
2. His seed shall • be mighty upon earth : the generation
of the upright shall be blessed.
3. Wealth and. riches shall'be in his house: and his right
eousness endureth for ever.

460 PSALM CXII.
The fact that " fearing the Lord" and " delighting greatly in
his commandments" are common elements in the same character
suffices to show that this fear is not servile but filial — is not that
of the driven slave but that of the loving child. The real slave
never has "great delight " in his master's commandments.  Let
the reader note that this Psalm aims to show that fearing the
Lord is true wisdom, and to show it by the absolute success of a
life so ordered. Wisdom being the best adjustment of means to
secure the desired end, the truest test of wisdom is success. That
life is a wisely ordered one which brings the best results of blessed
ness. Hence the scope of this Psalm. — —The first points made
here are (a) That the wise man is blessed in his children
and his children's children ; (b) In the wealth of his house,
made 'sure under the ancient economy by his abiding integrity and
beneficence [" righteousness "].  Noticeably the very same words
affirm the enduring righteousness of this just man that were used
of God in v. 3 of the previous Psalm — suggesting that the good
man becomes a follower of God as a dutiful child follows his
father. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness :
he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
Even an upright man may perchance have some seasons of
darkness ; but soon there ariseth a light upon his darkness like
that of the rising sun upon a rayless night. By a most beautiful
figure the Hebrew verb suggests the rising sun.  The last clause
of the verse may look toward the reason of this as existing in his
kind and loving heart toward others in their sufferings. Here,
again, the same words are used of the good man's heart which are
so often used of his heavenly Father's, as e. g. in Ps. Ill : 4.
5. A good man showeth favor, and lendeth : he will guide
his affairs with discretion.
The Hebrew can not be grammatically translated " a good man,"
but must be read, " Happy is the man." Under this construc
tion the Psalmist starts anew after the manner of v. 1 : " Blessed
is the man," etc.  " Lendeth " — not on usury, but in compas
sion.  " He will guide " [better, sustain] his affairs with good
judgment, and so insure prosperous results.
6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever : the righteous
shall be in everlasting remembrance.
" Shall not be moved " — shall not be changed in character and
consequently in condition. He shall undergo no .such change lon«-
as he may live.  The next clause looks onward beyond his
death. His memory shall live after him. Some critics give the
clause this turn : In eternal remembrance he shall be known as
righteous, i. e., rather his righteousness than himself shall be re
membered ; as if to say, in the strongest form, that he is remem
bered only for his righteousness.

PSALM CXIII. 461
7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings : his heart is
fixed, trusting in the Loed.
Shall not be afraid of evil tidings when they actually come, the
words here used mean, rather than being afraid lest they may
come. Doubtless both are true of the good man whose heart
abides fixed in trust upon his God. Literally the passage would
read — " He shall not fear because of evil tidings." Believing tha.t
God's providence shapes all events, and confiding in his love with
out a fear, why may he not be calm and fearless under any new
event brought to his,knowledge as "evil tidings?"
8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until
he see his desire upon his enemies.
9. He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his
righteousness endureth forever; his horn shall be exalted
with honor.
" Shall not be afraid until he seeth his desire upon his ene
mies" — nor after that, either. The strain of the passage and its
whole argument forbid any such implication.  -Devoting himself
to beneficence toward the poor, he insures God's protection in his
emergencies. God will lift high his horn of power. See Ps. 75 :
4, and 89 : 17.
10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved ; he shall
gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the
wicked shall perish.
All unlike this is the case of the wicked. He shall see the
prosperity of the righteous, and be vexed and galled in spirit
thereby. Ah, how soon shall his hopes and himself perish utterly
and forever!
PSALM CXIII.
This third in order of the praise-Psalms fitly closes the triplet
by making the call to praise universal, through all time and over
all the earth (vs. 1-3) ;, by setting forth most sublime views of
God's greatness and excellent glory (vs. 4-6) ; coupled" with cer
tain specific illustrations of his special blessings on classes most
needy (vs. 7-9).
¦ 1. Praise ye the Loed. Praise, O ye servants of the
Lord, praise the name of the Lord. «
The phrase, " Servants of the Lord " to designate his professed
people, appears ¦ quite prominently in the age of the restoration.
It may be seen Ps. 136: 22, but especially in Ezra 5: 11, and Neh.
1 : 10 ; ." We are the servants of the God of heaven " — designedly
distinguishing themselves from all other people by the name of

462 PSALM CXIII.
»
the God they served: " Now these "are thy servants and thy peo
ple " — bringing up these relations before God as the ground of
confidence in prayer for his own Zion.  All such servants are
here exhorted to join in offering to their own great God the ex
alted praise which is his due.
2. Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time
forth and for evermore.
3. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of
the same the Loed's name is to be praised.
Such a God should be praised through all the ages onward, for
he has already wrought praiseworthy deeds enough to call for
everlasting praise. — -. — Over all the earth too, for nowhere does he
ever leave himself without witness to his glorious goodness and
mercy. 4. The Loed is high above all nations, and his glory
above the heavens.
5. Who is like unto the Loed our God, who dwelleth
on high,
6. Who humbleth himself to behold tlie things that are in
heaven, and in the earth !
Comparing God with his created works, he is high above all
his intelligent creatures, though massed even by nations ; and the
glory of his infinite being eclipses the very heavens. Who can'
be compared with Him, dwelling so high, and yet humbling him
self so low in condescending care of his lowly creatures !
7. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth
the needy out of the dunghill ;
8. That he may set him with princes, even with the prin
ces of his people.
9. He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be
a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the Loed.
The case of lifting up the lowly to an estate so high suggests
David, as the blessing upon the barren woman seems to indicate
Hannah or. possibly Abraham's Sarah. The Hebrew of the last
verse should rather be read; "He maketh the barren one of the
house the joyful mother of children." A few specific cases well
known in Hebrew history would serve to give definite impressions
of God's condescension to the humblest of his people.  Think
ing o£ these three praise-Psalms as written in the age of the resto
ration, we may fitly remember that the restoration itself was a
grand theme for national praise. _ The great sin of their national
apostasy from God at length forgiven; the bands of their national
captivity broken and that by agencies in which the hand of God
was far more visible than the hand of man; the exiles safely

PSALM CXIV. 463
home in the father-land ; the temple going up or finished, to their
unspeakable joy : surely this should have been the era for na
tional Psalms of praise. It is pleasant to see that there were
faithful prophets of God and honest governors of Judah who ap
preciated theirduty in this matter, and who led forth the masses
of the people in lofty praise by means of the songs of the great
congregation.

PSALM CXIV.
This gem of Hebrew poetry, coming down to us with no name
of author, and with no special clew to its date except its place in
the compilation, doubtless belongs to the age of the restoration.
It serves to show how beautifully they could weave into their
songs for the sanctuary the grand facts of their nation's early his
tory. The prayer of Nehemiah (chap. 9) witnesses to the use
made of those same grand facts in their historical point of view,
to inspire faith, to encourage prayer, and to suggest the great
moral lessons taught there concerning their nation's God and his
people. 1. When Israel went out of Egypt, the house of Jacob
from a people of strange language ;
2. Judah was his sanctuary, and Israel his dominion.
" When Israel went out of Egypt " — yet not restricting his view
to that precise point of time. Then and subsequently— embracing
the series of events that followed.  " A people of strange lan
guage " — of a foreign tongue, unknown to the sons of Jacob. So
the history of Joseph shows. It indicated the hardships of their
lot that the people to whom they were in political bondage were so
foreign in their nationality and tongue.  " Judah was his sanc
tuary ; " t. e., the place of it, and the people who were consecrated
to him as his. " Israel was his kingdom. Such were not only the
tenor but the very words of the covenant; "Ye shall be unto me
a kingdom of priests and an holy nation " (Ex. 19 : 6).
3. The sea saw it, and fled ; Jordan was driven back.
4. The mountains skipped liked rams, and the little hills
like lambs.
The Red Sea saw not it "but God." Well might it "flee!"
"Jordan was turned back" [Hebrew]; forced up stream, and its
waters ' piled into heaps (Josh. 3: 13, 16).  "The mountains
skipped, etc. — by poetic license to represent the historic fact that
Mt. Sinai " quaked greatly" (Ex. 19 : 18).
5. What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest ? thou
Jordan, that-thovL wast driven back?

464 PSALM CXV.
6. Ye mountains, that ye skipped like rams ; and ye little
hills, like lambs?
7. Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the
presence of the God of Jacob ;
8. Which turned the rock into a standing water, the flint
into a fountain of waters.
As if the Red Sea, .the' Jordan and Mt. Sinai, had a conscious,
intelligent life, and were able to give an account of themselves for
their strange movements ! This is bold but most beautiful per
sonification. The poet asks them this most reasonable question,
yet he neither expects nor waits for their answer, but virtually
gives it himself. It was but fit that all nature should stand in
awe before her glorious Creator. Tremble, thou earth, at the
presence of the Lord Jehovah, who is the veiy God of Jacob — for-
think yet further what wonders his hand hath wrought who
"turned the rock into a pool of water," etc. The reader will
readily refer this to the two miracles which brought water from
the rock; first at Rephidim (Ex. 17 : 1-7) ; next atKadesh (Num.
20: 1-11). Compare Ps. 107 : 35 and Deut. 8 : 15. What can not
such a God do for his needy people in any possible emergency?
" Is any thing too hard for the Lord" — the mighty Lord of nature?

PSALM CXV.
This Psalm corresponds so admirably in subject-matter and tone
to the circumstances of the restoration, that it leaves no' doubt as
to its date and occasion. The people have had some blessings, but
they ask much more. God has broken the bands of their national
bondage; but still they are few in number; weak in political
strength ; are not even above reproach and insult from adjacent
idolators. But their God is mighty — infinitely far above the gods
of the heathen, and quite able to set them on high above such
reproaches. To such trust the Psalm exhorts all classes of the
restored people.
1, Not unto us, 0 Loed, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake.
This is not an exhortation to men to ascribe glory to God, but a
prayer to God that he would glorify himself for his own name's
sake. The address is to the Lord, and the imperative, "give
glory," is prayer that he would secure it for himself. This by. no
means conflicts with the delightful duty devolving on God's people
to give him all glory ; it rather assumes this, and goes still farther,
even to the prayer that God would do the great things we ask of
him, not to glorify us, but himself.

PSALM CXV. 465
2. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is uoav their
God? 3. But our God is in the heavens : he hath done whatso
ever he hath pleased.
These supposed or real words of the heathen are simply reproach
ful. " If they have any God, where is He ? They are badly in
need of his help : Why does he not come to their relief? "  Where
upon the Psalmist says, Why should they have the least occasion
to say this ? Why, 0 Lord, wilt thou not shut their mouths forever
from uttering such reproachful words against thy people and yet
more against Thyself? Compare Ps. 79 : 10.  " Where is now " —
but the Hebrew does not ask — Where is their God now, in this
emergency ; but Where, pray,— do tell us where is their God ?
The Hebrew word * is used to make " where " more emphatic, and
to give the question a touch of sarcasm and insult.  The Psalm
ist answers ; " Our God is in the heavens, where he should be ; on
his lofty throne, mighty for any work he may please to do. As
he has heretofore done all his pleasure, so he can still.  As to
the suggestive force of the thought — God is in heaven, see Ps. 2 : 4,
and 11 : 4, and 103 : 19.
4. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's
hands. 5. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have
they, but they see not :
6. They have ears, but they bear not : noses have they,
but they smell not :
7. Tbey have hands, but they handle not : feet have they,
but they walk not : neither speak they through their throat.
8. They that make them are like unto them ; so is every
one that trusteth in them.
Turning the tables and retorting their reproaches, the Psalmist
says; " Their gods are nothing but a variety of manufactures ; man-
made things ; at best, but silver and gold ; often of wood only. 
See the "same way of exposing the folly of idol worship ; Isa. 40 :
18-20, and 44: 9-20, and 46 : 5-7, and Jer. 10: 3-15.  They are
made with mouths ; but these are only mere imitations, with no
power to speak As the Hebrew has it, they will not speak [future
tense] ; they never will, never can, say the first word. So in all
these specifications, the future means not only that they can not
now, but that they never will or can.  -They have hands, but
they handle nothing; never use them; never even touch with those
useless hands.  " Neither speak they through their throat "—
means they never make even the inarticulate, guttural noises
common to the lower animals, which fall far short of the articulate
Nj*

466 PSALM CXV.
voice.  No less void of sense than these senseless idols are all
their makers and their worshipers. This very worship proves their
miserable folly.
9. O Israel, trust thou in the Loed ; he is their help and
their shield.
10. O house of Aaron, trust in the Loed ; he is their
help and their shield.
11. Ye that fear the Loed, trust in the Loed : be is
their help and their shield.
In each of these three verses, the first clause exhorts in direct ad
dress, in the second person ; the last clause assigns the reason, in
the third person. The distinction of person might be represented
not badly by uttering the exhortation with full, loud tone, and the
reason in an undertone.  " The house of Aaron " became spec
ially prominent both in numbers and in activity after the restora
tion compared with what they were before. This prominence
appears in the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. (Hag. 1 : 1, 12,
14, and 2: 11-13, Zech. 7: 3, 5, etc). ,
12. The Loed hath been mindful of us ; he will bless us ;
he will bless the house of Israel ; he will bless the house of
Aaron. 13. He will bless them that fear the Loed, both small
and great.
Far from assuming that we have had no blessings from our God
yet, we gratefully acknowledge his favor in our past history, and
derive from it the assurance of fresh mercies for the future. 
In v. 12, the second and third clauses should • be brought riiore
closely together to give its due force to the repetition : " He will
bless ; surely he will bless the house of Israel. The small with
the great;" absolutely all the people. .
14. The Loed shall increase you more and more, you
and your children.
15. Ye are blessed of the Loed which made heaven and
earth. Increase of population was a matter of great moment to the' in
fant colony of Judea. That their Jehovah made heaven and earth
would suggest his infinite resources for blessing his people. Who
could ask a more powerful Friend, a richer God than he ?
16. The heaven, even the heavens, are the Loed's : but
the earth hath he given to the children of men.
The first clause seems to suggest not so much that the Lord
owns or claims as his own the heavens as that He makes them
his abode, while he gives the earth to man as his. " The heavens
are heavens for the Lord to dwell in," etc. The inference thought

PSALM CXVL 467
of is that the Lord will befriend us with a great increase of popu
lation. When he had finished this fair earth and placed man upon
it, he said, " Be fruitful and multiply ; replenish the earth " given
you for your abode.
17. The dead praise not the Loed, neither any that go
down into silence.
18. But we will bless the Loed from this time forth and
for evermore. Praise the Loed.
The dead can not join in our public praises in the great congre
gation. This seems to be the controlling thought, giving shape to
the expression in this passage. It should not be taken as affirm
ing any thing respecting their conscious existence or agency in
their future life. The antithesis is made strongly between their
place in our earthly songs and our own. We who yet live can
lift up our grateful songs in God's temple ; but their voices in these
songs are unheard-; as to them, here and now, all is silent! 
The same construction obtains in other similar passages ; e. g.,
Ps. 6: 5, and 30: 9, and 88: 10-12, and Isa. 38: 18.  But we,
the living, will give thee our grateful praises.

PSALM CXVI.
The occurrence in this Psalm of certain grammatical forms
which indicate the later age of the Hebrew tongue has carried the
judgirient of critics in favor of dating it after the captivity. To
this its place in the Psalter corresponds. Vs. 18, 19 imply that
the temple had then been rebuilt.  In subject this is a thanks
giving song for restoration from sickness, yet may be used sug
gestively in thanksgiving for any great blessing after calamity.
1. I love the Loed, because he hath heard my voice and
my supplications.
2. Because be hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore
will I call upon him as long as I live.
Strictly the tenses are — " I have loved the Lord, for he will hear,
etc.; but in this passage (as often) both the past and the future
tenses have an eye to the present, thus : I have loved the Lord and
do still love him, because he not only hears my supplications now,
but will hear in all my future We.-,  Because he has bent his
ear low to my feeble voice, therefore will I call upon him in both
prayer and praise throughout my days of life. The calling upon
God, thought of here, manifestly included praise. (See v. 13). 
This is the grateful utterance of the convalescent who has felt the
pains and prostrations of disease, but now looks out once more
upon the joys of active life and usefulness.

468 PSALM CXVI.
3. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of
hell gat hold upon me : I found trouble and sorrow.
4. Then called I upon the name of the Loed ; O Loed,
I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
The first clauses are from Ps. 18: 4, 5.  The pains of hell
["sheol," the grave and death] literally "found" me, but the word
implies a vigorous grasp upon him.  " I found " (and said to
myself, I shall find) only trouble, etc., the verb being future. I
have this at present; and nothing better in prospect.  " Deliver
my soul," but with no emphasis on "soul" as the spiritual part —
the sense being primarily — Sparc my life ; save me from the jaws
of death.
5. Gracious is the Loed, and righteous ; yea, our God is
merciful. 6. The Loed preserveth the simple : I was brought low,
and he helped me.
The first impression on the mind and the first utterance is of
God's grace and mercy — to be spoken of even before he tells us
of his restoration.  The " simple " — the sincere ; those of single
eye and of one heart to fear and trust God.  "He helped me " —
is literally, he saved me ; brought salvation to me.
7. Beturn' unto thy rest, O my soul ; for the Loed hath
dealt bountifully with thee.
8. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes
from tears, and my feet from falling.
9. I will walk before the Loed in the land of the living.
As Noah's wandering dove came home to the ark for a place of
rest [the same word as here], so the pious soul returns to God.
Under genial skies, one might leave the ark and find temporary
rest for the sole of his foot out on the wide world ; but when the
floods beat and the wild waters surge, there is but one relief —
" Return unto thy rest, O my soul ! " 0, is there any other such
blessedness as this sweet rest in God !  The purpose of grateful,
loving service should be noted and never forgotten ; " I will walk,"
i. e., in the converse of a close communion and in the activities of
a willing service. The same word expresses Enoch's " walkina
with God." y
10. I believed, therefore have I spoken : I was greatly
afflicted :
11. I said in my haste, All men are liars.
This passage is somewhat difficult. The choice seems to me to
lie between the two following constructions.  (1) " I have
believed, for I have sppken, i. e., of God's truth and faithfulness as
I should not have done if I had not believed ; I was greatly afflicted,
and said in my haste, "All men are false" — but God is true and

PSALM CXVI. 469
he alone is to be trusted — more emphasis being laid on the latter
thought, implied, than on the one expressed.  (2) " I have
believed although I have spoken ; I was greatly afflicted and under
the sting of my pain I said in hot haste, "All men are false" —
this being the thing "spoken" to which he refers in the words —
"I have spoken."  In favor of the former construction is the
Septuagint, quoted by Paul (2 Cor. 4 : 13). For the latter is the
somewhat common usage of the verb translated " spoken" * to state
the abstract fact of speaking, followed by the verb " said " f to in
troduce the very words spoken. If " I have spoken," in v. 10, does
not refer to these words in v. 11, there is nothing to indicate their
reference. Besides, the only natural construction of v. 11 gives
prominence to the words there spoken as hasty and exceptionable ;
as opposed to assuming that the main idea lies in the unexpressed
antithesis, viz., God only is true. I therefore incline to the latter
construction.  The word translated "for"J may. mean although,
as in Ps. 49: 18 and Ex. 13: 17.
12. What shall I render unto the Loed for all his benefits
toward me ?
13. I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the
name of the Loed.
14. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the
presence of all his people.
One mercy to be thankful for is the kind forgiveness which blots
out and passes over our hot and hasty words. But all God's bene
fits, who can recount ? How they rise up and spread themselves
out before the mind of the convalescing man I  What shall he do?
In harmony with the beautiful custom of the pious Hebrew, let him
go before the great congregation; "take the cup of salvation" —
the cup bearing his thank-offering for salvations received — and
"call upon the name of the Lord" in grateful acknowledgment
and thankful praises, paying the vows which his burdened soul
made in the long and bitter hours of his pain and peril.  Exe-
getically, the main question of the passage turns on the word " cup."
It has been commonly applied to an assumed usage of offering a
little wine (of course in a "cup") in connection with the Mosaic
" peace " or thank-offering. This would be fitly " the cup of salva
tion" in the sense of the cup of thanksgiving /or the salvations
experienced — in this case from sickness. But. Dr. Alexander says,
" We read of no such cup in Scripture, and its origin may probably
be traced to the rabbinical interpretation of this very passage.
Interpreted by Scripture analogies, it simply means— I will accept
the portion God allots me. SeePs. 11: 6 and 16: 5."  The evi
dence for the use of wine in the peace or thank-offering appears in
Num. 15 ':' 8-10 : " Thou shalt bring for a drink offering half an hin
of wine," etc. This relates to "a sacrifice in performing a vow or
?at "mt "lm*

470 PSALM CXVL
peace-offering unto the Lord!' It really seems of small consequence
whether the law specified the word " cup," for a cup to hold wine
is a simple necessity.  The construction which Dr. Alexander
presents is harsh — i. «., " cup " in the sense of the lot or portion
which God gives ; for this may be affliction, pain, rather than sal
vation. Such a sense is too indefinite for this passage and too alien
from its scope and spirit. I must adhere to the usual and in my
view well established construction of these.most beautiful words.
 In v. 14, '"now" has no reference to time; but is a particle
of entreaty. O let me, I beseech thee, pay my vows in the presence
of all the people — it is such a privilege I
15. Precious in the sight of the Loed is the death of his
saints. "Precious in the sight of the Lord" — not a matter of small
concern, but one of deepest interest, calling out his tenderest pity
and sympathy. Ah, indeed, for has not our Jesus felt the pangs
of death ? Is it not of his own benevolent nature that he should
feel every pain of his suffering people, as if it were his own ?
Verily, " we have not an High Priest who can not be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities, but one who can be, and, indeed, who
can not fail to be. So that the chief redeeming feature in the
sufferings of Christ's people lies in the manifestations of divine
sympathy which Jesus is sure to make to those who abide in him.
How often are these sympathies revealed in their fullness and glory
to his children as they come near the Jordan of death, and as their
feet dip into its waters ! To them is given the witness that these
words of our Psalm are most true.
16. O Loed, truly I am thy servant ; I am thy servant,
and the son of thine handmaid : thou hast loosed my
bonds. The English version here misses the finer touches of feeling, the
first word of the verse being a particle of entreaty, and the word
for " truly " having the sense of for, thus : " Ah Lord, I pray
thee — for I am thy servant," etc. The thing sought is implied,
not expressed : doubtless God's sparing, restoring mercy.  The
strength of these protestations of willing service and hearty de
votion to God is to be noticed, the appropriate requital for such
and so great mercy. " Thou hast loosed my bonds," the bonds
of pain and weakness which held me fast and so near the grave !
¦ 17. I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and
will call upon the name of the Lord.
18. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the pres
ence of all his people.
19. In the courts of the Lord's house, in the midst of
thee, O Jerusalem. Praise ye the Loed.

PSALM CXVII— CXIII. 471
These verses repeat and intensify the leading sentiments of the
Psalm. Such sentiments will bear frequent repetition, and the
most solemn reiteration.
PSALM CXVII.
1. O praise the Loed, all ye nations : praise him, all ye
his people. •
2. For his merciful kindness is great toward us : and the
truth of the Loed endureth, forever. Praise ye the Loed.
This short Psalm looks forth from the one suffering individual,
himself a pious Israelite, to the nations of the wide earth. Let
all the nations — even all the individual men that make up the na
tions — praise the Lord ; for his merciful loving-kindness is great,
even toward them. His great salvation reaches them in its legit
imate scope and purpose ; the limitless love of the Infinite Father
embraces them all, and makes them welcome to the blessings he
offers to his obedient worshipers.  It should be noticed that
,Paul (Rom. 15 : 11) read in this Psalm a prophecy of salvation to
the Gentile world, and found here in part his authority for giving
them the glorious gospel of a crucified and risen Savior. This
fact might well be one of the themes of praise for ancient Israel,
as also for all the people of God in every age.  This broad out
look of these verses adapts them to the purpose of a doxology, to
be appended to a much longer song. Perhaps they stand thus by
themselves because they were used as a doxology, not for Ps. 116
only, but for various other Psalms.

PSALM CXVIII.
In its adaptation to the circumstances of the restored exiles,
this Psalm has strong points of resemblance to Ps. 116. . We
must date it in the times and scenes historically sketched by Ezra
(chap. 6 : 16-22); i. e., the dedication of the new temple. True,
the allusion (v. 22) to the " chief corner-stone " seems to favor the
special reference of the Psalm to the scene of laying the founda
tion-stone as given historically Ezra 3: 10-13; but over against
this, " the opening of the gates " (vs. 19, 20), and the phrase,
"We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord," (v. 26),
seem to demand a reference to the real dedication of the house. 
That the writer speaks throughout in the singular number as of
himself does not exclude the participation of all the people in his
song. Rather it was expected that every one would join in the
song, making its utterances personal to himself. So the song
would become the voice of the whole people.

472 PSALM CXVIII.
1. O give thanks unto the Loed ; for he is good : be
cause his mercy endureth forever.
2. Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth forever.
3. Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endur
eth forever.
4. Let tbem now that fear the Loed say, that his mercy
endureth forever.
The first vs. gives the key-note of the song. — r-In vs. 2, S{ 4,
the word " now has no relation to time, but is the same particle
of entreaty already noticed (Ps. 116 : 14, 18). Its force may be
well indicated thus: "0 that Israel would say — " His mercy en
dureth forever," etc.
5. I called upon the Loed in distress : the Lord an
swered me, and set me in a large place.
What grammarians call the " constructio pregnans " gives
beauty and force to the original, somewhat thus : " I cried unto
the Lord out of my straitness : he answered me into largeness " —
i. e., his answer brought me forth into a large, ample place.
6. The Lord is on my side ; I will not fear : what can
man do unto me ?
7. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me:
therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
Literally, " the Lord is for me or to me as mine own God. 
What can man, frail man of the earth * do unto me," protected
by such a Defender?  "The Lord is for me with my helpers,"
and "I shall look upon my haters," i. e., look down upon them
fearlessly. 8. It is better to trust in the Loed than to put confi
dence in man.
9. it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confi
dence in princes.
Cyrus, king of Persia, had done a noble deed for the exiles of
Judah, and this deed was still fresh and precious in their memory;
yet even so, it was better to trust in the Lord than in him — aye
far better, for really all this help from him was ultimately from
the Lord, who " had stirred up his spirit to do this manly deed."
10. All nations compassed me about: but in the name
of the Lord will I destroy them.
11. They compassed me about; yea, they compassed me
about; but in the name of the Lord I will destroy them.
DIN*

PSALM CXVIII. 473
12. They compassed me about like bees; they are
quenched as the fire of thorns : for in the name of the Lord
I will destroy them.
The last clause in each of these three verses has precisely the
same Hebrew words. Literally translated, they would read ; " In
the name of the Lord, for I will destroy th'em." The word repre
senting for * will bear the sense of " that " as a conjunction.
The clause is really difficult. Critics mostly translate "that," and
then supply variously, "I declare;" "I swear" [the solemn
oath] ; " it is;" " it is certain; " or "I trust." I incline to the
last named — " I trust in the name of the Lord that I shall destroy
them." 13. Thou hast thrust sore at me that I might fall : but
the Lord helped me.
By a sudden transition the Psalmist accosts his enemy as pres
ent : " Thou hast thrust at me violently, even to make me fall ; but
the Lord helped me."
14. The Lord is my strength and song, and is become
'my salvation.
15. The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the taber
nacles of the righteous : the right hand of the Lord doeth
valiantly. 16. The right hand of the Loed is exalted: the right
hand of the Loed doeth valiantly.
" Voice of rejoicing " — a word which means, loud shouts of joy.
" And salvation," i c, the voice of salvation — which is a voice of
joy because of salvation experienced. This is heard not only in
the public assemblies, but at home, in the tents of the righteous;
The next phrase, viz., "the right hand of the Lord," etc., may be
taken as the very words of this joyful song in praise of the Al
mighty.  The great event in special view was God's hand up
lifted to take them out of their bondage in Babylon and bring
them safely home to their father-land. There was abundant rea
son for magnifying this glorious "right hand."
17. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the
Lord.
18. The Lord hath chastened me sore : but he hath not
given me over unto death.
"I shall not die," before the enemies of our people, hating and
threatening on every side rouid about ; but shall live to testify in
praise of God's marvelous works of redemption for his people.
My chastening during seventy years of weary bondage has been
?a*

474 PSALM CXVIII.
sore ; but God has spared us from national extinction — me (each
one of us may say) from personal death.
19. Open to me the gates of righteousness : I will go into
them, and I will praise the Loed :
20. This gate of the Loed, into which the righteous shall
enter. Why called " gates of righteousness ?" Probably because they
were the gates for the righteous people to enter, as said in v. 20 :
the gates of their temple, this being probably the dedication song.
See Ezra 6 : 16-22.  " I will go into them," so let all the people
say in their united song.
21. I will praise thee : for thou hast heard me, and art
become my salvation.
Thou hast heard my uplifted cry for help, even in that land of
our bondage. The reader will recall the prayer of Daniel (chap.
9) ; also the prophetic foreshbwings as to their supplications as
given (Jer. 29 : 10-14), and a specimen of their sorrowful utter
ances and of God's reply as in Jer. 31 : 18-20.
22. The stone which the builders refused is become the
head-sfone of the corner.
23. This is the Loed's doing; it is marvelous in our
eyes. V. 22 is doubtless a proverb in current use, in its primary ap
plication expressing the case of the Jews as a nation, apparently
thrust out by their exile from any place ariiong the nations ; but
now restored again, and through, the great Messiah, soon to be
come the head-stone of the corner of God's great spiritual temple —
Messiah's kingdom being destined to outshine all other kingdoms
and long outlast them all. The glory of the. Israel of Ezra's day
was in itself of small account; but, thought of as having in it the
germ of their Messiah's glorious kingdom, the prophetic eye saw
it "the head-stone of the corner." It was therefore by no lati
tude of accommodation and by no forcing of words into other or
greater sense than their own, that Jesus found in this passage a
definite prophetic allusion to himself and his gospel kingdom — an
allusion so forcible and conclusive that each of the first three
evangelists bring out the case in full (Mat. 21 : 33-46, and Mk.
12 : 1-12, and Luke 20 ; 9-19).  " This," says the Psalmist,
"has come to pass of the Lord" — by virtue of his special agen
cies : He and He alone has done it. We look upon it with admir
ing wonder I
24. This is the day which the Loed hath made ; we will
rejoice and be glad in it.
" Day," not in' tho specific sense of a twenty-four hour period,
but in the not infrequent sense, a period or event of peculiar

PSALM CXVIII. 475
character, as when we speak of "the day of small things" (Zech.
4 : 10) or " a day of wonders." There may possibly be a refer
ence to the dedication day of the new temple, but if so, the
thought broadens out to embrace all the great events which cul
minated in that dedication.  Well do they say, " Let us rejoice
and be glad therein."
25. Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord : 0 Loed, I be
seech thee, send now prosperity.
26. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Loed :
we have blessed you out of the house of the Loed.
Here also the word " now " expresses not time but entreaty;
best translated, " Save, I pray." These two Hebrew words are
transferred [not translated] into our version in "Hosanna," as in
Mat. 21 : 9, where the multitudes who preceded and followed our
Lord in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem seized upon the very
words of this passage. No words could have been more appro
priate. Of him pre-eminently was it said in this prophecy,
"Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." See Mat.
23 : 39. " He that should come," the 'great " coming One," be
came his special designation, as we see in Mat. 11 : 3, and Jn.
6 : 14, and 4 : 25. Compare also Malachi 3 : 1.  If it be asked,
How can we suppose an allusion to the Messiah in these words
sung at the dedication of the second temple ? The answer is- that
the glory of the restoration of Israel from exile lay in its pledge
of the coming Messiah — lay in the fact that the nation had in
it the germ of future salvation for the world in the person of the
coming Redeemer. But for this, the nation might well enough
have sunk into oblivion and been lost in the undistinguished flow
of human generations. Herice the. light of prophecy gleamed
forth afresh under Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, and also here
in this Psalm belonging to the same period.— — If these words —
"Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord" have any
primary reference — suppose to some prophet of that age, still it is
so weak, so obscure, and so entirely eclipsed by its more manifest
and commanding allusion to the great Messiah that there seems
little occasion to inquire after it
27. God is the Loed, which hatli showed us light: bind
the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.
The mighty God [''El"]' is our "Jehovah," in the sense of our
faithful, covenant God; he hath shed upon us this glorious pro
phetic light as to "Him that cometh in the name of the Lord."
' Now, therefore, bind the sacrificial animal with cords and lead him
safely up to. the horns of the altar. , The sense is not— Tie him
to the horns of the altar, but lead him bound up to the very altar,
there to be offered in sacrifice. There is no emphasis tm horns
as distinct from the altar itself. It is only a poetic definiteness,
for the sake of stronger impression.

476 PSALM CXIX.
28. Thou art my God, and I will praise thee : thou art
my God, I will exalt thee.
29. O give thanks unto the Loed ; for he is good : for his
mercy endureth forever.
The original for God gives force to this passage ; Thou art my
"El" — the Mighty One; therefore will I praise Thee: my
"Eloah" — a varied form with substantially the same sense, "and
I will extol Thee " — lift Thee high in glory and honor.  The
usual doxology closes this precious Psalm: — "O give thanks to
Jehovah, for he is good : for his mercy is forever ! "

PSALM CXIX.
This Psalm, unique in form, in length, and in subject-matter,
treats almost exclusively of the written word of God, celebrating,
we might say, its praises, unfolding its value and its virtues, and
especially its precious relations to the religious experiences of the
heart and the life. Comparing it with other Psalms, it finds
resemblances in Ps. 1, and might be supposed to have taken Ps.
19 : 7-14 for its text.  It should be noted, however, that it does
not restrict itself to the preceptive laws of God, nor even to the
larger sense of statutes and ordinances; but includes also the
historical ways of God in his administration over men: — "Thou
puttest away all the wicked of the earth like dross : therefore I
love thy testimonies."  All the words of Hebrew use, expressing
God's will as to man's duty — "law," "statutes," "commandments,
"testimonies," "judgments," etc., we shall find with constant
repetition and variety, constituting the one grand theme of this
wonderful Psalm.  As to date and author; its- place in Book V
strongly favors its date after the restoration. The brief historical
sketches given of Ezra put their finger upon him as [probably] the
author. The prominent points in nis history are that he was a
"priest," and especially " a scribe in the law of Moses; " a ready
scribe ; t. e., trained, skilled, expert ; a man who had made this
his business and profession; "a scribe of the words of the com
mandments of the Lord and of his statutes to Israel" Moreover,
he was eminently a man of wisdom, of fidelity, of prayer, and of
profound sympathy with the spirit of the divine law and with the
true interests of God's kingdom. A careful study of his history,
as in Ezra 7-10, and Neh. 8, will disclose many of the leading
points of character which are unfolded in this Psalm.  The •
Psalm is constructed in twenty-two sections, indicated by the suc
cessive twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Each of the eight
verses in.each several section begins with the Hebrew letter which
gives name to the section. This fullest development of the acrostic
principle had for its main purpose to aid the memory — a matter of

PSALM CXIX. 477
great importance when printing was unknown and books were
costly and rare.  This Psalm is plain, presenting but few points
that require explanation.
1. Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the
law of the Loed.
2. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek
him with the whole heart.
" O how blessed ; " or, " O the blessedness of the men of un
blemished life — made thus pure and perfect by obeying the law
of the Lord. The blessing comes only to those who study and
obey this law with all the heart.
3. They also do no iniquity : they walk in his ways.
Both verbs are in the past tense. Their record testifies to a pure
life; "they have done no iniquity; they have walked in his ways.
It is not enough that they should make professions, or should talk
well of their experiences. They must have the record of actual
right living.
4. Thou hast commanded us to keep thy precepts dili
gently. 5. O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes !
"O that my ways were directed" — but the Hebrew word means
more than merely instructed, shown in the right way. It signifies
established, confirmed — a very suitable thing to pray for. He longs
to attain fixed, settled habits, in which his ways should, as the
word suggests, become solid in the right.
6. Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect
unto all thy commandments.
7. I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I
shall have learned thy righteous judgments.,
8. I will keep thy statutes : O forsake me not utterly.
In v. 6 the emphatic word is " all." The glory of a religious
life — that which lifts it to honor and above conscious shame, is the
having respect to all— not to a selected part only, but to all God's
commandments. 9. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by
taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Instead of question and answer both in this one verse, the
Hebrew demands the construction with question only, leaving
the answer to be inferred from the drift of the entire Psalm—
thus : " Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way to keep it
according to thy word ? " This translation gives precisely the force
of the last clause.  Hebrew punctuation lacks the interrogation
21

478 PSALM CXIX,
point, so that we have no other clew but the form of the sentence
and the sense by which to decide where the question ends.
10. With my whole heart have I sought thee : O let me
not wander from thy commandments.
11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not
sin against thee.
To " hide in the heart " is not to conceal away even from his
own view, but the very opposite : to put it in his memory, where it
will be ever present and ready to guide his affections and pur
poses, and to rule his life.
12. Blessed art thou, 0 Loed : teach me thy statutes.
What is the connection of thought between these two clauses ?
Perhaps this : Thou, Lord, art infinitely blessed in thy purity,
thy benevolence, in the perfection of thy entire moral nature. O
lead me upward to that same moral perfection ! It is the noble
purpose of thy revealed law to bring thy moral creatures up to
thine own standard of purity. O help me to realize this purpose
in my heart and life !
13. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of
thy mouth.
14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy. testimonies, as much
as in all riches.
15. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto
thy ways.
16. I will delight -myself in thy statutes : I will not for
get thy word.
The expression in v. 14 is strong— -as much as in the sum total
of all wealth — infinite riches.
17. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live,
and keep thy word.
Grant blessings upon thy servant, that long as I live I may keep
thy word. We must not separate living from keeping God's word
so as to make two petitions, one for life and one for obedience, but
rather combine the two as above.
18. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous
things out of thy law.
"Open," in its primary sense of uncover, take away all obstruc
tions, i. e., to clear vision.  "And I shall then see," seems more
literal and exact. The Hebrew punctuators place a long pause
here. Following their direction, we must make the last clause
quite a distinct sentence, thus : " Wondrous things are from thy
law." They are there, and I shall reach them when I shall search
with undimmed vision.

PSALM CXIX. 479
19. I am a stranger in the earth: hide notthy command
ments from me.
The returning' exiles were in a sort strangers even in their
father-land, and hence make a special appeal to the compassion of
their God whose ancient statutes evinced such sympathy for "the
stranger." 20. My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy
judgments at all times.
The words express most ardent desire. But "judgments" must
not be restricted to retributive visitations, but should include God's
precepts, as in v. 19, as well as inflictions of evil upon the wicked.
21. Thou hast rebuked the proud tliat are cursed, which
do err from thy commandments.
22. Bemove from me reproach and contempt ; for I have
kept thy testimonies.
23. Princes also did sit and speak against me : but thy
servant did meditate in thy statutes.
24. Thy testimonies also are my delight, and my coun
selors. In v. 22 the words, " Roll away reproach and contempt," may be
taken from Josh. 5:9; but the thing thought of is probably the
reproach and scorn which the feeble colony experienced from
their wicked, insolent neighbors.  The last clause of v. 24 has
it, " The men of my counsel." The testimonies as to his will, which
God had given in his word, were as so many bosom friends to give
him counsel.
25. My soul cleaveth unto the dust : quicken thou me
according to thy word.
"Cleaveth to the dust," might express extreme humiliation; or,
by a common Hebrew usage, drawing nigh to the grave, as in Ps.
22 : 29. The prayer that follows for renewed life-power favors
the latter sense.  "According to thy word, i. e., of promise.
26. I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me:
teach me thy statutes.
The word "declare" has some shades of meaning not true to
the original here. The sense is : I have laid my case before
thee, i. e., in prayer, and thou hast answered me" — answer rather
than "hear" being the sense of the last verb.
27. Make me to understand the way of thy precepts :
so shall I talk of thy wondrous works.
"So will I muse, meditate upon thy wondrous works " — is a more
exact translation than "talk.' It is also more useful toward one's
spiritual health and life.

480 PSALM CXIX.
28. My soul melteth for heaviness : strengthen thou me
according unto thy word.
29. Bemove from me the way of lying: and grant me
thy law graciously.
30. I have chosen the way of truth : thy judgments have
I laid before me.
" Remove from me the way of lying " — a prayer to be saved from
that sin — to be kept far aloof from that way of life.
31. I have stuck unto thy testimonies : O Loed put me
not to shame.
32. I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou
shalt enlarge my heart.
" Stuck," though almost vulgar, is in no wise obscure.  Tho
last clause of v. 32 were better read, " For thou wilt enlarge my
heart."  According to the oriental ideas of straightness and
largeness (see 118 : 5) we might conceive of this enlargement as
consisting in conscious freedom and ease in the ways of piety.
Thou wilt make it sweet and easy to run in the way of thy com
mands. See v. 45 below and notes there.
33. Teach me, O Loed, the way of thy statutes ; and I
shall keep it unto the end.
34. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law ;
yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.
"Give me understanding" is not a prayer for more intellect,
nor for more knowledge in general; but for more knowledge of
God's word. " Cause me to understand" [it], " so shall I keep
thy law " — law being what he would fain understand.
35. Make me to go in the path of thy commandments ;
for therein do I delight.
36. Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to
covetousness. The prayer " Incline not my heart to covetousness '' is of the
same sort with this : " Lead us not into temptation," which by no
means implies that God ever tempts men to evil (James 1 : 13),
but only that we have occasion to beg his help to withstand such
temptation. 37. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity ; and
quicken thou me in thy way.
38. Stablish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to
thy fear.
" Vanity," in Hebrew usage has often special reference to idols
and the accompaniments of idol worship. The Psalmist prays
that he may never be permitted even to seo such tempting ob-

PSALM CXIX. 481
jects.- — -In v. 38 '• word " refers to promise, " established " when
fulfilled.  In the last clause, the best critics suppose the word
for "fear" to be used in the sense of fearers, thus : Confirm
unto thy servant thy promise which is for thy fearers — given to
those that fear thee. Others thus : Which promise is attached to
the fear of thee, t. e., pledged 'to holy obedience.
39. Turn away my reproach which I fear : for thy judg
ments are good.
40. Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken
me in thy righteousness.
" Thy judgments are good; " why then should they fall on thy
faithful servant ? Yet I have cause to fear reproach : I pray thee
in equity, let it pass over from me and come upon those who
deserve it.
41. Let thy mercies come also unto _ me, O Loed, even
thy salvation, according to thy word.
42. So shall I have wherewith to answer him that re-
proacheth me : for I trust in thy word.
43. And take not the word of truth utterly out of my
mouth ; for I have hoped in thy judgments.
In v. 42 there is a play upon the two senses of the term " word,"
thus : " And I will answer my revilers a word, for I have trusted
in thy word." Having trusted in thy word of promise, I shall have
a word of reply to make to them when thou shalt graciously hear
this prayer.  "Take not thy word of truth" ( i. e., of promise)
out of my mouth ; let me have it still to speak of before my enemies
and to rest upon for my own soul. If God were to fail in fulfilling
this word of promise, it would, in the sense here contemplated, be
quite taken out of his mouth.
¦ 44. So shall I keep thy law continually forever and ever.
45. And I will walk at liberty : for I seek thy precepts.
" Walk at liberty; " literally, walk in a large place — a broad and
easy path, God graciously fulfilling to me his promises, and my
soul made strong and my steps guided wisely in his perfect way.
46. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and
will not be ashamed.
47. And I will delight myself in thy commandments,
which I have loved.
48. My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments,
which I have loved ; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
" Speak of thy testimonies before kings " meets the case of Ezra
(7 : 1-27, and 8 : 22), also of Nehemjah ( 2 : 3-8).  " Lifting up the
hands unto God's commandments" indicates the joyous heartiness
with which he would seek and obey them.

482 PSALM CXIX.
49. Eemember the word unto thy servant, upon which
thou hast caused me to hope.
50. This is my comfort in my affliction : for thy word
hath quickened me.
Remember that specific promise of thine, O.Lord, by which thou
didst inspire my hope. But some critics give the verse a more
general construction, thus: "Remember the word spoken to thy
servant, for thou hast raised my hope/' The former seems more
life-like, and being grammatically admissible, should be preferred.
 "This has been" [better than "is"] "my comfort under my
affliction," etc. Having had sweet experience in this line, I look
to thee for yet more.
51. The proud have had me greatly in derision : yet have
I not declined from thy law.
52. I remembered thy judgments of old, 0 Loed ; and
have comforted myself.
Outsiders scoffed at the builders of the city walls. See Neh. 2 :
19, and 4 : 4. Also Ps. 123 : 3, 4.  The scoffs of the proud have
never tempted me from obeying thy law. Under such sharp temp
tations, I have thought of thy judgments all along the past ages,
and' so have comforted myself and have sustained my faith in thee.
Those ancient "judgments" include all the manifestations of God
in retribution, whether of evil upon the wicked or of good to the
righteous. 53. Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the
wicked that forsake thy law.
54. Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my
pilgrimage. "Horror" — the Hebrew word being very strong — hot indigna
tion, a burning in my very soul — hath seized upon me because of
the wicked forsaking thy law. So far from feeling as they do, thy
statutes have been the theme of my song in the house of my
sojournings even in the desolate land of my Chaldean bondage.
55. I have remembered thy name, O Lord, in the night,
and have kept thy law.
56. This I had, because I kept thy precepts.
" Thy name," as usual, all those qualities of character expressed
by the word " name." 1 have recalled to mind in my night medi
tations, and so, consequently, under their influence have I kept
thy law. So fitly and sweetly the pious mind turns its thought to
God in the stillness of the night-watches and finds itself sustained
in keeping God's law. Such experiences are at least as ancient
as Job, for in him we read — " But none [of the wicked] saith,
Where is God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night?" (35:

PSALM CXIX. 483
10). — : — This hath been my experience, saith the Psalmist,
" because I kept thy precepts."
57. Tliou art my portion, O Loed : I have said that I
would keep thy words.
" Portion," not, probably, in the sense of my'chosen good; viz.,
God himself; but rather this : My function, my part, my accepted
duty, O Lord, [I have said] is to keep thy word. Observe that the
words " Thou art " are not in the original.
58. I entreated thy favor with my whole heart ; be mer
ciful unto me according to thy word.
"I entreated thy favor" — translates a very peculiar Hebrew
verb, having the primary sense to stroke or smooth down the face,
but used in the secondary sense of conciliating one's good will.
59. I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy
testimonies. 60. I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy command
ments. " I thought," meditated deeply, pondered upon my past life, and
then turned — as the Hebrew verb suggests, in the active sense,
caused my feet to turn unto thy testimonies. This might be called
a metaphysical statement of genuine, thoughtful conversion. It is
described yet more fully in the next verse : " I made haste to keep
thy commandments," and permitted no dangerous, sinful delay.
61. The bands of the wicked have robbed me : but I have
not forgotten thy law.
''The bands" — the Hebrew word having usually the sense of
cords, but admitting the sense of a file of men, a band or troop —
the probable sense here.  "Have environed," not "robbed," with
some allusion to the case of the exiled people in Babylon, But
even amid such perils I have not forgotten thy law.
62. At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto thee, be
cause of thy righteous judgments.
"Righteous judgments" — in the broad sense repeatedly noticed
above — all God's manifestations in his retributive providence to
ward either the wicked or the righteous. In the deep night-
seasons I will rise from my bed . to give myself with the more
fullness to thaksgiving and praise for thy great works in past ages.
How admirable thus to sustain one's faith in God and enkindle
the deepest, purest devotion!
63. I am a, companion of all them that fear thee, and of
them that keep thy precepts.
64. The earth, 0 Lord, is full of thy mercy: teach me
thy statutes.

434 PSALM CXIX.
" Companion," not loosely associated but most intimately. I am
firmly knit together in heart with all who fear thee.  That God's
goodness so fills the earth (see v. 12), shining forth throughout all
the ag'es in the history of man and revealing itself every-where in
the face of nature, moves the Psalmist to the most intense desire
to be taught his will respecting man's duty. O how I long to be
conformed to the perfect will of One so infinitely good I
65. Thou hast dealt well with thy servant, 0% Loed, ac
cording unto thy word.
66. Teach me good judgment and knowledge : for I have
believed thy commandments.
Literally, " Teach me goodness of judgment and knowledge,"
i. e., the very best of their kind, such as thy word imparts. 
" For I have confidence in thy word ;" I believe it to be from a
perfect God, and therefore containing perfect wisdom and knowl
edge. Coming to thee with such faith in thee and in thy word,
and with such longings to be taught of thee, thou wilt not thrust.
me away I
67. Before I was afflicted I went astray : but now have I
kept thy word.
"Was going astray" a sadly uniform experience with me; but
ever since, I have kept thy word — a precious testimony to the
wisdom and love of the Great Father in his corrective chastise
ments of his children — one to which thousands on thousands would
readily subscribe their personal assent. This truth was signally
exemplified in the Jews as a nation before and after the affliction
of their great captivity.
68. Thou art good and doest good : teach me thy statutes.
Here again we meet with the tacit inference, so beautiful morally,
that God being benevolent, full of that goodness which delights in
doing "good, therefore we may surely trust him to teach us his
statutes for the purpose of molding us into his own moral image,
and so securing to us the highest blessedness possible.
69. The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will
keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
70. Their heart is as fat as grease ; but I delight in thy
law. "Forged" well expresses tho thought of the original — though
patched up gives more exactly the figure involved in the word.
They make up lies, drawing upon their imagination or invention,
with no trouble about the facts. But such falsehoods shall not
swerve me from uprightness. I give my whole heart none the
less to the keeping of all thy precepts.  The restored exiles had
just this annoyance from the Samaritans and other adjacent tribes.
 "Their heart fat," i. e., dead as to moral sensibility and alto-

PSALM CXIX. 485
gether alien from God through their pride. So " Jeshurun waxed
fat and kicked" against God's authority (Deut. 32: 15). See also
Job 15; 27, and Ps. 17 ; 10, and 73: 7.
71. It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I
might learn thy statutes.
72. The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thou
sands of gold and silver.
The affliction of the whole captive people in Chaldea was their
national salvation, radically curing them of their inveterate pro
pensity to idols, and bringing them to thorough repentance before
God. The same law obtains toward individuals all down through
the ages. Who has not drank the bitter cup of affliction, to learn
thereby that, though bitter, it was spiritually tonic and restoring to
the soul ? No amount of gold and silver could work such spiritual
cures — could so marvelously save the soul from death and bring
the wanderer back to God.
73. Thy hands have made me and fashioned me : give me
understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.
As thy hand and thine only has made and shaped my body — the
material part of my nature — so let thy hand fashion my mind with
knowledge and my heart in the moral sense with piety through thy
word and Spirit.
74. They that fear thee will be glad when they see me ;
because I have hoped in thy word.
75. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments.are right, and
that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.
76. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my
comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
77. Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may'live :
for thy law is my delight.
The same confidence in God's wisdom and love in afflicting his
people which we saw above (vs. 67, ,71) appears here also, looking
back, we must suppose, to the nation's experience in their recent
captivity, yet covering the personal experience of all the true
children of God ; for " what son is he whom his father chasten-
ethnot?" (Heb. 12: 5-11).
78. Let the proud be ashamed : for they dealt perversely
with me without a cause: but I will meditate in thy pre
cepts. "Be ashamed" — be put to shame for their wickedness. May
God confound their schemes ; frustrate their plans so that they
shall be filled with confusion !

486 PSALM CXIX.
79. Let. those that fear thee turn unto me, and those
that have known thy testimonies.
80. Let my heart be sound in thy statutes ; that I be
not ashamed.
- "Turn unto me." Though they may have lost confidence in me,
yet let them see that thy favor and love are toward me, and come
back to embrace me as thy child again.-:  Let my heart be sound
in thy statutes : so I shall never, like the wicked, be confounded
and put to shame.
81. My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in
thy word.
82. Mine eyes fail for thy word, saying, When wilt thou
comfort me ?
83. For I am become like a bottle in the smoke: yet do I
not forget thy statutes.
" Fainteth for thy salvation" — wearied and.exhausted with long
ing and waiting for it.  " Mine eyes fail," the same word which
in v. 81 is translated " faint; " i. e., mine eyes are dim and almost
blind with looking and longing for the fulfillment of thy words of
promise.— — Bottles in the Bast were made of skins of animals,
dried, and in the case supposed here, over the fire and in the
smoke — of course wrinkled and blackened. His long protracted
grief and trials gave him such a look.
84. How many are the days of thy servant? when wilt
thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?
85. The proud have digged pits for me, which are not
after thy law.
How long have I to live ? Alas, lest I may not live to see my
cause vindicated as against my enemies, and myself delivered
from their oppressions !  The proud who are reckless of thy law,
and have no thought of ordering their life by it.  The frequent
recurrence in this Psalm of deep complaints against persecuting
enemies gives us a strong impression of the annoyance and trial
experienced by the restored Jews from their hostile neighbors.
It will be remembered that this opposition arrested the building
of the temple after the foundations were laid (Ezra 3-6) in the
second yearof Cyrus, so that it was not completed until the sixth
year of Darius — an interval of some eighteen years. No wonder
this should seem sadly long to those who loved God's law and wor
ship as ardently as the writer of this Psalm.
86. All thy commandments are faithful: they persecute
me wrongfully; help thou me.
87. They had almost consumed me upon earth ; but I
forsook not thy precepts.

PSALM CXIX. 487
88. Quicken me after thy loving-kindness; so shall I
keep the testimony of thy mouth.
"Almost consumed me upon the earth" or land, for the word
is used in either sense. "Consumed" is the word applied (vs.
81, 82) to his " soul " and his " eyes " as being wasted away
under his long afflictiori.  -"Quicken," i. e., enliven, give me
fresh life ; renew my faith, and re-irivigorate thereby my wasted
body, for the word may well apply to both body and soul.
89. Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.
90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast
established the earth, and it abideth.
91. They continue this day according to thine ordi
nances : for all are thy servants.
Thy word is, as it were, anchored to thy throne, made fast and
sure where no such changes as those of earth and earthly things
can ever reach it. Hence it is safe to say, Thy faithfulness ex
tends to all generations; no lapse of time, no passing away of hu
man generations can weaken its stability. Just as thou hast made
the earth fast and it abideth, so are thy promises made fast and
sure and will abide to the end.— — This comparison of God's faith
fulness in promise to the eternal stability of the heavenly bodies
appears repeatedly in the Hebrew scriptures. See Jer. 31 : 35-37,
and 33: 20, 21, 25, 26, and Ps. 89: 33-37.  In v. 91, "they"—
the earth and the heavenly bodies, continue to-day according to
thine appointments, for "all," (Hebrew) "the all," i. e., the whole
material universe, are thy servants, held for evermore to thy bid
ding. The tacit inference is, will not the great God whose works
evince such stability, such fixedness of purpose, abide true to his
promises given to his people ?
92. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then^
have perished in mine affliction.
93. I will never forget thy precepts : for with them thou
hast quickened me.
"Will never forget thy precepts;" but manifestly in this con
nection the original word includes promise, and not law only.
94. I am thine, save me ; for I have sought thy precepts.
" I am thine," devoted to thy service, consciously committed to
thy care ; and canst thou now forsake me ? I have sought to
know and do thy will ; and moreover I have heard thy promises
and have believed and trusted in them ; and now, shall they fail
me? 95. The wicked have waited for me to destroy me : but
I will consider thy testimonies.
In all this danger from wicked men plotting my destruction, I

488 PSALM. CXIX.
resort to thy,, testimonies, and strive to comprehend their signifi
cance, and to encourage my soul therein,
96. I have seen an end of all perfection : but thy com
mandment is exceeding broad.
"I have seen an end of all perfection" elsewhere; no human
thing is perfect ; but thy law is absolute perfection ; thy revealed
word is complete, broad, deep, rich, meeting every requirement
of human want. Here, as throughout this context, "command
ment," " precept," " law," etc., are to be taken in the comprehen
sive sense, including God's entire revelation, promise no less than
precept.  Moreover the context here seems to direct the thought
m this verse rather to the perfection of God's law than to the per
fection of the writer's relation to it. His own imperfection,
whether of faith in God's promises, or of obedience to his pre
cepts, seems to be foreign from the scope of the context, so that
we can not reasonably suppose he is speaking of either.
97. O how love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the
day. The one feature, prominent in this Psalm above every other,
appears in its strength here — the love of God's law — a love at once
sincere, deep, strong, quenchless, effective upon the activities of the
mind since it prompts to continual study of the law— effective also
upon his purposes of life, since it controls his life absolutely and
universally.  If we are asked to give a reasonable account for
such love of God's law, we need only say — It deserves to be loved
for its perfect purity and for its infinite rectitude and fitness ; it
justly claims this honor as coming from our beneficent Father; it
rightly commands our heart's love and appreciation as God's own
means of restoring human souls to his perfect moral image. What
higher reasons for loving any law can be even conceived ? . Ask
one who is humbly conscious of such love for God's law and of such
longing for personal holiness in conformity with its spirit, and he
will testify that no aspirations seem to him so reasonable; that
none other can be so blessed to himself; that nothing else so per
fectly commends itself to his convictions. He only wishes this love
were stronger and its fruits in his heart and life more abiding and
more absolutely controlling.
98. Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser
than mine enemies : for they are ever with me.
99. I have more understanding than all my teachers : for
thy testimonies are my meditation.
100. I understand more than the ancients, because I keep
thy precepts.
Thus the Psalmist celebrates God's law as the fountain of all
wisdom. He who studies it intensely — no matter if almost exclu
sively — soon goes beyond his teachers, surpassing in wise under

PSALM. CXIX. 489
standing even the ancients. For God's written word was even then
progressive,- the new chapters giving a decided advantage to the
modern student over the ancient.  But especially let the reader
note the conditions precedent to this surpassing proficiency in the
study of God's law, viz., because " thy commandments are ever with
me; " because " they are my meditation; " because "I keep thy
precepts."— — V. 99 may look toward the sad. corruption which
manifested itself even in the priesthood in those times (Ezra. 10 :
18, and Neb.. 13 : 4-7, 28, 29).
101. I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that
I might keep thy word.
102. I have not departed from thy judgments : for thou
bast taught me.
Of course there can be no keeping of God's law without this
absolute refraining from evil ways. Holy ways and sinning ways ,.
can never have fellowship together.  "Judgments" (v. 102)
must include God's decisions as to man's duty, i. e., precepts, as
well as penal inflictions.
103. How sweet are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter
than honey to my mouth.
104. Through thy precepts I get understanding : therefore
I hate every false way.
Such deep and yearning love for God's law makes even its words
sweet. Precious associations cluster about them ; they are music
to the ear ; honey to the tongue ; beauty on the page. They give
the best of understanding, viz., that which makes us hate and shun
every false way.
105. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path.
Human life in the moral sense being often thought of as a
"way," a "path;" the figure which compares God's law to a' lamp
for the night and to sunlight for the day, is at once true to nature
and full of beauty.
106. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep
thy righteous judgments.
"Will perform," but the Hebrew is strictly, confirm; make it
stand. The sentiment of the verse suggests the wisdom of renew
ing our consecration, but especially of ratifying it continually in
the actual life.
107. I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O Lord,
according unto thy word.
108. Accept, I beseech thee, the free-will offerings of my
mouth, O Loed, and teach me thy judgments.

490 PSALM CXIX.
"The free-will offerings of my mouth;" prayers and praises,
here_ tacitly compared to the thank-offerings and the voluntary (not
specially prescribed) offerings under the Mosaic ritual.  " Teach
me thy judgments " — a point never lost sight of.
109. My soul is continually in my hand: yet do I not
forget thy law.
110. The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred
not from thy precepts.
To put one's soul or life in the hand is to expose it to specially
imminent danger. The phrase is sufficiently explained in such
passages as Judg. 12 : 3, and 1 Sam. 19 : 5, and 28 : 21.
111. Thy testimonies have I taken as a heritage forever :
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
- 112. I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes
always even unto the end.
"As an heritage "—as my inheritance, with some historic refer
ence to Canaan as promised to the patriarchs and their pos
terity. 113. I hate vain thoughts : but thy law do I love.
Instead of "vain thoughts," this rare Hebrew word seems to
mean — men of wavering, uncertain opinions; perhaps skeptics.
114. Thou art my hiding-place and my shield : I hope in
thy word.
115. Depart from me, ye evil-doers : for I will keep the
commandments of my God.
"Depart from me, evil-doers;" I need not your sympathy; I
repel your society, for I propose to obey God.
116. Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may
live : and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
117. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe : and I will
have respect unto thy statutes continually. .
In conscious moral weakness he casts himself upon divinely
promised help — most wisely !
118. Thou hast trodden down all them that err from thy
statutes : for their deceit is falsehood.
" Trodden down," should rather be despised, lightly esteemed.
Such characters deserve to be held in dishonor, disgrace.
119. Thou puttest away all the wicked of the earth like
dross : therefore I love thy testimonies.
The wicked of the earth are in society only as the dross to the
genuine silver. God should have our thanks for his purifying

PSALM CXIX. 491
work. It is remarkable that even from such a sentiment the
Psalmist glides to the same almost constant result ; " Therefore I
love thy testimonies."
120. My flesh trembleth for fear of thee; and I am
afraid of thy judgments.
• A keen sense of God's judgments on the wicked impresses a
salutary fear of incurring his displeasure. Would it not be fearful
to fall under the judgments of such a hand? '
121. I have done judgment.and justice : leave me not to
mine oppressors.
As I have done right toward my fellow-men, leave me not to be
wronged by them. The right which I have done to them, insure
thou to me from thyself in return.
122. Be surety for thy servant for good: let not the
proud oppress me.
The sense of this verb "Be surety for" appears in the case of
Judah in behalf of his brother Benjamin (Gen. 43 : 9, and 44 : 32).
The Psalmist prays that the Lord, would stand his surety and
guarantee, his safety against proud oppressors.
123. Mine eyes fail for thy salvation, and for the word
of thy righteousness.
124. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy,
and teach me thy statutes.
125. I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I
may know thy testimonies.
" Fail for " — in the sense, long for, almost exhausted with pro
tracted waiting.  " The word of thy righteousness," thy right
eous word, promising righteous dealing from a righteous God.
126. It is time for tliee, Loed, to work : for they have
made void thy law.
" Time for thee," Lord, to do something, to exert thy power and
retrieve thy cause, for men are annulling thy law — not only violat
ing it themselves but breaking down its influence and making it
of no account. A strong appeal ; often appropriate in this rebell
ious world !  A sad case of making void God's law appear in
the history of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 10 : and Neh. 13).
127. Therefore I love thy commandments above gold ;
yea, above fine gold.
128. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all
things to be right ; and I hate every false way.
" The word " therefore " most probably is logically related, not to
the one verse immediately preceding but to the general drift of

492 PSALM CXIX.
thought in the Psalm; as if to say — For all these reasons I lovo
thy commandments more than gold.
129. Thy testimonies are wonderful; therefore doth my
soul keep them.
" Wonderful ; " full of the wonders of wisdom ; the wonders of
power ; the wonders of , love. Good reason this why my soul.
should hold them continually in thought and affection that they
may mold my heart and life into the divine image.
130. The entrance of thy words giveth light ; it giveth
understanding to the simple.
The word translated " entrance " has more exactly the sense of
opening, unfolding. Thy word of truth, thus opened, unfolded to
the mind, enlightens it  The "simple" are the docile, the sim
ple-hearted, who honestly desire to know the truth, with a heart
willing and joyful to obey.
131. I opened my mouth, and panted : for I longed for
thy commandments.
Like one in the agonies of thirst, panting for cool, refreshing
waters. 132. Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me, as
thou usest to do unto those that love thy name.
133. Order my steps in thy word : and let not any ini
quity have dominion over me.
It has been God's method to bless those who love his name, a
fact which inspires hope and encourages prayer.
134. Deliver me from the oppression of man : so will I
keep thy precepts.
135. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach
me thy statutes.
"Make thy face to shine upon thy servant;" i. e., not only
show me thy face, but let it shine, expressing not aversion, not
displeasure, but merciful compassion, pitying love. Teach me how
to live so that thy face may shine upon me evermore.
136. Bivers of waters run down mine eyes, because they
keep not thy law.
The same state of heart which loves God's law intensely, and
which perpetually cries, " Teach me thy law " — help me to keep
it in all points with all my heart — is of course grieved exceedingly
because multitudes do not keep but recklessly break it.  This
tender, weeping spirit appears conspicuously in the record of
Ezra (9: 3-5, and 10: 1). The people of Israel and even the
priests had intermarried with idolaters; "and 'when I heard this

PSALM CXIX. 493
thing" (he writes) " I rent my garments and my mantle, and
plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down
astonished."  " At evening sacrifice I fell upon my knees and
spread out my hands unto the Lord my God and said, 0 my God,
I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee my God: " and
farther (10 : 1), "When Ezra had prayed and when he had con
fessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of
God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great corigre-
gation of men, and women, and children; for the people wept
very sore."
137. Eighteous art thou, 0 Loed, and upright are thy
judgments'. 138. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are
righteous and very faithful.
139. My zeal bath consumed me, because mine ene
mies have forgotten thy words.
140. Thy word is very pure : therefore thy servant
loveth it.
141. I am small and despised : yet do not I forget thy
precepts. " My zeal hath consumed me," witnesses to the same tender
compassion for sinners, blended with deep indignation toward sin,
of which this Psalm presents so many expressions.  " Thy word
is very pure" — the term being borrowed from the smelting of ores
' to obtain the precious metals in their pure state. God's word is
comparable to the purest silver or gold well refined.
142. Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and
thy law is the truth.
143. Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me ; yet
thy commandments are my delights.
144. The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting :
give me understanding and I shall live.
. Thy " righteousness " preserves its character forever with no
deterioration ; with no change. In my extreme distress, I find
abiding delight in thy commandments. My relation to .my God
as his obedient child never fails to comfort me.
145. I cried with my whole heart ; hear me, O Loed ;. I
will keep thy statutes.
146. I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy
testimonies. 147. I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried :
I hoped in thy word.
148. Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might
meditate in thy word.

494 PSALM CXIX.
Tho word for "prevented" means either to come before or to be
beforehand; i. e., to come into one's presence, or to be in advance
of something. The former sense should probably be given to the
word in v. 147 (as in Ps. 95 : 2) ; I come before God with the
dawn of morning — as soon as the dawn appears. But in the next
verse — Mine eyes anticipated the night-watches ; I was beforehand
with them, meditating upon thy word and offering my prayer before
they arrived.
149. Hear my voice according unto thy loving-kindness :
O Loed, quicken me according to thy judgment.
Hear me in the spirit of thy loving-kindness, as in the exercise
of thy great love thou art wont to hear the suppliant's cry.
150. They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are
far from thy law.
151. Thou art near, O' Loed ; and all thy command
ments are truth.
152. Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old
that thou hast founded them forever.
The mischief-makers are near to me but far from thy law. That
they are so near causes my danger and calls forth this prayer for
thy help. But thou too art near, thou as well as they; and hence
my hope.
153. Consider mine affliction, and deliver me : for I do
not forget thy law.
154. Plead my cause, and deliver me: quicken me ac
cording to thy word.
155. Salvation is far from the wicked : for they seek not
thy statutes.
The underlying assumption is that the Great Father will cer
tainly care for his obedient and trustful children, but not for the
rebellious. The Psalmist pleads that he is one of the former
class, and virtually begs that he may not receive the lot of the latter,
156. Great are thy tender mercies, O Loed ; quickeu
me according to thy judgments.
157. Many are my persecutors and mine enemies ; yet
do I not decline from thy testimonies.
158. I beheld the transgressors, and was grieved ; be
cause they kept not thy word.
The fact that my persecutors are so many has not tempted me
away from thy testimonies. I saw those perfidious traitors, ene
mies against God, and was "grieved," says the English version;
but the Hebrew makes it stronger; I was filled with loathing; I
felt sick and disgusted at heart with their conduct toward God.

PSALM CXIX. 495
159. Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O
Loed, according to thy loving-kindness.
160. Thy word is true from the beginning : and every one
of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.
" Consider that I love thy precepts,'-' etc.; fail not to note this
fact and to treat me accordingly.  In v. 160, the Hebrew
word translated " From the beginning," seems to mean simply,
the head or the sum total, thus: Tho sum of thy word is truth;
all istrue. The English translators probably assumed an an
tithesis between the first clause and the last, thus: Thy word is
true from the first ; thy judgments endure unto the last, forever.
The original does not express this antithesis.
161. Princes have persecuted me without a cause : but my
heart standeth in awe of thy word.
162. I rejoice at thy word, as, one that findeth great
spoil. 163. I hate and abhor lying: but thy law do I love.
Under the persecution of the great I have feared not them but
thee. My fear of thy word has kept me from undue anxiety
because of their hostile bearing, and also from unhallowed re
sentment.  1 hate, I abhor lying ; but thy word is-perfect
truth, infinite sincerity; 0 how I love it for these qualities I
164. Seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy
righteous judgments.
165. Great peace have they which love, thy law: and
nothing shall offend them.
" Seven times " — never so many ; an indefinite but large' num
ber.-  "Nothing shall offend them" — cause them to stumble;
become a stumbling-block; for they arc preserved from strong
temptation, or with every teinptation a counteracting help appears
and God delivers.
166. Loed, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy
commandments. The first clause expresses the aspiration of his soul ; the second,
his performance of the conditions of success. He hopes for sal
vation, and to gain it, observes God's commandments — which is the
only rational way. If any man wishes the Lord to save him, let
him follow the Lord's directions.
167. My soul hath kept thy testimonies ; and I love them
exceedingly. 168. I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies ; for
all my ways are before thee.
" This oft-repeated avowal of his obedience he makes in all sin-

496 PSALM CXX.
cerity, remembering that his whole life and all the depths of his
heart are ever more before God's eye.
169. Let my cry come near before thee, 0 Lord: give
me understanding according to thy word.
170. Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me
according to thy word.
1711 My lips shall utter praise, when thou hast taught
me thy statutes.
In v. 171, read — "My lips shall pour forth praise, for thou wilt
teach me thy statutes." I am confident of having this occasion for
praise because thou wilt certainly teach me.
172. My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy
commandments are righteousness.
" My tongue shall answer thy word [saying] that all thy com
mandments are righteous, ' or, "for all thy commandments are
right — the former to be preferred as harmonizing better with tho
verb to answer in the first clause.
173. Let thine hand help me ; for I have chosen thy
precepts. 174. I have longed for thy salvation, 0 Loed ; and thy
law is my delight.
175. Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let
thy judgments help me.
176. I have gone astray like a lost sheep : seek thy serv
ant ; for I do not forget thy commandments.
The Psalmist closes here with comprehensive statements which
sum up the great points expanded in detail in the body of the
Psalm.  In v. 176 the "lost sheep" represents (probably)
rather suffering than sin. I have been lost as a perishing sheep —
one ready to die: O seek and bring me home, "for I have not for
gotten" [preter tense] "thy commandments."  Thus ends this
rich and wonderful Psalm. It is pleasant to think how many thou
sands of God's people in every age since it was written have read
its words, refreshed and quickened in every holy aspiration of faith
ill Godis promise, of love for his word and of delight in his charac
ter. The humble, afflicted saint who wrote it might well rejoice
that through God's blessing, the words God moved him to write
have brought in such a harvest of the fruits of righteousness. ''

PSALM CXX.
A series of fifteen Psalms commences here (120-134) which
are styled respectively "A song of degrees." Much critical labor"

PSALM CXX. 497
has been expended upon this word "degrees," * yet with very di
verse conclusions as to its meaning. The question has too little
real importance to justify an elaborate discussion in this volume.
Its importance is the less because the date and real authority of
these captions hang in doubt.  Passing the rejected theories, I
fully accept the view advocated by Hengstenberg, Alexander, and
many others as to the sense, viz., songs of the upgoings, i. e., songs
prepared to be sung by tho exiles returning from. Babylon to
Jerusalem, and also subsequently on their stated journeys going
up to the holy city to attend the three great annual festivals. This
theory accounts well, both for the leading thoughts and also for the
local allusions found in these Psalms. The thoughts meet the
case of the restored Jews and their re-established temple worship.
This noun [ascents or upgoings] and its verb are used repeatedly
for these goings up; the presence of the article [the ascents] favors
its definite reference to some well known and established journeys
like these; the oldest of these songs (Ps. 122) contains these very
-Words, naturally suggestive of the sense of this title : " Let us go
into the house, of the Lord" (v. 1); "whither the tribes go up,"
etc. (v. 4) ; and finally, such circumstantial allusions as appear
(Ps. 121 : 1) show that they were approaching the holy city: "I
will lift up mine eyes unto the hills whence cometh my help."
 Turning to the Psalm immediately before us, we may notice
how aptly it portrays the condition of the restored exiles, e. g.,
Zerubbabel and Jeshua, Ezra and Nehemiah, prosecuting the
great work of rebuilding the temple and city; harassed by ma
lign and lying enemies who misrepresented and traduced them
before the Persian court; compelled them to desist from their
enterprise, and caused them long and most vexatious delays and
immense trouble. The feelings of those godly men are brought
out in this Psalm.
1. In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he heard me.
2. Deliver my soul, 0 Lord, from lying lips, and from a
deceitful tongue.
This is their testimony. In their distress to. whom should they
go but to the Lord, their own Jehovah ? Nehemiah (4 : 4-9) gives
us testimony to this effect ; viz., that while Sanballat was wroth
and Tobiah the Ammonite scoffed and taunted, he lifted up his
prayer — " Hear, O our God, for we are despised," etc. (v. 4) ;
" We. made our prayer unto our God" (v. 9).
3. What shall be given unto thee ? or what shall be done
unto thee, thou false tongue ?
4. Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
What retribution is due to thee, false, lying man? Himself
makes answer—" Sharp arrows of the mighty warrior, with coals

ro

SyDn-;

498 PSALM CXXI.
of juniper " — a plant of the desert, reputed the best material for
charcoal — supposed to be the genista, a species of broom. The
idea is — sharp arrows and burning coals are their deserved punish
ment. 5. Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in
the tents of Kedar !
Alas for me that I am destined to live among such wicked
men!  The name "Meshech" is associated (Ezek. 27: 13) with
Javan and Tubal, and (Ezek. 38 : 2, 3) with Gog and Tubal ; in both
cases representing the savage, brutal hordes of Northern Asia : while
" Kedar" in like manner represents the rude people of the Southern
Arabian desert— — * Not dwell in the tents of Kedar" buiwith, L e.,
among, in, the midst of, such savage, godless tribes. Yet probably
these names are to be taken as representing their character rather
than as indicating the precise nationality of their enemies, as the
terms "Vandal" and "Cossack" are sometimes used in our age.
6. My soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace.
7. I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
"My soul" — for I myself; yet with the implied thought that
dwelling among such haters of peace was a bitter grief to his very
soul.— — -"1 am peace" — all peace, in the strong words of the
original, but when I speak with them of peace, in soothing words
and a conciliatory spirit, they are full of war. Such is the contrast
between my spirit and theirs ! Think of the trial of living among
such neighbors ! Such was the very trial of the restored exiles,
living between and among Samaritans, Ammonites, Edomites —
all barbarous, godless, and intensely hostile to the Jews.
 «ot»;o«< —
PSALM CXXI.
This Psalm naturally follows Ps. 120. That has the tone of
distress, solicitude,. trouble, as of one looking forth anxiously for
relief. This brings the promise of all desired relief and protec
tion.  The caption [in Hebrew] varies slightly from the normal
form, being not, as usual, "a song of the ascents," but for the
ascents, i. e., adapted to be sung by parties going up to the holy
city. The other form, however, has essentially the same meaning.
 The first verse suggests that this song would be appropriate just
when they came in sight of the sacred summits.
1. I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence
cometh my help.
2. My help cometh from the Loed, which made heaven
and earth.
The last clause of v. 1 is, by Hebrew usage of the words, inter

PSALM CXXI. 499
rogative, with a pause preceding, thus: "I will lift up mine eyes
to the hills : Whence shall my help come ? " Then v. 2 gives the
answer, viz., "From Jehovah, Maker of heaven and earth" —
abundantly able therefore to protect and help his trustful people
to the extent of their utmost wants. Who can be more mighty
than he, the Great Maker of earth and heaven ?
3. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved : he that
keepeth thee will not slumber.
4. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber
nor sleep.
"Let him not suffer thy foot to be moved," i. e., to slide from its
proper place — a very appropriate specification of danger to the
foot-traveling pilgrim over the rocky ways of the hills and ravines
of Palestine. — — It should be noted that v. 3 is prayer, not affirma
tion; while v. 4 is promise, assurance: "Let him not suffer; let
him not slumber; " but v. 4; "Behold, He, the Keeper of Israel,
will not slumber," etc. — —Nehemiah in his history of his times (4:
7-23) suggests that their faith was coupled with works, for " we
made our prayei- unto our God [first], and also set a watch against
therii day and night because of them" [a specimen of their
works]. 5. The Loed is thy keeper : the Lord is thy shade upon
thy right hand.
6. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by
night. " The Lord thy shade," throwing over thee the grateful shelter
which thou mayest need. " At'thy right hand" follows the usual
conception of friendly help. This shade will avert the sun-stroke in
the heats of day, and whatever malarious or otherwise harmful
influences may imperil you by night. There is no occasion to
assume that the Scriptures indorse the notion of noxious influence
from, the moon itself. Night, with or without moon, brings more
or less that is noxious, and the form of the expression here may be
otherwise accounted for without supposing any indorsement of
human superstitions about the moon.
7. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil : he shall
preserve thy soul.
8. The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
" Thy going out and thy coming in " — equivalent to the entire
activities and exposures of human life. The phrase takes form
from the habits of laborers, going out for the day ; coming in for
the night.  "From this time forth and even for evermore," mani
festly looks onward beyond the bound of this earthly life. The
writer might have said— Through all your days; long as you live;

500 PSALM CXXII.
but he did not say that merely, but that first arid much more ; even
through the long forever which is the inheritance of all whom God
has made in his own image.

PSALM CXXII.
This Psalm, full of the sweet inspirations of love for the house
of the Lord and for the scenes of worship there, is one of the
" songs of. the ascents " — every thought and sentiment in it being
adapted to the case of Hebrew families joyfully setting forth on
their stated pilgrimage to the holy city to join in the prescribed
worship of stated festivals. It is ascribed to David as the author.
This view is supported by the reference to " the tribes," as if they
were all then in the habit of going up; and by the compactness of
the city which was solidly built by David, but in the age of the
restoration was small and thinly peopled. Somewhat against the
theory that David wrote the Psalm is the use of the peculiar idiom
which abbreviates the relative answering to which, so as to write
fully only its middle consonant. The simple facts in regard to
this idiom are that it is not found in the first forty-one Psalms,
[Book I], nor in the Psalms of David which appear in Book II, and
occurs only in very rare instances in the Hebrew written before
the exile, but becomes somewhat common afterward. The prob
lem of its appearance here in a Psalm written by David is solved
if we may assume that the scribes of the age of Ezra in revising
the Psalm for use in their times allowed themselves to introduce
this form as being then more common and more acceptable. 
The tone of the Psalm was admirable for the times of the restora
tion when the religious life of the colonists was energized and
needed to be by the solemnities of their newly restored and lovely
Zion. 1. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the
bouse of the Lord.
2. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
" When they said " is not the exact grammatical construction of
the original, but rather this: "I rejoiced with those who said, let
us go," etc. I rejoiced as they did, in a common sympathy. All
our hearts wero glad together. It was a joyful day when the
word went round — " Let us go up to the house of the Lord and to
the holy city !  Not, " our feet shall stand," as if the words were
spoken prospectively as they left their homes; but our feet are
standing^h&ve already been planted within thy gates, O Jerusa
lem ; for they are now already there, or, at least, suppose them
selves to be.
3. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together :

PSALM CXXIII. 501
4. Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto
the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the
Lord.
5. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of
the house of David.
The pilgrims are impressed, with the magnificence of the city,
which some of them perhaps have entered for the first time. 
"Unto the testimony of Israel," would be more intelligible if
translated^ as it should be — according to the law or ordinance for
Israel — with reference to the national statute which required all
the males of Israel to appear at the holy place three times each
year. See- particularly Deut 16: 16, and Ex. 23: 17, and 34: 23.
This word rendered " testimony " has often the sense of statutes.
 " Thrones for judgment," the civil law as well as religious
being administered there.
6. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem : they shall prosper
that love thee.
7. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy
palaces. 8. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will now
say, Peace be within thee.
, 9. Because of the house of the Lord our God I will seek
thy good.
" Peace," in the broad sense of general prosperity. " For the sake
of my brethren and friends, 0 let me say, Peace be within thee."
The word "now" does not mean time, but only entreaty, express
ing prayer more intensely — O let me say, Be thy peace great !
Let peace always abide in this dear Zion ! Because God's house
is here, my prayer shall ascend for blessings on this city of his
abode.  The social element in the ancient Hebrew worship is
noticeable and delightful : For the sake of my brethren and friends
let me pray for perpetual blessings on our Zion !
PSALM CXXIII.
This Psalm appositely fits the case of the returned exiles, ex
periencing the keenest insult and contempt from their Samaritan
neighbors. There is no need of looking elsewhere for Its date
or occasion. — ; — It makes two main points : How we lift up our
eyes unto the Great Lord above, and why ; under what stress of
trial, viz., the reproach and scorn which fills and oppresses our
souls. The infant colony was feeble; their enemies strong, and
as the history shows, very insulting, e.g., saying of the people,
"What do these feeble Jews?" and of the city walls they were re
building: "If a fox go up he shall even break down their stone-
22

502 PSALM CXXIV.
wall " (Neh. 4 : 1-3). The history records that this contempt
brought them to God in prayer: "Hear, O our God, for we are
despised," etc. The Psalm before us develops their feelings yet
more fully.
1. Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest
in the heavens.
2. Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of
their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the .hand
of her mistress ; so our eyes wait upon the Lord our God,
until that he have mercy upon us.
" Lifting up the eye unto God" is one of the most natural indi
cations of prayer, one which, appears often in the Psalms. 
Beautifully God is addressed . as one dwelling, or as the Hebrew
suggests, fitting enthroned in the heavens.  The servant's eye
directed continually to the hand of his master suggests the two
fold relation of dependence and of service. The servant looks up
hopefully for all needed help, waiting also for continually recur
ring intimations of the master's will as to Bervice. ' So our eye is
unto God.
3. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us :
for we are exceedingly filled with contempt.
4. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of
those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
" Exceedingly filled with contempt " — the Hebrew words sug
gesting that they were sated with it; had more than enough;
more than they knew well how to bear. We may suppose that
they feared from such enemies something more and worse than
merely contempt. The history shows that their enemies thought
to try scorn first, and this failing, violence. Hence the cry for
mercy and for help.
. PSALM CXXIV.
Like Ps. 122 this " song of the ascents '' bears the name of
David as author; and like that also it has two cases of that pe
culiar idiom of the relative pronoun which indicates a later hand.
In this case as «in that, we may suppose the Psalm originally
David's, but slightly modified to adapt it to the idioms of the times
of the restoration.- — —The sentiment is remarkably congenial to
the spirit of David: No help for me save in God. But for his
help, how surely — nay, how many times — I should have perished
utterly. The same conscious dependence on God filled the hearts
of the leading men of the restoration.

PSALM CXXV. 503
1. If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, now
may Israel say ;
2. If it had not been the Loed who was on our side, when
men rose up against us :
3. Then they had swallowed us up quick, when their
wrath was kindled against us :
4.- Then the waters had overwhelmed us, the stream had
gone over our soul :
5. Then the proud waters had gone over our soul.
In v. 1, the last clause would be more true to the original, thus :
" O let Israel say."  " Swallowed us up quick "—not in the sense
suddenly, but in the ancient sense of living, alive. They would
have engulfed us alive in their pit of destruction. The force of
this language is readily seen in the fact that David usually and
' the restored exiles always had to contend against foes in a human
and' military point of view stronger than themselves.
6. Blessed be the Loed, who hath not given us as a
prey to their teeth.
7.. Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the
fowlers : the snare is broken, and we are escaped.
8. Our help is in the name of the Loed, who made
heaven and earth.
-The figure under which their enemies are presented changes
suddenly from a drowning flood to ravenous wild beasts, and then
to hunters insnaring their prey. The " breaking of the net-" ap
plies aptly to the fall of Babylon before Cyrus, which was the
means of their political redemption. That wonderful event broke
the snare and let 'the exiles escape — adding another testimony to
the great and oft developed truth that Israel's help is and ever
has been in the name — the glorious attributes — of the great and
true Jehovah, who, being the Maker of heaven and earth, has
ample resources for the redemption of his chosen.

PSALM CXXV.
Both the sentiments and the figures of this "song of the as
cents " concur in dating it during the revival age of the restora
tion The pilgrims, coming up to their annual solemnities,
Greeted the hill-tops of Mt. Zion from afar, and saw there a sym
bol of the firmness and stability of Jehovah's promises— good for
all those who trusted in him.
1. They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion,
which can not be removed, but abideth forever.

504 PSALM CXXV.
2. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the
Loed is round about his people from henceforth even for
ever. "Abideth forever" — sits on her deep, immovable foundations.
So firm is the standing, so safe the state of those who trust with
serene and steadfast faith in Jehovah, the God of the covenant and
of its promises. The realm of nature furnishes no figure for
stability more fine and perfect than the mountain on his base.
Oceans are tossed about by tempests; the grand old cedars come
down at last ; the clouds are fickle; man's mightiest works of art
pass away ; but the mountains are always firm to the human foot —
are always there, quietly and grandly reposing on their changeless
foundations. So are they who trust steadfastly in their God. — ^-
In v. 2, the figure varies slightly. The mountains stand like mili
tary ramparts round about Jerusalem, encircling and defending:
so God is a wall of circumvallation all round about his people.
The form of the Hebrew sentence is abrupt, but expressive:
"Jerusalem: the mountains are round about her, and the Lord is
round about his people."
3. For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot
of the righteous ; lest the righteous put forth their hands
unto iniquity.
The "rod" is an emblem of authority, power. The "lot" rep
resents all the interests, all that makes up the state, of the right
eous — the sentiment being that the wicked shall not be allowed to
hold power over the righteous. The reason is, lest the righteous
be tempted beyond their virtue to resort to iniquity in resisting
such rule. In this connection, the fact is one manifestation of
God's care of his trustful people. He will not leave them forever
— perhaps the sense is not long, under the rod of the wicked. The
trial of his people under proud Babylon was terrible. In mercy
the Lord cut it short in due time.
4. Do good, O Loed, unto those that be good, and to them
that are upright in their hearts.
5. As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways,
the Lord shall lead them forth with the workers of ini
quity : but peace shall be upon Israel.
With full heart the Psalmist prays, (and invites all to join) for
all good to be given to the good, but for such as turn aside from
righteous to morally crooked ways, he can only say — The Lord
will give them their portion according to their works — with those
of their own class. Bo it must be. How can praying men, living
in sympathy with God and righteousness, offer any other prayer
as to the final doom of sinners whom the richest offered mercy
fails to reclaim ?

PSALM CXXVI. 505

PSALM CXXVI.
This Psalm bears on its face strong evidence of having been
written after the restoration of some of the exiles, and while yet
there were_ others to come. The vivid description of the feelings
and sensations of the people indicates that their restoration was
then, recent and fresh in mind.
1. When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion,
we were like them that dream.
The word for " captivity " is taken by many able critics to be tho
abstract for the concrete ; i. e., captivity for captives, thus : " When
the Lord restored to their homes the captives of Zion."  We
could scarcely believe our senses. As in dreams we see things
too good to be true and seem to be living a charmed life yet lack
ing the sense of reality ; so were we when the proclamation went
forth from the throne of Cyrus ; Return ye to your ancient home.
 In the lapse of seventy years the hope of restoration to their
land, so long deferred, had mostly gone out in despair, save as it
rested (in some minds) on their faith in God's promise. The pol
icy of those great powers in the East had long been settled, viz.,
to break up the old tribes and kingdoms of Western Asia; take
the people into far eastern countries, and never let them return.
No nation known to history, except the Jews, ever did return to
rebuild their ancient cities and homes. Hence this joyous sur
prise. 2. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our
tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen,
The Loed hath done great things for them.
3. The Lord hath done great things for us ; ivhereqf we
are glad.
Strong words are these— our mouth full of laughter ; our tongue
full of loud shouts of joy (Hebrew). Even the heathen said,
"The Lord their God hath magnified his doings "for this people."
 V. 3, may be read at least equally well without the word
" whereof," thus : " The Lord hath done great things for us : we
are happy." We were sad ; wretched ; but mark the change : " we
are full of joy now."
4. Turn again our captivity, 0 Lord, as the streams in
the south.
This seems to be a prayer for the return of yet other captives.
Let their restoration be as when from the Northern hills of Pal
estine and Syria, the waters flow southward, and fill the long
empty river channels of the South.  The Hebrew word for
" streams " means strictly a river's bed, the channel which holds
water when water is there, but is often dry. Naturally there is

506 PSALM CXXVII.
joy for" the husbandmen when those valley-beds are filled again
with flowing waters. So, the prayer is, let thy people return joy
fully to their father-land.
5. They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy.
6. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious
seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing
his sheaves with him.
The return of the rainy season suggests seed-sowing. But seed-
sowing has in it more or less .of anxiety, solicitude; for who at
that stage knows certainly that his seed will return to him at all —
much less, with manifold increase? The sowing time therefore
is not the hour for the song of "harvest home." But God's ways
in providence are shaped to minister faith and hope to the seed-
sower, justifying the proverb ; " They that sow in tears shall reap
with songs of joy." The Psalmist beautifully expands this prov
erb : "He that goes forth with his burden of seed, weeping as
he goes, will surely come back with shouts of joy, bearing the
sheaves of his harvest." The seed that is sown, wet with the tears
of solicitude, care, and prayer, brings a sure and glorious harvest
at length. This is even more universally true in spiritual labor
than in material — more true of labors for truth and for the souls
of men than in labors for " the bread that perisheth." Christian
labor that takes hold of the heart's deepest sensibilities, that
means earnestness and real work, that is sustained by faith in the
mighty God and" has the witness of tears, can not fail of fruitage
in its due season. The shouts of the "harvest home" will be as
the tears of sowing time.  The translation "precious" applied
to " seed" can scarcely be justified from the original. The He
brew word means, the drawing out of seed, or the scattering it in
the furrow, the sense being — " He that goes forth with tears, scat
tering his seed as he goes," etc. Compare Amos 9: 13, for the
use of this word.  These verses had a forcible and instructive
illustration in the tearful captives of Babylon, coming home at
lerigth to the joyful ingatherings of their father-land.

PSALM CXXVII.
This "song of the ascents" is ascribed in the usual form to
Solomon as its author. As written by him it had a pertinent
reference to the building of the first temple. The builders of the
second had even more reason to feel their entire dependence on
God for help, and therefore would appreciate the fitness and force
of this ode for their times. Hence they wisely brought it forward
into then* compilation of this last book of Psalms.
1. Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain

PSALM CXXVII. 507
that build it : except the Lord keep the city, the watch
man waketh but in vain.
"The house" means primarily the temple, the house of God,
this being the usual Hebrew word for the temple. To the. men of
the restoration the rebuilding of the temple was a heavy work:
the guarding of their ' city against hostile assaults involved
anxious care. What could they do without God as their strong
helper? 2. It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat
the bread of sorrows : for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
It is' vain for you to be early to rise and late to rest, eating the
bread of hard labor (Hebrew). "So," i. e'., all this, "God will
give to his beloved with sleep." : The beloved of God who trust his
care and enjoy his blessings, shall obtain their bread along with
needful sleep — i. e., bread, and sleep besides-^without sacrificing
sleep to excessive unreasonable toil. So I prefer, on the whole, to
interpret this somewhat difficult clause. Some have given it this
turn: "So," i. e., by means of severe labor, God gives his beloved
¦sleep — the fatigue of their toil preparing them for sound sleep in
its season.  Against this construction lie these objections : (a) ,
That all hard laborers, and not God's beloved only or specially, get
sleep out of hard toil.  (b) It supposes God's beloved to get
good from a course declared to be " vain."
3. Lo, children are a heritage of the Loed i and the- fruit
of the womb is his reward.
4. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are
children of the youth.
As in the building of the great " house " [the temple] and in the
guarding of the city, so inthe rearing of a family, God's blessing
and this only insures the desired result.  "Children of the
youth" are children born to parents in their early years rather
than in their old age. The thought seems to be not only that such
sons and daughters are usually more vigorous, but that their vigor
turns to better account for the aid of their fathers.
5. Happy is the man that has his quiver full of them ;
they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the
enemies in the gate.
" Shall speak with the enemies in the gate," contemplates not
conflicts at arms but controversies at law in the courts, held in
the gates of the city. The father, powerfully flanked with stalwart
sons, is strong for such encounters. — ; — Such sentiments were timely
in the age of the restoration, for increase of population was a first
necessity to the stability and permanence of the infant colony.

508 PSALMS CXXVIII— CXXIX.

PSALM CXXVIII.

This short Psalm takes up and expands the sentiment with which
Ps. 127 closed. Obviously the state of the infant colony sufficiently
accounts for the interest felt in these thoughts. Zech. 8 is rich
and fragrant with promises of the same sort of blessings: " The
streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the
streets thereof."
1. Blessed is every one that feareth the Loed; that
walketh in his ways.
2. For thou shalt eat the labor of thine bands: happy
shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
These family blessings are the reward of true piety.  V. 2 is
better read — " When thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands, happy
shalt thoji be therein and all shall be well with thee.  We must
not fail to notice the special force of this idea as seen in the light
of the facts of history in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah respect
ing ungodly intermarriages with heathen wives. This was wide-
and far from the fear of the Lord. Note how solemnly and
earnestly those pious men protested with tears and persistent
rebukes (Ezra 9 and 10, and Neh. 13 : 23-30).
3. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine
house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
4. Bebold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth
the Loed. *
Beautiful figures these, and beautiful the realities they represent.
" Behold ; " take note of the facts ; the man who feareth the Lord
shall reap these blessings as his reward.
5. The Loed shall bless thee out of Zion : and thou shalt
see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace
upon Israel.
Thou shalt joyfully behold not only a lovely growing family of
thine own, but the good of the holy city, all thy days ; children's
children for thyself and the peace of Israel besides.

PSALM CXXIX.
This song sweeps its eye over the historic past of Israel, bring
ing back this one great moral lesson— that though their enemies
had afflicted them sorely, yet their God had always interposed in
their time of need. This view of the past calls forth the trustful

PSALM CXXIX. 509
prayer that God would frustrate the schemes of their enemies in
all future time.
1. Many a time have they afllicted me from my youth,
• may Israel now say :
2. Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth :
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3. The ploughers ploughed upon my back : they made
long their furrows.
The youth of Israel as a nation was spent in Egypt, much of it
in political bondage. Then and all along at intervals onward
their enemies had oppressed them greatly — much, the Hebrew
word primarily means; but in this historic review, it may include
frequency as well as severity.  " O let Israel say " — the word
. for " now " having no reference to time, but being only a word of
entreaty.  Yet gratefully to God let me say, " They have not
been able," i. e., to destroy me. They have scourged me sorely,
" ridging my back with their furrows — where the wounds of the
savage scourge are compare*d to the ridges of a plowed field.
4. The Lord is righteous : he hath cut asunder the cords
of the wicked.
The Lord is righteous, and therefore interposed to arrest oppres
sion : he cut off the cords — the tugs by which the figurative plow
on my back was drawn. This construction has at least the merit
of keeping up the figure to the end. To cut the cords by which
the scourging, i. e., the plow, was worked, broke down their power.
No other sense of the word " cords " is germain to the figure before
the mind.
5. Let them all be confounded and turned back that
hate Zion.
6. Let them be as the grass upon the house-tops, which
withereth afore it groweth up :
7. Wherewith the mower filleth not his hand; nor he
that bindeth sheaves his bosom.
8. Neither do they which go by say, The blessing of the
Loed be upon you : we bless you in the name of the Loed.
Grass on oriental house-tops is of necessity short-lived, the soil
for roots being the least amount which would admit any growth at
all. With the first abatement of the rain and the first warm rays
of the sun, it must wither.  Not " afore it groweth " — for this
construction would preclude grass altogether; but before one
plucks it, i. e., it withers of itself, under the agencies of nature,
and without human hands to pluck it up.  Still carrying forward
the supposed case — with such grass no mower fills his hands ; no
binder of sheaves his arm ; the passers by could have no heart to
say to men harvesting such grass — "The Lord's blessing be on

510 PSALM CXXX.
you."  Let all the endeavors, all the results of them that hate
Zion, be like such an utter abortion !  The story of Ruth (2 : 4)
furnishes a beautiful case of the good wishes and pious responses
of men in the midst of harvest bounty.
PSALM CXXX.
This group of songs for the ascents, to be sung on the way up to
the holy city, would be quite incomplete without at least one of
penitential character, confessing sin and imploring forgiveness.
For the nation had been fearfully guilty before God and were then
beginning to enjoy the mercy of restoration to their father-land
only because they had penitently sought forgiveness. Therefore,
let them recall thosfe confessions and prayers — nay more, renew
them, before the Lord. Who has not abundant occasion for such
confessions and for such prayers ?
1. Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Loed.
2. Lord, hear my voice : let thine ears be attentive to
the voice of my supplications.
" Out of the depths," i. e., of sorest affliction — as one in deep
waters overborne with sorrow.  Let thine ears be attentive—
quickened to thoughtful hearing.
3. If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, 0 Lord,
who shall stand ?
4. But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be
feared. " Shouldest mark iniquities " — shouldest watch for them — the
sam.e word which is used below of those who "watch for the morning."
 " Who shall stand ?" — in the sense either of standing up in '
self-vindication, or standing under the infliction of deserved
punishment. Who could do either — defend, or endure 1  But
forgiveness is possible to thee — thy purpose in it being to beget
true piety._ lhou forgivest the suppliant sinner in order that,
being forgiven, he may be drawn and held forever by gratitude
and love to a life of godly fear. " For the love of Christ con-
straineth." The moral power of clemency, forgiving mercy, sur
passes all other moral power toward producing the new life of
reverence and loving obedience.
5. I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his
word do I hope.
6. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that
watch for the morning : I say, more than they that watch for
the morning.

PSALM CXXXI. 511
" My soul doth wait "—equivalent to saying, I wait with all my
soul— earnestly.  In his word of promise do I hope.  As the
lost traveler, or the imperilled sea-faring men watch and long for
the morning light, so and more than so does my soul watch and
wait for the light of God's face.
7. Let Israel hope in the Lord, for with the Loed
Hiere is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
8. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
Literally, "0 Israel, hope thou in the Lord" — the ground of
inspiring hope being that with him pardoning mercy is much,
great, plenteous ; it comes not in scanty measure, but in measure
abundant : not from reluctant hand and heart, but from a full hand
and overflowing heart ! And he will forgive penitent Israel all her
sins!
PSALM CXXXI.
David's name is at the head of this short Psalm. If we ask to
what point of time in his history it may be supposed to have spe
cial reference, Psalm 132 and its scenes will suggest as the an
swer — The bringing of the ark from Kirjath-Jearim [Bphrath]. up
to the hill of Zion (see 2 Sam. 6). The awe-inspiring calamity on
Uzzah might naturally impress David with a sense of God's holi
ness and majesty, and suggest that no other spirit than that of
most profound humility could be pleasing to him, or could come
with safety so near the symbol of his glorious presence.  It Was
vital to cherish the same reverent awe of God's ark and sanctuary
among the restored exiles as they were re-establishing the worship
of God in his sanctuary.
1. Lord, my heart, is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty;
neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things
too high for me.
" Lord, I have not ambitiously sought the throne of Israel " —
have not thrust myself forward into high positions uncalled of
tnee.  The verb translated "exercise myself" means walked as
applied to the course of one's life. I have not pushed myself
into great matters — made myself conversant with them.
2. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child
that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned
' child. The verbs translated, "behaved," "quieted myself," suggest
rather thil sense : I have leveled down [toned down] and silenced
my soul ; I have suppressed and kept down undue aspirations, as a
weaned child keeps down and crucifies his natural cravings and ¦
makes himself quiet without the long enjoyed indulgence. David

512 ' PSALM CXXXII.
would imply that his soul was only human ; had by nature aspira
tions in plenty, but had subdued them under the fear and love of
God. 3. Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for
ever. " O Israel, hope thou in the Lord evermore " — it being implied
that such hope and trust stand opposed to the proud aspirations
just above referred to, and consist only with the sincere humility
which the Psalm illustrates and commends.

PSALM CXXXII.
This Psalm is built upon two great events in the life of David,
viz., his bringing the ark from its exile up to the hill of Zion -(2 Sam.
6), and the promise made to him of a kingdom in the line of his
family, made perpetual through the Messiah, as recorded in 2 Sam.
7. ' Upon the basis of these great events and the promises of God
imbedded in them, the restored exiles rested their whole move
ment — their hopes in God and their endeavors to re-establish the
institutions of their fathers. Hence those events of David's history
were naturally full of religious inspiration, and were pertinently
wrought into this sacred song, in all points appropriate to the
times of the restoration.
1. Loed, remember David, and all his afflictions:
2. How he sware unto the Loed, and vowed unto the
mighty God of Jacob ;
3. Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,
nor go up into my bed ;
4. I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine
eyelids 5. Until I find out a place for the Loed, a habitation for
the mighty God of Jacob.
"Lord, remember as to David," i. e., in his behalf, as inuring
to his benefit — all his trials, his heart-burdens — which the Psalm
ist proceeds to specify in certain particulars. Remember how
solemnly and earnestly he set his heart on recovering the ark, on
providing a suitable habitation for it upon Mt. Zion, and locating
it there.  The. word for "surely" (v. 3) is the customary form
of the solemn oath : "If I shall go into the tent of my house," '
etc., this "if" being intensely emphatic, equivalent to saying:
" If 1 do, then let my name perish ! " So deeply in earnest was
David in this enterprise.
6. Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah : we found it in the
fields of the wood.

PSALM CXXXII. 513
These may be taken as the words of David, speaking for him
self and his associates. We heard of the ark first whilo we were
atEphratah— " the same is Bethlehem " (Gen. 48 : 7). That is,
this being David's native city, he heard of the ark first while
yet a_ mere youth in his paternal home. Ultimately he found it
at Kirjath-Jearim, the forest city [precisely, the city of forest
trees]. The history confirms this point. See 1 Chron. 13 : 5, 6.
_ 7. We will go into his tabernacles : we will worship at
his footstool.
8. Arise, O Loed, into thy rest ; thou, and the ark of
thy strength.
9. Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness ; and let
thy saints shout for joy.
By a sudden transitiou the ark is supposed to be brought to
its destined home and all is ready for worship. Pertinent now
is the solemn public prayer that God himself would arise and
come into this place of his abiding rest — the seat of his visible
presence [the Shekinah] being above the mercy-seat, upon the
lid of the ark of the covenant and underneath the cherubim.
The words of this prayer are those used by Solomon at the dedi
cation of the first temple when he came precisely to this point —
the consecration of the ark and the prayerful invocation of God's
presence to abide there (2 Chron. 6: 41); " Now, therefore, arise;
O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy
strength ; let thy priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation,
and let thy saints rejoice in goodness."
10. For thy servant David's sake turn not away the face
of thine anointed.
The usage of the phrase: "Turn not away the face," appears
fully in the original in 1 King 2 : 16, 17, 20 — " reject not my pe
tition." — — Exegetically, the great question of the verse is : What
is meant by " thine anointed? " Is it David himself; or some defi
nite king among his merely human descendants ; or does it apply
to each or any of them as they come into office to bear the re
sponsibilities of this line of anointed kings ? I incline to the
latter construction, under which the petition is applicable to any
one or to all the anointed successors of David. For David's sake
let -every one of them be admitted to free audience before thee
and his prayer be evermore availing. The context contemplates
a long line of kings descended from David. It was pertinent to
make them all the subjects of this prayer.
11. The Loed hath sworn in truth unto David ; he will
not turn from it ; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon
thy throne.
12. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testi-

514 PSALM CXXXII.
mony that I shah teach th.em, their children shall also sit
upon thy throne for evermore.
The points made in these verses may be seen in 2 Sam. 7, and
1 Kings 8 : 25, 26', and 1 Chron. 17, and Ps. 89 : 19-37, etc.
13. For the Loed hath chosen Zion : he hath desired it
for his habitation.
14. This is my rest forever : here will I dwell ; for I have
desired it.
15. I will abundantly bless her provision : I will satisfy
her poor with bread.
16. I will also clothe her priests with salvation ; and her
saints shall shout aloud for joy.
All these points have a precious bearing on the hearts of the re- ,
stored exiles. Upon the basis of these ancient promises they
were then building with immense labor another temple in which
they pray that God may dwell with his manifested presence, ful
filling his great promises as made specially to David.  The pro-
visons — the bread (v. 15) — should doubtless be understood as spirit
ual, not material ; the bread of eternal life, and not merely the
"bread that perisheth."
17. There will I make the horn of David to bud: I
have ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
18. His enemies will I clothe with shame : but upon
himself shall his crown flourish.
The "horn," a common symbol of power, is here coupled with
the idea of vegetable growth, to "bud" — but the Hebrew word
suggests springing up as the grass. The ultimate reference may
be to David's greater Son, in whom all these magnificent promises
to David and his seed culminate. So understood, the allusion to
this passage by Zacharias (Luke 1 : 69) tallies well with the state
ment that " he was filled with the Holy Ghost and prophesied,
"The Lord hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house
of his servant David."  "I have arranged" [put in order] "a
lamp for mine anointed," referring to the lamps kept in order by
the priests in the temple. This usage seems to furnish the figure;
its significance comes from the relation between light and. truth,
so that this signifies the light of salvation which the Messiah sheds
forth on a morally dark world.  Glorious victory shall be his
reward ; his enemies clothed with the shame of overthrow and de
feat; his own crown flourishing in perpetual beauty and glory!
The figure here follows that in v. 17 — the horn shooting up as a
vegetable growth ; so the crown puts forth blossoms and flowers
of celestial beauty.

PSALM CXXXIII. 515

PSALM CXXXIII.
_ This Psalm, ascribed to David, was admirably adapted to his
times to encourage the great convocation on their religious festi
vals ; and not less adapted to the age of the restoration when the
same results were so exceedingly desirable.
1. Behold, how good and how pleasant-ii is for brethren
to dwell together in unity !
By general consent of lexicographers and critics, the Hebrew
words translated "together in unity," mean together in place, and
leave unity in feeling and spirit to be inferred. The writer must
be supposed to think of the great religious festivals which brought
the masses of the people together for the delightful service of pub
lic religious worship. This service was grateful to such a heart
as David's; it was morally and politically wholesome ; it was so
cially delightful to the whole people, old and young; it could
scarcely fail to exert a precious religious influence upon all. The
bringing of the whole people together in one place during these
great festivals served to bring their hearts together in fraternal
union. 2. It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that
ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard : that went
down to the skirts of bis garments;
The influence of such a convocation was fragrant like the odors
of precious ointment, that which was poured on Aaron's head
being specified for the two-fold reason of its superior richness,
and of its most sacred associations. The composition -of this
anointing oil may be seen in Ex. 30: 23-25.
3. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended
upon the mountains of Zion : for there the Loed com
manded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Of the two figures which set forth the delightfulness of the. great
religious convocations of Israel, the anointing oil is the work of
human hands ; the dew, of divine. The grateful, refreshing dews
drop down from God. In climates where rains are restricted to
certain seasons and heavy dews supply in a measure their absence,
it is not easy to over-estimate their value.  On this verse some
critics raise the question how the dews of Hermon, far away on
the north-eastern boundary of Palestine,- could fall on the moun
tains of Zion. I doubt if the poet-author had any difficulty in his
mind on this point. ' He seems to have thought of Mt. Hermon as
distinguished for its copious dews of material sort, but of Mt
Zion as similarly distinguished for dews of spiritual sort — dews of
heavenly grace, even God's own best blessings — life eternal.

516 PSALMS CXXXIV— CXXXV.

PSALM CXXXIV.
1. Behold, bless ye the Loed, all ye servants of the Lord,
which by night stand in the house of the Lord.
2. Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the
Lord.
3. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out
of Zion.
This last of the " songs of the ascents " supposes the people to
have reached the temple and to call on the priests in attendance
there to bless Jehovah in devout adoration.  The question may
arise whether the priests stood throughout the whole night in the tem
ple. These very words and in this form occur Ps. 92 : 2 : " To
show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy faithful
ness in the nights. With sc'arcely a doubt this refers to the
morning and evening sacrifices.  "Lift up your hands in the
sanctuary," should be toward the sanctuary, the most holy place —
this being the customary attitude of prayer and worship.  In
the last verse, the priests respond with their benediction — " The
Lord who made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion " — the
place of his holy habitation; "thee" applying to every humble
worshiper. Thus people and priests call upon each other to ren
der worship and praise to their common Lord and Father. His
torically stated, we may see something similar — perhaps the very
same — in Neh. 9 : 5, and onward.  We may hope that these
songs of the ascents were verily sung " with the spirit and with the
understanding also," quickening the hearts of all the worshipers
on those impressive, hallowed days of their holy convocation.

PSALM CXXXV.
The songs of the ascents are closed, but their spirit lingers still.
Indeed we may suppose the people to have now rested from their
journeyings, planting their weary feet and pitching their tents in
the sacred city, prepared for the delightful scenes of worship, so
long and joyously anticipated. What now but songs of praise ?
The various classes — priests, Levites, people, call upon each other
and call on themselves to lift up heart and voice in reverent praise
to their own Jehovah.  This Psalm involves no exegetical diffi
culties. All is plain. Most of the phrases have occurred already.
1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the name of the
Lord ; praise Mm, O ye servants of the Lord.
2. Ye that stand in the house of the Lord, iu the courts
of the house of our God.

PSALM CXXXV. 517
3. Praise the Lord ; for the Lord is good : sing praises
unto his name ; for it is pleasant.
4. For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and
Israel for his peculiar treasure.
" His peculiar treasure," to appropriate them specially to him
self, having henceforth a personal right of property in them as in
no other nation. The rather unusual words for " peculiar treas
ure" occur in the same sense, Ex. 19: 5, and Deut. 7: 6, and 14:
2, and 26 :' 18.
5. For I know that the Loed is great, and that our Lord
is above all gods.
6. Whatsoever the Loed pleased, that did he in heaven,
and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.
7. He causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the
earth ; he maketh hghtnings for the rain ; he bringeth the
wind out of his treasuries.
"For /know" — the word "I" being made emphatic in the
original. Whatever may be the case with others, I have had per
sonal and precious experience of the greatness of Jehovah's power,
and of his infinite supremacy above all other gods. The author Of
the Psalm may either speak for all Israel as a unit, or he may
have framed his song so that every worshiper might say this for
himself as his own testimony.  This supreme Lord has done his
pleasure every-where — a truth which may be seen more clearly by
looking at some of its particular manifestations — e. g., in heaven,
earth, sea, etc.  "He maketh lightnings for the rain" to accom
pany it and add sublimity and majesty to the tempest and the
storm. " He bringeth the wind out of his treasuries according to
the favorite poetic conception of those times — that the Lord im
prisons his winds in store-houses, to call them forth when he will
for his work. See Job 38 : 22.  The phrases in v. 7 appear in
Jer. 10 : 13, and 51 : 16.
8. Who smote the first-born of Egypt, both of man and
beast. 9. Who sent tokens and wonders into the midst of thee,
O Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants.
10. Who smote great nations, and slew mighty kings ;
11. Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan :
12. And gave their land for a heritage, a heritage unto
Israel his people.
Gave their lands for an inheritance to Israel, to be held by them
through their successive generations. This was in fulfillment of
long standing promise to the patriarchs.

518 PSALM CXXXV.
13. Thy name, O Loed, endureth forever; ajid thy
memorial, O Loed, throughout all generations.
14. For the Loed will judge his people, and he will
repent himself concerning his servants.
The memorial name of Israel's God is Jehovah, with reference
to its significance — fidelity to promise, faithfulness resting on im
mutability. See Ex. 3: 15, and Hos. 12: 5. It had pleased God
to give them this name of himself with this interpretation ; with
joy therefore, the Psalmist declares that this name shall stand
good through all. generations — the ground of abiding, everlasting
confidence in the Lord of'HostS as by covenant their own God. 
" Will judge his people " — in discipline and even chastisement for
their national sins, as in their then recent captivity ; but he will
also repent himself in behalf of his servants when they turn peni
tently to seek his face. See this truth drawn out beautifully in
Jer. 31 : 16-21.
15. The idols of the heathen are silver and gold, the
work of men's bands.
16. They have mouths, but they speak not ; eyes have
they, but they see not ;
17. They have ears, but they hear not ; neither is there
any breath in their mouths.
18. They that make them are like unto them: so is every
one that trusteth in them.
Our God is utterly unlike and infinitely above all the idols of the
heathen, as you will see by a moment's consideration upon what
they are. Nearly the same words occur Ps. 115: 4-8.  In v. 18
the original must mean, not " are like them " i. e., in character,
but shall be like them, i. e., in destiny — sure to be destroyed —
brought utterly to nought.
19. Bless the Loed, O house of Israel : bless the Loed,
O bouse of Aaron :
20v Bless the Loed, 0 house of Levi : ye that fear the
Lord, bless the Loed.
21. Blessed be the Loed out of Zion, which dwelleth at
Jerusalem. Praise ye the Loed.
Let blessings in the sense of offered praises go forth out of Zion
to Jehovah who dwelleth in Jerusalem. Let all the people who
constitute his Zion pour forth their ceaseless praises to their
Almighty Lord who dwells in the midst of them. ?

PSALM CXXXVI. 519

PSALM CXXXVI.
This Psalm bears the closest relation to Ps. 135— identically the
same in its general purpose, viz., praise to God for his goodness
and mercy: and similar in many of its specifications. It is pecu
liar only in its structure, each several clause being followed by
what may be called "a refrain" — "for his mercy endureth for
ever." This seems to have been sung as a chorus, perhaps in
response with the other clauses. Historically- it may have been
composed to be sung on occasion of laying the foundation stone
of the temple upon which occasion Ezra (3: 11) _ informs us,
"They sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto
the Lord because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward
Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they
praised the Lord because the foundation of tho house of the Lord
was laid."
1. O give thanks unto the Loed ; for lie is good : for his
mercy endureth forever.
2. 0 give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy
endureth forever.
3. O give thanks to the Loed of lords : for his mercy
endureth forever.
" For he is good " is, the one comprehensive ground or reason
for praise, including in itself all the particulars.  The God of
gods — not the God of all the false gods ; but a superlative phrase
meaning simply the Supreme God, as in Deut. 19 : 7, whence both
these phrases — "God of gods" and "Lord of lords" — seem to
have been taken.
4. To him who alone doeth great wonders : for his mercy
endureth forever.
"Who alone doeth," etc., which means more than doing them
without aid, by his own single arm. The higher idea is— He and
he only, to the exclusion ofall others ; he and none but he, doeth
these incomparable miracles of power. This latter sense prac
tically includes the former.
5. To him that by wisdom made the heavens : for his
mercy endureth forever.
6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters :
for his mercy endureth forever.
" Spread out the earth above the waters," i. e., higher than they.
See Ps. 24 : 2, and notes there.
7. To him that made great lights : for his mercy endureth m
forever :

520 PSALM CXXXVI.
8. The sun to rule by day : for his mercy endureth for
ever: 9. The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy
endureth forever.
This ruling of the day and the night follows the record in
Gen. 1. "
10. To him that smote Egypt in their first-born : for his
mercy endureth forever :
Remarkably the same mercy smote Egypt's first-born which
saved all Israel — the former being a necessary part of the same
merciful work.
11. And brought out Israel from among them : for his
merey endureth forever :
12,, With a strong hand, and with "a stretched out arm :
for his mercy endureth, forever :
13. To him which divided the Bed Sea into parts : for
his mercy endureth forever :
14. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it :
for his mercy endureth forever :
15. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Bed Sea :
for his mercy endureth forever.
According to vs. 13, 14, the Lord having divided the Red Sea
into parts, made Israel pass between the parts, i. e., between the
waters on one side and the waters on the other.
16. To him which led his people through the wilderness :
for his mercy endureth forever.
17. To him which smote great kings : for his mercy en
dureth forever :
18. And slew famous kings : for his mercy endureth for
ever :
19. Sihon king of the Amorites : for his mercy endureth
forever :
20. And Og the king of Bashan : for his mercy endureth
forever :
21. And gave their land for a heritage : for his mercy en
dureth forever :
22. Even a heritage unto Israel his servant : for his mercy
endureth forever.
_ Here again mercy shines in the judgments sent on opposing
kings.
> 23. Who remembered us in our low estate : for his mercy
enduretli forever :

PSALM CXXXVII. 521
24. And hath redeemed us from our enemies : for his
mercy endureth forever.
_ The fact that the people had but just come forth from their po
litical bondage in Babylon suggests that as the low estate here
thought of. So we might infer from Ps. 107 : 16.
25. Who giveth food to all flesh : for his mercy endureth
forever. 26. O give thanks unto the God of heaven: for his mercy
endureth forever.
God,_the universal Provider. See Ps. 104 : 27. Surely we may
trust him to provide for all our wants and much more if we are his
obedient, trustful people.  " God ofheaven " — a phrase not in
common use until the age of the restoration — occurs eight times
in the book of Ezra, twice in Nehemiah, three times in Daniel.

PSALM CXXXVII.
This exquisitely touching, plaintive song, admired as such in all
ages, was written by some unknown pen, either in Babylon or soon
after the restoration while the scenes of the captivity were still
fresh. It is admirably adapted to its place in this collection among
Psalms of .the restoration, impressively suggesting : We have abun
dant reason for thanksgiving and praise, from overflowing hearts ;
for, think of the long years of our sadness, and silence, and tears
by the rivers of Babylon — our harps on the willows ; no songs of
our dear Zion on our tongues : but how changed the scene now !
Such a song of reminiscences could not fail to deepen the tide of
grateful praise for their present mercies.
1. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we
wept, "when we remembered Zion.
2. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst
thereof. "Babylon" — perhaps for Babylonia, i. e., not the city alone but
the country politically connected. Then the "' rivers " [plural]
might include the Euphrates, Tigris, Chaboras (Ezek. 1 : 1, 3) and
Ulai (Dan. 8 : 2). But the Euphrates itself was not restricted to
a single channel, for one of the great works of Nebuchadnezzar
was the construction of an immense reservoir — an artificial lake,
into, which by canals he conducted the waters of the Euphrates at
flood, probably for the double purpose of abating the danger to
the low lands from its spring freshets, and of storing waters for
irrigation in the dry season. Upon these immense works it is
more than supposable that the captive Jews were employed, as
their fathers were in Egypt on public works of national interest.

522 PSALM CXXXVII.
The location of the scenes of this song beside these river
channels— the scenes of their daily toil — would then be spe
cially suggestive.  " There we sat down ;" but what is the special
significance of this sitting? Is it simply living as the place of
residence, or resting as laborers sit down when over much weary,
or mourning as the orientals sit on the ground or in ashes under
the weight of crushing sorrow ? If the word " sat " has any
special significance it is probably the latter. See cases of this
usage, Isa. 3 : 26, and Lam. 2 : 10, and Job 2 : 13.  Not only
sat [on the ground] but wept — wept, not particularly as they re
membered the homes of their fathers in the goodly land of prom
ise, or the plenty or the freedom enjoyed there, but as they
remembered Zion, the hallowed temple, the holy city, the place
and the scenes of sacred worship, the recognized home of Israel's
God, sitting beneath the cherubim. The fresh remembrance of
Zion and of all these surroundings of hers brought from our eyes
bitter tears.  There, alas ! we had no more occasion for our
harps of song; so we hung them on the willows along the river's
bank. 3. For there they that carried us away captive required
of us a song ; and they that wasted us required of us mirth,
saying, -Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
Somewhat more literally thus: "For there our captors de
manded of us words of song, arid our robbers, mirth [or joy] —
"Sing to us out of a song of Zion."  Did this demand come of
curiosity or of a spirit of insult? Possibly only the former;
more probably, the latter. That those who made the demand are
spoken of as having captured and plundered them implies that
this demand was made in somewhat the same spirit. It is at least
obvious that they failed to appreciate the sadness of heart under
which these captives were weeping. Perhaps their spirit was not
unlike that of -American slaveholders (that were) who were never
pleased to see a slave in tears, but would fain call or tempt him to
mirth instead.  Incidentally the case witnesses to the musical
culture of the Hebrews as at least in advance of their age.
4. How shall we sing the Loed's song in a strange
land?. 5. If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand for
get her cunning.
6. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to
the roof of my mouth ; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my
chief joy.
Why could they not sing ? In most touching words they answer :
"How shall we sing the songs of our Jehovah in a strange land?"
Every strain would seem in its echo to mock our grief, telling us
that he is our faithful God no_ longer ! Ah, can we forget Jerusa
lem I To sing in tones of mirth as they demand would imply it";

PSALM CXXXVII. 523
but when I do, let my right hand lose its skill on the harp ; let
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth and no voice remain
for song !  " If I exalt not Jerusalem above the head of my
joy " — fairly represents the last clausS of v. 6. How could they
be mirthful when their most beloved Jerusalem lay in utter deso
lation !
7. Bemember, O Loed, the children of Edom in the day
of Jerusalem ; who said, Base it, rase it, even, to the foun
dation thereof.
The tone of vs. 7-9 shows plainly that the Hebrew captives felt
this demand upon them for a song of Zion to be a cruel taunt,
one of the bitter aggravations of their lot.  The " day of Jerusa
lem" was that memorable one when the walls fell, and her enemies
rushed in to sack, burn, and destroy. Then the children of Edom,
their national cousins, were specially spiteful, revengeful. Wisely,
prudentially, they had a common interest with Judah in repelling
this Chaldean invasion and in driving this conquering horde back
from Western Asia to their home on the Euphrates; but their old
antipathy against the Hebrew race blazed forth — an outrage on
humanity and a rank offense against the God of heaven ! As
said here, they shouted, Raze, raze the city to its very founda
tions; leave not one stone upon another! The prophet Obadiah
(vs. 10-15) charges upon them that they stood on the enemy's
side; looked on joyfully, and spake proudly in the day of their
distress ; joined in the pillage ; intercepted the fugitives and
turned them back upon the sword of the conquerors. Amos (1 :
11) gave the reasons for the ruin of Edom, saying: "Because
he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all
pity, arid his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for
ever." Was there not a natural fitness in the prayer that God
would "remember these children of Edom ?"
8. O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed;
happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou has served us.
9. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little
ones against the stones.
These words will suggest even to candid minds the query
whether they are not open to the charge of cruel vindictiveness ?
In answer to this question it has been said: These words were
simply reported by the Psalmist as having been wrung from the
lips and souls of the: crushed captives, but not indorsed as right.
But this leaves the question still unanswered — Why then do they
stand in a song for the Hebrew sanctuary with no exception taken
to their spirit? Would there not be danger lest their spirit, sup
posing it to be wrong, would be contagious and morally bad? 
A deeper view of the case will suggest that this idea of retribution,
even in its most specific form, was not original with these captives;
They must have known the " burden on Babylon" as given bylsaiah

524 PSALM CXXXVIII.
(13 : 16, 18); "The children shall be dashed in pieces before their
eyes ; they shall have no pity on the fruit of tho womb ; their eye
shall not spare children." Also the words of Jeremiah, sent
expressly to them during their captivity: " Take vengeance upon
her; as she hath done, do unto her. Recompense her according
to her works ; according to all that she hath done, do unto her
(Jer. 50 : 15, 29). Remarkably the Targum represents these words
of our Psalm as uttered by the archangels Michael and Gabriel.
Wordsworth remarks that " this view of them has its value as show
ing that in the opinion of the Hebrew church these expressions
were not regarded as coming from the mouth of men speaking their
own feelings, but as derived from a higher source. This is the
true view of them. They are the words of the people of God ac
cepting and re-echoing the judicial decrees revealed m his word."
 It seems to me that no just opinion of their moral character
can be formed without taking into account the prophecies on the
subject, a part only of which are cited above, and which must
have taught them unmistakably God's purpose of retribution upon
both Babylon and Edom, and, in fact, which must have suggested
to them the very ideas which seem to our view most exceptionable —
the dashing of their infants upon the rocks. The question in its
moral aspects amounts therefore to this: Is it, or is it not, morally
right for God's people to accept his purposes of retribution upon
their enemies when those purposes are definitely revealed ? Can
they with moral uprightness say, " Even so, Father, for so it has
seemed good in thy sight ? "
PSALM CXXXVIII.
With this Psalm commences a series of eight (138-145) ascribed
to David, yet some of them bear the marks of having been slightly
modified in diction to harmonize with the dialect of the age of the
restoration. Their general tone is that of prayer and of praise
filling therefore an exceedingly useful place in this new collection
of songs for the sanctuary compiled in this revival age.— —Upon
the Psalm before us a new light is shed by reading it in connec
tion with 2 Sam. 7, and 1 Chron. 17— that great event of David's
religious life, in which his soul was moved to build an house for
the Lord, and the prayer of his heart was answered by God's prom
ise to build him an house — in the sense of an eternal succession
upon the throne of Israel, and the great Messiah to crown all.
1. I will praise thee with my whole heart : before the gods
will I sing praise unto thee.
'' With my whole heart " is entirely in the spirit of David, devel
oping one of the prime excellences of his character— a soul full
of love and gratitude to God, the true spirit of worship.  " Before

PSALM CXXXVHI. 525
the gods " — in the face of the heathen gods of all the world,
squarely against the whole drift of an idolatrous age, as if he would
fain make his example a solid protest against the usages and pub
lic sentiment of every other nation under heaven. "
2. I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy
name for thy loving-kindness and for thy truth : for thou
hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
" For thou hast magnified thy word" (of promise), i. e., as given
2 Sam. 7, above all prior manifestations of thy name. He means
to say that this great promise was a step in advance upon all that
had gone before. So it truly was. It was growth and expansion
in the volume of prophetic foreshowings as to the Messiah. It
located him in the line of David; it made David's reign a symbol
of his. Hence David's heart was moved to special worship and
praise for this loving-kindness of his God and for that truth of God
in which he knew so well that he might fearlessly repose for the
complete fulfillment of every good word he had spoken.
3. In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and
strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.
The Hebrew verb for " strengthenedst" seems to have the sense —
to make me courageous, brave ; to raise my hopes with the assur
ance of great success in my life-work for the God of Israel. Gese
nius says — " to make fierce, courageous ; to embolden." Fuerst :
" Thou excitest me strongly in my soul."
4. All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, 0 Loed,
when they hear the words of thy mouth.
5. Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the Loed : for
great is the glory of the Lord.
This was prophetic vision, foreseeing that the Great Messiah
would become the joy of all earthly kings ; the- theme of their
praises. Isaiah is full of this sentiment. We find it in Ps. 68 :
29, 31, and 102 : 15.
6. Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto
the lowly : but the proud he knoweth afar. off.
Though the Lord Jehovah be "the High and Lofty One who
inhabiteth eternity, dwelling in the high and holy place," yet he is
not too high to see the lowly ones of earth, those of a " humble and
contrite spirit." " The proud he knoweth "—but not as being in
the moral sense near. He is not near them as their Friend.
7. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive
me : thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath
of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8. The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me : thy
23

526 PSALM CXXXIX.
mercy, O Lord, endureth forever : forsake not the works of
thine own hands.
This great work which the Lord has begun in my behalf, he will
surely finish, for his mercy will be as great through all coming
ages as now. I may therefore fitly pray him never to desist from
this work of his hands — never to let his hand be slack [the sense
of the Hebrew] in its execution.

PSALM CXXXIX.
This remarkable Psalm has been justly admired in all ages for
its view of the spiritual nature and perfections of God, especially
of his omniscience and omniprescence. Noticeably, these are
thought of and presented here, not in their abstract nature and
relations, but in their personal relations and bearings upon " me,"
the writer, and myself — each singer and reader of this Psalm.
The God of David, the God of the ancient Hebrew worship, was
no mere abstraction, no impersonal universality, to be thought of
only as infinitely .distant and infinitely regardless of man or of
man's moral life and real welfare. The Psalm before us is a
lesson on these points.  Though ascribed to David, its style,
choice of words and the peculiar sense sometimes given them arc
thought to indicate strongly the age of the restoration. The basis
of the Psalm being David s, it may have been modified in these
respects by those who in the age of Ezra revised it for greater
practical usefulness. That this was the traditional opinion of
learned Jews is indicated by the remark in the Septuagint cap
tion : "A Psalm of David by Haggai and Zechariah.
1. O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
2. Thou knowest my down-sitting and mine - uprising ;
thou understandest my thought afar off.
3. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways.
" Thou knowest my down-sitting and my uprising "—cognizant
of all my daily life'.  " Thou understandest my thought " — in the
moral sense of the word— my will, purpose — thou knowest from
afar. Since God must be thought of as far off as truly as near,
it is pertinent to consider that even from the most distant point
conceivable, he still knoweth my most secret thought.  To this
correspond the words of Eliphaz (Job 22: 12-14): "Is not God
in the height of heaven ? And behold the height of the stars how
high they are I And thou sayest, How doth God know ? Can he
judge through the dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering to
him that he soeth not, and he walketh through the circuit -of
heaven." Pertinent here are the words of the Lord through Jere

PSALM CXXXIX. 527
miah also (Jer. 23 : 23, 24) : " Am I a God at hand, saith the
Lord, and not a God afar, off? Can any hide himself in secret
places that I shall not see him? Do not I fill heaven and earth ?
saith the Lord."  Thou compasseth my path " — but the sense of
this verb, best sustained by usage, is to winnow, sift, and so to dis
close and search out perfectly. Some critics, however, give tho
word the sense, to encircle, hedge abont, in the sense of guarding.
 "Art acquainted," as by most familiar intercourse, as if, thou
hadst always lived with me [Hebrew] and thus become entirely
familiar with my ways.
4. For tliere is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord,
thou knowest it altogether.
5. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine
hand upon me.
6. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me ; it is high, I
can not attain unto it.
" Not a word but lo ;'' behold ; look at this wonderful fact, that
God knows perfectly every word that passes my tongue I  " Hast
beset me" — not in the bad sense of waylaying, but of being close
about me, so very near, behind and before, even thy hand is laid
upon me.  " Such knowledge as this is too wonderful for me to
comprehend " — too high for me to reach, grasp and measure. It
surpasses all my notions of knowledge as obtained among men.
7. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? or whither shall
I flee from thy presence?
8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there : if I make
my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
9. if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea ;
10. Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right
hand shall hold me.
Passing now from God's all perfect knowledge to his universal
presence, he would fain represent this by supposing all imaginable
ways of escape from it. " If I were to mount up to heaven, thou
are there; or make Sheol my bed, thou art there."  [If I say]
" I will take the wings of dawn ; let me dwell in the farthest sea ;
even there thy hand would lead me ; thy right hand would hold
me fast."
11. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me: even
the night shall be light about me.
12. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the
night shineth as the day : the darkness tmd the night are
both alike to thee.
Literally, "And then I say, Surely darkness will shield me, but
night becomes light about me. Yea, darkness will not make it

528 PSALM CXXXIX.
dark as to thee; and night will shine as the day; as the dark
ness, as the light " — this last clause being a special Hebrew idiom
meaning that one is just like the other; it makes no difference
which ; all is the same, with God.
13. For thou hast possessed my reins : thou hast covered
me in my mother's womb.
14. I will praise thee ; for I am fearfully and wonder
fully made : marvelous are thy works ; and that my soul
knoweth right well.
"My reins" — my most secret parts. Thou hadst perfect con
trol of my whole being; it was in thine hand and under thine
eye from my very conception in the womb. This view of the case
, calls forth praise to the Great Father. I will praise thee, for I
am fearfully distinguished" [i. e., from other beings of lower
order] ; " marvelous are thy works ; my soul knoweth this much " —
very thoroughly ; my experience, my knowledge of myself and of
my relations to my Maker impress these truths upon me.
15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was
made in secret, an d curiously wrought in the lowest parts
of the earth.
16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unper-
fect ; and in thy book all my members were written, which
in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of
tbem. A free translation with explanations attached will best present
my views of these difficult verses. "My body" [Hebrew, bones]
"was not concealed from thee when I was formed in secret,
curiously wrought [like embroidered work] in the womb " — often
compared for its secreoy to the depths of the earth. " My shape
less, unformed mass [the foetus] thine eyes did see, and in thy
book [of divine memory] were all of them written, even all my
future days were shaped before even one of them yet was." That
is, God knew me yet unborn and shaped all my future life from
that ante-birth period. The original has no word for " members."
The word really given is " days, in the sense of his future his
toric days — the after-life he was to live.
17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God !
how great is the sum of them !
18. If I should count them, they are more in number
than the sand : when I awake, I am still with thee.
" Thy thoughts, O God " — not meaning my thoughts of thee but
thy thoughts of me. How precious to me to realize all thy thoughts
concerning me ; to think how many they are ; how far back in my
personal existence they commenced; how constant and active they
have been ever since ; how they have shaped my activities and

PSALM CXXXIX. 529
determined all my destiny ! How vain if I were to attempt to
count them! While I sleep, thou watchest evermore about me;
when I awake, still thou art near ; I am with thee.  Some critics
give the verb translated "precious" the sense difficult of comprehen
sion, inscrutable ; taking their authority from late Chaldean usage.
The Hebrew meaning — " precious" — seems to me more in the spirit
of the Psalm and of the immediate context.
19. Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from
me therefore, ye bloody men.
20. For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine ene
mies take thy name iu vain.
We must find the connection of this thought with what precedes in
the Psalmist's purpose to make a practical application of these views
of God's ever present hand and ever active care and love. His mind
labors on the question of his moral relations to God's enemies. How
would God have me think of them and feel toward them ?  V. 19
commences [literally] " If thou, 0 God, wilt slay the wicked " — then
I stand aloof from them ; I bid them away from me ; for I can have
no sympathy with men too wicked to be suffered by thee to live.
 Then v. 20 gives particulars in the grand indictment against
them: "They speak against thee with malicious intent; they take
thy name in vain — thine enemies ! " Real enemies to thee they are,
as all their words and actions show.
21. Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee ? and
am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee ?
22. I hate them with perfect hatred : I count them mine
enemies. Is not my heart with thee, O God in all its sympathies? I hate
thy haters; I utterly loathe, abhor, those who rise up in open hos
tility against thee. As they are thine enemies, so I count them
mine.  It does not seem to have entered for one moment into the
Psalmist's theology that this spirit involves sinful vindictiveness.
No doubt it seemed to him the most natural thing possible and
the most righteous that his sympathies should flow in the same
moral channel with God's; that his heart should be perfectly at
one with the heart and the interests of his benevolent Father.
23. Search me, 0 God, and know my heart : try me, and
know my thoughts :
24. And see if tfiere be any wicked way in me, and lead
me in the way everlasting.
One closing supplication: Since thou, 0 God, knowest me so
perfectly, I implore thee to keep thine eye evermore upon me;
reveal my heart truly to myself; see if there bo any way of mis
chief, way of wrong, in me ; and lead me in the way of life eternal.
 Critics differ sEghtly as to the primary sense of the word trans-

530 PSALM CXL.
lated "wicked," some supposing it to refer to idolatry; others, to
pain. The connection suffices to show that it must refer to moral
evil, sin.  The "way everlasting" may refer primarily to the
old way of holy men, patriarchs and saints of the olden time ; but
the other view— the way that lejids to endless life, seems to me
more direct and pertinent.

PSALM CXL.
This Psalm ascribed to David takes up and expands the thought
of Ps. 139 : 19-22 — which probably accounts for its place here in
this compilation. The reader will notice its striking similarity to
Ps. 52 and 54-59, in which David treats of his great dangers and
trials and of his prayers to God, during his persecutions suffered
from Saul.  The good men of the times of Ezra and Nehemiah
had no little occasion to sympathize with David since they too had
sore trials from personal and national enemies — a fact which suffi
ciently accounts for their bringing this and kindred Psalms into
this Book V of the Psalter.
1. Deliver me, O Lord, from the evil man : preserve me
from the violent man ;
2. Which imagine mischiefs in their heart; continually
are they gathered together for war.
3. They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent;
adders' poison is under their Kps. Selah.
In the last clause of v. 2, ." Continually are they gathered together
for war," the critics differ slightly ; e. g., " Gather wars together ;
multiplying them."  "Excite, stir up wars; " " Who dwell in
dissensions quarrels ; " " Gather for battle."  /The comparison
of a slanderous tongue to a serpent is not uncommon in David's
Psalms. 4. Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
preserve me from the violent man ; who have purposed to
overthrow my goings.
5. The proud have hid a snare for me, and cords ; they
have spread a net by the way side ; they have set gins for
me. Selah.
"From the violent men who plot to thrust my feet from under
me," contemplates the case of men who sought his life by violence.
Snares to entrap him come by figure from the methods of taking
wild animals.
6. I said unto the Lord, Thou art my God : hear the
voice of my supplications, O Lord.

PSALM CXLI. 531
7. 0 God the Lord, the strength of my salvation, thou
hast covered my head in the day of battle.
8. Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked : further
not his wicked device ; lest they exalt themselves. Selah.
Amid all these dangers, David looked upward to God for refuge
to cover his head as a divine helmet in the day of battle.  Note
how the logie of faith and hope are wrought into the very form of
this prayer : " Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked." Cer
tainly God must have infinite reason for answering such a prayer
favorably. His interests and sympathies are always against and
never for granting the desires of wicked men. When the wicked
pray to God according to their real heart, he can have no heart to
grant their requests. They seek evil ; God seeks good.  " Fur
ther not his wicked devices: they will be elated." This is all that
David wrote in this clause ; but the logical connection is obvious,
viz., If thou shouldest, they will be proud of it; will carry their
head high ; will be overbearing and insolent, and perhaps he would
imply also, will be all too strong for thy people to withstand.
9. As for the head of those that compass me about, let
the mischief of their own lips cover them.
10. Let burning coals fall upon them: let them be cast
into the fire ; into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11. Let not an evil speaker be established in the earth :
evil shall hunt the violent man to overthrow him.
In v. 10 "deep pits" may mean deep waters, or pits full of
water.  While David thanks the Lord for covering his head in
the day of battle (v. 7), he prays that the heads of his enemies
investing him round about, may be covered with the very mischief
they sought to bring slanderously upon him. This form of punish
ment puts their case in contrast with his.
12. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the
afflicted, and the. right of the poor.
13. Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name:
the upright shall dwell in thy presence. .
A precious confidence was this in David's heart, that the Lord
would certainly maintain the cause of his own afflicted people —
the right, i. e., the righteous cause of the poor. Every element in
his moral nature conspires to place God's sympathies on the side
of the oppressed, against their unrighteous oppressors.
PSALM CXLI.
Bearing, the name of David as author, this Psalm corresponds
in its general course of thought with the preceding one, presenting

532 PSALM CXLI.
in their various phases his relations to his enemies on the one hand
and to his God on the other.
1. Lord, I cry unto thee : make haste unto me ; give ear
unto my voice, when I cry unto thee.
2. Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense ; and
the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
In the first clause of v. 2, the verb has normally the sense of
being fixed, established, and consequently of being permanent. I
take the sense here to be : Let my prayer ever be before thee as
incense: let this be a fixed, invariable fact.  "The evening sac
rifice " seem to have been pre-eminently the time for prayer and
for the burning of incense, the fragrance of which was its symbol.
Note the case of Ezra (9 : 4, 5).
3. Set a watch, 0 Lord, before my mouth ; keep the
door of my lips.
4. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice
wicked works with men that work iniquity : and let me not
eat of their dainties.
" Incline not my heart to any evil thing," like the prayer, " Lead
us not into temptation," must not be construed as assuming any
danger or even moral possibility that God may tempt men to sin.
It is rather a brief way of saying : Protect me by thy providence,
guard me by thy Spirit, from being led into any evil thing. 
"Let me mat eat the dainties of the wicked," in its moral appli
cation, covers .not merely delicacies of food, tempting,- poisonous ;
but all enticing seductions toward any sinful self-indulgence —
temptation to any sin.
5. Let the righteous smite me ; it shall be a kindness :
and let him reprove me ; it shall be an excellent oil, which
shall not break my head : for yet my prayer also shall be
in their calamities.
This verse is really difficult. The sentiment expressed in our
English version is admirable ; but it is hard to make the Hebrew
words yield it, and hard also to bring it into any logical relations
to the context. I must prefer this construction : " Let the Right-
ous One" [God] smite me mercifully and let him rebuke me :
[such] oil of the head, my head shall not refuse ; for though re
peated, my prayer will be [unto him] under their inflictions " —
i. e., under the inflictions of those wicked men whom God per
mits to afflict me for his ends of moral discipline.  In the
context [vs. 3, 4] David puts himself under God's care for his
own moral culture. V. 5 gives us one of the points of this culture,
viz., the discipline that comes from the wicked through God's
wise permission for good moral results.  As to the sense of
particular words, "righteous" is said of one, not of many, and

PSALM CXLI. 533
certainly may refer to God, the* Righteous One. The word for
"kindness" is the common one for God's mercy, and may well
be used adverbially. The verb which the English version trans
lates, "shall not break," must have the sense refuse, as given
above. In the last clause, " their calamities " can not well mean
the calamities of one righteous person, but " their " must refer to
the wicked as in the phrase " their dainties " (v. 4). Instead of
meaning calamities suffered, it should be calamities or evils in
flicted, i. e., by the wicked.  The sentiment in the last clause is
that a child of God may well afford to receive such moral disci
pline from God through the hand of wicked men because it is not
only precious oil for the head [we should say, good for the heart]
but it leaves to him the privilege and recourse of prayer.
6. When their judges are overthrown in stony places,
they shall hear my words ; for they are sweet.
"When their judges" [the leading- men of my wicked op
pressors] "are hurled down into the hand of the rocks, they will
hear my words, for they are sweet." Hurled down upon the point
of the rocks, which in figure are supposed to receive the falling
into their uplifted hands. Casting men headlong down a preci
pice upon the rocks beneath was one form of punishment, some
times fatal, but not supposed to be altogether so in this case.
The sense is — When judgments begin to fall heavily upon them,
they will listen to my words (as they will not now), for they are
really sweet, i. e., rich in wholesome truth. The word " sweet "
looks back to their sweet '" dainties " (v. 4) and quietly suggests
that his wise words were really sweet, while their words were only
treacherously, poisonously so.
7. Our bones are scattered at the grave's mouth, as when
one cutteth and cleaveth wood upon the earth.
The translation of this verse should be improved, thus : " As one
plows and cleaves furrows in the earth, our bones are scattered at
the mouth of Sheol " — this plowing and turning up the soil, look
ing toward a rich harvest ; corresponding to which, the bones of
the righteous sown in the earth await a glorious harvest in " the
resurrection of the just." As plowing and seed-sowing are done
in quiet hope, so the just lay down their bones in glorious hope.
 There is no Hebrew word in the verse answering to " wood,"
and no verb that demands the sense of splitting wood rather
than cleaving furrows. The Hebrew is in not upon the earth.
8. But mine eyes are unto thee, O God the Lord : in
thee is my trust ; leave not my soul destitute.
9. Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me,
and the gins of the workers of iniquity.
10. Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that
I withal escape.

534 PSALM CXLII.
V. 8 should begin "For," not"" But." "For "implies a logical
connection, thus : I fear not to lay my bones with all thy saints
at the mouth of Sheol; "for mine eyes are unto thee, O God the
Lord." Yet David realizes the fitness of praying God to spare
his life.  "Leave not my soul destitute," seems to mean — Pour
not out my soul,- i. e., my life or life's blood. Remarkably this
word is used of the Messiah (Isa. 53 : 12) : " poured out his
soul unto death." See also Gen. 24 : 20, and Isa. 32 : 15.
PSALM CXLII.
" Maschil of David " — a Psalm by David for public instruction.
"A prayer when he was in the cave," places this Psalm by the side
of Ps. 57 and looks historically either to the cave of Adullam (1
Sam. 22: 1), or of Engedi (1 Sam. 24: 3). Yet perhaps it should
be said that David may have been in more caves during the period
of Saul's persecutions than the record specially mentions. It suf
fices that this Psalm refers to those experiences.
1. I cried unto the Lord with my voice ; with my voice
unto the Lord did I make my supplication.
2. I poured out my complaint before him ; I showed be
fore him my trouble.
The Hebrew reader would notice that all these verbs are future ;
" I will cry ; will make supplication," etc. In writing this Psalm
David throws, himself back into those scenes and then says : At
that moment I said, " I will cry "etc. This is his way of living those
experiences over again in fresh remembrance, for grateful praise.
3. When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then
thou knewest my path. In the way wherein I walked have
they privily laid a snare for me.
4. I looked on my right hand, and beheld, but there was
no man that would know me : refuge failed me ; no man
cared for my soul.
In v. 4, David wrote, .not " I looked," but " look ye " [every
reader] " on my right hand," where a helper should stand ; " see,
there is not a man there to recognize me ; refuge perished from
me" — i. e,, no place for flight remained for me, et'c. "No man
cared for my life," i. e., to preserve it ; no one thought it worth
caring for.
5. I cried unto thee, O Lord: I said, Thou art my re
fuge and my portion in the land of the living.
6. Attend unto my cry; for I am brought very low:
deliver me from my persecutors'; for they are stronger
than I.

PSALM CXLIII. 535
7. Bring niy soul out of prison, that I may praise thy
name: the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt
deal bountifully with me.
In an emergency so extreme, whither should he fly or could he,
but to his God only ?  " Out of prison," in the metaphorical
sense— said of himself shut up in the cave, from which for a time
he dared not come out.— — "The righteous will" [better than
"shall"] "gather about me, for thou wilt" [I am sure thou wilt]
•" deal bountifully," i.e., in goodness and mercy, "with me."

PSALM CXLIII.
_ This Psalm is closely related to Ps. 142; essentially a continua
tion. V. 4 here gives us the same significant words as v. 3 there :
" My spirit overwhelmed within me.
_ 1. Hear my prayer, O Lord, give ear to my supplica
tions : in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteous
ness. 2. And enter not into judgment with thy servant : for
in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
The noticeable point here is that David prays to be answered
on the basis of God's faithfulness and righteousness, while yet he
deprecates being judged on the score of strict justice, and even
says that no living man can abide such an ordeal and come forth
justified. This moral attitude, this unique position between God's
covenanted faithfulness and integrity, on the one hand, and his
simple justice in the eye of law on the other, is by no means,
unknown to Christian experience. It is the case of one conscious
of imperfections, deeply sensible of being all unable to stand before
God blameless in law; yet encouraged to take hold of divine
promise because it is promise — of God's mercy because it is simple
mercy — favor shown to those who have sinned and who are still
conscious of moral weakness and short-comings.
3. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath
smitten my life down to the ground ; he hath made me to
dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
4. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me ; my
heart within me is desolate.
" For " introduces one ground of his plea — his extreme want ;
his utter helplessness before his enemies.
5. I remember the days of old ; I meditate on all thy
works ; I muse on the work of thy hands.

536 PSALM CXL-m.
6. I stretch forth my hands unto thee : my soul thirsteth
after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
"I remember the days of old," my case then being far better
than now. Canst not Thou, O my God, restore again to me such days
of quiet and peace?  "I will muse" (future tense) "on the
work of thy hands " — to find relief in the thought of what thou
canst do for my help.  In the last clause of v. 6, we should read,
" My soul is toward thee as a thirsty land," i. e., bears the same
relation to thee as the thirsty land does to the rain for which it
pants, withering for the want thereof.
7. Hear me speedily, O Loed ; my spirit faileth : hide
not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down
into the pit.
8. Cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning ;
for in thee do I trust : cause me to know the way wherein
I should walk ; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
9. Deliver me, 0 Loed, from mine enemies : I flee unto
thee to hide me.
In v. 7 are two distinct prayers, each followed by its own rea
son or ground.. "Hear me, for my spirit' faileth; hide not thy face
from me, for I have already become like those that go down to
the pit" — this last verb being in the past time. The English
margin translates the Hebrew correctly.  "In the morning" —
soon ; close after this fearful night of darkness.  The last clause
of v. 9 is a Hebrew idiom like this: Unto thee I cover myself,
i. e, flying unto thee, I have [in thought] covered myself— in
safety. 10. Teach me to do thy will ; for thou art my God : thy
Spirit is good ; lead me into the land of uprightness.
11. Quicken me, O Loed, for thy name's sake : for thy
righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
12. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy
all them that afflict my soul : for I am thy servant.
. Most pertinently and beautifully [in the moral sense] David rec
ognizes the truth that he can in nowise expect God's interposi
tion to save his life and lead him to the throne of Israel save as
his heart is upright — save as he is taught of God and lives under
the guidance of his good Spirit. Hence this prayer.  " For I
am thy servant " (v. 12) signifies, I am called of thee into this
service to be the future leader of the people of Israel. All these
life-perils from the jealousy of King Saul are occasioned by that
very call which thou didst send me through thy prophet Samuel.
Now, Lord, since thou hast called me into these perils and laid
on me these responsibilities, wilt thou not bear me safely through
them ? May I not trust in thy faithfulness and love, and in thy

PSALM CXLIV. 537
power to save ? Surely, if thou dost but remember that I am thy
servant, thou wilt not leave me to perish I
PSALM CXLIV.
The former part of this Psalm is almost a reproduction of Pa
18, so many of its expressions are here and so much of its spirit.
As that Psalm waB composed after the Lord had delivered David
from all his enemies and especially from Saul, so this seems to have
the same occasion and purpose. Closely following a series (140-
143) in which David and Saul are the prominent characters, and
the experiences of the former under the persecutions of the latter
are the great themes, this breaks forth in thanksgiving for gracious
and complete deliverance wrought for him by his Almighty Re
deemer. This deliverance having been wrought and David secure
ly seated on the throne of Israel, it was appropriate for a great
king over an agricultural people to think of sons growing up with
stalwart strength ; daughters polished in the graces and utilities
befitting their sex ; garners full ; sheep in countless numbers ;
oxen. strong for burdens; quietness and order combining to en
hance the happiness of a people whose God is the faithful Jeho
vah of Israel.
1. Blessed be the Loed my strength, which teacheth my
hands to war, and my fingers to fight :
2. My goodness, and my fortress ; my high tower, and my
deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust; who sub-
dueth my people under me. .
Comparing these verses with Ps. 18: 34, 2, 'the additional word
here is '.' my goodness," literally, my mercy in the sense — the Giver
of my mercies; the Source of my undeserved blessings.
3. Lord, what is man, that thou takest knowledge of
him ! or the son of man, that thou makest account of him !
4. Man is like to vanity : his days are as a shadow that
passeth away.
Closely translated, wo must read, "Lord, what is man — and [or
yet] thou hast known him? the son of man — and [or yet] thou
hast thought carefully of him ? " These words appear for sub
stance in Ps. 8; yet have a pertinent connection of thought here.
How wonderful that God should think so kindly of man; should
give him so much of his thought, his care, and his power to save,
as this review of his mercies to me exhibits in my case ! For man
is only a breath, a shadow that soon passeth away.
5. Bow thy heavens, O Lord, and come down : touch the
mountains, and they shall smoke.

538 • PSALM CXLIV.
6. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them : shoot out
thine arrows, and destroy them.
7. Send thine hand from above ; rid me, and deliver
me out of great waters, from the hand of strange chil
dren. 8. Whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right hand
is a right hand of falsehood.
Thus David had prayed under the fearful strain of his perils.
The prayer is reproduced here (as in Ps. 18 : 3, 6) to present in
stronger light the wonders of God's redeeming mercy in answer.
 "From the hand of strange children" (here as in Ps. 18:
44, 45) refers to aliens, perhaps of the class of Doeg the Edomite.
It would seem that Saul found the most manageable instruments
for his malign purposes among men of foreign birth and of spirit
alien from Hebrew sympathies. They were equal to any demand
for falsehood or violence.
• 9. I will sing a new song unto thee, O God : upon a
psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises
unto thee.
10. It is he that giveth salvation unto kings : who deliv-
ereth David his servant from the hurtful sword.
A new song will celebrate these new mercies.  "A psaltery
of ten strings " — one instrumont is all that the Hebrew words call
for here.  "The hurtful sword" — in the strong sense of death-
bearing — the sword aimed at my life.
11. Bid me, and deliver me from the hand of strange
children, whose mouth speaketh vanity, and their right band
is a right hand of falsehood :
12. That our sons may be as plants grown up in their
youth ; tliat our daughters may be as corner-stones, polished
after the similitude of a palace :
" That our sons may be as grown-up plants even in their
youth," i. e., early reaching their maturity, and that, one of comely
proportions and stalwart vigor.  "Our daughters as polished
corner-stones for the building of the temple " — with reference to
highly ornamented stones which appeared in the foundation of
the model temple. Elegance and utility, the latter of most sub
stantial sort, are admirably combined in this expressive compari
son. We must admire David's profoundly just views of woman's
sphere in society.
13. That our garners may be full, affording all manner
of store ; that our sheep may bring forth thousands and ten
thousands in our streets :
14. That our oxen may be strong to labor; that there be

PSALM CXLV. 539
no breaking hi, or going out : that tlwre be no complaining
in our streets.
15. Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea,
happy is tiiat people, whose God is the Lord.
"Garners full, producing from sort to sort" — every variety of
useful grain in abundance. "Oxen strong to bear" — this animal
being in those days used for burden as well as for draft. " No
breach and no going forth" — all safely kept and none escaping.
" No outcry of distress " (perhaps not even of rudeness) " in our
streets" or public squares. 0 how blessed the people who live so;
how"blessed the people- whose God is Jehovah!

PSALM CXLV.
Very appropriately this is called David's "Praise-Psalm." The
last from his pen in the Psalter, it groups together in lofty strains,
from a full heart, the noblest utterances of praise; the richest testi
monies to the universal benevolence of the Great Father.  The
greater part of the terms 'and phrases of this Psalm have appeared
in other Psalms, and need no additional comment here.
1. I will extol thee, my God, O King; and I will bless
thy name forever and ever.
2. Every day will I bless thee ; and I will praise thy
name forever and ever.
3. Great is the Loed, and greatly to be praised ; and his
greatness is unsearchable.
4. One generation shall praise thy works to another, and
shall declare thy mighty acts.
"One generation shall laud thy works to another" — lathers to
their sons ; the aged and those of mature years to the young, bear
ing their testimony to the great deeds of Jehovah so that this
knowledge of what God has done, may pass down traditionally
through all human generations. This is fully, in harmony with
the divine order — with the duties enjoined upon parents in the
Mosaic law, and with the spirit of their commemorative institu
tions. See Deut. 4: 9, 10, and 6: 6, 7, and 11: 19, and Ps. 78:
3-7. 5. I will speak of the glorious honor of thy majesty, and
of thy wondrous works.
6. And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts :
and I will declare thy greatness.
7. They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great
goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

540 PSALM CXLV.
In v. 5, 1 will muse is better than " speak" as being the primary
and more usual sense of the Hebrew word. It suggests that these
glorious qualities of God's character and deeds should be not
merely talked about and extolled in song, but be deeply pondered,
laid close upon our very heart, that so their legitimate impression
may be wrought into our very soul, and may mold our whole spirit
and character into God's own moral image.  " Terrible acts " —
such as should inspire reverence and fear to sin.  " Abundantly
utter " translates a word which properly means to pour forth as from
a fountain, it being implied that men have these glorious deeds of
their God so thoroughly in memory and heart that they need only
open their lips and the praises of God pour forth.  "Righteous
ness," as often, not in the sense of mere justice, but nearly synony
mous with goodness.
8. The Loed is gracious, and full of compassion ; slow to
anger, and of great mercy.
9. The Loed is good to. all : and his tender mercies are
over all his works.
10. All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord ; and thy
saints shall bless thee.
"All thy works shall praise thee" is a poetic conception, yet
exquisitely beautiful and just. All nature, all the beneficent
arrangements by which God clothes the earth with beauty and
makes it minister to the sustenance and joy of all sentient beings —
all have a voice to witness for God and proclaim his praise. How
much more should thy saints to whom thou hast given intelligence
to see and appreciate thy love pour forth their praises in honor of
thy name !
11. They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and
talk of thy power ;
12. To make known to the sons of men bis mighty acts,
and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13. Thy' kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy
dominion endureth throughout all generations.
Under the general head of God's " kingdom" are grouped what
ever pertains to his moral reign — his rule over intelligent beings by
means of his law and the course of his providence. In this, God
reveals his higher glories — the purest love of his nature, supreme
wisdom, a most beneficent care of his dutiful children; justice also
in defense of the oppressed and in retribution upon oppressors.
This kingdom will long outlast this material world and its lower
orders of sentient being. All along the lapse of its eternal ages,
it will shine on with growing splendor and a purer glory.
14. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all
those that be bowed down.

PSALM CXLVI. 541
15. The eyes of all wait upon thee ; and thou givest them
their meat in due season.
16. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of
every living thing.
" Upholdeth all that fall," who yet are supposed to be his people,
trustful and obedient.  " The eyes of all wait upon thee "—in
hopeful expectation. The unintelligent animals are guided by
what we call instinct — God's gift to them adapted to their consti
tution, under which they know where to look for their daily food.
God does not deceive their expectations ; is never reckless of their
wants. 17. The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in
all his works.
18. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him,
to all that call upon him in truth.
19. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him : he
also will hear their cry, and will save thpm.
20. The Lord preserveth all them that love him : but all
the wicked will he destroy.
21. My mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord: and
let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
" Holy in all his works" — but in this case the word for "holy"
looks not so much to the moral purity of his character or to his
abhorrence of sin, as to his merciful kindness, his compassion. 
"Nigh to those who call upon him in truth," makes "in truth"
emphatic and suggests that sometimes men nominally, apparently,
call upon God with no real sincerity, no sense of dependence, no
feeling of want, no humble uplifting of the heart for his gracious
help. To such callers, God is by no means nigh. The real call
that rises from a full and earnest soul, a broken and humble spirit,
he can never despise. The Psalmist defines their character as those
that "fear him' and "love him."  Sublimely David closes with
declaring his own personal purpose : " My mouth shall speak the
praise of Jehovah ' — now and evermore, with this mortal tongue
and this human pen, now ; and with my immortal song through the
ages of the eternal future. And " let all flesh — all of human kind,
men of every nation — bless his holy name forever — all along down
the lapse of years till time shall be no more ; and then begin their
truly everlasting song !
PSALM CXLVI.
The remaining are all Praise-songs, each commencing with " Hal
lelujah" — i. e., a call to all the people to praise the Lord. Notice
ably this word belongs to the later Hebrew, not being found in

542 PSALM CXLVI.
any Psalm ascribed to David, nor indeed in any of the Psalms of
the first three books. In the Psalms of the age of the restoration,
it occurs very frequently.  These five closing Psalms obviously
belong to the age of the restoration. The Septuagint places at the
head of the first four the words : Psalms " of Haggai and Zecha-
riah."  They take up the strain of David's Psalm of praise (145) ;
dwell largely on the same special points, yet add some new points
growing out of their peculiar circumstances.
1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise the Loed, O my soul.
2. While I live will I praise the Loed: I will sing
praises unto my God while I have any being.
The writer avows his own purpose to praise God, and gives words
in the use of which every worshiper should feel himself specially
invited to the same reasonable and glorious service.
3. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man,
in whom there is no help.
4. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in
that very day his thoughts perish.
Though princes, Cyrus especially and Darius also, have done us
worthy service, yet many others have proved false, and none have
served .our Zion to any purpose Bave as " the Lord has stirred up
their spirit" to it (Ezra. 1:1). Therefore put not your trust in
princes for help. At best their breath is soon gone, and they-
return to their mother earth as was said to our first father — " Unto
dust thou shalt return" (Gen. 3 : 19).  In that day his thoughts,
in the sense of plans or promises of help, must perish. " The pas
sage does not say that this man, dead, will think no more in the
future world, but only that his .thoughts as of one to be trusted for
earthly help, will perish.
5. Happy is lie that hath the God of Jacob for his help,
whose hope is in the Loed his God :
6. Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that
therein is : which keepeth truth forever :
• 7. Which executeth judgment for the oppressed : which
giveth food to the hungry. The Loed looseth the prison
ers: 8. The Loed openeth the eyes of the blind : the Loed
raiseth them that are bowed down: the LoeA loveth the
righteous :
9. The Loed preserveth the strangers ; he relieveth the
fatherless and the widow : but the way of the wicked he
turneth upside down.
The God of Jacob has all the qualities requisite for a perfect
Helper. The Maker of heaven and earth — how can he lack power

.PSALM CLXVII. 543
to help ? Keeping truth forever and therefore faithful to every
promise; " executing judgment for the oppressed," and therefore
sure to help all who really need his helping hand ; entering into
every sort of real suffering with prompt and perfect sympathy —
for the hungry, for the prisoner (like ourselves in Babylon) ; for
the blind, the bowed down, the stranger, the fatherless, the widow —
ah, indeed, where are the suffering sons of want for whom he has
not a heart full of love and a hand laden with the very help they
need ?
10. The Loed shall reign forever, even thy God, 0 Zion,
unto all generations. Praise ye the Loed.
And the beauty and glory of the case is that this precious, mu
nificent and righteous reign shall endure forever ! The very God
of Zion is to sit on the throne of the heavens and the earth through
all generations. O give his name all praise !

PSALM CXLVII.
The four remaining Psalms have many points in common, and
are obviously a series having the same general purpose. , They
are all adrbirably adapted to be sung upon the completion of the
city walls, effected under the supervision of Nehemiah. They
contain various expressions which indicate that joyous event. 
It was eminently fit that a series of such Psalms as these should
close the entire collection. It need not be assumed that they were
written for the purpose of rounding out the Psalter with super
lative songs of praise. Rather, this is probable, viz., that having
been prepared for the- joyous celebration of completing the city
walls, they were found eminently suitable for this place in the
entire collection.
1. Praise ye the Loed : for it is good to sing praises
unto our God ; for it is pleasant ; and praise is comely.
2. The Loed doth build up Jerusalem : be gathereth
together the outcasts of Israel.
3. He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their
wounds. In verse 2 we might read, " Jehovah is the builder of Jerusalem ;''
this rebuilding, then fresh in their eyes, is the work of his hands.
"He will gather the outcasts of Israel together;" his scattered
captives he will restore to their native land and raise them again
to a place of honor among the nations. The captives who sat by
the rivers of Babylon and wept as they remembered Zion, the Lord
has met in mercy, wiped their tears away, and -bound up their
heart-wounds.

544 PSALM CXLVIL
4. He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them
all by their names.
5. Great is our Lord, and of great power : his under
standing is infinite.
6. The Loed lifteth up the meek : he casteth the wicked
down to the ground.
It is in place to celebrate the greatness and majesty of our De
liverer. The Great God of nature — he knows the stars by. name ;
has boundless power and infinite wisdom, and withal he executes
judgment in lifting up the humble and hurling down the proud.
7. Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving ; sing praise
upon the harp unto our God:
8. Who covereth the heavens with clouds, who prepareth
rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the
mountains. 9. He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young
ravens which cry.
One of the most prominent and striking features of this series
of Psalms is the continual blending of God's agencies in nature
with his works in his providential government. In the former he
gives the rain of heaven and the grass on the mountains ; in the latter,
he builds Jerusalem, restores the exiles, visits retribution of good
or evil upon saints and sinners as they deserve. It seems to be a
special aim with the writer [and with the inditing Spirit] to im
press the great truth that the same God doeth all these things.
10. He delighteth not in the strength of the horse : he
taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.
11. The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him,
in those that hope in his mercy.
This antithesis is striking. In the mind of God the things of
interest are not the power of the war-horse or of the war-man;
but rather, the reverent fear and the humble faith of his people.
All unlike the estimate which men of the world form, these moral
qualities are his admiration.
12. Praise the Lord, 0 Jerusalem ; praise thy God, O
Zion. 13. For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates ; he
hath blessed thy children within thee.
14. He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee
with the finest of the wheat.
These verses refer pointedly to the times of Nehemiah when, after
scenes of no small peril and of immense labor, the walls were fin
ished, the gates made strong, and the joyous people celebrated

PSALM CXLVIII. 545
their rebuilt city with grateful songs. Plentiful harvests wore
another occasion for thanksgiving.
15. He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth : bis
word runneth very swiftly.
16. He giveth snow like wool : he scattereth the hoar
frost like ashes.
17. He casteth forth his ice like morsels : who can stand
before his cold?
18. He sendeth out his word, and melteth them : he
causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.
" Sending forth his commandment," " his word running very
swiftly" — harmonize in conception and phrase with what is said
of God's creative power : " He spake and it was done ; he com
manded, and it stood fast." God's agencies in nature are supposed
to be sent forth in and by his word. He commands, and the rains
come; he sends forth his word, and genial suns send down their
heat. He speaks, and snow, ice, hail, and fearful cold are abroad
on the face of the earth. Again, he sendeth forth his word and
melteth them.  There maybe a tacit allusion to the winter of their
bondage in Babylon — now at length followed by the warm breath
of spring, melting the frost-bands and opening the warm bosom
of their home-land to welcome their return.
19. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and
his judgments unto Israel.
20. He hath not dealt so with any nation : and as for his
judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the
Lord.
The other and more usual sense of "word" appears here. The
Psalmist sets forth the peculiar favor shown to Israel in the gift
from the Lord of his statutes and judgments,. i. e., laws, moral,
civil, and religious, including institutions and ordinances for the
moral culture of the people. No other nation had ever been so
favored.
-PSALM CXLVIII.
The great Hallelujah chorus rises in this Psalm to a loftier
strain, calling upon all that is in the heavens (other than God)
and all that is upon the earth to unite in extolling the Great God
with highest praises. With noticeable method and order vs. 1-6
group together the details of the upper, heavenly world ; while vs.
7-14, in like manner, seize upon the salient points of this earthly
sphere— first, the inanimate and the unintelligent orders; and
lastly, the intelligent.

546 PSALM CXLVIII.
1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the
heavens : praise him in the heights.
2. Praise ye him, all bis angels : praise ye him all his
hosts. s
3. Praise ye him, sun and moon : praise him, all ye stars
of light.
4. Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that
be above the heavens.
5. Let them praise the name of the Loed : for he com
manded and they were created.
6. He hath also established them forever and ever : he
hath made a decree which shall not pass.
In v. 2, " hosts " is ambiguous, being applied either' to the in
telligent creatures or to the non-intelligent objeiots of the upper
world. The Psalmist's general purpose did not require a nice dis
crimination on this point. He calls on both classes for praise —
seraphs, principalities, and powers in the heavenly places; and
also, stars, suns, every object known to man or unknown, in the
worlds above.  "Ye waters that be above the heavens" con
forms to the current views of the ancients, which appear Gen. 1 :
6, 7, and more than once in the Psalms. Let all these heavenly
bodies praise the name of Jehovah for by his word they came into
being, and' under his changeless laws they hold their place and
fulfill their mission.
7. Praise the Loed from the earth, ye dragons, and all
deeps :
8. Fire, and hail ; snow, and vapor ; stormy wind fulfilling
bis word :
9. Mountains, and all bills; fruitful trees, and all cedars:
10. Beasts, and all cattle; creeping things, and flying
fowl :
In v. 8 the clause, " fulfilling his word," may legitimately apply
not to "stormy wind" only, but to "fire and hail:" "snow and
vapor." AH alike and all most perfectly obey his high behest
and know no will but his. Let them all therefore join in his ex
alted praises.
11. Kings of the earth, and all people ; princes, and all
judges of the earth :
12. Both young men, and maidens ; old men, and chil
dren: 13. Let them praise the name of the Lord: for his name
alone is excellent ; his glory is above the earth and heaven.
In the great human family, the loftiest are by no means to be
exempted. Rather let those be named first of all. " Kings of the

PSALM CXLIX. 547
earth; '' "princes and all judges ; " let them remember Him who is
infinitely above them ; to whom they are supremely amenable ;
from whose creative hand they have their very existence and whose
providence has raised them to a little brief authority over their
fellows.  Let all these classes of intelligent beings of the human
race combine to praise the name of the Lord, for his name only is
excellent — the word " name " indicating his nature, the qualities or
attributes of his character. His excellence towers high above both
earth and heaven. Compared with his infinite being, the universe
of his works is only a very little thing !
14. He also exalteth the. horn of his people, the praise of
all his saints ; even of the children of Israel, a people near
unto him, Praise ye the Lord.
"The horn of his people," here as usual, the emblem of
strength — the sense being that in restoring his people to their
father-land, and now in prospering them to complete the rebuilding
of their city walls, he had once more lifted them to power — above
contempt, and even to respectability before the nations of the
earth.  The clause, " The praise of all his saints," must depend
grammatically on the first verb, "exalteth," with this sense:. He
hath lifted on high the praises of his people — giving them occasion
by his manifold and especially his then recent mercies to praise
his name in loftiest strains. Therefore let them unite in this grand
and most sublime Hallelujah !
PSALM CXLIX. •«
This part of the great Hallelujah chorus applies specially to
God's people, continuing and expanding the theme which was
reached, in the closing verses of Ps. 148, The relation of God's
people to himself is the main subject.
1. Praise ye the Lord. Sing unto the Lord a new song,
and his praise in the congregation of saints.
2. Let Israel rejoice in him that made him : let the chil
dren of Zion be joyful in their King.
3. Let them praise his name in the dance : let tbem sing
praises unto him with the timbrel and harp*
A "new song" celebrates new mercies — in the present case, the
mercies of God to his recently restored people, consummated in the
rebuilding of their city walls. That this was regarded at the time
as furnishing rich occasion for praise inay be seen in the history
(Neh. 12: 27-43): "At the dedication of the walls of Jerusalem,
they sought the Levites out of all their places, to bring them to
Jerusalem to keep the dedication with gladness, both with thanks-

548 PSALM CXLIX.
giving and with singing, with cymbals, psalteries, and with harps,"
etc.  " Let them praise his name in the dance "—^o* with the
dance, this being then a recognized mode of expressing their joy
in God. The reader will recall the scenes .when David brought
up the ark to Mt. Zion (2 Sam. 6: 14-16). See also Ps. 30: 11.
4. For the Lord taketh pleasure in his people : he" will
beautify the meek with salvation.
5. Let the saints be joyful in glory : let them sing aloud
upon their beds.
" The Lord is pleased to accept his people " [Hebrew] — the verb
being in common use for the Lord's acceptance of sacrificespffered
in sincerity, and therefore would suggest to any Hebrew mind the
ground of this acceptance or " pleasure " — not their worthiness
alone but in connection with forgiveness bought with blood. 
"Let the saints be joyful in glory," i. e., in the honor now con
ferred upon them and upon Zion. "Let them sing aloud upon
their beds," i. e., at their homes, in their retired hours as well as
in public : with perhaps a tacit allusion to their previous trials in
which many a pillow had been wet with tears.
6. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a
two-edged sword in their hand ;
7. To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and. punish
ments upon the people ;
8. To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with
fetters of iron ;
9. To execute upon them the judgment written : this
honor have all his saints*. Praise ye the Lord.
" God's praises in their mouths and a two-edged sword in their
hand " — for they were fresh from the wall-building of the city in
which " they who builded on the wall and they that bare burdens,
with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other
hand held a weapon" (Neh. 4: 17). The whole pasBage looks
back probably to the commission which God gave Israel to drive
out the idolatrous Canaanites. So far as the letter of it is con
cerned, its form comes from the past, though in the spirit thereof
its outlook may be into the future — the bloodless victories of truth
over the hearts of the King's enemies. In the interpretation of
this passage it would be quite unauthorized to ignore the great
facts of the early history of Israel on the one hand, and not less
so on the other hand to ignore the great facts of the future age,
Bet forth even then in prophecy and fulfilled in the Gospel era
under the Prince of Peace who gives his people only "the sword
of the Spirit which is the word of God." The letter of our passage
comes from the former; the spirit and the present meaning are
amply revealed in the latter.

PSALM CL. 549

PSALM CL.

The soope of this-short, closing Psalm is a model of simplicity,
beauty and power. Praise the Lord — where ? (v. 1) ; for what ?
(v. 2); with what? (vs. 3-5); and finally, upon whom is the call
made ? (v. 6).
1. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the firmament of his power.
2. Praise him for his mighty acts : praise him according
t» his excellent greatness.
3. Praise him with the sound of the trumpet : praise him
with the pSaltery and harp.
4. Praise him with the timbrel and dance : praise him
with stringed instruments and organs.
5. Praise him upon the loud cymbals : praise him upon
the high sounding cymbals.
6. Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord.
Praise him in his sanctuary below; in his glorious firmament
above— comprehensively put for his entire universe. Praise him
for the great' things he has done and for the very greatness itself
which belongs to him as God over all.  Then bring together all
the instruments of music known to human art. All are too mean
to speak his praises as they deserve.-  And finally, let the whole
animate creation : all the living ; let everything that hath breath
praise the Lord. Poetically considered, it is charming to call upon
the silent spheres above ; and below, upon mountains, and all hills,
fire and hail, snow and vapor, the windy storm and the loud-voiced
thunder, to join the grand chorus of universal praise; yet in plain
speech and to sober thought, we reach the height of duty and the
perfect' statement of it when we say: Let everything that hath
breath and the voluntary power to use it, pour forth that breath in
grateful songs of praise to Jehovah, Father, Maker, Lord of all I
24

550 APPENDIX.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF

The Historical Points of the Seveeal Psalms,
viz., theie authoe, date and occasion.

The first Book of the Psalter comprises Psalms l-4l. All these
Psalms are, on good authority, ascribed to David as their author.
Ps. I. Perhaps prepared as an introduction to Book I.
,Ps. II. Probably written after the prophetic announcement by
Nathan (2 Sam. 7).
Ps. Ill — VII. Probably all refer to the times of Absalom's con
spiracy.
Ps. VIII. Date unknown. Probably subsequent to the prophecy
of 2 Sam. 7.
Ps. IX. During his national wars ; after some victories, and,while
other conflicts were pending.
Ps. X. Same date as Ps. IX.
Ps. XI. May refer either to the times of Saul or the times of
Absalom.
Ps. XII. No certain date indicated.
Ps. XHI. Makes no allusions to historic circumstances, but gives
experiences under severe trials.
Ps. XIV. Perhaps suggested by the case of Nabal of Mt. Carmel
fl Sam. 25).
Ps. XV. Same date with Ps. 24 : on occasion of bringing up the
ark to Mt. Zion (2 Sam. 6: and 1 Chron. 13).
Ps. XVI. Probably dates after the revelations made to David ; as
in 2 Sam. 7.
Ps. XVII. Apparently looks to his sufferings from 'Saul.
Ps. XVIII. After his deliverance from all his enemies and from
Saul.
Ps. XIX. No historic occasion.
Ps. XX. Upon going out to war against Ammon and Syria com
bined (2 Sam. 10 : 6-19, and I Chron. 19: 6-19).
Ps. X£I. Shortly after Ps. 20: on occasion of victories in answer
to those prayers.
Ps. XXII. Of a- class with Ps. 16 : having no special reference
tp historic events.
Ps. XXHI. After his persecutions from Saul, and while yet he
needed tho care of the Good Shepherd.

APPENDIX. 551
Ps. XXIV. Upon the location of the ark on Mt. Zion; as in 2
Sam. 6 :
Ps. XXV. — XXIX. Prepared soon after the location of the ark
on Mt. Zion and the more ample use of song in the sanc
tuary service.
Ps. XXX. The occasion appears in 2 Sam. 24, and 1 Chron. 21 :
the location of the great temple after the staying of tho

plague.

Ps. XXXI. Perhaps alludes the scenes of 1 Sam. 23 — David's
signal escape from Saul.
Ps. XXXII. David, after his great sin in the matter of Uriah and
Bathsheba — at a stage somewhat earlier than Ps. 51.
Ps. XXXin. Shortly subsequent to Ps. 32 — celebrating the joys
and expressing the gratitude and praise of the true penitent.
Ps. XXXIV. David before Achish of Gath; as in 1 Sam. 21:
10-15.
Ps. XXXV. Closely related to Ps. 34, and to 1 Sam. 24— when
David spared the life of Saul.
Ps. XXXVI. Its occasion may have been some striking manifes
tation of depravity.
Ps. XXXVII. Its views of men are not special but general.
Ps. XXXVHI. — XLI. The conspiracy of Adonijah — in David's
extreme old age (1 Kings 1:)
BOOK II.
[Viz., Ps..42-72.]
Of these thirty-one Psalms, eight may be assigned to the sons
of Korah — (42-49); one (Ps. 50) to Asaph; nineteen to David;
viz., Ps. 51-65, and Ps. 68-71 ; two are anonymous, viz., Ps. 66
and 67, and one (Ps. 72) is by Solomon.
Ps. XLII. — XLIII. A pair ; with little if any doubt, the experi-
. ences of David driven from home and throne by Absalom.
Ps. XLIV. Date and occasion uncertain; possibly the same as
Ps. 60; probably during the reign of the later kings of
Judah.
Ps. XLV. Date, during the reign of Solomon; later than the
" Song of Solomon."
Ps. XLVI. With great probability, in the times of Hezekiah and
Sennacherib.
Ps. XLVII. The reign of Jehoshaphat; his kingdom invaded by
Moab, Ammon and Edom (2 Chron. 20).
Ps. XLVIII. Same date as Ps. 47 : one sung on the field of battle
(2 Chron. 20: 26); the other after their return, victorious,
to Jerusalem (vs. 27, 28).
Ps. XLIX. No special allusion to history ; but a generalization
from a mass of observed facts.
Ps. L. An ideal judgment scene, illustrating God's retribution on
the wicked.

552 APPENDIX.
Ps. LI. David's conviction and penitence for his sin in the case
of Uriah and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11 and 12).
Ps. LII. David and Doeg (1 Sam. 21 and 22).
Ps. LIII. Repeats Ps. 14 with slight variations.
Ps. LIV. David and the Ziphites ; (1 Sam. 23: 19 and 26 : 1).
Ps. LV. Probably of the times of Saul, it being located among
Psalms of that sort.
Ps. LVI. David and the Philistines of Gath (1 Sam. 21 : 10-12).
Ps. LVII. David fleeing before Saul secretes himself in caves :
(1 Sam. 22; 1, and 24: 1).
Ps. LVIII. Probably dating with those that precede and the next
that follows — in the reign of Saul.
Ps. LIX. Sauline ; ( 1 Sam. 19:11-17).
Ps. LX. The great war against Syria and Edom (2 Sam. 8, and
1 Chron. 18),
Ps. LXI. Probably the times of Absalom.
Ps. LXII. Probably of the' times of Saul ; though possibly, of
Absalom.
Ps. LXIII. With great probability, the times of Absalom.
Ps. LXIV. The times of Absalom and Ahithophel.
Ps. LXV. Thanksgiving foi< victory over the revolt of Absalom
and for fruitful seasons.
Ps. LXVI. Probably tho same as Ps. 65.
Ps. LXVII. Thanksgiving for bountiful harvests; occasion not
otherwise suggested.
Ps. LXVIII. Probably celebrates the great victory over Rabbah
and the Ammonites. (2 Sam. 12: 26-31).
Ps. LXIX. Conspiracy of Adonijah ; David's old age and debility
(1 Kings 1).
Ps. LXX. Identical with the last paragraph of Ps. 40: times of
Adonijah.
Ps. LXXI. A continuation of Ps. 70; for the times of Adonijah.
Ps. LXXII.. By Solomon; probably early in his life.
BOOK III
Seventeen Psalms, viz., Ps. 73-89. Of these, eleven (Ps. 73-83)
are assigned to Asaph ; four (Ps. 84, 85, 87, 88) to the sons of
Korah ; one (Ps. 86) to David ; and one (Ps. 89) to Ethan.
Ps. LXXIII. Drawn from general history rather than special ;
of course, having no historic reference for its date or oc
casion.
Ps. LXXIV. Destruction of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans.
Ps. LXXV. Times of Hezekiah and Sennacherib (2 KingB 19,
and Isa. 37).
Ps. LXXVI. Same as Ps. 75.
Ps. LXXVII. At some point between the revolt and the captiv
ity, not definitely indicated, but a time of sore trial.
Ps. LXXVIII. Either the time of David's reign over Judah only

APPENDIX. 553
(2 Sam. 2-5) or the war between Abijah and Jeroboam
(2 Chron. 13).
Ps. LXXIX. Same date and occasion with Ps. 74, the fall of the
city before the Chaldeans.
Ps. LXXX. Contemplates the calamities brought upon the
Northern kingdom, first by the Syrians; last by Shalmane-
ser of Assyria.
Ps. LXXXI. Nearly the same date as Ps. 80 ; a solemn appeal
to the people of the ten tribes to return to their God.
Ps. LXXXII. Probably contemplates the perversions of justice
prevalent in the Northern kingdom shortly before its final
fall.
Ps. LXXXIII. The great combination against Judah in the
times of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 20).
Ps. LXXXIV. The first year of Hezekiah ; his invitation to the
people of the ten tribes to keep the feast at Jerusalem.
Ps. LXXXV. The great revival under Hezekiah.
Ps. LXXXVI. Ascribed to David ; placed here by the compilers,
because adapted to the times of Hezekiah.
Ps. LXXXVII. Upon the destruction of the great Assyrian host
(2 K. 19, and Isa. 37).
Ps. LXXXVHI, LXXXIX. Both of the times of Hezekiah.
BOOK IV.
Seventeen Psalms, viz., Ps. 90-106. Of these, two (101 and
103) are ascribed to David; one (99), to Moses. The rest are
anonymous. Perhaps the authors were themselves the com
pilers and therefore omitted their names. Many of these Psalms
belong to the age of Josiah and his great reformation.
Ps. XC. By Moses ; shortly before his death.
Ps. XCI. Perhaps by Moses ; doubtless as a counterpart to Ps.
90.
Ps. XCII, XCIII. Pertinent to the reformation under Josiah.
Ps. XCIV. Refers probably to the wicked reigns of the last kings
of Judah.
Ps. XCV — C. Both their adaptations and their sentiments assign
these Psalms to the times of Josiah.
Ps. CI. Ascribed to David ; but appropriate to the young king
Josiah and therefore here. See Notes introductory to this
Psalm.
Ps. CII. Probably by Jeremiah; of his times.
Ps. CHI. Ascribed to David.
Ps.. CIV, CV. Times of Josiah's reformation.
Ps. CVI. Perhaps in view of the first deportation of captives to
Babylon.
BOOK V.
Forty-four Psalms, viz., Ps. 107-150. Of these, fifteen are
ascribed to David, viz., Ps. 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145;

554 APPENDIX.
one to Solomon (Ps. 127) : all the rest are anonymous, and appear
to have been written and all compiled in tho age of the Restora
tion.
Ps. CVII. After the return of the exiles from Babylon, cele
brating the great mercy of God in that restoration. See
Notes introductory to this Psalm.
Ps. CVIII. Ascribed to David; but made up of two selections,
viz., from Ps. 57 and 60.
Ps. CIX. Ascribed to David. His personal enemy alluded to
may have been Saul, or Absalom, or possibly Ahithophel.
Ps. CX. By David; corresponds with Ps. 2.
Ps. CXI — CXIII, A triplet of Praise-Psalms of the age of the
Restoration.
Ps. CXIV, CXV. Soon after the return of the exiles ; during the
period of struggle against powerful enemies.
Ps. CXVI. After the rebuilding of the temple.
Ps. CXVII. Perhaps a doxology to Ps'. 116.
Ps. CXVIII. For the dedication of tho second temple (Ezra 6 :
16-20).
Ps. CXIX. Very probably by Ezra — this conjecture resting upon
his great familiarity with the Scriptures and love for them ;
and upon the harmony between his life among slanderous,
powerful enemies, and the frequent allusions to such
enemies in this Psalm.
Ps. CXX — CXXXIV. Fifteen songs of the ascents or up-goings,
all adapted to be sung by the exiles returning to Jerusa
lem, or, more generally, by the people going up to the holy
city to attend their yearly festivals.
Ps. CXXXV. Praise-Psalm, to be sung after their arrival in
Jerusalem.
Ps. CXXXVI. Very probably composed for the occasion of lay
ing the foundations of the temple (Ezra 3: 10, 11).
Ps. CXXXVII. Soon after the return of the exiles from Baby
lon — a reminiscence to awaken gratitude and praise.
Ps. CXXXVIII— CXLV. Eight Psalms ascribed to David, yet
with manifest adaptations to the age of the Restoration.
Ps. CXLVI — CL. AH praise songs, hallelujah-Psalms, some, per
haps all of them, composed originally to celebrate the com
pletion of the city walls (Neh. 8).

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